Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/1143

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
loc cit.
loc cit.

MYNISCUS. revelry, and strove to double his allotted time by turning night into day. He built a pyramid also, or rather began to build it, but died before it was finished. It was smaller than those of Cheops and Chephren, and, according to Herodotus, was wrongly ascribed by some to the Greek hetaera Rhodopis. (Herod, ii. 129—134 ; Diod. i. 64 ; Ath. x. p. 438, b.) [E.E.] MYDON, of Soli, a painter of some note, was the disciple of the statuary Pyromachus. He therefore flourished about 01. 138 or B. c. 228. (Plin. //. A^. XXXV. 1 1. s. 40. § 42.) [P. S.j MYGDON (Mvydwv). 1. A brother of Amycus, king of the Bebryces, was slain by Heracles, who assisted Lycus in his war with Mvgdon. (ApoUod. ii. 5. § 9.) 2. A son of Acmon, a Phrygian king, who fought with Otreus and Priam against the Amazons. (Horn. II. iii. 186, &c. ; Eustath. ad Horn. p. 402.) A part of the Phrygians are said to have been called after him Mygdonians. (Paus. x. 27, init. ; COmp. Co ROE BUS.) [L. S.J MYIA (Mu?a). 1. Daughter of Pythagoras and Theano ( Porphyr. p. 3 ; Clemens Alex. Strom. iv. p. 522 ; Suidas), was, according to lamblichus, the wife of Milon of Crotona. A letter, addressed to a certain Phyllis, is extant under lier name. (Liician. Muscae Enc. extr.; Fabric. £iW. Graec. vol. i. pp. 883, 886.) 2. A Spartan poetess, who composed hymns to Apollo and Diana (Suidas, s. v.). Lucian (Muscae Enc. extr.) mentions an ancient poetess of the name, celebrated for her beauty and learning, but whether he refers to the Spartan poetess or not, is uncertain. 3. A Thespian poetess, who wrote some lyrical poems (Suidas, s. v.). She is probably the same with Corinna [Corinxa], who bore that sur- name. [C. P. M.] MYIAGRUS or MYIODES (Mviaypos), that is, tlie fly-catcher, is the name of a hero, who was invoked at Aliphera, at the festival of Athena, as the protector against flies. (Paus. v. 14. § 2, viii. 26. § 4.) [L. S.] MYLES (MwAtjs), a son of Lelex, brother of Polycaon, father of Eurotas, and king of Lace- daemon, was regarded as the inventor of mills. (Paus. iii. 1. § 1, 20. § 2, iv. 1. § 2.) Stephanus Byzantius mentions Mira»'Ttoj ^eol as the pro- tectors of mills. [L. S.] MYLLUS (MuAAoj), a comic poet, a contem- porary of Epicharmus, who with Euetes and Eu- xenides revived comedy in Athens at the same time that Epicharmus was labouring in the same direction in Sicily. He appears to have been especially suc- cessful in the representation of a deaf man, who, nevertheless, hears every thing ; whence arose a proverb, MuAAos irdvr dicovei. According to Eus- tiithius he was an actor as well as a dramatist, and Btill adhered to the old practice of having the faces of his actors besmeared with red-ochre. (Suidas,

  • •. V. ^Eirixo-Pf^os ; Hesychius, vol. ii. p. 632 ; Eus-

tathius, ad II. p. 906, 53, ad Od. p. 1885, 21 ; Meineke, Hist. Crit. Coin. Graec. p. 26.) [C.P.M.] MYNES (Muj/Tjs), a son of Evenus of Lyrnesus, and husband of Briseis, was slain by Achilles. (Hom. /^. ii. 692, xix. 296; Eustath. ad Horn. p. 322.) [L. S.] MYNISCUS (Myj'iV/fos), a tragic actor, a native of Chalcis, who was attacked by Plato in his comedy called '^vpcpa^, on account of his gluttony. A man named Myniscus was oue of the actors of Aeschylus. MYRO. 1123 The Myniscus who was ridiculed by Plato was perhaps his grandson. (Athen. viii. p. 344, d. e. ; Meineke, Fragmenta Pott. Com. vol. ii. p. 668.) [C.P.M.J MYNNIO [MiNio, No. 2.] MYREPSUS, NICOLAUS. [Nicolaus.] MYRINA (Mypit/r). . 1. A daughter of Cre- theus and the wife of Thoas, from whom the town of Myrina in Lemnos was believed to have derived its name. (Schol. ad Apollon. lihod. i. 604.) 2. An Amazon, who is likewise said to have given the name to the town of Myrina in Lenmos. (Strab. xii. p. 573; Steph. Byz. s.v.^ 3. A daughter of Teucer and the wife of Dar- danus. (Horn. //. ii. 814 ; Eustath. ad Horn. p. 351.) [L. S.] . M YRINUS appears as the name of an epigram- matic writer in Brunck's Anal. (ii. p. 107 ). No- thing more is known of him. It has been conjec- tured that he is no other than Agathias of Myrina. [Agathias.] (Fabric. BibL Graec. vol. iv. p. 483.) [C. P. M.J MYRME'CIDES (Mwpm^/cIStj?), a sculptor and engraver, of Miletus or Athens, is generally men- tioned in connection with Callicrates, like whom he was celebrated for the minuteness of his works. [Callicrates.] His works in ivory were so small that they could scarcely be seen without placing them on black hair. (Varro, L. L. vii., ix. 62 ; Cic. Acad. ii. 38 ; Suid. s. vv. Mvpix-qiciSris and yeo7os.) [P. S.J MYRMEX (mvpfjL-n^), that is, an ant, from which animal, according to some traditions, the Myrmidons in Thessaly derived their name. An Attic maiden of the name of Myrmex, it is said, was beloved by Athena ; and when the goddesa had invented the plough, Myrmex boastfully pre- tended to have made the discovery herself, where- upon she was metamorphosed into an ant. But when afterwards Zeus made his son Aeacus king of Thessaly, which was not inhabited by human beings, he metamorphosed all the ants of the country into men, who were thence called Myr- midones. (Virg. Aen. iv. 402, with the note of Serv. ; Hygin. Fab. 52; Strab. viii. p. 375, ix. p. 433 ; comp. Abacus.) According to Philo- chorus (ap. Harpocr. s. v. MeAtrrj), -Myrmex was the father of Melite, from whom the Attic demos of Melite derived its name. [L. S.] MY'RMIDON (MupM'ScoV), a son of Zeus and Eurymedusa, the daughter of Cleitos, whom Zeus deceived in the disguise of an ant. Her son was for this reason called Myrmidon (from fxvpfxri^, an ant), and was regarded as the ancestor of the Myrmidons in Thessaly. He was married to Peisidice, by whom he became the father of Antiphus and Actor. (ApoUod. i. 7. § 3 ; Apollon. Rhod. i. 56 ; Eustath. ad Horn. p. 320 ; Clem. Alex. Frotrept. p. 34 ; Amob. adv. Gent, iv, 26.) [L. S.] MY'RMIDON (Mvpfiidciv), an Athenian, who commanded a force of 10,000 men, which formed part of the armament sent by Ptolemy, the son of L.'igus, under his brother Menelaus, to effect the reduction of Cyprus, B. c. 315. He was afterwards despatched to the assistance of Asander in Caria, against the generals of Antigonus. (Diod. xix. 62.) [E. H. B.] MYRIS. [MoERis.] MYRO (Mupw). 1. The elder of the two daughters of Aristotimus, tyrant of Elis. [Arj«