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

COMAZON.
Translations exist in English, Lond. 4to. 1745;
in French by Cotereau, Paris, 4to. 1551; in Italian by P. Lauro, Venez. 8vo. 1554, 1557, and
1559, by Bened. del Bene, 2 tom. 4to. Verona,
1808; and in German, among many others, by
M. C. Curtius, 8vo., Hamburg, 1769. [W. R.]
COLU'THUS (KdhovOor), one of the late Greek
epic poets, was a native of Lycopolis in Upper
Egypt, and flourished under the emperor Anastasius, at the beginning of the sixth century of our
era. He wrote laudatory poems (eyKiccia t' Irc3,),
an heroic poem, in six books, entitled KaAvuovucka,
and another entitled HIepocci. These are all lost,
but his poem on "The Rape of Helen" ('EXet s
dprrary) was discovered, with Quintus Smyrnaeus,
by the Cardinal Bessarion in Calabria. It was
first printed by Aldus, 8vo. (no date): more accurately, with ingenious conjectural emendations, by
H. Stephens in his Poetae Graeci Principes, Par.
1566, fol. Several Latin versions and reprints of the
text appeared in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the most important of which is the edition of
Jo. Dan. Lennep, Leoward. 1747, 8vo. The latest
and best editions are those of Bekker, Berl. 1816,
8vo., and Schaefer, Lips. 1825, 8vo. The poem,
as it now stands, consists of 392 hexameter lines,
and is an unsuccessful imitation of Homer. [P. S.]
COMANUS (Ko oavds), one of the ministers of
Ptolemy Physcon (who had been placed on the
throne of Egypt in the room of his exiled brother,
Philometor), is introduced by Polybius as endeavouring by embassy and negotiation to obtain
peace from Antiochus Epiphanes, B. c. 169, when
the latter had gained possession of Egypt. (Pol.
xxviii. 16; comp. Liv. Epit. 46; Val. Max. v. 1.
~ 1.) We hear of Comanus again in B. c. 162 as
ambassador from Physcon to the Romans, to complain that Philometor refused to act up to their
decree, by which Cyprus had been assigned to Physcon in the partition of the kingdom. (Pol. xxxi.
27, xxxii. 1; Diod. xxxi. Exc. de Legat. 23, p.
626.) [E. E.]
COMAZON, one of the first commission of nine
appointed by Theodosius and Valentinian, A. D.
429, to compile the Theodosian Code,-a work
which was carried into effect by a second commission of sixteen, consisting for the most part of new
members, appointed A. D. 435. He was an exmagister scrinii in A. D. 429. (Cod. Theodos. tit. 1.
~~ 5, 6.) [J. T. G.]
COMAZON, P. VALERIUS EUTYCHIA'NUS. Eutychianus, surnamed Comazon from his
dissipation and buffoonery (TroUro 'yp Trotropa ei
JiLcuv al yewroTro'tas EorXEv), was originally an
actor and dancer at Rome. While serving in
Thrace, he was degraded, in consequence of misconduct, to the rank of a rower in the fleet, by
Claudius Attalus, governor of the province; but
having subsequently taken an active part in the
conspiracy against Macrinus, he became the confidential adviser and right-hand man of Elagabalus,
was chosen praefect of the praetorium, raised to
the rank of consul A. D. 220, twice nominated
praefect of the city, and permitted to gratify his
revenge by procuring the death of the officer by
whom he had been disgraced. Comazon not only
escaped the massacre which followed the death of
his patron (A. D. 222), but was immediately after
appointed praefect of the city for the third timean honour never before enjoyed by any individual.
[GANNYS.]

COMINIUS. 815
(Dion Caas. lxxviii. 31, 32, 39, and Reimarus
on c. 38, lxxix. 3, 4, 21; Lamprid. Elagab.
12. With regard to the imaginary second and
third consulships of Comazon, see Tillemont, note
iv. on the emperor Elagabalus, vol. iii. p. 472, and
Reimarus on Dion Cass. lxxix. 4.) [W. R.]
COME'TAS SCHOLA'STICUS (Kouras
PXoAarfIdKs, Cod. Vat. pp. 130, 457), or CHARTULA'RIUS (XapTrovXApto, record-keeper, ib. p.
458), is the author of six epigrams in the Greek
Anthology. (Brunck, Anal. iii. pp. 15, 16; Jacobs,
iii. pp. 236, 237), and of a paraphrase of part of
the 11th chapter of John's Gospel, in fifty-seven
hexameter verses. (Jacobs, Paralip. e Cod. Vat.
213, xiii. p. 747.) From some of his epigrams
(4, 5, 6) we learn, that he produced a new recension of the Homeric poems, in which he reformed
the punctuation. His time is very doubtful. Villoison (Proleg. in Homr. p. lix.) identifies him with
the Cometas who was appointed by Bardas public
professor of grammar at Constantinople in the reign
of Michael III., A. D. 856. Jacobs, however,
thinks that there are indications of his having
lived later, in some marginal notes on his poems in
the Vatican MS. (Jacobs, Anthol. Graec. xiii. p.
873.) These notes are by no means complimentary.
Respecting the title of Chartularius, see Du Cange,
Gloss. Mied. et Inf. Graec. s. v. p. 1735.
Clemens Alexandrinus mentions Cometas, a
Cretan, among the commentators on Homer.
(Strom. i. p. 331.) [P. S.]
COMINIA GENS, plebeian. If Postumus or
Postumius Cominius Auruncus, consul in B. c. 501,
belonged to this gens, it must have been patrician
originally; but it is probable that he was a member of the Postumia gens, as Valerius Maximus
(de Nom. Rat.) mentions him as an instance in
which the praenomens and cognomens are confounded in the consular Fasti. Cominius also
occurs as a cognomen of the Pontii. (See below.)
None of the members of the Cominia gens obtained
any of the higher offices of the state. [COMINIUS.]
COMPNIUS. 1. Tribune of the plebs, but in
what year is uncertain, accused M. Laetorius
Mergus, a military tribune, for attempting to
seduce his cornicularius. (Val. Max. vi. 1. ~ 11.)
2. L. COMINIUS, military tribune in the army
of the dictator, L. Papirius Cursor, B. c. 325. (Liv.
viii. 30.)
3. COMINIUS, the commander of a troop of
cavalry in the army of Tib. Sempronius Gracchus
in Spain, B. c. 178. (Appian, Hisp. 43.)
4. SEX. COMINIUS, a Roman knight, maltreated
by Verres. (Cic. Verr. iv. 10.)
5, 6. P. and L. or C. COMINII, two brothers,
who are described by Cicero as men of character
and eloquence, accused Staienus, about B. c. 74.
(Cic. pro Cluent. 36.) In B. c. 66, these two
brothers accused of majestas C. Cornelius, the tribune of the preceding year [C. CORNELIUS], but
on the day appointed for the trial, the praetor, L.
Cassius, did not appear, and the Cominii were
driven away by a mob, and were eventually
obliged to quit the city. They renewed the accusation in the following year, B. c. 65; Cornelius was defended by Cicero, who was then
praetor, and acquitted. The speech which P.
Cominius delivered on this occasion was extant in
the time of Asconius, who says that it was worth
reading, not only because of Cicero's speech, but
for its own merits. P. Cominius was a native of