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

762 SCYLLA. SCYTHES.
not seen. (Vossius, De Historicis Graecis, lib. ii. SCYLLIS. [DIPOENUS.]
c. xxvi.; Hankius, De Byzantin. reruns Scriptor-ibus, SCYMNUS (2KdisOS), of Chios, wrote a Pe.
pars. i. c. xxvii.; Lambecius, Comment. de Biblioth. riegesis, or description of the earth, which is referred
Caesaraea, vol. ii. p. 232, &c. ed. Kollar; Kollar, to in a few passages of Stephanus and other later
Supplement. ad Lambec. 1. c.; Cave, Hist. Litt. writers (Steph. Byz. s. vv. la'pos,'Ep/uchaorax,
vol. ii. p. 155, ed. Oxford, 1740-1743; Mont-'A-ydOql,'Apews vijo r; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod.
faucon, Bibl. Coislin, p. 206, &c.; Goar, Notae iv. 284; Apollon. Hist. llfirab. 15, where we
Posteriores in Cedrenuom, sub init.; Oudin, De should read 2icvsrvos instead of 2Krvrivov). A
Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis, vol. ii. col. 745, &c.; Fa- brief Periegesis, written in Iambic metre, and conbric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. pp. 464, &c., 722, &c., sisting of nearly one thousand lines, has come
vol. xi. pp. 644, 651; Allatius, Diatriba de Georyiis, down to us. This poem, as appears from the
apud Fabric. vol. xii. p. 33; Labbe, Catalog. author's own statement, was written in imitation
Scriptor. IIist. Byzant. Nos. ix. x.; Appar. Hist. of a similar work in iambic verses, composed by the
Byzantin. pars ii. prefixed to the Paris edition of Athenian Apollodorus [see Vol. I. p. 234, b.], and
the Byzantine writers.) [J. C. M.] is dedicated to king Nicomedes, whom some modern
SCYLLA (2KvhAAa) and Charybdis, the names writers suppose to be the same as Nicomedes III.,
of two rocks between Italy and Sicily, and only king of Bithynia, who died B. c. 74; but this is quite
a short distance from one another. In the midst uncertain. A portion of this poem was first pubof the one of these rocks which was nearest to lished by Hoeschel, under the name of Marcianus
Italy, there dwelt, according to Homer, Scylla, a Heracleotes, along with other Greek geographers,
daughter of Crataeis, a fearful monster, barking Augsburg, 1600, 8vo.; and again by Morell, also
like a dog, with twelve feet, six long necks and under the name of Marcianus, Paris, 1606, 8vo.
mouths, each of which contained three rows of But Lucas Holstenius and Is. Vossius maintained
sharp teeth. The opposite rock, which was much that this poem was written by Scymnus Chius,
lower, contained an immense fig-tree, under which and is the work referred to in the passages of the
there dwelt Charybdis, who thrice every day ancient writers quoted above. Their opinion was
swallowed down the waters of the sea, and thrice adopted by Dodwell, in his dissertation De Sc.ynno
threw them up again: both were formidable to the C'/io, ~ 7, and the poem was accordingly printed
ships which had to pass between them (Hom. Od. under the name of Scymnus, by Hudson and by
xii. 73,,&c., 235, &c.). Later traditions represent Gail, in the Geographi Graeci llinores, as well as
Scylla as a daughter of Phorcys or Phorbas, by by B. Fabricius, in his recent edition of the work,
Hecate Crataeis (Apollon. Rhod. iv. 828, &c., with Leipzig, 1846. Meineke, however, has shown,
the Scholiast), or by Lamia; while others make most satisfactorily, in his edition of the poem pubher a daughter of Triton, or Poseidon and Crataeis lished shortly after that of Fabricius (Berlin, 1846),
(Eustath. ad Horn. p. 1714), or of Typhon and that the Periegesis of Scymnus Chius quoted by
Echidna (Hygin. Fab. praef.). Some, again, de- the ancient writers was written in prose, and was
scribe her as a monster with six heads of different an entirely different work from the extant poem,
animals, or with only three heads (Tzetz. ad Ly- the author of which is quite unknown.
copsh. 650; Eustath. 1. c.). One tradition relates that SCYMNUS, artists. 1. A statuary and silver.
Scylla originally was a beautiful maiden, who often chaser, of high celebrity, but none of whose works
played with the nymphs of the sea, and was beloved were known in Pliny's time. He was the pupil
by the marine god Glaucus. He applied to Circe for of Critios, and must therefore have flourished
means to make Scylla return his love; but Circe, about 01. 83, B. c. 448. (Plin. H. N. xxxiv. 8. s.
jealous of the fair maiden, threw magic herbs into 19. ~ 25.)
the well in which Scylla was wont to bathe, and by 2. An engraver of precious stones, one beautiful
these herbs the maiden was metamorphosed in such specimen of whose work is extant. It is not
a manner, that the upper part of her body remained known whether or not he was the same person as
that of a woman, while the lower part was changed the preceding. (R. Rochette, Lettre a ll. Schorn,
into the tail of a fish or serpent, surrounded by p. 154, 2d ed.)
dogs (Ov. Met. xiii. 732, &c., 905, xiv. 40, &c.; 3. A painter, whose picture of a female slave is
Tibull. iii. 4. 89). Another tradition related that mentioned by Hippocrates. He appears to have
Scylla was beloved by Poseidon, and that Amphi- flourished about 01. 110, B. c. 340. (Nagler,
trite, from jealousy, metamorphosed her into a mon- Kiinstler Lexicon, s. v.) [P. S.]
ster (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 45; Serv. ad Aen. iii. 420). SCYTHES (ilv071s). 1. Tyrant or ruler of
Heracles is said to have killed her, because she had Zancle in Sicily, about 494 B. c. The Zanclaeans
stolen some of the oxen of Geryon; but Phorcys is had sent to Ionia to invite colonists to join them
said to have restored her to life (Eustath., Tzetz., in founding a new city on the Kah)'AKr-j, or
Hygin., 1. c.). Virgil (Aen. vi. 286) speaks of north shore of Sicily, and the offer had been acseveral Scyllae, and places them in the lower cepted by a large body of Samians, together with
world (comp. Lucret. v. 893). Charybdis is de- some fugitives from Miletus; but when they arscribed as a daughter of Poseidon and Gaea, and rived at Locri, Scythes, at the head of the Zanas a voracious woman, who stole oxen from Heracles, claeans, was engaged in hostilities against the
and was hurled by the thunderbolt of Zeus into Sicels, and the Samians were persuaded by Anaxithe sea, where she retained her voracious nature. las of Rhegium to take advantage of his absence,
(Serv. ad Aen. iii. 420.) and occupy the city of Zancle itself. Hereupon
2. A daughter of King Nisus of Megara, who, Scythes called in the assistance of his ally, Hipin consequence of her love of Minos, cut off the pocrates, tyrant of Gela, but the latter proved no
golden hair from her father's head, and thereby less perfidious than the Samians, and immediately
caused his death (Apollod. iii. 15. ~ 8). She has on his arrival threw Scythes himself and his brother
sometimes been confounded with the monster Pythogenes into chains, and sent them prisoners to
Scylla. [L. S.] Iiycus, while lie betrayed his allies the Zanclaeans