to denote the sharp bayonet-like edge of a mountain (such as the Matterhorn), that slopes steeply upward with two precipitous sides meeting in a long ascending ridge. Hence the word has passed into common use to denote any sharp mountain edge denuded by frost action above the snowline, where the consequent angular ridges give the characteristic “house-roof structure” of these altitudes.
ARETHAS (c. 860–940), Byzantine theological writer and scholar, archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, was born at Patrae. He was the author of a Greek commentary on the Apocalypse, avowedly based upon that of Andrew, his predecessor in the archbishopric. In spite of its author’s modest estimate, Arethas’s work is by no means a slavish compilation; it contains additions from other sources, and especial care has been taken in verifying the references. His interest was not, however, confined to theological literature; he annotated the margins of his classical texts with numerous scholia (many of which are preserved), and had several MSS. copied at his own expense, amongst them the Codex Clarkianus of Plato (brought to England from the monastery of St John in Patmos), and the Dorvillian MS. of Euclid (now at Oxford).
Most divergent opinions have been held as to the time in which Arethas lived; the reasons for the dates given above will be found succinctly stated in the article “Aretas,” by A. Jülicher in Pauly-Wissowa’s Realencyclopädie der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft (1896). The text of the commentary is given in Migne, Patrologia Graeca, cvi.; see also O. Gebhardt and A. Harnack, Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Litt. i. pp. 36-46 (1882), and Vita Euthymii (patriarch of Constantinople, d. 917), ed. C. de Boor (1888); H. Wace, Dictionary of Christian Biography, i.; C. Krumbacher, Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur (1897); G. Heinrici in Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopädie (1897).
ARETHUSA, in Greek mythology, a nymph who gave her name to a spring in Elis and to another in the island of Ortygia near Syracuse. According to Pausanias (v. 7. 2), Alpheus, a mighty hunter, was enamoured of Arethusa, one of the retinue of Artemis; Arethusa fled to Ortygia, where she was changed into a spring; Alpheus, in the form of a river, made his way beneath the sea, and united his waters with those of the spring. In Ovid (Metam. v. 572 foll.), Arethusa, while bathing in the Alpheus, was seen and pursued by the river god in human form; Artemis changed her into a spring, which, flowing underground, emerged at Ortygia. In the earlier form of the legend, it is Artemis, not Arethusa, who is the object of the god’s affections, and escapes by smearing her face with mire, so that he fails to recognize her (see L. R. Farnell, Cults of the Greek States, ii. p. 428). The probable origin of the story is the part traditionally taken in the foundation of Syracuse by the Iamidae of Olympia, who identified the spring Arethusa with their own river Alpheus, and the nymph with Artemis Alpheiaia, who was worshipped at Ortygia. The subterranean passage of the Alpheus in the upper part of its course (confirmed by modern explorers), and the freshness of the water of Arethusa in spite of its proximity to the sea, led to the belief that it was the outlet of the river. Further, according to Strabo (vi. p. 270), during the sacrifice of oxen at Olympia the waters of Arethusa were disturbed, and a cup thrown into the Alpheus would reappear in Ortygia. In Virgil (Ecl. x. 1) Arethusa is addressed as a divinity of poetical inspiration, like one of the Muses, who were themselves originally nymphs of springs.
For Arethusa on Syracusan coins, see B. V. Head, Historia Numorum, pp. 151, 155.
ARETINO, PIETRO (1492–1556), Italian author, was born in 1492 at Arezzo in Tuscany, from which place he took his name. He is said to have been the natural son of Luigi Bacci, a gentleman of the town. He received little education, and lived for some years poor and neglected, picking up such scraps of information as he could. When very young he was banished from Arezzo on account of a satirical sonnet which he composed against indulgences. He went to Perugia, where for some time he worked as a bookbinder, and continued to distinguish himself by his daring attacks upon religion. After some years’ wandering through parts of Italy he reached Rome, where his talents, wit and impudence commended him to the papal court. This favour, however, he lost in 1523 by writing a set of obscene sonnets, to accompany an equally immoral series of drawings by the great painter, Giulio Romano. He left Rome and was received by Giovanni de’ Medici, who introduced him at Milan to Francis I. of France. He gained the good graces of that monarch, and received handsome presents from him. Shortly after this Aretino attempted to regain the favour of the pope, but, having come to Rome, he composed a sonnet against a rival in some low amour, and in return was assaulted and severely wounded. He could obtain no redress from the pope, and returned to Giovanni de’ Medici. On the death of the latter in December 1526, he withdrew to Venice, where he afterwards continued to reside. He spent his time here in writing comedies, sonnets, licentious dialogues, and a few devotional and religious works. He led a profligate life, and procured funds to satisfy his needs by writing sycophantish letters to all the nobles and princes with whom he was acquainted. This plan proved eminently successful, for large sums were given him, apparently from fear of his satire. So great did Aretino’s pride grow, that he styled himself the “divine,” and the “scourge of princes.” He died in 1556, according to some accounts by falling from his chair in a fit of laughter caused by hearing some indecent story of his sisters. The reputation of Aretino in his own time rested chiefly on his satirical sonnets or burlesques; but his comedies, five in number, are now considered the best of his works. His letters, of which a great number have been printed, are also commended for their style. The dialogues and the licentious sonnets have been translated into French, under the title Académie des Dames.
AREZZO (anc. Arretium), a town and episcopal see of Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the province of Arezzo, 54 m. S.E. of Florence by rail. Pop. (1901) town, 16,780; commune, 46,926. It is an attractive town, situated on the slope of a hill 840 to 970 ft. above sea-level, in a fertile district. The walls by which it is surrounded were erected in 1320 by Guido Tarlati di Pietramala, its warlike bishop, who died in 1327, and is buried in the cathedral; they were reconstructed by Cosimo I. de’ Medici between 1541 and 1568, on which occasion the bronze statues of Pallas and the Chimaera, now at Florence, were discovered. The town itself is fan-shaped, the streets, which contain some fine old houses with projecting eaves and many towers, radiating from the citadel (Fortezza), which was constructed in 1502, and dismantled by the French in 1800. The cathedral, close by, is a fine specimen of Italian Gothic begun in 1277, but not completed internally until 1511, while the façade was not begun until 1880. The interior is spacious and contains some fine 14th-century sculptures, those of the high altar, which contains the tomb of St Donatus, the patron saint of Arezzo, being the best; very good stained-glass windows of the beginning of the 16th century by Guillaume de Marcillat, and some terra-cotta reliefs by Andrea della Robbia. Another fine church is S. Maria della Pieve, having a campanile and a façade of 1216, the latter with three open colonnades running for its whole length above the doors. The interior was restored to its original style in 1863–1865. The Romanesque choir and apse belong to the 11th century, the rest of the interior is contemporary with the façade. In the square behind the church is a colonnade designed by Vasari. In the cloisters of S. Bernardo, on the site of the ancient amphitheatre, is a remarkable view of medieval Rome. S. Francesco contains famous frescoes by Piero de’ Franceschi, representing scenes from the legend of the Holy Cross, and others by Spinello Aretino, a pupil of Giotto. There are several other frescoes by the latter in S. Domenico. Among the Renaissance buildings the churches of S. Maria delle Grazie and the Santissima Annunziata may be noted. The collection of majolica in the municipal museum is very fine, and so is that of the Funghini family. In the middle ages Arezzo was generally on the Ghibelline side; it succumbed to Florence in 1289 at the battle of Campaldino, but at the end of the century recovered its strength under the Tarlati family. In 1336 it became subject to Florence for six years, and after intestine struggles, finally came under her rule in 1384. Among the natives of Arezzo the most famous are the Benedictine monk Guido of Arezzo, the inventor
