He was called Melesigenes, because supposed to be born on the borders of the river Meles. There prevailed a report that he had established a school at Chios in the latter part of his life; and, indeed, this opinion is favoured by the present inhabitants of the island, who still glory in showing to travellers the seats where the venerable master and his pupils sat in the hollow of a rock, at the distance of about four miles from the modern capital of the island. These difficulties and doubts have not been removed, though Aristotle, Herodotus, Plutarch, and others have employed their pen in writing his life. In his two celebrated poems, called the Iliad and Odyssey, Homer has displayed the most consummate knowledge of human nature, and rendered himself immortal by the sublimity, the fire, sweetness, and elegance of his poetry. He deserves a greater share of admiration when we consider that he wrote without a model, and that none of his poetical imitators have been able to surpass, or, perhaps, to equal their great master. If there are any faults found in his poetry, they are to be attributed to the age in which he lived, and not to him; and we must observe that the world is indebted to Homer for his happy successor Virgil. In his Iliad, Homer has described the resentment of Achilles, and its fatal consequences in the Grecian army, before the walls of Troy. In the Odyssey, the poet has chosen for his subject the return of Ulysses into his country, with the many misfortunes which attended his voyage after the fall of Troy. These two poems are each divided into 24 books, the same number as the letters of the Greek alphabet, and though the Iliad claims an uncontested superiority over the Odyssey, yet the same force, the same sublimity and elegance, prevail, though divested of its most powerful fire; and Longinus, the most refined of critics, beautifully compares the Iliad to the mid-day, and the Odyssey to the setting sun, and observes, that the latter still preserves its original splendour and majesty, though deprived of its meridian heat. The poetry of Homer was so universally admired, that, in ancient times, every man of learning could repeat with facility any passage in the Iliad or Odyssey; and, indeed, it was a sufficient authority to settle disputed boundaries, or to support any argument. The poems of Homer are the compositions of a man who travelled and examined with the most critical accuracy whatever deserved notice and claimed attention. Modern travellers are astonished to see the different scenes which the pen of Homer described about 3000 years ago still existing in the same unvaried form, and the sailor who steers his course along the Ægean, sees all the promontories and rocks which appeared to Nestor and Menelaus, when they returned victorious from the Trojan war. The ancients had such veneration for Homer, that they not only raised temples and altars to him, but offered sacrifices, and worshipped him as a god. The inhabitants of Chios celebrated festivals every fifth year in his honour, and medals were struck, which represented him sitting on a throne, holding his Iliad and Odyssey. In Egypt his memory was consecrated by Ptolemy Philopator, who erected a magnificent temple, within which was placed a statue of the poet, beautifully surrounded with a representation of the seven cities which contended for the honour of his birth. The inhabitants of Cos, one of the Sporades, boasted that Homer was buried in their island; and the Cyprians claimed the same honour, and said that he was born of Themisto, a female native of Cyprus. Alexander was so fond of Homer, that he generally placed his compositions under his pillow, with his sword; and he carefully deposited the Iliad in one of the richest and most valuable caskets of Darius, observing that the most perfect work of human genius ought to be preserved in a box the most valuable and precious in the world. It is said that Pisistratus tyrant of Athens was the first who collected and arranged the Iliad and Odyssey in the manner in which they now appear to us; and that it is to the well-directed pursuits of Lycurgus that we are indebted for their preservation. Many of the ancients have written the life of Homer, yet their inquiries and labours have not much contributed to prove the native place, the patronage and connections, of a man whom some have represented as deprived of sight. Besides the Iliad and Odyssey, Homer wrote, according to the opinion of some authors, a poem upon Amphiaraus’s expedition against Thebes, besides the Phoceis, the Cercopes, the small Iliad, the Epicichlides, and the Batrachomyomachia, and many hymns to some of the gods. The merit of originality is taken, very improperly perhaps, from Homer, by those who suppose, with Clement of Alexandria, bk. 6 Stromateis, that he borrowed from Orpheus, or that, according to Suidas [voce Corinnus], he took his plan of the Iliad from Corinnus, an epic poet, who wrote on the Trojan war, at the very time the Greeks besieged that famed city. Agathon, an ancient painter, according to Ælian, represented the merit of the poet in a manner as bold as it was indelicate. Homer was represented as vomiting, and all other poets as swallowing what he ejected. Of the numerous commentaries published on Homer, that of Eustathius bishop of Thessalonica is by far the most extensive and erudite. The best editions of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey may, perhaps, be found to be by Barnes, 2 vols., 4to, Cambridge, 1711; that of Glasgow, 2 vols., folio, 1758; that of Berglerus, 2 vols., 12mo, Amsterdam, 1707; that of Dr. Clarke of the Iliad, 2 vols., 4to, 1729, and that of the Odyssey, 1740; and that of Oxford, 5 vols., 8vo, 1780, containing the scholia, hymns, and an index. Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 53.—Theocritus, poem 16.—Aristotle, Poetics.—Strabo.— Dio Chrysostom, bk. 33, Orationes.—Pausanias, bks. 2, 9, 10.—Heliodorus, bk. 3.—Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 13.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 8, ch. 8.—Quintilian, bks. 1, 8, 10, 12.—Paterculus, bk. 1, ch. 5.—Dionysius of Halicarnassus.—Plutarch, Alexander, &c.——One of the Greek poets called Pleiades, born at Hierapolis, B.C. 263. He wrote 45 tragedies, all lost.——There were seven other poets, of inferior note, who bore the name of Homer.

Homŏle, a lofty mountain of Thessaly, once the residence of the Centaurs. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 675.

Homŏlea, a mountain of Magnesia.

Homolippus, a son of Hercules and Xanthis. Apollodorus.

Homoloides, one of the seven gates of Thebes. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 7, li. 252.

Homonadenses, a people of Cilicia.

Honōrius, an emperor of the western empire of Rome, who succeeded his father Theodosius the Great, with his brother Arcadius. He was neither bold nor vicious, but he was of a modest and timid disposition, unfit for enterprise, and fearful of danger. He conquered his enemies by means of his generals, and suffered himself and his people to be governed by ministers who took advantage of their imperial master’s indolence and inactivity. He died of a dropsy in the 39th year of his age, 15th of August, A.D. 423. He left no issue, though he married two wives. Under him and his brother the Roman power was divided into two different empires. The successors of Honorius, who fixed their residence at Rome, were called the emperors of the west, and the successors of Arcadius, who sat on the throne of Constantinople, were distinguished by the name of emperors of the eastern Roman empire. This division of power proved fatal to both empires, and they soon looked upon one another with indifference, contempt, and jealousy.

Honour, a virtue worshipped at Rome. Her first temple was erected by Scipio Africanus, and another was afterwards built by Claudius Marcellus. Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 2, ch. 23.

Hora, a goddess at Rome, supposed to be Hersilia, who married Romulus. She was said to preside over beauty. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, li. 851.

Horacitæ, a people near Illyricum.

Horapollo, a Greek writer, whose age is unknown. His Hieroglyphica, a curious and entertaining book, has been edited by Cornelius de Pauw, 4to, Utrecht, 1727.

Horæ, three sisters, daughters of Jupiter and Themis, according to Hesiod called Eunomia, Dice, and Irene. They were the same as the seasons who presided over the spring, summer, and winter, and were represented by the poets as opening the gates of heaven and of Olympus. Homer, Iliad, bk. 5, li. 749.—Pausanias, bk. 5, ch. 11.—Hesiod, Theogony, li. 902.

Horātia, the sister of Horatii, killed by her brother for mourning the death of the Curiatii. Cicero, de Inventione, bk. 2, ch. 20.

Hŏrātius Cocles. See: Cocles.——Quintus Flaccus, a celebrated poet, born at Venusia. His father was a freedman, and though poor in his circumstances, he liberally educated his son, and sent him to learn philosophy at Athens, after he had received the lessons of the best masters at Rome. Horace followed Brutus from Athens, and the timidity which he betrayed at the battle of Philippi so effectually discouraged him, that he for ever abandoned the profession of arms, and at his return to Rome he applied himself to cultivate poetry. His rising talents claimed the attention of Virgil and Varius, who recommended him to the care of Mecænas and Augustus, the most celebrated patrons of literature. Under the fostering patronage of the emperor and of his minister, Horace gave himself up to indolence and refined pleasure. He was a follower of Epicurus, and while he liberally indulged his appetites, he neglected the calls of ambition, and never suffered himself to be carried away by the tide of popularity or public employments. He even refused to become the secretary of Augustus, and the emperor was not offended at his refusal. He lived at the table of his illustrious patrons as if he were in his own house; and Augustus, while sitting at his meals with Virgil at his right hand, and Horace at his left, often ridiculed the short breath of the former, and the watery eyes of the latter, by observing that he sat between tears and sighs, Ego sum inter suspiria et lacrymas. Horace was warm in his friendship, and if ever any ill-judged reflection had caused offence, the poet immediately made every concession which could effect a reconciliation, and not destroy the good purposes of friendly society. Horace died in the 57th year of his age, B.C. 8. His gaiety was suitable to the liveliness and dissipation of a court; and his familiar intimacy with Mecænas has induced some to believe that the death of Horace was violent, and that he hastened himself out of the world to accompany his friend. The 17th ode of his second book, which was written during the last illness of Mecænas, is too serious to be considered as a poetical rhapsody or unmeaning effusion, and indeed, the poet survived the patron only three weeks, and ordered his bones to be buried near those of his friend. He left all his possessions to Augustus. The poetry of Horace, so much commended for its elegance and sweetness, is deservedly censured for the licentious expressions and indelicate thoughts which he too frequently introduces. In his odes he has imitated Pindar and Anacreon; and if he has confessed himself to be inferior to the former, he has shown that he bears the palm over the latter by his more ingenious and refined sentiments, by the ease and melody of his expressions, and by the pleasing variety of his numbers. In his satires and epistles, Horace displays much wit, and much satirical humour, without much poetry, and his style, simple and unadorned, differs little from prosaical composition. In his art of poetry he has shown much taste and judgment, and has rendered in Latin hexameters what Aristotle had, some ages before delivered to his pupils in Greek prose. The poet gives judicious rules and useful precepts to the most powerful and opulent citizens of Rome, who, in the midst of peace and enjoyment, wished to cultivate poetry and court the muses. The best editions of Horace will be found to be that of Basil, folio, 1580, illustrated by 80 commentators; that of Baxter’s, edited by Gesner, 8vo, Lipscomb, 1752; and that of Glasgow, 12mo, 1744. Suetonius, Augustus.—Ovid, Tristia, bk. 4, poem 10, li. 49.——Three brave Romans, born at the same birth, who fought against the three Curiatii, about 667 years before Christ. This celebrated fight was fought between the hostile camps of the people of Alba and Rome, and on their success depended the victory. In the first attack two of the Horatii were killed, and the only surviving brother, by joining artifice to valour, obtained an honourable trophy. By ♦pretending to fly from the field of battle, he easily separated his antagonists, and, in attacking them one by one, he was enabled to conquer them all. As he returned victorious to Rome, his sister reproached him with the murder of one of the Curiatii, to whom she was promised in marriage. He was incensed at the rebuke, and killed his sister. This violence raised the indignation of the people; he was tried and capitally condemned. His eminent services, however, pleaded in his favour; the sentence of death was exchanged for a more moderate, but more ignominious punishment, and he was only compelled to pass under the yoke. A trophy was raised in the Roman forum, on which he suspended the spoils of the conquered Curiatii. Cicero, de Inventione, bk. 2, ch. 26.—Livy, bk. 1, ch. 24, &c.—Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 3, ch. 3.——A Roman consul, who defeated the Sabines.——A consul, who dedicated the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. During the ceremony he was informed of the death of his son, but he did not forget the sacred character he then bore for the feelings of a parent, and continued the dedication after ordering the body to be buried. Livy, bk. 2.

♦ ‘pretenting’ replaced with ‘pretending’

Horcias, the general of 3000 Macedonians, who revolted from Antigonus in Cappadocia. Polyænus, bk. 4.

Hormisdas, a name which some of the Persian kings bore in the reign of the Roman emperors.

Horesti, a people of Britain, supposed to be the inhabitants of Eskdale, now in Scotland. Tacitus, Agricola, ch. 38.

Horratus, a Macedonian soldier, who fought with another private soldier in the sight of the whole army of Alexander. Curtius, bk. 9, ch. 7.

Hortensia, a celebrated Roman lady, daughter of the orator Hortensius, whose eloquence she had inherited in the most eminent degree. When the triumvirs had obliged 14,000 women to give upon oath an account of their possessions, to defray the expenses of the state, ♦Hortensia undertook to plead their cause, and was so successful in her attempt, that 1000 of her female fellow-sufferers escaped from the avarice of the triumvirate. Valerius Maximus, bk. 8, ch. 3.

♦ ‘Hortensa’ replaced with ‘Hortensia’

Hortensia lex, by Quintus Hortensius the dictator, A.U.C. 697. It ordered the whole body of the Roman people to pay implicit obedience to whatever was enacted by the commons. The nobility, before this law was enacted, had claimed an absolute exemption.

Horta, a divinity among the Romans, who presided over youth, and patronized all exhortations to virtue and honourable deeds. She is the same as Hersilia.

Horta, or Hortinum, a town of the Sabines, on the confluence of the Nar and the Tiber. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 716.

Quintus Hortensius, a celebrated orator, who began to distinguish himself by his eloquence, in the Roman forum, at the age of 19. His friend and successor Cicero speaks with great eulogium of his oratorical powers, and mentions the uncommon extent of his memory. The affected actions of Hortensius at the bar procured him the ridiculous surname of Dionysia, a celebrated stage-dancer at the time. He was pretor and consul, and died 50 years before Christ, in his 63rd year. His orations are not extant. Quintilian mentions them as undeserving the great commendations which Cicero had so liberally bestowed upon them. Hortensius was very rich, and not less than 10,000 casks of Arvisian wine were found in his cellar after his death. He had written pieces of amorous poetry, and annals, all lost. Cicero, Brutus; Letters to Atticus; On Oratory, &c.—Varro, de Re Rustica, bk. 3, ch. 5.——Corbio, a grandson of the orator of the same name, famous for his lasciviousness.——A rich Roman, who asked the elder Cato his wife, to procreate children. Cato gave his wife to his friend, and took her again after his death. This behaviour of Cato was highly censured at Rome, and it was observed, that Cato’s wife had entered the house of Hortensius very poor, but that she returned to the bed of Cato in the greatest opulence. Plutarch, Cato.——A Roman, slain by Antony on his brother’s tomb. Plutarch.——A pretor, who gave up Macedonia to Brutus. Plutarch.——One of Sylla’s lieutenants. Plutarch.——A Roman, the first who introduced the eating of peacocks at Rome. This was at the feast which he gave when he was created augur.

Hortōna, a town of Italy, on the confines of the Æqui. Livy, bk. 3, ch. 30.

Horus, a son of Isis, one of the deities of the Egyptians.——A king of Assyria.

Hospitālis, a surname of Jupiter among the Romans as the god of hospitality.

Hostilia lex, was enacted A.U.C. 583. By it such as were among the enemies of the republic, or absent when the state required their assistance, were guilty of rapine.

Hostilia, a large town on the Po. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 40.—Pliny, bk. 21, ch. 12.

Hostius Hostilius, a warlike Roman, presented with a crown of boughs by Romulus, for his intrepid behaviour in a battle. Dionysius of Halicarnassus.——A consul.——A Latin poet in the age of Julius Cæsar, who composed a poem on the wars of Istria. Macrobius, satire 6, chs. 3 & 5.

Hunni, a people of Sarmatia, who invaded the empire of Rome in the fifth century, and settled in Pannonia, to which they gave the name of Hungary.

Hyacinthia, an annual solemnity at Amyclæ, in Laconia, in honour of Hyacinthus and Apollo. It continued for three days, during which time the grief of the people was so great for the death of Hyacinthus, that they did not adorn their hair with garlands during their festivals, nor eat bread, but fed only upon sweetmeats. They did not even sing pæans in honour of Apollo, or observe any of the solemnities which were usual at other sacrifices. On the second day of the festival there were a number of different exhibitions. Youths, with their garments girt about them, entertained the spectators, by playing sometimes upon the flute, or upon the harp, and by singing anapestic songs, in loud, echoing voices, in honour of Apollo. Others passed across the theatre mounted upon horses richly adorned, and, at the same time, choirs of young men came upon the stage singing their uncouth rustic songs, and accompanied by persons who danced at the sound of vocal and instrumental music, according to the ancient custom. Some virgins were also introduced in chariots of wood, covered at the top and magnificently adorned. Others appeared in race chariots. The city began then to be filled with joy, and immense numbers of victims were offered on the altars of Apollo, and the votaries liberally entertained their friends and slaves. During this latter part of the festivity, all were eager to be present at the games, and the city was almost left without inhabitants. Athenæus, bk. 4.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 10, li. 219.—Pausanias, bk. 3, chs. 1 & 19.

Hyacinthus, a son of Amyclas and Diomede, greatly beloved by Apollo and Zephyrus. He returned the former’s love, and Zephyrus, incensed at his coldness and indifference, resolved to punish his rival. As Apollo, who was entrusted with the education of Hyacinthus, once played at quoit with his pupil, Zephyrus blew the quoit, as soon as it was thrown by Apollo, upon the head of Hyacinthus, and he was killed with the blow. Apollo was so disconsolate at the death of Hyacinthus, that he changed his blood into a flower, which bore his name, and placed his body among the constellations. The Spartans also established yearly festivals in honour of the nephew of their king. See: Hyacinthia. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 19.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 10, li. 185, &c.—Apollodorus, bk. 3, &c.

Hyădes, five daughters of Atlas king of Mauritania, who were so disconsolate at the death of their brother Hyas, who had been killed by a wild boar, that they pined away and died. They became stars after death, and were placed near Taurus, one of the 12 signs of the Zodiac. They received the name of Hyades from their brother Hyas. Their names are Phaola, Ambrosia, Eudora, Coronis, and Polyxo. To these some have added Thione and Prodice, and they maintained that they were daughters of Hyas and Æthra, one of the Oceanides. Euripides calls them daughters of Erechtheus. The ancients supposed that the rising and setting of the Hyades were always attended with much rain, whence the name (ὑω pluo). Ovid, Fasti, bk. 5, li. 165.—Hyginus, fable 182.—Euripides, Ion.

Hyăgnis, a Phrygian, father of Marsyas. He invented the flute. Plutarch, de Musica.

Hyăla, a city at the mouth of the Indus, where the government is the same as at Sparta.——One of Diana’s attendant nymphs. Ovid.

Hyampŏlis, a city of Phocis, on the Cephisus, founded by the Hyanthes. Herodotus, bk. 8.

Hyanthes, the ancient name of the inhabitants of Bœotia, from king Hyas. Cadmus is sometimes called Hyanthius, because he was king of Bœotia. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3, li. 147.

Hyantis, an ancient name of Bœotia.

Hyarbita, a man who endeavoured to imitate Timogenes, &c. Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 19, li. 15.

Hyas, a son of Atlas of Mauritania by Æthra. His extreme fondness for shooting proved fatal to him, and in his attempts to rob a lioness of her whelps, he was killed by the enraged animal. Some say that he died by the bite of a serpent, and others that he was killed by a wild boar. His sisters mourned his death with such constant lamentations, that Jupiter, in compassion for their sorrow, changed them into stars. See: Hyades. Hyginus, fable 192.—Ovid, Fasti, bk. 5, li. 170.

Hybla, a mountain in Sicily, called afterwards Megara, where thyme and odoriferous flowers of all sorts grew in abundance. It is famous for its honey. There is at the foot of the mountain a town of the same name. There is also another near mount Ætna, close to Catana. Pausanias, bk. 5, ch. 23.—Strabo, bk. 6.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 7.—Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 3, ch. 43; bk. 5, ch. 25.—Silius Italicus, bk. 14, li. 26.—Statius, bk. 14, li. 201.——A city of Attica bears also the name of Hybla.

Hybrēas, an orator of Caria, &c. Strabo, bk. 13.

Hybrianes, a people near Thrace.

Hyccaron (plural, a), a town of Sicily, the native place of Lais.

Hyda and Hyde, a town of Lydia, under mount Tmolus, which some suppose to be the same as Sardes.

Hydara, a town of Armenia. Strabo, bk. 12.

Hydarnes, one of the seven noble Persians who conspired to destroy the usurper Smerdis, &c. Herodotus, bks. 3 & 6.—Strabo, bk. 11.

Hydaspes, a river of Asia, flowing by Susa. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 4, li. 211.——Another in India, now Behut or Chelum, the boundaries of Alexander’s conquests in the east. It falls into the Indus. Curtius, bk. 5, ch. 2.—Lucan, bk. 8, li. 227.—Horace, bk. 1, ode 22, li. 7.—Strabo, bk. 15.——A friend of Æneas, killed in the Rutulian war. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 747.

Hydra, a celebrated monster, which infested the neighbourhood of the lake Lerna in Peloponnesus. It was the fruit of Echidna’s union with Typhon. It had 100 heads, according to Diodorus; 50, according to Simonides; and nine, according to the more received opinion of Apollodorus, Hyginus, &c. As soon as one of these heads was cut off, two immediately grew up if the wound was not stopped by fire. It was one of the labours of Hercules to destroy this dreadful monster, and this he easily effected with the assistance of Iolas, who applied a burning iron to the wounds as soon as one head was cut off. While Hercules was destroying the hydra, Juno, jealous of his glory, sent a sea-crab to bite his foot. This new enemy was soon despatched; and Juno, unable to succeed in her attempts to lessen the fame of Hercules, placed the crab among the constellations, where it is now called the Cancer. The conqueror dipped his arrows in the gall of the hydra, and, from that circumstance, all the wounds which he gave proved incurable and mortal. Hesiod, Theogony.—Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 5.—Pausanias, bk. 5, ch. 17.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 69.—Horace, bk. 4, ode 4, li. 61.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 276; bk. 7, li. 658.

Hydraotes, a river of India, crossed by Alexander.

Hydrophŏria, a festival observed at Athens, called ἀπο του φορειν ὑδωρ, from carrying water. It was celebrated in commemoration of those who perished in the deluge of Deucalion and Ogyges.

Hydruntum and Hydrus, a city of Calabria, 50 miles south of Brundusium. As the distance from thence to Greece was only 60 miles, Pyrrhus, and afterwards Varro, Pompey’s lieutenant, meditated the building here a bridge across the Adriatic. Though so favourably situated, Hydrus, now called Otranto, is but an insignificant town, scarce containing 3000 inhabitants. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 11.—Cicero, bk. 15, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 21; bk. 16, ltr. 5.—Lucan, bk. 5, li. 375.

Hydrūsa, a town of Attica. Strabo, bk. 9.

Hyĕla, a town of Lucania. Strabo, bk. 6.

Hyempsal, a son of Micipsa, brother to Adherbal, murdered by Jugurtha, after the death of his father. Sallust, Jugurthine War.

Hyettus, a town of Bœotia. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 24.

Hygeia, or Hygiea, the goddess of health, daughter of Æsculapius, held in great veneration among the ancients. Her statues represented her with a veil, and the matrons usually consecrated their locks to her. She was also represented on monuments as a young woman holding a serpent in one hand, and in the other a cup, out of which the serpent sometimes drank. According to some authors, Hygeia is the same as Minerva, who received that name from Pericles, who erected her a statue, because in a dream she had told him the means of curing an architect, whose assistance he wanted to build a temple. Plutarch, Pericles.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 23.

Hygiana, a town of Peloponnesus.

Caius Julius Hygīnus, a grammarian, one of the freedmen of Augustus. He was a native of Alexandria; or, according to some, he was a Spaniard, very intimate with Ovid. He was appointed librarian to the library of mount Palatine, and he was able to maintain himself by the liberality of Caius Licinius. He wrote a mythological history, which he called fables, and Poeticon Astronomicon, besides treatises on the cities of Italy, on such Roman families as were descended from the Trojans, a book on agriculture, commentaries on Virgil, the lives of great men, &c., now lost. The best edition of Hyginus is that of Munkerus, 2 vols., 8vo, Amsterdam, 1681. These compositions have been greatly mutilated, and their incorrectness and their bad Latinity have induced some to suppose that they are spurious. Suetonius, Lives of the Grammarians.

Hyla and Hylas, a river of Mysia, where Hylas was drowned. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 3, li. 6.——A colony of Phocis.

Hylactor, one of Actæon’s dogs, from his barking (ὐλακτω, latro). Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3.

Hylæ, a small town of Bœotia. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 7.

Hylæus, a name given to some centaurs, one of whom was killed by Hercules on mount Pholoe. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 294.——Another, by Theseus, at the nuptials of Pirithous. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 7, li. 267.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 378.——Another, killed by Bacchus. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 6, li. 530.—Virgil, Georgics, bk. 2, li. 457.——A fourth, killed by Atalanta. Apollodorus, bk. 3.——One of Actæon’s dogs.

Hylas, a son of Thiodamas king of Mysia and Menedice, stolen away by Hercules, and carried on board the ship Argo to Colchis. On the Asiatic coast the Argonauts landed to take a supply of fresh water, and Hylas, following the example of his companions, went to the fountain with a pitcher, and fell into the water and was drowned. The poets have embellished this tragical story, by saying that the nymphs of the river, enamoured of the beautiful Hylas, carried him away; and that Hercules, disconsolate at the loss of his favourite youth, filled the woods and mountains with his complaints, and at last abandoned the Argonautic expedition to go and seek him. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9.—Hyginus, fables 14, 271.—Virgil, Eclogues, poem 6.—Propertius, bk. 1, poem 20.——A river of Bithynia. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 32.

Hylax, a dog mentioned in Virgil, Eclogues, poem 8.

Hylias, a river of Magna Græcia.

Hyllaicus, a part of Peloponnesus, near Messenia.

Hyllus, a son of Hercules and Dejanira, who, soon after his father’s death, married Iole. He, as well as his father, was persecuted by the envy of Eurystheus, and obliged to fly from the Peloponnesus. The Athenians gave a kind reception to Hyllus and the rest of the Heraclidæ, and marched against Eurystheus. Hyllus obtained a victory over his enemies, and killed with his own hand Eurystheus, and sent his head to Alcmena his grandmother. Some time after he attempted to recover the Peloponnesus with the Heraclidæ, and was killed in single combat by Echemus king of Arcadia. See: Heraclidæ, Hercules. Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 204, &c.—Strabo, bk. 9.—Diodorus, bk. 4.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 279.——A river of Lydia, flowing into the Hernus. It is called also Phryx. Livy, bk. 37, ch. 38.—Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 180.

Hylonŏme, the wife of Cyllarus, who killed herself the moment her husband was murdered by the Lapithæ. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 405.

Hylophăgi, a people of Æthiopia. Diodorus, bk. 3.

Hymĕnæus and Hymen, the god of marriage among the Greeks, was son of Bacchus and Venus, or, according to others, of Apollo and one of the muses. Hymenæus, according to the more received opinions, was a young Athenian of extraordinary beauty, but ignoble origin. He became enamoured of the daughter of one of the richest and noblest of his countrymen, and, as the rank and elevation of his mistress removed him from her presence and conversation, he contented himself to follow her wherever she went. In a certain procession, in which all the matrons of Athens went to Eleusis, Hymenæus, to accompany his mistress, disguised himself in woman’s clothes, and joined the religious troop. His youth, and the fairness of his features, favoured his disguise. A great part of the procession was seized by the sudden arrival of some pirates, and Hymenæus, who shared the captivity of his mistress, encouraged his female companions, and assassinated their ravishers while they were asleep. Immediately after this, Hymenæus repaired to Athens, and promised to restore to liberty the matrons who had been enslaved, provided he was allowed to marry one among them who was the object of his passion. The Athenians consented, and Hymenæus experienced so much felicity in his marriage state, that the people of Athens instituted festivals in his honour, and solemnly invoked him at their nuptials, as the Latins did their Thalassius. Hymen was generally represented as crowned with flowers, chiefly with marjoram or roses, and holding a burning torch in one hand, and in the other a vest of a purple colour. It was supposed that he always attended at nuptials; for, if not, matrimonial connections were fatal, and ended in the most dreadful calamities; and hence people ran about calling aloud, “Hymen! Hymen!” &c. Ovid, Medeâ; Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 215.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, &c.—Catullus, poem 62.

Hymettus, a mountain of Attica, about 22 miles in circumference, and about two miles from Athens, still famous for its bees and excellent honey. There was also a quarry of marble there. Jupiter had there a temple; whence he is called Hymettius. Strabo, bk. 9.—Silius Italicus, bk. 2, li. 228; bk. 14, li. 200.—Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 3.—Horace, bk. 2, ode 18, li. 3; bk. 2, satire 2, li. 15.—Cicero, bk. 2, de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, ch. 34.

Hypæpa, or Ipepæ, now Berki, a town of Lydia, sacred to Venus, between mount Tmolus and the Caystrus. Strabo, bk. 13.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11, li. 152.

Hypæsia, a country of Peloponnesus.

Hypănis, a river of European Scythia, now called Bog, which falls into the Borysthenes, and with it into the Euxine. Herodotus, bk. 4, ch. 52, &c.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 15, li. 285.——A river of India.——Another of Pontus. Cicero, Tusculanæ Disputationes, bk. 2, ch. 39.——A Trojan who joined himself to Æneas, and was killed by his own people, who took him for one of the enemy in the night that Troy was burned by the Greeks. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, li. 428.

Hyparīnus, a son of Dion, who reigned at Syracuse for two years after his father.——The father of Dion.

Hypătes, a river of Sicily, near Camarina. Silius Italicus, bk. 14, li. 231.

Hypătha, a town of Thessaly. Livy, bk. 41, ch. 25.

Hypatia, a native of Alexandria celebrated for her beauty, her virtues, and her great erudition. She was assassinated 415 A.D.

Hypēnor, a Trojan killed by Diomedes at Troy. Homer, Iliad, bk. 5, li. 144.

Hyperbatus, a pretor of the Achæans, B.C. 224.

Hyperbius, a son of Ægyptus. Apollodorus.

Hy̆perbŏrei, a nation in the northern parts of Europe and Asia, who were said to live to an incredible age, even to 1000 years, and in the enjoyment of all possible felicity. The sun was said to rise and set to them but once a year, and therefore, perhaps, they are placed by Virgil under the north pole. The word signifies people who inhabit beyond the wind Boreas. Thrace was the residence of Boreas, according to the ancients. Whenever the Hyperboreans made offerings they always sent them towards the south, and the people of Dodona were the first of the Greeks who received them. The word Hyperboreans is applied, in general, to all those who inhabit any cold climate. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 12; bk. 6, ch. 17.—Mela, bk. 3, ch. 5.—Virgil, Georgics, bk. 1, li. 240; bk. 3, lis. 169 & 381.—Herodotus, bk. 4, ch. 13, &c.—Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 3, ch. 23; bk. 4, ch. 12.

Hyperea and Hyperīa, a fountain of Thessaly, with a town of the same name. Strabo, bk. 9.——Another in Messenia, in Peloponnesus. Flaccus, bk. 1, li. 375.

Hyperesia, a town of Achaia. Strabo, bk. 8.

Hypĕrĭdes, an Athenian orator, disciple to Plato and Socrates, and long the rival of Demosthenes. His father’s name was Glaucippus. He distinguished himself by his eloquence and the active part which he took in the management of the Athenian republic. After the unfortunate battle of Cranon, he was taken alive, and, that he might not be compelled to betray the secrets of his country, he cut off his tongue. He was put to death by order of Antipater, B.C. 322. Only one of his numerous orations remains, admired for the sweetness and elegance of his style. It is said that Hyperides once defended the courtesan Phryne who was accused of impiety, and that when he saw his eloquence ineffectual, he unveiled the bosom of his client, upon which the judges, influenced by the sight of her beauty, acquitted her. Plutarch, Demosthenes.—Cicero, Orator, ch. 1, &c.—Quintilian, bk. 10, &c.

Hypĕrīon, a son of Cœlus and Terra, who married Thea, by whom he had Aurora, the sun, and moon. Hyperion is often taken by the poets for the sun itself. Hesiod, Theogony.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, chs. 1 & 2.—Homer, Hymn 3 to Apollo.——A son of Priam. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 2.

Hypermnestra, one of the 50 daughters of Danaus, who married Lynceus son of Ægyptus. She disobeyed her father’s bloody commands, who had ordered her to murder her husband the first night of her nuptials, and suffered Lynceus to escape unhurt from the bridal bed. Her father summoned her to appear before a tribunal for her disobedience, but the people acquitted her, and Danaus was reconciled to her and her husband, to whom he left his kingdom at his death. Some say that Lynceus returned to Argos with an army, and that he conquered and put to death his father-in-law, and usurped his crown. See: Danaides. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 19.—Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 1.—Ovid, Heroides, poem 14.——A daughter of Thestius. Apollodorus.

Hyperŏchus, a man who wrote a poetical history of Cuma. Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 12.

Hyphæus, a mountain of Campania. Plutarch, Sulla.

Hypsa, now Belici, a river of Sicily, falling into the Crinisus, and then into the Mediterranean near Selinus. Silius Italicus, bk. 14, li. 228.

Hypsea, a Roman matron, of the family of the Plautii. She was blind, according to Horace; or, perhaps, was partial to some lover, who was recommended neither by personal nor mental excellence. Horace, bk. 1, satire 2, li. 91.

Hypsēnor, a priest of the Scamander, killed during the Trojan war. Homer, Iliad, bk. 5.

Hypseus, a son of the river Peneus.——A pleader at the Roman bar before the age of Cicero. Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 1, ch. 36.

Hypsicrătēa, the wife of Mithridates, who accompanied her husband in man’s clothes, when he fled before Pompey. Plutarch, Pompey.

Hypsicrătes, a Phœnician who wrote a history of his country, in the Phœnician language. This history was saved from the flames of Carthage, when that city was taken by Scipio, and translated into Greek.

Hypsipĭdes, a Macedonian in Alexander’s army, famous for his friendship for Menedemus, &c. Curtius, bk. 7, ch. 7.

Hypsĭpy̆le, a queen of Lemnos, daughter of Thoas and Myrine. During her reign, Venus, whose altars had been universally slighted, punished the Lemnian women, and rendered their mouths and breath so extremely offensive to the smell, that their husbands abandoned them, and gave themselves up to some female slaves, whom they had taken in a war against Thrace. This contempt was highly resented by all the women of Lemnos, and they resolved on revenge, and all unanimously put to death their male relations, Hypsipyle alone excepted, who spared the life of her father Thoas. Soon after this cruel murder, the Argonauts landed at Lemnos, in their expedition to Colchis, and remained for some time in the island. During their stay the Argonauts rendered the Lemnian women mothers, and Jason, the chief of the Argonautic expedition, left Hypsipyle pregnant at his departure, and promised her eternal fidelity. Hypsipyle brought twins, Euneus and Nebrophonus, whom some have called Deiphilus or Thoas. Jason forgot his vows and promises to Hypsipyle, and the unfortunate queen was soon after forced to leave her kingdom by the Lemnian women, who conspired against her life, still mindful that Thoas had been preserved by means of his daughter. Hypsipyle, in her flight, was seized by pirates, and sold to Lycurgus king of Nemæa. She was entrusted with the care of Archemorus the son of Lycurgus; and, when the Argives marched against Thebes, they met Hypsipyle, and obliged her to show them a fountain, where they might quench their thirst. To do this more expeditiously, she laid down the child on the grass, and in her absence he was killed by a serpent. Lycurgus attempted to revenge the death of his son, but Hypsipyle was screened from his resentment by Adrastus the leader of the Argives. Ovid, Heroides, poem 6.—Apollonius, bk. 1.—Statius, bk. 5, Thebiad.—Flaccus, bk. 2.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9; bk. 3, ch. 6.—Hyginus, fables 15, 74, &c. See: Archemorus.

Hyrcānia, a large country of Asia, at the north of Parthia, and at the west of Media, abounding in serpents, wild beasts, &c. It is very mountainous, and unfit for drawing a cavalry in order of battle. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 367.—Cicero, Tusculanæ Disputationes, bk. 1, ch. 45.—Strabo, bks. 2 & 11.——A town of Lydia, destroyed by a violent earthquake in the age of Tiberius. Livy, bk. 37, ch. 38.

Hyrcănum mare, a large sea, called also Caspian. See: Caspium mare.

Hyrcānus, a name common to some of the high priests of Judea. Josephus.

Hyria, a country of Bœotia, near Aulis, with a lake, river, and town of the same name. It is more probably situate near Tempe. It received its name from Hyrie, a woman who wept so much for the loss of her son, that she was changed into a fountain. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 7, li. 372.—Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 170.——A town of Isauria, on the Calycadnus.

Hyrieus, or Hyreus, a peasant, or, as some say, a prince of Tanagra, son of Neptune and Alcyone, who kindly entertained Jupiter, Neptune, and Mercury, when travelling over Bœotia. Being childless, he asked of the gods to give him a son without his marrying, as he promised his wife, who was lately dead, and whom he tenderly loved, that he never would marry again. The gods, to reward the hospitality of Hyreus, made water in the hide of a bull, which had been sacrificed the day before to their divinity, and they ordered him to wrap it up and bury it in the ground for nine months. At the expiration of the nine mouths, Hyreus opened the earth, and found a beautiful child in the bull’s hide, whom he called Orion. See: Orion.

Hyrmina, a town of Elis in Peloponnesus. Strabo, bk. 8.

Hyrneto and Hyrnetho, a daughter of Temenus king of Argos, who married Deyphon son of Celeus. She was the favourite of her father, who greatly enriched her husband. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 6.—Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 19.

Hyrnĭthium, a plain of Argos, near Epidaurus, fertile in olives. Strabo, bk. 6.

Hyrtăcus, a Trojan of mount Ida, father to Nisus, one of the companions of Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, lis. 177 & 406. Hence the patronymic of Hyrtacides is applied to Nisus. It is also applied to Hippocoon. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 492.

Hysia, a town of Bœotia, built by Nycteus, Antiope’s father.——A village of Argos.——A city of Arcadia.——The royal residence of the king of Parthia.

Hyspa, a river of Sicily. Silius Italicus, ♦bk. 14, li. 228.

♦ ‘24’ replaced with ‘14’

Hyssus and Hyssi, a port and river of Cappadocia on the Euxine sea.

Hystaspes, a noble Persian, of the family of the Achæmenides. His father’s name was Arsames. His son Darius reigned in Persia after the murder of the usurper Smerdis. It is said by Ctesias that he wished to be carried to see the royal monument which his son had built between two mountains. The priests who carried him, as reported, slipped the cord with which he was suspended in ascending the mountain, and he died of the fall. Hystaspes was the first who introduced the learning and mysteries of the Indian Brachmans into Persia, and to his researches in India the sciences were greatly indebted, particularly in Persia. Darius is called Hystaspes, or son of Hystaspes, to distinguish him from his royal successors of the same name. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 209; bk. 5, ch. 83.—Ctesias, Fragments.

Hystieus. See: Histiæus.