The combat lasted the whole
day: the slaughter of the barbarians was great; on
the side of the Greeks, a few Spartan lives were lost;
as to the rest, nothing is said.
day: the slaughter of the barbarians was great; on
the side of the Greeks, a few Spartan lives were lost;
as to the rest, nothing is said.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
He was born B.
C.
382, and received the first rudiments of education un-
der Alcippus, in his own country, after which he was
sent by his father, who was a wealthy man, to Athens,
and there became a disciple of Plato, and, after bis
death, of Aristotle. Under these eminent masters,
blessed by nature with a genius capable of excelling in
every liberal accomplishment, he made great progress
both in philosophy and eloquence. It was on account
of his high attainments in the latter that, instead of
Tjrrtamus, his original name, he was called, as some
say, by his master, but more probably by his own fol-
lowers, Euphrastus (" the fine speaker"), and subse-
quently Theophrastus (" the divine speaker"). When
be undertook the charge of the Peripatetic school, he
conducted it with such high reputation that he had
abcut two thousand scholars; among whom were
Nicomachns, the son of Aristotle, whom his father had
intrusted hy will to his charge; Erasistratus, a cele-
brated physician; and Demetrius Phalercus, who re-
sided with hirn in the same house. His erudition and
eloquence, united with engaging manners, recom-
mended him to the notice of Cassander, and also of
Ptolemy, who invited him to visit Egypt. So great a
favourite was he among the Athenians, that, when one
of his enemies accused him of teaching impious doc-
trines, the accuser himself escaped with difficulty the
punishment which he endeavoured to bring upon Theo-
phrastus. --Under tho archonship of Xenippus, B. C.
305, Sophocles, the son of Amphiclidcs, obtained a
decree (upon what grounds we are not informed), ma-
king it a capital offence for any philosopher to open a
public school without an express license from the sen-
ate. Upon this all the philosophers left the city. But
the next year, the person who had proposed the law-
was himself lined five talents, and the philosophers re-
turned with great public applause to their respective
schools. Theophrastus, who had suffered, with his
brethren, the persecution inflicted by this oppressive
decree, shared the honour of the restoration, and con-
tinued his debates and instructions in the Lyceum. --
? ? Theophrastus is highly celebrated for his industry,
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? THE
THEOrOMPUS.
I" Twenty four looks oj Laws, in Alphabetical or-
der")-; and the third, Tleol No/iofleruv (" Of Legisla-
tors"), in four books. Slobaeus cites a fragment of
the first work. Athenseus mentions other works also
of Theophrastus, 01 Flattery, Pleasure, Happiness,
&c, which are now lost. --Independently, however,
of hi* metaphysical, ethical, and political speculations,
Theophrastus also turned hia attention to Mineralogy
and Botany. As the philosopher of Stagira is the
father of Zoology, so is TheophraBtus to bo regarded
as the parent of Botany. His vegetable physiology
contains some very just arrangements: he had even a
glimpse of the sexual system in plants. --Of the nu-
merous works on natural history written by Theophras-
tus, the following alone remain: 1. Ilepl fvruv ioro-
piac (" On the History of Plants"), in ten, or, rather,
in nine books, for the ancients knew only nine, and the
pretended fragment of a tenth book, as found in the
manuscripts, is only a repetition of a passage in the
ninth. This history of plants is a complete system of
ancient botany. --2. llepi Qvtlkuv airtuv (" Of the
causes of Plants"), in ten books, of which only six
have come down to us. ft is a system of botanical
physiology. -- 3. Iltpt AiBuv {"Of Stones"). This
work proves that, after the time of Theophrastus,
mineralogy retrograded. --We have also other treatises
of his, on Odours, Winds, Prognostics of the Weather,
<kc, and various fragments of works in natural his-
tory, on Animals that change Colour, on Bees, dec.
All these fragments have been preserved for us by
Photius. --The best edition of the works of Theo-
phrastus is that of Schneider, Lips. , 1818-1821, 5
vols. 8vo. The treatise on Stones has been translated
into English by Sir John Hill, and is accompanied by
very useful notes, Lond , 1777, 8vo. The best edi-
tions of the "Characters" are, that of Casaubon, L.
Bat. , 1592, 8vo; that of Fischer, Coburg, 1763, 8vo;
and that of Ast, Lips. , 1816, 8vo. This last, criti-
cally speaking, is perhaps the best.
Tiibophylactus, I. Siiiocatta, a Byzantine histo-
rian. His history of the reign of the Emperor Mau-
rice is comprehended in eight books, and terminates
with the massacre of this prince and his children by
Phocas. Casaubon considers this writer one of the
best of the later Greek historians. He wrote also
other works, some of which have reached us. The
i. i -i edition nf his history is that of Fabrotti, Paris,
1648, fol. The best edition or his Physical Questions
and Epistles is that of Boissonade, Paris, 1835, 8vo.
--II. One of the Greek fathers, who flourished AD.
1070. Dupin observes that his Commentaries are
Tery useful for the literal explanation of the Scrip-
tures; and Dr. Larduer remarks that he quotes no
forged writings or apocryphal books of the New Tes-
tament, many of which he excludes by his observa-
tions on John, 1, 31-34, that Christ wrought no mira-
cle in his infancy, or before the time of his public
ministry. His works were edited at Venice, 4 vols. ,
175410 1763.
TitEoi'di. is, a name given to Antioch because the
Christians first received their name there.
Theopompus, I. a king of Sparta, of the family of the
Proclidae, who distinguished himself by the many new
regulations he introduced. He died after a long and
peaceful reign, B. C. 723. --II. A Greek historian, a na-
ive of Chios, born about B. C. 360. His father, Dam-
>>istratU3, became an object of strong dislike to his fel-
? ? low-citizens on account of his attachment to Sparta,
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? THE
TH E
vol. 3, p. 135-170. In 1829, the first comp ele edi-
tion of ill the fragments appeared from the Leyden
press, with notes, a life of Theopompus, &c, by
Wichers, 8vo. (SchSU, Hist. Lit. Gr. , vol. 2, p. 179.
--Hoffmann, Lex. Bibliograph. , vol. 3, p. 743. )
Thera, the most celebrated of the Sporades, situ-
ate, according to Strabo, about seven hundred stadia
from the Cretan coast, in a northeast direction, and
nearly two hundred stadia in circumference. (Strab. ,
484. ) The modern name is Santorin. This island
was said by mycologists to have been formed in the
sea by a clod of earth thrown from the ship Argo, and
on its first appearance obtained the name of Calliste.
{Plin. , 4, 12. ) It was first occupied by some Phoeni-
cians, but subsequently colonized by the Lacedaemo-
nians, who settled there the descendants of the Minyae,
after they had been expelled from Lcmnos by the Pe-
lasgi. The colony was headed by Thcras, a descend-
ant of Cadmus, and maternal uncle of Eurysthcnes
and Proclus; he gave his name to the island. (He-
rod, 4, 147. -- Pausan. , 3, 1. -- Callim. , ap. Strab. ,
347. ) Several generations after this event, a colony
was led into Africa by Battus, a descendant of the
Minyae, who there founded the city of Cyrene. (He-
rod. , 4, 150. --Pind. , Pyth. , 4, 10. ) Thera appears
to have been produced by the action of submarine
fires. (Cramer's Anc. Greece, vol. 3, p. 412, seqq. )
"Abundant proofs are not wanting," observes Malte-
Brun, " as to the existence of an ancient volcano, the
crater of which occupied all the basin between Santo-
rin and the smaller islands of the group: the mouth
of the crater has been partly overthrown, and the aper-
ture enclosed by the accumulation of dust and ashes.
The lava, the ashes, and pumice-stone discharged
from that volcano have covered part of Thera (Mem.
de Trctoux, 1715), but the greater portion, which con-
sists of a large bed of fine marble, has never been in
any way changed by the action of volcanic fire. (Tour-
tufort, vol. 1, p. 321. ) Thera is not now, however,
covered with ashes and pumice-stones; it is fertile in
corn, and produces strong wine and cotton, the latter
of which is not, as in the other islands, planted every
year. The population amounts to about 10,000, and
? II the inhabitants are Greeks. " (Maltc-Brun, Geogr. ,
vol. 6, p. 169. )
Theramknes, a pupil of Socrates, and afterward
one of the Athenian generals along with Alcibiades
and Thra3ybulus. He was appointed by the Lacedae-
monians one of the thirty tyrants; but the moderation
of his views giving offence to his colleagues, he was
condemned to drink hemlock. From the readiness
with which Theramenes attached himself tb whatever
party chanced to be uppermost, he was nicknamed 6
KoOopvoe, this being an appellation for a sort of san-
dal, not made right and left, as sandals usually were,
but being equally adapted to both feet. (Sititl ,s. r
K68opvot. --Blomf. in Mus. Crit. , vol. 2, p. 212. )
Therapn. e, I. a town cf Laconia, southeast of
Sparta, and near the Eurotas. It received its name
from Therapnae, daughter of Lelcx. Here were to be
seen the temple of Menelaus, and his tomb, as well as
that of Helen. Here also was the temple of Pollux,
and both this deity and his brother were said to have
been born here. Pindar has often connected Therap
nse with the mention of theTyndaridae. (Pind , lath. ,
1, 42. --Id. , Pyth, II, 95-- Id, Nem. , 10, 106. )
Therapnae probably corresponds with the village of
? ? Chrysapha, about two miles to the southeast of the
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? THERMOPYL. E.
THERMOPYL^F
ne>>r at hand, and also one little less respected among
many of the Dorian states, especially at Sparta, that
of the Carnean Apollo, which lasted nine days. The
danger of Greece did not seem so pressing as to re-
quire that these sacred games, so intimately connect-
ed with so many purposes of pleasure, business, and
religion, should be suspended. And it was thought
sufficient to send forward a small force, to bar the
progress of the enemv until they should leave the Gre-
cian world at leisure for action. That the northern
Greeks might be assured that, notwithstanding this
delay, Sparta did not mean to abandon them, the little
band that was to precede the whole force of the con-
federates was placed under the command of her king
Leonidas. It was composed of only 300 Spartans, at-
tended by a body of Helots whose numbers are not
recorded, 500 men from Tegea, and as many from
Mantinea, 120 from the Arcadian Orchomenus, and
1000 from the rest of Arcadia. Corinth armed 400,
Phlius 200, and Mycenae 80. Messengers were sent
to summon Phocis and the Locrians, whose territory
lay nearest to the post which was to be maintained,
to raise their whole force. "They were reminded
that the invader was not a god, but a mortal, liable, as
all human greatness, to a fall: and they were bidden
to take courage, for the sea was guarded by Athens
and . Egina, and the other maritime states, and the
troops now sent were only the forerunners of the
Peloponnesian army, which would speedily follow. "
Hearing this, the Phocians marched to Thermopylae
with 1000 men, and the Locrians of Opus with all the
force they could muster. On his arrival in Bceotia
Leonidas was joined by 700 Thespians, who were
zealous in the cause; but the disposition of Thebes
was strongly suspected; her leading men were known
to be friendly to the Persians; and Leonidas probably
believed that he should be counteracting their in-
trigues if he engaged the Thebans to take part in the
contest. He therefore called upon them for assist-
ance, and they sent 400 men with him; but, in the
opinion of Herodotus, this was a forced compliance,
which, if they had dared, they would willingly have
refused. With this army Leonidas marched to defend
Thermopylae against two millions of men. It was a
prevailing belief in later ages--one, perhaps, that be-
came current immediately after the death of Leonidas
--that when he sat out on his expedition he distinctly
foresaw its fatal issue. And Herodotus gives some
colour to the opinion by recording that he selected
his Spartan followers from among those who had sons
to leave behind them. Dut Plutarch imagined that,
before his departure, he and his little band solemnized
their own obsequies by funeral games in the presence
of their parents, and that it was on this occasion he
spoke of them as a small number to fight, but enough
to die. One fact destroys this fiction. Before his
arrival at Thermopylae he did not know of the path
over the mountain by which he might bo attacked in
the rear: the only danger he had before his eyes was
one which could not have shaken the courage of any
brave warrior, that of making t stand for a few days
against incessant attacks, but from small bodies, in a
narrow space, where h* would be favoured by the
ground. The whole pass shut in between the east-
ern promontory of GSta, called Callidromus, which
towers above it in rugged precipices, and the shore
of the Malian Gulf, is four or five miles in length; it
? ? is narrowest at either end, where the mountain is
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? THERMOPYLAE.
fcowover, stood their ground as before, or, if ever t) ay
^ave way and turned their backs, it was only to face
suddenly about and deal tenfold destruction on their
pursuers. Thrice during these fruitless assaults the
king was seen to start up from his throne in a trans-
port of fear or rage.
The combat lasted the whole
day: the slaughter of the barbarians was great; on
the side of the Greeks, a few Spartan lives were lost;
as to the rest, nothing is said. The next day the
attack was renewed with no better success: the bands
of the several cities that made up the Grecian army,
except the Phocians, who were employed as we have
seen, relieved each other at the post of honour; all
stood equally firm, and repelled the charge not less
vigorously than before. The confidence of Xerxes
was now changed to despondence and perplexity. --
The secret of the Anopcea could not long remain con-
cealed after it had become valuable. Many tongues,
perhaps, would have revealed it: two Greeks, a Ca-
rystian, and Corydallus of Anticyra, shared the re-
proach of this foul treachery; but, by the general opin-
ion, confirmed by the solemn sentence of the Am-
phictyonic council, which set a price upon his head,
Ephialtes, a Malian, was branded with the infamy of
having guided the barbarians round tho fatal path.
Xerxes, overjoyed at the discovery, ordered Hydarnes,
'. lie commander of the Ten Thousand, with his troops,
10 follow the traitor. They set out at nightfall: as
day was beginning to break, they gained the brow of
Callidromus, where the Phocians were posted: the
night was still, and the universal silence was first
broken by the trampling of the invaders on the leaves
with which the face of the woody mountain was
thickly strewed. The Phocians started from their
couches and ran to their arms. The Persians, who
had not expected to find an enemy on their way,
were equally surprised at the sight of an armed band,
and feared lest they might be Spartans; but when
Ephialtes had informed them of the truth, they pre-
pared to force a passage. Their arrows showered
jpon the Phocians, who, believing themselves the sole
object of attack, retreated to the highest peak of the
. 'idge, to sell their lives as dearly as they could. The
Persians, without turning aside to pursue them, kept
on their way, and descended towards Alpcnus. Mean-
while, deserters had brought intelligence of the ene-
my's motions lo the Grecian camp during the night,
and their report was confirmed at daybreak by the
sentinels who had been stationed on the heights, and
now came down with tho news that the barbarians
were crossing the ridge. Little time was left for de-
liberation: opinions were divided as to the course that
prudence prescribed or honour permitted. Leonidas
did not restrain, perhaps encouraged, those of the al-
lies who wished lo save themselves from the impend-
ing fate; but for himself and his Spartans he declared
his resolution of maintaining the post which Sparta
had assigned them to the last. All withdrew except
the Thespians and the Thebans. The Thespians re-
mained from choice, bent on sharing his glory and his
death. We should willingly believe the same of the
Thebans, if the event did not seem to prove that their
stay was the effect of compulsion. Herodotus says
that Leonidas, though he dismissed the rest because
their spirit shrank from danger, detained the Thebans
as hostages, because he knew them to be disaffected
to the cause of freedom; yet, as he was himself cer-
tain of perishing, it is equally difficult to understand
? ? why and how he put this violence on them; and Plu-
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? THERMOPYLAE.
THE
persevering stand in the post intrusted to them, not
ao an act of high and heroic devotion, but of simple
and indispensable duty. Their spirit spoke in the lines
inscribed upon the:r monument; which bade the passing
traveller tell their countrymen that they had fallen in
obedience to their laws. How their action was view-
ed at Sparta may be collected from a story which can-
not he separated from the recollection of this memora-
ble day. When the band of Leonidas was nearly en-
tlosed, two Spartans, Eurytus and Aristodemus, were
staying at Alpenus, having been forced to quit their
post by a disorder which nearly deprived them of sight.
When they heard the tidings, the one called for hia
arms, and made his helot guide him to the place of
combat, where he was left, and fell. But the other's
heart failed him, and he sue:1 his life. When he re-
turned to Sparta he was shunned like a pestilence: no
man would share the fire of his hearth with him, or
speak to him; and he was branded with the name of
"the trembler Aristodemus" (d rptaac 'Apiarodrifioc).
According to another account, both these Spartans bad
been despatched from the camp as messengers, and
there being sufficient time for both to return, Eurytus
did so, but Aristodemus lingered on the way. --The
Persians are said to have lost at Thermopylae 20,000
men: among them were several of royal blood. To
console himself for this loss, and to reap the utmost
advantage from his victory, Xerxes sent over to the
? fleet, which, having heard of the departure of the
Greeks, was now stationed on the northern coast of
Eubnea, and by public notice invited all who were
curious to see the chastisement he had indicted on
the men who had dared to defy his power. That he
had previously buried the greater part of his own
dead seems natural enough; and such an artifice, so
slightly differing from the universal practice of both
ancient and modern belligerents, scarcely deserved
Ihe name of a stratagem. He is said also to have
mutilated the body of Leonidas; and, as this was one
of the foremost which he found on a field that had
csst him so dear, we are not at liberty to reject the
tradition, because such ferocity was not consistent
with the respect usually paid by the Persians to a gal-
lant enemy. To cut off the head and right arm of
slain rebels was a Persian usage. (Plut. , Vil. Artax. ,
c. 13. --Strab. , 733. --Herod. . 7, 206, seqo--Thirl-
tealVs Hist, of Gr. , vol. 2, p. 282, seqq. )--According
to modern travellers, the warm springs at Thermopylae
are about half way between Bodonilza and Zeiloun.
They issue principally from two mouths at the foot of
the limestone precipices of (Eta. The temperature,
in the month of December, was found to be 111? of
Fahrenheit. Dr. Holland found it to be 103? or 104?
at the mouth of the fissures. The water is very transpa-
rent, but deposites a calcareous concretion (carbonate
of lime), which adheres to reeds and sticks, like the
waters of the Anio at Tivoli, and the sulphureous lake
between that place and Rome. A large extent of sur-
face is covered with this deposite. It is impregnated
with carbonic acid, lime, muriate of soda, and sulphur.
The ground about the springs yields a hollow sound
like that within the crater of the Solfaterra near Na-
ples. In some places Dr. Clarke observed cracks and
fissures filled with stagnant water, through which a
gaseous fluid was rising in large bubbles to the sur-
face, its foetid smell bespeaking it to be sulphureted
hydrogen. The springs are very copious, and imme-
? ? diately form several rapid Btreains running into the
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? THE
THESEUS
tte. i thi temples; hut, in revenge lor the excesses
commuted by the . Etolians at Dium and Dodona, de-
lated the statues, which amounted to more than two
thousand, set fire to the porcheB, and finally razed the
Buildings themselves to tne ground. They found also
in Thcrinus a quantity of arms, of which they selected
the most costly to carry away, but the greater part they
destroyed, to the number of 15,000 complete suits of
armour. In like manner, whatever was not worthy of
removal, was consumed in heaps before the camp. All
these facts attest the size and opulence of the place;
ot which, however, so little is known, that, with the
exception of Strabo and Polybius, its name occurs in
no ancient author. Philip subsequently made another
attack upon the town, and destroyed all that had been
spared before. (Polyb. , de virt. el ml, c. 11. )--Un-
der the Roman sway, when the national assemblies of
the . Etolians had ceased to be held, Thermus became
speedily forgotten in history. (Manner! , Geogr. , vol.
8, p. Ill--Cramer's Anc. Greece, vol. 2, p. 87. )
Thkrs. tniif. r, a son of Polynices and Argia. He was
one of the Epigoni, and, after the capture of Thebes,
received the city from the hands of his victorious fel-
low-chieftains. (Pausan. , 9, 8. --Heync, ad Apollod. ,
:i, 7, 4. ) At a subsequent period, when already ad-
vanced in years, he accompanied the Greeks to the
Trojan war, but was slain on the shores of Mysia by
Telcphus. (Diet. Orel. , 2, Z. --Hcyne,ad Virg. , Mn. ,
2, 261-- Find. , 01. , 2, 76. -- Schol. ad Ptnd. , I. e. )
Theesites, one of the Greeks in the army before
Troy. Homer describes him as equally deformed in
person and in mind. Such was his propensity to in-
dulge in contumelious language, that he could not ab-
stain from directing it against not only the chiefs of
the army, but even Agamemnon himself. He ulti-
mately fell by the hand of Achilles, while he was ridi-
culing the sorrow of that hero for the slain Penthesilea.
{Horn. , II. , 2, 212, teqq )
Tiik-riii. e, a patronymic given to the Athenians
from Theseus, one of their kings. (Virg. , G. , 2,383 )
Theseus (two syllables), king of Athens, and son
jl -Egeus by . Ethra, the daughter of Pittheus, mon-
arch of Trezcnc, was one of the most celebrated he-
roes of antiquity. He was reared in the palace of his
grandfather; and, when grown to the proper age, his
mother led him to the rock under which his father had
deposited his sword and sandals, and he removed it
with ease and took them out. He was now to pro-
ceed to Athens, and present himself to . Egeus. As,
however, the roads were infested by robbers, his grand-
father Pittheus pressed him earnestly to take the
shorter and safer way over the Saronic Gulf; but the
youth, feeling in himself the spirit and the soul of a
hero, resolved to signalize himself like Hercules, with
whose fame all Greece now rang, by destroying the
evil-doers and the monsters that oppressed and ravaged
the country; and he determined on the more perilous
and adventurous journey by land. On his way to
Athens he met with many adventures, and destroyed
Periphates, Sinis, Sciron, Procrustes, and also the
monstrous sow Phaea, which ravaged the country in
the neighbourhood of Crommyon. Having overcome
all the perils of the road, Theseus at length reached
Athens, where new dangers awaited him. He found
his father's court all in confusion. The Pallantidae, or
sons and grandsons of Pallas, the brother of -Egeus,
had long seen with jealousy the sceptre in the hands
? ? of an old man, and now meditated wresting it from his
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? THESEUS.
THE
we read, he found no difficulty; but the powerful men
were only induced to comply with hi* proposals by his
promise that all should be admitted to an equal share
of the government, and that he would resign all his
royal prerogatives except those of commanding in war
and of watching over the laws. To the nobles, there-
fore, he reserved all the offices of slate, with the privi-
lege of ordering the affairs of religion, and of inter-
preting the laws both human and divine. The result
if itose and other regulations was the increase of the
'. it; and of the population in general. Thucydides
dxca on this as the epoch when the lower city was
added to the ancient one, which had covered, as we
have remarked, little more than the rock that afterward
became the citadel. And hence there may seem to
have been some foundation for Plutarch's statement,
that Theseus called the city Athens, if this name prop-
erly tigrii. ij. i he whole enclosure of the Old and New
Town. -- As a farther means of uniting the people,
Theseus established numerous festivals, particularly
the Panathenrea, solemnized with great splendour ev-
ery fifth year, in commemoration of this union of the
inhabitants of Attica. Theseus firmly established the
boundaries of the Attic territory, in which he inclu-
ded Mcgaris, ana set up a pillar on the Isthmus of
Corinth to mark the limits of Attica and the Pelopon-
nesus. These civic cares did not prevent Theseus
from taking part in military enterprises: he accompa-
nied Hercules in his expedition against the Amazons,
who then dwelt on the banks of the Thermodon; and
he distinguished himself so much in the conflict, that
Hercules, after the victory, bestowed on him, as the
reward of his valour, the hand of the vanquished queen.
(Vid. Antiopc. ) When the Amazons afterward, in
revenge, invaded the Attic territory, they met with a
signal defeat from the Athenian prince. (Vid. Ama-
zor. es. ) Theseus was also a sharer in the dangers of
the Calydonian hunt; he was one of the adventurous
bar. j who sailed in the Argo to Colchis; and he aided
Lis friend Pirithoiis and the Lapithaa in their conflict
with the Centaurs. The friendship between him and
Pirithoiis was of a most intimate nature, yet it had ori-
ginated in the midst of arms. (Vid. Pirithoiis. ) Like
faithful comrades, they aided each other in every pro-
ject. Each was ambitious in love, and would possess
a daughter of the geds. Theseus, in whoso favour
the lot had fa. len, carried off, with the assistance of
his friend, the ce,abrated Helen, daughter of I. eda,
then a child of but nine years, though already of sur-
passing loveliness, and placed her under the care of his
mother /rjthra, at Aphidnee, whence she was subse-
quently rescued by her brothers Castor and Pollux,
lie then prepared to aid his friend in a bolder and more
perilous attempt, the abduction of Proserpina from the
palace of Pluto; an attempt which resulted in the im-
prisonment of both by tho monarch of Hades. From
this confinement Theseus was released by Hercules;
but Pirithoiis remained ever a captive. (Vid. Piri-
thoiis. ) After the death of Antiopc, who had borne
him a son named Hippolytus, Theseus married Phae-
dra, the daughter of Minos, and sister of Ariadne.
Hippolytus lost his life in consequence of a false charge
preferred against him by his stepmother; Phcedra end-
ed her days by her own hand; and Theseus, when too
late, learned the innocence of his son. (Vid Hip-
polytus. )--The invasion of Attica by Castor and Pol-
lux, for the recovery of their sister Helen, and an in-
? ? surrection of the Pallantida:, brought on Theseus tho
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? ? 1 AE
THE
Tut spTa or TnKsr>/E, a town i Boeo ia, for. y
? adia from Ascra, according to Strauc, and near the
foot of Helicon, looking towards the south and the
Crisraan Gulf. Ita antiquity ia atteated by Homer,
who names it in the catalogue of Boeotian towns. (//. ,
S, 498. ) The Thespians are worthy of a place in his-
tory for their brave and generous conduct during the
Persian war. Wheri the rest of Bceotia basely sub-
mitted to Xerxes, they alone refused to tender earth
and water to his deputies. The troops also under Le-
onidas, whom they sent to aid the Spartans at Ther-
mopylae, chose rather to die at their posts than desert
. heir commander and his heroic followers. (Herod. ,
7,132 el 222.
382, and received the first rudiments of education un-
der Alcippus, in his own country, after which he was
sent by his father, who was a wealthy man, to Athens,
and there became a disciple of Plato, and, after bis
death, of Aristotle. Under these eminent masters,
blessed by nature with a genius capable of excelling in
every liberal accomplishment, he made great progress
both in philosophy and eloquence. It was on account
of his high attainments in the latter that, instead of
Tjrrtamus, his original name, he was called, as some
say, by his master, but more probably by his own fol-
lowers, Euphrastus (" the fine speaker"), and subse-
quently Theophrastus (" the divine speaker"). When
be undertook the charge of the Peripatetic school, he
conducted it with such high reputation that he had
abcut two thousand scholars; among whom were
Nicomachns, the son of Aristotle, whom his father had
intrusted hy will to his charge; Erasistratus, a cele-
brated physician; and Demetrius Phalercus, who re-
sided with hirn in the same house. His erudition and
eloquence, united with engaging manners, recom-
mended him to the notice of Cassander, and also of
Ptolemy, who invited him to visit Egypt. So great a
favourite was he among the Athenians, that, when one
of his enemies accused him of teaching impious doc-
trines, the accuser himself escaped with difficulty the
punishment which he endeavoured to bring upon Theo-
phrastus. --Under tho archonship of Xenippus, B. C.
305, Sophocles, the son of Amphiclidcs, obtained a
decree (upon what grounds we are not informed), ma-
king it a capital offence for any philosopher to open a
public school without an express license from the sen-
ate. Upon this all the philosophers left the city. But
the next year, the person who had proposed the law-
was himself lined five talents, and the philosophers re-
turned with great public applause to their respective
schools. Theophrastus, who had suffered, with his
brethren, the persecution inflicted by this oppressive
decree, shared the honour of the restoration, and con-
tinued his debates and instructions in the Lyceum. --
? ? Theophrastus is highly celebrated for his industry,
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? THE
THEOrOMPUS.
I" Twenty four looks oj Laws, in Alphabetical or-
der")-; and the third, Tleol No/iofleruv (" Of Legisla-
tors"), in four books. Slobaeus cites a fragment of
the first work. Athenseus mentions other works also
of Theophrastus, 01 Flattery, Pleasure, Happiness,
&c, which are now lost. --Independently, however,
of hi* metaphysical, ethical, and political speculations,
Theophrastus also turned hia attention to Mineralogy
and Botany. As the philosopher of Stagira is the
father of Zoology, so is TheophraBtus to bo regarded
as the parent of Botany. His vegetable physiology
contains some very just arrangements: he had even a
glimpse of the sexual system in plants. --Of the nu-
merous works on natural history written by Theophras-
tus, the following alone remain: 1. Ilepl fvruv ioro-
piac (" On the History of Plants"), in ten, or, rather,
in nine books, for the ancients knew only nine, and the
pretended fragment of a tenth book, as found in the
manuscripts, is only a repetition of a passage in the
ninth. This history of plants is a complete system of
ancient botany. --2. llepi Qvtlkuv airtuv (" Of the
causes of Plants"), in ten books, of which only six
have come down to us. ft is a system of botanical
physiology. -- 3. Iltpt AiBuv {"Of Stones"). This
work proves that, after the time of Theophrastus,
mineralogy retrograded. --We have also other treatises
of his, on Odours, Winds, Prognostics of the Weather,
<kc, and various fragments of works in natural his-
tory, on Animals that change Colour, on Bees, dec.
All these fragments have been preserved for us by
Photius. --The best edition of the works of Theo-
phrastus is that of Schneider, Lips. , 1818-1821, 5
vols. 8vo. The treatise on Stones has been translated
into English by Sir John Hill, and is accompanied by
very useful notes, Lond , 1777, 8vo. The best edi-
tions of the "Characters" are, that of Casaubon, L.
Bat. , 1592, 8vo; that of Fischer, Coburg, 1763, 8vo;
and that of Ast, Lips. , 1816, 8vo. This last, criti-
cally speaking, is perhaps the best.
Tiibophylactus, I. Siiiocatta, a Byzantine histo-
rian. His history of the reign of the Emperor Mau-
rice is comprehended in eight books, and terminates
with the massacre of this prince and his children by
Phocas. Casaubon considers this writer one of the
best of the later Greek historians. He wrote also
other works, some of which have reached us. The
i. i -i edition nf his history is that of Fabrotti, Paris,
1648, fol. The best edition or his Physical Questions
and Epistles is that of Boissonade, Paris, 1835, 8vo.
--II. One of the Greek fathers, who flourished AD.
1070. Dupin observes that his Commentaries are
Tery useful for the literal explanation of the Scrip-
tures; and Dr. Larduer remarks that he quotes no
forged writings or apocryphal books of the New Tes-
tament, many of which he excludes by his observa-
tions on John, 1, 31-34, that Christ wrought no mira-
cle in his infancy, or before the time of his public
ministry. His works were edited at Venice, 4 vols. ,
175410 1763.
TitEoi'di. is, a name given to Antioch because the
Christians first received their name there.
Theopompus, I. a king of Sparta, of the family of the
Proclidae, who distinguished himself by the many new
regulations he introduced. He died after a long and
peaceful reign, B. C. 723. --II. A Greek historian, a na-
ive of Chios, born about B. C. 360. His father, Dam-
>>istratU3, became an object of strong dislike to his fel-
? ? low-citizens on account of his attachment to Sparta,
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? THE
TH E
vol. 3, p. 135-170. In 1829, the first comp ele edi-
tion of ill the fragments appeared from the Leyden
press, with notes, a life of Theopompus, &c, by
Wichers, 8vo. (SchSU, Hist. Lit. Gr. , vol. 2, p. 179.
--Hoffmann, Lex. Bibliograph. , vol. 3, p. 743. )
Thera, the most celebrated of the Sporades, situ-
ate, according to Strabo, about seven hundred stadia
from the Cretan coast, in a northeast direction, and
nearly two hundred stadia in circumference. (Strab. ,
484. ) The modern name is Santorin. This island
was said by mycologists to have been formed in the
sea by a clod of earth thrown from the ship Argo, and
on its first appearance obtained the name of Calliste.
{Plin. , 4, 12. ) It was first occupied by some Phoeni-
cians, but subsequently colonized by the Lacedaemo-
nians, who settled there the descendants of the Minyae,
after they had been expelled from Lcmnos by the Pe-
lasgi. The colony was headed by Thcras, a descend-
ant of Cadmus, and maternal uncle of Eurysthcnes
and Proclus; he gave his name to the island. (He-
rod, 4, 147. -- Pausan. , 3, 1. -- Callim. , ap. Strab. ,
347. ) Several generations after this event, a colony
was led into Africa by Battus, a descendant of the
Minyae, who there founded the city of Cyrene. (He-
rod. , 4, 150. --Pind. , Pyth. , 4, 10. ) Thera appears
to have been produced by the action of submarine
fires. (Cramer's Anc. Greece, vol. 3, p. 412, seqq. )
"Abundant proofs are not wanting," observes Malte-
Brun, " as to the existence of an ancient volcano, the
crater of which occupied all the basin between Santo-
rin and the smaller islands of the group: the mouth
of the crater has been partly overthrown, and the aper-
ture enclosed by the accumulation of dust and ashes.
The lava, the ashes, and pumice-stone discharged
from that volcano have covered part of Thera (Mem.
de Trctoux, 1715), but the greater portion, which con-
sists of a large bed of fine marble, has never been in
any way changed by the action of volcanic fire. (Tour-
tufort, vol. 1, p. 321. ) Thera is not now, however,
covered with ashes and pumice-stones; it is fertile in
corn, and produces strong wine and cotton, the latter
of which is not, as in the other islands, planted every
year. The population amounts to about 10,000, and
? II the inhabitants are Greeks. " (Maltc-Brun, Geogr. ,
vol. 6, p. 169. )
Theramknes, a pupil of Socrates, and afterward
one of the Athenian generals along with Alcibiades
and Thra3ybulus. He was appointed by the Lacedae-
monians one of the thirty tyrants; but the moderation
of his views giving offence to his colleagues, he was
condemned to drink hemlock. From the readiness
with which Theramenes attached himself tb whatever
party chanced to be uppermost, he was nicknamed 6
KoOopvoe, this being an appellation for a sort of san-
dal, not made right and left, as sandals usually were,
but being equally adapted to both feet. (Sititl ,s. r
K68opvot. --Blomf. in Mus. Crit. , vol. 2, p. 212. )
Therapn. e, I. a town cf Laconia, southeast of
Sparta, and near the Eurotas. It received its name
from Therapnae, daughter of Lelcx. Here were to be
seen the temple of Menelaus, and his tomb, as well as
that of Helen. Here also was the temple of Pollux,
and both this deity and his brother were said to have
been born here. Pindar has often connected Therap
nse with the mention of theTyndaridae. (Pind , lath. ,
1, 42. --Id. , Pyth, II, 95-- Id, Nem. , 10, 106. )
Therapnae probably corresponds with the village of
? ? Chrysapha, about two miles to the southeast of the
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? THERMOPYL. E.
THERMOPYL^F
ne>>r at hand, and also one little less respected among
many of the Dorian states, especially at Sparta, that
of the Carnean Apollo, which lasted nine days. The
danger of Greece did not seem so pressing as to re-
quire that these sacred games, so intimately connect-
ed with so many purposes of pleasure, business, and
religion, should be suspended. And it was thought
sufficient to send forward a small force, to bar the
progress of the enemv until they should leave the Gre-
cian world at leisure for action. That the northern
Greeks might be assured that, notwithstanding this
delay, Sparta did not mean to abandon them, the little
band that was to precede the whole force of the con-
federates was placed under the command of her king
Leonidas. It was composed of only 300 Spartans, at-
tended by a body of Helots whose numbers are not
recorded, 500 men from Tegea, and as many from
Mantinea, 120 from the Arcadian Orchomenus, and
1000 from the rest of Arcadia. Corinth armed 400,
Phlius 200, and Mycenae 80. Messengers were sent
to summon Phocis and the Locrians, whose territory
lay nearest to the post which was to be maintained,
to raise their whole force. "They were reminded
that the invader was not a god, but a mortal, liable, as
all human greatness, to a fall: and they were bidden
to take courage, for the sea was guarded by Athens
and . Egina, and the other maritime states, and the
troops now sent were only the forerunners of the
Peloponnesian army, which would speedily follow. "
Hearing this, the Phocians marched to Thermopylae
with 1000 men, and the Locrians of Opus with all the
force they could muster. On his arrival in Bceotia
Leonidas was joined by 700 Thespians, who were
zealous in the cause; but the disposition of Thebes
was strongly suspected; her leading men were known
to be friendly to the Persians; and Leonidas probably
believed that he should be counteracting their in-
trigues if he engaged the Thebans to take part in the
contest. He therefore called upon them for assist-
ance, and they sent 400 men with him; but, in the
opinion of Herodotus, this was a forced compliance,
which, if they had dared, they would willingly have
refused. With this army Leonidas marched to defend
Thermopylae against two millions of men. It was a
prevailing belief in later ages--one, perhaps, that be-
came current immediately after the death of Leonidas
--that when he sat out on his expedition he distinctly
foresaw its fatal issue. And Herodotus gives some
colour to the opinion by recording that he selected
his Spartan followers from among those who had sons
to leave behind them. Dut Plutarch imagined that,
before his departure, he and his little band solemnized
their own obsequies by funeral games in the presence
of their parents, and that it was on this occasion he
spoke of them as a small number to fight, but enough
to die. One fact destroys this fiction. Before his
arrival at Thermopylae he did not know of the path
over the mountain by which he might bo attacked in
the rear: the only danger he had before his eyes was
one which could not have shaken the courage of any
brave warrior, that of making t stand for a few days
against incessant attacks, but from small bodies, in a
narrow space, where h* would be favoured by the
ground. The whole pass shut in between the east-
ern promontory of GSta, called Callidromus, which
towers above it in rugged precipices, and the shore
of the Malian Gulf, is four or five miles in length; it
? ? is narrowest at either end, where the mountain is
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? THERMOPYLAE.
fcowover, stood their ground as before, or, if ever t) ay
^ave way and turned their backs, it was only to face
suddenly about and deal tenfold destruction on their
pursuers. Thrice during these fruitless assaults the
king was seen to start up from his throne in a trans-
port of fear or rage.
The combat lasted the whole
day: the slaughter of the barbarians was great; on
the side of the Greeks, a few Spartan lives were lost;
as to the rest, nothing is said. The next day the
attack was renewed with no better success: the bands
of the several cities that made up the Grecian army,
except the Phocians, who were employed as we have
seen, relieved each other at the post of honour; all
stood equally firm, and repelled the charge not less
vigorously than before. The confidence of Xerxes
was now changed to despondence and perplexity. --
The secret of the Anopcea could not long remain con-
cealed after it had become valuable. Many tongues,
perhaps, would have revealed it: two Greeks, a Ca-
rystian, and Corydallus of Anticyra, shared the re-
proach of this foul treachery; but, by the general opin-
ion, confirmed by the solemn sentence of the Am-
phictyonic council, which set a price upon his head,
Ephialtes, a Malian, was branded with the infamy of
having guided the barbarians round tho fatal path.
Xerxes, overjoyed at the discovery, ordered Hydarnes,
'. lie commander of the Ten Thousand, with his troops,
10 follow the traitor. They set out at nightfall: as
day was beginning to break, they gained the brow of
Callidromus, where the Phocians were posted: the
night was still, and the universal silence was first
broken by the trampling of the invaders on the leaves
with which the face of the woody mountain was
thickly strewed. The Phocians started from their
couches and ran to their arms. The Persians, who
had not expected to find an enemy on their way,
were equally surprised at the sight of an armed band,
and feared lest they might be Spartans; but when
Ephialtes had informed them of the truth, they pre-
pared to force a passage. Their arrows showered
jpon the Phocians, who, believing themselves the sole
object of attack, retreated to the highest peak of the
. 'idge, to sell their lives as dearly as they could. The
Persians, without turning aside to pursue them, kept
on their way, and descended towards Alpcnus. Mean-
while, deserters had brought intelligence of the ene-
my's motions lo the Grecian camp during the night,
and their report was confirmed at daybreak by the
sentinels who had been stationed on the heights, and
now came down with tho news that the barbarians
were crossing the ridge. Little time was left for de-
liberation: opinions were divided as to the course that
prudence prescribed or honour permitted. Leonidas
did not restrain, perhaps encouraged, those of the al-
lies who wished lo save themselves from the impend-
ing fate; but for himself and his Spartans he declared
his resolution of maintaining the post which Sparta
had assigned them to the last. All withdrew except
the Thespians and the Thebans. The Thespians re-
mained from choice, bent on sharing his glory and his
death. We should willingly believe the same of the
Thebans, if the event did not seem to prove that their
stay was the effect of compulsion. Herodotus says
that Leonidas, though he dismissed the rest because
their spirit shrank from danger, detained the Thebans
as hostages, because he knew them to be disaffected
to the cause of freedom; yet, as he was himself cer-
tain of perishing, it is equally difficult to understand
? ? why and how he put this violence on them; and Plu-
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? THERMOPYLAE.
THE
persevering stand in the post intrusted to them, not
ao an act of high and heroic devotion, but of simple
and indispensable duty. Their spirit spoke in the lines
inscribed upon the:r monument; which bade the passing
traveller tell their countrymen that they had fallen in
obedience to their laws. How their action was view-
ed at Sparta may be collected from a story which can-
not he separated from the recollection of this memora-
ble day. When the band of Leonidas was nearly en-
tlosed, two Spartans, Eurytus and Aristodemus, were
staying at Alpenus, having been forced to quit their
post by a disorder which nearly deprived them of sight.
When they heard the tidings, the one called for hia
arms, and made his helot guide him to the place of
combat, where he was left, and fell. But the other's
heart failed him, and he sue:1 his life. When he re-
turned to Sparta he was shunned like a pestilence: no
man would share the fire of his hearth with him, or
speak to him; and he was branded with the name of
"the trembler Aristodemus" (d rptaac 'Apiarodrifioc).
According to another account, both these Spartans bad
been despatched from the camp as messengers, and
there being sufficient time for both to return, Eurytus
did so, but Aristodemus lingered on the way. --The
Persians are said to have lost at Thermopylae 20,000
men: among them were several of royal blood. To
console himself for this loss, and to reap the utmost
advantage from his victory, Xerxes sent over to the
? fleet, which, having heard of the departure of the
Greeks, was now stationed on the northern coast of
Eubnea, and by public notice invited all who were
curious to see the chastisement he had indicted on
the men who had dared to defy his power. That he
had previously buried the greater part of his own
dead seems natural enough; and such an artifice, so
slightly differing from the universal practice of both
ancient and modern belligerents, scarcely deserved
Ihe name of a stratagem. He is said also to have
mutilated the body of Leonidas; and, as this was one
of the foremost which he found on a field that had
csst him so dear, we are not at liberty to reject the
tradition, because such ferocity was not consistent
with the respect usually paid by the Persians to a gal-
lant enemy. To cut off the head and right arm of
slain rebels was a Persian usage. (Plut. , Vil. Artax. ,
c. 13. --Strab. , 733. --Herod. . 7, 206, seqo--Thirl-
tealVs Hist, of Gr. , vol. 2, p. 282, seqq. )--According
to modern travellers, the warm springs at Thermopylae
are about half way between Bodonilza and Zeiloun.
They issue principally from two mouths at the foot of
the limestone precipices of (Eta. The temperature,
in the month of December, was found to be 111? of
Fahrenheit. Dr. Holland found it to be 103? or 104?
at the mouth of the fissures. The water is very transpa-
rent, but deposites a calcareous concretion (carbonate
of lime), which adheres to reeds and sticks, like the
waters of the Anio at Tivoli, and the sulphureous lake
between that place and Rome. A large extent of sur-
face is covered with this deposite. It is impregnated
with carbonic acid, lime, muriate of soda, and sulphur.
The ground about the springs yields a hollow sound
like that within the crater of the Solfaterra near Na-
ples. In some places Dr. Clarke observed cracks and
fissures filled with stagnant water, through which a
gaseous fluid was rising in large bubbles to the sur-
face, its foetid smell bespeaking it to be sulphureted
hydrogen. The springs are very copious, and imme-
? ? diately form several rapid Btreains running into the
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? THE
THESEUS
tte. i thi temples; hut, in revenge lor the excesses
commuted by the . Etolians at Dium and Dodona, de-
lated the statues, which amounted to more than two
thousand, set fire to the porcheB, and finally razed the
Buildings themselves to tne ground. They found also
in Thcrinus a quantity of arms, of which they selected
the most costly to carry away, but the greater part they
destroyed, to the number of 15,000 complete suits of
armour. In like manner, whatever was not worthy of
removal, was consumed in heaps before the camp. All
these facts attest the size and opulence of the place;
ot which, however, so little is known, that, with the
exception of Strabo and Polybius, its name occurs in
no ancient author. Philip subsequently made another
attack upon the town, and destroyed all that had been
spared before. (Polyb. , de virt. el ml, c. 11. )--Un-
der the Roman sway, when the national assemblies of
the . Etolians had ceased to be held, Thermus became
speedily forgotten in history. (Manner! , Geogr. , vol.
8, p. Ill--Cramer's Anc. Greece, vol. 2, p. 87. )
Thkrs. tniif. r, a son of Polynices and Argia. He was
one of the Epigoni, and, after the capture of Thebes,
received the city from the hands of his victorious fel-
low-chieftains. (Pausan. , 9, 8. --Heync, ad Apollod. ,
:i, 7, 4. ) At a subsequent period, when already ad-
vanced in years, he accompanied the Greeks to the
Trojan war, but was slain on the shores of Mysia by
Telcphus. (Diet. Orel. , 2, Z. --Hcyne,ad Virg. , Mn. ,
2, 261-- Find. , 01. , 2, 76. -- Schol. ad Ptnd. , I. e. )
Theesites, one of the Greeks in the army before
Troy. Homer describes him as equally deformed in
person and in mind. Such was his propensity to in-
dulge in contumelious language, that he could not ab-
stain from directing it against not only the chiefs of
the army, but even Agamemnon himself. He ulti-
mately fell by the hand of Achilles, while he was ridi-
culing the sorrow of that hero for the slain Penthesilea.
{Horn. , II. , 2, 212, teqq )
Tiik-riii. e, a patronymic given to the Athenians
from Theseus, one of their kings. (Virg. , G. , 2,383 )
Theseus (two syllables), king of Athens, and son
jl -Egeus by . Ethra, the daughter of Pittheus, mon-
arch of Trezcnc, was one of the most celebrated he-
roes of antiquity. He was reared in the palace of his
grandfather; and, when grown to the proper age, his
mother led him to the rock under which his father had
deposited his sword and sandals, and he removed it
with ease and took them out. He was now to pro-
ceed to Athens, and present himself to . Egeus. As,
however, the roads were infested by robbers, his grand-
father Pittheus pressed him earnestly to take the
shorter and safer way over the Saronic Gulf; but the
youth, feeling in himself the spirit and the soul of a
hero, resolved to signalize himself like Hercules, with
whose fame all Greece now rang, by destroying the
evil-doers and the monsters that oppressed and ravaged
the country; and he determined on the more perilous
and adventurous journey by land. On his way to
Athens he met with many adventures, and destroyed
Periphates, Sinis, Sciron, Procrustes, and also the
monstrous sow Phaea, which ravaged the country in
the neighbourhood of Crommyon. Having overcome
all the perils of the road, Theseus at length reached
Athens, where new dangers awaited him. He found
his father's court all in confusion. The Pallantidae, or
sons and grandsons of Pallas, the brother of -Egeus,
had long seen with jealousy the sceptre in the hands
? ? of an old man, and now meditated wresting it from his
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? THESEUS.
THE
we read, he found no difficulty; but the powerful men
were only induced to comply with hi* proposals by his
promise that all should be admitted to an equal share
of the government, and that he would resign all his
royal prerogatives except those of commanding in war
and of watching over the laws. To the nobles, there-
fore, he reserved all the offices of slate, with the privi-
lege of ordering the affairs of religion, and of inter-
preting the laws both human and divine. The result
if itose and other regulations was the increase of the
'. it; and of the population in general. Thucydides
dxca on this as the epoch when the lower city was
added to the ancient one, which had covered, as we
have remarked, little more than the rock that afterward
became the citadel. And hence there may seem to
have been some foundation for Plutarch's statement,
that Theseus called the city Athens, if this name prop-
erly tigrii. ij. i he whole enclosure of the Old and New
Town. -- As a farther means of uniting the people,
Theseus established numerous festivals, particularly
the Panathenrea, solemnized with great splendour ev-
ery fifth year, in commemoration of this union of the
inhabitants of Attica. Theseus firmly established the
boundaries of the Attic territory, in which he inclu-
ded Mcgaris, ana set up a pillar on the Isthmus of
Corinth to mark the limits of Attica and the Pelopon-
nesus. These civic cares did not prevent Theseus
from taking part in military enterprises: he accompa-
nied Hercules in his expedition against the Amazons,
who then dwelt on the banks of the Thermodon; and
he distinguished himself so much in the conflict, that
Hercules, after the victory, bestowed on him, as the
reward of his valour, the hand of the vanquished queen.
(Vid. Antiopc. ) When the Amazons afterward, in
revenge, invaded the Attic territory, they met with a
signal defeat from the Athenian prince. (Vid. Ama-
zor. es. ) Theseus was also a sharer in the dangers of
the Calydonian hunt; he was one of the adventurous
bar. j who sailed in the Argo to Colchis; and he aided
Lis friend Pirithoiis and the Lapithaa in their conflict
with the Centaurs. The friendship between him and
Pirithoiis was of a most intimate nature, yet it had ori-
ginated in the midst of arms. (Vid. Pirithoiis. ) Like
faithful comrades, they aided each other in every pro-
ject. Each was ambitious in love, and would possess
a daughter of the geds. Theseus, in whoso favour
the lot had fa. len, carried off, with the assistance of
his friend, the ce,abrated Helen, daughter of I. eda,
then a child of but nine years, though already of sur-
passing loveliness, and placed her under the care of his
mother /rjthra, at Aphidnee, whence she was subse-
quently rescued by her brothers Castor and Pollux,
lie then prepared to aid his friend in a bolder and more
perilous attempt, the abduction of Proserpina from the
palace of Pluto; an attempt which resulted in the im-
prisonment of both by tho monarch of Hades. From
this confinement Theseus was released by Hercules;
but Pirithoiis remained ever a captive. (Vid. Piri-
thoiis. ) After the death of Antiopc, who had borne
him a son named Hippolytus, Theseus married Phae-
dra, the daughter of Minos, and sister of Ariadne.
Hippolytus lost his life in consequence of a false charge
preferred against him by his stepmother; Phcedra end-
ed her days by her own hand; and Theseus, when too
late, learned the innocence of his son. (Vid Hip-
polytus. )--The invasion of Attica by Castor and Pol-
lux, for the recovery of their sister Helen, and an in-
? ? surrection of the Pallantida:, brought on Theseus tho
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? ? 1 AE
THE
Tut spTa or TnKsr>/E, a town i Boeo ia, for. y
? adia from Ascra, according to Strauc, and near the
foot of Helicon, looking towards the south and the
Crisraan Gulf. Ita antiquity ia atteated by Homer,
who names it in the catalogue of Boeotian towns. (//. ,
S, 498. ) The Thespians are worthy of a place in his-
tory for their brave and generous conduct during the
Persian war. Wheri the rest of Bceotia basely sub-
mitted to Xerxes, they alone refused to tender earth
and water to his deputies. The troops also under Le-
onidas, whom they sent to aid the Spartans at Ther-
mopylae, chose rather to die at their posts than desert
. heir commander and his heroic followers. (Herod. ,
7,132 el 222.
