Hemerodromi. In Grecian antiquity, were, as the name imports, runners or couriers, who could keep running all day. In a country like Greece, where the roads were few and bad, the hemerodromi were indispensable for the rapid diffusion of important news. Every Greek state made a point of training a number of these men who could travel great distances in an incredibly short space of time, and at every dangerous crisis they were stationed on commanding points to observe and report at headquarters what it was necessary for the authorities to know. In the service of the Persian kings, these men were called angoroi, and the service angereion. Among the Romans these couriers were known as cursores; they traveled sometimes on foot, sometimes on horseback. It is a well-known fact that running footmen attended the Duke of Marlborough in his wars in the Low Countries and in Germany. In the Byzantine empire they were employed as sentinels at the gates of towns. When the gates were opened they were obliged to patrol round the outskirts of the town during the whole day. Frequently, indeed, they advanced considerably into the country, in order to discover whether any hostile body of men was approaching in order to surprise the garrison.
Henery Isle. A small island lying due south from Bombay. In 1790 it belonged to Ragojee Angria, and was a principal rendezvous of pirate vessels, though within sight of Bombay. Near it is another small island named Kenery, which is also fortified, and of considerable strength. It was taken possession of and fortified by Sevajee in 1679. In 1790 it belonged to the Peshwa, and was also the haunt of pirates.
Heneti. An ancient people in Paphlagonia, dwelling on the river Parthenius; fought on the side of Priam against the Greeks, but had disappeared before the historical times. They were regarded by many ancient writers as the ancestors of the Veneti in Italy.
Hengestdown. In Cornwall, England. Here Egbert is said to have defeated the Danes and West Britons in 835.
Hennebon. A town of France, in the department of Morbihan, on the Blavet. It was formerly a very strong place, and was successfully defended by the Countess of Montfort, when it was besieged by Charles de Blois, in 1342.
Henry Rifle. See [Magazine Guns].
Hephestion, or Hephæstion. A Macedonian courtier and commander, the son of Amyntor of Pella; became a favorite of Alexander the Great, whom he followed in the invasion of Persia and India. In the return of this expedition, Hephestion and Craterus commanded a separate part of the army. He died in 325 B.C.
Hep-pah, or Hippa. A New Zealand fort, or space surrounded with stout palisades.
Heptarchy. A government of seven; said to have been established by the Anglo-Saxons in England before the reign of Egbert (800-836 A.D.). Under Egbert, Wessex rose to be supreme, and virtually swallowed up the others. The common idea is that these seven kingdoms were contemporaneous; but all that can be safely asserted is, that England in this time was peopled by various tribes, whose leading occupation was war; and that sometimes one was conquered, sometimes another. At no time was there a counterpoise of power among seven of them, so that they could be said to have a separate, much less an independent existence. Still, seven names do survive, so as to use the term Heptarchy.
Heraclea. In ancient geography, a large and important city of Magna Græcia. It was situated in Lucania, between the small streams Siris and Aciris, a little way inland from the shore of the Tarentine Gulf. It seems to have been colonized about 432 B.C. In the wars with Pyrrhus it sided with Tarentum against Rome; but it afterwards abandoned its parent state and became an ally of the Roman people. It suffered severely during the Social war, but still retained a considerable measure of importance and prosperity. It afterwards fell into decay.