Note 880 — Chapter I

Near old Kosseir; the “Veneris Portus” of Pliny. It was founded by Ptolemy Philadelphus, B. C. 274. The Greek name may signify, “Harbour of the Mouse,” but more probably it means the “Harbour of the Mussel,” (μύειν, to close, e. g. the shell,) since on the neighbouring coast the pearl-mussel is collected in large quantities. It is uncertain whether the ruins at the village of Abuschaar, represent the site of the ancient Myos Hormus. See Smith’s Dict., art. Myos Hormus