AGO 



AGOCtLTASTRO, 01- AcutLASTRO, in Cfo^^rtiph, a 

 fiiiiiU iflaud in ihe Meditcn'ancun ; llircc miles iiDnli fiom 

 cajie BarbaroiTa in Saalinia. 



AGOL, a town of AfiicA, in the iippei Ethiopia. 



AGOMISO, an idand in Jiunci's bay, near its wellcni 

 coal), north north-eall from Albany fort. 



AGOMPHIASIS, or GoMPHiAsis, a diftemper of the 

 teeth. It confilts in their being loofc in their foekets. 



AGON, in Aniiqii'.ty, a difpute or conteft for the 

 mailery, eiilier in fome exerciU: of the body or of the 

 jniiul. 



There were agones on certain days, in niofl of the ancient 

 fealls, and other ceremonies in honour of the gods, or 

 heroes. 



There were alfo agones eflablilhed exprefsly, .and not at- 

 tached to any other folemnity. — Such >vas the agon gynimctis, 

 ct jVthens ; the t>f;on Nemaus, inlUluted by the Argians in 

 the 55d Oiy.:ipiad ; the agon Olympitis, iniUtuted by Her- 

 cules, 430 years before the hril Olympiad ; the agon Acln- 

 antilis, inlUtuted at Athens, by the emperor Adiian, called 

 JlxjyAi.'^ix, nci.v'/Xri'Ax, and Oau/x— iw Afjfiavia. 



The Romans had alfo agones inllimted after the example 

 of the Greeks : the emperor .iVurclian eilablilhed the agon 

 foils, agon of ihe fun ; and Dioclefian, the agon capiloliniis, 

 which was lield every fourth year, after the manner of the 

 Olympic gan\es. — Hence the years, inflead of hijlra, are 

 fomctimes numbered by agones. The agon ifehijiais, iiifti- 

 tuted at Puzzuoli by the emperor Antoninus Pius, andlield 

 evei-y fifth year, was a lacvcd combat, and the victors at it 

 were called hkromde : they were to be received into the city, 

 through a breacli in the wall, made on pm-pofe." The agon 

 niifuus was that wherein either poets, or muficians, difputed 

 for the prize ; fuch was that dedicated by Ptolemy to 

 Apollo and the, Mufes, with rewards affigned to the writers 

 who gained the viftory. Of this kind were alfo found feme 

 in the Pythian, Nemxan, and liUimian games ; alio in the 

 Olympic games, after Nero's time, who firll introduced a 

 jmdical agon here ; others were foimded by the emperor Do- 

 jnitian, and others at Rome, Naples, Alba, &c. The agon 

 Neromanus was a quinquennial combat, called alfo Ntroman, 

 from the name of its inititutqr, who here bore away the pri:ce 

 for playing on the harp, citbara. 



Agon is alfo ufed for a place near the Tyber, othenvife 

 called circus Flaniinhis, wherein curule games and combats 

 were celebrated. 



Agun is alfo ufed by Phyficutns for the llruggle of 

 death. 



Agon was alfo a minifler of facrifice, whofe bufinefswas 

 to ftrike the vittim. The name is luppofed to have been 

 derived hence, that Handing ready to give the ilroke, he 

 aiked fljon, or agone, fliall Ijlrilic: ? 



The agon was alfo csWeA popa, cullranus, and vi^imariiis. 



Agon, in Geography, an illand in the noith part of Hal- 

 fnigland, one of the provinces of Sweden, which has a good 

 harbour and Ikilful mariners. It is in that part of the Baltic, 

 called the Bothnia Gulph. N. lat. 61° 20'. E. long. 18". 

 lo'. 



AGONALES, in ylutirputy, an epithet given to the 

 Salii, conleerated by Numa Pompilius to the god Mars, 

 furnamed Crai/ivus. 



They were ,alfo called ^ilnnahs, from the Mons ^liri- 

 7i<ilis, where they officiated. Rolmus calls them jf}gonenfes 

 Salii. 



AGONALIA, in Antiquity, feafts celebrated by the 

 Romans, in honour of Janus ; or, as fome would liave it, 

 iti lionour of tlie god Agatuui, wliom the Romans ufed to 

 Vol. I. 



AGO 



invoke upon their undertaking any bufinefs of importance. 

 They appear to have been inilitutcd by Numa, and held 

 tlirice in the year, viz. on the fLflli of the ijlcs of Jnnirdry, 

 on the twelftli of the calends of June, and the third of the 

 ides of December. Struv. Ant. Rom. c. 8, 



AGONALIS CiRCi's, now tlie Piazza Navona, is one 

 of the mod magnificent areas in Rome, near 80 common 

 paces in breadth, and abovit jliSo in length, adorned with tiiree 

 jlately fountains, which ferye to keep the air trefh and cool, 

 and with noble ftatuea, viz. Neptune by Bernini, the Tiitoa 

 and Dolphin by Michael Angelo, the Damibe by Clam'.e, 

 the Ganges by Baretti, the Nile by Fancelli, and Rio dc 

 la Plata by Raggi ; all of which are of white marble, and 

 alfo the obeliilv of Caracalla of Egyptian marble, and covered 

 with hieroglyphics, wliich was eredted here by Innocent X. 

 in 1651, The rcafon of annexing the epithet Agonalis 10 

 this Circus is not afcertained. Ovid fecms to derive it from 

 the Agones, or folemn games, fuppofcd to have been the Iiidi 

 Apollliiares, or Acliaei, inllituted by Auguilus, from which 

 circumllance the Circus was called Apollinaris, and it waj 

 alfo denominated A!exanilniutus, from Alexander Severus, 

 who either incloied or repaired it. . 



AGONATA, in Entomology, the fointh clafs of infecli 

 in the fyftem of Fabricius ; comprehending the cancer, the 

 pr.gurus, the hippa, the fcyllarus, the. allacus, the fquilla, 

 and the gammarus. Linnx'us has included the infcds of 

 this dais under the genus of cancer. 



AGONE. See Henbane. 



AGONES, in Anc'icnt Geography, a people who, accord- 

 ing to Mela, inhabited that dillricl of the Milanele, now 

 called /(( val ds Gogna. Polybius (1. ii. p. 103.) places them 

 in the Celtic Gaul, near Sens. Acaunum was their capital. 



Agones, an ifland near the mouth of the Anas. 



AGONIUS, in Mythology, a name given to Mercury, 

 becaufe he prefided over the Agonalian games, of which he 

 is faid by fome to have been the inventor. See Agon alia. 



AGONISMA, in Ani'iquiiy, .the palm or prize given to 

 the viftor iji a game or combat. 



AGONISTARCHA, oi-aXuii, comlal, and ajx^'i '^^^^f> 

 in Antiquity, feems to have been much the fame with agono- 

 theta ; though fome Cuggeil a difference, making it the office 

 of the former to prefide at, and .dire£l the private exereifes 

 of the athletic, which they went tlirough by way of practice, 

 before they made their appearance on tlie public theatres or 

 amphitheatres. 



AGONISTIC, (igonflica, the fclence of what relates to 

 the combjits or agones .oS ,\\xt anpients- 



In which fenfe, aganijl'ic amounts to much the fame wlj.h 

 athletic, and makes a branch of gymnafl'ics. 



Agonistic, ayi^nciwv, is alfo ufed among A/icieni Phy^. 

 Jicians, for cold fpring-water. 



The reai'on of the denomination is taken from the plen- 

 tiful ufe of that element in the Ihite of an acute ery iipelaceoua 

 fever, wherein, water was fuppofcd to combat and ilruggle 

 with the febrile heat. 



AGONISTICI, in Ecchjuiftical H'ljlory, a name given 

 by Donatus to thofe of his ieCf, whom lie lent into the 

 neigiibouring places, fairs, markets, &c. to preach his doc- 

 trine ; for which reafonthey «ere alio called a/Ytt/Voriv, cw 

 celliones, catrop'itii, coropitic, and, at Rome, monlenfes. 



They were called agoii'ijl'ici , fiom aim, combat ; becaiifs 

 they were fent, as it were, to light, and fubdue the people 

 to their opinion. 



AGONlUM, in Roman Antiquity, was ufed for the d;'.y 

 whereon the rex faeroruv) facrificed a viclim. The fame name 

 was alfo given to the place wherein the games weit anciently 

 celebrated. 



3 Q AGONNA, 



