Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/774

Rh •62 SCYLLA. not seen. (Vossius, De Historids Graecis, lib. ii. c.xxvi.; Hankius, De Byzantin. rerum Scriptoribus^ pars. i. c. xxvii.; Lambecius, Comment, de Biblioth. Caesaraea^ vol. ii. p. 232, &c. ed. KoUar ; Kollar, Supplement, ad Lamhee. I. c. ; Cave, Hist. Litt. vol. ii. p. 155, ed. Oxford, 1740—1743 ; Mont- faucon, Bibl. Coislin, p. 206, &c. ; Goar, Notae Posteriores in Cedrenum, sub init. ; Oudin, De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis, vol. ii. col. 745, &c. ; Fa- bria Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. pp. 464, &c., 722, &c., vol. xi. pp. 644, 651 ; Allatiua, Diatribade Georgiis, apud Fabric, vol. xii. p. 33 ; Labbe, Catalog. Scriptor. Hist. Byzaiii. Nos. ix. x. ; Jppar. Hist. Byzantin. pars ii. prefixed to the Paris edition of the B5'zantine writers.) [J. C. M.] SCYLLA (SkuAAo) and Charybdis, the names of two rocks between Italy and Sicily, and only a short distance from one another. In the midst of the one of these rocks which was nearest to Italy, there dwelt, according to Homer, Scylla, a daughter of Crataeis, a fearful monster, barking like a dog, with twelve feet, six long necks and mouths, each of which contained three rows of sharp teeth. The opposite rock, which was much lower, contained an immense fig-tree, under which there dwelt Charybdis, who thrice every day swallowed down the waters of the sea, and thrice threw them up again : both were formidable to the ships which had to pass between them (Hom. Od. xii. 73, &c., 235, &c.). Later traditions represent Scylla as a daughter of Phorcys or Phorbas, by Hecate Crataeis (Apollon. Rhod. iv. 828, &c., with the Scholiast), or by Lamia ; while others make her a daughter of Triton, or Poseidon and Crataeis (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1714), or of Typhon and Echidna (Hygin. Fab. praef.). Some, again, de- scribe her as a monster with six heads of different animals, or with only three heads (Tzetz. ad Ly- coph. 650 ; Eustath. /. c). One tradition relates that Scylla originally was a beautiful maiden, who often played with the nymphs of the sea, and was beloved by the marine god Glaucus. He applied to Circe for means to make Scylla return his love ; but Circe, jealous of the fair maiden, threw magic herbs into the well in which Scylla was wont to bathe, and by these herbs the maiden was metamorphosed in such a manner, that the upper part of her body remained that of a woman, while the lower part was changed into the tail of a fish or serpent, surrounded by dogs (Ov. Met. xiii. 732, &c., 905, xiv. 40, &c. ; Tibull. iii. 4. 89). Another tradition related that Scylla was beloved by Poseidon, and that Amphi- trite, from jealousy, metamorphosed her into a mon- ster (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 45 ; Serv. ad Aen. iii. 420). Heracles is said to have killed her, because she had stolen some of the oxen of Geryon ; but Phorcys is said to have restored her to life (Eustath., Tzetz., Hygin., I. c). Virgil (Aen. vi. 286) speaks of several Scyllae, and places them in the lower Avorld (comp. Lucret. v. 893). Charybdis is de- scribed as a daughter of Poseidon and Gaea, and as a voracious woman, who stole oxen from Heracles, and was buried by the thunderbolt of Zeus into the sea, where she retained her voracious nature. (Serv. ad Aen. iii. 420.) 2. A daughter of King Nisus of Megara, who, in consequence of her love of Minos, cut off the golden hair from her father's head, and thereby caused his death (ApoUod. iii. 15. § 8). She has sometimes been confounded with the monster Scylla. LL. S.] SCYTHES. SCYLLIS. [DiPOENus.] SCYMNUS {•S.Kvixvos), of Chios, wrote a Be- riegesis, or description of the earth, which is referred to in a few passages of Stephanus and other later writers (Steph. Byz. s. vv. Tldpos, "E.pfxwva(Taa, 'Ayddrj, 'Apews vrjaos ; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. iv. 284 ; Apollon. Hist. Mirab. 15, where we should read 'S.Kvpivos instead of SkutiVoj). A brief Periegesis, written in Iambic metre, and con- sisting of nearly one thousand lines, has come down to us. This poem, as appears from the author's own statement, was written in imitation of a similar work in iambic verses, composed by the Athenian Apollodorus [see Vol. I. p. 234, b.], and is dedicated to king Nicomedes, whom some modern writers suppose to be the same as Nicomedes III., king of Bithynia, who died B.C. 74 ; but this is quite uncertain. A portion of this poem was first pub- lished by Hoeschel, under the name of Marcianus Heracleotes, along with other Greek geographers, Augsburg, 1600, 8vo. ; and again by Morell, also under the name of Marcianus, Paris, 1606, 8vo. But Lucas Holstenius and Is. Vossius maintained that this poem was written by Scymnus Chius, and is the work referred to in the passages of the ancient writers quoted above. Their opinion was adopted by Dodwell, in his dissertation DeScymno Chio, § 7, and the poem was accordingly printed under the name of Scymnus, by Hudson and by Gail, in the Geographi Graeci Minores, as well as by B. Fabricius, in his recent edition of the work, Leipzig, 1846. Meineke, however, has shown, most satisfactorily, in his edition of the poem pub- lished shortly after that of Fabricius (Berlin, 1 846), that the Periegesis of Scymnus Chius quoted by the ancient writers was written in prose, and was an entirely different work from the extant poem, the author of which is quite unknown. SCYMNUS, artists. 1. A statuary and silver- chaser, of high celebrity, but none of whose works were known in Pliny's time. He was the pupil of Critios, and must therefore have flourished about 01. 83, b. c. 448. (Plin. H. N. xxxiv. 8. s. 19. § 25.) 2. An engraver of precious stones, one beautiful specimen of whose work is extant. It is not known whether or not he was the same person as the preceding. (R. Rochette, Lettre a M. Schorn, p. 154, 2d ed.) 3. A painter, whose picture of a female slave is mentioned by Hippocrates. He appears to have flourished about 01. 110, B. c. 340. (Nagler, Kiinstler Lexicon.^ s. v.) [P. S.] SCYTHES (2ku07js). 1. Tyrant or ruler of Zancle in Sicily, about 494 B. c. The Zanclaeans hud sent to Ionia to invite colonists to join them in founding a new city on the Karj 'Akttj, or north shore of Sicily, and the offer had been ac- cepted by a large body of Samians, together with some fugitives from Miletus ; but when they ar- rived at Locri, Scythes, at the head of the Zan- claeans, was engaged in hostilities against the Sicels, and the Samians were persuaded by Anaxi- las of Rhegium to take advantage of his absence, and occupy the city of Zancle itself. Hereupon Scythes called in the assistance of his ally, Hip- pocrates, tyrant of Gela, but the latter proved no less perfidious than the Samians, and immediately on his arrival threw Scythes himself and his brother Pythogenes into chains, and sent them prisoners to Inycus, while he betrayed his allies the Zanclaeans