Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/948

Rh 980 DAMASCENUS. Jacobs, A?iikoL Graec. ii. 39, xiii. 879, 880; Fabric. Bibl. Grace, iv. p. 470.) [P. S.] DAMA'GORAS (Aa,ua7opas), a Rhodian ad- miral in the war against Mithridates. After an engagement with the king's fleet, the Rhodians missed one trireme, and not knowing wliether it had been taken by the enemy, they sent out Da- magoras with six quick-sailing vessels to seai'ch for it. Mithridates attacked him with twenty-five ships, and Damagoras retreated, till about sunset the king's fleet withdrew. Damagoras then sailed forth again, sunk two of the king's ships, and drove two others upon the coast of Lycia, and in the night returned to Rhodes. (Appian, Milhrid. 25.) [L. S.] DA'MALIS (Aa,uoAis), the wife of the Athe- nian general, Chares. She accompanied her hus- band, and while he was stationed with his fleet near Byzantium, she died. She is said to have been buried in a neighbouring place, of the name of Damalis, and to have been honoured with a monument of the shape of a cow. According to a mythical tradition, lo on her wandering landed at Damalis, and the Chalcedouians erected a bronze cow on the spot (Symeon Mag. de Constant. Por- phyr. p. 729, ed, Bonn ; comp. Polyb. v. 43.) [L.S.] DAMARATUS. [Demaratus.] DAMA'RETE. [Demarete.] DAMASCE'NUS, JOANNES ('ludvvvs Ao- fia<rKr)v6s), a voluminous ecclesiastical writer, who flourished during the first half of the eighth cen- tury after Christ, in the reigns of Leo Isauricus and Constiintine V^ll. He was a native of Da- mascus, whence he derived his surname, and be- longed to a family of high rank. His oratorical powers procured him the surname of Chrj'sorrhofis, but he was also stigmatized by his enemies with various derogatory nicknames, such as Sarabaita, Mansur, and Arclas, He devoted liimself to the service of the cliurch, and after liaving obtained the dignity of presbyter, he entered the monastery of St. Saba at Jerusalem, where he spent the re- mainder of his life, devoting himself to literary pursuits, especially the study ^of theology. He seems to have died, at the earliest, about a. d. 756, and his tomb was shewn near St. Saba down to a very late period. He is regarded as a saint both by the Greek and Latin churches ; the former ce- lebrates his memory on the 29th of November and the 4th of December, and the latter on the 6th of May. His life, which is still extant, was written by Joannes, patriarch of Jerusalem ; but little confidence can be placed in it, as the facts are there mixed up with the most incredible stories. It is printed in Surius's Lives of the Saints, under the 6th of May. All the writers wlio mention Joannes Damas- cenus agree in asserting, that he suqiassed all his contemporaries as a philosopher and by the exten- sive range of his knowledge. This reputation is sufficiently supported by the great number of his works which have come down lo tis, though he was extremely deficient in critical judgment, which is most apparent in the stories which he relates in confirmation of the doctrines he propounds. He Avas a strong opponent of those who insisted upon removing aU images from the Christian churches, and upon abolishing prayers for the dead. We pass over the several collections of his works, as well as the separate editions of single treatises, and only refer our readers to the best edition of DAMASCENUS. his works, which was prepared and edited by Michael le Quien, Paris, 1712, in 2 vols, fol., though it is far from containing all the works that are still extant under his name, and are buried in MS. in the various libraries of Europe. It con- tains the following works : 1. Ke(pdaia (piKoao- <(>iKd, or the main points of philosophy and dialec- tics. 2. Ufpl aipeaeuf, on heresies and their origin. 3. "EKSoais ciKpi€rjs rijs opdoSo^ov TriVreois, an accurate exposition of the orthodox faith. 4, npos rovs Sia€dWovTas tols dyias cIkovos, a treatise against those who opposed the use of images in churches. 5. AlSthKos irepl opOov irpo- voijfiaTos^ that is, a confession of faith. 6. Td/ios, i. e. a work against the Jacobites and Monophysites or Eutychians. 7. Kard Mavtxaiccv Sidhoyos, a discourse against the Manicheans. 8. AiaAoyos l,apaKTivov ical Xpia-TiavoS^ a dialogue between a Saracen and a Christian. 9. Tlfpl SpaKovTwv, a fragment on dragons. 1 0. Uep dyias rpiddos, on the holy trinity. 11. Hepl tov rpiaayiov vjxvov^ on the hymn entitled Trisjigium. 12. Ilepl rwv dyiwv »^o"T6ic5j/, on fasts. 13. Flepl raiu oktw Trjs TToirnplas irvivjxdrwv^ on the eight spirits of wick- edness. 14. £10-070)77) Zoyimruv (rToix««^Srjs, elementary instniction in the Christian dogmas. 15. Ilept avvQtTov (pvafws^ a treatise directed against the Acephalians. 16. Uepl tQv 4v t<m Xpi(rT(f^ Svo Be]iJMTUv Koi evepyeiwv K(d onr(ou (pvaiKuv idiufidTuv^ on the twofold will and action of Christ, and on the other physical properties. 17. "Ettos aKpiikararov uard Seoo-TiryoCy alpeaews Tuv 'NfaTopiauaiy, against the heresies of the Nes- torians. 18. A number of fragments on various subjects. 19. UatrxdMov, or a paschal canon. 20. A fragment of a letter on the nature of man. 21. A treatise on those who had died in the faith of Christ, and on the manner in which their souls may be benefited by masses and alms. 22. A letter on cimfession. 23. Ao'7oy dnoSeiKTiKos ircpi Twj/ dyiuv Koi aeinwu eiKovuv^ an oration on the veneration due to siicred images. 24. An epis- tle on the same subject, addressed to Theophilus. 25. U(pl Tuv d^vixoiv^ on the feast of unleavened bread. 26. An epistle addressed to Zacharias, bishop of the Doari. 27. An exposition of the Christian faith : it is only in Latin, and a transla- tion from an Arabic MS. 28. Some poems in iambics on sacred subjects. 29. An abridgment of the intei-pretation of the letters of St. Paul by Joannes Clirysostomus. 30. 'Upd TrapdKr)a, sacred parallels, consisting of passages of Scripture compared with the doctrines of the early fathers. 31. A number of homilies. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. ix. pp. 682-744 ; Cave, Hist. Lit. i. p. 482, &c., ed. London, 1688.) [L. S.] DAMASCE'NUS, NICOLAT^S (Nj/coAaos Aa- lxacrKi}v6s), a famous Greek polyhistor, who lived in the time of Herod the Great and the emperor Augustus, with both of whom he was connected by intimate friendship. He was, as his name in- dicates, a native of Damascus, and the son of An- tipater and Stratonice. His parents were distin- guished no less for their personal character than for their wealth, and his father, who was a highly esteemed orator, was not only invested with the highest magistracies in his native place, but was employed on various embassies, Nicolaus and his brother Ptolemaeus were instructed from their childhood in everj^thing that was good and useful. Nicohiiis in particular shewed great talents, and