Chapter XVI: Preface: To the Original Edition (15)

=Bacchis=, or =Balus=, king of Corinth, succeeded his father Prumnides.
His successors were always called _Bacchidæ_, in remembrance of the
equity and moderation of his reign. The Bacchidæ increased so much,
that they chose one of their number to preside among them with regal
authority, and it is said that the sovereign power continued in
their hands near 200 years. Cypselus overturned this institution
by making himself absolute. _Strabo_, bk. 8.――_Pausanias_, bk. 2,
ch. 4.――_Herodotus_, bk. 5, ch. 92.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 5,
li. 407.

=Bacchium=, a small island in the Ægean sea, opposite Smyrna. _Pliny_,
bk. 5, ch. 3.

=Bacchius= and =Bithus=, two celebrated gladiators of equal age and
strength; whence the proverb to express equality: _Bithus contra
Bacchium_. _Suetonius_, _Augustus_.――_Horace_, bk. 1, satire 7,
li. 20.

=Bacchus=, was son of Jupiter and Semele the daughter of Cadmus. After
she had enjoyed the company of Jupiter, Semele was deceived, and
perished by the artifice of Juno. This goddess, always jealous of
her husband’s amours, assumed the shape of Beroe, Semele’s nurse,
and persuaded Semele that the lover whom she entertained was not
Jupiter, but a false lover, and that to prove his divinity she
ought to beg of him, if he really were Jupiter, to come to her bed
with the same majesty as when he courted the embraces of Juno. The
artifice succeeded, and when Jupiter promised his mistress whatever
she asked, Semele required him to visit her with all the divinity of
a god. Jupiter was unable to violate his oath, and Semele unwilling
to retract it; therefore, as she was a mortal, and unable to bear
the majesty of Jupiter, she was consumed and reduced to ashes. The
child, of which she had been pregnant for seven months, was with
difficulty saved from the flames, and put in his father’s thigh,
where he remained the full time which he naturally was to have been
in his mother’s womb. From this circumstance Bacchus has been called
_Bimater_. According to some, Dirce, a nymph of the Achelous, saved
him from the flames. There are different traditions concerning the
manner of his education. Ovid says that, after his birth, he was
brought up by his aunt Ino, and afterwards entrusted to the care
of the nymphs of Nysa. Lucian supposes that Mercury carried him, as
soon as born, to the nymphs of Nysa; and Apollonius says that he was
carried by Mercury to a nymph in the island of Eubœa, whence he was
driven by the power of Juno, who was the chief deity of the place.
Some support that Naxus can boast of the place of his education,
under the nymphs Philia, Coronis, and Clyda. Pausanias relates a
tradition which prevailed in the town of Brasiæ in Peloponnesus;
and accordingly mentions that Cadmus, as soon as he heard of his
daughter’s amours, shut her up, with her child lately born, in a
coffer, and exposed them on the sea. The coffer was carried safe
by the waves to the coast of Brasiæ; but Semele was found dead, and
the child alive. Semele was honoured with a magnificent funeral,
and Bacchus properly educated. This diversity of opinion shows that
there were many of the same name. Diodorus speaks of three, and
Cicero of a greater number; but among them all, the son of Jupiter
and Semele seems to have obtained the merit of the rest. Bacchus
is the Osiris of the Egyptians, and his history is drawn from the
Egyptian traditions concerning that ancient king. Bacchus assisted
the gods in their wars against the giants, and was cut to pieces;
but the son of Semele was not then born. This tradition, therefore,
is taken from the history of Osiris, who was killed by his brother
Typhon, and the worship of Osiris has been introduced by Orpheus
into Greece, under the name of Bacchus. In his youth he was taken
asleep in the island of Naxos, and carried away by some mariners
whom he changed into dolphins, except the pilot, who had expressed
some concern at his misfortune. His expedition into the east is
most celebrated. He marched, at the head of an army composed of men,
as well as of women, all inspired with divine fury, and armed with
thyrsi, cymbals, and other musical instruments. The leader was drawn
in a chariot by a lion and a tiger, and was accompanied by Pan and
Silenus, and all the Satyrs. His conquests were easy, and without
bloodshed: the people easily submitted, and gratefully elevated to
the rank of a god the hero who taught them the use of the vine, the
cultivation of the earth, and the manner of making honey. Amidst his
benevolence to mankind, he was relentless in punishing all want of
respect to his divinity; and the punishment he inflicted on Pentheus,
Agave, Lycurgus, &c., is well known. He has received the name of
Liber, Bromius, Lyæus, Evan, Thyonæus, Psilas, &c., which are mostly
derived from the places where he received adoration, or from the
ceremonies observed in his festivals. As he was the god of vintage,
of wine, and of drinkers, he is generally represented crowned with
vine and ivy leaves, with a thyrsus in his hand. His figure is
that of an effeminate young man, to denote the joys which commonly
prevail at feasts; and sometimes that of an old man, to teach us
that wine taken immoderately will enervate us, consume our health,
render us loquacious and childish like old men, and unable to
keep secrets. The panther is sacred to him, because he went in his
expedition covered with the skin of that beast. The magpie is also
his favourite bird, because in triumphs people were permitted to
speak with boldness and liberty. Bacchus is sometimes represented
like an infant, holding a thyrsus and clusters of grapes with a horn.
He often appears naked, and riding upon the shoulders of Pan, or in
the arms of Silenus, who was his foster-father. He also sits upon a
celestial globe, bespangled with stars, and is then the same as the
Sun or Osiris of Egypt. The festivals of Bacchus, generally called
Orgies, Bacchanalia, or Dionysia, were introduced into Greece from
Egypt by Danaus and his daughters. The infamous debaucheries which
arose from the celebration of these festivals are well known. _See:_
Dionysia. The amours of Bacchus are not numerous. He married Ariadne,
after she had been forsaken by Theseus in the island of Naxos;
and by her he had many children, among whom were Ceranus, Thoas,
Œnopion, Tauropolis, &c. According to some, he was the father of
Hymenæus, whom the Athenians made the god of marriage. The Egyptians
sacrificed pigs to him, before the doors of their houses. The fir
tree, the yew tree, the fig tree, the ivy, and the vine, were sacred
to him; and the goat was generally sacrificed to him, on account of
the great propensity of that animal to destroy the vine. According
to Pliny, he was the first who ever wore a crown. His beauty is
compared to that of Apollo, and, like him, he is represented with
fine hair loosely flowing down his shoulders, and he is said to
possess eternal youth. Sometimes he has horns, either because he
taught the cultivation of the earth with oxen, or because Jupiter
his father appeared to him in the deserts of Libya under the shape
of a ram, and supplied his thirsty army with water. Bacchus went
down to hell to recover his mother, whom Jupiter willingly made a
goddess, under the name of Thyone. The three persons of the name
of Bacchus, whom Diodorus mentions, are, the one who conquered the
Indies, and is surnamed the bearded Bacchus; a son of Jupiter and
Proserpine, who was represented with horns; and the son of Jupiter
and Semele, called the Bacchus of Thebes. Those mentioned by Cicero
are, a son of Proserpine; a son of Nisus, who built Nysa; a son of
Caprius, who reigned in the Indies; a son of Jupiter and the moon;
and a son of Thyone and Nisus. _Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_, bks.
2 & 3.――_Pausanias_, bk. 2, chs. 22, 37; bk. 3, ch. 24; bk. 5,
ch. 19, &c.――_Herodotus_, bk. 1, ch. 150; bk. 2, chs. 42, 48, 49.
――_Plutarch_, _De Iside et Osiride_.――_Diodorus_, bks. 1, 3, &c.
――_Orpheus_, _Dionysius_.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 9; bk. 3, ch. 4,
&c.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 3, fable 3, &c.――_Amores_, bk. 3,
poem 3.――_Fasti_, bk. 3, li. 715.――_Hyginus_, fables 155, 167, &c.
――_Pliny_, bk. 7, ch. 56; bk. 8, ch. 2; bk. 36, ch. 5.――_Homer_,
_Iliad_, bk. 6.――_Lactantius_, _de falsa religione_, bk. 1, ch. 22.
――_Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 2, &c.――_Euripides_, _Bacchæ_.――_Lucian_,
_de Sacrificiis_; _Bacchus_; _Dialogi Deorum_.――_Oppian_,
_Cynegetica_.――_Philostratus_, bk. 1, _Imagines_, ch. 50.――_Seneca_,
_Chorus of Œdipus_.――_Martial_, bk. 8, ltr. 26; bk. 14, ltr. 107.

=Bacchylides=, a lyric poet of Cos, nephew to Simonides, who, like
Pindar, wrote the praises of Hiero. Some of his verses have been
preserved. _Marcellinus._

=Bacenis=, a wood of Germany. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 6, ch. 10.

=Bacis=, a famous soothsayer of Bœotia. _Cicero_, bk. 1, _de
Divinatione_, ch. 34.――――A king of Corinth, called also Bacchis.
_See:_ Bacchis.――――An athlete of Trœzene. _Pausanias_, bk. 6.

=Bactra= (orum), now _Balk_, the capital of Bactriana, on the river
Bactros in Asia. _Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 2, li. 138.――_Strabo_,
bk. 2.

=Bactri= and =Bactriāni=, the inhabitants of Bactriana, who lived
upon plunder, and were always under arms. They gave to their dogs
those that died through old age or disease, and suffered slaves and
strangers to take whatever liberties they pleased with their wives.
They were conquered by Alexander the Great. _Curtius_, bk. 4, ch. 6,
&c.――_Pliny_, bk. 6, ch. 23.――_Plutarch_, _An vitiositas ad
infelicitatem sufficia_.――_Herodotus_, bks. 1 & 3.

=Bactriāna=, a country of Asia, fruitful as well as extensive. It
formed once part of the Persian empire, on the eastern parts of
which it is situated. Zoroaster was the most ancient king of this
country, who taught his subjects the art of magic and astrology.
_Diodorus_, bk. 2.――_Justin_, bk. 1, ch. 1.

=Bactros=, now _Dahesh_, a river on the borders of Asiatic Scythia,
from which Bactriana receives its name. _Lucan_, bk. 3, li. 267.

=Bacuntius=, a river of Pannonia, which falls into the Save above
Sirmium.

=Badaca=, a town of Media. _Diodorus_, bk. 19.

=Badia=, a town of Spain. _Valerius Maximus_, bk. 3, ch. 7.

=Badius=, a Campanian, who challenged Titus Quinctius Crispinus, one
of his friends, by whom he was killed. _Livy_, bk. 35, ch. 18.

=Baduhennæ=, a place in the country of the Frisii, where 900 Romans
were killed. _Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 4, ch. 73.

=Bæbia lex=, was enacted for the election of four pretors every other
year. _Livy_, bk. 40.――――Another law by Massa Bæbius a tribune
of the people, which forbade the division of the lands, whilst it
substituted a yearly tax to be paid by the possessors, and to be
divided among the people. _Appian_, bk. 1.

=Massa Bæbius=, a Roman, in whose consulship the tomb of Numa was
discovered. _Plutarch_, _Numa_.――_Valerius Maximus_, bk. 1, ch. 1.
――――Lucius, a Roman pretor, who, being surprised by the Ligurians,
fled to Marseilles, where he died three days after. _Livy_, bk. 37,
ch. 57.

=Bætis=, a river of Spain, from which a part of the country has
received the name of _Bætica_. It was formerly called Tartessus,
and now bears the name of Guadalquiver. The wool produced there was
so good that _Bætica_ was an epithet of merit, applied to garments.
_Martial_, bk. 12, ltr. 100.

=Bæton=, a Greek historian in the age of Alexander.

=Bagistame=, a delightful country of Media. _Diodorus_, bk. 17.

=Bagistanes=, a friend of Bessus, whom he abandoned when he murdered
Darius. _Curtius_, bk. 5, ch. 13.

=Bagōas= and =Bagōsas=, an Egyptian eunuch in the court of Artaxerxes
Ochus, so powerful that nothing could be done without his consent.
He led some troops against the Jews, and profaned their temple. He
poisoned Ochus, gave his flesh to cats, and made knife handles with
his bones, because he had killed the god Apis. He placed on the
throne Arses, the youngest of the slaughtered Prince’s children,
and afterwards put him to death. He was at last killed, B.C. 335, by
Darius, whom, after raising to the crown, he had attempted to poison.
_Diodorus_, bks. 16 & 17.――――Another, greatly esteemed by Alexander.
He was the cause that one of the satraps was put to death by the
most excruciating torments. _Curtius_, bk. 10, ch. 1.――_Plutarch_
in _Alexander_.――――The name of Bagoas occurs very frequently in
the Persian history; and it seems that most of the eunuchs of the
monarchs of Persia were generally known by that appellation.

=Bagodares=, a friend of Bessus, whom he abandoned when he attempted
the life of Darius. _Diodorus_, bk. 17.

=Bagophănes=, a governor of Babylon, who, when Alexander approached
the city, strewed all the streets and burned incense on the altars,
&c. _Curtius_, bk. 5, ch. 1.

=Bagrăda=, now _Megerda_, a river of Africa near Utica, where Regulus
killed a serpent 120 feet long. _Pliny_, bk. 8, ch. 14.

♦=Baiæ=, a city of Campania near the sea, founded by Baius, one of the
companions of Ulysses. It was famous for its delightful situation
and baths, where many of the Roman senators had country houses.
Its ancient grandeur, however, has now disappeared, and Baiæ, with
its magnificent villas, has yielded to the tremendous earthquakes
which afflict and convulse Italy, and it is no longer to be found.
_Martial_, bk. 14, ltr. 81.――_Horace_, bk. 1, ltr. 1.――_Strabo_,
bk. 5.

♦ ‘Balæ’ replaced with ‘Baiæ’

=Bala=, a surname of Alexander king of Syria. _Justin_, bk. 35, ch. 1.

=Balacrus=, an officer in Alexander’s army, who took Miletus.
_Curtius_, bk. 4, ch. 13.――――Another officer, who commanded some
auxiliaries. _Curtius_, bk. 4, ch. 5.

=Balanagræ=, a town of Cyrene. _Pausanias_, bk. 2, ch. 26.

=Balanea=, a town between Syria and Phœnicia. _Pliny_, bk. 5, ch. 20.

=Balanus=, a prince of Gaul, who assisted the Romans in their
Macedonian war, A.U.C. 581.――_Livy_, bk. 44, ch. 14.

=Balari=, a people of Sardinia. _Livy_, bk. 41, ch. 6.

=Claudius Balbillus=, a learned and benevolent man, governor of Egypt,
of which he wrote the history, under Nero. _Tacitus_, _Annals_,
bk. 13, ch. 22.

=Balbīnus=, an admirer of Agna, mentioned _Horace_, bk. 1, satire 3,
li. 40.――――A Roman who, after governing provinces with credit and
honour, assassinated the Gordians, and seized the purple. He was
some time after murdered by his ♦soldiers. A.D. 238.

♦ ‘soldier’ replaced with ‘soldiers’

=Balbus=, a mountain of Africa, famous for the retreat of Masinissa,
after he had fought a battle against Syphax.

=Lucius Balbus=, a lawyer, &c., one among the pupils of Scævola.――――A
man killed by the assassins of the triumvirs.

=Baleares=, three islands in the Mediterranean, modernly called
_Majorca_, _Minorca_, and _Yvica_, on the coast of Spain. The word
is derived from βαλλειν, _to throw_, because the inhabitants were
expert archers and slingers, besides great pirates. We are told by
Florus, that the mothers never gave their children breakfast before
they had struck with an arrow a certain mark in a tree. When a woman
was married, she was not admitted to her husband’s bed before she
had received the embraces of all her relations. The inhabitants
were naturally of a lascivious propensity, and in their wars they
required nothing but females and wine, and often exchanged four men
for one woman. _Strabo_, bk. 14.――_Florus_, bk. 3, ch. 8.――_Diodorus_,
bk. 5.

=Balētus=, a son of Hippo, who first founded Corinth. _Paterculus_
bk. 1, ch. 3.

=Balius=, a horse of Achilles. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 16, li. 146.

=Balista=, a mountain of Liguria. _Livy_, bk. 40, ch. 41.

=Ballonŏti=, a people of European Sarmatia. _Flaccus_, bk. 6, li. 160.

=Balneæ= (_baths_), were very numerous at Rome, private as well as
public. In the ancient times simplicity was observed; but in the age
of the emperors they became expensive; they were used after walking,
exercise, or labour, and were deemed more necessary than luxurious.
Under the emperors it became so fashionable to bathe, that without
this the meanest of the people seemed to be deprived of one of the
necessaries of life. There were certain hours of the day appointed
for bathing, and a small piece of money admitted the poorest,
as well as the most opulent. In the baths there were separate
apartments for the people to dress and to undress; and after they
had bathed, they commonly covered themselves, the hair was plucked
out of the skin, and the body rubbed over with a pumice stone, and
perfumed to render it smooth and fair. The Roman emperors generally
built baths, and all endeavoured to eclipse each other in the
magnificence of the building. It is said that ♦Diocletian employed
40,000 of his soldiers in building his baths; and when they were
finished, he destroyed all the workmen. Alexander Severus first
permitted the people to use them in the night, and he himself often
bathed with the common people. For some time both sexes bathed
promiscuously and without shame, and the edicts of the emperors
proved abortive for a while in abolishing that indecent custom,
which gradually destroyed the morals of the people. They generally
read in bathing, and we find many compositions written in the midst
of this luxurious enjoyment.

♦ ‘Dioclesian’ replaced with ‘Diocletian’ for consistency

=Balventius=, a centurion of great valour in Cæsar’s army, killed by
Ambiorix. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 5, ch. 35.

=Balyras=, a river of Peloponnesus. _Pausanias_, bk. 4, ch. 33.

=Bamurūæ=, a people of Libya. _Silius Italicus_, bk. 3, li. 303.

=Bantia=, now _St. Maria de Vanse_, a town of Apulia, whence
_Bantinus_. _Horace_, bk. 3, ode 4, li. 15.

=Lucius Bantius=, a gallant youth of Nola, whom Annibal found after
the battle of Cannæ, almost dead among the heaps of slain. He was
sent home with great humanity, upon which he resolved to betray his
country to so generous an enemy. Marcellus the Roman general heard
of it, and rebuked Bantius, who continued firm and faithful to the
interest of Rome. _Livy_, bk. 35, ch. 15.

=Baphy̆rus=, a river of Macedonia. _Livy_, bk. 44, ch. 6.

=Baptæ=, the priests of Cotytto, the goddess of lasciviousness and
debauchery at Athens. Her festivals were celebrated in the night;
and so infamous and obscene was the behaviour of the priests, that
they disgusted even Cotytto herself, though the goddess of obscenity.
The name is derived from βαπτειν, _to wash_, because the priests
bathed themselves in the most effeminate manner. _Juvenal_, satire 2,
li. 91.――――A comedy of Eupolis, on which men are introduced dancing
on the stage, with all the indecent gestures of common prostitutes.

=Baræi=, a people of Cholcis and Iberia, who burnt the bodies of their
friends who died by disease, but gave to the fowls of the air such
as fell in war. _Ælian_, _de Natura Animalium_, bk. 10, ch. 22.

=Barăthrum=, a deep and obscure gulf at Athens, where criminals were
thrown.――――The word is applied to the infernal regions by _Valerius
Flaccus_, bk. 2, lis. 86 & 192.

=Barbări=, a name originally applied to those who spoke inelegantly,
or with harshness and difficulty. The Greeks and Romans generally
called all nations, except their own, by the despicable name of
Barbarians.

=Barbăria=, a river of Macedonia. _Livy_, bk. 44, ch. 31.――――A name
given to Phrygia and Troy. _Horace_, bk. 1, ltr. 2, li. 7.

=Barbătus=, the surname of a Roman family. _Suetonius_, _Claudius_,
ch. 21.

=Barbosthĕnes=, a mountain of Peloponnesus, 10 miles from Sparta.
_Livy_, bk. 35, ch. 27.

=Barbythăce=, a city of Persia. _Pliny_, bk. 6, ch. 27.

=Barca=, a friend of Cato the elder. _Plutarch_, _Cato the Younger_.

=Barcæi=, or =Barcitæ=, a warlike nation of Africa, near the city of
Carthage. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 4, li. 43.

=Barce=, the nurse of Sichæus. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 4, li. 632.――――A
large country of Africa.――――Also a city about nine miles from the
sea, founded by the brothers of Arcesilaus king of Cyrene, 515 years
before the christian era. Strabo says, that in his age it was called
Ptolemais; but this arises because most of the inhabitants retired
to Ptolemais, which was on the sea coast, to enrich themselves by
commerce. _Strabo_, bk. 17.――_Ptolemy_, bk. 4, ch. 4.――――A small
village of Bactriana, where the people who had been taken prisoners
by Darius in Africa, were confined. _Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch. 204.
――――A city of Media. _Justin_, bk. 1, ch. 7.

=Barcha=, the surname of a noble family at Carthage, from which Annibal
and Hamilcar were descended. By means of their bribes and influence,
they excited a great faction, which is celebrated in the annals of
Carthage by the name of the _Barchinian faction_, and at last raised
themselves to power, and to the independent disposal of all the
offices of trust or emolument in the state. _Livy_, bk. 21, chs. 2
& 9.

=Bardæi=, a people of Illyricum concerned in the factions of Marius.
_Plutarch_, _Marius_.

=Bardi=, a celebrated sacerdotal order among the ancient Gauls, who
praised their heroes, and published their fame in their verses, or
on musical instruments. They were so esteemed and respected by the
people, that, at their sight, two armies which were engaged in
battle laid down their arms, and submitted to their orders. They
censured, as well as commended, the behaviour of the people. _Lucan_,
bk. 1, li. 447.――_Strabo_, bk. 4.――_Marcellinus_, bk. 15, ch. 24.

=Bardyllis=, an Illyrian prince, whose daughter Bircenna married king
Pyrrhus. _Plutarch_, _Pyrrhus_.

=Bareas Soranus=, a youth killed by his tutor Egnatius, a Stoic
philosopher. _Juvenal_, satire 3, li. 116.

=Bares=, a naval officer of Persia, who wished to destroy Cyrene, but
was opposed by Amasis. _Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch. 203.

=Bargusii=, a people of Spain, at the east of the Iberus. _Livy_,
bk. 21, ch. 19.

=Bargyliæ=, a town of Caria.

=Barīne=, a prostitute whom _Horace_ accuses of perjury. Bk. 2, ode 8.

=Barisses=, one of the seven conspirators against the usurper Smerdis.
_Ctesias._

=Barium=, a town of Apulia, on the Adriatic, now called Bari, and
remarkable for its fine fish. _Horace_, bk. 1, satire 5, li. 97.

=Barnuus=, a town of Macedonia near Heraclea. _Strabo_, bk. 7.

=Barrus=, a man ridiculed by Horace as proud of his beauty. _Horace_,
bk. 1, satire 6, li. 30.

=Barsīne= and =Barsēne=, a daughter of Darius, who married Alexander,
by whom she had a son called Hercules. Cassander ordered her and her
child to be put to death. _Justin_, bk. 13, ch. 2; bk. 15, ch. 2.
――_Arrian._

=Barzaentes=, a satrap who revolted from Alexander, &c. _Curtius_,
bk. 8, ch. 13.

=Barzanes=, a king of Armenia, tributary to Ninus. _Diodorus_, bk. 2.

=Basilēa=, a daughter of Cœlus and Terra, who was mother of all the
gods. _Diodorus_, bk. 3.――――An island at the north of Gaul, famous
for its amber. _Diodorus_, bk. 5.――――An island in the Euxine sea.
_Pliny_, bk. 4, ch. 13.

=Basilīdæ=, European Sarmatians, descended from Hercules and Echidna.
_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 1.

=Basilīdes=, the father of Herodotus, who, with others, attempted to
destroy Strattes tyrant of Chios. _Herodotus_, bk. 8, ch. 132.――――A
family who held an oligarchical power at Erythræ. _Strabo_, bk. 14.
――――A priest of mount Carmel, who foretold many momentous events to
Vespasian, when he offered sacrifices. _Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 2,
ch. 87.――_Suetonius_, _Vespasian_, ch. 7.

=Basilĭpŏtămos=, the ancient name of the Eurotas. _Strabo_, bk. 6.

=Basĭlis=, an historian who wrote concerning India. _Athenæus._――――A
city of Arcadia, built by Cypselus, near the river Alpheus.
_Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 29.

=Basilius=, a river of Mesopotamia falling into the Euphrates.
_Strabo._――――A celebrated bishop of Africa, very animated against
the Arians, whose tenets and doctrines he refuted with warmth, but
great ability. He was eloquent as well as ingenious, and possessed
of all those abilities which constitute the persuasive orator and
the elegant writer. Erasmus has placed him in the number of the
greatest orators of antiquity. He died in his 51st year, A.D. 379.
The latest edition of his works is that of the Benedictines, folio,
Paris, 1721.

=Basĭlus=, a general who assisted Antony. _Lucan_, bk. 4, li. 416.
――――An insignificant lawyer. _Juvenal_, satire 7, li. 146.――――A
pretor who plundered the provinces. _Juvenal_, satire 10, li. 222.

=Bassæ=, a place of Arcadia, where Apollo had a temple. _Pausanias_,
bk. 8, chs. 30 & 41.

=Bassania=, a town of Macedonia near Illyricum. _Livy_, bk. 44, ch. 30.

=Bassăreus=, a surname of Bacchus, from the dress or long robe, called
_Bassaris_, which his priests wore. _Horace_, bk. 1, ode 18.

=Bassărĭdes=, a name given to the votaries of Bacchus, and to Agave by
Persius, which seems derived from _Bassara_, a town of Libya sacred
to the god, or from a particular dress worn by his priestesses, and
so called by the Thracians. _Persius_, bk. 1, li. 101.

=Bassus Aufidius=, an historian in the age of Augustus, who wrote on
the Germanic war. _Quintilian_, bk. 10, ch. 1.――――Cæsius, a lyric
poet in Nero’s age, to whom Persius addressed his sixth satire.
Some of his verses are extant.――――Julius, an orator in the reign of
Augustus, some of whose orations have been preserved by Seneca.――――A
man spoken of by _Horace_, bk. 1, ode 36, li. 14, and described as
fond of wine and women.

=Bastarnæ= and =Basternæ=, a people of European Sarmatia, destroyed
by a sudden storm as they pursued the Thracians. _Livy_, bk. 40,
ch. 58.――_Ovid_, _Tristia_, bk. 2, li. 198.――_Strabo_, bk. 7.

=Bastia=, the wife of Metellus. _Livy_, fragment, bk. 89.

=Bata=, a seaport of Asia, on the Euxine, opposite Sinope. _Strabo_,
bk. 6.

=Batāvi=, a people of Germany who inhabited that part of the continent
known under the modern name of Holland, and called by the ancients,
_Batavorum insula_. _Livy_, bk. 4, ch. 15.――_Lucan_, bk. 1, li. 431.

=Bathos=, a river near the Alpheus. _Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 29.

=Bathycles=, a celebrated artist of Magnesia. _Pausanias_, bk. 3,
ch. 19.

=Bathyllus=, a beautiful youth of Samos, greatly beloved by Polycrates
the tyrant, and by Anacreon. _Horace_, epode 14, li. 9.――――Mecænas
was also fond of a youth of Alexandria, of the same name. _Juvenal_,
satire 6, li. 63.――――The poet who claimed as his own Virgil’s
distich, _Nocte pluit totâ_, &c., bore also the same name.――――A
fountain of Arcadia. _Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 31.

=Lentulus Batiātus=, a man of Campania, who kept a house full of
gladiators who rebelled against him. _Plutarch_, _Crassus_.

=Batīa=, a naiad who married Œbalus. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 10.
――――A daughter of Teucer, who married Dardanus. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3,
ch. 10.

=Batīna= and =Bantīna=. _See:_ Bantia.

=Bātis=, a eunuch, governor of Gaza, who, upon being unwilling to
yield, was dragged round the city tied by the heels to Alexander’s
chariot. _Curtius_, bk. 4, ch. 6.

=Bato=, a Dardanian, who revolted to Rome from king Philip. _Livy_,
bk. 31, ch. 28.

=Baton= of Sinope, wrote commentaries on the Persian affairs. _Strabo_,
bk. 12.――――A charioteer of Amphiaraus. _Pausanias_, bk. 5, ch. 17.

=Batrachomyomachia=, a poem, describing the _fight_ between _frogs_
and _mice_, written by Homer, which has been printed sometimes
separately from the Iliad or Odyssey. The best edition of it is
Maittaire’s, 8vo, London, 1721.

=Battiădes=, a patronymic of Callimachus, from his father Battus.
_Ovid_, _Ibis_, li. 53.――――A name given to the people of Cyrene from
king Battus. _Silius Italicus_, bk. 3, li. 253.

=Battis=, a girl, celebrated by Philetus the elegiac poet. _Ovid_,
_Tristia_, bk. 1, poem 5.

=Battus I.=, a Lacedæmonian who built the town of Cyrene, B.C. 630,
with a colony from the island of Thera. He was son of Polymnestus
and Phronime, and reigned in the town he had founded, and after
death received divine honours. The difficulty with which he spoke
first procured him the name of Battus. _Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch.
155, &c.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10, ch. 15.――――The second of that name
was grandson to Battus I. by Arcesilaus. He succeeded his father
on the throne of Cyrene, and was surnamed _Felix_, and died 554
B.C. _Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch. 159, &c.――――A shepherd of Pylos, who
promised Mercury that he would not discover his having stolen the
flocks of Admetus, which Apollo tended. He violated his promise,
and was turned into a pumice stone. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 2,
li. 702.――――A general of Corinth against Athens. _Thucydides_, bk. 4,
ch. 43.――――A buffoon of Caesar’s. _Plutarch_, _Convivium Septem
Sapientium_, ch. 6.

=Batŭlum=, a town of Campania, whose inhabitants assisted Turnus
against Æneas. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 739.

=Batŭlus=, a surname of Demosthenes, from his effeminacy when young.
_Plutarch_, _Demosthenes_.

=Batyllus=, a celebrated dancer in Domitian’s reign. _Juvenal_,
satire 6, li. 63.

=Baubo=, a woman who received Ceres when she sought her daughter all
over the world, and gave her some water to quench her thirst. _Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 5, fable 7.

=Baucis=, an old woman of Phrygia, who, with her husband Philemon,
lived in a small cottage, in a penurious manner, when Jupiter
and Mercury travelled in disguise over Asia. The gods came to
the cottage, where they received the best things it afforded; and
Jupiter was so pleased with their hospitality, that he metamorphosed
their dwelling into a magnificent temple, of which Baucis and her
husband were made priests. After they had lived happy to an extreme
old age, they died both at the same hour, according to their request
to Jupiter, that one might not have the sorrow of following the
other to the grave. Their bodies were changed into trees before the
doors of the temple. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 8, li. 631, &c.

=Bavius= and =Mævius=, two stupid and malevolent poets in the age
of Augustus, who attacked the superior talents of the contemporary
writers. _Virgil_, _Eclogues_, poem 3.

=Bauli=, a small town of Latium near Baiæ. _Silius Italicus_, bk. 12,
li. 155.

=Bazaentes=, a friend of Bessus, &c.

=Bazaria=, a country of Asia. _Curtius_, bk. 8, ch. 1.

=Bebius=, a famous informer in Vespasian’s reign. _Juvenal_, satire 1,
li. 35. _See:_ Bæbius.

=Bebriăcum=, now _Caneto_, a village between Cremona and Verona, where
Vitellius overcame Otho. _Juvenal_, satire 2, li. 106.――_Tacitus_,
_Histories_, bk. 3, ch. 15.

=Bebry̆ce=, a daughter of Danaus, who is said to have spared her
husband. Most authors, however, attribute that character of humanity
to Hypermnestra. _See:_ Danaides.

=Bebry̆ces= and =Bebry̆cii=, a nation of Asia near Pontus, of Thracian
origin, and, according to Arrian, descended from Bebryce. They
were expert in the battle of the cestus. The Argonauts touched on
their coasts in their expedition to Colchis. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1.
――_Strabo_, bks. 7 & 12.

=Bebry̆cia=, an ancient name of Bithynia, from Bebryce the daughter of
Danaus. _Strabo_, bk. 13.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 5, li. 373.

=Belemīna=, a town of Laconia. _Pausanias_, bk. 3, ch. 21.

=Belēnus=, a divinity of the Gauls, the same as the Apollo of the
Greeks, and the Orus of the Ægyptians.

=Belephantes=, a Chaldean, who, from his knowledge of astronomy, told
Alexander that his entering Babylon would be attended with fatal
consequences to him. _Diodorus_, bk. 17.

=Belĕsis=, priest of Babylon, who told Arbaces governor of Media
that he should reign one day in the place of Sardanapalus. His
prophecy was verified, and he was rewarded by the new king with the
government of Babylon, B.C. 826. _Diodorus_, bk. 2.

=Belgæ=, a warlike people of ancient Gaul, separated from the Celtæ by
the rivers Matrona and Sequana. Their country, according to Strabo,
extended from the Rhine to the river modernly called the Loire.
_Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bks. 1 & 2.

=Belgĭca=, one of the four provinces of Gaul near the Rhine.

=Belgium=, the capital of Gallia Belgica. The word is often used to
express the whole country. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 5, ch. 24.

=Belgius=, a general of Gaul, who destroyed an army of Macedonians.
_Justin_, bk. 23, ch. 2.――_Polybius_, bk. 2.

=Belĭdes=, a surname given to the daughters of Belus. _Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 4, li. 463.

=Belīdes=, a name applied to Palamedes, as descended from Belus.
_Virgil_, _Æneid_ bk. 2, li. 82.

=Belisama=, the name of Minerva among the Gauls, signifying _queen of
heaven_. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 6.

=Belisarius=, a celebrated general, who, in a degenerate and an
effeminate age, in the reign of Justinian emperor of Constantinople,
renewed all the glorious victories, battles, and triumphs which
had rendered the first Romans so distinguished in the time of their
republic. He died after a life of military glory, and the trial of
royal ingratitude, in the 565th year of the christian era. The story
of his begging charity, with _date obolum Belisario_, is said to be
a fabrication of modern times.

=Belistīda=, a woman who obtained a prize at Olympia. _Pausanias_,
bk. 5, ch. 8.

=Belitæ=, a nation of Asia. _Curtius_, bk. 4, ch. 12.

=Bellerŏphon=, a son of Glaucus king of Ephyre by Eurymede, was at
first called Hipponous. The murder of his brother, whom some call
Alcimenus or Beller, procured him the name of Bellerophon, or
_murderer of Beller_. After this murder, Bellerophon fled to the
court of Prœtus king of Argos. As he was of a handsome appearance,
the king’s wife, called Antæa or Stenobœa, fell in love with him;
and as he slighted her passion, she accused him before her husband
of attempts upon her virtue. Prœtus, unwilling to violate the
laws of hospitality by punishing Bellerophon, sent him away to
his father-in-law Jobates king of Lycia, and gave him a letter,
in which he begged the king to punish with death a man who had so
dishonourably treated his daughter. From that circumstance, all
letters which are of an unfavourable tendency to the bearer have
been called _letters of Bellerophon_. Jobates, to satisfy his
son-in-law, sent Bellerophon to conquer a horrible monster called
Chimæra, in which dangerous expedition he hoped, and was even
assured, he must perish. _See:_ Chimæra. But the providence of
Minerva supported him, and, with the aid of the winged horse
Pegasus, he conquered the monster, and returned victorious. After
this Jobates sent him against the Solymi, in hopes of seeing him
destroyed; but he obtained another victory, and conquered afterwards
the Amazons, by the king’s order. At his return from this third
expedition, he was attacked by a party sent against him by Jobates;
but he destroyed all his assassins, and convinced the king that
innocence is always protected by the gods. Upon this, Jobates no
longer sought to destroy his life; but he gave him his daughter
in marriage, and made him his successor on the throne of Lycia,
as he was without male issue. Some authors have supported that he
attempted to fly to heaven upon the horse Pegasus, but that Jupiter
sent an insect which stung the horse, and threw down the rider who
wandered upon the earth in the greatest melancholy and dejection
till the day of his death, one generation before the Trojan war.
Bellerophon had two sons, Isander, who was killed in his war against
the Solymi, and Hippolochus, who succeeded to the throne after his
death, besides one daughter called Hippodamia, who had Sarpedon by
Jupiter. The wife of Bellerophon is called Philonoe by Apollodorus,
and Achemone by Homer. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 6, li. 156, &c.
――_Juvenal_, satire 10.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 2, ch. 3; bk. 3, ch. 1.
――_Hyginus_, fables 157 & 243; _Poeticon Astronomicon_, bk. 2,
ch. 18.――_Hesiod_, _Theogony_, li. 325.――_Horace_, bk. 4, ode 11,
li. 26.――_Pausanias_, bk. 9, ch. 31.

=Bellĕrus= and =Beller=, a brother of Hipponous. _See:_ Bellerophon.

=Belliēnus=, a Roman whose house was set on flames at Cæsar’s funeral.
_Cicero_, _Philippics_, bk. 2, ch. 36.

=Bellōna=, the goddess of war, daughter to Phorcys and Ceto, was
called by the Greeks _Enyo_, and often confounded with Minerva.
She was anciently called _Duelliona_, and was the sister of Mars,
or, according to others, his daughter or his wife. She prepared
the chariot of Mars when he was going to war; and she appeared
in battles armed with a whip to animate the combatants, with
dishevelled hair, and a torch in her hand. The Romans paid great
adoration to her; but she was held in the greatest veneration by
the Cappadocians, and chiefly at Comana, where she had about 3000
priests. Her temple at Rome was near the Porta Carmentalis. In it
the senators gave audience to foreign ambassadors, and to generals
returned from war. At the gate was a small column called the _column
of war_, against which they threw a spear whenever war was declared
against an enemy. The priests of this goddess consecrated themselves
by great incisions in their body, and particularly in the thigh, of
which they received the blood in their hands to offer as a sacrifice
to the goddess. In their wild enthusiasm they often predicted
bloodshed and wars, the defeat of enemies, or the besieging of
towns. _Juvenal_, satire 4, li. 124.――_Varro_, _de Lingua Latina_,
bk. 5.――_Hesiod_, _Theogony_, li. 270.――_Pausanias_, bk. 4, ch. 30.
――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 8, li. 703.――_Statius_, _Thebiad_, bk. 2,
li. 718; bk. 7, li. 73.――_Silius Italicus_, bk. 5, li. 221.

=Bellōnarii=, the priests of Bellona.

=Bellovăci=, a people of Gaul conquered by Julius Cæsar. They inhabited
the modern Beauvais in the isle of France. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_,
bk. 2, ch. 4.

=Bellovēsus=, a king of the Celtæ, who, in the reign of Tarquin
Priscus, was sent at the head of a colony to Italy by his uncle
Ambigatus. _Livy_, bk. 5, ch. 34.

=Belon=, a general of Alexander’s. _Curtius_, bk. 6, ch. 11.――――A city
and river of Hispania Bætica. _Strabo_, bk. 3.

=Belus=, one of the most ancient kings of Babylon, about 1800 years
before the age of Semiramis, was made a god after death, and
worshipped with much ceremony by the Assyrians and Babylonians.
He was supposed to be the son of the Osiris of the Egyptians. The
temple of Belus was the most ancient and most magnificent in the
world. It was originally the tower of Babel, which was converted
into a temple. It had lofty towers, and it was enriched by all
the succeeding monarchs till the age of Xerxes, who, after his
unfortunate expedition against Greece, plundered and demolished it.
Among the riches it contained, were many statues of massive gold,
one of which was 40 feet high. In the highest of the towers was a
magnificent bed, where the priests daily conducted a woman, who,
as they said, was honoured with the company of the god. _Josephus_,
_Antiquities of the Jews_, bk. 10.――_Herodotus_, bk. 1, ch. 181,
&c.――_Strabo_, bk. 16.――_Arrian_, bk. 7.――_Diodorus_, bk. 1, &c.
――――A king of Egypt, son of Epaphus and Libya, and father of Agenor.
――――Another, son of Phœnix the son of Agenor, who reigned in
Phœnicia.――――A river of Syria, where the making of glass was first
invented. _Pliny_, bk. 5, ch. 19.

=Benācus=, a lake of Italy, now _Lago di Garda_, from which the
Mincius flows into the Po. _Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 2, li. 160;
_Æneid_, bk. 10, li. 205.

=Bendidium=, a temple of Diana Bendis. _Livy_, bk. 38, ch. 41.

=Bendis=, a name of Diana among the Thracians and their northern
neighbours. _Strabo_, bk. 9. Her festivals, called _Bendidia_, were
introduced from Thrace into Athens.

=Beneventum=, a town of the Hirpini, built by Diomedes, 28 miles from
Capua. Its original name was _Maleventum_, changed into the more
auspicious word of _Beneventum_, when the Romans had a colony there.
It abounds in remains of ancient sculpture above any other town in
Italy. _Pliny_, bk. 3, ch. 11.

=Benthesicyme=, a daughter of Neptune the nurse of Eumolpus.
_Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 15.

=Bepolitānus=, a youth whose life was saved by the delay of the
executioner, who wished not to stain the youth’s fine clothes with
blood. _Plutarch_, _Mulierum virtutes_.

=Berbicæ=, a nation who destroyed their relations when arrived at a
certain age. _Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 4, ch. 1.

=Beræa=, a town of Syria, 90 miles from the sea, and 100 from the
Euphrates, now called Aleppo.

=Berecynthia=, a surname of Cybele, from mount Berecynthus in Phrygia,
where she was particularly worshipped. She has been celebrated in a
poem by Catullus. _Diodorus_, bk. 5.――_Statius_, _Thebiad_, bk. 4,
li. 782.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 9, li. 82.

=Berenīce= and =Beronice=, a woman famous for her beauty, mother of
Ptolemy Philadelphus by Lagus. _Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 14,
ch. 43.――_Theocritus._――_Pausanias_, bk. 1, ch. 7.――――A daughter
of Philadelphus, who married Antiochus king of Syria, after he had
divorced Laodice his former wife. After the death of Philadelphus,
Laodice was recalled, and mindful of the treatment which she had
received, she poisoned her husband, placed her son on the vacant
throne, and murdered Berenice and her child at Antioch, where she
had fled, B.C. 248.――――A daughter of Ptolemy Auletes, who usurped
her father’s throne for some time, strangled her husband Seleucus,
and married Archelaus, a priest of Bellona. Her father regained his
power, and put her to death B.C. 55.――――The wife of Mithridates,
who, when conquered by Lucullus, ordered all his wives to destroy
themselves, for fear the conqueror should offer violence to them.
She accordingly drank poison, but this not operating soon enough,
she was strangled by a eunuch.――――The mother of Agrippa, who
shines in the history of the Jews as daughter-in-law of Herod the
Great.――――A daughter of Agrippa, who married her uncle Herod, and
afterwards Polemon king of Cilicia. She was accused by Juvenal of
committing incest with her brother Agrippa. It is said that she was
passionately loved by Titus, who would have made her empress but for
fear of the people.――――A wife of king Attalus.――――Another, daughter
of Philadelphus and Arsinoe, who married her own brother Evergetes,
whom she loved with much tenderness. When he went on a dangerous
expedition, she vowed all the hair of her head to the goddess
Venus, if he returned. Some time after his victorious return, the
locks which were in the temple of Venus disappeared; and Conon, an
astronomer, to make his court to the queen, publicly reported that
Jupiter had carried them away, and had made them a constellation.
She was put to death by her son, B.C. 221. _Catullus_, poem 67.
――_Hyginus_, _Poeticon Astronomicon_, bk. 2, ch. 24.――_Justin_,
bk. 26, ch. 3.――――This name is common to many of the queens and
princesses in the Ptolemean family in Egypt.――――A city of Libya.
_Strabo._――_Mela_, bk. 3, ch. 8.――――Two towns of Arabia. _Strabo_,
bk. 16.――――One in Egypt on the Red sea, where the ships from India
generally landed their cargoes. _Pliny_, bk. 6, ch. 23.――――Another
near the Syrtes, &c. _Pliny_, bk. 17.

=Berenīcis=, a part of Africa near the town of Berenice. _Lucan_,
bk. 9, li. 523.

=Bergion= and =Albion=, two giants, sons of Neptune, who opposed
Hercules as he attempted to cross the Rhone, and were killed with
stones from heaven. _Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 5.

=Bergistăni=, a people of Spain, at the east of the Iberus. _Livy_,
bk. 34, ch. 16.

=Beris= and =Baris=, a river of Cappadocia.――――A mountain of Armenia.

=Bermius=, a mountain of Macedonia. _Herodotus_, bk. 8, ch. 138.

=Beroe=, an old woman of Epidaurus, nurse to Semele. Juno assumed
her shape when she persuaded Semele not to grant her favours to
Jupiter, if he did not appear in the majesty of a god. _Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 3, li. 278.――――The wife of Doryclus, whose form
was assumed by Iris at the instigation of Juno, when she advised the
Trojan women to burn the fleet of Æneas in Sicily. _Virgil_, _Æneid_,
bk. 5, li. 620.――――One of the Oceanides, attendant upon Cyrene.
_Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 4, li. 341.

=Berœa=, a town of Thessaly. _Cicero_, _Piso_, ch. 36.

=Beronīce.= _See:_ Berenice.

=Berōsus=, a native of Babylon, priest to Belus. He passed into Greece,
and remained a long time at Athens. He composed a history of Chaldæa,
and signalized himself by his astronomical predictions, and was
rewarded for his learning with a statue in the gymnasium at Athens.
The age in which he lived is not precisely known, though some fix
it in the reign of Alexander, or 268 years B.C. Some fragments of
his Chaldæan history are preserved by Josephus, _Against Appion_ &
_Antiquities of the Jews_, bk. 105. The book that is now extant
under his name, and speaks of kings that never existed, is a
supposititious fabrication.

=Berrhœa=, a town of Macedonia. _Thucydides_, bk. 1, ch. 61.

=Bery̆tus=, now _Berut_, an ancient town of Phœnicia, on the coast of
the Mediterranean, famous in the age of Justinian for the study of
law. _Pliny_, bk. 5, ch. 20.

=Besa=, a fountain in Thessaly. _Strabo_, bk. 8.

=Besidlæ=, a town of the Brutii. _Livy_, bk. 30, ch. 19.

=Besippo=, a town of Hispania Bætica, where Mela was born. _Mela_,
bk. 2, ch. 6.

=Bessi=, a people of Thrace, on the left side of the Strymon, who
lived upon rapine. _Ovid_, _Tristia_, bk. 4, poem 1, li. 67.
――_Herodotus_, bk. 7, ch. 111.

=Bessus=, a governor of Bactriana, who, after the battle of Arbela,
seized Darius his sovereign and put him to death. After this murder,
he assumed the title of king, and was some time after brought before
Alexander, who gave him to Oxatres the brother of Darius. The prince
ordered his hands and ears to be cut off, and his body to be exposed
on a cross, and shot at by the soldiers. _Justin_, bk. 12, ch. 5.
――_Curtius_, bks. 6 & 7.――――A parricide who discovered the murder
he had committed, upon observing a nest of swallows, which, as he
observed, reproached him with his crime. _Plutarch._

=Lucius Bestia=, a seditious Roman, who conspired with Catiline against
his country. _Cicero_, bk. 2, _Philippics_.

=Betis=, a river in Spain, _See:_ Bætis.――――A governor of Gaza, who
bravely defended himself against Alexander, for which he was treated
with cruelty by the conqueror.

=Beturia=, a country in Spain.

=Bia=, a daughter of Pallas by Styx. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 2.

=Biānor=, a son of Tiberius and Manto the daughter of Tiresias, who
received the surname of Ocnus, and reigned over Etruria. He built
a town which he called Mantua, after his mother’s name. His tomb
was seen in the age of Virgil on the road between Mantua and Andes.
_Virgil_, _Eclogues_, poem 9, li. 60.――――A Trojan chief killed by
Agamemnon. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 11, li. 92.――――A centaur killed by
Theseus. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 12, li. 342.

=Bias=, son of Amythaon and Idomene, was king of Argos, and brother
to the famous soothsayer Melampus. He fell in love with Perone,
daughter of Neleus king of Pylos; but the father refused to give
his daughter in marriage before he received the oxen of Iphiclus.
Melampus, at his brother’s request, went to seize the oxen, and
was caught in the act. He, however, in one year after received his
liberty from Iphiclus who presented him with his oxen as a reward
for his great services. Bias received the oxen from his brother,
and obliged Neleus to give him his daughter in marriage. _Homer_,
_Odyssey_, bk. 11.――_Pausanias_, bk. 2, chs. 6 & 18; bk. 4, ch. 34.
――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 9.――――A Grecian prince, who went to
the Trojan war. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 4, lis. 13 & 20.――――A river
of Peloponnesus. _Pausanias_, bk. 4, ch. 34.――――One of the seven
wise men of Greece, son of Teutamidas, born at Priene, which he
long saved from ruin. He flourished B.C. 566, and died in the
arms of his grandson, who begged a favour of him for one of his
friends. _Diogenes Laërtius_, bk. 1.――_Plutarch_, _Convivium Septem
Sapientium_.――_Valerius Maximus_, bk. 7, ch. 2.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10,
ch. 24.

=Bibācŭlus Marcus Furius=, a Latin poet in the age of Cicero. He
composed annals in iambic verses, and wrote epigrams full of wit
and humour, and other poems now lost. _Horace_, bk. 2, satire 5,
li. 41.――_Quintilian_, bk. 10.――――A pretor, &c. _Valerius Maximus_,
bk. 1, ch. 1.

=Biblia= and =Billia=, a Roman lady famous for her chastity. She
married Duillius.

=Biblis=, a woman who became enamoured of her brother Caunus, and was
changed into a fountain near Miletus. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 9,
li. 662.

=Biblina=, a country of Thrace.

=Biblus=, a city of Phœnicia. _Curtius_, bk. 4.

=Bibracte=, a large town of the Ædui in Gaul, where Cæsar often
wintered. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 7, ch. 55, &c.

=Bibŭlus=, a son of Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus by Portia, Cato’s
daughter. He was Cæsar’s colleague in the consulship, but of no
consequence in the state, according to this distich mentioned by
_Suetonius_, _Julius Cæsar_, ch. 20:

_Non Bibulo quicquam nuper, sed Cæsare factum est;
Nam Bibulo fieri consule nil memini._

――――One of the friends of Horace bore that name. Bk. 1, satire 10,
li. 86.

=Bices=, a marsh near the Palus Mœotis. _Flaccus_, bk. 6, li. 68.

=Bicon=, a Greek who assassinated Athenodorus, because he made himself
master of a colony which Alexander had left at Bactra. _Curtius_,
bk. 9, ch. 7.

=Bicornĭger=, a surname of Bacchus.

=Bicornis=, the name of Alexander among the Arabians.

=Biformīs= (_two forms_), a surname of Bacchus and of Janus. Bacchus
received it because he changed himself into an old woman to fly
from the persecution of Juno; or perhaps because he was represented
sometimes as a young, and sometimes as an old, man.

=Bifrons=, a surname of Janus, because he was represented with _two
faces_ among the Romans, as acquainted with the past and future.
_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 180.

=Bilbĭlis=, a town of Celtiberia, where Martial was born. _Martial_,
bk. 1, ltr. 50.――――A river of Spain. _Justin_, bk. 44, ch. 3.

=Bimāter=, a surname of Bacchus, which signifies that he had _two
mothers_, because, when he was taken from his mother’s womb, he was
placed in the thigh of his father Jupiter. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_,
bk. 4, li. 12.

=Bingium=, a town of Germany. _Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 4, ch. 70.

=Bion=, a philosopher and sophist of Borysthenes in Scythia, who
rendered himself famous for his knowledge of poetry, music, and
philosophy. He made everybody the object of his satire, and rendered
his compositions distinguished for clearness of expression, for
facetiousness, wit, and pleasantry. He died 241 B.C. _Diogenes
Laërtius_, _Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers_.――――A Greek
poet of Smyrna, who wrote pastorals in an elegant style. Moschus,
his friend and disciple, mentions in an elegiac poem that he died by
poison, about 300 years B.C. His Idyllia are written with elegance
and simplicity, purity and ease, and they abound with correct images,
such as the view of the country may inspire. There are many good
editions of this poet’s works, generally printed with those of
Moschus, the best of which is that of Heskin, 8vo, Oxford, 1748.
――――A soldier in Alexander’s army, &c. _Curtius_, bk. 4, ch. 13.
――――A native of Propontis, in the age of Pherecydes.――――A native of
Abdera, disciple to Democritus. He first found out that there were
certain parts of the earth where there were six months of perpetual
light and darkness alternately.――――A man of Soli, who composed a
history of Æthiopia.――――Another of Syracuse, who wrote nine books
on rhetoric, which he called by the names of the muses, and hence
_Bionei sermones_ mentioned by _Horace_, bk. 2, ltr. 2, li. 60.
――_Diogenes Laërtius_, bk. 4.

=Birrhus.= _See:_ Cœlius.

=Bisaltæ=, a people of Scythia, or, according to some, of Thrace or
Macedonia. Their country is called Bisaltia. _Livy_, bk. 45, ch. 29.
――_Pliny_, bk. 4, ch. 10.

=Bisaltes=, a man of Abydos, &c. _Herodotus_, bk. 6, ch. 26.

♦=Bisaltis=, a patronymic of Theophane, by whom Neptune, under the
form of a ram, had the golden ram. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 6,
li.117.――_Hyginus_, fable 18.

♦ ‘Bisaltes’ replaced with ‘Bisaltis’

=Bisanthe=, a town on the Hellespont. _Herodotus_, bk. 7, ch. 137.

=Biston=, son of Mars and Callirhoe, built _Bistonia_ in Thrace,
whence the Thracians are often called _Bistones_. _Herodotus_, bk. 7,
ch. 110.――_Pliny_, bk. 4, ch. 14.――_Lucan_, bk. 7, li. 569.

=Bistŏnis=, a lake of Thrace near Abdera. _Herodotus_, bk. 7, ch. 109.

=Bithus.= _See:_ Bacchius.

=Bithyæ=, a certain race of women of Scythia, whose eyes, as _Pliny_
reports, bk. 7, ch. 2, killed those who gazed upon them for some
time.

=Bithȳnia=, a country of Asia Minor, formerly called Bebrycia. It
was bounded by the Euxine on the north, on the south by Phrygia and
Mysia, on the west by the Propontis, and the east by Paphlagonia.
The country was first invaded by the Thracians, under Bithynus the
son of Jupiter, who gave it the name of Bithynia. It was once a
powerful kingdom. _Strabo_, bk. 12.――_Herodotus_, bk. 7, ch. 75.
――_Mela_, bks. 1 & 2. According to _Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 9, the
inhabitants were descended from Mantinea in Peloponnesus.

=Bitias=, a Trojan, son of Alcanor and Hiera, brought up in a wood
sacred to Jupiter. He followed the fortune of Æneas, and, with
his brother, was killed by the Rutuli in Italy. _Virgil_, _Æneid_,
bk. 9, li. 672, &c.――――One of Dido’s lovers, present when Æneas and
the Trojans were introduced to the queen. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 1,
li. 742.

=Biton.= _See:_ Cleobis.

=Bituītus=, a king of the Allobroges, conquered by a small number of
Romans, &c.――_Valerius Maximus_, bk. 9, ch. 6.――_Florus_, bk. 3,
ch. 2.

=Bituntum=, a town of Spain. _Martial_, bk. 4, ltr. 55.

=Bitŭrĭges=, a people of Gaul, divided from the Ædui by the Ligeris.
_Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 7, ch. 21.

=Biturĭcum=, a town of Gaul, formerly the capital of the Belgæ.
_Strabo_, bk. 4.

=Bizia=, a citadel near Rhodope belonging to the kings of Thrace.
Tereus was born there.

=Blæna=, a fruitful country of Pontus, where the general of Mithridates
Eupator destroyed the forces of Nicomedes the Bithynian. _Strabo_,
bk. 12.

=Blæsii=, two Romans who killed themselves because Tiberius deprived
them of the priesthood. _Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 6, ch. 40.

=Junius Blæsus=, a governor of Gaul. _Tacitus._

=Blandenona=, a place near Placentia. _Cicero_, bk. 2, ltr. 15,
_Letters to his brother Quintus_.

=Blandŭsia=, a fountain on the borders of the country of the Sabines
near Mandela, Horace’s country seat. _Horace_, bk. 3, ode 13.

=Blastophœnīces=, a people of Lusitania. _Appian._