Mandubratius, a young Briton who came over to Cæsar in Gaul. His father Immanuentius was king in Britain, and had been put to death by order of Cassivelaunus. Cæsar, Gallic War, bk. 5, ch. 20.
Manduria, a city of Calabria near Tarentum, whose inhabitants were famous for eating dog’s flesh. Pliny, bk. 2, ch. 103.—Livy, bk. 27, ch. 15.
Manes, a son of Jupiter and Tellus, who reigned in Mæonia. He was father of Cotys, by Callirrhoe the daughter of Oceanus.
Mānes, a name generally applied by the ancients to the souls when separated from the body. They were reckoned among the infernal deities, and generally supposed to preside over the burying places and the monuments of the dead. They were worshipped with great solemnity, particularly by the Romans. The augurs always invoked them when they proceeded to exercise their sacerdotal offices. Virgil introduces his hero as sacrificing to the infernal deities, and to the Manes, a victim whose blood was received in a ditch. The word manes is supposed to be derived from Mania, who was by some reckoned the mother of those tremendous deities. Others derive it from manare, quod per omnia ætherea terrenaque manabant, because they filled the air, particularly in the night, and were intent to molest and disturb the peace of mankind. Some say that manes comes from manis, an old Latin word which signified good or propitious. The word manes is differently used by ancient authors; sometimes it is taken for the infernal regions, and sometimes it is applied to the deities of Pluto’s kingdom, whence the epitaphs of the Romans were always superscribed with D. M., Dîs Manibus, to remind the sacrilegious and profane not to molest the monuments of the dead, which were guarded with such sanctity. Propertius, bk. 1, poem 19.—Virgil, bk. 4, Georgics, li. 469; Æneid, bk. 3, &c.—Horace, bk. 1, satire 8, li. 28.——A river of Locris.
Manētho, a celebrated priest of Heliopolis in Egypt, surnamed the Mendesian, B.C. 261. He wrote in Greek a history of Egypt, which has been often quoted and commended by the ancients, particularly by Josephus. It was chiefly collected from the writings of Mercury, and from the journals and annals which are preserved in the Egyptian temples. This history has been greatly corrupted by the Greeks. The author supported that all the gods of the Egyptians had been mere mortals, and had all lived upon earth. This history, which is now lost, had been epitomized, and some fragments of it are still extant. There is extant a Greek poem ascribed to Manetho, in which the power of the stars, which preside over the birth and fate of mankind, is explained. The Apotelesmata of this author were edited in 4to, by Gronovious, Leiden, 1698.
Mania, a goddess, supposed to be the mother of the Lares and Manes.——A female servant of queen Berenice the daughter of Ptolemy.——A mistress of Demetrius Poliorcetes, called also Demo, and Mania, from her folly. Plutarch, Demetrius.
Manilia lex, by Manilius the tribune, A.U.C. 678. It required that all the forces of Lucullus and his province, together with Bithynia, which was then under the command of Glabrio, should be delivered to Pompey, and that this general should, without any delay, declare war against Mithridates, and still retain the command of the Roman fleet, and the empire of the Mediterranean, as before.——Another, which permitted all those whose fathers had not been invested with public offices, to be employed in the management of affairs.——A woman famous for her debaucheries. Juvenal, satire 6, li. 242.
Mānīlius, a Roman who married the daughter of Tarquin. He lived at Tusculum, and received his father-in-law in his house, when banished from Rome, &c. Livy, bk. 2, ch. 15.——Caius, a celebrated mathematician and poet of Antioch, who wrote a poetical treatise on astronomy, of which five books are extant, treating of the fixed stars. The style is not elegant. The age in which he lived is not known, though some suppose that he flourished in the Augustan age. No author, however, in the age of Augustus has made mention of Manilius. The best editions of Manilius are those of Bentley, 4to, London, 1739, and Stoeberus, 8vo, Strasbourg, 1767.——Titus, a learned historian in the age of Sylla and Marius. He is greatly commended by Cicero, pro Roscio.——Marcus, another mentioned by Cicero, On Oratory, bk. 1, ch. 48, as supporting the character of a great lawyer, and of an eloquent and powerful orator.
Manĭmi, a people in Germany. Tacitus, Germania, ch. 43.
Manlia lex, by the tribune Publius Manlius, A.U.C. 557. It revived the office of treviri epulones, first instituted by Numa. The epulones were priests, who prepared banquets for Jupiter and the gods at public festivals, &c.