a city of the Austrian kingdom of Hungary, in the province of the Farther Danube. It is the capital of a circle of the same name (called also Soprony-Barmegye in Hungarian), which extends over 1269 square miles, and comprehends three cities, forty-one market-towns, and 200 villages, with 185,700 inhabitants. It stands on the river Ikva, and is a well-built town, with one Lutheran and two Catholic churches, a monastery and a nunnery, 820 houses, and 12,650 inhabitants, of whom about 5000 are Protestants. It is an industrious place, with manufactures of cotton, woollen, silk, and linen goods, besides glass-houses, sugar refineries, and iron forges; and the neighbourhood yields some good wine. Long. 17. 28. 11. E. Lat. 47. 40. 36. N.

CEDIPUS, an unfortunate king of Thebes, whose history is partly fabulous. He flourished about 1266 before Christ. It is said he was given by his father to a shepherd, who was ordered to put him to death, in order to prevent the misfortunes with which he was threatened by an oracle. But the shepherd, being unwilling to kill him with his own hands, tied him by the feet to a tree, that he might be devoured by wild beasts. The infant was however found in this situation by another shepherd named Phorbas, who carried him to Polybus king of Corinth, whose queen, having no children, educated him with as much care as if he had been her own son. When he had grown up, he was informed that he was not the son of Polybus; upon which, by order of the oracle, he went to seek for his father in Phocis; but scarcely had he arrived in that country when he met his father on the road, and killed him without knowing him. A short time afterwards, having delivered the country from the monster called the Sphinx, he married Jocasta, without knowing that she was his mother, and had four children by her; but afterwards, being informed of his incest, he quitted the throne, and, thinking himself unworthy of the light, put out his eyes. Eteocles and Polynices, both celebrated amongst the Greeks, were the issue of this incestuous marriage.