This
confusion
is still extensive walks and courts for his amusement.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - a
Furia's edition of Hence some scholars, startled not unnaturally by
the fables of Aesop contains twenty-three of those the singular coincidence of name and pursuit,
of Aphthonius. (Westermann, Geschichte der have endeavoured to prove that there was in reality
Griech. Beredtsamkeit, $ 98, nn. 16—20. ) (L. S. ] only one Apicius, namely the second, and that the
APHTHOʻNIUS ('Apdovios) of Alexandria is ruultiplication arose from the tales with regard to
mentioned by Philostorgius (iii. 15) as a learned his excesses having passed from mouth to mouth
and eloquent bishop of the Manichaeans. He is among persons ignorant of chronology, or from the
mentioned as a disciple and commentator of Mani stories current with regard to various gluttons
by Photius and Peter of Sicily, and in the form of having been all in the process of time referred to
abjuring Manichaeism. Philostorgius adds, that the most famous of all. It will be observed, how-
Aëtius had a public disputation with Aphthonius, ever, that in so far as the first is concerned Athe-
in which the latter was defeated, and died of grief naeus points directly to the source from whence
seven days afterwards.
[P. S. ] his information was derived, and connects the in-
APICA'TA, the wife of Sejanus, was divorced dividual with an important and well known
by him, A. D. 23, after she had borne him three historical fact, nor is it probal. le that there is any
children, when he had seduced Livia, the wife of ' confusion of names in the passage relating to the
## p. 226 (#246) ############################################
226
APION.
APIS.
a
third, since it is confirmed by the text of Suidas, an embassy to the emperor Caligula, which was
who evidently quotes from Athenaeus. (Sec, how- headed by Apion, for he was a skilful speaker and
ever, Vincent. Contaren. Var. Lect. c. xvii. ; Lipsius known to entertain great hatred of the Jews. The
on Tacit. Ann. iv. 1 ; Lister. Praef. ad Apic. ) latter also sent an embassy, which was beaded by
The treatise we now possess, bearing the title Philo. In this transaction Apion appears to bave
Caelu Apici de opsoniis et condimentis, sive de reoverstepped the limits of his commission, for he
culinaria, Libri decem, appears to have been first not only brought forward the complaints of his fel-
discovered by Enoch of Ascoli, about the year low-citizens, but endeavoured to excite the em-
1454, in the time of Pope Nicolas V. , and the peror's anger against the Jews by reminding him
editio princeps was printed at Milan in 1498. It that they refused to erect statues to him and to
is a sort of Cook and Confectioner's Manual, con- swear by his sacred name. (Joseph. Ant. xviii. 10. )
taining a multitude of receipts for preparing and The results of this embassy, as well as the remain-
dressing all kinds of fiesh, fish, and fowl, for ing part of Apion's life, are unknown ; but if we
compounding sauces, baking cakes, preserving may believe the account of his enemy Josephus
sweetmeats, favouring wines, and the like. From (c. Apion. ii. 13), he died of a disease which he
the inaccuracies and solecisms of the style, it is had brought upon himself by his dissolute mode of
probable that it was compiled at a late period by life.
some one who prefixed the name of Apicius, in Apion was the author of a considerable number
order to attract attention and insure the circulation of works, all of which are now lost with the ex-
of his book. It is not without value, however, ception of some fragments. 1. Upon Homer,
since it affords an insight into the details of a whose poems seem to have formed the principal
Roman kitchen which we seek for elsewhere in part of his studies, for he is said not only to have
vain.
made the best recension of the text of the poems,
The best editions are those of Martin Lister, pub- but to have written explanations of phrases and
lished at London, in 1705, reprinted with additions words in the form of a dictionary (1éteis Oumpurai),
by Almeloveen (Amstelod. 1709), and that of and investigations concerning the life and native
Bernhold (Marcobreit. 1787, Baruth. 1791, and country of the poet. The best part of his aéters
Ansbach. 1800. ) There is an illustrative work by 'Oumpikal are supposed to be incorporated in the
Dierbach, entitled Flora Apiciana. (Heidelberg, Homeric Lexicon of Apollonius. (Villoison, Pro-
1831. )
[W. R. ) leg. ad Apollon. p. ix. &c. ) Apion's labours upon
API'NIUS TIRO. [Tiro. ]
Homer are often referred to by Eustathius and
A'PION ('Atlov), a Greek grammarian. His other grammarians. 2. A work on Egypt (Aiyur-
name is sometimes incorrectly spelt Appion, and Tiaká), consisting of five books, which was highly
bome writers, like Suidas, call him a son of Pleis- valued in antiquity, for it contained descriptions of
toneices, while others more correctly state that nearly all the remarkable objects in Egypt. It
Pleistoneices was only a surname, and that he was also contained numerous attacks upon the Jews.
the son of Poseidonius. (Gell. vi. 8 ; Senec. Epist. (Euseb. Praep. Evang. x. 10; Gell. v. 14; Plin.
88; Euseb. Praep. Evang. x. 10. ) He was a H. N. xxxvii. 19. ) 3. A work against the Jews.
native of Oasis, but used to say that he was born (Euseb. I. c. ) A reply to these attacks is made by
at Alexandria, where he studied under Apollonius, Josephus, in the second book of his work usually
the son of Archibius, and Didymus, from whom he called Kata 'Atiwvos, and this reply is the only
imbibed his love for the Homeric poems. (Suid. source from which we learn anything about tho
$. v. 'Aniwv; Joseph. c. Apion. ii. 3, &c. ) He character of Apion's work. 4. Å work in praise
afterwards settled at Rome, where he taught of Alexander the Great. (Gell. vi. 8. ) 5. Histories
rhetoric as the successor of the grammarian Theon of separate countries. ('lotopia kata (dvos, Suid.
in the reign of Tiberius and Claudius. He appears 3. v. 'Ariww. ) 6. On the celebrated glutton Apicius
to have enjoyed an extraordinary reputation for and, 7. Nepi tñs Pwuairñs dialentov. (Athen. vii.
his extensive knowledge and his versatility as an p. 294, xv. p. 680. ) 8. De metallica disciplina.
orator; but the ancients are unanimous in censur-(Plin. Elench. lib. xxxv. ) The greatest fragments
ing his ostentatious vanity. (Gell
. v. 14; Plin. of the works of Apion are the story about Andro-
H. N. Praef
. and xxx. 6 ; Joseph. c. A pion. ii. 12. ) clus and his lion, and about the dolphin near
He declared that every one whom he mentioned in Dicaearchia, both of which are preserved in Gellius.
his works would be immortalized ; he placed him- Suidas (s. rv. 'Ajúpths, Orindes, ooápayov, and
self by the side of the greatest philosophers of an- Tplyanva) refers to Apion as a writer of epigrams,
cient Greece, and used to say, that Alexandria but whether he is the same as the grammarian is
ought to be proud of having a man like himself uncertain. (Villoison, l. c. ; Burigny, in the Mém.
among its citizens. It is not unlikely that the de l'Acad. des Inscript. xxxviii
. p. 171, &c. ; Lehrs,
cymbalum mundi,” by which Tiberius was Quaest. Epicae, Dissert. i. , who chiefly discusses
accustomed to call him, was meant to express both | what Apion did for Homer. )
(L. S. ]
his loquacity and his boastful character. He is A'PION, PTOLEMAEUS. (PTOLEMAEUS
spoken of as the most active of grammarians, and Apion. ]
the surname uóxoos which he bore, according to APIS (*Amis). 1. A son of Phoroneus by the
Suidas, is usually explained as describing the zeal nymph Laodice, and brother of Niobe. He was
and labour with which he prosecuted bis studies. king of Argos, established a tyrannical government,
In the reign of Caligula he travelled about in and called Peloponnesus after his own name Apia;
Greece, and was received ererywhere with the but he was killed in a conspiracy headed by Thel
highest honours as the great interpreter of Homer. xion and Telchis. (Apollod. i. 7. 6, ii. 1. & 1. )
(Senec. l. c. ) About the same time, A. D. 38, the In the former of these passages Apollodorus states,
inhabitants of Alexandria raised complaints against that Apis, the son of Phoroneus, was killed by
the Jews residing in their city, and endeavoured Aetolus ; but this is a mistake arising from the
to curtail their rights and privileges. They sent confusion of our Apis, with Apis the son of Jason,
66
name
## p. 227 (#247) ############################################
APIS.
227
APIS.
A
ܪ
who was killed by Aetolus during the funeral of his birth, and built a house there in the direc-
games celebrated in honour of Azanes. (Paus. v. 1. tion towards the rising sun. In this house the
§ 6; AETOLUS. )
god was fed with milk for the space of four months,
Apis, the son of Phoroneus, is said, after his and after this, about the time of the new moon,
death, to have been worshipped as a god, under the scribes and prophets prepared a ship sacred to
the name of Serapis (Sápanis); and this state- the god, in which he was conveyed to Memphis.
ment shews that Egyptian mythuses are mixed Here he entered his splendid residence, containing
up with the story of Apis.
This confusion is still extensive walks and courts for his amusement.
more manifest in the tradition, that Apis gave his number of the choicest cows, forming as it were
kingdom of Argos to his brother, and went to the harem of the god, were kept in his palace at
Egypt, where he reigned for several years after- Memphis. The account of Diodorus, though on
wards. (Euseb. Chron. n. 271; Augustin, de Civ. the whole agreeing with that of Aelian, contains
Dei, xviii
. 5. ) Apis is spoken of as one of the some additional particulars of interest. Pliny and
earliest lawgivers among the Greeks. (Theodoret. Ammianus Marcellinus do not mention the god's
Graec. Affect. Cur. vol. iv. p. 927, ed. Schulz. ) harem, and state that Apis was only once in every
2. A son of Telchis, and father of Thelxion. year allowed to come in contact with a cow, and
He was king at Sicyon, and is said to have been that this cow was, like the god himself, marked in
such a powerful prince, that previous to the arrival a peculiar way. Apis, moreover, drank the water
of Pelops, Peloponnesus was called after him Apia. of only one particular well in his palace, since the
(Paus. ii. 5. § 5. )
water of the Nile was believed to be too fattening.
Besides the third Apis, the son of Jason, men- The god had no other occupation at Memphis,
tioned above, there is a fourth, a son of Asclepius, than to receive the services and homage of his
mentioned by Aeschylus. (Suppl. 262. ) (1. . S. ] attendants and worshippers, and to give oracles,
APIS ("ATTIS), the Bull of Memphis, which which he did in various ways. According to
enjoyed the bighest honours as a god among the Pliny, his temple contained two thalami, and ac-
Egyptians. (Pomp. Mela, i. 9; Aelian, Hist. An. cordingly as he entered the one or the other, it
xi. 10; Lucian, de Sacrif. 15. ) He is called the was regarded as a favourable or unfavourable sign.
greatest of gods, and the god of all nations, while other modes in which oracles were derived from
others regard him more in the light of a symbol of Apis are mentioned in the following passages :
some great divinity; for some authorities state, Lutat. ad Stat. Theb. iii. 478; Diog. Laërt. viii
. 9;
that Apis was the bull sacred to the moon, as Paus. vii. 22. & 2; Plin. , Aelian, Solinus, I. cc. ;
Mnevis was the one sacred to the sun. (Suid. s. v. ; Plut. de Is. et Os. 14.
Ammian. Marcell. xxii. 14; Aelian, l. c. ; Lutatius, As regards the mode in which Apis was wor-
ad Stut. Theb. iii. 478. ) According to Macrobius shipped, we know, from Herodotus (ii
. 38, 41),
(Sat. i. 21), on the other hand, Apis was regarded that oxen, whose purity was scrupulously examined
as the symbol of the sun. The most common before, were offered to him as sacrifices. His
opinion was, that Apis was sacred to Osiris, in birthday, which was celebrated every year, was
whom the sun was worshipped ; and sometimes his most solemn festival; it was a day of rejoicing
Apis is described as the soul of Osiris, or as iden- for all Egypt. The god was allowed to live only
tical with him. (Diod. i. 21 ; Plut. de Is. et Os. a certain number of years, probably twenty-five.
20, 33, 43; Strab. xvii. p. 807. )
(Lucan, Phars. viii. 477; Plut. de Is. et Os. 56. )
In regard to the birth of this divine animal if he had not died before the expiration of that pe
Herodotus (iii. 28) says, that he was the offspring riod, he was killed and buried in a sacred well, the
of a young cow which was fructified by a ray from place of which was unknown except to the initiated,
heaven, and according to others it was by a ray of and he who betrayed it was severely punished.
the moon that she conceived him. (Suid. , Aelian, (Arnob. adv. Gent. vi. p. 194. ) If, however, Apis
U. cc. ; Plut. de Is. et Os. 43. ) The signs by which died a natural death, he was buried publicly and
it was recognised that the newly born bull was solemnly, and, as it would seem, in the temple of
really the god Apis, are described by several of Serapis at Memphis, to which the entrance was
the ancients. According to Herodotus (1. c; left open at the time of Apis’ burial. (Paus. i, 18.
comp. Strab. l. c. ), it was requisite that the animal 8 4; Clem. Alex. Strom. i. 322; Plut. de /s. et
should be quite black, have a white square mark Os. 29. ) The name Serapis or Sarapis itself is
on the forehead, on its back a figure similar to said to signify “the tomb of Apis. ” Respecting
that of an eagle, have two kinds of hair in its the particular ceremonies and rites of the burial,
tail, and on its tongue a knot resembling an insect its expenses, and the miracles which used to ac-
called kávdapos. (Compare Ammian. Marcell
. 1. c. ; company it, see Diod. i. 84, 96 ; Plut. l. c. 29, 35.
Solinus, 32. ) Pliny (H. N. viii. 71), who states, As the birth of Apis filled all Egypt with joy and
that the cantharus was under the tongue, adds, festivities, so his death threw the whole country
that the right side of the body was marked with a into grief and mourning; and there was no one,
white spot resembling the horns of the new moon. as Lucian says, who valued his hair so much that
Aelian says, that twenty-nine signs were required; he would not have shorn his head on that occasion.
but some of those which he mentions have refer- (Lucian, de Sacrif. 15, de Dea Syr. 6; Tibull. i. 8;
ence to the later astronomical and physical specu- Ammian. Marc. , Solin. U. cc. ) However, this time
lations about the god. When all the signs were of mourning did not usually last long, as a new
found satisfactory in a newly born bull, the cere Apis was generally kept ready to fill the place of
mony of his consecration began. This solemnity his predecessor; and as soon as he was found, the
is described by Aelian, Pliny, Ammianus Marcel- mourning was at an end, and the rejoicings began.
linus, and Diodorus. (i. 85. ) When it was made (Diod. 1. 85; Spartian. Hadr. 12. )
known, says Aelian, that the god was born, some The worship of Apis was, without doubt, origi-
of the sacred scribes, who possessed the secret nally nothing but the simple worship of the bull,
knowledge of the signs of Apis, went to the place and formed a part of the fetish-worship of the
Q2
## p. 228 (#248) ############################################
228
APHRODITE.
APHRODITE.
|
Egyptians; but in the course of time, the bull, I dess of beauty and gracefulness. In these points
like other animals, was regarded as a symbol in she surpassed all other goddesses, and she received
the astronomical and physical systems of the Egypthe prize of beauty from Paris ; she bad further
tian priests. llow far this was carried may be the power of granting beauty and invincible charms
seen from what Aclian says about the twenty-nine to others. Youth is the herald, and Peitho, the
marks on the body of Apis, which form a complete Horae, and Charites, the attendants and compa-
astronomical and physical system. For further nions of Aphrodite. . (Pind. Nem. viii. I, &c. )
details respecting these late speculations, the reader Marriages are called by Zeus her work and the
is referred to the works on Egyptian mythology things about which she ought to busy herself.
by Jablonsky, Champollion, Pritchard, and others. (Hom. II. v. 429 ; comp. Od. xx. 74 ; Pind. Pytha
The Persians, in their religious intolerance, ridi- ix. 16, &c. ) As she herself had sprung from the
culed and scorned the Egyptian gods, and more sea, she is represented by later writers as having
especially Apis. Cambyses killed Apis with his some influence upon the sea. (Virg. Aen. viii. 800;
own hand (Herod iii. 29), and Ochus had him Ov. Heroid.
the fables of Aesop contains twenty-three of those the singular coincidence of name and pursuit,
of Aphthonius. (Westermann, Geschichte der have endeavoured to prove that there was in reality
Griech. Beredtsamkeit, $ 98, nn. 16—20. ) (L. S. ] only one Apicius, namely the second, and that the
APHTHOʻNIUS ('Apdovios) of Alexandria is ruultiplication arose from the tales with regard to
mentioned by Philostorgius (iii. 15) as a learned his excesses having passed from mouth to mouth
and eloquent bishop of the Manichaeans. He is among persons ignorant of chronology, or from the
mentioned as a disciple and commentator of Mani stories current with regard to various gluttons
by Photius and Peter of Sicily, and in the form of having been all in the process of time referred to
abjuring Manichaeism. Philostorgius adds, that the most famous of all. It will be observed, how-
Aëtius had a public disputation with Aphthonius, ever, that in so far as the first is concerned Athe-
in which the latter was defeated, and died of grief naeus points directly to the source from whence
seven days afterwards.
[P. S. ] his information was derived, and connects the in-
APICA'TA, the wife of Sejanus, was divorced dividual with an important and well known
by him, A. D. 23, after she had borne him three historical fact, nor is it probal. le that there is any
children, when he had seduced Livia, the wife of ' confusion of names in the passage relating to the
## p. 226 (#246) ############################################
226
APION.
APIS.
a
third, since it is confirmed by the text of Suidas, an embassy to the emperor Caligula, which was
who evidently quotes from Athenaeus. (Sec, how- headed by Apion, for he was a skilful speaker and
ever, Vincent. Contaren. Var. Lect. c. xvii. ; Lipsius known to entertain great hatred of the Jews. The
on Tacit. Ann. iv. 1 ; Lister. Praef. ad Apic. ) latter also sent an embassy, which was beaded by
The treatise we now possess, bearing the title Philo. In this transaction Apion appears to bave
Caelu Apici de opsoniis et condimentis, sive de reoverstepped the limits of his commission, for he
culinaria, Libri decem, appears to have been first not only brought forward the complaints of his fel-
discovered by Enoch of Ascoli, about the year low-citizens, but endeavoured to excite the em-
1454, in the time of Pope Nicolas V. , and the peror's anger against the Jews by reminding him
editio princeps was printed at Milan in 1498. It that they refused to erect statues to him and to
is a sort of Cook and Confectioner's Manual, con- swear by his sacred name. (Joseph. Ant. xviii. 10. )
taining a multitude of receipts for preparing and The results of this embassy, as well as the remain-
dressing all kinds of fiesh, fish, and fowl, for ing part of Apion's life, are unknown ; but if we
compounding sauces, baking cakes, preserving may believe the account of his enemy Josephus
sweetmeats, favouring wines, and the like. From (c. Apion. ii. 13), he died of a disease which he
the inaccuracies and solecisms of the style, it is had brought upon himself by his dissolute mode of
probable that it was compiled at a late period by life.
some one who prefixed the name of Apicius, in Apion was the author of a considerable number
order to attract attention and insure the circulation of works, all of which are now lost with the ex-
of his book. It is not without value, however, ception of some fragments. 1. Upon Homer,
since it affords an insight into the details of a whose poems seem to have formed the principal
Roman kitchen which we seek for elsewhere in part of his studies, for he is said not only to have
vain.
made the best recension of the text of the poems,
The best editions are those of Martin Lister, pub- but to have written explanations of phrases and
lished at London, in 1705, reprinted with additions words in the form of a dictionary (1éteis Oumpurai),
by Almeloveen (Amstelod. 1709), and that of and investigations concerning the life and native
Bernhold (Marcobreit. 1787, Baruth. 1791, and country of the poet. The best part of his aéters
Ansbach. 1800. ) There is an illustrative work by 'Oumpikal are supposed to be incorporated in the
Dierbach, entitled Flora Apiciana. (Heidelberg, Homeric Lexicon of Apollonius. (Villoison, Pro-
1831. )
[W. R. ) leg. ad Apollon. p. ix. &c. ) Apion's labours upon
API'NIUS TIRO. [Tiro. ]
Homer are often referred to by Eustathius and
A'PION ('Atlov), a Greek grammarian. His other grammarians. 2. A work on Egypt (Aiyur-
name is sometimes incorrectly spelt Appion, and Tiaká), consisting of five books, which was highly
bome writers, like Suidas, call him a son of Pleis- valued in antiquity, for it contained descriptions of
toneices, while others more correctly state that nearly all the remarkable objects in Egypt. It
Pleistoneices was only a surname, and that he was also contained numerous attacks upon the Jews.
the son of Poseidonius. (Gell. vi. 8 ; Senec. Epist. (Euseb. Praep. Evang. x. 10; Gell. v. 14; Plin.
88; Euseb. Praep. Evang. x. 10. ) He was a H. N. xxxvii. 19. ) 3. A work against the Jews.
native of Oasis, but used to say that he was born (Euseb. I. c. ) A reply to these attacks is made by
at Alexandria, where he studied under Apollonius, Josephus, in the second book of his work usually
the son of Archibius, and Didymus, from whom he called Kata 'Atiwvos, and this reply is the only
imbibed his love for the Homeric poems. (Suid. source from which we learn anything about tho
$. v. 'Aniwv; Joseph. c. Apion. ii. 3, &c. ) He character of Apion's work. 4. Å work in praise
afterwards settled at Rome, where he taught of Alexander the Great. (Gell. vi. 8. ) 5. Histories
rhetoric as the successor of the grammarian Theon of separate countries. ('lotopia kata (dvos, Suid.
in the reign of Tiberius and Claudius. He appears 3. v. 'Ariww. ) 6. On the celebrated glutton Apicius
to have enjoyed an extraordinary reputation for and, 7. Nepi tñs Pwuairñs dialentov. (Athen. vii.
his extensive knowledge and his versatility as an p. 294, xv. p. 680. ) 8. De metallica disciplina.
orator; but the ancients are unanimous in censur-(Plin. Elench. lib. xxxv. ) The greatest fragments
ing his ostentatious vanity. (Gell
. v. 14; Plin. of the works of Apion are the story about Andro-
H. N. Praef
. and xxx. 6 ; Joseph. c. A pion. ii. 12. ) clus and his lion, and about the dolphin near
He declared that every one whom he mentioned in Dicaearchia, both of which are preserved in Gellius.
his works would be immortalized ; he placed him- Suidas (s. rv. 'Ajúpths, Orindes, ooápayov, and
self by the side of the greatest philosophers of an- Tplyanva) refers to Apion as a writer of epigrams,
cient Greece, and used to say, that Alexandria but whether he is the same as the grammarian is
ought to be proud of having a man like himself uncertain. (Villoison, l. c. ; Burigny, in the Mém.
among its citizens. It is not unlikely that the de l'Acad. des Inscript. xxxviii
. p. 171, &c. ; Lehrs,
cymbalum mundi,” by which Tiberius was Quaest. Epicae, Dissert. i. , who chiefly discusses
accustomed to call him, was meant to express both | what Apion did for Homer. )
(L. S. ]
his loquacity and his boastful character. He is A'PION, PTOLEMAEUS. (PTOLEMAEUS
spoken of as the most active of grammarians, and Apion. ]
the surname uóxoos which he bore, according to APIS (*Amis). 1. A son of Phoroneus by the
Suidas, is usually explained as describing the zeal nymph Laodice, and brother of Niobe. He was
and labour with which he prosecuted bis studies. king of Argos, established a tyrannical government,
In the reign of Caligula he travelled about in and called Peloponnesus after his own name Apia;
Greece, and was received ererywhere with the but he was killed in a conspiracy headed by Thel
highest honours as the great interpreter of Homer. xion and Telchis. (Apollod. i. 7. 6, ii. 1. & 1. )
(Senec. l. c. ) About the same time, A. D. 38, the In the former of these passages Apollodorus states,
inhabitants of Alexandria raised complaints against that Apis, the son of Phoroneus, was killed by
the Jews residing in their city, and endeavoured Aetolus ; but this is a mistake arising from the
to curtail their rights and privileges. They sent confusion of our Apis, with Apis the son of Jason,
66
name
## p. 227 (#247) ############################################
APIS.
227
APIS.
A
ܪ
who was killed by Aetolus during the funeral of his birth, and built a house there in the direc-
games celebrated in honour of Azanes. (Paus. v. 1. tion towards the rising sun. In this house the
§ 6; AETOLUS. )
god was fed with milk for the space of four months,
Apis, the son of Phoroneus, is said, after his and after this, about the time of the new moon,
death, to have been worshipped as a god, under the scribes and prophets prepared a ship sacred to
the name of Serapis (Sápanis); and this state- the god, in which he was conveyed to Memphis.
ment shews that Egyptian mythuses are mixed Here he entered his splendid residence, containing
up with the story of Apis.
This confusion is still extensive walks and courts for his amusement.
more manifest in the tradition, that Apis gave his number of the choicest cows, forming as it were
kingdom of Argos to his brother, and went to the harem of the god, were kept in his palace at
Egypt, where he reigned for several years after- Memphis. The account of Diodorus, though on
wards. (Euseb. Chron. n. 271; Augustin, de Civ. the whole agreeing with that of Aelian, contains
Dei, xviii
. 5. ) Apis is spoken of as one of the some additional particulars of interest. Pliny and
earliest lawgivers among the Greeks. (Theodoret. Ammianus Marcellinus do not mention the god's
Graec. Affect. Cur. vol. iv. p. 927, ed. Schulz. ) harem, and state that Apis was only once in every
2. A son of Telchis, and father of Thelxion. year allowed to come in contact with a cow, and
He was king at Sicyon, and is said to have been that this cow was, like the god himself, marked in
such a powerful prince, that previous to the arrival a peculiar way. Apis, moreover, drank the water
of Pelops, Peloponnesus was called after him Apia. of only one particular well in his palace, since the
(Paus. ii. 5. § 5. )
water of the Nile was believed to be too fattening.
Besides the third Apis, the son of Jason, men- The god had no other occupation at Memphis,
tioned above, there is a fourth, a son of Asclepius, than to receive the services and homage of his
mentioned by Aeschylus. (Suppl. 262. ) (1. . S. ] attendants and worshippers, and to give oracles,
APIS ("ATTIS), the Bull of Memphis, which which he did in various ways. According to
enjoyed the bighest honours as a god among the Pliny, his temple contained two thalami, and ac-
Egyptians. (Pomp. Mela, i. 9; Aelian, Hist. An. cordingly as he entered the one or the other, it
xi. 10; Lucian, de Sacrif. 15. ) He is called the was regarded as a favourable or unfavourable sign.
greatest of gods, and the god of all nations, while other modes in which oracles were derived from
others regard him more in the light of a symbol of Apis are mentioned in the following passages :
some great divinity; for some authorities state, Lutat. ad Stat. Theb. iii. 478; Diog. Laërt. viii
. 9;
that Apis was the bull sacred to the moon, as Paus. vii. 22. & 2; Plin. , Aelian, Solinus, I. cc. ;
Mnevis was the one sacred to the sun. (Suid. s. v. ; Plut. de Is. et Os. 14.
Ammian. Marcell. xxii. 14; Aelian, l. c. ; Lutatius, As regards the mode in which Apis was wor-
ad Stut. Theb. iii. 478. ) According to Macrobius shipped, we know, from Herodotus (ii
. 38, 41),
(Sat. i. 21), on the other hand, Apis was regarded that oxen, whose purity was scrupulously examined
as the symbol of the sun. The most common before, were offered to him as sacrifices. His
opinion was, that Apis was sacred to Osiris, in birthday, which was celebrated every year, was
whom the sun was worshipped ; and sometimes his most solemn festival; it was a day of rejoicing
Apis is described as the soul of Osiris, or as iden- for all Egypt. The god was allowed to live only
tical with him. (Diod. i. 21 ; Plut. de Is. et Os. a certain number of years, probably twenty-five.
20, 33, 43; Strab. xvii. p. 807. )
(Lucan, Phars. viii. 477; Plut. de Is. et Os. 56. )
In regard to the birth of this divine animal if he had not died before the expiration of that pe
Herodotus (iii. 28) says, that he was the offspring riod, he was killed and buried in a sacred well, the
of a young cow which was fructified by a ray from place of which was unknown except to the initiated,
heaven, and according to others it was by a ray of and he who betrayed it was severely punished.
the moon that she conceived him. (Suid. , Aelian, (Arnob. adv. Gent. vi. p. 194. ) If, however, Apis
U. cc. ; Plut. de Is. et Os. 43. ) The signs by which died a natural death, he was buried publicly and
it was recognised that the newly born bull was solemnly, and, as it would seem, in the temple of
really the god Apis, are described by several of Serapis at Memphis, to which the entrance was
the ancients. According to Herodotus (1. c; left open at the time of Apis’ burial. (Paus. i, 18.
comp. Strab. l. c. ), it was requisite that the animal 8 4; Clem. Alex. Strom. i. 322; Plut. de /s. et
should be quite black, have a white square mark Os. 29. ) The name Serapis or Sarapis itself is
on the forehead, on its back a figure similar to said to signify “the tomb of Apis. ” Respecting
that of an eagle, have two kinds of hair in its the particular ceremonies and rites of the burial,
tail, and on its tongue a knot resembling an insect its expenses, and the miracles which used to ac-
called kávdapos. (Compare Ammian. Marcell
. 1. c. ; company it, see Diod. i. 84, 96 ; Plut. l. c. 29, 35.
Solinus, 32. ) Pliny (H. N. viii. 71), who states, As the birth of Apis filled all Egypt with joy and
that the cantharus was under the tongue, adds, festivities, so his death threw the whole country
that the right side of the body was marked with a into grief and mourning; and there was no one,
white spot resembling the horns of the new moon. as Lucian says, who valued his hair so much that
Aelian says, that twenty-nine signs were required; he would not have shorn his head on that occasion.
but some of those which he mentions have refer- (Lucian, de Sacrif. 15, de Dea Syr. 6; Tibull. i. 8;
ence to the later astronomical and physical specu- Ammian. Marc. , Solin. U. cc. ) However, this time
lations about the god. When all the signs were of mourning did not usually last long, as a new
found satisfactory in a newly born bull, the cere Apis was generally kept ready to fill the place of
mony of his consecration began. This solemnity his predecessor; and as soon as he was found, the
is described by Aelian, Pliny, Ammianus Marcel- mourning was at an end, and the rejoicings began.
linus, and Diodorus. (i. 85. ) When it was made (Diod. 1. 85; Spartian. Hadr. 12. )
known, says Aelian, that the god was born, some The worship of Apis was, without doubt, origi-
of the sacred scribes, who possessed the secret nally nothing but the simple worship of the bull,
knowledge of the signs of Apis, went to the place and formed a part of the fetish-worship of the
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APHRODITE.
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Egyptians; but in the course of time, the bull, I dess of beauty and gracefulness. In these points
like other animals, was regarded as a symbol in she surpassed all other goddesses, and she received
the astronomical and physical systems of the Egypthe prize of beauty from Paris ; she bad further
tian priests. llow far this was carried may be the power of granting beauty and invincible charms
seen from what Aclian says about the twenty-nine to others. Youth is the herald, and Peitho, the
marks on the body of Apis, which form a complete Horae, and Charites, the attendants and compa-
astronomical and physical system. For further nions of Aphrodite. . (Pind. Nem. viii. I, &c. )
details respecting these late speculations, the reader Marriages are called by Zeus her work and the
is referred to the works on Egyptian mythology things about which she ought to busy herself.
by Jablonsky, Champollion, Pritchard, and others. (Hom. II. v. 429 ; comp. Od. xx. 74 ; Pind. Pytha
The Persians, in their religious intolerance, ridi- ix. 16, &c. ) As she herself had sprung from the
culed and scorned the Egyptian gods, and more sea, she is represented by later writers as having
especially Apis. Cambyses killed Apis with his some influence upon the sea. (Virg. Aen. viii. 800;
own hand (Herod iii. 29), and Ochus had him Ov. Heroid.
