She was married four times before she
came to the imperial throne.
came to the imperial throne.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
ued to Axum and Azab, certainly denote a people of
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? MEKOE
M ES
iti communication would mceaearily give rise to
moral and intellectual improvement. . --6. The curious
fact, that the images of some of the Egyptian gods
were at certain times conveyed up the Nile, from their
temples to others in Ethiopia; and, after the conclu-
sion of a festival, were brought back again into Egypt.
(Eustalh , ad II, 1, 424. )--7. The very remarkable
character of some of the Egyptian paintings, in which
Black (or, more correctly, dark-coloured) men aro rep-
resented in the costume of priests, as conferring on
certain red figures, similarly habited, the instruments
tnd symbols of the sacerdotal office. "This singular
representation," says Mr. Hamilton, "which is often
repeated in all the Egyptian temples, but only here at
Phils and at Elephantine with this distinction of col-
ur, may very naturally be supposed to commemorate
ne transmission of religious fables and the social in-
ilitutions from the tawny Ethiopians to the compara-
iively fair Egyptians. "--H. Other paintings of nearly
:he same purport. In the temple of Philoe, the sculp-
tures frequently depict two persons, who equally repre-
? ent the characters and symbols of Osiris, and two per-
luiis equally answering to those of Isis; but in both
cases one is invariably much older than the other, and
appears to be the superior divinity. Mr. Hamilton
conjectures that such 6gures represent the communi-
cation of religious rites from Ethiopia to Egypt, and
* the inferiority of the Egyptian Osiris. In these delin-
eations there is a very marked and positive distinction
between the dark figures and those of fairer complex-
ion; the former are most frequently conferring the
symbols of divinity and sovereignty on the other. --9.
The very interesting fact recorded by Diodorus, name-
ly, that the knowledge of picture-writing in Ethiopia
v. jj not a privilege confined solely to the caste of
priests as in Egypt, but that every one might attain it
as freely as they might in Egypt the writing in com-
tmn use. A proof at once of the earlier use of pic-
lu 'e-writing, or hieroglyphics, in Meroe' than in Egypt,
end also of its being applied to the purposes of trade.
--10. The more ancient form of the pyramid, ap-
proaching that of the primeval mound, occurs moro to
the south than the rectilinear form. Thus the pyra-
mids of Saccara are older in form than those of Djiza,
another proof of architecture's having come in from
the countries to the south. (Clarke's Travels, vol.
fi, p. 220, Lond. cd. )--From this body of evidence,
then, we come to the conclusion, that the same race
which ruled in Ethiopia and Meroe spread themselves
by colonics, in the first instance, to Upper Egypt; that
these latter colonies, in consequence of their great
prosperity, became in their turn the parents of others;
and as m all this they followed the course of the river,
there gradually became founded a succession of colo-
nies in the valley of the Nile, which, according to the
usual custom of the ancient world, were probably, at
first, independent of each other, and therefore formed
ust so many little states. Though, with the promul-
gation of their religion, either that of Ammon himself,
or of his kindred deities and temple-companions, after
whom even the settlements were named, the extension
of trade was the principal motive which tempted colo-
nists from Meroe to the countries beyond the desert;
yet there were many other causes, such as the fertil-
ity of the land, and the facility of making the rude na-
tive tribes subservient to themselves, which, in a pe-
riod of tranquillity, must have promoted the prosperity
? ? and accelerated the gradual progress of this coloniza-
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? M ES
MEJ
courtier 3 with whom *. Lc palace of Hadriar. had swa. in-
td. It was on this occasion that the stipend allowed
to Mesomedes suffered a reduction. {Jul. Cap. , Vit.
Ant. Pii, c. 7. )--We have two epigrams of this poet's
in the Anthology, and also a piece of a higher charac-
ter, a Hymn to Nemesis. Judging from this last spe-
cimen, Mesomedes must have possessed talents of no
mean order. The Hymn to Nemesis was published
fur the first time, with ancient musical notes, by Fell,
at the end of his edition of Aratus, Oxon. , 1762, 8vo.
I was subsequently given by Burette in the 5th vol.
? I the Mem. Ac I'Acad, des Inscr. , &c, by Brunck in
js Analecta, and by Snedorf in his work, " De Hym-
nis velcrum Gracorum," Hafn. , 1786, 8vo. (Schbll,
Hist. Lit. Gr. , vol. 4, p. 51. )
Mesopotamia, an extensive province of Asia, the
Greek name of which denotes between the rivers (from
uiaoc and jroTa/i6c. ) It was situate between t'. ic Eu-
phrates and the Tigris. The name itself, however,
does not appear to have been given to this tract prior
to the Macedonian conquest. The southern part of
Mesopotamia Xenophon calls Arabia (Anal. , 1, 5, I);
and other writers included this country, especially tb'"
northern part, under the general name of Syria. (Stra-
in, 737. ) The Romans always regarded Mesopotamia
as a mere division of Syria. (Mela, 1, 11. --Plin. , 5,
13. ) It is called by the Arabs at the present day
Al Jczira, or "the island. " In scripture it is styled
Aram and Aramcci; but as Aram also signifies Syria,
it is denominated, for distinction' sake, Aram Naha-
icim. or the "Syria of the rivers. " It was first peo-
pled by Aram, the father of the Syrians, though little
is known of its history till it became a province of the
Persian empire. Cushanrishlhalhaim, who is men-
tioned in Judges (3, 8, 10) as king of Mesopotamia,
appears to have been only a petty prince of a district
east of the Euphrates. In the time of Hezekiah, the
different states of Mesopotamia were subject to the
Assyrians (2 Kings, 19, 13), and subsequently belonged
in succession to the Chaldajan, Persian, and Syro-Ma-
cedonian monarchies. --Mesopotamia, which inclines
from the southeast to the northwest, commenced at
'. it. 33? 20' N. , and terminated near N. Iat. 37? 30'.
Towards the south it extended as far as the bend form-
ed by the Euphrates at Cunaxa, and to the wall of
Semiramis, which separated it from Mcsene. To-
wards the north it was boundeC by a part of Mount
Taurus. The northern part of Mesopotamia, which
extended as far as the Chahoras, a tributary of the Eu-
phrates, is mountainous, and for the most part fruitful.
The southern portion consists chiefly of reddish hills,
and deserts without any trees, except liquorice-wood;
and, like the desert of Arabia, suffers, at a distance
from the rivers, a dearth of food and water. Here, on
the parched steppes or table-lands, where the simoom
often breathes destruction, hordes of Arabs have from
the earliest times wandered. When history, therefore,
speaks of the Romans and Persians as possessing Mes-
opotamia, we must understand the northern | art, which
abounded in all the necessaries of life. 1 he inhabi-
tants of this portion, who still speak an Armeno-Syriac
dialect, were called among themselves Mygdonians,
and their district was known by the name of Mygdo-
nia. (Polyb. , 5, 51. -- Stcph. Byz. , s. v. ) Subse-
quently, under the Syro-Macedonian monarchy, it took
ttie name of Anthemusia. (Amm Marcell. , 14, 9. --
Eutrop. , 8, 2. --Scxtus Ru/us, c. 20. ) In the time
? ? of the Parthian sway, about 120 B. C. , an Arab sheik,
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? MESSALA.
MESSALA.
? eel. In the course of this contest he wu also for
tome time stationed with an army on tlie Neapolitan
ahore; and Augustoa, having been not only defeated,
hut shipwrecked in one of the many naval engage-
ments which he fought with Pompey, sought shelter
in the most wretched condition in the camp of Mes-
ula, by whom he was received as a friend and matter
and treated with the tendercst care. The death of
Seitus Pompey at length opened both sea and land
to his successful adversary, and it was quickly follow-
? ed by the long-expected struggle for superiority be-
tween Antony and Augustus. --Messala was consul
fa) A. U. C. 721, the year of the battle of Actium, in
which he bore a distinguished part. After that dcci-
? ive victory and the firm establishment of the throne
of Augustus, he lived the general favourite of all par-
ties, and the chief ornamenUof a court where he still
asserted his freedom and dignity. While at Home
he resided in a house on the Palatine Hill, which had
formerly belonged to Marc Antony; but he was fre-
quently absent from the capital on the service of the
state. War after war was intrusted to his conduct,
and province after province was committed to his ad-
ministration. In some of his foreign expeditions he
was accompanied by the poet Tibullus, who has cel-
ebrated the military exploits of Messala in his famed
panegyric, and his own friendship and attachment to
nis patron in his elegies The triumph which Messa-
la obtained in 727, for his victories in a Gallic cam-
paign, completed the measure of his military honours;
and he filled in succession all the most important civ-
il offices in the state. Besides holding the consulship
in 721, he was elected into the college of Augurs, and
was intrusted wiih the superintendence of the aque-
ducts, one of those great public works for which
Rome has been to justly celebrated. In 736, on ac-
count of the absence of Augustus and Maecenas from
(to capital, he was nominated prefect of the city; but
he resigned that situation a few days after his appoint-
ment, regarding it as inconsistent with the ancient
constitution of his country. He is also believed to
hive been the person who, by command of the Con-
script fathers, first saluted Augustus in the senate-
bojse as the "Father of his country ;" a distinction
which was hestowed in a manner that drew tears from
the master of the Roman world (Suet. , Aug , 58), and
a reply, in which he declared that, having attained the
summit of his wishes, he had nothing more to desire
from the immortal gods but a continuance of ths same
attachment till the last moments of his Ufa. --From
this period the name of Messala is scarcely once men-
tioned by any contemporary writer. He survived,
however, ten or twelve years longer. Tiberius Csb-
sar, who was then a youth, fond of the liberal arts,
ind by no means ignorant of literature, paid Messala,
when in his old age, much deference and attention,
and attempted to imitate his style of oratory. (Suet. ,
Tib. , c 70. ) Towards the close of his life he was
dreadfully afflicted with ulcers in the sacra spina; and
It is said that, two years before his dea'. U, he was de-
prived of both sense and memory. He at length for-
got his own name (Plin , 7, 24), and became incapa-
ble of putting two words together with meaning. It
is mentioned in the Eusebian Chronicle that he per-
ched by abstaining from food when he had reached
the age of seventy-two; but if he were born in 690,
as is supposed, this computation would extend his ex-
? ? istence till the close of the reign of Augustus, which
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? M ES
M ES
to wnlch Julius Cxur had been assassinated. Mot-
Mla left by Tcrentia two sons, Marcus and Lucius.
The elder of these, who was consul in 751, took the
Dame of Messalinus; he greatly distinguished himself
under Tiberius, when that prince commanded, before
his accession to the empire, in the war of Pannonia.
[Veil. Paterc, 2, 112. ) Messalinus inherited his
father's eloquence, and also followed the example he
lad set in devoted attachment to Augustus, and the
patronage he extended to literature. But, during the
rejgn of Tiberius, he was chiefly noted as one of the
most servile flatterers of that tyrant. {Tacit. , Ann. ,
3, 18. ) The younger son of Mcssala assumed the
name of Cotta, from his maternal family, and acted a
conspicuous, though by no means reputable part in
the first years of Tiberius. Both brothers were friends
and protectors of Ovid, who addressed to Messalinus
two of his epistles from Pontus, which are full of re-
spect for the memory of his illustrious father. (Dun-
top's Roman Lit. , vol. 3, p. 63, stqq. . Land, ed. )
Messalina, I. Valeria, the first wife of the Emper-
or Claudius, dishonoured his throne by her unbridled
and disgusting incontinence. Her cruelty equalled
her licentiousness. After a long career of guilt, she
openly married a young patrician named Silius, du-
ring the absence of the emperor, who had gone on a
visit to Ostia. Narcissus, the fr'. edman of Claudius,
was the only one who dar<< J to intorm Claudius of the
fact, and, when he had roused the sluggish resentment
of his imperial master, he brought him to Rome. The
arrival of Claudius dispersed in an instant all who had
thronged around Messalina; but still, though thus de-
serted, sho resolved to brave the s. orm, and sent to
the emperor demanding to be heard. Narcissus, how-
ever, fearing the effect of her presence on the feeble
spirit of her husband, despatched an order, as i. com-
ing from him, for her immediate punishment. The
order found her in the gardens of Lucullus. She en-
deavoured to destroy herself, but her courage failing,
(he was put to death by a tribune who had been sent
for thai purpose, A. D. 48. (Tacit. , Ann. , 11 et 12.
--Suetonius, Vit. Claud. )--U. Called also Statilia,
&e grand-daughter of Statihus Taurus, who haH been
consul and had enjoyed a triumph during the reign
of Augustus.
She was married four times before she
came to the imperial throne. The last of her four
husbanJs was Atticus Vcstimis, a man of consular
rank, who had ventured to aspire to her hand, al-
though he was not ignorant that ho had Nero for a
rival. The tyrant, who had long favoured Vcstinrs
as one pf the companions of his debaucheries, cr>w
resolved to destroy him, and accordingly compelled
him to open his veins. Messalina was transferred to
the imperial bed. After the death of Nero she en-
deavoured to regain her former rank, as empress, by
means of Otho, whom she bad captivated by her beau-
ty, and hoped to espouse. But ( Mho's fall having de-
stroyed all these expectations, she turned her atten-
tion to literary subjects, and obtained applause by
some public discourses which she delivered. (Biogr.
Univ. , vol. 28, p. 43! . )
Mkssalinus, M. Valerius, son of Valerius Mcssa-
la Corvinus. (Consult remarks at the close of the ar-
ticle Messala. )
Mkssana, an ancient and celebrated city of Sicily,
situate on the straits which separate Italy from that
island. The first settlers in this quarter would seem
? ? to have been a body of wandering Siculi, who gave
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? MES
MES
jeshies estaolishing in it the remnant of the former in-
habitants, added a considerable number of Locrians,
Methymnseans, and Messenian exiles. The latter,
however, through fear of offending the Lacedemonians,
vcrc afterward transferred to the district of Abacene,
ind there founded Tyndaris. Messana thus came to
contain as mixed a popula'ion as before. (Diod. , 14,
78. ) I". remained under tl<<r sway of Dionysius and
his son; and subsequently, after enjoying a short pe-
riod of freedom, it passed into the hands of Agathocles.
(Diod. , 19, 102. ) The following year the inhabitants
revolted from his sway, and put themselves under the
protection of the Carthaginians. (Diod. , 19, 110. )
Soon, however, a new misfortune befell the unlucky
city. It was seized by the Mamertini (vid. Matnerti-
ni), its male inhabitants were either slaughtered or
driven out, and their wives and children became the
property of the conquerors. Messana now took the
name of Mamertina, though in process of time the other
appellation once more gained the ascendancy. (Po-
lyb. , 1, 7. --Diod. , 21, 13. -- Plin. , 3, 7. ) This act of
perfidy and cruelty passed unpunished. Syracuse was
too much occupied with intestine commotions to attend
to it, and the Carthaginians gladly made a league with
the Mamertini, since by them Pyrrhus would be pre-
vented from crossing over into Sicily and seizing on a
post so important to his future operations. (Diod. , 22,
8. ) The Mamertini, however, could not lay aside their
old habits of robbery. They harassed all their neigh-
bours, and even became troublesome to Syracuse,
where King Hiero had at last succeeded in establish-
ing order and tranquillity. This monarch defeated
the lawless banditti, and would have taken their city,
had not the Carthaginians interposed to defend it. A
body of these, with the approbation of part of the in-
habitants, took possession of the citadel; while another
portion of the inhabitants called in the assistance of
the Romans, and thus the first of the Punic wars had
its origin. (Vid. Punic vim Bcllum. and compare Po-
lyb. , 1, 9, seqq. -- Diod. , 22, 15. -- Id. , 23, 2, seqq. )
Messana and the Mamertines remained from hence-
forth under the Roman power; but the city, as before,
could ncrver enjoy any long period of repose. It suf-
fered in the early civil wars between Marius and Sylla,
in the war of the slaves in Sicily, and, more particular-
y, in the contest between Sextus Pompcy and the tri-
umvir Octavianus. Messana formed during this war
the chief station of Pompey's fleet, and his principal
place of supply, and the city was plundered at its close.
(Appian, B. Civ-, 5, 122. ) A Roman colony was af-
terward planted here. (Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 9, pt.
2, p. 267, seqq. )--The modern Messina corresponds
to the ancient city. Even in later times, the fates
seem to have conspired against this unfortunate place.
A pNgue swept away a great part of the inhabitants;
then rebellion spread its ravages; and firully, the dread-
ful earthquake in 1783 completed tke downfall of a
city which rivalled, if it did nor wirpass, Palermo.
(Hoare's Classical Tour, vol. 2. r 203. ) Although
the town has since been rebuilt according to a regular
plan and although it has bean declared a free port,
Messina is not so important as it once was. It con-
tained before the last catastrophe a hundred thousand
inhabitants: the present population does not amount
to seventy thousand (Malte Brun, Geogr. , vol. 7, p.
732, Am. ed. )
M kssap! i, a co. ntry of Italy in Magna Griecia, com-
? ? monly supposed to have been the same with Iapygia,
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? MESSENIA.
MESSENIA.
{Slrab. , 350. --Pausan. , 4, 3. ) In the division of the
Peloponnesus, made after the return of the Heraclidae,
Messenia fell to the share of Cresphontcs, son of Aris-
todemus, with whom commenced the Dorian line,
which continued without interruption for many gener-
ations. In the middle of the eighth century before
the Christian era, a series of disputes and skirmishes
arose on the borders of Messcnia and Laconia, which
gave rise tc a confirmed hatred between the two na-
tions. Prompted by this feeling, the Spartans arc
? aid to havo bound themselves by en oath never to
return home till Messenia was subdued; and they
commenced the contest by a midnight attack on Am-
pheia, a frontier town, which they took, and put
the inhabitants to the sword. This was the com-
mencement of what was called the First Mcssenian
War, the date of which is usually given, though
it cannot be believed with certainty, as B. C. 743.
Euphaes, the Messenian king, had wisdom, howev-
er, and courage sufficient for the crisis. Aware of
the Lacedaemonian superiority in the field, he pro-
tracted the war, avoiding battles and defending the
towns. In the f jiirth year, however, a battle was
fought with great slaughter and doubtful success. But
the Messenians were suffering from garrison-confine-
ment and the constant plundering of their lands.
New measures were taken. The people were collect-
ed from the inland posts at Ithoine, a place of great
natural strength, and open to supplies by sea, the
Lacedaemonians having no fleet. Meanwhile they
asked advice of the Delphic oracle, which bade them
sacrifice to the infernal deities a virgin of the blood
of /Epytus, son of the Heracleid Cresphontcs. Im-
pelled by patrio:ism or ambition, Aristodemus offered
bis own daughter; and, when it was intended to save
her by falsely denying her virginity, in his rage he slew
ber with his own hand. The fame of the obedience
paid to the oracle so far disheartened the enemy, that
the war languished for five years; in the sixth an in-
cision took place, and a battle, bloody and indecisive
bit; the former. Euphaes was killed, and left no is-
sue, and Aristodemus was elected to succeed him.
The new prince was brave and able, and the Lacedae-
mor. ians, weakened by the battle, confined themselves
for four yean, tn predatory incursions. At last they
sgain invaded Messenia, and were defeated; but, in
the midst of his success, Aristodemus was so pos-
sessed with remorse fur his daughter's death, that he
slew himself on her tomb, and deprived his country of
the only leader able to defend her. Ithome was be-
sieged. The famished inhabitants found means to
pass the Lacedaemonian lines, and fled for shelter and
subsistence, some to neighbouring states where they
had claims of hospitality, others to their ruined homes
and about their desolated country. Ithome was die-
rnintled; and those who remained of the Messenians
were allowed to occupy most of the lands, paying half
the produce to Sparta. --The absence from home to
which the Lacedaemonians had bound themselves, be-
came, by the protraction of the war, an evil threaten-
ing the existence of the state, no children being born
to supply the waste of war and natural decay. The
remedy said to havo been adopted was a strange one,
highly characteristic of Lacedaemon, and such as no
other people would have used. The young men who
had come to maturity since the beginning of the war
were free from the oath, and they were sent home to
? ? cohabit promiscuously with the marriageable virgins.
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? MESSENTA.
MESSENIA.
Artstunit iii>s who was wonderfully preserved and en-
abled 10 escape, and, returning to Ira, soon gave
proof to the enemy of his presence by fresh exploits
equally daring and judicious. The siege was protract-
ed till the eleventh year, when the Lacedaemonian
commander, one stormy night, learning that a post in
the fort had been quitted by its guard, silently occu-
pied it with his troops. Aristomenes flew to the spot
an. l commenced a vigorous defence, the women assist-
reg by throwing tiles from the house-tops, and many,
when driven thence by the storm, even taking arms
and mixing in the fight. But the superior numbers of
the Lacedaemonians enabled them constantly to bring
up fresh troops, while the Messenians were fighting
without rest or pause, with the tempest driving in
their faces. Cold, wet, sleepless, jaded, and hungry,
they kept up the struggle for three nights and two
days; at length, when all was vain, they formed their
column, placing in the middle their women and chil-
dren and most portable effects, and resolved to make
their way out of the place. Aristomenes demanded
a passage, which was granted by the enemy, unwilling
to risk the effects of their despair. Their march was
towards Arcadia, where they were most kindly re-
ceived, and allotments were offered them of land.
Even yet Aristomenes hoped to strike a blow for the
deliverance of his country. He selected 600 Messe-
nians, who were joined by 300 Arcadian volunteers,
and resolved to attempt the surprise of Sparta while
the army was in the farthest part of Messenia, where
Pylos and Methone still held out. But the enterprise
waa frustrated by Aristocrates, who sent word of it to
Sparta. The messenger was seized on his return,
and the letters found on him discovering both the pres-
ent and former treachery of his master, the indignant
people stoned the traitor to death, and erected a pillar
to commemorate his infamy. --The Messenians, who
fell under the power of Lacedasmon, were made He-
>>! s. The Pylians and Methonaeans, and others on
he cout, now giving up all hope of farther resistance,
proposed to their countrymen in Arcadia to join them
in sacking some fit place for a colonv, and requested
Aristomenes to be their leader. He sent his son.
For himself, he said, he would never ceaso to war
with Laccdeemon, and he well knew that, while he
lived, some ill would ever be happening to it. After
the former war, the town of Rhegium in Italy had
been partly peopled by expelled Messenians. The ex-
iles were now invited by the Rhegians to assist them
against Zancle, a hostile Grecian town on the oppo-
site coast of Sicily, and in case of victory the town
was offered them as a settlement. Zancle was be-
sieged, and the Messenians having mastered the walls,
the inhabitants were at their mercy. In the common
course of Grecian warfare, they would all have been
either slaughtered or sold for slaves, and such was the
wish of the Rhegian prince. But Aristomenes had
laught his followers a nobler lesson. They refused to
inflict on other Greeks what they had suffered from
the Lacedaemonians, and made a convention with the
Zanclaeans, by which each nation was to live on equal
terms in the city. The name of the town was chan-
uod to Messana. (Vid. Messana. )--Aristomenes vain-
ly scught the means of farther hostilities against Spar-
ta, but his remaining days were passed in tranquillity
>>ith Damagetus, prince of Ialysus in Rhodes, who
WI married his daughter. His actions dwelt in the
? ? memories of his countrymen, and cheered them in
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? MET
MET
twn of solemn saci'ifices, and devout invocations to
their gods and heroes. The lapse of 387 years from
the capture of Ira, and the termination of the second
war, had, as Pausanias affirmed, made no change in
their religion, their national customs, or their language,
which, according to that historian, they spoke even
wore correctly than the rest of the Peloponnesians.
Pausan. , 4, 27. ) Other town* being soon after re-
ouilt, the Messenians were presently in a condition to
taake head against Sparta, even after the death of
Epamicondas and the decline of Thebes. That great
general strenuously exhorted them, as the surest means
of preserving their country, to enter into the closest
alliance with the Arcadians, which salutary counsel
they carefully adhered to. (Polyb. , 4, 32, 10. ) They
likewise conciliated the favour of Philip of Mao-don,
whose power rendered him formidable to all the states
of Greece, and his influence now procured for them
the restoration of some townswhich the Lacedaemonians
still retained in their possession. (Polyb. , 9, 28, 7. --
Pausan , 4, 28. --Strabo, 361. ) During the wars and
revolutions which agitated Greece upon the death of
Alexander, they still preserved their independence, and
having, not long after that event, joined the Achaean
confederacy, they were present at the battle of Scllasia
and the capture of Sparta by Antigonus Doson. (Pau-
san , 4, 29. ) In the reign of Philip, son of Demetrius,
an unsuccessful attack was made on their city by De-
metrius of Pharos, then in the Macedonian service.
The inhabitants, though taken by surprise, defended
themselves on this occasion with such intrepidity, that
nearly the whole of the enemy's detachment was cut
tc pieces, and their general, Demetrius, slain. (Stra-
ta, 381-- Polyb. , 3, 19, 2-- Pausan. , 4,29. ) Nabis,
tyrant ol Laceila-mon, made another attack on this city
by night some years afterward, and had already pene-
trated within the walls, when succours arriving from
Megalopolis under the command of Philopcemen, he
was forced to evacuate the place. Subsequently to
this event, dissensions appear to have arisen, which
? -i'. iin-au-ly i? d to a rupture between the Achxans and
Meuenians. Pausanias was not able to ascertain the
immediate provocation which induced the Achaeana to
declare war against the Messenians. But Polybius
dic-s not scruple to blame his countrymen, and more
especially Philopcemen, for their conduct to a people
with whom they were united by federal ties. (Polyb. ,
33, 10, 5.
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? MEKOE
M ES
iti communication would mceaearily give rise to
moral and intellectual improvement. . --6. The curious
fact, that the images of some of the Egyptian gods
were at certain times conveyed up the Nile, from their
temples to others in Ethiopia; and, after the conclu-
sion of a festival, were brought back again into Egypt.
(Eustalh , ad II, 1, 424. )--7. The very remarkable
character of some of the Egyptian paintings, in which
Black (or, more correctly, dark-coloured) men aro rep-
resented in the costume of priests, as conferring on
certain red figures, similarly habited, the instruments
tnd symbols of the sacerdotal office. "This singular
representation," says Mr. Hamilton, "which is often
repeated in all the Egyptian temples, but only here at
Phils and at Elephantine with this distinction of col-
ur, may very naturally be supposed to commemorate
ne transmission of religious fables and the social in-
ilitutions from the tawny Ethiopians to the compara-
iively fair Egyptians. "--H. Other paintings of nearly
:he same purport. In the temple of Philoe, the sculp-
tures frequently depict two persons, who equally repre-
? ent the characters and symbols of Osiris, and two per-
luiis equally answering to those of Isis; but in both
cases one is invariably much older than the other, and
appears to be the superior divinity. Mr. Hamilton
conjectures that such 6gures represent the communi-
cation of religious rites from Ethiopia to Egypt, and
* the inferiority of the Egyptian Osiris. In these delin-
eations there is a very marked and positive distinction
between the dark figures and those of fairer complex-
ion; the former are most frequently conferring the
symbols of divinity and sovereignty on the other. --9.
The very interesting fact recorded by Diodorus, name-
ly, that the knowledge of picture-writing in Ethiopia
v. jj not a privilege confined solely to the caste of
priests as in Egypt, but that every one might attain it
as freely as they might in Egypt the writing in com-
tmn use. A proof at once of the earlier use of pic-
lu 'e-writing, or hieroglyphics, in Meroe' than in Egypt,
end also of its being applied to the purposes of trade.
--10. The more ancient form of the pyramid, ap-
proaching that of the primeval mound, occurs moro to
the south than the rectilinear form. Thus the pyra-
mids of Saccara are older in form than those of Djiza,
another proof of architecture's having come in from
the countries to the south. (Clarke's Travels, vol.
fi, p. 220, Lond. cd. )--From this body of evidence,
then, we come to the conclusion, that the same race
which ruled in Ethiopia and Meroe spread themselves
by colonics, in the first instance, to Upper Egypt; that
these latter colonies, in consequence of their great
prosperity, became in their turn the parents of others;
and as m all this they followed the course of the river,
there gradually became founded a succession of colo-
nies in the valley of the Nile, which, according to the
usual custom of the ancient world, were probably, at
first, independent of each other, and therefore formed
ust so many little states. Though, with the promul-
gation of their religion, either that of Ammon himself,
or of his kindred deities and temple-companions, after
whom even the settlements were named, the extension
of trade was the principal motive which tempted colo-
nists from Meroe to the countries beyond the desert;
yet there were many other causes, such as the fertil-
ity of the land, and the facility of making the rude na-
tive tribes subservient to themselves, which, in a pe-
riod of tranquillity, must have promoted the prosperity
? ? and accelerated the gradual progress of this coloniza-
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? M ES
MEJ
courtier 3 with whom *. Lc palace of Hadriar. had swa. in-
td. It was on this occasion that the stipend allowed
to Mesomedes suffered a reduction. {Jul. Cap. , Vit.
Ant. Pii, c. 7. )--We have two epigrams of this poet's
in the Anthology, and also a piece of a higher charac-
ter, a Hymn to Nemesis. Judging from this last spe-
cimen, Mesomedes must have possessed talents of no
mean order. The Hymn to Nemesis was published
fur the first time, with ancient musical notes, by Fell,
at the end of his edition of Aratus, Oxon. , 1762, 8vo.
I was subsequently given by Burette in the 5th vol.
? I the Mem. Ac I'Acad, des Inscr. , &c, by Brunck in
js Analecta, and by Snedorf in his work, " De Hym-
nis velcrum Gracorum," Hafn. , 1786, 8vo. (Schbll,
Hist. Lit. Gr. , vol. 4, p. 51. )
Mesopotamia, an extensive province of Asia, the
Greek name of which denotes between the rivers (from
uiaoc and jroTa/i6c. ) It was situate between t'. ic Eu-
phrates and the Tigris. The name itself, however,
does not appear to have been given to this tract prior
to the Macedonian conquest. The southern part of
Mesopotamia Xenophon calls Arabia (Anal. , 1, 5, I);
and other writers included this country, especially tb'"
northern part, under the general name of Syria. (Stra-
in, 737. ) The Romans always regarded Mesopotamia
as a mere division of Syria. (Mela, 1, 11. --Plin. , 5,
13. ) It is called by the Arabs at the present day
Al Jczira, or "the island. " In scripture it is styled
Aram and Aramcci; but as Aram also signifies Syria,
it is denominated, for distinction' sake, Aram Naha-
icim. or the "Syria of the rivers. " It was first peo-
pled by Aram, the father of the Syrians, though little
is known of its history till it became a province of the
Persian empire. Cushanrishlhalhaim, who is men-
tioned in Judges (3, 8, 10) as king of Mesopotamia,
appears to have been only a petty prince of a district
east of the Euphrates. In the time of Hezekiah, the
different states of Mesopotamia were subject to the
Assyrians (2 Kings, 19, 13), and subsequently belonged
in succession to the Chaldajan, Persian, and Syro-Ma-
cedonian monarchies. --Mesopotamia, which inclines
from the southeast to the northwest, commenced at
'. it. 33? 20' N. , and terminated near N. Iat. 37? 30'.
Towards the south it extended as far as the bend form-
ed by the Euphrates at Cunaxa, and to the wall of
Semiramis, which separated it from Mcsene. To-
wards the north it was boundeC by a part of Mount
Taurus. The northern part of Mesopotamia, which
extended as far as the Chahoras, a tributary of the Eu-
phrates, is mountainous, and for the most part fruitful.
The southern portion consists chiefly of reddish hills,
and deserts without any trees, except liquorice-wood;
and, like the desert of Arabia, suffers, at a distance
from the rivers, a dearth of food and water. Here, on
the parched steppes or table-lands, where the simoom
often breathes destruction, hordes of Arabs have from
the earliest times wandered. When history, therefore,
speaks of the Romans and Persians as possessing Mes-
opotamia, we must understand the northern | art, which
abounded in all the necessaries of life. 1 he inhabi-
tants of this portion, who still speak an Armeno-Syriac
dialect, were called among themselves Mygdonians,
and their district was known by the name of Mygdo-
nia. (Polyb. , 5, 51. -- Stcph. Byz. , s. v. ) Subse-
quently, under the Syro-Macedonian monarchy, it took
ttie name of Anthemusia. (Amm Marcell. , 14, 9. --
Eutrop. , 8, 2. --Scxtus Ru/us, c. 20. ) In the time
? ? of the Parthian sway, about 120 B. C. , an Arab sheik,
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? MESSALA.
MESSALA.
? eel. In the course of this contest he wu also for
tome time stationed with an army on tlie Neapolitan
ahore; and Augustoa, having been not only defeated,
hut shipwrecked in one of the many naval engage-
ments which he fought with Pompey, sought shelter
in the most wretched condition in the camp of Mes-
ula, by whom he was received as a friend and matter
and treated with the tendercst care. The death of
Seitus Pompey at length opened both sea and land
to his successful adversary, and it was quickly follow-
? ed by the long-expected struggle for superiority be-
tween Antony and Augustus. --Messala was consul
fa) A. U. C. 721, the year of the battle of Actium, in
which he bore a distinguished part. After that dcci-
? ive victory and the firm establishment of the throne
of Augustus, he lived the general favourite of all par-
ties, and the chief ornamenUof a court where he still
asserted his freedom and dignity. While at Home
he resided in a house on the Palatine Hill, which had
formerly belonged to Marc Antony; but he was fre-
quently absent from the capital on the service of the
state. War after war was intrusted to his conduct,
and province after province was committed to his ad-
ministration. In some of his foreign expeditions he
was accompanied by the poet Tibullus, who has cel-
ebrated the military exploits of Messala in his famed
panegyric, and his own friendship and attachment to
nis patron in his elegies The triumph which Messa-
la obtained in 727, for his victories in a Gallic cam-
paign, completed the measure of his military honours;
and he filled in succession all the most important civ-
il offices in the state. Besides holding the consulship
in 721, he was elected into the college of Augurs, and
was intrusted wiih the superintendence of the aque-
ducts, one of those great public works for which
Rome has been to justly celebrated. In 736, on ac-
count of the absence of Augustus and Maecenas from
(to capital, he was nominated prefect of the city; but
he resigned that situation a few days after his appoint-
ment, regarding it as inconsistent with the ancient
constitution of his country. He is also believed to
hive been the person who, by command of the Con-
script fathers, first saluted Augustus in the senate-
bojse as the "Father of his country ;" a distinction
which was hestowed in a manner that drew tears from
the master of the Roman world (Suet. , Aug , 58), and
a reply, in which he declared that, having attained the
summit of his wishes, he had nothing more to desire
from the immortal gods but a continuance of ths same
attachment till the last moments of his Ufa. --From
this period the name of Messala is scarcely once men-
tioned by any contemporary writer. He survived,
however, ten or twelve years longer. Tiberius Csb-
sar, who was then a youth, fond of the liberal arts,
ind by no means ignorant of literature, paid Messala,
when in his old age, much deference and attention,
and attempted to imitate his style of oratory. (Suet. ,
Tib. , c 70. ) Towards the close of his life he was
dreadfully afflicted with ulcers in the sacra spina; and
It is said that, two years before his dea'. U, he was de-
prived of both sense and memory. He at length for-
got his own name (Plin , 7, 24), and became incapa-
ble of putting two words together with meaning. It
is mentioned in the Eusebian Chronicle that he per-
ched by abstaining from food when he had reached
the age of seventy-two; but if he were born in 690,
as is supposed, this computation would extend his ex-
? ? istence till the close of the reign of Augustus, which
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? M ES
M ES
to wnlch Julius Cxur had been assassinated. Mot-
Mla left by Tcrentia two sons, Marcus and Lucius.
The elder of these, who was consul in 751, took the
Dame of Messalinus; he greatly distinguished himself
under Tiberius, when that prince commanded, before
his accession to the empire, in the war of Pannonia.
[Veil. Paterc, 2, 112. ) Messalinus inherited his
father's eloquence, and also followed the example he
lad set in devoted attachment to Augustus, and the
patronage he extended to literature. But, during the
rejgn of Tiberius, he was chiefly noted as one of the
most servile flatterers of that tyrant. {Tacit. , Ann. ,
3, 18. ) The younger son of Mcssala assumed the
name of Cotta, from his maternal family, and acted a
conspicuous, though by no means reputable part in
the first years of Tiberius. Both brothers were friends
and protectors of Ovid, who addressed to Messalinus
two of his epistles from Pontus, which are full of re-
spect for the memory of his illustrious father. (Dun-
top's Roman Lit. , vol. 3, p. 63, stqq. . Land, ed. )
Messalina, I. Valeria, the first wife of the Emper-
or Claudius, dishonoured his throne by her unbridled
and disgusting incontinence. Her cruelty equalled
her licentiousness. After a long career of guilt, she
openly married a young patrician named Silius, du-
ring the absence of the emperor, who had gone on a
visit to Ostia. Narcissus, the fr'. edman of Claudius,
was the only one who dar<< J to intorm Claudius of the
fact, and, when he had roused the sluggish resentment
of his imperial master, he brought him to Rome. The
arrival of Claudius dispersed in an instant all who had
thronged around Messalina; but still, though thus de-
serted, sho resolved to brave the s. orm, and sent to
the emperor demanding to be heard. Narcissus, how-
ever, fearing the effect of her presence on the feeble
spirit of her husband, despatched an order, as i. com-
ing from him, for her immediate punishment. The
order found her in the gardens of Lucullus. She en-
deavoured to destroy herself, but her courage failing,
(he was put to death by a tribune who had been sent
for thai purpose, A. D. 48. (Tacit. , Ann. , 11 et 12.
--Suetonius, Vit. Claud. )--U. Called also Statilia,
&e grand-daughter of Statihus Taurus, who haH been
consul and had enjoyed a triumph during the reign
of Augustus.
She was married four times before she
came to the imperial throne. The last of her four
husbanJs was Atticus Vcstimis, a man of consular
rank, who had ventured to aspire to her hand, al-
though he was not ignorant that ho had Nero for a
rival. The tyrant, who had long favoured Vcstinrs
as one pf the companions of his debaucheries, cr>w
resolved to destroy him, and accordingly compelled
him to open his veins. Messalina was transferred to
the imperial bed. After the death of Nero she en-
deavoured to regain her former rank, as empress, by
means of Otho, whom she bad captivated by her beau-
ty, and hoped to espouse. But ( Mho's fall having de-
stroyed all these expectations, she turned her atten-
tion to literary subjects, and obtained applause by
some public discourses which she delivered. (Biogr.
Univ. , vol. 28, p. 43! . )
Mkssalinus, M. Valerius, son of Valerius Mcssa-
la Corvinus. (Consult remarks at the close of the ar-
ticle Messala. )
Mkssana, an ancient and celebrated city of Sicily,
situate on the straits which separate Italy from that
island. The first settlers in this quarter would seem
? ? to have been a body of wandering Siculi, who gave
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? MES
MES
jeshies estaolishing in it the remnant of the former in-
habitants, added a considerable number of Locrians,
Methymnseans, and Messenian exiles. The latter,
however, through fear of offending the Lacedemonians,
vcrc afterward transferred to the district of Abacene,
ind there founded Tyndaris. Messana thus came to
contain as mixed a popula'ion as before. (Diod. , 14,
78. ) I". remained under tl<<r sway of Dionysius and
his son; and subsequently, after enjoying a short pe-
riod of freedom, it passed into the hands of Agathocles.
(Diod. , 19, 102. ) The following year the inhabitants
revolted from his sway, and put themselves under the
protection of the Carthaginians. (Diod. , 19, 110. )
Soon, however, a new misfortune befell the unlucky
city. It was seized by the Mamertini (vid. Matnerti-
ni), its male inhabitants were either slaughtered or
driven out, and their wives and children became the
property of the conquerors. Messana now took the
name of Mamertina, though in process of time the other
appellation once more gained the ascendancy. (Po-
lyb. , 1, 7. --Diod. , 21, 13. -- Plin. , 3, 7. ) This act of
perfidy and cruelty passed unpunished. Syracuse was
too much occupied with intestine commotions to attend
to it, and the Carthaginians gladly made a league with
the Mamertini, since by them Pyrrhus would be pre-
vented from crossing over into Sicily and seizing on a
post so important to his future operations. (Diod. , 22,
8. ) The Mamertini, however, could not lay aside their
old habits of robbery. They harassed all their neigh-
bours, and even became troublesome to Syracuse,
where King Hiero had at last succeeded in establish-
ing order and tranquillity. This monarch defeated
the lawless banditti, and would have taken their city,
had not the Carthaginians interposed to defend it. A
body of these, with the approbation of part of the in-
habitants, took possession of the citadel; while another
portion of the inhabitants called in the assistance of
the Romans, and thus the first of the Punic wars had
its origin. (Vid. Punic vim Bcllum. and compare Po-
lyb. , 1, 9, seqq. -- Diod. , 22, 15. -- Id. , 23, 2, seqq. )
Messana and the Mamertines remained from hence-
forth under the Roman power; but the city, as before,
could ncrver enjoy any long period of repose. It suf-
fered in the early civil wars between Marius and Sylla,
in the war of the slaves in Sicily, and, more particular-
y, in the contest between Sextus Pompcy and the tri-
umvir Octavianus. Messana formed during this war
the chief station of Pompey's fleet, and his principal
place of supply, and the city was plundered at its close.
(Appian, B. Civ-, 5, 122. ) A Roman colony was af-
terward planted here. (Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 9, pt.
2, p. 267, seqq. )--The modern Messina corresponds
to the ancient city. Even in later times, the fates
seem to have conspired against this unfortunate place.
A pNgue swept away a great part of the inhabitants;
then rebellion spread its ravages; and firully, the dread-
ful earthquake in 1783 completed tke downfall of a
city which rivalled, if it did nor wirpass, Palermo.
(Hoare's Classical Tour, vol. 2. r 203. ) Although
the town has since been rebuilt according to a regular
plan and although it has bean declared a free port,
Messina is not so important as it once was. It con-
tained before the last catastrophe a hundred thousand
inhabitants: the present population does not amount
to seventy thousand (Malte Brun, Geogr. , vol. 7, p.
732, Am. ed. )
M kssap! i, a co. ntry of Italy in Magna Griecia, com-
? ? monly supposed to have been the same with Iapygia,
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? MESSENIA.
MESSENIA.
{Slrab. , 350. --Pausan. , 4, 3. ) In the division of the
Peloponnesus, made after the return of the Heraclidae,
Messenia fell to the share of Cresphontcs, son of Aris-
todemus, with whom commenced the Dorian line,
which continued without interruption for many gener-
ations. In the middle of the eighth century before
the Christian era, a series of disputes and skirmishes
arose on the borders of Messcnia and Laconia, which
gave rise tc a confirmed hatred between the two na-
tions. Prompted by this feeling, the Spartans arc
? aid to havo bound themselves by en oath never to
return home till Messenia was subdued; and they
commenced the contest by a midnight attack on Am-
pheia, a frontier town, which they took, and put
the inhabitants to the sword. This was the com-
mencement of what was called the First Mcssenian
War, the date of which is usually given, though
it cannot be believed with certainty, as B. C. 743.
Euphaes, the Messenian king, had wisdom, howev-
er, and courage sufficient for the crisis. Aware of
the Lacedaemonian superiority in the field, he pro-
tracted the war, avoiding battles and defending the
towns. In the f jiirth year, however, a battle was
fought with great slaughter and doubtful success. But
the Messenians were suffering from garrison-confine-
ment and the constant plundering of their lands.
New measures were taken. The people were collect-
ed from the inland posts at Ithoine, a place of great
natural strength, and open to supplies by sea, the
Lacedaemonians having no fleet. Meanwhile they
asked advice of the Delphic oracle, which bade them
sacrifice to the infernal deities a virgin of the blood
of /Epytus, son of the Heracleid Cresphontcs. Im-
pelled by patrio:ism or ambition, Aristodemus offered
bis own daughter; and, when it was intended to save
her by falsely denying her virginity, in his rage he slew
ber with his own hand. The fame of the obedience
paid to the oracle so far disheartened the enemy, that
the war languished for five years; in the sixth an in-
cision took place, and a battle, bloody and indecisive
bit; the former. Euphaes was killed, and left no is-
sue, and Aristodemus was elected to succeed him.
The new prince was brave and able, and the Lacedae-
mor. ians, weakened by the battle, confined themselves
for four yean, tn predatory incursions. At last they
sgain invaded Messenia, and were defeated; but, in
the midst of his success, Aristodemus was so pos-
sessed with remorse fur his daughter's death, that he
slew himself on her tomb, and deprived his country of
the only leader able to defend her. Ithome was be-
sieged. The famished inhabitants found means to
pass the Lacedaemonian lines, and fled for shelter and
subsistence, some to neighbouring states where they
had claims of hospitality, others to their ruined homes
and about their desolated country. Ithome was die-
rnintled; and those who remained of the Messenians
were allowed to occupy most of the lands, paying half
the produce to Sparta. --The absence from home to
which the Lacedaemonians had bound themselves, be-
came, by the protraction of the war, an evil threaten-
ing the existence of the state, no children being born
to supply the waste of war and natural decay. The
remedy said to havo been adopted was a strange one,
highly characteristic of Lacedaemon, and such as no
other people would have used. The young men who
had come to maturity since the beginning of the war
were free from the oath, and they were sent home to
? ? cohabit promiscuously with the marriageable virgins.
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? MESSENTA.
MESSENIA.
Artstunit iii>s who was wonderfully preserved and en-
abled 10 escape, and, returning to Ira, soon gave
proof to the enemy of his presence by fresh exploits
equally daring and judicious. The siege was protract-
ed till the eleventh year, when the Lacedaemonian
commander, one stormy night, learning that a post in
the fort had been quitted by its guard, silently occu-
pied it with his troops. Aristomenes flew to the spot
an. l commenced a vigorous defence, the women assist-
reg by throwing tiles from the house-tops, and many,
when driven thence by the storm, even taking arms
and mixing in the fight. But the superior numbers of
the Lacedaemonians enabled them constantly to bring
up fresh troops, while the Messenians were fighting
without rest or pause, with the tempest driving in
their faces. Cold, wet, sleepless, jaded, and hungry,
they kept up the struggle for three nights and two
days; at length, when all was vain, they formed their
column, placing in the middle their women and chil-
dren and most portable effects, and resolved to make
their way out of the place. Aristomenes demanded
a passage, which was granted by the enemy, unwilling
to risk the effects of their despair. Their march was
towards Arcadia, where they were most kindly re-
ceived, and allotments were offered them of land.
Even yet Aristomenes hoped to strike a blow for the
deliverance of his country. He selected 600 Messe-
nians, who were joined by 300 Arcadian volunteers,
and resolved to attempt the surprise of Sparta while
the army was in the farthest part of Messenia, where
Pylos and Methone still held out. But the enterprise
waa frustrated by Aristocrates, who sent word of it to
Sparta. The messenger was seized on his return,
and the letters found on him discovering both the pres-
ent and former treachery of his master, the indignant
people stoned the traitor to death, and erected a pillar
to commemorate his infamy. --The Messenians, who
fell under the power of Lacedasmon, were made He-
>>! s. The Pylians and Methonaeans, and others on
he cout, now giving up all hope of farther resistance,
proposed to their countrymen in Arcadia to join them
in sacking some fit place for a colonv, and requested
Aristomenes to be their leader. He sent his son.
For himself, he said, he would never ceaso to war
with Laccdeemon, and he well knew that, while he
lived, some ill would ever be happening to it. After
the former war, the town of Rhegium in Italy had
been partly peopled by expelled Messenians. The ex-
iles were now invited by the Rhegians to assist them
against Zancle, a hostile Grecian town on the oppo-
site coast of Sicily, and in case of victory the town
was offered them as a settlement. Zancle was be-
sieged, and the Messenians having mastered the walls,
the inhabitants were at their mercy. In the common
course of Grecian warfare, they would all have been
either slaughtered or sold for slaves, and such was the
wish of the Rhegian prince. But Aristomenes had
laught his followers a nobler lesson. They refused to
inflict on other Greeks what they had suffered from
the Lacedaemonians, and made a convention with the
Zanclaeans, by which each nation was to live on equal
terms in the city. The name of the town was chan-
uod to Messana. (Vid. Messana. )--Aristomenes vain-
ly scught the means of farther hostilities against Spar-
ta, but his remaining days were passed in tranquillity
>>ith Damagetus, prince of Ialysus in Rhodes, who
WI married his daughter. His actions dwelt in the
? ? memories of his countrymen, and cheered them in
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? MET
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twn of solemn saci'ifices, and devout invocations to
their gods and heroes. The lapse of 387 years from
the capture of Ira, and the termination of the second
war, had, as Pausanias affirmed, made no change in
their religion, their national customs, or their language,
which, according to that historian, they spoke even
wore correctly than the rest of the Peloponnesians.
Pausan. , 4, 27. ) Other town* being soon after re-
ouilt, the Messenians were presently in a condition to
taake head against Sparta, even after the death of
Epamicondas and the decline of Thebes. That great
general strenuously exhorted them, as the surest means
of preserving their country, to enter into the closest
alliance with the Arcadians, which salutary counsel
they carefully adhered to. (Polyb. , 4, 32, 10. ) They
likewise conciliated the favour of Philip of Mao-don,
whose power rendered him formidable to all the states
of Greece, and his influence now procured for them
the restoration of some townswhich the Lacedaemonians
still retained in their possession. (Polyb. , 9, 28, 7. --
Pausan , 4, 28. --Strabo, 361. ) During the wars and
revolutions which agitated Greece upon the death of
Alexander, they still preserved their independence, and
having, not long after that event, joined the Achaean
confederacy, they were present at the battle of Scllasia
and the capture of Sparta by Antigonus Doson. (Pau-
san , 4, 29. ) In the reign of Philip, son of Demetrius,
an unsuccessful attack was made on their city by De-
metrius of Pharos, then in the Macedonian service.
The inhabitants, though taken by surprise, defended
themselves on this occasion with such intrepidity, that
nearly the whole of the enemy's detachment was cut
tc pieces, and their general, Demetrius, slain. (Stra-
ta, 381-- Polyb. , 3, 19, 2-- Pausan. , 4,29. ) Nabis,
tyrant ol Laceila-mon, made another attack on this city
by night some years afterward, and had already pene-
trated within the walls, when succours arriving from
Megalopolis under the command of Philopcemen, he
was forced to evacuate the place. Subsequently to
this event, dissensions appear to have arisen, which
? -i'. iin-au-ly i? d to a rupture between the Achxans and
Meuenians. Pausanias was not able to ascertain the
immediate provocation which induced the Achaeana to
declare war against the Messenians. But Polybius
dic-s not scruple to blame his countrymen, and more
especially Philopcemen, for their conduct to a people
with whom they were united by federal ties. (Polyb. ,
33, 10, 5.
