Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/852

Rh 840 SIRENES. if they would draw it with their own hands into their own city, Asia wonld gain the supremacy over Greece (Virg. Aen. ii. 57, &c. ; Tzetz. Posi- hom. 680, &c.). The Trojans took his advice, and when the horse was drawn into the city, he gave the preconcerted signal, opened the door of the horse, and the Greeks rushing out took pos- session of Troy (Virg. Aen. ii. 259 ; Diet. Cret. V. 12; Hygin. Fab. 108). Quintus Smyrnaeus and Tryphiodorus have somewhat modified this tradition, respecting which see Heyne, L c. In the Lesche at Delphi he was represented as a companion of Odysseus. (Pans. x. 27.) [L. S.] SINO'PE (2tJ/«7r7j), a daughter of Asopus by Metope, or of Ares by Aegina or Parnassa. Apollo carried her oif from Boeotia, and conveyed her to Paphlagonia on the Euxine, where she gave birth to Syrus, and where the town of Sinope was named after her. (Diod. iv. 72 ; Schol. ad Apollon. Mod. ii. 946.) [L. S.] SI'PYLUS (2iVuos), one of the sons of Am- phion and Niobe. (ApoUod. iii. 5. § 6 ; Ov. Met. vi. 231 ; comp. Niobe.) [L. S.] SIPYRRHICAS. [Pyrrhias.]" SIRE'NES or SEIRE^NES (Sejp^ves), mythical beings who were believed to have the power of en- chanting and charming, by their song, any one who heard them. When Odysseus, in his wanderings through the Mediterranean, came near the island on the lovely beach of which the Sirens were sitting, and endeavouring to allure him and his companions, he, on the advice of Circe, stuffed the ears of his companions with wax, and tied himself to the mast of his vessel, until he was so far off that he could no longer hear their song (Hom. Od. xii. 39, &c., 166, &c.). According to Homer, the island of the Sirens was situated between Aeaea and the rock of Scylla, near the south-western coast of Italy. Homer says nothing of their number, but later writers mention both their names and number ; some state that they were two, Aglaopheme and Thelxiepeia (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1709) ; and others, that there were three, Peisinoe, Aglaope, and Thelxiepeia (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 712), or Parthenope, Ligeia, and Leucosia (Eustath. I. c. ; Strab. v. pp. 246, 252 ; Serv. ad Virg. Georg. iv. 562). They are called daughters of Phorcus (Pint. Sympos. ix. 14), of Achelous and Sterope (Apollod. i. 7. § 10), of Terpsichore (Apollon. Rhod. iv. 893), of Mel- pomene (Apollod. i. 3. § 4), of Calliope (Serv. ad Aen. v. 364), or of Gaea (Eurip. Hel 168). Their place of abode is likewise different in the different traditions, for some place them on cape Pelorum others in the island of Anthemusa, and others again in the Sirenusian islands near Paestum, or in Capreae (Strab. i. p. 22 ; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1709 ; Serv. /. c). The Sirens are also connected with the legends about the Argonauts and the rape of Persephone. When the Argonauts, it is said, passed by the Sirens, the latter began to sing, but in vain, for Orpheus rivalled and surpassed them ; and as it had been decreed that they should live only till some one hearing their song should pass by unmoved, they threw themselves into the sea, and were metamorphosed into rocks. Some writers connected the self-destruction of the Sirens with the story of Orpheus and the Argonauts, and others with that of Odysseus (Strab. v. p. 252 ; Orph. Arg. 1284 ; Apollod. i. 9. §25 ; Hygin. Fab. 141). Late poets represent them as provided with wings, which they are said to have received at their own SIRICIUS. request, in order to be able to search after Perse- phone (Ov. Met. V. 552), or as a punishment from Demeter for not havingassisted Persephone (Hygin. ^l. c), or from Aphrodite, because they wished to remain virgins (Eustath. I. c; Aelian, H. A. xvii, 23 ; Apollon. Rhod. iv. 896). Once, however, they allowed themselves to be prevailed upon by Hera to enter into a contest with the Muses, and being defeated, they were deprived of their wings (Pans. ix. 34. § 2 ; Eustath. ad Hom. p, 85). There was a temple of the Sirens near Surrentum, and the tomb of Parthenope was believed to be near Neapolis. (Strab. i. p. 23, v. p. 246.) [L. S.] SIRrCIUS. Upon the death of Damasus in A, D. 384, Siricius, a Roman presbyter, was nomi- nated his successor by the united suffrages of all classes of the community, and his conduct throughout the fourteen years during which he occupied the papal chair proved the wisdom of the choice. Of simple habits and gentle disposition, he laboured incessantly to preserve the purity and unity of the Church over which he presided, his efforts being chiefly directed against the growing heresy of the Priscillianists, who had made great progress in Gaul, against Jovinian and his followers, and against the usurpation of the see of Antioch by the perjured Flavianus, with whom, however, he was eventually reconciled, through the mediation of Chrysostom. His death happened towards the close of the year a. d. 398. Six epistles by this prelate have been preserved, being, as Du Pin observes, the first decretals which truly belong to the pope whose name they bear. I. Ad Himerium Tarraconensem Episcopum^ written a. d. 385, in reply to several questions which had been proposed to Damasus, in reference to the re-admission of Arians ; to the period at which baptism ought to be administered ; to the forgiveness of contrite apostates ; to the lawfulness of marrying a woman already promised to another ; to the treatment of penitents who had relapsed into sin ; to the necessity of celibacy in the clergy ; to the conduct to be observed by those ecclesiastics who were married before they entered the priest- hood ; to the ordination of monks ; and to penance among the clergy. There is one instructive pas- sage, in which the education and progress of those trained for the ministry is distinctly defined ; although the rules here laid down were probably never strictly observed. A youth, we are told, intended for Holy Orders, ought to be baptized when very young, and placed among the readers ; at the age of thirty, if he has conducted himself with propriety, he may become an acolyte and sub-deacon, provided always he does not marry more than once, and does not marry a widow ; five years afterwards he may be ordained deacon, when he must bind himself to celibacy ; after another period of five years has elapsed he may be admitted to the priesthood, that is, he may become a presbyter ; and in ten years more may be made^ a bishop. II. Ad Anysium TJiessalonicensem Episcopm of uncertain date, but belonging probably to a. d. 385, requesting information with regard to the state of the Churches in lUyria. III. Ad Episcopos A/iicae, written on the 6th of January, a. d. 386. It has always been re- garded with suspicion and almost proved to be a forgery by the researches of Quesnel {Append, ad Leunis Magni Opera Diss, xv.), although its an-