Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/800

Rh 786 LTGARIUS. 2. Of Sicily, a rhetorician, the pupil of Gorgias, ' and the teacher of Polus, and the authority of a work on rhetoric, entitled rexvrj. He is mentioned )>* Plato (P/iaedr. p. 267 ; comp. the scholia and Heindorf's note), and is quoted by Aristotle {Rhet. iii. 2, 13) and by Dionysius of Halicarnassus {Lys. p. 82, 36 ; De Thucyd. Idiom, p. 133, 31, 148, 1 ; Dem'. 179, 31, ed. Sylburg. et alih.). Dionysius frequently mentions the characteristics of his style, which was smooth and elegant, but somewhat affected, abounding in exactly balanced antitheses. In grammar he gave much attention to the clas- sification of nouns. (Spengel, 'Zwayory. r^x^. pp. 88, &c. ; Schneidewin, in the Gotting. G. A. for 1845.) [P.S.] LIGA'RIITS, the name of three brothers, who lived in the time of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. They were of Sabine origin. (Cic. pro Lig. 11.) 1. Q. LiGARius, is first mentioned in b. c. 50 as legate, in Africa, of C. Considius Longus, who left him in command of the province, while he went to Rome to become a candidate for the con- sulship. [Considius, No. 9.] On the breaking out of the civil war in the following year, L. Attius Varus, who had commanded the Pompeian troops at Auximum, and had been obliged to fly before Caesar, arrived in Africa, of which province he had been formerly propraetor. Into his hands Ligarius resigned the government, although L. Aelius Tubero had been appointed to the province by the senate ; and when Tubero made his appearance off Utica shortly afterwards, he was not permitted even to land. Ligarius fought under "Varus against Curio in the course of the same year (b.c. 49), and against Caesar himself in B. c. 46. After the battle of Thapsus, in which the Pompeian army was defeated, Ligarius was taken prisoner at Adru- metum. His life was spared, but he was banished by Caesar. His friends at Rome exerted them- selves to procure his pardon, but were unable to succeed at first, notwithstanding the intercession of his brothers, of his uncle, T. Brocchus, and of Cicero himself, who had an audience with the dictator on the 23d of September, B. c. 46, for the purpose. Meantime, a public accusation was brought against Ligarius by Q. Aelius Tubero, the son of L. Tubero, whom Ligarius had united with Varus in pi'eventing from landing in Africa. He was accused on account of his conduct in Africa, and his connection with the enemies of the dictator. The case was pleaded before Caesar himself in the forum. Cicero defended Ligarius in a speech still extant, in which he maintains that Ligarius had as much claims to the mercy of Caesar, as Tubero and Cicero himself. Ligarius was pardoned by Caesar, who was on the point of setting out for the Spanish war, and who probably was not sorry to have this public opportunity of exhibiting his usual mercy. The speech which Cicero delivered in his defence was subsequently published, and was much admired. Ligarius, however, felt no gratitude for the favour that had been shown him, and eagerly joined the conspirators, who assassinated Caesar in B. C. 44. (Cic. pro Liuario, passim, ad Fam. vi. 13, 14, ad Att. xiii. 12, 19, 20, 44; Auct. Dell. Afr. 89 ; Plut. Cic. 39, Brut. 1 1 ; Appian, B. C. ii. 113.) Appian speaks of two brothers of the name of Ligarius, who perished in the proscription of the triumvirs in B.C. 43 {B. C. iv. 22), and in the following cliapter (c. 23) he mentions a third LIMA. Ligarius, who met with the same fate. Now. as Cicero expressly mentions three brothers of this name {pro Lig. 12), Q. Ligarius must have been one of those who were put to death on this occa- sion. 2. T. Ligarius, brother of the preceding, was appointed quaestor by Caesar, and perished in the proscription of the triumvirs. (Cic. ad Att. xiii. 44, joro Lig. 12 ; Appian, B. C. iv. 22, 23.) 3. Ligarius, a brother of the two preceding, whose praenomen is not mentioned, perished along with his brothers in the same proscription. (Ap- pian, I. c.) 4. P. Ligarius, was taken prisoner by Caesar in the African war, B.C. 46, and was put to death by him, because he had been previously pardoned by Caesar in Spain in B. c. 49, on the condition that he should not serve against him. (Auct. Bell. Afr. 64.) This Publius may have been a brother of the three other Ligarii, but is nowhere men- tioned as such. LIGEIA or LIGEA (AiV"), i.e. the shrill sounding, occurs as the name of a seiren and of a nymph. (Eustath. ad Horn. p. 1709 ; Virg. Georg. iv. 336.) [L.S.] LIGUR. The name Ligur or Ligus, without any nomen, occurs in Cicero, ad Att. xii. 23, where he is ironically congratulated with respect to a daughter called" Gamala. [C. P. M.] LIGUR, AE'LIUS, tribune of the plebs, b. c. 57, endeavoured by his veto to prevent the passing of the decree of the senate for Cicero's recall. He seems to have been an obscure individual, and, ac- cording to Cicero, had assumed a surname to which he had no right. (Cic. joro Seed. 31, 32, 43, /»ro Dom. 19, de Llarusp. Resp. 3.) [C. P. M.] LIGUR, OCTA'VIUS. 1. M. a Roman sena- tor. During the praetorship of C. Sacerdos he had become possessed of an estate in Sicily by the will of one C. Sulpicius Olympus. When Verres be- came praetor, in accordance with one of his edicts the daugliter of the patronus of Sulpicius sued Ligur for a sixth part of the estate. Ligur found himself compelled to come to Rome to assert and defend his riglits. Verres afterwards demanded money from Ligur for trying the cause. M. Ligur and his brother are set down as tribunes of the plebs in the same year (b. c. 82) by Pighius (vol. iii. p. 266). (Cic. in Verr. i. 48, ii. 7, 48.) 2. L. The brother of the preceding. During the absence of his brother he defended his interests against the unjust proceedings of Verres (b. c. 74). He is possibly the same who is mentioned by Cicero {ad Att. vii. 18. $ 4). [C. P. M.] LIGUR, VA'RIUS, a man mentioned once or twice by Tacitus. In Annal. iv. 42, he is spoken of as the paramour of Aquilia (a. d. 25). Some time after he escaped a prosecution by buying off the informers. {Annal. vi. 30.) [C. P.'M.] LIGYRON {Aiyvp<i3v i. e. the whining, is said to have been the original name of Achilles, and to have been changed into Achilles by Cheiron. (Apollod. iii. 13. § 6 ; comp. Achii.lks.) [L. S.] LILAEA (AiAata), a Naiad, a daughter of Ce- phissus, from vvhom the town of Lilaea in Phocis was believed to have derived its name. (Pans. x. 33. § 2.) [L. S.] LIMA, a Roman divinity protecting the thresh- old {limen, Arnob. adv. Gent. iv. 9); it is, how- ever, not impossible that she may be the same as the dea Liraentina. [Limentinus.J [L. S.J