Laander, a youth, brother to Nicocrates tyrant of Cyrene &c.—Polyænus, bk. 8.
Laarchus, the guardian of Battus of Cyrene. He usurped the sovereign power for some time, and endeavoured to marry the mother of Battus, the better to establish his tyranny. The queen gave him a friendly invitation, and caused him to be assassinated, and restored the power to Battus. Polyænus.
Labaris, a king of Egypt after Sesostris.
Labda, a daughter of Amphion, one of the Bacchiadæ, born lame. She married Ection, by whom she had a son whom she called Cypselus because she saved his life in a coffer. See: Cypselus. This coffer was preserved at Olympia. Herodotus, bk. 5, ch. 92.—Aristotle, Politics, bk. 5.
Labdacĭdes, a name given to Œdipus, as descended from Labdacus.
Labdăcus, a son of Polydorus by Nycteis, the daughter of Nycteus king of Thebes. His father and mother died during his childhood, and he was left to the care of Nycteus, who at his death left his kingdom in the hands of Lycus, with orders to restore it to Labdacus as soon as of age. He was father to Laius. It is unknown whether he ever sat on the throne of Thebes. According to Statius his father’s name was Phœnix. His descendants were called Labdacides. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 6, li. 451.—Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 5.—Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 6; bk. 9, ch. 5.
Labdalon, a promontory of Sicily, near Syracuse. Diodorus, bk. 13.
Labeālis, a lake in Dalmatia, now Scutari, of which the neighbouring inhabitants were called Labeates. Livy, bk. 44, ch. 31; bk. 45, ch. 26.
Lăbeo Antistius, a celebrated lawyer in the age of Augustus, whose views he opposed, and whose offers of the consulship he refused. His works are lost. He was wont to enjoy the company and conversation of the learned for six months, and the rest of the year was spent in writing and composing. His father, of the same name, was one of Cæsar’s murderers. He killed himself at the battle of Philippi. Horace, bk. 1, satire 3, li. 82, has unjustly taxed him with insanity because, no doubt, he inveighed against his patrons. Appian, The Civil Wars, bk. 4.—Suetonius, Augustus, ch. 45.——A tribune of the people at Rome, who condemned the censor Metellus to be thrown down from the Tarpeian rock, because he had expelled him from the senate. This rigorous sentence was stopped by the interference of another of the tribunes.——Quintus Fabius, a Roman consul, A.U.C. 571, who obtained a naval victory over the fleet of the Cretans. He assisted Terence in composing his comedies, according to some.——Actius, an obscure poet who recommended himself to the favour of Nero by an incorrect translation of Homer into Latin. The work is lost, and only this curious line is preserved by an old scholiast, Persius, bk. 1, li. 4, Crudum manducus Priamum, Priamique Pisinnos.
Lăbĕrius J. Decimus, a Roman knight famous for his poetical talents in writing pantomimes. Julius Cæsar compelled him to act one of his characters on the stage. The poet consented with great reluctance, but he showed his resentment during the acting of the piece by throwing severe aspersions upon Julius Cæsar, by warning the audience against his tyranny, and by drawing upon him the eyes of the whole theatre. Cæsar, however, restored him to the rank of knight which he had lost by appearing on the stage; but to his mortification, when he went to take his seat among the knights, no one offered to make room for him, and even his friend Cicero said, Recepissem te nisi angustè sederem. Laberius was offended at the affectation and insolence of Cicero, and reflected upon his unsettled and pusillanimous behaviour during the civil wars of Cæsar and Pompey, by the reply of Mirum si angustè sedes, qui soles duabas sellis sedere. Laberius died 10 months after the murder of Julius Cæsar. Some fragments remain of his poetry. Macrobius, Saturnalia, bk. 2, chs. 3 & 7.—Horace, bk. 1, satire 10.—Seneca, de Controversiæ, bk. 7, ch. 3.—Suetonius, Cæsar, ch. 39.——Quintus Durus, a tribune of the soldiers in Cæsar’s legions, killed in Britain. Cæsar, Gallic War.
Labīcum, now Colonna, a town of Italy, called also Lavicum, between Gabii and Tusculum, which became a Roman colony about four centuries B.C. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 796.—Livy, bk. 2, ch. 39; bk. 4, ch. 47.
Lăbiēnus, an officer of Cæsar in the wars of Gaul. He deserted to Pompey, and was killed at the battle of Munda. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 6, &c.—Lucan, bk. 5, li. 346.——A Roman who followed the interest of Brutus and Cassius, and became general of the Parthians against Rome. He was conquered by the officers of Augustus. Strabo, bks. 12 & 14.—Dio Cassius, bk. 48.——Titus, an historian and orator at Rome in the age of Augustus, who admired his own compositions with all the pride of superior genius and incomparable excellence. The senate ordered his papers to be burnt on account of their seditious contents; and Labienus, unable to survive the loss of his writings, destroyed himself. Suetonius, Caligula, ch. 16.—Seneca.
Labinētus, or Labynētus, a king of Babylon, &c. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 74.
Labotas, a river near Antioch in Syria. Strabo, bk. 16.——A son of Echestratus, who made war against Argos, &c.
Labradeus, a surname of Jupiter in Caria. The word is derived from labrys which in the language of the country signifies a hatchet, which Jupiter’s statue held in its hand. Plutarch.
Labron, a part of Italy on the Mediterranean, supposed to be Leghorn. Cicero bk. 2, Letters to his brother Quintus, ltr. 6.
Lăby̆rinthus, a building whose numerous passages and perplexing windings render the escape from it difficult, and almost impracticable. There were four very famous among the ancients; one near the city of Crocodiles or Arsinoe, another in Crete, a third at Lemnos, and a fourth in Italy, built by Porsenna. That of Egypt was the most ancient, and Herodotus, who saw it, declares that the beauty and art of the building were almost beyond belief. It was built by 12 kings, who at one time reigned in Egypt, and it was intended for the place of their burial, and to commemorate the actions of their reign. It was divided into 12 halls, or, according to Pliny, into 16, or, as Strabo mentions, into 27. The halls were vaulted, according to the relation of Herodotus. They had each six doors, opening to the north, and the same number to the south, all surrounded by one wall. The edifice contained 3000 chambers, 1500 in the upper part, and the same number below. The chambers above were seen by Herodotus, and astonished him beyond conception, but he was not permitted to see those below, where were buried the holy crocodiles and the monarchs whose munificence had raised the edifice. The roofs and walls were encrusted with marble, and adorned with sculptured figures. The halls were surrounded with stately and polished pillars of white stone, and, according to some authors, the opening of the doors was artfully attended with a terrible noise like peals of thunder. The labyrinth of Crete was built by Dædalus, in imitation of that of Egypt, and it is the most famous of all in classical history. It was the place of confinement for Dædalus himself, and the prison of the Minotaur. According to Pliny the labyrinth of Lemnos surpassed the others in grandeur and magnificence. It was supported by 40 columns of uncommon height and thickness, and equally admirable for their beauty and splendour. Modern travellers are still astonished at the noble and magnificent ruins which appear of the Egyptian labyrinth, at the south of the lake Mœris, about 30 miles from the ruins of Arsinoe. Mela, bk. 1, ch. 9.—Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 13.—Strabo, bk. 10.—Diodorus, bk. 1.—Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 148.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 588.
Lăcæna, an epithet applied to a female native of Laconia, and, among others, to Helen. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 511.
Lăcĕdæemon, a son of Jupiter and Taygeta the daughter of Atlas, who married Sparta the daughter of Eurotas, by whom he had Amyclas and Eurydice the wife of Acrisius. He was the first who introduced the worship of the Graces in Laconia, and who first built them a temple. From Lacedæmon and his wife, the capital of Laconia was called Lacedæmon and Sparta. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 10.—Hyginus, fable 155.—Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 1.——A noble city of Peloponnesus, the capital of Laconia called also Sparta, and now known by the name of Misitra. It has been severally known by the name of Lelegia, from the Leleges the first inhabitants of the country, or from Lelex one of their kings; and Œbalia, from Œbalus the sixth king from Eurotas. It was also called Hecatompolis from the 100 cities which the whole province once contained. Lelex is supposed to have been the first king. His descendants, 13 in number, reigned successively after him, till the reign of the sons of Orestes, when the Heraclidæ recovered the Peloponnesus, about 80 years after the Trojan war. Procles and Eurysthenes, the descendants of the Heraclidæ, enjoyed the crown together, and after them it was decreed that the two families should always sit on the throne together. See: Eurysthenes. These two brothers began to reign B.C. 1102. Their successors in the family of Procles were called Proclidæ, and afterwards Eurypontidæ, and those of Eurysthenes, Eurysthenidæ, and afterwards Agidæ. The successors of Procles on the throne began to reign in the following order: Sous 1060 B.C., after his father had reigned 42 years; Eurypon, 1028; Prytanis, 1021; Eunomus, 986; Polydectes, 907; Lycurgus, 898; Charilaus, 873; Nicander, 809; Theopompus, 770; Zeuxidamus, 723; Anaxidamus, 690; Archidamus, 651; Agasicles, 605; Ariston, 564; Demaratus, 526; Leotychides, 491; Archidamus, 469; Agis, 427; Agesilaus, 397; Archidamus, 361; Agis II., 338; Eudamidas, 330; Archidamus, 295; Eudamidas II., 268; Agis, 244; Archidamus, 230; Euclidus, 225; Lycurgus, 219. The successors of Eurysthenes were Agis, 1059; Echestratus, 1058; Labotas, 1023; Doryssus, 986; Agesilaus, 957; Archelaus, 913; Teleclus, 853; Alcamenes, 813; Polydorus, 776; Eurycrates, 724; Anaxander, 687; Eurycrates II., 644; Leon, 607; Anaxandrides, 563; Cleomenes, 530; Leonidas, 491; Plistarchus, under guardianship of Pausanius, 480; Plistoanax, 466; Pausanius, 408; Agesipolis, 397; Cleombrotus, 380; Agesipolis II., 371; Cleomenes II., 370; Aretus or Areus, 309; Acrotatus, 265; Areus II., 264; Leonidas, 257; Cleombrotus, 243; Leonidas restored, 241; Cleomenes, 235; Agesipolis, 219. Under the two last kings, Lycurgus and Agesipolis, the monarchical power was abolished, though Machanidas the tyrant made himself absolute, B.C. 210, and Nabis, 206, for 14 years. In the year 191 B.C. Lacedæmon joined the Achæan league, and about three years after the walls were demolished by order of Philopœmen. The territories of Laconia shared the fate of the Achæn confederacy, and the whole was conquered by Mummius, 147 B.C., and converted into a Roman province. The inhabitants of Lacedæmon have rendered themselves illustrious for their courage and intrepidity, for their love of honour and liberty, and for their aversion to sloth and luxury. They were inured from their youth to labour, and their laws commanded them to make war their profession. They never applied themselves to any trade, but their only employment was arms, and they left everything else to the care of their slaves. See: Helotæ. They hardened their body by stripes and other manly exercises, and accustomed themselves to undergo hardships, and even to die, without fear or regret. From their valour in the field, and their moderation and temperance at home, they were courted and revered by all the neighbouring princes, and their assistance was severally implored to protect the Sicilians, Carthaginians, Thracians, Egyptians, Cyreneans, &c. They were forbidden by the laws of their country [See: Lycurgus] to visit foreign states, lest their morals should be corrupted by an intercourse with effeminate nations. The austere manner in which their children were educated, rendered them undaunted in the field of battle, and from this circumstance, Leonidas, with a small band, was enabled to resist the millions of the army of Xerxes at Thermopylæ. The women were as courageous as the men, and many a mother has celebrated with festivals the death of her son who had fallen in battle, or has coolly put him to death, if, by a shameful flight or loss of his arms, he brought disgrace upon his country. As to domestic manners, the Lacedæmonians as widely differed from their neighbours as in political concerns, and their noblest women were not ashamed to appear on the stage hired for money. In the affairs of Greece, the interest of the Lacedæmonians was often powerful, and obtained the superiority for 500 years. Their jealousy of the power and greatness of the Athenians is well known. The authority of their monarchs was checked by the watchful eye of the Ephori, who had the power of imprisoning the kings themselves if guilty of misdemeanours. See: Ephori. The Lacedæmonians are remarkable for the honour and reverence which they paid to old age. The names of Lacedæmon and Sparta are promiscuously applied to the capital of Laconia, and often confounded together. The latter was applied to the metropolis, and the former was reserved for the inhabitants of the suburbs, or rather of the country contiguous to the walls of the city. This propriety of distinction was originally observed, but in process of time it was totally lost, and both appellatives were soon synonymous, and indiscriminately applied to the city and country. See: Sparta, Laconia. The place where the city stood is now called Paleo Chori (the old town), and the new one erected on its ruins at some distance on the west is called Misatra. Livy, bk. 34, ch. 33; bk. 45, ch. 28.—Strabo, bk. 8.—Thucydides, bk. 1.—Pausanias, bk. 3.—Justin, bks. 2, 3, &c.—Herodotus, bk. 1, &c.—Plutarch, Lycurgus, &c.—Diodorus.—Mela, bk. 2. There were some festivals celebrated at Lacedæmon, the names of which are not known. It was customary for the women to drag all the old bachelors round the altars, and beat them with their fists, that the shame and ignominy to which they were exposed might induce them to marry, &c. Athenæus, bk. 13.
Lăcĕdæmŏnii and Lăcĕdæmŏnes, the inhabitants of Lacedæmon. See: Lacedæmon.
Lăcĕdæmŏnius, a son of Cimon by Clitoria. He received this name from his father’s regard for the Lacedæmonians. Plutarch.
Lăcerta, a soothsayer in Domitian’s age, who acquired immense riches by his art. Juvenal, satire 7, li. 114.
Lacetania, a district at the north of Spain. Livy, bk. 21, ch. 23.
Lachăres, a man who seized the supreme power at Athens when the city was in discord, and was banished B.C. 296. Polyænus, bk. 4.——An Athenian three times taken prisoner. He deceived his keepers, and escaped, &c. Polyænus, bk. 3.——A son of Mithridates king of Bosphorus. He was received into alliance by Lucullus.——A robber condemned by Marcus Antony.——An Egyptian, buried in the labyrinth near Arsinoe.
Laches, an Athenian general in the age of Epaminondas. Diodorus, bk. 12.——An Athenian sent with Carias at the head of a fleet in the first expedition undertaken against Sicily in the Peloponnesian war. Justin, bk. 4, ch. 3.——An artist who finished the Colossus of Rhodes.
Lăchĕsis, one of the Parcæ, whose name is derived from λαχειν, to measure out by lot. She presided over futurity, and was represented as spinning the thread of life, or, according to others, holding the spindle. She generally appeared covered with a garment variegated with stars, and holding spindles in her hand. See: Parcæ. Statius, Thebiad, bk. 2, li. 249.—Martial, bk. 4, ltr. 54.
Lacidas, a Greek philosopher of Cyrene, who flourished B.C. 241. His father’s name was Alexander. He was disciple of Arcesilaus, whom he succeeded in the government of the second academy. He was greatly esteemed by king Attalus, who gave him a garden where he spent his hours in study. He taught his disciples to suspend their judgment, and never speak decisively. He disgraced himself by the magnificent funeral with which he honoured a favourite goose. He died through excess of drinking. Diogenes Laërtius, bk. 4.
Lacīdes, a village near Athens, which derived its name from Lacius, an Athenian hero, whose exploits are unknown. Here Zephyrus had an altar sacred to him, and likewise Ceres and Proserpine a temple. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 37.
Lăcīnia, a surname of Juno from her temple at Lacinium in Italy, which the Crotonians held in great veneration, and where there was a famous statue of Helen by Zeuxis. See: Zeuxis. On an altar near the door were ashes which the wind could not blow away. Fulvius Flaccus took away a marble piece from this sacred place, to finish a temple that he was building at Rome to Fortuna Equestris; and it is said that, for this sacrilege, he afterwards led a miserable life, and died in the greatest agonies. Strabo, bk. 6.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 15, lis. 12 & 702.—Livy, bk. 42, ch. 3.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 1, ch. 1.
Lacīnienses, a people of Liburnia.
Lacīnium, a promontory of Magna Græcia, now cape Colonna, the southern boundary of Tarentum in Italy, where Juno Lacinia had a temple held in great veneration. It received its name from Lacinius, a famous robber killed there by Hercules. Livy, bk. 24, ch. 3; bk. 27, ch. 5; bk. 30, ch. 20.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 522.
Lacmon, a part of mount Pindus where the Inachus flows. Herodotus, bk. 9, ch. 93.
Laco, a favourite of Galba, mean and cowardly in his character. He was put to death.——An inhabitant of Laconia or Lacedæmon.
Lacobriga, a city of Spain, where ♦Sertorius was besieged by Metellus.
♦ ‘Sertorious’ replaced with ‘Sertorius’
Lacōnia, Lacōnĭca, and Lacedæmon, a country in the southern parts of Peloponnesus, having Argos and Arcadia on the north, Messenia on the west, the Mediterranean on the south, and the bay of Argos at the east. Its extent from north to south was about 50 miles. It is watered by the river Eurotas. The capital is called Sparta, or Lacedæmon. The inhabitants never went on an expedition or engaged an enemy but at the full moon. See: Lacedæmon. The brevity with which they always expressed themselves is now become proverbial, and by the epithet of Laconic we understand whatever is concise and not loaded with unnecessary words. The word Laconicum is applied to some hot baths used among the ancients, and first invented at Lacedæmon. Cicero, bk. 4, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 10.—Strabo, bk. 1.—Ptolemy, bk. 3, ch. 16.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.
Lacrătes, a Theban, general of a detachment sent by Artaxerxes to the assistance of the Egyptians. Diodorus, bk. 16.
Lacrĭnes, a Lacedæmonian ambassador to Cyrus. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 152.
Lactantius, a celebrated christian writer, whose principal works are de irâ divinâ, de Dei operibus, and his divine institutions, in seven books, in which he proves the truth of the christian religion, refutes objections, and attacks the illusions and absurdities of paganism. The expressive purity, elegance, and energy of his style have gained him the name of the christian Cicero. He died A.D. 325.——The best editions of his works are that of Sparke, 8vo, Oxford, 1684; that of Bimeman, 2 vols., 8vo, Lipscomb, 1739; and that of Du Fresnoy, 2 vols., 4to, Paris, 1748.
Lacter, a promontory of the island of Cos.
Lacydes, a philosopher. See: Lacidas.
Lacȳdus, an effeminate king of Argos.
Ladas, a celebrated courier of Alexander, born at Sicyon. He was honoured with a brazen statue, and obtained a crown of Olympia. Martial, bk. 10, ltr. 10.—Juvenal, satire 13, li. 97.
Lade, an island of the Ægean sea, on the coast of Asia Minor, where was a naval battle between the Persians and Ionians. Herodotus, bk. 6, ch. 7.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 35.—Strabo, bk. 17.
Lades, a son of Imbrasus, killed by Turnus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 12, li. 343.
Ladocea, a village of Arcadia. Pausanias.
Ladon, a river of Arcadia, falling into the Alpheus. The metamorphosis of Daphne into a laurel, and of Syrinx into a reed, happened near its banks. Strabo, bk. 1.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.—Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 25.— Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 659.——An Arcadian who followed Æneas into Italy, where he was killed. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 413.——One of Actæon’s dogs. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3, li. 216.
Lælaps, one of Actæon’s dogs. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 3.——The dog of Cephalus, given him by Procis. See: Lelaps, &c. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 7.
Lælia, a vestal virgin.
Læliānus, a general, proclaimed emperor in Gaul by his soldiers, A.D. 268, after the death of Gallienus. His triumph was short; he was conquered and put to death after a few months’ reign by another general called Posthumus, who aspired to the imperial purple as well as himself.
Caius Lælius, a Roman consul, A.U.C. 614, surnamed Sapiens, so intimate with Africanus the younger, that Cicero represents him in his treatise De Amicitiâ, as explaining the real nature of friendship, with its attendant pleasures. He made war with success against Viriathus. It is said that he assisted Terence in the composition of his comedies. His modesty, humanity, and the manner in which he patronized letters, are as celebrated as his greatness of mind and integrity in the character of a statesman. Cicero, On Oratory.——Another consul, who accompanied Scipio Africanus the elder in his campaigns in Spain and Africa.——Archelaus, a famous grammarian. Suetonius.
Læna and Leæna, the mistress of Harmodius and Aristogiton. Being tortured because she refused to discover the conspirators, she bit off her tongue, totally to frustrate the violent efforts of her executioners.——A man who was acquainted with the conspiracy formed against Cæsar.
Lænas, a surname of the Popilii at Rome.
Læneus, a river of Crete, where Jupiter brought the ravished Europa. Strabo.
Læpa Magna, a town of Spain. Mela, bk. 3, ch. 1.
Laertes, a king of Ithaca, son of Arcesius and Chalcomedusa, who married Anticlea the daughter of Autolycus. Anticlea was pregnant by Sisyphus when she married Laertes, and eight months after her union with the king of Ithaca, she brought forth a son called Ulysses. See: Anticlea. Ulysses was treated with paternal care by Laertes, though not really his son, and Laertes ceded to him his crown and retired into the country where he spent his time in gardening. He was found in this mean employment by his son at his return from the Trojan war, after 20 years’ absence, and Ulysses, at the sight of his father, whose dress and old age declared his sorrow, long hesitated whether he should suddenly introduce himself as his son, or whether he should, as a stranger, gradually awaken the paternal feelings of Laertes, who had believed that his son was no more. This last measure was preferred, and when Laertes had burst into tears at the mention which was made of his son, Ulysses threw himself on his neck, exclaiming, “O father, I am he for whom you weep.” This welcome declaration was followed by a recital of all the hardships which Ulysses had suffered, and immediately after the father and son repaired to the palace of Penelope the wife of Ulysses, whence all the suitors who daily importuned the princess were forcibly removed. Laertes was one of the Argonauts, according to Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9. Homer, Odyssey, bks. 11 & 24.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 13, li. 32; Heroides, poem 1, li. 98.——A city of Cilicia, which gave birth to Diogenes, surnamed Laërtius from the place of his birth.
Laërtius Diogenes, a writer born at Laertes. See: Diogenes.
Læstry̆gŏnes, the most ancient inhabitants of Sicily. Some suppose them to be the same as the people of Leontium, and to have been neighbours to the Cyclops. They fed on human flesh, and when Ulysses came on their coasts, they sunk his ships and devoured his companions. See: Antiphates. They were of a gigantic stature, according to Homer, who, however, does not mention their country, but only speaks of Lamus as their capital. A colony of them, as some suppose, passed over into Italy, with Lamus at their head, where they built the town of Formiæ, whence the epithet of Læstrygonia is often used for that of Formiana. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 5.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, li. 233, &c.; Fasti, bk. 4; ex Ponto, bk. 4, ltr. 10.—Tzetzes, On Lycophron, lis. 662 & 818.—Homer, Odyssey, bk. 10, li. 81.—Silius Italicus, bk. 7, li. 276.
Læta, the wife of the emperor Gratian, celebrated for her humanity and generous sentiments.
Lætoria lex, ordered that proper persons should be appointed to provide for the security and the possession of such as were insane, or squandered away their estates. It made it a high crime to abuse the weakness of persons under such circumstances. Cicero, de Officiis, bk. 3.
Lætus, a Roman whom Commodus condemned to be put to death. This violence raised Lætus against Commodus; he conspired against him, and raised Pertinax to the throne.——A general of the emperor Severus, put to death for his treachery to the emperor; or, according to others, on account of his popularity.
Lævi, the ancient inhabitants of Gallia Transpadana.
Lævīnus, a Roman consul sent against Pyrrhus, A.U.C. 474. He informed the monarch that the Romans would not accept him as an arbitrator in the war with Tarentum, and feared him not as an enemy. He was defeated by Pyrrhus.——Publius Valerius, a man despised at Rome, because he was distinguished by no good quality. Horace, bk. 1, satire 6, li. 12.
Lagaria, a town of Lucania.
Lagia, a name of the island Delos. See: Delos.
Lagĭdes. See: Lagus.
Laginia, a town of Caria.
Lagus, a Macedonian of mean extraction. He received in marriage Arsinoe the daughter of Meleager, who was then pregnant by king Philip, and being willing to hide the disgrace of his wife, he exposed the child in the woods. An eagle preserved the life of the infant, fed him with her prey, and sheltered him with her wings against the inclemency of the air. This uncommon preservation was divulged by Lagus, who adopted the child as his own, and called him Ptolemy, conjecturing that as his life had been so miraculously preserved, his days would be spent in grandeur and affluence. This Ptolemy became king of Egypt after the death of Alexander. According to other accounts Arsinoe was nearly related to Philip king of Macedonia, and her marriage with Lagus was not considered as dishonourable, because he was opulent and powerful. The first of the Ptolemies is called Lagus, to distinguish him from his successors of the same name. Ptolemy, the first of the Macedonian kings of Egypt, wished it to be believed that he was the legitimate son of Lagus, and he preferred the name of Lagides to all other appellations. It is even said that he established a military order in Alexandria, which was called Lageion. The surname of Lagides was transmitted to all his descendants on the Egyptian throne till the reign of Cleopatra, Antony’s mistress. Plutarch mentions an anecdote which serves to show how far the legitimacy of Ptolemy was believed in his age. A pedantic grammarian, says the historian, once displaying his great knowledge of antiquity in the presence of Ptolemy, the king suddenly interrupted him with the question of, “Pray tell me, sir, who was the father of Peleus?” “Tell me,” replied the grammarian, without hesitation, “tell me, if you can, O king! who the father of Lagus was.” This reflection on the meanness of the monarch’s birth did not in the least irritate his resentment, though the courtiers all glowed with indignation. Ptolemy praised the humour of the grammarian, and showed his moderation and the mildness of his temper by taking him under his patronage. Pausanias, Attica.—Justin, bk. 13.—Curtius, bk. 4.—Plutarch, De Cohibenda Ira.—Lucan, bk. 1, li. 684.—Silius Italicus, bk. 1, li. 196.——A Rutulian, killed by Pallas son of Evander. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 10, li. 381.
Lagūsa, an island in the Pamphylian sea.——Another near Crete. Strabo, bk. 10.—Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 31.
Lagȳra, a city of Taurica Chersonesus.
Laiădes, a patronymic of Œdipus son of Laius. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6, fable 18.
Laias, a king of Arcadia, who succeeded his father Cypselus, &c. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 5.——A king of Elis, &c.
Lais, a celebrated courtesan, daughter of Timandra the mistress of Alcibiades, born at Hyccara in Sicily. She was carried away from her native country into Greece, when Nicias the Athenian general invaded Sicily. She first began to sell her favours at Corinth, for 10,000 drachmas, and the immense number of princes, noblemen, philosophers, orators, and plebeians who courted her embraces, show how much commendation is owed to her personal charms. The expenses which attended her pleasures gave rise to the proverb of Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum. Even Demosthenes himself visited Corinth for the sake of Lais, but when he was informed by the courtesans that admittance to her bed was to be bought at the enormous sum of about 300l. English money, the orator departed, and observed that he would not buy repentance at so dear a price. The charms which had attracted Demosthenes to Corinth, had no influence upon Xenocrates. When Lais saw the philosopher unmoved by her beauty, she visited his house herself; but there she had no reason to boast of the licentiousness or easy submission of Xenocrates. Diogenes the cynic was one of her warmest admirers, and though filthy in his dress and manners, yet he gained her heart and enjoyed her most unbounded favours. The sculptor Mycon also solicited the favours of Lais, but he met with coldness; he, however, attributed the cause of his ill reception to the whiteness of his hair, and dyed it of a brown colour, but to no purpose. “Fool that thou art,” said the courtesan, “to ask what I refused yesterday to thy father.” Lais ridiculed the austerity of philosophers, and laughed at the weakness of those who pretend to have gained a superiority over their passions, by observing that the sages and philosophers of the age were not above the rest of mankind, for she found them at her door as often as the rest of the Athenians. The success which her debaucheries met at Corinth encouraged Lais to pass into Thessaly, and more particularly to enjoy the company of a favourite youth called Hippostratus. She was, however, disappointed: the women of the place, jealous of her charms, and apprehensive of her corrupting the fidelity of their husbands, assassinated her in the temple of Venus, about 340 years before the christian era. Some suppose that there were two persons of this name, a mother and her daughter. Cicero, Letters to his Friends, bk. 9, ltr. 26.—Ovid, Amores, bk. 1, poem 5.—Plutarch, Alcibiades.—Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 2.
Lāius, a son of Labdacus, who succeeded to the throne of Thebes, which his grandfather Nycteus had left to the care of his brother Lycus, till his grandson came of age. He was driven from his kingdom by Amphion and Zethus, who were incensed against Lycus for the indignities which Antiope had suffered. He was afterwards restored, and married Jocasta the daughter of Creon. An oracle informed him that he should perish by the hand of his son, and in consequence of this dreadful intelligence he resolved never to approach his wife. A day spent in debauch and intoxication made him violate his vow, and Jocasta brought forth a son. The child as soon as born was given to a servant, with orders to put him to death. The servant was moved with compassion, and only exposed him on mount Cithæron, where his life was preserved by a shepherd. The child, called Œdipus, was educated in the court of Polybus, and an unfortunate meeting with his father in a narrow road proved his ruin. Œdipus ordered his father to make way for him without knowing who he was. Laius refused, and was instantly murdered by his irritated son. His armour-bearer or charioteer shared his fate. See: Œdipus. Sophocles, Œdipus.—Hyginus, fables 9 & 66.—Diodorus, bk. 4.—Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 5.—Pausanias, bk. 9, chs. 5 & 26.—Plutarch, de Curiositate.
Lalăge, one of Horace’s favourite mistresses. Horace, bk. 1, ode 22, &c.—Propertius, bk. 4, poem 7.——A woman censured for her cruelty. Martial, bk. 2, ltr. 66.
Lalassis, a river of Isauria.
Lamăchus, a son of Xenophanes, sent into Sicily with Nicias. He was killed B.C. 414, before Syracuse, where he had displayed much courage and intrepidity. Plutarch, Alcibiades.——A governor of Heraclea in Pontus, who betrayed his trust to Mithridates, after he had invited all the inhabitants to a sumptuous feast.
Lamalmon, a large mountain of Æthiopia.
Lambrāni, a people of Italy near the Lambrus. Suetonius, Cæsar.
Lambrus, a river of Cisalpine Gaul, falling into the Po.
Lămia, a town of Thessaly at the bottom of the Sinus Maliacus or Lamiacus, and north of the river Sperchius, famous for a siege which it supported after Alexander’s death. See: Lamiacum. Diodorus, bk. 16, &c.—Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 6.——A river of Greece opposite mount Œta.——A daughter of Neptune, mother of Hierophile, an ancient Sibyl, by Jupiter. Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 12.——A famous courtesan, mistress to Demetrius Poliorcetes. Plutarch, Demetrius.—Athenæus, bk. 13.—Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 13, ch. 9.
Lamia and Auxesia, two deities of Crete, whose worship was the same as at Eleusis. The Epidaurians made them two statues of an olive tree given them by the Athenians, provided they came to offer a sacrifice to Minerva at Athens. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 30, &c.
Lamiăcum bellum, happened after the death of Alexander, when the Greeks, and particularly the Athenians, incited by their orators, resolved to free Greece from the garrisons of the Macedonians. Leosthenes was appointed commander of a numerous force, and marched against Antipater, who then presided over Macedonia. Antipater entered Thessaly at the head of 13,000 foot and 600 horse, and was beaten by the superior force of the Athenians and of their Greek confederates. Antipater after this blow fled to Lamia, B.C. 323, where he resolved, with all the courage and sagacity of a careful general, to maintain a siege with about the 8000 or 9000 men that had escaped from the field of battle. Leosthenes, unable to take the city by storm, began to make a regular siege. His operations were delayed by the frequent sallies of Antipater; and Leosthenes being killed by the blow of a stone, Antipater made his escape out of Lamia, and soon after, with the assistance of the army of Craterus brought from Asia, he gave the Athenians battle near Cranon, and though only 500 of their men were slain, yet they became so dispirited, that they sued for peace from the conqueror. Antipater at last with difficulty consented, provided they raised taxes in the usual manner, received a Macedonian garrison, defrayed the expenses of the war, and lastly, delivered into his hands Demosthenes and Hyperides, the two orators, whose prevailing eloquence had excited their countrymen against him. These disadvantageous terms were accepted by the Athenians, yet Demosthenes had time to escape and poison himself. Hyperides was carried before Antipater, who ordered his tongue to be cut off, and afterwards put him to death. Plutarch, Demosthenes.—Diodorus, bk. 17.—Justin, bk. 11, &c.
Lămiæ, small islands in the Ægean, opposite Troas. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 31.——A celebrated family at Rome, descended from Lamus.——Certain monsters of Africa, who had the face and breast of a woman, and the rest of their body like that of a serpent. They allured strangers to come to them, that they might devour them; and though they were not endowed with the faculty of speech, yet their hissings were pleasing and agreeable. Some believed them to be witches, or rather evil spirits, who, under the form of a beautiful woman, enticed young children and devoured them. According to some, the fable of the Lamiæ is derived from the amours of Jupiter with a certain beautiful woman called Lamia, whom the jealousy of Juno rendered deformed, and whose children she destroyed; upon which Lamia became insane, and so desperate that she ate up all the children that came in her way. They are also called Lemures. See: Lemures. Philostratus, Life of Apollonius.—Horace, Art of Poetry, li. 340.—Plutarch, de Curiositate.—Dion.
Lămias Ælius, a governor of Syria under Tiberius. He was honoured with a public funeral by the senate; and as having been a respectable and useful citizen, Horace has dedicated his ode 26, bk. 1, to his praises, as also bk. 3, ode 17.—Tacitus, Annals, bk. 6, ch. 27.——Another during the reign of Domitian, put to death, &c.
Lamīrus, a son of Hercules by Iole.
Lampĕdo, a woman of Lacedæmon, who was daughter, wife, sister, and mother of a king. She lived in the age of Alcibiades. Agrippina the mother of Claudius could boast the same honours. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 12, chs. 22 & 37.—Plutarch, Agesilaus.—Plato, bk. 1, Alcibiades.—Pliny, bk. 7, ch. 41.
Lampĕtia, a daughter of Apollo and Neæra. She, with her sister Phaetusa, guarded her father’s flocks in Sicily when Ulysses arrived on the coasts of that island. These flocks were 14 in number, seven herds of oxen, and seven flocks of sheep, consisting each of 50. They fed by night as well as by day, and it was deemed unlawful and sacrilegious to touch them. The companions of Ulysses, impelled by hunger, paid no regard to their sanctity, or to the threats and entreaties of their chief; but they carried away and killed some of the oxen. The watchful keepers complained to their father, and Jupiter, at the request of Apollo, punished the offence of the Greeks. The hides of the oxen appeared to walk, and the flesh, which was roasting by the fire, began to bellow, and nothing was heard but dreadful noises and loud lowings. The companions of Ulysses embarked on board their ships, but here the resentment of Jupiter followed them. A storm arose, and they all perished except Ulysses, who saved himself on the broken piece of a mast. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 12, ch. 119.—Propertius, bk. 3, poem 12.——According to Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, li. 349, Lampetia is one of the Heliades, who was changed into a poplar tree at the death of her brother Phaeton.
Lampeto and Lampedo, a queen of the Amazons, who boasted herself to be the daughter of Mars. She gained many conquests in Asia, where she founded several cities. She was surprised afterwards by a band of barbarians, and destroyed with her female attendants. Justin, bk. 2, ch. 4.
Lampeus and Lampia, a mountain of Arcadia. Statius, bk. 8.
Lampon, Lampos, or Lampus, one of the horses of Diomedes,——of Hector,——of Aurora. Homer, Iliad, bk. 8; Odyssey, bk. 23.——A son of Laomedon, father of Dolops.——A soothsayer of Athens in the age of Socrates. Plutarch, Pericles.
Lampōnia and Lampōnium, a city of Troas. Herodotus, bk. 5, ch. 26.——An island on the coast of Thrace. Strabo, bk. 13.
Lamponius, an Athenian general, sent by his countrymen to attempt the conquest of Sicily. Justin, bk. 4, ch. 3.
Lampridius Ælius, a Latin historian in the fourth century, who wrote the lives of some of the Roman emperors. His style is inelegant, and his arrangements injudicious. His life of Commodus, Heliogabalus, Alexander Severus, &c., is still extant, and to be found in the works of the Historiæ Augustæ Scriptores.
Lamprus, a celebrated musician, &c.—Cornelius Nepos, Epaminondas.
Lampsăcus and Lampsăcum, now Lamsaki, a town of Asia Minor on the borders of the Propontis, at the north of Abydos. Priapus was the chief deity of the place, of which he was reckoned by some the founder. His temple there was the asylum of lewdness and debauchery, and exhibited scenes of the most unnatural lust, and hence the epithet Lampsacius is usual to express immodesty and wantonness. Alexander resolved to destroy the city on account of the vices of its inhabitants, and more probably for its firm adherence to the interest of Persia. It was, however, saved from ruin by the artifice of Anaximenes. See: Anaximenes. It was formerly called Pityusa, and received the name of Lampsacus, from Lampsace, a daughter of Mandron, a king of Phrygia, who gave information to some Phoceans who dwelt there, that the rest of the inhabitants had conspired against their life. This timely information saved them from destruction. The city afterwards bore the name of their preserver. The wine of Lampsacus was famous and therefore a tribute of wine was granted from the city by Xerxes to maintain the table of Themistocles. Mela, bk. 1, ch. 19.—Strabo, bk. 13.—Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 31.—Herodotus, bk. 5, ch. 117.—Cornelius Nepos, Themistocles, ch. 10.—Ovid, bk. 1, Tristia, poem 9, li. 26; Fasti, bk. 8, li. 345.—Livy, bk. 33, ch. 38; bk. 35, ch. 42.—Martial, bk. 11, poems 17, 52.
Lamptera, a town of Phocæa in Ionia. Livy, bk. 37, ch. 31.
Lamptĕria, a festival at Pellene, in Achaia, in honour of Bacchus, who was surnamed Lampter, from λαμπειν, to shine, because, during this solemnity, which was observed in the night, the worshippers went to the temple of Bacchus, with lighted torches in their hands. It was also customary to place vessels full of wine in several parts of every street in the city. Pausanias, bk. 4, ch. 21.
Lampus, a son of Ægyptus.——A man of Elis.——A son of Prolaus.
Lămus, a king of the Læstrygones, who is supposed by some to have founded Formiæ in Italy. The family of the Lamiæ at Rome was, according to the opinion of some, descended from him. Horace, bk. 3, ode 17.——A son of Hercules and Omphale, who succeeded his mother on the throne of Lydia. Ovid, Heroides, poem 9, li. 54.——A Latin chief killed by Nisus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 334.——A river of Bœotia. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 31.——A Spartan general hired by Nectanebus king of Egypt. Diodorus, bk. 16.——A city of Cilicia.——A town near Formiæ built by the Læstrygones.
Lămy̆rus, buffoon, a surname of one of the Ptolemies.——One of the auxiliaries of Turnus, killed by Nisus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 334.
Lanassa, a daughter of Cleodæus, who married Pyrrhus the son of Achilles by whom she had eight children. Plutarch, Pyrrhus.—Justin, bk. 17, ch. 3.——A daughter of Agathocles, who married Pyrrhus, whom she soon after forsook for Demetrius. Plutarch.
Lancēa, a fountain, &c. Pausanias.
Lancia, a town of Lusitania. Florus, bk. 4, ch. 12.
Landi, a people of Germany conquered by Cæsar.
Langia, a river of Peloponnesus, falling into the bay of Corinth.
Langobardi, a warlike nation of Germany, along the Sprhe, called improperly Lombards by some. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 45; Germania, ch. 40.
Langrobriga, a town of Lusitania.
Lanŭvium, a town of Latium, about 16 miles from Rome on the Appian road. Juno had there a celebrated temple, which was frequented by the inhabitants of Italy, and particularly by the Romans, whose consuls on first entering upon office offered sacrifices to the goddess. The statue of the goddess was covered with a goat’s skin, and armed with a buckler and spear, and wore shoes which were turned upwards in the form of a cone. Cicero, For Lucius Murena; de Natura Deorum, bk. 1, ch. 29; For Milo, ch. 10.—Livy, bk. 8, ch. 14.—Silius Italicus, bk. 13, li. 364.
Laobōtas, or Lābotas, a Spartan king, of the family of the Agidæ, who succeeded his father Echestratus, B.C. 1023. During his reign war was declared against Argos, by Sparta. He sat on the throne for 37 years, and was succeeded by Doryssus his son. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 2.
Lāŏcoon, a son of Priam and Hecuba, or, according to others, of Antenor, or of Capys. As being priest of Apollo, he was commissioned by the Trojans to offer a bullock to Neptune to render him propitious. During the sacrifice two enormous serpents issued from the sea, and attacked Laocoon’s two sons, who stood next to the altar. The father immediately attempted to defend his sons, but the serpents, falling upon him, squeezed him in their complicated wreaths, so that he died in the greatest agonies. This punishment was inflicted upon him for his temerity in dissuading the Trojans to bring into the city the fatal wooden horse which the Greeks had consecrated to Minerva, as also for his impiety in hurling a javelin against the sides of the horse as it entered within the walls. Hyginus attributes this to his marriage against the consent of Apollo, or, according to others, for his polluting the temple by his commerce with his wife Antiope before the statue of the god. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, lis. 41 & 201.—Hyginus, fable 135.
Laodămas, a son of Alcinous king of the Phæacians, who offered to wrestle with Ulysses, while at his father’s court. Ulysses, mindful of the hospitality of Alcinous, refused the challenge of Laodamas. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 7, li. 170.——A son of Eteocles king of Thebes. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 15.
Lāŏdămīa, a daughter of Acastus and Astydamia, who married Protesilaus, the son of Iphiclus king of a part of Thessaly. The departure of her husband for the Trojan war was the source of grief to her, but when she heard that he had fallen by the hand of Hector, her sorrow was increased. To keep alive the memory of her husband whom she had tenderly loved, she ordered a wooden statue to be made and regularly placed in her bed. This was seen by one of her servants, who informed Iphiclus that his daughter’s bed was daily defiled by an unknown stranger. Iphiclus watched his daughter, and when he found that the intelligence was false, he ordered the wooden image to be burned, in hopes of dissipating his daughter’s grief. He did not succeed. Laodamia threw herself into the flames with the image and perished. This circumstance has given occasion to fabulous traditions related by the poets, which mention that Protesilaus was restored to life, and to Laodamia, for three hours, and that when he was obliged to return to the infernal regions, he persuaded his wife to accompany him. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 447.—Ovid, Heroides, poem 13.—Hyginus, fable 104.—Propertius, bk. 1, poem 19.——A daughter of Bellerophon, by Achemone the daughter of king Iobates. She had a son by Jupiter, called Sarpedon. She dedicated herself to the service of Diana, and hunted with her; but her haughtiness proved fatal to her, and she perished by the arrows of the goddess. Homer, Iliad, bks. 6, 12 & 16.——A daughter of Alexander king of Epirus, by Olympia the daughter of Pyrrhus. She was assassinated in the temple of Diana, where she had fled for safety during a sedition. Her murderer, called Milo, soon after turned his dagger against his own breast and killed himself. Justin, bk. 28, ch. 3.
Lāŏdĭce, a daughter of Priam and Hecuba, who became enamoured of Acamas son of Theseus, when he came with Diomedes from the Greeks to Troy with an embassy to demand the restoration of Helen. She obtained an interview and the gratification of her desires at the house of Philebia, the wife of a governor of a small town of Troas, which the Greek ambassador had visited. She had a son by Acamas, whom she called Munitus. She afterwards married Helicaon, son of Antenor and Telephus king of Mysia. Some call her Astyoche. According to the Greek scholiast of Lycophron, Laodice threw herself down from the top of a tower and was killed, when Troy was sacked by the Greeks. Dictys Cretensis, bk. 1.—Pausanias, bk. 13, ch. 26.—Homer, Iliad, bks. 3 & 6.——One of the Oceanides.——A daughter of Cinyras, by whom Elatus had some children. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 14.——A daughter of Agamemnon, called also Electra. Homer, Iliad, bk. 9.——A sister of Mithridates, who married Ariarathes king of Cappadocia, and afterwards her own brother Mithridates. During the secret absence of Mithridates, she prostituted herself to her servants, in hopes that her husband was dead; but when she saw her expectations frustrated, she attempted to poison Mithridates, for which she was put to death.——A queen of Cappadocia, put to death by her subjects for poisoning five of her children.——A sister and wife of Antiochus II. She put to death Berenice, whom her husband had married. See: Antiochus II. She was murdered by order of Ptolemy Evergetes, B.C. 246.——A daughter of Demetrius, shamefully put to death by Ammonius, the tyrannical minister of the vicious Alexander Bala king of Syria.——A daughter of Seleucus.——The mother of Seleucus. Nine months before she brought forth she dreamt that Apollo had introduced himself into her bed, and had presented her with a precious stone, on which was engraved the figure of an anchor, commanding her to deliver it to her son as soon as born. This dream appeared the more wonderful, when in the morning she discovered in her bed a ring answering the same description. Not only the son that she brought forth, called Seleucus, but also all his successors of the house of the Seleucidæ, had the mark of an anchor upon their thigh. Justin. Appian, Syrian Wars mentions this anchor, though in a different manner.
Lāŏdĭcēa, now Ladik, a city of Asia, on the borders of Caria, Phrygia, and Lydia, celebrated for its commerce, and the fine soft and black wool of its sheep. It was originally called Diospolis, and afterwards Rhoas; and received the name of Laodicea, in honour of Laodice the wife of Antiochus. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 29.—Strabo, bk. 12.—Mela, bk. 1, ch. 12.—Cicero, bk. 5, Letters to Atticus, ltr. 15, For Flaccus.——Another in Media, destroyed by an earthquake in the age of Nero.——Another in Syria, called by way of distinction Laodicea Cabiosa, or ad Libanum.——Another on the borders of Cœlosyria. Strabo.
Lāŏdĭcēne, a province of Syria, which receives its name from Laodicea, its capital.
Laodŏchus, a son of Antenor, whose form Minerva borrowed to advise Pandarus to break the treaty which subsisted between the Greeks and Trojans. Homer, Iliad, bk. 4.——An attendant of Antilochus.——A son of Priam. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 12.——A son of Apollo and Phthia. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 7.
Laogōnus, a son of Bias, brother to Dardanus, killed by Achilles at the siege of Troy. Homer, Iliad, bk. 20, li. 461.——A priest of Jupiter, killed by Merion in the Trojan war. Homer, Iliad, bk. 16, li. 604.
Laogŏras, a king of the Dryopes, who accustomed his subjects to become robbers. He plundered the temple of Apollo at Delphi, and was killed by Hercules. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.—Diodorus, bk. 4.
Laogŏre, a daughter of Cinyras and Metharme daughter of Pygmalion. She died in Egypt. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 14.
Lāŏmĕdon, son of Ilus king of Troy, married Strymon, called by some Placia, or Leucippe, by whom he had Podarces, afterwards known by the name of Priam, and Hesione. He built the walls of Troy, and was assisted by Apollo and Neptune, whom Jupiter had banished from heaven, and condemned to be subservient to the will of Laomedon for one year. When the walls were finished, Laomedon refused to reward the labours of the gods, and soon after his territories were laid waste by the god of the sea, and his subjects were visited by a pestilence sent by Apollo. Sacrifices were offered to the offended divinities, but the calamities of the Trojans increased; and nothing could appease the gods, according to the words of the oracle, but annually to expose to a sea monster a Trojan virgin. Whenever the monster appeared, the marriageable maidens were assembled, and the lot decided which of them was doomed to death for the good of her country. When this calamity had continued for five or six years, the lot fell upon Hesione, Laomedon’s daughter. The king was unwilling to part with a daughter whom he loved with uncommon tenderness, but his refusal would irritate more strongly the wrath of the gods. In the midst of his fears and hesitations, Hercules came and offered to deliver the Trojans from this public calamity, if Laomedon promised to reward him with a number of fine horses. The king consented, but when the monster was destroyed, he refused to fulfil his engagements, and Hercules was obliged to besiege Troy and take it by force of arms. Laomedon was put to death after a reign of 29 years, his daughter Hesione was given in marriage to Telamon, one of the conqueror’s attendants, and Podarces was ransomed by the Trojans, and placed upon his father’s throne. According to Hyginus, the wrath of Neptune and Apollo was kindled against Laomedon, because he refused to offer on their altars, as a sacrifice, all the first-born of his cattle, according to a vow which he had made. Homer, Iliad, bk. 21.—Virgil, Æneid, bks. 2 & 9.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11, fable 6.—Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 5.—Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 20.—Horace, bk. 3, ode 3.—Hyginus, fable 89.——A demagogue of Messina in Sicily.——A satrap of Phœnicia, &c. Curtius, bk. 10, ch. 10.——An Athenian, &c. Plutarch.——An Orchomenian. Plutarch.
Laŏmĕdonteus, an epithet applied to the Trojans from their king Laomedon. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 542; bk. 7, li. 105; bk. 8, li. 18.
Laŏmĕdontiădæ, a patronymic given to the Trojans from Laomedon their king. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 248.
Laonŏme, the wife of Polyphemus, one of the Argonauts.
Laonŏmēne, a daughter of Thespius, by whom Hercules had two sons, Teles and Menippides, and two daughters, Lysidice and Stendedice. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.
Laŏthoe, a daughter of Altes, a king of the Leleges, who married Priam and became mother of Lycaon and Polydorus. Homer, Iliad, bk. 21, li. 85.——One of the daughters of Thespius, mother of Antidus by Hercules. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.
Laous, a river of Lacedæmon.
Lapăthus, a city of Cyprus.
Laphria, a surname of Diana at Patræ in Achaia, where she had a temple with a statue of gold and ivory, which represented her in the habit of a huntress. The statue was made by Menechmus and Soidas, two artists of celebrity. This name was given the goddess from Laphrius the son of Delphus, who consecrated the statue to her. There was a festival of the goddess there, called also Laphria, of which Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 18, gives an account.
Laphystium, a mountain in Bœotia, where Jupiter had a temple, whence he was called Laphystius. It was here that Athamas prepared to immolate Phryxus and Helle, whom Jupiter saved by sending them a golden ram; whence the surname, and the homage paid to the god. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 34.
Lapideus, a surname of Jupiter among the Romans.
Lăpĭthæ, a people of Thessaly. See: Lapithus.
Lapĭtho, a city of Cyprus.
Lăpĭthus, a son of Apollo by Stilbe. He was brother to Centaurus, and married Orsinome daughter of Euronymus, by whom he had Phorbas and Periphas. The name of Lapithæ was given to the numerous children of Phorbas and Periphas, or rather to the inhabitants of the country, of which they had obtained the sovereignty. The chief of the Lapithæ assembled to celebrate the nuptials of Pirithous, one of their number, and among them were Theseus, Dryas, Hopleus, Mopsus, Phalerus, Exadius, Prolochus, Titaresius, &c. The Centaurs were also invited to partake the common festivity, and the amusements would have been harmless and innocent, had not one of the intoxicated Centaurs offered violence to Hippodamia the wife of Pirithous. The Lapithæ resented the injury, and the Centaurs supported their companions, upon which the quarrel became universal, and ended in blows and slaughter. Many of the Centaurs were slain, and they at last were obliged to retire. Theseus among the Lapithæ showed himself brave and intrepid in supporting the cause of his friends, and Nestor also was not less active in the protection of chastity and innocence. This quarrel arose from the resentment of Mars, whom Pirithous forgot or neglected to invite among the other gods at the celebration of his nuptials, and therefore the divinity punished the insult by sowing dissension among the festive assembly. See: Centauri. Hesiod has described the battle of the Centaurs and Lapithæ, as also Ovid in a more copious manner. The invention of bits and bridles for horses is attributed to the Lapithæ. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 3, li. 115; Æneid, bk. 6, li. 601; bk. 7, li. 305.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 530; bk. 14, li. 670.—Hesiod, Shield of Heracles.—Diodorus, bk. 4.—Pindar, bk. 2, Pythian.—Strabo, bk. 9.—Statius, Thebiad, bk. 7, li. 304.