Hylax, a dog mentioned in Virgil, Eclogues, poem 8.
Hylias, a river of Magna Græcia.
Hyllaicus, a part of Peloponnesus, near Messenia.
Hyllus, a son of Hercules and Dejanira, who, soon after his father’s death, married Iole. He, as well as his father, was persecuted by the envy of Eurystheus, and obliged to fly from the Peloponnesus. The Athenians gave a kind reception to Hyllus and the rest of the Heraclidæ, and marched against Eurystheus. Hyllus obtained a victory over his enemies, and killed with his own hand Eurystheus, and sent his head to Alcmena his grandmother. Some time after he attempted to recover the Peloponnesus with the Heraclidæ, and was killed in single combat by Echemus king of Arcadia. See: [Heraclidæ], [Hercules]. Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 204, &c.—Strabo, bk. 9.—Diodorus, bk. 4.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 279.——A river of Lydia, flowing into the Hernus. It is called also Phryx. Livy, bk. 37, ch. 38.—Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 180.
Hylonŏme, the wife of Cyllarus, who killed herself the moment her husband was murdered by the Lapithæ. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 405.
Hylophăgi, a people of Æthiopia. Diodorus, bk. 3.
Hymĕnæus and Hymen, the god of marriage among the Greeks, was son of Bacchus and Venus, or, according to others, of Apollo and one of the muses. Hymenæus, according to the more received opinions, was a young Athenian of extraordinary beauty, but ignoble origin. He became enamoured of the daughter of one of the richest and noblest of his countrymen, and, as the rank and elevation of his mistress removed him from her presence and conversation, he contented himself to follow her wherever she went. In a certain procession, in which all the matrons of Athens went to Eleusis, Hymenæus, to accompany his mistress, disguised himself in woman’s clothes, and joined the religious troop. His youth, and the fairness of his features, favoured his disguise. A great part of the procession was seized by the sudden arrival of some pirates, and Hymenæus, who shared the captivity of his mistress, encouraged his female companions, and assassinated their ravishers while they were asleep. Immediately after this, Hymenæus repaired to Athens, and promised to restore to liberty the matrons who had been enslaved, provided he was allowed to marry one among them who was the object of his passion. The Athenians consented, and Hymenæus experienced so much felicity in his marriage state, that the people of Athens instituted festivals in his honour, and solemnly invoked him at their nuptials, as the Latins did their Thalassius. Hymen was generally represented as crowned with flowers, chiefly with marjoram or roses, and holding a burning torch in one hand, and in the other a vest of a purple colour. It was supposed that he always attended at nuptials; for, if not, matrimonial connections were fatal, and ended in the most dreadful calamities; and hence people ran about calling aloud, “Hymen! Hymen!” &c. Ovid, Medeâ; Metamorphoses, bk. 12, li. 215.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, &c.—Catullus, poem 62.
Hymettus, a mountain of Attica, about 22 miles in circumference, and about two miles from Athens, still famous for its bees and excellent honey. There was also a quarry of marble there. Jupiter had there a temple; whence he is called Hymettius. Strabo, bk. 9.—Silius Italicus, bk. 2, li. 228; bk. 14, li. 200.—Pliny, bk. 36, ch. 3.—Horace, bk. 2, ode 18, li. 3; bk. 2, satire 2, li. 15.—Cicero, bk. 2, de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, ch. 34.
Hypæpa, or Ipepæ, now Berki, a town of Lydia, sacred to Venus, between mount Tmolus and the Caystrus. Strabo, bk. 13.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11, li. 152.
Hypæsia, a country of Peloponnesus.