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Lempriere's Classical Dictionary From time to time I intend to add pages from this standard, if dated, work of reference. Echion to Eleusinia A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Echion, one of those men who sprung from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus. He was one of the five who survived the fate of his brothers, and assisted Cadmus in building the city of Thebes. Cadmus rewarded his services by giving him his daughter Agave in marriage. He was father of Pentheus by Agave. He succeeded his father-in-law on the throne of Thebes, as some have imagined, and from that circumstance Thebes has been called Echioniae, and the inhabitants Echionidae. Ovid, Met. 3, v. 311. Trist. 5, el 5, v. 53. -—A son of Mercury and Antianira, who was the herald of the Argonauts. Flacc. i, v. 400. -- A man who often obtained a prize in running. Ovid Met. 8, v. 292. —— A musician at Rome, in Domitian's age. Juv. 6, v. 76. — A statuary. -- A painter. Echionides, A patronymic given to Pentheus, as descended from Echion. Ovid. Met. 3. Echionius, an epithet applied to a person born in Thebes, founded with the assistance of Echion. Virg. Aen. 12, v. 515. Echo, a daughter of the Air and Tellus, who chiefly resided in the vicinity of the Cephisus. She was once one of Juno's attendants, and became the confidant of Jupiter's amours. Her loquacity, however, displeased Jupiter; and she was deprived of the power of speech by Juno, and only permitted to answer to the questions which were put to her. Pan had formerly been one of her admirers, but he never enjoyed her favours. Echo, after she had been punished by Juno, fell in love with Narcissus, and On being despised by him, she pined away, and was changed into a stone, which still retained the power of voice. Ovid. Met. 3, v. 358. Ecnomos, a mountain of Sicily, now Licata. Edessa and Edesa, a town of Syria. Edessae portrus, a harbour of Sicily near Pachynus. Cic. Verr. 5, c. 34. Edeta, or Leria, a town of Spain along the river Sucro. Plin. 3, c. 3. —Liv. 28, c. 24. — Sil. 3. v. 37. Edissa and Aedessa, a town of Macedonia taken by Caranus, and called Aegae, or Aegeas. Vid. Aedessa. Edon, a mountain of Thrace, called also Edonus. From this mountain that part of Thrace is often called Edonia which lies between the Strymon and the Nessus, and the epithet is generally applied not only to Thrace but to a cold northern climate. Virg. Aen. 12, v. 325.— Plin. 4, c. 18.—Lucan. i Edoni, or Edones, a people of Thrace, near the Strymon. Apollod. 3, c. 5. Edonides, a name given to the priestesses of Bacchus, because they celebrated the festivals of the god on mount Edon. Ovid. Met. 11, v. 69. Edylius, a mountain which Sylla seized to attack the people of Cheronaea. Plut. in Syll. Eetion, the father of Andromache, and of seven sons, was king of Thebes in Cilicia. He was killed by Achilles. From him the word Eetioneus is applied to his relations or descendants. Homer. Il. 12. ——The commander of the Athenian fleet conquered by the Macedonians under Clytus, near the Echinades. Diod, 18. Egelidus, a river of Etruria. Virg. Aen. 8, v. 610. Egeria, a nymph of Aricra in Italy, where Diana was particularly worshipped. Egeria was courted by Numa, and according to Ovid she became his wife. This prince frequently visited her, and that he might more successfully introduce his laws and new regulations into the state, he solemnly declared before the Roman people that they were previously sanctified and approved by the nymph Egeria. Ovid says that Egeria was so disconsolate at the death of Numa, that she melted into tears, and was changed into a fountain by Diana. She is reckoned by many as a goddess who presided over the pregnancy of women, and some maintain that she is the same as Lucina, or Diana. Liv. i, c. 19. —Ovid. Met. 15, v. 547.—Virg. Aen. 7, v. 775.— Martial. 2, ep. 6, v. 16. Egesaretus, a Thessalian of Larissa, who favoured the interest of Pompey during the civil wars. Caes, 3, Civ. c. 35. Egesinus, a philosopher, pupil to Evander. Cic. Acad. 4, c. 6. Egesta, a daughter of Hippotes the Trojan. Her father exposed her on the sea, for fear of being devoured by a marine monster which laid waste the country. She was carried safe to Sicily, where she was ravished by the river Crinisus. —— A town of Sicily. Vid. Aegesta. Egnatia Maximilla, a woman who accompanied her husband into banishment under Nero, &c. Tacit. Ann. 15, c. 71. ——A town. Vid. Gnatia. P. Egnatius, a crafty and perfidious Roman in the reign of Nero, who committed ;he greatest crimes for the sake of money. Tacit. Hist. 4, c. 10. Eion, a commercial place at the mouth of the Strymon. Paus. 8, c. 8. Eiones, a village of Peloponnesus on the sea coast. Eioneus, a Greek killed by Hector in the Trojan war. Homer. Il. 8. —— A Thracian, father to Rhesus. Id. 10. Elabontas, a river near Antioch. Strab. Elaea, a town of Aeolia. Liv. 36, c. 43. Pans. 9, c. 5. ——An island in the Propontis. Elaeus, a part of Epirus. ——A surname of Jupiter. ——A town of the Thracian Chersonesus. Liv. 31, c. 16. 1. 37, c. 9. Elagrabalus, the surname of the sun at Emessa. Elaites, a grove near Canopus in Egypt. Elaius, a mountain of Arcadia. Paus. 8, c. 41. Elaphiaea, a surname of Diana in Elis. Id. 6, C. 22. Elaphus, a river of Arcadia. Id. 8, c. ,36. Elaphebolia, a festival in honour of Diana the huntress. In the celebration a cake was made in the form of a deer, elaphos, and offered to the goddess. It owed its institution to the following circumstance. When the Phocians had been severely beaten by the Thessalians, they resolved, by the persuasion of a certain Deiphantus, to raise a pile of combustible materials, and burn their wives, children, and effects, rather than submit to the enemy. This resolution was unanimously approved by the women, who decreed Deiphantus a crown for his magnanimity When everything was prepared, before they fired the pile, they engaged their enemies, and fought with such desperate fury, that they totally routed them, and obtained a complete victory. In commemoration of this unexpected success, this festival was instituted to Diana, and observed with the greatest solemnity, so that even one of the months of the year, March, was called Elaphebolion from this circumstance. Elaptonius, a youth who conspired against Alexander. Curt. 8, c. 6. Elara, the mother of Tiphyus by Jupiter. Apollod. i, c. 4. ——A daughter of Orchomenus king of Arcadia. Strab. 9. Elatea, the largest town of Phocis, near the Cephisus. Paus. 10, c. 34. Elatia, a town of Phocis. Liv. 28, c. 7. ——Of Thessaly. Id. 42, c. 54. Elatus, one of the first Ephori of Sparta, B.C. 760. Plut.in Lyc. ——The father of Ceneus. Ovid. Met. 12, v. 497. ——A mountain of Asia ——of Zacynthus. ——The father of Polyphemus the Argonaut by Hipseia. Apollod. 3, c. 9. ——The son of Areas king of Arcadia by Erato, who retired to Phocis. Id. ib.—Paus. 8, c. 4. ——A king in the army of Priam, killed by Agamemnon. Homer. Il. 6. ——One of Penelope's suitors, killed by Eumeus. Homer. Od. 22, v. 267. Elaver, a river in Gaul falling into the Loire, now the Allier. Elea, a town of Campania, whence the followers of Zeno were called the Eleatic sect. Cic. Acad. 4, c. 42. Tusc. 2, c. 21 & 22. N. D. 3, c. 33. ——Of Aeolia. Electra, one of the Oceanides, wife of Atlas, and mother of Dardanus by Jupiter. Ovid. Fast. 4, v. 31. ——A daughter of Atlas and Pleione. She was changed into a constellation, Apollod. 3, c. 10 & 12. ——One of the Danaides. Id. 2, c. i. ——A daughter of Agamemnon king of Argos. She first incited her brother Orestes to revenge his father's death by assassinating his mother Clytemnestra. Orestes gave, her in marriage to his friend Pylades, and she became mother of two sons, Strophius and Merdon. Her adventures and misfortunes form one of the interesting tragedies of the poet Sophocles. Hygin.fab. 122.—Paus. 2, c. 16. —Aelian. V. H. 4, c. 26, &c. ——-A sister of Cadmus. Paus. 9, c. 8. ——A city and river of Messenia in Peloponnesus. Paus. 4, c. 33. ——One of Helen's female attendants. Id. 10, c. 25. Electrae, a gate of Thebes. Paus. 9, c. 8. Electrides, islands jn the Adriatic sea, which received their name from the quantity of amber (electrum) which they produced. They were at the mouth of the Po, according to Apollonius of Rhodes, but some historians doubt their existence. Plin. 2, c. 26. 1. 37, c. 2.—Mela, 2, c. 7. Electryon, a king of Argos, son of Perseus and Andromeda. He was brother to Alcaeus, whose daughter Anaxo he married, and by her he had several sons, and one daughter, Alcmene. He sent his sons against the Teleboans, who had ravaged his country, and they were all killed except Licymnius. Upon this Electryon promised his crown and daughter in marriage to him who could undertake to punish the Teleboans for the death of his sons. Amphitryon offered himself and succeeded. Electryon inadvertently perished by the hand of his son in-law. Vid. Amphitryon, Alcmena. Apollod. 2. c. 4. —Paus. Elei, a people of Elis in Peloponnesus. They were formerly called Epei. In their country was the temple of Jupiter, where also were celebrated the Olympic games, of which they had the superintendence. Their horses were in great repute, hence Elei equi and Elea palma. Propert. 3, el. 9. v. 18.— Paus. 5.—-Lucan. 4, v. 293. Eleleus, a surname of Bacchus, from the word eleleu, which the Bacchanals loudly repeated during his festivals. His priestesses were in consequence called Eleleis, ides. Ovid. Met. 4, v. 15. Eleon, a village of Boeotia. ——Another in Phocis. Eleontum, a town of the Thracian Chersonesus. Elephantis, a poetess who wrote lascivious verses. Martial. 12, ep. 43. ——A princess by whom Danaus had two daughters. Apollod. 2. --An island in the river Nile, in Upper Egypt, with a town of the same name, which is often called Elephantina by some authors. Strab. 17.—Herodot. 2, c. 9, &c. Elephantophagi, a people of Aethiopia. Elpnenor, son of Chalcedon, was one of Helen's suitors. Homer. II. 2, v. 47. Eleporus, a river of Magna Graecia. Eleuchia, a daughter of Thespius. Apollod. Eleus, a city of Thrace. ——A river of Media. —A king of Elis. Paus. 5, c. 3. Eleusinia A great festival observed every fourth year by the Celeans, Phliasians, as also by the Pheneatae, Lacedaemonians, Parrhasians, and Cretans; but more particularly by the people of Athens, every fifth year at Eleusis in Attica, where it was introduced by Eumolpus, B.C. 1356. It was the most celebrated of all the religious ceremonies of Greece, whence it is often called, by way of eminence, m/o-rnpta, the mysteries. It was so superstitiously observed, that if any one ever revealed it, it was supposed that he had called divine vengeance upon his head, and it was unsafe to live in the same house with him. Such a wretch was publicly put to an ignominious death. This festival was sacred to Ceres and Proserpine; everything contained a mystery, and Ceres herself was known only by the name of achthia, from the sorrow and grief (achthos) which she suffered for the loss of her daughter. This mysterious secrecy was solemnly observed, and enjoined to all the votaries of the goddess; and if any one ever appeared at the celebration, either intentionally, or through ignorance, without proper introduction, he was immediately punished with death. Persons of both sexes and all ages were initiated at this solemnity, and it was looked upon as so heinous a crime to neglect this sacred part of religion, that it was one of the heaviest accusations, which contributed to the condemnation of Socrates. The initiated were under the more particular care of the deities, and therefore their life was supposed to be attended with more happiness and real security than that of other men. This benefit was not only granted during life, but it was extended beyond the grave, and they were honoured with the first places in the Elysian fields, while others were left to wallow in perpetual filth and ignominy. As the benefits of expiation were so extensive, particular care was taken in examining the character of such as were presented for initiation. Such as were guilty of murder, though against their will, and such as were convicted of witchcraft, or any heinous crime, were not admitted, and the Athenians suffered none to be initiated but such as were members of their city. This regulation, which compelled Hercules; Castor, and Pollux to become citizens of Athens, was strictly observed in the first ages of the institution, but afterwards all persons, barbarians excepted, were freely initiated. The festivals were divided into greater and less mysteries. The less were instituted from the following circumstance. Hercules passed near Eleusis while the Athenians were celebrating the mysteries, and desired to be initiated. As this could not be done because he was a stranger, and as Eumolpus was unwilling to displease him on account of his great power and the services which he had done to the Athenians, another festival was instituted without violating the laws. It was called mikra, and Hercules was solemnly admitted to the celebration and initiated. These less mysteries were observed at Agrae, near the Ilissus. The greater were celebrated at Eleusis, from which place Ceres has been called Eleusinia. In latter times the smaller festivals were preparatory to the greater, and no person could be initiated at Eleusis without a previous purification at Agrae. This purification they performed by keeping themselves pure, chaste, and unpolluted during nine days, after which they came and offered sacrifices and prayers, wearing garlands of flowers, called ior/utpa, on/iepa, and having under their feet A5pai/or,Trom Mam, water ; which was used at the purification, and they themselves were called ui/rui, the initiated. A year after the initiation at the less mysteries they sacrificed :i sow to Ceres, and were admitted in the greater, and the secrets of the festivals were solemnly revealed to them, from which they were called e# The first day of the celebration was called a-rop/uor, assembly, as it might be said that the worshippers first met together. The second day was called uAade fjLVffrai, to the sea, you that are initiated, because they were commanded to purify themselves by bathing in the sea. On the > third day sacrifices, and chiefly a mullet, were offered ; as also barley from a field of Eleusis. These oblations were called eua, and held so sacred that the priests themselves were not, as in other sacrifices, permitted to partake of them. On the fourth day they made a solemn procession, in which the Kalathos, holy basket of Ceres, was carried about in a consecrated cart, while on every side the people shouted xcupe Anjujirep, Hail) Ceres! After these followed women, called K The fifth was called r> TDV \ajjiira6u>v hfjiepa, the torch day, because on the following night the people ran about with torches in their hands. It was usual to dedicate torches to Ceres, and contend which should offer the biggest in commemoration of the travels of the goddess, and of her lighting a torch in the flames of mount ./Etna. The sixth day was called 'luKx°f> from lacchus the son of Jupiter and Ceres, who accompanied his mother in her search of Proserpine, with a torch in his hand. From that circumstance his statue had a torch in its hand, and was carried in solemn procession from the Cerami-cus to Eleusis. The statue with those that accompanied it, called IctKxa-vwYo/, were crowned with myrtle. In the way nothing was heard but singing and the noise of brazen kettles, as the votaries danced along. The way through which they issued from the city was called hiera odos, the sacred way; the resting place 'lepa own, from a fig tree which grew in the neighbourhood. They also stopped on a bridge over the Cephisus, where they derided those that passed by. After they had passed this bridge, they entered Eleusis by a place called fjLWTturi fio-odos, the mystical entrance. On the seventh day were sports, in which the victors were rewarded with a measure of barley, as that grain had been first sown in Eleusis. The eighth day was called 'Kirtdavpiaiv f;/u£Pa> because once^Escu-lapius, at his return from Epidaurus to Athens, was initiated by the repetition of the less mysteries. It became customary, therefore, to celebrate them a second time upon this, that such as had not hitherto been initiated might be lawfully; admitted. The ninth and J^fct day of the festival was called n\nM°Xoa'i earthen vessels, because it Wl* usual to fill two such vessels with wine, one of which being placed towards the east, and the other towards the west, which after the repetition of some mystical words, were both thrown down, and the Wine being spilt on the ground, was offered as a libation. Such was the manner of celebrating the Eleusinian mysteries, which have been deemed the most sacred and solemn of all the festivals observed by the Greeks. Some have supposed them to be obscene and abominable, and that from thence proceeded all the mysterious secrecy. They were carried from Eleusis to Rome in the age of Adrian, where they were observed with the same ceremonies as before, though perhaps with more freedom and licentiousness. They lasted about 1800 years, and were at last abolished by Theodosius the Great. JElian. V. H. 12, c. 24.—Cic. de Leg. 2, c. 14.— Paus. \o, c. 31, &c.—PZut. Eleusis, or E leu sin, a town of Attica, equally distant from Megara and the Piraeus, celebrated for the festivals of Ceres. Vid. Eleusinia. It was founded by Triptolemus. Ovid. 4, Fast. 5, v. 507. —Paus. 9, c. 24. Eleutiier, a son of Apollo. —— One of the Curetes, from whom a town of Boeotia, and another in Crete, received their name. Paus. 9, c. 2 & 9. Eleuth.§r89, a village of Bceotia, between Megara and Thebes, where Mardonius was defeated with 300,000 men. Plin. 4, c. 7.1. 34, c. 8. Eleutheria, a festival celebrated at Plataea in honour of Jupiter Eleutherius, or the asserter of liberty, by delegates from almost all the cities of Greece. Its institution originated in this : After the victory obtained by the Grecians under Pausanias over Mardonius the Persian general, in the country of Plataea, an altar and statue were erected to Jupiter Eleutherius, who had freed the Greeks from the tyranny of the barbarians. It was further agreed upon in a general assembly, by the advice of Aris-.tides the Athenian, that deputies should be seYit every fifth year from the different cities of Greece to celebrate Eleuiheria., festivals of liberty. The Flatseans celebrated also an anniversary festival in .memory of those who had lost their lives in that famous battle. The celebration was thus: At break of day a procession was'made with a trumpeter at the head, sounding a signal for battle. After him followed chariots loaded with myrrh, garlands, and a black bull, and certain free young men, as no signs of servility were t Eleutho, a surname of Juno Lucina, from her presiding over the delivery of pregnant women. Pindar. Olymp. 6. Eleutherocillces, a people of Cilicia, never subject to kings. Cic. 15, ad Fam. ep. 4. 1. 5, ad Att. 20. EleuthSroS, a river of Syria, falling into the Mediterranean. Plin. 9, c. ic^ EllcillS, a surname of Jupiter, worshipped on mount Aventine. OvidrFast. 3, v. 328. Eliensis and Eli&ca, a sect of philosophers founded by Phsedon of Elis, who was originally a slave, but restored to liberty by Alcibiades. Diog. ^Strab. Elimea, or Elimiotis, a district of Macedonia, or of Iliyricum according to others. Liv. 42, Elis, a* country of Peloponnesus at the west of Arcadia, and north of Messeniaj extending along the coast, and watered by the river Alpheus. The capital of the country called Elis, now Belvidere, became large and populous in the age of Demosthenes, though in the age of Homer it did not exist. It was originally governed by kings, and received its name from Eleus, one of its monarchs. Elis was famous for the horses it produced, whose celerity was so often known and tried at the Olympic games.* Strab. B.—Pffti. 4, c. 5.—Pans. $.—Ovid. Met. 5, v. 494.—Cic. Fam. 13, ep. z6,,de Div. 2, c. 12.—Liv. 27, c. ^.—Virg. G. i, 59. 1. 3. v. 202. Eliphasii, a people of Peloponnesus. Polyb. u. Eliesa, a queen of Tyre, more commonly known by the name of Dido. Vid. Dido. EliSBUS, a river of Elis. Ellopla, a town of Euboea. ——An ancient name of that island. EldrilS, a river of Sicily on the eastern coast, called after a king of the same name. Herodot. 7, c. 145. Elos, a city of Achaia, called after a servant-maid of Athamas of the same name. Elotse. Vid. Helotae. Elpenor, one of the companions of Ulysses, changed into a hog by Circe's potions, and afterwards restored to his former shape. He fell from the top of a house where he was sleeping, and was killed. Ovid. Met. 14, v. 252.—Homer. Od. 10, v. 552.1. ii, v. 51. Elpinlce, a daughter of Miltiades,who married a man that promised to release from confinement her brother and husband, v/hom the laws of Athens-had made responsible for the fine imposed on his father. C. Nep. in dm. Elulxia, a surname of Ceres. Elyces, a man killed by Perseus. Ovid. Met. $,fal>. 3. Elymais, a country of Persia, between the Persian gulf and Media. The capital of the country was called Elymais, and was famous for a rich temple of Diana, which Antiochus Epiphanes attempted to plunder. The Elymeans assisted Antiochus the Great in his wars against the Romans. None of their kings are named in history. Strabo. Eljfmi, a nation descended from the Trojans, in alliance with the people of Carthage. Paus. 10, c. 8. 'Elyznus, a man at the court of Acestes in Sicily. Virg. &n. 5, v. 73. Elyrus, a town of Crete. Id. 10, c. 16. Elysium and Elysii Campi, a place or island in the infernal regions, where, according to the mythology of the ancients, the souls of the Epetium, now Viscio, a town of Illyricum. Epeus, a son of Endymion, brother to Pajon, who reigned in a part of Peloponnesus. His subjects were called from him Epei. Pans. 5, c. i.—— A son of Panopeus, who was the fabricator of the famous wooden horse, which proved the ruin of Troy. Virg. Mn. 2, v. ^\.—Jnstin. 20, c. 2. Paus. 10, c. 26. Ephesus, a city of Ionia, built, as Justin mentions, by the Ama/ons; or by Androchus son of Codrus, according to Strabo ; or by Ephesus, a son of the river Cayster. It in famous for a temple of Diana, which was reckoned one of the seven wonders of the world. This temple was 435 feet long and 200 feet broad. The roof was supported by 127 columns, 60 feet high, which hud been placed there by so many kings. Of these columns, 36 were carved in the most beautiful manner, one of which was the work of the famous Scopas. This celebrated building was not totally completed till 220 years after its foundation. Ctesiphon was the chief architect. There was above the entrance a huge stone, which, according to Pliny, had been placed there by Diana herself. The riches which were in the temple were immense, and the goddess who presided over it was worshipped with the most awful solemnity. This celebrated temple was burnt on the night that Alexander was born [Vid. Erostratus], and soon after it rose from its ruins with more splendour and magnificence. Alexander offered to rebuild it at his own expense, if the Ephesians would place upon it an inscription which denoted the name of the benefactor. This generous offer was refused by the Ephesians, who observed, in the language of adulation, that it was improper that one deity should raise temples to the other. Lysimachus ordered the town of Ephesus to be called Arsinoe, in honour of his wife ; but after his death the new appellation was lost, and the town was again known by its ancient name. Though modern authors are not agreed about the ancient ruins of this once famed city, some have given the barbarous name of Ajasalouc to what they conjecture to be the remains of Ephesus. The words literae Ephesia are applied to letters containing magical powers. Plin. 36, c. 14.—Strab. 12 & 14. —Mela, i, c. 17.—Paus. 7, c. v.—Plut. in A lex.— Justin. 2. c. 4.—Callim. in Dian.— Ptol. 5.—Cic. deNat.D. 2. Ephetae, a number of magistrates at Athens, first instituted by Demophoon the son of Theseus. They were reduced to the number of 51 by Draco, who, according to some, first established them. They were superior to the Areopagites, and their privileges were great and numerous. Solon, however, lessened their power, and entrusted them only with the trial of manslaughter and conspiracy against the life of a citizen. They were all more than 50 years old, and it was required that their manners should be pure and innocent, and their behaviour austere and full of gravity. Ephialtes, or Ephialtus, a giant, son of Neptune, who grew nine inches every month. Vid. Aloeus. ——An Athenian, famous for his courage and strength. He fought with the Persians against Alexander, and was killed at Halicarnassus. Diod. 17. ——A Trachinian who led a detachment of the army of Xerxes by a secret path to attack the Spartans at Thermopylae. Paus, i, c. ^.— Hcrodot. 7. c. 213. Ephori, powerful magistrates at Sparta, who wore first created by Lycurgus; or, according to some, by Theopompus, B.C. 760. They were five in number. Like censors in the state, they Could check and restrain the authority of the kings.and even imprison them, if guilty of irregularities. They fined Archidamus for marrying a wife of small stature, and imprisoned Agis for his unconstitutional behaviour. They were much the same as the tribunes of the people at Rome, created to watch with a jealous eye over the liberties and rights of the populace. They had the management of the public money, and were the arbiters of peace and war. Their office was annual, and they had the privilege of convening, proroguing, and dissolving the greater and less assemblies of the people. The former was composed of 9000 Spartans, all inhabitants of the city ; the latter of 33,000 Lacedaemonians, inhabitants of the inferior towns and villages. C. Nep. in Paus. 3.—Aristot.J'ol. a, c. 7. Ephorus, an orator and historian of Cumae in ./F.olia, about 352 years before Christ. He was disciple to Isocrates, by whose advice he wrote a history which #ave Un account of all the actions and battles that had happened between the Greeks and barbarians for 750 years. It was greatly esteemed by the ancients. It is now lost. Quintil. 10, c. i. Ephyra, the ancient name of Corinth, which it received from a nymph of the same name, and thence Ephyreus is applied to Dyrrhachium, founded by a Grecian colony. Virg. G. e, v. 264. —Ovid; Met. 2, v. z^g.—Lucan. 6, v. 1.7.—Stat. Theb. 4, v. 59.—Ital. 14, v. 181. ——A city of Threspotia in Epirus. -—Another in Elis, ——Aetolia. ——One of Cyrene's attendants. Virg. G. 4, v. 343. Epicaste, a name of Jocasta the mother and wife of Oedipus. Paus. 9, c. 5. ——A daughter of Aegeus, mother of Thestalus by Hercules. Epicerides, a man of Cyrene, greatly esteemed by the Athenians for his beneficence. Demosth. Epicharis, a woman accused of conspiracy against Nero. She refused to confess the associates of her guilt, though exposed to the greatest torments &c. Tacit. Ann. 15, c. 51. Epicharmus, a poet and Pythagorean philosopher of Sicily, who introduced comedy at Syracuse, in the reign of Hiero. His compositions were imitated by Plautus. He wrote some treatises upon philosophy and medicine, and observed that the gods sold all their kindnesses for toil and labour. According to Aristotle and Pliny, he added the two letters \ and & to the Greek alphabet. He flourished about 440 years before Christ, and died in the poth year of his age. Horat. 2, ep. i, v 58.—Diog. 3 & 8.—Cic. ad Attic, i, ep. 19. Epicles, a Trojan prince killed by Ajax. Homer. Il. 12, v. 378. Epiclides, a Lacedaemonian of the family of the Eurysthenidae. He was raised to the throne by his brother Cleomenes III. in the place of Agis, against the laws and constitution of Sparta. Paus. 2, c. 9. Epicrates, a Milesian, servant to J. Caesar. —— A poet of Ambracia. Aelian. ——The name is applied to Pompey, as expressive of supreme authority. Cic. ad Att. 3, ep. 3. Epictetus, a stoic philosopher of Hieropotis in Phrygia, originally the slave of EpaphrodituS, the Freedman of Nero. Though driven from Rome by Domitian, he returned after the emperor's death, and gained the esteem of Adrian and Marcus Aurelius. Like the Stoics he supported the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, but he declared himself strongly against suicide, which was so warmly adopted by his sect. He died in a very advanced age. The Earthen lamp of which he made use was sold some time after his death for 3000 drachmas. His Enchiridion is a faithful picture of the stoic philosophy, and his dissertations which were delivered to his pupils, were collected by Arrian. His style is concise and devoid of all ornament, full of energy and useful maxims. The value of his compositions is well known from the saying of the emperor Antoninus, who thanked the gods he could collect from the writings of Epictetus wherewith to conduct life with honour to himself and advantage to his country. There are several good editions of the works of Epictetus, with those of Cebes and others; the most valuable of which, perhaps, will be found to be that of Reland, Traject. 410, 1711; and Arrian's by Upton, 2 vols. 4to, Lond. 1739. Epicurus a celebrated philosopher, son of Neocles and Cherestrata, born at Gargettus in Attica. Though his parents were poor and of an obscure origin, yet he was early sent to school, where he distinguished himself by the brilliancy of his genius, and at the age of 12, when his preceptor repeated to him this verse from Hesiod, etoi men protista chaos genet', etc In the beginning of things the Chaos was created, Epicurus earnestly asked him who created it? To this the teacher answered that he knew not, but only philosophers. "Then," says the youth, "philosophers henceforth shall instruct me." After having improved himself, and enriched his mind by travelling, he visited Athens, which was then crowded by the followers of Plato, the Cynics, the Peripatetics, and the Stoics. Here he established himself, and soon attracted a number of followers by the sweetness and gravity of his manners, and by his social virtues. He taught them that the happiness of mankind consisted in pleasure, not such as arises from sensual gratification, or from vice, but from the enjoyments of the mind, and the sweets of virtue. This doctrine was warmly attacked by the philosophers of the different sects, and particularly by the Stoics. They observed that he disgraced the gods by representing them as inactive, given up to pleasure, and unconcerned with the affairs of mankind. He refuted all the accusations of his adversaries by the purity of his morals, and by his frequent attendance on places of public worship. When Leontium, one of his female pupils, was accused of prostituting herself to her master and to all his disciples, the philosopher proved the falsity of the accusation by silence - and an exemplary life. Ill health was at last impaired by continual labour, till he died of a retention of urine, which long subjected him to the most excruciating torments, and which he bore with unparalleled fortitude. His death happened 270 years before Christ, in the 72nd year of his age. His disciples showed their respect for the memory of their learned preceptor, by the unanimity which prevailed among them. While philosophers in every sect were at war with mankind and among themselves, the followers of Epicurus enjoyed perfect peace, and lived in the most solid friendship. The day of his birth was observed with universal festivity, and during a month all his admirers gave themselves up to mirth and innocent amusement. Of all the philosophers of antiquity, Epicurus is the only one whose writings deserve attention for their number. He wrote no less than 300 volumes, according to Diogenes Laertius; and Chrysippus was so jealous of the fecundity of his genius, that no sooner had Epicurus published one of his volumes, than he immediately composed one, that he might not be overcome in the number of his productions. Epicurus, however, advanced truth and arguments unknown before ; but Chrysippus said what others long ago had said, without showing anything which might be called originality. The followers of Epicurus were numerous in every age and country; his doctrines were rapidly disseminated over the world, and when the gratification of the sense was substituted to the practice of virtue, the morals of mankind were undermined and destroyed. Even Rome, whose austere simplicity had happily nurtured virtue, felt the attack, and was corrupted. When Cineas spoke of the tenets of the Epicureans in the Roman senate, Fabricius indeed entreated the gods that all the enemies of the republic might become his followers. But those were the feeble efforts of expiring virtue; and when Lucretius introduced the popular doctrine in poetical composition, the smoothness and beauty of the numbers contributed, with the effeminacy of the Epicureans, to enervate the conquerors of the world. Diog. in Vita. — Aelian. V. H. 4, c. 13.—Cic. de Nat. D. i, c. 24 & 25. Tus. 3, 49. De finib. 2, c. 22. Epicydes, a tyrant of Syracuse, B.C. 213. Epidamnus, a town of Macedonia on the Adriatic, nearly opposite Brundusium. The Romans planted there a colony, which they called Dyrrachium, considering the ancient name (ad damnum) ominous. Paus. 6, c. 10.— Plin. 3, c. 2^t.—Plaut^^st Men. 2, act. i, v. 42. Epidaphne, a town of Syria, called also Antioch. Germanicus son of Drusus died there. Tacit. Ann. 2, c. 83. Epidauria, a festival at Athens in honour of Aesculapius. ——A country of Peloponnesus. Epidaurus, a town at the north of Argolis in Peloponnesus, chiefly dedicated to the worship of Aesculapius, who had there a famous temple. It received its name from Epidaurus son of Argus and Evadne. It is now called Pidaura. Strab. 8.— Virg. G. 3, v. 44. —Pans. 3, c. 21.—Mela, 2, c. 3. ——A town of Dalmatia, now Ragusi Vecchio, —— of Laconia. Epidium, one of the western isles of Scotland, or the Mull of Cantyre, according to some. Ptolem. Epidius, a man who wrote concerning unusual prodigies. Plin. 16, c. 25. Epidotae, certain deities who presided over the birth and growth of children, and were known among the Romans by the name of Dii Averrtinci. They were worshipped by the Lacedaemonians, and chiefly invoked by those who were persecuted by the ghosts of the dead, &c. Paus. 3, c. 17, &c. Epigenes, a Babylonian astrologer and historian. /'//«. 7, c. 56. Epigeus, a Greek killed by Hector. Epigoni, the sons and descendants of the Grecian heroes who were killed in the first Theban war. The war of the Epigoni is famous in ancient history. It was undertaken 10 years after the first. The sons of those who had perished in the first war resolved to avenge the death of their fathers, and marched against Thebes, under the command of Thersander; or, according to others, of Alcmaeon the son of Amphiaraus. The Argives were assisted by the Corinthians, the people of Messina, Arcadia, and Megara. The Thebans had engaged all their neighbours in their quarrel, as in one common cause, and the two hostile armies met and engaged on the banks of the Glissas. The fight was obstinate and bloody, but victory declared for the Epigoni, and some of the Thebans fled to Illyricum with Leo