the last we have two lines preserved by Stobaeus, 38. 10. (Meineke, vol. v. p. 583; Stob. vol. ii. p.59, ed. Gaisford.) Athenaeus gives (ii. p. 58, a.) three lines, and (xi. p. 781, f.) one line (Meineke, vol. v. p. 587, &c.), from plays of Nicomachus, whose titles he does not mention. There are several other literary persons of this name. By one of them there is an epigram on an earthquake which desolated Plataea. The point of it lies in the ruins of Plataea, constituting the monument of those that perished. Of the date of the earthquake, or the writer of the epigram, we know nothing. (Anth. Graec. vol. ii. p. 258, ed. Jacobs.) Nor do we know who the Nicomachus is who wrote περὶ ἑορτῶν Αἰγυπτίων, quoted by Athenaeus (xi. p. 478, a.), though this work is sometimes attributed to Nicomachus Gerasenus. [W. M. G.] NICOMACHUS (Νικόμαχος Γερασηνός, οι Tepaσivós), called Gerasenus, from his native place, Gerasa in Arabia, was a Pythagorean, and the writer of a life of Pythagoras, now lost. His date is inferred from his mention of Thrasyllus, who lived under Tiberius. He wrote on arithmetic and music, and is the earliest, we believe, of those whose names became bye-words to express skill in computation. In the Philopatris is the phrase 66 you number like Nicomachus of Gerasa." This writer exercised no small influence on European studies, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; but indirectly. Boëthius, in his arithmetical work, is no more than the abbreviator of the larger work of Nicomachus, now lost. The never-ending distinction of specific ratios by names (see Numbers, old appellations of, in the Supplement to the Penny Cyclopaedia), is the remote consequence of Nicomachus having been a Pythagorean. The extant works of Nicomachus are: 1. Αριθμητικῆς εἰσαγωγῆς βιβλία β, the lesser work on arithmetic. It was printed (Gr.) by Christian Wechel, Paris, 1538, 4to; also, after the theologumena Arithmeticae, attributed to Iamblichus, Leipzig, 1817, 8vo. A Latin version by one Appuleius is lost, as also various commentaries, of which only fragments remain. 2. 'Eyxeipídiov áрμoviêîs Biểλía B, a work on music, first printed (Gr.) by Joh. Meursius, in his collection, Leyden, 1616, 4to, and afterward in the collection of Meibomius, (Gr. Lat.), Amsterdam, 1652, 4to; and again in the works of Meursius by Lami, Florence, 1745, fol. The works which are lost are a collection of Pythagorean dogmata, referred to by Iamblichus ; a larger work on music, promised by Nicomachus himself, and apparently referred to by Eutocius in his comment on the sphere and cylinder of Archimedes; Deoλoyoúμevα åpiðμntiкns, mentioned by Photius, but a different work from that above alluded to; réxvn ÅpiðμNTIKη), the larger work above noted, distinctively mentioned by Photius; a work on geometry, to which Nicomachus himself once refers; Tepì éoptŵv Aiyvπtíwv, mentioned by Athenaeus, but whether by this Nicomachus or another, uncertain. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. v. p. 629; Hoffman; Schweiger.) [A. De M.] NICO'MACHUS (Nikóμaxos), artists. 1. A painter, of the highest distinction, was (according to the common text of Pliny) a Theban, the son and disciple of the painter Aristodemus, the elder brother and teacher of the great painter Aristeides, and the father and teacher of Aristocles. (Plin. H. N. xxxv. 10. s. 36. § 22.) We have thus the following stemma : To decide with certainty between the readings is impossible: it may, however, be remarked that there is no other passage in which the names of Aristodemus and Aristocles occur. (Comp. the Kunstblatt, for 1832, p. 188.) Nicomachus flourished under Aristratus of Sicyon, and Philip of Macedonia. He may therefore be placed at B. c. 360, and onwards. He was an elder contemporary of Apelles and Protogenes. He is frequently mentioned by the ancient writers in terms of the highest praise. Cicero says that in his works, as well as in those of Echion, Protogenes, and Apelles, every thing was already perfect. Plutarch mentions his (Brutus, 18.) paintings, with the poems of Homer, as possessing, in addition to their force and grace, the appearance of having been executed with little toil or effort. (Timol. 36.) Vitruvius mentions him as among the artists who were prevented from attaining to the very highest fame, not from any want of skill or industry, but from accidental circumstances (iii. Prooem. § 2). Pliny tells us that Nicomachus was one of the artists who used only four colours (H. N. xxxv. 7. s. 32; comp. Dict. of Antiq. s. v. Colores), and that, like Parrhasius, he used the Eretrian ochre in his shadows (ibid. 6. s. 21). He was one of the most rapid of painters. As an example, Pliny relates that, having been commissioned by Aristratus to paint the monument which he was erecting to the poet Telestes, Nicomachus postponed the commencement of the work so long as to incur the anger of the tyrant, but, at last, beginning it only a few days before the time fixed for its completion, he fulfilled his engagement with no less skill than rapidity. (Plin. H. N. xxxv. 10. s. 36. § 22.) As his works, Pliny mentions, the Rape of Proserpine, which once hung above the shrine of Youth (Juventas) in the temple of Minerva, on the Capitol: a Victory with a four-horsed chariot (quadrigam in sublime rapiens), also in the Capitol, where it had been placed by Plancus: Apollo and Diana: Cybele riding on a lion: a celebrated picture of female bacchanals, surprised by satyrs stealing upon them: and a Scylla, at Rome, in the temple of Peace (Plin. l. c.). He was the first who painted Ulysses with the pileus (ibid.). Pliny also mentions his unfinished picture of the Tyndaridae, among the examples of unfinished works by great masters, which were more highly admired than even their perfect paintings. (H. N. xxxv. 11. s. 40. § 41.) His disciples were his brother Aristeides, his son Aristocles, and Philoxenes of Eretria (Plin. l. c. 36. § 22; but compare the commence ment of this article), and also Corybas (ibid. 40. which he chose, in the immediate neighbourhood of § 42). the Megarian colony of Astacus, was so judiciously Stobaeus (Serm. 61) has preserved an interest-selected that the city of Nicomedeia continued for ing sayiug of Nicomachus. An amateur remarking to him that he could see no beauty in the Helen of Zeuxis, the painter, replied, "Take my eyes, and a goddess will be revealed to you." The same answer is ascribed by Aelian (V. H. xiv. 47) to a certain Nicostratus, who is not mentioned elsewhere, and whose name is therefore probably an error for Nicomachus. 2. A statuary or sculptor, whose name appears on a marble base recently discovered in Athens. From the form of the letters, the date of the in- | scription is supposed to fall in the time of the earliest successors of Alexander. (Ross and Thiersch, in the Kunstblatt for 1840, p. 48.) 3. The engraver of a gem representing a Faun sitting on a tiger's skin. (Bracci, tab. 87; Stosch, 44.) NICO'MACHUS, MEʼTIUS FALCO/NIUS, stood second on the roll of consular senators at the death of Aurelian. His speech, in which he urged Tacitus to accept the purple, has been preserved by Vopiscus. (Vopisc. Tacit. 6; TACITUS.) [W. R.] NICOME'DES I. (Nikoμndns), king of Bithynia, was the eldest son of Zipoetes, whom he succeeded on the throne, B. c. 278. (Memnon, c. 20, ed. Orell.; Clinton, vol. iii. p. 411.) Like many other Eastern potentates it appears that he commenced his reign by putting to death two of his brothers, but the third, Zipoetes, raised an insurrection against him, and succeeded in maintaining himself for some time in the independent sovereignty of a considerable part of Bithynia. Meanwhile, Nicomedes was threatened with an invasion from Antiochus I., king of Syria, who had already made war upon his father, Zipoetes, and to strengthen himself against this danger, he concluded an alliance with Heracleia, and shortly afterwards with Antigonus Gonatas. The threatened attack, however, passed over with little injury. Antiochus actually invaded Bithynia, but withdrew again without risking a battle. It was apparently as much against his revolted subjects as his foreign enemies that Nicomedes now called in the assistance of more powerful auxiliaries, and entered into an alliance with the Gauls, who, under Leonnorius and Lutarius, were arrived on the opposite side of the Bosporus, and were at this time engaged in the siege of Byzantium, B. c. 277. Having furnished them with the means of crossing over into Asia, he first turned the arms of his new auxiliaries against his brother, Zipoetes, whom he defeated and put to death, and thus reunited the whole of Bithynia under his dominion. (Memnon, c. 16, 18, 19; Liv. xxxviii. 16; Justin. xxv. 2.) Of the events that followed we have little information; it is probable that the Gauls subsequently assisted Nicomedes against Antiochus (Trog. Pomp. prol. xxv; comp. Droysen, Hellenism. vol. ii. p. 178), but no particulars are recorded either of the war or the peace that terminated it. It appears, however, that Nicomedes was left in the undisturbed possession of Bithynia, which he continued to govern from this time till his death, and which rose to a high degree of power and prosperity during his long and peaceful reign. In imitation of so many others of the Greek rulers of Asia, he determined to perpetuate his own name by the foundation of a new capital, and the site ; more than six centuries to be one of the richest and most flourishing in Asia. (Memnon, c. 20; Strab. xii. p. 563; Steph. Byz. v. Nikouńdeia, who erroneously calls Nicomedes son of Zeïlas Euseb. Chron. Ol. 129. 1; Paus. v. 12. § 7; Tzetz. Chil. iii. 950.) The foundation of Nicomedeia is placed by Eusebius (l. c.) in B. c. 264. The duration of the reign of Nicomedes himself after this event is unknown, but his death is assigned with much probability by the Abbé Sevin (Mém. de l'Acad. des Inscr. tom. xv. p. 34) to about the year B. c. 250. He had been twice married; by his first wife, Ditizela, a Phrygian by birth (who had been accidentally killed by a favourite dog belonging to the king), he had two sons, Prusias and ZIELAS, and a daughter, Lysandra; but his second wife, Etazeta, persuaded him to set aside his children by this former marriage, and leave his crown to her offspring. The latter were still infants at the time of his death, on which account he confided their guardianship by his will to the two kings, Antigonus Gonatas and Ptolemy, together with the free cities of Heracleia, Byzantium and Cius. But, notwithstanding this precaution, his son Zielas quickly established himself on the throne. [ZIELAS.] (Memnon, c. 22; Arrian ap. Tzetz. Chil. iii. 960; Plin. H. N. viii. 40 (61), who calls the first wife of Nicomedes, Consingis.) It is probably this Nicomedes who sought to purchase from the Cnidians the celebrated statue of Venus, by Praxiteles, by offering to remit the whole public debt of the city. (Plin. H. N. vii. 39, xxxvi. 4. § 21.) [E. H. B.] + NICOME'DES II., surnamed EPIPHANES, king of Bithynia, was son of Prusias II., and fourth in descent from the preceding. He is first mentioned as accompanying his father to Rome in B. c. 167, where they were favourably received by the senate (Liv. xlv. 44) At this time he must have been a mere child; but, as he grew up, the popularity of the young prince incurred the jealousy of Prusias, who, wishing to remove him out of the sight of the Bithynians, sent him to Rome as a kind of hostage. Here we find him in B. c. 155, supporting the ambassadors of Prusias, who were sent to defend that monarch against the complaints of Attalus II., king of Bithynia. (Polyb. xxxii. 26.) Nicomedes remained at Rome till B. c. 149, and had, during his residence there, risen to a high place in the favour of the senate; but this only served to increase the suspicions and enmity of Prusias, who at length despatched Menas to Rome with an embassy to the senate, but with secret instructions to effect the assassination of the prince. But Menas, on finding the favour which Nicomedes enjoyed at Rome, instead of executing his instructions, divulged them to the prince himself, and in conjunction with Andronicus, the ambassador of Attalus, urged him to dethrone his father, who had rendered himself by his vices the object of universal contempt and hatred. Nicomedes readily listened to their suggestions, and departing secretly from Rome landed in Epeirus, where he openly assumed the title of king, and proceeded to the court of Attalus, who received him with open arms, and prepared to support his pretensions with an army Prusias, abandoned by his subjects, took refuge in the citadel of Nicaea, from whence he wrote tc Rome to solicit the intervention of the senate. | But, although three deputies were despatched by the Romans to investigate the matter, they ultimately retired without effecting anything. The inhabitants of Nicomedeia, where Prusias had sought protection, opened the gates of the city to Nicomedes, and the old king was assassinated at the altar of Jupiter, by the express order of his son, B. c. 149. (Appian. Mithr. 4-7; Justin. xxxiv. 4; Zonar. ix. 28; Liv. Epit. 1.; Strab. xiii. p. 624; Diod. xxxii. Exc. Phot. p. 523, Exc. Vat. p. 92.) Nicomedes retained, during a period of no less than fifty-eight years, the crown which he had thus gained by parricide. But of his long and tranquil reign very few events have been transmitted to us. He appears to have uniformly courted the friendship of the Romans, whom he assisted in the war against Aristonicus, B. c. 131. (Strab. xiv. p. 646; Oros. v. 10; Eutrop. iv. 20.) At a later period, B. c. 103, Marius applied to him for auxiliaries in the war against the Cimbri, which he, however, refused on account of the exactions and oppressions exercised by the Roman farmers of the revenue upon his subjects. (Diod. xxxvi. Exc. Phot. p. 531.) But it is clear that Nicomedes was not wanting in ambition when an opportunity of aggrandizement presented itself, and we find him | uniting with Mithridates VI. (apparently about B. c. 102) in the conquest of Paphlagonia, the throne of which had been left vacant by the death of Pylaemenes. The Roman senate, indeed, quickly ordered the two kings to restore their new acquisition, but Nicomedes merely transferred the crown to one of his own sons, who had taken the name of Pylaemenes, and whom he pretended to regard as the rightful heir. (Justin. xxxvii. 4.) Not long after (about B. c. 96, see Clinton, vol. iii. p. 436), an opportunity seemed to offer itself of annexing Cappadocia also to his dominions, Laodice, the widow of Ariarathes VI., having thrown herself upon his protection in order to defend herself and her sons from the designs of Mithridates. Nicomedes (though he can hardly have been less than eighty years of age at this time) married Laodice, and established her in the possession of Cappadocia, from which, however, she was quickly again expelled by Mithridates. After the death of her two sons [ARIARATHES] Nicomedes had the boldness to set up an impostor, whom he alleged to be a third son of Ariarathes VI., and even sent Laodice herself to Rome to bear witness in his favour. The senate, however, rejected his claim, as well as that of Mithridates; and while they compelled the latter to abandon Cappadocia, in order to preserve an appearance of fairness, they deprived Nicomedes also of Paphlagonia. (Justin. xxxviii. 1, 2.) This is the last event recorded of his reign; his death must have taken place in or before B. c. 91. (Id. ib. 3; Clinton, vol. iii. p. 419.) There appears NICOMEDES III., PHILOPATOR, king of Bi- gave rise to the most injurious suspicions, which | were never afterwards forgotten by the enemies of Caesar (Suet. Caes. 2, 49; Plut. Caes. 1). Nicomedes died at the beginning of the year B. c. 74, and having no children, by his will bequeathed his kingdom to the Roman people. Mithridates, however, set up an impostor, whom he pretended to be the legitimate son of Nicomedes, and whose claims to the throne he prepared to support by arms. For the events that followed see MITHRIDATES. (Eutrop. vi. 6; Liv. Epit. xciii.; App. Mithr. 71 ; Epist. Mithr. ad Arsac. ap. Sall. Hist. iv. p. 239, ed. Gerlach.) | Great confusion has been made by many modern writers in regard to the later kings of Bithynia, and it has been frequently supposed that there were not three but four kings of the name of Nicomedes. It is, however, certain from Appian (Mithr. 10), that Nicomedes III., who was expelled by Mithridates, was the grandson of Prusias II.; nor is there any reasonable doubt that he was the same who bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans, and was consequently the last king of Bithynia. A passage of Appian (Mithr. 7) which seems to assert the contrary, is certainly either erroneous or corrupt; and Syncellus (p. 276, c.), who reckons eight kings of Bithynia, beginning with Zipoetes, probably included Socrates, the brother of Nicomedes III., in his enumeration. (See on this subject Eckhel, vol. ii. pp. 444, 445; Visconti, | Iconographie Grecque, vol. ii. p. 191; Orelli, Onomast. Tull. p. 420 ̊; and Clinton, F. H. vol. iii. p. 418-420.) Nicomedes III., as well as his father, takes on his coins the title of Epiphanes. They can be distinguished only by the difference of physiognomy, and by the dates, which refer to an era commencing B. c. 288, during the reign of Zipoetes [ZIPOETES]. [E. H. B.] NICOME'DES (Nikoμndns), literary. 1. A commentator on Orpheus. (Athen. xiv. p. 637, a. b.) 2. Of Acanthus, quoted regarding the age of Perdiccas. (Athen. v. 217, d.) 3. A commentator on Heracleitus. (Diog. Laërt. ix. 15.) 4. The writer of annotations on the 'AvaλUTIKd πρóτЄра of Aristotle, which exist in some libraries, but are unedited. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. iii. p. 215.) 5. Of Pergamus, a rhetorician, and a pupil of Chrestus, flourished in the second century of the Christian era. (Philost. Vit. Soph. ii. 11.) 6. Of Smyrna, a physician and epigrammatist. Brunck has inadvertently attributed to him eight epigrams that belong to Nicodemus. We have two epigrams written by him, both votive, and engraved on the same statue, which was one of Aesculapius, fabricated by the sculptor Boëthus. The style proves that they were written long after the time of Boëthus. Indeed the first epigram bears this expressly, xepŵv deîyμa waλaiyevéwv. χειρών δεῖγμα παλαιγενέων. We have also an epitaph on Nicomedes. (Anthol. Graec. vol. iii. p. 92, &c. x. p. 131, &c. xiii. p. 924. &c. ed. Jacobs.) [W. M.G.] NICON (Níkov), historical. 1. A Tarentine, who headed the insurrection of his fellow-citizens against Milon, the governor, who had been left by Pyrrhus in command of the citadel of Tarentum. (Zonar. viii. 6, p. 379, a.) 2. Another Tarentine, surnamed PERCON, who, together with Philemenus, betrayed his native city to Hannibal during the second Punic war, B. C. 212. The plan was formed by thirteen noble youths, of whom Nicon and Philemenus were the leaders. Having contrived to hold frequent conferences with Hannibal, and concert all their measures with him, without exciting any suspicion, they appointed a night for the execution of their scheme, on which the Roman governor, M. Livius, was to give a great feast: and Nicon admitted Hannibal with a body of troops at one gate, while Philemenus contrived to make himself master of another, by which he introduced 1000 select African soldiers. The Romans were taken completely by surprise, and Hannibal made himself master, almost without opposition, of the whole of Tarentum, except the citadel. (Polyb. viii. 26— 36; Liv. xxv. 8-10.) The latter was closely blockaded by the Carthaginians and Tarentines, and in 210 a Roman fleet of twenty ships, under D. Quinctius having advanced to its relief, was encountered by that of the Tarentines under Democrates, and a naval action ensued, in which Nicon greatly distinguished himself by boarding the ship of the Roman commander, and running Quinctius himself through the body with a spear: an exploit which decided the fortune of the day in favour of the Tarentines. (Liv. xxvi. 39.) The following year (B. c. 209) the Romans having in their turn surprised Tarentum, Nicon fell, fighting bravely, in the combat which ensued in the forum of the city. (Id. xxvii. 16.) 3. A relation of Agathocles, the infamous minister and favourite of Ptolemy Philopator, who was put to death, together with his kinsman, B. C. 205. (Polyb. xv. 33). 4. The treasurer of Perseus, who is called NICIAS by Livy and Appian, is named Nicon by Diodorus (xxx. Exc. Vales. p. 579). 5. A leader of the Cilician pirates, who was taken prisoner by P. Servilius Isauricus. (Cic. in Verr. v. 30. § 79.) He is probably the same person mentioned by Polyaenus, as having occupied the town of Pherae in Messenia, from whence he ravaged the neighbouring country; but having at length been taken prisoner, he surrendered the town into the hands of the Messenians, in order to save his own life. (Polyaen. ii. 35.) 6. A Samian, who saved the ship of which he was steersman, by a dexterous stratagem. (Id. v. 34.) [E. H. B.] NICON (Níкwv), literary. 1. A comic writer, assigned by Meineke to the new comedy. A fragment of three lines is preserved by Athenaeus, from his play Kilapwdós (xi. p. 487, c.), and Pollux gives a portion of the same passage (vi. 99). (Meineke, Frag. Poet. Com. vol. i. p. 495, v. p. 578.) 2. An Armenian abhot. He fled from his parents and was trained in a monastery on the confines of Pontus and Paphlagonia. About A. D. 961, he was sent by the abbot of his monastery on a missionary tour. In the course of it he visited Crete, recently freed from the Saracens, and reclaimed the inhabitants to Christianity. He was employed A. D. 981 to intercede with the Bulgarians, who were making inroads into the Grecian empire, and died, about A. D. 998. He was canonised, his name being in the calendar of both the Greek and Latin churches, on the 26th of November. From his life, written originally in Greek, and translated by Sirmondus, Baronius (Annales, vol. x.) has extracted the account of numerous miracles performed by him. Two treatises against the Armenians ascribed to him (Cave speaks doubtfully of the last), are printed, in Greek and Latin, by Cotelerius (Not. ad Patres Apostol. pp. 152, 237). Besides these, other unpublished works of Nicon are mentioned. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. 299, vol. xi. p. 275; Cave, Hist. Lit. vol. ii. p. 103.) 3. A monk of Rhaethus in Palestine. Under the reign of Constantine Ducas, about A. D. 1060, | instigated, it is said, by the fear lest the Saracens | should in their conquests obliterate the records of the Christian faith, he compiled a work entitled, Πανδέκτης τῶν ἑρμηνειῶν τῶν θείων ἐντολῶν τοῦ Kupiov. It consists of two books, and sixty-three chapters, containing extracts from the Scriptures, the ecclesiastical canons, the fathers, and other ecclesiastical documents, besides the civil law. Except some extracts given by Cotelerius (Monument. Eccles. Graec.), no part has been published. Fabricius (Bibl. Graec. vol. xi. p. 275, &c.) gives an account of the sources from which Nicon has drawn his extracts, as well as of other writings attributed to him. [W.M. G.] NICON (Níkwv), an architect and geometrician of Pergamus in Mysia, the father of the physician Galen. (Suid. s. v. Táλnvos; Joann. Tzetz. Chil. xii. 9.) He himself superintended the early education of his son, by whom he is highly praised in several places, not only for his knowledge of astronomy, grammar, arithmetic, and various other branches of philosophy, but also for his patience, justice, benevolence, and other virtues. (Galen, De Dignosc. et Cur. Animi Morb. c. 8, vol. v. p. 41, &c., De Prob. et Pran. Aliment. Succ. c. 1, vol. vi. p. 755, &c., De Ord. Libror. suor. vol. xix. p. 59.) He died when his son was in his twentieth year, A. D. 149, 150. (l. c. vol. vi. p. 756.) [W. A. G.] NICON (Nikov), a physician, mentioned by Cicero, B. C. 45 (ad Fam. vii. 20), the tutor of Sextus Fadius, and the author of a work Пepl Пoλvpayías, De Edacitate. He is perhaps the person quoted by Celsus (De Medic. v. 18. § 26, p. 87), and called in some editions Micon. [W. A. G.] NICO PHANES (Nikopávns), a native of Megalopolis. He was a man of distinction, and was connected with Aratus by the rites of hospitality. In accordance with a secret agreement entered into with Aratus, Nicophanes and Cercidas induced the Megalopolitans to send an embassy to the congress of the Achaeans, to induce them to join them in seeking for assistance from Antigonus. They were themselves deputed for this object, in which they were successful, B. C. 225. (Polyb. ii. 48, c. &c.) [C. P. M.] NICO PHANES, a Greek painter, who appears, from the way in which he is mentioned by Pliny NICOPHON and NICOPHRON (Nikодŵv, NICO'STHENES. J. A Greek painter, of whom we only know that he was the teacher of Theodorus of Samos, and of Stadieus. (Plin. H. N. xxxv. 11. s. 40. § 42.) 2. A vase painter, * A similar, or rather worse character is given by Plutarch (De Aud. Poet. p. 18. b.) of a painter Chaerephanes, who is not elsewhere mentioned, and whose name Sillig suspects to be a corruption of Nicophanes. |