566 



CUPJD CURDS. 



CUPID ; a celebrated deity among the ancients ; 

 the god of love, and love itself. There are different 

 traditions concerning his parents. Cicero mentions 

 three Cupids ; one, son of Mercury and Diana ; 

 another, son of Mercury and Venus ; and the third, 

 son of Mars and Venus. Plato mentions two. 

 Hesiod, 



one 



time as 



to the more received opinions, two Cupids, one of 

 whom is a lively, ingenious youth, son of Jupiter and 

 Venus, whilst the other, soil of Nox and Krebus, is 

 distinguished by his debauchery and riotous disposi- 

 tion. Cupid is represented as a winged iniant, naked, 

 rmed with a bow, and a quiver full of arrows. On 

 gems and all other antiques, he is represented as 

 amusing himself with some childish diversion. Some- 

 liint-N he appears driving a hoop, throwing a quoit, 

 playing with a nymph, catching a butterfly, or with 

 u lighted torch in his hand. At other times, he plays 

 upon a horn before his mother, or closely embraces 

 a swan, or, with one foot raised in the air, he, in a 

 musing posture, seems to meditate some trick. Some- 

 times, like a conqueror, he marches triumphantly, 

 with a helmet on his head, a spear on his shoulder, 

 and a buckler on his arm, intimating that even Mars 

 himself owns the superiority of love. His power 

 was generally shown by his riding on the back of a 

 lion, or on a dolphin, or breaking to pieces the thun- 

 derbolts of Jupiter. Among the ancients, he was 

 worshipped with the same solemnity as his mother, 

 Venus, and his influence was extended over the 

 heavens, the sea, and the earth, and even the empire 

 of the dead. His divinity was universally acknow- 

 ledged, and vows, prayers, and sacrifices were daily 

 offered to him. According to some accounts, the 

 union of Cupid with Chaos gave birth to men, and 

 all the animals which inhabit the earth ; and even 

 the gods themselves were the offspring of love, be- 

 fore the foundation of the world. See Amor. 



CUPOLA (ItaL), in architecture ; a hemispheri- 

 cal roof, often used as the summit of a building. 

 The Italian word cupola signifies a hemispherical roof, 

 which covers a circular building, like the Pantheon 

 at Rome, and the round temple at Tivoli. Many of 

 the ancient Roman temples were circular ; and the 

 most natural form of a roof for such a building 

 was that of a half globe, or a cup reversed. The 

 invention, or at least the first use, of the cupola be- 

 longs to the Romans ; and it has never been used 

 with greater effect than by them. The greater part 

 of modern cupolas (unlike those of the ancients, which 

 are mostly hemispherical) are semi-elliptical, cut 

 through their shortest diameter. The ancients sel- 

 dom had any other opening than a large circle in the 

 centre, called the eye of the cupola ; while the mo- 

 derns elevate lanterns on their top, and perforate 

 them with luthern and dormant windows, and other 

 disfigurements. The ancients constructed their cupo- 

 las of stone ; the moderns, of timber, covered with 

 lead or copper. Of cupolas, the finest, without any 

 comparison, ancient, or modern, is that of the Ro- 

 tundo or Pantheon at Rome. Of modern construc- 

 tions, some of the handsomest are the cupola on the 

 bank of England, that of St Peter's at Rome, those 

 of St Paul's, London, the Hotel des Invalides, and 

 the church of St Genevieve at Paris, Santa Maria da 

 Fiori at Florence, and St Sophia at Constantinople. 



CURACAO ; an island in the Caribbean sea, 

 about 75 miles from the continent of Soutli America, 

 belonging to the Netherlands; 30 miles long, and 

 10 broad ; producing sugar and tobacco, also large 

 nd small cattle ; but not generally fertile. It has 

 several good ports, particularly one on the southern 

 coast, calleJ St Barbara, where a great trade was 



formerly carried on by the Dutch in African slaves. 

 Lon. (59 26' \V. ; lat. 12 N. ; population, 8500. 

 The principal towns are Curasao and Williamstadt. 

 The city of Curasao is well situated, and elegantly 

 built. It is full of store-houses, and provided with 

 every species of merchandise. Williamstadt is con- 

 sidered the capital. 



CURASSOA ORANGES (aurantia curassaventia), 

 or small oranges fallen from the tree long before 

 their maturity, liave properties similar to Uiose of 

 the orange peel : they are, however, more bitter and 

 acrid. They are used in the United States and in 

 England for the same purposes as the orange peel, 

 and also as issue peas. 



CURDS ; a wandering people, divided into many 

 tribes, and dwelling in the country which lies 

 between the foot of mount Caucasus and the Black 

 Sea, and stretches to the sources of the Tigris and 

 Euphrates. Their incursions into the Russian terri- 

 tories liave been checked by the troops on the frontier, 

 and they liave preferred to leave Persia rather than 

 to become settled and tributary to the shah. They 

 are Mohammedans, but neither of the Turkish nor 

 Persian sect. The most unprincipled part of the 

 Curds are the Yezides, who esteem the plunder ot 

 caravans, murder, theft, and incest lawful. There are 

 no Armenian Cliristians among this people, who, in 

 spite of the repeated demands of the pacha, liave 

 never paid to the Porte either poll-tax or taxes on 

 their property (win). They, however, sometimes 

 propose to the Porte the persons whom they wish as 

 pachas and beys, and the Porte has never tailed to 

 comply with their request. It is said that the Curds 

 are descended from the Usbeck Tartars or from the 

 Mongols ; but their external appearance is very 

 unlike that of the Tartars. The Curds wear" a cloak 

 of black goatskin, and, instead of a turban, a high, red 

 cap. The Turkish dress is never worn, because they 

 consider that it would mark them as vassals of the 

 sultan. The young men wear mustacliios ; the old 

 men suffer their beards to grow. The Curd is a good 

 rider, and uses his lance with skill. He is fond of 

 music, and sings in ballads the exploits of his nation. 

 There are some of this people settled in the plains 

 of Armenia, but no branch acknowledges itself 

 tributary to the Porte. If the winter among the high- 

 lands proves too cold for the wild mountain Curd, he 

 descends to these plains, and lives in low tents of 

 dark, coarse linen. An enclosure made of reeds, near 

 his tent, surrounds the place where he keeps his cat- 

 tle, which he has brought from the mountains. 



This people, who live by plunder, respect the 

 rights of hospitality, and usually make their guest 

 some present when he departs. The patriarchal 

 authority of parents is very great. A son never 

 marries without their consent. Although otherwise 

 so deficient in moral principle, they believe that no 

 one can refuse the request of an unfortunate man 

 without being punished by God. Mithridates, king 

 of Pontus, took advantage of this belief to supply the 

 losses of his army in his wars with the Romans. The 

 more wonderful the escapes of the unfortunate 

 individual, the more confident are they Uiat he will 

 experience a change of fortune. On this account, 

 these mountains are the refuge of the enemies of 

 the Turkish pachas ; and they often return from 

 them more formidable than they were before. Pot- 

 tage, milk, and honey form the principal food of the 

 Curds. They drive annually to Constantinople alone 

 1,500,000 sheep, and goats in flocks of 15002000, 

 the shepherds being from fifteen to eighteen months 

 on the road, in going and returning. 



Northern Curdistan produces grain, sulphur, and 

 alum ; the southern and warmer parts of the country 

 produce corn, rice, sesamum. fruits, cotton, tobacco, 



