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

446 AUTOLEON.
children, two sons, Decius Magnus Ausonius and
Avitianus, and two daughters, Aemilia Melania
and Julia Dryadia. He was appointed praefect
of Illyricum by the emperor Valentinian. (A. D.
364-375.) He died at the age either of
eighty-eight (Auson. Parent. i. 4) or ninety (Id.
Epiced. v. 61), after having enjoyed perfect health
both of body and mind. If he at all resembled
the description given of him by his son, he
must have been a most remarkable man, as almost every intellectual and moral excellence is attributed to him. He wrote some medical works,
which are not now extant. (Fabric. Biblioth. Gr.
vol. xiii. p. 96, ed. vet.; Scaliger, Vita Auson.;
Ausonius, Parent. i. and Epiced.) [W. A. G.]
AUTA'RITUS (Ardpciros), the leader of the
Gallic mercenaries in the Carthaginian army in
Africa, took an active part in the rebellion against
Carthage at the end of the first Punic war. He
at length fell into the power of Hamilcar, and was
crucified, B. c. 238. (Polyb. i. 77, 79, 80, 85, 86.)
AUTE'SION (Advreaiwv), a son of Tisamenus,
grandson of Thersander, and great-grandson of
Polyneices. He is called the father of Theras and
Argeia, by the latter of whom Aristodemus became
the father of Eurysthenes and Procles. He was a
native of Thebes, where he had succeeded his
father as king, but at the command of an oracle he
went to Peloponnesus and joined the Dorians.
(Apollod. ii. 8. ~ 2; Paus. iii. 15. ~ 4, 3. ~ 3, ix.
5. ~ 8; Herod. iv. 147,- vi. 52; Strab. viii. p.
347.) [L. S.]
AU'TOCLES (AdroscA^s). 1. Son of Tolmaeus,
was one of the Athenian commanders in the successful expedition against Cythera, B. c. 424 (Thuc.
iv. 53); and, together with his two colleagues,
Nicias and Nicostratus, he ratified, on the part of
Athens, the truce which in B. c. 423 was concluded
for one year with Sparta. (Thuc. iv. 119.)
2. Son of Strombichides, was one of the Athenian envoys empowered to negotiate peace with
Sparta in B. c. 371. (Xen. Hell. vi. 3. ~ 2; comp.
Diod. xv. 38.) Xenophon (Hell. vi. 3. ~ 7, &c.)
reports a somewhat injudicious speech of his, which
was delivered on this occasion before the congress
at Sparta, and which by no means confirms the
character, ascribed to him in the same passage, of a
skilful orator. It was perhaps this same Autocles
who, in B. c. 362, was appointed to the command
in Thrace, and was brought to trial for having
caused, by his inactivity there, the triumph of
Cotys over the rebel Miltocythes. (Dem. c. Aristocr. p. 655, c. Polycl. p. 1207.) Aristotle (Rhlet.
ii. 23. ~ 12) refers to a passage in a speech of
Autocles against Mixidemides, as illustrating one
of his rhetorical Troes. [E. E.]
AUTO'CRATES (Advocpcar'ns), an Athenian,
a poet of the old comedy. One of his plays, the
TvuAtraVo-rai, is mentioned by Suidas and Aelian.
( V. H. xii. 9.) He also wrote several tragedies.
(Suidas, s. v. AUvoiKpdirTs.)
The Autocrates whose 'AXatcd is quoted by
Athenaeus (ix. p. 395 and xi. p. 460) seems to
have been a different person. [C. P. M.]
AUTOLA'US (AdrdtAaos), a son of Areas, who
found and brought up the infant Asclepius when
exposed in Thelpusa. (Paus. viii. 4. ~ 2, 25.
~ 6.) [L. S.]
AUTO'LEON (AVohroAe'c), an ancient hero of
Croton in southern Italy, concerning whom the
following story is related:-It was customary with

AUTOLYCUS.
the Opuntian Locrians, whenever they drew up their
army in battle array, to leave one place in the lines
open for their national hero Ajax. [AJAX.] Once
in a battle between the Locrians and Crotoniats in
Italy, Autoleon wanted to penetrate into this
vacant place, hoping thus to conquer the Locrians.
But the shade of Ajax appeared and inflicted on
Autoleon a wound from which he suffered severely.
The oracle advised him to conciliate the shade of
Ajax by offering sacrifices to him in the island of
Leuce. This was was done accordingly, and Autoleon was cured. While in the island of Leuce,
Autoleon also saw Helen, who gave him a commission to Stesichorus. This poet had censured Helen
in one of his poems, and had become blind in consequence. Helen now sent him the message, that
if he would recant, his sight should be restored to
him. Stesichorus composed a poem in praise of
Helen, and recovered his sight. (Conon, Narra.
18.) Pausanias (iii. 19. ~ 11) relates precisely
the same story of one Leonymus. [L. S.]
AUTO'LYCUS (Adro'Xvcos). 1. A son of
Hermes or Daedalion by Chione, Philonis, or
Telauge. (Apollod. i. 9. ~ 16; Hygin. Fab. 201;
Eustath. ad iHom. p. 804.) He was the husband
of Neaera (Paus. viii. 4. ~ 3), or according to
Homer (Od. xix. 394, &c.), of Amphithea, by
whom he became the father of Anticleia, the
mother of Odysseus and Aesimus. He had his
residence on mount Parnassus, and was renowned
among men for his cunning and oaths. (Comp.
Hygin. 1. c.; Ov. Met. xi. 311.) Once when he
came to Ithaca as a guest, the nurse placed his
newly-born grandson Odysseus on his knees, and
he gave the child the name Odysseus. Afterwards, when Odysseus was staying with him, he
was wounded by a boar during the chase on Parnassus, and it was by the scar of this wound that
Odysseus was subsequently recognized by his aged
nurse, when he returned from Troy. (Paus. x. 8.
~ 4; Ov. Met. xi. 295, &c.; Hygin. Fab. 200.)
Polymede, the mother of Jason, was, according to
Apollodorus, a daughter of this Autolycus, and the
same writer (ii. 4. ~ 9) not only describes him as
the teacher of Heracles in the art of wrestling, but
mentions him among the Argonauts; the latter of
which statements arose undoubtedly from a confusion of this Autolycus with the Thessalian of the
same name. Autolycus is very famous in ancient
story as a successful robber, who had even the
power of metamorphosing both the stolen goods and
himself. (Hom. II. x. 267; Hygin. Fab. 201;
Apollod. ii. 6. ~ 2; Strab. ix. p. 439; Eustath.
ad [Hosrn. p. 408; Serv. ad Aen. ii. 79.)
2. A Thessalian, son of Deimachus, who together with his brothers Deileon and Phlogius
joined Heracles in his expedition against the
Amazons. But after having gone astray the
two brothers dwelt at Sinope, until they joined
the expedition of the Argonauts. (Apollon. Rhod.
ii. 955, &c.; Valer. Flacc. v. 115.) He was subsequently regarded as the founder of Sinope, where
he was worshipped as a god and had an oracle.
After the conquest of Sinope by the Romans, his
statue was carried from thence by Lucullus to'
Rome. (Strab. xii. p. 546.) It must be noticed,
that Hyginus (Fab. 14) calls him a son of Phrixus
and Chalciope, and a brother of Phronius, Demoleon, and Phlogius. [L. S.]
AUTO'LYCUS (A'-ruAvicos), a young Athenian
of singular beauty, the object of the affection of