Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/1110

Rh 1098 THERON. death by Tiberius in A. d. 32. (Tac. Ann. vi. 7.) 8. MiNUCius Thermus, a man of praetorian rank, was sacrificed by Nero in a. d. 66, to the hatred of Tigellinus. (Tac. Ann. xvi. 20.) The following coin of the Minucia gens has on the obverse a woman's head, and on the reverse two men fighting over a third who has fallen. The legend, which is partly effaced in the specimen figured below, is q. therm, m. f. The subject of the reverse evidently refers to the preservation of the life of a Roman citizen in battle ; and hence it has been conjectured with some probability that this coin may have been struck by the son of M. Thermus [No. 4], in order to commemorate the youthful exploit of Caesar, who saved the life of a Roman citizen while fighting under Thermus. COIN OF Q. MINUCIUS THERMUS. THERO (0T?pc6). 1. The nurse of Ares, from whom he was believed to have received the sur- name of Thereitas, though Pausanias thinks that this name arose from the fierceness of the god. A sanctuary of Ares Thereitas stood on the road from Sparta to Therapne, with a statue which the Dioscuri were said to have brought from Colchis, (Paus. iii. 19. § 8,) 2. A daughter of Phylas, became by Apollo the mother of Chaeron, (Paus. ix. 40. § 3.) [L. S,] THERON (07?pwj/), tyrant of Agrigentum in Sicily, was the son of Aenesidemus, and descended from one of the most illustrious families in his na- tive city. According to Pindar, they traced their descent from Cadmus, but his more immediate an- cestors were Rhodians who had been among the colonists that founded Gela ; and his great grand- father Telemachus had distinguished himself as a leader of the revolution which overthrew the power of Phalaris, (Pind. 01. ii. iii. ; and Schol. ad loc.) It is therefore certain that Theron inherited a leading place among his countrymen of Agrigen- tum, but of the steps by which he rose to the sovereign power we have no accurate information. Polyaenus indeed tells us (vi. 51), that having been appointed by the state to superintend the erection of some extensive public buildings, he ap- plied the money furnished him for this purpose to his own objects, and raised a body of mercenary guards, by whose assistance he established himself on the throne. Whatever credit be due to this story, we learn that he had assumed the govern- ment of his native city as early as u. c. 488, and retained it from that time, without interruption, till his death. (Diod. xi. 53.) It is probably to the early period of his rule that we may refer the attempt of his kinsmen Capys and Hippocrates to overthrow his power, which was frustrated by their defeat at the river Himera. (Schol. ad Pind. Ol. ii. 173.) The next event of which we find mention is his expulsion of Terillus from Himera ITxRiLLUs], which took place probably as early THERON. as B. c. 482. (Herod, vii. 165.) While he by this means united Himera to his own dominions, and thus ruled over two of the most powerful cities of Sicily, he was in close alliance with Gelon, ruler of Syracuse and Gela, to whom he had given his daughter Demarete in marriage. (Schol. ad Pind. 01. II. init.) Their combined strength was soon called forth to resist the formidable Carthaginian armament under Hamilcar which landed in Sicily in B, c. 480, with the professed object of restoring Terillus. Theron himself had occupied Himera with a large force, but terrified at the magnitude of the Carthaginian army, he shut himself up within the walls of the city, and sent to Gelon for assistance. In the great victory which followed, the Syracusan king appears to have borne by far the greatest part [GelonJ ; but Theron derived a large share of its advantages, and was not only left in undisputed possession of Himera, but received so large a number of prisoners as his share of the spoil, that by employing these in public works at Agrigentum, he raised that city to an unprece- dented state of grandeur and magnificence. (Diod. xi. 20—25.) His friendly relations with Syracuse continued unaltered until the death of Gelon, b. c. 478 : but on that event the disputes between Hieron and his brother Polyzelus brought about a rupture between the former and Theron. Polyzelus had married Demarete, the widow of Gelon, and thus succeeded to the connection of the latter with the Agrigentine prince : in addition to which it appears that Theron himself was married to a daughter of Polyzelus: hence when the latter was driven into exile by the jealousy and intrigues of Hieron [Polyzelus], he naturally sought refuge at the court of Theron, That monarch espoused his cause, and raised an army for the purpose of reinstating him, but hosti- lities were prevented, and a peace concluded be- tween the two sovereigns. According to Timaeus, this was effected by the mediation of Simon ides, who prevailed on Theron to give his sister in mar- riage to Hieron. Diodorus, on the contrary, relates j that the citizens of Himera, who were oppressed] by the government of Thrasydaeus, the son Theron, having made overtures for assistance toj Hieron, the latter betrayed their application io Theron, and induced him in return for this benefit] to abandon the cause of his brother Polyzelus. (Ti- maeus ap. Schol. ad Pind. 01. ii. 1, 29, 37; Diod. xi. 48.) Theron had been much alarmed at the threatened revolt of Himera, and he now proceeded ■ to establish his power in that city by the greatest: seTerities against the disaffected party, many of) whom he put to death, while he drove others into^^ banishment. Having thus gradually thinned the population of the city, he repeopled it with settlers from all quarters, but especially of Dorian origin. (Diod. xi. 48, 49.) From this period Theron ap-J pears to have reigned without dispute over bothi Agrigentum and Himera until his death in B. CJ 472 : and notwithstanding his cruelties towards! the Himeraeans, he is praised for the general mild- ness and equity of his government. It is certaial that Agrigentum enjoyed great prosperity under] his rule, and that it was then adorned not onlyti with splendid buildings, but with public works ofj a more useful character, such as reservoirs anc" conduits for water on a most stupendous scale. (Diod. xi. 25.) Like his contemporary rulers a| Syracuse, he also displayed much favour towar