COS

COS, or COOS, (anc. geog.), a noble island on the coast

Cos
Cosnage. coast of Caria, in the Hither Asia, fifteen miles to the west of Halicarnassus, a hundred in compass, called Meropis; and hence Thucydides joins both names together, Cos Meropis: it had a cognominal town Cos, but originally called Astypalea, mentioned by Homer; with a port locked or walled round, (Scylax, Mel.). The island was fruitful, and yielded a generous wine, (Strabo). It boasted of Hippocrates and Apelles; each at the head of his several profession. It was the country of Philetas, an excellent elegiac poet, who flourished in the time of Philip and Alexander; the preceptor of Ptolemy Philadelphus: so thin and light that he was obliged to wear lead to prevent the being blown away by a puff of wind (Aelian, Athenus); much commended by Propertius. The vestes Coae, made of silk, were famous for their fineness and colour, (Horace, Propertius, Tibullus). In the suburbs of Cos stood the temple of Ascalapius, a noble structure, and extremely rich.