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

758 LEONTIUS. LEONTIUS.
and the'founding of new ones. (Carmain. lib. i. ship; and several passages, most of them identical
passim.) Burmann identifies, but without any with those cited in the council, are given by
apparent reason, this Leontius of Venantius with Joannes Damascenus in his Oratio III. de In2apithe, Pontius Leontius of Sidonius, and supposes the nibus (Opera, vol. i. p. 373, &c. ed. Le Quien).
works mentioned by Brassicanus to have been A Latin version of another portion of one of these
written by him*; but we think the opinion that discourses of Leontius is given in the Lectiones
the fabulist was the Leontius Lascivus of Ausonius Antiquae of Canisiu3. (Vol. i. p. 793, ed Basnage.)
is the most probable. (Burmann, 1. c.; Fabric. i. cc., 2. Bios'o0 d'y}ou'Iwycvvo'v cpXlarrKo'ro u'AAeZand Bibl. Med. et Infim. Latinit. vol. iv. pp. 268, avapesas Too'EAXeAoPovo, Vita Sancti Joannis
269.) Arch iepiscopi Alexandriae Cognomento Eleemonis
17. MECHANICUS, a Greek mathematical writer, s. Eleemosynarii. This John of Alexandria died
whose period is not exactly known. He was later, A. D. 616 [JOANNES, No. 55]; and his life by
probably much later, than Claudius Ptolemaeus. Leontius, which was mentioned in the second
He wrote his only known work for the gratification Nicene council (Concilia, vol. cit. col. 246, Labbe,
of his friend Theodorus, whose fellow-workman in 202, Hardouin, 896, Coleti, 53, Mansi), is extant
some mechanical pursuit he had been. It is in MS. in the Imperial Library at Vienna. An
doubted whether this Theodorus was the person ancient Latin version by Anastasius Bibliothecarius'
of that name to whom Proclus inscribed his treatise is given by Rosweid (De Vitis Patrum, pars i.),
De Providentia et Fato; or a later Theodorus, an Surius (De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis), and Bolengineer, who defended Dara in the war between landus (Acta Sanctor. Januar. vol. ii. p. 498, &c.).
the emperor Justinian I. and the Persian king, The account of St. Vitalis or Vitalius given in
Chosroes I. (Procop. de'Bell. Persico, ii. 13): more the Acta Sanctorum of Bollandus (Januar. vol.
probably it was the latter. Leontius also states i. p. 702) is a Latin version of a part of this Life
that he had constructed a sphere or celestial globe, of Joannes Eleemosynarius. 3. Bios Tov^ ooovu
after the description of Aratus, for an Elpidius,:vpeJ'rov^ T aXoio, Vita Sancti Symeonis Simplicis,
who was perhaps the Elpidius sent by the emperor or Bios ceal 7roAlT'ra s'o0 deo~:v4eaCv'ro0v^ bLd
Maurice (A. D. 583) on an embassy to the Chagan Xpf-ov^ &IrovopaaOevu4'os Zaxo, Vita et Conversatio
oftheAvars. (Theophan. Chronog. p.214, ed. Paris, Abbatis $Smeonis qui cognominatus est Stultus
p. 170, ed. Venice, vol. i. p. 390, ed. Bonn.) It may propter C(hristum, also mentioned in the Nicene
then be considered that Leontius lived in the reign council (I. c.), and published in the Acta Sanctorum
of Justinian and his successors, in the latter part of the Bollandists (Jdlii, vol. i. p. 136, &c.), with
of the sixth century. Leontius wrote a disserta- a Latin version different from that which had
tion, which has come down in an imperfect form, been previously published by Surius (De Probatis
riepl 7rapaoo'cvvs'ApaT'ras opapap, De C'onstruc- Sanctor Vitis, a. d. 1. Julii), and byLipomannus.
tione Sphaerae Arati, commonly prefixed to the The other published works of Leontius are homiScholia on the Phaenomena of Aratus, which are, lies. 4. Sermo in Simeonern quando Dominumn in
though'incorrectly, ascribed to Theon. The dis- Ulnas suscepit. 5. In Diemn festunm mediae Pentesertation of Leontius has been several times printed. costes; both given, with a Latin version, in the
It is included in the collection of ancient astro- Novum Auctariumn of Comb6fis, vol. i. fol. Paris,
nomical treatises published hy Aldus, fol. Venice, 1648. Fabricius adds to these, as given by Com1499; and in the Astronomica Veterum Scripta bkfis, another homily, In Diem festum mediae
Isagogica, 8vo. in Officina Sanctandreana, 1589; Pentecostes et in Caecum a lVativitate;.necnon in
and in the following editions of Aratus, 4to. Basel, illud: Nolite judicare secundum faciem: but this
1536, 4to. Paris, 1540 and 1559; and that of homily is said in the title to be by "Leontius
Buhle, 2 vols. 8vo. Leipzig, 1793-1801. (Buhle, presbyter CPolitanus," and has been already
Proleg. in Arati Opera; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. noticed. [No. 5.] Compare, however, Fabric.
iv. p. 94, &c., vol. viii. p. 326.) Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. 309. As Leontius of Nea
18. MONACHUS, the MONK. [No. 5.] polls is recorded to have writtei many homilies in
19. MYTHOGRAPHUS. [No. 16.] honour of saints (ey~cuia), and for the festivals of
20. Of NEAPOLIS (or of HAGIOPOLIS, according the church (7rav-y'vpKoKl hAdyoi), especially one on
to his own authority, cited by Cave) in Cyprus. the Transfiguration of our Saviour, it is not unlikely
He was bishop of that city, which Le Quien (Oriens that some of those extant under the name of LeonChristianus, vol. ii. col. 1061) identifies with the tius of Constantinople may be by him. He wrote'Nova Lemissus, or Nemissus, or Nemosia, which also flapaAAiAwv Aodyos 6', Parallelorum, s. Locorose out of the ruins of Amathus. - Baronius, Pos- rum communium Theologicorum Libri I.; the first
sevino, and others, call Leontius bishop of Salamis book consisted rCov Zditw, the other rv', dvOpourior Constantia: but in the records of the Second rv,. Turrianus possessed the second book; but
Nicene, or Seventh General Council, held A. D. whether that or the first is extant we know not:
787, Actio iv. (Concilia, vol. vii. col. 236, ed. neither has been published. It has been thought
Labbe; vol. iv. col. 193, ed. Hardouin, vol. viii. col. that Joannes Damascenus, in his Parallela, made
884, ed. Coleti, and vol. xiii. col. 44, ed. Mansi), use of those of Leontius. Fabricius, on the authority
lie is expressly described as bishop of Neapolis in of some MSS., inserts among the works of Leontius
Cyprus. His death is said to have occurred in A. D. of Neapolis the homily Eis Ta -aSi a, In Festzm (s.
620-or 630. His principal works are as follows: 1. Ramos) Palmnarum, ascribed to Chrysostom, and
Adoyoi t'rep rijs Xpo'rTiavW0v darroAoyias Kard'Iov- printed among the doubtful or spurious works in
BaLcov ial 7repl dsbc&Kv WVr i'ys'ev, Sermones pro the editions of that father. (Vol. vii. p. 334, ed.
Defensione Christianorum contra Judaeos ac de Savill, vol. x. p. 767, ed. Montfaucon, or vol. x.
Inzaginibus Sanctis. A long extract from the fifth p. 915, and vol. xiii. p. 354, in the recent Parisian
of these Sermones was read at the second Nicene reprint of Montfaucon's edition.) Maldonatus (ad
Council (Concilia, 1. c.), among the testimonies of Joan. vii.) mentions some MS. Commentarii mi
the fathers in support of the use of images in wor- Joalnem by Leontius; and an Oratio' in laudem