Themistĭus, a celebrated philosopher of Paphlagonia in the age of Constantius, greatly esteemed by the Roman emperors, and called Euphrades, the fine speaker, from his eloquent and commanding delivery. He was made a Roman senator, and always distinguished for his [♦]liberality and munificence. His school was greatly frequented. He wrote, when young, some commentaries on Aristotle, fragments of which are still extant, and 33 of his orations. He professed himself to be an enemy to flattery, and though he often deviates from this general rule in his addresses to the emperors, yet he strongly recommends humanity, wisdom, and clemency. The best edition of Themistius is that of Harduin, folio, Paris, 1684.
[♦] ‘liberalty’ replaced with ‘liberality’
Themisto, a daughter of Hypseus, was the third wife of Athamas king of Thebes, by whom she had four sons, called Ptous, Leucon, Schœneus, and Erythroes. She endeavoured to kill the children of Ino, her husband’s second wife, but she killed her own, by means of Ino, who lived in her house in the disguise of a servant-maid, and to whom she entrusted her bloody intentions, upon which she destroyed herself. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 23.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9.——A woman mentioned by Polyænus.——The mother of the poet Homer, according to a tradition mentioned by Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 24.
Themistŏcles, a celebrated general born at Athens. His father’s name was Neocles, and his mother’s Euterpe, or Abrotonum, a native of Halicarnassus, or of Thrace, or Acarnaia. The beginning of his youth was marked by vices so flagrant, and an inclination so incorrigible, that his father disinherited him. This, which might have disheartened others, roused the ambition of Themistocles, and the protection which he was denied at home, he sought in courting the favours of the populace, and in sharing the [♦]administration of public affairs. When Xerxes invaded Greece, Themistocles was at the head of the Athenian republic, and in this capacity the fleet was entrusted to his care. When the Lacedæmonians under Leonidas were opposing the Persians at Thermopylæ, the naval operations of Themistocles, and of the combined fleet of the Peloponnesians, were directed to destroy the armament of Xerxes, and to ruin his maritime power. The obstinate wish of the generals to command the Grecian fleet might have proved fatal to the interest of the allies, had not Themistocles freely relinquished his pretensions, and by nominating his rival Eurybiades master of the expedition, shown the world that his ambition could stoop when his country demanded his assistance. The Persian fleet was distressed at Artemisium by a violent storm, and the feeble attack of the Greeks; but a decisive battle had never been fought if Themistocles had not used threats and entreaties, and even called religion to his aid, and the favourable answers of the oracle, to second his measures. The Greeks, actuated by different views, were unwilling to make head by sea against an enemy whom they saw victorious by land, plundering their cities and destroying all by fire and sword; but before they were dispersed, Themistocles sent intelligence of their intentions to the Persian monarch. Xerxes, by immediately blocking them with his fleet, in the bay of Salamis, prevented their escape, and while he wished to crush them all at one blow, he obliged them to fight for their safety, as well as for the honour of their country. This battle, which was fought near the island of Salamis, B.C. 480, was decisive; the Greeks obtained the victory, and Themistocles the honour of having destroyed the formidable navy of Xerxes. Further to ensure the peace of his country, Themistocles informed the Asiatic monarch that the Greeks had conspired to cut the bridge which he had built across the Hellespont, and to prevent his retreat into Asia. This met with equal success; Xerxes hastened away from Greece, and while he believed the words of Themistocles, that his return would be disputed, he left his forces without a general, and his fleets an easy conquest to the victorious Greeks. These signal services to his country endeared Themistocles to the Athenians, and he was universally called the most warlike and most courageous of all the Greeks who fought against the Persians. He was received with the most distinguished honours, and by his prudent administration, Athens was soon fortified with strong walls, her Pireus was rebuilt, and her harbours were filled with a numerous and powerful navy, which rendered her the mistress of Greece. Yet in the midst of that glory, the conqueror of Xerxes incurred the displeasure of his countrymen, which had proved so fatal to many of his illustrious predecessors. He was banished from the city, and after he had sought in vain a safe retreat among the republics of Greece, and the barbarians of Thrace, he threw himself into the arms of a monarch, whose fleets he had defeated, and whose father he had ruined. Artaxerxes, the successor of Xerxes, received the illustrious Athenian with kindness; and though he had formerly set a price upon his head, yet he made him one of his greatest favourites, and bestowed three rich cities upon him, to provide him with bread, wine, and meat. Such kindness from a monarch, from whom he, perhaps, expected the most hostile treatment, did not alter the sentiments of Themistocles. He still remembered that Athens gave him birth, and according to some writers, the wish of not injuring his country, and therefore his inability of carrying on war against Greece, at the request of Artaxerxes, obliged him to destroy himself by drinking bull’s blood. The manner of his death, however, is uncertain, and while some affirm that he poisoned himself, others declare that he fell a prey to a violent distemper in the city of Magnesia, where he had fixed his residence, while in the dominions of the Persian monarch. His bones were conveyed to Attica and honoured with a magnificent tomb by the Athenians, who began to repent too late of their cruelty to the saviour of his country. Themistocles died in the 65th year of his age, about 449 years before the christian era. He has been admired as a man naturally courageous, of a disposition fond of activity, ambitious of glory and enterprise. Blessed with a provident and discerning mind, he seemed to rise superior to misfortunes, and in the midst of adversity, possessed of resources which could enable him to regain his splendour, and even to command fortune. Plutarch & Cornelius Nepos, Lives.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 1; bk. 8, ch. 52.—Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 2, ch. 12; bk. 9, ch. 18; bk. 13, ch. 40.——A writer, some of whose letters are extant.
[♦] ‘adminstration’ replaced with ‘administration’
Themistogĕnes, an historian of Syracuse, in the age of Artaxerxes Memnon. He wrote on the wars of Cyrus the younger, a subject ably treated afterwards by Xenophon.
Theŏcles, an opulent citizen of Corinth, who liberally divided his riches among the poor. Thrasonides, a man equally rich with himself, followed the example. Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 14, ch. 24.——A Greek statuary. Pausanias, bk. 6, ch. 19.
Theŏclus, a Messenian poet and soothsayer, who died B.C. 671. Pausanias, bk. 4, ch. 15, &c.
Theoclymĕnus, a soothsayer of Argolis, descended from Melampus. His father’s name was Thestor. He foretold the speedy return of Ulysses to Penelope and Telemachus. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 15, li. 225, &c.—Hyginus, fable 128.
Theŏcrĭtus, a Greek poet who flourished at Syracuse, in Sicily, 282 B.C. His father’s name was Praxagoras or Simichus, and his mother’s Philina. He lived in the age of Ptolemy Philadelphus, whose praises he sung, and whose favours he enjoyed. Theocritus distinguished himself by his poetical compositions, of which 30 idyllia and some epigrams are extant, written in the Doric dialect, and admired for their beauty, elegance, and simplicity. Virgil, in his eclogues, has imitated and often copied him. Theocritus has been blamed for the many indelicate and obscene expressions which he uses; and while he introduces shepherds and peasants with all the rusticity and ignorance of nature, he often disguises their character by making them speak on high and exalted subjects. It is said he wrote some invectives against Hiero king of Syracuse, who ordered him to be strangled. He also wrote a ludicrous poem called Syrinx, and placed his verses in such order that they represented the pipe of the god Pan. The best editions of Theocritus, are Warton’s, 2 vols., 4to, Oxford, 1770; that of Heinsius, 8vo, Oxford, 1699; that of Valkenaer, 8vo, Leiden, 1781; and that of Reiske, 2 vols., 4to, Lipscomb, 1790. Quintilian, bk. 10, ch. 1.—Diogenes Laërtius, bk. 5.——A Greek historian of Chios, who wrote an account of Libya. Plutarch.