Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/374

Rh 363 PHYLARCHUS. nothing more is known (Pint. Pyrrli. 1). Iler jjortrait is found on some of the coins of lier son Pyrrhus. (Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 170.) 2. A daughter of Alexander II., king of Epeirus, who was married to Demetrius II., king of Mace- donia. The match was arranged by her mother Olympias, who was desirous of thus securing the powerful assistance of the Macedonian king to support herself on the throne of Epeirus after the death of Alexander. (Justin, xxviii. 1.) [E.H.B.] PHTHIUS (*0/os). 1. A son of Poseidon by Larissa, from whom Phthia in Thessaly was said to have derived its name. (Eustath. ad Horn. p. 320 ; Dionys. i. 17.) 2. One of the sons of Lycaon. (Apollod. iii. 8. § 1.) [L. S.] PHURNES, JOANNES. [Joannes, No. lOl.J PHURNU'TUS (*oup»'ouTos), is no other than L. Annaeus Cornutus [Cornutus, p. 859], whose mythological treatise was first published under this name, by Aldus, Venice, 1505, with the alias, how- ever, of Cornutus. He is also called lioKvZ^vK-qs 4>ovpvoiiTos, and Gesner says that a treatise under this name, treating of the labours of Hercules, was extant in his time in one of the Venetian libraries (Fabric. Bild, Graec. vol. iii. p. 556). We trans- cribe the title of the last edition of this work, from Engelmann's Dihliotheca : " Phurnutus (s. Cor- nutus) L. Annaeus, De Natura Deorum ex schedis J. Bapt. d'Ausse de Villoison recens. commenta- riisque instr. Frid. Ossannus. Adjecta est J. de Villoison de Theologia Physica Stoicorum com- mentat. Gottingae." 1844." [W. M. G.] PHYA. [Peisistratus, p. 170, a.] PHYLACIJS (*uAo/cos). 1. A son of Deion and Diomede, was married to Periclymene or Clymene, the daughter of Minyas, by whom he became the father of Iphiclus and Alcimede (Hom. //. ii. 705 ; Apollod. i. 9. §§ '4, 12). He was be- lieved to be the founder of the town of Phylace, in Thessaly (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 323). The patro- nymic Phylaceis is applied to his daughter Alci- mede (Apollon. Rhod. i. 47), and his descendants, Phylacus, Iphiclus, and Protesilaus are called Phylacides. (Hom. II. ii. 705 ; Propert. i. 19 ; comp. Hom. Od. xv. 231.) 2. A son of Iphiclus, and grandson of No. 1. (Eustath. ad Hom. I. c.) 3. A Delphian hero, to whom a sanctuary was dedicated at Delphi. (Paus. x. 23. § 3, 8. § 4 ; Herod, viii. 39.) 4. A Trojan, who was slain by Leitus. (Hom. //. xvi. 181.) [L. S.] PHYLARCHUS {^6Kapxos). 1. A native of Centuripa in Sicily, plundered by Verres. (Cic. y^err. iv. 12, 23.) 2. Of Halus, taken by the pirates off the coast of Sicily. (Cic. Verr. v. 34, 46.) PHYLARCHUS {^6Kapxos a Greek histo- rical writer, was a contemporary of Aratus. The name is sometimes written Philarchus^ but there is no reason to adopt the supposition of Wytten- bach (ad Plut. de Is. et Osir. p. 211), that there ■were two different writers, one named Phylarchus and the other Philarchus. His birthplace is doubtful. We learn from Suidas (s. v.) that three ditferent cities are mentioned as his native place, Athens, Naucratis in Egypt, or Sicyon ; but as Athenaeus calls him (ii. p. 58,c) an Athenian or NaucratitUi, we may leave the claims of Sicyon out PHYLARCHUS. of the question. We may therefore conclude that he was born either at Athens or Naucratis ; and it is probable that the latter was his native town, and that he afterwards removed to Athens, where he spent the greater part of his life. Respecting the date of Phylarchus there is less uncertainty. We learn from Polybius (ii. 5Q) that Phylarchus was a contemporary of Aratus, and gave an account of the same events as the latter did in his history. Aratus died B. c. 213, and his work ended at B. c. 220 ; we may therefore place Phylarchus at about B.C. 215. The credit of Phylarchus as an historian is vehemently attacked by Polybius (ii. 56, &c.), who charges him Avith falsifying history through his partiality to Cleomenes, and his hatred against Aratus and the Achaeans. The accusation is probably not unfounded, but it might be retorted with equal justice upon Polybius, who has fallen into the opposite error of exaggerating the merits of Aratus and his party, and depreciating Cleo- menes, whom he has certainly both misrepre- sented and misunderstood. (Comp. Niebuhr, Kleine Schriften, vol. i. p. 270, note.) The accusation of Polybius is repeated by Plutarch {Aral. 38), but it comes Avith rather a bad grace from the latter writer, since there can be little doubt, as Lucht has shown, that his lives of Agis and Cleomenes are taken almost entirely from Phylarchus, to whom he is likewise indebted for the latter part of his life of Pyrrhus. The vivid and graphic style of Phylarchus, of which we shall say a few words below, was well suited to Plu- tarch's purpose. It has likewise been remarked by Heeren {Comment. Societ. GoUing. vol. xv. pp. 185, &c.), that Trogus Pompeius took from Phy- larchus that portion of his work which treated of the same times as were contained in the history of Phylarchus. That Plutarch and Trogus borrowed almost the very words of Phylarchus, appears from a comparison of Justin, xxviii. 4, with Plutarch, Cleom. 29. The style of Phylarchus is also strongly cen- sured by Polybius (/. c), who blames him for writing history for the purpose of effect, and for seeking to harrow up the feelings of his readers by the narrative of deeds of violence and horror. This charge is to some extent supported by the fragments of his work which have come down to us ; but whether he deserves all the reprehension which Polybius has bestowed upon him may well be questioned, since the unpoetical character of this great historian's mind would not enable hira to feel much sympathy with a writer like Phy- larchus, who seems to have possessed no small share of imagination and fancy. It would appear that the style of Phylarchus was too ambitious ; it was oratorical, and perhaps declamatory ; but at the same time it was lively and attractive, and brought the events of the history vividly before the reader's mind. He was, however, very neg- ligent in the arrangement of his words, as Diony- sius has remarked. (Dionys. De Compos. Verb. c. 4.) The following six works are attributed to Phy- larchus by Suidas : — 1. 'laropiai, in 28 books, of which we have already spoken, and which were by far the most important of his writings. This work is thus ^ described by Suidas: — " The expedition of Pyr- • rhus the Epeirot against Peloponnesus in 28