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

ONBONASSAR. NAEVIUS..!L1 5
days. Tile war was now intermitted for a timie, divisible by 7 and a sabbatical year. (Rosermiiller,
probably through the weakness of Nabis (Thirl- Biblic. Geogr. of Central Asia, vol. ii. p. 41, &c.,
wall, Hist. of Greece, vol. viii. p. 335), who ap- Edinburgh; Clinton, F. H. vol. i. p. 278; Scaliger,
pealed for help to the Aetolians. A small force De Emend. Temp. p. 352, &c.) [W. M. G.]
was sent by them under Alexamenus, by whom NACCA. [NATTA.]
Nabis was soon after assassinated, B. C. 192. (Liv. NAE'NIA, i. e. a dirge or lamentation, equixxxv. 12, 13, 22, 25-35; Paus. viii. 50. ~ 7, 10; valent to the Greek rpivos, such as was uttered at
Plut. Philop. p. 364.) [C. P. M.] funerals, either by relatives of the deceased or by
NABONASSAR (Naeova'oapos). Among the hired persons. At Rome Naenia was personified
most perplexing questions of Eastern history, is and worshipped as a goddess, who even had a
the comparative state of the Assyrian and the chapel, which, however, as in the case of all other
Babylonian or Chaldean empire, and the succession gods in connection with the dead, was outside the
of their kings. There seems to be little doubt, walls of the city, near the porta Viminalis. The
however, that the Babylonian kingdom did not object of this worship was probably to procure
extend its conquests till the reign of Nebuchad- rest and peace for the departed in the lower world;
nezzar B. C. 604. Till this time the kings of this may be inferred from the fact of Naeniae being
Babylon were often dependent on the kings of compared with lullabyes, and they seem to have been
Assyria, and acted as their viceroys, in the same sung with a soft voice, as if a person was to be
manner as Cyrus the younger was dependent on lulled to sleep. (August. de Civ. Dei, vi. 9;
his brother. From this general fact, as well as Arnob. adv. Gent. iv. 7, vii. 32; Horat. Carm. iii.
from an inference to be stated immediately, Rosenl- 28. 16; Fest. pp. 161, 163, ed. Miiller.) [L. S.]
mUller is of opinion that Nabonassar, the king of NAE'VIA E'NNIA. [ENNIA.]
Babylon B. c. 747, was, without doubt. a vassal of NAEVIA GENS, plebeian, is not mentioned in
Assyria. We find in sacred history (2 Kings, xvii. history till the time of the second Punic war,
24) that the kingof Assyria, while colonising Sama- towards the close of which one of its members, Q.
ria, " brought men from Babylon." Rosenmiiller Naevius Matho, was praetor. None of the Naevii,
assumes that this king was Shalmaneser, or Salma- however, obtained the consulship under the repubnasar, and argues that we must hence conclude that lic, and it was not till A. D. 30, when L. Naevius
Babylon was at that time -a period subsequent to Surdinus was consul, that any of the gens was
Nabonassar's reign - and consequently before, raised to this honour. The principal surnames
tributary to Assyria. Paulus, il his Key to Isaiah under the republic are BALBUS and MATHO: be(quoted by Rosenmiiller), is of a different opinion, sides these we also find the cognomens Crista, Poland is corroborated by Clinton. This latter writer lio, Turpio, which are given under NAEVIUS. On
infers from Ezra (iv. 2), that the colonisation of coins we find the cognomens Balbus, Capella,
Samaria took place under Esarhaddon, the Assyrian Surdinus. (Eckhel, vol. v. p. 259.)
monarch, who undoubtedly effected a change in the NAE'VIUS. 1. Q. NARVIUS, or NAVIUS, as
Babylonian monarchy, and placed his son there as the name is written in the MSS. of Livy, was a
viceroy. In the absence of all positive authority, centurion in the army of Q. Fulvius Flaccus, who
therefore, we can draw no inference from the event was engaged in the siege of: Capua in B. c. 211,
referred to by RosenmiViller. Clinton concludes, on when Hannibal attempted to relieve the town.
the authority of Polyhistor and the astronomical Naevius greatly distinguished himself by his percanon, that Babylon had always kings of her own sonal bravery on this occasion, and by his advice
from the earliest times, and conjectures that Nabo- the velites were united with the equites and did
nassar and his successors were independent till the good service in repulsing. the Campanian cavalry.
reign of Esarhaddon. This conclusion is strength- (Liv. xxvi. 4, 5; Frontin. Stratea. iv. 7. ~ 29
ened by the existence of the celebrated Era of Val. Max. ii. 3. ~ 3.)
Nabonzassar. We may fairly infer, from this 2. Q. NAEVIUS CRISTA, a praefect of the allies,
monarch's reign having been fixed upon by the served under the praetor M. Valerius in the war
Babylonian astronomers as the era from which against Philip in a. c. 214, during the course of the
they began their calculations, that there was some second Punic war, and distinguished himself by
distinguished event-probably the temporary esta- his bravery and military skill. (Liv. xxiv. 40.)
blishment of Babylon as an independent kingdom 3. Q. NAEVIUS, was one of the triumvirs ap-which led to their choice. In the absence of pointed in B. c. 194, for founding a Latin colony
any thing like certainty to guide us, we may, not- among the Bruttii. He and his colleagues had the
withstanding, pronounce the opinion which Scaliger imperium granted to them for three years. (Liv.
once held, but afterwards retracted, that Nabonas- xxxiv. 53, xxxv. 40.)
sar and Baladon are identical, to be untenable. 4. M. NAEvsI, tribune of the plebs, B. C. 184,
Tle Era of Nabonassar. This era serves, in entered upon his office in B. c. 185, in which year,
astronomical, the same purpose as the Olympiads in at the instigation of Cato the censor, he accused
civil histbry. It was the starting point of the Scipio Africanus the elder of having been bribed
Babylonian chronology, and was adopted by the by Antiochus to allow that monarch to come off too
Greeks of Alexandria, by Hipparchus, Berosus, and leniently. Scipio's speech in his defence was exPtolemy. Its date is ascertained from the eclipses tant in the time of A. Gellius, who quotes a strikrecorded by Ptolemy, and the celestial phenomena ing passage from it; but there was some dispute
with which he marks the day of Nabonassar's ac- whether Naevius was the accuser of Scipio; some
cession to the throne. It is fixed as the 26th of authorities spoke of the Petilii as the parties who
February, B. C. 747. Scaliger De Eaend. Temp. brought the charge. (Liv. xxxviii. 56, xxxix. 52;
(p. 392) notices the coincidence between the years Gell. iv. 18; Aur. Vict. de Vir. llt. 49.) The
of this era and the sabbatical year of the Samaritans. short quotation which Cicero (de Orat. ii. 61)
Thus, to take the year of Christ, 1584: 1584 + 747 makes from a speech of Scipio against Naevius
-2331 of the era of Nabonassar, which is both must have been delivered upon another. occasion,