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

t 154 NEOPHYTUS. NEOPTOLEMUS.
into exile, when the cities of Boeotia submitted to theological subjects, are of more dubious authorship,
the Roman deputies Marcius and Atilius, B. C. 172. but are probably by our Neophytus: a Demonstratio
Hereupon he took refuge with Perseus, to whose de Plantis, and one or two chemical treatises, are by
fortunes he seems to have henceforward closely at- another Neophytus, surnamed Prodromenus; and
tached himself, as he was one of the three companions Definitiones and Divisiones Summnariae totius Arisof the king's flight after the decisive battle of totelis Philosophiae and Epitome in Porphyrii
Pydna, B. C. 168. He eventually fell into the quinque voces et in Aristotelis Organon are appahands of the Romans, by whom he was executed the rently by a third writer of the same name. (Cotefollowing year, B. C. 167. (Polyb. xxvii. 1, 2; Liv. lerius, 1. c. and notes in col. 678, 679; Du Cange,
xliv. 43, xlv. 31; Plut. Aemil. 23). [E. H. B.] Glossartiur Med. et Inf. Graecitatis; Index AuctoNEOPHRON or NEOPHON (Neo'ppw ru, rum, p. 29; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. v. p. 738,
Neoqpiov, Suidas gives both, Diogenes Lairtius vol. viii. 661, 662, vol. xi. p. 339, &c.; Cave, Hist.
NeodqpWso), of Sicyon, a tragic writer of doubtful Litt. ad Ann. 1190, vol. ii. p. 251, ed. Oxford,
age. In the Scholia to the Medeia of Euripides, 1740, 1742.) [J. C. M.]
we have two fragments of a play written by him NEOPTO/LEMUS (Neo7r'06XeU os), i. e. a young
on the same subject, one of four lines at v. 668, warrior, a son of Achilles and Deidameia, the
and another of five lines at v. 1354. Besides these daughter of Lycomedes, was also called Pyrrhus
we have fifteen lines quoted by Stobaeus, from the (Apollod. iii. 13. ~ 8; Hom. Od. xi. 491, &c.).
same tragedy. The account given of him by According to some, however, he was a son of
Suidas, as has been shown by Elmsley (ad EZurip. Achilles and Iphigeneia (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 133; EuMed. p. 68), is manifestly inconsistent. Suidas stath. ad Horn. p. 1187), and after the sacrifice of
states that he wrote 120 tragedies, that the Medeia his mother he was carried by his father to the
of Euripides was sometimes attributed to him, and island of Scyros. The name of Pyrrhus is said to
that he was the first to introduce on the stage the have been given to him by Lycomedes, because he
lIaLRaywyos, and the examination of slaves by had fair (rvp6o's) hair, or because Achilles, while
torture. In one particular —that the Medeia of disguised as a girl, had borne the name of Pyrrha
Euripides was sometimes attributed to him- (Paus. x. 26. ~ 1; Hygin. Fab. 97; Eustath. ad
Suidas is confirmed by Diogenes La'rtius. But Horn. p. 1187; Serv. ad Aen. ii. 469). He was
Suidas goes on to say that he was involved in the called Neoptolemus because either Achilles or
fate of Callisthenes, and put to death by Alexander Pyrrhus himself had fought in early youth (Eustath.
the Great. If the latter account be true, the 1. c.). From his father he is sometimes called Achilformer cannot but be an error, as Euripides lived lides (Ov. Her. viii. 3), and from his grandfather
long before the days of Alexander the Great, and, or great-grandfather, Pelides and Aeacides (Virg.
in the very play of the Medeia, among others, had Aen. ii. 263,iii. 296). Neoptolemus was brought up
introduced the rIIaLaray'yos. Besides, Nearchus, a in Scyros in the house of Lycomedes (Hom. II. xix.
tragedian, ismentioned bySuidas(s.v. KaXzio0de'vs) 326; Soph. Philoct. 239, &c.), whence he was
as the unfortunate friend of Callisthenes who suf- fetched by Odysseus to join the Greeks in the war
fered with him. From this reasoning it seems against Troy (Hom. Od. xi. 508), because it had
certain that Suidas confounded the two, and that been prophesied by Helenus that Neoptolemus and
Clinton is right in placing Neophron, as he does, Philoctetes, with the arrows of Heracles, were nebefore the age of Euripides. This is further cessary for the taking of Troy (Soph. Phil. 115).
strengthened by an acute remark of Elmsley's, In order to obtain those arrows Neoptolemus and
that men do not quote small plagiarists of great Odysseus were sent from Troy to the island of
writers, but delight to trace wherever great writers Lemnos, where Philoctetes was living, who was
have borrowed their materials. As far as we can prevailed upon to join the Greeks (Soph. Phil.
judge from the fragments already mentioned, Euri- 1433). At Troy Neoptolemus showed himself in
pides may have borrowed his plot and characters every respect worthy of his great father, and at
from Neophron, but certainly not his style. (Elms- last was one of the heroes that were concealed in
ley, 1. c.; Gaisford's Stobaeus, vol. i. p. 385; Suid. the wooden horse (Hom. Od. xi. 508, &c. 521).
s. v.; Diog. Lairt. ii. 134; Clinton, F.H. vol. ii. At the taking of the city he killed Priam at
p. xxxi.) [XW. M. G.] the sacred hearth of Zeus Herceius (Pans. iv.
NEO'PHYTUS. A short, but curious tract, 17. ~ 3, x. 27; Virg. Ylen. ii. 547, &c.), and
published by Cotelerius in his Ecclesiae Graecae sacrificed Polyxena to the spirit of his father
iI/onumenta, vol. ii. p. 457-462, bears this title: (Eurip. Hecub. 523). When the Trojan captives
NsopJrTov 7rpeourVe4pou UovaX6o ical K yXseKAE10'o6 were distributed, Andromache, the widow of
7repI Tciv tKaTd, Xoipav Kvrpov oacaucv, Neophyti Hector, was given to Neoptolemus, and by her
Pi-esbyteri Monachi et Inclusi, De Calanditatibus he became the father of Molossus, Pielus, PerC(yp/. It gives a brief account of the usurpation gamus (Paus. i. 11. ~ 1), and Amphialus (Hygin.
of the island by Isaac Comnenus, its conquest, Fab. 123; comp. ANDROMACHE). Respecting his
and -the imprisonment of Isaac by Richard Coeur return from Troy and the subsequent events of his
de Lion, king of England, and the sale of the life the traditions differ. According to Homer (Od.
island to the Latins (as the writer represents the iii. 188, iv. 5, &c.) he lived in Phthia, the kingdom
transaction) by Richard. The writer was con- of his father, whither Menelaus sent to him Hertemporary with these transactions, and therefore mione from Sparta, because he had promised her to
lived about the close of the twelfth century. He him at Troy. According to others Neoptolemus
was a resident in and probably a native of Cyprus. himself went to Sparta to receive Hermione, because
There are several MSS. in the different European he had heard a report that she was betrothed to
libraries bearing the name of Neophytus. Of these Orestes (Hygin. Fab. 123; Paus. iii. 25. ~ 1, 26.
a MS. formerly in the Colbertine Library at Paris, ~ 5). Servius (ad Aen. ii. 166, iii. 321, &c.) recontained thirty Orationes, evidently by our Neo- lates that on the advice of Helenus, to whom he
phytus: a Catena in Canticum, and some others on subsequently gave Andromache and a district in