A CLASSICAL DICTIONARY, ETC., ETC. (continued 19)

Gracchus Tiberius Sempronius, father of Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, twice consul, and once censor, was distinguished by his integrity as well as his prudence and superior ability, both in the senate and at the head of the armies. He made war in Gaul, and met with much success in Spain. He married Sempronia, of the family of the Scipios, a woman of great virtue, piety, and learning. Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 1, ch. 48. Their children, Tiberius and Caius, who had been educated under the watchful eye of their mother, rendered themselves famous for their eloquence, seditions, and an obstinate attachment to the interests of the populace, which at last proved fatal to them. With a winning eloquence, affected moderation, and uncommon popularity, Tiberius began to renew the Agrarian law, which had already caused such dissensions at Rome. See: Agraria. By the means of violence, his proposition passed into a law, and he was appointed commissioner, with his father-in-law Appius Claudius and his brother Caius, to make an equal division of the lands among the people. The riches of Attalus, which were left to the Roman people by will, were distributed without opposition; and Tiberius enjoyed the triumph of his successful enterprise, when he was assassinated in the midst of his adherents by Publius Nasica, while the populace were all unanimous to re-elect him to serve the office of tribune the following year. The death of Tiberius checked for a while the friends of the people; but Caius, spurred by ambition and furious zeal, attempted to remove every obstacle which stood in his way by force and violence. He supported the cause of the people with more vehemence, but less moderation than Tiberius; and his success served only to awaken his ambition, and animate his resentment against the nobles. With the privileges of a tribune, he soon became the arbiter of the republic, and treated the patricians with contempt. This behaviour hastened the ruin of Caius, and in the tumult he fled to the temple of Diana, where his friends prevented him from committing suicide. This increased the sedition, and he was murdered by order of the consul Opimius, B.C. 121, about 13 years after the unfortunate end of Tiberius. His body was thrown into the Tiber, and his wife was forbidden to put on mourning for his death. Caius has been accused of having stained his hands in the blood of Scipio Africanus the younger, who was found murdered in his bed. Plutarch, Parallel Lives.—Cicero, Catiline, ch. 1.—Lucan, bk. 6, li. 796.—Florus, bk. 2, ch. 17; bk. 3, ch. 14, &c.――Sempronius, a Roman, banished to the coast of Africa for his adulteries with Julia the daughter of Augustus. He was assassinated by order of Tiberius, after he had been banished 14 years. Julia also shared his fate. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 1, ch. 53.――A general of the Sabines, taken by Quinctius Cincinnatus.――A Roman consul, defeated by Annibal, &c. Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal.

Grādīvus, a surname of Mars among the Romans, perhaps from κραδαινειν, brandishing a spear. Though he had a temple without the walls of Rome, and though Numa had established the Salii, yet his favourite residence was supposed to be among the fierce and savage Thracians and Getæ, over whom he particularly presided. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 35.—Homer, Iliad.—Livy, bk. 1, ch. 20; bk. 2, ch. 45.

Græci, the inhabitants of Greece. See: Græcia.

Græcia, a celebrated country of Europe, bounded on the west by the Ionian sea, south by the Mediterranean sea, east by the Ægean, and north by Thrace and Dalmatia. It is generally divided into four large provinces: Macedonia, Epirus, Achaia or Hellas, and Peloponnesus. This country has been reckoned superior to every other part of the earth, on account of the salubrity of the air, the temperature of the climate, the fertility of the soil, and above all, the fame, learning, and arts of its inhabitants. The Greeks have severally been called Achæans, Argians, Danai, Dolopes, Hellenians, Ionians, Myrmidons, and Pelasgians. The most celebrated of their cities were Athens, Sparta, Argos, Corinth, Thebes, Sicyon, Mycenæ, Delphi, Trœzene, Salamis, Megara, Pylos, &c. The inhabitants, whose history is darkened in its primitive ages with fabulous accounts and traditions, supported that they were the original inhabitants of the country, and born from the earth where they dwelt; and they heard with contempt the probable conjectures which traced their origin among the first inhabitants of Asia, and the colonies of Egypt. In the first periods of their history, the Greeks were governed by monarchs; and there were as many kings as there were cities. The monarchical power gradually decreased; the love of liberty established the republican government; and no part of Greece, except Macedonia, remained in the hands of an absolute sovereign. The expedition of the Argonauts first rendered the Greeks respectable among their neighbours; and in the succeeding age, the wars of Thebes and Troy gave opportunity to their heroes and demi-gods to display their valour in the field of battle. The simplicity of the ancient Greeks rendered them virtuous; and the establishment of the Olympic games, in particular, where the noble reward of the conqueror was a laurel crown, contributed to their aggrandizement, and made them ambitious of fame, and not the slaves of riches. The austerity of their laws, and the education of their youth, particularly at Lacedæmon, rendered them brave and active, insensible to bodily pain, fearless and intrepid in the time of danger. The celebrated battles of Marathon, Thermopylæ, Salamis, Platæa, and Mycale sufficiently show what superiority the courage of a little army can obtain over millions of undisciplined barbarians. After many signal victories over the Persians, they became elated with their success; and when they found no one able to dispute their power abroad, they turned their arms one against the other, and leagued with foreign states to destroy the most flourishing of their cities. The Messenian and Peloponnesian wars are examples of the dreadful calamities which arise from civil discord and long prosperity, and the success with which the gold and the sword of Philip and of his son corrupted and enslaved Greece, fatally proved that when a nation becomes indolent and dissipated at home, it ceases to be respectable in the eyes of the neighbouring states. The annals of Greece, however, abound with singular proofs of heroism and resolution. The bold retreat of the 10,000, who had assisted Cyrus against his brother Artaxerxes, reminded their countrymen of their superiority over all other nations; and taught Alexander that the conquest of the east might be effected with a handful of Grecian soldiers. While the Greeks rendered themselves so illustrious by their military exploits, the arts and sciences were assisted by conquest, and received fresh lustre from the application and industry of their professors. The labours of the learned were received with admiration, and the merit of a composition was determined by the applause or disapprobation of a multitude. Their generals were orators; and eloquence seemed to be so nearly connected with the military profession, that he was despised by his soldiers who could not address them upon any emergency with a spirited and well-delivered oration. The learning as well as the virtues of Socrates procured him a name; and the writings of Aristotle have, perhaps, gained him a more lasting fame than all the conquests and trophies of his royal pupil. Such were the occupations and accomplishments of the Greeks. Their language became almost universal, and their country was the receptacle of the youths of the neighbouring states, where they imbibed the principles of liberty and moral virtue. The Greeks planted several colonies, and totally peopled the western coasts of Asia Minor. In the eastern parts of Italy there were also many settlements made; and the country received from its Greek inhabitants the name of Magna Græcia. For some time Greece submitted to the yoke of Alexander and his successors; and at last, after a spirited though ineffectual struggle in the Achæan league, it fell under the power of Rome, and became one of its ♦dependent provinces, governed by a proconsul.

Græcia magna, a part of Italy where the Greeks planted colonies, whence the name. Its boundaries are very uncertain; some say that it extended on the southern parts of Italy, and others suppose that Magna Græcia comprehended only Campania and Lucania. To these some add Sicily, which was likewise peopled by Greek colonies. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 4, li. 64.—Strabo, &c.

Græcīnus, a senator put to death by Caligula, because he refused to accuse Sejanus, &c. Seneca, de Beneficiis, bk. 2.

Græcus, a man from whom some suppose that Greece received its name. Aristotle.

Graius, an inhabitant of Greece.

Grampius mons, the Grampian mountains in Scotland. Tacitus, Agricola, ch. 29.

Granīcus, a river of Bithynia, famous for the battle fought there between the armies of Alexander and Darius, 22nd of May, B.C. 334, when 600,000 Persians were defeated by 30,000 Macedonians. Diodorus, bk. 17.—Plutarch, Alexander.—Justin.—Curtius, bk. 4, ch. 1.

Granius Petronius, an officer who, being taken by Pompey’s generals, refused the life which was tendered to him; observing that Cæsar’s soldiers received not, but granted, life. He killed himself. Plutarch, Cæsar.――A questor whom Sylla had ordered to be strangled, only one day before he died a natural death. Plutarch.――A son of the wife of Marius, by a former husband.――Quintus, a man intimate with Crassus and other illustrious men of Rome, whose vices he lashed with an unsparing hand. Cicero, Brutus, chs. 43 & 46; On Oratory, bk. 2, ch. 60.

Gratiæ, three goddesses. See: Charites.

Grātiānus, a native of Pannonia, father to the emperor Valentinian I. He was raised to the throne, though only eight years old; and after he had reigned for some time conjointly with his father, he became sole emperor in the 16th year of his age. He soon after took, as his imperial colleague, Theodosius, whom he appointed over the eastern parts of the empire. His courage in the field was as remarkable as his love of learning, and fondness of philosophy. He slaughtered 30,000 Germans in a battle, and supported the tottering state by his prudence and intrepidity. His enmity to the Pagan superstition of his subjects proved his ruin; and Maximinus, who undertook the defence of the worship of Jupiter and of all the gods, was joined by an infinite number of discontented Romans, and met Gratian near Paris in Gaul. Gratian was forsaken by his troops in the field of battle, and was murdered by the rebels, A.D. 383, in the 24th year of his age.――A Roman soldier, invested with the imperial purple by the rebellious army in Britain, in opposition to Honorius. He was assassinated four months after by those very troops to whom he owed his elevation, A.D. 407.

Gratidia, a woman at Neapolis, called Canidia by Horace, epode 3.

Gration, a giant killed by Diana.

Gratius Faliscus, a Latin poet contemporary with Ovid, and mentioned only by him among the more ancient authors. He wrote a poem on coursing, called Cynegeticon, much commended for its elegance and perspicuity. It may be compared to the Georgics of Virgil, to which it is nearly equal in the number of verses. The latest edition is of Amsterdam, 4to, 1728. Ovid, ex Ponto, bk. 4, poem 16, li. 34.

Gravii, a people of Spain. Silius Italicus, bk. 3, li. 366.

Grăviscæ, now Eremo de St. Augustino, a maritime town of Etruria, which assisted Æneas against Turnus. The air was unwholesome, on account of the marshes and stagnant waters in its neighbourhood. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 184.—Livy, bk. 40, ch. 29; bk. 41, ch. 16.

Gravius, a Roman knight of Puteoli, killed at Dyrrachium, &c. Cæsar, Civil War.

Gregorius Theodore Thaumaturgus, a disciple of Origen, afterwards bishop of Neocæsarea, the place of his birth. He died A.D. 266, and it is said he left only 17 idolaters in his diocese, where he had found only 17 christians. Of his works, are extant his congratulatory oration to Origen, a canonical epistle, and other treatises in Greek, the best edition of which is that of Paris, folio, 1622.――Nazianzen, surnamed the Divine, was bishop of Constantinople, which he resigned on its being disputed. His writings rival those of the most celebrated orators of Greece in eloquence, sublimity, and variety. His sermons are more for philosophers than common hearers, but replete with seriousness and devotion. Erasmus said that he was afraid to translate his works, from the apprehension of not transfusing into another language the smartness and acumen of his style, and the stateliness and happy diction of the whole. He died A.D. 389. The best edition is that of the Benedictines, the first volume of which, in folio, was published at Paris, 1778.――A bishop of Nyssa, author of the Nicene creed. His style is represented as allegorical and affected; and he has been accused of mixing philosophy too much with theology. His writings consist of commentaries on scripture, moral discourses, sermons on mysteries, dogmatical treatises, panegyrics on saints; the best edition of which is that of Morell, 2 vols., folio, Paris, 1615. The bishop died, A.D. 396.――Another christian writer, whose works were edited by the Benedictines, in 4 vols., folio, Paris, 1705.

Grinnes, a people among the Batavians. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 5, ch. 10.

Grosphus, a man distinguished as much for his probity as his riches, to whom Horace addressed bk. 2, ode 16.

Grudii, a people tributary to the Nervii, supposed to have inhabited the country near Tournay or Bruges in Flanders. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 5, ch. 38.

Grumentum, now Armento, an inland town of Lucania on the river Aciris. Livy, bk. 23, ch. 37; bk. 27, ch. 41.

Gryllus, a son of Xenophon, who killed Epaminondas, and was himself slain, at the battle of Mantinea, B.C. 363. His father was offering a sacrifice when he received the news of his death, and he threw down the garland which was on his head; but he replaced it when he heard that the enemy’s general had fallen by his hands; and he observed, that his death ought to be celebrated with every demonstration of joy, rather than of lamentation. Aristotle.—Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 11, &c.――One of the companions of Ulysses, changed into a swine by Circe. It it said that he refused to be restored to his human shape, and preferred the indolence and inactivity of this squalid animal.

Grynēum and Grynīum, a town near Clazomenæ, where Apollo had a temple with an oracle, on account of which he is called Grynæus. Strabo, bk. 13.—Virgil, Eclogues, bk. 6, li. 72; Æneid, bk. 4, li. 345.

Grynēus, one of the Centaurs, who fought against the Lapithæ, &c. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 260.

Gyărus and Gyăros, an island in the Ægean sea, near Delos. The Romans were wont to send their culprits there. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 7, li. 407.

Gyas, one of the companions of Æneas, who distinguished himself at the games exhibited after the death of Anchises in Sicily. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 118, &c.――A part of the territories of Syracuse, in the possession of Dionysius.――A Rutulian, son of Melampus, killed by Æneas in Italy. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 318.

Gȳgæus, a lake of Lydia, 40 stadia from Sardis. Propertius, bk. 3, poem 11, li. 18.

Gȳge, a maid of Parysatis.

Gyges, or Gyes, a son of Cœlus and Terra, represented as having 50 heads and 100 hands. He, with his brothers, made war against the gods, and was afterwards punished in Tartarus. Ovid, Tristia, bk. 4, poem 7, li. 18.――A Lydian, to whom Candaules king of the country showed his wife naked. The queen was so incensed at this instance of imprudence and infirmity in her husband, that she ordered Gyges, either to prepare for death himself, or to murder Candaules. He chose the latter, and married the queen, and ascended the vacant throne, about 718 years before the christian era. He was the first of the Mermnadæ who reigned in Lydia. He reigned 38 years, and distinguished himself by the immense presents which he made to the oracle of Delphi. According to Plato, Gyges descended into a chasm of the earth, where he found a brazen horse, whose sides he opened, and saw within the body the carcase of a man of uncommon size, from whose finger he took a famous brazen ring. This ring, when put on his finger, rendered him invisible; and by means of its virtue, he introduced himself to the queen, murdered her husband, and married her, and usurped the crown of Lydia. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 8.—♦Plato, Dialogues, bk. 10, The Republic.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 7, ch. 1.—Cicero, De Officiis, bk. 3, ch. 9.――A man killed by Turnus in his wars with Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 762.――A beautiful boy of Cnidos in the age of Horace. Horace, bk. 2, ode 5, li. 30.

Gylippus, a Lacedæmonian sent, B.C. 414, by his countrymen to assist Syracuse against the Athenians. He obtained a celebrated victory over Nicias and Demosthenes, the enemy’s generals, and obliged them to surrender. He accompanied Lysander in his expedition against Athens, and was present at the taking of that celebrated town. After the fall of Athens, he was entrusted by the conqueror with the money which had been taken in the plunder, which amounted to 1500 talents. As he conveyed it to Sparta, he had the meanness to unsew the bottom of the bags which contained it, and secreted about 300 talents. His theft was discovered; and to avoid the punishment which he deserved, he fled from his country, and by this act of meanness tarnished the glory of his victorious actions. Tibullus, bk. 4, poem 1, li. 199.—Plutarch, Nicias.――An Arcadian in the Rutulian war. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 12, li. 272.

Gymnăsia, a large city near Colchis. Diodorus, bk. 14.

Gymnăsium, a place among the Greeks, where all the public exercises were performed, and where not only wrestlers and dancers exhibited, but also philosophers, poets, and rhetoricians repeated their compositions. The room was high and spacious, and could contain many thousands of spectators. The laborious exercises of the Gymnasium were running, leaping, throwing the quoit, wrestling, and boxing, which was called by the Greeks πενταθλον, and by the Romans quinquertia. In riding, the athlete led a horse, on which he sometimes was mounted, conducting another by the bridle, and jumping from the one upon the other. Whoever came first to the goal and jumped with the greatest agility, obtained the prize. In running afoot the athletes were sometimes armed, and he who came first was declared victorious. Leaping was a useful exercise; its primary object was to teach the soldiers to jump over ditches, and to pass over eminences during a siege, or in the field of battle. In throwing the quoit, the prize was adjudged to him who threw it furthest. The quoits were made either with wood, stone, or metal. The wrestlers employed all their dexterity to bring their adversary to the ground, and the boxers had their hands armed with gauntlets, called also cestus. Their blows were dangerous, and often ended in the death of one of the combatants. In wrestling and boxing, the athletes were often naked, whence the word Gymnasium, γυμνος, nudus. They anointed themselves with oil to brace their limbs, and to render their bodies slippery and more difficult to be grasped. Pliny, bk. 2, ltr. 17.—Cornelius Nepos, bk. 20, ch. 5.

Gymnēsiæ, two islands near the Iberus in the Mediterranean, called Beleares by the Greeks. Plutarch, bk. 5, ch. 8.—Strabo, bk. 2.

Gymnetes, a people of Æthiopia, who lived almost naked. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 8.

Gymniæ, a town of Colchis. Xenophon, Anabasis, bk. 4.

Gymnosophistæ, a certain sect of philosophers in India, who, according to some, placed their summum bonum in pleasure, and their summum malum in pain. They lived naked, as their name implies, and for 37 years they exposed themselves in the open air, to the heat of the sun, the inclemency of the seasons, and the coldness of the night. They were often seen in the fields fixing their eyes full upon the disc of the sun from the time of its rising till the hour of its setting. Sometimes they stood whole days upon one foot in burning sand without moving, or showing any concern for what surrounded them. Alexander was astonished at the sight of a sect of men who seemed to despise bodily pain, and who inured themselves to suffer the greatest tortures without uttering a groan, or expressing any marks of fear. The conqueror condescended to visit them, and his astonishment was increased when he saw one of them ascend a burning pile with firmness and unconcern, to avoid the infirmities of old age, and stand upright on one leg and unmoved, whilst the flames surrounded him on every side. See: Calanus. The Brachmans were a branch of the sect of the Gymnosophistæ. See: Brachmanes. Strabo, bk. 15, &c.—Pliny, bk. 7, ch. 2.—Cicero, Tusculanæ Disputationes, bk. 5.—Lucan, bk. 3, li. 240.—Curtius, bk. 8, ch. 9.—Dionysius.

Gynæceas, a woman said to have been the wife of Faunus, and the mother of Bacchus and of Midas.

Gynæcothœnas, a name of Mars at Tegea, on account of a sacrifice offered by the women without the assistance of the men, who were not permitted to appear at this religious ceremony. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 48.

Gyndes, now Zeindeh, a river of Assyria, falling into the Tigris. When Cyrus marched against Babylon, his army was stopped by this river, in which one of his favourite horses was drowned. This so irritated the monarch that he ordered the river to be conveyed into 360 different channels by his army, so that after this division it hardly reached the knee. Herodotus, bk. 1, chs. 189 & 202.

Gythēum, a seaport town of Laconia, at the mouth of the Eurotas in Peloponnesus, built by Hercules and Apollo, who had there desisted from their quarrels. The inhabitants were called Gytheatæ. Cicero, De Officiis, bk. 3, ch. 11.

H

Habis, a king of Spain, who first taught his subjects agriculture, &c. Justin, bk. 44, ch. 4.

Hadrianopŏlis, a town of Thrace, on the Hebrus.

Hadriānus, a Roman emperor. See: Adrianus.――Caeso Fabius, a pretor in Africa, who was burnt by the people of Utica for conspiring with the slaves. Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 1, ch. 27; bk. 5, ch. 26.

Hadriatĭcum mare. See: Adriaticum.

Hædui. See: Ædui.

Hæmon, a Theban youth, son of Creon, who was so captivated with the beauty of Antigone, that he killed himself on her tomb, when he heard that she had been put to death by his father’s orders. Propertius, bk. 2, poem 8, li. 21.――A Rutulian engaged in the wars of Turnus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 685.――A friend of Æneas against Turnus. He was a native of Lycia. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 126.

Hæmŏnia. See: Æmonia.

Hæmus, a mountain which separates Thrace from Thessaly, so high that from its top are visible the Euxine and Adriatic seas, though this, however, is denied by Strabo. It receives its name from Hæmus son of Boreas and Orithyia, who married Rhodope, and was changed into this mountain for aspiring to divine honours. Strabo, bk. 7, p. 313.—Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 11.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6, li. 87.――A stage-player. Juvenal, satire 3, li. 99.

Hages, a brother of king Porus, who opposed Alexander, &c. Curtius, bk. 8, chs. 5 & 14.――One of Alexander’s flatterers.――A man of Cyzicus, killed by Pollux. Flaccus, bk. 3, li. 191.

Hagno, a nymph.――A fountain of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 38.

Hagnagora, a sister of Aristomenes. Pausanias.

Halæsus and Halēsus, a son of Agamemnon by Briseis or Clytemnestra. When he was driven from home, he came to Italy, and settled on mount Massicus in Campania, where he built Falisci, and afterwards assisted Turnus against Æneas. He was killed by Pallas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 724; bk. 10, li. 352.――A river near Colophon in Asia Minor. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 29.

Halala, a village at the foot of mount Taurus.

Halcyŏne. See: Alcyone.

Halentum, a town at the north of Sicily. Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 3, ch. 43; bk. 4, ch. 23.

Halesa, a town of Sicily. Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 2, ch. 7; Letters to his Friends, bk. 13, ltr. 32.

Halesius, a mountain and river near Ætna, where Proserpine was gathering flowers when she was carried away by Pluto. Columella.

Halia, one of the Nereides. Apollodorus.――A festival at Rhodes in honour of the sun.

Haliacmon, a river which separates Thessaly from Macedonia, and falls into the Sinus Thermaicus. Cæsar, Civil War, bk. 3, ch. 36.—Pliny, bk. 31, ch. 2.—Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 127.

Haliartus, a town of Bœotia, founded by Haliartus the son of Thersander. The monuments of Pandion king of Athens, and of Lysander the Lacedæmonian general, were seen in that town. Livy, bk. 42, chs. 44 & 63.—Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 32.――A town of Peloponnesus.

Halicarnassus, now Bodroun, a maritime city of Caria, in Asia Minor, where the mausoleum, one of the seven wonders of the world, was erected. It was the residence of the sovereigns of Caria, and was celebrated for having given birth to Herodotus, Dionysius, Heraclitus, &c. Maximus Tyrius, bk. 35.—Vitruvius, On Architecture.—Diodorus, bk. 17.—Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 178.—Strabo, bk. 14.—Livy, bk. 27, chs. 10 & 16; bk. 33, ch. 20.

Halicyæ, a town of Sicily, near Lilybæum, now Saleme. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 8.—Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 2, ch. 33.—Diodorus, bk. 14.

Halieis, a town of Argolis.

Halimede, a Nereid.

Halirrhotius, a son of Neptune and Euryte, who ravished Alcippe daughter of Mars, because she slighted his addresses. This violence offended Mars, and he killed the ravisher. Neptune cited Mars to appear before the tribunal of justice to answer for the murder of his son. The cause was tried at Athens, in a place which has been called from thence Areopagus (ἀρης Mars, and παγος village), and the murderer was acquitted. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 14.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 21.

Halithersus, an old man, who foretold Penelope’s suitors the return of Ulysses, and their own destruction. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 1.

Halius, a son of Alcinous, famous for his skill in dancing. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 8, lis. 120 & 360.――A Trojan, who came with Æneas into Italy, where he was killed by Turnus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 767.

Halizōnes, a people of Paphlagonia. Strabo, bk. 14.

Halmus, a son of Sisyphus, father to Chrysogone. He ♦reigned in Orchomenos. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 35.

Halmydessus, a town of Thrace. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 2.

Halocrătes, a son of Hercules and Olympusa. Apollodorus.

Halōne, an island of Propontis, opposite Cyzicus. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 31.

Halonnēsus, an island on the coast of Macedonia, at the bottom of the Sinus Thermiacus. It was inhabited only by women, who had slaughtered all the males, and they defended themselves against an invasion. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.

Halōtia, a festival in Tegea. Pausanias.

Halōtus, a eunuch, who used to taste the meat of Claudius. He poisoned the emperor’s food by order of Agrippina. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 66.

Halus, a city of Achaia,――of Thessaly,――of Parthia.

Hălyæetus, a man changed into a bird of the same name. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3, li. 176.

Halyattes. See: Alyattes.

Halycus, now Platani, a river at the south of Sicily.

Halys, now Kizil-ermark, a river of Asia Minor, rising in Cappadocia, and falling into the Euxine sea. It received its name ἀπο του ἁλος from salt, because its waters are of a salt and bitter taste, from the nature of the soil over which they flow. It is famous for the defeat of Crœsus king of Lydia, who was mistaken by the ambiguous words of this oracle:

Χροισος Ἁλυν διαβας μεγαλην ἀρχην διαλυσει.

If Crœsus passes over the Halys, he shall destroy a great empire.

That empire was his own. Cicero, de Divinatione, bk. 2, ch. 56.—Curtius, bk. 4, ch. 11.—Strabo, bk. 12.—Lucan, bk. 3, li. 272.—Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 28.――A man of Cyzicus, killed by Pollux. Valerius Flaccus, bk. 3, li. 157.

Halyzia, a town of Epirus near the Achelous, where the Athenians obtained a naval victory over the Lacedæmonians.

Hamadryădes, nymphs who lived in the country, and presided over trees, with which they were said to live and die. The word is derived from ἁμα simul, and δρυς quercus. Virgil, Eclogues, poem 10.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 647.

Hamæ, a town of Campania near Cumæ. Livy, bk. 23, ch. 25.

Hamaxia, a city of Cilicia.

Hamilcar, the name of some celebrated generals of Carthage. See: Amilcar.

Hammon, the Jupiter of the Africans. See: Ammon.

Hannibal. See: Annibal.

Hanno. See: Anno.

Harcălo, a man famous for his knowledge of poisonous herbs, &c. He touched the most venomous serpents and reptiles without receiving the smallest injury. Silius Italicus, bk. 1, li. 406.

Harmatelia, a town of the Brachmanes in India, taken by Alexander. Diodorus, bk. 17.

Harmatris, a town of Æolia.

Hămillus, an infamous debauchee. Juvenal, satire 10, li. 224.

Harmodius, a friend of Aristogiton, who delivered his country from the tyranny of the Pisistratidæ, B.C. 510. See: Aristogiton. The Athenians, to reward the patriotism of these illustrious citizens, made a law that no one should ever bear the name of Aristogiton and Harmodius. Herodotus, bk. 5, ch. 35.—Pliny, bk. 34, ch. 8.—Seneca, de Ira, bk. 2.

Harmŏnia, or Hermionea [See: Hermione], a daughter of Mars ♦and Venus, who married Cadmus. It is said that Vulcan, to avenge the infidelity of her mother, made her a present of a vestment dyed in all sorts of crimes, which, in some measure, inspired all the children of Cadmus with wickedness and impiety. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 16, &c.

Harmŏnĭdes, a Trojan beloved by Minerva. He built the ships in which Paris carried away Helen. Homer, Iliad, bk. 5.

Harpăgus, a general of Cyrus. He conquered Asia Minor after he had revolted from Astyages, who had cruelly forced him to eat the flesh of his son, because he had disobeyed his orders in not putting to death the infant Cyrus. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 108.—Justin, bk. 1, chs. 5 & 6.――A river near Colchis. Diodorus, bk. 14.

Harpălice. See: Harpalyce.

Harpălion, a son of Pylæmenes king of Paphlagonia, who assisted Priam during the Trojan war, and was killed by Merion. Homer, Iliad, bk. 13, li. 643.

Harpălus, a man entrusted with the treasures of Babylon by Alexander. His hopes that Alexander would perish in his expedition rendered him dissipate, negligent, and vicious. When he heard that the conqueror was returning with great resentment, he fled to Athens, where, with his money, he corrupted the orators, among whom was Demosthenes. When brought to justice, he escaped with impunity to Crete, where he was at last assassinated by Thimbron, B.C. 325. Plutarch, Phocion.—Diodorus, bk. 17.――A robber who scorned the gods. Cicero, bk. 3, de Natura Deorum.――A celebrated astronomer of Greece, 480 years B.C.

Harpăly̆ce, the daughter of Harpalycus king of Thrace. Her mother died when she was but a child, and her father fed her with the milk of cows and mares, and inured her early to sustain the fatigues of hunting. When her father’s kingdom was invaded by Neoptolemus the son of Achilles, she repelled and defeated the enemy with manly courage. The death of her father, which happened soon after in a sedition, rendered her disconsolate; she fled the society of mankind, and lived in the forests upon plunder and rapine. Every attempt to secure her proved fruitless, till her great swiftness was overcome by intercepting her with a net. After her death the people of the country disputed their respective right to the possessions which she acquired by rapine, and they soon after appeased her manes, by proper oblations on her tomb. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, li. 321.—Hyginus, fables 193 & 252.――A beautiful virgin, daughter of Clymenus and Epicaste of Argos. Her father became enamoured of her, and gained her confidence, and enjoyed her company by means of her nurse, who introduced him as a stranger. Some time after she married Alastor; but the father’s passion became more violent and uncontrollable in his daughter’s absence, and he murdered her husband to bring her back to Argos. Harpalyce, inconsolable for the death of her husband, and ashamed of her father’s passion, which was then made public, resolved to revenge her wrongs. She killed her younger brother, or, according to some, the fruit of her incest, and served it before her father. She begged the gods to remove her from the world, and she was changed into an owl, and Clymenus killed himself. Hyginus, fable 253, &c.—Parthenius, Narrationes Amatoriæ.――A mistress of Iphiclus son of Thestius. She died through despair on seeing herself despised by her lover. This mournful story was composed in poetry, in the form of a dialogue called Harpalyce. Athenæus, bk. 14.

Harpăly̆cus, one of the companions of Æneas, killed by Camilla. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 11, li. 675.――The father of Harpalyce, king of part of Thrace.

Harpăsa, a town of Caria.

Harpăsus, a river of Caria. Livy, bk. 38, ch. 13.

Harpŏcrătes, a divinity, supposed to be the same as Orus the son of Isis among the Egyptians. He is represented as holding one of his fingers on his mouth, and from thence he is called the god of silence, and intimates that the mysteries of religion and philosophy ought never to be revealed to the people. The Romans placed his statues at the entrance of their temples. Catullus, poem 75.—Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 4, ch. 10.

Harpocration, a Platonic philosopher of Argos, from whom Stobæus compiled his eclogues.――A sophist, called also Ælius.――Valerius, a rhetorician of Alexandria, author of a Lexicon on 10 orators.――Another, surnamed Caius.

Harpylæ, winged monsters, who had the face of a woman, with the body of a vulture, and had their feet and fingers armed with sharp claws. They were three in number, Aello, Ocypete, and Celeno, daughters of Neptune and Terra. They were sent by Juno to plunder the tables of Phineus, whence they were driven to the islands called Strophades by Zethes and Calais. They emitted an infectious smell, and spoiled whatever they touched by their filth and excrements. They plundered Æneas during his voyage towards Italy, and predicted many of the calamities which attended him. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 212; bk. 6, li. 289.—Hesiod, Theogony, li. 265.

Harudes, a people of Germany. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 1, ch. 31.

Haruspex, a soothsayer at Rome, who drew omens by consulting the entrails of beasts that were sacrificed. He received the name of Aruspex, ab aris aspiciendis, and that of Extispex, ab extis inspiciendis. The order of Aruspices was first established at Rome by Romulus, and the first Haruspices were Tuscans by origin, as they were particularly famous in that branch of divination. They had received all their knowledge from a boy named Tages, who, as was commonly reported, sprung from a clod of earth. See: Tages. They were originally three, but the Roman senate yearly sent six noble youths, or, according to others, 12, to Etruria, to be instructed in all the mysteries of the art. The office of the Haruspices consisted in observing these four particulars: the beast before it was sacrificed; its entrails; the flames which consumed the sacrifice; and the flour, frankincense, &c., which was used. If the beast was led up to the altar with difficulty, if it escaped from the conductor’s hands, roared when it received the blow, or died in agonies, the omen was unfortunate. But, on the contrary, if it followed without compulsion, received the blow without resistance, and died without groaning, and after much effusion of blood, the Haruspex foretold prosperity. When the body of the victim was opened, each part was scrupulously examined. If anything was wanting, if it had a double liver, or a lean heart, the omen was unfortunate. If the entrails fell from the hands of the Haruspex, or seemed besmeared with too much blood, or if no heart appeared, as for instance it happened in the two victims which Julius Cæsar offered a little before his death, the omen was equally unlucky. When the flame was quickly kindled, and when it violently consumed the sacrifice, and arose pure and bright, and like a pyramid, without any paleness, smoke, sparkling, or crackling, the omen was favourable. But the contrary augury was drawn when the fire was kindled with difficulty, and was extinguished before the sacrifice was totally consumed, or when it rolled in circles round the victim with intermediate spaces between the flames. In regard to the frankincense, meal, water, and wine, if there was any deficiency in the quantity, if the colour was different, or the quality was changed, or if anything was done with irregularity, it was deemed inauspicious. This custom of consulting the entrails of victims did not originate in Tuscany, but it was in use among the Chaldeans, Greeks, Egyptians, &c., and the more enlightened part of mankind well knew how to render it subservient to their wishes or tyranny. Agesilaus, when in Egypt, raised the drooping spirits of his soldiers by a superstitious artifice. He secretly wrote in his hand the word νεκη, victory, in large characters, and holding the entrails of a victim in his hand till the impression was communicated to the flesh, he showed it to the soldiers, and animated them by observing that the gods signified their approaching victories even by marking it in the body of the sacrificed animals. Cicero, de Divinatione.

Hasdrubal. See: Asdrubal.

Quintus Haterius, a patrician and orator at Rome under the first emperors. He died in the 90th year of his age. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 4, ch. 61.――Agrippa, a senator in the age of Tiberius, hated by the tyrant for his independence. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 6, ch. 4.――Antoninus, a dissipated senator, whose extravagance was supported by Nero. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 13, ch. 34.

Haustanes, a man who conspired with Bessus against Darius, &c. Curtius, bk. 8, ch. 5.

Hebdŏle. See: Ebdome.

Hebe, a daughter of Jupiter and Juno. According to some she was the daughter of Juno only, who conceived her after eating lettuces. As she was fair, and always in the bloom of youth, she was called the goddess of youth, and made by her mother cup-bearer to all the gods. She was dismissed from her office by Jupiter, because she fell down in an indecent posture as she was pouring nectar to the gods at a grand festival, and Ganymedes the favourite of Jupiter succeeded her as cup-bearer. She was employed by her mother to prepare her chariot, and to harness her peacocks whenever requisite. When Hercules was raised to the rank of a god he was reconciled to Juno by marrying her daughter Hebe, by whom he had two sons, Alexiares and Anicetus. As Hebe had the power of restoring gods and men to the vigour of youth, she, at the instance of her husband, performed that kind office to Iolas his friend. Hebe was worshipped at Sicyon, under the name of Dia, and at Rome under the name of Juventas. She is represented as a young virgin crowned with flowers, and arrayed in a variegated garment. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 19; bk. 2, ch. 12.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 400; Fasti, bk. 9, li. 76.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 3; bk. 2, ch. 7.

Hēbēsus, a Rutulian, killed in the night by Euryalus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 344.

Hebrus, now Marissa, a river of Thrace, which was supposed to roll its waters upon golden sands. It falls into the Ægean sea. The head of Orpheus was thrown into it, after it had been cut off by the Ciconian women. It received its name from Hebrus son of Cassandra, a king of Thrace, who was said to have drowned himself there. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 2.—Strabo, bk. 7.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 463.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11, li. 50.――A youth of Lipara, beloved by Neobule. Horace, bk. 3, ode 12.――A man of Cyzicus, killed by Pollux. Flaccus, bk. 3, li. 149.――A friend of Æneas son of Dolichaon, killed by Mezentius in the Rutulian war. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 696.

Hecăle, a poor old woman who kindly received Theseus as he was going against the bull of Marathon, &c. Plutarch, Theseus.――A town of Attica.

Hecalēsia, a festival in honour of Jupiter of Hecale, instituted by Theseus, or in commemoration of the kindness of Hecale, which Theseus had experienced when he went against the bull of Marathon, &c.

Hecamēde, a daughter of Arsinous, who fell to the lot of Nestor after the plunder of Tenedos by the Greeks. Homer, Iliad, bk. 11, li. 623.

Hecătæ fanum, a celebrated temple sacred to Hecate at Stratonice in Caria. Strabo, bk. 14.

Hecatæus, an historian of Miletus, born 549 years before Christ, in the reign of Darius Hystaspes. Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 143.――A Macedonian intimate with Alexander. Diodorus, bk. 17.――A Macedonian brought to the army against his will by Amyntas, &c. Curtius, bk. 7, ch. 1.

Hecăte, a daughter of Perses and Asteria, the same as Proserpine or Diana. She was called Luna in heaven, Diana on earth, and Hecate or Proserpine in hell, whence her name of Diva triformis, tergemina, triceps. She was supposed to preside over magic and enchantments, and was generally represented like a woman with three heads, that of a horse, a dog, or a boar; and sometimes she appeared with three different bodies, and three different faces only with one neck. Dogs, lambs, and honey were generally offered to her, especially in highways and cross-roads, whence she obtained the name of Trivia. Her power was extended over heaven, the earth, sea, and hell; and to her kings and nations supposed themselves indebted for their prosperity. Ovid, bk. 7, Metamorphoses, li. 94.—Hesiod, Theogony.—Horace, bk. 3, ode 22.—Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 22.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 511.

Hecatēsia, a yearly festival observed by the Stratonicensians in honour of Hecate. The Athenians paid also particular worship to this goddess, who was deemed the patroness of families and of children. From this circumstance, the statues of the goddess were erected before the doors of the houses, and upon every new moon a public supper was always provided at the expense of the richest people, and set in the streets, where the poorest of the citizens were permitted to retire and feast upon it, while they reported that Hecate had devoured it. There were also expiatory offerings to supplicate the goddess to remove whatever evils might impend on the head of the public, &c.

Hecăto, a native of Rhodes, pupil to Pænætius. He wrote on the duties of man, &c. Cicero, bk. 3, De Officiis, ch. 15.

Hecatomboia, a festival celebrated in honour of Juno by the Argians and people of Ægina. It receives its name from ἑκατον, and βους, a sacrifice of 100 bulls, which were always offered to the goddess, and the flesh distributed amongst the poorest citizens. There were also public games, first instituted by Archinus, a king of Argos, in which the prize was a shield of brass with a crown of myrtle.

Hecatomphŏnia, a solemn sacrifice offered by the Messenians to Jupiter, when any of them had killed 100 enemies. Pausanias, bk. 4, ch. 19.

Hecatompŏlis, an epithet applied to Crete, from the 100 cities which it once contained.

Hecatompy̆los, an epithet applied to Thebes in Egypt on account of its 100 gates. Ammianus, bk. 22, ch. 16.――Also the capital of Parthia, in the reign of the Arsacidæ. Ptolemy, bk. 6, ch. 5.—Strabo, bk. 11.—Pliny, bk. 6, chs. 15 & 25.

Hecatonnēsi, small islands between Lesbos and Asia. Strabo, bk. 13.

Hector, son of king Priam and Hecuba, was the most valiant of all the Trojan chiefs that fought against the Greeks. He married Andromache the daughter of Eetion, by whom he had Astyanax. He was appointed captain of all the Trojan forces, when Troy was besieged by the Greeks; and the valour with which he behaved, showed how well qualified he was to discharge that important office. He engaged with the bravest of the Greeks, and according to Hyginus, no less than 31 of the most valiant of the enemy perished by his hand. When Achilles had driven back the Trojans towards the city, Hector, too great to fly, waited the approach of his enemy near the Scean gates, though his father and mother, with tears in their eyes, blamed his rashness, and entreated him to retire. The sight of Achilles terrified him, and he fled before him in the plain. The Greek pursued, and Hector was killed, and his body was dragged in cruel triumph by the conqueror round the tomb of Patroclus, whom Hector had killed. The body, after it had received the grossest of insults, was ransomed by old Priam, and the Trojans obtained from the Greeks a truce of some days to pay the last offices to the greatest of their leaders. The Thebans boasted in the age of the geographer Pausanias, that they had the ashes of Hector preserved in an urn, by order of an oracle; which promised them undisturbed felicity if they were in possession of that hero’s remains. The epithet of Hectoreus is applied by the poets to the Trojans, as best expressive of valour and intrepidity. Homer, Iliad, bk. 1, &c.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, &c.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bks. 12 & 13.—Dictys Cretensis.—Dares Phrygius.—Hyginus, fables 90 & 112.—Pausanias, bk. 3 & bk. 9, ch. 18.—Quintus Smyrnæus, bks. 1 & 3.――A son of Parmenio drowned in the Nile. Alexander honoured his remains with a magnificent funeral. Curtius, bk. 4, ch. 8; bk. 6, ch. 9.

Hecŭba, daughter of Dymas, a Phrygian prince, or, according to others, of Cisseus, a Thracian king, was the second wife of Priam king of Troy, and proved the chastest of women, and the most tender and unfortunate of mothers. When she was pregnant of Paris, she dreamed that she had brought into the world a burning torch which had reduced her husband’s palace and all Troy to ashes. So alarming a dream was explained by the soothsayers, who declared that the son she should bring into the world would prove the ruin of his country. When Paris was born she exposed him on mount Ida to avert the calamities which threatened her family; but her attempts to destroy him were fruitless, and the prediction of the soothsayers was fulfilled. See: Paris. During the Trojan war she saw the greatest part of her children perish by the hands of the enemy, and like a mother she confessed her grief by her tears and lamentations, particularly at the death of Hector her eldest son. When Troy was taken, Hecuba, as one of the captives, fell to the lot of Ulysses, a man whom she hated for his perfidy and avarice, and she embarked with the conquerors for Greece. The Greeks landed in the Thracian Chersonesus, to load with fresh honours the grave of Achilles. During their stay the hero’s ghost appeared to them, and demanded, to ensure the safety of their return, the sacrifice of Polyxena, Hecuba’s daughter. They complied, and Polyxena was torn from her mother to be sacrificed. Hecuba was inconsolable, and her grief was still more increased at the sight of the body of her son Polydorus washed on the shore, who had been recommended by his father to the care and humanity of Polymnestor king of the country. See: Polydorus. She determined to revenge the death of her son, and with the greatest indignation went to the house of his murderer and tore his eyes, and attempted to deprive him of his life. She was hindered from executing her bloody purpose by the arrival of some Thracians, and she fled with the female companions of her captivity. She was pursued, and when she ran after the stones that were thrown at her, she found herself suddenly changed into a bitch, and when she attempted to speak, found that she could only bark. After this metamorphosis she threw herself into the sea, according to Hyginus, and that place was, from that circumstance, called Cyneum. Hecuba had a great number of children by Priam, among whom were Hector, Paris, Deiphobus, Pammon, Helenus, Polytes, Antiphon, Hipponous, Polydorus, Troilus, and among the daughters, Creusa, Ilione, Laodice, Polyxena, and Cassandra. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11, li. 761; bk. 13, li. 515.—Hyginus, fable 111.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 44.—Juvenal, satire 10, li. 271.—Strabo, bk. 13.—Dictys Cretensis, bks. 4 & 5.—Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 12.

Hecŭbæ Sepulchrum, a promontory of Thrace.

Hedĭla, a poetess of Samos.

Hedonæum, a village of Bœotia. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 31.

Hedui. See: Ædui.

Hedymēles, an admired musician in Domitian’s age. The word signifies sweet music. Juvenal, satire 6, li. 381.

Hegelŏchus, a general of 6000 Athenians sent to Mantinea to stop the progress of Epaminondas. Diodorus, bk. 15.――An Egyptian general who flourished B.C. 128.

Hegēmon, a Thrasian poet in the age of Alcibiades. He wrote a poem called Gigantomachia, besides other works. Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 4, ch. 11.――Another poet, who wrote a poem on the battle of Leuctra, &c. Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 8, ch. 11.

Hegesiănax, an historian of Alexandria, who wrote an account of the Trojan war.

Hegesias, a tyrant of Ephesus under the patronage of Alexander. Polyænus, bk. 6.――A philosopher who so eloquently convinced his auditors of their failings and follies, and persuaded them that there were no dangers after death, that many were guilty of suicide. Ptolemy forbade him to continue his doctrines. Cicero, Tusculanæ Disputationes, bk. 1, ch. 34.――An historian.――A famous orator of Magnesia, who corrupted the elegant diction of Attica by the introduction of Asiatic idioms. Cicero, Orator, chs. 67, 69; Brutus, ch. 83.—Strabo, bk. 9.—Plutarch, Alexander.

Hegesilŏchus, one of the chief magistrates of Rhodes in the reign of Alexander and his father Philip.――Another native of Rhodes, 171 years before the christian era. He engaged his countrymen to prepare a fleet of 40 ships to assist the Romans against Perseus king of Macedonia.

Hegesinous, a man who wrote a poem on Attica. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 29.

Hegesinus, a philosopher of Pergamus, of the second academy. He flourished B.C. 193.

Hegesippus, an historian who wrote some things upon Pallene, &c.

Hegesipy̆le, a daughter of Olorus king of Thrace, who married Miltiades and became mother of Cimon. Plutarch.

Hegesistrătus, an Ephesian who consulted the oracle to know in what particular place he should fix his residence. He was directed to settle where he found peasants dancing with crowns of olives. This was in Asia, where he founded Elea, &c.

Hegetorĭdes, a Thasian, who, upon seeing his country besieged by the Athenians, and a law forbidding any one on pain of death to speak of peace, went to the market-place with a rope about his neck, and boldly told his countrymen to treat him as they pleased, provided they saved the city from the calamities which the continuation of the war seemed to threaten. The Thasians were awakened, the law was abrogated, and Hegetorides pardoned, &c. Polyænus.

Helĕna, the most beautiful woman of her age, sprung from one of the eggs which Leda the wife of king Tyndarus brought forth after her amour with Jupiter metamorphosed into a swan. See: Leda. According to some authors, Helen was daughter of Nemesis by Jupiter, and Leda was only her nurse; and to reconcile this variety of opinions, some imagine that Nemesis and Leda are the same persons. Her beauty was so universally admired, even in her infancy, that Theseus, with his friend Pirithous, carried her away before she had attained her 10th year, and concealed her at Aphidnæ, under the care of his mother Æthra. Her brothers Castor and Pollux recovered her by force of arms, and she returned safe and unpolluted to Sparta, her native country. There existed, however, a tradition recorded by Pausanius, that Helen was of nubile years when carried away by Theseus, and that she had a daughter by her ravisher, who was entrusted to the care of Clytemnestra. This violence offered to her virtue did not in the least diminish, but it rather augmented, her fame, and her hand was eagerly solicited by the young princes of Greece. The most celebrated of her suitors were Ulysses son of Laertes, Antilochus son of Nestor, Sthenelus son of Capaneus, Diomedes son of Tydeus, Amphilochus son of Cteatus, Meges son of Phileus, Agapenor son of Ancæus, Thalpius son of Eurytus, Mnestheus son of Peteus, Schedius son of Epistrophus, Polyxenus son of Agasthenes, Amphilochus son of Amphiaraus, Ascalaphus and Ialmus sons of the god Mars, Ajax son of Oileus, Eumelus son of Admetus, Polypœtes son of Pirithous, Elphenor son of Chalcodon, Podalirius and Machaon sons of Æsculapius, Leonteus son of Coronus, Philoctetes son of Pœan, Protesilaus son of Iphiclus, Eurypilus son of Evemon, Ajax and Teucer sons of Telamon, Patroclus son of Menœtius, Menelaus son of Atreus, Thoas, Idomeneus, and Merion. Tyndarus was rather alarmed than pleased at the sight of such a number of illustrious princes who eagerly solicited each to become his son-in-law. He knew that he could not prefer one without displeasing all the rest, and from this perplexity he was at last drawn by the artifice of Ulysses, who began to be already known in Greece by his prudence and sagacity. This prince, who clearly saw that his pretensions to Helen would not probably meet with success in opposition to so many rivals, proposed to extricate Tyndarus from all his difficulties if he would promise him his niece Penelope in marriage. Tyndarus consented, and Ulysses advised the king to bind, by a solemn oath, all the suitors, that they would approve of the uninfluenced choice which Helen should make of one among them; and engage to unite together to defend her person and character, if ever any attempts were made to ravish her from the arms of her husband. The advice of Ulysses was followed, the princes consented, and Helen fixed her choice upon Menelaus and married him. Hermione was the early fruit of this union, which continued for three years with mutual happiness. After this, Paris, son of Priam king of Troy, came to Lacedæmon on pretence of sacrificing to Apollo. He was kindly received by Menelaus, but shamefully abused his favours, and in his absence in Crete he corrupted the fidelity of his wife Helen, and persuaded her to follow him to Troy, B.C. 1198. At his return Menelaus, highly sensible of the injury which he had received, assembled the Grecian princes, and reminded them of their solemn promises. They resolved to make war against the Trojans, but they previously sent ambassadors to Priam to demand the restitution of Helen. The influence of Paris at his father’s court prevented the restoration, and the Greeks returned home without receiving the satisfaction they required. Soon after their return their combined forces assembled and sailed for the coast of Asia. The behaviour of Helen during the Trojan war is not clearly known. Some assert that she had willingly followed Paris, and that she warmly supported the cause of the Trojans; while others believe that she always sighed after her husband, and cursed the day in which she had proved faithless to his bed. Homer represents her as in the last instance, and some have added that she often betrayed the schemes and resolutions of the Trojans, and secretly favoured the cause of Greece. When Paris was killed in the ninth year of the war, she voluntarily married Deiphobus, one of Priam’s sons, and when Troy was taken she made no scruple to betray him, and to introduce the Greeks into his chamber, to ingratiate herself with Menelaus. She returned to Sparta, and the love of Menelaus forgave the errors which she had committed. Some, however, say that she obtained her life even with difficulty from her husband, whose resentment she had kindled by her infidelity. After she had lived for some years in Sparta, Menelaus died, and she was driven from Peloponnesus by Megapenthes and Nicostratus, the illegitimate sons of her husband, and she retired to Rhodes, where at that time Polyxo, a native of Argos, reigned over the country. Polyxo remembered that her widowhood originated in Helen, and that her husband Tlepolemus had been killed in the Trojan war, which had been caused by the debaucheries of Helen, therefore she meditated revenge. While Helen retired one day to bathe in the river, Polyxo disguised her attendants in the habits of furies, and sent them with orders to murder her enemy. Helen was tied to a tree and strangled, and her misfortunes were afterwards remembered, and the crimes of Polyxo expiated by the temple which the Rhodians raised to Helen Dendritis, or tied to a tree. There is a tradition mentioned by Herodotus, which says that Paris was driven, as he returned from Sparta, upon the coast of Egypt, where Proteus king of the country expelled him from his dominions for his ingratitude to Menelaus, and confined Helen. From that circumstance, therefore, Priam informed the Grecian ambassadors that neither Helen nor her possessions were in Troy, but in the hands of the king of Egypt. In spite of this assertion the Greeks besieged the town and took it after 10 years’ siege, and Menelaus by visiting Egypt, as he returned home, recovered Helen at the court of Proteus, and was convinced that the Trojan war had been undertaken on very unjust and unpardonable grounds. Helen was honoured after death as a goddess, and the Spartans built her a temple at Therapne, which had the power of giving beauty to all the deformed women that entered it. Helen, according to some, was carried into the island of Leuce after death, where she married Achilles, who had been one of her warmest admirers. The age of Helen has been a matter of deep inquiry among the chronologists. If she was born of the same eggs as Castor and Pollux, who accompanied the Argonauts in their expedition against Colchis about 35 years before the Trojan war, according to some, she was no less than 60 years old when Troy was reduced to ashes, supposing that her brothers were only 15 when they embarked with the Argonauts. But she is represented by Homer so incomparably beautiful during the siege of Troy, that though seen at a ♦distance she influenced the counsellors of Priam by the brightness of her charms; therefore we must suppose, with others, that her beauty remained long undiminished, and was extinguished only at her death. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 19, &c.—Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 10, &c.—Hyginus, fable 77.—Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 112.—Plutarch, Theseus, &c.—Cicero, de Officiis, bk. 3.—Horace, bk. 3, ode 3.—Dictys Cretensis, bk. 1, &c.—Quintus Smyrnæus, chs. 10, 13, &c.—Homer, Iliad, bk. 2, & Odyssey, bks. 4 & 15.――A young woman of Sparta, often confounded with the daughter of Leda. As she was going to be sacrificed, because the lot had fallen upon her, an eagle came and carried away the knife of the priest, upon which she was released, and the barbarous custom of offering human victims was abolished.――An island on the coast of Attica, where Helen came after the siege of Troy. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 12.――A daughter of the emperor Constantine, who married Julian.――The mother of Constantine. She died in her 80th year, A.D. 328.

Helĕnia, a festival in Laconia, in honour of Helen, who received there divine honours. It was celebrated by virgins riding upon mules, and in chariots made of reeds and bulrushes.

Hĕlēnor, a Lydian prince who accompanied Æneas to Italy, and was killed by the Rutulians. His mother’s name was Licymnia. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 444, &c.

Hĕlĕnus, a celebrated soothsayer, son of Priam and Hecuba, greatly respected by all the Trojans. When Deiphobus was given in marriage to Helen in preference to himself, he resolved to leave his country, and he retired to mount Ida, where Ulysses took him prisoner by the advice of Calchas. As he was well acquainted with futurity, the Greeks made use of prayers, threats, and promises, to induce him to reveal the secrets of the Trojans, and either the fear of death or gratification of resentment seduced him to disclose to the enemies of his country, that Troy could not be taken whilst it was in possession of the Palladium, nor before Philoctetes came from his retreat at Lemnos and assisted to support the siege. After the ruin of his country, he fell to the share of Pyrrhus the son of Achilles, and saved his life by warning him to avoid the dangerous tempest which in reality proved fatal to all those who set sail. This endeared him to Pyrrhus, and he received from his hand Andromache the widow of his brother Hector, by whom he had a son called Cestrinus. This marriage, according to some, was consummated after the death of Pyrrhus, who lived with Andromache as his wife. Helenus was the only one of Priam’s sons who survived the ruin of his country. After the death of Pyrrhus, he reigned over part of the Epirus, which he called Chaonia, in memory of his brother Chaon, whom he had inadvertently killed. Helenus received Æneas as he voyaged towards Italy, and foretold him some of the calamities which attended his fleet. The manner in which he received the gift of prophecy is doubtful. See: Cassandra. Homer, Iliad, bk. 6, li. 76; bk. 7, li. 47.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 295, &c.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 11; bk. 2, ch. 33.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 13, lis. 99 & 723; bk. 15, li. 437.――A Rutulian killed by Pallas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 388.

Helerni Lucus, a place near Rome. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 6, li. 105.

Heles, or Hales, a river of Lucania near Velia. Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 16, ltr. 7; Letters to his Friends, bk. 7, ltr. 20.

Hēliădes, the daughters of the sun and Clymene. They were three in number, Lampetie, Phaetusa, and Lampethusa, or seven, according to Hyginus: Merope, Helie, Ægle, Lampetie, Phœbe, Ætheria, and Dioxippe. They were so afflicted at the death of their brother Phaeton [See: Phaeton], that they were changed by the gods into poplars, and their tears into precious amber, on the banks of the river Po. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, li. 340.—Hyginus, fable 154.――The first inhabitants of Rhodes. This island being covered with mud when the world was first created, was warmed by the cherishing beams of the sun, and from thence sprang seven men, which were called Heliades, ἀπο του ἡλιου, from the sun. The eldest of these, called Ochimus, married Hegetoria, one of the nymphs of the island, and his brothers fled from the country for having put to death, through jealousy, one of their number. Diodorus, bk. 5.

Heliastæ, a name given to the judges of the most numerous tribunal at Athens. They consisted of 1000, and sometimes of 1500, they were seldom assembled, and only upon matters of the greatest importance. Demosthenes, Against Timocrates.—Diogenes Laërtius, Solon.

Helicāon, a Trojan prince, son of Antenor. He married Laodice the daughter of Priam, whose form Iris assumed to inform Helen of the state of the rival armies before Troy. Helicaon was wounded in a night engagement, but his life was spared by Ulysses, who remembered the hospitality which he had received from his father Antenor. Homer, Iliad, bk. 2, li. 123.

Hĕlĭce, a star near the north pole, generally called Ursa Major. It is supposed to receive its name from the town of Helice, of which Calisto, who was changed into the Great Bear, was an inhabitant. Lucan, bk. 2, li. 237.――A town of Achaia, on the bay of Corinth, overwhelmed by the inundation of the sea. Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 92.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 15, li. 293.――A daughter of Silenus king of Ægiale. Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 24.――A daughter of Lycaon king of Arcadia.

Hĕlīcon, now Zagaro-Vouni, a mountain of Bœotia, on the borders of Phocis. It was sacred to the muses, who had there a temple. The fountain Hippocrene flowed from this mountain. Strabo, bk. 8.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, li. 219.—Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 28, &c.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 641.――A river of Macedonia near Dium. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 30.

Hĕlīcŏniădes, a name given to the Muses because they lived upon mount Helicon, which was sacred to them.

Helĭcōnis, a daughter of Thespius. Apollodorus.

Heliodōrus, one of the favourites of Seleucus Philopator king of Syria. He attempted to plunder the temple of the Jews, about 176 years before Christ, by order of his master, &c.――A Greek mathematician of Larissa.――A famous sophist, the best editions of whose entertaining romance, called Æthiopica, are by Commelin, 8vo, 1596, and Bourdelot, 8vo, Paris, 1619.――A learned Greek rhetorician in the age of Horace.――A man who wrote a treatise on tombs.――A poet.――A geographer.――A surgeon at Rome in Juvenal’s age. Juvenal, satire 6, li. 372.

Heliogabālus, a deity among the Phœnicians.――Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, a Roman emperor, son of Varius Marcellus, called Heliogabalus, because he had been priest of that divinity in Phœnicia. After the death of Macrinus he was invested with the imperial purple, and the senate, however unwilling to submit to a youth only 14 years of age, approved of his election, and bestowed upon him the title of Augustus. Heliogabalus made his grandmother Mœsa and his mother Sœmias his colleagues on the throne; and to bestow more dignity upon the sex, he chose a senate of women, over which his mother presided, and prescribed all the modes and fashions which prevailed in the empire. Rome, however, soon displayed a scene of cruelty and debauchery; the imperial palace was full of prostitution, and the most infamous of the populace became the favourites of the prince. He raised his horse to the honours of the consulship, and obliged his subjects to pay adoration to the god Heliogabalus, which was no other than a large black stone, whose figure resembled that of a cone. To this ridiculous deity temples were raised at Rome, and the altars of the gods plundered to deck those of the new divinity. In the midst of his extravagances Heliogabalus married four wives, and not satisfied with following the plain laws of nature, he professed himself to be a woman, and gave himself up to one of his officers, called Hierocles. In this ridiculous farce he suffered the greatest indignities from his pretended husband without dissatisfaction, and Hierocles, by stooping to infamy, became the most powerful of the favourites, and enriched himself by selling favours and offices to the people. Such licentiousness soon displeased the populace, and Heliogabalus, unable to appease the seditions of his soldiers, whom his rapacity and debaucheries had irritated, hid himself in the filth and excrements of the camp, where he was found in the arms of his mother. His head was severed from his body the 10th of March, A.D. 222, in the 18th year of his age, after a reign of three years, nine months, and four days. He was succeeded by Alexander Severus. His cruelties were as conspicuous as his licentiousness. He burdened his subjects with the most oppressive taxes; his halls were covered with carpets of gold and silver tissue, and his mats were made with the down of hares, and with the soft feathers which were found under the wings of partridges. He was fond of covering his shoes with precious stones, to draw the admiration of the people as he walked along the streets, and he was the first Roman who ever wore a dress of silk. He often invited the most common of the people to share his banquets, and made them sit down on large bellows full of wind, which, by suddenly emptying themselves, threw the guests on the ground, and left them a prey to wild beasts. He often tied some of his favourites on a large wheel, and was particularly delighted to see them whirled round like Ixions, and sometimes suspended in the air, or sunk beneath the water.

Heliŏpŏlis, now Matarea, a famous city of Lower Egypt, in which was a temple sacred to the sun. The inhabitants worshipped a bull called Mnevis, with the same ceremonies as the Apis of Memphis. Apollo had an oracle there. Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 3, ch. 21.—Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 26.—Strabo, bk. 17.—Diodorus, bk. 1.――There was a small village of the same name without the Delta, near Babylon.――A town of Syria, now Balbeck. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 22.

Helisson, a town and river of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 29.

Helium, a name given to the mouth of the Maese in Germany. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 15.

Helius, a celebrated favourite of the emperor Nero, put to death by order of Galba, for his cruelties.――The Greek name of the sun, or Apollo.

Helixus, a river of Cos.

Hellanĭce, a sister of Clitus, who was nurse to Alexander. Curtius, bk. 8, ch. 1.

Hellanĭcus, a celebrated Greek historian, born at Mitylene. He wrote a history of the ancient kings of the earth, with an account of the founders of the most famous towns in every kingdom, and died B.C. 411, in the 85th year of his age. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 3.—Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 2, ch. 53.—Aulus Gellius, bk. 15, ch. 23.――A brave officer rewarded by Alexander. Curtius, bk. 5, ch. 2.――An historian of Miletus, who wrote a description of the earth.

Hellanocrătes, a man of Larissa, &c. Aristotle, Politics, bk. 5, ch. 10.

Hellas, an ancient name of Thessaly, more generally applied to the territories of Acarnania, Attica, Ætolia, Doris, Locris, Bœotia, and Phocis, and also to all Greece. It received this name from Deucalion, and now forms a part of Livadia. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 7.—Strabo, bk. 8.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.—Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 20.――A beautiful woman, mentioned by Horace as beloved by Marius: the lover killed her in a fit of passion, and afterwards destroyed himself. Horace, bk. 2, satire 3, li. 277.

Helle, a daughter of Athamas and Nephele, sister of Phryxus. She fled from her father’s house, with her brother, to avoid the cruel oppression of her mother-in-law Ino. According to some accounts she was carried through the air on a golden ram, which her mother had received from Neptune, and in her passage she became giddy, and fell from her seat into that part of the sea which from her received the name of Hellespont. Others say that she was carried on a cloud, or rather upon a ship, from which she fell into the sea and was drowned. Phryxus, after he had given his sister a burial on the neighbouring coasts, pursued his journey and arrived safe in Colchus. See: Phryxus. Ovid, Heroides, poem 13, &c. Metamorphoses, bk. 4, fable 14.—Pindar, bk. 4, Pythian.—Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 34.

Hellen, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, reigned in Phthiotis about 1495 years before the christian era, and gave the name of Hellenians to his subjects. He had by his wife Orseis three sons, Æolus, Dorus, and Xuthus, who gave their names to the three different nations known under the name of Æolians, Dorians, and Ionians. These last derive their name from Ion son of Xuthus, and from the difference either of expression or pronunciation in their respective languages, arose the different dialects well known in the Greek language. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 20; bk. 7, ch. 1.—Diodorus, bk. 5.

Hellēnes, the inhabitants of Greece. See: Hellen.

Hellespontias, a wind blowing from the north-east. Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 47.

Hellespontus, now the Dardanelles, a narrow strait between Asia and Europe, near the Propontis, which received its name from Helle, who was drowned there in her voyage to Colchis. See: Helle. It is about 60 miles long, and in the broadest parts, the Asiatic coast is about three miles distant from the European, and only half a mile in the narrowest, according to modern investigation; so that people can converse one with the other from the opposite shores. It was celebrated for the love and death of Leander [See: Hero], and for the bridge of boats which Xerxes built over it when he invaded Greece. The folly of this great prince is well known in beating and fettering the waves of the sea, whose impetuosity destroyed his ships, and rendered all his labours ineffectual. Strabo, bk. 13.—Pliny, bk. 8, ch. 32.—Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 34.—Polybius.—Mela, bk. 1, ch. 1.—Ptolemy, bk. 5, ch. 2.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 13, li. 407.—Livy, bk. 31, ch. 15; bk. 33, ch. 33.――The country along the Hellespont on the Asiatic coast bears the same name. Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 1, ch. 24; Letters to his Friends, bk. 13, ltr. 53.—Strabo, bk. 12.—Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 30.

Hellopia, a small country of Eubœa. The people were called Hellopes. The whole island bore the same name, according to Strabo, bk. 10.—Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 12.

Hellōtia, two festivals, one of which was observed in Crete, in honour of Europa, whose bones were then carried in solemn procession, with a myrtle garland no less than 20 cubits in circumference, called ἑλλωτις. The other festival was celebrated at Corinth with games and races, where young men entered the lists and generally ran with burning torches in their hands. It was instituted in honour of Minerva, surnamed Hellotis, ἀπο του ἑλους, from a certain pond of Marathon, where one of her statues was erected, or ἀπο του ἑλειν τον ἱππον τον Πεγασον, because by her assistance Bellerophon took and managed the horse Pegasus, which was the original cause of the institution of the festival. Others derive the name from Hellotis, a Corinthian woman, from the following circumstance: When the Dorians and the Heraclidæ invaded Peloponnesus, they took and burnt Corinth; the inhabitants, and particularly the women, escaped by flight, except Hellotis and her sister Eurytione, who took shelter in Minerva’s temple, relying for safety upon the sanctity of the place. When this was known, the Dorians set fire to the temple, and the two sisters perished in the flames. This wanton cruelty was followed by a dreadful plague; and the Dorians, to alleviate the misfortunes which they suffered, were directed by the oracle to appease the manes of the two sisters, and therefore they raised a new temple to the goddess Minerva, and established the festivals which bore the name of one of the unfortunate women.

Helnes, an ancient king of Arcadia, &c. Polyænus, bk. 1.

Helōris, a general of the people of Rhegium, sent to besiege Messana, which Dionysius the tyrant defended. He fell in battle, and his troops were defeated. Diodorus, bk. 14.

Helōrum and Helōrus, now Muri Ucci, a town and river of Sicily, whose swollen waters generally inundate the neighbouring country. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 698.—Silius Italicus, bk. 11, li. 270.――A river of Magna Græcia.

Helos, a place of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 36.――A town of Laconia, taken and destroyed by the Lacedæmonians under Agis III., of the race of the Heraclidæ, because they refused to pay the tribute which was imposed upon them. The Lacedæmonians carried their resentment so far, that, not satisfied with the ruin of the city, they reduced the inhabitants to the lowest and most miserable slavery, and made a law which forbade their masters either to give them their liberty, or to sell them in any other country. To complete their infamy, all the slaves of the state and the prisoners of war were called by the mean appellation of Helotæ. Not only the servile offices in which they were employed denoted their misery and slavery, but they were obliged to wear peculiar garments, which exposed them to greater contempt and ridicule. They never were instructed in the liberal arts, and their cruel masters often obliged them to drink to excess, to show the free-born citizens of Sparta the beastliness and disgrace of intoxication. They once every year received a number of stripes, that by this wanton flagellation they might recollect that they were born and died slaves. The Spartans even declared war against them; but Plutarch, who, from interested motives, endeavours to palliate the guilt and cruelty of the people of Lacedæmon, declares that it was because they had assisted the Messenians in their war against Sparta, after it had been overthrown by a violent earthquake. This earthquake was supposed by all the Greeks to be a punishment from heaven for the cruelties which the Lacedæmonians had exercised against the Helots. In the Peloponnesian war, these miserable slaves behaved with uncommon bravery, and were rewarded with their liberty by the Lacedæmonians, and appeared in the temples and at public shows crowned with garlands, and with every mark of festivity and triumph. This exultation did not continue long, and the sudden disappearance of these 2000 manumitted slaves was attributed to the inhumanity of the Lacedæmonians. Thucydides, bk. 4.—Pollux, bk. 3, ch. 8.—Strabo, bk. 8.—Plutarch, Lycurgus, &c.—Aristotle, Politics, bk. 2.—Pausanias, Laconia, &c.

Helōtæ and Helōtes, the public slaves of Sparta, &c. See: Helos.

Helvetia, a vestal virgin struck dead with lightning in Trajan’s reign.

Helvetii, an ancient nation of Gaul, conquered by Julius Cæsar. Their country is the modern Switzerland. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 1, &c.—Tacitus, Histories, bk. 1, chs. 67 & 69.

Helvia, the mother of Cicero.――Ricina, a town of Picenum.

Helvidia, the name of a Roman family.

Helvii, now Viviers, a people of Gaul, along the Rhone. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 4.

Helvillum, a town of Umbria, supposed to be the same as Sullium, now Sigillo. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 14.

Helvīna, a fountain of Aquinum where Ceres had a temple. Juvenal, satire 3, li. 320.

Helvius Cinna, proposed a law, which, however, was not passed, to permit Cæsar to marry whatever woman he chose. Suetonius, Cæsar, bk. 52.――A poet. See: Cinna.

Helum, a river of Scythia.

Helymus and Panopes, two hunters at the court of Acestes in Sicily. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 73, &c.

Hemathion, a son of Aurora and Cephalus, or Tithonus. Apollodorus, bk. 3.

Hemĭthea, a daughter of Cycnus and Proclea. She was so attached to her brother Tenes, that she refused to abandon him when his father Cycnus exposed him on the sea. They were carried by the wind to Tenedos, where Hemithea long enjoyed tranquillity, till Achilles, captivated by her charms, offered her violence. She was rescued from his embrace by her brother Tenes, who was instantly slaughtered by the offended hero. Hemithea could not have been rescued from the attempts of Achilles, had not the earth opened and swallowed her, after she had fervently entreated the assistance of the gods. See: Tenes. Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 14.—Diodorus, bk. 4.

Hemon. See: Hæmon.

Hemus. See: Hæmus.――A Roman. Juvenal, satire 6, li. 197.

Henĕti, a people of Paphlagonia, who are said to have settled in Italy near the Adriatic, where they gave the name of Venetia to their habitation. Livy, bk. 1, ch. 1.—Euripides.

Heniŏchi, a people of Asiatic Sarmatia, near Colchis, descended from Amphytus and Telechius, the charioteers (μνιοχοι) of Castor and Pollux, and thence called Lacedæmonii. Mela, bk. 1, ch. 21.—Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 40.—Flaccus, bk. 3, li. 270; bk. 6, li. 42.

Henna. See: Enna.

Hephæstia, the capital town of Lemnos.――A festival in honour of Vulcan (Ἡφαιστος) at Athens. There was then a race with torches between three young men. Each in his turn ran a race with a lighted torch in his hand, and whoever could carry it to the end of the course before it was extinguished, obtained the prize. They delivered it one to the other after they finished their course, and from that circumstance we see many allusions in ancient authors who compare the vicissitudes of human affairs to this delivering of the torch, particularly in these lines of Lucretius bk. 2:

Inque brevi spatio mutantur sæcla animantum,

Et quasi cursores vitai lampada tradunt.

Hephæstiădes, a name applied to the Lipari isles as sacred to Vulcan.

Hephæstii, mountains in Lycia which are set on fire by the lightest touch of a burning torch. Their very stones burnt in the middle of water, according to Pliny, bk. 6, ch. 106.

Hephæstio, a Greek grammarian of Alexandria in the age of the emperor Verus. There remains of his compositions a treatise entitled Enchiridion de metris & poemate, the best edition of which is that of Pauw, 4to, Utrecht, 1726.

Hephæstion, a Macedonian famous for his intimacy with Alexander. He accompanied the conqueror in his Asiatic conquests, and was so faithful and attached to him, that Alexander often observed that Craterus was the friend of the king, but Hephæstion the friend of Alexander. He died at Ecbatana 325 years before the christian era, according to some from excess of drinking, or eating. Alexander was so inconsolable at the death of this faithful subject, that he shed tears at the intelligence, and ordered the sacred fire to be extinguished, which was never done but at the death of a Persian monarch. The physician who attended Hephæstion in his illness was accused of negligence, and by the king’s order inhumanly put to death, and the games were interrupted. His body was entrusted to the care of Perdiccas, and honoured with the most magnificent funeral at Babylon. He was so like the king in features and stature, that he was often saluted by the name of Alexander. Curtius.—Arrian, bk. 7, &c.—Plutarch, Alexander.—Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 7, ch. 8.

Heptaphōnos, a portico, which received this name, because the voice was re-echoed seven times in it. Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 15.

Heptapŏlis, a country of Egypt, which contained seven cities.

Heptapy̆los, a surname of Thebes in Bœotia, from its seven gates.

Hera, the name of Juno among the Greeks.――A daughter of Neptune and Ceres when transformed into a mare. Apollodorus, bk. 3.――A town of Æolia and of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 6, ch. 7.――A town of Sicily, called also Hybla. Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 2, ltr. 1.

Herăclēa, an ancient town of Sicily, near Agrigentum. Minos planted a colony there when he pursued Dædalus; and the town, anciently known by the name of Macara, was called from him Minoa. It was called Heraclea after Hercules, when he obtained a victory over Eryx.――A town of Macedonia.――Another in Pontus, celebrated for its naval power and its consequence among the Asiatic states. The inhabitants conveyed home in their ships the 10,000 at their return.――Another in Crete.――Another in Parthia.――Another in Bithynia.――Another in Phthiotis, near Thermopylæ, called also Trachinea, to distinguish it from others.――Another in Lucania. Cicero, For Archias, ch. 4.――Another in Syria.――Another in Chersonesus Taurica.――Another in Thrace, and three in Egypt, &c.――There were no less than 40 cities of that name in different parts of the world, all built in honour of Hercules, whence the name is derived.――A daughter of Hiero tyrant of Sicily, &c.

Heraclēia, a festival at Athens celebrated every fifth year, in honour of Hercules. The ♦Thespians and Thebans in Bœotia observed a festival of the same name, in which they offered apples to the god. This custom of offering apples arose from this: It was always usual to offer sheep, but the overflowing of the river Asopus prevented the votaries of the god from observing it with the ancient ceremony; and as the word μηλον signifies both an apple and a sheep, some youths, acquainted with the ambiguity of the word, offered apples to the god, with much sport and festivity. To represent the sheep, they raised an apple upon four sticks as the legs, and two more were placed at the top to represent the horns of the victim. Hercules was delighted at the ingenuity of the youths, and the festivals were ever continued with the offering of apples. Pollux, bk. 8, ch. 9. There was also a festival at Sicyon in honour of Hercules. It continued two days; the first was called ὀνοματας, the second ἡρακλεια.――At a festival of the same name at Cos, the priest officiated with a mitre on his head, and in woman’s apparel.――At Lindus, a solemnity of the same name was also observed, and at the celebration nothing was heard but execrations and profane words, and whosoever accidentally dropped any other words, was accused of having profaned the sacred rites.

Heracleum, a promontory of Cappadocia.――A town of Egypt near Canopus, on the western mouth of the Nile, to which it gave its name. Diodorus, bk. 1.—Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 60.—Strabo, bks. 2 & 17.――The port town of Gnossus in Crete.

Heracleōtes, a surname of Dionysius the philosopher.――A philosopher of Heraclea, who, like his master Zeno, and all the Stoics, firmly believed that pain was not an evil. A severe illness, attended with the most acute pains, obliged him to renounce his principles, and at the same time the philosophy of the Stoics, about 264 years before the christian era. He became afterwards one of the Cyrenaic sect, which placed the summum bonum in pleasure. He wrote some poetry, and chiefly treatises of philosophy. Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers.

Heraclīdæ, the descendants of Hercules, greatly celebrated in ancient history. Hercules at his death left to his son Hyllus all the rights and claims which he had upon the Peloponnesus, and permitted him to marry Iole, as soon as he came of age. The posterity of Hercules were not more kindly treated by Eurystheus than their father had been, and they were obliged to retire for protection to the court of Ceyx king of Trachinia. Eurystheus pursued them thither; and Ceyx, afraid of his resentment, begged the Heraclidæ to depart from his dominions. From Trachinia they came to Athens, where Theseus the king of the country, who had accompanied their father in some of his expeditions, received them with great humanity, and assisted them against their common enemy Eurystheus. Eurystheus was killed by the hand of Hyllus himself, and his children perished with him, and all the cities of the Peloponnesus became the undisputed property of the Heraclidæ. Their triumph, however, was short; their numbers were lessened by a pestilence, and the oracle informed them that they had taken possession of the Peloponnesus, before the gods permitted their return. Upon this they abandoned Peloponnesus, and came to settle in the territories of the Athenians, where Hyllus, obedient to his father’s commands, married Iole the daughter of Eurytus. Soon after he consulted the oracle, anxious to recover the Peloponnesus, and the ambiguity of the answer determined him to make a second attempt. He challenged to single combat Atreus the successor of Eurystheus on the throne of Mycenæ, and it was mutually agreed that the undisturbed possession of the Peloponnesus should be ceded to whosoever defeated his adversary. Echemus accepted the challenge for Atreus, and Hyllus was killed, and the Heraclidæ a second time departed from Peloponnesus. Cleodæus the son of Hyllus made a third attempt, and was equally unsuccessful, and his son Aristomachus some time after met with the same unfavourable reception, and perished in the field of battle. Aristodemus, Temenus, and Chresphontes, the three sons of Aristomachus, encouraged by the more expressive and less ambiguous word of an oracle, and desirous to revenge the death of their progenitors, assembled a numerous force, and with a fleet invaded all Peloponnesus. Their expedition was attended with success, and after some ♦decisive battles they became masters of all the peninsula, which they divided among themselves two years after. The recovery of the Peloponnesus by the descendants of Hercules forms an interesting epoch in ancient history, which is universally believed to have happened 80 years after the Trojan war, or 1104 years before the christian era. This conquest was totally achieved about 120 years after the first attempt of Hyllus. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7, &c.—Herodotus, bk. 9, ch. 26.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 17.—Paterculus, bk. 1, ch. 2.—Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis, bk. 1.—Thucydides, bk. 1, ch. 12, &c.—Diodorus, bk. 1, &c.—Aristotle, Politics, bk. 7, ch. 26.

Herăclīdes, a philosopher of Heraclea in Pontus, for some time disciple of Seusippus and Aristotle. He wished it to be believed that he was carried into heaven the very day of his death, and the more firmly to render it credible, he begged one of his friends to put a serpent in his bed. The serpent disappointed him, and the noise which the number of visitors occasioned, frightened him from the bed before the philosopher had expired. He lived about 335 years before the christian era. Cicero, Tusculanæ Disputationes, bk. 5; Letters to his brother Quintus, bk. 3.—Diogenes Laërtius, Pythagoras.――An historian of Pontus surnamed Lembus, who flourished B.C. 177.――A man who, after the retreat of Dionysius the younger from Sicily, raised cabals against Dion, in whose hands the sovereign power was lodged. He was put to death by Dion’s order. Cornelius Nepos, Dion.――A youth of Syracuse, in the battle in which Nicias was defeated.――A son of Agathocles.――A man placed over a garrison at Athens by Demetrius.――A sophist of Lycia, who opened a school at Smyrna in the age of the emperor Severus.――A painter of Macedonia in the reign of king Perseus.――An architect of Tarentum, intimate with Philip king of Macedonia. He fled to Rhodes on pretence of a quarrel with Philip, and set fire to the Rhodian fleet. Polyænus.――A man of Alexandria.

Heraclītus, a celebrated Greek philosopher of Ephesus, who flourished about 500 years before the christian era. His father’s name was Hyson, or Heracion. Naturally of a melancholy disposition, he passed his time in a solitary and unsocial manner, and received the appellation of the obscure philosopher, and the mourner, from his unconquerable custom of weeping at the follies, frailty, and vicissitudes of human affairs. He employed his time in writing different treatises, and one particularly, in which he supported that there was a fatal necessity, and that the world was created from fire, which he deemed a god omnipotent and omniscient. His opinions about the origin of things were adopted by the Stoics, and Hippocrates entertained the same notions of a supreme power. Heraclitus deserves the appellation of man-hater, for the rusticity with which he answered the polite invitations of Darius king of Persia. To remove himself totally from the society of mankind, he retired to the mountains, where for some time he fed on grass in common with the wild inhabitants of the place. Such a diet was soon productive of a dropsical complaint, and the philosopher condescended to revisit the town. The enigmatical manner in which he consulted the physicians made his applications unintelligible, and he was left to depend for cure only upon himself. He fixed his residence on a dunghill, in hopes that the continual warmth which proceeded from it might dissipate the watery accumulation and restore him to the enjoyment of his former health. Such a remedy proved ineffectual, and the philosopher, despairing of a cure by the application of ox-dung, suffered himself to die in the 60th year of his age. Some say that he was torn to pieces by dogs. Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers.—Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis, bk. 5.――A lyric poet.――A writer of Halicarnassus, intimate with Callimachus. He was remarkable for the elegance of his style.――A native of Lesbos, who wrote a history of Macedonia.――A writer of Sicyon, &c. Plutarch.

Heraclius, a river of Greece. Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 37.――A brother of Constantine, &c.――A Roman emperor, &c.

Heræa, a town of Arcadia.――Festivals at Argos in honour of Juno, who was the patroness of that city. They were also observed by the colonies of the Argives which had been planted at Samos and Ægina. There were always two processions to the temple of the goddess without the city walls. The first was of the men in armour, the second of the women, among whom the priestess, a woman of the first quality, was drawn in a chariot by white oxen. The Argives always reckoned their years from her priesthood, as the Athenians from their archons, and the Romans from their consuls. When they came to the temple of the goddess they offered a hecatomb of oxen. Hence the sacrifice is often called ἑκατομβια, and sometimes λεχερνα, from λεχος, a bed, because Juno presided over marriages, births, &c. There was a festival of the same name in Elis, celebrated every fifth year, in which 16 matrons wove a garment for the goddess.――There were also others instituted by Hippodamia, who had received assistance from Juno when she married Pelops. Sixteen matrons, each attended by a maid, presided at the celebration. The contenders were young virgins, who being divided in classes, according to their age, ran races each in their order, beginning with the youngest. The habit of all was exactly the same; their hair was dishevelled, and their right shoulder bare to the breast, with coats reaching no lower than the knee. She who obtained the victory was rewarded with crowns of olives, and obtained a part of the ox that was offered in sacrifice, and was permitted to dedicate her picture to the goddess.――There was also a solemn day of mourning at Corinth which bore the same name, in commemoration of Medea’s children, who were buried in Juno’s temple. They had been slain by the Corinthians; who, as it is reported, to avert the scandal which accompanied so barbarous a murder, presented Euripides with a large sum of money to write a play, in which Medea is represented as the murderer of her children.――Another festival of the same name at Pallene, with games in which the victor was rewarded with a garment.

Heræi montes, a chain of mountains at the north of Sicily. Diodorus, bk. 14.

Heræum, a temple and grove of Juno, situate between Argos and Mycenæ.――A town of Thrace.

Herbessus, a town of Sicily at the north of ♦Agrigentum, built by a Phœnician or Carthaginian colony. Silius Italicus, bk. 14, li. 265.

Herbita, an inland town of Sicily. Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 2, ch. 64; bk. 3, ch. 32.

Herceius, an epithet given to Jupiter. Ovid, Ibis, li. 286.—Lucan, bk. 9, li. 979.

Herculanea via, a mound raised between the Lucrine lake and the sea, called also Herculeum iter. Silius Italicus, bk. 12, li. 118.

Herculāneum, a town of Campania, swallowed up, with Pompeii, by an earthquake, produced from an eruption of mount Vesuvius, August 24th, A.D. 79, in the reign of Titus. After being buried under the lava for more than 1600 years, these famous cities were discovered in the beginning of the 18th century; Herculaneum in 1713, about 24 feet underground, by labourers digging for a well, and Pompeii 40 years after, about 12 feet below the surface, and from the houses and the streets, which in a great measure remain still perfect, have been drawn busts, statues, manuscripts, paintings, and utensils, which do not a little contribute to enlarge our notions concerning the ancients, and develop many classical obscurities. The valuable antiquities, so miraculously recovered, are preserved in the museum of Portici, a small town in the neighbourhood, and the engravings, &c., ably taken from them have been munificently presented to the different learned bodies of Europe. Seneca, Quæstiones naturales, bk. 6, chs. 1 & 26.—Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 7, ltr. 3.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4.—Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 16.

Hercŭles, a celebrated hero, who, after death, was ranked among the gods, and received divine honours. According to the ancients there were many persons of the same name. Diodorus mentions three, Cicero six, and some authors extend the number to no less than 43. Of all these the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, generally called the Theban, is the most celebrated, and to him, as may easily be imagined, the actions of the others have been ♦attributed. The birth of Hercules was attended with many miraculous and supernatural events; and it is reported that Jupiter, who introduced himself to the bed of Alcmena, was employed for three nights in forming a child whom he intended to be the greatest hero the world ever beheld. See: Alcmena. Hercules was brought up at Tirynthus, or, according to Diodorus, at Thebes, and before he had completed his eighth month, the jealousy of Juno, intent upon his destruction, sent two snakes to devour him. The child, not terrified at the sight of the serpents, boldly seized them in both his hands and squeezed them to death, while his brother Iphiclus alarmed the house with his frightful shrieks. See: Iphiclus. He was early instructed in the liberal arts, and Castor the son of Tyndarus taught him how to fight, Eurytus how to shoot with a bow and arrows, Autolycus to drive a chariot, Linus to play on the lyre, and Eumolpus to sing. He, like the rest of his illustrious contemporaries, soon after became the pupil of the centaur Chiron, and under him he perfected and rendered himself the most valiant and accomplished of the age. In the 18th year of his age he resolved to deliver the neighbourhood of mount Cithæron from a huge lion which preyed on the flocks of Amphitryon his supposed father, and which laid waste the adjacent country. He went to the court of Thespius king of Thespis, who shared the general calamity, and he received there a tender treatment, and was entertained during 50 days. The 50 daughters of the king became all mothers by Hercules, during his stay at Thespis, and some say that it was effected in one night. After he had destroyed the lion of mount Cithæron, he delivered his country from the annual tribute of 100 oxen which it paid to Erginus. See: Erginus. Such public services became universally known, and Creon, who then sat on the throne of Thebes, rewarded the patriotic deeds of Hercules by giving him his daughter in marriage, and entrusting him with the government of his kingdom. As Hercules by the will of Jupiter was subject to the power of Eurystheus [See: Eurystheus], and obliged to obey him in every respect, Eurystheus, acquainted with his successes and rising power, ordered him to appear at Mycenæ and perform the labours which by priority of birth he was empowered to impose upon him. Hercules refused, and Juno, to punish his disobedience, rendered him so delirious that he killed his own children by Megara, supposing them to be the offspring of Eurystheus. See: Megara. When he recovered the use of his senses, he was so struck with the misfortunes which had proceeded from his insanity, that he concealed himself and retired from the society of men for some time. He afterwards consulted the oracle of Apollo, and was told that he must be subservient for 12 years to the will of Eurystheus, in compliance with the commands of Jupiter; and that after he had achieved the most celebrated labours, he should be reckoned in the number of the gods. So plain and expressive an answer determined him to go to Mycenæ, and to bear with fortitude whatever gods or men imposed upon him. Eurystheus, seeing so great a man totally subjected to him, and apprehensive of so powerful an enemy, commanded him to achieve a number of enterprises the most difficult and arduous ever known, generally called the 12 labours of Hercules. The favours of the gods had completely armed him when he undertook his labours. He had received a coat of arms and helmet from Minerva, a sword from Mercury, a horse from Neptune, a shield from Jupiter, a bow and arrows from Apollo, and from Vulcan a golden cuirass and brazen buskins, with a celebrated club of brass according to the opinion of some writers, but more generally supposed to be of wood, and cut by the hero himself in the forest of Nemæa. The first labour imposed upon Hercules by Eurystheus, was to kill the lion of Nemæa, which ravaged the country near Mycenæ. The hero, unable to destroy him with his arrows, boldly attacked him with his club, pursued him to his den, and after a close and sharp engagement he choked him to death. He carried the dead beast on his shoulders to Mycenæ, and ever after clothed himself with the skin. Eurystheus was so astonished at the sight of the beast, and at the courage of Hercules, that he ordered him never to enter the gates of the city when he returned from his expeditions, but to wait for his orders without the walls. He even made himself a brazen vessel, into which he retired whenever Hercules returned. The second labour of Hercules was to destroy the Lernæan hydra, which had seven heads according to Apollodorus, 50 according to Simonides, 100 according to Diodorus. This celebrated monster he attacked with his arrows, and soon after he came to a close engagement, and by means of his heavy club he destroyed the heads of his enemy. But this was productive of no advantage, for as soon as one head was beaten to pieces by the club, immediately two sprang up, and the labour of Hercules would have remained unfinished had he not commanded his friend Iolus to burn, with a hot iron, the root of the head which he had crushed to pieces. This succeeded [See: Hydra], and Hercules became victorious, opened the belly of the monster, and dipped his arrows in the gall to render the wounds which he gave fatal and incurable. He was ordered in his third labour to bring alive and unhurt into the presence of Eurystheus a stag, famous for its incredible swiftness, its golden horns, and brazen feet. This celebrated animal frequented the neighbourhood of Œnoe, and Hercules was employed for a whole year in continually pursuing it, and at last he caught it in a trap, or when tired, or according to others, by slightly wounding it and lessening its swiftness. As he returned victorious, Diana snatched the goat from him, and severely reprimanded him for molesting an animal which was sacred to her. Hercules pleaded necessity, and by representing the commands of Eurystheus, he appeased the goddess and obtained the beast. The fourth labour was to bring alive to Eurystheus a wild boar which ravaged the neighbourhood of Erymanthus. In this expedition he destroyed the centaurs [See: ♣Centauri], and caught the boar by closely pursuing him through the deep snow. Eurystheus was so frightened at the sight of the boar, that, according to Diodorus, he hid himself in his brazen vessel for some days. In his fifth labour Hercules was ordered to clean the stables of Augias, where 3000 oxen had been confined for many years. See: Augias. For his sixth labour he was ordered to kill the carnivorous birds which ravaged the country near the lake Stymphalis in Arcadia. See: Stymphalis. In his seventh labour he brought alive into Peloponnesus a prodigious wild bull which laid waste the island of Crete. In his eighth labour he was employed in obtaining the mares of Diomedes, which fed upon human flesh. He killed Diomedes, and gave him to be eaten by his mares, which he brought to Eurystheus. They were sent to mount Olympus by the king of Mycenæ, where they were devoured by the wild beasts; or, according to others, they were consecrated to Jupiter, and their breed still existed in the age of Alexander the Great. For his ninth labour, he was commanded to obtain the girdle of the queen of the Amazons. See: Hippolyte. In his tenth labour he killed the monster Geryon king of Gades, and brought to Argos his numerous flocks, which fed upon human flesh. See: Geryon. The eleventh labour was to obtain apples from the garden of the Hesperides. See: Hesperides. The twelfth and last, and most dangerous of his labours, was to bring upon earth the three-headed dog Cerberus. This was cheerfully undertaken by Hercules, and he descended into hell by a cave on mount Tænarus. He was permitted by Pluto to carry away his friends Theseus and Pirithous, who were condemned to punishment in hell: and Cerberus also was granted to his prayers, provided he made use of no arms, but only force, to drag him away. Hercules, as some report, carried him back to hell, after he had brought him before Eurystheus. Besides these arduous labours, which the jealousy of ♥Eurystheus imposed upon him, he also achieved others of his own accord, equally great and celebrated. See: Cacus, Antæus, Busiris, Eryx, &c. He accompanied the Argonauts to Colchis before he delivered himself up to the king of Mycenæ. He assisted the gods in their wars against the giants, and it was through him alone that Jupiter obtained a victory. See: Gigantes. He conquered Laomedon, and pillaged Troy. See: Laomedon. When Iole, the daughter of Eurytus king of Œchalia, of whom he was deeply enamoured, was refused to his entreaties, he became the prey of a second fit of insanity, and he murdered Iphitus, the only one of the sons of Eurytus who favoured his addresses to Iole. See: Iphitus. He was some time after purified of the murder, and his insanity ceased; but the gods persecuted him more, and he was visited by a disorder which obliged him to apply to the oracle of Delphi for relief. The boldness with which the Pythia received him irritated him, and he resolved to plunder Apollo’s temple, and carry away the sacred tripod. Apollo opposed him, and a severe conflict was begun, which nothing but the interference of Jupiter with his thunderbolts could have prevented. He was upon this told by the oracle that he must be sold as a slave, and remain three years in the most abject servitude to recover from his disorder. He complied; and Mercury, by order of Jupiter, conducted him to Omphale queen of Lydia, to whom he was sold as a slave. Here he cleared all the country from robbers; and Omphale, who was astonished at the greatness of his exploits, restored him to liberty, and married him. Hercules had Agelaus, and Lamon according to others, by Omphale, from whom Crœsus king of Lydia was descended. He became also enamoured of one of Omphale’s female servants, by whom he had Alceus. After he had completed the years of his slavery, he returned to Peloponnesus, where he re-established on the throne of Sparta Tyndarus, who had been expelled by Hippocoon. He became one of Dejanira’s suitors, and married her, after he had overcome all his rivals. See: Achelous. He was obliged to leave Calydon, his father-in-law’s kingdom, because he had inadvertently killed a man with a blow of his fist, and it was on account of this expulsion that he was not present at the hunting of the Calydonian boar. From Calydon he retired to the court of Ceyx king of Trachinia. In his way he was stopped by the swollen streams of the Evenus, where the centaur Nessus attempted to offer violence to Dejanira, under the perfidious pretence of conveying her over the river. Hercules perceived the distress of Dejanira, and killed the centaur, who, as he expired, gave her a tunic, which, as he observed, had the power of recalling a husband from unlawful love. See: Dejanira. Ceyx king of Trachinia received him and his wife with great marks of friendship, and purified him of the murder which he had committed at Calydon. Hercules was still mindful that he had once been refused the hand of Iole, he therefore made war against her father Eurytus, and killed him with three of his sons. Iole fell into the hands of her father’s murderer, and found that she was loved by Hercules as much as before. She accompanied him to mount Œta, where he was going to raise an altar and offer a solemn sacrifice to Jupiter. As he had not then the tunic in which he arrayed himself to offer a sacrifice, he sent Lichas to Dejanira in order to provide himself a proper dress. Dejanira, informed of her husband’s tender attachment to Iole, sent him a philter, or more probably the tunic which she had received from Nessus, and Hercules, as soon as he had put it on, fell into a desperate distemper, and found the poison of the Lernæan hydra penetrate through his bones. He attempted to pull off the fatal dress, but it was too late, and in the midst of his pains and tortures he inveighed in the most bitter imprecations against the credulous Dejanira, the cruelty of Eurystheus, and the jealousy and hatred of Juno. As the distemper was incurable, he implored the protection of Jupiter, and gave his bow and arrows to Philoctetes, and erected a large burning pile on the top of mount Œta. He spread on the pile the skin of the Nemæan lion, and laid himself down upon it as on a bed, leaning his head on his club. Philoctetes, or according to others, Pæan or Hyllus, was ordered to set fire to the pile, and the hero saw himself on a sudden surrounded with the flames, without betraying any marks of fear or astonishment. Jupiter saw him from heaven, and told to the surrounding gods that he would raise to the skies the immortal parts of a hero who had cleared the earth from so many monsters and tyrants. The gods applauded Jupiter’s resolution; the burning pile was suddenly surrounded with a dark smoke, and after the mortal parts of Hercules were consumed, he was carried up to heaven in a chariot drawn by four horses. Some loud claps of thunder accompanied his elevation, and his friends, unable to find either his bones or ashes, showed their gratitude to his memory by raising an altar where the burning pile had stood. Menœtius the son of Actor offered him the sacrifice of a bull, a wild boar, and a goat, and enjoined the people of Opus yearly to observe the same religious ceremonies. His worship soon became as universal as his fame, and Juno, who had once persecuted him with such inveterate fury, forgot her resentment, and gave him her daughter Hebe in marriage. Hercules has received many surnames and epithets, either from the place where his worship was established, or from the labours which he achieved. His temples were numerous and magnificent, and his divinity revered. No dogs or flies ever entered his temple at Rome, and that of Gades, according to Strabo, was always forbidden to women and pigs. The Phœnicians offered quails on his altars, and as it was supposed that he presided over dreams, the sick and infirm were sent to sleep in his temples, that they might receive in their dreams the agreeable presages of their approaching recovery. The white poplar was particularly dedicated to his service. Hercules is generally represented naked, with strong and well-proportioned limbs; he is sometimes covered with the skin of the Nemæan lion, and holds a knotted club in his hand, on which he often leans. Sometimes he appears crowned with the leaves of the poplar, and holding the horn of plenty under his arm. At other times he is represented standing with Cupid, who instantly breaks to pieces his arrows and his club, to intimate the passion of love in the hero, who suffered himself to be beaten and ridiculed by Omphale, who dressed herself in his armour while he was sitting to spin with her female servants. The children of Hercules are as numerous as the labours and difficulties which he underwent, and indeed they became so powerful soon after his death, that they alone had the courage to invade all Peloponnesus. See: Heraclidæ. He was father of Deicoon and Therimachus by Megara, of Ctesippus by Astydamia, of Palemon by Autonoe, of Everes by Parthenope, of Glycisonetes, Gyneus, and Odites by Dejanira, of Thessalus by Chalciope, of Thestalus by Epicaste, of Tlepolemus by Astyoche, of Agathyrsus, Gelon, and Scytha by Echidna, &c. Such are the most striking characteristics of the life of Hercules, who is said to have supported for a while the weight of the heavens upon his shoulders [See: Atlas], and to have separated by the force of his arm the celebrated mountains which were afterwards called the boundaries of his labours. See: Abyla. He is held out by the ancients as a true pattern of virtue and piety, and as his whole life had been employed for the common benefit of mankind, he was deservedly rewarded with immortality. His judicious choice of virtue in preference to pleasure, as described by Xenophon, is well known. Diodorus, bks. 1 & 4.—Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 1, &c.—Apollodorus, bks. 1 & 2.—Pausanias, bks. 3, 5, 9, & 10.—Hesiod, Shield of Heracles, &c.—Hyginus, fables 29, 32, &c.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 236, &c.; Heroides, poem 9; Amores; Tristia, &c.—Homer, Iliad, bk. 8, &c.—Theocritus, poem 24.—Euripides, Hercules furens.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 294.—Lucan, bks. 3 & 6.—Apollonius, bk. 2.—Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1.—Sophocles, Trachiniæ.—♠Plautus, Amphitryon.—Seneca, Hercules Furens & Hercules Œtaeus.—Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 6; bk. 11, &c.—Philostratus, Imagines, bk. 2, ch. 5.—Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 7; bk. 2, ch. 42, &c.—Quintus Smyrnæus, bk. 6, li. 207, &c.—Callimachus, Hymn to Artemis.—Pindar, Olympian, ode 3.—Silius Italicus, bk. 1, li. 438.—Statius, bk. 2, Thebiad, li. 564.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 1.—Lucian, Dialogi Deorum.—Lactantius, De Falsa Religione.—Strabo, bk. 3, &c.—Horace, Odes, Satires, &c.――A son of Alexander the Great.――A surname of the emperor Commodus, &c.