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

1092

DURIS.

treaties of his brother, Divitiacus, his life was
spared, though Caesar had him closely watched.
This occurred in B. c. 58. When Caesar was on
the point of setting out on his second expedition
into Britain, in B. c. 54, he suspected Dumnorix
too much to leave him behind in Gaul, and he insisted therefore on his accompanying him. Dumnorix, upon this, fled from the Roman camp with
the Aeduan cavalry, but was overtaken and slain.
(Cacs. B. G. i. 3, 9, 16-20, v. 6, 7; Plut. Caes.
18; Dion Cass. xxxviii. 31, 32.) [E. E.]
DURIS (Aoipts), of Samos, a descendant of
Alcibiades (Plut. Alcib. 32), and brother of Lynceus, lived in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus.
The early part of his life fell in the period when
the Athenians sent 2000 clernchi to Samos, by
whom the inhabitants of the island were expelled,
B. c. 352. During the absence from his native
country, Duris, when yet a boy, gained a victory
at Olympia in boxing, for which a statue was
erected to him there with an inscription. (Paus.
vi. 13. ~ 3.) The year of that victory is unknown,
but it took place previous to the return of the
Samians to their island, in B. c. 324. He must
have been staying for some time at Athens, as he
and his brother Lynceus are mentioned among the
pupils of Theophrastus. (Athen. iv. p. 128.) After
his return to Samos, he obtained the tyranny,
though it is unknown by what means and how
long he maintained himself in that position. He
must, however, have survived the year B. c. 281, as
in one of his works (ap. Plin. H. N. viii. 40) he
mentioned an occurrence which belongs to that year.
Duris was the author of a considerable number
of works, most of which were of an historical
nature, but none of them has come down to us, and
all we possess of his productions consists of a number of scattered fragments. His principal work
was-1. A history of Greece, 4 rcWv 'EAA-viLKucv
LoTropla (Diod. xv. 60), or, as others simply call it,
lo-ropiat. It commenced with the death of the three
princes, Amyntas, the father of Philip of Macedonia, Agesipolis of Sparta, and Jason of Pherae,
that is, with the year B. c. 370, and carried the
history down at least to B. c. 281, so that it embraced a period of at least 89 years. The number
of books of which it consisted is not known, though
their number seems to have amounted to about 28.
Some ancient writers speak of a work of Duris
entitled MaKeSo6vKa', and the question as to whether
this was a distinct work, or merely a part of or
identical with the ltrrop.ai, has been much discussed
in modern times. Grauert (Histor. Analect. p. 217)
and Clinton maintain, that it was a separate work,
whereas Vossius and Droysen (Gesch. d. Nachfolg.
Alex. p. 671, &c.) have proved by the strongest
evidence, that the Macedonica is the same work as
the tcrropiai. 2. Ilepl 'AyaOtKcAEa 0TepOIalc, in
several books, the fourth of which is quoted by
Suidas. 3.:apJiiwv dpoi, that is, Annals of the
history of Samos, is frequently referred to by the
ancients, and consisted of at least twelve books.
4. leph Evpnrtisou Kal loqoKicx'ovs (Athen. iv. p.
184), seems to be the same as wrept Tpayqpalas.
(Athen. xiv. p. 636.) 5. Isepit Vo'pwv. (Etym. M.
p. 460. 49.) 6. repi cdyw'vwv. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph.
613; Photius, s. v. EAtivov o-rTgpavos.) 7. nep)
(wypaqias. (Diog. Laert. i. 38, ii. 19.) 8. nispl
ropevLriKls (Plin. Elench. lib. 33, 34), may, however, have been the same as the preceding work.
9. ALvidKa. (Phot. s. v. Aacla; Schol. ad Aristoph.

DURMIUS.
Vesp. 1030.) Duris as an historian does not appear to have enjoyed any very great reputation
among the ancients. Cicero (ad Alt. vi. 1) says of
him merely homo in historia satis diligens, and Dionysius (de Compos. Verb. 4) reckons him among
those historians who bestowed no care upon the
form of their compositions. His historical veracity
also is questioned by Plutarch (Pericl. 28; comp.
Demosth. 19, Alcib. 32, Eum. 1), but he does not
give any reasons for it, and it may be that Plutarch
was merely struck at finding in Duris things which
no other writer had mentioned, and was thus led to
doubt the credibility of his statements. The fragments of Duris have been collected by J. G. Hulleman, 1" Duridis Samii quae supersunt," Traject. ad
Rhen. 1841, 8vo. (Comp. W. A. Schmidt, de
Fontib. vet. auctor. in enarrand. expedit. a Gallis
in Maced. et Graec. susceptis, p. 17, &c.; Panofka,
Res Samiorums, p. 98, &c.; Hulleman, 1. c. pp. 1
-66.) [L. S.]
DURIS ELA'ITES (AopiYs 'Eanir7s), that is,
of Elaea in Aeolis, the author of an epigram in the
Greek Anthology (ii. 59, Brunck and Jacobs) on
the inundation of Ephesus, which happened in the
time of Lysimachus, about 322 B. c. It is probable, from the nature of the event, that the poet
lived near the time when it took place. Nothing
more is known of him. He is a different person
from DuRIs of Samos. (Jacobs, xiii. p. 889.) Diogenes Laertius (i. 38) mentions a Duris who wrote
on painting, whom Vossius (de Hist. Graec. p. 134,
ed. Westermann) supposes to be the same who is
mentioned by Pliny (xxxiii. Ind.), and in another
passage of Diogenes (ii. 19). [P. S.]
M. DU'RMIUS, a triumvir of the mint under
Augustus, of whomn there are several coins extant.
The first two given below contain on the obverse
the head of Augustus; and the boar and the lion
feeding upon the stag, in the reverses, have refera" & aY
ence to the shows of wild beasts, in which Augustus took great delight. The reverse of the third
coin contains a youthful head, and the inscription
HONORI probably refers to the games in honour of
Virtus and Honor celebrated in the reign of Augustus. (Comp. Dion Cass. liv. 18; Eckhel, v.
pp. 203, 204.)