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

672 CERCOPES,
ii. 48-50, 65.) He may have been a descendant of the preceding, but on this point we have
no information. [P. S.]
CERCO, the name of a family of the plebeian
Lutatia gens.
1. Q. LUTATIUS C. F. C. N. CERCO, consul with
A. Manlius Torquatus Atticus, B. c. 241, in which
year the first Punic war was brought to a close by
the victory of C. Lutatius Catulus at the Aegates.
Cerco is called by Zonaras (viii. 17) the brother of
Catulus, which statement is confirmed by the
Capitoline Fasti, in which both are described as
C. f. n. Zonaras also says, that Cerco was sent
into Sicily to regulate the affairs of the island in
conjunction with his brother Catulus. After
peace had been concluded with Carthage, the Falisci or people of Falerii, for some reason which is
unknown, rose against the Romans: both consuls
were sent against them, and the war was finished
by the conquest of the infatuated people within
six days. Half of their domain land was taken
from them and their town destroyed. For this
success, Cerco as well as his colleague obtained a
triumph. (Liv. xxx. 44, Epit. 19; Eutrop. ii.
28; Ores. iv. 11; Polyb. i. 65; Zonar. viii. 18.)
Cerco was censor in 236 with L. Cornelius Lentulus, and died in this magistracy. (Fast. Capit.)
2. CN. LUTATIUS CERCO, one of the five ambassadors sent to Alexandria, B. c. 173. (Liv. xlii. 6.)
The annexed coin of the Lutatia gens contains
on the obverse the name CERCO with the head of
Pallas, and on the reverse Q. LUTATI, with a ship
enclosed within a wreath made of oak-leaves.
cooo
The reverse probably refers to the victory of C.
Lutatius Catulus, which would of course be regarded by the Cercones as well as the Catuli as
conferring honour upon their gens. (Eckhel, v.
p. 240.)
CERCO'PES (KEipi7res), droll and thievish
gnomes who play a part in the story of Heracles.
Their number is commonly stated to have been
two, but their names are not the same in all accounts,-either Olus and Eurybatus, Sillus and
Triballus, Passalus and Aclemon, Andulus and
Atlantus, or Candulus and Atlas. (Suidas, s. vv.;
Schol. ad Lucian. Alex. 4; Tzetz. Chil. v. 75.)
Diodorus (iv. 31), however, speaks of a greater
number of Cercopes. They are called sons of
Theia, the daughter of Oceanus; they annoyed and
robbed Heracles in his sleep, but they were taken
prisoners by him, and either given to Omphale, or
killed, or set free again. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 91.)
The place in which they seem to have made their
first appearance, was Thermopylae (Herod. vii.
216), but the comic poem KEpKWares, which bore
the name of Homer, probably placed them at Oechalia in Euboea, whereas others transferred them
to Lydia (Suid. s. v. Evpv'Garos), or the islands
called Pithecusae, which derived their name from
the Cercopes who were changed into monkeys by
Zetus for having cunningly deceived him. (Ov. Met.
xiv. 90, &c.; Pomp. Mela, ii. 7; compare Miller,
Z). ii. 12. ~ 10; H'illmann, De Cyclop.et Cercop.

CEREALIS.
1824, Rigler, De I ercale et Cercop, Cologne,
1825, &c. 4to.) [L. S.]
CERCOPS (Ke'picw). 1. One of the oldest
Orphic poets, called a Pythagorean by Clemens of
Alexandria (Strom. i. p. 333, ed. Paris, 1629) and
Cicero (de Nat. Deor. i. 38), was said by Epigenes
of Alexandria to have been the author of an Orphic
epic poem entitled " the Descent to Hades (7 -1 s
"A3ov KMardCeao'ts), which seems to have been extant in the Alexandrine period. (Clem. Alex. 1. c.)
Others attribute this work to Prodicus of Samos,
or Herodicus of Perinthus, or Orpheus of Camarina.
(Suidas, s. v. 'Op(Pes.)
Epigenes also assigns to Cercops (Clem. Alex.
1. c.) the Orphic lepos dyos which was ascribed
by some to Theognetus of Thessaly, and was a
poem in twenty-four books. (Fabric. Bibl. Grace.
i. pp. 161, &c., 172; Bode, Gesch. der Episch.
Dichtkunst der Hellenen, p. 125, &c.)
2. Of Miletus, the contemporary and rival of
Hesiod, is said by some to have been the author of
an epic poem called " Aegimius," which is also
ascribed to Hesiod. (Diog. Lart. ii. 46; Athen.
xi. p. 503; Apollod. ii. 1. ~ 3; comp. AEGIMIUS,
p. 26, a.)
CE'RCYON (KepmduO), a son of Poseidon by a
daughter of Amphictyon, and accordingly a halfbrother of Triptolemus. (Paus. i. 14. ~ 1.) Others
call him a son of Hephaestus. (Hygin. Fab. 38.)
He came from Arcadia, and dwelt at Eleusis in
Attica. (Plut. Thes. 11; Ov. Met. vii. 439.) He
is notorious in ancient story for his cruelty towards
his daughter Alope [ALOPE] and all who refused
to fight with him, but he was in the end conquered
and slain by Theseus. (Paus. i. 39. ~ 3.) Another personage of the same name is mentioned by
Pausanias. (viii. 5. ~ 3; comp. AGAMEDES.) [L.S.]
S. CEREA'LIS, a Roman general, commanded
the fifth legion in the Jewish war, under Titus.
(A. D. 70.) He slew a number of Samaritans on
mount Gerizim; overran Idumaea, and took Hebron; made an unsuccessful night attack on the
temple, and was present at the council of war held
by Titus immediately before the taking of Jerusalem. (Joseph. B. J. iii. 7. ~ 32, iv. 9. ~ 9, vi. 2.
~~ 5, 6; c. 4. ~ 3.) [P. S.]
CEREA'LIS or CERIA'LIS, ANI'CIUS, was
consul designatus in A. D. 65, and proposed in the
senate, after the detection of Piso's conspiracy,
that a temple should be built to Nero as quickly
as possible at the public expense. (Tac. Ann. xv.
74.) In the following year, he, in common with
several other noble Romans, fell under Nero's suspicions, was condemned, and anticipated his fate
by putting himself to death. He was but little
pitied, for it was remembered that he had betrayed
the conspiracy of Lepidus and Lentulus. (A. D. 39.)
The alleged ground of his condemnation was a
mention of him as an enemy to the emperor in a
paper left by Mella, who had been condemned a
little before; but the paper was generally believed
to be a forgery. (Tac. Ann. xvi. 17.) [P. S.]
CEREA'LIS, CI'VICA, a Roman senator who,
while proconsul of Asia, was put to death by Domitian, shortly before A. D. 90. (Suet. Dom. 10;
Tac. Agric. 42.) [P. S.]
CEREA'LIS, JU'LIUS, a Roman poet, contemporary with Pliny the Younger and Martial,
by both of whom he is addressed as an intimate
friend. He wrote a poem on the war of the giants.
(Plin. Epist. ii. 19; Martial, Epig. xi. 52.) [P.S.]