8 29;
ened by the existence of the celebrated Era of Val.
ened by the existence of the celebrated Era of Val.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - b
PA
NAB
the COST
Babson
of their
bowerei
entend
Dezar
Bahy. or
Assyria
Tanner
his bro
from an
mulier
Babylor
Assyria
24) iba
with the Romans we are not informed, but we find had robbed the men. (Polyb. xvii. 17; Liv. xxxii.
bim included as one of the allies of the Romans in 40. )
the treaty made between them and Philip in the Upon the representations of the commissioners
year B. c. 204. (Liv. xxix. 12. ) The impunity employed in settling the affairs of Greece after the
with which Nabis pursued the course which has conclusion of the war with Philip, the Roman
been described for tivo or three years encouraged senate took into consideration the question of peace
bim to form grenter projects. An opportunity or war with Nabis, and finally referred the matter
soon presented itself. Some Boeotians induced to Flamininus. He laid it before a congress of the
one of the grooms of Nabis to abscond with them, allies at Corinth when war was unanimously de-
carrying off the most valuable of his horses. The creed. Pythagoras, who was at once brother-in-
fugitives were pursued, and overtaken at Megalo- law and son-in-law of Nabis, and was in command
polis. The pursuers were allowed to carry off the at Argos, prevented the Romans from getting the
horses and groom ; but when they attempted to lay city into their possession without a siege ; and
hands on the Bocotians also, they were hindered Flamininus, by the advice of Aristaenus, chose
by the people and magistrates of the town, and rather to carry the war into Laconia. With a
compelled to quit it. Nabis seized upon this as a powerful force he descended to the banks of the
pretext for making inroads into the territory of Eurotas. Nabis strengthened the defences of
Megalopolis. These he followed up by seizing the Sparta, and struck terror into his subjects by the
city of Messene, though he was at the time in sanguinary execution of eighty suspected citizens.
alliance with the Messenians. (Polyb. xvi. 13. ) | His troops sustained some losses in engagements
Philopoemen, by his private influence, collected the with the enemy, and Gythium, the arsenal of
forces of Megalopolis, and marched to Messene, Sparta, was taken. Nabis, though reinforced by
upon which Nabis evacuated the town, and hastily Pythagoras, was fain to solicit an interview with
returned into Laconia (in the latter part of B. C.
Flamininus. A conference ensued which lasted
202, or the beginning of B. C. 201). In B. c. 201 two days, a long account of which is given by Livy
Philopoemen became Achaean praetor, and in the (xxxiv. 30—33). A truce was granted, that
third year of his office he collected the forces of the Nabis might consult his friends, and Flamininus
Achaean league with the greatest possible secresy his allies. The latter could only be induced to
at Tegea, drew the mercenaries of Nabis into an consent to peace at all by the representations
ambush on the borders of Laconia, at a place called which Flamininus made to them of the magnitude
Scotitas, and defeated them with great slaughter. of the contributions which he should be obliged to
For the rest of the year Nabis was compelled to lay upon them for the expenses of the war. The
keep within his own borders. (Polyb. xiii. 8, terms offered were such as Nabis refused to accept
xvi. 36, 37; Paus. iv. 29. $ 10, viii. 50. § 5. ) As and the negotiations were broken off
But being
soon as Philopoemen was replaced by other and more closely pressed by the besieging army, and
inferior leaders, Nabis renewed his attacks upon the city having been nearly carried by assault,
Megalopolis, and, according to Plutarch (Philop. Nabis was compelled to implore peace, which was
p. 363), reduced them to such distress, that they granted on the former conditions, according to
were compelled to sow corn in the streets of their which he was to evacuate all the places he held
city, to avoid starvation. It was at this juncture, beyond Lacoria, to give up to the Romans the
when the Achaean army had been disbanded, and ports of Laconia, and the whole of his nary, to
the contingents had not been fixed for the different confine himself to Laconia, to give up to the exiles
states, that Philip undertook to repel Nabis, on their wives and children, and pay 500 talents.
condition that the Achaeans would help him to de This treaty was ratified by the Roman senate ;
fend Corinth and some other places. As his object and amongst other_hostages, Armenas, the son of
was evidently to involve the Achaeans in his con- Nabis, was sent to Rome, where he died some time
test with the Romans, his offer was prudently de- after. The Argives, meantime, had expelled the
clined, and the assembly at which it was made garrison of Nabis from their city, B. c. 195. (Liv.
was dismissed, after a decree had been passed for xxxiv. 33–43 ; Polyb. xx. 13. )
levying troops against Nabis. (Liv. xxxi. 25. ) When the Aetolians, after the departure of
Philip now (B. c. 198), finding it inconvenient to Flamininus from Greece, were endeavouring to re-
defend Argos himself, instructed Philocles to give kindle the flames of war, they incited Nabis to
up the custody of the city to Nabis, who, after commence hostilities. He immediately began to
having betrayed the people into an open expression make attempts upon the maritime towns of La-
of the hatred they felt towards him, was admitted conia. The Achaeans, who had been constituted
by night into the city. He forth with proceeded the protectors of them, sent to Rome. Directions
to extort the money of the citizens by means were given by the senate to the praetor, Atilius, to
similar to those which he had found so successful at repel the aggressions of Nabis ; but before his
Sparta ; and then, to secure the support of at least arrival it was deemed necessary by the Achaeans,
one portion of the community, he proposed a decree who were again headed by Philopoemen, at once to
for the cancelling of debts, and for a fresh partition relieve Gythium. The aitempts of Philopoemen to
of the lands. (Liv. xxxii. 38, &c. ) Having pro- effect this by sea failed, to some extent, from his
cured an interview with Flamininus ard Attalus, having placed his admiral, Tiso, on board a large
he agreed to grant a truce for four months to the ship which was utterly unseaworthy, and went to
Achaeans, and placed a body of his Cretans at the pieces at the first shock; and notwithstanding a
disposal of Flamininus. He then returned to favourable diversion by land, Gythium was taken
Sparta, leaving a garrison in Argos, and sent his by Nabis, and Philopoemen retired to Tegea. On
wife Apega in his place. She seems to have been re-entering Laconia, he was surprised by Nabis ;
a fit helpmate for her husband, whom she even but through his skilful conduct, the forces of the
ontdid at Argos, robbing and spoiling the women tyrant were defeated with great slaughter, and
of the city in much the same fashion as her husband | Philopoemen ravaged Laconia unmolested for thirty
assumer
Tiasa, a
Babtlo
Nabona
tribatai
(quoted
and is
inters
Samaria
monare
Babylo
viceroy
therefo
feiertec
the ant
canon,
from the
Lassar
reign o
ened by
Nabond
monarc
Babylo
they be
disting
blishm
-whi
any th:
withsta
Orice he
Sar and
The
astronc
ciril h
Babylo
Greeks
Ptoler
Tecorde
with
cession
Februa
(p. 39
of this
Thus,
=233
## p. 1135 (#1151) ##########################################
NABONASSAR.
1135
NAEVIUS.
days. : The war was now intermitted for a time, I divisible by 7 and a sabbatical year. (Roser. nuüller,
probably through the weakness of Nabis (Thirl- Biblic. Geogr. of Central Asia, vol. ii. p. 41, &c. ,
wall, Hist. of Greece, vol. viii. p. 335), who ap- Edinburgh ; Clinton, F. H. vol. i. p. 278 ; Scaliger,
pealed for help to the Aetolians. A small force De Emend. Temp. p. 352, &c. ) (W. M. G. )
was sent by them under Alexamenus, by whom NACCA. (NATTA. ]
Nabis was soon after assassinated, B. C. 192. (Liv. NAE'NIA, i. e, a dirge or lamentation, equi-
xxxv. 12, 13, 22, 25—35; Paus, viii. 50. 87, 10; valent to the Greek Spavos, such as was uttered at
Plut. Philop. p. 364. )
(C. P. M. ] funerals, either by relatives of the deceased or by
NABONASSAR (Nabováoapos). Among the hired persons. At Rome Naenia was personified
most perplexing questions of Enstern history, is and worshipped as a goddess, who even had a
the comparative state of the Assyrian and the chapel, which, however, as in the case of all other
Babylonian or Chaldean empire, and the succession gods in connection with the dead, was outside the
of their kings. There seems to be little doubt, walls of the city, near the porta Viminalis. The
however, that the Babylonian kingdom did not object of this worship was probably to procure
extend its conquests till the reign of Nebuchad- rest and peace for the departed in the lower world ;
nezzar B. C. 604. Till this time the kings of this may be inferred from the fact of Nacnine being
Babylon were often dependent on the kings of compared with lullabyes, and they seem to have been
Assyria, and acted as their viceroy's, in the same sung with a soft voice, as if a person was to be
manner as Cyrus the younger was dependent on lulled to sleep. (August. de Civ. Dci, vi. 9 ;
his brother. From this general fact, as well as Arnob. adv. Gent. iv. 7, vii. 32 ; Horat. Carm. iji.
from an inference to be stated immediately, Rosen- 28. 16 ; Fest. pp. 161, 163, ed. Müller. ) (L. S. ]
müller is vf opinion that Nabonassar, the king of NAÉVIA E'NNIA. [Ennia. ]
Babylon B. c. 747, was, without doubt, a vassal of NAEVIA GENS, plebeian, is not mentioned in
Assyria. We find in sacred history (2 Kings, xvii. history till the time of the second Punic war,
24) that the king of Assyria, while colonising Sama- towards the close of which one of its members, Q.
ria. “ brought men from Babylon. ” Rosenmüller Naevius Matho, was praetor. None of the Naevii,
assumes that this king was Shalmaneser, or Salma- however, obtained the consulship under the repub-
nasar, and argues that we must hence conclude that lic, and it was not till A. D. 30, when L. Naevius
Babylon was at that time - a period subsequent to Surdinus was consul, that any of the gens was
Nabonassar's reign — and consequently before, raised to this honour. The principal surnames
tributary to Assyria. Paulus, in his Key to Isaiah under the republic are Balbus and Matho: be-
(quoted by Rosenmüller), is of a different opinion, sides these we also find the cognomens Crista, Pol-
and is corroborated by Clinton. This latter writer lio, Turpio, which are given under NAEVIUS. On
infers from Ezra (iv. 2), that the colonisation of coins we find the cognomens Balbus, Capella,
Samaria took place under Esarhaddon, the Assyrian Surdinus. (Eckhel, vol. v. p. 259. )
monarch, who undoubtedly effected a change in the NAE’VIUS. 1. Q. NAEVIUS, or NAVIUS, as
Babylonian monarchy, and placed his son there as the name is written in the MSS. of Livy, was a
viceroy. In the absence of all positive authority, centurion in the army of Q. Fulvius Flaccus, who
therefore, we can draw no inference from the event was engaged in the siege of Capua in B. c. 211,
referred to by Rosenmüller. Clinton concludes, on when Hannibal attempted to relieve the town.
the authority of Polyhistor and the astronomical Naevius greatly distinguished himself by his per-
canon, that Babylon had always kings of her own sonal bravery on this occasion, and by his advice
from the earliest times, and conjectures that Nabo- the velites were united with the equites and did
nassar and his successors were independent till the good service in repulsing the Campanian cavalry.
reign of Esarhaddon. This conclusion is strength. (Liv. xxvi. 4, 5; Frontin. Strateg. iv. 7.
8 29;
ened by the existence of the celebrated Era of Val. Max. ii. 3. & 3. )
Nabonassar. We may fairly infer, from this 2. Q. Naevius Crista, a praefect of the allies,
monarch's reign having been fixed upon by the served under the praetor M. Valerius in the war
Babylonian astronomers as the era from which against Philip in B. c. 214, during the course of the
they began their calculations, that there was some second Punic war, and distinguished himself by
distinguished event-probably the temporary esta- his bravery and military skill. (Liv. xxiv. 40. )
blishment of Babylon as an independent kingdom 3. Q. Naevius, was one of the triumvirs ap-
- which led to their choice. In the absence of pointed in B. c. 194, for founding a Latin colony
any thing like certainty to guide us, we may, not- among the Bruttii. He and his colleagues had the
withstanding, pronounce the opinion which Scaliger imperium granted to them for three years. (Liv.
once held, but afterwards retracted, that Nabonas- xxxiv. 53, xxxv. 40. )
sar and Baladon are identical, to be untenable. 4. M. Naevius, tribune of the plebs, B. c. 184,
The Era of Nabonassar. This era serves, in entered upon his office in B. c. 185, in which year,
astronomical, the same purpose as the Olympiads in at the instigation of Cato the censor, he accused
civil history. It was the starting point of the Scipio Africanus the elder of having been bribed
Babylonian chronology, and was adopted by the by Antiochus to allow that monarch to come off too
Greeks of Alexandria, by Hipparchus, Berosus, and leniently: Scipio's speech in his defence was ex-
Ptolemy. Its date is ascertained from the eclipses tant in the time of A. Gellius, who quotes a strik-
recorded by Ptolemy, and the celestial phenomena ing passage from it ; but there was some dispute
with which he marks the day of Nabonassar's ac- whether Naevius was the accuser of Scipio ; some
cession to the throne. It is fixed as the 26th of authorities spoke of the Petilii as the parties who
February, B. c. 747. Scaliger De Emend. Temp. brought the charge. (Liv. xxxviii. 56, xxxix. 52;
(p. 392) notices the coincidence between the years Gell. iv. 18 ; Aur. Vict. de Vir. IV. 49. ) The
of this era and the sabbatical year of the Samaritans. short quotation which Cicero (de Orat. ii. 61)
Thus, to take the year of Christ, 1584: 1584 + 747 makes from a speech of Scipio against Naevius
2331 of the era of Nabonassar, which is both must have been delivered upon another occasion,
1
## p. 1136 (#1152) ##########################################
1136
NAEVIUS.
NAEVIUS.
accuser.
was.
66
since Livy (xxxviii. 56) tells us that the speech | Naevius was attached to the plebeian party; an
which Scipio delivered in his defence on the occa- opponent of the nobility, and inimical to the in-
sion referred to, did not contain the name of the novations then making in the national literature,
(Meyer, Orator. Roman. Fragm. p. 6, These feelings he shared with Cato; and, though
&c. , 2d ed. )
the great censor was considerably his junior, it
5. Sext. Naevius, a praeco, the accuser of P. is probable, as indeed we may infer from Cicero's
Quintius whom Cicero defended. (Cic. pro Quint. Cato (c. 14), that a friendship existed between
1, &c. ) (QUINTIUS. ]
them. It was in his latter days, and when Cato
6. Ser. NAEVIUS, a person defended by C. must have already entered upon public life, that
Curio against Cicero. (Cic. Brut. 60. )
Naevius, with the licence of the old Attic comedy,
7. Naevius TURPIO, a quadruplator or public made the stage a vehicle for his attacks upon the
informer, was one of the unscrupulous agents of aristocracy. Gellius (vi. 8) has preserved the fol-
Verres in plundering the unhappy Sicilians. He lowing verses, where a little scandalous anecdote
had been previously condemned for injuriae by the respecting the elder Scipio is accompanied with
praetor C. Sacerdos. (Cic. Verr. ii. 8, iii. 39, 40, the praise justly due to his merits :-
v. 41. )
8. Naevius Pollio, a Roman citizen, who was Etiam qui res magnas manu saepe gessit gloriose,
stated by Cicero to have been a foot taller than the Cujus facta viva nunc vigent, qui apud gentes solus
tallest man that ever lived. This statement of praestat,
Cicero, which is quoted by Columella (iii. 8. $ 2), Eum suus pater cum pallio uno ab amica abduxit.
was doubtless contained in his work entitled Ad-
miranda. Pliny also speaks (H. N. vii. 16) of These lines, a fragment probably of some inter-
the great height of this Naerius Pollio, but says lude, would have derived much of their piquaner
that the annals did not specify what his height from their contrast with the current story of
Scipio's continence after the taking of Carthago
CN. NAEʻVIUS. Of the life of this ancient Nova, in B. c. 210. Asconius (Cic. Verr. i. 10)
Roman poet but few particulars have been re-
has preserved the following lampoon on the Me
telli:
corded. It has been commonly supposed that he
was a native of Campania, because Gellius (i. 24) Fato Metelli Romae fiunt consules ;
characterises the epitaph which he composed upon
himself as plenum superbiae Campanae. . " Kluss- where the insinuation is, as Cicero explains in
mann, however, the most recent editor of Naevius's the passage to which the note of Asconius refers,
fragments, thinks that he was a Roman, from the that the Metelli attained to the consular dignity,
circumstance of Cicero's alluding to him in the De not by any merit of their own, but through the
Oratore (iii. 12) as a model of pure elocution, and blind influence of fate. In what year could this
contends that no inference can be drawn from the attack have been made ? From the way in which
mention of Campanian pride, which, as is shown the answer to it is recorded by Asconius, it would
by Cicero's speech, De Lege Agr. (ii. 33), had become seem to have been during the actual consulship
proverbial. But to this it may be objected, that of one of the family. (Cui tunc Metellus consul
in the passage of the De Oratore the name of iratus responderat senario hypercatalecto, qui et
Plautus, an Umbrian, is coupled with that of Saturnius dicitur,
Naevius ; a fact which invalidates that argument Dabunt malum Metelli Naevio poetae).
for bis Roman birth. And though the pride of the
Campanians may have become a proverb, it is diffi- It can hardly be doubted, therefore, that the person
cult to see how it could with propriety be applied in question was Q. Caecilius Metellus, consul in
to any but those Gascons of ancient Italy. How. B. C. 206. The baughty aristocracy of Rome were
ever this may be, it is probable that Naevius was by no means disposed to let such attacks
at least brought early to Rome; but at what time unpunished. By the law of the Twelve Tables
cannot be said, as the date of his birth cannot be a libel was a capital offence, and Metellus carried
fixed with any accuracy. The fact, however, of his threat into execution by indicting Naevius.
his having died at an advanced age about the The poet escaped with his life, but was giren
middle of the sixth century of Rome, may justify into the custody of the triumviri capitales (Gell.
us in placing his birth some ten or twenty years iii. 3); an imprisonment to which Plautus alludes
before the close of the preceding one, or somewhere in his Miles Gloriosus (ii. 2. 56). Confinement
between the years 274 and 264 B. C. And this brought repentance. Whilst in prison he com-
agrees well enough with what Gellius tells us posed two plays, the Hariolus and Leon, in
(xvii. 21), on the authority of Varro, about his which he recanted his previous imputations, and
serving in the first Punic war, which began in 264 thereby obtained his release through the tribunes
B. C. , and lasted twenty-four years. The first of the people. (Gell. l. c. ) His repentance,
literary attempts of Naevius were in the drama, however, did not last long, and he was soon com-
then recently introduced at Rome by Livius An- pelled to expiate a new offence by exile. At that
dronicus. According to Gellius, in the passage time a man might choose his own place of banish-
just cited, Naevius produced his first play in the ment, and Naevius fixed upon Utica. Here it
year of Rome 519, or B. c. 235. Gellius, however, was, probably, that he wrote his poem on the first
makes this event coincident with the divorce of Punic war, which, as we learn from Cicero (De
a certain Carvilius Ruga, which, in another passage Senect. 14), was the work of his old age; and here
(iv. 3) he places four years later (B. C. 231), but it is certain that he died; but as to the exact year
mentions wrong consuls
. Dionysius (ii. 25) also there is some difference of opinion. According to
fixes the divorce of Carvilius at the latter date ; Cicero (Brut. 15), his decease took place in the
Valerius Maximus (ii. 1) in B. C. 234. These consulship of Cethegus and Tuditanus, B. C. 204.
variations are too slight to be of much importance. As we learn, however, from the same passage that
pass
## p. 1137 (#1153) ##########################################
LEVI'S
1137
NAEVIUS.
NANNII.
d to the piebeiz parts;
Ly, and inima
ng in the teto
sed with Cate; 2. 0
s consident. This
i ve maç izler inn i
friendstip enisted
later dans und sein
stered upon pubir
ence of the old me eett,
cie for bus attacks De
(ri 8) has preserved Before
a little scancadas e
Scroo is accepted
to 35 Derits:
TANU saepe gesait pense
vigens, qui apedana
ao ndo ab azia sites
ot probably of see zz
red much of the present
with the curren: sm? !
ter the saling of Cars
A sernias (Cie Terms
owing a spoon on the
seven.
omae font consties;
I is, as Cicero es i
ibe Dote of iscrsis xa
ned to the consta de
their own, bei
In wha: rear et. 3
:: From tbe war in TIK
orded br Ascozits
, Feb
aning the actual cases
(Cai ture Mees on
cario hypercatalecta
, cui e
this was by no means & settled point, and that tween thirty and forty comedies, many of whichi,
Varro, diligentissimus investigator untiquitatis, ex- from their names, seem to have been taken from
tended his life rather longer, it may be safer to the Greek, but were probably adapted to Roman
place his death, with Hieronymus (in Euseb. manners with considerable freedomn, in the fashion
Chron. Ol cxliv. 3), in B. C. 202, which was pro of Plautus rather than of Terence. Of most of
bably the date of Varro. The epitaph which he these comedies, as well as of the plays before
composed upon himself, preserved by Gellius in enumerated, several short fragments are extant.
the passage alluded to at the beginning of this Besides these regular dramas, Naevius seems to
notice, runs as follows:-
have written entertainments called Ludi or Satirae
Mortales immortales flere si foret fas,
(Cic. Cato, 6); and it was probably in these that
Flerent Divae Camenae Naevium poetam.
he attacked the aristocracy.
Itaque postquam est Orcino traditus thesauro
The remains of Naevius are too insignificant to
Obliti sunt Romani loquier Latina lingua.
afford any criterion of his poetical merits, concern-
ing which we must therefore be content to accept
Naevius seems to bave transmitted an hereditary the testimony of antiquity. That he was so largely
enmity against the nobility, if, indeed, the tribune copied by subsequent poets, is a proof of his genius
Naevius, who accused Scipio of peculation in B. C. and originality.
NAB
the COST
Babson
of their
bowerei
entend
Dezar
Bahy. or
Assyria
Tanner
his bro
from an
mulier
Babylor
Assyria
24) iba
with the Romans we are not informed, but we find had robbed the men. (Polyb. xvii. 17; Liv. xxxii.
bim included as one of the allies of the Romans in 40. )
the treaty made between them and Philip in the Upon the representations of the commissioners
year B. c. 204. (Liv. xxix. 12. ) The impunity employed in settling the affairs of Greece after the
with which Nabis pursued the course which has conclusion of the war with Philip, the Roman
been described for tivo or three years encouraged senate took into consideration the question of peace
bim to form grenter projects. An opportunity or war with Nabis, and finally referred the matter
soon presented itself. Some Boeotians induced to Flamininus. He laid it before a congress of the
one of the grooms of Nabis to abscond with them, allies at Corinth when war was unanimously de-
carrying off the most valuable of his horses. The creed. Pythagoras, who was at once brother-in-
fugitives were pursued, and overtaken at Megalo- law and son-in-law of Nabis, and was in command
polis. The pursuers were allowed to carry off the at Argos, prevented the Romans from getting the
horses and groom ; but when they attempted to lay city into their possession without a siege ; and
hands on the Bocotians also, they were hindered Flamininus, by the advice of Aristaenus, chose
by the people and magistrates of the town, and rather to carry the war into Laconia. With a
compelled to quit it. Nabis seized upon this as a powerful force he descended to the banks of the
pretext for making inroads into the territory of Eurotas. Nabis strengthened the defences of
Megalopolis. These he followed up by seizing the Sparta, and struck terror into his subjects by the
city of Messene, though he was at the time in sanguinary execution of eighty suspected citizens.
alliance with the Messenians. (Polyb. xvi. 13. ) | His troops sustained some losses in engagements
Philopoemen, by his private influence, collected the with the enemy, and Gythium, the arsenal of
forces of Megalopolis, and marched to Messene, Sparta, was taken. Nabis, though reinforced by
upon which Nabis evacuated the town, and hastily Pythagoras, was fain to solicit an interview with
returned into Laconia (in the latter part of B. C.
Flamininus. A conference ensued which lasted
202, or the beginning of B. C. 201). In B. c. 201 two days, a long account of which is given by Livy
Philopoemen became Achaean praetor, and in the (xxxiv. 30—33). A truce was granted, that
third year of his office he collected the forces of the Nabis might consult his friends, and Flamininus
Achaean league with the greatest possible secresy his allies. The latter could only be induced to
at Tegea, drew the mercenaries of Nabis into an consent to peace at all by the representations
ambush on the borders of Laconia, at a place called which Flamininus made to them of the magnitude
Scotitas, and defeated them with great slaughter. of the contributions which he should be obliged to
For the rest of the year Nabis was compelled to lay upon them for the expenses of the war. The
keep within his own borders. (Polyb. xiii. 8, terms offered were such as Nabis refused to accept
xvi. 36, 37; Paus. iv. 29. $ 10, viii. 50. § 5. ) As and the negotiations were broken off
But being
soon as Philopoemen was replaced by other and more closely pressed by the besieging army, and
inferior leaders, Nabis renewed his attacks upon the city having been nearly carried by assault,
Megalopolis, and, according to Plutarch (Philop. Nabis was compelled to implore peace, which was
p. 363), reduced them to such distress, that they granted on the former conditions, according to
were compelled to sow corn in the streets of their which he was to evacuate all the places he held
city, to avoid starvation. It was at this juncture, beyond Lacoria, to give up to the Romans the
when the Achaean army had been disbanded, and ports of Laconia, and the whole of his nary, to
the contingents had not been fixed for the different confine himself to Laconia, to give up to the exiles
states, that Philip undertook to repel Nabis, on their wives and children, and pay 500 talents.
condition that the Achaeans would help him to de This treaty was ratified by the Roman senate ;
fend Corinth and some other places. As his object and amongst other_hostages, Armenas, the son of
was evidently to involve the Achaeans in his con- Nabis, was sent to Rome, where he died some time
test with the Romans, his offer was prudently de- after. The Argives, meantime, had expelled the
clined, and the assembly at which it was made garrison of Nabis from their city, B. c. 195. (Liv.
was dismissed, after a decree had been passed for xxxiv. 33–43 ; Polyb. xx. 13. )
levying troops against Nabis. (Liv. xxxi. 25. ) When the Aetolians, after the departure of
Philip now (B. c. 198), finding it inconvenient to Flamininus from Greece, were endeavouring to re-
defend Argos himself, instructed Philocles to give kindle the flames of war, they incited Nabis to
up the custody of the city to Nabis, who, after commence hostilities. He immediately began to
having betrayed the people into an open expression make attempts upon the maritime towns of La-
of the hatred they felt towards him, was admitted conia. The Achaeans, who had been constituted
by night into the city. He forth with proceeded the protectors of them, sent to Rome. Directions
to extort the money of the citizens by means were given by the senate to the praetor, Atilius, to
similar to those which he had found so successful at repel the aggressions of Nabis ; but before his
Sparta ; and then, to secure the support of at least arrival it was deemed necessary by the Achaeans,
one portion of the community, he proposed a decree who were again headed by Philopoemen, at once to
for the cancelling of debts, and for a fresh partition relieve Gythium. The aitempts of Philopoemen to
of the lands. (Liv. xxxii. 38, &c. ) Having pro- effect this by sea failed, to some extent, from his
cured an interview with Flamininus ard Attalus, having placed his admiral, Tiso, on board a large
he agreed to grant a truce for four months to the ship which was utterly unseaworthy, and went to
Achaeans, and placed a body of his Cretans at the pieces at the first shock; and notwithstanding a
disposal of Flamininus. He then returned to favourable diversion by land, Gythium was taken
Sparta, leaving a garrison in Argos, and sent his by Nabis, and Philopoemen retired to Tegea. On
wife Apega in his place. She seems to have been re-entering Laconia, he was surprised by Nabis ;
a fit helpmate for her husband, whom she even but through his skilful conduct, the forces of the
ontdid at Argos, robbing and spoiling the women tyrant were defeated with great slaughter, and
of the city in much the same fashion as her husband | Philopoemen ravaged Laconia unmolested for thirty
assumer
Tiasa, a
Babtlo
Nabona
tribatai
(quoted
and is
inters
Samaria
monare
Babylo
viceroy
therefo
feiertec
the ant
canon,
from the
Lassar
reign o
ened by
Nabond
monarc
Babylo
they be
disting
blishm
-whi
any th:
withsta
Orice he
Sar and
The
astronc
ciril h
Babylo
Greeks
Ptoler
Tecorde
with
cession
Februa
(p. 39
of this
Thus,
=233
## p. 1135 (#1151) ##########################################
NABONASSAR.
1135
NAEVIUS.
days. : The war was now intermitted for a time, I divisible by 7 and a sabbatical year. (Roser. nuüller,
probably through the weakness of Nabis (Thirl- Biblic. Geogr. of Central Asia, vol. ii. p. 41, &c. ,
wall, Hist. of Greece, vol. viii. p. 335), who ap- Edinburgh ; Clinton, F. H. vol. i. p. 278 ; Scaliger,
pealed for help to the Aetolians. A small force De Emend. Temp. p. 352, &c. ) (W. M. G. )
was sent by them under Alexamenus, by whom NACCA. (NATTA. ]
Nabis was soon after assassinated, B. C. 192. (Liv. NAE'NIA, i. e, a dirge or lamentation, equi-
xxxv. 12, 13, 22, 25—35; Paus, viii. 50. 87, 10; valent to the Greek Spavos, such as was uttered at
Plut. Philop. p. 364. )
(C. P. M. ] funerals, either by relatives of the deceased or by
NABONASSAR (Nabováoapos). Among the hired persons. At Rome Naenia was personified
most perplexing questions of Enstern history, is and worshipped as a goddess, who even had a
the comparative state of the Assyrian and the chapel, which, however, as in the case of all other
Babylonian or Chaldean empire, and the succession gods in connection with the dead, was outside the
of their kings. There seems to be little doubt, walls of the city, near the porta Viminalis. The
however, that the Babylonian kingdom did not object of this worship was probably to procure
extend its conquests till the reign of Nebuchad- rest and peace for the departed in the lower world ;
nezzar B. C. 604. Till this time the kings of this may be inferred from the fact of Nacnine being
Babylon were often dependent on the kings of compared with lullabyes, and they seem to have been
Assyria, and acted as their viceroy's, in the same sung with a soft voice, as if a person was to be
manner as Cyrus the younger was dependent on lulled to sleep. (August. de Civ. Dci, vi. 9 ;
his brother. From this general fact, as well as Arnob. adv. Gent. iv. 7, vii. 32 ; Horat. Carm. iji.
from an inference to be stated immediately, Rosen- 28. 16 ; Fest. pp. 161, 163, ed. Müller. ) (L. S. ]
müller is vf opinion that Nabonassar, the king of NAÉVIA E'NNIA. [Ennia. ]
Babylon B. c. 747, was, without doubt, a vassal of NAEVIA GENS, plebeian, is not mentioned in
Assyria. We find in sacred history (2 Kings, xvii. history till the time of the second Punic war,
24) that the king of Assyria, while colonising Sama- towards the close of which one of its members, Q.
ria. “ brought men from Babylon. ” Rosenmüller Naevius Matho, was praetor. None of the Naevii,
assumes that this king was Shalmaneser, or Salma- however, obtained the consulship under the repub-
nasar, and argues that we must hence conclude that lic, and it was not till A. D. 30, when L. Naevius
Babylon was at that time - a period subsequent to Surdinus was consul, that any of the gens was
Nabonassar's reign — and consequently before, raised to this honour. The principal surnames
tributary to Assyria. Paulus, in his Key to Isaiah under the republic are Balbus and Matho: be-
(quoted by Rosenmüller), is of a different opinion, sides these we also find the cognomens Crista, Pol-
and is corroborated by Clinton. This latter writer lio, Turpio, which are given under NAEVIUS. On
infers from Ezra (iv. 2), that the colonisation of coins we find the cognomens Balbus, Capella,
Samaria took place under Esarhaddon, the Assyrian Surdinus. (Eckhel, vol. v. p. 259. )
monarch, who undoubtedly effected a change in the NAE’VIUS. 1. Q. NAEVIUS, or NAVIUS, as
Babylonian monarchy, and placed his son there as the name is written in the MSS. of Livy, was a
viceroy. In the absence of all positive authority, centurion in the army of Q. Fulvius Flaccus, who
therefore, we can draw no inference from the event was engaged in the siege of Capua in B. c. 211,
referred to by Rosenmüller. Clinton concludes, on when Hannibal attempted to relieve the town.
the authority of Polyhistor and the astronomical Naevius greatly distinguished himself by his per-
canon, that Babylon had always kings of her own sonal bravery on this occasion, and by his advice
from the earliest times, and conjectures that Nabo- the velites were united with the equites and did
nassar and his successors were independent till the good service in repulsing the Campanian cavalry.
reign of Esarhaddon. This conclusion is strength. (Liv. xxvi. 4, 5; Frontin. Strateg. iv. 7.
8 29;
ened by the existence of the celebrated Era of Val. Max. ii. 3. & 3. )
Nabonassar. We may fairly infer, from this 2. Q. Naevius Crista, a praefect of the allies,
monarch's reign having been fixed upon by the served under the praetor M. Valerius in the war
Babylonian astronomers as the era from which against Philip in B. c. 214, during the course of the
they began their calculations, that there was some second Punic war, and distinguished himself by
distinguished event-probably the temporary esta- his bravery and military skill. (Liv. xxiv. 40. )
blishment of Babylon as an independent kingdom 3. Q. Naevius, was one of the triumvirs ap-
- which led to their choice. In the absence of pointed in B. c. 194, for founding a Latin colony
any thing like certainty to guide us, we may, not- among the Bruttii. He and his colleagues had the
withstanding, pronounce the opinion which Scaliger imperium granted to them for three years. (Liv.
once held, but afterwards retracted, that Nabonas- xxxiv. 53, xxxv. 40. )
sar and Baladon are identical, to be untenable. 4. M. Naevius, tribune of the plebs, B. c. 184,
The Era of Nabonassar. This era serves, in entered upon his office in B. c. 185, in which year,
astronomical, the same purpose as the Olympiads in at the instigation of Cato the censor, he accused
civil history. It was the starting point of the Scipio Africanus the elder of having been bribed
Babylonian chronology, and was adopted by the by Antiochus to allow that monarch to come off too
Greeks of Alexandria, by Hipparchus, Berosus, and leniently: Scipio's speech in his defence was ex-
Ptolemy. Its date is ascertained from the eclipses tant in the time of A. Gellius, who quotes a strik-
recorded by Ptolemy, and the celestial phenomena ing passage from it ; but there was some dispute
with which he marks the day of Nabonassar's ac- whether Naevius was the accuser of Scipio ; some
cession to the throne. It is fixed as the 26th of authorities spoke of the Petilii as the parties who
February, B. c. 747. Scaliger De Emend. Temp. brought the charge. (Liv. xxxviii. 56, xxxix. 52;
(p. 392) notices the coincidence between the years Gell. iv. 18 ; Aur. Vict. de Vir. IV. 49. ) The
of this era and the sabbatical year of the Samaritans. short quotation which Cicero (de Orat. ii. 61)
Thus, to take the year of Christ, 1584: 1584 + 747 makes from a speech of Scipio against Naevius
2331 of the era of Nabonassar, which is both must have been delivered upon another occasion,
1
## p. 1136 (#1152) ##########################################
1136
NAEVIUS.
NAEVIUS.
accuser.
was.
66
since Livy (xxxviii. 56) tells us that the speech | Naevius was attached to the plebeian party; an
which Scipio delivered in his defence on the occa- opponent of the nobility, and inimical to the in-
sion referred to, did not contain the name of the novations then making in the national literature,
(Meyer, Orator. Roman. Fragm. p. 6, These feelings he shared with Cato; and, though
&c. , 2d ed. )
the great censor was considerably his junior, it
5. Sext. Naevius, a praeco, the accuser of P. is probable, as indeed we may infer from Cicero's
Quintius whom Cicero defended. (Cic. pro Quint. Cato (c. 14), that a friendship existed between
1, &c. ) (QUINTIUS. ]
them. It was in his latter days, and when Cato
6. Ser. NAEVIUS, a person defended by C. must have already entered upon public life, that
Curio against Cicero. (Cic. Brut. 60. )
Naevius, with the licence of the old Attic comedy,
7. Naevius TURPIO, a quadruplator or public made the stage a vehicle for his attacks upon the
informer, was one of the unscrupulous agents of aristocracy. Gellius (vi. 8) has preserved the fol-
Verres in plundering the unhappy Sicilians. He lowing verses, where a little scandalous anecdote
had been previously condemned for injuriae by the respecting the elder Scipio is accompanied with
praetor C. Sacerdos. (Cic. Verr. ii. 8, iii. 39, 40, the praise justly due to his merits :-
v. 41. )
8. Naevius Pollio, a Roman citizen, who was Etiam qui res magnas manu saepe gessit gloriose,
stated by Cicero to have been a foot taller than the Cujus facta viva nunc vigent, qui apud gentes solus
tallest man that ever lived. This statement of praestat,
Cicero, which is quoted by Columella (iii. 8. $ 2), Eum suus pater cum pallio uno ab amica abduxit.
was doubtless contained in his work entitled Ad-
miranda. Pliny also speaks (H. N. vii. 16) of These lines, a fragment probably of some inter-
the great height of this Naerius Pollio, but says lude, would have derived much of their piquaner
that the annals did not specify what his height from their contrast with the current story of
Scipio's continence after the taking of Carthago
CN. NAEʻVIUS. Of the life of this ancient Nova, in B. c. 210. Asconius (Cic. Verr. i. 10)
Roman poet but few particulars have been re-
has preserved the following lampoon on the Me
telli:
corded. It has been commonly supposed that he
was a native of Campania, because Gellius (i. 24) Fato Metelli Romae fiunt consules ;
characterises the epitaph which he composed upon
himself as plenum superbiae Campanae. . " Kluss- where the insinuation is, as Cicero explains in
mann, however, the most recent editor of Naevius's the passage to which the note of Asconius refers,
fragments, thinks that he was a Roman, from the that the Metelli attained to the consular dignity,
circumstance of Cicero's alluding to him in the De not by any merit of their own, but through the
Oratore (iii. 12) as a model of pure elocution, and blind influence of fate. In what year could this
contends that no inference can be drawn from the attack have been made ? From the way in which
mention of Campanian pride, which, as is shown the answer to it is recorded by Asconius, it would
by Cicero's speech, De Lege Agr. (ii. 33), had become seem to have been during the actual consulship
proverbial. But to this it may be objected, that of one of the family. (Cui tunc Metellus consul
in the passage of the De Oratore the name of iratus responderat senario hypercatalecto, qui et
Plautus, an Umbrian, is coupled with that of Saturnius dicitur,
Naevius ; a fact which invalidates that argument Dabunt malum Metelli Naevio poetae).
for bis Roman birth. And though the pride of the
Campanians may have become a proverb, it is diffi- It can hardly be doubted, therefore, that the person
cult to see how it could with propriety be applied in question was Q. Caecilius Metellus, consul in
to any but those Gascons of ancient Italy. How. B. C. 206. The baughty aristocracy of Rome were
ever this may be, it is probable that Naevius was by no means disposed to let such attacks
at least brought early to Rome; but at what time unpunished. By the law of the Twelve Tables
cannot be said, as the date of his birth cannot be a libel was a capital offence, and Metellus carried
fixed with any accuracy. The fact, however, of his threat into execution by indicting Naevius.
his having died at an advanced age about the The poet escaped with his life, but was giren
middle of the sixth century of Rome, may justify into the custody of the triumviri capitales (Gell.
us in placing his birth some ten or twenty years iii. 3); an imprisonment to which Plautus alludes
before the close of the preceding one, or somewhere in his Miles Gloriosus (ii. 2. 56). Confinement
between the years 274 and 264 B. C. And this brought repentance. Whilst in prison he com-
agrees well enough with what Gellius tells us posed two plays, the Hariolus and Leon, in
(xvii. 21), on the authority of Varro, about his which he recanted his previous imputations, and
serving in the first Punic war, which began in 264 thereby obtained his release through the tribunes
B. C. , and lasted twenty-four years. The first of the people. (Gell. l. c. ) His repentance,
literary attempts of Naevius were in the drama, however, did not last long, and he was soon com-
then recently introduced at Rome by Livius An- pelled to expiate a new offence by exile. At that
dronicus. According to Gellius, in the passage time a man might choose his own place of banish-
just cited, Naevius produced his first play in the ment, and Naevius fixed upon Utica. Here it
year of Rome 519, or B. c. 235. Gellius, however, was, probably, that he wrote his poem on the first
makes this event coincident with the divorce of Punic war, which, as we learn from Cicero (De
a certain Carvilius Ruga, which, in another passage Senect. 14), was the work of his old age; and here
(iv. 3) he places four years later (B. C. 231), but it is certain that he died; but as to the exact year
mentions wrong consuls
. Dionysius (ii. 25) also there is some difference of opinion. According to
fixes the divorce of Carvilius at the latter date ; Cicero (Brut. 15), his decease took place in the
Valerius Maximus (ii. 1) in B. C. 234. These consulship of Cethegus and Tuditanus, B. C. 204.
variations are too slight to be of much importance. As we learn, however, from the same passage that
pass
## p. 1137 (#1153) ##########################################
LEVI'S
1137
NAEVIUS.
NANNII.
d to the piebeiz parts;
Ly, and inima
ng in the teto
sed with Cate; 2. 0
s consident. This
i ve maç izler inn i
friendstip enisted
later dans und sein
stered upon pubir
ence of the old me eett,
cie for bus attacks De
(ri 8) has preserved Before
a little scancadas e
Scroo is accepted
to 35 Derits:
TANU saepe gesait pense
vigens, qui apedana
ao ndo ab azia sites
ot probably of see zz
red much of the present
with the curren: sm? !
ter the saling of Cars
A sernias (Cie Terms
owing a spoon on the
seven.
omae font consties;
I is, as Cicero es i
ibe Dote of iscrsis xa
ned to the consta de
their own, bei
In wha: rear et. 3
:: From tbe war in TIK
orded br Ascozits
, Feb
aning the actual cases
(Cai ture Mees on
cario hypercatalecta
, cui e
this was by no means & settled point, and that tween thirty and forty comedies, many of whichi,
Varro, diligentissimus investigator untiquitatis, ex- from their names, seem to have been taken from
tended his life rather longer, it may be safer to the Greek, but were probably adapted to Roman
place his death, with Hieronymus (in Euseb. manners with considerable freedomn, in the fashion
Chron. Ol cxliv. 3), in B. C. 202, which was pro of Plautus rather than of Terence. Of most of
bably the date of Varro. The epitaph which he these comedies, as well as of the plays before
composed upon himself, preserved by Gellius in enumerated, several short fragments are extant.
the passage alluded to at the beginning of this Besides these regular dramas, Naevius seems to
notice, runs as follows:-
have written entertainments called Ludi or Satirae
Mortales immortales flere si foret fas,
(Cic. Cato, 6); and it was probably in these that
Flerent Divae Camenae Naevium poetam.
he attacked the aristocracy.
Itaque postquam est Orcino traditus thesauro
The remains of Naevius are too insignificant to
Obliti sunt Romani loquier Latina lingua.
afford any criterion of his poetical merits, concern-
ing which we must therefore be content to accept
Naevius seems to bave transmitted an hereditary the testimony of antiquity. That he was so largely
enmity against the nobility, if, indeed, the tribune copied by subsequent poets, is a proof of his genius
Naevius, who accused Scipio of peculation in B. C. and originality.
