great regard by King Hiero. He afterwards returned to Athens. The manner of his death, which took place 456 B.C., was extraordinary. An eagle soaring above him dropped a tortoise on the bald head of the poet, and killed him. Eschylus is said to have written seventy tragedies, besides a number of satiric dramas, and to have gained thirteen prizes. Seven of his tragedies are extant, viz., "Prometheus Bound;" "The Seven against Thebes;" "The Persians;" "The Female Suppliants;" "Agamemnon;" "Choephoræ ;" and "Eumenides."

According to Macaulay, Eschylus was a great lyric poet, rather than a great dramatist. "Considered as plays," he remarks, "his works are absurd; considered as choruses, they are above all praise.... But if we forget the characters and think only of the poetry, we shall admit that it has never been surpassed in energy and magnificence." (See article on Milton in the "Edinburgh Review," 1825.)

Speaking of the spirit of Eschylus' poetry, another critic remarks, "If ever there was a poet filled with a deep sense of the sacred nature of his calling as the teacher of religion, and of all virtue as therewith connected, Æschylus was he. And this it is which-to all such as have studied him earnestly gives a character to his poetry nothing less than awful." (See article entitled "Modern Criticism on Eschylus," in the "Quarterly Review" of October, 1839.)

Poeta," 1832.

See PETERSEN, "De Eschyli Vita et Fabulis," 1814; AHRENS, "Ueber schylus," 1832; R. H.KLAUSEN, "Theologumena Eschyli Tragici," 1829; F. JACOBS, "Ueber den Charakter des Eschylus;' ROCHEFORT, Sur la Vie d'Eschyle," 1785: FRENSDORFF, "Études sur Eschyle," 1847; K. O. MÜLLER, "History of the Literature of Ancient Greece;" EDWARD R. LANGE, "Programma de Eschyle Esculapius, ês-ku-lā'pe-us, [Gr. 'Aokλniós, (Asklepios); Fr. ESCULAPE, ês kü'lap',] (Myth.,) the god of medicine, supposed to have been the son of Apollo and Coronis. He is said to have raised men from the dead, so that Jupiter, fearing lest the realms of Pluto should become depopulated, struck him with thunder. After his death he was translated to heaven. He is usually represented as a venerable old man with a flowing beard. Hygieia (i.e. "Health") is said to have been a daughter of Esculapius.

sir, a'sir, [Icelandic pron. ï'sir,] sometimes incorrectly written Asir, Asar, or Aser, [the Norse plural of As, as, or Asa, á'sa, a word of doubtful etymology, but not improbably related to the Sanscrit as, to "be," and applied to the gods as "beings" par excellence.

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who set him free as a reward for his wit and pleasantry
The Athenians erected a statue in honour of him. The
fables of sop are among the very earliest compositions
of this kind, and probably have never been surpassed
for point and brevity, as well as for the practical good
sense which they display. It should, however, be re-
membered that in most of the popular collections of
fables which go under Æsop's name a large proportion
are spurious, and perhaps all have been more or less
modified by the translator or compiler. Phædrus says,
"Esopo ingentem statuam posuere Attici,
Servumque collocarunt æterna in basi

lenici," vol. i.

Patere honoris scirent ut cunctis viam."*

See SUIDAS, "Esopus;" BACHET de Méziriac, "Vie d'Esope," 1632; MANOEL MENDES, "Vida y Fabulas de Esopo," 1603; BENTLEY, "Dissertatio in sopi Fabulas:" A WESTERMANN, "Vita sopi," 1845; "Esopi Leben und auserlesene Fabeln," Nuremberg, 1747 M. PLANUDES, "Vita Esopi," 1505; CLINTON, "Fasti HelEsopus, e-so'pus, (CLODIUS,) the most eminent tragic actor of Rome, was a friend of Cicero, who speaks of him as an old man in 55 B.C. his last appearance on the stage. fied, and impassioned, but less than Roscius, his contemporary. Esopus by Horace.

At this date he made

He was grave, digniversatile and graceful He is styled gravis

Athelred. See ETHELRED. Etherius, e-thee're-us, [Ai0épios,] a Greek architect, who flourished about 500 A.D., and built an edifice, called 'Calchis," at Constantinople.

Ethicus or Ethicus, eth'e-kus, the supposed author of an ancient "Cosmography" of uncertain date, written in barbarous Latin, consisting of three treatises on Geography, one of which is by some ascribed to Julius Honorius, and another is found in Orosius, forming the second chapter of his history. In some MSS. he is surnamed Ister, a native of Istria.

(Myth.,) a daughter of Pittheus, was a wife of Ægeus, thra, ee'thra, [Gr. Aiopa; Fr. ETHRA, 'tra',] and the mother of Theseus. She was taken as a captive to Sparta by Castor and Pollux, and became a servant of Helen.

Aetion, a-ee'te-on, ['Aeriwv,] an eminent Greek painter of antiquity, who is supposed to have lived in the carly part of the second. century. His most celebrated work was a painting of the marriage of Alexander the Great and Roxana, which, it is said, exhibited the most exquisite skill.

tius, a Roman general, born near the end of the Aetius, a-ee'she-us, sometimes improperly written The German plural of AS is ASEN, a zen; the Eng- fourth century. For many years he successfully delish plural ASAS or ASES is sometimes used,] the name fended Gaul against the encroachments of the barbaof the principal or ruling gods in the Norse mythology. rians. In 451, when Attila the Hun had besieged and They may be said to be the representatives of life, order, was on the point of taking Orleans, the approach of the and progress, in contrast to the Jötuns, who typify, under combined armies of Aetius and Theodoric obliged him various forms, confusion, desolation, and death. (See to raise the siege; and, these generals having followed JÖTUNS, and VANIR.) Among the Æsir are generally the Huns in their retreat to the plains of Châlons, a reckoned twelve gods, viz., Odin, Thor, Balder, Niörd, (or Njörd,) Frey, (or Freyr,) Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall, Vidar, great but indecisive battle was fought, in which 300,000 men are said to have been slain. Soon after, Attila Vali, Ullur, and Forseti; and the same number of god-retreated beyond the Rhine. But the emperor Valendesses, Frigga, Freyia, (called also Van'adis,) Iduna, Eira, tinian, having become jealous of the fame and influence Saga, Fulla, Siöfn, (or Siona,) Lofn, (or Lovna,) Vara, (or of Aetius, slew him with his own hand in 454- The Vör,) Hlin, Gefione, and Syn, (or Synia.) emperor, it is said, asked a Roman if he had done well in killing Aetius. He replied, "I do not know; but I think you have cut off your right hand with your left."

The dwelling-place of the Esir is called Asgard, (ie. the "Asa court, ward, or garden.") It is represented as a vast fortress, sufficiently capacious to contain the mansions of all the gods and goddesses, as well as the field or plain of Ida, the assembling-place of the gods. It is Heimdall's special office to keep watch that the giants (Jötuns) do not approach Asgard unperceived. Odin also is said to have a lofty throne in Asgard, whence his eye surveys all the regions of the world. (See ODin.)

See GIBBON, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire;" JOR NANDES, "De Rebus Geticis."

Aetius, a-ee'she-us, written also, but incorrectly, tius, ['Aérios,] a Greek physician, who is supposed to have lived at Amida about the end of the fifth century. He wrote a work on medicine, divided into sixteen books, which is extant, and possesses great merit.

Aetius surnamed THE ATHEIST, a heresiarch of the

For a more particular account of the Esir, see separate articles in this work; also, THORPE'S "Northern Mythology," vol. i., MALLET'S "Northern Antiquities," vol. ii., and PETERSEN'S "Nordisk My-fourth century, who favoured the doctrine of the Arians, thologi."

Ason, ee'son, [Gr. Alowv; Fr. ÉSON, a'zon',] (Myth.,) a son of Cretheus, king of Iolchos in Thessaly, and the father of Jason. He was deprived of the kingdom by his half-brother Pelias.

sop, ee'sop, [Gr. Alownos; Lat. Æso'PUS; Fr. ESOPE, a'zop',] the celebrated fabulist, was born about 619, died 564 B.C. He is supposed to have been a Phrygian. He was the slave of Iadmon the Samian,

and taught fatalism. He wrote a work in defence of his doctrines, and had a number of followers, called Aetians. Died at Constantinople in 367.

Aettenkover or Ättenkover, et'ten-ko'ver, (JoSEPH ANTON,) a German historian, wrote a "History of the Dukes of Bavaria." Died at Munich in 1775.

"The Athenians erected a great statue to Æsop, and placed [him who was] a slave on an eternal pedestal, that [men] might know that the road to glory was open to all. "

AFANASIEF

Afanasief, 'fa-na'se-ef, (ALEKSANDER NIKOLAE VICH,) a Russian scholar, born at Moscow in 1825. His most noted works are "Russian Popular Stories," and a three-volume treatise on the "Poetical Views of the Old Slavonians about Nature,” (1871.) Afanasief also wrote many valuable papers on archæology and folk-lore, in which departments of knowledge he had a very high and

Afer, a'fer, (DOMITIUS,) a distinguished Roman orator, who flourished in the reigns of the emperors Tiberius and Caligula. He was born at Nîmes, (Nemausus,) in Gaul, 15 B.C., and died 60 A.D. He was the preceptor of Quintilian, (by whom his oratory was highly extolled,) and was made consul by Caligula.

Afesa, à-fa'så, (PIETRO,) an eminent Italian painter, who flourished about the middle of the seventeenth century. He was born in Basilicata, a province of Naples. Affelman, af'fel-mån, (JOHANN,) a German theologian, born at Soest in 1588, was professor at Rostock, where he died in 1624

Affichard, l', la'fe'shar', (THOMAS,) a French dram atist and romance-writer, born in 1698; died in 1753. Affitto, af-flèt'to, (GIOVANNI MARIA,) a Neapolitan monk, who wrote a "Treatise on Fortifications." Died in 1673.

special training, became an expert artist. He executed many admirable busts and portrait-medallions. In 1874 he was chosen to the Berlin Academy and made a professor there. Died December 25, 1882.

A-frā'ni-us, (LUCIUS,) a Roman comic poet and orator, who flourished about 100 B.C. Scarcely anything of his writings has been preserved. (LUCIUS,) an ad

herent of Cneius Pompey, was killed in Africa by the soldiers of Cæsar, 46 B.C.

Afrasiab, 3-fra-se-ab', a semi-fabulous king of ancient Persia, who, though born in Tartary, (Turân,) claimed to be a direct descendant of the famous Fereedoon, (Ferîdûn.) He is said, with an army of Tartars, to have invaded Persia, which he conquered after an obstinate resistance and for many years ruled with a rod of iron. The people, exasperated by his tyranny, rose in rebellion, and, headed by Zâl, (the father of Roostum,) drove out Afrasiâb ard restored the lawful line of Persian kings to the throne. Afrasiâb is supposed to have lived about 1000 years before the Christian era.

Africanus. See SCIPIO AFRICANUS. Africanus, Leo. See LEO, (JUAN.) Af-ri-ca'nus, (SEXTUS CÆCILIUS,) a Roman jurist, who is supposed to have lived in the second century. Africanus, (SEXTUS JULIUS,) [Fr. SEXTE JULES AFRICAIN, sext zhül 'fRe'kâN',] a Christian writer, who lived in the early part of the third century. He was a man of extensive learning, and wrote a history of the world from the creation to the year 221 A.D. He fixes the date of the creation 5499 years B.C., and the birth of Christ three years earlier than the ordinary computation. The era thus fixed is known as the historical era, or that of the Alexandrian historians. He is supposed to have died in 232 A.D.

Affitto, d', daf-flèt'to, (EUSTACHIO,) an Italian Dominican, wrote "Memoirs of the Writers of the Kingdom of Naples," ("Memorie degli Scrittori del Regno di Napoli,") 2 vols., 1792, (unfinished.) Died in 1790. Affitto, d', (MATTEO,) [in Latin, MATTHEUS DE AFFLICTIS,] an eminent Italian lawyer, was born in Naples in 1448. He became professor of civil and canon law in the University of Naples in 1469. He wrote a number of works, all on the subject of law. Died in 1524 Affo, af'fo, (IRENEO,) an Italian historian, philologist, and antiquary, born at Busseto, in the duchy of Parma, Af'seer Jung, (MIRZA MAHOMED ALI BEG,) born in 1741; died about 1800. His works are very numer- at Aurangabad, India. He was aide-de-camp to the ous: they relate chiefly to the antiquities and history, Nizam of Hyderabad after 1884, and commander of both literary and political, of his native country, Parma. the Nizam's forces after 1897. Served in the Afghan He is regarded as one of the most eminent Italian critics and other wars. and philologists that the last century produced.

Affonso. See ALFONSO.

Af-ze'li-us, [Sw. pron. åf-ts'le-ùs,] (ADAM,) a Swedish botanist, born in 1750. He was a pupil of Linnæus. Affre, afR, (DENIS AUGUSTE,) Archbishop of Paris, Having visited England in 1789, he was appointed born at Saint-Rome-de-Tarn in 1793. He was appointed botanist to the Sierra Leone Company. In 1792 he left canon titular and vicar-general at Paris in 1834. Hav- London for Africa, and returned in 1794 with collections ing become Archbishop of Paris in 1840, he distinguished of plants from the regions which he visited. In 1812 he himself by his virtues. During the insurrection of June, became professor of dietetics and materia medica in the 1848, he made a noble effort to arrest the carnage. The University of Upsal, an office which he held till his death troops having at his request suspended their fire, he ad-in 1836. Most of the writings of Afzelius are in the form vanced towards the insurgents, preceded by M. Albert, of papers contributed to different scientific periodicals. who wore the dress of a workman and carried a green branch. He began to address the insurgents, who, hearing the report of a gun, and suspecting treachery, opened a fire on the Garde Mobile, and he was mortally wounded. He left, besides several religious works, an "Essay on the Egyptian Hieroglyphics," (1834)

See ABBÉ CRUICE, "Vie de Denis Auguste Affre," 1849: DENIS E. AFFRE, "Biographie de D. A. Affre," 1848; E. GOURDON, "Biographie authentique de l'Archevêque de Paris, D. A. Affre," 1848. Affrikan, åf-fre-kån', (a corruption of Africanus,) the name by which Chaucer designates SCIPIO AFRICANUS the elder. (See the "Assembly of Foules.")

Affry, 'fRe', (LOUIS,) of a Swiss family, was born at Versailles in 1713. In 1755 he was sent as French minister to the Hague. He afterwards became colonel of the Swiss guards under Louis XVI. In 1792 he was imprisoned by the revolutionists; on being released, he retired to Switzerland. Died in 1798.

Affry, (LOUIS AUGUSTE PHILIPPE,) COUNT, a son of the preceding, was born at Friburg in 1743. He was a lieutenant-general in the French army; but after the massacre of 1792, in which he lost a brother, he retired to Friburg. He afterwards became Landamann or chief of the Helvetic Confederacy, as established in 1803. Died in 1810.

Afhacker, af håk'er, (GILES,) a Dutch theologian, born at Vreeswyk, lived about 1600.

Afinger, d'fing-er, (BERNHARD,) a German sculptor, born at Nuremberg, May 6, 1813. A weaver's son, he was bred a metal-worker, and acquired skill in engraving and carving, and froin a strong natural gift, with little

Afzelius, (ARVID AUGUST,) a Swedish historical writer, born in 1785. Among his works is "Legendary History of the Swedish People," ("Svenska Folkets Sagohafder," 1839-43.) Died in 1871.

Afzelius, (JOHAN,) a Swedish chemist, born in 1753, was a brother of Adam, noticed above. He became professor of chemistry at Upsal. Died in 1837.

Ag'a-bus, a Christian prophet in the time of the apostles. (See Acts xi. 28, and xxi. 10.)

Ag-a-me'des ['Ayaunons] and Trophonius, two ancient architects of Greece, who are supposed to have lived in the time of Homer. See TROPHONIUS.

Ag-a-mem'non, ['Ayauéuvov,] the son of Atreus, King of Mycenae, and brother of Menelaus, was appointed generalissimo of the Greek forces during the Trojan war. On his return to his native country, Argolis, after the destruction of Troy, he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her paramour Ægisthus, who had possessed the kingdom in his absence. He was the father of Orestes, Electra, and Iphigeni'a. He and his brother Menelaus were often called ATRI'DA.

Aga- (or Agha-) Mohammed, å'gå mo-hảm'med, the founder of the present dynasty of Persia, was born in 1734. He was an artful as well as a warlike prince. Commencing his career about 1780, he overran in a few years a large part of Persia, also Georgia and Khoras. sân. He was assassinated in 1797.

Aganduru, 3-gån-doo'roo, or Aganduro, å-gån doo'ro, (RODRIGO MAURICIO,) a Spanish missionary who laboured in Japan about 1640. He wrote a "His tory of the Moluccas and Philippine Islands."

The Transactions of the British Association, the "AnAgar, giR', (JEAN ANTOINE MICHEL,) Count of nales des Sciences Naturelles," and other journals, conMosbourg, a French administrator, born near Cahors intain many contributions from Agassiz on fossil fishes and 1771. He was chosen a member of the legislative body on geology. He propounded some new and remarkable in 1804, and became minister of finances to Murat, Duke ideas on geology and the agency of glaciers, in his capital of Berg, in 1806. Murat having ascended the throne of work entitled "Etudes sur les Glaciers," (1840,) and in Naples, Agar administered the finances of that kingdom his "Système Glacière," (1847.) with success from 1809 to 1815. He was elected to the French Chamber of Deputies in 1830, and became a peer of France in 1837. Died in 1844.