The Romans
sometimes
imi-
tate, in this respect, the Grecian usage.
tate, in this respect, the Grecian usage.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
Lit.
Gr. , vol 1, p. 287. Mohmke, Lit. der Gr. und
K, p. 336-- Lit. -Anc. Gr. , c. 14,* 13, in Libr. Us.
Know! )
BacIkis, a wooxl in Germany, generally supposed
to be a part of the Hercynia Silva, and to have been
situate in the vicinity of the Fulda, or Vol, which flows
into the Yisurgis. It separated the territories of the
Catti from those of the Cherusci, and appears to be the
same with the Buchonia of later writers. (Cas. , B.
G , 6, 10-- Manner/, Geo/rr. , vol. 3, p. 183, 417. )
Bactra, the capital of Bactria, situate on the river
Bactrus, a tributary of the Oxus. It is now Balkh, in
the country of the Usbeck Tatars. It was likewise
called Zariaspe and Zariaapa. (Phn. , 6, 16. ) This
place has been a rendezvous of caravans from the
remotest antiquity, and at this point it is probable
that commerce united Eastern and Western Asia.
To this place the natives of Little Thibet, which Herod-
otus and Ctesias call Northern India, brought the valu-
able woollens of their country, and likewise the gold
which they procured from the great desert of Cobi. The
tales which they told to the Western Asiatics of these
wonderful regions might be a little exaggerated, or per-
verted through the medium of an interpreter. (Long's
Ant. Gtogr. , p. 13. Compare Heeren, Ideen, vol. 1,
pt 3, p. 408, . *>>? '/'/. ) On the origin of the Bactrians
and their connexion with the great Zend race, consult
the remarks of Rhode, in his Hcilige Sage der Baktrer,
etc. , p. 60, s'-i/if.
Bactria and Bactri ana, a country of Asia, bound-
ed by Aria on the wrest, the mountains of Paropamisus
on the south , the Emodi Montes on tilt) east; and
Sogdiana on the north Bactriana now belongs to the
kingdom of the Afghans, or Caubulistan. Its proxim-
ity to Northern India, and the possession of a large
river, the Oxus, with fertile lands, made it, in very
remote ages, the centre of Asiatic commerce, and the
point of union for all the natives of this vast continent.
(I'ki. Bactra-) It would seem also, in very early times,
to have been the seat of a powerful empire long prior
to that of the Medes or Persians. (Compare Bdhr, ad
Gtes. , p. 93. )--This country became remarkable at a
later age for the Greek kingdom which was founded in
it. The Bactrian kingdom arose almost at the same
time with the Parthian. B. C. 354; yet the mode of its
origin was not only different (for it was here the Gre-
cian governor himself, who made himself independent,
ind therefore had Grecians for his successors), but also
the duration, which was much less. Solitary frag-
ments of the listory of this kingdom have only been
preserved, ani yet it seems at one time to have ex-
tended to the links of the Ganges and the borders of
China. The fiunder of this kingdom was Diodatus
or Theodotus I. (B. C. 245), as he broke from the
Syrian sway in tie time of Antiochus II. He appears
to have been master of Sogdiana as well as Bactria.
He also threatened Parthia, but after his death (B. C.
443) his son and auccessor, Theodotus II. , closed a
peace and alliance with Arsaces II. , but was deprived
of his throne by Euthydemus of Magnesia, about B. C.
221. Tne attack of Antiochus the Great, after the
termination of the Parthian war, was directed against
him, but ended in a peace, in which Euthydemus, on
giving up his elephants, retained his crown, and a mar-
? ? riage between his son Demetrius and a daughter of
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? BAI
BAL
is an appellation of the Hindoo Schiva, and is also re-
garded by some as the source whence the Greek name
Bacchus is derived. (Manner! , Gcogr. , vol. 5, pt. 2,
p. 1G5, scq. )
Bagoas, I. an Egyptian eunuch at the court of Arta-
xcrxes Ochus, remarkable for his bravery and military
talents. In concert with Mcmnon, he brought Egypt,
which had revolted, under the Persian sway again.
Ochus, however, having shocked his religious preju-
dices by his conduct towards the deified animals of
Egypt, Bagoas destroyed him (vid. Artaxerxcs III. ),
and placed Arses, the monarch's youngest son, cm the
throne. He, however, soon destroyed this young
prince also. He then called to the throne Darius Co-
domanus, whom he attempted to poison not long after.
But Darius, discovering the artifice, made him drink
the poison himself. --It is believed that this is the came
Bagoas who, during the reign of Ochus, entered the
temple of Jerusalem, to avenge the brother of John,
whom the latter had slain in the temple, as a compet-
itor for the high priesthood. The name Bagoas is
said to be equivalent to "eunuch. " (Bwgr. Univ. ,
vol. 3, p. 216. )--II. A favourite eunuch of Alexan-
der's. (Curl. , 6, 5, 23. --Ptut. , Vit. Alex. , c. 67. --
hemuire, ad Curt. , I. c. )
Baokadas, a river of Africa, flowing between Uti-
ca and Carthage in former days, though at present
their situation as regards it is materially altered. It
makes encroachments on the sea like the Nile, and
hence its ancient mouth is now circumscribed by mud,
and become a large navigable pond. (Wo! . Carthage
and Utica. ) The genuine form of the ancient name
is thought to be found in Polybius, namely, Mcuc? p<jf,
MuApac, or Mu/tap (Schweigh. , ad Potyb. , 1, 75, 5);
and with this, in a measure, the Rovtcupar of Strabo
coincides. The origin of the name is to be traced to
the Punic Macar, "Hercules," so that Macaras will
mean "the river of Hercules. " Gesenius condemns
Bochart's derivation from Barca or Bcrca, " a marsh. "
(Gcscn. , Monum. Phccn. , p. 420. ) The modern name
of the river is the Mcjcrda. (Plot. , 6, 4. )
Bai^g, a city of Campania, on a small bay west of
Neapolis, and opposite Putcoli. It was originally a
village, but tho numerous advantages of its situation
soon rendered it much frequented and famous. Its
foundation is ascribed in mythology to Baius, one of
the companions of Ulysses. The cause of the rapid
increase of Baia; lay in the fruitfulncss of the surround-
ing country, in the beauty of its own situation, in the
rich supply of shell and other fish which the adjacent
waters afforded, and, above all, in the hot mineral
springs which flowed from the neighbouring mountains,
and formed a chief source of attraction to invalids.
(Compare Floras, 1, 16. --Plin. , 31, 2-- Scnec, Ep. ,
51. --Joscphus, Ant. Jud. , 18, 14. -- Cassiod. , 9, ep.
6. ) Baia; was first called Aqua; Cumana;. Numer-
ous villas graced the surrounding country, and many
were likewise built on artificial moles extending a great
distance into the sea. It is now, owing to earthquakes
and inundations of the sea, a mere wasto compared
with what it once was. The modem name is Bata.
Many remains of ancient villas may be seen under the
water. "The bay of Baia? ," observes Eustace, "is
a semicircular recess, just opposite the harbour of Po:-
zuolo, and about three miles distant from it. It i8
lined with ruins, the remains of the villas and the baths
of the Romans ; some advance a considerable way out,
? ? and, though now under the waves, are easily distin-
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? BAR
BAR
poets, were added one to another, to an extent which
has caused them, by a strong figure, to be compared
to provinces, and at an expense which could only be
supported by the inexhaustible treasures which Home
drew from a conquered world. The general time for
bathing was from two o'clock in the afternoon until
the dusk of evening, at which time the baths were
shut until two o'clock the next afternoon. This prac-
tice, however, occasionally varied. Notice was given
when the baths were ready by ringing a bell; the peo-
ple then left the exercise of the sphajristerium, and
hastened to the warm bath, lest the water should cool.
Hadrian forbade any one but those who were sick to
enter the public baths before two o'clock. Alexander
Severus, to gratify the people in their passion for
bathing, not only suffered the Thcrmee to be opened
before break of day, which had never been permitted
before, but also furnished the lamps with oil for the
convenience of the people. (Adams's Horn. Anl. , p
377. ed. BotfU. )
Bistia, a town of Apulia, southeast of Venusia.
This town derived some interest from the death of the
brave Marcellus, who fell in its vicinity, a victim to
the stratagem of his more cool and wily antagonist,
Hannibal. (? . >>>-, 27, 25. --l'lul. , Vit. Marcell. --
Cie. , Tusc. Ditp. , 1, 37. )
Bapt. e, I. the priests of Cotytto, the goddess of
lewdness. ( Vtii. Cotytto. ) The name is derived from
l1a~Tu, '? to tinge" or "dye," from their painting
their cheeks, and staining the parts around the rye,
like women. They were notorious for the profligacy
of their manners. (Juc, Sat. , 2, 9, 2. )--II. A Greek
comedy, written by Eupolis. (Vvl. Eupolis. )
Barbari, a name applied by the Greeks to all na-
tions but their own. The term is derived by Damm
from jiaQtiv, but with the p inserted, and the initial
consonant repeated, in order to express to the car the
harsh pronunciation of a foreigner. Others derive it
from the harsh sound ,iap jiap. We are informed by
Drusius, that the Syriac bar means without, extra.
The word signified, in general, with the Greeks, no
more than foreigner.
The Romans sometimes imi-
tate, in this respect, the Grecian usage. Plautus, who
introduces Greek characters into his pieces, has Bar-
haru for Italia, Barbarictt urbes for Itala, and styles
Nsjviua, the Latin poet, pacta Barbaras. --As regards
the term Rarharu* (BcipCapoc), it may not be amiss to
remark, that, notwithstanding the etymologies already
adduced, the true root must very probably be looked
for in the language of Egypt. The natives of this
countrv wave the appellation of Barbar to the rude
and uucTvilized tribes in their vicinity (compare
Herodotus, 2, 158); and the Greeks would seem to
have borrowed it from them in a similar sense, and
with the appendage of a Greek termination. The
Sinus Burbancux occurs on the coast of ancient Af-
rica, a little below the mouth of the Sinus Arabicus,
and in this same quarter, extending as far as the prom-
ontory of Rhapton, we find a tract of country called
Barbaric. (Compare Berkcl, ad Steph. Byz. , s. v.
BdpCapoc. ) So also the root obtained from this quar-
ter was styled Rha Barbaricum (Rhubarb), in contra-
distinction to the Rha Ponticum, obtained by the
commerce of the Euxine. These names, in so remote
a part of the ancient world, could never have been
more generally applied. They must be traced to Me-
roe and Egypt. Nor should it be omitted, that this
? ? very point furnishes us with an argument for the early
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? BAS
BAT
the Gallic tribes. Festus makes Bardus equivalent to
canlvr, "a singer. " The German etymologists de-
duce it from baren, "to cry aloud," "to sing in a
loud strain. " (Adclung, Gloss. Med. et Inf. Lot. ,
vol. 1, p. 584. )
Barium, a town of Apulia, on the Adriatic, in the
district of Peuceti, famed for its fisheries. It is now
Bari. (Strab. ,W3. -- Horat. ,Serm. ,\,o,97. ) Ac-
cording to Tacitus, it was a municipium. {Ann. ,
16, 9. )
BaksTnp. or Barsknk, a daughter of Darius Codo-
manus, who married Alexander the Great, and had by
him a son named Hercules. She was secretly put to
death by Cassandcr, along with her son, when the lat-
ter had reached his fourteenth year. (Justin, 15, 2. )
According, however, to Diodorus Siculus (20, 28), he
was slain by Polyspcrchon, who had agreed with Cas-
sander that he would commit the deed. Plutarch
says that Polyspcrchon promised to slay him for 100
talents. {Dc rit. pud. , p. 530. --Op. , cd. Rciske, vol.
8, p. 102. --Consult Wessclin/r, ail Diod. , I. e. ) We
have followed Arrian (7, 1) in making Barsine the
daughter of Darius. According to Plutarch {til. Alex. ,
el Eum), she was the daughter of Artabazus; while
another authority makes her father to have been na-
med Phamabazus. (Porph. , ap. Euscb. )
JiiMi. ii, I. an island famous for its amber, in the
Northern Ocean. It is supposed by Mannert to have
been the southern extremity of Sweden, mistaken
by the ancients for an island, on account of their ig-
norance of the country to the north. According to
Pliny (37, 2), Pytheas gave this island the name of
Abalus ; and yet, in another place (4, 13), ho contra-
dicts himself, and makes it to have been called Basilia
by the same Pytheas. (Compare the remarks of Man-
nert, Gcopr. , vol. 3, p. 301, scqq. )--II. A city on the
Rhenus, in the territory of the Rauraci, now Basle.
It appears to have been originally a fortress erected
by the Emperor Valcntinian, and to have increased in
the course of time to a large city. By the writers of
the middle ages it is called Buxula. (Amm. Marcell. ,
30, 8-- Itm. Anton. )
BasilIus, I. an eminent father of the church, bom
at Cresarca in Cappadocia, A. D. 326. He is called
the Great, to distinguish him from other patriarchs of
the same name. His father had him instructed in
the principles of polite literature, and he seems, in the
first instance, to have been a professor of rhetoric
and a pleader. Induced to visit the monasteries in
the deserts of Egypt, the austerities of these misgui-
ded solitaries so impressed his imagination, that hehim-
self sought a similar retreat in the province of Pontus.
He was ordained priest by Eusebius, the bishop of his
native city, upon whose death ho succeeded to the
same dignity. He is the most distinguished ecclesi-
astic among the Greek patriarchs. His efforts for
the regulation of clerical discipline, of the divine ser-
vice, and of the standing of the clergy; the number
of his sermons; the success of his mild treatment of
the Arians; and, above all, his endeavours for the pro-
motion of monastic life, for which he himself prepared
vows and rules, observed by him, and still remaining in
force, prove the merits of this holy man. The Greek
church honours him as one of its most illustrious pa-
tron saints, and celebrates his festival Jan. 1. -- In
point of literary and intellectual qualifications, Basil
excels most of the fathers, his style being pure, ele-
? ? gant, and dignified; and, independently of his exten-
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? BAT
probably in the age of Crasm. (Consult Sillig, Diet.
Art. , s. >>. )
Bjthvllcs, I. a youth of Samoa, a favourite of
Polycrates. He is often alluded to by Anacreon. --
II. A youth of Alexandrea, a favourite of Maecenas.
He came to Rome in the age of Augustus, and ob-
tained great celebrity as a dancer in pantomimes. --
III. A dancer alluded to by Juvenal (6, 63). As this
was in the time of Domitian, the Bathyllus mention-
ed under No. II. cannot, of course, be meant here.
Salmasius thinks, that the name had become a gener-
al one for any famous dancer, in consequence of the
skill which had been displayed by the Bathyllus who
lived in the time of Augustus. (Salmas. ad Vopisc.
Carin. , vol. 2. p. 833, ed. Hack. )
BitrkhojiomachIa, a serio-comic poem, ascribed
to Homer, and describing the battle between the frogs
and mice. It consists of 294 hexameters. Whether
Homer actually wrote this poem or not is still an un-
settled point among modem critics. The majority,
however, incline to the opinion that he was not the
author. The piece would seem to be in reality a par-
ody on the manner and language of Homer, and per-
haps a satire upon one of the feuds that were so com-
mon among the petty republics of Greece. Some
ascribe it to Pigrest of Caria. Knight, in his Prole-
gomena to Homer (_ed. Lips. , p. 6), remarks, that in
the third verse mention is made of tablets (fit/. Tot), on
which the poet -writes: whence he concludes that the
author of the piece in question was an Athenian, and
not of Asiatic origin, because in Asia they wrote on
skins, tv dtt^Oipaic;. In proof of his assertion, he cites
Herodotus (5, 58). He makes also another ingenious
observation. At verse 291, the moming cry of a cock
is alluded to as a thing- generally known. This cir-
cumstance proves, according to Knight, that the poem
tinder consideration is not as old as the time of Homer,
for it is not credible, that the ancient poets would
never have spoken o f this instinct on the part of the
cock if it had been known to them, and it would have
been known to them i f the cock had been found at that
period in Greece. The fowl is a native of India, and
does not appear to have been introduced into Greece
prior to the sixth century B. C. It is then found on
the money of Samothraco and Himera. --The best edi-
tions of the Batrachomyomachia are that of Erncsti,
in the works of Homer, 5 vols. 8vo, Lips. , 1759, re-
printed at Glasgow, 1814; and that of Matthias, Lips. ,
1805. 8vo. There is also the edition of Maittaire,
8vo, Lorut. , 1721.
Battiades, I. a patronymic of Callimachus, from
his father Battus. (Ontd, lb. , 53. ) Some think the
name was given him from his having been a native of
Cyrene. (Vid. No. II)--11. A name given to the
people of Cyrene from King Battus, the founder of
the settlement. (Pind. , Pylh. , 5, 73. --Caltim. , H. in
ApoU. , 96. --Sil. Ital. , 2, 61. )
Battus. I. a Lacedssmonian, who built the town of
Cyrene, B. C. 630, with a colony from the island of
Thera. {Vtd. Cyrene. ) His proper name was Aris-
totle, according to Callimachus (H. in ApoU. , 76.
Sekcd. ad loc--Sehol. ad PmA. , Pyth. , 4, 10), but
he was called Battus. according to the tradition of
the Therssans and people of Cyrene, from an impedi-
ment in his speech. Herodotus, however (4, 155),
opposes this explanation, and conjectures that the
name was obtained from the Libyan tongue, where it
Hanifiod, as he informs us, "a king. " Battus reigned
? ? fbrtv years, and left the kingdom to his son Arcesi-
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? BEL
BEL
gica. The Belga) wero of German extraction, and,
according to Crcsar, the most warlike of the Gauls.
The name Belga. belongs to the Kymric idiom, in
which, under the form Bclgiaidd, the radical of which
is Bclg, it signifies "warlike.
Gr. , vol 1, p. 287. Mohmke, Lit. der Gr. und
K, p. 336-- Lit. -Anc. Gr. , c. 14,* 13, in Libr. Us.
Know! )
BacIkis, a wooxl in Germany, generally supposed
to be a part of the Hercynia Silva, and to have been
situate in the vicinity of the Fulda, or Vol, which flows
into the Yisurgis. It separated the territories of the
Catti from those of the Cherusci, and appears to be the
same with the Buchonia of later writers. (Cas. , B.
G , 6, 10-- Manner/, Geo/rr. , vol. 3, p. 183, 417. )
Bactra, the capital of Bactria, situate on the river
Bactrus, a tributary of the Oxus. It is now Balkh, in
the country of the Usbeck Tatars. It was likewise
called Zariaspe and Zariaapa. (Phn. , 6, 16. ) This
place has been a rendezvous of caravans from the
remotest antiquity, and at this point it is probable
that commerce united Eastern and Western Asia.
To this place the natives of Little Thibet, which Herod-
otus and Ctesias call Northern India, brought the valu-
able woollens of their country, and likewise the gold
which they procured from the great desert of Cobi. The
tales which they told to the Western Asiatics of these
wonderful regions might be a little exaggerated, or per-
verted through the medium of an interpreter. (Long's
Ant. Gtogr. , p. 13. Compare Heeren, Ideen, vol. 1,
pt 3, p. 408, . *>>? '/'/. ) On the origin of the Bactrians
and their connexion with the great Zend race, consult
the remarks of Rhode, in his Hcilige Sage der Baktrer,
etc. , p. 60, s'-i/if.
Bactria and Bactri ana, a country of Asia, bound-
ed by Aria on the wrest, the mountains of Paropamisus
on the south , the Emodi Montes on tilt) east; and
Sogdiana on the north Bactriana now belongs to the
kingdom of the Afghans, or Caubulistan. Its proxim-
ity to Northern India, and the possession of a large
river, the Oxus, with fertile lands, made it, in very
remote ages, the centre of Asiatic commerce, and the
point of union for all the natives of this vast continent.
(I'ki. Bactra-) It would seem also, in very early times,
to have been the seat of a powerful empire long prior
to that of the Medes or Persians. (Compare Bdhr, ad
Gtes. , p. 93. )--This country became remarkable at a
later age for the Greek kingdom which was founded in
it. The Bactrian kingdom arose almost at the same
time with the Parthian. B. C. 354; yet the mode of its
origin was not only different (for it was here the Gre-
cian governor himself, who made himself independent,
ind therefore had Grecians for his successors), but also
the duration, which was much less. Solitary frag-
ments of the listory of this kingdom have only been
preserved, ani yet it seems at one time to have ex-
tended to the links of the Ganges and the borders of
China. The fiunder of this kingdom was Diodatus
or Theodotus I. (B. C. 245), as he broke from the
Syrian sway in tie time of Antiochus II. He appears
to have been master of Sogdiana as well as Bactria.
He also threatened Parthia, but after his death (B. C.
443) his son and auccessor, Theodotus II. , closed a
peace and alliance with Arsaces II. , but was deprived
of his throne by Euthydemus of Magnesia, about B. C.
221. Tne attack of Antiochus the Great, after the
termination of the Parthian war, was directed against
him, but ended in a peace, in which Euthydemus, on
giving up his elephants, retained his crown, and a mar-
? ? riage between his son Demetrius and a daughter of
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? BAI
BAL
is an appellation of the Hindoo Schiva, and is also re-
garded by some as the source whence the Greek name
Bacchus is derived. (Manner! , Gcogr. , vol. 5, pt. 2,
p. 1G5, scq. )
Bagoas, I. an Egyptian eunuch at the court of Arta-
xcrxes Ochus, remarkable for his bravery and military
talents. In concert with Mcmnon, he brought Egypt,
which had revolted, under the Persian sway again.
Ochus, however, having shocked his religious preju-
dices by his conduct towards the deified animals of
Egypt, Bagoas destroyed him (vid. Artaxerxcs III. ),
and placed Arses, the monarch's youngest son, cm the
throne. He, however, soon destroyed this young
prince also. He then called to the throne Darius Co-
domanus, whom he attempted to poison not long after.
But Darius, discovering the artifice, made him drink
the poison himself. --It is believed that this is the came
Bagoas who, during the reign of Ochus, entered the
temple of Jerusalem, to avenge the brother of John,
whom the latter had slain in the temple, as a compet-
itor for the high priesthood. The name Bagoas is
said to be equivalent to "eunuch. " (Bwgr. Univ. ,
vol. 3, p. 216. )--II. A favourite eunuch of Alexan-
der's. (Curl. , 6, 5, 23. --Ptut. , Vit. Alex. , c. 67. --
hemuire, ad Curt. , I. c. )
Baokadas, a river of Africa, flowing between Uti-
ca and Carthage in former days, though at present
their situation as regards it is materially altered. It
makes encroachments on the sea like the Nile, and
hence its ancient mouth is now circumscribed by mud,
and become a large navigable pond. (Wo! . Carthage
and Utica. ) The genuine form of the ancient name
is thought to be found in Polybius, namely, Mcuc? p<jf,
MuApac, or Mu/tap (Schweigh. , ad Potyb. , 1, 75, 5);
and with this, in a measure, the Rovtcupar of Strabo
coincides. The origin of the name is to be traced to
the Punic Macar, "Hercules," so that Macaras will
mean "the river of Hercules. " Gesenius condemns
Bochart's derivation from Barca or Bcrca, " a marsh. "
(Gcscn. , Monum. Phccn. , p. 420. ) The modern name
of the river is the Mcjcrda. (Plot. , 6, 4. )
Bai^g, a city of Campania, on a small bay west of
Neapolis, and opposite Putcoli. It was originally a
village, but tho numerous advantages of its situation
soon rendered it much frequented and famous. Its
foundation is ascribed in mythology to Baius, one of
the companions of Ulysses. The cause of the rapid
increase of Baia; lay in the fruitfulncss of the surround-
ing country, in the beauty of its own situation, in the
rich supply of shell and other fish which the adjacent
waters afforded, and, above all, in the hot mineral
springs which flowed from the neighbouring mountains,
and formed a chief source of attraction to invalids.
(Compare Floras, 1, 16. --Plin. , 31, 2-- Scnec, Ep. ,
51. --Joscphus, Ant. Jud. , 18, 14. -- Cassiod. , 9, ep.
6. ) Baia; was first called Aqua; Cumana;. Numer-
ous villas graced the surrounding country, and many
were likewise built on artificial moles extending a great
distance into the sea. It is now, owing to earthquakes
and inundations of the sea, a mere wasto compared
with what it once was. The modem name is Bata.
Many remains of ancient villas may be seen under the
water. "The bay of Baia? ," observes Eustace, "is
a semicircular recess, just opposite the harbour of Po:-
zuolo, and about three miles distant from it. It i8
lined with ruins, the remains of the villas and the baths
of the Romans ; some advance a considerable way out,
? ? and, though now under the waves, are easily distin-
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? BAR
BAR
poets, were added one to another, to an extent which
has caused them, by a strong figure, to be compared
to provinces, and at an expense which could only be
supported by the inexhaustible treasures which Home
drew from a conquered world. The general time for
bathing was from two o'clock in the afternoon until
the dusk of evening, at which time the baths were
shut until two o'clock the next afternoon. This prac-
tice, however, occasionally varied. Notice was given
when the baths were ready by ringing a bell; the peo-
ple then left the exercise of the sphajristerium, and
hastened to the warm bath, lest the water should cool.
Hadrian forbade any one but those who were sick to
enter the public baths before two o'clock. Alexander
Severus, to gratify the people in their passion for
bathing, not only suffered the Thcrmee to be opened
before break of day, which had never been permitted
before, but also furnished the lamps with oil for the
convenience of the people. (Adams's Horn. Anl. , p
377. ed. BotfU. )
Bistia, a town of Apulia, southeast of Venusia.
This town derived some interest from the death of the
brave Marcellus, who fell in its vicinity, a victim to
the stratagem of his more cool and wily antagonist,
Hannibal. (? . >>>-, 27, 25. --l'lul. , Vit. Marcell. --
Cie. , Tusc. Ditp. , 1, 37. )
Bapt. e, I. the priests of Cotytto, the goddess of
lewdness. ( Vtii. Cotytto. ) The name is derived from
l1a~Tu, '? to tinge" or "dye," from their painting
their cheeks, and staining the parts around the rye,
like women. They were notorious for the profligacy
of their manners. (Juc, Sat. , 2, 9, 2. )--II. A Greek
comedy, written by Eupolis. (Vvl. Eupolis. )
Barbari, a name applied by the Greeks to all na-
tions but their own. The term is derived by Damm
from jiaQtiv, but with the p inserted, and the initial
consonant repeated, in order to express to the car the
harsh pronunciation of a foreigner. Others derive it
from the harsh sound ,iap jiap. We are informed by
Drusius, that the Syriac bar means without, extra.
The word signified, in general, with the Greeks, no
more than foreigner.
The Romans sometimes imi-
tate, in this respect, the Grecian usage. Plautus, who
introduces Greek characters into his pieces, has Bar-
haru for Italia, Barbarictt urbes for Itala, and styles
Nsjviua, the Latin poet, pacta Barbaras. --As regards
the term Rarharu* (BcipCapoc), it may not be amiss to
remark, that, notwithstanding the etymologies already
adduced, the true root must very probably be looked
for in the language of Egypt. The natives of this
countrv wave the appellation of Barbar to the rude
and uucTvilized tribes in their vicinity (compare
Herodotus, 2, 158); and the Greeks would seem to
have borrowed it from them in a similar sense, and
with the appendage of a Greek termination. The
Sinus Burbancux occurs on the coast of ancient Af-
rica, a little below the mouth of the Sinus Arabicus,
and in this same quarter, extending as far as the prom-
ontory of Rhapton, we find a tract of country called
Barbaric. (Compare Berkcl, ad Steph. Byz. , s. v.
BdpCapoc. ) So also the root obtained from this quar-
ter was styled Rha Barbaricum (Rhubarb), in contra-
distinction to the Rha Ponticum, obtained by the
commerce of the Euxine. These names, in so remote
a part of the ancient world, could never have been
more generally applied. They must be traced to Me-
roe and Egypt. Nor should it be omitted, that this
? ? very point furnishes us with an argument for the early
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? BAS
BAT
the Gallic tribes. Festus makes Bardus equivalent to
canlvr, "a singer. " The German etymologists de-
duce it from baren, "to cry aloud," "to sing in a
loud strain. " (Adclung, Gloss. Med. et Inf. Lot. ,
vol. 1, p. 584. )
Barium, a town of Apulia, on the Adriatic, in the
district of Peuceti, famed for its fisheries. It is now
Bari. (Strab. ,W3. -- Horat. ,Serm. ,\,o,97. ) Ac-
cording to Tacitus, it was a municipium. {Ann. ,
16, 9. )
BaksTnp. or Barsknk, a daughter of Darius Codo-
manus, who married Alexander the Great, and had by
him a son named Hercules. She was secretly put to
death by Cassandcr, along with her son, when the lat-
ter had reached his fourteenth year. (Justin, 15, 2. )
According, however, to Diodorus Siculus (20, 28), he
was slain by Polyspcrchon, who had agreed with Cas-
sander that he would commit the deed. Plutarch
says that Polyspcrchon promised to slay him for 100
talents. {Dc rit. pud. , p. 530. --Op. , cd. Rciske, vol.
8, p. 102. --Consult Wessclin/r, ail Diod. , I. e. ) We
have followed Arrian (7, 1) in making Barsine the
daughter of Darius. According to Plutarch {til. Alex. ,
el Eum), she was the daughter of Artabazus; while
another authority makes her father to have been na-
med Phamabazus. (Porph. , ap. Euscb. )
JiiMi. ii, I. an island famous for its amber, in the
Northern Ocean. It is supposed by Mannert to have
been the southern extremity of Sweden, mistaken
by the ancients for an island, on account of their ig-
norance of the country to the north. According to
Pliny (37, 2), Pytheas gave this island the name of
Abalus ; and yet, in another place (4, 13), ho contra-
dicts himself, and makes it to have been called Basilia
by the same Pytheas. (Compare the remarks of Man-
nert, Gcopr. , vol. 3, p. 301, scqq. )--II. A city on the
Rhenus, in the territory of the Rauraci, now Basle.
It appears to have been originally a fortress erected
by the Emperor Valcntinian, and to have increased in
the course of time to a large city. By the writers of
the middle ages it is called Buxula. (Amm. Marcell. ,
30, 8-- Itm. Anton. )
BasilIus, I. an eminent father of the church, bom
at Cresarca in Cappadocia, A. D. 326. He is called
the Great, to distinguish him from other patriarchs of
the same name. His father had him instructed in
the principles of polite literature, and he seems, in the
first instance, to have been a professor of rhetoric
and a pleader. Induced to visit the monasteries in
the deserts of Egypt, the austerities of these misgui-
ded solitaries so impressed his imagination, that hehim-
self sought a similar retreat in the province of Pontus.
He was ordained priest by Eusebius, the bishop of his
native city, upon whose death ho succeeded to the
same dignity. He is the most distinguished ecclesi-
astic among the Greek patriarchs. His efforts for
the regulation of clerical discipline, of the divine ser-
vice, and of the standing of the clergy; the number
of his sermons; the success of his mild treatment of
the Arians; and, above all, his endeavours for the pro-
motion of monastic life, for which he himself prepared
vows and rules, observed by him, and still remaining in
force, prove the merits of this holy man. The Greek
church honours him as one of its most illustrious pa-
tron saints, and celebrates his festival Jan. 1. -- In
point of literary and intellectual qualifications, Basil
excels most of the fathers, his style being pure, ele-
? ? gant, and dignified; and, independently of his exten-
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? BAT
probably in the age of Crasm. (Consult Sillig, Diet.
Art. , s. >>. )
Bjthvllcs, I. a youth of Samoa, a favourite of
Polycrates. He is often alluded to by Anacreon. --
II. A youth of Alexandrea, a favourite of Maecenas.
He came to Rome in the age of Augustus, and ob-
tained great celebrity as a dancer in pantomimes. --
III. A dancer alluded to by Juvenal (6, 63). As this
was in the time of Domitian, the Bathyllus mention-
ed under No. II. cannot, of course, be meant here.
Salmasius thinks, that the name had become a gener-
al one for any famous dancer, in consequence of the
skill which had been displayed by the Bathyllus who
lived in the time of Augustus. (Salmas. ad Vopisc.
Carin. , vol. 2. p. 833, ed. Hack. )
BitrkhojiomachIa, a serio-comic poem, ascribed
to Homer, and describing the battle between the frogs
and mice. It consists of 294 hexameters. Whether
Homer actually wrote this poem or not is still an un-
settled point among modem critics. The majority,
however, incline to the opinion that he was not the
author. The piece would seem to be in reality a par-
ody on the manner and language of Homer, and per-
haps a satire upon one of the feuds that were so com-
mon among the petty republics of Greece. Some
ascribe it to Pigrest of Caria. Knight, in his Prole-
gomena to Homer (_ed. Lips. , p. 6), remarks, that in
the third verse mention is made of tablets (fit/. Tot), on
which the poet -writes: whence he concludes that the
author of the piece in question was an Athenian, and
not of Asiatic origin, because in Asia they wrote on
skins, tv dtt^Oipaic;. In proof of his assertion, he cites
Herodotus (5, 58). He makes also another ingenious
observation. At verse 291, the moming cry of a cock
is alluded to as a thing- generally known. This cir-
cumstance proves, according to Knight, that the poem
tinder consideration is not as old as the time of Homer,
for it is not credible, that the ancient poets would
never have spoken o f this instinct on the part of the
cock if it had been known to them, and it would have
been known to them i f the cock had been found at that
period in Greece. The fowl is a native of India, and
does not appear to have been introduced into Greece
prior to the sixth century B. C. It is then found on
the money of Samothraco and Himera. --The best edi-
tions of the Batrachomyomachia are that of Erncsti,
in the works of Homer, 5 vols. 8vo, Lips. , 1759, re-
printed at Glasgow, 1814; and that of Matthias, Lips. ,
1805. 8vo. There is also the edition of Maittaire,
8vo, Lorut. , 1721.
Battiades, I. a patronymic of Callimachus, from
his father Battus. (Ontd, lb. , 53. ) Some think the
name was given him from his having been a native of
Cyrene. (Vid. No. II)--11. A name given to the
people of Cyrene from King Battus, the founder of
the settlement. (Pind. , Pylh. , 5, 73. --Caltim. , H. in
ApoU. , 96. --Sil. Ital. , 2, 61. )
Battus. I. a Lacedssmonian, who built the town of
Cyrene, B. C. 630, with a colony from the island of
Thera. {Vtd. Cyrene. ) His proper name was Aris-
totle, according to Callimachus (H. in ApoU. , 76.
Sekcd. ad loc--Sehol. ad PmA. , Pyth. , 4, 10), but
he was called Battus. according to the tradition of
the Therssans and people of Cyrene, from an impedi-
ment in his speech. Herodotus, however (4, 155),
opposes this explanation, and conjectures that the
name was obtained from the Libyan tongue, where it
Hanifiod, as he informs us, "a king. " Battus reigned
? ? fbrtv years, and left the kingdom to his son Arcesi-
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? BEL
BEL
gica. The Belga) wero of German extraction, and,
according to Crcsar, the most warlike of the Gauls.
The name Belga. belongs to the Kymric idiom, in
which, under the form Bclgiaidd, the radical of which
is Bclg, it signifies "warlike.
