Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/184

AEBY. Säugetieren (Brunswick, 1862); Die Schädelformen des Menschen und der Affen (Leipzig, 1867); Ueber das Verhältnis der Mikrokephalie zum Atavismus (Stuttgart, 1878).

ÆCID'IOMYCE'TES (æcidium, see below + Gk. nom. pl. μυκητης, myketēs, mushrooms, fungi). A name formerly applied to certain forms of the "rusts." At present the name is but little used. See.

ÆCID’IUM (dimin. of Gk. αἰκία, aikia, injury), or One form of fruit of the parasitic fungi called "rusts." See.

ÆDIC'ULA (Lat., a small building, dimin. of ædes, building). In Roman literature, a designation for a small house or for part of a house. It is used especially for chapels, shrines, or free-standing niches containing statues, and for sepulchral monuments in the form of little temples or chambers. In the large temples this name was given to architectural apses or niches surmounting statues, and even to little portable models given as votive offerings. During the Middle Ages the founders of churches were often represented in sculptures or paintings holding the model of the church; such models were termed ædiculæ.

Æ'DILES. In ancient Rome, a sort of commissioners of public works, with general supervision over the public buildings (ædes), the cleansing and repair of the streets, the public games and spectacles, the inspection of weights and measures, and the market regulations. At first there were only two ædiles, both plebeians, and their name was derived from their headquarters, the Ædes Cereris. Afterward, two others, styled Ædiles Curules, were chosen from the patricians (360 B.C.), and Julius Cæsar appointed a new order of Ædiles Cereales to take charge of the public granaries.

ÆD'UI or HÆD'UI. A people of Gaul, between the Saône and the Loire, the first Gallic tribe that formed an alliance with the Romans, who therefore called them "Brothers of the Roman People" (Cæsar, B. G., i. 33). Their chief town was Bibraete (Mont-Beuvray), which they later abandoned for Augustodunum (Autun).

ÆGA'DIAN" ISLANDS (ancient ). A group of three small islands situated directly off the western coast of Sicily and forming a part of the Italian province of Trapani (Map: Italy, G 10). They consist of the islands of Favignana, the largest and best populated of the group, Marittimo, and Levanzo. The total area is about 16 square miles. The island of Favignana is very fertile and has good tunny fisheries. The population of the group is about 6000, of whom nearly 5000 are found on the island of Favignana. In 241 B.C. the Romans, under Lutatius Catulus, achieved a great naval victory over the Carthaginians off these islands, which brought the first Punic War to a close.

ÆGÆON, 6-je'ōn (Gk. Αἰγαίων, Aigaiōn). In Greek mythology, the name by which, according to the Iliad, i. 403, Briareus" (q.v.) was known among men.

ÆGA'GRUS, or. The paseng. See.

ÆGE'AN SEA. See.

ÆGE'ON. In Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors (q.v.), the merchant of Syracuse.

ÆGEGERI'IDÆ. A family of moths. See.

ÆGEUS (Gk. Αἰγεύς Aigeus). King of Athens, son of Pandion. He was the father of Theseus (q.v.), and by the latter was restored to the throne of Athens, of which he had been deprived by his brother Pallas. When Theseus set out for Crete to deliver his country from the tribute it had to pay Minos, he agreed in case of success to exchange the black sail of his ship for a white one. On approaching the coast of Attica he forgot his promise, and Ægeus, believing his son lost, threw himself into the sea, which, according to tradition, was named "Ægean" after him. Ægeus is supposed to have introduced the worship of Aphrodite into Athens, where he himself was honored with a heroön, or shrine.

ÆGIDA, e-ge'da. ( 1825 — ). A German jurist, politician, and author, born at Tilsit and educated at the universities of Königsberg, Berlin, and Heidelberg. He was editor of the Konstitutionelle Zeitung until January, 1851, and extraordinary professor at Erlangen from 1857 to 1859. During the Italian war he published, while in the service of the Russian ministry, the famous anti-Austrian pamphlet entitled, Preussen und der Friede von Villafranca (Berlin, 1859), which was followed by Suum Cuique: Denkschrift über Preussen (Leipzig, 1859), and Der deutsche Kern der Italienischen Frage. He has since been professor at the universities of Hamburg. Bonn, and Berlin, and has been a member of the Prussian Chamber of Deputies (1867-68, 1873-93), and councilor of legation in the foreign office. He has published numerous writings, among which the following is perhaps the most important: Das Staatsarchiv, Sammlung der offiziellen Aktenstücke zur Geschichte der Gegenwart (in collaboration with Klauhold, Hamburg, 1801-71; afterward continued by Hans Derbrück, and since 1894 by G. Roloff).

ÆGID'IUS. See.

ÆGI'NA (Gk. Αίγινα, Aigina). Now Egina. An island forming part of the kingdom of Greece, about 32 square miles in extent, in the ancient Saronicus Sinus, now the Gulf of Ægina. It is mountainous, with deep valleys and chasms, and the coast affords only one haven, on the northwest. The modern town of Egina stands on the site of the ancient town, at the northwest end of the island. The island contains about 7000 inhabitants, who are chiefly occupied in trade, navigation, and agriculture. The soil produces the best almonds in Greece, with wine, oil, corn, and various fruits. An ancient legend derived the name of the island from the nymph Ægina, who was brought to it by Zeus, by whom she became the mother of Æacus, famed for his piety. The ancient Achæan population was driven out by Dorians from Epidaurus, who built up one of the richest trading cities in Greece. The Æginetans took a prominent part in the defeat of the Persians at Salamis, but with the growth of the Athenian power they were first forced to become tributary, and in 431 B.C. expelled from the island. They were later restored by Lysander. but the island never recovered its old position.

ÆGINA, or AIGINA, (the ancient ). An arm of the Ægean Sea, be-