Chapter XIV: Preface: To the Original Edition (13)

=Ascalăphus=, a son of Mars and Astyoche, who was among the Argonauts,
and went to the Trojan war at the head of the Ochomenians, with
his brother Ialmenus. He was killed by Deiphobus. _Homer_, _Iliad_,
bk. 2, li. 13; bk. 9, li. 82; bk. 13, li. 518.――――A son of Acheron
by Gorgyra or Orphne, stationed by Pluto to watch over Proserpine
in the Elysian fields. When Ceres had obtained from Jupiter her
daughter’s freedom and return upon earth, provided she had eaten
nothing in the kingdom of Pluto, Ascalaphus discovered that she
had eaten some pomegranates from a tree; upon which Proserpine was
ordered by Jupiter to remain six months with Pluto, and the rest
of the year with her mother. Proserpine was so displeased with
Ascalaphus, that she sprinkled water on his head, and immediately
turned him into an owl. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 5; bk. 2, ch. 5.
――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 5, fable 8.

=Ascălon=, a town of Syria, near the Mediterranean, about 520 stadia
from Jerusalem, still in being. It was anciently famous for its
onions. _Josephus_, _The Jewish War_, bk. 3, ch. 2.――_Theophrastus_,
_Enquiry into Plants_, bk. 7, ch. 4.

=Ascania=, an island of the Ægean sea.――――A city of Troas, built by
Ascanius.

=Ascănius=, son of Æneas by Creusa, was saved from the flames of Troy
by his father, whom he accompanied in his voyage to Italy. He was
afterwards called Iulus. He behaved with great valour in the war
which his father carried on against the Latins, and succeeded Æneas
in the kingdom of Latinus, and built Alba, to which he transferred
the seat of his empire from Lavinium. The descendants of Ascanius
reigned in Alba for above 420 years, under 14 kings, till the age
of Numitor. Ascanius reigned 38 years; 30 at Lavinium, and eight at
Alba; and was succeeded by Sylvius Posthumus son of Æneas by Lavinia.
Iulus the son of Ascanius disputed the crown with him; but the
Latins gave it in favour of Sylvius, as he was descended from the
family of Latinus, and Iulus was invested with the office of high
priest, which remained a long while in his family. _Livy_, bk. 1,
ch. 3.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 1, &c.――――According to _Dionysius of
Halicarnassus_, bk. 1, ch. 15, &c., the son of Æneas by Lavinia was
also called Ascanius.――――A river of Bithynia. _Virgil_, _Georgics_,
bk. 3, li. 270.

=Ascii=, a nation of India, in whose country objects at noon have no
shadow. _Pliny_, bk. 2.

=Asclēpia=, festivals in honour of Asclepius, or Æsculapius, celebrated
all over Greece, when prizes for poetical and musical compositions
were honourably distributed. At Epidaurus they were called by a
different name.

=Asclēpiădes=, a rhetorician in the age of Eumenes, who wrote an
historical account of Alexander. _Arrian_.――――A disciple of Plato.
――――A philosopher, disciple to Stilpo, and very intimate with
Menedemus. The two friends lived together, and that they might not
be separated when they married, Asclepiades married the daughter,
and Menedemus, though much the younger, the mother. When the wife
of Asclepiades was dead, Menedemus gave his wife to his friend, and
married another. He was blind in his old age, and died in Eretria.
_Plutarch_.――――A physician of Bithynia, B.C. 90, who acquired great
reputation at Rome, and was the founder of a sect in physic. He
relied so much on his skill that he laid a wager he should never
be sick; and won it, as he died of a fall, in a very advanced age.
Nothing of his medical treatises is now extant.――――An Egyptian,
who wrote hymns on the gods of his country, and also a treatise on
the coincidence of all religions.――――A native of Alexandria, who
gave a history of the Athenian archons.――――The writer of a treatise
on Demetrius Phalereus.――――A disciple of Isocrates, who wrote six
books on those events which had been the subject of tragedies.――――A
physician in the age of Pompey.――――A tragic poet.――――Another
physician of Bithynia, under Trajan. He lived 70 years, and was a
great favourite of the emperor’s court.

=Asclepiodōrus=, a painter in the age of Apelles, 12 of whose pictures
of the gods were sold, for 300 minæ each, to an African prince.
_Pliny_, bk. 35.――――A soldier who conspired against Alexander with
Hermolaus. _Curtius_, bk. 8, ch. 6.

=Asclepiodotus=, a general of Mithridates.

=Asclepius.= _See:_ Æsculapius.

=Ascletarion=, a mathematician in the age of Domitian, who said that
he should be torn by dogs. The emperor ordered him to be put to
death, and his body carefully secured; but as soon as he was set
on the burning pile, a sudden storm arose which put out the flames,
and the dogs came and tore to pieces the mathematician’s body.
_Suetonius_, _Domitian_, ch. 15.

=Asclus=, a town of Italy. _Silius Italicus_, bk. 8.

=Ascolia=, a festival in honour of Bacchus, celebrated about December
by the Athenian husbandmen, who generally sacrificed a goat to the
god, because that animal is a great enemy to the vine. They made
a bottle with the skin of the victim, which they filled with oil
and wine, and afterwards leaped upon it. He who could stand upon
it first was victorious, and received the bottle as a reward. This
was called ἀσκωλιαζειν παρα το ἐπι ἀσκον ἀλλεσθαι, _leaping upon
the bottle_, whence the name of the festival is derived. It was also
introduced in Italy, where the people besmeared their faces with the
dregs of wine, and sang hymns to the god. They always hanged some
small images of the god on the tallest trees in their vineyards,
and these images they called Oscilla. _Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 2,
li. 384.――_Pollux_, bk. 9, ch. 7.

=Asconius Labeo=, a preceptor of Nero.――――Pedia, a man intimate
with Virgil and Livy.――――Another of the same family in the age of
Vespasian, who became blind in his old age, and lived 12 years after.
He wrote, besides some historical treatises, annotations on Cicero’s
orations.

=Ascra=, a town of Bœotia, built, according to some, by the giants Otus
and Ephialtes, at the foot of Mount Helicon. Hesiod was born there,
whence he is often called the _Ascrean_ poet, and whatever poem
treats on agricultural subjects _Ascræum carmen_. The town received
its name from Ascra, a nymph, mother of Œoclus by Neptune. _Strabo_,
bk. 9.――_Pausanias_, bk. 9, ch. 29.――_Paterculus_, bk. 1.

=Ascŭlum=, now _Ascoli_, a town of Picenum, famous for the defeat of
Pyrrhus by Curius and Fabricius. _Florus_, bk. 3, ch. 18.――――Another
in Apulia, near the Aufidus.

=Asdrŭbal=, a Carthaginian, son-in-law of Hamilcar. He distinguished
himself in the Numidian war, and was appointed chief general on the
death of his father-in-law, and for eight years presided with much
prudence and valour over Spain, which submitted to his arms with
cheerfulness. Here he laid the foundation of new Carthage, and saw
it complete. To stop his progress towards the east, the Romans, in
a treaty with Carthage, forbade him to pass the Iberus, which was
faithfully observed by the general. He was killed in the midst of
his soldiers, B.C. 220, by a slave whose master he had murdered. The
slave was caught and put to death in the greatest torments, which he
bore with patience, and even ridiculed. Some say that he was killed
in hunting. _Silius Italicus_, bk. 1, li. 165.――_Appian_, _Wars in
Spain_.――_Polybius_, bk. 2.――_Livy_, bk. 21, ch. 2, &c.――――A son
of Hamilcar, who came from Spain with a large reinforcement for his
brother Annibal. He crossed the Alps and entered Italy; but some of
his letters to Annibal having fallen into the hands of the Romans,
the consuls Marcus Livius Salinator and Claudius Nero attacked
him suddenly near the Metaurus, and defeated him, B.C. 207. He was
killed in the battle, and 56,000 of his men shared his fate, and
5400 were taken prisoners; about 8000 Romans were killed. The head
of Asdrubal was cut off, and some days after thrown into the camp of
Annibal, who, in the moment that he was in the greatest expectations
for a promised supply, exclaimed at the sight, “In losing Asdrubal,
I lose all my happiness, and Carthage all her hopes.” Asdrubal had
before made an attempt to penetrate into Italy by sea, but had been
defeated by the governor of Sardinia. _Livy_, bks. 21, 23, 27, &c.
――_Polybius._――_Horace_, bk. 4, ode 4.――――A Carthaginian general,
surnamed _Calvus_, appointed governor of Sardinia, and taken
prisoner by the Romans. _Livy._――――Another, son of Gisgon, appointed
general of the Carthaginian forces in Spain, in the time of the
great Annibal. He made head against the Romans in Africa, with the
assistance of Scyphax, but he was soon after defeated by Scipio.
He died B.C. 206. _Livy._――――Another, who advised his countrymen
to make peace with Rome, and upbraided Annibal for laughing in the
Carthaginian senate. _Livy._――――A grandson of Masinissa, murdered
in the senate house by the Carthaginians.――――Another, whose camp
was destroyed in Africa by Scipio, though at the head of 20,000 men,
in the last Punic war. When all was lost, he fled to the enemy, and
begged his life. Scipio showed him to the Carthaginians, upon which
his wife, with a thousand imprecations, threw herself and her two
children into the flames of the temple of Æsculapius, which she and
others had set on fire. He was not of the same family as Annibal.
_Livy_, bk. 51.――――A Carthaginian general, conquered by Lucius
Cæcilius Metellus in Sicily, in a battle in which he lost 130
elephants. These animals were led in triumph all over Italy by the
conquerors.

=Asellio Sempronius=, an historian and military tribune, who wrote
an account of the actions in which he was present. _Dionysius of
Halicarnassus._

=Asia=, one of the three parts of the ancient world, separated from
Europe by the Tanais, the Euxine, Ægean, and Mediterranean seas.
The Nile and Egypt divide it from Africa. It received its name
from Asia the daughter of Oceanus. This part of the globe has given
birth to many of the greatest monarchies of the universe, and to the
ancient inhabitants of Asia we are indebted for most of the arts and
sciences. The soil is fruitful, and abounds with all the necessaries
as well as luxuries of life. Asia was divided into many different
empires, provinces, and states, of which the most conspicuous
were the Assyrian and Persian monarchies. The Assyrian monarchy,
according to Eusebius, lasted 1240 years, and according to Justin
1300 years, down to the year of the world 4380. The empire of Persia
existed 228 years, till the death of Darius III., whom Alexander
the Great conquered. The empire of the Medes lasted 259 years,
according to Eusebius, or less, according to others, till the reign
of Astyages, who was conquered by Cyrus the Great, who transferred
the power from the Medes, and founded the Persian monarchy. It was
in Asia that the military valour of the Macedonians, and the bold
retreat of the 10,000 Greeks, were so conspicuously displayed. It is
in that part of the world that we are to look for the more visible
progress of luxury, despotism, sedition, effeminacy, and dissipation.
Asia was generally divided into Major and Minor. Asia Major was
the most extensive, and comprehended all the eastern parts; and
Asia Minor was a large country in the form of a peninsula, whose
boundaries may be known by drawing a line from the bay of Issus, in
a northern direction, to the eastern part of the Euxine sea. Asia
Minor has been subject to many revolutions. It was tributary to
the Scythians for upwards of 1500 years, and was a long time in the
power of the Lydians, Medes, &c. The western parts of Asia Minor
were the receptacle of all the ancient emigrations from Greece, and
it was totally peopled by Grecian colonies. The Romans generally and
indiscriminately called Asia Minor by the name of Asia. _Strabo._
――_Mela._――_Justin._――_Pliny._――_Tacitus_, &c.――――One of the
Oceanides, who married Japetus, and gave her name to one of the
three divisions of the ancient globe. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 2.
――――One of the Nereides. _Hyginus._――――A mountain of Laconia.
_Pausanias_, bk. 3, ch. 24.

=Asia Palus=, a lake in Mysia. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 701.

=Asiātĭcus=, a Gaul in the age of Vitellius. _Tacitus_, _Histories_,
bk. 2.――――The surname of one of the Scipios, and others, from their
conquests or campaigns in Asia.

=Asĭlas=, an augur, who assisted Æneas against Turnus.――――A Trojan
officer. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bks. 9, 10, &c.

=Asināria=, a festival in Sicily, in commemoration of a victory
obtained over Demosthenes and Nicias at the river Asinarius.

=Asinārius=, a river of Sicily, where the Athenian generals,
Demosthenes and Nicias, were taken prisoners.

=Asĭne=, one of the Sporades.――――An island of the Adriatic.――――Three
towns of Peloponnesus bore that name, viz. in Laconia, Argolis, and
Messenia.

=Asĭnes=, a river of Sicily.

=Asinius Gallus=, son of Asinius Pollio the orator, married Vipsania,
after she had been divorced by Tiberius. This marriage gave rise to
a secret enmity between the emperor and Asinius, who starved himself
to death, either voluntarily, or by order of his imperial enemy. He
had six sons by his wife. He wrote a comparison between his father
and Cicero, in which he gave a decided superiority to the former.
_Tacitus_ bks. 1 & 5, _Annals_.――_Dio Cassius_, bk. 58.――_Pliny_, bk.
7, ltr. 4.――――Marcellus, grandson of Asinius Pollio, was accused of
some misdemeanours, but acquitted, &c. _Tacitus_, bk. 14, _Annals_.
――――Pollio, an excellent orator, poet, and historian, intimate with
Augustus. He triumphed over the Dalmatians, and wrote an account
of the wars of Cæsar and Pompey, in 17 books, besides poems. He
refused to answer some verses against him by Augustus, “because,”
said he, “you have the power to proscribe me, should my answer
prove offensive.” He died in the 80th year of his age, A.D. 4. He
was consul with Cnaeus Domitius Calvinus, A.U.C. 714. It is to him
that the fourth of Virgil’s Bucolics is inscribed. _Quintilian._
――_Suetonius_, _Cæsar_, chs. 30 & 55.――_Dio Cassius_, bks. 37,
49, 55.――_Seneca_, _de Tranquilitate Animi_ & ltr. 100.――_Pliny_,
bk. 7, ch. 30.――_Tacitus_, bk. 6.――_Paterculus_, bk. 2.――_Plutarch_,
_Cæsar_.――――A commander of Mauritania, under the first emperors, &c.
_Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 2.――――An historian in the age of Pompey.
――――Another in the third century.――――Quadratus, a man who published
the history of Parthia, Greece, and Rome.

=Asius=, a son of Dymas, brother of Hecuba. He assisted Priam in the
Trojan war, and was killed by Idomeneus. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 2, li.
342; bk. 12, li. 95; bk. 13, li. 384.――――A poet of Samos, who wrote
about the genealogy of ancient heroes and heroines. _Pausanias_, bk.
7, ch. 4.――――A son of Imbracus, who accompanied Æneas into Italy.
_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 10, li. 123.

=Asius Campus=, a place near the Cayster.

=Asnāus=, a mountain of Macedonia, near which the river Aous flows.
_Livy_, bk. 32, ch. 5.

=Asōphis=, a small country of Peloponnesus, near the Asopus.

=Asōpia=, the ancient name of Sicyon. _Pausanias_, bk. 2, ch. 1.

=Asōpiădes=, a patronymic of Æacus, son of Ægina, the daughter of
Asopus. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 7, li. 484.

=Asōpis=, the daughter of the Asopus.――――A daughter of Thespius mother
of Mentor. _Apollodorus_, bk. 2, ch. 7.

=Asōpus=, a river of Thessaly, falling into the bay of Malta at the
north of Thermopylæ. _Strabo_, bk. 8.――――A river of Bœotia, rising
near Platæa, and flowing into the Euripus, after it has separated
the country of the Thebans and Platæans. _Pausanias_, bk. 9, ch. 4.
――――A river of Asia, flowing into the Lycus, near Laodicea.――――A
river of Peloponnesus, passing by Sicyon.――――Another of Macedonia,
flowing near Heraclea. _Strabo_, &c.――――A river of Phœnicia.――――A
son of Neptune, who gave his name to a river of Peloponnesus. Three
of his daughters are particularly celebrated, Ægina, Salamis, and
Ismene. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 9; bk. 3, ch. 12.――_Pausanias_,
bk. 2, ch. 12.

=Aspa=, a town of Parthia, now _Ispahan_, the capital of the Persian
empire.

=Aspamithres=, a favourite eunuch of Xerxes, who conspired with
Artabanus to destroy the king and the royal family, &c. _Ctesias._

=Asparagium=, a town near Dyrrhachium. _Cæsar_, _Civil War_, bk. 3,
ch. 30.

=Aspăsia=, a daughter of Hermotimus of Phocæa, famous for her personal
charms and elegance. She was priestess of the sun, mistress to
Cyrus, and afterwards to his brother Artaxerxes, from whom she
passed to Darius. She was called _Milto_, _vermilion_, on account of
the beauty of her complexion. _Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 12, ch.
1.――_Plutarch_, _Artaxerxes_.――――Another woman, daughter of Axiochus,
born at Miletus. She came to Athens, where she taught eloquence,
and Socrates was proud to be among her scholars. She so captivated
Pericles, by her mental and personal accomplishments, that he became
her pupil, and at last took her for his mistress and wife. He was so
fond of her, that he made war against Samos at her instigation. The
behaviour of Pericles towards Aspasia greatly corrupted the morals
of the Athenians, and introduced dissipation and lasciviousness
into the state. She, however, possessed the merit of a superior
excellence in mind as well as person, and her instructions helped
to form the greatest and most eloquent orators of Greece. Some have
confounded the mistress of Pericles with Aspasia the daughter of
Hermotimus. _Plutarch_, _Pericles_.――_Quintilian_, bk. 11.――――The
wife of Xenophon was also called Aspasia, if we follow the improper
interpretation given by some to _Cicero_, _de Inventione_, bk. 1,
ch. 31.

=Aspasius=, a peripatetic philosopher in the second century, whose
commentaries on different subjects were highly valued.――――A sophist,
who wrote a panegyric on Adrian.

=Aspastes=, a satrap of Carmania, suspected of infidelity to his trust
while Alexander was in the east. _Curtius_, bk. 9, ch. 20.

=Aspathīnes=, one of the seven noblemen of Persia who conspired
against the usurper Smerdis. _Herodotus_, bk. 5, ch. 70, &c.――――A
son of Prexaspes. _Herodotus_, bk. 7.

=Aspendus=, a town of Pamphylia, at the mouth of the river Eurymedon.
_Cicero_, _Against Verres_, bk. 1, ch. 20. The inhabitants
sacrificed swine to Venus.

=Asphaltītes=, a lake. _See:_ Mare Mortuum.

=Aspis=, a satrap of Chaonia, who revolted from Artaxerxes. He was
reduced by Datames. _Cornelius Nepos_, _Datames_.――――A city and
mountain of Africa.――――One of the Cyclades.――――A city of Macedonia.

=Asplēdon=, a son of Neptune by the nymph Midea. He gave his name to
a city of Bœotia, whose inhabitants went to the Trojan war. _Homer_,
_Iliad_, bk. 2, li. 18.――_Pausanias_, bk. 9, ch. 38.

=Asporēnus=, a mountain of Asia Minor near Pergamus, where the mother
of the gods was worshipped, and called _Asporena_. _Strabo_, bk. 13.

=Assa=, a town near mount Athos.

=Assabīnus=, the Jupiter of the Arabians.

=Assărăcus=, a Trojan prince, son of Tros by Callirhoe. He was father
to Capys, the father of Anchises. The Trojans were frequently called
the descendants of Assaracus, _Gens Assaraci_. _Homer_, _Iliad_,
bk. 20.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 1.――――Two friends of Æneas in the
Rutulian war. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 10, li. 124.

=Asserīni=, a people of Sicily.

=Assōrus=, a town of Sicily, between Enna and Argyrium.

=Assos=, a town of Lycia on the sea coast.

=Assy̆ria=, a large country of Asia, whose boundaries have been
different in its flourishing times. At first it was bounded by
the Lycus and Caprus; but the name of Assyria, more generally
speaking, is applied to all that territory which lies between Media,
Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Babylon. The Assyrian empire is the most
ancient in the world. It was founded by Ninus or Belus, B.C. 2059,
according to some authors, and lasted till the reign of Sardanapalus,
the 31st sovereign since Ninus, B.C. 820. According to Eusebius,
it flourished for 1240 years; according to Justin, 1300 years; but
Herodotus says that its duration was not above 500 or 600 years.
Among the different monarchs of the Assyrian empire Semiramis
greatly distinguished herself, and extended the boundaries of her
dominions as far as Æthiopia and Libya. In ancient authors the
Assyrians are often called Syrians, and the Syrians Assyrians. The
Assyrians assisted Priam in the Trojan war, and sent him Memnon with
an army. The king of Assyria generally styled himself king of kings,
as a demonstration of his power and greatness. The country is now
called Curdistan. _See:_ Syria. _Strabo_, bk. 16.――_Herodotus_, bks.
1 & 2.――_Justin_, bk. 1.――_Pliny_, bk. 6, chs. 13 & 26.――_Ptolemy_,
bk. 1, ch. 2.――_Diodorus_, bk. 2.――_Mela_, bk. 1, ch. 2.

=Asta=, a city in Spain.

=Astacœni=, a people of India near the Indus. _Strabo_, bk. 15.

=Astăcus=, a town of Bithynia, built by Acastus son of Neptune and
Olbia, or rather by a colony from Megara and Athens. Lysimachus
destroyed it, and carried the inhabitants to the town of Nicomedia,
which was then lately built. _Pausanias_, bk. 5, ch. 12.――_Arrian._
――_Strabo_, bk. 17.――――A city of Acarnania. _Pliny_, bk. 5.

=Astăpa=, a town of Hispania Bætica. _Livy_, bk. 38, ch. 20.

=Astăpus=, a river of Æthiopia, falling into the Nile.

=Astarte=, a powerful divinity of Syria, the same as the Venus of
the Greeks. She had a famous temple at Hierapolis in Syria, which
was served by 300 priests, who were always employed in offering
sacrifices. She was represented in medals with a long habit, and
a mantle over it, tucked up on the left arm. She had one hand
stretched forward, and held in the other a crooked staff in the form
of a cross. _Lucian_, _de Deâ Syriâ_.――_Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_,
bk. 3, ch. 23.

=Aster=, a dexterous archer of Amphipolis, who offered his service to
Philip king of Macedonia. Upon being slighted, he retired into the
city, and aimed an arrow at Philip, who pressed it with a siege. The
arrow, on which was written “Aimed at Philip’s right eye,” struck
the king’s eye, and put it out; and Philip, to return the pleasantry,
threw back the same arrow, with these words, “If Philip takes the
town, Aster shall be hanged.” The conqueror kept his word. _Lucian_,
_Quomodo historia conscribenda sit_.

=Astĕria=, a daughter of Ceus, one of the Titans, by Phœbe daughter
of Cœlus and Terra. She married Perses son of Crius, by whom she
had the celebrated Hecate. She enjoyed for a long time the favours
of Jupiter, under the form of an eagle; but falling under his
displeasure, she was changed into a quail, called _Ortyx_ by the
Greeks; whence the name of _Ortygia_, given to that island in the
Archipelago, where she retired. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 6,
fable 4.――_Hyginus_, fable 58.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 2, &c.
――――A town of Greece, whose inhabitants went to the Trojan war.
_Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 2, li. 782.――――One of the daughters of Danaus,
who married Chætus son of Ægyptus. _Apollodorus_, bk. 2.――――One of
the daughters of Atlas, mother of Œnomaus king of Pisa. _Hyginus_,
fable 250.――――A mistress of Gyges, to whom Horace wrote three odes
to comfort her during her lover’s absence.

=Astĕrion= and =Astĕrius=, a river of Peloponnesus, which flowed
through the country of Argolis. This river had three daughters,
Eubœa, Prosymna, and Acræa, who nursed the goddess Juno. _Pausanias_,
bk. 2, ch. 17.――――A son of Cometes, who was one of the Argonauts.
_Apollonius_, bk. 1.――――A statuary, son of Æschylus. _Pausanias._
――――A son of Minos II., king of Crete, by Pasiphæ. He was killed by
Theseus, though he was thought the strongest of his age. Apollodorus
supposes him to be the same as the famous Minotaur. According
to some, Asterion was son of Teutamus, one of the descendants of
Æolus, and they say that he was surnamed Jupiter, because he had
carried away Europa, by whom he had Minus I. _Diodorus_, bk. 4.
――_Apollodorus_, bk. 3.――_Pausanias_, bk. 2, ch. 31.――――A son of
Neleus and Chloris. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 12.

=Asterodia=, the wife of Endymion. _Pausanias_, bk. 5, ch. 1.

=Asterŏpe= and =Asteropēa=, one of the Pleiades, who were beloved by
the gods and most illustrious heroes, and made constellations after
death.――――A daughter of Pelias king of Iolchos, who assisted her
sisters to kill her father, whom Medea promised to restore to life.
Her grave was seen in Arcadia, in the time of _Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch.
11.――――A daughter of Deion by Diomede. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1.――――The
wife of Æsacus. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3.

=Asteropæus=, a king of Pæonia, son of Pelegon. He assisted Priam
in the Trojan war, and was killed, after a brave resistance, by
Achilles. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 17, &c.

=Asterūsius=, a mountain at the south of Crete.――――A town of Arabia
Felix.

=Astinŏme=, the wife of Hipponous.

=Astiŏchus=, a general of Lacedæmon, who conquered the Athenians near
Cnidus, and took Phocæa and Cumæ, B.C. 411.

=Astræa=, a daughter of Astræus king of Arcadia, or, according
to others, of Titan, Saturn’s brother, by Aurora. Some make her
daughter of Jupiter and Themis, and others consider her to be the
same as Rhea wife of Saturn. She was called _Justice_, of which
virtue she was the goddess. She lived upon the earth, as the poets
mention, during the golden age, which is often called the age of
Astræa; but the wickedness and impiety of mankind drove her to
heaven in the brazen and iron ages, and she was placed among the
constellations of the zodiac, under the name of Virgo. She is
represented as a virgin, with a stern but majestic countenance,
holding a pair of scales in one hand and a sword in the other.
_Seneca_, _Octavia_.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 1, li. 149.
――_Aratus_, bk. 1, _Phænomena_, li. 98.――_Hesiod_, _Theogony_.

=Astræus=, one of the Titans who made war against Jupiter.――――A river
of Macedonia, near Thermæ. _Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 15, ch. 1.

=Astu=, a Greek word which signifies _city_, generally applied, by way
of distinction, to Athens, which was the most capital city of Greece.
The word _urbs_ is applied with the same meaning of superiority to
Rome, and πολις to Alexandria the capital of Ægypt, as also to Troy.

=Astur=, an Etrurian who assisted Æneas against Turnus. _Virgil_,
_Æneid_, bk. 10, li. 180.

=Astŭra=, a small river and village of Latium, where Antony’s soldiers
cut off Cicero’s head.

=Astŭres=, a people of Hispania Tarraconensis, who spent all their
lives in digging for mines of ore. _Lucan_, bk. 4, li. 298.――_Silius
Italicus_, bk. 1, li. 231.

=Astyăge=, a daughter of Hypseus, who married Periphas, by whom she
had some children, among whom was Antion the father of Ixion.

=Astyăges=, a son of Cyaxares, was the last king of Media. He was
father to Mandane, whom he gave in marriage to Cambyses, an ignoble
person of Persia, because he was told by a dream that his daughter’s
son would dispossess him of his crown. From such a marriage he hoped
that none but mean and ignorant children could be raised; but he
was disappointed, and though he had exposed his daughter’s son by
the effects of a second dream, he was deprived of his crown by his
grandson, after a reign of 35 years. Astyages was very cruel and
oppressive; and Harpagus, one of his officers, whose son he had
wantonly murdered, encouraged Mandane’s son, who was called Cyrus,
to take up arms against his grandfather, and he conquered him and
took him prisoner, 559 B.C. Xenophon, in his Cyropædia, relates a
different story, and asserts that Cyrus and Astyages lived in the
most undisturbed friendship together. _Justin_, bk. 1, ch. 4, &c.
――_Herodotus_, bk. 1, chs. 74, 75, &c.――――A grammarian who wrote a
commentary on Callimachus.――――A man changed into a stone by Medusa’s
head. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 5, fable 6.

=Astyălus=, a Trojan killed by Neoptolemus. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 6.

=Astyănax=, a son of Hector and Andromache. He was very young when
the Greeks besieged Troy; and when the city was taken, his mother
saved him in her arms from the flames. Ulysses, who was afraid lest
the young prince should inherit the virtues of his father, and one
day avenge the ruin of his country upon the Greeks, seized him,
and threw him down from the walls of Troy. According to Euripides,
he was killed by Menelaus; and Seneca says that Pyrrhus the son
of Achilles put him to death. Hector had given him the name of
Scamandrius; but the Trojans, who hoped he might prove as great as
his father, called him Astyanax, or the bulwark of the city. _Homer_,
_Iliad_, bk. 6, li. 400; bk. 22, li. 500.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 2,
li. 457; bk. 3, li. 489.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 13, li. 415.
――――An Arcadian, who had a statue in the temple of Jupiter, on
mount Lyceus. _Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 38.――――A son of Hercules.
_Apollodorus_, bk. 2, ch. 7.――――A writer in the age of Gallienus.

=Astycratia=, a daughter of Æolus. _Homer_, _Iliad_.――――A daughter of
Amphion and Niobe.

=Astydămas=, an Athenian, pupil to Isocrates. He wrote 240 tragedies,
of which only 15 obtained the poetical prize.――――A Milesian, three
times victorious at Olympia. He was famous for his strength, as
well as for his voracious appetite. He was once invited to a feast
by king Ariobarzanes, and he ate what had been prepared for nine
persons. _Athenæus_, bk. 10.――――Two tragic writers bore the same
name, one of whom was disciple to Socrates.――――A comic poet of
Athens.

=Astydămīa=, or =Astyadamia=, daughter of Amyntor king of Orchomenos
in Bœotia, married Acastus son of Pelias, who was king of Iolchos.
She became enamoured of Peleus son of Æacus, who had visited her
husband’s court, and because he refused to gratify her passion,
she accused him of attempting her virtue. Acastus readily believed
his wife’s accusation; but as he would not violate the laws of
hospitality by punishing his guest with instant death, he waited
for a favourable opportunity, and dissembled his resentment. At
last they went in a hunting party to mount Pelion, where Peleus was
tied to a tree by order of Acastus, that he might be devoured by
wild beasts. Jupiter was moved at the innocence of Peleus, and sent
Vulcan to deliver him. When Peleus was set at liberty, he marched
with an army against Acastus, whom he dethroned, and punished with
death the cruel and false Astydamia. She is called by some Hippolyte,
and by others Cretheis. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 13.――_Pindar_,
_Nemean_, bk. 4.――――A daughter of Ormenus, carried away by Hercules,
by whom she had Tlepolemus. _Ovid_, _Heroides_, poem 9, li. 50.

=Asty̆lus=, one of the centaurs who had the knowledge of futurity. He
advised his brothers not to make war against the Lapithæ. _Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 12, li. 338.――――A man of Crotona, who was
victorious three successive times at the Olympic games. _Pausanias._

=Astymedūsa=, a woman whom Œdipus married after he had divorced Jocasta.

=Astynŏme=, the daughter of Chryses the priest of Apollo, sometimes
called _Chryseis_. She fell to the share of Achilles, at the
division of the spoils of Lyrnessus.――――A daughter of Amphion,――――of
Talaus. _Hyginus._

=Astynous=, a Trojan prince. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 5, li. 144.

=Astyŏche= and =Astyochīa=, a daughter of Actor, who had by Mars,
Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, who were at the Trojan war. _Homer_,
_Iliad_, bk. 2, li. 20.――――A daughter of Phylas king of Ephyre, who
had a son called Tlepolemus by Hercules. _Hyginus_, fables 97, 162.
――――A daughter of Laomedon by Strymo. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3.――――A
daughter of Amphion and Niobe. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 4.――――A
daughter of the Simois, who married Erichthonius. _Apollodorus_,
bk. 3, ch. 12.――――The wife of Strophius, sister to Agamemnon.

=Astypalæa=, one of the Cyclades, between Cos and Carpathos, called
after Astypalæa the daughter of Phœnix, and mother of Ancæus by
Neptune. _Pausanias_, bk. 7, ch. 4.――_Strabo_, bk. 14.

=Astyphĭlus=, a soothsayer, well skilled in the knowledge of futurity.
_Plutarch_, _Cimon_.

=Astȳron=, a town built by the Argonauts on the coast of Illyricum.
_Strabo._

=Asychis=, a king of Egypt, who succeeded Mycerinus, and made a law,
that whoever borrowed money, must deposit his father’s body in the
hand of his creditors, as a pledge of his promise of payment. He
built a magnificent pyramid. _Herodotus_, bk. 2, ch. 136.

=Asȳlas=, a friend of Æneas, skilled in auguries. _Virgil_, _Æneid_,
bk. 9, li. 571; bk. 10, li. 175.

=Asyllus=, a gladiator. _Juvenal_, satire 6, li. 266.

=Atābŭlus=, a wind which was frequent in Apulia. _Horace_, bk. 1,
satire 5, li. 78.

=Atabȳris=, a mountain in Rhodes, where Jupiter had a temple, whence
he was surnamed _Atabyris_. _Strabo_, bk. 14.

=Atăce=, a town of Gaul, whence the adjective _Atacinus_.

=Atalanta=, a daughter of Schœneus king of Scyros. According to some
she was the daughter of Jasus or Jasius by Clymene; but others
say that Menalion was her father. This uncertainty of not rightly
knowing the name of her father has led the mythologists into error,
and some have maintained that there were two persons of that name,
though their supposition is groundless. Atalanta was born in Arcadia,
and according to Ovid she determined to live in perpetual celibacy;
but her beauty gained her many admirers, and to free herself from
their importunities, she proposed to run a race with them. They were
to run without arms, and she was to carry a dart in her hand. Her
lovers were to start first, and whoever arrived at the goal before
her would be made her husband; but all those whom she overtook were
to be killed by the dart with which she had armed herself. As she
was almost invincible in running, many of her suitors perished in
the attempt, till Hippomenes the son of Macareus proposed himself
as her admirer. Venus had presented him with three golden apples
from the garden of the Hesperides, or, according to others, from an
orchard in Cyprus; and as soon as he had started in the course, he
artfully threw down the apples at some distance one from the other.
While Atalanta, charmed at the sight, stopped to gather the apples,
Hippomenes hastened on his course, arrived first at the goal,
and obtained Atalanta in marriage. These two fond lovers, in the
impatience of consummating their nuptials, entered the temple of
Cybele; and the goddess was so offended at their impiety, and at
the profanation of her house, that she changed them into two lions.
Apollodorus says that Atalanta’s father was desirous of raising male
issue, and that therefore she was exposed to wild beasts as soon
as born. She was, however, suckled by a she-bear, and preserved
by shepherds. She dedicated her time to hunting, and resolved
to live in celibacy. She killed two centaurs, Hyleus and Rhecus,
who attempted her virtue. She was present at the hunting of the
Calydonian boar, which she first wounded, and she received the head
as a present from Meleager, who was enamoured of her. She was also
at the games instituted in honour of Pelias, where she conquered
Peleus; and when her father, to whom she had been restored, wished
her to marry, she consented to give herself to him who could
overcome her in running, as has been said above. She had a son
called Parthenopæus by Hippomenes. Hyginus says that that son was
the fruit of her love with Meleager; and Apollodorus says she had
him by Milanion, or, according to others, by the god Mars. _See:_
Meleager. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 8; bk. 3, ch. 9, &c.――_Pausanias_,
bk. 1, chs. 36, 45, &c.――_Hyginus_, fables 99, 174, 185, 270.
――_Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 13.――_Diodorus_, bk. 4.――_Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 8, fable 4; bk. 10, fable 11.――_Euripides_,
_Phœnician Women_.――――An island near Eubœa and Locris. _Pausanias._

=Atarantes=, a people of Africa, ten days’ journey from the Garamantes.
There was in their country a hill of salt with a fountain of sweet
water upon it. _Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch. 184.

=Atarbĕchis=, a town in one of the islands of the Delta, where Venus
had a temple.

=Atargătis=, a divinity among the Syrians represented as a Syren. She
is considered by some to be the same as Venus, and honoured by the
Assyrians under the name of Astarte. _Strabo_, bk. 16.

=Atarnea=, a part of Mysia opposite Lesbos, with a small town in the
neighbourhood of the same name. _Pausanias_, bk. 4, ch. 35.

=Atas= and =Athas=, a youth of wonderful velocity, who is said to have
run 75 miles between noon and the evening. _Martial_, bk. 4, ltr. 19.
――_Pliny_, bk. 7.

=Atax=, now _Aude_, a river of Gaul Narbonensis, rising in the Pyrenean
mountains, and falling into the Mediterranean sea. _Mela_, bk. 2.

=Ate=, the goddess of all evil, and daughter of Jupiter. She raised
such jealousy and sedition in heaven among the gods, that Jupiter
dragged her away by the hair, and banished her for ever from
heaven, and sent her to dwell on earth, where she incited mankind
to wickedness, and sowed commotions among them. _Homer_, _Iliad_,
bk. 19. She is the same as the Discord of the Latins.

=Atella=, a town of Campania, famous for a splendid amphitheatre, where
interludes were first exhibited, and thence called Atellanæ fabulæ.
_Juvenal_, satire 6.

=Atenomārus=, a chieftain of Gaul, who made war against the Romans.
_Plutarch_, _Parallela minora_.

=Athamānes=, an ancient people of Epirus, who existed long before the
Trojan war, and still preserved their name and customs in the age of
Alexander. There was a fountain in their territories, whose waters,
about the last quarter of the moon, were so sulphureous that they
would set wood on fire. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 15, li. 311.
――_Strabo_, bk. 7.――_Pliny_, bk. 2, ch. 103.――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 3.

=Athămas=, king of Thebes in Bœotia, was son of Æolus. He married
Themisto, whom some call Nephele, and Pindar, Demotice, and by her
he had Phryxus and Helle. Some time after, on pretence that Nephele
was subject to fits of madness, he married Ino the daughter of
Cadmus, by whom he had two sons, Learchus and Melicerta. Ino became
jealous of the children of Nephele. Because they were to ascend
their father’s throne in preference to her own, therefore she
resolved to destroy them; but they escaped from her fury to Colchis,
on a golden ram. _See:_ Phryxus and Argonautæ. According to the
Greek scholiast of Lycophron, li. 22, Ino attempted to destroy the
corn of the country; and as if it were the consequence of divine
vengeance, the soothsayers, at her instigation, told Athamas, that
before the earth would yield her usual increase, he must sacrifice
one of the children of Nephele to the gods. The credulous father led
Phryxus to the altar, where he was saved by Nephele. The prosperity
of Ino was displeasing to Juno, and more particularly because she
was descended from Venus. The goddess therefore sent Tisiphone, one
of the furies, to the house of Athamas, who became inflamed with
such sudden fury that he took Ino to be a lioness, and her two sons
to be whelps. In this fit of madness he snatched Learchus from her,
and killed him against a wall; upon which Ino fled with Melicerta,
and, with him in her arms, she threw herself into the sea from a
high rock, and was changed into a sea deity. After this, Athamas
recovered the use of his senses; and as he was without children,
he adopted Coronus and Aliartus, the sons of Thersander his nephew.
_Hyginus_, fables 1, 2, 5, 239.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1, chs. 7 & 9.
――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 4, li. 467, &c.; _Fasti_, bk. 6, li.
419.――_Pausanias_, bk. 9, ch. 34.――――A servant of Atticus. _Cicero_,
_Letters to Atticus_, bk. 12, ltr. 10.――――A stage dancer. _Cicero_,
_Piso_, ch. 36.――――A tragic poet. _Cicero_, _Piso_, ch. 20.――――One
of the Greeks, concealed in the wooden horse at the siege of Troy.
_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 2, li. 263.

=Athamantiădes=, a patronymic of Melicerta, Phryxus, or Helle, children
of Athamas. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 13, li. 319; _Fasti_, bk. 4,
li. 903.

=Athanasius=, a bishop of Alexandria, celebrated for his sufferings,
and the determined opposition he maintained against Arius and his
doctrines. His writings, which were numerous, and some of which
have perished, contain a defence of the mystery of the Trinity,
the divinity of the Word and of the Holy Ghost, and an apology to
Constantine. The creed which bears his name, is supposed by some
not to be his composition. Athanasius died 2nd May, 373 A.D., after
filling the archiepiscopal chair 47 years, and leading alternately
a life of exile and of triumph. The latest edition of his works is
that of the Benedictines, 3 vols., folio, Paris, 1698.

=Athanis=, a man who wrote an account of Sicily. _Athenæus_, bk. 3.

=Atheas=, a king of Scythia, who implored the assistance of Philip
of Macedonia against the Istrians, and laughed at him when he had
furnished him with an army. _Justin_, bk. 9, ch. 2.

=Athēna=, the name of Minerva among the Greeks; and also among the
Egyptians, before Cecrops had introduced the worship of the goddess
into Greece. _Pausanias_, bk. 1, ch. 2.

=Athēnæ=, a celebrated city of Attica, founded about 1556 years before
the christian era, by Cecrops and an Egyptian colony. It was called
_Cecropia_ from its founder, and afterwards _Athenæ_ in honour
of Minerva, who had obtained the right of giving it a name in
preference to Neptune. _See:_ Minerva. It was governed by 17 kings
in the following order:――After a reign of 50 years, Cecrops was
succeeded by Cranaus, who began to reign 1506 B.C.; Amphictyon, 1497;
Erichthonius, 1487; Pandion, 1437; Erichtheus, 1397; Cecrops II.,
1347; Pandion II., 1307; Ægeus, 1283; Theseus, 1235; Menestheus,
1205; Demophoon, 1182; Oxyntes, 1149; Aphidas, 1137; Thymœtes, 1136;
Melanthus, 1128; and Codrus, 1091, who was killed after a reign of
21 years. The history of the 12 first of these monarchs is mostly
fabulous. After the death of Codrus the monarchical power was
abolished, and the state was governed by 13 perpetual, and 317 years
after, by seven decennial, and lastly, B.C. 684, after an anarchy of
three years, by annual magistrates, called Archons. _See:_ Archontes.
Under this democracy, the Athenians signalized themselves by their
valour in the field, their munificence, and the cultivation of
the fine arts. They were deemed so powerful by the Persians, that
Xerxes, when he invaded Greece, chiefly directed his arms against
Athens, which he took and burnt. Their military character was chiefly
displayed in the battles of Marathon, of Salamis, of Platæa, and of
Mycale. After these immortal victories, they rose in consequence and
dignity, and they demanded the superiority in the affairs of Greece.
The town was rebuilt and embellished by Themistocles, and a new
and magnificent harbour erected. Their success made them arrogant,
and they raised contentions among the neighbouring states, that
they might aggrandize themselves by their fall. The luxury and
intemperance, which had been long excluded from the city by the
salutary laws of their countrymen, Draco and Solon, crept by degrees
among all ranks of people, and soon after all Greece united to
destroy that city, which claimed a sovereign power over all the rest.
The Peloponnesian war, though at first a private quarrel, was soon
fomented into a universal war; and the arms of all the states of
Peloponnesus [_See:_ Peloponnesiacum bellum] were directed against
Athens, which, after 28 years of misfortunes and bloodshed, was
totally ruined, the 24th April, 404 years before the christian era,
by Lysander. After this, the Athenians were oppressed by 30 tyrants,
and for a while laboured under the weight of their own calamities.
They recovered something of their usual spirit in the age of Philip,
and boldly opposed his ambitious views; but their short-lived
efforts were not of great service to the interest of Greece, and
they fell into the hands of the Romans, B.C. 86. The Athenians have
been admired in all ages for their love of liberty, and for the
great men that were born among them; but favour there was attended
with danger; and there are very few instances in the history of
Athens that can prove that the jealousy and frenzy of the people did
not persecute and disturb the peace of the man who had fought their
battles and exposed his life in the defence of his country. Perhaps,
not one single city in the world can boast, in such a short space
of time, of such a number of truly illustrious citizens, equally
celebrated for their humanity, their learning, and their military
abilities. The Romans, in the more polished ages of their republic,
sent their youths to finish their education at Athens, and respected
the learning, while they despised the military character of the
inhabitants. The reputation which the Athenian schools had acquired
under Socrates and Plato was maintained by their degenerate and less
learned successors; and they flourished with diminished lustre, till
an edict of emperor Justinian suppressed, with the Roman consulship,
the philosophical meetings of the academy. It has been said by
Plutarch that the good men whom Athens produced were the most just
and equitable in the world; but that its bad citizens could not be
surpassed in any age or country, for their impiety, perfidiousness,
or cruelties. Their criminals were always put to death by drinking
the juice of hemlock. The ancients, to distinguish Athens in a
more particular manner, called it Astu, one of the eyes of Greece,
the learned city, the school of the world, the common patroness of
Greece. The Athenians thought themselves the most ancient nation of
Greece, and supposed themselves the original inhabitants of Attica,
for which reason they were called ἀυτοχθονες, produced from the
_same earth_ which they inhabited, γηγενες _sons of the earth_, and
τεττιγες _grasshoppers_. They sometimes wore golden grasshoppers
in their hair as badges of honour, to distinguish them from other
people of later origin and less noble extraction, because those
insects are supposed to be sprung from the ground. The number of men
able to bear arms at Athens in the reign of Cecrops was computed at
20,000, and there appeared no considerable augmentation in the more
civilized age of Pericles; but in the time of Demetrius Phalereus
there were found 21,000 citizens, 10,000 foreigners, and 40,000
slaves. Among the numerous temples and public edifices none was more
celebrated than that of Minerva, which, after being burnt by the
Persians, was rebuilt by Pericles, with the finest marble, and
still exists a venerable monument of the hero’s patriotism, and
of the abilities of the architect. _Cicero_, _Letters to Atticus_,
Against Verres, &c.――_Thucydides_, bk. 1, &c.――_Justin_, bk. 2,
&c.――_Diodorus_, bk. 13, &c.――_Ælian_, _Varia Historia_.――_Pliny_,
bk. 7, ch. 56.――_Xenophon_, _Memorabilia_.――_Plutarch_, _in vitis_,
&c.――_Strabo_, bk. 9, &c.――_Pausanias_, bk. 1, &c.――_Valerius
Maximus._――_Livy_, bk. 31, &c.――_Cornelius Nepos_, _Miltiades_,
&c.――_Polybius._――_Paterculus._

=Athenæa=, festivals celebrated at Athens in honour of Minerva. One
of them was called ♦_Panathenæa_, and the other _ Chalcea_; for an
account of which see those words.

♦ ‘Bana, thenæe’ replaced with ‘Panathenæa’

=Athenæum=, a place at Athens sacred to Minerva, where the poets,
philosophers, and rhetoricians generally declaimed and repeated
their compositions. It was public to all the professors of the
liberal arts. The same thing was adopted at Rome by Adrian, who made
a public building for the same laudable purposes.――――A promontory
of Italy.――――A fortified place between Ætolia and Macedonia. _Livy_,
bk. 38, ch. 1; bk. 39, ch. 25.

=Athenæus=, a Greek cosmographer.――――A peripatetic philosopher of
Cilicia in the time of Augustus. _Strabo._――――A Spartan sent by his
countrymen to Athens, to settle the peace during the Peloponnesian
war.――――A grammarian of Naucratis, who composed an elegant and
miscellaneous work, called ♦_Deipnosophistæ_, replete with very
curious and interesting remarks and anecdotes of the manners of the
ancients, and likewise valuable for the scattered pieces of ancient
poetry which it preserves. The work consists of 15 books, of which
the two first, part of the third, and almost the whole of the last,
are lost. Athenæus wrote, besides this, a history of Syria, and
other works now lost. He died A.D. 194. The best edition of his
works is that of Casaubon, folio, 2 vols., Lugdunum, 1612, by far
superior to the editions of 1595 and 1657.――――An historian, who
wrote an account of Semiramis. _Diodorus._――――A brother of king
Eumenes II., famous for his paternal affection.――――A Roman historian,
in the age of Gallienus, who is supposed to have written a book on
military engines.――――A physician of Cilicia in the age of Pliny, who
made heat, cold, wet, dry, and air the elements, instead of the four
commonly received.

♦ ‘Deipnosphistæ’ replaced with ‘Deipnosophistæ’

=Athenagŏras=, a Greek in the time of Darius, to whom Pharnabazus gave
the government of Chios, &c. _Curtius_, bk. 8, ch. 5.――――A writer
on agriculture. _Varro._――――A christian philosopher, in the age of
Aurelius, who wrote a treatise on the resurrection, and an apology
for the christians, still extant. He died A.D. 177. The best edition
of his works is that of Dechair, 8vo, Oxford, 1706. The romance of
Theagenes and Charis is falsely ascribed to him.

=Athenāis=, a Sibyl of Erythræa, in the age of Alexander. _Strabo._
――――A daughter of the philosopher Leontius.

=Athenion=, a peripatetic philosopher, 108 B.C.――――A general of the
Sicilian slaves.――――A tyrant of Athens, surnamed Ariston.

=Athenŏcles=, a general, &c. _Polyænus_, bk. 6.――――A turner of
Mitylene. _Pliny_, bk. 34.

=Athenodōrus=, a philosopher of Tarsus, intimate with Augustus. The
emperor often profited by his lessons, and was advised by him always
to repeat the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet before he gave way
to the impulse of anger. Athenodorus died in his 82nd year, much
lamented by his countrymen. _Suetonius._――――A poet who wrote comedy,
tragedy, and elegy, in the age of Alexander. _Plutarch_, _Alexander_.
――――A stoic philosopher of Cana, near Tarsus, in the age of Augustus.
He was intimate with Strabo. _Strabo_, bk. 14.――――A philosopher,
disciple to Zeno, and keeper of the royal library at Pergamus.――――A
marble sculptor.――――A man assassinated at Bactra for making himself
absolute.

=Atheos=, a surname of Diagoras and Theodorus, because they denied the
existence of a deity. _Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_, bk. 1, ch. 1.

=Athĕsis=, now _Adige_, a river of Cisalpine Gaul, near the Po, falling
into the Adriatic sea. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 9, li. 680.

=Athos=, a mountain of Macedonia, 150 miles in circumference,
projecting into the Ægean sea like a promontory. It is so high that
it overshadows the island of Lemnos, though at the distance of 87
miles; or, according to modern calculation, only 8 leagues. When
Xerxes invaded Greece, he made a trench of a mile and a half in
length at the foot of the mountain, into which he brought the sea
water, and conveyed his fleet over it, so that two ships could pass
one another, thus desirous either to avoid the danger of sailing
round the promontory, or to show his vanity and the extent of his
power. A sculptor, called Dinocrates, offered Alexander to cut mount
Athos, and to make with it a statue of the king holding a town in
his left hand, and in the right a spacious basin to receive all the
waters which flowed from it. Alexander greatly admired the plan,
but objected to the place; and he observed, that the neighbouring
country was not sufficiently fruitful to produce corn and provisions
for the inhabitants which were to dwell in the city, in the hand of
the statue. Athos is now called Monte Santo, famous for monasteries,
said to contain some ancient and valuable manuscripts. _Herodotus_,
bk. 6, ch. 44; bk. 7, ch. 21, &c.――_Lucan_, bk. 2, li. 672.――_Ælian_,
_de Natura Animalium_, bk. 13, ch. 20, &c.――_Pliny_, bk. 4, ch. 10.
――_Aeschines_, _Against Ctesiphon_.

=Athrulla=, a town of Arabia. _Strabo._

=Athymbra=, a city of Caria, afterwards called Nyssa. _Strabo_, bk. 14.

=Atia=, a city of Campania.――――A law enacted A.U.C. 690 by Titus Atius
Labienus, the tribune of the people. It abolished the Cornelian law,
and put in full force the Lex Domitia, by transferring the right of
electing priests from the college of priests to the people.――――The
mother of Augustus. _See:_ Accia.

=Atilia lex=, gave the pretor and a majority of the tribunes power
of appointing guardians to those minors who were not previously
provided for by their parents. It was enacted about A.U.C. 560.
――――Another, A.U.C. 443, which gave the people power of electing
20 tribunes of the soldiers in four legions. _Livy_, bk. 9, ch. 30.

=Atilius=, a freedman, who exhibited combats of gladiators at Fidenæ.
The amphitheatre, which contained the spectators, fell during
the exhibition, and about 50,000 persons were killed or mutilated.
_Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 4, ch. 62.

=Atilla=, the mother of the poet Lucan. She was accused of conspiracy
by her son, who expected to clear himself of the charge. _Tacitus_,
_Annals_, bk. 15, ch. 56.

=Atīna=, an ancient town of the Volsci, one of the first which began
hostilities against Æneas. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 630.

=Atinas=, a friend of Turnus, &c. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 11, li. 869.

=Atinia lex=, was enacted by the tribune Atinius. It gave a tribune of
the people the privileges of a senator, and the right of sitting in
the senate.

=Atlantes=, a people of Africa, in the neighbourhood of mount Atlas,
who lived chiefly on the fruits of the earth, and were said not to
have their sleep at all disturbed by dreams. They daily cursed the
sun at his rising and at his setting, because his excessive heat
scorched and tormented them. _Herodotus._

=Atlantiades=, a patronymic of Mercury as grandson of Atlas. _Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 1, li. 639.

=Atlantĭdes=, a people of Africa near mount Atlas. They boasted
of being in possession of the country in which all the gods of
antiquity received their birth. Uranus was their first king, whom,
on account of his knowledge in astronomy, they enrolled in the
number of their gods. _Diodorus_, bk. 3.――――The daughters of Atlas,
were seven in number, Maia, Electra, Taygeta, Asterope, Merope,
Alcyone, and Celæno. They married some of the gods, and most
illustrious heroes, and their children were founders of many nations
and cities. The Atlantides were called nymphs, and even goddesses,
on account of their great intelligence and knowledge. The name of
Hesperides was also given them, on account of their mother Hesperis.
They were made constellations after death. _See:_ Pleiades.

=Atlantis=, a celebrated island mentioned by the ancients. Its
situation is unknown, and even its existence is doubted by some
writers.