He is said 'o have taught that the world is God; but
this was, doubtless, according to the Platonic system,
which made the soul of the world an inferior divinity.
this was, doubtless, according to the Platonic system,
which made the soul of the world an inferior divinity.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
In one of these Plutarch undertakes
*. o chow that Alexander owed his success to himself,
not to Fortune. In the other, he attempts to prove, that
bis virtues were not the offspring of a blind and capri-
cious Fortune, and that his talents and the resources of
his intellect cannot be regarded as favours bestowed
by this same Fortune. These two discourses are pre-
ceded by one (No. 4) which shows the true object of
the others. Plutarch, in this, endeavours to prove,
that the Roman exploits are less the effect of valour
and wisdom, than the result of the influence of For-
tune; and, among the favours-conferred by this god-
dess, he enumerates the unexpected death of Alexan-
der, at the very time that he was menacing Italy with
his victorious arms. In all this we clearly see the
jealousy and vanity of the Greeks, who, from the time
that they first fell under the Roman yoke, lever ceased
detracting from the glory of this republic, and ascribing
its rapid progress to some blind and unknown cause.
One of the motives that induced Polybius, moreover,
to write his history, was to undeceive his countrymen
on this point, and prove to them that the prosperity of
Rome was owing, not to the caprices of Fortune, but
to good conduct and^valour. --7. Tlorepov 'ABr/valo.
Kara. rraKeuov $ ncord ooipiav kvio? 6repoi; (" Wheth-
er the Athenians are more renowned for War or for
(he Sciences"). The commencement and conclusion
are wanting. The text of what remains of this piece
is very corrupt. --8. Hepi 'laidoc not 'Ooiptdoc (" Of
Isis and Osiris"). This treatise contains a number
of very curious remarks on the Egyptian mythology,
but it is, at the same time, that very one of the works
of Plutarch in which his want of critical skill is most
? pparent. His object was to give the mythological
? ? traditions of the Egyptians a philosophical sense, in
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? PLU10.
FL u
plant which bears her name. (Sthoi. td Nicand. , Al-
oe , 374. -- Oppian, Hal. , 3, 486. -- Ovid, Met. , 10,
730. )--Pluto, Homer tells us. was once wounded in
the shoulder by the arrows of Hercules ; but, from the
ambiguity of the phrase used by the poet (h miXy,
//. , 5, 395), it is difficult to determine the scene of the
conflict. Some say that it was at the gate of the
nether world, when the hero was sent to drag the dog
cf Hades to the realms of day. (Schol. ad 11. . I. c. --
Heyne ad II. , 1. c--Schol. ad Od , 11,605 ) Others
maintain tha* it was in Pylos, where the god was aid-
ing his worsh. ppers against the son of Jupiter. (Apol-
lod , 2, 7, 3-- Pausan. . 6, 25. --Find. , 01. , 9, 50. --
Schol. ad Find. , I. c. ) Heyne, Miiller, and Buttmann
are in favour of this sense of the phrase. --The region
over which Pluto presided is represented in the Iliad
and in the Theogony as being within the earth. {II. ,
3, 278. --74. , 9, 668. --lb. , 20, 61-- lb. , 23, 100 --
Theog. , 455, 767. ) In the Odyssey it is placed in
the dark region beyond the stream of Ocean. (Od. ,
10,508. --lb. , 11, 1. ) Its name is Erebus, with which
the appellation Hades became afterward synonymous.
The poets everywhere describe it as dreary, dark, and
cheerless. The dead, without distinction of good or
evil, age or rank, wander there, conversing about their
former stale on earth: they are unhappy, and they feel
their wretched state acutely. They have no strength,
or power of mind or body. Some few, enemies of
the gods, such as Sisyphus, Tityus, Tantalus, are pun-
ished for their crimes, but not apart from the rest of
the dead. Nothing can be more gloomy and com-
fortless than the whole aspect of the realm of Hades
as pictured by Homer. -- In process of time, when
communication with Egypt and Asia had enlarged the
sphere of the ideas of the Greeks, the nether world
underwent a total change. It was now divided into
two separate regions: Tartarus, which, in the time
of Homer and Hesiod, was thought to lie far beneath
, and to be the prison of the Titans, became one of
these regions, and the place of punishment for wick-
ed men; and Elysium, which lay on the shore of
the stream of Ocean, the retreat of the children and
relatives of the king of the gods, was moved down
thither to form the place of reward for good men. A
stream encompassed the domains of Hades, over which
the dead, on paying their passage-money (vavXov),
were ferried by Charon. The three-headed dog Cer-
berus guarded the entrance ; and the three judges, Mi-
nos, ^Eacus, and Rhadamanthus, allotted his place of
bliss or of pain to each of the dead who was brought
before their tribunal. This idea is probably founded
on the passage in the Odyssey (11, 568) where the
hero says he saw Minos judging in Erebus; but, ac-
cording to the earlier belief, he only judged there as
Orion hunted; in other words, he pursued the same
occupation as on earth. According to the fine myth
in Plato (Gorgias, p. 623), /Cacus and Rhadaman-
thus sit at the point in the mead where the path branch-
es ofTto the Islands of the Blessed and to Tartarus (com-
pare Virg. , JEn. , 6, 540); the former judging the
dead from Europe, the latter those from Asia. If any
case proves too difficult for them, it is reserved for
the decision of Minos. --The River of Oblivion (6 rije
\yib\c irorauoc) was added to those of Homer's trans-
Oceanic region (Acheron, Pyriphlegethon, and Oocy-
tus), and the dead were led to drink of its waters pre-
vious to their returning to animate other bodies on
? ? earth. In the sixth book of Virgil's . Kncid will be
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? r od
POL
? oil, besides, corrupted both good and bad with his
gifts. The fable is borrowed, with some slight alter-
ation, from the Greek. (Phadr. , fab. , 4, IS. )
I'i. uvius, a surname of Jupiter, as god of rain. He
was invoked by that name among the Romans, when-
ever the earth was parched up by continual heat, and
was in want of refreshing showers. (Tibull. , 1,8, 26. )
1'nvi, the place of public assembly at Athens, es-
pecially during electa js, so called from the crowds ac-
customed to assemble therein (afro rov ircrvKvucOai).
The Pnyx was situate on a low hill, sloping down to
the north, at the western verge of the city, and at a
quarter of a mile to the west of the Acropolis. It waa
a large semicircular area, of which the southern aide,
or diameter, was formed by a long line of limestone
rock, hewn so aa to present the appearance of a verti-
cal wall, in the centre of which, and projecting from
it, was a solid pedestal, carved out of the living rock,
ascended by steps, and based upon seats of the same
material. This was the celebrated Eema, f:om which
the orators addressed the people. The lowest or most
torthern part of the semicircular curve was supported
by a terrace wall of polygonal blocks. (Wordsworth's
Greece, p. 160. --Aris'. oph. , Acharn. , 20. --Jul. Poll. ,
9, 10. )
Podaliril's, son of -Esculapius and Epione, and a
celebrated physician of antiquity. Xenophon calls
Sim and his brother Macbaon pupils of Chiron the
rentaur (Cyneget. , 1, 14), an assertion which Aris-
tides takes the unnecessary trouble of refuting. (Oral,
in Aielepiad. , vol. 1, p. 76, ed. Cant. ) The two
Brothers were also distinguished for eloquence, and for
their acquaintance with the military art. (Xcn. , I. e. )
According to Quintus Calaber, Machaon was the elder,
ind also instructed Podalirius. (Paralipom. , Horn. ,
i, 60. ) They were both present at the eiege of Troy,
and made themselves so conspicuous by '. heir valour,
that Homer ranks them among the fi-st of the Gre-
cian heroes. Their skill in the heiling art was also
highly serviceable to the wounded, and (hey were at
last excused from the fight, >>. nd from all the fatigues
jf war, in order to liava r-. ore time to attend to those
who were injured. 0*: his return from Troy, Poda-
irius was driven by a tempest to the coast of Caria,
>>here he cither scttl'-d in, or founded, the city of Syr-
na, calLd by "Orne Syrus. (Pausan. , 3, 26. --Stebe-
>>*, <JL loc. ) The more common account is in favour
if h. i i b'. vwg founded the place, and he is said to have
. ailed it after Syrna, the daughter of Damoetas, king
jf the country. He had cured her, it seems, of the
-Ficts of a fall from the roof of a mansion, by bleeding
'ier in both arms at the moment when her life waa
despaired of; end he received her in marriage, to-
gether with the sovereignty of the Carian Chersonese.
(Steph. Byz. , s. v. Siyiea. ) This story furnishes the
first instance of a physician's having practised bleed-
ing, at least among the Greeks. (Sprcngcl, Hist, de
la Med. , vol. 1, p. 131. ) Another account makes
Podalirius to have, been assassinated on the coast of
Ausonia, in the territory of the Daunians, in Italy, and
to have been worshipped after death under the name
of vbauv aKearr/c, "healer of diseases. " (Lyeophr. ,
1046, seqq. ) Strabo, moreover, says, that the tomb
of Podalirius was to be seen at the distance of 100
stadia from the sea, in the country of the Daunians.
(Strab. , 436. )
Poiiabcks, I. the first name of Priam. When Troy
? ? was taken by Hercules, he was redeemed from slavery
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? TOLEMON
POL
k> much s I'cngth of argument and energy o' lan-
guage, that Polemon was constrained to yield to the
farce of conviction. Instead of turning Xenocrates
and his doctrine to ridicule, he became sensible of
'. he folly of his former conduct, was heartily ashamed
tf the contemptible figure which he made in so re-
spectable an assembly, took his garland from his head,
:oncealed his naked arm under his cloak, assumed a
? edate and thoughtful aspect, and, in short, resolved
from that hour to relinquish his licentious pleasures,
and to devote himself to the pursuit of wisdom. Thus
was this young man, by the powerful energy of truth
and eloquence, converted from an infamous libe. --
tine to a respectable philosopher. In such a sudden
change of character, it is difficult to avoid parsing
from one extreme to another. Polemon, after his ref-
ormation, in order to brace up his mind to t>. e lone of
rigid virtue, constantly practised the severest austerity
and most hardy fortitude. From the thirtieth year of
nis age to his death he drank nothing but water.
When he suffered violent pain, he showed no exter-
nal sign of anguish. In order to preserve his mind
undisturbed by passion, he habit'. ated himself to speak
in a uniform tone of voice, without elevation or de-
pression. The austerity of his manners, however,
was tempered with urbanity and generosity. He was
fond of solitude, and passed much of his time in a
garden near his school. He died at sn advanced
age, of consumption. Of the tenets of Polemon lit-
tle is said by the ancients, because he strictly adhered
to the doctrine of Plato. The direction of the Acad-
emy devolved upon him after the death of Xenocrates.
He is said 'o have taught that the world is God; but
this was, doubtless, according to the Platonic system,
which made the soul of the world an inferior divinity.
{Diog. Laerl. , 4, 19. --Suid. , s. v. --Vol. Max. , 6, 9.
--Ctc. , de Fin. , 4, 6. --Alhenaus, 2, p. 44. -- Slob. ,
Eclog. Phys. , 1, 3. --Enfield's Hist, of Philos. , vol.
I, p. 847, >>eq. )--II. A son of Zeno of Apamea, made
king of Pontus by Antony, after the latter bad de-
posed Darius, son of Pbarnaces. (Appian, Bell. Civ. ,
ft, 75. ) This person, who had the art to ingratiate
himself alike with Aiitony, Augustus, and Agrippa,
was made king of tliat eastern part of Pontus, named
Poiemoniacus after him He was killed in an expe-
dition against some barbarians of Sindice, near the
Palus Maeotis; but his widow, Pylhodoris, was reign-
ing in his stead at the time that Strabo wrote his Ge-
ography. 'ilrab. , 656, 578. --Dio Case. , 53, 35. --
Id. , 54, V )--III. Son and successor of the pre-
ceding, wa i placed on the throne by Caligula, and
had his dominions afterward enlarged by Claudius
with a portion of Cilicia. Nero eventually converted
Pontus into a Roman province. (Suet. , Vil. Ner. , 18.
--Crusius, ad loc. )--IV. Antonius, a celebrated soph-
ist and public speaker, in the second century of our
era. He was a native of Laodicea on the Lycus, and
of a consular family, and was held in high esteem by
Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. Polemon spent
the greater part of his life in Smyrna, where he opened
a school of rhetoric, and was sent on several occasions
is ambassador to Hadrian. He accumulated a large
fortune by his oratorical talents, but made many ene-
mies by his excessive haughtiness. He became a
freat sufferer by the gout, and at the age of fifty-six
rears, having become disgusted with life on account
of the tortures to which his complaint subjected him,
? ? he returned to his native city, entered the tomb of his
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? POL
ion was consecrated to the worship of the goddess;
j. id the western, including the northern and southern
porticoes, was sacred to the deified daughter of Ce-
crops, the nymph Pandrosus. On the same site had
previously stood the temple of Erechtheus; and from
this circumstance, as well as from the fact that his
altar still remained, the entire building retained the
name of the Erechtheum. Within the sacred enclo-
? ure were preserved the holiest objects of Athenian
veneration, among which the most precious were the
alive of Minerva and the fountain of Neptune, both
Of which sprung up at the bidding of those divinities,
when there was contention among the gods concerning
the guardianship of Athens. Here, too, was the old-
est and most deeply-venerated of the statues of the
Athenian goddess; a figure carved in olive-wood, but
of which the legend affirmed that it had fallen from
heaven. (Wordsworth's Greece, p. 144. -- Stuart's
Antiquities of Athens, p. 37, Land. , 1827, 12ino. )
Miilier has written an interesting work on the Temple
and Worship of Minerva Polias, under the following
title: "Minerva Poliadis Sacra el Mdem in arce
Athenarum illustravit C. O. Midler," Gotting. , 1820,
4to.
Poliorcetes (JlokiopKnrfic), "the besieger of cit-
ies," a surname given to Demetrius, son of Antigonus.
(Vid. Demetrius I. )
PoLiTgs, I. a son of Priam and Hecuba, killed by
Pyrrhus in his father's presence. (Virg, Mn. , 2,
626. )--II. His son, who bore the same name, fol-
lowed . <Eneas into Italy, and was one of the friends of
young Ascanius. (Virg. , 5, 664 )
Poixa Argentakia, the wife of the poet Lucan.
{Vid. I,ncamis. )
Pollsntia, a town of Liguria, southeast of Alba
Pompeia. It was a municipium, and is chierly cel-
jbrated for its wool. (Plin. , 8, 48. -- Colutn. , 7, 2.
-- Sil. Lai. , 8, 599. ) A battle was fought in its vi-
linity between Stilico and the Goths, the success of
which appears to have been very doubtful. (Oros. ,
"i, 37. ) But Claudian speaks of it as the greatest tri-
? inphcf his hero. (De Bell. Get. , 605. ) The mod-
'. rii village of PoUnza stands near the site of the an-
ient city. (Cramer's Anc. Italy, vol. 1, p. 28. )
Pollio, I. C. Asinius, a Roman consul in the time
o( Augustus, who, though of humble birth, was one
of the most remarkable men and most distinguished
patrons of literature during the age in which he lived;
and who we consider the brilliant part which he acted
as a military commander, politician, and man of let-
ters, it is srii. gular we have so few remains of his wri-
tings, and such brief records of his actions. Pollio
was born in ilia 675th year of tho city, and he had,
consequently, rea. '. bed tho age of thirty before the liber-
tics of his country were subverted. During the times
of the republic, he so well performed the parts of a cit-
izen and patriot, that in one of Cicero's letters he is
classed with Cato for his love of liberty and virtue.
But in pursuing this line of conduct he offended some
of the partisans of Pompcy, and was forced, as he af-
terward alleged, to ospouse the part of Caesar, in
order to shield himself from their resentment. (Cic,
Ep. ad Fam. , 10, 31. ) He became a favourite officer
t. Julius Caesar, whom he served with inviolable fidel-
ity, and ever entertained for him the most devoted at-
'. >>? :'. . inent. A short while before the dictator's death,
a; was sent to Spain at the head of a considerable
army, to crush the parvy wbich Sextus Pompey had
? ? recently formed in tha'. province; but he was nut very
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? POLLIO.
PO L
tro me snbtraham, et cro prseda Victoria" Veil. Pa-
terc, 2,86. ) From this period till his death(. vhich hap-
pened at hit Tusculan villa in 755 IT. C, when he had
reached the age of eighty) Pollio withdrew almost entire-
ly from public affairs. He was naturally of a bold, assu-
ming, and overbearing temper; he affected a stern predi-
lection for the forms and manners of the ancient repub-
lic; and, having amassed an enormous fortune during
the proscriptions, he never sought to ingratiate himself
with Augustus. Accordingly, though he was respect-
ed and esteemed, he was not beloved by the emperor.
During the contest wi;h Lucius Antonius, several sting-
ing epigrams were directed against him by Augustus.
Pollio was well able to retort, but he did not choose,
as he himself expressed it, " in eum scribere qui potest
oroscribere. " (Macrob. , Saturn. , 2,4. ) His neutral-
ity during the war with Antony and Cleopatra, though
permuted by Augustus, would little tend to conciliate
his favour; and that prince saw around him so many
able ministers who had uniformly supported his inter-
ests, that he had no occasion to require the assistance
or counsel of Pollio. With the exception, therefore, of
occasionally pleading in the Forum, Pollio devoted all
his time to literary composition and the protection of
literary men. No Roman of that period was more ca-
pable of enjoying retirement with dignity, or relishing it
with taste. He possessed everything which could ren-
der his retreat delightful: an excellent education,distin-
guished talents, a knowledge of mankind, and a splen-
did fortune. To all the strength and solidity of under-
standing requisite to give him weight in the serious or
important affairs of life, he united the most lively and
sgreeable vein of wit and pleasantry. His genius and
acquirements enabled him likewise to shine in the
noblest branches of polite literature: poetry, elo-
quence, and history, in which last department Seneca
prefers his style to that of Livy. He had, no doubt,
effectually improved the opportunities which the times
afforded, of enriching himself at the cost of others;
and no one had profited more by the forfeited estates
during the period of the proscriptions; but it should
not be forgotten, that whatever fortune he amassed
was converted to the most laudable purposes: the
formation of a public library, the collection of the most
eminent productions of art, and the encouragement of
learning and literary men. Pliny, in his Natural His-
tory, informs us, that Pollio was the first person who
erected a public library at Koine. It was placed in the
vicinity of the Atrium Libertatis, which ne had con-
structed on the Aventine Hill; and the expense of the
establishment was defrayed frotrrthe spoils of conquer-
ed enemies (7, 30; 35, 2). From the same author
we have an account of his fine collection of statues
by Praxiteles and other masters (34, 5), which he
was extremely desirous should be publicly seen and
commended. Among the labours of Praxiteles are
mentioned a Silenus, an Apollo, a Neptune, and a Ve-
nus. The specimens of the works of other artists ex-
hibited the Centaurs carrying off the Nymphs, by Ar-
chesitas; Jupiter, surnamed Hospitalis, by Pamphilus,
a scholar of Praxiteles; a sitting Vesta; and, finally,
Zethus, Amphion. and Dirce, fastened by a cord to the
bull, all formed out of one stone, and brought from
Rhodes by the direction of Pollio. Still more useful
and praiseworthy was the patronage which he extended
to men of genius. In youth, his character and con-
versational talents had rendered him a favourite with
? ? the master-spirits of Rome: Cesar, Calvus, and Ca-
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? VOL
POLYBIUS
i Chariot, Bee>>. 2. Of the Age of Men; of wh<<t pre-1 ther the lessons of civil and political wisdom.
Hs
cedes and follows Birth; of the Members of the Human
Frame; of the External and Internal Parts of the Body.
3, Of the various relations between the Members of a
Family or a City; of Friends, Country, Love; of the
Relation between Master and Slave; of Metals, Trav-
els, Roads; of Gayety and Saduess; of Happiness;
of Kivcrs; of the Avaricious, the Industrious, and the
Idle; of Buying and Selling, &c--4. Of the Sciences.
--5. Of the Chase, Animals, &c. --6. Of Repasts; of,
various Crimes, dec. --7. Of various Arts and Trades.
8. Of Justice, and the public Administration of it.
--9. Of Cities, Edifices, Games, dec--10. Of Vases,
Utensils, dec. --The value of the work, for acquiring
not only a knowledge of Greek terms, but also of anti-
quities, is conceded by all. The interest, moreover, is
considerably increased by the citations from authors
whose works are lost. Julius Pollux composed many
other works that have not come down to us, such as
Dissertations (AtoAtftic) and Declamations (McAc-
rai); and among these are mentioned a discourse pro-
nounced on the occasion of the marriage of Commo-
dus, an eloge on Rome, and an accusation of Socrates.
The best edition of the Onomasticon is that of Hein-
sterhusius, Amst. , 1706, fol. There is a later one by
W*. Dindorf, Lips. , 1824, 5 vols. , in 6 parts, contain-
ing the notes of former editors. --III. An ecclesiasti-
cal writer in the ninth century, not to be confounded
with the author of the Onomasticon. He compiled a
shronology, which commences with the creation. The
author calls it 'laropia fvoinij (" a physical history"),
because his work enlarges greatly respecting the crea-
tion of the world. It is ruUier, however, an ecclesias-
tical than a political history. The best edition is that
of Hardt, Monach , 1792, 8vo.
*. o chow that Alexander owed his success to himself,
not to Fortune. In the other, he attempts to prove, that
bis virtues were not the offspring of a blind and capri-
cious Fortune, and that his talents and the resources of
his intellect cannot be regarded as favours bestowed
by this same Fortune. These two discourses are pre-
ceded by one (No. 4) which shows the true object of
the others. Plutarch, in this, endeavours to prove,
that the Roman exploits are less the effect of valour
and wisdom, than the result of the influence of For-
tune; and, among the favours-conferred by this god-
dess, he enumerates the unexpected death of Alexan-
der, at the very time that he was menacing Italy with
his victorious arms. In all this we clearly see the
jealousy and vanity of the Greeks, who, from the time
that they first fell under the Roman yoke, lever ceased
detracting from the glory of this republic, and ascribing
its rapid progress to some blind and unknown cause.
One of the motives that induced Polybius, moreover,
to write his history, was to undeceive his countrymen
on this point, and prove to them that the prosperity of
Rome was owing, not to the caprices of Fortune, but
to good conduct and^valour. --7. Tlorepov 'ABr/valo.
Kara. rraKeuov $ ncord ooipiav kvio? 6repoi; (" Wheth-
er the Athenians are more renowned for War or for
(he Sciences"). The commencement and conclusion
are wanting. The text of what remains of this piece
is very corrupt. --8. Hepi 'laidoc not 'Ooiptdoc (" Of
Isis and Osiris"). This treatise contains a number
of very curious remarks on the Egyptian mythology,
but it is, at the same time, that very one of the works
of Plutarch in which his want of critical skill is most
? pparent. His object was to give the mythological
? ? traditions of the Egyptians a philosophical sense, in
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? PLU10.
FL u
plant which bears her name. (Sthoi. td Nicand. , Al-
oe , 374. -- Oppian, Hal. , 3, 486. -- Ovid, Met. , 10,
730. )--Pluto, Homer tells us. was once wounded in
the shoulder by the arrows of Hercules ; but, from the
ambiguity of the phrase used by the poet (h miXy,
//. , 5, 395), it is difficult to determine the scene of the
conflict. Some say that it was at the gate of the
nether world, when the hero was sent to drag the dog
cf Hades to the realms of day. (Schol. ad 11. . I. c. --
Heyne ad II. , 1. c--Schol. ad Od , 11,605 ) Others
maintain tha* it was in Pylos, where the god was aid-
ing his worsh. ppers against the son of Jupiter. (Apol-
lod , 2, 7, 3-- Pausan. . 6, 25. --Find. , 01. , 9, 50. --
Schol. ad Find. , I. c. ) Heyne, Miiller, and Buttmann
are in favour of this sense of the phrase. --The region
over which Pluto presided is represented in the Iliad
and in the Theogony as being within the earth. {II. ,
3, 278. --74. , 9, 668. --lb. , 20, 61-- lb. , 23, 100 --
Theog. , 455, 767. ) In the Odyssey it is placed in
the dark region beyond the stream of Ocean. (Od. ,
10,508. --lb. , 11, 1. ) Its name is Erebus, with which
the appellation Hades became afterward synonymous.
The poets everywhere describe it as dreary, dark, and
cheerless. The dead, without distinction of good or
evil, age or rank, wander there, conversing about their
former stale on earth: they are unhappy, and they feel
their wretched state acutely. They have no strength,
or power of mind or body. Some few, enemies of
the gods, such as Sisyphus, Tityus, Tantalus, are pun-
ished for their crimes, but not apart from the rest of
the dead. Nothing can be more gloomy and com-
fortless than the whole aspect of the realm of Hades
as pictured by Homer. -- In process of time, when
communication with Egypt and Asia had enlarged the
sphere of the ideas of the Greeks, the nether world
underwent a total change. It was now divided into
two separate regions: Tartarus, which, in the time
of Homer and Hesiod, was thought to lie far beneath
, and to be the prison of the Titans, became one of
these regions, and the place of punishment for wick-
ed men; and Elysium, which lay on the shore of
the stream of Ocean, the retreat of the children and
relatives of the king of the gods, was moved down
thither to form the place of reward for good men. A
stream encompassed the domains of Hades, over which
the dead, on paying their passage-money (vavXov),
were ferried by Charon. The three-headed dog Cer-
berus guarded the entrance ; and the three judges, Mi-
nos, ^Eacus, and Rhadamanthus, allotted his place of
bliss or of pain to each of the dead who was brought
before their tribunal. This idea is probably founded
on the passage in the Odyssey (11, 568) where the
hero says he saw Minos judging in Erebus; but, ac-
cording to the earlier belief, he only judged there as
Orion hunted; in other words, he pursued the same
occupation as on earth. According to the fine myth
in Plato (Gorgias, p. 623), /Cacus and Rhadaman-
thus sit at the point in the mead where the path branch-
es ofTto the Islands of the Blessed and to Tartarus (com-
pare Virg. , JEn. , 6, 540); the former judging the
dead from Europe, the latter those from Asia. If any
case proves too difficult for them, it is reserved for
the decision of Minos. --The River of Oblivion (6 rije
\yib\c irorauoc) was added to those of Homer's trans-
Oceanic region (Acheron, Pyriphlegethon, and Oocy-
tus), and the dead were led to drink of its waters pre-
vious to their returning to animate other bodies on
? ? earth. In the sixth book of Virgil's . Kncid will be
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? r od
POL
? oil, besides, corrupted both good and bad with his
gifts. The fable is borrowed, with some slight alter-
ation, from the Greek. (Phadr. , fab. , 4, IS. )
I'i. uvius, a surname of Jupiter, as god of rain. He
was invoked by that name among the Romans, when-
ever the earth was parched up by continual heat, and
was in want of refreshing showers. (Tibull. , 1,8, 26. )
1'nvi, the place of public assembly at Athens, es-
pecially during electa js, so called from the crowds ac-
customed to assemble therein (afro rov ircrvKvucOai).
The Pnyx was situate on a low hill, sloping down to
the north, at the western verge of the city, and at a
quarter of a mile to the west of the Acropolis. It waa
a large semicircular area, of which the southern aide,
or diameter, was formed by a long line of limestone
rock, hewn so aa to present the appearance of a verti-
cal wall, in the centre of which, and projecting from
it, was a solid pedestal, carved out of the living rock,
ascended by steps, and based upon seats of the same
material. This was the celebrated Eema, f:om which
the orators addressed the people. The lowest or most
torthern part of the semicircular curve was supported
by a terrace wall of polygonal blocks. (Wordsworth's
Greece, p. 160. --Aris'. oph. , Acharn. , 20. --Jul. Poll. ,
9, 10. )
Podaliril's, son of -Esculapius and Epione, and a
celebrated physician of antiquity. Xenophon calls
Sim and his brother Macbaon pupils of Chiron the
rentaur (Cyneget. , 1, 14), an assertion which Aris-
tides takes the unnecessary trouble of refuting. (Oral,
in Aielepiad. , vol. 1, p. 76, ed. Cant. ) The two
Brothers were also distinguished for eloquence, and for
their acquaintance with the military art. (Xcn. , I. e. )
According to Quintus Calaber, Machaon was the elder,
ind also instructed Podalirius. (Paralipom. , Horn. ,
i, 60. ) They were both present at the eiege of Troy,
and made themselves so conspicuous by '. heir valour,
that Homer ranks them among the fi-st of the Gre-
cian heroes. Their skill in the heiling art was also
highly serviceable to the wounded, and (hey were at
last excused from the fight, >>. nd from all the fatigues
jf war, in order to liava r-. ore time to attend to those
who were injured. 0*: his return from Troy, Poda-
irius was driven by a tempest to the coast of Caria,
>>here he cither scttl'-d in, or founded, the city of Syr-
na, calLd by "Orne Syrus. (Pausan. , 3, 26. --Stebe-
>>*, <JL loc. ) The more common account is in favour
if h. i i b'. vwg founded the place, and he is said to have
. ailed it after Syrna, the daughter of Damoetas, king
jf the country. He had cured her, it seems, of the
-Ficts of a fall from the roof of a mansion, by bleeding
'ier in both arms at the moment when her life waa
despaired of; end he received her in marriage, to-
gether with the sovereignty of the Carian Chersonese.
(Steph. Byz. , s. v. Siyiea. ) This story furnishes the
first instance of a physician's having practised bleed-
ing, at least among the Greeks. (Sprcngcl, Hist, de
la Med. , vol. 1, p. 131. ) Another account makes
Podalirius to have, been assassinated on the coast of
Ausonia, in the territory of the Daunians, in Italy, and
to have been worshipped after death under the name
of vbauv aKearr/c, "healer of diseases. " (Lyeophr. ,
1046, seqq. ) Strabo, moreover, says, that the tomb
of Podalirius was to be seen at the distance of 100
stadia from the sea, in the country of the Daunians.
(Strab. , 436. )
Poiiabcks, I. the first name of Priam. When Troy
? ? was taken by Hercules, he was redeemed from slavery
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? TOLEMON
POL
k> much s I'cngth of argument and energy o' lan-
guage, that Polemon was constrained to yield to the
farce of conviction. Instead of turning Xenocrates
and his doctrine to ridicule, he became sensible of
'. he folly of his former conduct, was heartily ashamed
tf the contemptible figure which he made in so re-
spectable an assembly, took his garland from his head,
:oncealed his naked arm under his cloak, assumed a
? edate and thoughtful aspect, and, in short, resolved
from that hour to relinquish his licentious pleasures,
and to devote himself to the pursuit of wisdom. Thus
was this young man, by the powerful energy of truth
and eloquence, converted from an infamous libe. --
tine to a respectable philosopher. In such a sudden
change of character, it is difficult to avoid parsing
from one extreme to another. Polemon, after his ref-
ormation, in order to brace up his mind to t>. e lone of
rigid virtue, constantly practised the severest austerity
and most hardy fortitude. From the thirtieth year of
nis age to his death he drank nothing but water.
When he suffered violent pain, he showed no exter-
nal sign of anguish. In order to preserve his mind
undisturbed by passion, he habit'. ated himself to speak
in a uniform tone of voice, without elevation or de-
pression. The austerity of his manners, however,
was tempered with urbanity and generosity. He was
fond of solitude, and passed much of his time in a
garden near his school. He died at sn advanced
age, of consumption. Of the tenets of Polemon lit-
tle is said by the ancients, because he strictly adhered
to the doctrine of Plato. The direction of the Acad-
emy devolved upon him after the death of Xenocrates.
He is said 'o have taught that the world is God; but
this was, doubtless, according to the Platonic system,
which made the soul of the world an inferior divinity.
{Diog. Laerl. , 4, 19. --Suid. , s. v. --Vol. Max. , 6, 9.
--Ctc. , de Fin. , 4, 6. --Alhenaus, 2, p. 44. -- Slob. ,
Eclog. Phys. , 1, 3. --Enfield's Hist, of Philos. , vol.
I, p. 847, >>eq. )--II. A son of Zeno of Apamea, made
king of Pontus by Antony, after the latter bad de-
posed Darius, son of Pbarnaces. (Appian, Bell. Civ. ,
ft, 75. ) This person, who had the art to ingratiate
himself alike with Aiitony, Augustus, and Agrippa,
was made king of tliat eastern part of Pontus, named
Poiemoniacus after him He was killed in an expe-
dition against some barbarians of Sindice, near the
Palus Maeotis; but his widow, Pylhodoris, was reign-
ing in his stead at the time that Strabo wrote his Ge-
ography. 'ilrab. , 656, 578. --Dio Case. , 53, 35. --
Id. , 54, V )--III. Son and successor of the pre-
ceding, wa i placed on the throne by Caligula, and
had his dominions afterward enlarged by Claudius
with a portion of Cilicia. Nero eventually converted
Pontus into a Roman province. (Suet. , Vil. Ner. , 18.
--Crusius, ad loc. )--IV. Antonius, a celebrated soph-
ist and public speaker, in the second century of our
era. He was a native of Laodicea on the Lycus, and
of a consular family, and was held in high esteem by
Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. Polemon spent
the greater part of his life in Smyrna, where he opened
a school of rhetoric, and was sent on several occasions
is ambassador to Hadrian. He accumulated a large
fortune by his oratorical talents, but made many ene-
mies by his excessive haughtiness. He became a
freat sufferer by the gout, and at the age of fifty-six
rears, having become disgusted with life on account
of the tortures to which his complaint subjected him,
? ? he returned to his native city, entered the tomb of his
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? POL
ion was consecrated to the worship of the goddess;
j. id the western, including the northern and southern
porticoes, was sacred to the deified daughter of Ce-
crops, the nymph Pandrosus. On the same site had
previously stood the temple of Erechtheus; and from
this circumstance, as well as from the fact that his
altar still remained, the entire building retained the
name of the Erechtheum. Within the sacred enclo-
? ure were preserved the holiest objects of Athenian
veneration, among which the most precious were the
alive of Minerva and the fountain of Neptune, both
Of which sprung up at the bidding of those divinities,
when there was contention among the gods concerning
the guardianship of Athens. Here, too, was the old-
est and most deeply-venerated of the statues of the
Athenian goddess; a figure carved in olive-wood, but
of which the legend affirmed that it had fallen from
heaven. (Wordsworth's Greece, p. 144. -- Stuart's
Antiquities of Athens, p. 37, Land. , 1827, 12ino. )
Miilier has written an interesting work on the Temple
and Worship of Minerva Polias, under the following
title: "Minerva Poliadis Sacra el Mdem in arce
Athenarum illustravit C. O. Midler," Gotting. , 1820,
4to.
Poliorcetes (JlokiopKnrfic), "the besieger of cit-
ies," a surname given to Demetrius, son of Antigonus.
(Vid. Demetrius I. )
PoLiTgs, I. a son of Priam and Hecuba, killed by
Pyrrhus in his father's presence. (Virg, Mn. , 2,
626. )--II. His son, who bore the same name, fol-
lowed . <Eneas into Italy, and was one of the friends of
young Ascanius. (Virg. , 5, 664 )
Poixa Argentakia, the wife of the poet Lucan.
{Vid. I,ncamis. )
Pollsntia, a town of Liguria, southeast of Alba
Pompeia. It was a municipium, and is chierly cel-
jbrated for its wool. (Plin. , 8, 48. -- Colutn. , 7, 2.
-- Sil. Lai. , 8, 599. ) A battle was fought in its vi-
linity between Stilico and the Goths, the success of
which appears to have been very doubtful. (Oros. ,
"i, 37. ) But Claudian speaks of it as the greatest tri-
? inphcf his hero. (De Bell. Get. , 605. ) The mod-
'. rii village of PoUnza stands near the site of the an-
ient city. (Cramer's Anc. Italy, vol. 1, p. 28. )
Pollio, I. C. Asinius, a Roman consul in the time
o( Augustus, who, though of humble birth, was one
of the most remarkable men and most distinguished
patrons of literature during the age in which he lived;
and who we consider the brilliant part which he acted
as a military commander, politician, and man of let-
ters, it is srii. gular we have so few remains of his wri-
tings, and such brief records of his actions. Pollio
was born in ilia 675th year of tho city, and he had,
consequently, rea. '. bed tho age of thirty before the liber-
tics of his country were subverted. During the times
of the republic, he so well performed the parts of a cit-
izen and patriot, that in one of Cicero's letters he is
classed with Cato for his love of liberty and virtue.
But in pursuing this line of conduct he offended some
of the partisans of Pompcy, and was forced, as he af-
terward alleged, to ospouse the part of Caesar, in
order to shield himself from their resentment. (Cic,
Ep. ad Fam. , 10, 31. ) He became a favourite officer
t. Julius Caesar, whom he served with inviolable fidel-
ity, and ever entertained for him the most devoted at-
'. >>? :'. . inent. A short while before the dictator's death,
a; was sent to Spain at the head of a considerable
army, to crush the parvy wbich Sextus Pompey had
? ? recently formed in tha'. province; but he was nut very
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? POLLIO.
PO L
tro me snbtraham, et cro prseda Victoria" Veil. Pa-
terc, 2,86. ) From this period till his death(. vhich hap-
pened at hit Tusculan villa in 755 IT. C, when he had
reached the age of eighty) Pollio withdrew almost entire-
ly from public affairs. He was naturally of a bold, assu-
ming, and overbearing temper; he affected a stern predi-
lection for the forms and manners of the ancient repub-
lic; and, having amassed an enormous fortune during
the proscriptions, he never sought to ingratiate himself
with Augustus. Accordingly, though he was respect-
ed and esteemed, he was not beloved by the emperor.
During the contest wi;h Lucius Antonius, several sting-
ing epigrams were directed against him by Augustus.
Pollio was well able to retort, but he did not choose,
as he himself expressed it, " in eum scribere qui potest
oroscribere. " (Macrob. , Saturn. , 2,4. ) His neutral-
ity during the war with Antony and Cleopatra, though
permuted by Augustus, would little tend to conciliate
his favour; and that prince saw around him so many
able ministers who had uniformly supported his inter-
ests, that he had no occasion to require the assistance
or counsel of Pollio. With the exception, therefore, of
occasionally pleading in the Forum, Pollio devoted all
his time to literary composition and the protection of
literary men. No Roman of that period was more ca-
pable of enjoying retirement with dignity, or relishing it
with taste. He possessed everything which could ren-
der his retreat delightful: an excellent education,distin-
guished talents, a knowledge of mankind, and a splen-
did fortune. To all the strength and solidity of under-
standing requisite to give him weight in the serious or
important affairs of life, he united the most lively and
sgreeable vein of wit and pleasantry. His genius and
acquirements enabled him likewise to shine in the
noblest branches of polite literature: poetry, elo-
quence, and history, in which last department Seneca
prefers his style to that of Livy. He had, no doubt,
effectually improved the opportunities which the times
afforded, of enriching himself at the cost of others;
and no one had profited more by the forfeited estates
during the period of the proscriptions; but it should
not be forgotten, that whatever fortune he amassed
was converted to the most laudable purposes: the
formation of a public library, the collection of the most
eminent productions of art, and the encouragement of
learning and literary men. Pliny, in his Natural His-
tory, informs us, that Pollio was the first person who
erected a public library at Koine. It was placed in the
vicinity of the Atrium Libertatis, which ne had con-
structed on the Aventine Hill; and the expense of the
establishment was defrayed frotrrthe spoils of conquer-
ed enemies (7, 30; 35, 2). From the same author
we have an account of his fine collection of statues
by Praxiteles and other masters (34, 5), which he
was extremely desirous should be publicly seen and
commended. Among the labours of Praxiteles are
mentioned a Silenus, an Apollo, a Neptune, and a Ve-
nus. The specimens of the works of other artists ex-
hibited the Centaurs carrying off the Nymphs, by Ar-
chesitas; Jupiter, surnamed Hospitalis, by Pamphilus,
a scholar of Praxiteles; a sitting Vesta; and, finally,
Zethus, Amphion. and Dirce, fastened by a cord to the
bull, all formed out of one stone, and brought from
Rhodes by the direction of Pollio. Still more useful
and praiseworthy was the patronage which he extended
to men of genius. In youth, his character and con-
versational talents had rendered him a favourite with
? ? the master-spirits of Rome: Cesar, Calvus, and Ca-
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? VOL
POLYBIUS
i Chariot, Bee>>. 2. Of the Age of Men; of wh<<t pre-1 ther the lessons of civil and political wisdom.
Hs
cedes and follows Birth; of the Members of the Human
Frame; of the External and Internal Parts of the Body.
3, Of the various relations between the Members of a
Family or a City; of Friends, Country, Love; of the
Relation between Master and Slave; of Metals, Trav-
els, Roads; of Gayety and Saduess; of Happiness;
of Kivcrs; of the Avaricious, the Industrious, and the
Idle; of Buying and Selling, &c--4. Of the Sciences.
--5. Of the Chase, Animals, &c. --6. Of Repasts; of,
various Crimes, dec. --7. Of various Arts and Trades.
8. Of Justice, and the public Administration of it.
--9. Of Cities, Edifices, Games, dec--10. Of Vases,
Utensils, dec. --The value of the work, for acquiring
not only a knowledge of Greek terms, but also of anti-
quities, is conceded by all. The interest, moreover, is
considerably increased by the citations from authors
whose works are lost. Julius Pollux composed many
other works that have not come down to us, such as
Dissertations (AtoAtftic) and Declamations (McAc-
rai); and among these are mentioned a discourse pro-
nounced on the occasion of the marriage of Commo-
dus, an eloge on Rome, and an accusation of Socrates.
The best edition of the Onomasticon is that of Hein-
sterhusius, Amst. , 1706, fol. There is a later one by
W*. Dindorf, Lips. , 1824, 5 vols. , in 6 parts, contain-
ing the notes of former editors. --III. An ecclesiasti-
cal writer in the ninth century, not to be confounded
with the author of the Onomasticon. He compiled a
shronology, which commences with the creation. The
author calls it 'laropia fvoinij (" a physical history"),
because his work enlarges greatly respecting the crea-
tion of the world. It is ruUier, however, an ecclesias-
tical than a political history. The best edition is that
of Hardt, Monach , 1792, 8vo.
