Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/309

* MEGALOPOLIS. 277 MEGARA. MEGALOP'OLIS (Lat., from (ik.iMeiaXiiroXis, tireat Lity). A town in Southwestern Arcadia, founded in B.C. 370, by Kpaniinondas, who desired to make it the capital of an Arcadian con- federacy. The city was hiid out on a very large scale, liut it by no means fulfilled expectations. It maintained its independence against frequent Spartan attacks until B.C. 222, when it was sacked by C'leomcnes 111. Though rebuilt, it never seems to liave regained its importance. It was the native town of Philopremen, the great general of the Acha-an League, and also of the liistorian Pulybius. The city was situated in a fertile plain on both banks of the river Helisson, near its junction with the Alpheus, and was sur- rounded by a wall about five and one-half miles in length. Excavations which were conducted on the site bv the British School at Athens from 1890 to 18i"l3 laid bare the theatre and the Thersileion, or great hall where the Arcadian Assembly met, and on the other si<le of the river the temple of Zeus Soter, a long colonnade, and foundations of other buildings adjoining tlie marketplace. Consult Excavations at Megalofi- olis (London, 1802). MEGALOSATJ'RUS (Xeo-Lat., from Gk. lUtai, mi'ijds. great -{• <Tavpos, sauros, lizard). A carnivorous dinosaur allied to Ceratosaurus (q.v. ), found in the .Jurassic and Cretaceous de- posits of Europe and India. The North Ameri- can genus Lielaps of Cope from the Cretaceous formations is probably identical. The animal was from fifteen to twenty feet long with a medium sized head, the jaws of which were pro- vided with formidable teeth. The skeleton is liglit and the bones are partly hollow. The fore limbs are five-toed and small, and were probably of little use in locomotion. The hind limbs, on the other hand, are large and strong, and ter- minate in three toes armed by heavy claws. The tail was long and heavy. See Ceratosaurus; Dl.NOSAURIA. MEGANEURA, meg'a-nu'ra (Neo-Lat., from Gk. M^7a!. mcf/us, great + vevpi, iwiira. sinew). A fossil dragonllj" found in the coal measure beds of Commentry. France. It was perhaps tlie largest insect ever known, with a body about fifteen inches long and wings that had a spread of about twenty-seven inches. It is beautifully illustrated and described by Brogniart, in Rc- rhrrchcs pour servir a Vhistoire dm insectcs foxsilcs (leu femps primaires (2 vols., Saint Etienne, 1893). MEGAPHONE (from Gk.ij.iyas, mefias. great -- (jiui'ri. phone, voice, sound). A form of speak- ing-triMiipet used to render the voice audible at oonsiderable distances. It consists of a large funnel of tin or papier-mache, in which the sound- waves are so reflected that they issue from its mouth in approximately parallel direction.?. The- oretically a megaphone of paraliolie section would act as the best form of megaphone, especially if the resonance of the cavity did not afl'eet the propagation of sound by strengthening cer- tain sounds and destroying others by interference. (See .Acoi'STics.) The size and shape of the megaphone, however, are so regulated that the usual tones of the voice undergo the largest pos- sible amount of strengthening. For this reason a niegajihone to be used with the best effect by a woman would be different in size from that suited to the deeper notes of a man's voice. The mega- phone has succeeded the old speaking-trumpet for use at sea, and is generally employed by naval ollicers and mariners for commimieating with the shore or with a distant vessel. MEGAPODE. See Mou.nd Bird. IVTEGAPOLEN'SIS (Latinized form of Ian ilekelcnhury), Aouw^v.a (1003-70). The first Protestant missionary to the North American In- dians. The first Patroon. Van Rensselaer, brought him to this country from llollan<l in 1042. so that he might be a missionary to the Indians on the frontier, near Albany, and in this capacity he antedated John Eliot by several years. He learned to preach in the Mohawk language and made converts among them. He also befriended the heroic .Jesuit Fathers, .Jogues, Brcssani. and Poncet. From 1640 till his death, .Tanuary 24, 1670, he was pastor in New .msterdam. and it was he who urged Peter Stuyvcsanl to surrender without bloodshed in 1664. His Dutch account of the Jlohawk Indians is translated in the New York Historical .Societv's Collection.'!, vol. iii. (New York, 1870). MEG'ARA (Lat., from Gk. 'i.Uyapa). The capital of Megaris (q.v.), on the Isthmus be- tween the Peloponnesus and Northern Greece. It was built at the base of two hills, Caria and Aleathous, each defended by a citadel. Two walls, built by the Athenians during their protectorate over Megara, between B.C. 461 and 445, connected the city with its harbor, Nisiea. In the time of Pausanias the city contained many temples and public buildings, but of these only very scanty traces are now visible, of which the most interesting are perhaps the remains of the aqueduct and fountain built by the Tyrant Theagenes. The origin of ilegara is lost in legend, but as early as the eighth century B.C. it was a flourishing commercial city, and sent out many colonies, of which the most famous were Byzantium, Chalcedon, and the Sicilian Jlegara. Near the end of the seventh century we find it engaged in a fierce and protracted struggle with the Athenians for the island of Salamis, of which it long retained possession. The government had originally been in the hands of the Dorian landed aristocracy, from w-hom it was usurped about B.C. 020 by Theagenes. who led the popular faction, and established himself as absolute ruler of the State. Upon his expulsion, soon after, a fierce contest took place between the democratic and the aristo- cratic parties. After the Persian wars Jlegara carried on hostilities with Corinth, against which she formed an alliance with .Vthens, b.c. 461. Later the Athenians were compelled to surrender their hold on the city, and under a strict oligarchy it became a member of the Pelopon- nesian League. It was easily open to the attacks of the Athenians, and was by the "Megarian decree' of Pericles deprived of all markets in .ttica. It was frequently ravaged during the Peloponnesian Var. and almost captured at one time by the Athenians aided by the democratic party within. After this war the city plays but a small part in history. A democratic form of government w'as reestablished in B.C. 3.57 ; after the death of Alexander the Great the city passed under the control of Dcmetriiis Poliorcetes and Ptolemy Soter successively. Demetrius, the son of Antigonus Gonatas. captured and nearly destroyed it. It was afterwards partially re-