15),
nished in our eyes by the fact of Herodotus contro- and modern critics are divided in their opinions.
nished in our eyes by the fact of Herodotus contro- and modern critics are divided in their opinions.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - b
Strab.
i.
p.
7, xiv.
p.
635 ; Aelian, V.
H.
friend of Xenocrates, as Strabo says (xii
. p. 550. ) xii. 20; Hermog. De Gen. dicend. ii. 12. )
Hecataeus must have been possessed of considerable Hecataeus deposited the results of his travels and
wealth, for, like many other eminent men of that studies in two great works ; one geographical,
age, he satisfied his desire for knowledge by travel entitled neplodos rs, or llepinynors, and the
ling into distant countries, and seeing with his own other historical, entitled revealoylas, or 'lotopíai.
eyes that which others learnt from books. We (Suid. s. r. 'EXTávikos, where the heading of
know from Herodotus (1. c. ) that Hecataeus visited the article is a mistake for 'Exataios. ) The
Egypt, and from the manner in which later writers passage of Suidas compared with one of Strabo (i.
speak of his geographical knowledge, there can be p. 7) clearly shows that Hecataeus wrote only two
no doubt that he visited many other countries also. works, and that the other names or titles we meet
(Agathem. i. l; Agatharch. De Rubr. Mari, p. with refer to subdivisions of the geographical work.
48. ) The fragments of his geographical work, The latter consisted of two parts, one of which
which have come down to us, lead us to suppose contained a description of Europe, and the other of
that, besides the provinces of the Persian empire, Asia, Egypt, and Libya. Both parts appear to have
he visited the coasts of the Euxine, Thrace, the been subdivided into smaller sections ; thus we
whole of Greece, Oenotria, and even Liguria, Spain, find one section belonging to the first part referred
and Libya, though of the last-mentioned countries to under the name of Hellespontus (Steph. Byz.
he may have seen little more than the coasts. The s. v. Tévedos), and others belonging to the second
time during which he was engaged in these travels part, under the titles of Aloxıná, neputinnois Aigua-
cannot be accurately determined, though it must tov, and ſlepinynois Albúms. (Steph. Byz. 8. or.
have been previous to the revolt of the Ionians, that 'Αμαζόνειον, Δίηβρις, Ελένειος). It is not easy to
is, previous to B. c. 500, for after that event the determine the order in which Hecataens described
war between the Greeks and Persians, as well as the different countries, and consequently also the
the advanced age of Hecataeus, would have thrown order in which the fragments still extant should be
too many difficulties in his way; and it further arranged. The mode in which he treated his sub-
appears that he was well acquainted with the ex-jects may still be seen from some of the longer frag-
tent and resources of the Persian empire at the ments: he first mentioned the name of the people,
time when his countrymen contemplated the revolt then the towns they inhabited, and sometimes be
from Persia. (Herod. v. 36. ) His geographical gave an account of their foundation and of any
work, moreover, must have been written after the thing that was remarkable in them. The distances of
year B. c. 524, since in one of the extant fragments the places from one another seem to have been care-
(140, ed. Müller) he speaks of Boryza in Thrace as a fully marked. Hecataeus was the first historical
Persian town, which it did not become till that year. writer who exercised his own judgment on the
## p. 363 (#379) ############################################
HECATAEUS.
363
HECATAEUS.
matters which he had to record, and used historical | menta, Heidelberg, 1806, 8vo. p. 1-86; and the
criticism in rejecting what appeared to him fabulous, fragments of both the Periegesis and the Genea-
or endeavouring to find out the historical truth which logies by R. H. Klausen, Hecataei Milesii Frag
formed the groundwork of a mythical tradition menta, Berlin, 1831, 8vo. , and by C. and Th.
(Paus. iji. 25. $5; Arrian, Anub. ii. 16); still he Müller, Fragm. Hist. Graec. , Paris, 1841, p. 1–31.
is nevertheless very dependent on Homer and other Each of these collections is preceded by a disserta-
early poets, whereby he is led to mix up fables tion on the life and writings of Hecataeus. (Comp.
with truth; but wherever he gives the results of Dahlmann, Herodot. p. 112, &c. ; Ukert, Unter-
his own observations, he is a correct and trust suchungen über die Geographie des Hecatueus u. Da-
worthy guide. Eratosthenes (ap. Strab. i. p. 7) mastes, Weimar, 1814. )
seems to deny that Hecataeus made geographical 2. Of Abdera has often been confounded in
maps ; but if we compare the statement of Agathe ancient as well as in modern times with Hecataeus
merus (i. 1) with Herodotus (v. 49), it is clear, on of Miletus. He was a contemporary of Alexander
the one hand, that Hecataeus corrected and im- the Great and Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, and ap
proved the map of the earth drawn up by Anaxi- pears to have accompanied the former on his Asiatic
mander, and it is probable, on the other, that the expedition as far as Syria. He was a pupil of the
map which Aristagoras carried to Sparta for the Sceptic Pyrrho, and is himself called a philosopher,
purpose of persuading Cleomenes to engage in a critic, and grammarian. (Suid. s. v. 'Exatalos;
war against Persia was either the work of Heca- Joseph. c. Apion. i. 22 ; Diod. i. 47 ; Diog. Laërt.
taeus, or had been drawn up according to his views | ix. 61; Plut. Sympos. p. 666, e. ) From the
of the physical structure of the earth. Callimachus manner in which he is spoken of by Eusebius
(ap. Athen. ii. p. 70, comp. ix. P. 410), whose (Praep. Evang. ix. p. 239), we must infer that he
opinion seems to be followed by Arrian (Anab. v. was a man of great reputation on account of his
6), regarded the repithynous tñs 'Agias, ascribed to extensive knowledge as well as on account of his
Hecataeus, and belonging to the second part of his practical wisdom (Tepl tas apátels ikaróratos).
geographical work, as spurious, and assigned it to a In the reign of the first Ptolemy he travelled up
moiúrns (an islander). It is not impossible that the Nile as far as Thebes. He was the author of
he may have found in the library of Alexandria a several works, of which, however, only a small
periegesis of Asia ascribed to the celebrated Heca- number of fragments have come down to us. 1. A
taeus, but which was in reality a forgery, and had History of Egypt. (Diod. i. 47 ; Phot. Bill. Cod.
nothing in common with the genuine work but 244, where he is confounded with Hecataeus of
the name of the author ; for such forged title-pages Miletus. ) Whether the work on the philosophy of
were not uncommon in the time of the Ptolemies, the Egyptians, attributed to him by Diogenes La-
and literary impostors made a lucrative traffic of ērtius (i. Prooem. $ 10), was a distinct work, or
them. (Hippocrat. vol. xv. pp. 105, 109, ed. only a portion of the History of Egypt, is uncer-
Kühn. ) At any rate, even if we admit that Cal- tain. (Comp. Plut. De Is. et Os. p. 354, d. ) This
limachus really found a spurious periegesis, it does work on Egypt is one of the causes of the confusion
not follow that the genuine work did not exist. of our Hecataeus with the Milesian, who in his
The second work of Hecataeus, the Histories or Periegesis had likewise written on Egypt. 2. A
Genealogies, was a prose account, in the form of work on the Hyperboreang. (Schol. ad Apollon.
genealogies, of the poetical fables and traditions of Rhod. ii. 675; Diod. ii. 47 ; Aelian, H. A. xi. 1 ;
the Greeks. From the fragments which are quoted Steph. Byz. 3. vv. 'Exlgolan Kapaubúkau. ) 3. A
from it, we see that it must have consisted of at History of the Jews, of which the book on Abraham
least four sections. The first contained the tradi- mentioned by Josephus (Ant. Jud. i. 7), was pro-
tions about Deucalion and his descendants ; the bably only a portion. This work is frequently re-
second, the stories of Heracles and the Heracleidae ; ferred to by the ancients (Joseph. c. Apion. i. 22;
the third, apparently the Peloponnesian traditions ; Euseb. Praep. Erang. ix. p. 408, xiii. p. 680 ; Clem.
and the fourth, those of Asia Minor. The value of Alex. Strom. v. p. 603, and others); but it was
this, as well as his other, work cannot be dimi- declared spurious even by Origen (c. Cels. i.
15),
nished in our eyes by the fact of Herodotus contro- and modern critics are divided in their opinions.
verting several of his opinions (vi. 137, comp. i. Suidas attributes to our Hecataeus works on Homer
J46, 202, ii. 3, 15, 21, 23, 143, iv. 8, 36); but, on and Hesiod, but makes no mention of the historical
the contrary, it is evident that Herodotus looked works which we have enumerated. The fragments
upon him as a rival, whom it was worth while endea- of Hecatreus of Abdera have been collected by P.
vouring to refute and excel, and that he actually did Zom, Hecataei Abderitae Fragmenta, Altona, 1730,
excel him, does not require to be proved in this 8vo. (Comp. Creuzer, Hist. Graec. Antiquiss.
place. Herodotus knew the works of Hecataeus Fragm. p. 28, &c. ; Vossius, De Hist. Graec. p.
well, and undoubtedly availed himself of them; 86, &c. , ed. Westermann. )
but the charge of Porphyrius (ap. Euseb. Praep. 3. Of Teos, an historian, who is mentioned only
Eoung. x. p. 466), that Herodotus literally tran- by Strabo (xiv. p. 644), and is considered by Ukert
scribed whole passages from Hecataeus is wholly (Ibid. p. 12) to be no other than Hecataeus of
without foundation. (Comp. Hermog. De Form. Abdera.
Orat. ii. 12; Dionys. Jud. de Thucyd. 5; Diod. i. 4. Of Eretria, is mentioned by Plutarch ( Alex.
37 ; Strab. i. p. 18; Suidas. ) Řespecting the 26) among the historians of Alexander the Great,
style of Hecataeus, Strabo says, that though prose, buć is otherwise altogether unknown. Schweig-
it approached very nearly to poetry, and Hermo- hauser (ad Athen. ii. p. 70) conjectures that he is the
genes (1. c. ) praises it for its simplicity, purity, islander to whom Callimachus attributed the mepi-
clearness, and sweetness, and adds that the lan-trous tis 'Agias; but Creuzer (l. c. p. 85) be
guage was the pure and unmixed Ionic dialect, lieves, with far greater probability, that the epithet
The fragments of the Genealogies are collected ó 'Epezpieus in Plutarch is a mistake, and that this
in Creuzer's Histor. Graec. Antiquissimorum Frag Hecataeus is no other than Hecataeus of Abdera,
## p. 364 (#380) ############################################
364
HECATE.
HECATOMNUS.
who is repeatedly mentioned among the historians (Orph. Lith. 48 ; Schol
. ad Theoer. I. c. ; Apollon.
of Alexander, of whom he must have had frequent Rhod. ii. 1211; Lycoph. 1175; Horat. Sui. i. 8.
occasions to speak in his history of Egypt. (L. S. ) 35; Virg. Aen. vi. 257. ) By Phorcos she bocame
HECATAEUS, a statuary and silver-chaser of the mother of Scylla. (Apollon. Rhod. ir. 829;
some note, who seems, from the way in which he comp. Hom. Od. xii. 124. ) There is another very
is mentioned by Pliny, to have been a native of important feature which arose out of the notion of
Mytilene, and to have lived not long before the her being an inſernal divinity, namely, she was re-
time of Pompey the Great. (Plin. 8. N. xxxiii. garded as a spectral being, who at night sent from
12. 8. 55; xxxiv. 8. s. 19. § 25. ) (P. S. ) the lower world all kinds of demons and terrible
HE'CATE ('Ekátn), a mysterious divinity, who, phantoms, who taught sorcery and witchcraft, who
according to the most common tradition, was a dwelt at places where two roads crossed each
daughter of Persaeus or Perses and Asteria, whence other, on tombs, and near the blood of murdered
she is called Perseis. (Apollod. i. 2. & 4; Apollon. persons. She herself too wanders about with the
Rhod. iii. 478. ) Others describe her as a daughter souls of the dead, and her approach is announced
of Zeus and Denieter, and state that she was sent hy the whining and howling of dogs. (Apollon.
out by her father in search of Persephone (Schol. Rhod. iii. 529, 861, iv. 829; Theocrit. h. c. ; 0v.
ad Theocrit. ii. 12); others agnin' make her alleroid. xii. 168, Met. xiv. 405; Sut. Theb. iv. 428;
daughter of Zeus either by Pheraea or by Hera Virg. Aen. iv. 609; Orph. Lith. 45, 47; Eustath.
(Tzetz. ad Lyc. 1175; Schol ad Theocrit. ii. 36); ad Hom. p. 1197, 1887 ; Diod. iv. 45. ) A number
and others, lastly, say that she was a daughter of of epithets given her by the poets contain allusions
Leto or Tartarus. (Procl. in Plat. Cratyl. p. 112; to these features of the popular belief, or to her
Orph. Argon. 975. ) Homer does not mention her. form. She is described as of terrible appearance,
According to the most genuine traditions, she ap either with three bodies or three heads, the one of
pears to have been an ancient Thracian divinity, a horse, the second of a dog, and the third of a
and a Titan, who, from the time of the Titans, lion. (Orph. Argon. 975, &c. ; Eustath. ad Hom.
ruled in heaven, on the earth, and in the sea, who pp. 1467, 1714. ) In works of art she was some-
bestowed on mortals wealth, victory, wisdom, good times represented as a single being, but sometimes
luck to sailors and hunters, and prosperity to youth also as a three-headed monster. (Paus. ii. 28. $ 8.
and to the flocks of cattle ; but all these blessings 30. § 2. ) Besides Samothrace and Aegina, we
might at the same time be withheld by her, if find express mention of her worship at Argos
mortals did not deserve them. She was the only (Paus. ii. 30. & 2. ) and at Athens, where she had
one among the Titans who retained this power a sanctuary under the name of 'En it upyedia, on the
under the rule of Zeus, and she was honoured by acropolis, not far from the temple of Nice. (Paus.
all the immortal gods. She also assisted the gods ii. 30. $ 2. ) Small statues or symbolical representa-
in their war with the Gigantes, and slew Clytius. tions of Hecate (érátala) were very numerous,
(Hes. Theog. 411–452; Apollod. i. 6. $ 2. ) This especially at Athens, where they stood before or in
extensive power possessed by Hecate was probably houses, and on spots where two roads crossed each
the reason that subsequently she was confounded other; and it would seem that people consulted
and identified with several other divinities, and at such Hecataea as oracles. (Aristoph. Vesp. 816,
length became a mystic goddess, to whom mysteries Lysistr. 64; Eurip.
friend of Xenocrates, as Strabo says (xii
. p. 550. ) xii. 20; Hermog. De Gen. dicend. ii. 12. )
Hecataeus must have been possessed of considerable Hecataeus deposited the results of his travels and
wealth, for, like many other eminent men of that studies in two great works ; one geographical,
age, he satisfied his desire for knowledge by travel entitled neplodos rs, or llepinynors, and the
ling into distant countries, and seeing with his own other historical, entitled revealoylas, or 'lotopíai.
eyes that which others learnt from books. We (Suid. s. r. 'EXTávikos, where the heading of
know from Herodotus (1. c. ) that Hecataeus visited the article is a mistake for 'Exataios. ) The
Egypt, and from the manner in which later writers passage of Suidas compared with one of Strabo (i.
speak of his geographical knowledge, there can be p. 7) clearly shows that Hecataeus wrote only two
no doubt that he visited many other countries also. works, and that the other names or titles we meet
(Agathem. i. l; Agatharch. De Rubr. Mari, p. with refer to subdivisions of the geographical work.
48. ) The fragments of his geographical work, The latter consisted of two parts, one of which
which have come down to us, lead us to suppose contained a description of Europe, and the other of
that, besides the provinces of the Persian empire, Asia, Egypt, and Libya. Both parts appear to have
he visited the coasts of the Euxine, Thrace, the been subdivided into smaller sections ; thus we
whole of Greece, Oenotria, and even Liguria, Spain, find one section belonging to the first part referred
and Libya, though of the last-mentioned countries to under the name of Hellespontus (Steph. Byz.
he may have seen little more than the coasts. The s. v. Tévedos), and others belonging to the second
time during which he was engaged in these travels part, under the titles of Aloxıná, neputinnois Aigua-
cannot be accurately determined, though it must tov, and ſlepinynois Albúms. (Steph. Byz. 8. or.
have been previous to the revolt of the Ionians, that 'Αμαζόνειον, Δίηβρις, Ελένειος). It is not easy to
is, previous to B. c. 500, for after that event the determine the order in which Hecataens described
war between the Greeks and Persians, as well as the different countries, and consequently also the
the advanced age of Hecataeus, would have thrown order in which the fragments still extant should be
too many difficulties in his way; and it further arranged. The mode in which he treated his sub-
appears that he was well acquainted with the ex-jects may still be seen from some of the longer frag-
tent and resources of the Persian empire at the ments: he first mentioned the name of the people,
time when his countrymen contemplated the revolt then the towns they inhabited, and sometimes be
from Persia. (Herod. v. 36. ) His geographical gave an account of their foundation and of any
work, moreover, must have been written after the thing that was remarkable in them. The distances of
year B. c. 524, since in one of the extant fragments the places from one another seem to have been care-
(140, ed. Müller) he speaks of Boryza in Thrace as a fully marked. Hecataeus was the first historical
Persian town, which it did not become till that year. writer who exercised his own judgment on the
## p. 363 (#379) ############################################
HECATAEUS.
363
HECATAEUS.
matters which he had to record, and used historical | menta, Heidelberg, 1806, 8vo. p. 1-86; and the
criticism in rejecting what appeared to him fabulous, fragments of both the Periegesis and the Genea-
or endeavouring to find out the historical truth which logies by R. H. Klausen, Hecataei Milesii Frag
formed the groundwork of a mythical tradition menta, Berlin, 1831, 8vo. , and by C. and Th.
(Paus. iji. 25. $5; Arrian, Anub. ii. 16); still he Müller, Fragm. Hist. Graec. , Paris, 1841, p. 1–31.
is nevertheless very dependent on Homer and other Each of these collections is preceded by a disserta-
early poets, whereby he is led to mix up fables tion on the life and writings of Hecataeus. (Comp.
with truth; but wherever he gives the results of Dahlmann, Herodot. p. 112, &c. ; Ukert, Unter-
his own observations, he is a correct and trust suchungen über die Geographie des Hecatueus u. Da-
worthy guide. Eratosthenes (ap. Strab. i. p. 7) mastes, Weimar, 1814. )
seems to deny that Hecataeus made geographical 2. Of Abdera has often been confounded in
maps ; but if we compare the statement of Agathe ancient as well as in modern times with Hecataeus
merus (i. 1) with Herodotus (v. 49), it is clear, on of Miletus. He was a contemporary of Alexander
the one hand, that Hecataeus corrected and im- the Great and Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, and ap
proved the map of the earth drawn up by Anaxi- pears to have accompanied the former on his Asiatic
mander, and it is probable, on the other, that the expedition as far as Syria. He was a pupil of the
map which Aristagoras carried to Sparta for the Sceptic Pyrrho, and is himself called a philosopher,
purpose of persuading Cleomenes to engage in a critic, and grammarian. (Suid. s. v. 'Exatalos;
war against Persia was either the work of Heca- Joseph. c. Apion. i. 22 ; Diod. i. 47 ; Diog. Laërt.
taeus, or had been drawn up according to his views | ix. 61; Plut. Sympos. p. 666, e. ) From the
of the physical structure of the earth. Callimachus manner in which he is spoken of by Eusebius
(ap. Athen. ii. p. 70, comp. ix. P. 410), whose (Praep. Evang. ix. p. 239), we must infer that he
opinion seems to be followed by Arrian (Anab. v. was a man of great reputation on account of his
6), regarded the repithynous tñs 'Agias, ascribed to extensive knowledge as well as on account of his
Hecataeus, and belonging to the second part of his practical wisdom (Tepl tas apátels ikaróratos).
geographical work, as spurious, and assigned it to a In the reign of the first Ptolemy he travelled up
moiúrns (an islander). It is not impossible that the Nile as far as Thebes. He was the author of
he may have found in the library of Alexandria a several works, of which, however, only a small
periegesis of Asia ascribed to the celebrated Heca- number of fragments have come down to us. 1. A
taeus, but which was in reality a forgery, and had History of Egypt. (Diod. i. 47 ; Phot. Bill. Cod.
nothing in common with the genuine work but 244, where he is confounded with Hecataeus of
the name of the author ; for such forged title-pages Miletus. ) Whether the work on the philosophy of
were not uncommon in the time of the Ptolemies, the Egyptians, attributed to him by Diogenes La-
and literary impostors made a lucrative traffic of ērtius (i. Prooem. $ 10), was a distinct work, or
them. (Hippocrat. vol. xv. pp. 105, 109, ed. only a portion of the History of Egypt, is uncer-
Kühn. ) At any rate, even if we admit that Cal- tain. (Comp. Plut. De Is. et Os. p. 354, d. ) This
limachus really found a spurious periegesis, it does work on Egypt is one of the causes of the confusion
not follow that the genuine work did not exist. of our Hecataeus with the Milesian, who in his
The second work of Hecataeus, the Histories or Periegesis had likewise written on Egypt. 2. A
Genealogies, was a prose account, in the form of work on the Hyperboreang. (Schol. ad Apollon.
genealogies, of the poetical fables and traditions of Rhod. ii. 675; Diod. ii. 47 ; Aelian, H. A. xi. 1 ;
the Greeks. From the fragments which are quoted Steph. Byz. 3. vv. 'Exlgolan Kapaubúkau. ) 3. A
from it, we see that it must have consisted of at History of the Jews, of which the book on Abraham
least four sections. The first contained the tradi- mentioned by Josephus (Ant. Jud. i. 7), was pro-
tions about Deucalion and his descendants ; the bably only a portion. This work is frequently re-
second, the stories of Heracles and the Heracleidae ; ferred to by the ancients (Joseph. c. Apion. i. 22;
the third, apparently the Peloponnesian traditions ; Euseb. Praep. Erang. ix. p. 408, xiii. p. 680 ; Clem.
and the fourth, those of Asia Minor. The value of Alex. Strom. v. p. 603, and others); but it was
this, as well as his other, work cannot be dimi- declared spurious even by Origen (c. Cels. i.
15),
nished in our eyes by the fact of Herodotus contro- and modern critics are divided in their opinions.
verting several of his opinions (vi. 137, comp. i. Suidas attributes to our Hecataeus works on Homer
J46, 202, ii. 3, 15, 21, 23, 143, iv. 8, 36); but, on and Hesiod, but makes no mention of the historical
the contrary, it is evident that Herodotus looked works which we have enumerated. The fragments
upon him as a rival, whom it was worth while endea- of Hecatreus of Abdera have been collected by P.
vouring to refute and excel, and that he actually did Zom, Hecataei Abderitae Fragmenta, Altona, 1730,
excel him, does not require to be proved in this 8vo. (Comp. Creuzer, Hist. Graec. Antiquiss.
place. Herodotus knew the works of Hecataeus Fragm. p. 28, &c. ; Vossius, De Hist. Graec. p.
well, and undoubtedly availed himself of them; 86, &c. , ed. Westermann. )
but the charge of Porphyrius (ap. Euseb. Praep. 3. Of Teos, an historian, who is mentioned only
Eoung. x. p. 466), that Herodotus literally tran- by Strabo (xiv. p. 644), and is considered by Ukert
scribed whole passages from Hecataeus is wholly (Ibid. p. 12) to be no other than Hecataeus of
without foundation. (Comp. Hermog. De Form. Abdera.
Orat. ii. 12; Dionys. Jud. de Thucyd. 5; Diod. i. 4. Of Eretria, is mentioned by Plutarch ( Alex.
37 ; Strab. i. p. 18; Suidas. ) Řespecting the 26) among the historians of Alexander the Great,
style of Hecataeus, Strabo says, that though prose, buć is otherwise altogether unknown. Schweig-
it approached very nearly to poetry, and Hermo- hauser (ad Athen. ii. p. 70) conjectures that he is the
genes (1. c. ) praises it for its simplicity, purity, islander to whom Callimachus attributed the mepi-
clearness, and sweetness, and adds that the lan-trous tis 'Agias; but Creuzer (l. c. p. 85) be
guage was the pure and unmixed Ionic dialect, lieves, with far greater probability, that the epithet
The fragments of the Genealogies are collected ó 'Epezpieus in Plutarch is a mistake, and that this
in Creuzer's Histor. Graec. Antiquissimorum Frag Hecataeus is no other than Hecataeus of Abdera,
## p. 364 (#380) ############################################
364
HECATE.
HECATOMNUS.
who is repeatedly mentioned among the historians (Orph. Lith. 48 ; Schol
. ad Theoer. I. c. ; Apollon.
of Alexander, of whom he must have had frequent Rhod. ii. 1211; Lycoph. 1175; Horat. Sui. i. 8.
occasions to speak in his history of Egypt. (L. S. ) 35; Virg. Aen. vi. 257. ) By Phorcos she bocame
HECATAEUS, a statuary and silver-chaser of the mother of Scylla. (Apollon. Rhod. ir. 829;
some note, who seems, from the way in which he comp. Hom. Od. xii. 124. ) There is another very
is mentioned by Pliny, to have been a native of important feature which arose out of the notion of
Mytilene, and to have lived not long before the her being an inſernal divinity, namely, she was re-
time of Pompey the Great. (Plin. 8. N. xxxiii. garded as a spectral being, who at night sent from
12. 8. 55; xxxiv. 8. s. 19. § 25. ) (P. S. ) the lower world all kinds of demons and terrible
HE'CATE ('Ekátn), a mysterious divinity, who, phantoms, who taught sorcery and witchcraft, who
according to the most common tradition, was a dwelt at places where two roads crossed each
daughter of Persaeus or Perses and Asteria, whence other, on tombs, and near the blood of murdered
she is called Perseis. (Apollod. i. 2. & 4; Apollon. persons. She herself too wanders about with the
Rhod. iii. 478. ) Others describe her as a daughter souls of the dead, and her approach is announced
of Zeus and Denieter, and state that she was sent hy the whining and howling of dogs. (Apollon.
out by her father in search of Persephone (Schol. Rhod. iii. 529, 861, iv. 829; Theocrit. h. c. ; 0v.
ad Theocrit. ii. 12); others agnin' make her alleroid. xii. 168, Met. xiv. 405; Sut. Theb. iv. 428;
daughter of Zeus either by Pheraea or by Hera Virg. Aen. iv. 609; Orph. Lith. 45, 47; Eustath.
(Tzetz. ad Lyc. 1175; Schol ad Theocrit. ii. 36); ad Hom. p. 1197, 1887 ; Diod. iv. 45. ) A number
and others, lastly, say that she was a daughter of of epithets given her by the poets contain allusions
Leto or Tartarus. (Procl. in Plat. Cratyl. p. 112; to these features of the popular belief, or to her
Orph. Argon. 975. ) Homer does not mention her. form. She is described as of terrible appearance,
According to the most genuine traditions, she ap either with three bodies or three heads, the one of
pears to have been an ancient Thracian divinity, a horse, the second of a dog, and the third of a
and a Titan, who, from the time of the Titans, lion. (Orph. Argon. 975, &c. ; Eustath. ad Hom.
ruled in heaven, on the earth, and in the sea, who pp. 1467, 1714. ) In works of art she was some-
bestowed on mortals wealth, victory, wisdom, good times represented as a single being, but sometimes
luck to sailors and hunters, and prosperity to youth also as a three-headed monster. (Paus. ii. 28. $ 8.
and to the flocks of cattle ; but all these blessings 30. § 2. ) Besides Samothrace and Aegina, we
might at the same time be withheld by her, if find express mention of her worship at Argos
mortals did not deserve them. She was the only (Paus. ii. 30. & 2. ) and at Athens, where she had
one among the Titans who retained this power a sanctuary under the name of 'En it upyedia, on the
under the rule of Zeus, and she was honoured by acropolis, not far from the temple of Nice. (Paus.
all the immortal gods. She also assisted the gods ii. 30. $ 2. ) Small statues or symbolical representa-
in their war with the Gigantes, and slew Clytius. tions of Hecate (érátala) were very numerous,
(Hes. Theog. 411–452; Apollod. i. 6. $ 2. ) This especially at Athens, where they stood before or in
extensive power possessed by Hecate was probably houses, and on spots where two roads crossed each
the reason that subsequently she was confounded other; and it would seem that people consulted
and identified with several other divinities, and at such Hecataea as oracles. (Aristoph. Vesp. 816,
length became a mystic goddess, to whom mysteries Lysistr. 64; Eurip.
