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

1190 L NICOCLES. NICOCLES.
Aristophanes (Suidas, s. v. NKoXdprns), and of the certainly incredible that had this been the case,
ward Kvsa+,fratov (Steph. Byz. s. v. KvsaOr1vaLov). Isocrates should have addressed to him a long
If the conjecture of Bbckh be correct (Corp. panegyric upon his father's virtues, in which he
Inscript. vol. i. p. 354), he was alive so far down also dwells particularly upon the filial piety of
as B. c. 354. The names of his plays, as enume- Nicocles, and the honours paid by him to the
rated by Suidas (. c.), are,'AuvLdc0V1, fIeXo*4, memory of Evagoras (Isoc. Evag. init.).
raFXiTela,'HpaKXjs Jyal.cgu,'HpaKAhis Xop0rylS, Scarcely any particulars are known of the
Kpgr'es, Aatcwves, A7pYLaL, KTrcavpot, Xetpoyac- reign of Nicocles, but it appears to have been one
oaropes. Meineke (Com. Graec. Frag. vol. i. of peace and prosperity. If we may trust the statep. 253) ingeniously conjectures that the two first ment of his panegyrist Isocrates (who addressed to
are but different names for the same comedy, from him two of his orations, and has made him the
the fact that Tl'Xo*i does not occur in its alpha- subject of another), he raised the cities under his
betical place, like the rest, and from the name rule to the most flourishing condition, replenished
Oenomaius occurring in a quotation from the the treasury, which had been exhausted by his'AscvupdYVsi, given by Athenaeus (two lines, x. p. father's wars, without oppressing his subjects by ex426, e.). Of the Galatea two small fragments are orbitant taxes, and exhibited in all respects the
preserved. (Pollux, x. 93; Schol. in Aristoph. model of a mild and equitable ruler (Isocr. Nicocl.
Plut. vv. 179, 303.) To "Heracles marrying," p. 32, &c.). The same author extols him also
reference is made, Pollux vii. 40, x. 135. In the for his attachment to literature and philosophy
former passage the play is spoken of i''HpaKAhe (id. Evag. p. 207), of which he afforded an ad-'yauovyf4vc; this use of the verb, perhaps, like the ditional proof by rewarding Isocrates himself for
Latin nubo, indicating the hero's unhusband-like his panegyric with the magnificent present of
subjection to Omphale. And in the latter passage twenty talents ( Vit. X. Orat. p. 838, a.). The
the poet is spoken of thus: KaTa NLco'XapLv. Of orator also praises him for the purity of his domestic
the Lacones, we learn from the Argument to the relations; but we learn from Theopompus and
Plutus III. of Aristophanes, that it was represented Anaximenes (ap. Athen. xii. p. 531), that he was
B. c. 388, in competition with the nIovros /3'. of a person of luxurious habits, and used to vie with
Aristophanes. Reference is made to it, Athen. xv. Straton, king of Sidon, in the splendour and refinep. 667, e. Of the Lemniae, the subject of which ment of his feasts and other sensual indulgences.
seems to have been the loves of Jason and Hyp- According to the same authorities he ultimately
sipyle, we have two lines preserved by Athenaeus perished by a violent death, but neither the period
(vii. p. 328, e.). Other short fragments, but with- nor circumstances of this event are recorded.
out the names of the plays, are preserved by The annexed coin may be safely assigned to this
Athenaeus (as i. p. 34, d.), Pollux, and others. Nicocles. See Borrell, Notice sur quelques mnedailles
From these fragments we can only infer that he Grecques des Rois de Chtypre, 4to., Paris, 1836.
treated in the style of the Old Comedy-sometimes
rising into tragic dignity-the legends and local
traditions of his country, no doubt ridiculing the
peculiarities of the neighbouring states. (Mei- /
neke, 1. c. and vol. ii. p. 842; Athen. Suid. Steph. -
Byz. 1. cc.; Clinton, F. H. vol. ii. pp. 42, 101;
Fabric. Bzbl. Graec. vol. ii. 471.)
Aristotle mentions (Art. Poet. ii. 7) one Nicochares as the author of a poem called the A7;xLds, COIN OF NICOCLES, OF SALAMIS.
in which he represents men as worse than they
are, Whether the comic Nicochares be the 2. Prince or ruler of Paphos, in Cyprus, during
author or not, as Aristotle mentions this poem in the period which followed the death of Alexander.
connection with the parody of Hegemon, and, inm- He was at first one of those who took part with
mediately after, expressly distinguishes between Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, against Antigonus
the characters represented in tragedy and in (Diod. xix. 59; Droysen, Hellenismus, vol. i. p.
comedy as a separate illustration, the Deliad can- 339), but at a subsequent period, B. c. 310, after
not have been a comedy, as Fabricius (Bibl. Graec. Ptolemy had established his power over the whole
vol. ii. p. 471) inadvertently states. Aethads, " the island, Nicocles appears to have changed his views,
Poltroniad," has been suggested as the probable and entered into secret negotiations with Antigonus.
name. But, looking at the practice of the comic Hereupon, the Egyptian monarch, alarmed lest the
poet to amuse himself with local peculiarities, it spirit of disaffection should spread to the other
seems probable enough that he wrote a satirical cities, immediately despatched two of his friends,
extravaganza on the inhabitants of Delos. (Aristot. Argaeus and Callicrates, to Cyprus, who surrounded
1. c.; Twining's transl. vol. i. p. 266, 2d ed.; Mei- the palace of the unhappy prince with an armed
neke, Corn. Graec. Fr. vol. i. p. 256; Fabric. Bibl. force, and commanded him to put an end to his own
Graec. 1. c.) [W. M. G.] life, an order with which, after a vain attempt at
NICOCLES (NMKOKmAc s), historical. 1. King explanation, he was obliged to comply. His exof Salamis in Cyprus, was the son and successor of ample was followed by his wife Axiothea, as well
Evagoras I. Some authors have supposed that he as' by his brothers and their wives, so that the
had participated in the conspiracy to which his father whole family of the princes of Paphos perished in
Evagoras fell a victim; but there is no authority this catastrophe (Diod. xx. 21; Polyaen. viii. 48).
for this supposition, which has indeed been adopted Wesseling (ad Diod. 1. c.) has erroneously identified
only by way of explaining the strange error into this Nicocles with Nicocreon, king of Salamis
which Diodorus has fallen, who represents Nicocles [NIcocREON], from whom he is certainly distinct.
himself as the eunuch by whom Evagoras was (See Droysen, vol. i. p. 404, not.) A coin of this
assassinated (Diod. xv. 47, intpp. ad loc.). It is prince, bearing the inscription NIKOKAEOT>