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

NICOSTRATUS.' NIGER.' 1201'NICOfSTRATUS, literary. 1. The'youngest nick-name' Anticyra. He is perhaps'the same
of the three sons of Aristophanes, according to person whose medical formulae are frequently
Apollodorus. He was'himself a comic poet. By quoted by Andromachus (ap. Gal. De Conpos.
Athenaeus (xiii. p. 597, d.) he is expressly called Medicamn. sec. Loc. viii. 2, ix. 6, vol. xiii. pp.
a poet of the middle comedy. But he belonged 139, 308, and Aiit. iii. 1, 32, p. 478), and others,
also in part to the. new comedy. Harpocration and who must, therefore, have lived in or before
(p. 266) speaks of his play called''OpVL0Ui-Vs, as the first century after Christ. [W. A. G.]
belonging to that species of comedy; and some of NICO'STRATUS, artist. [NIcoMACHUS.]
the characters which he introduced in other dramas NIGER, a Latin writer (judging by his name)
demonstrate the same. In his BaoLXesheintroduced on Materia Medica, who lived later than Cratevas,
a boasting soldier (Athen. vi. p. 230, d.); in his and a little before Dioscorides (Dioscor. De l/fat.
ToicorrTs, an avaricious money-lender (Athen. xv. Med. i. praef., vol. i. p. 2), and therefore probably
p. 685, f.) and a vaunting cook (Athen. xiv. p. about the beginning of the first century after
664, b.). Photius (Cod. 190, p. 153, ed. Bekk.) Christ. He seems to have enjoyed some repuhas got a story that Nicostratus being inflamed tation as a writer, as he is mentioned by
with a mad passion for some one named Tettigidaea, St. Epiphanius (adv. Haeres. i. 1. ~ 3. p. 3), and
leapt off the Leucadian rock. several times by Galen among eminent pharmaThe titles of nineteen of the plays of Nico- ceutical authors (De Simplic. Medicam. Temper. ac
stratus have come down to us. Three of these, the Facult. vi. praef. vol. xi. p. 797, De Antid. i. 2.
YAvvAAos (Athen. iii. 108, c. 118, e.), the Oh'o- vol. xiv. p. 7, Gloss. Hippocr. praef.' vol. xix.
7riwv (Athen. iv. p. 169, e. vii. p. 280, d.; Suidas, p. 64). Caelius Aurelianus calls him the friend of
s. v. 4lAE'Talpos), and the rla'vapooos (Athen. xiii. Tullius Bassus (De Morb. Acut. iii. 16. p. 233),
p. 587, d. xv. p. 693, a. b.) were also attributed to and Galen says he was a follower of Asclepiades
Philetaerus, who, according to some authorities (I. c. vol. xi. p. 794.).* He is perhaps the person
(Schol. ad Plat. Apol. Socr. p. 331), was the third called Sextus Niger by Pliny (Index to H. N.
son of Aristophanes [PHILETAERUS]. The re- xx.), and some suppose his name to have been
maining plays of Nicostratus were: 7.'Iepo- Petronius Niger. [PETRONIUS.] [W. A. G.].d'sT'7s. 8. KAiv77. 9. "Apa. 10.'Hoifoos. 11. lad- NIGER, AQUI'LLIUS, a writer referred to by
CoAos. 12.'A'Trepcao-a. 13.'EKica'r. 14. Md- Suetonius for a statement respecting the death of
yeipos. ]5.'q2trs. 16. IhXoUros. 17.,Vpos. the consul Hirtius. (Suet. Aug. 11.)
1'8.'AteXav'o'peros. 19. TYev6oaTrysaTqias. (Fabric. NIGER, BRUTI'DIUS, aedile A. D. 22, and
Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. p. 472; Meineke, Hist. Crit. one of the accusers of D. Silanus (Tac. Ann. iii.
Corn. Graec. pp. 346, &c.; Bode, Gesch. der Hellen. 66 ). He appears to be the same as the Brutidius
Dicldkunst, vol. iii. part; ii. p. 410.) of whom Juvenal speaks (x. 82) in his account of
2. A dramatic writer mentioned by Diogenes the fall of Sejanus, and likewise the same as the
Lagrtius (iv. 18). He bore the nickname of KXv- Brutidius Niger, of whose writings the elder Seneca
Tasiuupcrrpa, and is probably a different person from has preserved two passages relating to the death of
the preceding. Meineke is inclined to believe him Cicero. (Senec.'Suas. 7.)
to have been the author of the Theseis, mentioned NIGER, Q. CAECI'LIUS, by birth a Sicilian
by Diogenes Laertius (ii. 59), though some MSS. and quaestor of Verres during his administration of
there have the reading MuOo-par'os. Sicily, endeavoured to obtain the conduct of the
3. A tragic actor, who lived before B. c. 420. accusation of Verres, pretending to be his enemy,
He is confounded by Suidas (s. v.) with the son of but in reality desiring to deprive the Sicilians of
Aristophanes. (Xen. Sympi. iii. 11; Plut. Moral. the powerful advocacy of Cicero. The speech of
p. 348, f., Append. Vatic. i. 65; Meineke, Hist. Cicero, entitled Divinatio in Q. Caecilium, was deCrit. Com. Graec. p. 347.) livered against this Caecilius, when the judices had
4. A rhetorician, a native of Macedonia. He to decide to which of the two the prosecution
lived in the time of M. Antoninus. According to should be entrusted,
Suidas (s. v.) he was the author of the following NIGER, LENTULUS. [LENTULUS, No. 33.]
works: AetajlvOla, EbKdes, noAvypvOia, aaxAar- NIGER, NO'VIUS, quaestor in B. c. 63, was
roup-yoi, and several other works, encomia on the appointed to investigate the cases of the Catilinarian
emperor, and various others. Some of his IvAOoi conspirators, and Caesar, who was then praetor,
were in a dramatic form. Philostratus (de Vit. was charged by'L. Vettius as one of Catiline's conSophist. ii. 31) praises the elegance of his style. spirators. Caesar subsequently cast Novius into,
(Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vi. p. 135.) prison for permitting a magistrate of higher rank to
5. A native of Trapezus, who lived in the reign be accused before him. (Suet. Caes. 17.)
of Aurelian. He wrote an account of the exploits NIGER, C. PESCE'NNIUS, was descended
of Philippus, the successor of Gordianus among the from a respectable family of equestrian rank, which
Arabs; and also an account of Decius, Gallus, had attained to provincial distinction at Aquinum.
Valerianus, and the son of Gallienus, up to the The name of his father was Annius Fuscus, his
time of the expedition of Valerianus against Sapor, mother was Lampridia. After having long served
the king of the Persians, A. D. 259. (Voss. de as a centurion he passed with credit through the
Hist. Graec. p. 288, ed. Westermann.) various stages of military advancement under Mar6. A writer on music, mentioned in a fragment cus Aurelius and his son, was raised by the latter to
annexed to Censorinus, and attributed to him by the consulship, and appointed to the command of
many. (Voss. de Hist. Graec. p. 475.) [C. P.M.] the Syrian armies, chiefly, it is said, through the
NICO'STRATUS (NucJtrorpaTos), a physician, interest of Narcissus, the favourite athlete of the
mentioned by Antiphanes the younger (ap. Athen.
xiii. 51, p. 586; Harpocr. s. v.'AvrTbcvpa) as * That is, if in the passage in question for
having left to a courtezan, at his death, a large Tas'rpov roiO'ArtKAXcridIov we read rd Niyrp?.
quantity of hellebore, whence she acquired the roO'AaKAhrnrae'ovu.
VOL. 11. 4