But this expedition also failed; the Persian
fleet was destroyed in the battles of Artemisium and
Salamis; and the land forces were entirely defeated
in the following year, B.
fleet was destroyed in the battles of Artemisium and
Salamis; and the land forces were entirely defeated
in the following year, B.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
rct.
, 3, 1050.
)
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? HEL
HELIOGABALUS
>>0! crver Villemain, "that Heliodorus, when he wrote
tiie work, was at least initiated in Christian senti-
ments. This is felt by a kind of moral purity which
:ontrasts strongly with the habitual license of the
Greek fables; and the style even, as the learned Coray
remarks, contains many expressions familiar to the ec-
clesiastical writers. This styie is pure, polished, sym-
metrical; and the language of love receives a charac-
ter f. delicacy and reserve, which is very rare among
ifce writers of antiquity. " It must not be disguised,
wwever, that Huet, a courtier of Louis XIV. , and the
contemporary and admirer of Mademoiselle de Scu-
dery, judged after the models of romance which were
fashionable in his own century. Poetry, battles, cap-
tivities, and recognitions fill up the piece; there is no
picture of the mind, no history of the character carried
on with the development of the action. The incidents
point to no particular era of society, although the learn-
ed in history may perceive, from the tone of sentiment
throughout, that the struggle had commenced between
the pure and lofty spirit of Christianity and the gross-
ness of pagan idolatry. Egypt, as Yillcmain remarks,
is neither ancient Egypt, nor the Egypt of the Ptole-
mies, nor the Egypt of the Romans. Athens is nei-
ther Athens free nor Athens conquered: in short,
there is no individuality either in the places or persons;
and the vague pictures of the French romances of the
seventeenth century give scarcely a caricatured idea
of the model from which they were drawn. --It may
not be amiss to mention here an incident relative to
the post Racine and the work of Heliodorus which we
have been considering. When Racine was at Port
Royal learning Greek, his imagination almost smoth-
ered to death by the dry erudition of the pious fathers,
he laid hold instinctively on the romance of Heliodo-
rus, as the only prop by which he might be preserved
for his high destiny, even then, perhaps, shadowed dim-
Ij forth in his youthful mind. A tale of love, how-
ever, surprised in the hands of a Christian boy, filled
his instructed with horror, and the book was seized
and thrown into the fire. Another and another copy
met the same fate; and poor Racine, thus excluded
from the benefits of the common typographical art,
printed the romance on his memory. A first love, woo-
ed by steaith, and won in difficulty and danger, is always
among the last to loose her hold on the affections; and
Racine, in riper age, often fondly recurred to his for-
bidden studies at Port Royal. From early youth, his
son tells us, he had conceived an extraordinary pas-
sion for Heliodorus; he admired both his style and
tl* wonderful art with which the fable is conducted.
--In the ecclesiastical history of Nicephorus Calistus,
a story is told of Heliodorus, which, if true, would ex-
hibit, on the part of the Thessalian church, somewhat
of the fanatical spirit which in Scotland expelled Home
from the administration of the altar. Some young
persons having fallen into peril through the reading of
such works, it was ordered by the provincial council,
that all books whose tendency it might be to incite the
r- ? ? ? ? ? generation to love, should be burned, and their
authors, if ecclesiastics, deprived of their dignities.
Heliodorus, rejecting the alternative which was offered
him o( suppressing his romance, lost his bishopric.
This story, however, is nothing more than a mere ro-
mance itself, as Bayle has shown, by proving that the
requisition to suppress it could neither have been given
nor refused at a lime when the work was spref 1 over
? ? ill Greece. (Foreign Quarterly Review, No. 9, p.
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? HEL
HEf,
? nddcn elevation, and the general profligacy of the
times. He surrounded himself with gladiators, actors,
and other base favourites, who made an unworthy use
of their influence. He married several wives, among
others a Vestal. The imperial palace became a scene
of debauch and open prostitution. Heliogabalus, being
attached to the superstitions of the East, raised a tem-
pi; on the Palatine Hill to the Syrian god whose name
he bcrc, and plundered the temples of the Roman gods
I? . 'nrich his own. He put to death many senators;
>>e established a senate of women, under the presidency
of his mother Soaemis, which body decided all questions
relative to female dresses, visits, precedences, amuse-
ments, &. c. He wore his pontifical vest as high-priest of
the Sun, with a rich tiara on his head. His grandmother
Mssa, seeing his folly, thought of conciliating the Ro-
mans by associating with him, as Cxsar, his younger
tousin, Alexander Severus, who soon became a favour-
ite with the peopb. Heliogabalus, who had consented
to the association, became afterward jealous of his
cousin, and wished to deprive him of his honours, but
he -ould not obtain the consent of the senate. His-
ncxi measure was to spread the report of Alexander's
death, v ch produced an insurrection among the pra-
torians. And Heliogabalus, having repaired to tho
camp to quell the mutiny, was murdered, together with
his mother and favourites, and his body was thrown
into the Tiber, A. D. 222. He was succeeded by
Alexander Severus. Heliogabalus was eighteen years
cf age at the time of his death, and had reigned three
years, nine months, and four days. (Lamprid. , Vit.
Heliogab. --llcrodian, 5, 3, seqq. --Dio Cass. , 78, 30,
"91--M-i ^9, 1, seqq. )
Heliopolis, a famous city of Egypt, situate a little
! o the east of the apex of the Delta, not far from mod-
ern Cairo. (Slrab. , 805. ) In Hebrew it is styled
On or Aun. (Well's Sacred Geography, s. v. --Ex-
curs. , 560. --Compare the remarks of Cellarius, Geog.
Antiq , vol. 1, p. 802. ) In the Septuagint it is call-
ed Hcliopolis ('HXidjroXif), or the city of the. Sun.
(Schleusner, Lex. Vet. Test. , vol. 2, p. 20, ed. Glasg.
--In Jeremiah, xliii. , 13, " Beth Shcmim," i. e. , Domus
Solis. ) Herodotus also mentions it by this name, and
speaks of its inhabitants as being the wisest and most
ingenious of all the Egyptians (2, 3. --Compare Nic.
Damasccnus, in Euscb. , Prap. Evang. , 9, 16). Ac-
cording to Berosus, this was the city of Moses. It
was, in fact, a place of resort for all the Creeks who
visited Egypt for instruction. Hither came Herodo-
tus, Plato, Eudoxus, and others, and imbibed much of
the learning which they afterward disseminated among
their own countrymen. Plato, in particular, resided
here three years. The city was built, according to
Strabo (I. c), on a long, artificial mound of earth, so
aa to be out of the reach of the inundations of the Nile.
It had an oracle of; Apollo, and a famous temple of
ihe Sun. In this temple was fed and adored the sa-
bred ox Mnevis, as Apis was at Memphis. This city
was laid waste with fire and sword by Cambyses, and
its college of priests all slaughtered. Strabo saw it
in a deserted state, and shorn of all its splendour.
Hcliopolis was famed also for its fountain of excellent
vtxr, wlsich still remains, and gave rise to the sub-
icquent Arabic name of the place, Am Shcms, or the
-ountain of the sun. The modem name is Matarea,
or cool water. For some valuable remarks on the site
of the ancient Hcliopolis, in opposition to Larchcr and
? ? Bryant, consult Clarke's Travels, vol. 5, pro:/. , xv. ,
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? HELLAS.
HELLAS
inclined to imagine that Homer did not assign to the
word 'EAAof so limited a signification as Thucyilides
supposed. But, whatever may be thought of the testi-
mony of Homer in regard to this question, we can
have no doubt as to the extension which the terms
'E? . ? . ac and 'EX&nvcc acquired in the time of Herodo-
tus, Scylax, and Thucydities. Scylax, whose age is
disputed, but of whom we may safely affirm that he
wrote about the time of the Peloponnesian war, in-
cludes under Hellas all the country situated south of
the Ambracian gulf and the Peneus. (Pcnpl. , p. 12,
it 26. ) Herodotus extends its limits still farther north,
by taking in Thesprotia (2, 56), or, at least, that part
of it which is south of the river Acheron (8,47). But
it is more usual to exclude Epirus from Gracia Pro-
pria, and to place its northwestern extremity at Am-
bracia, on the Ionian Sea, while Mount Homole, near
the mouth of the Peneus, was looked upon as forming
its boundary on the opposite side. This coincides
with the statement of Scylax, and also with that of
Dicsarchus in his descriptions of Greece (v. 31, segq. )
The name Gracia, whence that of Greece has de-
scended unto us, was given to this country by the
Romans. It comes from the Grffici, one of the an-
cient tribes of Epirus (Aristot. , Meteor. , 1. 11), who
never became of any historical importance, but whose
name must at some period have been extensively
spread on the western coast, since the inhabitants of
Italy appear to have known the country at first under
this name.
1. History of Greece from the earliest times to the
Trojan War.
The people whom we c. l Greeks (the Hellenes)
were not the earliest inhabitants of the country.
Among the names of the many tribes which are said
to have occupied the land pre\ ious to the Hellenes,
the most celebrated is that of the Pclusgi, who ap-
pear to have been settled in most parts of Greece, and
from whom a considerable part of the Greek popula-
tnn was probably descended. The Caucones, Le-
teges, and other barbarous tribes, who also inhabited
Greece, are all regarded by a modern writer (Tlrirlicall,
History of Greece, vol. 1, p. 32-61) as parts of the
Pslasgic nation. He remarks, " that the name Pelas-
gians was a general one, like that of Saxons, Franks,
or Akmanni, and that each of the Pelasgiau tribes had
also one peculiar to itself. " All these tribes, how-
ever, were obliged to submit to the power of the Hel-
lenes, who eventually spread over the greater part of
Greece Their original seat was, according to Aris-
totle (Meteor. , 1, 14), near Dodona, in Epirus, but they
first appeared in the south of Thessaly about B. C.
13S4, according to the received chronology. In ac-
cordance with the common method of the Greeks, of
inventing names to account for the origin of nations,
the Hellenes are represented as descended from Hel-
ta: who had three sons, Dorus, Xuthus, and . Eolus.
Achaeus and Ion are represented as the sons of Xu-
thus; and from these four, Dorus, . Eolus, AcIkeus, and
Ion, the Dorians, JEolians, Achaans, and Ionians were
descended, who formed the four tribes into which the
Hellenic nation was for many centuriesdivided, and who
were distinguished from each other by many peculiari-
ties in language and institutions. At the same time
that the Hellenic race was spreading itself over the
whole land, numerous colonies from the East are said to
have settled in Greece, and to their influence many wri-
? ? ters have attributed tb. 3 civilization of the inhabitants.
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? HELLAS.
HELLAS.
ted by & jealous aristocracy. Her territories were
i! so increased by the conquest of Tegea in Arcadia.
Athens only rose to importance in the century prece-
ding the Persian wars; but even in this period her
power was not more than a match for the little states
of Megaris and ^Egina. The city was long harassed
by intestine commotions till the time of Solon, B. C.
091, who was chosen by his fellow-citizens to frame
a n-w constitution and a new code of laws, to which
ntu:h cf the future greatness of Athens must be as-
cribed. We have already seen that the kingly form
>>f government was prevalent in the Heroic Age. But,
during the period that elapsed between the Trojan
war and the Persian invasion, hereditary political pow-
er was abolished in almost all the Greek states, with
the exception of Sparta, and a republican form of
government established in its stead. In studying
the history of the Greeks, we must bear in mind
that almost every city formed an independent state,
and that, with the exception of Athens and Sparta,
which exacted obedience from tho other towns of At-
tica and Laconia respectively, there was hardly any
state which possessed more than a few miles of terri-
tory. Frequent wars between each other were the
almost unavoidable consequence of tho existence of
so many small states nearly equal in power. The
evils which arose from this state of things were partly
remedied by the influence of the Amphictyonic coun-
cil, and by the religious games and festivals which
were held at stated periods in different parts of Greece,
and during the celebration of which no wars were car-
ried on. In the sixth century before the Christian
ora Greece rapidly advanced in knowledge and civili-
sation. Literature and the fine arts were already cul-
tivated in Athens under the auspices of Pisistratus
and his sons; and the products of remote countries
were introduced into Greece by tho merchants of Cor-
inth and . 'Emilia.
3. From the Commencement of the Persian Wars to the
Death of Philip of Macedon, B. C. 336.
This was the most splendid period of Grecian histo-
>jf. The Greeks, in their resistance to tho Persians,
<<nd the part they took in the burning of Sardis, B. C.
199, drew upon them the vengeance of Darius. After
the reduction of the Asiatic Greeks, a Persian army
was sent into Attica, but was entirely defeated at
Marathon, B. C. 490, by the Athenians under Miltia-
des. Ten years afterward the wholo power of the
Persian empire was directed against Greece; an im-
mense army, led in person by Xerxes, advanced as far
as Attica, and received the submission of almost alt
the Grecian states, with the exception of Athens and
Sparta.
But this expedition also failed; the Persian
fleet was destroyed in the battles of Artemisium and
Salamis; and the land forces were entirely defeated
in the following year, B. C. 479, at Platxa in Bceotia.
Sparta had, previous to the Persian invasion, been
regarded by the other Greeks as the first power in
Greece, and accordingly she obtained the supreme
command of the army and fleet in the Persian war.
But, during the course of this war, the Athenians had
made greater sacrifices and had shown a greater de-
Zioa of courage and patriotism. After the battle of
Platiea a confederacy was formed by the Grecian
states fir carrying on the war against the Persians.
Sparta was at first placed at the head of it; but the
allies, disgusted with the tyranny of Pausanias, the
? ? Spartan commander, gave the supremacy to Athens.
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? HEt
HEI
Vance with the Theb>>n>> for the purpose of resisting
Philip; but their defeat at Charonea, B. C. 388, se-
cured for the Macedonian king the supremacy of
Greece. In the same year a congress of Grecian
states was held at Corinth, in which Philip was chosen
generalissimo of the Greeks in a projected war against
the Persian empire; but his assassination in B. C. 336
caused this enterprise to devolve on his son Alexander.
4. From the Accession of Alexander the Great to the
Roman Conquest, B. C. 146.
The conquests of Alexander extended the Grecian
influence over the greater part of Asia west of the In-
dus. After his death tho dominion of the East was
contested by his generals, and two powerful empires
were permanently established; that of the Ptolemies
in Egypt and the Seleucidae in Syria. The dominions
of the early Syrian kings embraced the greater part of
western Asia; but their empire was soon divided into
various independent kingdoms, such as thatofBactria,
Pergamus, dec, in all of which the Greek language
was spoken, not merely at court, but to a considera-
ble extent in the cities. From the death of Alexander
to the Roman conquest, Macedon remained the ruling
power in Greece. The -Etolian and Acha-an leagues
were formed, the former B. C. 284, the latter B. C.
381, for the purpose of resisting the Macedonian
kings. Macedonia was conquered by the Romans
B. C. 197, and the Greek states declared independent.
This, however, was merely nominal; they only ex-
changed the rule of the Macedonian kings for that of
the Roman people; and in B. C. 146, Greece was re-
duced to the form of a Roman province, called Achaia,
though certain cities, such as Athens, Delphi, &c,
were allowed to have the rank of free towns. The
history of Greece, from this period, forms part of the
Roman empire. It was overrun by tho Goths in
A. D. 267. and again in A. D. 398, under Alaric; and,
after being occupied by the Crusaders and Venetians,
at last fell into the hands of the Turks, on the con-
quest of Constantinople; from whom, with the excep-
tion of Macedonia, Thessaly, and Epirus, it is now
again liberated. (Encycl. Us. Knoicl. , vol. 12, p. 426,
"91)
Helle, a daughter of Athamas and Nephele, sister
to Phrixus. She and her brother Phrixus, in order
to avoid the cruel persecution of their stepmother Ino,
Bed from Thessaly on tho back of a golden fleeced ram,
which transported them through tho air. They pro-
ceeded safely till they came to the sea between the
promontory of Sigasum and the Chersonese, into which
Helle fell, and it was named from her Hellcspontus
(Helle's Sea). Phrixus proceeded on his way to Col-
chis. (Vid. Athamas, ArgonauUe, Phrixus. ) The
tomb of Helle was placed, according to Herodotus, on
the shores of the Chersonese, near Cardia. (Herod. ,
7, 58. )
Helle. v, the fabled son of Deucalion and Pyrrha,
and progenitor of the Hellenic race. (Vid. Hellas, v
1, History of Greece, from the earliest times to the
Trojan tear-)
Hellenes CEXkijvec), the general name of the Gre-
cian race. It was first borne by the tribes that came
in from the north, at an early period, and eventually
spread themselves over the whole of Greece. Their
eriginal seat was, according to Aristotle (Meteor. , 1,
14). near Dodona, in Epirus; but they first appeared
in the south of Thessaly, about B. C. 1384, according
? ? to the common chronology. (Vid. Hellas, Y 1, His-
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? HEL
HELOTS.
referring either to the noise of its waters in the numer-
ous caverns found along its banks, or to the laments
occasioned "ny its inundations of the neighbourhood.
(Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 10, pt. 2, p. 340)--II. A town
of Sicily, near the mouth of the river Helorus. (Sleph.
By:. , s. v. 'Ehjfioc. ) Pliny speaks of it, however, as
a mere castle or fortified post, with a good fishery at-
tached to it. But it was, in truth, a very ancient city,
and very probably a place of some importance before
the arrival of the Greeks. The adjacent country was
very fertile and beautiful. Hence Ovid ((. c. ) speaks
of the " Helorian Tempo," and Diodorus Siculus (13,
]! )) of the 'EXupiov ireoVov, " Helorian plain. " Com-
pare alsr; Virgil (I. c), " Prapingue solum stagnantis
Helori. ' The remains of this city are called Muri
Uer. i.
Hblos, I. a town of Eaconia, on the left bank of the
Euiotas, and not far from the mouth of that river. It
was said to have owed its origin to Helius, the son of
Perseus. The inhabitants of this town, having re-
volted against the Dorians and Hcraclids, were re-
duced to slavery, and called Helots, which name was
afterward extended to the various people who were
held in bondage by the Spartans. (Pausan. , 3, 20. )
Ephorus, as cited by Strabo (3G4), makes Agis to have
reduced the Helots to subjection; but Pausanias (3,
2) speaks of a much later reduction of the place. To
reconcile the statements of these two writers, we must
suppose, that, at the subjugation of Helos by Agis,
about 200 years before, some of the inhabitants had
been suffered to remain, and that, at the time mention-
ed by Pausanias, they were finally destroyed or re-
moved. Helos itself remained to the time of Thu-
cydides (4, 54) and of Xenophon (Hist. Gr. , 6, 5, 32):
perhaps a fortress on the coast. (Clinton, Fasti Hel-
lenici, Id ed. , p. 405, note z. ) Polybius says (5, 19,
3; 20, 12), that the district of Helos was the most
extensive and fertile part of Laconia; but the coast
was marshy. In Strabo's time Helos was only a village,
and some years later Pausanias informs us it was in
ruins. In Lapic's map the vestiges of Helos are placed
at Tsyli, about five miles from the Eurotns, and Sir
W. Gcll observes that the marsh of Helos is to the
iast of the mouth of that river. (Gcll's Ilin. of the
Morea, a J33. --Cramer's Ancient Greece, vol. 3, p.
193. tljj. )
Kfi. uivk (EiXurai), and Hei. otes (EiXurec), the
Helots or bondsmen of the Spartans. The common
account, observes Mtiller (Dorians, vol. 2, p. 30, Eng.
trans. --Vol. 2, p. 33, German work), of the origin of
this class is, that the inhabitants of the maritime town
of Helos were reduced by Sparta to this state of deg-
radation, after an insurrection against the Dorians al-
ready established in power. This explanation, how-
ever, rests merely on an etymology, and that by no
means probable, since such a Gentile name as ElXuc
(which seems to be the more ancient form) cannot by
any method of formation have been derived from 'Ekoc.
The word EZAoc is probably a derivative from "EAu in
a passive sense, and consequently means "a prisoner. "
This derivation was known in ancient times. (Com-
pare Schol. , Plat. , Alcib. , 1. p. 78, and Lennep, Ely-
mol, p. 257. ) Perhaps the word signifies those who
were taken after having resisted to the uttermost. It
appears to me, however, that they were an aboriginal
race, which was subdued at a very early period, and
whirh immediately passed over as slaves to the Doric
? ? conquerors. In speaking of the condition of the He-
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? HELOT. E.
HEI. OT7E.
3n the Messer. ian war, drew a very dark picture of
Sparta, and endeavoured at the end to rouse the feel-
ings of Ms readers by a description of the fate which
the conquered underwent. "The Helots," says he
(ay. Alhen. , 14, p. 657, Z>. )> " perform for the Spartans
every ignominious service. They are compelled to
wear a cap of dog's skin (kwtj), to have a covering of
sheep's skin (difSipa), and are severely beaten every
year without having committed any fault, in order that
they may never forget they are slaves. In addition to
this, those among them who, either by their stature
or their beauty, raise themselves above the condition
of a slave, are condemned to death, and the masters
who do not destroy the most manly of them are liable
to punishment. " The partiality and ignorance of this
writer are evident from his very first statement. The
Helots wore the leathern cap with a broad band, and
the covering of sheep's skin, simply because it was the
original dress of the natives, which, moreover, the Ar-
cadians had retained from ancient usage. (Sophocles,
Inachus, up. Schol. , Aristopk. , av. 1203. --Valck. , ad
Tkeocrit. Adoniax. , p. 345. ) Laertes, the father of
Ulysses, when he assumed the character of a peasant,
is also represented as wearing a cap of goat's skin.
i'. '? /, 21, 230. ) The truth is, that the ancients made
a distinction between town and country costume.
Hence, when the tyrants of Sicyon wished to accustom
the unemployed people, whose numbers they dreaded,
to a country life, they forced them to wear the (car-
wax? , which had underneath a lining of fur. {Pollux,
7,4, 68. ) Thus also Theognis describes the country-
men of Megara as clothed with dressed skins, and
dwelling around the town like frightened deer. The
diphlhera of the Helots, therefore, signified nothing
more humiliating and degrading than their employment
in agiicultural labour. Now, since Myron purposely
misrepresented this circumstance, it Is very probable
that his other objections are founded in error; nor can
misrepresentations of this political state, which was
unknown to the later Greeks, and particularly to wri-
ters, have been uncommon. Plutarch, for example,
relates that the Helots were compelled to intoxicate
themselves, and to perform indecent dances, as a
warning to the Spartan youth; but common sense is
opposed to so absurd a mode of education. Is it pos-
sible hit the Spartans should have so degraded the
men vrhom they appointed as tutors over their chil-
dren! Female Helots also discharged the office of
uarsc in the royal palaces, and doubtless obtained all
the affection with which the attendants of early youth
were honoured in ancient times. It is, however, cer-
tain that the Doric laws did not bind servants to strict
temperance; and hence examples of drunkenness
among them might have served as a means of recom-
mending sobriety. It was also an established regula-
tion, that the national songs and dances of Sparta were
forbidden to the Helots, who, on the other hand, had
some extravagant and lascivious dances peculiar to
themselves, which may have given rise to the above
report. But are we not labouring in vain to soften the
sad impression of Myron's account, since the fearful
word erypteia. is of itself sufficient to show the un-
happy fate of the Helots and the cruelty of their mas-
ten!
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? HEL
HELIOGABALUS
>>0! crver Villemain, "that Heliodorus, when he wrote
tiie work, was at least initiated in Christian senti-
ments. This is felt by a kind of moral purity which
:ontrasts strongly with the habitual license of the
Greek fables; and the style even, as the learned Coray
remarks, contains many expressions familiar to the ec-
clesiastical writers. This styie is pure, polished, sym-
metrical; and the language of love receives a charac-
ter f. delicacy and reserve, which is very rare among
ifce writers of antiquity. " It must not be disguised,
wwever, that Huet, a courtier of Louis XIV. , and the
contemporary and admirer of Mademoiselle de Scu-
dery, judged after the models of romance which were
fashionable in his own century. Poetry, battles, cap-
tivities, and recognitions fill up the piece; there is no
picture of the mind, no history of the character carried
on with the development of the action. The incidents
point to no particular era of society, although the learn-
ed in history may perceive, from the tone of sentiment
throughout, that the struggle had commenced between
the pure and lofty spirit of Christianity and the gross-
ness of pagan idolatry. Egypt, as Yillcmain remarks,
is neither ancient Egypt, nor the Egypt of the Ptole-
mies, nor the Egypt of the Romans. Athens is nei-
ther Athens free nor Athens conquered: in short,
there is no individuality either in the places or persons;
and the vague pictures of the French romances of the
seventeenth century give scarcely a caricatured idea
of the model from which they were drawn. --It may
not be amiss to mention here an incident relative to
the post Racine and the work of Heliodorus which we
have been considering. When Racine was at Port
Royal learning Greek, his imagination almost smoth-
ered to death by the dry erudition of the pious fathers,
he laid hold instinctively on the romance of Heliodo-
rus, as the only prop by which he might be preserved
for his high destiny, even then, perhaps, shadowed dim-
Ij forth in his youthful mind. A tale of love, how-
ever, surprised in the hands of a Christian boy, filled
his instructed with horror, and the book was seized
and thrown into the fire. Another and another copy
met the same fate; and poor Racine, thus excluded
from the benefits of the common typographical art,
printed the romance on his memory. A first love, woo-
ed by steaith, and won in difficulty and danger, is always
among the last to loose her hold on the affections; and
Racine, in riper age, often fondly recurred to his for-
bidden studies at Port Royal. From early youth, his
son tells us, he had conceived an extraordinary pas-
sion for Heliodorus; he admired both his style and
tl* wonderful art with which the fable is conducted.
--In the ecclesiastical history of Nicephorus Calistus,
a story is told of Heliodorus, which, if true, would ex-
hibit, on the part of the Thessalian church, somewhat
of the fanatical spirit which in Scotland expelled Home
from the administration of the altar. Some young
persons having fallen into peril through the reading of
such works, it was ordered by the provincial council,
that all books whose tendency it might be to incite the
r- ? ? ? ? ? generation to love, should be burned, and their
authors, if ecclesiastics, deprived of their dignities.
Heliodorus, rejecting the alternative which was offered
him o( suppressing his romance, lost his bishopric.
This story, however, is nothing more than a mere ro-
mance itself, as Bayle has shown, by proving that the
requisition to suppress it could neither have been given
nor refused at a lime when the work was spref 1 over
? ? ill Greece. (Foreign Quarterly Review, No. 9, p.
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? HEL
HEf,
? nddcn elevation, and the general profligacy of the
times. He surrounded himself with gladiators, actors,
and other base favourites, who made an unworthy use
of their influence. He married several wives, among
others a Vestal. The imperial palace became a scene
of debauch and open prostitution. Heliogabalus, being
attached to the superstitions of the East, raised a tem-
pi; on the Palatine Hill to the Syrian god whose name
he bcrc, and plundered the temples of the Roman gods
I? . 'nrich his own. He put to death many senators;
>>e established a senate of women, under the presidency
of his mother Soaemis, which body decided all questions
relative to female dresses, visits, precedences, amuse-
ments, &. c. He wore his pontifical vest as high-priest of
the Sun, with a rich tiara on his head. His grandmother
Mssa, seeing his folly, thought of conciliating the Ro-
mans by associating with him, as Cxsar, his younger
tousin, Alexander Severus, who soon became a favour-
ite with the peopb. Heliogabalus, who had consented
to the association, became afterward jealous of his
cousin, and wished to deprive him of his honours, but
he -ould not obtain the consent of the senate. His-
ncxi measure was to spread the report of Alexander's
death, v ch produced an insurrection among the pra-
torians. And Heliogabalus, having repaired to tho
camp to quell the mutiny, was murdered, together with
his mother and favourites, and his body was thrown
into the Tiber, A. D. 222. He was succeeded by
Alexander Severus. Heliogabalus was eighteen years
cf age at the time of his death, and had reigned three
years, nine months, and four days. (Lamprid. , Vit.
Heliogab. --llcrodian, 5, 3, seqq. --Dio Cass. , 78, 30,
"91--M-i ^9, 1, seqq. )
Heliopolis, a famous city of Egypt, situate a little
! o the east of the apex of the Delta, not far from mod-
ern Cairo. (Slrab. , 805. ) In Hebrew it is styled
On or Aun. (Well's Sacred Geography, s. v. --Ex-
curs. , 560. --Compare the remarks of Cellarius, Geog.
Antiq , vol. 1, p. 802. ) In the Septuagint it is call-
ed Hcliopolis ('HXidjroXif), or the city of the. Sun.
(Schleusner, Lex. Vet. Test. , vol. 2, p. 20, ed. Glasg.
--In Jeremiah, xliii. , 13, " Beth Shcmim," i. e. , Domus
Solis. ) Herodotus also mentions it by this name, and
speaks of its inhabitants as being the wisest and most
ingenious of all the Egyptians (2, 3. --Compare Nic.
Damasccnus, in Euscb. , Prap. Evang. , 9, 16). Ac-
cording to Berosus, this was the city of Moses. It
was, in fact, a place of resort for all the Creeks who
visited Egypt for instruction. Hither came Herodo-
tus, Plato, Eudoxus, and others, and imbibed much of
the learning which they afterward disseminated among
their own countrymen. Plato, in particular, resided
here three years. The city was built, according to
Strabo (I. c), on a long, artificial mound of earth, so
aa to be out of the reach of the inundations of the Nile.
It had an oracle of; Apollo, and a famous temple of
ihe Sun. In this temple was fed and adored the sa-
bred ox Mnevis, as Apis was at Memphis. This city
was laid waste with fire and sword by Cambyses, and
its college of priests all slaughtered. Strabo saw it
in a deserted state, and shorn of all its splendour.
Hcliopolis was famed also for its fountain of excellent
vtxr, wlsich still remains, and gave rise to the sub-
icquent Arabic name of the place, Am Shcms, or the
-ountain of the sun. The modem name is Matarea,
or cool water. For some valuable remarks on the site
of the ancient Hcliopolis, in opposition to Larchcr and
? ? Bryant, consult Clarke's Travels, vol. 5, pro:/. , xv. ,
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? HELLAS.
HELLAS
inclined to imagine that Homer did not assign to the
word 'EAAof so limited a signification as Thucyilides
supposed. But, whatever may be thought of the testi-
mony of Homer in regard to this question, we can
have no doubt as to the extension which the terms
'E? . ? . ac and 'EX&nvcc acquired in the time of Herodo-
tus, Scylax, and Thucydities. Scylax, whose age is
disputed, but of whom we may safely affirm that he
wrote about the time of the Peloponnesian war, in-
cludes under Hellas all the country situated south of
the Ambracian gulf and the Peneus. (Pcnpl. , p. 12,
it 26. ) Herodotus extends its limits still farther north,
by taking in Thesprotia (2, 56), or, at least, that part
of it which is south of the river Acheron (8,47). But
it is more usual to exclude Epirus from Gracia Pro-
pria, and to place its northwestern extremity at Am-
bracia, on the Ionian Sea, while Mount Homole, near
the mouth of the Peneus, was looked upon as forming
its boundary on the opposite side. This coincides
with the statement of Scylax, and also with that of
Dicsarchus in his descriptions of Greece (v. 31, segq. )
The name Gracia, whence that of Greece has de-
scended unto us, was given to this country by the
Romans. It comes from the Grffici, one of the an-
cient tribes of Epirus (Aristot. , Meteor. , 1. 11), who
never became of any historical importance, but whose
name must at some period have been extensively
spread on the western coast, since the inhabitants of
Italy appear to have known the country at first under
this name.
1. History of Greece from the earliest times to the
Trojan War.
The people whom we c. l Greeks (the Hellenes)
were not the earliest inhabitants of the country.
Among the names of the many tribes which are said
to have occupied the land pre\ ious to the Hellenes,
the most celebrated is that of the Pclusgi, who ap-
pear to have been settled in most parts of Greece, and
from whom a considerable part of the Greek popula-
tnn was probably descended. The Caucones, Le-
teges, and other barbarous tribes, who also inhabited
Greece, are all regarded by a modern writer (Tlrirlicall,
History of Greece, vol. 1, p. 32-61) as parts of the
Pslasgic nation. He remarks, " that the name Pelas-
gians was a general one, like that of Saxons, Franks,
or Akmanni, and that each of the Pelasgiau tribes had
also one peculiar to itself. " All these tribes, how-
ever, were obliged to submit to the power of the Hel-
lenes, who eventually spread over the greater part of
Greece Their original seat was, according to Aris-
totle (Meteor. , 1, 14), near Dodona, in Epirus, but they
first appeared in the south of Thessaly about B. C.
13S4, according to the received chronology. In ac-
cordance with the common method of the Greeks, of
inventing names to account for the origin of nations,
the Hellenes are represented as descended from Hel-
ta: who had three sons, Dorus, Xuthus, and . Eolus.
Achaeus and Ion are represented as the sons of Xu-
thus; and from these four, Dorus, . Eolus, AcIkeus, and
Ion, the Dorians, JEolians, Achaans, and Ionians were
descended, who formed the four tribes into which the
Hellenic nation was for many centuriesdivided, and who
were distinguished from each other by many peculiari-
ties in language and institutions. At the same time
that the Hellenic race was spreading itself over the
whole land, numerous colonies from the East are said to
have settled in Greece, and to their influence many wri-
? ? ters have attributed tb. 3 civilization of the inhabitants.
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? HELLAS.
HELLAS.
ted by & jealous aristocracy. Her territories were
i! so increased by the conquest of Tegea in Arcadia.
Athens only rose to importance in the century prece-
ding the Persian wars; but even in this period her
power was not more than a match for the little states
of Megaris and ^Egina. The city was long harassed
by intestine commotions till the time of Solon, B. C.
091, who was chosen by his fellow-citizens to frame
a n-w constitution and a new code of laws, to which
ntu:h cf the future greatness of Athens must be as-
cribed. We have already seen that the kingly form
>>f government was prevalent in the Heroic Age. But,
during the period that elapsed between the Trojan
war and the Persian invasion, hereditary political pow-
er was abolished in almost all the Greek states, with
the exception of Sparta, and a republican form of
government established in its stead. In studying
the history of the Greeks, we must bear in mind
that almost every city formed an independent state,
and that, with the exception of Athens and Sparta,
which exacted obedience from tho other towns of At-
tica and Laconia respectively, there was hardly any
state which possessed more than a few miles of terri-
tory. Frequent wars between each other were the
almost unavoidable consequence of tho existence of
so many small states nearly equal in power. The
evils which arose from this state of things were partly
remedied by the influence of the Amphictyonic coun-
cil, and by the religious games and festivals which
were held at stated periods in different parts of Greece,
and during the celebration of which no wars were car-
ried on. In the sixth century before the Christian
ora Greece rapidly advanced in knowledge and civili-
sation. Literature and the fine arts were already cul-
tivated in Athens under the auspices of Pisistratus
and his sons; and the products of remote countries
were introduced into Greece by tho merchants of Cor-
inth and . 'Emilia.
3. From the Commencement of the Persian Wars to the
Death of Philip of Macedon, B. C. 336.
This was the most splendid period of Grecian histo-
>jf. The Greeks, in their resistance to tho Persians,
<<nd the part they took in the burning of Sardis, B. C.
199, drew upon them the vengeance of Darius. After
the reduction of the Asiatic Greeks, a Persian army
was sent into Attica, but was entirely defeated at
Marathon, B. C. 490, by the Athenians under Miltia-
des. Ten years afterward the wholo power of the
Persian empire was directed against Greece; an im-
mense army, led in person by Xerxes, advanced as far
as Attica, and received the submission of almost alt
the Grecian states, with the exception of Athens and
Sparta.
But this expedition also failed; the Persian
fleet was destroyed in the battles of Artemisium and
Salamis; and the land forces were entirely defeated
in the following year, B. C. 479, at Platxa in Bceotia.
Sparta had, previous to the Persian invasion, been
regarded by the other Greeks as the first power in
Greece, and accordingly she obtained the supreme
command of the army and fleet in the Persian war.
But, during the course of this war, the Athenians had
made greater sacrifices and had shown a greater de-
Zioa of courage and patriotism. After the battle of
Platiea a confederacy was formed by the Grecian
states fir carrying on the war against the Persians.
Sparta was at first placed at the head of it; but the
allies, disgusted with the tyranny of Pausanias, the
? ? Spartan commander, gave the supremacy to Athens.
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? HEt
HEI
Vance with the Theb>>n>> for the purpose of resisting
Philip; but their defeat at Charonea, B. C. 388, se-
cured for the Macedonian king the supremacy of
Greece. In the same year a congress of Grecian
states was held at Corinth, in which Philip was chosen
generalissimo of the Greeks in a projected war against
the Persian empire; but his assassination in B. C. 336
caused this enterprise to devolve on his son Alexander.
4. From the Accession of Alexander the Great to the
Roman Conquest, B. C. 146.
The conquests of Alexander extended the Grecian
influence over the greater part of Asia west of the In-
dus. After his death tho dominion of the East was
contested by his generals, and two powerful empires
were permanently established; that of the Ptolemies
in Egypt and the Seleucidae in Syria. The dominions
of the early Syrian kings embraced the greater part of
western Asia; but their empire was soon divided into
various independent kingdoms, such as thatofBactria,
Pergamus, dec, in all of which the Greek language
was spoken, not merely at court, but to a considera-
ble extent in the cities. From the death of Alexander
to the Roman conquest, Macedon remained the ruling
power in Greece. The -Etolian and Acha-an leagues
were formed, the former B. C. 284, the latter B. C.
381, for the purpose of resisting the Macedonian
kings. Macedonia was conquered by the Romans
B. C. 197, and the Greek states declared independent.
This, however, was merely nominal; they only ex-
changed the rule of the Macedonian kings for that of
the Roman people; and in B. C. 146, Greece was re-
duced to the form of a Roman province, called Achaia,
though certain cities, such as Athens, Delphi, &c,
were allowed to have the rank of free towns. The
history of Greece, from this period, forms part of the
Roman empire. It was overrun by tho Goths in
A. D. 267. and again in A. D. 398, under Alaric; and,
after being occupied by the Crusaders and Venetians,
at last fell into the hands of the Turks, on the con-
quest of Constantinople; from whom, with the excep-
tion of Macedonia, Thessaly, and Epirus, it is now
again liberated. (Encycl. Us. Knoicl. , vol. 12, p. 426,
"91)
Helle, a daughter of Athamas and Nephele, sister
to Phrixus. She and her brother Phrixus, in order
to avoid the cruel persecution of their stepmother Ino,
Bed from Thessaly on tho back of a golden fleeced ram,
which transported them through tho air. They pro-
ceeded safely till they came to the sea between the
promontory of Sigasum and the Chersonese, into which
Helle fell, and it was named from her Hellcspontus
(Helle's Sea). Phrixus proceeded on his way to Col-
chis. (Vid. Athamas, ArgonauUe, Phrixus. ) The
tomb of Helle was placed, according to Herodotus, on
the shores of the Chersonese, near Cardia. (Herod. ,
7, 58. )
Helle. v, the fabled son of Deucalion and Pyrrha,
and progenitor of the Hellenic race. (Vid. Hellas, v
1, History of Greece, from the earliest times to the
Trojan tear-)
Hellenes CEXkijvec), the general name of the Gre-
cian race. It was first borne by the tribes that came
in from the north, at an early period, and eventually
spread themselves over the whole of Greece. Their
eriginal seat was, according to Aristotle (Meteor. , 1,
14). near Dodona, in Epirus; but they first appeared
in the south of Thessaly, about B. C. 1384, according
? ? to the common chronology. (Vid. Hellas, Y 1, His-
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? HEL
HELOTS.
referring either to the noise of its waters in the numer-
ous caverns found along its banks, or to the laments
occasioned "ny its inundations of the neighbourhood.
(Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 10, pt. 2, p. 340)--II. A town
of Sicily, near the mouth of the river Helorus. (Sleph.
By:. , s. v. 'Ehjfioc. ) Pliny speaks of it, however, as
a mere castle or fortified post, with a good fishery at-
tached to it. But it was, in truth, a very ancient city,
and very probably a place of some importance before
the arrival of the Greeks. The adjacent country was
very fertile and beautiful. Hence Ovid ((. c. ) speaks
of the " Helorian Tempo," and Diodorus Siculus (13,
]! )) of the 'EXupiov ireoVov, " Helorian plain. " Com-
pare alsr; Virgil (I. c), " Prapingue solum stagnantis
Helori. ' The remains of this city are called Muri
Uer. i.
Hblos, I. a town of Eaconia, on the left bank of the
Euiotas, and not far from the mouth of that river. It
was said to have owed its origin to Helius, the son of
Perseus. The inhabitants of this town, having re-
volted against the Dorians and Hcraclids, were re-
duced to slavery, and called Helots, which name was
afterward extended to the various people who were
held in bondage by the Spartans. (Pausan. , 3, 20. )
Ephorus, as cited by Strabo (3G4), makes Agis to have
reduced the Helots to subjection; but Pausanias (3,
2) speaks of a much later reduction of the place. To
reconcile the statements of these two writers, we must
suppose, that, at the subjugation of Helos by Agis,
about 200 years before, some of the inhabitants had
been suffered to remain, and that, at the time mention-
ed by Pausanias, they were finally destroyed or re-
moved. Helos itself remained to the time of Thu-
cydides (4, 54) and of Xenophon (Hist. Gr. , 6, 5, 32):
perhaps a fortress on the coast. (Clinton, Fasti Hel-
lenici, Id ed. , p. 405, note z. ) Polybius says (5, 19,
3; 20, 12), that the district of Helos was the most
extensive and fertile part of Laconia; but the coast
was marshy. In Strabo's time Helos was only a village,
and some years later Pausanias informs us it was in
ruins. In Lapic's map the vestiges of Helos are placed
at Tsyli, about five miles from the Eurotns, and Sir
W. Gcll observes that the marsh of Helos is to the
iast of the mouth of that river. (Gcll's Ilin. of the
Morea, a J33. --Cramer's Ancient Greece, vol. 3, p.
193. tljj. )
Kfi. uivk (EiXurai), and Hei. otes (EiXurec), the
Helots or bondsmen of the Spartans. The common
account, observes Mtiller (Dorians, vol. 2, p. 30, Eng.
trans. --Vol. 2, p. 33, German work), of the origin of
this class is, that the inhabitants of the maritime town
of Helos were reduced by Sparta to this state of deg-
radation, after an insurrection against the Dorians al-
ready established in power. This explanation, how-
ever, rests merely on an etymology, and that by no
means probable, since such a Gentile name as ElXuc
(which seems to be the more ancient form) cannot by
any method of formation have been derived from 'Ekoc.
The word EZAoc is probably a derivative from "EAu in
a passive sense, and consequently means "a prisoner. "
This derivation was known in ancient times. (Com-
pare Schol. , Plat. , Alcib. , 1. p. 78, and Lennep, Ely-
mol, p. 257. ) Perhaps the word signifies those who
were taken after having resisted to the uttermost. It
appears to me, however, that they were an aboriginal
race, which was subdued at a very early period, and
whirh immediately passed over as slaves to the Doric
? ? conquerors. In speaking of the condition of the He-
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? HELOT. E.
HEI. OT7E.
3n the Messer. ian war, drew a very dark picture of
Sparta, and endeavoured at the end to rouse the feel-
ings of Ms readers by a description of the fate which
the conquered underwent. "The Helots," says he
(ay. Alhen. , 14, p. 657, Z>. )> " perform for the Spartans
every ignominious service. They are compelled to
wear a cap of dog's skin (kwtj), to have a covering of
sheep's skin (difSipa), and are severely beaten every
year without having committed any fault, in order that
they may never forget they are slaves. In addition to
this, those among them who, either by their stature
or their beauty, raise themselves above the condition
of a slave, are condemned to death, and the masters
who do not destroy the most manly of them are liable
to punishment. " The partiality and ignorance of this
writer are evident from his very first statement. The
Helots wore the leathern cap with a broad band, and
the covering of sheep's skin, simply because it was the
original dress of the natives, which, moreover, the Ar-
cadians had retained from ancient usage. (Sophocles,
Inachus, up. Schol. , Aristopk. , av. 1203. --Valck. , ad
Tkeocrit. Adoniax. , p. 345. ) Laertes, the father of
Ulysses, when he assumed the character of a peasant,
is also represented as wearing a cap of goat's skin.
i'. '? /, 21, 230. ) The truth is, that the ancients made
a distinction between town and country costume.
Hence, when the tyrants of Sicyon wished to accustom
the unemployed people, whose numbers they dreaded,
to a country life, they forced them to wear the (car-
wax? , which had underneath a lining of fur. {Pollux,
7,4, 68. ) Thus also Theognis describes the country-
men of Megara as clothed with dressed skins, and
dwelling around the town like frightened deer. The
diphlhera of the Helots, therefore, signified nothing
more humiliating and degrading than their employment
in agiicultural labour. Now, since Myron purposely
misrepresented this circumstance, it Is very probable
that his other objections are founded in error; nor can
misrepresentations of this political state, which was
unknown to the later Greeks, and particularly to wri-
ters, have been uncommon. Plutarch, for example,
relates that the Helots were compelled to intoxicate
themselves, and to perform indecent dances, as a
warning to the Spartan youth; but common sense is
opposed to so absurd a mode of education. Is it pos-
sible hit the Spartans should have so degraded the
men vrhom they appointed as tutors over their chil-
dren! Female Helots also discharged the office of
uarsc in the royal palaces, and doubtless obtained all
the affection with which the attendants of early youth
were honoured in ancient times. It is, however, cer-
tain that the Doric laws did not bind servants to strict
temperance; and hence examples of drunkenness
among them might have served as a means of recom-
mending sobriety. It was also an established regula-
tion, that the national songs and dances of Sparta were
forbidden to the Helots, who, on the other hand, had
some extravagant and lascivious dances peculiar to
themselves, which may have given rise to the above
report. But are we not labouring in vain to soften the
sad impression of Myron's account, since the fearful
word erypteia. is of itself sufficient to show the un-
happy fate of the Helots and the cruelty of their mas-
ten!
