a very ancient town in the south of Cyprus, (Strabo, Ptolemy;) so called, from Amathus the founder; or, according to others, from Amath, a Phoenician town sacred to Venus, with a very ancient temple of Adonis and Venus; and hence Venus is denominated Amathysa, (Tacitus.) According to Ovid, it was a place rich in copper-ore, and where the inhabitants became Cerastes, or horned. Now called Limisso.

(Jofephus,) a town of the tribe of Gad, beyond Jordan; but whether at a greater or less distance from it, is not so easy to determine. Eusebius places it in the Lower Persea; Reland, in Ramoth-Gilead; Gabinius, proconsul of Syria, established five juridical conventions in Judea; two of which were on the other side Jordan; one at Gadara, the other at Amathus, (Jofephus.)