A J A 



AJASAI-UCK, a name given bv the Tinks to the 

 ancient Ermsus. The luime cienotcs the temple of tlie 

 moon, and is derived fiom tlic magiiilkciit lli-iiCtuie for- 

 merly dedicated to Diana. 



The ruins of this famous city ferve now merely as a 

 place of aecommodatioii and flieltcr for tlie Ihepherds and 

 ttieir Hocks, and is the occarioiial habitation of birds and 

 healh of ptey. The g-lorioiis pomp, fays Dr. Chandler, 

 (Travels, p. i;5l)of its heathen worlhip is no longer re- 

 membered ; and Chrillianity, which was there nuri'ed by 

 apolHes, and follercd by general councils, until it iii- 

 creafed to fulnels of ftatiire, barely lingers on in an ex- 

 jllence hardly vilible. By this writer it is delcribcd as 

 exhibitiii'7 a very gloomv and melancholy appearance, 

 though not abfolutely \\ithout people. The fires which 

 were lighted in the night among llie bulhes, and round 

 which the villagers coUerted, aflorded a dim profpert of 

 ruin and defolation. A ihriU owl, called Cucavaia from 

 its note, with a night-hawk, flitted near them ; and a 

 jackall cried mournfully, as if forfaken by his compa- 

 nions on the mountain. The biblical critic may podibly 

 confidcr this defcription as a lively comment on the language 

 of the prophet. Zeph. ii. 7, &c. 



AJATOCHTLI, in Zoolo'^y, a name given by Her- 

 nandez to the DASY?us orlociricius, or ein/.'t-/i/ini/al akma- 



DILLO. 



AJAX OiLiADFS, in CLilftcal Bw^raphy, one of the 

 leaders of the Greeks, in the expedition againft Troy, 

 was the fon of Oileus, a powerful chief of the Locrians. 

 Homer (Iliad lib. xiv. v. 520) afcribes to him agility, and 

 a promptitude in executing whatever he undertook, and he 

 is faid to have excelled in tlie life of the bow and javelin, 

 and in fvviftnefs of foot. Horace is by fome commentators 

 fuppofcd to refer to him, Od. xv. 1. i. v. 19. Such was his 

 daring refolution, that even the Gods could not awe and 

 fubdue him. Homer Odyfl". lib. iv. v. 502. 



" Impious he roar'd defiance to the Gods, 



To his own prowefs all the glory gave." 



Popr. 

 The offence which is reported to have incurred the dif- 

 pleafure of the Gods, was his violation ot Caflandra, the 

 •laughter of Priam, in the fanCfuai-y of Minerva, where 

 file had taken refuge. Ajax however denied the fact, and 

 imputed the charge to the artifice of Agamemnon, who 

 withcd to keep Caffandra for himfclf. In his return home, 

 ht and his whole fleet were wrecked by the vengeance of 

 Minerva. Some lay that he cfcaped ; and that in the mo- 

 ment of danger he iinpioufly exclaimed : " In fpite of 

 the Gods, I will efcape." — Homer uhi J'upra. v. 504. 



" The power defrauding who vouchfafed to fave." 



Pope. Gen. Dicl. 



Atai Tclamomus, was the fon of Telamon, prince of 

 Salamis, and one of the principal heroes of tlie Iliad, 

 whom Homer reprefcnts as inferior only to Achilles in 

 Itrength and valour, and as the chief bulwark of the 

 Greeks, after the feceifion of that warrior. " His clia- 

 raftcr," fays a much approved biographer, " fcems to be in- 

 tended as the model of that flcady, agreeable courage 

 which is ever at hand, when its exertions are wanttd, and 

 requires no aid of circumllances to excite its energy. He 

 is the only hero, who neither alks nor receives the aififl;- 

 ance of a deity :" — and his charaftcr is exhibited as a 

 ftriking inllance of impiety and irrcligion. It is faid, that 

 when he was going to the army, his father recommended to 

 )iim always to join the afTiIlance of God to his own per. 



A JA 



fonal courage. Ajax replied, that even rowards tlicm. 

 fclves were very often victorious by fuch aid ; but for liis 

 part he Ihould have no regard, to it, and that he was fure 

 ot being able to coiupier without it. Tliui Sr,pliocles, 

 in Ajace, reprefcnts the matter. Homer, however, partly 

 vindicates liim from the cliargc oi total iiTcligion : for 

 though he did not pray to Jn|)iter himfclf, v.heii he pre- 

 pared to engage the valiant Hedor, he delired others to 

 pray for liini, cither with a low voice, lell the Trojan* 

 ihould hear, or louder if they pleafed ; "for," fays he, " I 

 fear no peifon in the world." Iliad lib. vii. v. 194. \\ iita 

 tlie arms of Achilles were adjudged by the Cireek ciiief- 

 tains to his rival Ulyfles, Ajax was bereaved of his under- 

 Handing ; and full venting his rage againlt a flock of rtiecii. 

 taking them to be (Jrecks, he tlien turned his fword 

 againlt himfelf. Fable re])oi-ts, that the flower called 

 hyacinth fprung from his blood. The Greeks crc£led » 

 noble monument to him on the promontory of Rhoeicuni. 

 Paufanias fays, (lib. i.} that one of their tribes bore the 

 name of Ajax, and that the people of Salamis built a 

 temple to him. Plerodotus (lib. viii. c. 64. c. 121.) in- 

 forms us, that the whole country of Greece invoked him 

 a little before the battle of Salamis, and dedicated to him, 

 as part of the lirll fruits due to the Gods, one of tha 

 lliips which they had taken from the Pcrlians in that 

 battle. Paufanias relates, amonglt other wonderful tnks, 

 that the waves call the arms of Achilles upon the 

 tomb of Ajax, after the fliipwreck of Ulyfles. The fate 

 of Ajax was the fubjctt of feveral eminent tragedies. 

 Gen. bic>. 



In iiis laft martial exploit, when he was endeavouring to 

 prtfen-e and refcue the dead body of Patroclus, and when 

 he was overwhelmed with a mill or darkin.ls, which inter- 

 cepted his view of the Grecian lioit, he made the follow- 

 ing addrefs to Jupiter, which has been much admired for 

 its moral iubhmity : 



" Lord of earth and air. 

 Oh king ! oh father I hear my humble pray'r: 

 Diipel this cloud, the light of heaven rcllorc : 

 Give me to lee, and Ajax aflcs no more : 

 If Greece iiiufl perifh, we thy will obey. 

 But let us perifli in the face of day." 



Iliad lib. xvii. v. 645, 5:c. Pote. 



An ingenious writer has juflly appreciated the charaftei- 

 of this hero. After a concifc abitract of his liiliorv, and 

 a detail of his principal exploits, he adds, " Such k the 

 Ajax of the Iliad : — a hero (as far as fo rude an age ad- 

 mits of heroifiii) /n ^T/^Vi ; tried and proved by every difii- 

 cvdty and danger; not the meteor of a day, but ihining 

 with equal lullrc through the whole period of action ; al- 

 ways in his place ; reloited to on every emergtncv, and 

 never in vain ; not hurried along by idle bravado or en- 

 thiiiiaftic ardinir, but making utility the guide of hi« 

 actions : finally, never yielding but when mortal afGltance 

 was unavailable, and when a htaven-boni champion, with 

 celclliid aid, was necclTary to turn tlie tide of fortune. He 

 may then Hand in the number of ,/iA- and vfvfiil men, whofc 

 value is fuperior to their fame : — a clafs of which tJicrc arc 

 members in every profeflion and rank of life, and to whole 

 affillance, the tirft-rate characters owe great part of their 

 celebrity and fnccefs." 



" Such was tlie Antipatcr of Philip of Macedon :" — 

 " Such was the Labienus of C.efar, the Agrippa of Au- 

 guflus, the Sully of Henry IV., the Cecil of Elizabeth, 

 the Iretcni of Cromwell. Such appear to be the gene- 

 rality of thoiV officers in the Brililli navy, under wliofe 

 3 L 2 conduct. 



