Chapter C (10)

=Cyre=, a fountain near Cyrene.

=Cyrēnaĭca=, a country of Africa, of which Cyrene is the capital.
_See:_ Cyrene.

=Cyrēnaĭci=, a sect of philosophers who followed the doctrine of
Aristippus. They placed their _summum bonum_ in pleasure, and
said that virtue ought to be commended because it gave pleasure.
_Diogenes Laërtius_, _Aristotle_.――_Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_,
bk. 3.

=Cyrēne=, the daughter of the river Peneus, of whom Apollo became
enamoured. He carried her to that part of Africa which is called
_Cyrenaica_, where she brought forth Aristæus. She is called by
some daughter of Hypseus, king of the Lapithæ and son of the Peneus.
_Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 4, li. 321.――_Justin_, bk. 13, ch. 7.
――_Pindar_, _Pythian_, li. 9.――――A celebrated city of Libya, to
which Aristæus, who was the chief of the colonists settled there,
gave his mother’s name. Cyrene was situate in a beautiful and
fertile plain, about 11 miles from the Mediterranean sea, and it
became the capital of the country, which was called _Pentapolis_, on
account of the five cities which it contained. It gave birth to many
great men, among whom were Callimachus, Eratosthenes, Carneades,
Aristippus, &c. The town of Cyrene was built by Battus, B.C. 630,
and the kingdom was bequeathed to the Romans, B.C. 97, by king
Ptolemy Appion. _Herodotus_, bks. 3 & 4.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10, ch.
13.――_Strabo_, bk. 17.――_Mela_, bk. 1, ch. 8.――_Pliny_, bk. 5, ch. 5.
――_Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 3, ch. 70.

=Cyriades=, one of the 30 tyrants who harassed the Roman empire in the
reign of Gallienus. He died A.D. 259.

=Cyrillus=, a bishop of Jerusalem, who died A.D. 386. Of his writings,
composed in Greek, there remain 23 _catecheses_, and a letter to the
emperor Constantine, the best edition of which is by Milles, folio,
Oxford, 1703.――――A bishop of Alexandria, who died A.D. 444. The best
edition of his writings, which are mostly controversial, in Greek,
is that of Paris, folio, 7 vols., 1638.

=Cyrne=, a place of Eubœa.

=Cyrnus=, a driver in the games which Scipio exhibited in Africa, &c.
_Silius Italicus_, bk. 16, li. 342.――――A man of Argos, who founded
a city of Chersonesus. _Diodorus_, bk. 5.――――A river that falls into
the Caspian sea. _Plutarch_, _Pompey_.――――An island on the coast
of Liguria, the same as Corsica; and called after Cyrnus the son of
Hercules. _Virgil_, _Eclogues_, poem 9, li. 30.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10,
ch. 17.

=Cyrræi=, a people of Æthiopia.

=Cyrrhadæ=, an Indian nation.

=Cyrrhes=, a people of Macedonia, near Pella.

=Cyrrhestĭca=, a country of Syria near Cilicia, of which the capital
was called _Cyrrhum_. _Pliny_, bk. 5, ch. 23.――_Cicero_, _Letters to
Atticus_, bk. 5, ltr. 18.

=Cyrrhus= and =Cyrus=, a river of Iberia in Asia.

=Cyrsīlus=, an Athenian, stoned to death by his countrymen, because
he advised them to receive the army of Xerxes, and to submit to the
power of Persia. _Demosthenes_, _de Coronâ_.――_Cicero_, bk. 3, _de
Officiis_, ch. 11.

=Cyrus=, a king of Persia, son of Cambyses and Mandane, daughter
of Astyages king of Media. His father was of an ignoble family,
whose marriage with Mandane had been consummated on account of the
apprehensions of Astyages. _See:_ Astyages. Cyrus was exposed as
soon as born; but he was preserved by a shepherdess, who educated
him as her own son. As he was playing with his equals in years, he
was elected king in a certain diversion, and he exercised his power
with such an independent spirit, that he ordered one of his play
companions to be severely whipped for disobedience. The father of
the youth, who was a nobleman, complained to the king of the ill
treatment which his son had received from a shepherd’s son. Astyages
ordered Cyrus before him, and discovered that he was Mandane’s son,
from whom he had so much to apprehend. He treated him with great
coldness; and Cyrus, unable to bear his tyranny, escaped from his
confinement, and began to levy troops to dethrone his grandfather.
He was assisted and encouraged by the ministers of Astyages, who
were displeased with the king’s oppression. He marched against
him, and Astyages was defeated in a battle, and taken prisoner,
B.C. 559. From this victory the empire of Media became tributary
to the Persians. Cyrus subdued the eastern parts of Asia, and made
war against Crœsus king of Lydia, whom he conquered, B.C. 548.
He invaded the kingdom of Assyria, and took the city of Babylon
by drying the channels of the Euphrates, and marching his troops
through the bed of the river, while the people were celebrating
a grand festival. He afterwards marched against Tomyris the queen
of the Massagetæ, a Scythian nation, and was defeated in a bloody
battle, B.C. 530. The victorious queen, who had lost her son in
a previous encounter, was so incensed against Cyrus, that she cut
off his head, and threw it into a vessel filled with human blood,
exclaiming, _Satia te sanguine quem sitisti_. Xenophon has written
the life of Cyrus; but his history is not perfectly authentic. In
the character of Cyrus he delineates a brave and virtuous prince,
and often puts in his mouth many of the sayings of Socrates. The
chronology is false; and Xenophon, in his narration, has given
existence to persons whom no other historian ever mentioned. The
_Cyropædia_, therefore, is not to be looked upon as an authentic
history of Cyrus the Great, but we must consider it as showing
what every good and virtuous prince ought to be. _Diodorus_, bk. 1.
――_Herodotus_, bk. 1, ch. 75, &c.――_Justin_, bk. 1, chs. 5 & 7.
――――The younger Cyrus was the younger son of Darius Nothus, and the
brother of Artaxerxes. He was sent by his father, at the age of 16,
to assist the Lacedæmonians against Athens. Artaxerxes succeeded to
the throne at the death of Nothus; and Cyrus, who was of an aspiring
soul, attempted to assassinate him. He was discovered, and would
have been punished with death, had not his mother Parysatis saved
him from the hands of the executioner by her tears and entreaties.
This circumstance did not in the least check the ambition of Cyrus;
he was appointed over Lydia and the sea coasts, where he secretly
fomented rebellion, and levied troops under various pretences.
At last he took the field with an army of 100,000 barbarians, and
13,000 Greeks under the command of Clearchus. Artaxerxes met him
with 900,000 men near Cunaxa. The battle was long and bloody, and
Cyrus might have perhaps obtained the victory, had not his uncommon
rashness proved his ruin. It is said that the two royal brothers
met in person, and engaged with the most inveterate fury, and their
engagement ended in the death of Cyrus, 401 years B.C. Artaxerxes
was so anxious of its being universally reported that his brother
had fallen by his hand, that he put to death two of his subjects for
boasting that they had killed Cyrus. The Greeks, who were engaged
in the expedition, obtained much glory in the battle; and after
the death of Cyrus, they remained victorious in the field without
a commander. They were not, however, discouraged, though at a
great distance from their country, and surrounded on every side
by a powerful enemy. They unanimously united in the election of
commanders, and traversed all Asia, in spite of the continual
attacks of the Persians; and nothing is more truly celebrated in
ancient history than the bold retreat of the 10,000. The journey
that they made from the place of their first embarkation till their
return, has been calculated at 1155 leagues, performed in the space
of 15 months, including all the time which was devoted to take
rest and refreshment. This retreat has been celebrated by Xenophon,
who was one of their leaders, and among the friends and supporters
of Cyrus. It is said, that in the letter he wrote to Lacedæmon to
solicit auxiliaries, Cyrus boasted his philosophy, his royal blood,
and his ability to drink more wine than his brother without being
intoxicated. _Plutarch_, _Artaxerxes_.――_Diodorus_, bk. 14.――_Justin_,
bk. 5, ch. 11.――――A rival of Horace, in the affections of one of his
mistresses, bk. 1, ode 17, li. 24.――――A poet of Panopolis, in the
age of Theodosius.

=Cyrus= and =Cyropŏlis=, a city of Syria, built by the Jews in honour
of Cyrus, whose humanity in relieving them from their captivity they
wished thus to commemorate.

=Cyrus=, a river of Persia, now _Kur_.

=Cyta=, a town of Colchis, famous for the poisonous herbs which it
produced, and for the birth of Medea. _Flaccus_, bk. 6, li. 693.
――_Propertius_, bk. 2, poem 1, li. 73.

=Cytæis=, a surname of Medea, from her being an inhabitant of Cyta.
_Propertius_, bk. 2, poem 4, li. 7.

=Cythēra=, now _Cesigo_, an island on the coast of Laconia in
Peloponnesus. It was particularly sacred to the goddess Venus,
who was from thence surnamed _Cytheræa_, and who rose, as some
suppose, from the sea, near its coasts. It was for some time under
the power of the Argives, and always considered as of the highest
importance to maritime powers. The Phœnicians had built there a
famous temple to Venus. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 1, li. 262; bk. 10,
li. 5.――_Pausanias_, bk. 3, ch. 33.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 4,
li. 288; bk. 15, li. 386; _Fasti_, bk. 4, li. 15.――_Herodotus_,
bk. 1, ch. 29.

=Cythĕræa=, a surname of Venus.

=Cythēris=, a certain courtesan, much respected by the poet Gallus, as
well as by Antony.

=Cythēron.= _See:_ Cithæron.

=Cythērun=, a place of Attica.

=Cytherus=, a river of Elis. _Pausanias_, bk. 6, ch. 22.

=Cythnos=, now _Thermia_, an island near Attica, famous for its cheese.
It has been called _Ophiousa_ and _Dryopis_. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_,
bk. 5, li. 252.

=Cytineum=, one of the four cities called Tetrapolis in Doris.
_Strabo_, bk. 9.――_Thucydides_, bk. 1, ch. 107.

=Cytissorus=, a son of Phryxus, &c. _Herodotus_, bk. 7, ch. 197.

=Cytōrus=, now _Kudros_, a mountain and town of Galatia, built by
Cytorus son of Phryxus, and abounding in box-wood. _Catullus_,
poem 4, li. 13.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 4, li. 311.――_Strabo_,
bk. 11.――_Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 2, li. 437.

=Cyzĭcum=, or =Cyzicus=, an island of the Propontis, about 530 stadia
in circumference, with a town called Cyzicus. Alexander joined it
to the continent by two bridges, and from that time it was called
a peninsula. It had two harbours called Panormus and Chytus, the
first natural, and the other artificial. It became one of the most
considerable cities of Asia. It was besieged by Mithridates, and
relieved by Lucullus. _Florus_, bk. 3, ch. 5.――_Pliny_, bk. 5, ch.
32.――_Diodorus_, bk. 18.

=Cyzĭcus=, a son of Œneus and Stilba, who reigned in Cyzicus. He
hospitably received the Argonauts, in their expedition against
Colchis. After their departure from the coast of Cyzicus, they
were driven back in the night, by a storm, upon the coast; and
the inhabitants seeing such an unexpected number of men, furiously
attacked them, supposing them to be the Pelasgi, their ancient
enemies. In this nocturnal engagement, many were killed on
both sides, and Cyzicus perished by the hands of Jason himself,
who honoured him with a splendid funeral, and raised a stately
monument over his grave. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 9.――_Flaccus._
――_Apollonius._――_Orpheus._――――The chief town of the island of
Cyzicum, built where the island is joined by the bridges to the
continent. It has two excellent harbours, called Panormus and Chytus.
The former is naturally large and beautiful, and the other owes
all its conveniences to the hand of art. The town is situate partly
on a mountain, and partly in a plain. The Argonauts built a temple
to Cybele in the neighbourhood. It derives its name from Cyzicus,
who was killed there by Jason. The Athenians defeated near this
place their enemies of Lacedæmon, assisted by Pharnabazus, B.C.
410. _Florus_, bk. 3, ch. 5, &c.――_Strabo._――_Apollonius_, bk. 1.
――_Propertius_, bk. 3, poem 22.――_Flaccus_, bk. 2, li. 636.