Olympian, at Olympia in Elis were held the most famous athletic contests of Greece Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great

Olympus, a mountain in Thessaly, where the Greeks supposed their gods to dwell; also used as a synonym for the sky

omnific, all-creating, P.L. vii. 217 Ophion, a Titan, driven from Olympus by Kronos Ophir, the land whence Solomon got his gold

Ophiuchus, a northern constellation

Ophiusa, an island full of serpents opposition, an astrological term, used when the earth lies between two bodies and in one straight line with them, P.L. ii. 803

opprobrious, infamous, P.L. i. 403

Ops, wife of Saturn

optic glass, telescope, P.L. i. 288 orc, a sea-monster, P.L. xi. 835 Orcus, a Latin name of the king of the infernal regions Oread, a mountain nymph Oreb or Horeb, which properly means a "dry place," was later used of the Sinaitic region

orient, bright, like the sunrise, P.L. xi. 205 Orion, a constellation figured

as an armed man, which was supposed to bring storms Ormus, Hormuz, a rich city on the Persian Gulf

Orontes, a river to the N. of Syria

Orphean, Orpheus was a mythical musician, who played so beautifully that beasts and trees and rocks listened and followed him

Orpheus, a mythical singer, who went to Hades in order to

Palatine, a bill of Rome where stood the palace of the later Emperors. M. anticipates in P.R. iv. 50, for then the buildings were more modest Pales, a Roman deity of flocks and shepherds

pampered, leafy (Lat. pampinus, "vine "), P.L. v. 214 Pan, the rural god of the Greeks, patron of flocks and shepherds; a kind of personification of nature. The word πᾶν means 66 every

thing," and M. plays on this word in P.L. iv. 266, though there is no real connection between the two Pandemonium,

the place of All-Devils. A word coined on the analogy of Pantheon Pandora, a woman made by the gods to do mischief to

men. The word means that she possest" all their gifts " Paneas, now Banias, a town

under Hermon at one of the springs of Jordan, believed by many to be the ancient Dan

pardon, dispensation or indulgence, P.L. iii. 492 peal, fill with noise, P.L. ii. 920 Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology; in later times associated with the Muses, because with his hoof he struck, and forth came the inspiring fount called Hippocrene

Pellean, of Pella in Macedonia; used of Alexander the Great, who was born there. At the battle of the Issus, he captured, when he was twentythree years old, the wife and daughters of Darius, with other ladies not a few; but dismissed them free Pelleas, a Knight of the Round Table

Pellemore, a Knight of the Round Table Pelops' line, the Thyestiada, whose story was the theme of many Greek tragedies Pelorus, the N.-E. promontory of Sicily

Peor, i.e. Baal-peor, a licentious deity

Perca, a district E. of the Jordan

perfet, perfect (older and correct spelling), P.R. iv. 468 Persepolis, ancient capital of Persia

person, character, P.L. x. 156 Petsora, Petchora on the Arctic

ocean

Pharphar, a river flowing near Damascus

Philip, father of Alexander the Great. Alexander began his reign at twenty, conquered Persia when not yet twentyfive, and died at thirty-three Philomel, the nightingale Phineus, a blind soothsayer of old Greece

Phlegeton (Phlegethon), river of fire, one of the rivers of the infernal regions in Greek mythology Phlegra, the battle-field of the gods and giants in Greek mythology

phoenix, a fabulous bird, supposed to live a thousand years, and then to burn itself, on which another would rise from the ashes Pindarus, a great Greek lyric poet

pinnacle, Matt. iv. 5 platane, plane-tree, P.L. iv. 478 Plato, most famous of the Greek philosophers

Pluto, king of the underworld poise, weigh down, P.L. ii. 905 Pomona, the Roman goddess

of fruit trees, wedded by Vertumnus

Pompey, Cn. Pompius Magnus, distinguished himself before he was twenty-three, but did not obtain a triumph so early as M. states

ponent, from the W. or sunsetting, P.L. x. 704 Pontic King, Mithradates pontifical, bridge-making, P.L. x. 313

Pontus, the Black Sea; famed for its fish; also a district in Asia Minor southward of the

same

port, gate, P.L. iv. 778 prætor, a Roman official, P.R. iv. 63

pretended, stretcht as a screen, P.L. x. 872

prevenient, anticipating, P.L. xi. 3

prevention, anticipation of a coming blow, P.L. vi. 320 prick, ride or spur, P.L. ii. 536 procinct (in), girt (Lat. in procinctu), P.L. vi 19 Proclaimer, Luke iii. 4 proconsul,

a Roman official, P.R. iv. 63 proem, prelude, P.L. ix. 549 progeny, birth and lineage, P.R. iv. 554 Proserpine, daughter of Ceres (Gr. Demeter), wife of Pluto,

who carried her off while gathering flowers in Enna Proteus, the mythical Old Man of the Sea, who could transform himself into many shapes

prowest, most renowned or bravest, P.R. iii. 342 Psyche, the soul personified. Eros (or Cupid) loved her, but visited her only at night, and forbade her to look upon him. She disobeyed, he departed, and she traversed a weary pilgrimage before she was united to him again

punctual, like a point, P.L. viii. 23

Punic, Carthaginian or Phoenician

Punic coast, the N. of Africa,

about Carthage purfled, fringed or embroidered, C. 995

purlieus, neighbourhood, P.L. ii. 833

purpose, converse, P.L. iv. 337 Pyrrha, wife of Deucalion Pythian, the Pythian games were held at Delphi in honour of Pythian Apollo

Python, the dragon of Delphi, bred out of slime left by Deucalion's deluge

stronghold E. of Jordan. See 1 Kings xxii. 34 ramp, jump, P.L. iv. 343 Raphael, an archangel. See Asmodeus

realty, royalty, P.L. vi. 115 rebeck, a kind of violin, P.R. p. 401

recorder, a wind instrument, P.L. i. 551

redound, overflow, P.L. ii. 889 Regulus, M. Atilius Regulus was taken prisoner at Carthage. He was sent home on parole, and bidden to persuade the Romans to make peace; but, on the contrary, he is said to have told them to hold out, and then he returned to his death

reluctant, struggling, P.L. x. 515 result, rebound, P.L. vi. 619 Rhea, wife of Jupiter Ammon Rhea, wife of Kronos (Saturn) Rhene, the Rhine Rhodope, a mountain range

between Thrace and Macedonia. Here was the oracle of the Thracian Dionysus. The "Thracian bard" Orpheus did not honour Dionysus, who sent upon him the Bassarida (a rout of Manad women), and they tore him to pieces, nor could mother Calliope aid him rhomb, wheel, P.L. viii. 134 Rimmon, a Syrian deity rined, rinded, P.L. v. 342 ruin, fall, P.L. vi. 868 Rutupina æquora, Rutupia is the modern Richborough

Sabean, Arabian

his

2

sad, serious, P.L. vi. 541 Salem, properly Salim, P.R. ii. 21. See John iii. 23 Salmanassar, Shalmanezer, King of Assyria. See Kings xvii. I salve, save, P.R. iv. 12 Samoed shore, in Siberia Samos, an island off the coast of Asai Minor near Ephesus (not in the Cyclades) sapient king, Solomon Sarra, Tyre, famous for its purple dye

"

Satan, the " enemy Saturn (Gr. Kronos), the Titan who ruled the universe before Jove (Zeus) deposed him Saturn, used by M. for the Gr. Kronos, chief of the Titanic dynasty that preceded Zeus satyr, a hybrid monster with goat's feet, in Greek mythology. The satyrs suggested the traditional type of Satan in art and legend scales, one of the signs of the Zodiac, between Virgo and Scorpio. In P.L. iv. 997 M. alludes to the classical belief that the fates of earthly combatants were weighed in scales by the gods Scipio, conqueror of Hannibal Scorpion, one of the signs of the Zodiac

scull, shoal, P.L. vii. 402 Scylla, the straits of Messina were supposed to have on one side Scylla, a devouring monster, and on the other Charybdis, a whirlpool secular, lasting for a whole age, S.A. 1707

secure, careless, confident, P.L. vi. 541

Seleucia, a city on the Tigris,
built by Seleucus, one of
Alexander's generals
Semele, a woman beloved of

Zeus in Greek mythology, by
whom she became mother of
Bacchus

seneshal, steward of the household, P.L. ix. 38 Sennaar, Shinar, a part Babylonia

of

sentence, opinion, P.L. ii. 51 Seon, Sihon, King of the Amor

ites

gutta serena, a disease of the eyes, P.L. iii. 25 Sericana, part of China and Tibet

Setia, a town of Latium, famous for wine

Severn, named from Sabrina, drowned in it sewer, a butler or steward who arranged the meats on the table, P.L. ix. 38

Sibma, a town in Moab sideral, of the stars, P.L. x. 693 Sidonian, Phoenician, as Sidon was one of the chief Phoenician towns silly, simple, p. 388 Silo, Shiloh, where was the sanctuary of God

Siloa, a pool with a spring flow

ing into it, just outside Jerusalem, and near the temple silvan, Silvanus, a Roman deity of the fields and forests Simeon, Luke ii. 25 Sincan, Chinese

Sinai, a mountain or mountain range on a peninsula between the Gulfs of Suez and Akabah; here were given the Tables of the Law to Moses Sion, one of the hills of Jeru

salem, where the temple stood Siren, a name used in ancient astronomy, of beings who sat each in one of the nine "infolded spheres," making melody

sirocco, a hot wind from the S.-E.

Sieraliona, Sierra Leone Sittim, a camping-place of the Israelites hard by Jericho sleight, trick, P.L. ix. 92 slightly, slightingly, contemptuously, P.R. H. 198

Socrates, the Greek philosopher

and teacher, was put to death on a false charge of blasphemy and corrupting the youth

sock, soccus, the boot of the ancient actor, p. 402 Sofala, on E. coast of Africa Sogdiana, N.-E. province of the ancient Persian empire Soldan, Sultan Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 4

Stygian, of Styx

Styx, River of Hate, one of the rivers of the infernal regions in Greek mythology sublime, uplifted, P.L. x. 536 sublimed, uplifted, P.L. i. 235 success, result, P.L. ii. 9 succint, girt up, P.L. iii. 643 summed, a technical term in falconry, of full plumage, P.R. i. 14

supplanted, thrown off his feet, P.L. x. 513 Sus, Tunis

Susa, treasure city and winter residence of the Persian kings (Shushan in the Bible) Susiana, a province of the ancient Persian empire suspense (adj.), full of suspense, P.L. ii. 418

swage, assuage, P.L. i. 556 Sylvan, Sylvanus, a Roman

deity of the fields and forests synod, assembly, P.L. ii. 391 Syene, a place on the Nile, by

the first cataract; and a Roman frontier station Syrinx, a mythical nymph beloved by the god Pan Syrtis, a gulf and quicksand in N. Africa

Tantalus was condemned to remain throat-deep in a lake, with fruit-trees over-hanging; but so often as he caught at the fruit, the trees receded, and when he stooped to drink, the water fled away from his lips

Taprobane, Ceylon

Tarpeian Rock, front of the Capitoline Hill, where stood the temple of Jupiter. From

hence malefactors were cast down

Tarsus, chief city of Cilicia Tartarus, "the Pit," Hades Tauric pool, sea of Azov, so called from the Tauric Chersonese or Crimea Tauris, Tabriz, in N. Persia Taurus, the Bull, one of the signs of the Zodiac

ted, to spread out hay for the making, P.L. ix. 450 teem, breed, S.A. 1703 Telassar, a city of the "children of Eden," where precisely is unknown

Temir, i.e. Timar or Tamberlaine, whose capital was Samarcand

tempering, mixing, P.L. vii. 15 Teradon, a city near the mouth of the Tigris

Tethys, daughter of Uranus and Ge (Heaven and Earth), and wife of Oceanus; a sea-deity tetrarch, lord of a fourth part, in allusion to the four elements, P.R. iv. 201 Teucrigena, Brutus the Trojan led a colony to Britain, according to the legend Ternate, one of the Moluccas or Spice Islands

Thammuz, a god supposed to have been slain by a boar on Lebanon, and to die and revive each year. The Greeks identified him with Adonis; he was mourned in a yearly festival by the women of Lebanon

Thamyris, a blind Thracian bard

than, then, S.A. 158 Theban monster, the Sphinx. When Edipus guessed the riddle, she died

Thebes, a city in Boeotia (N. Greece), scene of a mythical struggle, and of the Greek tragedies of Edipus and the Seven Heroes

Thebes, a famous city in Egypt (distinct from Thebes in Greece) Thebex, a village near Neapolis, and bearing its ancient name as Tubas: wrongly connected