O'DONNELL 



5824 



OEDIPUS COLONEUS 



the East, and became ruler of the 

 West, nominally as a representa- 

 tive of Zeno, but in reality inde- 

 pendent. >"Zeno, jealous of his 

 success, persuaded Theodoric the 

 Ostrogoth to attack him. Defeated 

 on the Isontius (Isonzo), 489, and 

 at Verona, 490, Odoacer was be- 

 sieged in Ravenna for three years, 

 when he was forced to capitulate. 

 Theodoric at first treated Odoacer 

 'well and accepted him as joint 

 ruler, but on the pretext that he 

 was scheming to regain possession 

 of the whole of Italy, treacherously 

 slew him, March 5, 493. 



O'Donnell, FRANK HUGH MAC- 

 DONALD (1848-1916). Irish nation- 

 alist. Educated at Queen's Univer- 

 sity, Galway, he was elected Home 

 Rule M.P. for Galway in 1874. He 

 was an active partisan of Parnell, 

 but, disagreeing with the Land 

 League, he severed his connexion 

 with the party, and in 1885 retired 

 from Irish politics. He was largely 

 responsible for the legislation which 

 abolished flogging in the army, 

 1879. One oi the founders of the 

 National Democratic League in 

 1899, he was president of it, 1904-6. 

 O'Donnell was a consistent advo- 

 cate of self-government for India, 

 and favoured the inclusion of 

 Indian members in the imperial 

 Parliament. He died Nov. 5, 1916. 



Odontoglossum. Large genus 

 of orchids of the natural order 

 Orchidaceae, natives of tropical 

 America. They have pseudo-bulbs 

 and sword-shaped, more or less 

 leathery leaves. The large, showy 

 flowers are in handsome sprays. 

 They are distinguished by the 

 column being long and narrow, and 

 by the base of the lip being parallel 

 with the face of the column. See 

 Orchid, colour plate ; Orchis. 



Odontolite. Fossilised ivory, 

 the teeth of the mastodon and 

 other extinct species, tinged blue 

 by impregnation with phosphate 

 of iron, or green by copper. It is 

 known as bone turquoise or occi- 

 dental turquoise, and when cut en 

 cabochon much resembles the true 

 gem ; but it is softer, appears dull 

 grey by candle-light, and bleaches 

 in alcohol. 



Odontology (Gr/odotw, tooth ; 

 logos, science). Science relating to 

 the teeth. See Dentistry ; Teeth. 



Odontprnithes. Name given 

 to a fossil toothed bird. Though 

 living birds have no teeth, there 

 are embryonic evidences of their 

 descent from toothed birds, the 

 odontornithes. Fossil remains of 

 the latter, which include the arch- 

 aeopteryx and ichthyornis, are 

 found in Cretaceous and Jurassic 

 beds. The teeth of these fossil 

 birds closely resemble those of 

 present-day reptiles. 



Odysseus. Greek form of the 

 name of the hero called in Latin 

 Ulixes and later Ulysses. In Greek 

 legend, he was king of Ithaca, one 

 of the leading heroes on the Greek 

 side in the Trojan war, and the 

 type of a resourceful and versatile 

 leader. Many tales were told of his 

 artful devices. During the war 

 Odysseus distinguished himself not 

 only by his prowess in the field, 

 but by his wisdom. 



His wanderings after the fall 

 of Troy are the theme of the 

 Odyssey. Having reached Ithaca, 

 he found that during his absence 

 his wife Penelope had been plagued 

 by about 100 suitors for her hand, 

 who had quartered themselves in 

 the royal palace. Disguised as a 

 beggar, and making himself known 

 only to his son Telemachus and a 

 trusty swineherd, Eumaeus, he 

 made his way to the palace, and 

 was discovered by an old nurse. 

 Penelope, apprised of the return of 

 her husband, agreed to give her 

 hand to the suitor who should be 

 able to bend the great bow of 

 Odysseus. He alone succeeded, and 

 then turned its arrows upon the 

 suitors, whom he slew with the 

 help of Athena and Telemachus. 

 Odysseus was unwittingly slain by 

 Telegonus, his son by the enchan- 

 tress Circe. See Homer, to 



Odyssey. Greek epic poem in 

 24 books dealing with the 10 years' 

 wanderings of Odysseus on his 

 way home after the fall of Troy. 

 After relating Odysseus' many 

 surprising adventures, such as 

 those with the lotus-eaters, the 

 Cyclops, the enchantress Circe, the 

 shades of the dead, the Sirens, the 

 nymph Calypso, the Phaeacians, 

 and other strange happenings, the 

 poem ends with his return to his 

 native Ithaca. Whatever may be 

 the secret of its authorship, the 



Odontornithes. Reconstruction of 

 skeleton of Ichthyornis victor, one- 

 quarter actual size 



Odyssey is a rich storehouse of 

 ancient folklore and romance, and 

 one of the world's masterpieces of 

 literature. There are verss trans- 

 lations by Pope and others, and a 

 prose translation by S. H. Butcher 

 and A. Lang. See Homer. " 



Oecumenical. Term of Greek 

 origin, meaning " of the whole 

 world." It is applied to a Church 

 council to which bishops from all 

 countries have been summoned, or 

 whose decisions have been accepted 

 by the universal Church. See 

 Council. 



Oedema (Gr., a swelling). 

 Effusion of fluid into the tissues of 

 the body. See Dropsy. 



Oedipus (Gr., swollen foot). 

 In Greek legend, son of Laius, king 

 of Thebes, and Jocasta. An oracle 

 having declared that Laius would 

 perish at the hands of a son born 

 of Jocasta, Oedipus, at birth, was 

 exposed on the mountains with his 

 feet pierced. There he was found 

 by shepherds, by whom he was 

 taken to Polybus, king of Corinth, 

 who brought up Oedipus as his 

 own son. The Delphic oracle de- 

 clared that he would slay his father. 

 Oedipus happened to meet Laius, 

 and in a sudden brawl killed him 

 without suspecting his identity. 



At this time the Sphinx (q.v. ) 

 was plaguing Thebes by devouring 

 everyone who failed to answer a 

 riddle. The Thebans proclaimed 

 that the kingdom and the hand of 

 Jocasta would be the. reward of the 

 man who rid the country of the 

 monster. Oedipus essayed the ad- 

 venture, and when the Sphinx 

 propounded the riddle : What is 

 the being which has four feet, two 

 feet, and three feet; but its feet 

 vary, and when it has most feet it 

 is weakest ? Oedipus answered that 

 it was man. Enraged at receiving 

 the correct answer, the monster 

 threw herself from the rock. Oedi- 

 pus thus became king of Thebes, 

 and unwittingly married his own 

 mother, by whom he had children. 

 A plague then ravaged the land, 

 and an oracle having declared that 

 the plague would continue until 

 the slayer of Laius was found, 

 Oedipus set himself to discover the 

 murderer, and learnt the truth 

 from the prophet Tiresias. Jocasta 

 hanged herself, and Oedipus put out 

 his own eyes. The story is handled 

 in the two great plays by Sopho- 

 cles. Among modern dramatists, 

 Corneille, Dryden, and Voltaire 

 have treated the subject. See 

 Antigone ; Sophocles. 



Oedipus Coloneus (Oedipus at 

 Colonus). Tragedy by Sophocles. 

 It takes its name from the grove 

 of the Eumenides at Colonus, near 

 Athens, whither the blind and 

 weary Oedipus is led by his 



