=Nomius=, a surname given to Apollo, because he fed (νεμω, _pasco_),
the flocks of king Admetus in Thessaly. _Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_,
bk. 3, ch. 23.
=Nōnācris=, a town of Arcadia, which received its name from a wife of
Lycaon. There was a mountain of the same name in the neighbourhood.
Evander is sometimes called _Nonacrius heros_, as being an Arcadian
by birth, and Atalanta _Nonacria_, as being a native of the
place. _Curtius_, bk. 10, ch. 10.――_Ovid_, _Fasti_, bk. 5, li. 97;
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 8, fable 10.――_Pausanias_, bk. 8, ch. 17, &c.
=Nonius=, a Roman soldier, imprisoned for paying respect to Galba’s
statues, &c. _Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 1, ch. 56.――――A Roman who
exhorted his countrymen after the fatal battle of Pharsalia, and the
flight of Pompey, by observing that eight standards (_aquilæ_) still
remained in the camp, to which Cicero answered, _Recte, si nobis cum
graculis bellum esset_.
=Nonnius Marcellus=, a grammarian, whose treatise _de variâ
significatione verborum_ was edited by Mercer, 8vo, Paris, 1614.
=Nonnus=, a Greek writer of the fifth century, who wrote an account
of the embassy he had undertaken to Æthiopia, among the Saracens
and other eastern nations. He is also known by his _Dionysiaca_, a
wonderful collection of heathen mythology and erudition, edited 4to,
Antwerp, 1569. His _paraphrase_ on John was edited by Heinsius, 8vo,
Leiden, 1627.
=Nonus=, a Greek physician, whose book _de omnium morborum curatione_
was edited in 12mo, Strasbourg, 1568.
=Nopia=, or =Cinopia=, a town of Bœotia, where Amphiaraus had a temple.
=Nōra=, now _Nour_, a place of Phrygia, where Eumenes retired for some
time, &c. _Cornelius Nepos._――――A town. _See:_ Norax.
=Norax=, a son of Mercury and Eurythæa, who led a colony of Iberians
into Sardinia, where he founded a town, to which he gave the name of
Nora. _Pausanias_, bk. 10, ch. 17.
=Norba=, a town of the Volsci. _Livy_, bk. 2, ch. 34.――――Cæsarea, a
town of Spain on the Tagus.
=Caius Norbānus=, a young and ambitious Roman who opposed Sylla, and
joined his interest to that of young Marius. In his consulship he
marched against Sylla, by whom he was defeated, &c. _Plutarch._――――A
friend and general of Augustus, employed in Macedonia against the
republicans. He was defeated by Brutus, &c.
=Norĭcum=, a country of ancient Illyricum, which now forms a part of
modern _Bavaria_ and _Austria_. It extended between the Danube, and
part of the Alps and Vindelicia. Its savage inhabitants, who were
once governed by kings, made many incursions upon the Romans, and
were at last conquered under Tiberius, and the country became a
dependent province. In the reign of Diocletian, Noricum was divided
into two parts, _Ripense_ and _Mediterranean_. The iron that was
drawn from Noricum was esteemed excellent, and thence _Noricus ensis_
was used to express the goodness of a sword. _Dionysius Periegetes.
_――_Strabo_, bk. 4.――_Pliny_, bk. 34, ch. 14.――_Tacitus_, _Histories_,
bk. 3, ch. 5.――_Horace_, bk. 1, ode 16, li. 9.――_Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 14, li. 712.
=Northippus=, a Greek tragic poet.
=Nortia=, a name given to the goddess of Fortune among the Etrurians.
_Livy_, bk. 7, ch. 3.
=Nothus=, a son of Deucalion.――――A surname of Darius king of Persia,
from his illegitimacy.
=Notium=, a town of Æolia near the Cayster. It was peopled by the
inhabitants of Colophon, who left their ancient habitations because
Notium was more conveniently situated in being on the seashore.
_Livy_, bk. 37, chs. 26, 38, 39.
=Notus=, the south wind, called also Auster.
=Novæ= (_tabernæ_), the new shops built in the forum at Rome, and
adorned with the shields of the Cimbri. _Cicero_, _On Oratory_,
bk. 2, ch. 66.――――The _Veteres tabernæ_ were adorned with those of
the Samnites. _Livy_, bk. 9, ch. 40.
=Novaria=, a town of Cisalpine Gaul, now _Novara_, in Milan. _Tacitus_,
_Histories_, bk. 1, ch. 70.
=Novātus=, a man who severely attacked the character of Augustus, under
a fictitious name. The emperor discovered him, and only fined him a
small sum of money.
=Novesium=, a town of the Ubii, on the west of the Rhine, now called
_Nuys_, near Cologne. _Tacitus_, _Histories_, bk. 4, ch. 26, &c.
=Noviodūnum=, a town of the Ædui in Gaul, taken by Julius Cæsar. It is
pleasantly situated on the Ligeris, and now called _Noyon_, or, as
others suppose, _Nevers_. _Cæsar_, _Gallic War_, bk. 2, ch. 12.
=Noviomagus=, or =Neomagus=, a town of Gaul, now _Nizeux_, in Normandy.
――――Another, called also _Nemetes_, now _Spire_.――――Another, in
Batavia, now _Nimeguen_, on the south side of the Waal.
=Novium=, a town of Spain, now _Noya_.
=Novius Priscus=, a man banished from Rome by Nero, on suspicion that
he was accessary to Piso’s conspiracy. _Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 15,
ch. 71.――――A man who attempted to assassinate the emperor Claudius.
――――Two brothers obscurely born, distinguished in the age of Horace
for their officiousness. _Horace_, bk. 1, satire 6.
=Novum Comum=, a town of Insubria on the lake Larinus, of which the
inhabitants were called _Novocomenses_. _Cicero_, _De Divinatione_,
bk. 13, ch. 55.
=Nox=, one of the most ancient deities among the heathens, daughter of
Chaos. From her union with her brother Erebus she gave birth to the
Day and the Light. She was also the mother of the Parcæ, Hesperides,
Dreams, of Discord, Death, Momus, Fraud, &c. She is called by some
of the poets the mother of all things, of gods as well as of men, and
therefore she was worshipped with great solemnity by the ancients.
She had a famous statue in Diana’s temple at Ephesus. It was usual
to offer her a black sheep, as she was the mother of the furies. The
cock was also offered to her, as that bird proclaims the approach of
day, during the darkness of the night. She is represented as mounted
on a chariot, and covered with a veil bespangled with stars. The
constellations generally went before her as her constant messengers.
Sometimes she is seen holding two children under her arms, one of
which is black, representing death, or rather night, and the other
white, representing sleep or day. Some of the moderns have described
her as a woman veiled in mourning, and crowned with poppies, and
carried on a chariot drawn by owls and bats. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6,
li. 950.――_Ovid_, _Fasti_, bk. 1, li. 455.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10,
ch. 38.――_Hesiod_, _Theogony_, lis. 125 & 212.
=Nuceria=, a town of Campania taken by Annibal. It became a Roman
colony under Augustus, and was called _Nuceria Constantia_, or
_Alfaterna_. It now bears the name of _Nocera_, and contains about
30,000 inhabitants. _Lucan_, bk. 2, li. 472.――_Livy_, bk. 9, ch. 41;
bk. 27, ch. 3.――_Silius Italicus_, bk. 8, li. 531.――_Tacitus_,
_Annals_, bks. 13 & 14.――――A town of Umbria at the foot of the
Apennines. _Strabo._――_Pliny._
=Nuithones=, a people of Germany, possessing the country now called
Mecklenburg and Pomerania. _Tacitus_, _Germania_, ch. 40.
=Numa Martius=, a man made governor of Rome by Tullus Hostilius. He was
son-in-law of Numa Pompilius, and father to Ancus Martius. _Tacitus_,
_Annals_, bk. 6, ch. 11.――_Livy_, bk. 1, ch. 20.
=Numa Pompilius=, a celebrated philosopher, born at Cures, a village of
the Sabines, on the day that Romulus laid the foundation of Rome. He
married Tatia, the daughter of Tatius the king of the Sabines, and at
her death he retired into the country to devote himself more freely
to literary pursuits. At the death of Romulus, the Romans fixed upon
him to be their new king, and two senators were sent to acquaint
him with the decisions of the senate and of the people. Numa refused
their offers, and it was not but at the repeated solicitations and
prayers of his friends that he was prevailed upon to accept the
royalty. The beginning of his reign was popular, and he dismissed
the 300 body-guards which his predecessor had kept around his person,
observing that he did not distrust a people who had compelled him to
reign over them. He was not, like Romulus, fond of war and military
expeditions, but he applied himself to tame the ferocity of his
subjects, to inculcate in their minds a reverence for the Deity,
and to quell their dissensions by dividing all the citizens into
different classes. He established different orders of priests, and
taught the Romans not to worship the Deity by images; and from his
example no graven or painted statues appeared in the temples or
sanctuaries of Rome for upwards of 160 years. He encouraged the
report which was spread of his paying regular visits to the nymph
Egeria, and made use of her name to give sanction to the laws and
institutions which he had introduced. He established the college
of the vestals, and told the Romans that the safety of the empire
depended upon the preservation of the sacred _ancyle_ or _shield_
which, as was generally believed, had dropped down from heaven. He
dedicated a temple to Janus, which, during his whole reign, remained
shut, as a mark of peace and tranquillity at Rome. Numa died after a
reign of 43 years, in which he had given every possible encouragement
to the useful arts, and in which he had cultivated peace, B.C. 672.
Not only the Romans, but also the neighbouring nations, were eager
to pay their last offices to a monarch whom they revered for his
abilities, moderation, and humanity. He forbade his body to be burnt
according to the custom of the Romans, but he ordered it to be buried
near mount Janiculum, with many of the books which he had written.
These books were accidentally found by one of the Romans, about
400 years after his death, and as they contained nothing new or
interesting, but merely the reasons why he had made innovations in
the form of worship and in the religion of the Romans, they were
burnt by order of the senate. He left behind one daughter called
Pompilia, who married Numa Martius, and became the mother of Ancus
Martius, the fourth king of Rome. Some say that he had also four
sons, but this opinion is ill-founded. _Plutarch_, _Lives_.――_Varro._
――_Livy_, bk. 1, ch. 18.――_Pliny_, bks. 13 & 14, &c.――_Florus_,
bk. 1, ch. 2.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6, li. 809; bk. 9, li. 562.
――_Cicero_, _de Natura Deorum_, bk. 3, chs. 2 & 17.――_Valerius
Maximus_, bk. 1, ch. 2.――_Dionysius of Halicarnassus_, bk. 2, ch. 59.
――_Ovid_, _Fasti_, bk. 3, &c.――――One of the Rutulian chiefs killed in
the night by Nisus and Euryalus. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 9, li. 454.
=Numāna=, a town of Picenum in Italy, of which the people were called
_Numanates_. _Mela_, bk. 2, ch. 4.
=Numantia=, a town of Spain near the sources of the river Durius,
celebrated for the war of 14 years which, though unprotected by walls
and towers, it bravely maintained against the Romans. The inhabitants
obtained some advantages over the Roman forces till Scipio Africanus
was empowered to finish the war, and to see the destruction of
Numantia. He began the siege with an army of 60,000 men, and was
bravely opposed by the besieged, who were no more than 4000 men
able to bear arms. Both armies behaved with uncommon valour, and the
courage of the Numantines was soon changed into despair and fury.
Their provisions began to fail, and they fed upon the flesh of their
horses, and afterwards on that of their dead companions, and at last
were necessitated to draw lots to kill and devour one another. The
melancholy situation of their affairs obliged some to surrender to
the Roman general. Scipio demanded them to deliver themselves up on
the morrow; they refused, and when a longer time had been granted
to their petitions, they retired and set fire to their houses, and
all destroyed themselves, B.C. 133, so that not even one remained to
adorn the triumph of the conqueror. Some historians, however, deny
that, and support that a number of Numantines delivered themselves
into Scipio’s hands, and that 50 of them were drawn in triumph at
Rome, and the rest sold as slaves. The fall of Numantia was more
glorious than that of Carthage or Corinth, though inferior to them.
The conqueror obtained the surname of _Numantinus_. _Florus_, bk. 2,
ch. 18.――_Appian_, _Wars in Spain_.――_Paterculus_, bk. 2, ch. 3.
――_Cicero_, bk. 1, _De Officiis_.――_Strabo_, bk. 3.――_Mela_, bk. 2,
ch. 6.――_Plutarch._――_Horace_, bk. 2, ode 12, li. 1.
=Numantīna=, a woman accused under Tiberius of making her husband
insane by enchantments, &c. _Tacitus_, _Annals_, bk. 4, ch. 22.
=Numānus Remŭlus=, a Rutulian who accused the Trojans of effeminacy. He
had married the younger sister of Turnus, and was killed by Ascanius
during the Rutulian war. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 9, li. 592, &c.
=Numēnes=, a follower of the doctrines of Plato and Pythagoras, born at
Apamea in Syria. He flourished in the reign of Marcus Antoninus.
=Numenia=, or =Neomenia=, a festival observed by the Greeks at the
beginning of every lunar month, in honour of all the gods, but
especially of Apollo or the Sun, who is justly deemed the author
of light, and of whatever distinction is made in the months,
seasons, days, and nights. It was observed with games and public
entertainments which were provided at the expense of rich citizens,
and which were always frequented by the poor. Solemn prayers were
offered at Athens during the solemnity, for the prosperity of the
republic. The demigods as well as the heroes of the ancients were
honoured and invoked in the festival.
=Numenius=, a philosopher, who supposed that Chaos, from which the
world was created, was animated by an evil and maleficent soul. He
lived in the second century.
=Numentāna via=, a road at Rome, which led to mount Sacer through the
gate Viminalis. _Livy_, bk. 3, ch. 52.
=Numeria=, a goddess at Rome who presided over numbers. _Augustine_,
_City of God_, bk. 4, ch. 11.
=Numeriānus Marcus Aurelius=, a son of the emperor Carus. He accompanied
his father into the east with the title of Cæsar, and at his death
he succeeded him with his brother Carinus, A.D. 282. His reign was
short. Eight months after his father’s death, he was murdered in
his litter by his father-in-law, Arrius Aper, who accompanied him in
an expedition. The murderer, who hoped to ascend the vacant throne,
continued to follow the litter as if the emperor was alive, till he
found a proper opportunity to declare his sentiments. The stench of
the body, however, soon discovered his perfidy, and he was sacrificed
to the fury of the soldiers. Numerianus had been admired for his
learning as well as his moderation. He was naturally an eloquent
speaker, and in poetry he was inferior to no writer of his age.――――A
friend of the emperor Severus.
=Numerius=, a man who favoured the escape of Marius to Africa, &c.――――A
friend of Pompey taken by Julius Cæsar’s adherents, &c. _Pliny._
=Numicia via=, one of the great Roman roads, which led from the capital
to the town of Brundusium.
=Nŭmīcus=, a small river of Latium, near Lavinium, where the dead body
of Æneas was found, and where Anna, Dido’s sister, drowned herself.
_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 150, &c.――_Silius Italicus_, bk. 1,
li. 359.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 14, li. 358, &c.; _Fasti_,
bk. 3, li. 643.――――A friend of Horace, to whom he addressed bk. 1,
ltr. 6.
=Numĭda=, a surname given by Horace, bk. 1, ode 36, to one of the
generals of Augustus, from his conquests in Numidia. Some suppose
that it is Pomponius; others, Plotius.
=Nŭmĭdia=, an inland country of Africa, which now forms the kingdom
of _Algiers_ and _Bildulgerid_. It was bounded on the north by the
Mediterranean sea, south by Gætulia, west by Mauritania, and east
by a part of Libya, which was called Africa Propria. The inhabitants
were called _Nomades_, and afterwards _Numidæ_. It was the kingdom of
Masinissa, which was the occasion of the third Punic war, on account
of the offence which he had received from the Carthaginians. Jugurtha
reigned there, as also Juba the father and son. It was conquered,
and became a Roman province, of which Sallust was the first governor.
The Numidians were excellent warriors, and in their expeditions
they always endeavoured to engage with the enemy in the night-time.
They rode without saddles or bridles, whence they have been called
_infræni_. They had their wives in common, as the rest of the
barbarian nations of antiquity. _Sallust_, _Jugurthine War_.
――_Florus_, bk. 2, ch. 15.――_Strabo_, bks. 2 & 17.――_Mela_, bk. 1,
ch. 4, &c.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 15, li. 754.
=Numidius Quadratus=, a governor of Syria under Claudius. _Tacitus_,
_Annals_, bk. 12.
=Numistro=, a town of the Brutii in Italy. _Livy_, bk. 45, ch. 17.
=Nŭmĭtor=, a son of Procas king of Alba, who inherited his father’s
kingdom with his brother Amulius, and began to reign conjointly with
him. Amulius was too avaricious to bear a colleague on the throne; he
expelled his brother, and that he might more safely secure himself,
he put to death his son Lausus, and consecrated his daughter Ilia to
the service of the goddess Vesta, which demanded perpetual celibacy.
These great precautions were rendered abortive. Ilia became pregnant,
and though the two children whom she brought forth were exposed
in the river by order of the tyrant, their life was preserved,
and Numitor was restored to his throne by his grandsons, and the
tyrannical usurper was put to death. _Dionysius of Halicarnassus.
_――_Livy_, bk. 1, ch. 3.――_Plutarch_, _Romulus_.――_Ovid_, _Fasti_,
bk. 4, li. 55, &c.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 6, li. 768.――――A son of
Phorcus, who fought with Turnus against Æneas. _Virgil_, _Æneid_,
bk. 10, li. 342.――――A rich and dissolute Roman in the age of Juvenal,
satire 7, li. 74.
=Numitōrius=, a Roman who defended Virginia, to whom Appius wished to
offer violence. He was made military tribune.――――Quintus Pullus, a
general of Fregellæ, &c. _Cicero_, _de Inventione_, bk. 2, ch. 34.
=Numonius=. _See:_ Vala.
=Nuncoreus=, a son of Sesostris king of Egypt, who made an obelisk,
some ages after brought to Rome, and placed in the Vatican. _Pliny_,
bk. 26, ch. 11.――――He is called Pheron by Herodotus.
=Nundīna=, a goddess whom the Romans invoked when they named their
children. This happened the ninth day after their birth, whence the
name of the goddess, _Nona dies_. _Macrobius_, _Saturnalia_, bk. 1,
ch. 16.
=Nundīnæ=. _See:_ Feriæ.
=Nursæ=, a town of Italy. _Virgil_, _Æneid_, bk. 7, li. 744.
=Nurscia=, a goddess who patronized the Etrurians. _Juvenal_, satire 10,
li. 74.
=Nursia=, now _Norza_, a town of Picenum, whose inhabitants are called
_Nursini_. Its situation was exposed, and the air considered as
unwholesome. _Silius Italicus_, bk. 8, li. 416.――_Virgil_, _Æneid_,
bk. 7, li. 716.――_Martial_, bk. 13, ltr. 20.――_Livy_, bk. 28, ch. 45.
=Nutria=, a town of Illyricum. _Polybius_, bk. 2.
=Nycteis=, a daughter of Nycteus, who was mother of Labdacus.――――A
patronymic of Antiope the daughter of Nycteus, mother of Amphion and
Zethus by Jupiter, who had assumed the shape of a satyr to enjoy her
company. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 6, li. 110.
=Nyctelia=, festivals in honour of Bacchus [_See:_ Nyctelius], observed
on mount Cithæron. _Plutarch_, _Convivium Septem Sapientium_.
=Nyctelius=, a surname of Bacchus, because his orgies were celebrated
in the night (νυξ _nox_, τελεω _perficio_). The words _latex
Nyctelius_ thence signify wine. _Seneca_, _Œdipus_.――_Pausanias_,
bk. 1, ch. 40.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 4, li. 15.
=Nycteus=, a son of Hyrieus and Clonia.――――A son of Chthonius.――――A son
of Neptune by Celene, daughter of Atlas king of Lesbos, or of Thebes,
according to the more received opinion. He married a nymph of Crete,
called Polyxo or Amalthæa, by whom he had two daughters, Nyctimene
and Antiope. The first of these disgraced herself by her criminal
amours with her father, into whose bed she introduced herself by
means of her nurse. When the father knew the incest which he had
committed, he attempted to stab his daughter, who was immediately
changed by Minerva into an owl. Nycteus made war against Epopeus, who
had carried away Antiope, and died of a wound which he had received
in an engagement, leaving his kingdom to his brother Lycus, whom he
entreated to continue the war, and punish Antiope for her immodest
conduct. _See:_ Antiope. _Pausanias_, bk. 2, ch. 6.――_Hyginus_,
fables 157 & 204.――_Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 2, li. 590, &c.;
bk. 6, li. 110, &c.
=Nyctimĕne=, a daughter of Nycteus. _See:_ Nycteus.
=Nyctĭmus=, a son of Lycaon king of Arcadia. He died without issue, and
left his kingdom to his nephew Arcas the son of Callisto. _Pausanias_,
bk. 8, ch. 4.
=Nymbæum=, a lake of Peloponnesus in Laconia. _Pausanias_, bk. 3,
li. 23.
=Nymphæ=, certain female deities among the ancients. They were generally
divided into two classes, nymphs of the land and nymphs of the sea.
Of the nymphs of the earth, some presided over woods, and were called
_Dryades_ and _Hamadryades_; others presided over mountains, and
were called _Oreades_; some presided over hills and dales, and were
called _Napææ_, &c. Of the sea nymphs, some were called _Oceanides_,
_Nereides_, _Naiades_, _Potamides_, _Limnades_, &c. These presided
not only over the sea, but also over rivers, fountains, streams,
and lakes. The nymphs fixed their residence not only in the sea,
but also on mountains, rocks, in woods or caverns, and their grottos
were beautified by evergreens and delightful and romantic scenes. The
nymphs were immortal, according to the opinion of some mythologists;
others supposed that, like men, they were subject to mortality,
though their life was of long duration. They lived for several
thousand years, according to Hesiod, or, as Plutarch seems obscurely
to intimate, they lived above 9720 years. The number of the nymphs
is not precisely known. They were, according to Hesiod, above 3000,
whose power was extended over the different places of the earth,
and the various functions and occupations of mankind. They were
worshipped by the ancients, though not with so much solemnity as the
superior deities. They had no temples raised to their honour, and
the only offerings they received were milk, honey, oil, and sometimes
the sacrifice of a goat. They were generally represented as young and
beautiful virgins, veiled up to the middle, and sometimes they held a
vase, from which they seemed to pour water. Sometimes they had grass,
leaves, and shells, instead of vases. It was deemed unfortunate to
see them naked, and such sight was generally attended by a delirium,
to which Propertius seems to allude in this verse, wherein he speaks
of the innocence and simplicity of the primitive ages of the world,
_Nec fuerat nudas pœna videre Deas_.
The nymphs were generally distinguished by an epithet which denoted
the place of their residence; thus the nymphs of Sicily were
called _Sicelides_; those of Corycus, _Corycides_, &c. _Ovid_,
_Metamorphoses_, bk. 1, li. 320; bk. 5, li. 412; bk. 9, li. 651, &c.;
_Fasti_, bk. 3, li. 769.――_Pausanias_, bk. 10, ch. 4.――_Plutarch_,
_de Defectu Oraculorum_.――_Orpheus_, _Argonautica_.――_Hesiod_,
_Theogony_.――_Propertius_, bk. 3, poem 12.――_Homer_, _Odyssey_,
bk. 14.