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

THALES. THALLO. 1019
Thaletas, is altogether inadmissible; for, if we mated songs and dances of the Curetes, which
reject Plutarch's account of the two musical schools resembled the Phrygian worship of the Magna
at Sparta, the first founded by Terpander, and the Mater (MUller, p. 160). His chief compositions
second by Thaletas, the whole matter is thrown were paeans and hyporchemes, which belonged reinto hopeless confusion. Such a mistake, made by spectively to these two kinds of worship. In conso eminent a chronologer, through following im- nection with the paean he introduced the rhythm
plicitly Eusebius and the Parian marble, is an of the Cretic foot, with its resolutions in the
excellent example of the danger of trusting to the Paeons; and the Pyrrhic dance, with its several
positive statements of the ihronographers in oppo- variations of rhythm, is also ascribed to him. He
sition to a connected chain of inference from more seems to have used both the lyre and the flute.
detailed testimonies. On the other hand, Miiller, (See M'uller, pp. 160, 161.)
while pointing out Clinton's error, appears to us to Plutarch and other writers speak of him as a
place Thaletas much too low, in consequence of lyric poet, and Suidas mentions, as his works,
accepting the tradition recorded by Plutarch re- IueArl and 7rol7caTrd T'Lva,uu8OLcd, and it is pretty
specting Olympus, whom also he places later than certain that the musical compositions of his age and
Terpander (Hist. Lit. vol. i. pp. 158, 159). The school were often combined with suitable original
fact is that we have no sufficient data for the time poems, though sometimes, as we are expressly told
of Olympus; and even if we had, the tradition of many of the nomes of Terpander, they were
recorded by Plutarch is much too doubtful to be adapted to the verses of Homer and others of the
set up against the evidence derived from the older poets. Be this as it may, we have now no
relations of Thaletas to Archilochus and Alcman. remains of the poetry of Thaletas. (Fabric. Bibl.
When Miiller says that Clinton " does not allow Graec. vol. i. pp. 295-297; Miiller, Hist. of the
sufficient weight to the far more artificial character Lit. of Ane. Greece, vol. i. pp. 159-161; Ulrici,
of the music and rhythms of Thaletas " (i. e. than Gesch. d. Hellen. Dichtkunst, vol. ii. pp. 212, feoll.,
those of Terpander), he seems to imply that a long a very valuable account of Thaletas; Bernhardy,
time must necessarily have intervened between Geschichte der Griech. Lit. vol. i. pp. 267, 270, vol.
the two. Not only is there no ground for this ii. pp. 420, 421, 427.) [P. S.]
idea, but it is opposed to analogy. There is no THALES (OaeMs) of Sicyon, a painter who
ground for it; for it is clear from all accounts that is mentioned with the epithet MsAyaAouv4fs by
the second system of music was not gradually de- Diogenes Lairtius (i. 38), on the authority of Developed out of the first, by successive improvements, metrius Magnes. In the same passage, Diogenes
but was formed by the addition of new elements speaks of another Thales, as mentioned in the
derived from other quarters, of which the first and work of Duris on painting; and it may be prechief were those introduced by Thaletas from Crete. sumed, therefore, that this Thales was a painter;
It is also opposed to analogy, which teaches us that but whether the two were different persons, or the
the period of most rapid improvement in any art same person differently mentioned by Demetrius
is that in which it is first brought under the do- and by Duris, cannot be determined.
nlinion of definite laws, by some great genius, A curious passage respecting an artist of this
whose first efforts are the signal for the appearance name has been discovered by Osann, in an oration
of a host of rivals, imitators, and pupils. More- of Theodorts Hyrtacenus, published in Boisover, if there be any truth in the tradition, it would sonade's Anecdote Graeca, vol. i. p. 1 56: —"E;seem probable that Terpander and Thaletas were A7jes 4sELav ~ahOXv're Ka'Aure-xckXe, -hrbv uEr
led to Sparta by very similar causes at no very AOotocZ7r, rbVy' av 7rhalrtuLKj,'ArSEAk7rEA ypadistant period; and it seems most improbable that, Q)LK7TS e'Eca cal Crvo ieKEEv Xap'[Tov' e'Oau,tUaory.
after music had attained the degree of develope- It is certainly remarkable to find a statuary- otherinent to which Terpander brought it at Sparta, the wise unknown (or, if he be the same person as
important additional elements, which existed in the painter, little better than unknown), placed by
the Cretan system, should not have been intro- a late Byzantine writer on a level with Pheidias
duced for a period of forty years, which is. the and Apelles. There is probably some error; but
interval placed by MUller between Terpander and whether it rests with the author or the transcriber,
Thaletas. Miiller's mode of computing backwards and what is its correction, we have not the means
the date of Thaletas from that of Sacadas (B. c. of deciding. Perhaps Osann may have discussed
590) is altogether arbitrary; but if such a method the question, but we have no opportunity of referbe allowable at all, surely thirty years is far too ring to his paper in the KZunstb/att, which we menshort a time to assign as the period during which tion on the authority of Raoul-Rochette, who only
the second school of Spartan music chiefly flou. observes that "the difficulty is not serious, as there
rished. On the whole, decidedly as Clinton is were many artists who practised at the same time
wrong as to Terpander, he is probably near the statuary and painting," as if that were the diffimark in fixing the period of Thaletas at B. c. 690 culty! (Osann, Kunstblatt, 1832, No. 74; Rochette,
-660; though it might be better to say that he Lettre a M. Schorn, p. 415, 2d ed.) [P. S.]
seems to haveflourished about Ba. c. 670 or 660, THALE'TAS. [THALES.]
and how much before or after those dates cannot THALE'TIO or THALA'TIO, C. JU'NIUS,
be determined. It appears not unlikely that he a freedman of Maecenas, is mentioned on an exwas already distinguished in Crete, while Terpan- tant inscription as FLATURARIUS SIGILLARIAder flourished at Sparta. RIUS, that is, a maker of small bronze figures.
The improvement effected in music by ThaIetas (Gruter, p. dcxxxviii. 6; Muratori, Thes. vol. ii.
appears to have consisted in the introduction into p. cmlxi. 4; R. Rochette, Lettre a Al. Schorn, p.
Sparta of that species of music and poetryswhich 414, 2d ed.) [P. S.]
was associated with the religious rites of his native THALIA. [THALEIA.]
country; in which the calm and solemn worship of THALLO (~ahAci), one of the Attic Hore,
Apollo prevailed side by side with the more ani- who was believed to grant prosperity to the young