The Project Gutenberg EBook of Carleton's Condensed Classical Dictionary, by George W. Carleton This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license Title: Carleton's Condensed Classical Dictionary Editor: George W. Carleton Release Date: December 18, 2013 [EBook #44460] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CARLETON'S CONDENSED *** Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Every attempt has been made to replicate the original as printed. No attempt has been made to correct or normalize the spelling of non-English words. Some typographical errors have been corrected; a list follows the text. CONTENTS Dictionary: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, X, Z A List of Common Abbreviations of Words Used in Writing and Printing.: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y. (etext transcriber's note) C A R L E T O N’S CONDENSED CLASSICAL DICTIONARY. BEING BRIEF BUT SUCCINCT INFORMATION CONCERNING THE PROMINENT NAMES IN CLASSICAL HISTORY AND MYTHOLOGY, TOGETHER WITH THE MOST CONSPICUOUS INCIDENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM. CAREFULLY PREPARED AND EDITED BY GEORGE W. CARLETON, AUTHOR OF “Our Artist in Cuba, Peru, Algiers and Spain.” “Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.”—Boswell’s Life of Johnson. NEW YORK Copyright, 1882, by G. W. Carleton & Co., Publishers. M A D I S O N S Q U A R E. MDCCCLXXXII. C A R L E T O N’S CONDENSED C L A S S I C A L D I C T I O N A R Y. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, X, Z Aby´dos. A city of Asia opposite Sestos in Europe. It is famous for the loves of Hero and Leander, and for the bridge of boats which Xerxes built there across the Hellespont. Leander was in the habit of swimming across the Hellespont to see Hero, till at length, on a stormy night, he was drowned. Aby´dos. A town of Egypt, where was the famous temple of Osiris. Acade´mi´a. A place surrounded with trees, near Athens, belonging to Academus, from whom the name is derived. Here Plato opened his school of philosophy, and from this every place sacred to learning has ever since been called Academia. Acha´tes. A friend of Æneas, whose fidelity was so exemplary that Fidus Achates has become a proverb. Achelo´us. The son of Oceanus and Terra, or Tethys, god of the river of the same name in Epirus. As one of the numerous suitors of Dejanira, he entered the lists against Hercules, and being inferior, changed himself into a serpent, and afterwards into an ox. Hercules broke off one of his horns and defeated him, after which, according to some, he was changed into a river. Ac´heron. One of the rivers of hell; often used to signify hell itself. Achil´les, the son of Peleus and Thetis, was the bravest of all the Greeks in the Trojan war. During his infancy, Thetis plunged him in the Styx, thus making every part of his body invulnerable except the heel by which she held him. To prevent him from going to the Trojan war, Thetis sent him privately to the court of Lycomedes, where he was disguised in a female dress. As Troy could not be taken without his aid, Ulysses went to the court of Lycomedes in the habit of a merchant, and exposed jewels and arms for sale. Achilles, choosing the arms, discovered his sex, and went to the war. Vulcan made him a strong suit of armor, which was proof against all weapons. He was deprived by Agamemnon of his favorite Briseis, and for this affront he would not appear on the field till the death of Patroclus impelled him to vengeance. He slew Hector, who had killed Patroclus, and tying his corpse to his war-car, dragged it three times round Troy. He is said to have been killed by Paris, who inflicted a mortal wound in his vulnerable heel with an arrow. A´cis. A shepherd of Sicily, son of Faunus and the nymph Simæthis. Galatea passionately loved him, upon which his rival, Polyphemus, crushed him to death with a piece of broken rock. The gods changed Acis into a stream, which rises from Mount Etna. Actæ´on. A famous huntsman, son of Aristæus and Autonoe, daughter of Cadmus. He saw Diana and her attendants bathing, for which he was changed into a stag and devoured by his own dogs. Ac´tium. A town and promontory of Epirus, famous for the naval victory which Augustus obtained over Antony and Cleopatra, B. C. 31. A´des or Hades. The God of hell amongst the Greeks; the same as the Pluto of the Latins. The word is often used for hell itself by the ancient poets. Adher´bal. Son of Micipsa, and grandson of Masinissa, was besieged at Cirta, and put to death by Jugurtha, after vainly imploring the aid of Rome, B. C. 112. Adme´tus. Son of Pheres and Clymene, king of Pheræ in Thessaly. Apollo, when banished from heaven, is said to have tended his flocks for nine years. Ado´nis, son of Cinyras and Myrrha, was the favorite of Venus. He was fond of hunting, and was often cautioned not to hunt wild beasts. This advice he slighted, and at last was mortally wounded by a wild boar. Venus changed him into the flower anemone. Proserpine is said to have restored him to life, on condition that he should spend six months of the year with her, and the rest of the year with Venus. This implies the alternate return of summer and winter. Adras´tus, son of Talaus and Lysimache, was king of Argos. Polynices, being banished from Thebes by his brother Eteocles, fled to Argos, where he married Argia, daughter of Adrastus. The king assisted his son-in-law, and marched against Thebes with an army. He was defeated with great slaughter, and fled to Athens, where Theseus gave him assistance, and was victorious. Adrastus died from grief, occasioned by the death of his son Ægialeus. Adria´nus. A famous emperor of Rome. He is represented as an active, learned, warlike, and austere general. He came to Britain, where he built a wall between the modern towns of Carlisle and Newcastle-on-Tyne, to protect the Britons from the incursions of the Caledonians. Ædi´les. Roman magistrates, who had the charge of all buildings, baths, and aqueducts, and examined weights and measures. The office of an Ædile was honorable, and the primary step to a more distinguished position in the State. Ægeus. King of Athens, son of Pandion. Being desirous of having children, he went to consult the oracle, and on his return stopped at the court of Pittheus, king of Trœzene, who gave him his daughter Æthra in marriage. He directed her, if she had a son, to send him to Athens as soon as he could lift a stone under which he had concealed his sword. Æthra became mother of Theseus, whom she sent to Athens with his father’s sword, Ægeus being at that time living with Medea, the divorced wife of Jason. When Theseus came to Athens, Medea attempted to poison him, but he escaped; and upon showing Ægeus the sword, discovered himself to be his son. When Theseus returned from Crete, after the death of the Minotaur, he omitted to hoist up white sails, as a signal of success, and at sight of black sails, Ægeus, concluding that his son was dead, threw himself into the sea, which, as some suppose, has since been called the Ægean sea. Ægeus died B. C. 1235. Ægis. The shield of Jupiter. He gave it to Pallas, who placed Medusa’s head on it, which turned into stones all those who gazed at it. Ægy´ptus, son of Belus, and brother to Danaus, gave his fifty sons in marriage to the fifty daughters of his brother. Danaus, who had established himself at Argos, and was jealous of his brother, obliged all his daughters to murder their husbands on the first night of their nuptials. This was done, Hypermnestra alone sparing her husband Lynceus. Ægyptus himself was killed by his niece Polyxena. Ælia´nus Clau´dius. A Roman sophist of Præneste in the reign of Adrian. He taught rhetoric at Rome. He wrote treatises on animals in seventeen books, and on various other subjects in fourteen books. Ælian died at the age of sixty, A. D. 140. Æne´as. A Trojan prince, son of Anchises and Venus. He married Creusa, the daughter of Priam, and they had a son named Ascanius. During the Trojan war Æneas behaved with great valor in defense of Troy. When the city was in flames he is said to have carried away his father Anchises on his shoulders, leading his son Ascanius by the hand, his wife following them. Subsequently he built a fleet of twenty ships, with which he set sail in quest of a settlement. He was driven on the coasts of Africa, and was kindly received by Dido, Queen of Carthage, who became enamored with him; but he left Carthage by the order of the gods. He has been praised for his piety and his submission to the will of the gods; the term “Pius” is generally appended to his name. Æne´is. The Æneid, a grand poem by Virgil, the great merit of which is well known. The author has imitated the style of Homer, and is by some thought to equal him. Æolus, the ruler of storms and winds, was the son of Hippotas. He reigned over Æolia. He was the inventor of sails, and a great astronomer, from which the poets have called him the god of wind. Æs´chines. An Athenian orator who lived about 342 B.C.; and distinguished himself by his rivalship with Demosthenes. Æs´chylus, a soldier and poet of Athens, son of Euphorion. He was in the Athenian army at the battles of Marathon, Salamis, and Platæa; but his most solid fame rests on his writings. He wrote ninety tragedies, forty of which were rewarded with a public prize. He was killed by the fall of a tortoise, dropped from the beak of an eagle on his head, B.C. 456. Æscula´pius, son of Apollo and Coronis, or, as some say, of Apollo and Larissa, daughter of Phlegias, was the god of medicine. He married Epione, and they had two sons, famous for their skill in medicine, Machaon and Podalirus; of their four daughters, Hygeia, goddess of health, is the most celebrated. Æson, son of Cretheus, was born at the same birth as Pelias. He succeeded his father in the kingdom of Iolchos, but was soon exiled by his brother. He married Alcimeda, by whom he had Jason, whose education he intrusted to Chiron. When Jason reached manhood he demanded his father’s kingdom from his uncle, who gave him evasive answers, and persuaded him to go in quest of the Golden Fleece. On his return Jason found his father very infirm, and at his request Medea drew the blood from Æson’s veins and refilled them with the juice of certain herbs, which restored the old man to the vigor of youth. Æso´pus. A Phrygian philosopher who, originally a slave, procured his liberty by his genius. He dedicated his fables to his patron Crœsus. The fables which we have now under his name doubtless are a collection of fables and apologues of wits before and after the age of Æsop, conjointly with his own. Agamem´non, king of Mycenæ and Argos, was brother to Menelaus, and son of Plisthenes, the son of Atreus. He married Clytemnestra, and Menelaus Helen, both daughters of Tyndarus, king of Sparta. When Helen eloped with Paris, Agamemnon was elected commander-in-chief of the Grecian forces invading Troy. Agesila´us. Of the family of the Proclidæ, son of Archidamus, king of Sparta, whom he succeeded. He made war against Artaxerxes, king of Persia, with success; but in the midst of his conquests he was called home to oppose the Athenians and Bœtians. He passed over in thirty days that tract of country which had taken up a whole year of Xerxes’ expedition. He defeated his enemies at Coronea, but sickness interfered with his conquests, and the Spartans were beaten in every engagement till he again appeared at their head. He died 362 years B.C. Agrip´pa, M. Vipsanius. A celebrated Roman who obtained a victory over S. Pompey, and favored the cause of Augustus at the battles of Actium and Philippi, where he behaved with great valor. In his expeditions in Gaul and Germany he obtained several victories, but refused the honor of a triumph, and turned his attention to the embellishment of Rome and the raising of magnificent buildings, among them the Pantheon. Augustus gave him his daughter Julia in marriage. He died universally lamented at Rome, aged fifty-one, B.C. 12. Agrip´pa. A son of Aristobulus, grandson of the great Herod. He was popular with the Jews, and it is said that while they were flattering him with the appellation of god he was struck with death, A.D. 43. His son of the same name was with Titus at the siege of Jerusalem, and died A.D. 94. It was before him that St. Paul pleaded. There were a number of others of the same name, but of less celebrity. A´jax, son of Telamon and Peribœa, or Eribœa, was one of the bravest of the Greeks in the Trojan war. After the death of Achilles, Ajax and Ulysses both claimed the arms of the dead hero, which were given to Ulysses. Some say that he was killed in battle by Paris, but others record that he was murdered by Ulysses. Alari´cus. A famous king of the Goths, who plundered Rome in the reign of Honorius. He was greatly respected for his valor, and during his reign he kept the Roman empire in continual alarm. He died after a reign of twelve years, A.D. 410. He was buried in the bed of a river which had been turned from its course for the reception of his corpse, in order that it might be said that no one should tread on the earth where he reposed. Al´bion, son of Neptune and Amphitrite, came into Britain, where he established a kingdom, and introduced astrology and the art of building ships. Great Britain is called “Albion” after him. Alcæ´us. A celebrated lyric poet of Mitylene, in Lesbos, about 600 years before the Christian era. He fled from a battle, and the armor in which he left the field was hung up in the temple of Minerva as a monument of his disgrace. He was enamored of Sappho. Of his works only a few fragments remain. Alces´te or Alces´tis, daughter of Pelias, married Admetus. She, with her sisters, put her father to death that he might be restored to youth and vigor by Medea, who had promised to effect this by her enchantments. She, however, refused to fulfill her promise, on which the sisters fled to Admetus, who married Alceste. Alcibi´ades. An Athenian general, famous for his enterprise, versatile genius, and natural foibles. He was a disciple of Socrates, whose lessons and example checked for a while his vicious propensities. In the Peloponnesian war he encouraged the Athenians to undertake an expedition against Syracuse. He died in his forty-sixth year, B.C. 404. Alcme´na. Daughter of Electrion, king of Argos. Her father promised her and his crown to Amphitryon if he would revenge the death of his sons, who had been killed by the Teleboans. In the absence of Amphitryon, Jupiter assumed his form and visited Alcmena, who, believing the god to be her lover, received him with joy. Amphitryon, on his return, ascertained from the prophet Tiresias the deception which had been practiced. After the death of Amphitryon Alcmena married Rhadamanthus. Hercules was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena. Alcy´one or Halcy´one, daughter of Æolus, married Ceyx, who was drowned as he was going to consult the oracle. The gods apprised Alcyone in a dream of her husband’s fate, and when she found his body washed ashore she threw herself into the sea, and she and her husband were changed into birds. Alec´to. One of the Furies. She is represented with her head covered with serpents, and breathing vengeance, war, and pestilence. Alexan´der, surnamed the Great, was son of Philip and Olympias. He was born B. C. 355, on the night on which the famous temple of Diana at Ephesus was burnt. This event, according to the magicians, was a prognostic of his future greatness, as well as the taming of Bucephalus, a horse which none of the king’s attendants could manage. Philip, it is recorded, said, with tears in his eyes, that his son must seek another kingdom, as that of Macedonia would not be large enough for him. He built a town, which he called Alexandria, on the Nile. His conquests were extended to India, where he fought with Porus, a powerful king of the country, and after he had invaded Scythia, he retired to Babylon laden with spoils. His entry into the city was predicted by the magicians as to prove fatal to him. He died at Babylon in his thirty-second year, after a reign of twelve years and eight months of continual success, B. C. 323. There were a number of others of the same name, but of less celebrity. Althæ´a, daughter of Thestius and Eurythemis, married Œneus, king of Calydon, by whom she had many children, amongst them being Meleager. When he was born the Parcæ put a log of wood on the fire, saying, as long as it was preserved the life of the child would be prolonged. The mother took the wood from the flames and preserved it, but when Meleager killed his two uncles, Althæa, to revenge them, threw the log in the fire, and when it was burnt Meleager expired. Althæa then killed herself. Amaryl´lis. The name of a countrywoman in Virgil’s Eclogues. Some commentators have supposed that the poet spoke of Rome under this fictitious name. Amaz´ones or Amazonides. A nation of famous women who lived near the river Thermodon in Cappadocia. All their lives were employed in wars and manly exercises. They founded an extensive empire in Asia Minor along the shores of the Euxine. Ambra´cia. A city of Epirus, the residence of King Pyrrhus. Augustus, after the battle of Actium, called it Nicopolis. Amphiara´us, son of Oicleus and Hypermnestra, was at the chase of the Calydonian boar, and accompanied the Argonauts in their expedition. He was famous for his knowledge of futurity. Amphic´tyon, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, reigned at Athens after Cranaus. Some say the deluge happened in his age. Amphic´tyon, the son of Helenus, who first established the celebrated Council of the Amphictyons, composed of the wisest and most virtuous men of some cities of Greece. Amphi´on, son of Jupiter and Antiope. He cultivated poetry, and made such progress in music that he is said to have been the inventor of it, and to have built the walls of Thebes by the sound of his lyre. Amphitri´te. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, who married Neptune. She is sometimes called Salatia. She was mother of Triton, a sea deity. Amphit´ryon. A Theban prince, son of Alcæus and Hipponome. His sister Anaxo married Electryon, king of Mycenæ, whose sons were killed in battle by the Teleboans. Electryon gave his daughter Alcmena to Amphitryon for avenging the death of his sons. Anachar´sis, a Scythian philosopher 592 years B. C., who, on account of his wisdom, temperance, and knowledge, has been called one of the seven wise men. He has rendered himself famous among the Ancients by his writings, his poems on war, the laws of the Scythians, etc. Anac´reon. A famous lyric poet of Teos, in Ionia, favored by Polycrates and Hipparchus, son of Philostratus. He was of intemperate habits and fond of pleasure. Some of his odes are extant, and the elegance of his poetry has been the admiration of every age and country. He lived to the age of eighty-five, and after a life of voluptuousness was choked with a grape stone. He flourished B. C. 532. Anadyom´ene. A famous painting by Apelles of Venus rising from the sea. Anaxag´oras. A Clazomenian philosopher, who disregarded wealth and honors to indulge his fondness for meditation and philosophy. He applied himself to astronomy, and obtained a knowledge of eclipses. He used to say he preferred a grain of wisdom to heaps of gold. He was accused of impiety and condemned to die, but he ridiculed the sentence, which he said had already been pronounced on him by nature. He died at the age of seventy-two, B. C. 428. Anaxar´ete. A girl of Salamis, who so arrogantly rejected the addresses of Iphis, a youth of ignoble birth, that he hanged himself at her door. She saw the spectacle without emotion, and was changed into stone. Anchi´ses. A son of Capys and Themis. He was so beautiful that Venus came down from heaven on Mount Ida to enjoy his company. Æneas was the son of Anchises and Venus, and was intrusted to the care of Chiron the Centaur. When Troy was taken, Anchises had become so infirm that Æneas had to carry him through the flames upon his shoulders, and thus saved his life. Androm´ache. Daughter of Eetion, king of Thebes. She married Hector, son of Priam, and was the mother of Astyanax. Her parting with Hector, who was going to battle, is described in the Iliad, and has been deemed one of the most beautiful passages in that great work. Pope’s translation of the Iliad (book 6) describes with great pathos and beauty the parting of Hector from his wife and child. Androm´eda. A daughter of Cepheus, king of Æthiopia, and Cassiope. She was promised in marriage to Phineus when Neptune drowned the kingdom and sent a sea monster to ravage the country, because Cassiope had boasted that she was fairer than Juno and the Nereides. The oracle of Jupiter Ammon was consulted, but nothing could stop the resentment of Neptune except the exposure of Andromeda to the sea monster. She was accordingly tied to a rock, but at the moment that the monster was about to devour her, Perseus, returning from the conquest of the Gorgons, saw her, and was captivated with her beauty. He changed the monster into a rock by showing Medusa’s head, and released Andromeda and married her. Anthropoph´agi. A people of Scythia who fed on human flesh. They lived near the country of the Messagetæ. Shakspeare makes Othello, in his speech to the Senate, allude to the Anthropophagi thus:— “The cannibals that each other eat, The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads Do grow beneath their shoulders.” Antig´one. A daughter of Œdipus, king of Thebes. She buried by night her brother Polynices, against the orders of Creon, who ordered her to be buried alive. She, however, killed herself on hearing of the sentence. The death of Antigone is the subject of one of the finest tragedies of Sophocles. The play has been adapted for representation on the English stage, Miss Helen Faucit performing the heroine with exquisite pathos. Antig´onus. One of Alexander’s generals, who, on the division of the provinces after the king’s death, received Pamphylia, Lycia, and Phrygia. Eventually his power became so great that Ptolemy, Seleucus, Cassander, and Lysimachus combined to destroy him. He gained many victories over them, but at last was killed in battle at the age of eighty, B.C. 301. There were others of the same name, but much less conspicuous. Antin´ous. A youth of Bithynia of whom the emperor Adrian was so extremely fond that, at his death, he erected a temple to him, and wished it to be believed that he had been changed into a constellation. Anti´ochus, surnamed Soter, was son of Seleucus and king of Syria. He made a treaty of alliance with Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt. He wedded his step-mother Stratonice. He was succeeded by his son Antiochus II., who put an end to the war which had begun with Ptolemy, and married his daughter Berenice, but being already married to Laodice, she, in revenge, poisoned him. Antiochus, the third of that name, surnamed the Great, was king of Syria, and reigned thirty-six years. He was defeated by Ptolemy Philopater at Raphia. He conquered the greater part of Greece, and Hannibal incited him to enter on a crusade against Roma. He was killed 187 years before the Christian era. Antiochus Epiphanes, the fourth of the name, was king of Syria after his brother Seleucus. He behaved with cruelty to the Jews. He reigned eleven years, and died unregretted. There were many others of the same name of less note. Ant´iope, daughter of Nycteus, king of Thebes, and Polyxo, was beloved by Jupiter. Amphion and Tethus were her offspring. Antip´ater, son of Iolaus, was a soldier under King Philip, and raised to the rank of a general under Alexander the Great. When Alexander went to invade Asia, he left Antipater supreme governor of Macedonia. He has been suspected of giving poison to Alexander to advance himself in power. Antoni´nus, surnamed Pius, was adopted by the Emperor Adrian, whom he succeeded. He was remarkable for all the virtues forming a perfect statesman, philosopher, and king. He treated his subjects with affability and humanity, and listened with patience to every complaint brought before him. He died in his seventy-fifth year, after a reign of twenty-three years, A.D. 160. Anto´nius Mar´cus. Mark Antony, the triumvir, distinguished himself by his ambitious views. When Julius Cæsar was killed in the senate house, Antony delivered an oration over his body, the eloquence of which is recorded in Shakspeare’s tragedy of Julius Cæsar. Antony had married Fulvia, whom he repudiated to marry Octavia, the sister of Augustus. He fought by the side of Augustus at the battle of Philippi, against the murderers of Julius Cæsar. Subsequently he became enamored with Cleopatra, the renowned queen of Egypt, and repudiated Octavia to marry her. He was utterly defeated at the battle of Actium, and stabbed himself. He died in the fifty-sixth year of his age, B.C. 30. Anto´nius, Ju´lius, son of the famous triumvir Antony, by Fulvia, was consul with Paulus Fabius Maximus. He was surnamed Africanus, and put to death by order of Augustus, but some say he killed himself. Anto´nius M. Gni´pho. A poet of Gaul who taught rhetoric at Rome. Cicero and other illustrious men frequented his school. There were a number of others of the same name, but of less repute. Apel´les. A celebrated painter of Cos, or, as others say, of Ephesus, son of Pithius. He lived in the age of Alexander the Great, who forbade any one but Apelles to paint his portrait. He was so absorbed in his profession that he never allowed a day to pass without employing himself at his art: hence the proverb of Nulla dies sine linea. His most perfect picture was Venus Anadyomene, which was not quite finished when he died. He painted a picture in which a horse was a prominent feature, and so correctly was it delineated that a horse passing by it neighed, supposing it to be alive. He was ordered by Alexander to paint a portrait of one of his favorites—Campaspe. Apelles became enamored with her and married her. He only put his name to three of his pictures—a sleeping Venus, Venus Anadyomene, and an Alexander. The proverb, Ne sutor ultra crepidam, has been used in reference to him by some writers. Aphrodi´te. The Grecian name for Venus, from the Greek word [Greek: aphros αφρς], froth, because Venus is said to have been born from the froth of the ocean. Apic´ius. A famous gourmand in Rome. There were three of this name, all noted for their voracious appetites. A´pis. One of the ancient kings of Peloponnesus, son of Phoroneus and Laodice. Some say that Apollo was his father, and that he was king of Argos, whilst others called him king of Sicyon, and fix the time of his reign above 200 years earlier. Varro and others have supposed that Apis went to Egypt with a colony of Greeks, and that he civilized the inhabitants and polished their manners, for which they made him a god after death, and paid divine honors to him under the name of Serapis. A´pis. A god of the Egyptians, worshiped under the form of an ox. Some say that Isis and Osiris are the deities worshiped under this name, because they taught the Egyptians agriculture. Apol´lo. Son of Jupiter and Latona; called also Phœbus. He was the god of the fine arts and the reputed originator of music, poetry, and eloquence. He had received from Jupiter the power of knowing futurity, and his oracles were in repute everywhere. As soon as he was born he destroyed with his arrows the serpent Python, which Juno had sent to persecute Latona; hence he was called Pythius. He was not the inventor of the lyre, as some have supposed, but it was given to him by Mercury, who received in return the famous Caduceus. He received the surnames of Phœbus, Delius, Cynthius, Pæan, Delphicus, etc. He is in sculpture generally represented as a handsome young man with a bow in his hand, from which an arrow has just been discharged. Appia´nus. An historian of Alexandria, who flourished A.D. 123. His Universal History, which consisted of twenty-four books, was a history of all the nations conquered by the Romans. Ap´pius Clau´dius. A decemvir who obtained his power by force and oppression. He grossly insulted Virginia, whom her father killed to save her from the power of the tyrant. Arca´dia. A district of Peloponnesus, which has been much extolled by the poets. It was famous for its mountains. The inhabitants were for the most part shepherds, who lived upon acorns. They were skillful warriors and able musicians. Pan lived chiefly among them. Archil´ochus. A poet of Paros, who wrote elegies, satires, odes, and epigrams. He lived B.C. 685. Archime´des. A famous geometrician of Syracuse, who invented a machine of glass that represented the motion of the heavenly bodies. When Marcellus, the Roman consul, besieged Syracuse, Archimedes constructed machines which suddenly raised into the air the ships of the enemy, which then fell into the sea and were sunk. He also set fire to the ships with burning-glasses. When the enemy were in possession of the town, a soldier, not knowing who he was, killed him, B.C. 212. Arethu´sa, a nymph of Elis, daughter of Oceanus, and one of Diana’s attendants. As she returned one day from hunting she bathed in the Alpheus stream. The god of the river was enamored of her, and pursued her over the mountains, till Arethusa, ready to sink from fatigue, implored Diana to change her into a fountain, which the goddess did. Ar´go. The name of the famous ship which carried Jason and his companions to Polchis, when they went to recover the Golden Fleece. Argonau´tæ. The Argonauts, those ancient heroes who went with Jason in the Argo to Aolchis to recover the Golden Fleece, about seventy- nine years before the capture of Troy. The number of the Argonauts is not exactly known. Ar´gus. A son of Arestor, whence he is sometimes called Arestorides. He had a hundred eyes, of which only two were asleep at one time. Juno set him to watch Io, whom Jupiter had changed into a heifer, but Mercury, by order of Jupiter, slew him, by lulling all his eyes to sleep with the notes of the lyre. Juno put the eyes of Argus in the tail of the peacock, a bird sacred to her. Ariad´ne, daughter of Minos, second king of Crete, and Pasiphæ, fell in love with Theseus, who was shut up in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. She gave Theseus a clue of thread by which he extricated himself from the windings of the labyrinth. After he had conquered the Minotaur he married her, but after a time forsook her. On this, according to some authorities, she hanged herself. According to other writers, after being abandoned by Theseus, Bacchus loved her, and gave her a crown of seven stars, which were made a constellation. Ari´on. A famous lyric poet and musician, son of Cyclos of Methymna in Lesbos. He went into Italy with Periander, tyrant of Corinth, where he gained much wealth by his profession. Afterwards he wished to revisit the place of his nativity, and he embarked in a ship, the sailors of which resolved to kill him for the riches he had with him. Arion entreated them to listen to his music, and as soon as he had finished playing he threw himself into the sea. A number of dolphins had been attracted by the sweetness of his music, and it is said that one of them carried him safely on its back to Tænarus, whence he went to the court of Periander, who ordered all the sailors to be crucified. Aristæ´us. Son of Apollo and Cyrene, famous for his fondness for hunting. He married Autonoe, the daughter of Cadmus, Actæon being their son. He was after death worshiped as a demigod. Aristar´chus. A celebrated grammarian of Samos, disciple of Aristophanes. He lived the greatest part of his life at Alexandria. He wrote about 800 commentaries on different authors. He died in his seventy-second year, B.C. 157. Aristi´des. A celebrated Athenian, son of Lysimachus, in the age of Themistocles, whose great temperance and virtue procured for him the name of the “Just.” He was rival to Themistocles, by whose influence he was banished for ten years, B.C. 484. He was at the battle of Salamis, and was appointed to be chief commander with Pausanias against Mardonius, whom they defeated at Platæa. Aristip´pus, the elder, a philosopher of Cyrene, a disciple of Socrates, and founder of the Cyrenaic sect. Aristogi´ton and Harmo´dis. Two celebrated friends of Athens, who, by their joint efforts, delivered their country from the tyranny of the Pisistratidæ, B.C. 510. Aristoph´anes. A celebrated comic poet of Athens, son of Philip of Rhodes. He wrote fifty-four comedies, of which eleven have come down to us. He lived B.C. 434, and lashed the vices of the age with a masterly hand. Aristot´eles. A famous philosopher, son of Nicomachus, born at Stagira. He went to Athens to hear Plato’s lectures, where he soon signalized himself by his genius. He has been called by Plato the philosopher of truth, and Cicero complimented him for his eloquence, fecundity of thought, and universal knowledge. He died in his sixty-third year, B.C. 322. As he expired he is said to have exclaimed: Causa causarum miserere mei, which sentence has since become famous, and is by some attributed to Cicero. The term Stagirite has been applied to Aristotle from the name of his birthplace. Artaxerx´es the First succeeded to the kingdom of Persia after Xerxes. He made war against the Bactrians, and reconquered Egypt, which had revolted. He was remarkable for his equity and moderation. Artaxerx´es the Second. King of Persia, surnamed Mnemon. His brother Cyrus endeavored to make himself king in his place, and marched against his brother at the head of 100,000 Barbarians and 13,000 Greeks. He was opposed by Artaxerxes with a large army, and a bloody battle was fought at Cunaxa, in which Cyrus was killed and his forces routed. Ar´temis. The Greek name of Diana. Her festivals, called Artemesia, were celebrated in several parts of Greece, particularly at Delphi. Asca´nius, son of Æneas and Creusa, was saved from the flames of Troy by his father, whom he accompanied in his voyage to Italy. He was afterwards called Iulus. Aspa´sia. Daughter of Axiochus, born at Miletus. She came to Athens, where she taught eloquence. Socrates was one of her scholars. She so captivated Pericles by her accomplishments that he made her his wife. The conduct of Pericles and Aspasia greatly corrupted the morals of the Athenians, and caused much dissipation in the State. Aspa´sia. A daughter of Hermotimus of Phocæa, famous for her personal charms. She was priestess of the sun, and became mistress to Cyrus. Astar´te. A powerful divinity of Syria, the same as the Venus of the Greeks. She had a famous temple at Hierapolis in Syria, which was attended by 300 priests. Astræ´a. A daughter of Astræus, king of Arcadia, or, according to others, daughter of Titan and Aurora. Some make her daughter of Jupiter and Themis. She was called Justice, of which virtue she was the goddess. Asty´anax. A son of Hector and Andromache. He was very young when the Greeks besieged Troy, and when the city was taken his mother saved him in her arms from the flames. According to Euripides he was killed by Menelaus. Atalan´ta. Daughter of Schœneus, king of Scyros. According to some she was the daughter of Jasus, or Jasius, and Clymene, but others say that Menalion was her father. She determined to live in celibacy, but her beauty gained her many admirers, and to free herself from their importunities she proposed to run a race with them. As she was almost invincible in running, her suitors, who entered the lists against her, were defeated, till Hippomenes, the son of Macareus, proposed himself as an admirer. Venus gave him three golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides, and with these concealed about him he entered the lists to race against Atalanta. As the race proceeded he dropped the apples, which she stopped to pick up, thus enabling Hippomenes to arrive first at the goal, and obtain her in marriage. A´te. Daughter of Jupiter, and goddess of all evil. She raised such discord amongst the gods that Jupiter banished her from heaven, and sent her to dwell on earth, where she incited mankind to evil thoughts and actions. Athana´sius. A bishop of Alexandria, celebrated for his determined opposition to Arius and his doctrines. He died A.D. 373, after filling the archiepiscopal chair for forty-seven years. The famous creed which is named after him is no longer supposed to have been written by him, and its authorship remains in doubt. At´las. One of the Titans, son of Iapetus and Clymene. He married Pleione, daughter of Oceanus (or of Hesperis, according to some writers). He had seven daughters, who were called the Atlantides. A´treus. A son of Pelops and Hippodamia, was king of Mycenæ. His brother Chrysippus was illegitimate, and Hippodamia wished to get rid of him, and urged Atreus and another of her sons, Thyestes, to murder him, which, on their refusal, she did herself. Atreus retired to the court of Eurystheus, king of Argos, and succeeded to his throne. At´ticus, T. Pomponius. A celebrated Roman knight, to whom Cicero wrote a number of letters, containing the general history of the age. He retired to Athens, where he endeared himself to the citizens, who erected statues to him in commemoration of his virtues. He died at the age of seventy-seven, B.C. 32. At´tila. A celebrated king of the Huns, who invaded the Roman empire in the reign of Valentinian, with an army of half a million of men. He laid waste the provinces, and marched on Rome, but retreated on being paid a large sum of money. He called himself the “Scourge of God,” and died A.D. 453, of an effusion of blood, on the night of his marriage. Angus´tus, Octavia´nus Cæ´sar, emperor of Rome, was son of Octavius, a senator, and Accia, sister to Julius Cæsar. He was associated in the triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus, and defeated the armies of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi. Octavia, the sister of Augustus, married Antony after the death of his wife Fulvia. Octavia, however, was slighted for the charms of Cleopatra, which incensed Augustus, who took up arms to avenge the wrongs of his sister, and at the great battle of Actium (B.C. 31), the forces of Antony and Cleopatra suffered a disastrous defeat. Aurelia´nus, emperor of Rome, was austere and cruel in the execution of the laws, and in his treatment of his soldiers. He was famous for his military character, and his expedition against Zenobia, queen of Palmyra, gained him great honors. It is said that in his various battles he killed 800 men with his own hand. He was assassinated near Byzantium, A.D. 275. Aure´lius, M. Antoni´nus, surnamed “the philosopher,” possessed all the virtues which should adorn the character of a prince. He raised to the imperial dignity his brother L. Verus, whose dissipation and voluptuousness were as conspicuous as the moderation of the philosopher. During their reign the Quadi, Parthians, and Marcomanni were defeated. Verus died of apoplexy, and Antoninus survived him eight years, dying in his sixty-first year, after a reign of nineteen years and ten days. Auro´ra. A goddess, daughter of Hyperion and Thia or Thea. She is generally represented by the poets as sitting in a chariot and opening with her fingers the gates of the east, pouring dew on the earth, and making the flowers grow. The Greeks call her Eos. Bac´chus was son of Jupiter and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus. He was the god of wine, and is generally represented crowned with vine leaves. He is said to have married Ariadne after she had been forsaken by Theseus. Belisa´rius. A celebrated general who, in the reign of Justinian, emperor of Constantinople, renewed the victories which had rendered the first Romans so distinguished. He died, after a life of glory, suffering from royal ingratitude, 565 years before the Christian era. Beller´ophon, son of Glaucus, king of Ephyre, and Eurymede; was at first called Hipponous. He was sent by Iobates, king of Lycia, to conquer the monster Chimæra. Minerva assisted him in the expedition, and by the aid of the winged horse Pegasus he conquered the monster and returned victorious. After sending him on other dangerous adventures, Iobates gave him his daughter in marriage, and made him successor to his throne. Bello´na, goddess of war, was daughter of Phorcys and Ceto; called by the Greeks Enyo, and is often confounded with Minerva. She prepared the chariot of Mars when he was going to war, and appeared in battles armed with a whip to animate the combatants, and holding a torch. Be´lus, one of the most ancient kings of Babylon, about 1800 years before the age of Semiramis, was made a god after death, and was worshiped by the Assyrians and Babylonians. He was supposed to be the son of the Osiris of the Egyptians. The temple of Belus was the most ancient and magnificent in the world, and was said to have been originally the tower of Babel. Bereni´ce. A daughter of Philadelphus, who married Antiochus, king of Syria, after he had divorced his former wife Laodice. Bereni´ce. The mother of Agrippa, whose name occurs in the history of the Jews as daughter-in-law of Herod the Great. A number of others of minor celebrity were known by the same name. Bi´on. A philosopher of Scythia who rendered himself famous for his knowledge of poetry, music, and philosophy. Another of the same name was a Greek poet of Smyrna who wrote pastorals. He was a friend of Moschus, who says that he died by poison about 300 years B.C. Boadice´a. A famous British queen who rebelled against the Romans and was defeated, on which she poisoned herself. Her cruel treatment by the Romans is the subject of an ode by Cowper. Bo´reas. The name of the north wind blowing from the Hyperborean mountains. According to the poets, he was son of Astræus and Aurora. He was passionately fond of Hyacinthus. Bren´nus. A general of the Galli Senones, who entered Italy, defeated the Romans, and marched into the city. The Romans fled into the Capitol, and left the city in possession of the enemy. The Gauls climbed the Tarpeian rock in the night, and would have taken the Capitol had not the Romans been awakened by the cackling of some geese, on which they roused themselves and repelled the enemy. Bri´a´reus. A famous giant, son of Cœlus and Terra. He had a hundred hands and fifty heads, and was called by men by the name of Ægeon. Bru´tus L. Junius. Son of M. Junius and Tarquinia. When Lucretia killed herself, B.C. 509, in consequence of the brutality of Tarquin, Brutus snatched the dagger from the wound and swore upon the reeking blade immortal hatred to the royal family, and made the people swear they would submit no longer to the kingly authority. His sons conspired to restore the Tarquins, and were tried and condemned before their father, who himself attended their execution. Mr. John Howard Payne, the American dramatist, has written a tragedy, of which Brutus is the hero. Bru´tus, Mar´cus Ju´nius, father of Cæsar’s murderer, followed the party of Marius, and was conquered by Pompey, by whose orders he was put to death. Bru´tus, Mar´cus Ju´nius, the destroyer of Cæsar, conspired with many of the most illustrious citizens of Rome, against Cæsar, and stabbed him in Pompey’s Basilica. The tumult following the murder was great, but the conspirators fled to the Capitol, and by proclaiming freedom and liberty to the populace, for the time established tranquillity. Antony, however, soon obtained the popular ear, and the murderers were obliged to leave Rome. Brutus retired into Greece, where he gained many friends. He was soon pursued by Antony, who was accompanied by the young Octavius. The famous battle of Philippi followed, in which Brutus and his friend Cassius, who commanded the left wing of the army, were totally defeated. Brutus fell on his own sword, B.C. 42, and was honored with a magnificent funeral by Antony. Plutarch relates that Cæsar’s ghost appeared to Brutus in his tent before the battle of Philippi, warning him of his approaching fall. Buceph´alus. A horse of Alexander’s, so frequently named by writers that the term has become proverbial. Alexander was the only person that could mount him, and he always knelt down for his master to bestride him. Ca´cus. A famous robber, son of Vulcan and Medusa, represented as a three-headed monster vomiting flames. He resided in Italy, and the avenues of his cave were covered with human bones. When Hercules returned from the conquest of Geryon, Cacus stole some of his cows, which Hercules discovering, he strangled Cacus. Cad´mus, son of Agenor, king of Phœnicia, and Telephassa, or Agriope, was ordered by his father to go in quest of his sister Europa, whom Jupiter had carried away. His search proving fruitless, he consulted the oracle of Apollo, and was told to build a city where he saw a heifer stop in the grass, and call the country around Bœotia. He found the heifer, as indicated by the oracle. Requiring water, he sent his companions to fetch some from a neighboring grove. The water was guarded by a dragon, who devoured those who were sent for it, and Cadmus, tired of waiting, went himself to the place. He attacked the dragon and killed it, sowing its teeth in the ground, on which a number of armed men rose out of the earth. Cadmus threw a stone amongst them, and they at once began fighting, and all were killed except five, who assisted him in building the city. Cadmus introduced the use of letters in Greece—the alphabet, as introduced by him, consisting of sixteen letters. Cadu´ceus. A rod entwined at one end with two serpents. It was the attribute of Mercury, and was given to him by Apollo in exchange for the lyre. Cæ´sar. A surname given to the Julian family in Rome. This name, after it had been dignified in the person of Julius Cæsar and his successors, was given to the apparent heir of the empire in the age of the Roman emperors. The first twelve emperors were distinguished by the name of Cæsar. They reigned in this order—Julius Cæsar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. Suetonius has written an exhaustive history of the Cæsars. C. Julius Cæsar, the first emperor of Rome, was son of L. Cæsar and Aurelia, the daughter of Cotta. He was descended, according to some accounts, from Julus, the son of Æneas. His eloquence procured him friends at Rome, and the generous manner in which he lived equally served to promote his interest. He was appointed for five years over the Gauls. Here he enlarged the boundaries of the Roman empire by conquest, and invaded Britain, which till then was unknown to the Romans. The corrupt state of the Roman senate, and the ambition of Cæsar and Pompey, caused a civil war. Neither of these celebrated Romans would endure a superior, and the smallest matters were grounds enough for unsheathing the sword. By the influence of Pompey a decree was passed to strip Cæsar of his power. Antony, as tribune, opposed this, and went to Cæsar’s camp with the news. On this Cæsar crossed the Rubicon, which was the boundary of his province. The passage of the Rubicon was a declaration of war, and Cæsar entered Italy with his army. Upon this Pompey left Rome and retired to Dyrrachium, and Cæsar shortly afterwards entered Rome. He then went to Spain, where he conquered the partisans of Pompey, and on his return to Rome was declared dictator, and soon afterwards consul. The two hostile generals met in the plains of Pharsalia, and a great battle ensued B.C. 48. Pompey was defeated and fled to Egypt, where he was slain. At length Cæsar’s glory came to an end. Enemies had sprung up around him, and a conspiracy, consisting of many influential Romans, was formed against him. Conspicuous among the conspirators was Brutus, his most intimate friend, who, with others, assassinated him in the senate house in the ides of March, B.C. 44, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. He wrote his Commentaries on the Gallic wars when the battles were fought. This work is admired for its elegance and purity of style. It was after his conquest over Pharnaces, king of Pontus, that he made use of the words, which have since become proverbial, Veni, vidi, vici, illustrative of the activity of his operations. Shakspeare’s tragedy of Julius Cæsar, in the third act of which he is assassinated, uttering as his last words, “Et tu, Brute! Then fall Cæsar”—is devoted to the conspiracy and its results, ending with defeat and death of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi. Calig´ula, a Roman emperor, was son of Germanicus by Agrippina. He was proud, wanton, and cruel. He was pleased when disasters befell his subjects, and often expressed a wish that the Romans had but one head, that he might have the pleasure of striking it off. He had a favorite horse made consul, and adorned it with the most valuable trappings and ornaments. The tyrant was murdered A.D. 41, in his twenty-ninth year, after a reign of three years and ten months. Calli´ope. One of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, who presided over eloquence and heroic poetry. Cal´ydon. A city of Ætolia, where Œneus, the father of Meleager, reigned....