Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/837

Rh cura quam industria " and soon after death he appears to have fallen into complete oblivion, for he is neither quoted nor named by any writer, not even by the grammarians, until the time of Apolli- naris. (Excusaior. mi Felic. 260.)

The work of Silius Italicus was first brought to light after the revival of letters by Poggio the Florentine, having been discovered by him while attending the council of Constance.

The Editio Princeps was printed at Rome by Sweynheym and Pannartz under the inspection of Andrew, bishop of Aleria, fol. 1471, and again at the same place, fol. 1471, 1474, 1480. The best editions are those of Cellarius, 8vo. Lips. 1695, and Drakenborch, 4to. Traj. ad Rhen. 1717, espe- cially the latter. That by Ruperti, 2 vols. 8vo. Goetting. 1795, contains a considerable quantity of useful matter, but displays little scholarship or judgment.

There is a complete translation into English verse, bearing the title " The Second Punik War between Hannibal and the Romanes : the whole xvii. books Englished from the Latine of Silius Italicus, with a continuation from the triumphe of Scipio to the death of Hannibal, by Tho. Ross." Fol. London, 1661 ; and reprinted fol. Lond. 1672.

The commencement was translated into French verse by Mich, de MaroUes, and was appended to his " Considerations sur une Critique de PEneide," 4to. Paris (no date), and to his translation of the Achilleis of Statins, 4to. Paris, 1678. Select pas- sages have been rendered into German by K. P. Kretschmann, to be found in the collection called " Meissner's Apollo," 1797, Heft. 5. There is also a version into Italian by Buzio, which is con- tained in the Raccolta di tutii gli antichi poeti Latini, 4to. Milan 1765, vol. 34—35. [W. R.]

SI'LIUS MESSALLA. [Messalla,p. 1053.]

SFLIUS NERVA. 1. P. Silius Nerva, was consul under Augustus b. c. 20, with M. Appnleius, and afterwards subdued the Cammunii and Venii {al. Venones), Gallic tribes. (Dion Cass. liv. 7, 20.)

2. P. Silius Nerva, consul under Tiberius A. D. 28, with Ap. Junius Silanus. (Tac. Ann. iv. 68 ; Plin. //. N. viii. 40.)

3. Silius Nerva, consul under Nero in A. d. 65, with Vestinus Atticus (Tac. Ann. xv. 48). He is described in the Fasti as A. Licinius Nerva Si- lianus ; whence it would appear that he was adopted by A. Licinius. He was probably the son of No. 2.

There are several coins bearing on the reverse p. NERVA, which are referred by modern numis- matologists to the Silia gens, and not to the Licinia gens, as older writers had done. A specimen of these coins is annexed. The reverse represents the eeptii of the comitia : one citizen is placing his ta- bella in the ballot-box, while another is receiving his tabella from the officer. (Eckhel, vol. v. p. 313.)

COIN OF P. SILIUS NERVA.

SILLAX, a painter, of Rhegium, flourished about B. c. 500, since he was mentioned by Simonides and Epicharmus. He adorned with his paintings the Polemarchian portico {t-tju ttoAc- ixdpx^iov arodv) at Phlius. (Polemo, ap. Aih. v. p. 210, b. ; Simon, Fr. ccxxii, Schneidewin.) [P. S.] SILO, ABRO'NIUS. [Abronius.] SILO, GA'VIUS. [Gavius, No. 3.] SILO, POMPEIUS, constantly mentioned by M. Seneca among the illustrious rhetoricians of his age. (Sen. Suas. 1, 2, &c.) SILO, Q. POMPAE'DIUS, the leader of the Marsi in the Social War, and the soul of the whole undertaking, at first endeavoured to obtain for the Socii the Roman franchise, by means of M. Livius Drusus, the celebrated tribune of the plebs in B. c. 91. He came to Rome to concoct his plans with Drusus, and remained in his house several days ; and it is related by Diodorus that he subse- quently marched upon Rome at the head of 10,000 men, with weapons concealed beneath their clothes, in order to extort the franchise by force, but that he was persuaded by Domitius, perhaps the censor of the preceding year, to give up his enterprise (Plut. Cat. Min. 2 ; Diod. xxxvii. p. 612, ed. Wess.). With the death of Drusus the allies lost all hope of obtaining their demands peaceably, and forthwith took up arms. The history of the war which ensued is given in too confused and frag- mentary a manner to enable us to follow the ope- rations of Pompaedius Silo step by step ; but all accounts agree in representing him as the most dis- tinguished of the Italian generals. His most bril- liant exploit seems to have been the defeat of Q. Caepio, whom he decoyed into an ambush ; but he was unable, either by his stratagems or his sarcasms, to force Marius to an engagement (Plut. Mar. 33). After most of the allies had laid down their arms and submitted to the Romans, Pompaedius still continued the struggle. He regained Bovianum, which had been taken by Sulla, and entered this capital of Samnium in triumph (Obsequ. 116). But this was his last success. He was first de- feated by Mam. Aemilius, and subsequently by Q. Metellus Pius. In the latter battle he perished, and with his death the war came to an end, B. c. 88 (Appian, B.C. i. 40, 44, 53 ; Diod. xxxvii. p. 539, ed. Wess.; Liv. Epit. 76 ; Flor. iii. 18 ; Oros. V. 18 ; Veil. Pat. ii. 16). Several writers have Popedius^ and others give St/lo or Sillo as the cognomen, but Pompaedius Silo is the correct orthography.

SILO, POMPAE'DIUS, fought under Venti- dius, the legatus of Anton}-, in his campaign against the Parthians in B.C. 39"' (Dion Cass, xlviii. 4lj. The proceedings of Silo in Judaea are related at length by Josephus {Atitiq. xiv. 15, B. J. i. 15).

SILVA'NUS, a Latin divinity of the fields and forests, to whom in the very earliest times the Tyrrhenian Pelasgians are said to have dedicated a grove and a festival (Virg. Aen. viii. 600). He is described as a god watching over the fields and husbandmen, and is also called the protector of the boundaries of fields (Horat. Epod. ii. 22). Hy- ginus {De Limit. Const. Praef.) tells us that Sil- vanus was the first to set up stones to mark the limits of fields, and that every estate had three Silvani, a Silvantis domesticus (in inscriptions called Silvanus Larum and Silvanus sanctus sijcer Laruni), Silvantis agrestis (also called salutaris), who was worshipped by shepherds, and Silvauus