Ponte de Lima

The hydronym Lima —⁠Galician and Latin Limia⁠— belongs to the pre-Roman, probably Celtic stratum, from a root lim- of opaque meaning (some onomasts propose 'limen, boundary'; others, 'slow flow'). The Roman legend, narrated by Strabo and Appian, identified the river with the Greek Lethe of the underworld: the legions of Decimus Junius Brutus refused to cross it in 137 BC, fearing they would lose their memories. The general crossed alone, reached the other bank, and from there called each soldier by name, proving his memory was intact. The host then crossed without fear, and the episode earned Brutus the cognomen Callaicus. The modern name Ponte de Lima records the medieval twenty-four-arch bridge over the river that still bears its pre-Roman name —⁠Roman mythology, despite Strabo's solemnity, did not manage to change it.