HYMETTUS HYPERSTHENE. 



25 



nuptial torch. He was in the train of Venus, and 

 among the companions of Cupid. No marriage took 

 place vithout his being invoked to sanction it. He 

 is described as having around his brows the flower of 

 marjoram, in his left hand the flame-coloured nuptial 

 veil, in his right the nuptial torch, and on his feet 

 golden sandals. Song and dance accompany him. 

 At the death of Adonis, Bion describes him as ex- 

 tinguishing his torch, and tearing the nuptial wreath. 

 I f we may believe the beautiful hymn of Catullus to 

 this god, Hymen has his seat on Helicon, among the 

 muses. 



HYMETTUS; a mountain in Attica, now called 

 Trelovouno, distinguished for the quantity and excel- 

 lence of its honey, which the bees here collect. 

 This honey is always fluid. Jupiter, who was wor- 

 shipped on this mountain, received therefrom the 

 name of Hymettius. 



HYMN ; a song of praise, which was sung in 

 honour of gods or heroes, on festivals, with the 

 accompaniments of music and dancing. The hymns 

 varied in name and character, according to the gods 

 in whose honour they were sung. They were called 

 dithyrambics, peeans, &c. Afterwards, every song 

 of praise, or ode, wherein any thing elevated or 

 sublime was sung, went by this name. In this re- 

 spect, many of the Hebrew psalms are to be called 

 hymns. In consequence of their Oriental character, 

 and the nature of their religion, these breathe a 

 more fervid spirit of devotion than those of the 

 Greeks. These last were anciently almost entirely 

 epic, like those of Homer. They recounted legends 

 of the gods, as well as the deeds of men. Those of 

 later times, of Callimachus and Pindar, for instance, 

 are almost entirely lyric. The early Christian hymns, 

 are, in a great measure, lyric, and express the feel- 

 ings of one who longs earnestly for invisible things. 

 The English hymns, commonly sung in the churches, 

 are, generally, far from having the original character 

 of a hymn, and devoid of the fervent lyric strain, the 

 glowing feeling, which characterize it. In the Greek 

 and Latin church, certain songs are called hymns (in 

 the latter ninety-six in number), which, at certain 

 periods, are sung in the churches standing, the psalms 

 being sung sitting. The first of these hymns are said 

 to have been composed in the Greek church by bishop 

 Hierotheus, in the Latin church by St Hilarius, bishop 

 of Poitiers, and, after him, by St Ambrosius, bishop 

 of Milan. Some of them must be ranked among the 

 first productions of sacred poetry. The popes Gela- 

 sius and Gregory also composed hymns, as did also 

 Synasius, Cosmus of Jerusalem, Johannes Damas- 

 cenus, Theophanes, Prudentius, Beda, Sedulius, 

 Paulinus, Venantius, Fortunatus, Paulus Diaconus, 

 Thomas Aquinas. The fervent hymn, by which the 

 Franciscans greet the first rays of the sun, is cele- 

 brated. These old hymns are written in iambics, 

 trochees, &c., often in irregular metre, also in rhymes. 

 In 1629, pope Urban VIII. improved them. The use 

 of hymns was sanctioned by the fourth council, at 

 Toledo, in 633. They are sung in the canonical 

 hours, (q. v.) Several of these hymns have parti- 

 cular names, as Hymni Epistolici, sung in- the mass 

 before the reading of the epistles ; Hymni Evange- 

 lici, sung before the reading of the gospel ; Hymnus 

 Ambrosianus, or Te Deum laudamus ; Hymnus An- 

 gclicus, the same with Gloria in Excelsis Deo (see 

 Doxology) ; Gloria Patri (see Doxology) ; Hymnus 

 Marianus, the same with the Magnificate, &c. 



HYPATIA ; a female philosopher of the eclectic 

 sect, the daughter of Theon, a celebrated mathema- 

 tician, who governed the Platonic school in Alex- 

 andria, towards the close of the fourth century, at 

 which period she was born. As she early exhibited , 

 proof of extraordinary genius and judgment, her ' 



father, besides educating her in all the accomplish 

 ments of her own sex, made her mistress not only of 

 the different branches of polite learning, but of geo- 

 metry and astronomy, as then understood. She finally 

 studied philosophy; and such was her reputation, 

 that she became a preceptress in the school in which 

 Ammonius, Hierocles, and other celebrated philoso- 

 phers, had presided, and the votaries of philosophy 

 crowded to Alexandria. Her ready elocution and 

 graceful address, united with deep erudition and 

 sound judgment, procured her the admiration of all 

 her hearers. She discovered none of the vanity or 

 pride of learning, and, although eminently beautiful, 

 was equally virtuous. Her house became the resort 

 of all the persons of learning and distinction in Alex- 

 andria, and, among others, of Orestes the governor. 

 At this time, the patriarch of Alexandria was Cyril, 

 a prelate in the highest degree intolerant and 

 haughty, who was guilty of encouraging the populace 

 to plunder the Jews. Orestes laid the affair before 

 the emperor, who declining to interfere, Alexandria 

 became a frequent scene of tumult between the par- 

 tisans of the governor and of the bishop. The inti- 

 macy of the governor with Hypatia aroused the anger 

 and jealousy of Cyril ; and in consequence she was 

 much calumniated by his monkish partisans and the 

 Christian populace. Their blind resentment at length 

 led them to a conspiracy against her life, and a furi- 

 ous band of assassins seized upon her, as she was 

 returning home from the schools, dragged her through 

 the streets of Alexandria, stripped her naked, and 

 finally tore her limb from limb, with circumstances 

 of the greatest barbarity, and committed her mangled 

 members to the flames. This infamous transaction 

 took place in 415, under the reign of Theodosius II. 



HYPERBOREANS (those who dwelt beyond the 

 domain of Boreas or the north wind); the name 

 given by the ancients to the unknown inhabitants of 

 the North and West, who were reported always to 

 enjoy a delightful climate. In earlier times, the 

 dwelling of Night and the realm of Shades, and the 

 Cimmerians, who lived in perpetual darkness, were 

 placed in the west. Instead of these, the ancients 

 found there a contented and somewhat civilized peo- 

 ple, who inhabited a soil rich in gold, and free from 

 the cold north winds of G reece, against which the 

 Alps and Pyrenees appeared to screen them. Hence 

 originated the report of a people enjoying perpetual 

 health and long life ; and who, being the especial 

 favourites of Apollo, worshipped him, with music 

 and sacrifices, on plains rich in fruit, and protected 

 from the north wind, and who, for thousands of years, 

 lived in a perpetual succession of pleasures. As the 

 West gradually became better known, the name of 

 Hyperboreans was applied exclusively to the North. 



HYPERION. See Titans. 



HYPERMNESTRA ; one of the fifty daughters 

 of Danaus, who married Lynceus, son of ^Egyptus. 

 She disobeyed her father's bloody commands, who 

 had ordered her to murder her husband the first night 

 of her nuptials, and suffered Lynceus to escape un- 

 hurt from the bridal bed. Her father summoned her 

 to appear and answer for her disobedience, but the 

 people acquitted her, and Danaus was reconciled to 

 her and her husband, to whom he left his kingdom at 

 his death. Some say that Lynceus returned to Argos 

 with an army, and that he conquered and put to death 

 his father-in-law, and usurped his crown. 



HYPERSTHENE; a mineral principally found, 

 in rolled masses, upon the coast of Labrador, and 

 hence sometimes called Labrador hornblende. It has 

 a lamellar structure, parallel with the diagonals and 

 sides of a rhombic prism of 87 and 93. The clea- 

 vage takes place most readily parallel to the short 

 diagonal of the prism, and the planes, produced by 



