the son of Jupiter by Aegina. When the isle of Aegina was depopulated by a plague, his father, in compassion to his grief, changed all the ants upon it into men and women, who were called Myrmidons, from μύρμηξ, an ant. The foundation of the fable is said to be, that when the country had been depopulated by pirates, who forced the few that remained to take shelter in caves, Aeacus encouraged them to come out, and by commerce and industry recover what they had lost. His character for justice was such, that, in a time of universal drought, he was nominated by the Delphic oracle to intercede for Greece, and his prayer was answered. See the article AEGINA. The Pagans also imagined that Aeacus, on account of his impartial justice, was chosen by Pluto one of the three judges of the dead; and that it was his province to judge the Europeans.

ABURA (anc. geogr.), a town of Spain, in Extremadura, on the river Guadiana, to the west of Merida, now called Talavera. W. Long. 7. 15. Lat. 38. 40.

ACHMALOTARCHA, in Jewish antiquity, a title given to the principal leader or governor of the Hebrew captives residing in Chaldea, Assyria, and the neighbouring countries. This magistrate was called by the Jews roch-gaiath, i.e. the chief of the captivity; but the above term, of like import in the Greek, is that used by Origen and others who wrote in the Greek tongue.

The Jewish writers assure us, that the achmalotarchae were only to be chosen out of the tribe of Judah. The eastern Jews had their princes of the captivity, as the western Jews their patriarchs. The Jews are still said to have an achmalotarcha at Babylon, but without the authority of the ancient ones. Balfage Hill, Jews, and Prideaux's Connection.

ACULANUM (anc. geogr.), a town of the Hirpini in Italy, at the foot of the Appenin, to the east of Abellinum, contracted Aculanum, situate between Beneventum and Tarentum. The inhabitants are called Aculanii by Pliny; and Aculanenses, in an ancient inscription, (Gruter). The town is now called Fricento, Cluverius, 43 miles east of Naples. E. Long. 15. 38. Lat. 41. 15.

ADES, in Roman antiquity, besides its more ordinary signification of a house, likewise signified an inferior kind of temple, consecrated to some deity.

EDICULA, a term used to denote the inner part of ÆDILATE, the office of ædile, sometimes called Æditily. See the next article.

ÆDILE (ædilis), in Roman antiquity, a magistrate whose chief business was to superintend buildings of all kinds, but more especially public ones, as temples, aqueducts, bridges, &c. To the ædiles likewise belonged the care of the highways, public places, weights and measures, &c. They also fixed the prices of provisions, took cognizance of debauches, punished lewd women, and such persons as frequented gaming houses. The custody of the plebeian, or orders of the people, was likewise committed to them. They had the inspection of comedies and other pieces of wit; and were obliged to exhibit magnificent games to the people, at their own expense, whereby many of them were ruined. To them also belonged the custody of the plebeian, and the censure and examination of books. They had the power, on certain occasions, of issuing edicts; and, by degrees, they procured to themselves a considerable jurisdiction, the cognizance of various causes, &c. This office ruined numbers by its expenses; so that, in Augustus's time, even many senators declined it on that account.

All these functions which rendered the ædiles so considerable belonged at first to the ædiles of the people, ædiles plebeii, or minores: there were only two in number, and were first created in the same year as the tribunes: for the tribunes, finding themselves oppressed with the multiplicity of affairs, demanded of the senate to have officers, with whom they might intrust matters of less importance; and accordingly two ædiles were created; and hence, it was that the ædiles were elected every year at the same assembly as the tribunes. But these plebeian ædiles having refused, on a signal occasion, to treat the people with shows, as pleading themselves unable to support the expense thereof, the patricians made an offer to do it, provided they would admit them to the honours of the ædilate. On this occasion there were two new ædiles created, of the number of the patricians, in the year of Rome 388; they were called ædiles curules, or maiores, as having a right to sit on a curule chair, enriched with ivory, when they gave audience; whereas the plebeian ædiles only sat on benches.—Besides that the curule ædiles shared all the ordinary functions with the plebeian, their chief employ was, to procure the celebration of the grand Roman games, and, to exhibit comedies, shows of gladiators, &c., to the people; and they were also appointed judges in all cases relating to the selling or exchanging estates.

To ease these four first ædiles, Cæsar created a new kind, called ædiles cereales, as being deputed chiefly to take care of the corn, which was called donum cereris; for the Heathens honoured Ceres as the goddess who presided over corn, and attributed to her the invention of agriculture. These ædiles cereales were also taken out of the order of patricians. In the municipal cities there were ædiles, and with the same authority as at Rome.

We also read of an ædiles alimentarius, expressed in abbreviation by Ædil. alim., whose business seems to have been to provide diet for those who were maintained at the public charge, though others assign him a different office.—In an ancient inscription we also meet Ædilitium with ædile of the camp, ædilis castrorum.

ÆDILITIUM edictum, among the Romans, was that whereby a remedy was given a buyer, in case a vicious or unfound beast, or slave, was sold him. It was called ædilitium, because the preventing of frauds in sales and contracts belonged especially to the curule ædiles.

ÆEDITUUS, in Roman antiquity, an officer belonging to the temple, who had the charge of the offerings, treasure, and sacred utensils. The female deity had a woman officer of this kind called Æditua.

ÆGAGROPILA, a ball composed of a substance resembling hair, generated in the stomach of the chamois-goat. This ball is of the same nature with those found in cows, hogs, &c.

ÆGÆA, or ÆGÆA (anc. geog.), the name of Ædefia, so called from the following adventure: Caranus, the first king of Macedonia, being ordered by the oracle to seek out a settlement in Macedonia, under the conduct of a flock of goats, surprized the town of Ædefia, during a thick fog and rainy weather, in following the goats that fled from the rain; which goats ever after, in all his military expeditions, he caused to precede his standard; and in memory of this he called Ædefia Ægea, and his people Ægeadei. And hence probably, in the prophet Daniel, the he-goat is the symbol of the king of Macedon.

ÆGEAN sea (anc. geog.), now the Archipelago, a part of the Mediterranean, separating Europe from Asia and Africa; washing, on the one hand, Greece and Macedonia; on the other, Caria and Ionia. The origin of the name is greatly disputed. Festus advances three opinions: one, that it is so called from the many islands therein, at a distance appearing like so many goats; another, because Ægea queen of the Amazons perished in it; a third opinion is, because Ægeus, the father of Theseus, threw himself headlong into it.

ÆGEUS, in fabulous history, was king of Athens, and the father of Theseus. The Athenians having barely killed the son of Minos king of Crete, for carrying away the prize from them, Minos made war upon the Athenians; and being victorious, imposed this severe condition on Ægeus, that he should annually send into Crete seven of the noblest of the Athenian youths, chosen by lot, to be devoured by the Minotaur. On the fourth year of this tribute, the choice fell on Theseus; or, as others say, he himself intreated to be sent. The king, at his son's departure, gave orders, that as the ship failed with black sails, it should return with the same in case he perished; but, if he became victorious, he should change them into white. When Theseus returned to Crete, after killing the Minotaur, and forgot to change the sails in token of his victory, according to the agreement with his father; the latter, who watched the return of the vessel, supposing by the black sails that his son was dead, cast himself headlong into the sea, which afterwards obtained the name of the Ægean Sea. The Athenians decreed Ægeus divine honours; and sacrificed to him as a marine deity, the adopted son of Neptune.

ÆGIAS, among physicians, a white speck on the pupil of the eye, which occasions a dimness of sight.

ÆGIDA, (Pliny); now Cape d'Istria, the princi- Aegilops pal town on the north of the territory of Istria, situated in a little island, joined to the land by a bridge. In an inscription, (Gruter), it is called Aegidis Insula. E. Long. 14. 20. Lat. 45. 50. It was afterwards called Justinopolis, after the emperor Justinus.