Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/1192

Rh 1178 NICEPHORUS. to have been of good family and education, and to hae been a disciple of Stilpo, a dialectic philoso- pher, who was alive B. c. 299. Diogenes Laertius states that she was Stilpo's mistress, though he had a wife. (Athen, xiii. p. 596, e ; Diog. Laert. ii. 114.) Fabricius (Bibl. Grraec. vol. iii. p, 628) states, on the authority of Laertius, that Nicarete was the mother-in-law of Siramias, a Syracusan. Laertius, however, only (I. c.) mentions Stilpo's daughter as the wife of Simmias, but gives no hint as to who was her mother. [W. M. G.] NICA'RETE (Ni/cape'TTj), St., a lady of good family and fortune, born at Nicomedeia in Bithynia, renowned for her piety and benevolence, and also for the numerous cures which her medical skill enabled her to perform gratuitously. She suffered great hardships during a sort of persecution that was carried on against the followers of St. Chry- sostom after his expulsion from Constantinople, A. D. 404. (Sozom. HisL Eccles. viii. 23 ; Niceph. Callist. Hist. Eccles. xiii. 25.) She has been canonized by the Romish Church, and her memory is celebrated on December 27 {Martyr. Rom.). Bzovius {Nomencl. Sanctor. Profess. M«dic.) and after him C B. Carpzovius {De Medicis ah Eccles. pro Sanctis Jiabit.) think it possible that Nicarete may be the lady mentioned by St. Chrysostom, as having restored him to health by her medicines {Epist. ad Olymp. 4. vol. ii. p. 571, ed. Bened.), but this conjecture is founded on a faulty reading that is now amended. (See note to the passage referred to.) [W. A. G.] NICA'TOR, SELEUCUS. [Seleucus.] NICE (NiKTj). 1. The goddess of victory, or; as the Romans called her, Victoria, is described as a daughter of Pall.as and Styx, and as a sister of Zelus (zeal), Cratos (strength), and Bia (force). At the time when Zeus entered upon the fight against the Titans, and called upon the gods for assistance, Nice and her two sisters were the first that came forward, and Zeus was so pleased with their readiness, that he caused them ever after to live with him in Olympus. (Hes. Tlmog. 382, &c. ; Apollod. i. 2. § 2.) Nice had a celebrated temple on the acropolis of Athens, which is still extant and in excellent preservation. (Pans. i. 22. $ 4. iii. 15. ^5.) She is often seen represented in ancient works of art, especially together with other divinities, such as Zeus and Athena, and with conquering heroes whose horses she guides. In her appearance she resembles Athena, but has wings, and carries a palm or a wreath, and is en- gaged in raising a trophy, or in inscribing the victory of the conqueror on a shield. (Pans. v. 10. § 2. Tl. §§ 1, 2, vi. 18. § 1 ; comp. Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 93, &c.) 2. A daugliter of Thespius and, by Heracles, mother of Nicodromus. (Apollod. ii. 7. § 8.) 3. Nice also occurs as a surname of Athena, under which the goddess had a sanctuary on the acropolis of Megara. (Pans. i. 42. § 4 ; Eurip. Ion, 1529.) [L. S.] NICE'PHORUS (N£Krj(/)opos), i. e. bringing victory, occurs as a surname of several divinities, such as Aphrodite. (Paus. ii. 19. § 6.) [L. S.] NICE'PHORUS I. {'i^iKri<popos), emperor of Constantonople, A. D. 802 — 811, was a native of Seleuceia in Pisidia, and by all sorts of court in- trigues rose to the important post of logotheta, or minister of finance8,with which he was invested by the empress Irene. The prime minister Aetius, NICEPHORUS. an eunuch, conspired against that excellent princess witii a view of putting his brother Leo on the throne. His schemes were seen through by several of the grand functionaries of state, and a counter- conspiracy took place, which is decidedly one of the most remarkable recorded in history. The principal leaders on both sides were eunuchs, of whom seven were against Aetius, viz., Nicetas, the commander of the guard, his two brothers, Sisinnius and Leo Clocas, the quaestor Theoctistus, Leo of Sinope, Gregorius, and Petrus, all of whom held the patrician rank. Their object was to raise Nicephorus to the throne, and they succeeded th rough one of those sudden strokes which are so charac- teristic of the revolutions of Constantinople. On the 31st of October, 802, Nicephorus was suddenly proclaimed emperor. He began his career by de- ceiving Irene by false promises ; and no sooner had she entrusted her safety to him, than he sent her into exile in the island of Lesbos, where she died soon afterwards of misery and grief. The vices of the new master of the empire soon became so con- spicuous that he incurred the hatred of the very parties to whom he was indebted for his elevation; but as he was supported by the clergy, and a crowd of reckless characters, he attacked his former friends openly, and put their leader Nicetas to death. Upon this Bardanes, surnamed the Turk, the bravest man and best general of Greece, rose in revolt, was proclaimed emperor by his adherents, and marched against Nicephorus, who was unable to vanquish him in the field, and took refuge in intrigues. Forsaken by his principal supporters Bardanes promised to submit on condition of en- joying his life and property. Both were granted him by the emperor. As soon, however, as Bardanes was in the power of his faithless rival, he was forced to take the monastic habit, had his property confiscated, was deprived of his eyes, and continued till his death to be a victim of unre- mitting cruelty and revenge. In 803 Nicephorus sent ambassadors- to Charlemagne, and received in his turn an embassy from the latter. A treaty was made between them, by which the frontiers of the two empires were regulated : Charlemagne was confirmed in the possession of Istria, Dalmatia, Libumia, Slavonia, Croatia, and Bosnia ; but the Dalmatian islands and sea-towns were left to Nice- phorus. In these transactions Nicephorus showed no small deference to his great rival in the West, while he behaved Avith impudence towards his equally great rival in the East, the khalif Harun-ar- Rashid, who resented the insult by invading the empire. After a bloody war of several years, during which a great portion of Asia Minor was laid waste, Nicephorus was compelled to accept the disgraceful conditions of a peace, by which he was bound to pay to the khalif an annual tribute of 30,000 pieces of gold, out of which three were consi- dered as being paid by the Greek emperor person- ally, and three others by his son Stauracius. In 807 Nicephorus set out for Bulgaria, being involved in a war with king Crum, and in the same year the Arabs ravaged Rhodes and Lycia. A danger- ous conspiracy obliged him to return to Constanti- nople, where a few months after his arrival another one broke out of which he nearly became a victim. Through the death of Harun-ar-Rashid, in 809, Nicephorus was relieved from his most formidable enemy, but was nevertheless unable to secure peace to his subjects, king Crum of Bulgaria prDving as