the throwing off of the wings, the surviving males and females pair, and become the parents of new colonies. Many fall victims to the attacks of enemies, as spiders, bats, lizards, toads, and goat-suckers. The pairs that survive take up their abode in some secluded situation, as under leaves, or under a clod of earth; there the females become impregnated, and by-and-by a new hive and its population are produced. The Termites serve an important purpose, in the particular areas of the world they inhabit, in disin
tegrating, removing, and destroying decaying wood.See Moggridge s Harvesting Ants and Trap Door Spider.s; Bates s Naturalist on tJie Amazons; Belt s Naturalist in Nicaragua, &c.
ANTÆUS, in Greek Mythology, a giant of Lybia, the son of Poseidon and Ge (Terra). He compelled all strangers passing through the country to wrestle with him, and as, when thrown, he derived fresh strength from each successive contact with his mother earth, he proved invin cible. With the skulls of those whom he had slain he built a temple to his father. Hercules, in combat with him, discovered the source of his strength, and lifting him up from the earth crushed him to death. The struggle between Antaeus and Hercules is a favourite subject in ancient sculpture.
ANTALCIDAS, a Spartan politician, who rendered conspicuous service to his native state at one of the turning-points in Greek history. He comes first into notice as ambassador from Sparta to Tiribazus, the Persian satrap of Ionia, to sue for peace (393–2 B.C.) Upon hearing of this the Athenians, becoming anxious lest they should lose their growing ascendency, also sent an embassy, at the head of which was Conon, to counteract the efforts of the Spartans. Tiribazus favoured the cause of Sparta, and secretly supplied Antalcidas with the means of carrying on war against Athens. Artaxerxes, however, disapproving the conduct of his satrap, recalled him, and appointed Struthas, whose sympathies were on the side of Athens, in his place. But this check to the policy of Antalcidas was only temporary. In a few years circumstances became even more favourable than at first to a successful negotiation, Tiribazus having been restored to his satrapy, and accordingly, in 388–7, Antalcidas was again sent upon an embassy to Asia. By skilful diplomacy he succeeded in securing the active assistance of the Persian power against Athens. Appointed on his return admiral of the Spartan fleet, he carried on a naval warfare in a manner so vigorous, that the Athenians were glad to accept peace on the terms Artaxerxes chose to dictate. These were made known by Tiribazus to a congress of deputies from Sparta, Argos, and Athens, and formed the basis of "the peace of Antalcidas," so called from its being arranged in accordance with the views of the Spartan ambassador. Antalcidas seems to have been engaged in another mission to Persia in 371; but the later incidents of his career are involved in uncertainty. Plutarch states that he committed suicide on the failure of his last mission, but there seems no proof of this.
ANTALO, a town of Tigré, in Abyssinia, capital of the district of Enderta, situated in lat. 13° 17′ N., and long. 39° 28′ E., on a plateau about 8000 feet above the level of the sea, out of which a steep hill rises on the north of the town, while beneath it a wide plain stretches southward. A large part of Antalo is now in ruins, but it still possesses a weekly market of considerable importance, and contains several churches. Its population was once estimated at 8000.
ANTARA, or. as he is usually called, Antar, an early Arabian warrior and poet, famous as the author of one of the poems hung up in the Kaaba at Mecca, and as the hero of a romance which bears somewhat the same relation to Arabic literature which the Arthurian legend bears to our own. He was the son of Shedad-el-Absi, a warrior in the army of Zoheir, by Zabuba, a negro slave who had been captured in some plundering expedition; and, if we can trust the Arabian romancist, he bore strong evidence of his negro origin. He spent his youth in servitude and neglect, but soon became known for his strength and high - handedness. Before long, while yet a slave, he fell in love with his cousin, the beautiful Abla, whose praises are still preserved at Mecca, but at the same time had the misfortune to incur the hate of his father s wife, Shameeah. A number, however, of happy opportunities presenting themselves, he showed such extra ordinary prowess against some hostile tribes, that his father was constrained to join in the public appreciation of his services, and to recognise him as his son. He now gradu ally rose in favour, and held for long a position of the greatest influence among his people, filling the surrounding country with the fame equally of his song and his sword. In a great war between two rival tribes, which lasted forty years, he is said to have played a very prominent part. The time and manner of his death are matter of dispute, Ibn Doreid making him be slain by Wasr-ben-Jaber, while, according to Abu Obeida, he died a natural death when- well stricken in years. Wherever the Arabic language is- known his fame is still green; and frequent references are made to Chubli Antar, Istabli Antar, Antar s house and Antar s stable. By whom the romantic account of \\\s life was originally written is far from being satisfactorily decided; but it is generally ascribed to Asmai, who lived at the court of Harun-al-Rashid. It is composed in rhyth mic prose, interspersed with fragments of verse, many of which are attributed to Antar himself. The style is remark ably pure, and a picture is afforded of early Arabian life that is equally graphic and minute. The romance, which in its fuller form extends to fifty or sixty MS. volumes, was first brought under European notice in 1802 by Von Hammer r who, after repeated perusal, spoke of it as surpassing the Arabian Nights in interest and beauty. Sir William Jones had already written in the highest terms about a part of it which had fallen in his way. In 1820 Terrick Hamil ton, brother of W. Hamilton, the author of jEgyptiaca, published a translation of a portion of it from a condensed Syrian manuscript obtained at Aleppo; and this gave occasion for a number of articles on Antar in our periodical literature. (See Von Hammer, Mines de F Orient, 1802; Arnold s Moallakat, Leipsic, 1850; Ahlwardt s Divans of Six Ancient Arabic Poets, London, 1870; Kitto s Journal of Sacred Lit., 1850.)
ANTARCTIC OCEAN, a name that should, strictly speaking, be applied only to the ice-bound sea to the south of the antarctic circle; in practice, however, it is usually vaguely extended so as to include more or less of the cold regions round the south pole, without reference to the circle. As compared with the corresponding Arctic Ocean little is known about this portion of the earth s surface; but it is sufficiently clear that the cold and the dangers to navigation in the southern ocean greatly exceed those of the northern, and that human beings and most other animals cannot, or at least do not, ordinarily subsist within its limits. See Polar Regions.
a genus of Mammalia, included in the Ungulate or Hoofed order of that large class. Of the ungulate or hoofed mammals, the Ruminants, or those that " chew the cud," form a chief subdivision ; and the antelopes, sheep, oxen, and goats, are included and classified together in this division as the family Cavicornia, or " hollow-horned " ruminants. The chief character by which the Cavicornia
are distinguished from other families of the Ruminantia