in writing pantomimes. Julius Cæsar compelled him to act one of his
characters on the stage. The poet consented with great reluctance,
but he showed his resentment during the acting of the piece by
throwing severe aspersions upon Julius Cæsar, by warning the
audience against his tyranny, and by drawing upon him the eyes
of the whole theatre. Cæsar, however, restored him to the rank
of knight which he had lost by appearing on the stage; but to his
mortification, when he went to take his seat among the knights,
no one offered to make room for him, and even his friend Cicero
said, _Recepissem te nisi angustè sederem_. Laberius was offended
at the affectation and insolence of Cicero, and reflected upon
his unsettled and pusillanimous behaviour during the civil wars of
Cæsar and Pompey, by the reply of _Mirum si angustè sedes, qui soles
duabas sellis sedere_. Laberius died 10 months after the murder
of Julius Cæsar. Some fragments remain of his poetry. _Macrobius_,
_Saturnalia_, bk. 2, chs. 3 & 7.――_Horace_, bk. 1, satire 10.
――_Seneca_, _de Controversiæ_, bk. 7, ch. 3.――_Suetonius_, _Cæsar_,
ch. 39.――――Quintus Durus, a tribune of the soldiers in Cæsar’s
legions, killed in Britain. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_.
=Labīcum=, now _Colonna_, a town of Italy, called also _Lavicum_,
between Gabii and Tusculum, which became a Roman colony about four
centuries B.C. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 796.――_Livy_, bk. 2,
ch. 39; bk. 4, ch. 47.
=Lăbiēnus=, an officer of Cæsar in the wars of Gaul. He deserted to
Pompey, and was killed at the battle of Munda. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_,
bk. 6, &c.――_Lucan_, bk. 5, li. 346.――――A Roman who followed the
interest of Brutus and Cassius, and became general of the Parthians
against Rome. He was conquered by the officers of Augustus. _Strabo_,
bks. 12 & 14.――_Dio Cassius_, bk. 48.――――Titus, an historian
and orator at Rome in the age of Augustus, who admired his own
compositions with all the pride of superior genius and incomparable
excellence. The senate ordered his papers to be burnt on account of
their seditious contents; and Labienus, unable to survive the loss
of his writings, destroyed himself. _Suetonius_, _Caligula_, ch. 16.
――_Seneca._
=Labinētus=, or =Labynētus=, a king of Babylon, &c. _Herodotus_, bk. 1,
ch. 74.
=Labotas=, a river near Antioch in Syria. _Strabo_, bk. 16.――――A son
of Echestratus, who made war against Argos, &c.
=Labradeus=, a surname of Jupiter in Caria. The word is derived from
_labrys_ which in the language of the country signifies a hatchet,
which Jupiter’s statue held in its hand. _Plutarch._
=Labron=, a part of Italy on the Mediterranean, supposed to be Leghorn.
_Cicero_ bk. 2, _Letters to his brother Quintus_, ltr. 6.
=Lăby̆rinthus=, a building whose numerous passages and perplexing
windings render the escape from it difficult, and almost
impracticable. There were four very famous among the ancients; one
near the city of Crocodiles or Arsinoe, another in Crete, a third
at Lemnos, and a fourth in Italy, built by Porsenna. That of Egypt
was the most ancient, and Herodotus, who saw it, declares that the
beauty and art of the building were almost beyond belief. It was
built by 12 kings, who at one time reigned in Egypt, and it was
intended for the place of their burial, and to commemorate the
actions of their reign. It was divided into 12 halls, or, according
to Pliny, into 16, or, as Strabo mentions, into 27. The halls were
vaulted, according to the relation of Herodotus. They had each six
doors, opening to the north, and the same number to the south, all
surrounded by one wall. The edifice contained 3000 chambers, 1500 in
the upper part, and the same number below. The chambers above were
seen by Herodotus, and astonished him beyond conception, but he
was not permitted to see those below, where were buried the holy
crocodiles and the monarchs whose munificence had raised the edifice.
The roofs and walls were encrusted with marble, and adorned with
sculptured figures. The halls were surrounded with stately and
polished pillars of white stone, and, according to some authors,
the opening of the doors was artfully attended with a terrible
noise like peals of thunder. The labyrinth of Crete was built by
Dædalus, in imitation of that of Egypt, and it is the most famous
of all in classical history. It was the place of confinement for
Dædalus himself, and the prison of the Minotaur. According to
Pliny the labyrinth of Lemnos surpassed the others in grandeur and
magnificence. It was supported by 40 columns of uncommon height and
thickness, and equally admirable for their beauty and splendour.
Modern travellers are still astonished at the noble and magnificent
ruins which appear of the Egyptian labyrinth, at the south of the
lake Mœris, about 30 miles from the ruins of Arsinoe. _Mela_, bk. 1,
ch. 9.――_Pliny_, bk. 36, ch. 13.――_Strabo_, bk. 10.――_Diodorus_, bk.
1.――_Herodotus_, bk. 2, ch. 148.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 5, li. 588.
=Lăcæna=, an epithet applied to a female native of Laconia, and, among
others, to Helen. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6, li. 511.
=Lăcĕdæemon=, a son of Jupiter and Taygeta the daughter of Atlas,
who married Sparta the daughter of Eurotas, by whom he had Amyclas
and Eurydice the wife of Acrisius. He was the first who introduced
the worship of the Graces in Laconia, and who first built them
a temple. From Lacedæmon and his wife, the capital of Laconia
was called Lacedæmon and Sparta. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 10.
――_Hyginus_, fable 155.――_Pausanias_, bk. 3, ch. 1.――――A noble city
of Peloponnesus, the capital of Laconia called also _Sparta_, and
now known by the name of _Misitra_. It has been severally known by
the name of _Lelegia_, from the Leleges the first inhabitants of the
country, or from Lelex one of their kings; and _Œbalia_, from Œbalus
the sixth king from Eurotas. It was also called _Hecatompolis_
from the 100 cities which the whole province once contained. Lelex
is supposed to have been the first king. His descendants, 13 in
number, reigned successively after him, till the reign of the sons
of Orestes, when the Heraclidæ recovered the Peloponnesus, about 80
years after the Trojan war. Procles and Eurysthenes, the descendants
of the Heraclidæ, enjoyed the crown together, and after them it
was decreed that the two families should always sit on the throne
together. _See:_ Eurysthenes. These two brothers began to reign
B.C. 1102. Their successors in the family of Procles were called
_Proclidæ_, and afterwards _Eurypontidæ_, and those of Eurysthenes,
_Eurysthenidæ_, and afterwards _Agidæ_. The successors of Procles
on the throne began to reign in the following order: Sous 1060 B.C.,
after his father had reigned 42 years; Eurypon, 1028; Prytanis,
1021; Eunomus, 986; Polydectes, 907; Lycurgus, 898; Charilaus,
873; Nicander, 809; Theopompus, 770; Zeuxidamus, 723; Anaxidamus,
690; Archidamus, 651; Agasicles, 605; Ariston, 564; Demaratus,
526; Leotychides, 491; Archidamus, 469; Agis, 427; Agesilaus, 397;
Archidamus, 361; Agis II., 338; Eudamidas, 330; Archidamus, 295;
Eudamidas II., 268; Agis, 244; Archidamus, 230; Euclidus, 225;
Lycurgus, 219. The successors of Eurysthenes were Agis, 1059;
Echestratus, 1058; Labotas, 1023; Doryssus, 986; Agesilaus, 957;
Archelaus, 913; Teleclus, 853; Alcamenes, 813; Polydorus, 776;
Eurycrates, 724; Anaxander, 687; Eurycrates II., 644; Leon, 607;
Anaxandrides, 563; Cleomenes, 530; Leonidas, 491; Plistarchus,
under guardianship of Pausanius, 480; Plistoanax, 466; Pausanius,
408; Agesipolis, 397; Cleombrotus, 380; Agesipolis II., 371;
Cleomenes II., 370; Aretus or Areus, 309; Acrotatus, 265; Areus II.,
264; Leonidas, 257; Cleombrotus, 243; Leonidas restored, 241;
Cleomenes, 235; Agesipolis, 219. Under the two last kings, Lycurgus
and Agesipolis, the monarchical power was abolished, though
Machanidas the tyrant made himself absolute, B.C. 210, and Nabis,
206, for 14 years. In the year 191 B.C. Lacedæmon joined the Achæan
league, and about three years after the walls were demolished by
order of Philopœmen. The territories of Laconia shared the fate
of the Achæn confederacy, and the whole was conquered by Mummius,
147 B.C., and converted into a Roman province. The inhabitants of
Lacedæmon have rendered themselves illustrious for their courage
and intrepidity, for their love of honour and liberty, and for
their aversion to sloth and luxury. They were inured from their
youth to labour, and their laws commanded them to make war their
profession. They never applied themselves to any trade, but their
only employment was arms, and they left everything else to the care
of their slaves. _See:_ Helotæ. They hardened their body by stripes
and other manly exercises, and accustomed themselves to undergo
hardships, and even to die, without fear or regret. From their
valour in the field, and their moderation and temperance at home,
they were courted and revered by all the neighbouring princes, and
their assistance was severally implored to protect the Sicilians,
Carthaginians, Thracians, Egyptians, Cyreneans, &c. They were
forbidden by the laws of their country [_See:_ Lycurgus] to
visit foreign states, lest their morals should be corrupted by an
intercourse with effeminate nations. The austere manner in which
their children were educated, rendered them undaunted in the field
of battle, and from this circumstance, Leonidas, with a small
band, was enabled to resist the millions of the army of Xerxes at
Thermopylæ. The women were as courageous as the men, and many a
mother has celebrated with festivals the death of her son who had
fallen in battle, or has coolly put him to death, if, by a shameful
flight or loss of his arms, he brought disgrace upon his country. As
to domestic manners, the Lacedæmonians as widely differed from their
neighbours as in political concerns, and their noblest women were
not ashamed to appear on the stage hired for money. In the affairs
of Greece, the interest of the Lacedæmonians was often powerful, and
obtained the superiority for 500 years. Their jealousy of the power
and greatness of the Athenians is well known. The authority of their
monarchs was checked by the watchful eye of the Ephori, who had the
power of imprisoning the kings themselves if guilty of misdemeanours.
_See:_ Ephori. The Lacedæmonians are remarkable for the honour and
reverence which they paid to old age. The names of _Lacedæmon_ and
_Sparta_ are promiscuously applied to the capital of Laconia, and
often confounded together. The latter was applied to the metropolis,
and the former was reserved for the inhabitants of the suburbs,
or rather of the country contiguous to the walls of the city. This
propriety of distinction was originally observed, but in process of
time it was totally lost, and both appellatives were soon synonymous,
and indiscriminately applied to the city and country. _See:_ Sparta,
Laconia. The place where the city stood is now called _Paleo Chori_
(_the old town_), and the new one erected on its ruins at some
distance on the west is called _Misatra_. _Livy_, bk. 34, ch. 33;
bk. 45, ch. 28.――_Strabo_, bk. 8.――_Thucydides_, bk. 1.――_Pausanias_,
bk. 3.――_Justin_, bks. 2, 3, &c.――_Herodotus_, bk. 1, &c.
――_Plutarch_, _Lycurgus_, &c.――_Diodorus._――_Mela_, bk. 2. There
were some festivals celebrated at Lacedæmon, the names of which
are not known. It was customary for the women to drag all the old
bachelors round the altars, and beat them with their fists, that the
shame and ignominy to which they were exposed might induce them to
marry, &c. _Athenæus_, bk. 13.
=Lăcĕdæmŏnii= and =Lăcĕdæmŏnes=, the inhabitants of Lacedæmon. _See:_
Lacedæmon.
=Lăcĕdæmŏnius=, a son of Cimon by Clitoria. He received this name from
his father’s regard for the Lacedæmonians. _Plutarch._
=Lăcerta=, a soothsayer in Domitian’s age, who acquired immense riches
by his art. _Juvenal_, satire 7, li. 114.
=Lacetania=, a district at the north of Spain. _Livy_, bk. 21, ch. 23.
=Lachăres=, a man who seized the supreme power at Athens when the city
was in discord, and was banished B.C. 296. _Polyænus_, bk. 4.――――An
Athenian three times taken prisoner. He deceived his keepers, and
escaped, &c. _Polyænus_, bk. 3.――――A son of Mithridates king of
Bosphorus. He was received into alliance by Lucullus.――――A robber
condemned by Marcus Antony.――――An Egyptian, buried in the labyrinth
near Arsinoe.
=Laches=, an Athenian general in the age of Epaminondas. _Diodorus_,
bk. 12.――――An Athenian sent with Carias at the head of a fleet in
the first expedition undertaken against Sicily in the Peloponnesian
war. _Justin_, bk. 4, ch. 3.――――An artist who finished the Colossus
of Rhodes.
=Lăchĕsis=, one of the Parcæ, whose name is derived from λαχειν, _to
measure out by lot_. She presided over futurity, and was represented
as spinning the thread of life, or, according to others, holding the
spindle. She generally appeared covered with a garment variegated
with stars, and holding spindles in her hand. _See:_ Parcæ.
_Statius_, _Thebiad_, bk. 2, li. 249.――_Martial_, bk. 4, ltr. 54.
=Lacidas=, a Greek philosopher of Cyrene, who flourished B.C. 241. His
father’s name was Alexander. He was disciple of Arcesilaus, whom he
succeeded in the government of the second academy. He was greatly
esteemed by king Attalus, who gave him a garden where he spent his
hours in study. He taught his disciples to suspend their judgment,
and never speak decisively. He disgraced himself by the magnificent
funeral with which he honoured a favourite goose. He died through
excess of drinking. _Diogenes Laërtius_, bk. 4.
=Lacīdes=, a village near Athens, which derived its name from Lacius,
an Athenian hero, whose exploits are unknown. Here Zephyrus had an
altar sacred to him, and likewise Ceres and Proserpine a temple.
_Pausanias_, bk. 1, ch. 37.
=Lăcīnia=, a surname of Juno from her temple at Lacinium in Italy,
which the Crotonians held in great veneration, and where there was
a famous statue of Helen by Zeuxis. _See:_ Zeuxis. On an altar near
the door were ashes which the wind could not blow away. Fulvius
Flaccus took away a marble piece from this sacred place, to finish
a temple that he was building at Rome to Fortuna Equestris; and
it is said that, for this sacrilege, he afterwards led a miserable
life, and died in the greatest agonies. _Strabo_, bk. 6.――_Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 15, lis. 12 & 702.――_Livy_, bk. 42, ch. 3.
――_Valerius Maximus_, bk. 1, ch. 1.
=Lacīnienses=, a people of Liburnia.
=Lacīnium=, a promontory of Magna Græcia, now cape _Colonna_, the
southern boundary of Tarentum in Italy, where Juno Lacinia had a
temple held in great veneration. It received its name from Lacinius,
a famous robber killed there by Hercules. _Livy_, bk. 24, ch. 3;
bk. 27, ch. 5; bk. 30, ch. 20.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 3, li. 522.
=Lacmon=, a part of mount Pindus where the Inachus flows. _Herodotus_,
bk. 9, ch. 93.
=Laco=, a favourite of Galba, mean and cowardly in his character. He
was put to death.――――An inhabitant of Laconia or Lacedæmon.
=Lacobriga=, a city of Spain, where ♦Sertorius was besieged by
Metellus.
♦ ‘Sertorious’ replaced with ‘Sertorius’
=Lacōnia=, =Lacōnĭca=, and =Lacedæmon=, a country in the southern
parts of Peloponnesus, having Argos and Arcadia on the north,
Messenia on the west, the Mediterranean on the south, and the bay of
Argos at the east. Its extent from north to south was about 50 miles.
It is watered by the river Eurotas. The capital is called Sparta,
or Lacedæmon. The inhabitants never went on an expedition or engaged
an enemy but at the full moon. _See:_ Lacedæmon. The brevity with
which they always expressed themselves is now become proverbial, and
by the epithet of _Laconic_ we understand whatever is concise and
not loaded with unnecessary words. The word _Laconicum_ is applied
to some hot baths used among the ancients, and first invented at
Lacedæmon. _Cicero_, bk. 4, _Letters to Atticus_, ltr. 10.――_Strabo_,
bk. 1.――_Ptolemy_, bk. 3, ch. 16.――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 3.
=Lacrătes=, a Theban, general of a detachment sent by Artaxerxes to
the assistance of the Egyptians. _Diodorus_, bk. 16.
=Lacrĭnes=, a Lacedæmonian ambassador to Cyrus. _Herodotus_, bk. 1,
ch. 152.
=Lactantius=, a celebrated christian writer, whose principal works are
_de irâ divinâ_, _de Dei operibus_, and his _divine institutions_,
in seven books, in which he proves the truth of the christian
religion, refutes objections, and attacks the illusions and
absurdities of paganism. The expressive purity, elegance, and energy
of his style have gained him the name of the christian Cicero. He
died A.D. 325.――――The best editions of his works are that of Sparke,
8vo, Oxford, 1684; that of Bimeman, 2 vols., 8vo, Lipscomb, 1739;
and that of Du Fresnoy, 2 vols., 4to, Paris, 1748.
=Lacter=, a promontory of the island of Cos.
=Lacydes=, a philosopher. _See:_ Lacidas.
=Lacȳdus=, an effeminate king of Argos.
=Ladas=, a celebrated courier of Alexander, born at Sicyon. He was
honoured with a brazen statue, and obtained a crown of Olympia.
_Martial_, bk. 10, ltr. 10.――_Juvenal_, satire 13, li. 97.
=Lade=, an island of the Ægean sea, on the coast of Asia Minor, where
was a naval battle between the Persians and Ionians. _Herodotus_,
bk. 6, ch. 7.――_Pausanias_, bk. 1, ch. 35.――_Strabo_, bk. 17.
=Lades=, a son of Imbrasus, killed by Turnus. _Virgil_, _Æneid_,
bk. 12, li. 343.
=Ladocea=, a village of Arcadia. _Pausanias._
=Ladon=, a river of Arcadia, falling into the Alpheus. The
metamorphosis of Daphne into a laurel, and of Syrinx into a reed,
happened near its banks. _Strabo_, bk. 1.――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 3.
――_Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 25.―― _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 1,
li. 659.――――An Arcadian who followed Æneas into Italy, where he was
killed. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 10, li. 413.――――One of Actæon’s dogs.
_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 3, li. 216.
=Lælaps=, one of Actæon’s dogs. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 3.――――The
dog of Cephalus, given him by Procis. _See:_ Lelaps, &c. _Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 7.
=Lælia=, a vestal virgin.
=Læliānus=, a general, proclaimed emperor in Gaul by his soldiers,
A.D. 268, after the death of Gallienus. His triumph was short; he
was conquered and put to death after a few months’ reign by another
general called _Posthumus_, who aspired to the imperial purple as
well as himself.
=Caius Lælius=, a Roman consul, A.U.C. 614, surnamed _Sapiens_, so
intimate with Africanus the younger, that Cicero represents him
in his treatise _De Amicitiâ_, as explaining the real nature of
friendship, with its attendant pleasures. He made war with success
against Viriathus. It is said that he assisted Terence in the
composition of his comedies. His modesty, humanity, and the manner
in which he patronized letters, are as celebrated as his greatness
of mind and integrity in the character of a statesman. _Cicero_,
_On Oratory_.――――Another consul, who accompanied Scipio Africanus
the elder in his campaigns in Spain and Africa.――――Archelaus, a
famous grammarian. _Suetonius._
=Læna= and =Leæna=, the mistress of Harmodius and Aristogiton. Being
tortured because she refused to discover the conspirators, she bit
off her tongue, totally to frustrate the violent efforts of her
executioners.――――A man who was acquainted with the conspiracy formed
against Cæsar.
=Lænas=, a surname of the Popilii at Rome.
=Læneus=, a river of Crete, where Jupiter brought the ravished Europa.
_Strabo._
=Læpa Magna=, a town of Spain. _Mela_, bk. 3, ch. 1.
=Laertes=, a king of Ithaca, son of Arcesius and Chalcomedusa, who
married Anticlea the daughter of Autolycus. Anticlea was pregnant by
Sisyphus when she married Laertes, and eight months after her union
with the king of Ithaca, she brought forth a son called Ulysses.
_See:_ Anticlea. Ulysses was treated with paternal care by Laertes,
though not really his son, and Laertes ceded to him his crown and
retired into the country where he spent his time in gardening. He
was found in this mean employment by his son at his return from
the Trojan war, after 20 years’ absence, and Ulysses, at the sight
of his father, whose dress and old age declared his sorrow, long
hesitated whether he should suddenly introduce himself as his son,
or whether he should, as a stranger, gradually awaken the paternal
feelings of Laertes, who had believed that his son was no more. This
last measure was preferred, and when Laertes had burst into tears
at the mention which was made of his son, Ulysses threw himself on
his neck, exclaiming, “O father, I am he for whom you weep.” This
welcome declaration was followed by a recital of all the hardships
which Ulysses had suffered, and immediately after the father and son
repaired to the palace of Penelope the wife of Ulysses, whence all
the suitors who daily importuned the princess were forcibly removed.
Laertes was one of the Argonauts, according to _Apollodorus_, bk. 1,
ch. 9. _Homer_, _Odyssey_, bks. 11 & 24.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_,
bk. 13, li. 32; _Heroides_, poem 1, li. 98.――――A city of Cilicia,
which gave birth to Diogenes, surnamed _Laërtius_ from the place of
his birth.
=Laërtius Diogenes=, a writer born at Laertes. _See:_ Diogenes.
=Læstry̆gŏnes=, the most ancient inhabitants of Sicily. Some suppose
them to be the same as the people of Leontium, and to have been
neighbours to the Cyclops. They fed on human flesh, and when
Ulysses came on their coasts, they sunk his ships and devoured his
companions. _See:_ Antiphates. They were of a gigantic stature,
according to Homer, who, however, does not mention their country,
but only speaks of Lamus as their capital. A colony of them, as some
suppose, passed over into Italy, with Lamus at their head, where
they built the town of Formiæ, whence the epithet of _Læstrygonia_
is often used for that of _Formiana_. _Pliny_, bk. 3, ch. 5.――_Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 14, li. 233, &c.; _Fasti_, bk. 4; _ex Ponto_,
bk. 4, ltr. 10.――_Tzetzes_, _On Lycophron_, lis. 662 & 818.――_Homer_,
_Odyssey_, bk. 10, li. 81.――_Silius Italicus_, bk. 7, li. 276.
=Læta=, the wife of the emperor Gratian, celebrated for her humanity
and generous sentiments.
=Lætoria lex=, ordered that proper persons should be appointed to
provide for the security and the possession of such as were insane,
or squandered away their estates. It made it a high crime to abuse
the weakness of persons under such circumstances. _Cicero_, _de
Officiis_, bk. 3.
=Lætus=, a Roman whom Commodus condemned to be put to death. This
violence raised Lætus against Commodus; he conspired against him,
and raised Pertinax to the throne.――――A general of the emperor
Severus, put to death for his treachery to the emperor; or,
according to others, on account of his popularity.
=Lævi=, the ancient inhabitants of Gallia Transpadana.
=Lævīnus=, a Roman consul sent against Pyrrhus, A.U.C. 474. He informed
the monarch that the Romans would not accept him as an arbitrator
in the war with Tarentum, and feared him not as an enemy. He was
defeated by Pyrrhus.――――Publius Valerius, a man despised at Rome,
because he was distinguished by no good quality. _Horace_, bk. 1,
satire 6, li. 12.
=Lagaria=, a town of Lucania.
=Lagia=, a name of the island Delos. _See:_ Delos.
=Lagĭdes.= _See:_ Lagus.
=Laginia=, a town of Caria.