doctrine
of the immortality of the soul (Suidas ;
The subjects of the remaining plays are fully dis-Cic.
The subjects of the remaining plays are fully dis-Cic.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - c
are collected by Fabricius (Bill.
Graec.
vol.
i.
p.
20) appears to confound this Pheidon with the 207). There were poems which went under the
Argive tyrant, though Müller explains it by saying name of Phemonoë, like the old religious poems
## p. 257 (#273) ############################################
PHERECRATES.
257
PHERECRATES.
which were ascribed to Orpheus, Musaeus, and (what Aristotle calls of lausunt idéa), and con-
the other mythological bards. Melampus, for ex- structed their comedies on the basis of a regular
ample, quotes from her in his book rep maluw plot, and with more dramatic action. . Pherecrates
(Fabric. Bill. Graec. vol. i. p. 116); and Pliny did not, however, abstain altogether from personal
quotes from her respecting eagles and hawks, satire, for we see by the fragments of his plays that
evidently from some book of augury, and perhaps he attacked Alcibiades, the tragic poet Melanthius,
from a work which is still extant in MS. , entitled and others (Ath. viii. p. 343, c. , xii. p. 538, b. ;
Orneosophium (Plin. H. N. x. 3, 8. s. 9; Fabric. Phot. Lex. p. 626, 10). But still, as the fragments
Bill. Graec. vol. i. pp. 210, 211; Olearii, Dissert. also show, his chief characteristics were, ingenuity
de Poetriis Graecis, Hamb. 1734, 4to. ). There is in his plots and elegance in diction: hence he is
an epigram of Antipater of Thessalonica, alluding called 'ATTiKaTaTos (Ath. vi. p. 268, e ; Steph.
to a statue of Phemonoë, dressed in a papos. Byz. p. 43; Suid. s. v. 'Anvala). His language
(Brunck, Anal. vol. ii p. 114, No. 22 ; Anth. Pal. is not, however, so severely pure as that of Aris-
vi. 208. )
[P. S. ) tophanes and other comic poets of the age, as
PHENEUS (beveós). 1. An Arcadian au- Meineke shows by several examples.
tochthon, is said to have founded the town of Of the invention of the new metre, which was
Pheneos in Arcadia (Paus. viii. 14. & 4. ) named, after him, the Pherecratean, he himself
2. A son of Melas, was slain by Tydeus (A pullod. boasts in the following lines (ap. Hephaest. x. 5,
i. 8. $ 5).
(L. S. ] xv. 15, Schol in Ar. Nub. 563)
PHERAEA (epala). 1. A surname of Artemis
άνδρες, πρόσχετε τον νούν
at Pherae in Thessaly, at Argos and Sicyon, where
εξευρήματι καινω
she had temples. (Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 259;
συμπτύκτοις αναπαίστοις.
Paus. ii. 10. § 6, 23. & 5. )
2. A surname of Hecate, because she was a The system of the verse, as shown in the above ex-
daughter of Zeus and Pheraea, the daughter of ample, is
Aeolus, or because she had been brought up by the
shepherds of Pheres, or because she was worshipped
at Pherae. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 1180 ; Spanheim, ad which may be best explained as a choriambus,
Callim. I. c. )
[L. S. ) with a spondee for its base, and a long syllable for
PHERAULAS (Hepataas), is introduced by its termination. Pherecrates himself seems to call
Xenophon, in the Cyropaedeia, as a Persian of it an anapaestic metre ; and it might be scanned
humble birth, but a favourite with Cyrus, and dis- as such : but he probably only means that he used
tinguished by qualities of body and mind which it in the parabases, which were often called ana-
would not have dishonoured the noblest rank. He paesis, because they were originally in the ana-
comes before us in particular as the hero of a paestic metre (in fact we hold the anapaestic verse
graphic scene, exhibiting a disregard of wealth, to be, in its origin, choriambic). Hephaestion ex-
such as is usually called romantic. (Xen. Cyrop. ii. plains the metre as an hephthemimeral antispastic,
3. 88 7, &c. , viii. 3).
[E. E. ]
or, in other words, an antispastic dimeter catalectio
PHERECLUS (Þépekhos), a son of Harmonides, (Hephaest. ll. cc. ; comp. Gaisford's Notes). The
is said to have built the ship in which Paris carried metre is very frequent in the choruses of the Greek
off Helen, and to have been slain in the Trojan tragedians, and in Horace, as, for example,
war by Meriones. (Hom. II. v. 59, &c. ; Plut.
Grato Pyrrha sub antro.
Thes. 17. )
[L. S. ]
PHERE'CRATES (beperpétns), of Athens, There is a slight difference in the statements re-
was one of the best poets of the Old Comedy (Anon. specting the number of his plays. The Anonymous
de Com. p. xxviii. ). He was contemporary with writer on comedy says eighteen, Suidas and Eu-
the comic poets Cratinus, Crates, Eupolis, Plato, docia sixteen. The extant titles, when properly
and Aristophanes (Suid. s. v. Iliátww), being some- sifted, are reduced to eighteen, of which some are
what younger than the first two, and somewhat doubtful. The number to which Meineke reduces
older than the others. One of the most important them is fifteen, namely, "Ayploi, Autóuooi, Tpães,
testimonies respecting him is evidently corrupted, Δουλοδιδάσκαλος, Επιλήσμων ή Θάλαττα, Ιπνός
but can be amended very well; it is as follows ή Παννυχίς, Κοριαννώ, Κραπάταλοι, Ληροι, Μυρ-
(Anon. de Com. p. xxix):- Φερεκράτης Αθηναίος μηκάνθρωποι, Πετάλη, Τυραννίς, Ψευδηρακλής. Of
νικά επί θεάτρου γινόμενος, ο δε υποκριτής εζήλωκε | these the most interesting is the 'Αγριοι, on account
Κράτητα. Και αυ του μεν λοιδορεϊν απέστη, πράγ- of the reference to it in Plato's Protagoras (p. 327,
ματα δε εισηγούμενος καινά ηυδοκίμει γενόμενος | a. ), which has given rise to much discussion.
EUPETLKÒs uúow. Dobree corrects the passage thus: Heinrichs has endeavoured to show that the subject
-Φ. Α, νικά επί Θεοδώρου, γενόμενος δε υποκριτής | of the play related to those corruptions of the art
ésrAwke Kpátrta, K. T. 1. ; and his emendation is of music of which the comic poets so frequently
approved by Meineke and others of our best critical complain, and that one of the principal performers
scholars. From the passage, thus read, we learn was the Centaur Cheiron, who expounded the laws
that Pherecrates gained his first victory in the of the ancient music to a chorus of wild men
archonship of Theodorus, B. c. 438 ; and that he (dyploi), that is, either Centaurs or Satyrs; and he
imitated the style of Crates, whose actor he had
been. From the latter part of the quotation, and Dindorf reads υπόπικρος for υποκριτής in the
from an important passage in Aristotle (Poët. 5), above passage. This makes no real difference in
we see what was the character of the alteration in the meaning, except with reference to Pherecrates
comedy, commenced by Crates, and carried on by having been an actor for Crates. The correction
Pherecrates ; namely, that they very much modified seems arbitrary, and moreover unnecessary, as it
the coarse satire and vituperation of which this expresses somewhat obscurely what is clearly stated
sort of poetry had previously been the vehicle in the next clause.
VOL, IL
## p. 258 (#274) ############################################
258
PIIERECYDES.
PHERECYDES.
1
meets the obvious objection, that the term wiodr. here: those who are curious in such matters will
BowToh, which Plato applies to the Chorus, is not find some details in the sections devoted to him in
suitable to describe Satyrs or Centaurs, by changing Diogenes Laërtius (i. 116-122). It may just be
it into rusávopnou (Demonstratio et Restitutio loci mentioned that, according to a favourite tradition
corrupti e Platonis Protagora, Kiliae, 1813, and in antiquity, Pherecydes died of the lousy disease
also in his work Epimenides aus Creta, &c. pp. 188, or Morbus Pediculosns; though others tell us that
192, foll. ). The same view is adopted by Ast and he put an end to his life by throwing himself
Jacobs, but with a less violent change in Plato's down from a rock at Delphi, and others again gire
text, namely, witáv@pwon. The common reading other accounts of his death.
is, however, successfully defended by Meineke, who Pherecydes was, properly speaking, not a philo
shows that there is no sufficient reason for sup- sopher. He lived at the time at which men began
posing that Cheiron appeared in the 'Ayploi at all, to speculate on cosmogony and the nature of the
or that the Chorus were not really what the title gods, but had hardiy yet commenced the study of
and the allusion in Plato would naturally lead us true philosophy. Hence he is referred to by
to suppose, namely, wild men. The play seems to Aristotle (Mel. xiii. 4) as partly a mythological
have been a satire on the social corruptions of Athens, writer ; and Plutarch (Sull. 36) as well as many
through the medium of the feelings excited at the other writers give him the title of Theologus.
view of them in men who are uncivilized themselves The most important subject which he is mid to
and enemies to the civilized part of mankind. The have taught was the doctrine of the Metem-
play was acted at the Lenaea, in the month of psychosis, or, as it is put by other writers, the
February, B. C. 420 (Plat. l. c. ; Ath. v. p. 218, d. ).
doctrine of the immortality of the soul (Suidas ;
The subjects of the remaining plays are fully dis-Cic. Tusc. i. 16). He gave an account of his
cussed by Meineke. The name of Pherecrates is views in a work, which was extant in the Alex-
sometimes confounded with Crates and with Phe- andrian period. It was written in prose, wbich
reeydes. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. pp. 473—476 ; he is said to have been the first to employ in the
Meineke, Frag. Com. Graec. vol. i. pp. 66—86, vol. explanation of philosophical questions : others go
i.
ii. pp. 252-360 ; Bergk, Reliq. Comoed. Att. even so far as to state that he was the first who wrote
Antiq. pp. 281–306).
(P. S. ] any thing in prose, but this honour, however, must
PHERECY'DES (beperúons), the name of two be reserved for Cadmus of Miletus. The title,
Greek writers, one a philosopher of Syros, and which Pherecydes himself gave to his work, seems
another a logographer of Athens, who are frequently to have been 'Entduvxos, though others called it
confounded with one another. Suidas, indeed, | Θεοκρασία, and others again Θεογονία or Θεολογία
mentions a third Pherecydes of Leros, but he is Suidas says that it was in two books; and there is
the same person as the Athenian, as is shown below. no reason for rejecting this statement on account of
1. Of Syros, one of the Cyclades, was a son of its title “Ertámvxos, since this title has evident
Babys. The name of his birthplace, coupled with reference to the nature of its contents. He main-
the traditions respecting the Eastern origin of his tained that there were three principia (Zeus or
philosophical opinions, led many writers to state | Aether, Chthona or Chaos, and Cronos or Time),
that he was born in Syria or Assyria There is and four elements (fire, earth, air, and water),
some difference respecting his date. Suidas places from which were formed every thing that exists.
him in the time of Alyattes, king of Lydia, 2. Of ATHENS, was one of the most celebrated
Diogenes Laërtius (i. 121) in the 59th Olympiad of the early logographers. Suidas speaks of a
B. C. 544. Now as Alyattes died in the 54th Pherecydes of Leros, who was likewise an his
Olympiad, both these statements cannot be correct, torian or logographer ; but Vossius (De Hist.
and the attempt of Mr. Clinton to reconcile them Graecis, p. 24, ed. Westermann) has shown that
(F. H. ad ann. 544), cannot be admitted, as this Pherecydes is the same as the Athenian. He
Müller has shown (Fragm. Hist. Graec. p. xxxiv. ). is called a Lerian from having been born in the
The date of Diogenes is the more probable one, island of Leros, and an Athenian from having
and is supported by the authority of Cicero, who spent the greater part of his life at Athens; and it
makes Pherecydes a contemporary of Servius may be added thai, excepe in Suidas, we find men-
Tullius (Tusc. i. 16).
tion of only one historical writer of this name.
According to the concurrent testimony of anti-|(Comp. Diog. Laërt i. 119; Strab. I. p. 487, b. )
quity, Pherecydes was the teacher of Pythagoras. Suidas also makes a mistake in calling him older
It is further stated by many later writers, such as than his namesake of Syros ; but the exact time
Clemens Alexandrinus, Philo Byblius, &c. , the at which he lived is differently stated. Suidas
references to whom are all given in the work of places him before the 75th Olympiad, B. C. 480 ;
Sturtz quoted below, that Pherecydes did not but Eusebius and the Chronicon Paschale in the
receive instruction in philosophy from any master, 81st Olympiad, B. C. 456, and Isidorus (Orig. i.
but obtained his knowledge from the secret books 41) in the 80th Olympiad. There can be no
of the Phoenicians. Diogenes Laërtius relates (i. doubt that he lived in the former half of the fifth
116, 1. 46) that Pherecydes heard Pittacus, and was century B. C. , and was a contemporary of Hel-
a rival of Thales ; which latter statement also occurs lanicus and Herodotus. He is mentioned by
in Suidas. It is further related, that, like Thales Lucian as one of the instances of longevity, and is
and Pythagoras, Pherecydes was a disciple of the said to have attained the age of 85 years (Lucian,
Egyptians and Chaldaeans, and that he travelled de Macrob. 22, where he is erroneously called
in Egypt. (Joseph. c. Apion. p. 1034, e. ; Ce • Eupios instead of ó Néplos. )
drenus, i. p. 94, b. ; Theodorus Meliteniota, Suidas ascribes several works to the Athenian
Prooem. in Astron. c. 12. ) But all such state- or Lerian Pherecydes. This lexicographer relates
ments cannot, from the nature of the case, rest on that some looked upon Pherecydes as the collector
any certain foundation. The other particulars of the Orphic writings ; but this statement has
related of Pherecydes are not worth recording reference to the philosopher. He also mentions a
&
## p. 259 (#275) ############################################
PHERETIMA.
259
PHILA.
1
work of his entitled Tapaucoes di' daw, which, the death of Arcesilaus had been the consequence
however, does not belong to the Athenian. The of his submission to the Persiang, she induced him
other works spoken of by Suidas, Nepl Sépou, to avenge it. On the capture of Barca by the
Περί Ιφιγενείας, Περί των Διονύσου εορτών, may | Persian army, she cused those who had had the
have been written by the historian, but not a frag- principal share in her son's murder to be impaled,
ment of them has been preserved. His great and, not content with this cruel vengeance, she
work, which is frequently referred to by the Scho ordered the breasts of their wives to be cut off. .
liasts and A pollodorus, was a mythological history The rest of her enemies in the city were enslaved,
in ten books, which is quoted by various titles, in and the place was given up to the government of
consequence of the diversified nature of its con- the Battiadae and their party. Pheretima then re-
tents. It is sometimes called 'lotoplan, at other turned to Egypt, where she soon after died of a
times Aúróx@oves, and sometimes 'Apxalooyiai ; painful and loathsome disease. (Herod. iv, 162,
and from the numerous extracts which are made 165, 167, 200—202, 205 ; Polyaen. viii. 47 ;
from it, we are enabled to make out pretty well the Suid. s. v. eural ; Thrige, Res Cyrenensium, $$ 39,
subject of each book. It began with a theogony, &c. ) (See above, Vol. 1. p. 477. ) (E. E. )
and then proceeded to give an account of the ÞHÈRON or PHEROS ("épwy, peps), king
heroic age and of the great families of that time, of Egypt, and son of Sesostris. He was visited
with which the pride and religious feeling of the with blindness, an hereditary complaint, thongh,
later Greeks so closely identified themselves. The according to the legend preserved in Herodotus, it
fragments of Pherecydes have been collected by was a punishment for his presumptuous impiety in
Sturtz, Pherecydis Fragmenta, Lips. 1824, 2nd throwing a spear into the waters of the Nile when
ed. ; and by Car. and Theod. Müller in Fragmenta it had overflowed the fields. By attending to the
Historicorum Graecorum, p. xxxiv. , &c. , p. 70, directions of an oracle he was cured, and the cir-
&c.
cumstances connected with the restoration of his
PHERENI'CUS (Depévikos), of Heracleia, an sight strongly illustrate the general corruption of
epic poet of uncertain age, who treated of Meta- morals among the Egyptian women of the time.
morphoses and similar fabulous tales. Athenaeus He dedicated an obelisk at Heliopolis, in gratitude
(iii
. p. 78, b. ) gives a statement from him respect for his recovery ; and Pliny tells us that this, to-
;
ing the origin of the fig-tree and other trees; and gether with another also made by him but broken
Tzetzes (Chil, vii. 144) speaks of him as one of in its removal, was to be seen at Rome in the
those who treated of the monstrous and fabulous Circus of Caligula and Nero at the foot of the
forms of men, and quotes from him two lines re- Vatican hill. Pliny calls the Pheron of Herodotus
specting the Hyperborei (comp. Schol. ad Pind. Ol. Nuncoreus, or Nencoreus, a name corrupted, per-
iii. 28. )
| haps, from Menophtheus. Diodorus gives him his
PHÉRES (pépns). 1. A son of Cretheus and father's name, Sesoosis. Pheron is of course the
Tyro, and brother of Aeson and Amythaon ; he same word as Pharaoh. (Herod. ii. 111; Diod. i.
was married to Periclymene, by whom he became 59 ; Plin. H. N. xxxvi. 11; comp. Tac. Ann. xiv.
the father of Admetus, Lycurgus, Eidomene, and 14; Bunsen, Aegyptens Stelle in der Weltgeschichte,
Periapis. He was believed to have founded the vol. iii. Urkundenbuch, p. 86. ) (E. E. ]
town of Pherae in Thessaly. (Hom. Od. xi. 259; PHERSEʻPHONE. [PERSEPHONE. ]
Apollod. i. 9. 88 11, 14, iii. 10. § 4, 13. $ 8. ) PHERU'SA (Dépovoa), one of the daughters
2. A son of Jason and Medeia. (Apollod. i. 9. of Nereus and Doris (Hom. I. xviii. 43 ; Hes.
20) appears to confound this Pheidon with the 207). There were poems which went under the
Argive tyrant, though Müller explains it by saying name of Phemonoë, like the old religious poems
## p. 257 (#273) ############################################
PHERECRATES.
257
PHERECRATES.
which were ascribed to Orpheus, Musaeus, and (what Aristotle calls of lausunt idéa), and con-
the other mythological bards. Melampus, for ex- structed their comedies on the basis of a regular
ample, quotes from her in his book rep maluw plot, and with more dramatic action. . Pherecrates
(Fabric. Bill. Graec. vol. i. p. 116); and Pliny did not, however, abstain altogether from personal
quotes from her respecting eagles and hawks, satire, for we see by the fragments of his plays that
evidently from some book of augury, and perhaps he attacked Alcibiades, the tragic poet Melanthius,
from a work which is still extant in MS. , entitled and others (Ath. viii. p. 343, c. , xii. p. 538, b. ;
Orneosophium (Plin. H. N. x. 3, 8. s. 9; Fabric. Phot. Lex. p. 626, 10). But still, as the fragments
Bill. Graec. vol. i. pp. 210, 211; Olearii, Dissert. also show, his chief characteristics were, ingenuity
de Poetriis Graecis, Hamb. 1734, 4to. ). There is in his plots and elegance in diction: hence he is
an epigram of Antipater of Thessalonica, alluding called 'ATTiKaTaTos (Ath. vi. p. 268, e ; Steph.
to a statue of Phemonoë, dressed in a papos. Byz. p. 43; Suid. s. v. 'Anvala). His language
(Brunck, Anal. vol. ii p. 114, No. 22 ; Anth. Pal. is not, however, so severely pure as that of Aris-
vi. 208. )
[P. S. ) tophanes and other comic poets of the age, as
PHENEUS (beveós). 1. An Arcadian au- Meineke shows by several examples.
tochthon, is said to have founded the town of Of the invention of the new metre, which was
Pheneos in Arcadia (Paus. viii. 14. & 4. ) named, after him, the Pherecratean, he himself
2. A son of Melas, was slain by Tydeus (A pullod. boasts in the following lines (ap. Hephaest. x. 5,
i. 8. $ 5).
(L. S. ] xv. 15, Schol in Ar. Nub. 563)
PHERAEA (epala). 1. A surname of Artemis
άνδρες, πρόσχετε τον νούν
at Pherae in Thessaly, at Argos and Sicyon, where
εξευρήματι καινω
she had temples. (Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 259;
συμπτύκτοις αναπαίστοις.
Paus. ii. 10. § 6, 23. & 5. )
2. A surname of Hecate, because she was a The system of the verse, as shown in the above ex-
daughter of Zeus and Pheraea, the daughter of ample, is
Aeolus, or because she had been brought up by the
shepherds of Pheres, or because she was worshipped
at Pherae. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 1180 ; Spanheim, ad which may be best explained as a choriambus,
Callim. I. c. )
[L. S. ) with a spondee for its base, and a long syllable for
PHERAULAS (Hepataas), is introduced by its termination. Pherecrates himself seems to call
Xenophon, in the Cyropaedeia, as a Persian of it an anapaestic metre ; and it might be scanned
humble birth, but a favourite with Cyrus, and dis- as such : but he probably only means that he used
tinguished by qualities of body and mind which it in the parabases, which were often called ana-
would not have dishonoured the noblest rank. He paesis, because they were originally in the ana-
comes before us in particular as the hero of a paestic metre (in fact we hold the anapaestic verse
graphic scene, exhibiting a disregard of wealth, to be, in its origin, choriambic). Hephaestion ex-
such as is usually called romantic. (Xen. Cyrop. ii. plains the metre as an hephthemimeral antispastic,
3. 88 7, &c. , viii. 3).
[E. E. ]
or, in other words, an antispastic dimeter catalectio
PHERECLUS (Þépekhos), a son of Harmonides, (Hephaest. ll. cc. ; comp. Gaisford's Notes). The
is said to have built the ship in which Paris carried metre is very frequent in the choruses of the Greek
off Helen, and to have been slain in the Trojan tragedians, and in Horace, as, for example,
war by Meriones. (Hom. II. v. 59, &c. ; Plut.
Grato Pyrrha sub antro.
Thes. 17. )
[L. S. ]
PHERE'CRATES (beperpétns), of Athens, There is a slight difference in the statements re-
was one of the best poets of the Old Comedy (Anon. specting the number of his plays. The Anonymous
de Com. p. xxviii. ). He was contemporary with writer on comedy says eighteen, Suidas and Eu-
the comic poets Cratinus, Crates, Eupolis, Plato, docia sixteen. The extant titles, when properly
and Aristophanes (Suid. s. v. Iliátww), being some- sifted, are reduced to eighteen, of which some are
what younger than the first two, and somewhat doubtful. The number to which Meineke reduces
older than the others. One of the most important them is fifteen, namely, "Ayploi, Autóuooi, Tpães,
testimonies respecting him is evidently corrupted, Δουλοδιδάσκαλος, Επιλήσμων ή Θάλαττα, Ιπνός
but can be amended very well; it is as follows ή Παννυχίς, Κοριαννώ, Κραπάταλοι, Ληροι, Μυρ-
(Anon. de Com. p. xxix):- Φερεκράτης Αθηναίος μηκάνθρωποι, Πετάλη, Τυραννίς, Ψευδηρακλής. Of
νικά επί θεάτρου γινόμενος, ο δε υποκριτής εζήλωκε | these the most interesting is the 'Αγριοι, on account
Κράτητα. Και αυ του μεν λοιδορεϊν απέστη, πράγ- of the reference to it in Plato's Protagoras (p. 327,
ματα δε εισηγούμενος καινά ηυδοκίμει γενόμενος | a. ), which has given rise to much discussion.
EUPETLKÒs uúow. Dobree corrects the passage thus: Heinrichs has endeavoured to show that the subject
-Φ. Α, νικά επί Θεοδώρου, γενόμενος δε υποκριτής | of the play related to those corruptions of the art
ésrAwke Kpátrta, K. T. 1. ; and his emendation is of music of which the comic poets so frequently
approved by Meineke and others of our best critical complain, and that one of the principal performers
scholars. From the passage, thus read, we learn was the Centaur Cheiron, who expounded the laws
that Pherecrates gained his first victory in the of the ancient music to a chorus of wild men
archonship of Theodorus, B. c. 438 ; and that he (dyploi), that is, either Centaurs or Satyrs; and he
imitated the style of Crates, whose actor he had
been. From the latter part of the quotation, and Dindorf reads υπόπικρος for υποκριτής in the
from an important passage in Aristotle (Poët. 5), above passage. This makes no real difference in
we see what was the character of the alteration in the meaning, except with reference to Pherecrates
comedy, commenced by Crates, and carried on by having been an actor for Crates. The correction
Pherecrates ; namely, that they very much modified seems arbitrary, and moreover unnecessary, as it
the coarse satire and vituperation of which this expresses somewhat obscurely what is clearly stated
sort of poetry had previously been the vehicle in the next clause.
VOL, IL
## p. 258 (#274) ############################################
258
PIIERECYDES.
PHERECYDES.
1
meets the obvious objection, that the term wiodr. here: those who are curious in such matters will
BowToh, which Plato applies to the Chorus, is not find some details in the sections devoted to him in
suitable to describe Satyrs or Centaurs, by changing Diogenes Laërtius (i. 116-122). It may just be
it into rusávopnou (Demonstratio et Restitutio loci mentioned that, according to a favourite tradition
corrupti e Platonis Protagora, Kiliae, 1813, and in antiquity, Pherecydes died of the lousy disease
also in his work Epimenides aus Creta, &c. pp. 188, or Morbus Pediculosns; though others tell us that
192, foll. ). The same view is adopted by Ast and he put an end to his life by throwing himself
Jacobs, but with a less violent change in Plato's down from a rock at Delphi, and others again gire
text, namely, witáv@pwon. The common reading other accounts of his death.
is, however, successfully defended by Meineke, who Pherecydes was, properly speaking, not a philo
shows that there is no sufficient reason for sup- sopher. He lived at the time at which men began
posing that Cheiron appeared in the 'Ayploi at all, to speculate on cosmogony and the nature of the
or that the Chorus were not really what the title gods, but had hardiy yet commenced the study of
and the allusion in Plato would naturally lead us true philosophy. Hence he is referred to by
to suppose, namely, wild men. The play seems to Aristotle (Mel. xiii. 4) as partly a mythological
have been a satire on the social corruptions of Athens, writer ; and Plutarch (Sull. 36) as well as many
through the medium of the feelings excited at the other writers give him the title of Theologus.
view of them in men who are uncivilized themselves The most important subject which he is mid to
and enemies to the civilized part of mankind. The have taught was the doctrine of the Metem-
play was acted at the Lenaea, in the month of psychosis, or, as it is put by other writers, the
February, B. C. 420 (Plat. l. c. ; Ath. v. p. 218, d. ).
doctrine of the immortality of the soul (Suidas ;
The subjects of the remaining plays are fully dis-Cic. Tusc. i. 16). He gave an account of his
cussed by Meineke. The name of Pherecrates is views in a work, which was extant in the Alex-
sometimes confounded with Crates and with Phe- andrian period. It was written in prose, wbich
reeydes. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. pp. 473—476 ; he is said to have been the first to employ in the
Meineke, Frag. Com. Graec. vol. i. pp. 66—86, vol. explanation of philosophical questions : others go
i.
ii. pp. 252-360 ; Bergk, Reliq. Comoed. Att. even so far as to state that he was the first who wrote
Antiq. pp. 281–306).
(P. S. ] any thing in prose, but this honour, however, must
PHERECY'DES (beperúons), the name of two be reserved for Cadmus of Miletus. The title,
Greek writers, one a philosopher of Syros, and which Pherecydes himself gave to his work, seems
another a logographer of Athens, who are frequently to have been 'Entduvxos, though others called it
confounded with one another. Suidas, indeed, | Θεοκρασία, and others again Θεογονία or Θεολογία
mentions a third Pherecydes of Leros, but he is Suidas says that it was in two books; and there is
the same person as the Athenian, as is shown below. no reason for rejecting this statement on account of
1. Of Syros, one of the Cyclades, was a son of its title “Ertámvxos, since this title has evident
Babys. The name of his birthplace, coupled with reference to the nature of its contents. He main-
the traditions respecting the Eastern origin of his tained that there were three principia (Zeus or
philosophical opinions, led many writers to state | Aether, Chthona or Chaos, and Cronos or Time),
that he was born in Syria or Assyria There is and four elements (fire, earth, air, and water),
some difference respecting his date. Suidas places from which were formed every thing that exists.
him in the time of Alyattes, king of Lydia, 2. Of ATHENS, was one of the most celebrated
Diogenes Laërtius (i. 121) in the 59th Olympiad of the early logographers. Suidas speaks of a
B. C. 544. Now as Alyattes died in the 54th Pherecydes of Leros, who was likewise an his
Olympiad, both these statements cannot be correct, torian or logographer ; but Vossius (De Hist.
and the attempt of Mr. Clinton to reconcile them Graecis, p. 24, ed. Westermann) has shown that
(F. H. ad ann. 544), cannot be admitted, as this Pherecydes is the same as the Athenian. He
Müller has shown (Fragm. Hist. Graec. p. xxxiv. ). is called a Lerian from having been born in the
The date of Diogenes is the more probable one, island of Leros, and an Athenian from having
and is supported by the authority of Cicero, who spent the greater part of his life at Athens; and it
makes Pherecydes a contemporary of Servius may be added thai, excepe in Suidas, we find men-
Tullius (Tusc. i. 16).
tion of only one historical writer of this name.
According to the concurrent testimony of anti-|(Comp. Diog. Laërt i. 119; Strab. I. p. 487, b. )
quity, Pherecydes was the teacher of Pythagoras. Suidas also makes a mistake in calling him older
It is further stated by many later writers, such as than his namesake of Syros ; but the exact time
Clemens Alexandrinus, Philo Byblius, &c. , the at which he lived is differently stated. Suidas
references to whom are all given in the work of places him before the 75th Olympiad, B. C. 480 ;
Sturtz quoted below, that Pherecydes did not but Eusebius and the Chronicon Paschale in the
receive instruction in philosophy from any master, 81st Olympiad, B. C. 456, and Isidorus (Orig. i.
but obtained his knowledge from the secret books 41) in the 80th Olympiad. There can be no
of the Phoenicians. Diogenes Laërtius relates (i. doubt that he lived in the former half of the fifth
116, 1. 46) that Pherecydes heard Pittacus, and was century B. C. , and was a contemporary of Hel-
a rival of Thales ; which latter statement also occurs lanicus and Herodotus. He is mentioned by
in Suidas. It is further related, that, like Thales Lucian as one of the instances of longevity, and is
and Pythagoras, Pherecydes was a disciple of the said to have attained the age of 85 years (Lucian,
Egyptians and Chaldaeans, and that he travelled de Macrob. 22, where he is erroneously called
in Egypt. (Joseph. c. Apion. p. 1034, e. ; Ce • Eupios instead of ó Néplos. )
drenus, i. p. 94, b. ; Theodorus Meliteniota, Suidas ascribes several works to the Athenian
Prooem. in Astron. c. 12. ) But all such state- or Lerian Pherecydes. This lexicographer relates
ments cannot, from the nature of the case, rest on that some looked upon Pherecydes as the collector
any certain foundation. The other particulars of the Orphic writings ; but this statement has
related of Pherecydes are not worth recording reference to the philosopher. He also mentions a
&
## p. 259 (#275) ############################################
PHERETIMA.
259
PHILA.
1
work of his entitled Tapaucoes di' daw, which, the death of Arcesilaus had been the consequence
however, does not belong to the Athenian. The of his submission to the Persiang, she induced him
other works spoken of by Suidas, Nepl Sépou, to avenge it. On the capture of Barca by the
Περί Ιφιγενείας, Περί των Διονύσου εορτών, may | Persian army, she cused those who had had the
have been written by the historian, but not a frag- principal share in her son's murder to be impaled,
ment of them has been preserved. His great and, not content with this cruel vengeance, she
work, which is frequently referred to by the Scho ordered the breasts of their wives to be cut off. .
liasts and A pollodorus, was a mythological history The rest of her enemies in the city were enslaved,
in ten books, which is quoted by various titles, in and the place was given up to the government of
consequence of the diversified nature of its con- the Battiadae and their party. Pheretima then re-
tents. It is sometimes called 'lotoplan, at other turned to Egypt, where she soon after died of a
times Aúróx@oves, and sometimes 'Apxalooyiai ; painful and loathsome disease. (Herod. iv, 162,
and from the numerous extracts which are made 165, 167, 200—202, 205 ; Polyaen. viii. 47 ;
from it, we are enabled to make out pretty well the Suid. s. v. eural ; Thrige, Res Cyrenensium, $$ 39,
subject of each book. It began with a theogony, &c. ) (See above, Vol. 1. p. 477. ) (E. E. )
and then proceeded to give an account of the ÞHÈRON or PHEROS ("épwy, peps), king
heroic age and of the great families of that time, of Egypt, and son of Sesostris. He was visited
with which the pride and religious feeling of the with blindness, an hereditary complaint, thongh,
later Greeks so closely identified themselves. The according to the legend preserved in Herodotus, it
fragments of Pherecydes have been collected by was a punishment for his presumptuous impiety in
Sturtz, Pherecydis Fragmenta, Lips. 1824, 2nd throwing a spear into the waters of the Nile when
ed. ; and by Car. and Theod. Müller in Fragmenta it had overflowed the fields. By attending to the
Historicorum Graecorum, p. xxxiv. , &c. , p. 70, directions of an oracle he was cured, and the cir-
&c.
cumstances connected with the restoration of his
PHERENI'CUS (Depévikos), of Heracleia, an sight strongly illustrate the general corruption of
epic poet of uncertain age, who treated of Meta- morals among the Egyptian women of the time.
morphoses and similar fabulous tales. Athenaeus He dedicated an obelisk at Heliopolis, in gratitude
(iii
. p. 78, b. ) gives a statement from him respect for his recovery ; and Pliny tells us that this, to-
;
ing the origin of the fig-tree and other trees; and gether with another also made by him but broken
Tzetzes (Chil, vii. 144) speaks of him as one of in its removal, was to be seen at Rome in the
those who treated of the monstrous and fabulous Circus of Caligula and Nero at the foot of the
forms of men, and quotes from him two lines re- Vatican hill. Pliny calls the Pheron of Herodotus
specting the Hyperborei (comp. Schol. ad Pind. Ol. Nuncoreus, or Nencoreus, a name corrupted, per-
iii. 28. )
| haps, from Menophtheus. Diodorus gives him his
PHÉRES (pépns). 1. A son of Cretheus and father's name, Sesoosis. Pheron is of course the
Tyro, and brother of Aeson and Amythaon ; he same word as Pharaoh. (Herod. ii. 111; Diod. i.
was married to Periclymene, by whom he became 59 ; Plin. H. N. xxxvi. 11; comp. Tac. Ann. xiv.
the father of Admetus, Lycurgus, Eidomene, and 14; Bunsen, Aegyptens Stelle in der Weltgeschichte,
Periapis. He was believed to have founded the vol. iii. Urkundenbuch, p. 86. ) (E. E. ]
town of Pherae in Thessaly. (Hom. Od. xi. 259; PHERSEʻPHONE. [PERSEPHONE. ]
Apollod. i. 9. 88 11, 14, iii. 10. § 4, 13. $ 8. ) PHERU'SA (Dépovoa), one of the daughters
2. A son of Jason and Medeia. (Apollod. i. 9. of Nereus and Doris (Hom. I. xviii. 43 ; Hes.
