A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

COTYLA.
Vulcan with forcipes behind him, the reverse an
eagle standing on a thunderbolt. [L. S.]
COTTA, L. AURUNCULE'IUS, served as
legate in the army of C. Julius Caesar in Gaul,
and distinguished himself no less by his valour
than by his foresight and prudence. In B. c. 54,
when Caesar, on account of the scarcity of provisions in Gaul, distributed his troops over a great
part of the country for their winter-quarters, Cotta
and Q. Titurius Sabinus obtained the command of
one legion and five cohorts, with which they took
up their position in the territory of the Eburones,
between the Meuse and the Rhine. Soon after,
Ambiorix and Cativolcus, the chiefs of the Eburones, caused a revolt against the Romans, and
attacked the camp of Cotta and Sabinus only fifteen days after they had been stationed in the:country. Cotta, who apprehended more from the
cunning than from the open attacks of the Gauls,
strongly recommended his colleague not to abandon
the camp and trust to the faith of the Gauls; but
Sabinus, who feared that they should be overpowered in their winter-quarters, was anxious to avail
himself of the safe-conduct which Ambiorix promised, and to proceed to the winter-quarters of
the legions nearest to them. After some debates,
Cotta gave way for the sake of concord among his
forces. The Romans were drawn into an ambuscade by the Gauls, and Cotta, who neglected none
of the duties of a general in his perilous position,
received a wound in his face while addressing the
soldiers; but he still continued to fight bravely,
and refused entering into negotiations with the
enemy, until shortly after he and the greater part
of his soldiers were cut down by the Gauls. (Caesar, B. G. ii. 11, v. 24-37; Dion Cass. xl. 5, 6;
Sueton. Caes. 25; Appian, B. C. ii. 150; Florus,
iii. 10; Eutrop. vi. 14.) [L. S.]
M. and P. COTTII, of Tauromenium in Sicily,
two Roman knights, witnesses against Verres.
(Cic. Verr. v. 64.)
CO'TTIUS, son of Donnus, was king of several Ligurian tribes in those parts of the Alps,
which were called after him, the Cottian Alps.
He maintained his independence when the other
Alpine tribes were subdued by Augustus, till at
length the emperor purchased his submission, by
granting him the sovereignty over twelve of these
tribes, with the title of Praefectus. Cottius thereupon made roads over the Alps, and shewed his gratitude to Augustus by erecting (B. c. 8) at Segusio,
now Suza, a triumphal arch to his honour, which
is extant at the present day, and bears an inscription, in which the praefect is called M. Julius Cottius, and the names of the people are enumerated,
of which he was praefect. His authority was
transmitted to his son, who also bore the name of
M. Julius Cottius, and upon whom the emperor
Claudius conferred the title of king. But upon
the death of this prince, his kingdom was reduced
by Nero into the form of a Roman province.
(Amm. Marc. xv. 10; Strab. iv. p. 204; Plin.
IH. N. iii. 20. s. 24; Orelli, Inscr. No. 626; Dion.
Cass. Ix. 24; Suet. Ner. 18; Aur. Vict. Caes. 5,
Epit. 5; Eutrop. vii. 14.)
CO'TYLA, L. VA'RIUS, one of Antony's
most intimate friends and boon companions, although Cicero says that Antony had him whipped
on two occasions, during a banquet, by public
slaves. He was probably aedile in B. c. 44, as he
is called in the following year a mani of aedilician

COTYS. 869
rank. When Antony was besieging Mutina, in
B.. 43, he sent Cotyla to Rome, to propose terms
of peace to the senate; and when after his defeat
at Mutina he had collected another army in Gaul,
and recrossed the Alps later in the year, he entrusted Cotyla with the command of the legions,
which he left behind in Gaul. (Cic. Philipp. v. 2,
viii. 8, 10, 11, xiii. 12; Plut. Ant. 18, who calls
him Cotylo.)
COTYS or COTYTTO (Ko'Tvs or KoTrUrcT), a
Thracian divinity, whose festival, the Cotyttia
(Did. of Ant. s. v.), resembled that of the Phrygian
Cybele, and was celebrated on hills with riotous
proceedings. In later times her worship was introduced at Athens and Corinth, and was connected, like that of Dionysus, with licentious frivolity.
Her worship appears to have spread even as far as
Italy and Sicily. Those who celebrated her festival were called f3dmatrr, from the purifications
which were originally connected with the solemnity. (Strab. x. p. 470; Hesych. Suid. s. vv.
Ko7vs, SiaaiTojris; Horat. Epod. xvii. 56; Juven.
ii. 92; Virg. Catal. v. 19; A. Meineke, Quaest.
Seen. p. 41, &c.) [L. S.]
COTYS (Ko'Tvs). 1. A king of Paphlagonia,
seems to have been the same whom Xenophon
(Anab. v. 5. ~ 12, &c.) calls Corylas. Otys also
is only another form of the name. A vassal originally of the Persian throne, he had thrown off his
allegiance to Artaxerxes II., and, when summoned
to court, as a test probably of his loyalty, had refused obedience. He therefore listened readily to
the recommendation of Spithridates to enter into
alliance with Sparta, and having met Agesilaus for
this purpose on his entrance into Paphlagonia, he
left with him a considerable reinforcement for his
army. For this service Agesilaus rewarded Spithridates by negotiating a marriage for his daugh.
ter with Cotys, B. c. 395. (Xen. Hell. iv. 1. ~ 3,
&c.) The subject of the present article has been
identified by some with Thyus, whom Datames
conquered and carried prisoner to Artaxerxes about
B. c. 364; but this conjecture does not appear to
rest on any valid grounds. (See Schneider, ad
Xen. Hell. 1. c.) [THvyUs.]
2. King of Thrace from B. c. 382 to 358. (See
Suid. s. v., where his reign is said to have lasted
twenty-four years.) It is not, however, till towards the end of this period that we find anything
recorded of him. In B. c. 364 he appears as an
enemy of the Athenians, the main point of dispute
being the possession of the Thracian Chersonesus,
and it was at this time that he first availed himself
of the aid of the adventurer Charidemus on his
desertion from the Athenian service [see p. 684,
b.]. He also secured the valuable assistance of
Iphicrates, to whom he gave one of his daughters
in marriage, and who did not scruple to take part
with his father-in-law against his country. (Dem.
c. Aristocr. pp. 663, 669, 672; Pseudo-Aristot.
Oecon. ii. 26; Nep. Iphicr. 3; Anaxandr. ap.
Athen. iv. p. 131.) In B. c. 362, Miltocythes, a
powerful chief, revolted from Cotys, and engaged
the Athenians on his side by promising to cede
the Chersonesus to them; but Cotys sent them a
letter, outbidding his adversary in promises, and
the Athenians passed a decree in the king's favour.
It has been thought that this was the same decree
which conferred on him the gift of citizenship.
(See Thirlwall's Greece, vol. v. p. 217; Ep. Phil.
ad Ath. p. 161, where he is called " Sitalces.")