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

692 CHEIRISOPHUS.
march at Issus in Cilicia. (Diod. xiv 19, 21;
Xen. Anab. i. 4. ~ 3.) After the battle of Cunaxa,
Clearchus sent him with others to Ariaeus to make
an offer, which however was declined, of placing
him on the Persian throne [p. 283, b.]. After
the arrest of Clearchus and the other generals,
through the treachery of Tissaphernes, Cheirisophus
took an active part in encouraging the troops and
in otherwise providing for the emergency, and, on
the motion of Xenophon, was appointed, as being
a Lacedaemonian, to lead the van of the retreating
army. In this post we find him subsequently
acting throughout the retreat, and cordially cooperating with Xenophon. In fact it was only
once that any difference arose between them, and
that was caused by Cheirisophus having struck, in
a fit of angry suspicion, an Armenian who was
guiding them, and who left them in consequence
of the indignity. (Diod. xiv. 27; Xen. Anab. iii.
2. ~ 33, &c., 3. ~~ 3, 11, 4. ~~ 38-43, 5. ~~
1-6, iv. 1. ~~ 6, 15-22, 2. ~ 23, &c., iii. ~~ 8,
25, &c., 6. ~~ 1-3.) When the Greeks had
arrived at Trapezus on the Euxine, Cheirisophus
volunteered to go to his friend Anaxibius, the
Spartan admiral at Byzantium, to obtain a sufficient
number of ships to transport them to Europe; but
he was not successful in his application. (Diod.
xiv. 30, 31; Xen. Anab. v. 1. ~ 4, vi. 1. ~ 16.)
On his return to the army, which he found at
Sinope, he was chosen commander-in-chief, Xenophon having declined for himself the proffered
honour on the express ground of the prior claim of
a Lacedaemonian. (Anab. vi. 1. ~~ 18-33.)
Cheirisophus, however, was'unable to enforce submission to his authority, or to restrain the Arcadian and Achaean soldiers from their profligate
attempt to plunder the hospitable Heracleots; and,
on the sixth or seventh day from his election,
these troops, who formed more than half the
army, separated themselves from the rest, and departed by sea under ten generals whom they had
appointed. Xenophon then offered to continue
the march with the remainder of the forces, under
the command of Cheirisophus, but the latter declined the proposal by the advice of Neon, who
hoped to find vessels at Calpe furnished by Cleander, the Spartan Harmost at Byzantium, and
wished to reserve them exclusively for their own
portion of the army. With the small division yet
under his command, Cheirisophus arrived safely at
Calpe, where he died from the effects of a medicine
which he had taken for a fever. (Xen. Anab. vi.
2. 4, 4. ~ 11.) [EE..
CHEIRI'SOPHUS (X ipfo'opos), a statuary in
wood and probably in stone. A gilt wooden
statue of Apollo Agyieus, made by him, stood at
Tegea, and near it was a statue in stone of the
artist himself, which was most probably also his
own work. (Paus. viii. 53. ~ 3.) Pausanias knew
nothing of his age or of his teacher; but from the
way in which he mentions him in connexion with
the Cretan school of Daedalus, and from his working both in wood and stone, he is probably to be
placed with the latest of the Daedalian sculptors,
such as Dipoenus and Scyllis (about B. c. 566).
B6ckh considers the erection by the artist of his
own statue as an indication of a later date (Corp.
Inscrip. i. p. 19); but his arguments are satisfactorily answered by Thiersch, who also shews that
the reply of Hermann to Bbckh, that Pausanias
does not say that Cheirisophus made his own

CHEIRON.
statue, is not satisfactory. (Epochen, pp. 137--
139.) Thiersch has also observed, that the name
of Cheirisophus, like many other names of the
early artists, is significant of skill in art (Xip,
roo(ps). Other names of the same kind are, Daedalus (AaciSaos) the son of Eupalamus (EdTrdAapJuos), Eucheir (E'XEIp), Chersiphron (XEGippov'),
and others. Now, granting that Daedalus is nothing more than a mythological personage, and that
his name was merely symbolical, there can be no
doubt that others of these artists really existed and
bore these names, which were probably given to
them in their infancy because they belonged to
families in which art was hereditary. Thiersch
quotes a parallel case in the names taken from
navigation among the maritime people of Phaeacia.
(Hoom. Od. viii. 112, &c.)
Pausanias mentions also two shrines of Dionysus,
an altar of Cora, and a temple of Apollo, but the
way in which he speaks leaves it doubtful whether
Cheirisophus erected these, as well as the statue of
Apollo, or only the statue. [P. S.]
CHEIRON (Xeipwc), the wisest and justest of
all the centaurs. (Hom. I. xi. 831.) He was the
instructor of Achilles, whose father Peleus was a
friend and relative of Cheiron, and received at his
wedding with Thetis the heavy lance which was
subsequently used by Achilles. (II. xvi. 143, xix.
390.) According to Apollodorus (i. 2. ~ 4), Cheiron
was the son of Cronus and Philyra. He lived on
mount Pelion, from which he, like the other centaurs, was expelled by the Lapithae; but sacrifices
were offered to him there by the Magnesians until a very late period, and the family of the Cheironidae in that neighbourhood, who were distinguished for their knowledge of medicine, were
regarded as his descendants. (Plut. Sympos. iii. 1;
Miller, Orchom. p. 249.) Cheiron himself had
been instructed by Apollo and Artemis, and was
renowned for his skill in hunting, medicine, music,
gymnastics, and the art of prophecy. (Xen. Cyney.
1; Philostr. Her. 9, Icon. ii. 2; Pind. Pyth. ix. 65.)
All the most distinguished heroes of Grecian story
are, like Achilles, described as the pupils of Cheiron in these arts. His friendship with Peleus, who
was his grandson, is particularly celebrated. Cheiron saved him from the hands of the other centaurs,
who were on the point of killing him, and he also
restored to him the sword which Acastus had concealed. (Apollod. iii. 13. ~ 3, &c.) Cheiron further informed him in what manner he might gain
possession of Thetis, who was doomed to marry a
mortal. He is also connected with the story of
the Argonauts, whom he received kindly when
they came to his residence on their voyage, for
many of the heroes were his friends and pupils.
(Apollon. Rhod. i. 554; Orph. Argon. 375, &c.)
Heracles too was connected with him by friendship; but one of the poisoned arrows of this hero
was nevertheless the cause of his death, for during
his struggle with the Erymanthian boar, Heracles
became involved in a fight with the centaurs, who
fled to Cheiron, in the neighbourhood of Malea.
Heracles shot at them, and one of his arrows struck
Cheiron, who, although immortal, would not live
any longer, and gave his immortality to Prometheus.- According to others, Cheiron, in looking
at one of the arrows, dropped it on his foot, and
wounded himself. (Ovid. Fast. v. 397; Hygin.
Poet. Astr. ii. 38.) Zeus placed Cheiron among
the stars. He had been married to Nais or Chu