ALYPIUS of Antioch, a geographer of the fourth century. He was sent by the emperor Julian into Britain as deputy-governor; and after remaining in this situation for some time, he received orders from the emperor to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem. Ammianus Marcellinus, the Roman historian, informs us, that during the progress of the work, while it was proceeding with great rapidity, huge balls of fire issued forth in the vicinity of the foundations, which interrupted the men at their labour, and even sometimes consumed them with its violence. The place being thus rendered inaccessible, they were reluctantly constrained to desist from their undertaking. Different sentiments have been entertained with respect to this phenomenon; but the reader, for his own satisfaction, may consult what has been written concerning it by Lardner and Gibbon. In the evening of his life, after he had retired from the service of the public, Alypius, in conjunction with several other persons, was formally accused of the crime of practising magic; in consequence of which, he was banished, his property confiscated, and Hierocles his son condemned to capital punishment. Ammianus Marcellinus, while he mentions that the crime for which they suffered was that of administering poison to others, states at the same time as his opinion, that they were the victims of the general injustice and oppression which reigned at that period, and extended their sway even to the most retired habitations. The emperor Julian himself honoured Alypius with his confidence, and speaks of him with great respect. "As to your conduct in public affairs," says the emperor, "it gives me pleasure to observe the assiduity and humanity which appear in all your transactions; for so to temper lenity and moderation with firmness and fortitude, that the good may experience the benefit of the former, and that the bad may be corrected by the latter, requires no small share of ability and virtue." Alypius composed a geographical work which is said to have gained the approbation of the emperor; but this work has shared the same fate as many other productions of antiquity. Some have ascribed to Alypius the work which Godfrey published under the title of A Description of the Old World, printed in 4to at Geneva; but since the author speaks of Britain, not merely from report, but from his own observation, it is more probable that this Description is an anonymous work published in the reigns of Constantius and Constans.

Alypius, one of the seven Greek writers on music whose works are collected and published, with a commentary and explanatory notes, by Meibomius. The time in which he flourished cannot be precisely ascertained. He is said to have written before Euclid and Ptolemy; and Cassiodorus arranges his work, entitled Introduction to Music, between that of Nicomachus and Gaudentius. In this work is to be found the most complete nomenclature of all the sounds of the different scales and modes of the ancient Greek music which have escaped the wreck of time.

Alypius of Tagasta, a Christian divine, who flourished in the fourth century. In quest of information and improvement, he took a journey into Palestine; and returning home, he soon acquired such general esteem that he was appointed bishop of his native city. In the early part of his life he had adopted the opinions of the Manichees; but after acquiring more extensive information and matured experience, he became a powerful advocate for the Catholic faith. The Donatists flourished about this period, and arrogantly claimed the exclusive honour of being the true church; but he, assisted by his friend Augustin, exerted himself in opposing the tenets of that sect. In the council of Carthage in the year 403, the erudition and talents of Alypius, along with several other eminent divines, were unsuccessfully employed in endeavouring to reclaim them, and to bring them again into the bosom of the church. In 411 Alypius was one of the seven who held a friendly and theological conference with seven of the Donatist bishops. But all the eloquence and strength of argument displayed by these divines, although seconded by the penal decrees of the emperor Honorius, were unsuccessful in producing a recantation of their errors, or a peaceful union with their brethren. In support of the Catholic faith Alypius appears to have vigorously exerted his talents; and it is much to be regretted that the means which he employed for that purpose were not always the most honourable; for in the violence of his zeal he went as deputy from the churches of Africa to the emperor Honorius, in order to obtain severe decrees against the sect of the Pelagians. Although Alypius failed in his attempts to reclaim the Donatists from error, yet he was successful with the emperor in obtaining penal decrees against the Pelagians; in consequence of which their ministers were banished, their churches demolished, Alytarcha and their assemblies discontinued. Alypius died about the year 430.