Heraclius, a river of Greece. Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 37.——A brother of Constantine, &c.——A Roman emperor, &c.
Heræa, a town of Arcadia.——Festivals at Argos in honour of Juno, who was the patroness of that city. They were also observed by the colonies of the Argives which had been planted at Samos and Ægina. There were always two processions to the temple of the goddess without the city walls. The first was of the men in armour, the second of the women, among whom the priestess, a woman of the first quality, was drawn in a chariot by white oxen. The Argives always reckoned their years from her priesthood, as the Athenians from their archons, and the Romans from their consuls. When they came to the temple of the goddess they offered a hecatomb of oxen. Hence the sacrifice is often called ἑκατομβια, and sometimes λεχερνα, from λεχος, a bed, because Juno presided over marriages, births, &c. There was a festival of the same name in Elis, celebrated every fifth year, in which 16 matrons wove a garment for the goddess.——There were also others instituted by Hippodamia, who had received assistance from Juno when she married Pelops. Sixteen matrons, each attended by a maid, presided at the celebration. The contenders were young virgins, who being divided in classes, according to their age, ran races each in their order, beginning with the youngest. The habit of all was exactly the same; their hair was dishevelled, and their right shoulder bare to the breast, with coats reaching no lower than the knee. She who obtained the victory was rewarded with crowns of olives, and obtained a part of the ox that was offered in sacrifice, and was permitted to dedicate her picture to the goddess.——There was also a solemn day of mourning at Corinth which bore the same name, in commemoration of Medea’s children, who were buried in Juno’s temple. They had been slain by the Corinthians; who, as it is reported, to avert the scandal which accompanied so barbarous a murder, presented Euripides with a large sum of money to write a play, in which Medea is represented as the murderer of her children.——Another festival of the same name at Pallene, with games in which the victor was rewarded with a garment.
Heræi montes, a chain of mountains at the north of Sicily. Diodorus, bk. 14.
Heræum, a temple and grove of Juno, situate between Argos and Mycenæ.——A town of Thrace.
Herbessus, a town of Sicily at the north of [♦]Agrigentum, built by a Phœnician or Carthaginian colony. Silius Italicus, bk. 14, li. 265.
[♦] ‘Arigentum’ replaced with ‘Agrigentum’
Herbita, an inland town of Sicily. Cicero, Against Verres, bk. 2, ch. 64; bk. 3, ch. 32.
Herceius, an epithet given to Jupiter. Ovid, Ibis, li. 286.—Lucan, bk. 9, li. 979.
Herculanea via, a mound raised between the Lucrine lake and the sea, called also Herculeum iter. Silius Italicus, bk. 12, li. 118.
Herculāneum, a town of Campania, swallowed up, with Pompeii, by an earthquake, produced from an eruption of mount Vesuvius, August 24th, A.D. 79, in the reign of Titus. After being buried under the lava for more than 1600 years, these famous cities were discovered in the beginning of the 18th century; Herculaneum in 1713, about 24 feet underground, by labourers digging for a well, and Pompeii 40 years after, about 12 feet below the surface, and from the houses and the streets, which in a great measure remain still perfect, have been drawn busts, statues, manuscripts, paintings, and utensils, which do not a little contribute to enlarge our notions concerning the ancients, and develop many classical obscurities. The valuable antiquities, so miraculously recovered, are preserved in the museum of Portici, a small town in the neighbourhood, and the engravings, &c., ably taken from them have been munificently presented to the different learned bodies of Europe. Seneca, Quæstiones naturales, bk. 6, chs. 1 & 26.—Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 7, ltr. 3.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 4.—Paterculus, bk. 2, ch. 16.