164 A D O A D R Comitia, but from the time of Diocletian it was effected by an imperial rescript. Females could not be adrogated, and, as they did not possess the patria potestas, they could not exercise the right of adoption in either kind. The whole Roman law on the subject of adoption will be found in Justinian s Institutes, lib. i. tit. 11. In Hindoo law, as in nearly every ancient system, wills are almost un known, and adoptions take their place. The strict law of adoption in India has been relaxed to the extent that a Hindoo widow may adopt when her deceased husband has not done so. Adoption is not recognised in the laws of England and Scotland, though there are legal means by which one may be enabled to assume the name and arms and to inherit the property of a stranger. In France and Germany, which may be said to have embodied the Roman law in their jurispru dence, adoption is regulated according to the principles of Justinian, though with several more or less important modifications, rendered necessary by the usages of these countries respectively. The part played by the legal fiction of adoption in the constitution of primitive society and the civilisation of the race is so important, that Sir Henry S. Maine, in his valuable work on Ancient Law, expresses the opinion that, had it never existed, the primi tive groups of mankind could not have coalesced except on terms of absolute superiority on the one side, and absolute subjection on the other. With the institution of adoption, however, one people rmghifeign itself as descended from the same stock as the people to whose sacra gentilicia it was ad mitted; and amicable relations were thus established between stocks which, but for this expedient, must have submitted to the arbitrament of the sword with all its consequences. ADOPTION, as a Biblical term, occurs only in the New Testament. In Old Testament history the practice was unknown, though cases approximating to it have been pointed out. In the New Testament vioOeo-ia occurs in several passages, on which is founded one of the leading doctrines of theology. ADORATION(from os, oris, the mouth, or from oro, to pray), an act of homage or worship which, among the Romans, was performed by raising the hand to the mouth, kissing it, and then waving it in the direction of the adored object. The devotee had his head covered, and after the act turned himself round from left to right. Sometimes he kissed the feet or knees of the images of the gods themselves, and Saturn and Hercules were adored with the head bare. By a natural transition the homage that was at first paid to divine beings alone came to be paid to men in token of extraordinary respect. Those who approached the Greek and Roman emperors adored by bowing or kneeling, laying hold of the imperial robe, and presently withdrawing the hand and pressing it to the lips. In eastern countries adoration was performed in an attitude still more lowly. The Persian method, introduced by Cyrus, was to bend the knee and fall on the face at the prince s feet, striking the earth with the forehead, and kissing the ground. Homage in this form was refused by Conon to Artaxerxes, and by Callisthenes to Alexander the Great. In England the ceremony of kissing the king s or queen s hand, and some other acts which are performed kneeling, may be described as forms of adoration. Adora tion is applied in the court of Rome to the ceremony of kissing the Pope s foot, a custom which is said to have been introduced by the popes after the example of the Emperor Diocletian. In the Romish Church a distinction is made between Latvia, a worship due to God alone, and Dulia or Hyperdulia, the adoration paid to the Virgin, saints, martyrs, crucifixes, the host, <J-c. ADOUR, the ancient Atums, a river of France which rises near Bare ge, in the department of Upper Pyrenees, and, flowing first northwards, then with a circuit to the west, passes through the departments of Gers and Landes, and falls into the Bay of Biscay 3 miles below Bayonne. Its length is about 180 miles, and it is navigable for about 70 miles, as far as St S6ver. Bagneres-de-Bigorre, Tarbes, and Dax are the other important towns on its banks. ADOWA, the capital of Tigre , in Abyssinia, is situated in 14 12 N. lat., 39 3 E. long., on the left bank of the River Hasain, 145 miles N.E. of Gondar. It is built on the eastern declivity of a hill overlooking a small plain, and has regular streets, ornamented with trees and gardens. The town derives its chief importance from its situation on. the route between Massowah and Gondar, which has caused it to become the great entrepot of traffic between the ex tensive table-land of Tigr6 and the coast. Gold and ivory are included in its transit trade, and hardware is manu factured, as well as the coarse cotton cloth which circulates in Abyssinia as the medium of exchange in place of money. Population about 6000. ADRA, the ancient Abdera, a seaport of Spain on the Mediterranean, in the province of Almeria, 60 miles S.E. of Grenada. Lead is extensively wrought in the neigh bourhood, and exported to Marseilles. The other exports include wheat and sugar. Population, 7400. ADRASTUS, in Legendary History, was the son of Talaus, king of Argos, and Lysianassa, daughter of Polybus, king of Sicyon. Being driven from Argos by Amphiaraus, Adrastus repaired to Sicyon, where he became king on the death of Polybus. After a time he was reconciled to Amphiaraus, to whom he gave his sister in marriage, returned to Argos, and occupied the throne. He acquired great honour in the famous war against Thebes, which he undertook for the restoration of his son-in-law Polynices, who had been deprived of his rights by his brother Eteocles, notwithstanding the agreement between them. Adrastus, followed by Polynices and Lydeus, his two sons-in-law, Amphiaraus, his brother-in-law, Capaneus, Hippomedon, and Parthenopaeus, marched against the city of Thebes, and on his way is said to have founded the Nemean games. This is the expedition of the Seven Worthies against T/tebes which the poets have made nearly as famous as the siege of Troy. As Amphiaraus had foretold, they all lost their lives in this war except Adrastus, who was saved by the speed of his horse Arion. Ten years after, at the insti gation of Adrastus, the ~war was renewed by the sons of the chiefs that had fallen. This expedition was called the War of the Upiyoni, and ended in the taking and destruction of Thebes. None of the followers of Adrastus perished in it except his son ^Egialeus. The death of this son affected Adrastus so much that he died of grief at Megara, as he was leading back his victorious army. ADRIA, a city of Italy, in the province of Rovigo, between the rivers Po and Adige. It is a place of great antiquity, and was at an early period a seaport of such importance and celebrity as to give name to the sea on which it stood. Originally an Etruscan colony, it ev.joyed for a time remarkable prosperity; but under the Romans it appears never to have been of much importance, and after the fall of the Western Empire it rapidly declined. The dykes which protected the surrounding country from inundation were neglected, the canals became choked, and the mud and other deposits brought down by the waters of the Po and Adige caused a gradual extension of the land into the Adriatic, so that Adria ceased to be a seaport, and is now 16 miles from the sea, on whose shores it formerly stood. By the draining of the neighbouring lands, the modern town has been much improved. It has some trade in grain, cattle, fish, wine, and earthenware, is the seat of a bishopric, and has a museum of Greek and Roman anti
quities. A little to the south, extensive remains of the
