a native of
Alexandres
in Egypt, of
mtan, if not servile, origin.
mtan, if not servile, origin.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
On coming to Athens, he wes requested by the
Areopagus to settle there, and become an instmcter of
youth in the tenets of philosophy, a request with which
he complied. He wrote on divination and on the in-
terpretation of dreams. {Cie. , Off. , 1,1. --Id. ,de Vie. ,
I, 3. -- Id. , Ep. ad Fam. , 12, 16. )
CitiTvi. us, a Greek philosopher, and disciple of
Heraclitus. According to Aristotle (Melaph. , 1, 6),
Plato attended his lectures in his youth. Diogenes
I. oertius, however (3: 8), says that this was after the
death of Socrates. Cratylus is one of the interlocutors
in the dialogue of Plato called after his name. (Com-
pare SMcicrmachcr's Introduction to the Cratylus,
Dobson's transl. , p. 245. )
Cii. u'AM. in. 'E, a nation who occupied at one period
a part of the Cirrhasan plain. They are described by Ma-
chines (in Ctes. , p. 405) as very impious, and as hav-
ing plundered some of the offerings of Delphi. They
were exterminated by the Amphictyons. The name
is erroneously given by some aa Acragallidte, and they
are thought by Wolf, who adopts this lection, to have
oeen a remnant of the army of Brennus. (Consult
Taylor, ad Aisch. , I. c. )
Oremkra. a small river of Tuscany, running between
V'eii and Rome, and celebrated for the daring but unfor-
tunate enterprise of the gallant Fahii. (Om'rf, Fast. , 2,
193, seqq. ) Tho Cremera is now called la Valca, a
? ? rivulet which rises in the neighbourhood of Baccano,
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? CUE
(Efiiilu,'1 MI epic poem commemorative of the ex-
i lulls of Hercules. According to an ancient tradition,
Uoracr himself was the author of this piece, and gave
? t to Creophylus as a return for the hospitable recep-
inn which he had received under his roof. (Strata,
638. ) In an epigram of Callimachus, however, Cre-
yfta\*u is named as the real author. (Strab. , I. c. )
It vns among the descendants of Creophylus that Ly
jurpis found, according to Plutarch (Vit. Lycurg. , 4),
lie Iliad and Odyssey. (Seholl, Hist. Lit. Gr. , vol.
I, p. 166. )
CRMMIONTES, a son of Aristomachus, who, with
his brothers Tcuienos and Aristodemus, conquered the
Peloponnesus. This was the famous conquest achiev-
ed by the Heraclidaj. (Vid. Aristodemus and Hcracli-
d<<. )
CKKSTUXE, I. or Creston, a city of Thrace, the cap-
ital probably of toe district of Crestonia. Dionysius
of Htlicarnassus, and most of the commentators and
tnnslaiors of Herodotus, confound this city with Gor-
ton* in Umbria. (Compare Muller, Etrvsker, vol. 1,
p. 95. --Larcker, Hist, d'fferodote. --Table Gcogr. ,
lol. 8, p. 149. ) Herodotus speaks of Crestone as sit-
uate beyond the Tyrrhenians, and inhabited by Pelas-
gi (1, 67), speaking a different language from their
neighbours. Rennet thinks that the reading Tyrrhe-
nian! it a mistake, and that Therma-mis should be
substituted for it, as Thcrma, afterward Thessalonica,
agrees with the situation mentioned by the historian.
(Geography of Herodot. , p. 45. ) If, however, the text
be correct as it stands, it shows that there was once
a nation called Tyrrhenians in Thrace. This is also
confirmed by Thucydides (4, 109. -- Compare the
elaborate note of Larcher, ad Htrodot. , I. c. )--II. A
district of Thrace, to the north of Anthcrmus and
Bolbe, chiefly occupied by a remnant of Pelasgi.
(Herodot. , 1, 57. ) We are informed by Herodotus,
. tit the river Ethedorns took its rise in this territory;
and also that the camels of the Persian army were here
attacked by lions, which are only to be found in Eu-
rope, as he remarks, between the Nestns, a river of
Thnee, and the Achclous (7, 124, and 187). Thu-
cydides also mentions the Crestonians as a peculiar
nee, part of whom had fixed themselves near Mount
Athos (4, 109). The district of Crestone is now
known by the name of Caradagh. (Cramer's Anc.
Greta, vol. 1, p. 240. )
CHITA, one of the largest islands of the Mediterra-
nean Sea, at the couth of all the Cyclades. Its name
ii derived by some from the Curetes, who are said to
have been its first inhabitants; by others, from the
nymph Crete, daughter of Hesperus; and by others,
from Ores, a son of Jupiter, and the nymph hta:a
(Step\. Byt. , i. v. KptJT1-) I' '* a'80 designated
among the poets and mythological writers by the sev-
eral appellations of JEiia, Doliche, Idxa, and Telchin-
ia- (Piimj, 4, 12. --Steph. Byz. , s. v. '\tpia. ) Ac-
cording to Herodotus, this great island remained in
the possession of various barbarous nations till the time
of Minos, son of Europa, who, having expelled his
brother Sarpedon, became the sole sovereign of the
country (1, 173. --Compare Hoeck, Kreta, vol. 1, p.
141). These early inhabitants are generally supposed
to be the Elcocretes < Homer, who clearly distin-
guishes them from the Urecian colonists subsequently
willed there. (CM. , 19, 172. ) Strabo observes that
the Eteocretes were considered as indigenous; and
|JJ>>. that Staphylus, an ancient writer on the subject
? ? if Crete, placed them in the southern side of the isl-
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? CRETA.
CRI
In me time of Polybius the Cretans had much degener-
ated Irom their ancient character, for he charges them
lepeatedly with the grossest immorality and the moat
Itateful vices. (Polyb. , i, 47. --Jtf. ibid. , 53. --id. , 6,
46. ) We know also with what severity they are re-
proved by St. Paul, in the words of one of their own
poets, Epimenides (Ep. Tit. , 1, 12), KpT/rec an Reve-
re, koxu \yqpia, yaoripec apyai. --The Romans did
nj: interfere with the affairs of Crete before the war
with Antiochus, when Q. Faluns Labeo crossed over
. nto the island from- Asia Minor, under pretence of
claiming certain Roman captives who were detained
there. (Lin. , 37, (50. ) Several years after, the island
was invaded by a Roman army commanded by M. An-
tonius, under the pretence that the Cretans had se-
cretly favoured the cause of Milhradates; but Florus
more candidly avows, that the deaire of conquest was
the real motive which led to this attack (3, 7. --Com-
pare Lit. , Epit. , 97). The enterprise, however, having
tailed, the subjugation of the island was not, effect-
ed till some years later, by Metellus, who, from his
success, obtained the agnomen of Creticus. (Lie,
Epit. , 99. --Appmn, Excerpt, de Rtb. Cret. --Ftor. , 3,
7. ) It then became annexed to the Roman empire,
and formed, together with Cyrenaica, one of its nu-
merous provinces, being governed by the same pro-
consul. (Oio Cassias, 53, 12. --- Strabo, 1198. ) --
Crete forms an irregular parallelogram, of which the
western side faces Sicily, while the eastern looks to-
wards Egypt; on the north it is washed by the Mare
Creticum, and on the south by the Libyan Sea, which
intervenes between the island and the opposite coast
of Cvrenc. The whole circumference of Crete was
estimated at 4100 stadia by Artemidorus; but Sosi-
crates, who wrote a very accurate description of it, did
not compute the periphery at less than 5000 stadia,
tlieronymus also, in reckoning the length alone at 2000
stadia, must have exceeded the number given by Ar-
temidorus. (Slrabo, 474. ) According to Pliny, the
extent of Crete from east to west is about 270 miles,
and it is nearly 539 in circuit. In breadth it nowhere
exceeds 50 miles. Strabo observes, that the interior
is very mountainous and woody, and intersected with
fertile valleys. Mount Ida, which surpasses all the
ether summits in elevation, rises in the centre of the
island; its base occupies a circumference of nearly
600 stadia. To the west it is connected with another
chain, called the white mountains (Ktvua opt/), and to
the east its prolongation forms the ridge anciently
known by the name of Dicte. {Slrabo, 475, 478. )
The island contains no lakes, and the rivers are mostly
mountain-torrents, which are dry during the summer
season. --It has been remarked by several ancient wri-
? ,ers, that Homer in one passage ascribes to Crete 100
cities II. , 2, 649), and in another only 90 ((hi, 19,
174), a variation which has been accounted for on the
supposition, that ten of the Cretan cities were found-
? d posterior to the siege of Troy; but, notwithatand-
. ng this explanation, which Strabo adopts from Epho-
rus, it seems rather improbable, that the poet should
have paid less attention to historical accuracy in the
Iliad than in the Odyssey, where it was not so much
required. The difficulty may be solved by assum-
ing, what has every appearance of being true, that
the Odyssey was not the composition of Homer, but
the work of a later age. Others affirmed, that during
the siege of Troy the ten deficient cities had been
? ? destroyed by the enemies of Idomeneus. {Slrabo,
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? OR
Byi. , *. v. --Lycopkr , 911. )--III. Tne god of the rive:
Crimisus in Sicily. ---He. became, by a Trojan female,
the father of Act-sic* or iEgestea. (Kid. ^Egestes,
and compare Sere. , ad Virg. , Mn. , 1, 650. )
Crisfinus, I.
a native of Alexandres in Egypt, of
mtan, if not servile, origin. According to the scholi-
ast on Juvenal (1, 26), he was at first a paper-vender
(jraproiruXfc), bat became afterward a great favourite
with Domitian, and was raised to equestrian rank.
He was a man of infamous morals. (Schol. , in cod.
Sckurz. , ad Jin. , I. c. --SchoU, Ob*. , 5, 36. )--II. A
ridiculous philosopher and poet in the time of Horace,
and noted for garrulity. According to the scholiast
[ad Horn. , Scrm. , 1, 1, 120), he wrote some verses
on the Stoic philosophy, and, on account of hia ver-
boseness and loquacity, received the appellation of
aprroAoyoc. (Compare Daring, ad Horat. , I. c. )
Ckispos, Sallcstius. Vid. Sallustius.
C'Riss. *t's Sinus, an arm of the Sinus Corinthiacus,
on the northern shore. It extends into the country of
Pbocis, and had at its head the town of Critsa, whence
it took its name. Its modern name is the Gulf of
Salona, from the modem city of Salona, the ancient
Amphissa, which was the chief town of the I. ocri
Ozolae, and lay to the northeast of Delphi. (Cramer's
Arte. Greece, vol. 2, p. 151. )
Ciitueis, the reputed mother of Homer. {Vid.
Homerus. )
CritIas, one of the thirty tyrants set over Athens
by the Spartans. He was of good family, and a man
of considerable talents, but of dangerous principles.
He applied himself with great success to the culture
of eloquence, which he had studied under Gorgias,
and Cicero cites him among the public speakers of
that day. {Brut. , 7. --De Oral. , 2, 22. ) He appears
alto to have had a talent for poetry, if we may judge
from some fragments of his which have reached us.
Critias turned his attention likewise to philosophical
studies, and was one of the disciples of Socrates, whom,
? oweTer, be quarrelled with and left. {Xen , Mem. ,
1, 2. ) lieing after this banished from Athens for
some cause that is not known, he retired to Thessaly,
where he excited an insurrection among the Penestae
or serfs. (Consult Schneider, ad Xen. , Hitl. Gr. , 2,
3, 36, tl ad Xen. , Mem. , 1, 2, 24. ) Subsequently to
this he visited Sparta, and wrote a treatise on the laws
and institutions of that republic. Returning to Athens
along with Lysander, B. C. 404, he was appointed one
of the thirty, his pride of birth and hatred of dema-
gogues having pointed him out as a fit person for that
office. After a cruel and oppressive use of the power
thus conferred upon him, he fell in batttle against Thra-
sybulus and his followers. Plato, who was a relation
of his, has made him one of the interlocutors in his Ti-
maeus and Criuaa. {Xen. , Hitl. Gr. , 2,3. --Id. , 2,4. )
Ccito, I. a wealthy Athenian, the intimate friend
and disciple of Socrates. When that philosopher was
accused, he became security for' him; and, after his
condemnation, succeeded in bribing the keeper of the
prison, so that Socrates, had he felt inclined, might
easily have escaped. He is introduced, therefore,
by Plato as an interlocutor in the dialogue called
Criro, after his name. Xhe remainder of his life is not
known; but, as he was nearly of the same age with
Socrates, he could rot have long survived him. Crito
wrote seventeen dialogues, which are lost. {Plat. ,
Crit. --Suid. , At-t. )--\\. A Macedonian historian, who
wrote an accoun of Pallenc, of Persia, of the founda-
? ? ? i<<i of Syracuse, of the Gete, &c. (Suid. , s. v. )--
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? CrULSUS.
CRO
aid oi literature. He iwe*mi< famed for his riches
Lid munificence. Poets ana philosophers were invited
:o his court, and, among others, Solon, the Athenian, is
said to have visited his captital, Sardis. Herodotus
relates the conversation which took place between the
'atter and Crcesus on the subject of human felicity, in
which the Athenian offended the Lydian monarch by
he little value which he attached to riches as a means
*f happiness. {Herod. , 1, 30. ) This anecdote, how-
ever, appeared encumbered with chronological difficul-
ties, even to the ancients (Pint. , Vit. Sol. , c. 27), and
has given rise to considerable discussions in modern
times. vConsult Larcher, Chronol. d'Hcrod. , vol. 7,
p. 205, seqq. --Clavier, Hiatoire des premiers temp*
it la Grice, vol. 2, p. 324. -- Schullz, Apparat. ad
Annall. Crit. Rer. Grac, p. 16, seqq. -- Bahr, ad
Herodot. , 1, 30. ) Not long after this, Crcesus had
the misfortune to lose his son Atys (rid. Atys); but
tho deep affliction into which this loss plunged him
was dispelled in some degree, after two years of
mourning, by a feeling of disquiet relative to the move-
ments of Cyrus and the increasing power of the Per-
sians. Wishing to form an alliance with the Greeks
of Europe against the danger which threatened him,
a step which had been recommended by the oracle at
Delphi (Herod. , 1, 53), he addressed himself, for this
purpose, to the Lacedaemonians, at that time the most
powerful of the Grecian communities, and having suc-
ceeded in his object, and made magnificent presents to
the Delphic shrine, he resolved on open hostilities with
the Persians. The art of the crafty priesthood who
managed the machinery of the oracle at Delphi is no-
where more clearly shown than in the history of their
royal dupe, the monarch of Lydia. He had lavished
upon their temple the most splendid gifts; so splendid,
in fac*, that we should be tempted to suspect Herodo-
tus of exaggeration if his account were not confirmed
by other writers. And the recipients of this bounty, in
ihoir turn, put him off with an answer of the most studied
ambiguity when he consulted their far-famed oracle on
the subject of a war with the Persians. The response
of Apollo was, that if Croesus made war upon this peo-
ple, he would destroy a great empire; and tho answer of
Amphiaraus (for his oracle, too, was consulted by the
Lydian king), tended to the same effect. (Herod. , 1,
53. ) The verse itself, containing the response of the
Oracle, is given by Diodorus (Excerpt. , 7, ? 28), and is
as follows: Kpotaoc, ? Kkw dmoac, ftryaXm* upxrjv
KaraXvoei, " Crcesus, on having crossed the Halys,
will destroy a great empire," the river Halys being, as
already remarked, the boundary of his dominions to
the east. (Compare Cic, de Div. , 2, 56. --Aristot. ,
Rhet. , 3, 4. ) Croesus thought, of course, the kingdom
thus referred to was that of Cyrus; the issue, however,
proved it to be his own. Having assembled a numer-
ous army, the Lydian monarch crossed the Halys, in-
vaded the territory of Cyrus, and a battle took place
in the district of Pteria, but without any decisive re-
salt. Crossus, upon this, thinking his forces n,ot suffi-
ciently numerous, marched back to Sardis, disbanded
his army, conaisting entirely of mercenaries, and sent
for succour to Amasia of Egypt, and also to the Lacedae-
monians, determining to attack the Persians again in the
beginning of the next spring. But Cyrus did not allow
him time to effect this. Having discovered that it was
the intention of the Lydian king to break up his present
army, he marched with all speed into Lydia, before a
? ? new mercenary force could be assembled, defeated
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? CROTONA.
Stfai , 262. ) According to some traditions, the ori-
gin of Crotona was much more ancient, and it is said to
? <eri>>e its name from vne hero Croton. (Ovid, Metam. ,
15, 53. --Comparo Heracl. , Pont. Fragm. , p. 20. --
Diod. Sic. , 4, 24. ) The residence of Pythagoras and
bis most distinguished followers in this city, together
with the overthrow of Sybaris which it accomplished,
and the exploits of Milo and of several other Crotoniav
victors in the Olympic Games, contributed in a high
degree to raise its fame. Its climate, also, was prover-
bially excellent, and was supposed to be particularly
calculated for producing in its inhabitants that robust
frame of body requisite to ensure success in gymnastic
contests. Hence it was commonly said, that the last
athlete of Crotona was the first of the other Greeks.
(Strabo, 262. ) This city was also celebrated for its
school of medicine, and was the birthplace of Demo-
cedes, who long enjoyed the reputation of being the
first physician of Greece. (Herodot. ,3, 131. ) How-
ever brilliant an epoch in the history of Crotona its
triumph over Sybaris may appear, that event must be
regarded also as the term of her greatness and pros-
perity; for from this period it is said that luxury and
the love of pleasure, the usual consequences of great
opulence, soon obliterated all the good effects which
had been produced by the wisdom and morality of Py-
thagoras, and conspired to enervate that hardihood and
vigour for which the Crotoniatas had hitherto been so pe-
culiarly distinguished. (. Polyb. , Fragm. , 7,1, and 10,
1-- Tim. ,ap. Aiken. , 12,4. ) Asaproofof the remark-
able change which took place in the warlike spirit of
this people, it is said that, on their being subsequently
engaged in hostilities with the Locrians, an army of
130,(100 CrotoniaUe were routed by 10,000 of the en-
emy on the banks of the Sagras. Such was, indeed,
the loss they experienced in this battle, that, according
to Strabo, their city henceforth rapidly declined, and
could no longer maintain the rank it had long held among
tie Italiot republics. {Strabo, 261. ) According to
lusUn (20, 2), it is true, a much earlier date ought to
be assigned to this event; but the accounts which
Strabo has followed evidently regarded it as subsequent
to the fall of Sybaris, and probability rather favours
? uen an arrangement in the order of events. (Con-
su t Hcyiu, dc Civil. Grac. , prolus. 10, in Op. Acad. ,
vol. 2, p. 184. ) Dionysius the elder, who was then
aiming at the subversion of all the states of Magna
Onreia, having surprised the citadel, gained possession
of the town, which, however, he did not long retain.
(Lw. , 24, 3. ) Crotona was finally able to assert its
independence against bis designs, as well as the attacks
oi the Brum; and when Pyrrhus invaded Italy, it was
stiU a considerable city, extending on both banks of
the . tsaras, and its walls embracing a circumference
of twelve miles. But the consequences of the war
which ensued with that king proved so ruinous to its
prosperity, that above one half of its extent became
leserted; the ^Esarus, which flowed through the town,
now ran at some distance from the inhabited part,
which was again separated from the fortress by a va-
cant space. Such is the picture which Livy draws of
the stale ot this city after the battle of Cannae, at
Khich period almost all the Greek colonies abandoned
the Roman cause. Crotona was then occupied by the
Bruin, with the exception of the citadel, in which the
tfuef inhabitants had taken refuge; these being unable
<<o defend the place against a Carthaginian force, soon
after surrendered, and were allowed to withdraw to
? ? Loch. (Lit.
Areopagus to settle there, and become an instmcter of
youth in the tenets of philosophy, a request with which
he complied. He wrote on divination and on the in-
terpretation of dreams. {Cie. , Off. , 1,1. --Id. ,de Vie. ,
I, 3. -- Id. , Ep. ad Fam. , 12, 16. )
CitiTvi. us, a Greek philosopher, and disciple of
Heraclitus. According to Aristotle (Melaph. , 1, 6),
Plato attended his lectures in his youth. Diogenes
I. oertius, however (3: 8), says that this was after the
death of Socrates. Cratylus is one of the interlocutors
in the dialogue of Plato called after his name. (Com-
pare SMcicrmachcr's Introduction to the Cratylus,
Dobson's transl. , p. 245. )
Cii. u'AM. in. 'E, a nation who occupied at one period
a part of the Cirrhasan plain. They are described by Ma-
chines (in Ctes. , p. 405) as very impious, and as hav-
ing plundered some of the offerings of Delphi. They
were exterminated by the Amphictyons. The name
is erroneously given by some aa Acragallidte, and they
are thought by Wolf, who adopts this lection, to have
oeen a remnant of the army of Brennus. (Consult
Taylor, ad Aisch. , I. c. )
Oremkra. a small river of Tuscany, running between
V'eii and Rome, and celebrated for the daring but unfor-
tunate enterprise of the gallant Fahii. (Om'rf, Fast. , 2,
193, seqq. ) Tho Cremera is now called la Valca, a
? ? rivulet which rises in the neighbourhood of Baccano,
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? CUE
(Efiiilu,'1 MI epic poem commemorative of the ex-
i lulls of Hercules. According to an ancient tradition,
Uoracr himself was the author of this piece, and gave
? t to Creophylus as a return for the hospitable recep-
inn which he had received under his roof. (Strata,
638. ) In an epigram of Callimachus, however, Cre-
yfta\*u is named as the real author. (Strab. , I. c. )
It vns among the descendants of Creophylus that Ly
jurpis found, according to Plutarch (Vit. Lycurg. , 4),
lie Iliad and Odyssey. (Seholl, Hist. Lit. Gr. , vol.
I, p. 166. )
CRMMIONTES, a son of Aristomachus, who, with
his brothers Tcuienos and Aristodemus, conquered the
Peloponnesus. This was the famous conquest achiev-
ed by the Heraclidaj. (Vid. Aristodemus and Hcracli-
d<<. )
CKKSTUXE, I. or Creston, a city of Thrace, the cap-
ital probably of toe district of Crestonia. Dionysius
of Htlicarnassus, and most of the commentators and
tnnslaiors of Herodotus, confound this city with Gor-
ton* in Umbria. (Compare Muller, Etrvsker, vol. 1,
p. 95. --Larcker, Hist, d'fferodote. --Table Gcogr. ,
lol. 8, p. 149. ) Herodotus speaks of Crestone as sit-
uate beyond the Tyrrhenians, and inhabited by Pelas-
gi (1, 67), speaking a different language from their
neighbours. Rennet thinks that the reading Tyrrhe-
nian! it a mistake, and that Therma-mis should be
substituted for it, as Thcrma, afterward Thessalonica,
agrees with the situation mentioned by the historian.
(Geography of Herodot. , p. 45. ) If, however, the text
be correct as it stands, it shows that there was once
a nation called Tyrrhenians in Thrace. This is also
confirmed by Thucydides (4, 109. -- Compare the
elaborate note of Larcher, ad Htrodot. , I. c. )--II. A
district of Thrace, to the north of Anthcrmus and
Bolbe, chiefly occupied by a remnant of Pelasgi.
(Herodot. , 1, 57. ) We are informed by Herodotus,
. tit the river Ethedorns took its rise in this territory;
and also that the camels of the Persian army were here
attacked by lions, which are only to be found in Eu-
rope, as he remarks, between the Nestns, a river of
Thnee, and the Achclous (7, 124, and 187). Thu-
cydides also mentions the Crestonians as a peculiar
nee, part of whom had fixed themselves near Mount
Athos (4, 109). The district of Crestone is now
known by the name of Caradagh. (Cramer's Anc.
Greta, vol. 1, p. 240. )
CHITA, one of the largest islands of the Mediterra-
nean Sea, at the couth of all the Cyclades. Its name
ii derived by some from the Curetes, who are said to
have been its first inhabitants; by others, from the
nymph Crete, daughter of Hesperus; and by others,
from Ores, a son of Jupiter, and the nymph hta:a
(Step\. Byt. , i. v. KptJT1-) I' '* a'80 designated
among the poets and mythological writers by the sev-
eral appellations of JEiia, Doliche, Idxa, and Telchin-
ia- (Piimj, 4, 12. --Steph. Byz. , s. v. '\tpia. ) Ac-
cording to Herodotus, this great island remained in
the possession of various barbarous nations till the time
of Minos, son of Europa, who, having expelled his
brother Sarpedon, became the sole sovereign of the
country (1, 173. --Compare Hoeck, Kreta, vol. 1, p.
141). These early inhabitants are generally supposed
to be the Elcocretes < Homer, who clearly distin-
guishes them from the Urecian colonists subsequently
willed there. (CM. , 19, 172. ) Strabo observes that
the Eteocretes were considered as indigenous; and
|JJ>>. that Staphylus, an ancient writer on the subject
? ? if Crete, placed them in the southern side of the isl-
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? CRETA.
CRI
In me time of Polybius the Cretans had much degener-
ated Irom their ancient character, for he charges them
lepeatedly with the grossest immorality and the moat
Itateful vices. (Polyb. , i, 47. --Jtf. ibid. , 53. --id. , 6,
46. ) We know also with what severity they are re-
proved by St. Paul, in the words of one of their own
poets, Epimenides (Ep. Tit. , 1, 12), KpT/rec an Reve-
re, koxu \yqpia, yaoripec apyai. --The Romans did
nj: interfere with the affairs of Crete before the war
with Antiochus, when Q. Faluns Labeo crossed over
. nto the island from- Asia Minor, under pretence of
claiming certain Roman captives who were detained
there. (Lin. , 37, (50. ) Several years after, the island
was invaded by a Roman army commanded by M. An-
tonius, under the pretence that the Cretans had se-
cretly favoured the cause of Milhradates; but Florus
more candidly avows, that the deaire of conquest was
the real motive which led to this attack (3, 7. --Com-
pare Lit. , Epit. , 97). The enterprise, however, having
tailed, the subjugation of the island was not, effect-
ed till some years later, by Metellus, who, from his
success, obtained the agnomen of Creticus. (Lie,
Epit. , 99. --Appmn, Excerpt, de Rtb. Cret. --Ftor. , 3,
7. ) It then became annexed to the Roman empire,
and formed, together with Cyrenaica, one of its nu-
merous provinces, being governed by the same pro-
consul. (Oio Cassias, 53, 12. --- Strabo, 1198. ) --
Crete forms an irregular parallelogram, of which the
western side faces Sicily, while the eastern looks to-
wards Egypt; on the north it is washed by the Mare
Creticum, and on the south by the Libyan Sea, which
intervenes between the island and the opposite coast
of Cvrenc. The whole circumference of Crete was
estimated at 4100 stadia by Artemidorus; but Sosi-
crates, who wrote a very accurate description of it, did
not compute the periphery at less than 5000 stadia,
tlieronymus also, in reckoning the length alone at 2000
stadia, must have exceeded the number given by Ar-
temidorus. (Slrabo, 474. ) According to Pliny, the
extent of Crete from east to west is about 270 miles,
and it is nearly 539 in circuit. In breadth it nowhere
exceeds 50 miles. Strabo observes, that the interior
is very mountainous and woody, and intersected with
fertile valleys. Mount Ida, which surpasses all the
ether summits in elevation, rises in the centre of the
island; its base occupies a circumference of nearly
600 stadia. To the west it is connected with another
chain, called the white mountains (Ktvua opt/), and to
the east its prolongation forms the ridge anciently
known by the name of Dicte. {Slrabo, 475, 478. )
The island contains no lakes, and the rivers are mostly
mountain-torrents, which are dry during the summer
season. --It has been remarked by several ancient wri-
? ,ers, that Homer in one passage ascribes to Crete 100
cities II. , 2, 649), and in another only 90 ((hi, 19,
174), a variation which has been accounted for on the
supposition, that ten of the Cretan cities were found-
? d posterior to the siege of Troy; but, notwithatand-
. ng this explanation, which Strabo adopts from Epho-
rus, it seems rather improbable, that the poet should
have paid less attention to historical accuracy in the
Iliad than in the Odyssey, where it was not so much
required. The difficulty may be solved by assum-
ing, what has every appearance of being true, that
the Odyssey was not the composition of Homer, but
the work of a later age. Others affirmed, that during
the siege of Troy the ten deficient cities had been
? ? destroyed by the enemies of Idomeneus. {Slrabo,
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? OR
Byi. , *. v. --Lycopkr , 911. )--III. Tne god of the rive:
Crimisus in Sicily. ---He. became, by a Trojan female,
the father of Act-sic* or iEgestea. (Kid. ^Egestes,
and compare Sere. , ad Virg. , Mn. , 1, 650. )
Crisfinus, I.
a native of Alexandres in Egypt, of
mtan, if not servile, origin. According to the scholi-
ast on Juvenal (1, 26), he was at first a paper-vender
(jraproiruXfc), bat became afterward a great favourite
with Domitian, and was raised to equestrian rank.
He was a man of infamous morals. (Schol. , in cod.
Sckurz. , ad Jin. , I. c. --SchoU, Ob*. , 5, 36. )--II. A
ridiculous philosopher and poet in the time of Horace,
and noted for garrulity. According to the scholiast
[ad Horn. , Scrm. , 1, 1, 120), he wrote some verses
on the Stoic philosophy, and, on account of hia ver-
boseness and loquacity, received the appellation of
aprroAoyoc. (Compare Daring, ad Horat. , I. c. )
Ckispos, Sallcstius. Vid. Sallustius.
C'Riss. *t's Sinus, an arm of the Sinus Corinthiacus,
on the northern shore. It extends into the country of
Pbocis, and had at its head the town of Critsa, whence
it took its name. Its modern name is the Gulf of
Salona, from the modem city of Salona, the ancient
Amphissa, which was the chief town of the I. ocri
Ozolae, and lay to the northeast of Delphi. (Cramer's
Arte. Greece, vol. 2, p. 151. )
Ciitueis, the reputed mother of Homer. {Vid.
Homerus. )
CritIas, one of the thirty tyrants set over Athens
by the Spartans. He was of good family, and a man
of considerable talents, but of dangerous principles.
He applied himself with great success to the culture
of eloquence, which he had studied under Gorgias,
and Cicero cites him among the public speakers of
that day. {Brut. , 7. --De Oral. , 2, 22. ) He appears
alto to have had a talent for poetry, if we may judge
from some fragments of his which have reached us.
Critias turned his attention likewise to philosophical
studies, and was one of the disciples of Socrates, whom,
? oweTer, be quarrelled with and left. {Xen , Mem. ,
1, 2. ) lieing after this banished from Athens for
some cause that is not known, he retired to Thessaly,
where he excited an insurrection among the Penestae
or serfs. (Consult Schneider, ad Xen. , Hitl. Gr. , 2,
3, 36, tl ad Xen. , Mem. , 1, 2, 24. ) Subsequently to
this he visited Sparta, and wrote a treatise on the laws
and institutions of that republic. Returning to Athens
along with Lysander, B. C. 404, he was appointed one
of the thirty, his pride of birth and hatred of dema-
gogues having pointed him out as a fit person for that
office. After a cruel and oppressive use of the power
thus conferred upon him, he fell in batttle against Thra-
sybulus and his followers. Plato, who was a relation
of his, has made him one of the interlocutors in his Ti-
maeus and Criuaa. {Xen. , Hitl. Gr. , 2,3. --Id. , 2,4. )
Ccito, I. a wealthy Athenian, the intimate friend
and disciple of Socrates. When that philosopher was
accused, he became security for' him; and, after his
condemnation, succeeded in bribing the keeper of the
prison, so that Socrates, had he felt inclined, might
easily have escaped. He is introduced, therefore,
by Plato as an interlocutor in the dialogue called
Criro, after his name. Xhe remainder of his life is not
known; but, as he was nearly of the same age with
Socrates, he could rot have long survived him. Crito
wrote seventeen dialogues, which are lost. {Plat. ,
Crit. --Suid. , At-t. )--\\. A Macedonian historian, who
wrote an accoun of Pallenc, of Persia, of the founda-
? ? ? i<<i of Syracuse, of the Gete, &c. (Suid. , s. v. )--
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? CrULSUS.
CRO
aid oi literature. He iwe*mi< famed for his riches
Lid munificence. Poets ana philosophers were invited
:o his court, and, among others, Solon, the Athenian, is
said to have visited his captital, Sardis. Herodotus
relates the conversation which took place between the
'atter and Crcesus on the subject of human felicity, in
which the Athenian offended the Lydian monarch by
he little value which he attached to riches as a means
*f happiness. {Herod. , 1, 30. ) This anecdote, how-
ever, appeared encumbered with chronological difficul-
ties, even to the ancients (Pint. , Vit. Sol. , c. 27), and
has given rise to considerable discussions in modern
times. vConsult Larcher, Chronol. d'Hcrod. , vol. 7,
p. 205, seqq. --Clavier, Hiatoire des premiers temp*
it la Grice, vol. 2, p. 324. -- Schullz, Apparat. ad
Annall. Crit. Rer. Grac, p. 16, seqq. -- Bahr, ad
Herodot. , 1, 30. ) Not long after this, Crcesus had
the misfortune to lose his son Atys (rid. Atys); but
tho deep affliction into which this loss plunged him
was dispelled in some degree, after two years of
mourning, by a feeling of disquiet relative to the move-
ments of Cyrus and the increasing power of the Per-
sians. Wishing to form an alliance with the Greeks
of Europe against the danger which threatened him,
a step which had been recommended by the oracle at
Delphi (Herod. , 1, 53), he addressed himself, for this
purpose, to the Lacedaemonians, at that time the most
powerful of the Grecian communities, and having suc-
ceeded in his object, and made magnificent presents to
the Delphic shrine, he resolved on open hostilities with
the Persians. The art of the crafty priesthood who
managed the machinery of the oracle at Delphi is no-
where more clearly shown than in the history of their
royal dupe, the monarch of Lydia. He had lavished
upon their temple the most splendid gifts; so splendid,
in fac*, that we should be tempted to suspect Herodo-
tus of exaggeration if his account were not confirmed
by other writers. And the recipients of this bounty, in
ihoir turn, put him off with an answer of the most studied
ambiguity when he consulted their far-famed oracle on
the subject of a war with the Persians. The response
of Apollo was, that if Croesus made war upon this peo-
ple, he would destroy a great empire; and tho answer of
Amphiaraus (for his oracle, too, was consulted by the
Lydian king), tended to the same effect. (Herod. , 1,
53. ) The verse itself, containing the response of the
Oracle, is given by Diodorus (Excerpt. , 7, ? 28), and is
as follows: Kpotaoc, ? Kkw dmoac, ftryaXm* upxrjv
KaraXvoei, " Crcesus, on having crossed the Halys,
will destroy a great empire," the river Halys being, as
already remarked, the boundary of his dominions to
the east. (Compare Cic, de Div. , 2, 56. --Aristot. ,
Rhet. , 3, 4. ) Croesus thought, of course, the kingdom
thus referred to was that of Cyrus; the issue, however,
proved it to be his own. Having assembled a numer-
ous army, the Lydian monarch crossed the Halys, in-
vaded the territory of Cyrus, and a battle took place
in the district of Pteria, but without any decisive re-
salt. Crossus, upon this, thinking his forces n,ot suffi-
ciently numerous, marched back to Sardis, disbanded
his army, conaisting entirely of mercenaries, and sent
for succour to Amasia of Egypt, and also to the Lacedae-
monians, determining to attack the Persians again in the
beginning of the next spring. But Cyrus did not allow
him time to effect this. Having discovered that it was
the intention of the Lydian king to break up his present
army, he marched with all speed into Lydia, before a
? ? new mercenary force could be assembled, defeated
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? CROTONA.
Stfai , 262. ) According to some traditions, the ori-
gin of Crotona was much more ancient, and it is said to
? <eri>>e its name from vne hero Croton. (Ovid, Metam. ,
15, 53. --Comparo Heracl. , Pont. Fragm. , p. 20. --
Diod. Sic. , 4, 24. ) The residence of Pythagoras and
bis most distinguished followers in this city, together
with the overthrow of Sybaris which it accomplished,
and the exploits of Milo and of several other Crotoniav
victors in the Olympic Games, contributed in a high
degree to raise its fame. Its climate, also, was prover-
bially excellent, and was supposed to be particularly
calculated for producing in its inhabitants that robust
frame of body requisite to ensure success in gymnastic
contests. Hence it was commonly said, that the last
athlete of Crotona was the first of the other Greeks.
(Strabo, 262. ) This city was also celebrated for its
school of medicine, and was the birthplace of Demo-
cedes, who long enjoyed the reputation of being the
first physician of Greece. (Herodot. ,3, 131. ) How-
ever brilliant an epoch in the history of Crotona its
triumph over Sybaris may appear, that event must be
regarded also as the term of her greatness and pros-
perity; for from this period it is said that luxury and
the love of pleasure, the usual consequences of great
opulence, soon obliterated all the good effects which
had been produced by the wisdom and morality of Py-
thagoras, and conspired to enervate that hardihood and
vigour for which the Crotoniatas had hitherto been so pe-
culiarly distinguished. (. Polyb. , Fragm. , 7,1, and 10,
1-- Tim. ,ap. Aiken. , 12,4. ) Asaproofof the remark-
able change which took place in the warlike spirit of
this people, it is said that, on their being subsequently
engaged in hostilities with the Locrians, an army of
130,(100 CrotoniaUe were routed by 10,000 of the en-
emy on the banks of the Sagras. Such was, indeed,
the loss they experienced in this battle, that, according
to Strabo, their city henceforth rapidly declined, and
could no longer maintain the rank it had long held among
tie Italiot republics. {Strabo, 261. ) According to
lusUn (20, 2), it is true, a much earlier date ought to
be assigned to this event; but the accounts which
Strabo has followed evidently regarded it as subsequent
to the fall of Sybaris, and probability rather favours
? uen an arrangement in the order of events. (Con-
su t Hcyiu, dc Civil. Grac. , prolus. 10, in Op. Acad. ,
vol. 2, p. 184. ) Dionysius the elder, who was then
aiming at the subversion of all the states of Magna
Onreia, having surprised the citadel, gained possession
of the town, which, however, he did not long retain.
(Lw. , 24, 3. ) Crotona was finally able to assert its
independence against bis designs, as well as the attacks
oi the Brum; and when Pyrrhus invaded Italy, it was
stiU a considerable city, extending on both banks of
the . tsaras, and its walls embracing a circumference
of twelve miles. But the consequences of the war
which ensued with that king proved so ruinous to its
prosperity, that above one half of its extent became
leserted; the ^Esarus, which flowed through the town,
now ran at some distance from the inhabited part,
which was again separated from the fortress by a va-
cant space. Such is the picture which Livy draws of
the stale ot this city after the battle of Cannae, at
Khich period almost all the Greek colonies abandoned
the Roman cause. Crotona was then occupied by the
Bruin, with the exception of the citadel, in which the
tfuef inhabitants had taken refuge; these being unable
<<o defend the place against a Carthaginian force, soon
after surrendered, and were allowed to withdraw to
? ? Loch. (Lit.
