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

VENOX. VENTI. 1237
VE'LIUS CEREA'LIS, a friend of the younger lation of the law, and thus gave his name to the
Pliny, two of whose letters are addressed to him. Appian road and the Appian aquaeduct, which were
(Ep. iv. 21, ii. 19.) completed by him. (Fasti Capit.; Liv. ix. 29,
VE'LIUS LONGUS. [LONGUS.] 33; Frontin. de Aquaed. 5.) [CAUDIus, No. 10.]
VELLEIUS. 1. C. VELLEITS, a senator, is Frontinus states (I. c.) that Plautius obtained the
introduced by Cicero as one of the supporters of surname of Venox from his discovering the springs
the Epicurean philosophy ill his De Natura Deorumn which fed the aquaeduct (" ob inquisitatas aquae
(i. 6, feoll.). He was a friend of the orator L. Cras- venas Venocis cognomen "), and in the Fasti Capisus. (Cic. de Orat. iii. 21, de Nat. Deor. i. 21.) tolini it is said that he was called Venox during
2. C. VELLEIUS, the grandfather, VELLEIUS the his censorship; but this explanation of the name,
father, and VELLEIUS CAPITO, the uncle of the though repeated by Niebuhr (Hist. of' Rome, vol.
historian Velleius Paterculus, together with Pater- iii. p. 308), looks suspicious; and it is most likely
culus himself, are all spoken of under PATER- that Venox is merely another form of Venno, which
CULUS. was borne before the time of the censor by other
3. P. VELLEIUS or VELLAEUS, commanded members of the gens. [VENNO.] The tale of Planan army in the neighbourhood of Thrace in the tius bringing back the tibicines to Rome in his cenreign of Tiberius, A. D. 21 (Tac. Ann. iii. 39). sorship, which is commemorated on a coin of Plautius
VELLOCA'TUS. [CARTIMANDUA.] Plancus, is related elsewhere. [Vol. III. p. 384, b.]
VENI'LIA, a Roman divinity connected with VENTI (Yve/eot), the winds. They appear
the winds (venti) and the sea. Virgil and Ovid personified even in the Homeric poems, but at the
describe her as a nymph, a sister of Amata, and same time they are conceived as ordinary phethe wife of Faunus, by whom she became the nomena of nature. The master and ruler of all
mother of Turnus, Jutuma, and Canens. (Varro, the winds is Aeolus, who resides in the island
de Ling. Lut. v. 72; Virg. Aen. x. 75; Ov. Met. Aeolia (Virg. Aen. i. 52, &c.; comp. AEOLUS);
xiv. 334.) [L. S.] but the other gods also, especially Zeus, exercise
VENNO, the name of a family of the Plautia a power over them. (Hom. Il. xii. 281.) Homer
gens. 1. C. PLAUTIUS VENNO HYPS.AEUS, con- mentions by name Boreas (north wind), Eurus
sul B. C. 347 and 341. [HYPsAEus. No. 1.] (east wind), Notus (south wind), and Zephyrus
2. L. PLAUTIuJS VENNO, consul B. C. 330 with (west wind). When the funeral pile of PatroL. Papirius Crassus, carried on war with his col- chus could not be made to burn, Achilles promised
league against the Privernates and Fundani. (Liv. to offer sacrifices to the winds, and Iris accordviii. 19; Diod. xvii. 82.) [VAccus.] ingly hastening to them, found them feasting in
3. L. PLAUTIUS L. F. L. N. VENNO, consul the palace of Zephyrus in Thrace. Boreas and
B. C. 318 with M. Foslius Flaccinator, received Zephyrus, at the invitation of Iris, forthwith
hostages from the Teanenses and Canusini in hastened across the Thracian sea into Asia, to
Apulia. (Fasti Capit.; Liv. ix. 20; Diod. xix. 2.) cause the fire to blaze. (Hom. It. xxiii. 185, &c.;
VENNO'NIUS or VENO'NIUS. In the comp. ii. 145, &c., v. 534, ix. 5, Od. v. 295.)
enumeration of ancient Roman historians given by Boreas and Zephyrus are usually mentioned toCicero (de Leg. i. 2, comp. ad Att. xii. 3) Venno- gether by Homer, just as Eurus and Notus.
inius is placed immediately after Fannius, and he (Comp. BOREAS and ZEPHYRUS.) According to
is mentioned by Dionysius in connection with Hesiod (Theog. 378, &c., 869, &c.), the beneficial
Fabius and Cato. The name does not occur in winds, Notus, Boreas, Argestes, and Zephyrus,
any other classical work except in the tract Origo were the sons of Astraeus and Eos, and the deGentis Romanae, falsely ascribed to Sex. Aurelius structive ones, as Typhon, are said to be the sons
Victor [VICTOR]. We know nothing regarding of Typhoeus. Later, especially philosophical
the life of Vennonius, nor are we acquainted with writers, endeavoured to define the winds more
the title of his book, nor can we determine what accurately, according to their places in the comperiod it embraced. We merely gather from pass. Thus Aristotle (Meteor. ii. 6), besides the
Cicero that he composed in Latin, and that his four principal winds (Boreas or Aparctias, Eur s,
writings were not less meagre than those of other Notus, and Zephyrus) mentions three, the Meses,
early annalists.' (Krause, Vitae et Fragmenta Caicias, and Apeliotes, between Boreas and Eurus;
veteruni Historicorum Romanorumn, 8vo. Berolin. between Eurus and Notus he places the Phoe1833; Orelli, Onomasticon Tullianum s. v. Ven- nicias; between Notus and Zephyrus he has only
nonies.) [W. R.] the Lips, and between Zephyrus and Boreas he
VENNO'NIUS. A few other persons of the places the Argestes (Olympias or Sciron) and the
name are mentioned by Cicero. Thrascias. It must further be observed that ac1. SEX. VENNONIUS, one of the instruments of cording to Aristotle, the Eurus is not due east, but
Verres in oppressing the Sicilians. (Cic. Verr. south-east. In the Museum Pio-Clementinum there
iii. 39.) exists a marble monument upon which the winds
2. C. VENNONIUS, a negotiator or money lender are described with their Greek and Latin names,
in Cilicia, was a friend of Cicero, who nevertheless viz. Septentrio (Aparctias), Eurus (Euros, or southrefused him a praefectura which he solicited (ad east), and between these two Aquilo (Boreas),
Att. vi. 1. ~ 25, vi. 3. ~ 5, comp. ad Fam. xiii. 72). Vulturnus (Caicias) and Solanus (Apheliotes). Be3. VENNONIUS VINDICIUS, mentioned by Cicero tween Eurus and Notus (Notos) there is only one,
in his oration for Balbus (c. 25). the Euroauster (Euronotus); between Notus and
VENOX, C. PLAU'TIUS, censor B. c. 312 Favonius (Zephyrus) are marked Austro-Africus
with Ap. Claudius Caecus, resigned his office at (Libonotus), and Africus (Lips); and between
the end of eighteen months in accordance with the Favonius and Septentrio we find Chrus (Iapyx)
Aenmilian law, which had limited the duration of and Circius (Thracius). See the tables of the
the censorship to that time; while his colleague, winds figured in Gbttling's edit. of Hesiod, p. 39.
Appius, continued to hold the censorship, in vio- The winds were represented by poets and artists
4 3