which separate Italy from Sicily. It was anciently called _Zancle_,
and was founded 1600 years before the christian era. The inhabitants,
being continually exposed to the depredation of the people of Cuma,
implored the assistance of the Messenians of Peloponnesus, and
with them repelled the enemy. After this victorious campaign, the
Messenians entered Zancle, and lived in such intimacy with the
inhabitants that they changed their name, and assumed that of the
Messenians, and called their city Messana. Another account say that
Anaxilaus tyrant of Rhegium made war against the Zancleans, with the
assistance of the Messenians of Peloponnesus, and that after he had
obtained a decisive victory, he called the conquered city Messana in
compliment to his allies, about 494 years before the christian era.
After this revolution at Zancle, the Mamertini took possession of it,
and made it the capital of the neighbouring country. _See:_ Mamertini.
It afterwards fell into the hands of the Romans, and was for some
time the chief of their possessions in Sicily. The inhabitants
were called Messanii, Messanienses, and Mamertini. The straits of
Messana have always been looked upon as very dangerous, especially
by the ancients, on account of the rapidity of the currents, and the
irregular and violent flowing and ebbing of the sea. _Strabo_, bk. 6.
――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 7.――_Pausanias_, bk. 4, ch. 23.――_Diodorus_,
bk. 4.――_Thucydides_, bk. 1, &c.――_Herodotus_, bk. 6, ch. 23; bk. 7,
ch. 28.
=Messapia=, a country of Italy, between Tarentum and Brundusium. It
is the same as Calabria. It received its name from Messapus the son
of Neptune, who left a part of Bœotia called _Messapia_, and came
to Italy, where he assisted the Rutulians against Æneas. _Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 14, li. 513.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 691;
bk. 8, li. 6; bk. 9, li. 27.
=Messatis=, a town of Achaia. _Pausanias_, bk. 7, ch. 18.
=Messe=, a town in the island of Cythera. _Statius_, bk. 1, _Thebiad_,
bk. 4, li. 226.
=Messeis=, a fountain of Thessaly. _Strabo_, bk. 9.
=Messēne=, a daughter of Triopas king of Argos, who married Polycaon,
son of Lelex king of Laconia. She encouraged her husband to levy
troops, and to seize a part of Peloponnesus, which, after it had been
conquered, received her name. She received divine honours after her
death, and had a magnificent temple at Ithome, where her statue was
made half of gold and half of Parian marble. _Pausanias_, bk. 4,
chs. 1 & 13.
=Messēne=, or =Messēna=, now _Maura-Matra_, a city in the Peloponnesus,
the capital of the country called Messenia. The inhabitants have
rendered themselves famous for the war which they carried on against
the Spartans, and which received the appellation of the _Messenian
war_. The first Messenian war arose from the following circumstances.
The Messenians offered violence to some Spartan women, who had
assembled to offer sacrifices in a temple which was common to
both nations, and which stood on the borders of their respective
territories; and, besides, they killed Teleclus the Spartan king,
who attempted to defend the innocence of the females. This account,
according to the Spartan traditions, is contradicted by the
Messenians, who observe that Teleclus, with a chosen body of
Spartans, assembled at the temple before mentioned, disguised in
women’s clothes, and all secretly armed with daggers. This hostile
preparation was to surprise some of the neighbouring inhabitants;
and in a quarrel which soon after arose, Teleclus and his associates
were all killed. These quarrels were the cause of the first Messenian
war, which began B.C. 743. It was carried on with vigour and spirit
on both sides, and after many obstinate and bloody battles had been
fought and continued for 19 years, it was at last finished by the
taking of Ithome by the Spartans, a place which had stood a siege of
10 years, and been defended with all the power of the Messenians. The
insults to which the conquered Messenians were continually exposed
at last excited their resentment, and they resolved to shake off the
yoke. They suddenly revolted, and the second Messenian war was begun
685 B.C., and continued 14 years. The Messenians at first gained
some advantage, but a fatal battle in the third year of the war so
totally disheartened them, that they fled to Ira, where they resolved
to maintain an obstinate siege against their victorious pursuers.
The Spartans were assisted by the Samians in besieging Ira, and the
Messenians were at last obliged to submit to the superior power of
their adversaries. The taking of Ira by the Lacedæmonians, after
a siege of 11 years, put an end to the second Messenian war. Peace
was re-established for some time in Peloponnesus, but after the
expiration of 200 years, the Messenians attempted a third time to
free themselves from the power of Lacedæmon, B.C. 465. At that time
the Helots had revolted from the Spartans, and the Messenians, by
joining their forces to these wretched slaves, looked upon their
respective calamities as common, and thought themselves closely
interested in each other’s welfare. The Lacedæmonians were assisted
by the Athenians, but they soon grew jealous of one another’s power,
and their political connection ended in the most inveterate enmity,
and at last in open war. Ithome was the place in which the Messenians
had a second time gathered all their forces, and though 10 years had
already elapsed, both parties seemed equally confident of victory.
The Spartans were afraid of storming Ithome, as the oracle of Delphi
had threatened them with the greatest calamities if they offered any
violence to a place which was dedicated to the service of Apollo. The
Messenians, however, were soon obliged to submit to their victorious
adversaries, B.C. 453, and they consented to leave their native
country, and totally to depart from the Peloponnesus, solemnly
promising that if they ever returned into Messenia, they would suffer
themselves to be sold as slaves. The Messenians upon this, miserably
exiled, applied to the Athenians for protection, and were permitted
to inhabit Naupactus, whence some of them were afterwards removed to
take possession of their ancient territories in Messenia, during the
Peloponnesian war. The third Messenian war was productive of great
revolutions in Greece, and though almost a private quarrel, it soon
engaged the attention of all the neighbouring states, and kindled the
flames of dissension everywhere. Every state took up arms as if in
its own defence, or to prevent additional power and dominion from
being lodged in the hands of its rivals. The descendants of the
Messenians at last returned to Peloponnesus, B.C. 370, after a long
banishment of 300 years. _Pausanias_, _Messenia_, &c.――_Justin_,
bk. 3, ch. 4, &c.――_Strabo_, bk. 6, &c.――_Thucydides_, bk. 1, &c.
――_Diodorus_, bk. 11, &c.――_Plutarch_, _Cimon_, &c.――_Polyænus_,
bk. 3.――_Polybius_, bk. 4, &c.
=Messēnia=, a province of Peloponnesus, situate between Laconia, Elis,
Arcadia, and the sea. Its chief city is Messena. _See:_ Messena.
=Mestor=, a son of Perseus and Andromeda, who married Lysidice daughter
of Pelops, by whom he had Hippothoe.――――A son of Pterilaus.――――of
Priam. _Apollodorus._
=Mesūla=, a town of Italy, in the country of the Sabines.
=Metăbus=, a tyrant of the Privernates. He was father of Camilla, whom
he consecrated to the service of Diana, when he had been banished
from his kingdom by his subjects. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 11, li. 540.
=Metagitnia=, a festival in honour of Apollo, celebrated by the
inhabitants of Melite, who migrated to Attica. It receives its name
from its being observed in the month called Metagitnion.
=Metanīra=, the wife of Celeus king of Eleusis, who first taught
mankind agriculture. She is also called Meganira. _Apollodorus_,
bk. 1, ch. 5.
=Metapontum=, a town of Lucania in Italy, founded about 1269 years B.C.
by Metabus the father of Camilla, or Epeus, one of the companions
of Nestor. Pythagoras retired there for some time, and perished
in a sedition. Annibal made it his head-quarters when in that part
of Italy, and its attachment to Carthage was afterwards severely
punished by the Roman conquerors, who destroyed its liberties and
independence. A few broken pillars of marble are now the only
vestiges of Metapontum. _Strabo_, bk. 5.――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 4.
――_Justin_, bk. 12, ch. 2.――_Livy_, bks. 1, 8, 25, 27, &c.
=Metapontus=, a son of Sisyphus, who married ♦Theano. _See:_ ♦Theano.
_Hyginus_, fable 166.
♦ ‘Theana’ replaced with ‘Theano’ for consistency
=Metaurus=, now _Metro_, a town with a small river of the same name, in
the country of the Brutii. The river Metaurus falls into the Tyrrhene
sea above Sicily.――――Another, in Umbria, famous for the defeat of
Asdrubal by the consuls Livy and Nero. _Horace_, bk. 4, ode 4, li. 38.
――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 4.――_Lucan_, bk. 2, li. 495.
=Metella=, the wife of Sylla.
=Metelli [Metellus]=, the surname of the family of the Cæcilii at Rome,
the most known of whom were:――A general who defeated the Achæans,
took Thebes, and invaded Macedonia, &c.――――Quintus Cæcilius, who
rendered himself illustrious by his successes against Jugurtha the
Numidian king, from which he was surnamed _Numidicus_. He took, in
this expedition, the celebrated Marius as his lieutenant, and he had
soon cause to repent of the confidence he had placed in him. Marius
raised himself to power by defaming the character of his benefactor,
and Metellus was recalled to Rome, and accused of extortion and
ill-management. Marius was appointed successor to finish the
Numidian war, and Metellus was acquitted of the crimes laid to his
charge before the tribunal of the Roman knights, who observed that
the probity of his whole life and the greatness of his exploits
were greater proofs of his innocence than the most powerful
arguments. _Cicero_, _On Oratory_, bk. 1, ch. 48.――_Sallust_,
_Jugurthine War_.――――Lucius Cæcilius, another, who saved from the
flames the palladium, when Vesta’s temple was on fire. He was then
high priest. He lost his sight and one of his arms in doing it, and
the senate, to reward his zeal and piety, permitted him always to
be drawn to the senate-house in a chariot, an honour which no one
had ever before enjoyed. He also gained a great victory over the
Carthaginians in the first Punic war, and led in his triumph 13
generals and 120 elephants taken from the enemy. He was honoured
with the dictatorship, and the office of master of horse, &c.
――――Quintus Cæcilius Celer, another, who distinguished himself
by his spirited exertions against Catiline. He married Clodia
the sister of Clodius, who disgraced him by her incontinence and
lasciviousness. He died 57 years B.C. He was greatly lamented by
Cicero, who shed tears at the loss of one of his most faithful
and valuable friends. _Cicero_, _For Marcus Cæcilius._――――Lucius
Cæcilius, a tribune in the civil wars of Julius Cæsar and Pompey.
He favoured the cause of Pompey, and opposed Cæsar when he entered
Rome with a victorious army. He refused to open the gates of
Saturn’s temple, in which were deposited great treasures, upon
which they were broken open by Cæsar, and Metellus retired,
when threatened with death.――――Quintus Cæcilius, the grandson of
the high priest, who saved the palladium from the flames, was a
warlike general, who, from his conquest of Crete and Macedonia,
was surnamed _Macedonicus_. He had six sons, of whom four are
particularly mentioned by Plutarch.――――Quintus Cæcilius, surnamed
_Balearicus_, from his conquest of the Baleares.――――Lucius Cæcilius,
surnamed _Diadematus_, but supposed the same as that called Lucius
with the surname of _Dalmaticus_, from a victory obtained over
the Dalmatians during his consulship with Mutius Scævola.――――Caius
Cæcilius, surnamed _Caprarius_, who was consul with Carbo, A.U.C.
641.――――The fourth was Marcus, and of these four brothers it is
remarkable, that two of them triumphed in one day, but over what
nations is not mentioned by _Eutropius_, ch. 4.――――Nepos, a consul,
&c.――――Another, who accused Caius Curio, his father’s detractor,
and who also vented his resentment against Cicero when going to
banishment.――――Another, who, as tribune, opposed the ambition
of Julius Cæsar.――――A general of the Roman armies against
the Sicilians and Carthaginians. Before he marched he offered
sacrifices to all the gods, except Vesta, for which neglect the
goddess was so incensed that she demanded the blood of his daughter
Metella. When Metella was going to be immolated, the goddess placed
a heifer in her place, and carried her to a temple at Lanuvium,
of which she became the priestess.――――Lucius Cæcilius, or Quintus,
surnamed _Creticus_, from his conquest in Crete, B.C. 66, is
supposed by some to be the son of Metellus Macedonicus.――――Cimber,
one of the conspirators against Julius Cæsar. It was he who gave
the signal to attack and murder the dictator in the senate-house.
――――Pius, a general in Spain, against Sertorius, on whose head
he set a price of 100 talents, and 20,000 acres of land. He
distinguished himself also in the Marsian war, and was high priest.
He obtained the name of _Pius_ from the sorrow he showed during the
banishment of his father Metellus _Numidicus_, whom he caused to be
recalled. _Paterculus_, bk. 2, ch. 5.――_Sallust_, _Jugurthine War_,
ch. 44.――――A consul who commanded in Africa, &c. _Valerius Maximus._
――_Pliny._――_Plutarch._――_Livy._――_Paterculus_, bk. 2.――_Florus_,
bk. 3, ch. 8.――_Pausanias_, bk. 7, chs. 8 & 13.――_Cicero_,
_Tusculanæ Disputationes_, &c.――_Juvenal_, satire 3, li. 138.
――_Appian_, _Civil Wars_.――_Cæsar_, _Civil War_.――_Sallust_,
_Jugurthine War_.
=Metharma=, a daughter of Pygmalion king of Cyprus, and mother of
Adonis by Cinyras, &c. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 14.
=Methīon=, the father of Phorbas, &c. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 5,
fable 3.
=Methodius=, a bishop of Tyre, who maintained a controversy against
Porphyry. The best edition of his works is that of Paris, folio, 1657.
=Methōne=, a town of Peloponnesus, where king Philip gained his first
battle over the Athenians, B.C. 360.――――A town of Macedonia, south
of Pella, in the siege of which, according to _Justin_, bk. 7, ch. 6,
Philip lost his right eye.――――Another in Magnesia. _Homer_, _Iliad_,
bk. 2, li. 71.
=Methydrium=, a town of Peloponnesus, near Megalopolis. _Valerius
Flaccus._
=Methymna= (now _Porto Petero_), a town of the island of Lesbos, which
received its name from a daughter of ♦Macareus. It is the second
city of the island in greatness, population, and opulence, and its
territory is fruitful, and the wines it produces excellent. It was
the native place of Arion. When the whole island of Lesbos revolted
from the power of the Athenians, Methymna alone remained firm to its
ancient allies. _Diodorus_, bk. 5.――_Thucydides_, bk. 3.――_Horace_,
bk. 2, satire 8, li. 50.――_Virgil_, _Georgics_, bk. 3, li. 90.
♦ ‘Marcareus’ replaced with ‘Macareus’
=Metiadūsa=, a daughter of Eupalamus, who married Cecrops, by whom she
had Pandion. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 15.
=Metilia lex=, was enacted A.U.C. 536, to settle the power of the
dictator, and of his master of horse, within certain bounds.
=Metilii=, a patrician family, brought from Alba to Rome by Tullus
Hostilius. _Dionysius of Halicarnassus._
=Metilius=, a man who accused Fabius Maximus before the senate, &c.
=Mētiŏchus=, a son of Miltiades, who was taken by the Phœnicians,
and given to Darius king of Persia. He was tenderly treated by the
monarch, though his father had conquered the Persian armies in the
plains of Marathon. _Plutarch._――_Herodotus_, bk. 6, ch. 41.――――An
Athenian entrusted with the care of the roads, &c. _Plutarch._
=Metion=, a son of Erechtheus king of Athens and Praxithea. He married
Alcippe daughter of Mars and Agraulos. His sons drove Pandion from
the throne of Athens, and were afterwards expelled by Pandion’s
children. _Apollodorus_, bk. 3, ch. 15.――_Pausanias_, bk. 2, ch. 6.
=Metis=, one of the Oceanides. She was Jupiter’s first wife, celebrated
for her great prudence and sagacity above the rest of the gods.
Jupiter, who was afraid lest she should bring forth into the world
a child more cunning and greater than himself, devoured her in the
first month of her pregnancy. Some time after this adventure the god
had his head opened, from which issued Minerva, armed from head to
foot. According to Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 2, Metis gave a portion to
Saturn, and obliged him to throw up the children whom he had devoured.
_Hesiod_, _Theogony_, li. 890.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 7, ch. 3.
――_Hyginus._
=Metiscus=, a charioteer to Turnus. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 12, li. 469.
=Metius Curtius=, one of the Sabines who fought against the Romans,
on account of the stolen virgins.――――Suffetius, a dictator of Alba,
in the reign of Tullus Hostilius. He fought against the Romans,
and at last, finally to settle their disputes, he proposed a single
combat between the Horatii and Curiatii. The Albans were conquered,
and Metius promised to assist the Romans against their enemies.
In a battle against the Veientes and Fidenates, Metius showed his
infidelity by forsaking the Romans at the first onset, and retired
to a neighbouring eminence, to wait for the event of the battle, and
to fall upon whatever side proved victorious. The Romans obtained the
victory, and Tullus ordered Metius to be tied between two chariots,
which were drawn by four horses two different ways, and his limbs
were torn away from his body, about 669 years before the christian
era. _Livy_, bk. 1, ch. 23, &c.――_Florus_, bk. 1, ch. 3.――_Virgil_,
_Æneid_, bk. 8, li. 642.――――A critic. _See:_ Tarpa.――――Carus, a
celebrated informer under Domitian, who enriched himself with the
plunder of those who were sacrificed to the emperor’s suspicion.
=Metœcia=, festivals instituted by Theseus in commemoration of the
people of Attica having removed to Athens.
=Meton=, an astrologer and mathematician of Athens. His father’s
name was Pausanias. He refused to go to Sicily with his countrymen,
and pretended to be insane, because he foresaw the calamities that
attended that expedition. In a book called _Enneadecaterides_, or
the cycle of 19 years, he endeavoured to adjust the course of the
sun and the moon, and supported that the solar and lunar years could
regularly begin from the same point in the heavens. This is called by
the moderns _the golden numbers_. He flourished B.C. 432. _Vitruvius_,
bk. 1.――_Plutarch_, _Nicias_. A native of Tarentum, who pretended to
be intoxicated that he might draw the attention of his countrymen,
when he wished to dissuade them from making an alliance with king
Pyrrhus. _Plutarch_, _Pyrrhus_.
=Metŏpe=, the wife of the river Sangarius. She was mother of Hecuba.
――――The daughter of Ladon, who married the Asopus.――――A river of
Arcadia.
=Metra=, the daughter of Eresichthon, a Thessalian prince, beloved by
Neptune. When her father had spent all his fortune to gratify the
canine hunger under which he laboured, she prostituted herself to her
neighbours, and received for reward oxen, goats, and sheep, which she
presented to Eresichthon. Some say that she had received from Neptune
the power of changing herself into whatever animal she pleased,
and that her father sold her continually to gratify his hunger, and
that she instantly assumed a different shape, and became again his
property. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 8, fable 21.
=Metragryrte=, one of the names of Tellus, or Cybele.
=Metrobius=, a player greatly favoured by Sylla. _Plutarch._
=Metrŏcles=, a pupil of Theophrastus, who had the care of the education
of Cleombrotus and Cleomenes. He suffocated himself when old and
infirm. _Diogenes Laërtius._
=Metrodōrus=, a physician of Chios, B.C. 444. He was the disciple of
Democritus, and had Hippocrates among his pupils. His compositions
on medicine, &c., are lost. He supported that the world was eternal
and infinite, and denied the existence of motion. _Diogenes Laërtius._
――――A painter and philosopher of Stratonice, B.C. 171. He was sent
to Paulus Æmylius, who, after the conquest of Perseus, demanded of
the Athenians a philosopher and a painter; the former to instruct
his children, and the latter to make a painting of his triumphs.
Metrodorus was sent, as in him alone were united the philosopher and
the painter. _Pliny_, bk. 35, ch. 11.――_Cicero_, bk. 5, _De Finibus
Bonorum et Malorum_, ch. 1; _On Oratory_, bk. 4; _Academica._
――♦_Diogenes Laërtius_, _Epicurus_.――――A friend of Mithridates, sent
as ambassador to Tigranes king of Armenia. He was remarkable for his
learning, moderation, humanity, and justice. He was put to death by
his royal master for his infidelity, B.C. 72. _Strabo._――_Plutarch._
――――Another, of a very retentive memory.
♦ ‘Diod.’ replaced with ‘Diogenes Laërtius’
=Metrophănes=, an officer of Mithridates, who invaded Eubœa, &c.
=Metropŏlis=, a town of Phrygia on the Mæander.――――Another of Thessaly
near Pharsalia.
=Mettius=, a chief of the Gauls, imprisoned by Julius Cæsar. _Cæsar_,
_Gallic War_.
=Mettus.= _See:_ Metius.
=Metulum=, a town of Liburnia, in besieging of which Augustus was
wounded. _Dio Cassius_, bk. 49.
=Mevania=, now _Bevagna_, a town of Umbria, on the Clitumnus,
the birthplace of the poet Propertius. _Lucan_, bk. 1, li. 473.
――_Propertius_, bk. 4, poem 1, li. 124.
=Mevius=, a wretched poet. _See:_ Mævius.
=Mezentius=, a king of the Tyrrhenians when Æneas came into Italy. He
was remarkable for his cruelties, and put his subjects to death by
slow tortures, or sometimes tied a man to a dead corpse face to face,
and suffered him to die in that condition. He was expelled by his
subjects, and fled to Turnus, who employed him in his war against the
Trojans. He was killed by Æneas, with his son Lausus. _Dionysius of
Halicarnassus_, bk. 1, ch. 15.――_Justin_, bk. 43, ch. 1.――_Livy_, bk.
1, ch. 2.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 648; bk. 8, li. 482.――_Ovid_,
_Fasti_, bk. 4, li. 881.
=Micea=, a virgin of Elis, daughter of Philodemus, murdered by a
soldier called Lucius, &c. _Plutarch_, _Mulierum virtutes_.
=Micipsa=, a king of Numidia, son of Masinissa, who, at his death,
B.C. 119, left his kingdom between his sons Adherbal and Hiempsal,
and his nephew Jugurtha. Jugurtha abused his uncle’s favours by
murdering his two sons. _Sallust_, _Jugurthine War_.――_Florus_, bk. 3,
ch. 1.――_Plutarch_, _Gaius Gracchus_.
=Micythus=, a youth through whom Diomedon, by order of the Persian
king, made an attempt to bribe Epaminondas. _Cornelius Nepos_,
_Epaminondas_, ch. 4.――――A slave of Anaxilaus of Rhegium. _Herodotus_,
bk. 7, ch. 170.