One son, in whose side a serpent
nas fixed his deadly fangs, seems to be fainting; the
other, not yet bitten, tries (and the futility of the at-
tempt is faithfully shown) to disengage one foot from
the serpent's embrace.
nas fixed his deadly fangs, seems to be fainting; the
other, not yet bitten, tries (and the futility of the at-
tempt is faithfully shown) to disengage one foot from
the serpent's embrace.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
) Pausanias speaks of a
tomb of Lais at Corinth, near the temple of Venus
Melaenis, on which was placed a stone lioness, holding
a ram with her front paws, an evident allusion to the
unprincipled rapacity of the hetserist. The same wri-
ter makes mention also of a tomb of Lai's inThessaly,
whither, according to one account, she had gone,
through attachment for a youth named Hippostratus;
and the females of which country, dreading her evil
influence, had assassinated her in the temple of Venus.
--Numismatica! writers refer to certain coins of an-
cient Corinth, which have on one side a lioness hold-
ing down a ram, and on the other a femalo head; and
they think that these were struck in honour of Lais,
the female head being intended as her portrait. (Con-
sult Viseonli, leonogr. Gr. , vol. 1, p. 411. ) A full
account of Lais is given by Bayle (Diet. Hist. , s. >>. ).
--II. Another hetasrist, often confounded with the for-
? ? mer, but who lived fifty or sixty years later. She was
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? LAM
LAM
una, figure which he afterward made in hisiory suffi-
ciently proves. {Mitchell, ad A tistoph. , Aeharn. , 510. )
Lambros or Ljimber, a riv,r of Cisalpine Gaul, is-
suing from the Eupilis Lacjs, and falling into the
Olona, one of the tributaries of the Po. It is now
tho Lambro or Lambrone. (Plin. , 3, 19. )
Lamia, a city of Thcssaly situate inland from the
head waters of the Sinus Maliacus, and, according to
Strabo (433), about thirty stadia from the Sperchius.
It is celebrated in history as the principal scene of the
mar which was carried on between the Macedonians
under Antipater, and the Athenians, with other con-
federate Greeks, commanded by Leosthenes; from
which circumstance it is generally known by the name
of the Lamiac war. Antipater, having been defeated
in the first instance, retired to Lamia, where he was
besieged by the all. es; but he afterward contrived to
escape from this place, and retire to the north of
Thessaly. Soon after, with the assistance of the army
of Craterus, brought for that purpose from Asia, he
gave battle to and defeated his opponents at Cranon,
and compelled them to sue for peace. This was
granted them on severe terms. The Athenians were
required to pjy the same tribute as before, to receive
a Macedonian garrison, defray the expenses of the
war, and deliver up their orators, whose appeals to the
feelings of the Athenian people had always occasioned
so much difficulty for the Macedonians. Demosthenes
and Hypjridcs were particularly aimed at. (Vid. De-
mosthcr. es and Hypcrides. )--Livy reports (27,' 30)
that Philip, the son of Demetrius, twice defeated the
-Ktoliiiis, supported by Attalus and some Roman
troopj, near this place. Antiochus was afterward
received there wilh acclamations. (Livy, 35, 43. )
The place was subsequently retaken by the Romans.
(Lir. , 37, 5--Polyb. ,Ezee'rpt. , 20, II, scqq. --Pliny,
4. 7. ) According to Dr. Holland (vol. 2, p. 107),
mere is very little doubt that the site of Zeitoun
corresponds with that of the ancient Lamia. -- II.
Alius, a Roman of distinguished family, claiming de-
scent from Lamua. the most ancient monarch of the
Lsestrygoncs. He signalized himself in the war wilh
the Cantabri as one of the lieutenants of Augustus.
(Hmat. , Od. , 3, 17. )--HI. The mistress of Deme-
trius Poliorcetes, who rendered herself celebrated by
her extravagances, her intrigues, and her ascendancy
over that prince. (Plut. , Vit. Dcmelr. --JElian, V.
H. . 1, 13. )
Lami. c, fabulous monsters, commonly represented
with the head and breast of a female, and the body of
a serpent. According to some, they changed their
forms at pleasure, and, when about to ensnare their
prey, assumed such appearances as were most seduc-
tive and calculated to please. The blood of younc
persons was believed to possess peculiar attractions
for them, and for the purpose of quaffing this they
were wont to take the form of a beautiful female.
The Lamia; possessed also another means of accom-
plishing their object. This was a species of hissing
sound emitted by them, so soothing and attractive in
its nature, that persons found themselves irresistibly
allured by it. When not in disguise, and when they
had sated their horrid appetites, their form was hide-
ous, their visages glowed like fire, their bodies were
besmeared with blood, and their feet appeared of iron
or of lead. Sometimes they showed themselves com-
pletely blind, at other times they had a single eye,
? ? either in the forehead or on one side of the visage.
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? LAN
T. A O
eo (his city and given it its name, being directed by
the oracle to settle wherever they saw lightning first.
This took place in the district Pityusa, and hence the
name of the city, from Xa/iiru, to shine forth. {Mela,
1, 19. --Etym. Mag. --Holstcn. , ad Steph. Byz. , p.
608. ) Strabo calls Lampsacus a Milesian colony:
very probably it was only enlarged by a colony from
Miletus. (Strab. , 588. --Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 6, pt.
3, p. 518. ) Another account, however, makes the
city to have axisted prior to the arrival of the Pho-
casans, and merely the name to have been changed by
Ihem. They aided, according to this version of the
story, a king of the Bebryces, named Mandro, against
the neighbouring barbarians, and were persuaded by
him to occupy a part of his territory. Their successes
in war, however, and the spoils they had obtained, ex-
cited the envy of the Bebrycians, and the Phocaeans
would have been secretly destroyed, had not Lamp-
ssce, the king's daughter, apprized them of the plot.
Out of gratitude to her, they called the city Lampsa-
cus, having destroyed the former inhabitants. (Pol-
y<rn. , 8, 37. --Steph. Byz. , s. v. ) The neighbouring
country was termed Abarnis or Abarnus, because Ve-
nos, who here was delivered of Priapus, was so disgust-
ed with his appearance, that she disowned him (a-r/p-
vttro) for her offspring. (Steph. Byz. , s. v. 'AfJapvof.
--Holslenius, ad Steph. Byz. , I. c. ) Priapus was the
chief deity of the place. His temple there was the
asylum of lewdness and debauchery; and hence the
epithet Lampsucius is used to express immodesty and
wantonness. Alexander resolved to destroy the city
on account of the vices of its inhabitants, or more
probably for its 6rm adherence to the interest of Per-
sia. It was, however, saved from ruin by the artifice
of Anaximenes. (Vid. Anaximenes. ) The name of
Lamsaki is still attached to a small town, near which
Lampsacus probably stood, as Lamsaki itself contains
no remains or vestiges of antiquity. A modern trav-
eller assures us besides, that "its wine, once so cele-
brated, is now among the worst that is made in this
part of Anatolia. " (Sibthorpe, in Walpole's Collec-
tion, vol. 1. p. 91. )
1,ami's, I. a fabled king of the Lestrygones, said to
have founded Formiae. (rid. Laestrygones. ) The La-
mian family at Rome pretended to claim descent from
him. (Horat , Od. , 3, 17. )--II. A son of Hercules
and Omphale, fabled to have succeeded his mother on
the throne of Lydia. --III. A river in the western part
of Cilicia Camnestris, now the Lamas. It gave to
the adjacent district the name of Lamotis. (Cramer's
Asia Minor, vol. 2, p. 338. )
Lancia, the name of two towns in Lusitania, dis-
tinguished by the appellations of Oppidana and Trans-
cudana. The first was on the frontiers of the Lusi-
tani, near the sources of the river Munda or Mondego.
It is now La Guarda. The latter lay to the east of
the former, and is now Ciudad Rodrigo. It was called
Transcudana, because it lay beyond the Cuda. (Bis-
choff und Miller, Worterb. der Geogr. , p. 679. )
Lanuob<koi, a people of Germany, located by most
writers on the Albis or Elbe, and the Viadrus or Oder,
in part of what is now called Brandenburg. Accord-
ing to the account, however, of Paulus Diaconus, him-
self one of this nation, they originally came from Scan-
dinavia, under the name of Wilini, and were called by
(he German nations Long Beards, from their appear-
ance. (Paul Diae. , the Warnefrid, de Gest. Lon-
? ? foi, 1, 9. ) The German term Lang Baerdt, Latin-
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? LAOCOON.
LAO
? culptors whi executed it are also recorded. They
are Agesander, Polydorus, and Athenodorus, natives
of HI. /i. is. Pliny (36, 5) says, " Laocoon, which is in
the palace (domo) of the Emperor Titus, is a work to
be preferred to all others either in painting or sculp-
ture. Tho :;e great artists, Agesander, and Polydorus,
and Athcnodorus, Rhodians, executed the principal
figure (turn), and ihe sons, and the wonderful folds of
the serpents, out of one block of marble. "--There
has been much difference ot opinion among antiqua-
ries on aevenl points connected with this group:
first, as to the date of the artists; Winckelmann con-
tending that they are of a good period of Grecian art,
ami as early as l. ysippus. A considerably later date,
however, is now attributed to them. The next ques-
tion discussed has been, whether the sculptor was in-
debted fur the subject to Virgil's fine description (Ain. ,
2, 200, seqq. ), or whether the poet was indebted to
the artist. With respect to date, the most careful
consideration seems to fix these sculptors as late as
the early emperors; and Leasing, whose work on the
Laocoon deserves the attention of all who take an in-
terest in the philosophy and capabilities of art, believes
they lived in the reign of Titus. With regard to the
subject, it is most probable that the story, being well
known, offered advantages for illustration to the sculp-
tor, as it did for description to the poet. As Virgil's
priest was habited in his robes during the exercise of
hie priestly functions, and the group under considera-
tion is entirely naked, the argument is additionally
strengthened against the assumption that the artist
borrowed from the poet. It is more natural to believe
that each drew from a common source, and treated
tho subject in the way best adapted to the different
artn they exercised; the sculptor's object being con-
centration of effect, the poet's amplification and brill-
iant description. --T'his group is justly considered, by
all competent judges, to be a master-piece of art. It
combines, in its class, all '. hat sculpture requires, and,
we may say, admits of, and may truly be studied as a
canon. The sutj'sct is of the most affecting and in-
teiesting kind ', and the expression in every part < i
the figures reaches, but does not exceed, the limits of
propriety. Intense mental suffering is portrayed in
the countenances, while the physical strength of all
the three figures is evidently sinking under the irresist-
ible power of the huge reptiles wreathed around their
exhausted limbs.
One son, in whose side a serpent
nas fixed his deadly fangs, seems to be fainting; the
other, not yet bitten, tries (and the futility of the at-
tempt is faithfully shown) to disengage one foot from
the serpent's embrace. The father, Laocoon, himself,
is mighty in his sufferings: every muscle is in extreme
action, and his hands and feet are convulsed with pain-
ful energy. Yet there is nothing frightful, disgusting,
or contrary to beauty in the countenance. Suffering
is faithfully and strongly depicted there, but it is rather
the exhibition of mental anguish than of the repul-
sive and undignified contortions of mere physical pain.
THe whole of this figure displays the most intimate
knowledge of anatomy and of outward form; the lat-
ter selected with care, and freed from any vulgarity
of common individual nature: indeed, the single figure
of Laocoon may be fairly referred to, as one of the
finest specimens existing of that combination of truth
and beauty, which is so essential to the production of
perfect sculpture, and which can alone ensure for it
? ? lasting admiration. The youths are of a smaller
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? LAO
LA R
Km--Ckalcond. , p. 85. ) The ruins of Laodicea are
now called by the Turks Eski Hissar. (Manncrt,
Geogr. , vol. 6, pt. 3, p. 131. -- Leake's Journal, p.
154, seqq. )--II. Scabiosa, a city of Syria, southwest
of Emesa and of the Orontes. It is sometimes, though
erroneously, styled Cabiosa. Tho epithet Scabiosa
mast have reference to the leprosy, or some cutaneous
complaint, very prevalent here in the time of the Ro-
man power. Its previous name under the Greeks was
XaodtKt'-a rj irpoo AiCuvu), Laxdicta ad Libanum
(Strabo, 753. --Plin. ,5,23;, and it must have been sit-
uate, therefore, near the northeastern port of the chain
of Libanus, in the plain Marsyas, which Pococke (2,
p. 204) mentions, though he is silent respecting its
ancient name. Its site must bo looked for to the
west of the modern Hasseiah, a day's journey to the
southwest of the modern Hems, the ancient Emesa.
(Marmert, Geogr. , irol. 6, pt. 1, p. 428. )--HI. A mar-
itime city of Syria, on an eminence near the coast,
called, for distinction' sake, Aaodtxeta im ry ? ddXdr-
rj, Laodicea ad Mare. <Strab. , 751. --Plin. , 21, 5. )
It was built by Seleucus Nicator, and named in hon-
our of his mother; and Strabo ranks it among the
four principal cities of the country. (Compare Ap-
pian, B. Syr. , c. 27. ) The fruitfulness of the adja-
cent country, and the quantity of good wine made in
this quarter, which furnished a great article of trade
with Alexandres, were the chief reasons that induced
Seleucus to found this city. Laodicea may, in fact,
be regarded as the harbour of Antiochia. The an-
cient writers praise its excellent port, and it would
seem, even at the present day, to show traces of the
works constructed to give security and convenience
to the harbour. (Pococke, 2, p. 287. --Walpole's Me-
moirs, vol. 2, p. 138. ) In the civil war after Caesar's
death, Dolabella stood a long siege in this place; it
was finally taken, and suffered severely. (Dio Cass. ,
47, 30. --Appian, B. Civ. , 4, 62. ) Hence Antony
leclared it independent, and freed it from all tribute.
{Appian, B. Civ. , 5, 7. ) It again suffered from Pes-
eennius Niger (Malala, Ckron. , 11, p. 125), and there-
fore his more successful competitor Severus did all in
his power to restore it to its former condition. Among
other favours shown it, he made the place a colony
with the Juj lialicum. (Ulpian, 1. 50, Digest. Tit. ,
15, (fe censtMS. ) The modern name is Ladikii.
The modern city suffered severely from an earthquake
in 1797, the greater part of the buildings having been
thrown down. These have been rebuilt, though less
substantially than before. Scarcely any wine is now
made Here, and few vines are planted. (Walpole's
Memoirs, vol. 2, p. 138. --Marmert, Geogr. , vol. 6,
pt. 1, p. 450. )--IV. Combusta (i) KaraKeKavfiivn), a
city of Asia Minor or Lycaonia, northwest of Iconium.
Its name is supposed to be owing to the frequent
breaking forth of subterranean fires in the vicinity.
Strabo mentions this as peculiarly the case in the parts
of Phrygia to the west of Laodicea, which were hence
termed Catacecaumene (KaraxeKavfievn. -- Strabo,
579). The place itself was unimportant, and would
? nly seem to have been mentioned by Strabo and
Pliny from the circumstance of its having been situ-
ated on the great road from the western coast through
Melitene to the Euphrates. Leake (Journal, p. 25)
gives the modern name as Yirrgan Laihk, and speaks
of numerous fragments of ancient architecture found
there. --V. A city of Media, on the confines of Persia.
? ? {Pliny, 6, 26. ) -- VI. A city of Mesouotamia, near
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? LARES
LARES.
>>r Ihc contrary, by reason of the faults committed in
life, it found in the grave no resting- place, it appeared
to men as a phantom; inoffensive to the good, but
terrible to the wicked. Its name was in that case Lar-
va. (Festus, p. 200, ed. Dacier. --Bulcnger, de Pro-
dig. , 4, ZO. -- Grm. , Thes. Antiq. Rom. , 5, p. 480,
atqq. ) As, however, there was no wav of precisely
ascertaining what had been the lot of a deceased per-
<<od, whether he had become, for example, a Lar or a
Larva, it was customary to give to the dead the gen-
eral appellation of Manet. {Dais Mams. ) Varro,
in a more extended sense, if we credit Arnohius, re-
garded the Lares, at one time, as identical with the
Manes, the tutelary genii of the living and the dead;
at another time, as gods and heroes roaming in the air;
and at another, again, as spirits or souls separated from
bodies, as Lemures or Larvae. The mother of the
Lares waa called Lara or Larunda. {Arnobius, adv.
Gent. ,3,41. --Macrol. , Sat. , 1, 7. --Marini,gli Atti. ,
2, p. 373. ) This conception of the Lares, as the souls
of fathers and of forefathers, protectors of their chil-
dren, and watching over the safety of their descend-
ants, necessarily gave rise to the custom of burying
the dead within the dwelling. (. Sot. , ad Virg. , JEn. ,
6,64. --Id. , adA? n. ,6, 162--/<<dor. , Orig. , 16, 11.
--Zoega, de Obelise, p. 269. ) Men wished to have
lear them these tutelary genii, in order to be certain
sf their assistance and support. In process of time,
lowcver, this custom was prohibited at Rome by the
aws of the Twelve Tables. {Cie. , de Leg. , 2, 23. )
^t was general in early Greece, and among the primi-
tive population of Italy. {Plat. , Min. , p. 254, ed.
Rekker. )--The meaning attached to the word Lar
being of itself extremely general, had among the an-
cients different acceptations. (Compare Miillcr, dc
Diis Homanorum Laribus tt Penatibut, p. 60. ) Anal-
ogous to the demons (or genii) and heroes of the
Greeks, the Lares, pure spirits, invisible masters and
protectors, and everywhere present, limited, as little
<<s the Penates, their domain to the domestic hearth.
Tht. Etrurians, and the Romans after them, had their
Lares pubtici and Lares privali. (Hempel. , de Diis
Laribus, p. xxiv. ,scqq. ) The Lares were supposed to
assist at all gatherings together of men, at all public
assemblies or reunions, in all transactions of men, in
all the most important affairs of the state as well as of
individuals. Born in the house, in the bosom of the
family, the notion of Lares went forth by little and lit-
tle; extended itself to the streets, to the public ways;
above all, to the cross-roads, where the peril was great-
er for passengers, and where assistance was more im-
mediately necessary. From this it extended itself to
communities, to entire cities, and even to whole coun-
tries. Hence the numerous classes of the Lares -and
their various denominations, such as vzedes, males,
compUales, grundiles, hoslilcs, &c. If each individ-
ual had his Lar, his genius, his guardian spirit, even
the infant at the breast; so entire families, and whole
races and nations, were equally under the protection
of one of these tutelar deities. Here the Lares be-
came in some degree confounded with the Heroes,
that is, with the spirits of those who, having deserved
well of their country while on earth, continued to
watch over and protect it from that mansion in the
skies lo which their merits had exalted them. It
would seem, too, that at times, the worship of these
public I. ares, like that of the public Penates, was not
? ? without some striking resemblance to that rendered
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? LAR
LA R
iri dwellings. Macrobius (Sal. ,. , 7) informs us, that
it was Junius Brutus who, after the expulsion of the
Tsrquins, introduced a new form of sacrifice, by vir-
ile of which, beads of garlic and poppies were offered
op in place of human heads, vt, pro capitibus, capil-
i*a>> suppliearetur, in accordance with the oracle of
Apollo. Every family, during these festivals, brought
a cake for an offering; slaves enjoyed a perfect equal-
ity with their masters, as on the Saturnalia; and it
was slaves, not free men, that assisted the priests in
the sacrifices offered up on this occasion to the tute-
lary genii of the ways. (Dion. Hal. ,i--Cic. ,ad Alt. ,
7, l. --llorat. , Od. , 3, 17, 14, and Mitsckerlicb, ad
Horn'. I. c.
tomb of Lais at Corinth, near the temple of Venus
Melaenis, on which was placed a stone lioness, holding
a ram with her front paws, an evident allusion to the
unprincipled rapacity of the hetserist. The same wri-
ter makes mention also of a tomb of Lai's inThessaly,
whither, according to one account, she had gone,
through attachment for a youth named Hippostratus;
and the females of which country, dreading her evil
influence, had assassinated her in the temple of Venus.
--Numismatica! writers refer to certain coins of an-
cient Corinth, which have on one side a lioness hold-
ing down a ram, and on the other a femalo head; and
they think that these were struck in honour of Lais,
the female head being intended as her portrait. (Con-
sult Viseonli, leonogr. Gr. , vol. 1, p. 411. ) A full
account of Lais is given by Bayle (Diet. Hist. , s. >>. ).
--II. Another hetasrist, often confounded with the for-
? ? mer, but who lived fifty or sixty years later. She was
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? LAM
LAM
una, figure which he afterward made in hisiory suffi-
ciently proves. {Mitchell, ad A tistoph. , Aeharn. , 510. )
Lambros or Ljimber, a riv,r of Cisalpine Gaul, is-
suing from the Eupilis Lacjs, and falling into the
Olona, one of the tributaries of the Po. It is now
tho Lambro or Lambrone. (Plin. , 3, 19. )
Lamia, a city of Thcssaly situate inland from the
head waters of the Sinus Maliacus, and, according to
Strabo (433), about thirty stadia from the Sperchius.
It is celebrated in history as the principal scene of the
mar which was carried on between the Macedonians
under Antipater, and the Athenians, with other con-
federate Greeks, commanded by Leosthenes; from
which circumstance it is generally known by the name
of the Lamiac war. Antipater, having been defeated
in the first instance, retired to Lamia, where he was
besieged by the all. es; but he afterward contrived to
escape from this place, and retire to the north of
Thessaly. Soon after, with the assistance of the army
of Craterus, brought for that purpose from Asia, he
gave battle to and defeated his opponents at Cranon,
and compelled them to sue for peace. This was
granted them on severe terms. The Athenians were
required to pjy the same tribute as before, to receive
a Macedonian garrison, defray the expenses of the
war, and deliver up their orators, whose appeals to the
feelings of the Athenian people had always occasioned
so much difficulty for the Macedonians. Demosthenes
and Hypjridcs were particularly aimed at. (Vid. De-
mosthcr. es and Hypcrides. )--Livy reports (27,' 30)
that Philip, the son of Demetrius, twice defeated the
-Ktoliiiis, supported by Attalus and some Roman
troopj, near this place. Antiochus was afterward
received there wilh acclamations. (Livy, 35, 43. )
The place was subsequently retaken by the Romans.
(Lir. , 37, 5--Polyb. ,Ezee'rpt. , 20, II, scqq. --Pliny,
4. 7. ) According to Dr. Holland (vol. 2, p. 107),
mere is very little doubt that the site of Zeitoun
corresponds with that of the ancient Lamia. -- II.
Alius, a Roman of distinguished family, claiming de-
scent from Lamua. the most ancient monarch of the
Lsestrygoncs. He signalized himself in the war wilh
the Cantabri as one of the lieutenants of Augustus.
(Hmat. , Od. , 3, 17. )--HI. The mistress of Deme-
trius Poliorcetes, who rendered herself celebrated by
her extravagances, her intrigues, and her ascendancy
over that prince. (Plut. , Vit. Dcmelr. --JElian, V.
H. . 1, 13. )
Lami. c, fabulous monsters, commonly represented
with the head and breast of a female, and the body of
a serpent. According to some, they changed their
forms at pleasure, and, when about to ensnare their
prey, assumed such appearances as were most seduc-
tive and calculated to please. The blood of younc
persons was believed to possess peculiar attractions
for them, and for the purpose of quaffing this they
were wont to take the form of a beautiful female.
The Lamia; possessed also another means of accom-
plishing their object. This was a species of hissing
sound emitted by them, so soothing and attractive in
its nature, that persons found themselves irresistibly
allured by it. When not in disguise, and when they
had sated their horrid appetites, their form was hide-
ous, their visages glowed like fire, their bodies were
besmeared with blood, and their feet appeared of iron
or of lead. Sometimes they showed themselves com-
pletely blind, at other times they had a single eye,
? ? either in the forehead or on one side of the visage.
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? LAN
T. A O
eo (his city and given it its name, being directed by
the oracle to settle wherever they saw lightning first.
This took place in the district Pityusa, and hence the
name of the city, from Xa/iiru, to shine forth. {Mela,
1, 19. --Etym. Mag. --Holstcn. , ad Steph. Byz. , p.
608. ) Strabo calls Lampsacus a Milesian colony:
very probably it was only enlarged by a colony from
Miletus. (Strab. , 588. --Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 6, pt.
3, p. 518. ) Another account, however, makes the
city to have axisted prior to the arrival of the Pho-
casans, and merely the name to have been changed by
Ihem. They aided, according to this version of the
story, a king of the Bebryces, named Mandro, against
the neighbouring barbarians, and were persuaded by
him to occupy a part of his territory. Their successes
in war, however, and the spoils they had obtained, ex-
cited the envy of the Bebrycians, and the Phocaeans
would have been secretly destroyed, had not Lamp-
ssce, the king's daughter, apprized them of the plot.
Out of gratitude to her, they called the city Lampsa-
cus, having destroyed the former inhabitants. (Pol-
y<rn. , 8, 37. --Steph. Byz. , s. v. ) The neighbouring
country was termed Abarnis or Abarnus, because Ve-
nos, who here was delivered of Priapus, was so disgust-
ed with his appearance, that she disowned him (a-r/p-
vttro) for her offspring. (Steph. Byz. , s. v. 'AfJapvof.
--Holslenius, ad Steph. Byz. , I. c. ) Priapus was the
chief deity of the place. His temple there was the
asylum of lewdness and debauchery; and hence the
epithet Lampsucius is used to express immodesty and
wantonness. Alexander resolved to destroy the city
on account of the vices of its inhabitants, or more
probably for its 6rm adherence to the interest of Per-
sia. It was, however, saved from ruin by the artifice
of Anaximenes. (Vid. Anaximenes. ) The name of
Lamsaki is still attached to a small town, near which
Lampsacus probably stood, as Lamsaki itself contains
no remains or vestiges of antiquity. A modern trav-
eller assures us besides, that "its wine, once so cele-
brated, is now among the worst that is made in this
part of Anatolia. " (Sibthorpe, in Walpole's Collec-
tion, vol. 1. p. 91. )
1,ami's, I. a fabled king of the Lestrygones, said to
have founded Formiae. (rid. Laestrygones. ) The La-
mian family at Rome pretended to claim descent from
him. (Horat , Od. , 3, 17. )--II. A son of Hercules
and Omphale, fabled to have succeeded his mother on
the throne of Lydia. --III. A river in the western part
of Cilicia Camnestris, now the Lamas. It gave to
the adjacent district the name of Lamotis. (Cramer's
Asia Minor, vol. 2, p. 338. )
Lancia, the name of two towns in Lusitania, dis-
tinguished by the appellations of Oppidana and Trans-
cudana. The first was on the frontiers of the Lusi-
tani, near the sources of the river Munda or Mondego.
It is now La Guarda. The latter lay to the east of
the former, and is now Ciudad Rodrigo. It was called
Transcudana, because it lay beyond the Cuda. (Bis-
choff und Miller, Worterb. der Geogr. , p. 679. )
Lanuob<koi, a people of Germany, located by most
writers on the Albis or Elbe, and the Viadrus or Oder,
in part of what is now called Brandenburg. Accord-
ing to the account, however, of Paulus Diaconus, him-
self one of this nation, they originally came from Scan-
dinavia, under the name of Wilini, and were called by
(he German nations Long Beards, from their appear-
ance. (Paul Diae. , the Warnefrid, de Gest. Lon-
? ? foi, 1, 9. ) The German term Lang Baerdt, Latin-
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? LAOCOON.
LAO
? culptors whi executed it are also recorded. They
are Agesander, Polydorus, and Athenodorus, natives
of HI. /i. is. Pliny (36, 5) says, " Laocoon, which is in
the palace (domo) of the Emperor Titus, is a work to
be preferred to all others either in painting or sculp-
ture. Tho :;e great artists, Agesander, and Polydorus,
and Athcnodorus, Rhodians, executed the principal
figure (turn), and ihe sons, and the wonderful folds of
the serpents, out of one block of marble. "--There
has been much difference ot opinion among antiqua-
ries on aevenl points connected with this group:
first, as to the date of the artists; Winckelmann con-
tending that they are of a good period of Grecian art,
ami as early as l. ysippus. A considerably later date,
however, is now attributed to them. The next ques-
tion discussed has been, whether the sculptor was in-
debted fur the subject to Virgil's fine description (Ain. ,
2, 200, seqq. ), or whether the poet was indebted to
the artist. With respect to date, the most careful
consideration seems to fix these sculptors as late as
the early emperors; and Leasing, whose work on the
Laocoon deserves the attention of all who take an in-
terest in the philosophy and capabilities of art, believes
they lived in the reign of Titus. With regard to the
subject, it is most probable that the story, being well
known, offered advantages for illustration to the sculp-
tor, as it did for description to the poet. As Virgil's
priest was habited in his robes during the exercise of
hie priestly functions, and the group under considera-
tion is entirely naked, the argument is additionally
strengthened against the assumption that the artist
borrowed from the poet. It is more natural to believe
that each drew from a common source, and treated
tho subject in the way best adapted to the different
artn they exercised; the sculptor's object being con-
centration of effect, the poet's amplification and brill-
iant description. --T'his group is justly considered, by
all competent judges, to be a master-piece of art. It
combines, in its class, all '. hat sculpture requires, and,
we may say, admits of, and may truly be studied as a
canon. The sutj'sct is of the most affecting and in-
teiesting kind ', and the expression in every part < i
the figures reaches, but does not exceed, the limits of
propriety. Intense mental suffering is portrayed in
the countenances, while the physical strength of all
the three figures is evidently sinking under the irresist-
ible power of the huge reptiles wreathed around their
exhausted limbs.
One son, in whose side a serpent
nas fixed his deadly fangs, seems to be fainting; the
other, not yet bitten, tries (and the futility of the at-
tempt is faithfully shown) to disengage one foot from
the serpent's embrace. The father, Laocoon, himself,
is mighty in his sufferings: every muscle is in extreme
action, and his hands and feet are convulsed with pain-
ful energy. Yet there is nothing frightful, disgusting,
or contrary to beauty in the countenance. Suffering
is faithfully and strongly depicted there, but it is rather
the exhibition of mental anguish than of the repul-
sive and undignified contortions of mere physical pain.
THe whole of this figure displays the most intimate
knowledge of anatomy and of outward form; the lat-
ter selected with care, and freed from any vulgarity
of common individual nature: indeed, the single figure
of Laocoon may be fairly referred to, as one of the
finest specimens existing of that combination of truth
and beauty, which is so essential to the production of
perfect sculpture, and which can alone ensure for it
? ? lasting admiration. The youths are of a smaller
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? LAO
LA R
Km--Ckalcond. , p. 85. ) The ruins of Laodicea are
now called by the Turks Eski Hissar. (Manncrt,
Geogr. , vol. 6, pt. 3, p. 131. -- Leake's Journal, p.
154, seqq. )--II. Scabiosa, a city of Syria, southwest
of Emesa and of the Orontes. It is sometimes, though
erroneously, styled Cabiosa. Tho epithet Scabiosa
mast have reference to the leprosy, or some cutaneous
complaint, very prevalent here in the time of the Ro-
man power. Its previous name under the Greeks was
XaodtKt'-a rj irpoo AiCuvu), Laxdicta ad Libanum
(Strabo, 753. --Plin. ,5,23;, and it must have been sit-
uate, therefore, near the northeastern port of the chain
of Libanus, in the plain Marsyas, which Pococke (2,
p. 204) mentions, though he is silent respecting its
ancient name. Its site must bo looked for to the
west of the modern Hasseiah, a day's journey to the
southwest of the modern Hems, the ancient Emesa.
(Marmert, Geogr. , irol. 6, pt. 1, p. 428. )--HI. A mar-
itime city of Syria, on an eminence near the coast,
called, for distinction' sake, Aaodtxeta im ry ? ddXdr-
rj, Laodicea ad Mare. <Strab. , 751. --Plin. , 21, 5. )
It was built by Seleucus Nicator, and named in hon-
our of his mother; and Strabo ranks it among the
four principal cities of the country. (Compare Ap-
pian, B. Syr. , c. 27. ) The fruitfulness of the adja-
cent country, and the quantity of good wine made in
this quarter, which furnished a great article of trade
with Alexandres, were the chief reasons that induced
Seleucus to found this city. Laodicea may, in fact,
be regarded as the harbour of Antiochia. The an-
cient writers praise its excellent port, and it would
seem, even at the present day, to show traces of the
works constructed to give security and convenience
to the harbour. (Pococke, 2, p. 287. --Walpole's Me-
moirs, vol. 2, p. 138. ) In the civil war after Caesar's
death, Dolabella stood a long siege in this place; it
was finally taken, and suffered severely. (Dio Cass. ,
47, 30. --Appian, B. Civ. , 4, 62. ) Hence Antony
leclared it independent, and freed it from all tribute.
{Appian, B. Civ. , 5, 7. ) It again suffered from Pes-
eennius Niger (Malala, Ckron. , 11, p. 125), and there-
fore his more successful competitor Severus did all in
his power to restore it to its former condition. Among
other favours shown it, he made the place a colony
with the Juj lialicum. (Ulpian, 1. 50, Digest. Tit. ,
15, (fe censtMS. ) The modern name is Ladikii.
The modern city suffered severely from an earthquake
in 1797, the greater part of the buildings having been
thrown down. These have been rebuilt, though less
substantially than before. Scarcely any wine is now
made Here, and few vines are planted. (Walpole's
Memoirs, vol. 2, p. 138. --Marmert, Geogr. , vol. 6,
pt. 1, p. 450. )--IV. Combusta (i) KaraKeKavfiivn), a
city of Asia Minor or Lycaonia, northwest of Iconium.
Its name is supposed to be owing to the frequent
breaking forth of subterranean fires in the vicinity.
Strabo mentions this as peculiarly the case in the parts
of Phrygia to the west of Laodicea, which were hence
termed Catacecaumene (KaraxeKavfievn. -- Strabo,
579). The place itself was unimportant, and would
? nly seem to have been mentioned by Strabo and
Pliny from the circumstance of its having been situ-
ated on the great road from the western coast through
Melitene to the Euphrates. Leake (Journal, p. 25)
gives the modern name as Yirrgan Laihk, and speaks
of numerous fragments of ancient architecture found
there. --V. A city of Media, on the confines of Persia.
? ? {Pliny, 6, 26. ) -- VI. A city of Mesouotamia, near
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? LARES
LARES.
>>r Ihc contrary, by reason of the faults committed in
life, it found in the grave no resting- place, it appeared
to men as a phantom; inoffensive to the good, but
terrible to the wicked. Its name was in that case Lar-
va. (Festus, p. 200, ed. Dacier. --Bulcnger, de Pro-
dig. , 4, ZO. -- Grm. , Thes. Antiq. Rom. , 5, p. 480,
atqq. ) As, however, there was no wav of precisely
ascertaining what had been the lot of a deceased per-
<<od, whether he had become, for example, a Lar or a
Larva, it was customary to give to the dead the gen-
eral appellation of Manet. {Dais Mams. ) Varro,
in a more extended sense, if we credit Arnohius, re-
garded the Lares, at one time, as identical with the
Manes, the tutelary genii of the living and the dead;
at another time, as gods and heroes roaming in the air;
and at another, again, as spirits or souls separated from
bodies, as Lemures or Larvae. The mother of the
Lares waa called Lara or Larunda. {Arnobius, adv.
Gent. ,3,41. --Macrol. , Sat. , 1, 7. --Marini,gli Atti. ,
2, p. 373. ) This conception of the Lares, as the souls
of fathers and of forefathers, protectors of their chil-
dren, and watching over the safety of their descend-
ants, necessarily gave rise to the custom of burying
the dead within the dwelling. (. Sot. , ad Virg. , JEn. ,
6,64. --Id. , adA? n. ,6, 162--/<<dor. , Orig. , 16, 11.
--Zoega, de Obelise, p. 269. ) Men wished to have
lear them these tutelary genii, in order to be certain
sf their assistance and support. In process of time,
lowcver, this custom was prohibited at Rome by the
aws of the Twelve Tables. {Cie. , de Leg. , 2, 23. )
^t was general in early Greece, and among the primi-
tive population of Italy. {Plat. , Min. , p. 254, ed.
Rekker. )--The meaning attached to the word Lar
being of itself extremely general, had among the an-
cients different acceptations. (Compare Miillcr, dc
Diis Homanorum Laribus tt Penatibut, p. 60. ) Anal-
ogous to the demons (or genii) and heroes of the
Greeks, the Lares, pure spirits, invisible masters and
protectors, and everywhere present, limited, as little
<<s the Penates, their domain to the domestic hearth.
Tht. Etrurians, and the Romans after them, had their
Lares pubtici and Lares privali. (Hempel. , de Diis
Laribus, p. xxiv. ,scqq. ) The Lares were supposed to
assist at all gatherings together of men, at all public
assemblies or reunions, in all transactions of men, in
all the most important affairs of the state as well as of
individuals. Born in the house, in the bosom of the
family, the notion of Lares went forth by little and lit-
tle; extended itself to the streets, to the public ways;
above all, to the cross-roads, where the peril was great-
er for passengers, and where assistance was more im-
mediately necessary. From this it extended itself to
communities, to entire cities, and even to whole coun-
tries. Hence the numerous classes of the Lares -and
their various denominations, such as vzedes, males,
compUales, grundiles, hoslilcs, &c. If each individ-
ual had his Lar, his genius, his guardian spirit, even
the infant at the breast; so entire families, and whole
races and nations, were equally under the protection
of one of these tutelar deities. Here the Lares be-
came in some degree confounded with the Heroes,
that is, with the spirits of those who, having deserved
well of their country while on earth, continued to
watch over and protect it from that mansion in the
skies lo which their merits had exalted them. It
would seem, too, that at times, the worship of these
public I. ares, like that of the public Penates, was not
? ? without some striking resemblance to that rendered
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? LAR
LA R
iri dwellings. Macrobius (Sal. ,. , 7) informs us, that
it was Junius Brutus who, after the expulsion of the
Tsrquins, introduced a new form of sacrifice, by vir-
ile of which, beads of garlic and poppies were offered
op in place of human heads, vt, pro capitibus, capil-
i*a>> suppliearetur, in accordance with the oracle of
Apollo. Every family, during these festivals, brought
a cake for an offering; slaves enjoyed a perfect equal-
ity with their masters, as on the Saturnalia; and it
was slaves, not free men, that assisted the priests in
the sacrifices offered up on this occasion to the tute-
lary genii of the ways. (Dion. Hal. ,i--Cic. ,ad Alt. ,
7, l. --llorat. , Od. , 3, 17, 14, and Mitsckerlicb, ad
Horn'. I. c.
