EPIMENIDES 



Epimenides. Greek legendary 

 priest and miracle-worker. A na- 

 tive of Crete and associated with 

 the worship of the Cretan Zeus and 

 Apollo, he was summoned to 

 Athens in 596 B.C. to purify the city 

 from the curse of Cylon (see 

 Alcmaeonidae). He was the author 

 of oracular and purificatory poems, 

 and is supposed to be the "prophet" 

 of S. Paul's epistle to Titus (i, 12), 

 according to whom the Cretans 

 were " always liars." Some regard 

 him as an entirely mythical char- 

 acter. Pron. Epimeni-deez. 



Epinal. Town of France. The 

 capital of the dept. of Vosges, it is 

 situated on both sides of the Mo- 

 selle, 190 m. E.S.E. of Paris. It has 

 various manufactures, and has long 

 been noted for the production of 

 pictures for children. It has ex- 

 tensive quays and promenades. 

 With Belfort, Verdun, and Toul it 

 formed, during the Great War, the 

 first line of the French permanent 

 defences along the lines of the 

 Moselle and the Meuse. The fortress 

 of Epinal was built after the 

 Franco-Prussian War, and was one 

 of France's most important works 

 of defence. There is a monument 

 to the French who fell in the war of 

 1870-71. In the Great War it re- 

 mained in French hands, though it 

 was threatened by the Germans in 

 thejirst three months. Pop. 30,042. 

 Epinay, LOUISE FLORENCE PE- 

 TRONILLE D'ESCLAVELLESD' (1726- 

 83). French author. Born at Val- 

 MMiMnB enciennes, 

 __ J March 11, 



^pffPllfefc 1 1726, she mar- 

 j ried in 1745 

 | her cousin 

 Denis de La 

 Live de Belle- 

 garde, who 

 soon af ter- 

 wards de- 

 serted her. 

 Her charm 

 and literary 

 ability made 

 her many 

 friends among writers of her day, 

 J. J. Rousseau, Voltaire, Diderot, 

 and Grimm among others. For 

 Rousseau she built in 1756 the 

 Hermitage, in the valley of Mont- 

 morency ; the story of their inti- 

 macy is told in his Confessions, but 

 after little more than a year they 

 quarrelled. She died April 17, 1783. 

 Her chief writings were her 

 Memoires, published in 1818, a 

 lively picture of her literary circle 

 and Parisian society, the names 

 being fictitious, and her Conversa- 

 tions d'Emilie, 1774, crowned by 

 the French Academy, 1783. 



Epiphany (Gr. epiphainein, to 

 manifest). Festival of the Christian 

 Church, celebrated on Jan. 6. The 



Louise d'Epinay, 

 French author 



After Liotard 



Epinal. 



The town, looking up the Moselle towards 

 the wooded Vosges Mountains 



English Prayer Book title is The about the 16th 

 Epiphany, or The Manifestation of - - 

 Christ to the Gentiles. Formerly 

 the Epiphany seems to have been 

 part of the festival of Christmas, 

 which lasted twelve days. It com- 

 memorated the manifestation of 

 Christ's birth to the magi (which 

 in medieval times was associated 

 with a mass of picturesque legends), 

 the manifestation of the Trinity at 

 Christ's baptism, and Christ's first 

 miracle at Cana. 



In the Greek Church the festival, 

 a special day for baptism, is known 

 as Epiphaneia, or showing forth. 



In England on this day it was 

 customary for the sovereign to offer 

 gold, frankincense, and myrrh at 

 the altar. Since the time of George 

 III this offering has been made at 

 the Chapel Royal, St. James's, by an 

 officer of the royal household. See 

 Calendar ; Festival ; Twelfth Day. 



Epiphora (Gr., bringing upon, 

 sudden attack). Persistent over- 

 flow of tears down the cheek, usu- 

 ally due to obstruction of the lach- 

 rymal duct. See Lachrymal Gland 

 and Duct. 



Epiphyllum (Gr. epi, on; phyl- 

 /on, leaf). Small genus of climbing 



Epiphyllum. Fleshy branches and 



flowers of Epiphyllum truncatum, a 



Brazilian cactus 



sub -shrubs of the natural order 

 Cactaceae. They are natives of 

 Brazil. They have thin cylindrical 

 steins, 2 ft. or 3 ft. high, with short, 

 fleshy, leaf-like branches, whose 

 broad ends produce large, showy 

 flowers of pink or crimson hue. 



Epiphysis (Gr., on-growth). 

 Part of a bone which develops 

 from a separate centre of ossifica- 



EPISCIA 



tion and is at first 

 attached to the 

 main part of the 

 bone by cartilage, 

 which ultimately 

 is replaced by 

 bone. In the hu- 

 merus, or upper 

 arm bone, for in- 

 stance, the upper 

 end forms an 

 epiphysis which is 

 not united to the 

 shaft by bony 

 union until about 

 the 20th year, 

 and the lower end 

 is another epiphy- 

 sis which unites 

 See Arm; Elbow. 

 Epiphytes (Gr. epi, on ; phyton, 

 plant). Plants which, instead of 

 being rooted in the soil, grow upon 

 the surface of other plants, chiefly 

 trees. Large numbers of the tropi- 

 cal orchids are of this character, and 

 are therefore known as epiphytal 

 orchids. Some ferns and mosses 

 have the same habit. True epi- 

 phytes do not derive any of their 

 nutriment from their hosts, and are 

 therefore often called air-plants. 



Epirus (Gr. epeiros, mainland). 

 Country in the N.W. of ancient 

 Greece. It was bounded by Illyria, 

 Macedonia, and Thessaly on the 

 N. and E., and by the Ionian Sea 

 on the W. The original inhabitants 

 were so-called Pelasgians, like those 

 in other parts of Greece, but the 

 Epi rots of historical times were a 

 mixed race. The most famous king 

 of later times was Pyrrhus (d. 272 

 B.C.), who seriously challenged the 

 power of Rome. In Epirus was 

 the celebrated oracle of Zeus at 

 Dodona. The modern district in- 

 cludes part of southern Albania and 

 northern Greece. In Nov., 1914, 

 Greece occupied North Epirus, but 

 in Nov., 1920, this occupation had 

 not been recognized, nor the future 

 of the country settled. Pop. about 

 250,000. See Albania ; Greece. 



Episcia. Genus of perennial 

 herbs of the natural order Gesner- 

 aceae. Natives of Central America 

 and the West Indies, they have 

 opposite leaves and beautiful fun- 

 nel-shaped flowers. In colour 

 they are white, flesh- tinted, lilac, 

 vermilion, or crimson. 



Episcia. Foliage and bloom of the 

 American plant 



