A complete dictionary of the Greek and Roman antiquities explaining the obscure places in classic authors and ancient historians relating to the religion, mythology, history, geography and chronology of the ancient Greeks and Romans, their ... rites and customs, laws, polity, arts and engines of war : also an account of their navigations, arts and sciences and the inventors of them : with the lives and opinions of their philosophers / compiled originally in French ... by Monsieur Danet ; made English, with the addition of very useful mapps.

O.

O Is the Fourteenth Letter in the Alphabet, and the Fourth Vowel: The O by its long and short Pronounciations represents fully the Omega and Omicron of the Greeks; the Pronuncia∣tion whereof was very different, says Caninius after Terentianus; for the Omega was pronounced in the Hollow of the Mouth with a great and full Sound, including two oo; and the Omicron upon the Edge of the Lips with a clearer and smaller Sound. These two Pronounciations they have in the French Tongue; the Long O they distinguish by the Addition of an S, as coste, hoste, motte; or by the Dipthong au, as haute, faute, &c. and the Affinity there is between this Vowel O and the Dipthong au, is not without an Example in the Greek Tongue, wherein you have 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, vulnus, according to the Dorick Dialect, from whence the Latins have also used caudex and co∣dex; Caurus or Corus, &c. And hence, perhaps, it is, that as this Dipthong au retains much of the A, so the O has some Affinity with the A; for the Eolians used 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, exercitus 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, supra; which was also imitated by the Romans, who took Domo from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, and used Fabius for Fovius, according to Festus, Far∣reus for Forreus, &c. And in the French Tongue the A and the O are often joined together in the same Word, as in Laon, faon, paon, which are pronounced with A Long, as Lân, fân, pân; tho Ramus says, that in his Time some distinguished

the Long O by these two Letters AO, which they did perhaps in Imitation of the Greeks who chan∣ged 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 or 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 as well as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in their Contractions into 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.

Again, the O has some Affinity with the E, whence it is that the Greeks from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 dico, have made 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 dixi, and the like; that the Eto∣lians used 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, tremo; and the Latins from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, made spondeo; from pen∣deo, pondus; from tego, toga; and they used to say adversùm or advorsùm; vertex or vortex; ac∣cipiter for accipitor, a Bird of Prey; bemo for bo∣mo; ambe and ambes for ambo and ambos, in En∣nius. But the O had still a greater Affinity with the V, whence the Ancients, as Longus says, ea∣sily confounded these two Letters, and tho' they writ Consol, they pronounced it Consul: Cassio∣dorus also informs us, they wrote praestu for prae∣sto; poblicum for publicum; colpam for culpam. Pliny in Priscian says the same thing; and thence it comes to pass that huc, illuc, are used for hoc, illoc, and this Virgil himself does:

Hoc tunc ignipotens caelo descendit ab alto. Aen. 8.

Quintilian also observes, that they used Hecoba, and Notrix with an O for an Ʋ; and that of Odysseus, the Eolians had made Ʋdysses, from whence the Romans said Ʋlysses; and that, in short, his Ma∣sters wrote servom with an O, whereas from his Time forward they wrote the same with two 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, servum. The two Dipthongs oe and oi come near the Greek Dipthong oi: The O among the Latins was very like unto the V; wherefore it often happened that the oe was changed into an u, as when from the Word poena they made punire; and thus we may still find in some old Inscriptions oisum or oesum put for usum, coira∣vit or coeravit for curavit; moenera for munera; and so also they used Puni for Poeni, and bellum Punicum for Poenicum. O in Arithmetick stands for a Cypher; it was also made use of for a Nu∣meral Letter that signified Eleven, and when they put a Bar above it, it stood for 11000.

OBELISCUS,

an Obelisk, a very high Stone set up perpendicularly for an Ornament to some Place, which had often Inscriptions and Hieroglyphicks upon it. The Difference be∣tween Pyramids and Obelisks consisted in that the Pyramids have a large Basis, but the Obelisks are very narrow: Pliny says, the Egyptians cut their Obelisks in the Form of a Sun-beam, and that the Word Obelisk in the Egyptian Tongue signi∣fied a Ray or Beam.

OBOLUS,

a Copper Coin worth a Maille or Two Mites, which is not above one 3d of a Far∣thing in our English Money: Some will have it only to be the Quarter Part of a Denier, the Half of a Maille: The Greels had Silver Oboles which were worth 11 Deniers, and as some would have it a French Penny (less by near a Fourth than the English Penny) and 4 Deniers. They had also Gold Oboles. M. Du Cange says, there has been in France Oboles of Gold and Sil∣ver, that the white Obolus was worth 3 Deniers, and was called Obole tierce, because it was the third Part of a French Penny. There were also Silver Oboles that weighed a Denier and 15 Grains.

Obolus in Physick is a Weight of 10 Grains, or Half a Scruple, and there are 3 Scruples go to a Dram or Gross. The Obolus amongst the Jews was a kind of a Weight named Gerab, weighing 16 Barley-Corns. The Obolus with the Sicilians was a Pound Weight: It was also a sort of Money: They pretend the Romans borrowed this Name from them: Borellus de∣rives the Word from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉; because the same was long and small like a Needle, from whence also he derives the Name of Obelisk.

OBSEQUIAE,

Obsequies, Funeral Solemnities; they are Ceremomes performed at the Burials of Great Persons, the Word being derived from Obsequium, because these Obsequies are the last Devoirs we can render to the Deceased. See Funus.

OBSTETRIX,

a Midwife, being such an one as delivers a Woman in Labour; Hyginus informs us, the Ancients having no Midwives, several Women died in Labour, because of their being ashamed to have Recourse to the Physi∣tians for Help, and since there was a Law a∣mong the Athenians which forbad Women to have any thing to do with Physick: Hereupon a young Woman called Agnodicia, having a great Inclination to the Science, disguised her self in Man's Cloaths and studied it, and then went to Women in Labour, and for the removing of all Scruples from them, she made her Sex known unto them and then delivered them. The Phy∣sitians observing that this would make them lose their Practise among the Women, sued the said young Woman, and accused her of ill Practises in Respect to the Female Sex: In short, they got her condemned by the Areopagites, but she gave them Proofs of her Innocence in a full Assembly: Then the Physitians had Recourse to the Law which prohibitted Women to profess Physick; upon which the Athenian Ladies inter∣posed in the Matter, and got the Law repealed; so that Women were left at full Liberty to study that Profession.

OCCASIO,

Opportunity, an Heathen God, whom Phaedrus, L. 5. Fab. 9. represents unto us thus:

A Man with Wings, and ran so swiftly that he could go upon the Edge of a Razor without hurting himself. One that hath Hair before, and is bald behind, with his Body stark naked; one that cannot be possest but by Prevention, and whom Jupiter himself can∣not

recover, if he has once been left to escape, which denotes to us, that he that loses his Op∣portunity meets with it no more.

OCCIDENS;

the West, It's one of the Four Cardinal Points of the Heavens and the Earth, the Place where the Sun and other Stars set in respect to us. The West of the Summer is that Point of the Horizon where the Sun sets, when 'tis in the Tropick of Cancer; the West of the Winter is that where the Son sets, when 'tis in the Tropick of Capricorn; and this hap∣pens when the Sun comes to the Points of the Solstices; each of them is 23 Degrees and an half distant from the true Point of the West.

OCEANUS;

the Ocean, is that main Sea which surrounds all the Earth; this Name, if we believe Hesychius, comes from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, which was the old Name thereof, and 'tis very like∣ly proceeded from that Hebrew Word Choug or Houg, that signifies a Circle; because it goes round the Earth: This Word Houg is in Scrip∣ture often to be met with in this Sence; or if you will, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 comes from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, because of the Swiftness of its Motion. Homer in his Iliads makes Oceanus to be the Father of the Gods, and Tethys their Mother.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.

This Opinion may have had its Origin from that Text in Genesis, where the Chaos seems to be represented like unto the Confusion of the Waters before God reduced them into order, and made a Distinction between them: In this Sence the Ocean and Tethys, that is, that Abyss which comprehended the Heavens and the Earth as an immense Quantity of Waters, before the same were separated by the Distribution made of the Chaos; this Abyss, I say, might be called the Father and Mother of all the great Bodies, of which Nature was composed, and which bore the Name of Gods among the Heathens. And where Plato says, that Oceanus was begotten of Caelum and Tethys, he means nothing else but the Ocean that was separated from the Heavens and the Earth, as it was upon the Reduction of the Chaos into order.

The innumerable Multitude of Petty Deities that preside over the Waters, whether they be Fountains, Lakes, Rivers, or Seas, might very well be the Occasion of giving unto the Ocean the Quality of the Father of the Gods: But in the main, this vast Number of Water-Gods, and their Genealogy, signifies no more than the Di∣stribution of the Waters of the Ocean, which is done throughout all the Earth, and which by its Vapours or Subterranean Conduits supplies all Fountains, Lakes and Rivers, insomuch that 'tis nothing but the Element of Water, and the Ocean that is continually animated by the Soul of the Universe, which makes its Divinity, ac∣cording to the Language of the Heathens. Vir∣gil in his Georgicks sacrificed to the Ocean.

Oceano libemus, ait:

And he brings in Aeneas sacrificing a Bull to the Gods of the Sea. Justine relates, that when Alexander had subdued and passed thro' Asia, as far as the Ocean, he offered Sacrifice, and pray'd him to grant him an happy Return into Greece; Oceano libamina dedit, prosperum in patriam redi∣tum precatus.

Diodorus Siculus says, that the Ancients gave the Name of Ocean to Moisture or the Liquid E∣lement, which is as it were the Nutriment, and consequently the Mother of all Things, and that this is the Meaning of the Verse before cited out of Homer; and to clear the Thing fully, we may add what he says elsewhere concerning Jupiter, and the other Gods or Stars, that they went to Ocea∣nus Habitation, to be entertained at a great Feast by him. Diodorus has said Oceanus and Tethys were the Nutriment of all Things; and Macrobius explains this Feasting of the Gods at Oceanus his House, by the Vapours of the Sea, wherewith the Stars were nourish'd, and where∣of they stood in need, for the Qualifying of their Heat, significans bauriri de bumore allmenta side∣ribus. This was an Opinion commonly enter∣tained by a great many of the Ancient Fa∣thers of the Church, who gave a Literal Expli∣cation of the Waters (which in Scripture are placed above the Firmament) and believed there was a great Quantity of Water above the Region of the fixed Stars, to allay the Heat of those Coe∣lestial Fires, and hinder them from burning the World. Tho' this Idea may seem odd, yet 'tis certain, the same is very agreeable to Truth, if it be cosidered, that the Stars being fiery Globes of an incredible Bigness, as well as the Sun, it was requisite to separate them from each other by very great Spaces filled with Air, and some Liquid Matter, wherewith to allay their Heat, and make them more tollerable, which in their own Natures were combustible; but 'tis no great Matter if the Name of Air or Water has been given to this Liquid Substance, wherein, as I may say, all these Globes or Luminaries, such as the Stars are, or dark Bodies, as the Planets and Earth, do swim. Eusebius gives us the Words of Porphyrie, who applies the Fable of the Poets in this Case entirely to the Coelestial or Elementary Bodies, and who says, that the Ocean was of a Liquid Nature in general; that Tethys was the Symbol thereof; that Achelous was drinkable Water; Neptune, the Sea-water; that by Amphitrite was meant, such Waters as are the Principle of Generation; Lastly, That the Nymphs and Nereides were such particular Waters, as are either sweet or salt.

OCTAVIUS CAESAR,

surnamed AU∣GUSTUS. See Augustus.

OCTOBER;

the Month of October, being the 8th Month of the Year in Romulus his Calen∣der, and 10th in that of Numa, has always retain∣ed its first Name in spight of all the different Names, the Senate and Roman Emperors would have given it: For the Senate ordered that this Month should be called Faustinus, in Honour of Faustina, the Wife of Antoninus, the Emperor: Commodus would have had it bear the Name of Invictus; and Domitian made it be called Domi∣tianus, according to his own Name. This Month was under the Protection of Mars. On the 4th Day of it was celebrated the Solemnity of Mun∣dus Patens. See Mundus Patens. On the 12th an Altar was dedicated to Fortune, entituled, Fortunae Reduci, to flatter Augustus at his Return to Rome, after he had pacified Sicily, Greece, Sy∣ria, Asia, and Parthia. On the 13th was kept the Feast of Fountains, called Fontinalia. 15th they sacrificed a Horse to Mars, called October equus. 19th was celebrated the Feast called Ar∣milustrium in the Armies. 28th, and following Days, the Plays of Victory were performed, which Sylla instituted. Towards the End of the Month the Vortumnalia, and Sarmatian Games were celebrated.

OCTOBER EQUUS;

an Horse which was sacrificed to Mars in the Month of October; there was then a Race run with Chariots, drawn each by 2 Horses, and he that run quickest was sacrificed to Mars. Plutarch gives Two Reasons for this Ceremony; the first was to punish the Horse for the Taking of Troy; the second, be∣cause the Horse was a Martial Creature, and ought to be offered in Sacrifice to the God of War.

OCULARIA;

Spectacles; its not belie∣ved that Spectacles were known to the Ancient Greek and Latin Poets; for it would be very strange if they had had any knowledge of them, that they never took an occasion to name them, and to make any Diversion with them upon the Stage: It would have been a Wonder that Pliny should make no manner of mention of them in his Chapter concerning the Inventors of Things: Indeed, there are some modern Authors who cite certain Fragments out of Plautus; such as Faber ocularius, and Oculariarius of Tomb-stones, and the Figure graven upon a Marble at Sulmo: But Dati, in a ••issertation of his, has shewed us the Weakness of all these Arguments. M. Spon, in the 16 Dissertation, Of his Searches af∣ter Antiquity, says, That Spectacles were invent∣ed in the Time of Alexander Spina, a Dominican of the Convent of Pisa, in the Year 1313.

ODEUM;

M. Perrault upon Vitruvtus, says,

I have been forced to retain the Greek Word, for it could not have been rendred into French (no more can it into English) but by a Peri∣phrasis, which also would have been very dif∣ficult, forasmuch as neither Interpreters nor Grammarians do agree about the Use of this Edifice.

Suidas, who holds that this Place was appointed to rehearse the Musick that was to be performed on the great Theater, grounds his Opinion upon the Etymology of the Word, which is taken from Ode, that in Greek signifies Song.

The Scholiast on Aristophanes is of another O∣pinion, and thinks that the Odeum was a Place erected wherein to repeat. Plutarch in the Life of Pericles, says, It was built for those Persons, who heard the Musicians when they disputed for the Prize; but the Description he gives thereof, lets us understand, that the Odeum was built Theater-wise; for, he says, it had Seats and Pil∣lars all round it, and was made with a sharp Top, with Masts and Sail-yards taken from the Per∣sians. Cratinus the Comick Poet, upon this Oc∣casion says by way of Raillery, that Pericles had ordered the Form of the Odeum of Athens, ac∣cording to the Shape of his own Head, which was sharp, insomuch that the Poets of his Time when they were minded to ridicule him in their Plays, intended him under the Name of Jupiter, Scinos Cephalos; that is, one who hath a sharp Head, like a Tooth-picker, which the Ancients made of a Shrub called Scinos, which is the Mastick.

OEDIPUS;

the Son of Laius and Jocasta; Laius, King of Thehes, having married Jocasta, the Daughter of Creon, understood by the Ora∣cle, that they should have a Son born of that Mar∣riage, who should kill him; which made him command Jocasta to strangle all the Children she should bear: Oedipus being born, his Mother gave him to a Soldier to kill him, in pursuance to the King's Command, but he contented him∣self to make Holes in his Feet, and to run an Ozier Twig thro' them, wherewith he hung him to a Tree upon Mount Cithaeron. Phorbas, one of Polybius his Shepherds, who was King of Co∣rinth, finding the Infant hanging in that man∣ner, and taking pitty of him, he made a Pre∣sent of him to the Queen, who brought him up as her own Child; they gave him the Name of Oedipus, because of the Swelling that remained in his Feet, which had been pierced through. When he grew up, he went to consult the Ora∣cle, in order to know who was his Father, answer was made, That he should find him in Phocis; upon which he went thither, and meeting with him in a popular Tumult, he killed his Father Laius, and did not know him, as he endeavoured to appease them. Juno being an Enemy to the Thebans, sent the Monster Sphinx near unto Thebes, that had the Face and Speech of a Virgin, the Body of a Dog, the Tail of a Dragon, and the Claws of a Lion, with the Wings of a Pird. she proposed some Enigmatical Questions or Riddies to all Passengers, and if they could not resolve the same, she presently devoured them,

insomuch that no Body durst come near the City: Hereupon they had Recourse to the Ora∣cle, who answered, they could not be freed from this Monster, unless this Riddle were explain∣ed, viz. What Animal it was that in the Morn∣ing went upon Four Feet, at Noon upon Two, and at Night upon Three. Creon, who had pos∣sest himself of the Kingdom after the Death of Laius, caused it to be published throughout all Greece, that he would quit his Kingdom, and give Joeasta, Laius his Widow, for a Wife to any one that should explain the Riddle: Oedipus did it, and explained it thus; saying, That it was a Man, who in his Infancy crawled upon all Fours like a Beast, leaning upon his Hands and Feet; that at Years of Maturity he went only upon his Two Feet; and at last being broken with Age, leaned upon a Stick as he walked. The Monster seeing her self overcome, and trans∣ported with Rage, went and knock'd her own Brains out against a Rock. Oedipus as his Re∣ward had the Kingdom given him, and igno∣rantly married his own Mother Jocasta. In the mean time the Gods sent a terrible Plague upon Athens, to revenge the Death of Laius, which, according to the Oracle, whom they consulted for that Purpose, was not to cease, but with the banishment of him who had killed him: Upon this they had Recourse to the Art of Negro-mancy, for the Discovering of him, and it was found to be Oedipus; who then coming to know his Crimes, put out both his Eyes, and con∣demned himself to perpetual Banishment: He withdrew when he was very old to Athens, to die there, according to the Order of the Ora∣cle, near the Temple of the terrible Goddesses, in a Place named Equestris Colonus, where Nep∣tune, surnamed Equestris, was worshipped.

OENOMAUS,

King of Elis, who had a very beautiful Daughter, called Hippodamia; when he understood by the Oracle, that his Son∣in-Law should be the Cause of his Death, he would not give his Daughter in Marriage to any one but he who should outdo him in a Race, or else lose his Life: Pelops, who was in Love with Hippodamia, accepted of the Offer, and having bribed Myrtilus, Oenomaus his Charioteer, he caused the Chariot to break in the middle of the Race, and threw down Oenomaus, who was kil∣led with his Fall; so that by this means he got the Kingdom, and married Hippodamia.

OENONE;

a Nymph of Mount Ida, who fell in Love with handsome Paris, and foretold him the Misfortunes he should one Day bring upon his Country by stealing away Helen. Dictys Cretensis says, when she saw the Body of Paris, which was brought to her to be buried, she died of Grief.

OENOTRIA;

that Part of Italy which lies towards Sicily, and called so from the Plenty of Wines it produceth. Some Authors say it took its Name from Oenotrius the Arca∣dian, as Pausanias; but Varro will have it from Oenotrius, King of the Sabines: This Name was afterwards given to all Italy.

OETA;

a Mountain which divides Thessaly from Macedonia, and is famous for the Death of Hercules, who from it was called Oetaeus; this Mountain abounded in Hellebore.

OGYGES,

King of the Thebans, and the Founder of the City of Ihebes about 1500 Years before the City of Rome, according to Varro, L. 3. de Re rustica, tho' others attri∣bute the Founding thereof to Cadmus. St. Au∣gustine relates that a greater Deluge happen∣ed in this King's Time, than that of Deuco∣lion.

OGYGIA;

an Island between the Seas of Phoenicia and Syria, famous for the Residence of Calypso, who there entertained Ʋlysses after his Shipwrack, and with whom he staid Seven Years. There is Reason to believe, that the Island of Ogygia is an imaginary Thing only. Plutarch places it in the Ocean Five Days sail from Bri∣tannia towards the West. Pliny puts it in the Mediterranean, near unto Locris, and calls it Calypsus; and this he seems to say in favour of Homer, and to let us see that that Poet had some Reason to make Ʋlysses go into the Isle of Ogygia, where that Hero received some secret Favours from Queen Calypso. Lucian ridicules Homer and Ʋlysses upon this Occasion very pleasantly, where he says in his Coelestial Navigation, that he found Ʋlysses in the Isle of the Blessed, and that that Hero charg'd him to carry a Letter to Ca∣lypso into the Island of Ogygia; but herein he would not have himself forget that from the very Beginning of his Story he had protested he would not say a Word of Truth. Ptolomy speaks of a Town in B••otia in Greece, which he calls Ogyges or Thisbe, and was built by a Prince of that Country called Ogyges: The Name of the said Prince gives some Cause to think, that Fabius Pictor speaks of Gomer under the Name of Ogyges, and that Ogyges, Saturn and Gomer in that Age were the same Person: The Reason whereof is, that that Ogyges of Ptolomy reign'd a little after the Deluge, as Pausanias and Bero∣sus assure us.

OLYMPUS;

a Phrygian, who was an ex∣cellent Musician, and Player upon string'd In∣struments, and according to Plutarch, in his Treatise of Musick, brought the Invention there∣of into Greece: He was also the first who at the Obsequies of Python play'd a mournful Tune af∣ter the Lydian Mode.

OLYMPUS;

Mount Olympus, scituated in that Part of Thessaly which is towards Macedo∣nia: Its very high, and the Air there always so∣rene, which made the Poets take it for Heaven; they feign'd that Jupiter governed Olympus, that is Heaven.

OLYMPIADES;

the Olympiads; a Chro∣nological Term, being the Space of Four Years: The Greeks reckoned by Olympiads, every one of which contained the Space of Four whole Years; and these Olympiads took their Name from the Olympick Games, that were celebrated near the City of Pisa, otherwise called Olympia, in Peloponesus, from whence the said Games were so named. These Games are also called Iphiti, because Iphitus instituted them, or at least wise renewed the Solemnities of them. The first Olympiad began in the Year of the World 3938, and of the Julian Period, An. 3208, and 777 Years before Christ's Nativity: The Pelo∣ponesian War began the first Year of the 87 O∣lympiads.

OLYMPICI,

Ludi is understood; the O∣lympick Games: They were famous Games a∣mongst the Greeks that consisted of Five sorts of Exercises, viz. Running, Whorlbat or Quoiting, Jumping and Wrestling: Pelops was accounted to be the Instituter of them after the successful Battle he fought against Oenomaus, whereby he obtained Hippodamia. however Hercules depri∣ved him of Part of the Glory of this Institution, either because he revived the Ceremonies there∣of that had been neglected, or because he added to the Magnificence of the same; they were ce∣lebrated every Fourth Year near unto Olympia a City of Elis: They became so solemn that the Greeks made them their Epact to reckon their Years by, which were called Olympiads, and this lasted after the Reform of the Calender even to the Reign of Constantine; those who won the Prize were so much honoured, that when they return'd to their own Country, a Piece of the Wall was beat down that they might enter tri∣umphantly in a Chariot into the City; Cato brought these Games to Rome, and Augustus in∣stituted others like them which he dedicated to Apollo after his Victory at Actium.

OPS;

the Romans gave the Name of Ops to the Earth, because of its Power to give us Re∣lief: Opis differs from Ops, and is one of the Names of Diana among the Greeks, because she assisted Women in Labour: Its also the Name of one of Diana's Nymphs in the Eneids, L. 4. And thus Servius speaks concerning this Distincti∣on of Names; Cùm Terramdicimus, haec Ops facit, si Nympham dicamus, baec Opis: si divitias, hae opes numero tantùm plurali: We have said before, that Caelum and Terra, Saturn and Ops were the first Gods of the Latins.

ORACULUM,

an Oracle; an ambigu∣ous and obscure Answer which the Heathen Priests made to the People concerning Things to come, by making them to believe that the Gods spoke by their Mouths: The Madness and Blindness of the Heathens in respect to their Oracles cannot be sufficiently admired, the same being captious and obscure, and nothing else but the pure Artifice of the Priests without any, Dia∣bolical Operation: The Custom of Consulting the Oracles was not known in the Golden Age, wherein they lived in Tranquillity of Mind, and perfect Innocence, whereas afterwards the in∣constant and restless Humour of Mankind lead them to make Enquiry after Futurity: Ovid in∣deed says, that Themis in the Time of the De∣luge pronounced Oracles,

Fatidicamque Themin quae tunc Oracla tenebat.

But this is to make the Usage of Oracles to exist in the first Ages against the Judgment of Sta∣cius, and what we read in the Scripture. For tho' God spoke to Adam and to Noah, yet 'tis certain that Divine Apparitions and Predictions, Divinations and the Responses of Oracles did not begin to be frequent till the Time of Abra∣ham, to whom God began to make Promises of the Land of Canaan; that is, that it was not till the second Millenium was expired, when Men be∣gan to be engaged to the Service of God by Pro∣mises and frequent Predictions of future Bles∣sings: And this the Devil delay'd not to imitate amongst the Gentiles.

I do not know of any thing more ancient than what Homer says concerning the Oracle of Jupiter at Dodona, which Ʋlysses went to consult, that he might learn of the Oak-Trees the way to get back to Ithaca: However, Herodotus says, that the Phoenicians having stole away Two Pro∣phetesses from Thebes in Egypt; one of them they carried to Lybia, and the other to Greece; and that these set up Two Oracles, the one Jupiter Ammon in Affrica, and the other Jupiter Dodoneus in the Oak-Tree Grove of Dodona; thus Oracles had their Beginning in Egypt, and from thence passed into Lybia and Greece: O∣thers have said, that they were Two Doves that were brought up at Thebes, which deliver∣ed Oracles at Dodona and Ammon: Silius Italicus has followed this Opinion.

In gremio Thebes geminas sedisse columbas.

Strabo says, that the Oracles of Dodona and of Jupiter Olympius were silent in his Time; he speaks elsewhere at large of the Oracle at Del∣phos. Tacitus informs us, that Germanicus con∣sulted the Oracle of Apollo at Colophon in Asia: The Priest went down to it into a Cave, af∣ter having only taken the Names, and Number of such as came to consult it, and answered all of them in Verse tho' he had not studied at all for it. Lucian in his Treatise de Dea Syriae, or the God∣dess of Syria, speaks of an Oracle of Apollo,

wherein that God gave Answers himself, where∣as otherwise his Priests did it. When he was about to predict any thing, he shook him∣self; then his Priests took him upon their Shoul∣ders,

and if they did not, he moved himself and sweated; when they took him up, he led them where he pleased, guiding them as a Coach∣man does his Horses, turning this or that Way, and passing from one to the other, until the Chief Priest asked what he had a mind to know. If the Thing displeased him he went back, but if otherwise he advanced forwards, and I have seen him once raise himself up and pass thro' the Air: This is the Way they come to know his Will: and they do nothing either in Pub∣lick or Private without having first consulted him: He foretells the Change of Times and Seasons, and even Death it self.

Cicero observes that all Nations have taken their Divinations from such things as were most familiar to them; the Egyptians and Babilonians from the Stars: The Tuscans, from the Entrails of the Beasts they sacrificed: The Arabs, Phrygians and Cilicians, who were always in the Fields, from the Flight and Singing of Birds: Ammia∣nus Marcellinus speaks of a singular Way of Di∣vination used among the Scythians, with long Staves, (which the Women made Choise of) being that which was called Rhabdomancy, where∣of the Scripture gives us an Example in the As∣syrians who made use of it. The Words of Am∣mianus are these; Futura miro praesagiuns modo. Nam rectiores virgas faeminae colligentes, easque cum incantamentis quibusdam secretis praestituto tempore discernentes, apertè quid portendatur no∣runt. Nebuchodonozer laying Siege to Jerusalem, made use of Three different Ways in order to know the Event of his Enterprize, Commiscens sagittas, interrogavit Idola, exta consuluit; he u∣sed Rhabdomancy by mixing and unmixing his Ar∣rows; consulted the Idols, that is the Oracles; and inspected the Entrails of Beasts. And thus the Assyrians and Babilonians might very well communicate their Superstitions to the Egyptians, who might afterwards send them from thence into Greece; for in Homer we have neither any Inspection made into the Entrails of Beasts, no Oracles of the Idols consulted, nor any Rhabdo∣mancy; they were the Oak-Trees at Dodona, and not the Idols that delivered Oracles. Herodo∣tus treats at large of the Rhabdomancy of the Scythians, and Strabo speaks concerning that of the Persians.

There is no Certainty that Daemons delivered Oracles, they were the Priests of those false Gods that did it, and who for Money made what∣ever. Answer the Enquirer pleased; and upon this Account a little Treatise in Latin writ by Van-Dalen, Doctor of Physick, may be consult∣ed: Its true, that Maebius pretends to refute Van-Dalen, and one of the greatest Arguments he produces is this; That God forbad the Chil∣dren of Israel to consult Vizzards and Spirits of Divination; from whence he concludes, that Ptyhon, by which Torm Daemons were meant, were concerned with Oracles; but for the Re∣futing hereof, it may be said, That God speaks of no other than Magick and Negromancy; wherewith the Daemons without doubt concern∣ed themselves: I need do no more than relate a Passage out of Lucian's Dialogue concerning Alexander the Quack, to convince People, that the Imposture and Malice of Men had a greater Share in those Oracles than the Daemons, unless it may be said that those who took upon them to deliver Oracles were themselves inspired by the Spirit of the Daemon. Lucian's Words are these:

That Impostor finding a favourable Op∣portunity, delivered Oracles for Money, ac∣cording to the Example of Amphilocus; who after the Death of his Father Amphiaraus, being driven out of Thebes, withdrew into Asia, where he predicted Things to come for a Half-Penny apiece to the Barbarians: Then he gave them Notice that the God himself in such a Time would give them Answers, and that every one should write his Desire in a Letter sealed: Af∣ter which, shutting himself up in the Sanctuary of the Temple, he called them all who had gi∣ven him their Letters, according to their turn by an Herald, and return'd them sealed to them with the God's Answer. It would not be diffi∣cult for a Man of Sence to find out the Cheat, but these foolish People did not perceive that he opened every Letter, and after he had in∣serted what Answer he thought fit, returned them sealed up as before; for there are seve∣ral ways to open Letters without breaking the Seal; and I will give some Instances hereof, that so a piece of Subtilty may not pass for a Miracle: In the first place you may with an hot Needle loosen the Wax that fixes the Thread to the Letter, without breaking the Seal at all, and when you have read what you have a mind it may be closed up in the same manner: There is another Invention for this Purpose, and that consists of Lime and Glew; or is prepared with Mastick compounded with Pitch, Wax and Brimstone, mixed with the Powder of a very transparent Stone, whereof they make a Ball, with which while the same is yet soft they take off the Impression of the Seal, after they have rubbed it with Hogs-grease, for it hardens presently, and serves to make an Im∣pression as if it were the Seal it self.

Many have thought that Oracles ceased upon the Coming of Christ, as Eusebius for one, who grounds his Opinion upon a Passage taken out of Porphyrie:

I'll tell thee the Truth concerning the Oracles of Delphos and Cluros, says Apollo to his Priest: Formerly there came out of the Bowels of the Earth an infinite Number of O∣racles, and from Fountains and Exhalations, which inspired them with Divine Raptures; but the Earth by the continual Changes which Time has introduced; has reassumed, and cad∣sed

them to re-enter into her self, Fountains and Exhalations: There are no more left but the Waters of Mycale in the Plains of Didymus, and those of Claros, and the Oracle of Parnassus.

Now this Passage does not say, that Oracles were ceased; and moreover, it excepts Three of them; which is enough to shew us, that Ora∣cles did not cease at the Coming of Christ, see∣ing also we have several Proofs to the contrary in Ancient Writers, who make it appear, that Oracles lasted above 400 Years after Christ's Coming, and that they were not wholly silenced but with the total Destruction of Paganism. Sue∣tonius in Nero's Life, says, That the Oracle of Delphos forewarn'd him to beware of 73 Years; and that Nero believed he should not die before that time, not dreaming that Old Galba, who was of that Age, should dispossess him of the Em∣pire. Philostratus in the Life of Apollonius Tya∣nans, who saw Domitian, tells us, that Apolloni∣us visited all the Oracles of Greece, and particu∣larly those of Dodona, Delphos, and Amphiarâus. Plutarch, who lived in the Reign of Trajan, in∣forms us, that the Oracle at Delphos was still in being, though she was reduced to one single Priestess, whereas she formerly had Two or Three. Dion Chrysostome under Adrian, relates, That he had consulted the Oracle of Delphos, and had received an Answer, which to him seem∣ed very intricate. In the Days of the Antoni∣nus's, Lucian says, that a Priest of Tyana went to enquire of the false Prophet Alexander, if the Oracles which were delivered at Didimus, Claros, and Delphos were the true Answers of Apollo, or Impostures. After the Antonines, Three others contended for the Empire, viz. Severus; SSptimius, Pescenninus, Niger, and Clodius Al∣binus. They consulted the Oracle of Delphos, says Spartianus, to know which of the Three was best for the Commonwealth, and the Oracle made Answer in a Verse: The Black is the Best, the Affrican is Good, the White is the Worst. Dion who did not finish his History before the 8th Year of the Emperor Alexander Severus, that is An.. Dom. 230. says, that still in his Time Am∣philocus delivered Oracles in a Dream: He also informs us, that there was an Oracle in the Ci∣ty of Apollonia, where what should come to pass was delivered as the Fire took hold of the In∣cense, which was thrown upon the Altar: In the Reign of Aurelian, about the Year 272, the Re∣volted, Palmirenians consulted the Oracle of A∣pollo Sarpedonius in Cilicia; and they also con∣sulted that of Venus Aphacita. A Deity much unknown, named Besa, delivered also Oracles upon Letters at Abida, in the farthest Part of Thèbais, in the Reign of the Emperor Constan∣tins. Lastly, Macrobius, who lived in the Time of Arcadius and Honorius, Theodosius his Sons, speaks of a Deity at Heliopolis, in Syria, and of his Oracle: But Theodosius the Younger having shut up all the Temples of the false Gods, and rased that of Serapis in Egypt; all the Oracles became silent, and Paganism was upon Pain of Life forbidden to be publickly practised; by the Edicts of Valentinian III. and Martianus in the Year 451.

ORCHESTRA;

the lower Part of the Theater, made in the Form of a Semi-Circle, and shut up at the midst of the Steps: It was so called, because that in the Grecian Theaters, it was a Place where they kept their Balls from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, which signifies to dance. The Orche∣stra among the Greeks made a Part of the Scene; but at the Roman Theaters none of the Actors went down to the Orchesira, which was taken up with Seats for the Senators: The Orchestra now adays is the Place where a Consort of Musick is placed; formerly it was the middle of all the Theater, which consisted of Three Parts, to wit, the Steps or Seats, which we call the Thea∣ter; and the Orchestra, which is named the Pit: Among the Romans it was the Place where they placed the Senators; but among the Greeks it was where they danced or kept their Balls that made part of their Plays.

ORCUS;

this comes from the Caldee Word Arequa, which signifies the Earth, in a Text of Jeremy, and is but a Dialect of the Hebrew A∣retsa, and this Word is taken for Hell.

OREADES,

Nymphs of the Mountains, which were so called from the Greek Word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that signifies a Mountain.

ORESTES;

the Son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who put her Husband Agamemnon to Death to revenge the Death of her Daugh∣ter Polyxena whom he had sacrificed. Orestes and Electra his Sister killed Clytemnestra, that the Death of their Father might not go unpu∣nished: Orestes after this Parricide ran mad, and with his Friend Pylades fled into Scythia; he land∣ed at Tauros whither Ephigenia had been transpor∣ted by Diana, and where she was her Priestess, to offer all Strangers who landed in that Coun∣try in Sacrifice to that Goddess: Orestes was taken and he had very like to have been sacri∣ficed by his Sister, who did not know him; but at last coming to be acquainted one with another, they fled away both together privately, and car∣ried with them Diana's Statue, after they had killed Thoas who was King of that Country: Orestes returned to Athens, where after the Puri∣fications appointed him by the Oracle, he came to himself again, and went to reside at Orestes a City in Arcadia, where he died with the stinging of a Serpent: The Scythians adored Pylades and Orestes as Gods, and built them Temples and Altars, as Lucian in his Dialogue of Toxaris or of Friendship, informs us, wherein he brings in Ioxaris who was a Scythian, speaking to Mene∣sippus in this Manner.

Toxar, Observe how the Barbarians (for so they call us) have better Sentiments of the Greeks, than the Greeks themselves: We have built Temples for those Men, whom you have not as much as erected Funeral Monuments for. Where will you find a noble Tomb either for Orestes or Pylades in Argos and Messena; whereas they are adored by the Scythians? And tho' they were no Strangers, you have not thought them worthy of this Honour: But Vertue is adorable even in Enemies, wherefore what they have done for one another is graven in the Temple of Orestes upon a Brass-Pillar, and 'tis the first Thing we teach our Children: Their Actions are also set on the Walls of the Tem∣ple, where may be seen on one Side a Ship dash∣ing her self to Pieces against a Rock, and those Two Heroes led Prisoners along, and crowned like Victims that were to be sacrificed; and on the other they are represented with their Arms in their Hands, breaking their Chains, and defending their Liberty at the Ex∣pence of many a Man's Life, and even of King Thoas's, then they carry away Diana and her Priestess, they are pursued as they begin to sail and their Ship attacked, but they make a gaslant Resistance, and at last save themselves by Swimming, being either wounded them∣selves or amazed with the Wounds of others.

ORGIA;

a Term made use of by the Hea∣thens, whereby to express the Feasts and Sacri∣fices of Bacchus, which were more particularly celebrated upon Mountains by raving Women called Baccbantes. Servius says, that at first all sorts of Sacrifices were called Orgia in Greece, and the same at Rome were named Ceremonies.

ORIENS;

the East. The first of the Four Cardinal Points of the World, where we see the Sun and Stars rise: The Point or Tropick of Cancer which intersects the Horizon, is called the Summer-East; and the Winter-East is the Point of the Horizon that is intersected by Capricorn: In Trajan and Adrian's Golden-Coin the East is found represented by the Sun with this Word Oriens.

ORION,

proceeded from Jupiter, Nep∣tune and Mercury's Urine, who passing through the World arrived one Day very late at a poor Countryman's Hutt, whose Name was Hyreus, and who received them very kindly, and in order to entertain them killed the only Ox he had: The Gods to reward his Liberality bid him ask what he would for his Reward and he should have it; upon which he prayed them, that he might be able to have a Child without being married; the said Gods presently causing the Ox his Hide which he had killed to be brought to them, they pissed upon it, and bid him bury it in the Ground and not trouble himself about it till Ten Months end: when the Time was ex∣pired he found a Child there, which he called Orion: Hesiod makes Neptune to be his Father and Euryale the Daughter of Minos his Mother: He tells us, he had obtained a Power of Neptune to walk as lightly upon the Water, as Iphic••••s did over the Heads of Ears of Corn: Being gone one Day from Thebes to Chio, he ravished Mer••••s, Enopian's Daughter, who struck him blind, and drove him from the Island; from whence he went to Lemnos to Vulcan, who brought him to the Sun, that cured him of this Blindness: As he went afterwards to ravish Diana, she caused him to be stung by a Scorpion, whereof, as Pa∣lephatus says, he died. Homer in his Odysses, L. 5. relates, that 'twas Diana her self that shot him to Death with her Arrows, out of a Jealousie she had that Aurora was in Love with him: And this is confirmed by Plutarch in his Fortune of the Romans, where he says, that Orion was beloved of a Goddess: Diana in Compassion made him a Constellation (placing him before the Feet of Taurus) which consists of 17 Stars, in Form like unto a Man armed with a Cutelas: It rises on the 9th of March, bringing Storms and great Rains with it, whence Virgil gave it the Epithet of Orion aquosus; it sets June 21. Lucian in Praise of an House, speaking of the Sculptures which adorn'd the Appartments, says thus of Orion:

This next is an old Story of Blind Ori∣on, which imports, that some Body shewed him the Way, he ought to follow in order to re∣cover his Eye-sight, and the Sun that appear'd cured him of his Blindness; and this Vulcan con∣trived in the Isle of Lesbos.

ORPHEUS

the Son of Oeagrus, or ac∣cording to others, of Apollo and the Muse Cal∣liope; he was born in Thrace, and was both a Poet, Philosopher, and an excellent Musician, Mercury having made him a Present of his Harp on which he play'd so exquisitely that he stoped the Course of Rivers, laid Storms, drew the the most savage Animals after him, and made Trees and Rocks to move: Having lost his Wise Eurydice, who shunning the Embraces of Aristeus King of Arcadia, trod upon a Serpent, who stung her to Death, he went down to Hell after her, where by the Melody of his Musick he obtained Leave of Pluto and Proscrpina for her to return, upon Condition he should not look behind him till he got upon Earth, but being overcome by an amorous impatience,, he turned about and lost his Eurydice for ever; up∣on which he conceived so great an Hatred to Women, that he endeavoured to inspire others with the same, and this provoked the Women of Thrace to that Degree, that being one Day with Transports of Fury celebrating their Orgia they fell upon Orpheus, tore him to Pieces, and threw his Head unto the River: Lucian writes concern∣ing it in this manner.

When the Thracian Wo∣men killed Orpheus, 'tis said, his Head which they threw into the River swum a long time

upon his Harp, uttering mournful Tones in Honour of the said Heroe, and that the Harp being touched by the Winds answered the mournful Song; and in this Condition they ar∣rived at the Isle of Lesbos, where the People e∣rected a Funeral Monument for him, in the Place where Bacchus his Temple now stands, but they hung up his Harp in Apollo's Temple, where the same was kept a long time till the Son of Pitta∣cus having heard say, that it play'd of it self, and charmed Woods and Rocks, had a mind to have it for himself; and so bought it for a good Sum of Money of the Sacristan; but not think∣ing he could play safely in the City, he went by Night to the Suburbs where as he went a∣bout to touch it; the same made such a dread∣ful Noise instead of the Harmony he expected, that the Dogs run thither and tore him in Pieces, and so was attended with the same Fate herein as Orpheus himself.

There are some Au∣thors who say, that the Menades tore Orpheus in Pieces, because he having sung the Genealogy of all the Gods, had said nothing of Bacchus, and the said God to be revenged on him caused his Priestesses to kill him. Others say, this Misfor∣tune befel him by the Resentment of Venus, to whom Calliope Orpheus his Mother had refused to give Adonis any longer than for 6 Months in the Year, and that to revenge the same, she made all the Women in Love with Orpheus, and that every one of them being minded to enjoy him, they had in that manner tore him in Pieces.

Cicero says, that Aristotle thought there never was such an one as Orpheus, and that the Poems which were attributed to him, were the Works of a Pythagorean Philosopher. In the mean time, 'tis hard to doubt there was such an one, after so many Testimonies of the Ancients to the Contrary, since Pausanias makes mention of Or∣pheus his Tomb, and of the Hymns he had com∣posed, which he says, came but little short or the Elegancy and Beauty of those of Homer, but that his Wit was attended with more Religion and Piety than the others. St. Justin reports, that Orpheus, Homer, Solon, Pythagoras, and Plato had travelled into Egypt, that they got there some Knowledge of the Scriptures, and that afterwards they retracted what they had before written con∣cerning the superstitious Worship of their false Deities in Favour of the Religion of the true God: Orpheus, according to this Father, in his Verses spoke very clearly concerning the Unity of God, as of him who had been, as it were the Father of that extravagant Multiplicity of the Heathen Gods.

The Fable made him after his Death to be changed into a Swan, Lucian informs us also in his Judicial Astrology, that he gave the Greeks the first Insight into Astrology, tho' but obscure∣ly and under the V••il of divers Mysteries and Ceremonies: For the Harp on which he celebra∣ted the Orgia, and sung his Hymns and Songs, had Seven Strings which represented the Seven Planets, for which reason the Greeks after his Death placed the same in the Firmament and called a Constellation by its Name.

ORUS or HORUS,

King of Egypt; the Son of Osiris; the Greeks call him Apollo, because perhaps, he divided the Year into Four Sea∣sons, and the Day into Hours. See Horus.

OSIRIS,

was a God and King among the Egyptians, to whom they gave also divers other Names: Diodorus Siculus says, that some took him for Serapis, others for Bacchus, Pluto, Am∣mon, Jupiter and Pan. After that Osiris King of Egypt, who was the fifth of the Gods that reigned in that Country, after, I say, Osiris was killed by his Brother Typhon, it was believed his Soul went into the Body of the Ox Apis, and into all the rest which were successively sub∣stituted in his Stead, and this Ox was looked upon as the Image and Soul of Osiris, according to the Testimony of Diodorus Siculus; and as there were Two sacred Oxen in Egypt, the one named Apis in the City of Memphis, and the other called Mnevis in Heliopolis, the same Diodorus says, they were both consecrated to Osiris; Tan∣ros sacros tam Apim quam Mnevim Osiridi sacros & dicatos esse, & pro Diis coli, apud universos pro∣miscuè Aegyptios sancitum est. Diodorus after∣wards sets forth at large how the Worship and Mysteries of Osiris were carried from Egypt to Creece under the Name of Bacchus the Son of Semele the Daughter of Cadmus, originally de∣scended from Thebes in Egypt; for the Daughter of Gadmus having had a Bastard Child that was very like unto Osiris, Cadmus to save the Honour of his Daughter deified her Son after his Death, making him to pass for another Osiris the Son of Jupiter: Orpheus a little after went to Egypt, and in Acknowledgment of the Kindness he had re∣ceived from Cadmus his Family, he publish'd these same Mysteries in Greece but so as to attribute to Semele's Son, all that had been said of the truc Osiris several Ages before; and so the Osiris of Egypt, and Bacchus of Creece, the Mysteries of the Egyptian Osiris, and those of the Greclan Bacchus, were one and the same. Herodotus at∣tributes the bringing of this Name, History, and Mysteries of Osiris or the Egyptian Ba∣chus into Greece, to Melampus, who was anti∣enter than Orpheus.

The Egyptian Tradition, according to Diodo∣rus Siculus, was, that Osiris, Isis and Typhon were the Sons of Saturn and Rhea, or rather of Jupi∣ter and Juno; that Osiris is the same with Bac∣chus, and Isis the same as Ceres, that Osiris and Isis reigned with extraordinary Mildness, and conferred great Benefits on their Subjects, that they hindred Men to eat one another any more; that Isis inveated the Sowing and Use of Corn,

and made several excellent Laws; that Osiris was brought up at Nysa in Arabia Felix, and go∣ing for one of Jupiter's Sons, they called him 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that he applied himself to Agricul∣ture, and first taught how to plant Vines: That Hermes or Mercury was his Secretary in sacred Things; that he was minded to travel all over the World to teach Mankind the use of Corn and Wine; and in his Absence recommended Mercury to the Service of Isis, to Hercules the Government of Egypt, to Busiris that of Phoeni∣cia; and Lybia to Anteus; that he was accompa∣nied by Apollo his Brother; Anubis, Macedo, Pan and Triptolemus; that having passed over Africa Asia and Europe, he built the City of Nysa in the Indies, defeated Lycurgus in Thrace, and at last returned home; he was killed by his Brother Typhon; that Isis and Orus his Sons reveng'd his Death, and having slain Typhon, they paid Di∣vine Honours to Osiris, whose Members Isis very carefully gathered together, which Typhon had divided between the Murderers. Plutarch ob∣serves that the Egyptians took Osiris for a good Genius, and Typhon for an evil Genius, and the Principle of all Evil. Plutarch wrote a particu∣lar Treatise concerning Isis and Osiris; where in an Account is given of the Birth, and great Exploits of Osiris, of his Conquests, Benefits to Mankind, the secret Contrivances of Typhon a∣gainst him, his Death, and the Care taken by Ises for his Deification. At last he pretends that Osiris and Isis, from good Genii as they were, became Gods, as a just Reward of their Vertue, and that Osiris is Pluo, and Isis, Proferpina.

Synesius, Bishop of Cyrene, who wrote a Trea∣tise concerning Providence, confines himself al∣most wholly therein to the Explaining of the Fable or History of Osiris: He begins with this Reflection, That if the same be a Fable, its full of Wit, since the Egyptians were the Authors thereof; and if it be more than a Fable, it de∣serves our Pains to make a further Inspection into it; he afterwards gives the same Account as other Writers have done, of Osiris and Typhon; and says, that their Father was a King, Priest and a God, because the Egyptians pretended they had been govern'd by the Gods before the Kingdom fell into the Hands of Men: After∣wards he gives a Description of the Reign of Osiris, which was a Reign of Justice, Piety, Cle∣mency and Liberality it self. Typhon dethroned and banish'd him, and assuming the Government, reigned in all manner of Vices, and with all ima∣ginable Cruelty. But the Patience of the Peo∣ple being worn out, they recalled Osiris. Typhon was punished by the Gods, and Osiris recovered the Crown. M. Spon in his Searches after Anti∣quity, gives an Account of an Idol of Osiris:

I remember, says he, that being formerly at Leyden, I saw among the Curiosities of their Anatomy-School, two small Idols: The first is an Osiris, that was a famous Deity among the Egyptians, having a Miter on his Head, at the lower part whereof there was an Ox's Horn on each side; for he was thus worshipped in the Form of an Ox, because he had taught Mankind the Art of Tillage; in his Left Hand he held a Staff bent at the End, and in his Right a Triangular Instrument: This last was very like unto a Whip with three Cords. Plutarch says, that Osiris commanded over the Dead, and might not this Whip be the Ensign of his Authority, as the Furies are represented with a Whip and Torches?

OSSA;

a Mountain upon the Frontiers of Thessaly, that is covered all over with Wood and Snow. Seneca says, that this Mountain was joined to Olympus, but that it was separated by the Labour of Hercules: It was a Place of Re∣treat for Gyants and Centaurs.

OSTRACISMUS;

Ostracism; it was a kind of Banishment, in Use among the Greeks, of such Persons whose over great Power the People suspected, as fearing least the same should degenerate into Tyranny; This Banish∣ment was not accounted disgrateful, because 'twas not a Punishment in••••icted for any Crime: It lasted Ten Years, and in the mean time the exiled Person enjoy'd his Estate: It was thus called because the People gave their Suffrages by writing the Name of him whom they were minded to banish upon Shells: Aristides was exiled in this manner, because he was too Just, as Plutarch says in his Life.

OTHO,

named M. Silvi••s, was the 8th Emperor, and succeeded Galba, whom he put to Death: The Medals which we have of his, make him somewhat like unto Nero, which caused the People to cry, Othoni Netoni: But yet he was not so fat, tho otherwise he had the Mien and Delicacy of a Woman: He was shaved every Day, and wore a Peruke, because he had but very little Hair: His Peruke may be distinctly observed on his Silver and Gold Medals; and 'twas he that brought the Use of Wigs into Ita∣ly. The Brass Medals of this Prince, which are all of them Egyptian or Syrian; do not represent him with a Peruke, perhaps, because they did not know the Use thereof in those Countries; and so they do not give so exact a Resemblance of him as the Latin ones stamped in Italy. His Inclimations were conformable to those of Nero's, and this Conformity made them contract so en∣tire a Friendship, that every Thing was in com∣mon between them, even to their Wives, with∣out entertaining the least Jealousie thereup∣on: However, when Otho became Emperor, he appeared of a better Disposition, and perhaps put a Constraint upon himself, that he might procure the Favour of the People: He shew'd both Courage and Bravery against Vitellius, his Competitor for the Empire, and beat him three

times, but at last being gulled with Proposals of Peace, he was defeated; which Misfortune made him resolve to kill himself rather, if Suetonius is to be believed, out of a Sence of Pity for the Death of so many Men that lost their Lives in endeavouring to support him, than out of an Ef∣fect of Despair: And as his Resolution to kill himself was looked upon as a great Action a∣mong the Romans; Suetonius cannot forbear ad∣miring him, saying, That tho' he had the Com∣plexion of a Woman, he being fair, clear skin∣ned, and without Hair, of a middle Stature, with small Feet, yet his Body was not answerable to so much Resolution as he shewed at his Death.

OVATIO;

an Ovation; a lesser Triumph amongst the Romans, which was allowed some Commanders that had won a Victory without the Effusion of much Blood, or for the Defeating of Rebels, Slaves, Pyrates, or other unworthy Enemies of the Republick of Rome. Their En∣try was on Foot, and sometimes on Horse-back, but never in a Chariot; and they wore Crowns of Myrtle, which they called Ovales, having all the Senate following of them. This Word Ova∣tio, according to Servius, is derived from Ovis, because the Conqueror sacrificed a sheep only upon this Occasion to Jupiter, whereas in the great Triumphs they sacrificed a Bull; others de∣rive it from those Acclamations and Shouts of Joy made by the People, in Honour of the So∣lemnity: This sort of lesser Triumph was esta∣blished in the Year of Rome 250 or 251, and 'twas the Consul Posthumius Tubertus, that after the Defeating of the Sabines, brought up the Custom of it.

OVIDIUS NASO;

a Latin Poet, born at Sulmo, a considerable Town of the Peligni, in Italy, in the Consulship of Hirtius and Pansa, that is in the Year of Rome 711. He was banish'd into the Province of Pontus in Asia, for making Love to Julia, Augustus his Daughter, or as o∣thers will have it, for writing lascivious Verses, touching the Art of Love: He died at Tomos, January 1st, of the CXCIX Olympiad, that is in the 40th Year of the Reign of Tiberius, and 17th of our Redemption: The Sweetness that is to be met with in several Parts of this Poets Works, makes us concerned for those that are lost, as the Six last Books de Fastis, &c. He gives an Account himself of the Cause of his Banish∣ment and Ruine in the following Distick.

Ille ego qui fueram tenerorum lusor amorum, Ingenio perii Naso Poe••aemeo.