Orinus, a river of Sicily.
Oriobătes, a general of Darius at the battle of Arbela, &c. Curtius, bk. 4.
Orīon, a celebrated giant sprung from the urine of Jupiter, Neptune, and Mercury. These three gods, as they travelled over Bœotia, met with great hospitality from Hyrieus, a peasant of the country, who was ignorant of their dignity and character. They were entertained with whatever the cottage afforded, and, when Hyrieus had discovered that they were gods, because Neptune told him to fill up Jupiter’s cup with wine, after he had served it before the rest, the old man welcomed them by the voluntary sacrifice of an ox. Pleased with his piety, the gods promised to grant him whatever he required, and the old man, who had lately lost his wife, to whom he had promised never to marry again, desired them that, as he was childless, they would give him a son without another marriage. The gods consented, and they ordered him to bury in the ground the skin of the victim, into which they had all three made water. Hyrieus did as they commanded, and when, nine months after, he dug for the skin, he found in it a beautiful child, whom he called Urion, ab urinâ. The name was changed into Orion, by the corruption of one letter, as Ovid says, Perdidit antiquum littera prima sonum. Orion soon rendered himself celebrated, and Diana took him among her attendants, and even became deeply enamoured of him. His gigantic stature, however, displeased Œnopion king of Chios, whose daughter Hero or Merope he demanded in marriage. The king, not to deny him openly, promised to make him his son-in-law as soon as he delivered his island from wild beasts. This task, which Œnopion deemed impracticable, was soon performed by Orion, who eagerly demanded his reward. Œnopion, on pretence of complying, intoxicated his illustrious guest, and put out his eyes on the seashore, where he had laid himself down to sleep. Orion, finding himself blind when he awoke, was conducted by the sound to a neighbouring forge, where he placed one of the workmen on his back, and by his directions, went to a place where the rising sun was seen with the greatest advantage. Here he turned his face towards the luminary, and, as it is reported, he immediately recovered his eyesight, and hastened to punish the perfidious cruelty of Œnopion. It is said that Orion was an excellent workman in iron, and that he fabricated a subterraneous palace for Vulcan. Aurora, whom Venus had inspired with love, carried him away to the island of Delos, to enjoy his company with the greater security; but Diana, who was jealous of this, destroyed Orion with her arrows. Some say that Orion had provoked Diana’s resentment, by offering violence to Opis, one of her female attendants, or, according to others, because he had attempted the virtue of the goddess herself. According to Ovid, Orion died of the bite of a scorpion, which the earth produced, to punish his vanity in boasting that there was not on earth any animal which he could not conquer. Some say that Orion was the son of Neptune and Euryale, and that he had received from his father the privilege and power of walking over the sea without wetting his feet. Others made him son of Terra, like the rest of the giants. He had married a nymph called Sida before his connection with the family of Œnopion; but Sida was the cause of her own death, by boasting herself fairer than Juno. According to Diodorus, Orion was a celebrated hunter, superior to the rest of mankind by his strength and uncommon stature. He built the port of Zancle, and fortified the coast of Sicily against the frequent inundations of the sea, by heaping a mound of earth, called Pelorum, on which he built a temple to the gods of the sea. After death, Orion was placed in heaven, where one of the constellations still bears his name. The constellation of Orion, placed near the feet of the bull, is composed of 17 stars, in the form of a man holding a sword, which has given occasion to the poets often to speak of Orion’s sword. As the constellation of Orion, which rises about the 9th day of March, and sets about the 21st of June, is generally supposed to be accompanied, at its rising, with great rains and storms, it has acquired the epithet of aquosus, given it by Virgil. Orion was buried in the island of Delos, and the monument which the people of Tanagra in Bœotia showed, as containing the remains of this celebrated hero, was nothing but a cenotaph. The daughters of Orion distinguished themselves as much as their father; and when the oracle had declared that Bœotia should not be delivered from a dreadful pestilence before two of Jupiter’s children were immolated on the altars, they joyfully accepted the offer, and voluntarily sacrificed themselves for the good of their country. Their names were Menippe and Metioche. They had been carefully educated by Diana, and Venus and Minerva had made them very rich and valuable presents. The deities of hell were struck at the patriotism of the two females, and immediately two stars were seen to arise from the earth, which still smoked with the blood, and they were placed in the heavens in the form of a crown. According to Ovid, their bodies were burned by the Thebans, and from their ashes arose two persons whom the gods soon after changed into constellations. Diodorus, bk. 4.—Homer, Odyssey, bk. 5, li. 121; bk. 11, li. 309.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 3, li. 517.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 4.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bks. 8 & 13; Fasti, bk. 5, &c.—Hyginus, fable 125, & Poetica Astronomica, bk. 2, ch. 44, &c.—Propertius, bk. 2, poem 13.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, &c.—Horace, bk. 2, ode 13; bk. 3, odes 4 & 27; Epodes, poem 10, &c.—Lucan, bk. 1, &c.—Catullus, Carmina.—Palæphatus, bk. 1.—Parthenius, Narrationes Amatoriae, ch. 20.
Orissus, a prince of Spain, who put Hamilcar to flight, &c.
Orisulla Livia, a Roman matron, taken away from Piso, &c.
Orītæ, a people of India, who submitted to Alexander, &c. Strabo, bk. 15.
Orithyia, a daughter of Erechtheus king of Athens by Praxithea. She was courted and carried away by Boreas king of Thrace, as she crossed the Ilissus, and became mother of Cleopatra, Chione, Zetus, and Calais. Apollodorus, bk. 1.—Apollonius, bk. 3, ch. 15.—Orpheus.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 6, li. 706; Fasti, bk. 5, li. 204.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 19; bk. 5, ch. 19.——One of the Nereides.——A daughter of Cecrops, who bore Europus to Macedon.——One of the Amazons, famous for her warlike and intrepid spirit. Justin, bk. 2, ch. 4.
Orĭtias, one of the hunters of the Calydonian boar. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 8, fable 8.
Oriundus, a river of Illyricum. Livy, bk. 44, ch. 31.
Ormĕnus, a king of Thessaly, son of Cercaphus. He built a town which was called Ormenium. He was father of Amyntor. Homer, Iliad, bk. 9, li. 448.——A man who settled at Rhodes.——A son of Eurypylus, &c.