A T H 



Athis, in jinrl-nl Geography, a town of Afia, fitunte 

 on the wtllcin bank of the Euphrates, fouth-well of Mice- 

 phorium. 



ATHLET7E, in jlutiquity, perfons of ftrength and 

 agihty, difciphncd to perform in the pubh'c games. The 

 word is formed from a6xo?, ccrtamen, combat ; whe.ice alfo 

 e;5xo», thepii~e, or reivard, adjudged to the viclor. 



Under athletse were comprehended vvrelUers, boxers, 

 runners, Icapcrs, throwers of the dillc, and thofe pradtited 

 in other extrcifes exhibited in the Olympic, Pythian, and 

 other folemn fports; for the conquerors in which there were 

 cftablifhed prizes. 



From the rive ufual exercifes, the athleta: were alfo deno- 

 minated OT>iv1.i?>'.», and by the Latins qu'wqmrtiones ; at leail 

 fuch as profcfTed them all. 



Thofe who were defigned for this profeflion, frequented 

 the gymnalia or pahftne from their youth ; and tb.ey vyere 

 obliged to fubmit to the moll Uriel dilciphne and abilemioiis 

 re"-imen. Their fare was coarfe and fcaiuy ; they were pro- 

 hibited the uf>.- of wine, and enjoined coutineuee ; and thus 

 Horace (Art. Poet. v. 412.) defcribes them : 



♦' Qiii iludct optatam curfu contiiigere rpctam, 

 Multa tulit fecitque puer ; fndavit et alfit ; 

 Abilinuit venere, et vino." 

 The apollle Paul, in his firll epiftle to the Corinthians 

 (ch. ix. 25.) enforces temperance by an alhifion to the 

 athletx ; and Tertullian encourages the martyrs by the 

 fame reference. But when the privilege of being fupportcd 

 at the public expence, was granted to fuch of the athlete' as 

 were vidlorious, they abandoned their habits of abftincnce 

 and exercife, and indulged themfelves to a verj- (hameful 

 degree of indolence and of gluttony. Before their exer- 

 cifes, their bodies were rubbed with oils and various unguents, 

 in order to render them fupple and vigorous; and thty 

 praftifed a kind of noviciate in the gymnafia for feveral 

 months, that by previous application and praclice they might 

 be fit for the conteils in which they engaged. At tirft 

 they made ufe of a belt, with an apron annexed to it, for 

 the fake of decency ; but they afterwards laid afide this 

 coverincr, and engaged in feveral of the combats naked. 

 To this infult on public decency, fome of the beft writers 

 of antiquity have attributed that infamous pafiion, to the 

 indulgence of which the Greeks were notorionfly addicled. 

 The women, indeed, v,ere prohibited from approaching the 

 places where thefe public games were celebrated. Before 

 they were admitted to the combat, they were examined as 

 to their birth, for none but Greeks were admitted ; as to 

 their condition, which was required to be free ; and as to 

 their manners, which were to be irreproachable. The name 

 and country of each champion were regiltered, and a herald, 

 before the commencement of the contcft, proclaimed their 

 names. They folcmnly vowed not to employ any unfair 

 means, and to conform to the eftablifhcd regulations by 

 which the games were condufted. 



ATHLETIC Crown. See Crown. 

 Athletic Habit denotes a Uroiig hale conftitution of 

 body, v.hich was the objcdt the atlilctss aimed at, and to 

 which their diet corrcfponded. 



Athi ETic Weight. See Weight. 



ATHLONE, \n Geography, the moil confiderable town of 

 the coimty of Wellmeath, in Ireland, fituated on the river 

 Shannon, over which it ha^alongbridge of many arches, fo that 

 it was formcrlv an important pafs into the weftern province. 

 It is pnitly in the coimty of Rofcommon, and is the moll 

 central town in the illand. Notwitlillanding its advanta- 

 geous fituation for trade and improvement, it is fald to be 

 in many parts a poor, ruinous, dirty looking place. In (he 



A T H 



middle of the bridge is a monument, with fome figure;;, to- 

 gether with queen Elizabeth's efcutcheon of arms, and fome 

 infcriptions declaring the time and founders of the building. 

 The callle, which was on the Rofcommon fide, called the 

 Iridl town, was built by king John, on a higli raifcd round 

 hill refembling a Danifli rath or fort, fo as to command the 

 bridge and the adjacent country'. This was long the refid- 

 tnce of the lord prefidents of Cpnnaught, who held in it 

 their courts of julfice. In the time of the civil war, it was 

 ftroiigly fortified onboth fides of the river; and the Englifliun- 

 der tlie lord prelidtnt ilood a long fiege in the caftle, in 1641 

 and 1642. During the whole of this melancholy period, 

 it was a place of great ftrength and importance, generally 

 in the pofTcflion of the Iri!h or Catholic party ; till, in 1651 

 it was taken by fir Charles Coote, at the head of the par- 

 liamentary forces. After the defeat of James the Second 

 at the Boync, his adherents remained at Athlone, and hav- 

 ing dellroyed the Englidi town which was eaft of the Shan^i 

 non, and broken the bridge, refolved to maintain the Irilh 

 diftricl on the weil. For this purpofe they ftrongly en- 

 trenched themfelves ; and in the following year the general 

 St. Ruth took his llation with the main army behind the 

 town. The Englifli, under Gincklc, fuccecded however 

 in paffing the river after many unfuccefsful attempts, and 

 bv a furprihng effort of valour got pofTtlTion of the town 

 and callle, wliicli was in great meafure to be attributed to 

 the careleffuefs and confidence of St. Ruth, the French ge- 

 neral. Geiieial Ginckle receiv.d a title from the town, 

 wh'ch is dill enjoyed by his defcendants. W. long. 7° 49'. 

 N. lat. 53° 21' 30". 



ATHLOTHETA, in Antiquity, an officer appointed to 

 fuperintend the public games, and adjudge the prizes. 



The athlotheta was the fame with what was otherwife 

 called afyntnela, brabetita, agonarcha, agonotheta, &c. 



ATHNACH, the name of one of the principal of the 

 Hebrew accents,., which ferves not only to regulate the 

 voice, but to diftinguilh the members of a fentence, whence 

 its name athnach, i. c. rcfpiratio : on this account it is called 

 iing, znd pin/fi; and anfwers to our colon, and fometimcs to 

 a note ot interrogation : it is marked under a letter thus 



ATHOL, in Geography, the moft norlliern diftritl of 

 Perthihire, in Scotland ; extending about 43 miles in length, 

 and 30 in breadth, and bounded on tlit noitli by Badenoch, 

 on the weft by Lochaber, on the eaft and fouth-eaft by 

 Mar and Gowrie, on the fouth by Stratherne and Perth 

 proper, and on the fouth-wcft by Braidalbane. It is moun- 

 tainous, and contains part of the ancient Caledonian foreil ; 

 but the mountains are interfperfed with fruitful vallies. 

 It has feveral villages, but no towns of any in portancc. 

 The moft famous places are Blair callle, feated on the river 

 Tilt, near its influx into the Gurry, an agreeable llream that 

 flows into the Tay, and belonging to the duke of Athol, 

 whofc title is derived from the diftrift ; and the pafs of 

 Gillicranky, memorable on account of the battle fought 

 here in the beginning of king William's reign, between his 

 general M' Kay, and the highlanders who adhered to king 

 James. 



Athol, a townfliip of America, in Worcefter county, 

 MatTachufettr., comprehending 16,000 acres of rocky land, 

 and watered with llreams and rivers, and containing 848 in- 

 habitants ; 35 miles north-well from Worccfter, and 72 from 

 Bofton. 



ATHOR, or Athyr, in Mythology, the name of one 

 of the moil ancient divinities of Egypt; fignifying in the 

 Coptic language, " night." By this name th.e priefts did 

 not origiaally mean to denote the obfcurity which is occa- 



iioned 



