charms and elegance. She was priestess of the sun, mistress to
Cyrus, and afterwards to his brother Artaxerxes, from whom she
passed to Darius. She was called _Milto_, _vermilion_, on account of
the beauty of her complexion. _Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 12, ch.
1.――_Plutarch_, _Artaxerxes_.――――Another woman, daughter of Axiochus,
born at Miletus. She came to Athens, where she taught eloquence,
and Socrates was proud to be among her scholars. She so captivated
Pericles, by her mental and personal accomplishments, that he became
her pupil, and at last took her for his mistress and wife. He was so
fond of her, that he made war against Samos at her instigation. The
behaviour of Pericles towards Aspasia greatly corrupted the morals
of the Athenians, and introduced dissipation and lasciviousness
into the state. She, however, possessed the merit of a superior
excellence in mind as well as person, and her instructions helped
to form the greatest and most eloquent orators of Greece. Some have
confounded the mistress of Pericles with Aspasia the daughter of
Hermotimus. _Plutarch_, _Pericles_.――_Quintilian_, bk. 11.――――The
wife of Xenophon was also called Aspasia, if we follow the improper
interpretation given by some to _Cicero_, _de Inventione_, bk. 1,
ch. 31.
=Aspasius=, a peripatetic philosopher in the second century, whose
commentaries on different subjects were highly valued.――――A sophist,
who wrote a panegyric on Adrian.
=Aspastes=, a satrap of Carmania, suspected of infidelity to his trust
while Alexander was in the east. _Curtius_, bk. 9, ch. 20.
=Aspathīnes=, one of the seven noblemen of Persia who conspired
against the usurper Smerdis. _Herodotus_, bk. 5, ch. 70, &c.――――A
son of Prexaspes. _Herodotus_, bk. 7.
=Aspendus=, a town of Pamphylia, at the mouth of the river Eurymedon.
_Cicero_, _Against Verres_, bk. 1, ch. 20. The inhabitants
sacrificed swine to Venus.
=Asphaltītes=, a lake. _See:_ Mare Mortuum.
=Aspis=, a satrap of Chaonia, who revolted from Artaxerxes. He was
reduced by Datames. _Cornelius Nepos_, _Datames_.――――A city and
mountain of Africa.――――One of the Cyclades.――――A city of Macedonia.
=Asplēdon=, a son of Neptune by the nymph Midea. He gave his name to
a city of Bœotia, whose inhabitants went to the Trojan war. _Homer_,
_Iliad_, bk. 2, li. 18.――_Pausanias_, bk. 9, ch. 38.
=Asporēnus=, a mountain of Asia Minor near Pergamus, where the mother
of the gods was worshipped, and called _Asporena_. _Strabo_, bk. 13.
=Assa=, a town near mount Athos.
=Assabīnus=, the Jupiter of the Arabians.
=Assărăcus=, a Trojan prince, son of Tros by Callirhoe. He was father
to Capys, the father of Anchises. The Trojans were frequently called
the descendants of Assaracus, _Gens Assaraci_. _Homer_, _Iliad_,
bk. 20.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 1.――――Two friends of Æneas in the
Rutulian war. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 10, li. 124.
=Asserīni=, a people of Sicily.
=Assōrus=, a town of Sicily, between Enna and Argyrium.
=Assos=, a town of Lycia on the sea coast.
=Assy̆ria=, a large country of Asia, whose boundaries have been
different in its flourishing times. At first it was bounded by
the Lycus and Caprus; but the name of Assyria, more generally
speaking, is applied to all that territory which lies between Media,
Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Babylon. The Assyrian empire is the most
ancient in the world. It was founded by Ninus or Belus, B.C. 2059,
according to some authors, and lasted till the reign of Sardanapalus,
the 31st sovereign since Ninus, B.C. 820. According to Eusebius,
it flourished for 1240 years; according to Justin, 1300 years; but
Herodotus says that its duration was not above 500 or 600 years.
Among the different monarchs of the Assyrian empire Semiramis
greatly distinguished herself, and extended the boundaries of her
dominions as far as Æthiopia and Libya. In ancient authors the
Assyrians are often called Syrians, and the Syrians Assyrians. The
Assyrians assisted Priam in the Trojan war, and sent him Memnon with
an army. The king of Assyria generally styled himself king of kings,
as a demonstration of his power and greatness. The country is now
called Curdistan. _See:_ Syria. _Strabo_, bk. 16.――_Herodotus_, bks.
1 & 2.――_Justin_, bk. 1.――_Pliny_, bk. 6, chs. 13 & 26.――_Ptolemy_,
bk. 1, ch. 2.――_Diodorus_, bk. 2.――_Mela_, bk. 1, ch. 2.
=Asta=, a city in Spain.
=Astacœni=, a people of India near the Indus. _Strabo_, bk. 15.
=Astăcus=, a town of Bithynia, built by Acastus son of Neptune and
Olbia, or rather by a colony from Megara and Athens. Lysimachus
destroyed it, and carried the inhabitants to the town of Nicomedia,
which was then lately built. _Pausanias_, bk. 5, ch. 12.――_Arrian._
――_Strabo_, bk. 17.――――A city of Acarnania. _Pliny_, bk. 5.
=Astăpa=, a town of Hispania Bætica. _Livy_, bk. 38, ch. 20.
=Astăpus=, a river of Æthiopia, falling into the Nile.
=Astarte=, a powerful divinity of Syria, the same as the Venus of
the Greeks. She had a famous temple at Hierapolis in Syria, which
was served by 300 priests, who were always employed in offering
sacrifices. She was represented in medals with a long habit, and
a mantle over it, tucked up on the left arm. She had one hand
stretched forward, and held in the other a crooked staff in the form
of a cross. _Lucian_, _de Deâ Syriâ_.――_Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_,
bk. 3, ch. 23.
=Aster=, a dexterous archer of Amphipolis, who offered his service to
Philip king of Macedonia. Upon being slighted, he retired into the
city, and aimed an arrow at Philip, who pressed it with a siege. The
arrow, on which was written “Aimed at Philip’s right eye,” struck
the king’s eye, and put it out; and Philip, to return the pleasantry,
threw back the same arrow, with these words, “If Philip takes the
town, Aster shall be hanged.” The conqueror kept his word. _Lucian_,
_Quomodo historia conscribenda sit_.
=Astĕria=, a daughter of Ceus, one of the Titans, by Phœbe daughter
of Cœlus and Terra. She married Perses son of Crius, by whom she
had the celebrated Hecate. She enjoyed for a long time the favours
of Jupiter, under the form of an eagle; but falling under his
displeasure, she was changed into a quail, called _Ortyx_ by the
Greeks; whence the name of _Ortygia_, given to that island in the
Archipelago, where she retired. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 6,
fable 4.――_Hyginus_, fable 58.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 2, &c.
――――A town of Greece, whose inhabitants went to the Trojan war.
_Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 2, li. 782.――――One of the daughters of Danaus,
who married Chætus son of Ægyptus. _Apollodorus_, bk. 2.――――One of
the daughters of Atlas, mother of Œnomaus king of Pisa. _Hyginus_,
fable 250.――――A mistress of Gyges, to whom Horace wrote three odes
to comfort her during her lover’s absence.
=Astĕrion= and =Astĕrius=, a river of Peloponnesus, which flowed
through the country of Argolis. This river had three daughters,
Eubœa, Prosymna, and Acræa, who nursed the goddess Juno. _Pausanias_,
bk. 2, ch. 17.――――A son of Cometes, who was one of the Argonauts.
_Apollonius_, bk. 1.――――A statuary, son of Æschylus. _Pausanias._
――――A son of Minos II., king of Crete, by Pasiphæ. He was killed by
Theseus, though he was thought the strongest of his age. Apollodorus
supposes him to be the same as the famous Minotaur. According
to some, Asterion was son of Teutamus, one of the descendants of
Æolus, and they say that he was surnamed Jupiter, because he had
carried away Europa, by whom he had Minus I. _Diodorus_, bk. 4.
――_Apollodorus_, bk. 3.――_Pausanias_, bk. 2, ch. 31.――――A son of
Neleus and Chloris. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 12.
=Asterodia=, the wife of Endymion. _Pausanias_, bk. 5, ch. 1.
=Asterŏpe= and =Asteropēa=, one of the Pleiades, who were beloved by
the gods and most illustrious heroes, and made constellations after
death.――――A daughter of Pelias king of Iolchos, who assisted her
sisters to kill her father, whom Medea promised to restore to life.
Her grave was seen in Arcadia, in the time of _Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch.
11.――――A daughter of Deion by Diomede. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1.――――The
wife of Æsacus. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3.
=Asteropæus=, a king of Pæonia, son of Pelegon. He assisted Priam
in the Trojan war, and was killed, after a brave resistance, by
Achilles. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 17, &c.
=Asterūsius=, a mountain at the south of Crete.――――A town of Arabia
Felix.
=Astinŏme=, the wife of Hipponous.
=Astiŏchus=, a general of Lacedæmon, who conquered the Athenians near
Cnidus, and took Phocæa and Cumæ, B.C. 411.
=Astræa=, a daughter of Astræus king of Arcadia, or, according
to others, of Titan, Saturn’s brother, by Aurora. Some make her
daughter of Jupiter and Themis, and others consider her to be the
same as Rhea wife of Saturn. She was called _Justice_, of which
virtue she was the goddess. She lived upon the earth, as the poets
mention, during the golden age, which is often called the age of
Astræa; but the wickedness and impiety of mankind drove her to
heaven in the brazen and iron ages, and she was placed among the
constellations of the zodiac, under the name of Virgo. She is
represented as a virgin, with a stern but majestic countenance,
holding a pair of scales in one hand and a sword in the other.
_Seneca_, _Octavia_.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 1, li. 149.
――_Aratus_, bk. 1, _Phænomena_, li. 98.――_Hesiod_, _Theogony_.
=Astræus=, one of the Titans who made war against Jupiter.――――A river
of Macedonia, near Thermæ. _Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 15, ch. 1.
=Astu=, a Greek word which signifies _city_, generally applied, by way
of distinction, to Athens, which was the most capital city of Greece.
The word _urbs_ is applied with the same meaning of superiority to
Rome, and πολις to Alexandria the capital of Ægypt, as also to Troy.
=Astur=, an Etrurian who assisted Æneas against Turnus. _Virgil_,
_Æneid_, bk. 10, li. 180.
=Astŭra=, a small river and village of Latium, where Antony’s soldiers
cut off Cicero’s head.
=Astŭres=, a people of Hispania Tarraconensis, who spent all their
lives in digging for mines of ore. _Lucan_, bk. 4, li. 298.――_Silius
Italicus_, bk. 1, li. 231.
=Astyăge=, a daughter of Hypseus, who married Periphas, by whom she
had some children, among whom was Antion the father of Ixion.
=Astyăges=, a son of Cyaxares, was the last king of Media. He was
father to Mandane, whom he gave in marriage to Cambyses, an ignoble
person of Persia, because he was told by a dream that his daughter’s
son would dispossess him of his crown. From such a marriage he hoped
that none but mean and ignorant children could be raised; but he
was disappointed, and though he had exposed his daughter’s son by
the effects of a second dream, he was deprived of his crown by his
grandson, after a reign of 35 years. Astyages was very cruel and
oppressive; and Harpagus, one of his officers, whose son he had
wantonly murdered, encouraged Mandane’s son, who was called Cyrus,
to take up arms against his grandfather, and he conquered him and
took him prisoner, 559 B.C. Xenophon, in his Cyropædia, relates a
different story, and asserts that Cyrus and Astyages lived in the
most undisturbed friendship together. _Justin_, bk. 1, ch. 4, &c.
――_Herodotus_, bk. 1, chs. 74, 75, &c.――――A grammarian who wrote a
commentary on Callimachus.――――A man changed into a stone by Medusa’s
head. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 5, fable 6.
=Astyălus=, a Trojan killed by Neoptolemus. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 6.
=Astyănax=, a son of Hector and Andromache. He was very young when
the Greeks besieged Troy; and when the city was taken, his mother
saved him in her arms from the flames. Ulysses, who was afraid lest
the young prince should inherit the virtues of his father, and one
day avenge the ruin of his country upon the Greeks, seized him,
and threw him down from the walls of Troy. According to Euripides,
he was killed by Menelaus; and Seneca says that Pyrrhus the son
of Achilles put him to death. Hector had given him the name of
Scamandrius; but the Trojans, who hoped he might prove as great as
his father, called him Astyanax, or the bulwark of the city. _Homer_,
_Iliad_, bk. 6, li. 400; bk. 22, li. 500.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 2,
li. 457; bk. 3, li. 489.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 13, li. 415.
――――An Arcadian, who had a statue in the temple of Jupiter, on
mount Lyceus. _Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 38.――――A son of Hercules.
_Apollodorus_, bk. 2, ch. 7.――――A writer in the age of Gallienus.
=Astycratia=, a daughter of Æolus. _Homer_, _Iliad_.――――A daughter of
Amphion and Niobe.
=Astydămas=, an Athenian, pupil to Isocrates. He wrote 240 tragedies,
of which only 15 obtained the poetical prize.――――A Milesian, three
times victorious at Olympia. He was famous for his strength, as
well as for his voracious appetite. He was once invited to a feast
by king Ariobarzanes, and he ate what had been prepared for nine
persons. _Athenæus_, bk. 10.――――Two tragic writers bore the same
name, one of whom was disciple to Socrates.――――A comic poet of
Athens.
=Astydămīa=, or =Astyadamia=, daughter of Amyntor king of Orchomenos
in Bœotia, married Acastus son of Pelias, who was king of Iolchos.
She became enamoured of Peleus son of Æacus, who had visited her
husband’s court, and because he refused to gratify her passion,
she accused him of attempting her virtue. Acastus readily believed
his wife’s accusation; but as he would not violate the laws of
hospitality by punishing his guest with instant death, he waited
for a favourable opportunity, and dissembled his resentment. At
last they went in a hunting party to mount Pelion, where Peleus was
tied to a tree by order of Acastus, that he might be devoured by
wild beasts. Jupiter was moved at the innocence of Peleus, and sent
Vulcan to deliver him. When Peleus was set at liberty, he marched
with an army against Acastus, whom he dethroned, and punished with
death the cruel and false Astydamia. She is called by some Hippolyte,
and by others Cretheis. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 13.――_Pindar_,
_Nemean_, bk. 4.――――A daughter of Ormenus, carried away by Hercules,
by whom she had Tlepolemus. _Ovid_, _Heroides_, poem 9, li. 50.
=Asty̆lus=, one of the centaurs who had the knowledge of futurity. He
advised his brothers not to make war against the Lapithæ. _Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 12, li. 338.――――A man of Crotona, who was
victorious three successive times at the Olympic games. _Pausanias._
=Astymedūsa=, a woman whom Œdipus married after he had divorced Jocasta.
=Astynŏme=, the daughter of Chryses the priest of Apollo, sometimes
called _Chryseis_. She fell to the share of Achilles, at the
division of the spoils of Lyrnessus.――――A daughter of Amphion,――――of
Talaus. _Hyginus._
=Astynous=, a Trojan prince. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 5, li. 144.
=Astyŏche= and =Astyochīa=, a daughter of Actor, who had by Mars,
Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, who were at the Trojan war. _Homer_,
_Iliad_, bk. 2, li. 20.――――A daughter of Phylas king of Ephyre, who
had a son called Tlepolemus by Hercules. _Hyginus_, fables 97, 162.
――――A daughter of Laomedon by Strymo. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3.――――A
daughter of Amphion and Niobe. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 4.――――A
daughter of the Simois, who married Erichthonius. _Apollodorus_,
bk. 3, ch. 12.――――The wife of Strophius, sister to Agamemnon.
=Astypalæa=, one of the Cyclades, between Cos and Carpathos, called
after Astypalæa the daughter of Phœnix, and mother of Ancæus by
Neptune. _Pausanias_, bk. 7, ch. 4.――_Strabo_, bk. 14.
=Astyphĭlus=, a soothsayer, well skilled in the knowledge of futurity.
_Plutarch_, _Cimon_.
=Astȳron=, a town built by the Argonauts on the coast of Illyricum.
_Strabo._
=Asychis=, a king of Egypt, who succeeded Mycerinus, and made a law,
that whoever borrowed money, must deposit his father’s body in the
hand of his creditors, as a pledge of his promise of payment. He
built a magnificent pyramid. _Herodotus_, bk. 2, ch. 136.
=Asȳlas=, a friend of Æneas, skilled in auguries. _Virgil_, _Æneid_,
bk. 9, li. 571; bk. 10, li. 175.
=Asyllus=, a gladiator. _Juvenal_, satire 6, li. 266.
=Atābŭlus=, a wind which was frequent in Apulia. _Horace_, bk. 1,
satire 5, li. 78.
=Atabȳris=, a mountain in Rhodes, where Jupiter had a temple, whence
he was surnamed _Atabyris_. _Strabo_, bk. 14.
=Atăce=, a town of Gaul, whence the adjective _Atacinus_.
=Atalanta=, a daughter of Schœneus king of Scyros. According to some
she was the daughter of Jasus or Jasius by Clymene; but others
say that Menalion was her father. This uncertainty of not rightly
knowing the name of her father has led the mythologists into error,
and some have maintained that there were two persons of that name,
though their supposition is groundless. Atalanta was born in Arcadia,
and according to Ovid she determined to live in perpetual celibacy;
but her beauty gained her many admirers, and to free herself from
their importunities, she proposed to run a race with them. They were
to run without arms, and she was to carry a dart in her hand. Her
lovers were to start first, and whoever arrived at the goal before
her would be made her husband; but all those whom she overtook were
to be killed by the dart with which she had armed herself. As she
was almost invincible in running, many of her suitors perished in
the attempt, till Hippomenes the son of Macareus proposed himself
as her admirer. Venus had presented him with three golden apples
from the garden of the Hesperides, or, according to others, from an
orchard in Cyprus; and as soon as he had started in the course, he
artfully threw down the apples at some distance one from the other.
While Atalanta, charmed at the sight, stopped to gather the apples,
Hippomenes hastened on his course, arrived first at the goal,
and obtained Atalanta in marriage. These two fond lovers, in the
impatience of consummating their nuptials, entered the temple of
Cybele; and the goddess was so offended at their impiety, and at
the profanation of her house, that she changed them into two lions.
Apollodorus says that Atalanta’s father was desirous of raising male
issue, and that therefore she was exposed to wild beasts as soon
as born. She was, however, suckled by a she-bear, and preserved
by shepherds. She dedicated her time to hunting, and resolved
to live in celibacy. She killed two centaurs, Hyleus and Rhecus,
who attempted her virtue. She was present at the hunting of the
Calydonian boar, which she first wounded, and she received the head
as a present from Meleager, who was enamoured of her. She was also
at the games instituted in honour of Pelias, where she conquered
Peleus; and when her father, to whom she had been restored, wished
her to marry, she consented to give herself to him who could
overcome her in running, as has been said above. She had a son
called Parthenopæus by Hippomenes. Hyginus says that that son was
the fruit of her love with Meleager; and Apollodorus says she had
him by Milanion, or, according to others, by the god Mars. _See:_
Meleager. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 8; bk. 3, ch. 9, &c.――_Pausanias_,
bk. 1, chs. 36, 45, &c.――_Hyginus_, fables 99, 174, 185, 270.
――_Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 13.――_Diodorus_, bk. 4.――_Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 8, fable 4; bk. 10, fable 11.――_Euripides_,
_Phœnician Women_.――――An island near Eubœa and Locris. _Pausanias._
=Atarantes=, a people of Africa, ten days’ journey from the Garamantes.
There was in their country a hill of salt with a fountain of sweet
water upon it. _Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch. 184.
=Atarbĕchis=, a town in one of the islands of the Delta, where Venus
had a temple.
=Atargătis=, a divinity among the Syrians represented as a Syren. She
is considered by some to be the same as Venus, and honoured by the
Assyrians under the name of Astarte. _Strabo_, bk. 16.
=Atarnea=, a part of Mysia opposite Lesbos, with a small town in the
neighbourhood of the same name. _Pausanias_, bk. 4, ch. 35.
=Atas= and =Athas=, a youth of wonderful velocity, who is said to have
run 75 miles between noon and the evening. _Martial_, bk. 4, ltr. 19.
――_Pliny_, bk. 7.
=Atax=, now _Aude_, a river of Gaul Narbonensis, rising in the Pyrenean
mountains, and falling into the Mediterranean sea. _Mela_, bk. 2.
=Ate=, the goddess of all evil, and daughter of Jupiter. She raised
such jealousy and sedition in heaven among the gods, that Jupiter
dragged her away by the hair, and banished her for ever from
heaven, and sent her to dwell on earth, where she incited mankind
to wickedness, and sowed commotions among them. _Homer_, _Iliad_,
bk. 19. She is the same as the Discord of the Latins.
=Atella=, a town of Campania, famous for a splendid amphitheatre, where
interludes were first exhibited, and thence called Atellanæ fabulæ.
_Juvenal_, satire 6.
=Atenomārus=, a chieftain of Gaul, who made war against the Romans.
_Plutarch_, _Parallela minora_.
=Athamānes=, an ancient people of Epirus, who existed long before the
Trojan war, and still preserved their name and customs in the age of
Alexander. There was a fountain in their territories, whose waters,
about the last quarter of the moon, were so sulphureous that they
would set wood on fire. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 15, li. 311.
――_Strabo_, bk. 7.――_Pliny_, bk. 2, ch. 103.――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 3.
=Athămas=, king of Thebes in Bœotia, was son of Æolus. He married
Themisto, whom some call Nephele, and Pindar, Demotice, and by her
he had Phryxus and Helle. Some time after, on pretence that Nephele
was subject to fits of madness, he married Ino the daughter of
Cadmus, by whom he had two sons, Learchus and Melicerta. Ino became
jealous of the children of Nephele. Because they were to ascend
their father’s throne in preference to her own, therefore she
resolved to destroy them; but they escaped from her fury to Colchis,
on a golden ram. _See:_ Phryxus and Argonautæ. According to the
Greek scholiast of Lycophron, li. 22, Ino attempted to destroy the
corn of the country; and as if it were the consequence of divine
vengeance, the soothsayers, at her instigation, told Athamas, that
before the earth would yield her usual increase, he must sacrifice
one of the children of Nephele to the gods. The credulous father led
Phryxus to the altar, where he was saved by Nephele. The prosperity
of Ino was displeasing to Juno, and more particularly because she
was descended from Venus. The goddess therefore sent Tisiphone, one
of the furies, to the house of Athamas, who became inflamed with
such sudden fury that he took Ino to be a lioness, and her two sons
to be whelps. In this fit of madness he snatched Learchus from her,
and killed him against a wall; upon which Ino fled with Melicerta,
and, with him in her arms, she threw herself into the sea from a
high rock, and was changed into a sea deity. After this, Athamas
recovered the use of his senses; and as he was without children,
he adopted Coronus and Aliartus, the sons of Thersander his nephew.
_Hyginus_, fables 1, 2, 5, 239.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1, chs. 7 & 9.
――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 4, li. 467, &c.; _Fasti_, bk. 6, li.
419.――_Pausanias_, bk. 9, ch. 34.――――A servant of Atticus. _Cicero_,
_Letters to Atticus_, bk. 12, ltr. 10.――――A stage dancer. _Cicero_,
_Piso_, ch. 36.――――A tragic poet. _Cicero_, _Piso_, ch. 20.――――One
of the Greeks, concealed in the wooden horse at the siege of Troy.
_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 2, li. 263.
=Athamantiădes=, a patronymic of Melicerta, Phryxus, or Helle, children
of Athamas. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 13, li. 319; _Fasti_, bk. 4,
li. 903.
=Athanasius=, a bishop of Alexandria, celebrated for his sufferings,
and the determined opposition he maintained against Arius and his
doctrines. His writings, which were numerous, and some of which
have perished, contain a defence of the mystery of the Trinity,
the divinity of the Word and of the Holy Ghost, and an apology to
Constantine. The creed which bears his name, is supposed by some
not to be his composition. Athanasius died 2nd May, 373 A.D., after
filling the archiepiscopal chair 47 years, and leading alternately
a life of exile and of triumph. The latest edition of his works is
that of the Benedictines, 3 vols., folio, Paris, 1698.
=Athanis=, a man who wrote an account of Sicily. _Athenæus_, bk. 3.
=Atheas=, a king of Scythia, who implored the assistance of Philip
of Macedonia against the Istrians, and laughed at him when he had
furnished him with an army. _Justin_, bk. 9, ch. 2.
=Athēna=, the name of Minerva among the Greeks; and also among the
Egyptians, before Cecrops had introduced the worship of the goddess
into Greece. _Pausanias_, bk. 1, ch. 2.