Timareta, a priestess of the oracle of Dodona. Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 94.
Timasion, one of the leaders of the 10,000 Greeks, &c.
Timasitheus, a prince of Lipara, who obliged a number of pirates to spare some Romans who were going to make an offering of the spoils of Veii to the god of Delphi. The Roman senate rewarded him very liberally, and 137 years after, when the Carthaginians were dispossessed of Lipara, the same generosity was nobly extended to his descendants in the island. Diodorus, bk. 14.—Plutarch, Camillus.
Tĭmāvus, a broad river of Italy rising from a mountain, and, after running a short space, falling by seven mouths, or, according to some, by one, into the Adriatic sea. There are, at the mouth of the Timavus, small islands with hot springs of water. Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4.—Virgil, Eclogues, poem 8, li. 6; Æneid, bk. 1, lis. 44 & 248.—Strabo, bk. 5.—Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 103.
Timesius, a native of Clazomenæ, who began to build Abdera. He was prevented by the Thracians, but honoured as a hero at Abdera. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 168.
Timochăris, an astronomer of Alexandria, 294 B.C. See: Aristillus.
Timoclēa, a Theban lady, sister to Theogenes, who was killed at Cheronæa. One of Alexander’s soldiers offered her violence, after which she led her ravisher to a well, and while he believed that immense treasures were concealed there, Timoclea threw him into it. Alexander commended her virtue, and forbade his soldiers to hurt the Theban females. Plutarch, Alexander.
Timŏcles, two Greek poets of Athens, who wrote some theatrical pieces, the one six, and the other 11, some verses of which are extant. Athenæus, bk. 6.——A statuary of Athens. Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 34.
Timocrătes, a Greek philosopher of uncommon austerity.——A Syracusan who married Arete when Dion had been banished into Greece by Dionysius. He commanded the forces of the tyrant.
Timocreon, a comic poet of Rhodes, who obtained poetical, as well as gymnastic, prizes at Olympia. He lived about 476 years before Christ, distinguished for his voracity, and for his resentment against Simonides and Themistocles. The following epitaph was written on his grave:
Multa bibens, et multa vorans, mala denique dicens
Multis, hic jaceo Timocreon Rhodius.
Timodēmus, the father of Timoleon.
Timolāus, a Spartan, intimate with Philopœmen, &c.——A son of the celebrated Zenobia.——A general of Alexander, put to death by the Thebans.
Timoleon, a celebrated Corinthian, son of Timodemus and Demariste. He was such an enemy to tyranny, that he did not hesitate to murder his own brother Timophanes, when he attempted, against his representations, to make himself absolute in Corinth. This was viewed with pleasure by the friends of liberty; but the mother of Timoleon conceived the most inveterate aversion for her son, and for ever banished him from her sight. This proved painful to Timoleon; a settled melancholy dwelt upon his mind, and he refused to accept of any offices in the state. When the Syracusans, oppressed with the tyranny of Dionysius the younger, and of the Carthaginians, had solicited the assistance of the Corinthians, all looked upon Timoleon as a proper deliverer, but all applications would have been disregarded, if one of the magistrates had not awakened in him the sense of natural liberty. “Timoleon,” says he, “if you accept of the command of this expedition, we will believe that you have killed a tyrant; but if not, we cannot but call you your brother’s murderer.” This had due effect, and Timoleon sailed for Syracuse in 10 ships, accompanied by about 1000 men. The Carthaginians attempted to oppose him, but Timoleon eluded their vigilance. Icetas, who had the possession of the city, was defeated, and Dionysius, who despaired of success, gave himself up into the hands of the Corinthian general. This success gained Timoleon adherents in Sicily; many cities which hitherto had looked upon him as an impostor, claimed his protection; and when he was at last master of Syracuse by the total overthrow of Icetas and of the Carthaginians, he razed the citadel which had been the seat of tyranny, and erected on the spot a common hall. Syracuse was almost destitute of inhabitants, and at the solicitation of Timoleon, a Corinthian colony was sent to Sicily; the lands were equally divided among the citizens, and the houses were sold for 1000 talents, which were appropriated to the use of the state, and deposited in the treasury. When Syracuse was thus delivered from tyranny, the conqueror extended his benevolence to the other states of Sicily, and all the petty tyrants were reduced and banished from the island. A code of salutary laws was framed for the Syracusans; and the armies of Carthage, which had attempted again to raise commotions in Sicily, were defeated, and peace was at last re-established. The gratitude of the Sicilians was shown everywhere to their deliverer. Timoleon was received with repeated applause in the public assemblies, and though a private man, unconnected with the government, he continued to enjoy his former influence at Syracuse: his advice was consulted on matters of importance, and his authority respected. He ridiculed the accusations of malevolence, and when some informers had charged him with oppression, he rebuked the Syracusans who were going to put the accusers to immediate death. A remarkable instance of his providential escape from the dagger of an assassin, has been recorded by one of his biographers. As he was going to offer a sacrifice to the gods after a victory, two assassins, sent by the enemies, approached his person in disguise. The arm of one of the assassins was already lifted up, when he was suddenly stabbed by an unknown person, who made his escape from the camp. The other assassin, struck at the fall of his companion, fell before Timoleon, and confessed, in the presence of the army, the conspiracy that had been formed against his life. The unknown assassin was in the mean time pursued, and when he was found, he declared that he had committed no crime in avenging the death of a beloved father, whom the man he had stabbed had murdered in the town of Leontini. Inquiries were made, and his confessions were found to be true. Timoleon died at Syracuse, about 337 years before the christian era. His body received an honourable burial, in a public place called from him Timoleonteum; but the tears of a grateful nation were more convincing proofs of the public regret, than the institution of festivals and games yearly to be observed on the day of his death. Cornelius Nepos & Plutarch, Lives.—Polyænus, bk. 5, ch. 3.—Diodorus, bk. 16.
Timōlus. See: Tmolus.
Timomăchus, a painter of Byzantium, in the age of Sylla and Marius. His painting of Medea murdering her children, and his Ajax, were purchased for 80 talents by Julius Cæsar, and deposited in the temple of Venus at Rome. Pliny, bk. 35, ch. 11.——A general of Athens, sent to assist the Thebans. Xenophon.
Timon, a native of Athens, called Misanthrope, for his unconquerable aversion to mankind and to all society. He was fond of Apemantus, another Athenian whose character was similar to his own, and he said that he had some partiality for Alcibiades, because he was one day to be his country’s ruin. Once he went into the public assembly, and told his countrymen that he had a fig tree on which many had ended their life with a halter, and that as he was going to cut it down to raise a building on the spot, he advised all such as were inclined to destroy themselves, to hasten and go and hang themselves in his garden. Plutarch, Alcibiades, &c.—Lucan, Timon.—Pausanias, bk. 6, ch. 12.——A Greek poet, son of Timarchus, in the age of Ptolemy Philadelphus. He wrote several dramatic pieces, all now lost, and died in the 90th year of his age. Diogenes Laërtius.—Athenæus, bks. 6 & 13.——An athlete of Elis. Pausanias, bk. 6, ch. 12.
Timophănes, a Corinthian, brother to Timoleon. He attempted to make himself tyrant of his country, by means of the mercenary soldiers with whom he had fought against the Argives and Cleomenes. Timoleon wished to convince him of the impropriety of his measures, and when he found him unmoved, he caused him to be assassinated. Plutarch & Cornelius Nepos, Timoleon.——A man of Mitylene, celebrated for his riches, &c.
Timotheus, a poet and musician of Miletus, son of Thersander or Philopolis. He was received with hisses the first time he exhibited as musician in the assembly of the people; and further applications would have totally been abandoned, had not Euripides discovered his abilities, and encouraged him to follow a profession in which he afterwards gained so much applause. He received the immense sum of 1000 pieces of gold from the Ephesians, because he had composed a poem in honour of Diana. He died about the 90th year of his age, two years before the birth of Alexander the Great. There was also another musician of Bœtia in the age of Alexander, often confounded with the musician of Miletus. He was a great favourite of the conqueror of Darius. Cicero, de Legibus, bk. 2, ch. 15.—Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 12.—Plutarch, de Musica, de Fortuna, &c.——An Athenian general, son of Conon. He signalized himself by his valour and magnanimity, and showed that he was not inferior to his great father in military prudence. He seized Corcyra, and obtained several victories over the Thebans, but his ill success in one of his expeditions disgusted the Athenians, and Timotheus, like the rest of his noble predecessors, was fined a large sum of money. He retired to Chalcis, where he died. He was so disinterested, that he never appropriated any of the plunder to his own use, but after one of his expeditions, he filled the treasury of Athens with 1200 talents. Some of the ancients, to imitate his continual successes, have represented him sleeping by the side of Fortune, while the goddess drove cities into his net. He was intimate with Plato, at whose table he learned temperance and moderation. Athenæus, bk. 10, ch. 3.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 29.—Plutarch, Sulla, &c.—Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 2, chs. 10 & 18; bk. 3, ch. 16.—Cornelius Nepos.——A Greek statuary. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 32.——A tyrant of Heraclea, who murdered his father. Diodorus, bk. 16.——A king of the Sapæi.
Timoxĕnus, a governor of Sicyon, who betrayed his trust, &c. Polyænus.——A general of the Achæans.
Tingis, now Tangiers, a maritime town of Africa in Mauritania, built by the giant Antæus. Sertorius took it, and as the tomb of the founder was near the place, he caused it to be opened, and found in it a skeleton six cubits long. This increased the veneration of the people for their founder. Plutarch, Sertorius.—Mela, bk. 1, ch. 5.—Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 1.—Silius Italicus, bk. 3, li. 258.
Tinia, a river of Umbria, now Topino, falling into the Clitumnus. Strabo, bk. 5.—Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 454.
Tipha, a town of Bœtia, where Hercules had a temple. Ovid, ltr. 6, li. 48.—Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 32.
Tiphys, the pilot of the ship of the Argonauts, was son of Hagnius, or, according to some, of Phorbas. He died before the Argonauts reached Colchis, at the court of Lycus in the Propontis, and Erginus was chosen in his place. Orphica.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9.—Apollonius.—Valerius Flaccus.—Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 32.—Hyginus, fables 14 & 18.
Tiphysa, a daughter of Thestius. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.
Tīrĕsias, a celebrated prophet of Thebes, son of Everus and Chariclo. He lived to a great age, which some authors have called as long as seven generations of men, others six, and others nine, during the time that Polydorus, Labdacus, Laius, Œdipus, and his sons sat on the throne of Thebes. It is said that in his youth he found two serpents in the act of copulation on mount Cyllene, and that when he had struck them with a stick to separate them, he found himself suddenly changed into a girl. Seven years after he found again some serpents together in the same manner, and he recovered his original sex, by striking them a second time with his wand. When he was a woman, Tiresias had married, and it was from those reasons, according to some of the ancients, that Jupiter and Juno referred to his decision, a dispute in which the deities wished to know which of the sexes received greater pleasure from the connubial state. Tiresias, who could speak from actual experience, decided in favour of Jupiter, and declared, that the pleasure which the female received was 10 times greater than that of the male. Juno, who supported a different opinion, and gave the superiority to the male sex, punished Tiresias by depriving him of his eyesight. But this dreadful loss was in some measure repaired by the humanity of Jupiter, who bestowed upon him the gift of prophecy, and permitted him to live seven times more than the rest of men. These causes of the blindness of Tiresias, which are supported by the authority of Ovid, Hyginus, and others, are contradicted by Apollodorus, Callimachus, Propertius, &c., who declare that this was inflicted upon him as a punishment, because he had seen Minerva bathing in the fountain Hippocrene, on mount Helicon. Chariclo, who accompanied Minerva, complained of the severity with which her son was treated; but the goddess, who well knew that this was the irrevocable punishment inflicted by Saturn on such mortals as fix their eyes upon a goddess without her consent, alleviated the misfortunes of Tiresias, by making him acquainted with futurity, and giving him a staff which could conduct his steps with as much safety as if he had the use of his eye-sight. During his lifetime, Tiresias was an infallible oracle to all Greece. The generals, during the Theban war, consulted him, and found his predictions verified. He drew his prophecies sometimes from the flight or the language of birds, in which he was assisted by his daughter Manto, and sometimes he drew the manes from the infernal regions to know futurity, with mystical ceremonies. He at last died, after drinking the waters of a cold fountain, which froze his blood. He was buried with great pomp by the Thebans on mount Tilphusses, and honoured as a god. His oracle at Orchomenos was in universal esteem. Homer represents Ulysses as going to the infernal regions to consult Tiresias concerning his return to Ithaca. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 6.—Theocritus, Idylls, poem 24, li. 70.—Statius, Thebaid, bk. 2, li. 96.—Hyginus, fable 75.—Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes.—Sophocles, Œdipus Tyrannus.—Pindar, Nemean, poem 1.—Diodorus, bk. 4.—Homer, Odyssey, bk. 11.—Plutarch, Convivium Septem Sapientium, &c.—Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 33.
Tiribāses, an officer of Artaxerxes killed by the guards for conspiring against the king’s life, B.C. 394. Plutarch, Artaxerxes.
Tirida, a town of Thrace where Diomedes lived. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 11.
Tiridātes, a king of Parthia, after the expulsion of Phraates by his subjects. He was soon after deposed, and fled to Augustus in Spain. Horace, bk. 1, ode 26.——A man made king of Parthia by Tiberius, after the death of Phraates, in opposition to Artabanus. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 6, &c.——A keeper of the royal treasures at Persepolis, who offered to surrender to Alexander the Great. Curtius, bk. 5, ch. 5, &c.——A king of Armenia, in the reign of Nero.——A son of Phraates, &c.
Tiris, a general of the Thracians, who opposed Antiochus. Polyænus, bk. 4.
Tiro Tullius, a freedman of Cicero, greatly esteemed by his master for his learning and good qualities. It is said that he invented shorthand writing among the Romans. He wrote the life of Cicero and other treatises now lost. Cicero, Letters to Atticus, &c.
Tirynthia, a name given to Alcmena, because she lived at Tirynthus. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6.
Tirynthus, a town of Argolis in the Peloponnesus, founded by Tyrinx son of Argus. Hercules generally resided there, whence he is called Tirynthius heros. Pausanias, bk. 2, chs. 16 & 25.—Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 5.—Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 3, chs. 15 & 49.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 7, li. 662.—Silius Italicus, bk. 8, li. 217.
Tisæum, a mountain of Thessaly. Polybius.
Tisagŏras, a brother of Miltiades, called also Stesagoras. Cornelius Nepos, Miltiades.
Tisamĕnes, or Tisamĕnus, a son of Orestes and Hermione the daughter of Menelaus, who succeeded on the throne of Argos and Lacedæmon. The Heraclidæ entered his kingdom in the third year of his reign, and he was obliged to retire with his family into Achaia. He was some time after killed in a battle against the Ionians, near Helice. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.—Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 1; bk. 7, ch. 1.——A king of Thebes, son of Thersander and grandson of Polynices. The Furies, who continually persecuted the house of Œdipus, permitted him to live in tranquillity, but they tormented his son and successor Autesion, and obliged him to retire to Doris. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 5; bk. 9, ch. 6.——A native of Elis, crowned twice at the Olympic games. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 11.
Tisandrus, one of the Greeks concealed with Ulysses in the wooden horse. Some suppose him to be the same as Thersander the son of Polynices. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, li. 261.
Tisarchus, a friend of Agathocles, by whom he was murdered, &c. Polyænus, bk. 5.
Tisdra, a town of Africa. Cæsar, African War, ch. 76.
Tisiarus, a town of Africa.
Tisias, an ancient philosopher of Sicily, considered by some as the inventor of rhetoric, &c. Cicero, de Inventione, bk. 2, ch. 2; Orations, bk. 1, ch. 18.
Tīsĭphŏne, one of the Furies, daughter of Nox and Acheron, who was the minister of divine vengeance upon mankind, and visited them with plagues and diseases, and punished the wicked in Tartarus. She was represented with a whip in her hand, serpents hung from her head, and were wreathed round her arms instead of bracelets. By Juno’s direction she attempted to prevent the landing of Io in Egypt, but the god of the Nile repelled her, and obliged her to retire to hell. Statius, Thebaid, bk. 1, li. 59.—Virgil, Georgics, bk. 3, li. 552; Æneid, bk. 6, li. 555.—Horace, bk. 1, satire 8, li. 34.——A daughter of Alcmæon and Manto.
Tisiphŏnus, a man who conspired against Alexander tyrant of Pheræ, and seized the sovereign power, &c. Diodorus, bk. 16.
Tissa, now Randazzo, a town of Sicily. Silius Italicus, bk. 14, li. 268.—Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 3, ch. 38.
Tissamĕnus. See: Tisamenus.
Tissaphernes, an officer of Darius.——A satrap of Persia, commander of the forces of Artaxerxes, at the battle of Cunaxa, against Cyrus. It was by his valour and intrepidity that the king’s forces gained the victory, and for this he obtained the daughter of Artaxerxes in marriage, and all the provinces of which Cyrus was governor. His popularity did not long continue, and the king ordered him to be put to death when he had been conquered by Agesilaus, 395 B.C. Cornelius Nepos.——An officer in the army of Cyrus, killed by Artaxerxes at the battle of Cunaxa. Plutarch.
Titæa, the mother of the Titans. She is supposed to be the same as Thea, Rhea, Terra, &c.
Titan, or Titānus, a son of Cœlus and Terra, brother to Saturn and Hyperion. He was the eldest of the children of Cœlus; but he gave his brother Saturn the kingdom of the world, provided he raised no male children. When the birth of Jupiter was concealed, Titan made war against Saturn, and with the assistance of his brothers the Titans, he imprisoned him till he was replaced on the throne by his son Jupiter. This tradition is recorded by Lactantius, a christian writer, who took it from the dramatic compositions of Ennius, now lost. None of the ancient mythologists, such as Apollodorus, Hesiod, Hyginus, &c., have made mention of Titan. Titan is a name applied to Saturn by Orpheus and Lucian, to the sun by Virgil and Ovid, and to Prometheus by Juvenal. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 10.—Juvenal, satire 14, li. 35.—Diodorus, bk. 5.—Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 11.—Orpheus, hymn 13.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 4, li. 119.
Titāna, a town of Sicyonia in Peloponnesus. Titanus reigned there.——A man skilled in astronomy. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 11.
Titānes, a name given to the sons of Cœlus and Terra. They were 45 in number, according to the Egyptians. Apollodorus mentions 13, Hyginus six, and Hesiod 20, among whom are the Titanides. The most known of the Titans are Saturn, Hyperion, Oceanus, Japetus, Cottus, and Briareus, to whom Horace adds Typhœus, Mimas, Porphyrion, Rhœtus, and Enceladus, who are by other mythologists reckoned among the giants. They were all of a gigantic stature, and with proportionable strength. They were treated with great cruelty by Cœlus, and confined in the bowels of the earth, till their mother pitied their misfortunes, and armed them against their father. Saturn, with a scythe, cut off the genitals of his father, as he was going to unite himself to Terra, and threw them into the sea, and from the froth sprang a new deity, called Venus; as also Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megæra, according to Apollodorus. When Saturn succeeded his father, he married Rhea; but he devoured all his male children, as he had been informed by an oracle that he should be dethroned by them as a punishment for his cruelty to his father. The wars of the Titans against the gods are very celebrated in mythology. They are often confounded with that of the giants; but it is to be observed, that the war of the Titans was against Saturn, and that of the giants against Jupiter. Hesiod, Theogony, li. 135, &c.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 1.—Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound.—Callimachus, Hymn to Delos, li. 17.—Diodorus, bk. 1.—Hyginus, preface to fables.
Titānia, a patronymic applied to Pyrrha, as granddaughter of Titan, and likewise to Diana. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 395; bk. 2, &c.
Titanīdes, the daughters of Cœlus and Terra; reduced in number to six, according to Orpheus. The most celebrated were Tethys, Themis, Dione, Thea, Mnemosyne, Ops, Cybele, Vesta, Phœbe, and Rhea. Hesiod, Theogony, li. 145, &c.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 1.
Titānus, a river in Peloponnesus, with a town and mountain of the same name.
Titaresus, a river of Thessaly, called also Eurotas, flowing into the Teneus, but without mingling its thick and turbid waters with the transparent stream. From the unwholesomeness of its water, it was considered as deriving its source from the Styx. Lucan, bk. 6, li. 376.—Homer, Iliad, bk. 2, li. 751.—Strabo, bk. 8.—Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 18.
Titēnus, a river of Colchis, falling into the Euxine sea. Apollonius, bk. 4.
Tithenidia, a festival of Sparta, in which nurses, τθηναι, conveyed male infants entrusted to their charge to the temple of Diana, where they sacrificed young pigs. During the time of the solemnity, they generally danced and exposed themselves in ridiculous postures; there were also some entertainments given near the temple, where tents were erected. Each had a separate portion allotted him, together with a small loaf, a piece of new cheese, part of the entrails of the victims, and figs, beans, and green vetches, instead of sweetmeats.
Tithōnus, a son of Laomedon king of Troy, by Strymo the daughter of the Scamander. He was so beautiful that Aurora became enamoured of him, and carried him away. He had by her Memnon and Æmathion. He begged of Aurora to be immortal, and the goddess granted it; but as he had forgotten to ask the vigour, youth, and beauty which he then enjoyed, he soon grew old, infirm, and ♦decrepit; and as life became insupportable to him, he prayed Aurora to remove him from the world. As he could not die, the goddess changed him into a cicada, or grasshopper. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 5.—Virgil, Georgics, bk. 1, li. 447; Æneid, bk. 4, li. 585; bk. 8, li. 384.—Hesiod, Theogony, li. 984.—Diodorus, bk. 1.—Ovid, Fasti, bk. 1, li. 461; ♠bk. 3, li. 403.—Horace, bk. 1, ode 28; bk. 2, ode 16.
Tithorea, one of the tops of Parnassus. Herodotus, bk. 8, ch. 32.
Tithraustes, a Persian satrap, B.C. 395, ordered to murder Tissaphernes by Artaxerxes. He succeeded to the offices which the slaughtered favourite enjoyed. He was defeated by the Athenians under Cimon.——An officer in the Persian court, &c.——The name was common to some of the superior officers of state in the court of Artaxerxes. Plutarch.—Cornelius Nepos, Datames & Conon.
Titia, a deity among the Milesians.
Titia lex, de magistratibus, by Publius Titius the tribune, A.U.C. 710. It ordained that a triumvirate of magistrates should be invested with consular power to preside over the republic for five years. The persons chosen were Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus.——Another, de provinciis, which required that the provincial questors, like the consuls and pretors, should receive their provinces by lot.
Titiāna Flavia, the wife of the emperor Pertinax, disgraced herself by her debaucheries and incontinence. After the murder of her husband she was reduced to poverty, and spent the rest of her life in an obscure retreat.
Titiānus Atilius, a noble Roman put to death, A.D. 156, by the senate for aspiring to the purple. He was the only one proscribed during the reign of Antoninus Pius.——A brother of Otho.
Titii, priests of Apollo at Rome, who observed the flight of doves, and drew omens from it. Varro, de Lingua Latina, bk. 4, ch. 45.—Lucan, bk. 1, li. 602.
Titinius, a tribune of the people in the first ages of the republic.——A friend of Cassius, who killed himself.——One of the slaves who revolted at Capua. He betrayed his trust to the Roman generals.
Titius Proculus, a Roman knight, appointed to watch Messalina. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 11, ch. 35.——A tribune of the people who enacted the Titian law.——An orator of a very dissolute character.——One of Pompey’s murderers.——One of Antony’s officers.——A man who foretold a victory to Sylla.——Septimus, a poet in the Augustan age, who distinguished himself by his lyric and tragic compositions, now lost. Horace, bk. 1, ltr. 3, li. 9.
Titormus, a shepherd of Ætolia, called another Hercules, on account of his prodigious strength. He was stronger than his contemporary, Milo of Crotona, as he could lift on his shoulders a stone which the Crotonian moved with difficulty. Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 12, ch. 22.—Herodotus, bk. 6, ch. 127.
Titurius, a friend of Julia Silana, who informed against Agrippina, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 13.——A lieutenant of Cæsar in Gaul, killed by Ambiorix.—Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 5, ch. 29, &c.
Titus Vespasianus, son of Vespasian and Flavia Domitilla, became known by his valour in the Roman armies, particularly at the siege of Jerusalem. In the 79th year of the christian era, he was invested with the imperial purple, and the Roman people had every reason to expect in him the barbarities of a Tiberius and the debaucheries of a Nero. While in the house of Vespasian, Titus had been distinguished for his extravagance and incontinence; his attendants were the most abandoned and dissolute; and it seemed that he wished to be superior to the rest of the world in the gratification of every impure desire, and in every unnatural vice. From such a private character, which still might be curbed by the authority and example of a father, what could be expected but tyranny and ♦oppression? Yet Titus became a model of virtue, and in an age and office in which others wish to gratify all their appetites, the emperor abandoned his usual profligacy, he forgot his debaucheries, and Berenice, whom he had loved with uncommon ardour, even to render himself despised by the Roman people, was dismissed from his presence. When raised to the throne, he thought himself bound to be the father of his people, the guardian of virtue, and the patron of liberty; and Titus is, perhaps, the only monarch who, when invested with uncontrollable power, bade adieu to those vices, those luxuries and indulgencies, which as a private man he never ceased to gratify. He was moderate in his entertainments, and though he often refused the donations which were due to sovereignty, no emperor was ever more generous and magnificent than Titus. All informers were banished from his presence, and even severely punished. A reform was made in the judicial proceedings, and trials were no longer permitted to be postponed for years. The public edifices were repaired, and baths were erected for the convenience of the people. Spectacles were exhibited, and the Roman populace were gratified with the sight of a naval combat in the ancient naumachia, and the sudden appearance of 5000 wild beasts brought into the circus for their amusement. To do good to his subjects was the ambition of Titus, and it was at the recollection that he had done no service, or granted no favour, one day, that he exclaimed in the memorable words of “My friends, I have lost a day!” A continual wish to be benevolent and kind, made him popular; and it will not be wondered, that he who could say that he had rather die himself, than be the cause of the destruction of one of his subjects, was called the love and delight of mankind. Two of the senators conspired against his life, but the emperor disregarded their attempts; he made them his friends by kindness, and, like another Nerva, presented them with a sword to destroy him. During his reign, Rome was three days on fire, the towns of Campania were destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius, and the empire was visited by a pestilence which carried away an infinite number of inhabitants. In this time of public calamity, the emperor’s benevolence and philanthropy were conspicuous. Titus comforted the afflicted as a father, he alleviated their distresses by his liberal bounties, and as if they were but one family, he exerted himself for the good and preservation of the whole. The Romans, however, had not long to enjoy the favours of this magnificent prince. Titus was taken ill, and as he retired into the country of the Sabines to his father’s house, his indisposition was increased by a burning fever. He lifted his eyes to heaven, and with modest submission complained of the severity of fate which removed him from the world when young, where he had been employed in making a grateful people happy. He died the 13th of September, A.D. 81, in the 41st year of his age, after a reign of two years, two months, and 20 days. The news of his death was received with lamentations; Rome was filled with tears, and all looked upon themselves as deprived of the most benevolent of fathers. After him Domitian ascended the throne, not without incurring the suspicion of having hastened his brother’s end, by ordering him to be placed, during his agony, in a tub full of snow, where he expired. Domitian has also been accused of raising commotions, and of making attempts to dethrone his brother; but Titus disregarded them, and forgave the offender. Some authors have reflected with severity upon the cruelties which Titus exercised against the Jews; but though certainly a disgrace to the benevolent features of his character, we must consider him as an instrument in the hands of Providence, exerted for the punishment of a wicked and infatuated people. Josephus, Jewish War, bk. 7, ch. 16, &c.—Suetonius.—Dio Cassius, &c.
♦ ‘oppresssion’ replaced with ‘oppression’
Titus Tatius, a king of the Sabines. See: Tatius.——Livius, a celebrated historian. See: Livius.——A son of Junius Brutus, put to death by order of his father, for conspiring to restore the Tarquins.——A friend of Coriolanus.——A native of Crotona, engaged in Catiline’s conspiracy.
Tīty̆rus, a shepherd introduced in Virgil’s eclogues, &c.——A large mountain of Crete.
Tityus, a celebrated giant, son of Terra; or, according to others, of Jupiter, by Elara the daughter of Orchomenos. He was of such a prodigious size, that his mother died in travail after Jupiter had drawn her from the bowels of the earth, where she had been concealed during her pregnancy to avoid the anger of Juno. Tityus attempted to offer violence to Latona, but the goddess delivered herself from his importunities, by calling to her assistance her children, who killed the giant with their arrows. He was placed in hell, where a serpent continually devoured his liver; or, according to others, where vultures perpetually fed upon his entrails, which grew again as soon as devoured. It is said that Tityus covered nine acres when stretched on the ground. He had a small chapel with an altar in the island of Eubœa. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 4.—Pindar, Pythian, ch. 4.—Homer, Odyssey, bk. 7, li. 325; bk. 11, li. 575.—Apollonius of Rhodes, bk. 1, li. 182, &c.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 525.—Horace, bk. 3, ode 4, li. 77.—Hyginus, fable 55.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, li. 457.—Tibullus, bk. 1, poem 3, li. 75.
Tium, or Tion, a maritime town of Paphlagonia, built by the Milesians. Mela, bk. 1, ch. 9.
Tlēpŏlemus, a son of Hercules and Astyochia, born at Argos. He left his native country after the accidental murder of Licymnius, and retired to Rhodes, by order of the oracle, where he was chosen king, as being one of the sons of Hercules. He went to the Trojan war with nine ships, and was killed by Sarpedon. There were some festivals established at Rhodes in his honour, called Tlepolemia, in which men and boys contended. The victors were rewarded with poplar crowns. Homer, Iliad.—Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.—Diodorus, bk. 5.—Hyginus, fable 97.——One of Alexander’s generals, who obtained Carmania at the general division of the Macedonian empire. Diodorus, bk. 18.——An Egyptian general, who flourished B.C. 207.
Tmarus, a Rutulian in the wars of Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 9, li. 685.——A mountain of Thesprotia, called Tomarus by Pliny.
Tmolus, a king of Lydia, who married Omphale, and was son of Sipylus and Chthonia. He offered violence to a young nymph called Arriphe, at the foot of Diana’s altar, for which impiety he was afterwards killed by a bull. The mountain on which he was buried bore his name. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 6.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11, fable 4.—Hyginus, fable 191.——A town of Asia Minor, destroyed by an earthquake.——A mountain of Lydia, now Bouzdag, on which the river Pactolus rises. The air was so wholesome near Tmolus, that the inhabitants generally lived to their 150th year. The neighbouring country was very fertile, and produced many vines, saffron, and odoriferous flowers. Strabo, bk. 13, &c.—Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 84, &c.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 2, &c.—Silius Italicus, bk. 7, li. 210.—Virgil, Georgics, bk. 1, li. 56; bk. 2, li. 98.
Togāta, an epithet applied to a certain part of Gaul where the inhabitants were distinguished by the peculiarity of their dress. See: Gallia.
Togonius Gallus, a senator of ignoble birth, devoted to the interest of Tiberius, whom he flattered, &c. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 6, ch. 2.
Tolbiacum, a town of Gallia Belgica, south of Juliers.
Tolenus, a river of Latium, now Salto, falling into the Velinus. Ovid, Fasti, bk. 9, li. 561.
Toletum, now Toledo, a town of Spain on the Tagus.
Tolistoboii, a people of Galatia in Asia, descended from the Boii of Gaul. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 32.—Livy, bk. 58, chs. 15 & 16.
Tollentīnum, a town of Picenum. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 13.
Tolmĭdes, an Athenian officer, defeated and killed in a battle in Bœotia, 477 B.C. Polyænus, bk. 7.
Tolōsa, now Toulouse, the capital of Languedoc, a town of Gallia Narbonensis, which became a Roman colony under Augustus, and was afterwards celebrated for the cultivation of the sciences. Minerva had there a rich temple, which Cæpio the consul plundered, and as he was never after fortunate, the words aurum Tolosanum became proverbial. Cæsar, Gallic War.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 5.—Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 3, ch. 20.
Tolumnus, an augur in the army of Turnus against Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 11, li. 429.——A king of Veii, killed by Cornelius Cossus after he had ordered the ambassadors of Rome to be assassinated. Livy, bk. 4, ch. 19.
Tolus, a man whose head was found in digging for the foundation of the capitol, in the reign of Tarquin, whence the Romans concluded that their city should become the head or mistress of the world.
Tomæum, a mountain of Peloponnesus. Thucydides.
Tomărus, or Tmarus. See: Tmarus.
Tomisa, a country between Cappadocia and Taurus. Strabo.
Tomos, or Tomi, a town situate on the western shore of the Euxine sea, about 36 miles from the mouth of the Danube. The word is derived from τεμνω, seco, because Medea, as it is said, cut to pieces the body of her brother Absyrtus there. It is celebrated as being the place where Ovid was banished by Augustus. Tomos was the capital of Lower Mœsia, founded by a Milesian colony, B.C. 633.—Strabo, bk. 7.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 2.—Ovid, ex Ponto, bk. 4, poem 14, li. 59; Tristia, bk. 3, poem 9, li. 33, &c.
Tomyris. See: Thomyris.
Tonea, a solemnity observed at Samos. It was usual to carry Juno’s statue to the sea-shore, and to offer cakes before it, and afterwards to replace it again in the temple. This was in commemoration of the theft of the Tyrrhenians, who attempted to carry away the statue of the goddess, but were detained in the harbour by an invisible force.
Tongillius, an avaricious lawyer, &c. Juvenal, satire 7, li. 130.
Topāzos, an island in the Arabian gulf, anciently called Ophiodes from the quantity of serpents that were there. The valuable stone called topaz is found there. Pliny, bk. 6, ch. 20.
Topiris, or Torpus, a town of Thrace.
Torĭni, a people of Scythia. Valerius Flaccus, bk. 6.
Torōne, a town of Macedonia. Livy, bk. 31, ch. 45.——Of Epirus.
Torquāta, one of the vestal virgins, daughter of Caius Silanus. She was a vestal for 64 years. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 3, ch. 69.
Torquātus, a surname of Titus Manlius. See: Manlius.——Silanus, an officer put to death by Nero.——A governor of Oricum, in the interest of Pompey. He surrendered to Julius Cæsar, and was killed in Africa. Hirtius, Africican War, ch. 96.——An officer in Sylla’s army.——A Roman sent ambassador to the court of Ptolemy Philometor of Egypt.
Tortor, a surname of Apollo. He had a statue at Rome under that name.
Torus, a mountain of Sicily, near Agrigentum.
Toryne, a small town near Actium. The word in the language of the country signifies a ladle, which gave Cleopatra occasion to make a pun when it fell into the hands of Augustus. Plutarch, Antonius.
Toxandri, a people of Gallia Belgica. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 7.
Toxaridia, a festival at Athens, in honour of Toxaris, a Scythian hero who died there.
Toxeus, a son of Œneus, killed by his father. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 8.
Toxicrăte, a daughter of Thespius.
Quintus Trabea, a comic poet at Rome, in the age of Regulus. Some fragments of his poetry remain. Cicero, Tusculanæ Disputationes, bk. 4, ch. 31; de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, bk. 2, ch. 4.
Trachălus Marcus Galerius, a consul in the reign of Nero, celebrated for his eloquence as an orator, and for a majestic and commanding aspect. Quintilian.—Tacitus.——One of the friends and ministers of Otho.
Trachas, a town of Latium. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 15, li. 717.
Trāchīnia, a small country of Phthiotis, on the bay of Malea, near mount Œta. The capital was called Trachis, or Trachina, where Hercules went after he had killed Eunomus. Strabo, bk. 9.—Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11, li. 269.
Trachonītis, a part of Judæa, on the other side of the Jordan. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 14.
Tragurium, a town of Dalmatia on the sea.
Tragus, a river of Arcadia, falling into the Alpheus. Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 33.
Trajanopŏlis, a town of Thrace.——A name given to Selinus of Cilicia, where Trajan died.
Trajānus Marcus Ulpius Crinītus, a Roman emperor, born at Italica in Spain. His great virtues, and his private as well as public character, and his services to the empire, both as an officer, a governor, and a consul, recommended him to the notice of Nerva, who solemnly adopted him as his son; invested him during his lifetime with the imperial purple, and gave him the name of Cæsar and of Germanicus. A little time after Nerva died, and the election of Trajan to the vacant throne was confirmed by the unanimous rejoicings of the people, and the free concurrence of the armies on the confines of Germany and the banks of the Danube. The noble and independent behaviour of Trajan evinced the propriety and goodness of Nerva’s choice, and the attachment of the legions; and the new emperor seemed calculated to ensure peace and domestic tranquillity to the extensive empire of Rome. All the actions of Trajan showed a good and benevolent prince, whose virtues truly merited the encomiums which the pen of an elegant and courteous panegyrist has paid. The barbarians continued quiet, and the hostilities which they generally displayed at the election of a new emperor whose military abilities they distrusted, were now few. Trajan, however, could not behold with satisfaction and unconcern the insolence of the Dacians, who claimed from the Roman people a tribute which the cowardice of Domitian had offered. The sudden appearance of the emperor on the frontiers awed the barbarians to peace; but Decebalus, their warlike monarch, soon began hostilities by violating the treaty. The emperor entered the enemy’s country, by throwing a bridge across the rapid stream of the Danube, and a battle was fought in which the slaughter was so great, that in the Roman camp linen was wanted to dress the wounds of the soldiers. Trajan obtained the victory, and Decebalus, despairing of success, destroyed himself, and Dacia became a province of Rome. That the ardour of the Roman soldiers in defeating their enemies might not cool, an expedition was undertaken into the east, and Parthia threatened with immediate war. Trajan passed through the submissive kingdom of Armenia, and, by his well-directed operations, made himself master of the provinces of Assyria and Mesopotamia. He extended his conquests in the east, he obtained victories over unknown nations; and when on the extremities of India, he lamented that he possessed not the vigour and youth of an Alexander, that he might add unexplored provinces and kingdoms to the Roman empire. These successes in different parts of the world gained applause, and the senators were profuse in the honours they decreed to the conqueror. This, however, was but the blaze of transient glory. Trajan had no sooner signified his intentions of returning to Italy, than the conquered barbarians appeared again in arms, and the Roman empire did not acquire one single acre of territory from the conquests of her sovereign in the east. The return of the emperor towards Rome was hastened by indisposition; he stopped in Cilicia, and in the town of Selinus, which afterwards was called Trajanopolis, he was seized with a flux, and a few days after expired, in the beginning of August, A.D. 117, after a reign of 19 years, six months, and 15 days, in the 64th year of his age. He was succeeded on the throne by Adrian, whom the empress Plotina introduced to the Roman armies, as the adopted son of her husband. The ashes of Trajan were carried to Rome, and deposited under the stately column which he had erected a few years before. Under this emperor the Romans enjoyed tranquillity, and for a moment supposed that their prosperity was complete under a good and virtuous sovereign. Trajan was fond of popularity, and he merited it. The sounding titles of Optimus, and the father of his country, were not unworthily bestowed upon a prince who was equal to the greatest generals of antiquity, and who, to indicate his affability, and his wish to listen to the just complaints of his subjects, distinguished his palace by the inscription of the public palace. Like other emperors, he did not receive with an air of unconcern the homage of his friends, but rose from his seat and went cordially to salute them. He refused the statues which the flattery of favourites wished to erect to him, and he ridiculed the follies of an enlightened nation, that could pay adoration to cold, inanimate pieces of marble. His public entry into Rome gained him the hearts of the people; he appeared on foot, and showed himself an enemy to parade and an ostentatious equipage. When in his camp, he exposed himself to the fatigues of war, like the meanest soldier, and crossed the most barren deserts and extensive plains on foot, and in his dress and food displayed all the simplicity which once gained the approbation of the Romans in their countryman Fabricius. All the oldest soldiers he knew by their own name; he conversed with them with great familiarity, and never retired to his tent before he had visited the camp, and by a personal attendance convinced himself of the vigilance and the security of his army. As a friend he was not less distinguished than as a general. He had a select number of intimates, whom he visited with freedom and openness, and at whose tables he partook many a moderate repast without form or ceremony. His confidence, however, in the good intentions of others, was, perhaps, carried to excess. His favourite Sura had once been accused of attempts upon his life, but Trajan disregarded the informer, and as he was that same day invited to the house of the supposed conspirator, he went thither early. To try further the sincerity of Sura, he ordered himself to be shaved by his barber, to have a medicinal application made to his eyes by the hand of his surgeon, and to bathe together with him. The public works of Trajan are also celebrated; he opened free and easy communications between the cities of his provinces, he planted many colonies, and furnished Rome with all the corn and provisions which could prevent a famine in the time of calamity. It was by his directions that the architect Apollodorus built that celebrated column which is still to be seen at Rome, under the name of Trajan’s column. The area on which it stands was made by the labours of men, and the height of the pillar proves that a large hill, 144 feet high, was removed at a great expense, A.D. 114, to commemorate the victories of the reigning prince. His persecutions of the christians were stopped by the interference of the humane Pliny, but he was unusually severe upon the Jews, who had barbarously murdered 200,000 of his subjects, and even fed upon the flesh of the dead. His vices have been obscurely seen through a reign of continued splendour and popularity, yet he is accused of incontinence and many unnatural indulgencies. He was too much addicted to drinking, and his wish to be styled lord has been censured by those who admired the dissimulated moderation and the modest claims of an Augustus. Pliny, Panegyrics, &c.—Dio Cassius.—Eutropius.—Ammianus.—Spartian.—Josephus, Jewish Wars.—Aurelius Victor.——The father of the emperor, who likewise bore the name of Trajan, was honoured with the consulship and a triumph, and the rank of a patrician by the emperor Vespasian.——A general of the emperor Valens.——A son of the emperor Decius.
Trajectus Rheni, now Utrecht, the capital of one of the provinces of Holland.
Tralles, a town of Lydia, now Sultanhisar. Juvenal, satire 3, li. 70.—Livy, bk. 37, ch. 45.——A people of Illyricum.
Transtiberīna, a part of the city of Rome, on one side of the Tiber. Mount Vatican was in that part of the city. Martial, bk. 1, ltr. 109.
Trapēzus, a city of Pontus, built by the people of Sinope, now called Trebizond. It had a celebrated harbour on the Euxine sea, and became famous under the emperors of the eastern empire, of which it was for some time the magnificent capital. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 3, ch. 47.—Pliny, bk. 6, ch. 4.——A town of Arcadia near the Alpheus. It received its name from a son of Lycaon. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 8.
Trasimenus. See: Thrasymenus.
Trasullus, a man who taught Tiberius astrology at Rhodes, &c.
Traulus Montānus, a Roman knight, one of Messalina’s favourites, put to death by Claudius. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 11, ch. 36.
Treba, a town of the Æqui. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 12.
Caius Trebātius Testas, a man banished by Julius Cæsar for following the interest of Pompey, and recalled by the eloquence of Cicero. He was afterwards reconciled to Cæsar. Trebatius was not less distinguished for his learning than for his integrity, his military experience, and knowledge of law. He wrote nine books on religious ceremonies, and treatises on civil law; and the verses that he composed proved him a poet of no inferior consequence. Horace, bk. 2, satire 1, li. 4.
Trebelliānus Caius Annius, a pirate who proclaimed himself emperor of Rome, A.D. 264. He was defeated and slain in Isauria, by the lieutenants of Gallienus.
Trebelliēnus Rufus, a pretor appointed governor of the children of king Cotys, by Tiberius.——A tribune who opposed the Gabinian law.——A Roman who numbered the inhabitants of Gaul. He was made governor of Britain. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 6, ch. 39.
Trebellius Pollio, a Latin historian, who wrote an account of the lives of the emperors. The beginning of this history is lost; part of the reign of Valerian, and the life of the two Gallieni, with the 30 tyrants, are the only fragments remaining. He flourished A.D. 305.
Trĕbia, a river of Cisalpine Gaul, rising in the Apennines, and falling into the Po, at the west of Placentia. It is celebrated for the victory which Annibal obtained there over the forces of Lucius Sempronius the Roman consul. Silius Italicus, bk. 4, li. 486.—Lucan, bk. 2, li. 46.—Livy, bk. 21, chs. 54 & 56.——A town of Latium. Livy, bk. 2, ch. 39.——Of Campania. Livy, bk. 23, ch. 14.——Of Umbria. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 14.
Trebius, an officer in Cæsar’s army in Gaul.——A parasite in Domitian’s reign. Juvenal, satire 4.
Trĕbōnia lex, de provinciis, by Lucius Trebonius the tribune, A.U.C. 698. It gave Cæsar the chief command in Gaul for five years longer than was enacted by the Vatinian law, and in this manner prevented the senators from recalling or superseding him.——Another, by the same, on the same year, conferred the command of the provinces of Syria and Spain on Cassius and Pompey for five years. Dio Cassius, bk. 39.——Another, by Lucius Trebonius the tribune, A.U.C. 305, which confirmed the election of the tribunes in the hands of the Roman people. Livy, bks. 3 & 5.
Trĕbōnius, a soldier remarkable for his continence, &c.——Caius, one of Cæsar’s friends, made through his interest pretor and consul. He was afterwards one of his benefactor’s murderers. He was killed by Dolabella at Smyrna. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 5, ch. 17.—Cicero, Philippics, bk. 11, ch. 2.—Paterculus, bks. 56 & 69.—Livy, bk. 119.—Dio Cassius, bk. 47.—Horace, bk. 1, satire 4, li. 14.——Garucianus, a governor of Africa, who put to death the proconsul Clodius Macer, by Galba’s orders. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 1, ch. 7.——A tribune who proposed a law at Rome, and imprisoned Cato, because he opposed it.——One of the adherents of Marius.——A man caught in adultery, and severely punished in the age of Horace.
Trebŭla, a town of the Sabines, celebrated for cheese. The inhabitants were called Trebulani. Cicero, On the Agrarian Law, bk. 2, ch. 25.—Livy, bk. 23.—Pliny, bk. 3, chs. 5 & 12.—Martial, bk. 5, ltr. 72.——Another, in Campania. Livy, bk. 23, ch. 39.
Trerus, a river of Latium, falling into the Liris.
Tres Tabernæ, a place on the Appian road, where travellers took refreshment. Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 1, ltr. 13; bk. 2, ltrs. 10 & 11.
Trevĕri, a town and people of Belgium, now called Triers. Mela, bk. 3, ch. 2.
Triaria, a woman well known for her cruelty. She was the wife of Lucius Vitellius. Tacitus, Histories, bks. 1 & 3.
Caius Triarius, an orator commended by Cicero.——A friend of Pompey. He had for some time the care of the war in Asia against Mithridates, whom he defeated, and by whom he was afterwards beaten. He was killed in the civil wars of Pompey and Cæsar. Cæsar, Civil War, bk. 3, ch. 5.
Triballi, a people of Thrace, or, according to some, of Lower Mœsia. They were conquered by Philip the father of Alexander; and some ages after, they maintained a long war against the Roman emperors. Pliny.
Triboci, a people of Alsace in Gaul. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 28.
Tribulium, a town of Dalmatia.
Tribūni Plebis, magistrates at Rome, created in the year ♦A.U.C. 261, when the people after a quarrel with the senators had retired to Mons Sacer. The two first were Caius Licinius and Lucius Albinius, but their number was soon after raised to five, and 37 years after to 10, which remained fixed. Their office was annual, and as the first had been created on the 4th of the ides of December, that day was ever after chosen for the election. Their power, though at first small, and granted by the patricians to appease the momentary seditions of the populace, soon became formidable, and the senators repented too late of having consented to elect magistrates, who not only preserved the rights of the people, but could summon assemblies, propose laws, stop the consultations of the senate, and even abolish their decrees by the word Veto. Their approbation was also necessary to confirm the senatus consulta, and this was done by affixing the letter T under it. If any irregularity happened in the state, their power was almost absolute; they criticized the conduct of all the public magistrates, and even dragged a consul to prison, if the measures he pursued were hostile to the peace of Rome. The dictator alone was their superior, but when that magistrate was elected, the office of tribune was not, like that of all other inferior magistrates, abolished while he continued at the head of the state. The people paid them so much deference, that their person was held sacred, and thence they were always called Sacrosancti. To strike them was a capital crime, and to interrupt them while they spoke in the assemblies, called for the immediate interference of power. The marks by which they were distinguished from other magistrates were not very conspicuous. They wore no particular dress, only a beadle called viator marched before them. They never sat in the senate, though, some time after, their office entitled them to the rank of senators. Yet, great as their power might appear, they received a heavy wound from their number, and as their consultations and resolutions were of no effect if they were not all unanimous, the senate often took advantage of their avarice, and by gaining one of them by bribes, they, as it were, suspended the authority of the rest. The office of tribune of the people, though at first deemed mean and servile, was afterwards one of the first steps that led to more honourable employments, and as no patrician was permitted to canvass for the tribuneship, we find many that descended among the plebeians to exercise that important office. From the power with which they were at last invested by the activity, the intrigues, and continual applications of those who were in office, they became almost absolute in the state, and it has been properly observed, that they caused far greater troubles than those which they were at first created to silence. Sylla, when raised to the dictatorship, gave a fatal blow to the authority of the tribunes, and by one of his decrees, they were no longer permitted to harangue and inflame the people; they could make no laws; no appeal lay to their tribunal; and such as had been tribunes were not permitted to solicit for the other offices of the state. This disgrace, however, was but momentary; at the death of the tyrant the tribunes recovered their privileges by means of Cotta and Pompey the Great. The office of tribune remained in full force till the age of Augustus, who, to make himself more absolute, and his person sacred, conferred the power and office upon himself, whence he was called tribunitiâ potestate donatus. His successors on the throne imitated his example, and as the emperor was the real and official tribune, such as were appointed to the office were merely nominal without power or privilege. Under Constantine the tribuneship was totally abolished. The tribunes were never permitted to sleep out of the city, except at the Feriæ Latinæ, when they went with other magistrates to offer sacrifices upon a mountain near Alba. Their houses were always open, and they received every complaint, and were ever ready to redress the wrongs of their constituents. Their authority was not extended beyond the walls of the city.——There were also other officers who bore the name of tribunes, such as the tribuni militum or militares, who commanded a division of the legions. They were empowered to decide all quarrels that might arise in the army; they took care of the camp, and gave the watchword. There were only three at first, chosen by Romulus, but the number was at last increased to six in every legion. After the expulsion of the Tarquins, they were chosen by the consuls; but afterwards the right of electing them was divided between the people and the consuls. They were generally of senatorian and equestrian families, and the former were called laticlavii, and the latter angusticlavii, from their peculiar dress. Those that were chosen by the consuls were called Rutuli, because the right of the consuls to elect them was confirmed by Rutulus, and those elected by the people were called Comitiati, because chosen in the Comitia. They wore a golden ring, and were in office no longer than six months. When the consuls were elected, it was usual to choose 14 tribunes from the knights, who had served five years in the army, and who were called juniores, and 10 from the people who had been in 10 campaigns, who were called seniores.——There were also some officers called tribuni militum consulari potestate, elected instead of consuls, A.U.C. 310. They were only three originally, but the number was afterwards increased to six or more, according to the will and pleasure of the people and the emergencies of the state. Part of them were plebeians, and the rest of patrician families. When they had subsisted for about 70 years, not without some interruption, the office was totally abolished, as the plebeians were admitted to share the consulship, and the consuls continued at the head of the state till the end of the commonwealth.——The tribuni cohortium prætorianarum were entrusted with the person of the emperor, which they guarded and protected.——The tribuni ærarii were officers chosen from among the people, who kept the money which was to be applied to defray the expenses of the army. The richest persons were always chosen, as much money was requisite for the pay of the soldiers. They were greatly distinguished in the state, and they shared with the senators and Roman knights the privileges of judging. They were abolished by Julius Cæsar, but Augustus re-established them, and created 200 more, to decide causes of smaller importance.——The tribuni celerum had the command of the guard which Romulus chose for the safety of his person. They were 100 in number, distinguished for their probity, their opulence, and their nobility.——The tribuni voluptatum were commissioned to take care of the amusements which were prepared for the people, and that nothing might be wanting in the exhibitions. This office was also honourable.