Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/674

 662 GELON GEM Athens. lie was still a youth when he com- menced, during the long winter evenings spent at a country house near Athens, a compilation of extracts from Greek and Roman authors, concerning languages, antiquity, philosophy, history, and literature, interspersed with origi- nal remarks. He continued it at Rome, where he held a judicial office. His work, named from its origin Nodes Atticce ("Attic Nights"), and divided into 20 books (of which the 8th is lost), though without any attempt at order or ar- rangement, contains a mass of materials, valu- able mostly as remnants of lost ancient authors. The editio princeps was published at Rome (1469) ; the best of the older editions at Ley- den (1706), by Gronovius, reprinted at Leipsic (1 762). The best of all is that of Hertz (Leipsic, 1853). An English translation was published by Bedloe (London, 1795). GELON, a ruler of Syracuse, born in Gela in Sicily, died about 478 B. 0. He served as commander of the cavalry under Hippocrates, tyrant of Gela ; on whose death, the people revolting against his sons, Gelon supported the latter, but finally set them aside and assumed the chief power himself (491). Called to the assistance of the Gamori, the landed aristoc- racy of Syracuse, then expelled by the revolt- ed slaves and the popular party, he contrived to become master of that city (about 485), ap- pointed his brother Hiero governor of Gela, and by degrees extended his influence and pow- er over all Sicily. He won the affections of the Syracusans by mildness, by the protection of arts and sciences, and by the aggrandize- ment of the city, for which purpose he even destroyed Camarina and other towns, and trans- planted their inhabitants thither, as well as half the population of Gela. When Xerxes was threatening the invasion of Greece, the Lacedaemonians and Athenians invoked the assistance of Gelon. According to Herodotus, he offered to furnish 200 triremes, nearly 30,000 soldiers, and corn for the whole Grecian army so long as the war should last, provided he was made commander-in-chief. The condition being rejected, Gelon sent an ambassador to Delphi, with rich gifts, and orders to greet and acknowledge Xerxes if victorious. Herodotus, however, also mentions that the Syracusans give a different version of the affair, which vindicates the character of Gelon and the poli- cy of the Syracusans in not assisting Greece. They were fully occupied at home, for the Carthaginians at this juncture invaded Sicily with a great army. Gelon completely defeated them at Himera (480), on the same day, ac- cording to Herodotus, on which the Greeks won the victory of Salamis, but according to Diodorus, on the day of the battle of Ther- mopylae. He now proposed to resign his pow- er and restore popular liberty, but the offer was rejected in the assembly, and his exhibi- tion of magnanimity was rewarded by the title of king, which he accepted and bore till his death. The Syracusans erected, against his will, a splendid tomb to his memory, and hon- ored him as a hero. When Timoreon, 130 years afterward, sought to destroy all vestiges of the tyrants, the statue of Gelon was ex- cepted. His brother Hiero was his successor. GEM (Lat. gemma, a bud), the designation of precious stones prized for their brilliant lustre and splendid colors or perfect limpidity. They possess also a hardness which renders them susceptible of the highest polish, and capable of retaining unimpaired the forms into which they are cut and the lines or figures that may be engraved upon them. These properties, in connection with their rarity, have given to them the highest value of all substances. The principal gems are diamonds, rubies, and eme- ralds ; the finest specimens of these are noticed under their respective titles. Other beautiful species of gems are the agate, chrysoberyl, chrysolite, garnet, sapphire, topaz, tourmaline, &c. These stones are not usually presented by nature in their full beauty ; but they are found in the form of worn pebbles among the sands derived from the disintegration of the rocks in which they were originally contained. Some, however, are obtained crystallized in the mat- rix of quartz, calcareous spar, or other gangue of veins in which they were produced, or in geodes, of the dark cavities of which they made with other crystals a lining or incrusta- tion. The crystals may have the perfections of the stone fully developed, but art is not satis- fied with the form, and this is almost always sacrificed to fit the stone to the shapes judged best suited to display its highest lustre. The rough pebble requires the work of the lapidary to develop its beauties. The processes to which the stones are subjected are described in the articles DIAMOND and LAPIDAKY ; the method of carving them to bring out from their differ- ently colored layers figures in relief is described under CAMEO ; and gem engraving will be treat- ed in this article. To distinguish gems from each other and from their artificial counterfeits, a practised eye was formerly sufficient; but modern imitations are so perfect, that the tests of comparative hardness and of specific gravity are often required. The chemical tests which are usually employed to distinguish minerals cannot be applied to these stones on account of the injury they would occasion. The finest collection of gems in the world is that of the emperor of Russia. Siberia has proved a rich field for their production, and all precious stones found there belong to the crown. They are taken to Yekaterinburg, and being cut and polished in the government works, the choicest are selected for the imperial treasury. Clarke in his account of his travels in Russia makes frequent reference to the abundance of fine gems met with in the cabinets and jewellers' shops, and states that in Moscow they were so much more highly prized than in western Europe, that the most costly gems were some- times purchased in London to be deposited in Russian collections. Different Asiatic coun-