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

484 BEROSUS. BEROSUS.
purpose of rebellion (Bell. Jud. ii. 16. ~ 5); and Greek cannot be surprising; for, after the Greek
having joined the Romans with him on the out- language had commenced to be spoken in the East,
break of the war, she gained the favour of Vespasian a desire appears to have sprung up in some learned
by her munificent presents, and the love of Titus persons to make the history of their respective
by her beauty. Her connexion with the latter countries known to the Greeks: hence Menander of
continued at Rome, whither she went after the Tyre wrote the history of Phoenicia, and Manetho
capture of Jerusalem, and it is said that he wished that of Egypt. The historical work of Berosus
to make her his wife; but the fear of offending the consisted of three books, and is sometimes called
Romans by such a step compelled him to dismiss BagvuewracaE, and sometimes XaX8atica or torropial
her, and, though she afterwards returned to Rome, XaX8ai cat. (Athen. xiv. p. 639; Clem. Alex. Strom.
he still avoided a renewal of their intimacy. (Tac. i. p. 1 42, Protrept. 19.) The work itself is lost,
Fist. ii. 2, 81; Suet. Tit. 7; Dion Cass. 1xvi. but we possess several fragments of it, which are
15, 18.) Quintilian (Inst. Orat. iv. 1) speaks of preserved in Josephus, Eusebins, Syncellus, and
having pleaded her cause on some occasion, not the Christian fathers, who made great use of the
further alluded to, on which she herself sat as work, for Berosus seems to have been acquainted
judge. [E. E.] with the sacred books of the Jews, whence his
BERI'SADES (Bepto-acsS), a ruler in Thrace, statements often agree with those of the Old Teswho inherited, in conjunction withl Amadocus and tament. We know that Berosus also treated of
Cersobleptes, the dominions of Cotys on the death the history of the neighbouring countries, such as
of the latter in B. c. 358. Berisades was probably Chaldaea and Media. (Agathias, ii. 24.) Hie hima son of Cotys and a brother of the other two self states, that he derived the materials for his
princes. His reign was short, as he was already work from the archives in the temple of Belus,
dead in B. c. 352; and on his death Cersobleptes where chronicles were kept by the priests; but he
declared war against his children. (Dem. in AIris- appears to have used and interpreted the early or
tocr. pp. 623, 624.) The Birisades (Biptoa"d6ies) mythical history, according to the views current in
mentioned by Deinarchus (c. Dem. p. 95) is pro- his time. From the fragments extant we see that
bably the same as Parisades, the king of Bosporus, the work embraced the earliest traditions about
who must not be confounded with the Berisades the human race, a description of Babylonia and its
mentioned above. The Berisades, king of Pontus, population, and a chronological list of its kings
whom Stratonicus, the player on the lyre, visited down to the time of the great Cyrus. The history
(Athen. viii. p. 349, d.), must also be regarded as of Assyria, Media, and even Armenia, seenms to
the same as Parisades. [PA-RISADES.] have been constantly kept in view also. There is
BEROE (Bepio'), a Trojan woman, married to a marked difference, in many instances, between
Doryclus, one of the companions of Aeneas. Iris the statements of Ctesias and those of Berosus;
assumed the appearance of BeroP when she per- but it is erroneous to infer from this, as some have
suaded the women to set ftre to the ships of Aeneas done, that Berosus forged some of his statements.
on the coast of Sicily. (Virg. Aen. v. 620, &c.) The difference appears sufficiently accounted for
There are three other mythical personages of this by the circumstance, that Ctesias had recourse to
name, concerning whom nothing of interest is re- Assyrian and Persian sources, while Berosus follated. (Hygin. Fab. 167; Virg. Georg. iv. 341; lowed the Babylonian, Chaldaean, and the Jewish,
Nonnus, Dionys. xli. 155.) [L. S.] which necessarily placed the same events in a difBEROE, the wife of Glaucias, an Illyrian king, ferent light, and may frequently have differed in
took charge of Pyrrhus when his father, Aeacides, their substance altogether. The fragments of
was expelled from Epeirus in B. c. 316. (Justin, the Babylonica are collected at the end of Scaliger's
xvii. 3.) work de Enmendatione Tenmporusn, and more comBERONICIA'NUS (Beposvmavd's), of Sardis, plete in Fabricius, Bibl. Graec. xiv. p. 175, &c., of
a philosopher of considerable reputation, mentioned the old edition. The best collection is that by
only by Eunapius. ( Vit. Soph. sub fin.) J. D. G. Richter. (Berosi Chald. Historiae quac
BERO'SUS (Bipwao's or Bepwcerde.), a priest of supersunt; cum Comment. de Berosi Vita, 4-c. Lips.
Belus at Babylon, and an historian. His name is 1825, 8vo.)
usually considered to be the same as Bar or ier Berosus is also mentioned as one of the earliest
Oseas, that is, son of Oseas. (Scalig. Ainimadr. ad writers on astronomy, astrology, and similar subEeuseb. p. 248.) He was born in tile reign of Alex- jects; but what Pliny, Vitruvius, and Seneca have
ander the Great, and lived till that of Antiochus II. preserved of him on these subjects does not give us
surnamed 0oes (B. c. 261-246), in whose reign lie a high idea of his astronomical or mathematical
is said to have written his history of Babylonia. knowledge. Pliny (vii. 37) relates, that the Athe(Tatian, adv. Gent. 58; Euseb. Praep. Evang. x. nians erected a statue to him in a gymnasium, with
p. 289.) Respecting the personal history of Berosus a gilt tongue to honour his extraordinary predicscarcely anything is known; but he must have tions; Vitruvius (ix. 4, x. 7, 9) attributes to himi
been a man of education and extensive learning, the invention of a semicircular sun-dial (hemnicyand was well acquainted with the Greek language, clini), and states that, in his later years, he setwhich the conquests of Alexander had diffused tied in the island of Cos, where he founded a school
over a great part of Asia. Some writers have of astrology. By the statement of Justin Martyr
thought that they can discover in the extant frag-' (Cohort. ad Graec. c. 39; comp. Paus. x. 12. ~ 5;
ments of his work traces of the author's ignorance and Suidas, s. v. ievSAAe), that the Babylonian
of the Chaldee language, and thus have come to Sibyl who gave oracles at Cuma in the time of the
the conclusion, that the history of Babylonia was Tarquins was a daughter of the historian Berosus,
the work of a Greek, who assumed the name of a some writers have been led to place the real Berocelebrated Babylonian. But this opinion is with- sus at a much earlier date, and to consider the hisout any foundation at all. The fact that a Baby- tory which bore his name as the forgery of a Greek,
lonian wrote the history of his own country in But there is little or no reason for such an hlypo