Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/1147

Rh NABARZANES. PhMias, about B. c. 444. (Siflij?, s. v.) He is iiuMitioned as one of the most distinguished en- gravers by Pliny (H. N. xxxiii. 12. s. 55), Pro- pertius (iii. 7. 14), Martial (viii. 33, 50, xiv. 93), and Statins {Silv. i. 3. 50). [P. S.] MYSCELLUS (Mu<r/ceAAoy, or Mi^o-zceAos), a native of Rhypes, one of the twelve divisions of Achaia, and, according to Ovid (Afeiam.xv. 15) a Heraclide, and the son of an Argive named Alemon. He led the colony which founded Crotona, B. c. 710. They were assisted in founding the city by Archias, who was on his way to Sicily [Archias]. The colony was led forth under the sanction of the Delphic oracle, Myscellus having previously been to survey the locality. He was so much better pleased with the site of Sybaris, that on his return he made an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the Delphic god to allow the colonists to select Sybaris as their place of settlement. Re- specting the choice offered to Archias and Mys- cellus by the oracle, and the selection which each made, see Archias, Vol. I. p. 265. (Strab. vi. pp. 262, 269, viii. p. 387 ; Dionys. ii. p. 361; Schol. ad Arist. Equit. 1089; Suidas s.v. Mv- aiceXos ; Clinton, F. H. vol. i. anno 710, vol. ii. p. 265 ; Muller, Dorians, i. 6. § 1 2.) [C. P. M.J MY'SIA (Mi'o-ta). 1. A surname of Demeter, who had a temple, Mvaa7ov, between Argos and Mycenae and at Pellene. It is said to have been derived from an Argive Mysius, who received her kindly during her wanderings, and built a sanc- tuary to her. (Pans. ii. 18. § 3, 35. § 3, vii. 27. §4.) 2. A surname of Artemis, under which she was worshipped in a sanctuary near Sparta. (Pans. iii. 20. §9.) [L. S.] MYSON (Mvo'wi'), a native of Chenae or Chen, a village either in Laconia (according to Stephanus Byz.) or on Mount Oeta (according to Pausanias, x. 24, § 1), who is enumerated by Plato {Protag. 28, p. 343) as one of the seven sages, in place of Peri- ander. [C. P. M.] M YTILE'NE (MutiAtiVtj), a daughter of Macar or Pelops, became by Poseidon the mother of Myton. The town of Mytilene in Lesbos was believed to have derived its name from her, or from her son, or from a personage of the name of Mytilus. (Steph. Byz. s. v.) [L. S.] N. NABARZA'NES (Na^apJ-aVTjs), a Persian in the service of Dareius. He is tirst spoken of by Q. Curtius on the occasion of his sending a letter to Si sines, a Persian attached to Alexander, exhorting him apparently to contrive his assassination. Na- barzanes commanded the Persian cavalry on the right wing at the battle of Issus. Afterwards, when the fortunes of Dareius seemed desperate, Nabarzanes joined Bessus and Barsaentes in plot- ting either to kill Dareius, or to give him up to Alexander. In a council held after quitting Ecba- tana, he had the audacity to propose that Dareius should retire into one of the remote provinces of the empire, and for a time resign his authority as king into the hands of Bessus. Dareius was so incensed at the proposal, that he drew his scimitar, and was with difficulty prevented from killing Nabarzanes on the spot. The conspirators now resolved to seize Dareius, who, notwithstanding NABIS. 133 that their designs were discovered by Patron, and made known to the king, refused to take refuge among the Greek mercenaries. By command of Bessus, Dareius was seized, and thrown into chains, and murdered, when they were overtaken by Alex- ander. Nabarzanes fled into Hyrcania ; and when Alexander reached the river Ziobaris or Stiboetes, sent a letter to him, offering to surrender himself if assured of personal safety. This was promised him, upon which he gave himself up, bringing with him a large amount of presents, among which was the beautiful eunuch Bagoas [Bagoas], through whose entreaties mainly Alexander was induced to pardon Nabarzanes. Of his further fate we have no notice. (Q. Curt. iii. 9. § 1, 7. § 22, v. 9. § 2, 10. § 1, &c., 11. § 8, 12. § 15, 13. § 18, vi. 3. § 9, 4. § 8, 5. § 22 ; Arrian, iii. 21.) [C. P. M.] NABDALSA, a Numidian chief, conspicuous both from his birth and wealth, who enjoyed a high place in the favour of Jugurtha, by whom he was frequently employed in services of the most important nature. In consequence of the confi- dence thus reposed in him by the Numidian king, he was the person selected by Bomilcar as his in- tended minister in his designs against the life of that monarch [Bomit.car] ; but the negligence of Nabdalsa suffered these projects to transpire. Bo- milcar was seized and put to death, but we are not informed whether Nabdalsa shared the same fate. (Sail. Jug. 70—72.) [E. H. B.] NABIS (Nagis), succeeded in making himself tyrant of Lacedaemon on the death of Machanidas, B. c. 207. To obviate the inconvenience of having a rival at any future time, he had Pelops, son of the king Lycurgus, who was still quite young, assassinated. To secure himself still further, he carried the licence of tyranny to the furthest pos- sible extent ; put to death or banished all the wealthiest and most eminent citizens, and even pursued them in exile, sometimes causing them to be murdered on their road ; at other times, when they had reached some friendly city, getting persons not likely to be suspected to hire houses next to those in which the exiles had taken up their abode, and then sending his emissaries to break through the party-walls, and assassinate them in their own houses. All persons possessed of property who remained at Sparta were subjected to incessant ex- actions, and the most cruel tortures if they did not succeed in satisfying his rapacity. One of his engines of torture resembled the maiden of more recent times : it was a figure resembling his wife Apega, so constructed as to clasp the victim and pierce him to death with the nails with which the arms and bosom of the figure were studded. (Polyb. xiii. 7.) The money which he got by these means and by the plunder of the temples enabled him to raise a large body of mercenaries, whom he selected from among the most abandoned and reckless vil- lains : murderers, burglars, thieves, and reprobates of every kind found an asylum in Sparta and a patron in Nabis. He likewise manumitted a great number of helots and slaves, and apportioned them lands. He extended his protection over the pirates of Crete, whom he sheltered and assisted, receiving a share of their booty. Nor did he content himself with making Sparta a den of robbers, emissaries of the same sort were scattered over all parts of Pelo- ponnesus, the proceeds of whose plunder he shared, while he afforded them a refuge whenever danger threatened. When he first opened negotiations