CIRCASSIA 



1385 



CIRCLE 



and they are made into bundles weighing about 

 ninety pounds, ready for the market. 



An oil of cinnamon is prepared in Ceylon, 

 but the oil of cassia is generally substituted 

 for it. Indeed, because of the wide use of 

 cinnamon in the countries where it is grown, 



CINNAMON 



Leaves, detail of flower, and fruit. 



the cassia bark is often substituted for cinna- 

 mon, to which it has some resemblance. The 

 leaves, the fruit and the root of the cinnamon 

 plant all yield oil of considerable value. That 

 from the fruit, being highly fragrant and thick, 

 was formerly made into candles for the sole 

 use of the king of Ceylon. 



CIRCASSIA, serkash'ia, a name formerly 

 given to the northwestern part of the Cau- 

 casus lying between the mountains and the 

 Black Sea. It now forms a part of Caucasia, 

 one of the great political divisions of South- 

 ern Russia. Although an old country, Cir- 

 cassia's chief historic interest lies in the strug- 

 gle to free itself from Russian rule, which 

 lasted from 1829, when, by the Peace of Ad- 

 rianople, it was ceded to that country, until 

 1864, when its conquest by Russia was com- 

 plete. After this the defeated people emigrated 

 to Turkey in such great numbers that the land 

 was almost depopulated. 



Circassians. The name Circassian applies 

 more particularly to the tribes in the Western 

 Caucasus called Tcherkesses by the Russians 

 and Turks, but Adighes by themselves. As a 

 people they are remarkable for their warlike 

 character, but they possess simplicity of man- 



ner and beauty of form and feature. In these 

 respects they surpass all other tribes in the 

 Caucasus. "Circassian belles" are often re- 

 ferred to when standards of beauty are dis- 

 cussed, and with reason, for this part of the 

 world is famous for its handsome women. 



Although the Circassians are said to have 

 fine mental qualities, they have no written 

 language, but depend on their memories for 

 transmitting from one generation to another 

 their wisdom and knowledge and memories of 

 warlike deeds expressed in verse. This was the 

 custom of people in ancient times. They are 

 for the most part a sturdy and upright race, 

 their great fault being the sale of their daugh- 

 ters to the harems of Turkey and Persia. In 

 religion the upper classes are Mohammedans, 

 but the lower classes practice a curious mix- 

 ture of paganism and Christianity. 



CIRCE, sur'se, in Greek legend a beautiful 

 sorceress, said to have been the daughter of 

 Helios and the sea nymph Perse. For the mur- 

 der of her husband she had been banished to 

 the island of Aeaea, on the coast of Italy. 

 Thither she lured unfortunate travelers, and by 

 means of drugs and enchantments changed 

 them to animals. While Odysseus (Ulysses) 

 and his companions were seeking their way 

 home to Ithaca after the fall of Troy, they 

 came to the island of Circe, where all the 

 companions fell under the spell and were 

 changed to swine. Odysseus himself escaped 

 by using the herb given him by Hermes, and 

 he compelled Circe to restore his companions 

 to human form. The best-known story of 

 Circe is to be found in the Odyssey of Homer. 

 See MYTHOLOGY; ODYSSEY. 



CIRCLE, sur'k'l. A circle is a plane figure 

 bounded by a curved line, all points of which 

 are equally distant from a point within, called 

 the center. 



Parts of a Circle. Circumference. The line 

 which bounds the circle is called the circum- 

 ference, and in popular usage the circumfer- 

 ence is often called the circle. In geography 

 we speak of the equator as a circle, and the 

 meridians and parallels as circles, but in mathe- 

 matics the surface bounded by the circumfer- 

 ence is the circle. 



Radius. The distance from the center of 

 the circle to its circumference is called the 

 radius. 



Diameter. A straight line passing through 

 the center of a circle and terminating at both 

 ends in the circumference is called the diam- 

 eter, a term derived from a Greek word mean- 



