ALGIDUS
Italy.
The N and E parts of the
outer crater of the Alban Hills from the borders of Tusculum to those of Velitrae. It was traditionally cold and
heavily forested with oak and ilex. A number of peaks
can be distinguished, but perhaps none was singled out as
Algidus Mons; if one was, it is likely to have been the
modern Monte Artemisio, since Diana is known to have
had a sanctuary on Algidus (Hor.
Carm. 1.21.6;
Carm.
Saec. 69). A Temple of Fortuna is also mentioned (
Livy
21.62.8). The pass of Algidus (still called Cava dell'Aglio), through which the Via Latina went, was strategically important in Rome's wars with the Aequi in the
5th c. There seems never to have been a town here; under
the Empire it was known for its pleasant summer houses
(Stat.
Silv. 4.4.16; Mart. 10.30.6).
L. RICHARDSON JR