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

~;: EIRENE. ELAGABALUS.
nity, and even in the later Homeric poems'the; odcirs wofily on coins, and she is there represented
Cretan Eileithyia alone is mentioned. -(Hom. as a' youthful female, holding-in her left arm a cor-.Hymn. in Apoll. Del. 98, &c., Od. xix. 188.) Ac- nucopia - and in her right hand an olive branch or
cording to the Iliad the Eileithyiae were daughters the staff of- Hermes. Sometimes also she appears
-of Hera, the goddess of marriage, whom they obey- in the act of burning a pile of arms, or carrying
-ed. (Hom. II. xix. 119; comp. Pind. Nem. vii. init.; corn-ears' in her hand or upon her head. (Hirt.
Ov. Met. ix. 285, &c.; Anton. Lib. 29.) Accord- Mythol. Bilderb. ii. p. 104.)
*ing to Hesiod (T/keog. 922) Zeus was the father of 2. A daughter of Poseidon and Melanthea, from
Eileithyia, and she was the sister of Hebe and whom the island of Calauria was, in early times,
Ares. (Apollod. i. 3. ~ 1.) Artemis and Eileithyia called Eirene. (Plut. Quaest. Gr. 19.) [L. S.]
were originally very different divinities, but there ELAEU'SIUS ('EAaeoeo5ios), if the name be
-were still some features in their characters which correct, must have lived in or before the first
afterwards made them nearly identical. — Artemis century after Christ, as he is quoted by Soranus
was believed to avert evil, and to protect what was (de Arte Obstetr. p. 210), who calls him one of the
-young and tender, and sometimes she even-assisted followers of Asclepiades, and says he was one of
women in labour. Artemis, moreover, was, like those physicians who considered that there were
Eileithyia, a maiden divinity; and although the certain diseases peculiar to the female sex, in oplatter was the daughter of the goddess of marriage position to some other medical writers who held
and the divine midwife, neither husband, nor lover, the contrary opinion. He wrote a work on chronic
nor children of her are mentioned. She punished diseases (Xpdra), of which the thirteenth book is
want of chastity, by increasing the pains at the birth referred to by Soranus, but of which nothing now
of a child, and was -therefore feared'by maidens. remains. [W. A. G.]
(Theocrit. xxvii. 28.) Frequent births,. too, were ELAGA'BALUS. The Roman emperor comdispleasing to her. In an ancient hymn attributed monly known by this name, was the son of Julia
to Olen, which was sung in Delos, Eileithyia was Soemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus, and first
called the mother of Eros. (Pans. i. 18..~ 5. ix. 27. cousin once removed to Caracalla. [See genealogical
~ 2.) Her -worship appears to have been first table prefixed to the article CARACALLA.] He,established among the Dorians in Crete, where was born at Emesa about A. D. 205, and was
she was believed to have been born in a cave in originallycalled VARIs Av TusBASSIANUS, a series
the territory of Cnossus.' From thence her wor- of appellations derived from his father (Varius),
ship spread over Delos and Attica, According to maternal grandfather (Avitus), and maternal greata Delian tradition, Eileithyia was not born in grandfather (Bassianus). While yet almost a
Crete, but had come to Delos from the Hyperbo- child he became, along with his first cousin Alexreans, for the purpose of assisting Leto..(Herod. ander Severus, priest of Elagabalus, the Syroiv. 35.) She had a sanctuary at Athens, contain- Phoenician Sun-god, to whose worship a gorgeous
ing three carved images of the goddess, which were temple was dedicated in his native city. The
covered all over down to the toes. Two were be- history of his elevation to the purple, to which in,lieved to -have been presented by Phaedra, and the earlier portion of his life he was not supposed
the third to have been brought by Erysichthon to. possess. any claim, was effected in a very singufrom Delos. (Paus. i. 8. ~ 15.) Her statues, how- lar manner -by his grandmother, Julia Maesa. She
ever, were not thus covered everywhere, as Pausa- had long enjoyed the splendours and'dignities of
nias asserts, for at Aegion there was one in the imperial court in the society of her sister,'which the head, hands, and feet were uncovered.' Julia Domna, the wife of Septimius Severus and'(Paus. vii. 23. ~ 5.) She had sanctuaries in va- the mother of Geta and Caracalla. But after the
rious places, such as'Sparta (Paus. iii. 17. ~ 1, 14. murder of the latter by Macrinus, Maesa was conm-'~6), Cleitor (viii. 21. ~ 2), Messene (iv. 31. ~ 7), pelled to return to Syria, there to dwell in unTegea (viii. 48. ~ 5), Megara (i. 44. ~ 3), Her- honoured retirement. While still smarting under
imione (ii. 35. ~ 8), and other places. a reverse peculiarly galling to her haughty temper,
The Elionia, who was worshipped at Argos as she received intelligence that the army was already
the goddess of birth (Plut. Quaest. Rom. 49), -was disgusted by the parsimony and rigid discipline of.probably the same' as Eileithyia. (B6ttiger, Ili- their new ruler, and was sighing for the luxury
tlyia oder die Hexe, Weimar, 1799; Miller, Dor. enjoyed under his predecessor. Maesa, skilled in
ii.'2. ~ 14.) [L. S.] court intrigues and familiar with revolutions, quickly
EIO'NEUS ('HiiovEus), a son of Magnes, and perceived that this feeling might be turned to her
one of the suitors of Hippodameia, was slain by own advantage. A report was circulated with ineeOenomaus. (Paus. vi. 21. ~ 7; Schol. ad Eurip. dustrious rapidity that Elagabalus was not the son.Phoen. 1748.) There are three other mythical of his reputed father, but the offspring of a secret
personages of this name. (Homi. I1. vii. 11, x. 435; commerce between Soemias and Caracalla. The
DIA.). [L. S.] troops stationed in the vicinity to guard the PhoeEIRE'NE (Eip4vr/). 1. The goddess of peace. nician border had already testified their admiration
After the victory of Timotheus over the Lacedae- of the youth, whom they had seen upon their'monians, altars were erected -to her at Athens at visits to Emesa gracefully performing the imposing
the public expense. (Corn. Nep. Timnoth. 2; Plut. duties of his priesthood, and, having been further
Cim. 13.) Her statue at Athens stood by the side propitiated by a liberal distribution of the wealth
of that of Amphiaraus, carrying in its arms Plutus, hoarded by Maesa, were easily persuaded to receive
the god of wealth (Paus. i. 8. ~ 3), and another Elagabalus with his whole family into the camp,
stood near that of Hestia in the Prytaneion. (i. 18, and to salute him as their sovereign by the title of
~ 3.) At Rome too, where peace (Pax) was wor- M. Aurelius Antoninus, as if he had really been'shipped, she had a magnificent temple, which was the undoubted progeny and lawful heir of their'built by the emperor Vespasian. (Suet. Vespas. 9; late monarch. These proceedings took place on
Paus.' vi. 9. ~ 1.) The figure of Eirene or Pax the 16th of May, A. D. 218. Macrinus having re