Chapter II: Part 2

=Castor= and =Pollux= were twin brothers, sons of Jupiter and Leda. Mercury carried them to Pallena, where they were educated. As soon as they arrived at manhood they embarked with Jason in quest of the Golden Fleece. In this expedition they evinced great courage. Pollux defeated and slew Amycus in the combat of the Cestus, and was afterwards considered to be the god and patron of boxing and wrestling. Castor distinguished himself in the management of horses.

=Catili´na, L. Ser´gius=, a celebrated Roman, descended from a noble family. When he had squandered his fortune he secretly meditated the ruin of his country, and conspired with many Romans as dissolute as himself to extirpate the senate, plunder the treasuries, and set Rome on fire. This plot, known as the Catiline conspiracy, was unsuccessful. The history of it is written by Sallust. Catiline was killed in battle B.C. 63.

=Ca´to, Mar´cus=, was great-grandson of the censor Cato. The early virtues that appeared in his childhood seemed to promise that he would become a great man. He was austere in his morals and a strict follower of the tenets of the Stoics. His fondness for candor was so great that his veracity became proverbial. In the Catilinian conspiracy he supported Cicero, and was the chief cause of the capital punishment which was inflicted on some of the conspirators. He stabbed himself after reading Plato's treatise on the immortality of the soul, B.C. 46, in the fifty-ninth year of his age.

=Catul´lus C.=, or =Q. Vale´rius=. A poet of Verona whose compositions are the offspring of a luxuriant imagination. He was acquainted with the most distinguished people of his age. He directed his satire against Cæsar, whose only revenge was to invite him to a sumptuous banquet.

=Cel´sus=, a physician in the age of Tiberius, who wrote eight books on medicine, besides treatises on agriculture, rhetoric, and military affairs.

=Centau´ri.= A people of Thessaly, half men and half horses. They were the offspring of Centaurus and Stilbia.

=Centum´viri.= The members of a court of justice at Rome. Though originally 105 in number, they were known as Centumvirs, and this name they retained when they were increased to 180.

=Cer´berus.= A dog of Pluto. According to Hesiod he had fifty heads, but according to other mythologists he had three only. He was placed at the entrance to the infernal regions to prevent the living from entering, and the inhabitants of the place from escaping.

=Ce´res=, the goddess of corn and harvests, was daughter of Saturn and Vesta. She was the mother of Proserpine, who was carried away by Pluto whilst she was gathering flowers.

=Chærone´a=, a city of Boeotia celebrated for a great battle fought there, in which the Athenians were defeated by the Boeotians, B.C. 447, and for the victory which Philip of Macedonia obtained there over the confederate armies of the Thebans and Athenians, B.C. 338. It was the birth-place of Plutarch.

=Cha´ron.= A god of the infernal regions, son of Nox and Erebus, who conducted the souls of the dead in a boat over the rivers Styx and Acheron.

=Che´ops.= A king of Egypt, after Rhampsinitus, famous for building pyramids.

=Chimæ´ra.= A celebrated monster which continually vomited flames. It was destroyed by Bellerophon.

=Chi´ron.= A centaur, half a man and half a horse, son of Philyra and Saturn. He was famous for his knowledge of music, medicine, and shooting, and taught mankind the use of plants and medicinal herbs.

=Chrysos´tom.= A bishop of Constantinople who died A.D. 407. He was a great disciplinarian, and by severely lashing the vices of his age he made many enemies.

=Cic´ero, M. T.=, born at Arpinum, was son of a Roman knight and lineally descended from the ancient kings of the Sabines. In youth he displayed many abilities, and was taught philosophy by Philo, and law by Mutius Scævola. He applied himself with great diligence to the study of oratory, and was distinguished above all the speakers of his time in the Roman forum. He signalized himself in opposing Catiline, whom he publicly accused of treason against the State, and whom he drove from the city. After a number of vicissitudes of fortune he was assassinated, B.C. 43, at the age of sixty-three.

=Cincinna´tus, L. Q.= A celebrated Roman, who was informed, as he plowed in the fields, that the senate had chosen him to be dictator. On this he left the plow and repaired to the field of battle, where his countrymen were opposed by the Volsci and Æqui. He conquered the enemy, and entered Rome in triumph.

=Cir´ce.= A daughter of Sol and Perseis, celebrated for her knowledge of magic and venomous herbs. She was carried by her father to an island called Æaea. Ulysses, on his return from the Trojan war, visited her coasts, and his companions were changed, by her potions, into swine. Ulysses, who was fortified against enchantments by an herb which he had received from Mercury, demanded of Circe the restoration of his companions to their former shape; she complied with his wishes, and eventually permitted him to depart from her island.

=Claudia´nus.= A celebrated poet, in the age of Honorius, who is considered by some writers to equal Virgil in the majestic character of his style.

=Clau´dius, T. Drusus Nero=, son of Drusus, became emperor of Rome after the death of Caligula. He went to Britain, and obtained a triumph for victories achieved by his generals. He suffered himself to be governed by favorites, whose avarice plundered the State and distracted the provinces. He was poisoned by Agrippina, who wished to raise her son Nero to the throne.

=Cleopa´tra=, queen of Egypt, daughter of Ptolemy Auletes, was celebrated for her beauty. Antony became enamored of her and married her, ignoring his connection with Octavia, the sister of Augustus. He gave her the greatest part of the eastern provinces of the Roman empire. This caused a rupture between Augustus and Antony, and these two famous men met at Actium, when Cleopatra, by flying with sixty ships, ruined the battle for Antony, and he was defeated. Cleopatra destroyed herself by applying an asp to her breast.

=Cli´o.= The first of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She presided over history.

=Cloaci´na.= A goddess at Rome who presided over the Cloacæ, which were large receptacles for the filth of the whole city.

=Clo´tho=, the youngest of the three Parcæ, who were daughters of Jupiter and Themis, was supposed to preside over the moment of birth. She held the distaff in her hand and spun the thread of life.

=Clytemnes´tra.= A daughter of Tyndarus, king of Sparta, and Leda, married Agamemnon, king of Argos, in whose absence in the Trojan war she misconducted herself with his cousin Ægysthus. On the return of Agamemnon Clytemnestra murdered him, as well as Cassandra, whom he had brought with him. After this Clytemnestra ascended the throne of Argos. In the meantime her son Orestes, after an absence of seven years, returned, resolved to avenge the death of his father Agamemnon. On an occasion when Ægysthus and Clytemnestra repaired to the Temple of Apollo, Orestes, with his friend Pylades, killed them.

=Clyt´ia= or =Clyt´ie=. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, beloved by Apollo. She was changed into a sun-flower.

=Co´cles, P. Horatius.= A celebrated Roman who alone opposed the whole army of Porsenna at the head of a bridge whilst his companions were cutting off the communication with the other shore. When the bridge was destroyed, Cocles, though wounded by the darts of the enemy, leapt into the Tiber and swam across it, armed as he was. For his heroism a brazen statue was raised to him in the Temple of Vulcan.

=Co´drus.= The last king of Athens, son of Melanthus. When the Heraclidæ made war against Athens, the oracle said that the victory would be granted to that nation whose king was killed in battle. The Heraclidæ on hearing this gave orders to spare the life of Codrus, but the patriotic king disguised himself, and engaging with one of the enemy, was killed. The Athenians obtained the victory, and Codrus was regarded as the savior of his country.

=Coe´lus= or =Ura´nus=. An ancient deity supposed to be the father of Saturn, Oceanus, and Hyperion.

=Col´chis= or =Col´chos=. A country of Asia famous for the expedition of the Argonauts, and as being the birthplace of Medea.

=Collati´nus, L. Tarquinius.= A nephew of Tarquin the Proud. He married Lucretia. He, with Brutus, drove the Tarquins from Rome.

=Colos´sus.= A celebrated brazen image at Rhodes, which was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world.

=Com´modus, L. Aure´lius Antoni´nus=, son of M. Antoninus, succeeded his father in the Roman empire. He was naturally cruel and fond of indulging his licentious propensities. Desirous of being likened to Hercules, he adorned his shoulders with a lion's skin, and carried a knotted club in his hand. He fought with the gladiators, and boasted of his skill in killing wild beasts in the amphitheatre. He was strangled by a wrestler in the thirty-first year of his age, A.D. 192.

=Co´mus.= The god of revelry, feasting, and nocturnal amusements. He is represented as a drunken young man with a torch in his hand.

=Concor´dia.= The goddess of peace and concord at Rome, to whom Camillus raised a temple in the Capitol.

=Confu´cius.= A Chinese philosopher, as much honored amongst his countrymen as if he had been a monarch. He died about 499 years B.C.

=Co´non.= A famous general of Athens, son of Timotheus. He was made governor of all the islands of the Athenians, and was defeated in a naval battle by Lysander. He defeated the Spartans near Cnidos, when Pisander, the enemy's admiral, was killed. He died in prison B.C. 393.

=Constan´tia.= A granddaughter of the great Constantine, married the Emperor Gratian.

=Constanti´nus=, surnamed the Great from the greatness of his exploits, was son of Constantius. It is said that as he was going to fight against Maxentius, one of his rivals, he saw a cross in the sky with the inscription, _In hoc vince_. From this he became a convert to Christianity, ever after adopting a cross for his standard. He founded a city where old Byzantium formerly stood, and called it Constantinopolis. There he kept his court, and made it the rival of Rome in population and magnificence. He died A.D. 337, after a reign of thirty-one years of the greatest glory.

=Constan´tius Chlo´rus=, son of Eutropius, and father of the great Constantine. He obtained victories in Britain and Germany. He became the colleague of Galerius on the abdication of Dioclesian, and died A.D. 306, bearing the reputation of being brave, humane, and benevolent.

=Con´sul.= A magistrate at Rome with real authority for the space of a year. There were two consuls, who were annually chosen in the Campus Martius. The first two were L. Jun. Brutus and L. Tarquinius Collatinus.

=Corin´na.= A celebrated woman of Thebes, whose father was Archelodorus. It is said that she obtained a poetical prize five times against the competitorship of Pindar.

=Coriola´nus.= The surname of C. Martius, from his victory over Corioli. After a number of military exploits, and many services to his country, he was refused the consulship. He was banished, and went to the Volsci, where he met with a gracious reception from Tullus Aufidius, whom he advised to make war against Rome, marching with the Volsci as general. His approach alarmed the Romans, who sent his mother and his wife to meet him and appease his resentment against his countrymen, which with difficulty they succeeded in doing.

=Corne´lia.= A daughter of Scipio Africanus, famous for her learning and virtues, and as being the mother of the Gracchi, Tiberius and Caius Gracchus. Her husband was T. Sempronius Gracchus.

=Cras´sus, M. Licin´ius.= A celebrated Roman, who by educating slaves and selling them, became very wealthy. He was made consul with Pompey, and was afterwards censor, and formed one of the first triumvirate, his associates in it being Pompey and Cæsar. In the hope of enlarging his possessions he left Rome, crossed the Euphrates, and hastened to make himself master of Parthia. He was met by Surena, the Parthian general, and in the battle which ensued 20,000 of the Romans were killed and 10,000 made prisoners. Crassus surrendered, and was put to death B.C. 53.

=Cre´on=, king of Corinth, was son of Sisyphus. He promised his daughter Glauce to Jason, who had repudiated Medea. To revenge herself on her rival, Medea sent her a present of a dress covered with poison. Glauce put it on, and was seized with sudden pain. Her body took fire, and she expired in the greatest agony. The house in which she was was also consumed, and Creon and his family shared Glauce's fate.

=Cre´on.= King of Thebes, whose territories were ravaged by the Sphinx. Creon offered his crown to any one who would explain the enigmas proposed by the Sphinx. OEdipus solved the riddles, and ascended the throne of Thebes.

=Croe´sus=, the fifth and last of the Mermnadæ, who reigned in Lydia, was the son of Alyattes, and was considered the richest man in the world. His court was an asylum for learning, and Æsop, the famous fable writer, with other learned men, lived under his patronage. "As rich as Croesus," has become a proverb.

=Cupi´do=, god of love, son of Jupiter and Venus, is represented as a winged infant, naked, armed with a bow and arrows. On gems and ornaments he is represented generally as amusing himself with some childish diversion. Cupid, like the rest of the gods, assumed different shapes, and we find him in the Æneid putting on, at the request of his mother, the form of Ascanius, and going to Dido's court, where he inspired the queen with love.

=Cur´tius, M.= A Roman who devoted himself to the service of his country, about 360 years B.C., by leaping on horseback, and fully armed, into a huge gap in the earth, at the command of the oracle.

=Cyb´ele.= A goddess, daughter of Coelus and Terra, and wife of Saturn. She was supposed to be the same as Ceres, Rhea, Ops, Vesta, etc. According to Diodorus, she was the daughter of a Lydian prince. On her birth she was exposed on a mountain, where she was tended and fed by wild beasts, receiving the name of Cybele from the mountain where her life had been preserved.

=Cyclo´pes.= A race of men of gigantic stature, supposed to be the sons of Coelus and Terra. They had only one eye, which was in the center of the forehead. According to Hesiod they were three in number, and named Arges, Brontes, and Steropes.

=Cy´rus.= A king of Persia, son of Cambyses and Mandane, daughter of Astyages, king of Media. Xenophon has written the life of Cyrus; and delineates him as a brave and virtuous prince, and often puts in his mouth many of the sayings of Socrates.

=Cy´rus= the younger was the son of Darius Nothus, and the brother of Artaxerxes, the latter succeeding to the throne at the death of Nothus. Cyrus was appointed to the command of Lydia and the sea-coasts, where he fomented rebellion and levied troops under various pretenses. At length he took the field with an army of 100,000 Barbarians and 13,000 Greeks under the command of Clearchus. Artaxerxes met him with 900,000 men near Cunaxa. The engagement ended fatally for Cyrus, who was killed 401 years B.C.

=Dæd´alus=, an Athenian, was the most ingenious artist of his age; he was the inventor of the wedge and many other mechanical instruments. He made a famous labyrinth for Minos, king of Crete, but incurred the displeasure of Minos, who ordered him to be confined in the labyrinth. Here he made himself wings with feathers and wax, and fitted them to his body, adopting the same course with his son Icarus, who was the companion of his confinement. They mounted into the air, but the heat of the sun melted the wax on the wings of Icarus, and he fell into the ocean, which after him has been called the Icarian Sea. The father alighted safely at Cumæ, where he built a temple to Apollo.

=Dan´ae=, daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos, and Eurydice. Jupiter was enamored with her, and they had a son, with whom Danae was exposed in a boat on the sea by her father. The winds carried them to the island of Seriphus, where she was saved by some fishermen, and carried to Polydectes, king of the place, whose brother, named Dictys, educated the child, who was called Perseus, and kindly treated the mother.

=Dana´ides.= The fifty daughters of Danaus, king of Argos, who married the fifty sons of their uncle Ægyptus. Danaus had been told by the oracle that he would be killed by a son-in-law, and he made his daughters promise to slay their husbands immediately after marriage. All of them fulfilled their father's wishes except one, Hypermnestra, who spared her husband Lynceus.

=Daph´ne.= A daughter of the River Peneus, or of the Ladon, and the goddess Terra, of whom Apollo became enamored. Daphne fled to avoid the addresses of this god, and was changed into a laurel.

=Dar´danus.= A son of Jupiter, who killed his brother Jasius to obtain the kingdom of Etruria. He built the city of Dardania, and was reckoned to have been the founder of Troy.

=Dari´us.= A noble satrap of Persia, son of Hystaspes, who usurped the crown of Persia after the death of Cambyses. Darius was twenty-nine years old when he ascended the throne, and he soon distinguished himself by his military prowess. He besieged Babylon, which he took after a siege of twenty months. He died B.C. 485.

=Dari´us=, the second king of Persia of that name, ascended the throne of Persia soon after the murder of Xerxes. He carried on many wars with success, aided by his generals and his son Cyrus the younger. He died B.C. 404, after a reign of nineteen years.

=Dari´us.= The third king of Persia of that name. He soon had to take the field against Alexander, who invaded Persia. Darius met him with an enormous army, which, however, was more remarkable for the luxuries indulged in by its leaders than for military courage. A battle was fought near the Granicus, in which the Persians were easily defeated, and another conflict followed near Issus, equally fatal to the Persians. Darius escaped and assembled another powerful army. The last and decisive battle was fought at Arbela, Alexander being again victorious. When the fight was over Darius was found in his chariot covered with wounds and expiring, B.C. 331.

=Dejani´ra.= A daughter of OEneus, king of Ætolia. Her beauty procured her many admirers, and her father promised to give her in marriage to him who should excel in a competition of strength. Hercules obtained the prize, and married Dejanira.

=Del´phi.= A town of Phocis, at the south-west side of Mount Parnassus. It was famous for a temple of Apollo, and for an oracle celebrated in every age and country.

=Deme´trius.= A son of Antigonus and Stratonice, surnamed Poliorcetes, _destroyer of towns_. At the age of twenty-two he was sent by his father against Ptolemy, who had invaded Syria. He was defeated at Gaza, but soon afterwards obtained a victory. The greater part of his life was passed in warfare, his fortunes undergoing many changes. He was distinguished for his fondness of dissipation when in dissolute society, and for military skill and valor in the battle-field. He died B.C. 286.

=Deme´trius.= Surnamed _Soter_, king of Syria. His father gave him as a hostage to the Romans. After the death of his father, Seleucus Philopator, Antiochus Epiphanes usurped the throne of Syria, and was succeeded by his son Antiochus Eupator. Demetrius procured his liberty, and established himself on the throne, causing Eupator to be put to death.

=Deme´trius.= Son of Soter, whom he succeeded after he had driven from the throne a usurper, Alexander Bala. Demetrius gave himself up to luxury, and suffered his kingdom to be governed by his favorites, thus becoming odious to his subjects. He was at last killed by the governor of Tyre, where he had fled for protection.

=Deme´trius Phale´reus.= A disciple of Theophrastus, who gained such influence over the Athenians by his eloquence and the purity of his manners that he was elected decennial archon, B.C. 317. He embellished the city, and rendered himself popular by his munificence, but his enemies plotted against him, and he fled to the court of Ptolemy Lagus, where he was received with kindness. He put an end to his life by permitting an asp to bite him, B.C. 284. There were several others of the name of Demetrius of minor note.

=Democ´ritus.= A celebrated philosopher of Abdera, one of the disciples of Leucippus. He travelled over the greatest part of Europe, Asia, and Africa, in quest of knowledge, and returned home in the greatest poverty. He indulged in continual laughter at the follies of mankind for distracting themselves with care and anxiety in the short term of their lives. He told Darius, who was inconsolable for the loss of his wife, that he would raise her from the dead if he could find three persons who had gone through life without adversity, whose names he might engrave on the queen's monument. He taught his disciples that the soul died with the body. He died in his 109th year, B.C. 361. He has been termed "the laughing philosopher."

=Demos´thenes.= A celebrated Athenian, was son of a rich blacksmith and Cleobule. He became pupil of Plato, and applied himself to study the orations of Isocrates. At the age of seventeen he gave early proof of his eloquence and abilities in displaying them against his guardians, from whom he obtained restitution of the greater part of his estate. To correct the stammering of voice under which he labored he spoke with pebbles in his mouth. In the battle of Cheronæa he evinced cowardice, and saved his life by flight. He ended his life by taking poison, which he always carried in a quill, in the sixtieth year of his age, B.C. 322.

=Deuca´lion.= A son of Prometheus, who married Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus. He reigned over part of Thessaly, and in his age the earth was covered by a deluge of water, sent by Jupiter as a punishment for the impiety of mankind. Deucalion constructed a ship, and by this means saved himself and Pyrrha. The ship, after being tossed on the waves for nine days, rested on Mount Parnassus. The deluge of Deucalion is supposed to have occurred B.C. 1503.

=Dia´na.= The goddess of hunting. According to Cicero there were three of the name--viz.: a daughter of Jupiter and Proserpine, a daughter of Jupiter and Latona, and a daughter of Upis and Glauce. The second is the most celebrated, and all mention of Diana by ancient writers refers to her. To shun the society of men she devoted herself to hunting, and was always accompanied by a number of young women, who, like herself, abjured marriage. She is represented with a quiver, and attended by dogs. The most famous of her temples was that at Ephesus, which was one of the wonders of the world.

=Dicta´tor.= A magistrate at Rome, invested with regal authority.

=Di´do.= A daughter of Belus, king of Tyre, who married Sichæus or Sicharbus, her uncle, who was priest of Hercules. Pygmalion killed Sichæsus to obtain his immense riches, and Dido, disconsolate at the loss of her husband, set sail with a number of Tyrians in quest of a place in which to form a settlement. A storm drove her fleet on the African coast, and she bought of the inhabitants as much land as could be covered by a bull's hide cut into thongs. On this land she built a citadel called Byrsa, which was the nucleus of a great city. Her subjects wished her to marry again, but she refused, and erected a funeral pile, on which she ascended and stabbed herself to death.

=Diocletia´nus, Cai´us Valer´ius Jo´vius.= A celebrated Roman emperor, born of an obscure family in Dalmatia. He was first a common soldier, and by merit gradually rose to the position of a general, and at length he was invested with imperial power. He has been celebrated for his military virtues, and though he was naturally unpolished by education, yet he was the friend and patron of learning and genius. His cruelty, however, against the followers of Christianity, has been severely reprobated. After reigning twenty-one years in great prosperity, he abdicated, A.D. 304, and died nine years afterwards, aged sixty-eight.

=Diodo´rus, Sic´ulus.= Celebrated as the author of a history of Egypt, Persia, Syria, Media, Greece, Rome and Carthage. It was divided into forty books, of which only fifteen are extant, with a few fragments.

=Dio´genes.= A celebrated cynic philosopher of Sinope, banished from his country for coining false money. From Sinope he retired to Athens, where he became the disciple of Antisthenes, who was at the head of the Cynics. He dressed himself in the garment which distinguished the Cynics, and walked about the streets with a tub on his head, which served him as a house. His singularity, joined to his great contempt for riches, gained him reputation, and Alexander the Great visited the philosopher and asked him if there was anything in which he could oblige him. "Get out of my sunshine," was the reply of the Cynic. Such independence pleased the monarch, who, turning to his courtiers, said, "Were I not Alexander, I would wish to be Diogenes." He was once sold as a slave, and his magnanimity so pleased his master, that he made him the preceptor of his children and the guardian of his estates. He died, B.C. 324, in the ninety-sixth year of his age. The life of Diogenes does not bear strict examination: whilst boasting of his poverty, he was so arrogant that it has been observed that his virtues arose from pride and vanity, not from wisdom or sound philosophy.

=Dio´genes Laer´tius.= An Epicurean philosopher, born in Cilicia. He wrote the lives of the philosophers, in ten books. This work contains an accurate account of the ancient philosophers, and is replete with anecdotes respecting them. It is compiled, however, without any plan, method, or precision, though neatness and conciseness are observable in it.

=Diome´des=, a son of Tydeus and Deiphyle, was king of Ætolia, and one of the bravest of the Grecian chiefs in the Trojan war. He often engaged Hector and Æneas, and obtained much military glory.

=Diome´des.= A king of Thrace, son of Mars and Cyrene, who fed his horses with human flesh. Hercules destroyed Diomedes, and gave him to his own horses to be devoured.

=Di´on.= A Syracusan, son of Hipparina, famous for his power and abilities. He was related to Dionysius the First, who constantly advised with him, and at whose court he obtained great popularity. He was assassinated 354 years before the Christian era by one of his familiar friends. His death was greatly lamented by the Syracusans, who raised a monument to his memory. When Dionysius the Second ascended the throne he banished Dion, who collected some forces, and in three days made himself master of Syracuse.

=Di´on Cas´sius.= A native of Nicæa in Bithynia, who was raised to some of the greatest offices of state in the Roman empire. He is celebrated as the writer of a history of Rome which occupied him twelve years in composing.

=Dionys´ius= the Elder was son of Hermocrates. He signalized himself in the wars which the Syracusans carried on against Carthage, and made himself absolute at Syracuse. His tyranny rendered himself odious to his subjects. He made a subterraneous cave in a rock in the form of a human ear, which was called "the Ear of Dionysius." The sounds of this cave were all directed to one common tympanum, which had a communication with an adjoining room, where Dionysius spent part of his time in listening to what was said by those whom he had imprisoned. He died in the sixty-third year of his age, B.C. 368, after a reign of thirty-eight years.

=Dionys´ius= the Younger was son of Dionysius the First and Doris. He succeeded his father, and as soon as he ascended the throne he invited Plato to his court and studied under him for some time. Plato advised him to lay aside the supreme power, in which he was supported by Dion. This highly incensed Dionysius, who banished Dion, who collected forces in Greece, and in three days rendered himself master of Syracuse, and expelled the tyrant, B.C. 357. He, however, recovered Syracuse ten years afterward, but was soon compelled to retire again by the Corinthians under Timoleon.

=Dionys´ius= of Halicarnassus. A historian who left his country and came to reside in Rome that he might study all the authors who had written Roman history. He was occupied during twenty-four years on his work on Roman antiquities, which consisted of twenty books.

=Dir´ce.= A woman whom Lycus, king of Thebes, married after he had divorced Antiope. Amphion and Zethus, sons of Antiope, for cruelties she practiced on Antiope, tied Dirce to the tail of a wild bull, by which she was dragged over rocks and precipices till the gods pitied her and changed her into a fountain.

=Discor´dia.= A malevolent deity, daughter of Nox, and sister to Nemesis, the Parcæ, and Death. She was driven from heaven by Jupiter because she sowed dissensions amongst the gods. At the nuptials of Peleus and Thetis she threw an apple amongst the gods, inscribed with the words, _Detur pulchriori_, which was the primary cause of the ruin of Troy, and of infinite misfortunes to the Greeks.

=Dolabel´la, P. Corn.= A Roman who married the daughter of Cicero. During the civil wars he warmly espoused the cause of Julius Cæsar, whom he accompanied at the famous battles of Pharsalia and Munda.

=Domitia´nus, Ti´tus Fla´vius=, son of Vespasian and Flavia Domitilla, made himself emperer of Rome on the death of his brother Titus, whom, according to some accounts, he destroyed by poison. The beginning of his reign promised hopefully, but Domitian became cruel, and gave way to vicious indulgences. In the latter part of his reign he became suspicious and remorseful. He was assassinated A.D. 96, in the forty-fifth year of his age.

=Dra´co.= A celebrated lawgiver of Athens, who made a code of laws, B.C. 623, which, on account of their severity, were said to be written in letters of blood. Hence the term "Draconic," applied to any punishment of exceptional severity.

=Dru´sus.= A son of Tiberius and Vipsania, who became famous for his courage displayed in Illyricum and Pannonia.

=Dru´sus, M. Liv´ius.= A celebrated Roman, who renewed the proposals bearing on the Agrarian laws, which had proved fatal to the Gracchi.

=Dru´sus, Ne´ro Clau´dius.= A son of Tiberius Nero and Livia. He distinguished himself in the wars in Germany and Gaul, and was honored with a triumph. There were other Romans of the same name, but of smaller distinction.

=Dry´ades.= Nymphs that presided over the woods. Oblations of milk, oil, and honey were offered to them. Sometimes the votaries of the Dryads sacrificed a goat to them.

=Duum´viri.= Two patricians at Rome, first appointed by Tarquin to keep the Sibylline books, which were supposed to contain the fate of the Roman empire.

=Ech´o.= A daughter of the Air and Tellus, who was one of Juno's attendants. She was deprived of speech by Juno, but was allowed to reply to questions put to her.

=Ege´ria.= A nymph of Aricia in Italy, where Diana was particularly worshiped. Egeria was courted by Numa, and, according to Ovid, became his wife. Ovid says that she was disconsolate at the death of Numa, and that she wept so violently that Diana changed her into a fountain.

=Elec´tra.= A daughter of Agamemnon, king of Argos. She incited her brother Orestes to revenge his father's death by assassinating his mother Clytemnestra. Her adventures and misfortunes form the subject of one of the finest of the tragedies of Sophocles.

=Eleu´sinia.= A great festival observed by the Lacedæmonians, Cretans, and others, every fourth year, and by the people of Athens every fifth year, at Eleusis in Attica, where it was introduced by Eumolpus, B.C. 1356. It was the most celebrated of all the religious ceremonies of Greece. The term "Mysteries" is often applied to it. The expression "Eleusinian mysteries," as applied to anything that is inexplicable, has become proverbial.

=Elys´ium.= The Elysian Fields, a place in the infernal regions, where, according to the ancients, the souls of the virtuous existed after death.

=Emped´ocles.= A philosopher, poet, and historian of Agrigentum in Sicily, who lived 444 B.C. He was a Pythagorean, and warmly espoused the belief in the transmigration of souls.

=Endym´ion.= A shepherd, son of Æthlius and Calyce. He is said to have required of Jupiter that he might be always young. Diana saw him as he slept on Mount Latmus, and was so struck with his beauty that she came down from heaven every night to visit him.

=En´nius.= An ancient poet, born in Calabria. He obtained the privileges of a Roman citizen on account of his learning and genius.

=E´os.= The name of Aurora among the Greeks.

=Epaminon´das.= A famous Theban descended from the ancient kings of Boeotia. At the head of the Theban armies he defeated the Spartans at the celebrated battle of Leuctra about 370 B.C. He was killed in battle in the forty-eighth year of his age.

=Eph´esus.= A city of Ionia, famous for a temple of Diana, which was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world.

=Epicte´tus.= A Stoic philosopher of Hieropolis, originally the slave of Epaphroditus, the freedman of Nero. He supported the doctrine of the immortality of the soul.

=Epicu´rus.= A celebrated philosopher, born in Attica of obscure parents. He distinguished himself at school by the brilliancy of his genius. He taught that the happiness of mankind consisted in pleasure, which arises from mental enjoyment, and the sweets of virtue. His death occurred 270 B.C., his age being seventy-two.

=Er´ato.= One of the Muses. She presided over lyric poetry, and is represented as crowned with roses and myrtle, and holding a lyre in her hand.

=Er´ebus=, A deity of the infernal regions, son of Chaos and Darkness. The poets often use the word to signify the infernal regions.

=Ete´ocles.= A king of Thebes, son of OEdipus and Jocasta. After his father's death it was agreed between him and his brother Polynices that they should reign a year each alternately. Eteocles first ascended the throne, but at the end of the year he refused to resign the crown. Thus treated, Polynices implored assistance from Adrastus, king of Argos, whose daughter he married, and who placed an army at his disposal. Eteocles marshalled his forces, and several skirmishes took place between the hostile hosts, when it was agreed on that the brothers should decide the contest by single combat. They fought with inveterate fury, and both were killed.

=Eucli´des.= A famous mathematician of Alexandria, who lived B.C. 300. He wrote fifteen books on the elements of mathematics. Euclid was so much respected that King Ptolemy became one of his pupils.

=Eu´menes.= A Greek officer in the army of Alexander. He was the most worthy of all Alexander's generals to succeed him after his death. He conquered Paphlagonia and Cappadocia, of which he obtained the government, till the power of Antigonus obliged him to retire. Eventually, after many vicissitudes of fortune, he was put to death in prison by order of Antigonus.

=Eumen´ides.= A name given to the Furies. They sprang from the drops of blood which flowed from a wound which Coelus received from Saturn. According to some writers they were daughters of the Earth, and sprung from the blood of Saturn. Others make them to be daughters of Acheron and Night, or Pluto and Proserpine. According to the generally received opinion they were three in number--Tisiphone, Megara, and Alecto, to which some add Nemesis.

=Euphor´bus.= A famous Trojan. He wounded Patroclus, whom Hector killed. He died by the hand of Menelaus.

=Euphra´tes.= A large river in Asia which flowed through the middle of the city of Babylon.

=Eurip´ides.= A celebrated tragic poet born at Salamis. He studied eloquence under Prodicus, ethics under Socrates, and philosophy under Anaxagoras. He often retired to a solitary cave, where he wrote his tragedies. It is said that he met his death by being attacked and torn in pieces by dogs, 407 years before the Christian era, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. He is accredited with the authorship of seventy-five tragedies, of which only nineteen are extant. One of his plays, "Ion," has become familiarized in name to general readers by the exquisite play thus called written by the late Judge Talfourd, and first acted at Covent Garden theater, May 26, 1836.

=Euro´pa.= A daughter of Agenor, king of Phoenicia, and Telaphassa. Her beauty attracted Jupiter, and to become possessed of her he assumed the shape of a handsome bull, and mingled with the herds of Agenor while Europa was gathering flowers in the meadows. She caressed the animal, and mounted on his back. The god crossed the sea with her, and arrived in Crete, where he assumed his proper form, and declared his love. She became mother of Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthus.

=Euryd´ice.= The wife of the poet Orpheus. As she fled from Aristæus, who was enamored with her, she was bit by a serpent, and died of the wound. Orpheus was disconsolate at her loss, and descended to the infernal regions in search of her, and by the melody of his lyre he obtained from Pluto the restoration of Eurydice, provided he did not look behind him till he reached the earth; but his eagerness to see his wife caused him to violate the conditions, and he looked behind him, thus losing Eurydice forever.

=Euryd´ice.= Wife of Amyntas, king of Macedonia. Alexander, Perdiccas, and Philip were their sons, and they had a daughter named Euryone. She conspired against Amyntas, but was prevented from killing him by Euryone.

=Eurys´thenes.= A son of Aristodemus, who lived in perpetual dissension with his twin brother Procles whilst they both sat on the Spartan throne. The descendants of Eurysthenes were called Eurysthenidæ, and those of Procles Proclidæ.

=Eurys´theus.= A king of Argos and Mycenæ, son of Sthenelus and Nicippe. Juno hastened his birth by two months that he might come into the world before Hercules, the son of Alcmena, as the younger of the two was doomed by Jupiter to be subservient to the other. This natural right was cruelly exercised by Eurystheus, who was jealous of the fame of Hercules, and who, to destroy him, imposed upon him the most dangerous enterprises, known as the Twelve Labors of Hercules, all of which were successfully accomplished.

=Euse´bius.= A bishop of Cæsarea, in favor with the Emperor Constantine. He was mixed up in the theological disputes of Arius and Athanasius, and distinguished himself by writing an ecclesiastical history and other works.

=Euter´pe.= One of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She presided over music.

=Entro´pius.= A Latin historian in the age of Julian. He wrote an epitome of the history of Rome from the age of Romulus to the reign of the emperor Valens.

=Fa´bii.= A noble and powerful family at Rome. They fought with the Veientes, and all of them were slain. One of the family, of tender age, remained in Rome, and from him descended the family which afterwards became so distinguished.

=Fa´bius, Max´imus Rullia´nus=, was the first of the Fabii who obtained the name of "Maximus." He was master of the horse, and his victory over the Samnites in that capacity nearly cost him his life. He was five times consul, twice dictator, and once censor.

=Fa´bius, Q. Max´imus.= A celebrated Roman who was raised to the highest offices of state. In his first consulship he obtained a victory over Liguria, and the battle of Thrasymenus caused his election to the dictatorship. In this office he opposed Hannibal, harassing him more by countermarches and ambuscades than by fighting in the open field. He died at the age of 100, after being consul five times. Others of the family were of minor distinction, though their names occur in Roman history.

=Fabric´ius, Cai´us.= A distinguished Roman, who in his first consulship obtained several victories over the Samnites and Lucanians. He had the most consummate knowledge of military matters, and was distinguished for the simplicity of his manners.

=Faler´nus.= A fertile mountain and plain of Campania, famous for its wine. Falernian wine was held in great esteem by the Romans, and it is often alluded to by the poets.

=Fau´ni.= Rural deities represented as having the legs, feet, and ears of goats, and the rest of the body human.

=Flac´cus.= A consul who marched against Sylla and was assassinated.

=Flamin´ius, T. Q.= A famous Roman who was trained in the art of war against Hannibal. He was sent in command of the Roman troops against Philip of Macedonia, and met with great success.

=Flo´ra.= The goddess of flowers and gardens among the Romans. She was the same as the Chloris of the Greeks.

=Fortu´na.= A powerful deity among the ancients, daughter of Oceanus, according to Homer, or one of the Parcæ according to Pindar. She was the goddess of Fortune, and bestowed riches or poverty on mankind.

=Ful´via.= An ambitious woman, wife of the tribune Clodius, afterwards of Curio, and lastly of Antony. Antony divorced her for Cleopatra. She attempted to avenge her wrongs by persuading Augustus to take up arms against Antony.

=Galatæ´a.= A sea nymph, daughter of Nereus and Doris. She was loved by Polyphemus, the Cyclops, whom she treated with disdain, while she was in love with Acis, a shepherd of Sicily.

=Gal´ba, Ser´vius Sulpi´cius.= A Roman who rose to the greatest offices of the state, and exercised his powers with equity till he was seated on the throne, when his virtues disappeared. He was assassinated in the seventy-third year of his age.

=Gallie´nus, Pub. Licin´ius.= A son of the emperor Valerian. He reigned conjointly with his father for seven years, and then became sole emperor, A.D. 260. In his youth he showed military ability in an expedition against the Germans and Sarmatæ, but when possessed of the purple he gave himself up to pleasure and vice. He was assassinated in his fiftieth year, A.D. 268.

=Gal´lus, Corne´lius.= A Roman knight famous for his poetical as well as his military talents. He was greatly attached to his slave Lycoris (or Cytheris), whose beauty he extolled in his poetry.

=Ganyme´des.= A beautiful youth of Phrygia. He was taken to heaven by Jupiter while tending flocks on Mount Ida, and he became the cupbearer of the gods in place of Hebe.

=Gel´lius Au´lus.= A Roman grammarian in the age of M. Antoninus. He wrote a work called "Noctes Atticæ," which he composed at Athens.

=German´icus Cæ´sar.= A son of Drusus and Antonia, the niece of Augustus. He was raised to the most important position in the state, and was employed in war in Germany, where his successes obtained him a triumph. He was secretly poisoned, A.D. 19, in the thirty-fourth year of his age. He has been commended not only for his military talents but for his learning and humanity.

=Ge´ryon.= A monster, represented by the poets as having three bodies and three heads. It was killed by Hercules.

=Gigan´tes.= The sons of Coelus and Terra, who, according to Hesiod, sprang from the blood of a wound inflicted on Coelus by his son Saturn. They are represented as huge giants, with strength in accordance with their size.

=Glau´cus.= A son of Hippolochus, the son of Bellerophon. He aided Priam in the Trojan war, and was noted for his folly in exchanging his golden armor with Diomedes for an iron one.

=Glau´cus.= A fisherman of Boeotia. He observed that the fishes which he caught and laid on the grass became invigorated and leaped into the sea. He tasted the grass, and suddenly felt a desire to live in the sea. He was made a sea deity by Oceanus and Tethys.

=Glau´cus.= A son of Minos the Second and Pasiphae, who was smothered in a cask of honey. The soothsayer Polyidus, on being commanded by Minos to find his son, discovered him, and by rubbing his body with a certain herb restored him to life.

=Gordia´nus, M. Anto´nius Africa´nus.= Son of Metius Marcellus. He applied himself to poetry, and composed a poem in thirty books. He was sent as proconsul to Africa, and subsequently, when he had attained his eightieth year, he was proclaimed emperor. He strangled himself at Carthage A.D. 236, and was deeply lamented by the army and the people.

=Gordia´nus, M. Anto´nius Africa´nus=, son of Gordianus, was made prefect of Rome, and afterwards consul, by Alexander Severus. He was elected emperor in conjunction with his father. He was killed in a battle fought with Maximinus in Mauritania.

=Gordia´nus M. Anto´nius Pius=, was grandson of the first Gordian. He was proclaimed emperor in the sixteenth year of his age. He married the daughter of Misetheus, who was distinguished by his virtues, and to whom Gordian intrusted many of the chief offices of the state. Gordian conquered Sapor, king of Persia, and took many cities from him. He was assassinated A.D. 244.

=Gor´dius.= A Phrygian who, from the position of a peasant, was raised to the throne consequent on a prediction of the oracle. The knot which tied the yoke to the draught-tree of his chariot was made so cunningly that the ends of the cord could not be seen, and a report arose that the empire of Asia was promised by the oracle to him who should untie the Gordian knot. Alexander cut the knot with his sword.

=Gor´gones= (the Gorgons). Three sisters, daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, whose names were Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. They possessed the power of turning into stone those on whom they looked. Perseus attacked them and cut off Medusa's head, which he gave to Minerva, who placed it on her ægis, which turned into stone those who fixed their eyes on it.

=Grac´chus, T. Sempronius=, was twice consul and once censor. He married Cornelia, of the family of the Scipios, a woman of piety and learning. Their children, Tiberius and Caius, rendered themselves famous for their obstinate attachment to the interests of the populace, which at last proved fatal to them. The Gracchi stand out conspicuously in Roman annals. The history of Gaius Gracchus has been dramatized by James Sheridan Knowles. It was one of his earliest efforts in dramatic literature, and has long been obsolete as an acting play.

=Gymna´sium.= A place among the Greeks where all the public exercises were performed, and where not only dancers and wrestlers exhibited, but where poets and philosophers repeated their compositions.

=Ha´des=, see ADES.

=Halicarnas´sus.= A maritime city in Asia Minor, where a mausoleum, one of the seven wonders of the world, was erected. It is celebrated as being the birthplace of Herodotus, Dionysius, and Heraclitus.

=Hamadry´ades.= Nymphs who lived in the country and presided over trees.

=Hamil´car.= A famous Carthaginian, father of Hannibal. He was engaged in Sicily during the first Punic war. He used to say of his three sons that he kept three lions to devour the Roman power.

=Han´nibal.= A celebrated Carthaginian general, son of Hamilcar. While a child he took a solemn oath never to be at peace with Rome. His passage of the Alps with a great army was achieved by softening the rocks with fire and vinegar, so that even his armed elephants descended the mountains without difficulty. He defeated the Romans in the great battle of Cannæ, but was subsequently conquered by Scipio at Zama. He died by poison taken from a ring in which he kept it concealed. This occurred in his seventieth year, about 182 years B.C.

=Harmo´dius.= A friend of Aristogiton who assisted in delivering his country from the tyranny of the Pisistratidæ.

=Harpy´læ.= The Harpies, winged monsters who had the face of a woman, the body of a vulture, and feet and fingers armed with claws. They were three in number--Aello, Ocypete, and Celeno. They were daughters of Neptune and Terra.

=Has´drubal.= A son of Hamilcar, and brother of Hannibal. He crossed the Alps and entered Italy, where he was defeated by the consuls, M. Livius Salinator and Claudius Nero. He was killed in the battle B.C. 207, and his head was sent to Hannibal. One of the finest passages in Professor Nichol's tragedy of Hannibal is the invocation over Hasdrubal's head at the close of the play.

=He´be.= A daughter of Jupiter and Juno. She was made cup-bearer to the gods, but was dismissed from the office by Jupiter, because she fell down in a clumsy posture as she was pouring out nectar at a festival, and Ganymedes succeeded her as cupbearer.

=Hec´ate.= A daughter of Persus and Asteria. She was called Luna in heaven, Diana on earth, and Hecate or Proserpine in hell.

=Hec´tor=, son of King Priam and Hecuba, was the most valiant of all the Trojan chiefs who fought against the Greeks. He married Andromache, the daughter of Eetion, Astyanax being their son. Hector was made chief of the Trojan forces when Troy was besieged by the Greeks, and it is said that thirty-one of the most valiant Greek chiefs were killed by him, but when he met Achilles he fled. Achilles pursued him, and Hector was killed, and his body dragged in triumph at the chariot wheels of the conqueror.

=Hec´uba=, daughter of Dymas, a Phrygian prince, or, according to some, of Cisseus, a Thracian king, was the second wife of Priam, king of Troy. When her son Paris was born, she exposed him on Mount Ida, hoping he would perish, as the soothsayers had predicted that he would be the ruin of his country. In the Trojan war she saw most of her children perish. After enduring many misfortunes, she threw herself into the sea, and was drowned.

=Hel´ena.= One of the most beautiful women in the age in which she lived. Her beauty was so universally admired, even in her infancy, that Theseus, with his friend Pirithous, carried her away when she was ten years of age and concealed her with his mother, but she was recovered by Castor and Pollux, and restored to her native country. She married Menelaus, son of Atreus, but when Paris visited Menelaus he persuaded her to fly with him to Troy, B.C. 1198. On this, Menelaus sent ambassadors to the court of Priam to demand her restitution, but in vain, and the result was the Trojan war. When Troy was taken she returned to Menelaus, and after his death she retired to Rhodes, where she was strangled by order of Polyxo, who reigned there. Her beauty and misfortunes have been a theme for the poets in all ages.

=Hel´icon.= A mountain of Boeotia on the borders of Phocis. It was sacred to the Muses, who had a temple there. The fountain Hippocrene flowed from this mountain.

=Heliogab´alus, M. Aure´lius Antoni´nus.= A Roman emperor who had been priest to a divinity in Phoenicia. Under his sway Rome became the scene of cruelty and vice. He raised his horse to the honors of consulship, and indulged in a number of absurdities which rendered him odious to his subjects. His head was cut off by his soldiers A.D. 222.

=Hel´le.= A daughter of Athamas and Nephele. She fled from her father's house to avoid the oppression of her mother-in-law Ino. According to some accounts she was carried through the air on a golden ram, when, becoming giddy, she fell into the sea, which received from her the name Hellespont.

=Hellespon´tus.= A narrow strait between Europe and Asia, which received its name from Helle, who is said to have been drowned in it. It is celebrated as being the scene of the love and death of Leander.

=Heracli´tus.= A celebrated Greek philosopher of Ephesus, who lived about 500 years before the Christian era. He received the appellation of the Obscure Philosopher and the Mourner, from his custom of weeping at the follies and frailties of human life.

=Hercula´neum.= A town of Campania swallowed up by an earthquake, produced by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, A.D. 79.