Lempriere's classical dictionary, abridged for public and private schools of both sexes

Preface

TO

©fjtrtr mixtion

OF

BARKER'S ABRIDGMENT OF LEMPRIERE.

The success of two former editions of Barker's Abridgment of Lempriere's Classical Dictionary relieves the editor from the necessity of attempting to recommend it as a useful and valuable school-book.

But, though the merits of this work have been fully acknowledged, it cannot be denied that in some respects it was imperfect in plan, and in numerous instances its contents were so meagre and unsatisfactory as to present the form, rather than the substance, of the larger work from which it was abridged. Within the last few years, moreover, the zeal with which classical studies have been pursued, both in this country and on the Continent, has opened so many new sources of information on the various topics embraced by a Classical Dictionary, that far greater care and completeness are necessary to reach the present standard of education than at any previous period, and an extensive revision of elementary works like the present is rendered indispensable. Under these circumstances, the editor has undertaken the task of adapting this work to what he believes to be the wants of the rising generation ; and, without further preface, he will content himself with noticing briefly a few of those points which he thinks likely to contribute to the value of the present edition.

The principal heads embraced in this volume are, the Mythology, Geography, History, Biography, and, to a certain extent, the Archaeology, of the Ancient Greeks and Romans ; and on all these heads the corrections, improvements, and additions have been so numerous as to entitle the present edition to the character of an entirely new work.

In the department of Mythology, a copious account of all the Heathen Deities, Heroes, and other fabulous personages mentioned in the classical authors has been given, together with a notice of the principal Deities of Egypt, India, Persia, Scandinavia, and other countries. To many of the more important subjects, an explanation of the fables and allegories in which the ancient mythology is enveloped, has been appended ; but the editor has scrupulously refrained from indulging in theory, and has confined himself entirely to a statement of the results at which the best authorities have arrived.

In the articles devoted to Geography, instead of the generally meagre statements of the previous editions, not only the position, boundaries, &c, of countries, and the situation of cities, mountains, rivers, and other natural objects, together with their modern designations, have been given ; but a succinct account of their history has been added, and in those cases in which this was impracticable, the leading events with which they are associated have been enumerated.

iv

PREFACE.

In the Biographical articles, an attempt has been made to give, in a connected form, the main events in the lives of all the distinguished characters of antiquity, with the date of their occurrence ; but here, as in the mythological articles, no matter of a speculative kind has been introduced, the editor having aimed at presenting rather a repertory of facts than of deductions and inferences, which, from the limits within which the volume must be compressed, could not be otherwise than unsatisfactory and incomplete.

It did not come within the scope of the work to introduce subjects purely Archaeological ; but considering how large a share many of these subjects occupy in the economy of Greece and Rome (to a thorough knowledge of whose writers they are indeed indispensable), it has been deemed advisable to describe the leading institutions and magistracies of antiquity, &c, and to allot a considerable space to its festivals and amusements.

To enable the editor to make these additions and improvements, without altering the nature of the work as an abridgment, or increasing materially its cost to the purchaser, a quantity of matter not calculated to assist the pupil has been erased, numerous repetitions which encumbered the. previous editions have been removed, and the size of the original volume has been increased by upwards of one hundred and fifty pages. The editor makes no pretensions to originality ; he has freely availed himself of the labours of others wherever he found them suited to his purpose : but though he candidly makes this admission, he must at the same time be allowed to say that when discrepant opinions were to be reconciled, and doubtful questions cleared up, he has seldom failed to refer to the original sources of information, and in no case has he adopted any important or unusual statement without a careful collation of authorities. Keeping in view the class of persons for whom this work is especially intended, he 4 has studied to avoid every thing offensive both in language and matter, being persuaded that the want of delicacy in an elementary work could hardly be compensated by any excellences it might possess.

ADVERTISEMENT TO THIS EDITION.

In return for the mark of public approbation bestowed on our labours, we have subjected the whole work to a careful revision, eradicated the errors that had escaped our notice, supplied such articles as had been omitted, and, in a word, have endeavoured to make it more deserving than ever of a continuance of public favour.

CLASSICAL DICTIONARY,

ABA

Abac^num, an ancient city of the Siculi, in Sicily, situated on a steep hill, southwest of Messana. Its ruins are supposed to be in the x vicinity of the modern Tripi.

Abje, I., a city of Phocis, near and to the right of Elataea, towards Opus ; celebrated for its oracle of Apollo, said to have been of greater antiquity than that at Delphi. During the Persian invasion, the temple whence the oracles issued was nearly destroyed by the army of Xerxes ; but Herodotus states that, even in its dilapidated state, the oracle was consulted on behalf of Mardonius. Abaj possessed also a forum and a theatre, the ruins of which are pointed out by Sir W. Gell near the modern village of Exarcho. — IT. The Scholiast on Sophocles mentions a city in Lycia, called Abae, where Apollo is said to have had a temple ; but this is pronounced to be an error by the best commentators.

Abalus. See Basilia.

Abantes, a people of Greece, whose origin is not clearly ascertained, though it is probable that they came first from Thrace, and, having settled in Phocis, built the city Abas. From this quarter, part of them seem to have removed to Euboea, and hence the name of Abantias, or Abantis, which this island sometimes bears. Some of this wandering race subsequently left Euboea, and settled for a time in the island of Chios. Another band, returning with some of the Locri from the Trojan war, were driven to the coast of Epirus, established themselves in a part of Thesprotia, inhabited the city of Thronium, and gave the name of Abantis to the adjacent territory.

Abantias, and Abantiades, I., a patronymic given to the descendants of Abas, king of Argos, such as Acrisius, Danae, Perseus, Atalanta, &c. — II. One of the ancient names of the island of Euboea. See Abantes.

a. Diet.

ABA

Abantidas made himself master of Sicyon, after he had murdered Clinias, father of Aratus, who was then in charge of the administration ; was himself soon after assassinated, b. c. 251.

Abaris, I., a Scythian, or Hyperborean, mentioned by several ancient writers, and forming the centre of innumerable ingenious speculations to the learned. In the third Olympiad he passed into Greece, where he distinguished himself by his miraculous achievements, such as healing incurable diseases, averting storms and pestilence, &c, by means of an arrow presented to him by Apollo, to whom, on his return, he is said to have consecrated the money he received for these various services. Creuzer considers Abaris as belonging to the curious chain of connection between the religions of the north and those of southern Europe, so distinctly indicated by the customary offerings sent to Delos from the country of the Hyperboreans. Other distinguished antiquaries view in Abaris the god Apollo himself, who had become his own priest, Abaris being merely the Macedonian form of Aphareus, or Aphaios, luminous, a common epithet of Apollo. — II. A city of Egypt, called also Avaris, and either founded by the shepherd-race who overran the country, or else enlarged and strengthened by them. The former supposition is more generally adopted. Manetho places it to the east of the Bubastic mouth of the Nile, in the Saitic nome. Mannert makes it identical with what was afterwards called Pelusium ; for the name Abaris disappeared when the shepherd-race retired from Egypt; and the situation of Pelusium coincides sufficiently well with the site of Abaris, as far as authorities have reached us on this point.

Abarkis or -us, a name given to that part of Mysia in which Lampsacus was

B

ABA

ABE situate. Venus, according to the fable, here disowned (aTT7)puT)<raTo) her offspring Priapus, whom she had just brought forth, being shocked at his deformity. Hence the appellation. The first form Aparnis was subsequently altered to Abarnis.

Abarus, an Arabian prince, who perfidiously deserted Crassus in his expedition against Parthia. He is called Mazeres by Flor. and Ariamnes by Plut.

Abas or Abus, L, a mountain of Armenia Major ; according to D'Anville the modern Abi-dag, but maintained by Mannert to be the modern Ararat. It gives rise to the southern branch of the Euphrates. — II. A river of Albania, rising in the chain of Caucasus, and falling into the Caspian sea. Ptolemy calls it the Albanus. On its banks Pompey defeated the Albanians, who had revolted. — III. The twelfth king of Argos, son of Belus, some say of Lynceus and Hypermnestra ; famous for his genius and valour ; father of Proetus and Acrisius ; said to have built Abae; reigned twenty-three years, b.c. 1384. — IV. A soothsayer, to whom the Spartans erected a statue for his services to Lysander, before the battle of JEgospotamos. He is called by some writers Hagias.

Abas a, an island in the Red sea, near ./Ethiopia.

AbasItis, a district of Phrygia Epictetus, in the vicinity of Mysia. In it was the city of Ancyra ; and here also the river Macestus, or Megistus, arose.

Abassena or Abassinia. See Abyssinia.

Abatos ( Gr. inaccessible), a small rocky island in the Nile, near Philas, so called from the priests alone being permitted to enter it. It abounded in flax and papyrus, and was remarkable for being the spot where the annual increase of the Nile was first perceived. It contained also the tomb of Osiris, afterwards removed to Abydos.

Abdalonimus, one of the descendants of the kings of Sidon ; so poor that, to maintain himself, he worked in a garden. When Alexander took Sidon he made him king, and enlarged his possessions for his disinterestedness. Diodorus Siculus had corrupted the name into Ballonymus.

Abuera, I., a city of Thrace, at the mouth of the Nessus. Ephorus wrote the name in the singular (Abderon), but the plural form is more usual. There are several accounts of the origin of Abdera ; but the best authenticated statement represents it as having been founded by the Clazomenian Timesius, who, however, was unable to complete his undertaking ; and as having been at a later period re-colonised by a large body of Teians from Ionia, who abandoned their city when besieged by Harpagus, general of Cyrus. The city of Abdera was the birth-place of many distinguished men, such as Democritus, Protagoras, Anaxarchus, and Hecataeus ; the last of whom, however, must not be confounded with the native of Miletus. But notwithstanding the celebrity of some of their fellow-citizens, the people of Abdera as a body were reputed to be stupid. Among the Latin writers we find Cicero styling Rome, on account of the stupidity of its senators, an Abdera ; and Juvenal stigmatising Abdera itself as " the native country of blockheads." Martial also speaks of the " Abderitanae pectoraplebis." No doubt, however, much of this is exaggeration. Abdera was the limit of the Odrysian empire to the West : but it afterwards fell successively into the power of Philip and Eumenes, king of Pergamus. Under the Romans it became a free city, and continued so even down to the time of Pliny. Its ruins still exist near Cape Baloustra. — II. A town of Hispania Bastica, east of Malaca, in the territory of the Bastuli Pceni, and lying on the coast. Strabo calls it AvSripa, and Ptolemy "Ag- Sapa, but in Steph. B. we have "AgS^pa, and on a coin of Tiberius Abdera. It was founded by a Phoenician colony, and appears to correspond to the modern Adra.

AbderItes, a people of Pasonia, obliged to leave their country on account of the great number of rats and frogs which infested it.

Abderus, a Locrian, armour-bearer of Hercules, torn to pieces by the mares of Diomedes, which the hero had intrusted to his care, when going to war against the Bistones. According to Philostratus Hercules built the city Abdera in honour of his friend.

Abella, a town of Campania, north-east of Nola, founded, according to Justin, by a colony from Chalcis, in Eubcea. Its ruins still exist under the name of Avella Vecchia. Notwithstanding the small size of Abella, it was in possession of a republican form of government, which it retained until subdued by the Romans. The inhabitants (Abellani) are frequently mentioned by the ancient writers. Their territory was famed for a species of nut called nux Abellana, or Avellana, corresponding to the corylus of Virgil, and the corylus Avellana of Linnaeus, class 21.

Abellinum, I., a city of the Hirpini, in Samnium, now Abellino. Its inhabitants are distinguished from those of the other Abellinum by the appellation of Abellinates

ABG

ABO

Protropi. — II. A city of Lucania, near the source of the Aciris; called Ahellinum Marsicum, and thought, by Cluverius and D'Anville, to accord with the situation of the modern Marsico Vetere.

Abgarus, I., a name common to many kings of Edessa, in Mesopotamia. It is otherwise written Abagarus, Agbarus, Augarus, &c. The first monarch of this name, according to Euseb., wrote a letter to our Saviour and received an answer from him (see Edessa); but the genuineness of these letters has been the subject of much dispute. — II. The name of the Arabian prince, by whose perfidy Crassus was drawn into a snare, which proved his ruin. He is called "Angapos, by Appian, 5 Apta,ui/7?9 by Plutarch, and Avyapos by Dio Cass.

Abia, the southernmost city of Messenia, on the eastern shore of the Messenian gulf. Pausanias states that it was *70 stadia from Pheras, and identifies it with Ire, which Homer mentions as one of the places offered by Agamemnon to Achilles. Abia, together with the adjacent cities of Thuria and Pherae, separated from Messenia, and became part of the Achaean confederacy ; but they afterwards again attached themselves to the Messenian government. At a later period, Augustus, in order to punish the Messenians for having favoured the party of Antony, annexed these three cities to Laconia, an arrangement, however, which must have continued only for a short time, since Ptolemy and Pausanias include them again among the cities of Messenia. A small village, named Zamata, now stands either on or near the site of Abia.

Abii, a Scythian nation, supposed by the earlier Greeks to inhabit the banks of the Tanais. Homer is thought to allude to them in Iliad, 13.6., where, for ayavccv, some read 'AStW tc. By others they are supposed to be identical with the Macrobii. The name Abii is thought by Heine to allude to their living on lands common to the whole nation, or to their having a community of goods. In truth, however, both Abii and Macrobii are mere epithets invented by the Greeks, and applied by them to these distant nations for the purpose of expressing the ideas which they entertained of them from report; abii signifying poor, and macrobii longlived.

AbTla, or Abyla, I., a mountain of Africa opposite Calpe ( Gibraltar), supposed to coincide with the modern Cape Serra, an elevated point of land, forming a peninsula, the isthmus of which is closed by Ceuta. Of the two forms given to the name of this mountain by the ancient writers, that of Abyla is the more common. Abyla is supposed to be a Carthaginian or Punic appellation for any lofty mountain. The situation of Abyla gave it, with the opposite Calpe, a conspicuous place in the Greek Mythology. See Herculis Columns.—

II. A city of Palestine, placed by Eusebius twelve miles east of Gadara. Ptolemy is supposed to refer to it under the name Abida, an error probably of copyists. —

III. A city of Ccelesyria, now Bellinas, in a mountainous country, about eighteen miles north-west of Damascus. It was the capital of Abilene, a province over which Lysanias was tetrarch, as mentioned by St. Luke, and answers to the Leucas of the Greeks, which is a translation of the Hebrew Abel or Abila, " white."

Abilene, a district of Ccelesyria, the capital of which was Abila. See preceding article.

Abnoba, according to Ptolemy, a chain of mountains in Germany, which commenced on the banks of the Mcenus ( Mayne, ) and, running between what are now Hesse and Westphalia, terminated in the present Duchy of Paderborn. Subsequent writers limit the name Abnoba to that portion of the Black Forest where the Danube commences its course, and in this sense it is used by Tacitus. A stone altar with Abnoba inscribed was discovered in the Black Forest 1778 ; and in 1784 a pedestal of white marble was found in the Grand Duchy of Baden, bearing the words Dian^e Abnoba. These ancient relics, besides indicating precisely the site of the ancient Mons Abnoba, decided also the orthography of the word, which is sometimes incorrectly written Arnoba.

Abonitichos, a small town and harbour of Paphlagonia, south-east of the promontory Carambis. It was the birth-place of an impostor, who assumed the character of JEsculapius. It is stated that he petitioned the Roman emperor to change the name of his native city to Ionopolis, and that the request of the impostor was actually granted. The modern name Ineboli is plainly a corruption of the latter.

Aborigines, the name given by the Roman writers to the primitive race, which, afterwards blending with the Siculi, founded the nation of the Latins. The name is equivalent to the Greek Autochthones, as indicating an original race. " It is one of the most creditable traditions," observes Niebuhr, " that the Aborigines, or primitive race of the Latins, had dwelt about Mount Velino in Italy, and the Lake of Celano (Fucinus), as far b 2

ABO

ABU as Carseoli, and towards Reate ; and had been driven thence onward by the Sabines, who came from Aquila. This was Cato's account ; and if Varro, who enumerated the towns they had possessed in those parts, was not imposed on, not only were the sites of these towns distinctly preserved, as well as their names, but also Other information respecting them, such as writings alone can transmit through so many centuries. Their capital, Lista, was lost by surprise ; and the exertions of many years to recover it, by expeditions from Reate, proved fruitless. Withdrawing from that district, they came down the Anio : and even at Tibur, Antemnas, Ficulea, Tellena, and farther on at Crusturnerium and Aricia, they found Siculi, whom they subdued or expelled. The Aborigines are depicted by Sallust and Virgil as savages living in hordes, without manners, law, or agriculture, on the produce of the chase and on wild fruits. This, however, does not agree with the traces of their towns in the Apennines ; but the whole account was perhaps little else than an ancient speculation on the progress of mankind from rudeness to civilisation. They are said to have revered Janus and" Saturn, the latter of whom taught them husbandry, and induced them to choose settled habitations, as the founders of a better way of life. From this ancient race, as has already been remarked, blended with a remnant of the Siculi, sprang the nation of the Latins ; and between Saturn and the time assigned for the Trojan settlement, only three kings of the Aborigines are enumerated, Picus, Faunus, and Latinus. The identity of the Aborigines and the Pelasgi has been frequently maintained.

Aboras. See Chaboras.

Abradatas, a king of Susa, who, when his wife Panthea had been taken prisoner by Cyrus, and humanely treated, surrendered himself and his troops to the conqueror. He was killed in the first battle which he undertook in the cause of Cyrus, and his wife stabbed herself on his corpse. Cyrus raised a monument to their memory.

Abrincatui, a nation of Gaul, occupying, according to the common opinion, the western coast, north of the Liger {Loire), and whose capital, Tngena, is supposed to coincide with the modern Avranches. But if we follow Ptolemy, they seem rather to have possessed what would now correspond with that part of Eastern Normandy which stretches from the Seine to the vicinity of the Rille in the district of Ouche.

Abron, I., an Athenian who wrote a treatise concerning the religion of the ancient Greeks. — II. An Argive, of most luxurious and dissolute life, who gave rise to the proverb Abronos Bios, the life of Abron.

Abrocomas, a son of Darius. He accompanied the army of Xerxes when he invaded Greece, and was killed at Thermopylae.

Abrodi^tus, a name given to Parrhasius, the painter, on account of the sumptuous manner of his living. See Parrha-

SIUS.

Abronius, Silo, a Latin poet of the Augustan age. He wrote some fables, now lost. According to Vossius, there were two poets of this name, father and son.

Abron ycus, an Athenian, very serviceable to Themistocles in his embassy to Sparta.

Abrostola, a town of Galatia, on the frontiers of Phrygia, and, according to the Itinerary, 24 miles from Pessinus. Ptolemy assigns it to Phrygia Magna.

Abrota, wife of Nisus, king of Megara. As a memorial of her virtues, Nisus, after her death, ordered the garments which she wore to become models of fashion in Megara.

Abrotonum, a town in Africa, near the Syrtis Minor, and identical with Sabrata. See Sabrata.

Absynthti, a people of Thrace, bordering on the coasts of Pontus, where there is also a river of the same name.

Absyrtides, a group of islands at the head of the Adriatic, in the Sinus Flanaticus, Gulf of Quarnero. Apoll. Rhodius calls them Bryge'ides, and states that there was in one of the group a temple erected to the Brygian Diana. (See Absyrtus.) The chief island is Absorus, with a town of the same name. In modern geography these names are Cherso, Osero, Ferosino, and Chao.

Absyrtos, a river falling into the Adriatic sea, near which Absyrtus was murdered. Grotius proposes Absyrtis as the true name of the stream.

Absyrtus, brother of Medea, and son of iEetes, king of Colchis, by whom he was despatched with a large force in pursuit of Jason and Medea, as soon as their flight was discovered. Medea, seeing herself on the point of falling into the hands of the young prince, deceived him by a stratagem, and the Argonauts, having slain him, cast his body into the sea. The corpse floated about for some time, and was at last thrown up on one of the islands which, from this circumstance, were denominated Absyrtides.

Abuljtes, governor of Susa, betrayed

ABU

ACA his trust to Alexander, and was rewarded with a province.

Abus, a river of Britain, now the Humher.

Abydenus, a pupil of Berosus, who lived about 270 years b. c. Some fragments of his history of the Chaldseans, Babylonians, and Assyrians have been preserved by Eusebius, Cyrill, and Syncellus. See Pal^ephatus.

Abyoos, L, a celebrated city of Upper Egypt, north-west of Diospolis Parva. Strabo speaks of it as once next to Thebes in size, though greatly reduced in his days. The same writer mentions the palace of Memnon in this city, built on the plan of the labyrinth, though less intricate. Osiris had here a splendid temple. Plutarch makes it also the true burial-place of Osiris, an honour to which so many cities of Egypt aspired ; and states that the more distinguished Egyptians frequently selected Abydos as their place of sepulture. Abydos is now a heap of ruins, as its modern name, Madfune, implies ; but the chief building, though covered with sand, is in good preservation, and the style of its decoqations clearly shows it to have been a royal residence. — II. An ancient city of Mysia, in Asia Minor, founded by the Thracians, and inhabited by them even after the Trojan war. Homer represents it as under the sway of a prince named Asius, a name associated with many of the earliest religious traditions of the ancient world. At a later period the Milesians sent a strong colony to this place in aid of their commerce with the shores of the Propontis and Euxine. Abydos was directly on the narrowest part of the Hellespont ; and this circumstance, together with its strong walls and very safe harbour, soon made it a place of importance. It is remarkable for its desperate resistance against Philip the younger, of Macedon, who finally took it ; and for being the scene of the fable of Hero and Leander. Over against Abydos lay the European town Sestos. The ruins of Abydos are still to be seen on a promontory of low land called Nagara-Bornou, or Pesquies Point. Wheeler has rectified in this particular the mistake of Sandys, who supposed the modern castle of Natolia to be on the site of the ancient Abydos. Over the strait between Abydos and Sestos, Xerxes caused his two bridges of boats to be erected, when he was marching against Greece ; and it was here that, seated on a lofty throne, he surveyed his fleet covering the Hellespont, and his countless troops marshalled in the plains. The classical writers make the strait in this quarter seven stadia, or 875 paces, in width, but to modern travellers it appears no where less than a mile across.

Abyssinia, a name generally, though incorrectly, supposed to be of ancient origin. It corresponds to the southern part of JEthiopia supra JEgyptum ; and though it be certain that the denomination of Ethiopians is of Greek origin, and has been employed to signify every people of dark complexion, the Abyssinians still call themselves Itiopiawan, and their country Itiopia. But they prefer the name of Agazian for the people, and that of Agazi, or Ghez, for the kingdom.

LACIS.

Acacesium, a town of Arcadia, built on a hill named Acacesius, in the south-west angle of the country. Mercury Acacesius was worshipped here.

Academia, a public garden in the suburbs of Athens, so called from Academus or Hecademus, who left it to the citizens for gymnastic exercises. It was surrounded with a wall by Hipparchus, was adorned with statues, temples, and sepulchres, planted with olive and plane-trees, and watered by the stream of the Cephissus. These olive-trees, according to the Athenian fables, were reared from layers taken from the sacred olive in the Erechtheum, and afforded the oil awarded to the victors at the Panathenean festival. The Academy suffered during the siege of Athens by Sylla, many of the trees being cut down to supply timber for the machines of war. Few retreats can be imagined more favourable to philosophy and the Muses. Within this inclosure Plato possessed a small garden, in which he opened a school. Hence arose the Academic sect ; and hence the term Academy has descended, though shorn of many of its early honours, even to our own times. The appellation of Academy (Academia) is frequently used in philosophical writings, especially in Cicero, as indicative of the Academic sect. In this sense Diogenes Laertius makes a threefold division of the Academy, into Old, Middle, and New. At the head of the Old he puts Plato ; the Middle, Arcesilaus ; and the New Academy, Lacydes. Sextus Empiricus enumerates five divisions of the followers of Plato. He makes Plato the founder of the first Academy ; Arcesilaus, the second; Carneades, the third; Philo and Charmides, the fourth ; and Antiochus, the fifth. Cicero recognises only two Academies, the Old and Neiv, and makes the latter commence, as above, with Ar- B 3

ACA

ACA eesilaus. In enumerating those who belonged to the old Academy, he begins, not •with Plato, but Democritus, and gives them in the following order : Democritus, Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Parmenides, Xenophanes, Socrates, Plato, Speusippus, Xenocrates, Polemo, Crates, and Crantor. In the New, or younger, Academy he mentions Arcesilaus, Lacydes, Evander, Egesinus, Carneades, Clitomachus, and Philo. If we follow the distinction laid down by Diog. L.,the Old Academy will consist of those followers of Plato who taught the doctrine of their master without mixture or corruption ; the Middle Academy will embrace those who, on account of certain innovations in their manner of philosophising, in some measure receded from the Platonic system without entirely deserting it ; while the New Academy will begin with those who relinquished the more obnoxious tenets of Arcesilaus, and restored the declining reputation of the Platonic school.

Academus, an ancient hero, whom some identify with Cadmus. According to others, he was an Athenian, who disclosed to Castor and Pollux the place where Theseus had secreted their sister Helen, after having carried her off from Sparta. From him the garden of the Academia, which he had presented to the people of Athens, is thought to have received its name.

Acalandrus, or Acalyndrus, a river of Magna Grascia, falling into the Bay of Tarentum. Pliny places it to the north of Heraclea, but incorrectly, since, according to Strabo, it flowed in the vicinity of Thurii. The modern name, according to D'Anville, is Salandrella ; but Mannert calls it Roccanello.