a celebrated Greek philosopher, born probably at Miletus about 470 B.C. He succeeded his master Anaxagoras in the school which he had founded at Lampascus, from whence he afterwards removed to Athens. He was the last representative of the Ionian school, between which and the more practical philosophy that followed, his teaching formed a link of transition. His speculations were chiefly, but not exclusively physical, on which account he received the name of the Physician (ὁ φυσικός), in contradistinction to his contemporaries the Sophists, and his illustrious disciple Socrates. His opinions were, for the most part reproductions of the ideas of Anaxagoras. The following are some of the peculiar physical doctrines ascribed to him. He taught that there was a double principle of all things, namely, the expansion and condensation of the air, which he regarded as infinite. Heat, according to him, was in continual motion; cold was ever at rest. The earth, which was placed in the midst of the universe, had no motion. It originally resembled a wet marsh, but was afterwards dried up; and its figure, he said, was not flat but spherical, which he deduced from the fact that the sun does not become visible at the same time in all places. The sea he regarded as the overflowing of the waters contained within the earth. Animals were produced from the heat of the earth, and even men were formed in the same manner. All animals have a soul, which was born with them, but the capacities of which vary according to the structure of the organs of the body in which it resides. In morals he showed his approximation to the Sophists, by teaching that right and wrong are founded not in nature but on custom.

king of Macedonia, was the natural son of Perdiccas, and ascended the throne after murdering his younger brother, the legitimate heir. His bloody usurpation, however, was followed by a reign devoted to the improvement of his kingdom and the patronage of the fine arts. He was assassinated B.C. 400 by one of his courtiers.

the son of Herod the Great, was declared king of Judaea the second year after the birth of Christ. The dispute with his brother Antipas regarding the succession was referred to the decision of Augustus, who awarded to Archelaus half his father's territory. His brief reign was marked by great cruelty; as an instance of which is recorded his putting to death 3000 persons who had been concerned in a religious outbreak. On fresh complaints exhibited against him by the Jews, Augustus banished him to Vienne in Gaul, A.D. 6, where he died.

the opponent of Sylla, in his wars against Mithridates. He afterwards went over to the Romans, who respected his military talents.

the son of Apollonius, one of the greatest sculptors of antiquity, was a native of Ionia, and is thought to have lived in the time of the Emperor Claudius. He executed in marble the apotheosis of Homer. Kircher, Spanheim, and several other learned antiquaries have given a description of his work. It is now in the British Museum, having been purchased in 1819 for L1000.