Typhœ´us, or Ty´phon. A famous giant, son of Tartarus and Terra, who had a hundred heads. He made war against the gods, and was put to flight by the thunderbolts of Jupiter, who crushed him under Mount Ætna.
Tyrtæ´us. A Greek elegiac poet born in Attica. Of his compositions none are extant except a few fragments.
Ulys´ses. The famous king of Ithaca, son of Anticlea and Laertes (or, according to some, of Sisyphus). He married Penelope, daughter of Icarius, on which his father resigned to him the crown. He went to the Trojan war, where he was esteemed for his sagacity. On the conclusion of the war he embarked for Greece, but was exposed to numerous misfortunes on his journey. In his wanderings, he, with some of his companions, was seized by the Cyclops, Polyphemus, from whom he made his escape. Afterwards he was thrown on the island of Æea, where he was exposed to the wiles of the enchantress Circe. Eventually he was restored to his own country, after an absence of twenty years. The adventures of Ulysses on his return from the Trojan war form the subject of Homer’s Odyssey.
Ura´nia. One of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She presided over astronomy.
Valentinia´nus the First. Son of Gratian, raised to the throne by his merit and valor. He obtained victories over the Barbarians in Gaul and in Africa, and punished the Quadi with severity. He broke a blood-vessel and died, A.D. 375. Immediately after his death, his son, Valentinian the Second, was proclaimed emperor. He was robbed of his throne by Maximus, but regained it by the aid of Theodosius, emperor of the East. He was strangled by one of his officers. He was remarkable for benevolence and clemency. The third Valentinian was made emperor in his youth, and on coming to maturer age he disgraced himself by violence and oppression. He was murdered A.D. 454.
Valeria´nus, Pub´lius Licin´ius. A celebrated Roman emperor, who, on ascending the throne, lost the virtues he had previously possessed. He made his son Gallienus his colleague in the empire. He made war against the Goths and Scythians. He was defeated in battle and made prisoner by Tapor, king of Persia, who put him to death by torture.
Var´ro. A Latin author, celebrated for his great learning. He wrote no less than five hundred volumes, but all his works are lost except a treatise De Re Rusticâ, and another De Linguâ Latinâ He died B.C. 28, in his eighty-eighth year.
Ve´nus. One of the most celebrated deities of the ancients; the goddess of beauty, and mother of love. She sprang from the foam of the sea, and was carried to heaven, where all the gods admired her beauty. Jupiter gave her in marriage to Vulcan, but she intrigued with some of the gods, and, notably, with Mars, their offspring being Hermione, Cupid, and Anteros. She became enamored of Adonis, which caused her to abandon Olympus. Her contest for the golden apple, which she gained against her opponents Juno and Minerva, is a prominent episode in mythology. She had numerous names applied to her, conspicuous amongst which may be named Anadyomene, under which cognomen she is distinguished by the picture, representing her as rising from the ocean, by Apelles. She was known under the Grecian name of Aphrodite.
Vespasia´nus Ti´tus Fla´vius. A Roman emperor of obscure descent. He began the siege of Jerusalem, which was continued by his son Titus. He died A.D. 79, in his seventieth year.
Ves´ta. A goddess, daughter of Rhea and Saturn. The Palladium, a celebrated statue of Pallas, was supposed to be preserved within her sanctuary, where a fire was kept continually burning.