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Lixus,
Roman ruins
"Gezira
[Lixus] is an island in the delta of Luccus, 10 miles from the Ocean.
There once was an ancient small town on this island, but it was abandoned
in the early days of the war with the Portuguese. In 894 [1489], the
King of Portugal sent ships who came up the river. The Portuguese captain
chose this island to build a fort which he hoped to attack the neighboring
lands from. The Sultan of Des, a father to the current Sultan, saw the
danger coming, and sent an army to stop the Portuguese from completing
their work. But this army could not get close to the island, due to
incessant shots coming from its heights. The Sultan was distressed.
However, listening to his advisors, he ordered his army to build wooden
rafts and place them across the river, 2 miles down-river from the island.
By cutting down a great many trees they blocked the river, and the Portuguese
realized they would not be able to sail out.
The
Sultan was certain he would win in battle, but he decided against it,
so to spare the life of his men. So he negotiated with the Captain of
the Portuguese, who agreed to pay a great sum, and to use his influence
to free the daughters of the Captain of Fes, who had been brought to
Portugal. The captain and his men were then allowed to sail back home,
freely." (259)
When
describing Lixus, and the 'island' it is built on (no longer an island
today, as the river does not wrap around it as it must have in Leo's days),
Leo does not mention the legend it is so often associated with: Hercules's
combat with the Giant Anteus.
Hercules' eleventh labor was to fetch fruit from the Golden Apple tree
in a garden on the slopes of Atlas, "the garden of the Hesperides",
Atlas' daughters.
Hercules had been advised not to pluck the apples himself, but to employ
Atlas as his agent, meanwhile relieving him of the burden of carrying
the globe. Atlas was glad to undertake any task for an hour's respite,
and Hercules took the globe while Atlas went into the garden and returned
with three apples plucked by his daughters.
Atlas was not too eager to recuperate his charge and told Hercules that
he would carry these apples to their destination, provided Hercules supported
the globe for the next few months. Hercules pretended to agree, asking
Atlas to hold the globe while he put on a hat- and happily walked away
with the apples!
Hercules
crossed Libya on his way home. The Libyan king Anteus, son of Poseidon
and Mother Earth, was in the habit to challenge every stranger to a wrestling
match, which eventually led to their death. Hercules fought Anteus, and
killed him.
"Some say that this conflict took place at Lixus. It is also claimed
that the Gardens of the Hesperides were the nearby island, on which stands
an altar of Hercules; but except for a few wild olive trees, no trace
of the orchard now remains.
It is said locally either that Anteus founded Tangier; or that Sophax,
whom Tinga, Anteus' widow, bore to Hercules, reigned over that country
and gave his mother's name to the city." (From The
Greek Myths, Robert Graves)
For
more on local myth, go here:
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