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

ARCADIUS.
the friendship of the brothers of Constantine, when
they lived at Tolosa, and was afterwards called to
Constantinople to superintend the education of one
of the Caesars. (Auson. Parent. iii., Profess. xvi.)
A'RBIUS ("ApGLos), a surname of Zeus, derived
from mount Arbius in Crete, where he was worshipped. (Steph. Byz. s. v. 'Apets.) [L. S.]
ARBU'SCULA, a celebrated female actor in
Pantomimes, whom Cicero speaks of in B. c. 54
as having given him great pleasure. (Ad Att. iv.
15; Hor. Serm. i. 10. 76.)
ARCATDIUS, emperor of the East, was the
elder of the two sons of the emperor Theodosius I.
and the empress Flaccilla, and was born in Spain
in A. D. 383. Themistius, a pagan philosopher,
and afterwards Arsenius, a Christian saint, conducted his education. As early as 395, Theodosius
conferred upon him the title of Augustus; and,
upon the death of his father in the same year, he
became emperor of the East, while the West was
given to his younger brother, Honorius; and with
him begins the series of emperors who reigned at
Constantinople till the capture of the city by the
Turks in 1453. Arcadius had inherited neither
the talents nor the manly beauty of his father; he
was ill-shapen, of a small stature, of a swarthy
complexion, and without either physical or intellectual vigour; his only accomplishment was a
beautiful,handwriting. Docility was the chief
quality of his character; others, women or eunuchs,
reigned for him; for he had neither the power to
have his own will, nor even passion enough to
make others obey his whims. Rufinus, the praefect of the East, a man capable of every crime, had
been appointed by Theodosius the guardian of
Arcadius, while Stilicho became guardian of Honorius. Rufinus intended to marry his daughter to
the young emperor, but the eunuch Eutropius rendered this plan abortive, and contrived a marriage
between Arcadius and Eudoxia, the beautiful
daughter of Bauto, a Frank, who was a general in
the Roman army. Exposed to the rivalship of
Eutropius, as well as of Stilicho, who pretended to
the guardianship over Arcadius also, Rufinus was
accused of having caused an invasion of Greece by
Alaric, chief of the Goths, to whom he had neglected to pay the annual tribute. His fall was
the more easy, as the people, exasperated by the
rapacity of the minister, held him in general execration; and thus Rufinus was murdered as early
as 395 by order of the Goth Gainas, who acted on
the command of Stilicho. His successor as minister was Eutropius, and the emperor was a mere
tool in the hands of his eunuch, his wife, and his
general, Gainas. They declared Stilicho an enemy of
the empire, confiscated his estates within the limits
of the Eastern empire, and concluded an alliance
with Alaric, for the purpose of preventing Stilicho
from marching upon Constantinople. (397.) After
this, Eutropius was invested with the dignities of
consul and general-in-chief,-the first eunuch in
the Roman empire who had ever been honoured.with those titles, but who was unworthy of them,
being as ambitious and rapacious as Rufinus.
The fall of Eutropius took place under the following circumstances. Tribigildus, the chief of a
portion of the Goths who had been transplanted to
Phrygia, rose in rebellion, and the disturbances
became so dangerous, that Gainas, who was perlaps the secret instigator of them, advised the emseror to settle this affair in a friendly way. No

ARCADIUS. 257
sooner was Tribigildus informed of it, than he demanded the head of Eutropius before he would
enter into negotiations; and the emperor, persuaded by Eudoxia, gave up his minister. St.
Chrysostom, afraid of Arianism, pleaded the cause
of Eutropius, but in vain; the minister was banished to Cyprus, and soon afterwards beheaded.
(399.) Upon this, the Goths left Phrygia and
returned to Europe, where they stayed partly in
the neighbourhood of Constantinople, and partly
within the walls of the city. Gainas, after having
ordered the Roman troops to leave the capital, demanded liberty of divine service for the Goths,
who were Arians; and as St. Chrysostom energetically opposed such a concession to heresy, Gainas
tried to set fire to the imperial palace. But the
people of Constantinople took up arms, and Gainas
was forced to evacuate the city with those of the
Goths who had not been slain by the inhabitants.
Crossing the Bosporus, he suffered a severe defeat
by the imperial fleet, and fled to the banks of the
Danube, where he was killed by the Huns, who
sent his head to Constantinople.
After his fall the incompetent emperor became
entirely dependent upon his wife Eudoxia, who
assumed the title of " Augusta," the empress
hitherto having only been styled " Nobilissima."
Through her influence St. Chrysostom was exiled.
in 404, and popular troubles preceded and follow-.
ed his fall. As to Arcadius, he was a sincere
adherent of the orthodox church. He confirmed
the laws of his father, which were intended for its
protection; he interdicted the public meetings of
the heretics; he purged his palace from heretical
officers and servants; and in 396 he ordered that
all the buildings in which the heretics used to hold
their meetings should be confiscated. During his
reign great numbers of pagans adopted the Christian religion. But his reign is stigmatized by a
cruel and unjust law concerning high treason, the
work of Eutropius, which was issued in 397. By
this law, which was a most tyrannical extension of
the Lex Julia Majestatis, the principal civil and
military officers of the emperor were identified
with his sacred person, and offences against them,
either by deeds or by thoughts, were punished as
crimes of high treason. (Cod. ix. tit. 8. s. 5; Cod.
Theod. ix. tit. 14. s. 3.) Arcadius died on the 1st
of May, 408, leaving the empire to his son Theodosius II., who was a minor. (Cedrenus, vol. i.
pp. 574-586, ed. Bonn, pp. 327-334, ed. Paris;
Socrates, Hist. Eccles. v. 10, vi. pp. 272, 305-344,
ed. Reading; Sozomenes, viii. pp. 323-363; Theophanes, pp. 63-69, ed. Paris; Theodoret. v.
32, &c., p. 205, ed. Vales.; Chrysostom. (cura
Montfaucon, 2nd ed. Paris, in 4to.) Epistolae ad
Innocentium Papam, &c. vol. iii. pp. 613-629;`
Vita hrysostomi, in vol.xiii.; Claudianus.) [W. P.]
COIN OF ARCALIUS.
ARCA'DIUS, bishop of Constantia in Cyprus,
wrote a life of Simeon Stylita the younger, surS