Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/250

* POLYCLITUS. 214 POLYDIPSIA. is that of the grciit chryselephantine statue of Hera at Argos, which was erected in the new temple built in place of the sanetuaiy burned in B.C. 433. The new temple was built at imee, and the statue can scarcely be much later than u.c. 420. It is possible that the statue of Zeus Mei- liehios at Argos was a htter work, and the Amazon of Kpliesus, which .seems to belong with similar .statues by Phidias, Cresilas, and IMirad- inon, is probably a work of about n.c. 44. The general character of liis Doryphorus (or Spear- bearer) also indicates a date not long after the middle of the llfth century. This c iilcncc agrees well with the ancient statements that Polyclitus was a younger contemporary of Phidias. That he was a pupil of Ageladas, the founder of the Ar- give school, is very doubtful on chronological grounds. In technical skill, delicacy of linish, and beauty of line he ranked with the greatest artists of his time, but ancient critics missed in his works the sublimity which marked the statues of Phidia.s. He followed in the lines already charac- teristic of the I'chiponncsian scliool. His figures are marked by a powerful iiuisciilar frame, rather thickset in proportion to the height, while the face is rather .square than oval, with broad brow, straight nose, and small chin, with the lines sharply defined, iiresenting a somewhat striking contrast to the fine oval which i.s characteristic of the .-Vftic school. A careful student of )iro])or- tions, Polyclitus eiiiliodied his theoiics init only in writing (if this is the meaning of the canon attributed to liiiii). but in his statues, and es- pecially in the Dorvpliorus, of which the best marble copy is in Naples, while the liead is represented in a bronze bust from Pompeii. Of the same character, but softer in its lines, is the Diaduinenos, or youth binding a fillet round his brow, which is preserved in several marble repli- cas, of which the best was found in a private house on the island of Delos. His Amaz(m is almost certainly reproduced in the marble of Berlin, and his strongly marked characteristics in form and pose render it possible to attribute to him or his school the originals of a number of other works. A younger Polyclitus, ])ossibly a nephew of the great sculptor, flourished in the next century, and enjoyed a high reputation not only as a sculptor, tuit likewise as an architect. He built the theatre in the sanctuary of Ascle- pius at Epidanrus, greatly and justly famed for the beauty nf its proportions, and the Tholos, or circular building, of which the use is uncertain, at the same place. Consult the histories of fireek sculpture cited under Gbeek Art; Furtwiingler, Masterpieces of drcck Srulpluri-. translated by E. Sellers (Lon- don and Xew York. 18!);j) : Mahler, Puli/klet iind seinr Schuir (Leipzig, 1902). POLYC'RATES (Lat., from Gk. no?vKpaTV(, I'oli/kratfs. A tyrant of Samos, born in the first part of the sixth century. Nothing is known of him until about B.C. oSri. when with the as- sistance of his brothers, Pantagnotus and Sy- loson. and a small band of conspirators, he seized the government of the island. After a short time Polyerates made himself sole despot, con- quered several islands of the archipelago, and even some towns on the Asiatic mainland, waged war sueee.ssfully against the inhabitants of Mile- tus, and defeated their allies, the Lesbians, in a great sea-fight. His fleet, which was probably the most powerful in all Greece, amounted to one hundred armed ^•llips. and he had a force of 1000 mercenary bowmen. He was in inti- mate alliance with Amasis. King of Kgypt. but this was ultimately broken oil' — according to He- rodotus, by .iiiasis,wlio became alarmed at the un- interrupted good fortune of Polyerates. He is reported to have written a letter to Polyerates, earnestly advising him to throw awaj' the pos- session that he deemed most valuable, and there- by avert the displeasure of the envious gods. Polyerates, in compliance with this advice, east a signet-ring of marvelously beautiful workman- ship into the sea: but a lisberiiian presented the tyrant with an unusually big fish that he had caught, and in its belly was found this same ring. It was quite clear to Amasis now that Poly- erates was a. doomed man, and he immediately broke off their alliance. Grote suggests that Polyerates, with characteristic perfidy, abandoned the Egyptian for a Persian alliance when he found the latter likely to be of more value to him in his ambitious designs. When Cambyses invaded Egjpt (n.c. 525) Polyerates sent him a contingent of 40 ships, in which he placed all the Samians disalfecled toward his tyranny, telling the Persian King not to let them come back. They escaped in some way or other the fate which Polyerates had designed for them, returned to Samos, and made war against the tyrant, but without success. Hereupon, they went to Sparta and succeeded in securing the help of botli the Spartans and Corinthians. A triple force of Samians, Spartans, and Corinthians embarked for Samos, and attacked the capital. After vainly besieging it for forty days they sailed ijway. and Polyerates now became niore powerful than ever. But a certain Oroetes, Persian satrap of Sardis, hail, for unknown reasons, conceived a deadly hatred against Polyerates, and having, by appeal- ing to his cupidity, enticed the latter to visit him. he seized and crucified him. about B.C. 522. Polyerates was a patron of literature and the fine arts, and had many poets and artists about his Court, among the former being Anaereon. POLYD'AMAS (Lat., from Gk. To?iM,iac). i 1 ) One of the Trojan heroes, son of Panthous, and friend of Hector. (2) A Thessalian victor in the Pancratium in the Olympic games of B.C. 4f)8, noted for his size and enormous strength, which caused him to be invited to the Court of Darius Ochus. POL'YDEC'TES (Lat.. from Gk. noXvieKTK, Pohidekti's). The son of the King of the island of Seriplius, turned into a stone by Perseus with the head of Medusa for attemiiting to force Danai- to marry him. POL YDETJ'CES. See Castor .xi> Pollux. POLYDIPSIA ( Neo-Lat.. from Gk. -oAt/tS/i/iof. polydipaios. very thirsty, from ~o'/.if, poli/s. much, many + d/r/ia, dipsii, thirst). Excessive thirst is a symptom of most diseases attended by a high temperature, but particularly of diabetes mellitus and insipidus, which are characterized by a constant desire for drink. On this account the insipid form has been called polydipsia, al- though the term is no longer used in this sense. In diseases attended with profuse watery dis- charges from the bowels, as cholera Asiatica. ex- cessive thirst is a prominent symptom, and an unusual desire for lluids is common in chronic ga.stritis and cancer of the stomach. See Dia- betes.