Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/464

Rh U6 AUTOLEON. children, two sons, Decius Magnus Ausonius and Avitianus, and two daughters, Aemilia Melania and Julia Dryadia. He was appointed praefect of Illyricum by the emperor Valentinian. (a. d. 364 — 375.) He died at the age either of eighty-eight ( Auson. Pare/j^. i. 4) or ninety (Id. Ijpiced. V. 61), after having enjoyed perfect health both of body and mind. If he at all resembled the description given of him by his son, he must have been a most remarkable man, as al- most every intellectual and moral excellence is at- tributed to him. He wrote «ome medical works, which are not now extant. (Fabric. Bibiioth. Gr. vol. xiii. p. 96, ed. vet; Scaliger, Vita Auson.; Ausonius, Parent i. and Epiced.) [W. A. G.] AUTA'RITUS (AyTopjTos), the leader of the Gallic mercenaries in the Carthaginian army in Africa, took an active part in the rebellion against Carthage at the end of the first Punic war. He at length fell into the power of Hamilcar, and was crucified, b. c. 238. (Polyb. i. 77, 79, 80, 85, 86.) AUTE'SION (AvT€(riwi'), a son of Tisamenus, grandson of Thersander, and great-grandson of Polyneices. He is called the father of Theras and Argeia, by the latter of whom Aristodemus became the father of Eurysthenes and Procles. He was a native of Thebes, where he had succeeded his father as king, but at the command of an oracle he went to Peloponnesus and joined the Dorians. (Apollod. ii. 8. $ 2 ; Paus. iii. 15. $ 4, 3. $ 3, ix. 5. § 8 ; Herod, iv. 147, vi. 52 ; Strab. viii. p. 347.) [L. S.] AU'TOCLES (A^tokA^s). 1. Son of Tolmaeus, was one of the Athenian commanders in the suc- cessful expedition against Cythera, B.c. 424 (Thuc. iv. 53) ; and, together with his two colleagues, Nicias and Nicostratus, he ratified, on the part of Athens, the truce which in B. c. 423 was concluded for one year with Sparta. (Tliuc. iv. 119.) 2. Son of Strombichides, was one of the Athe- nian envoys empowered to negotiate peace vnth Sparta in b. c. 371. (Xen. Hell. vi. 3. § 2 ; comp. Diod. XV. 38.) Xenophon {Hell. vi. 3. § 7, &c.) reports a somewhat injudicious speech of his, which was delivered on this occasion before the congress at Sparta, and which by no means confirms the character, ascribed to him in the same passage, of a skilful orator. It was perhaps this same Autocles who, in B. c. 362, was appointed to the command in Thrace, and was brought to trial for having caused, by his inactivity there, the triumph of Cotys over the rebel Miltocythes. (Dem. c. ^4 ris- iocr. p. 655, c. Polycl. p. 1207.) Aristotle {Rhet. ii. 23. § 12) refers to a passage in a speech of Autocles against Mixidemides, as illustrating one of his rhetorical tokoi. [E. E.] AUTO'CRATES (Ayro/fparTjs), an Athenian, a poet of the old comedy. One of his plays, the Tu.uTrai'jo-Tat, is mentioned by Suidas and Aelian. ( V. H. xii. 9.) He also wrote several tragedies. (Suidas, s. V. AvTOKparrfs.) The Autocrates whose 'Axa*<o is quoted by Athenaeus (ix. p. 395 and xi. p. 460) seems to have been a different person. [C. P. M.] AUTOLA'US (AvToAaos), a son of Areas, who found and brought up the infant Asclepius when exposed in Thelpusa. (Paus. viiL 4. § 2, 25. §6.) [L.S.] AUTO'LEON (AuToAewj/), an ancient hero of Croton in southern Italy, concerning whom the following story is related : — It was customary with AUTOLYCUS. the Opuntian Locrians, whenever they drew up their army in battle array, to leave one place in the line* open for their national hero Ajax. [ Ajax.] Onoe in a battle between the Locrians and Crotoniats in Italy, Autoleon wanted to penetrate into this vacant place, hoping thus to conquer the Locrians. But the shade of Ajax appeared and inflicted on Autoleon a wound from which he suffered severely. The oracle advised him to conciliate the shade of Ajax by offering sacrifices to him in the island of Leuce. This was was done accordingly, and Au- toleon was cured. While in the island of Leuce, Autoleon also saw Helen, who gave him a commis- sion to Stesichorus. This poet had censured Helen in one of his poems, and had become blind in con- sequence. Helen now sent him the message, that if he would recant, his sight should be restored to him. Stesichorus composed a poem in praise of Helen, and recovered his sight. (Conon, Aarra. 18.) Pausanias (iii. 19. § 11) relates precisely the same story of one Leonymus. [L. S.] AUTO'LYCUS (AvroKvKos). 1. A son of Hermes or Daedalion by Chione, Philonis, or Telauge. (Apollod, i. 9. § 16 ; Hygin. Fab. 201; Eustath. ad Horn. p. 804.) He was the husband of Neaera (Paus. viii. 4. § 3), or according to Homer {Od. xix. 394, &c.), of Amphithea, by whom he became the father of Anticleia, the mother of Odysseus and Aesimus. He had his residence on mount Parnassus, and was renowned among men for his cunning and oaths. (Comp. Hygin. I. c. ; Ov. Met. xi. 311.) Once when he came to Ithaca as a guest, the nurse placed his newly-born grandson Odysseus on his knees, and he gave the child the name Odysseus. After- wards, when Odysseus was staying with him, he was wounded by a boar during the chase on Pai> nassus, and it was by the scar of this wound that Odysseus was subsequently recognized by his aged nurse, when he returned from Troy. (Paus. x. 8. § 4 ; Ov. Met. xi. 295, &c. ; Hygin. Fab. 200.) PolyTuede, the mother of Jason, was, according to ApoUodorus, a daughter of this Autolycus, and the same writer (ii. 4. § 9) not only describes him as the teacher of Heracles in the art of wrestling, but mentions him among the Argonauts ; the latter of which statements arose undoubtedly from a con- fusion of this Autolycus with the Thes&alian of the same name. Autolycus is very famous in ancient story as a successful robber, who had even the power of metamorphosing both the stolen goods and himself. (Hom. //. x. 267 ; Hygin. Fab. 201 ; Apollod. ii. 6. § 2; Strab. ix. p. 439 ; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 408 ; Serv. ad Aen. ii. 79.) 2. A Thessalian, son of Deimachus, who to- gether with his brothers Deileon and Phlogius joined Heracles in his expedition against the Amazons. But after having gone astray the two brothers dwelt at Sinope, until they joined the expedition of the Argonauts. ( Apollon. Rhod. ii. 955, &c. ; Valer. Flacc. v. 115.) He was sub- sequently regarded as the founder of Sinope, where he was worshipped as a god and had an oracle. After the conquest of Sinope by the Romans, his statue was carried from thence by Lucullus to Rome. (Strab. xii. p. 546.) It must be noticed, that Hyginus {Fab. 14) calls him a son of Phrixus and Chalciope, and a brother of Phronius, Demo- leon, and Phlogius. [L. S.] AUTO'LYCUS (AUtoKvkos), a young Athenian of singular beauty, the object of the affection of