Ptolemæ´us First, called Ptolemy, surnamed Lagus. A king of Egypt, son of Arsinoe and Lagus. He was educated in the court of the king of Macedonia, and when Alexander invaded Asia Ptolemy attended him. After Alexander’s death Ptolemy obtained the government of Egypt, where he gained the esteem of the people by acts of kindness. He made himself master of Phœnicia and Syria, and rendered assistance to the people of Rhodes against their enemies, for which he received the name of Soter. He laid the foundation of a library, which became the most celebrated in the world. He died in his eighty-fourth year, about 284 years B.C. He was succeeded by his son, Ptolemy Philadelphus, who showed himself to be a worthy successor of his father. His palace was an asylum for learned men, and he greatly increased the library his father had founded. Ptolemy Third succeeded his father Philadelphus on the Egyptian throne. He conquered Syria and Cilicia, and returned home laden with spoils. He was, like his predecessors, a patron of learning and the arts. Ptolemy Fourth, called Philopater, succeeded to the throne, his reign being marked by acts of cruelty and oppression. He died in his thirty-seventh year, after a reign of seventeen years, 204 years B.C. Numerous members of this celebrated family in succession occupied the throne, not, however, approaching to the greatness of the founders of the family.
Ptolemæ´us. A celebrated geographer and astronomer in the reign of Adrian and Antoninus. He was a native of Alexandria, or, as some say, of Pelusium. In his system of the world, designated the Ptolemaic system, he places the earth in the center of the universe, which was generally received as correct till it was confuted by Copernicus.
Pyr´rhus. A famous king of Epirus, son of Æacides and Phthia. He is celebrated for his military talents; and not only his friends, but his enemies, have been warm in extolling him. He is said to have had no superior in the art of war. He wrote several books on encampments and the ways of training an army. He fought against the Romans with much valor, and they passed encomiums on his great military skill. He was killed in an attack on Argos, by a tile thrown on his head from a housetop.
Pyr´rhus. See Neoptolemus.
Pythag´oras. A celebrated philosopher born at Samos. He first made himself known in Greece at the Olympic games, where, when he was eighteen years old, he obtained the prize for wrestling. He also distinguished himself by his discoveries in geometry, astronomy, and mathematics. He was the first who supported the doctrine of metempsychosis, or transmigration of the soul into different bodies. He believed that the universe was created from a shapeless mass of passive matter by the hands of a powerful Being, who was the mover and soul of the world, and of whose substance the souls of mankind were a portion. The time and place of death of this great philosopher are unknown, but some suppose that he died at Metapontum about 497 years B.C.
Py´thon. A celebrated serpent sprung from the mud and stagnated waters which remained on the surface of the earth after the deluge of Deucalion. Apollo killed the monster.
Quintilia´nus, Mar´cus Fa´bius, a celebrated rhetorician, born in Spain. He opened a school of rhetoric at Rome, and was the first who obtained a salary from the State as a public teacher. He died A.D. 95.
Quin´tus Cur´tius Ru´fus. A Latin historian supposed to have lived in the reign of Vespasian. He wrote a history of the reign of Alexander the Great. This work is admired for the elegance of its diction.
Regil´lus. A small lake in Latium, famous as being the scene of a great Roman victory, which forms the subject of a fine poem by Lord Macaulay, called “The Battle of the Lake Regillus,” included in his “Lays of Ancient Rome.”
Reg´ulus, M. Attil´ius. A consul during the first Punic war. He reduced Brundusium, and in his second consulship he captured a great portion of the Carthaginian fleet. After further successes he was taken prisoner by the Carthaginians, who put him to death with refined tortures.