Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/839

* EKHOF. ■nTight. one of the creators of the modern Ger- man drama. Born amid Iiunible surroundings at Hamburg, he became in his youth a lawyer's clerk, and while in this situation he made as- siduous use of his master's library and resolved to become an actor. His dt'but was made in a traveling company at Liineberg, as Xiphares in Racine's Mithridale, the Genuan stage being then largely dominated by French inlluence. He played in various German cities and gained a considerable reputation. In 1704 he went to Hamburg, and soon became a member of the na- tional theatre there. In 1769 he went to Han- over, and five years later became director of the Court theatre of Gotha, where he remained till his death. He was a powerful actor, winning the admiration of such men as Tflland and l^cssing. He was also the author of poems and of several adaptations from the French drama, notably Die ilutterxchiile (1753) and KiV irii.ste Insel (1702). Consult Uhde. "Konrad Ekhof," in Der neue Plu- tarch (T.eipzig, 1877). EKKEHAJEID, ckTie-h-irt. An important his- torical roinanc*' dealing with the tenth century, by Schetfel, published in 185.5. It is based on researches in the chronicles of the monastery of Saint Gall, and describes the love of the monk Ekkehard for Hadwig, Duchess of Swabia. EXKEHARD, AriiA vox (?-c.ll25). A Ger- man historian. He was appointed abbot of the monastery of Aura, near Kissingen, about the beginning of the twelfth century, and pub- lished an admirable history of the first crusade, Bierosoh/mita. His Chronica Eklchurdi Vrau- ffiensis was published by Waitz in Monutnenta Gcrmnnia- Historica, vol. vi. (Berlin, 1883). EK'RON (Heb. 'eqron, probably connected with U'lijar, At. 'aqira, sterile). The most north- erly of the five cities of the Philistines (.Joshua xiii. 3 ). It was assigned to Judah ( Joshua x'. 45), but afterwards given to Dan (Josh- ua xix. 43). After Joshua's death Judah again possessed it. (Judges i. 18). In the wars with the Philistines it played an important part (I. Sam. V. 10; x^ni. 52). The name occurs in the lists of towns conquered bj' Thothmes III. (c. 1500 B.C.) and also in the records of Sen- nacherib (B.C. 701), who refers to the revolt of Ekron and to its joining Hezekiah in an uprising against Assyria, although Padi. the King of Ekron, held aloof from the revolt. In the post- exilic period it appears as a place given by Alexander Balas to Judas jMaceabaeus in reward for his ser-ices (I. Mace. x. 80). The site has been identified with .kir, a railroad station be- tween .TafTa and .Jerusalem. EL.ffiAGNA'CE.ffi. See El^agxcs. EX-ffiAGKNUS (Xeo-Lat., from Gk. {alayms, ^Iniagiiof:. e^ayms, rlnnf/nos, sweet gale, myriea, from Aoi'o claia. olive-tree + iyras afiiion. tree like a willow). A genus of dicotyledenous plants, of the natural order Ela-agnacea-. This order consists of trees and shrubs, usually covered with scurfy scales, and having alternate or opposite entire leaves, without stipules. There are only about a dozen si)ecies of this order, all natives of the Xorthern Hemisphere, but found both in its warm and cold regions. The bufTalo-t)errv ( flhephfrdia rirpmlrn), a Xorth .merican shrub of this order, yields a pleasant fruit. The sal- low thorn is the only British species. The oleaster {Elwayiius august ifolia), sometimes 727 ELAGABALtrS. called wild olive, a native of the south of Europe and the Levant, is a spiny tree of 15 to 20 feet in height, with lanceolate leaves, which, as well as the young shoots, are hoary with stellate hairs. It is frequently planted for the sake of its sil- very-white foliage, and its very fragrant small yellow fiowcrs. The oleaster has been intro- duced into the United States as an oniamcnlal, and has proved satisfactory even in ..Minnesota and South Dakota, Silver-berry {Elaiaynus ar- goitea), so called on account of the silvery- white scales that cover the leaves, is a conmion shrub from Canada to Utah, The berry is edible. A number of Japanese species arc evergreen, and are cultivated as ornamentals, but they are not hardy except in the south. The berries of many species are edible. EL.a;'IS. See Oii--P.lm, E L.a:OCOC'CA (Xeo-Lat,, from Gk, 4ala, cliiia. olive-tree -f- k6kkos, kokkos, grain, seed). A genus of plants of the order EupliorbiaeeiE, the seeds of some of which yield useful oils. The oil obtained from Ehvococca vcrrticosa is used for food in Japan, notwithstanding its considerable acridity. The tree is cultivated in the ilauritius, and the oil is there used only for burning. That obtained from Elwocorca vernicia is used in China for mixing paint. The species of this genus are now generally referred to Aleurites. The candlenut or candleberrv-tree {Aleurites triloha ) is widely distributed in tropical regions, and Aleurites cordnta of Japan is one of the trees that yield, by the agency of the lac-insect {Casteria lacca), the lac of commerce. Both Elseococca verrucosa and Elseococca vernicia are now grouped together under the name Aleurites cordata. E'L.a:ODEN'DRON (Xeo-Lat.. from Gk. fKala, elaia, olive-tree + SivSpov, dendron, tree). A genus of trees of the natural order Celastracea;. Ela-ondendron glaucum, a native of Ceylon and the south of India, is sometimes called the Ceylon tea-tree, from the resemblance of its leaves to those of the tea-shrub. The fine-grained, hard and tough timber of saffronwood (Elceodendron croeeum ) of the Cape of Good Hope, is much used in building and cabinet-making. The fruit of some South African species is eaten by the colonists. That of Elceodendron arpan, or .4r- (laniu sideroxylon, yields an oil similar to olive oil, which is much used by the Moors, See Abgax, EL'AGAB'ALTJS, incorrectly HE'LIOGAB'- ALTJS (204-222). Emperor of Rome from 218 to 222. He was born at Eniessa, Syria, and his real name wa-s Varius Avitus Bassianus, but hav- ing, when a mere child, been appointed high priest of the Syj'o-Phofnician sun-gml Elagabal, he as- sumed the name of that deity. Soon after the death of his cousin Caracalla, Elagabalus was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers, in opposition to the legitimate sovereign. JMacrinus, who had beccmie obnoxious to the troops from the severity of his discipline. The rivals met in battle at An- tioch in ..n. 218. Macrinus was defeated, and Elagabalus. quietly assumed the purple. His reign, which lasted rather more than three years and nine months, was infamous for the almost unparalleled debaucheries in which he indulged. He was murdered in an insurrection of the prae- torians on IIarch 11, ..D. 222. and was succeeded by his cousin and adopted son, Alexander Severus.