Anthropoph´agi. A people of Scythia who fed on human flesh. They lived near the country of the Messagetæ. Shakspeare makes Othello, in his speech to the Senate, allude to the Anthropophagi thus:—
“The cannibals that each other eat,
The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads
Do grow beneath their shoulders.”
Antig´one. A daughter of Œdipus, king of Thebes. She buried by night her brother Polynices, against the orders of Creon, who ordered her to be buried alive. She, however, killed herself on hearing of the sentence. The death of Antigone is the subject of one of the finest tragedies of Sophocles. The play has been adapted for representation on the English stage, Miss Helen Faucit performing the heroine with exquisite pathos.
Antig´onus. One of Alexander’s generals, who, on the division of the provinces after the king’s death, received Pamphylia, Lycia, and Phrygia. Eventually his power became so great that Ptolemy, Seleucus, Cassander, and Lysimachus combined to destroy him. He gained many victories over them, but at last was killed in battle at the age of eighty, B.C. 301. There were others of the same name, but much less conspicuous.
Antin´ous. A youth of Bithynia of whom the emperor Adrian was so extremely fond that, at his death, he erected a temple to him, and wished it to be believed that he had been changed into a constellation.
Anti´ochus, surnamed Soter, was son of Seleucus and king of Syria. He made a treaty of alliance with Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt. He wedded his step-mother Stratonice. He was succeeded by his son Antiochus II., who put an end to the war which had begun with Ptolemy, and married his daughter Berenice, but being already married to Laodice, she, in revenge, poisoned him. Antiochus, the third of that name, surnamed the Great, was king of Syria, and reigned thirty-six years. He was defeated by Ptolemy Philopater at Raphia. He conquered the greater part of Greece, and Hannibal incited him to enter on a crusade against Roma. He was killed 187 years before the Christian era. Antiochus Epiphanes, the fourth of the name, was king of Syria after his brother Seleucus. He behaved with cruelty to the Jews. He reigned eleven years, and died unregretted. There were many others of the same name of less note.
Ant´iope, daughter of Nycteus, king of Thebes, and Polyxo, was beloved by Jupiter. Amphion and Tethus were her offspring.
Antip´ater, son of Iolaus, was a soldier under King Philip, and raised to the rank of a general under Alexander the Great. When Alexander went to invade Asia, he left Antipater supreme governor of Macedonia. He has been suspected of giving poison to Alexander to advance himself in power.
Antoni´nus, surnamed Pius, was adopted by the Emperor Adrian, whom he succeeded. He was remarkable for all the virtues forming a perfect statesman, philosopher, and king. He treated his subjects with affability and humanity, and listened with patience to every complaint brought before him. He died in his seventy-fifth year, after a reign of twenty-three years, A.D. 160.