A T H 



A T H 



encountered his enemies for nine fncceflive years, according 

 to the. ftatement of tlie regilkr of Athclney, he was at 

 length reduced to tlie iieceflity of feeking refuge from thdr 

 violence in this, little ifland. Afte:- h^' had left li-.i'; retire- 

 ment, and his enemies were totally defeated, he rounded a 

 monaftery for Benedieline mo.;k.s, o.i thi- fpot which had 

 given him flitlter, and dedicated it to the honour oi St. 

 Saviou: and St. Peter the apolUe, and endowed t!>.e ellabiiili- 

 mcnt with the whole ifle of Athclney (amounting tj ahout 

 two acres of firm land), exempt from taxes and all otiicr 

 burdens. In procefs of time other privileges and benefac- 

 tions were conlered on the monks, and confrmed by d-fler- 

 eiit kings and nobles. 



ATHEL3TAN, in B'mgraphy, king of England, was 

 of illegitimate biril'., and yet, being of mature age and ca- 

 pacity, fucceed<d his father Edward the elder, in p.-cfe/ence 

 to his lawful children, in the year 925. Soon after his ac- 

 ceiTion, he marched to Northumberland in order to quell fome 

 commotions among the Danes, and conferred the title of king 

 onSithric, aDaniih nobleman: but, upon the death of Sithric, 

 when his two fons A:'.laf and Godfrid, or Guthfert, aflumed 

 the regal authority without his confent, he expelled them 

 both ; one taking refuge in Ireland, and the other in Scotland. 

 The proteftion afforded to the latter by Conftantine, king of 

 Scotland, brought on a war, which terminated fo much to the 

 difadviintage of Conftantine, that he was obliged, for the pre- 

 fervation of his crown, to do homage to Athelftan. Hoftili- 

 ties, however, were renewed ; and a confederacy was formed 

 by Conftantine, Anlaf, and fome Welch pnnces, whofe 

 united forces were totally defeated by Athelftan, at Brunan- 

 burgh in NortliumbeilanH, A. D. 938. In confequence of 

 this viiElory, the king of England enjoyed his crown without 

 moleftation ; and having governed the kingdom with great 

 ability, he died at Gloucefter in 941, after a reign of fixteen 

 years, and was fucceeded by his brother Edmund. In this 

 reign commerce was greatly encouraged, and a law waa 

 paffed, conferring the rank of thane on every merchant who 

 had made three fea-voyages on his own account. Athelftan, 

 with a view of further facilitating and promoting commerce, 

 eftablifhed a mint, or mints, in every town in England tiiat 

 had any confidcrable foreign trade, fo that the merchants 

 might have an opportunity of converting the bullion which 

 they brought home for their goods into current coin, with- 

 out ranch expcnce or trouble. Thefe towns were London, 

 Canterbury, Winchefter, Rochefter, Exeter, Lewes, Haf- 

 tings, Chiehefter, Southampton, Wareham, and Shaftef- 

 burv. By thefe and fimyar regulations the ftiipplng and 

 feamen of England were fo much mcreafed, that Athelftan 

 maintained the dominion of the fea, and obliged the Danifti 

 and Norwegian princes to court his friendihip. Hume's 

 Hift. vol.i. p.i02, &c. Henry's Hift. vol. iii. p. 94, &c. 

 fol. iv. p. 22;, &c. 



ATHEMON, in Entomology, a fpecies of Papimo. 

 (Plib. rur. Linn. ; Hefperia Fabr.) The wings are entire 

 and brownilh. 



ATHENA, in the ylnrienl Pbyfic, a plafter or liniment, 

 commended agaiuft wounds of tlie head and nerves, of 

 which we find defcriptions given by Oribafius, iEhus, and 

 ..ffigineta. 



ATHENjE, \n Ancient Geography. See Athens. 



Athene is alfo a name given to various other places : 

 as, a town of Arabia. Pliny. — Alfo, a place at the euftern 

 extremity of the Euxine fea, where was a temple of Minerva. 



Arrlan Alfo, a town of the Peloponnefus, in Laconia. 



Steph. By7.. and Suidas. — Alio, a place of Afia Minor, in 

 Caria. Steph. Byz. — Alfo, a town of Greece, in Boeotia, 

 fituate on the river Triton, overwhelmed, according to 



Strabo, by an inundation.— Alfo, a town of Acarnania : 

 another of Liguria ; another of Italy : and another of Si- 

 cily. Steph. Byz. 



ATHEN^A, in Ant'iqmty, a feaft of the ancient Greeks, 

 held in honour of Minerva, who was called A&r,»>i. Thefe 

 were afterwards called Panathen.ea. 



ATHEN/EA, in Botany (probably from AthcniEUs). 

 Schreb. 661. Iroucana. Aubl. Guian. 127. Clafs, oSan- 

 drlu mono'^ynia. Gen. Char. Ca/. perianth one-leafed, co- 

 lour; d, five-parted ; parts oblong, acute, ereft, fpreading 

 at top. Cor. none. Stam. filaments eight, filiform, ereft ; 

 of which five are of the lengtli of the calyx, the three al- 

 ternate ones a little ftiorter; anthers fagittate; eight plumofe 

 brifUes, Ihorter than the filaments, grov.ing together with 

 the filaments to a gland furrounding the germ. Pijl. germ 

 fwperior, ovate, furrounded at the bafe by an annular gland; 

 ftyle fetaceous, longer than the ftamens ; ftigma dcprefttd, 

 five-parted. Per. capfule glohole, one-celled, three -valvcd ; 

 valves fomewhat fleiliy ; feeds three to five, rounded, covered 

 with a pulpy-coloured membrane, affixed to the receptacle 

 in the bottom of the capfule. 



Eff. Gen. Char. Ca/. coloured, five-parted. Cor. none ; 

 briftles tight, feathered, between the filaments ; ftigma five- 

 parted ; capfule globofe, one-celled, thrte-valvtd. Strdsy 

 three to five. 



Species. A. gu'mnen^s. Iroucana guianenCs. Aubl.l. c. 1. 12. 

 This is a branching Ihrub with a ftem four or five inches 

 in diameter, covered with a wrinkled gray bark ; leaves al- 

 ternate, ovate, fmooth, toothed, deciduous, four inches long; 

 petioles very ftiort, having a fmall fharp ftipule on each fide 

 of the bafe ; flowers in bundles, from the axils, and upon 

 the tubercles of the ilem and branches, each on a peduncle ; 

 calyx white ; there is no corolla ; feeds covered with a vifcid 

 membrane, of a fcarlet colour ; the bark, leaves, and fruit 

 are (harply aromatic ; the latl, by the Creoles, is called 

 Gaffe d'talle. A native of Cayenne, and the neighbouring 

 continent of Guiana, growing in a fandy foil, about half a 

 mile or more from the ftiore. 



ATHENyEUM, m Antiquity, a public place wherein the 

 profeflorsof the liberal arts held their affemblies, the rheto- 

 ncians declaimed, and the poets rehearfed their verfes. 



The word is derived from Athens, a learned city, where 

 many of thefe aflemblies were held ; or from the name of 

 Minerva, A6c,v«, goddefs of polite arts and fciences ; inti- 

 mating, that AthcuEum wai a place confecrated to Mi- 

 nerva, or ratlier fet apart for the excixifes over which {he 

 prefides. 



The Athenxa were built in form of amphitheatres ; and 

 were all encompaffed with feats, which Sidonius calls cunei. 



The three moft celebrated Athenasa were tliofe at Atliens, 

 at Rome, and at Lyons : the lecond of which, according to 

 Aurelius Vidtor, was built by the emperor Adrian, for the 

 accomodation of the profeffors of the liberal arts, and of 

 thofe who wanted to read their writings before a confidcrable 

 number of peopV. It appears from the beginning oi Juve- 

 nal's Satires, thnt this manner of leading in public was very- 

 common ; and th?.t Fronto lent ihe ufe of his houfe and 

 gTrdens to the poets, who had occa-fion to recite their verfes 

 before a numerous audience. This was done by others ; 

 but as it bel jnged to t!ie perfon, who widied to read his 

 compofitioi.s, to f urnifh the room, and to pay the charge of 

 the feats, it is probable, that the emperor Adri.m, for the 

 encouragement of works of tafte and (cience, conftrufted 

 the Athenxum with a view of obviating this inconvenience. 

 Hence tlie name has been applied to all Linds of buildings 

 or colleges intended for teaching th? fciences and lan- 

 guages. 



ATHEN.£US, 



