A disciple of Marsyas, and a
celebrated
flute-
tions the comet which appeared in the 281st year player of Phrygia.
tions the comet which appeared in the 281st year player of Phrygia.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - c
298, Olympiodorus has arisen from a confusion between this and some
sailed to Aetolia, and induced the Aetolians to other man of the same name. But Photius dis-
Bend assistance to Athens ; and Cassander was tinctly makes the statement on the authority of
compelled to withdraw his forces. Shortly after Olympiodorus himself (w's attós anos). It appears,
wards, when Elatea, which had been conquered by from what Photius has preserved of his writings,
Cassander, revolted from him, it was mainly that he was a heathen.
through Olympiodorus that it was enabled to hold The abridgment by Photius has been several
out against his troops. Subsequently, in B. c. 288, times published: by Phil. Labbeus, in his Eclogae
when Demetrius was stripped of his kingdom by Histor. de Rebus Byzant. ; by Sylburg, in his Col-
Lysimachus and Pyrrhus, a small number of the lectio Scriptorum Hist
. Rom. Minorum ; by Andreas
Athenians, with Olympiodorus at their head, Schottus, in his Eclogae Historicorum de Rebus
resolved to rid the city of the Macedonian garrison Byzantinis ; and, in conjunction with Dexippus,
which Demetrius had posted in Athens in the Eunapius, and other historical fragments, by Nie-
fortress of the Museum after his conquest of the buhr, Bonn, 1829. (Fabric. Bild. Graec. vol. x.
city, and which still remained faithful to him. pp. 632, 703. )
The Athenians readily joined Olympiodorus and 4. A peripatetic philosopher, who taught at
his confederates, and the Museum was carried by Alexandria, where Proclus was one of his pupils
Peiraeus and Munychia were also re- and speedily attracted the attention of Olympiodorus,
covered, and Olympiodorus, at the head of a small who was so much attached to him that he wished to
body of troops which he raised at Eleusis, put to betroth his daughter to him. Owing to the rapidity
flight a body of troops in the service of Demetrius, of his utterance and the difficulty of the subjecis
who were ravaging the plain. Demetrius invested on wbich he treated, he was understood by very
Athens, but was compelled by the approach of few. When his lectures were concluded, Proclus
Pyrrhus to raise the siege, and shortly afterwards used to repeat the topics treated of in them for the
crossed over into Asia Minor. It was probably benefit of those pupils who were slower in catching
this Olympiodorus who was archon eponymus in the meaning of their master. Olympiodorus had
B. C. 294. There was a statue of him on the the reputation of being an eloquent man and a pro-
Acropolis. (Paus. i. 25. 82, i. 29. $ 13, x. 18. $ 7, found thinker. Nothing of his has come down to
x. 34. $ 3. )
[C. P. M. ] us in a written form. (Marinus, rita Proci, c. 9;
OLYMPIODORUS ('OXvunióbwpos), literary. Suidas, s. v. ; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. 628)
1. A writer mentioned by Pliny amongst those 5. A philosopher of the Platonic school, a con-
from whom he drew materials for the 12th book of temporary of Isidorus of Pelusium, who in one of
his Natural History.
his letters (ii. 256) reproaches him for neglecting
2. A disciple of Theophrastus, with whom was the precepts of Plato, and spending an indolent
deposited one of the copies of his will. (Diog. life. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol
. iii. p. 180. )
Laërt. v. 57. )
6. The last philosopher of any celebrity in the
3. An historical writer, a native of Thebes in Neo-Platonic school of Alexandria. He lived in
Egypt, who lived in the fifth century after Christ. the first half of the sixth century after Christ, in
He wrote a work in 22 books, entitled 'IoTopikol the reign of the emperor Justinian. He was a
dóyou, which comprised the history of the Western younger contemporary, and possibly a pupil, of
empire under the reign of Honorius, from A. D. 407 Damascius ; the partiality which he uniformly
to October, A. D. 425 (Clinton, Fust. Rom. anno shows for him, and the preference which he gives
425). Olympiodorus took up the history from him even above Proclus, seem to indicate this.
about the point at which Eunapius had ended. Our knowledge of Olympiodorus is derived from
[Eunapius. )
those works of his which have come down to us.
The original work of Olympiodorus is lost, but From a passage in his scholia to the Alcibiades
an abridgment of it has been preserved by Photius Prior of Plato, Creuzer has acutely inferred that
(Cod. 80), who describes the style of the work as he taught before the Athenian school was finally
being clear, but without force or vigour, loose, and suppressed by Justinian, that is, before a. D. 529;
descending to vulgarity, so as not to merit being though the confiscations to which the philosophers
called a history. Of this Photius thinks that the were being subjected are alluded to. And in various
author himself was aware, and that for this reason other passages the philosophy of Proclus and
he spoke of his work as being not a history, but a Damascius is spoken of as still in existence. From
collection of materials for a history (üin oog what we have of the productions of Olympiodorus
ypaoñs). It was dedicated to the emperor Theo he appears to have been an acute and clear thinker,
dosius II. Olympiodorus seems to have had better and, if not strikingly original, far from being a
qualifications as a statesman than as a writer ; and mere copyist, though he follows Damascius pretty
in various missions and embassies amongst bar- closely. He was a man of extensive reading, and
barian states he rendered important services to the a great deal of valuable matter from the lost writings
empire, for which the highest honours were con- of other philosophers, as lamblichus, Syrianus,
ferred upon him by the Roman senate (Photius, Damascius, and others, with historical and mytho-
Cod. 214. p. 171, ed. Bekker. ) He was sent by logical notices, have come down to us through him
Honorius on an embassy to the Huns, probably to at second hand. In kis sketches of the general
Hungary. After the death of Honorius Olympio- plan and object of the dialogues of Plato, and of
dorus removed to Byzantium, to the court of the their dramatic construction and the characters in-
emperor Theodosius. Hierocles dedicated to this troduced, he exhibited great ability. A great deal
Olympiodorus his work on providence and fate that is valuable is also to be found in his analyses
## p. 25 (#41) ##############################################
OLYMPIODORUS.
25
OLYMPUS.
ܪ
of the philosophical expressions of Plato. His OLYMPIOʻSTHENES ('OXvur wo déms), a
style, as might have been expected, is marked by sculptor, whose country is unknown, made three
several of the solecisms of his age, but exhibits in of the statues of the Muses, which were set up on
the main a constant endeavour after purity and Mt. Helicon, and the other six of which were made
accuracy. His scholia, as we have them, were put by Cephisodotus and Strongylion. (Paus. ix. 30.
into a written form by his pupils, from notes which $ 1. ) It may safely be inferred that the three
they took of his lectures, and are distributed into artists were contemporary ; but, looking only at
Fpáters, or lessons. The inscriptions which precede the passage of Pausanias, it is doubtful whether
the scholia state that they were written did ourîs the elder or the younger Cephisodotus is meant.
OA UUTIO upou Toù megánov pilooópou. This will It appears, however, from other evidence that
probably account for many of the defects of style Strongylion was a contemporary of Praxiteles, and
observable in Olympiodorus. Of his compositions therefore of the elder Cephisodotus. (STRONGY-
there have come down to us a life of Plato ; a lion. ] According to this, the date of Olympios-
polemical work against Strato (in MS. at Munich); thenes would be about B. C. 370. (P. S. )
and scholia on the Gorgias, Philebus, Phaedo, and OLYMPIUS ('OXÚurios), the Olympian, oc-
Alcibiades I. of Plato. Whether these were all curs as a surname of Zeus (Hom. I. i. 353),
the works of Plato on which he commented, or Heracles (Herod. ii. 44), the Muses (Olympiades,
not, we do not know. The life of Plato was pub- 11. ii. 491), and in general of all the gods that
lished in Wetstein's edition of Diogenes Laërtius, were believed to live in Olympus, in contradis
in 1692, from the posthumous papers of Is. Casau- tinction from the gods of the lower world. (11 i.
bon. It was again published by Etwall, in his 399; comp. Paus. i. 18. § 7, v. 14. § 6, vi. 20.
edition of three of Plato's dialogues, Lond. 1771 ; $ 2. )
[L. S. )
and by Fischer, in his edition of some dialogues of OLYMPIUS ('OXúutios), a lawyer, born pro-
Plato, Leipzig, 1783. Some of the more important bably at Tralles in Lydia, in the sixth century
scholia on the Phaedo were published by Nathan after Christ. His father's name was Stephanus,
Forster, Oxford, 1752 ; by Fischer (l. c. ); and who was a physician (Aler. Trall. De Medic. iv. 1,
in a more complete form, by Mystoxides and p. 198); one of his brothers was the physician
'Schinas, in their Euroni 'Exinuik dverdótwv, Alexander Trallianus ; another the architect and
Venice, 1816. The scholia to the Gorgias were mathematician Anthemius ; and Agathias men-
published by Routh, in his edition of the Euthy- tions (Hist. v. p. 149, ed. 1660) that his other two
demus and Gorgias, Oxford, 1784 ; those to the brothers, Metrodorus and Dioscorus, were both
Philebus by Stallbaum, in his edition of Plato, eminent in their several professions. (W. A. G. )
Leipzig, 1826 ; those on the Alcibiades by Creuzer, OLY'MPIUS NEMESIA'NUS. (NEMESI-
Frankfort, 1821. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol 2 p. Anus. )
631. )
OLYMPUS (OA Uutos). ). A teacher of Zeus,
7. An Aristotelic philosopher, the author of a after whom the god is said to have been called the
commentary on the Meteorologica of Aristotle, Olympian. (Diod. iii. 73. )
which is still extant. He himself (p. 37, 6) speaks 2. The father of Marsyas. (A pollod. i. 4. & 2. )
of Alexandria as his residence, and (p. 12,6) men- 3.
A disciple of Marsyas, and a celebrated flute-
tions the comet which appeared in the 281st year player of Phrygia. For a further account of this
of the Diocletian era ( a. D. 565), so that the period personage, who is closely connected with the his-
when he lived is fixed to the latter half of the torical Olympus, see the following article.
sixth century after Christ. His work, like the 4. The father of Cius, from whom Mount Olym-
scholia of the Neo-Platonic philosopher of the pus in Mysia was believed to have received its
same name, is divided into #pákers; from which it name. (Schol. ad Theocr. xiii. 30. )
would seem that the Aristotelic philosophy was 5. A son of Heracles by Euboea. (Apollod. ii.
taught at Alexandria even after the Neo-Platonic 7. $ 8. )
school had become extinct. Like Simplicius, to 6. Olympus, the abode of the gods also requires
whom, however, he is inferior, he endeavours to a few words of comment in this place. Mount
reconcile Plato and Aristotle. Of Proclus he speaks Olympus is situated in the north-east of Thessaly,
with great admiration, styling him ó Seios; but his and is about 6,000 feet high ; on its summit which
great authority is Ammonius. His commentary rises above the clouds of heaven, and is itself cloud-
was published by the sons of Aldus, at Venice, less, Hephaestus had built a town with gates, which
1551. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. 628, &c. , was inhabited by Zeus and the other gods. (Od.
who gives a list of the authors quoted by him. ) vi. 42, N. xi. 76. ) The palace of Zeus contained
8. Surnamed Diaconus or Monachus, an eccle an assembly-hall, in which met not only the gods
siastic who lived in the sixth century. He sustained of Olympus, but those also who dwelt on the earth
the office of diaconus in Alexandria
He is men- or in the sea. (N. xx. 5. ) This celestial moun-
tioned with commendation by Anastasius Sinaitan lain must indeed be distinguished from heaven ;
who flourished not later than A. D. 680—700. He but as the gods lived in the city which rose above
wrote commentaries on the books of Job, Ezran the clouds and into heaven, they lived at the same
Jeremiah, and Ecclesiastes. The notes on Job, tine in heaven, and the gates of the celestial city
entitled Hypotheses in Librum Jobi, were published were at the same time regarded as the gates of
in a Latin translation, by Paulus Comitolus, Venice, heaven. (N. v. 749, &c. )
[L. S. )
1587; and, with those on Jeremiah, in the Catence OLYMPUS ("OAvunos), the physician in ordi-
Patrum Graecorum. The commentary on Eccle- nary to Cleopatra, queen of Egyp, who aided her
siastes was published in Greek in the Auctarium in committing suicide, B. c. 30, and afterwards
Ducaeanum Bibliothecae Patrum, Paris, 1624. published an account of her death. (Plut. Anton.
Latin translations of it have been several times c. 82. )
[W. A. G. ]
published. (Fabric. Bill. Graec. vob x. p. 627 ; OLYMPUS ("OA vumos), musicians. Suidas
Hoffmann, Lez. Bill, vol. ii p. 158. ) (C. P. M. j| distinguishes three Greek musicians of this name,
## p. 26 (#42) ##############################################
26
OLYMPUS.
OMIAS.
of whom the first is mythial, and the last histori- Of the particular tunes (vóuou) ascribed to him,
cal: the second probably owes his existence only to the most important was the 'Apudrios róuos, a
some mistake of Suidas, or the writer whom he mournful and passionato strain, of the rhythm of
copied, since Plutarch who is a much better autho- which we are enabled to form an idea from a pas-
rity only recognizes two musicians of the name ; sage in the Orestes of Euripides, which was set to
both of whom are connected with the auletic music, in, as the passage itself tells us. A dirge, also, in
which had its origin in Phrygia (Plut. de Mus. honour of the slain Python, was said to have been
p. 1133, d. e. )
played by Olympus, at Delphi, on the flute, and
1. The elder Olympus belongs to the mythical in the Lydian style. Aristophanes mentions a
genealogy of Mysian and Phrygian Alute-players mournful strain, set to more flutes than one (fur
-Hyagnis, Marsyas, Olympus—10 each of whom avaia), as well known at Athens under the name of
the invention of the fute was ascribed, and Olympus. (Equit. 9; comp. Schol. and Brunck's
under whose names we have the mythical repre pote). But it can hardly be supposed that his music
sentation of the contest between the Phrygian was all mournful; the nome in honour of Athena
auletic and the Greek citharoedic music: some at least, must have been of a different character.
writers made him the father (instead of son, or Some ancient writers ascribe to him the Nomos
disciple, and favourite of Marsyas), but the genea- Orthios, which Herodotus attributes to Arion.
logy given above was that more generally received. Olympus was a great inventor in rhythm as well
Olympus was said to have been a native of Mysia, as in music. To the two existing species of rhythm,
and to have lived before the Trojap war. The com- the loov, in which the arsis and thesis are equal (as
positions ascribed to him were vouoi eis tous Seous, in the Dactyl and Anapaest), and the dotiáriov, in
that is, old melodies appropriated to the worship of which the arsis is twice the length of the thesis (as
particular gods, the origin of which was so ancient in the lambus and Trochee), he added a third, the
as to be unknown, like those which were attri- Hublov, in which the length of the arsis is equal
buted to Olen and Philammon. Olympus not un- to two short syllables, and that of the thesis to
frequently appears on works of art, as a boy, some three, as in the Cretic foot (U-), the Paeons
times instructed by Marsyas, and sometimes as (wvu, &c. ), and the Bacchic foot (U4_),
witnessing and lamenting his fate. (Suid. s. v. ; though there is some doubt whether the last form
Plut. de Mus. pp. 1132, e. , 1133, e. ; Apollod. was used by Olympus.
i. 4. & 2; Hygin. Fab. 165, 273 ; Ovid, Metam. There is no mention of any poems composed by
vi. 393, Eleg. ii. 3 ; MARSyAs. ) It may fairly be Olympus. It is argued by some writers that the
assumed that this elder and mythical Olympus inseparable connection between the earliest com-
was invented through some mistake respecting the positions in music and poetry forbids the suppo-
younger and really historical Olympus. (Respect- sition that he composed music without words.
ing this confusion, see Müller, History of Greek Without entering into this difficult and exten-
Litoralure, p. 156. )
sive question, it is enough to observe that, what-
2. The true Olympus was a Phrygian, and per- ever words may have been originally connected
haps belonged to a family of native musicians, with his music, they were superseded by the com-
since he was said to be descended from the first positions of later poets. Of the lyric poets who
Olympus Müller supposes that there was an adapted their compositions to the nomes of Olyr:-
hereditary race of flute players at the festivals of pus, the chief was STESICHORUS of Himera. (Plu-
the Phrygian Mother of the Gods, who claimed a tarch de Mus. passim ; Müller, Ulrici, Bode, and
descent from the mythical Olympus. He is placed a very elaborate article by Ritschl, in Ersch and
by Plutarch at the head of auletic music, as Ter-Gruber's Encyklopädie. )
[P. S. )
pander stood at the head of the citharoedic: and OLYMPUS ('OXvumos), a statuary, whose
on account of his inventions in the art, Plutarch country is unknown, and respecting whose date it
even assigns to him, rather than to Terpander, the can only be said that he lived later than the 80th
honour of being the father of Greek music, apxn- Olympiad, B. C. 460 (OBBOTAS). He made the
γός της Ελληνικής και καλής μουσικής (De Mus. statue at Olympia of the pancratiast Xenophon, the
pp. 1133, e. , 1135, c. ). With respect to his age, son of Menephylus, of Aegium of Achaea (Paus.
Suidas places him under a king Midas, son of vi. 3. & 5. & 14. )
(P. S. )
Gordius ; but this tells us nothing, for these were OLY'NTHIUS, an architect, who is said to
alternately the names of all the Phrygian kings to have assisted Cleomenes in the building of Aler.
the time of Croesus Müller places him, for satis- andria. (Jul. Valer. de R. G. Alex. i. 21, 23;
factory reasons, after Terpander and before Thale- Müller, Archäol. d. Kunst, $ 149, n. 2. ) [P. S. ]
tas, that is, between the 30th and 40th Olympiads, OLYNTHUS (OA uvdos), a son of Heracles
B. C. 660—620. Though a Phrygian by origin, and Bolbe, from whom the Thracian town of Olyn-
Olympus must be reckoned among the Greek musi- thus, and the river Olynthus near the Chalcidian
cians ;
for all the accounts make Greece the scene town of Apollonia, were believed to have received
of his artistic activity, and his subjects Greek ; and their name. (Steph. Byz. s. 0. ; Athen. viii p. 334;
he had Greek disciples, such as Crates and Hierar. Conon, Narrat. 4, where another person of the
(Plut. de us. pp. 1133, e. , 1140, d. ; Poll. iv. 79. ) same name is mentioned. )
[L, S. )
He may, in fact, be considered as having natural. OMA'DIUS ('Quadios), that is, the flesh-eater,
ized in Greece the music of the flute, which had a surname of Dionysus, to whom human sacrifices
previously been almost peculiar to Phrygia. This were offered in Chios and Tenedos. (Orph. Hymn.
Apecies of music admitted of much greater varia- | 51. 7 ; Porphyr. de Abstin. ii. 55. ) (L. S. )
tions than that of the lyre ; and, accordingly, OMIAS (ulas), a Lacedaemonian, was the
several new inventions are ascribed to Olympus. chief of the ten commissioners who were sent to
The greatest of his inventions was that of the third Philip V. , king of Macedon, then at Tegea (B.
sailed to Aetolia, and induced the Aetolians to other man of the same name. But Photius dis-
Bend assistance to Athens ; and Cassander was tinctly makes the statement on the authority of
compelled to withdraw his forces. Shortly after Olympiodorus himself (w's attós anos). It appears,
wards, when Elatea, which had been conquered by from what Photius has preserved of his writings,
Cassander, revolted from him, it was mainly that he was a heathen.
through Olympiodorus that it was enabled to hold The abridgment by Photius has been several
out against his troops. Subsequently, in B. c. 288, times published: by Phil. Labbeus, in his Eclogae
when Demetrius was stripped of his kingdom by Histor. de Rebus Byzant. ; by Sylburg, in his Col-
Lysimachus and Pyrrhus, a small number of the lectio Scriptorum Hist
. Rom. Minorum ; by Andreas
Athenians, with Olympiodorus at their head, Schottus, in his Eclogae Historicorum de Rebus
resolved to rid the city of the Macedonian garrison Byzantinis ; and, in conjunction with Dexippus,
which Demetrius had posted in Athens in the Eunapius, and other historical fragments, by Nie-
fortress of the Museum after his conquest of the buhr, Bonn, 1829. (Fabric. Bild. Graec. vol. x.
city, and which still remained faithful to him. pp. 632, 703. )
The Athenians readily joined Olympiodorus and 4. A peripatetic philosopher, who taught at
his confederates, and the Museum was carried by Alexandria, where Proclus was one of his pupils
Peiraeus and Munychia were also re- and speedily attracted the attention of Olympiodorus,
covered, and Olympiodorus, at the head of a small who was so much attached to him that he wished to
body of troops which he raised at Eleusis, put to betroth his daughter to him. Owing to the rapidity
flight a body of troops in the service of Demetrius, of his utterance and the difficulty of the subjecis
who were ravaging the plain. Demetrius invested on wbich he treated, he was understood by very
Athens, but was compelled by the approach of few. When his lectures were concluded, Proclus
Pyrrhus to raise the siege, and shortly afterwards used to repeat the topics treated of in them for the
crossed over into Asia Minor. It was probably benefit of those pupils who were slower in catching
this Olympiodorus who was archon eponymus in the meaning of their master. Olympiodorus had
B. C. 294. There was a statue of him on the the reputation of being an eloquent man and a pro-
Acropolis. (Paus. i. 25. 82, i. 29. $ 13, x. 18. $ 7, found thinker. Nothing of his has come down to
x. 34. $ 3. )
[C. P. M. ] us in a written form. (Marinus, rita Proci, c. 9;
OLYMPIODORUS ('OXvunióbwpos), literary. Suidas, s. v. ; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. 628)
1. A writer mentioned by Pliny amongst those 5. A philosopher of the Platonic school, a con-
from whom he drew materials for the 12th book of temporary of Isidorus of Pelusium, who in one of
his Natural History.
his letters (ii. 256) reproaches him for neglecting
2. A disciple of Theophrastus, with whom was the precepts of Plato, and spending an indolent
deposited one of the copies of his will. (Diog. life. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol
. iii. p. 180. )
Laërt. v. 57. )
6. The last philosopher of any celebrity in the
3. An historical writer, a native of Thebes in Neo-Platonic school of Alexandria. He lived in
Egypt, who lived in the fifth century after Christ. the first half of the sixth century after Christ, in
He wrote a work in 22 books, entitled 'IoTopikol the reign of the emperor Justinian. He was a
dóyou, which comprised the history of the Western younger contemporary, and possibly a pupil, of
empire under the reign of Honorius, from A. D. 407 Damascius ; the partiality which he uniformly
to October, A. D. 425 (Clinton, Fust. Rom. anno shows for him, and the preference which he gives
425). Olympiodorus took up the history from him even above Proclus, seem to indicate this.
about the point at which Eunapius had ended. Our knowledge of Olympiodorus is derived from
[Eunapius. )
those works of his which have come down to us.
The original work of Olympiodorus is lost, but From a passage in his scholia to the Alcibiades
an abridgment of it has been preserved by Photius Prior of Plato, Creuzer has acutely inferred that
(Cod. 80), who describes the style of the work as he taught before the Athenian school was finally
being clear, but without force or vigour, loose, and suppressed by Justinian, that is, before a. D. 529;
descending to vulgarity, so as not to merit being though the confiscations to which the philosophers
called a history. Of this Photius thinks that the were being subjected are alluded to. And in various
author himself was aware, and that for this reason other passages the philosophy of Proclus and
he spoke of his work as being not a history, but a Damascius is spoken of as still in existence. From
collection of materials for a history (üin oog what we have of the productions of Olympiodorus
ypaoñs). It was dedicated to the emperor Theo he appears to have been an acute and clear thinker,
dosius II. Olympiodorus seems to have had better and, if not strikingly original, far from being a
qualifications as a statesman than as a writer ; and mere copyist, though he follows Damascius pretty
in various missions and embassies amongst bar- closely. He was a man of extensive reading, and
barian states he rendered important services to the a great deal of valuable matter from the lost writings
empire, for which the highest honours were con- of other philosophers, as lamblichus, Syrianus,
ferred upon him by the Roman senate (Photius, Damascius, and others, with historical and mytho-
Cod. 214. p. 171, ed. Bekker. ) He was sent by logical notices, have come down to us through him
Honorius on an embassy to the Huns, probably to at second hand. In kis sketches of the general
Hungary. After the death of Honorius Olympio- plan and object of the dialogues of Plato, and of
dorus removed to Byzantium, to the court of the their dramatic construction and the characters in-
emperor Theodosius. Hierocles dedicated to this troduced, he exhibited great ability. A great deal
Olympiodorus his work on providence and fate that is valuable is also to be found in his analyses
## p. 25 (#41) ##############################################
OLYMPIODORUS.
25
OLYMPUS.
ܪ
of the philosophical expressions of Plato. His OLYMPIOʻSTHENES ('OXvur wo déms), a
style, as might have been expected, is marked by sculptor, whose country is unknown, made three
several of the solecisms of his age, but exhibits in of the statues of the Muses, which were set up on
the main a constant endeavour after purity and Mt. Helicon, and the other six of which were made
accuracy. His scholia, as we have them, were put by Cephisodotus and Strongylion. (Paus. ix. 30.
into a written form by his pupils, from notes which $ 1. ) It may safely be inferred that the three
they took of his lectures, and are distributed into artists were contemporary ; but, looking only at
Fpáters, or lessons. The inscriptions which precede the passage of Pausanias, it is doubtful whether
the scholia state that they were written did ourîs the elder or the younger Cephisodotus is meant.
OA UUTIO upou Toù megánov pilooópou. This will It appears, however, from other evidence that
probably account for many of the defects of style Strongylion was a contemporary of Praxiteles, and
observable in Olympiodorus. Of his compositions therefore of the elder Cephisodotus. (STRONGY-
there have come down to us a life of Plato ; a lion. ] According to this, the date of Olympios-
polemical work against Strato (in MS. at Munich); thenes would be about B. C. 370. (P. S. )
and scholia on the Gorgias, Philebus, Phaedo, and OLYMPIUS ('OXÚurios), the Olympian, oc-
Alcibiades I. of Plato. Whether these were all curs as a surname of Zeus (Hom. I. i. 353),
the works of Plato on which he commented, or Heracles (Herod. ii. 44), the Muses (Olympiades,
not, we do not know. The life of Plato was pub- 11. ii. 491), and in general of all the gods that
lished in Wetstein's edition of Diogenes Laërtius, were believed to live in Olympus, in contradis
in 1692, from the posthumous papers of Is. Casau- tinction from the gods of the lower world. (11 i.
bon. It was again published by Etwall, in his 399; comp. Paus. i. 18. § 7, v. 14. § 6, vi. 20.
edition of three of Plato's dialogues, Lond. 1771 ; $ 2. )
[L. S. )
and by Fischer, in his edition of some dialogues of OLYMPIUS ('OXúutios), a lawyer, born pro-
Plato, Leipzig, 1783. Some of the more important bably at Tralles in Lydia, in the sixth century
scholia on the Phaedo were published by Nathan after Christ. His father's name was Stephanus,
Forster, Oxford, 1752 ; by Fischer (l. c. ); and who was a physician (Aler. Trall. De Medic. iv. 1,
in a more complete form, by Mystoxides and p. 198); one of his brothers was the physician
'Schinas, in their Euroni 'Exinuik dverdótwv, Alexander Trallianus ; another the architect and
Venice, 1816. The scholia to the Gorgias were mathematician Anthemius ; and Agathias men-
published by Routh, in his edition of the Euthy- tions (Hist. v. p. 149, ed. 1660) that his other two
demus and Gorgias, Oxford, 1784 ; those to the brothers, Metrodorus and Dioscorus, were both
Philebus by Stallbaum, in his edition of Plato, eminent in their several professions. (W. A. G. )
Leipzig, 1826 ; those on the Alcibiades by Creuzer, OLY'MPIUS NEMESIA'NUS. (NEMESI-
Frankfort, 1821. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol 2 p. Anus. )
631. )
OLYMPUS (OA Uutos). ). A teacher of Zeus,
7. An Aristotelic philosopher, the author of a after whom the god is said to have been called the
commentary on the Meteorologica of Aristotle, Olympian. (Diod. iii. 73. )
which is still extant. He himself (p. 37, 6) speaks 2. The father of Marsyas. (A pollod. i. 4. & 2. )
of Alexandria as his residence, and (p. 12,6) men- 3.
A disciple of Marsyas, and a celebrated flute-
tions the comet which appeared in the 281st year player of Phrygia. For a further account of this
of the Diocletian era ( a. D. 565), so that the period personage, who is closely connected with the his-
when he lived is fixed to the latter half of the torical Olympus, see the following article.
sixth century after Christ. His work, like the 4. The father of Cius, from whom Mount Olym-
scholia of the Neo-Platonic philosopher of the pus in Mysia was believed to have received its
same name, is divided into #pákers; from which it name. (Schol. ad Theocr. xiii. 30. )
would seem that the Aristotelic philosophy was 5. A son of Heracles by Euboea. (Apollod. ii.
taught at Alexandria even after the Neo-Platonic 7. $ 8. )
school had become extinct. Like Simplicius, to 6. Olympus, the abode of the gods also requires
whom, however, he is inferior, he endeavours to a few words of comment in this place. Mount
reconcile Plato and Aristotle. Of Proclus he speaks Olympus is situated in the north-east of Thessaly,
with great admiration, styling him ó Seios; but his and is about 6,000 feet high ; on its summit which
great authority is Ammonius. His commentary rises above the clouds of heaven, and is itself cloud-
was published by the sons of Aldus, at Venice, less, Hephaestus had built a town with gates, which
1551. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. 628, &c. , was inhabited by Zeus and the other gods. (Od.
who gives a list of the authors quoted by him. ) vi. 42, N. xi. 76. ) The palace of Zeus contained
8. Surnamed Diaconus or Monachus, an eccle an assembly-hall, in which met not only the gods
siastic who lived in the sixth century. He sustained of Olympus, but those also who dwelt on the earth
the office of diaconus in Alexandria
He is men- or in the sea. (N. xx. 5. ) This celestial moun-
tioned with commendation by Anastasius Sinaitan lain must indeed be distinguished from heaven ;
who flourished not later than A. D. 680—700. He but as the gods lived in the city which rose above
wrote commentaries on the books of Job, Ezran the clouds and into heaven, they lived at the same
Jeremiah, and Ecclesiastes. The notes on Job, tine in heaven, and the gates of the celestial city
entitled Hypotheses in Librum Jobi, were published were at the same time regarded as the gates of
in a Latin translation, by Paulus Comitolus, Venice, heaven. (N. v. 749, &c. )
[L. S. )
1587; and, with those on Jeremiah, in the Catence OLYMPUS ("OAvunos), the physician in ordi-
Patrum Graecorum. The commentary on Eccle- nary to Cleopatra, queen of Egyp, who aided her
siastes was published in Greek in the Auctarium in committing suicide, B. c. 30, and afterwards
Ducaeanum Bibliothecae Patrum, Paris, 1624. published an account of her death. (Plut. Anton.
Latin translations of it have been several times c. 82. )
[W. A. G. ]
published. (Fabric. Bill. Graec. vob x. p. 627 ; OLYMPUS ("OA vumos), musicians. Suidas
Hoffmann, Lez. Bill, vol. ii p. 158. ) (C. P. M. j| distinguishes three Greek musicians of this name,
## p. 26 (#42) ##############################################
26
OLYMPUS.
OMIAS.
of whom the first is mythial, and the last histori- Of the particular tunes (vóuou) ascribed to him,
cal: the second probably owes his existence only to the most important was the 'Apudrios róuos, a
some mistake of Suidas, or the writer whom he mournful and passionato strain, of the rhythm of
copied, since Plutarch who is a much better autho- which we are enabled to form an idea from a pas-
rity only recognizes two musicians of the name ; sage in the Orestes of Euripides, which was set to
both of whom are connected with the auletic music, in, as the passage itself tells us. A dirge, also, in
which had its origin in Phrygia (Plut. de Mus. honour of the slain Python, was said to have been
p. 1133, d. e. )
played by Olympus, at Delphi, on the flute, and
1. The elder Olympus belongs to the mythical in the Lydian style. Aristophanes mentions a
genealogy of Mysian and Phrygian Alute-players mournful strain, set to more flutes than one (fur
-Hyagnis, Marsyas, Olympus—10 each of whom avaia), as well known at Athens under the name of
the invention of the fute was ascribed, and Olympus. (Equit. 9; comp. Schol. and Brunck's
under whose names we have the mythical repre pote). But it can hardly be supposed that his music
sentation of the contest between the Phrygian was all mournful; the nome in honour of Athena
auletic and the Greek citharoedic music: some at least, must have been of a different character.
writers made him the father (instead of son, or Some ancient writers ascribe to him the Nomos
disciple, and favourite of Marsyas), but the genea- Orthios, which Herodotus attributes to Arion.
logy given above was that more generally received. Olympus was a great inventor in rhythm as well
Olympus was said to have been a native of Mysia, as in music. To the two existing species of rhythm,
and to have lived before the Trojap war. The com- the loov, in which the arsis and thesis are equal (as
positions ascribed to him were vouoi eis tous Seous, in the Dactyl and Anapaest), and the dotiáriov, in
that is, old melodies appropriated to the worship of which the arsis is twice the length of the thesis (as
particular gods, the origin of which was so ancient in the lambus and Trochee), he added a third, the
as to be unknown, like those which were attri- Hublov, in which the length of the arsis is equal
buted to Olen and Philammon. Olympus not un- to two short syllables, and that of the thesis to
frequently appears on works of art, as a boy, some three, as in the Cretic foot (U-), the Paeons
times instructed by Marsyas, and sometimes as (wvu, &c. ), and the Bacchic foot (U4_),
witnessing and lamenting his fate. (Suid. s. v. ; though there is some doubt whether the last form
Plut. de Mus. pp. 1132, e. , 1133, e. ; Apollod. was used by Olympus.
i. 4. & 2; Hygin. Fab. 165, 273 ; Ovid, Metam. There is no mention of any poems composed by
vi. 393, Eleg. ii. 3 ; MARSyAs. ) It may fairly be Olympus. It is argued by some writers that the
assumed that this elder and mythical Olympus inseparable connection between the earliest com-
was invented through some mistake respecting the positions in music and poetry forbids the suppo-
younger and really historical Olympus. (Respect- sition that he composed music without words.
ing this confusion, see Müller, History of Greek Without entering into this difficult and exten-
Litoralure, p. 156. )
sive question, it is enough to observe that, what-
2. The true Olympus was a Phrygian, and per- ever words may have been originally connected
haps belonged to a family of native musicians, with his music, they were superseded by the com-
since he was said to be descended from the first positions of later poets. Of the lyric poets who
Olympus Müller supposes that there was an adapted their compositions to the nomes of Olyr:-
hereditary race of flute players at the festivals of pus, the chief was STESICHORUS of Himera. (Plu-
the Phrygian Mother of the Gods, who claimed a tarch de Mus. passim ; Müller, Ulrici, Bode, and
descent from the mythical Olympus. He is placed a very elaborate article by Ritschl, in Ersch and
by Plutarch at the head of auletic music, as Ter-Gruber's Encyklopädie. )
[P. S. )
pander stood at the head of the citharoedic: and OLYMPUS ('OXvumos), a statuary, whose
on account of his inventions in the art, Plutarch country is unknown, and respecting whose date it
even assigns to him, rather than to Terpander, the can only be said that he lived later than the 80th
honour of being the father of Greek music, apxn- Olympiad, B. C. 460 (OBBOTAS). He made the
γός της Ελληνικής και καλής μουσικής (De Mus. statue at Olympia of the pancratiast Xenophon, the
pp. 1133, e. , 1135, c. ). With respect to his age, son of Menephylus, of Aegium of Achaea (Paus.
Suidas places him under a king Midas, son of vi. 3. & 5. & 14. )
(P. S. )
Gordius ; but this tells us nothing, for these were OLY'NTHIUS, an architect, who is said to
alternately the names of all the Phrygian kings to have assisted Cleomenes in the building of Aler.
the time of Croesus Müller places him, for satis- andria. (Jul. Valer. de R. G. Alex. i. 21, 23;
factory reasons, after Terpander and before Thale- Müller, Archäol. d. Kunst, $ 149, n. 2. ) [P. S. ]
tas, that is, between the 30th and 40th Olympiads, OLYNTHUS (OA uvdos), a son of Heracles
B. C. 660—620. Though a Phrygian by origin, and Bolbe, from whom the Thracian town of Olyn-
Olympus must be reckoned among the Greek musi- thus, and the river Olynthus near the Chalcidian
cians ;
for all the accounts make Greece the scene town of Apollonia, were believed to have received
of his artistic activity, and his subjects Greek ; and their name. (Steph. Byz. s. 0. ; Athen. viii p. 334;
he had Greek disciples, such as Crates and Hierar. Conon, Narrat. 4, where another person of the
(Plut. de us. pp. 1133, e. , 1140, d. ; Poll. iv. 79. ) same name is mentioned. )
[L, S. )
He may, in fact, be considered as having natural. OMA'DIUS ('Quadios), that is, the flesh-eater,
ized in Greece the music of the flute, which had a surname of Dionysus, to whom human sacrifices
previously been almost peculiar to Phrygia. This were offered in Chios and Tenedos. (Orph. Hymn.
Apecies of music admitted of much greater varia- | 51. 7 ; Porphyr. de Abstin. ii. 55. ) (L. S. )
tions than that of the lyre ; and, accordingly, OMIAS (ulas), a Lacedaemonian, was the
several new inventions are ascribed to Olympus. chief of the ten commissioners who were sent to
The greatest of his inventions was that of the third Philip V. , king of Macedon, then at Tegea (B.
