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

NELEUlS.- NEMESIANUS. 1151
After the death of Cretheus, the two brothers cus. He was a disciple of Aristotle and Theoquarrelled about the succession to the throne of phrastus, the latter of whom bequeathed to him
Iolcus. Neleus, who was expelled, went with his library, and appointed him one of his execuMelampus and Bias to Pylos, which his uncle tors. The history of the writings of Aristotle as
Aphareus gave to him (Apollod. i. 9. ~ 9; Diod. connected with Neleus and his heirs, is fully disiv. 68). Neleus thus became king of Pylos, which cussed elsewhere. [Vol. I. p. 323.] Of the pertown he found in existence when he arrived there; sonal history of Neleus nothing further is known.
but some state that he himself built Pylos, or at (Strab. xiii. p. 608, b; Diog. Laert. v. 52, 53, 55,
least that he erected the royal palace there (Paus. 56; Athen. i. p. 3, a; Plut. Sull. p. 468. b;
iv. 2. ~ 3, 36. ~ 1). It should be observed that Fabric. Bibl. GeCrec. vol. iii. p. 499.) [C. P. M.]
several towns of the name of Pylos claimed the NE'MEA (NsIe/a), a daughter of Asopus, from
honour of being the city of Neleus or of his son whom the district of Nemea between Cleonae and
Nestor, such as Pylos in Messenia, Pylos in Elis, Phlius in Argolis was said to have received its
and Pylos in Triphylia; the last of which is pro- name. (Paus. ii. 15. ~ 3, v. 22. ~ 5.) [L. S.]
bably the one mentioned by Homer in connection NEMEIUS (Ne/uE7os), the Nemeian, a surname
with Neleus and Nestor (Strab. viii. p. 337). of Zeus, under which he had a sanctuary at Argos,
Neleus was married to Chloris, who, according to with a bronze statue, the work of Lysippus, and
Homer (Od. xi. 280, &c.), was a daughter of Am- where games were celebrated in his honour. (Paus.
phion of Orchomenos, and according to others ii. 20. ~ 3, 24. ~ 2.) [L. S.]
(Diod. 1. c.) a Theban woman, and by her he be- NEMERTES (Ny71/uepr), that is, the Unerring,
came the father of Nestor, Chromius, Periclymenus, a daughter of Nereus and Doris. (Hom. Ii. xviii.
and Pero, though the total number of his sons was 46; Hes. Theog. 262.) [L. S.]
twelve (Od. xi. 285, 11. xi. 692; Apollod. i. 9. ~ NEMESIA'NUS, M. AURE'LIUS OLY'M9; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. i. 156). When He- PIUS, who, in all probability, was a native of
racles had killed Iphitus, he went to Neleus to be Africa, since he is styled in MSS. Poeta Carc/zapurified; but Neleus, who was a friend of Eurytus, yiniensis, and is referred to as Au'elius Cart/athe father of Iphitus, refused to purify Heracles giniensis by Hincmar archbishop of Rheims (A. D.
(Diod. iv. 31). In order to take vengeance, Hera- 845), flourished at the court of the emperor Carus
cles afterwards marched against Pylos, and slew the (A. D. 283), carried off the prize in all the poetical
sons of Neleus, with the exception of Nestor (Hom. contests of the day (omnibus coronis [not coloniis]
II. xi. 690), though some later writers state that illustratus emicuit), and was esteemed second to
Neleus also was killed (Apollod. ii. 6. ~ 2, 7. ~ 3; the youthful prince Numerianus alone, who noHlygin. Fab. 10). Neleus was thus reduced to a noured him so far as permit him to dispute,
state of defencelessness, and Augeas, king of the and, of course, to yield to the palm of verse.
Epeians, availed himself of the opportunity for Vopiscus, to whom we are indebted for these parharassing his kingdom; among other things ticulars, informs us that he was the author of
Augeas intercepted and kept for himself a team of poems upon fishing, hunting, and aquatics (aAmevfour horses which Neleus had sent to the Olympian TLKa, Kcvv71E'tytKr, vaUrtad, unless we read tevUrTKca),
games (Hom. II. xi. 699, &c.). Neleus took ven- all of which have perished, with the exception of a
geance for this by carrying away the flocks of the fragment of the Cynegetica, extending to 325
Epeians (II. xi. 670, &c.), whereupon the latter hexameter lines, which, in so far as neatness and
invaded the territory of Pylos, and besieged Thry- purity of expression are concerned, in some degree
oessa on the Alpheius. Athena informed Neleus justifies the admiration of his contemporaries.
of it, but he would not allow his son Nestor to What has been preserved contains precepts for
venture out against the Epeians, and concealed his rearing horses and dogs, and for providing the
war steeds. But Nestor fought against them on apparatus of the huntsman, but is evidently merely
foot, and was victorious (II. xi. 707, &c.). Pau- an introduction to the main body of the work,
sanias says (ii. 2. ~ 2) that Neleus died at Corinth, which seems to have embraced a very wide field,
and that he, in conjunction with Nestor, restored and to have beens intended to contain a cornthe Olympian games. The descendants of Neleus, plete account of all the beasts of chase, and of the
the Neleidae, were expelled from their kingdom by various methods pursued for their capture or dethe Heracleidae, and migrated for the most part to struction.
Athens (Paus. ii. 18. ~ 7, iv. 3. ~ 3). It should Two short fragments, De Aucupio, which, with
be observed that Hyginus (Feb. 10, 14) calls the their history, will be found in the Poetae Latini
father of Neleus Hippocoon, and that he mentions Minores of Wernsdorf (vol. i. p. 128), and likehim among the Argonauts. [L. S.] wise a piece entitled Laudes Herculis, the work of
NELEUS (NAXsEg5 or NdMeXos), the younger some unknown writer, have been ascribed, on no
son of Codrus, disputed the right of his elder good evidence, to Nemesianus (Wernsdorf, vol. i.
brother Medon to the crown on account of his p. 275); and he'is by some erroneously supposed
lameness, and when the Delphic oracle declared in to have been the author of four out of the eleven
favour of Medon, he placed himself at the head of pastorals which bear the name of Calpurnius
the colonists who migrated to Ionia, and himself Siculus [CALPURNIus], and to have been shafounded Miletus. His son Aepytus headed the dowed forth in one of the others tthe fourth)
colonists who settled in Priene. Another son under the designation of Meliboeus. The inscripheaded a body of settlers who reinforced the in- tion "Ad Nemesianum Carthaginiensem," prefixed
habitants of Iasus, after they had lost a great to these eclogues, in many editions, rests upon the
number of their citizens in a war with the Carians. authority of no MSS., except such as are of recent
(Herod. ix. 97; Paus. vii. 2, ~ 1, who in the old date, and is now generally regarded as an interedition calls him Neileus; Polyb. xvi. 12; Suidas, polation.
s. v.'Iwva; Strab. xiv. p. 633.) [C. P. M.] The fragment of the C~ynegetica was first pubNELEUS, a native of Scepsis, the son of Coris- lished by the heirs of Aldus (8vo. Venet. 1534),