[1] If this be the proper translation of Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae, x. 12., 9, “... simulacrum columbae e ligno ... factum; ita erat scilicet libramentis suspensum et aura spiritus inclusa atque occulta concitum.” (See [Aeronautics].)
ARCIS-SUR-AUBE, a town of eastern France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Aube, on the left bank of the Aube, 23 m. N. of Troyes on the Eastern railway to Châlons-sur-Marne. Pop. (1906) 2803. Fires in 1719, 1727 and 1814 destroyed the ancient buildings, and it is now a town built in modern style with wide and regular streets. A château of the 18th century occupies the site of an older one in which Diana of Poitiers, mistress of Henry II., resided. The only other building of interest is the church, which dates from the 15th century. In front of it there is a statue of Danton, a native of the town. Arcis-sur-Aube has a tribunal of first instance. Its industries include important hosiery manufactures, and it carries on trade in grain and coal. The town communicates with Paris by means of the Aube, which becomes navigable at this point.
A battle was fought here on the 20th and 21st of March 1814 between Napoleon and the Austro-Russian army under Schwarzenberg (see [Napoleonic Campaigns]).
ARCOLA, a village of northern Italy, 16 m. E.S.E. of Verona, on the Alpone stream, near its confluence with the Adige below Verona. The village gives its name to the three days’ battle of Arcola (15th, 16th and 17th of November 1796), in which the French, under General Napoleon Bonaparte, defeated the Austrians commanded by Allvintzy (see [French Revolutionary Wars]).
ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA, a town of southern Spain, in the province of Cadiz; on the right bank of the river Guadalete, which flows past Santa Maria into the Bay of Cadiz. Pop. (1900) 13,926. The town occupies a ridge of sandstone, washed on three sides by the river, and commanding fine views of the lofty peak of San Cristobál, on the east, and the fertile Guadalete valley, celebrated in ancient Spanish ballads for its horses. At the highest point of the ridge is a Gothic church with a fine gateway, and a modern tower overlooking the town. The fame of its ten bells dates from the wars between Spaniards and Moors in which “Arcos of the Frontier” received its name. After its capture by Alphonso the Wise of Castile (1252-1284), the town was a Christian stronghold on the borders of Moorish territory. Another church contains several Moorish banners, taken in 1483 at the battle of Záhara, a neighbouring village. The ruined citadel, the theatre, and the palace of the dukes of Arcos are the only other noteworthy buildings. Roman remains have been found in the vicinity, and the ridge of Arcos is honeycombed with rock-hewn chambers, said to be ancient cave-dwellings.
See Galeria de Arcobricenses illustres (Arcos, 1892), and Riqueza y cultura de Arcos de la Frontera (Arcos, 1898); both by M. Mancheño y Olivares.