characters in which she appeared. She generally appeared with a
countenance full more of masculine firmness and composure, than of
softness and grace. Most usually she was represented with a helmet on
her head, with a large plume nodding in the air. In one hand she held
a spear, and in the other a shield, with the dying head of Medusa
upon it. Sometimes this Gorgon’s head was on her breastplate, with
living serpents writhing round it, as well as round her shield and
helmet. In most of her statues she is represented as sitting, and
sometimes she holds in one hand a distaff, instead of a spear. When
she appeared as the goddess of the liberal arts she was arrayed in
a variegated veil, which the ancients called _peplum_. Sometimes
Minerva’s helmet was covered at the top with the figure of a cock,
a bird which, on account of his great courage, is properly sacred to
the goddess of war. Some of her statues represented her helmet with
a sphinx in the middle, supported on either side by griffins. In
some medals, a chariot drawn by four horses, or sometimes a dragon
or a serpent, with winding spires, appear at the top of her helmet.
She was partial to the olive tree; the owl and the cock were her
favourite birds, and the dragon among reptiles was sacred to her.
The functions, offices, and actions of Minerva seem so numerous, that
they undoubtedly originate in more than one person. Cicero speaks of
five persons of this name; a Minerva, mother of Apollo; a daughter
of the Nile, who was worshipped at Sais, in Egypt; a third, born from
Jupiter’s brain; a fourth, daughter of Jupiter and Coryphe; and a
fifth, daughter of Pallas, generally represented with winged shoes.
This last put her father to death because he attempted her virtue.
_Pausanias_, bks. 1, 2, 3, &c.――_Horace_, bk. 1, ode 16; bk. 3,
ode 4.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 2, &c.――_Strabo_, bks. 6, 9, & 13.
――_Philostratus_, _Imagines_, bk. 2.――_Ovid_, _Fasti_, bk. 3, &c.;
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 6.――_Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_, bk. 1, ch. 15;
bk. 3, ch. 23, &c.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 1, &c.――_Pindar_, _Olympian_,
poem 7.――_Lucan_, bk. 9, li. 354.――_Sophocles_, _Œdipus_.――_Homer_,
_Iliad_, &c.; _Odyssey_; _Hymn to Pallas Athena_.――_Diodorus_,
bk. 5.――_Hesiod_, _Theogony_.――_Aeschylus_, _Eumenides_.――_Lucian_,
_Dialogues_.――_Clement of Alexandria_, _Stromateis_, bk. 2.
――_Orpheus_, _Hymns_, poem 31.――_Quintus Smyrnæus_, bk. 14, li. 448.
――_Apollonius_, bk. 1.――_Hyginus_, fable 168.――_Statius_, _Thebiad_,
bk. 2, li. 721; bk. 7, &c.――_Callimachus_, _Hymn to Demeter_.
――_Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 12.――_Cornelius Nepos_, _Pausanias_.
――_Plutarch_, _Lycurgus_, &c.――_Thucydides_, bk. 1.――_Herodotus_,
bk. 5.
=Minervæ Castrum=, a town of Calabria, now _Castro_.――――Promontorium, a
cape at the most southern extremity of Campania.
=Mĭnervālia=, festivals at Rome in honour of Minerva, celebrated in
the months of March and June. During this solemnity scholars obtained
some relaxation from their studious pursuits, and the present,
which it was usual for them to offer to their masters, was called
_Minerval_, in honour of the goddess Minerva, who patronized
over literature. _Varro_, _de Re Rustica_, bk. 3, ch. 2.――_Ovid_,
_Tristia_, bk. 3, li. 809.――_Livy_, bk. 9, ch. 30.
=Mĭnio=, now _Mignone_, a river of Etruria, falling into the Tyrrhene
sea. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 10, li. 183.――――One of the favourites of
Antiochus king of Syria.
=Minnæi=, a people of Arabia, on the Red sea. _Pliny_, bk. 12, ch. 14.
=Minoa=, a town of Sicily, built by Minos when he was pursuing Dædalus,
and called also _Heraclea_.――――A town of Peloponnesus.――――A town of
Crete.
=Minois=, belonging to Minos. Crete is called _Minoia regna_, as being
the legislator’s kingdom. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6, li. 14.――――A
patronymic of Ariadne. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 8, li. 157.
=Minos=, a king of Crete, son of Jupiter and Europa, who gave laws to
his subjects, B.C. 1406, which still remained in full force in the
age of the philosopher Plato. His justice and moderation procured
him the appellation of the favourite of the gods, the confidant of
Jupiter, the wise legislator, in every city of Greece; and, according
to the poets, he was rewarded for his equity, after death, with the
office of supreme and absolute judge in the infernal regions. In this
capacity, he is represented sitting in the middle of the shades and
holding a sceptre in his hand. The dead plead their different causes
before him, and the impartial judge shakes the fatal urn, which is
filled with the destinies of mankind. He married Ithona, by whom he
had Lycastes, who was the father of Minos II. _Homer_, _Odyssey_,
bk. 19, li. 178.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6, li. 432.――_Apollodorus_,
bk. 3, ch. 1.――_Hyginus_, fable 41.――_Diodorus_, bk. 4.――_Horace_,
bk. 1, ode 28.
=Minos II.=, was a son of Lycastes, the son of Minos I. king of Crete.
He married Pasiphae the daughter of Sol and Perseis, and by her
he had many children. He increased his paternal dominions by the
conquest of the neighbouring islands, but he showed himself cruel
in the war which he carried on against the Athenians, who had put
to death his son Androgeus. _See:_ Androgeus. He took Megara by
the treachery of Scylla [_See:_ Scylla], and, not satisfied with
a victory, he obliged the vanquished to bring him yearly to Crete
seven chosen boys, and the same number of virgins, to be devoured
by the Minotaur. _See:_ Minotaurus. This bloody tribute was at last
abolished when Theseus had destroyed the monster. _See:_ Theseus.
When Dædalus, whose industry and invention had fabricated the
labyrinth, and whose imprudence, in assisting Pasiphae in the
gratification of her unnatural desires, had offended Minos, fled
from the place of his confinement with wings [_See:_ Dædalus], and
arrived safe in Sicily, the incensed monarch pursued the offender,
resolved to punish his infidelity. Cocalus king of Sicily, who
had hospitably received Dædalus, entertained his royal guest with
dissembled friendship; and that he might not deliver to him a man
whose ingenuity and abilities he so well knew, he put Minos to death.
Some say that it was the daughters of Cocalus who put the king of
Crete to death, by detaining him so long in a bath till he fainted,
after which they suffocated him. Minos died about 35 years before
the Trojan war. He was father of Androgeus, Glaucus, and Deucalion,
and two daughters, Phædra and Ariadne. Many authors have confounded
the two monarchs of this name, the grandfather and the grandson,
but Homer, Plutarch, and Diodorus prove plainly that they were
two different persons. _Pausanias_, _Achaia_, ch. 4.――_Plutarch_,
_Theseus_.――_Hyginus_, fable 41.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 8,
li. 141.――_Diodorus_, bk. 4.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6, li. 21.
――_Plutarch_, _Parallela minora_.――_Athenæus._――_Flaccus_, bk. 14.
=Minōtaurus=, a celebrated monster, half a man and half a bull,
according to this verse of Ovid, _Ars Amatoria_, bk. 2, li. 24,
_Semibovemque virum, semivirumque bovem_.
It was the fruit of Pasiphae’s amour with a bull. Minos refused to
sacrifice a white bull to Neptune, an animal which he had received
from the god for that purpose. This offended Neptune, and he made
Pasiphae the wife of ♦Minos enamoured of this fine bull, which had
been refused to his altars. Dædalus prostituted his talents in being
subservient to the queen’s unnatural desires, and, by his means,
Pasiphae’s horrible passions were gratified, and the Minotaur came
into the world. Minos confined in the labyrinth a monster which
convinced the world of his wife’s lasciviousness and indecency, and
reflected disgrace upon his family. The Minotaur usually devoured
the chosen young men and maidens, whom the tyranny of Minos yearly
extracted from the Athenians. Theseus delivered his country from this
shameful tribute, when it had fallen to his lot to be sacrificed to
the voracity of the Minotaur, and, by means of Ariadne, the king’s
daughter, he destroyed the monster, and made his escape from the
windings of the labyrinth. The fabulous traditions of the Minotaur,
and of the infamous commerce of Pasiphae with a favourite bull, have
been often explained. Some suppose that Pasiphae was enamoured of one
of her husband’s courtiers, called Taurus, and that Dædalus favoured
the passion of the queen by suffering his house to become the retreat
of the two lovers. Pasiphae, some time after, brought twins into the
world, one of whom greatly resembled Minos, and the other Taurus.
In the natural resemblance of their countenance with that of their
supposed fathers originated their name, and consequently the fable
of the Minotaur. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 8, fable 2.――_Hyginus_,
fable 40.――_Plutarch_, _Theseus_.――_Palæphatus._――_Virgil_, _Æneid_,
bk. 6, li. 26.
♦ ‘Minys’ replaced with ‘Minos’
=Minthe=, a daughter of Cocytus, loved by Pluto. Proserpine discovered
her husband’s amour, and changed his mistress into an herb, called by
the same name, _mint_. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 10, li. 729.
=Minturnæ=, a town of Campania, between Sinuessa and Formiæ. It was in
the marshes, in its neighbourhood, that Marius concealed himself in
the mud, to avoid the partisans of Sylla. The people condemned him to
death, but when his voice alone had terrified the executioner, they
showed themselves compassionate, and favoured his escape. Marica was
worshipped there; hence _Maricæ regna_ applied to the place. _Strabo_,
bk. 2.――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 4.――_Livy_, bk. 8, ch. 10; bk. 10, ch. 21;
bk. 27, ch. 38.――_Paterculus_, bk. 2, ch. 14.――_Lucan_, bk. 2, li. 424.
=Mĭnŭtia=, a vestal virgin, accused of debauchery on account of the
beauty and elegance of her dress. She was condemned to be buried
alive because a female supported the false accusation, A.U.C. 418.
_Livy_, bk. 8, ch. 15.――――A public way from Rome to Brundusium.
_See:_ Via.
=Mĭnŭtius Augurinus=, a Roman consul slain in a battle against the
Samnites.――――A tribune of the people, who put Mælius to death when
he aspired to the sovereignty of Rome. He was honoured with a brazen
statue for causing the corn to be sold at a reduced price to the
people. _Livy_, bk. 4, ch. 16.――_Pliny_, bk. 18, ch. 3.――――Rufus, a
master of horse to the dictator Fabius Maximus. His disobedience to
the commands of the dictator was productive of an extension of his
prerogative, and the master of the horse was declared equal in power
to the dictator. Minutius, soon after this, fought with ill success
against Annibal, and was saved by the interference of Fabius; which
circumstance had such an effect upon him, that he laid down his power
at the feet of his deliverer, and swore that he would never act again
but by his directions. He was killed at the battle of Cannæ. _Livy.
_――_Cornelius Nepos_, _Hannibal_.――――A Roman consul who defended
Coriolanus from the insults of the people, &c.――――Another, defeated
by the Æqui, and disgraced by the dictator Cincinnatus.――――An officer
under Cæsar, in Gaul, who afterwards became one of the conspirators
against his patron. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 6, ch. 29.――――A
tribune who warmly opposed the views of Caius Gracchus.――――A Roman,
chosen dictator, and obliged to lay down his office, because, during
the time of his election, the sudden cry of a rat was heard.――――A
Roman, one of the first who were chosen questors.――――Felix, an
African lawyer, who flourished 207 A.D. He has written an elegant
dialogue in defence of the christian religion, called _Octavius_,
from the principal speaker in it. This book was long attributed
to Arnobius, and even printed as an eighth book (_Octavus_), till
Balduinus discovered the imposition in his edition of Felix, 1560.
The two last editions are that of Davies, 8vo, Cambridge, 1712; and
of Gronovius, 8vo, Leiden, 1709.
=Minyæ=, a name given to the inhabitants of Orchomenos in Bœotia,
from Minyas king of the country. Orchomenos the son of Minyas
gave his name to the capital of the country, and the inhabitants
still retained their original appellation, in contradistinction to
the Orchomenians of Arcadia. A colony of Orchomenians passed into
Thessaly and settled in Iolchos; from which circumstance the people
of the place, and particularly the Argonauts, were called Minyæ. This
name they received, according to the opinion of some, not because a
number of Orchomenians had settled among them, but because the chief
and noblest of them were descended from the daughters of Minyas. Part
of the Orchomenians accompanied the sons of Codrus when they migrated
to Ionia. The descendants of the Argonauts, as well as the Argonauts
themselves, received the name of Minyæ. They first inhabited Lemnos,
where they had been born from the Lemnian women who had murdered
their husbands. They were driven from Lemnos by the Pelasgi about
1160 years before the christian era, and came to settle in Laconia,
from whence they passed into Calliste with a colony of Lacedæmonians.
_Hyginus_, fable 14.――_Pausanias_, bk. 9, ch. 6.――_Apollonius_, bk. 1,
_Argonautica_.――_Herodotus_, bk. 4, ch. 145.
=Mĭnyas=, a king of Bœotia, son of Neptune and Tritogenia the daughter
of Æolus. Some make him the son of Neptune and Callirrhoe, or of
Chryses, Neptune’s son, and Chrysogenia the daughter of Halmus.
He married Clytodora, by whom he had Presbon, Periclymenus, and
Eteoclymenus. He was father of Orchomenos, Diochithondes, and Athamas,
by a second marriage with Phanasora the daughter of Paon. According
to Plutarch and Ovid, he had three daughters, called Leuconoe,
Alcithoe, and Leucippe. They were changed into bats. _See:_ Mineides.
_Pausanias_, bk. 9, ch. 36.――_Plutarch_, _Quæstiones Græcæ_, ch. 38.
――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 4, lis. 1 & 468.
=Miny̆cus=, a river of Thessaly, falling into the sea near Arene, called
afterwards Orchomenus. _Homer_, _Iliad_, bk. 11.――_Strabo_, bk. 8.
=Minyeides.= _See:_ Mineides.
=Minyia=, a festival observed at Orchomenus, in honour of Minyas the
king of the place. The Orchomenians were called Minyæ, and the river
upon whose banks their town was built, Mynos.――――A small island near
Patmos.
=Minytus=, one of Niobe’s sons. _Apollodorus._
=Miraces=, a eunuch of Parthia, &c. _Flaccus_, bk. 6, li. 690.
=Misēnum=, or =Misenus=. _See:_ Misenus.
=Misēnus=, a son of Æolus, who was piper to Hector. After Hector’s
death he followed Æneas to Italy, and was drowned on the coast
of Campania, because he had challenged one of the Tritons. Æneas
afterwards found his body on the sea-shore, and buried it on a
promontory which bears his name, now _Miseno_. There was also a town
of the same name on the promontory, at the west of the bay of Naples,
and it had also a capacious harbour, where Augustus and some of
the Roman emperors generally kept stationed one of their fleets.
_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 3, li. 239; bk. 6, lis. 164 & 234.――_Strabo_,
bk. 5.――_Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 4.――_Livy_, bk. 24, ch. 13.――_Tacitus_,
_Histories_, bk. 2, ch. 9; _Annals_, bk. 15, ch. 51.
=Misitheus=, a Roman celebrated for his virtues and his misfortunes. He
was father-in-law to the emperor Gordian, whose counsels and actions
he guided by his prudence and moderation. He was sacrificed to the
ambition of Philip, a wicked senator who succeeded him as prefect of
the pretorian guards. He died A.D. 243, and left all his possessions
to be appropriated for the good of the public.
=Mithras=, a god of Persia, supposed to be the sun, or, according to
others, Venus Urania. His worship was introduced at Rome, and the
Romans raised him altars, on which was this ♦inscription, _Deo Soli
Mithræ_, or _Soli Deo invicto Mithræ_. He is generally represented
as a young man, whose head is covered with a turban, after the manner
of the Persians. He supports his knee upon a bull that lies on the
ground, and one of whose horns he holds in one hand, while with
the other he plunges a dagger into his neck. _Statius_, _Thebiad_,
bk. 1, li. 720.――_Curtius_, bk. 4, ch. 13.――_Claudian_, _de consulatu
Stilichonis_, bk. 1.
♦ ‘incription’ replaced with ‘inscription’
=Mithracenses=, a Persian who fled to Alexander after the murder of
Darius by Bessus. _Curtius_, bk. 5.
=Mithradātes=, a herdsman of Astyages, ordered to put young Cyrus
to death. He refused, and educated him at home as his own son, &c.
_Herodotus._――_Justin._
=Mithrēnes=, a Persian who betrayed Sardes, &c. _Curtius_, bk. 3.
=Mithridātes I.=, was the third king of Pontus. He was tributary to the
crown of Persia, and his attempts to make himself independent proved
fruitless. He was conquered in a battle, and obtained peace with
difficulty. Xenophon calls him merely a governor of Cappadocia. He
was succeeded by Ariobarzanes, B.C. 363. _Diodorus._――_Xenophon._
=Mithridātes II.=, king of Pontus, was grandson to Mithridates I. He
made himself master of Pontus, which had been conquered by Alexander,
and had been ceded to Antigonus at the general division of the
Macedonian empire among the conqueror’s generals. He reigned about
26 years, and died at the advanced age of 84 years, B.C. 302. He was
succeeded by his son Mithridates III. Some say that Antigonus put
him to death, because he favoured the cause of Cassander. _Appian_,
_Mithridatic Wars_.――_Diodorus._
=Mithridātes III.=, was son of the preceding monarch. He enlarged his
paternal possessions by the conquest of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia,
and died after a reign of 36 years. _Florus._
=Mithridātes IV.=, succeeded his father Ariobarzanes, who was the son
of Mithridates III.
=Mithridātes V.=, succeeded his father Mithridates IV., and strengthened
himself on his throne by an alliance with Antiochus the Great, whose
daughter Laodice he married. He was succeeded by his son Pharnaces.
=Mithridātes VI.=, succeeded his father Pharnaces. He was the first of
the kings of Pontus who made alliance with the Romans. He furnished
them with a fleet in the third Punic war, and assisted them against
Aristonicus, who had laid claim to the kingdom of Pergamus. This
fidelity was rewarded; he was called _Evergetes_, and received
from the Roman people the province of Phrygia Major, and was called
the friend and ally of Rome. He was murdered B.C. 123. _Appian_,
_Mithridatic Wars_.――_Justin_, bk. 37, &c.