was Neocles, and his mother’s Euterpe, or Abrotonum, a native of
Halicarnassus, or of Thrace, or Acarnaia. The beginning of his youth
was marked by vices so flagrant, and an inclination so incorrigible,
that his father disinherited him. This, which might have disheartened
others, roused the ambition of Themistocles, and the protection
which he was denied at home, he sought in courting the favours of the
populace, and in sharing the ♦administration of public affairs. When
Xerxes invaded Greece, Themistocles was at the head of the Athenian
republic, and in this capacity the fleet was entrusted to his care.
When the Lacedæmonians under Leonidas were opposing the Persians at
Thermopylæ, the naval operations of Themistocles, and of the combined
fleet of the Peloponnesians, were directed to destroy the armament
of Xerxes, and to ruin his maritime power. The obstinate wish of the
generals to command the Grecian fleet might have proved fatal to the
interest of the allies, had not Themistocles freely relinquished his
pretensions, and by nominating his rival Eurybiades master of the
expedition, shown the world that his ambition could stoop when his
country demanded his assistance. The Persian fleet was distressed at
Artemisium by a violent storm, and the feeble attack of the Greeks;
but a decisive battle had never been fought if Themistocles had not
used threats and entreaties, and even called religion to his aid,
and the favourable answers of the oracle, to second his measures.
The Greeks, actuated by different views, were unwilling to make head
by sea against an enemy whom they saw victorious by land, plundering
their cities and destroying all by fire and sword; but before they
were dispersed, Themistocles sent intelligence of their intentions
to the Persian monarch. Xerxes, by immediately blocking them with his
fleet, in the bay of Salamis, prevented their escape, and while he
wished to crush them all at one blow, he obliged them to fight for
their safety, as well as for the honour of their country. This battle,
which was fought near the island of Salamis, B.C. 480, was decisive;
the Greeks obtained the victory, and Themistocles the honour of
having destroyed the formidable navy of Xerxes. Further to ensure
the peace of his country, Themistocles informed the Asiatic monarch
that the Greeks had conspired to cut the bridge which he had built
across the Hellespont, and to prevent his retreat into Asia. This met
with equal success; Xerxes hastened away from Greece, and while he
believed the words of Themistocles, that his return would be disputed,
he left his forces without a general, and his fleets an easy conquest
to the victorious Greeks. These signal services to his country
endeared Themistocles to the Athenians, and he was universally called
the most warlike and most courageous of all the Greeks who fought
against the Persians. He was received with the most distinguished
honours, and by his prudent administration, Athens was soon fortified
with strong walls, her Pireus was rebuilt, and her harbours were
filled with a numerous and powerful navy, which rendered her the
mistress of Greece. Yet in the midst of that glory, the conqueror of
Xerxes incurred the displeasure of his countrymen, which had proved
so fatal to many of his illustrious predecessors. He was banished
from the city, and after he had sought in vain a safe retreat among
the republics of Greece, and the barbarians of Thrace, he threw
himself into the arms of a monarch, whose fleets he had defeated,
and whose father he had ruined. Artaxerxes, the successor of Xerxes,
received the illustrious Athenian with kindness; and though he
had formerly set a price upon his head, yet he made him one of his
greatest favourites, and bestowed three rich cities upon him, to
provide him with bread, wine, and meat. Such kindness from a monarch,
from whom he, perhaps, expected the most hostile treatment, did
not alter the sentiments of Themistocles. He still remembered that
Athens gave him birth, and according to some writers, the wish of not
injuring his country, and therefore his inability of carrying on war
against Greece, at the request of Artaxerxes, obliged him to destroy
himself by drinking bull’s blood. The manner of his death, however,
is uncertain, and while some affirm that he poisoned himself, others
declare that he fell a prey to a violent distemper in the city of
Magnesia, where he had fixed his residence, while in the dominions of
the Persian monarch. His bones were conveyed to Attica and honoured
with a magnificent tomb by the Athenians, who began to repent too
late of their cruelty to the saviour of his country. Themistocles
died in the 65th year of his age, about 449 years before the
christian era. He has been admired as a man naturally courageous,
of a disposition fond of activity, ambitious of glory and enterprise.
Blessed with a provident and discerning mind, he seemed to rise
superior to misfortunes, and in the midst of adversity, possessed
of resources which could enable him to regain his splendour, and
even to command fortune. _Plutarch_ & _Cornelius Nepos_, _Lives_.
――_Pausanias_, bk. 1, ch. 1; bk. 8, ch. 52.――_Ælian_, _Varia
Historia_, bk. 2, ch. 12; bk. 9, ch. 18; bk. 13, ch. 40.――――A writer,
some of whose letters are extant.
♦ ‘adminstration’ replaced with ‘administration’
=Themistogĕnes=, an historian of Syracuse, in the age of Artaxerxes
Memnon. He wrote on the wars of Cyrus the younger, a subject ably
treated afterwards by Xenophon.
=Theŏcles=, an opulent citizen of Corinth, who liberally divided his
riches among the poor. Thrasonides, a man equally rich with himself,
followed the example. _Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 14, ch. 24.――――A
Greek statuary. _Pausanias_, bk. 6, ch. 19.
=Theŏclus=, a Messenian poet and soothsayer, who died B.C. 671.
_Pausanias_, bk. 4, ch. 15, &c.
=Theoclymĕnus=, a soothsayer of Argolis, descended from Melampus. His
father’s name was Thestor. He foretold the speedy return of Ulysses
to Penelope and Telemachus. _Homer_, _Odyssey_, bk. 15, li. 225, &c.
――_Hyginus_, fable 128.
=Theŏcrĭtus=, a Greek poet who flourished at Syracuse, in Sicily, 282
B.C. His father’s name was Praxagoras or Simichus, and his mother’s
Philina. He lived in the age of Ptolemy Philadelphus, whose praises
he sung, and whose favours he enjoyed. Theocritus distinguished
himself by his poetical compositions, of which 30 idyllia and some
epigrams are extant, written in the Doric dialect, and admired for
their beauty, elegance, and simplicity. Virgil, in his eclogues, has
imitated and often copied him. Theocritus has been blamed for the
many indelicate and obscene expressions which he uses; and while
he introduces shepherds and peasants with all the rusticity and
ignorance of nature, he often disguises their character by making
them speak on high and exalted subjects. It is said he wrote some
invectives against Hiero king of Syracuse, who ordered him to be
strangled. He also wrote a ludicrous poem called _Syrinx_, and placed
his verses in such order that they represented the pipe of the god
Pan. The best editions of Theocritus, are Warton’s, 2 vols., 4to,
Oxford, 1770; that of Heinsius, 8vo, Oxford, 1699; that of Valkenaer,
8vo, Leiden, 1781; and that of Reiske, 2 vols., 4to, Lipscomb, 1790.
_Quintilian_, bk. 10, ch. 1.――_Diogenes Laërtius_, bk. 5.――――A Greek
historian of Chios, who wrote an account of Libya. _Plutarch._
♦=Theodămas=, or =Thiodamas=, a king of Mysia, in Asia Minor. He was
killed by Hercules, because he refused to treat him and his son with
hospitality. _Ovid_, _Ibis_, li. 438.――_Apollodorus_, bk. 2, ch. 7.
――_Hyginus_, fable 271.
♦ ‘Thodămas’ replaced with ‘Theodămas’
=Theodectes=, a Greek orator and poet of Phaselis in Pamphylia, son of
Aristander, and disciple of Isocrates. He wrote 50 tragedies, besides
other works now lost. He had such a happy memory that he could repeat
with ease whatever verses were spoken in his presence. When Alexander
passed through Phaselis, he crowned with garlands the statue which
had been erected to the memory of the deceased poet. _Cicero_,
_Tusculanæ Disputationes_, bk. 1, ch. 24; _Orator_, ch. 51, &c.
――_Plutarch._――_Quintilian._
=Theodonis=, a town of Germany, now _Thionville_, on the Moselle.
=Theodōra=, a daughter-in-law of the emperor Maximian, who married
Constantius.――――A daughter of Constantine.――――A woman who, from being
a prostitute, became empress to Justinian, and distinguished herself
by her intrigues and enterprises.――――The name of Theodora is common
to the empresses of the east in a later period.
=Theodoretus=, one of the Greek fathers who flourished A.D. 425, whose
works have been edited, 5 vols., folio, Paris, 1642, and 5 vols.,
Halæ, 1769 to 1774.
=Theodoritus=, a Greek ecclesiastical historian, whose works have been
best edited by Reading, folio, Cambridge. 1720.
=Theodōrus=, a Syracusan of great authority among his countrymen, who
severely inveighed against the tyranny of Dionysius.――――A philosopher,
disciple to Aristippus. He denied the existence of a God. He was
banished from Cyrene, and fled to Athens, where the friendship of
Demetrius Phalereus saved him from the accusations which were carried
to the Areopagus against him. Some suppose that he was at last
condemned to death for his impiety, and that he drank poison.――――A
preceptor to one of the sons of Antony, whom he betrayed to Augustus.
――――A consul in the reign of Honorius. Claudian wrote a poem upon
him, in which he praises him with great liberality.――――A secretary of
Valens. He conspired against the emperor and was beheaded.――――A man
who compiled a history of Rome. Of this, nothing but his history of
the reigns of Constantine and Constantius is extant.――――A comic actor.
――――A player on the flute in the age of Demetrius Poliorcetes, who
contemptuously rejected the favours of Lamia the mistress of the
monarch.――――A Greek poet of Colophon, whose compositions are lost.
――――A sophist of Byzantium, called _Logodaidalos_ by Plato.――――A
Greek poet in the age of Cleopatra. He wrote a book of metamorphoses,
which Ovid imitated, as some suppose.――――An artist of Samos about 700
years B.C. He was the first who found out the art of melting iron,
with which he made statues.――――A priest, father of Isocrates.――――A
Greek writer, called also _Prodromus_. The time in which he lived
is unknown. There is a romance of his composition extant, called the
amours of Rhodanthe and Dosicles, the only edition of which was by
Gaulminus, 8vo, Paris, 1625.
=Theodosia=, now _Caffa_, a town in the Cimmerian Bosphorus. _Mela_,
bk. 2, ch. 1.
=Theodosiopŏlis=, a town of Armenia, built by Theodosius, &c.
=Theodosius Flavius=, a Roman emperor surnamed _Magnus_, from the
greatness of his exploits. He was invested with the imperial purple
by Gratian, and appointed over Thrace and the eastern provinces,
which had been in the possession of Valentinian. The first years of
his reign were marked by different conquests over the barbarians.
The Goths were defeated in Thrace, and 4000 of their chariots, with
an immense number of prisoners of both sexes, were the reward of the
victory. This glorious campaign intimidated the inveterate enemies
of Rome; they sued for peace, and treaties of alliance were made with
distant nations, who wished to gain the favours and the friendship
of a prince whose military virtues were so conspicuous. Some
conspiracies were formed against the emperor, but Theodosius totally
disregarded them; and while he punished his competitors for the
imperial purple, he thought himself sufficiently secure in the love
and the affection of his subjects. His reception at Rome was that of
a conqueror; he triumphed over the barbarians, and restored peace in
every part of the empire. He died of a dropsy at Milan, in the 60th
year of his age, after a reign of 16 years, the 17th of January,
A.D. 395. His body was conveyed to Constantinople, and buried by his
son Arcadius, in the tomb of Constantine. Theodosius was the last
of the emperors who was the sole master of the whole Roman empire.
He left three children, Arcadius and Honorius, who succeeded him,
and Pulcheria. Theodosius has been commended by ancient writers,
as a prince blessed with every virtue, and debased by no vicious
propensity. Though master of the world, he was a stranger to that
pride and arrogance which too often disgrace the monarch; he was
affable in his behaviour, benevolent and compassionate, and it was
his wish to treat his subjects as himself was treated when a private
man and a ♦dependent. Men of merit were promoted to places of trust
and honour, and the emperor was fond of patronizing the cause of
virtue and learning. His zeal as a follower of christianity has been
applauded by all the ecclesiastical writers, and it was the wish of
Theodosius to support the revealed religion, as much by his example,
meekness, and christian charity, as by his edicts and ecclesiastical
institutions. His want of clemency, however, in one instance, was too
openly betrayed, and when the people of Thessalonica had unmeaningly,
perhaps, killed one of his officers, the emperor ordered his soldiers
to put all the inhabitants to the sword, and no less than 6000
persons, without distinction of rank, age, or sex, were cruelly
butchered in that town in the space of three hours. This violence
irritated the ecclesiastics, and Theodosius was compelled by St.
Ambrose to do open penance in the church, and publicly to make
atonement for an act of barbarity which had excluded him from
the bosom of the church, and the communion of the faithful. In
his private character Theodosius was an example of soberness and
temperance; his palace displayed becoming grandeur, but still
with moderation. He never indulged in luxury, or countenanced
superfluities. He was fond of bodily exercise, and never gave himself
up to pleasure and enervating enjoyments. The laws and regulations
which he introduced in the Roman empire, were of the most salutary
nature. _Socrates of Constantinople_, bk. 5, &c.――_Zosimus_, bk. 4,
&c.――_Ambrose._――_Augustine._――_Claudian_, &c.
♦ ‘dependant’ replaced with ‘dependent’
=Theodosius II.=, succeeded his father Arcadius as emperor of the
western Roman empire, though only in the eighth year of his age.
He was governed by his sister Pulcheria, and by his ministers and
eunuchs, in whose hands was the disposal of the offices of state,
and all places of trust and honour. He married Eudoxia, the daughter
of a philosopher called Leontius, a woman remarkable for her virtues
and piety. The territories of Theodosius were invaded by the Persians,
but the emperor soon appeared at the head of a numerous force,
and the two hostile armies met on the frontiers of the empire. The
consternation was universal on both sides; without even a battle,
the Persians fled, and no less than 100,000 were lost in the waters
of the Euphrates. Theodosius raised the siege of Nisibis, where his
operations failed of success, and he averted the fury of the Huns
and Vandals by bribes and promises. He died on the 29th of July,
in the 49th year of his age, A.D. 450, leaving only one daughter,
Licinia Eudoxia, whom he married to the emperor Valentinian III. The
carelessness and inattention of Theodosius to public affairs are well
known. He signed all the papers that were brought to him without even
opening them or reading them, till his sister apprised him of his
negligence, and rendered him more careful and diligent, by making him
sign a paper, in which he delivered into her hand, Eudoxia his wife
as a slave and menial servant. The laws and regulations which were
promulgated under him, and selected from the most useful and salutary
institutions of his imperial predecessors, have been called the
_Theodosian code_. Theodosius was a warm advocate for the christian
religion, but he has been blamed for his partial attachment to those
who opposed the orthodox faith. _Sozomen._――_Socrates_, &c.
=Theodosius=, a lover of Antonina the wife of Belisarius.――――A
mathematician of Tripoli, who flourished 75 B.C. His treatise, called
Sphærica, is best edited by Hunt, 8vo, Oxford, 1707.――――A Roman
general, father of Theodosius the Great; he died A.D. 376.
=Theodŏta=, a beautiful courtesan of Elis, whose company was frequented
by Socrates. _Xenophon_, _on Socrates_.――_Ælian_, _Varia Historia_,
bk. 13, ch. 32.――――A Roman empress, &c.
=Theodotian=, an interpreter, in the reign of Commodus.
=Theodŏtus=, an admiral of the Rhodians, sent by his countrymen to make
a treaty with the Romans.――――A native of Chios, who, as preceptor and
counsellor of Ptolemy, advised the feeble monarch to murder Pompey.
He carried the head of the unfortunate Roman to Cæsar, but the
resentment of the conqueror was such that the mean assassin fled, and
after a wandering and miserable life in the cities of Asia, he was
at last put to death by Brutus. _Plutarch_, _Brutus_ & _Pompey_.――――A
Syracusan, accused of a conspiracy against Hieronymus the tyrant of
Syracuse.――――A governor of Bactriana in the age of Antiochus, who
revolted and made himself king, B.C. 250.――――A friend of the emperor
Julian.――――A Phœnician historian.――――One of the generals of Alexander.
=Theognētes=, a Greek tragic poet. _Athenæus._
=Theognis=, a Greek poet of Megara, who flourished about 549 years
before Christ. He wrote several poems, of which only few sentences
are now extant, quoted by Plato and other Greek historians and
philosophers, and intended as precepts for the conduct of human
life. The morals of the poet have been censured as neither decorous
nor chaste. The best edition of Theognis is that of Blackwall, 12mo,
London, 1706.――――There was also a tragic poet of the same name, whose
compositions were so lifeless and inanimated, that they procured him
the name of _Chion_, or _snow_.
=Theomnestus=, a rival of Nicias in the administration of public
affairs at Athens. _Strabo_, bk. 14.――――A statuary of Sardinia.
_Pausanias_, bk. 6, ch. 15.――――An Athenian philosopher, among the
followers of Plato’s doctrines. He had Brutus, Cæsar’s murderer,
among his pupils.――――A painter. _Pliny_, bk. 35.
=Theon=, a philosopher, who used frequently to walk in his sleep.
_Diogenes Laërtius._――――An astronomer of Smyrna, in the reign of
Adrian.――――A painter of Samos. _Ælian_, _Varia Historia_, bk. 3,
ch. 44.――――Another philosopher. _Diogenes Laërtius._――――An infamous
reviler. _Horace_, bk. 1, ltr. 19.
=Theonoe=, a daughter of Thestor, sister to Calchas. She was carried
away by sea pirates, and sold to Icarus king of Caria, &c. _Hyginus_,
fable 190.――――A daughter of Proteus and a Nereid, who became enamoured
of Canobus, the pilot of a Trojan vessel, &c.
=Theope=, one of the daughters of Leos.
=Theophăne=, a daughter of Bisaltus, whom Neptune changed into a sheep,
to remove her from her numerous suitors, and conveyed to the island
Crumissa. The god afterwards assumed the shape of a ram, and under
this transformation he had by the nymph a ram with a golden fleece,
which carried Phryxus to Colchis. _Ovid_, _Metamorphoses_, bk. 6,
li. 177.――_Hyginus_, fable 188.
=Theophănes=, a Greek historian, born at Mitylene. He was very intimate
with Pompey, and from his friendship with the Roman general, his
countrymen derived many advantages. After the battle of Pharsalia,
he advised Pompey to retire to the court of Egypt. _Cicero_, _For
Archias_, &c.――_Paterculus._――_Plutarch_, _Cicero_ & _Pompey_.――――His
son Marcus Pompeius Theophanes was made governor of Asia, and enjoyed
the intimacy of Tiberius.――――The only edition of Theophanes the
Byzantine historian, is that of Paris, folio, 1649.
=Theophania=, festivals celebrated at Delphi in honour of Apollo.
=Theophĭlus=, a comic poet of Athens.――――A governor of Syria in the age
of Julian.――――A friend of Piso.――――A physician, whose treatise _de
Urinis_ is best edited by Guidotius, Leiden, 1728, and another by
Morell, 8vo, Paris, 1556.――――One of the Greek fathers, whose work
_ad Autolycum_ is best edited in 12mo, by Wolf, Hamburg, 1724.――――The
name of Theophilus is common among the primitive christians.
=Theophrastus=, a native of Eresus in Lesbos, son of a fuller. He
studied under Plato, and afterwards under Aristotle, whose friendship
he gained, and whose warmest commendations he deserved. His original
name was _Tyrtamus_, but this the philosopher made him exchange
for that of _Euphrastus_, to intimate his excellence in speaking,
and afterwards for that of _Theophrastus_, which he deemed still
more expressive of his eloquence, the brilliancy of his genius, and
the elegance of his language. After the death of Socrates, when the
malevolence of the Athenians drove all the philosopher’s friends
from the city, Theophrastus succeeded Aristotle in the Lyceum, and
rendered himself so conspicuous, that in a short time the number of
his auditors was increased to 2000. Not only his countrymen courted
his applause, but kings and princes were desirous of his friendship:
and Cassander and Ptolemy, two of the most powerful of the successors
of Alexander, regarded him with more than usual partiality.
Theophrastus composed many books, and Diogenes has enumerated the
titles of above 200 treatises, which he wrote with great elegance
and copiousness. About 20 of these are extant, among which are his
history of stones, his treatise on plants, on the winds, on the signs
of fair weather, &c., and his Characters, an excellent moral treatise,
which was begun in the 99th year of his age. He died, loaded with
years and infirmities, in the 107th year of his age, B.C. 288,
lamenting the shortness of life, and complaining of the partiality
of nature in granting longevity to the crow and to the stag, but
not to man. To his care we are indebted for the works of Aristotle,
which the dying philosopher entrusted to him. The best edition
of Theophrastus, is that of Heinsius, folio, Leiden, 1613; and of
his Characters, that of Needham, 8vo, Cambridge. 1712, and that of
Fischer, 8vo, Coburg, 1763. _Cicero_, _Tusculanæ Disputationes_,
bk. 3, ch. 28; _Brutus_, ch. 31; _Orator_, ch. 19, &c.――_Strabo_,
bk. 13.――_Diogenes Laërtius_, _Lives_.――_Ælian_, _Varia Historia_,
bk. 2, ch. 8; bk. 34, ch. 20; bk. 8, ch. 12.――_Quintilian_, bk. 10,
ch. 1.――_Plutarch_, _Adversus Colotem_.――――An officer entrusted with
the care of the citadel of Corinth by Antigonus. _Polyænus._
=Theopolĕmus=, a man who, with his brother Hiero, plundered Apollo’s
temple at Delphi, and fled away for fear of being punished. _Cicero_,
_Against Verres_, bk. 5.
=Theopŏlis=, a name given to Antioch, because the christians first
received their name there.
=Theopompus=, a king of Sparta, of the family of the Proclidæ, who
succeeded his father Nicander, and distinguished himself by the many
new regulations which he introduced. He created the Ephori, and died,
after a long and peaceful reign, B.C. 723. While he sat on the throne,
the Spartans made war against Messenia. _Plutarch_, _Lycurgus_.
――_Pausanias_, bk. 3, ch. 7.――――A famous Greek historian of Chios,
disciple of Isocrates, who flourished B.C. 354. All his compositions
are lost, except a few fragments quoted by ancient writers. He is
compared to Thucydides and Herodotus as an historian, yet he is
severely censured for his satirical remarks and illiberal reflections.
He obtained a prize in which his master was a competitor, and he was
liberally rewarded for composing the best funeral oration in honour
of Mausolus. His father’s name was Damasistratus. _Dionysius of
Halicarnassus_, bk. 1.――_Plutarch_, _Lysis_.――_Cornelius Nepos_, bk.
7.――_Pausanias_, bk. 6, ch. 18.――_Quintilian_, bk. 10, ch. 1.――――An
Athenian, who attempted to deliver his countrymen from the tyranny of
Demetrius. _Polyænus_, bk. 5.――――A comic poet in the age of Menander.
He wrote 24 plays, all lost.――――A son of Demaratus, who obtained
several crowns at the Olympic games. _Pausanias_, bk. 6, ch. 10.
――――An orator and historian of Cnidus, very intimate with Julius
Cæsar. _Strabo_, bk. 14.――――A Spartan general, killed at the battle
of Tegyra.――――A philosopher of Cheronæa, in the reign of the emperor
Philip.
=Theophylactus Simocatta=, a Byzantine historian, whose works were
edited folio, Paris, 1647.――――One of the Greek fathers who flourished
A.D. 1070. His works were edited at Venice, 4 vols., 1754 to 1763.