of Leontes, or, according to Diodorus, of Antion and Perimela. Jupiter
carried him to heaven and placed him at the table of the gods, where he
became enamored with Juno, which so incensed Jupiter that he banished
him from heaven, and ordered Mercury to tie him to a wheel in hell,
which continually whirled round, keeping Ixion in perpetual torture.
=Ja´nus.= An ancient king who reigned in Italy. He was a native of
Thessaly, and, according to some writers, a son of Apollo. He built a
town which he called Janiculum. Some authors make him to have been son
of Coelus and Hecate. He is represented with two faces, because he was
acquainted with the past and future. His temple was always open in time
of war, and was shut when peace existed.
=Jap´etus.= A son of Coelus or Titan and Terra, who married Asia, or,
according to some writers, Clymene. The Greeks looked on him as the
father of all mankind.
=Ja´son.= A celebrated hero, son of Æson and Alcimedes. His education was
entrusted to the Centaur Chiron. The greatest feat recorded of him is
his voyage in the Argo to Colchis to obtain the Golden Fleece, which,
aided by Juno, he succeeded in doing. Medea, daughter of Ætes, king of
Colchis, fell in love with Jason. She was a powerful magician, and on
Jason having vowed eternal fidelity to her, she gave him charms to
protect him from danger. After securing the Fleece, Jason set sail from
the country with his wife Medea. After some years he became enamored
with Glauce, daughter of Creon, king of Corinth, whom he married, having
divorced Medea. This cruel act was revenged by Medea, who destroyed her
children in the presence of their father. Jason is said to have been
killed by a beam which fell on his head as he was reposing by the side
of the ship which had borne him to Colchis.
=Jocas´ta.= A daughter of Menoeceus, who married Laius, king of Thebes,
OEdipus being their son. She afterwards married OEdipus without
knowing who he was, and on the discovery she hanged herself. By some
mythologists she is called Epicasta.
=Jose´phus, Fla´vius.= A celebrated Jew, born in Jerusalem, who signalized
himself in a siege conducted by Vespasian and Titus in a small town in
Judæa. He was present at the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, and received
all the sacred books which it contained from the conqueror's hands. He
wrote a history of the wars of the Jews, in Syriac, and afterwards
translated it into Greek. He also wrote a work, which he divided into
twenty books, on Jewish antiquities. He died A.D. 93, in his fifty-sixth
year.
=Jovia´nus, Fla´vius Clau´dius.= A native of Pannonia elected emperor of
Rome by the soldiers after the death of Julian. He refused the purple at
first, but on being assured that his subjects were favorably disposed
towards Christianity he accepted the crown. He died about seven months
after assuming the supreme power, being found in bed suffocated by the
vapors of charcoal which had been lighted in his room, A.D. 364.
=Ju´ba.= A king of Numidia and Mauritania who favored the cause of Pompey
against Julius Cæsar. He defeated Curio, whom Cæsar had sent to Africa,
and after the battle of Pharsalia he joined his forces to those of
Scipio. He was conquered in a battle at Thapsus, and killed himself. His
kingdom became a Roman province, of which Sallust was the first
governor.
=Ju´ba=, the second of that name, was led captive to Rome to give lustre
to the triumph of Cæsar. He wrote a history of Rome, which was often
commended and quoted by the ancients.
=Jugur´tha.= A distinguished Numidian who went with a body of troops to
the assistance of Scipio, who was besieging Numantia. Jugurtha endeared
himself to the Roman general by his bravery and activity. His uncle
Micipsa appointed him successor to the throne, with his two sons
Adherbal and Hiempsal, the latter of whom was slain by Jugurtha, and the
former had to fly to Rome for safety. Cæcilius Metellus was sent against
Jugurtha, who was betrayed and delivered into the hands of the Romans.
He died in prison B.C. 106.
=Ju´lia.= A daughter of Julius Cæsar and Cornelia, famous for her virtues
and personal charms. She was obliged by her father to divorce herself
from her first husband to marry Pompey the Great, with the object of
cementing the friendship between him and her father.
=Ju´lia.= Daughter of Augustus, remarkable for her beauty, genius, and
vices. Her father give her in marriage to Marcellus, after whose death
she united herself to Agrippa, and again becoming a widow she married
Tiberius. Her conduct now became so unseemly that she was banished to a
small island on the coast of Campania, where she was starved to death.
=Ju´lia.= A daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina, born at Lesbos, A.D. 17.
She married M. Vinucius, a senator, when she was sixteen years old. She
was banished on suspicion of conspiracy by her brother Caligula. She was
notorious for her licentious conduct, and was put to death when she was
about twenty-four years of age.
=Ju´lia.= A celebrated woman born in Phoenicia. She applied herself to
the study of philosophy, and was conspicuous for her mental as well as
her personal charms. She came to Rome, where she married Septimius
Severus, who was afterwards invested with the purple. She was also
called Domna.
=Julia´nus.= A son of Julius Constantius, the brother of Constantine the
Great, born in Constantinople. The massacre which attended the elevation
of the sons of Constantine to the throne nearly proved fatal to Julian
and his brother Gallus. The two brothers were privately educated and
taught the doctrines of the Christian religion--which afterwards Julian
disavowed, and in consequence of this the term "Apostate" is generally
affixed to his name. He died, A.D. 363, in his thirty-second year. His
last moments were spent in a conversation with a philosopher about the
immortality of the soul. Julian's character has been admired by some
writers, but generally he is censured for his apostasy.
=Ju´no.= A celebrated deity among the ancients, daughter of Saturn and
Ops. Jupiter married her, and the nuptials were celebrated with the
greatest solemnity in the presence of all the gods. By her marriage with
Jupiter, Juno became the queen of all the gods, and mistress of heaven
and earth. She presided over marriage, and patronized those of her sex
who were distinguished for virtuous conduct. Paris gave her great
offense by giving the golden apple, as an award to beauty, to Venus
instead of herself.
=Ju´piter.= The chief of all the gods of the ancients. According to Varro
there were three hundred persons of that name. To him of Crete, who
passed for the son of Saturn and Ops, the actions of the rest have been
attributed. Jupiter was educated in a cave on Mount Ida, in Crete, and
fed with the milk of the goat Amalthæa. While he was very young he made
war on the Titans, whom he conquered. The beginning of his reign in the
supernal regions was interrupted by the rebellion of the giants, who
were sons of the earth, and who were desirous of revenging the death of
the Titans, but by the aid of Hercules, Jupiter overpowered them.
Jupiter married Metis, Themis, Ceres, Euronyme, Mnemosyne, Latona, and
Juno. His worship was universal: he was the Ammon of the Africans, the
Belus of Babylon, and the Osiris of Egypt.
=Juvena´lis, D. Ju´nius.= A poet born at Axuinum in Italy. He came to Rome
at an early age, where he applied himself to the writing of satires,
some of which are extant. He died in the reign of Trajan, A.D. 128. His
writings are distinguished by a lively style, but abound with ill humor.
=Labe´rius, J. Dec´imus.= A Roman knight famous for his skill in writing
pantomimes. Cæsar made him appear on the stage in one of his plays,
which he resented by throwing out aspersions on Cæsar during the
performance, and by warning the audience against tyranny.
=Lach´esis.= One of the Parcæ, or Fates. She presided over futurity, and
was represented as spinning the thread of life, or, according to some,
as holding the spindle.
=Laer´tes.= A king of Ithaca who married Anticlea, daughter of Autolycus.
Ulysses was their son, and succeeded him on the throne, Laertes retiring
to the country, and devoting his time to gardening, in which employment
he was found by Ulysses on his return from the Trojan war, after twenty
years´ absence.
=La´gus.= A Macedonian of mean extraction, who married Arsinoe, daughter
of Meleager. On the birth of a child it was exposed in the woods by
Lagus, but an eagle preserved its life by feeding and sheltering it with
her wings. The infant was afterwards known as King Ptolemy the First of
Egypt.
=La´is.= A woman of immoral character, daughter of Timandra and
Alcibiades. Diogenes, the Cynic, was one of her admirers, and gained her
heart. She went to Thessaly, where the women, jealous of her charms,
assassinated her.
=Laoc´oon.= A priest of Apollo who in the Trojan war was opposed to the
admission of the wooden horse to the city. For this, as a punishment,
two enormous serpents were sent to attack him, which they did whilst,
accompanied by his two sons, he was offering a sacrifice to Neptune. The
serpents coiled round him and his sons, and crushed them to death.
=Laom´edon.= Son of Ilus, and king of Troy. He married Strymo, called by
some Placia or Leucippe. Podarces, afterwards known as Priam, was their
son. Laomedon built the walls of Troy, in which he was assisted by
Apollo and Neptune.
=Lap´ithus.= A son of Apollo and Stilbe. He married Orsinome, Phorbas and
Periphas being their children, to whose numerous descendants was given
the name Lapithæ, a number of whom attended the nuptials of Pirithous
with Hippodamia, the daughter of Adrastus, king of Argos. The Centaurs
also attended the festivity, and quarrelled with the Lapithæ, which
resulted in blows and slaughter. Many of the Centaurs were slain, and
they were at last obliged to retire.
=La´res.= Gods of inferior power at Rome, who presided over houses and
families. They were two in number, sons of Mercury and Lara.
=Lati´nus.= A son of Faunus and Marica, king of the Aborigines in Italy,
who from him were called Latini.
=Lato´na.= A daughter of Coeus, the Titan, and Phoebe. She was admired
for her beauty by Jupiter. Juno made Latona the object of her vengeance,
and sent the serpent Python to persecute her.
=Lean´der.= A youth of Abydos. He was passionately in love with Hero, a
young girl of Sestos. He was in the habit of swimming across the
Hellespont to visit her, in doing which, on a tempestuous night, he was
drowned. Lord Byron performed the same feat in 1810, an exploit which he
has celebrated in verse in his occasional pieces. He expresses surprise
that, as the truth of Leander's story had been questioned, no one had
hitherto tested its practicability.
=Le´da.= A daughter of king Thespius and Eurythemis, who married Tyndarus,
king of Sparta. She is famous for her intrigue with Jupiter. She brought
forth two eggs, from one of which sprang Pollux and Helena, and from the
other Castor and Clytemnestra. She is said to have received the name of
Nemesis after death.
=Lem´ures.= The manes of the dead. The ancients supposed that after death
the departed souls wandered over the world and disturbed the peace of
its inhabitants.
=Leon´idas.= A celebrated king of Lacedæmon who went to oppose Xerxes,
king of Persia, who had invaded Greece with a vast army. A great battle
was fought at Thermopylæ, the entire army of Leonidas consisting of 300
men who refused to abandon him. For a time this small army resisted the
vast legions of Xerxes, till at length a traitor conducted a detachment
of Persians by a secret path to the rear of Leonidas, when his soldiers
were cut to pieces, one only of the 300 escaping.
=Lep´idus, M. Æmil´ius.= A celebrated Roman, one of the triumvirs with
Augustus and Antony. He was of an illustrious family, and, like many of
his contemporaries, remarkable for ambition. He was unable to maintain
his position as triumvir, and, resigning power, he sank into obscurity.
=Le´the.= One of the rivers of hell, whose waters were imbibed by the
souls of the dead which had been for a certain period confined in
Tartarus. Those who drank of this river forgot what they had previously
known. In this sense the word is constantly used by the poets.
=Leucip´pus.= A celebrated philosopher of Abdera, about 428 years before
Christ. He was a disciple of Zeno. His life was written by Diogenes.
There were several others of the same name.
=Leuc´tra.= A village in Boeotia, famous for the victory which
Epaminondas, the Theban general, obtained over the superior force of
Cleombrotus, king of Sparta, B.C. 371.
=Licin´ius, C.= A tribune of the people, celebrated for his intrigues and
ability. He was a plebeian, and was the first of that class that was
raised to the office of master of the horse to the dictator. There were
a number of other Romans of the same name.
=Liv´ius, Ti´tus.= A native of Padua, a celebrated historian. He passed
the chief part of his time at Naples and Rome, but more particularly at
the court of Augustus, who liberally patronized him. The name of Livy is
rendered immortal by his history of the Roman empire. The merit of this
history is admitted by all, and the high rank which Livy holds amongst
historians is undisputed.
=Liv´ius Androni´cus= was a dramatic poet who flourished at Rome about 240
years before the Christian era.
=Longi´nus, Dionys´ius Cas´sius.= A celebrated Greek philosopher of
Athens. He was preceptor of the Greek language, and afterwards minister,
to Zenobia, the famous queen of Palmyra.
=Luca´nus M. Annæ´us.= A native of Corduba in Spain. At an early age he
went to Rome, where his rising talents recommended him to the emperor
Nero. He unwisely entered into a poetical contest with Nero, in which he
obtained an easy victory, which greatly offended the emperor. After this
Lucan was exposed to much annoyance from Nero, and was induced to join
in a conspiracy against him, on which he was condemned to death, the
mode of which he had the liberty of choosing. He decided to have his
veins opened in a warm bath, and died quoting some lines from his
"Pharsalia." Of all his works none but the "Pharsalia" remains.
=Lucia´nus.= A celebrated writer of Samosata. His works are numerous,
consisting chiefly of dialogues written with much force. He died A.D.
180, being, as some say, torn in pieces by dogs for his impiety.
=Lu´cifer.= The name of the planet Venus, or morning star. It is called
Lucifer when appearing in the morning before the sun, but when it
appears after its setting it is called Hesperus.
=Lucil´ius, C.= A Roman knight, who is regarded as the first satirical
writer amongst the Romans. Of thirty satires which he wrote only a few
verses remain. He died at Naples B.C. 103.
=Lucil´ius Luci´nus.= A famous Roman who fled with Brutus from the battle
of Philippi. He was taken prisoner, but the conquerors spared his life.
=Luci´na.= Daughter of Jupiter and Juno. She was the goddess who presided
over the birth of children.
=Lucre´tia.= A celebrated Roman lady, daughter of Lucretius and wife of
Tarquinius Collatinus. A number of young noble Romans at Ardea, among
whom were Collatinus and the sons of Tarquin the Proud, were discussing
the virtues of their wives at home, and it was agreed to go to Rome to
ascertain how their wives employed themselves in their husbands' absence
in the camp. While the wives of the others were indulging in feasting
and dissipation, Lucretia was found in her house employing herself with
her servants in domestic duties. She was brutally treated by Sextus
Tarquin, a relative of Collatinus, and stabbed herself. This was the
signal for a rebellion, the result being the expulsion of the Tarquins
from Rome.
=Lucre´tius, Ca´rus T.= A celebrated Roman poet and philosopher. The
tenets of Epicurus were embraced by him, and were explained and
elucidated in a poem which he wrote, _De rerum natura_. This poem is
distinguished by genius and elegance, but the doctrines it inculcates
have an atheistical tendency. Lucretius is said to have destroyed
himself B.C. 54.
=Lucul´lus, Lu´cius Licin´ius.= A Roman noted for his fondness of luxury
and for his military abilities. He was born about 115 years before the
Christian era, and distinguished himself by his proficiency in eloquence
and philosophy. He was soon advanced to the consulship, and intrusted
with the management of the Mithridatic war, in which he displayed his
military talents.
=Lycur´gus.= A celebrated lawgiver of Sparta, son of King Eunomus and
brother to Polydectes. He succeeded his brother on the Spartan throne.
In the laws which he enacted he maintained a just equilibrium between
the throne and the people; he banished luxury and encouraged the useful
arts, and adopted a number of measures having for their object the
well-being of the people. Lycurgus has been compared with Solon, the
celebrated legislator of Athens.
=Lyn´ceus=, son of Aphareus, was one of the hunters of the Calydonian
boar, and one of the Argonauts. He was so sharp-sighted that he could
see through the earth and distinguish objects at a great distance from
him. There was another person of the same name who married Hypermnestra,
daughter of Danaus.
=Lysan´der.= 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, and destroyed it all except three ships. In this battle,
which was fought 405 years before the Christian era, the Athenians lost
a great number of men, and in consequence of it forfeited their
influence over neighboring states. Lysander was killed in battle 394
years B.C.
=Lysim´achus.= A son of Agathocles, who was one of the generals of
Alexander. After the death of that monarch Lysimachus made himself
master of Thrace, where he built a town which he called Lysimachia.
=Lysip´pus.= A famous statuary of Sicyon. He applied himself to painting,
but he was born to excel in sculpture. He lived about 325 years before
the Christian era, in the age of Alexander the Great.
=Macro´bius.= A Latin writer, who died A.D. 415. He has rendered himself
famous for a composition called _Saturnalia_, a miscellaneous collection
of antiquarian and critical literature.
=Mæan´der.= A celebrated river of Asia Minor flowing into the Ægean Sea.
It is famous amongst the poets for its windings, and from it the
application of the word "meandering" to a winding stream has become
proverbial.
=Ma´ecenas=, or =Meca´enas, C. Cilnius=, a celebrated Roman knight, has
rendered himself immortal by his liberal patronage of learned men. To
the interference of Maecenas Virgil was indebted for the restitution of
his lands. Maecenas, according to the received opinion, wrote a history
of animals and a journal of the life of Augustus. Virgil dedicated his
Georgics to him, as did Horace his Odes.
=Ma´nes.= A name applied by the ancients to the soul when departed from
the body.
=Man´lius, Mar´cus.= A celebrated Roman who, at an early age,
distinguished himself for valor. When Rome was taken by the Gauls, he,
with a body of his countrymen, fled to the Capitol, which he defended
when it was surprised in the night by the enemy. This gained him the
surname of _Capitolinus_, and the geese which had awakened him to action
by their clamor were afterwards held sacred among the Romans.
=Mar´athon.= A village of Attica, celebrated for the victory which the
Athenians and Platæans, under the command of Miltiades, gained over the
Persian army, 490 B.C.
=Marcel´lus, Mar´cus Clau´dius.= A famous Roman general. He was the first
Roman who obtained some advantage over Hannibal. He conquered Syracuse,
with the spoils from which he adorned Rome. He was killed in battle in
his fifth consulship.
=Marcel´lus.= A Roman who distinguished himself in the civil wars of Cæsar
and Pompey by his firm attachment to the latter. He was banished by
Cæsar, but was afterwards recalled at the request of the Senate. There
were some other Romans of the same name, of minor repute.
=Mardo´nius.= A general in the army of Xerxes who was defeated in the
battle of Platæa, where he was slain, B.C. 479.
=Ma´rius, C.= A celebrated Roman who signalized himself under Scipio at
the siege of Numantia. He was appointed to finish the war against
Jugurtha, who was defeated and betrayed into the hands of the Romans.
After this new honors awaited Marius. He was elected consul, and was
sent against the Teutones. The war was prolonged, and Marius was a third
and fourth time invested with the consulship. At length two engagements
were fought, and the Teutones were defeated, a vast number of them being
left dead on the battlefields. After many vicissitudes Marius died, B.C.
86, directly after he had been honored with the consulship for the
seventh time. There were a number of others of the same name, but of
minor note.
=Mars=, the god of war, was the son of Jupiter and Juno, or of Juno alone,
according to Ovid. The loves of Mars and Venus are greatly celebrated.
On one occasion, while in each other's company, Vulcan spread a net
round them, from which they could not escape without assistance. They
were thus exposed to the ridicule of the gods till Neptune induced
Vulcan to set them at liberty. During the Trojan war Mars interested
himself on the side of the Trojans, and defended the favorites of Venus
with great determination.
=Mar´syas.= A celebrated piper of Celæne in Phrygia. He challenged Apollo
to a trial of skill in music, which challenge was accepted, the Muses
being appointed umpires. The palm of victory was awarded to Apollo, who
tied his antagonist to a tree and flayed him.
=Martia´lis, Mar´cus Vale´rius.= A native of Spain who came to Rome when
he was about twenty years old, where he became noticeable by his
poetical genius. Martial wrote fourteen books of epigrams, and died in
the seventy-fifth year of his age.
=Masinis´sa.= A king of a small part of Africa, who at first assisted the
Carthaginians in their wars against Rome, but who subsequently became an
ally of the Romans. After his defeat of Syphax he married Sophonisba,
the wife of Syphax, which gave offense to the Roman general, Scipio, on
which Masinissa induced Sophonisba to end her life by poison. In the
battle of Zama, Masinissa greatly contributed to the defeat of Hannibal.
He died in his ninety-seventh year, 149 years before the Christian era.
=Mauso´lus.= A king of Caria. His wife Artemisia was very disconsolate at
his death, and erected one of the grandest monuments of antiquity to
perpetuate his memory. This famous building, which was deemed to be one
of the seven wonders of the world, was called "Mausoleum," which name
has been since applied to other grand sepulchral monuments.
=Maximi´nus, Ca´ius Ju´lius Ve´rus=, was the son of a peasant of Thrace.
He entered the Roman armies, where he gradually rose till he was
proclaimed emperor A.D. 235. He ruled with great cruelty, and was
eventually killed by his own soldiers. He was of immense size and
strength, and was able to break the hardest stones between his fingers.
=Mede´a.= A celebrated magician, daughter of Ætes, king of Colchis, and
niece of Circe. When Jason came to Colchis in quest of the Golden
Fleece, Medea fell in love with him, and they exchanged oaths of
fidelity, and when he had overcome all the difficulties which he had to
encounter, Medea embarked with him for Greece. She lived in Corinth with
her husband Jason for ten years, with much conjugal happiness, when he
became enamored with Glauce, daughter of Creon, king of Corinth. To
avenge herself on Jason she caused the destruction of Glauce, and killed
her two children in his presence.