Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/616

Rh 604 PULCHERIA. Rome. At Alliens an altar was dedicated to her. (Paus. i. 17. <S 1.) At Rome two sanctuaries were dedicated to her, one under the name of Pvdidtia pairieia^ and the other under that of Pudiciiia plebeia. The former was in the forum Boarium near the temple of Hercules. When the patrician Virginia was driven from this sanctuary by the other patrician women, because she had married the plebeian consul L. Volumnius, she built a separate sanctuary to Pudicitia plebeia in the Vicus Longus. (Liv. x. 23; Fest. p. 242, ed. M tiller.) No woman who had married twice was allowed to touch her statue ; and Pudicitia, more- over, was considered by some to be the same as Fortuna Muliebris. She is represented in works of art as a matron in modest attire. (Hirt, Mi/thoL Bilderh. p. 114. tab. 13.) [L. S.] PULCHELLUS, a diminutive of Pulcher, is «sed by Cicero {ad Ati. ii. 1. § 4), to indicate his great enemy, P. Clodius Pulcher. PULCHER, a cognomen of the Claudia Gens. The persons with this surname are given under Claudius. PULCHE'RIA (XTouAx^P^'")? co-empress and empress of the East, a. d. 414 — 453, was the eldest daughter of the emperor Arcadius, who died in A. D. 414, and was succeeded by his son Theo- dosius the Younger. But as this prince was then only fourteen years old, Pulcheria took the reins of government in his stead, although she too had scarcely passed the limits of childhood, being born in A. D. 399. She was created Augusta on the 4th of July, 414, and henceforth reigned in the name of her weak brother with the consent and to the satisfaction of the senate and the people. The his- torical and political part of her reign is, however, more properly told in the life of Theodosius II., and we shall consequently only relate such facts as are more particularly connected with the person and character of this extraordinary woman. Im- mediately after her accession she took the veil, together with her younger sisters Arcadia and Ma- rina, the latter probably against their will, but Pulcheria decidedly from political motives, although the ceremony took place with a religious solemnity, as if she had parted for ever with earthly affairs. She probably intended to bar every ambitious scheme upon her and her sisters' hand, lest she should lose her power, or the empire become an object of contest betweea three brothers-in-law. But although she lived separated from the world, she did not remain strange to its interests, and her long and peaceful reign, at least in Asia, give evi- dence of her eminent abilities. In her personal intercourse she was extremely mild and amiable, her superior education giving additional charms to it; she spoke and wrote Latin and Greek with equal facility and elegance, and was well versed in arts, literature, and science. Her piety was sincere, and although she gave millions to the poor and the distressed, and likewise for the building and em- bellishment of churches and convents, she was bountiful without ostentation. To her brother Theodosius she was a guardian angel, instilling into his mind the most virtuous principles, and watching his education ; and if she could not make an energetic man of him, it was not her fault but that of his original mental and intellectual consti- tution. He trusted her with the utmost confidence, and was happier in seeing the administration in her bauds, than he would have been had the cares PULVILLUS. of it devolved upon him. Pulcheria brought about the marriage between her brother and the beautiful and virtuous Athenais (Eudoxia), and she per- formed her task in so charming a manner that many a modern chaperone would do well to take her for a model (a. d. 421). Theodosius died in 450, and, leaving only a daughter, was succeeded by her husband Valentinian III., who also was unfit for the throne. Pulcheria consequently re- mained at the head of affairs, and began her second reign by inflicting the punishment of death upon the dangerous and rapacious eunuch Chrysaphius. Fearing lest the ambition of that haughty intriguer should be imitated by others, she resolved to marry, and of course was released from her vows of chas- tity. The object of her choice was the excellent Marcian, with whom she continued to reign in common till her death, which took place on the 18th of February, 453, at the age of 54 years and one month. She was lamented by every body, and was afterwards canonised ; her feast is still celebrated in the Greek church. There is a story told by Suidas that Pulcheria had a lover, Pauli- nus, and that she had lived in incestuous intercourse with her brother ; but we doubt the first, and do not believe the second, because it is not to be re- conciled with the well-known character and prin- ciples of both Pulcheria and Theodosius. (For authorities see those quoted in the lives of Mar- ciANUs; Theodosius 11, ; and Valentinianus IIL) [W. P.] COIN OF PULCHERIA. PULEX, a surname of M. Servilius Geminus. [Geminus, Servilius, No. 3.] T. PU'LFIO, a centurion in Caesar's army in Gaul, distinguished himself, along with L. Varenus, by a daring act of bravery, when the camp of Q. Cicero was besieged by the Nervii in b. c. 54. In the civil war he deserted his old commander, be- trayed the army of C. Antonius, one of Caesar's legates, and fought on the side of the Pompeians. (Caes. B. G. v. 44, B. C. iii. Ql.) PULLUS, L. JU'NIUS, C. f. C. n., consul B. c. 249, with P. Claudius Pulcher, in the first Punic war. His fleet was entirely destroyed by a storm, on account, as it was said, of his neglecting the auspices, and in despair he put an end to his own life. (Polyb. i. 52— -55 ; Diod.Frar/?«. xxiv. 1 ; Eutrop. ii. 15. s. 26', Oros. iv. 10 ; Val, Max. i. 4. § 3 ; Cic. de Div. i. 16, ii. 8, 33, deNaLDeor. ii. 3; Censorin. de Die Nat. 17.) PULLUS, NUMITO'RIUS. [Numitorius, No. 3.] PULVILLUS, the name of a distinguished family of the Horatia gens. l._M. HoRATius M. F. PuL villus, according to Dionysius, played a distinguished part in the expulsion of the Tarquins, and according to all authorities was one of the consuls elected in the first year of the republic, B. c. 509. Most ancient writers state that Horatius was appointed consul in the place of Sp. Lucretius Tricipitinus, who sue-