MEDITERRANEAN SEA

MEDITERRANEAN SEA (Mare Internum), the great inland sea which separates Europe from Africa, and washes the shores of the three continents of the old world, extends from the Straits of Gibraltar, where it communicates with the Atlantic, to the coast of Syria, and lies between 30. and 46. N. Lat., and between 6. W. and 36. E. Long., having a total length of about 2300 miles, and a breadth varying from 1100 or 1200 to about 80 between Cape Bon and Sicily, supposing the latter to be a part of the European continent. The modern name of the sea, derived from its land-locked position, was not used by the ancients. The Romans called it Mare Internum or Mare Nostrum, and its various parts had separate names, such as the Egean, the Ionian, &c. By the Arabians it was known as Bahr-Rám, or the Roman Sea. In the present day it is known to British sailors as the Straits; and the modern Greeks designate it the White Sea, in contrast to the Black Sea. The shores of the Mediterranean are as varied in character and outline as the countries which it washes. At its entrance stands the steep and lofty rock of Gibraltar on the European side, and that of Ceuta on the African, forming the pillars of Hercules, so famous in the ancient classics. The Spanish coast is low and fertile, with a great variety of mountains and plains in the background. It is irregular in outline, and has numerous harbours. Between France and Spain, the Pyrenees, with their high peaks, extend as far as the sea, and terminate in the bold headlands of Capes Norfeo and Creux. The coast of France is low, flat, and marshy, bearing marks of the sea having retreated considerably; but from the Bay of Hyères eastward it is of a more elevated nature. This character is continued along the shore of the Gulf of Genoa, where the sea is bounded by a steep, rocky coast, backed by the lofty mountains of the Apennines, among the recesses of which lie numerous fertile valleys. Very different in character is the W. coast of Italy, from Tuscany southwards to the confines of Naples. The whole of this region, which is known by the name of Maremma, consists of low pestilential swamps, terminating with the Pontine Marshes. The coast of Naples is remarkable for the beauty of its scenery, presenting a bold appearance and an outline much indented with gulfs and bays. To the E. of the Italian Peninsula, the Adriatic, an arm of the Mediterranean, stretches deep into the continent, and its two coasts present a remarkable contrast in nature and aspect. The western shore is low and shelving, with few harbours; while the eastern is bold and rocky, skirted with numerous islands, and containing many safe and excellent stations for anchorage. The coast of Albania, from Valona southwards, is skirted by the rugged and lofty range called Khemára, the Acroceraunian Mountains, so much dreaded by the ancient

seamen. The classic shores of Greece, which are washed by the Mediterranean, present an irregular outline, with numerous mountain ridges descending to the sea, and forming large bays, behind which lie fertile valleys retiring among the mountains. The E. coast of Thessaly is skirted by the three famous mountains, Pelion, Ossa, and Olympus; and the N. and E. shores of the Archipelago present in general a bold and irregular outline. The N. shore of the Levant has also many bays and harbours; and, not far inland, rise lofty mountains, forming part of the snowy range of Taurus. The Syrian coast presents a very varied appearance, being in some places mountainous, but in others low and flat. The Egyptian coast is low and sandy; and a similar tract of country extends along the African shore of the Mediterranean as far as Raser-Tyn, where there is a mountainous district containing the site of the ancient Cyrene. Further to the W. are situated the Syrtes, which, though a source of terror to the ancients, have been ascertained by modern investigators to be by no means so difficult and dangerous of navigation as had been supposed. The coasts of Tunis are fertile and well cultivated, with numerous bays and harbours; and that of Algeria is remarkable for the beauty of its scenery and the fertility of its soil. The same general character belongs to the coast of Morocco, which extends from the borders of Algeria past the Straits of Gibraltar. A remarkable contrast is observable between the European and African shores of the Mediterranean; the former being irregular and much indented, whereas the latter are comparatively straight and uniform. The same difference, however, may be observed in general between the outlines of the two continents; and to this we may ascribe in some measure their different destinies, and the higher degree of civilization that has been attained by the European nations. The Mediterranean contains a great number of islands, of which the largest, arranged in the order of their size, are Sicily, Sardinia, Crete, Cyprus, Negropont (the ancient Euboea), and Corsica; besides many of smaller size, lying singly or in groups, such as the Balearic, the Ionian islands, and those of the Archipelago. In several parts of the Mediterranean shores there are proofs of a change in the coast-line; and it has been a favourite theory that this sea, formerly a great lake, was brought into its present condition by the bursting of the barrier at Gibraltar from a violent rush of water either from E. or W. This opinion, however, has no greater authority than is due to a mere conjecture of more or less probability. The Mediterranean is divided into two well-marked basins. The western extends from Gibraltar to the narrow channel between Sicily and Tunis; while the eastern, comprising the Levant basin, with the Adriatic and Archipelago, extends from the coast of Tunis to that of Syria and Turkey in Europe, and is about twice the size of the other. Altogether, its area may amount to about 800,000 square miles. Its depth is in general very great, and in many parts as yet unfathomed; but between the E. and W. basins there is a remarkable belt of shallow water, showing that there is a sort of submarine elevation in this part between Europe and Africa. Soundings of no great depth were obtained all the way from Sicily to Tunis by Admiral Smyth; and the Adventure Bank, discovered by that navigator, forms a marked feature of this region, along with the Skerki Rocks, probably the same as those mentioned by Virgil as "saxa latentia:"—

"Saxa, vocant Itali medius quam in fluctibus Aras."

In regard to the water of the Mediterranean there are several circumstances worthy of notice. It has been concluded, both from chemical analysis and from the observed facility with which salt is obtained from it, that the proportion of saline ingredients is greater here than in the ocean; and the ratio between the quantity of salt in the Mediter-

Mediterranean Sea.

ranean and the Atlantic respectively has been determined by M. Bouillon la Grange, after a series of experiments, to be 41 to 38. The phosphorescent brilliance of this sea is now known to be produced by noctilucent animalcula, but it is not peculiar to the Mediterranean. The prevailing colour of the water is a deep blue; but in the Adriatic it is of a greenish hue, and towards the E. it approaches purple.

The Mediterranean receives many large rivers both from Europe and Africa, of which the most considerable are the Ebro, Rhone, Po, and Nile. And, in addition to the rivers by which it is fed, it derives a considerable supply of water from the strong current which always sets in from the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora through the Dardanelles, and also from the current which sets in from the Atlantic through the Straits of Gibraltar. But as its level continues unchanged, it would seem that the water entering it is not more than sufficient to supply the waste occasioned by evaporation. Some indeed have supposed that there is an under-current setting outward through the Straits of Gibraltar; but this opinion does not seem to rest on solid and trustworthy evidence. A calculation made by Halley of the quantity of water removed by evaporation showed it to be sufficiently great to preserve the level; but, according to Smyth, the grounds for this theory are insufficient and incorrect. But, however it may be accounted for, there can be no doubt of the fact, that the system of compensation is accurately adjusted between the water coming in and going out. The principal current of the Mediterranean flows to the E., from the Atlantic, along the African coast, till it reaches the coast of Syria and Asia Minor, when it returns westward along the northern shores of the sea. In the middle of the Mediterranean, between Sicily and Africa, the currents are very irregular, varying according to the changes of the wind and weather. In the Adriatic the current runs up the Dalmatian and down the Italian shore with considerable steadiness. In the Archipelago the prevailing direction is from the N.E., caused by the water of the "Pontic Sea"—

"Whose icy current and compulsive course
Ne'er feels retiring ebb, but keeps due on
To the Proponit and the Hellespont."

The Mediterranean is subject to tides, though these are very inconsiderable in comparison with other seas, and very irregular in their motions. This fact, however, cannot be taken as any objection against the true theory of tides discovered by Newton; the weakness of those in this sea being a necessary consequence of its comparatively small extent, and of the narrowness and position of its communication with the ocean, which render it impossible for the level at any part to be considerably raised by the influx of water through a passage which is narrow and in a direction opposite to the course of the great tidal wave of the world.

The prevailing winds in the Mediterranean are those which blow from N. and W.; but in the spring months S.E. and S.W. breezes are most frequent. Among the most remarkable winds in this sea is the mistral, a cold wind which comes from the snows of the Alps, and rushes southward, over Provence and the valley of the Rhone, to the sea, blowing with great violence and impetuosity, and forming one of the scourges of Provence. Of a very different character is the much-dreaded scirocco, a hot wind blowing from the S.E. over the sultry deserts of Africa. This blast is felt on the S. coast of Sicily; but having passed over a large extent of water, it is not so oppressive there as when it has again become heated by traversing the island; and it is especially felt at Palermo on the N. coast. Another wind, very dangerous to ships, is the bora; which, like the ancient boreas, whence it derives its name, is a N.

or N.E. breeze. It is frequently accompanied with thunder, lightning, and rain; and sometimes lasts as long as three days, though its usual duration is fifteen or twenty hours. Water-spouts are of frequent occurrence in the Mediterranean, and are much dreaded or at least carefully avoided, by cautious navigators. They are believed to be the result of the rotatory motion produced in the atmosphere by whirlwinds, with the addition of the electricity of the air. Electrical phenomena are common in this sea; and one of the most remarkable and famous of these appearances consists of the balls of fire which play round the masts and rigging of ships, called by the ancients Castor and Pollux, and by the modern seamen of the Mediterranean, Corpo Santo, or St Elmo's fire. These meteors are harmless; but when only a single ball appears it is believed to be a bad omen. (See The Mediterranean: A Memoir, Physical, Historical, and Nautical, by Rear-Admiral William Henry Smyth, K.S.F., D.C.L., London, 1854.)

The Mediterranean is the theatre of a very extensive trade. Many large commercial cities, such as Barcelona, Marseilles, Genoa, Leghorn, Naples, Palermo, Venice, Trieste, Syra, Smyrna, Alexandria, and perhaps we may add Constantinople, are built on its shores; and there can be no doubt that its trade will increase with the increasing civilization of the extensive countries round the Black Sea and its eastern shore, and the opening (which cannot be long delayed) of the old route to India through Egypt. In the meantime we take leave to subjoin, in illustration of what has now been stated, the following account of the exports from Great Britain to the Mediterranean previously to the interruption occasioned by the Russian war, and in 1856:—

Account of the Declared Value of the Exports of British Produce and Manufactures to the several Countries and Territories (exclusive of France and Spain) bordering on the Mediterranean and Black Sea, in the years 1849, 1850, and 1856.

The Mediterranean is interesting, not only from its geographical and physical character, but from the associations which connect it with the history, and the influence which it has exerted on the trade, condition, and prosperity of mankind in general, and especially of the nations situated along its shores. Adam Smith has shown how well it was fitted to promote the early commerce and navigation of the ancient world; while the riches and prosperity of the nations by whom it was navigated, and their intercourse with each other, increased their knowledge and enlarged their minds. Thus the Mediterranean became a most important

Medoc
Meerman.

means of the civilization of the ancients; and even the great development of literature, poetry, and philosophy, for which these nations were distinguished, may be believed to have had some connection with these circumstances, when we remember that the Phœnicians, the earliest commercial people in the world, had the reputation of being the inventors of letters; that the father of verse as well as the father of history in Greece had evidently travelled much on the shores of the Mediterranean; and that the birthplace of Greek philosophy was in the Asiatic colonies, which were distinguished also for trade and seafaring activity. However this may be, it is certain that the most civilized of ancient nations dwelt along the Mediterranean: Egypt, Phœnicia, Greece, Carthage, Rome, each in turn, played their part in history; and if in modern times this sea is no longer the seat of the world's masters, it is partly because new regions and a wider sphere having been opened mankind have quitted this, the cradle as it were of their young energies; and partly also because a great part of the shores of the Mediterranean have been long subject to the blighting and disastrous influence of the Turkish sway.