Sertorins was assassinated by the con-
spirators at a banquet, and Perpenna took the com-
mand of the forces; but he soon showed his utter inca-
pacity, and was defeated by Pompey and put to death.
spirators at a banquet, and Perpenna took the com-
mand of the forces; but he soon showed his utter inca-
pacity, and was defeated by Pompey and put to death.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
Koxana being
coon after delivered of a son, who was called Alexan-
der, became jealous of Statira, from fear that the child
she was pregnant with might prove a rival to her own
son; and, in order to remove her apprehensions, Per-
diccas did not scruple to put Statira to death. He en-
deavoured to strengthen himself by an alliance with
Antipater, whose daughter he asked in marriage, while,
at the same time, he was aspiring to the hand of Cle-
opatra, Alexander'a sister. Olympian, Alexander's
mother, who hated Antipater, favoured this last alli-
ance. Antipatcr, having discovered this intrigue, re-
fused to give his daughter to Perdiccas, who, in the
end, obtained neither. The other generals, who had
become satraps of extensive countries, considered
themselves independent, and refused to submit to Per-
diccas and his puppet-king. Perdiccas, above all, fear-
ing Antigonus as the one most likely to thwart his
viexs, sought to destroy him; but Antigonus escaped
to Antipater in Macedonia, and represented to him the
necessity of uniting against the ambitious views of Per*
? ? diccaa. An'-ipater, having just brought to a success-
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? PERGAML'3.
PER
ftrfnist," but with no very great success. Consult re-
marks under the article Meaembria. --Eichltuff, Parol'
Me des Langucs, p. 348. --Kaltschmidt, Vergleichung
der Sprachen, p. 238. )--II. or Pekgamum (Ilepyafioc
or llcpya/tov), the moat important city in Mysia, situate
in the southern part of that country, in a plain watered
by two small rivers, the Selinus and Cetius, which af-
terward joined the Ca'icus. " This celebrated city is
mentioned for the first time in Xenophon'a Anabasis
'7, 84). Xenophon remained here for some time as
tl e guest of Gorgion and Gongyius, who appear to have
been the possessors of the place. (Compare lint. Gr. ,
3, 1, 4. ) It would seem to have been at first a for-
tress of considerable natural strength, situate on the
top of a conical hill, and, when the city began to be
formed around the base of this hill, the fortress served
as a citadel. In consequence of the strength of the
place, it was selected by Lysimachus, Alexander's
general, as a place of security for the reception and
preservation of bis great wealth, said to amount to the
enormous sum of 9000 talents. The care of this treas-
ure was confided to Philetserus of Tium in Bithynia,
in whom he placed the greatest confidence. Philette-
rus remained for a long time faithful to his charge; but,
having been injuriously treated by Arsinoe, the wife of
Lysimachus, who sought to prejudice the mind of her
husband against him, he was induced to withdraw his
allegiance from that prince, and declare himself inde-
pendent. The misfortunes of Lysimachus prevented
him from taking vengeance on the offender, and thus
Philctxrus remained in undisturbed possession of th>>
town and treasure for twenty years, having contrived,
by dexterous management and wise measures, to re-
main at peace with all the neighbouring powers. He
transmitted the possession of his principality to Eu-
menes, his r. cphew. An account of the reign of this
monarch, and of the other kings of Pergamus, has been
already given. (Vid. Kuinencs II. , III. ; Attalus I. ,
II. , III. )--After the death of Attalus III. , who left his
dominions by will to the Romans, Aristonicus, a nat-
ural son of Eumenes, the father of Attalus, opposed
this arrangement, and endeavoured to establish him-
self on the throne; but he was vanquished and made
prisoner, and the Romans finally took possession of the
kingdom, which henceforth became a province of the
empire under the name of Asia. (Slrab. , G24, 646. )
Pergamus continued to flourish and prosper as a Ro-
man city, so that Pliny (5, 32) does not scruple to
style it "lunge clarissimum Asia Pergamum. " To
(he Christian the history of Pergamus affords an ad-
ditional interest, since it is one of the seven churches
of Asia mentioned in the Book of Revelations. Though
condemnation is passed upon it as one of the churches
infected by the Nicola'itan heresy, its faithful servants,
more especially the martyr Antipas, are noticed as
holding fast the name of Christ. {Rev. 2, 12, seqq. )
--Pergamus was famed for its library, which yielded
, only to that of Alexandre! in extent and value. (Slrab. ,
624. --Alhentzus, 1, 8. ) It was founded by Eumenes
II. , and consisted of no less than 200,000 volumes.
This noble collection waa afterward given by Antony
In Cleopatra, who transported it to Alexandres, where
it formed part of the splendid library in the latter city.
(Plut, Vit. Ant. , 68. ) It was from their being first
used for writing in tM>> library that parchment skins
WBre ceiled "Pergirmnce ckartat" (Varro, ap. Plm. ,
13, 11), but it is <*rroneons to say that parchment was
? ? invented at Pergamus. What drove Eumenes to em-
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? PERICLES
rERICLES.
Zeno the Eleatic; and, most especially, of the subtlo
and profound Anaxagoras. Plutarch's account shows
that he acquired from Anaxagoras moral as well as
physical truths; and that, while he learned enough of
astronomy to raise him above vulgar errors, the same
teachers supplied him with those notions of the order-
ly arrangement of society which were afterward so
much the object of his public life. But all these stud-
ies bad a political end; and the same activity and
acuteness which led him into physical inquiries, gave
hra the will and the power to become ruler of Athens,
ii his youth, old men traced a likeness to Pisis-
trutus, which, joined to the obvious advantages with
which he would have entered public life, excited dis-
trust, and actually seems to have retarded his appear-
ance on tho stage of politics. However, about the
year 469, two years after the ostracism of Themis-
tocles, and about the time when Ariatides died, Per-
icles came forward in a public capacity, and before
long became head of a party opposed to that of Cimon
the son of Miltiadcs. Plutarch accuses Pericles of
taking the democratic side because Cimon headed that
of the nobles. A popular era usually strengthens the
bands of the executive, and is therefore unfavourable
to public liberty; and the Persian war seems to have
been emphatically so to Athens, as at its termination
she found herself under the guidance of a statesman
who partook more of the character of a general than
sf the prime minister. (Hceren't Polit. Antiq. of
Greece. ) Cimon's character was in itself a guarantee
? gainst aggrandizement, either on his own part or oth-
ers; but we may perhaps give Pericles credit for see-
ing the danger of so much power in less scrupulous
hands than Cimon's. Be this as it may, Pericles took
the popular aide, and, as such, became the opponent
of Cimon. About the time when Cimon was prose-
cuted and fined (B. C. 461), Pericles began his first
attack on the aristocracy through the side of the Are-
opagus; and in spite of Cimon, and of an advocate
yet more powerful (the poet jEschylus), succeeded in
depriving the Areopagus of its judicial powers, except
in certain inconsiderable cases. This triumph pre-
ceded, if it did not produce, the ostracism of Cimon
(B. C. 461). From this time until Cimon'a recall,
which Mr. Thirlwall places, though doubtfully, in the
year 453, we find Pericles acting as a military com-
mander, and by his valour at Tanagra preventing the
regret which Cimon's absence would otherwise un-
doubtedly have created. What caused him to bring
about the recall of Cimon ia doubtful; perhaps, as
Mr. Thirlwall suggests, to strengthen himself against
his most virulent opponents by conciliating the more
moderate of them, such as their great leader him-
self. After the death of Cimon, Thucydidcs took his
place, and for some time stood at the bead of the
stationary party. He was a better rhetorician than
Cimon; in fact, more statesman than warrior; but
the influence of Pericles was irresistible; and in 444
Thucydidea waa ostracized, which period we may con-
aider as the turning point of Pericles' power, and after
which it waa wellnigh absolute. We are unable to
trace the exact steps by which Athens rose from the
situction of chief among allies to that of mistress
over tributaries; but it seems pretty clear that Per-
icles aided in the change, and increased their contri-
bjtions nearly one third. His finishing blow to the
independence of the allies waa the conquest of Samos
? ? and Byzantium, a transaction belonging rather to his-
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? PER CLES.
rm
rai and oiographere have said of him. The form in
which the great orator and statesman has imbodied
his lofty conceptions, is beauty chastened and eleva-
ted by a noble severity- Athens and Athenians are
ibe objects which his ambition seeks to immortalize,
and the whole world is the theatre and the witness of
her glorious exploits. His philosophy teaches that life
it a thing to be enjoyed; death a thing not to be fear-
ad. The plague at Athens soon followed, and its de- ?
nilitating effects made restraint less irksome to the
people; but, while it damped their activity, it increased
their impatience of war. In spite of another harangue,
in which he represented most forcibly how absurd it
would be to allow circumstances like a plague to in-
terfere with his well-laid plans, he was brought to trial
ind fined, but his influence returned when the fit was
*ver. In the third year of the war, having lost his
(wo legitimate sons, his sister, and many of his best
friends, he fell ill, and, after a lingering sickness, died.
Some beautiful tales are told of his deathbed, all tend-
ing to show that the calm foresight and humanity for
which he was bo remarkable in life did not desert him
in death. It is an interesting question, and one which
continually presents itself to the student of history,
bow far those great men, who always appear at impor-
tant junctures for the assertion of some principle or the
carrying out of some great national object, are con-
scious of the work which is appointed for them to do.
It would, for instance, be most instructive, could we
now ascertain to what extent Pericles foresaw that
approaching contest of principles, a small part only of
which he lived to direct. Looking from a distance,
we can see a kind of necessity imprinted on his actions,
and think we trace their dependance on each other and
the manner in which they harmonize. Athens was to
be preserved by accessions of power, wealth, and civ-
ilization, to maintair. a conflict in which, had she been
vanquished, the peculiar character of Spartan institu-
tions might have irreparably blighted those germes of
civilization, the fruit of which all succeeding genera-
tions have enjoyed. But how should this bo! Her
leader must have been a single person, for energetic
unity of purpose was needed, such as no cluster
of contemporary or string of successive rulers could
hsve been expected to show. 1 hat ruler must have
governed according to the laws, for a tyrant would
have been expelled by the sword of the Spartans, as
so many other tyrants were, or by the voice of the
commonalty, every day growing into greater power.
Moreover, without being given to change, he must
have been prepared to modify existing institutions so
as to suit the altered character of the times. He must
have been above his age in matters of religious belief,
and yet of so catholic <<i temper as to respect prejudi-
ces in which he had no share; for otherwise, in so tol-
erant an age, ho would probably have incurred the fate
iif Anaxagoras, and destroyed his own political influ-
ence without making his countrymen one whit the
wiser. He must have been a man of taste, or he
would not have been able to go along with and direct
that artistic skill, which arose instantly on the abolition
of those old religious notions forbidding any departure
from iiaditional resemblances in the delineation of the
features of gods and heroes, otherwise he would have
lost one grand hold upon the people of Athens. If
Pericles had not possessed oratorical skill, he would
never have won his way to popularity; and later in life
? ? be must havo been able to direct an army, or the ex-
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? r Ek
PEK
the leniarxs of liockh, ad Schol. , I. c. ,in not. -- Pind ,
Op. , vol. 2, p. 310. )--As regards the name of the ar-
tist himself, most authors adopt the form Pcrillus, as
we havo given it; Lucian, however, and the scholiast
? n Pindar have Perilous, and Benlley also prefers this.
Tho change, indeed, from IIEP1AA02 to IIEPIAA-
02 13 so extremely easy, that one or the other must
bo a mere error of transcription. A similar name has
been critically discussed by Hermann in his work en-
titled, "Veber Biickhs Behandlung der Grieeh. In-
schn/len (p. 106. --SUlig. Diet. Art. , s. v. ).
Perinthus. a city of Thrace, on the coast of the
Propontis, west of Byzantium. It was originally col-
ccized by the Samians (Scymn. , Ck. ,\. 713. --Scylaz,
p. 28), and was said to have received its name from
the Epidaurian Perinthus, one of the followers of Ores-
tes. Another account, however, assigned its founda-
tion to Hercules, and the inhabitants themselves would
seem to have believed this, from their haVing a figure
of Hercules on the reverse of their coins. Perinthus
soon became a place of great trade, and, surpassing in
this the neighbouring Selymbria, eventually rivalled
Byzantium. When this last-mentioned city, howev-
er, fell under the Spartan power, Perinthus was com-
pelled to follow its example. It subsequently suffered
from the attacks of the 1'hracians, but principally from
those of Philip of Macedon, who besieged and vig-
orously pressed the city, but was unable to lake it.
The city was situate on a small peninsula, and the
isthmus connecting it with the mainland was only a
stadium broad, according to Ephorus, but Pliny (4,
11) makes it somewhat more. The place was built
along the slope of a hill, and afforded to one approach-
ing it the appearance of a theatre, the inner rows of
dwellings being overtopped by those behind. (Diud. ,
16, 76. ) Perinthus continued to be a flourishing city
even under the Homan power, and received a great
accession of power when its rival Byzantium fell un-
der the displeasure of the Emperor Sever us. The
case was altered, however, when Constantine trans-
ferred the seat of empire to Byzantium; and about
tb:s petiod we find Perinthus appearing with the addi-
tional name of Heraclea, without our being able to as-
certain cither the exact cause or period of the change.
Ptolemy, it is true, says "Perinthus or Heraclea," but
'. his is evidently the interpolation of some later scholi-
ast. The coins of this place reach upward to the time
of Aurelian: thoy bear no other name but that of Pe-
rinthus. With the writers of the fourth century, on
the other hand, the more usual name is Heraclea;
though they almost all add that the city was once
railed Perinthus, or else, like Ammianus Marcellinus,
(? mi both names together. Hence it would appear
that the change of appellation was a gradual one, and
not suddenly made, in accordance with the command
of any emperor, as in the case of Constantinople. Af-
ter this last-mentioned place Perinthus was the most
important city in this quarter of Thrr. ce. Justinian re-
built the ancient palace in it, and lepaired the aque-
ducts. (Procop , jEdtf. , 4, 9. ) It could not, indeed,
be an unimportant city, as all the main roads to By-
zantium from Italy and Greece met hero. The mod-
ern Erekli occupies the site of the ancient city. (Man-
ner/, Geogr. , vol. 7, p. 174, seqq. )
Peripatetici (Hrptirarqncot), a name given to the
followers of Aristotle. According to the common ac-
count, the sect were called by this appellation from
? ? the circumstance of their master's walking about as
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? PE*
PER
p>>rt, and envious of the fame and successes of hia
leader, he conspired against him, along with others of
bis officers.
Sertorins was assassinated by the con-
spirators at a banquet, and Perpenna took the com-
mand of the forces; but he soon showed his utter inca-
pacity, and was defeated by Pompey and put to death.
(Phi. , Vit. Scrtor. )
PkkKH. txiA, a district of Thessaly. Strabo, in his
critical examination of the Homeric geography of
Thessaly, affirms, that the lower valley of the Pcncus,
it far as the sea, had been first occupied by the Per-
rhajbi, an ancient tribe, apparently of Pelasgic origin.
{Simtmid. a p. Strab. , 441. ) On the northern bank of
the great Thessalian river, they had peopled also the
mountainous tract borderinf on the Macedonian dis-
tricts of Elimiotis and Pieria, while to the south they
stretched along the base of Mount Ossa, as far as the
shores of Lake Bcebcis. These possessions were,
however, in course of time, wrested from them by the
Lapithsa, another Pelasgic nation, whose original abode
seems to have been in the vales of Ossa and the Mag-
nesian district. Yielding to these more powerful in-
vaders, the greater part of the Pcrrhsebi retired, as
Strabo informs us, towards Dolopia and the ridge of
Pindus; but some still occupied the valleys of Olym-
pus, while those who remained in the plains became
incorporated with the Lapith>>, under the common
nsme of Pelasgiotas. (Strab. , 439. ) The Perrhajbi
are noticed in the catalogue of Homer among the
Thessalian clans who fought at the siege of Troy. (//. ,
2, 794. ) Their antiquity is also attested by the fact
of their being enrolled among the Amphiclyonic states.
As thsir territory lay on the borders of Macedonia, and
comprised all the defiles by which it was possible for
an army to enter Thessaly from that province, or re-
turn from thence into Macedonia, it became a frequent
thoroughfare for the troops of different nations. The
country occupied by them seems to have been situa-
ted chiefly in the valley of the river Titaresius, now
Simula Poros. ( Cramer's Arte. Greece, vol. 1, p. 363,
segj. )
}'e<<sm, the inhabitants of Persia. (Vid. Persia. )
Persephone, the Greek name of Proserpina. (Vid.
Proserpina. )
Persep5i. is, a celebrated city, situate in the royal
province of Persis, about twenty stadia from the river
Araxes. It is mentioned by Greek writers after the
time of Alexander as the capital of Persia. The name,
however, does not occur in Herodotus, Ctesias, Xeno-
phon, or Nehemiah, who were well acquainted with the
other principal cities of the Persian empire, and make
frequent mention of Susa, Babylon, and Ecbatana.
Their silence may be accounted for by the fact that Per-
? epolis never appears to have been a place of residence
for the Persian kings, though we must conclude, from
the account of Arrian and other writers, that it was
from the most ancient times regarded as the capital of
the empire. The kings of Persia appear to have been
buried here or at Pasargads. There was at Persepo-
lis a magnificent palace, which, at the time of Alexan-
der's conquest, was full of immense treasures, that had
accumulated there since the time of Cyrus. (Diod.
Sic. , 17, 71. --Strab. , 729. ) We know scarcely any-
thing of the history of Persepolis. The palace of the
Persian kings was burned by Alexander (Arrian, 3, 18.
--Cart. , 5, 7. --Strab. , 729 -- Diod. Sic, 17, 70), and
Persepolis was plundered by the Macedonian soldiers
? ? in retaliation, according to Diodorus Siculus (17, 69),
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? PERSEUS.
PERSEUS.
Rated Andromeda from the sea-monster, and then
returned with the Gorgon's head to the island of Ser-
ipfcjs. This head he gave to Minerva, who set it in
iiie middle of her shield. The remainder of his his-
tory, up to the death of Acrisius, is given elsewhere.
(Vid. Danae, and Acrisius. ) After the unlooked-for
fulfilment of the oracle, in the accidental homicide of
his grandfather, Perseus, feeling ashamed to take the
inheritance ot one who had died by his means, pro-
posed an exchange of dominions with Megapcnthes,
the son of Proetus, and thenceforward reigned at Ti-
rvns. He afterward built and fortified Mycenae and
Midea. (Apollod. , 2, 4, 2, seqq. -- Schol. ad Apoll.
Rhod. , 4, 1091, 1515. -- Kcightlcy's Mythology, p.
415, seqq )--We now come to the explanation of the
whole legend. The Perseus of the Greeks is nothing
more than a modification of the Persian Mithras (Creu-
xcr, Symbolik, par G'-uigniaut, vol. I, p. 368, in no-
tis), and a piece of ancient sculpture on one of the
gates of the citadel of Mycena) fully confirms the an-
alogy. (Guigniaut, I. c. --Gcll, Specimens of Ancient
Sculpture, Lond. , 1810. -- Id. , Itinerary of Greece,
p. 35, seqq. --Knight, Carm. Homeric. Prolegom , 58,
p. 31. )^Perseus, however, if we consult his geneal-
ogy as transmitted to us by the mythographers, will
appear to have still more relation to Egypt than to
Asia. Descended from the ancient Inachus, the fath-
er of Phoroneus and lo, we see his family divide itself
at first into two branches. From Phoroneus sprang
Sparton, Apis-Serapis, and the Argive Niobe. The
anion of lo and Jupiter produced ? paphus, Belus, Da-
naiis, and, omitting some intermediate names, Acri-
sius, Danae, and the heroic Perseus. If we examine
closely the import of the names that form both branch-
es of this completely mythic genealogy, we shall dis-
cover an evident allusion to Mithriac ideas and sym-
bols. For example, Sparton has reference to the sow-
ing of seed; Apis, become Serapis, is the god-bull
upon or under the earth; lo is the lowing heifer, wan-
dering over the whole earth, and at last held captive;
Epaphus, another and Graecised name of Apis, is the
? acred bull, the representative of all the bulls in
Egypt; Belus is the Sun king both in Asia and Egypt,
&c. It is in the person, however, of Perseus that all
these scattered rays are in some degree concentrated.
The name of his mother Danae would seem to have
reference to the earth in a dry and arid state Ju-
piter, descending in a shower of gold, impregnating
and rendering her the mother of Perseus, is Mithras,
or the golden Sun, fertilizing the earth. Perseus,
coming forth from the court of the king of the shades
{Polyaectes, the "all-recipient;" iroXtif and iixofiai),
proceeds under the protection of the goddess Minerva,
holding in his hand the harpe (upnn), symbol of fertil-
ity, to combat in the West the impure and sleril Gor-
gons: after this, returning to the East, he delivers An-
dromeda from the sea-monster, and becomes the pa-
rent of a hero of light, another Perses, a son resem-
bling his sire. Having returned victorious to Argolis,
he builds, by the aid of the Cyclopes subterranean
workmen whom he leads in his train, a new city; My-
cenae, the name of which, according to different tra-
ditions, had reference either to the lowings of lo, or to
the Gorgons mourning for the fate of their sister (/tinn,
"lowing:" fiVKuriuai, -uiiat, "to low. " -- Mvicijvat).
Others, a<rain, derive the appellation from the scab-
bard (pvKnc) of the hero's sword, which fell upon the
? ? ? pot; and others, again, from a mushroom \jtVKnc) torn
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? KKKSEUS.
PER
llso worshipped, received its name from the impress
made by the fertilizing foot of Pegasus or Bellerophon,
who followed in the track of the high deeds achieved
by Perseus in Lower Asia, so the Chemmites pretend-
ed that Egypt was indebted for its fertility to the gi-
gantic sandal left by the demi-god upon earth at the
periods of hi* frequent visitations. (Herod. , 2, 91. )
They alone of the Egyptians celebrated games in hon-
? uv of this warlike hero of the Sun, this conqueror in
his celestial career, this worthy precursor of Hercules,
Sus grandson. --If we connect what has been here said
vriih the traces of Mithriac worship in Ethiopia and
j Egypt, as well as in Persia and Greece, we will be
tempted to conjocture, that these two branches of a
very early religion, the fundamental idea in which was
the contest incessantly carried on by the pure and fer-
tilizing principle of light against darkness and sterility,
unite in one parent trunk at the very centre of the
EasL. (Creuzer, Symbolik, par Guigniaut, vol. 3, p.
156, wCqq. )--II. Son of Philip V. , king of Macedonia,
began at an early age to serve in his father's army,
and distinguished himself by some successes against
the barbarous nations which bordered on Macedonia.
His younger brother Demetrius was carried away as
hostage by the consul Flamininus, at the time of the
peace between Rome and Philip, and, after remaining
several years at Rome, where he won the favour of the
senate, was sent back to Macedonia. After a time, he
was again sent by his father to Rome, on a mission, in
consequence of fresh disagreements which had sprung
up between the two states. Demetrius succeeded in
maintaining peace, but, after his return to Macedonia,
he was accused of ambitious designs, of aspiring to the
crown, a. id of being in secret correspondence with
Rome. Perseus, who was jealous of him, supported
the charges, and Philip doomed his younger son to
death; but, not daring to have him openly executed,
th: ough fear of the Romans, he caused him to be poi-
30 nil. It is said that, having discovered his inno-
cence, his remorse and his indignation against Perseus
hastened his death. Perseus ascended the throne B. C.
179. This monarch had been brought up by his father
with sentiments of hatred against the Romans, for the
humiliation which they had inflicted on Macedonia.
He dissembled his feelings, however, at the beginning
of his reign, and confirmed the treaty existing between
his father and the senate. Meanwhile he endeavoured,
by a prudent and diligent administration, to strengthen
brs power, and retrieve the losses which his kingdom
had sustained during the previous reign. But the Ro-
mans, who viewed with suspicion these indications of ri-
sing opposition, sought an early opportunity of crushing
their loe, before his plans could be brought to maturity.
Pretexts were not long wanting for such a purpose,
and war was declared, notwithstanding every offer of
concession on the part of Perseus. After a campaign
of no decisive result in Tbcssaly, the war was trans-
ferred to the plains of Pieria in Macedonia, where Per-
seus encamped in a strong position on the banks of the
river Enipeus. But the consul Paulus -l^imlius hav-
ing despatched a chosen body of troop; across the
mountains to attack him in the rear, he was compell-
ed to retire to Pydna, where a battle took place, which
terminated in his entire defeat, 20,000 Macedonians
having fallen on the field. This single battle decided
the fate of the ancient and powerful kingdom of Mace-
donia, after a duration of 530 years. Perseus fled al-
? ? most alone, without wailing for the end of the conflict.
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? PERSIA.
PERSIA.
remans, Axaifitft/c, Hepatic. Ammianus Marcelli-
nu;> (19, 2), in the common text of his history, gives
Aehamenium as equivalent, in the Persian tongue, to
"Rex regihus imperans;" but Valois (Valesius) cor-
rects tbe common reading by the substitution of Saan-
taan, which closely resembles the modern title of roy-
alty in Persia, Schaahinschaah. --The name Achamcma
comes ill reality from that of Achamcncs, the founder
of the royal line of Persia. In the word Achamencs,
the last two syllables (-cues) an: a mere Greek append-
age, owing their existence to the well-known custom,
on tbe part of the Greeks, of altering foreign, and par-
ticularly Oriental names, in such a way as to adapt
them to their own finer organs of hearing. (Compare
Jo3cphus. Anl. Jud. , \,6. --Plm. ,Ep. ,S,i ) We have,
then, Achaem ('Axatp) remaining. The initial letter
w merely the Oriental alif pronounced as a soft breath-
ing, and the root of the word is Ckaem (Xatft). On
comparing this with the Oriental name Djemschid (in
which the final syllabic, schid, is a mere addition of a
later age), we cannot fail to be struck by the resem-
blance. And this resemblance will become still more
marked if we consider that Djcm(Djocmo in the Zend-
Avesta) begins properly with a species of sibilant G,
which, being pronounced more roughly in some dia-
lects than in others, approximates very closely to the
sound of C'h. Besides, all that the Greeks tell us of
Achsmenes corresponds very exactly with what the
East relates of its Djemschid. Achxmenes was the
founder of the royal line of Persia, and to him Cyrus,
Darius, and Xerxes were proud of tracing their origin.
With the Persians of the present day, the name of
Djemschid is held in the highest veneration as that of
the founder of Pcrsepolis, and a great and glorious
monarch. --Herodotus (7, 61) states that the Persians
were anciently (-u? . at) called by the Greeks Ccphcnct
{Knty'/vee;). but by themselves and their neighbours Ar-
/<<i ('ApTaioi). As regards the name Cephenes, there
is an evident mistake on the part of the historian, and
the appellation beyond a doubt belongs only to certain
tribes of the ancient Northern Chaldsea, who actually
hore this name. With respect to the term Artia it
may be remarked, that it merely designates a brave
and warrior-people, being derived from the Persian art
or ard, "strong," " brave. " (Consult remarks at the
end of the article Artaxcrxes. )--One of the earliest
riam. -s of Persia and the Persian empire, and the one
mos'. usual with the Persians themselves up to the
present day, is Iran, while all the country beyond the
Oxus was denominated Turan. The former of these
appellations is identical with the Eericne of the Zend-
Avesta, and will be alluded to again in the course of
the present article. --The name Persia would seem to
have come from that of the province of Faarsi-stan or
Paarsi-stan, called also Faars or Paars, and the same
with the Persis (Tiipoic) of the Greeks. (Compare
the Scripture Paras already mentioned. ) In this prov-
ince we find the genuine race of Iranians; and it was
here that the magnificent city of Istakhar, which the
Greeks have made known to Europe by the name of
Perscpolis, was built by the monarchs of Iran. The
origin of the term Paars or Paars has been much dis-
puted by philologists (Vt'ahl, Vorder und Millel-Asien,
p. 235, scqq); the root is evidently to be sought for
in the term Aria or Eericne, and this would bring Iran
and Persia, as names of the same country, in close
approximation- ( Vid. Aria. ) One explanation of the
? ? name ? '? Persian" will be given farther on.
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? PERSIA.
PERSIA.
m generally conceded, however, that the Bactrians,
Medes, and Persians bore at first the common name
of Arii, which recalls to mind that of Iran; but with
respect to the primitive country of these Arii there is
little unanimity of opinion.
coon after delivered of a son, who was called Alexan-
der, became jealous of Statira, from fear that the child
she was pregnant with might prove a rival to her own
son; and, in order to remove her apprehensions, Per-
diccas did not scruple to put Statira to death. He en-
deavoured to strengthen himself by an alliance with
Antipater, whose daughter he asked in marriage, while,
at the same time, he was aspiring to the hand of Cle-
opatra, Alexander'a sister. Olympian, Alexander's
mother, who hated Antipater, favoured this last alli-
ance. Antipatcr, having discovered this intrigue, re-
fused to give his daughter to Perdiccas, who, in the
end, obtained neither. The other generals, who had
become satraps of extensive countries, considered
themselves independent, and refused to submit to Per-
diccas and his puppet-king. Perdiccas, above all, fear-
ing Antigonus as the one most likely to thwart his
viexs, sought to destroy him; but Antigonus escaped
to Antipater in Macedonia, and represented to him the
necessity of uniting against the ambitious views of Per*
? ? diccaa. An'-ipater, having just brought to a success-
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? PERGAML'3.
PER
ftrfnist," but with no very great success. Consult re-
marks under the article Meaembria. --Eichltuff, Parol'
Me des Langucs, p. 348. --Kaltschmidt, Vergleichung
der Sprachen, p. 238. )--II. or Pekgamum (Ilepyafioc
or llcpya/tov), the moat important city in Mysia, situate
in the southern part of that country, in a plain watered
by two small rivers, the Selinus and Cetius, which af-
terward joined the Ca'icus. " This celebrated city is
mentioned for the first time in Xenophon'a Anabasis
'7, 84). Xenophon remained here for some time as
tl e guest of Gorgion and Gongyius, who appear to have
been the possessors of the place. (Compare lint. Gr. ,
3, 1, 4. ) It would seem to have been at first a for-
tress of considerable natural strength, situate on the
top of a conical hill, and, when the city began to be
formed around the base of this hill, the fortress served
as a citadel. In consequence of the strength of the
place, it was selected by Lysimachus, Alexander's
general, as a place of security for the reception and
preservation of bis great wealth, said to amount to the
enormous sum of 9000 talents. The care of this treas-
ure was confided to Philetserus of Tium in Bithynia,
in whom he placed the greatest confidence. Philette-
rus remained for a long time faithful to his charge; but,
having been injuriously treated by Arsinoe, the wife of
Lysimachus, who sought to prejudice the mind of her
husband against him, he was induced to withdraw his
allegiance from that prince, and declare himself inde-
pendent. The misfortunes of Lysimachus prevented
him from taking vengeance on the offender, and thus
Philctxrus remained in undisturbed possession of th>>
town and treasure for twenty years, having contrived,
by dexterous management and wise measures, to re-
main at peace with all the neighbouring powers. He
transmitted the possession of his principality to Eu-
menes, his r. cphew. An account of the reign of this
monarch, and of the other kings of Pergamus, has been
already given. (Vid. Kuinencs II. , III. ; Attalus I. ,
II. , III. )--After the death of Attalus III. , who left his
dominions by will to the Romans, Aristonicus, a nat-
ural son of Eumenes, the father of Attalus, opposed
this arrangement, and endeavoured to establish him-
self on the throne; but he was vanquished and made
prisoner, and the Romans finally took possession of the
kingdom, which henceforth became a province of the
empire under the name of Asia. (Slrab. , G24, 646. )
Pergamus continued to flourish and prosper as a Ro-
man city, so that Pliny (5, 32) does not scruple to
style it "lunge clarissimum Asia Pergamum. " To
(he Christian the history of Pergamus affords an ad-
ditional interest, since it is one of the seven churches
of Asia mentioned in the Book of Revelations. Though
condemnation is passed upon it as one of the churches
infected by the Nicola'itan heresy, its faithful servants,
more especially the martyr Antipas, are noticed as
holding fast the name of Christ. {Rev. 2, 12, seqq. )
--Pergamus was famed for its library, which yielded
, only to that of Alexandre! in extent and value. (Slrab. ,
624. --Alhentzus, 1, 8. ) It was founded by Eumenes
II. , and consisted of no less than 200,000 volumes.
This noble collection waa afterward given by Antony
In Cleopatra, who transported it to Alexandres, where
it formed part of the splendid library in the latter city.
(Plut, Vit. Ant. , 68. ) It was from their being first
used for writing in tM>> library that parchment skins
WBre ceiled "Pergirmnce ckartat" (Varro, ap. Plm. ,
13, 11), but it is <*rroneons to say that parchment was
? ? invented at Pergamus. What drove Eumenes to em-
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? PERICLES
rERICLES.
Zeno the Eleatic; and, most especially, of the subtlo
and profound Anaxagoras. Plutarch's account shows
that he acquired from Anaxagoras moral as well as
physical truths; and that, while he learned enough of
astronomy to raise him above vulgar errors, the same
teachers supplied him with those notions of the order-
ly arrangement of society which were afterward so
much the object of his public life. But all these stud-
ies bad a political end; and the same activity and
acuteness which led him into physical inquiries, gave
hra the will and the power to become ruler of Athens,
ii his youth, old men traced a likeness to Pisis-
trutus, which, joined to the obvious advantages with
which he would have entered public life, excited dis-
trust, and actually seems to have retarded his appear-
ance on tho stage of politics. However, about the
year 469, two years after the ostracism of Themis-
tocles, and about the time when Ariatides died, Per-
icles came forward in a public capacity, and before
long became head of a party opposed to that of Cimon
the son of Miltiadcs. Plutarch accuses Pericles of
taking the democratic side because Cimon headed that
of the nobles. A popular era usually strengthens the
bands of the executive, and is therefore unfavourable
to public liberty; and the Persian war seems to have
been emphatically so to Athens, as at its termination
she found herself under the guidance of a statesman
who partook more of the character of a general than
sf the prime minister. (Hceren't Polit. Antiq. of
Greece. ) Cimon's character was in itself a guarantee
? gainst aggrandizement, either on his own part or oth-
ers; but we may perhaps give Pericles credit for see-
ing the danger of so much power in less scrupulous
hands than Cimon's. Be this as it may, Pericles took
the popular aide, and, as such, became the opponent
of Cimon. About the time when Cimon was prose-
cuted and fined (B. C. 461), Pericles began his first
attack on the aristocracy through the side of the Are-
opagus; and in spite of Cimon, and of an advocate
yet more powerful (the poet jEschylus), succeeded in
depriving the Areopagus of its judicial powers, except
in certain inconsiderable cases. This triumph pre-
ceded, if it did not produce, the ostracism of Cimon
(B. C. 461). From this time until Cimon'a recall,
which Mr. Thirlwall places, though doubtfully, in the
year 453, we find Pericles acting as a military com-
mander, and by his valour at Tanagra preventing the
regret which Cimon's absence would otherwise un-
doubtedly have created. What caused him to bring
about the recall of Cimon ia doubtful; perhaps, as
Mr. Thirlwall suggests, to strengthen himself against
his most virulent opponents by conciliating the more
moderate of them, such as their great leader him-
self. After the death of Cimon, Thucydidcs took his
place, and for some time stood at the bead of the
stationary party. He was a better rhetorician than
Cimon; in fact, more statesman than warrior; but
the influence of Pericles was irresistible; and in 444
Thucydidea waa ostracized, which period we may con-
aider as the turning point of Pericles' power, and after
which it waa wellnigh absolute. We are unable to
trace the exact steps by which Athens rose from the
situction of chief among allies to that of mistress
over tributaries; but it seems pretty clear that Per-
icles aided in the change, and increased their contri-
bjtions nearly one third. His finishing blow to the
independence of the allies waa the conquest of Samos
? ? and Byzantium, a transaction belonging rather to his-
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? PER CLES.
rm
rai and oiographere have said of him. The form in
which the great orator and statesman has imbodied
his lofty conceptions, is beauty chastened and eleva-
ted by a noble severity- Athens and Athenians are
ibe objects which his ambition seeks to immortalize,
and the whole world is the theatre and the witness of
her glorious exploits. His philosophy teaches that life
it a thing to be enjoyed; death a thing not to be fear-
ad. The plague at Athens soon followed, and its de- ?
nilitating effects made restraint less irksome to the
people; but, while it damped their activity, it increased
their impatience of war. In spite of another harangue,
in which he represented most forcibly how absurd it
would be to allow circumstances like a plague to in-
terfere with his well-laid plans, he was brought to trial
ind fined, but his influence returned when the fit was
*ver. In the third year of the war, having lost his
(wo legitimate sons, his sister, and many of his best
friends, he fell ill, and, after a lingering sickness, died.
Some beautiful tales are told of his deathbed, all tend-
ing to show that the calm foresight and humanity for
which he was bo remarkable in life did not desert him
in death. It is an interesting question, and one which
continually presents itself to the student of history,
bow far those great men, who always appear at impor-
tant junctures for the assertion of some principle or the
carrying out of some great national object, are con-
scious of the work which is appointed for them to do.
It would, for instance, be most instructive, could we
now ascertain to what extent Pericles foresaw that
approaching contest of principles, a small part only of
which he lived to direct. Looking from a distance,
we can see a kind of necessity imprinted on his actions,
and think we trace their dependance on each other and
the manner in which they harmonize. Athens was to
be preserved by accessions of power, wealth, and civ-
ilization, to maintair. a conflict in which, had she been
vanquished, the peculiar character of Spartan institu-
tions might have irreparably blighted those germes of
civilization, the fruit of which all succeeding genera-
tions have enjoyed. But how should this bo! Her
leader must have been a single person, for energetic
unity of purpose was needed, such as no cluster
of contemporary or string of successive rulers could
hsve been expected to show. 1 hat ruler must have
governed according to the laws, for a tyrant would
have been expelled by the sword of the Spartans, as
so many other tyrants were, or by the voice of the
commonalty, every day growing into greater power.
Moreover, without being given to change, he must
have been prepared to modify existing institutions so
as to suit the altered character of the times. He must
have been above his age in matters of religious belief,
and yet of so catholic <<i temper as to respect prejudi-
ces in which he had no share; for otherwise, in so tol-
erant an age, ho would probably have incurred the fate
iif Anaxagoras, and destroyed his own political influ-
ence without making his countrymen one whit the
wiser. He must have been a man of taste, or he
would not have been able to go along with and direct
that artistic skill, which arose instantly on the abolition
of those old religious notions forbidding any departure
from iiaditional resemblances in the delineation of the
features of gods and heroes, otherwise he would have
lost one grand hold upon the people of Athens. If
Pericles had not possessed oratorical skill, he would
never have won his way to popularity; and later in life
? ? be must havo been able to direct an army, or the ex-
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? r Ek
PEK
the leniarxs of liockh, ad Schol. , I. c. ,in not. -- Pind ,
Op. , vol. 2, p. 310. )--As regards the name of the ar-
tist himself, most authors adopt the form Pcrillus, as
we havo given it; Lucian, however, and the scholiast
? n Pindar have Perilous, and Benlley also prefers this.
Tho change, indeed, from IIEP1AA02 to IIEPIAA-
02 13 so extremely easy, that one or the other must
bo a mere error of transcription. A similar name has
been critically discussed by Hermann in his work en-
titled, "Veber Biickhs Behandlung der Grieeh. In-
schn/len (p. 106. --SUlig. Diet. Art. , s. v. ).
Perinthus. a city of Thrace, on the coast of the
Propontis, west of Byzantium. It was originally col-
ccized by the Samians (Scymn. , Ck. ,\. 713. --Scylaz,
p. 28), and was said to have received its name from
the Epidaurian Perinthus, one of the followers of Ores-
tes. Another account, however, assigned its founda-
tion to Hercules, and the inhabitants themselves would
seem to have believed this, from their haVing a figure
of Hercules on the reverse of their coins. Perinthus
soon became a place of great trade, and, surpassing in
this the neighbouring Selymbria, eventually rivalled
Byzantium. When this last-mentioned city, howev-
er, fell under the Spartan power, Perinthus was com-
pelled to follow its example. It subsequently suffered
from the attacks of the 1'hracians, but principally from
those of Philip of Macedon, who besieged and vig-
orously pressed the city, but was unable to lake it.
The city was situate on a small peninsula, and the
isthmus connecting it with the mainland was only a
stadium broad, according to Ephorus, but Pliny (4,
11) makes it somewhat more. The place was built
along the slope of a hill, and afforded to one approach-
ing it the appearance of a theatre, the inner rows of
dwellings being overtopped by those behind. (Diud. ,
16, 76. ) Perinthus continued to be a flourishing city
even under the Homan power, and received a great
accession of power when its rival Byzantium fell un-
der the displeasure of the Emperor Sever us. The
case was altered, however, when Constantine trans-
ferred the seat of empire to Byzantium; and about
tb:s petiod we find Perinthus appearing with the addi-
tional name of Heraclea, without our being able to as-
certain cither the exact cause or period of the change.
Ptolemy, it is true, says "Perinthus or Heraclea," but
'. his is evidently the interpolation of some later scholi-
ast. The coins of this place reach upward to the time
of Aurelian: thoy bear no other name but that of Pe-
rinthus. With the writers of the fourth century, on
the other hand, the more usual name is Heraclea;
though they almost all add that the city was once
railed Perinthus, or else, like Ammianus Marcellinus,
(? mi both names together. Hence it would appear
that the change of appellation was a gradual one, and
not suddenly made, in accordance with the command
of any emperor, as in the case of Constantinople. Af-
ter this last-mentioned place Perinthus was the most
important city in this quarter of Thrr. ce. Justinian re-
built the ancient palace in it, and lepaired the aque-
ducts. (Procop , jEdtf. , 4, 9. ) It could not, indeed,
be an unimportant city, as all the main roads to By-
zantium from Italy and Greece met hero. The mod-
ern Erekli occupies the site of the ancient city. (Man-
ner/, Geogr. , vol. 7, p. 174, seqq. )
Peripatetici (Hrptirarqncot), a name given to the
followers of Aristotle. According to the common ac-
count, the sect were called by this appellation from
? ? the circumstance of their master's walking about as
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? PE*
PER
p>>rt, and envious of the fame and successes of hia
leader, he conspired against him, along with others of
bis officers.
Sertorins was assassinated by the con-
spirators at a banquet, and Perpenna took the com-
mand of the forces; but he soon showed his utter inca-
pacity, and was defeated by Pompey and put to death.
(Phi. , Vit. Scrtor. )
PkkKH. txiA, a district of Thessaly. Strabo, in his
critical examination of the Homeric geography of
Thessaly, affirms, that the lower valley of the Pcncus,
it far as the sea, had been first occupied by the Per-
rhajbi, an ancient tribe, apparently of Pelasgic origin.
{Simtmid. a p. Strab. , 441. ) On the northern bank of
the great Thessalian river, they had peopled also the
mountainous tract borderinf on the Macedonian dis-
tricts of Elimiotis and Pieria, while to the south they
stretched along the base of Mount Ossa, as far as the
shores of Lake Bcebcis. These possessions were,
however, in course of time, wrested from them by the
Lapithsa, another Pelasgic nation, whose original abode
seems to have been in the vales of Ossa and the Mag-
nesian district. Yielding to these more powerful in-
vaders, the greater part of the Pcrrhsebi retired, as
Strabo informs us, towards Dolopia and the ridge of
Pindus; but some still occupied the valleys of Olym-
pus, while those who remained in the plains became
incorporated with the Lapith>>, under the common
nsme of Pelasgiotas. (Strab. , 439. ) The Perrhajbi
are noticed in the catalogue of Homer among the
Thessalian clans who fought at the siege of Troy. (//. ,
2, 794. ) Their antiquity is also attested by the fact
of their being enrolled among the Amphiclyonic states.
As thsir territory lay on the borders of Macedonia, and
comprised all the defiles by which it was possible for
an army to enter Thessaly from that province, or re-
turn from thence into Macedonia, it became a frequent
thoroughfare for the troops of different nations. The
country occupied by them seems to have been situa-
ted chiefly in the valley of the river Titaresius, now
Simula Poros. ( Cramer's Arte. Greece, vol. 1, p. 363,
segj. )
}'e<<sm, the inhabitants of Persia. (Vid. Persia. )
Persephone, the Greek name of Proserpina. (Vid.
Proserpina. )
Persep5i. is, a celebrated city, situate in the royal
province of Persis, about twenty stadia from the river
Araxes. It is mentioned by Greek writers after the
time of Alexander as the capital of Persia. The name,
however, does not occur in Herodotus, Ctesias, Xeno-
phon, or Nehemiah, who were well acquainted with the
other principal cities of the Persian empire, and make
frequent mention of Susa, Babylon, and Ecbatana.
Their silence may be accounted for by the fact that Per-
? epolis never appears to have been a place of residence
for the Persian kings, though we must conclude, from
the account of Arrian and other writers, that it was
from the most ancient times regarded as the capital of
the empire. The kings of Persia appear to have been
buried here or at Pasargads. There was at Persepo-
lis a magnificent palace, which, at the time of Alexan-
der's conquest, was full of immense treasures, that had
accumulated there since the time of Cyrus. (Diod.
Sic. , 17, 71. --Strab. , 729. ) We know scarcely any-
thing of the history of Persepolis. The palace of the
Persian kings was burned by Alexander (Arrian, 3, 18.
--Cart. , 5, 7. --Strab. , 729 -- Diod. Sic, 17, 70), and
Persepolis was plundered by the Macedonian soldiers
? ? in retaliation, according to Diodorus Siculus (17, 69),
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? PERSEUS.
PERSEUS.
Rated Andromeda from the sea-monster, and then
returned with the Gorgon's head to the island of Ser-
ipfcjs. This head he gave to Minerva, who set it in
iiie middle of her shield. The remainder of his his-
tory, up to the death of Acrisius, is given elsewhere.
(Vid. Danae, and Acrisius. ) After the unlooked-for
fulfilment of the oracle, in the accidental homicide of
his grandfather, Perseus, feeling ashamed to take the
inheritance ot one who had died by his means, pro-
posed an exchange of dominions with Megapcnthes,
the son of Proetus, and thenceforward reigned at Ti-
rvns. He afterward built and fortified Mycenae and
Midea. (Apollod. , 2, 4, 2, seqq. -- Schol. ad Apoll.
Rhod. , 4, 1091, 1515. -- Kcightlcy's Mythology, p.
415, seqq )--We now come to the explanation of the
whole legend. The Perseus of the Greeks is nothing
more than a modification of the Persian Mithras (Creu-
xcr, Symbolik, par G'-uigniaut, vol. I, p. 368, in no-
tis), and a piece of ancient sculpture on one of the
gates of the citadel of Mycena) fully confirms the an-
alogy. (Guigniaut, I. c. --Gcll, Specimens of Ancient
Sculpture, Lond. , 1810. -- Id. , Itinerary of Greece,
p. 35, seqq. --Knight, Carm. Homeric. Prolegom , 58,
p. 31. )^Perseus, however, if we consult his geneal-
ogy as transmitted to us by the mythographers, will
appear to have still more relation to Egypt than to
Asia. Descended from the ancient Inachus, the fath-
er of Phoroneus and lo, we see his family divide itself
at first into two branches. From Phoroneus sprang
Sparton, Apis-Serapis, and the Argive Niobe. The
anion of lo and Jupiter produced ? paphus, Belus, Da-
naiis, and, omitting some intermediate names, Acri-
sius, Danae, and the heroic Perseus. If we examine
closely the import of the names that form both branch-
es of this completely mythic genealogy, we shall dis-
cover an evident allusion to Mithriac ideas and sym-
bols. For example, Sparton has reference to the sow-
ing of seed; Apis, become Serapis, is the god-bull
upon or under the earth; lo is the lowing heifer, wan-
dering over the whole earth, and at last held captive;
Epaphus, another and Graecised name of Apis, is the
? acred bull, the representative of all the bulls in
Egypt; Belus is the Sun king both in Asia and Egypt,
&c. It is in the person, however, of Perseus that all
these scattered rays are in some degree concentrated.
The name of his mother Danae would seem to have
reference to the earth in a dry and arid state Ju-
piter, descending in a shower of gold, impregnating
and rendering her the mother of Perseus, is Mithras,
or the golden Sun, fertilizing the earth. Perseus,
coming forth from the court of the king of the shades
{Polyaectes, the "all-recipient;" iroXtif and iixofiai),
proceeds under the protection of the goddess Minerva,
holding in his hand the harpe (upnn), symbol of fertil-
ity, to combat in the West the impure and sleril Gor-
gons: after this, returning to the East, he delivers An-
dromeda from the sea-monster, and becomes the pa-
rent of a hero of light, another Perses, a son resem-
bling his sire. Having returned victorious to Argolis,
he builds, by the aid of the Cyclopes subterranean
workmen whom he leads in his train, a new city; My-
cenae, the name of which, according to different tra-
ditions, had reference either to the lowings of lo, or to
the Gorgons mourning for the fate of their sister (/tinn,
"lowing:" fiVKuriuai, -uiiat, "to low. " -- Mvicijvat).
Others, a<rain, derive the appellation from the scab-
bard (pvKnc) of the hero's sword, which fell upon the
? ? ? pot; and others, again, from a mushroom \jtVKnc) torn
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? KKKSEUS.
PER
llso worshipped, received its name from the impress
made by the fertilizing foot of Pegasus or Bellerophon,
who followed in the track of the high deeds achieved
by Perseus in Lower Asia, so the Chemmites pretend-
ed that Egypt was indebted for its fertility to the gi-
gantic sandal left by the demi-god upon earth at the
periods of hi* frequent visitations. (Herod. , 2, 91. )
They alone of the Egyptians celebrated games in hon-
? uv of this warlike hero of the Sun, this conqueror in
his celestial career, this worthy precursor of Hercules,
Sus grandson. --If we connect what has been here said
vriih the traces of Mithriac worship in Ethiopia and
j Egypt, as well as in Persia and Greece, we will be
tempted to conjocture, that these two branches of a
very early religion, the fundamental idea in which was
the contest incessantly carried on by the pure and fer-
tilizing principle of light against darkness and sterility,
unite in one parent trunk at the very centre of the
EasL. (Creuzer, Symbolik, par Guigniaut, vol. 3, p.
156, wCqq. )--II. Son of Philip V. , king of Macedonia,
began at an early age to serve in his father's army,
and distinguished himself by some successes against
the barbarous nations which bordered on Macedonia.
His younger brother Demetrius was carried away as
hostage by the consul Flamininus, at the time of the
peace between Rome and Philip, and, after remaining
several years at Rome, where he won the favour of the
senate, was sent back to Macedonia. After a time, he
was again sent by his father to Rome, on a mission, in
consequence of fresh disagreements which had sprung
up between the two states. Demetrius succeeded in
maintaining peace, but, after his return to Macedonia,
he was accused of ambitious designs, of aspiring to the
crown, a. id of being in secret correspondence with
Rome. Perseus, who was jealous of him, supported
the charges, and Philip doomed his younger son to
death; but, not daring to have him openly executed,
th: ough fear of the Romans, he caused him to be poi-
30 nil. It is said that, having discovered his inno-
cence, his remorse and his indignation against Perseus
hastened his death. Perseus ascended the throne B. C.
179. This monarch had been brought up by his father
with sentiments of hatred against the Romans, for the
humiliation which they had inflicted on Macedonia.
He dissembled his feelings, however, at the beginning
of his reign, and confirmed the treaty existing between
his father and the senate. Meanwhile he endeavoured,
by a prudent and diligent administration, to strengthen
brs power, and retrieve the losses which his kingdom
had sustained during the previous reign. But the Ro-
mans, who viewed with suspicion these indications of ri-
sing opposition, sought an early opportunity of crushing
their loe, before his plans could be brought to maturity.
Pretexts were not long wanting for such a purpose,
and war was declared, notwithstanding every offer of
concession on the part of Perseus. After a campaign
of no decisive result in Tbcssaly, the war was trans-
ferred to the plains of Pieria in Macedonia, where Per-
seus encamped in a strong position on the banks of the
river Enipeus. But the consul Paulus -l^imlius hav-
ing despatched a chosen body of troop; across the
mountains to attack him in the rear, he was compell-
ed to retire to Pydna, where a battle took place, which
terminated in his entire defeat, 20,000 Macedonians
having fallen on the field. This single battle decided
the fate of the ancient and powerful kingdom of Mace-
donia, after a duration of 530 years. Perseus fled al-
? ? most alone, without wailing for the end of the conflict.
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? PERSIA.
PERSIA.
remans, Axaifitft/c, Hepatic. Ammianus Marcelli-
nu;> (19, 2), in the common text of his history, gives
Aehamenium as equivalent, in the Persian tongue, to
"Rex regihus imperans;" but Valois (Valesius) cor-
rects tbe common reading by the substitution of Saan-
taan, which closely resembles the modern title of roy-
alty in Persia, Schaahinschaah. --The name Achamcma
comes ill reality from that of Achamcncs, the founder
of the royal line of Persia. In the word Achamencs,
the last two syllables (-cues) an: a mere Greek append-
age, owing their existence to the well-known custom,
on tbe part of the Greeks, of altering foreign, and par-
ticularly Oriental names, in such a way as to adapt
them to their own finer organs of hearing. (Compare
Jo3cphus. Anl. Jud. , \,6. --Plm. ,Ep. ,S,i ) We have,
then, Achaem ('Axatp) remaining. The initial letter
w merely the Oriental alif pronounced as a soft breath-
ing, and the root of the word is Ckaem (Xatft). On
comparing this with the Oriental name Djemschid (in
which the final syllabic, schid, is a mere addition of a
later age), we cannot fail to be struck by the resem-
blance. And this resemblance will become still more
marked if we consider that Djcm(Djocmo in the Zend-
Avesta) begins properly with a species of sibilant G,
which, being pronounced more roughly in some dia-
lects than in others, approximates very closely to the
sound of C'h. Besides, all that the Greeks tell us of
Achsmenes corresponds very exactly with what the
East relates of its Djemschid. Achxmenes was the
founder of the royal line of Persia, and to him Cyrus,
Darius, and Xerxes were proud of tracing their origin.
With the Persians of the present day, the name of
Djemschid is held in the highest veneration as that of
the founder of Pcrsepolis, and a great and glorious
monarch. --Herodotus (7, 61) states that the Persians
were anciently (-u? . at) called by the Greeks Ccphcnct
{Knty'/vee;). but by themselves and their neighbours Ar-
/<<i ('ApTaioi). As regards the name Cephenes, there
is an evident mistake on the part of the historian, and
the appellation beyond a doubt belongs only to certain
tribes of the ancient Northern Chaldsea, who actually
hore this name. With respect to the term Artia it
may be remarked, that it merely designates a brave
and warrior-people, being derived from the Persian art
or ard, "strong," " brave. " (Consult remarks at the
end of the article Artaxcrxes. )--One of the earliest
riam. -s of Persia and the Persian empire, and the one
mos'. usual with the Persians themselves up to the
present day, is Iran, while all the country beyond the
Oxus was denominated Turan. The former of these
appellations is identical with the Eericne of the Zend-
Avesta, and will be alluded to again in the course of
the present article. --The name Persia would seem to
have come from that of the province of Faarsi-stan or
Paarsi-stan, called also Faars or Paars, and the same
with the Persis (Tiipoic) of the Greeks. (Compare
the Scripture Paras already mentioned. ) In this prov-
ince we find the genuine race of Iranians; and it was
here that the magnificent city of Istakhar, which the
Greeks have made known to Europe by the name of
Perscpolis, was built by the monarchs of Iran. The
origin of the term Paars or Paars has been much dis-
puted by philologists (Vt'ahl, Vorder und Millel-Asien,
p. 235, scqq); the root is evidently to be sought for
in the term Aria or Eericne, and this would bring Iran
and Persia, as names of the same country, in close
approximation- ( Vid. Aria. ) One explanation of the
? ? name ? '? Persian" will be given farther on.
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? PERSIA.
PERSIA.
m generally conceded, however, that the Bactrians,
Medes, and Persians bore at first the common name
of Arii, which recalls to mind that of Iran; but with
respect to the primitive country of these Arii there is
little unanimity of opinion.
