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

MAGIUS. MAGIUS. 899
it appears probable that he early obtained the-ho- party in that town in opposition to Hannibal. He
norary title of king. But after the accession of is characterised by Velleius Paterculus (ii. 16),
Ptolemy Philadelphus this friendly union no longer who was descended from him, as " Campanorumra
subsisted, and Magas not only assumed the cha- princeps celeberrimus et nobilissimus vir." Ho
racter of an independent monarch, but even made used every effort to dissuade his fellow-citizens
war on the king of Egypt. He had advanced as from receiving Hannibal into their town after the
far as the frontier of the two kingdoms, when battle of Cannae, B.c. 216, but in vain; and, ache was recalled by the news of a revolt of the cordingly, when Hannibal entered the city, one of
Marmaridae, which threatened his communications his first acts was to require the senate to deliver
with Cyrene, and thus compelled him to retreat. up Magius to him. This request was complied
(Paus. i. 7. ~~ 1, 2.) Soon after this he married with: Magius was put on. board ship, and sent to
Apama, daughter of Antiochus Soter, and concluded Carthage; but a storm having driven the vessel to
a league with that monarch against Ptolemy; in Cyrene, Magius fled for refuge to the statue of
pursuance of which he undertook a second ex- Ptolemy. He was in consequence carried to Alexpedition against Egypt, took the frontier fortress of andria to Ptolemy Philopator, who set him at
Paraetollium, and advanced so far as to threaten liberty, and gave him permission to go where he
Alexandria itself. The war appears to have been pleased. Magius chose Egypt as his residence, as
terminated by a treaty, by which Berenice, the he could not return to Capua, and did not choose
infant daughter of Magas,was betrothed to Ptolemy to go to Rome, where he would have been looked
Euergetes, the son of Philadelphus. (Paus. i. 7. upon as a deserter, as long as there was war be~ 3; Polyaen. ii. 28; Justin. xxvi. 3.) The tween his own town and the Romans. (Liv. xxiii.
chronology of these events is very uncertain; but 7, 10.)
it seems clear that a considerable interval of peace 2. CN. MAGIUS, of Atella (Atellanus), probably
followed, during which Magas abandoned himself, a relation of the preceding, but belonging to the
as he had previously done, to indolence and luxury, opposite political party, was medix tuticus at
and grew in consequence so enormouslyfat as to Capua in B. c. 214. (Liv. xxiv. 19.)
cause his death by suffocation, B. c. 2.58. (Aga- 3. MINATIvS MAGIUS ASCULANENSIS, grandtharch. ap. Ath/en. 1. c.) From a passage in the son of No. I, and atavus of the historian Velleius
comic writer Philemon cited by Plutarch (De Ira Paterculus, distinguished himself in the Social or
co/ib. 9), it appears that Magas had the character Marsic war (B. c. 90) by his fidelity to the
of being very illiterate; but the anecdote there re- Romans. He levied a legion among the Hirpini,
lated confirms the impression of his being a man of and was of no small assistance to T. Didius and
a mild and gentle character, which the tranquillity L. Sulla. So great were his services, that the
of his long reign is calculated to convey. The few Roman people bestowed upon him the Roman
particulars known concerning him will be found franchise, and elected two of his sons to the praecollected and discussed by the Abbe Belley in the torship. (Vell. Pat. ii. 16.)
Hist. de l'Acad. des Inser. vol. xxxvi. p. 19, also by 4. P. MAGIUS, tribune of the plebs B. c. 87, is
Thrige, Res Cyrenensiumn, and more fully and cri- mentioned by Cicero (Brut. 48) in the list of
tically by Droysen, Hellenismus, vol. i. p. 417, orators of that time. Cicero speaks of him as the
vol. ii. pp. 242-248. It is worthy of notice that colleague of M. Virgilius, but Plutarch (Sull. 10)
the name of Magas is found in an Indian inscrip- calls his colleague Virginius.
tion on & rock near Peshawer. (Droysen, vol. ii. 5. MAGIUS, a praefect of Piso in Gaul. (Cic.
p. 321.) de Orat. ii. 60.)
The chronology of the reign of Magas is very 6. L. MAGIUS, the companion of L. Fannius,
uncertain: in the dates above given, the authority deserted from the army of Flavius Fimbria in Asia,
of Droysen has been followed. Niebuhr, on the and went over to Mithridates. An account of this
contrary (Ki. SclkrifB. p. 236), places the commence- Magius is given under FANNIUS, No. 4.
ment of his reign after the battle of Ipsus. 7. CN. MAGIUS and MAG1A, the son and
He left only one daughter, Berenice, afterwards daughter of Dinaea, a woman of Larinum. Magia
the wife of Ptolemy Euergetes. Besides the Syrian was married to Oppianicus. (Cic pro Cluent. 7,12.)
Apama already mentioned, he had a second wife, 8. NUMERIUS MAGIUS (erroneously called in
Arsinod, who survived him. (Just. xxvi. 3; and Caesar Cn. Magius), of Cremona, was praefectus
see Niebuhr, KI. Sehrift. p. 230, note.) fabrum in the army of Pompey at the breaking out
2. A grandson of the preceding, being a son of of the civil war in B. C. 49. He was apprehended
Ptolemy Euergetes and Berenice. He was put to by Caesar's troops while he was on his journey to
death by his brother Ptolemy Philopator, soon join Pompey at Brundisium, and Caesar availed
after the accession of the latter, at the instigation himself of the opportunity to send by means of
of Sosibius. (Polyb. v. 34, xv. 25.) [E. H. B.] Magius offers of peace to Pompey, who was then
MAGENTE'NUS, or MAGENTI'NUS LEO. at Brundisium. (Caes. B. C. i. 24; Caes. ad Att.
[Lso, p. 744, No. 17.] ix. 13. ~ 8, ix. 13, A, ix. 7, c.)
MA'GIA GENS, plebeian, was of Campanian 9. L. MAGIUS, a rhetorician, who. married a
origin, and one of the most distinguished houses at daughter of the historian Livy. (Senec. Controv.
Capua in the time of the second Punic war. (Comp. lib. v. Prooem.)
Cic. de Leg. Agr. ii. 34, in Pison. 11.) At Rome 10. MAGIUS CELER VELLEIANUS, a brother of
none of its members ever obtained any of the the historian Velleius Paterculus, must have been
higher offices of the state. CHILO or CILO is the adopted by a Magius Celer. He served as legate to
only cognomen which occurs in. the gens in the Tiberius in the Dalmatian war, A. D. 9, and shared
time of the republic. in the honours of his commander's triumph. At
MA'GIUS. 1. DECIUS MAGIcS, one of the the time of Augustus's death (A. D. 14) he and his
most distinguished men at Capua in the time of the brother were the "' candidati Caesaris " for the pra~.
second Punic war, and the leader of the Roman torship. (Vell. Pat. ii. 115, 121, 124.)
3 M 2