Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/106

92 were represented as maidens of a grave and solemn mien, in the richly adorned attire of huntresses, with a band of serpents around their heads, and serpents or torches in their hands. With later writers, though not always, the number of Eumenides is limited to three, and their names are Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megaera. (Orph. Hymn. 68; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 406; Virg. Aen. xii. 845.) At Athens there were statues of only two. (Schol. ad Oed. Col. 42.) The sacrifices which were offered to them consisted of black sheep and nephalia, i. e. a drink of honey mixed with water. (Schol. l. c.; Paus. ii. 11. §4; Aeschyl. Eum. 107.) Among the things sacred to them we hear of white turtle-doves, and the narcissus. (Aelian, H. A. x. 33; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 87.) They were worshipped at Athens, where they had a sanctuary and a grotto near the Areiopagus: their statues, however, had nothing formidable (Paus. i. 28. §6), and a festival Eumenideia was there celebrated in their honour. Another sanctuary, with a grove which no one was allowed to enter, existed at Colonus. (Soph. Oed. Col. 37.) Under the name of they were worshipped at Megalopolis. (Paus. viii. 34. §1.) They were also worshipped on the Asopus and at Ceryneia. (Paus. ii. 11. §4, vii. 25. §4; comp. Böttiger, Furienmaske, Weimar, 1801; Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 201, &c.) 2em

 EUME'NIUS, whose works are included in the collection which commonly bears the title " Duo- decira Panegyrici Veteres" [Drepanius], was a native of Autun, but a Greek by extraction ; for his grandfather was an Athenian, who acquired cele- brity at Rome as a teacher of rhetoric, and having subsequently removed to Gaul, practised his profes- sion until past the age of eighty, in the city where his grandson, pupil, and successor, was born. Eu- menius flourished towards the close of the third and at the beginning of the fourth centuries, and at- tained to such high reputation that he was ap- pointed to the office of magister sac?-ae memoriae, a sort of private secretary, in the court of Constantius Chlorus, by whom he was warmly esteemed and loaded with favours. The precise period of his death, as of his birth, is unknown, but we gather from his writings that he had, at all events, passed the prime of life. The city of Cleves at one period claimed him as their townsman, and set up an an- cient statue, which they declared to be his effigy.

The pieces generally ascribed to this author are the following. 1. Oratio pro instaurandis scholis. Gaul had suffered fearfully from the oppression of its rulers, from civil discord, and from the incursions of barbarian foes, for half a century before the ac- cession of Diocletian. During the reign of the second Claudius, Autun in particular, after sustain- ing a siege of seven months, was compelled to surrender to the half-savage Bagaydae, by whom it was almost reduced to ruins. Constantius Chlorus having resolved to restore not only the buildings of the city, but also to revive its famous school of rhe- toric, called upon Eumenius, who, it would seem, had by this time retired from public life and was enjoying his dignities, to undertake the superin- tcudance of the new seminary, allowing him, how- ever, to retain his post at court, and at the same time doubling his salary, which thus amounted to the large sura of 600,000 sesterces, or about 5000/^. per annum. The principal, before entering on his duties, delivered (a. d. 296 or 297) the oration now before us. in the presence of the praeses of Gallia Lugdunensis, in order that he might pub- licly acknowledge the liberality of the prince, might explain his own views as to the manner in which the objects in view could best be accomplished, and might declare his intention of carrying these plans into effect without any tax upon the public, by devoting one-half of his allowance to the support of the establishment. We find included (c. 14) an interesting letter addressed by Constantius to Eu- menius.

2. Panegyricus Constantio Caesari dietus. A congratulatory address upon the recovery of Britain, delivered towards the close of a. d. 296, or the be- ginning of 297. [Allectus ; Carausius.]

3. Panegyricus Condaiitino At/gusto dietus, pro nounced at Treves, A. d. 310, on the birth-day of the city, in the presence of Constantine, containing an outline of the career of the emperor, in which all his deeds are magnified in most outrageous hyperboles. Heyne is unwilling to believe that Eumenius is the author of this declamation, which he considers altogether out of character with the moderation and good taste displayed in his other compositions. The chief evidence consists in certain expressions contained in chapters 22 and 23, where the speaker represents himself as a native of Autun, and, in the language of a man ad- vanced in years, recommends to the patronage of the sovereign his five sons, one of whom is spoken of as discharging the duties of an office in the treasury.

4. Gratiarum actio Constantino Auguslo Flavien- sium nomine. The city of Autun having expe- rienced the liberalit}-- of Constantine, who in consideration of their recent misfortunes had re- lieved the inhabitants from a heavy load of taxa- tion, assumed in honour of its patron the appellation of Flavia, and deputed Eumenius to convey to the prince expressions of gratitude. This address was spoken at Treves in the year a. d. 311.

For information with regard to the general merits and the editions of Eumenius and the other panegyrists, see Drepanius. [W. R.]

 EUMOLPUS (EuaoXTTos), that is, " the good singer," a Thracian who is described as having come to Attica either as a bard, a warrior, or a priest of Demeter and Dionysus. The common tradition, which, however, is of late origin, repre- sents him as a son of Poseidon and Chione, the daughter of Boreas and the Attic heroine Oreithya. According to the tradition in Apollodorus (iii. 15. § 4), Chione, after having given birth to Eumolpus in secret, threw the child into the sea. Poseidon, however, took him up, and had him educated in Ethiopia by his daughter Benthesicyma. When he had grown up, he married a daughter of Ben ■ thesicyma ; but as he made an attempt upon the chastity of his wife's sister, Eumolpus and his son Ismarus were expelled, and they went to the Thracian king Tegyrius, who gave his daughter in marriage to Ismarus; but as Eumolpus drew upon himself the suspicion of Tegyrius, he was again obliged to take to flight, and came to Eleusis in Attica, where he formed a friendship with the Eleusinians. After the death of his son Ismarus, however, he returned to Thrace at the request of king Tegyrius. The Eleusinians, who were involved in a war with Athens, called Eumolpus to their assistance. Eumolpus came with a numerous band of Thracians, but he was slain by Erechtheus. The 