Part 10

=Prome´theus.= A son of Iapetus and Clymene, one of the Oceanides. He ridiculed the gods and deceived Jupiter himself, who, to punish him and the rest of mankind, took fire away from the earth; but Prometheus climbed the heavens by the assistance of Minerva, and stole fire from the chariot of the sun, which he brought down to the earth. This provoked Jupiter, and he ordered Prometheus to be chained to a rock, where a vulture was to feed on his liver, which was never exhausted. He was delivered from his torture by Hercules, who killed the vulture.

=Proper´tius, Sex´tus Aure´lius.= A Latin poet born in Umbria. He came to Rome, where his genius greatly recommended him to the great and powerful. His works consist of four books of elegies which are marked by much ability. He died about nineteen years B.C.

=Proser´pina=, a daughter of Ceres and Jupiter, called by the Greeks Persephone. As she was gathering flowers Pluto carried her off to the infernal regions, where he married her. Ceres, having learnt that her daughter had been carried away by Pluto, demanded of Jupiter that Pluto should be punished. As queen of hell, Proserpine presided over the death of mankind. She was known by the names of Hecate, Juno Inferna, Libitina, and several others.

=Protag´oras.= A Greek philosopher of Abdera in Thrace. He wrote a book in which he denied the existence of a Supreme Being, which book was publicly burnt at Athens, and its author was banished from the city.

=Pro´tesila´us.= A king of part of Thessaly, who married Laodamia, and shortly afterwards went to the Trojan war. He was the first of the Greeks who entered the Trojan domain, and on that account, in accordance with the prediction of the oracle, was killed by his countrymen.

=Pro´teus.= A sea deity, son of Oceanus and Tethys, or, according to some writers, of Neptune and Phenice. He had received the gift of prophecy from Neptune, but when consulted he often refused to give answers, and puzzled those who consulted him by assuming different shapes.

=Psy´che.= A nymph who married Cupid. Venus put her to death because of this, but Jupiter, at the request of Cupid, granted immortality to her.

=Ptolemæ´us= First, called Ptolemy, surnamed Lagus. A king of Egypt, son of Arsinoe and Lagus. He was educated in the court of the king of Macedonia, and when Alexander invaded Asia Ptolemy attended him. After Alexander's death Ptolemy obtained the government of Egypt, where he gained the esteem of the people by acts of kindness. He made himself master of Phoenicia and Syria, and rendered assistance to the people of Rhodes against their enemies, for which he received the name of _Soter_. He laid the foundation of a library, which became the most celebrated in the world. He died in his eighty-fourth year, about 284 years B.C. He was succeeded by his son, Ptolemy Philadelphus, who showed himself to be a worthy successor of his father. His palace was an asylum for learned men, and he greatly increased the library his father had founded. Ptolemy Third succeeded his father Philadelphus on the Egyptian throne. He conquered Syria and Cilicia, and returned home laden with spoils. He was, like his predecessors, a patron of learning and the arts. Ptolemy Fourth, called Philopater, succeeded to the throne, his reign being marked by acts of cruelty and oppression. He died in his thirty-seventh year, after a reign of seventeen years, 204 years B.C. Numerous members of this celebrated family in succession occupied the throne, not, however, approaching to the greatness of the founders of the family.

=Ptolemæ´us.= A celebrated geographer and astronomer in the reign of Adrian and Antoninus. He was a native of Alexandria, or, as some say, of Pelusium. In his system of the world, designated the Ptolemaic system, he places the earth in the center of the universe, which was generally received as correct till it was confuted by Copernicus.

=Pyr´rhus.= A famous king of Epirus, son of Æacides and Phthia. He is celebrated for his military talents; and not only his friends, but his enemies, have been warm in extolling him. He is said to have had no superior in the art of war. He wrote several books on encampments and the ways of training an army. He fought against the Romans with much valor, and they passed encomiums on his great military skill. He was killed in an attack on Argos, by a tile thrown on his head from a housetop.

=Pyr´rhus.= See NEOPTOLEMUS.

=Pythag´oras.= A celebrated philosopher born at Samos. He first made himself known in Greece at the Olympic games, where, when he was eighteen years old, he obtained the prize for wrestling. He also distinguished himself by his discoveries in geometry, astronomy, and mathematics. He was the first who supported the doctrine of metempsychosis, or transmigration of the soul into different bodies. He believed that the universe was created from a shapeless mass of passive matter by the hands of a powerful Being, who was the mover and soul of the world, and of whose substance the souls of mankind were a portion. The time and place of death of this great philosopher are unknown, but some suppose that he died at Metapontum about 497 years B.C.

=Py´thon.= A celebrated serpent sprung from the mud and stagnated waters which remained on the surface of the earth after the deluge of Deucalion. Apollo killed the monster.

=Quintilia´nus, Mar´cus Fa´bius=, a celebrated rhetorician, born in Spain. He opened a school of rhetoric at Rome, and was the first who obtained a salary from the State as a public teacher. He died A.D. 95.

=Quin´tus Cur´tius Ru´fus.= A Latin historian supposed to have lived in the reign of Vespasian. He wrote a history of the reign of Alexander the Great. This work is admired for the elegance of its diction.

=Regil´lus.= A small lake in Latium, famous as being the scene of a great Roman victory, which forms the subject of a fine poem by Lord Macaulay, called "The Battle of the Lake Regillus," included in his "Lays of Ancient Rome."

=Reg´ulus, M. Attil´ius.= A consul during the first Punic war. He reduced Brundusium, and in his second consulship he captured a great portion of the Carthaginian fleet. After further successes he was taken prisoner by the Carthaginians, who put him to death with refined tortures.

=Rhadaman´thus.= A son of Jupiter and Europa. He reigned in the Cyclades, where his rule was characterized by marked justice and impartiality.

=Rom´ulus.= According to tradition the founder of Rome. He was a son of Mars and Ilia, and was twin brother of Remus. The twins were thrown into the Tiber, but were saved and suckled by a she-wolf till they were found by Fautulus, a shepherd, who brought them up. Disputes arising between the brothers in reference to the building of the city, Romulus caused Remus to be slain.

=Ros´cius.= A celebrated Roman actor. He died about 60 years B.C.

=Ru´bicon.= A small river in Italy. By crossing it, and thus transgressing the boundaries of his province, Cæsar declared war against the senate and Pompey. "Passing the Rubicon" has become a proverbial expression, indicating an irrevocable step taken in any weighty matter.

=Sa´cra, Vi´a.= An important street in Rome, where a treaty of peace was made between Romulus and Tatius.

=Sal´amis.= An island of Attica celebrated for a battle fought there between the fleets of the Greeks and the Persians, in which the latter suffered defeat.

=Sallus´tius Cris´pus.= A celebrated Latin historian. He wrote a history of the Catalinian conspiracy, and died thirty-five years before the Christian era.

=Sanchoni´athon.= A Phoenician historian born at Berytus, or, as some say, at Tyre. He lived a few years before the Trojan war; and wrote on the antiquities of Phoenicia.

=Sa´por.= A king of Persia, who succeeded to the throne about the 238th year of the Christian era. He wished to increase his dominions by conquest, but was defeated by Odenatus, who defeated his army with great slaughter. He was assassinated A.D. 273.

=Sa´por.= The second king of Persia of that name. He fought against the Romans, and obtained several victories over them. Died A.D. 380.

=Sap´pho=, celebrated for her beauty and poetical talents, was born at Lesbos about 600 years before Christ. She became enamored with Phaon, a youth of Mitylene, but he not reciprocating her passion, she threw herself into the sea from the rock of Leucadia.

=Sardanapa´lus.= The last king of Assyria, celebrated for his luxury and indolence. His effeminacy induced his subjects to conspire against him with success, on which he set fire to his palace and perished in the flames, B.C. 820.

=Satur´nus.= The son of Coelus, or Uranus, by Terra. It was customary to offer human victims on his altars till this custom was abolished by Hercules. He is generally represented as an old man bent with age, and holding a scythe in his right hand.

=Sat´yri.= Demigods whose origin is unknown. They had the feet and legs of a goat, their body bearing the human form.

=Scævola, Mu´tius=, surnamed Cordus, was famous for his courage. He attempted to assassinate Porsenna, but was seized; and to show his fortitude when confronted with Porsenna, he thrust his hand into the fire, on which the king pardoned him.

=Scip´io.= The name of a celebrated family at Rome, the most conspicuous of which was Publius Cornelius, afterwards called Africanus. He was the son of Publius Scipio, and commanded an army against the Carthaginians. After obtaining some victories he encountered Hannibal at the famous battle of Zama, in which he obtained a decisive victory. He died about 184 years before Christ, in his forty-eighth year.

=Scip´io, Lu´cius Corne´lius=, surnamed Asiaticus, accompanied his brother Africanus in his expedition in Africa. He was made consul A.U.C. 562, and sent to attack Antiochus, king of Syria, whom he completely routed. He was accused of receiving bribes of Antiochus, and was condemned to pay large fines which reduced him to poverty.

=Scip´io, P. Æmilia´nus.= Called Africanus the younger. He finished the war with Carthage, the total submission of which occurred B.C. 147. The captive city was set on fire, and Scipio was said to have wept bitterly over the melancholy scene. On his return to Rome he was appointed to conclude the war against Numantia, the fall of which soon occurred, and Scipio had Numantinus added to his name. He was found dead in his bed, and was presumed to have been strangled, B.C. 128.

=Sem´ele.= A daughter of Cadmus and Hermione, the daughter of Mars and Venus. She was the mother of Bacchus. After death she was made immortal under the name of Thyone.

=Semir´amis.= A celebrated queen of Assyria, who married the governor of Nineveh, and at his death she became the wife of King Ninus. She caused many improvements to be effected in her kingdom, as well as distinguishing herself as a warrior. She is supposed to have lived 1965 years before the Christian era.

=Sen´eca, L. Annæ´us=, at an early period of his life, was distinguished by his talents. He became preceptor to Nero, in which capacity he gained general approbation. The tyrant, however, determined to put him to death, and he chose to have his veins opened in a hot bath, but death not ensuing, he swallowed poison, and was eventually suffocated by the soldiers who were in attendance. This occurred in his fifty-third year, and in the sixty-fifth of the Christian era. His works, which were numerous, were chiefly on moral subjects.

=Sera´pis.= One of the Egyptian deities, supposed to be the same as Osiris. He had a magnificent temple at Memphis, another at Alexandria, and a third at Canopus.

=Sesos´tris.= A celebrated king of Egypt, who lived long prior to the Trojan war. He was ambitious of military fame, and achieved many conquests. On his return from his victories he employed himself in encouraging the fine arts. He destroyed himself after a reign of forty-four years.

=Seve´rus, Lu´cius Septim´ius.= A Roman emperor, born in Africa, noticeable for his ambition. He invaded Britain, and built a wall in the north as a check to the incursions of the Caledonians. He died at York in the 211th year of the Christian era.

=Sile´nus.= A demigod, who is represented generally as a fat old man riding on an ass, with flowers crowning his head.

=Sil´ius Ital´icus, C.= A Latin poet who retired from the bar to consecrate his time to study. He imitated Virgil, but with little success. His poetry, however, is commended for its purity.

=Simon´ides.= A celebrated poet of Cos, who lived B.C. 538 years. He wrote elegies, epigrams, and dramatic pieces, esteemed for their beauty.

=Sire´nes.= The Sirens. They lured to destruction those who listened to their songs. When Ulysses sailed past their island he stopped the ears of his companions with wax, and had himself tied to the mast of his ship. Thus he passed with safety, and the Sirens, disappointed of their prey, drowned themselves.

=Sis´yphus.= Son of Æolus and Enaretta. After death he was condemned, in the infernal regions, to roll a stone to the summit of a hill, which always rolled back, and rendered his punishment eternal.

=Soc´rates.= The most celebrated philosopher of antiquity, born near Athens, whose virtues rendered his name venerated. His independence of spirit created for him many enemies, and he was accused of making innovations in the religion of the Greeks. He was condemned to death by drinking hemlock, and expired a few moments after imbibing the poison, in his seventieth year, B.C. 400. His wife was Xanthippe, remarkable for her shrewish disposition, for which her name has become proverbial.

=So´lon=, one of the wise men of Greece, was born at Salamis, and educated at Athens. After traveling over Greece he returned, and was elected archon and sovereign legislator, in which capacity he effected numerous reforms in the state, binding the Athenians by a solemn oath to observe the laws he enacted for one hundred years. After this he visited Egypt, and on returning to Athens after ten years' absence, he found most of his regulations disregarded by his countrymen. On this he retired to Cyprus, where he died in his eightieth year, 558 years before the Christian era.

=Som´nus=, son of Nox and Erebus, was one of the infernal deities and presided over sleep.

=Soph´ocles.= A celebrated tragic poet of Athens. He was distinguished also as a statesman, and exercised the office of archon with credit and honor. He wrote for the stage, and obtained the poetical prize on twenty different occasions. He was the rival of Euripides for public applause, each having his admirers. He died at the age of ninety-one, 406 years before Christ.

=Sophonis´ba.= A daughter of Hasdrubal, the Carthaginian, celebrated for her beauty. She married Syphax, prince of Numidia, and when he was conquered by the Romans she became a captive to their ally, the Numidian general Masinissa, whom she married. This displeased the Romans, and Scipio ordered Masinissa to separate from Sophonisba, and she, urged to this by Masinissa, took poison, about 203 years before Christ.

=Soz´omen.= A historian who died 450 A.D. He wrote an important work on ecclesiastical history.

=Sphinx.= A monster, having the head and breasts of a woman, the body of a dog, the tail of a serpent, the wings of a bird, and the paws of a lion. The Sphinx was sent into the neighborhood of Thebes by Juno, where she propounded enigmas, devouring those who were unable to solve them. One of the riddles proposed was--What animal walked on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening? OEdipus solved it, giving as the meaning--A man, who when an infant crawled on his hands and feet, walking erect in manhood, and in the evening of life supporting himself with a stick. On hearing the solution the Sphinx destroyed herself.

=Stagi´ra.= A town on the borders of Macedonia, where Aristotle was born; hence he is called the Stagirite.

=Sta´tius, P. Papin´us.= A poet, born at Naples in the reign of Domitian. He was the author of two epic poems, the Thebais, in twelve books, and the Achilleis, in two books.

=Sten´tor.= One of the Greeks who went to the Trojan war. He was noted for the loudness of his voice, and from him the term "stentorian" has become proverbial.

=Sto´ici.= A celebrated sect of philosophers founded by Zeno. They preferred virtue to all other things, and regarded everything opposed to it as an evil.

=Stra´bo.= A celebrated geographer, born at Amasia, on the borders of Cappadocia. He flourished in the age of Augustus. His work on geography consists of seventeen books, and is admired for its purity of diction.

=Styx.= A celebrated river of the infernal regions. The gods held it in such veneration that they always swore by it, the oath being inviolable.

=Sueto´nius, C. Tranquil´lus.= A Latin historian who became secretary to Adrian. His best known work is his Lives of the Cæsars.

=Sul´la.= See SYLLA.

=Syb´aris.= A town on the bay of Tarentum. Its inhabitants were distinguished by their love of ease and pleasure, hence the term "Sybarite."

=Syl´la= (or =Sulla=), =L. Corne´lius=. A celebrated Roman, of a noble family, who rendered himself conspicuous in military affairs; and became antagonistic to Marius. In the zenith of his power he was guilty of the greatest cruelty. His character is that of an ambitious, tyrannical, and resolute commander. He died about seventy years before Christ, aged sixty.

=Sy´phax.= A king of the Masæsyllii in Numidia, who married Sophonisba, the daughter of Hasdrubal. He joined the Carthaginians against the Romans, and was taken by Scipio as a prisoner to Rome, where he died in prison.

=Tac´itus, C. Corne´lius.= A celebrated Latin historian, born in the reign of Nero. Of all his works the "Annals" is the most extensive and complete. His style is marked by force, precision, and dignity, and his Latin is remarkable for being pure and classical.

=Tac´itus, M. Clau´dius.= A Roman, elected emperor by the Senate when he was seventy years of age. He displayed military vigor, and as a ruler was a pattern of economy and moderation. He died in the 276th year of the Christian era.

=Tan´talus.= A king of Lydia, father of Niobe and Pelops. He is represented by the poets as being, in the infernal regions, placed in a pool of water which flowed from him whenever he attempted to drink, thus causing him to suffer perpetual thirst; hence the origin of the term "tantalizing."

=Tarquin´ius Pris´cus=, the fifth king of Rome, was son of Demaratus, a native of Greece. He exhibited military talents in the victories he gained over the Sabines. During peace he devoted attention to the improvement of the capital. He was assassinated in his eightieth year, 578 years B.C.

=Tarquin´ius Super´bus.= He ascended the throne of Rome after Servius Tullius, whom he murdered, and married his daughter Tullia. His reign was characterized by tyranny, and eventually he was expelled from Rome, surviving his disgrace for fourteen years, and dying in his ninetieth year.

=Tar´tarus.= One of the regions of hell, where, according to Virgil, the souls of those who were exceptionally depraved were punished.

=Telem´achus.= Son of Penelope and Ulysses. At the end of the Trojan war he went in search of his father, whom, with the aid of Minerva, he found. Aided by Ulysses he delivered his mother from the suitors that beset her.

=Tem´pe.= A valley in Thessaly through which the river Peneus flows into the Ægean. It is described by the poets as one of the most delightful places in the world.

=Teren´tius Pub´lius= (=Terence=). A native of Africa, celebrated for the comedies he wrote. He was twenty-five years old when his first play was produced on the Roman stage. Terence is admired for the purity of his language and the elegance of his diction. He is supposed to have been drowned in a storm about 159 B.C.

=Te´reus.= A king of Thrace who married Procne, daughter of Pandion, king of Athens. He aided Pandion in a war against Megara.

=Terpsich´ore.= One of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She presided over dancing.

=Tertullia´nus, J. Septim´ius Flor´ens.= A celebrated Christian writer of Carthage, who lived A.D. 196. He was originally a Pagan, but embraced Christianity, of which faith he became an able advocate.

=Tha´is.= A celebrated woman of Athens, who accompanied Alexander the Great in his Asiatic conquests.

=Tha´les.= One of the seven wise men of Greece, born at Miletus in Ionia. His discoveries in astronomy were great, and he was the first who calculated with accuracy a solar eclipse. He died about 548 years before the Christian era.

=Thali´a.= One of the Muses. She presided over festivals and comic poetry.

=Themis´tocles.= A celebrated general born at Athens. When Xerxes invaded Greece, Themistocles was intrusted with the care of the fleet, and at the famous battle of Salamis, fought B.C. 480, the Greeks, instigated to fight by Themistocles, obtained a complete victory over the formidable navy of Xerxes. He died in the sixty-fifth year of his age, having, as some writers affirm, poisoned himself by drinking bull's blood.

=Theoc´ritus.= A Greek poet who lived at Syracuse in Sicily, 282 B.C. He distinguished himself by his poetical compositions, of which some are extant.

=Theodo´sius, Fla´vius.= A Roman emperor surnamed _Magnus_ from the greatness of his exploits. The first years of his reign were marked by conquests over the Barbarians. In his private character Theodosius was an example of temperance. He died in his sixtieth year, A.D. 395, after a reign of sixteen years.

=Theodo´sius Second= became emperor of the Western Roman empire at an early age. His territories were invaded by the Persians, but on his appearance at the head of a large force they fled, losing a great number of their army in the Euphrates. Theodosius was a warm advocate of the Christian religion. He died, aged forty-nine, A.D. 450.

=Theophras´tus.= A native of Lesbos. Diogenes enumerates the titles of more than 200 treatises which he wrote. He died in his 107th year, B.C. 288.

=Thermop´ylæ.= A narrow Pass leading from Thessaly into Locris and Phocis, celebrated for a battle fought there, B.C. 480, between Xerxes and the Greeks, in which three hundred Spartans, commanded by Leonidas, resisted for three successive days an enormous Persian army.

=Thersi´tes.= A deformed Greek, in the Trojan war, who indulged in ridicule against Ulysses and others. Achilles killed him because he laughed at his grief for the death of Penthesilea. Shakspeare, who introduced Thersites in his play of "Troilus and Cressida," describes him as "a deformed and scurrilous Grecian."

=The´seus=, king of Athens and son of Ægeus by Æthra, was one of the most celebrated heroes of antiquity. He caught the bull of Marathon and sacrificed it to Minerva. After this he went to Crete amongst the seven youths sent yearly by the Athenians to be devoured by the Minotaur, and by the aid of Ariadne he slew the monster. He ascended his father's throne B.C. 1235. Pirithous, king of the Lapithæ, invaded his territories, but the two became firm friends. They descended into the infernal regions to carry off Proserpine, but their intentions were frustrated by Pluto. After remaining for some time in the infernal regions, Theseus returned to his kingdom to find the throne filled by an usurper, whom he vainly tried to eject. He retired to Scyros, where he was killed by a fall from a precipice.

=Thes´pis.= A Greek poet of Attica, supposed to be the inventor of tragedy, B.C. 536. He went from place to place upon a cart, on which he gave performances. Hence the term "Thespians" as applied to wandering actors.

=The´tis.= A sea deity, daughter of Nereus and Doris. She married Peleus, their son being Achilles, whom she plunged into the Styx, thus rendering him invulnerable in every part of his body except the heel by which she held him.