LEOPOLD 462 LEPIDUS gveat prudence, firmness, and modera- tion. He died Dec. 10, 1865. LEOPOLD II., King of the Belgians; son of the preceding; born April 9, 1835. He was married in 1853 to Marie, Arch- duchess of Austria (born 1836), the daughter of Archduke Joseph of Austria. LEOPOLD II. OF BELGIUM He early manifested an interest in Af- rica and in 1885 he became sovereign of the Kongo Free State {q. v.) He died Dec. 10, 1909. LEOPOLDVILLE, a village in the Belgian Kongo, West Africa. A rail- road extends from Matadi 248 miles away to this town. A pipe line of about the same length connects the two cities, and through it oil is pumped to supply fuel for steamers on the Kongo river. Pop. about 16,000. LEPANTO (anciently Naupactus, now called by the Greeks Epakto), a small town of Greece, on the N. side of the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Dur- ing the Peloponnesian war it was one of the chief naval stations of the Athen- ians. In the Middle Ages it was given by the Byzantine emperor to the Vene- tians, who fortified it so strongly that in 1477 it stood a siege of four months by 30,000 Turks and in 1499 was only taken by Bajazet II. at the head of 150,000 men. Near Lepanto took place the celebrated naval battle between the Turks on one side and the Papal gal- leys, and those of the Venetians and the Spaniards, on the other, on Oct. 7, 1671, in which the Christians, com- manded by Don Juan of Austria, achieved a decisive victory. In this bat- tle Cervantes lost an arm. The town became Greek in 1829. LEPANTO, GULF OF. See Corinth. LEPIDOPTERA, an order of insects, having the wings clothed with scales im- planted in the wings, with their margins overlapping other scales; it is these, and not the wings themselves, that are so gayly colored. The wings are four. The mouth consists of an antlia, or long spiral proboscis or tongue, by means of which they feed on honey in the nectar- ies of flowers, which is their appropriate food. They undergo a complete meta- morphosis, the parent generally deposit- ing her eggs on some plant; these being hatched as minute caterpillars, at once begin to eat voraciously, increasing largely in size, and casting their skin repeatedly. On becoming full grown they pass into the chrysalis state, emerging in due time as full-grown winged insects. Formerly they were di- vided into three sub-orders or tribes: Butterflies, Sphinxes or Hawk-moths, and Moths, the first having club-shaped antennae, the second having the thickest part of the antennae toward the front, and tapering in both directions, and the third having them, if not feathery, then, becoming gradually thinner from the base to the tip. The butterflies are the most brightly colored, and fly by day; the _ sphinxes, of less brilliant tints, fly during the twilight; the moths, normally of somber hue, are nocturnal. The last two sub-orders are now combined, and only t^o primary divisions recognized: (1) Rhopalocera, containing the butter- flies; (2) Heterocera, comprising hawk- moths, and the moths. More than 50,000 lepidoptera are known. LEPIDUS, MARCUS JEMILIUS, a Roman statesman. In 49 B. c. he held the office of praetor, and at the out- break of the civil war he joined the pop- ular party. He became master of the horse, and in 46 consul with Caesar; was at Rome at the time of the murder of the latter, and succeeded him as ponti- fex maximus; had the government of Narbonese Gaul, and Hither Spain; joined Antony, and was declared an enemy to the state. In October, 43, the first triumvirate was formed, and the Roman world was divided between Oc- tavius, Antony, and Lepidus. He was again consul in 42; was made governor of Africa, after the defeat of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi; attempted aft- erward unsuccessfully to make himself
