His arrival was
expected
with great
impatience, as an ancient oracle had declared that
Troy should never be taken if the horses of Rhesus
drank the waters of the Xanthus, and fed upon the
grass of the Trojan plains.
impatience, as an ancient oracle had declared that
Troy should never be taken if the horses of Rhesus
drank the waters of the Xanthus, and fed upon the
grass of the Trojan plains.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
(Vtd.
Romulus. )
Resaexa, a city on the river Chaboras, in northern
Mesopotamia. (Steph. Byz. , s. v. 'P(oiva) Its site
was afterward occupied by Theodosiopolis (Chron. ,
Edessen. , p. 3:19), which must not be confounded
with another city of the same name in northern Arme-
nia. The modern name of Restena is Ras-el-atm.
{Niebukr, vol. 2, p. 394. )
Rha ('Pa), a large river, now the Wolga. No wri-
ter, prior to Ptolemy, mentions either its name or
vourse. The appellation occurs, it is true, in our edi-
tions of Mela (3, 5), but it is a mere interpolation.
? he true reading in Mela is, "E Cerauniis monhbus
mo alveo deseendit, duobus exit in Caspium [Rha]
Araxes Tauri latere demissus. " The word Rha,
wiich we have enclosed in brackets, does not belong
to the text. --Ptolemy's acquaintance with this river
wks so accurate, that he knew not only its mouth, but
its western bending towards the Tanais, its double
sources (the Wolga and the Kama), the point of their
union, and the course of* some streams flowing from
the mountains on the east into the Wolga. All this
knowledge of the Rha was obtained from the caravan
traders, except, perhaps, a small portion made known
to the vspdd by the Roman conquests in this quarter.
Subsequent writers never lost sight of this river.
Agathemerus (2, 30) reckons it among the larger sized
rivers, snd calls it, probably by a corrupt name, Rhos
('Puc). Ammianus Marcellinus (22, 8) speaks of a
plant growing on its banks of great use in medicine.
Every one will see that he alludes to the rhubarb (Rha
barbarum) of pharmacy. The plant, it is true, did not,
in fact, grow here, but was brought to this quarter by
the caravan trade. As the Romans, however, re-
ceived their supplies of it from this part of the world,
they associated with it the name of the river, and thus
the appellation arose. The name Rha appears to
be an appellative term, having affinity with Rhea or
Relta, which, in the Sarmatian or Sclavonian lan-
guage, signifies a river; and from the Russian denom-
ination of Velika Relta, or Great River, appears to
be formed the name of Wolga. In the Byzantine and
other writers of the middle ages, this stream is called
Atel or Etel, a term, in many northern languages, sig-
nifying great or illustrious. (Compare the German
titl. ) The approximation of the Tanais to this river,
before it changes its course to the Palua Mseotis, is
the occasion of the erroneous opinion of some authors,
that it is only an emanation of the Rha taking a differ-
ent route. (Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 4, p 34! . )
Riiacotis, the name of a maritime place in Egypt,
on the site of which Alexandres was aubsequcntly erect-
ed. (Strabo, 792. -- Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 10, pt. 1,
p. 819)
Riiadamanthds, a son of Jupiter aud Europa, and
? ? brother to Minos and Sirpedon. These three brethren
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? RHE
RH E
ind Sr'aturn devoured a stone which his wife had given
him as her own child. The fears of Saturn were
soon proved to be well founded. A year after, the
child, whose name was Jupiter, became so strong and
powerful, that he diove his father from his throne.
(Vid. Saturnus. )--II or Rhea Silvia, the mother of
Romulus and Remus. (Vid. Ilia. )
Rhegium, one of the most celebrated and flourish-
ing cities of Magna Gra-cia, at the extremity of Italy,
in the territory of the Bruttii, and in a southeastern di-
rection from Messana on the opposite coast of Sicily.
This city is known to have been founded nearly 700
years B. C. , by a party of Zanclaeans from Sicily, to-
gether with <omc Chalcidians from Eubcea, and Mes-
scnians from the Peloponnesus. (Antioch. Syrae. ,
Strab. , 257. --Herat. , Pont, fragm. , 25. --Pausan. , 4,
S3. ) It may, however, lay claim to a still more re-
mote origin, if it be true, as Cato affirmed, that it was
once in the possession of the Aurunci. (Ap. Vol.
Prob. eel. el. Fragm. Hist. ) According to vEschylus,
as quoted by Strabo, the name of Rhegium was sup-
posed to refer to the great catastrophe which had once
separated Italy from Sicily (utf oi it/ 'Vriyiov kika^o-
nerat. -- Compare Virg. , JEn. , 3, 414). That geog-
rapher suggests as his own opinion, lhat this term
was derived from the Latin word Regium; and thus
considers it as only expressive of the importance and
dignity of the town to which it was attached. (Strab. ,
257. ) It appears, however, from the more ancient
coins of Rhegium, that the original name of the place
was RECION. In these the epigraph is REC. RECI.
RECINOS, in characters partaking more of the Os-
can than of the Greek form. Those of a more recent
date are decidedly Greek, PRT. PHriNQN, being in-
scribed on them. (Sestini, Man. Vet. , p. 18. )--We
may collect from different passages, that the constitu-
tion of Rhegium was at first an oligarchy under the
superior direction of a chief, who was always chosen
from a Messenian family. (Heyne, Opusc. Acad. , vol.
S. p. 270. --Saintc-Croix, tur la Legist de la Grande
Grece, Mem. des Acad, des Inscr. , vol. 42, p. 312. )
Charondas, the celebrated lawgiver of Catana in Sici-
ly, is said also to have given laws to the Rhegians.
(Herod. F>>nl. , I. c. --Mlian, V. H. , 3, 17. --Artstot. ,
Polit. , 2, 10. ) This form of government lasted near-
ly 200 years, until Anaxilaus, the second of that name,
usurped the sole authority, and became tyrant of Rhe-
gium about 496 B. C. (Strabo, I. c. --Aristot. , Polit. , 5,
12. ) Under this prince, who, though aspiring and
ambitious, appears to have been possessed of consid-
erable talents and many good qualities (Justin, 4, 2),
the prosperity of Rhegium, far from declining, reiched
its highest elevation. Anaxilaus having succeeded in
making himself master of Messana, in conjunction with
a party of Samians, who had quitted their country,
which was then threatened with the Persian yoke (He-
rod. , 6, 23. --Thucyd. , 6, 5), confided the sovereignty
of that important town to his son Cleophron. (Schol.
ad Find. , Pyth. , 2, 34. ) His views were next direct-
ed against the Locrians; and it is probable that here
also he would have been successful, having already ob-
tained a decided advantage over them in the field, and
having proceeded, farther, to lay siege to their town
(Justin, 21, 3), when he was compelled to withdraw
his forces by the influence of Hicro, king of Syracuse,
whose enmity he was unwilling to incur. (Schol.
ad Pind. , I. e. ) Anaxilaus reigned eighteen years,
? ? and, on his death, intrusted the sovereignty to Mici-
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? RH 1
RHO
Rhenus, I. a ;elebrated river or Europe, rising in
lie Lepontine Alps, a little to the east of Mount St.
Gothard, in the country of the Grisons. It passes
mrough Lacus Brigantinus, or the Lake of Constance,
and afterward through Lacua Acronius, or the Lake
of Zell, and continues to run nearly west until it
reaches Basilia or Bask. Here it takes a northern
direction, and becomes the boundary between Gallia
and Gcrmania, and afterward between the latter and
Belgium. At Schenek, or Schenken Schans, the
Rhcrms sends off its left-hand branch, the Vahalis or
Waul, which flows west, and joins the Mosa or
Meuxe. After parting with the Vahalis, the Hhenus
flows on a few miles farther to the north, and then
divides into two streams, ofk which the one to the
right hand had the name of Flevo, or Flevus, or Fle-
vum, now the Yssal, and the other that of Helium,
now the Leek. The latter joins the Mcuse above Rot-
terdam. The Yssal was originally unconnected with
the Rhine, but was joined to it by the canal of Dru-
aus. Before it reached the sea, it traversed a small
-ake called Flevo, which, by the increase of waters it
received through the Yssal from the Rhine, became
in time expanded, and forms now the Zuyder Zee.
(Vid. Flevo. ) The whole course of the Rhine is 900
miles, of which 630 are navigable from Basle to the
aea. The Rhine was long a barrier between the Ro-
mans and Germans; it was first crossed by Julius
Caesar. --The word Rhein, which signifies a "current"
or " stream," appears to be of Celtic or ancient Ger-
manic origin. (Cats. , B. G. , 4, 20. -- Toe, Germ. , 1,
88, 29 -- Id. , Ann. , 2, 6. --Id. , Hist. , 2, 26. -- Mela,
2, 6. --Id, 3, 2. --Plin. , 4, 15. )--II. A small river of
Cisalpine Gaul, rising in the northern part of Elruria,
and falling into the Padus or Po. It is now the
Reno, and is celebrated in history for the meeting of
the second triumvirate, which took place A. U. C. 709,
in an island formed by its stream. Appian seems to
place the island in the Lavinius; but his testimony
ought not to stand against the authority of Plutarch
{Vit. Cie. ct Ant. ), Dio Cassius (46, 55), and Sue-
tonius (Vit. Aug. , c. 96), who all agree in placing the
scene of the event close to Bononia or Bologna.
The spot which witnessed this famous meeting is
Drobably that which is now known by the name of
Crocetta del Trcbbo, where there is an island in the
Rhc. no, about half a mile long and one third broad,
and about two miles to the west of Bologna. (Cra-
mer's Anc. Italy, vol. 1, p. 88. )
Rhesus, a king of Thrace, son of the Strymon and
the muse Terpsichore, who marched, at a late period
of the Trojan war, to the aid of Priam, with a nu-
merous army.
His arrival was expected with great
impatience, as an ancient oracle had declared that
Troy should never be taken if the horses of Rhesus
drank the waters of the Xanthus, and fed upon the
grass of the Trojan plains. This oracle was well
known to the Greeks, and therefore two of their best
generals, Diomedes and Ulysses, were commissioned
by the rest to intercept the Thracian prince. The
Greeks entered his camp in the night, slew him, and
carried away his horses to their camp. (Apollod. , 1,
<<. --Virg. , Mn, 1, 473-- Ovid, Mel. , 13, 98. )
Rhunus, a Greek poet, a native of Bena in Crete,
who flourished about 230 B. C. He was originally a
(lave in a school of exercise. Rhianus wrote an Her-
tc. 'eid, Thessalica, Messeniaca, Aclta'ica, and Eliaca.
? ? Of all these poems we have only about thirty-three
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? RHO
RHUlJUS.
minlv much to tile south of the sources of the Stry
mon. But all this it easily explained, when we take
into consideration the vague manner in which these
writers employ the various names of this great chain.
Virgil has several times mentioned Rhodope as a
mountain of Thrace. (Georg. , 3, 461 ; ibid. , 4, 461.
--Eclog. , 6, 30. )--Theocritus classes it among the
highest summits of the ancient world (7, 77. --Cra
n. a's Anc. Greece, vol. 1, p. 272).
RHODOPIS or RHODOPE, a celebrated hetserist of an-
nquity, a native of Thrace. She wan contemporary
with . ll-iiji, the fabulist, and was a slave under the
same roof with him at Saraos. Xanthus, a Samian,
afterward took her to Egypt, where she was purchased
cn. 'l manumitted by Charaxus of Mytilene, the brother
of Sappho, who became deeply enamoured of her.
(Herod. , 2, 134. --Strab. , 808. ) She settled, after her
manumission, at Naucratis, in Egypt; and, according
to one account; a pyramid was erected in honour of
her by some of the governors of the adjacent nomes,
it their common expense. (Diod, Sic. , 1, 64. --Stra-
ta, L e. ) ,l;li;m relates, that as Rhodopis was bath-
ing on one occasion, an eagle, having flown down,
seized upon one of her sandals, and, having conveyed
it through the air to Memphis, dropped it into the bo-
? om of Psammitichus, who was dispensing justice at
the time. The monarch, having admired the beauty
and elegant shape of the sandal, and being struck also
by the singular mode in which he bad become pos-
sessed of it, caused inquiry to be made for the owner
throughout the land of Egypt; and when he discovered
that the sandal belonged to Rhodopis, he made her his
<<oeen. (JBlian, V. H. , 13, 33. --Slrab. , I. e. ) Ac-
cording to this version of the story, the pyramid was
erected to her after death, as a royal tomb. --Herodo-
tus, in arguing against the supposition that the pyra-
mid in question was the tomb of Rhodopis, makes her
to have lived under Amasis (2, 134). Now, as there
was an interval of forty-five years'between the death
of Psammilichua and the accession of Amasis, Perizo-
nius is no doubt right in thinking that there were two
heUErists named Rhodopis, one who became the queen
of Psammitichus, and the other the fellow-slave of
. ! >? ! [', in the time of Amasis. The latter will be the
one whom Sappho calls Doricha, and of whom her
brother Charaxus was enamoured. (Perizon , ad Ml. ,
\. c. --Baylf. , Diet. , t. v. Rhodope. ) Achilles Tatius
states, that there was near Tyre a smalt island which
the Tyrians called the tomb of Rhodope. This, how-
ever, may be the mere fiction of the writer. (Achill.
Tat. , de Clit. et Leuc. am. , 2, 17. )
RHODUS ('Po<5of), a celebrated island in the Mediter-
ranean Sea, lying southwest of the coast of Caria, and
being about forty-three miles distant from the main-
laud. It is longer from north to south than from east
to west. Strabo gives its circuit 900 stadia (Strata,
ESI), but Pliny 130 miles, or, according to another
measurement, 103. (Pliny, 5, 28. ) According to
Sonnini, its greatest length is about twelve leagues,
and its breadth six, while its circumference is com-
monly estimated at forty-four leagues. Its form is
Dearly triangular, whence it obtained the name of Tri-
nacria. According to Strabo, it was originally called
Ophiussa ('O<j>ioi:aan) and Stadia, and subsequently
Telchinis. Its latest name, Rhodus, was derived,
according to Diodorus Siculus (5, 55), from Rhodus, a
daughter of Neptune and Halia. Others, however,
? ? have sought for the origin of this appellation in the
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? KHODUS.
RllODUS.
jK-. ir very plainly that tie earliest known inhabitants of
Rhodes were not Greeks, but persons from the neigh-
bouring mainland. The Greeks came in at a later pe-
riod, and drove the earlier settlers into the interior of
the island: hence we find all the cities on the coast
with Grecian forms of constitution, and Slrabo ex-
pressly stylos the inhabitants as of Dorian origin.
(Strab. , 653. )--All that we have thus far related coin-
cides with the period prior to the Trojan war, except
the migration of the Greeks, which took place in the
course of the century next after the fall of Troy. It
waa long before the Khodians attracted the notice of
the rest of the Greeks, and before their commercial op-
erations raised them to any consequence. They fell
under the power of Persia, and in the war between this
power and the Greeks, and in those between Sparta
nd Athens, it always sided with the conquering
arty, though without adding any remarkable weight
to the scale. The execution of a plan subsequently
conceived first laid the foundation of the political im-
portance of Rhodes. The three cities of Lindus,
Ialvssus, and Camirus came to the conclusion, to-
wards the close of the Peloponnesian war, of uniting to-
gether and forming one common city. This city, sit-
uate in the northern quarter of the island, took the
name of Rhodus, and continued ever after the capital.
The three older cities, which had united in its erec-
tion, did not actually cease to exist from this period,
though a large portion of their inhabitants migrated to
the new city. The inhabitants of the new capital were
oligarchically governed when under Lacedemonian su-
premacy; democratically when under Athenian; but
the state flourished under both. When Rhodes com-
bined with Chios and Byzantium in revolt against the
Athenians, the democracy seems to have been still
maintained; but after the termination of that war it
was overthrown by an insurrection of the wealthy few
and their adherents, assisted by Mausolus, the king of
Caria. Under its new government, Rhodes continued
to increase in trade and shipping; from which it may
se inferred that the administration was not inattentive
to the wishes and interests of the people; for mari-
time power always strengthened the popular party, and
a jealous and arbitrary oligarchy would therefore have
discouraged rather than favoured the growth of the
navy. We are told, indeed, in one fragment of a con-
temporary historian (Theopompus, quoted by Athe-
n;i:us), that there was a time when all power was in
the hands of a small knot of profligate men, who sup-
ported each other in every outrage which their fierce
passions or brutal caprices could prompt. But, what-
ever chances may have enabled a small faction to ex-
ercise for a while so hateful a tyranny, it must have
quickly fallen, and the government have reverted to
the great body of citizens having certain qualifications
of birth and property. In the ordinary state of the
Rhodian aristocracy, its conduct was moderate and
upright; so we are told by ancient writers, and their
testimony is confirmed by the prosperity of the com-
monwealth, and by its continual increase in commer-
cial wealth and naval power. When all the Grecian
seas were swarming with pirates, the Rhodians alone
for the common good undertook and effected their sup-
rression. They wero highly respected by Alexander,
though he kept a gnrrison in their city, which, on re-
seiving the news of his death, they immediately ex-
pelled. As the Macedonian supremacy appears to
? ? nave been generally favourable to oligarchy, notwith-
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? RHODUS.
RHO
en ion to make peace with the Rhodians on what
conditions he could; and Demetrius accordingly wish-
ed for an accommodation on any terms that would
MTC his credit. The Rhodians were no less anxious
for peaco; and the more so, as Ptolemy had written
to them, promising farther aid in case of need, but
idrising them to put an end to the war on any reason-
able conditions. Peace was soon concluded on the
terms that the Rhodians should be independent, and
ihould retain all their revenues; but that they should
wist Antigonus in all his wars, excepting against
Ptolemy, and should give one hundred hostages in
oledge of fidelity to their engagements. Thus re-
etsed from danger, the Rhodians proceeded to fulfil
their promises, and reward those who had served them
well. Fit honours were bestowed upon the bravest
combatants among the free inhabitants, and freedom,
with citizenship, given to such of the slaves as had
deserved it. Statues were erected to Ptolemy, Ly-
fimachus, and Cassander, all of whom had assisted
them largely with provisions. To Ptolemy, whose
benefits had been by far the most conspicuous, more
extravagant honours were assigned. The oracle of
Ammon was consulted, to learn whether the Rhodians
might not be allowed to worship him as a god; and,
permission being given, a temple was actually erected
in his honour. Such instances had already occurred in
toe case of Alexander, and in that of Antigonus and
Demetrius at Athens ; but it must be remembered that
inch a practice would not bear, in Grecian eyes, the
? me unnatural and impious character which it does
ID ours, since the step was easy from hero-worship,
which had long formed an important part of their re-
ligion, to the adoration of distinguished men, even
while alive (Hist, of Greece, p. 161, scqq. -- Lilir.
Vt. Knowl. )--After mingling more or less in the vari-
ous collisions which ensued between the successors of
Alexander and their respective descendants, Rhodes
tided with the Romans, and became a valuable auxili-
ary to the rising power. In return for the important
wrrices thus rendered, it received from its new friends
the territories of Lycia and Caria; but suspicion and
distrust eventually arose, the Rhodians were deprived
of their possessions in Asia, and at last, in the reign
of Vespasian, of their freedom, and with it of the right
they had so long enjoyed of being governed by their
own laws. A new province was formed, consisting
of the islands near the coast, cf which Rhodes was the
capital, and the island henceforth became an integral
part of the Roman empire, and shared in its various
vicissitudes. In a later age, it fell into the hands'of
the knights of St. John, after they had lost possession
of Palestine, A. D. 1309. In 1480 they repelled an
ittack of the Turks, but in 1522 were compelled to
surrender the island to Soliman II. The population
ii differently estimated: Savary makes it 36,500, of
which about one third are Greeks, with an archbishop.
The capital, Rhodes, has a population of about 6000
Turks. The suburb, Ncochcrio, is inhabited by 3000
Greeks, who are not permitted to reside within the
city. The town is surrounded with three walls and a
double ditch, and is considered by the Turks as im-
pregnabl^. It has two fine harbours, separated only
by a mole. --Rhodes was celebrated for its Colossus, an
account of which will be found elsewhere. (Yid. Co-
lossus. ) Its maritime laws were also in high repute,
snd were adopted as the basis of marine law on all the
? ? coasts of the Mediterranean. Their main principles
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? ROM
ROrrtA.
one and th<< Carpathian Mountains; that in A. U. 68
tbev surprised Mcesia; in 166 carried on war against
the' Marcomanni, and in 270 were numbered among
Ibe enemies over whom Aurelian triumphed. During
(be first three centuries they occupied the southern
parts of Poland, Red Russia, and Kiovia, the very
? eats possessed by the Russians of the ninth century.
Jornandes assigns them the saint region; and the
anonymous geographer of Ravenna fixes them in Li-
thuania and the neighbouring countries. These au-
thorities are to us decisive that the Rhoxaiani and the
Russians are the same people; but, if any doubt re-
mained, it would be removed by the concurrent tes-
timony of the native chronicles, the Polish traditions,
the Byzantine historians, and the Icelandic sagas, all
of which are unanimous in applying the term Russian
to the inhabitants of the countries formerly possessed
by the Rhoxaiani. Hence, as they were the most cel-
ebrated of the original tribes, that term, by synecdoche,
became generic. (Foreign Quarterly Review, No. 5,
p. 151, SCIjq. )
Rhutkni or Rutheni, a people of Gallia Aqui-
tanica, in Narbonensis Prima. The territory was sit-
uate on either side of the Tarnis or Tarn. Scgodu-
num, now Rodcz, was their chief town. (Cos , IS. G. ,
1, l. --Flin. , 4, 19. )
Rh yndacus, a river of Asia Minor, rising in Mount
Temnus, on the northern borders of Phrygia. Pliny
states, that the Rhyndacus was formerly called Lycus,
and took its source in the lake Antynia, near Miletop-
olis; that it received the Macestus and other rivers,
and separated the province of Asia from Bithynia.
(Plin. , 5,32. ) His account, though quite at variance
with that of Strabo, is confirmed by other writers, and
especially by modern geographers, so that he alone is
to be followed. (Cramer's Asia Minor, vol. 1, p. 50. )
Riooduluh, a town of Gallia Belgica, in the terri-
tory of the Treveri, and northeast of Augusta Trevero-
rum. It lay on the river Mosella, and answers to the
jiodern Real. [Toe. , Hist. , i, 71.
Romulus. )
Resaexa, a city on the river Chaboras, in northern
Mesopotamia. (Steph. Byz. , s. v. 'P(oiva) Its site
was afterward occupied by Theodosiopolis (Chron. ,
Edessen. , p. 3:19), which must not be confounded
with another city of the same name in northern Arme-
nia. The modern name of Restena is Ras-el-atm.
{Niebukr, vol. 2, p. 394. )
Rha ('Pa), a large river, now the Wolga. No wri-
ter, prior to Ptolemy, mentions either its name or
vourse. The appellation occurs, it is true, in our edi-
tions of Mela (3, 5), but it is a mere interpolation.
? he true reading in Mela is, "E Cerauniis monhbus
mo alveo deseendit, duobus exit in Caspium [Rha]
Araxes Tauri latere demissus. " The word Rha,
wiich we have enclosed in brackets, does not belong
to the text. --Ptolemy's acquaintance with this river
wks so accurate, that he knew not only its mouth, but
its western bending towards the Tanais, its double
sources (the Wolga and the Kama), the point of their
union, and the course of* some streams flowing from
the mountains on the east into the Wolga. All this
knowledge of the Rha was obtained from the caravan
traders, except, perhaps, a small portion made known
to the vspdd by the Roman conquests in this quarter.
Subsequent writers never lost sight of this river.
Agathemerus (2, 30) reckons it among the larger sized
rivers, snd calls it, probably by a corrupt name, Rhos
('Puc). Ammianus Marcellinus (22, 8) speaks of a
plant growing on its banks of great use in medicine.
Every one will see that he alludes to the rhubarb (Rha
barbarum) of pharmacy. The plant, it is true, did not,
in fact, grow here, but was brought to this quarter by
the caravan trade. As the Romans, however, re-
ceived their supplies of it from this part of the world,
they associated with it the name of the river, and thus
the appellation arose. The name Rha appears to
be an appellative term, having affinity with Rhea or
Relta, which, in the Sarmatian or Sclavonian lan-
guage, signifies a river; and from the Russian denom-
ination of Velika Relta, or Great River, appears to
be formed the name of Wolga. In the Byzantine and
other writers of the middle ages, this stream is called
Atel or Etel, a term, in many northern languages, sig-
nifying great or illustrious. (Compare the German
titl. ) The approximation of the Tanais to this river,
before it changes its course to the Palua Mseotis, is
the occasion of the erroneous opinion of some authors,
that it is only an emanation of the Rha taking a differ-
ent route. (Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 4, p 34! . )
Riiacotis, the name of a maritime place in Egypt,
on the site of which Alexandres was aubsequcntly erect-
ed. (Strabo, 792. -- Mannert, Geogr. , vol. 10, pt. 1,
p. 819)
Riiadamanthds, a son of Jupiter aud Europa, and
? ? brother to Minos and Sirpedon. These three brethren
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? RHE
RH E
ind Sr'aturn devoured a stone which his wife had given
him as her own child. The fears of Saturn were
soon proved to be well founded. A year after, the
child, whose name was Jupiter, became so strong and
powerful, that he diove his father from his throne.
(Vid. Saturnus. )--II or Rhea Silvia, the mother of
Romulus and Remus. (Vid. Ilia. )
Rhegium, one of the most celebrated and flourish-
ing cities of Magna Gra-cia, at the extremity of Italy,
in the territory of the Bruttii, and in a southeastern di-
rection from Messana on the opposite coast of Sicily.
This city is known to have been founded nearly 700
years B. C. , by a party of Zanclaeans from Sicily, to-
gether with <omc Chalcidians from Eubcea, and Mes-
scnians from the Peloponnesus. (Antioch. Syrae. ,
Strab. , 257. --Herat. , Pont, fragm. , 25. --Pausan. , 4,
S3. ) It may, however, lay claim to a still more re-
mote origin, if it be true, as Cato affirmed, that it was
once in the possession of the Aurunci. (Ap. Vol.
Prob. eel. el. Fragm. Hist. ) According to vEschylus,
as quoted by Strabo, the name of Rhegium was sup-
posed to refer to the great catastrophe which had once
separated Italy from Sicily (utf oi it/ 'Vriyiov kika^o-
nerat. -- Compare Virg. , JEn. , 3, 414). That geog-
rapher suggests as his own opinion, lhat this term
was derived from the Latin word Regium; and thus
considers it as only expressive of the importance and
dignity of the town to which it was attached. (Strab. ,
257. ) It appears, however, from the more ancient
coins of Rhegium, that the original name of the place
was RECION. In these the epigraph is REC. RECI.
RECINOS, in characters partaking more of the Os-
can than of the Greek form. Those of a more recent
date are decidedly Greek, PRT. PHriNQN, being in-
scribed on them. (Sestini, Man. Vet. , p. 18. )--We
may collect from different passages, that the constitu-
tion of Rhegium was at first an oligarchy under the
superior direction of a chief, who was always chosen
from a Messenian family. (Heyne, Opusc. Acad. , vol.
S. p. 270. --Saintc-Croix, tur la Legist de la Grande
Grece, Mem. des Acad, des Inscr. , vol. 42, p. 312. )
Charondas, the celebrated lawgiver of Catana in Sici-
ly, is said also to have given laws to the Rhegians.
(Herod. F>>nl. , I. c. --Mlian, V. H. , 3, 17. --Artstot. ,
Polit. , 2, 10. ) This form of government lasted near-
ly 200 years, until Anaxilaus, the second of that name,
usurped the sole authority, and became tyrant of Rhe-
gium about 496 B. C. (Strabo, I. c. --Aristot. , Polit. , 5,
12. ) Under this prince, who, though aspiring and
ambitious, appears to have been possessed of consid-
erable talents and many good qualities (Justin, 4, 2),
the prosperity of Rhegium, far from declining, reiched
its highest elevation. Anaxilaus having succeeded in
making himself master of Messana, in conjunction with
a party of Samians, who had quitted their country,
which was then threatened with the Persian yoke (He-
rod. , 6, 23. --Thucyd. , 6, 5), confided the sovereignty
of that important town to his son Cleophron. (Schol.
ad Find. , Pyth. , 2, 34. ) His views were next direct-
ed against the Locrians; and it is probable that here
also he would have been successful, having already ob-
tained a decided advantage over them in the field, and
having proceeded, farther, to lay siege to their town
(Justin, 21, 3), when he was compelled to withdraw
his forces by the influence of Hicro, king of Syracuse,
whose enmity he was unwilling to incur. (Schol.
ad Pind. , I. e. ) Anaxilaus reigned eighteen years,
? ? and, on his death, intrusted the sovereignty to Mici-
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? RH 1
RHO
Rhenus, I. a ;elebrated river or Europe, rising in
lie Lepontine Alps, a little to the east of Mount St.
Gothard, in the country of the Grisons. It passes
mrough Lacus Brigantinus, or the Lake of Constance,
and afterward through Lacua Acronius, or the Lake
of Zell, and continues to run nearly west until it
reaches Basilia or Bask. Here it takes a northern
direction, and becomes the boundary between Gallia
and Gcrmania, and afterward between the latter and
Belgium. At Schenek, or Schenken Schans, the
Rhcrms sends off its left-hand branch, the Vahalis or
Waul, which flows west, and joins the Mosa or
Meuxe. After parting with the Vahalis, the Hhenus
flows on a few miles farther to the north, and then
divides into two streams, ofk which the one to the
right hand had the name of Flevo, or Flevus, or Fle-
vum, now the Yssal, and the other that of Helium,
now the Leek. The latter joins the Mcuse above Rot-
terdam. The Yssal was originally unconnected with
the Rhine, but was joined to it by the canal of Dru-
aus. Before it reached the sea, it traversed a small
-ake called Flevo, which, by the increase of waters it
received through the Yssal from the Rhine, became
in time expanded, and forms now the Zuyder Zee.
(Vid. Flevo. ) The whole course of the Rhine is 900
miles, of which 630 are navigable from Basle to the
aea. The Rhine was long a barrier between the Ro-
mans and Germans; it was first crossed by Julius
Caesar. --The word Rhein, which signifies a "current"
or " stream," appears to be of Celtic or ancient Ger-
manic origin. (Cats. , B. G. , 4, 20. -- Toe, Germ. , 1,
88, 29 -- Id. , Ann. , 2, 6. --Id. , Hist. , 2, 26. -- Mela,
2, 6. --Id, 3, 2. --Plin. , 4, 15. )--II. A small river of
Cisalpine Gaul, rising in the northern part of Elruria,
and falling into the Padus or Po. It is now the
Reno, and is celebrated in history for the meeting of
the second triumvirate, which took place A. U. C. 709,
in an island formed by its stream. Appian seems to
place the island in the Lavinius; but his testimony
ought not to stand against the authority of Plutarch
{Vit. Cie. ct Ant. ), Dio Cassius (46, 55), and Sue-
tonius (Vit. Aug. , c. 96), who all agree in placing the
scene of the event close to Bononia or Bologna.
The spot which witnessed this famous meeting is
Drobably that which is now known by the name of
Crocetta del Trcbbo, where there is an island in the
Rhc. no, about half a mile long and one third broad,
and about two miles to the west of Bologna. (Cra-
mer's Anc. Italy, vol. 1, p. 88. )
Rhesus, a king of Thrace, son of the Strymon and
the muse Terpsichore, who marched, at a late period
of the Trojan war, to the aid of Priam, with a nu-
merous army.
His arrival was expected with great
impatience, as an ancient oracle had declared that
Troy should never be taken if the horses of Rhesus
drank the waters of the Xanthus, and fed upon the
grass of the Trojan plains. This oracle was well
known to the Greeks, and therefore two of their best
generals, Diomedes and Ulysses, were commissioned
by the rest to intercept the Thracian prince. The
Greeks entered his camp in the night, slew him, and
carried away his horses to their camp. (Apollod. , 1,
<<. --Virg. , Mn, 1, 473-- Ovid, Mel. , 13, 98. )
Rhunus, a Greek poet, a native of Bena in Crete,
who flourished about 230 B. C. He was originally a
(lave in a school of exercise. Rhianus wrote an Her-
tc. 'eid, Thessalica, Messeniaca, Aclta'ica, and Eliaca.
? ? Of all these poems we have only about thirty-three
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? RHO
RHUlJUS.
minlv much to tile south of the sources of the Stry
mon. But all this it easily explained, when we take
into consideration the vague manner in which these
writers employ the various names of this great chain.
Virgil has several times mentioned Rhodope as a
mountain of Thrace. (Georg. , 3, 461 ; ibid. , 4, 461.
--Eclog. , 6, 30. )--Theocritus classes it among the
highest summits of the ancient world (7, 77. --Cra
n. a's Anc. Greece, vol. 1, p. 272).
RHODOPIS or RHODOPE, a celebrated hetserist of an-
nquity, a native of Thrace. She wan contemporary
with . ll-iiji, the fabulist, and was a slave under the
same roof with him at Saraos. Xanthus, a Samian,
afterward took her to Egypt, where she was purchased
cn. 'l manumitted by Charaxus of Mytilene, the brother
of Sappho, who became deeply enamoured of her.
(Herod. , 2, 134. --Strab. , 808. ) She settled, after her
manumission, at Naucratis, in Egypt; and, according
to one account; a pyramid was erected in honour of
her by some of the governors of the adjacent nomes,
it their common expense. (Diod, Sic. , 1, 64. --Stra-
ta, L e. ) ,l;li;m relates, that as Rhodopis was bath-
ing on one occasion, an eagle, having flown down,
seized upon one of her sandals, and, having conveyed
it through the air to Memphis, dropped it into the bo-
? om of Psammitichus, who was dispensing justice at
the time. The monarch, having admired the beauty
and elegant shape of the sandal, and being struck also
by the singular mode in which he bad become pos-
sessed of it, caused inquiry to be made for the owner
throughout the land of Egypt; and when he discovered
that the sandal belonged to Rhodopis, he made her his
<<oeen. (JBlian, V. H. , 13, 33. --Slrab. , I. e. ) Ac-
cording to this version of the story, the pyramid was
erected to her after death, as a royal tomb. --Herodo-
tus, in arguing against the supposition that the pyra-
mid in question was the tomb of Rhodopis, makes her
to have lived under Amasis (2, 134). Now, as there
was an interval of forty-five years'between the death
of Psammilichua and the accession of Amasis, Perizo-
nius is no doubt right in thinking that there were two
heUErists named Rhodopis, one who became the queen
of Psammitichus, and the other the fellow-slave of
. ! >? ! [', in the time of Amasis. The latter will be the
one whom Sappho calls Doricha, and of whom her
brother Charaxus was enamoured. (Perizon , ad Ml. ,
\. c. --Baylf. , Diet. , t. v. Rhodope. ) Achilles Tatius
states, that there was near Tyre a smalt island which
the Tyrians called the tomb of Rhodope. This, how-
ever, may be the mere fiction of the writer. (Achill.
Tat. , de Clit. et Leuc. am. , 2, 17. )
RHODUS ('Po<5of), a celebrated island in the Mediter-
ranean Sea, lying southwest of the coast of Caria, and
being about forty-three miles distant from the main-
laud. It is longer from north to south than from east
to west. Strabo gives its circuit 900 stadia (Strata,
ESI), but Pliny 130 miles, or, according to another
measurement, 103. (Pliny, 5, 28. ) According to
Sonnini, its greatest length is about twelve leagues,
and its breadth six, while its circumference is com-
monly estimated at forty-four leagues. Its form is
Dearly triangular, whence it obtained the name of Tri-
nacria. According to Strabo, it was originally called
Ophiussa ('O<j>ioi:aan) and Stadia, and subsequently
Telchinis. Its latest name, Rhodus, was derived,
according to Diodorus Siculus (5, 55), from Rhodus, a
daughter of Neptune and Halia. Others, however,
? ? have sought for the origin of this appellation in the
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? KHODUS.
RllODUS.
jK-. ir very plainly that tie earliest known inhabitants of
Rhodes were not Greeks, but persons from the neigh-
bouring mainland. The Greeks came in at a later pe-
riod, and drove the earlier settlers into the interior of
the island: hence we find all the cities on the coast
with Grecian forms of constitution, and Slrabo ex-
pressly stylos the inhabitants as of Dorian origin.
(Strab. , 653. )--All that we have thus far related coin-
cides with the period prior to the Trojan war, except
the migration of the Greeks, which took place in the
course of the century next after the fall of Troy. It
waa long before the Khodians attracted the notice of
the rest of the Greeks, and before their commercial op-
erations raised them to any consequence. They fell
under the power of Persia, and in the war between this
power and the Greeks, and in those between Sparta
nd Athens, it always sided with the conquering
arty, though without adding any remarkable weight
to the scale. The execution of a plan subsequently
conceived first laid the foundation of the political im-
portance of Rhodes. The three cities of Lindus,
Ialvssus, and Camirus came to the conclusion, to-
wards the close of the Peloponnesian war, of uniting to-
gether and forming one common city. This city, sit-
uate in the northern quarter of the island, took the
name of Rhodus, and continued ever after the capital.
The three older cities, which had united in its erec-
tion, did not actually cease to exist from this period,
though a large portion of their inhabitants migrated to
the new city. The inhabitants of the new capital were
oligarchically governed when under Lacedemonian su-
premacy; democratically when under Athenian; but
the state flourished under both. When Rhodes com-
bined with Chios and Byzantium in revolt against the
Athenians, the democracy seems to have been still
maintained; but after the termination of that war it
was overthrown by an insurrection of the wealthy few
and their adherents, assisted by Mausolus, the king of
Caria. Under its new government, Rhodes continued
to increase in trade and shipping; from which it may
se inferred that the administration was not inattentive
to the wishes and interests of the people; for mari-
time power always strengthened the popular party, and
a jealous and arbitrary oligarchy would therefore have
discouraged rather than favoured the growth of the
navy. We are told, indeed, in one fragment of a con-
temporary historian (Theopompus, quoted by Athe-
n;i:us), that there was a time when all power was in
the hands of a small knot of profligate men, who sup-
ported each other in every outrage which their fierce
passions or brutal caprices could prompt. But, what-
ever chances may have enabled a small faction to ex-
ercise for a while so hateful a tyranny, it must have
quickly fallen, and the government have reverted to
the great body of citizens having certain qualifications
of birth and property. In the ordinary state of the
Rhodian aristocracy, its conduct was moderate and
upright; so we are told by ancient writers, and their
testimony is confirmed by the prosperity of the com-
monwealth, and by its continual increase in commer-
cial wealth and naval power. When all the Grecian
seas were swarming with pirates, the Rhodians alone
for the common good undertook and effected their sup-
rression. They wero highly respected by Alexander,
though he kept a gnrrison in their city, which, on re-
seiving the news of his death, they immediately ex-
pelled. As the Macedonian supremacy appears to
? ? nave been generally favourable to oligarchy, notwith-
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? RHODUS.
RHO
en ion to make peace with the Rhodians on what
conditions he could; and Demetrius accordingly wish-
ed for an accommodation on any terms that would
MTC his credit. The Rhodians were no less anxious
for peaco; and the more so, as Ptolemy had written
to them, promising farther aid in case of need, but
idrising them to put an end to the war on any reason-
able conditions. Peace was soon concluded on the
terms that the Rhodians should be independent, and
ihould retain all their revenues; but that they should
wist Antigonus in all his wars, excepting against
Ptolemy, and should give one hundred hostages in
oledge of fidelity to their engagements. Thus re-
etsed from danger, the Rhodians proceeded to fulfil
their promises, and reward those who had served them
well. Fit honours were bestowed upon the bravest
combatants among the free inhabitants, and freedom,
with citizenship, given to such of the slaves as had
deserved it. Statues were erected to Ptolemy, Ly-
fimachus, and Cassander, all of whom had assisted
them largely with provisions. To Ptolemy, whose
benefits had been by far the most conspicuous, more
extravagant honours were assigned. The oracle of
Ammon was consulted, to learn whether the Rhodians
might not be allowed to worship him as a god; and,
permission being given, a temple was actually erected
in his honour. Such instances had already occurred in
toe case of Alexander, and in that of Antigonus and
Demetrius at Athens ; but it must be remembered that
inch a practice would not bear, in Grecian eyes, the
? me unnatural and impious character which it does
ID ours, since the step was easy from hero-worship,
which had long formed an important part of their re-
ligion, to the adoration of distinguished men, even
while alive (Hist, of Greece, p. 161, scqq. -- Lilir.
Vt. Knowl. )--After mingling more or less in the vari-
ous collisions which ensued between the successors of
Alexander and their respective descendants, Rhodes
tided with the Romans, and became a valuable auxili-
ary to the rising power. In return for the important
wrrices thus rendered, it received from its new friends
the territories of Lycia and Caria; but suspicion and
distrust eventually arose, the Rhodians were deprived
of their possessions in Asia, and at last, in the reign
of Vespasian, of their freedom, and with it of the right
they had so long enjoyed of being governed by their
own laws. A new province was formed, consisting
of the islands near the coast, cf which Rhodes was the
capital, and the island henceforth became an integral
part of the Roman empire, and shared in its various
vicissitudes. In a later age, it fell into the hands'of
the knights of St. John, after they had lost possession
of Palestine, A. D. 1309. In 1480 they repelled an
ittack of the Turks, but in 1522 were compelled to
surrender the island to Soliman II. The population
ii differently estimated: Savary makes it 36,500, of
which about one third are Greeks, with an archbishop.
The capital, Rhodes, has a population of about 6000
Turks. The suburb, Ncochcrio, is inhabited by 3000
Greeks, who are not permitted to reside within the
city. The town is surrounded with three walls and a
double ditch, and is considered by the Turks as im-
pregnabl^. It has two fine harbours, separated only
by a mole. --Rhodes was celebrated for its Colossus, an
account of which will be found elsewhere. (Yid. Co-
lossus. ) Its maritime laws were also in high repute,
snd were adopted as the basis of marine law on all the
? ? coasts of the Mediterranean. Their main principles
Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 09:17 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uva. x001045523 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? ROM
ROrrtA.
one and th<< Carpathian Mountains; that in A. U. 68
tbev surprised Mcesia; in 166 carried on war against
the' Marcomanni, and in 270 were numbered among
Ibe enemies over whom Aurelian triumphed. During
(be first three centuries they occupied the southern
parts of Poland, Red Russia, and Kiovia, the very
? eats possessed by the Russians of the ninth century.
Jornandes assigns them the saint region; and the
anonymous geographer of Ravenna fixes them in Li-
thuania and the neighbouring countries. These au-
thorities are to us decisive that the Rhoxaiani and the
Russians are the same people; but, if any doubt re-
mained, it would be removed by the concurrent tes-
timony of the native chronicles, the Polish traditions,
the Byzantine historians, and the Icelandic sagas, all
of which are unanimous in applying the term Russian
to the inhabitants of the countries formerly possessed
by the Rhoxaiani. Hence, as they were the most cel-
ebrated of the original tribes, that term, by synecdoche,
became generic. (Foreign Quarterly Review, No. 5,
p. 151, SCIjq. )
Rhutkni or Rutheni, a people of Gallia Aqui-
tanica, in Narbonensis Prima. The territory was sit-
uate on either side of the Tarnis or Tarn. Scgodu-
num, now Rodcz, was their chief town. (Cos , IS. G. ,
1, l. --Flin. , 4, 19. )
Rh yndacus, a river of Asia Minor, rising in Mount
Temnus, on the northern borders of Phrygia. Pliny
states, that the Rhyndacus was formerly called Lycus,
and took its source in the lake Antynia, near Miletop-
olis; that it received the Macestus and other rivers,
and separated the province of Asia from Bithynia.
(Plin. , 5,32. ) His account, though quite at variance
with that of Strabo, is confirmed by other writers, and
especially by modern geographers, so that he alone is
to be followed. (Cramer's Asia Minor, vol. 1, p. 50. )
Riooduluh, a town of Gallia Belgica, in the terri-
tory of the Treveri, and northeast of Augusta Trevero-
rum. It lay on the river Mosella, and answers to the
jiodern Real. [Toe. , Hist. , i, 71.