From the way in which he speaks of Africa, it has been conjectured that he was a native of that province; and this is not unlikely, as the name of Optatus and Optatianus was a common one in Africa. The poems of Porphyrius are some of the worst specimens of a dying literature. The author has purposely made them exceedingly difficult to be understood; and their merit in his eyes, and in those of his contemporaries, seems to have consisted in the artificial manner in which he was able to represent, by lines of various lengths, different objects, such as an altar, an organ, &c. The poems which have come down to us are: I. The Panegyric on Constantine, already mentioned, which consists properly of a series of short poems, all of them celebrating the praises of the emperor. There is prefixed a letter of Porphyrius to Constantine, and also a letter from the latter to the poet. This poem has been printed by Pithoeus, Poëmat. Vet. Paris, 1590, 12mo. and Genev. 1596, 8vo., and by Velserus, Augustae Vindel. 1595, fo. Proclus, in Timaeum.) 51. Пepì vans, in 6 books. | all that we know for certain respecting his life. (Suid.) 52. Þóλoyos iotopía, in 5 books. (Suid.; Euseb. Praep. Ev. x. 3, who quotes a passage of some length from the first book.) 53. Þóσopos ioTopía, in 4 books, a work on the lives and doctrines of philosophers. (Socrates, H. E. iii. 23; Eunap. Pr. p. 10.) 54. Пepl ʊxns, in five books (Suid.; Euseb. Praep. Ev. xiv. 10.) 55. Пepl Tŵv vuxns Suváμewv. (Stob. Eclog.) 56. Karà Xpioriavov, in 15 books. This celebrated work exhibited considerable acquaintance with both the Jewish and the Christian Scriptures. In the first book he treated of the discrepancies and contradictions in the Scriptures themselves, endeavouring in that way to show that they were of human, and not of divine origin. He seems to have laid considerable stress on the dispute between Paul and Peter. (Heron. Comment. in Epist. ad Galat. praef.) In the third book he treated of the modes of interpreting the Scriptures, attacking the allegories of Origenes. (Euseb. H. E. vi. 19). In the fourth book he treated of the Mosaic history and the antiquities of the Jews. (Euseb. l. c. i. 9.) The 12th was one of the most celebrated books. In it he attacked the book of the prophecies of Daniel (Hieron. Comment. in Dan.), maintaining that it was the production of a contemporary of Antiochus Epiphanes. On the refutation of this Eusebius, Apollinaris, and Methodius bestowed considerable labour. A good deal of the contents of this book is known from St. Jerome's commentary on the book of Daniel. The 13th book either entirely or in part treated of the same subject. A number of somewhat quibbling objections were also brought by Porphyrius against the history of the Gospels. (Hieron. Epist. ČI. ad Pammach., Adv. Pelag. ii., Quaest. Heb. in Gen. &c.) It seems that though he charged the Christians with having perverted the doctrines of Christ, he acknowledged the latter as an eminent sage. (Euseb. Dem. Evang. iii. 6. p. 134.) (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. v. p. 725, &c.; Holstenius, de Vita et Scriptis Porphyrii; Ritter, Geschichte der Philosophie, xiii. c. 2, vol. iv. p. 666, &c.; Lardner, Credibility of the Gospel History, part 2. chap. xxxvii.) [C. P. M.] PORPHY'RIUS, PUBLILIUS OPTATIANUS, a Roman poet, who lived in the age of Constantine the Great. From his panegyric on this emperor, we learn that he had been banished for some reason; and Constantine was so pleased with the flattery of the poet, that he not only recalled him from exile, but honoured him with a letter. Hieronymus says that he was restored to his native country in A.D. 328; but the panegyric must have been presented to Constantine in a. D. 326, as in the manuscript it is said to have been composed in the Vicennalia of the emperor, which were celebrated in this year, and likewise from the fact that the poet praises Crispus, the son of Constantine, who was put to death by order of his father in A. D. 326. We may therefore conclude that the panegyric was written in the previous year, and was intended to celebrate the Vicennalia of the emperor. It is probable that Publilius, after his return, was raised to offices of honour and trust, since Tillemont points out (Histoire des Empereurs, vol. iv. p. 364), from an ancient writer on the praefects of the city, that there was a Publilius Optatianus, praefect of the city in A. D. 329 and again in 333, and it is likely enough that he was the same person as the poet. This is II. Idyllia, of which we have three, namely, 1. Ara Pythia, 2. Syrinx, 3. Organon, with the lines so arranged as to represent the form of these objects. These three poems are printed in Wernsdorf's Poetae Latini Minores (vol. ii. pp. 365-413), who also discusses at length everything relating to the life and works of Porphyrius. III. Epigrams, of which five are printed in the Latin Anthology (Nos. 236-240, ed. Meyer.). PORPHYROGE'NITUS, a surname of Constantinus VII. [See Vol. I. p. 840.] PO'RRIMA. [POSTVERTA.] PORSENA, or PORSENNA, LARS†, king of the Etruscan town of Clusium, plays a distinguished part in the legends of the Tarquins. According to the common tale, as related by Livy, Tarquinius Superbus, on his expulsion from Rome, applied first to Veii and Tarquinii for assistance; and when the people of these towns failed in restoring him to his kingdom, he next repaired to Lars Porsena, who willingly espoused his cause, and forthwith marched against Rome at The quantity of the penultimate is doubtful. We might infer from the form Porsenna that the penultimate was long, but we sometimes find it short in the poets. Niebuhr indeed asserts that Martial (Epigr. xiv. 98) was guilty of a decided blunder in shortening the penultimate; but Mr. Macaulay points out (Lays of Ancient Rome, p. 45) that other Latin poets have committed the same decided blunder, as Horace's pure iambic line (Epod. xvi. 4), 66 The pe "Minacis aut Etrusca Porsenae manus," and Silius Italicus in several passages. nultimate, however, is not short in all the Latin poets, as the line of Virgil proves (Aen. viii. 646), Nec non Tarquinium ejectum Porsena jubebat," and the Greek writers make it long, Пopońvas, Plut. Publ. 16, Пopoîvos, Dionys. v. 21, &c. would, therefore, seem that the word was pronounced indifferently either Porsena or Porsēna. + Lars, Lar or Larth, was a title of honour, given to almost all the Etruscan kings or chiefs (Comp. Müller, Etrusker, vol. i. pp. 405, 408.) It the head of a vast army. The Romans could not Such was the tale by which Roman vanity con- The Romans, however, did not long remain subject to the Etruscans. Rome, Aruns, the son of Porsena, proceeded to After the conquest of attack Aricia, but was defeated before the city by the united forces of the Latin cities, assisted by the Greeks of Cumae. (Liv. ii. 15; Dionys. v. 36, vii. 2—11.) The Etruscans appear, in consequence, to have been confined to their own territory on the right bank of the Tiber, and the Romans to have availed themselves of the opportunity to recover their independence. The Romans of a later age were constantly reminded of Porsena's expedition against their city by the custom at all auctions of offering for sale first the goods of king Porsena. (Liv. ii. 14; Plut. Public. 19.) Niebuhr conjectures, with much probability, that this custom may have arisen from the circumstance that, when the Romans recovered their independence, they must have obtained possession of property within the city belonging to Porsena, which they probably sold by auction. The object of Porsena's expedition against Rome is said to have been the restoration of the Tarquins, and it is natural that such should have been the belief in later times, happening, as the war did, within a year or two of the establishment of the republic. But if such had been its real object, the Tarquins must have been restored to Rome on the conquest of the city. It is, therefore, more natural to believe that this war was in reality a great outbreak of the Etruscan nations, who meditated the conquest of Latium, and attacked Rome first, because it was the first city that lay in their way. K. O. Müller even goes so far in opposition to the old tale, as to conjecture that it was Porsena, who expelled the Tarquins from Rome. (Etrusker, vol. i. p. 122.) The sepulchre of Porsena at Clusium is described at length by Pliny, who borrowed his account from Varro. (H. N. xxxvi. 19. § 4.) It was said to have been an enormous quadrilateral building, each side being three hundred feet long, and fifty feet high. Within was an extraordinary labyrinth, and over the labyrinth were five pyramids, one at each corner and one in the middle, each pyramid being seventy-five wide at the base, and a hundred and fifty feet high. There are other details given, which are still more wonderful, and it is evident that the building, as described by Varro, is a work of the imagination. It is not impossible that he may have seen some remains of a building, which was said to be the tomb of Porsena, and that he found in Etruscan books the description which he has given. (Respecting the sepulchre of Porsena, see Müller, Etrusker, vol. ii. p. 224, &c., and Letronne, Annal. dell' Instit. arch. 1829, p. 391 ; and respecting the history of Porsena in general, see Niebuhr, Hist. of Rome, vol. i. pp. 541-551, and Arnold, Hist. of Rome, vol. i. PP. 125-127.) PORTHA'ON (Пopеáwv). 1. A son of Agenor and Epicaste, was king of Pleuron and Calydon in Aetolia, and married to Euryte, by whom he beMelas, Leucopeus, and Sterope. (Hom. Il. xiv. came the father of Oeneus, Agrius, Alcathous, vi. 20. § 8, 21. §7; Hygin. Fab. 175.) It should 115, &c.; Apollod. i. 7. § 7, &c.; Paus. iv. 35. § 1, be observed that his name is sometimes written Portheus (Heyne ad Apollod. l.c.), and under this who calls him a son of Ares. name he is mentioned by Antonius Liberalis (2) 2. A son of Periphetes. (Paus. viii. 24.) [L.S.] PORTICA NUS. [OXYCANUS.] tecting genius of harbours among the Romans. PORTU'NUS or PORTUMNUS, the proHe was invoked to grant a happy return from a voyage. Hence a temple was erected to him at кк 4 the port of the Tiber, from whence the road descended to the port of Ostia. At his temple an annual festival, the Portunalia, was celebrated on the 17th of August. (Varro, De Ling. Lat. vi. 19; Arnob. iii. 23; Cic. de Nat. Deor. ii. 26; Virg. Aen. v. 241.) He was represented with a key in his hand, portus as well as porta signifying a place which can be closed. At the time when the Romans became familiar with Greek mythology, Portunus was identified with the Greek Palaemon (Festus, s. v. Portunus, p. 242, ed. Müller; comp. PALAEMON.) [L. S.] PORUS (Пpos), the Greek form of the name of two Indian kings at the period of Alexander's invasion. Bohlen (Das alte Indien, vol. i. p. 91) considers it to be corruption of the Sanscrit "Paurusha," which signifies a hero. 1. King of the Indian provinces east of the river Hydaspes, which appears to have formed the boundary of his dominions on the west. It was here, accordingly, that he prepared to meet the invader, and, far from following the example of Taxilas and Abisares, who had sent embassies of submission to Alexander, he assembled a large army, with which he occupied the left bank of the river. On the arrival of the king on the opposite side, the forces of Porus, and especially his elephants (more than 200 in number), presented so formidable an aspect that Alexander did not venture to attempt the passage in the face of them, but sought by delay, and by repeated feigned attempts at crossing, to lull the vigilance of the Indian monarch into security. These devices were partly successful, and at length Alexander, leaving Craterus with the main body of his army encamped opposite to Porus, effected the passage of the river himself, about 150 stadia higher up, with a force of 6000 foot and 5000 horse. Porus immediately despatched his son, with a select body of cavalry, to check the march of the invaders, while he himself followed with all his best troops. The battle that ensued * was one of the most severely contested which occurred during the whole of Alexander's campaigns. Porus displayed much skill and judgment in the disposition of his forces, but his schemes were baffled by the superior generalship of his adversary, and his whole army at length thrown into confusion. Still the Indian king maintained his ground, and it was not till the troops around him were utterly routed, and he himself severely wounded in the shoulder, that he consented to quit the field. Alexander was struck with his courage, and sent emissaries in pursuit of him to assure him of safety. Hereupon Porus surrendered, and was conducted to the conqueror, of whom he proudly demanded to be treated in a manner worthy of a king. This magnanimity at once conciliated the favour of Alexander, who received him with the utmost honour, and not only restored to him his dominions, but increased them by large accessions of territory. (Arrian, Anab. v. 8, 9— 19, 20, 21; Curt. viii. 13, 14; Diod. xvii. 87-89; Plut. Alex. 60; Justin. xii. 8; Strab. xv. pp. 686, 691, 698.) It was fought, according to Arrian, in the month of Munychion, in the archonship of Hegemon, i. e. April or May, B. c. 326: but this date is subject to many difficulties. (See Clinton, F. H. vol. ii. p. 158; Droysen, Gesch. Alex. p. 400, note; and Thirlwall's Greece, vol. vii. p. 22, note.) From this time Porus became firmly attached to his generous conqueror. He accompanied Alexander on his expedition against the neighbouring Indian tribes; but after he had crossed the Acesines, was sent back to his own territory to raise an additional force, with which he rejoined the king at Sangala, and rendered him effective assistance against the Cathaeans, a tribe with whom he himself was previously on terms of hostility. He subsequently accompanied Alexander with an auxiliary force as far as the banks of the Hyphasis, and after his return contributed actively to the equipment of his fleet. For these services he was rewarded by the king with the government of the whole region from the Hydaspes to the Hyphasis, including, it is said, seven nations, and above two thousand cities. (Arrian, Anab. v. 22, 24, 29, vi. 2; Curt. ix. 2. § 5, 3. § 22; Diod. xvii. 93.) These dominions he continued to hold unmolested until the death of Alexander, and was allowed to retain them (apparently with the title of king) in the division of the provinces after that event, as well as in the subsequent partition at Triparadeisus, B. C. 321. Probably the generals were aware how difficult it would have been to dispossess him. Eudemus, however, who had been left in command of the Macedonian troops in the adjacent province, was able to decoy Porus into his power, and treacherously put him to death. (Diod. xviii. 3, xix. 14; Curt. x. 1. § 20; Arrian, ap. Phot. p. 72, a.) We are told that Porus was a man of gigantic stature-not less than five cubits in height; and his personal strength and prowess in war were not less conspicuous than his valour. 2. Another Indian monarch who, at the time of Alexander's expedition, ruled over the district termed Gandaris, east of the river Hydraotes. He was a cousin of the preceding, but on hostile terms with him, which led him on the approach of Alexander to court the alliance of the Macedonian king, and to send envoys with offers of submission to the invader, both before and after the defeat of Porus. But on learning the favour with which his kinsman had been treated by Alexander, he became alarmed for his own safety, and fled on the approach of the conqueror. His dominions were subdued by Hephaestion, and annexed to those of his kinsman. (Arrian. Anab. v. 20, 21; Strab. xv. p. 699.) [E. H. B.] POSCA, M. PINA'RIUS, praetor B. c. 181, obtained Sardinia as his province. He crossed over to Corsica, and put down an insurrection in that island, and on his return to Sardinia carried on war with success against the Ilienses, a people who had not hitherto been completely subdued. (Liv. xl. 18, 25, 34). Cicero speaks of a M. Pinarius Rusca, who brought forward a lex annalis, which was opposed by M. Servilius (de Orat. ii. 65), but as this Pinarius Rusca is not mentioned elsewhere, it has been conjectured that we ought to read Posca instead. POSEIDIPPUS or POSIDIPPUS (Пoσeidinπος, Ποσίδιππος, both forms are found in MSS. ; the inscription on the statue in the Vatican gives the former). 1. An Athenian comic poet of the New Comedy, was the son of Cyniscus, and a native of Cassandreia in Macedonia. He is one of the six who are mentioned by the anonymous writer on Comedy (p. xxx.) as the most celebrated poets of the New Comedy. In time, he was the last, not only of these six, but of all the poets of the New Comedy. He began to exhibit dramas in the third year after the death of Menander, that is, in Ol. 122. 3, B. c. 289, so that his time falls just at the era in Greek literary history which is marked by the accession of Ptolemy Philadelphus. (Suid. s. v.; Clinton, F. H. vol. ii. s. a. and p. ii.) Of the events of the poet's life nothing is known; but his portrait is preserved to us in the beautiful sitting statue in the Vatican, which, with the accompanying statue of Menander, is esteemed by Winckelmann and others as among the finest works of Greek sculpture which have come down to us. (Visconti, Mus. Pio-Clem. vol. iii. pp. 16 -21; Winckelmann, Vorläufige Abhandlung, c. iv. § 126; see also the description by Schlegel, quoted under MENANDER, Vol. II. p. 1031, b.) Athenaeus (xiv. p. 652, d.) mentions a letter of the comic poet and grammarian, Lynceus of Samos, to Poseidippus. In his language, Meineke (p. 484) has detected some new words, and old words in new senses, totally unknown to the best Attic writers. According to Suidas, he wrote forty plays, of which the following eighteen titles are preserved: ̓Αναβλέπων, Αποκλειομένη, Γαλάτης, Δήμοται, Ερμαφρόδιτος, Επίσταθμος, Ἐφεσία, Κώδων, Λακρίδες, Μεταφερόμενοι, Μύρμηξ, Ομοιοι, Παιδίον, Πορνοβοσκός, Σύντροφοι, Φιλόσοφοι, Φιλοπάτωρ, Xopevovara. The extant fragments of these plays are not sufficient to enable us to form an accurate judgment of the poet's style; but it seems, from the titles, that some of his plays were of a licentious character. Gellius (ii. 23) mentions him among the Greek comedians who were imitated by the Latin poets. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. pp. 489, 490; Meineke, Frag. Com. Graec. vol. i. pp. 482 -484, vol. iv. pp. 513-528, ed. Minor, pp. 1141 -1149.) 2. An epigrammatic poet, who was probably a different person from the comic poet, since he is mentioned with the appellation d erypauuaтoypápos (Schol. Apoll. Rhod. i. 1289). He seems, however, to have lived about the same time as the comic poet, since Zeno and Cleanthes, who were contemporary with the latter, are mentioned in one of his epigrams (No. 11), and another epigram (No. 21) is upon the temple which Ptolemy Philadelphus erected in honour of his sister and wife Arsinoe [ARSINOE]. He is several times referred to by Athenaeus, Stephanus Byzantinus, and the grammarians. His epigrams formed a part of the Garland of Meleager, who appears to mention him as a Sicilian (Prooem. 45, 46); and twenty-two of them are preserved in the Greek Anthology; but some of these are also ascribed to Asclepiades and Callimachus. One of his epigrams, that on the statue of Opportunity by Lysippus (No. 13), is imitated by Ausonius (Epig. 12.) Athenaeus (xiii. p. 596, c.) quotes the Albionía of Poseidippus, and elsewhere his 'Aownia, which seem to have been epic poems, and which Schweighäuser is probably right in referring to the author of the epigrams. (Brunck, Anul. vol. ii. pp. 46, 51,528; Jacobs, Anth. Graec. vol. ii. pp. 46-52, vol. xiii. pp. 942, 943; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. iv. p. 493.) 3. An historian, who wrote a work respecting Cnidus, which contained several particulars respect ing the Venus of Praxiteles. (Clem. Alex. Protrept. Pp. 16, 17; Arnob. vi. 13) He is also cited by Tzetzes, who concludes his quotation with an epigram by Poseidippus (Chil. vii. 144). From this and other circumstances it appears very probable that this historian was the same person as the epigrammatist. (Vossius, de Hist. Graec. p. 491, ed. Westermann). [P. S.] A POSEIDON (Пoσeid@v), the god of the Mediterranean sea. His name seems to be connected with πότος, πόντος and ποταμός, according to which he is the god of the fluid element. (Müller, Proleg. p. 290.) He was a son of Cronos and Rhea (whence he is called Kpóvios and by Latin poets Saturnius, Pind. Ol. vi. 48; Virg. Aen. v. 799.) He was accordingly a brother of Zeus, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter, and it was determined by lot that he should rule over the sea. (Hom. I. xiv. 156, xv. 187, &c.; Hes. Theog. 456.) Like his brothers and sisters, he was, after his birth, swallowed by his father Cronos, but thrown up again. (Apollod. i. 1. § 5, 2. § 1.) According to others, he was concealed by Rhea, after his birth, among a flock of lambs, and his mother pretended to have given birth to a young horse, which she gave to Cronos to devour. well in the neighbourhood of Mantineia, where this is said to have happened, was believed, from this circumstance, to have derived the name of the " Lamb's Well,” or Arne. (Paus. viii. 8. § 2.) According to Tzetzes (ad Lycoph. 644) the nurse of Poseidon bore the name of Arne; when Cronos searched after his son, Arne is said to have declared that she knew not where he was, and from her the town of Arne was believed to have received its name. According to others, again, he was brought up by the Telchines at the request of Rhea. (Diod. v. 55.) In the earliest poems, Poseidon is described as indeed equal to Zeus in dignity, but weaker. (Hom. I. viii. 210, xv. 165, 186, 209; comp. xiii. 355, Od. xiii. 148.) Hence we find him angry when Zeus, by haughty words, attempts to intimidate him; nay, he even threatens his mightier brother, and once he conspired with Hera and Athena to put him into chains (Hom. Il. xv. 176, &c, 212, &c. ; comp. i. 400.); but, on the other hand, we also find him yielding and submissive to Zeus (viii. 440). The palace of Poseidon was in the depth of the sea near Aegae in Euboea (xiii. 21; Od. v. 381), where he kept his horses with brazen hoofs and golden manes. With these horses he rides in a chariot over the waves of the sea, which become smooth as he appreaches, and the monsters of the deep recognise him and play around his chariot. (I. xiii. 27; comp. Virg. Aen. v. 817, &c., i. 147; Apollon. Rhod. iii. 1240, &c.) Generally he himself put his horses to his chariot, but sometimes he was assisted by Amphitrite. (Apollon. Rhod. i. 1158, iv. 1325; Eurip. Androm. 1011; Virg. Aen. v. 817.) But although he generally dwelt in the sea, still he also appears in Olympus in the assembly of the gods. (Hom. Il. viii. 440, xiii. 44, 352, xv. 161, 190, xx. 13.) Poseidon in conjunction with Apollo is said to have built the walls of Troy for Laomedon (vii. 452; Eurip Androm. 1014), whence Troy is called Neptunia Pergama (Neptunus and Poseidon being identified, Ov. Fast. ì. 525, Heroid. iii. 151; comp. Virg. Aen. vi. 310.) Accordingly, although he was otherwise well disposed towards the Greeks, yet he was jealous of the wall which the Greeks built around their own ships, and he lamented the inglorious manner in which the walls erected by himself feli by the hands of the Greeks. (Hom. Il. xii. 17, 28, &c.) When Poseidon and Apollo had built the walls of Troy, Laomedon refused to give them the reward which had been stipulated, and even dismissed them with threats (xxi. 443); but Poseidon sent a marine monster, which was on the point of devouring Laomedon's daughter, when it was killed by Heracles. (Apollod. ii. 59.) For this reason Poseidon like Hera bore an implacable hatred against the Trojans, from which not even Aeneas was excepted (Hom. I. xx. 293, &c.; comp. Virg. Aen. v. 810; Il. xxi. 459, xxiv. 26, xx. 312, &c.), and took an active part in the war against Troy, in which he sided with the Greeks, sometimes witnessing the contest as a spectator from the heights of Thrace, and sometimes interfering in person, assuming the appearance of a mortal hero and encouraging the Greeks, while Zeus favoured the Trojans. (II. xiii. 12, &c., 44, &c., 209, 351, 357, 677, xiv. 136, 510.) When Zeus permitted the gods to assist whichever party they pleased, Poseidon joining the Greeks, took part in the war, and caused the earth to tremble; he was opposed by Apollo, who, however, did not like to fight against his uncle. (I. xx. 23, 34, 57, 67, xxi. 436, &c.) In the Odyssey, Poseidon appears hostile to Odysseus, whom he prevents from returning home in consequence of his having blinded Polyphemus, a son of Poseidon by the nymph Thoosa. (Hom. Od. i. 20, 68, v. 286, &c., 366, &c., 423, xi. 101, &c., xiii. 125; Ov. Trist. i. 2. 9.) Being the ruler of the sea (the Mediterranean), he is described as gathering clouds and calling forth storms, but at the same he has it in his power to grant a successful voyage and save those who are in danger, and all other marine divinities are subject to him. As the sea surrounds and holds the earth, he himself is described as the god who holds the earth (yanoxos), and who has it in his power to shake the earth (ενοσίχθων, κινητὴρ γᾶς). He was further regarded as the creator of the horse, and was accordingly believed to have taught men the art of managing horses by the bridle, and to have been the originator and protector of horse races. (Hom. Il. xxiii. 307, 584; Pind. Pyth. vi. 50; Soph. Oed. Col. 712, &c.) Hence he was also represented on horseback, or riding in a chariot drawn by two or four horses, and is designated by the epithets ἵππιος, ἵππειος, οι ἵππιος ἄναξ. (Paus. i. 30. § 4, viii. 25. § 5, vi. 20. § 8, viii. 37. § 7; Eurip. Phoen. 1707; comp. Liv. i. 9, where he is called equester.) In consequence of his connection with the horse, he was regarded as the friend of charioteers (Pind. Ol. i. 63, &c.; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 156), and he even metamorphosed himself into a horse, for the purpose of deceiving Demeter. The common tradition about Poseidon creating the horse is as follows:- when Poseidon and Athena disputed as to which of them should give the name to the capital of Attica, the gods decided, that it should receive its name from him who should bestow upon man the most useful gift. Poseidon then created the horse, and Athena called forth the olive tree, for which the honour was conferred upon her. (Serv. ad Virg. Georg. i. 12.) According to others, however, Poseidon did not create the horse in Attica, but in Thessaly, where he also gave the famous horses to Peleus. (Lucan, Phars. vi. 396, &c.; Hom. Il. xxiii. 277; Apollod. iii. 13. § 5.) | The symbol of Poseidon's power was the trident, or a spear with three points, with which he used to shatter rocks, to call forth or subdue storms, to shake the earth, and the like. Herodotus (ii. 50, iv. 188) states, that the name and worship of Poseidon was imported to the Greeks from Libya, but he was probably a divinity of Pelasgian origin, and originally a personification of the fertilising power of water, from which the transition to regarding him as the god of the sea was not difficult. It is a remarkable circumstance that in the legends about this divinity there are many in which he is said to have disputed the possession of certain countries with other gods. Thus, in order to take possession of Attica, he thrust his trident into the ground on the acropolis, where a well of sea-water was thereby called forth; but Athena created the olive tree, and the two divinities disputed, until the gods assigned Attica to Athena. Poseidon, indignant at this, caused the country to be inundated. (Herod. viii. 55; Apollod. iii. 14. § 1 ; Paus. i. 24. § 3, &c.; Hygin. Fab. 164.) With Athena he also disputed the possession of Troezene, and at the command of Zeus he shared the place with her. (Paus. ii. 30. § 6) With Helios he disputed the sovereignty of Corinth, which along with the isthmus was adjudged to him, while Helios received the acropolis. (ii. 1. § 6.) With Hera he disputed the possession of Argolis, which was adjudged to the former by Inachus, Cephissus, and Asterion, in consequence of which Poseidon caused the rivers of these river-gods to be dried up. (ii. 15. § 5, 22. §5; Apollod. ii. 1. § 4.) With Zeus, lastly, he disputed the possession of Aegina, and with Dionysus that of Naxos. (Plut. Sympos. ix. 6.) At one time Delphi belonged to him in common with Ge, but Apollo gave him Calauria as a compensation for it. (Paus. ii. 33. § 2, x. 5. § 3; Apollon. Rhod. iii. 1243, with the Schol.) The following legends also deserve to be mentioned. In conjunction with Zeus he fought against Cronos and the Titans (Apollod. i. 2. § 1), and in the contest with the Giants he pursued Polybotes across the sea as far as Cos, and there killed him by throwing the island upon him. (Apollod. i. 6. § 2; Paus. i. 2. §4.) He further crushed the Centaurs when they were pursued by Heracles, under a mountain in Leucosia, the island of the Seirens. (Apollod. ii. 5. § 4.) He sued together with Zeus for the hand of Thetis, but he withdrew when Themis prophesied that the son of Thetis would be greater than his father. (Apollod. iii. 13. § 5; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 178.) When Ares had been caught in the wonderful net by Hephaestus, the latter set him free at the request of Poseidon (Hom. Od. viii. 344, &c.), but Poseidon afterwards brought a charge against Ares before the Areiopagus, for having killed his son Halirrhothius. (Apollod. iii. 14. § 2.) At the request of Minos, king of Crete, Poseidon caused a bull to rise from the sea, which the king promised to sacrifice; but when Minos treacherously concealed the animal among a herd of oxen, the god punished Minos by causing his daughter Pasiphaë to fall in love with the bull. (Apollod. iii. 1. § 3, &c. Pericly menus, who was either a son or a grandson of Poseidon, received from him the power of assuming various forms. (i. 9. § 9, iii. 6. § 8.) Poseidon was married to Amphitrite, by whom he had three children, Triton, Rhode, and Benthesicyme (Hes. Thcoy. 930; Apollod. i. 4. § 6, |