AMOKITES. 



AMPHI'CTYONS. 



of it till required for use, M they keep much better in their natural 

 envelope : 100 ports of belt cardamom* yield 74 parts of Mod and 24 



of hiulu. Thie kind of cardamom*, called the small or leeaer, preeenU 

 three varieties in oommeroe ; namely . idiorU, short-long*, and long-longs, 

 placed in the order of their merit. The ftrat and beet are about three 

 to six line* long; the eecond, about nix ; the lant, from seven lineatoan 

 inch. Trommsdorf analysed the amall cardamom*, and obtained 

 twwntial oil, 4'0; fixed oil. 104; a Halt (probably malate) of potash, 

 combined with colouring-matter, 2'6 ; feculk, 8-0 ; nitrogenous mucilage, 

 with phosphate of lime, 1'8 ; yellow colouring-matter, 0-4 ; and woody 

 :. ';; L 



The fixed oil somewhat reeemblee cantor oil The excellence of 

 the specimen depends on the volatile nil ; this is small in inferior 

 kind* ; the ,be*t yield about 64 drachma for every pound of the 

 fniit. Jamaica cardamoms yield only four scruples for one pound of 

 fnu'U Like oil of turjieutine, lemon, sc., it consists only of carbon and 

 hydrogen. 



Ceylon cardamoms, or larger, sometimes termed long, are produced 

 in that island ; but some of the less valuable of the Malabar fruits are 

 termed Ceylon cardamoms. The name of "grains of paradise" is 

 sometimes given to this plant. One kind of " grains of paradise " is 

 from an African plant Amonutm Gratia- Paradim (Smith); the other 

 from A. Mrlft/ufiia (Roscoe), cultivated in Demerara. Grains of para- 

 dise are used to sharpen vinegar, beer, liquors, Ac., and brewers 

 who hare them in their possession are liable to heavy penalties. 

 [ADULTERATION.] The duty on grains of paradise was reduced from 

 2*. per Ib. to 15. per cwt. by 5 & 6 Viet. c. 47. 



Cardamoms are in great favour in the East as a spice, and also as an 

 aromatic stimulant in the treatment of disease. In Europe, they are 

 as highly esteemed as carminative and stomachic agents. Dr. Christison 

 observes that they form irt of eighteen officinal preparations, besides 

 their own tinctures. 



AMORITES, the most powerful tribe of the Canaanitee, or the 

 aborigines of Palestine. The name Amorites seems sometimes to be 

 lined for all the Canaanites who were the descendant* of Ham, through 

 Canaan, Sidon, and Heth. (Gen. x. 15 20.) The Amorites are men- 

 tioned among the ten nations whose country was given to the seed of 

 Abraham. (Gen xv. 19 21.) The original Amorites dwelt chie8y in 

 the mountains, which afterwards belonged to the tribe of Judali. 

 (Numbers xiii. 29 ; Deut. i. 20.) The name has been said by Simonsis 

 and Gesenius to mean ' mountaineer.' Some Amorites dwelt in the 

 plains bordering upon the tribe of Dan, and others between the rivers 

 Jordan and Arnon. At the time of Hoses the river Aniou was the 

 border between Moab and the Amorites on the south, the Jordan on 

 the west, and the Jabbok on the north, separated them from the 

 kingdom of Bashan, and the Great Desert and the territory of the 

 Ammonites formed their eastern boundary. (Numbers xxi. 13.) Of 

 the cities of the Amorites it was said to the people of Israel, " Thou 

 shall save alive nothing that breatheth : but thou shalt utterly destroy 

 the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, 

 as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, that they teach you not to 

 do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods." 

 (Deut. xx. 16-18.) The Amorites were attacked by the four confederate 

 kings who took Lot captive (Gen. xiv. 13 ; Joshua x. 11), slew great 

 numbers of them, and more died stricken with hailstones from heaven. 

 But after all this, the Amorites retained so much power, that they 

 forced (B.C. 1425) the children of Dan into the mountain, for they 

 would not suffer them to come down to the valley. The remarkable 

 fact, that the Israelites conquered the mountains sooner than the 

 plains is explained (Judges i. 19) : it was because the inhabitants of 

 theplains had chariots of iron. 



The Gibeonites (to whom seven descendants of Saul were delivered 

 by David about the year B.C. 1020, that they might revenge themselves 

 for Saul's atrocities) were of the remnant of the Amorites whom Joshua 

 had made hewers of wood and drawers of water. (Joshua ix ; 2 Samuel 

 xx.) Moses and the children of Israel slew two kings of the Amorites, 

 namely Sihon, who dwelt at Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, in the 

 plain east of Jordan. These kings had refused to let the Israelites pass 

 through their borders. (Judges xi. 18-23.) Still the Amorites were not 

 extirpated, and their descendants formed, even during the time of the 

 Maccabees, a distinct tribe ; for we read in Josephus (' AntiqiuV xiii. 

 chap. 1.) that the Amorites from Medaba fell suddenly upon the corjw 

 of Johannes Gaddis, when he was conveying the baggage of the Jewish 

 host, according to the command of his brother Jonathan, and killed 

 him. 



The Amorites were of tall stature. According to Amos (ii. 9) they 

 were high as cedars and strong as oaks. This poetical description is 

 illustrated by the historical statement, that the size of the iron bed- 

 steed of the Amoritish king, Og of Bashan, was nine cubits by four. 

 (Dent, lit 11.) The rabbins have some wild legends respecting him ; 

 but it may be concluded that in ancient times the natives of Syria 

 exceeded in stature the inhabitant* of the desert and of Egypt. 



AMPELIC ACID. (C,,H.O.). Obtained by the action of nitric acid 

 upon the oily products of the destructive distillation of bituminous 

 hale and of coal. Picric acid and a flocculent matter are collaterally 

 formed, but on evaporating the liquor the two latter substances are 

 first deposited. On then neutralising with ammonia, evaporating to 

 dryness, and extracting with alcohol, ampelate of ammonia is dissolved. 



From the aqueous solution of this salt, nitric acid precipitates ampelic 

 acid in a flocculent condition. 



Ampelic acid is a white inodorous solid, insoluble in cold and only 

 very sparingly soluble in hot water. Boiling alcohol and ether dinxolve 

 it readily. It fuses at 600* P., and may be distilled without decompo- 

 -it ion. It is isomeric with salicylic acid. 



AMPK1.INK. .i brownish-yellow liquid rXwmbling creosote, found 

 amongst the oily products of the destructive distillation of bituminous 

 shale. It is soluble in water, does not solidify at 4* F., and cannot 

 IK' distilled alone without decomposition. 



AMPHI'CTTONS, members of a celebrated council in :. 

 Greece, called the Ampl> u.-il. 



According to the popular story, this council was founded 1 

 phictyon, son of Deucalion, who lived, if he lived at all, many centuries 

 before the Trojan war. It is supposed by a writer quoted by Pausanias, 

 X. 8, to derive its name, with a slight alteration, from a \\ ..; ,1 signifying 

 ' settlers around a place.' Strabo, who professes to know nothing of 

 its founder, says that Acrisius, the mythological king of Argos, fixed 

 its constitution, and regulated its proceedings. Amidst the darkness 

 which hangs over it* origin, we discover with certainty, that it was 

 one of the earliest institutions in Greece. No full or clear account has 

 been given of it during any period of its existence by those who hod 

 the means of informing us. The fullest information is .-"]] 

 ^Eschines the orator; but before any attempt is made, by tin- h< i|. ! 

 some short notices from other writers, and of conjecture, to trace its 

 earlier history, it may not be amiss to state what is certainly known of 

 this council as it existed in his time. 



According to .lEschines, the Greek nations which had a right i i- 

 represented in the council were twelve, though he only names eleven. 

 the Thessalians, Boeotians, Dorians, Ionian*, Perrhtcbians, Magnesjons, 

 Locrians, (Etteans, Phthiots, Malians, Phocians: the tv 

 probably the Delphian*. Each nation was represented by certain 

 sovereign states, of which it was supposed to be the parent : thu- 

 Sparta, conjointly with other Dorian states, represented the I 

 nation. Amongst the state* thus united in representing their < onmion 

 nation, there was a perfect equality. Sparta enjoyed no rape! 

 over Dorium and Cytinium, two inconsiderable towns in 

 the deputies of Athens, one of the representatives of the I nian nat ion , 

 sat in the council on equal terms with those of Eretria in I 

 of Priene, an Ionian colony in Asia Minor. From a rather doubtful 

 passage in ^Eschines, ' De Fals. Leg.' 43, compared with a statement in 

 Diodorus, xvi. 60, it seems that each nation, whatever might !< ilio 

 number of ita constituent states, had two, and only two votes. The 

 council had two regular sessions in each year, meeting in the spring at 

 Delphi, and in the autumn near Pylsc, otherwise called Therm, s 

 but special meetings were sometimes called before the usual time. 

 From its meeting at PyUc, a session of the Amphictyons was called a 

 I'ylica, and the deputies were called Pylagonc, that is, councillors at 

 PyUc. There were also deputies distinguished by the name of Hiero- 

 mnemons, whose office it was, as their name implies, to attend to n 

 pertaining to religion. Athens sent three Pylagora and 

 mnemon. The former were appointed for each session ; the latter J.M- 

 bably for a longer period, perhaps for the year, or two sessions. The 

 council entertained charges laid before it in relation to offences com- 

 mitted against the Delphic god, made decrees thereupon, ami api 

 persons to execute them. These decrees,, as we learn from Diodorus, 

 xvi. 24, were registered at Delphi. The oath taken by the deputies 

 bound the Amphictyons not to destroy any of the Amphiet; 

 or to debar them from the use of their fountains in peace or war ; to 

 make war on any who should transgress in these particulars, ami t 

 destroy their cities ; to punish with hand, foot, voice, ami with all 

 their might, any who should plunder the property of the god (the 

 Delphic Apollo), or should be privy to, or devise anything against that 

 which was in his temple. This is the oldest form of the Amphiotyoak 

 oath which has been recorded, and is expressly called by ^Gschines 

 the ancient oath of the Amphictyons. It has inadvertently been 

 attributed to Solon by Mr. Mitford, who lias ap|rently confounded it 

 with another oath imposed on a particular occasion. An ordinary 

 council consisted only of the deputed Pylagonc and HieromiMnMni; 

 but on some occasions at Delphi, all who were present with the 

 Amphietyonic deputies to sacrifice in the temple and consult the oracle 

 of the god, were summoned to attend, and then it received the name 

 of an ecrltfia or assembly. Beside the list of Amphietyonic nations 

 given by ./Kschines, we have one from Pausanias which differs a little 

 from that of ^Eschines, and another from Harpocration whieh differs 

 slightly from both. Strabo agrees with the orator as to the number 

 being twelve. It is further remarkable, that whilst Machine* places 

 the Thessalians at the head of his list, Demosthenes, ' De Pac.' p. 62, 

 expressly excludes them from a seat in the council. 



has left us much in the dark as to the usual mode of 



proceeding in the Amphietyonic sessions ; and we shall look else 

 in vain for certain information. It should seem that nil the Pylagom 

 sat in the council and took part in iU deliberations ; but if the common 

 opinion mentioned above, respecting the two votes allowed to each 

 nation, be correct, it is certain that they did not all vote. The regu- 

 according to which the decisions of the twelve nations were 

 made can only be conjectured. \Ve know that the religious matters 

 which fell under the jurisdiction of the Amphietyonic body were 



