The life of Plotinus is given with the edi-
tion of the Ennesdes of the latter.
tion of the Ennesdes of the latter.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
) He left a son named Darius,
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? POP
Puf
M ) Ho is said to have been tin first of the Popilian
famil) that bore the surname of I. arias, and this appel-
lation is said to have been obtained as follows. Being
at one time priest of Carmenta (Flamen Carmentalu),
and conducting a public sacrifice in his sacerdotal robe,
or lana, intelligence was brought him that a sedition
had broken out among the commons; he hastened to
the public assembly arrayed in his lama, and quelled
the tumult by his authority and <isquence. {Cicero,
Brut. , 14. )--II. M. Popilius Lacnas, was consul 173
B. C. Having marched of his own accord, during the
war with the Ligurians, into the territory of the Sa-
telliates, who had committed no sort of hostility against
the Romans, and coming to an engagement with
them, be obtained a complete victory, and sold those
who had survived the battle into slavery. The senate
immediately passed a decree, ordering him to restore
the money which he had received from the sale of the
Satellites, to set the latter at liberty, give them back
their effects and arms, and immediately to quit the
province. Popilius, however, disobeyed this mandate;
and yet, notwithstanding this open contumacy, be pro-
ceeded to Rome, inveighed severely against the as-
sembled senate, and then returned to his province.
Being afterward accused for this outrage against the
laws, he was sheltered from punishment by the in-
fluence of his brother. (Kid. Popilius III. ) He after-
ward accompanied the consul Philippus to Macedonia
as military tribune, B. C. 169. (Lie. , 40, 43. -- Id. ,
41, 14, acq--Id. , 42, 7, scqq. --Id. , 44, I. )--III. C.
Popilius Lamas, brother of the preceding, attained to
the consulship B. C. 172, and only signalized his ad-
ministration of that office by his intrigues in favour of
his brother when charged with official misconduct.
(Vii. Popilius II. ) Not long after this he was sent, with
two other senators, to Egypt, on account of the differ-
ences subsisting between Cleopatra and Ptolemy Eu-
ergetcs on the one hand, and Antiochus Epiphanes on
the other Antiochus was at the gates of Alezandrea,
a. id preparing to lay siege to the city when the Roman
deputies arrived. The decree of the senate, which
hey communicated to him, was to the following effect:
ih. it Antiochus should make peace with Ptolemy and
retire from Egypt; but, Antiochus wishing to elude it
by evasive answers, Popilius haughtily drew a circle
round him in the sand with a rod which he held in his
hand, and ordered the monarch to give him an answer
to carry home to the senate before he stirred out of
the circle which had just beerr traced. The king was
struck with astonishment, but, after a moment's reflec-
tion, promised to obey, and accordingly evacuated
Egypt. (Lin. , 41, 18. --Id. , 42, 9, teqq. --Id. , 44, 19,
teqq. --Id. , 45, 10. --Veil. Paterr. . , 12, 10. --Justin,
34, 3. )--IV. A tribune, who commanded the party
which slew Cicero. It is said that the orator had
defended him at one time against a charge of parri-
cide. This, however, some regard as a pure inven-
tion of the later grammarians, who sought for brilliant
themes on which to declaim. (Senec. Rhet. , 3, con-
trov. 17. )
PoPLICOLA. Vid. PoBMCOLA.
Popp*a Sabina, I. daughter of Poppajus Sabinus,
and wife of T. Ollius. She lived in the time of the
Emperor Claudius, and was the most beautiful woman
of her time, but disgraced herself by her scandalous
excesses. Messalina, having become jealous of her,
compelled her to destroy herself. (Tacit. , Ann , 11,
? ? 2. --Id. ib. , 11, 4. --Id. ib. , 13, 45. )--II. Daughter of
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? po a
f-OR
>>it he \>as in power. (Tacit. . Ann. , 13, 45. --Id.
<<. , 15, 71. --Id. it. , 13, 46. --Id. b. , 14, GO -- Id. ib. ,
15, 33-- Id. ii. , 16, 6, &. c. )
Popp^eus Sabinus, the materr. al grandfather of the
Empress Popprta. He held under Tiberius the gov-
ernment of Moesia, to which were added Achaia and
Macedonia. (Tacit. , Ann. , 1,80. ) In A. D. 25, he
obtained the insignia of a triumph for successes over
the Thracian tribes. (Tacit, Ann. , 4, 46. ) He also
attained to the office of consul. Poppajus died A. D.
35. (Tacit. , Ann. , 6, 39. )
Populonia (or Populonium), a flourishing city of
Etruria, on the coast, on a line with Vetulona. It was
the naval arsenal of the Etrurians, and was the only
considerable place which that nation founded imme-
diately on the coast. In other instances they were
prevented from doing this by the want of commodious
havens, and through their fear of being exposed to the
attacks of pirates. But the harbour of Populonium,
i. ow Porto Baraito, possessed peculiar advantages ; it
was securo and of great extent, and, from its proximity
to the island of Elba, so rich in metals, of the highest
importance; as the produce of the mines appears never
to have beon prepared for use in the island itself, but
was always sent over to Populonium for that purpose.
(Aristot. , dc Mirab. , p. 1158. --Strabo, 223. ) Slrabo
has accurately described the site of Populonium from
personal inspection; he tells us that it was placed on
a lofty cliff that ran out into the sea like a peninsula.
On the summit was a tower for watching the approach
of the thunny fish. The real name of this city, as we
may perceive from its numerous coins, was Pupluna,
in which a strong analogy exists with some Etruscan
names, such as Luna, and Vettluna, and probably others
belonging to cities which we know only by their Latin
names. (Lanzi, Saggio, cVc, vol. 2, p. 27. -- Cra-
mer's Anc. Italy, vol. 1, p. 188, scqq. j
Porch, a daughter of the younger Cato (Uticensis).
She was first married to Bibulus, and, after his death,
to her cousin Brutus. When the latter had taken
part in the conspiracy against Caesar, and strove to
conceal from his wife the uneasiness which the fatal
secret occasioned him, Porcia, having suspected that
he was revolving in mind some difficult and dangerous
enterprise, gave herself a severe wound in the thigh,
which she concealed from her husband, but which
Drought on considerable fever. Brutus was much af-
flicted on her account, and, as he was attending her in
the height of her suffering, she discovered to bim the
wound which she had inflicted on her own person, and,
in assigning a motive for the deed, said that her object
was to see whether she was proof against pain, and
whether she had courage to share his most hidden se-
crets. The husband, struck with admiration of this
heroic firmness, disclosed to her the conspiracy which
was forming. According to one account, she ended
her days, after the overthrow and death of Brutus, by
holding burning coals in her mouth until she was suf-
focated. Another statement, however, made her to
have died before her husband. (Plut. , Vit. Brtiti. )
Valerius Maximus, however, says that she gave her-
self the wound after the secret had been imparted to
her, and on the night after the assassination of Caesar.
tVal. Max. , 3, 2, 15. )
Porcia Lex, dc civitatc, ordained that no magistrate
should punish with death, or scourge with rods, a Ro-
man citizen when condemned, but should allow him
? ? the alternative of exile It was brought forward by
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? POR
PORSENNA.
tiatmy, no less than its enemies, will always regret;
for truth can n*ver suffer by a fair discussion; and
falsehood and calumny must always, in the iasue, serve
the cause they are designed to injure. The spirit of
those writings of Porphyry which are lost, may be in
some measure apprehended from the fragments which
are preserved by ecclesiastical historians. Many able
advocates for Christianity appeared on this occasion,
the principal of whom were Methodius, Apollinaris, and
Eusebius. So vehement and lasting was the indigna-
tion which was excited against the memory of Por-
phyry, that Constantine, in order to cast the severest
possible censure upon the Arian sect, published an
edict ranking them among the professed enemies of
Christianity, and requiring that they should, from that
time, be branded with the name of Porphyrians. Por-
phyry, after remaining many years in Sicily, returned
to Rome, and taught the doctrines of Plotinus; pre-
tending to be not only a philosopher, endued with su-
perior wisdom, but a divine person, favoured with su-
pernatural communications from Heaven. He him-
self relates (Kit. Plot. , c. 23), that, in the aixty-eighth
year of his age, he was in a sacred ecstasy, in which he
saw the Supreme Intelligence, the God who is supe-
rior to all gods, without an image. Thia vision Au-
gustine supposes to have been an illusion of some evil
spirit: it was more probably the natural effect of a
heated imagination; unless, indeed, it he added to the
long list of fictions with which the writings of Porphy-
ry abound. He died about 304 A. D. Of his numer-
ous works, the only pieces which have escaped the
Jeprcdations of time (except sundry fragments, dis-
persed through various authors) are his " Life of Py-
thagoras" (tlvdayopov /Jior), a book "On the Cave
if the Nymph* in the Odyssey" (ITepi row tv 'OdW-
jcia ruv Nd/bokjv dvrpov), "Homeric Questions"
(QfiripiKu. Jnri^ara), a fragment" On the Styx" (Heal
Irvyoe), " An Epistle to Anebo, the Egyptian" (Ilpdc
Avebu row klyvimov), a treatise " On the Five Pred-
icates" (Htfii tuv rehire ttiovCiv), commonly prefix-
ed to the logical works of Aristotle, " Thoughts on
Intclligibtes" (Ilpdr rd vonru 'Afoptauoi), a treatise
"On Abstinence from Animal food" (Ucpt anoxic
r<3v e/nlwx<iv), a " Life of Plotinus" (flepl TlXurlvov
Pinv), " A Commentary on the Harmonics of Ptolemy"
(Err rd 'Apftovixa IlTo? . euaiov vrrofivnua), and a few
other unimportant pieces. (Enfield's History of Phi-
losophy, vol. 2, p. 65, seqq. --Scholl, Hist. Lit. Gr. ,
vol. 5, p. 131, seqq. ) The best edition of the Life of
Pythagoras is that given by Kiessling at the end of
bis edition of Iamblichus's Life of Pythagoras (Lips. ,
1818, 2 vols. 8vo); of the treatise on Abstinence from
Animal Food, the best is that of Rhoer (Lugd. Bat. ,
1792. 4to), which contains also in the same volume
Van Goen's edition of the work on the Cave of the
Nymphs.
The life of Plotinus is given with the edi-
tion of the Ennesdes of the latter.
Poksenhi or Poxsen* (called also Lara Porsenna),
was Lucumo of Clusium, and the moat powerful of all
the Etrurian mor. archs of his time. Tarquinius Su-
perbus, after beinjf driven from his throne, finding the
inability of the V" . lontiana and Tarquinians to replace
him, applied to Porsenna. This monarch raised a
large army and marched towards Rome. He was met
by the Romans near the fortress on tho Janiculan
Hill; but almost at the first encounter they took to
flight, and the Etrurians pursued them impetuously as
? ? they sought safety by crossing the Pons Sublicius.
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? POS
POT
. . /vain non Porsenna, dedita urbe, ncque Valli
capla, temerare potmssent. "--Hist. , 3, 72); hi; sov-
ereignty was fully acknowledged by the offerings of
the ivory throne, the sceptre, crown, end triumph-
si robe, the usual badges of submission among the
Etrurian cities, as we have already remarked. (Dion.
Hal. , 6, 34. ) The Romans, moreover, gave up their
arms, and only recovered their city and territory on
condition of their renouncing the use of iron, except
1st implements of husbandry. Hence the language
of Pliny (34, 14): "In fcedcre, quod expulsis rcgibus
populo Romano itdil Porsenna, nommalim eomprc-
henrum invenimus, ne ferro nisi in agricultura ute-
rentur. " In this latter statement we have an inci-
dental hint of the Eastern origin and customs of the
Etrurians; in proof of which, reference may be made
to the way in which the Philistines tyrannized over
the Israelites during one of their periods of conquest.
(Compare 1 Samuel, xiii. , 19, scqq. -- Nicbuhr, Rom.
Hist. , vol. 1, p. 475, seqq. --Arnold's History of
Rome, vol. 1, p. 125, scq)--The remains of Porsenna
were interred in a splendid mausoleum near Clusium,
for some remarks on which consult the article on
Clusium.
Pobtumnus, a sea-deity. (Vid. Melicerta. )
Porus, king of a part of northern India, between
the Hydaspes and Acesines, and remarkable for stat-
ure, strength, and dignity of mien. When Alexander
invaded India, Porus collected his forces on the left
bank of the Hydaspes to defend the passage. The
stream was deep and rapid, and, at the time Alexander
reached it, was perhaps little less than a mile broad.
The Macedonian monarch, however, crossed the river
by stratagem, at the distance of a day's march above
his camp, and defeated the son of Porus. In a sub-
sequent action ho gained a decisive victory over Porus
himself, who was taken prisoner. On being brought
into the presence of Alexander, all that Porus would
ask of his conqueror was to be treated as a king;
and when Alexander replied that this was no more
than a king must do for his own sake, and bade him
make some request for himself, his reply was still,
that all was included in this. His expectations could
scarcely have equalled the conqueror's munificence.
He was not only reinstated in his royal dignity, but
received a large addition of territory. Yet it was
certainly not pure magnanimity or admiration of his
character that determined Alexander to this proceed-
ing. His object seems to have been, in some de-
gree, to secure the Macedonian ascendancy in the
Pendjab by a stroke of policy, and to adjust the bal-
ance of power between Porus and Taxiles, who might
have become formidable without a rival. (Plut. , Vit.
Alex. -- Arnan, Exp. Al. , 5, 8, &c. -- Curl. , S, 8,
&c. --ThirlieaWs Greece, vol. 7, p. 22. )
Posideum, I. a promontory in Caria, between Mi-
letus and the Iassian Gulf. (Mela, 1, 17. ) -- II. A
promontory of Chios, nearest the mainland of Ionia.
--III. A promontory in the northern part of Bithynia,
now Tsckautsche-Aghtsi, &c. --The name implies a
sromontory sacred to Neptune (Roociduv).
Posidon (UooetdCiv), the name of Neptune among
the Greeks. (Vid. Neptunus. )
Posidonia. Vid. Pies turn.
Posidonius, I. a Stoic philosopher, a native of
Apamea in Syria, and the last of that series of Stoics
which belongs to the history of the Greek philosophy.
? ? He taught at Rhodes with so great reputation, that
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? PRE
PR^ENESTE.
rf Salamis, it closed its gates against Artabazus, who,
at the head of a large detachment from the army des-
tined to act under Mardonius, had escorted Xerxes
lo the Hellespont. On his return, this general laid
siege to the place, of which he would probably have
obtained possession, through the treachery of one of
its citizens, had not the plot been actually discovered.
The attempt subsequently made against Potidasa by
the Persians proved very disastrous, from a sudden
influx of the sea, which occurred as the troops were
crossing the bay to attack the town, and which occa-
sioned the loss of a great part of the Persian forces,
obliging the remainder to make a hasty retreat. (He-
rod. , 8, 127, seqq. ) After the termination of this war,
Potidaea appears to have fallen under the subjection of
the Athenians, as it was then termed a tributary city.
We learn from Thucydides, that the harsh conduct of
Athens towards the Potidaeans, who were naturally
inclined to the Dorian interest, compelled them to re-
volt, and to seek the protection of Perdiccas and the
Corinthians (1, 56, seqq. ). After a severe action, in
which the Athenians were finally victorious, the town
was regularly besieged by both sea and land; but it
was not until near the conclusion of the second year
that it capitulated, when the Athenian troops, greatly
diminished by the plague, which had been conveyed
thither from Athens, entered the place, the inhabitants
being allowed to withdraw whither they chose. It
was afterward decolonized from Athens. (Thucyd. , 2,
70. ) On i'ik* occupation of Amphipolis, and other
towns of Thrace, by Brasidas, that general attempted
to seize upon the garrison of' Potidaea; but the at-
tack having failed, lie withdrew his forces from the
walls. (Thucyd. , 4, 135 ) Many years after this
event, Potidaea appears to have revolted from Athens
(Xen. , Hist. Gr. , 5, 210); as we learn from Diodo-
rus that it was taken by Timotheus, general of that
republic. It was subsequently occupied by Philip of
Macedon, who allowed the Athenian troops to return
home without ransom. --When Cassander ascended
the throne, he founded a new city on the neck of the
peninsula of Pallene; thither he transferred the in-
habitants of several neighbouring towns, and, among
others, those of Potidsea, and the remnant of the pop-
ulation of Olynthus. Cassandrea is said to have sur-
passed all the Macedonian cities in opulence and
splendour. From Procopius we learn that it fell a
prey to the barbarian Huns, who left scarcely a ves-
tige of it remaining. (Bell. Pert. , 2, 4. --De. JEiif. ,
4, 3. --Cramer's Arte. Greece, vol. 1, p. 244, seqq. )
PotitIus. Vid. Pinariua.
PotnI. *, a city of Bceotia, about ten stadia to the
southwest of Thebes. It had a sacred grove dedica-
ted to Ceres and Proserpina. (Xen. , Hist. Gr. , 5,
451. ) Itwas here that Glaucus was said to have been
torn in pieces by his infuriated mares. (Slrabo, 409.
--Virg. , Georg. , 3, 267. ) The site of this place, al-
ready in ruins when Pausanius wrote, corresponds
nearly with that occupied by the village of Taki.
(GeWs hin. , p. 110. ) Strabo informs us, that some
authors regarded PotnieB as the Hypothetic of Homer.
(//. , 2, 505. )
Pr. s:nestr-, now Palestrina, an ancient city of La-
tium, southeast of Rome. Strabo makes the interve-
ning distance 25 miles (200 stadia); but the Itiner-
aries give, more correctly, 23 miles. Its citadel is de-
scribed by Strabo as remarkable for its strength of po-
? ? sition. It stood on the brow of a lofty hill which
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? PRA
PRI
Ar< wg the productions of the territory of Prseneste,
iior i arc so often remarked as its walnuts. (Cat. , R.
R. , H. ) Henco the Pranestini are sometimes nick-
nanrtd Nucula, especially by Cicero, who quotes Lu-
cilius as his authority for so doing. {Dc Orat. , 2,262. )
But Fcstus accounts for the name in another manner;
he says, the Prseneslini were so called from their coun-
trymen having subsisted on walnuts when besieged
by Hannibal in Casilinum, the garrison of which they
fjrueii, in the second Punic war. (Lit. , 23,17. --L. ,
19. ) It may be observed, that the Pranestini appear
to have had some peculiarities of idioms which distin-
guished them from their neighbours. This is seen from
Festus (s. v. Tammodo. -- Plaulus, True. , 3. 2. --
Quintil. , Inst. Or. , 1, 5. --Cramer'* Anc. Italy, vol.
2, p. 66, seqq).
Pretoria, or Augusta Pk. ktoria, a city of Cisal-
pine Gaul, in the territory of the Salassi. It was built
on the site occupied by the camp of Tcrentius Varro,
when that commander was sent by Augustus to re-
press the plundering movements of the Salassi and to
seize upon their country. Augustus honoured the
rising colony by giving it the name of Augusta Pre-
toria. (Strabo, 205. ) It is now known as Aostc,
which gives its name to the fine valley in which it
lies, and where several remains of the ancient city are
still to be seen. According to Pliny (5, 10), Augusta
Pretoria was reckoned the extreme point of Italy to
the north. (Cramer's Anc. Italy, vol. 1, p. 50. )
Pratinas, a native of Phlius, contemporary with
-Eschylus, and a dramatic poet of considerable talent.
He once obtained a tragic victory. But the manifest
pre-eminence of the youthful /Eschylus probably de-
terred the Phliasian from continuing to cultivate the
graver form of the art, and led him to contrive a novel
and mixed kind of play. Borrowing from tragedy its
external form and mythological materials, Pratinas
added a chorus of Satyrs, with their lively songs, ges-
tures, and movements. This new composition* was
called the Satyric Drama, of which he must therefore
be regarded as the inventor. (Suid. , s. v. Hparivac.
--Casaub. , Sat.
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? POP
Puf
M ) Ho is said to have been tin first of the Popilian
famil) that bore the surname of I. arias, and this appel-
lation is said to have been obtained as follows. Being
at one time priest of Carmenta (Flamen Carmentalu),
and conducting a public sacrifice in his sacerdotal robe,
or lana, intelligence was brought him that a sedition
had broken out among the commons; he hastened to
the public assembly arrayed in his lama, and quelled
the tumult by his authority and <isquence. {Cicero,
Brut. , 14. )--II. M. Popilius Lacnas, was consul 173
B. C. Having marched of his own accord, during the
war with the Ligurians, into the territory of the Sa-
telliates, who had committed no sort of hostility against
the Romans, and coming to an engagement with
them, be obtained a complete victory, and sold those
who had survived the battle into slavery. The senate
immediately passed a decree, ordering him to restore
the money which he had received from the sale of the
Satellites, to set the latter at liberty, give them back
their effects and arms, and immediately to quit the
province. Popilius, however, disobeyed this mandate;
and yet, notwithstanding this open contumacy, be pro-
ceeded to Rome, inveighed severely against the as-
sembled senate, and then returned to his province.
Being afterward accused for this outrage against the
laws, he was sheltered from punishment by the in-
fluence of his brother. (Kid. Popilius III. ) He after-
ward accompanied the consul Philippus to Macedonia
as military tribune, B. C. 169. (Lie. , 40, 43. -- Id. ,
41, 14, acq--Id. , 42, 7, scqq. --Id. , 44, I. )--III. C.
Popilius Lamas, brother of the preceding, attained to
the consulship B. C. 172, and only signalized his ad-
ministration of that office by his intrigues in favour of
his brother when charged with official misconduct.
(Vii. Popilius II. ) Not long after this he was sent, with
two other senators, to Egypt, on account of the differ-
ences subsisting between Cleopatra and Ptolemy Eu-
ergetcs on the one hand, and Antiochus Epiphanes on
the other Antiochus was at the gates of Alezandrea,
a. id preparing to lay siege to the city when the Roman
deputies arrived. The decree of the senate, which
hey communicated to him, was to the following effect:
ih. it Antiochus should make peace with Ptolemy and
retire from Egypt; but, Antiochus wishing to elude it
by evasive answers, Popilius haughtily drew a circle
round him in the sand with a rod which he held in his
hand, and ordered the monarch to give him an answer
to carry home to the senate before he stirred out of
the circle which had just beerr traced. The king was
struck with astonishment, but, after a moment's reflec-
tion, promised to obey, and accordingly evacuated
Egypt. (Lin. , 41, 18. --Id. , 42, 9, teqq. --Id. , 44, 19,
teqq. --Id. , 45, 10. --Veil. Paterr. . , 12, 10. --Justin,
34, 3. )--IV. A tribune, who commanded the party
which slew Cicero. It is said that the orator had
defended him at one time against a charge of parri-
cide. This, however, some regard as a pure inven-
tion of the later grammarians, who sought for brilliant
themes on which to declaim. (Senec. Rhet. , 3, con-
trov. 17. )
PoPLICOLA. Vid. PoBMCOLA.
Popp*a Sabina, I. daughter of Poppajus Sabinus,
and wife of T. Ollius. She lived in the time of the
Emperor Claudius, and was the most beautiful woman
of her time, but disgraced herself by her scandalous
excesses. Messalina, having become jealous of her,
compelled her to destroy herself. (Tacit. , Ann , 11,
? ? 2. --Id. ib. , 11, 4. --Id. ib. , 13, 45. )--II. Daughter of
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? po a
f-OR
>>it he \>as in power. (Tacit. . Ann. , 13, 45. --Id.
<<. , 15, 71. --Id. it. , 13, 46. --Id. b. , 14, GO -- Id. ib. ,
15, 33-- Id. ii. , 16, 6, &. c. )
Popp^eus Sabinus, the materr. al grandfather of the
Empress Popprta. He held under Tiberius the gov-
ernment of Moesia, to which were added Achaia and
Macedonia. (Tacit. , Ann. , 1,80. ) In A. D. 25, he
obtained the insignia of a triumph for successes over
the Thracian tribes. (Tacit, Ann. , 4, 46. ) He also
attained to the office of consul. Poppajus died A. D.
35. (Tacit. , Ann. , 6, 39. )
Populonia (or Populonium), a flourishing city of
Etruria, on the coast, on a line with Vetulona. It was
the naval arsenal of the Etrurians, and was the only
considerable place which that nation founded imme-
diately on the coast. In other instances they were
prevented from doing this by the want of commodious
havens, and through their fear of being exposed to the
attacks of pirates. But the harbour of Populonium,
i. ow Porto Baraito, possessed peculiar advantages ; it
was securo and of great extent, and, from its proximity
to the island of Elba, so rich in metals, of the highest
importance; as the produce of the mines appears never
to have beon prepared for use in the island itself, but
was always sent over to Populonium for that purpose.
(Aristot. , dc Mirab. , p. 1158. --Strabo, 223. ) Slrabo
has accurately described the site of Populonium from
personal inspection; he tells us that it was placed on
a lofty cliff that ran out into the sea like a peninsula.
On the summit was a tower for watching the approach
of the thunny fish. The real name of this city, as we
may perceive from its numerous coins, was Pupluna,
in which a strong analogy exists with some Etruscan
names, such as Luna, and Vettluna, and probably others
belonging to cities which we know only by their Latin
names. (Lanzi, Saggio, cVc, vol. 2, p. 27. -- Cra-
mer's Anc. Italy, vol. 1, p. 188, scqq. j
Porch, a daughter of the younger Cato (Uticensis).
She was first married to Bibulus, and, after his death,
to her cousin Brutus. When the latter had taken
part in the conspiracy against Caesar, and strove to
conceal from his wife the uneasiness which the fatal
secret occasioned him, Porcia, having suspected that
he was revolving in mind some difficult and dangerous
enterprise, gave herself a severe wound in the thigh,
which she concealed from her husband, but which
Drought on considerable fever. Brutus was much af-
flicted on her account, and, as he was attending her in
the height of her suffering, she discovered to bim the
wound which she had inflicted on her own person, and,
in assigning a motive for the deed, said that her object
was to see whether she was proof against pain, and
whether she had courage to share his most hidden se-
crets. The husband, struck with admiration of this
heroic firmness, disclosed to her the conspiracy which
was forming. According to one account, she ended
her days, after the overthrow and death of Brutus, by
holding burning coals in her mouth until she was suf-
focated. Another statement, however, made her to
have died before her husband. (Plut. , Vit. Brtiti. )
Valerius Maximus, however, says that she gave her-
self the wound after the secret had been imparted to
her, and on the night after the assassination of Caesar.
tVal. Max. , 3, 2, 15. )
Porcia Lex, dc civitatc, ordained that no magistrate
should punish with death, or scourge with rods, a Ro-
man citizen when condemned, but should allow him
? ? the alternative of exile It was brought forward by
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? POR
PORSENNA.
tiatmy, no less than its enemies, will always regret;
for truth can n*ver suffer by a fair discussion; and
falsehood and calumny must always, in the iasue, serve
the cause they are designed to injure. The spirit of
those writings of Porphyry which are lost, may be in
some measure apprehended from the fragments which
are preserved by ecclesiastical historians. Many able
advocates for Christianity appeared on this occasion,
the principal of whom were Methodius, Apollinaris, and
Eusebius. So vehement and lasting was the indigna-
tion which was excited against the memory of Por-
phyry, that Constantine, in order to cast the severest
possible censure upon the Arian sect, published an
edict ranking them among the professed enemies of
Christianity, and requiring that they should, from that
time, be branded with the name of Porphyrians. Por-
phyry, after remaining many years in Sicily, returned
to Rome, and taught the doctrines of Plotinus; pre-
tending to be not only a philosopher, endued with su-
perior wisdom, but a divine person, favoured with su-
pernatural communications from Heaven. He him-
self relates (Kit. Plot. , c. 23), that, in the aixty-eighth
year of his age, he was in a sacred ecstasy, in which he
saw the Supreme Intelligence, the God who is supe-
rior to all gods, without an image. Thia vision Au-
gustine supposes to have been an illusion of some evil
spirit: it was more probably the natural effect of a
heated imagination; unless, indeed, it he added to the
long list of fictions with which the writings of Porphy-
ry abound. He died about 304 A. D. Of his numer-
ous works, the only pieces which have escaped the
Jeprcdations of time (except sundry fragments, dis-
persed through various authors) are his " Life of Py-
thagoras" (tlvdayopov /Jior), a book "On the Cave
if the Nymph* in the Odyssey" (ITepi row tv 'OdW-
jcia ruv Nd/bokjv dvrpov), "Homeric Questions"
(QfiripiKu. Jnri^ara), a fragment" On the Styx" (Heal
Irvyoe), " An Epistle to Anebo, the Egyptian" (Ilpdc
Avebu row klyvimov), a treatise " On the Five Pred-
icates" (Htfii tuv rehire ttiovCiv), commonly prefix-
ed to the logical works of Aristotle, " Thoughts on
Intclligibtes" (Ilpdr rd vonru 'Afoptauoi), a treatise
"On Abstinence from Animal food" (Ucpt anoxic
r<3v e/nlwx<iv), a " Life of Plotinus" (flepl TlXurlvov
Pinv), " A Commentary on the Harmonics of Ptolemy"
(Err rd 'Apftovixa IlTo? . euaiov vrrofivnua), and a few
other unimportant pieces. (Enfield's History of Phi-
losophy, vol. 2, p. 65, seqq. --Scholl, Hist. Lit. Gr. ,
vol. 5, p. 131, seqq. ) The best edition of the Life of
Pythagoras is that given by Kiessling at the end of
bis edition of Iamblichus's Life of Pythagoras (Lips. ,
1818, 2 vols. 8vo); of the treatise on Abstinence from
Animal Food, the best is that of Rhoer (Lugd. Bat. ,
1792. 4to), which contains also in the same volume
Van Goen's edition of the work on the Cave of the
Nymphs.
The life of Plotinus is given with the edi-
tion of the Ennesdes of the latter.
Poksenhi or Poxsen* (called also Lara Porsenna),
was Lucumo of Clusium, and the moat powerful of all
the Etrurian mor. archs of his time. Tarquinius Su-
perbus, after beinjf driven from his throne, finding the
inability of the V" . lontiana and Tarquinians to replace
him, applied to Porsenna. This monarch raised a
large army and marched towards Rome. He was met
by the Romans near the fortress on tho Janiculan
Hill; but almost at the first encounter they took to
flight, and the Etrurians pursued them impetuously as
? ? they sought safety by crossing the Pons Sublicius.
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? POS
POT
. . /vain non Porsenna, dedita urbe, ncque Valli
capla, temerare potmssent. "--Hist. , 3, 72); hi; sov-
ereignty was fully acknowledged by the offerings of
the ivory throne, the sceptre, crown, end triumph-
si robe, the usual badges of submission among the
Etrurian cities, as we have already remarked. (Dion.
Hal. , 6, 34. ) The Romans, moreover, gave up their
arms, and only recovered their city and territory on
condition of their renouncing the use of iron, except
1st implements of husbandry. Hence the language
of Pliny (34, 14): "In fcedcre, quod expulsis rcgibus
populo Romano itdil Porsenna, nommalim eomprc-
henrum invenimus, ne ferro nisi in agricultura ute-
rentur. " In this latter statement we have an inci-
dental hint of the Eastern origin and customs of the
Etrurians; in proof of which, reference may be made
to the way in which the Philistines tyrannized over
the Israelites during one of their periods of conquest.
(Compare 1 Samuel, xiii. , 19, scqq. -- Nicbuhr, Rom.
Hist. , vol. 1, p. 475, seqq. --Arnold's History of
Rome, vol. 1, p. 125, scq)--The remains of Porsenna
were interred in a splendid mausoleum near Clusium,
for some remarks on which consult the article on
Clusium.
Pobtumnus, a sea-deity. (Vid. Melicerta. )
Porus, king of a part of northern India, between
the Hydaspes and Acesines, and remarkable for stat-
ure, strength, and dignity of mien. When Alexander
invaded India, Porus collected his forces on the left
bank of the Hydaspes to defend the passage. The
stream was deep and rapid, and, at the time Alexander
reached it, was perhaps little less than a mile broad.
The Macedonian monarch, however, crossed the river
by stratagem, at the distance of a day's march above
his camp, and defeated the son of Porus. In a sub-
sequent action ho gained a decisive victory over Porus
himself, who was taken prisoner. On being brought
into the presence of Alexander, all that Porus would
ask of his conqueror was to be treated as a king;
and when Alexander replied that this was no more
than a king must do for his own sake, and bade him
make some request for himself, his reply was still,
that all was included in this. His expectations could
scarcely have equalled the conqueror's munificence.
He was not only reinstated in his royal dignity, but
received a large addition of territory. Yet it was
certainly not pure magnanimity or admiration of his
character that determined Alexander to this proceed-
ing. His object seems to have been, in some de-
gree, to secure the Macedonian ascendancy in the
Pendjab by a stroke of policy, and to adjust the bal-
ance of power between Porus and Taxiles, who might
have become formidable without a rival. (Plut. , Vit.
Alex. -- Arnan, Exp. Al. , 5, 8, &c. -- Curl. , S, 8,
&c. --ThirlieaWs Greece, vol. 7, p. 22. )
Posideum, I. a promontory in Caria, between Mi-
letus and the Iassian Gulf. (Mela, 1, 17. ) -- II. A
promontory of Chios, nearest the mainland of Ionia.
--III. A promontory in the northern part of Bithynia,
now Tsckautsche-Aghtsi, &c. --The name implies a
sromontory sacred to Neptune (Roociduv).
Posidon (UooetdCiv), the name of Neptune among
the Greeks. (Vid. Neptunus. )
Posidonia. Vid. Pies turn.
Posidonius, I. a Stoic philosopher, a native of
Apamea in Syria, and the last of that series of Stoics
which belongs to the history of the Greek philosophy.
? ? He taught at Rhodes with so great reputation, that
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? PRE
PR^ENESTE.
rf Salamis, it closed its gates against Artabazus, who,
at the head of a large detachment from the army des-
tined to act under Mardonius, had escorted Xerxes
lo the Hellespont. On his return, this general laid
siege to the place, of which he would probably have
obtained possession, through the treachery of one of
its citizens, had not the plot been actually discovered.
The attempt subsequently made against Potidasa by
the Persians proved very disastrous, from a sudden
influx of the sea, which occurred as the troops were
crossing the bay to attack the town, and which occa-
sioned the loss of a great part of the Persian forces,
obliging the remainder to make a hasty retreat. (He-
rod. , 8, 127, seqq. ) After the termination of this war,
Potidaea appears to have fallen under the subjection of
the Athenians, as it was then termed a tributary city.
We learn from Thucydides, that the harsh conduct of
Athens towards the Potidaeans, who were naturally
inclined to the Dorian interest, compelled them to re-
volt, and to seek the protection of Perdiccas and the
Corinthians (1, 56, seqq. ). After a severe action, in
which the Athenians were finally victorious, the town
was regularly besieged by both sea and land; but it
was not until near the conclusion of the second year
that it capitulated, when the Athenian troops, greatly
diminished by the plague, which had been conveyed
thither from Athens, entered the place, the inhabitants
being allowed to withdraw whither they chose. It
was afterward decolonized from Athens. (Thucyd. , 2,
70. ) On i'ik* occupation of Amphipolis, and other
towns of Thrace, by Brasidas, that general attempted
to seize upon the garrison of' Potidaea; but the at-
tack having failed, lie withdrew his forces from the
walls. (Thucyd. , 4, 135 ) Many years after this
event, Potidaea appears to have revolted from Athens
(Xen. , Hist. Gr. , 5, 210); as we learn from Diodo-
rus that it was taken by Timotheus, general of that
republic. It was subsequently occupied by Philip of
Macedon, who allowed the Athenian troops to return
home without ransom. --When Cassander ascended
the throne, he founded a new city on the neck of the
peninsula of Pallene; thither he transferred the in-
habitants of several neighbouring towns, and, among
others, those of Potidsea, and the remnant of the pop-
ulation of Olynthus. Cassandrea is said to have sur-
passed all the Macedonian cities in opulence and
splendour. From Procopius we learn that it fell a
prey to the barbarian Huns, who left scarcely a ves-
tige of it remaining. (Bell. Pert. , 2, 4. --De. JEiif. ,
4, 3. --Cramer's Arte. Greece, vol. 1, p. 244, seqq. )
PotitIus. Vid. Pinariua.
PotnI. *, a city of Bceotia, about ten stadia to the
southwest of Thebes. It had a sacred grove dedica-
ted to Ceres and Proserpina. (Xen. , Hist. Gr. , 5,
451. ) Itwas here that Glaucus was said to have been
torn in pieces by his infuriated mares. (Slrabo, 409.
--Virg. , Georg. , 3, 267. ) The site of this place, al-
ready in ruins when Pausanius wrote, corresponds
nearly with that occupied by the village of Taki.
(GeWs hin. , p. 110. ) Strabo informs us, that some
authors regarded PotnieB as the Hypothetic of Homer.
(//. , 2, 505. )
Pr. s:nestr-, now Palestrina, an ancient city of La-
tium, southeast of Rome. Strabo makes the interve-
ning distance 25 miles (200 stadia); but the Itiner-
aries give, more correctly, 23 miles. Its citadel is de-
scribed by Strabo as remarkable for its strength of po-
? ? sition. It stood on the brow of a lofty hill which
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? PRA
PRI
Ar< wg the productions of the territory of Prseneste,
iior i arc so often remarked as its walnuts. (Cat. , R.
R. , H. ) Henco the Pranestini are sometimes nick-
nanrtd Nucula, especially by Cicero, who quotes Lu-
cilius as his authority for so doing. {Dc Orat. , 2,262. )
But Fcstus accounts for the name in another manner;
he says, the Prseneslini were so called from their coun-
trymen having subsisted on walnuts when besieged
by Hannibal in Casilinum, the garrison of which they
fjrueii, in the second Punic war. (Lit. , 23,17. --L. ,
19. ) It may be observed, that the Pranestini appear
to have had some peculiarities of idioms which distin-
guished them from their neighbours. This is seen from
Festus (s. v. Tammodo. -- Plaulus, True. , 3. 2. --
Quintil. , Inst. Or. , 1, 5. --Cramer'* Anc. Italy, vol.
2, p. 66, seqq).
Pretoria, or Augusta Pk. ktoria, a city of Cisal-
pine Gaul, in the territory of the Salassi. It was built
on the site occupied by the camp of Tcrentius Varro,
when that commander was sent by Augustus to re-
press the plundering movements of the Salassi and to
seize upon their country. Augustus honoured the
rising colony by giving it the name of Augusta Pre-
toria. (Strabo, 205. ) It is now known as Aostc,
which gives its name to the fine valley in which it
lies, and where several remains of the ancient city are
still to be seen. According to Pliny (5, 10), Augusta
Pretoria was reckoned the extreme point of Italy to
the north. (Cramer's Anc. Italy, vol. 1, p. 50. )
Pratinas, a native of Phlius, contemporary with
-Eschylus, and a dramatic poet of considerable talent.
He once obtained a tragic victory. But the manifest
pre-eminence of the youthful /Eschylus probably de-
terred the Phliasian from continuing to cultivate the
graver form of the art, and led him to contrive a novel
and mixed kind of play. Borrowing from tragedy its
external form and mythological materials, Pratinas
added a chorus of Satyrs, with their lively songs, ges-
tures, and movements. This new composition* was
called the Satyric Drama, of which he must therefore
be regarded as the inventor. (Suid. , s. v. Hparivac.
--Casaub. , Sat.
