Amyclae or Amyclanus was a Greek city on the coast of

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...

(some authors say

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

), between

Tarracina Terracina is an Italian city and ''comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anci ...

and Caieta, which had ceased to exist in the time of

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

, but had left the name of ''Sinus Amyclanus'' to the part of the coast on which it was situated. Its foundation was ascribed to a band of

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

ns who had emigrated from the city of the same name near

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

; and a strange story is told by Pliny and

Servius Servius is the name of: * Servius (praenomen), the personal name * Maurus Servius Honoratus, a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian * Servius Tullius, the Roman king * Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the 1st century BC Roman jurist See ...

of the inhabitants having been compelled to abandon it by the swarms of serpents with which they were infested. Other writers refer to this city the legend commonly related of the destruction of the Laconian Amyclae, in consequence of the silence of its inhabitants; and the epithet applied to it by

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

of ''tacitae Amyclae'' appears to favour this view. The exact site is unknown, but it must have been close to the marshes below Fundi; whence

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

terms it "Amyclae Fundanae". In the immediate neighbourhood, but on a rocky promontory projecting into the sea, was a villa of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, called

Spelunca Sperlonga (locally ) is a coastal town in the province of Latina, Italy, about halfway between Rome and Naples. It is best known for the ancient Roman sea grotto discovered in the grounds of the Villa of Tiberius containing the important and spect ...

, from the natural caverns in the rock, in one of which the emperor nearly lost his life by the falling in of the roof, while he was supping there with a party of friends. The ancient name of the locality is retained, with little variation, by the modern village of Sperlonga, about west of Gaeta, where the grottoes in the rock are still visible, with some remains of their ancient architectural decorations.

References

Roman sites in Lazio Former populated places in Italy Colonies of Magna Graecia {{AncientRome-stub