Teutoburgiensis saltus, a forest of Germany, between the Ems and Lippa, where Varus and his legions were cut to pieces. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 1, ch. 60.
Teutomatus, a prince of Gaul, among the allies of Rome.
Teutŏni and Teutŏnes, a people of Germany, who with the Cimbri made incursions upon Gaul, and cut to pieces two Roman armies. They were at last defeated by the consul Marius, and an infinite number made prisoners. See: [Cimbri]. Cicero, On Pompey’s Command.—Florus, bk. 3, ch. 3.—Plutarch, Caius Marius.—Martial, bk. 14, ltr. 26.—Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 14.
Thabenna, an inland town of Africa, African War, ch. 77.
Thabusium, a fortified place of Phrygia. Livy, bk. 38, ch. 14.
Thais, a famous courtesan of Athens, who accompanied Alexander in his Asiatic conquests, and gained such an ascendancy over him, that she made him burn the royal palace of Persepolis. After Alexander’s death, she married Ptolemy king of Egypt. Menander celebrated her charms both mental and personal, which were of a superior nature, and on this account she is called Menandrea by Propertius, bk. 2, poem 6.—Ovid, Ars Amatoria, bk. 3, li. 604; Remedia Amoris, li. 384.—Plutarch, Alexander.—Juvenal, satire 3, li. 93.—Athenæus, bk. 13, ch. 13.
Thala, a town of Africa. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 3, ch. 21.
Thalăme, a town of Messenia, famous for a temple and oracle of Pasiphae. Plutarch, Agis.
Thalassius, a beautiful young Roman in the reign of Romulus. At the rape of the Sabines, one of these virgins appeared remarkable for beauty and elegance, and her ravisher, afraid of many competitors, exclaimed, as he carried her away, that it was for Thalassius. The name of Thalassius was no sooner mentioned, than all were eager to preserve so beautiful a prize for him. Their union was attended with so much happiness, that it was ever after usual at Rome to make use of the word Thalassius at nuptials, and to wish those that were married the felicity of Thalassius. He is supposed by some to be the same as Hymen, as he was made a deity. Plutarch, Romulus.—Martial, bk. 3, ltr. 92.—Livy, bk. 1, ch. 9.
Thales, one of the seven wise men of Greece, born at Miletus in Ionia. He was descended from Cadmus: his father’s name was Examius, and his mother’s Cleobula. Like the rest of the ancients, he travelled in quest of knowledge, and for some time resided in Crete, Phœnicia, and Egypt. Under the priests of Memphis he was taught geometry, astronomy, and philosophy, and enabled to measure with exactness the vast height and extent of a pyramid merely by its shadow. His discoveries in astronomy were great and ingenious; and he was the first who calculated with accuracy a solar eclipse. He discovered the solstices and equinoxes, he divided the heavens into five zones, and recommended the division of the year into 365 days, which was universally adopted by the Egyptian philosophy. Like Homer, he looked upon water as the principle of everything. He was the founder of the Ionic sect, which distinguished itself for its deep and abstruse speculations under the successors and pupils of the Milesian philosopher, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, and Archelaus the master of Socrates. Thales was never married; and when his mother pressed him to choose a wife, he said he was too young. The same exhortations were afterwards repeated, but the philosopher eluded them by observing that he was then too old to enter the matrimonial state. He died in the 96th year of his age, about 548 years before the christian era. His compositions on philosophical subjects are lost. Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 7.—Plato.—Diogenes Laërtius, bk. 1.—Cicero, de Natura Deorum, &c.——A lyric poet of Crete, intimate with Lycurgus. He prepared by his rhapsodies the minds of the Spartans to receive the rigorous institutions of his friend, and inculcated a reverence for the peace of civil society.