Listed 4 sub titles with search on: Biographies for wider area of: "PALMYRA Town SYRIA" .
Zenobia. A celebrated princess, wife of Odenathus, and after his death queen of Palmyra. With equal talents for jurisprudence, finance, and government, her agile and elastic frame enabled her to direct and share the toils of war. Disdaining the litter, she was continually on horseback, and could even keep pace on foot with the march of her soldiery. History has preserved some reminiscences of her personal appearance, her dress, and her habits, which represent her as a woman of engaging beauty, gifted with the graces of a court, and accomplished in intellectual endowments. In complexion a brunette, her teeth were of a pearly whiteness, and her eyes black and sparkling; her mien was animated, and her voice clear and powerful. With a helmet on her head, and wearing a purple mantle fringed with gems and clasped with a buckle at the waist, so as to leave one of her arms bare to the shoulder, she presented herself at the council of war; and adopting from policy a regal pomp, she was worshipped with Persian prostration. Pure in her manners to the utmost refinement of delicacy, and temperate in her habits, she would nevertheless challenge in their cups her Persian and Armenian guests, and retire the victor without drunkenness. Chiefly versed in the languages of Syria and Egypt, her diffidence restrained her from conversing freely in Latin; but she had read the Roman history in Greek, was herself an historian, and had compiled the annals of Alexandria and the East. Her authority was acknowledged by a large portion of Asia Minor when the Roman emperor Aurelian succeeded to the throne. Jealous of her power, and determined to dispossess her of some of the rich provinces comprehended in her dominions, he marched at the head of a powerful army to Asia. Having defeated the queen's general near Antioch, he compelled her to retreat to Emesa. Under the walls of this city another engagement was fought, in which the emperor was again victorious. The queen fled to Palmyra, determined to support a siege. Aurelian followed her, and, on making his approaches to the walls, found them mounted in every part with mural engines, which plied the besiegers with stones, darts, and fire-balls. To the summons for a surrender of the city and kingdom, on the condition of her life being spared, Zenobia replied in a proud and spirited letter, written in Greek by her secretary, the celebrated Longinus. Her hopes of victory soon vanished; and, though she harassed the Romans night and day by continual sallies from her walls and the working of her military engines, she despaired of success when she heard that the armies which were marching to her relief from Armenia, Persia, and the East had either been intercepted or gained over by the foe. She fled from Palmyra in the night on her dromedaries, but was overtaken by the Roman cavalry while attempting to cross the Euphrates, and was brought into the presence of Aurelian, and tried before a tribunal at Emesa, Aurelian himself presiding. The soldiers were clamorous for her death, but she, in a manner unworthy of her former fame, saved her own life by throwing the blame on her counsellors, especially on Longinus, who was, in consequence, put to death. Zenobia was carried to Rome, to grace the emperor's triumph (A.D. 274), and was led along in chains of gold. She is said to have almost sunk beneath the weight of jewels with which she was adorned on that occasion. She was treated with great humanity, and Aurelian gave her large possessions near Tiber, where she was permitted to pass the remainder of her days. Her two sons afterwards married into distinguished families at Rome.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Zenobia, called “The Queen of the East” was the ruler
of the Greek-Arab state of Palmyra in Syria.
She was the wife of the King of Palmyra; after her husband died she
became sole ruler. Zenobia tried to carve an empire out of the Roman possessions
in the East.
When her armies occuppied Egypt
the emperor Aurelian sent an army to stop her. Zenobia's army was defeated and
Palmyra subjected by the Romans. Zenobia was captured but made such impression
on the emperor that he freed her and gave her an estate near Tivoli.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Hyperhistory Online URL below.
Longinus, Dionysius Cassiud (Dionusios Kassios Longinos), a very distinguished
Greek philosopher of the third century of our era. His original name seems to
have been Dionysius; but, either because he entered into the relation of client
to some Cassius Longinus, or because his ancestors had received the Roman franchise,
through the influence of some Cassius Longinus, he bore the name of Dionysius
Longinus, Cassius Longinus, or in the complete form given at the head of this
article. He was born about A. D. 213, and was killed in A. D. 273, at the age
of sixty. His native place is uncertain; some say that he was born at Palmyra,
and others call him a Syrian or a native of Emesa. The belief that he was of Syrian
origin is only an inference from the fact that his mother was a Syrian woman,
and from an obscure passage in Vopiscus (Aurelian. 30), from which it may be inferred
that he was conversant with the Syriac language. But it is clear that these circumstances
prove nothing, for he may have learned the Syriac language either from his mother
or during his subsequent residence at Palmyra. There is more ground for believing
that Longinus was born at Athens, for Suidas (s. v. Phronton) states that Phronto
of Emesa, the uncle of Longinus, taught rhetoric at Athens, and on his death in
that place left behind him Longinus, the son of his sister. It would seem that
this Phronto took especial care of the education of his nephew, and on his death-bed
he instituted him as his heir. In the preface to his work peri telous, which is
preserved in Porphyrius's life of Plotinus, Longinus himself relates that from
his early age he made many journeys with his parents, that he visited many countries,
and became acquainted with all the men who at the time enjoyed a great reputation
as philosophers, and among whom the most illustrious are Ammonius Saccas, Origen,
Plotinus, and Amelius. Of tile first two Louginus was a pupil for a long time,
though they (lid not succeed in inspiring him with any love for that kind of speculative
philosophy of which they were the founders. Longinus in his study of philosophy
went to the fountain-head itself, and made himself thoroughly familiar with the
works of Plato; and that he was a genuine Platonist is evident from the character
of his works. or rather, fragments still extant, as well as from the commentaries
he wrote on several of Plato's dialogues; and the few fragments of these commentaries
which have come down to us, show that he had a clear and sound lead, and was free
from the allegorical fancies in which his contemporaries discovered the great
wisdom of the ancients. His commentaries not only explained the subject-matter
discussed by Plato, but also his style and diction. This circumstance drew upon
him the contempt and ridicule of such men as Plotinus, who called him a philologer,
and would not admit his claims to be a philosopher. (Porphyr. Vit. Plot. p. 116;
Proclus, ad Plat. Tim. p. 27)
After Longinus had derived all the advantages he could from Ammonius
at Alexandria, and the other philosophers whom he met in his travels, lie returned
to Athens, where lie had been born and bred. He there devoted himself with so
much zeal to the instructions of his numerous pupils, that he had scarcely any
time left for the composition of any literary production. The most distinguished
among his pupils was Porphyrius, whose original name was Malchus, which Longinus
changed into Porphyrius, i. e. the king, or the man clad in purple. At Athens
he seems to have lectured on philosophy and criticism, as well as on rhetoric
and grammar (Eunap. Porphyr. init.; Porphyr. Vit. Plot.; Vopisc. Aurelian. 30;
Suid. s. v. Longinos), and the extent of his information was so great, that Eunapius
calls him "a living library" and "a walking museum ;" but his knowledge was not
a dead encumbrance to his mind, for the power for which he was most celebrated
was his critical skill (Phot. Bibl. Cod. 259; Sopat. Proleg. in Aristid.; Suid.
s. vr. Porphurios, Longinos), and this was indeed so great, that the expression
kata Longinon krinein became synonymous with "to judge correctly." (Hieronym.
Epist. 95; Theophylact. Epist. 17)
After having spent a considerable part of his life at Athens, and
composed the best of his works, he went to the East, either for the purpose of
seeing his friends at Emesa or to settle some of his family affairs. It seems
to have been on that occasion that he became known to queen Zenobia of Palmyra,
who, being a woman of great talent, and fond of the arts and literature, made
him her teacher of Greek literature. As Longinus had no extensive library at his
command at Palmyra, he was obliged almost entirely to abandon his literary pursuits,
but another sphere of action was soon opened to him there; for when king Odenathus
had died, and Zenobia had undertaken the government of her empire, she availed
herself most extensively of the advice of Longinus, and it was he who, being an
ardent lover of liberty, advised and encouraged her to shake off the Roman yoke,
and assert her dignity as an independent sovereign. In consequence of this, Zenobia
wrote a spirited letter to the Roman emperor Aurelian (Vopisc. Aurelian. 27)./
In A. D. 273, when Aurelian took and destroyed Palmyra, Longinus had to pay with
his life for the advice which lie had given to Zenobia (Vopisc. Aurelian. 30;
Suid. s. v. Longinos). This catastrophe must have been the more painful to Longinus,
since the queen, after having fallen into the hands of the Romans, asserted her
own innocence, and threw all the blame upon her advisers, and more especially
upon Longinus. But he bore his execution with a firmness and cheerfulness worthy
of a Socrates. (Zosimus, i. 56)
Longinus was unquestionably by far the greatest philosopher of the
age, and stands forth so distinct and solitary in that age of mystic and fanciful
quibblers, that it is impossible not to recognise in him a man of excellent sense,
sound and independent judgment, and extensive knowledge. He had thoroughly imbibed
the spirit of Plato and Demosthenes, from whom he derived not only that intellectual
culture which distinguished him above all others, but also an ardent love of liberty,
and a great frankness both in expressing his own opinions and exposing the faults
and errors of others (Porphyr. Vit. Plot.). His work Peri huphous, a great part
of which is still extant, surpasses in oratorical power every thing that was ever
written after the time of the Greek orators, and he, like Cicero among the Romans,
is the only Greek who not only knew how to teach rhetoric, but was able by his
own example to show what true oratory is. Besides the Greek and Syriac languages,
he was also familiar with the Latin, as we must conclude from his comparison of
Cicero with Demosthenes (Peri hups. 12; comp. Suid. s. v. Aionoarios; Tzetz. Posthom).
In his private life he seems to have been a man of a very amiable disposition;
for although his pupil Porphyrius left him, declaring that he would seek a better
philosophy in the school of Plotinus, still Longinus did not show him any ill-will
on that account, but continued to treat him as a friend, and invited him to come
to Palmyra (Porphyr. Vit. Plot.). He was, and remained throughout his life, a
pagan, though he was by no means hostile either to Judaism or Christianity.
Notwithstanding his manifold avocations, Longinus composed a great
number of works, which appear to have been held in the highest estimation, but
nearly all of which have unfortunately perished. All that has come down to us
consists of a considerable part of his work Peri huphous, or De Sublimitate, and
a number of fragments, which have been preserved as quotations in the works of
contemporary and later writers. There is scarcely any work in the range of ancient
literature which, independent of its excellence of style, contains so many exquisite
remarks upon oratory, poetry, and good taste in general. It is addressed to one
Postumius Terentianus, but contains many lacunae, which cannot be filled up, since
all the MSS. extant are only copies of the one which is preserved at Paris. The
following is a list of his lost works :
1. Hoi Philologoi, a very extensive work, since a 21st book of it is quoted. It
seems to have contained information and critical remarks upon a variety of subjects.
(Auctor, Vit. Apollon. Rhod., Rulhnken, Dissertatio Philol. De Vit. et Script.
Long. p. 28, &c.)
2. Peri tou kata Meidiou, i. e. on the oration of Demosthenes against Meidias.
(Suid. s. v. Longinos; comp. Phot. Bibl. Cod. 265.)
3. Aporemata Homerika. (Suid. l. c.; comp. Eustath. ad Hom. Il.)
4. Ei philosophos Homeros. (Suid. l. c.)
5. Problemata Homerou kai luseis, in two books. (Suid. l. c.)
6. Tina para tas historias hoi lrammatikoi hos historika exegountai. (Suid. l.
c.)
7. Peri ton par Homeroi polla semainouson lexeon,in three books. (Suid. l. c.)
8. Attikon lexeon ekdoseis, in the form of a dictionary. (Phot. Lexic. s. v. Serphio;
Eustath. ad Hom.)
9. Lexeis Antimachou kai Herakleonos. (Suid. l.c.)
10. Peri ethnikon. (Grammat. in Biblioth. Coislin.)
11. Scholia eis to tou Hephaistionos encheiridion, are still extant in MSS., and
have been transcribed by the scholiast commonly printed with Hephaestion. (Schol.
ad Hermog.)
12. Peri suntheseos logon. (Longin. peri huph. § 39.)
13. Techne petorike, or a manual of rhetoric. (Schol. ad Hermog.)
14. Eis ten rhetoriken Hermogenous, of which some extracts are still extant in
MS. at Vienna.
15. A commentary on the Prooemium of Plato's Timaeus. (Proclus, in Tim.)
16. A commentary on Plato's Phaedon. (Ruhnken, l. c. p. 18.)
17. Peri archon, i.e. on the principles of things. (Porphyr. Vit. Plot.)
18. Peri telous, i. e. De finibus bonorum et malorum; the excellent introduction
to it is preserved in Porphyrius's life of Plotinus.
19. Peri hormes, or on natural instinct. (Porphyr. Vit. Plotin.)
20. epistole pros ton Amelion, on the philosophy of Plotinus. (Ruhnken, l. c.
p. 43.)
21. Peri tes kata Platona dikaiosunes, was directed against Amelius. (Ruhnken,
l. c. p. 43.)
22. Peri ton ideon. Longinus wrote two works under this title, one against Plotinus,
and the other against Porphyrius. (Ruhnken, l. c. ; Syrian. ad Aristot. Metaphys.)
23. Peri phuches, a fragment of it is quoted by Eusebius. (Praep. Evang. xv. 21;
comp. Porphyr. ap. Stob. Eclog. Phys. i.; Proclus, ad Plat. Polit.)
24. Odainathos seems to have been the latest of the works of Longinus, and to
have been a emogy on Odenathus, the husband of Zenobia. (Liban. Epist. 998.)
The first edition of the treatise peri hupsous is that of Fr. Robortello, Basel,
1554, 4to. The next important edition is that of F. Portus (Geneva, 1569, 8vo.),
which forms the basis of all subsequent editions until the time of Tollius. We
may, however, mention those of G. Langbaene (Oxford, 1636, 1638, and 1650, 8vo.)
and T. Fabri (Salmur. 1663, 8vo.). In 1694 there appeared the edition of Tollius,
with notes, and Latin translation (Traject. ad Rhen. 4to.): it was followed in
the editions of Hudson (Oxford, 1710, 1718, 1730, 8vo., and Edinburgh, 1733, 12mo.),
Pearce (London, 1724, 4to., 1732, 8vo., and often reprinted), and N. Morus (Leipzig,
1769-73, 8vo.). A collection of all that is extant of Longinus was published by
J. Toupius, with notes and emendations by Ruhnken, of which three editions were
printed at Oxford (1778, 1789, and 1806, 8vo.). The most recent editions are those
of B. Weiske (Leipzig. 1809, 8vo.) and A. E. Egger, forming vol. i. of the Scriptorum
Graec. Nova Collectio (Paris, 1837, 16mc.). Compare Ruhnken, Dissertatio de Vita
et Scriftis Longini, which is printed in Toupius and other editions of Longinus;
Spongberg, de Commentario) Dionysii Cassii Longini peri huphous Expositio, Upsala,
1835, 4to.; Westermann, Gesch. der Griech. Beredtsamk. § 98, notes 1-9.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2006 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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