Pons Ælius, was built by the emperor Adrian at Rome. It was the second bridge of Rome in following the current of the Tiber. It is still to be seen, the largest and most beautiful in Rome.——Æmylius, an ancient bridge at Rome, originally called Sublicius, because built with wood (sublicæ). It was raised by Ancus Martius, and dedicated with great pomp and solemnity by the Roman priests. It was rebuilt with stones by Æmylius Lepidus, whose name it assumed. It was much injured by the overflowing of the river, and the emperor Antoninus, who repaired it, made it all with white marble. It was the last of all the bridges of Rome, in following the course of the river, and some vestiges of it may still be seen.——Aniensis was built across the river Anio, about three miles from Rome. It was rebuilt by the eunuch Narses, and called after him when destroyed by the Goths.——Cestus was built in the reign of Tiberius, by a Roman called Cestius Gallus, from whom it received its name, and carried back from an island of the Tiber, to which the Fabricius conducted.——Aurelianus was built with marble by the emperor [♦]Antoninus.——Armoniensis was built by Augustus, to join the Flaminian to the Æmylian road.——Bajanus was built at Baiæ in the sea by Caligula. It was supported by boats, and measured about six miles in length.——Janicularis received its name from its vicinity to mount Janiculum. It is still standing.——Milvius was about one mile from Rome. It was built by the censor Ælius Scaurus. It was near it that Constantine defeated Maxentius.——Fabricius was built by Fabricius, and carried to an island of the Tiber.——Gardius was built by Agrippa.——Palatinus, near mount Palatine, was also called Senatorius, because the senators walked over it in procession when they went to consult the Sibylline books. It was begun by Marcus Fulvius, and finished in the censorship of Lucius Mummius, and some remains of it are still visible.——Trajani was built by Trajan across the Danube, celebrated for its bigness and magnificence. The emperor built it to assist more expeditiously the provinces against the barbarians, but his successor destroyed it, as he supposed that it would be rather an inducement for the barbarians to invade the empire. It was raised on 20 piers of hewn stones, 150 feet from the foundation, 60 feet broad, and 170 feet distant one from the other, extending in length above a mile. Some of the pillars are still standing.——Another was built by Trajan over the Tagus, part of which still remains. Of temporary bridges, that of Cæsar over the Rhine was the most famous.——The largest single-arched bridge known is over the river Elaver in France, called Pons Veteris Brivatis. The pillars stand on two rocks, at the distance of 195 feet. The arch is 84 feet high above the water.——Suffragiorum was built in the Campus Martius, and received its name, because the populace were obliged to pass over it whenever they delivered their suffrages at the elections of magistrates and officers of the state.——Tirensis, a bridge of Latium between Arpinum and Minturnæ.——Triumphalis was on the way to the capitol, and passed over by those who triumphed.——Narniensis joined two mountains near Narnia, built by Augustus, of stupendous height, 60 miles from Rome; one arch of it remains, about 100 feet high.
[♦] ‘Antonnius’ replaced with ‘Antoninus’
Pontia, a Roman matron who committed adultery with Sagitta, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 12.——A mother infamous for her cruelty. Martial, bk. 1, ltr. 34.——A surname of Venus at Hermione. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 34.——A woman condemned by Nero as guilty of a conspiracy. She killed herself by opening her veins. She was daughter of Petronius and wife of Bolanus. Juvenal, satire 6, li. 637.——An island in the Tyrrhene sea, where Pilate, surnamed Pontius, is supposed to have lived. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 6.—Ptolemy, bk. 3, ch. 1. See: [Œnotrides].
Pontĭcum mare, the sea of Pontus, generally called the Euxine.
Pontīcus, a poet of Rome, contemporary with Propertius, by whom he is compared to Homer. He wrote an account of the Theban war in heroic verse. Propertius, bk. 1, poem 7.——A man in Juvenal’s age, fond of boasting of the antiquity and great actions of his family, yet without possessing himself one single virtue.
Pontīna, or Pomptina lacus, a lake in the country of the Volsci, through which the great Appian road passed. Travellers were sometimes conveyed in a boat, drawn by a mule, in the canal that ran along the road from Forum Appii to Tarracina. This lake is now become so dangerous, from the exhalations of its stagnant water, that travellers avoid passing near it. Horace, bk. 1, satire 5, li. 9.—Lucan, bk. 3, li. 85.
Pontīnus, a friend of Cicero.——A tribune of the people, who refused to rise up when Cæsar passed in triumphal procession. He was one of Cæsar’s murderers, and was killed at the battle of Mutina. Suetonius, Cæsar, ch. 78.—Cicero, bk. 10, Letters to his Friends.——A mountain of Argolis, with a river of the same name. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 73.
Pontius Aufidianus, a Roman citizen, who, upon hearing that violence had been offered to his daughter, punished her and her ravisher with death. Valerius Maximus, bk. 6, ch. 1.——Herennius, a general of the Samnites, who surrounded the Roman army under the consuls Titus Veturius and Publius Posthumius. As there was no possibility of escaping for the Romans, Pontius consulted his father what he could do with an army that were prisoners in his hands. The old man advised him either to let them go untouched, or put them all to the sword. Pontius rejected his father’s advice, and spared the lives of the enemy, after he had obliged them to pass under the yoke with the greatest ignominy. He was afterwards conquered, and obliged, in his turn, to pass under the yoke. Fabius Maximus defeated him, when he appeared again at the head of another army, and he was afterwards shamefully put to death by the Romans, after he had adorned the triumph of the conqueror. Livy, bk. 9, ch. 1, &c.——Cominius, a Roman who gave information to his countrymen who were besieged in the capitol, that Camillus had obtained a victory over the Gauls. Plutarch.——A Roman slave who told Sylla, in a prophetic strain, that he brought him success from Bellona.——One of the favourites of Albucilla. He was degraded from the rank of a senator. Tacitus.——Titus, a Roman centurion, whom Cicero de Senectute mentions as possessed of uncommon strength.
Pontus, a kingdom of Asia Minor, bounded on the east by Colchis, west by the Halys, north by the Euxine sea, and south by part of Armenia. It was divided into three parts, according to Ptolemy; Pontus Galaticus, of which Amasia was the capital, Pontus Polemoniacus, from its chief town Polemonium, and Pontus Cappadocius, of which Trapezus was the capital. It was governed by kings, the first of whom was Artabazes, either one of the seven Persian noblemen who murdered the usurper Smerdis, or one of their descendants. The kingdom of Pontus was in its most flourishing state under Mithridates the Great. When Julius Cæsar had conquered it, it became a Roman province, though it was often governed by monarchs who were tributary to the power of Rome. Under the emperors a regular governor was always appointed over it. Pontus produced castors, whose testicles were highly valued among the ancients for their salutary qualities in medicinal processes. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 1, li. 58.—Mela, bk. 1, chs. 1 & 19.—Strabo, bk. 12.—Cicero, De Legibus.—Manitius.—Appian.—Ptolemy, bk. 5, ch. 6.——A part of Mysia in Europe, on the borders of the Euxine sea, where Ovid was banished, and from whence he wrote his four books of epistles ex Ponto, and his six books de Tristibus. Ovid, ex Ponto.——An ancient deity, father of Phorcys, Thaumas, Nereus, Eurybia, and Ceto by Terra. He is the same as Oceanus. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 2.
Pontus Euxīnus, a celebrated sea, situate at the west of Colchis between Asia and Europe, at the north of Asia Minor. It is called the Black sea by the moderns. See: [Euxinus].