Belephantes, a Chaldean, who, from his knowledge of astronomy, told Alexander that his entering Babylon would be attended with fatal consequences to him. Diodorus, bk. 17.
Belĕsis, priest of Babylon, who told Arbaces governor of Media that he should reign one day in the place of Sardanapalus. His prophecy was verified, and he was rewarded by the new king with the government of Babylon, B.C. 826. Diodorus, bk. 2.
Belgæ, a warlike people of ancient Gaul, separated from the Celtæ by the rivers Matrona and Sequana. Their country, according to Strabo, extended from the Rhine to the river modernly called the Loire. Cæsar, Gallic War, bks. 1 & 2.
Belgĭca, one of the four provinces of Gaul near the Rhine.
Belgium, the capital of Gallia Belgica. The word is often used to express the whole country. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 5, ch. 24.
Belgius, a general of Gaul, who destroyed an army of Macedonians. Justin, bk. 23, ch. 2.—Polybius, bk. 2.
Belĭdes, a surname given to the daughters of Belus. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, li. 463.
Belīdes, a name applied to Palamedes, as descended from Belus. Virgil, Æneid bk. 2, li. 82.
Belisama, the name of Minerva among the Gauls, signifying queen of heaven. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 6.
Belisarius, a celebrated general, who, in a degenerate and an effeminate age, in the reign of Justinian emperor of Constantinople, renewed all the glorious victories, battles, and triumphs which had rendered the first Romans so distinguished in the time of their republic. He died after a life of military glory, and the trial of royal ingratitude, in the 565th year of the christian era. The story of his begging charity, with date obolum Belisario, is said to be a fabrication of modern times.