PLUTO 



4712 



PLYMOUTH 



one Greek and one Roman, and are famous as 

 models of intimate, living biography. In the 

 Middle Ages they were the inspiration of in- 

 numerable tales, romances, poems and treatises; 

 they were used by Shakespeare and other Eliza- 

 bethan dramatists, and are yet looked upon as 

 an important source of our knowledge of an- 

 tiquity. 



Plutarch's other writings, Moralia, consisting 

 of philosophical and ethical discussions, are 

 quaint and pleasant, but not important. Many 

 of these are in the form of dialogues and dis- 

 cuss in the light manner of "table talk" of 

 that day such topics as /'How a Young Man 

 Ought to Read Poetry," "Rules for the Care 

 of Health" and "Advice to the Married." In 

 the Lives, however, is to be found some of the 

 most serious work in ancient literature. They 

 are not rendered dull by severe scholarship, 

 but are keen character sketches, each offering 

 a lesson in public morality and honesty. Be- 

 cause of their influence over many famous men 

 they have been called "the food of great souls." 



PLUTO, ploo'toh, also called HADES, ORCUS, 

 or Dis, in Greek mythology, was the ruler of 

 the lower world. He was the brother of Jupiter 

 and Neptune, and the portion of the universe 

 which fell to his lot well suited his gloomy 

 disposition. His palace was within the earth 

 a dark and dreary place, to which, sooner or 

 later, all mankind came. The god was not 

 really cruel, but he was very jealous of his 

 power, and since he never yielded to petitions 

 to allow the dead to return to earth, he be- 

 came an object of detestation to all men. Few 

 temples were erected to him, though all feared 

 him so much that they dared not refuse to wor- 

 ship him. That with all his severity Pluto was 

 capable of affection and longed for it in return 

 is shown by the story of Proserpina, whom he 

 carried off to be his queen (see PROSERPINA). 

 Since gold, silver and the other metals were 

 found hidden in the earth, Pluto was regarded 

 as the god of riches, though in this capacity he 

 was usually called Plutus. The English word 

 plutocrat is thus traced back to this old myth. 



Related Subjects. The following articles in 

 these volumes will make clearer the references In 

 this discussion of Pluto : 

 Cerberus Neptune 



Hades Proserpina 



Jupiter 



PLUTUS, ploo'tus, in Greek mythology, the 

 god of riches. He was the son of lasion (Jason) 

 and of Demeter (Ceres), goddess of agricul- 

 ture. Because he bestowed his gift of wealth 



only on the good and noble, Zeus struck him 

 blind so that none should be favored, but good 

 and bad alike receive riches. In art Plutus is 

 usually represented as a child held in the arm? 

 of a goddess, especially Pax, the goddess of 

 peace, who befriended him when he was de- 

 serted by his parents. The word plutocrat, 

 meaning a person who exercises power because 

 of his riches, comes from Plutus. 



PLYMOUTH, plim'uth, a seaport and well- 

 fortified naval station in Devonshire, England, 

 about which is centered much of historical in- 

 terest. From Plymouth, Sir Francis Drake in 

 1577 set sail on his trip around the world, and 

 Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583 started from 

 there on his second colonizing expedition to 

 America. The town was also the last port vis- 

 ited by the Mayflower when it carried the Pil- 

 grims to a new Plymouth in the New World. 



The place is a Parliamentary and county 

 borough, and is situated at the head of Plym- 

 outh Sound, between the Plym and Tamar es- 

 tuaries, 231 miles southwest of London. West 

 of it are the township of East Stonehouse and 

 the borough of Devonport, the three being 

 known as the "Three Towns." Among the 

 many interesting public buildings of Plymouth 

 are the Municipal Museum and Art Gallery, 

 the Royal Naval Hospital, Saint Andrew's 

 Church, which is nearly five hundred years old, 

 and the Guild Hall. Shipbuilding and fisheries 

 are the most important industries, and the port, 

 in normal years, has a prosperous foreign trade. 

 Population in 1911, 112,030; of the Three 

 Towns, 207,446. 



PLYMOUTH, MASS., famed as the first per- 

 manent English colony in New England, was 

 founded in December, 1620, by the Pilgrim 

 Fathers. The town, which is a port of entry 

 and the county seat of Plymouth County, is 

 situated thirty-seven miles southeast of Boston, 

 on Plymouth Bay, an inlet of Massachusetts 

 Bay. Transportation is furnished by the New 

 York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, and 

 by electric interurban lines, and in summer 

 boats make regular sailings to Boston. In 1910 

 the population was 12,141 ; in 1916 it was 13,- 

 743 (Federal estimate). 



Plymouth extends nearly fourteen miles along 

 the bay and five miles inland. Plymouth Rock, 

 sheltered by a small, open granite structure, is 

 near the boat landing. Among many historical 

 features are Leyden Street, along which the 

 first cabins were built, the Town House, and 

 Burial Hill, where the fort and meeting house 

 and watchtower stood, and where many of the 



