boar, and one of the Argonauts. He was so sharp-sighted that, as it
is reported, he could see through the earth, and distinguish objects
at the distance of above nine miles. He stole some oxen with his
brother Idas, and they were both killed by Castor and Pollux, when
they were going to celebrate their nuptials with the daughters of
Leucippus. _Apollodorus_, bks. 1 & 3.――_Hyginus_, fable.――_Pausanias_,
bk. 4, ch. 2.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 3, li. 303.――_Apollodorus_,
_Argonautica_, bk. 1.――――A son of Ægyptus, who married Hypermnestra
the daughter of Danaus. His life was spared by the love and humanity
of his wife. _See:_ Danaides. He made war against his father-in-law,
dethroned him, and seized his crown. Some say that Lynceus was
reconciled to Danaus, and that he succeeded him after his death,
and reigned 41 years. _Apollodorus_, bk. 2, ch. 1.――_Pausanias_,
bk. 2, chs. 16, 19, 25.――_Ovid_, _Heroides_, poem 14.――――One of the
companions of Æneas, killed by Turnus. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 9,
li. 768.
=Lyncus=, =Lyncæus=, or =Lynx=, a cruel king of Scythia, or, according
to others, of Sicily. He received, with feigned hospitality,
Triptolemus, whom Ceres had sent all over the world to teach mankind
agriculture; and as he was jealous of his commission, he resolved to
murder this favourite of the gods in his sleep. As he was going to
give the deadly blow to Triptolemus, he was suddenly changed into
a lynx, an animal which is the emblem of perfidy and ingratitude.
_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 5, li. 657.
=Lyncus=, a town of Macedonia, of which the inhabitants were called
Lyncestæ. _Pliny_, bk. 2, ch. 103; bk. 4, ch. 10.
=Lyndus=, a town of Sicily.
=Lyrcæ=, a people of Scythia, who live upon hunting.
=Lyrcæus=, a mountain of Arcadia. _See:_ Lycæus.――――A fountain.
_Statius_, _Thebiad_, bk. 4, li. 711.
=Lyrcea=, a town of Peloponnesus, formerly called Lyncea. _Pausanias_,
bk. 2, ch. 35.
=Lyrcus=, a king of Caunus in Caria, &c. _Parthenius._
=Lyrnessus=, a city of Cilicia, the native country of Briseis, called
from thence _Lyrnesseis_. It was taken and plundered by Achilles
and the Greeks at the time of the Trojan war, and the booty divided
among the conquerors. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 2, li. 197.――_Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 12, li. 108; _Heroides_, poem 3, li. 5;
_Tristia_, bk. 4, poem 1, li. 15.
=Lysander=, a celebrated general of Sparta, in the last years of the
Peloponnesian war. He drew Ephesus from the interest of Athens,
and gained the friendship of Cyrus the younger. He gave battle to
the Athenian fleet, consisting of 120 ships, at Ægospotamos, and
destroyed it all, except three ships, with which the enemy’s general
fled to Evagoras king of Cyprus. In this celebrated battle, which
happened 405 years before the christian era, the Athenians lost 3000
men, and with them their empire and influence among the neighbouring
states. Lysander well knew how to take advantage of his victory, and
the following year Athens, worn out by a long war of 27 years, and
discouraged by its misfortunes, gave itself up to the power of the
enemy, and consented to destroy the Piræus, to deliver up all its
ships, except 12, to recall all those who had been banished, and, in
short, to be submissive in every degree to the power of Lacedæmon.
Besides these humiliating conditions, the government of Athens
was totally changed, and 30 tyrants were set over it by Lysander.
This glorious success, and the honour of having put an end to the
Peloponnesian war, increased the pride of Lysander. He had already
begun to pave his way to universal power by establishing aristocracy
in the Grecian cities of Asia, and now he attempted to make the crown
of Sparta elective. In the pursuit of his ambition he used prudence
and artifice; and as he could not easily abolish a form of government
which ages and popularity had confirmed, he had recourse to the
assistance of the gods. His attempts, however, to corrupt the oracles
of Delphi, Dodona, and Jupiter Ammon, proved ineffectual, and he was
even accused of using bribes by the priests of the Libyan temple.
The sudden declaration of war against the Thebans saved him from
the accusations of his adversaries, and he was sent, together with
Pausanias, against the enemy. The plans of his military operations
were discovered, and the Haliartians, whose ruin he secretly
meditated, attacked him unexpectedly, and he was killed in a bloody
battle, which ended in the defeat of his troops, 394 years before
Christ. His body was recovered by his colleague Pausanias, and
honoured with a magnificent funeral. Lysander has been commended
for his bravery, but his ambition deserves the severest censure, and
his cruelty and his duplicity have greatly stained his character. He
was arrogant and vain in his public as well as private conduct, and
he received and heard with the greatest avidity the hymns which his
courtiers and flatterers sung to his honour. Yet in the midst of all
his pomp, his ambition, and intrigues, he died extremely poor, and
his daughters were rejected by two opulent citizens of Sparta, to
whom they had been betrothed during the life of their father. This
behaviour of the lovers was severely punished by the Lacedæmonians,
who protected from injury the children of a man whom they hated
for his sacrilege, his contempt of religion, and his perfidy. The
father of Lysander, whose name was Aristoclites or Aristocrates,
was descended from Hercules, though not reckoned of the race of the
Heraclidæ. _Plutarch_ & _Cornelius Nepos_, _Lives_.――_Diodorus_,
bk. 13.――――A Trojan chief, wounded by Ajax son of Telamon before
Troy. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 11, li. 491.――――One of the Ephori in the
reign of Agis, &c. _Plutarch._――――A grandson of the great Lysander.
_Pausanias._
=Lysandra=, a daughter of Ptolemy Lagus, who married Agathocles the son
of Lysimachus. She was persecuted by Arsinoe, and fled to Seleucus
for protection. _Pausanias_, bk. 1, ch. 9, &c.
=Lysaniax=, a man made king of Ituræa by Antony, &c.
=Lyse=, a daughter of Thespius. _Apollodorus._
=Lysiădes=, an Athenian, son of Phædrus the philosopher, &c.
_Cicero_, _Philippics_, bk. 5.――――An Athenian archon.――――A tyrant of
Megalopolis, who died B.C. 226. _Plutarch._
=Lysianassa=, one of the Nereides. _Apollodorus_, bk. 1, ch. 2.――――A
daughter of Epaphus, mother of Busiris. _Apollodorus_, bk. 2, ch. 5.
=Ly̆sias=, a celebrated orator, son of Cephalus, a native of Syracuse.
His father left Sicily and went to Athens, where Lysias was born
and carefully educated. In his 15th year he accompanied the colony
which the Athenians sent to Thurium, and after a long residence there
he returned home in his 47th year. He distinguished himself by his
eloquence, and by the simplicity, correctness, and purity of his
orations, of which he wrote no less than 425 according to Plutarch,
though the number may with more probability be reduced to 230. Of
these 34 are extant, the best editions of which are that of Taylor,
8vo, Cambridge. 1740, and that of Auger, 2 vols., 8vo, Paris, 1783.
He died in the 81st year of his age, 378 years before the christian
era. _Plutarch_, _Lives of the Ten Orators_.――_Cicero_, _Brutus_;
_On Oratory_.――_Quintilian_, bk. 3, &c.――_Diogenes Laërtius_,
bk. 2.――――An Athenian general, &c.――――A town of Phrygia. _Strabo._
――――Another of Syria, now _Berziech_, near Emesa.――――A tyrant of
Tarsus, B.C. 267.
=Lysĭcles=, an Athenian sent with Chares into Bœotia, to stop the
conquests of Philip of Macedonia. He was conquered at Chæronæa, and
sentenced to death for his ill conduct there.
=Lysĭdĭce=, a daughter of Pelops and Hippodamia, who married Mastor
the son of Perseus and Andromeda. _Apollodorus_, bk. 2, ch. 4.
――_Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 14.――――A daughter of Thespius.
_Apollodorus._
=Lysimăche=, a daughter of Abas the son of Melampus. _Apollodorus_,
bk. 1, ch. 9.――――A daughter of Priam. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 12.
=Lysimăchia=, now _Hexamili_, a city on the Thracian Chersonesus.
_Pausanias_, bk. 1, ch. 9.――――A town of Ætolia, built by Lysimachus.
_Strabo_, bks. 7 & 10.――――Another in Æolia. _Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 2.
=Lysimăchus=, a son of Agathocles, who was among the generals of
Alexander. After the death of that monarch, he made himself master
of part of Thrace, where he built a town which he called Lysimachia.
He sided with Cassander and Seleucus against Antigonus and Demetrius,
and fought with them at the celebrated battle of Ipsus. He afterwards
seized Macedonia, after expelling Pyrrhus from the throne, B.C.
286; but his cruelty rendered him odious, and the murder of his
son Agathocles so offended his subjects, that the most opulent and
powerful revolted from him and abandoned the kingdom. He pursued them
to Asia, and declared war against Seleucus, who had given them a kind
reception. He was killed in a bloody battle, 281 years before Christ,
in the 80th year of his age, and his body was found in the heaps
of slain only by the fidelity of a little dog, which had carefully
watched near it. It is said that the love and respect of Lysimachus
for his learned master Callisthenes proved nearly fatal to him. He,
as Justin mentions, was thrown into the den of a hungry lion, by
order of Alexander, for having given Callisthenes poison, to save
his life from ignominy and insult; and when the furious animal darted
upon him, he wrapped his hand in his mantle, and boldly thrust it
into the lion’s mouth, and by twisting his tongue killed an adversary
ready to devour him. This act of courage in his self-defence
recommended him to Alexander. He was pardoned, and ever after
esteemed by the monarch. _Justin_, bk. 15, ch. 3, &c.――_Diodorus_,
bk. 19, &c. _Pausanias_, bk. 1, ch. 10.――――An Acarnanian, preceptor
to Alexander the Great. He used to call himself Phœnix, his pupil
Achilles, and Philip Peleus. _Plutarch_, _Alexander_.――_Justin_,
bk. 15, ch. 3.――――An historian of Alexandria.――――A son of Aristides,
rewarded by the Athenians on account of the virtue of his father.
――――A chief priest among the Jews, about 204 years before Christ,
&c. _Josephus._――――A physician greatly attached to the notions of
Hippocrates.――――A governor of Heraclea in Pontus, &c.
=Lysimelia=, a marsh of Sicily near Syracuse.
=Lysinoe=, now _Aglasson_, a city of Asia, near Pamphylia. _Livy_,
bk. 38, ch. 15.
=Lysippe=, a daughter of Prœtus. _See:_ Prœtides.――――A daughter of
Thespius.
=Lysippus=, a famous statuary of Sicyon. He was originally a whitesmith,
and afterwards applied himself to painting, till his talents and
inclination taught him that he was born to excel in sculpture. He
flourished about 325 years before the christian era, in the age of
Alexander the Great. The monarch was so partial to the artist, that
he forbade any sculptor but Lysippus to make his statue. Lysippus
excelled in expressing the hair, and he was the first who made the
head of his statues less large, and the body smaller than usual, that
they might appear taller. This was observed by one of his friends,
and the artist gave for answer, that his predecessors had represented
men in their natural form, but that he represented them such as they
appeared. Lysippus made no less than 600 statues, the most admired
of which were those of Alexander; one of Apollo of Tarentum 40 cubits
high; one of a man coming out of a bath, with which Agrippa adorned
his baths; one of Socrates; and those of the 25 horsemen who were
drowned in the Granicus. These were so valued, that in the age of
Augustus, they were bought for their weight in gold. _Plutarch_,
_Alexander_.――_Cicero_, _Brutus_, ch. 164; _Rhetorica ad Herennium_,
bk. 4, ch. 148.――_Pliny_, bk. 37, ch. 7.――_Paterculus_, bk. 1, ch. 11.
――_Horace_, bk. 2, ltr. 1, li. 240.――――A comic poet, some of whose
plays are mentioned by Athenæus. _Pliny_, bk. 7, ch. 37.――――A general
of the Achæan league.
=Lysis=, a Pythagorean philosopher, preceptor to Epaminondas. He
flourished about 388 years before the christian era. He is supposed
by some to be the author of the golden verses which are attributed to
Pythagoras. _Cornelius Nepos_, _Epaminondas_, ch. 2.
=Lysistrătus=, an Athenian parasite.――――A brother of Lysippus. He was
the first artist who ever made a statue with wax. _Pliny_, bk. 34,
ch. 8; bk. 35, ch. 12.
=Lysithous=, a son of Priam. _Apollodorus._
=Lyso=, a friend of Cicero, &c. _Cicero_, bk. 13, _Letters to his
Friends_, ltr. 19,
=Lystra=, a town of Lycaonia.
=Lytæa=, a daughter of Hyacinthus, put to death by the Athenians.
_Apollodorus._
=Lyzanias=, a king of Chalcis, &c.
M
=Macæ=, a people of Arabia Felix. _Mela_, bk. 3, ch. 8. They are placed
in Africa near the larger Syrtis by _Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch. 175.
――_Silius Italicus_, bk. 3, li. 275; bk. 5, li. 194.
=Macar=, a son of Criasius or Crinacus, the first Greek who led a colony
to Lesbos. His four sons took possession of the four neighbouring
islands, Chios, Samos, Cos, and Rhodes, which were called the seats
of the Macares, or the blessed (μακαρ, _beatus_). _Dionysius of
Halicarnassus_, bk. 1.――_Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 24.――_Diodorus_, bk. 5.
――_Mela_, bk. 3, ch. 7.
=Măcăreus=, an ancient historian.――――A son of Æolus, who debauched his
sister Canace, and had a son by her. The father being informed of
the incest, ordered the child to be exposed, and sent a sword to
his daughter, and commanded her to destroy herself. Macareus fled to
Delphi, where he became priest of Apollo. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_;
_Heroides_, poem 11; _Ibis_, li. 562.――――One of the companions of
Ulysses, left at Caieta in Italy, where Æneas found him. _Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 14, li. 159.――――A son of Lycaon. _Apollodorus_,
bk. 3, ch. 8.――_Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 3.
=Măcăria=, a daughter of Hercules and Dejanira. After the death
of Hercules, Eurystheus made war against the Heraclidæ, whom the
Athenians supported, and the oracle declared, that the descendants
of Hercules should obtain the victory if any one of them devoted him
self to death. This was cheerfully accepted by Macaria, who refused
to endanger the life of the children of Hercules by suffering the
victim to be drawn by lot, and the Athenians obtained a victory.
Great honours were paid to the patriotic Macaria, and a fountain of
Marathon was called by her name. _Pausanias_, bk. 1, ch. 32.――――An
ancient name of Cyprus.
=Macăris=, an ancient name of Crete.
=Macednus=, a son of Lycaon. _Apollodorus._
=Măcēdo=, a son of Osiris, who had a share in the divine honours which
were paid to his father. He was represented clothed in a wolf’s skin,
for which reason the Egyptians held that animal in great veneration.
_Diodorus_, bk. 1.――_Plutarch_, _De Iside et Osiride_.――――A man who
gave his name to Macedonia. Some supposed him to be the same as the
son or general of Osiris, whilst others consider him as the grandson
of Deucalion by the mother’s side. _Diodorus_, bk. 1.
=Măcēdŏnia=, a celebrated country, situated between Thrace, Epirus,
and Greece. Its boundaries have been different at different periods.
Philip increased it by the conquest of Thessaly and of part of Thrace,
and according to Pliny it contained no less than 150 different
nations. The kingdom of Macedonia, first founded B.C. 814, by Caranus,
a descendant of Hercules, and a native of Argos, continued in
existence 646 years, till the battle of Pydna. The family of Caranus
remained in possession of the crown until the death of Alexander the
Great, and began to reign in the following order: Caranus, after a
reign of 28 years, was succeeded by Cœnus, who ascended the throne
786 B.C.; Thurimas, 774; Perdiccas, 729; Argæus, 678; Philip, 640;
Æropas, 602; Alcetas or Alectas, 576; Amyntas, 547; Alexander, 497;
Perdiccas, 454; Archelaus, 413; Amyntas, 399; Pausanias, 398;
Amyntas II., 397; Argæus the tyrant, 390; Amyntas restored, 390;
Alexander II., 371; Ptolemy Alorites, 370; Perdiccas III., 366;
Philip son of Amyntas, 360; Alexander the Great, 336; Philip Aridæus,
323; Cassander, 316; Antipater and Alexander, 298; Demetrius king
of Asia, 294; Pyrrhus, 287; Lysimachus, 286; Ptolemy Ceraunus, 280;
Meleager, two months; Antipater the Etesian, 45 days; Antigonus
Gonatas, 277; Demetrius, 243; Antigonus Doson, 232; Philip, 221;
Perseus, 179; conquered by the Romans 168 B.C. at Pydna. Macedonia
has been severally called Æmonia, Mygdonia, Pæonia, Edonia, Æmathia,
&c. The inhabitants of Macedonia were naturally warlike, and though
in the infancy of their empire they were little known beyond the
borders of their country, yet they signalized themselves greatly in
the reign of Philip, and added the kingdom of Asia to their European
dominions by the valour of Alexander. The Macedonian phalanx, or body
of soldiers, was always held in the highest repute, and it resisted
and subdued the repeated attacks of the bravest and most courageous
enemies. _Livy_, bk. 44.――_Justin_, bk. 6, ch. 9; bk. 7, ch. 1, &c.
――_Strabo_, bk. 7.――_Mela_, bk. 1, ch. 3, &c.――_Pliny_, bk. 4, ch. 10,
&c.――_Curtius_, bks. 3 & 4.――_Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 7.
=Macedonĭcum bellum=, was undertaken by the Romans against Philip king
of Macedonia, some few months after the second Punic war, B.C. 200.
The cause of this war originated in the hostilities which Philip had
exercised against the Achæans, the friends and allies of Rome. The
consul Flaminius had the care of the war, and he conquered Philip on
the confines of Epires, and afterwards in Thessaly. The Macedonian
fleets were also defeated; Eubœa was taken; and Philip, after
continual losses, sued for peace, which was granted him in the
fourth year of the war. The ambition and cruelty of Perseus, the son
and successor of Philip, soon irritated the Romans. Another war was
undertaken, in which the Romans suffered two defeats. This, however,
did not discourage them; Paulus Æmilius was chosen consul in the 60th
year of his age, and entrusted with the care of the war. He came to
a general engagement near the city of Pydna. The victory sided with
the Romans, and 20,000 of the Macedonian soldiers were left on the
field of battle. This decisive blow put an end to the war, which had
already continued for three years, 168 years before the christian
era. Perseus and his sons Philip and Alexander were taken prisoners,
and carried to Rome to adorn the triumph of the conqueror. About 15
years after, new seditions were raised in Macedonia, and the false
pretensions of Andriscus, who called himself the son of Perseus,
obliged the Romans to send an army to quell the commotions. Andriscus
at first obtained many considerable advantages over the Roman forces,
till at last he was conquered and delivered to the consul Metellus,
who carried him to Rome. After these commotions, which are sometimes
called the third Macedonian war, Macedonia was finally reduced into a
Roman province, and governed by a regular proconsul, about 148 years
before the christian era.
=Macedonĭcus=, a surname given to Metellus, from his conquests in
Macedonia. It was also given to such as had obtained any victory in
that province.
=Macella=, a town of Sicily, taken by the consul Duillius. _Livy_,
bk. 26, ch. 21.
=Macer Æmylius=, a Latin poet of Verona, intimate with Tibullus and
Ovid, and commended for his genius, his learning, and the elegance
of his poetry. He wrote some poems upon serpents, plants, and birds,
mentioned by Ovid. He also composed a poem upon the ruins of Troy,
to serve as a supplement to Homer’s Iliad. His compositions are now
lost. He died B.C. 16. _Ovid_, _Tristia_, bk. 4, poem 10, li. 44;
_ex Ponto_, bk. 2, ltr. 10.――_Quintilian_, bk. 10, ch. 1.――――Lucius
Claudius, a propretor of Africa in the reign of Nero. He assumed the
title of emperor, and was put to death by order of Galba.
=Machæra=, a river of Africa.――――A common crier at Rome. _Juvenal_,
satire 7, li. 9.
=Machanĭdas=, a man who made himself absolute at Sparta. He was killed
by Philopœmen, after being defeated at Mantinea, B.C. 208. Nabis
succeeded him. _Plutarch._――_Livy_, bk. 27, ch. 30; bk. 28, chs. 5
& 7.
=Măchāon=, a celebrated physician, son of Æsculapius and brother to
Podalirus. He went to the Trojan war with the inhabitants of Trica,
Ithome, and Œchalia. According to some he was king of Messenia. As
physician to the Greeks, he healed the wounds which they received
during the Trojan war, and was one of those concealed in the wooden
horse. Some suppose that he was killed before Troy by Eurypylus the
son of Telephus. He received divine honours after death, and had a
temple in Messenia. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 2, &c.――_Ovid_ _ex Ponto_,
bk. 3, ltr. 4.――_Quintus Smyrnæus_, bk. 6, li. 409.――_Virgil_,
_Æneid_, bk. 2, lis. 263 & 426.
=Macra=, a river flowing from the Apennines, and dividing Liguria from
Etruria. _Lucan_, bk. 2, li. 426.――_Livy_, bk. 39, ch. 32.――_Pliny_,
bk. 3, ch. 5.
=Macri campi=, a plain in Cisalpine Gaul, near the river Gabellus.
_Livy_, bk. 41, ch. 18; bk. 45, ch. 12.――――A plain near Mutina bears
the same name. _Columella_, bk. 7, ch. 2.
=Macriānus Titus Fulvius Julius=, an Egyptian of obscure birth, who,
from a private soldier, rose to the highest command in the army,
and proclaimed himself emperor when Valerian had been made prisoner
by the Persians, A.D. 260. His liberality supported his usurpation;
his two sons Macrianus and Quietus were invested with the imperial
purple, and the enemies of Rome were severely defeated, either by
the emperors or their generals. When he had supported his dignity for
a year in the eastern parts of the world, Macrianus marched towards
Rome, to crush Gallienus, who had been proclaimed emperor. He was
defeated in Illyricum by the lieutenant of Gallienus, and put to
death with his son, at his own expressive request, A.D. 262.
=Macrīnus Marcus Opilius Severus=, a native of Africa, who rose
from the most ignominious condition to the rank of prefect of
the pretorian guards, and at last of emperor, after the death of
Caracalla, whom he inhumanly ♦sacrificed to his ambition, A.D. 217.
The beginning of his reign was popular; the abolition of the taxes,
and an affable and complaisant behaviour, endeared him to his
subjects. These promising appearances did not long continue, and the
timidity which Macrinus betrayed in buying the peace of the Persians
by a large sum of money, soon rendered him odious; and while he
affected to imitate the virtuous Aurelius without possessing the good
qualities of his heart, he became contemptible and insignificant.
This affectation irritated the minds of the populace, and when severe
punishments had been inflicted on some of the disorderly soldiers
the whole army mutinied; and their tumult was increased by their
consciousness of their power and numbers, which Macrinus had the
imprudence to betray, by keeping almost all the military force of
Rome encamped together in the plains of Syria. Heliogabalus was
proclaimed emperor, and Macrinus attempted to save his life by flight.
He was, however, seized in Cappadocia, and his head was cut off and
sent to his successor, June 7th, A.D. 218. Macrinus reigned about
two months and three days. His son, called Diadumenianus, shared his
father’s fate.――――A friend of the poet Persius, to whom his second
satire is inscribed.
♦ ‘sacrified’ replaced with ‘sacrificed’
=Macro=, a favourite of the emperor Tiberius, celebrated for his
intrigues, perfidy, and cruelty. He destroyed Sejanus, and raised
himself upon the ruins of that unfortunate favourite. He was
accessary to the murder of Tiberius, and conciliated the good opinion
of Caligula, by prostituting to him his own wife called Ennia. He
soon after became unpopular, and was obliged by Caligula to kill
himself together with his wife, A.D. 38.