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

898' MAESON.- MAGAS.-.Goltzius are unquestionably spurious. (Trebell. (Zenob. Cent. ii. 11; Liban. de ATee. Julian.,
Poll. Trig. Tyrann. 16.) [W. R.] p. 285, b; Harpocr. s.. v.'EpucaT; Diogenian.
MAEO'NIUS, A'STYANAX, is quoted by ap. Gaisford, Paroerniogr. p.v.) Polemon (ap.
Trebellius Pollio as his -authority for the speeches Atlhen. xiv. p. 659, c ) maintained, in opposition to
of Macrianus and Balista[BALISTA; MAcRIANUS], Timaeus, that Maeson was a native of Megara
when the former was induced to assume the purple in Sicily, and not of the Nisaean Megara. If
after the capture of Valerianus by the Persians. so, he must have lived before B. c. 483, ill which
Maeonius was, we are told, actually present at the year the Megarians were expelled by Gelo. (Thuc.
meeting where the discussion took place. (Trebell. vi. 4, comp. Herod. vii. 156.)
Poll. Trig. Tyrann. 11.) [W. R.] It may be conjectured, with some probability,
MAERA (Madpa). 1. [ICARIUS, No. ].] that Maeson was a native of the Nisaean Megara,
2. A daughter of Nereus. (Hom. In. xviii. 48.) but migrated to Megara in Sicily, and was thus
3. A daughter of Proetus and Anteia, was one one of those who introduced into Sicily that style
of the companions of Artemis, but was killed by of comedy which Epicharmus afterwards brought
her after she had become by Zeus the mother of to perfection. (Meineke, Hist. Crit. Corn. Graec.
Locrus; others, however, state that she died as a pp. 22, 24; Grysar, de Corn. Dor. p. 16.) [P. S.]
virgin. (Hom. Od. xi. 325; Eustath. ad Horn. MAE'VIUS. 1. The envious poetaster of the
p. 1688.) She was represented by Polygnotus in Augustan age, is spoken ofmunder BAvIUs.
the Lesche at Delphi. (Paus. x. 30. ~ 2.) 2. A person, who killed his brother in the civil
4. One of the four daughters of Erasinus of war, and thus has become the subject of two beauArgos. (Anton. Lib. 40.) tiful elegiac poems, which are printed in the Latin
5. A daughter of Atlas, was married to Tegeates, Anthology (ii. 131, 132, ed. Burmann, or Ep. 820,
the son of'Lycaon. Her tomb was shown both at 821, ed. Meyer), and by Wernsdorf (Poet. Lat.
Tegea and Mantineia in Arcadia, and Pausanias Min. vol. iii. pp. 199, &c.)..
thinks that she was the same as the Maera whom MAGADA'TES (MayaTdar7s), general of TiOdysseus saw in Hades. (Paus. viii. 12. ~ 4, 48. granes, king of Armenia, was entrusted by him
~ 4, 53. ~ 1; Vblcker, Mythol. des lapet. Geschl. with the government of Syria, when it had been
p. 114.) [L. S.] conquered -from Antiochus X. (Eusebes) in B. c.
MAESA, JU'LIA, the sister-inulaw of Septimius 83. Magadates, having ruled over the country
Severus, the aunt of Caracalla, the grandmother of for fourteen years, left it in B. c. 69 to aid his
Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. [See genea- master against Lucullus; and Antiochus XIII.,
logical table prefixed to CARACALLA.] She was a son of Antiochus X., seized the opportunity to
native of Emesa in Syria, and seems, after the recover the kingdom. (App. Syr. 48, 49, Mithr.
elevation of the husband of her sister Julia Domna, 84, &c.; Plut. Luc. 25, &c.; Just. xl. 1, 2.)
to have lived at the imperial court until the death Justin differs, apparently, from Appian in menof Caracalla, aud to have accumulated great wealth. tioning eighteen years as the period during which
The boldness and skill with which she contrived Syria was held by the officer of Tigranes; but the
and executed the plot which transferred the supreme numbers are satisfactorily reconciled by Clinton.:
power from Macrinus to. her grandson, the. sagacity (F. H. vol. iii. p. 340.) [E. E.]
with which she foresaw the downfall of the latter, MAGA'RSIA (Mayapefa or Mayapals), a surand the arts by which, in order to save herself name of Athena, derived from Magarsos, a Cilician'from being..involved in his. ruin, she prevailed on town near the mouth of the river Pyramus, where
him to adopt his cousin Alexander, are detailed in the goddess had a sanctuary. (Arrian, Anab. ii.
the articles ELAGABALUS and MACRINUS. By 5.) [L. S.]
Severus' she was, always treated with the greatest MAGAS (M'yras). 1. King of Cyrene, was a
respect, and she exerted all her influence in the step-son of Ptolemy Soter, being the offspring of
best direction, ever urging him to obliterate by his the accomplished Berenice by a former marriage.
own virtues all recollection of the foul enormities His father's name was Philip: he is termed by
of his predecessor. She enjoyed the title of Au- Pausanias (i. 7. ~ 1) a Macedonian of obscure and
gusta during her life, died in peace, and received ignoble birth, but Droysen regards him as the same
divine honours. Every particular of her history with the Philip, son of Amyntas, who is frequently
points her out as one of the most able and strong- mentioned as commanding one division of the phaminded women of antiquity, one who was passion- lanx in the wars of Alexander. Magas seems to
ately desirous of power, who was unscrupulous in have accompanied his mother to Egypt, where he
the means she employed to gratify her ambition, soon rose to a high place in the favour of Ptolemy,
but who had the wisdom to perceive that the domi- so that in B. c. 308 he was appointed by that monnion thus obtained would be best preserved by arch to -the command of the expedition destined
justice and moderation. (Dion Cass. lxxviii. for the recovery of Cyrene after the death of
30; Herodian. in Elagab.: For other authorities, Ophellas. [OPHELLAS.] The enterprise was
see CARACALLA, ELAGABALUS, MACRINUS, SE- completely successful, and Magas obtained from
VERUS.) [W. R.] his step-father the government of the province thus
MAESON (Maiewv), a comic actor of Megara, re-united to Egypt, which he continued to hold
who seems to have been celebrated for his skill in without interruption from thenceforth till the day
the buffoonery which characterised the old Megaric of his death, an interval of not less than, fifty
comedy. He invented the masks of the slave and years. (Paus. i. 6. ~ 8; Agatharchides, ap. Atefn.
the cook; and the coarse jokes of those characters xii. p. 550 b.) Of the transactions of this long
were called rKt4lpuaqa ctawvrWta'. (Athen. xiv. p. period we know almost nothing: it is certain that
659, a; Eustath. ad Horn. p. 1751, 56.) The fol- Magas at first ruled over the province of Cyrenaica
lowing proverb is attributed to him by several an- only as a dependency of Egypt, and there is no,cient writers- reason to suppose that he threw off his allegiance'A/"' emiepyeTb7s'Ayaupyyvova b8oav'AxaLol. to Ptolemy Soter so long as the latter lived, though