Dānŭbius, a celebrated river, the greatest in Europe, which rises, according to Herodotus, near the town of Pyrene, in the country of the Celtæ, and after flowing through the greatest part of Europe, falls into the Euxine sea. The Greeks called it Ister; but the Romans distinguished it by the appellation of the Danube, from its source till the middle of its course; and from thence to its mouths they called it Ister, like the Greeks. It falls into the Euxine through seven mouths, or six according to others. Herodotus mentions five, and modern travellers discover only two. The Danube was generally supposed to be the northern boundary of the Roman empire in Europe; and therefore, several castles were erected on its banks, to check the incursions of the barbarians. It was worshipped as a deity by the Scythians. According to modern geography, the Danube rises in Suabia, and after receiving about 40 navigable rivers, finishes a course of 1600 miles, by emptying itself into the Black sea. Dionysius Periegetes.—Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 33; bk. 4, ch. 48, &c.—Strabo, bk. 4.—Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 12.—Ammianus, bk. 23.
Daŏchus, an officer of Philip, &c. Plutarch, Demosthenes.
Daphnæ, a town in Egypt on one of the mouths of the Nile, 16 miles from Pelusium. Herodotus, bk. 2, ch. 30.
Daphnæus, a general of Syracuse, against Carthage. Polyænus, bk. 5.
Daphne, a daughter of the river Peneus or of the Ladon by the goddess Terra, of whom Apollo became enamoured. This passion had been raised by Cupid, with whom Apollo, proud of his late conquest over the serpent Python, had disputed the power of his darts. Daphne heard with horror the addresses of the god, and endeavoured to remove herself from his importunities by flight. Apollo pursued her; and Daphne, fearful of being caught, intreated the assistance of the gods, who changed her into a laurel. Apollo crowned his head with the leaves of the laurel, and for ever ordered that that tree should be sacred to his divinity. Some say that Daphne was admired by Leucippus, son of Œnomaus king of Pisa, who, to be in her company, disguised his sex, and attended her in the woods, in the habit of a huntress. Leucippus gained Daphne’s esteem and love; but Apollo, who was his powerful rival, discovered his sex, and Leucippus was killed by the companions of Diana. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 1, li. 452, &c.—Parthenius, Narrationes Amatoriæ, ch. 15.—Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 20.——A daughter of Tiresias priestess in the temple of Delphi, supposed by some to be the same as Manto. She was consecrated to the service of Apollo by the Epigoni, or, according to others, by the goddess Tellus. She was called Sibyl, on account of the wildness of her looks and expressions when she delivered oracles. Her oracles were generally in verse, and Homer, according to some accounts, has introduced much of her poetry in his compositions. Diodorus, bk. 4.—Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 5.——A famous grove near Antioch, consecrated to voluptuousness and luxury.
Daphnēphŏria, a festival in honour of Apollo, celebrated every ninth year by the Bœotians. It was then usual to adorn an olive bough with garlands of laurel and other flowers, and place on the top a brazen globe, on which were suspended smaller ones. In the middle were placed a number of crowns, and a globe of inferior size, and the bottom was adorned with a saffron-coloured garment. The globe on the top represented the sun, or Apollo; that in the middle was an emblem of the moon, and the others of the stars. The crowns, which were 65 in number, represented the sun’s annual revolutions. This bough was carried in solemn procession by a beautiful youth of an illustrious family, and whose parents were both living. The youth was dressed in rich garments which reached to the ground, his hair hung loose and dishevelled, his head was covered with a golden crown, and he wore on his feet shoes called Iphicratidæ, from Iphicrates, an Athenian who first invented them. He was called δαφνηφορος, laurel-bearer, and at that time he executed the office of priest of Apollo. He was preceded by one of his nearest relations, bearing a rod adorned with garlands, and behind him followed a train of virgins, with branches in their hands. In this order the procession advanced as far as the temple of Apollo, surnamed Ismenius, where supplicatory hymns were sung to the god. This festival owed its origin to the following circumstance: When an oracle advised the Ætolians, who inhabited Arne and the adjacent country, to abandon their ancient possessions, and go in quest of a settlement, they invaded the Theban territories, which at that time were pillaged by an army of Pelasgians. As the celebration of Apollo’s festivals was near, both nations, who religiously observed it, laid aside all hostilities, and according to custom, cut down laurel boughs from mount Helicon and in the neighbourhood of the river Melas, and walked in procession in honour of the divinity. The day that this solemnity was observed, Polemates the general of the [♦]Bœotian army saw a youth in a dream that presented him with a complete suit of armour, and commanded the Bœotians to offer solemn prayers to Apollo, and walk in procession with laurel boughs in their hands every ninth year. Three days after this dream, the Bœotian general made a sally, and cut off the greatest part of the besiegers, who were compelled by this blow to relinquish their enterprise. Polemates immediately instituted a novennial festival to the god who seemed to be the patron of the Bœotians. Pausanias, Bœotia, &c.
[♦] ‘Bœtian’ replaced with ‘Bœotian’
Daphnis, a shepherd of Sicily, son of Mercury by a Sicilian nymph. He was educated by the nymphs, Pan taught him to sing and play upon the pipe, and the muses inspired him with the love of poetry. It was supposed that he was the first who wrote pastoral poetry, in which his successor Theocritus so happily excelled. He was extremely fond of hunting; and at his death five of his dogs, from their attachment to him, refused all aliments, and pined away. From the celebrity of this shepherd, the name of Daphnis has been appropriated by the poets, ancient and modern, to express a person fond of rural employments, and the peaceful innocence which accompanies the tending of flocks. Ælian, Varia Historia, bk. 10, ch. 18.—Diodorus, bk. 4.——There was another shepherd on mount Ida of the same name changed into a rock, according to Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 4, li. 275.——A servant of Nicocrates tyrant of Cyrene, &c. Polyænus, bk. 8.——A grammarian. Suetonius, Lives of the Grammarians.——A son of Paris and Œnone.
Daphnus, a river of Locris, into which the body of Hesiod was thrown after his murder. Plutarch, de Convivium Septem Sapientium.——A physician who preferred a supper to a dinner, because he supposed that the moon assisted digestion. Athenæus, bk. 7.
Darăba, a town of Arabia.