Chapter M (9)

=Niger=, a friend of Marcus Antony, sent to him by Octavia.――――A
surname of Clitus, whom Alexander killed in a fit of drunkenness.
――――Caius Pescennius Justus, a celebrated governor in Syria, well
known by his valour in the Roman armies, while yet a private man. At
the death of Pertinax he was declared emperor of Rome, and his claims
to that elevated situation were supported by a sound understanding,
prudence of mind, moderation, courage, and virtue. He proposed
to imitate the actions of the venerable Antoninus, of Trajan, of
Titus, and Marcus Aurelius. He was remarkable for his fondness for
ancient discipline, and never suffered his soldiers to drink wine,
but obliged them to quench their thirst with water and vinegar. He
forbade the use of silver and gold utensils in his camp, all the
bakers and cooks were driven away, and the soldiers ordered to live,
during the expedition they undertook, merely upon biscuits. In his
punishments Niger was inexorable; he condemned 10 of his soldiers to
be beheaded in the presence of the army, because they had stolen and
eaten a fowl. The sentence was heard with groans: the army interfered;
and when Niger consented to diminish the punishment for fear of
kindling a rebellion, he yet ordered the criminals to make each a
restoration of 10 fowls to the person whose property they had stolen.
They were, besides, ordered not to light a fire the rest of the
campaign, but to live upon cold aliments, and to drink nothing but
water. Such great qualifications in a general seemed to promise the
restoration of ancient discipline in the Roman armies, but the death
of Niger frustrated every hope of reform. Severus, who had also been
invested with the imperial purple, marched against him; some battles
were fought, and Niger was at last defeated, A.D. 194. His head was
cut off and fixed to a long spear, and carried in triumph through
the streets of Rome. He reigned about one year. _Herodian_, bk. 3.
――_Eutropius._

=Niger=, or =Nigris= (itis), a river of Africa, which rises in Æthiopia,
and falls by three mouths into the Atlantic, little known to the
ancients, and not yet satisfactorily explored by the moderns. _Pliny_,
bk. 5, chs. 1 & 8.――_Mela_, bk. 1, ch. 4; bk. 3, ch. 10.――_Ptolemy_,
bk. 4, ch. 6.

=Publius Nigidius Figŭlus=, a celebrated philosopher and astrologer
at Rome, one of the most learned men of his age. He was intimate
with Cicero, and gave his most unbiassed opinions concerning the
conspirators who had leagued to destroy Rome with Catiline. He was
made pretor, and honoured with a seat in the senate. In the civil
wars he followed the interest of Pompey, for which he was banished
by the conqueror. He died in the place of his banishment, 47 years
before Christ. _Cicero_, _Letters to his Friends_, bk. 4, ltr. 13.
――_Lucan_, bk. 1, li. 639.

=Nigrītæ=, a people of Africa, who dwell on the banks of the Niger.
_Mela_, bk. 1, ch. 4.――_Pliny_, bk. 5, ch. 1.

=Nileus=, a son of Codrus, who conducted a colony of Ionians to
Asia, where he built Ephesus, Miletus, Priene, Colophon, Myus,
Teos, Lebedos, Clazomenæ, &c. _Pausanias_, bk. 7, ch. 2, &c.――――A
philosopher who had in his possession all the writings of Aristotle.
_Athenæus_, bk. 1.

=Nilus=, a king of Thebes, who gave his name to the river which flows
through the middle of Egypt, and falls into the Mediterranean sea.
The Nile, anciently called _Ægyptus_, is one of the most celebrated
rivers in the world. Its sources were unknown to the ancients,
and the moderns were till lately ignorant of their situation,
whence an impossibility is generally meant by the proverb of _Nili
caput quærere_. It flows through the middle of Egypt in a northern
direction, and when it comes to the town of Cercasorum, it then
divides itself into several streams, and falls into the Mediterranean
by seven mouths. The most eastern canal is called the Pelusian,
and the most western is called the Canopic mouth. The other canals
are the Sebennytican, that of Sais, the Mendesian, Bolbitinic, and
Bucolic. They have all been formed by nature, except the two last,
which have been dug by the labours of men. The island which the Nile
forms by its division into several streams is called _Delta_, from
its resemblance to the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet. The Nile
yearly overflows the country, and it is to those regular inundations
that the Egyptians are indebted for the fertile produce of their
lands. It begins to rise in the month of May for 100 successive days,
and then decreases gradually the same number of days. If it does not
rise as high as 16 cubits, a famine is generally expected, but if it
exceeds this by many cubits, it is of the most dangerous consequences;
houses are overturned, the cattle are drowned, and a great number
of insects are produced from the mud, which destroy the fruits of
the earth. The river, therefore, proves a blessing or a calamity to
Egypt, and the prosperity of the nation depends so much upon it, that
the tributes of the inhabitants were in ancient times, and are still
under the present government, proportioned to the rise of the waters.
The causes of the overflowings of the Nile, which remained unknown
to the ancients, though searched with the greatest application, are
owing to the heavy rains which regularly fall in Æthiopia, in the
months of April and May, and which rush down like torrents upon the
country, and lay it all under water. These causes, as some people
suppose, were well known to Homer, as he seems to show it, by saying
that the Nile flowed down from heaven. The inhabitants of Egypt, near
the banks of the river, were called _Niliaci_, _Niligenæ_, &c., and
large canals were also from this river denominated _Nili_ or _Euripi_.
_Cicero_, _De Legibus_, bk. 2, ch. 1; _Letters to his brother
Quintus_, bk. 3, ltr. 9; _Letters to Atticus_, bk. 11, ltr. 12.
――_Strabo_, bk. 17.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 5, li. 187; bk. 15,
li. 753.――_Mela_, bk. 1, ch. 9; bk. 3, ch. 9.――_Seneca_, _Quæstiones
Naturales_, bk. 4.――_Lucan_, bks. 1, 2, &c.――_Claudian_, _de Nilus_.
――_Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 4, li. 288; _Æneid_, bk. 6, li. 800; bk.
9, li. 31.――_Diodorus_, bk. 1, &c.――_Herodotus_, bk. 2.――_Lucretius_,
bk. 6, li. 712.――_Ammianus_, bk. 22.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10, ch. 32.
――_Pliny_, bk. 5, ch. 10.――――One of the Greek fathers, who flourished
A.D. 440. His works were edited at Rome, folio, 2 vols., 1668 & 1678.

=Ninnius=, a tribune who opposed Clodius the enemy of Cicero.

=Ninias.= _See:_ Ninyas.

=Ninus=, a son of Belus, who built a city to which he gave his own
name, and founded the Assyrian monarchy, of which he was the first
sovereign, B.C. 2059. He was very warlike, and extended his conquests
from Egypt to the extremities of India and Bactriana. He became
enamoured of Semiramis the wife of one of his officers, and he
married her after her husband had destroyed himself through fear of
his powerful rival. Ninus reigned 52 years, and at his death he left
his kingdom to the care of his wife Semiramis, by whom he had a son.
The history of Ninus is very obscure, and even fabulous according
to the opinion of some. Ctesias is the principal historian from
whom it is derived, but little reliance is to be placed upon him,
when Aristotle deems him unworthy to be believed. Ninus after death
received divine honours, and became the Jupiter of the Assyrians
and the Hercules of the Chaldeans. _Ctesias._――_Diodorus_, bk. 2.
――_Justin_, bk. 1, ch. 1.――_Herodotus_, bk. 2.――――A celebrated city,
now _Nino_, the capital of Assyria, built on the banks of the Tigris
by Ninus, and called _Nineveh_ in Scripture. It was, according to
the relation of Diodorus Siculus, 15 miles long, nine broad, and 48
in circumference. It was surrounded by large walls 100 feet high, on
the top of which three chariots could pass together abreast, and was
defended by 1500 towers, each 200 feet high. Ninus was taken by the
united armies of Cyaxares and Nabopolassar king of Babylon, B.C. 606.
_Strabo_, bk. 1.――_Diodorus_, bk. 2.――_Herodotus_, bk. 1, ch. 185, &c.
――_Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 33.――_Lucian._

=Ninyas=, a son of Ninus and Semiramis, king of Assyria, who succeeded
his mother, who had voluntarily abdicated the crown. Some suppose
that Semiramis was put to death by her own son, because she had
encouraged him to commit incest. The reign of Ninyas is remarkable
for its luxury and extravagance. The prince left the care of the
government to his favourites and ministers, and gave himself up to
pleasure, riot, and debauchery, and never appeared in public. His
successors imitated the example of his voluptuousness, and therefore
their names or history are little known till the age of Sardanapalus.
_Justin_, bk. 1, ch. 2.――_Diodorus_, bk. 1, &c.

=Niŏbe=, a daughter of Tantalus king of Lydia by Euryanassa or Dione.
She married Amphion the son of Jasus, by whom she had 10 sons and
10 daughters according to Hesiod, or two sons and three daughters
according to Herodotus. Homer and Propertius say that she had six
daughters and as many sons, and Ovid, Apollodorus, &c., according to
the more received opinion, support that she had seven sons and seven
daughters. The names of the sons were Sipylus, Minytus, Tantalus,
Agenor, Phædimus, Damasichthon, and Ismenus; and those of the
daughters, Cleodoxa, Ethodæa or Thera, Astyoche, Phthia, Pelopia or
Chloris, Asticratea, and Ogygia. The number of her children increased
the pride of Niobe, and she not only had the imprudence to prefer
herself to Latona, who had only two children, but she even insulted
her, and ridiculed the worship which was paid to her, observing that
she had a better claim to altars and sacrifices than the mother of
Apollo and Diana. This insolence provoked Latona, who entreated her
children to punish the arrogant Niobe. Her prayers were heard, and
immediately all the sons of Niobe expired by the darts of Apollo,
and all the daughters except Chloris, who had married Neleus king
of Polos, were equally destroyed by Diana; and Niobe, struck at the
suddenness of her misfortunes, was changed into a stone. The carcases
of Niobe’s children, according to Homer, were left unburied in the
plains for nine successive days, because Jupiter changed into stones
all such as attempted to inter them. On the tenth day they were
honoured with a funeral by the gods. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 24.
――_Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 12, ch. 36.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 3,
ch. 5.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, fable 5.――_Hyginus_, fable 9.
――_Horace_, bk. 4, ode 6.――_Propertius_, bk. 2, poem 6.――――A daughter
of Phoroneus king of Peloponnesus by Laodice. She was beloved by
Jupiter, by whom she had a son called Argus, who gave his name to
Argia or Argolis, a country of Peloponnesus. _Pausanias_, bk. 2,
ch. 22.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 2, ch. 1; bk. 3, ch. 8.

=Niphæus=, a man killed by horses, &c. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 10,
li. 570.

=Niphātes=, a mountain of Asia, which divides Armenia from Assyria, and
from which the Tigris takes its rise. _Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 3,
li. 30.――_Strabo_, bk. 11.――_Mela_, bk. 1, ch. 15.――――A river of
Armenia, falling into the Tigris. _Horace_, bk. 2, ode 9, li. 20.
――_Lucan_, bk. 3, li. 245.

=Niphe=, one of Diana’s companions. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 3,
li. 245.

=Nireus=, a king of Naxos, son of Charops and Aglaia, celebrated for
his beauty. He was one of the Grecian chiefs during the Trojan war.
_Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 2.――_Horace_, bk. 2, ode 20.

=Nisa=, a town of Greece. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 2.――――A country-woman.
_Virgil_, _Eclogues_, poem 8.――――A place. _See:_ Nysa.――――A
celebrated plain of Media near the Caspian sea, famous for its
horses. _Herodotus_, bk. 3, ch. 106.

=Nisæa=, a naval station on the coasts of Megaris. _Strabo_, bk. 8.
――――A town of Parthia, called also Nisa.

=Nisæe=, a sea-nymph. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 5, li. 826.

=Niseia.= _See:_ Nisus.

=Nisĭbis=, a town of Mesopotamia, built by a colony of Macedonians on
the Tigris, and celebrated as being a barrier between the provinces
of Rome and the Persian empire during the reign of the Roman emperors.
It was sometimes called _Antiochia Mygdonica_. _Josephus_, bk. 20,
ch. 2.――_Strabo_, bk. 11.――_Ammianus_, bk. 25, &c.――_Pliny_, bk. 6,
ch. 13.

=Nisus=, a son of Hyrtacus, born on mount Ida near Troy. He came to
Italy with Æneas, and signalized himself by his valour against the
Rutulians. He was united in the closest friendship with Euryalus,
a young Trojan, and with him he entered, in the dead of night, the
enemy’s camp. As they were returning victorious, after much bloodshed,
they were perceived by the Rutulians, who attacked Euryalus. Nisus,
in endeavouring to rescue his friend from the enemy’s darts, perished
himself with him, and their heads were cut off and fixed on a spear,
and carried in triumph to the camp. Their death was greatly lamented
by all the Trojans, and their great friendship, like that of a
Pylades and an Orestes, or of a Theseus and Pirithous, is become
proverbial. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 9, li. 176, &c.――――A king of
Dulichium, remarkable for his probity and virtue. _Homer_, _Odyssey_,
bk. 18.――――A king of Megara, son of Mars, or more probably of Pandion.
He inherited his father’s kingdom with his brothers, and received
as his portion the country of Megaris. The peace of the brothers was
interrupted by the hostilities of Minos, who wished to avenge the
death of his son Androgeus, who had been murdered by the Athenians.
Megara was besieged, and Attica laid waste. The fate of Nisus
depended totally upon a yellow lock, which, as long as it continued
upon his head, according to the words of an oracle, promised him
life, and success to his affairs. His daughter Scylla (often called
_Niseia Virgo_) saw from the walls of Megara the royal besieger, and
she became desperately enamoured of him. To obtain a more immediate
interview with this object of her passion, she stole away the
fatal hair from her father’s head as he was asleep; the town was
immediately taken, but Minos disregarded the services of Scylla, and
she threw herself into the sea. The gods changed her into a lark,
and Nisus assumed the nature of the hawk at the very moment that he
gave himself death, not to fall into the enemy’s hands. These two
birds have continually been at variance with each other, and Scylla,
by her apprehensions at the sight of her father, seems to suffer
the punishment which her perfidy deserved. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3,
ch. 15.――_Pausanias_, bk. 1, ch. 19.――_Strabo_, bk. 9.――_Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 8, li. 6, &c.――_Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 1,
li. 404, &c.

=Nisȳros=, an island in the Ægean sea, at the west of Rhodes, with a
town of the same name. It was originally joined to the island of Cos,
according to Pliny, and it bore the name of _Porphyris_. Neptune, who
was supposed to have separated them with a blow of his trident, and
to have there overwhelmed the giant Polybotes, was worshipped there,
and called _Nisyreus_. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 6.――_Mela_, bk. 2,
ch. 7.――_Strabo_, bk. 10.

=Nitētis=, a daughter of Apries king of Egypt, married by his successor
Amasis to Cyrus. _Polyænus_, bk. 8.

=Nitiobriges=, a people of Gaul, supposed to be _Agenois_, in Guienne.
_Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 7, ch. 7.

=Nitōcris=, a celebrated queen of Babylon, who built a bridge across
the Euphrates, in the middle of that city, and dug a number of
reservoirs for the superfluous waters of that river. She ordered
herself to be buried over one of the gates of the city, and placed an
inscription on her tomb, which signified that her successors would
find great treasures within if ever they were in need of money, but
that their labours would be but ill repaid if ever they ventured to
open it without necessity. Cyrus opened it through curiosity, and
was struck to find within these words: _If thy avarice had not been
insatiable, thou never wouldst have violated the monuments of the
dead_. _Herodotus_, bk. 1, ch. 185.――――A queen of Egypt, who built
a third pyramid.

=Nitria=, a country of Egypt with two towns of the same name, above
Memphis.

=Nivaria=, an island at the west of Africa, supposed to be _Teneriff_,
one of the Canaries. _Pliny_, bk. 6, ch. 32.

=Noas=, a river of Thrace falling into the Ister. _Herodotus_, bk. 4,
ch. 46.

=Nocmon=, a Trojan killed by Turnus. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 9, li. 767.

=Noctilūca=, a surname of Diana. She had a temple at Rome on mount
Palatine, where torches were generally lighted in the night. _Varro_,
_de Lingua Latina_, bk. 4.――_Horace_, bk. 4, ode 6, li. 38.

=Nola=, an ancient town of Campania, which became a Roman colony before
the first Punic war. It was founded by a Tuscan, or, according to
others, by an Eubœan colony. It is said that Virgil had introduced
the name of Nola in his Georgics, but that, when he was refused a
glass of water by the inhabitants as he passed through the city, he
totally blotted it out of his poem, and substituted the word _ora_,
in the 225th line of the second book of his Georgics. Nola was
besieged by Annibal, and bravely defended by Marcellus. Augustus died
there on his return from Neapolis to Rome. Bells were first invented
there in the beginning of the fifth century, from which reason they
have been called _Nolæ_, or _Campanæ_, in Latin. The inventor was
St. Paulinus, the bishop of the place, who died A.D. 431, though
many imagine that bells were known long before, and only introduced
into churches by that prelate. Before his time, congregations were
called to the church by the noise of wooden rattles (_sacra ligna_).
_Paterculus_, bk. 1, ch. 7.――_Suetonius_, _Augustus_.――_Silius
Italicus_, bk. 8, li. 517; bk. 12, li. 161.――_Aulus Gellius_, bk. 7,
ch. 20.――_Livy_, bk. 23, chs. 14 & 39; bk. 24, ch. 13.

=Nomădes=, a name given to all those uncivilized people who had no
fixed habitation, and who continually changed the place of their
residence, to go in quest of fresh pasture for the numerous cattle
which they tended. There were Nomades in Scythia, India, Arabia,
and Africa. Those of Africa were afterwards called _Numidians_, by
a small change of the letters which composed their name. _Silius
Italicus_, bk. 1, li. 215.――_Pliny_, bk. 5, ch. 3.――_Herodotus_, bk.
1, ch. 15; bk. 4, ch. 187.――_Strabo_, bk. 7.――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 1;
bk. 3, ch. 4.――_Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 3, li. 343.――_Pausanias_,
bk. 8, ch. 43.

=Nomæ=, a town of Sicily. _Diodorus_, bk. 11.――_Silius Italicus_,
bk. 14, li. 266.

=Nomentānus=, an epithet applied to Lucius Cassius as a native of
Nomentum. He is mentioned by Horace as a mixture of luxury and
dissipation. _Horace_, bk. 1, satire 2, li. 102 & _alibi_.

=Nomentum=, a town of the Sabines in Italy, famous for wine, and now
called _Lamentana_. The dictator Quintus Servilius Priscus gave the
Veientes and Fidenates battle there A.U.C. 312, and totally defeated
them. _Ovid_, _Fasti_, bk. 4, li. 905.――_Livy_, bk. 1, ch. 38; bk. 4,
ch. 22.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6, li. 773.

=Nomii=, mountains of Arcadia. _Pausanias._

=Nomius=, a surname given to Apollo, because he fed (νεμω, _pasco_),
the flocks of king Admetus in Thessaly. _Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_,
bk. 3, ch. 23.

=Nōnācris=, a town of Arcadia, which received its name from a wife of
Lycaon. There was a mountain of the same name in the neighbourhood.
Evander is sometimes called _Nonacrius heros_, as being an Arcadian
by birth, and Atalanta _Nonacria_, as being a native of the
place. _Curtius_, bk. 10, ch. 10.――_Ovid_, _Fasti_, bk. 5, li. 97;
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 8, fable 10.――_Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 17, &c.

=Nonius=, a Roman soldier, imprisoned for paying respect to Galba’s
statues, &c. _Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 1, ch. 56.――――A Roman who
exhorted his countrymen after the fatal battle of Pharsalia, and the
flight of Pompey, by observing that eight standards (_aquilæ_) still
remained in the camp, to which Cicero answered, _Recte, si nobis cum
graculis bellum esset_.

=Nonnius Marcellus=, a grammarian, whose treatise _de variâ
significatione verborum_ was edited by Mercer, 8vo, Paris, 1614.

=Nonnus=, a Greek writer of the fifth century, who wrote an account
of the embassy he had undertaken to Æthiopia, among the Saracens
and other eastern nations. He is also known by his _Dionysiaca_, a
wonderful collection of heathen mythology and erudition, edited 4to,
Antwerp, 1569. His _paraphrase_ on John was edited by Heinsius, 8vo,
Leiden, 1627.

=Nonus=, a Greek physician, whose book _de omnium morborum curatione_
was edited in 12mo, Strasbourg, 1568.

=Nopia=, or =Cinopia=, a town of Bœotia, where Amphiaraus had a temple.

=Nōra=, now _Nour_, a place of Phrygia, where Eumenes retired for some
time, &c. _Cornelius Nepos._――――A town. _See:_ Norax.

=Norax=, a son of Mercury and Eurythæa, who led a colony of Iberians
into Sardinia, where he founded a town, to which he gave the name of
Nora. _Pausanias_, bk. 10, ch. 17.

=Norba=, a town of the Volsci. _Livy_, bk. 2, ch. 34.――――Cæsarea, a
town of Spain on the Tagus.

=Caius Norbānus=, a young and ambitious Roman who opposed Sylla, and
joined his interest to that of young Marius. In his consulship he
marched against Sylla, by whom he was defeated, &c. _Plutarch._――――A
friend and general of Augustus, employed in Macedonia against the
republicans. He was defeated by Brutus, &c.

=Norĭcum=, a country of ancient Illyricum, which now forms a part of
modern _Bavaria_ and _Austria_. It extended between the Danube, and
part of the Alps and Vindelicia. Its savage inhabitants, who were
once governed by kings, made many incursions upon the Romans, and
were at last conquered under Tiberius, and the country became a
dependent province. In the reign of Diocletian, Noricum was divided
into two parts, _Ripense_ and _Mediterranean_. The iron that was
drawn from Noricum was esteemed excellent, and thence _Noricus ensis_
was used to express the goodness of a sword. _Dionysius Periegetes.
_――_Strabo_, bk. 4.――_Pliny_, bk. 34, ch. 14.――_Tacitus_, _Histories_,
bk. 3, ch. 5.――_Horace_, bk. 1, ode 16, li. 9.――_Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 14, li. 712.

=Northippus=, a Greek tragic poet.

=Nortia=, a name given to the goddess of Fortune among the Etrurians.
_Livy_, bk. 7, ch. 3.

=Nothus=, a son of Deucalion.――――A surname of Darius king of Persia,
from his illegitimacy.

=Notium=, a town of Æolia near the Cayster. It was peopled by the
inhabitants of Colophon, who left their ancient habitations because
Notium was more conveniently situated in being on the seashore.
_Livy_, bk. 37, chs. 26, 38, 39.

=Notus=, the south wind, called also Auster.

=Novæ= (_tabernæ_), the new shops built in the forum at Rome, and
adorned with the shields of the Cimbri. _Cicero_, _On Oratory_,
bk. 2, ch. 66.――――The _Veteres tabernæ_ were adorned with those of
the Samnites. _Livy_, bk. 9, ch. 40.

=Novaria=, a town of Cisalpine Gaul, now _Novara_, in Milan. _Tacitus_,
_Histories_, bk. 1, ch. 70.

=Novātus=, a man who severely attacked the character of Augustus, under
a fictitious name. The emperor discovered him, and only fined him a
small sum of money.

=Novesium=, a town of the Ubii, on the west of the Rhine, now called
_Nuys_, near Cologne. _Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 4, ch. 26, &c.

=Noviodūnum=, a town of the Ædui in Gaul, taken by Julius Cæsar. It is
pleasantly situated on the Ligeris, and now called _Noyon_, or, as
others suppose, _Nevers_. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 2, ch. 12.

=Noviomagus=, or =Neomagus=, a town of Gaul, now _Nizeux_, in Normandy.
――――Another, called also _Nemetes_, now _Spire_.――――Another, in
Batavia, now _Nimeguen_, on the south side of the Waal.

=Novium=, a town of Spain, now _Noya_.

=Novius Priscus=, a man banished from Rome by Nero, on suspicion that
he was accessary to Piso’s conspiracy. _Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 15,
ch. 71.――――A man who attempted to assassinate the emperor Claudius.
――――Two brothers obscurely born, distinguished in the age of Horace
for their officiousness. _Horace_, bk. 1, satire 6.

=Novum Comum=, a town of Insubria on the lake Larinus, of which the
inhabitants were called _Novocomenses_. _Cicero_, _De Divinatione_,
bk. 13, ch. 55.

=Nox=, one of the most ancient deities among the heathens, daughter of
Chaos. From her union with her brother Erebus she gave birth to the
Day and the Light. She was also the mother of the Parcæ, Hesperides,
Dreams, of Discord, Death, Momus, Fraud, &c. She is called by some
of the poets the mother of all things, of gods as well as of men, and
therefore she was worshipped with great solemnity by the ancients.
She had a famous statue in Diana’s temple at Ephesus. It was usual
to offer her a black sheep, as she was the mother of the furies. The
cock was also offered to her, as that bird proclaims the approach of
day, during the darkness of the night. She is represented as mounted
on a chariot, and covered with a veil bespangled with stars. The
constellations generally went before her as her constant messengers.
Sometimes she is seen holding two children under her arms, one of
which is black, representing death, or rather night, and the other
white, representing sleep or day. Some of the moderns have described
her as a woman veiled in mourning, and crowned with poppies, and
carried on a chariot drawn by owls and bats. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6,
li. 950.――_Ovid_, _Fasti_, bk. 1, li. 455.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10,
ch. 38.――_Hesiod_, _Theogony_, lis. 125 & 212.

=Nuceria=, a town of Campania taken by Annibal. It became a Roman
colony under Augustus, and was called _Nuceria Constantia_, or
_Alfaterna_. It now bears the name of _Nocera_, and contains about
30,000 inhabitants. _Lucan_, bk. 2, li. 472.――_Livy_, bk. 9, ch. 41;
bk. 27, ch. 3.――_Silius Italicus_, bk. 8, li. 531.――_Tacitus_,
_Annals_, bks. 13 & 14.――――A town of Umbria at the foot of the
Apennines. _Strabo._――_Pliny._

=Nuithones=, a people of Germany, possessing the country now called
Mecklenburg and Pomerania. _Tacitus_, _Germania_, ch. 40.

=Numa Martius=, a man made governor of Rome by Tullus Hostilius. He was
son-in-law of Numa Pompilius, and father to Ancus Martius. _Tacitus_,
_Annals_, bk. 6, ch. 11.――_Livy_, bk. 1, ch. 20.

=Numa Pompilius=, a celebrated philosopher, born at Cures, a village of
the Sabines, on the day that Romulus laid the foundation of Rome. He
married Tatia, the daughter of Tatius the king of the Sabines, and at
her death he retired into the country to devote himself more freely
to literary pursuits. At the death of Romulus, the Romans fixed upon
him to be their new king, and two senators were sent to acquaint
him with the decisions of the senate and of the people. Numa refused
their offers, and it was not but at the repeated solicitations and
prayers of his friends that he was prevailed upon to accept the
royalty. The beginning of his reign was popular, and he dismissed
the 300 body-guards which his predecessor had kept around his person,
observing that he did not distrust a people who had compelled him to
reign over them. He was not, like Romulus, fond of war and military
expeditions, but he applied himself to tame the ferocity of his
subjects, to inculcate in their minds a reverence for the Deity,
and to quell their dissensions by dividing all the citizens into
different classes. He established different orders of priests, and
taught the Romans not to worship the Deity by images; and from his
example no graven or painted statues appeared in the temples or
sanctuaries of Rome for upwards of 160 years. He encouraged the
report which was spread of his paying regular visits to the nymph
Egeria, and made use of her name to give sanction to the laws and
institutions which he had introduced. He established the college
of the vestals, and told the Romans that the safety of the empire
depended upon the preservation of the sacred _ancyle_ or _shield_
which, as was generally believed, had dropped down from heaven. He
dedicated a temple to Janus, which, during his whole reign, remained
shut, as a mark of peace and tranquillity at Rome. Numa died after a
reign of 43 years, in which he had given every possible encouragement
to the useful arts, and in which he had cultivated peace, B.C. 672.
Not only the Romans, but also the neighbouring nations, were eager
to pay their last offices to a monarch whom they revered for his
abilities, moderation, and humanity. He forbade his body to be burnt
according to the custom of the Romans, but he ordered it to be buried
near mount Janiculum, with many of the books which he had written.
These books were accidentally found by one of the Romans, about
400 years after his death, and as they contained nothing new or
interesting, but merely the reasons why he had made innovations in
the form of worship and in the religion of the Romans, they were
burnt by order of the senate. He left behind one daughter called
Pompilia, who married Numa Martius, and became the mother of Ancus
Martius, the fourth king of Rome. Some say that he had also four
sons, but this opinion is ill-founded. _Plutarch_, _Lives_.――_Varro._
――_Livy_, bk. 1, ch. 18.――_Pliny_, bks. 13 & 14, &c.――_Florus_,
bk. 1, ch. 2.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6, li. 809; bk. 9, li. 562.
――_Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_, bk. 3, chs. 2 & 17.――_Valerius
Maximus_, bk. 1, ch. 2.――_Dionysius of Halicarnassus_, bk. 2, ch. 59.
――_Ovid_, _Fasti_, bk. 3, &c.――――One of the Rutulian chiefs killed in
the night by Nisus and Euryalus. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 9, li. 454.

=Numāna=, a town of Picenum in Italy, of which the people were called
_Numanates_. _Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 4.

=Numantia=, a town of Spain near the sources of the river Durius,
celebrated for the war of 14 years which, though unprotected by walls
and towers, it bravely maintained against the Romans. The inhabitants
obtained some advantages over the Roman forces till Scipio Africanus
was empowered to finish the war, and to see the destruction of
Numantia. He began the siege with an army of 60,000 men, and was
bravely opposed by the besieged, who were no more than 4000 men
able to bear arms. Both armies behaved with uncommon valour, and the
courage of the Numantines was soon changed into despair and fury.
Their provisions began to fail, and they fed upon the flesh of their
horses, and afterwards on that of their dead companions, and at last
were necessitated to draw lots to kill and devour one another. The
melancholy situation of their affairs obliged some to surrender to
the Roman general. Scipio demanded them to deliver themselves up on
the morrow; they refused, and when a longer time had been granted
to their petitions, they retired and set fire to their houses, and
all destroyed themselves, B.C. 133, so that not even one remained to
adorn the triumph of the conqueror. Some historians, however, deny
that, and support that a number of Numantines delivered themselves
into Scipio’s hands, and that 50 of them were drawn in triumph at
Rome, and the rest sold as slaves. The fall of Numantia was more
glorious than that of Carthage or Corinth, though inferior to them.
The conqueror obtained the surname of _Numantinus_. _Florus_, bk. 2,
ch. 18.――_Appian_, _Wars in Spain_.――_Paterculus_, bk. 2, ch. 3.
――_Cicero_, bk. 1, _De Officiis_.――_Strabo_, bk. 3.――_Mela_, bk. 2,
ch. 6.――_Plutarch._――_Horace_, bk. 2, ode 12, li. 1.

=Numantīna=, a woman accused under Tiberius of making her husband
insane by enchantments, &c. _Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 4, ch. 22.

=Numānus Remŭlus=, a Rutulian who accused the Trojans of effeminacy. He
had married the younger sister of Turnus, and was killed by Ascanius
during the Rutulian war. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 9, li. 592, &c.

=Numēnes=, a follower of the doctrines of Plato and Pythagoras, born at
Apamea in Syria. He flourished in the reign of Marcus Antoninus.

=Numenia=, or =Neomenia=, a festival observed by the Greeks at the
beginning of every lunar month, in honour of all the gods, but
especially of Apollo or the Sun, who is justly deemed the author
of light, and of whatever distinction is made in the months,
seasons, days, and nights. It was observed with games and public
entertainments which were provided at the expense of rich citizens,
and which were always frequented by the poor. Solemn prayers were
offered at Athens during the solemnity, for the prosperity of the
republic. The demigods as well as the heroes of the ancients were
honoured and invoked in the festival.

=Numenius=, a philosopher, who supposed that Chaos, from which the
world was created, was animated by an evil and maleficent soul. He
lived in the second century.

=Numentāna via=, a road at Rome, which led to mount Sacer through the
gate Viminalis. _Livy_, bk. 3, ch. 52.

=Numeria=, a goddess at Rome who presided over numbers. _Augustine_,
_City of God_, bk. 4, ch. 11.

=Numeriānus Marcus Aurelius=, a son of the emperor Carus. He accompanied
his father into the east with the title of Cæsar, and at his death
he succeeded him with his brother Carinus, A.D. 282. His reign was
short. Eight months after his father’s death, he was murdered in
his litter by his father-in-law, Arrius Aper, who accompanied him in
an expedition. The murderer, who hoped to ascend the vacant throne,
continued to follow the litter as if the emperor was alive, till he
found a proper opportunity to declare his sentiments. The stench of
the body, however, soon discovered his perfidy, and he was sacrificed
to the fury of the soldiers. Numerianus had been admired for his
learning as well as his moderation. He was naturally an eloquent
speaker, and in poetry he was inferior to no writer of his age.――――A
friend of the emperor Severus.

=Numerius=, a man who favoured the escape of Marius to Africa, &c.――――A
friend of Pompey taken by Julius Cæsar’s adherents, &c. _Pliny._

=Numicia via=, one of the great Roman roads, which led from the capital
to the town of Brundusium.

=Nŭmīcus=, a small river of Latium, near Lavinium, where the dead body
of Æneas was found, and where Anna, Dido’s sister, drowned herself.
_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 150, &c.――_Silius Italicus_, bk. 1,
li. 359.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 14, li. 358, &c.; _Fasti_,
bk. 3, li. 643.――――A friend of Horace, to whom he addressed bk. 1,
ltr. 6.

=Numĭda=, a surname given by Horace, bk. 1, ode 36, to one of the
generals of Augustus, from his conquests in Numidia. Some suppose
that it is Pomponius; others, Plotius.

=Nŭmĭdia=, an inland country of Africa, which now forms the kingdom
of _Algiers_ and _Bildulgerid_. It was bounded on the north by the
Mediterranean sea, south by Gætulia, west by Mauritania, and east
by a part of Libya, which was called Africa Propria. The inhabitants
were called _Nomades_, and afterwards _Numidæ_. It was the kingdom of
Masinissa, which was the occasion of the third Punic war, on account
of the offence which he had received from the Carthaginians. Jugurtha
reigned there, as also Juba the father and son. It was conquered,
and became a Roman province, of which Sallust was the first governor.
The Numidians were excellent warriors, and in their expeditions
they always endeavoured to engage with the enemy in the night-time.
They rode without saddles or bridles, whence they have been called
_infræni_. They had their wives in common, as the rest of the
barbarian nations of antiquity. _Sallust_, _Jugurthine War_.
――_Florus_, bk. 2, ch. 15.――_Strabo_, bks. 2 & 17.――_Mela_, bk. 1,
ch. 4, &c.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 15, li. 754.

=Numidius Quadratus=, a governor of Syria under Claudius. _Tacitus_,
_Annals_, bk. 12.

=Numistro=, a town of the Brutii in Italy. _Livy_, bk. 45, ch. 17.

=Nŭmĭtor=, a son of Procas king of Alba, who inherited his father’s
kingdom with his brother Amulius, and began to reign conjointly with
him. Amulius was too avaricious to bear a colleague on the throne; he
expelled his brother, and that he might more safely secure himself,
he put to death his son Lausus, and consecrated his daughter Ilia to
the service of the goddess Vesta, which demanded perpetual celibacy.
These great precautions were rendered abortive. Ilia became pregnant,
and though the two children whom she brought forth were exposed
in the river by order of the tyrant, their life was preserved,
and Numitor was restored to his throne by his grandsons, and the
tyrannical usurper was put to death. _Dionysius of Halicarnassus.
_――_Livy_, bk. 1, ch. 3.――_Plutarch_, _Romulus_.――_Ovid_, _Fasti_,
bk. 4, li. 55, &c.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6, li. 768.――――A son of
Phorcus, who fought with Turnus against Æneas. _Virgil_, _Æneid_,
bk. 10, li. 342.――――A rich and dissolute Roman in the age of Juvenal,
satire 7, li. 74.

=Numitōrius=, a Roman who defended Virginia, to whom Appius wished to
offer violence. He was made military tribune.――――Quintus Pullus, a
general of Fregellæ, &c. _Cicero_, _de Inventione_, bk. 2, ch. 34.

=Numonius=. _See:_ Vala.

=Nuncoreus=, a son of Sesostris king of Egypt, who made an obelisk,
some ages after brought to Rome, and placed in the Vatican. _Pliny_,
bk. 26, ch. 11.――――He is called Pheron by Herodotus.

=Nundīna=, a goddess whom the Romans invoked when they named their
children. This happened the ninth day after their birth, whence the
name of the goddess, _Nona dies_. _Macrobius_, _Saturnalia_, bk. 1,
ch. 16.

=Nundīnæ=. _See:_ Feriæ.

=Nursæ=, a town of Italy. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 744.

=Nurscia=, a goddess who patronized the Etrurians. _Juvenal_, satire 10,
li. 74.

=Nursia=, now _Norza_, a town of Picenum, whose inhabitants are called
_Nursini_. Its situation was exposed, and the air considered as
unwholesome. _Silius Italicus_, bk. 8, li. 416.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_,
bk. 7, li. 716.――_Martial_, bk. 13, ltr. 20.――_Livy_, bk. 28, ch. 45.

=Nutria=, a town of Illyricum. _Polybius_, bk. 2.

=Nycteis=, a daughter of Nycteus, who was mother of Labdacus.――――A
patronymic of Antiope the daughter of Nycteus, mother of Amphion and
Zethus by Jupiter, who had assumed the shape of a satyr to enjoy her
company. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 6, li. 110.

=Nyctelia=, festivals in honour of Bacchus [_See:_ Nyctelius], observed
on mount Cithæron. _Plutarch_, _Convivium Septem Sapientium_.

=Nyctelius=, a surname of Bacchus, because his orgies were celebrated
in the night (νυξ _nox_, τελεω _perficio_). The words _latex
Nyctelius_ thence signify wine. _Seneca_, _Œdipus_.――_Pausanias_,
bk. 1, ch. 40.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 4, li. 15.

=Nycteus=, a son of Hyrieus and Clonia.――――A son of Chthonius.――――A son
of Neptune by Celene, daughter of Atlas king of Lesbos, or of Thebes,
according to the more received opinion. He married a nymph of Crete,
called Polyxo or Amalthæa, by whom he had two daughters, Nyctimene
and Antiope. The first of these disgraced herself by her criminal
amours with her father, into whose bed she introduced herself by
means of her nurse. When the father knew the incest which he had
committed, he attempted to stab his daughter, who was immediately
changed by Minerva into an owl. Nycteus made war against Epopeus, who
had carried away Antiope, and died of a wound which he had received
in an engagement, leaving his kingdom to his brother Lycus, whom he
entreated to continue the war, and punish Antiope for her immodest
conduct. _See:_ Antiope. _Pausanias_, bk. 2, ch. 6.――_Hyginus_,
fables 157 & 204.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 2, li. 590, &c.;
bk. 6, li. 110, &c.

=Nyctimĕne=, a daughter of Nycteus. _See:_ Nycteus.

=Nyctĭmus=, a son of Lycaon king of Arcadia. He died without issue, and
left his kingdom to his nephew Arcas the son of Callisto. _Pausanias_,
bk. 8, ch. 4.

=Nymbæum=, a lake of Peloponnesus in Laconia. _Pausanias_, bk. 3,
li. 23.

=Nymphæ=, certain female deities among the ancients. They were generally
divided into two classes, nymphs of the land and nymphs of the sea.
Of the nymphs of the earth, some presided over woods, and were called
_Dryades_ and _Hamadryades_; others presided over mountains, and
were called _Oreades_; some presided over hills and dales, and were
called _Napææ_, &c. Of the sea nymphs, some were called _Oceanides_,
_Nereides_, _Naiades_, _Potamides_, _Limnades_, &c. These presided
not only over the sea, but also over rivers, fountains, streams,
and lakes. The nymphs fixed their residence not only in the sea,
but also on mountains, rocks, in woods or caverns, and their grottos
were beautified by evergreens and delightful and romantic scenes. The
nymphs were immortal, according to the opinion of some mythologists;
others supposed that, like men, they were subject to mortality,
though their life was of long duration. They lived for several
thousand years, according to Hesiod, or, as Plutarch seems obscurely
to intimate, they lived above 9720 years. The number of the nymphs
is not precisely known. They were, according to Hesiod, above 3000,
whose power was extended over the different places of the earth,
and the various functions and occupations of mankind. They were
worshipped by the ancients, though not with so much solemnity as the
superior deities. They had no temples raised to their honour, and
the only offerings they received were milk, honey, oil, and sometimes
the sacrifice of a goat. They were generally represented as young and
beautiful virgins, veiled up to the middle, and sometimes they held a
vase, from which they seemed to pour water. Sometimes they had grass,
leaves, and shells, instead of vases. It was deemed unfortunate to
see them naked, and such sight was generally attended by a delirium,
to which Propertius seems to allude in this verse, wherein he speaks
of the innocence and simplicity of the primitive ages of the world,

_Nec fuerat nudas pœna videre Deas_.

The nymphs were generally distinguished by an epithet which denoted
the place of their residence; thus the nymphs of Sicily were
called _Sicelides_; those of Corycus, _Corycides_, &c. _Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 1, li. 320; bk. 5, li. 412; bk. 9, li. 651, &c.;
_Fasti_, bk. 3, li. 769.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10, ch. 4.――_Plutarch_,
_de Defectu Oraculorum_.――_Orpheus_, _Argonautica_.――_Hesiod_,
_Theogony_.――_Propertius_, bk. 3, poem 12.――_Homer_, _Odyssey_,
bk. 14.

=Nymphæum=, a port of Macedonia. _Cæsar_, _Civil War_.――――A promontory
of Epirus on the Ionian sea.――――A place near the walls of Apollonia,
sacred to the nymphs, where Apollo had also an oracle. The place was
also celebrated for the continual flames of fire which seemed to rise
at a distance from the plains. It was there that a sleeping satyr was
once caught and brought to Sylla as he returned from the Mithridatic
war. This monster had the same features as the poets ascribed to the
satyr. He was interrogated by Sylla and by his interpreters, but his
articulations were unintelligible, and the Roman spurned from him a
creature which seemed to partake of the nature of a beast more than
that of a man. _Plutarch_, _Sulla_.――_Dio Cassius_, bk. 41.――_Pliny_,
bk. 5, ch. 29.――_Strabo_, bk. 7.――_Livy_, bk. 42, chs. 36 & 49.――――A
city of Taurica Chersonesus.――――The building at Rome where the nymphs
were worshipped bore also this name, being adorned with their statues
and with fountains and waterfalls, which afforded an agreeable and
refreshing coolness.

=Nymphæus=, a man who went into Caria at the head of a colony of
Melians, &c. _Polyænus_, bk. 8.

=Nymphidius=, a favourite of Nero, who said that he was descended
from Caligula. He was raised to the consular dignity, and soon after
disputed the empire with Galba. He was slain by the soldiers, &c.
_Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 15.

=Nymphis=, a native of Heraclea, who wrote a history of Alexander’s
life and actions, divided into 24 books. _Ælian_, bk. 7, _de Natura
Animalium_.

=Nymphodōrus=, a writer of Amphipolis.――――A Syracusan who wrote a
history of Sicily.

=Nympholleptes=, or =Nymphomănes=, _possessed by the nymphs_. This name
was given to the inhabitants of mount Cithæron, who believed that
they were inspired by the nymphs. _Plutarch_, _Aristeides_.

=Nymphon=, a native of Colophon, &c. _Cicero_, _Letters to his brother
Quintus_, bk. 1.

=Nypsius=, a general of Dionysius the tyrant, who took Syracuse, and
put all the inhabitants to the sword. _Diodorus_, bk. 16.

=Nysa=, or =Nyssa=, a town of Æthiopia, at the south of Egypt, or,
according to others, of Arabia. This city, with another of the same
name in India, was sacred to the god Bacchus, who was educated there
by the nymphs of the place, and who received the name of Dionysius,
which seems to be compounded of Διος and ♦Νυσα, the name of his
father, and that of the place of his education. The god made this
place the seat of his empire, and the capital of the conquered
nations of the east. Diodorus, in his third and fourth books, has
given a prolix account of the birth of the god at Nysa, and of
his education and heroic actions. _Mela_, bk. 3, ch. 7.――_Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 4, li. 13, &c.――_Silius Italicus_, bk. 7, li.
198.――_Curtius_, bk. 8, ch. 10.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6, li. 805.
――――According to some geographers there were no less than 10 places
of the name of Nysa. One of these was on the coast of Eubœa, famous
for its vines, which grew in such an uncommon manner, that if a twig
was planted in the ground in the morning, it was said immediately
to produce grapes, which were full ripe in the evening.――――A city of
Thrace.――――Another seated on the top of mount Parnassus, and sacred
to Bacchus. _Juvenal_, satire 7, li. 63.

♦ ‘Νμσα’ replaced with ‘Νυσα’

=Nysæus=, a surname of Bacchus, because he was worshipped at Nysa.
_Propertius_, bk. 3, poem 17, li. 22.――A son of Dionysius of Syracuse.
_Cornelius Nepos_, _Dion_.

=Nysas=, a river of Africa, rising in Æthiopia.

=Nysisæ portæ=, a small island in Africa.

=Nysiădes=, a name given to the nymphs of Nysa, to whose care Jupiter
entrusted the education of his son Bacchus. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_,
bk. 3, li. 314, &c.

=Nysīros=, an island. _See:_ Nisyros.

=Nysius=, a surname of Bacchus as the protecting god of Nysa. _Cicero_,
_Flaccus_, ch. 25.

=Nyssa=, a sister of Mithridates the Great. _Plutarch._

O

=Oarses=, the original name of Artaxerxes Memnon.

=Oarus=, a river of Sarmatia, falling into the Palus Mœotis.
_Herodotus_, bk. 4.

=Oăsis=, a town about the middle of Libya, at the distance of seven
days’ journey from Thebes in Egypt, where the Persian army, sent by
Cambyses to plunder Jupiter Ammon’s temple, was lost in the sands.
There were two other cities of that name very little known. Oasis
became a place of banishment under the lower empire. _Strabo_, bk. 17.
――_Zosimus_, bk. 5, ch. 97.――_Herodotus_, bk. 3, ch. 26.

=Oaxes=, a river of Crete, which received its name from Oaxus the son
of Apollo. _Virgil_, _Eclogues_, poem 1, li. 66.

=Oaxus=, a town of Crete where Etearchus reigned, who founded Cyrene.
――――A son of Apollo and the nymph Anchiale.

=Obringa=, now _Ahr_, a river of Germany, falling into the Rhine above
Rimmagen.

=Obultronius=, a questor put to death by Galba’s orders, &c. _Tacitus._

=Ocalea=, or =Ocalia=, a town of Bœotia. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 2.
――――A daughter of Mantineus, who married Abas son of Lynceus and
Hypermnestra, by whom she had Acrisius and Prœtus. _Apollodorus_,
bk. 2, ch. 2.

=Oceia=, a woman who presided over the sacred rites of Vesta for 57
years with the greatest sanctity. She died in the reign of Tiberius,
and the daughter of Domitius succeeded her. _Tacitus_, _Annals_,
bk. 2, ch. 86.

=Oceănĭdes= and =Oceanītĭdes=, sea nymphs, daughters of Oceanus, from
whom they received their name, and of the goddess Tethys. They were
3000 according to Apollodorus, who mentions the names of seven of
them: Asia, Styx, Electra, Doris, Eurynome, Amphitrite, and Metis.
Hesiod speaks of the eldest of them, and reckons 41: Pitho, Admete,
Prynno, Ianthe, Rhodia, Hippo, Callirhoe, Urania, Clymene, Idyia,
Pasithoe, Clythia, Zeuxo, Galuxaure, Plexaure, Perseis, Pluto, Thoe,
Polydora, Melobosis, Dione, Cerceis, Xantha, Acasta, Ianira, Telestho,
Europa, Menestho, Petrea, Eudora, Calypso, Tyche, Ocyroe, Crisia,
Amphiro, with those mentioned by Apollodorus, except Amphitrite.
Hyginus mentions 16, whose names are almost all different from
those of Apollodorus and Hesiod, which difference proceeds from the
mutilation of the original text. The Oceanides, like the rest of
the inferior deities, were honoured with libations and sacrifices.
Prayers were offered to them, and they were entreated to protect
sailors from storms and dangerous tempests. The Argonauts, before
they proceeded on their expedition, made an offering of flour,
honey, and oil, on the sea-shore, to all the deities of the sea,
and sacrificed bulls to them, and entreated their protection. When
the sacrifice was made on the sea-shore the blood of the victim was
received in a vessel, but when it was in the open sea, the blood
was permitted to run down into the waters. When the sea was calm,
the sailors generally offered a lamb or a young pig, but if it
was agitated by the winds, and rough, a black bull was deemed
the most acceptable victim. _Homer_, _Odyssey_, bk. 3.――_Horace._
――_Apollonius_, _Argonautica_.――_Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 4, li. 341.
――_Hesiod_, _Theogony_, li. 349.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1.

=Oceănus=, a powerful deity of the sea, son of Cœlus and Terra. He
married Tethys, by whom he had the most principal rivers, such
as the Alpheus, Peneus, Strymon, &c., with a number of daughters
who are called from him Oceanides. _See:_ Oceanides. According to
Homer, Oceanus was the ♦father of all the gods, and on that account
he received frequent visits from the rest of the deities. He is
generally represented as an old man with a long flowing beard, and
sitting upon the waves of the sea. He often holds a pike in his hand,
whilst ships under sail appear at a distance, or a sea monster stands
near him. Oceanus presided over every part of the sea, and even the
rivers were subjected to his power. The ancients were superstitious
in their worship to Oceanus, and revered with great solemnity a
deity to whose care they entrusted themselves when going on any
voyage. _Hesiod_, _Theogony_.――_Ovid_, _Fasti_, bk. 5, li. 81, &c.
――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1.――_Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_, bk. 3, ch. 20.
――_Homer_, _Iliad_.

♦ ‘fathers’ replaced with ‘father’

=Ocellus=, an ancient philosopher of Lucania. _See:_ Lucanus.

=Ocēlum=, a town of Gaul. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 1, ch. 10.

=Ocha=, a mountain of Eubœa, and the name of Eubœa itself.――――A sister
of Ochus, buried alive by his orders.

=Ochesius=, a general of Ætolia in the Trojan war. _Homer_, _Iliad_,
bk. 5.

=Ochus=, a surname given to Artaxerxes III., king of Persia. _See:_
Artaxerxes.――――A man of Cyzicus, who was killed by the Argonauts.
_Flaccus_, bk. 3.――――A prince of Persia, who refused to visit his
native country for fear of giving all the women each a piece of gold.
_Plutarch._――――A river of India, or of Bactriana. _Pliny_, bk. 6,
ch. 16; bk. 31, ch. 7.――――A king of Persia. He exchanged his name
for that of Darius. _See:_ Darius Nothus.

=Ocnus=, a son of the Tiber and of Manto, who assisted Æneas against
Turnus. He built a town, which he called Mantua after his mother’s
name. Some suppose that he is the same as Bianor. _Virgil_,
_Eclogues_, poem 9; _Æneid_, bk. 10, li. 198.――――A man remarkable
for his industry. He had a wife as remarkable for her profusion;
she always consumed and lavished away whatever the labours of her
husband had earned. He is represented as twisting a cord, which an
ass standing by eats up as soon as he makes it; whence the proverb
of _the cord of Ocnus_ often applied to labour which meets no return,
and which is totally lost. _Propertius_, bk. 4, poem 3, li. 21.
――_Pliny_, bk. 35, ch. 11.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10, ch. 29.

=Ocricŭlum=, now _Otricoli_, a town of Umbria near Rome. _Cicero_, _For
Milo_.――_Livy_, bk. 19, ch. 41.

=Ocridion=, a king of Rhodes, who was reckoned in the number of the
gods after death. _Plutarch_, _Græcæ Quæstiones_, ch. 27.

=Ocrīsia=, a woman of Corniculum, who was one of the attendants of
Tanaquil the wife of Tarquinius Priscus. As she was throwing into
the flames, as offerings, some of the meats that were served on
the table of Tarquin, she suddenly saw in the fire what Ovid calls
_obscœni forma virilis_. She informed the queen of it, and when by
her orders she had approached near it, she conceived a son who was
called Servius Tullus, and who, being educated in the king’s family,
afterwards succeeded to the vacant throne. Some suppose that Vulcan
had assumed that form which was presented to the eyes of Ocrisia, and
that the god was the father of the sixth king of Rome. _Plutarch_,
_de Fortuna Romanorum_.――_Pliny_, bk. 36, ch. 27.――_Ovid_, _Fasti_,
bk. 6, li. 627.

=Octacillius=, a slave who was manumitted, and who afterwards taught
rhetoric at Rome. He had Pompey the Great in the number of his pupils.
_Suetonius_, _Rhetoricians_.――_Martial_, bk. 10, ltr. 79.