Chapter M (8)

=Neōptŏlĕmus=, a king of Epirus, son of Achilles and Deidamia, called
_Pyrrhus_ from the _yellow_ colour of his hair. He was carefully
educated under the eye of his mother, and gave early proofs of
his valour. After the death of Achilles, Calchas declared, in
the assembly of the Greeks, that Troy could not be taken without
the assistance of the son of the deceased hero. Immediately upon
this, Ulysses and Phœnix were commissioned to bring Pyrrhus to the
war. He returned with them with pleasure, and received the name of
Neoptolemus (_new soldier_), because he had come late to the field.
On his arrival before Troy, he paid a visit to the tomb of his father,
and wept over his ashes. He afterwards, according to some authors,
accompanied Ulysses to Lemnos, to engage Philoctetes to come to the
Trojan war. He greatly signalized himself during the remaining time
of the siege, and he was the first who entered the wooden horse. He
was inferior to none of the Grecian warriors in valour, and Ulysses
and Nestor alone could claim a superiority over him in eloquence,
wisdom, and address. His cruelty, however, was as great as that of
his father. Not satisfied with breaking down the gates of Priam’s
palace, he exercised the greatest barbarities upon the remains of
his family, and without any regard to the sanctity of the place
where Priam had taken refuge, he slaughtered him without mercy;
or, according to others, dragged him by the hair to the tomb of
his father, where he sacrificed him, and where he cut off his head,
and carried it in exultation through the streets of Troy, fixed on
the point of a spear. He also sacrificed Astyanax to his fury, and
immolated Polyxena on the tomb of Achilles, according to those who
deny that that sacrifice was voluntary. When Troy was taken, the
captives were divided among the conquerors, and Pyrrhus had for his
share Andromache the widow of Hector, and Helenus the son of Priam.
With these he departed for Greece, and he probably escaped from
destruction by giving credit to the words of Helenus, who foretold
him that, if he sailed with the rest of the Greeks, his voyage would
be attended with fatal consequences, and perhaps with death. This
obliged him to take a different course from the rest of the Greeks,
and he travelled over the greatest part of Thrace, where he had a
severe encounter with queen Harpalyce. _See:_ Harpalyce. The place of
his retirement after the Trojan war is not known. Some maintain that
he went to Thessaly, where his grandfather still reigned; but this
is confuted by others, who observe, perhaps with more reason, that
he went to Epirus, where he laid the foundation of a new kingdom,
because his grandfather Peleus had been deprived of his sceptre by
Acastus the son of Pelias. Neoptolemus lived with Andromache after
his arrival in Greece, but it is unknown whether he treated her as a
lawful wife or a concubine. He had a son by this unfortunate princess,
called Molossus, and two others, if we rely on the authority of
Pausanias. Besides Andromache, he married Hermione the daughter
of Menelaus, as also Lanassa the daughter of Cleodæus, one of the
descendants of Hercules. The cause of his death is variously related.
Menelaus, before the Trojan war, had promised his daughter Hermione
to Orestes, but the services he experienced from the valour and
the courage of Neoptolemus during the siege of Troy, induced him
to reward his merit by making him his son-in-law. The nuptials were
accordingly celebrated, but Hermione became jealous of Andromache,
and because she had no children, she resolved to destroy her Trojan
rival, who seemed to steal away the affections of their common
husband. In the absence of Neoptolemus at Delphi, Hermione attempted
to murder Andromache, but she was prevented by the interference of
Peleus, or, according to others, of the populace. When she saw her
schemes defeated, she determined to lay violent hands upon herself,
to avoid the resentment of Neoptolemus. The sudden arrival of Orestes
changed her resolution, and she consented to elope with her lover to
Sparta. Orestes at the same time, to revenge and to punish his rival,
caused him to be assassinated in the temple of Delphi, and he was
murdered at the foot of the altar by Machareus the priest, or by the
hand of Orestes himself, according to Virgil, Paterculus, and Hyginus.
Some say that he was murdered by the Delphians, who had been bribed
by the presents of Orestes. It is unknown why Neoptolemus went to
Delphi. Some support that he wished to consult the oracle to know
how he might have children by the barren Hermione; others say that
he went thither to offer the spoils which he had obtained during the
Trojan war, to appease the resentment of Apollo, whom he had provoked
by calling him the cause of the death of Achilles. The plunder of
the rich temple of Delphi, if we believe others, was the object
of the journey of Neoptolemus, and it cannot but be observed that
he suffered the same death and the same barbarities which he had
inflicted in the temple of Minerva upon the aged Priam and his
wretched family. From this circumstance, the ancients have made use
of the proverb _Neoptolemic revenge_, when a person had suffered
the same savage treatment which others had received from his hand.
The Delphians celebrated a festival with great pomp and solemnity
in memory of Neoptolemus, who had been slain in his attempt to
plunder their temple, because, as they said, Apollo, the patron
of the place, had been in some manner accessary to the death of
Achilles. _Paterculus_, bk. 1, ch. 1.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bks. 2
& 3.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10, ch. 24.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 13,
lis. 334, 455, &c.; _Heroides_, poem 8.――_Strabo_, bk. 9.――_Pindar_,
_Nemean_, poem 7.――_Euripides_, _Andromache_ & _Orestes_, &c.
――_Plutarch_, _Pyrrhus_.――_Justin_, bk. 17, ch. 3.――_Dictys
Cretensis_, bks. 4, 5, & 6.――_Homer_, _Odyssey_, bk. 11, li. 504;
_Iliad_, bk. 19, li. 326.――_Sophocles_, _Philoctetes_.――_Apollodorus_,
bk. 3, ch. 13.――_Hyginus_, fables 97 & 102.――_Philostratus_,
_Heroicus_, ch. 19, &c.――_Dares Phrygius._――_Quintus Smyrnæus_,
bk. 14.――――A king of the Molossi, father of Olympias the mother of
Alexander. _Justin_, bk. 17, ch. 3.――――Another, king of Epirus.――――An
uncle of the celebrated Pyrrhus who assisted the Tarentines. He
was made king of Epirus by the Epirots, who had revolted from their
lawful sovereign, and was put to death when he attempted to poison
his nephew, &c. _Plutarch_, _Pyrrhus_.――――A tragic poet of Athens,
greatly favoured by Philip king of Macedonia. When Cleopatra, the
monarch’s daughter, was married to Alexander of Epirus, he wrote some
verses which proved to be prophetic of the tragical death of Philip.
_Diodorus_, bk. 16.――――A relation of Alexander. He was the first
who climbed the walls of Gaza when that city was taken by Alexander.
After the king’s death he received Armenia as his province, and made
war against Eumenes. He was supported by Craterus, but an engagement
with Eumenes proved fatal to his cause. Craterus was killed, and
himself mortally wounded by Eumenes, B.C. 321. _Cornelius Nepos_,
_Eumenes_.――――One of the officers of Mithridates the Great, beaten
by Lucullus in a naval battle. _Plutarch_, _Lucullus_.――――A tragic
writer.

=Neoris=, a large country of Asia, near Gedrosia, almost destitute
of waters. The inhabitants were called _Neoritæ_, and it was usual
among them to suspend their dead bodies from the boughs of trees.
_Diodorus_, bk. 17.

=Nepe=, a constellation of the heavens, the same as Scorpio.――――An
inland town of Etruria, called also _Nepete_, whose inhabitants are
called _Nepesini_. _Silius Italicus_, bk. 8, li. 490.――_Livy_, bk. 5,
ch. 19; bk. 26, ch. 34.

=Nephalia=, festivals in Greece, in honour of Mnemosyne the mother
of the Muses, and Aurora, Venus, &c. No wine was used during the
ceremony, but merely a mixture of water and honey. _Pollux_, bk. 6,
ch. 3.――_Athenæus_, bk. 15.――_Suidas._

=Nĕphĕle=, the first wife of Athamas king of Thebes, and mother of
Phryxus and Helle. She was repudiated on pretence of being subject to
fits of insanity, and Athamas married Ino the daughter of Cadmus, by
whom he had several children. Ino became jealous of Nephele, because
her children would succeed to their father’s throne before hers, by
right of seniority, and she resolved to destroy them. Nephele was
apprised of her wicked intentions, and she removed her children from
the reach of Ino, by giving them a celebrated ram, sprung from the
union of Neptune and Theophane, on whose back they escaped to Colchis.
_See:_ Phryxus. Nephele was afterwards changed into a cloud, whence
her name is given by the Greeks to the clouds. Some call her _Nebula_,
which word is the Latin translation of _Nephele_. The fleece of the
ram, which saved the life of Nephele’s children, is often called the
_Nephelian fleece_. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 9.――_Hyginus_, fable 2,
&c.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 11, li. 195.――_Flaccus_, bk. 11,
li. 56.――――A mountain of Thessaly, once the residence of the Centaurs.

=Nephĕlis=, a cape of Cilicia. _Livy_, bk. 33, ch. 20.

=Nepherītes=, a king of Egypt, who assisted the Spartans against Persia,
when Agesilaus was in Asia. He sent them a fleet of 100 ships, which
were intercepted by Conon, as they were sailing towards Rhodes, &c.
_Diodorus_, bk. 14.

=Nephus=, a son of Hercules.

=Nepia=, a daughter of Jasus, who married Olympus king of Mysia, whence
the plains of Mysia are sometimes called _Nepiæ campi_.

=Nepos, Cornelius=, a celebrated historian in the reign of Augustus.
He was born at Hostilia, and, like the rest of his learned
contemporaries, he shared the favours and enjoyed the patronage of
the emperor. He was the intimate friend of Cicero and of Atticus,
and recommended himself to the notice of the great and opulent
by delicacy of sentiment and a lively disposition. According to
some writers, he composed three books of chronicles, as also a
biographical account of all the most celebrated kings, generals,
and authors of antiquity. Of all his valuable compositions, nothing
remains but his lives of the illustrious Greek and Roman generals,
which have often been attributed to Æmylius Probus, who published
them in his own name in the age of Theodosius, to conciliate the
favour and the friendship of that emperor. The language of Cornelius
has always been admired, and as a writer of the Augustan age, he is
entitled to many commendations for the delicacy of his expressions,
the elegance of his style, and the clearness and precision of his
narrations. Some support that he translated Dares Phrygius from
the Greek original; but the inelegance of the diction, and its many
incorrect expressions, plainly prove that it is the production,
not of a writer of the Augustan age, but the spurious composition
of a more modern pen. Cornelius speaks of his account of the Greek
historians _Dion_, ch. 3. Among the many good editions of Cornelius
Nepos, two may be selected as the best, that of Verheyk, 8vo, Leiden,
1773, and that of Glasgow, 12mo, 1761.――――Julius, an emperor of the
west, &c.

=Nepotiānus Flavius Popilius=, a son of Eutropia the sister of the
emperor Constantine. He proclaimed himself emperor after the death of
his cousin Constans, and rendered himself odious by his cruelty and
oppression. He was murdered by Anicetus, after one month’s reign, and
his family were involved in his ruin.

=Nepthys=, wife of Typhon, became enamoured of Osiris her brother-in-law,
and introduced herself to his bed. She had a son called Anubis by him.
_Plutarch_, _De Iside et Osiride_.

=Neptūni fanum=, a place near Cenchreæ. _Mela_, bk. 1, ch. 19.
――――Another in the island of Calauria.――――Another near Mantinea.

=Neptūnia=, a town and colony of Magna Græcia.

=Neptūnium=, a promontory of Arabia at the entrance of the gulf.

=Neptūnius=, an epithet applied to Sextus Pompey, because he believed
himself to be god of the sea, or descended from him, on account
of his superiority in ships, &c. _Horace_ epode 9.――_Dio Cassius_,
bk. 48.

=Neptūnus=, a god, son of Saturn and Ops, and brother to Jupiter, Pluto,
and Juno. He was devoured by his father the day of his birth, and
again restored to life by means of Metis, who gave Saturn a certain
potion. Pausanias says that his mother concealed him in a sheepfold
in Arcadia, and that she imposed upon her husband, telling him that
she had brought a colt into the world, which was instantly devoured
by Saturn. Neptune shared with his brothers the empire of Saturn, and
received as his portion the kingdom of the sea. This, however, did
not seem equivalent to the empire of heaven and earth, which Jupiter
had claimed, therefore he conspired to dethrone him, with the rest
of the gods. The conspiracy was discovered, and Jupiter condemned
Neptune to build the walls of Troy. _See:_ Laomedon. A reconciliation
was soon after made, and Neptune was reinstituted to all his rights
and privileges. Neptune disputed with Minerva the right of giving a
name to the capital of Cecropia, but he was defeated, and the olive
which the goddess suddenly raised from the earth was deemed more
serviceable for the good of mankind than the horse which Neptune had
produced by striking the ground with his trident, as that animal is
the emblem of war and slaughter. This decision did not please Neptune;
he renewed the combat by disputing for Trœzene, but Jupiter settled
their disputes by permitting them to be conjointly worshipped there,
and by giving the name of Polias, or the _protectress of the city_,
to Minerva, and that of king of Trœzene to the god of the sea. He
also disputed his right for the isthmus of Corinth with Apollo;
and Briareus the Cyclops, who was mutually chosen umpire, gave the
isthmus to Neptune, and the promontory to Apollo. Neptune, as being
god of the sea, was entitled to more power than any of the other
gods, except Jupiter. Not only the ocean, rivers, and fountains were
subjected to him, but he also could cause earthquakes at his pleasure,
and raise islands from the bottom of the sea with a blow of his
trident. The worship of Neptune was established in almost every part
of the earth, and the Libyans in particular venerated him above all
other nations, and looked upon him as the first and greatest of the
gods. The Greeks and the Romans were also attached to his worship,
and they celebrated their isthmian games and Consualia with the
greatest solemnity. He was generally represented sitting in a chariot
made of a shell, and drawn by sea-horses or dolphins. Sometimes he is
drawn by winged horses, and holds his trident in his hand, and stands
up as his chariot flies over the surface of the sea. Homer represents
him as issuing from the sea, and in three steps crossing the whole
horizon. The mountains and the forests, says the poet, trembled as he
walked; the whales, and all the fishes of the sea, appear round him,
and even the sea herself seems to feel the presence of her god. The
ancients generally sacrificed a bull and a horse on his altars, and
the Roman soothsayers always offered to him the gall of the victims,
which in taste resembles the bitterness of the sea water. The amours
of Neptune are numerous. He obtained, by means of a dolphin, the
favours of Amphitrite, who had made a vow of perpetual celibacy,
and he placed among the constellations the fish which had persuaded
the goddess to become his wife. He also married Venilia and Salacia,
which are only the names of Amphitrite according to some authors,
who observed that the former word is derived from _venire_, alluding
to the continual motion of the sea. Salacia is derived from _Salum_,
which signifies the sea, and is applicable to Amphitrite. Neptune
became a horse to enjoy the company of Ceres. _See:_ Arion. To
deceive Theophane, he changed himself into a ram. _See:_ Theophane.
He assumed the form of the river Enipeus, to gain the confidence of
Tyro the daughter of Salmoneus, by whom he had Pelias and Neleus.
He was also father of Phorcus and Polyphemus by Thoossa; of Lycus,
Nycteus, and Euphemus by Celeno; of Chryses by Chrysogenia; of Ancæus
by Astypalea; of Bœotus and Helen by Antiope; of Leuconoe by Themisto;
of Agenor and Bellerophon by Eurynome the daughter of Nysus; of
Antas by Alcyone the daughter of Atlas; of Abas by Arethusa; of
Actor and Dictys by Agemede the daughter of Augias; of Megareus by
Œnope daughter of Epopeus; of Cycnus by Harpalyce; of Taras, Otus,
Ephialtes, Dorus, Alesus, &c. The word _Neptunus_ is often used
metaphorically by the poets, to signify _sea water_. In the Consualia
of the Romans, horses were led through the streets finely equipped
and crowned with garlands, as the god in whose honour the festivals
were instituted had produced the horse, an animal so beneficial
for the use of mankind. _Pausanias_, bks. 1, 2, &c.――_Homer_,
_Iliad_, bk. 7, &c.――_Varro_, _de Lingua Latina_, bk. 4.――_Cicero_,
_de Natura Deorum_, bk. 2, ch. 26; bk. 2, ch. 25.――_Hesiod_,
_Theogony_.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 1, li. 12, &c.; bks. 2, 3, &c.
――_Apollodorus_, bks. 1, 2, &c.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 6, li.
117, &c.――_Herodotus_, bk. 2, ch. 50; bk. 4, ch. 188.――_Macrobius_,
_Saturnalia_, bk. 1, ch. 17.――_Augustine_, _City of God_, bk. 18.
――_Plutarch_, _Themistocles_.――_Hyginus_, fable 157.――_Euripides_,
_Phœnician Women_.――_Flaccus._――_Apollonius Rhodius._

=Nēreĭdes=, nymphs of the sea, daughters of Nereus and Doris. They
were 50, according to the greater number of the mythologists, whose
names are as follows: Sao, Amphitrite, Proto, Galatæa, Thoe, Eucrate,
Eudora, Galena, Glauce, Thetis, Spio, Cymothoe, Melita, Thalia, Agave,
Eulimene, Erato, Pasithea, Doto, Eunice, Nesea, Dynamene, Pherusa,
Protomelia, Actea, Panope, Doris, Cymatolege, Hippothoe, Cymo, Eione,
Hipponoe, Cymodoce, Neso, Eupompe, Pronoe, Themisto, Glauconome,
Halimede, Pontoporia, Evagora, Liagora, Polynome, Laomedia,
Lysianassa, Autonoe, Menippe, Evarne, Psamathe, Nemertes. In those
which Homer mentions, to the number of 30, we find the following
names different from those spoken of by Hesiod: Halia, Limmoria, Iera,
Amphitroe, Dexamene, Amphinome, Callianira, Apseudes, Callanassa,
Clymene, Janira, Nassa, Mera, Orythya, Amathea. Apollodorus, who
mentions 45, mentions the following names different from the others:
Glaucothoe, Protomedusa, Pione, Plesaura, Calypso, Cranto, Neomeris,
Dejanira, Polynoe, Melia, Dione, Isea, Dero, Eumolpe, Ione, Ceto.
Hyginus and others differ from the preceding authors in the following
names: Drymo, Xantho, Ligea, Phyllodoce, Cydippe, Lycorias, Cleio,
Beroe, Ephira, Opis, Asia, Deopea, Arethusa, Crenis, Eurydice, and
Leucothoe. The Nereides were implored as the rest of the deities;
they had altars chiefly on the coast of the sea, where the piety
of mankind made offerings of milk, oil, and honey, and often of
the flesh of goats. When they were on the sea-shore they generally
resided in grottos and caves which were adorned with shells, and
shaded by the branches of vines. Their duty was to attend upon the
more powerful deities of the sea, and to be subservient to the will
of Neptune. They were particularly fond of alcyons, and as they
had the power of ruffling or calming the waters, they were always
addressed by sailors, who implored their protection, that they might
grant them a favourable voyage and a prosperous return. They are
represented as young and handsome virgins, sitting on dolphins and
holding Neptune’s trident in their hand, or sometimes garlands of
flowers. _Orpheus_, _Hymn_ 23.――_Catullus_, _Marriage of Peleus and
Thetis_.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 11, li. 361, &c.――_Statius_,
bk. 2, _Sylvæ_, poem 2; bk. 3, _Sylvæ_, poem 1.――_Pausanias_, bk. 2,
ch. 1.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1, chs. 2, & 3.――_Hesiod_, _Theogony_.
――_Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 18, li. 39.――_Pliny_, bk. 36, ch. 5.
――_Hyginus_, &c.

=Nereius=, a name given to Achilles, as son of Thetis, who was one of
the Nereides. _Horace_, epode 17, li. 8.

=Nēreus=, a deity of the sea, son of Oceanus and Terra. He married
Doris, by whom he had 50 daughters, called the Nereides. _See:_
Nereides. Nereus was generally represented as an old man with a
long flowing beard, and hair of an azure colour. The chief place of
his residence was in the Ægean sea, where he was surrounded by his
daughters, who often danced in choruses round him. He had the gift
of prophecy, and informed those that consulted him with the different
fates that attended them. He acquainted Paris with the consequences
of his elopement with Helen; and it was by his directions that
Hercules obtained the golden apples of the Hesperides. But the
sea-god often evaded the importunities of inquirers by assuming
different shapes, and totally escaping from their grasp. The word
_Nereus_ is often taken for the sea itself. Nereus is sometimes
called the most ancient of all the gods. _Hesiod_, _Theogony_.
――_Hyginus._――_Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 18.――_Apollodorus._――_Orpheus_,
_Argonautica_.――_Horace_, bk. 1, ode 13.――_Euripides_, _Iphigeneia_.

=Nerio=, or =Neriēne=, the wife of Mars. _Aulus Gellius_, ch. 21.

=Nerĭphus=, a desert island near the Thracian Chersonesus.

=Nerĭtos=, a mountain in the island of Ithaca, as also a small island
in the Ionian sea, according to Mela. The word Neritos is often
applied to the whole island of Ithaca, and Ulysses the king of it is
called _Neritius dux_, and his ship _Neritia navis_. The people of
Saguntum, as descended from a Neritian colony, are called _Neritia
proles_. _Silius Italicus_, bk. 2, li. 317.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_,
bk. 3, li. 271.――_Pliny_, bk. 4.――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 7.――_Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 13, li. 712; _Remedia Amoris_, li. 263.

=Nerĭtum=, a town of Calabria, now called _Nardo_.

=Nerius=, a silversmith in the age of Horace, bk. 2, satire 3, li. 69.
――――A usurer in Nero’s age, who was so eager to get money that he
married as often as he could, and as soon destroyed his wives by
poison, to possess himself of their estates. _Persius_, bk. 2, li. 14.

=Nero Claudius Domitius Cæsar=, a celebrated Roman emperor, son of
Caius Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the daughter of Germanicus.
He was adopted by the emperor Claudius, A.D. 50, and four years
after he succeeded to him on the throne. The beginning of his reign
was marked by acts of the greatest kindness and condescension,
by affability, complaisance, and popularity. The object of his
administration seemed to be the good of his people; and when he was
desired to sign his name to a list of malefactors that were to be
executed, he exclaimed, “I wish to heaven I could not write.” He was
an enemy to flattery, and when the senate had liberally commended
the wisdom of his government, Nero desired them to keep their praises
till he deserved them. These promising virtues were soon discovered
to be artificial, and Nero displayed the propensities of his nature.
He delivered himself from the sway of his mother, and at last
ordered her to be assassinated. This unnatural act of barbarity might
astonish some of the Romans, but Nero had his devoted adherents; and
when he declared that he had taken away his mother’s life to save
himself from ruin, the senate applauded his measures, and the people
signified their approbation. Many of his courtiers shared the unhappy
fate of Agrippina, and Nero sacrificed to his fury or caprice all
such as obstructed his pleasure, or diverted his inclination. In the
night he generally sallied out from his palace, to visit the meanest
taverns and all the scenes of debauchery which Rome contained.
In this nocturnal riot he was fond of insulting the people in the
streets, and his attempts to offer violence to the wife of a Roman
senator nearly cost him his life. He also turned actor, and publicly
appeared on the Roman stage in the meanest characters. In his
attempts to excel in music, and to conquer the disadvantages of a
hoarse, rough voice, he moderated his meals, and often passed the
day without eating. The celebrity of the Olympian games attracted
his notice. He passed into Greece, and presented himself as a
candidate for the public honours. He was defeated in wrestling,
but the flattery of the spectators adjudged him the victory, and
Nero returned to Rome with all the pomp and ♦splendour of an eastern
conqueror, drawn in the chariot of Augustus, and attended by a band
of musicians, actors, and stage dancers, from every part of the
empire. These private and public amusements of the emperor were
indeed innocent; his character was injured, but not the lives of the
people. But his conduct soon became more abominable; he disguised
himself in the habit of a woman, and was publicly married to one of
his eunuchs. This violence to nature and decency was soon exchanged
for another; Nero resumed his sex, and celebrated his nuptials with
one of his meanest catamites, and it was on this occasion that one
of the Romans observed that the world would have been happy if Nero’s
father had had such a wife. But now his cruelty was displayed in a
more superlative degree, and he sacrificed to his wantonness his wife
Octavia Poppæa, and the celebrated writers, Seneca, Lucan, Petronius,
&c. The christians also did not escape his barbarity. He had heard of
the burning of Troy, and as he wished to renew that dismal scene, he
caused Rome to be set on fire in different places. The conflagration
became soon universal, and during nine successive days the fire
was unextinguished. All was desolation; nothing was heard but
the lamentations of mothers whose children had perished in the
flames, the groans of the dying, and the continual fall of palaces
and buildings. Nero was the only one who enjoyed the general
consternation. He placed himself on the top of a high tower, and he
sang on his lyre the destruction of Troy, a dreadful scene which
his barbarity had realized before his eyes. He attempted to avert
the public odium from his head, by a feigned commiseration of the
miseries of his subjects. He began to repair the streets and the
public buildings at his own expense. He built himself a celebrated
palace, which he called his golden house. It was profusely adorned
with gold and precious stones, and with whatever was rare and
exquisite. It contained spacious fields, artificial lakes, woods,
gardens, orchards, and whatever could exhibit beauty and grandeur.
The entrance of this edifice could admit a large colossus of the
emperor 120 feet high; the galleries were each a mile long, and
the whole was covered with gold. The roofs of the dining halls
represented the firmament in motion as well as in figure, and
continually turned round night and day, showering down all sorts of
perfumes and sweet waters. When this grand edifice, which, according
to Pliny, extended all round the city, was finished, Nero said, that
now he could lodge like a man. His profusion was not less remarkable
in all his other actions. When he went a-fishing, his nets were made
with gold and silk. He never appeared twice in the same garment,
and when he undertook a voyage, there were thousands of servants
to take care of his wardrobe. This continuation of debauchery and
extravagance at last roused the resentment of the people. Many
conspiracies were formed against the emperor, but they were generally
discovered, and such as were accessary suffered the greatest
punishments. The most dangerous conspiracy against Nero’s life
was that of Piso, from which he was delivered by the confession of
a slave. The conspiracy of Galba proved more successful; and the
conspirator, when he was informed that his plot was known to Nero,
declared himself emperor. The unpopularity of Nero favoured his cause;
he was acknowledged by all the Roman empire, and the senate condemned
the tyrant that sat on the throne to be dragged naked through the
streets of Rome, and whipped to death, and afterwards to be thrown
down from the Tarpeian rock like the meanest malefactor. This,
however, was not done, and Nero, by a voluntary death, prevented the
execution of the sentence. He killed himself, A.D. 68, in the 32nd
year of his age, after a reign of thirteen years and eight months.
Rome was filled with acclamations at the intelligence, and the
citizens, more strongly to indicate their joy, wore caps such as
were generally used by slaves who had received their freedom. Their
vengeance was not only exercised against the statues of the deceased
tyrant, but his friends were the objects of the public resentment,
and many were crushed to pieces in such a violent manner, that one
of the senators, amid the universal joy, said that he was afraid they
should soon have cause to wish for Nero. The tyrant, as he expired,
begged that his head might not be cut off from his body, and exposed
to the insolence of an enraged populace, but that the whole might be
burned on the funeral pile. His request was granted by one of Galba’s
freedmen, and his obsequies were performed with the usual ceremonies.
Though his death seemed to be the source of universal gladness, yet
many of his favourites lamented his fall, and were grieved to see
that their pleasures and amusements were stopped by the death of the
patron of debauchery and extravagance. Even the king of Parthia sent
ambassadors to Rome to condole with the Romans, and to beg that they
would honour and revere the memory of Nero. His statues were also
crowned with garlands of flowers, and many believed that he was not
dead, but that he would soon make his appearance, and take a due
vengeance upon his enemies. It will be sufficient to observe, in
finishing the character of this tyrannical emperor, that the name
of _Nero_ is even now used emphatically to express a barbarous and
unfeeling oppressor. Pliny calls him the common enemy and the fury of
mankind, and in this he has been followed by all writers, who exhibit
Nero as the pattern of the most execrable barbarity and unpardonable
wantonness. _Plutarch_, _Galba_.――_Suetonius_, _Lives_.――_Pliny_, bk.
7, ch. 8, &c.――_Dio Cassius_, bk. 64.――_Aurelius Victor._――_Tacitus_,
_Annals_.――――Claudius, a Roman general sent into Spain to succeed
the two Scipios. He suffered himself to be imposed upon by Asdrubal,
and was soon after succeeded by young Scipio. He was afterwards
made consul, and intercepted Asdrubal, who was passing from Spain
into Italy with a large reinforcement for his brother Annibal. An
engagement was fought near the river Metaurus, in which 56,000 of
the Carthaginians were left on the field of battle, and great numbers
taken prisoners, 207 B.C. Asdrubal the Carthaginian general was
also killed, and his head cut off and thrown into his brother’s camp
by the conquerors. _Appian_, _Hannibalic War_.――_Orosius_, bk. 4.
――_Livy_, bk. 27, &c.――_Horace_, bk. 4, ode 4, li. 37.――_Florus_, bk.
2, ch. 6.――_Valerius Maximus_, bk. 4, ch. 1.――――Another, who opposed
Cicero when he wished to punish with death such as were accessary
to Catiline’s conspiracy.――――A son of Germanicus, who was ruined by
Sejanus, and banished from Rome by Tiberius. He died in the place of
his exile. His death was voluntary, according to some. _Suetonius_,
_Tiberius_.――――Domitian was called _Nero_, because his cruelties
surpassed those of his predecessors, and also _Calvus_, from the
baldness of his head. _Juvenal_, satire 4.――――The Neros were of the
Claudian family, which, during the republican times of Rome, was
honoured with 28 consulships, five dictatorships, six triumphs, seven
censorships, and two ovations. They assumed the surname of Nero,
which, in the language of the Sabines, signifies _strong_ and
_warlike_.

♦ ‘slendour’ replaced with ‘splendour’

=Neronia=, a name given to Artaxata by Tiridates, who had been restored
to his kingdom by Nero, whose favours he acknowledged by calling the
capital of his dominions after the name of his benefactor.

=Neroniānæ Thermæ=, baths at Rome, made by the emperor Nero.

=Nertobrigia=, a town of Spain on the Bilbilis.

=Nerva Cocceius=, a Roman emperor after the death of Domitian, A.D.
96. He rendered himself popular by his mildness, his generosity, and
the active part he took in the management of affairs. He suffered no
statues to be raised to his honour, and he applied to the use of the
government all the gold and silver statues which flattery had erected
to his predecessor. In his civil character he was the pattern of good
manners, of sobriety, and temperance. He forbade the mutilation of
male children, and gave no countenance to the law which permitted
the marriage of an uncle with his niece. He made a solemn declaration
that no senator should suffer death during his reign; and this he
observed with such sanctity that, when two members of the senate
had conspired against his life, he was satisfied to tell them that
he was informed of their wicked machinations. He also conducted
them to the public spectacles, and seated himself between them, and
when a sword was offered to him, according to the usual custom, he
desired the conspirators to try it upon his body. Such goodness of
heart, such confidence in the self-conviction of the human mind,
and such reliance upon the consequence of his lenity and indulgence,
conciliated the affection of all his subjects. Yet, as envy and
danger are the constant companions of greatness, the pretorian
guards at last mutinied, and Nerva nearly yielded to their fury. He
uncovered his aged neck in the presence of the incensed soldiery, and
bade them wreak their vengeance upon him, provided they spared the
life of those to whom he was indebted for the empire, and whom his
honour commanded him to defend. His seeming submission was unavailing,
and he was at last obliged to surrender to the fury of his soldiers
some of his friends and supporters. The infirmities of his age,
and his natural timidity, at last obliged him to provide himself
against any future mutiny or tumult, by choosing a worthy successor.
He had many friends and relations, but he did not consider the
aggrandizement of his family, and he chose for his son and successor
Trajan, a man of whose virtues and greatness of mind he was fully
convinced. This voluntary choice was approved by the acclamations
of the people, and the wisdom and prudence which marked the reign of
Trajan showed how discerning was the judgment, and how affectionate
were the intentions, of Nerva for the good of Rome. He died on the
27th of July, A.D. 98, in his 72nd year, and his successor showed
his respect for his merit and his character by raising him altars
and temples in Rome, and in the provinces, and by ranking him in
the number of the gods. Nerva was the first Roman emperor who was
of foreign extraction, his father being a native of Crete. _Pliny_,
_Panegyrics_.――_Dio Cassius_, bk. 69.――――Marcus Cocceius, a consul
in the reign of Tiberius. He starved himself, because he would not be
concerned in the extravagance of the emperor.――――A celebrated lawyer,
consul with the emperor Vespasian. He was father to the emperor of
that name.

=Nervii=, a warlike people of Belgic Gaul, who continually upbraided
the neighbouring nations for submitting to the power of the Romans.
They attacked Julius Cæsar, and were totally defeated. Their country
forms the modern province of _Hainault_. _Lucan_, bk. 1, li. 428.
――_Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 2, ch. 15.

=Nerulum=, an inland town of Lucania, now _Lagonegro_. _Livy_, bk. 9,
ch. 20.

=Nerium=, or =Artabrum=, a promontory of Spain, now cape _Finisterre_.
_Strabo_, bk. 3.

=Nesactum=, a town of Istria at the mouth of the Arsia, now _Castel
Nuovo_.

=Nesæa=, one of the Nereides. _Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 4, li. 338.

=Nesimăchus=, the father of Hippomedon, a native of Argos, who was one
of the seven chiefs who made war against Thebes. _Hyginus_, fable 70.
――_Scholiast_ on _Statius_, _Thebaid_, bk. 1, li. 44.

=Nesis= (is, or idis), now _Nisita_, an island on the coast of
Campania, famous for asparagus. Lucan and Statius speak of its air
as unwholesome and dangerous. _Pliny_, bk. 19, ch. 8.――_Lucan_,
bk. 6, li. 90.――_Cicero_, _Letters to Atticus_, bk. 16, ltrs. 1
& 2.――_Statius_, bk. 3, _Sylvæ_, poem 1, li. 148.

=Nessus=, a celebrated centaur, son of Ixion and the Cloud. He offered
violence to Dejanira, whom Hercules had entrusted to his care,
with orders to carry her across the river Evenus. _See:_ Dejanira.
Hercules saw the distress of his wife from the opposite shore of the
river, and immediately he let fly one of his poisoned arrows, which
struck the centaur to the heart. Nessus, as he expired, gave the
tunic he then wore to Dejanira, assuring her that, from the poisoned
blood which had flowed from his wounds, it had received the power
of calling a husband away from unlawful loves. Dejanira received
it with pleasure, and this mournful present caused the death of
Hercules. _See:_ Hercules. _Apollodorus_, bk. 2, ch. 7.――_Ovid_,
ltr. 9.――_Seneca_, _Hercules Furens_.――_Pausanias_, bk. 3, ch. 28.
――_Diodorus_, bk. 4.――――A river. _See:_ Nestus.

=Nestŏcles=, a famous statuary of Greece, rival to Phidias. _Pliny_,
bk. 34, ch. 8.

=Nestor=, a son of Neleus and Chloris, nephew to Pelias and grandson
to Neptune. He had 11 brothers, who were all killed, with his father,
by Hercules. His tender age detained him at home, and was the cause
of his preservation. The conqueror spared his life, and placed him
on the throne of Pylos. He married Eurydice the daughter of Clymenes,
or, according to others, Anaxibia the daughter of Atreus. He early
distinguished himself in the field of battle, and was present at
the nuptials of Pirithous, when a bloody battle was fought between
the Lapithæ and Centaurs. As king of Pylos and Messenia he led his
subjects to the Trojan war, where he distinguished himself among the
rest of the Grecian chiefs by eloquence, address, wisdom, justice,
and an uncommon prudence of mind. Homer displays his character as
the most perfect of all his heroes; and Agamemnon exclaims, that
if he had 10 generals like Nestor, he should soon see the walls
of Troy reduced to ashes. After the Trojan war, Nestor retired to
Greece, where he enjoyed, in the bosom of his family, the peace and
tranquillity which were due to his wisdom and to his old age. The
manner and the time of his death are unknown; the ancients are all
agreed that he lived three generations of men, which length of time
some suppose to be 300 years, though more probably only 90, allowing
30 years for each generation. From that circumstance, therefore, it
was usual among the Greeks and the Latins, when they wished a long
and happy life to their friends, to wish them to see the years of
Nestor. He had two daughters, Pisidice and Polycaste; and seven sons,
Perseus, Straticus, Aretus, Echephron, Pisistratus, Antilochus, and
Trasimedes. Nestor was one of the Argonauts, according to _Valerius
Flaccus_, bk. 1, li. 380, &c.――_Dictys Cretensis_, bk. 1, ch. 13, &c.
――_Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 1, &c.; _Odyssey_, bks. 3 & 11.――_Hyginus_,
fables 10 & 273.――_Pausanias_, bk. 3, ch. 26; bk. 4, chs. 3 & 31.
――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 9; bk. 2, ch. 7.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_,
bk. 12, li. 162, &c.――_Horace_, bk. 1, ode 15.――――A poet of Lycaonia
in the age of the emperor Severus. He was father to Pisander, who,
under the emperor Alexander, wrote some fabulous stories.――――One of
the body-guards of Alexander. _Polyænus._

=Nestorius=, a bishop of Constantinople, who flourished A.D. 431.
He was condemned and degraded from his episcopal dignity for his
heretical opinions, &c.

=Nestus=, or =Nessus=, now _Nesto_, a small river of Thrace, rising
in mount Rhodope, and falling into the Ægean sea above the island of
Thasos. It was for some time the boundary of Macedonia on the east,
in the more extensive power of that kingdom.

=Netum=, a town of Sicily, now called _Noto_, on the eastern coast.
_Silius Italicus_, bk. 14, li. 269.――_Cicero_, _Against Verres_,
bk. 4, ch. 26; bk. 5, ch. 51.

=Neuri=, a people of Sarmatia. _Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 1.

=Nicæa=, a widow of Alexander, who married Demetrius.――――A daughter
of Antipater, who married Perdiccas.――――A city of India, built by
Alexander on the very spot where he had obtained a victory over king
Porus.――――A town of Achaia near Thermopylæ, on the bay of Malia.――――A
town of Illyricum.――――Another in Corsica.――――Another in Thrace,――――in
Bœotia.――――A town of Bithynia (now _Nice_, or _Is-nik_), built by
Antigonus, the son of Philip king of Macedonia. It was originally
called _Antigonia_, and afterwards _Nicæa_ by Lysimachus, who gave
it the name of his wife, who was daughter of Antipater.――――A town
of Liguria, built by the people of Massilia, in commemoration of a
victory.

=Nicagŏras=, a sophist of Athens in the reign of the emperor Philip.
He wrote the lives of illustrious men, and was reckoned one of the
greatest and most learned men of his age.

=Nicander=, a king of Sparta, son of Charillus, of the family of
the Proclidæ. He reigned 39 years, and died B.C. 770.――――A writer
of Chalcedon.――――A Greek grammarian, poet, and physician, of
Colophon, 137 B.C. His writings were held in estimation, but his
judgment cannot be highly commended, since, without any knowledge
of agriculture, he ventured to compose a book on that intricate
subject. Two of his poems, entitled _Theriaca_, on hunting, and
_Alexipharmaca_, on antidotes against poison, are still extant; the
best editions of which are those of Gorræus, with a translation in
Latin verse by Grevinus, a physician at Paris, 4to, Paris, 1557, and
Salvinus, 8vo, Florence, 1764. _Cicero_, bk. 1, _On Oratory_, ch. 16.

=Nicānor=, a man who conspired against the life of Alexander. _Curtius_,
bk. 6.――――A son of Parmenio, who died in Hyrcania, &c.――――A surname
of Demetrius. _See:_ Demetrius II.――――An unskilful pilot of Antigonus.
_Polyænus._――――A servant of Atticus. _Cicero_, bk. 5, ltr. 3.――――A
Samian, who wrote a treatise on rivers.――――A governor of Media,
conquered by Seleucus. He had been governor over the Athenians under
Cassander, by whose orders he was put to death.――――A general of the
emperor Titus, wounded at the siege of Jerusalem.――――A man of Stagira,
by whom Alexander the Great sent a letter to recall the Grecian
exiles. _Diodorus_, bk. 18.――――A governor of Munychia, who seized
the Piræus, and was at last put to death by Cassander, because he
wished to make himself absolute over Attica. _Diodorus_, bk. 18.――――A
brother of Cassander, destroyed by Olympias. _Diodorus_, bk. 19.――――A
general of Antiochus king of Syria. He made war against the Jews, and
showed himself uncommonly cruel.

=Nicarchus=, a Corinthian philosopher in the age of Periander.
_Plutarch._――――An Arcadian chief, who deserted to the Persians,
at the return of the 10,000 Greeks.

=Nicarthīdes=, a man set over Persepolis by Alexander.

=Nicātor=, a surname of Seleucus king of Syria, from his having been
unconquered.

=Nice=, a daughter of Thestius. _Apollodorus._

=Nicephorium=, a town of Mesopotamia, on the Euphrates, where Venus had
a temple. _Livy_, bk. 32, ch. 33.――_Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 6, ch. 41.

=Nicephŏrius=, now _Khabour_, a river which flowed by the walls of
Tigranocerta. _Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 15, ch. 4.

=Nicephŏrus Cæsar=, a Byzantine historian, whose works were edited
folio, Paris, 1661.――――Gregoras, another, edited folio, Paris, 1702.
――――A Greek ecclesiastical historian, whose works were edited by
Ducæus, 2 vols., Paris, 1630.

=Nicer=, now the _Necker_, a river of Germany, falling into the Rhine
at the modern town of Manheim. _Ausonius_, _Mosella_, li. 423.

=Nicerātus=, a poet who wrote a poem in praise of Lysander.――――The
father of Nicias.

=Nicetas=, one of the Byzantine historians, whose works were edited
folio, Paris, 1647.

=Niceteria=, a festival at Athens, in memory of the victory which
Minerva obtained over Neptune, in their dispute about giving a name
to the capital of the country.

=Nicia=, a city. _See:_ Nicæa.――――A river falling into the Po at
Brixellum. It is now called _Lenza_, and separates the duchy of
Modena from Parma.

=Nicias=, an Athenian general, celebrated for his valour and for his
misfortunes. He early conciliated the good will of the people by his
liberality, and he established his military character by taking the
island of Cythera from the power of Lacedæmon. When Athens determined
to make war against Sicily, Nicias was appointed, with Alcibiades and
Lamachus, to conduct the expedition, which he reprobated as impolitic,
and as the future cause of calamities to the Athenian power. In
Sicily he behaved with great firmness, but he often blamed the quick
and inconsiderate measures of his colleagues. The success of the
Athenians remained long doubtful. Alcibiades was recalled by his
enemies to take his trial, and Nicias was left at the head of affairs.
Syracuse was surrounded by a wall, and though the operations were
carried on slowly, yet the city would have surrendered, had not the
sudden appearance of Gylippus, the Corinthian ally of the Sicilians,
cheered up the courage of the besieged at the most critical moment.
Gylippus proposed terms of accommodation to the Athenians, which were
refused; some battles were fought, in which the Sicilians obtained
the advantage, and Nicias at last, tired of his ill success, and
grown desponding, demanded of the Athenians a reinforcement or a
successor. Demosthenes, upon this, was sent with a powerful fleet,
but the advice of Nicias was despised, and the admiral, by his
eagerness to come to a decisive engagement, ruined his fleet and the
interest of Athens. The fear of his enemies at home prevented Nicias
from leaving Sicily; and when, at last, a continued series of ill
success obliged him to comply, he found himself surrounded on every
side by the enemy, without hope of escaping. He gave himself up to
the conquerors with all his army, but the assurances of safety which
he had received soon proved vain and false, and he was no sooner
in the hands of the enemy than he was shamefully put to death with
Demosthenes. His troops were sent to quarries, where the plague and
hard labour diminished their numbers and aggravated their misfortunes.
Some suppose that the death of Nicias was not violent. He perished
about 413 years before Christ, and the Athenians lamented in him
a great and valiant but unfortunate general. _Plutarch_, _Lives_.
――_Cicero._――_Cornelius Nepos_, _Alcibiades_.――_Thucydides_, bk. 4,
&c.――_Diodorus_, bk. 15.――――A grammarian of Rome, intimate with
Cicero. _Cicero_, _Letters_.――――A man of Nicæa, who wrote a history
of philosophers.――――A physician of Pyrrhus king of Epirus, who made
an offer to the Romans of poisoning his master for a sum of money.
The Roman general disdained his offers, and acquainted Pyrrhus with
his treachery. He is oftener called Cineas.――――A painter of Athens in
the age of Alexander. He was chiefly happy in his pictures of women.
_Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 2, ch. 31.

=Nicippe=, a daughter of Pelops, who married Sthenelus.――――A daughter
of Thespius. _Apollodorus._

=Nicippus=, a tyrant of Cos, one of whose sheep brought forth a lion,
which was considered as portending his future greatness, and his
elevation to the sovereignty. _Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 1,
ch. 29.

=Nico=, one of the Tarentine chiefs who conspired against the life of
Annibal. _Livy_, bk. 30.――――A celebrated architect and geometrician.
He was father to the celebrated Galen the prince of physicians.
――――One of the slaves of Craterus.――――The name of an ass which
Augustus met before the battle of Actium, a circumstance which
he considered as a favourable omen.――――The name of an elephant
remarkable for his fidelity to king Pyrrhus.

=Nicochăres=, a Greek comic poet in the age of Aristophanes.

=Nicŏcles=, a familiar friend of Phocion, condemned to death.
_Plutarch._――――A king of Salamis, celebrated for his contest with a
king of Phœnicia, to prove which of the two was most effeminate.――――A
king of Paphos, who reigned under the protection of Ptolemy king of
Egypt. He revolted from his friend to the king of Persia, upon which
Ptolemy ordered one of his servants to put him to death, to strike
terror into the other dependent princes. The servant, unwilling to
murder the monarch, advised him to kill himself. Nicocles obeyed, and
all his family followed his example, 310 years before the christian
era.――――An ancient Greek poet, who called physicians a happy race of
men, because light published their good deeds to the world, and the
earth hid all their faults and imperfections.――――A king of Cyprus,
who succeeded his father Evagoras on the throne, 374 years before
Christ. It was with him that the philosopher Isocrates corresponded.
――――A tyrant of Sicyon, deposed by means of Aratus the Achæan.
_Plutarch_, _Aratus_.

=Nicocrătes=, a tyrant of Cyrene.――――An author at Athens.――――A king of
Salamis in Cyprus, who made himself known by the valuable collection
of books which he had. _Athenæus_, bk. 1.

=Nicocreon=, a tyrant of Salamis in the age of Alexander the Great.
He ordered the philosopher Anaxarchus to be pounded to pieces in a
mortar.

=Nicodēmus=, an Athenian appointed by Conon over the fleet which was
going to the assistance of Artaxerxes. _Diodorus_, bk. 14.――――A
tyrant of Italy, &c.――――An ambassador sent to Pompey by Aristobulus.

=Nicodōrus=, a wrestler of Mantinea, who studied philosophy in his
old age. _Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 2, ch. 22.――_Suidas._――――An
Athenian archon.

=Nicodrŏmus=, a son of Hercules and Nice. _Apollodorus._――――An Athenian
who invaded Ægina, &c.

=Nicolāus=, a philosopher.――――A celebrated Syracusan, who endeavoured,
in a pathetic speech, to dissuade his countrymen from offering
violence to the Athenian prisoners who had been taken with Nicias
their general. His eloquence was unavailing.――――An officer of Ptolemy
against Antigonus.――――A peripatetic philosopher and historian in the
Augustan age.

=Nicomăcha=, a daughter of Themistocles.

=Nicomăchus=, the father of Aristotle, whose son also bore the same
name. The philosopher composed his 10 books of morals for the use
and improvement of his son, and thence they are called Nicomachea.
_Suidas._――――One of Alexander’s friends, who discovered the
conspiracy of Dymus. _Curtius_, bk. 6.――――An excellent painter.――――A
Pythagorean philosopher.――――A Lacedæmonian general, conquered by
Timotheus.――――A writer in the fifth century, &c.

=Nicomēdes I.=, a king of Bithynia, about 278 years before the
christian era. It was by his exertions that this part of Asia became
a monarchy. He behaved with great cruelty to his brothers, and built
a town which he called by his own name, _Nicomedia_. _Justin._
――_Pausanias_, &c.

=Nicomēdes II.=, was ironically surnamed _Philopater_, because he
drove his father Prusias from the kingdom of Bithynia, and caused
him to be assassinated, B.C. 149. He reigned 59 years. Mithridates
laid claim to his kingdom, but all their disputes were decided by
the Romans, who deprived Nicomedes of the province of Paphlagonia,
and his ambitious rival of Cappadocia. He gained the affections of
his subjects by a courteous behaviour, and by a mild and peaceful
government. _Justin._

=Nicomēdes III.=, son and successor of the preceding, was dethroned by
his brother Socrates, and afterwards by the ambitious Mithridates.
The Romans re-established him on his throne, and encouraged him to
make reprisals upon the king of Pontus. He followed their advice, and
he was, at last, expelled another time from his dominions, till Sylla
came into Asia, who restored him to his former power and affluence.
_Strabo._――_Appian._

=Nicomēdes IV.=, was son and successor of Nicomedes III. He passed his
life in an easy and tranquil manner, and enjoyed the peace which his
alliance with the Romans had procured him. He died B.C. 75, without
issue, and left his kingdom, with all his possessions, to the Roman
people. _Strabo_, bk. 12.――_Appian_, _Mithridatic Wars_.――_Justin_,
bk. 38, ch. 2, &c.――_Florus_, bk. 3, ch. 5.

=Nicomēdes=, a celebrated geometrician in the age of the philosopher
Eratosthenes. He made himself known by his useful machines, &c.――――An
engineer in the army of Mithridates.――――One of the preceptors of the
emperor Marcus Antoninus.

=Nicomēdia= (now _Is-nikmid_), a town of Bithynia, founded by
Nicomedes I. It was the capital of the country, and it has been
compared, for its beauty and greatness, to Rome, Antioch, or
Alexandria. It became celebrated for being, for some time, the
residence of the emperor Constantine and most of his imperial
successors. Some suppose that it was originally called _Astacus_, and
_Olbia_, though it is generally believed that they were all different
cities. _Ammianus_, bk. 17.――_Pausanias_, bk. 5, ch. 12.――_Pliny_,
bk. 5, &c.――_Strabo_, bk. 12, &c.

=Nicon=, a pirate of Phære in Peloponnesus, &c. _Polyænus._――――An
athlete of Thasos, 14 times victorious at the Olympic games.――――A
native of Tarentum. _See:_ Nico.

=Niconia=, a town of Pontus.

=Nicophanes=, a famous painter of Greece, whose pieces are mentioned
with commendation. _Pliny_, bk. 35, ch. 10.

=Nicŏphron=, a comic poet of Athens some time after the age of
Aristophanes.

=Nicŏpolis=, a city of Lower Egypt.――――A town of Armenia, built by
Pompey the Great in memory of a victory which he had there obtained
over the forces of Mithridates. _Strabo_, bk. 12.――――Another, in
Thrace, built on the banks of the Nestus by Trajan, in memory of a
victory which he obtained there over the barbarians.――――A town of
Epirus, built by Augustus after the battle of Actium.――――Another,
near Jerusalem, founded by the emperor Vespasian.――――Another, in
Mœsia.――――Another, in Dacia, built by Trajan to perpetuate the memory
of a celebrated battle.――――Another, near the bay of Issus, built by
Alexander.

=Nicostrăta=, a courtesan who left all her possessions to Sylla.――――The
same as Carmente mother of Evander.

=Nicostrătus=, a man of Argos of great strength. He was fond of
imitating Hercules by clothing himself in a lion’s skin. _Diodorus_,
bk. 16.――――One of Alexander’s soldiers. He conspired against the
king’s life, with Hermolaus. _Curtius_, bk. 8.――――A painter who
expressed great admiration at the sight of Helen’s picture by Zeuxis.
_Ælian_, bk. 14, ch. 47.――――A dramatic actor of Ionia.――――A comic
poet of Argos.――――An orator of Macedonia, in the reign of the emperor
Marcus Antoninus.――――A son of Menelaus and Helen. _Pausanias_, bk. 2,
ch. 18.――――A general of the Achæans, who defeated the Macedonians.

=Nicotelea=, a celebrated woman of Messenia, who said that she became
pregnant of Aristomenes by a serpent. _Pausanias_, bk. 4, ch. 14.

=Nicotĕles=, a Corinthian drunkard, &c. _Ælian_, _Varia Historia_,
bk. 2, ch. 14.