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

HIMILCO. L. IIMILCO. 473:such as w/ere customary at the time, and w'ere 1. A Carthaginian, mentioned by Pliny (H. N.:delivered either on certain occasions, as those on ii. 67) as having conducted a voyage of discovery'the marriage of Severus, and on the death of his from Gades towards the north, along the western
son Rufinus, or they were spoken merely by way shores of Europe, at the same time that Hanno un-,of oratorical exhibitions. Some of them relate to dertook his well-known voyage along the west
events of the time, and so far are of historical coast of Africa. [HANNO THE NAVIGATOR.] He
interest. Their style is not above that of the ordi- is not elsewhere referred to by Pliny, but is quoted
nary rhetoricians of his period; it is obscure and repeatedly as an authority by Festus Avienus in
overladen with figurative and allegorical expres- his geographical poem called Ora Maritima (vv.
sions; and although it is clear that Himerius was 117, 383, 412, ed. Wernsdorf, in the Poe/ae
not without talent as an orator, yet he is so much Latini Minores, vol. v. pars 3). It appears from
under the influence of his age, that with a great the passages there cited that Himilco had reprewant of taste he indulges in bombastic phraseology, sented his farther progress as prevented by the
mixes up poetical and obsolete expressions with his stagnant nature of the sea, loaded with sea weed,
prose, and seldom neglects an opportunity of dis- and the absence of wind, statements which do not
playing his learning. speak highly for his character as a discoverer. His
After the revival of letters, the productions of voyage is said to have lasted four months, but it is
Himerius were very much neglected, for a com- impossible to judge how far it was extended.
plete edition of all that is still extant of them was Perhaps it was intentionally wrapt in obscurity by
never made till towards the end of last century. the commercial jealousy of the Carthaginians, and
Five orations had been published before; one by the fabulous statements just alluded to may have
Fabricius (Bibl. Graec. ix. p. 426, &c. old edition), been designed to prevent navigators of other naanother by J. H. Majus (Giessen, 1719, 8vo.), and tions from following in the same track. We have
again three by the same Majus (Halle, 1720, fol.), no clue to the period at which this expedition was
when G. Ch. Harles edited one oration (the seventh undertaken: Pliny says only that it was during
in the present order), as a specimen and precursor the flourishing times of Carthage (Cartlaginis
of all the others, with a commentary by G. Werns- potentia florente). Heeren (Ideen. vol. iv. p. 539)
dorf, Erlangen, 1784, 8vo; Wernsdorf now pre- and Botticher (Gesch. d. Carthlager, p. 17) are dispared a complete collection of all the extant pro- posed to regard this Himilco as the same with No.
ductions of Himerius, with commentary and in- 2, the grandson of Mago; but there are no suffitroduction, which appeared at length at Gittingen, cient grounds for this supposition.'1790, 8vo., and is still the only complete edition of 2. A son of Hamilcar, and grandson of Mago,
Himerius. One fragment of some length, which mentioned by Justin (xix. 2 init.), of whom nothing
has since been discovered, is contained in Boisson- more is known, for the Himilco subsequently menade's Anecdot. Graec. vol. i. p. 172, &c. (Comp. tioned in the same chapter is clearly the same as
Wernsdorf's edition, p. xxxv., &c.; Westermann, the subject of the next article, though Justin seems
(resch. der Griech. Beredtsaemk. ~ 101, and Beilage, to have confounded the two.
xiii., where a complete list of Himerius's orations 3. Son of Hanno, commander, together with'
is given.) Hannibal, the son of Gisco, in the great Carthagi2. The father of Iamblichus, is mentioned in nian expedition to Sicily, B.c. 406.:His father is.
several of the letters of Libanius. (Wernsdolf, p. probably the same Hanno mentioned by Jiistin
xxxvii., &c.) (xix. 2) among the sons of Hamilcar, in which, case3. Bishop of Nicomedeia, where he succeeded Himilco and Hannibal were first cousins. DioNestorius, but was deposed by Maximian, in A. D. dorus (xiii. 80) expressly states them to have been
432. (Murat. in the Anecdot. Graec. ad Ep. Firmi.) of the same family. It was probably this relation4. A Thracian, one of the generals of Justinian, ship that induced the Carthaginians, when Hannibal
whom we meet with at first in Africa, and after- manifested some reluctance to undertake the comwards at Rhegium in Italy. (Procop. Bell. Yandal. mand of a new expedition,' to associate Himilco
iv. 23, Bell. Goth. iii. 39.) with him. The forces placed under their joint
Nine more persons of the name of Himerius, command amounted, according to Timaeus and
concerning whom, however, nothing of interest is Xenophon, to 120,000 men: Ephorus, with his
known, are enumerated by Wernsdorf in the intro- usual exaggeration, stated them at 300,000. (Diod.
duction to his edition, and in Fabricius, Bibl. xiii. 80; Xen. Hell. i. 5. ~ 21.) With this great'Graec. vol. vi. p. 55, note ww. [L. S.] army the two generals formed the siege of Agri-,
HI'MERUS ("Iyepos), the personification of gentum, and directed their attacks against it on'
longing love, is first mentioned by Hesiod (Theog. several points at once. In the course of the works
201), where he and Eros appear as the companions they constructed for this purpose, they destroyedof Aphrodite. He is sometimes seen in works of many sepulchres, a circumstance to which the
art representing erotic circles; and in the temple superstitious fears of the multitude attributed a
of Aphrodite at Megara, he was represented by pestilence that broke out in the camp soon afterScopas, together with Eros and Pothus. (Paus. i. wards, and which carried off many victims, Han43. ~ 6.) [L. S.] nibal among the rest. Hirflilco, now left sole
HIMILCO ('IpAicwv). Considerable variations general, after attempting to relieve the religious ap-'
are found in the MSS. (especially of Greek authors) prehensions of his soldiers by propitiatory sacrifices,.
in the mode of writing this name, which is fre- continued to press the siege with vigour. The:
quently confounded with Hamilcar, and written arrival of Daphnaeus with a body of Syracusan''AcAKce, K','Ipulas,. or even'AUlAKas (see Wes- and other auxiliaries for a time changed the face of
$eling, ad Diod. xiv. 49). It is probable indeed affairs, and Himilco was even blockaded in his
that Hamilcar and Himilco are only two forms of camp, and reduced to great straits for want of pro-'
the same name:'both were of common occurrence visions; but having, with the assistance of his
at Carthage. fleet, intercepted a Syracusan convoy, he was re*