Part 3

=Cæ´sar.= A surname given to the Julian family in Rome. This name, after it had been dignified in the person of Julius Cæsar and his successors, was given to the apparent heir of the empire in the age of the Roman emperors. The first twelve emperors were distinguished by the name of Cæsar. They reigned in this order--Julius Cæsar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. Suetonius has written an exhaustive history of the Cæsars. C. Julius Cæsar, the first emperor of Rome, was son of L. Cæsar and Aurelia, the daughter of Cotta. He was descended, according to some accounts, from Julus, the son of Æneas. His eloquence procured him friends at Rome, and the generous manner in which he lived equally served to promote his interest. He was appointed for five years over the Gauls. Here he enlarged the boundaries of the Roman empire by conquest, and invaded Britain, which till then was unknown to the Romans. The corrupt state of the Roman senate, and the ambition of Cæsar and Pompey, caused a civil war. Neither of these celebrated Romans would endure a superior, and the smallest matters were grounds enough for unsheathing the sword. By the influence of Pompey a decree was passed to strip Cæsar of his power. Antony, as tribune, opposed this, and went to Cæsar's camp with the news. On this Cæsar crossed the Rubicon, which was the boundary of his province. The passage of the Rubicon was a declaration of war, and Cæsar entered Italy with his army. Upon this Pompey left Rome and retired to Dyrrachium, and Cæsar shortly afterwards entered Rome. He then went to Spain, where he conquered the partisans of Pompey, and on his return to Rome was declared dictator, and soon afterwards consul. The two hostile generals met in the plains of Pharsalia, and a great battle ensued B.C. 48. Pompey was defeated and fled to Egypt, where he was slain. At length Cæsar's glory came to an end. Enemies had sprung up around him, and a conspiracy, consisting of many influential Romans, was formed against him. Conspicuous among the conspirators was Brutus, his most intimate friend, who, with others, assassinated him in the senate house in the ides of March, B.C. 44, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. He wrote his Commentaries on the Gallic wars when the battles were fought. This work is admired for its elegance and purity of style. It was after his conquest over Pharnaces, king of Pontus, that he made use of the words, which have since become proverbial, _Veni, vidi, vici_, illustrative of the activity of his operations. Shakspeare's tragedy of Julius Cæsar, in the third act of which he is assassinated, uttering as his last words, "_Et tu, Brute!_ Then fall Cæsar"--is devoted to the conspiracy and its results, ending with defeat and death of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi.

=Calig´ula=, a Roman emperor, was son of Germanicus by Agrippina. He was proud, wanton, and cruel. He was pleased when disasters befell his subjects, and often expressed a wish that the Romans had but one head, that he might have the pleasure of striking it off. He had a favorite horse made consul, and adorned it with the most valuable trappings and ornaments. The tyrant was murdered A.D. 41, in his twenty-ninth year, after a reign of three years and ten months.

=Calli´ope.= One of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, who presided over eloquence and heroic poetry.

=Cal´ydon.= A city of Ætolia, where OEneus, the father of Meleager, reigned. During the reign of OEneus Diana sent a wild boar to ravage the country on account of the neglect which had been shown of her divinity by the king. All the princes of the age assembled to hunt the Calydonian boar. Meleager killed the animal, and gave the head to Atalanta, of whom he was enamored.

=Calyp´so.= One of the Oceanides, or one of the daughters of Atlas, according to some writers. When Ulysses was shipwrecked on her coasts she received him with hospitality, and offered him immortality if he would remain with her as a husband, which he refused to do, and after seven years' delay he was permitted to depart from the island where Calypso reigned.

=Camby´ses=, king of Persia, was the son of Cyrus the Great. He conquered Egypt, and was so disgusted at the superstition of the Egyptians, that he killed their god Apis and plundered their temples.

=Camill´us, L. Fu´rius.= A celebrated Roman, called a second Romulus from the services he rendered his country. He was banished for distributing the spoils he had obtained at Veii. During his exile Rome was besieged by the Gauls under Brennus. The besieged Romans then elected him dictator, and he went to the relief of his country, which he delivered after it had been some time occupied by the enemy. He died B.C. 365.

=Cam´pus Mar´tius.= A large plain without the walls of Rome, where the Roman youth were instructed in athletic exercises and learnt to throw the discus, hurl the javelin, etc.

=Can´næ.= A village of Apuleia, where Hannibal defeated the Roman consuls Æmylius and Varro, B.C. 216.

=Capitoli´num.= A celebrated temple and citadel at Rome on the Tarpeian rock.

=Caracal´la=, son of the emperor Septimius Severus, was notorious for his cruelties. He killed his brother Geta in his mother's arms, and attempted to destroy the writings of Aristotle. After a life made odious by his vices he was assassinated, A.D. 217, in the forty-third year of his age.

=Carac´tacus.= A king of the Britons, who was conquered by the Romans and taken prisoner to Rome.

=Cartha´go.= Carthage, a celebrated city of Africa, the rival of Rome, and for a long period the capital of the country, and mistress of Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia. The time of its foundation is unknown, but it seems to be agreed on that it was built by Dido about 869 years before the Christian era, or, according to some writers, 72 or 73 years before the foundation of Rome. It had reached its highest glory in the days of Hamilcar and Hannibal.

=Cassan´der=, son of Antipater, made himself master of Macedonia after his father's death, where he reigned for eighteen years.

=Cassan´dra=, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, was passionately loved by Apollo, who promised to grant her whatever she might require, and she obtained from him the power of seeing into futurity. Some say she received the gift of prophecy, with her brother Helenus, by being placed when young one night in the temple of Apollo, where serpents were found wreathed round their bodies and licking their ears, which gave them a knowledge of futurity. She was allotted to Agamemnon in the division of the spoils of Troy, and was slain by Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife.

=Cas´sius C.= A celebrated Roman who became famous by being first quæstor to Crassus in his expedition against Parthia. He married Junia, the sister of Brutus, and joined Brutus in the conspiracy formed to assassinate Cæsar, after which he returned to Philippi with Brutus, and commanded one wing of the army in the famous battle fought there. On the defeat of his forces he ordered one of his freedmen to kill him, and he perished by the sword which had inflicted a wound on Cæsar. He was called by Brutus "the last of all the Romans."

=Casta´lius Fons=, or =Casta´lia=. A fountain of Parnassus sacred to the Muses.

=Castor= and =Pollux= were twin brothers, sons of Jupiter and Leda. Mercury carried them to Pallena, where they were educated. As soon as they arrived at manhood they embarked with Jason in quest of the Golden Fleece. In this expedition they evinced great courage. Pollux defeated and slew Amycus in the combat of the Cestus, and was afterwards considered to be the god and patron of boxing and wrestling. Castor distinguished himself in the management of horses.

=Catili´na, L. Ser´gius=, a celebrated Roman, descended from a noble family. When he had squandered his fortune he secretly meditated the ruin of his country, and conspired with many Romans as dissolute as himself to extirpate the senate, plunder the treasuries, and set Rome on fire. This plot, known as the Catiline conspiracy, was unsuccessful. The history of it is written by Sallust. Catiline was killed in battle B.C. 63.

=Ca´to, Mar´cus=, was great-grandson of the censor Cato. The early virtues that appeared in his childhood seemed to promise that he would become a great man. He was austere in his morals and a strict follower of the tenets of the Stoics. His fondness for candor was so great that his veracity became proverbial. In the Catilinian conspiracy he supported Cicero, and was the chief cause of the capital punishment which was inflicted on some of the conspirators. He stabbed himself after reading Plato's treatise on the immortality of the soul, B.C. 46, in the fifty-ninth year of his age.

=Catul´lus C.=, or =Q. Vale´rius=. A poet of Verona whose compositions are the offspring of a luxuriant imagination. He was acquainted with the most distinguished people of his age. He directed his satire against Cæsar, whose only revenge was to invite him to a sumptuous banquet.

=Cel´sus=, a physician in the age of Tiberius, who wrote eight books on medicine, besides treatises on agriculture, rhetoric, and military affairs.

=Centau´ri.= A people of Thessaly, half men and half horses. They were the offspring of Centaurus and Stilbia.

=Centum´viri.= The members of a court of justice at Rome. Though originally 105 in number, they were known as Centumvirs, and this name they retained when they were increased to 180.

=Cer´berus.= A dog of Pluto. According to Hesiod he had fifty heads, but according to other mythologists he had three only. He was placed at the entrance to the infernal regions to prevent the living from entering, and the inhabitants of the place from escaping.

=Ce´res=, the goddess of corn and harvests, was daughter of Saturn and Vesta. She was the mother of Proserpine, who was carried away by Pluto whilst she was gathering flowers.

=Chærone´a=, a city of Boeotia celebrated for a great battle fought there, in which the Athenians were defeated by the Boeotians, B.C. 447, and for the victory which Philip of Macedonia obtained there over the confederate armies of the Thebans and Athenians, B.C. 338. It was the birth-place of Plutarch.

=Cha´ron.= A god of the infernal regions, son of Nox and Erebus, who conducted the souls of the dead in a boat over the rivers Styx and Acheron.

=Che´ops.= A king of Egypt, after Rhampsinitus, famous for building pyramids.

=Chimæ´ra.= A celebrated monster which continually vomited flames. It was destroyed by Bellerophon.

=Chi´ron.= A centaur, half a man and half a horse, son of Philyra and Saturn. He was famous for his knowledge of music, medicine, and shooting, and taught mankind the use of plants and medicinal herbs.

=Chrysos´tom.= A bishop of Constantinople who died A.D. 407. He was a great disciplinarian, and by severely lashing the vices of his age he made many enemies.

=Cic´ero, M. T.=, born at Arpinum, was son of a Roman knight and lineally descended from the ancient kings of the Sabines. In youth he displayed many abilities, and was taught philosophy by Philo, and law by Mutius Scævola. He applied himself with great diligence to the study of oratory, and was distinguished above all the speakers of his time in the Roman forum. He signalized himself in opposing Catiline, whom he publicly accused of treason against the State, and whom he drove from the city. After a number of vicissitudes of fortune he was assassinated, B.C. 43, at the age of sixty-three.

=Cincinna´tus, L. Q.= A celebrated Roman, who was informed, as he plowed in the fields, that the senate had chosen him to be dictator. On this he left the plow and repaired to the field of battle, where his countrymen were opposed by the Volsci and Æqui. He conquered the enemy, and entered Rome in triumph.

=Cir´ce.= A daughter of Sol and Perseis, celebrated for her knowledge of magic and venomous herbs. She was carried by her father to an island called Æaea. Ulysses, on his return from the Trojan war, visited her coasts, and his companions were changed, by her potions, into swine. Ulysses, who was fortified against enchantments by an herb which he had received from Mercury, demanded of Circe the restoration of his companions to their former shape; she complied with his wishes, and eventually permitted him to depart from her island.

=Claudia´nus.= A celebrated poet, in the age of Honorius, who is considered by some writers to equal Virgil in the majestic character of his style.

=Clau´dius, T. Drusus Nero=, son of Drusus, became emperor of Rome after the death of Caligula. He went to Britain, and obtained a triumph for victories achieved by his generals. He suffered himself to be governed by favorites, whose avarice plundered the State and distracted the provinces. He was poisoned by Agrippina, who wished to raise her son Nero to the throne.

=Cleopa´tra=, queen of Egypt, daughter of Ptolemy Auletes, was celebrated for her beauty. Antony became enamored of her and married her, ignoring his connection with Octavia, the sister of Augustus. He gave her the greatest part of the eastern provinces of the Roman empire. This caused a rupture between Augustus and Antony, and these two famous men met at Actium, when Cleopatra, by flying with sixty ships, ruined the battle for Antony, and he was defeated. Cleopatra destroyed herself by applying an asp to her breast.

=Cli´o.= The first of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She presided over history.

=Cloaci´na.= A goddess at Rome who presided over the Cloacæ, which were large receptacles for the filth of the whole city.

=Clo´tho=, the youngest of the three Parcæ, who were daughters of Jupiter and Themis, was supposed to preside over the moment of birth. She held the distaff in her hand and spun the thread of life.

=Clytemnes´tra.= A daughter of Tyndarus, king of Sparta, and Leda, married Agamemnon, king of Argos, in whose absence in the Trojan war she misconducted herself with his cousin Ægysthus. On the return of Agamemnon Clytemnestra murdered him, as well as Cassandra, whom he had brought with him. After this Clytemnestra ascended the throne of Argos. In the meantime her son Orestes, after an absence of seven years, returned, resolved to avenge the death of his father Agamemnon. On an occasion when Ægysthus and Clytemnestra repaired to the Temple of Apollo, Orestes, with his friend Pylades, killed them.

=Clyt´ia= or =Clyt´ie=. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, beloved by Apollo. She was changed into a sun-flower.

=Co´cles, P. Horatius.= A celebrated Roman who alone opposed the whole army of Porsenna at the head of a bridge whilst his companions were cutting off the communication with the other shore. When the bridge was destroyed, Cocles, though wounded by the darts of the enemy, leapt into the Tiber and swam across it, armed as he was. For his heroism a brazen statue was raised to him in the Temple of Vulcan.

=Co´drus.= The last king of Athens, son of Melanthus. When the Heraclidæ made war against Athens, the oracle said that the victory would be granted to that nation whose king was killed in battle. The Heraclidæ on hearing this gave orders to spare the life of Codrus, but the patriotic king disguised himself, and engaging with one of the enemy, was killed. The Athenians obtained the victory, and Codrus was regarded as the savior of his country.

=Coe´lus= or =Ura´nus=. An ancient deity supposed to be the father of Saturn, Oceanus, and Hyperion.

=Col´chis= or =Col´chos=. A country of Asia famous for the expedition of the Argonauts, and as being the birthplace of Medea.

=Collati´nus, L. Tarquinius.= A nephew of Tarquin the Proud. He married Lucretia. He, with Brutus, drove the Tarquins from Rome.

=Colos´sus.= A celebrated brazen image at Rhodes, which was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world.

=Com´modus, L. Aure´lius Antoni´nus=, son of M. Antoninus, succeeded his father in the Roman empire. He was naturally cruel and fond of indulging his licentious propensities. Desirous of being likened to Hercules, he adorned his shoulders with a lion's skin, and carried a knotted club in his hand. He fought with the gladiators, and boasted of his skill in killing wild beasts in the amphitheatre. He was strangled by a wrestler in the thirty-first year of his age, A.D. 192.

=Co´mus.= The god of revelry, feasting, and nocturnal amusements. He is represented as a drunken young man with a torch in his hand.

=Concor´dia.= The goddess of peace and concord at Rome, to whom Camillus raised a temple in the Capitol.

=Confu´cius.= A Chinese philosopher, as much honored amongst his countrymen as if he had been a monarch. He died about 499 years B.C.

=Co´non.= A famous general of Athens, son of Timotheus. He was made governor of all the islands of the Athenians, and was defeated in a naval battle by Lysander. He defeated the Spartans near Cnidos, when Pisander, the enemy's admiral, was killed. He died in prison B.C. 393.

=Constan´tia.= A granddaughter of the great Constantine, married the Emperor Gratian.

=Constanti´nus=, surnamed the Great from the greatness of his exploits, was son of Constantius. It is said that as he was going to fight against Maxentius, one of his rivals, he saw a cross in the sky with the inscription, _In hoc vince_. From this he became a convert to Christianity, ever after adopting a cross for his standard. He founded a city where old Byzantium formerly stood, and called it Constantinopolis. There he kept his court, and made it the rival of Rome in population and magnificence. He died A.D. 337, after a reign of thirty-one years of the greatest glory.

=Constan´tius Chlo´rus=, son of Eutropius, and father of the great Constantine. He obtained victories in Britain and Germany. He became the colleague of Galerius on the abdication of Dioclesian, and died A.D. 306, bearing the reputation of being brave, humane, and benevolent.

=Con´sul.= A magistrate at Rome with real authority for the space of a year. There were two consuls, who were annually chosen in the Campus Martius. The first two were L. Jun. Brutus and L. Tarquinius Collatinus.

=Corin´na.= A celebrated woman of Thebes, whose father was Archelodorus. It is said that she obtained a poetical prize five times against the competitorship of Pindar.

=Coriola´nus.= The surname of C. Martius, from his victory over Corioli. After a number of military exploits, and many services to his country, he was refused the consulship. He was banished, and went to the Volsci, where he met with a gracious reception from Tullus Aufidius, whom he advised to make war against Rome, marching with the Volsci as general. His approach alarmed the Romans, who sent his mother and his wife to meet him and appease his resentment against his countrymen, which with difficulty they succeeded in doing.

=Corne´lia.= A daughter of Scipio Africanus, famous for her learning and virtues, and as being the mother of the Gracchi, Tiberius and Caius Gracchus. Her husband was T. Sempronius Gracchus.

=Cras´sus, M. Licin´ius.= A celebrated Roman, who by educating slaves and selling them, became very wealthy. He was made consul with Pompey, and was afterwards censor, and formed one of the first triumvirate, his associates in it being Pompey and Cæsar. In the hope of enlarging his possessions he left Rome, crossed the Euphrates, and hastened to make himself master of Parthia. He was met by Surena, the Parthian general, and in the battle which ensued 20,000 of the Romans were killed and 10,000 made prisoners. Crassus surrendered, and was put to death B.C. 53.

=Cre´on=, king of Corinth, was son of Sisyphus. He promised his daughter Glauce to Jason, who had repudiated Medea. To revenge herself on her rival, Medea sent her a present of a dress covered with poison. Glauce put it on, and was seized with sudden pain. Her body took fire, and she expired in the greatest agony. The house in which she was was also consumed, and Creon and his family shared Glauce's fate.

=Cre´on.= King of Thebes, whose territories were ravaged by the Sphinx. Creon offered his crown to any one who would explain the enigmas proposed by the Sphinx. OEdipus solved the riddles, and ascended the throne of Thebes.

=Croe´sus=, the fifth and last of the Mermnadæ, who reigned in Lydia, was the son of Alyattes, and was considered the richest man in the world. His court was an asylum for learning, and Æsop, the famous fable writer, with other learned men, lived under his patronage. "As rich as Croesus," has become a proverb.

=Cupi´do=, god of love, son of Jupiter and Venus, is represented as a winged infant, naked, armed with a bow and arrows. On gems and ornaments he is represented generally as amusing himself with some childish diversion. Cupid, like the rest of the gods, assumed different shapes, and we find him in the Æneid putting on, at the request of his mother, the form of Ascanius, and going to Dido's court, where he inspired the queen with love.

=Cur´tius, M.= A Roman who devoted himself to the service of his country, about 360 years B.C., by leaping on horseback, and fully armed, into a huge gap in the earth, at the command of the oracle.

=Cyb´ele.= A goddess, daughter of Coelus and Terra, and wife of Saturn. She was supposed to be the same as Ceres, Rhea, Ops, Vesta, etc. According to Diodorus, she was the daughter of a Lydian prince. On her birth she was exposed on a mountain, where she was tended and fed by wild beasts, receiving the name of Cybele from the mountain where her life had been preserved.

=Cyclo´pes.= A race of men of gigantic stature, supposed to be the sons of Coelus and Terra. They had only one eye, which was in the center of the forehead. According to Hesiod they were three in number, and named Arges, Brontes, and Steropes.

=Cy´rus.= A king of Persia, son of Cambyses and Mandane, daughter of Astyages, king of Media. Xenophon has written the life of Cyrus; and delineates him as a brave and virtuous prince, and often puts in his mouth many of the sayings of Socrates.

=Cy´rus= the younger was the son of Darius Nothus, and the brother of Artaxerxes, the latter succeeding to the throne at the death of Nothus. Cyrus was appointed to the command of Lydia and the sea-coasts, where he fomented rebellion and levied troops under various pretenses. At length he took the field with an army of 100,000 Barbarians and 13,000 Greeks under the command of Clearchus. Artaxerxes met him with 900,000 men near Cunaxa. The engagement ended fatally for Cyrus, who was killed 401 years B.C.

=Dæd´alus=, an Athenian, was the most ingenious artist of his age; he was the inventor of the wedge and many other mechanical instruments. He made a famous labyrinth for Minos, king of Crete, but incurred the displeasure of Minos, who ordered him to be confined in the labyrinth. Here he made himself wings with feathers and wax, and fitted them to his body, adopting the same course with his son Icarus, who was the companion of his confinement. They mounted into the air, but the heat of the sun melted the wax on the wings of Icarus, and he fell into the ocean, which after him has been called the Icarian Sea. The father alighted safely at Cumæ, where he built a temple to Apollo.

=Dan´ae=, daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos, and Eurydice. Jupiter was enamored with her, and they had a son, with whom Danae was exposed in a boat on the sea by her father. The winds carried them to the island of Seriphus, where she was saved by some fishermen, and carried to Polydectes, king of the place, whose brother, named Dictys, educated the child, who was called Perseus, and kindly treated the mother.