A classical dictionary containing a copious account of all the proper names mentioned in ancient authors with tables of coins, weights, and measures used among the Greeks and Romans and a chronological table (part 6 of 10)

A classical dictionary containing a copious account of all the proper names mentioned in ancient authors with tables of coins, weights, and measures used among the Greeks and Romans and a chronological table (part 6 of 10)

=Iūlus=, the name of Ascanius the son of Æneas. See: Ascanius. ――――A son of Ascanius, born in Lavinium. In the succession to the kingdom of Alba, Æneas Sylvius the son of Æneas and Lavinia was preferred to him. He was, however, made chief priest. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, li. 271.――――A son of Antony the triumvir and Fulvi. See: Antonius Julius.

=Jūnia lex=, Sacrata, by Lucius Junius Brutus the first tribune of the people, A.U.C. 260. It ordained that the person of the tribune should be held sacred and inviolable; that an appeal might be made from the consuls to the tribunes; and that no senator should be able to exercise the office of a tribune.――――Another, A.U.C. 627, which excluded all foreigners from enjoying the privileges or names of Roman citizens.

=Junia=, a niece of Cato of Utica, who married Cassius, and died 64 years after her husband had killed himself at the battle of Philippi. ――――Calvina, a beautiful Roman lady, accused of incest with her brother Silanus. She was descended from Augustus. She was banished by Claudius, and recalled by Nero. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 4.

=Junius Blæsus=, a proconsul of Africa under the emperors. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 3, ch. 35.――――Lupus, a senator who accused Vitellius of aspiring to the sovereignty, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 12, ch. 42.――――Decimus Silanus, a Roman who committed adultery with Julia the granddaughter of Augustus, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 3, ch. 24.――――Brutus. See: Brutus.

=Jūno=, a celebrated deity among the ancients, daughter of Saturn and Ops. She was sister to Jupiter, Pluto, Neptune, Vesta, Ceres, &c. She was born at Argos, or, according to others, in Samos, and was entrusted to the care of the Seasons, or, as Homer and Ovid mention, to Oceanus and Tethys. Some of the inhabitants of Argolis supposed that she had been brought up by the three daughters of the river Asterion; and the people of Stymphalus, in Arcadia, maintained that she had been educated under the care of Temenus the son of Pelasgus. Juno was devoured by Saturn, according to some mythologists; and according to Apollodorus she was again restored to the world by means of a potion which Metis gave to Saturn, to make him throw up the stone which his wife had given him to swallow instead of Jupiter. See: Saturnus. Jupiter was not insensible to the charms of his sister; and the more powerfully to gain her confidence he changed himself into a cuckoo, and raised a great storm, and made the air unusually chill and cold. Under this form he went to the goddess, all shivering. Juno pitied the cuckoo, and took him into her bosom. When Jupiter had gained these advantages, he resumed his original form, and obtained the gratification of his desires, after he had made a solemn promise of marriage to his sister. The nuptials of Jupiter and Juno were celebrated with the greatest solemnity: the gods, all mankind, and all the brute creation, attended. Chelone, a young woman, was the only one who refused to come, and who derided the ceremony. For this impiety Mercury changed her into a tortoise, and condemned her to perpetual silence; from which circumstance the tortoise has always been used as a symbol of silence among the ancients. By her marriage with Jupiter, Juno became the queen of all the gods, and mistress of heaven and earth. Her conjugal happiness, however, was frequently disturbed by the numerous amours of her husband, and she showed herself jealous and inexorable in the highest degree. Her severity to the mistresses and illegitimate children of her husband was unparalleled. She persecuted Hercules and his descendants with the most inveterate fury; and her resentment against Paris, who had given the golden apple to Venus in preference to herself, was the cause of the Trojan war and of all the miseries which happened to the unfortunate house of Priam. Her severities to Alcmena, Ino, Athamas, Semele, &c., are also well known. Juno had some children by Jupiter. According to Hesiod she was mother of Mars, Hebe, and Ilithyia, or Lucina; and besides these, she brought forth Vulcan, without having any commerce with the other sex, but only by smelling a certain plant. This was in imitation of Jupiter, who had produced Minerva from his brain. According to others, it was not Vulcan, but Mars, or Hebe, whom she brought forth in this manner, and this was after eating some lettuces at the table of Apollo. The daily and repeated debaucheries of Jupiter at last provoked Juno to such a degree, that she retired to Eubœa, and resolved for ever to forsake his bed. Jupiter produced a reconciliation, after he had applied to Cithæron for advice, and after he had obtained forgiveness by fraud and artifice. See: Dædala. This reconciliation, however cordial ♦it might appear, was soon dissolved by new offences; and, to stop the complaints of the jealous Juno, Jupiter had often recourse to violence and blows. He even punished the cruelties which she had exercised upon his son Hercules, by suspending her from the heavens by a golden chain, and tying a heavy anvil to her feet. Vulcan was punished for assisting his mother in this degrading situation, and he was kicked down from heaven by his father, and broke his leg by the fall. This punishment rather irritated than pacified Juno. She resolved to revenge it, and she engaged some of the gods to conspire against Jupiter and to imprison him, but Thetis delivered him from this conspiracy, by bringing to his assistance the famous Briareus. Apollo and Neptune were banished from heaven for joining in the conspiracy, though some attribute their exile to different causes. The worship of Juno was universal, and even more than that of Jupiter, according to some authors. Her sacrifices were offered with the greatest solemnity. She was particularly worshipped at Argos, Samos, Carthage, and afterwards at Rome. The ancients generally offered on her altars a ewe lamb and a sow the first day of every month. No cows were ever immolated to her, because she assumed the nature of that animal when the gods fled into Egypt in their war with the giants. Among the birds, the hawk, the goose, and particularly the peacock, often called Junonia avis [See: Argus], were sacred to her. The dittany, the poppy, and the lily were her favourite flowers. The latter flower was originally of the colour of the crocus; but, when Jupiter placed Hercules to the breasts of Juno while asleep, some of her milk fell down upon earth, and changed the colour of the lilies from purple to a beautiful white. Some of the milk also dropped in that part of the heavens which, from its whiteness, still retains the name of the milky way, lactea via. As Juno’s power was extended over all the gods, she often made use of the goddess Minerva as her messenger, and even had the privilege of hurling the thunder of Jupiter when she pleased. Her temples were numerous, the most famous of which were at Argos, Olympia, &c. At Rome, no woman of debauched character was permitted to enter her temple, or even to touch it. The surnames of Juno are various; they are derived either from the function or things over which she presided, or from the places where her worship was established. She was the queen of the heavens; she protected cleanliness, and presided over marriage and child-birth, and particularly patronized the most faithful and virtuous of the sex, and severely punished incontinence and lewdness in matrons. She was the goddess of all power and empire, and she was also the patroness of riches. She is represented sitting on a throne with a diadem on her head and a golden sceptre in her right hand. Some peacocks generally sat by her, and a cuckoo often perched on her sceptre, while Iris behind her displayed the thousand colours of her beautiful rainbow. She is sometimes carried through the air in a rich chariot drawn by peacocks. The Roman consuls, when they entered upon office, were always obliged to offer her a solemn sacrifice. The Juno of the Romans was called Matrona or Romana. She was generally represented as veiled from head to foot, and the Roman matrons always imitated this manner of dressing themselves, and deemed it indecent in any married woman to leave any part of her body but her face uncovered. She has received the surnames of Olympia, Sarnia, Lacedæmonia, Argiva, Telchinia, Candrena, Rescinthes, Prosymna, Imbrasia, Acrea, Cithæroneia, Bunea, Ammonia, Fluonia, Anthea, Migale, Gemelia, Tropeia, Boopis, Parthenos, Teleia, Xera, Egophage, Hyperchinia, Juga, Ilithyia, Lucina, Pronuba, Caprotina, Mena, Populonia, Lacinia, Sospita, Moneta, Curis, Domiduca, Februa, Opigenia, &c. Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 2.――Pausanias, bk. 2, &c.――Apollodorus, bks. 1, 2, 3. ――Apollonius, bk. 1.――Argon.――Homer, Iliad, bk. 1, &c. ――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, &c.――Herodotus, bks. 1, 2, 4, &c. ――Silius Italicus, bk. 1.――Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1. ――Livy, bks. 23, 24, 27, &c.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, &c.; Fasti, bk. 5.――Plutarch, Quæstiones Romanæ.――Tibullus, bk. 4, poem 13.――Athenæus, bk. 15.――Pliny, bk. 34.

♦ ‘in’ replaced with ‘it’

=Junonālia= and =Junonia=, festivals at Rome in honour of Juno, the same as the Heræa of the Greeks. See: Heræa. Livy, bk. 27, ch. 37.

=Junōnes=, a name of the protecting genii of the women among the Romans. They generally swore by them, as the men by their genii. There were altars often erected to their honour. Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Seneca, ltr. 110.

=Junōnia=, two islands, supposed to be among the Fortunate Islands. ――――A name which Gracchus gave to Carthage, when he went with 6000 Romans to rebuild it.

=Junonigĕna=, a surname of Vulcan, as son of Juno. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, li. 173.

=Junōnis promontorium=, a promontory of Peloponnesus.――――Laciniæ templum, a temple of Juno in Italy, between Crotona and the Lacinian promontory.

=Jūpĭter=, the most powerful of all the gods of the ancients. According to Varro, there were no less than 300 persons of that name; Diodorus mentions two; and Cicero three, two of Arcadia, and one of Crete. To that of Crete, who passed for the son of Saturn and Ops, the actions of the rest have been attributed. According to the opinion of the mythologists, Jupiter was saved from destruction by his mother, and entrusted to the care of the Corybantes. Saturn, who had received the kingdom of the world from his brother Titan, on condition of not raising male children, devoured all his sons as soon as born; but Ops, offended at her husband’s cruelty, secreted Jupiter, and gave a stone to Saturn, which he devoured on the supposition that it was a male child. Jupiter was educated in a cave on mount Ida, in Crete, and fed upon the milk of the goat Amalthæa, or upon honey, according to others. He received the name of Jupiter, quasi juvans pater. His cries were drowned by the noise of cymbals and drums, which the Corybantes beat at the express command of Ops. See: Corybantes. As soon as he was a year old, Jupiter found him sufficiently strong to make war against the Titans, who had imprisoned his father because he had brought up male children. The Titans were conquered, and Saturn set at liberty by the hands of his son. Saturn, however, soon after, apprehensive of the power of Jupiter, conspired against his life, and was, for this treachery, driven from his kingdom, and obliged to fly for safety into Latium. Jupiter, now become the sole master of the empire of the world, divided it with his brothers. He reserved for himself the kingdom of heaven, and gave the empire of the sea to Neptune, and that of the infernal regions to Pluto. The peaceful beginning of his reign was soon interrupted by the rebellion of the giants, who were sons of the earth, and who wished to revenge the death of their relations the Titans. They were so powerful that they hurled rocks, and heaped up mountains upon mountains, to scale heaven, so that all the gods, to avoid their fury, fled to Egypt, where they escaped from the danger by assuming the form of different animals. Jupiter, however, animated them, and by the assistance of Hercules, he totally overpowered the gigantic race, which had proved such tremendous enemies. See: Gigantes. Jupiter, now freed from every apprehension, gave himself up to the pursuit of pleasures. He married Metis, Themis, Eurynome, Ceres, Mnemosyne, Latona, and Juno. See: Juno. He became a Proteus to gratify his passions. He introduced himself to Danae in a shower of gold; he corrupted Antiope in the form of a satyr, and Leda in the form of a swan; he became a bull to seduce Europa, and he enjoyed the company of Ægina in the form of a flame of fire. He assumed the habit of Diana to corrupt Callisto, and became Amphitryon to gain the affections of Alcmena. His children were also numerous as well as his mistresses. According to Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 3, he was father of the Seasons, Irene, Eunomia, the Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos by Themis; of Venus by Dione; of the Graces, Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, by Eurynome the daughter of Oceanus; of Proserpine by Styx; of the nine muses by Mnemosyne, &c. See: Niobe, Laodamia, Pyrrha, Protogenia, Electra, Maia, Semele, &c. The worship of Jupiter was universal; he was the Ammon of the Africans, the Belus of Babylon, the Osiris of Egypt, &c. His surnames were numerous, many of which he received from the place or function over which he presided. He was severally called Jupiter Feretrius, Inventor, Elicius, Capitolinus, Latialis, Pistor, Sponsor, Herceus, Anxurus, Victor, Maximus, Optimus, Olympius, Fluvialis, &c. The worship of Jupiter surpassed that of the other gods in solemnity. His altars were not, like those of Saturn and Diana, stained with the blood of human victims, but he was delighted with the sacrifice of goats, sheep, and white bulls. The oak was sacred to him because he first taught mankind to live upon acorns. He is generally represented as sitting upon a golden or ivory throne, holding in one hand thunderbolts just ready to be hurled, and in the other, a sceptre of cypress. His looks express majesty, his beard flows long and neglected, and the eagle stands with expanded wings at his feet. He is sometimes represented with the upper parts of his body naked, and those below the waist carefully covered, as if to show that he is visible to the gods above, but that he is concealed from the sight of the inhabitants of the earth. Jupiter had several oracles, the most celebrated of which were at Dodona, and Ammon, in Libya. As Jupiter was the king and father of gods and men, his power was extended over the deities, and everything was subservient to his will, except the Fates. From him mankind received their blessings and their miseries, and they looked upon him as acquainted with everything past, present, and future. He was represented at Olympia with a crown like olive branches; his mantle was variegated with different flowers, particularly by the lily, and the eagle perched on the top of the sceptre which he held in his hand. The Cretans represented Jupiter without ears, to signify that the sovereign master of the world ought not to give a partial ear to any particular person, but be equally candid and propitious to all. At Lacedæmon he appeared with four heads, that he might seem to hear with greater readiness the different prayers and solicitations which were daily poured to him from every part of the earth. It is said that Minerva came all armed from his brains when he ordered Vulcan to open his head. Pausanias, bks. 1, 2, &c.――Livy, bks. 1, 4, 5, &c.――Diodorus, bks. 1 & 3.――Homer, Iliad, bks. 1, 5, &c.; Odyssey, bks. 1, 4, &c.; Hymn 23 to Zeus.――Orpheus. ――Callimachus, Hymn to Zeus.――Pindar, Olympian, bks. 1, 3, 5.――Apollonius, bk. 1, &c.――Hesiod, Theogony; Shield of Heracles; Works and Days.――Lycophron, Cassandra.――Virgil, Æneid, bks. 1, 2, &c.; Georgics, bk. 3.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, fable 1, &c.――Horace, bk. 3, ode 1, &c.

=Jura=, a high ridge of mountains separating the Helvetii from the Sequani, or Switzerland from Burgundy. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 1, ch. 2.

=Justīnus Marcus Junianus=, a Latin historian in the age of Antoninus, who epitomized the history of Trogus Pompeius. This epitome, according to some traditions, was the cause that the comprehensive work of Trogus was lost. It comprehends the history of the Assyrian, Persian, Grecian, Macedonia, and Roman empires, &c., in a neat and elegant style. It is replete with many judicious reflections and animated harangues, but the author is often too credulous, and sometimes examines events too minutely, while others are related only in a few words too often obscure. The indecency of many of his expressions is deservedly censured. The best editions of Justin are that of Abraham Gronovius, 8vo, Leiden, 1719, that of Hearne, 8vo, Oxford, 1703, and that of Barbou, 12mo, Paris, 1770.――――Martyr, a Greek father, formerly a Platonic philosopher, born at Palestine. He died in Egypt, and wrote two apologies for the christians, besides his dialogue with a Jew; two treatises, &c., in a plain, unadorned style. The best editions of Justin Martyr are that of Paris, folio, 1636; that of his apologies, 2 vols., 8vo, 1700 & 1703; and Jebb’s dialogue with Trypho, published in London, 1722.――――An emperor of the east, who reigned nine years, and died A.D. 526.――――Another, who died A.D. 564, after a reign of 38 years.――――Another, who died 577 A.D., after a reign of 13 years.

=Juturna=, a sister of Turnus king of the Rutuli. She heard with contempt the addresses of Jupiter, or, according to others, she was not unfavourable to his passion, so that the god rewarded her love with immortality. She was afterwards changed into a fountain of the same name near the Numicus, falling into the Tiber. The waters of that fountain were used in sacrifices, and particularly in those of Vesta. They had the power to heal diseases. Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 1, ch. 10.――Ovid, Fasti, bk. 1, li. 708; bk. 2, li. 585.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 12, li. 139.――Cicero, For Aulus Cluentius, ch. 36.

=Juvenālis Decius Junius=, a poet born at Aquinum in Italy. He came early to Rome, and passed some time in declaiming; after which he applied himself to write satires, 16 of which are extant. He spoke with virulence against the partiality of Nero for the pantomime Paris, and though all his satire and declamation were pointed against this ruling favourite of the emperor, yet Juvenal lived in security during the reign of Nero. After the death of Nero, the effects of the resentment of Paris were severely felt, and the satirist was sent by Domitian as governor on the frontiers of Egypt. Juvenal was then in the 80th year of his age, and he suffered much from the trouble which attended his office, or rather his exile. He returned, however, to Rome, after the death of Paris, and died in the reign of Trajan, A.D. 128. His writings are fiery and animated, and they abound with humour. He is particularly severe upon the vice and dissipation of the age he lived in; but the gross and indecent manner in which he exposed to ridicule the follies of mankind, rather encourages than disarms the debauched and licentious. He wrote with acrimony against all his adversaries, and whatever displeased or offended him was exposed to his severest censure. It is to be acknowledged that Juvenal is far more correct than his contemporaries, a circumstance which some have attributed to his judgment and experience, which were uncommonly mature, as his satires were the productions of old age. He may be called, and with reason, perhaps, the last of the Roman poets. After him poetry decayed, and nothing more claims our attention as a perfect poetical composition. The best editions are those of Casaubon, 4to, Leiden, 1695, with Persius, and of Hawkey, Dublin, 12mo, 1746, and of Grævius, cum notis variorum, 8vo, Leiden, 1684.

=Juventas=, or =Juventus=, a goddess at Rome who presided over youth and vigour. She is the same as the Hebe of the Greeks, and represented as a beautiful nymph, arrayed in variegated garments. Livy, bk. 5, ch. 54; bk. 21, ch. 62; bk. 36, ch. 36.――Ovid, ex Ponto, bk. 1, ltr. 9, li. 12.

=Juverna=, or =Hibernia=, an island at the west of Britain, now called Ireland. Juvenal, satire 2, li. 160.

=Ixibatæ=, a people of Pontus.

=Ixīon=, a king of Thessaly, son of Phlegas, or, according to Hyginus, of Leontes, or, according to Diodorus, of Antion, by Perimela daughter of Amythaon. He married Dia daughter of Eioneus or Deioneus, and promised his father-in-law a valuable present for the choice he had made of him to be his daughter’s husband. His unwillingness, however, to fulfil his promises obliged Deioneus to have recourse to violence to obtain it, and he stole away some of his horses. Ixion concealed his resentment under the mask of friendship; he invited his father-in-law to a feast at Larissa, the capital of his kingdom, and when Deioneus was come, according to the appointment, he threw him into a pit, which he had previously filled with wood and burning coals. This premeditated treachery so irritated the neighbouring princes, that all of them refused to perform the usual ceremony, by which a man was then purified of murder, and Ixion was shunned and despised by all mankind. Jupiter had compassion upon him, and he carried him to heaven, and introduced him at the table of the gods. Such a favour, which ought to have awakened gratitude in Ixion, served only to inflame his lust; he became enamoured of Juno, and attempted to seduce her. Juno was willing to gratify the passion of Ixion, though according to others she informed Jupiter of the attempts which had been made upon her virtue. Jupiter made a cloud in the shape of Juno, and carried it to the place where Ixion had appointed to meet Juno. Ixion was caught in the snare and from his embrace with the cloud, he had the Centaurs, or, according to others, Centaurus. See: Centauri. Jupiter, displeased with the insolence of Ixion, banished him from heaven; but when he heard that he had seduced Juno, the god struck him with his thunder, and ordered Mercury to tie him to a wheel in hell which continually whirls round. The wheel was perpetually in motion, therefore the punishment of Ixion was eternal. Diodorus, bk. 4.――Hyginus, fable 62. ――Pindar, bk. 2, Pythian, poem 2.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 4, li. 484; Æneid, bk. 6, li. 601.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, lis. 210 & 338.――Philostratus, Imagines, bk. 2, ch. 3. ――Lactantius [Placidus] on [Statius’] Thebaid, bk. 2.――――One of the Heraclidæ, who reigned at Corinth for 57 or 37 years. He was son of Alethes.

=Ixīŏnĭdes=, the patronymic of Pirithous son of Ixion. Propertius, bk. 2, poem 1, li. 38.

L

=Laander=, a youth, brother to Nicocrates tyrant of Cyrene &c. ――Polyænus, bk. 8.

=Laarchus=, the guardian of Battus of Cyrene. He usurped the sovereign power for some time, and endeavoured to marry the mother of Battus, the better to establish his tyranny. The queen gave him a friendly invitation, and caused him to be assassinated, and restored the power to Battus. Polyænus.

=Labaris=, a king of Egypt after Sesostris.

=Labda=, a daughter of Amphion, one of the Bacchiadæ, born lame. She married Ection, by whom she had a son whom she called Cypselus because she saved his life in a coffer. See: Cypselus. This coffer was preserved at Olympia. Herodotus, bk. 5, ch. 92.――Aristotle, Politics, bk. 5.

=Labdacĭdes=, a name given to Œdipus, as descended from Labdacus.

=Labdăcus=, a son of Polydorus by Nycteis, the daughter of Nycteus king of Thebes. His father and mother died during his childhood, and he was left to the care of Nycteus, who at his death left his kingdom in the hands of Lycus, with orders to restore it to Labdacus as soon as of age. He was father to Laius. It is unknown whether he ever sat on the throne of Thebes. According to Statius his father’s name was Phœnix. His descendants were called Labdacides. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 6, li. 451.――Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 5. ――Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 6; bk. 9, ch. 5.

=Labdalon=, a promontory of Sicily, near Syracuse. Diodorus, bk. 13.

=Labeālis=, a lake in Dalmatia, now Scutari, of which the neighbouring inhabitants were called Labeates. Livy, bk. 44, ch. 31; bk. 45, ch. 26.

=Lăbeo Antistius=, a celebrated lawyer in the age of Augustus, whose views he opposed, and whose offers of the consulship he refused. His works are lost. He was wont to enjoy the company and conversation of the learned for six months, and the rest of the year was spent in writing and composing. His father, of the same name, was one of Cæsar’s murderers. He killed himself at the battle of Philippi. Horace, bk. 1, satire 3, li. 82, has unjustly taxed him with insanity because, no doubt, he inveighed against his patrons. Appian, The Civil Wars, bk. 4.――Suetonius, Augustus, ch. 45. ――――A tribune of the people at Rome, who condemned the censor Metellus to be thrown down from the Tarpeian rock, because he had expelled him from the senate. This rigorous sentence was stopped by the interference of another of the tribunes.――――Quintus Fabius, a Roman consul, A.U.C. 571, who obtained a naval victory over the fleet of the Cretans. He assisted Terence in composing his comedies, according to some.――――Actius, an obscure poet who recommended himself to the favour of Nero by an incorrect translation of Homer into Latin. The work is lost, and only this curious line is preserved by an old scholiast, Persius, bk. 1, li. 4, Crudum manducus Priamum, Priamique Pisinnos.

=Lăbĕrius J. Decimus=, a Roman knight famous for his poetical talents in writing pantomimes. Julius Cæsar compelled him to act one of his characters on the stage. The poet consented with great reluctance, but he showed his resentment during the acting of the piece by throwing severe aspersions upon Julius Cæsar, by warning the audience against his tyranny, and by drawing upon him the eyes of the whole theatre. Cæsar, however, restored him to the rank of knight which he had lost by appearing on the stage; but to his mortification, when he went to take his seat among the knights, no one offered to make room for him, and even his friend Cicero said, Recepissem te nisi angustè sederem. Laberius was offended at the affectation and insolence of Cicero, and reflected upon his unsettled and pusillanimous behaviour during the civil wars of Cæsar and Pompey, by the reply of _Mirum si angustè sedes, qui soles duabas sellis sedere_. Laberius died 10 months after the murder of Julius Cæsar. Some fragments remain of his poetry. Macrobius, Saturnalia, bk. 2, chs. 3 & 7.――Horace, bk. 1, satire 10. ――Seneca, de Controversiæ, bk. 7, ch. 3.――Suetonius, Cæsar, ch. 39.――――Quintus Durus, a tribune of the soldiers in Cæsar’s legions, killed in Britain. Cæsar, Gallic War.

=Labīcum=, now Colonna, a town of Italy, called also Lavicum, between Gabii and Tusculum, which became a Roman colony about four centuries B.C. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 796.――Livy, bk. 2, ch. 39; bk. 4, ch. 47.

=Lăbiēnus=, an officer of Cæsar in the wars of Gaul. He deserted to Pompey, and was killed at the battle of Munda. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 6, &c.――Lucan, bk. 5, li. 346.――――A Roman who followed the interest of Brutus and Cassius, and became general of the Parthians against Rome. He was conquered by the officers of Augustus. Strabo, bks. 12 & 14.――Dio Cassius, bk. 48.――――Titus, an historian and orator at Rome in the age of Augustus, who admired his own compositions with all the pride of superior genius and incomparable excellence. The senate ordered his papers to be burnt on account of their seditious contents; and Labienus, unable to survive the loss of his writings, destroyed himself. Suetonius, Caligula, ch. 16. ――Seneca.

=Labinētus=, or =Labynētus=, a king of Babylon, &c. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 74.

=Labotas=, a river near Antioch in Syria. Strabo, bk. 16.――――A son of Echestratus, who made war against Argos, &c.

=Labradeus=, a surname of Jupiter in Caria. The word is derived from labrys which in the language of the country signifies a hatchet, which Jupiter’s statue held in its hand. Plutarch.

=Labron=, a part of Italy on the Mediterranean, supposed to be Leghorn. Cicero bk. 2, Letters to his brother Quintus, ltr. 6.

=Lăby̆rinthus=, a building whose numerous passages and perplexing windings render the escape from it difficult, and almost impracticable. There were four very famous among the ancients; one near the city of Crocodiles or Arsinoe, another in Crete, a third at Lemnos, and a fourth in Italy, built by Porsenna. That of Egypt was the most ancient, and Herodotus, who saw it, declares that the beauty and art of the building were almost beyond belief. It was built by 12 kings, who at one time reigned in Egypt, and it was intended for the place of their burial, and to commemorate the actions of their reign. It was divided into 12 halls, or, according to Pliny, into 16, or, as Strabo mentions, into 27. The halls were vaulted, according to the relation of Herodotus. They had each six doors, opening to the north, and the same number to the south, all surrounded by one wall. The edifice contained 3000 chambers, 1500 in the upper part, and the same number below. The chambers above were seen by Herodotus, and astonished him beyond conception, but he was not permitted to see those below, where were buried the holy crocodiles and the monarchs whose munificence had raised the edifice. The roofs and walls were encrusted with marble, and adorned with sculptured figures. The halls were surrounded with stately and polished pillars of white stone, and, according to some authors, the opening of the doors was artfully attended with a terrible noise like peals of thunder. The labyrinth of Crete was built by Dædalus, in imitation of that of Egypt, and it is the most famous of all in classical history. It was the place of confinement for Dædalus himself, and the prison of the Minotaur. According to Pliny the labyrinth of Lemnos surpassed the others in grandeur and magnificence. It was supported by 40 columns of uncommon height and thickness, and equally admirable for their beauty and splendour. Modern travellers are still astonished at the noble and magnificent ruins which appear of the Egyptian labyrinth, at the south of the lake Mœris, about 30 miles from the ruins of Arsinoe. Mela, bk. 1, ch. 9.――Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 13.――Strabo, bk. 10.――Diodorus, bk. 1.――Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 148.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 588.

=Lăcæna=, an epithet applied to a female native of Laconia, and, among others, to Helen. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 511.

=Lăcĕdæemon=, a son of Jupiter and Taygeta the daughter of Atlas, who married Sparta the daughter of Eurotas, by whom he had Amyclas and Eurydice the wife of Acrisius. He was the first who introduced the worship of the Graces in Laconia, and who first built them a temple. From Lacedæmon and his wife, the capital of Laconia was called Lacedæmon and Sparta. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 10. ――Hyginus, fable 155.――Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 1.――――A noble city of Peloponnesus, the capital of Laconia called also Sparta, and now known by the name of Misitra. It has been severally known by the name of Lelegia, from the Leleges the first inhabitants of the country, or from Lelex one of their kings; and Œbalia, from Œbalus the sixth king from Eurotas. It was also called Hecatompolis from the 100 cities which the whole province once contained. Lelex is supposed to have been the first king. His descendants, 13 in number, reigned successively after him, till the reign of the sons of Orestes, when the Heraclidæ recovered the Peloponnesus, about 80 years after the Trojan war. Procles and Eurysthenes, the descendants of the Heraclidæ, enjoyed the crown together, and after them it was decreed that the two families should always sit on the throne together. See: Eurysthenes. These two brothers began to reign B.C. 1102. Their successors in the family of Procles were called Proclidæ, and afterwards Eurypontidæ, and those of Eurysthenes, Eurysthenidæ, and afterwards Agidæ. The successors of Procles on the throne began to reign in the following order: Sous 1060 B.C., after his father had reigned 42 years; Eurypon, 1028; Prytanis, 1021; Eunomus, 986; Polydectes, 907; Lycurgus, 898; Charilaus, 873; Nicander, 809; Theopompus, 770; Zeuxidamus, 723; Anaxidamus, 690; Archidamus, 651; Agasicles, 605; Ariston, 564; Demaratus, 526; Leotychides, 491; Archidamus, 469; Agis, 427; Agesilaus, 397; Archidamus, 361; Agis II., 338; Eudamidas, 330; Archidamus, 295; Eudamidas II., 268; Agis, 244; Archidamus, 230; Euclidus, 225; Lycurgus, 219. The successors of Eurysthenes were Agis, 1059; Echestratus, 1058; Labotas, 1023; Doryssus, 986; Agesilaus, 957; Archelaus, 913; Teleclus, 853; Alcamenes, 813; Polydorus, 776; Eurycrates, 724; Anaxander, 687; Eurycrates II., 644; Leon, 607; Anaxandrides, 563; Cleomenes, 530; Leonidas, 491; Plistarchus, under guardianship of Pausanius, 480; Plistoanax, 466; Pausanius, 408; Agesipolis, 397; Cleombrotus, 380; Agesipolis II., 371; Cleomenes II., 370; Aretus or Areus, 309; Acrotatus, 265; Areus II., 264; Leonidas, 257; Cleombrotus, 243; Leonidas restored, 241; Cleomenes, 235; Agesipolis, 219. Under the two last kings, Lycurgus and Agesipolis, the monarchical power was abolished, though Machanidas the tyrant made himself absolute, B.C. 210, and Nabis, 206, for 14 years. In the year 191 B.C. Lacedæmon joined the Achæan league, and about three years after the walls were demolished by order of Philopœmen. The territories of Laconia shared the fate of the Achæn confederacy, and the whole was conquered by Mummius, 147 B.C., and converted into a Roman province. The inhabitants of Lacedæmon have rendered themselves illustrious for their courage and intrepidity, for their love of honour and liberty, and for their aversion to sloth and luxury. They were inured from their youth to labour, and their laws commanded them to make war their profession. They never applied themselves to any trade, but their only employment was arms, and they left everything else to the care of their slaves. See: Helotæ. They hardened their body by stripes and other manly exercises, and accustomed themselves to undergo hardships, and even to die, without fear or regret. From their valour in the field, and their moderation and temperance at home, they were courted and revered by all the neighbouring princes, and their assistance was severally implored to protect the Sicilians, Carthaginians, Thracians, Egyptians, Cyreneans, &c. They were forbidden by the laws of their country [See: Lycurgus] to visit foreign states, lest their morals should be corrupted by an intercourse with effeminate nations. The austere manner in which their children were educated, rendered them undaunted in the field of battle, and from this circumstance, Leonidas, with a small band, was enabled to resist the millions of the army of Xerxes at Thermopylæ. The women were as courageous as the men, and many a mother has celebrated with festivals the death of her son who had fallen in battle, or has coolly put him to death, if, by a shameful flight or loss of his arms, he brought disgrace upon his country. As to domestic manners, the Lacedæmonians as widely differed from their neighbours as in political concerns, and their noblest women were not ashamed to appear on the stage hired for money. In the affairs of Greece, the interest of the Lacedæmonians was often powerful, and obtained the superiority for 500 years. Their jealousy of the power and greatness of the Athenians is well known. The authority of their monarchs was checked by the watchful eye of the Ephori, who had the power of imprisoning the kings themselves if guilty of misdemeanours. See: Ephori. The Lacedæmonians are remarkable for the honour and reverence which they paid to old age. The names of Lacedæmon and Sparta are promiscuously applied to the capital of Laconia, and often confounded together. The latter was applied to the metropolis, and the former was reserved for the inhabitants of the suburbs, or rather of the country contiguous to the walls of the city. This propriety of distinction was originally observed, but in process of time it was totally lost, and both appellatives were soon synonymous, and indiscriminately applied to the city and country. See: Sparta, Laconia. The place where the city stood is now called Paleo Chori (the old town), and the new one erected on its ruins at some distance on the west is called Misatra. Livy, bk. 34, ch. 33; bk. 45, ch. 28.――Strabo, bk. 8.――Thucydides, bk. 1.――Pausanias, bk. 3.――Justin, bks. 2, 3, &c.――Herodotus, bk. 1, &c. ――Plutarch, Lycurgus, &c.――Diodorus.――Mela, bk. 2. There were some festivals celebrated at Lacedæmon, the names of which are not known. It was customary for the women to drag all the old bachelors round the altars, and beat them with their fists, that the shame and ignominy to which they were exposed might induce them to marry, &c. Athenæus, bk. 13.

=Lăcĕdæmŏnii= and =Lăcĕdæmŏnes=, the inhabitants of Lacedæmon. See: Lacedæmon.

=Lăcĕdæmŏnius=, a son of Cimon by Clitoria. He received this name from his father’s regard for the Lacedæmonians. Plutarch.

=Lăcerta=, a soothsayer in Domitian’s age, who acquired immense riches by his art. Juvenal, satire 7, li. 114.

=Lacetania=, a district at the north of Spain. Livy, bk. 21, ch. 23.

=Lachăres=, a man who seized the supreme power at Athens when the city was in discord, and was banished B.C. 296. Polyænus, bk. 4.――――An Athenian three times taken prisoner. He deceived his keepers, and escaped, &c. Polyænus, bk. 3.――――A son of Mithridates king of Bosphorus. He was received into alliance by Lucullus.――――A robber condemned by Marcus Antony.――――An Egyptian, buried in the labyrinth near Arsinoe.

=Laches=, an Athenian general in the age of Epaminondas. Diodorus, bk. 12.――――An Athenian sent with Carias at the head of a fleet in the first expedition undertaken against Sicily in the Peloponnesian war. Justin, bk. 4, ch. 3.――――An artist who finished the Colossus of Rhodes.

=Lăchĕsis=, one of the Parcæ, whose name is derived from λαχειν, to measure out by lot. She presided over futurity, and was represented as spinning the thread of life, or, according to others, holding the spindle. She generally appeared covered with a garment variegated with stars, and holding spindles in her hand. See: Parcæ. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 2, li. 249.――Martial, bk. 4, ltr. 54.

=Lacidas=, a Greek philosopher of Cyrene, who flourished B.C. 241. His father’s name was Alexander. He was disciple of Arcesilaus, whom he succeeded in the government of the second academy. He was greatly esteemed by king Attalus, who gave him a garden where he spent his hours in study. He taught his disciples to suspend their judgment, and never speak decisively. He disgraced himself by the magnificent funeral with which he honoured a favourite goose. He died through excess of drinking. Diogenes Laërtius, bk. 4.

=Lacīdes=, a village near Athens, which derived its name from Lacius, an Athenian hero, whose exploits are unknown. Here Zephyrus had an altar sacred to him, and likewise Ceres and Proserpine a temple. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 37.

=Lăcīnia=, a surname of Juno from her temple at Lacinium in Italy, which the Crotonians held in great veneration, and where there was a famous statue of Helen by Zeuxis. See: Zeuxis. On an altar near the door were ashes which the wind could not blow away. Fulvius Flaccus took away a marble piece from this sacred place, to finish a temple that he was building at Rome to Fortuna Equestris; and it is said that, for this sacrilege, he afterwards led a miserable life, and died in the greatest agonies. Strabo, bk. 6.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 15, lis. 12 & 702.――Livy, bk. 42, ch. 3. ――Valerius Maximus, bk. 1, ch. 1.

=Lacīnienses=, a people of Liburnia.

=Lacīnium=, a promontory of Magna Græcia, now cape Colonna, the southern boundary of Tarentum in Italy, where Juno Lacinia had a temple held in great veneration. It received its name from Lacinius, a famous robber killed there by Hercules. Livy, bk. 24, ch. 3; bk. 27, ch. 5; bk. 30, ch. 20.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 522.

=Lacmon=, a part of mount Pindus where the Inachus flows. Herodotus, bk. 9, ch. 93.

=Laco=, a favourite of Galba, mean and cowardly in his character. He was put to death.――――An inhabitant of Laconia or Lacedæmon.

=Lacobriga=, a city of Spain, where ♦Sertorius was besieged by Metellus.

♦ ‘Sertorious’ replaced with ‘Sertorius’

=Lacōnia=, =Lacōnĭca=, and =Lacedæmon=, a country in the southern parts of Peloponnesus, having Argos and Arcadia on the north, Messenia on the west, the Mediterranean on the south, and the bay of Argos at the east. Its extent from north to south was about 50 miles. It is watered by the river Eurotas. The capital is called Sparta, or Lacedæmon. The inhabitants never went on an expedition or engaged an enemy but at the full moon. See: Lacedæmon. The brevity with which they always expressed themselves is now become proverbial, and by the epithet of Laconic we understand whatever is concise and not loaded with unnecessary words. The word Laconicum is applied to some hot baths used among the ancients, and first invented at Lacedæmon. Cicero, bk. 4, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 10.――Strabo, bk. 1.――Ptolemy, bk. 3, ch. 16.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.

=Lacrătes=, a Theban, general of a detachment sent by Artaxerxes to the assistance of the Egyptians. Diodorus, bk. 16.

=Lacrĭnes=, a Lacedæmonian ambassador to Cyrus. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 152.

=Lactantius=, a celebrated christian writer, whose principal works are de irâ divinâ, de Dei operibus, and his divine institutions, in seven books, in which he proves the truth of the christian religion, refutes objections, and attacks the illusions and absurdities of paganism. The expressive purity, elegance, and energy of his style have gained him the name of the christian Cicero. He died A.D. 325.――――The best editions of his works are that of Sparke, 8vo, Oxford, 1684; that of Bimeman, 2 vols., 8vo, Lipscomb, 1739; and that of Du Fresnoy, 2 vols., 4to, Paris, 1748.

=Lacter=, a promontory of the island of Cos.

=Lacydes=, a philosopher. See: Lacidas.

=Lacȳdus=, an effeminate king of Argos.

=Ladas=, a celebrated courier of Alexander, born at Sicyon. He was honoured with a brazen statue, and obtained a crown of Olympia. Martial, bk. 10, ltr. 10.――Juvenal, satire 13, li. 97.

=Lade=, an island of the Ægean sea, on the coast of Asia Minor, where was a naval battle between the Persians and Ionians. Herodotus, bk. 6, ch. 7.――Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 35.――Strabo, bk. 17.

=Lades=, a son of Imbrasus, killed by Turnus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 12, li. 343.

=Ladocea=, a village of Arcadia. Pausanias.

=Ladon=, a river of Arcadia, falling into the Alpheus. The metamorphosis of Daphne into a laurel, and of Syrinx into a reed, happened near its banks. Strabo, bk. 1.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3. ――Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 25.―― Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 659.――――An Arcadian who followed Æneas into Italy, where he was killed. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 413.――――One of Actæon’s dogs. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3, li. 216.

=Lælaps=, one of Actæon’s dogs. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3.――――The dog of Cephalus, given him by Procis. See: Lelaps, &c. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 7.

=Lælia=, a vestal virgin.

=Læliānus=, a general, proclaimed emperor in Gaul by his soldiers, A.D. 268, after the death of Gallienus. His triumph was short; he was conquered and put to death after a few months’ reign by another general called Posthumus, who aspired to the imperial purple as well as himself.

=Caius Lælius=, a Roman consul, A.U.C. 614, surnamed Sapiens, so intimate with Africanus the younger, that Cicero represents him in his treatise De Amicitiâ, as explaining the real nature of friendship, with its attendant pleasures. He made war with success against Viriathus. It is said that he assisted Terence in the composition of his comedies. His modesty, humanity, and the manner in which he patronized letters, are as celebrated as his greatness of mind and integrity in the character of a statesman. Cicero, On Oratory.――――Another consul, who accompanied Scipio Africanus the elder in his campaigns in Spain and Africa.――――Archelaus, a famous grammarian. Suetonius.

=Læna= and =Leæna=, the mistress of Harmodius and Aristogiton. Being tortured because she refused to discover the conspirators, she bit off her tongue, totally to frustrate the violent efforts of her executioners.――――A man who was acquainted with the conspiracy formed against Cæsar.

=Lænas=, a surname of the Popilii at Rome.

=Læneus=, a river of Crete, where Jupiter brought the ravished Europa. Strabo.

=Læpa Magna=, a town of Spain. Mela, bk. 3, ch. 1.

=Laertes=, a king of Ithaca, son of Arcesius and Chalcomedusa, who married Anticlea the daughter of Autolycus. Anticlea was pregnant by Sisyphus when she married Laertes, and eight months after her union with the king of Ithaca, she brought forth a son called Ulysses. See: Anticlea. Ulysses was treated with paternal care by Laertes, though not really his son, and Laertes ceded to him his crown and retired into the country where he spent his time in gardening. He was found in this mean employment by his son at his return from the Trojan war, after 20 years’ absence, and Ulysses, at the sight of his father, whose dress and old age declared his sorrow, long hesitated whether he should suddenly introduce himself as his son, or whether he should, as a stranger, gradually awaken the paternal feelings of Laertes, who had believed that his son was no more. This last measure was preferred, and when Laertes had burst into tears at the mention which was made of his son, Ulysses threw himself on his neck, exclaiming, “O father, I am he for whom you weep.” This welcome declaration was followed by a recital of all the hardships which Ulysses had suffered, and immediately after the father and son repaired to the palace of Penelope the wife of Ulysses, whence all the suitors who daily importuned the princess were forcibly removed. Laertes was one of the Argonauts, according to Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9. Homer, Odyssey, bks. 11 & 24.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 13, li. 32; Heroides, poem 1, li. 98.――――A city of Cilicia, which gave birth to Diogenes, surnamed Laërtius from the place of his birth.

=Laërtius Diogenes=, a writer born at Laertes. See: Diogenes.

=Læstry̆gŏnes=, the most ancient inhabitants of Sicily. Some suppose them to be the same as the people of Leontium, and to have been neighbours to the Cyclops. They fed on human flesh, and when Ulysses came on their coasts, they sunk his ships and devoured his companions. See: Antiphates. They were of a gigantic stature, according to Homer, who, however, does not mention their country, but only speaks of Lamus as their capital. A colony of them, as some suppose, passed over into Italy, with Lamus at their head, where they built the town of Formiæ, whence the epithet of Læstrygonia is often used for that of Formiana. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 5.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, li. 233, &c.; Fasti, bk. 4; ex Ponto, bk. 4, ltr. 10.――Tzetzes, On Lycophron, lis. 662 & 818.――Homer, Odyssey, bk. 10, li. 81.――Silius Italicus, bk. 7, li. 276.

=Læta=, the wife of the emperor Gratian, celebrated for her humanity and generous sentiments.

=Lætoria lex=, ordered that proper persons should be appointed to provide for the security and the possession of such as were insane, or squandered away their estates. It made it a high crime to abuse the weakness of persons under such circumstances. Cicero, _de Officiis_, bk. 3.

=Lætus=, a Roman whom Commodus condemned to be put to death. This violence raised Lætus against Commodus; he conspired against him, and raised Pertinax to the throne.――――A general of the emperor Severus, put to death for his treachery to the emperor; or, according to others, on account of his popularity.

=Lævi=, the ancient inhabitants of Gallia Transpadana.

=Lævīnus=, a Roman consul sent against Pyrrhus, A.U.C. 474. He informed the monarch that the Romans would not accept him as an arbitrator in the war with Tarentum, and feared him not as an enemy. He was defeated by Pyrrhus.――――Publius Valerius, a man despised at Rome, because he was distinguished by no good quality. Horace, bk. 1, satire 6, li. 12.

=Lagaria=, a town of Lucania.

=Lagia=, a name of the island Delos. See: Delos.

=Lagĭdes.= See: Lagus.

=Laginia=, a town of Caria.

=Lagus=, a Macedonian of mean extraction. He received in marriage Arsinoe the daughter of Meleager, who was then pregnant by king Philip, and being willing to hide the disgrace of his wife, he exposed the child in the woods. An eagle preserved the life of the infant, fed him with her prey, and sheltered him with her wings against the inclemency of the air. This uncommon preservation was divulged by Lagus, who adopted the child as his own, and called him Ptolemy, conjecturing that as his life had been so miraculously preserved, his days would be spent in grandeur and affluence. This Ptolemy became king of Egypt after the death of Alexander. According to other accounts Arsinoe was nearly related to Philip king of Macedonia, and her marriage with Lagus was not considered as dishonourable, because he was opulent and powerful. The first of the Ptolemies is called Lagus, to distinguish him from his successors of the same name. Ptolemy, the first of the Macedonian kings of Egypt, wished it to be believed that he was the legitimate son of Lagus, and he preferred the name of Lagides to all other appellations. It is even said that he established a military order in Alexandria, which was called Lageion. The surname of Lagides was transmitted to all his descendants on the Egyptian throne till the reign of Cleopatra, Antony’s mistress. Plutarch mentions an anecdote which serves to show how far the legitimacy of Ptolemy was believed in his age. A pedantic grammarian, says the historian, once displaying his great knowledge of antiquity in the presence of Ptolemy, the king suddenly interrupted him with the question of, “Pray tell me, sir, who was the father of Peleus?” “Tell me,” replied the grammarian, without hesitation, “tell me, if you can, O king! who the father of Lagus was.” This reflection on the meanness of the monarch’s birth did not in the least irritate his resentment, though the courtiers all glowed with indignation. Ptolemy praised the humour of the grammarian, and showed his moderation and the mildness of his temper by taking him under his patronage. Pausanias, Attica.――Justin, bk. 13.――Curtius, bk. 4.――Plutarch, De Cohibenda Ira.――Lucan, bk. 1, li. 684. ――Silius Italicus, bk. 1, li. 196.――――A Rutulian, killed by Pallas son of Evander. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 381.

=Lagūsa=, an island in the Pamphylian sea.――――Another near Crete. Strabo, bk. 10.――Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 31.

=Lagȳra=, a city of Taurica Chersonesus.

=Laiădes=, a patronymic of Œdipus son of Laius. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6, fable 18.

=Laias=, a king of Arcadia, who succeeded his father Cypselus, &c. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 5.――――A king of Elis, &c.

=Lais=, a celebrated courtesan, daughter of Timandra the mistress of Alcibiades, born at Hyccara in Sicily. She was carried away from her native country into Greece, when Nicias the Athenian general invaded Sicily. She first began to sell her favours at Corinth, for 10,000 drachmas, and the immense number of princes, noblemen, philosophers, orators, and plebeians who courted her embraces, show how much commendation is owed to her personal charms. The expenses which attended her pleasures gave rise to the proverb of Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum. Even Demosthenes himself visited Corinth for the sake of Lais, but when he was informed by the courtesans that admittance to her bed was to be bought at the enormous sum of about 300_l._ English money, the orator departed, and observed that he would not buy repentance at so dear a price. The charms which had attracted Demosthenes to Corinth, had no influence upon Xenocrates. When Lais saw the philosopher unmoved by her beauty, she visited his house herself; but there she had no reason to boast of the licentiousness or easy submission of Xenocrates. Diogenes the cynic was one of her warmest admirers, and though filthy in his dress and manners, yet he gained her heart and enjoyed her most unbounded favours. The sculptor Mycon also solicited the favours of Lais, but he met with coldness; he, however, attributed the cause of his ill reception to the whiteness of his hair, and dyed it of a brown colour, but to no purpose. “Fool that thou art,” said the courtesan, “to ask what I refused yesterday to thy father.” Lais ridiculed the austerity of philosophers, and laughed at the weakness of those who pretend to have gained a superiority over their passions, by observing that the sages and philosophers of the age were not above the rest of mankind, for she found them at her door as often as the rest of the Athenians. The success which her debaucheries met at Corinth encouraged Lais to pass into Thessaly, and more particularly to enjoy the company of a favourite youth called Hippostratus. She was, however, disappointed: the women of the place, jealous of her charms, and apprehensive of her corrupting the fidelity of their husbands, assassinated her in the temple of Venus, about 340 years before the christian era. Some suppose that there were two persons of this name, a mother and her daughter. Cicero, Letters to his Friends, bk. 9, ltr. 26.――Ovid, Amores, bk. 1, poem 5.――Plutarch, Alcibiades.――Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 2.

=Lāius=, a son of Labdacus, who succeeded to the throne of Thebes, which his grandfather Nycteus had left to the care of his brother Lycus, till his grandson came of age. He was driven from his kingdom by Amphion and Zethus, who were incensed against Lycus for the indignities which Antiope had suffered. He was afterwards restored, and married Jocasta the daughter of Creon. An oracle informed him that he should perish by the hand of his son, and in consequence of this dreadful intelligence he resolved never to approach his wife. A day spent in debauch and intoxication made him violate his vow, and Jocasta brought forth a son. The child as soon as born was given to a servant, with orders to put him to death. The servant was moved with compassion, and only exposed him on mount Cithæron, where his life was preserved by a shepherd. The child, called Œdipus, was educated in the court of Polybus, and an unfortunate meeting with his father in a narrow road proved his ruin. Œdipus ordered his father to make way for him without knowing who he was. Laius refused, and was instantly murdered by his irritated son. His armour-bearer or charioteer shared his fate. See: Œdipus. Sophocles, Œdipus. ――Hyginus, fables 9 & 66.――Diodorus, bk. 4.――Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 5.――Pausanias, bk. 9, chs. 5 & 26.――Plutarch, de Curiositate.

=Lalăge=, one of Horace’s favourite mistresses. Horace, bk. 1, ode 22, &c.――Propertius, bk. 4, poem 7.――――A woman censured for her cruelty. Martial, bk. 2, ltr. 66.

=Lalassis=, a river of Isauria.

=Lamăchus=, a son of Xenophanes, sent into Sicily with Nicias. He was killed B.C. 414, before Syracuse, where he had displayed much courage and intrepidity. Plutarch, Alcibiades.――――A governor of Heraclea in Pontus, who betrayed his trust to Mithridates, after he had invited all the inhabitants to a sumptuous feast.

=Lamalmon=, a large mountain of Æthiopia.

=Lambrāni=, a people of Italy near the Lambrus. Suetonius, Cæsar.

=Lambrus=, a river of Cisalpine Gaul, falling into the Po.

=Lămia=, a town of Thessaly at the bottom of the Sinus Maliacus or Lamiacus, and north of the river Sperchius, famous for a siege which it supported after Alexander’s death. See: Lamiacum. Diodorus, bk. 16, &c.――Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 6.――――A river of Greece opposite mount Œta.――――A daughter of Neptune, mother of Hierophile, an ancient Sibyl, by Jupiter. Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 12.――――A famous courtesan, mistress to Demetrius Poliorcetes. Plutarch, Demetrius.――Athenæus, bk. 13.――Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 13, ch. 9.

=Lamia= and =Auxesia=, two deities of Crete, whose worship was the same as at Eleusis. The Epidaurians made them two statues of an olive tree given them by the Athenians, provided they came to offer a sacrifice to Minerva at Athens. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 30, &c.

=Lamiăcum bellum=, happened after the death of Alexander, when the Greeks, and particularly the Athenians, incited by their orators, resolved to free Greece from the garrisons of the Macedonians. Leosthenes was appointed commander of a numerous force, and marched against Antipater, who then presided over Macedonia. Antipater entered Thessaly at the head of 13,000 foot and 600 horse, and was beaten by the superior force of the Athenians and of their Greek confederates. Antipater after this blow fled to Lamia, B.C. 323, where he resolved, with all the courage and sagacity of a careful general, to maintain a siege with about the 8000 or 9000 men that had escaped from the field of battle. Leosthenes, unable to take the city by storm, began to make a regular siege. His operations were delayed by the frequent sallies of Antipater; and Leosthenes being killed by the blow of a stone, Antipater made his escape out of Lamia, and soon after, with the assistance of the army of Craterus brought from Asia, he gave the Athenians battle near Cranon, and though only 500 of their men were slain, yet they became so dispirited, that they sued for peace from the conqueror. Antipater at last with difficulty consented, provided they raised taxes in the usual manner, received a Macedonian garrison, defrayed the expenses of the war, and lastly, delivered into his hands Demosthenes and Hyperides, the two orators, whose prevailing eloquence had excited their countrymen against him. These disadvantageous terms were accepted by the Athenians, yet Demosthenes had time to escape and poison himself. Hyperides was carried before Antipater, who ordered his tongue to be cut off, and afterwards put him to death. Plutarch, Demosthenes.――Diodorus, bk. 17.――Justin, bk. 11, &c.

=Lămiæ=, small islands in the Ægean, opposite Troas. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 31.――――A celebrated family at Rome, descended from Lamus. ――――Certain monsters of Africa, who had the face and breast of a woman, and the rest of their body like that of a serpent. They allured strangers to come to them, that they might devour them; and though they were not endowed with the faculty of speech, yet their hissings were pleasing and agreeable. Some believed them to be witches, or rather evil spirits, who, under the form of a beautiful woman, enticed young children and devoured them. According to some, the fable of the Lamiæ is derived from the amours of Jupiter with a certain beautiful woman called Lamia, whom the jealousy of Juno rendered deformed, and whose children she destroyed; upon which Lamia became insane, and so desperate that she ate up all the children that came in her way. They are also called Lemures. See: Lemures. Philostratus, Life of Apollonius.――Horace, Art of Poetry, li. 340.――Plutarch, de Curiositate.――Dion.

=Lămias Ælius=, a governor of Syria under Tiberius. He was honoured with a public funeral by the senate; and as having been a respectable and useful citizen, Horace has dedicated his ode 26, bk. 1, to his praises, as also bk. 3, ode 17.――Tacitus, Annals, bk. 6, ch. 27.――――Another during the reign of Domitian, put to death, &c.

=Lamīrus=, a son of Hercules by Iole.

=Lampĕdo=, a woman of Lacedæmon, who was daughter, wife, sister, and mother of a king. She lived in the age of Alcibiades. Agrippina the mother of Claudius could boast the same honours. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 12, chs. 22 & 37.――Plutarch, Agesilaus.――Plato, bk. 1, Alcibiades.――Pliny, bk. 7, ch. 41.

=Lampĕtia=, a daughter of Apollo and Neæra. She, with her sister Phaetusa, guarded her father’s flocks in Sicily when Ulysses arrived on the coasts of that island. These flocks were 14 in number, seven herds of oxen, and seven flocks of sheep, consisting each of 50. They fed by night as well as by day, and it was deemed unlawful and sacrilegious to touch them. The companions of Ulysses, impelled by hunger, paid no regard to their sanctity, or to the threats and entreaties of their chief; but they carried away and killed some of the oxen. The watchful keepers complained to their father, and Jupiter, at the request of Apollo, punished the offence of the Greeks. The hides of the oxen appeared to walk, and the flesh, which was roasting by the fire, began to bellow, and nothing was heard but dreadful noises and loud lowings. The companions of Ulysses embarked on board their ships, but here the resentment of Jupiter followed them. A storm arose, and they all perished except Ulysses, who saved himself on the broken piece of a mast. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 12, ch. 119.――Propertius, bk. 3, poem 12.――――According to Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, li. 349, Lampetia is one of the Heliades, who was changed into a poplar tree at the death of her brother Phaeton.

=Lampeto= and =Lampedo=, a queen of the Amazons, who boasted herself to be the daughter of Mars. She gained many conquests in Asia, where she founded several cities. She was surprised afterwards by a band of barbarians, and destroyed with her female attendants. Justin, bk. 2, ch. 4.

=Lampeus= and =Lampia=, a mountain of Arcadia. Statius, bk. 8.

=Lampon=, =Lampos=, or =Lampus=, one of the horses of Diomedes,――――of Hector,――――of Aurora. Homer, Iliad, bk. 8; Odyssey, bk. 23. ――――A son of Laomedon, father of Dolops.――――A soothsayer of Athens in the age of Socrates. Plutarch, Pericles.

=Lampōnia= and =Lampōnium=, a city of Troas. Herodotus, bk. 5, ch. 26.――――An island on the coast of Thrace. Strabo, bk. 13.

=Lamponius=, an Athenian general, sent by his countrymen to attempt the conquest of Sicily. Justin, bk. 4, ch. 3.

=Lampridius Ælius=, a Latin historian in the fourth century, who wrote the lives of some of the Roman emperors. His style is inelegant, and his arrangements injudicious. His life of Commodus, Heliogabalus, Alexander Severus, &c., is still extant, and to be found in the works of the Historiæ Augustæ Scriptores.

=Lamprus=, a celebrated musician, &c.――Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas.

=Lampsăcus= and =Lampsăcum=, now Lamsaki, a town of Asia Minor on the borders of the Propontis, at the north of Abydos. Priapus was the chief deity of the place, of which he was reckoned by some the founder. His temple there was the asylum of lewdness and debauchery, and exhibited scenes of the most unnatural lust, and hence the epithet Lampsacius is usual to express immodesty and wantonness. Alexander resolved to destroy the city on account of the vices of its inhabitants, and more probably for its firm adherence to the interest of Persia. It was, however, saved from ruin by the artifice of Anaximenes. See: Anaximenes. It was formerly called Pityusa, and received the name of Lampsacus, from Lampsace, a daughter of Mandron, a king of Phrygia, who gave information to some Phoceans who dwelt there, that the rest of the inhabitants had conspired against their life. This timely information saved them from destruction. The city afterwards bore the name of their preserver. The wine of Lampsacus was famous and therefore a tribute of wine was granted from the city by Xerxes to maintain the table of Themistocles. Mela, bk. 1, ch. 19.――Strabo, bk. 13.――Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 31.――Herodotus, bk. 5, ch. 117.――Cornelius Nepos, Themistocles, ch. 10.――Ovid, bk. 1, Tristia, poem 9, li. 26; Fasti, bk. 8, li. 345.――Livy, bk. 33, ch. 38; bk. 35, ch. 42. ――Martial, bk. 11, poems 17, 52.

=Lamptera=, a town of Phocæa in Ionia. Livy, bk. 37, ch. 31.

=Lamptĕria=, a festival at Pellene, in Achaia, in honour of Bacchus, who was surnamed Lampter, from λαμπειν, to shine, because, during this solemnity, which was observed in the night, the worshippers went to the temple of Bacchus, with lighted torches in their hands. It was also customary to place vessels full of wine in several parts of every street in the city. Pausanias, bk. 4, ch. 21.

=Lampus=, a son of Ægyptus.――――A man of Elis.――――A son of Prolaus.

=Lămus=, a king of the Læstrygones, who is supposed by some to have founded Formiæ in Italy. The family of the Lamiæ at Rome was, according to the opinion of some, descended from him. Horace, bk. 3, ode 17.――――A son of Hercules and Omphale, who succeeded his mother on the throne of Lydia. Ovid, Heroides, poem 9, li. 54. ――――A Latin chief killed by Nisus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 334. ――――A river of Bœotia. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 31.――――A Spartan general hired by Nectanebus king of Egypt. Diodorus, bk. 16.――――A city of Cilicia.――――A town near Formiæ built by the Læstrygones.

=Lămy̆rus=, buffoon, a surname of one of the Ptolemies.――――One of the auxiliaries of Turnus, killed by Nisus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 334.

=Lanassa=, a daughter of Cleodæus, who married Pyrrhus the son of Achilles by whom she had eight children. Plutarch, Pyrrhus. ――Justin, bk. 17, ch. 3.――――A daughter of Agathocles, who married Pyrrhus, whom she soon after forsook for Demetrius. Plutarch.

=Lancēa=, a fountain, &c. Pausanias.

=Lancia=, a town of Lusitania. Florus, bk. 4, ch. 12.

=Landi=, a people of Germany conquered by Cæsar.

=Langia=, a river of Peloponnesus, falling into the bay of Corinth.

=Langobardi=, a warlike nation of Germany, along the Sprhe, called improperly Lombards by some. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 45; Germania, ch. 40.

=Langrobriga=, a town of Lusitania.

=Lanŭvium=, a town of Latium, about 16 miles from Rome on the Appian road. Juno had there a celebrated temple, which was frequented by the inhabitants of Italy, and particularly by the Romans, whose consuls on first entering upon office offered sacrifices to the goddess. The statue of the goddess was covered with a goat’s skin, and armed with a buckler and spear, and wore shoes which were turned upwards in the form of a cone. Cicero, For Lucius Murena; de Natura Deorum, bk. 1, ch. 29; For Milo, ch. 10.――Livy, bk. 8, ch. 14.――Silius Italicus, bk. 13, li. 364.

=Laobōtas=, or =Lābotas=, a Spartan king, of the family of the Agidæ, who succeeded his father Echestratus, B.C. 1023. During his reign war was declared against Argos, by Sparta. He sat on the throne for 37 years, and was succeeded by Doryssus his son. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 2.

=Lāŏcoon=, a son of Priam and Hecuba, or, according to others, of Antenor, or of Capys. As being priest of Apollo, he was commissioned by the Trojans to offer a bullock to Neptune to render him propitious. During the sacrifice two enormous serpents issued from the sea, and attacked Laocoon’s two sons, who stood next to the altar. The father immediately attempted to defend his sons, but the serpents, falling upon him, squeezed him in their complicated wreaths, so that he died in the greatest agonies. This punishment was inflicted upon him for his temerity in dissuading the Trojans to bring into the city the fatal wooden horse which the Greeks had consecrated to Minerva, as also for his impiety in hurling a javelin against the sides of the horse as it entered within the walls. Hyginus attributes this to his marriage against the consent of Apollo, or, according to others, for his polluting the temple by his commerce with his wife Antiope before the statue of the god. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, lis. 41 & 201.――Hyginus, fable 135.

=Laodămas=, a son of Alcinous king of the Phæacians, who offered to wrestle with Ulysses, while at his father’s court. Ulysses, mindful of the hospitality of Alcinous, refused the challenge of Laodamas. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 7, li. 170.――――A son of Eteocles king of Thebes. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 15.

=Lāŏdămīa=, a daughter of Acastus and Astydamia, who married Protesilaus, the son of Iphiclus king of a part of Thessaly. The departure of her husband for the Trojan war was the source of grief to her, but when she heard that he had fallen by the hand of Hector, her sorrow was increased. To keep alive the memory of her husband whom she had tenderly loved, she ordered a wooden statue to be made and regularly placed in her bed. This was seen by one of her servants, who informed Iphiclus that his daughter’s bed was daily defiled by an unknown stranger. Iphiclus watched his daughter, and when he found that the intelligence was false, he ordered the wooden image to be burned, in hopes of dissipating his daughter’s grief. He did not succeed. Laodamia threw herself into the flames with the image and perished. This circumstance has given occasion to fabulous traditions related by the poets, which mention that Protesilaus was restored to life, and to Laodamia, for three hours, and that when he was obliged to return to the infernal regions, he persuaded his wife to accompany him. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 447.――Ovid, Heroides, poem 13.――Hyginus, fable 104.――Propertius, bk. 1, poem 19.――――A daughter of Bellerophon, by Achemone the daughter of king Iobates. She had a son by Jupiter, called Sarpedon. She dedicated herself to the service of Diana, and hunted with her; but her haughtiness proved fatal to her, and she perished by the arrows of the goddess. Homer, Iliad, bks. 6, 12 & 16.――――A daughter of Alexander king of Epirus, by Olympia the daughter of Pyrrhus. She was assassinated in the temple of Diana, where she had fled for safety during a sedition. Her murderer, called Milo, soon after turned his dagger against his own breast and killed himself. Justin, bk. 28, ch. 3.

=Lāŏdĭce=, a daughter of Priam and Hecuba, who became enamoured of Acamas son of Theseus, when he came with Diomedes from the Greeks to Troy with an embassy to demand the restoration of Helen. She obtained an interview and the gratification of her desires at the house of Philebia, the wife of a governor of a small town of Troas, which the Greek ambassador had visited. She had a son by Acamas, whom she called Munitus. She afterwards married Helicaon, son of Antenor and Telephus king of Mysia. Some call her Astyoche. According to the Greek scholiast of Lycophron, Laodice threw herself down from the top of a tower and was killed, when Troy was sacked by the Greeks. Dictys Cretensis, bk. 1.――Pausanias, bk. 13, ch. 26.――Homer, Iliad, bks. 3 & 6.――――One of the Oceanides.――――A daughter of Cinyras, by whom Elatus had some children. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 14.――――A daughter of Agamemnon, called also Electra. Homer, Iliad, bk. 9.――――A sister of Mithridates, who married Ariarathes king of Cappadocia, and afterwards her own brother Mithridates. During the secret absence of Mithridates, she prostituted herself to her servants, in hopes that her husband was dead; but when she saw her expectations frustrated, she attempted to poison Mithridates, for which she was put to death.――――A queen of Cappadocia, put to death by her subjects for poisoning five of her children.――――A sister and wife of Antiochus II. She put to death Berenice, whom her husband had married. See: Antiochus II. She was murdered by order of Ptolemy Evergetes, B.C. 246.――――A daughter of Demetrius, shamefully put to death by Ammonius, the tyrannical minister of the vicious Alexander Bala king of Syria.――――A daughter of Seleucus.――――The mother of Seleucus. Nine months before she brought forth she dreamt that Apollo had introduced himself into her bed, and had presented her with a precious stone, on which was engraved the figure of an anchor, commanding her to deliver it to her son as soon as born. This dream appeared the more wonderful, when in the morning she discovered in her bed a ring answering the same description. Not only the son that she brought forth, called Seleucus, but also all his successors of the house of the Seleucidæ, had the mark of an anchor upon their thigh. Justin. Appian, Syrian Wars mentions this anchor, though in a different manner.

=Lāŏdĭcēa=, now Ladik, a city of Asia, on the borders of Caria, Phrygia, and Lydia, celebrated for its commerce, and the fine soft and black wool of its sheep. It was originally called Diospolis, and afterwards Rhoas; and received the name of Laodicea, in honour of Laodice the wife of Antiochus. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 29.――Strabo, bk. 12.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 12.――Cicero, bk. 5, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 15, For Flaccus.――――Another in Media, destroyed by an earthquake in the age of Nero.――――Another in Syria, called by way of distinction Laodicea Cabiosa, or ad Libanum.――――Another on the borders of Cœlosyria. Strabo.

=Lāŏdĭcēne=, a province of Syria, which receives its name from Laodicea, its capital.

=Laodŏchus=, a son of Antenor, whose form Minerva borrowed to advise Pandarus to break the treaty which subsisted between the Greeks and Trojans. Homer, Iliad, bk. 4.――――An attendant of Antilochus. ――――A son of Priam. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 12.――――A son of Apollo and Phthia. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 7.

=Laogōnus=, a son of Bias, brother to Dardanus, killed by Achilles at the siege of Troy. Homer, Iliad, bk. 20, li. 461.――――A priest of Jupiter, killed by Merion in the Trojan war. Homer, Iliad, bk. 16, li. 604.

=Laogŏras=, a king of the Dryopes, who accustomed his subjects to become robbers. He plundered the temple of Apollo at Delphi, and was killed by Hercules. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Diodorus, bk. 4.

=Laogŏre=, a daughter of Cinyras and Metharme daughter of Pygmalion. She died in Egypt. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 14.

=Lāŏmĕdon=, son of Ilus king of Troy, married Strymon, called by some Placia, or Leucippe, by whom he had Podarces, afterwards known by the name of Priam, and Hesione. He built the walls of Troy, and was assisted by Apollo and Neptune, whom Jupiter had banished from heaven, and condemned to be subservient to the will of Laomedon for one year. When the walls were finished, Laomedon refused to reward the labours of the gods, and soon after his territories were laid waste by the god of the sea, and his subjects were visited by a pestilence sent by Apollo. Sacrifices were offered to the offended divinities, but the calamities of the Trojans increased; and nothing could appease the gods, according to the words of the oracle, but annually to expose to a sea monster a Trojan virgin. Whenever the monster appeared, the marriageable maidens were assembled, and the lot decided which of them was doomed to death for the good of her country. When this calamity had continued for five or six years, the lot fell upon Hesione, Laomedon’s daughter. The king was unwilling to part with a daughter whom he loved with uncommon tenderness, but his refusal would irritate more strongly the wrath of the gods. In the midst of his fears and hesitations, Hercules came and offered to deliver the Trojans from this public calamity, if Laomedon promised to reward him with a number of fine horses. The king consented, but when the monster was destroyed, he refused to fulfil his engagements, and Hercules was obliged to besiege Troy and take it by force of arms. Laomedon was put to death after a reign of 29 years, his daughter Hesione was given in marriage to Telamon, one of the conqueror’s attendants, and Podarces was ransomed by the Trojans, and placed upon his father’s throne. According to Hyginus, the wrath of Neptune and Apollo was kindled against Laomedon, because he refused to offer on their altars, as a sacrifice, all the first-born of his cattle, according to a vow which he had made. Homer, Iliad, bk. 21.――Virgil, Æneid, bks. 2 & 9.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11, fable 6.――Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 5. ――Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 20.――Horace, bk. 3, ode 3.――Hyginus, fable 89.――――A demagogue of Messina in Sicily.――――A satrap of Phœnicia, &c. Curtius, bk. 10, ch. 10.――――An Athenian, &c. Plutarch.――――An Orchomenian. Plutarch.

=Laŏmĕdonteus=, an epithet applied to the Trojans from their king Laomedon. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 542; bk. 7, li. 105; bk. 8, li. 18.

=Laŏmĕdontiădæ=, a patronymic given to the Trojans from Laomedon their king. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 248.

=Laonŏme=, the wife of Polyphemus, one of the Argonauts.

=Laonŏmēne=, a daughter of Thespius, by whom Hercules had two sons, Teles and Menippides, and two daughters, Lysidice and Stendedice. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.

=Laŏthoe=, a daughter of Altes, a king of the Leleges, who married Priam and became mother of Lycaon and Polydorus. Homer, Iliad, bk. 21, li. 85.――――One of the daughters of Thespius, mother of Antidus by Hercules. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.

=Laous=, a river of Lacedæmon.

=Lapăthus=, a city of Cyprus.

=Laphria=, a surname of Diana at Patræ in Achaia, where she had a temple with a statue of gold and ivory, which represented her in the habit of a huntress. The statue was made by Menechmus and Soidas, two artists of celebrity. This name was given the goddess from Laphrius the son of Delphus, who consecrated the statue to her. There was a festival of the goddess there, called also Laphria, of which Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 18, gives an account.

=Laphystium=, a mountain in Bœotia, where Jupiter had a temple, whence he was called Laphystius. It was here that Athamas prepared to immolate Phryxus and Helle, whom Jupiter saved by sending them a golden ram; whence the surname, and the homage paid to the god. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 34.

=Lapideus=, a surname of Jupiter among the Romans.

=Lăpĭthæ=, a people of Thessaly. See: Lapithus.

=Lapĭtho=, a city of Cyprus.

=Lăpĭthus=, a son of Apollo by Stilbe. He was brother to Centaurus, and married Orsinome daughter of Euronymus, by whom he had Phorbas and Periphas. The name of Lapithæ was given to the numerous children of Phorbas and Periphas, or rather to the inhabitants of the country, of which they had obtained the sovereignty. The chief of the Lapithæ assembled to celebrate the nuptials of Pirithous, one of their number, and among them were Theseus, Dryas, Hopleus, Mopsus, Phalerus, Exadius, Prolochus, Titaresius, &c. The Centaurs were also invited to partake the common festivity, and the amusements would have been harmless and innocent, had not one of the intoxicated Centaurs offered violence to Hippodamia the wife of Pirithous. The Lapithæ resented the injury, and the Centaurs supported their companions, upon which the quarrel became universal, and ended in blows and slaughter. Many of the Centaurs were slain, and they at last were obliged to retire. Theseus among the Lapithæ showed himself brave and intrepid in supporting the cause of his friends, and Nestor also was not less active in the protection of chastity and innocence. This quarrel arose from the resentment of Mars, whom Pirithous forgot or neglected to invite among the other gods at the celebration of his nuptials, and therefore the divinity punished the insult by sowing dissension among the festive assembly. See: Centauri. Hesiod has described the battle of the Centaurs and Lapithæ, as also Ovid in a more copious manner. The invention of bits and bridles for horses is attributed to the Lapithæ. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 3, li. 115; Æneid, bk. 6, li. 601; bk. 7, li. 305. ――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 530; bk. 14, li. 670. ――Hesiod, Shield of Heracles.――Diodorus, bk. 4.――Pindar, bk. 2, Pythian.――Strabo, bk. 9.――Statius, Thebiad, bk. 7, li. 304.

=Lapithæum=, a town of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 20.

=Lara=, or =Laranda=, one of the Naiads, daughter of the river Almon in Latium, famous for her beauty and her loquacity, which her parents long endeavoured to correct, but in vain. She revealed to Juno the amours of her husband Jupiter with Juturna, for which the god cut off her tongue, and ordered Mercury to conduct her to the infernal regions. The messenger of the gods fell in love with her by the way, and gratified his passion. Lara became mother of two children, to whom the Romans have paid divine honours, according to the opinion of some, under the name of Lares. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 2, li. 599.

=Larentia= and =Laurentia=, a courtesan in the first ages of Rome. See: Acca.

=Lăres=, gods of inferior power at Rome, who presided over houses and families. They were two in number, sons of Mercury by Lara. See: Lara. In process of time their power was extended not only over houses, but also over the country and the sea, and we find Lares Urbani to preside over the cities, Familiares over houses, Rustici over the country, Compitales over cross-roads, Marini over the sea, Viales over the roads, Patellarii, &c. According to the opinion of some, the worship of the gods Lares, who are supposed to be the same as the manes, arises from the ancient custom among the Romans and other nations of burying their dead in their houses, and from their belief that their spirits continually hovered over their houses, for the protection of the inhabitants. The statues of the Lares resembling monkeys, and covered with the skin of a dog, were placed in a niche behind the doors of the houses, or around the hearths. At the feet of the Lares was the figure of a dog barking, to intimate their care and vigilance. Incense was burnt on their altars, and a sow was also offered on particular days. Their festivals were observed at Rome in the month of May, when their statues were crowned with garlands of flowers, and offerings of fruit presented. The word Lares seems to be derived from the Etruscan word Lars, which signifies conductor, or leader. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 5, li. 129.――Juvenal, satire 8, li. 8.――Plutarch, Quæstiones Romanæ.――Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 4, ch. 10. ――Horace, bk. 3, ode 23.――Plautus, Aulularia & Cistellaria.

=Largra=, a well-known prostitute in Juvenal’s age. Juvenal, satire 4, li. 25.

=Largus=, a Latin poet, who wrote a poem on the arrival of Antenor in Italy, where he built the town of Padua. He composed with ease and elegance. Ovid, ex Ponto, bk. 4, ltr. 16, li. 17.

=Larīdes=, a son of Daucus or Daunus, who assisted Turnus against Æneas, and had his hand cut off with one blow by Pallas the son of Evander. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 391.

=Lārīna=, a virgin of Italy, who accompanied Camilla in her war against Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 11, li. 655.

=Larīnum=, or =Lārīna=, now Larino, a town of the Frentani on the Tifernus, before it falls into the Adriatic. The inhabitants were called Larinates. Silius Italicus, bk. 15, li. 565.――Cicero, For Aulus Cluentius, chs. 63, 64; Letters to Atticus, ltr. 12; bk. 7, ltr. 13.――Livy, bk. 22, ch. 18; bk. 27, ch. 40.――Cæsar, Civil War, bk. 1, ch. 23.

=Larissa=, a daughter of Pelasgus, who gave her name to some cities in Greece. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 23.――――A city between Palestine and Egypt, where Pompey was murdered and buried, according to some accounts.――――A large city on the banks of the Tigris. It had a small pyramid near it, greatly inferior to those of Egypt.――――A city of Asia Minor, on the southern confines of Troas. Strabo, bk. 13.――――Another in Æolia, 70 stadia from Cyme. It is surnamed Phriconis by Strabo, by way of distinction. Strabo, bk. 13. ――Homer, Iliad, bk. 2, li. 640.――――Another near Ephesus. ――――Another on the borders of the Peneus in Thessaly, also called Cremaste from its situation (Pensilis), the most famous of all the cities of that name. It was here that Acrisius was inadvertently killed by his grandson Perseus. Jupiter had there a famous temple, on account of which he is called Larissæus. The same epithet is also applied to Achilles, who reigned there. It is still extant, and bears the same name. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, li. 542. ――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, li. 197.――Lucan, bk. 6.――Livy, bk. 31, ch. 46; bk. 42, ch. 56.――――A citadel of Argos, built by Danaus.

=Larissæus.= See: Larissa.

=Larissus=, a river of Peloponnesus flowing between Elis and Achaia. Strabo, bk. 8.――Livy, bk. 27, ch. 31.――Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 43.

=Larius=, a large lake of Cisalpine Gaul, through which the Addua runs in its way into the Po, above Cremona. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 2, li. 159.

=Larnos=, a small desolate island on the coast of Thrace.

=Laronia=, a shameless courtesan in Juvenal’s age. Juvenal, satire 2, li. 86.

=Lars Tolumnius=, a king of the Veientes, conquered by the Romans, and put to death, A.U.C. 329. Livy, bk. 4, chs. 17 & 19.

=Titus Lartius Flavius=, a consul who appeased a sedition raised by the poorer citizens, and was the first dictator ever chosen at Rome, B.C. 498. He made Spurius Cassius his master of horse. Livy, bk. 2, ch. 18.――――Spurius, one of the three Romans who alone withstood the fury of Porsenna’s army at the head of a bridge, while the communication was cutting down behind them. His companions were Cocles and Herminius. See: Cocles. Livy, bk. 2, chs. 10 & 18. ――Dionysius of Halicarnassus.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 3, ch. 2. ――――The name of Lartius has been common to many Romans.

=Lartolætani=, a people of Spain.

=Larvæ=, a name given to the wicked spirits and apparitions which, according to the notions of the Romans, issued from their graves in the night and came to terrify the world. As the word larva signifies a mask, whose horrid and uncouth appearance often serves to frighten children, that name has been given to the ghosts or spectres which superstition believes to hover around the graves of the dead. Some call them Lemures. Servius, Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil, bk. 5, li. 64; bk. 6, li. 152.

=Larymna=, a town of Bœotia, where Bacchus had a temple and a statue. ――――Another in Caria. Strabo, bks. 9 & 16.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 16; bk. 2, ch. 3.

=Larysium=, a mountain of Laconia. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 22.

=Lassia=, an ancient name of Andros.

=Lassus=, or =Lasus=, a dithyrambic poet, born at Hermione, in Peloponnesus, about 500 years before Christ, and reckoned among the wise men of Greece by some. He is particularly known by the answer he gave to a man who asked him what could best render life pleasant and comfortable? “Experience.” He was acquainted with music. Some fragments of his poetry are to be found in Athenæus. He wrote an ode upon the Centaurs, and a hymn to Ceres, without inserting the letter S in the composition. Athenæus, bk. 10.

=Lasthĕnes=, a governor of Olynthus, corrupted by Philip king of Macedonia.――――A Cretan demagogue, conquered by Metellus the Roman general.――――A cruel minister at the court of the Seleucidæ, kings of Syria.

=Lasthĕnīa=, a woman who disguised herself to come and hear Plato’s lectures. Diogenes Laërtius.

=Latăgus=, a king of Pontus, who assisted Æetes against the Argonauts, and was killed by Darapes. Flaccus, bk. 5, li. 584.――――One of the companions of Æneas, killed by Mezentius. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 697.

=Laterānus Plautus=, a Roman consul elect, A.D. 65. A conspiracy with Piso against the emperor Nero proved fatal to him. He was led to execution, where he refused to confess the associates of the conspiracy, and did not even frown at the executioner who was as guilty as himself; but when a first blow could not sever his head from his body, he looked at the executioner, and shaking his head, he returned it to the hatchet with the greatest composure, and it was cut off. There exists now a celebrated palace at Rome, which derives its name from its ancient possessors the Laterani.

=Latĕrium=, the villa of Quintus Cicero at Arpinum, near the Liris. Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 10, ltr. 1; bk. 4, ltr. 7; Letters to his Friends, bk. 3, ltr. 1.――Pliny, bk. 15, ch. 15.

=Latiālis=, a surname of Jupiter, who was worshipped by the inhabitants of Latium upon mount Albanus at stated times. The festivals, which were first instituted by Tarquin the Proud, lasted 15 days. Livy, bk. 21. See: Feriæ Latinæ.

=Latīni=, the inhabitants of Latium. See: Latium.

=Latīnus Latiaris=, a celebrated informer, &c. Tacitus.

=Latīnus=, a son of Faunus by Marica, king of the Aborigines in Italy, who from him were called Latini. He married Amata, by whom he had a son and a daughter. The son died in his infancy, and the daughter, called Lavinia, was secretly promised in marriage by her mother to Turnus king of the Rutuli, one of her most powerful admirers. The gods opposed this union, and the oracles declared that Lavinia must become the wife of a foreign prince. The arrival of Æneas in Italy seemed favourable to this prediction, and Latinus, by offering his daughter to the foreign prince, and making him his friend and ally, seemed to have fulfilled the commands of the oracle. Turnus, however, disapproved of the conduct of Latinus; he claimed Lavinia as his lawful wife, and prepared to support his cause by arms. Æneas took up arms in his own defence, and Latium was the seat of the war. After mutual losses it was agreed that the quarrel should be decided by the two rivals, and Latinus promised his daughter to the conqueror. Æneas obtained the victory and married Lavinia. Latinus soon after died, and was succeeded by his son-in-law. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, &c.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 13, &c.; Fasti, bk. 2, &c. ――Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1, ch. 13.――Livy, bk. 1, ch. 1, &c.――Justin, bk. 43, ch. 1.――――A son of Sylvius Æneas, surnamed also Sylvius. He was the fifth king of the Latins, and succeeded his father. He was father to Alba his successor. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1, ch. 15.――Livy, bk. 2, ch. 3.――――A son of Ulysses and Circe also bore this name.

=Lătium=, a country of Italy near the river Tiber. It was originally very circumscribed, extending only from the Tiber to Circeii, but afterwards it comprehended the territories of the Volsci, Æqui, Hernici, Ausones, Umbri, and Rutuli. The first inhabitants were called Aborigines, and received the name of Latini, from Latinus their king. According to others the word is derived from lateo, to conceal, because Saturn concealed himself there when flying the resentment of his son Jupiter. Laurentum was the capital of the country in the reign of Latinus, Lavinium under Æneas, and Alba under Ascanius. See: Alba. The Latins, though originally known only among their neighbours, soon rose in consequence when Romulus had founded the city of Rome in their country. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 38; bk. 8, li. 322.――Strabo, bk. 5.――Dionysius of Halicarnassus. ――Justin, bk. 20, ch. 1.――Plutarch, Romulus.――Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 12.――Tacitus, bk. 4, Annals, ch. 5.

=Latius=, a surname of Jupiter at Rome. Statius, bk. 5, Sylvæ, poem 2, li. 392.

=Latmus=, a mountain of Caria near Miletus. It is famous for the residence of Endymion, whom Diana regularly visited in the night, whence he is often called Latmius Heros. See: Endymion. Mela, bk. 1, ch. 17.――Ovid, Tristia, bk. 2, li. 299; Ars Amatoria, bk. 3, li. 83.――Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 29.――Strabo, bk. 14.――Cicero, bk. 1, Tusculanæ Disputationes, ch. 28.

=Latobius=, the god of health among the Corinthians.

=Latobrigri=, a people of Belgic Gaul.

=Latōis=, a name of Diana, as being the daughter of Latona.――――A country house near Ephesus.

=Latomiæ=. See: ♦Lautumiæ.

♦ ‘Latumiæ’ replaced with ‘Lautumiæ’

=Latōna=, a daughter of Cœus the Titan and Phœbe, or, according to Homer, of Saturn. She was admired for her beauty, and celebrated for the favours which she granted to Jupiter. Juno, always jealous of her husband’s amours, made Latona the object of her vengeance, and sent the serpent Python to disturb her peace and persecute her. Latona wandered from place to place in the time of her pregnancy, continually alarmed for fear of Python. She was driven from heaven, and Terra, influenced by Juno, refused to give her a place where she might find rest and bring forth. Neptune, moved with compassion, struck with his trident, and made immovable the island of Delos, which before wandered in the Ægean, and appeared sometimes above, and sometimes below, the surface of the sea. Latona, changed into a quail by Jupiter, came to Delos, where she resumed her original shape, and gave birth to Apollo and Diana, leaning against a palm tree or an olive. Her repose was of short duration. Juno discovered the place of her retreat, and obliged her to fly from Delos. She wandered over the greatest part of the world, and in Caria, where her fatigue compelled her to stop, she was insulted and ridiculed by peasants of whom she asked for water, while they were weeding a marsh. Their refusal and insolence provoked her, and she intreated Jupiter to punish their barbarity. They were all changed into frogs. She was exposed to repeated insults by Niobe, who boasted herself greater than the mother of Apollo and Diana, and ridiculed the presents which the piety of her neighbours had offered to Latona. See: Niobe. Her beauty proved fatal to the giant Tityus, whom Apollo and Diana put to death. See: Tityus. At last Latona, though persecuted and exposed to the resentment of Juno, became a powerful deity, and saw her children receive divine honours. Her worship was generally established where her children received adoration, particularly at Argos, Delos, &c., where she had temples. She had an oracle in Egypt, celebrated for the true, decisive answers which it gave. Diodorus, bk. 5.――Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 155.――Pausanias, bks. 2 & 3.――Homer, Iliad, bk. 21; Hymns to Aphrodite & Artemis. ――Hesiod, Theogony.――Apollodorus, bk. 3, chs. 5 & 10.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6, li. 160.――Hyginus, fable 140.

=Latopŏlis=, a city of Egypt. Strabo.

=Latous=, a name ♦given to Apollo, as son of Latona. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6, fable 9.

♦ ‘give’ replaced with ‘given’

=Latreus=, one of the Centaurs, who, after killing Halesus, was himself slain by Cæneus. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 463.

=Laudămia=, a daughter of Alexander king of Epirus, and Olympias daughter of Pyrrhus, killed in a temple of Diana, by the enraged populace. Justin, bk. 28, ch. 3.――――The wife of Protesilaus. See: Laodamia.

=Laudice.= See: Laodice.

=Laverna=, the goddess of thieves and dishonest persons at Rome. She did not only preside over robbers, called from her Laverniones, but she protected such as deceived others, or performed their secret machinations in obscurity and silence. Her worship was very popular, and the Romans raised her an altar near one of the gates of the city, which from that circumstance was called the gate of Laverna. She was generally represented by a head without a body. Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 16, li. 60.――Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 4.――――A place mentioned by Plutarch, &c.

=Lavernium=, a temple of Laverna, near Formiæ. Cicero, bk. 7, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 8.

=Laufella=, a wanton woman, &c. Juvenal, satire 6, li. 319.

=Laviana=, a province of Armenia Minor.

=Lăvīnia=, a daughter of king Latinus and Amata. She was betrothed to her relation king Turnus, but because the oracle ordered her father to marry her to a foreign prince, she was given to Æneas after the death of Turnus. See: Latinus. At her husband’s death she was left pregnant, and being fearful of the tyranny of Ascanius her son-in-law, she fled into the woods, where she brought forth a son called Æneas Sylvius. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1.――Virgil, Æneid, bks. 6 & 7.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, li. 507.――Livy, bk. 1, ch. 1.

=Lavīnium=, or =Lavīnum=, a town of Italy, built by Æneas, and called by that name in honour of Lavinia, the founder’s wife. It was the capital of Latium during the reign of Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, li. 262.――Strabo, bk. 5.――Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1. ――Livy, bk. 1, ch. 2.――Justin, bk. 43, ch. 2.

=Laura=, a place near Alexandria in Egypt.

=Laureacum=, a town at the confluence of the Ens and the Danube, now Lorch.

=Laurentālia=, certain festivals celebrated at Rome in honour of Laurentia, on the last day of April and the 23rd of December. They were, in process of time, part of the Saturnalia. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 3, li. 57.

=Laurentes agri=, the country in the neighbourhood of Laurentum. Tibullus, bk. 2, poem 5, li. 41.

=Laurentia.= See: Acca.

=Laurentīni=, the inhabitants of Latium. They received this name from the great number of laurels which grew in the country. King Latinus found one of uncommon largeness and beauty, when he was going to build a temple to Apollo, and the tree was consecrated to the god, and preserved with the most religious ceremonies. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 59.

=Laurentius=, belonging to Laurentum or Latium. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 709.

=Laurentum=, now Paterno, the capital of the kingdom of Latium in the reign of Latinus. It is on the sea coast, east of the Tiber. See: Laurentini. Strabo, bk. 5.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4.――Livy, bk. 1, ch. 1.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 171.

=Laurion=, a place of Attica, where were gold mines, from which the Athenians drew considerable revenues, and with which they built their fleets by the advice of Themistocles. These mines failed before the age of Strabo. Thucydides, bk. 2.――Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 1. ――Strabo, bk. 9.

=Lauron=, a town of Spain, where Pompey’s son was conquered by Cæsar’s army.

=Laus=, now Laino, a town on the river of the same name, which forms the southern boundary of Lucania. Strabo, bk. 6.

=Laus Pompeia=, a town of Italy, founded by a colony sent thither by Pompey.

=Lausus=, a son of Numitor and brother of Ilia. He was put to death by his uncle Amulius, who usurped his father’s throne. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 4, li. 54.――――A son of Mezentius king of the Tyrrhenians, killed by Æneas in the war which his father and Turnus made against the Trojans. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 649; bk. 10, li. 426, &c.

=Lautium=, a city of Latium.

=Lautumiæ=, or =Latomiæ=, a prison at Syracuse, cut out of the solid rock by Dionysius, and now converted into a subterraneous garden filled with numerous shrubs, flourishing in luxuriant variety. Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 5, ch. 27.――Livy, bk. 26, ch. 27; bk. 32, ch. 26.

=Leades=, a son of Astacus, who killed Eteoclus. Apollodorus.

=Lēæi=, a nation of Pæonia, near Macedonia.

=Leæna=, an Athenian harlot. See: Læna.

=Leander=, a youth of Abydos, famous for his amours with Hero. See: Hero.――――A Milesian who wrote an historical commentary upon his country.

=Leandre=, a daughter of Amyclas, who married Arcas. Apollodorus.

=Leandrias=, a Lacedæmonian refugee of Thebes, who declared, according to an ancient oracle, that Sparta would lose the superiority over Greece when conquered by the Thebans at Leuctra. Diodorus, bk. 15.

=Leanira=, a daughter of Amyclas. See: Leandre.

=Learchus=, a son of Athamas and Ino, crushed to death against a wall by his father, in a fit of madness. See: Athamas. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 6, li. 490.

=Lebădēa=, now Lioadias, a town of Bœotia, near mount Helicon. It received this name from the mother of Aspledon, and became famous for the oracle and cave of Trophonius. No moles could live there, according to Pliny. Strabo, bk. 9.――Pliny, bk. 16, ch. 36. ――Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 59.

=Lebĕdus=, or =Lebĕdos=, a town of Ionia, at the north of Colophon, where festivals were yearly observed in honour of Bacchus, and where Trophonius had a cave and a temple. Lysimachus destroyed it, and carried part of the inhabitants to Ephesus. It had been founded by an Athenian colony, under one of the sons of Codrus. Strabo, bk. 14.――Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 11, li. 7.――Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 142. ――Cicero, bk. 1, Divination, ch. 33.

=Lebēna=, a commercial town of Crete, with a temple sacred to Æsculapius. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 26.

=Lĕbinthos= and =Lebynthos=, an island in the Ægean sea, near Patmos. Strabo, bk. 10.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 8, li. 222.

=Lechæum=, now Pelago, a port of Corinth in the bay of Corinth. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 2, li. 381.――Livy, bk. 32, ch. 23.

=Lectum=, a promontory, now cape Baba, separating Troas from Æolia. Livy, bk. 37, ch. 37.

=Lecythus=, a town of Eubœa.

=Leda=, a daughter of king Thespius and Eurythemis, who married Tyndarus king of Sparta. She was seen bathing in the river Eurotas by Jupiter, when she was some few days advanced in her pregnancy, and the god, struck with her beauty, resolved to deceive her. He persuaded Venus to change herself into an eagle, while he assumed the form of a swan, and, after this metamorphosis, Jupiter, as if fearful of the tyrannical cruelty of the bird of prey, fled through the air into the arms of Leda, who willingly sheltered the trembling swan from the assaults of his superior enemy. The caresses with which the naked Leda received the swan, enabled Jupiter to avail himself of his situation, and nine months after this adventure, the wife of Tyndarus brought forth two eggs, of one of which sprang Pollux and Helena, and of the other Castor and Clytemnestra. The two former were deemed the offspring of Jupiter, and the others claimed Tyndarus for their father. Some mythologists attributed this amour to Nemesis, and not to Leda; and they further mention, that Leda was entrusted with the education of the children which sprang from the eggs brought forth by Nemesis. See: Helena. To reconcile this diversity of opinions, others maintain that Leda received the name of Nemesis after death. Homer and Hesiod make no mention of the metamorphosis of Jupiter into a swan, whence some have imagined that the fable was unknown to these two ancient poets, and probably invented since their age. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 8; bk. 3, ch. 10.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6, li. 109.――Hesiod, bk. 17, li. 55.――Hyginus, fable 77. ――Isocrates, Helen.――Homer, Odyssey, bk. 11.――Euripides, Helen.――――A famous dancer in the age of Juvenal, satire 6, li. 63.

=Ledæa=, an epithet given to Hermione, &c., as related to Leda. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 328.

=Ledus=, now Lez, a river of Gaul, near the modern Montpelier. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 5.

=Lĕgio=, a corps of soldiers in the Roman armies, whose numbers have been different at different times. The legion under Romulus consisted of 3000 foot and 300 horse, and was soon after augmented to 4000, after the admission of the Sabines into the city. When Annibal was in Italy it consisted of 5000 soldiers, and afterwards it decreased to 4000, or 4500. Marius made it consist of 6200, besides 700 horse. This was the period of its greatness in numbers. Livy speaks of 10, and even 18, legions kept at Rome. During the consular government it was usual to levy and fit up four legions, which were divided between the two consuls. This number was, however, often increased, as time and occasion required. Augustus maintained a standing army of 23 or 25 legions, and this number was seldom diminished. In the reign of Tiberius there were 27 legions, and the peace establishment of Adrian maintained no less than 30 of these formidable brigades. They were distributed over the Roman empire, and their stations were settled and permanent. The peace of Britain was protected by three legions; 16 were stationed on the banks of the Rhine and Danube, viz. two in Lower, and three in Upper Germany; one in Noricum, one in Rhætia, three in Mœsia, four in Pannonia, and two in Dacia. Eight were stationed on the Euphrates, six of which remained in Syria, and two in Cappadocia; while the remote provinces of Egypt, Africa, and Spain were guarded each by a single legion. Besides these the tranquillity of Rome was preserved by 20,000 soldiers, who, under the titles of city cohorts and of pretorian guards, watched over the safety of the monarch and of the capital. The legions were distinguished by different appellations, and generally borrowed their name from the order in which they were first raised, as prima, secunda, tertia, quarta, &c. Besides this distinction, another more expressive was generally added, as from the name of the emperor who embodied them, as Augusta, Claudiana, Galbiana, Flavia, Ulpia, Trajana, Antoniana, &c.; from the provinces or quarters where they were stationed, as Britannica, Cyreniaca, Gallica, &c.; from the provinces which had been subdued by their valour, as Parthica, Scythica, Arabica, Africana, &c.; from the names of the deities whom their generals particularly worshipped, as Minervia, Apollinaris, &c.; or from more trifling accidents, as Martia, Fulminatrix, Rapax, Adjutrix, &c. Each legion was divided into 10 cohorts, each cohort into three manipuli, and every manipulus into two centuries or ordines. The chief commander of the legion was called legatus, lieutenant. The standards borne by the legions were various. In the first ages of Rome a wolf was the standard, in honour of Romulus; after that a hog, because that animal was generally sacrificed at the conclusion of a treaty, and therefore it indicated that war is undertaken for the obtaining of peace. A minotaur was sometimes the standard, to intimate the secrecy with which the general was to act, in commemoration of the labyrinth. Sometimes a horse or boar was used, till the age of Marius, who changed all these for the eagle, being a representation of that bird in silver, holding sometimes a thunderbolt in its claws. The Roman eagle ever after remained in use, though Trajan made use of the dragon.

=Leitus=, or =Letus=, a commander of the Bœotians at the siege of Troy. He was saved from the victorious hand of Hector and from death by Idomeneus. Homer, Iliad, bks. 2, 6 & 17.――――One of the Argonauts, son of Alector. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 9.

=Lelaps=, a dog that never failed to seize and conquer whatever animal he was ordered to pursue. It was given to Procris by Diana, and Procris reconciled herself to her husband by presenting him with that valuable present. According to some, Procris had received it from Minos, as a reward for the dangerous wounds of which she had cured him. Hyginus, fable 128.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 7, li. 771. ――Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 19.――――One of Actæon’s dogs. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3, li. 211.

=Lĕlĕges= (a λεγω, to gather), a wandering people, composed of different unconnected nations. They were originally inhabitants of Caria, and went to the Trojan war with Altes their king. Achilles plundered their country, and obliged them to retire to the neighbourhood of Halicarnassus, where they fixed their habitation. The inhabitants of Laconia and Megara bore this name for some time, from Lelex, one of their kings. Strabo, bks. 7 & 8.――Homer, Iliad, bk. 21, li. 85.――Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 7; bk. 5, ch. 30. ――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 725.――Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 1.

=Lelegeis=, a name applied to Miletus, because once possessed by the Leleges. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 29.

=Lelex=, an Egyptian, who came with a colony to Megara, where he reigned about 200 years before the Trojan war. His subjects were called from him Leleges, and the place Lelegeia mœnia. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 1.――――A Greek, who was the first king of Laconia in Peloponnesus. His subjects were also called Leleges, and the country where he reigned Lelegia. Pausanias.

=Lemanis=, a place in Britain, where Cæsar is supposed to have first landed, and therefore placed by some at Lime in Kent.

=Lemannus=, a lake in the country of the Allobroges, through which the Rhone flows by Geneva. It is now called the lake of Geneva or Lausanne. Lucan, bk. 1, li. 396.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 5.

=Lemnos=, an island in the Ægean sea between Tenedos, Imbros, and Samothrace. It was sacred to Vulcan, called Lemnius pater, who fell there when kicked down from heaven by Jupiter. See: Vulcanus. It was celebrated for two horrible massacres; that of the Lemnian women murdering their husbands [See: ♦Hypsipyle], and that of the Lemnians, or Pelasgi, in killing all the children they had had by some Athenian women, whom they had carried away to become their wives. These two acts of cruelty have given rise to the proverb of Lemnian actions, which is applied to all barbarous and inhuman deeds. The first inhabitants of Lemnos were the Pelasgi, or rather the Thracians, who were murdered by their wives. After them came the children of the Lemnian widows by the Argonauts, whose descendants were at last expelled by the Pelasgi, about 1100 years before the christian era. Lemnos is about 112 miles in circumference, according to Pliny, who says that it is often shadowed by mount Athos, though at the distance of 87 miles. It has been called ♦Hypsipyle, from queen ♦Hypsipyle. It is famous for a certain kind of earth or chalk, called terra Lemnia or terra sigillata, from the seal or impression which it can bear. As the inhabitants were blacksmiths, the poets have taken occasion to fix the forges of Vulcan in that island, and to consecrate the whole country to his divinity. Lemnos is also celebrated for a labyrinth, which, according to some traditions, surpassed those of Crete and Egypt. Some remains of it were still visible in the age of Pliny. The island of Lemnos, now called Stalimene, was reduced under the power of Athens by Miltiades, and the Carians, who then inhabited it, were obliged to emigrate. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 454.――Homer, Iliad, bk. 1, li. 593.――Cornelius Nepos, Miltiades.――Strabo, bks. 1, 2, & 7. ――Herodotus, bk. 6, ch. 140.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Apollonius, bk. 1, Argonautica.――Flaccus, bk. 2, li. 78.――Ovid, Ars Amatoria, bk. 3, li. 672.――Statius, bk. 3, Thebiad, li. 274.

♦ ‘Hipsipyle’ replaced with ‘Hypsipyle’ for consistency

=Lemovices=, a people of Gaul, now Limousin and Limoges. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 7; ch. 4.

=Lemovii=, a nation of Germany. Tacitus, Germania.

=Lĕmŭres=, the manes of the dead. The ancients supposed that the souls after death wandered all over the world, and disturbed the peace of its inhabitants. The good spirits were called Lares familiares, and the evil ones were known by the name of Larvæ, or Lemures. They terrified the good, and continually haunted the wicked and impious; and the Romans had the superstition to celebrate festivals in their honour, called Lemuria, or ♦Lemuralia, in the month of May. They were first instituted by Romulus to appease the manes of his brother Remus, from whom they were called Remuria, and, by corruption, Lemuria. These solemnities continued three nights, during which the temples of the gods were shut and marriages prohibited. It was usual for the people to throw black beans on the graves of the deceased, or to burn them, as the smell was supposed to be insupportable to them. They also muttered magical words, and, by beating kettles and drums, they believed that the ghosts would depart and no longer come to terrify their relations upon earth. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 5, li. 421, &c.――Horace, bk. 2, ltr. 2, li. 209.――Persius, bk. 5, li. 185.

♦ ‘Lemurialia’ replaced with ‘Lemuralia’

=Lĕmūria= and =Lĕmŭrālia=. See: Lemures.

=Lenæus=, a surname of Bacchus, from ληνος, a wine-press. There was a festival called Lenæa, celebrated in his honour, in which the ceremonies observed at the other festivals of the god chiefly prevailed. There were, besides, poetical contentions, &c. Pausanias. ――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 2, li. 4; Æneid, bk. 4, li. 207. ――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, li. 14.――――A learned grammarian, ordered by Pompey to translate into Latin some of the physical manuscripts of Mithridates king of Pontus.

=Lentŭlus=, a celebrated family at Rome, which produced many great men in the commonwealth. The most illustrious were Lucius Cornelius Lentulus, a consul, A.U.C. 427, who dispersed some robbers who infested Umbria.――――Batiatus Lentulus, a man who trained up some gladiators at Capua, which escaped from his school.――――Cornelius Lentulus, surnamed Sura. He joined in Catiline’s conspiracy, and assisted in corrupting the Allobroges. He was convicted in full senate by Cicero, and put in prison and afterwards executed.――――A consul who triumphed over the Samnites.――――Cnæus Lentulus, surnamed Gætulicus, was made consul A.D. 26, and was some time after put to death by Tiberius, who was jealous of his great popularity. He wrote a history mentioned by Suetonius, and attempted also poetry. ――――Lucius Lentulus, a friend of Pompey, put to death in Africa. ――――Publius Cornelius Lentulus, a pretor, defeated by the rebellious slaves in Sicily.――――Lentulus Spinther, a senator, kindly used by Julius Cæsar, &c.――――A tribune at the battle of Cannæ.――――Publius Lentulus, a friend of Brutus, mentioned by Cicero (On Oratory, bk. 1, ch. 48) as a great and consummate statesman.――――Besides these, there are a few others, whose name is only mentioned in history, and whose life was not marked by any uncommon event. The consulship was in the family of the Lentuli in the years of Rome 427, 479, 517, 518, 553, 555, 598, &c. Tacitus, Annals.――Livy.――Florus.――Pliny. ――Plutarch.――Eutropius.

=Leo=, a native of Byzantium, who flourished 350 years before the christian era. His philosophical and political talents endeared him to his countrymen, and he was always sent upon every important occasion as ambassador to Athens, or to the court of Philip king of Macedonia. This monarch, well acquainted with the abilities of Leo, was sensible that his views and claims to Byzantium would never succeed while it was protected by the vigilance of such a patriotic citizen. To remove him he had recourse to artifice and perfidy. A letter was forged, in which Leo made solemn promises of betraying his country to the king of Macedonia for money. This was no sooner known than the people ran enraged to the house of Leo, and the philosopher, to avoid their fury, and without attempting his justification, strangled himself. He had written some treatises upon physic, and also the history of his country, and the wars of Philip in seven books, which have been lost. Plutarch.――――A Corinthian at Syracuse, &c.――――A king of Sparta.――――A son of Eurycrates. Athenæus, bk. 12. ――Philostratus.――――An emperor of the east, surnamed the Thracian. He reigned 17 years, and died A.D. 474, being succeeded by Leo II. for 10 months, and afterwards by Zeno.

=Leocorion=, a monument and temple erected by the Athenians to Pasithea, Theope, and Eubele, daughters of Leos, who immolated themselves when an oracle had ordered that, to stop the raging pestilence, some of the blood of the citizens must be shed. Ælian, bk. 12, ch. 28. ――Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 3, ch. 19.

=Leocrătes=, an Athenian general, who flourished B.C. 460, &c. Diodorus, bk. 11.

=Leodămas=, a son of Eteocles, one of the seven Theban chiefs who defended the city against the Argives. He killed Ægialeus, and was himself killed by Alcmæon.――――A son of Hector and Andromache. Dictys Cretensis.

=Leodŏcus=, one of the Argonauts. Flaccus.

=Leogŏras=, an Athenian debauchee, who maintained the courtesan Myrrhina.

=Leon=, a king of Sparta. Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 204.――――A town of Sicily, near Syracuse. Livy, bk. 24, ch. 25.

=Leona=, a courtesan, called also Læna. See: Læna.

=Leonătus=, one of Alexander’s generals. His father’s name was Eunus. He distinguished himself in Alexander’s conquest of Asia, and once saved the king’s life in a dangerous battle. After the death of Alexander, at the general division of the provinces, he received for his portion that part of Phrygia which borders on the Hellespont. He was empowered by Perdiccas to assist Eumenes in making himself master of the province of Cappadocia, which had been allotted to him. Like the rest of the generals of Alexander, he was ambitious of power and dominion. He aspired to the sovereignty of Macedonia, and secretly communicated to Eumenes the different plans he meant to pursue to execute his designs. He passed from Asia into Europe to assist Antipater against the Athenians, and was killed in a battle which was fought soon after his arrival. Historians have mentioned, as an instance of the luxury of Leonatus, that he employed a number of camels to procure some earth from Egypt to wrestle upon, as, in his opinion, it seemed better calculated for that purpose. Plutarch, Alexander.――Curtius, bk. 3, ch. 12; bk. 6, ch. 8.――Justin, bk. 13, ch. 2.――Diodorus, bk. 18.――Cornelius Nepos, Eumenes.――――A Macedonian with Pyrrhus in Italy against the Romans.

=Leonĭdas=, a celebrated king of Lacedæmon, of the family of the Eurysthenidæ, sent by his countrymen to oppose Xerxes king of Persia, who had invaded Greece with about five millions of souls. He was offered the kingdom of Greece by the enemy, if he would not oppose his views; but Leonidas heard the proposal with indignation, and observed, that he preferred death for his country, to an unjust though extensive dominion over it. Before the engagement Leonidas exhorted his soldiers, and told them all to dine heartily, as they were to sup in the realms of Pluto. The battle was fought at Thermopylæ, and the 300 Spartans who alone had refused to abandon the scene of action, withstood the enemy with such vigour, that they were obliged to retire wearied and conquered during three successive days, till Ephialtes, a Trachinian, had the perfidy to conduct a detachment of Persians by a secret path up the mountains, whence they suddenly fell upon the rear of the Spartans, and crushed them to pieces. Only one escaped of the 300; he returned home, where he was treated with insult and reproaches, for flying ingloriously from a battle in which his brave companions, with their royal leader, had perished. This celebrated battle, which happened 480 years before the christian era, taught the Greeks to despise the number of the Persians, and to rely upon their own strength, and intrepidity. Temples were raised to the fallen hero, and festivals, called Leonidea, yearly celebrated at Sparta, in which free-born youths contended. Leonidas, as he departed for the battle from Lacedæmon, gave no other injunction to his wife but, after his death, to marry a man of virtue and honour, to raise from her children deserving of the name and greatness of her first husband. Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 120, &c.――Cornelius Nepos, Themistocles.――Justin, bk. 2.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 1, ch. 6. ――Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 4.――Plutarch, Lycurgus & Cleomenes. ――――A king of Sparta after Areus II., ♦257 years before Christ. He was driven from his kingdom by Cleombrotus his son-in-law, and afterwards re-established.――――A preceptor to Alexander the Great. ――――A friend of Parmenio, appointed commander, by Alexander, of the soldiers who lamented the death of Parmenio, and who formed a separate cohort. Curtius, bk. 7, ch. 2.――――A learned man of Rhodes, greatly commended by Strabo, &c.

♦ omitted word ‘years’ added

=Leontium= and =Leontīni=, a town of Sicily, about five miles distant from the sea-shore. It was built by a colony from Chalcis in Eubæa, and was, according to some accounts, once the habitation of the Lætrygones, for which reason the neighbouring fields are often called Læstrygonii campi. The country was extremely fruitful, whence Cicero calls it the grand magazine of Sicily. The wine which it produced was the best of the island. The people of Leontium implored the assistance of the Athenians against the Syracusans, B.C. 427. Thucydides, bk. 6.――Polybius, bk. 7.――Ovid, Fasti, bk. 4, li. 467.――Silius Italicus, bk. 14, li. 126.――Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 5.

=Leontium=, a celebrated courtesan of Athens, who studied philosophy under Epicurus, and became one of his most renowned pupils. She prostituted herself to the philosopher’s scholars, and even to Epicurus himself, if we believe the reports which were raised by some of his enemies. See: Epicurus. Metrodorus shared her favours in the most unbounded manner, and by him she had a son, to whom Epicurus was so partial, that he recommended him to his executors on his dying bed. Leontium not only professed herself a warm admirer and follower of the doctrines of Epicurus, but she even wrote a book in support of them against Theophrastus. This book was valuable, if we believe the testimony and criticism of Cicero, who praised the purity and elegance of its style, and the truly Attic turn of the expressions. Leontium had also a daughter called Danae, who married Sophron. Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 1, ch. 33.

=Leontocephălus=, a strongly fortified city of Phrygia. Plutarch.

=Leonton=, or =Leontopŏlis=, a town of Egypt where lions were worshipped. Ælian, De Natura Animalium, bk. 12, ch. 7.――Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 10.

=Leontychides.= See: Leotychides.

=Leos=, a son of Orpheus, who immolated his three daughters for the good of Athens. See: Leocorion.

=Leosthĕnes=, an Athenian general, who, after Alexander’s death, drove Antipater to Thessaly, where he besieged him in the town of Lamia. The success which for a while attended his arms was soon changed by a fatal blow, which he received from a stone thrown by the besieged, B.C. 323. The death of Leosthenes was followed by the total defeat of the Athenian forces. The funeral oration over his body was pronounced at Athens by Hyperides, in the absence of Demosthenes, who had been lately banished for taking a bribe from Harpalus. See: Lamiacum. Diodorus, bks. 17 & 18.――Strabo, bk. 9.――――Another general of Athens, condemned on account of the bad success which attended his arms against Peparethos.

=Leotychĭdes=, a king of Sparta, son of Menares, of the family of the Proclidæ. He was set over the Grecian fleet, and, by his courage and valour, he put an end to the Persian war at the famous battle of Mycale. It is said that he cheered the spirits of his fellow-soldiers at Mycale, who were anxious for their countrymen in Greece, by raising a report that a battle had been fought at Platæa, in which the barbarians had been defeated. This succeeded, and though the information was premature, yet a battle was fought at Platæa, in which the Greeks obtained the victory the same day that the Persian fleet was destroyed at Mycale. Leotychides was accused of a capital crime by the Ephori, and, to avoid the punishment which his guilt seemed to deserve, he fled to the temple of Minerva at Tegea, where he perished, B.C. 469, after a reign of 22 years. He was succeeded by his grandson Archidamus. Pausanias, bk. 3, chs. 7 & 8.――Diodorus, bk. 11.――――A son of Agis king of Sparta by Timæa. The legitimacy of his birth was disputed by some, and it was generally believed that he was the son of Alcibiades. He was prevented from ascending the throne of Sparta by Lysander, though Agis had declared him upon his death-bed his lawful son and heir, and Agesilaus was appointed in his place. Cornelius Nepos, Agesilaus.――Plutarch.――Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 8.

=Lephyrium=, a city of Cilicia.

=Lepĭda=, a noble woman, accused of attempts to poison her husband, from whom she had been separated for 20 years. She was condemned under Tiberius. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 3, ch. 22.――――A woman who married Scipio.――――Domitia, a daughter of Drusus and Antonia, great niece to Augustus, and aunt to the emperor Nero. She is described by Tacitus as a common prostitute, infamous in her manners, violent in her temper, and yet celebrated for her beauty. She was put to death by means of her rival Agrippina, Nero’s mother. Tacitus.――――A wife of Galba the emperor.――――A wife of Cassius, &c.

=Lepĭdus Marcus Æmĭlius=, a Roman, celebrated as being one of the triumvirs with Augustus and Antony. He was of an illustrious family, and, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was remarkable for his ambition, to which were added a narrowness of mind, and a great deficiency of military abilities. He was sent against Cæsar’s murderers, and some time after, he leagued with Marcus Antony, who had gained the heart of his soldiers by artifice, and that of their commander by his address. When his influence and power among the soldiers had made him one of the triumvirs, he showed his cruelty, like his colleagues, by his proscriptions, and even suffered his own brother to be sacrificed to the dagger of the triumvirate. He received Africa as his portion in the division of the empire; but his indolence soon rendered him despicable in the eyes of his soldiers and of his colleagues; and Augustus, who was well acquainted with the unpopularity of Lepidus, went to his camp and obliged him to resign the power to which he was entitled as being a triumvir. After this degrading event, he sunk into obscurity, and retired, by order of Augustus, to Cerceii, a small town on the coast of Latium, where he ended his days in peace, B.C. 13, and where he was forgotten as soon as out of power. Appian.――Plutarch, Life of Augustus.――Florus, bk. 4, chs. 6 & 7.――――A Roman consul, sent to be the guardian of young Ptolemy Epiphanes, whom his father had left to the care of the Roman people. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 67.――Justin, bk. 30, ch. 3.――――A son of Julia the granddaughter of Augustus. He was intended by Caius as his successor in the Roman empire. He committed adultery with Agrippina when young. Dio Cassius, bk. 59.――――An orator mentioned by Cicero, Brutus.――――A censor, A.U.C. 734.

=Lepīnus=, a mountain of Italy. Columella, bk. 10.

=Lepontii=, a people at the source of the Rhine. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 20.

=Lepreos=, a son of Pyrgeus, who built a town in Elis, which he called after his own name. He laid a wager that he would eat as much as Hercules; upon which he killed an ox and ate it up. He afterwards challenged Hercules to a trial of strength, and was killed. Pausanias, bk. 5, ch. 5.

=Leprium=, or =Lepreos=, a town of Elis. Cicero, bk. 6, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 2.――Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 5.

=Leptĭnes=, a general of Demetrius, who ordered Cnæus Octavius, one of the Roman ambassadors, to be put to death.――――A son of Hermocrates of Syracuse, brother to Dionysius. He was sent by his brother against the Carthaginians, and experienced so much success, that he sunk 50 of their ships. He was afterwards defeated by Mago, and banished by Dionysius. He always continued a faithful friend to the interests of his brother, though naturally an avowed enemy to tyranny and oppression. He was killed in a battle with the Carthaginians. Diodorus, bk. 15.――――A famous orator at Athens, who endeavoured to set the people free from oppressive taxes. He was opposed by Demosthenes.――――A tyrant of Appollonia in Sicily, who surrendered to Timoleon. Diodorus, bk. 16.

=Leptis=, the name of two cities of Africa, one of which, called Major, now Lebida, was near the Syrtes, and had been built by a Tyrian or Sidonian colony. The other, called Minor, now Lemta, was about 18 Roman miles from Adrumentum. It paid every day a talent to the republic of Carthage, by way of tribute. Lucan, bk. 2, li. 251.――Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 19.――Sallust, Jugurthine War, ch. 77. ――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 8.――Strabo, bk. 3, li. 256.――Cæsar. Civil Wars, bk. 2, ch. 38.――Cicero, bk. 5, Against Verres, ch. 59.

=Leria=, an island in the Ægean sea, on the coast of Caria, about 18 miles in circumference, peopled by a Milesian colony. Its inhabitants were very dishonest. Strabo, bk. 10.――Herodotus, bk. 5, ch. 125.

=Lerĭna=, or =Planasia=, a small island in the Mediterranean, on the coast of Gaul, at the east of the Rhone. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 1, ch. 3.

=Lerna=, a country of Argolis, celebrated for a grove and a lake, where, according to the poets, the Danaides threw the heads of their murdered husbands. It was there also that Hercules killed the famous hydra. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 803; bk. 12, li. 517.――Strabo, bk. 8.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 597.――Lucretius, bk. 5.――Statius, Thebiad, bk. 4, li. 638. ――Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 15.――――There was a festival, called Lernæa, celebrated there in honour of Bacchus, Proserpine, and Ceres. The Argives used to carry fire to this solemnity from a temple upon mount Crathis, dedicated to Diana. Pausanias.

=Lero=, a small island on the coast of Gaul, called also Lerina.

=Leros.= See: Leria.

=Lesbos=, a large island in the Ægean sea, now known by the name of Metelin, 168 miles in circumference. It has been severally called Ægira, Lasia, Æthiope, and Pelasgia, from the Pelasgi, by whom it was first peopled, Macaria, from Macareus who settled in it, and Lesbos, from the son-in-law and successor of Macareus, who bore the same name. The chief towns of Lesbos were Methymna and Mitylene. Lesbos was originally governed by kings, but they were afterwards subjected to the neighbouring powers. The wine which it produced was greatly esteemed by the ancients, and still is in the same repute among the moderns. The Lesbians were celebrated among the ancients for their skill in music, and their women for their beauty; but the general character of the people was so debauched and dissipated, that the epithet of Lesbian was often used to signify debauchery and extravagance. Lesbos has given birth to many illustrious persons, such as Arion, Terpander, &c. The best verses were by way of eminence often called Lesboum carmen, from Alcæus and Sappho, who distinguished themselves for their poetical compositions, and were also natives of the place. Diodorus, bk. 5.――Strabo, bk. 13. ――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 2, li. 90.――Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 11. ――Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 160.

=Lesbus=, or =Lesbos=, a son of Lapithas, grandson of Æolus, who married Methymna daughter of Macareus. He succeeded his father-in-law, and gave his name to the island over which he reigned.

=Lesches=, a Greek poet of Lesbos, who flourished B.C. 600. Some suppose him to be the author of the little Iliad, of which only few verses remain, quoted by Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 25.

=Lestrȳgŏnes.= See: Læstrygones.

=Letānum=, a town of Propontis, built by the Athenians.

=Lethæus=, a river of Lydia, flowing by Magnesia into the Mæander. Strabo, bk. 10, &c.――――Another of Macedonia,――――of Crete.

=Lēthe=, one of the rivers of hell, whose waters the souls of the dead drank after they had been confined for a certain space of time in Tartarus. It had the power of making them forget whatever they had done, seen, or heard before, as the name implies, ληθη, oblivion. ――――Lethe is a river of Africa, near the Syrtes, which runs under the ground, and some time after rises again, whence the origin of the fable of the Lethean streams of oblivion.――――There is also a river of that name in Spain.――――Another in Bœotia, whose waters were drunk by those who consulted the oracle of Trophonius. Lucan, bk. 9, li. 355. ――Ovid, Tristia, bk. 4, poem 1, li. 47.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 4, li. 545; Æneid, bk. 6, li. 714.――Silius Italicus, bk. 1, li. 235; bk. 10, li. 555.――Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 39.――Horace, bk. 4, ode 7, li. 27.

=Letus=, a mountain of Liguria. Livy, bk. 41, ch. 18.

=Levāna=, a goddess of Rome, who presided over the action of the person who took up from the ground a newly born child, after it had been placed there by the midwife. This was generally done by the father, and so religiously observed was this ceremony, that the legitimacy of a child could be disputed without it.

=Leuca=, a town of the Salentines, near a cape of the same name in Italy. Lucan, bk. 5, li. 376.――――A town of Ionia,――――of Crete, ――――of Argolis. Strabo, bk. 6, &c.

=Leucas=, or =Leucadia=, an island of the Ionian sea, now called St. Maura, near the coast of Epirus, famous for a promontory called Leucate, Leucas, or Leucates, where desponding lovers threw themselves into the sea. Sappho had recourse to this leap to free herself from the violent passion which she entertained for Phaon. The word is derived from λευκος, white, on account of the whiteness of its rocks. Apollo had a temple on the promontory, whence he is often called Leucadius. The island was formerly joined to the continent by a narrow isthmus, which the inhabitants dug through after the Peloponnesian war. Ovid, Heroides, poem 15, li. 171.――Strabo, bk. 6, &c.――Silius Italicus, bk. 15, li. 302.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 274; bk. 8, li. 677.――――A town of Phœnicia.

=Leucasion=, a village of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 25.

=Leucaspis=, a Lycian, one of the companions of Æneas, drowned in the Tyrrhene sea. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 334.

=Leucate.= See: Leucas.

=Leuce=, a small island in the Euxine sea, of a triangular form, between the mouths of the Danube and the Borysthenes. According to the poets, the souls of the ancient heroes were placed there as in the Elysian fields, where they enjoyed perpetual felicity, and reaped the repose to which their benevolence to mankind, and their exploits during life, seemed to entitle them. From that circumstance it has often been called the island of the blessed, &c. According to some accounts Achilles celebrated there his nuptials with Iphigenia, or rather Helen, and shared the pleasures of the place with the manes of Ajax, &c. Strabo, bk. 2.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Ammianus, bk. 22.――Quintus Calaber [Smyrnæus], bk. 2, li. 773.――――One of the Oceanides whom Pluto carried into his kingdom.

=Leuci=, a people of Gaul, between the Moselle and the Maese. Their capital is now called Toul. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 1, ch. 40. ――――Mountains on the west of Crete, appearing at a distance like white clouds, whence the name.

=Leucippe=, one of the Oceanides.

=Leucippĭdes=, the daughters of Leucippus. See: Leucippus.

=Leucippus=, a celebrated philosopher of Abdera, about 428 years before Christ, disciple to Zeno. He was the first who invented the famous system of atoms and of a vacuum, which was afterwards more fully explained by Democritus and Epicurus. Many of his hypotheses have been adopted by the moderns, with advantage. Diogenes Laërtius has written his life.――――A brother of Tyndarus king of Sparta, who married Philodice daughter of Inachus, by whom he had two daughters, Hilaira and Phœbe, known by the patronymic of Leucippides. They were carried away by their cousins Castor and Pollux, as they were going to celebrate their nuptials with Lynceus and Idas. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 4, li. 701.――Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 10, &c.――Pausanias, bk. 3, chs. 17 & 26.――――A son of Xanthus, descended from Bellerophon. He became deeply enamoured of one of his sisters, and when he was unable to restrain his unnatural passion, he resolved to gratify it. He acquainted his mother with it, and threatened to murder himself if she attempted to oppose his views or remove the object of his affection. The mother, rather than lose a son whom she tenderly loved, cherished his passion, and by her consent her daughter yielded herself to the arms of her brother. Some time after the father resolved to give his daughter in marriage to a Lycian prince. The future husband was informed that the daughter of Xanthus secretly entertained a lover, and he communicated the intelligence to the father. Xanthus upon this secretly watched his daughter, and when Leucippus had introduced himself to her bed, the father, in his eagerness to discover the seducer, occasioned a little noise in the room. The daughter was alarmed, and as she attempted to escape she received a mortal wound from her father, who took her to be the lover. Leucippus came to her assistance, and stabbed his father in the dark, without knowing who he was. This accidental parricide obliged Leucippus to fly from his country. He came to Crete, where the inhabitants refused to give him an asylum, when acquainted with the atrociousness of his crime, and he at last came to Ephesus, where he died in the greatest misery and remorse. Hermesianax referenced by Parthenius, ch. 5.――――A son of Œnomaus, who became enamoured of Daphne, and to obtain her confidence disguised himself in a female dress, and attended his mistress as a companion. He gained the affections of Daphne by his obsequiousness and attention, but his artifice at last proved fatal through the influence and jealousy of his rival Apollo; for when Daphne and her attendants were bathing in the Ladon, the sex of Leucippus was discovered, and he perished by the darts of the females. Parthenius, Narrationes Amatoriæ, ch. 15.――Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 20.――――A son of Hercules by Marse, one of the daughters of Thespius. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 7.

=Leucŏla=, a part of Cyprus.

=Leucon=, a tyrant of Bosphorus, who lived in great intimacy with the Athenians. He was a firm patron of the useful arts, and greatly encouraged commerce. Strabo.――Dio Cassius, bk. 14.――――A son of Athamas and Themisto. Pausanias, bk. 6, ch. 22.――――A king of Pontus killed by his brother, whose bed he had defiled. Ovid, Ibis, li. 3.――――A town of Africa near Cyrene. Herodotus, bk. 4, ch. 160.

=Leucōne=, a daughter of Aphidas, who gave her name to a fountain of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 44.

=Leucōnes=, a son of Hercules. Apollodorus.

=Leuconoe=, a daughter of Lycambes. The Leuconoe to whom Horace addressed his bk. 1, ode 11, seems to be a fictitious name.

=Leucopĕtra=, a place on the isthmus of Corinth, where the Achæans were defeated by the consul Mummius.――――A promontory six miles east from Rhegium in Italy, where the Apennines terminate and sink into the sea.

=Leucŏphrys=, a temple of Diana, with a city of the same name, near the Mæander. The goddess was represented under the figure of a woman with many breasts, and crowned with victory.――――An ancient name of Tenedos. Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 14.――Strabo, bks. 13 & 14.

=Leucopŏlis=, a town of Caria.

=Leucos=, a river of Macedonia near Pydna.――――A man, &c. See: Idomeneus.

=Leucosia=, a small island in the Tyrrhene sea. It received its name from one of the companions of Æneas, who was drowned there, or from one of the Sirens, who was thrown there by the sea. Strabo, bk. 5. ――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 15, li. 708.

=Leucosy̆rii=, a people of Asia Minor, called afterwards Cappadocians. Strabo, bk. 12.――――The same name is given to the inhabitants of Cilicia, where it borders on Cappadocia. Cornelius Nepos, bk. 14, ch. 1.

=Leucŏthoe=, or =Leucothea=, the wife of Athamas, changed into a sea deity. See: Ino. She was called Matuta by the Romans, who raised her a temple, where all the people, particularly women, offered vows to their brother’s children. They did not entreat the deity to protect their own children, because Ino had been unfortunate in hers. No female slaves were permitted to enter the temple; or if their curiosity tempted them to transgress this rule, they were beaten away with the greatest severity. To this supplicating for other people’s children, Ovid alludes in these lines, Fasti, bk. 6:

_Non tamen hanc pro stirpe suâ pia mater adorat, Ipsa parum felix visa fuisse parens._

――――A daughter of king Orchamus by Eurynome. Apollo became enamoured of her, and to introduce himself to her with greater facility, he assumed the shape and features of her mother. Their happiness was complete, when Clytia, who tenderly loved Apollo, and was jealous of his amours with Leucothoe, discovered the whole intrigue to her father, who ordered his daughter to be buried alive. The lover, unable to save her from death, sprinkled nectar and ambrosia on her tomb, which, penetrating as far as the body, changed it into a beautiful tree, which bears frankincense. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, li. 196.――――An island in the Tyrrhene sea, near Capreæ.――――A fountain of Samos.――――A town of Egypt,――――of Arabia. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.――――A part of Asia which produces frankincense.

=Leuctra=, a village of Bœotia, between Platæa and Thespia, famous for the victory which Epaminondas the Theban general obtained over the superior force of Cleombrotus king of Sparta, on the 8th of July, B.C. 371. In this famous battle 4000 Spartans were killed with their king Cleombrotus, and no more than 300 Thebans. From that time the Spartans lost the empire of Greece, which they had obtained for nearly 500 years. Plutarch, Pelopidas & Agesilaus.――Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas.――Justin, bk. 6, ch. 6.――Xenophon, Hellenica.――Diodorus, bk. 15.――Pausanias, Laconia.――Cicero, de Officiis, bk. 1, ch. 18; Tusculanæ Disputationes, bk. 1, ch. 46; Letters to Atticus, bk. 6, ltr. 1.――Strabo, bk. 9.

=Leuctrum=, a town of Laconia. Strabo, bk. 8.

=Leucus=, one of the companions of Ulysses, killed before Troy by Antiphus son of Priam. Homer, Iliad, bk. 4, li. 491.

=Leucyanias=, a river of Peloponnesus, flowing into the Alpheus. Pausanias, bk. 6, ch. 21.

=Levinus.= See: Lævinus.

=Leutychĭdes=, a Lacedæmonian, made king of Sparta on the expulsion of Demaratus. Herodotus, bk. 6, ch. 65, &c. See: Leotychides.

=Lexovii=, a people of Gaul, at the mouth of the Seine, conquered with great slaughter by a lieutenant of Julius Cæsar. Cæsar, Gallic War.

=Libānius=, a celebrated sophist of Antioch in the age of the emperor Julian. He was educated at Athens, and opened a school at Antioch, which produced some of the best and most learned of the literary characters of the age. Libanius was naturally vain and arrogant, and he contemptuously refused the offers of the emperor Julian, who wished to purchase his friendship and intimacy by raising him to offices of the highest splendour and affluence in the empire. When Julian had imprisoned the senators of Antioch for their impertinence, Libanius undertook the defence of his fellow-citizens, and paid a visit to the emperor, in which he astonished him by the boldness and independence of his expressions, and the firmness and resolution of his mind. Some of his orations, and above 1600 of his letters, are extant; they discover much affectation and obscurity of style, and we cannot perhaps much regret the loss of writings which afforded nothing but a display of pedantry, and quotations from Homer. Julian submitted his writings to the judgment of Libanius with the greatest confidence, and the sophist freely rejected or approved, and showed that he was more attached to the person than the fortune and greatness of his prince. The time of his death is unknown. The best edition of Libanius seems to be that of Paris, folio, 1606, with a second volume published by Morell, 1627. His epistles have been edited by Wolf, folio, 1738.

=Libănus=, a high mountain of Syria, famous for its cedars. Strabo, bk. 6.

=Libentīna=, a surname of Venus, who had a temple at Rome, where the young women used to dedicate the toys and childish amusements of their youth, when arrived at nubile years. Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 5, ch. 6.

=Līber=, a surname of Bacchus, which signifies free. He received this name from his delivering some cities of Bœotia from slavery, or, according to others, because wine, of which he was the patron, delivered mankind from their cares, and made them speak with freedom and unconcern. The word is often used for wine itself. Seneca, de Tranquilitate Animi.

=Libĕra=, a goddess, the same as Proserpine. Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 4, ch. 48.――――A name given to Ariadne by Bacchus, or Liber, when he had married her. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 3, li. 513.

=Libĕrālia=, festivals yearly celebrated in honour of Bacchus, the 17th of March. Slaves were then permitted to speak with freedom, and everything bore the appearance of independence. They were much the same as the Dionysia of the Greeks. Varro.

=Libertas=, a goddess of Rome who had a temple on mount Aventine, raised by Tiberius Gracchus, and improved and adorned by Pollio with many elegant statues and brazen columns, and a gallery in which were deposited the public acts of the state. She was represented as a woman in a light dress, holding a rod in one hand and a cap in the other, both signs of independence, as the former was used by the magistrates in the manumission of slaves, and the latter was worn by slaves, who were soon to be set at liberty. Sometimes a cat was placed at her feet, as this animal is very fond of liberty, and impatient when confined. Livy, bk. 24, ch. 16; bk. 25, ch. 7. ――Ovid, Tristia, bk. 3, poem 1, li. 72.――Plutarch, Gracchus. ――Dio Cassius, bk. 44.

=Lībēthra=, a fountain of Magnesia in Thessaly, or of Bœotia, according to some, sacred to the muses, who from thence are called Libethrides. Virgil, Eclogues, poem 7, li. 21.――Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 9.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.――Strabo, bks. 9 & 10.

=Lībethrĭdes=, a name given to the Muses from the fountain Libethra, or from mount Libethrus in Thrace.

=Libici=, =Libecii=, or =Libri=, a people of Gaul who passed into Italy, A.U.C. 364. Livy, bk. 5, ch. 35; bk. 21, ch. 38.――Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 17.――Polybius, bk. 2.

=Libĭtīna=, a goddess at Rome, who presided over funerals. According to some, she is the same as Venus, or rather Proserpine. Servius Tullius first raised her a temple at Rome, where everything necessary for funerals was exposed to sale, and where the registers of the dead were usually kept. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 4.――Livy, bk. 40, ch. 19.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 5, ch. 2.――Plutarch, Quæstiones Romanæ.

=Libo=, a friend of Pompey, who watched over the fleet, &c. Plutarch. ――――A Roman citizen, &c. Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 19.――――A friend of the first triumvirate, who killed himself and was condemned after death.

=Libon=, a Greek architect who built the famous temple of Jupiter Olympius. He flourished about 450 years before the christian era.

=Libophœnīces=, the inhabitants of the country near Carthage.

=Liburna=, a town of Dalmatia.

=Liburnia=, now Croatia, a country of Illyricum, between Istria and Dalmatia, whence a colony came to settle in Apulia, in Italy. There were at Rome a number of men whom the magistrates employed as public heralds, who were called Liburni, probably from being originally of Liburnian extraction. Some ships of a light construction but with strong beaks were also called Liburnian. Propertius, bk. 2, poem 11, li. 44.――Juvenal, satire 4, li. 75.――Martial, bk. 1, ltr. 50, li. 33.――Horace, bk. 1, ode 37, li. 30; Epode 1, li. 1.――Lucan, bk. 3, li. 534.――Pliny the Younger, bk. 6, ltr. 16.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.――Strabo, bk. 7.――Ptolemy, bk. 2, ch. 17.

=Liburnĭdes=, an island on the coast of Liburnia, in the Adriatic. Strabo, bk. 5.

=Liburnum mare=, the sea which borders on the coasts of Liburnia.

=Liburnus=, a mountain of Campania.

=Lĭbya=, a daughter of Epaphus and ♦Cassiope, who became mother of Agenor and Belus by Neptune. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 1; bk. 3, ch. 1.――Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 44.――――A name given to Africa, one of the three grand divisions of the ancient globe. Libya, properly speaking, is only a part of Africa, bounded on the east by Egypt, and on the west by that part called by the moderns the kingdom of Tripoli. The ancients, according to some traditions mentioned by Herodotus and others, sailed round Africa, by steering westward from the Red sea, and entered the Mediterranean by the columns of Hercules, after a perilous navigation of three years. From the word Libya, are derived the epithets of Libys, Libyssa, Libysis, Libystis, Libycus, Libysticus, Libystinus, Libystæus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 106; bk. 5, li. 37.――Lucan, bk. 4.――Sallust, &c.

♦ ‘Cassiopea’ replaced with ‘Cassiope’ for consistency

=Liby̆cum mare=, that part of the Mediterranean which lies on the coast of Cyrene. Strabo, bk. 2.

=Libycus= and =Libystis=. See: Libya.

=Libys=, a sailor, &c. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3.

=Libyssa=, a river of Bithynia, with a town of the same name, where was the tomb of Annibal, still extant in the age of Pliny.

=Licates=, a people of Vindelicia.

=Licha=, a city near Lycia.

=Lichades=, small islands near Cæneum, a promontory of Eubœa, called from Lichas. See: Lichas. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, lis. 155, 218.――Strabo, bk. 9.

=Lichas=, a servant of Hercules who brought him the poisoned tunic from Dejanira. He was thrown by his master into the sea with great violence, and changed into a rock in the Eubœan sea, by the compassion of the gods. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 211.

=Liches=, an Arcadian who found the bones of Orestes buried at Tegea, &c. Herodotus.

=Licĭnia lex=, was enacted by Lucius Licinius Crassus and Quintus Mutius, consuls, A.U.C. 659. It ordered all the inhabitants of Italy to be enrolled on the list of citizens in their respective cities. ――――Another, by Caius Licinius Crassus the tribune, A.U.C. 608. It transferred the right of choosing priests from the college to the people. It was proposed, but did not pass.――――Another, by Caius Licinius Stolo the tribune. It forbade any person to possess 500 acres of land, or keep more than 100 head of large cattle, or 500 of small.――――Another, by Publius Licinius Varus, A.U.C. 545, to settle the day for the celebration of the Ludi Apollinares, which was before uncertain.――――Another, by Publius Licinius Crassus Dives, B.C. 110. It was the same as the Fannian law, and further required that no more than 30 asses should be spent at any table on the Calends, nones, or nundinæ, and only three pounds of fresh and one of salt meat, on ordinary days. None of the fruits of the earth were forbidden.――――Another, de sodalitiis, by Marcus Licinius the consul, 692. It imposed a severe penalty on party clubs, or societies assembled or frequented for election purposes, as coming under the definition of ambitus, and of offering violence in some degree to the freedom and independence of the people.――――Another, called also Æbutia, by Licinius and Æbutius the tribunes. It enacted, that when any law was proffered with respect to any office or power, the person who proposed the bill, as well as his colleagues in office, his friends and relations, should be declared incapable of being invested with the said office or power.

=Licĭnia=, the wife of Caius Gracchus, who attempted to dissuade her husband from his seditious measures by a pathetic speech. She was deprived of her dowry after the death of Caius.――――A vestal virgin accused of incontinence, but acquitted, A.U.C. 636.――――Another vestal, put to death for her lasciviousness under Trajan.――――The wife of Mæcenas, distinguished for conjugal tenderness. She was sister to Proculeius, and bore also the name of Terentia. Horace, bk. 2, ode 12, li. 13.

=Caius Licĭnius=, a tribune of the people, celebrated for the consequence of his family, for his intrigues and abilities. He was a plebeian, and was the first of that body who was raised to the office of a master of horse to the dictator. He was surnamed Stolo, or useless sprout, on account of the law which he had enacted during his tribuneship. See: Licinia lex, by Stolo. He afterwards made a law which permitted the plebeians to share the consular dignity with the patricians, A.U.C. 388. He reaped the benefit of this law, and was one of the first plebeian consuls. This law was proposed and passed by Licinius, as it is reported, at the instigation of his ambitious wife, who was jealous of her sister, who had married a patrician, and who seemed to be of a higher dignity in being the wife of a consul. Livy, bk. 6, ch. 34.――Plutarch.――――Caius Calvus, a celebrated orator and poet in the age of Cicero. He distinguished himself by his eloquence in the forum, and his poetry, which some of the ancients have compared to Catullus. His orations are greatly commended by Quintilian. Some believe that he wrote annals quoted by Dionysius of Halicarnassus. He died in the 30th year of his age. Quintilian.――Cicero, Brutus, ch. 81.――――Macer, a Roman accused by Cicero when pretor. He derided the power of his accuser, but when he saw himself condemned he grew so desperate that he killed himself. Plutarch.――――Publius Crassus, a Roman sent against Perseus king of Macedonia. He was at first defeated, but afterwards repaired his losses and obtained a complete victory, &c.――――A consul sent against Annibal.――――Another, who defeated the robbers that infested the Alps.――――A high priest.――――Caius Imbrex, a comic poet in the age of Africanus, preferred by some in merit to Ennius and Terence. His Nævia and Neæra are quoted by ancient authors, but of all his poetry only two verses are preserved. Aulus Gellius.――――A consul, &c.――――Lucullus. See: Lucullus.――――Crassus. See: Crassus. ――――Mucianus, a Roman who wrote about the history and geography of the eastern countries, often quoted by Pliny. He lived in the reign of Vespasian.――――Publius Tegula, a comic poet of Rome about 200 years before Christ. He is ranked as the fourth of the best comic poets which Rome produced. Few lines of his compositions are extant. He wrote an ode, which was sung all over the city of Rome by nine virgins during the Macedonian war. Livy, bk. 31, ch. 12.――――Varro Muræna, a brother of Proculeius, who conspired against Augustus with Fannius Cæpio, and suffered for his crime. Horace addressed his bk. 2, ode 10 to him, and recommended equanimity in every situation. Dio Cassius, bk. 54.――――Caius Flavius Valerianus, a celebrated Roman emperor. His father was a poor peasant of Dalmatia, and himself a common soldier in the Roman armies. His valour recommended him to the notice of Galerius Maximianus, who had once shared with him the inferior and subordinate offices of the army, and had lately been invested with the imperial purple by Diocletian. Galerius loved him for his friendly services, particularly during the Persian war, and he showed his regard for his merit by taking him as a colleague in the empire, and appointing him over the province of Pannonia and Rhœtia. Constantine, who was also one of the emperors, courted the favour of Licinius, and made his intimacy more durable by giving him his sister Constantia in marriage, A. D. 313. The continual successes of Licinius, particularly against Maximinus, increased his pride, and rendered him jealous of the greatness of his brother-in-law. The persecutions of the christians, whose doctrines Constantine followed, soon caused a rupture, and Licinius had the mortification to lose two battles, one in Pannonia, and the other near Adrianopolis. Treaties of peace were made between the contending powers, but the restless ambition of Licinius soon broke them; and after many engagements a decisive battle was fought near Chalcedonia. Ill fortune again attended Licinius, who was conquered, and fled to Nicomedia, where soon the conqueror obliged him to surrender, and to resign the imperial purple. The tears of Constantia obtained forgiveness for her husband, yet Constantine knew what a turbulent and active enemy had fallen into his hands therefore he ordered him to be strangled at Thessalonica, A.D. 324. His family was involved in his ruin. The avarice, licentiousness, and cruelty of Licinius are as conspicuous as his misfortunes. He was an enemy to learning, and this aversion totally proceeded from his ignorance of letters, and the rusticity of his education. His son by Constantia bore also the same name. He was honoured with the title of Cæsar when scarce 20 months old. He was involved in his father’s ruin, and put to death by order of Constantine.

=Licīnus=, a barber and freedman of Augustus, raised by his master to the rank and dignity of a senator, merely because he hated Pompey’s family. Horace, Art of Poetry, li. 301.

=Licymnius=, a son of Electryon and brother of Alcmena. He was so infirm in his old age, that when he walked, he was always supported by a slave. Triptolemus son of Hercules, seeing the slave inattentive to his duty, threw a stick at him, which unfortunately killed Licymnius. The murderer fled to Rhodes. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7. ――Diodorus, bk. 5.――Homer, Iliad, bk. 2.――Pindar, Olympian, poem 7.

=Lide=, a mountain of Caria. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 105.

=Quintus Ligarius=, a Roman proconsul of Africa, after Confidius. In the civil wars he followed the interest of Pompey, and was pardoned when Cæsar had conquered his enemies. Cæsar, however, and his adherents were determined upon the ruin of Ligarius; but Cicero, by an eloquent oration, still extant, defeated his accusers, and he was pardoned. He became afterwards one of Cæsar’s murderers. Cicero, For Ligarius.――Plutarch, Cæsar.

=Ligea=, one of the Nereides. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 4.

=Liger=, a Rutulian killed by Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 576.

=Liger=, or =Ligĕris=, now La Loire, a large river of Gaul, falling into the Atlantic ocean near Nantes. Strabo, bk. 4.――Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 18.――Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 7, chs. 55 & 75.

=Ligŏras=, an officer of Antiochus king of Syria, who took the town of Sardis by stratagem, &c.

=Ligŭres=, the inhabitants of Liguria. See: Liguria.

=Ligŭria=, a country on the west of Italy, bounded on the east by the river Macra, on the south by part of the Mediterranean called the Ligustic sea, on the west by the Varus, and on the north by the Po. The commercial town of Genoa was anciently and is now the capital of the country. The origin of the inhabitants is not known, though in their character they are represented as vain, unpolished, and addicted to falsehood. According to some they were descended from the ancient Gauls and Germans, or, as others support, they were of Greek origin, perhaps the posterity of the Ligyes mentioned by Herodotus. Liguria was subdued by the Romans, and its chief harbour now bears the name of Leghorn. Lucan, bk. 1, li. 442.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 1.――Strabo, bk. 4, &c.――Tacitus, Histories, bk. 2, ch. 15. ――Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 5, &c.――Livy, bk. 5, ch. 35; bk. 22, ch. 33; bk. 39, ch. 6, &c.――Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal.――Florus, bk. 2, ch. 8.

=Ligurīnus=, a poet. Martial, bk. 3, ltr. 50.――――A beautiful youth in the age of Horace, bk. 4, ode 1, li. 33.

=Ligus=, a woman who inhabited the Alps. She concealed her son from the pursuit of Otho’s soldiers, &c. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 2, ch. 13.

=Ligustĭcæ Alpes=, a part of the Alps which borders on Liguria, sometimes called Maritimi.

=Ligusticum mare=, the north part of the Tyrrhene sea, now the gulf of Genoa. Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 47.

=Ligyes=, a people of Asia who inhabited the country between Caucasus and the river Phasis. Some suppose them to be a colony of the Ligyes of Europe, more commonly called Ligures. Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 72. ――Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1, ch. 10.――Strabo, bk. 4. ――Diodorus, bk. 4.

=Ligyrgum=, a mountain of Arcadia.

=Lilæa=, a town of Achaia near the Cephisus. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 7, li. 348.

=Lĭly̆bæum=, now Boco, a promontory of Sicily, with a town of the same name near the Ægates, now Marsalla. The town was strong and very considerable, and it maintained long sieges against the Carthaginians, Romans, &c., particularly one of 10 years against Rome in the first Punic war. It had a port large and capacious, which the Romans, in the wars with Carthage, endeavoured in vain to stop and fill up with stones, on account of its convenience and vicinity to the coast of Africa. Nothing now remains of this once powerful city but the ruins of temples and aqueducts. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 706.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Strabo, bk. 6.――Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 5. ――Cæsar, African War.――Diodorus, bk. 22.

=Limæa=, a river of Lusitania. Strabo, bk. 3.

=Limenia=, a town of Cyprus. Strabo, bk. 14.

=Limnæ=, a fortified place on the borders of Laconia and Messenia. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 14.――――A town of the Thracian Chersonesus.

=Limnæum=, a temple of Diana at Limnæ, from which the goddess was called Limnæa, and worshipped under that appellation at Sparta and in Achaia. The Spartans wished to seize the temple in the age of Tiberius, but the emperor interfered, and gave it to its lawful possessors the Messenians. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 14; bk. 7, ch. 20.――Tacitus, Annals, bk. 4, ch. 43.

=Limnatidia=, a festival in honour of Diana, surnamed Limnatis, from Limnæ, a school of exercise at Trœzene, where she was worshipped, or from λιμναι, ponds, because she presided over fishermen.

=Limniăce=, the daughter of the Ganges, mother of Atys. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 5, li. 48.

=Limnonia=, one of the Nereides. Homer, Iliad, bk. 18.

=Limon=, a place of Campania between Neapolis and Puteoli. Statius, bk. 3, Sylvæ, poem 1.

=Limonum=, a town of Gaul, afterwards Pictavi, Poictiers. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 8, ch. 26.

=Limyra=, a town of Lycia at the mouth of the Limyrus. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 645.――Velleius, bk. 2, ch. 102.

=Lincasii=, a people of Gaul Narbonensis.

=Lindum=, a colony of Britain, now Lincoln.

=Lindus=, a city on the south-east part of Rhodes, built by Cercaphus son of Sol and Cydippe. The Danaides built there a temple to Minerva, and one of its colonies founded Gela in Sicily. It gave birth to Cleobulus, one of the seven wise men, and to Chares and Laches, who were employed in making and finishing the famous Colossus of Rhodes. Strabo, bk. 14.――Homer, Iliad, bk. 2.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7. ――Pliny, bk. 34.――Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 153.――――A grandson of Apollo. Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 3.

=Lingrŏnes=, now Langres, a people of Gallia Belgica, made tributary to Rome by Julius Cæsar. They passed into Italy, where they made some settlements near the Alps at the head of the Adriatic. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 4, ch. 55.――Martial, bk. 11, ltr. 57, li. 9; bk. 14, ltr. 159.――Lucan, bk. 1, li. 398.――Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 1, ch. 26.

=Linterna palus=, a lake of Campania. Silius Italicus, bk. 7, li. 278.

=Linternum=, a town of Campania at the mouth of the river Clanis, where Scipio Africanus died and was buried. Livy, bk. 34, ch. 45. ――Silius Italicus, bk. 6, li. 654; bk. 7, li. 278.――Cicero, bk. 10, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 13.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 15, li. 713.

=Linus.= This name is common to different persons whose history is confused, and who are often taken one for the other. One was son of Urania and Amphimarus the son of Neptune. Another was son of Apollo by Psammathe, daughter of Crotopus king of Argos. Martial mentions him in his ltr. 78, bk. 9. The third, son of Ismenius, and born at Thebes in Bœotia, taught music to Hercules, who in a fit of anger struck him on the head with his lyre and killed him. He was son of Mercury and Urania, according to Diogenes, who mentions some of his philosophical compositions, in which he asserted that the world had been created in an instant. He was killed by Apollo for presuming to compare himself to him. Apollodorus, however, and Pausanius mention that his ridicule of Hercules on his awkwardness in holding the lyre was fatal to him. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 4.――Diogenes Laërtius, bk. 1.――Virgil, Eclogues, poem 4.――Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 15; bk. 9, ch. 20.――――A fountain in Arcadia, whose waters were said to prevent abortion. Pliny, bk. 31, ch. 2.

=Liodes=, one of Penelope’s suitors, killed by Ulysses. Homer, Odyssey, 22, &c.

=Lipăra=, the largest of the Æolian islands, on the coast of Sicily, now called the Lipari. It had a city of the same name, which, according to Diodorus, it received from Liparus the son of Auson, king of these islands, whose daughter Cyane was married by his successor Æolus, according to Pliny. The inhabitants of this island were powerful by sea, and from the great tributes which they paid to Dionysius the tyrant of Syracuse, they may be called very opulent. The island was celebrated for the variety of its fruits, and its raisins are still in general repute. It had some convenient harbours, and a fountain whose waters were much frequented on account of their medicinal powers. According to Diodorus, Æolus reigned at Lipara before Liparus. Livy, bk. 5, ch. 28.――Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 9.――Silius Italicus, bk. 14, li. 57.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, li. 56; bk. 8, li. 417. ――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Strabo, bk. 6.――――A town of Etruria.

=Lipăris=, a river of Cilicia, whose waters were like oil. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 27.――Vitruvius, bk. 8, ch. 3.

=Liphlum=, a town of the Æqui, taken by the Romans.

=Lipodorus=, one of the Greeks settled in Asia by Alexander, &c.

=Liquentia=, now Livenza, a river of Cisalpine Gaul, falling into the Adriatic sea. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 18.

=Lircæus=, a fountain near Nemæa. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 4, li. 711.

=Liriŏpe=, one of the Oceanides, mother of Narcissus by the Cephisus. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3, li. 311.――――A fountain of Bœotia on the borders of Thespis, where Narcissus was drowned, according to some accounts.

=Liris=, now Garigliano, a river of Campania, which it separates from Latium. It falls into the Mediterranean sea. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4. ――Horace, bk. 3, ode 17.――Lucan, bk. 2, li. 424.――――A warrior killed by Camilla, &c. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 11, li. 670.

=Lisinias=, a town of Thessaly. Livy, bk. 32, ch. 14.

=Lissa=, the name of a fury which Euripides introduces on the stage, as conducted by Iris at the command of Juno, to inspire Hercules with that fatal rage which ended in his death.

=Lisson=, a river of Sicily.

=Lissus=, now Alesso, a town of Macedonia, on the confines of Illyricum. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 2.――Livy, bk. 44, ch. 10.――Lucan, bk. 5, li. 719.――――A river of Thrace, falling into the Ægean sea, between Thasos and Samothracia. It was dried up by the army of Xerxes, when he invaded Greece. Strabo, bk. 7.――Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 109.

=Lista=, a town of the Sabines, whose inhabitants are called Listini.

=Litabrum=, now Buitrago, a town of Spain Tarraconensis. Livy, bk. 32, ch. 14; bk. 35, ch. 22.

=Litana=, a wood in Gallia Togata. Livy, bk. 23, ch. 24.

=Litavĭcus=, one of the Ædui, who assisted Cæsar with 10,000 men. Cæsar, Gallic Wars, bk. 7, ch. 37.

=Liternum=, a town of Campania.

=Lithobŏlia=, a festival celebrated at Trœzene in honour of Lamia and Auxesia, who came from Crete, and were sacrificed by the fury of the seditious populace, and stoned to death. Hence the name of the solemnity, λιθοβολια, lapidation.

=Lithrus=, a town of Armenia Minor. Strabo.

=Lithubium=, a town of Liguria. Livy, bk. 32, ch. 29.

=Lityersas=, an illegitimate son of Midas king of Phrygia. He made strangers prepare his harvest, and afterwards put them to death. He was at last killed by Hercules. Theocritus, Idylls, poem 10.

=Līvia Drusilla=, a celebrated Roman lady, daughter of Lucius Drusus Calidianus. She married Tiberius Claudius Nero, by whom she had the emperor Tiberius and Drusus Germanicus. The attachment of her husband to the cause of Antony was the beginning of her greatness. Augustus saw her as she fled from the danger which threatened her husband, and he resolved to marry her, though she was then pregnant. He divorced his wife Scribonia, and with the approbation of the augurs, he celebrated his nuptials with Livia. She now took advantage of the passion of Augustus, in the share that she enjoyed of his power and imperial dignity. Her children by Drusus were adopted by the complying emperor; and, that she might make the succession of her son Tiberius more easy and undisputed, Livia is accused of secretly involving in one common ruin the heirs and nearest relations of Augustus. Her cruelty and ingratitude are still more strongly marked, when she is charged with having murdered her own husband to hasten the elevation of Tiberius. If she was anxious for the aggrandizement of her son, Tiberius proved ungrateful, and hated a woman to whom he owed his life, his elevation, and his greatness. Livia died in the 86th year of her age, A.D. 29. Tiberius showed himself as undutiful after her death as before, for he neglected her funeral, and expressly commanded that no honours, either private or public, should be paid to her memory. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 1, ch. 3. ――Suetonius, Augustus and Tiberias.――Dio Cassius.――――Another. See: Drusilla.――――Another, called Horestilla, &c. She was debauched by Galba, as she was going to marry Piso. Suetonius, Galba, ch. 25.――――Another, called also Ocellina. She was Galba’s stepmother, and committed adultery with him. Suetonius, Galba, ch. 3.

=Līvia lex=, de sociis, proposed to make all the inhabitants of Italy free citizens of Rome. Marcus Livius Drusus, who framed it, was found murdered in his house before it passed.――――Another by Marcus Livius Drusus the tribune, A.U.C. 662, which required that the judicial power should be lodged in the hands of an equal number of knights and senators.

=Livineius=, a friend of Pompey, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 3, ch. 11, &c.

=Livilla=, a daughter of Drusus.――――A sister of Caligula, &c. See: Julia.

=Līvius Andronīcus=, a dramatic poet, who flourished at Rome about 240 years before the christian era. He was the first who turned the personal satires and fescennine verses, so long the admiration of the Romans, into the form of a proper dialogue and regular play. Though the character of a player, so valued and applauded in Greece, was reckoned vile and despicable among the Romans, Andronicus acted a part in his dramatic compositions and engaged the attention of his audience, by repeating what he had laboriously formed after the manner of the Greeks. Andronicus was the freedman of Marcus Livius Salinator, whose children he educated. His poetry was grown obsolete in the age of Cicero, whose nicety and judgment would not even recommend the reading of it. Some few of his verses are preserved in the Corpus Poetarum.――――Marcus Salinator, a Roman consul, sent against the Illyrians. The success with which he finished the campaign, and the victory which some years after he obtained over Asdrubal, who was passing into Italy with a reinforcement for his brother Annibal, show how deserving he was to be at the head of the Roman armies. Livy.――――Drusus, a tribune who joined the patricians in opposing the ambitious views of Caius Gracchus. Plutarch, Tiberius Gracchus.――――An uncle of Cato of Utica. _Plutarch. _――――Titus, a native of Padua, celebrated for his writings. He passed the greatest part of his life at Naples and Rome, but more particularly at the court of Augustus, who liberally patronized the learned, and encouraged the progress of literature. Few particulars of his life are known, yet his fame was so universally spread even in his lifetime, that an inhabitant of Gades traversed Spain, Gaul, and Italy, merely to see the man whose writings had given him such pleasure and satisfaction in the perusal. Livy died at Padua, in his 67th year, and according to some, on that same day Rome was also deprived of another of its brightest ornaments, by the death of the poet Ovid, A.D. 17. It is said that Livia had appointed Livy to be the preceptor to young Claudius the brother of Germanicus, but death prevented the historian from enjoying an honour to which he was particularly entitled by his learning and his universal knowledge. The name of Livy is rendered immortal by his history of the Roman empire. Besides this, he wrote some philosophical treatises and dialogues, with a letter addressed to his son, on the merit of authors, which ought to be read by young men. This letter is greatly commended by Quintilian, who expatiates with great warmth on the judgment and candour of the author. His Roman history was comprehended in 140 books, of which only 35 are extant. It began with the foundation of Rome, and was continued till the death of Drusus in Germany. The merit of this history is well known, and the high rank which Livy holds among historians will never be disputed. He is always great; his style is clear and intelligible, laboured without affectation, diffusive without tediousness, and argumentative without pedantry. In his harangues he is bold and animated, and in his narrations and descriptions he claims a decided superiority. He is always elegant, and though many have branded his provincial words with the name of Patavinity, yet the expressions, or rather the orthography of words, which in Livy are supposed to distinguish a native of a province of Italy from a native of Rome, are not loaded with obscurity, and the perfect classic is as familiarly acquainted with the one as with the other. Livy has been censured, and perhaps with justice, for being too credulous, and burdening his history with vulgar notions and superstitious tales. He may disgust when he mentions that milk and blood were rained from heaven, or that an ox spoke, or a woman changed her sex, yet he candidly confesses that he recorded only what made an indelible impression upon the minds of a credulous age. His candour has also been called in question, and he has sometimes shown himself too partial to his countrymen, but everywhere he is an indefatigable supporter of the cause of justice and virtue. The works of Livy have been divided by some of the moderns into 14 decades, each consisting of 10 books. The first decade comprehends the history of 460 years. The second decade is lost, and the third comprehends the history of the second Punic war, which includes about 18 years. In the fourth decade, Livy treats of the wars with Macedonia and Antiochus, which contain about 23 years. For the first five books of the fifth decade, we are indebted to the researches of the moderns. They were found at Worms, A.D. 1431. These are the books that remain of Livy’s history, and the loss which the celebrated work has sustained by the ravages of time, has in some measure been compensated by the labours of Johann Freinshemius, who with great attention and industry has made an epitome of the Roman history, which is now incorporated with the remaining books of Livy. The third decade seems to be superior to the others, yet the author has not scrupled to copy from his contemporaries and predecessors, and we find many passages taken word for word from Polybius, in which the latter has shown himself more informed in military affairs, and superior to his imitator. The best editions of Livy will be found to be those of Maittaire, 6 vols., 12mo, London, 1722; of Drakenborch, 7 vols., 4to, Amsterdam, 1731; and of Ruddiman, 4 vols., 12mo, Edinburgh, 1751.――――A governor of Tarentum, who delivered his trust to Annibal, &c.――――A high priest who devoted Decius to the Dii Manes.――――A commander of a Roman fleet sent against Antiochus in the Hellespont.

=Lixus=, a river of Mauritania, with a city of the same name. Antæus had a palace there, and according to some accounts it was in the neighbourhood that Hercules conquered him. Silius Italicus, bk. 3, li. 258.――Mela, bk. 3, ch. 10.――Strabo, bk. 2.――――A son of Ægyptus. Apollodorus.

=Lobon=, a native of Argos, who wrote a book concerning poets. Diogenes Laërtius.

=Lŏceus=, a man who conspired against Alexander with Dymnus, &c. Curtius, bk. 6, ch. 7.

=Locha=, a large city of Africa, taken and plundered by Scipio’s soldiers.

=Lochias=, a promontory and citadel of Egypt near Alexandria.

=Locri=, a town of Magna Græcia in Italy on the Adriatic, not far from Rhegium. It was founded by a Grecian colony about 757 years before the christian era, as some suppose. The inhabitants were called Locri or Locrenses. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 399――_Strabo. _――Pliny.――Livy, bk. 22, ch. 6; bk. 23, ch. 30.――――A town of Locris in ♦Greece.

♦ ‘Greeee’ replaced with ‘Greece’

=Locris=, a country of Greece, whose inhabitants are known by the name of Ozolæ, Epicnemidii, and Opuntii. The country of the Ozolæ, called also Epizephyrii from their westerly situation, was at the north of the bay of Corinth, and extended above 12 miles northward. On the west it was separated from Ætolia by the Evenus, and it had Phocis at the east. The chief city was called Naupactus. The Epicnemidii were at the north of the Ozolæ, and had the bay of Malia at the east, and Œta on the north. They received their name from the situation of their residence, near a mountain called Cnemis. They alone, of all the Locrians, had the privilege of sending members to the council of the Amphictyons. The Opuntii, who received their name from their chief city called Opus, were situated on the borders of the Euripus, and near Phocis and Eubœa. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 5. ――Strabo, bk. 6, &c.――Ptolemy.――Mela.――Livy, bk. 26, ch. 26; bk. 28, ch. 6.――Pausanias, Achaia & Phocis.

=Locusta=, a celebrated woman at Rome in the favour of Nero. She poisoned Claudius and Britannicus, and at last attempted to destroy Nero himself, for which she was executed. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 12, ch. 66, &c.――Suetonius, Nero, ch. 33.

=Locutius.= See: Aius.

=Lollia Paulīna=, a beautiful woman, daughter of Marcus Lollius, who married Caius Memmius Regulus, and afterwards Caligula. She was divorced and put to death by means of Agrippina. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 12, ch. 1, &c.

=Lolliānus Spurius=, a general proclaimed emperor by his soldiers in Gaul, and soon after murdered, &c.――――A consul, &c.

=Marcus Lollius=, a companion and tutor of Caius Cæsar the son-in-law of Tiberius. He was consul, and offended Augustus by his rapacity in the provinces. Horace has addressed two of his epistles to him, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 3.

=Londīnum=, the capital of Britain, founded, as some suppose, between the age of Julius Cæsar and Nero. It has been severally called Londinium, Lundinum, &c. Ammianus calls it vetustum oppidum. It is represented as a considerable, opulent, and commercial town, in the age of Nero. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 14, ch. 33.――Ammianus.

=Longārēnus=, a man guilty of adultery with Fausta, Sylla’s daughter. Horace, bk. 1, satire 2, li. 67.

=Longimănus=, a surname of Artaxerxes, from his having one hand longer than the other. The Greeks called him Macrochir. Cornelius Nepos, Kings.

=Longīnus Dionysius Cassius=, a celebrated Greek philosopher and critic of Athens. He was preceptor of the Greek language, and afterwards minister, to Zenobia the famous queen of Palmyra, and his ardent zeal and spirited activity in her cause proved at last fatal to him. When the emperor Aurelian entered victorious the gates of Palmyra, Longinus was sacrificed to the fury of the Roman soldiers, A.D. 273. At the moment of death he showed himself great and resolute, and with a philosophical and unparalleled firmness of mind, he even repressed the tears and sighs of the spectators who pitied his miserable end. Longinus has rendered his name immortal by his critical remarks on ancient authors. His treatise on the sublime gives the world reason to lament the loss of his other valuable compositions. The best editions of this author are that of Tollius, 4to, Traja. ad Rhen. 1694, and that of Toup, 8vo, Oxford, 1778.――――Cassius, a tribune driven out of the senate for favouring the interest of Julius Cæsar. He was made governor of Spain by Cæsar, &c.――――A governor of Judæa. ――――A proconsul.――――A lawyer whom, though blind and respected, Nero ordered to be put to death, because he had in his possession a picture of Cassius, one of Cæsar’s murderers. Juvenal, satire 10, li. 6.

=Longobardi=, a nation of Germany. Tacitus, Germania.

=Longŭla=, a town of Latium on the borders of the Volsci. Livy, bk. 2, chs. 33 & 39; bk. 9, ch. 39.

=Longuntĭca=, a maritime city of Spain Tarraconensis. Livy, bk. 22, ch. 20.

=Longus=, a Roman consul, &c.――――A Greek author who wrote a novel called the amours of Daphnis and Chloe. The age in which he lived is not precisely known. The best editions of this pleasing writer are that of Paris, 4to, 1754, and that of Villoison, 8vo, Paris, 1778.

=Lordi=, a people of Illyricum.

=Lory̆ma=, a town of Doris. Livy, bk. 37, ch. 17.

=Lotis=, or =Lotos=, a beautiful nymph, daughter of Neptune. Priapus offered her violence, and to save herself from his importunities she implored the gods, who changed her into a tree called Lotus, consecrated to Venus and Apollo. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 348.

=Lotŏphăgi=, a people on the coast of Africa near the Syrtes. They received this name from their living upon the lotus. Ulysses visited their country, at his return from the Trojan war. Herodotus, bk. 4, ch. 177.――Strabo, bk. 17.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 7.――Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 7; bk. 13, ch. 17.

=Lōus=, or =Aous=, a river of Macedonia near Apollonia.

=Lua=, a goddess at Rome, who presided over things which were purified by lustrations, whence the name (à luendo). She is supposed to be the same as Ops or Rhea.

=Luca=, now Lucca, a city of Etruria on the river Arnus. Livy, bk. 21, ch. 5; bk. 41, ch. 13.――Cicero, bk. 13, _Letters to his Friends_, ltr. 13.

=Lucăgus=, one of the friends of Turnus, killed by Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 575.

=Lūcāni=, a people of Italy, descended from the Samnites, or from the Brutii.

=Lūcānia=, a country of Italy between the Tyrrhene and Sicilian seas, and bounded by Pucetia, the Picentini, and the country of the Brutii. The country was famous for its grapes. Strabo, bk. 6.――Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 5.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4.――Livy, bk. 8, ch. 17; bk. 9, ch. 2; bk. 10, ch. 11.――Horace, bk. 2, ltr. 2, li. 178.

=Quintus Lucanius=, a centurion in Cæsar’s army, &c. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 5.

=Lūcānus Marcus Annæus=, a native of Corduba in Spain. He was early removed to Rome, where his rising talents, and more particularly his lavished praises and panegyrics, recommended him to the emperor Nero. This intimacy was soon productive of honour, and Lucan was raised to the dignity of an augur and questor before he had attained the proper age. The poet had the imprudence to enter the lists against his imperial patron; he chose for his subject Orpheus, and Nero took the tragical story of Niobe. Lucan obtained an easy victory, but Nero became jealous of his poetical reputation, and resolved upon revenge. The insults to which Lucan was daily exposed, provoked at last his resentment, and he joined Piso in a conspiracy against the emperor. The whole was discovered, and the poet had nothing left but to choose the manner of his execution. He had his veins opened in a warm bath, and as he expired he pronounced with great energy the lines which, in his Pharsalia, bk. 3, lis. 639‒642, he had put into the mouth of a soldier, who died in the same manner as himself. Some have accused him of pusillanimity at the moment of his death, and say that, to free himself from the punishment which threatened him, he accused his own mother, and involved her in the crime of which he was guilty. This circumstance, which throws an indelible blot upon the character of Lucan, is not mentioned by some writers, who observe that he expired with all the firmness of a philosopher. He died in his 26th year, A.D. 65. Of all his compositions none but his Pharsalia remains. This poem, which is an account of the civil wars of Cæsar and Pompey, is unfinished. Opinions are various as to the merit of the poetry. It possesses neither the fire of Homer, nor the melodious numbers of Virgil. If Lucan had lived to a greater age, his judgment and genius would have matured, and he might have claimed a more exalted rank among the poets of the Augustan age. His expressions, however, are bold and animated, his poetry entertaining, though his irregularities are numerous, and, to use the words of Quintilian, he is more an orator than a poet. He wrote a poem upon the burning of Rome, now lost. It is said that his wife Polla Argentaria not only assisted him in the composition of his poem, but even corrected it after his death. Scaliger says that Lucan rather barks than sings. The best editions of Lucan are those of Oudendorp, 4to, Leiden, 1728; of Bentley, 4to, printed at Strawberry-hill, 1760; and of Barbou, 12mo, Paris, 1767. Quintilian, bk. 10.――Suetonius.――Tacitus, Annals, bk. 15, &c.――Martial, bk. 7, ltr. 20.――――Ocellus, or Ucellus, an ancient Pythagorean philosopher, whose age is unknown. He wrote, in the Attic dialect, a book on the nature of the universe, which he deemed eternal, and from it were drawn the systems adopted by Aristotle, Plato, and Philo Judæus. This work was first translated into Latin by Nogarola. Another book of Ocellus on laws, written in the Doric dialect, was greatly esteemed by Archytas and Plato, a fragment of which has been preserved by Stobæus, of which, however, Ocellus is disputed to be the author. There is an edition of Ocellus, with a learned commentary, by C. Emman. Vizzanius, Bononiæ, 1646, in 4to.

=Lŭcăria=, or =Lŭcĕria=, festivals at Rome, celebrated in a large grove between the Via Salaria and the Tiber, where the Romans hid themselves when besieged by the Gauls. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 1, ch. 77.

=Lucius Lucceius=, a celebrated historian, asked by Cicero to write a history of his consulship. He favoured the cause of Pompey, but was afterwards pardoned by Julius Cæsar. Cicero, _Letters to his Friends_, bk. 5, ltr. 12, &c.

=Lucceius Albīnus=, a governor of Mauritania after Galba’s death, &c. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 2, ch. 58.

=Lucentum= (or ia), a town of Spain, now Alicant.

=Lŭcĕres=, a body of horse, composed of Roman knights, first established by Romulus and Tatius. It received its name either from Lucumo, an Etrurian who assisted the Romans against the Sabines, or from lucus, a grove where Romulus had erected an asylum, or a place of refuge for all fugitives, slaves, homicides, &c., that he might people his city. The Luceres were some of these men, and they were incorporated with the legions. Propertius, bk. 4, poem 1, li. 31.

=Lucĕria=, a town of Apulia, famous for wool. Livy, bk. 9, chs. 2 & 12; bk. 10, ch. 35.――Horace, bk. 3, ode 15, li. 14.――Lucan, bk. 2, li. 473.

=Lucerius=, a surname of Jupiter, as the father of light.

=Lucetius=, a Rutulian killed by Ilioneus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 570.

=Luciānus=, a celebrated writer of Samosata. His father was poor in his circumstances, and Lucian was early bound to one of his uncles, who was a sculptor. This employment highly displeased him; he made no proficiency in the art, and resolved to seek his livelihood by better means. A dream in which Learning seemed to draw him to her, and to promise fame and immortality, confirmed his resolutions, and he began to write. The artifices and unfair dealings of a lawyer, a life which he had embraced, disgusted him, and he began to study philosophy and eloquence. He visited different places, and Antioch, Ionia, Greece, Italy, Gaul, and more particularly Athens, became successively acquainted with the depth of his learning and the power of his eloquence. The emperor Marcus Aurelius was sensible of his merit, and appointed him registrar to the Roman governor of Egypt. He died A.D. 180, in his 90th year, and some of the moderns have asserted that he was torn to pieces by dogs for his impiety, particularly for ridiculing the religion of Christ. The works of Lucian, which are numerous, and written in the Attic dialect, consist partly of dialogues, in which he introduces different characters with much dramatic propriety. His style is easy, simple, elegant, and animated, and he has stored his compositions with many lively sentiments, and much of the true Attic wit. His frequent obscenities, and his manner of exposing to ridicule, not only the religion of his country, but also that of every nation, have deservedly drawn upon him the censure of every age, and branded him with the appellation of atheist and blasphemer. He also wrote the life of Sostrates, a philosopher of Bœotia, as also that of the philosopher Demonax. Some have also attributed to him, with great impropriety, the life of Apollonius Thyaneus. The best editions of Lucian are that of Grævius, 2 vols., 8vo, Amsterdam, 1687, and that of Reitzius, 4 vols., 4to, Amsterdam, 1743.

=Lūcĭfer=, the name of the planet Venus, or morning star. It is called Lucifer, when appearing in the morning before the sun; but when it follows it, and appears some time after its setting, it is called Hesperus. According to some mythologists, Lucifer was son of Jupiter and Aurora.――――A christian writer, whose work was edited by the Coleti, folio, Venice, 1778.

=Lucifĕri fanum=, a town of Spain.

=Caius Lūcīlius=, a Roman knight born at Aurunca, illustrious not only for the respectability of his ancestors, but more deservedly for the uprightness and the innocence of his own immaculate character. He lived in the greatest intimacy with Scipio the first Africanus, and even attended him in his war against Numantia. He is looked upon as the founder of satire, and as the first great satirical writer among the Romans. He was superior to his poetical predecessors at Rome; and though he wrote with great roughness and inelegance, but with much facility, he gained many admirers, whose praises have been often lavished with too liberal a hand. Horace compares him to a river which rolls upon its waters precious sand, accompanied with mire and dirt. Of the 30 satires which he wrote, nothing but a few verses remain. He died at Naples, in the 46th year of his age, B.C. 103. His fragments have been collected and published with notes by Franciscus Dousa, 4to, Leiden, 1597, and lastly by the Vulpii, 8vo, Patavium, 1735. Quintilian, bk. 10, ch. 1.――Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 2. ――Horace.――――Lucilius, a famous Roman, who fled with Brutus after the battle of Philippi. They were soon after overtaken by a party of horse, and Lucilius suffered himself to be severely wounded by the dart of the enemy, exclaiming that he was Brutus. He was taken and carried to the conquerors, whose clemency spared his life. Plutarch.――――A tribune who attempted in vain to elect Pompey to the dictatorship.――――A centurion, &c.――――A governor of Asia under Tiberius.――――A friend of Tiberius.

=Lucilla=, a daughter of Marcus Aurelius, celebrated for the virtues of her youth, her beauty, debaucheries, and misfortunes. At the age of 16 her father sent her to Syria to marry the emperor Verus, who was then employed in a war with the Parthians and ♦Armenians. The conjugal virtues of Lucilla were great at first, but when she saw Verus plunge himself into debauchery and dissipation, she followed his example and prostituted herself. At her return to Rome she saw the incestuous commerce of her husband with her mother, &c., and at last poisoned him. She afterwards married an old but virtuous senator, by order of her father, and was not ashamed soon to gratify the criminal sensualities of her brother Commodus. The coldness and indifference with which Commodus treated her afterwards determined her on revenge, and she with many illustrious senators conspired against his life A.D. 185. The plot was discovered, Lucilla was banished, and soon after put to death by her brother, in the 38th year of her age.

♦ ‘Arminians’ replaced with ‘Armenians’

=Lūcīna=, a goddess, daughter of Jupiter and Juno, or, according to others, of Latona. As her mother brought her into the world without pain, she became the goddess whom women in labour invoked, and she presided over the birth of children. She receives this name either from lucus, or from lux, as Ovid explains it:

_Gratia Lucinæ, dedit hæc tibi nomina lucus; Aut quia principium tu, Dea, lucis habes._

Some suppose her to be the same as Diana and Juno, because these two goddesses were also sometimes called Lucina, and presided over the labours of women. She is called Ilythia by the Greeks. She had a famous temple at Rome, raised A.U.C. 396. Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 4.――Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 2, ch. 27.――Ovid, Fasti, bk. 2, li. 449.――Horace, Carmen Sæculare.

=Lucius=, a Roman soldier killed at the siege of Jerusalem, by saving in his arms a man who jumped down from one of the walls. Josephus. ――――A brother of Marcus Antony. See: Lucius Antonius.――――A Roman general, who defeated the Etrurians, &c.――――A relation of Julius Cæsar. A Roman ambassador, murdered by the Illyrians.――――A consul, &c.――――A writer, called by some Saturantius Apuleius. He was born in Africa, on the borders of Numidia. He studied poetry, music, geometry, &c., at Athens, and warmly embraced the tenets of the Platonists. He cultivated magic, and some miracles are attributed to his knowledge of enchantments. He wrote in Greek and Latin with great ease and simplicity; his style, however, is sometimes affected, though his eloquence was greatly celebrated in his age. Some fragments of his compositions are still extant. He flourished in the reign of Marcus Aurelius.――――A brother of Vitellius, &c.――――A son of Agrippa, adopted by Augustus.――――A man put to death for his incontinence, &c.――――The word Lucius is a prænomen common to many Romans, of whom an account is given under their family names.

=Lūcrētia=, a celebrated Roman lady, daughter of Lucretius and wife of Tarquinius Collatinus. Her accomplishments proved fatal to her, and the praises which a number of young nobles at Ardea, among whom were Collatinus and the sons of Tarquin, bestowed upon the domestic virtues of their wives at home, were productive of a revolution in the state. While every one was warm with the idea, it was universally agreed to leave the camp and to go to Rome, to ascertain the veracity of their respective assertions. Collatinus had the pleasure to see his expectations fulfilled in the highest degree, and while the wives of the other Romans were involved in the riot and dissipation of a feast, Lucretia was found at home, employed in the midst of her female servants, and easing their labour by sharing it herself. The beauty and innocence of Lucretia inflamed the passion of Sextus the son of Tarquin, who was a witness of her virtues and industry. He cherished his flame, and he secretly retired from the camp, and came to the house of Lucretia, where he met with a kind reception. He showed himself unworthy of such a treatment, and in the dead of night he introduced himself to Lucretia, who refused to his intreaties what her fear of shame granted to his threats. She yielded to her ravisher when he threatened to murder her, and to slay one of her slaves, and put him in her bed, that this apparent adultery might seem to have met with the punishment it deserved. Lucretia, in the morning, sent for her husband and her father, and, after she had revealed to them the indignities she had suffered from the son of Tarquin, and entreated them to avenge her wrongs, she stabbed herself with a dagger which she had previously concealed under her clothes. This fatal blow was the signal of rebellion. The body of the virtuous Lucretia was exposed to the eyes of the senate, and the violence and barbarity of Sextus, joined with the unpopularity and oppression of his father, so irritated the Roman populace, that that moment they expelled the Tarquins for ever from Rome. Brutus, who was present at the tragical death of Lucretia, kindled the flames of rebellion, and the republican or consular government was established at Rome A.U.C. 244. Livy, bk. 1, ch. 57, &c.――Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 4, ch. 15.――Ovid, Fasti, bk. 2, li. 741.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 6, ch. 1.――Plutarch.――Augustine, City of God, bk. 1, ch. 19. ――――The wife of Numa. Plutarch.

=Lŭcrētĭlis=, now Libretti, a mountain in the country of the Sabines, hanging over a pleasant valley, near which the house and farm of Horace were situated. Horace, bk. 1, ode 17, li. 1.――Cicero, bk. 7, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 11.

=Titius Lŭcrētius Carus=, a celebrated Roman poet and philosopher, who was early sent to Athens, where he studied under Zeno and Phædrus. The tenets of Epicurus and Empedocles, which then prevailed at Athens, were warmly embraced by Lucretius, and when united with the infinite of Anaximander and the atoms of Democritus, they were explained and elucidated in a poem, in six books, which is called De rerum naturâ. In this poem the masterly genius and unaffected elegance of the poet are everywhere conspicuous; but the opinions of the philosopher are justly censured, who gives no existence of power to a supreme Being, but is the devoted advocate of atheism and impiety, and earnestly endeavours to establish the mortality of the soul. This composition, which has little claim to be called an heroic poem, was written and finished while the poet laboured under a violent delirium, occasioned by a philter, which the jealousy of his mistress or his wife Lucilia had administered. It is said that he destroyed himself in the 44th year of his age, about 54 years before Christ. Cicero, after his death, revised and corrected his poems, which had been partly written in the lucid intervals of reason and of sense. Lucretius, whose poem shows that he wrote Latin better than any other man ever did, would have proved no mean rival to Virgil, had he lived in the polished age of Augustus. The best editions of his works are that of Creech, 8vo, Oxford, 1695; that of Havercamp, 2 vols., 4to, Leiden, 1725; and that of Glasgow, 12mo, 1759. Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 36.――Quintilian, bk. 3, ch. 1; bk. 10, ch. 1.――――Quintus, a Roman who killed himself because the inhabitants of Sulmo, over which he was appointed with a garrison, seemed to favour the cause of Julius Cæsar. Cæsar, Civil War, bk. 1, ch. 18. He is also called Vespillo.――――Spurius Tricipitinus, father of Lucretia wife of Collatinus, was made consul after the death of Brutus, and soon after died himself. Horatius Pulvillus succeeded him. Livy, bk. 1, ch. 58.――Plutarch, Publicola.――――An interrex at Rome.――――A consul.――――Osella, a Roman, put to death by Sylla because he had applied for the consulship without his permission. Plutarch.

=Lucrīnum=, a town of Apulia.

=Lūcrīnus=, a small lake of Campania, opposite Puteoli. Some believe that it was made by Hercules when he passed through Italy with the bulls of Geryon. It abounded with excellent oysters, and was united by Augustus to the Avernus, and a communication formed with the sea, near a harbour called Julius Portus. The Lucrine lake disappeared on the 30th of September, 1538, in a violent earthquake, which raised on the spot a mountain four miles in circumference, and about 1000 feet high, with a crater in the middle. Cicero, bk. 4, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 10.――Strabo, bks. 5 & 6.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4. ――Propertius, bk. 1, poem 11, li. 10.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 2, li. 161.――Horace, bk. 2, ode 15.

=Caius Luctātius Catŭlus=, a Roman consul with Marius. He assisted his colleague in conquering the Cimbrians. See: Cimbricum bellum. He was eloquent as well as valiant, and his history of his consulship, which he wrote with great veracity, convinces us of his literary talents. That history is lost. Cicero, On Oratory.――Varro, de Lingua Latina.――Florus, bk. 2, ch. 2.――――Caius Catulus, a Roman consul, who destroyed the Carthaginian fleet. See: Catulus.

=Lucullea=, a festival established by the Greeks in honour of Lucullus, who had behaved with great prudence and propriety in his province. Plutarch, Lucullus.

=Luculli horti=, gardens of Lucullus, situate near Neapolis, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 11, ch. 1.――――Villa, a country seat near mount Misenus, where Tiberius died. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 6, ch. 50.

=Lucullus Lucius Licinius=, a Roman celebrated for his fondness of luxury and for his military talents. He was born about 115 years before the christian era, and soon distinguished himself by his proficiency in the liberal arts, particularly eloquence and philosophy. His first military campaign was in the Marsian war, where his valour and cool intrepidity recommended him to public notice. His mildness and constancy gained him the admiration and confidence of Sylla, and from this connection he derived honour, and during his questorship in Asia and pretorship in Africa, he rendered himself more conspicuous by his justice, moderation, and humanity. He was raised to the consulship A.U.C. 680, and entrusted with the care of the Mithridatic war, and first displayed his military talents in rescuing his colleague Cotta, whom the enemy had besieged in Chalcedonia. This was soon followed by a celebrated victory over the forces of Mithridates, on the borders of the Granicus, and by the conquest of the Bithynia. His victories by sea were as great as those by land, and Mithridates lost a powerful fleet near Lemnos. Such considerable losses weakened the enemy, and Mithridates retired with precipitation towards Armenia to the court of king Tigranes his father-in-law. His flight was perceived, and Lucullus crossed the Euphrates with great expedition, and gave battle to the numerous forces which Tigranes had already assembled to support the cause of his son-in-law. According to the exaggerated account of Plutarch, no less than 100,000 foot and near 55,000 horse of the Armenians lost their lives in that celebrated battle. All this carnage was made by a Roman army amounting to no more than 18,000 men, of whom only five were killed and 100 wounded during the combat. The taking of Tigranocerta the capital of Armenia was the consequence of this immortal victory, and Lucullus there obtained the greatest part of the royal treasures. This continual success, however, was attended with serious consequences. The severity of Lucullus, and the haughtiness of his commands, offended his soldiers, and displeased his adherents at Rome. Pompey was soon after sent to succeed him, and to continue the Mithridatic war, and the interview which he had with Lucullus began with acts of mutual kindness, and ended in the most inveterate reproaches and open enmity. Lucullus was permitted to retire to Rome, and only 1600 of the soldiers who had shared his fortune and his glories were suffered to accompany him. He was received with coldness at Rome, and he obtained with difficulty a triumph which was deservedly claimed by his fame, his successes, and his victories. In this ended the days of his glory; he retired to the enjoyment of ease and peaceful society, and no longer interested himself in the commotions which disturbed the tranquillity of Rome. He dedicated his time to studious pursuits, and to literary conversation. His house was enriched with a valuable library, which was opened for the service of the curious, and of the learned. Lucullus fell into a delirium in the last part of his life, and died in the 67th or 68th year of his age. The people showed their respect for his merit by their wish to give him an honourable burial in the Campus Martius; but their offers were rejected, and he was privately buried, by his brother, on his estate at Tusculum. Lucullus has been admired for his many accomplishments, but he has been censured for his severity and extravagance. The expenses of his meals were immoderate; his halls were distinguished by the different names of the gods; and, when Cicero and Pompey attempted to surprise him, they were astonished at the costliness of a supper which had been prepared upon the word of Lucullus, who had merely said to his servant that he would sup in the hall of Apollo. In his retirement Lucullus was fond of artificial variety; subterraneous caves and passages were dug under the hills on the coast of Campania, and the sea water was conveyed round the house and pleasure grounds, where the fishes flocked in such abundance, that not less than 25,000 pounds worth were sold at his death. In his public character Lucullus was humane and compassionate, and he showed his sense of the vicissitudes of human affairs by shedding tears at the sight of one of the cities of Armenia, which his soldiers reduced to ashes. He was a perfect master of the Greek and Latin languages, and he employed himself for some time to write a concise history of the Marsic war in Greek hexameters. Such are the striking characteristics of a man who meditated the conquest of Parthia, and for a while gained the admiration of all the inhabitants of the east by his justice and moderation, and who might have disputed the empire of the world with a Cæsar or Pompey, had not, at last, his fondness for retirement withdrawn him from the reach of ambition. Cicero, For Archias, ch. 4; Quæstiones Academicæ, bk. 2, ch. 1.――Plutarch, Lives.――Florus, bk. 3, ch. 5.――Strabo.――Appian, Mithridatic Wars, &c.――Orosius, bk. 6, &c.――――A consul who went to Spain, &c.――――A Roman put to death by Domitian.――――A brother of Lucius Lucullus, lieutenant under Sylla. ――――A pretor of Macedonia.

=Lŭcŭmo=, the first name of Tarquinius Priscus, afterwards changed into Lucius. The word is Etrurian, and signifies prince or chief. Plutarch, Romulus.

=Lucus=, a king of ancient Gaul.――――A town of Gaul at the foot of the Alps.

=Lugdunensis Gallia=, a part of Gaul, which received its name from Lugdunum, the capital city of the province. It was anciently called Celtica. See: Gallia.

=Lugdūnum=, a town of Gallia Celtica, built at the confluence of the Rhone and the Arar, or Saone, by Manutius Plancus, when he was governor of the province. This town, now called Lyons, is the second city of France in point of population. Juvenal, satire 1, li. 44.――Strabo, bk. 4.――――Batavorum, a town on the Rhine, just as it falls into the ocean. It is now called Leyden, and is famous for its university.――――Convenarum, a town at the foot of the Pyrenees, now St. Bertrand in Gascony.

=Lūna= (the moon), was the daughter of Hyperion and Terra, and was the same, according to some mythologists, as Diana. She was worshipped by the ancient inhabitants of the earth with many superstitious forms and ceremonies. It was supposed that magicians and enchanters, particularly those of Thessaly, had an uncontrollable power over the moon, and that they could draw her down from heaven at pleasure by the mere force of their incantations. Her eclipses, according to their opinion, proceeded from thence; and on that account it was usual to beat drums and cymbals to ease her labours, and to render the power of magic less effectual. The Arcadians believed that they were older than the moon. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 263, &c.――Tibullus, bk. 1, poem 8, li. 21.――Hesiod, Theogony.――Virgil, Eclogues, poem 8, li. 69.――――A maritime town of Etruria, famous for the white marble which it produced, and called also Lunensis portus. It contained a fine, capacious harbour, and abounded in wine, cheese, &c. The inhabitants were naturally given to augury, and the observation of uncommon phenomena. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4.――Lucan, bk. 1, li. 586.――Pliny, bk. 14, ch. 6.――Livy, bk. 34, ch. 8.――Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 481.

=Lupa= (a she-wolf), was held in great veneration at Rome, because Romulus and Remus, according to an ancient tradition, were suckled and preserved by one of these animals. This fabulous story arises from the surname of Lupa, prostitute, which was given to the wife of the shepherd Fastulus, to whose care and humanity these children owed their preservation. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 2, li. 415.――Plutarch, Romulus.

=Lupercal=, a place at the foot of mount Aventine sacred to Pan, where festivals called Lupercalia were yearly celebrated, and where the she-wolf was said to have brought up Romulus and Remus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 343.

=Lupercālia=, a yearly festival observed at Rome the 15th of February, in honour of the god Pan. It was usual first to sacrifice two goats and a dog, and to touch with a bloody knife the foreheads of two illustrious youths, who always were obliged to smile while they were touched. The blood was wiped away with soft wool dipped in milk. After this the skins of the victims were cut into thongs, with which whips were made for the youths. With these whips the youths ran about the streets all naked except the middle, and whipped freely all those whom they met. Women in particular were fond of receiving the lashes, as they superstitiously believed that they removed barrenness, and eased the pains of child-birth. This excursion in the streets of Rome was performed by naked youths, because Pan is always represented naked, and a goat was sacrificed because that deity was supposed to have the feet of a goat. A dog was added, as a necessary and useful guardian of the sheepfold. This festival, as Plutarch mentions, was first instituted by the Romans in honour of the she-wolf which suckled Romulus and Remus. This opinion is controverted by others, and Livy, with Dionysius of Halicarnassus, observes that they were introduced into Italy by Evander. The name seems to be borrowed from the Greek name of Pan, Lycæus, from λυκος, a wolf; not only because these ceremonies were like the Lycæan festivals observed in Arcadia, but because Pan, as god of shepherds, protected the sheep from the rapacity of the wolves. The priests who officiated at the Lupercalia were called Luperci. Augustus forbade any person above the age of 14 to appear naked or to run about the streets during the Lupercalia. Cicero, in his Philippics, reproaches Antony for having disgraced the dignity of the consulship by running naked, and armed with a whip, about the streets. It was during the celebration of these festivals that Antony offered a crown to Julius Cæsar, which the indignation of the populace obliged him to refuse. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 2, li. 427.――Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 5, ch. 3.

=Luperci=, a number of priests at Rome, who assisted at the celebration of the Lupercalia, in honour of the god Pan, to whose service they were dedicated. This order of priests was the most ancient and respectable of all the sacerdotal offices. It was divided into two separate colleges, called Fabiani and Quintiliani, from Fabius and Quintilius, two of their high priests. The former was instituted in honour of Romulus, and the latter of Remus. To these two sacerdotal bodies Julius Cæsar added a third, called from himself the Julii, and this action contributed not a little to render his cause unpopular, and to betray his ambitious and aspiring views. See: Lupercalia. Plutarch, Romulus.――Dio Cassius, bk. 45. ――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 663.

=Lupercus=, a grammarian in the reign of the emperor Gallienus. He wrote some grammatical pieces, which some have preferred to Herodian’s compositions.

=Lupias=, or =Lupia=, now Lippe, a town of Germany, with a small river of the same name falling into the Rhine. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 1, &c.

=Lupus=, a general of the emperor Severus.――――A governor of Britain. ――――A questor in the reign of Tiberius, &c.――――A comic writer of Sicily, who wrote a poem on the return of Menelaus and Helen to Sparta, after the destruction of Troy. Ovid, ex Ponto, bk. 4, ltr. 16, li. 26.――――Publius Rutilius, a Roman, who, contrary to the omens, marched against the Marsi, and was killed with his army. He has been taxed with impiety, and was severely censured in the Augustan age. Horace, bk. 2, satire 1, li. 68.

=Lusitania=, a part of ancient Spain, whose extent and situation have not been accurately defined by the ancients. According to the more correct descriptions it extended from the Tagus to the sea of Cantabria, and comprehended the modern kingdom of Portugal. The inhabitants were warlike, and were conquered by the Roman army under Dolabella, B.C. 99, with great difficulty. They generally lived upon plunder, and were rude and unpolished in their manners. It was usual among them to expose their sick in the high-roads, that their diseases might be cured by the directions and advice of travellers. They were very moderate in their meals, and never ate but of one dish. Their clothes were commonly black, and they generally warmed themselves by means of stones heated in the fire. Strabo, bk. 3. ――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 6; bk. 3, ch. 1.――Livy, bk. 21, ch. 43; bk. 27, ch. 20.

=Lusius=, a river of Arcadia. Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 3, ch. 22.――Pausanias, Arcadia, ch. 28.

=Lusones=, a people of Spain, near the Iberus.

=Lustricus Brutianus=, a Roman poet. Martial, bk. 4, ltr. 23.

=Lutātius Catŭlus=, a Roman who shut the temple of Janus after peace had been made with Carthage. See: Luctatius.

=Luterius=, a general of the Gauls, defeated by Cæsar, &c.

=Lūtetia=, a town of Belgic Gaul, on the confluence of the rivers Sequana and Matrona, which received its name, as some suppose, from the quantity of clay, lutum, which is in its neighbourhood. Julius Cæsar fortified and embellished it, from which circumstance some authors call it Julii Civitas. Julian the apostate resided there some time. It is now called Paris, the capital of France. Cæsar, Gallic War, bks. 6 & 7.――Strabo, bk. 4.――Ammianus, bk. 20.

=Caius Lutorius Priscus=, a Roman knight, put to death by order of Tiberius, because he had written a poem in which he had bewailed the death of Germanicus, who then laboured under a severe illness. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 3, ch. 49, &c.

=Lyæus=, a surname of Bacchus. It is derived from λυειν, solvere, because wine, over which Bacchus presides, gives freedom to the mind, and delivers it from all cares and melancholy. Horace, epode 9. ――Lucan, bk. 1, li. 675.

=Lybas=, one of the companions of Ulysses, &c.

=Lybya=, or =Lybissa=, a small village of Bithynia, where Annibal was buried.

=Lycăbas=, an Etrurian who had been banished from his country for murder. He was one of those who offered violence to Bacchus, and who were changed into dolphins. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, li. 624.――――One of the Lapithæ who ran away from the battle which was fought at the nuptials of Pirithous. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 302.

=Lycabētus=, a mountain of Attica, near Athens. Statius.

=Lycæa=, festivals in Arcadia, in honour of Pan the god of shepherds. They are the same as the Lupercalia of the Romans.――――A festival at Argos in honour of Apollo Lycæus, who delivered the Argives from wolves, &c.

=Lycæum=, a celebrated place near the banks of the Ilissus in Attica. It was in this pleasant and salubrious spot that Aristotle taught philosophy, and as he generally instructed his pupils in walking, they were called Peripatetics, ἀ περιπατεω, ambulo. The philosopher continued his instructions for 12 years, till, terrified by the false accusations of Eurymedon, he was obliged to fly to Chalcis.

=Lycæus=, a mountain of Arcadia, sacred to Jupiter, where a temple was built in honour of the god by Lycaon the son of Pelasgus. It was also sacred to Pan, whose festivals, called Lycæa, were celebrated there. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 1, li. 16; Æneid, bk. 8, li. 343. ――Strabo, bk. 8.――Horace, bk. 1, ode 17, li. 2.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 698.

=Ly̆cambes=, the father of Neobule. He promised his daughter in marriage to the poet Archilochus, and afterwards refused to fulfil his engagement when she had been courted by a man whose opulence had more influence than the fortune of the poet. This irritated Archilochus; he wrote a bitter invective against Lycambes and his daughter, and rendered them both so desperate by the satire of his composition, that they hanged themselves. Horace, epode 6, li. 13.――Ovid, Ibis, li. 52.――Aristotle, Rhetoric, bk. 3.

=Ly̆cāon=, the first king of Arcadia, son of Pelasgus and Melibœa. He built a town called Lycosura on the top of mount Lycæus, in honour of Jupiter. He had many wives, by whom he had a daughter called Callisto, and 50 sons. He was succeeded on the throne by Nyctimus, the eldest of his sons. He lived about 1820 years before the christian era. Apollodorus, bk. 3.――Hyginus, fable 176.――Catullus, poem 76. ――Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 2, &c.――――Another king of Arcadia, celebrated for his cruelties. He was changed into a wolf by Jupiter, because he offered human victims on the altars of the god Pan. Some attribute this metamorphosis to another cause. The sins of mankind, as they relate, were become so enormous, that Jupiter visited the earth to punish their wickedness and impiety. He came to Arcadia, where he was announced as a god, and the people began to pay proper adoration to his divinity. Lycaon, however, who used to sacrifice all strangers to his wanton cruelty, laughed at the pious prayers of his subjects, and, to try the divinity of the god, he served up human flesh on his table. This impiety so irritated Jupiter, that he immediately destroyed the house of Lycaon, and changed him into a wolf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 198, &c. These two monarchs are often confounded together, though it appears that they were two different characters, and that not less than an age elapsed between their reigns.――――A son of Priam and Laothoe. He was taken by Achilles and carried to Lemnos, whence he escaped. He was afterwards killed by Achilles in the Trojan war. Homer, Iliad, bk. 21, &c.――――The father of Pandarus, killed by Diomedes before Troy.――――A Gnossian artist, who made the sword which Ascanius gave to Euryalus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 304.

=Ly̆cāŏnia=, a country of Asia, between Cappadocia, Pisidia, Pamphylia, and Phrygia, made a Roman province under Augustus. Iconium was the capital. Strabo, bk. 10.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 2.――Livy, bk. 27, ch. 54; bk. 38, ch. 39.――――Arcadia bore also that name, from Lycaon, one of its kings. Dionysius of Halicarnassus.――――An island in the Tiber.

=Ly̆cas=, a priest of Apollo in the interest of Turnus. He was killed by Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 315.――――Another officer of Turnus. Æneid, bk. 10, ch. 561.

=Ly̆caste=, an ancient town of Crete, whose inhabitants accompanied Idomeneus to the Trojan war. Homer, Iliad, bk. 2.――――A daughter of Priam by a concubine. She married Polydamas the son of Antenor. ――――A famous courtesan of Drepanum, called Venus on account of her great beauty. She had a son called Eryx, by Butes son of Amycus.

=Lycastum=, a town of Cappadocia.

=Lycastus=, a son of Minos I. He was father of Minos II., by Ida the daughter of Corybas. Diodorus, bk. 4.――――A son of Minos and Philonome daughter of Nyctimus. He succeeded his father on the throne of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 8, chs. 3 & 4.

=Lyce=, one of the Amazons, &c. Flaccus, bk. 6, li. 374.

=Lyces=, a town of Macedonia. Livy, bk. 31, ch. 33.

=Lycēum.= See: Lycæum.

=Lychnīdus=, now Achridna, a city with a lake of the same name, in Illyricum. Livy, bk. 27, ch. 32; bk. 44, ch. 15.

=Ly̆cia=, a country of Asia Minor, bounded by the Mediterranean on the south, Caria on the west, Pamphylia on the east, and Phrygia on the north. It was anciently called Milyas and Tremile, from the Milyæ or Solymi, a people of Crete, who came to settle there. The country received the name of Lycia, from Lycus the son of Pandion, who established himself there. The inhabitants have been greatly commended by all the ancients, not only for their sobriety and justice, but their great dexterity in the management of the bow. They were conquered by Crœsus king of Lydia, and afterwards by Cyrus. Though they were subject to the power of Persia, yet they were governed by their own kings, and only paid a yearly tribute to the Persian monarch. They became part of the Macedonian empire when Alexander came into the east, and afterwards were ceded to the house of the Seleucidæ. The country was reduced into a Roman province by the emperor Claudius. Apollo had there his celebrated oracle at Patara, and the epithet hiberna is applied to the country, because the god was said to pass the winter in his temple. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, lis. 143 & 446; bk. 7, li. 816.――Statius, Thebiad, bk. 6, li. 686.――Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 173.――Strabo, bk. 13.――Livy, bk. 37, ch. 16; bk. 38, ch. 39.

=Lycĭdas=, a centaur, killed by the Lapithæ at the nuptials of Pirithous. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 310.――――A shepherd’s name. Virgil, Eclogues.――――A beautiful youth, the admiration of Rome in the age of Horace. Horace, bk. 1, ode 4, li. 19.

=Lycimna=, a town of Peloponnesus.

=Lycimnia=, a slave, mother of Helenor by a Lydian prince. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 446.

=Lyciscus=, an Athenian archon.――――A Messenian of the family of the Æpytidæ. When his daughters were doomed by lot to be sacrificed for the good of their country, he fled with them to Sparta, and Aristodemus upon this cheerfully gave his own children and soon after succeeded to the throne. Pausanias, bk. 4, ch. 9.――――A youth of whom Horace was enamoured.

=Ly̆cius=, a son of Hercules and Toxicreta.――――A son of Lycaon.――――An epithet given to Apollo from his temple in Lycia, where he gave oracles, particularly at Patara, where the appellation of Lyciæ sortes was given to his answers, and even to the will of the fates. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 346.――――A surname of Danaus.

=Ly̆cŏmēdes=, a king of Scyros, an island in the Ægean sea, son of Apollo and Parthenope. He was secretly entrusted with the care of young Achilles, whom his mother Thetis had disguised in woman’s clothes, to remove him from the Trojan war, where she knew he must unavoidably perish. Lycomedes has rendered himself infamous for his treachery to Theseus, who had implored his protection when driven from the throne of Athens by the usurper Mnestheus. Lycomedes, as it is reported, either envious of the fame of his illustrious guest, or bribed by the emissaries of Mnestheus, led Theseus to an elevated place, on pretence of showing him the extent of his dominions, and perfidiously threw him down a precipice, where he was killed. Plutarch, Theseus.――Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 17; bk. 7, ch. 4. ――――Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 13.――――An Arcadian, who, with 500 chosen men, put to flight 1000 Spartans and 500 Argives, &c. Diodorus, bk. 15.――――A seditious person at Tegea.――――A Mantinean general, &c.――――An Athenian, the first who took one of the enemy’s ships at the battle of Salamis. Plutarch.

=Lycon=, a philosopher of Troas, son of Astyonax, in the age of Aristotle. He was greatly esteemed by Eumenes, Antiochus, &c. He died in the 74th year of his age. Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers.――――A man who wrote the life of Pythagoras. ――――A poet.――――A writer of epigrams.――――A player, greatly esteemed by Alexander. A Syracusan who assisted in murdering Dion.――――A peripatetic philosopher.

=Lycōne=, a city of Thrace.――――A mountain of Argolis. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 24.

=Ly̆cōphron=, a son of Periander king of Corinth. The murder of his mother Melissa by his father had such an effect upon him, that he resolved never to speak to a man who had been so wantonly cruel against his relations. This resolution was strengthened by the advice of Procles his maternal uncle, and Periander at last banished to Corcyra a son whose disobedience and obstinacy had rendered him odious. Cypselus, the eldest son of Periander, being incapable of reigning, Lycophron was the only surviving child who had any claim to the crown of Corinth. But when the infirmities of Periander obliged him to look for a successor, Lycophron refused to come to Corinth while his father was there, and he was induced to leave Corcyra, only on promise that Periander would come and dwell there while he remained master of Corinth. This exchange, however, was prevented. The Corcyreans, who were apprehensive of the tyranny of Periander, murdered Lycophron before he left that island. Herodotus, bk. 3. ――Aristotle.――――A brother of Thebe, the wife of Alexander tyrant of Pheræ. He assisted his sister in murdering her husband, and he afterwards seized the sovereignty. He was dispossessed by Philip of Macedonia. Plutarch.――Diodorus, bk. 16.――――A general of Corinth, killed by Nicias. Plutarch, Nicias.――――A native of Cythera, son of Mastor. He went to the Trojan war with Ajax the son of Telamon, after the accidental murder of one of his citizens. He was killed, &c. Homer, Iliad, bk. 15, li. 450.――――A famous Greek poet and grammarian, born at Chalcis, in Eubœa. He was one of the poets who flourished under Ptolemy Philadelphus, and who, from their number, obtained the name of Pleiades. Lycophron died by the wound of an arrow. He wrote tragedies, the titles of 20 of which have been preserved. The only remaining composition of this poet is called Cassandra or Alexandra. It contains 1474 verses, whose obscurity has procured the epithet of Tenebrosus to its author. It is a mixture of prophetical effusions, which, as he supposes, were given by Cassandra during the Trojan war. The best editions of Lycophron are that of Basil, 1546, folio, enriched with the Greek commentary of Tzetzes; that of Canter, 8vo, apud Commelin. 1596; and that of Potter, folio, Oxford, 1702. Ovid, Ibis, li. 533.――Statius, bk. 5, Sylvæ, poem 3.

=Lycopŏlis=, now Siut, a town of Egypt. It received this name on account of the immense number of wolves, λυκοι, which repelled an army of Æthiopians, who had invaded Egypt. Diodorus, bk. 1. ――Strabo, bk. 17.

=Lycopus=, an Ætolian who assisted the Cyreneans against Ptolemy. Polyænus, bk. 8.

=Lycorea=, a town of Phocis at the top of Parnassus, where the people of Delphi took refuge during Deucalion’s deluge, directed by the howlings of wolves. Pausanias, Phocis, ch. 6.

=Lycoreus=, the supposed founder of Lycorea, on mount Parnassus, was son of Apollo and Corycia. Hyginus, fable 161.

=Ly̆cōrias=, one of the attendant nymphs of Cyrene. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 4, li. 339.

=Ly̆cōris=, a freedwoman of the senator Volumnius, also called Cytheris, and Volumnia, from her master. She is celebrated for her beauty and intrigues. The poet Gallus was greatly enamoured of her, and his friend Virgil, in his 10th eclogue, comforts him for the loss of the favours of Cytheris, who followed Marcus Antony’s camp, and was become the Aspasia of Rome. The charms of Cleopatra, however, prevailed over those of Cytheris, and the unfortunate courtesan lost the favours of Antony and of all the world at the same time. Lycoris was originally a comedian. Virgil, Eclogues, poem 10.――Ovid, Ars Amatoria, bk. 3, li. 537.

=Lycormas=, a river of Ætolia, whose sands were of a golden colour. It was afterwards called Evenus, from king Evenus, who threw himself into it. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, li. 245.

=Lycortas=, the father of Polybius, who flourished B.C. 184. He was chosen general of the Achæan league, and he revenged the death of Philopœmen, &c. Plutarch.

=Lycosūra=, a city built by Lycaon on mount Lycæus in Arcadia.

=Lyctus=, a town of Crete, the country of Idomeneus, whence he is often called Lyctius. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 401.

=Lycurgrĭdes=, annual days of solemnity, appointed in honour of the lawgiver of Sparta.――――A patronymic of a son of Lycurgus. Ovid, Ibis, li. 503.

=Lycurgus=, a king of Nemæa, in Peloponnesus. He was raised from the dead by Æsculapius. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 5, li. 638.――――A giant killed by Osiris in Thrace. Diodorus, bk. 1.――――A king of Thrace, son of Dryas. He has been represented as cruel and impious, on account of the violence which he offered to Bacchus. He, according to the opinion of the mythologists, drove Bacchus out of his kingdom, and abolished his worship, for which impiety he was severely punished by the gods. He put his own son Dryas to death in a fury, and he cut off his own legs, mistaking them for vine boughs. He was put to death in the greatest torments by his subjects, who had been informed by the oracle that they should not taste wine till Lycurgus was no more. This fable is explained by observing that the aversion of Lycurgus for wine, over which Bacchus presided, arose from the filthiness and disgrace of intoxication, and therefore the monarch wisely ordered all the vines of his dominions to be cut down, that himself and his subjects might be preserved from the extravagance and debauchery which are produced by too free a use of wine. Hyginus, fable 132. ――Homer, Iliad, bk. 6, li. 130.――Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 5. ――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, li. 22.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 14.――Horace, bk. 2, ode 19.――――A son of Hercules and Praxithea daughter of Thespius. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.――――A son of Pheres the son of Cretheus. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9.――――An orator of Athens, surnamed Ibis, in the age of Demosthenes, famous for his justice and impartiality when at the head of the government. He was one of the 30 orators whom the Athenians refused to deliver up to Alexander. Some of his orations are extant. He died about 330 years before Christ. Diodorus, bk. 16.――――A king of Tegea, son of Aleus, by Neæra the daughter of Pereus. He married Cleophile, called also Eurynome, by whom he had Amphidamas, &c. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 9. ――Homer, Iliad, bk. 7.――――A celebrated lawgiver of Sparta, son of king Eunomus and brother to Polydectes. He succeeded his brother on the Spartan throne; but when he saw that the widow of Polydectes was pregnant, he kept the kingdom not for himself, but till Charilaus his nephew was arrived to years of maturity. He had previously refused to marry his brother’s widow, who wished to strengthen him on his throne by destroying her own son Charilaus, and leaving him in the peaceful possession of the crown. The integrity with which he acted, when guardian of his nephew Charilaus, united with the disappointment and the resentment of the queen, raised him many enemies, and he at last yielded to their satire and malevolence, and retired to Crete. He travelled like a philosopher, and visited Asia and Egypt without suffering himself to be corrupted by the licentiousness and luxury which prevailed there. The confusion which followed his departure from Sparta now had made his presence totally necessary, and he returned home at the earnest solicitations of his countrymen. The disorders which reigned at Sparta induced him to reform the government; and the more effectually to execute his undertaking, he had recourse to the oracle of Delphi. He was received by the priestess of the god with every mark of honour, his intentions were warmly approved by the divinity, and he was called the friend of gods, and himself rather god than man. After such a reception from the most celebrated oracle of Greece, Lycurgus found no difficulty in reforming the abuses of the state, and all were equally anxious in promoting a revolution which had received the sanction of heaven. This happened 884 years before the christian era. Lycurgus first established a senate, which was composed of 28 senators, whose authority preserved the tranquillity of the state, and maintained a due and just equilibrium between the kings and the people, by watching over the intrusions of the former, and checking the seditious convulsions of the latter. All distinctions were destroyed, and by making an equal and impartial division of the land among the members of the commonwealth, Lycurgus banished luxury, and encouraged the useful arts. The use of money, either of gold or silver, was totally forbidden, and the introduction of heavy brass and iron coin brought no temptations to the dishonest, and left every individual in the possession of his effects without any fears of robbery or violence. All the citizens dined in common, and no one had greater claims to indulgence or luxury than another. The intercourse of Sparta with other nations was forbidden, and few were permitted to travel. The youths were entrusted to the public master as soon as they had attained their seventh year, and their education was left to the wisdom of the laws. They were taught early to think, to answer in a short and laconic manner, and to excel in sharp repartee. They were instructed and encouraged to carry things by surprise, but if ever the theft was discovered they were subjected to a severe punishment. Lycurgus was happy and successful in establishing and enforcing these laws, and by his prudence and administration the face of affairs in Lacedæmon was totally changed, and it gave rise to a set of men distinguished for their intrepidity, their fortitude, and their magnanimity. After this, Lycurgus retired from Sparta to Delphi, or, according to others, to Crete, and before his departure he bound all the citizens of Lacedæmon by a solemn oath, that neither they nor their posterity would alter, violate, or abolish the laws which he had established before his return. He soon after put himself to death, and he ordered his ashes to be thrown into the sea, fearful lest, if they were carried to Sparta, the citizens would call themselves freed from the oath which they had taken, and empowered to make a revolution. The wisdom and the good effect of the laws of Lycurgus have been firmly demonstrated at Sparta, where for 700 years they remained in full force, but the legislator has been censured as cruel and impolitic. He has shown himself inhumane in ordering mothers to destroy such of their children whose feebleness or deformity in their youth seemed to promise incapability of action in maturer years, and to become a burden to the state. His regulations about marriage must necessarily be censured, and no true conjugal felicity can be expected from the union of a man with a person whom he perhaps never knew before, and whom he was compelled to choose in a dark room, where all the marriageable women in the state assembled on stated occasions. The peculiar dress which was appointed for the females might be termed improper; and the law must for ever be called injudicious, which ordered them to appear naked on certain days of festivity, and wrestle in a public assembly promiscuously, with boys of equal age with themselves. These things indeed contributed as much to corrupt the morals of the Lacedæmonians, as the other regulations seemed to be calculated to banish dissipation, riot, and debauchery. Lycurgus has been compared to Solon, the celebrated legislator of Athens, and it has been judiciously observed, that the former gave his citizens morals conformable to the laws which he had established, and that the latter had given the Athenians laws which coincided with their customs and manners. The office of Lycurgus demanded resolution, and he showed himself inexorable and severe. In Solon artifice was requisite, and he showed himself mild and even voluptuous. The moderation of Lycurgus is greatly commended, particularly when we recollect that he treated with the greatest humanity and confidence Alcander, a youth who had put out one of his eyes in a seditious tumult. Lycurgus had a son called Antiorus, who left no issue. The Lacedæmonians showed their respect for their great legislator, by yearly celebrating a festival in his honour, called Lycurgidæ or Lycurgides. The introduction of money into Sparta in the reign of Agis the son of Archidamus was one of the principal causes which corrupted the innocence of the Lacedæmonians, and rendered them the prey of intrigue and of faction. The laws of Lycurgus were abrogated by Philopœmen, B.C. 188, but only for a little time, as they were soon after re-established by the Romans. Plutarch, Lives. ――Justin, bk. 3, ch. 2, &c.――Strabo, bks. 8, 10, 15, &c. ――Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 2.――Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 2.

=Lycus=, a king of Bœotia, successor to his brother Nycteus, who left no male issue. He was entrusted with the government only during the minority of Labdacus, the son of the daughter of Nycteus. He was further enjoined to make war against Epopeus, who had carried away by force Antiope the daughter of Nycteus. He was successful in this expedition. Epopeus was killed, and Lycus recovered Antiope and married her, though she was his niece. This new connection highly displeased his first wife Dirce, and Antiope was delivered to the unfeeling queen and tortured in the most cruel manner. Antiope at last escaped, and entreated her sons Zethus and Amphion to avenge her wrongs. The children, incensed on account of the cruelties which their mother had suffered, besieged Thebes, killed Lycus, and tied Dirce to the tail of a wild bull, which dragged her till she died. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 5.――Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 5.――――A king of Libya, who sacrificed whatever strangers came upon his coast. When Diomedes, at his return from the Trojan war, had been shipwrecked there, the tyrant seized him and confined him. He, however, escaped by means of Callirhoe, the tyrant’s daughter, who was enamoured of him, and who hung herself when she saw herself deserted.――――A son of Neptune by Celæno, made king of a part of Mysia by Hercules. He offered violence to Megara the wife of Hercules, for which he was killed by the incensed hero. Lycus gave a kind reception to the Argonauts. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 10.――Hyginus, fables 18, 31, 32, 137.――――A son of Ægyptus,――――of Mars,――――of Lycaon king of Arcadia,――――of Pandion king of Athens.――――The father of Arcesilaus. ――――One of the companions of Æneas. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 3. ――Pausanias, bk. 1, &c.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, &c.――Hyginus, fable 97 & 159.――――An officer of Alexander in the interest of Lysimachus. He made himself master of Ephesus by the treachery of Andron, &c. Polyænus, bk. 5.――――One of the Centaurs.――――A son of Priam.――――A river of Phrygia, which disappears near Colosse, and rises again at the distance of about four stadia, and at last falls into the Mæander. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 15, li. 273.――――A river of Sarmatia, falling into the Palus Mæotis.――――Another in Paphlagonia, near Heraclea. Ovid, bk. 4, ex Ponto, poem 1, li. 47.――――Another in Assyria.――――Another in Armenia, falling into the Euxine near the Phasis. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 4, li. 367.――――One of the friends of Æneas, killed by Turnus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 545.――――A youth beloved by Alcæus. Horace, bk. 1, ode 32.――――A town of Crete.

=Lyde=, the wife of the poet Antimachus, &c. Ovid, Tristia, bk. 1, poem 5.――――A woman in Domitian’s reign, who pretended that she could remove barrenness by medicines. Juvenal, satire 2, li. 141.

=Lȳdia=, a celebrated kingdom of Asia Minor, whose boundaries were different at different times. It was first bounded by Mysia Major, Caria, Phrygia Major, and Ionia, but in its more flourishing times it contained the whole country which lies between the Halys and the Ægean sea. It was anciently called Mæonia, and received the name of Lydia from Lydus, one of its kings. It was governed by monarchs who, after the fabulous ages, reigned for 249 years in the following order: Ardysus began to reign 797 B.C.; Alyattes, 761; Meles, 747; Candaules, 735; Gyges, 718; Ardysus II., 680; Sadyattes, 631; Alyattes II., 619; and Crœsus, 562, who was conquered by Cyrus, B.C. 548, when the kingdom became a province of the Persian empire. There were three different races that reigned in Lydia, the Atyadæ, Heraclidæ, and Mermnadæ. The history of the first is obscure and fabulous; the Heraclidæ began to reign about the Trojan war, and the crown remained in their family for about 505 years, and was always transmitted from father to son. Candaules was the last of the Heraclidæ; and Gyges the first, and Crœsus the last, of the Mermnadæ. The Lydians were great warriors in the reign of the Mermnadæ. They invented the art of coining gold and silver, and were the first who exhibited public sports, &c. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 6; bk. 3, ch. 90; bk. 7, ch. 74. ――Strabo, bks. 2, 5, & 13.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 2.――Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 5.――Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1.――Diodorus, bk. 4. ――Justin, bk. 13, ch. 4.――――A mistress of Horace, &c., bk. 1, ode 8.

=Lydias=, a river of Macedonia.

=Lȳdius=, an epithet applied to the Tiber, because it passed near Etruria, whose inhabitants were originally a Lydian colony. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, li. 781; bk. 8, li. 479.

=Lydus=, a son of Atys and Callithea, king of Mæonia, which from him received the name of Lydia. His brother Tyrrhenus led a colony to Italy, and gave the name of Tyrrhenia to the settlement which he made on the coast of the Mediterranean. Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 74.――――A eunuch, &c.

=Lygdamis=, or =Lygdamus=, a man who made himself absolute at Naxos. Polyænus.――――A general of the Cimmerians who passed into Asia Minor, and took Sardis in the reign of Ardyes king of Lydia. Callimachus. ――――An athlete of Syracuse, the father of Artemisia the celebrated queen of Halicarnassus. Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 99.――――A servant of the poet Propertius, or of his mistress Cynthia.

=Lygii=, a nation of Germany. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 42.

=Lygodesma=, a surname of Diana at Sparta, because her statue was brought by Orestes from Taurus, shielded round with osiers. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 26.

=Lygus.= See: Ligus.

=Lymīre=, a town of Lycia. Ovid Metamorphoses, bk. 12.

=Lymax=, a river of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 41.

=Lyncīdes=, a man at the court of Cepheus. Ovid, Metamorphoses bk. 4, fable 12.

=Lyncestæ=, a noble family of Macedonia, connected with the royal family. Justin, bk. 11, ch. 2, &c.

=Lyncestes=, a son of Amyntas, in the army of Alexander, &c. Curtius, bk. 7, &c.――――Alexander, a son-in-law of Antipater, who conspired against Alexander and was put to death. Curtius, bk. 7.

=Lyncestius=, a river of Macedonia, whose waters were of an intoxicating quality. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 17, li. 329.

=Lyncēus=, son of Aphareus, was among the hunters of the Calydonian boar, and one of the Argonauts. He was so sharp-sighted that, as it is reported, he could see through the earth, and distinguish objects at the distance of above nine miles. He stole some oxen with his brother Idas, and they were both killed by Castor and Pollux, when they were going to celebrate their nuptials with the daughters of Leucippus. Apollodorus, bks. 1 & 3.――Hyginus, fable.――Pausanias, bk. 4, ch. 2.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3, li. 303.――Apollodorus, Argonautica, bk. 1.――――A son of Ægyptus, who married Hypermnestra the daughter of Danaus. His life was spared by the love and humanity of his wife. See: Danaides. He made war against his father-in-law, dethroned him, and seized his crown. Some say that Lynceus was reconciled to Danaus, and that he succeeded him after his death, and reigned 41 years. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 1.――Pausanias, bk. 2, chs. 16, 19, 25.――Ovid, Heroides, poem 14.――――One of the companions of Æneas, killed by Turnus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 768.

=Lyncus=, =Lyncæus=, or =Lynx=, a cruel king of Scythia, or, according to others, of Sicily. He received, with feigned hospitality, Triptolemus, whom Ceres had sent all over the world to teach mankind agriculture; and as he was jealous of his commission, he resolved to murder this favourite of the gods in his sleep. As he was going to give the deadly blow to Triptolemus, he was suddenly changed into a lynx, an animal which is the emblem of perfidy and ingratitude. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 5, li. 657.

=Lyncus=, a town of Macedonia, of which the inhabitants were called Lyncestæ. Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 103; bk. 4, ch. 10.

=Lyndus=, a town of Sicily.

=Lyrcæ=, a people of Scythia, who live upon hunting.

=Lyrcæus=, a mountain of Arcadia. See: Lycæus.――――A fountain. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 4, li. 711.

=Lyrcea=, a town of Peloponnesus, formerly called Lyncea. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 35.

=Lyrcus=, a king of Caunus in Caria, &c. Parthenius.

=Lyrnessus=, a city of Cilicia, the native country of Briseis, called from thence Lyrnesseis. It was taken and plundered by Achilles and the Greeks at the time of the Trojan war, and the booty divided among the conquerors. Homer, Iliad, bk. 2, li. 197.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 108; Heroides, poem 3, li. 5; Tristia, bk. 4, poem 1, li. 15.

=Lysander=, a celebrated general of Sparta, in the last years of the Peloponnesian war. He drew Ephesus from the interest of Athens, and gained the friendship of Cyrus the younger. He gave battle to the Athenian fleet, consisting of 120 ships, at Ægospotamos, and destroyed it all, except three ships, with which the enemy’s general fled to Evagoras king of Cyprus. In this celebrated battle, which happened 405 years before the christian era, the Athenians lost 3000 men, and with them their empire and influence among the neighbouring states. Lysander well knew how to take advantage of his victory, and the following year Athens, worn out by a long war of 27 years, and discouraged by its misfortunes, gave itself up to the power of the enemy, and consented to destroy the Piræus, to deliver up all its ships, except 12, to recall all those who had been banished, and, in short, to be submissive in every degree to the power of Lacedæmon. Besides these humiliating conditions, the government of Athens was totally changed, and 30 tyrants were set over it by Lysander. This glorious success, and the honour of having put an end to the Peloponnesian war, increased the pride of Lysander. He had already begun to pave his way to universal power by establishing aristocracy in the Grecian cities of Asia, and now he attempted to make the crown of Sparta elective. In the pursuit of his ambition he used prudence and artifice; and as he could not easily abolish a form of government which ages and popularity had confirmed, he had recourse to the assistance of the gods. His attempts, however, to corrupt the oracles of Delphi, Dodona, and Jupiter Ammon, proved ineffectual, and he was even accused of using bribes by the priests of the Libyan temple. The sudden declaration of war against the Thebans saved him from the accusations of his adversaries, and he was sent, together with Pausanias, against the enemy. The plans of his military operations were discovered, and the Haliartians, whose ruin he secretly meditated, attacked him unexpectedly, and he was killed in a bloody battle, which ended in the defeat of his troops, 394 years before Christ. His body was recovered by his colleague Pausanias, and honoured with a magnificent funeral. Lysander has been commended for his bravery, but his ambition deserves the severest censure, and his cruelty and his duplicity have greatly stained his character. He was arrogant and vain in his public as well as private conduct, and he received and heard with the greatest avidity the hymns which his courtiers and flatterers sung to his honour. Yet in the midst of all his pomp, his ambition, and intrigues, he died extremely poor, and his daughters were rejected by two opulent citizens of Sparta, to whom they had been betrothed during the life of their father. This behaviour of the lovers was severely punished by the Lacedæmonians, who protected from injury the children of a man whom they hated for his sacrilege, his contempt of religion, and his perfidy. The father of Lysander, whose name was Aristoclites or Aristocrates, was descended from Hercules, though not reckoned of the race of the Heraclidæ. Plutarch & Cornelius Nepos, Lives.――Diodorus, bk. 13.――――A Trojan chief, wounded by Ajax son of Telamon before Troy. Homer, Iliad, bk. 11, li. 491.――――One of the Ephori in the reign of Agis, &c. Plutarch.――――A grandson of the great Lysander. Pausanias.

=Lysandra=, a daughter of Ptolemy Lagus, who married Agathocles the son of Lysimachus. She was persecuted by Arsinoe, and fled to Seleucus for protection. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 9, &c.

=Lysaniax=, a man made king of Ituræa by Antony, &c.

=Lyse=, a daughter of Thespius. Apollodorus.

=Lysiădes=, an Athenian, son of Phædrus the philosopher, &c. Cicero, Philippics, bk. 5.――――An Athenian archon.――――A tyrant of Megalopolis, who died B.C. 226. Plutarch.

=Lysianassa=, one of the Nereides. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 2.――――A daughter of Epaphus, mother of Busiris. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 5.

=Ly̆sias=, a celebrated orator, son of Cephalus, a native of Syracuse. His father left Sicily and went to Athens, where Lysias was born and carefully educated. In his 15th year he accompanied the colony which the Athenians sent to Thurium, and after a long residence there he returned home in his 47th year. He distinguished himself by his eloquence, and by the simplicity, correctness, and purity of his orations, of which he wrote no less than 425 according to Plutarch, though the number may with more probability be reduced to 230. Of these 34 are extant, the best editions of which are that of Taylor, 8vo, Cambridge. 1740, and that of Auger, 2 vols., 8vo, Paris, 1783. He died in the 81st year of his age, 378 years before the christian era. Plutarch, Lives of the Ten Orators.――Cicero, Brutus; On Oratory.――Quintilian, bk. 3, &c.――Diogenes Laërtius, bk. 2.――――An Athenian general, &c.――――A town of Phrygia. Strabo. ――――Another of Syria, now Berziech, near Emesa.――――A tyrant of Tarsus, B.C. 267.

=Lysĭcles=, an Athenian sent with Chares into Bœotia, to stop the conquests of Philip of Macedonia. He was conquered at Chæronæa, and sentenced to death for his ill conduct there.

=Lysĭdĭce=, a daughter of Pelops and Hippodamia, who married Mastor the son of Perseus and Andromeda. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 4. ――Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 14.――――A daughter of Thespius. Apollodorus.

=Lysimăche=, a daughter of Abas the son of Melampus. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9.――――A daughter of Priam. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 12.

=Lysimăchia=, now Hexamili, a city on the Thracian Chersonesus. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 9.――――A town of Ætolia, built by Lysimachus. Strabo, bks. 7 & 10.――――Another in Æolia. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 2.

=Lysimăchus=, a son of Agathocles, who was among the generals of Alexander. After the death of that monarch, he made himself master of part of Thrace, where he built a town which he called Lysimachia. He sided with Cassander and Seleucus against Antigonus and Demetrius, and fought with them at the celebrated battle of Ipsus. He afterwards seized Macedonia, after expelling Pyrrhus from the throne, B.C. 286; but his cruelty rendered him odious, and the murder of his son Agathocles so offended his subjects, that the most opulent and powerful revolted from him and abandoned the kingdom. He pursued them to Asia, and declared war against Seleucus, who had given them a kind reception. He was killed in a bloody battle, 281 years before Christ, in the 80th year of his age, and his body was found in the heaps of slain only by the fidelity of a little dog, which had carefully watched near it. It is said that the love and respect of Lysimachus for his learned master Callisthenes proved nearly fatal to him. He, as Justin mentions, was thrown into the den of a hungry lion, by order of Alexander, for having given Callisthenes poison, to save his life from ignominy and insult; and when the furious animal darted upon him, he wrapped his hand in his mantle, and boldly thrust it into the lion’s mouth, and by twisting his tongue killed an adversary ready to devour him. This act of courage in his self-defence recommended him to Alexander. He was pardoned, and ever after esteemed by the monarch. Justin, bk. 15, ch. 3, &c.――Diodorus, bk. 19, &c. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 10.――――An Acarnanian, preceptor to Alexander the Great. He used to call himself Phœnix, his pupil Achilles, and Philip Peleus. Plutarch, Alexander.――Justin, bk. 15, ch. 3.――――An historian of Alexandria.――――A son of Aristides, rewarded by the Athenians on account of the virtue of his father. ――――A chief priest among the Jews, about 204 years before Christ, &c. Josephus.――――A physician greatly attached to the notions of Hippocrates.――――A governor of Heraclea in Pontus, &c.

=Lysimelia=, a marsh of Sicily near Syracuse.

=Lysinoe=, now Aglasson, a city of Asia, near Pamphylia. Livy, bk. 38, ch. 15.

=Lysippe=, a daughter of Prœtus. See: Prœtides.――――A daughter of Thespius.

=Lysippus=, a famous statuary of Sicyon. He was originally a whitesmith, and afterwards applied himself to painting, till his talents and inclination taught him that he was born to excel in sculpture. He flourished about 325 years before the christian era, in the age of Alexander the Great. The monarch was so partial to the artist, that he forbade any sculptor but Lysippus to make his statue. Lysippus excelled in expressing the hair, and he was the first who made the head of his statues less large, and the body smaller than usual, that they might appear taller. This was observed by one of his friends, and the artist gave for answer, that his predecessors had represented men in their natural form, but that he represented them such as they appeared. Lysippus made no less than 600 statues, the most admired of which were those of Alexander; one of Apollo of Tarentum 40 cubits high; one of a man coming out of a bath, with which Agrippa adorned his baths; one of Socrates; and those of the 25 horsemen who were drowned in the Granicus. These were so valued, that in the age of Augustus, they were bought for their weight in gold. Plutarch, Alexander.――Cicero, Brutus, ch. 164; Rhetorica ad Herennium, bk. 4, ch. 148.――Pliny, bk. 37, ch. 7.――Paterculus, bk. 1, ch. 11. ――Horace, bk. 2, ltr. 1, li. 240.――――A comic poet, some of whose plays are mentioned by Athenæus. Pliny, bk. 7, ch. 37.――――A general of the Achæan league.

=Lysis=, a Pythagorean philosopher, preceptor to Epaminondas. He flourished about 388 years before the christian era. He is supposed by some to be the author of the golden verses which are attributed to Pythagoras. Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas, ch. 2.

=Lysistrătus=, an Athenian parasite.――――A brother of Lysippus. He was the first artist who ever made a statue with wax. Pliny, bk. 34, ch. 8; bk. 35, ch. 12.

=Lysithous=, a son of Priam. Apollodorus.

=Lyso=, a friend of Cicero, &c. Cicero, bk. 13, Letters to his Friends, ltr. 19,

=Lystra=, a town of Lycaonia.

=Lytæa=, a daughter of Hyacinthus, put to death by the Athenians. Apollodorus.

=Lyzanias=, a king of Chalcis, &c.

M

=Macæ=, a people of Arabia Felix. Mela, bk. 3, ch. 8. They are placed in Africa near the larger Syrtis by Herodotus, bk. 4, ch. 175. ――Silius Italicus, bk. 3, li. 275; bk. 5, li. 194.

=Macar=, a son of Criasius or Crinacus, the first Greek who led a colony to Lesbos. His four sons took possession of the four neighbouring islands, Chios, Samos, Cos, and Rhodes, which were called the seats of the Macares, or the blessed (μακαρ, beatus). Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1.――Homer, Iliad, bk. 24.――Diodorus, bk. 5. ――Mela, bk. 3, ch. 7.

=Măcăreus=, an ancient historian.――――A son of Æolus, who debauched his sister Canace, and had a son by her. The father being informed of the incest, ordered the child to be exposed, and sent a sword to his daughter, and commanded her to destroy herself. Macareus fled to Delphi, where he became priest of Apollo. Ovid, Metamorphoses; Heroides, poem 11; Ibis, li. 562.――――One of the companions of Ulysses, left at Caieta in Italy, where Æneas found him. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, li. 159.――――A son of Lycaon. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 8.――Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 3.

=Măcăria=, a daughter of Hercules and Dejanira. After the death of Hercules, Eurystheus made war against the Heraclidæ, whom the Athenians supported, and the oracle declared, that the descendants of Hercules should obtain the victory if any one of them devoted him self to death. This was cheerfully accepted by Macaria, who refused to endanger the life of the children of Hercules by suffering the victim to be drawn by lot, and the Athenians obtained a victory. Great honours were paid to the patriotic Macaria, and a fountain of Marathon was called by her name. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 32.――――An ancient name of Cyprus.

=Macăris=, an ancient name of Crete.

=Macednus=, a son of Lycaon. Apollodorus.

=Măcēdo=, a son of Osiris, who had a share in the divine honours which were paid to his father. He was represented clothed in a wolf’s skin, for which reason the Egyptians held that animal in great veneration. Diodorus, bk. 1.――Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride.――――A man who gave his name to Macedonia. Some supposed him to be the same as the son or general of Osiris, whilst others consider him as the grandson of Deucalion by the mother’s side. Diodorus, bk. 1.

=Măcēdŏnia=, a celebrated country, situated between Thrace, Epirus, and Greece. Its boundaries have been different at different periods. Philip increased it by the conquest of Thessaly and of part of Thrace, and according to Pliny it contained no less than 150 different nations. The kingdom of Macedonia, first founded B.C. 814, by Caranus, a descendant of Hercules, and a native of Argos, continued in existence 646 years, till the battle of Pydna. The family of Caranus remained in possession of the crown until the death of Alexander the Great, and began to reign in the following order: Caranus, after a reign of 28 years, was succeeded by Cœnus, who ascended the throne 786 B.C.; Thurimas, 774; Perdiccas, 729; Argæus, 678; Philip, 640; Æropas, 602; Alcetas or Alectas, 576; Amyntas, 547; Alexander, 497; Perdiccas, 454; Archelaus, 413; Amyntas, 399; Pausanias, 398; Amyntas II., 397; Argæus the tyrant, 390; Amyntas restored, 390; Alexander II., 371; Ptolemy Alorites, 370; Perdiccas III., 366; Philip son of Amyntas, 360; Alexander the Great, 336; Philip Aridæus, 323; Cassander, 316; Antipater and Alexander, 298; Demetrius king of Asia, 294; Pyrrhus, 287; Lysimachus, 286; Ptolemy Ceraunus, 280; Meleager, two months; Antipater the Etesian, 45 days; Antigonus Gonatas, 277; Demetrius, 243; Antigonus Doson, 232; Philip, 221; Perseus, 179; conquered by the Romans 168 B.C. at Pydna. Macedonia has been severally called Æmonia, Mygdonia, Pæonia, Edonia, Æmathia, &c. The inhabitants of Macedonia were naturally warlike, and though in the infancy of their empire they were little known beyond the borders of their country, yet they signalized themselves greatly in the reign of Philip, and added the kingdom of Asia to their European dominions by the valour of Alexander. The Macedonian phalanx, or body of soldiers, was always held in the highest repute, and it resisted and subdued the repeated attacks of the bravest and most courageous enemies. Livy, bk. 44.――Justin, bk. 6, ch. 9; bk. 7, ch. 1, &c. ――Strabo, bk. 7.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 3, &c.――Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 10, &c.――Curtius, bks. 3 & 4.――Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 7.

=Macedonĭcum bellum=, was undertaken by the Romans against Philip king of Macedonia, some few months after the second Punic war, B.C. 200. The cause of this war originated in the hostilities which Philip had exercised against the Achæans, the friends and allies of Rome. The consul Flaminius had the care of the war, and he conquered Philip on the confines of Epires, and afterwards in Thessaly. The Macedonian fleets were also defeated; Eubœa was taken; and Philip, after continual losses, sued for peace, which was granted him in the fourth year of the war. The ambition and cruelty of Perseus, the son and successor of Philip, soon irritated the Romans. Another war was undertaken, in which the Romans suffered two defeats. This, however, did not discourage them; Paulus Æmilius was chosen consul in the 60th year of his age, and entrusted with the care of the war. He came to a general engagement near the city of Pydna. The victory sided with the Romans, and 20,000 of the Macedonian soldiers were left on the field of battle. This decisive blow put an end to the war, which had already continued for three years, 168 years before the christian era. Perseus and his sons Philip and Alexander were taken prisoners, and carried to Rome to adorn the triumph of the conqueror. About 15 years after, new seditions were raised in Macedonia, and the false pretensions of Andriscus, who called himself the son of Perseus, obliged the Romans to send an army to quell the commotions. Andriscus at first obtained many considerable advantages over the Roman forces, till at last he was conquered and delivered to the consul Metellus, who carried him to Rome. After these commotions, which are sometimes called the third Macedonian war, Macedonia was finally reduced into a Roman province, and governed by a regular proconsul, about 148 years before the christian era.

=Macedonĭcus=, a surname given to Metellus, from his conquests in Macedonia. It was also given to such as had obtained any victory in that province.

=Macella=, a town of Sicily, taken by the consul Duillius. Livy, bk. 26, ch. 21.

=Macer Æmylius=, a Latin poet of Verona, intimate with Tibullus and Ovid, and commended for his genius, his learning, and the elegance of his poetry. He wrote some poems upon serpents, plants, and birds, mentioned by Ovid. He also composed a poem upon the ruins of Troy, to serve as a supplement to Homer’s Iliad. His compositions are now lost. He died B.C. 16. Ovid, Tristia, bk. 4, poem 10, li. 44; ex Ponto, bk. 2, ltr. 10.――Quintilian, bk. 10, ch. 1.――――Lucius Claudius, a propretor of Africa in the reign of Nero. He assumed the title of emperor, and was put to death by order of Galba.

=Machæra=, a river of Africa.――――A common crier at Rome. Juvenal, satire 7, li. 9.

=Machanĭdas=, a man who made himself absolute at Sparta. He was killed by Philopœmen, after being defeated at Mantinea, B.C. 208. Nabis succeeded him. Plutarch.――Livy, bk. 27, ch. 30; bk. 28, chs. 5 & 7.

=Măchāon=, a celebrated physician, son of Æsculapius and brother to Podalirus. He went to the Trojan war with the inhabitants of Trica, Ithome, and Œchalia. According to some he was king of Messenia. As physician to the Greeks, he healed the wounds which they received during the Trojan war, and was one of those concealed in the wooden horse. Some suppose that he was killed before Troy by Eurypylus the son of Telephus. He received divine honours after death, and had a temple in Messenia. Homer, Iliad, bk. 2, &c.――Ovid ex Ponto, bk. 3, ltr. 4.――Quintus Smyrnæus, bk. 6, li. 409.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, lis. 263 & 426.

=Macra=, a river flowing from the Apennines, and dividing Liguria from Etruria. Lucan, bk. 2, li. 426.――Livy, bk. 39, ch. 32.――Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 5.

=Macri campi=, a plain in Cisalpine Gaul, near the river Gabellus. Livy, bk. 41, ch. 18; bk. 45, ch. 12.――――A plain near Mutina bears the same name. Columella, bk. 7, ch. 2.

=Macriānus Titus Fulvius Julius=, an Egyptian of obscure birth, who, from a private soldier, rose to the highest command in the army, and proclaimed himself emperor when Valerian had been made prisoner by the Persians, A.D. 260. His liberality supported his usurpation; his two sons Macrianus and Quietus were invested with the imperial purple, and the enemies of Rome were severely defeated, either by the emperors or their generals. When he had supported his dignity for a year in the eastern parts of the world, Macrianus marched towards Rome, to crush Gallienus, who had been proclaimed emperor. He was defeated in Illyricum by the lieutenant of Gallienus, and put to death with his son, at his own expressive request, A.D. 262.

=Macrīnus Marcus Opilius Severus=, a native of Africa, who rose from the most ignominious condition to the rank of prefect of the pretorian guards, and at last of emperor, after the death of Caracalla, whom he inhumanly ♦sacrificed to his ambition, A.D. 217. The beginning of his reign was popular; the abolition of the taxes, and an affable and complaisant behaviour, endeared him to his subjects. These promising appearances did not long continue, and the timidity which Macrinus betrayed in buying the peace of the Persians by a large sum of money, soon rendered him odious; and while he affected to imitate the virtuous Aurelius without possessing the good qualities of his heart, he became contemptible and insignificant. This affectation irritated the minds of the populace, and when severe punishments had been inflicted on some of the disorderly soldiers the whole army mutinied; and their tumult was increased by their consciousness of their power and numbers, which Macrinus had the imprudence to betray, by keeping almost all the military force of Rome encamped together in the plains of Syria. Heliogabalus was proclaimed emperor, and Macrinus attempted to save his life by flight. He was, however, seized in Cappadocia, and his head was cut off and sent to his successor, June 7th, A.D. 218. Macrinus reigned about two months and three days. His son, called Diadumenianus, shared his father’s fate.――――A friend of the poet Persius, to whom his second satire is inscribed.

♦ ‘sacrified’ replaced with ‘sacrificed’

=Macro=, a favourite of the emperor Tiberius, celebrated for his intrigues, perfidy, and cruelty. He destroyed Sejanus, and raised himself upon the ruins of that unfortunate favourite. He was accessary to the murder of Tiberius, and conciliated the good opinion of Caligula, by prostituting to him his own wife called Ennia. He soon after became unpopular, and was obliged by Caligula to kill himself together with his wife, A.D. 38.

=Macrŏbii=, a people of Æthiopia, celebrated for their justice and the innocence of their manners. They generally lived to their 120th year, some say 1000 years; and indeed from that longevity they have obtained their name (μακρος βιος, long life), to distinguish them more particularly from the other inhabitants of Æthiopia. After so long a period spent in virtuous actions, and freed from the ♦indulgences of vice, and from maladies, they dropped into the grave as to sleep, without pain and without terror. Orpheus, Argonautica, li. 1105.――Herodotus, bk. 3, ch. 17.――Mela, bk. 3, ch. 9.――Pliny, bk. 7, ch. 48.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 8, ch. 3.

♦ ‘induligencies’ replaced with ‘indulgences’

=Macrobius=, a Latin writer, who died A.D. 415. Some suppose that he was chamberlain to the emperor Theodosius II.; but this appears groundless, when we observe that Macrobius was a follower of paganism, and that none were admitted to the confidence of the emperor, or to the enjoyment of high stations, except such as were of the christian religion. Macrobius has rendered himself famous for a composition called Saturnalia, a miscellaneous collection of antiquities and criticism, supposed to have been the result of a conversation of some of the learned Romans during the celebration of the Saturnalia. This was written for the use of his son, and the bad latinity which the author has often introduced, proves that he was not born in a part of the Roman empire where the Latin tongue was spoken, as he himself candidly confesses. The Saturnalia are useful for the learned reflections which they contain, and particularly for some curious observations on the two greatest epic poets of antiquity. Besides this, Macrobius wrote a commentary on Cicero’s Somnium Scipionis, which was likewise composed for the improvement of the author’s son, and dedicated to him. The best editions are that of Gronovius, 8vo, Leiden, 1670, and that of Lipscomb, 8vo, 1777.

=Macrŏchir=, a Greek name of Artaxerxes, the same as Longimanus. This surname arises from his having one hand longer than the other. Cornelius Nepos, Kings.

=Macrōnes=, a nation of Pontus, on the confines of Colchis and Armenia. Flaccus, bk. 5, li. 153.――Herodotus.

=Mactorium=, a town of Sicily at the south, near Gela.

=Măcŭlōnus=, a rich and penurious Roman, &c. Juvenal, satire 7, li. 40.

=Madaura=, a town on the borders of Numidia and Gætulia, of which the inhabitants were called Madaurenses. It was the native place of Apuleius. Apuleius, Metamorphoses, bk. 11.

=Madestes=, a town of Thrace.

=Madetes=, a general of Darius, who bravely defended a place against Alexander. The conqueror resolved to put him to death, though 30 orators pleaded for his life. Sisygambis prevailed over the almost inexorable Alexander, and Madetes was pardoned. Curtius, bk. 5, ch. 3.

=Maduatēni=, a people of Thrace. Livy, bk. 38, ch. 40.

=Madyes=, a Scythian prince who pursued the Cimmerians in Asia, and conquered Cyaxares, B.C. 623. He held for some time the supreme power of Asia Minor. Herodotus, bk. 8, ch. 103.

=Mæander=, a son of Oceanus and Tethys.――――A celebrated river of Asia Minor, rising near Celænæ, and flowing through Caria and Ionia into the Ægean sea between Miletus and Priene, after it has been increased by the waters of the Marsyas, Lycus, Eudon, Lethæus, &c. It is celebrated among the poets for its windings, which amount to no less than 600, and from which all obliquities have received the name of Mæanders. It forms in its course, according to the observations of some travellers, the Greek letters ε, ζ, ξ, ς, and ω, and from its windings Dædalus had the first idea of his famous labyrinth. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 8, li. 145, &c.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 254.――Lucan, bk. 5, li. 208; bk. 6, li. 471.――Homer, Iliad, bk. 2.――Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 29.――Cicero, Piso, ch. 22.――Strabo, bk. 12, &c.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 17.

=Mæandria=, a city of Epirus.

=Mæatæ=, a people at the south of Scotland. Dio Cassius, bk. 76, ch. 12.

=Mæcenas.= See: Mecænas.

=Mædi=, a people of Mædica, a district of Thrace, near Rhodope. Livy, bk. 26, ch. 25; bk. 40, ch. 21.

=Mælius=, a Roman, thrown down from the Tarpeian rock, for aspiring to tyranny at Rome in the early ages of the republic.

=Mæmacteria=, sacrifices offered to Jupiter at Athens in the winter month Mæmacterion. The god surnamed Mæmactes was intreated to send mild and temperate weather, as he presided over the seasons, and was the god of the air.

=Mænădes=, a name of the Bacchantes, or priestesses of Bacchus. The word is derived from μαινομαι, to be furious, because in the celebration of their festivals, their gestures and actions were those of mad women. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 4, li. 458.

=Mænăla=, a town of Spain.

=Mænălus= (plural, Mænala), a mountain of Arcadia sacred to the god Pan, and greatly frequented by shepherds. It received its name from Mænalus, a son of Lycaon. It was covered with pine trees, whose echo and shade have been greatly celebrated by all the ancient poets. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 216.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 1, li. 17; Eclogues poem 8, li. 24.――Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 3. ――Strabo, bk. 8.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.――――A town of Arcadia.――――A son of Lycaon.――――The father of Atalanta.

=Mænius=, a Roman consul.――――A dictator accused and honourably acquitted, &c.――――A spendthrift at Rome. Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 15, li. 26.

=Mænon=, a tyrant of Sicily, B.C. 285.

=Mænus=, a river of Germany, now called the Mayne, falling into the Rhine at Mayence.

=Mæŏnia=, a country of Asia Minor, the same as Lydia. It is to be observed, that only part of Lydia was known by the name of Mæonia, that is, the neighbourhood of mount Tmolus, and the country watered by the Pactolus. The rest on the sea coast was called Lydia. Strabo, bk. 12.――Ovid, Metamorphoses.――――The Etrurians, as being descended from a Lydian colony, are often called Mæonidæ (Virgil, Æneid, bk. 11, li. 759), and even the lake Thrasymenus in their country is called Mæonius lacus. Silius Italicus, bk. 15, li. 35.

=Mæŏnĭdes=, a name given to the Muses, because Homer, their greatest and worthiest favourite, was supposed to be a native of Mæonia.

=Mæŏnĭdes=, a surname of Homer, because, according to the opinion of some writers, he was born in Mæon. Ovid.――――The surname is also applied to Bacchus, as he was worshipped in Mæonia.

=Mæŏnis=, an epithet applied to Omphale, as queen of Lydia or Mæonia. Ovid.――――The epithet is also applied to Arachne, as a native of Lydia. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6.

=Mæōtæ=, a people of Asiatic Sarmatia.

=Mæōtis Palus=, a large lake, or part of the sea between Europe and Asia, at the north of the Euxine, to which it communicates by the Cimmerian Bosphorus, now called the sea of Azof or Zaback. It was worshipped as a deity by the Massagetæ. It extends about 390 miles from south-west to north-east, and is about 600 miles in circumference. The Amazons are called Mæotides, as living in the neighbourhood. Strabo.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 1, &c.――Justin, bk. 2, ch. 1.――Curtius, bk. 5, ch. 4.――Lucan, bk. 2, &c.――Ovid, ♦Tristia, bk. 3, poem 12; epistles of Sabinus, ltr. 2, li. 9. ――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 739.

♦ ‘Fasti’ replaced with ‘Tristia’

=Mæsia sylva=, a wood in Etruria, near the mouth of the Tiber. Livy, bk. 1, ch. 33.

=Mævia=, an immodest woman. Juvenal, satire 1, li. 22.

=Mævius=, a poet of inferior note in the Augustan age, who made himself known by his illiberal attacks on the character of the first writers of his time, as well as by his affected compositions. His name would have sunk in oblivion if Virgil had not ridiculed him in his third eclogue, and Horace in his 10th epode.

=Magas=, a king of Cyrene, in the age of Ptolemy Philadelphus. He reigned 50 years, and died B.C. 257. Polyænus, bk. 2.

=Magella=, a town of Sicily about the middle of the island.

=Magetæ=, a people of Africa.

=Magi=, a religious sect among the eastern nations of the world, and particularly in Persia. They had great influence in the political as well as religious affairs of the state, and a monarch seldom ascended the throne without their previous approbation. Zoroaster was founder of their sect. They paid particular homage to fire, which they deemed a deity, as pure in itself, and the purifier of all things. In their religious tenets they had two principles, one good, the source of everything good; and the other evil, from whence sprang all manner of ills. Their professional skill in the mathematics and philosophy rendered everything familiar to them, and from their knowledge of the phenomena of the heavens, the word Magi was applied to all learned men; and in process of time, the Magi, from their experience and profession, were confounded with the magicians who impose upon the superstitious and credulous. Hence the word Magi and Magicians became synonymous among the vulgar. Smerdis, one of the Magi, usurped the crown of Persia after the death of Cambyses, and the fraud was not discovered till the seven noble Persians conspired against the usurper, and elected Darius king. From this circumstance there was a certain day on which none of the Magi were permitted to appear in public, as the populace had the privilege of murdering whomsoever of them they met. Strabo.――Cicero, de Divinatione, bk. 1. ――Herodotus, bk. 3, ch. 62, &c.

=Magius=, a lieutenant of Piso, &c.――――A man in the interest of Pompey, grandfather to the historian Velleius Paterculus, &c. Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 115.

=Magna Græcia=, a part of Italy. See: Græcia Magna.

=Magna Mater=, a name given to Cybele.

=Magnentius=, an ambitious Roman, who distinguished himself by his cruelty and perfidy. He conspired against the life of Constans, and murdered him in his bed. This cruelty was highly resented by Constantius; and the assassin, unable to escape from the fury of his antagonist, murdered his own mother and the rest of his relations, and afterwards killed himself by falling upon a sword, which he had thrust against a wall. He was the first of the followers of christianity who ever murdered his lawful sovereign, A.D. 353.

=Magnes=, a young man who found himself detained by the iron nails which were under his shoes as he walked over a stone mine. This was no other than the magnet, which received its name from the person who had been first sensible of its powers. Some say that Magnes was a slave of Medea, whom that enchantress changed into a magnet. Orphic Lithica, bk. 10, li. 7.――――A son of Æolus and Anaretta, who married Nais, by whom he had Pierus, &c. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 7.――――A poet and musician of Smyrna, in the age of Gyges king of Lydia.

=Magnēsia=, a town of Asia Minor on the Mæander, about 15 miles from Ephesus, now called Guzelhizar. It is celebrated for the death of Themistocles, and for a battle which was fought there 187 years before the christian era, between the Romans and Antiochus king of Syria. The forces of Antiochus amounted to 70,000 men, according to Appian, or 70,000 foot and 12,000 horse, according to Livy, which have been exaggerated by ♦Florus to 300,000 men; the Roman army consisted of about 28,000 or 30,000 men, 2000 of which were employed in guarding the camp. The Syrians lost 50,000 foot and 4000 horse, and the Romans only 300 killed, with 25 horse. It was founded by a colony from Magnesia in Thessaly, and was commonly called Magnesia ad Mæandrum, to distinguish it from another called Magnesia ad Sipylum in Lydia, at the foot of mount Sipylus. This last was destroyed by an earthquake in the reign of Tiberius.――――A country on the eastern parts of Thessaly, at the south of Ossa. It was sometimes called Æmonia and Magnes Campus. The capital was also called Magnesia.――――A promontory of Magnesia in Thessaly. Livy, bk. 37. ――Florus, bk. 2.――Appian.

♦ ‘Florius’ replaced with ‘Florus’

=Mago=, a Carthaginian general sent against Dionysius tyrant of Sicily. He obtained a victory, and granted peace to the conquered. In a battle which soon after followed this treaty of peace, Mago was killed. His son, of the same name, succeeded to the command of the Carthaginian army, but he disgraced himself by flying at the approach of Timoleon, who had come to assist the Syracusans. He was accused in the Carthaginian senate, and he prevented by suicide the execution of the sentence justly pronounced against him. His body was hung on a gibbet, and exposed to public ignominy.――――A brother of Annibal the Great. He was present at the battle of Cannæ, and was deputed by his brother to carry to Carthage the news of the celebrated victory which had been obtained over the Roman armies. His arrival at Carthage was unexpected, and more powerfully to astonish his countrymen on account of the victory of Cannæ, he emptied in the senate-house the three bushels of golden rings which had been taken from the Roman knights slain in battle. He was afterwards sent to Spain, where he defeated the two Scipios, and was himself, in another engagement, totally ruined. He retired to the Baleares, which he conquered; and one of the cities there still bears his name, and is called Portus Magonis, Port Mahon. After this he landed in Italy with an army, and took possession of part of Insubria. He was defeated in a battle by Quintilius Varus, and died of a mortal wound 203 years before the christian era. Livy, bk. 30, &c. Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal, ch. 8, gives a very different account of his death, and says he either perished in a shipwreck, or was murdered by his servants. Perhaps Annibal had two brothers of that name.――――A Carthaginian, more known by the excellence of his writings than by his military exploits. He wrote 28 volumes upon husbandry; these were preserved by Scipio, at the taking of Carthage, and presented to the Roman senate. They were translated into Greek by Cassius Dionysius of Utica, and into Latin by order of the Roman senate, though Cato had already written so copiously upon the subject; and the Romans, as it has been observed, consulted the writings of Mago with greater earnestness than the books of the Sybilline verses. Columella.――――A Carthaginian sent by his countrymen to assist the Romans against Pyrrhus and the Tarentines, with a fleet of 120 sail. This offer was politely refused by the Roman senate. This Mago was father of Asdrubal and Hamilcar. Valerius Maximus.

=Magon=, a river of India falling into the Ganges. Arrian.

=Māgrontiăcum=, or =Magontea=, a large city of Germany, now called Mentz. Tacitus, bk. 4, Histories, bks. 15 & 23.

=Magus=, an officer of Turnus, killed by Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 522.

=Maherbal=, a Carthaginian who was at the siege of Saguntum, and who commanded the cavalry of Annibal at the battle of Cannæ. He advised the conqueror immediately to march to Rome, but Annibal required time to consider on so bold a measure; upon which Maherbal observed, that Annibal knew how to conquer, but not how to make a proper use of victory.

=Maīa=, a daughter of Atlas and Pleione, mother of Mercury by Jupiter. She was one of the Pleiades, the most luminous of the seven sisters. See: Pleiades. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 10.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, li. 301.――――A surname of Cybele.

=Majestas=, a goddess among the Romans, daughter of Honour and Reverence. Ovid, bk. 5; Fasti, li. 25.

=Majoriānus Julius Valerius=, an emperor of the western Roman empire, raised to the imperial throne A.D. 457. He signalized himself by his private as well as public virtues. He was massacred, after a reign of 37 years, by one of his generals, who envied in his master the character of an active, virtuous, and humane emperor.

=Majorca=, the greatest of the islands called Baleares, on the coast of Spain, in the Mediterranean. Strabo.

=Mala Fortuna=, the goddess of evil fortune, was worshipped among the Romans. Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 3.

=Malēa=, a promontory of Lesbos.――――Another in Peloponnesus, at the south of Laconia. The sea is so rough and boisterous there, that the dangers which attended a voyage round it gave rise to the proverb of Cum ad Maleam deflexeris, obliviscere quæ sunt domi. Strabo, bks. 8 & 9.――Lucan, bk. 6, li. 58.――Plutarch, Aratus.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 193.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.――Livy, bk. 21, ch. 44.――Ovid, Amores, bk. 2, poem 16, li. 24; poem 11, li. 20. ――Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 23.

=Maleventum=, the ancient name of Beneventum. Livy, bk. 9, ch. 27.

=Malho=, or =Matho=, a general of an army of Carthaginian mercenaries, 258 B.C.

=Malia=, a city of Phthiotis, near mount Œta and Thermopylæ. There were in its neighbourhood some hot mineral waters which the poet Catullus has mentioned. From Malia a gulf or small bay in the neighbourhood, at the western extremities of the island of Eubœa, has received the name of the gulf of Malia, Maliacum Fretum, or Maliacus Sinus. Some call it the gulf of Lamia, from its vicinity to Lamia. It is often taken for the Sinus Pelasgicus of the ancients. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 4.――Herodotus.

=Malii=, a people of Mesopotamia.

=Malis=, a servant-maid of Omphale, beloved by Hercules.

=Mallea=, or =Mallia aqua=. See: Malia.

=Malleŏlus=, a man who murdered his mother, &c. Cicero, Rhetorica ad Herennium, bk. 1, ch. 13.

=Mallius=, a Roman consul defeated by the Gauls, &c.

=Mallophŏra= (lanam ferens), a surname under which Ceres had a temple at Megara, because she had taught the inhabitants the utility of wool, and the means of tending sheep to advantage. This temple is represented as so old in the age of Pausanias, that it was falling to decay. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 44.

=Mallos=, a town of Cilicia. Lucan, bk. 3, li. 227.

=Malthīnus=, a name under which Horace has lashed some of his friends or enemies. Bk. 1, satire 2, li. 27.

=Mamaus=, a river of Peloponnesus.

=Mamercus=, a tyrant of Catana, who surrendered to Timoleon. His attempts to speak in a public assembly at Syracuse were received with groans and hisses, upon which he dashed his head against a wall, and endeavoured to destroy himself. The blows were not fatal, and Mamercus was soon after put to death as a robber, B.C. 340. Polyænus, bk. 5.――Cornelius Nepos, Timoleon.――――A dictator at Rome, B.C. 437.――――A consul with Decimus Brutus.

=Mamerthes=, a Corinthian who killed his brother’s son in hopes of reigning, upon which he was torn to pieces by his brother. Ovid, Ibis.

=Mamertīna=, a town of Campania, famous for its wines.――――A name of Messana in Sicily. Martial, bk. 13, ltr. 117.――Strabo, bk. 7.

=Mamertīni=, a mercenary band of soldiers which passed from Campania into Sicily, at the request of Agathocles. When they were in the service of Agathocles, they claimed the privilege of voting at the election of magistrates at Syracuse, and had recourse to arms to support their unlawful demands. The sedition was appeased by the authority of some leading men, and the Campanians were ordered to leave Sicily. In their way to the coast they were received with great kindness by the people of Messana, and soon returned perfidy for hospitality. They conspired against the inhabitants, murdered all the males in the city, and married their wives and daughters, and rendered themselves masters of the place. After this violence they assumed the name of Mamertini, and called their city Mamertina, from a provincial word, which in their language signified martial or warlike. The Mamertines were afterwards defeated by Hiero, and totally disabled from repairing their ruined affairs. Plutarch, Pyrrhus, &c.

=Mamilia lex=, de limitibus, by the tribune Mamilius. It ordained that in the boundaries of the lands five or six feet of land should be left uncultivated, which no person could convert into private property. It also appointed commissioners to see it carried into execution.

=Mamilii=, a plebeian family at Rome, descended from the Aborigines. They first lived at Tusculum, from whence they came to Rome. Livy, bk. 3, ch. 29.

=Mamilius Octavius=, a son-in-law of Tarquin, who behaved with uncommon bravery at the battle of Regillæ. He is also called Manilius. See: Manilius.

=Mammea=, the mother of the emperor Severus, who died A.D. 235.

=Mamŭrius Veturius=, a worker in brass in Numa’s reign. He was ordered by the monarch to make a number of ancylia or shields, like that one which had fallen from heaven, that it might be difficult to distinguish the true one from the others. He was very successful in his undertaking, and he asked for no other reward, but that his name might be frequently mentioned in the hymns which were sung by the Salii in the feast of the Ancylia. This request was granted. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 3, li. 392.――Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 5, ch. 6.

=Mamurra=, a Roman knight born at Formiæ. He followed the fortune of Julius Cæsar in Gaul, where he greatly enriched himself. He built a magnificent palace on mount Cœlius, and was the first who incrusted his walls with marble. Catullus has attacked him in his epigrams. Formiæ is sometimes called Mamurrarum urbs. Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 6.

=Manastăbal=, son of Masinissa, who was father to the celebrated Jugurtha. Sallust, Jugurthine War.

=Caius Mancīnus=, a Roman general, who, though at the head of an army of 30,000 men, was defeated by 4000 Numantians, B.C. 138. He was dragged from the senate, &c. Cicero, Orator, bk. 1, ch. 40.

=Mandāne=, a daughter of king Astyages, married by her father to Cambyses, an ignoble person of Persia. The monarch had dreamed that his daughter’s urine had drowned all his city, which had been interpreted in an unfavourable manner by the soothsayers, who assured him that his daughter’s son would dethrone him. The marriage of Mandane with Cambyses would, in the monarch’s opinion, prevent the effects of the dream, and the children of this connection would, like their father, be poor and unnoticed. The expectations of Astyages were frustrated. He was dethroned by his grandson. See: Cyrus. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 107.

=Mandānes=, an Indian prince and philosopher, whom Alexander invited by his ambassador, on pain of death, to come to his banquet, as being the son of Jupiter. The philosopher ridiculed the threats and promises of Alexander, &c. Strabo, bk. 15.

=Mandēla=, a village in the country of the Sabines, near Horace’s country seat. Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 18, li. 105.

=Mandonius=, a prince of Spain, who for some time favoured the cause of the Romans. When he heard that Scipio the Roman commander was ill, he raised commotions in the provinces, for which he was severely reprimanded and punished. Livy, bk. 29.

=Mandrŏcles=, a general of Artaxerxes, &c. Cornelius Nepos, Datames.

=Mandron=, a king of the Bebryces, &c. Polyænus, bk. 8.

=Mandubii=, a people of Gaul (now Burgundy), in Cæsar’s army, &c. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 7, ch. 78.

=Mandubratius=, a young Briton who came over to Cæsar in Gaul. His father Immanuentius was king in Britain, and had been put to death by order of Cassivelaunus. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 5, ch. 20.

=Manduria=, a city of Calabria near Tarentum, whose inhabitants were famous for eating dog’s flesh. Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 103.――Livy, bk. 27, ch. 15.

=Manes=, a son of Jupiter and Tellus, who reigned in Mæonia. He was father of Cotys, by Callirrhoe the daughter of Oceanus.

=Mānes=, a name generally applied by the ancients to the souls when separated from the body. They were reckoned among the infernal deities, and generally supposed to preside over the burying places and the monuments of the dead. They were worshipped with great solemnity, particularly by the Romans. The augurs always invoked them when they proceeded to exercise their sacerdotal offices. Virgil introduces his hero as sacrificing to the infernal deities, and to the Manes, a victim whose blood was received in a ditch. The word manes is supposed to be derived from Mania, who was by some reckoned the mother of those tremendous deities. Others derive it from manare, quod per omnia ætherea terrenaque manabant, because they filled the air, particularly in the night, and were intent to molest and disturb the peace of mankind. Some say that manes comes from manis, an old Latin word which signified good or propitious. The word manes is differently used by ancient authors; sometimes it is taken for the infernal regions, and sometimes it is applied to the deities of Pluto’s kingdom, whence the epitaphs of the Romans were always superscribed with D. M., Dîs Manibus, to remind the sacrilegious and profane not to molest the monuments of the dead, which were guarded with such sanctity. Propertius, bk. 1, poem 19. ――Virgil, bk. 4, Georgics, li. 469; Æneid, bk. 3, &c.――Horace, bk. 1, satire 8, li. 28.――――A river of Locris.

=Manētho=, a celebrated priest of Heliopolis in Egypt, surnamed the Mendesian, B.C. 261. He wrote in Greek a history of Egypt, which has been often quoted and commended by the ancients, particularly by Josephus. It was chiefly collected from the writings of Mercury, and from the journals and annals which are preserved in the Egyptian temples. This history has been greatly corrupted by the Greeks. The author supported that all the gods of the Egyptians had been mere mortals, and had all lived upon earth. This history, which is now lost, had been epitomized, and some fragments of it are still extant. There is extant a Greek poem ascribed to Manetho, in which the power of the stars, which preside over the birth and fate of mankind, is explained. The Apotelesmata of this author were edited in 4to, by Gronovious, Leiden, 1698.

=Mania=, a goddess, supposed to be the mother of the Lares and Manes. ――――A female servant of queen Berenice the daughter of Ptolemy.――――A mistress of Demetrius Poliorcetes, called also Demo, and Mania, from her folly. Plutarch, Demetrius.

=Manilia lex=, by Manilius the tribune, A.U.C. 678. It required that all the forces of Lucullus and his province, together with Bithynia, which was then under the command of Glabrio, should be delivered to Pompey, and that this general should, without any delay, declare war against Mithridates, and still retain the command of the Roman fleet, and the empire of the Mediterranean, as before.――――Another, which permitted all those whose fathers had not been invested with public offices, to be employed in the management of affairs.――――A woman famous for her debaucheries. Juvenal, satire 6, li. 242.

=Mānīlius=, a Roman who married the daughter of Tarquin. He lived at Tusculum, and received his father-in-law in his house, when banished from Rome, &c. Livy, bk. 2, ch. 15.――――Caius, a celebrated mathematician and poet of Antioch, who wrote a poetical treatise on astronomy, of which five books are extant, treating of the fixed stars. The style is not elegant. The age in which he lived is not known, though some suppose that he flourished in the Augustan age. No author, however, in the age of Augustus has made mention of Manilius. The best editions of Manilius are those of Bentley, 4to, London, 1739, and Stoeberus, 8vo, Strasbourg, 1767.――――Titus, a learned historian in the age of Sylla and Marius. He is greatly commended by Cicero, pro Roscio.――――Marcus, another mentioned by Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 1, ch. 48, as supporting the character of a great lawyer, and of an eloquent and powerful orator.

=Manĭmi=, a people in Germany. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 43.

=Manlia lex=, by the tribune Publius Manlius, A.U.C. 557. It revived the office of treviri epulones, first instituted by Numa. The epulones were priests, who prepared banquets for Jupiter and the gods at public festivals, &c.

=Manlius Torquātus=, a celebrated Roman, whose youth was distinguished by a lively and cheerful disposition. These promising talents were, however, impeded by a difficulty of speaking; and the father, unwilling to expose his son’s rusticity at Rome, detained him in the country. The behaviour of the father was publicly censured, and Marius Pomponius the tribune cited him to answer for his unfatherly behaviour to his son. Young Manlius was informed of this, and with a dagger in his hand he entered the house of the tribune, and made him solemnly promise that he would drop the accusation. This action of Manlius endeared him to the people, and soon after he was chosen military tribune. In a war against the Gauls, he accepted the challenge of one of the enemy, whose gigantic stature and ponderous arms had rendered him terrible and almost invincible in the eyes of the Romans. The Gaul was conquered, and Manlius stripped him of his arms, and from the collar (torquis) which he took from the enemy’s neck, he was ever after surnamed Torquatus. Manlius was the first Roman who was raised to the dictatorship without having been previously consul. The severity of Torquatus to his son has been deservedly censured. This father had the courage and heart to put to death his son, because he had engaged one of the enemy, and obtained an honourable victory, without his previous permission. This uncommon rigour displeased many of the Romans; and though Torquatus was honoured with a triumph, and commended by the senate for his services, yet the Roman youth showed their disapprobation of the consul’s severity, by refusing him at his return the homage which every other conqueror received. Some time after the censorship was offered to him, but he refused it, observing that the people could not bear his severity, nor he the vices of the people. From the rigour of Torquatus, all edicts and actions of severity and justice have been called Manliana edicta. Livy, bk. 7, ch. 10.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 6, ch. 9.――――Marcus, a celebrated Roman, whose valour was displayed in the field of battle, even at the early age of 16. When Rome was taken by the Gauls, Manlius with a body of his countrymen fled into the Capitol, which he defended when it was suddenly surprised in the night by the enemy. This action gained him the surname of Capitolinus, and the geese, which by their clamour had awakened him to arm himself in his own defence, were ever after held sacred among the Romans. A law which Manlius proposed to abolish the taxes on the common people, raised the senators against him. The dictator Cornelius Cossus seized him as a rebel, but the people put on mourning, and delivered from prison their common father. This did not in the least check his ambition; he continued to raise factions, and even secretly to attempt to make himself absolute, till at last the tribunes of the people themselves became his accusers. He was tried in the Campius Martius; but when the distant view of the Capitol which Manlius had saved seemed to influence the people in his favour, the court of justice was removed, and Manlius was condemned. He was thrown down from the Tarpeian rock, A.U.C. 371, and to render his ignominy still greater, none of his family were afterwards permitted to bear the surname of Marcus, and the place where his house had stood was deemed unworthy to be inhabited. Livy, bk. 5, ch. 31; bk. 6, ch. 5.――Florus, bk. 1, chs. 13 & 26.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 6, ch. 3.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 825. ――――Imperiosus, father of Manlius Torquatus. He was made dictator. He was accused of detaining his son at home. See: Manlius Torquatus. ――――Volsco, a Roman consul who received an army of Scipio in Asia, and made war against the Gallo-grecians, whom he conquered. He was honoured with a triumph at his return, though it was at first strongly opposed. Florus, bk. 3, ch. 11.――Livy, bk. 38, ch. 12, &c.――――Caius, or Aulus, a senator sent to Athens to collect the best and wisest laws of Solon, A.U.C. 300. Livy, bk. 2, ch. 54; bk. 3, ch. 31.――――Another, called also Cincinnatus. He made war against the Etrurians and Veientes with great success, and he died of a wound which he had received in a battle.――――Another, who in his pretorship reduced Sardinia. He was afterwards made dictator.――――Another, who was defeated by a rebel army of slaves in Sicily.――――A pretor in Gaul, who fought against the Boii, with very little success.――――Another, called Attilius, who defeated a Carthaginian fleet, &c.――――Another, who conspired with Catiline against the Roman republic.――――Another, in whose consulship the temple of Janus was shut.――――Another, who was banished under Tiberius for his adultery.――――A Roman appointed judge between his son Silanus and the province of Macedonia. When all the parties had been heard, the father said, “It is evident that my son has suffered himself to be bribed, therefore I deem him unworthy of the republic and of my house, and I order him to depart from my presence.” Silanus was so struck at the rigour of his father, that he hanged himself. Valerius Maximus, bk. 5, ch. 5.――――A learned man in the age of Cicero.

=Mannus=, the son of Thiasto, both famous divinities among the Germans. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 2.

=Julius Mansuētus=, a friend of Vitellius, who entered the Roman armies, and left his son, then very young, at home. The son was promoted by Galba, and soon after met a detachment of the partisans of Vitellius in which his father was. A battle was fought, and Mansuetus was wounded by the hand of his son, &c. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 3, ch. 25.

=Mantinea=, a town of Arcadia in Peloponnesus. It was taken by Aratus and Antigonus, and, on account of the latter, it was afterwards called Antigonia. The emperor Adrian built there a temple in honour of his favourite Alcinous. It is famous for the battle which was fought there between Epaminondas at the head of the Thebans, and the combined forces of Lacedæmon, Achaia, Elis, Athens, and Arcadia, about 363 years before Christ. The Theban general was killed in the engagement, and from that time Thebes lost its power and consequence among the Grecian states. Strabo, bk. 8.――Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas.――Diodorus, bk. 15.――Ptolemy, bk. 3, ch. 16.

=Mantineus=, the father of Ocalea, who married Abas the son of Lynceus and Hypermnestra. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 9.

=Mantinōrum oppidum=, a town of Corsica, now supposed to be Bastia.

=Mantius=, a son of Melampus.

=Manto=, a daughter of the prophet Tiresias, endowed with the gift of prophecy. She was made prisoner by the Argives when the city of Thebes fell into their hands, and as she was the worthiest part of the booty, the conquerors sent her to Apollo the god of Delphi, as the most valuable present they could make. Manto, often called Daphne, remained for some time at Delphi, where she officiated as priestess, and where she gave oracles. From Delphi she came to Claros in Ionia, where she established an oracle of Apollo. Here she married Rhadius the sovereign of the country, by whom she had a son called Mopsus. Manto afterwards visited Italy, where she married Tiberinus the king of Alba, or, as the poets mention, the god of the river Tiber. From this marriage sprang Ocnus, who built a town in the neighbourhood, which, in honour of his mother, he called Mantua. Manto, according to a certain tradition, was so struck at the misfortunes which afflicted Thebes, her native country, that she gave way to her sorrow, and was turned into a fountain. Some suppose her to be the same who conducted Æneas into hell, and who sold the Sibylline books to Tarquin the Proud. She received divine honours after death. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, li. 199; bk. 10, li. 199.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6, li. 157.――Diodorus, bk. 4.――Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 7.――Strabo, bks. 14 & 16.――Pausanias, bk. 9, chs. 10 & 33; bk. 7, ch. 3.

=Mantua=, a town of Italy beyond the Po, founded about 300 years before Rome, by Bianor or Ocnus the son of Manto. It was the ancient capital of Etruria. When Cremona, which had followed the interest of Brutus, was given to the soldiers of Octavius, Mantua also, which was in the neighbourhood, shared the common calamity, though it had favoured the party of Augustus, and many of the inhabitants were tyrannically deprived of their possessions. Virgil, who was among them, and a native of the town, and from thence often called Mantuanus, applied for redress to Augustus, and obtained it by means of his poetical talents. Strabo, bk. 5.――Virgil, Eclogues, poem 1, &c.; Georgics, ch. 3, li. 12; Æneid, bk. 10, li. 180.――Ovid, Amores, bk. 3, poem 15.

=Maracanda=, a town of Sogdiana.

=Mărătha=, a village of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 28.

=Mărăthon=, a village of Attica, 10 miles from Athens, celebrated for the victory which the 10,000 Athenians and 1000 Platæans, under the command of Miltiades, gained over the Persian army, consisting of 100,000 foot and 10,000 horse, or, according to Valerius Maximus, of 300,000, or, as Justin says, of 600,000, under the command of Datis and Artaphernes, on the 28th of Sept. 490, B.C. In this battle, according to Herodotus, the Athenians lost only 192 men, and the Persians 6300. Justin has raised the loss of the Persians in this expedition and in the battle to 200,000 men. To commemorate this immortal victory of their countrymen, the Greeks raised small columns, with the names inscribed on the tombs of the fallen heroes. It was also in the plains of Marathon that Theseus overcame a celebrated bull, which ravaged the neighbouring country. Erigone is called Marathonia virgo, as being born at Marathon. Statius, bk. 5, Sylvæ, poem 3, li. 74.――Cornelius Nepos, Miltiades. ――Herodotus, bk. 6, &c.――Justin, bk. 2, ch. 9.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 5, ch. 3.――Plutarch, Parallela minora――――A king of Attica, son of Epopeus, who gave his name to a small village there. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 1.――――A king of Sicyon.

=Marăthos=, a town of Phœnicia. Mela, bk. 1, ch. 12.

=Marcella=, a daughter of Octavia the sister of Augustus by Marcellus. She married Agrippa.

=Marcellīnus Ammiānus=, a celebrated historian who carried arms under Constantius, Julian, and Valens, and wrote a history of Rome from the reign of Domitian, where Suetonius stops, to the emperor Valens. His style is neither elegant nor laboured, but it is greatly valuable for its veracity, and in many of the actions he mentions, the author was nearly concerned. This history was composed at Rome, where Ammianus retired from the noise and troubles of the camp, and does not betray that severity against the christians which other writers have manifested, though the author was warm in favour of paganism, the religion which for a while was seated on the throne. It was divided into 31 books, of which only the 18 last remain, beginning at the death of Magnentius. Ammianus has been liberal in his encomiums upon Julian, whose favours he enjoyed and who so eminently patronised his religion. The negligence with which some facts are sometimes mentioned, has induced many to believe that the history of Ammianus has suffered much from the ravages of time, and that it has descended to us mutilated and imperfect. The best editions of Ammianus are those of Gronovius, folio, and 4to, Leiden, 1693, and of Ernesti, 8vo, Lipscomb, 1773.――――An officer under Julian.

=Marcellus Marcus Claudius=, a famous Roman general, who, after the first Punic war, had the management of an expedition against the Gauls, where he obtained the Spolia opima, by killing with his own hand Viridomarus the king of the enemy. Such success rendered him popular, and soon after he was entrusted to oppose Annibal in Italy. He was the first Roman who obtained some advantage over this celebrated Carthaginian, and showed his countrymen that Annibal was not invincible. The troubles which were raised in Sicily by the Carthaginians at the death of Hieronymus, alarmed the Romans, and Marcellus, in his third consulship, was sent with a powerful force against Syracuse. He attacked it by sea and land, but his operations proved ineffectual, and the invention and industry of a philosopher [See: Archimedes] were able to baffle all the efforts, and to destroy all the great and stupendous machines and military engines of the Romans during three successive years. The perseverance of Marcellus at last obtained the victory. The inattention of the inhabitants during their nocturnal celebration of the festivals of Diana, favoured his operations; he forcibly entered the town, and made himself master of it. The conqueror enriched the capital of Italy with the spoils of Syracuse, and when he was accused of rapaciousness, for stripping the conquered city of all its paintings and ornaments, he confessed that he had done it to adorn the public buildings of Rome, and to introduce a taste for the fine arts and elegance of the Greeks among his countrymen. After the conquest of Syracuse, Marcellus was called upon by his country to oppose a second time Annibal. In this campaign he behaved with greater vigour than before; the greatest part of the towns of the Samnites, which had revolted, were recovered by force of arms, and 3000 of the soldiers of Annibal made prisoners. Some time after an engagement with the Carthaginian general proved unfavourable; Marcellus had the disadvantage; but on the morrow a more successful skirmish vindicated his military character, and the honour of the Roman soldiers. Marcellus, however, was not sufficiently vigilant against the snares of his adversary. He imprudently separated himself from his camp, and was killed in an ambuscade in the 60th year of his age, in his fifth consulship, A.U.C. 546. His body was honoured with a magnificent funeral by the conqueror, and his ashes were conveyed in a silver urn to his son. Marcellus claims our commendation for his private as well as public virtues; and the humanity of the general will ever be remembered who, at the surrender of Syracuse, wept at the thought that many were going to be exposed to the avarice and rapaciousness of an incensed soldiery, which the policy of Rome and the laws of war rendered inevitable. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 855.――Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 38.――Plutarch, Lives, &c.――――One of his descendants, who bore the same name, signalized himself in the civil wars of Cæsar and Pompey, by his firm attachment to the latter. He was banished by Cæsar, but afterwards recalled at the request of the senate. Cicero undertook his defence in an oration which is still extant.――――The grandson of Pompey’s friend rendered himself popular by his universal benevolence and affability. He was son of Marcellus, by Octavia the sister of Augustus. He married Julia, that emperor’s daughter, and was publicly intended as his successor. The suddenness of his death, at the early age of 18, was the cause of much lamentation at Rome, particularly in the family of Augustus, and Virgil procured himself great favours by celebrating the virtues of this amiable prince. See: Octavia. Marcellus was buried at the public expense. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 883.――Suetonius, Augustus.――Plutarch, Marcellus.――Seneca, de Consolatione ad Marciam.――Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 93.――――The son of the great Marcellus who took Syracuse, was caught in the ambuscade which proved fatal to his father, but he forced his way from the enemy and escaped. He received the ashes of his father from the conqueror. Plutarch, Marcellus.――――A man who conspired against Vespasian.――――The husband of Octavia the sister of Augustus.――――A conqueror of Britain.――――An officer under the emperor Julian.――――A man put to death by Galba.――――A man who gave Cicero information of Catiline’s conspiracy.――――A colleague of Cato in the questorship.――――A native of Pamphylia, who wrote an heroic poem on physic, divided into 42 books. He lived in the reign of Marcus Aurelius.――――A Roman drowned in a storm, &c.

=Marcia lex=, by Marcius Censorinus. It forbade any man to be invested with the office of censor more than once.

=Marcia=, the wife of Regulus. When she heard that her husband had been put to death at Carthage in the most excruciating manner, she retorted the punishment, and shut up some Carthaginian prisoners in a barrel, which she had previously filled with sharp nails. The senate was obliged to stop the wantonness of her cruelty. Diodorus, bk. 24. ――――A favourite of the emperor Commodus, whom he poisoned.――――A vestal virgin, punished for her incontinence.――――A daughter of Philip, who married Cato the censor. Her husband gave her to his friend Hortensius for the sake of procreating children, and after his death he took her again to his own house.――――An ancient name of the island of Rhodes.――――A daughter of Cato of Utica.――――A stream of water. See: Martia aqua.

=Marciāna=, a sister of the emperor Trajan, who, on account of her public and private virtues and her amiable disposition, was declared Augusta and empress by her brother. She died A.D. 113.

=Marcianopŏlis=, the capital of Lower Mœsia in Greece. It receives its name in honour of the empress Marciana.

=Marciānus=, a native of Thrace, born of an obscure family. After he had for some time served in the army as a common soldier, he was made private secretary to one of the officers of Theodosius. His winning address and uncommon talents raised him to higher stations; and on the death of Theodosius II., A.D. 450, he was invested with the imperial purple in the east. The subjects of the Roman empire had reason to be satisfied with their choice. Marcianus showed himself active and resolute, and when Attila, the barbarous king of the Huns, asked of the emperor the annual tribute, which the indolence and cowardice of his predecessors had regularly paid, the successor of Theodosius firmly said that he kept his gold for his friends, but that iron was the metal which he had prepared for his enemies. In the midst of universal popularity Marcianus died, after a reign of six years, in the 69th year of his age, as he was making warlike preparations against the barbarians that had invaded Africa. His death was lamented, and indeed his merit was great, since his reign has been distinguished by the appellation of the golden age. Marcianus married Pulcheria, the sister of his predecessor. It is said, that in the years of his obscurity he found a man who had been murdered, and that he had the humanity to give him a private burial, for which circumstance he was accused of the homicide and imprisoned. He was condemned to lose his life, and the sentence would have been executed, had not the real murderer been discovered, and convinced the world of the innocence of Marcianus.――――Capella, a writer. See: Capella.

=Marcus Marcius Sabīnus=, was the progenitor of the Marcian family at Rome. He came to Rome with Numa, and it was he who advised Numa to accept of the crown which the Romans offered to him. He attempted to make himself king of Rome, in opposition to Tullus Hostilius, and when his efforts proved unsuccessful he killed himself. His son, who married a daughter of Numa, was made high priest by his father-in-law. He was father of Ancus Marcius. Plutarch, Numa.――――A Roman who accused Ptolemy Auletes king of Egypt of misdemeanour in the Roman senate.――――A Roman consul, defeated by the Samnites. He was more successful against the Carthaginians, and obtained a victory, &c. ――――Another consul, who obtained a victory over the Etrurians. ――――Another, who defeated the Hernici.――――A Roman who fought against Asdrubal.――――A man whom Catiline hired to assassinate Cicero.

=Marcius Saltus=, a place in Liguria, &c.

=Marcomanni=, a people of Germany, who originally dwelt on the banks of the Rhine and the Danube. They proved powerful enemies to the Roman emperors. Augustus granted them peace, but they were afterwards subdued by Antoninus and Trajan, &c. Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 109. ――Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, chs. 46 & 62; Germania, ch. 42.

=Marcus=, a prænomen common to many of the Romans. See: Æmilius, Lepidus, &c.――――A son of Cato, killed at Philippi, &c.――――Caryensis, a general of the Achæan league, 255 B.C.

=Mardi=, a people of Persia, on the confines of Media. They were very poor, and generally lived upon the flesh of wild beasts. Their country, in later times, became the residence of the famous assassins destroyed by Hulakou the grandson of Zingis Khan. Herodotus, bks. 1 & 3.――Pliny, bk. 6, ch. 16.

=Mardia=, a place of Thrace, famous for a battle between Constantine and Licinius, A.D. 315.

=Mardonius=, a general of Xerxes, who, after the defeat of his master at Thermopylæ and Salamis, was left in Greece with an army of 300,000 chosen men, to subdue the country, and reduce it under the power of Persia. His operations were rendered useless by the courage and vigilance of the Greeks; and in a battle at Platæa, Mardonius was defeated and left among the slain, B.C. 479. He had been commander of the armies of Darius in Europe, and it was chiefly by his advice that Xerxes invaded Greece. He was son-in-law of Darius. Plutarch, Aristotle.――Herodotus, bks. 6, 7, & 8.――Diodorus, bk. 11. ――Justin, bk. 2, ch. 13, &c.

=Mardus=, a river of Media, falling into the Caspian sea.

=Mare Mortuum=, called also, from the bitumen which it throws up, the lake Asphaltites, is situate in Judæa, and is near 100 miles long and 25 broad. Its waters are ♦saltier than those of the sea, but the vapours exhaled from them are not so pestilential as have been generally represented. It is supposed that the 13 cities, of which Sodom and Gomorrah, as mentioned in the Scriptures, were the capital, were destroyed by a volcano, and on the site a lake formed. Volcanic appearances now mark the face of the country, and earthquakes are frequent. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 6.――Josephus, Jewish War, bk. 4, ch. 27.――Strabo, bk. 16, p. 764.――Justin, bk. 36, ch. 3.

♦ ‘salter’ replaced with ‘saltier’

=Măreōtis=, now Siwah, a lake in Egypt near Alexandria. Its neighbourhood is famous for wine, though some make the Mareoticum vinum grow in Epirus, or in a certain part of Libya, called also Mareotis, near Egypt. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 2, li. 91.――Horace, bk. 1, ode 38, li. 14.――Lucan, bks. 3 & 10.――Strabo, bk. 17.

=Marginia= and =Margiania=, a town and country near the river Oxus, at the east of Hyrcania, celebrated for its wines. The vines are so uncommonly large that two men can scarcely grasp the trunk of one of them. Curtius, bk. 7, ch. 10.――Ptolemy, bk. 5.

=Margītes=, a man against whom, as some suppose, Homer wrote a poem, to ridicule his superficial knowledge, and to expose his affectation. When Demosthenes wished to prove Alexander an inveterate enemy to Athens, he called him another Margites.

=Margus=, a river of Mœsia falling into the Danube, with a town of the same name, now Kastolatz.

=Mariăba=, a city in Arabia, near the Red sea.

=Maria lex=, by Caius Marius the tribune, A.U.C. 634. It ordered the planks called pontes, on which the people stood up to give their votes in the comitia, to be narrower, that no other might stand there to hinder the proceedings of the assembly by appeal, or other disturbances.――――Another, called also Porcia, by Lucius Marius and Porcius, tribunes, A.U.C. 691. It fined a certain sum of money such commanders as gave a false account to the Roman senate of the number of the slain in a battle. It obliged them to swear to the truth of their return when they entered the city, according to the best computation.

=Mariamna=, a Jewish woman, who married Herodes, &c.

=Mariānæ fossæ=, a town of Gaul Narbonensis, which received its name from the dyke (fossa) which Marius opened from thence to the sea. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 4.――Strabo, bk. 4.

=Mariandynum=, a place near Bithynia, where the poets feign that Hercules dragged Cerberus out of hell. Dionysius of Halicarnassus. ――Ptolemy, bk. 5, ch. 1.――Mela, bk. 1, chs. 2 & 19; bk. 2, ch. 7.

=Mariānus=, a surname given to Jupiter from a temple built to his honour by Marius. It was in this temple that the Roman senate assembled to recall Cicero, a circumstance communicated to him in a dream. Valerius Maximus, bk. 1, ch. 7.

=Marīca=, a nymph of the river Liris, near Minturnæ. She married king Faunus, by whom she had king Latinus, and she was afterwards called Fauna and Fatua, and honoured as a goddess. A city of Campania bore her name. Some suppose her to be the same as Circe. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 47.――Livy, bk. 27, ch. 37.――――A wood on the borders of Campania bore also the name of Marica, as being sacred to the nymph. Livy, bk. 27, ch. 37.――Horace, bk. 3, ode 17, li. 7.

=Marīcus=, a Gaul thrown to lions, in the reign of Vitellius, who refused to devour him, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 61.

=Marīna=, a daughter of Arcadius, &c.

=Marīnis=, a friend of Tiberius, put to death, &c.

=Marion=, a king of Tyre in the age of Alexander the Great.

=Marissa=, an opulent town of Judæa.

=Marīta lex.= See: Julia de Maritandis.

=Maris=, a river of Scythia.――――A son of Armisodares, who assisted Priam against the Greeks, and was killed by Antilochus. Homer, Iliad, bk. 6, li. 317.

=Marisus=, a river of Dacia.

=Caiaus Marius=, a celebrated Roman, who, from a peasant, became one of the most powerful and cruel tyrants that Rome ever beheld during her consular government. He was born at Arpinum, of obscure and illiterate parents. His father bore the same name as himself, and his mother was called Fulcinia. He forsook the meaner occupations of the country for the camp, and signalized himself under Scipio at the siege of Numantia. The Roman general saw the courage and intrepidity of young Marius, and foretold the era of his future greatness. By his seditions and intrigues at Rome, while he exercised the inferior offices of the state, he rendered himself known; and his marriage with Julia, who was of the family of the Cæsars, contributed in some measure to raise him to consequence. He passed into Africa as lieutenant to the consul Metellus against Jugurtha, and after he had there ingratiated himself with the soldiers, and raised enemies to his friend and benefactor, he returned to Rome, and canvassed for the consulship. The extravagant promises he made to the people, and his malevolent insinuations about the conduct of Metellus, proved successful. He was elected, and appointed to finish the war against Jugurtha. He showed himself capable in every degree to succeed Metellus. Jugurtha was defeated and afterwards betrayed into the hands of the Romans by the perfidy of Bocchus. No sooner was Jugurtha conquered, than new honours and fresh trophies awaited Marius. The provinces at Rome were suddenly invaded by an army of 300,000 barbarians, and Marius was the only man whose activity and boldness could resist so powerful an enemy. He was elected consul, and sent against the Teutones. The war was prolonged, and Marius was a third and fourth time invested with the consulship. At last two engagements were fought, and not less than 200,000 of the barbarian forces of the Ambrones and Teutones were slain in the field of battle, and 90,000 made prisoners. The following year was also marked by a total overthrow of the Cimbri, another horde of barbarians, in which 140,000 were slaughtered by the Romans, and 60,000 taken prisoners. After such honourable victories, Marius, with his colleague Catulus, entered Rome in triumph, and for his eminent services, he deserved the appellation of the third founder of Rome. He was elected consul a sixth time; and, as his intrepidity had delivered his country from its foreign enemies, he sought employment at home, and his restless ambition began to raise seditions and to oppose the power of Sylla. This was the cause and the foundation of a civil war. Sylla refused to deliver up the command of the forces with which he was empowered to prosecute the Mithridatic war, and he resolved to oppose the authors of a demand which he considered as arbitrary and improper. He advanced to Rome, and Marius was obliged to save his life by flight. The unfavourable winds prevented him from seeking a safer retreat in Africa, and he was left on the coasts of Campania, where the emissaries of his enemy soon discovered him in a marsh, where he had plunged himself in the mud, and left only his mouth above the surface for respiration. He was violently dragged to the neighbouring town of Minturnæ, and the magistrates, all devoted to the interest of Sylla, passed sentence of immediate death on their magnanimous prisoner. A Gaul was commanded to cut off his head in the dungeon, but the stern countenance of Marius disarmed the courage of the executioner, and, when he heard the exclamation of Tune, homo, audes occidere Caium Marium, the dagger dropped from his hand. Such an uncommon adventure awakened the compassion of the inhabitants of Minturnæ. They released Marius from prison, and favoured his escape to Africa, where he joined his son Marius, who had been arming the princes of the country in his cause. Marius landed near the walls of Carthage, and he received no small consolation at the sight of the venerable ruins of a once powerful city, which, like himself, had been exposed to calamity, and felt the cruel vicissitude of fortune. This place of his retreat was soon known, and the governor of Africa, to conciliate the favours of Sylla, compelled Marius to fly to a neighbouring island. He soon after learned that Cinna had embraced his cause at Rome, when the Roman senate had stripped him of his consular dignity and bestowed it upon one of his enemies. This intelligence animated Marius; he set sail to assist his friend, only at the head of 1000 men. His army, however, gradually increased, and he entered Rome like a conqueror. His enemies were inhumanly sacrificed to his fury. Rome was filled with blood, and he who had once been called the father of his country, marched through the streets of the city, attended by a number of assassins, who immediately slaughtered all those whose salutations were not answered by their leader. Such were the signals for bloodshed. When Marius and Cinna had sufficiently gratified their resentment, they made themselves consuls, but Marius, already worn out with old age and infirmities, died 16 days after he had been honoured with the consular dignity for the seventh time, B.C. 86. His end was probably hastened by the uncommon quantities of wine which he drank when labouring under a dangerous disease, to remove, by intoxication, the stings of a guilty conscience. Such was the end of Marius, who rendered himself conspicuous by his victories, and by his cruelty. As he was brought up in the midst of poverty and among peasants, it will not appear wonderful that he always betrayed rusticity in his behaviour, and despised in others those polished manners and that studied address which education had denied him. He hated the conversation of the learned only because he was illiterate, and if he appeared an example of sobriety and temperance, he owed these advantages to the years of obscurity which he had passed at Arpinum. His countenance was stern, his voice firm and imperious, and his disposition untractable. He always betrayed the greatest timidity in the public assemblies, as he had not been early taught to make eloquence and oratory his pursuit. He was in the 70th year of his age when he died, and Rome seemed to rejoice at the fall of a man whose ambition had proved fatal to so many of her citizens. His only qualifications were those of a great general, and with these he rendered himself the most illustrious and powerful of the Romans, because he was the only one whose ferocity seemed capable to oppose the barbarians of the north. The manner of his death, according to some opinions, remains doubtful, though some have charged him with the crime of suicide. Among the instances which are mentioned of his firmness this may be recorded: A swelling in the leg obliged him to apply to a physician, who urged the necessity of cutting it off. Marius gave it, and saw the operation performed without a distortion of the face, and without a groan. The physician asked the other, and Marius gave it with equal composure. Plutarch, Lives. ――Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 9.――Florus, bk. 3, ch. 3.――Juvenal, satire 8, li. 245, &c.――Lucan, bk. 2, li. 69.――――Caius, the son of the great Marius, was as cruel as his father, and shared his good and his adverse fortune. He made himself consul in the 25th year of his age, and murdered all the senators who opposed his ambitious views. He was defeated by Sylla, and fled to Præneste, where he killed himself. Plutarch, Caius Marius.――――Priscus, a governor of Africa, accused of extortion in his province by Pliny the younger, and banished from Italy. Pliny, bk. 2, ltr. 11.――Juvenal, satire 1, li. 48.――――A lover, &c. See: Hellas.――――One of the Greek fathers of the fifth century, whose works were edited by Garner, 2 vols., folio, Paris, 1673; and by Baluzius, Paris, 1684.――――Marcus Aurelius, a native of Gaul, who, from the mean employment of a blacksmith, became one of the generals of Gallienus, and at last caused himself to be saluted emperor. Three days after this elevation, a man who had shared his poverty without partaking of his more prosperous fortune, publicly assassinated him, and he was killed by a sword which he himself had made in the time of his obscurity. Marius has been often celebrated for his great strength, and it is confidently reported that he could stop, with one of his fingers only, the wheel of a chariot in its most rapid course.――――Maximus, a Latin writer, who published an account of the Roman emperors from Trajan to Alexander, now lost. His compositions were entertaining, and executed with great exactness and fidelity. Some have accused him of inattention, and complain that his writings abounded with many fabulous and insignificant stories.――――Celsus, a friend of Galba, saved from death by Otho, &c. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 1, ch. 45.――――Sextus, a rich Spaniard, thrown down from the Tarpeian rock, on account of his riches, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 6, ch. 19.

=Marmăcus=, the father of Pythagoras. Diogenes Laërtius.

=Marmărenses=, a people of Lycia.

=Marmărĭca.= See: Marmaridæ.

=Marmărĭdæ=, the inhabitants of that part of Lybia called Marmarica, between Cyrene and Egypt. They were swift in running, and pretended to possess some drugs or secret power to destroy the poisonous effects of the bite of serpents. Silius Italicus, bk. 3, li. 300; bk. 11, li. 182.――Lucan, bk. 4, li. 680; bk. 9, li. 894.

=Marmărion=, a town of Eubœa, whence Apollo is called Marmarinus. Strabo, bk. 10.

=Maro.= See: Virgilius.

=Marobodui=, a nation of Germany. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 42.

=Maron=, a son of Evanthes, high priest of Apollo in Africa, when Ulysses touched upon the coast. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 9, li. 179. ――――An Egyptian who accompanied Osiris in his conquests, and built a city in Thrace, called from him Maronea. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 2. ――Diodorus, bk. 1.

=Maronēa=, a city of the Cicones, in Thrace, near the Hebrus, of which Bacchus is the chief deity. The wine has always been reckoned excellent, and with it, it was supposed that Ulysses intoxicated the Cyclops Polyphemus. Pliny, bk. 14, ch. 4.――Herodotus.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 2,――Tibullus, bk. 4, poem 1, li. 57.

=Marpĕsia=, a celebrated queen of the Amazons, who waged a successful war against the inhabitants of mount Caucasus. The mountain was called Marpesius Mons from its female conqueror. Justin, bk. 2, ch. 4.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6.

=Marpessa=, a daughter of the Evenus, who married Idas, by whom she had Cleopatra the wife of Meleager. Marpessa was tenderly loved by her husband; and when Apollo endeavoured to carry her away, Idas followed the ravisher with a bow and arrows, resolved on revenge. Apollo and Idas were separated by Jupiter, who permitted Marpessa to go with that of the two lovers whom she most approved of. She returned to her husband. Homer, Iliad, bk. 9, li. 549.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 8, li. 305.――Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 7.――Pausanias, bk. 4, ch. 2; bk. 5, ch. 18.

=Marpesus=, a town of Mysia.――――A mountain of Paros, abounding in white marble, whence Marpesia cautes. The quarries are still seen by modern travellers. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 471.――Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 12; bk. 36, ch. 5.

=Marres=, a king of Egypt, who had a crow which conveyed his letters wherever he pleased. He raised a celebrated monument to this faithful bird near the city of crocodiles. Ælian, de Natura Animalium, bk. 6, ch. 7.

=Marrucīni=, a people of Picenum. Silius Italicus, bk. 15, li. 564.

=Marrŭvium=, or =Marrubium=, now San Benedetto, a place near the Liris, in Italy. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 750.――_Silius Italicus_, bk. 8, li. 497.

=Mars=, the god of war among the ancients, was the son of Jupiter and Juno, according to Hesiod, Homer, and all the Greek poets, or of Juno alone, according to Ovid. This goddess, as the poet mentions, wished to become a mother without the assistance of the other sex, like Jupiter, who had produced Minerva all armed from his head, and she was shown a flower by Flora in the plains near Olenus, whose very touch made women pregnant. See: Juno. The education of Mars was entrusted by Juno to the god Priapus, who instructed him in dancing and in every manly exercise. His trial before the celebrated court of the Areopagus, according to the authority of some authors, for the murder of Hallirhotius, forms an interesting epoch in history. See: Areopagitæ. The amours of Mars and Venus are greatly celebrated. The god of war gained the affection of Venus, and obtained the gratification of his desires; but Apollo, who was conscious of their familiarities, informed Vulcan of his wife’s debaucheries, and awakened his suspicions. Vulcan secretly laid a net around the bed, and the two lovers were exposed in each other’s arms, to the ridicule and satire of all the gods, till Neptune prevailed upon the husband to set them at liberty. This unfortunate discovery so provoked Mars, that he changed into a cock his favourite Alectryon, whom he had stationed at the door to watch against the approach of the sun [See: Alectryon], and Venus also showed her resentment by persecuting with the most inveterate fury the children of Apollo. In the wars of Jupiter and the Titans, Mars was seized by Otus and Ephialtes, and confined for 15 months, till Mercury procured him his liberty. During the Trojan war Mars interested himself on the side of the Trojans, but whilst he defended these favourites of Venus with uncommon activity, he was wounded by Diomedes, and hastily retreated to heaven to conceal his confusion and his resentment, and to complain to Jupiter that Minerva had directed the unerring weapon of his antagonist. The worship of Mars was not very universal among the ancients; his temples were not numerous in Greece, but in Rome he received the most unbounded honours, and the warlike Romans were proud of paying homage to a deity whom they esteemed as the patron of their city, and the father of the first of their monarchs. His most celebrated temple at Rome was built by Augustus after the battle of Philippi. It was dedicated to Mars ultor, or the avenger. His priests among the Romans were called Salii; they were first instituted by Numa, and their chief office was to guard the sacred Ancylia, one of which, as was supposed, had fallen down from heaven. Mars was generally represented in the naked figure of an old man, armed with a helmet, a pike, and a shield. Sometimes he appeared in a military dress, and with a long flowing beard, and sometimes without. He generally rode in a chariot drawn by furious horses, which the poets called Flight and Terror. His altars were stained with the blood of the horse, on account of his warlike spirit, and of the wolf, on account of his ferocity. Magpies and vultures were also offered up to him, on account of their greediness and voracity. The Scythians generally offered him asses, and the people of Caria dogs. The weed called dog-grass was sacred to him, because it grows, as it is commonly reported, in places which are fit for fields of battle, or where the ground has been stained with the effusion of human blood. The surnames of Mars are not numerous. He was called Gradivus, Mavors, Quirinus, Salisubsulus, among the Romans. The Greeks called him Ares, and he was the Enyalus of the Sabines, the Camulus of the Gauls, and the Mamers of Carthage. Mars was father of Cupid, Anteros, and Harmonia, by the goddess Venus. He had Ascalaphus and Ialmenus by Astyoche; Alcippe by Agraulos; Molus, Pylus, Evenus, and Thestius, by Demonice the daughter of Agenor. Besides these, he was the reputed father of Romulus, Œnomaus, Bythis, Thrax, Diomedes of Thrace, &c. He presided over gladiators, and was the god of hunting, and of whatever exercises or amusements have something manly and warlike. Among the Romans it was usual for the consul, before he went on an expedition, to visit the temple of Mars, where he offered his prayers, and in a solemn manner shook the spear which was in the hand of the ♦statue of the god, at the same time exclaiming, “Mars vigila! god of war, watch over the safety of this city.” Ovid, Fasti, bk. 5, li. 231; Tristia, bk. 2, li. 925.――Hyginus, fable 148.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 4, li. 346; Æneid, bk. 8, li. 701.――Lucian, Electrum.――Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 4, ch. 10.――Homer, Odyssey, bk. 1; Iliad, bk. 5.――Flaccus, bk. 6.――Apollodorus, bk. 1, &c.――Hesiod, Theogony.――Pindar, ode 4, Pythian. ――Quintus Smyrnæus, bk. 14.――Pausanias, bk. 1, chs. 21 & 28. ――Juvenal, satire 9, li. 102.

♦ ‘staute’ replaced with ‘statue’

=Marsala=, a town of Sicily.

=Marsæus=, a Roman, ridiculed by Horace, bk. 1, satire 2, li. 35, for his prodigality to courtesans.

=Marse=, a daughter of Thespius. Apollodorus.

=Marsi=, a nation of Germany, who afterwards came to settle near the lake Fucinus in Italy, in a country chequered with forests, abounding with wild boars and other ferocious animals. They at first proved very inimical to the Romans, but in process of time they became their firmest supporters. They are particularly celebrated for the civil war in which they were engaged, and which from them has received the name of the Marsian war. The large contributions which they made to support the interest of Rome, and the number of men which they continually supplied to the republic, rendered them bold and aspiring, and they claimed, with the rest of the Italian states, a share of the honours and privileges which were enjoyed by the citizens of Rome, B.C. 91. This petition, though supported by the interest, the eloquence, and the integrity of the tribune Drusus, was received with contempt by the Roman senate; and the Marsi, with their allies, showed their dissatisfaction by taking up arms. Their resentment was increased when Drusus, their friend at Rome, had been basely murdered by the means of the nobles; and they erected themselves into a republic, and Corfinium was made the capital of their new empire. A regular war was now begun, and the Romans led into the field an army of 100,000 men, and were opposed by a superior force. Some battles were fought in which the Roman generals were defeated, and the allies reaped no inconsiderable advantages from their victories. A battle, however, near Asculum, proved fatal to their cause: 4000 of them were left dead on the spot; their general, Francus, a man of uncommon experience and abilities, was slain, and such as escaped from the field perished by hunger in the Apennines, where they had sought a shelter. After many defeats, and the loss of Asculum, one of their principal cities, the allies, grown dejected and tired of hostilities which had already continued for three years, sued for peace one by one, and tranquillity was at last re-established in the republic, and all the states of Italy were made citizens of Rome. The armies of the allies consisted of the Marsi, the Peligni, the Vestini, the Hirpini, Pompeiani, Marcini, Picentes, Venusini, Ferentani, Apuli, Lucani, and Samnites. The Marsi were greatly addicted to magic. Horace, epode 5, li. 76; epode 27, li. 29.――Appian.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 8. ――Paterculus, bk. 2.――Plutarch, Sertorius, Caius Marius, &c. ――Cicero, For Cornelius Balbus.――Strabo.――Tacitus, Annals, bk. 1, chs. 50 & 56; Germania, ch. 2.

=Marsigni=, a people of Germany. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 43.

=Marsus Domitius=, a Latin poet.

=Marsyaba=, a town of Arabia.

=Marsyas=, a celebrated piper of Celænæ, in Phrygia, son of Olympus, or of Hyagnis, or Œagrus. He was so skilful in playing on the flute, that he is generally deemed the inventor of it. According to the opinion of some, he found it when Minerva had thrown it aside on account of the distortion of her face when she played upon it. Marsyas was enamoured of Cybele, and he travelled with her as far as Nysa, where he had the imprudence to challenge Apollo to a trial of his skill as a musician. The god accepted the challenge, and it was mutually agreed that he who was defeated should be flayed alive by the conquerer. The Muses, or according to Diodorus, the inhabitants of Nysa, were appointed umpires. Each exerted his utmost skill, and the victory, with much difficulty, was adjudged to Apollo. The god, upon this, tied his antagonist to a tree, and flayed him alive. The death of Marsyas was universally lamented; the Fauns, Satyrs, and Dryads wept at his fate, and from their abundant tears, arose a river of Phrygia, well known by the name of Marsyas. The unfortunate Marsyas is often represented on monuments as tied, his hands behind his back, to a tree, while Apollo stands before him with his lyre in his hand. In independent cities among the ancients the statue of Marsyas was generally erected in the forum, to represent the intimacy which subsisted between Bacchus and Marsyas, as the emblems of liberty. It was also erected at the entrance of the Roman forum, as a spot where usurers and merchants resorted to transact business, being principally intended in terrorem litigatorum; a circumstance to which Horace seems to allude, bk. 1, satire 6, li. 120. At Celænæ, the skin of Marsyas was shown to travellers for some time; it was suspended in the public place in the form of a bladder, or a foot-ball. Hyginus, fable 165.――Ovid, Fasti, bk. 6, li. 707; Metamorphoses, bk. 6, fable 7.――Diodorus, bk. 3.――Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 503.――Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 29; bk. 7, ch. 56. ――Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 30.――Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 4.――――The sources of the Marsyas were near those of the Mæander, and those two rivers had their confluence a little below the town of Celænæ. Livy, bk. 38, ch. 13.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, li. 265.――Lucan, bk. 3, li. 208.――――A writer who published a history of Macedonia, from the first origin and foundation of that empire till the reign of Alexander, in which he lived.――――An Egyptian who commanded the armies of Cleopatra against her brother Ptolemy Physcon, whom she attempted to dethrone.――――A man put to death by Dionysius the tyrant of Sicily.

=Martha=, a celebrated prophetess of Syria, whose artifice and fraud proved of the greatest service to Caius Marius in the numerous expeditions which he undertook. Plutarch, Caius Marius.

=Martia=, a vestal virgin, put to death for her incontinence.――――A daughter of Cato. See: Marcia.

=Martia aqua=, water at Rome, celebrated for its clearness and salubrity. It was conveyed to Rome, at the distance of above 30 miles, from the lake Fucinus, by Ancus Martius, whence it received its name. Tibullus, bk. 3, poem 7, li. 26.――Pliny, bk. 31, ch. 3; bk. 36, ch. 15.

=Martiāles ludi=, games celebrated at Rome in honour of Mars.

=Martiālis Marcus Valerius=, a native of Bilbilis, in Spain, who came to Rome about the 20th year of his age, where he recommended himself to notice by his poetical genius. As he was the panegyrist of the emperors, he gained the greatest honours, and was rewarded in the most liberal manner. Domitian gave him the tribuneship; but the poet, unmindful of the favours he received, after the death of his benefactor, exposed to ridicule the vices and cruelties of a monster, whom in his lifetime he had extolled as the pattern of virtue, goodness, and excellence. Trajan treated the poet with coldness, and Martial, after he had passed 35 years in the capital of the world, in the greatest splendour and affluence, retired to his native country, where he had the mortification to be the object of malevolence, satire, and ridicule. He received some favours from his friends, and his poverty was alleviated by the ♦liberality of Pliny the younger, whom he had panegyrized in his poems. Martial died about the 104th year of the christian era, in the 75th year of his age. He is now well known by the 14 books of epigrams which he wrote, and whose merit is now best described by the candid confession of the author in this line,

Sunt bona, sunt quædam mediocria, sunt mala plura.

But the genius which he displays in some of his epigrams deserves commendation, though many critics are liberal in their censure upon his style, his thoughts, and particularly upon his puns, which are often low and despicable. In many of his epigrams the poet has shown himself a declared enemy to decency, and the book is to be read with caution which can corrupt the purity of morals, and initiate the votaries of virtue in the mysteries of vice. It has been observed of Martial, that his talent was epigrams. Everything which he did was the subject of an epigram. He wrote inscriptions upon monuments in the epigrammatical style, and even a new year’s gift was accompanied with a distich, and his poetical pen was employed in begging a favour as well as in satirizing a fault. The best editions of Martial are those of Rader, folio, Mogunt. 1627; of Schriverius, 12mo, Leiden, 1619; and of Smids, 8vo, Amsterdam, 1701.――――A friend of Otho.――――A man who conspired against Caracalla.

♦ ‘liberalty’ replaced with ‘liberality’

=Martiānus.= See: Marcianus.

=Martīna=, a woman skilled in the knowledge of poisonous herbs, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 79, &c.

=Martiniānus=, an officer, made Cæsar by ♦Licinius, to oppose Constantine. He was put to death by order of Constantine.

♦ ‘Linicius’ replaced with ‘Licinius’

=Martius=, a surname of Jupiter in Attica, expressive of his power and valour. Pausanias, bk. 5, ch. 14.――――A Roman consul sent against Perseus, &c.――――A consul against the Dalmatians, &c.――――Another, who defeated the Carthaginians in Spain.――――Another, who defeated the Privernates, &c.

=Marullus=, a tribune of the people, who tore the garlands which had been placed upon Cæsar’s statues, and who ordered those that had saluted him king to be imprisoned. He was deprived of his consulship by Julius Cæsar. Plutarch.――――A governor of Judæa.――――A Latin poet in the age of Marcus Aurelius. He satirized the emperor with great licentiousness, but his invectives were disregarded, and himself despised.

=Marus= (the Morava), a river of Germany, which separates modern Hungary and Moravia. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 63.

=Massa Bæbius=, an informer at the court of Domitian. Juvenal, satire 1, li. 35.

=Masæsylii=, a people of Libya, where Syphax reigned. See: Massyla.

=Masinissa=, son of Gala, was king of a small part of Africa, and assisted the Carthaginians in their wars against Rome. He proved a most indefatigable and courageous ally, but an act of generosity rendered him amicable to the interests of Rome. After the defeat of Asdrubal, Scipio, the first Africanus who had obtained the victory, found, among the prisoners of war, one of the nephews of Masinissa. He sent him back to his uncle loaded with presents, and conducted him with a detachment for the safety and protection of his person. Masinissa was struck with the generous action of the Roman general; he forgot all former hostilities, and joined his troops to those of Scipio. This change of sentiments was not the effect of a wavering or unsettled mind, but Masinissa showed himself the most attached and the firmest ally the Romans ever had. It was to his exertions they owed many of their victories in Africa, and particularly in that battle which proved fatal to Asdrubal and Syphax. The Numidian conqueror, charmed with the beauty of Sophonisba, the captive wife of Syphax, carried her to his camp and married her; but when he perceived that this new connection displeased Scipio, he sent poison to his wife, and recommended her to destroy herself, since he could not preserve her life in a manner which became her rank, her dignity, and fortune, without offending his Roman allies. In the battle of Zama, Masinissa greatly contributed to the defeat of the great Annibal, and the Romans, who had been so often spectators of his courage and valour, rewarded his fidelity with the kingdom of Syphax, and some of the Carthaginian territories. At his death Masinissa showed the confidence which he had in the Romans, and the esteem he entertained for the rising talents of Scipio Æmilianus, by entrusting him with the care of his kingdom, and empowering him to divide it among his sons. Masinissa died in the 97th year of his age, after a reign of above 60 years, 149 years before the christian era. He experienced adversity as well as prosperity, and in the first years of his reign he was exposed to the greatest danger, and obliged often to save his life by seeking a retreat among his savage neighbours. But his alliance with the Romans was the beginning of his greatness, and he ever after lived in the greatest affluence. He is remarkable for the health which he long enjoyed. In the last years of his life he was seen at the head of his armies behaving with the most indefatigable activity, and he often remained for many successive days on horseback without a saddle under him, or a covering upon his head, and without showing the least mark of fatigue. This strength of mind and body he chiefly owed to the temperance which he observed. He was seen eating brown bread at the door of his tent like a private soldier the day after he had obtained an immortal victory over the armies of Carthage. He left 54 sons, three of whom were legitimate, Micipsa, Gulussa, and Manastabal. The kingdom was fairly divided among them by Scipio, and the illegitimate children received, as their portion, very valuable presents. The death of Gulussa and Manastabal soon after left Micipsa sole master of the large possessions of Masinissa. Strabo, bk. 17.――Polybius.――Appian, Lybica [Punic Wars].――Cicero, de Senectute.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 8.――Sallust, Jugurthine War.――Livy, bk. 25, &c.――Ovid, Fasti, bk. 6, li. 769.――Justin, bk. 33, ch. 1; bk. 38, ch. 6.

=Maso=, a name common to several persons mentioned by Cicero.

=Massăga=, a town of India, taken by Alexander the Great.

=Massăgĕte=, a people of Scythia, who had their wives in common, and dwelt in tents. They had no temples, but worshipped the sun, to whom they offered horses, on account of their swiftness. When their parents had come to a certain age, they generally put them to death, and ate their flesh mixed with that of cattle. Authors are divided with respect to the place of their residence. Some place them near the Caspian sea, others at the north of the Danube, and some confound them with the Getæ and the Scythians. Horace, bk. 1, ode 35, li. 40.――Dionysius Periegeta, li. 738.――Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 204. ――Strabo, bk. 1.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 2.――Lucan, bk. 2, li. 50. ――Justin, bk. 1, ch. 8.

=Massāna.= See: Messana.

=Massāni=, a nation at the mouth of the Indus.

=Massĭcus=, a mountain of Campania near Minturnæ, famous for its wine, which even now preserves its ancient character. Pliny, bk. 14, ch. 6.――Horace, bk. 1, ode 1, li. 19.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 2, li. 143.――――An Etrurian prince, who assisted Æneas against Turnus with 1000 men. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 166, &c.

=Massilia=, a maritime town of Gaul Narbonensis, now called Marseilles, founded B.C. 539, by the people of Phocæa, in Asia, who quitted their country to avoid the tyranny of the Persians. It is celebrated for its laws, its fidelity for the Romans, and for its being long the seat of literature. It acquired great consequence by its commercial pursuits during its infancy, and even waged war against Carthage. By becoming the ally of Rome, its power was established; but in warmly espousing the cause of Pompey against Cæsar, its views were frustrated, and it was so much reduced by the insolence and resentment of the conqueror, that it never after recovered its independence and warlike spirit. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 164.――Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 4.――Justin, bk. 37, &c.――Strabo, bk. 1.――Livy, bk. 5, ch. 3.――Horace, epode 16.――Florus, bk. 4, ch. 2.――Cicero, For Flaccus, ch. 26; De Officiis, bk. 2, ♦ch. 28.――Tacitus, Annals, bk. 4, ch. 44; Agricola, ch. 4.

♦ ‘8’ replaced with ‘28’

=Massȳla=, an inland part of Mauritania near mount Atlas. When the inhabitants, called Massyli, went on horseback, they never used saddles or bridles, but only sticks. Their character was warlike, their manners simple, and their love of liberty unconquerable. Some suppose them to be the same as the Masæylii, though others say half the country belonged only to this last-mentioned people. Livy, bk. 24, ch. 48; bk. 28, ch. 17; bk. 29, ch. 32.――Silius Italicus, bk. 3, li. 282; bk. 16, li. 171.――Lucan, bk. 4, li. 682.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 132.

=Mastramela=, a lake near Marseilles, now mer de Martegues. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 4.

=Măsŭrius=, a Roman knight under Tiberius, learned, but poor. Persius, bk. 5, li. 90.

=Masus Domitius=, a Latin poet. See: Domitius.

=Matho=, an infamous informer, patronized by Domitian. Juvenal, satire 1, li. 32.

=Matiēni=, a people in the neighbourhood of Armenia.

=Matĭnus=, a mountain of Apulia, abounding in yew trees and bees. Lucan, bk. 9, li. 184.――Horace, bk. 4, ode 2, li. 27; epode 16, li. 28.

=Matisco=, a town of the Ædui in Gaul, now called Macon.

=Matrālia=, a festival at Rome, in honour of Matuta or Ino. Only matrons and freeborn women were admitted. They made offerings of flowers, and carried their relations’ children in their arms, recommending them to the care and patronage of the goddess whom they worshipped. Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 5, ch. 22.――Ovid, Fasti, bk. 6, li. 47. ――Plutarch, Camillus.

=Matrōna=, a river of Gaul, now called the Marne, falling into the Seine. Ausonius, Mosella, li. 462.――――One of the surnames of Juno, because she presided over marriage and over child-birth.

=Matronālia=, festivals at Rome in honour of Mars, celebrated by married women, in commemoration of the rape of the Sabines, and of the peace which their intreaties had obtained between their fathers and husbands. Flowers were then offered in the temples of Juno. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 3, li. 229.――Plutarch, Romulus.

=Mattiăci=, a nation of Germany, now Marpurg, in Hesse. The Mattiacæ aquæ was a small town, now Wisbaden, opposite Mentz. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 29; Annals, bk. 1, ch. 56.

=Mātūta=, a deity among the Romans, the same as the Leucothoe of the Greeks. She was originally Ino, who was changed into a sea deity [See: Ino and Leucothoe], and she was worshipped by sailors as such, at Corinth, in a temple sacred to Neptune. Only married women and freeborn matrons were permitted to enter her temples at Rome, where they generally brought the children of their relations in their arms. Livy, bk. 5, &c.――Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 3, li. 19.

=Mavors=, a name of Mars. See: Mars.

=Mavortia=, an epithet applied to every country whose inhabitants were warlike, but especially to Rome, founded by the reputed son of Mavors. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, li. 280, and to Thrace, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 13.

=Mauri=, the inhabitants of Mauritania. This name is derived from their black complexion (μαυροι). Everything among them grew in greater abundance and greater perfection than in other countries. Strabo, bk. 17.――Martial, bk. 5, ltr. 29; bk. 12, ltr. 67.――Silius Italicus, bk. 4, li. 569; bk. 10, li. 402.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 5; bk. 3, ch. 10.――Justin, bk. 19, ch. 2.――Sallust, Jugurthine War. ――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 206.

=Mauritānia=, a country on the western part of Africa, which forms the modern kingdom of Fez and Morocco. It was bounded on the west by the Atlantic, south by Gætulia, and north by the Mediterranean, and is sometimes called Maurusia. It became a Roman province in the reign of the emperor Claudius. See: Mauri.

=Maurus=, a man who flourished in the reign of Trajan, or, according to others, of the Antonini. He was governor of Syene, in Upper Egypt. He wrote a Latin poem upon the rules of poetry and versification.

=Maurūsii=, the people of Maurusia, a country near the columns of Hercules. It is also called Mauritania. See: Mauritania. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 206.

=Mausōlus=, a king of Caria. His wife Artemisia was so disconsolate at his death, which happened B.C. 353, that she drank up his ashes, and resolved to erect one of the grandest and noblest monuments of antiquity, to celebrate the memory of a husband whom she tenderly loved. This famous monument, which passed for one of the seven wonders of the world, was called Mausoleum, and from it all other magnificent sepulchres and tombs have received the same name. It was built by four different architects. Scopas erected the side which faced the east, Timotheus had the south, Leochares had the west, and Bruxis the north. Pithis was also employed in raising a pyramid over this stately monument, and the top was adorned by a chariot drawn by four horses. The expenses of this edifice were immense, and this gave an occasion to the philosopher Anaxagoras to exclaim, when he saw it, “How much money changed into stones!” See: Artemisia. Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 99.――Strabo, bk. 14.――Diodorus, bk. 16.――Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 16.――Florus, bk. 4, ch. 11.――Aulus Gellius, bk. 10, ch. 18.――Propertius, bk. 3, poem 2, li. 21.――Suetonius, Augustus, ch. 100.

=Maxentius Marcus Aurelius Valerius=, a son of the emperor Maximianus Hercules. Some suppose him to have been a supposititious child. The voluntary abdication of Diocletian, and of his father, raised him in the state, and he declared himself independent emperor, or Augustus, A.D. 306. He afterwards incited his father to reassume his imperial authority, and in a perfidious manner destroyed Severus, who had delivered himself into his hands and relied upon his honour for the safety of his life. His victories and successes were impeded by Galerius Maximianus, who opposed him with a powerful force. The defeat and voluntary death of Galerius soon restored peace to Italy, and Maxentius passed into Africa, where he rendered himself odious by his cruelty and oppression. He soon after returned to Rome, and was informed that Constantine was come to dethrone him. He gave his adversary battle near Rome, and, after he had lost the victory, he fled back to the city. The bridge over which he crossed the Tiber was in a decayed state, and he fell into the river and was drowned, on the 24th of September, A.D. 317. The cowardice and luxuries of Maxentius are as conspicuous as his cruelties. He oppressed his subjects with heavy taxes to gratify the cravings of his pleasures, or the avarice of his favourites. He was debauched in his manners, and neither virtue nor innocence were safe whenever he was inclined to voluptuous pursuits. He was naturally deformed, and of an unwieldy body. To visit a pleasure ground, or to exercise himself under a marble portico, or to walk on a shady terrace, was to him a Herculean labour, which required the greatest exertions of strength and resolution.

=Cornelius Maximiliāna=, a vestal virgin, buried alive for incontinency, A.D. 92.

=Maximiānus Herculius Marcus Aurelius Valerius=, a native of Sirmium, in Pannonia, who served as a common soldier in the Roman armies. When Diocletian had been raised to the imperial throne, he remembered the valour and courage of his fellow-soldier Maximianus, and rewarded his fidelity by making him his colleague in the empire, and by ceding to him the command of the provinces of Italy, Africa, and Spain, and the rest of the western territories of Rome. Maximianus showed the justness of the choice of Diocletian by his victories over the barbarians. In Britain success did not attend his arms; but in Africa he defeated and put to death Aurelius Julianus, who had proclaimed himself emperor. Soon after Diocletian abdicated the imperial purple, and obliged Maximianus to follow his example on the 1st of April, A.D. 304. Maximianus reluctantly complied with the command of a man to whom he owed his greatness, but before the first year of his resignation had elapsed, he was roused from his indolence and retreat by the ambition of his son Maxentius. He reassumed the imperial dignity, and showed his ingratitude to his son by wishing him to resign the sovereignty, and to sink into a private person. This proposal was not only rejected with the contempt which it deserved, but the troops mutinied against Maximianus, and he fled for safety to Gaul, to the court of Constantine, to whom he gave his daughter Faustina in marriage. Here he again acted a conspicuous character, and reassumed the imperial power, which his misfortunes had obliged him to relinquish. This offended Constantine. But, when open violence seemed to frustrate the ambitious views of Maximianus, he had recourse to artifice. He prevailed upon his daughter Faustina to leave the doors of her chamber open in the dead of night; and when she promised faithfully to execute his commands, he secretly introduced himself to her bed, where he stabbed to the heart the man who slept by the side of his daughter. This was not Constantine; Faustina, faithful to her husband, had apprised him of her father’s machinations, and a eunuch had been placed in his bed. Constantine watched the motions of his father-in-law, and when he heard the fatal blow given to the eunuch, he rushed in with a band of soldiers, and secured the assassin. Constantine resolved to destroy a man who was so inimical to his nearest relations, and nothing was left to Maximianus but to choose his own death. He strangled himself at Marseilles, A.D. 310, in the 60th year of his age. His body was found fresh and entire in a leaden coffin about the middle of the 11th century.――――Galerius Valerius, a native of Dacia, who, in the first years of his life, was employed in keeping his father’s flocks. He entered the army, where his valour and bodily strength recommended him to the notice of his superiors, and particularly to Diocletian, who invested him with the imperial purple in the east, and gave him his daughter Valeria in marriage. Galerius deserved the confidence of his benefactor. He conquered the Goths and Dalmatians, and checked the insolence of the Persians. In a battle, however, with the king of Persia, Galerius was defeated; and, to complete his ignominy, and render him more sensible of his disgrace, Diocletian obliged him to walk behind his chariot arrayed in his imperial robes. This humiliation stung Galerius to the quick; he assembled another army, and gave battle to the Persians. He gained a complete victory, and took the wives and children of his enemy. This success elated Galerius to such a degree, that he claimed the most dignified appellations, and ordered himself to be called the son of Mars. Diocletian himself dreaded his power, and even, it is said, abdicated the imperial dignity by means of his threats. This resignation, however, is attributed by some to a voluntary act of the mind, and to a desire of enjoying solitude and retirement. As soon as Diocletian had abdicated, Galerius was proclaimed Augustus, A.D. 304, but his cruelty soon rendered him odious, and the Roman people, offended at his oppression, raised Maxentius to the imperial dignity the following year, and Galerius was obliged to yield to the torrent of his unpopularity, and to fly before his more fortunate adversary. He died in the greatest agonies, A.D. 311. The bodily pains and sufferings which preceded his death were, according to the christian writers, the effects of the vengeance of an offended providence for the cruelty which he had exercised against the followers of Christ. In his character Galerius was wanton and tyrannical, and he often feasted his eyes with the sight of dying wretches, whom his barbarity had delivered to bears and other wild beasts. His aversion to learned men arose from his ignorance of letters; and, if he was deprived of the benefits of education, he proved the more cruel and the more inexorable. Lactantius, de Mortibus Persecutorum, ch. 33. ――Eusebius, bk. 8, ch. 16.

=Maximīnus Caius Julius Verus=, the son of a peasant in Thrace. He was originally a shepherd, and, by heading his countrymen against the frequent attacks of the neighbouring barbarians and robbers, he inured himself to the labours and to the fatigues of a camp. He entered the Roman armies, where he gradually rose to the first offices; and on the death of Alexander Severus he caused himself to be proclaimed emperor, A. D. 235. The popularity which he had gained when general of the armies, was at an end when he ascended the throne. He was delighted with acts of the greatest barbarity, and no less than 400 persons lost their lives on the false suspicion of having conspired against the emperor’s life. They died in the greatest torments, and, that the tyrant might the better entertain himself with their sufferings, some were exposed to wild beasts, others expired by blows, some were nailed on crosses, while others were shut up in the bellies of animals just killed. The noblest of the Roman citizens were the objects of his cruelty; and, as if they were more conscious than others of his mean origin, he resolved to spare no means to remove from his presence a number of men whom he looked upon with an eye of envy, and who, as he imagined, hated him for his oppression, and despised him for the poverty and obscurity of his early years. Such is the character of the suspicious and tyrannical Maximinus. In his military capacity he acted with the same ferocity; and, in an expedition in Germany, he not only cut down the corn, but he totally ruined and set fire to the whole country, to the extent of 450 miles. Such a monster of tyranny at last provoked the people of Rome. The Gordians were proclaimed emperors, but their innocence and pacific virtues were unable to resist the fury of Maximinus. After their fall, the Roman senate invested 20 men of their number with the imperial dignity and entrusted into their hands the care of the republic. These measures so highly irritated Maximinus, that at the first intelligence, he howled like a wild beast, and almost destroyed himself by knocking his head against the walls of his palace. When his fury was abated he marched to Rome, resolved on slaughter. His bloody machinations were stopped, and his soldiers, ashamed of accompanying a tyrant whose cruelties had procured him the name of Busiris, Cyclops, and Phalaris, assassinated him in his tent before the walls of Aquileia, A.D. 236, in the 65th year of his age. The news of his death was received with the greatest rejoicings at Rome; public thanksgivings were offered, and whole hecatombs flamed on the altars. Maximinus has been represented by historians as of a gigantic stature; he was eight feet high, and the bracelets of his wife served as rings to adorn the fingers of his hand. His voracity was as remarkable as his corpulence; he generally ate 40 pounds of flesh every day, and drank 18 bottles of wine. His strength was proportionable to his gigantic shape; he could alone draw a loaded waggon, and, with a blow of his fist, he often broke the teeth in a horse’s mouth; he also broke the hardest stones between his fingers, and cleft trees with his hand. Herodian.――Jornandes, Getica. ――Capitol. Maximinus made his son, of the same name, emperor, as soon as he was invested with the purple, and his choice was unanimously approved by the senate, by the people, and by the army. ――――Galerius Valerius, a shepherd of Thrace, who was raised to the imperial dignity by Diocletian, A.D. 305. He was nephew to Galerius Maximianus, by his mother’s side, and to him he was indebted for his rise and consequence in the Roman armies. As Maximinus was ambitious and fond of power, he looked with an eye of jealousy upon those who shared the dignity of emperor with himself. He declared war against Licinius, his colleague on the throne, but a defeat, which soon after followed, on the 30th of April, A.D. 313, between Heraclea and Adrianopolis, left him without resources and without friends. His victorious enemy pursued him, and he fled beyond mount Taurus, forsaken and almost unknown. He attempted to put an end to his miserable existence, but his efforts were ineffectual, and though his death is attributed by some to despair, it is more universally believed that he expired in the greatest agonies of a dreadful distemper, which consumed him, day and night, with inexpressible pains, and reduced him to a mere skeleton. This miserable end, according to the ecclesiastical writers, was the visible punishment of heaven, for the barbarities which Maximinus had exercised against the followers of christianity, and for the many blasphemies which he had uttered. Lactantius.――Eusebius.――――A minister of the emperor Valerian.――――One of the ambassadors of young Theodosius to Attila king of the Huns.

=Maxĭmus Magnus=, a native of Spain, who proclaimed himself emperor, A.D. 383. The unpopularity of Gratian favoured his usurpation, and he was acknowledged by his troops. Gratian marched against him, but he was defeated, and soon after assassinated. Maximus refused the honours of a burial to the remains of Gratian; and, when he had made himself master of Britain, Gaul, and Spain, he sent ambassadors into the east, and demanded of the emperor Theodosius to acknowledge him as his associate on the throne. Theodosius endeavoured to amuse and delay him, but Maximus resolved to support his claim by arms, and crossed the Alps. Italy was laid desolate, and Rome opened her gates to the conqueror. Theodosius now determined to revenge the audaciousness of Maximus, and had recourse to artifice. He began to make a naval armament, and Maximus, not to appear inferior to his adversary, had already embarked his troops, when Theodosius, by secret and hastened marches, fell upon him, and besieged him at Aquileia. Maximus was betrayed by his soldiers, and the conqueror, moved with compassion at the sight of his fallen and dejected enemy, granted him life, but the multitude refused him mercy, and instantly struck off his head, A.D. 388. His son Victor, who shared the imperial dignity with him, was soon after sacrificed to the fury of the soldiers.――――Petronius, a Roman, descended of an illustrious family. He caused Valentinian III. to be assassinated, and ascended the throne; and, to strengthen his usurpation, he married the empress, to whom he had the weakness and imprudence to betray that he had sacrificed her husband to his love for her person. This declaration irritated the empress; she had recourse to the barbarians to avenge the death of Valentinian, and Maximus was stoned to death by his soldiers, and his body thrown into the Tiber, A.D. 455. He reigned only 77 days.――――Pupianus. See: ♦Pupianus.――――A celebrated cynic philosopher and magician of Ephesus. He instructed the emperor Julian in magic; and according to the opinion of some historians, it was in the conversation and company of Maximus that the apostacy of Julian originated. The emperor not only visited the philosopher, but he even submitted his writings to his inspection and censure. Maximus refused to live in the court of Julian, and the emperor, not dissatisfied with the refusal, appointed him high pontiff in the province of Lydia, an office which he discharged with the greatest moderation and justice. When Julian went into the east, the philosopher promised him success, and even said that his conquests would be more numerous and extensive than those of the son of Philip. He persuaded his imperial pupil that, according to the doctrine of metempsychosis, his body was animated by the soul which once animated the hero whose greatness and victories he was going to eclipse. After the death of Julian, Maximus was almost sacrificed to the fury of the soldiers, but the interposition of his friends saved his life, and he retired to Constantinople. He was soon after accused of magical practices before the emperor Valens, and beheaded at Ephesus, A.D. 366. He wrote some philosophical and rhetorical treatises, some of which were dedicated to Julian. They are all now lost. Ammianus.――――Tyrius, a Platonic philosopher in the reign of Marcus Aurelius. This emperor, who was naturally fond of study, became one of the pupils of Maximus, and paid great deference to his instructions. There are extant of Maximus 41 dissertations on moral and philosophical subjects, written in Greek, the best editions of which are that of Davis, 8vo, Cambridge, 1703; and that of Reiske, 2 vols., 8vo, Lipscomb, 1774.――――One of the Greek fathers of the seventh century, whose works were edited by Combesis, 2 vols., folio, Paris, 1675.――――Paulus Fabius, a consul with Marcus Antony’s son. Horace speaks of him, bk. 4, ode 1, li. 10, as of a gay, handsome youth, fond of pleasure, yet industrious and indefatigable.――――An epithet applied to Jupiter, as being the greatest and most powerful of all the gods.――――A native of Sirmium, in Pannonia. He was originally a gardener, but, by enlisting in the Roman army, he became one of the military tribunes, and his marriage with a woman of rank and opulence soon rendered him independent. He was father to the emperor Probus.――――A general of Trajan, killed in the eastern provinces.――――One of the murderers of Domitian, &c.――――A philosopher, native of Byzantium, in the age of Julian the emperor.

♦ Reference not found.

=Mazăca=, a large city of Cappadocia, the capital of the province. It was called Cæsarea by Tiberius, in honour of Augustus.

=Mazāces=, a Persian governor of Memphis. He made a sally against the Grecian soldiers of Alexander, and killed great numbers of them. Curtius, bk. 4, ch. 1.

=Mazæus=, a satrap of Cilicia, under Artaxerxes Ochus.――――A governor of Babylon, son-in-law to Darius. He surrendered to Alexander, &c. Curtius, bk. 5, ch. 1.

=Mazāres=, a satrap of Media, who reduced Priene under the power of Cyrus. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 161.

=Mazaxes= (singular, Mazax), a people of Africa, famous for shooting arrows. Lucan, bk. 4, li. 681.

=Mazĕras=, a river of Hyrcania, falling into the Caspian sea. Plutarch.

=Mazīces= and =Mazȳges=, a people of Libya, very expert in the use of missile weapons. The Romans made use of them as couriers, on account of their great swiftness. Suetonius, Nero, ch. 30.――Lucan, bk. 4, li. 684.

=Mecænas=, or =Mecœnas Caius ♦Cilnius=, a celebrated Roman knight, descended from the kings of Etruria. He has rendered himself immortal by his liberal patronage of learned men and of letters; and to his prudence and advice Augustus acknowledged himself indebted for the security which he enjoyed. His fondness for pleasure removed him from the reach of ambition, and he preferred to die, as he was born, a Roman knight, to all the honours and dignities which either the friendship of Augustus or his own popularity could heap upon him. It was from the result of his advice, against the opinion of Agrippa, that Augustus resolved to keep the supreme power in his hands, and not by a voluntary resignation to plunge Rome into civil commotions. The emperor received the private admonitions of Mecœnas in the same friendly manner as they were given, and he was not displeased with the liberty of his friend, who threw a paper to him with these words, “Descend from the tribunal, thou butcher!” while he sat in the judgment-seat, and betrayed revenge and impatience in his countenance. He was struck with the admonition, and left the tribunal without passing sentence of death on the criminals. To the interference of Mecœnas, Virgil owed the restitution of his lands, and Horace was proud to boast that his learned friend had obtained his forgiveness from the emperor, for joining the cause of Brutus at the battle of Philippi. Mecœnas was himself fond of literature, and, according to the most received opinion, he wrote a history of animals, a journal of the life of Augustus, a treatise on the different natures and kinds of precious stones, besides the two tragedies of Octavia and Prometheus, and other things, all now lost. He died eight years before Christ; and, on his death-bed, he particularly recommended his poetical friend Horace to the care and confidence of Augustus. Seneca, who has liberally commended the genius and abilities of Mecœnas, has not withheld his censure from his dissipation, indolence, and effeminate luxury. From the patronage and encouragement which the princes of heroic and lyric poetry among the Latins received from the favourite of Augustus, all patrons of literature have ever since been called Mecœnates. Virgil dedicated to him his Georgics, and Horace his odes. Suetonius, Augustus, ch. 66, &c.――Plutarch, Augustus.――Herodian, bk. 7.――Seneca, ltrs. 19 & 92.

♦ ‘Cilnus’ replaced with ‘Cilnius’

=Mechaneus=, a surname of Jupiter, from his patronizing undertakings. He had a statue near the temple of Ceres at Argos, and there the people swore, before they went to the Trojan war, either to conquer or to perish. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 22.

=Mecisteus=, son of Echius, or Talaus, was one of the companions of Ajax. He was killed by Polydamus. Homer, Iliad, bk. 6, li. 28, &c.――――A son of Lycaon. Apollodorus.

=Mecrida=, the wife of Lysimachus. Polyænus, bk. 6.

=Mēdēa=, a celebrated magician, daughter of Æetes king of Colchis. Her mother’s name, according to the more received opinion of Hesiod and Hyginus, was Idyia, or, according to others, Ephyre, Hecate, Asterodia, Antiope, or Neræa. She was the niece of Circe. When Jason came to Colchis in quest of the golden fleece, Medea became enamoured of him, and it was to her well-directed labours that the Argonauts owed their preservation. See: Jason and Argonautæ. Medea had an interview with her lover in the temple of Hecate, where they bound themselves by the most solemn oaths, and mutually promised eternal fidelity. No sooner had Jason overcome all the difficulties which Æetes had placed in his way, than Medea embarked with the conquerors for Greece. To stop the pursuit of her father, she tore to pieces her brother Absyrtus, and left his mangled limbs in the way through which Æetes was to pass. This act of barbarity some have attributed to Jason, and not to her. When Jason reached Iolchos, his native country, the return and victories of the Argonauts were celebrated with universal rejoicings; but Æson the father of Jason was unable to assist at the solemnity, on account of the infirmities of his age. Medea, at her husband’s request, removed the weakness of Æson, and by drawing away the blood from his veins, and filling them again with the juice of certain herbs, she restored to him the vigour and sprightliness of youth. This sudden change in Æson astonished the inhabitants of Iolchos, and the daughters of Pelias were also desirous to see their father restored, by the same power, to the vigour of youth. Medea, willing to revenge the injuries which her husband’s family had suffered from Pelias, increased their curiosity, and by cutting to pieces an old ram and making it again, in their presence, a young lamb, she totally determined them to try the same experiment upon their father’s body. They accordingly killed him of their own accord, and boiled his flesh in a cauldron; but Medea refused to perform the same friendly offices to Pelias which she had done to Æson, and he was consumed by the heat of the fire, and even deprived of a burial. This action greatly irritated the people of Iolchos, and Medea, with her husband, fled to Corinth to avoid the resentment of an offended populace. Here they lived for 10 years with much conjugal tenderness; but the love of Jason for Glauce, the king’s daughter, soon interrupted their mutual harmony, and Medea was divorced. Medea revenged the infidelity of Jason by causing the death of Glauce, and the destruction of her family. See: Glauce. This action was followed by another still more atrocious. Medea killed two of her children in their father’s presence, and when Jason attempted to punish the barbarity of the mother, she fled through the air upon a chariot drawn by winged dragons. From Corinth Medea came to Athens, where, after she had undergone the necessary purification of her murder, she married king Ægeus, or, according to others, lived in an adulterous manner with him. From her connection with Ægeus, Medea had a son, who was called Medus. Soon after, when Theseus wished to make himself known to his father [See: Ægeus], Medea, jealous of his fame, and fearful of his power, attempted to poison him at a feast which had been prepared for his entertainment. Her attempts, however, failed of success, and the sight of the sword which Theseus wore by his side, convinced Ægeus that the stranger against whose life he had so basely conspired was no less than his own son. The father and the son were reconciled, and Medea, to avoid the punishment which her wickedness deserved, mounted her fiery chariot, and disappeared through the air. She came to Colchis, where, according to some, she was reconciled to Jason, who had sought her in her native country after her sudden departure from Corinth. She died at Colchis, as Justin mentions, when she had been restored to the confidence of her family. After death she married Achilles in the Elysian fields, according to the traditions mentioned by Simonides. The murder of Mermerus and Pheres, the youngest of Jason’s children by Medea, is not attributed to their mother according to Ælian, but the Corinthians themselves assassinated them in the temple of Juno Acræa. To avoid the resentment of the gods, and deliver themselves from the pestilence which visited their country after so horrid a massacre, they engaged the poet Euripides, for five talents, to write a tragedy, which cleared them of the murder, and represented Medea as the cruel assassin of her own children. And besides, that this opinion might be the better credited, festivals were appointed, in which the mother was represented with all the barbarity of a fury murdering her own sons. See: Heræa. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9.――Hyginus, fables 21, 22, 23, &c.――Plutarch, Theseus.――Dionysius Periegetes. ――Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 5, ch. 21.――Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 3; bk. 8, ch. 11.――Euripides, Medea.――Diodorus, bk. 4. ――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 7, fable 1; Medicamina Faciei Femineæ. ――Strabo, bk. 7.――Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 3, ch. 19. ――Apollonius, Argonautica, bk. 3, &c.――Orpheus.――Flaccus. ――Lucan, bk. 4, li. 556.

=Medesicaste=, a daughter of Priam, who married Imbrius son of Mentor, who was killed by Teucer during the Trojan war. Homer, Iliad, bk. 13, ch. 172.――Apollodorus, bk. 3.

=Media=, a celebrated country of Asia, bounded on the north by the Caspian sea, west by Armenia, south by Persia, and east by Parthia and Hyrcania. It was originally called Aria, till the age of Medus the son of Medea, who gave it the name of Media. The province of Media was first raised into a kingdom by its revolt from the Assyrian monarchy, B.C. 820; and after it had for some time enjoyed a kind of republican government, Deioces, by his artifice, procured himself to be called king, 700 B.C. After a reign of 53 years he was succeeded by Phraortes, B.C. 647; who was succeeded by Cyaxares, B.C. 625. His successor was Astyages, B.C. 585, in whose reign Cyrus became master of Media, B.C. 551; and ever after the empire was transferred to the Persians. The Medes were warlike in the primitive ages of their power; they encouraged polygamy, and were remarkable for the homage which they paid to their sovereigns, who were styled kings of kings. This title was afterwards adopted by their conquerors the Persians, and it was still in use in the age of the Roman emperors. Justin, bk. 1, ch. 5.――Herodotus, bk. 1, &c.――Polybius, bks. 5 & 10.――Curtius, bk. 5, &c.――Diodorus Siculus, bk. 13.――Ctesias.

=Medias=, a tyrant of Mysia, &c.

=Medĭcus=, a prince of Larissa, in Thessaly, who made war against Lycophron tyrant of Pheræ. Diodorus, bk. 14.

=Mediolānum=, now Milan, the capital of Insubria at the mouth of the Po. Livy, bk. 5, ch. 34; bk. 34, ch. 46.――――Aulercorum, a town of Gaul, now Evreux, in Normandy.――――Santŏnum, another, now Saintes, in Guienne.

=Mediomatrices=, a nation that lived on the borders of the Rhine, now Metz. Strabo, bk. 4.――Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 4, ch. 10.

=Mediterraneum mare=, a sea which divides Europe and Asia Minor from Africa. It receives its name from its situation, medio terræ, situate in the middle of the land. It has a communication with the Atlantic by the columns of Hercules, and with the Euxine through the Ægean. The word Mediterraneum does not occur in the classics; but it is sometimes called internum, nostrum, or medius liquor, and is frequently denominated in Scripture the Great sea. The first naval power that ever obtained the command of it, as recorded in the fabulous epochs of the writer Castor, was Crete, under Minos. Afterwards it passed into the hands of the Lydians, B.C. 1179; of the Pelasgi, 1058; of the Thracians, 1000; of the Rhodians, 916; of the Phrygians, 893; of the Cyprians, 868; of the Phœnicians, 826; of the Egyptians, 787; of the Milesians, 753; of the Carians, 734; and of the Lesbians, 676, which they retained for 69 years. Horace, bk. 3, ode 3, li. 46.――Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 668.――Sallust, Jugurthine War, ch. 17.――Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 5, ch. 1.――Livy, bk. 26, ch. 42.

=Meditrīna=, the goddess of medicines, whose festivals, called Meditrinalia, were celebrated at Rome the last day of September, when they made offerings of fruits. Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 5, ch. 3.

=Medoacus=, or =Meduacus=, a river in the country of the Veneti, falling into the Adriatic sea. Livy, bk. 10, ch. 2.

=Medobithyni=, a people of Thrace.

=Medobriga=, a town of Lusitania, now destroyed. Hirtius, ch. 48.

=Medon=, son of Codrus, the seventeenth and last king of Athens, was the first Archon that was appointed with regal authority, B.C. 1070. In the election Medon was preferred to his brother Neleus, by the oracle of Delphi, and he rendered himself popular by the justice and moderation of his administration. His successors were called from him Medontidæ, and the office of archon remained for above 200 years in the family of Codrus under 12 perpetual archons. Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 2.――Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 2.――――A man killed in the Trojan war. Æneas saw him in the infernal regions. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 483.――――A statuary of Lacedæmon, who made a famous statue of Minerva, seen in the temple of Juno at Olympia. Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 17. ――――One of the Centaurs, &c. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 303. ――――One of the Tyrrhene sailors changed into dolphins by Bacchus. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3, li. 671.――――A river of Peloponnesus. ――――An illegitimate son of Ajax Oileus. Homer.――――One of Penelope’s suitors. Ovid, Heroides, poem 1.――――A man of Cyzicus, killed by the Argonauts.――――A king of Argos, who died about 990 years B.C.――――A son of Pylades by Electra. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 16.

=Medontias=, a woman of Abydos, with whom Alcibiades cohabited as with a wife. She had a daughter, &c. Lysias.

=Meduacus=, two rivers (Major, now Brenta, and Minor, now Bachilione), falling, near Venice, into the Adriatic sea. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 16.――Livy, bk. 10, ch. 2.

=Meduana=, a river of Gaul, flowing into the Ligeris, now the Mayne. Lucan, bk. 1, li. 438.

=Medullīna=, a Roman virgin ravished by her father, &c. Plutarch, Parallela minora.――――An infamous courtesan in Juvenal’s age, satire 6, li. 321.

=Medus=, now Kur, a river of Media, falling into the Araxes. Some take Medus adjectively, as applying to any of the great rivers of Media. Strabo, bk. 15.――Horace, bk. 2, ode 9, li. 21.――――A son of Ægeus and Medea, who gave his name to a country of Asia. Medus, when arrived to years of maturity, went to seek his mother, whom the arrival of Theseus in Athens had driven away. See: Medea. He came to Colchis, where he was seized by his uncle Perses, who usurped the throne of Æetes, his mother’s father, because the oracle had declared that Perses should be murdered by one of the grandsons of Æetes. Medus assumed another name, and called himself Hippotes son of Creon. Meanwhile Medea arrived in Colchis, disguised in the habit of a priestess of Diana, and when she heard that one of Creon’s children was imprisoned, she resolved to hasten the destruction of a person whose family she detested. To effect this with more certainty, she told the usurper that Hippotes was really a son of Medea, sent by his mother to murder him. She begged Perses to give her Hippotes, that she might sacrifice him to her resentment. Perses consented. Medea discovered that it was her own son, and she instantly armed him with the dagger which she had prepared against his life, and ordered him to stab the usurper. He obeyed, and Medea discovered who he was, and made her son Medus sit on his grandfather’s throne. Hesiod, Theogony.――Pausanias, bk. 2.――Apollodorus, bk. 1.――Justin, bk. 42.――Seneca, Medea.――Diodorus.

=Medūsa=, one of the three Gorgons, daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. She was the only one of the Gorgons who was subject to mortality. She is celebrated for her personal charms and the beauty of her locks. Neptune became enamoured of her, and obtained her favours in the temple of Minerva. This violation of the sanctity of the temple provoked Minerva, and she changed the beautiful locks of Medusa, which had inspired Neptune’s love, into serpents. According to Apollodorus and others, Medusa and her sisters came into the world with snakes on their heads, instead of hair, with yellow wings and brazen hands. Their bodies were also covered with impenetrable scales, and their very looks had the power of killing or turning to stones. Perseus rendered his name immortal by his conquest of Medusa. He cut off her head, and the blood that dropped from the wound produced the innumerable serpents that infest Africa. The conqueror placed Medusa’s head on the ægis of Minerva, which he had used in his expedition. The head still retained the same petrifying power as before, as it was fatally known in the court of Cepheus. See: Andromeda. Some suppose that the Gorgons were a nation of women, whom Perseus conquered. See: Gorgones. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 4. ――Hesiod, Theogony.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, li. 618. ――Lucan, bk. 9, li. 624.――Apollonius, bk. 4.――Hyginus fable 151. ――――A daughter of Priam.――――A daughter of Sthenelus. Apollodorus.

=Megabizi=, certain priests in Diana’s temple at Ephesus. They were all eunuchs. Quintilian, bk. 5, ch. 12.

=Megabyzus=, one of the noble Persians who conspired against the usurper Smerdis. He was set over an army in Europe by king Darius, where he took Perinthus and conquered all Thrace. He was greatly esteemed by his sovereign. Herodotus, bk. 3, &c.――――A son of Zopyrus, satrap to Darius. He conquered Egypt, &c. Herodotus, bk. 3, ch. 160.――――A satrap of Artaxerxes. He revolted from his king, and defeated two large armies that had been sent against him. The interference of his friends restored him to the king’s favour, and he showed his attachment to Artaxerxes by killing a lion which threatened his life in hunting. This act of affection in Megabyzus was looked upon with envy by the king. He was discarded and afterwards reconciled to the monarch by means of his mother. He died in the 76th year of his age, B.C. 447, greatly regretted. Ctesias.

=Megăcles=, an Athenian archon, who involved the greatest part of the Athenians in the sacrilege which was committed in the conspiracy of Cylon. Plutarch, Solon.――――A brother of Dion, who assisted his brother against Dionysius, &c.――――A son of Alcmæon, who revolted with some Athenians after the departure of Solon from Athens. He was ejected by Pisistratus.――――A man who exchanged dress with Pyrrhus, when assisting the Tarentines in Italy. He was killed in that disguise.――――A native of Messana in Sicily, famous for his inveterate enmity to Agathocles tyrant of Syracuse.――――A man who destroyed the leading men of Mitylene, because he had been punished.――――A man who wrote an account of the lives of illustrious persons.――――The maternal grandfather of Alcibiades.

=Megaclides=, a peripatetic philosopher in the age of Protagoras.

=Megæra=, one of the furies, daughter of Nox and Acheron. The word is derived from μεγαιρειν, invidere, odisse, and she is represented as employed by the gods, like her sisters, to punish the crimes of mankind, by visiting them with diseases, with inward torments, and with death. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 12, li. 846. See: Eumenides.

=Megăle=, the Greek name of Cybele the mother of the gods, whose festivals were called Megalesia.

=Megaleas=, a seditious person of Corinth. He was seized for his treachery to king Philip of Macedonia, upon which he destroyed himself to avoid punishment.

=Megalesia=, games in honour of Cybele, instituted by the Phrygians, and introduced at Rome in the second Punic war, when the statue of the goddess was brought from Pessinus. Livy, bk. 29, ch. 14. ――Ovid, Fasti, bk. 4, li. 337.

=Megalia=, a small island of Campania, near Neapolis. Statius, bk. 2, Sylvæ, ♦poem 3, li. 80.

♦ omitted from text

=Megalŏpŏlis=, a town of Arcadia in Peloponnesus, built by Epaminondas. It joined the Achæan league, B.C. 232, and was taken and ruined by Cleomenes king of Sparta. The inhabitants were called Megalopolitæ, or Megalopolitani. Strabo, bk. 8.――Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 14. ――Livy, bk. 28, ch. 8.

=Megamēde=, the wife of Thestius, mother by him of 50 daughters. Apollodorus, bk. 2.

=Meganīra=, the wife of Celeus king of Eleusis in Attica. She was mother of Triptolemus, to whom Ceres, as she travelled over Attica, taught agriculture. She received divine honours after death, and she had an altar raised to her, near the fountain where Ceres had first been seen when she arrived in Attica. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 39. ――――The wife of Arcas. Apollodorus.

=Megapenthes=, an illegitimate son of Menelaus, who, after his father’s return from the Trojan war, was married to a daughter of Alector, a native of Sparta. His mother’s name was Teridae, a slave of Menelaus. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 4.――Apollodorus, bk. 3.

=Megāra=, a daughter of Creon king of Thebes, given in marriage to Hercules, because he had delivered the Thebans from the tyranny of the Orchomenians. See: Erginus. When Hercules went to hell by order of Eurystheus, violence was offered to Megara by Lycus, a Theban exile, and she would have yielded to her ravisher had not Hercules returned that moment and punished him with death. This murder displeased Juno, and she rendered Hercules so delirious, that he killed Megara and the three children he had by her, in a fit of madness, thinking them to be wild beasts. Some say that Megara did not perish by the hand of her husband, but that he afterwards married her to his friend Iolas. The names of Megara’s children by Hercules were Creontiades, Therimachus, and Deicoon. Hyginus, fable 82. ――Seneca, Hercules.――Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 6.――Diodorus, bk. 4.

=Megāra= (æ, and plural, orum), a city of Achaia, the capital of a country called Megaris, founded about 1131 B.C. It is situate nearly at an equal distance from Corinth and Athens, on the Sinus Saronicus. It was built upon two rocks, and is still in being, and preserves its ancient name. It was called after Megareus the son of Neptune, who was buried there, or from Megareus, a son of Apollo. It was originally governed by 12 kings, but became afterwards a republic, and fell into the hands of the Athenians, from whom it was rescued by the Heraclidæ. At the battle of Salamis the people of Megara furnished 20 ships for the defence of Greece, and at Platæa they had 300 men in the army of Pausanias. There was here a sect of philosophers called the Megaric, who held the world to be eternal. Cicero, Academica, bk. 4, ch. 42; On Oratory, bk. 3, ch. 17; Letters to Atticus, bk. 1, ltr. 8.――Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 39. ――Strabo, bk. 6.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.――――A town of Sicily, founded by a colony from Megara in Attica, about 728 years before the christian era. It was destroyed by Gelon king of Syracuse; and before the arrival of the Megarean colony it was called Hybla. Strabo, ♦bk. 6, &c.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 689.

♦ ‘26’ replaced with ‘6’

=Megareus=, the father of Hippomenes, was son of Onchestus. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 10, li. 605.――――A son of Apollo.

=Megāris=, a small country of Achaia, between Phocis on the west and Attica on the east. Its capital city was called Megara. See: Megara. Strabo, bk. 8.――Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 8.――Mela, bk. 2, chs. 3 & 7.

=Megarsus=, a town of Sicily,――――of Cilicia.――――A river of India.

=Megasthĕnes=, a Greek historian in the age of Seleucus Nicanor, about 300 years before Christ. He wrote about the oriental nations, and particularly the Indians. His history is often quoted by the ancients. What now passes as his composition is spurious.

=Meges=, one of Helen’s suitors, governor of Dulichium and of the Echinades. He went with 40 ships to the Trojan war. Homer, Iliad, bk. 2.

=Megilla=, a native of Locris, remarkable for beauty, and mentioned by Horace, bk. 1, ode 27, li. 11.

=Megista=, an island of Lycia, with a harbour of the same name. Livy, bk. 37, ch. 22.

=Megistias=, a soothsayer, who told the Spartans that defended Thermopylæ, that they all should perish, &c. Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 219, &c.――――A river. See: Mella.

=Mela Pomponius=, a Spaniard, who flourished about the 45th year of the christian era, and distinguished himself by his geography divided into three books, and written with elegance, with great perspicuity and brevity. The best editions of this book, called De Situ Orbis, are those of Gronovius, 8vo, Leiden, 1722, and of Reinhold, 4to, Eton, 1761.

=Melænæ=, a village of Attica. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 12, li. 619.

=Melampus=, a celebrated soothsayer and physician of Argos, son of Amythaon and Idomenea, or Dorippe. He lived at Pylos in Peloponnesus. His servants once killed two large serpents, which had made their nests at the bottom of a large oak, and Melampus paid so much regard to these two reptiles, that he raised a burning pile and burned them upon it. He also took particular care of their young ones, and fed them with milk. Some time after this the young serpents crept to Melampus as he slept on the grass near the oak, and, as if sensible of the favours of their benefactor, they wantonly played around him, and softly licked his ears. This awoke Melampus, who was astonished at the sudden change which his senses had undergone. He found himself acquainted with the chirping of the birds, and with all their rude notes, as they flew around him. He took advantage of this supernatural gift, and soon made himself perfect in the knowledge of futurity, and Apollo also instructed him in the art of medicine. He had soon after the happiness of curing the daughters of Prœtus, by giving them hellebore, which from this circumstance has been called melampodium, and as a reward for his trouble he married the eldest of these princesses. See: Prœtides. The tyranny of his uncle Neleus king of Pylos obliged him to leave his native country, and Prœtus, to show himself more sensible of his services, gave him part of his kingdom, over which he established himself. About this time the personal charms of Pero the daughter of Neleus had gained many admirers, but the father promised his daughter only to him who brought into his hands the oxen of Iphiclus. This condition displeased many; but Bias, who was also one of her admirers, engaged his brother Melampus to steal the oxen, and deliver them to him. Melampus was caught in the attempt and imprisoned, and nothing but his services as a soothsayer and physician to Iphiclus would have saved him from death. All this pleaded in favour of Melampus, but when he had taught the childless Iphiclus how to become a father, he not only obtained his liberty, but also the oxen, and with them he compelled Neleus to give Pero in marriage to Bias. A severe distemper, which had rendered the women of Argos insane, was totally removed by Melampus, and Anaxagoras, who then sat on the throne, rewarded his merit by giving him part of his kingdom, where he established himself, and where his posterity reigned during six successive generations. He received divine honours after death, and temples were raised to his memory. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 11, li. 287; bk. 15, li. 225. ――Herodotus, bks. 2 & 9.――Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 2.――Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 18; bk. 4, ch. 3.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 3, li. 550. ――――The father of Cisseus and Gyas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10.――――A son of Priam. Apollodorus, bk. 3.――――One of Actæon’s dogs. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3.

=Melampyges=, a surname of Hercules, from the black and hairy appearance of his back, &c.

=Melanchætes=, one of Actæon’s dogs, so called from his black hair. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3.

=Melanchlæni=, a people near the Cimmerian Bosphorus.

=Melanchrus=, a tyrant of Lesbos, who died about 612 B.C.

=Melane=, the same as Samothrace.

=Melaneus=, a son of Eurytus, from whom Eretria has been called Melaneis.――――A centaur. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12.――――One of Actæon’s dogs. Metamorphoses, bk. 3.――――An Æthiopian, killed at the nuptials of Perseus. Metamorphoses, bk. 5.

=Melanida=, a surname of Venus.

=Melanion=, the same as Hippomenes, who married Atalanta, according to some mythologists. Apollodorus, bk. 3.

=Melanippe=, a daughter of Æolus, who had two children by Neptune, for which her father put out both her eyes, and confined her in a prison. Her children, who had been exposed and preserved, delivered her from confinement, and Neptune restored to her her eye-sight. She afterwards married Metapontus. Hyginus, fable 186.――――A nymph who married Itonus son of Amphictyon, by whom she had Bœotus, who gave his name to Bœotia. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 1.

=Melanippĭdes=, a Greek poet about 520 years before Christ. His grandson, of the same name, flourished about 60 years after at the court of Perdiccas II. of Macedonia. Some fragments of their poetry are extant.

=Melanippus=, a priest of Apollo at Cyrene, killed by the tyrant Nicocrates. Polyænus, bk. 8.――――A son of Astacus, one of the Theban chiefs who defended the gates of Thebes against the army of Adrastus king of Argos. He was opposed by Tydeus, whom he slightly wounded, and at last was killed by Amphiaraus, who carried his head to Tydeus. Tydeus, to take revenge of the wound he had received, bit the head with such barbarity, that he swallowed the brains, and Minerva, offended with his conduct, took away the herb which she had given him to cure his wound, and he died. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 8. ――Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes.――Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 18. ――――A son of Mars, who became enamoured of Cometho, a priestess of Diana Triclaria. He concealed himself in the temple, and ravished his mistress, for which violation of the sanctity of the place the two lovers soon after perished by a sudden death, and the country was visited by a pestilence, which was stopped only after the offering of a human sacrifice by the direction of the oracle. Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 19.――――A Trojan, killed by Antilochus in the Trojan war. Homer, Iliad, bk. 15.――――Another, killed by Patroclus.――――Another, killed by Teucer.――――A son of Agrius.――――Another, son of Priam.――――A son of Theseus.

=Melanosyri=, a people of Syria.

=Melanthii=, rocks near the island of Samos.

=Melanthius=, a man who wrote a history of Attica.――――A famous painter of Sicyon. Pliny, bk. 35.――――A tragic poet of a very malevolent disposition in the age of Phocion. Plutarch.――――A Trojan, killed by Eurypylus in the Trojan war. Homer, Odyssey.――――A shepherd in Theocritus, Idylls.――――A goat-herd, killed by Telemachus after the return of Ulysses. Ovid, ltr. 1, Heroides.――――An elegiac poet.

=Melantho=, a daughter of Proteus, ravished by Neptune under the form of a dolphin. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6, li. 12.――――One of Penelope’s women, sister to Melanthius. Homer, Iliad, bk. 18, &c.; Odyssey, bk. 18.

=Melanthus=, =Melanthes=, or =Melanthius=, a son of Andropompus, whose ancestors were kings of Pylos. He was driven from his paternal kingdom by the Heraclidæ, and came to Athens, where king Thymœtes resigned the crown to him, provided he fought a battle against Xanthus, a general of the Bœotians, who made war against him. He fought and conquered [See: Apaturia], and his family, surnamed the Neliadæ, sat on the throne of Athens, till the age of Codrus. He succeeded to the crown 1128 years B.C., and reigned 37 years. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 18.――――A man of Cyzicus. Flaccus.――――A river of European Sarmatia, falling into the Borysthenes. Ovid, ex Ponto, bk. 4, ltr. 10, li. 55.

=Melas= (æ), a river of Peloponnesus.――――Of Thrace, at the west of the Thracian Chersonesus.――――Another in Thessaly,――――in Achaia,――――in Bœotia,――――in Sicily,――――in Ionia,――――in Cappadocia.――――A son of Neptune.――――Another, son of Proteus.――――A son of Phryxus, who was among the Argonauts, and was drowned in that part of the sea which bore his name. Apollodorus, bk. 1.

=Meldæ=, or =Meldorum urbs=, a city of Gaul, now Meaux, in Champagne.

=Mĕleāger=, a celebrated hero of antiquity, son of Œneus king of Ætolia, by Althæa daughter of Thestius. The Parcæ were present at the moment of his birth, and predicted his future greatness. Clotho said that he would be brave and courageous, Lachesis foretold his uncommon strength, and Atropos declared that he should live as long as that fire-brand, which was on the fire, remained entire and unconsumed. Althæa no sooner heard this, than she snatched the stick from the fire, and kept it with the most jealous care, as the life of her son was destined to depend upon its preservation. The fame of Meleager increased with his years; he signalized himself in the Argonautic expedition, and afterwards delivered his country from the neighbouring inhabitants, who made war against his father, at the instigation of Diana, whose altars Œneus had neglected. See: Œneus. No sooner were they destroyed than Diana punished the negligence of Œneus by a greater calamity. She sent a huge wild boar, which laid waste all the country, and seemed invincible on account of its immense size. It became soon a public concern; all the neighbouring princes assembled to destroy this terrible animal, and nothing became more famous in mythological history than the hunting of the Calydonian boar. The princes and chiefs who assembled, and who are mentioned by mythologists, are Meleager son of Œneus, Idas and Lynceus sons of Aphareus, Dryas son of Mars, Castor and Pollux sons of Jupiter and Leda, Pirithous son of Ixion, Theseus son of Ægeus, Anceus and Cepheus sons of Lycurgus, Admetes son of Pheres, Jason son of Æson, Peleus and Telamon sons of Æacus, Iphicles son of Amphitryon, Eurytryon son of Actor, Atalanta daughter of Schœneus, Iolas the friend of Hercules, the sons of Thestius, Amphiaraus son of Oileus, Protheus, Cometes, the brothers of Althæa, Hippothous son of Cercyon, Leucippus, Adrastus, Ceneus, Phileus, Echeon, Lelex, Phœnix son of Amyntor, Panopeus, Hyleus, Hippasus, Nestor, Menœtius the father of Patroclus, Amphicides, Laertes the father of Ulysses, and the four sons of Hippocoon. This troop of armed men attacked the boar with unusual fury, and it was at last killed by Meleager. The conqueror gave the skin and the head to Atalanta, who had first wounded the animal. This partiality to a woman irritated the others, and particularly Toxeus and Plexippus the brothers of Althæa, and they endeavoured to rob Atalanta of the honourable present. Meleager defended a woman, of whom he was enamoured, and killed his uncles in the attempt. Meantime the news of this celebrated conquest had already reached Calydon, and Althæa went to the temple of the gods to return thanks for the victory which her son had gained. As she went she met the corpses of her brothers that were brought from the chase, and at this mournful spectacle she filled the whole city with her lamentations. She was upon this informed that they had been killed by Meleager, and in the moment of resentment, to revenge the death of her brothers, she threw into the fire the fatal stick on which her son’s life depended, and Meleager died as soon as it was consumed. Homer does not mention the fire-brand, whence some have imagined that this fable is posterior to that poet’s age. But he says that the death of Toxeus and Plexippus so irritated Althæa, that she uttered the most horrible curses and imprecations upon the head of her son. Meleager married Cleopatra the daughter of Idas and Marpessa, as also Atalanta, according to some accounts. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 8. ――Apollonius, Argonautica, bk. 1, li. 997; bk. 3, li. 518. ――Flaccus, bks. 1 & 6.――Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 31.――Hyginus, fable 14.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 8.――Homer, Iliad, bk. 9. ――――A general who supported Aridæus when he had been made king, after the death of his brother Alexander the Great.――――A brother of Ptolemy, made king of Macedonia B.C. 280 years. He was but two months invested with the regal authority.――――A Greek poet in the reign of Seleucus, the last of the Seleucidæ. He was born at Tyre, and died at Cos. It is to his well-directed labours that we are indebted for the Anthologia, or collection of Greek epigrams, which he selected from 46 of the best and most esteemed poets. The original collection of Meleager has been greatly altered by succeeding editors. The best edition of the Anthologia is that of Brunck, in three vols., 4to and 8vo, Strasbourg, 1772.

=Mĕleāgrĭdes=, the sisters of Meleager, daughters of Œneus and Althæa. They were so disconsolate at the death of their brother Meleager, that they refused all aliments, and were, at the point of death, changed into birds called Meleagrides, whose feathers and eggs, as it is supposed, are of a different colour. The youngest of the sisters, Gorge and Dejanira, who had been married, escaped this metamorphosis. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 8.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 8, li. 540. ――Pliny, bk. 10, ch. 26.

=Melesander=, an Athenian general, who died B.C. 414.

=Meles= (ētis), a river of Asia Minor, in Ionia, near Smyrna. Some of the ancients supposed that Homer was born on the banks of that river, from which circumstance they call him Melisigènes, and his compositions Meletææ chartæ. It is even supported that he composed his poems in a cave near the source of that river. Strabo, bk. 12. ――Statius, bk. 2, Sylvæ, poem 7, li. 34.――Tibullus, bk. 4, poem 1, li. 201.――Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 5.――――A beautiful Athenian youth, greatly beloved by Timagoras, whose affections he repaid with the greatest coldness and indifference. He even ordered Timagoras to leap down a precipice, from the top of the citadel of Athens, and Timagoras, not to disoblige him, obeyed, and was killed in the fall. This token of true friendship and affection had such an effect upon Meles, that he threw himself down from the place, to atone by his death for the ingratitude which he had shown to Timagoras. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 30.――――A king of Lydia, who succeeded his father Alyattes, about 747 years before Christ. He was father to Candaules.

=Melesigĕnes=, or =Melesigĕna=, a name given to Homer. See: Meles.

=Melia=, a daughter of Oceanus, who married Inachus.――――A nymph, &c. Apollodorus.――――A daughter of Oceanus, sister to Caanthus. She became mother of Ismarus and Tenerus by Apollo. Tenerus was endowed with the gift of prophecy, and the river Ladon in Bœtia assumed the name of Ismarus. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 10.――――One of the Nereides. ――――A daughter of Agenor.

=Mĕlĭbœa=, a daughter of Oceanus, who married Pelasgus.――――A daughter of Amphion and Niobe. Apollodorus.――――A maritime town of Magnesia in Thessaly, at the foot of mount Ossa, famous for dyeing wool. The epithet of Melibœus is applied to Philoctetes, because he reigned there. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 401; bk. 5, li. 251. ――Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 188.――――Also an island at the mouth of the Orontes in Syria, whence Melibœa purpura. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.

=Melibœus=, a shepherd introduced in Virgil’s eclogues.

=Mĕlĭcerta=, =Melicertes=, or =Melicertus=, a son of Athamas and Ino. He was saved by his mother from the fury of his father, who prepared to dash him against the wall as he had done his brother Learchus. The mother was so terrified that she threw herself into the sea, with Melicerta in her arms. Neptune had compassion on the misfortunes of Ino and her son, and changed them both into sea deities. Ino was called Leucothoe or Matuta, and Melicerta was known among the Greeks by the name of Palæmon, and among the Latins by that of Portumnus. Some suppose that the Isthmian games were in honour of Melicerta. See: Isthmia. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9; bk. 3, ch. 4. ――Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 44.――Hyginus, fables 1 & 2.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, li. 529, &c.――Plutarch de Convivium Septem Sapientium.

=Meligūnis=, one of the Æolian islands near Sicily.

=Melīna=, a daughter of Thespius, mother of Laomedon by Hercules.

=Melīsa=, a town of Magna Græcia.

=Melissa=, a daughter of Melissus king of Crete, who, with her sister Amalthæa, fed Jupiter with the milk of goats. She first found out the means of collecting honey; whence some have imagined that she was changed into a bee, as her name is the Greek word for that insect. Columella.――――One of the Oceanides, who married Inachus, by whom she had Phoroneus and Ægialus.――――A daughter of Procles, who married Periander the son of Cypselus, by whom, in her pregnancy, she was killed with a blow of his foot, by the false accusation of his concubines. Diogenes Laërtius.――Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 28.――――A woman of Corinth, who refused to initiate others in the festivals of Ceres, after she had received admission. She was torn to pieces upon this disobedience, and the goddess made a swarm of bees rise from her body.

=Melissus=, a king of Crete, father to Melissa and Amalthæa. Hyginus, Poetica Astronomica, bk. 2, ch. 13.――Lactantius [Placidus], bk. 1, ch. 22.――――An admiral of the Samian fleet, B.C. 441. He was defeated by Pericles, &c. Plutarch, Pericles.――――A philosopher of Samos, who maintained that the world was infinite, immovable, and without a vacuum. According to his doctrines, no one could advance any argument upon the power or attributes of Providence, as all human knowledge was weak and imperfect. Themistocles was among his pupils. He flourished about 440 years before the christian era. Diogenes Laërtius.――――A freedman of Mecænas, appointed librarian to Augustus. He wrote some comedies. Ovid, ex Ponto, bk. 4, ltr. 16, li. 30. ――Suetonius, Lives of the Grammarians.

=Melĭta=, an island in the Libyan sea, between Sicily and Africa, now called Malta. The soil was fertile, and the country famous for its wool. It was first peopled by the Phœnicians. St. Paul was shipwrecked there, and cursed all venomous creatures, which now are not to be found in the whole island. Some, however, suppose that the island on which the Apostle was shipwrecked, was another island of the same name in the Adriatic on the coast of Illyricum, now called Melede. Malta is now remarkable as being the residence of the knights of Malta, formerly of St. John of Jerusalem, settled there A. D. 1530, by the concession of Charles V., after their expulsion from Rhodes by the Turks. Strabo, bk. 6.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 4, ch. 46.――――Another on the coast of Illyricum, in the Adriatic, now Melede. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 26.――――An ancient name of Samothrace. Strabo, bk. 10.――――One of the Nereides. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 825.

=Melitene=, a province of Armenia.

=Melĭtus=, a poet and orator of Athens, who became one of the principal accusers of Socrates. After his eloquence had prevailed, and Socrates had been put ignominiously to death, the Athenians repented of their severity to the philosopher, and condemned his accusers. Melitus perished among them. His character was mean and insidious, and his poems had nothing great or sublime. Diogenes Laërtius.

=Spurius Melius=, a Roman knight accused of aspiring to tyranny, on account of his uncommon liberality to the populace. He was summoned to appear by the dictator Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, and when he refused to obey, he was put to death by Ahala the master of horse, A.U.C. 314.――Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 4.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 6, ch. 3.

=Melixandrus=, a Milesian, who wrote an account of the wars of the Lapithæ and Centaurs. Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 11, ch. 2.

=Mella=, or =Mela=, a small river of Cisalpine Gaul, falling into the Ollius, and with it into the Po. Catullus, poem 68, li. 33. ――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 4, li. 278.

=Mella Annæus=, the father of Lucan. He was accused of being privy to Piso’s conspiracy against Nero, upon which he opened his veins. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 16, ch. 17.

=Melobōsis=, one of the Oceanides.

=Melon=, an astrologer, who feigned madness and burnt his house that he might not go to an expedition, which he knew would be attended with great calamities.――――An interpreter of king Darius. Curtius, bk. 5, ch. 13.

=Melos=, now Milo, an island between Crete and Peloponnesus, about 24 miles from Scyllæum, about 60 miles in circumference, and of an oblong figure. It enjoyed its independence for above 700 years before the time of the Peloponnesian war. This island was originally peopled by a Lacedæmonian colony, 1116 years before the christian era. From this reason the inhabitants refused to join the rest of the islands and the Athenians against the Peloponnesians. This refusal was severely punished. The Athenians took Melos, and put to the sword all such as were able to bear arms. The women and children were made slaves, and the island left desolate. An Athenian colony repeopled it, till Lysander reconquered it and re-established the original inhabitants in their possessions. The island produced a kind of earth successfully employed in painting and medicine. Strabo, bk. 7. ――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 12; bk. 35, ch. 9. ――Thucydides, bk. 2, &c.

=Melpes=, now Melpa, a river of Lucania, falling into the Tyrrhene sea. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 5.

=Melpia=, a village of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 38.

=Melpŏmĕne=, one of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She presided over tragedy. Horace has addressed the finest of his odes to her, as to the patroness of lyric poetry. She was generally represented as a young woman with a serious countenance. Her garments were splendid; she wore a buskin, and held a dagger in one hand, and in the other a sceptre and crowns. Horace, bk. 3, ode 4.――Hesiod, Theogony.

=Memaceni=, a powerful nation of Asia, &c. Curtius.

=Memmia Sulpitia=, a woman who married the emperor Alexander Severus. She died when young.

=Memmia lex=, ordained that no one should be entered on the calendar of criminals who was absent on the public account.

=Memmius=, a Roman citizen, accused of ambitus. Cicero, Letters to his brother Quintus, bk. 3.――――A Roman knight, who rendered himself illustrious for his eloquence and poetical talents. He was made tribune, pretor, and afterwards governor of Bithynia. He was accused of extortion in his province, and banished by Julius Cæsar, though Cicero undertook his defence. Lucretius dedicated his poem to him. Cicero, Brutus.――――Regulus, a Roman of whom Nero observed, that he deserved to be invested with the imperial purple. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 14, ch. 47.――――A Roman who accused Jugurtha before the Roman people.――――A lieutenant of Pompey, &c.――――The family of the Memmii were plebeians. They were descended, according to some accounts, from Mnestheus the friend of Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 117.

=Memnon=, a king of Æthiopia, son of Tithonus and Aurora. He came with a body of 10,000 men to assist his uncle Priam, during the Trojan war, where he behaved with great courage, and killed Antilochus, Nestor’s son. The aged father challenged the Æthiopian monarch, but Memnon refused it on account of the venerable age of Nestor, and accepted that of Achilles. He was killed in the combat, in the sight of the Grecian and Trojan armies. Aurora was so disconsolate at the death of her son, that she flew to Jupiter all bathed in tears, and begged the god to grant her son such honours as might distinguish him from other mortals. Jupiter consented, and immediately a numerous flight of birds issued from the burning pile on which the body was laid, and after they had flown three times round the flames, they divided themselves into two separate bodies, and fought with such acrimony, that above half of them fell down into the fire, as victims to appease the manes of Memnon. These birds were called Memnonides; and it has been observed by some of the ancients, that they never failed to return yearly to the tomb of Memnon in Troas, and repeat the same bloody engagement, in honour of the hero, from whom they received their name. The Æthiopians or Egyptians, over whom Memnon reigned, erected a celebrated statue to the honour of their monarch. This statue had the wonderful property of uttering a melodious sound every day, at sun-rising, like that which is heard at the breaking of the string of a harp when it is wound up. This was effected by the rays of the sun when they fell upon it. At the setting of the sun, and in the night the sound was lugubrious. This is supported by the testimony of the geographer Strabo, who confesses himself ignorant whether it proceeded from the basis of the statue, or the people that were then round it. This celebrated statue was dismantled by order of Cambyses, when he conquered Egypt, and its ruins still astonish modern travellers by their grandeur and beauty. Memnon was the inventor of the alphabet, according to Anticlides, a writer mentioned by Pliny, bk. 7, ch. 56. Moschus, Epitaphios Bionis.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 13, li. 578, &c.――Ælian, bk. 5, ch. 1. ――Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 42; bk. 10, ch. 31.――Strabo, bks. 13 & 17.――Juvenal, satire 15, li. 5.――Philostratus, on Apollodorus. ――Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 7.――Homer, Odyssey, bk. 9.――Quintus Calaber [Smyrnæus].――――A general of the Persian forces, when Alexander invaded Asia. He distinguished himself for his attachment to the interest of Darius, his valour in the field, the soundness of his counsels, and his great sagacity. He defended Milotus against Alexander, and died in the midst of his successful enterprises, B.C. 333. His wife Barsine was taken prisoner with the wife of Darius. Diodorus, bk. 16.――――A governor of Cœlosyria.――――A man appointed governor of Thrace by Alexander.――――A man who wrote a history of Heraclea in Pontus, in the age of Augustus.

=Memphis=, a celebrated town of Egypt, on the western banks of the Nile, above the Delta. It once contained many beautiful temples, particularly those of the god Apis (bos Memphites), whose worship was observed with the greatest ceremonies. See: Apis. It was in the neighbourhood of Memphis that those famous pyramids were built, whose grandeur and beauty still astonish the modern traveller. These noble monuments of Egyptian vanity, which pass for one of the wonders of the world, are about 20 in number, three of which, by their superior size, particularly claim attention. The largest of these is 481 feet in height measured perpendicularly, and the area of its basis is on 480,249 square feet, or something more than 11 English acres of ground. It has steps all round with massy and polished stones, so large that the breadth and depth of every step is one single stone. The smallest stone, according to an ancient historian, is not less than 30 feet. The number of steps, according to modern observation, amounts to 208, a number which is not always adhered to by travellers. The place where Memphis formerly stood is not now known; the ruins of its fallen grandeur were conveyed to Alexandria to beautify its palaces, or to adorn the neighbouring cities. Tibullus, bk. 1, poem 7, li. 28.――Silius Italicus, bk. 14, li. 660.――Strabo, bk. 17. ――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 9.――Diodorus, bk. 1.――Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride.――Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 10, &c.――Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, bk. 8.――――A nymph, daughter of the Nile, who married Ephesus, by whom she had Libya. She gave her name to the celebrated city of Memphis. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 1.――――The wife of Danaus. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 1.

=Memphītis=, a son of Ptolemy Physcon king of Egypt. He was put to death by his father.

=Mena=, a goddess worshipped at Rome, and supposed to preside over the monthly infirmities of women. She was the same as Juno. According to some, the sacrifices offered to her were young puppies that still sucked their mother. Augustine, City of God, bk. 4, ch. 2. ――Pliny, bk. 29, ch. 4.

=Mena=, or =Menes=, the first king of Egypt, according to some accounts.

=Menalcas=, a shepherd in Virgil’s eclogues.

=Menalcĭdas=, an intriguing Lacedæmonian in the time of the famous Achæan league. He was accused before the Romans, and he killed himself.

=Menalippe=, a sister of Antiope queen of the Amazons, taken by Hercules when that hero made war against this celebrated nation. She was ransomed, and Hercules received in exchange the arms and belt of the queen. Juvenal, satire 8, li. 229.――――A daughter of the centaur Chiron, beloved and ravished by Æolus son of Hellen. She retired into the woods to hide her disgrace from the eyes of her father, and when she had brought forth she entreated the gods to remove her totally from the pursuits of Chiron. She was changed into a mare, and called Ocyroe. Some suppose that she assumed the name of Menalippe, and lost that of Ocyroe. She became a constellation after death, called the horse. Some authors call her Hippe, or Evippe. Hyginus, Poetica Astronomica, bk. 2, ch. 18.――Pollux, bk. 4.――――Menalippe is a name common to other persons, but it is generally spelt Melanippe by the best authors. See: Melanippe.

=Menalippus.= See: Melanippus.

=Menander=, a celebrated comic poet of Athens, educated under Theophrastus. He was universally esteemed by the Greeks, and received the appellation of Prince of the New Comedy. He did not disgrace his compositions, like Aristophanes, by mean and indecent reflections and illiberal satire, but his writings were replete with elegance, refined wit, and judicious observations. Of 108 comedies which he wrote, nothing remains but a few fragments. It is said that Terence translated all these, and indeed we may have cause to lament the loss of such valuable writings, when we are told by the ancients that the elegant Terence, so much admired, was in the opinion of his countrymen reckoned inferior to Menander. It is said that Menander drowned himself in the 52nd year of his age, B.C. 293, because the compositions of his rival Philemon obtained more applause than his own. Only eight of his numerous comedies were rewarded with a poetical prize. The name of his father was Diopythus, and that of his mother Hegistrata. His fragments, with those of Philemon, were published by Clericus, 8vo, 1709. Quintilian, bk. 10, ch. 1. ――Paterculus, bk. 1, ch. 16.――――A man who wrote an account of embassies, &c.――――A king of Bactria, whose ashes were divided among his subjects, &c.――――An historian of Ephesus.――――Another of Pergamus. ――――An Athenian general defeated at Ægospotamos by Lysander.――――An Athenian sent to Sicily with Nicias.――――A man put to death by Alexander for deserting a fortress of which he had the command.――――An officer under Mithridates, sent against Lucullus.

=Menapii=, a people of Belgic Gaul, near the Mosa. Cæsar, Gallic War.

=Menapis=, a Persian exile, made satrap of Hyrcania by Alexander. Curtius, bk. 6, ch. 4.

=Menas=, a freedman of Pompey the Great, who distinguished himself by the active and perfidious part which he took in the civil wars which were kindled between the younger Pompey and Augustus. When Pompey invited Augustus to his galley, Menas advised his master to seize the person of his enemy, and at the same time the Roman empire, by cutting the cables of his ship. “No,” replied Pompey, “I would have approved of the measure if you had done it without consulting me; but I scorn to break my word.” Suetonius, Octavius Augustus. Horace, epode 4, has ridiculed the pride of Menas, and recalled to his mind his former meanness and obscurity.

=Menchēres=, the twelfth king of Memphis.

=Mendes=, a city of Egypt, near Lycopolis, on one of the mouths of the Nile, called the Mendesian mouth. Pan, under the form of a goat, was worshipped there with the greatest solemnity. It was unlawful to kill one of these animals, with which the Egyptians were not ashamed to have public commerce, to the disgrace of human nature, from the superstitious notion that such embraces had given birth to the greatest heroes of antiquity, as Alexander, Scipio, &c. Herodotus, bk. 2, chs. 42 & 46.――Strabo, bk. 17.――Diodorus, bk. 1.

=Menĕcles=, an orator of Alabanda in Caria, who settled at Rhodes. Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 2, ch. 53.――Strabo, bk. 14.

=Meneclides=, a detractor of the character of Epaminondas. Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas.

=Menecrătes=, a physician of Syracuse, famous for his vanity and arrogance. He was generally accompanied by some of his patients, whose disorders he had cured. He disguised one in the habit of Apollo, and the other in that of Æsculapius, while he reserved for himself the title and name of Jupiter, whose power was extended over those inferior deities. He crowned himself like the master of the gods; and in a letter which he wrote to Philip king of Macedon, he styled himself in these words, Menecrates Jupiter to king Philip, greeting. The Macedonian monarch answered, Philip to Menecrates, greeting, and better sense. Philip also invited him to one of his feasts, but when the meats were served up, a table was put separate for the physician, on which he was served only with perfumes and frankincense, like the father of the gods. This entertainment displeased Menecrates; he remembered that he was a mortal, and hurried away from the company. He lived about 360 years before the christian era. The book which he wrote on cures is lost. Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 10, ch. 51. ――Athenæus, bk. 7, ch. 13.――――One of the generals of Seleucus.――――A physician under Tiberius.――――A Greek historian of Nysa, disciple to Aristarchus, B.C. 119. Strabo, bk. 16.――――An Ephesian architect who wrote on agriculture. Varro, de Re Rustica.――――An historian. ――――A man appointed to settle the disputes of the Athenians and Lacedæmonians in the eighth year of the Peloponnesian war. His father’s name was Amphidorus.――――An officer in the fleet of Pompey the son of Pompey the Great.

=Menedēmus=, an officer of Alexander, killed by the ♦Dahæ. Curtius, bk. 7, ch. 6.――――A Socratic philosopher of Eretria, who was originally a tent-maker, an employment which he left for the profession of arms. The persuasive eloquence and philosophical lectures of Plato had such an influence over him, that he gave up his offices in the state to cultivate literature. It is said that he died through melancholy when Antigonus, one of Alexander’s generals, had made himself master of his country, B.C. 301, in the 74th year of his age. Some attribute his death to a different cause, and say that he was falsely accused of treason, for which he became so desperate that he died, after he had passed seven days without taking any aliments. He was called the Eretrian Bull, on account of his gravity. Strabo, bk. 9.――Diogenes Laërtius.――――A cynic philosopher of Lampsacus, who said that he was come from hell to observe the sins and wickedness of mankind. His habit was that of the furies, and his behaviour was a proof of his insanity. He was the disciple of Colotes of Lampsacus. Diogenes Laërtius.――――An officer of Lucullus.――――A philosopher of Athens. Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 1, ch. 19.

♦ ‘Danæ’ replaced with ‘Dahæ’

=Menegetas=, a boxer or wrestler in Philip of Macedon’s army, &c. Polyænus.

=Menĕlāi portus=, a harbour on the coast of Africa, between Cyrene and Egypt. Cornelius Nepos, Agesilaus, ch. 8.――Strabo, bk. 1.――――Mons, a hill near Sparta, with a fortification, called Menelaium. Livy, bk. 34, ch. 28.

=Mĕnĕlāia=, a festival celebrated at Therapnæ in Laconia, in honour of Menelaus. He had there a temple, where he was worshipped with his wife Helen, as one of the supreme gods.

=Mĕnĕlāus=, a king of Sparta, brother to Agamemnon. His father’s name was Atreus, according to Homer, or, according to the more probable opinion of Hesiod, Apollodorus, &c., he was the son of Plisthenes and Ærope. See: Plisthenes. He was educated with his brother Agamemnon in the house of Atreus, but soon after the death of this monarch, Thyestes his brother usurped the kingdom, and banished the two children of Plisthenes. Menelaus and Agamemnon came to the court of Œneus king of Calydonia, who treated them with tenderness and paternal care. From Calydonia they went to Sparta, where, like the rest of the Grecian princes, they solicited the marriage of Helen the daughter of king Tyndarus. By the artifice and advice of Ulysses, Helen was permitted to choose a husband, and she fixed her eyes upon Menelaus, and married him, after her numerous suitors had solemnly bound themselves by an oath to defend her, and protect her person against the violence or assault of every intruder. See: Helena. As soon as the nuptials were celebrated, ♦Tyndarus resigned the crown to his son-in-law, and their happiness was complete. This was, however, of short duration; Helen was the fairest woman of the age, and Venus had promised Paris the son of Priam to reward him with such a beauty. See: Paris. The arrival of Paris in Sparta was the cause of great revolutions. The absence of Menelaus in Crete gave opportunities to the Trojan prince to corrupt the fidelity of Helen, and to carry away home what the goddess of beauty had promised to him as his due. This action was highly resented by Menelaus; he reminded the Greek princes of their oath and solemn engagements when they courted the daughter of Tyndarus, and immediately all Greece took up arms to defend his cause. The combined forces assembled at Aulis in Bœotia, where they chose Agamemnon for their general, and Calchas for their high priest; and after their applications to the court of Priam for the recovery of Helen had proved fruitless, they marched to meet their enemies in the field. During the Trojan war Menelaus behaved with great spirit and courage, and Paris must have fallen by his hand, had not Venus interposed and redeemed him from certain death. He also expressed his wish to engage Hector, but Agamemnon hindered him from fighting so powerful an adversary. In the tenth year of the Trojan war, Helen, as it is reported, obtained the forgiveness and the good graces of Menelaus by introducing him with Ulysses, the night that Troy was reduced to ashes, into the chamber of Deiphobus, whom she had married after the death of Paris. This perfidious conduct totally reconciled her to her first husband; and she returned with him to Sparta, during a voyage of eight years. He died some time after his return. He had a daughter called Hermione, and Nicostratus, according to some, by Helen, and a son called Megapenthes by a concubine. Some say that Menelaus went to Egypt on his return from the Trojan war to obtain Helen, who had been detained there by the king of the country. See: Helena. The palace which Menelaus once inhabited was still entire in the days of Pausanias, as well as the temple which had been raised to his memory by the people of Sparta. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 4, &c.; Iliad, bk. 1, &c.――Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 10.――Pausanias, bk. 3, chs. 14 & 19.――Dictys Cretensis, bk. 2, &c.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, &c.――Quintus Smyrnæus bk. 14.――Ovid, Heroides, poems 5 & 13.――Hyginus fable 79.――Euripides, Iphigeneia.――Propertius, bk. 2.――Sophocles.――――A lieutenant of Ptolemy, set over Salamis. Polyænus.――Pausanias.――――A city of Egypt. Strabo, bk. 14.――――A mathematician in the age of the emperor Trajan.

♦ ‘Tyndaros’ replaced with ‘Tyndarus’

=Menēnius Agrippa=, a celebrated Roman who appeased the Roman populace in the infancy of the consular government by repeating the well-known fable of the belly and limbs. He flourished 495 B.C. Livy, bk. 2, chs. 16, 32, 33.――――A Roman consul.――――An insane person in the age of Horace.

=Menĕphron=, a man who attempted to offer violence to his own mother. He was changed into a wild beast. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 7, li. 387.

=Mēnes=, the first king of Egypt. He built the town of Memphis, as is generally supposed, and deserved, by his abilities and popularity, to be called a god after death. Herodotus, bk. 2, chs. 1 & 90. ――Diodorus, bk. 1.

=Menesthēi portus=, a town of Hispania ♦Bætica.

♦ ‘Bœtica’ replaced with ‘Bætica’

=Menesteus=, =Menestheus=, or =Mnestheus=, a son of Pereus, who so insinuated himself into the favour of the people of Athens, that, during the long absence of Theseus, he was elected king. The lawful monarch at his return home was expelled, and Mnestheus established his usurpation by his popularity and great moderation. As he had been one of Helen’s suitors, he went to the Trojan war at the head of the people of Athens, and died in his return in the island of Melos. He reigned 23 years B.C. 1205, and was succeeded by Demophoon the son of Theseus. Plutarch, Theseus.――――A son of Iphicrates, who distinguished himself in the Athenian armies. Cornelius Nepos, Timoleon.

=Menesthius=, a Greek killed by Paris in the Trojan war.

=Menetas=, a man set governor over Babylon by Alexander. Curtius, bk. 5, ch. 1.

=Meninx=, or =Lotophagītis insula=, now Zerbi, an island on the coast of Africa, near the Syrtis Minor. It was peopled by the people of Neritos, and thence called Neritia. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 7. ――Strabo, bk. 17.――Silius Italicus, bk. 3, li. 318.

=Menippa=, one of the Amazons who assisted Ætes, &c.

=Menippides=, a son of Hercules. Apollodorus.

=Menippus=, a cynic philosopher of Phœnicia. He was originally a slave, and obtained his liberty with a sum of money, and became one of the greatest usurers at Thebes. He grew so desperate from the continual reproaches and insults to which he was daily exposed on account of his meanness, that he destroyed himself. He wrote 13 books of satires, which have been lost. Marcus Varro composed satires in imitation of his style, and called them Menippean.――――A native of Stratonice, who was preceptor to Cicero for some time. Cicero, Brutus, ch. 91.

=Menius=, a plebeian consul at Rome. He was the first who made the rostrum at Rome with the beaks (rostra) of the enemy’s ships.――――A son of Lycaon, killed by the same thunderbolt which destroyed his father. Ovid, Ibis, li. 472.

=Mennis=, a town of Assyria abounding in bitumen. Curtius, bk. 5, ch. 1.

=Menodŏtus=, a physician.――――A Samian historian.

=Menœceus=, a Theban, father of Hipponome, Jocasta, and Creon.――――A young Theban, son of Creon. He offered himself to death when Tiresias, to ensure victory on the side of Thebes against the Argive forces, ordered the Thebans to sacrifice one of the descendants of those who sprang from the dragon’s teeth, and he killed himself near the cave where the dragon of Mars had formerly resided. The gods required this sacrifice because the dragon had been killed by Cadmus, and no sooner was Creon dead than his countrymen obtained the victory. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 10, li. 614.――Euripides, Phœnician Women. ――Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 6.――Cicero, Tusculanæ Disputationes, bk. 1, ch. 98.――Sophocles, Antigone.

=Menœtes=, the pilot of the ship Gyas, at the naval games exhibited by Æneas at the anniversary of his father’s death. He was thrown into the sea by Gyas for his inattention, and saved himself by swimming to a rock. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 161, &c.――――An Arcadian, killed by Turnus in the wars of Æneas. Æneid, bk. 12, li. 517.

=Menœtiades.= See: Menœtius.

=Menœtius=, a son of Actor and Ægina after her amour with Jupiter. He left his mother and went to Opus, where he had, by Sthenele, or, according to others, by Philomela or Polymela, Patroclus, often called from him Menœtiades. Menœtius was one of the Argonauts. Apollodorus, bk. 4, ch. 24.――Homer, Iliad, bk. 1, li. 307. ――Hyginus, fable 97.

=Menon=, a Thessalian commander in the expedition of Cyrus the younger against his brother Artaxerxes. He was dismissed on the suspicion that he had betrayed his fellow-soldiers. Diodorus, bk. 14.――――A Thessalian refused the freedom of Athens, though he furnished a number of auxiliaries to the people.――――The husband of Semiramis. ――――A sophist in the age of Socrates.――――One of the first kings of Phrygia. Dionysius of Halicarnassus.――――A scholar of Phidias, &c.

=Menophĭlus=, a eunuch to whom Mithridates, when conquered by Pompey, entrusted the care of his daughter. Menophilus murdered the princess for fear of her falling into the enemy’s hands. Ammianus, bk. 16.

=Menta=, or =Minthe=. See: Minthe.

=Mentes=, a king of the Taphians in Ætolia, son of Anchialus, in the time of the Trojan war.

=Mentissa=, a town of Spain. Livy, bk. 26, ch. 17.

=Mento=, a Roman consul, &c.

=Mentor=, a faithful friend of Ulysses.――――A son of Hercules.――――A king of Sidonia, who revolted against Artaxerxes Ochus, and afterwards was restored to favour by his treachery to his allies, &c. Diodorus, bk. 16.――――An excellent artist in polishing cups and engraving flowers on them. Pliny, bk. 33, ch. 11.――Martial, bk. 9, ltr. 63, ltr. 16.

=Menyllus=, a Macedonian set over the garrison which Antipater had stationed at Athens. He attempted in vain to corrupt the innocence of Phocion. Plutarch.

=Mera=, a priest of Venus. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 8, li. 478.――――A dog of Icarius, which by his cries showed Erigone where her murdered father had been thrown. Immediately after this discovery the daughter hung herself in despair, and the dog pined away, and was made a constellation in the heavens known by the name of Canis. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 7, li. 363.――Hyginus, fable 130.――Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 7, ch. 28.

=Mera=, or =Mœra=, one of the Atlantides, who married Tegeates son of Lycaon. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 48.

=Mercurii promontorium=, a cape of Africa near Clypea. Livy, bk. 26, ch. 44; bk. 29, ch. 27.――Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 4.

=Mercŭrius=, a celebrated god of antiquity, called Hermes by the Greeks. There were no less than five of this name according to Cicero; a son of Cœlus and Lux; a son of Valens and Coronis; a son of the Nile; a son of Jupiter and Maia; and another called by the Egyptians Thaut. Some add a sixth, a son of Bacchus and Proserpine. To the son of Jupiter and Maia, the actions of all the others have been probably attributed, as he is the most famous and the best known. Mercury was the messenger of the gods, and of Jupiter in particular; he was the patron of travellers and of shepherds; he conducted the souls of the dead into the infernal regions, and not only presided over orators, merchants, declaimers, but he was also the god of thieves, pickpockets, and all dishonest persons. His name is derived a mercibus, because he was the god of merchandise among the Latins. He was born, according to the more received opinion, in Arcadia, on mount Cyllene, and in his infancy he was entrusted to the care of the Seasons. The day that he was born, or more probably the following day, he gave an early proof of his craftiness and dishonesty, in stealing away the oxen of Admetus which Apollo tended. He gave another proof of his thievish propensity, by taking also the quiver and arrows of the divine shepherd, and he increased his fame by robbing Neptune of his trident, Venus of her girdle, Mars of his sword, Jupiter of his sceptre, and Vulcan of many of his mechanical instruments. These specimens of his art recommended him to the notice of the gods, and Jupiter took him as his messenger, interpreter, and cup-bearer in the assembly of the gods. This last office he discharged till the promotion of Ganymede. He was presented by the king of heaven with a winged cap called petasus, and with wings for his feet called talaria. He had also a short sword called herpe, which he lent to Perseus. With these he was enabled to go into whatever part of the universe he pleased with the greatest celerity; and besides, he was permitted to make himself invisible, and to assume whatever shape he pleased. As messenger of Jupiter he was entrusted with all his secrets. He was the ambassador and plenipotentiary of the gods, and he was concerned in all alliances and treaties. He was the confidant of Jupiter’s amours, and he often was set to watch over the jealousy and intrigues of Juno. The invention of the lyre and its seven strings is ascribed to him. This he gave to Apollo, and received in exchange the celebrated caduceus with which the god of poetry used to drive the flocks of king Admetus. See: Caduceus. In the wars of the giants against the gods, Mercury showed himself brave, spirited, and active. He delivered Mars from the long confinement which he suffered from the superior power of the Aloides. He purified the Danaides of the murder of their husbands, he tied Ixion to his wheel in the infernal regions, he destroyed the hundred-eyed Argus, he sold Hercules to Omphale the queen of Lydia, he conducted Priam to the tent of Achilles, to redeem the body of his son Hector, and he carried the infant Bacchus to the nymphs of Nysa. Mercury had many surnames and epithets. He was called Cyllenius, Caduceator, Acacetos, from Acacos, an Arcadian; Acacesius, Tricephalos, Triplex, Chthonius, Camillus, Agoneus, Delius, Arcas, &c. His children are also numerous as well as his amours. He was father of Autolycus by Chione; of Myrtillus by Cleobula; of Libys by Libya; of Echion and Eurytus by Antianira; of Cephalus by Creusa; of Prylis by Issa; and of Priapus, according to some. He was also father of Hermaphroditus by Venus; of Eudorus by Polimela; of Pan by Dryope, or Penelope. His worship was well established, particularly in Greece, Egypt, and Italy. He was worshipped at Tanagra in Bœotia, under the name of Criophorus, and represented as carrying a ram on his shoulders, because he delivered the inhabitants from a pestilence by telling them to carry a ram in that manner round the walls of their city. The Roman merchants yearly celebrated a festival on the 15th of May, in honour of Mercury, in a temple near the Circus Maximus. A pregnant sow was then sacrificed, and sometimes a calf and particularly the tongues of animals were offered. After the votaries had sprinkled themselves with water with laurel leaves, they offered prayers to the divinity, and entreated him to be favourable to them, and to forgive whatever artful measures, false oaths, or falsehoods they had used or uttered in the pursuit of gain. Sometimes Mercury appears on monuments with a large cloak round his arm, or tied under his chin. The chief ensigns of his power and offices are his caduceus, his petasus, and his talaria. Sometimes he is represented sitting upon a crayfish, holding in one hand his caduceus, and in the other the claws of the fish. At other times he is like a young man without a beard, holding in one hand a purse, as being the tutelary god of merchants, with a cock on his wrists as an emblem of vigilance, and at his feet a goat, a scorpion, and a fly. Some of his statues represented him as a youth fascino erecto. Sometimes he rests his foot upon a tortoise. In Egypt his statues represented him with the head of a dog, whence he was often confounded with Anubis, and received the sacrifice of a stork. Offerings of milk and honey were made because he was the god of eloquence, whose powers were sweet and persuasive. The Greeks and Romans offered tongues to him by throwing them into the fire, as he was the patron of speaking of which the tongue is the organ. Sometimes his statues represent him as without arms, because, according to some, the power of speech can prevail over everything, even without the assistance of arms. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 1, &c.; Iliad, bk. 1, &c.; Hymn to Hermes.――Lucian, Dialogi Mortuorum. ――Ovid, Fasti, bk. 5, li. 667; Metamorphoses, bks. 1, 4, 11, 14.――Martial, bk. 9, ltr. 35.――Statius, Thebiad, bk. 4. ――Pausanias, bks. 1, 7, 8, & 9.――Orpheus.――Plutarch, Numa. ――Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 6.――Plato, Phædras.――Livy, bk. 36.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 1; Æneid, bk. 1, li. 48. ――Diodorus, bks. 4 & 5.――Apollodorus, bks. 1, 2, & 3. ――Apollonius, Argonautica, bk. 1.――Horace, bk. 1, ode 10. ――Hyginus, Poetica Astronomica, bk. 2.――Tzetzes, Lycophron, li. 219.――Cicero, de Natura Deorum.――_Lactantius [Placidus]. _――Philostratus, bk. 1, Imagines, ch. 27.――_Marcus Manilius. _――Macrobius, bk. 1, Saturnalia, ch. 19.――――Trismegistus, a priest and philosopher of Egypt, who taught his countrymen how to cultivate the olive, and measure their lands, and to understand hieroglyphics. He lived in the age of Osiris, and wrote 40 books on theology, medicine, and geography, from which Sanchoniathon the Phœnician historian has taken his theogonia. Diodorus, bks. 1, & 5. ――Plutarch, de Iside et Osiride.――Cicero, bk. 3, de Natura Deorum.

=Merĕtrix=, a name under which Venus was worshipped at Abydos and at Samos, because both those places had been benefited by the intrigues or the influence of courtesans. Athenæus, bk. 13.

=Mēriŏnes=, a charioteer of Idomeneus king of Crete during the Trojan war, son of Molus, a Cretan prince, and Melphidis. He signalized himself before Troy, and fought with Deiphobus the son of Priam, whom he wounded. He was greatly admired by the Cretans, who even paid him divine honours after death. Horace, bk. 1, ode 6, li. 15.――Homer, Iliad, bk. 2, &c.――Dictys Cretensis, bk. 1, &c.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 13, fable 1.――――A brother of Jason son of Æson, famous for his great opulence and for his avarice. Polyænus, bk. 6, ch. 1.

=Mermĕros=, a centaur. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 305.――――A Trojan, killed by Antilochus.――――A son of Jason and Medea, who was father to Ilus of Corinth. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 3.

=Mermnadæ=, a race of kings in Lydia, of which Gyges was the first. They sat on the Lydian throne till the reign of Crœsus, who was conquered by Cyrus king of Persia. They were descendants of the Heraclidæ, and probably received the name of Mermnadæ from Mermnas, one of their own family. They were descended from Lemnos, or, according to others, from Agelaus, the son of Omphale by Hercules. Herodotus, bk. 1, chs. 7 & 14.

=Meroe=, now Nuabia, an island of Æthiopia, with a town of the same name, celebrated for its wines. Its original name was Saba, and Cambyses gave it that of Meroe from his sister. Strabo, bk. 17. ――Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 31.――Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 173.――Mela, bk. 1.――Lucan, bk. 4, lis. 3, 33; bk. 10, lis. 163 & 303. =Merŏpe=, one of the Atlantides. She married Sisyphus son of Æolus, and, like her sisters, was changed into a constellation after death. See: Pleiades. It is said, that in the constellation of the Pleiades the star of Merope appears more dim and obscure than the rest, because she, as the poets observe, married a mortal, while her sisters married some of the gods or their descendants. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 4, li. 175.――Diodorus, bk. 4.――Hyginus, fable 192.――Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9.――――A daughter of Cypselus, who married Cresphontes king of Messenia, by whom she had three children. Her husband and two of her children were murdered by Polyphontes. The murderer obliged her to marry him, and she would have been forced to comply had not Epytus or Telephontes, her third son, revenged his father’s death by assassinating Polyphontes. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 6.――Pausanias, bk. 4, ch. 3.――――A daughter of Œnopion, beloved by Orion. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 4.――――A daughter of the Cebrenus, who married Æsacus the son of Priam.――――A daughter of Erechtheus, mother of Dædalus. Plutarch, Theseus.――――A daughter of Pandarus.――――A daughter of the river Sangarius, who married king Priam.

=Merops=, a king of the island of Cos, who married Clymene, one of the Oceanides. He was changed into an eagle and placed among the constellations. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 763. ――Apollodorus, bk. 3.――Hyginus, Poetica astronomica, bk. 2, ch. 16.――――A celebrated soothsayer of Percosus in Troas, who foretold the death of his sons Adrastus and Amphius, who were engaged in the Trojan war. They slighted their father’s advice, and were killed by Diomedes. Homer, Iliad, bk. 2.――――One of the companions of Æneas, killed by Turnus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 702.

=Meros=, a mountain of India sacred to Jupiter. It is called by Pliny, bk. 6, ch. 21, Nysa. Bacchus was educated upon it, whence arose the fable that Bacchus was confined in the thigh (μηρος) of his father. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Pliny, bk. 8, ch. 13.――Curtius, bk. 8, ch. 10.――Diodorus, bk. 1.

=Merŭla Cornelius=, a Roman who fought against the Gauls, and who was made consul by Octavius in the place of Cinna. He some time after killed himself in despair, &c. Plutarch.

=Mesabătes=, a eunuch in Persia, flayed alive by order of Parysatis, because he had cut off the head and right hand of Cyrus. Plutarch, Artaxerxes.

=Mesabius=, a mountain of Bœotia, hanging over the Euripus. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 22.

=Mesapia=, an ancient name of Bœotia.

=Mesaubius=, a servant of Eumæus the steward of Ulysses. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 14, li. 449.

=Mesembria=, now Miseuria, a maritime city of Thrace. Hence Mesembriacus. Ovid, bk. 1, Tristia, bk. 6, li. 37.――――Another at the mouth of the Lissus.

=Mesene=, an island in the Tigris where Apamea was built, now Disel. Pliny, bk. 6, ch. 27.

=Mesomēdes=, a lyric poet in the age of the emperor Antoninus.

=Mesopotămia=, a country of Asia, which receives its name from its situation (μεσος ποταμος) between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. It is yearly inundated by the Euphrates, and the water properly conveyed over the country by canals. It is now called Diarbec. Strabo, bk. 2.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 11.――Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 2, ch. 52.

=Messāla=, a name of Valerius Corvinus, from his having conquered Messana in Sicily. This family was very ancient; the most celebrated was a friend of Brutus, who seized the camp of Augustus at Philippi. He was afterwards reconciled to Augustus, and died A.D. 9, in his 77th year. Plutarch.――――Another consul, &c.――――The father of Valeria, who married the dictator Sylla. Plutarch.――――A great flatterer at the court of Tiberius.――――A governor of Syria.――――A tribune in one of the Roman legions during the civil war between Vespasian and Vitellius, of which he wrote an historical account mentioned by Tacitus, Dialogue on Oratory, ch. 14.――――A consul with Domitius, &c.――――A painter at Rome, who flourished B.C. 235.――――A writer, whose book de Augusti progenie was edited 12mo, Leiden, 1648.

=Messalīna Valeria=, a daughter of Messala Barbatus. She married the emperor Claudius, and disgraced herself by her cruelties and incontinence. Her husband’s palace was not the only seat of her lasciviousness, but she prostituted herself in the public streets, and few men there were at Rome who could not boast of having enjoyed the favours of the impure Messalina. Her extravagancies at last irritated her husband; he commanded her to appear before him to answer all the accusations which were brought against her, upon which she attempted to destroy herself, and when her courage failed, one of the tribunes, who had been sent to her, despatched her with his sword, A.D. 48. It is in speaking of her debaucheries and lewdness that a celebrated satirist says,

Et lassata viris, necdum satiata, recessit.

Juvenal.――Tacitus, Annals, bk. 11, ch. 37.――Suetonius, Claudius.――Dio Cassius.――――Another, called also Statilia. She was descended from a consular family, and married the consul Atticus Vistinus, whom Nero murdered. She received with great marks of tenderness her husband’s murderer and married him. She had married four husbands before she came to the imperial throne; and after the death of Nero she retired to literary pursuits and peaceful occupations. Otho courted her, and would have married her had he not destroyed himself. In his last moments he wrote her a very pathetic and consolatory letter, &c. Tacitus, Annals.

=Messālīnus Marcus Valerius=, a Roman officer in the reign of Tiberius. He was appointed governor of Dalmatia, and rendered himself known by his opposition to Piso, and by his attempts to persuade the Romans of the necessity of suffering women to accompany the camps on their different expeditions. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 3.――――One of Domitian’s informers.――――A flatterer of the emperor Tiberius.

=Messāna=, an ancient and celebrated town of Sicily, on the straits which separate Italy from Sicily. It was anciently called Zancle, and was founded 1600 years before the christian era. The inhabitants, being continually exposed to the depredation of the people of Cuma, implored the assistance of the Messenians of Peloponnesus, and with them repelled the enemy. After this victorious campaign, the Messenians entered Zancle, and lived in such intimacy with the inhabitants that they changed their name, and assumed that of the Messenians, and called their city Messana. Another account say that Anaxilaus tyrant of Rhegium made war against the Zancleans, with the assistance of the Messenians of Peloponnesus, and that after he had obtained a decisive victory, he called the conquered city Messana in compliment to his allies, about 494 years before the christian era. After this revolution at Zancle, the Mamertini took possession of it, and made it the capital of the neighbouring country. See: Mamertini. It afterwards fell into the hands of the Romans, and was for some time the chief of their possessions in Sicily. The inhabitants were called Messanii, Messanienses, and Mamertini. The straits of Messana have always been looked upon as very dangerous, especially by the ancients, on account of the rapidity of the currents, and the irregular and violent flowing and ebbing of the sea. Strabo, bk. 6. ――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Pausanias, bk. 4, ch. 23.――Diodorus, bk. 4.――Thucydides, bk. 1, &c.――Herodotus, bk. 6, ch. 23; bk. 7, ch. 28.

=Messapia=, a country of Italy, between Tarentum and Brundusium. It is the same as Calabria. It received its name from Messapus the son of Neptune, who left a part of Bœotia called Messapia, and came to Italy, where he assisted the Rutulians against Æneas. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, li. 513.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 691; bk. 8, li. 6; bk. 9, li. 27.

=Messatis=, a town of Achaia. Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 18.

=Messe=, a town in the island of Cythera. Statius, bk. 1, Thebiad, bk. 4, li. 226.

=Messeis=, a fountain of Thessaly. Strabo, bk. 9.

=Messēne=, a daughter of Triopas king of Argos, who married Polycaon, son of Lelex king of Laconia. She encouraged her husband to levy troops, and to seize a part of Peloponnesus, which, after it had been conquered, received her name. She received divine honours after her death, and had a magnificent temple at Ithome, where her statue was made half of gold and half of Parian marble. Pausanias, bk. 4, chs. 1 & 13.

=Messēne=, or =Messēna=, now Maura-Matra, a city in the Peloponnesus, the capital of the country called Messenia. The inhabitants have rendered themselves famous for the war which they carried on against the Spartans, and which received the appellation of the Messenian war. The first Messenian war arose from the following circumstances. The Messenians offered violence to some Spartan women, who had assembled to offer sacrifices in a temple which was common to both nations, and which stood on the borders of their respective territories; and, besides, they killed Teleclus the Spartan king, who attempted to defend the innocence of the females. This account, according to the Spartan traditions, is contradicted by the Messenians, who observe that Teleclus, with a chosen body of Spartans, assembled at the temple before mentioned, disguised in women’s clothes, and all secretly armed with daggers. This hostile preparation was to surprise some of the neighbouring inhabitants; and in a quarrel which soon after arose, Teleclus and his associates were all killed. These quarrels were the cause of the first Messenian war, which began B.C. 743. It was carried on with vigour and spirit on both sides, and after many obstinate and bloody battles had been fought and continued for 19 years, it was at last finished by the taking of Ithome by the Spartans, a place which had stood a siege of 10 years, and been defended with all the power of the Messenians. The insults to which the conquered Messenians were continually exposed at last excited their resentment, and they resolved to shake off the yoke. They suddenly revolted, and the second Messenian war was begun 685 B.C., and continued 14 years. The Messenians at first gained some advantage, but a fatal battle in the third year of the war so totally disheartened them, that they fled to Ira, where they resolved to maintain an obstinate siege against their victorious pursuers. The Spartans were assisted by the Samians in besieging Ira, and the Messenians were at last obliged to submit to the superior power of their adversaries. The taking of Ira by the Lacedæmonians, after a siege of 11 years, put an end to the second Messenian war. Peace was re-established for some time in Peloponnesus, but after the expiration of 200 years, the Messenians attempted a third time to free themselves from the power of Lacedæmon, B.C. 465. At that time the Helots had revolted from the Spartans, and the Messenians, by joining their forces to these wretched slaves, looked upon their respective calamities as common, and thought themselves closely interested in each other’s welfare. The Lacedæmonians were assisted by the Athenians, but they soon grew jealous of one another’s power, and their political connection ended in the most inveterate enmity, and at last in open war. Ithome was the place in which the Messenians had a second time gathered all their forces, and though 10 years had already elapsed, both parties seemed equally confident of victory. The Spartans were afraid of storming Ithome, as the oracle of Delphi had threatened them with the greatest calamities if they offered any violence to a place which was dedicated to the service of Apollo. The Messenians, however, were soon obliged to submit to their victorious adversaries, B.C. 453, and they consented to leave their native country, and totally to depart from the Peloponnesus, solemnly promising that if they ever returned into Messenia, they would suffer themselves to be sold as slaves. The Messenians upon this, miserably exiled, applied to the Athenians for protection, and were permitted to inhabit Naupactus, whence some of them were afterwards removed to take possession of their ancient territories in Messenia, during the Peloponnesian war. The third Messenian war was productive of great revolutions in Greece, and though almost a private quarrel, it soon engaged the attention of all the neighbouring states, and kindled the flames of dissension everywhere. Every state took up arms as if in its own defence, or to prevent additional power and dominion from being lodged in the hands of its rivals. The descendants of the Messenians at last returned to Peloponnesus, B.C. 370, after a long banishment of 300 years. Pausanias, Messenia, &c.――Justin, bk. 3, ch. 4, &c.――Strabo, bk. 6, &c.――Thucydides, bk. 1, &c. ――Diodorus, bk. 11, &c.――Plutarch, Cimon, &c.――Polyænus, bk. 3.――Polybius, bk. 4, &c.

=Messēnia=, a province of Peloponnesus, situate between Laconia, Elis, Arcadia, and the sea. Its chief city is Messena. See: Messena.

=Mestor=, a son of Perseus and Andromeda, who married Lysidice daughter of Pelops, by whom he had Hippothoe.――――A son of Pterilaus.――――of Priam. Apollodorus.

=Mesūla=, a town of Italy, in the country of the Sabines.

=Metăbus=, a tyrant of the Privernates. He was father of Camilla, whom he consecrated to the service of Diana, when he had been banished from his kingdom by his subjects. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 11, li. 540.

=Metagitnia=, a festival in honour of Apollo, celebrated by the inhabitants of Melite, who migrated to Attica. It receives its name from its being observed in the month called Metagitnion.

=Metanīra=, the wife of Celeus king of Eleusis, who first taught mankind agriculture. She is also called Meganira. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 5.

=Metapontum=, a town of Lucania in Italy, founded about 1269 years B.C. by Metabus the father of Camilla, or Epeus, one of the companions of Nestor. Pythagoras retired there for some time, and perished in a sedition. Annibal made it his head-quarters when in that part of Italy, and its attachment to Carthage was afterwards severely punished by the Roman conquerors, who destroyed its liberties and independence. A few broken pillars of marble are now the only vestiges of Metapontum. Strabo, bk. 5.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4. ――Justin, bk. 12, ch. 2.――Livy, bks. 1, 8, 25, 27, &c.

=Metapontus=, a son of Sisyphus, who married ♦Theano. See: ♦Theano. Hyginus, fable 166.

♦ ‘Theana’ replaced with ‘Theano’ for consistency

=Metaurus=, now Metro, a town with a small river of the same name, in the country of the Brutii. The river Metaurus falls into the Tyrrhene sea above Sicily.――――Another, in Umbria, famous for the defeat of Asdrubal by the consuls Livy and Nero. Horace, bk. 4, ode 4, li. 38. ――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4.――Lucan, bk. 2, li. 495.

=Metella=, the wife of Sylla.

=Metelli [Metellus]=, the surname of the family of the Cæcilii at Rome, the most known of whom were:――A general who defeated the Achæans, took Thebes, and invaded Macedonia, &c.――――Quintus Cæcilius, who rendered himself illustrious by his successes against Jugurtha the Numidian king, from which he was surnamed Numidicus. He took, in this expedition, the celebrated Marius as his lieutenant, and he had soon cause to repent of the confidence he had placed in him. Marius raised himself to power by defaming the character of his benefactor, and Metellus was recalled to Rome, and accused of extortion and ill-management. Marius was appointed successor to finish the Numidian war, and Metellus was acquitted of the crimes laid to his charge before the tribunal of the Roman knights, who observed that the probity of his whole life and the greatness of his exploits were greater proofs of his innocence than the most powerful arguments. Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 1, ch. 48.――Sallust, Jugurthine War.――――Lucius Cæcilius, another, who saved from the flames the palladium, when Vesta’s temple was on fire. He was then high priest. He lost his sight and one of his arms in doing it, and the senate, to reward his zeal and piety, permitted him always to be drawn to the senate-house in a chariot, an honour which no one had ever before enjoyed. He also gained a great victory over the Carthaginians in the first Punic war, and led in his triumph 13 generals and 120 elephants taken from the enemy. He was honoured with the dictatorship, and the office of master of horse, &c. ――――Quintus Cæcilius Celer, another, who distinguished himself by his spirited exertions against Catiline. He married Clodia the sister of Clodius, who disgraced him by her incontinence and lasciviousness. He died 57 years B.C. He was greatly lamented by Cicero, who shed tears at the loss of one of his most faithful and valuable friends. Cicero, For Marcus Cæcilius.――――Lucius Cæcilius, a tribune in the civil wars of Julius Cæsar and Pompey. He favoured the cause of Pompey, and opposed Cæsar when he entered Rome with a victorious army. He refused to open the gates of Saturn’s temple, in which were deposited great treasures, upon which they were broken open by Cæsar, and Metellus retired, when threatened with death.――――Quintus Cæcilius, the grandson of the high priest, who saved the palladium from the flames, was a warlike general, who, from his conquest of Crete and Macedonia, was surnamed Macedonicus. He had six sons, of whom four are particularly mentioned by Plutarch.――――Quintus Cæcilius, surnamed Balearicus, from his conquest of the Baleares.――――Lucius Cæcilius, surnamed Diadematus, but supposed the same as that called Lucius with the surname of Dalmaticus, from a victory obtained over the Dalmatians during his consulship with Mutius Scævola.――――Caius Cæcilius, surnamed Caprarius, who was consul with Carbo, A.U.C. 641.――――The fourth was Marcus, and of these four brothers it is remarkable, that two of them triumphed in one day, but over what nations is not mentioned by Eutropius, ch. 4.――――Nepos, a consul, &c.――――Another, who accused Caius Curio, his father’s detractor, and who also vented his resentment against Cicero when going to banishment.――――Another, who, as tribune, opposed the ambition of Julius Cæsar.――――A general of the Roman armies against the Sicilians and Carthaginians. Before he marched he offered sacrifices to all the gods, except Vesta, for which neglect the goddess was so incensed that she demanded the blood of his daughter Metella. When Metella was going to be immolated, the goddess placed a heifer in her place, and carried her to a temple at Lanuvium, of which she became the priestess.――――Lucius Cæcilius, or Quintus, surnamed Creticus, from his conquest in Crete, B.C. 66, is supposed by some to be the son of Metellus Macedonicus.――――Cimber, one of the conspirators against Julius Cæsar. It was he who gave the signal to attack and murder the dictator in the senate-house. ――――Pius, a general in Spain, against Sertorius, on whose head he set a price of 100 talents, and 20,000 acres of land. He distinguished himself also in the Marsian war, and was high priest. He obtained the name of Pius from the sorrow he showed during the banishment of his father Metellus Numidicus, whom he caused to be recalled. Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 5.――Sallust, Jugurthine War, ch. 44.――――A consul who commanded in Africa, &c. Valerius Maximus. ――Pliny.――Plutarch.――Livy.――Paterculus, bk. 2.――Florus, bk. 3, ch. 8.――Pausanias, bk. 7, chs. 8 & 13.――Cicero, Tusculanæ Disputationes, &c.――Juvenal, satire 3, li. 138. ――Appian, Civil Wars.――Cæsar, Civil War.――Sallust, Jugurthine War.

=Metharma=, a daughter of Pygmalion king of Cyprus, and mother of Adonis by Cinyras, &c. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 14.

=Methīon=, the father of Phorbas, &c. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 5, fable 3.

=Methodius=, a bishop of Tyre, who maintained a controversy against Porphyry. The best edition of his works is that of Paris, folio, 1657.

=Methōne=, a town of Peloponnesus, where king Philip gained his first battle over the Athenians, B.C. 360.――――A town of Macedonia, south of Pella, in the siege of which, according to Justin, bk. 7, ch. 6, Philip lost his right eye.――――Another in Magnesia. Homer, Iliad, bk. 2, li. 71.

=Methydrium=, a town of Peloponnesus, near Megalopolis. Valerius Flaccus.

=Methymna= (now Porto Petero), a town of the island of Lesbos, which received its name from a daughter of ♦Macareus. It is the second city of the island in greatness, population, and opulence, and its territory is fruitful, and the wines it produces excellent. It was the native place of Arion. When the whole island of Lesbos revolted from the power of the Athenians, Methymna alone remained firm to its ancient allies. Diodorus, bk. 5.――Thucydides, bk. 3.――Horace, bk. 2, satire 8, li. 50.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 3, li. 90.

♦ ‘Marcareus’ replaced with ‘Macareus’

=Metiadūsa=, a daughter of Eupalamus, who married Cecrops, by whom she had Pandion. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 15.

=Metilia lex=, was enacted A.U.C. 536, to settle the power of the dictator, and of his master of horse, within certain bounds.

=Metilii=, a patrician family, brought from Alba to Rome by Tullus Hostilius. Dionysius of Halicarnassus.

=Metilius=, a man who accused Fabius Maximus before the senate, &c.

=Mētiŏchus=, a son of Miltiades, who was taken by the Phœnicians, and given to Darius king of Persia. He was tenderly treated by the monarch, though his father had conquered the Persian armies in the plains of Marathon. Plutarch.――Herodotus, bk. 6, ch. 41.――――An Athenian entrusted with the care of the roads, &c. Plutarch.

=Metion=, a son of Erechtheus king of Athens and Praxithea. He married Alcippe daughter of Mars and Agraulos. His sons drove Pandion from the throne of Athens, and were afterwards expelled by Pandion’s children. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 15.――Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 6.

=Metis=, one of the Oceanides. She was Jupiter’s first wife, celebrated for her great prudence and sagacity above the rest of the gods. Jupiter, who was afraid lest she should bring forth into the world a child more cunning and greater than himself, devoured her in the first month of her pregnancy. Some time after this adventure the god had his head opened, from which issued Minerva, armed from head to foot. According to Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 2, Metis gave a portion to Saturn, and obliged him to throw up the children whom he had devoured. Hesiod, Theogony, li. 890.――Apollodorus, bk. 7, ch. 3. ――Hyginus.

=Metiscus=, a charioteer to Turnus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 12, li. 469.

=Metius Curtius=, one of the Sabines who fought against the Romans, on account of the stolen virgins.――――Suffetius, a dictator of Alba, in the reign of Tullus Hostilius. He fought against the Romans, and at last, finally to settle their disputes, he proposed a single combat between the Horatii and Curiatii. The Albans were conquered, and Metius promised to assist the Romans against their enemies. In a battle against the Veientes and Fidenates, Metius showed his infidelity by forsaking the Romans at the first onset, and retired to a neighbouring eminence, to wait for the event of the battle, and to fall upon whatever side proved victorious. The Romans obtained the victory, and Tullus ordered Metius to be tied between two chariots, which were drawn by four horses two different ways, and his limbs were torn away from his body, about 669 years before the christian era. Livy, bk. 1, ch. 23, &c.――Florus, bk. 1, ch. 3.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 642.――――A critic. See: Tarpa.――――Carus, a celebrated informer under Domitian, who enriched himself with the plunder of those who were sacrificed to the emperor’s suspicion.

=Metœcia=, festivals instituted by Theseus in commemoration of the people of Attica having removed to Athens.

=Meton=, an astrologer and mathematician of Athens. His father’s name was Pausanias. He refused to go to Sicily with his countrymen, and pretended to be insane, because he foresaw the calamities that attended that expedition. In a book called Enneadecaterides, or the cycle of 19 years, he endeavoured to adjust the course of the sun and the moon, and supported that the solar and lunar years could regularly begin from the same point in the heavens. This is called by the moderns the golden numbers. He flourished B.C. 432. Vitruvius, bk. 1.――Plutarch, Nicias. A native of Tarentum, who pretended to be intoxicated that he might draw the attention of his countrymen, when he wished to dissuade them from making an alliance with king Pyrrhus. Plutarch, Pyrrhus.

=Metŏpe=, the wife of the river Sangarius. She was mother of Hecuba. ――――The daughter of Ladon, who married the Asopus.――――A river of Arcadia.

=Metra=, the daughter of Eresichthon, a Thessalian prince, beloved by Neptune. When her father had spent all his fortune to gratify the canine hunger under which he laboured, she prostituted herself to her neighbours, and received for reward oxen, goats, and sheep, which she presented to Eresichthon. Some say that she had received from Neptune the power of changing herself into whatever animal she pleased, and that her father sold her continually to gratify his hunger, and that she instantly assumed a different shape, and became again his property. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 8, fable 21.

=Metragryrte=, one of the names of Tellus, or Cybele.

=Metrobius=, a player greatly favoured by Sylla. Plutarch.

=Metrŏcles=, a pupil of Theophrastus, who had the care of the education of Cleombrotus and Cleomenes. He suffocated himself when old and infirm. Diogenes Laërtius.

=Metrodōrus=, a physician of Chios, B.C. 444. He was the disciple of Democritus, and had Hippocrates among his pupils. His compositions on medicine, &c., are lost. He supported that the world was eternal and infinite, and denied the existence of motion. Diogenes Laërtius. ――――A painter and philosopher of Stratonice, B.C. 171. He was sent to Paulus Æmylius, who, after the conquest of Perseus, demanded of the Athenians a philosopher and a painter; the former to instruct his children, and the latter to make a painting of his triumphs. Metrodorus was sent, as in him alone were united the philosopher and the painter. Pliny, bk. 35, ch. 11.――Cicero, bk. 5, De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, ch. 1; On Oratory, bk. 4; Academica. ――♦Diogenes Laërtius, Epicurus.――――A friend of Mithridates, sent as ambassador to Tigranes king of Armenia. He was remarkable for his learning, moderation, humanity, and justice. He was put to death by his royal master for his infidelity, B.C. 72. Strabo.――Plutarch. ――――Another, of a very retentive memory.

♦ ‘Diod.’ replaced with ‘Diogenes Laërtius’

=Metrophănes=, an officer of Mithridates, who invaded Eubœa, &c.

=Metropŏlis=, a town of Phrygia on the Mæander.――――Another of Thessaly near Pharsalia.

=Mettius=, a chief of the Gauls, imprisoned by Julius Cæsar. Cæsar, Gallic War.

=Mettus.= See: Metius.

=Metulum=, a town of Liburnia, in besieging of which Augustus was wounded. Dio Cassius, bk. 49.

=Mevania=, now Bevagna, a town of Umbria, on the Clitumnus, the birthplace of the poet Propertius. Lucan, bk. 1, li. 473. ――Propertius, bk. 4, poem 1, li. 124.

=Mevius=, a wretched poet. See: Mævius.

=Mezentius=, a king of the Tyrrhenians when Æneas came into Italy. He was remarkable for his cruelties, and put his subjects to death by slow tortures, or sometimes tied a man to a dead corpse face to face, and suffered him to die in that condition. He was expelled by his subjects, and fled to Turnus, who employed him in his war against the Trojans. He was killed by Æneas, with his son Lausus. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1, ch. 15.――Justin, bk. 43, ch. 1.――Livy, bk. 1, ch. 2.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 648; bk. 8, li. 482.――Ovid, Fasti, bk. 4, li. 881.

=Micea=, a virgin of Elis, daughter of Philodemus, murdered by a soldier called Lucius, &c. Plutarch, Mulierum virtutes.

=Micipsa=, a king of Numidia, son of Masinissa, who, at his death, B.C. 119, left his kingdom between his sons Adherbal and Hiempsal, and his nephew Jugurtha. Jugurtha abused his uncle’s favours by murdering his two sons. Sallust, Jugurthine War.――Florus, bk. 3, ch. 1.――Plutarch, Gaius Gracchus.

=Micythus=, a youth through whom Diomedon, by order of the Persian king, made an attempt to bribe Epaminondas. Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas, ch. 4.――――A slave of Anaxilaus of Rhegium. Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 170.

=Mĭdas=, a king of Phrygia, son of Gordius, or Gorgius. In the early part of his life, according to some traditions, he found a large treasure, to which he owed his greatness and opulence. The hospitality he showed to Silenus the preceptor of Bacchus, who had been brought to him by some peasants, was liberally rewarded; and Midas, when he conducted the old man back to the god, was permitted to choose whatever recompence he pleased. He had the imprudence and the avarice to demand of the god that whatever he touched might be turned into gold. His prayer was granted, but he was soon convinced of his injudicious choice; and when the very meats which he attempted to eat became gold in his mouth, he begged Bacchus to take away a present which must prove so fatal to the receiver. He was ordered to wash himself in the river Pactolus, whose sands were turned into gold by the touch of Midas. Some time after this adventure, Midas had the imprudence to support that Pan was superior to Apollo in singing and playing upon the flute, for which rash opinion the offended god changed his ears into those of an ass, to show his ignorance and stupidity. This Midas attempted to conceal from the knowledge of his subjects, but one of his servants saw the length of his ears, and being unable to keep the secret, and afraid to reveal it, apprehensive of the king’s resentment, he opened a hole in the earth, and after he had whispered there that Midas had the ears of an ass, he covered the place as before, as if he had buried his words in the ground. On that place, as the poets mention, grew a number of reeds, which, when agitated by the wind, uttered the same sound that had been buried beneath, and published to the world that Midas had the ears of an ass. Some explain the fable of the ears of Midas by the supposition that he kept a number of informers and spies, who were continually employed in gathering every seditious word that might drop from the mouths of his subjects. Midas, according to Strabo, died of drinking hot bull’s blood. This he did, as Plutarch mentions, to free himself from the numerous ill dreams which continually tormented him. Midas, according to some, was son of Cybele. He built a town, which he called Ancyræ. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11, fable 5.――Plutarch, de Superstitione.――Strabo, bk. 1. ――Hyginus, fables 191, 274.――Maximus Tyrius, ch. 30.――Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 4.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 1, ch. 6.――Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 14.――Ælian, Varia Historia, bks. 4 & 12.――Cicero, De Divinatione, bk. 1, ch. 36; bk. 2, ch. 31.

=Midea=, a town of Argolis. Pausanias, bk. 6, ch. 20.――――Of Lycia. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 4, li. 45.――――Of Bœotia, drowned by the inundations of the lake Copais. Strabo, bk. 8.――――A nymph, who had Aspledon by Neptune. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 38.――――A mistress of Electryon. Apollodorus.

=Milānion=, a youth who became enamoured of Atalanta. He is supposed by some to be the same as Meleager or Hippomanes. Ovid, Ars Amatoria, bk. 2, li. 188.――――A son of Amphidamas.

=Mīlēsii=, the inhabitants of Miletus. See: Miletus.

=Milesiorum murus=, a place of Egypt, at the entrance of one of the mouths of the Nile.

=Milesius=, a surname of Apollo.――――A native of Miletus.

=Milētia=, one of the daughters of Scedasus, ravished with her sister by some young Thebans. Plutarch & Pausanias.

=Milētium=, a town of Calabria, built by the people of Miletus of Asia. ――――A town of Crete. Homer, Iliad, bk. 2, li. 154.

=Mīlētus=, a son of Apollo, who fled from Crete to avoid the wrath of Minos, whom he meditated to dethrone. He came to Caria, where he built a city which he called by his own name. Some suppose that he only conquered a city there called Anactoria, which assumed his name. They further say, that he put the inhabitants to the sword, and divided the women among his soldiers. Cyanea, a daughter of the Mæander, fell to his share. Strabo, bk. 14.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 446.――Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 2. ――Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 1.――――A celebrated town of Asia Minor, the capital of all Ionia, situate about 10 stadia south of the mouth of the river Mæander, near the sea coast on the confines of Ionia and Caria. It was founded by a Cretan colony under Miletus, or, according to others, by Neleus the son of Codrus, or by Sarpedon, Jupiter’s son. It has successively been called Lelegeis, Pithyusa, and Anactoria. The inhabitants, called Milesii, were very powerful, and long maintained an obstinate war against the kings of Lydia. They early applied themselves to navigation, and planted no less than 80 colonies, or, according to Seneca, 380, in different parts of the world. Miletus gave birth to Thales, Anaximenes, Anaximander, Hecatæus, Timotheus the musician, Pittacus, one of the seven wise men, &c. Miletus was also famous for a temple and an oracle of Apollo Didymæus, and for its excellent wool, with which were made stuffs and garments, held in the highest reputation, both for softness, elegance, and beauty. The words Milesiæ fabulæ, or Milesiaca, were used to express wanton and ludicrous plays. Ovid, Tristia, bk. 2, li. 413. ――Capitolinus, Life of Albinus, ch. 11.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 3, li. 306.――Strabo, bk. 15.――Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 2.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 17.――Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 29.――Herodotus, bk. 1, &c. ――Seneca, de Consolatione ad Helviam.

=Milias=, a part of Lycia.

=Milichus=, a freedman who discovered Piso’s conspiracy against Nero. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 15, ch. 54.

=Milinus=, a Cretan king, &c.

=Milionia=, a town of the Samnites, taken by the Romans.

=Mīlo=, a celebrated athlete of Crotona in Italy. His father’s name was Diotimus. He early accustomed himself to carry the greatest burdens, and by degrees became a monster in strength. It is said that he carried on his shoulders a young bullock four years old, for above 40 yards, and afterwards killed it with one blow of his fist, and ate it up in one day. He was seven times crowned at the Pythian games, and six at Olympia. He presented himself a seventh time, but no one had the courage or boldness to enter the lists against him. He was one of the disciples of Pythagoras, and to his uncommon strength the learned preceptor and his pupils owed their life. The pillar which supported the roof of the school suddenly gave way, but Milo supported the whole weight of the building, and gave the philosopher and his auditors time to escape. In his old age Milo attempted to pull up a tree by the roots and break it. He partly effected it, but his strength being gradually exhausted, the tree, when half cleft, re-united, and his hands remained pinched in the body of the tree. He was then alone, and being unable to disentangle himself, he was eaten up by the wild beasts of the place, about 300 years before the christian era. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 15.――Cicero, de Senectute.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 9, ch. 12.――Strabo, bk. 16. ――Pausanias, bk. 6, ch. 11.――――Titus Annius, a native of Lanuvium, who attempted to obtain the consulship at Rome by intrigue and seditious tumults. Clodius the tribune opposed his views, yet Milo would have succeeded had not an unfortunate event totally frustrated his hopes. As he was going into the country, attended by his wife and a numerous retinue of gladiators and servants, he met on the Appian road his enemy Clodius, who was returning to Rome with three of his friends and some domestics completely armed. A quarrel arose between the servants. Milo supported his attendants, and the dispute became general. Clodius received many severe wounds, and was obliged to retire to a neighbouring cottage. Milo pursued his enemy in his retreat, and ordered his servants to despatch him. Eleven of the servants of Clodius shared his fate, as also the owner of the house who had given them a reception. The body of the murdered tribune was carried to Rome, and exposed to public view. The enemies of Milo inveighed bitterly against the violence and barbarity with which the sacred person of a tribune had been treated. Cicero undertook the defence of Milo, but the continual clamours of the friends of Clodius, and the sight of an armed soldiery, which surrounded the seat of judgment, so terrified the orator, that he forgot the greatest part of his arguments, and the defence he made was weak and injudicious. Milo was condemned and banished to Massilia. Cicero soon after sent his exiled friend a copy of the oration which he had delivered in his defence, in the form in which we have it now; and Milo, after he had read it, exclaimed, “O Cicero, hadst thou spoken before my accusers in those terms, Milo would not be now eating figs at Marseilles.” The friendship and cordiality of Cicero and Milo were the fruits of long intimacy and familiar intercourse. It was by the successful labours of Milo that the orator was recalled from banishment and restored to his friends. Cicero, For Milo.――Paterculus, bk. 2, chs. 47 & 68.――Dio Cassius, bk. 40.――――A general of the forces of Pyrrhus. He was made governor of Tarentum, and that he might be reminded of his duty to his sovereign, Pyrrhus sent him as a present a chain, which was covered with the skin of Nicias the physician, who had perfidiously offered the Romans to poison his royal master for a sum of money. Polyænus, bk. 8, &c.――――A tyrant of Pisa in Elis, thrown into the river Alpheus by his subjects for his oppression. Ovid, Ibis, li. 325.

=Milōnius=, a drunken buffoon at Rome, accustomed to dance when intoxicated. Horace, bk. 2, satire 1, li. 24.

=Miltas=, a soothsayer, who assisted Dion in explaining prodigies, &c.

=Miltiădes=, an Athenian, son of Cypselus, who obtained a victory in a chariot race at the Olympic games, and led a colony of his countrymen to the Chersonesus. The causes of this appointment are striking and singular. The Thracian Dolonci, harassed by a long war with the Absynthians, were directed by the oracle of Delphi to take for their king the first man they met in their return home, who invited them to come under his roof and partake of his entertainments. This was Miltiades, whom the appearance of the Dolonci, their strange arms and garments, had struck. He invited them to his house, and was made acquainted with the commands of the oracle. He obeyed, and when the oracle of Delphi had approved a second time the choice of the Dolonci, he departed for the Chersonesus, and was invested by the inhabitants with sovereign power. The first measure he took was to stop the further incursions of the Absynthians, by building a strong wall across the isthmus. When he had established himself at home, and fortified his dominions against foreign invasion, he turned his arms against Lampsacus. His expedition was unsuccessful; he was taken in an ambuscade, and made prisoner. His friend Crœsus king of Lydia was informed of his captivity, and he procured his release by threatening the people of Lampsacus with his severest displeasure. He lived a few years after he had recovered his liberty. As he had no issue, he left his kingdom and his possessions to Stesagoras the son of Cimon, who was his brother by the same mother. The memory of Miltiades was greatly honoured by the Dolonci, and they regularly celebrated festivals and exhibited shows in commemoration of a man to whom they owed their greatness and preservation. Some time after Stesagoras died without issue, and Miltiades the son of Cimon, and the brother of the deceased, was sent by the Athenians with one ship to take possession of the Chersonesus. At his arrival Miltiades appeared mournful, as if lamenting the recent death of his brother. The principal inhabitants of the country visited the new governor to condole with him; but their confidence in his sincerity proved fatal to them. Miltiades seized their persons, and made himself absolute in Chersonesus; and to strengthen himself he married Hegesipyla, the daughter of Olorus the king of the Thracians. His prosperity, however, was of short duration. In the third year of his government his dominions were threatened by an invasion of the Scythian Nomades, whom Darius had some time before irritated by entering their country. He fled before them, but as their hostilities were but momentary, he was soon restored to his kingdom. Three years after he left Chersonesus and set sail for Athens, where he was received with great applause. He was present at the celebrated battle of Marathon, in which all the chief officers ceded their power to him, and left the event of the battle to depend upon his superior abilities. He obtained an important victory [See: Marathon] over the more numerous forces of his adversaries; and when he had demanded of his fellow-citizens an olive crown as the reward of his valour in the field of battle, he was not only refused, but severely reprimanded for presumption. The only reward, therefore, that he received for a victory which proved so beneficial to the interests of universal Greece, was in itself simple and inconsiderable, though truly great in the opinion of that age. He was represented in the front of a picture among the rest of the commanders who fought at the battle of Marathon, and he seemed to exhort and animate his soldiers to fight with courage and intrepidity. Some time after Miltiades was entrusted with a fleet of 70 ships, and ordered to punish those islands which had revolted to the Persians. He was successful at first, but a sudden report that the Persian fleet was coming to attack him, changed his operations as he was besieging Paros. He raised the siege and returned to Athens, where he was accused of treason, and ♦particularly of holding a correspondence with the enemy. The falsity of these accusations might have appeared, if Miltiades had been able to come into the assembly. A wound which he had received before Paros detained him at home, and his enemies, taking advantage of his absence, became more eager in their accusations and louder in their clamours. He was condemned to death, but the rigour of the sentence was retracted on the recollection of his great services to the Athenians, and he was put into prison till he had paid a fine of 50 talents to the state. His inability to discharge so great a sum detained him in confinement, and soon after his wounds became incurable, and he died about 489 years before the christian era. His body was ransomed by his son Cimon, who was obliged to borrow and pay the 50 talents, to give his father a decent burial. The crimes of Miltiades were probably aggravated in the eyes of his countrymen when they remembered how he made himself absolute in Chersonesus; and in condemning the barbarity of the Athenians towards a general who was the source of their military prosperity, we must remember the jealousy which ever reigns among a free and independent people, and how watchful they are in defence of the natural rights which they see wrested from others by violence and oppression. Cornelius Nepos has written the life of Miltiades the son of Cimon; but his history is incongruous and not authentic; and the author, by confounding the actions of the son of Cimon with those of the son of Cypselus, has made the whole dark and unintelligible. Greater reliance in reading the actions of both the Miltiades is to be placed on the narration of Herodotus, whose veracity is confirmed, and who was indisputably more informed and more capable of giving an account of the life and exploits of men who flourished in his age, and of which he could see the living monuments. Herodotus was born about six years after the famous battle of Marathon, and Cornelius Nepos, as a writer of the Augustan age, flourished about 450 years after the age of the father of history. Cornelius Nepos, Lives.――Herodotus, bk. 4, ch. 137; bk. 6, ch. 34, &c.――Plutarch, Cimon.――Valerius Maximus, bk. 5, ch. 3.――Justin, bk. 2.――Pausanias.――――An Archon of Athens.

♦ ‘paticularly’ replaced with ‘particularly’

=Milto=, a favourite mistress of Cyrus the younger. See: Aspasia.

=Milvius=, a parasite at Rome, &c. Horace, bk. 2, satire 7.――――A bridge at Rome over the Tiber, now called Pont de Molle. Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 13, ltr. 33.――Sallust, Catilinæ Coniuratio, ch. 45.――Tacitus, Annals, bk. 13, ch. 47.

=Milyas=, a country of Asia Minor, better known by the name of Lycia. Its inhabitants, called Milyades, and afterwards Solymi, were among the numerous nations which formed the army of Xerxes in his invasion of Greece. Herodotus.――Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 1, ch. 38.

=Mimallŏnes=, the Bacchanals, who, when they celebrated the orgies of Bacchus, put horns on their heads. They are also called Mimallonides, and some derive their name from the mountain Mimas. Persius, bk. 1, li. 99.――Ovid, Ars Amatoria, li. 541. ――Statius, Thebiad, bk. 4, li. 660.

=Mimas=, a giant whom Jupiter destroyed with thunder. Horace, bk. 3, ode 4.――――A high mountain of Asia Minor, near Colophon. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, fable 5.――――A Trojan, son of Theano and Amycus, born on the same night as Paris, with whom he lived in great intimacy. He followed the fortune of Æneas, and was killed by Mezentius. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 702.

=Mimnermus=, a Greek poet and musician of Colophon in the age of Solon. He chiefly excelled in elegiac poetry, whence some have attributed the invention of it to him; and, indeed, he was the poet who made elegy an amorous poem, instead of a mournful and melancholy tale. In the expression of love, Propertius prefers him to Homer, as this verse shows:

Plus in amore valet Mimnermi versus Homero.

In his old age Mimnermus became enamoured of a young girl called Nanno. Some few fragments of his poetry remain, collected by Stobæus. He is supposed by some to be the inventor of the pentameter verse, which others, however, attribute to Callinus or Archilochus. The surname of Ligustiades, λιγυς (shrill-voiced), has been applied to him, though some imagine the word to be the name of his father. Strabo, bks. 1 & 14.――Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 29.――Diogenes Laërtius, bk. 1.――Propertius, bk. 1, poem 9, li. 11.――Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 6, li. 65.

=Mincius=, now Mincio, a river of Venetia, flowing from the lake Benacus, and falling into the Po. Virgil was born on its banks. Virgil, Eclogues, poem 7, li. 13; Germania, ch. 3, li. 15; Æneid, bk. 10, li. 206.

=Mindărus=, a commander of the Spartan fleet during the Peloponnesian war. He was defeated by the Athenians, and died 410 B.C. Plutarch.

=Mīnēĭdes=, the daughters of Minyas or Mineus, king of Orchomenos in Bœotia. They were three in number, Leuconoe, Leucippe, and Alcithoe. Ovid calls the two first Clymene and Iris. They derided the orgies of Bacchus, for which impiety the god inspired them with an unconquerable desire of eating human flesh. They drew lots which of them should give up her son as food to the rest. The lot fell upon Leucippe, and she gave up her son Hippasus, who was instantly devoured by the three sisters. They were changed into bats. In commemoration of this bloody crime, it was usual among the Orchomenians for the high priest, as soon as the sacrifice was finished, to pursue, with a drawn sword, all the women who had entered the temple, and even to kill the first he came up to. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, fable 12.――Plutarch, Quæstiones Græcæ, ch. 38.

=Mĭnerva=, the goddess of wisdom, war, and all the liberal arts, was produced from Jupiter’s brain without a mother. The god, as it is reported, married Metis, whose superior prudence and sagacity above the rest of the gods, made him apprehend that the children of such a union would be of a more exalted nature, and more intelligent than their father. To prevent this, Jupiter devoured Metis in her pregnancy, and some time after, to relieve the pains which he suffered in his head, he ordered Vulcan to cleave it open. Minerva came all armed and grown up from her father’s brain, and immediately was admitted into the assembly of the gods, and made one of the most faithful counsellors of her father. The power of Minerva was great in heaven; she could hurl the thunders of Jupiter, prolong the life of men, bestow the gift of prophecy, and, indeed, she was the only one of all the divinities whose authority and consequence were equal to those of Jupiter. The actions of Minerva are numerous, as well as the kindnesses by which she endeared herself to mankind. Her quarrel with Neptune concerning the right of giving a name to the capital of Cecropia deserves attention. The assembly of the gods settled the dispute by promising the preference to whichever of the two gave the most useful and necessary present to the inhabitants of the earth. Neptune, upon this, struck the ground with his trident, and immediately a horse issued from the earth. Minerva produced the olive, and obtained the victory by the unanimous voice of the gods, who observed that the olive, as the emblem of peace, is far preferable to the horse, the symbol of war and bloodshed. The victorious deity called the capital Athenæ, and became the tutelar goddess of the place. Minerva was always very jealous of her power, and the manner in which she punished the presumption of Arachne is well known. See: Arachne. The attempts of Vulcan to offer her violence, are strong marks of her virtue. Jupiter had sworn by the Styx to give to Vulcan, who had made him a complete suit of armour, whatever he desired. Vulcan demanded Minerva, and the father of the gods, who had permitted Minerva to live in perpetual celibacy, consented, but privately advised his daughter to make all the resistance she could to frustrate the attempts of her lover. The prayers and force of Vulcan proved ineffectual, and her chastity was not violated, though the god left on her body the marks of his passion, and, from the impurity which proceeded from this scuffle, and which Minerva threw down upon the earth, wrapped up in wool, was born Erichthon, an uncommon monster. See: Erichthonius. Minerva was the first who built a ship, and it was her zeal for navigation, and her care for the Argonauts, which placed the prophetic tree of Dodona behind the ship Argo, when going to Colchis. She was known among the ancients by many names. She was called Athena, Pallas [See: Pallas], Parthenos, from her remaining in perpetual celibacy; Tritonia, because worshipped near the lake Tritonis; Glaucopis, from the blueness of her eyes; Agorea, from her presiding over markets; Hippia, because she first taught mankind how to manage the horse; Stratea and Area, from her martial character; Coryphagenes, because born from Jupiter’s brain; Sais, because worshipped at Sais, &c. Some attributed to her the invention of the flute, whence she was surnamed Andon, Luscinia, Musica, Salpiga, &c. She, as it is reported, once amused herself in playing upon her favourite flute before Juno and Venus, but the goddesses ridiculed the distortion of her face in blowing the instrument. Minerva, convinced of the justness of their remarks by looking at herself in a fountain near mount Ida, threw away the musical instrument, and denounced a melancholy death to him who found it. Marsyas was the miserable proof of the veracity of her expressions. The worship of Minerva was universally established; she had magnificent temples in Egypt, Phœnicia, all parts of Greece, Italy, Gaul, and Sicily. Sais, Rhodes, and Athens particularly claimed her attention, and it is even said that Jupiter rained a shower of gold upon the island of Rhodes, which had paid so much veneration and such an early reverence to the divinity of his daughter. The festivals celebrated in her honour were solemn and magnificent. See: Panathenæa. She was invoked by every artist, and particularly such as worked in wool, embroidery, painting, and sculpture. It was the duty of almost every member of society to implore the assistance and patronage of a deity who presided over sense, taste, and reason. Hence the poets have had occasion to say,

Tu nihil invitâ dices faciesve Minervâ,

and,

Qui bene placârit Pallada, doctus erit.

Minerva was represented in different ways, according to the different characters in which she appeared. She generally appeared with a countenance full more of masculine firmness and composure, than of softness and grace. Most usually she was represented with a helmet on her head, with a large plume nodding in the air. In one hand she held a spear, and in the other a shield, with the dying head of Medusa upon it. Sometimes this Gorgon’s head was on her breastplate, with living serpents writhing round it, as well as round her shield and helmet. In most of her statues she is represented as sitting, and sometimes she holds in one hand a distaff, instead of a spear. When she appeared as the goddess of the liberal arts she was arrayed in a variegated veil, which the ancients called peplum. Sometimes Minerva’s helmet was covered at the top with the figure of a cock, a bird which, on account of his great courage, is properly sacred to the goddess of war. Some of her statues represented her helmet with a sphinx in the middle, supported on either side by griffins. In some medals, a chariot drawn by four horses, or sometimes a dragon or a serpent, with winding spires, appear at the top of her helmet. She was partial to the olive tree; the owl and the cock were her favourite birds, and the dragon among reptiles was sacred to her. The functions, offices, and actions of Minerva seem so numerous, that they undoubtedly originate in more than one person. Cicero speaks of five persons of this name; a Minerva, mother of Apollo; a daughter of the Nile, who was worshipped at Sais, in Egypt; a third, born from Jupiter’s brain; a fourth, daughter of Jupiter and Coryphe; and a fifth, daughter of Pallas, generally represented with winged shoes. This last put her father to death because he attempted her virtue. Pausanias, bks. 1, 2, 3, &c.――Horace, bk. 1, ode 16; bk. 3, ode 4.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, &c.――Strabo, bks. 6, 9, & 13. ――Philostratus, Imagines, bk. 2.――Ovid, Fasti, bk. 3, &c.; Metamorphoses, bk. 6.――Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 1, ch. 15; bk. 3, ch. 23, &c.――Apollodorus, bk. 1, &c.――Pindar, Olympian, poem 7.――Lucan, bk. 9, li. 354.――Sophocles, Œdipus.――Homer, Iliad, &c.; Odyssey; Hymn to Pallas Athena.――Diodorus, bk. 5.――Hesiod, Theogony.――Aeschylus, Eumenides.――Lucian, Dialogues.――Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis, bk. 2. ――Orpheus, Hymns, poem 31.――Quintus Smyrnæus, bk. 14, li. 448. ――Apollonius, bk. 1.――Hyginus, fable 168.――Statius, Thebiad, bk. 2, li. 721; bk. 7, &c.――Callimachus, Hymn to Demeter. ――Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 12.――Cornelius Nepos, Pausanias. ――Plutarch, Lycurgus, &c.――Thucydides, bk. 1.――Herodotus, bk. 5.

=Minervæ Castrum=, a town of Calabria, now Castro.――――Promontorium, a cape at the most southern extremity of Campania.

=Mĭnervālia=, festivals at Rome in honour of Minerva, celebrated in the months of March and June. During this solemnity scholars obtained some relaxation from their studious pursuits, and the present, which it was usual for them to offer to their masters, was called Minerval, in honour of the goddess Minerva, who patronized over literature. Varro, de Re Rustica, bk. 3, ch. 2.――Ovid, Tristia, bk. 3, li. 809.――Livy, bk. 9, ch. 30.

=Mĭnio=, now Mignone, a river of Etruria, falling into the Tyrrhene sea. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 183.――――One of the favourites of Antiochus king of Syria.

=Minnæi=, a people of Arabia, on the Red sea. Pliny, bk. 12, ch. 14.

=Minoa=, a town of Sicily, built by Minos when he was pursuing Dædalus, and called also Heraclea.――――A town of Peloponnesus.――――A town of Crete.

=Minois=, belonging to Minos. Crete is called Minoia regna, as being the legislator’s kingdom. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 14.――――A patronymic of Ariadne. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 8, li. 157.

=Minos=, a king of Crete, son of Jupiter and Europa, who gave laws to his subjects, B.C. 1406, which still remained in full force in the age of the philosopher Plato. His justice and moderation procured him the appellation of the favourite of the gods, the confidant of Jupiter, the wise legislator, in every city of Greece; and, according to the poets, he was rewarded for his equity, after death, with the office of supreme and absolute judge in the infernal regions. In this capacity, he is represented sitting in the middle of the shades and holding a sceptre in his hand. The dead plead their different causes before him, and the impartial judge shakes the fatal urn, which is filled with the destinies of mankind. He married Ithona, by whom he had Lycastes, who was the father of Minos II. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 19, li. 178.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 432.――Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 1.――Hyginus, fable 41.――Diodorus, bk. 4.――Horace, bk. 1, ode 28.

=Minos II.=, was a son of Lycastes, the son of Minos I. king of Crete. He married Pasiphae the daughter of Sol and Perseis, and by her he had many children. He increased his paternal dominions by the conquest of the neighbouring islands, but he showed himself cruel in the war which he carried on against the Athenians, who had put to death his son Androgeus. See: Androgeus. He took Megara by the treachery of Scylla [See: Scylla], and, not satisfied with a victory, he obliged the vanquished to bring him yearly to Crete seven chosen boys, and the same number of virgins, to be devoured by the Minotaur. See: Minotaurus. This bloody tribute was at last abolished when Theseus had destroyed the monster. See: Theseus. When Dædalus, whose industry and invention had fabricated the labyrinth, and whose imprudence, in assisting Pasiphae in the gratification of her unnatural desires, had offended Minos, fled from the place of his confinement with wings [See: Dædalus], and arrived safe in Sicily, the incensed monarch pursued the offender, resolved to punish his infidelity. Cocalus king of Sicily, who had hospitably received Dædalus, entertained his royal guest with dissembled friendship; and that he might not deliver to him a man whose ingenuity and abilities he so well knew, he put Minos to death. Some say that it was the daughters of Cocalus who put the king of Crete to death, by detaining him so long in a bath till he fainted, after which they suffocated him. Minos died about 35 years before the Trojan war. He was father of Androgeus, Glaucus, and Deucalion, and two daughters, Phædra and Ariadne. Many authors have confounded the two monarchs of this name, the grandfather and the grandson, but Homer, Plutarch, and Diodorus prove plainly that they were two different persons. Pausanias, Achaia, ch. 4.――Plutarch, Theseus.――Hyginus, fable 41.――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 8, li. 141.――Diodorus, bk. 4.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 21. ――Plutarch, Parallela minora.――Athenæus.――Flaccus, bk. 14.

=Minōtaurus=, a celebrated monster, half a man and half a bull, according to this verse of Ovid, Ars Amatoria, bk. 2, li. 24,

Semibovemque virum, semivirumque bovem.

It was the fruit of Pasiphae’s amour with a bull. Minos refused to sacrifice a white bull to Neptune, an animal which he had received from the god for that purpose. This offended Neptune, and he made Pasiphae the wife of ♦Minos enamoured of this fine bull, which had been refused to his altars. Dædalus prostituted his talents in being subservient to the queen’s unnatural desires, and, by his means, Pasiphae’s horrible passions were gratified, and the Minotaur came into the world. Minos confined in the labyrinth a monster which convinced the world of his wife’s lasciviousness and indecency, and reflected disgrace upon his family. The Minotaur usually devoured the chosen young men and maidens, whom the tyranny of Minos yearly extracted from the Athenians. Theseus delivered his country from this shameful tribute, when it had fallen to his lot to be sacrificed to the voracity of the Minotaur, and, by means of Ariadne, the king’s daughter, he destroyed the monster, and made his escape from the windings of the labyrinth. The fabulous traditions of the Minotaur, and of the infamous commerce of Pasiphae with a favourite bull, have been often explained. Some suppose that Pasiphae was enamoured of one of her husband’s courtiers, called Taurus, and that Dædalus favoured the passion of the queen by suffering his house to become the retreat of the two lovers. Pasiphae, some time after, brought twins into the world, one of whom greatly resembled Minos, and the other Taurus. In the natural resemblance of their countenance with that of their supposed fathers originated their name, and consequently the fable of the Minotaur. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 8, fable 2.――Hyginus, fable 40.――Plutarch, Theseus.――Palæphatus.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 26.

♦ ‘Minys’ replaced with ‘Minos’

=Minthe=, a daughter of Cocytus, loved by Pluto. Proserpine discovered her husband’s amour, and changed his mistress into an herb, called by the same name, mint. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 10, li. 729.

=Minturnæ=, a town of Campania, between Sinuessa and Formiæ. It was in the marshes, in its neighbourhood, that Marius concealed himself in the mud, to avoid the partisans of Sylla. The people condemned him to death, but when his voice alone had terrified the executioner, they showed themselves compassionate, and favoured his escape. Marica was worshipped there; hence Maricæ regna applied to the place. Strabo, bk. 2.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4.――Livy, bk. 8, ch. 10; bk. 10, ch. 21; bk. 27, ch. 38.――Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 14.――Lucan, bk. 2, li. 424.

=Mĭnŭtia=, a vestal virgin, accused of debauchery on account of the beauty and elegance of her dress. She was condemned to be buried alive because a female supported the false accusation, A.U.C. 418. Livy, bk. 8, ch. 15.――――A public way from Rome to Brundusium. See: Via.

=Mĭnŭtius Augurinus=, a Roman consul slain in a battle against the Samnites.――――A tribune of the people, who put Mælius to death when he aspired to the sovereignty of Rome. He was honoured with a brazen statue for causing the corn to be sold at a reduced price to the people. Livy, bk. 4, ch. 16.――Pliny, bk. 18, ch. 3.――――Rufus, a master of horse to the dictator Fabius Maximus. His disobedience to the commands of the dictator was productive of an extension of his prerogative, and the master of the horse was declared equal in power to the dictator. Minutius, soon after this, fought with ill success against Annibal, and was saved by the interference of Fabius; which circumstance had such an effect upon him, that he laid down his power at the feet of his deliverer, and swore that he would never act again but by his directions. He was killed at the battle of Cannæ. _Livy. _――Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal.――――A Roman consul who defended Coriolanus from the insults of the people, &c.――――Another, defeated by the Æqui, and disgraced by the dictator Cincinnatus.――――An officer under Cæsar, in Gaul, who afterwards became one of the conspirators against his patron. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 6, ch. 29.――――A tribune who warmly opposed the views of Caius Gracchus.――――A Roman, chosen dictator, and obliged to lay down his office, because, during the time of his election, the sudden cry of a rat was heard.――――A Roman, one of the first who were chosen questors.――――Felix, an African lawyer, who flourished 207 A.D. He has written an elegant dialogue in defence of the christian religion, called Octavius, from the principal speaker in it. This book was long attributed to Arnobius, and even printed as an eighth book (Octavus), till Balduinus discovered the imposition in his edition of Felix, 1560. The two last editions are that of Davies, 8vo, Cambridge, 1712; and of Gronovius, 8vo, Leiden, 1709.

=Minyæ=, a name given to the inhabitants of Orchomenos in Bœotia, from Minyas king of the country. Orchomenos the son of Minyas gave his name to the capital of the country, and the inhabitants still retained their original appellation, in contradistinction to the Orchomenians of Arcadia. A colony of Orchomenians passed into Thessaly and settled in Iolchos; from which circumstance the people of the place, and particularly the Argonauts, were called Minyæ. This name they received, according to the opinion of some, not because a number of Orchomenians had settled among them, but because the chief and noblest of them were descended from the daughters of Minyas. Part of the Orchomenians accompanied the sons of Codrus when they migrated to Ionia. The descendants of the Argonauts, as well as the Argonauts themselves, received the name of Minyæ. They first inhabited Lemnos, where they had been born from the Lemnian women who had murdered their husbands. They were driven from Lemnos by the Pelasgi about 1160 years before the christian era, and came to settle in Laconia, from whence they passed into Calliste with a colony of Lacedæmonians. Hyginus, fable 14.――Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 6.――Apollonius, bk. 1, Argonautica.――Herodotus, bk. 4, ch. 145.

=Mĭnyas=, a king of Bœotia, son of Neptune and Tritogenia the daughter of Æolus. Some make him the son of Neptune and Callirrhoe, or of Chryses, Neptune’s son, and Chrysogenia the daughter of Halmus. He married Clytodora, by whom he had Presbon, Periclymenus, and Eteoclymenus. He was father of Orchomenos, Diochithondes, and Athamas, by a second marriage with Phanasora the daughter of Paon. According to Plutarch and Ovid, he had three daughters, called Leuconoe, Alcithoe, and Leucippe. They were changed into bats. See: Mineides. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 36.――Plutarch, Quæstiones Græcæ, ch. 38. ――Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, lis. 1 & 468.

=Miny̆cus=, a river of Thessaly, falling into the sea near Arene, called afterwards Orchomenus. Homer, Iliad, bk. 11.――Strabo, bk. 8.

=Minyeides.= See: Mineides.

=Minyia=, a festival observed at Orchomenus, in honour of Minyas the king of the place. The Orchomenians were called Minyæ, and the river upon whose banks their town was built, Mynos.――――A small island near Patmos.

=Minytus=, one of Niobe’s sons. Apollodorus.

=Miraces=, a eunuch of Parthia, &c. Flaccus, bk. 6, li. 690.

=Misēnum=, or =Misenus=. See: Misenus.

=Misēnus=, a son of Æolus, who was piper to Hector. After Hector’s death he followed Æneas to Italy, and was drowned on the coast of Campania, because he had challenged one of the Tritons. Æneas afterwards found his body on the sea-shore, and buried it on a promontory which bears his name, now Miseno. There was also a town of the same name on the promontory, at the west of the bay of Naples, and it had also a capacious harbour, where Augustus and some of the Roman emperors generally kept stationed one of their fleets. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 239; bk. 6, lis. 164 & 234.――Strabo, bk. 5.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4.――Livy, bk. 24, ch. 13.――Tacitus, Histories, bk. 2, ch. 9; Annals, bk. 15, ch. 51.

=Misitheus=, a Roman celebrated for his virtues and his misfortunes. He was father-in-law to the emperor Gordian, whose counsels and actions he guided by his prudence and moderation. He was sacrificed to the ambition of Philip, a wicked senator who succeeded him as prefect of the pretorian guards. He died A.D. 243, and left all his possessions to be appropriated for the good of the public.

=Mithras=, a god of Persia, supposed to be the sun, or, according to others, Venus Urania. His worship was introduced at Rome, and the Romans raised him altars, on which was this ♦inscription, Deo Soli Mithræ, or Soli Deo invicto Mithræ. He is generally represented as a young man, whose head is covered with a turban, after the manner of the Persians. He supports his knee upon a bull that lies on the ground, and one of whose horns he holds in one hand, while with the other he plunges a dagger into his neck. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 1, li. 720.――Curtius, bk. 4, ch. 13.――Claudian, de consulatu Stilichonis, bk. 1.

♦ ‘incription’ replaced with ‘inscription’

=Mithracenses=, a Persian who fled to Alexander after the murder of Darius by Bessus. Curtius, bk. 5.

=Mithradātes=, a herdsman of Astyages, ordered to put young Cyrus to death. He refused, and educated him at home as his own son, &c. Herodotus.――Justin.

=Mithrēnes=, a Persian who betrayed Sardes, &c. Curtius, bk. 3.

=Mithridātes I.=, was the third king of Pontus. He was tributary to the crown of Persia, and his attempts to make himself independent proved fruitless. He was conquered in a battle, and obtained peace with difficulty. Xenophon calls him merely a governor of Cappadocia. He was succeeded by Ariobarzanes, B.C. 363. Diodorus.――Xenophon.

=Mithridātes II.=, king of Pontus, was grandson to Mithridates I. He made himself master of Pontus, which had been conquered by Alexander, and had been ceded to Antigonus at the general division of the Macedonian empire among the conqueror’s generals. He reigned about 26 years, and died at the advanced age of 84 years, B.C. 302. He was succeeded by his son Mithridates III. Some say that Antigonus put him to death, because he favoured the cause of Cassander. Appian, Mithridatic Wars.――Diodorus.

=Mithridātes III.=, was son of the preceding monarch. He enlarged his paternal possessions by the conquest of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia, and died after a reign of 36 years. Florus.

=Mithridātes IV.=, succeeded his father Ariobarzanes, who was the son of Mithridates III.

=Mithridātes V.=, succeeded his father Mithridates IV., and strengthened himself on his throne by an alliance with Antiochus the Great, whose daughter Laodice he married. He was succeeded by his son Pharnaces.

=Mithridātes VI.=, succeeded his father Pharnaces. He was the first of the kings of Pontus who made alliance with the Romans. He furnished them with a fleet in the third Punic war, and assisted them against Aristonicus, who had laid claim to the kingdom of Pergamus. This fidelity was rewarded; he was called Evergetes, and received from the Roman people the province of Phrygia Major, and was called the friend and ally of Rome. He was murdered B.C. 123. Appian, Mithridatic Wars.――Justin, bk. 37, &c.

=Mithridātes VII.=, surnamed Eupator and The Great, succeeded his father Mithridates VI., though only at the age of 11 years. The beginning of his reign was marked by ambition, cruelty, and artifice. He murdered his own mother, who had been left by his father co-heiress of the kingdom, and he fortified his constitution by drinking antidotes against the poison with which his enemies at court attempted to destroy him. He early inured his body to hardship, and employed himself in many manly exercises, often remaining whole months in the country, and making the frozen snow and the earth the place of his repose. Naturally ambitious and cruel, he spared no pains to acquire himself power and dominion. He murdered the two sons whom his sister Laodice had had by Ariarathes king of Cappadocia, and placed one of his own children, only eight years old, on the vacant throne. These violent proceedings alarmed Nicomedes king of Bithynia, who married Laodice the widow of Ariarathes. He suborned a youth to be king of Cappadocia, as the third son of Ariarathes, and Laodice was sent to Rome to impose upon the senate, and assure them that her third son was still alive, and that his pretensions to the kingdom of Cappadocia were just and well grounded. Mithridates used the same arms of dissimulation. He also sent to Rome Gordius, the governor of his son, who solemnly declared before the Roman people, that the youth who sat on the throne of Cappadocia was the third son and lawful heir of Ariarathes, and that he was supported as such by Mithridates. This intricate affair displeased the Roman senate, and finally to settle the dispute between the two monarchs, the powerful arbiters took away the kingdom of Cappadocia from Mithridates, and Paphlagonia from Nicomedes. These two kingdoms, being thus separated from their original possessors, were presented with their freedom and independence; but the Cappadocians refused it, and received Ariobarzanes for king. Such were the first seeds of enmity between Rome and the king of Pontus. See: Mithridaticum bellum. Mithridates never lost an opportunity by which he might lessen the influence of his adversaries; and the more effectually to destroy their power in Asia, he ordered all the Romans that were in his dominions to be massacred. This was done in one night, and no less than 150,000, according to Plutarch, or 80,000 Romans, as Appian mentions, were made, at one blow, the victims of his cruelty. This universal massacre called aloud for revenge. Aquilius, and soon after Sylla, marched against Mithridates with a large army. The former was made prisoner, but Sylla obtained a victory over the king’s generals, and another decisive engagement rendered him master of all Greece, Macedonia, Ionia, and Asia Minor, which had submitted to the victorious arms of the monarch of Pontus. This ill fortune was aggravated by the loss of about 200,000 men, who were killed in the several engagements that had been fought; and Mithridates, weakened by repeated ill success by sea and land, sued for peace from the conqueror, which he obtained on condition of defraying the expenses which the Romans had incurred by the war, and of remaining satisfied with the possessions which he had received from his ancestors. While these negotiations of peace were carried on, Mithridates was not unmindful of his real interests. His poverty, and not his inclinations, obliged him to wish for peace. He immediately took the field, with an army of 140,000 infantry and 16,000 horse, which consisted of his own forces and those of his son-in-law Tigranes king of Armenia. With such a numerous army, he soon made himself master of the Roman provinces in Asia; none dared to oppose his conquests, and the Romans, relying on his fidelity, had withdrawn the greatest part of their armies from the country. The news of his warlike preparations was no sooner heard, than Lucullus the consul marched into Asia, and without delay blocked up the camp of Mithridates, who was then besieging Cyzicus. The Asiatic monarch escaped from him, and fled into the heart of his kingdom. Lucullus pursued him with the utmost celerity, and would have taken him prisoner after a battle, had not the avidity of his soldiers preferred the plundering of a mule loaded with gold, to the taking of a monarch who had exercised such cruelties against their countrymen, and shown himself so faithless to the most solemn engagements. After this escape, Mithridates was more careful about the safety of his person, and he even ordered his wives and sisters to destroy themselves, fearful of their falling into the enemy’s hands. The appointment of Glabrio to the command of the Roman forces, instead of Lucullus, was favourable to Mithridates, and he recovered the greatest part of his dominions. The sudden arrival of Pompey, however, soon put an end to his victories. A battle, in the night, was fought near the Euphrates, in which the troops of Pontus laboured under every disadvantage. The engagement was by moonlight, and, as the moon then shone in the face of the enemy, the lengthened shadows of the arms of the Romans having induced Mithridates to believe that the two armies were close together, the arrows of his soldiers were darted from a great distance, and their efforts rendered ineffectual. A universal overthrow ensued, and Mithridates, bold in his misfortunes, rushed through the thick ranks of the enemy, at the head of 800 horsemen, 500 of which perished in the attempt to follow him. He fled to Tigranes, but that monarch refused an asylum to his father-in-law, whom he had before supported with all the collected forces of his kingdom. Mithridates found a safe retreat among the Scythians, and, though destitute of power, friends, and resources, yet he meditated the destruction of the Roman empire, by penetrating into the heart of Italy by land. These wild projects were rejected by his followers, and he sued for peace. It was denied to his ♦ambassadors, and the victorious Pompey declared that, to obtain it, Mithridates must ask it in person. He scorned to trust himself into the hands of his enemy, and resolved to conquer or to die. His subjects refused to follow him any longer, and they revolted from him, and made his son Pharnaces king. The son showed himself ungrateful to his father, and even, according to some writers, he ordered him to be put to death. This unnatural treatment broke the heart of Mithridates; he obliged his wife to poison herself, and attempted to do the same himself. It was in vain; the frequent antidotes he had taken in the early part of his life strengthened his constitution against the poison, and, when this was unavailing, he attempted to stab himself. The blow was not mortal; and a Gaul, who was then present, at his own request, gave him the fatal stroke, about 63 years before the christian era, in the 72nd year of his age. Such were the misfortunes, abilities, and miserable end of a man, who supported himself so long against the power of Rome, and who, according to the declaration of the Roman authors, proved a more powerful and indefatigable adversary to the capital of Italy, than the great Annibal, and Pyrrhus, Perseus, or Antiochus. Mithridates has been commended for his eminent virtues, and censured for his vices. As a commander he deserves the most unbounded applause, and it may create admiration to see him waging war with such success during so many years against the most powerful people on earth, led to the field by a Sylla, a Lucullus, and a Pompey. He was the greatest monarch that ever sat on a throne, according to the opinion of Cicero; and, indeed, no better proof of his military character can be brought, than the mention of the great rejoicings which happened in the Roman armies and in the capital at the news of his death. No less than 12 days were appointed for public thanksgivings to the immortal gods, and Pompey, who had sent the first intelligence of his death to Rome, and who had partly hastened his fall, was rewarded with the most uncommon honours. See: Ampia lex. It is said that Mithridates conquered 24 nations, whose different languages he knew, and spoke with the same ease and fluency as his own. As a man of letters he also deserves attention. He was acquainted with the Greek language, and even wrote in that dialect a treatise on botany. His skill in physic is well known, and even now there is a celebrated antidote which bears his name, and is called Mithridate. Superstition, as well as nature, had united to render him great; and if we rely upon the authority of Justin, his birth was accompanied by the appearance of two large comets, which were seen for 70 days successively, and whose splendour eclipsed the mid-day sun, and covered the fourth part of the heavens. Justin, bk. 37, ch. 1, &c.――Strabo.――Diodorus, bk. 14.――Florus, bk. 3, ch. 5, &c. ――Plutarch, Sulla; Lucullus; Caius Marius; & Pompey. ――Valerius Maximus, bk. 4, ch. 6, &c.――Dio Cassius, bk. 30, &c.――Appian, Mithridatic Wars.――Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 97; bk. 7, ch. 24; bk. 25, ch. 2; bk. 33, ch. 3, &c.――Cicero, On Pompey’s Command, &c.――Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 18.――Eutropius, bk. 5. ――Josephus, bk. 14.――Orosius, bk. 6, &c.

♦ ‘ambassaders’ replaced with ‘ambassadors’

=Mithridātes=, a king of Parthia, who took Demetrius prisoner.――――A man made king of Armenia by Tiberius. He was afterwards imprisoned by Caligula, and set at liberty by Claudius. He was murdered by one of his nephews, and his family were involved in his ruin. Tacitus, Annals.――――Another, king of Armenia.――――A king of Pergamus, who warmly embraced the cause of Julius Cæsar, and was made king of Bosphorus by him. Some supposed him to be the son of the great Mithridates by a concubine. He was murdered, &c.――――A king of Iberia.――――Another of Comagena.――――A celebrated king of Parthia, who enlarged his possessions by the conquest of some of the neighbouring countries. He examined with a careful eye the constitution and political regulations of the nations he had conquered, and framed from them, for the service of his own subjects, a code of laws. Justin.――Orosius.――――Another, who murdered his father, and made himself master of the crown.――――A king of Pontus, put to death by order of Galba, &c.――――A man in the armies of Artaxerxes. He was rewarded by the monarch for having wounded Cyrus the younger; but, when he boasted that he had killed him, he was cruelly put to death. Plutarch, Artaxerxes.――――A son of Ariobarzanes, who basely murdered Datames. Cornelius Nepos, Datames.

=Mithridātĭcum bellum=, begun 89 years B.C., was one of the longest and most celebrated wars ever carried on by the Romans against a foreign power. The ambition of Mithridates, from whom it receives its name, may be called the cause and origin of it. His views upon the kingdom of Cappadocia, of which he was stripped by the Romans, first engaged him to take up arms against the republic. Three Romans officers, Lucius Cassius the proconsul, Marcus Aquilius, and Quintus Oppius, opposed Mithridates with the troops of Bithynia, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, and Gallo-græcia. The army of these provinces, together with the Roman soldiers in Asia, amounted to 70,000 men and 6000 horse. The forces of the king of Pontus were greatly superior to these; he led 250,000 foot, 40,000 horse, and 130 armed chariots into the field of battle, under the command of Neoptolemus and Archelaus. His fleet consisted of 400 ships of war, well manned and provisioned. In an engagement the king of Pontus obtained the victory, and dispersed the Roman forces in Asia. He became master of the greatest part of Asia, and the Hellespont submitted to his power. Two of the Roman generals were taken, and Marcus Aquilius, who was principally entrusted with the conduct of the war, was carried about in Asia, and exposed to the ridicule and insults of the populace, and at last put to death by Mithridates, who ordered melted gold to be poured down his throat, as a slur upon the avidity of the Romans. The conqueror took every possible advantage; he subdued all the islands of the Ægean sea, and, though Rhodes refused to submit to his power, yet all Greece was soon overrun by his general Archelaus, and made tributary to the kingdom of Pontus. Meanwhile the Romans, incensed against Mithridates on account of his perfidy, and of his cruelty in massacring 80,000 of their countrymen in one day all over Asia, appointed Sylla to march into the east. Sylla landed in Greece, where the inhabitants readily acknowledged his power; but Athens shut her gates against the Roman commander, and Archelaus, who defended it, defeated, with the greatest courage, all the efforts and operations of the enemy. This spirited defence was of short duration. Archelaus retreated into Bœotia, where Sylla soon followed him. The two hostile armies drew up in a line of battle near Chæronea, and the Romans obtained the victory, and of the almost innumerable forces of the Asiatics, no more than 10,000 escaped. Another battle in Thessaly, near Orchomenos, proved equally fatal to the king of Pontus. Dorylaus, one of his generals, was defeated, and he soon after sued for peace. Sylla listened to the terms of accommodation, as his presence at Rome was now become necessary to quell the commotions and cabals which his enemies had raised against him. He pledged himself to the king of Pontus to confirm him in the possession of his dominions, and to procure him the title of friend and ally of Rome; and Mithridates consented to relinquish Asia and Paphlagonia, to deliver Cappadocia to Ariobarzanes, and Bithynia to Nicomedes, and to pay to the Romans 2000 talents to defray the expenses of the war, and to deliver into their hands 70 galleys, with all their rigging. Though Mithridates seemed to have re-established peace in his dominions, yet Fimbria, whose sentiments were contrary to those of Sylla, and who made himself master of the army of Asia by intrigue and oppression, kept him under continual alarms, and rendered the existence of his power precarious. Sylla, who had returned from Greece to ratify the treaty which had been made with Mithridates, rid the world of the tyrannical Fimbria; and the king of Pontus, awed by the resolution and determined firmness of his adversary, agreed to the conditions, though with reluctance. The hostile preparations of Mithridates, which continued in the time of peace, became suspected by the Romans, and Muræna, who was left as governor of Asia in Sylla’s absence, and who wished to make himself known by some conspicuous action, began hostilities by taking Comana and plundering the temple of Bellona. Mithridates did not oppose him, but he complained of this breach of peace before the Roman senate. Muræna was publicly reprimanded; but, as he did not cease from hostilities, it was easily understood that he acted by the private directions of the Roman people. The king upon this marched against him, and a battle was fought, in which both the adversaries claimed the victory. This was the last blow which the king of Pontus received in this war, which is called the second Mithridatic war, and which continued for about three years. Sylla at that time was made perpetual dictator at Rome, and he commanded Muræna to retire from the kingdom of Mithridates. The death of Sylla changed the face of affairs; the treaty of peace between the king of Pontus and the Romans, which had never been committed to writing, demanded frequent explanations, and Mithridates at last threw off the mask of friendship, and declared war. Nicomedes, at his death, left his kingdom to the Romans, but Mithridates disputed their right to the possessions of the deceased monarch, and entered the field with 120,000 men, besides a fleet of 400 ships in his ports, 16,000 horsemen to follow him, and 100 chariots armed with scythes. Lucullus was appointed over Asia, and entrusted with the care of the Mithridatic war. His valour and prudence showed his merit; and Mithridates, in his vain attempts to take Cyzicum, lost no less than 300,000 men. Success continually attended the Roman arms. The king of Pontus was defeated in several bloody engagements, and with difficulty saved his life, and retired to his son-in-law Tigranes king of Armenia. Lucullus pursued him; and, when his applications for the person of the fugitive monarch had been despised by Tigranes, he marched to the capital of Armenia, and terrified, by his sudden approach, the numerous forces of the enemy. A battle ensued. The Romans obtained an easy victory, and no less than 100,000 foot of the Armenians perished, and only five men of the Romans were killed. Tigranocerta, the rich capital of the country, fell into the conqueror’s hands. After such signal victories, Lucullus had the mortification to see his own troops mutiny, and to be dispossessed of the command by the arrival of Pompey. The new general showed himself worthy to succeed Lucullus. He defeated Mithridates, and rendered his affairs so desperate, that the monarch fled for safety into the country of the Scythians; where, for a while, he meditated the ruin of the Roman empire, and, with more wildness than prudence, secretly resolved to invade Italy by land, and march an army across the northern wilds of Asia and Europe to the Apennines. Not only the kingdom of Mithridates had fallen into the enemy’s hands, but also all the neighbouring kings and princes were subdued, and Pompey saw prostrate at his feet Tigranes himself, that king of kings, who had lately treated the Romans with such contempt. Meantime, the wild projects of Mithridates terrified his subjects; and they, fearful to accompany him in a march of above 2000 miles across a barren and uncultivated country, revolted, and made his son king. The monarch, forsaken in his old age, even by his own children, put an end to his life [See: Mithridates VII.], and gave the Romans cause to rejoice, as the third Mithridatic war was ended in his fall, B.C. 63. Such were the unsuccessful struggles of Mithridates against the power of Rome. He was always full of resources, and the Romans had never a greater or more dangerous war to sustain. The duration of the Mithridatic war is not precisely known. According to Justin, Orosius, Floras, and Eutropius, it lasted 40 years; but the opinion of others, who fix its duration to 30 years, is far more credible; and, indeed, by proper calculation, there elapsed no more than 26 years from the time that Mithridates first entered the field against the Romans, till the time of his death. Appian, Mithridatic Wars.――Justin, bk. 37, &c.――Florus, bk. 2, &c.――Livy.――Plutarch, Lucullus, &c.――Orosius.――Paterculus.――Dionysius of Halicarnassus.

=Mithridātis=, a ♦daughter of Mithridates the Great. She was poisoned by her father.

♦ ‘daughther’ replaced with ‘daughter’

=Mithrobarzānes=, a king of Armenia, &c.――――An officer sent by Tigranes against Lucullus, &c. Plutarch.――――The father-in-law of Datames.

=Mĭty̆lēne= and =Hĭty̆lĕnæ=, the capital city of the island of Lesbos, which receives its name from Mitylene the daughter of Macareus, a king of the country. It was greatly commended by the ancients for the stateliness of its buildings and the fruitfulness of its soil, but more particularly for the great men whom it produced. Pittacus, Alcæus, Sappho, Terpander, Theophanes, Hellenicus, &c., were all natives of Mitylene. It was long a seat of learning, and, with Rhodes and Athens, it had the honour of having educated many of the great men of Rome and Greece. In the Peloponnesian war the Mityleneans suffered greatly for their revolt from the power of Athens; and, in the Mithridatic wars, they had the boldness to resist the Romans, and disdain the treaties which had been made between Mithridates and Sylla. Cicero, On the Agrarian Law.――Strabo, bk. 13.――Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.――Diodorus, bks. 3 & 12.――Paterculus, bk. 1, ch. 4. ――Horace, bk. 1, ode 7, &c.――Thucydides, bk. 3, &c.――Plutarch, Pompey, &c.

=Mitys=, a man whose statue fell upon his murderer, and crushed him to death, &c. Aristotle, bk. 10, Poetics.――――A river of Macedonia.

=Mizæi=, a people of Elymais.

=Mnasalces=, a Greek poet, who wrote epigrams. Athenæus.――Strabo.

=Mnasias=, an historian of Phœnicia.――――Another of Colophon.――――A third of Patræ, in Achaia, who flourished 141 B.C.

=Mnasicles=, a general of Thymbro, &c. Diodorus, ♦bk. 18.

♦ ‘58’ replaced with ‘18’

=Mnasīlus=, a youth who assisted Chromis to tie the old Silenus, whom they found asleep in a cave. Some imagine that Virgil spoke of Varus under the name of Mnasilus. Virgil, Eclogues, poem 6, li. 13.

=Mnasippidas=, a Lacedæmonian, who imposed upon the credulity of the people, &c. Polyænus.

=Mnasippus=, a Lacedæmonian, sent with a fleet of 65 ships and 1500 men to Corcyra, where he was killed, &c. Diodorus, bk. 15.

=Mnasitheus=, a friend of Aratus.

=Mnason=, a tyrant of Elatia, who gave 1200 pieces of gold for 12 pictures of 12 gods to Asclepiodorus. Pliny, bk. 35, ch. 16.

=Mnasyrium=, a place in Rhodes. Strabo, bk. 14.

=Mnemon=, a surname given to Artaxerxes on account of his retentive memory. Cornelius Nepos, Kings.――――A Rhodian.

=Mnēmŏsy̆ne=, a daughter of Cœlus and Terra, mother of the nine Muses by Jupiter, who assumed the form of a shepherd to enjoy her company. The word Mnemosyne signifies memory, and therefore the poets have rightly called memory the mother of the Muses, because it is to that mental endowment that mankind are indebted for their progress in science. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6, fable 4.――Pindar, Isthmean, ch. 6.――Hesiod, Theogony.――Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 1, &c.――――A fountain of Bœotia, whose waters were generally drunk by those who consulted the oracle of Trophonius. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 39.

=Mnesarchus=, a celebrated philosopher of Greece, pupil to Panætius, &c. Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 1, ch. 11.

=Mnesidămus=, an officer who conspired against the lieutenant of Demetrius. Polyænus, bk. 5.

=Mnesilaus=, a son of Pollux and Phœbe. Apollodorus.

=Mnesimăche=, a daughter of Dexamenus king of Olenus, courted by Eurytion, whom Hercules killed. Apollodorus, bk. 2.

=Mnesimăchus=, a comic poet.

=Mnester=, a freedman of Agrippina, who murdered himself at the death of his mistress. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 14, ch. 9.

=Mnestheus=, a Trojan, descended from Assaracus. He was a competitor for the prize given to the best sailing vessel by Æneas, at the funeral games of Anchises in Sicily, and became the progenitor of the family of the Memmii at Rome. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 116, &c. ――――A son of Peteus. See: Menestheus.――――A freedman of Aurelian, &c. Eutropius, bk. 9.――Aurelius Victor.

=Mnestia=, a daughter of Danaus. Apollodorus.

=Mnestra=, a mistress of Cimon.

=Mnĕvis=, a celebrated bull, sacred to the sun in the town of Heliopolis. He was worshipped with the same superstitious ceremonies as Apis, and, at his death, he received the most magnificent funeral. He was the emblem of Osiris. Diodorus, bk. 1.――Plutarch, de Iside et Osiride.

=Moaphernes=, the uncle of Strabo’s mother, &c. Strabo, bk. 12.

=Modestus=, a Latin writer, whose book De re Militari has been elegantly edited in 2 vols., 8vo, Vesaliæ, 1670.

=Modia=, a rich widow at Rome. Juvenal, satire 3, li. 130.

=Mœcia=, one of the tribes at Rome. Livy, bk. 8, ch. 17.

=Mœnus=, now Mayne, a river of Germany, which falls into the Rhine near Mentz. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 28.

=Mœragĕtes=, fatorum ductor, a surname of Jupiter. Pausanias, bk. 5, ch. 15.

=Mœris=, a king of India, who fled at the approach of Alexander. Curtius, bk. 9, ch. 8.――――A steward of the shepherd Menalcas in Virgil’s, Eclogues, poem 9.――――A king of Egypt. He was the last of the 300 kings from Menes to Sesostris, and reigned 68 years. Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 13.――――A celebrated lake in Egypt, supposed to have been dug by the king of the same name. It is about 220 miles in circumference, and intended as a reservoir for the superfluous waters during the inundation of the Nile. There were two pyramids in it, 600 feet high, half of which lay under the water, and the other appeared above the surface. Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 4, &c.――Mela, bk. 1, ch. 6.――Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 12.

=Mœdi=, a people of Thrace, conquered by Philip of Macedonia.

=Mœon=, a Sicilian, who poisoned Agathocles, &c.

=Mœra=, a dog. See: Mera.

=Mœsia=, a country of Europe, bounded on the south by the mountains of Dalmatia, north by mount Hæmus, extending from the confluence of the Savus and the Danube to the shores of the Euxine. It was divided into Upper and Lower Mœsia. Lower Mœsia was on the borders of the Euxine, and contained that tract of country which received the name of Pontus from its vicinity to the sea, and which is now part of Bulgaria. Upper Mœsia lies beyond the other, in the inland country, now called Servia. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 26.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 1, li. 102.

=Moleia=, a festival in Arcadia, in commemoration of a battle in which Lycurgus obtained the victory.

=Molion=, a Trojan prince, who distinguished himself in the defence of his country against the Greeks as the friend and companion of Thymbræus. They were slain by Ulysses and Diomedes. Homer, Iliad, bk. 11, li. 320.

=Molīŏne=, the wife of Actor son of Phorbas. She became mother of Cteatus and Eurytus, who, from her, are called Molionides. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 14.――Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.

=Molo=, a philosopher of Rhodes, called also Apollonius. Some are of opinion that Apollonius and Molo are two different persons, who were both natives of Alabanda, and disciples of Menecles, of the same place. They both visited Rhodes, and there opened a school, but Molo flourished some time after Apollonius. Molo had Cicero and Julius Cæsar among his pupils. See: Apollonius. Cicero, On Oratory. ――――A prince of Syria, who revolted against Antiochus, and killed himself when his rebellion was attended with ill success.

=Moloeis=, a river of Bœotia, near Platæa.

=Mŏlorchus=, an old shepherd near Cleonæ, who received Hercules with great hospitality. The hero, to repay the kindness he received, destroyed the Nemæan lion, which laid waste the neighbouring country and, therefore, the Nemæan games, instituted on this occasion, are to be understood by the words Lucus Molorchi. There were two festivals instituted in his honour, called Molorcheæ. Martial, bk. 9, ltr. 44; bk. 14, ltr. 44.――Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 5.――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 3, li. 19.――Statius, Thebiad, bk. 4, li. 160.

=Mŏlossi=, a people of Epirus, who inhabited that part of the country which was called Molossia, or Molossis from king Molossus. This country had the bay of Ambracia on the south, and the country of the Perrhæbeans on the east. The dogs of the place were famous, and received the name of Molossi among the Romans. Dodona was the capital of the country according to some writers. Others, however, reckon it as the chief city of Thesprotia. Lucretius, bk. 5, lis. 10, 62.――Lucan, bk. 4, li. 440.――Strabo, bk. 7.――Livy. ――Justin, bk. 7, ch. 6.――Cornelius Nepos, bk. 2, ch. 8. ――Virgil, Georgics, bk. 3, li. 495.――Horace, bk. 2, satire 6, li. 114.

=Mŏlossia=, or =Molossis=. See: Molossi.

=Molossus=, a son of Pyrrhus and Andromache. He reigned in Epirus, after the death of Helenus, and part of his dominions received the name of Molossia from him. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 11.――――A surname of Jupiter in Epirus.――――An Athenian general, &c. Pausanias, Theseus.――――The father of Merion of Crete. See: Molus. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 6.

=Molpadia=, one of the Amazons, &c. Plutarch.

=Molpus=, an author who wrote a history of Lacedæmon.

=Molus=, a Cretan, father of Meriones. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 6.――――A son of Deucalion.――――Another, son of Mars and Demonice.

=Molycrion=, a town of Ætolia, between the Evenus and Naupactum. Pausanias, bk. 5, ch. 3.

=Momemphis=, a town of Egypt. Strabo, bk. 17.

=Momus=, the god of pleasantry among the ancients, was son of Nox, according to Hesiod. He was continually employed in satirizing the gods, and whatever they did was freely turned to ridicule. He blamed Vulcan, because in the human form which he had made of clay, he had not placed a window in his breast, by which whatever was done or thought there might be easily brought to light. He censured the house which Minerva had made, because the goddess had not made it movable, by which means a bad neighbourhood might be avoided. In the bull which Neptune had produced, he observed that his blows might have been surer if his eyes had been placed near his horns. Venus herself was exposed to his satire; and when the sneering god had found no fault in the body of the naked goddess, he observed, as she retired, that the noise of her feet was too loud, and greatly improper in the goddess of beauty. These illiberal reflections upon the gods were the cause that Momus was driven from heaven. He is generally represented raising a mask from his face, and holding a small figure in his hand. Hesiod, Theogony.――Lucian, Hermotimus.

=Mona=, an island between Britain and Hibernia, anciently inhabited by a number of Druids. It is supposed by some to be the modern island of Anglesey, and by others, the island of Man. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 14, chs. 18 & 29.

=Monæses=, a king of Parthia, who favoured the cause of Marcus Antony against Augustus. Horace, bk. 3, ode 6, li. 9.――――A Parthian in the age of Mithridates, &c.

=Monda=, a river between the Durius, and Tagus, in Portugal. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 22.

=Monēsus=, a general killed by Jason at Colchis, &c.

=Monēta=, a surname of Juno among the Romans. She received it because she advised them to sacrifice a pregnant sow to Cybele, to avert an earthquake. Cicero, De Divinatione, bk. 1, ch. 15. Livy says (bk. 7, ch. 28) that a temple was vowed to Juno under this name, by the dictator Furius, when the Romans waged war against the Aurunci, and that the temple was raised to the goddess by the senate, on the spot where the house of Manlius Capitolinus had formerly stood. Suidas, however, says, that Juno was surnamed Moneta, from assuring the Romans, when in the war against Pyrrhus they complained of want of pecuniary resources, that money could never fail to those who cultivated justice.

=Monĭma=, a beautiful woman of Miletus, whom Mithridates the Great married. When his affairs grew desperate, Mithridates ordered his wives to destroy themselves; Monima attempted to strangle herself, but when her efforts were unavailing, she ordered one of her attendants to stab her. Plutarch, Lucullus.

=Monimus=, a philosopher of Syracuse.

=Monŏdus=, a son of Prusias. He had one continued bone instead of a row of teeth, whence his name (μονος ὁδους). Pliny, bk. 7, ch. 16.

=Monœcus=, now Monaco, a town and port of Liguria, where Hercules had a temple; whence he is called Monœcius, and the harbour Herculis Portus. Strabo, bk. 4.――Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 830.

=Monoleus=, a lake of Æthiopia.

=Monophăge=, sacrifices in Ægina.

=Monophĭlus=, a eunuch of Mithridates. The king entrusted him with the care of one of his daughters; and the eunuch, when he saw the affairs of his master in a desperate situation, stabbed her, lest she should fall into the enemy’s hands, &c.

=Mons Sacer=, a mountain near Rome, where the Roman populace retired in a tumult, which was the cause of the election of the tribunes.

=Mons Sevērus=, a mountain near Rome, &c.

=Montānus=, a poet who wrote in hexameter and elegiac verses. Ovid, ex Ponto.――――An orator under Vespasian.――――A favourite of Messalina. ――――One of the senators whom Domitian consulted about boiling a turbot. Juvenal, satire 4.

=Mony̆chus=, a powerful giant, who could root up trees and hurl them like a javelin. He receives his name from his having the feet of a horse, as the word implies. Juvenal, satire 1, li. 11.

=Mony̆ma.= See: Monima.

=Mony̆mus=, a servant of Corinth, who, not being permitted by his master to follow Diogenes the cynic, pretended madness, and obtained his liberty. He became a great admirer of the philosopher, and also of Crates, and even wrote something in the form of facetious stories. Diogenes Laërtius.

=Mophis=, an Indian prince conquered by Alexander.

=Mopsium=, a hill and town of Thessaly, between Tempe and Larissa. Livy, bk. 42.

=Mopsopia=, an ancient name of Athens, from Mopsus, one of its kings, and from thence the epithet of Mopsopius is often applied to an Athenian.

=Mopsuhestia=, or =Mopsos=, a town of Cilicia near the sea. Cicero, Letters to his Friends, bk. 3, ch. 8.

=Mopsus=, a celebrated prophet, son of Manto and Apollo, during the Trojan war. He was consulted by Amphimachus king of Colophon, who wished to know what success would attend his arms in a war which he was going to undertake. He predicted the greatest calamities; but Calchas, who had been a soothsayer of the Greeks during the Trojan war, promised the greatest successes. Amphimachus followed the opinion of Calchas, but the opinion of Mopsus was fully verified. This had such an effect upon Calchas that he died soon after. His death is attributed by some to another mortification of the same nature. The two soothsayers, jealous of each other’s fame, came to a trial of their skill in divination. Calchas first asked his antagonist how many figs a neighbouring tree bore. “Ten thousand except one,” replied Mopsus, “and one single vessel can contain them all.” The figs were gathered, and his conjectures were true. Mopsus, now to try his adversary, asked him how many young ones a certain pregnant sow would bring forth. Calchas confessed his ignorance, and Mopsus immediately said that the sow would bring forth on the morrow 10 young ones, of which only one should be a male, all black, and that the females should all be known by their white streaks. The morrow proved the veracity of his prediction, and Calchas died by excess of the grief which this defeat produced. Mopsus after death was ranked among the gods; and had an oracle at Malia, celebrated for the true and decisive answers which it gave. Strabo, bk. 9. ――Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 3.――Ammianus, bk. 14, ch. 8.――Plutarch, de Defectu Oraculorum.――――A son of Ampyx and Chloris, born at Titaressa in Thessaly. He was the prophet and soothsayer of the Argonauts, and died at his return from Colchis by the bite of a serpent in Libya. Jason erected to him a monument on the sea-shore, where afterwards the Africans built him a temple where he gave oracles. He has often been confounded with the son of Manto, as their professions and their names were alike. Hyginus, fables 14, 128, 173.――Strabo, bk. 9.――――A shepherd of that name in Virgil, Eclogues.

=Morgantium= (or ia), a town of Sicily, near the mouth of the Simethus. Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 3, ch. 18.

=Morĭni=, a people of Belgic Gaul, on the shores of the British ocean. The shortest passage to Britain was from their territories. They were called extremi hominum by the Romans, because situate on the extremities of Gaul. Their city, called Morinorum castellum, is now Mount Cassel, in Artois; and Morinorum civitas, is Terouenne, on the Lis. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 726.――Cæsar, bk. 4, Gallic War, ch. 21.

=Moritasgus=, a king of the Senones at the arrival of Cæsar in Gaul. Cæsar, Gallic War.

=Morius=, a river of Bœotia. Plutarch.

=Morpheus=, the son and minister of the god Somnus, who naturally imitated the grimaces, gestures, words, and manners of mankind. He is sometimes called the god of sleep. He is generally represented as a sleeping child of great corpulence, and with wings. He holds a vase in one hand, and in the other are some poppies. He is represented by Ovid as sent to inform by a dream and a vision the unhappy Alcyone of the fate of her husband Ceyx. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11, fable 10.

=Mors=, one of the infernal deities born of Night, without a father. She was worshipped by the ancients, particularly by the Lacedæmonians, with great solemnity, and represented not as an actually existing power, but as an imaginary being. Euripides introduces her in one of his tragedies on the stage. The moderns represent her as a skeleton armed with a scythe and a scymetar.

=Mortuum mare.= See: Mare Mortuum.

=Morys=, a Trojan killed by Meriones during the Trojan war. Homer, Iliad, bk. 13, &c.

=Mosa=, a river of Belgic Gaul falling into the German ocean, and now called the Maese or Meuse. The bridge over it, Mosæpons, is now supposed to be Maestricht. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 4, ch. 66.

=Moscha=, now Mascat, a port of Arabia on the Red sea.

=Moschi=, a people of Asia, at the west of the Caspian sea. Mela, bk. 1, ch. 2; bk. 3, ch. 5.――Lucan, bk. 3, li. 270.

=Moschion=, a name common to four different writers, whose compositions, character, and native place are unknown. Some fragments of their writings remain, some few verses and a treatise de morbis mulierum, edited by Gesner, 4to, Basil, 1566.

=Moschus=, a Phœnician who wrote the history of his country in his own mother tongue.――――A philosopher of Sidon. He is supposed to be the founder of anatomical philosophy. Strabo.――――A Greek Bucolic poet in the age of Ptolemy Philadelphus. The sweetness and elegance of his eclogues, which are still extant, make the world regret the loss of poetical pieces no ways inferior to the productions of Theocritus. The best editions of Moschus with Bion is that of Heskin, 8vo, Oxford, 1748.――――A Greek rhetorician of Pergamus in the age of Horace, defended by Torquatus in an accusation of having poisoned some of his friends. Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 5, li. 9.

=Mosella=, a river of Belgic Gaul falling into the Rhine at Coblentz, and now called the Moselle. Florus, bk. 3, ch. 10.――Tacitus, Annals, bk. 13, ch. 53.

=Moses=, a celebrated legislator and general among the Jews, well known in sacred history. He was born in Egypt 1571 B.C., and after he had performed his miracles before Pharaoh, conducted the Israelites through the Red sea, and given them laws and ordinances, during their peregrination of 40 years in the wilderness of Arabia, he died at the age of 120. His writings have been quoted and commended by several of the heathen authors, who have divested themselves of their prejudices against a Hebrew, and extolled his learning and the effects of his wisdom. Longinus.――Diodorus, bk. 1.

=Mosychlus=, a mountain of Lemnos. Nicander.

=Mosynæci=, a nation on the Euxine sea, in whose territories the 10,000 Greeks stayed on their return from Cunaxa. Xenophon.

=Mothōne=, a town of Magnesia, where Philip lost one of his eyes. Justin, bk. 7, ch. 6. The word is oftener spelt Methone.

=Motya=, a town of Sicily, besieged and taken by Dionysius tyrant of Syracuse.

=Muciānus=, a facetious and intriguing general under Otho and Vitellius, &c.

=Mucius.= See: Mutius.

=Mucræ=, a village of Samnium. Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 565.

=Mulcĭber=, a surname of Vulcan (a mulcendo ferrum), from his occupation. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, li. 5. See: Vulcanus.

=Mulŭcha=, a river of Africa, dividing Numidia from Mauritania. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 2.

=Mulvius pons=, a bridge on the Flaminian way, about one mile distant from Rome. Martial, bk. 3, ltr. 14.

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