TRIPOLI TRITON. 



677 



sea by small islands or shoals. The anchorage is 

 neither safe nor convenient. The only fortification 

 consists of an old citadel, a Saracen building, now 

 useless. The plain is covered with mulberry trees, 

 serving for the production of silk, the staple of 

 Tripoli The pachalic of Tripoli comprises a great 

 part of the ancient Phoenicia, and consists of the 

 declivity of Lebanon, with the plain between it 

 and the Mediterranean. See Syria, and Turkey in 

 Asia. 



TRIPOLI. See Clay. 



TRIPOLITZA; before the Greek revolution, 

 the capital of the Morea, and residence of the 

 pacha; at present, according to Anderson (Observa- 

 tions on the Peloponnesus), a heap of ruins, afford- 

 ing shelter to about 800 families; thirty miles 

 north-west of Misitra; Ion. 22 18' E.; lat. 37 

 25' N. It contained several mosques and churches, 

 with 12,000 inhabitants, chiefly Turks. In 1821, 

 it was taken by storm by the Greeks under Colo- 

 cotroni (see Greece, Revolution of), and became the 

 chief city of free Greece, containing a Greek popu- 

 lation of 30,000 souls. Ibrahim Pacha took pos- 

 session of the place in 1825, and, in 1828, exas- 

 perated at the destruction of his fleet at Navarino, 

 razed it to the ground, striking the first blow with 

 his own hand. The walls were levelled, the cita- 

 del blown up, and the churches, khans and mosques 

 demolished, and whatever was combustible was then 

 destroyed by fire. 



TRIPPEL, ALEXANDER, a very distinguished 

 sculptor, was born at Schaffhausen, of poor parents, 

 in 1747, and died at Rome in 1793, where he had 

 lived since 1776. His works are distinguished by 

 deep study of the antique, richness of imagination, 

 accuracy of proportion, and the most delicate work- 

 ing of the marble in the naked parts. 



TRIPPING; the movement by which an anchor 

 is loosened from the bottom, either by its cable or 

 buoy rope. 



TRIPTOLEMUS, in mythology; a son of Oce- 

 anus and Terra, or, according to some, of Trochilus, 

 a priest of Argos. According to the more received 

 opinion, he was son of Celeus, king of Attica, by 

 Neaera, whom some have called Metanira, or Polym- 

 nia. He was born at Eleusis, in Attica, and 

 cured, in his youth, of a severe illness, by Ceres, 

 who had been invited into the house of Celeus by 

 the monarch's children, as she travelled over the 

 country in quest of her daughter. To repay the 

 kindness of Celeus, the goddess took particular 

 notice of his son. She fed him with her own milk, 

 and placed him on burning coals during the night, 

 to destroy whatever particles of mortality he had 

 received from his parents. The mother was as- 

 tonished at the uncommon growth of her son, and 

 she had the curiosity to watch Ceres. She dis- 

 turbed the goddess by a sudden cry, when Tripto- 

 leinus was laid on the burning ashes; and, as Ceres 

 was therefore unable to make him immortal, she 

 taught him agriculture, and rendered him service- 

 able to mankind, by instructing him how to sow 

 corn and make bread. She also gave him her 

 chariot, whit-h was drawn by two dragons; and in 

 this celestial vehicle he travelled over the earth, 

 and distributed corn to all the inhabitants of the 

 world. In Scythia, the favourite of Ceres nearly 

 lost his life ; but Lyncus, the king of the country, 

 who had conspired to murder him, was changed 

 into a lynx. At his return to Eleusis, Triptolemus 

 restored Ceres her chariot, and established festivals 

 and mysteries in honour of the deity. He reigned 



for some time, and, after deatn, he received divine 

 honours. Some supposed that he accompanied 

 Bacchus in his Indian expedition. 



TRISMEGISTUS. See Hermes Trismegistus. 



TRISSINO, GIOVANNI GIORGIO, an Italian poet 

 and scholar, born at Vicenza, of a noble family, in 

 1478, devoted himself to study late in life. De- 

 metrius Chalcondylas, whose memory he honoured 

 with a monument, was his first teacher in Greek. 

 After the death of his first wife, he left his native 

 city for Rome, where Leo X. treated him with great 

 distinction. That prince employed him in several 

 honourable posts, and sent him on embassies to 

 Denmark, the German emperor and Venice. Cle- 

 ment VII. likewise sent him to the emperor Charles 

 V. who received him with favour, and loaded 

 him with marks of his esteem. Meanwhile, Tris- 

 sino had married a second time, and his son by his 

 first marriage had instituted a suit against him at 

 Venice, which, being decided in favour of the son, 

 deprived the poet of a great part of his fortune. 

 Trissino accordingly left Venice for Rome, where 

 he died in 1550. He acquired great reputation 

 among his countrymen by his Sophonisba, the first 

 modern tragedy composed after the rules of Aris- 

 totle (1515). On its first appearance, it was re- 

 ceived with incredible admiration, as a revival of 

 the old Greek dramatic spirit, and was exhibited 

 under the patronage of Leo with great splendour. 

 But this enthusiasm could not last, since So- 

 phonisba was a cold imitation of antiquity, and 

 foreign to the national taste. It, however, con- 

 tains single scenes of merit, but, as a whole, 

 is deficient in vigour, elevation and fire. This 

 tragedy contains the first specimen of Italian 

 blank verse (verso sciolto). Trissino attempted to 

 compose an epic in a similar way, after the model 

 of Homer and the rules of Aristotle. But his Ita- 

 lia liberata dai Goti, although apparently popular 

 in its subject, was too poor in invention and ori- 

 ginality to become a national epic. His lyrical 

 poetry is more happy. He likewise wrote a trea- 

 tise on the Art of Poetry, which displays much 

 learning. The best edition of his works is that 

 published by Maffei (2 vols., 1729). 



TRISTAN D'ACUNHA ; the largest of three 

 islands in the South Atlantic ocean, about 1500 

 miles from any land either to the west or north, 

 very lofty, and about fifteen miles in circumference. 

 A part of the island towards the north rises per- 

 pendicularly from the sea to a height apparently of 

 a thousand feet or more. A level then commences, 

 forming what is termed table land, and extending 

 towards the centre of the island; whencea conical 

 mountain rises, not unlike, in appearance, to the 

 Peak of TenerifFe, as seen from the bay of Santa 

 Cruz. Lon. 15 40' W. ; lat. 37 S. 



TRITCHINOPOLY, a town of Hindoostan, in 

 the Carnatic, capital of a district, sixty-seven miles 

 west of Tranquebar, one hundred and fifty-six 

 south-east of Seringapatam, Ion. 78 50' E. ; lat. 

 10 48' N., is advantageously situated on the south 

 bank of the Cauvery, built on a hill or rock 350 

 feet high, surrounded by double walls flanked with 

 towers, encompassed with a ditch, and was es- 

 teemed by the natives impregnable. It contains a 

 palace, a mosque, and two magnificent Hindoo 

 temples, has a strong garrison, and is the residence 

 of the civil authorities of the district. It was 

 taken by the British in 1751. 



TRITHING. See Ridings. 



TRITON; son of Neptune and Amphitrite; a 



