Sars, a town of Spain, near cape Finisterre.

Sarsĭna, an ancient town of Umbria, where the poet Plautus was born. The inhabitants are called Sarsinates. Martial, bk. 9, ltr. 59.—Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 14.—Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 462.

Sarus, a river of Cappadocia. Livy, bk. 33, ch. 41.

Sasanda, a town of Caria. Diodorus, bk. 14.

Sason, an island at the entrance of the Adriatic sea, lying between Brundusium and Aulon on the coast of Greece. It is barren and inhospitable. Strabo, bk. 6.—Lucan, bk. 2, li. 627; bk. 5, li. 650.—Silius Italicus, bk. 7, li. 480.——A river falling into the Adriatic.

Satarchæ, a people near the Palus Mæotis. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 1.—Flaccus, bk. 6, li. 144.

Sataspes, a Persian hung on a cross by order of Xerxes, for offering violence to the daughter of Megabyzus. His father’s name was Theaspes. Herodotus, bk. 4.

Satibarzanes, a Persian made satrap of the Arians by Alexander, from whom he afterwards revolted. Curtius, bks. 6 & 7.

Satīcŭla and Saticulus, a town near Capua. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 729.—Livy, bk. 9, ch. 21; bk. 23, ch. 39.

Sātis, a town of Macedonia.

Satræ, a people of Thrace. Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 111.

Satrapēni, a people of Media, under Tigranes. Plutarch.

Satricum, a town of Italy, taken by Camillus. Livy, bk. 6, ch. 8.

Satropaces, an officer in the army of Darius, &c. Curtius, bk. 4, ch. 9.

Satŭra, a lake of Latium, forming part of the Pontine lakes. Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 382.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 801.

Satureium, or Satureum, a town of Calabria, near Tarentum, with famous pastures and horses, whence the epithet of satureianus in Horace, bk. 1, satire 6.

Satureius, one of Domitian’s murderers.

Saturnālia, festivals in honour of Saturn, celebrated the 16th or the 17th, or, according to others, the 18th of December. They were instituted long before the foundation of Rome, in commemoration of the freedom and equality which prevailed on earth in the golden reign of Saturn. Some, however, suppose that the Saturnalia were first observed at Rome in the reign of Tullus Hostilius, after a victory obtained over the Sabines; while others support that Janus first instituted them in gratitude to Saturn, from whom he had learnt agriculture. Others suppose that they were first celebrated in the year of Rome 257, after a victory obtained over the Latins by the dictator Posthumius. The Saturnalia were originally celebrated only for one day, but afterwards the solemnity continued for three, four, five, and at last for seven days. The celebration was remarkable for the liberty which universally prevailed. The slaves were permitted to ridicule their masters, and to speak with freedom upon every subject. It was usual for friends to make presents one to another; all animosity ceased, no criminals were executed, schools were shut, war was never declared, but all was mirth, riot, and debauchery. In the sacrifices the priests made their offerings with their heads uncovered, a custom which was never observed at other festivals. Seneca, ltr. 18.—Cato, de Re Rustica, bk. 57.—Suetonius, Vespasian, ch. 19.—Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 5, ltr. 20.

Saturnia, a name given to Italy, because Saturn had reigned there during the golden age. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 2, li. 173.——A name given to Juno, as being the daughter of Saturn. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 2, li. 173; Æneid, bk. 3, li. 80.——An ancient town of Italy, supposed to be built by Saturn, on the Tarpeian rock. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 358.——A colony of Etruria. Livy, bk. 39, ch. 55.

Saturnīnus Publius Sempronius, a general of Valerian, proclaimed emperor in Egypt by his troops after he had rendered himself celebrated by his victories over the barbarians. His integrity, his complaisance and affability, had gained him the affection of the people, but his fondness for ancient discipline provoked his soldiers, who wantonly murdered him in the 43rd year of his age, A.D. 262.——Sextius Julius, a Gaul, intimate with Aurelian. The emperor esteemed him greatly, not only for his virtues, but for his abilities as a general, and for the victories which he had obtained in different parts of the empire. He was saluted emperor at Alexandria, and compelled by the clamorous army to accept of the purple, which he rejected with disdain and horror. Probus, who was then emperor, marched his forces against him, and besieged him in Apamea, where he destroyed himself when unable to make head against his powerful adversary.——Appuleius, a tribune of the people who raised a sedition at Rome, intimidated the senate, and tyrannized for three years. Meeting at last with opposition, he seized the capitol, but being induced by the hopes of a reconciliation to trust himself amidst the people, he was suddenly torn to pieces. His sedition has received the name of Appuleiana in the Roman annals. Florus.——Lucius, a seditious tribune, who supported the oppression of Marius. He was at last put to death on account of his tumultuous disposition. Plutarch, Caius Marius.—Florus, bk. 3, ch. 16.——An officer in the court of Theodosius, murdered for obeying the emperor’s orders, &c.——Pompeius, a writer in the reign of Trajan. He was greatly esteemed by Pliny, who speaks of him with great warmth and approbation, as an historian, a poet, and an orator. Pliny always consulted the opinion of Saturninus before he published his compositions.——Sentius, a friend of Augustus and Tiberius. He succeeded Agrippa in the government of the provinces of Syria and Phœnicia.——Vitellius, an officer among the friends of the emperor Otho.

Saturnius, a name given to Jupiter, Pluto, and Neptune, as being the sons of Saturn.

Saturnus, a son of Cœlus, or Uranus, by Terra, called also Titea, Thea, or Titheia. He was naturally artful, and by means of his mother, he revenged himself on his father, whose cruelty to his children had provoked the anger of Thea. The mother armed her son with a scythe, which was fabricated with the metals drawn from her bowels, and as Cœlus was going to unite himself to Thea, Saturn mutilated him, and for ever prevented him from increasing the number of his children, whom he treated with unkindness, and confined in the infernal regions. After this the sons of Cœlus were restored to liberty, and Saturn obtained his father’s kingdom by the consent of his brother, provided he did not bring up any male children. Pursuant to this agreement, Saturn always devoured his sons as soon as born, because, as some observe, he dreaded from them a retaliation of his unkindness to his father, till his wife Rhea, unwilling to see her children perish, concealed from her husband the birth of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, and instead of the children she gave him large stones, which he immediately swallowed without perceiving the deceit. Titan was some time after informed that Saturn had concealed his male children, therefore he made war against him, dethroned and imprisoned him with Rhea; and Jupiter, who was secretly educated in Crete, was no sooner grown up, than he flew to deliver his father, and to replace him on the throne. Saturn, unmindful of his son’s kindness, conspired against him, when he heard that he raised cabals against him, but Jupiter banished him from his throne, and the father fled for safety into Italy, where the country retained the name of Latium, as being the place of his concealment (lateo). Janus, who was then king of Italy, received Saturn with marks of attention; he made him his partner on the throne; and the king of heaven employed himself in civilizing the barbarous manners of the people of Italy, and in teaching them agriculture and the useful and liberal arts. His reign there was so mild and popular, so beneficent and virtuous, that mankind have called it the golden age, to intimate the happiness and tranquillity which the earth then enjoyed. Saturn was father of Chiron the centaur by Philyra, whom he had changed into a mare, to avoid the importunities of Rhea. The worship of Saturn was not so solemn or so universal as that of Jupiter. It was usual to offer human victims on his altars, but this barbarous custom was abolished by Hercules, who substituted small images of clay. In the sacrifices of Saturn, the priest always performed the ceremony with his head uncovered, which was unusual at other solemnities. The god is generally represented as an old man, bent through age and infirmity. He holds a scythe in his right hand, with a serpent which bites its own tail, which is an emblem of time and of the revolution of the year. In his left hand he holds a child, which he raises up as if instantly to devour it. Tatius king of the Sabines first built a temple to Saturn on the Capitoline hill, a second was afterwards added by Tullus Hostilius, and a third by the first consuls. On his statues were generally hung fetters in commemoration of the chains he had worn when imprisoned by Jupiter. From this circumstance, all slaves that obtained their liberty generally dedicated their fetters him. During the celebration of the Saturnalia, the chains were taken from the statues to intimate the freedom and the independence which mankind enjoyed during the golden age. One of his temples at Rome was appropriated for the public treasury, and it was there also that the names of foreign ambassadors were enrolled. Hesiod, Theogony.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 1.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 319.—Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 8.—Tibullus, poem 3, li. 35.—Homer, Iliad.—Ovid, Fasti, bk. 4, li. 197; Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 123.

Satŭrum, a town of Calabria, where stuffs of all kinds were dyed in different colours with great success. Virgil, Georgics, bk. 2, li. 197; bk. 4, li. 335.

Săty̆ri, demigods of the country, whose origin is unknown. They are represented like men, but with the feet and the legs of goats, short horns on the head, and the whole body covered with thick hair. They chiefly attended upon Bacchus, and rendered themselves known in his orgies by their riot and lasciviousness. The first fruits of everything were generally offered to them. The Romans promiscuously called them Fauni, Panes, and Sylvani. It is said that a Satyr was brought to Sylla as that general returned from Thessaly. The monster had been surprised asleep in a cave; but his voice was inarticulate when brought into the presence of the Roman general, and Sylla was so disgusted with it, that he ordered it to be instantly removed. The monster answered in every degree the description which the poets and painters have given of the Satyrs. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 23.—Plutarch, Sulla.—Virgil, eclogue 5, li. 13.—Ovid, Heroides, poem 4, li. 171.

Saty̆rus, a king of Bosphorus, who reigned 14 years, &c. His father’s name was Spartacus. Diodorus, bk. 20.——An Athenian who attempted to eject the garrison of Demetrius from the citadel, &c. Polyænus.——A Greek actor who instructed Demosthenes, and taught him how to have a good and strong delivery.——A man who assisted in murdering Timophanes, by order of his brother Timoleon.——A Rhodian sent by his countrymen to Rome, when Eumenes had accused some of the allies of intentions to favour the interest of Macedonia against the republic.——A peripatetic philosopher and historian, who flourished B.C. 148.——A tyrant of Heraclea, 346 B.C.——An architect who, together with Petus, is said to have planned and built the celebrated tomb which Artemisia erected to the memory of Mausolus, and which became one of the wonders of the world. The honour of erecting it is ascribed to others.

Savera, a village of Lycaonia.

Saufeius Trogus, one of Messalina’s favourites, punished by Claudius, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 11, ch. 35.——Appius, a Roman, who died on his return from the bath upon taking mead, &c. Pliny, bk. 7, ch. 53.

Savo, or Savona, a town with a small river of the same name in Campania. Statius, ♦Sylvæ, bk. 4.—Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 5.——A town of Liguria.

♦ Book name omitted in text.

Sauromatæ, a people in the northern parts of Europe and Asia. They are called Sarmatæ by the Latins. See: Sarmatia.

Saurus, a famous robber of Elis, killed by Hercules. Pausanias, bk. 6, ch. 21.——A statuary. Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 5.

Savus, a river of Pannonia, rising in Noricum, at the north of Aquileia, and falling into the Danube, after flowing through Pannonia, in an eastern direction. Claudian, De Consulatu Stilichonis, bk. 2.——A small river of Numidia, falling into the Mediterranean.

Saxŏnes, a people of Germany, near the Chersonesus Cimbrica. Ptolemy, bk. 3, ch. 11.—Claudian, bk. 1, Against Eutropius, li. 392.

Saziches, an ancient legislator of Egypt.

Scæa, one of the gates of Troy, where the tomb of Laomedon was seen. The name is derived by some from σκαιος (sinster), because it was through this avenue that the fatal horse was introduced. Homer, Iliad.—Silius Italicus, bk. 13, li. 73.——One of the Danaides. Her husband’s name was Dayphron. Apollodorus.

Scæva, a soldier in Cæsar’s army, who behaved with great courage at Dyrrachium. Lucan, bk. 6, li. 144.——Memor, a Latin poet in the reign of Titus and Domitian.——A man who poisoned his own mother. Horace, bk. 2, satire 1, li. 53.——A friend of Horace, to whom the poet addressed bk. 1, ltr. 17. He was a Roman knight.

Scævŏla. See: Mutius.

Scalabis, now St. Irene, a town of ancient Spain.

Scaldis, or Scaldium, a river of Belgium, now called the Scheld, and dividing the modern country of the Netherlands from Holland. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 6, li. 33.——Pons, a town on the same river, now called Condé. Cæsar.

Scamander, or Scamandros, a celebrated river of Troas, rising at the east of mount Ida, and falling into the sea below Sigæum. It receives the Simois in its course, and towards its mouth it is very muddy, and flows through marshes. This river, according to Homer, was called Xanthus by the gods, and Scamander by men. The waters of the Scamander had the singular property of giving a beautiful colour to the hair or the wool of such animals as bathed in them; and from this circumstance the three goddesses, Minerva, Juno, and Venus, bathed there before they appeared before Paris, to obtain the golden apple. It was usual among all the virgins of Troas to bathe in the Scamander, when they were arrived to nubile years, and to offer to the god their virginity in these words, Λαβε μου, Σκαμανδρε, την παεθενιαν. The god of the Scamander had a regular priest, and sacrifices offered to him. Some suppose that the river received its name from Scamander the son of Corybas. Ælian, De Natura Animalium, bk. 8, ch. 21.—Strabo, bks. 1 & 13.—Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 30.—Mela, bk. 1, ch. 18.—Homer, Iliad, bk. 5.—Plutarch.—Æschines, ltr. 10.——A son of Corybas and Demodice, who brought a colony from Crete into Phrygia, and settled at the foot of mount Ida, where he introduced the festivals of Cybele, and the dances of the Corybantes. He some time after lost the use of his senses and threw himself into the river Xanthus, which ever after bore his name. His son-in-law Teucer succeeded him in the government of the colony. He had two daughters, Thymo and Callirhoe. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 12.—Diodorus, bk. 4.

Scamandria, a town on the Scamander. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 30.

Scamandrius, one of the generals of Priam, son of Strophius. He was killed by Menelaus. Homer, Iliad, bk. 5, li. 49.

Scandaria, a promontory in the island of Cos. Strabo, bk. 14.

Scandinavia, a name given by the ancients to that tract of territory which contains the modern kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Lapland, Finland, &c., supposed by them to be an island. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 13.

Scantia Sylva, a wood of Campania, the property of the Roman people. Cicero.

Scantilla, the wife of Didius Julianus. It was by her advice that her husband bought the empire which was exposed to sale at the death of Pertinax.

Scantinia lex. See: Scatinia.

Scaptesyle, a town of Thrace, near Abdera, abounding in silver and gold mines, belonging to Thucydides, who is supposed there to have written his history of the Peloponnesian war. Lucretius, bk. 6, li. 810.—Plutarch, Cimon.

Scaptia, a town of Latium. Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 396.—Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 5.—Livy, bk. 8, ch. 17.

Scaptius, an intimate friend of Brutus. Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 5, &c. His brother was a merchant of Cappadocia.

Scapŭla, a native of Corduba, who defended that town against Cæsar, after the battle of Munda. When he saw that all his efforts were useless against the Roman general, he destroyed himself. Cæsar, Hispanic War, ch. 33.——A usurper. Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 12, ltr. 37.

Scandon, a town on the confines of Dalmatia.

Scardii, a ridge of mountains of Macedonia, which separates it from Illyricum. Livy, bk. 43, ch. 20.

Scarphia, or Scarphe, a town near Thermopylæ, on the confines of Phthiotis. Seneca, Troades.

Scatinia lex, de pudicitiâ, by Caius Scatinius Aricinus the tribune, was enacted against those who kept catamites, and such as prostituted themselves to any vile or unnatural service. The penalty was originally a fine, but it was afterwards made a capital crime under Augustus. It is sometimes called Scantinia, from a certain Scantinius upon whom it was first executed.

Scaurus Marcus Æmylius, a Roman consul who distinguished himself by his eloquence at the bar, and by his successes in Spain in the capacity of commander. He was sent against Jugurtha, and some time after accused of suffering himself to be bribed by the Numidian prince. Scaurus conquered the Ligurians, and in his censorship he built the Milvian bridge at Rome, and began to pave the road, which from him was called the Æmylian. He was originally very poor. He wrote some books, and among these a history of his own life, all now lost.——His son, of the same name, made himself known by the large theatre which he built during his edileship. This theatre, which could contain 30,000 spectators, was supported by 360 columns of marble, 38 feet in height, and adorned with 3000 brazen statues. This celebrated edifice, according to Pliny, proved more fatal to the manners and the simplicity of the Romans, than the proscriptions and wars of Sylla had done to the inhabitants of the city. Scaurus married Murcia. Cicero, Brutus.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 4, ch. 4.—Pliny, bk. 34, ch. 7; bk. 36, ch. 2.——A Roman of consular dignity. When the Cimbri invaded Italy, the son of Scaurus behaved with great cowardice, upon which the father sternly ordered him never to appear again in the field of battle. The severity of this command rendered young Scaurus melancholy, and he plunged a sword into his own heart, to free himself from further ignominy.——Aurelius, a Roman consul taken prisoner by the Gauls. He was put to a cruel death because he told the king of the enemy not to cross the Alps to invade Italy, which was universally deemed unconquerable.——Marcus Æmilius, a man in the reign of Tiberius accused of adultery with Livia, and put to death. He was an eloquent orator, but very lascivious and debauched in his morals.——Mamercus, a man put to death by Tiberius.——Maximus, a man who conspired against Nero.——Terentius, a Latin grammarian. He had been preceptor to the emperor Adrian. Aulus Gellius, bk. 11, ch. 15.

Scedăsus, a native of Leuctra in Bœotia. His two daughters, Meletia and Molpia, whom some called Theano and Hippo, were ravished by some Spartans, in the reign of Cleombrotus, and after this they killed themselves, unable to survive the loss of their honour. The father became so disconsolate, that when he was unable to obtain relief from his country, he killed himself on their tomb. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 13.—Plutarch, Amatoriæ narrationes, ch. 3.

Scelerātus, a plain of Rome near the Colline gate, where the vestal Minucia was buried alive, when convicted of adultery. Livy, bk. 8, ch. 15.——One of the gates of Rome was called Scelerata, because the 300 Fabii, who were killed at the river Cremera, had passed through it when they went to attack the enemy. It was before named Carmentalis.——There was also a street at Rome formerly called Cyprius, which received the name of the Sceleratus vicus, because there Tullia ordered her postilion to drive her chariot over the body of her father, king Servius. Livy, bk. 1, ch. 48.—Ovid, Ibis, li. 365.

Scena, a town on the confines of Babylon. Strabo, bk. 16.——A river of Ireland, now the Shannon. Orosius, bk. 1, ch. 2.

Scenitæ, Arabians who live in tents. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 11.

Scepsis, a town of Troas, where the works of Theophrastus and Aristotle were long concealed underground, and damaged by the wet, &c. Strabo, bk. 10.

Schedia, a small village of Egypt, with a dockyard between the western mouths of the Nile and Alexandria. Strabo.

Schedius, one of Helen’s suitors. Pausanias, bk. 10, chs. 4 & 30.

Scheria, an ancient name of Corcyra. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 5.—Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 12.

Schœneus, a son of Athamas.——The father of Atalanta.

Schœnus, or Scheno, a port of Peloponnesus, on the Saronicus sinus.——A village near Thebes, with a river of the same name.——A river of Arcadia.——Another near Athens.

Sciastes, a surname of Apollo at Lacedæmon, from the village Scias where he was particularly worshipped. Lycophron, li. 562.—Tzetzes, on the same reference.

Sciăthis, a mountain of Arcadia. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 14.

Sciăthos, an island in the Ægean sea, opposite mount Pelion, on the coast of Thessaly. Valerius Flaccus, bk. 2.

Scidros, a town of Magna Græcia.

Scillus, a town of Peloponnesus, near Olympia, where Xenophon wrote his history.

Scilūrus, a king of Scythia, who had 80 sons. See: Scylurus.

Scinis, a cruel robber who tied men to the boughs of trees, which he had forcibly brought together, and which he afterwards unloosed, so that their limbs were torn in an instant from their body. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 7, li. 440.

Scinthi, a people of Germany.

Sciōne, a town of Thrace, in the possession of the Athenians. It revolted and passed into the hands of the Lacedæmonians during the Peloponnesian war. It was built by a Grecian colony on their return from the Trojan war. Thucydides, bk. 4.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 2.—Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 10.

Scīpiădæ, a name applied to the two Scipios, who obtained the surname of Africanus, from the conquest of Carthage. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 843.

Scipio, a celebrated family at Rome, who obtained the greatest honours in the republic. The name seems to be derived from scipio, which signifies a stick, because one of the family had conducted his blind father, and had been to him as a stick. The Scipios were a branch of the Cornelian family. The most illustrious were:—Publius Cornelius, a man made master of horse by Camillus, &c.——A Roman dictator.——Lucius Cornelius, a consul, A.U.C. 456, who defeated the Etrurians near Volaterra.——Another consul, A.U.C. 495.——Cnæus, surnamed Asina, was consul A.U.C. 494 and 500. He was conquered in his first consulship in a naval battle, and lost 17 ships. The following year he took Aleria, in Corsica, and defeated Hanno the Carthaginian general, in Sardinia. He also took 200 of the enemy’s ships, and the city of Panormum in Sicily. He was father to Publius and Cneus Scipio. Publius, in the beginning of the second Punic war, was sent with an army to Spain to oppose Annibal; but when he heard that his enemy had passed over into Italy, he attempted by his quick marches and secret evolutions to stop his progress. He was conquered by Annibal near the Ticinus, where he nearly lost his life, had not his son, who was afterwards surnamed Africanus, courageously defended him. He again passed into Spain, where he obtained some memorable victories over the Carthaginians, and the inhabitants of the country. His brother Cneus shared the supreme command with him, but their great confidence proved their ruin. They separated their armies, and soon after Publius was furiously attacked by the two Asdrubals and Mago, who commanded the Carthaginian armies. The forces of Publius were too few to resist with success the three Carthaginian generals. The Romans were cut to pieces, and their commander was left on the field of battle. No sooner had the enemy obtained this victory than they immediately marched to meet Cneus Scipio, whom the revolt of 30,000 Celtiberians had weakened and alarmed. The general, who was already apprised of his brother’s death, secured an eminence, where he was soon surrounded on all sides. After desperate acts of valour he was left among the slain, or, according to some, he fled into a tower, where he was burnt with some of his friends by the victorious enemy. Livy, bk. 21, &c.—Polybius, bk. 4.—Florus, bk. 2, ch. 6, &c.—Eutropius, bk. 3, ch. 8, &c.——Publius Cornelius, surnamed Africanus, was son of Publius Scipio, who was killed in Spain. He first distinguished himself at the battle of Ticinus, where he saved his father’s life by deeds of unexampled valour and boldness. The battle of Cannæ, which proved so fatal to the Roman arms, instead of disheartening Scipio, raised his expectations, and he no sooner heard that some of his desperate countrymen wished to abandon Italy, and to fly from the insolence of the conqueror, than with his sword in his hand, and by his firmness and example, he obliged them to swear eternal fidelity to Rome, and to put to immediate death the first man who attempted to retire from his country. In his 21st year, Scipio was made an edile, an honourable office which was never given but to such as had reached their 27th year. Some time after, the Romans were alarmed by the intelligence that the commanders of their forces in Spain, Publius and Cneus Scipio, had been slaughtered, and immediately young Scipio was appointed to avenge the death of his father and of his uncle, and to vindicate the military honour of the republic. It was soon known how able he was to be at the head of an army; the various nations of Spain were conquered, and in four years the Carthaginians were banished from that part of the continent. The whole province became tributary to Rome; New Carthage submitted in one day, and in a battle 54,000 of the enemy were left dead on the field. After these signal victories Scipio was recalled to Rome, which still trembled at the continual alarms of Annibal, who was at her gates. The conqueror of the Carthaginians in Spain was looked upon as a proper general to encounter Annibal in Italy; but Scipio opposed the measures which his countrymen wished to pursue, and he declared in the senate that if Annibal was to be conquered he must be conquered in Africa. These bold measures were immediately adopted, though opposed by the eloquence, age, and experience of the great Fabius, and Scipio was empowered to conduct the war on the coasts of Africa. With the dignity of consul he embarked for Carthage. Success attended his arms; his conquests were here as rapid as in Spain; the Carthaginian armies were routed, the camp of the crafty Asdrubal was set on fire during the night, and his troops totally defeated in a drawn battle. These repeated losses alarmed Carthage; Annibal, who was victorious at the gates of Rome, was instantly recalled to defend the walls of his country, and the two greatest generals of the age met each other in the field. Terms of accommodation were proposed; but in the parley which the two commanders had together, nothing satisfactory was offered, and while the one enlarged on the vicissitudes of human affairs, the other wished to dictate like a conqueror, and recommended the decision of the controversy to the sword. The celebrated battle was fought near Zama, and both generals displayed their military knowledge in drawing up their armies and in choosing their ground. Their courage and intrepidity were not less conspicuous in charging the enemy; a thousand acts of valour were performed on both sides, and though the Carthaginians fought in their own defence, and the Romans for fame and glory, yet the conqueror of Italy was vanquished. About 20,000 Carthaginians were slain, and the same number made prisoners of war, B.C. 202. Only 2000 of the Romans were killed. This battle was decisive; the Carthaginians sued for peace, which Scipio at last granted on the most severe and humiliating terms. The conqueror after this returned to Rome, where he was received with the most unbounded applause, honoured with a triumph, and dignified with the appellation of Africanus. Here he enjoyed for some time the tranquillity and the honours which his exploits merited, but in him also, as in other great men, fortune showed herself inconstant. Scipio offended the populace in wishing to distinguish the senators from the rest of the people at the public exhibitions; and when he canvassed for the consulship for two of his friends, he had the mortification to see his application slighted, and the honours which he claimed bestowed on a man of no character, and recommended by neither abilities nor meritorious actions. He retired from Rome no longer to be a spectator of the ingratitude of his countrymen, and in the capacity of lieutenant he accompanied his brother against Antiochus king of Syria. In this expedition his arms were attended with usual success, and the Asiatic monarch submitted to the conditions which the conquerors dictated. At his return to Rome, Africanus found the malevolence of his enemies still unabated. Cato, his inveterate rival, raised seditions against him, and the Petilli, two tribunes of the people, accused the conqueror of Annibal of extortion in the provinces of Asia, and of living in an indolent and luxurious manner. Scipio condescended to answer to the accusation of his calumniators; the first day was spent in hearing the different charges, but when he again appeared on the second day of his trial, the accused interrupted his judges, and exclaimed, “Tribunes and fellow-citizens, on this day, this very day, did I conquer Annibal and the Carthaginians: come, therefore, with me, Romans; let us go to the capitol, and there return our thanks to the immortal gods for the victories which have attended our arms.” These words had the desired effect; the tribes and all the assembly followed Scipio, the court was deserted, and the tribunes were left alone in the seat of judgment. Yet when this memorable day was past and forgotten, Africanus was a third time summoned to appear; but he had fled before the impending storm, and retired to his country house at Liternum. The accusation was therefore stopped, and the accusers silenced, when one of the tribunes, formerly distinguished for his malevolence against Scipio, rose to defend him, and declared in the assembly, that it reflected the highest disgrace on the Roman people, that the conqueror of Annibal should become the sport of the populace, and be exposed to the malice and envy of disappointed ambition. Some time after Scipio died in the place of his retreat, about 184 years before Christ, in the 48th year of his age; and so great an aversion did he express, as he expired, for the depravity of the Romans, and the ingratitude of their senators, that he ordered his bones not to be conveyed to Rome. They were accordingly inhumated at Liternum, where his wife Æmilia the daughter of Paulus Æmilius, who fell at the battle of Cannæ, raised a mausoleum on his tomb, and placed upon it his statue, with that of the poet Ennius, who had been the companion of his peace and of his retirement. If Scipio was robbed during his lifetime of the honours which belonged to him as the conqueror of Africa, he was not forgotten when dead. The Romans viewed his character with reverence; with raptures they read of his warlike actions, and Africanus was regarded in the following ages as a pattern of virtue, of innocence, courage, and liberality. As a general, the fame and the greatness of his conquests explain his character; and indeed we hear that Annibal declared himself inferior to no general that ever lived except Alexander the Great, and Pyrrhus king of Epirus; and when Scipio asked him what rank he would claim, if he had conquered him, the Carthaginian general answered, “If I had conquered you, Scipio, I would call myself greater than the conqueror of Darius and the ally of the Tarentines.” As an instance of Scipio’s continence, ancient authors have faithfully recorded that the conqueror of Spain refused to see a beautiful princess that had fallen into his hands after the taking of New Carthage, and that he not only restored her inviolate to her parents, but also added immense presents for the person to whom she was betrothed. It was to the artful complaisance of Africanus that the Romans owed their alliance with Masinissa king of Numidia, and also that with king Syphax. The friendship of Scipio and Lælius is well known. Polybius, bk. 6.—Plutarch.—Florus, bk. 2, ch. 6.—Cicero, Brutus, &c.—Eutropius.——Lucius Cornelius, surnamed Asiaticus, accompanied his brother Africanus in his expeditions in Spain and Africa. He was rewarded with the consulship, A.U.C. 564, for his services to the state, and he was empowered to attack Antiochus king of Syria, who had declared war against the Romans. Lucius was accompanied in this campaign by his brother Africanus; and by his own valour, and the advice of the conqueror of Annibal, he soon routed the enemy, and in a battle near the city of Sardes he killed 50,000 foot and 4000 horse. Peace was soon after settled by the submission of Antiochus, and the conqueror, at his return home, obtained a triumph, and the surname of Asiaticus. He did not, however, long enjoy his prosperity; Cato, after the death of Africanus, turned his fury against Asiaticus, and the two Petilli, his devoted favourites, presented a petition to the people, in which they prayed that an inquiry might be made to know what money had been received from Antiochus and his allies. The petition was instantly received, and Asiaticus, charged to have suffered himself to be corrupted by Antiochus, was summoned to appear before the tribunal of Terentius Culeo, who was on this occasion created pretor. The judge, who was an inveterate enemy to the family of the Scipios, soon found Asiaticus, with his two lieutenants and his questor, guilty of having received the first 6000 pounds weight of gold, and 480 pounds weight of silver, and the others nearly an equal sum, from the monarch against whom, in the name of the Roman people, they were enjoined to make war. Immediately they were condemned to pay large fines; but while the others gave security, Scipio declared that he had accounted to the public for all the money which he had brought from Asia, and therefore that he was innocent. For this obstinacy Scipio was dragged to prison, but his cousin Nasica pleaded his cause before the people, and the pretor instantly ordered the goods of the prisoner to be seized and confiscated. The sentence was executed, but the effects of Scipio were insufficient to pay the fine, and it was the greatest justification of his innocence, that whatever was found in his house had never been in the possession of Antiochus or his subjects. This, however, did not totally liberate him; he was reduced to poverty, and refused to accept the offer of his friends and of his clients. Some time after he was appointed to settle the disputes between Eumenes and Seleucus, and at his return the Romans, ashamed of their severity towards him, rewarded his merit with such uncommon liberality, that Asiaticus was enabled to celebrate games in honour of his victory over Antiochus, for 10 successive days, at his own expense. Livy, bk. 38, ch. 55, &c.—Eutropius, bk. 4.——Nasica, was son of Cneus Scipio, and cousin to Scipio Africanus. He was refused the consulship, though supported by the interest and the fame of the conqueror of Annibal; but he afterwards obtained it, and in that honourable office conquered the Boii, and gained a triumph. He was also successful in an expedition which he undertook in Spain. When the statue of Cybele was brought to Rome from Phrygia, the Roman senate delegated one of their body, who was the most remarkable for the purity of his manners and the innocence of his life, to go and meet the goddess in the harbour of Ostia. Nasica was the object of their choice, and as such he was enjoined to bring the statue of the goddess to Rome with the greatest pomp and solemnity. Nasica also distinguished himself by the active part which he took in confuting the accusations laid against the two Scipios, Africanus and Asiaticus.——There was also another of the same name, who distinguished himself by his enmity against the Gracchi, to whom he was nearly related. Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 1, &c.—Florus, bk. 2, ch. 15.—Livy, bk. 29, ch. 14, &c.——Publius Æmilianus, son of Paulus the conqueror of Perseus, was adopted by the son of Scipio Africanus. He received the same surname as his grandfather, and was called Africanus the younger, on account of his victories over Carthage. Æmilianus first appeared in the Roman armies under his father, and afterwards distinguished himself as a legionary tribune in the Spanish provinces, where he killed a Spaniard of gigantic stature, and he obtained a mural crown at the siege of Intercata. He passed into Africa to demand a reinforcement from king Masinissa the ally of Rome, and he was the spectator of a long and bloody battle which was fought between that monarch and the Carthaginians, and which soon produced the third Punic war. Some time after Æmilianus was made edile, and next appointed consul, though under the age required for that important office. The surname which he had received from his grandfather, he was doomed lawfully to claim as his own. He was empowered to finish the war with Carthage, and as he was permitted by the senate to choose his colleague, he took with him his friend Lælius, whose father of the same name had formerly enjoyed the confidence and shared the victories of the first Africanus. The siege of Carthage was already begun, but the operations of the Romans were not continued with vigour. Scipio had no sooner appeared before the walls of the enemy, than every communication with the land was cut off, and that they might not have the command of the sea, a stupendous mole was thrown across the harbour with immense labour and expense. This, which might have disheartened the most active enemy, rendered the Carthaginians more eager in the cause of freedom and independence; all the inhabitants, without distinction of rank, age, or sex, employed themselves without cessation to dig another harbour, and to build and equip another fleet. In a short time, in spite of the vigilance and activity of Æmilianus, the Romans were astonished to see another harbour formed, and 50 galleys suddenly issuing under sail, ready for the engagement. This unexpected fleet, by immediately attacking the Roman ships, might have gained the victory, but the delay of the Carthaginians proved fatal to their cause, and the enemy had sufficient time to prepare themselves. Scipio soon got the possession of a small eminence in the harbour, and, by the success of his subsequent operations, he broke open one of the gates of the city and entered the streets, where he made his way by fire and sword. The surrender of above 50,000 men was followed by the reduction of the citadel, and the total submission of Carthage, B.C. 147. The captive city was set on fire, and though Scipio was obliged to demolish its very walls to obey the orders of the Romans, yet he wept bitterly over the melancholy and tragical scene; and in bewailing the miseries of Carthage, he expressed his fears lest Rome, in her turn, in some future age, should exhibit such a dreadful conflagration. The return of Æmilianus to Rome was that of another conqueror of Annibal, and, like him, he was honoured with a magnificent triumph, and received the surname of Africanus. He was not long left in the enjoyment of his glory, before he was called to obtain fresh honours. He was chosen consul a second time, and appointed to finish the war which the Romans had hitherto carried on without success or vigorous exertions against Numantia. The fall of Numantia was more noble than that of the capital of Africa, and the conqueror of Carthage obtained the victory only when the enemies had been consumed by famine or by self-destruction, B.C. 133. From his conquests in Spain, Æmilianus was honoured with a second triumph, and with the surname of Numantinus. Yet his popularity was short, and, by telling the people that the murder of their favourite, his brother-in-law Gracchus, was lawful, since he was turbulent and inimical to the peace of the republic, Scipio incurred the displeasure of the tribunes, and was received with hisses. His authority for a moment quelled their sedition, when he reproached them for their own cowardice, and exclaimed, “Factious wretches, do you think your clamours can intimidate me; me, whom the fury of your enemies never daunted? Is this the gratitude that you owe to my father Paulus who conquered Macedonia, and to me? Without my family you were slaves. Is this the respect you owe to your deliverers? Is this your affection?” This firmness silenced the murmurs of the assembly, and some time after Scipio retired from the clamours of Rome to Caieta, where, with his friend Lælius, he passed the rest of his time in innocent pleasure and amusement, in diversions which had pleased them when children; and the two greatest men that ruled the state, were often seen on the sea-shore picking up light pebbles, and throwing them on the smooth surface of the waters. Though fond of retirement and literary ease, yet Scipio often interested himself in the affairs of the state. His enemies accused him of aspiring to the dictatorship, and the clamours were most loud against him, when he had opposed the Sempronian law, and declared himself the patron of the inhabitants of the provinces of Italy. This active part of Scipio was seen with pleasure by the friends of the republic, and not only the senate, but also the citizens, the Latins, and neighbouring states conducted their illustrious friend and patron to his house. It seemed also the universal wish that the troubles might be quieted by the election of Scipio to the dictatorship, and many presumed that that honour would be on the morrow conferred upon him. In this, however, the expectations of Rome were frustrated. Scipio was found dead in his bed, to the astonishment of the world; and those who inquired for the causes of this sudden death, perceived violent marks on his neck, and concluded that he had been strangled, B.C. 128. This assassination, as it was then generally believed, was committed by the triumvirs, Papirius Carbo, Caius Gracchus, and Fulvius Flaccus, who supported the Sempronian law, and by his wife Sempronia, who is charged with having introduced the murderers into his room. No inquiries were made after the authors of his death; Gracchus was the favourite of the mob, and the only atonement which the populace made for the death of Scipio was to attend his funeral, and to show their concern by their cries and loud lamentations. The second Africanus has often been compared to the first of that name; they seemed to be equally great and equally meritorious, and the Romans were unable to distinguish which of the two was entitled to a greater share of their regard and admiration. Æmilianus, like his grandfather, was fond of literature, and he saved from the flames of Carthage many valuable compositions, written by Phœnician and Punic authors. In the midst of his greatness he died poor, and his nephew Quintus Fabius Maximus, who inherited his estate, scarce found in his house 32 pounds weight of silver, and two and a half of gold. His liberality to his brother and to his sisters deserves the greatest commendations, and, indeed, no higher encomium can be passed upon his character, private as well as public, than the words of his rival Metellus, who told his sons, at the death of Scipio, to go and attend the funeral of the greatest man that ever lived or should live in Rome. Livy, bk. 44, &c.—Cicero, de Senectute, Orator, Brutus, &c.—Polybius.—Appian.—Paterculus, bk. 1, ch. 12, &c.—Florus.——A son of the first Africanus, taken captive by Antiochus king of Syria, and restored to his father without a ransom. He adopted as his son young Æmilianus the son of Paulus Æmilius, who was afterwards surnamed Africanus. Like his father Scipio, he distinguished himself by his fondness for literature, and his valour in the Roman armies.——Metellus, the father-in-law of Pompey, appointed commander in Macedonia. He was present at the battle of Pharsalia, and afterwards retired to Africa with Cato. He was defeated by Cæsar at Thapsus. Plutarch.——Salutio, a mean person in Cæsar’s army in Africa. The general appointed him his chief commander, either to ridicule him, or because there was an ancient oracle that declared that the Scipios would ever be victorious in Africa. Plutarch.——Lucius Cornelius, a consul who opposed Sylla. He was at last deserted by his army, and proscribed.——The commander of a cohort in the reign of Vitellius.

Scira, an annual solemnity observed at Athens in honour of Minerva, or, according to others, of Ceres and Proserpine. It received its name either from Sciras, a small town of Attica, or from a native of Eleusis, called Scirus.

Sciradium, a promontory of Attica, on the Saronicus sinus.

Sciras, a name of Ægina. Minerva was also called Sciras. Strabo, bk. 9.

Sciressa, a mountain of Arcadia. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 5.

Sciron, a celebrated thief in Attica, who plundered the inhabitants of the country, and threw them down from the highest rocks into the sea, after he had obliged them to wait upon him and to wash his feet. Theseus attacked him, and treated him as he treated travellers. According to Ovid, the earth as well as the sea refused to receive the bones of Sciron, which remained for some time suspended in the air, till they were changed into large rocks called Scironia Saxa, situate between Megara and Corinth. There was a road near them which bore the name of Sciron, naturally small and narrow, but afterwards enlarged by the emperor Adrian. Some suppose that Ino threw herself into the sea, from one of these rocks. Sciron had married the daughter of Cychreus, a king of Salamis. He was brother-in-law to Telamon the son of Æacus. Ovid, bk. 7, Metamorphoses, li. 444; Heroides, poem 2, li. 69.—Strabo, bk. 9.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 13.—Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 47.—Diodorus, bk. 4.—Hyginus, fable 38.—Propertius, bk. 3, poem 14, li. 12.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 44.—Seneca, Quæstiones naturales, bk. 5, ch. 17.

Scirus, a village of Arcadia, of which the inhabitants are called Sciritæ.——A plain and river of Attica, near Megara. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 36.

Scissis, a town of Spain. Livy, bk. 21, ch. 60.

Scodra, a town of Illyricum, where Gentius resided. Livy, bk. 43, ch. 20.

Scolus, a mountain of Bœotia.——A town of Macedonia, near Olynthus. Strabo.

Scombrus, a mountain of Thrace, near Rhodope.

Scopas, an architect and sculptor of Ephesus, for some time employed in making the mausoleum which Artemisia raised to her husband, and which was reckoned one of the seven wonders of the world. One of his statues of Venus was among the antiquities with which Rome was adorned. Scopas lived about 450 years before Christ. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 43, &c.—Horace, bk. 4, ode 8.—Vitruvius, bk. 9, ch. 9.—Pliny, bk. 34, ch. 8; bk. 36, ch. 5.——An Ætolian who raised some forces to assist Ptolemy Epiphanes king of Egypt, against his enemies Antiochus and his allies. He afterwards conspired against the Egyptian monarch, and was put to death, B.C. 196.——An ambassador to the court of the emperor Domitian.

Scopium, a town of Thessaly.

Scordisci and Scordiscæ, a people of Pannonia and Thrace, well known during the reign of the Roman emperors for their barbarity and uncivilized manners. They were fond of drinking human blood, and they generally sacrificed their captive enemies to their gods. Livy, bk. 41, ch. 19.—Strabo, bk. 7.—Florus, bk. 3, ch. 4.

Scoti, the ancient inhabitants of Scotland, mentioned as different from the Picts. Claudian, de Tertio Consulatu Honorii, li. 54.

Scotīnus, a surname of Heraclitus. Strabo, bk. 15.

Scotussa, a town of Thessaly at the north of Larissa and of the Peneus, destroyed by Alexander of Pheræ. Livy, bk. 28, chs. 5 & 7; bk. 36, ch. 14.—Strabo, bks. 7 & 9.—Pausanias, bk. 6, ch. 5.——Another in Macedonia. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 10.

Scribonia, a daughter of Scribonius, who married Augustus after he had divorced Claudia. He had by her a daughter, the celebrated Julia. Scribonia was some time after repudiated, that Augustus might marry Livia. She had been married twice before she became the wife of the emperor. Suetonius, Augustus, ch. 62.——A woman who married Crassus.

Scriboniānus, a man in the age of Nero. Some of his friends wished him to be competitor for the imperial purple against Vespasian, which he declined. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 4, ch. 39.——There were also two brothers of that name, who did nothing without each other’s consent. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 4, ch. 41.

Scribonius, a man who made himself master of the kingdom of Bosphorus.——A physician in the age of Augustus and Tiberius.——A man who wrote annals, A.D. 22. The best edition of Scribonius is that of Patavium, 4to, 1655.——A friend of Pompey, &c.

Scultenna, a river of Gaul Cispadana, falling into the Po, now called Panaro. Livy, bk. 41, chs. 12 & 18.—Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 16.

Scylacēum, a town of the Brutii, built by Mnestheus at the head of an Athenian colony. As Virgil has applied the epithet Navifragum to Scylaceum, some suppose that either the poet was mistaken in his knowledge of the place, because there are no apparent dangers to navigation there, or that he confounds this place with a promontory of the same name on the Tuscan sea. Servius explains this passage by supposing that the houses of the place were originally built with the shipwrecked vessels of Ulysses’ fleet—a most puerile explanation! Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 553.—Strabo, bk. 6.

Scylax, a geographer and mathematician of Caria, in the age of Darius son of Hystaspes, about 550 years before Christ. He was commissioned by Darius to make discoveries in the east, and after a journey of 30 months he visited Egypt. Some suppose that he was the first who invented geographical tables. The latest edition of the Periplus of Scylax, is that of Gronovius, 4to, Leiden, 1597. Herodotus, bk. 4, ch. 44.—Strabo.——A river of Cappadocia.

Scylla, a daughter of Nisus king of Megara, who became enamoured of Minos, as that monarch besieged her father’s capital. To make him sensible of her passion, she informed him that she would deliver Megara into his hands if he promised to marry her. Minos consented, and as the prosperity of Megara depended on a golden hair, which was on the head of Nisus, Scylla cut it off as her father was asleep, and from that moment the sallies of the Megareans were unsuccessful, and the enemy easily became master of the place. Scylla was disappointed in her expectations, and Minos treated her with such contempt and ridicule, that she threw herself from a tower into the sea, or, according to other accounts, she was changed into a lark by the gods, and her father into a hawk. Ovid, Tristia, bk. 2, li. 393.—Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 34.—Propertius, bk. 3, poem 19, li. 21.—Hyginus, fable 198.—Virgil, Georgics, bk. 1, li. 405, &c.——A daughter of Typhon, or, as some say, of Phorcys, who was greatly loved by Glaucus, one of the deities of the sea. Scylla scorned the addresses of Glaucus, and the god, to render her more propitious, applied to Circe, whose knowledge of herbs and incantations was universally admired. Circe no sooner saw him than she became enamoured of him, and instead of giving him the required assistance, she attempted to make him forget Scylla, but in vain. To punish her rival, Circe poured the juice of some poisonous herbs into the waters of the fountain where Scylla bathed, and no sooner had the nymph touched the place than she found every part of her body below the waist changed into frightful monsters like dogs, which never ceased barking. The rest of her body assumed an equally hideous form. She found herself supported by 12 feet, and she had six different heads, each with three rows of teeth. This sudden metamorphosis so terrified her, that she threw herself into that part of the sea which separates the coast of Italy and Sicily, where she was changed into rocks, which continued to bear her name, and which were universally deemed by the ancients as very dangerous to sailors, as well as the whirlpool of Charybdis on the coast of Sicily. During a tempest the waves are described by modern navigators as roaring dreadfully when driven into the rough and uneven cavities of the rock. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 12, li. 85.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, li. 66, &c.—Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 34.—Hyginus, fable 199. Some authors, as Propertius, bk. 4, poem 4, li. 39, and Virgil, eclogue 6, li. 74, with Ovid, Fasti, bk. 4, li. 500, have confounded the daughter of Typhon with the daughter of Nisus. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 424, &c.——A ship in the fleet of Æneas, commanded by Cloanthus, &c. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 122.

Scyllæum, a promontory of Peloponnesus on the coast of Argolis.——A promontory of the Brutii in Italy, supposed to be the same as Scylaceum, near which was the famous whirlpool Scylla, from which the name is derived.

Scyllias, a celebrated swimmer who enriched himself by diving after the goods which had been shipwrecked in the Persian ships near Pelium. It is said that he could dive 80 stadia under the water. Herodotus, bk. 8, ch. 8.—Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 19.

Scyllis and Dipœnus, statuaries of Crete before the age of Cyrus king of Persia. They were said to be sons and pupils of Dædalus, and they established a school at Sicyon, where they taught the principles of their profession. Pausanias.—Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 4.

Scyllus (untis), a town of Achaia, given to Xenophon by the Lacedæmonians. Strabo.

Scylūrus, a monarch who left 80 sons. He called them to his bedside as he expired, and by enjoining them to break a bundle of sticks tied together, and afterwards separately, he convinced them that, when altogether firmly united, their power would be insuperable, but, if ever disunited, they would fail an easy prey to their enemies. Plutarch, de Garrulitate.

Scyppium, a town in the neighbourhood of Colophon. Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 3.

Scyras, a river of Laconia. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 25.

Scyrias, a name applied to Deidamia as a native of Scyros. Ovid, Ars Amatoria, ♦bk. 1, li. 682.

♦ Book number omitted from text.

Scyros, a rocky and barren island in the Ægean, at the distance of about 28 miles north-east from Eubœa, 60 miles in circumference. It was originally in the possession of the Pelasgians and Carians. Achilles retired there not to go to the Trojan war, and became father of Neoptolemus by Deidamia the daughter of king Lycomedes. Scyros was conquered by the Athenians under Cimon. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 10, li. 508.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 7, li. 464; bk. 13, li. 156.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 7.—Strabo, bk. 9.

Scythæ, the inhabitants of Scythia. See: Scythia.

Scythes, or Scytha, a son of Jupiter by a daughter of Tellus. Half his body was that of a man, and the rest that of a serpent. He became king of a country which he called Scythia. Diodorus, bk. 2.——A son of Hercules and Echidna.

Scythia, a large country situate in the most northern parts of Europe and Asia, from which circumstance it is generally denominated European and Asiatic. The most northern parts of Scythia were uninhabited on account of the extreme coldness of the climate. The more southern parts in Asia that were inhabited were distinguished by the name of Scythia intra et extra Imaum, &c. The boundaries of Scythia were unknown to the ancients, as no traveller had penetrated beyond the vast tracts of land which lay at the north, east, and west. Scythia comprehended the modern kingdoms of Tartary, Russia in Asia, Siberia, Muscovy, the Crimea, Poland, part of Hungary, Lithuania, the northern parts of Germany, Sweden, Norway, &c. The Scythians were divided into several nations or tribes; they had no cities, but continually changed their habitations. They inured themselves to bear labour and fatigue; they despised money, and lived upon milk, and covered themselves with the skins of their cattle. The virtues seemed to flourish among them, and that philosophy and moderation which other nations wished to acquire by study, seemed natural to them. Some authors, however, represent them as a savage and barbarous people, who fed upon human flesh, who drank the blood of their enemies, and used the skulls of travellers as vessels in their sacrifices to their gods. The Scythians made several irruptions upon the more southern provinces of Asia, especially B.C. 624, when they remained in possession of Asia Minor for 28 years, and we find them at different periods extending their conquests in Europe, and penetrating as far as Egypt. Their government was monarchical, and the deference which they paid to their sovereigns was ♦unparalleled. When the king died, his body was carried through every province, where it was received in solemn procession, and afterwards buried. In the first centuries after Christ they invaded the Roman empire with the Sarmatians. See: Sarmatia. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 4, &c.—Strabo, bk. 7.—Diodorus, bk. 2.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 5, ch. 4.—Justin, bk. 2, ch. 1, &c.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 64; bk. 2, li. 224.

♦ ‘uuparalleled’ replaced with ‘unparalleled’

Scythīnus, a Greek poet of Teos in Ionia, who wrote iambics. Diogenes Laërtius, Heraclides.—Athenæus, bk. 11.

Scython, a man changed into a woman. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, li. 280.

Scythopŏlis, a town of Syria, said to have been built by Bacchus. Strabo, bk. 16.—Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 18.

Scythotauri, a people of Chersonesus Taurica. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 12.

Sebasta, a town of Judæa.——Another in Cilicia.——The name was common to several cities, as it was in honour of Augustus.

Sebastīa, a city of Armenia.

Sebennȳtus, a town of the Delta in Egypt. The branch of the Nile which flows near it has been called the Sebennytic. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 10.

Sebētus, a small river of Campania, falling into the bay of Naples, whence the epithet Sebethis, given to one of the nymphs who frequented its borders, and became mother of Œbalus by Telon. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 734.

Sebusiāni, or Segusiani, a people of Celtic Gaul.

Sectānus, an infamous debauchee in the age of Horace, bk. 1, satire 4, li. 112.

Secundus Julius, a man who published some harangues and orations in the age of the emperor Titus.——A favourite of Nero.——One of the associates of Sejanus.

Seditāni, or Sedentāni, a people of Spain. Silius Italicus, bk. 3, li. 372.

Sedūni, an ancient nation of Belgic Gaul. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 3.

Sedusii, a people of Germany near the Suevi. Cæsar.