Psamathus or Psamathous ( grc, Ψαμαθοῦς), called by
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
Amathus or Amathous (Ἀμαθοῦς),
was a harbour of
ancient Laconia. The ''
Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' places it back to back (ἀντίπυλος) with the harbour of
Achilleius
Achilleius or Achilleios ( grc, Ἀχίλλειος), also known as Achilleius Portus or Achilleios limen (Ἀχίλλειος λιμὴν), was a harbour of ancient Laconia. The ''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' places it between Methone and Psamath ...
.
Pausanias places it near
Cape Taenarum and
Asine, at about 150
stadia
Stadia may refer to:
* One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums"
* The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes'').
* Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey
* Stadi ...
from
Teuthrone Teuthrone ( grc, Τευθρώνη) was a town of ancient Laconia, situated upon the western side of the Laconian Gulf, 150 stadia from Cape Taenarum.
According to the ancient inhabitants it was founded by the Athenian Teuthras (Τεύθρας). Th ...
. He says that at the end of Cape Matapan there was a temple in the shape of a cave and a statue of
Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...
. Strabo and other ancient writers call Psamathus a
polis
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...
(city-state).
[
Its site is located near the modern ]Porto Kagio Porto Kagio or Porto Káyio (Πόρτο Κάγιο) is a seaside village in the East Mani municipality on the eastern side of the Mani Peninsula, Greece. It faces a small bay off the Laconian Gulf and is about three miles north of Cape Matapan, the ...
.
References
Populated places in ancient Laconia
Former populated places in Greece
{{ancientLaconia-geo-stub