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

932 SUIDAS. SUIDAS.
consular comitia from being held, ill consequence later date (s.,v. I'i7jepos; Ap'Tpov;'HY/ropres]
of which an interregnum ensued and thus Ponipey for Michael Psellus is quoted, and Psellus lived at
and Crassus were elected consuls. On account of the close of the eleventh century A. n. (See the
their violent conduct in their tribunate Sufenas and notes on these words in Gaisford's edition.)
his colleagues were brought to trial in B. C. 54; The Lexicon of Suidas is a dictionary of words
Procilius was condemned, but Snufenas and Cato arranged in alphabetical order, with some few
were acquitted through the influence of Pompey. peculiarities of arrangement; but it contains both
Sufenas was propraetor in B. c. 51, in one of the pro- words which are found in dictionaries of languages,
vinces in the neighbourhood of Cilicia, and on the and also names of persons and places, with extracts
breaking out of the civil war two years afterwards, from ancient Greek writers, grammarians, scholiasts,
he is mentioned as one of Pompey's generals. and lexicographers, and some extracts from later
(Cic. ad Att. iv. 15. ~ 4, vi. i. ~ 13, viii. 15. ~ 3.) Greek writers. The names of persons comprehend
He appears to be the same as the Nonius, who was both persons who are mentioned in sacred and in
present at the battle of Pharsalia, and who sought profane history, which shows that if the work is
to encourage his party after their defeat by remark- by one hand, it is by a Christian; but there is no
ing that seven eagles were left in the camp of inconsistency ill supposing that the original of the
Pompey; when Cicero replied, "'It would be Lexicon which now goes under the name of Suidas,
very well if we were fighting with jack-daws." is a work of earlier date even than the time of
(Plut. Cie. 38.) Stephanus of Byzantium, and that it received large
There are coins of one Sex. Nonius Sufenas, a accessions from some various hands. No well
specimen of which is subjoined. On the obverse is conceived plan has been the basis of this work: it
the head of Saturn and on the reverse a woman is incomplete as to the number of articles, and exseated whom Victory is in the act of crowning. On ceedingly irregular and unequal in the execution.
the reverse we read SEX. NONI. PR. L. V. P. F; Some articles are pretty complete, others contain
the latter letters are interpreted either praelor or no information at all. As to the biographical noprimeusludos votivos publicosfecit. (Eckhel, vol. v. tices it has been conjectured that Suidas or the
pp. 261, 262.) compiler got them all from one source, which, it is
further supposed, may be the Onolmatologos or
Pinax of Hesychius of Miletus; for it is said in
Suidas (s. v.'HedXos), " of which this hook is an'/t" d}<C \ gOO~blRW Sepitome;" but it is an incorrect interpretation to
fi ~ L ~ t3%@b@oX o conclude that Suidas means to say that his work
P;J \ ask 0l~ t 4 t is an epitome of the Onomatologos (or i7rva~ rcvY
t iOo fEv 7ralse[av oyao7a-cv), which would be manifestly
false: he means to say that the work in use at the
time when he wrote was an epitome of the OnoCOIN OF SEX. NONIUS SUFENAS matologos.
The scholiast on Aristophanes has been fireely
SUIDAS (Zovtiaas). A Greek Lexicon is ex- used in the compilation of this Lexicon. The
tant under the name of Suidas, but nothing is extracts from. ancient Greek writers are very nuknown of the compiler. A Suidas is mentioned by merous, but the names of the writers are frequently
Strabo (p. 329, ed. Casaub.) as the author of a omitted. These extracts have sometimes no referhistory of Thessaly, and this work is also cited by ence to the title of the article, and have no applithe scholiast on Apolloniiis Rhodius, and by Ste- cation to it; a circumstance probably owing to
phanus of Byzantium (s. vv. "Apvpos, AwoSovm, numerous interpolations made in the manuscript
Frag. Steph.). It is not likely that this Suidas is copies of the Lexicon. A want of criticism perthe author of the Lexicon; but no certain conclu- vades the whole work, or rather excessive carelesssion as to the age of the compiler can be derived ness, as in the case of the name Severus (4e~ipos,
from passages in the work, which undoubtedly and Kiister's note). The article Alyattes ('AAuwere written long after the time of Stephanus of IdrrlI) is another instance, and there are others of
Byzantium, for the work may have received nu- a like kind.
merous interpolations and additions. Eustathius, There is prefixed to the editions of Suidas the
who lived about the end of the twelfth century following notice: —To evy 7rapdv [LCALov eovuta,
A. D., quotes the Lexicon of Suidas. The article or Ne al'VTara~tUvot r'oTro &Jy6per edopoi, which is
Adam ('Aoaf') contains a chronological epitome, followed by a list of twelve names. As to this
which ends with the emperor Joannes Zimisces, title, see the remarks of Harles.
who died A. D. 974; and in the article Constan- The Lexicon of Suidas, though without merit as to
tinople (KwvoaraPt'l'oe'roXrs) are mentioned Basi- its execution, is valuable both for the literary history
silius the second, and Constantins, who succeeded of antiquity, for the explanation of words, and for
Joannes Zimisces. A remark under the article the citations from many ancient writers; and a proPolyeuctus (rloXVdKectros) shows that the writer of digious amount of critical labour has been bestowed
that remark was contemporaneous with the Patri- upon it. Many emendations have been made on
arch Polyeuctus (syT'uV-o Kal KacO' jlBas 7roAuevrc- the text by Toup and others.
mros, &c.) who succeeded Theophylactus, A. D. 956 The first edition of Suidas was by Demetrius
(note of Reinesius); but the date 936 is givemn by Chalcondylas, Milan, 1499, fol., without a Latin
other authorities. This passage which Reinesius version. The second, by the elder Aldus, Venice,
assumes to prove the period of the author of the 1514, fol., is also without a Latin version: this
Lexicon, merely proves the period of the writer edition was reprinted by Froben, Bale, 1544, fol.,
who made the remark; and he may be either the with some corrections. The first Latin translation
author of the Lexicon or an interpolator. But there of Suidas was made by Hieron. Wolf, Bale, 1564,
are passages in the Lexicon which refer even to a 1581, fol. The first edition, which contained both