POESTUM, or POSIDONIA, an ancient city of Grecia Magna, now part of the kingdom of Naples. It was founded by one of those colonies from Greece which in the early ages established themselves in Italy; and it flourished before the foundation of Rome itself. It was destroyed by the Goths on the decline of the Roman empire, who in their barbarous zeal for the Christian religion overturned every place of Pagan worship which was exposed to their ravages. Since that time it has been in ruins; and these ruins were unknown till they were discovered in the following manner: "In the year 1755 (says the author of the Antiquities, History, and Views of Poestum), an apprentice to a painter at Naples, who was on a visit to his friends at Capaccio, by accident took a walk to the mountains which surround the territory of Poestum. The only habitation he perceived was the cottage of a farmer, who cultivated the best part of the ground, and reserved the rest for pasture. The ruins of the ancient city made a part of this view, and particularly struck the eyes of the young painter; who, approaching nearer, saw with astonishment walls, towers, gates, and temples. Upon his return to Capaccio, he consulted the neighbouring people about the origin of these monuments of antiquity. He could only learn, that this part of the country had been uncultivated and abandoned during their memory; that about ten years before, the farmer, whose habitation he had noticed, established himself there; and that having dug in many places and searched among the ruins that lay round him, he had found treasures sufficient to enable him to purchase the whole. At the painter's return to Naples, he informed his master of these particulars, whose curiosity was so greatly excited by the description, that he took a journey to the place, and made drawings of the principal views. These were shown to the king of Naples, who ordered the ruins to be cleared, and Poestum arose from the obscurity in which it had remained for upwards of 700 years, as little known to the neighbouring inhabitants as to travellers."
Our author gives the following description of it in
its present state. It is, fays he, of an oblong figure, about two miles and a half in circumference. It has four gates, which are oppofite to each other. On the key-ftone of the arch of the north gate, on the outfide, is the figure of Neptune in baffo relievo, and within a hippocampus. The walls which ftill remain are compofed of very large cubical ftones, and are extremely thick, in fome parts 18 feet. That the walls have remained unto this time is owing to the very exact manner in which the ftones are fitted to one another (a circumftance obferved univerfally in the masonry of the ancients), and perhaps in fome meafure to a ftalactical concretion which has grown over them. On the walls here and there are placed towers of different heights; thofe near the gates being much higher and larger than the others, and evidently of modern workmanfhip. He obferves, that, from its fituation among marshes, bituminous and fulphureous fprings, Poeftum muft have been unwholefome; a circumftance mentioned by Strabo, Morbofam eam facit fluviis in paludes diffufus. In fuch a fituation the water muft have been bad. Hence the inhabitants were obliged to convey that neceffary of life from purer fprings by means of aqueducts, of which many veftiges ftill remain.
The principal monuments of antiquity are a theatre, an amphitheatre, and three temples. The theatre and amphitheatre are much ruined. The firft temple is hexaftylos, and amphiproftylos. At one end, the pillars and two columns which divided the cella from the pronaos are ftill remaining. Within the cella are two rows of fmall columns, with an architrave, which fupport the fecond order. This temple our author takes to be
of that kind called by Vitruvius hypathros, and fupports his opinion by a quotation from that author. The fecond temple is alfo amphiproftylos: it has nine columns in front and 18 in flank, and feems to be of that kind called by Vitruvius pseudodipteros. The third is likewife amphiproftylos. It has fix columns in front and 13 in flank. Vitruvius calls this kind of temple peripteros. "The columns of thefe temples (fays our author) are of that kind of Doric order which we find employed in works of the greateft antiquity. They are hardly five diameters in height. They are without bafes, which alfo has been urged as a proof of their antiquity; but we do not find that the ancients ever ufed bafes to this order, at leaft till very late. Vitruvius makes no mention of bafes for this order: and the only inftance we have of it is in the firft order of the colifeum at Rome, which was built by Vefpafian. The pillars of thefe temples are fluted with very fhallow fluting in the manner defcribed by Vitruvius. The columns diminifh from the bottom, which was the moft ancient method almoft univerfally in all the orders. The columns have aftragals of a very fingular form; which fhows the error of thofe who imagine that this member was firft invented with the Ionic order, to which the Greeks gave an aftragal, and that the Romans were the firft who applied it to the Doric. The echinus of the capitol is of the fame form with that of the temple of Corinth defcribed by Le Roy." See Swinburne's Travels in the Two Sicilies, vol. ii. p. 131—140.