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

ANNA COMNENA. ANNA PERENNA. 179
Conon, Narrat. 41.) Anius had by Dryope hemond, then prince of Antioch, in Greece and
three daughters, Oeno, Spermo, and Elais, to whom Epeirus. In the fourteenth book are related the
Dionysus gave the power of producing at will any successful wars of Alexis against the Turks after
quantity of wine, corn, and oil,-whence they were they had been weakened by the Crusaders; and
called Oenotropae. When the Greeks on their in the fifteenth she gives a rather short relation of
expedition to Troy landed in Delos, Anius endeav- the latter part of the reign of her father. This
oured to persuade them to stay with him for nine division shews that she did not start from a hisyears, as it was decreed by fate that they should not torical but merely from a biographical point of
take Troy until the tenth year, and he promised view.
with the help of his three daughters to supply To write the life of a man like Alexis I. was a
them with all they wanted during that period, difficult task for his daughter, aid this difficulty
(Pherecyd. ap. Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 569; Ov. Met. did not escape her sagacity. " If I praise Alexis,"
xiii. 623, &c.; comp. Dictys Cret. i. 23.) After she says in the preface, " the world will accuse me
the fall of Troy, when Aeneas arrived in Delos, he of having paid greater attention to his glory than
was kindly received by Anius (Ov. 1. c.; Virg. Aen. to truth; and whenever I shall be obliged to blame
iii. 80, with Servius), and a Greek tradition stated some of his actions, I shall run the risk of being
that Aeneas married a daughter of Anius, of the accused of impious injustice." However, this selfname of Lavinia, who was, like her father, endowed justification is mere mockery. Anna knew very
with prophetic powers, followed Aeneas to Italy, well what she would write, and far from deserving
and died at Lavinium. (Dionys. Hal. i. 59; Aurel. the reproach of " impious injustice," she only deVict. De Orig. Gent. Rom. 9; comp. Hartung, Die serves that of "' pious injustice." The Alexias is
Relig. d. Ruom. i. p. 87.) Two other mythical per- history in the form of a romance,-embellished
sonages, one a son of Aeneas by Lavinia, and the truth with two purposes,-that of presenting
other a king of Etruria, from whom the river Anio Alexis as the Mars, and his daughter as the
derived its name, occur in Serv. ad Aen. iii. 80, Minerva of the Byzantines. Anna did not invent
and Plut. Parallel. 40. [L. S.] facts, but in painting her portraits she always dips
ANNA. [ANNA PERENNA.] her pencil in the colour of vanity. This vanity is
ANNA COMNE'NA ('Awea KoEtvd), the threefold,-personal, domestic, and national. Thus
daughter of Alexis I. Comnenus, and the empress Alexis is spotless; Anna becomes an oracle; the
Irene, was born in A.D. 1083. She was destined Greeks are the first of all the nations, and the
to marry Constantine Ducas, but he died while she Latins are wicked barbarians. Bohemond alone is
was still a child; and she was subsequently mar- worthy of all her praise; but it is said that she
ried to Nicephorus Bryennius, a Greek nobleman was admired by, and that she admired in her turn,
distinguished by birth, talents, and learning. Anna, the gallant prince of the Normans..gifted by nature with beauty and rare talents, was The style of the author is often affected and
instructed in every branch of science, and she tells loaded with false erudition; unimportant details
us in the preface to her Alexias, that she was are constantly treated with as much as and even
thoroughly acquainted with Aristotle and Plato. more attention than facts of high importance.
The vanity of a female philosopher was flattered These are the defects of the work, but whoever
with the homages she received from the Greek will take the trouble to discover and discard them,
scholars and artists, and during a long period hers will find the Alexias the most interesting and one
and her husband's house was the centre of the of the most valuable historical productions of the
irts and sciences of Constantinople. Her love for Byzantine literature.
her husband was sincere and founded upon real The editio princeps of the Alexias was publishnsteem, and she and the empress tried, although in ed by Hoelschelius, Augsburg, 1610, 4to. This
rain, to persuade the dying Alexis to appoint is only an abridgment containing the fifteen books
Bryennius his successor. The throne was inherit- reduced to eight. The next is by Possinus, with
Ad by John, the son of Alexis. (A. D. 1118.) a Latin translation, Paris, 1651, fol. Du Cange
During his reign Anna persuaded Bryennius to has written some valuable notes to the Alexias,
seize the crown; but the conspiracy failed at the which are contained in the Paris edition of Cinnoment of its execution, and Anna and Bryennius namus. (1670, fol.) The best edition is by Schopen,vere punished with exile and the confiscation of (2 vols. 8vo.), with a new Latin translation, Bonn,
he greater part of their property. Bryennius 1 839. The translation of Possinus is very bad.
lied some time afterwards, and Anna regretted The work was translated into French by Cousin
iis loss with deep and sincere affliction. During (le president), and a German translation is conler retirement from the world she composed her tained in the first volume of the " Historische
'Alexias" ('AXlias). Memoiren," edited by Fr. von Schiller. [W. P.]
This celebrated work is a biography of her ANNA PERENNA, a Roman divinity, the
ither, the emperor Alexis I. It is divided into legends about whom are related by Ovid (Fast. iii.
ifteen books. In the first nine she relates with 523, &c.) and Virgil. (Aen. iv.) According to
nreat prolixity the youth of Alexis, his exploits them she was a daughter of Belus and sister of
Lgainst the Turks, Seljuks, and the Greek rebels Dido. After the death of the latter, she fled from
n Asia and Epeirus, his accession, and his wars Carthage to Italy, where she was kindly received
Igainst the Normans in Epeirus. The tenth book by Aeneas. Here her jealousy of Lavinia was
s remarkably interesting, containing the relation roused, and being warned in a dream by the spirit
if the transactions between Alexis and the of Dido, she fled and threw herself into the river
Western princes which led to the first crusade, Numicius. Henceforth she was worshipped as the
and the arrival of the Crusaders at Constantinople. nymph of that river under the name of Perenna,
hile following three contain the relations of Alexis for previously her name had simply been Anna.
vith the Crusaders who had then advanced into A second story related by Ovid states, that when
ksia, and his last contest with the Norman Bo- the plebs had seceded to the mons sacer and
N 2