A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

MELA. MELA. 101l
A. D. 66. To save a part for his family, Mela be- a short prooemium, in which he dwells upon the
queathed. to Tigellinus and his son-in-law, Cossu- importance and the difficulties of the undertaking,
tianus Capito [CAPITol, a large portion of his and states the manner in which he proposes to
wealth. Codicils, believedhowever to be spurious, execute his task, he proceeds to define the cardinal
were annexed to Mela's will, accusing Anicius points, and to explain the division of the world
Cerialis [CERIALtS ] and Rufius Crispinus [CRIs- into two hemispheres and five zones. The northern
PINUS] of participation in Piso's plot. The char- hemisphere is that portion of the earth which is
acter and studies of Mela are agreeably sketched known, and is separated by the impassable torrid
by the elder Seneca in the prooemium to his 2d zone from the, southern hemisphere, which is
book of C(ontroversiae, which book is also especially altogether unknown, and is the abode of the
addressed to Mela. (Tac. Ann. xvi. 17; Dion Cass. Anticthones. The northern or known hemisphere
lxii. 25; Sen. Controv. ii. v. prooem., Cons. ad is completely surrounded by the ocean, which comHelv. xvi.) [W. B. D.] municates with the four great seas: one on the
MELA, FA'BIUS, a Roman jurist, who is often north, the Caspian; two on the south, the Persian
cited in the Digest; but there is-no excerpt from and the Arabian; one on the west, the Mediterhis writings there. The fact that he is cited by ranean, with. its subdivisions of'the Hellespont,
Africanus (Dig. 46. tit. 3. s. 39, and 50. tit. 16. s. the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus, the Euxine,
207) shows that he was at least his contemporary. the Cimmerian Bosporus, and the Palus Maeotis.
But it may be collected from another passage (Dig. By this sea and the two great rivers, the Tanais
9. tit. 2. s. 11) that he was prior to Proculus, or and Nile, the whole of the northern hemisphere is
at least his contemporary; for in that passage U1- portioned out into three great divisions. All to
pian cites Mela before Proculus. In another pas- the north of the Mediterranean and the west of
sage Ulpian (Dig. 19. tit. 1. s. 17) cites Mela as the Tanais constitute Europe; all to the south of
the authority for an opinion of Gallus Aquilius the Mediterranean and the west of the Nile conwho was a friend of Cicero, and praetor B.C. 66; stitute Africa; what remains is Asia. Next
and again (Dig. 19. tit. 9. s. 3) as authority for an follows a brief general description of the three conopinion of Servius Sulpicius. He is often cited in tinents, and an enumeration of the chief tribes by
connection with Labeo and Trebatius. As Afri- which they are inhabited. These preliminaries
canus wrote under Hadrian, who died A. D. 138, being discussed, the author enters upon more miand in the reign of Pius, the successor of Hadrian, nute details, and makes a complete circuit of the
we cannot with certainty fix the period of Mela as known world, tracing first the coast of the Mediearlier than that of Antoninus Pius; but from the terranean and the shores of the ocean. Thus comother citations.here mentioned it has been inferred mencing at the straits of Hercules with Mauritania,
that he was a contemporary of Labeo and Treba- he passes on in regular order to Numidia, Africa
tius. We are not acquainted with the title of Proper, the Cyrenaica, Egypt, Arabia, Syria,
any of Mela's writings, though he wrote at least Phoenicia, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lycia, Caria, Ionia,
ten books about something. (Dig. 46. tit. 3. s. Aeolis, Bithynia, Paphlagonia, the Asiatic nations
39.) [G. L.] on the Euxine and the Palus Maeotis, European
MELA, POMPO'NIUS, the first Roman au- Scythia, Thrace, Macedonia, Greece, the Peloponthor who composed a formal treatise upon Geo- nesus, Epirus, Illyricum, Italy from the head -of
graphy. From one passage in his work (ii. 6. ~ 74) the Adriatic round by Magna -Graecia to the Liguwe learn that he was born at a town situated on rian Gulf, Gallia. Narbonnensis, and the eastern
the bay of Algesiras, and the name of the place coast of Spain. (Hispaniae ora citerior.) The
seems to have been Tingentera or Cingentera; but tour of the Mediterranean being now completed, a
the text is here so corrupt, that it is impossible to chapter is devoted to its islands. Passing beyond
speak with certainty. From a second passage (iii. the Straits, we stretch along the western coast of
6. ~ 25, comp. Sueton. Claud. 17) it is highly pro- Spain (Hispaniae ora exterior), the western coast
bable that he flourished under the emperor Clau- of Gaul (Galliae ora exterior), the islands of the
diuns; but at all events it is certain that he must Northern Ocean, Germany, Sannatia, the shores
have written after the campaigns of Augustus in of the Caspian, the Eastern Ocean and India, the
Spain, for he speaks of the ancient Jol as having, Mare, Rubrum'and its two gulfs, the Persian and
been ennobled by the appellation of Caesareia (i. 6. Arabian, Aethiopia, and those portions of Aethiopia
5~ ), and mentions two towns in the country of and Mauritania bordering upon the Atlantic, which
the Cantabri whichhad been named after their con- brings him round to the point from which he
queror. Beyond these particulars our knowledge started. It will be seen from the above sketch
does not extend. Funccius indeed conjectures that the existence of the northern countries of Euthat the designation Pomponius was acquired by rope and of the northern' and eastern countries of
adoption, and that he is in reality the L. Annaeus Asia were unknown, it being supposed that these
Mela of Corduba, who was the son of Seneca the regions formed part of the. ocean, which, in like
rhetorician-the brother of Seneca the philosopher, manner, was supposed to occupy the whole of
and of Junius Gallio - and the father of the poet Central and Southern Africa.
Lucan; but there appears to be no evidence in As might be expected in a tract which consists
favour of' this hypothesis beyond the bare facts chiefly of proper' names, the text is often excesthat both of these personages were Spaniards, and sively and hopelessly currupt, but the style is
that.both bore the surname of Mela. (Senec. simple, unaffected, and perspicuous; the Latinity
Controv. lib. ii. praef.; Tac. Ann. xvi. 17; Hieron. is pure; all the best authorities accessible at that
in Ciron. Euseb. Olymp. ccxi.; comp. Plin. H. N. period, especially Eratosthenes, appear to have
xix. 33, who, probably by mistake, wrote Tiberio been carefully consulted; and although everything
for Nerone.) is compressed within the narrowest limits, we find
The title prefixed to the Compendium of Mela the monotony of the catalogue occasionally diyersiin the best MSS. is De Situ Or-bis Libri III. After fled by animated and pleasing..pictures.
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