she had enjoyed the company of Jupiter, Semele was deceived, and
perished by the artifice of Juno. This goddess, always jealous of
her husband’s amours, assumed the shape of Beroe, Semele’s nurse,
and persuaded Semele that the lover whom she entertained was not
Jupiter, but a false lover, and that to prove his divinity she
ought to beg of him, if he really were Jupiter, to come to her bed
with the same majesty as when he courted the embraces of Juno. The
artifice succeeded, and when Jupiter promised his mistress whatever
she asked, Semele required him to visit her with all the divinity of
a god. Jupiter was unable to violate his oath, and Semele unwilling
to retract it; therefore, as she was a mortal, and unable to bear
the majesty of Jupiter, she was consumed and reduced to ashes. The
child, of which she had been pregnant for seven months, was with
difficulty saved from the flames, and put in his father’s thigh,
where he remained the full time which he naturally was to have been
in his mother’s womb. From this circumstance Bacchus has been called
_Bimater_. According to some, Dirce, a nymph of the Achelous, saved
him from the flames. There are different traditions concerning the
manner of his education. Ovid says that, after his birth, he was
brought up by his aunt Ino, and afterwards entrusted to the care
of the nymphs of Nysa. Lucian supposes that Mercury carried him, as
soon as born, to the nymphs of Nysa; and Apollonius says that he was
carried by Mercury to a nymph in the island of Eubœa, whence he was
driven by the power of Juno, who was the chief deity of the place.
Some support that Naxus can boast of the place of his education,
under the nymphs Philia, Coronis, and Clyda. Pausanias relates a
tradition which prevailed in the town of Brasiæ in Peloponnesus;
and accordingly mentions that Cadmus, as soon as he heard of his
daughter’s amours, shut her up, with her child lately born, in a
coffer, and exposed them on the sea. The coffer was carried safe
by the waves to the coast of Brasiæ; but Semele was found dead, and
the child alive. Semele was honoured with a magnificent funeral,
and Bacchus properly educated. This diversity of opinion shows that
there were many of the same name. Diodorus speaks of three, and
Cicero of a greater number; but among them all, the son of Jupiter
and Semele seems to have obtained the merit of the rest. Bacchus
is the Osiris of the Egyptians, and his history is drawn from the
Egyptian traditions concerning that ancient king. Bacchus assisted
the gods in their wars against the giants, and was cut to pieces;
but the son of Semele was not then born. This tradition, therefore,
is taken from the history of Osiris, who was killed by his brother
Typhon, and the worship of Osiris has been introduced by Orpheus
into Greece, under the name of Bacchus. In his youth he was taken
asleep in the island of Naxos, and carried away by some mariners
whom he changed into dolphins, except the pilot, who had expressed
some concern at his misfortune. His expedition into the east is
most celebrated. He marched, at the head of an army composed of men,
as well as of women, all inspired with divine fury, and armed with
thyrsi, cymbals, and other musical instruments. The leader was drawn
in a chariot by a lion and a tiger, and was accompanied by Pan and
Silenus, and all the Satyrs. His conquests were easy, and without
bloodshed: the people easily submitted, and gratefully elevated to
the rank of a god the hero who taught them the use of the vine, the
cultivation of the earth, and the manner of making honey. Amidst his
benevolence to mankind, he was relentless in punishing all want of
respect to his divinity; and the punishment he inflicted on Pentheus,
Agave, Lycurgus, &c., is well known. He has received the name of
Liber, Bromius, Lyæus, Evan, Thyonæus, Psilas, &c., which are mostly
derived from the places where he received adoration, or from the
ceremonies observed in his festivals. As he was the god of vintage,
of wine, and of drinkers, he is generally represented crowned with
vine and ivy leaves, with a thyrsus in his hand. His figure is
that of an effeminate young man, to denote the joys which commonly
prevail at feasts; and sometimes that of an old man, to teach us
that wine taken immoderately will enervate us, consume our health,
render us loquacious and childish like old men, and unable to
keep secrets. The panther is sacred to him, because he went in his
expedition covered with the skin of that beast. The magpie is also
his favourite bird, because in triumphs people were permitted to
speak with boldness and liberty. Bacchus is sometimes represented
like an infant, holding a thyrsus and clusters of grapes with a horn.
He often appears naked, and riding upon the shoulders of Pan, or in
the arms of Silenus, who was his foster-father. He also sits upon a
celestial globe, bespangled with stars, and is then the same as the
Sun or Osiris of Egypt. The festivals of Bacchus, generally called
Orgies, Bacchanalia, or Dionysia, were introduced into Greece from
Egypt by Danaus and his daughters. The infamous debaucheries which
arose from the celebration of these festivals are well known. _See:_
Dionysia. The amours of Bacchus are not numerous. He married Ariadne,
after she had been forsaken by Theseus in the island of Naxos;
and by her he had many children, among whom were Ceranus, Thoas,
Œnopion, Tauropolis, &c. According to some, he was the father of
Hymenæus, whom the Athenians made the god of marriage. The Egyptians
sacrificed pigs to him, before the doors of their houses. The fir
tree, the yew tree, the fig tree, the ivy, and the vine, were sacred
to him; and the goat was generally sacrificed to him, on account of
the great propensity of that animal to destroy the vine. According
to Pliny, he was the first who ever wore a crown. His beauty is
compared to that of Apollo, and, like him, he is represented with
fine hair loosely flowing down his shoulders, and he is said to
possess eternal youth. Sometimes he has horns, either because he
taught the cultivation of the earth with oxen, or because Jupiter
his father appeared to him in the deserts of Libya under the shape
of a ram, and supplied his thirsty army with water. Bacchus went
down to hell to recover his mother, whom Jupiter willingly made a
goddess, under the name of Thyone. The three persons of the name
of Bacchus, whom Diodorus mentions, are, the one who conquered the
Indies, and is surnamed the bearded Bacchus; a son of Jupiter and
Proserpine, who was represented with horns; and the son of Jupiter
and Semele, called the Bacchus of Thebes. Those mentioned by Cicero
are, a son of Proserpine; a son of Nisus, who built Nysa; a son of
Caprius, who reigned in the Indies; a son of Jupiter and the moon;
and a son of Thyone and Nisus. _Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_, bks.
2 & 3.――_Pausanias_, bk. 2, chs. 22, 37; bk. 3, ch. 24; bk. 5,
ch. 19, &c.――_Herodotus_, bk. 1, ch. 150; bk. 2, chs. 42, 48, 49.
――_Plutarch_, _De Iside et Osiride_.――_Diodorus_, bks. 1, 3, &c.
――_Orpheus_, _Dionysius_.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 9; bk. 3, ch. 4,
&c.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 3, fable 3, &c.――_Amores_, bk. 3,
poem 3.――_Fasti_, bk. 3, li. 715.――_Hyginus_, fables 155, 167, &c.
――_Pliny_, bk. 7, ch. 56; bk. 8, ch. 2; bk. 36, ch. 5.――_Homer_,
_Iliad_, bk. 6.――_Lactantius_, _de falsa religione_, bk. 1, ch. 22.
――_Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 2, &c.――_Euripides_, _Bacchæ_.――_Lucian_,
_de Sacrificiis_; _Bacchus_; _Dialogi Deorum_.――_Oppian_,
_Cynegetica_.――_Philostratus_, bk. 1, _Imagines_, ch. 50.――_Seneca_,
_Chorus of Œdipus_.――_Martial_, bk. 8, ltr. 26; bk. 14, ltr. 107.
=Bacchylides=, a lyric poet of Cos, nephew to Simonides, who, like
Pindar, wrote the praises of Hiero. Some of his verses have been
preserved. _Marcellinus._
=Bacenis=, a wood of Germany. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 6, ch. 10.
=Bacis=, a famous soothsayer of Bœotia. _Cicero_, bk. 1, _de
Divinatione_, ch. 34.――――A king of Corinth, called also Bacchis.
_See:_ Bacchis.――――An athlete of Trœzene. _Pausanias_, bk. 6.
=Bactra= (orum), now _Balk_, the capital of Bactriana, on the river
Bactros in Asia. _Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 2, li. 138.――_Strabo_,
bk. 2.
=Bactri= and =Bactriāni=, the inhabitants of Bactriana, who lived
upon plunder, and were always under arms. They gave to their dogs
those that died through old age or disease, and suffered slaves and
strangers to take whatever liberties they pleased with their wives.
They were conquered by Alexander the Great. _Curtius_, bk. 4, ch. 6,
&c.――_Pliny_, bk. 6, ch. 23.――_Plutarch_, _An vitiositas ad
infelicitatem sufficia_.――_Herodotus_, bks. 1 & 3.
=Bactriāna=, a country of Asia, fruitful as well as extensive. It
formed once part of the Persian empire, on the eastern parts of
which it is situated. Zoroaster was the most ancient king of this
country, who taught his subjects the art of magic and astrology.
_Diodorus_, bk. 2.――_Justin_, bk. 1, ch. 1.
=Bactros=, now _Dahesh_, a river on the borders of Asiatic Scythia,
from which Bactriana receives its name. _Lucan_, bk. 3, li. 267.
=Bacuntius=, a river of Pannonia, which falls into the Save above
Sirmium.
=Badaca=, a town of Media. _Diodorus_, bk. 19.
=Badia=, a town of Spain. _Valerius Maximus_, bk. 3, ch. 7.
=Badius=, a Campanian, who challenged Titus Quinctius Crispinus, one
of his friends, by whom he was killed. _Livy_, bk. 35, ch. 18.
=Baduhennæ=, a place in the country of the Frisii, where 900 Romans
were killed. _Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 4, ch. 73.
=Bæbia lex=, was enacted for the election of four pretors every other
year. _Livy_, bk. 40.――――Another law by Massa Bæbius a tribune
of the people, which forbade the division of the lands, whilst it
substituted a yearly tax to be paid by the possessors, and to be
divided among the people. _Appian_, bk. 1.
=Massa Bæbius=, a Roman, in whose consulship the tomb of Numa was
discovered. _Plutarch_, _Numa_.――_Valerius Maximus_, bk. 1, ch. 1.
――――Lucius, a Roman pretor, who, being surprised by the Ligurians,
fled to Marseilles, where he died three days after. _Livy_, bk. 37,
ch. 57.
=Bætis=, a river of Spain, from which a part of the country has
received the name of _Bætica_. It was formerly called Tartessus,
and now bears the name of Guadalquiver. The wool produced there was
so good that _Bætica_ was an epithet of merit, applied to garments.
_Martial_, bk. 12, ltr. 100.
=Bæton=, a Greek historian in the age of Alexander.
=Bagistame=, a delightful country of Media. _Diodorus_, bk. 17.
=Bagistanes=, a friend of Bessus, whom he abandoned when he murdered
Darius. _Curtius_, bk. 5, ch. 13.
=Bagōas= and =Bagōsas=, an Egyptian eunuch in the court of Artaxerxes
Ochus, so powerful that nothing could be done without his consent.
He led some troops against the Jews, and profaned their temple. He
poisoned Ochus, gave his flesh to cats, and made knife handles with
his bones, because he had killed the god Apis. He placed on the
throne Arses, the youngest of the slaughtered Prince’s children,
and afterwards put him to death. He was at last killed, B.C. 335, by
Darius, whom, after raising to the crown, he had attempted to poison.
_Diodorus_, bks. 16 & 17.――――Another, greatly esteemed by Alexander.
He was the cause that one of the satraps was put to death by the
most excruciating torments. _Curtius_, bk. 10, ch. 1.――_Plutarch_
in _Alexander_.――――The name of Bagoas occurs very frequently in
the Persian history; and it seems that most of the eunuchs of the
monarchs of Persia were generally known by that appellation.
=Bagodares=, a friend of Bessus, whom he abandoned when he attempted
the life of Darius. _Diodorus_, bk. 17.
=Bagophănes=, a governor of Babylon, who, when Alexander approached
the city, strewed all the streets and burned incense on the altars,
&c. _Curtius_, bk. 5, ch. 1.
=Bagrăda=, now _Megerda_, a river of Africa near Utica, where Regulus
killed a serpent 120 feet long. _Pliny_, bk. 8, ch. 14.
♦=Baiæ=, a city of Campania near the sea, founded by Baius, one of the
companions of Ulysses. It was famous for its delightful situation
and baths, where many of the Roman senators had country houses.
Its ancient grandeur, however, has now disappeared, and Baiæ, with
its magnificent villas, has yielded to the tremendous earthquakes
which afflict and convulse Italy, and it is no longer to be found.
_Martial_, bk. 14, ltr. 81.――_Horace_, bk. 1, ltr. 1.――_Strabo_,
bk. 5.
♦ ‘Balæ’ replaced with ‘Baiæ’
=Bala=, a surname of Alexander king of Syria. _Justin_, bk. 35, ch. 1.
=Balacrus=, an officer in Alexander’s army, who took Miletus.
_Curtius_, bk. 4, ch. 13.――――Another officer, who commanded some
auxiliaries. _Curtius_, bk. 4, ch. 5.
=Balanagræ=, a town of Cyrene. _Pausanias_, bk. 2, ch. 26.
=Balanea=, a town between Syria and Phœnicia. _Pliny_, bk. 5, ch. 20.
=Balanus=, a prince of Gaul, who assisted the Romans in their
Macedonian war, A.U.C. 581.――_Livy_, bk. 44, ch. 14.
=Balari=, a people of Sardinia. _Livy_, bk. 41, ch. 6.
=Claudius Balbillus=, a learned and benevolent man, governor of Egypt,
of which he wrote the history, under Nero. _Tacitus_, _Annals_,
bk. 13, ch. 22.
=Balbīnus=, an admirer of Agna, mentioned _Horace_, bk. 1, satire 3,
li. 40.――――A Roman who, after governing provinces with credit and
honour, assassinated the Gordians, and seized the purple. He was
some time after murdered by his ♦soldiers. A.D. 238.
♦ ‘soldier’ replaced with ‘soldiers’
=Balbus=, a mountain of Africa, famous for the retreat of Masinissa,
after he had fought a battle against Syphax.
=Lucius Balbus=, a lawyer, &c., one among the pupils of Scævola.――――A
man killed by the assassins of the triumvirs.
=Baleares=, three islands in the Mediterranean, modernly called
_Majorca_, _Minorca_, and _Yvica_, on the coast of Spain. The word
is derived from βαλλειν, _to throw_, because the inhabitants were
expert archers and slingers, besides great pirates. We are told by
Florus, that the mothers never gave their children breakfast before
they had struck with an arrow a certain mark in a tree. When a woman
was married, she was not admitted to her husband’s bed before she
had received the embraces of all her relations. The inhabitants
were naturally of a lascivious propensity, and in their wars they
required nothing but females and wine, and often exchanged four men
for one woman. _Strabo_, bk. 14.――_Florus_, bk. 3, ch. 8.――_Diodorus_,
bk. 5.
=Balētus=, a son of Hippo, who first founded Corinth. _Paterculus_
bk. 1, ch. 3.
=Balius=, a horse of Achilles. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 16, li. 146.
=Balista=, a mountain of Liguria. _Livy_, bk. 40, ch. 41.
=Ballonŏti=, a people of European Sarmatia. _Flaccus_, bk. 6, li. 160.
=Balneæ= (_baths_), were very numerous at Rome, private as well as
public. In the ancient times simplicity was observed; but in the age
of the emperors they became expensive; they were used after walking,
exercise, or labour, and were deemed more necessary than luxurious.
Under the emperors it became so fashionable to bathe, that without
this the meanest of the people seemed to be deprived of one of the
necessaries of life. There were certain hours of the day appointed
for bathing, and a small piece of money admitted the poorest,
as well as the most opulent. In the baths there were separate
apartments for the people to dress and to undress; and after they
had bathed, they commonly covered themselves, the hair was plucked
out of the skin, and the body rubbed over with a pumice stone, and
perfumed to render it smooth and fair. The Roman emperors generally
built baths, and all endeavoured to eclipse each other in the
magnificence of the building. It is said that ♦Diocletian employed
40,000 of his soldiers in building his baths; and when they were
finished, he destroyed all the workmen. Alexander Severus first
permitted the people to use them in the night, and he himself often
bathed with the common people. For some time both sexes bathed
promiscuously and without shame, and the edicts of the emperors
proved abortive for a while in abolishing that indecent custom,
which gradually destroyed the morals of the people. They generally
read in bathing, and we find many compositions written in the midst
of this luxurious enjoyment.
♦ ‘Dioclesian’ replaced with ‘Diocletian’ for consistency
=Balventius=, a centurion of great valour in Cæsar’s army, killed by
Ambiorix. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 5, ch. 35.
=Balyras=, a river of Peloponnesus. _Pausanias_, bk. 4, ch. 33.
=Bamurūæ=, a people of Libya. _Silius Italicus_, bk. 3, li. 303.
=Bantia=, now _St. Maria de Vanse_, a town of Apulia, whence
_Bantinus_. _Horace_, bk. 3, ode 4, li. 15.
=Lucius Bantius=, a gallant youth of Nola, whom Annibal found after
the battle of Cannæ, almost dead among the heaps of slain. He was
sent home with great humanity, upon which he resolved to betray his
country to so generous an enemy. Marcellus the Roman general heard
of it, and rebuked Bantius, who continued firm and faithful to the
interest of Rome. _Livy_, bk. 35, ch. 15.
=Baphy̆rus=, a river of Macedonia. _Livy_, bk. 44, ch. 6.
=Baptæ=, the priests of Cotytto, the goddess of lasciviousness and
debauchery at Athens. Her festivals were celebrated in the night;
and so infamous and obscene was the behaviour of the priests, that
they disgusted even Cotytto herself, though the goddess of obscenity.
The name is derived from βαπτειν, _to wash_, because the priests
bathed themselves in the most effeminate manner. _Juvenal_, satire 2,
li. 91.――――A comedy of Eupolis, on which men are introduced dancing
on the stage, with all the indecent gestures of common prostitutes.
=Baræi=, a people of Cholcis and Iberia, who burnt the bodies of their
friends who died by disease, but gave to the fowls of the air such
as fell in war. _Ælian_, _de Natura Animalium_, bk. 10, ch. 22.
=Barăthrum=, a deep and obscure gulf at Athens, where criminals were
thrown.――――The word is applied to the infernal regions by _Valerius
Flaccus_, bk. 2, lis. 86 & 192.
=Barbări=, a name originally applied to those who spoke inelegantly,
or with harshness and difficulty. The Greeks and Romans generally
called all nations, except their own, by the despicable name of
Barbarians.
=Barbăria=, a river of Macedonia. _Livy_, bk. 44, ch. 31.――――A name
given to Phrygia and Troy. _Horace_, bk. 1, ltr. 2, li. 7.
=Barbătus=, the surname of a Roman family. _Suetonius_, _Claudius_,
ch. 21.
=Barbosthĕnes=, a mountain of Peloponnesus, 10 miles from Sparta.
_Livy_, bk. 35, ch. 27.
=Barbythăce=, a city of Persia. _Pliny_, bk. 6, ch. 27.
=Barca=, a friend of Cato the elder. _Plutarch_, _Cato the Younger_.
=Barcæi=, or =Barcitæ=, a warlike nation of Africa, near the city of
Carthage. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 4, li. 43.
=Barce=, the nurse of Sichæus. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 4, li. 632.――――A
large country of Africa.――――Also a city about nine miles from the
sea, founded by the brothers of Arcesilaus king of Cyrene, 515 years
before the christian era. Strabo says, that in his age it was called
Ptolemais; but this arises because most of the inhabitants retired
to Ptolemais, which was on the sea coast, to enrich themselves by
commerce. _Strabo_, bk. 17.――_Ptolemy_, bk. 4, ch. 4.――――A small
village of Bactriana, where the people who had been taken prisoners
by Darius in Africa, were confined. _Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch. 204.
――――A city of Media. _Justin_, bk. 1, ch. 7.
=Barcha=, the surname of a noble family at Carthage, from which Annibal
and Hamilcar were descended. By means of their bribes and influence,
they excited a great faction, which is celebrated in the annals of
Carthage by the name of the _Barchinian faction_, and at last raised
themselves to power, and to the independent disposal of all the
offices of trust or emolument in the state. _Livy_, bk. 21, chs. 2
& 9.
=Bardæi=, a people of Illyricum concerned in the factions of Marius.
_Plutarch_, _Marius_.
=Bardi=, a celebrated sacerdotal order among the ancient Gauls, who
praised their heroes, and published their fame in their verses, or
on musical instruments. They were so esteemed and respected by the
people, that, at their sight, two armies which were engaged in
battle laid down their arms, and submitted to their orders. They
censured, as well as commended, the behaviour of the people. _Lucan_,
bk. 1, li. 447.――_Strabo_, bk. 4.――_Marcellinus_, bk. 15, ch. 24.
=Bardyllis=, an Illyrian prince, whose daughter Bircenna married king
Pyrrhus. _Plutarch_, _Pyrrhus_.
=Bareas Soranus=, a youth killed by his tutor Egnatius, a Stoic
philosopher. _Juvenal_, satire 3, li. 116.
=Bares=, a naval officer of Persia, who wished to destroy Cyrene, but
was opposed by Amasis. _Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch. 203.
=Bargusii=, a people of Spain, at the east of the Iberus. _Livy_,
bk. 21, ch. 19.
=Bargyliæ=, a town of Caria.
=Barīne=, a prostitute whom _Horace_ accuses of perjury. Bk. 2, ode 8.
=Barisses=, one of the seven conspirators against the usurper Smerdis.
_Ctesias._
=Barium=, a town of Apulia, on the Adriatic, now called Bari, and
remarkable for its fine fish. _Horace_, bk. 1, satire 5, li. 97.
=Barnuus=, a town of Macedonia near Heraclea. _Strabo_, bk. 7.
=Barrus=, a man ridiculed by Horace as proud of his beauty. _Horace_,
bk. 1, satire 6, li. 30.
=Barsīne= and =Barsēne=, a daughter of Darius, who married Alexander,
by whom she had a son called Hercules. Cassander ordered her and her
child to be put to death. _Justin_, bk. 13, ch. 2; bk. 15, ch. 2.
――_Arrian._
=Barzaentes=, a satrap who revolted from Alexander, &c. _Curtius_,
bk. 8, ch. 13.
=Barzanes=, a king of Armenia, tributary to Ninus. _Diodorus_, bk. 2.
=Basilēa=, a daughter of Cœlus and Terra, who was mother of all the
gods. _Diodorus_, bk. 3.――――An island at the north of Gaul, famous
for its amber. _Diodorus_, bk. 5.――――An island in the Euxine sea.
_Pliny_, bk. 4, ch. 13.
=Basilīdæ=, European Sarmatians, descended from Hercules and Echidna.
_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 1.
=Basilīdes=, the father of Herodotus, who, with others, attempted to
destroy Strattes tyrant of Chios. _Herodotus_, bk. 8, ch. 132.――――A
family who held an oligarchical power at Erythræ. _Strabo_, bk. 14.
――――A priest of mount Carmel, who foretold many momentous events to
Vespasian, when he offered sacrifices. _Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 2,
ch. 87.――_Suetonius_, _Vespasian_, ch. 7.
=Basilĭpŏtămos=, the ancient name of the Eurotas. _Strabo_, bk. 6.
=Basĭlis=, an historian who wrote concerning India. _Athenæus._――――A
city of Arcadia, built by Cypselus, near the river Alpheus.
_Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 29.
=Basilius=, a river of Mesopotamia falling into the Euphrates.
_Strabo._――――A celebrated bishop of Africa, very animated against
the Arians, whose tenets and doctrines he refuted with warmth, but
great ability. He was eloquent as well as ingenious, and possessed
of all those abilities which constitute the persuasive orator and
the elegant writer. Erasmus has placed him in the number of the
greatest orators of antiquity. He died in his 51st year, A.D. 379.
The latest edition of his works is that of the Benedictines, folio,
Paris, 1721.
=Basĭlus=, a general who assisted Antony. _Lucan_, bk. 4, li. 416.
――――An insignificant lawyer. _Juvenal_, satire 7, li. 146.――――A
pretor who plundered the provinces. _Juvenal_, satire 10, li. 222.
=Bassæ=, a place of Arcadia, where Apollo had a temple. _Pausanias_,
bk. 8, chs. 30 & 41.
=Bassania=, a town of Macedonia near Illyricum. _Livy_, bk. 44, ch. 30.
=Bassăreus=, a surname of Bacchus, from the dress or long robe, called
_Bassaris_, which his priests wore. _Horace_, bk. 1, ode 18.
=Bassărĭdes=, a name given to the votaries of Bacchus, and to Agave by
Persius, which seems derived from _Bassara_, a town of Libya sacred
to the god, or from a particular dress worn by his priestesses, and
so called by the Thracians. _Persius_, bk. 1, li. 101.
=Bassus Aufidius=, an historian in the age of Augustus, who wrote on
the Germanic war. _Quintilian_, bk. 10, ch. 1.――――Cæsius, a lyric
poet in Nero’s age, to whom Persius addressed his sixth satire.
Some of his verses are extant.――――Julius, an orator in the reign of
Augustus, some of whose orations have been preserved by Seneca.――――A
man spoken of by _Horace_, bk. 1, ode 36, li. 14, and described as
fond of wine and women.
=Bastarnæ= and =Basternæ=, a people of European Sarmatia, destroyed
by a sudden storm as they pursued the Thracians. _Livy_, bk. 40,
ch. 58.――_Ovid_, _Tristia_, bk. 2, li. 198.――_Strabo_, bk. 7.
=Bastia=, the wife of Metellus. _Livy_, fragment, bk. 89.
=Bata=, a seaport of Asia, on the Euxine, opposite Sinope. _Strabo_,
bk. 6.
=Batāvi=, a people of Germany who inhabited that part of the continent
known under the modern name of Holland, and called by the ancients,
_Batavorum insula_. _Livy_, bk. 4, ch. 15.――_Lucan_, bk. 1, li. 431.
=Bathos=, a river near the Alpheus. _Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 29.
=Bathycles=, a celebrated artist of Magnesia. _Pausanias_, bk. 3,
ch. 19.
=Bathyllus=, a beautiful youth of Samos, greatly beloved by Polycrates
the tyrant, and by Anacreon. _Horace_, epode 14, li. 9.――――Mecænas
was also fond of a youth of Alexandria, of the same name. _Juvenal_,
satire 6, li. 63.――――The poet who claimed as his own Virgil’s
distich, _Nocte pluit totâ_, &c., bore also the same name.――――A
fountain of Arcadia. _Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 31.
=Lentulus Batiātus=, a man of Campania, who kept a house full of
gladiators who rebelled against him. _Plutarch_, _Crassus_.
=Batīa=, a naiad who married Œbalus. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 10.
――――A daughter of Teucer, who married Dardanus. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3,
ch. 10.
=Batīna= and =Bantīna=. _See:_ Bantia.
=Bātis=, a eunuch, governor of Gaza, who, upon being unwilling to
yield, was dragged round the city tied by the heels to Alexander’s
chariot. _Curtius_, bk. 4, ch. 6.
=Bato=, a Dardanian, who revolted to Rome from king Philip. _Livy_,
bk. 31, ch. 28.
=Baton= of Sinope, wrote commentaries on the Persian affairs. _Strabo_,
bk. 12.――――A charioteer of Amphiaraus. _Pausanias_, bk. 5, ch. 17.
=Batrachomyomachia=, a poem, describing the _fight_ between _frogs_
and _mice_, written by Homer, which has been printed sometimes
separately from the Iliad or Odyssey. The best edition of it is
Maittaire’s, 8vo, London, 1721.
=Battiădes=, a patronymic of Callimachus, from his father Battus.
_Ovid_, _Ibis_, li. 53.――――A name given to the people of Cyrene from
king Battus. _Silius Italicus_, bk. 3, li. 253.
=Battis=, a girl, celebrated by Philetus the elegiac poet. _Ovid_,
_Tristia_, bk. 1, poem 5.
=Battus I.=, a Lacedæmonian who built the town of Cyrene, B.C. 630,
with a colony from the island of Thera. He was son of Polymnestus
and Phronime, and reigned in the town he had founded, and after
death received divine honours. The difficulty with which he spoke
first procured him the name of Battus. _Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch.
155, &c.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10, ch. 15.――――The second of that name
was grandson to Battus I. by Arcesilaus. He succeeded his father
on the throne of Cyrene, and was surnamed _Felix_, and died 554
B.C. _Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch. 159, &c.――――A shepherd of Pylos, who
promised Mercury that he would not discover his having stolen the
flocks of Admetus, which Apollo tended. He violated his promise,
and was turned into a pumice stone. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 2,
li. 702.――――A general of Corinth against Athens. _Thucydides_, bk. 4,
ch. 43.――――A buffoon of Caesar’s. _Plutarch_, _Convivium Septem
Sapientium_, ch. 6.
=Batŭlum=, a town of Campania, whose inhabitants assisted Turnus
against Æneas. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 739.
=Batŭlus=, a surname of Demosthenes, from his effeminacy when young.
_Plutarch_, _Demosthenes_.
=Batyllus=, a celebrated dancer in Domitian’s reign. _Juvenal_,
satire 6, li. 63.