A S U 
its name was Cyrus; and Harpagus, being fent to deftroy 
it, preferved it: which Aftyages after a long time hearing 
of, he caitfed Harpagus to eat his own fon. Harpagus 
c'alled in Cyrus, who dethroned his grandfather, and there¬ 
by ended the monarchy of the Medes. See Media and 
Persia. 
ASTY'ANAX, a fon of Heftor and Andromache. He 
was very young when the Greeks befieged Troy ; and, 
when the city was taken, his mother faved him in her arms 
from the flames. UlylTes, who was afraid left the young 
prince fhould inherit the virtues of his father, and one 
day avenge the ruin of his country upon the Greeks, fei- 
zed him, and threw him down from the walls of Troy. 
According to Ettripcdes, he was killed by Menelaus; and 
Seneca fays, that Pyrrhus the fon of Achilles put him to 
death. Heftor had given him the name of Scamandrius; 
but the Trojans, who hoped lie might prove as great as his 
father, called him Aftyanax, or the ‘ bulwark of the city.’ 
Homer , Virgil, Ovid. An Arcadian, who had a ftatue in 
the temple of Jupiter, on mount Lyceus. Pan/. A fon 
of Hercules. Apollod. A writer in the age of Gallienus. 
ASTY'DAMAS, an Athenian, pupil to liberates. He 
wrote 240 tragedies, of which only fifteen obtained the 
poetical prize. Alfo a Milefian, three times victorious at 
Olympia. He was. famous for his flrength, as well as for 
his voracious appetite. He was once invited to a feaft by 
king Ariobarzanes, and he ate what had been prepared 
for nine perfons. Athe. Two tragic writers bore the fame 
name, one of whom was difciple to Socrates. And a co¬ 
mic poet of Athens. 
ASTYDA'MIA, daughter of Amyntor, king of Or- 
clvomenos in Bceotia, married Acafhis, fon of Pelias, who 
was king of Iolchos. She became enamoured of Peleus, 
fon of JEacus, who had vifited her lmfband’s court; and, 
becaufe he refuted to gratify her paflion, the accufed him 
of attempting her virtue. Acaftus readily believed his 
wife’s accufation; and, as he would not violate the laws 
of hofpitality, by punilhing his gueft with inflant death, 
he waited for a favourable opportunity, and difiembled 
his refentment. At laft they went in a hunting-party to 
mount Pelion, where Peleus was tied to a tree, by order 
of Acallus, that he might be devoured by w[ld beads. 
Jupiter was moved at the innocence of Peleus, and fent 
Vulcan to deliver him. When Peleus was fet at liberty, 
he marched with an army againft Acaftus, whom he de¬ 
throned, and punifhed with death the cruel and falfe Afty- 
damia. She is called by fome Hippolyte. Apollod. Pindar. 
A daughter of Ormenus, carried away by Hercules, by 
whom Ihe had Tlepolemus. Ovid. 
AS'TYLUS, one of the centaurs, who had the know¬ 
ledge of futurity. He advifed his brothers not to make 
war againft the Lapithae. Ovid. A man of Crotona, who 
was victorious three fucceflive times at the Olympic games. 
ASTYMEDU'SA, a woman whom Oedipus married 
after he had divorced Jocafta. 
ASTY'NOME, the daughter of Chryfes the prieft of 
Apollo, fometimes called Cryfeis. She fell to the fhare 
of Achilles, at the divifion of the fpoils of Lyrneflus. 
Alfo a daughter of Amphion. Hygin. 
ASTY'NOMI, in Grecian antiquity, magiftrates in 
Athens, correfponding to the tediles of the Romans; they 
w'ere ten in number. See _<3£dile. 
ASTY'OCHE, or Astyo'chia, a daughterof Aftor, 
who had by Mars Afcalaphus and lalmenus, who were at 
the Trojan war. Homer. A daughter of Phylas king of 
Ephyre, who had a fon called Tlepolemus, by Hercules. 
Hygin. A daughter of Laomedon, by Strymo. Apollod. 
A daughter of Amphion and Niobe. Id. A daughter of 
Simois, w ho married Erichthonius. Id. The wife of Stro- 
phius, fifter to Agamemnon. Hygin. 
A'SUM, or Of'fion, a town of Africa, on the fea- 
coaft of the kingdom of Adel. 
ASUMAT'Z, a town of Wallachia, eight miles eaft 
of Bnchoreft. 
ASUN'DER, adv. [afundran, Sax.] Apart; feparately; 
2 
A S Y 459 
not together.—Two indirect lines, the further that they 
are drawn out, the further they go afunder. Sperjer. 
The fall’n archangel, envious of our ftate, 
Seeks hid advantage to betray us worfe ; 
Which, when afunder , will not prove too hard. 
For both together are each other’s guard. D'ydtn. 
ASWAD', a town of Arabia, twenty-eight miles fouth 
of Saade. 
ASY'LUM,yi [ afyle , Fr. of a.<rv\o'j, Gr. of a priv. and 
<tv'ayi , a prey.] A fanttuary, or place of refugjs., where cri¬ 
minals fhelter themfelves from the hands of juftice. The 
afyla of altars and temples were very ancient; and like -, 
wife thofe of tombs, ftatues, and other monuments, of 
conftderable perfonages. Thus, the temple of Dian a ac 
Ephefus was a refuge for debtors, the tomb of The feus 
for Haves. Among the Romans, a celebrated afylum was 
opened by Romulus between the mounts Palatine and Ca- 
pitoline, in order to people Rome, for all forts of perfons 
indiferiminately, fugitive flaves, debtors, and criminals of 
every kind. The Jews had their afyla ; the moft remark¬ 
able of which were, the fix cities of refuge, the temple, 
and the altar of burnt-offerings. 
It was cuftomary among the heathens to allow refuge 
and impunity even to the vileft and moft flagrant offend¬ 
ers; fome out of fuperftition, and others for the fake of 
peopling their cities: and it was by this means, and with 
fuch inhabitants, that Thebes, Athens, and Rome, were 
firft flocked. We even read of afylums at Lyons and Vi¬ 
enne, among the ancient Gauls; and there are fome cities 
in Germany which ftill preferve the ancient right of afy- 
lum. Hence, on the medals of feveral ancient cities, par¬ 
ticularly in Syria, we meet with the infeription A 2 YAOL 
to which is added IEPaI. This quality of afylum was 
given them, according to M. Spanheim, in regard to their 
temples, and to the gods revered by them. 
The emperors Honorius and Theodofius granting the 
like immunities to churches, the bifhops and monks laid 
hold of a certain trail or territory, without which they 
fixed the bounds of the fecular jurifdfition : and lo well 
did they manage their privileges, that convents in a little 
time became next akin to fortrefles; where notorious of¬ 
fenders were in fafety, and braved the power of the ma- 
giftrate. Thefe privileges at length were extended not 
only to the churches and church-yards, but alfo to the bi- 
fhops’ houfes; whence the criminal could not be removed 
without a legal aflurance of life, and an entire remiffiou 
of the crime. The reafon of the extenfion was, that they 
might not be obliged to live all together in the churches. 
See. w here feveral of the occafions of life could not be de¬ 
cently performed. But at length thefe afyla or fanltua- 
ries were alfo dripped of moft of their immunities, be¬ 
caufe they ferved to make guilt and libertinage more bold 
and daring. In England, particularly, they were entirely 
abolifhed. See Sanctuary. 
ASYM'BOLIC, f. [of a priv. and (rvuGohov, a fhot.} 
Scot or fhot free. 
ASYM'METRAL, adj. In mathematics, the fame with 
incommenfurable. So qualities are faid to be afymmetral, 
when there is no common meafure betwixt them. 
ASYM'METRY,yi [from x, without, and 
fymmetry.] Contrariety to fyntmetry ; difproportion.—■ 
The afymmetries of the brain, as well as the deformities of 
the legs or face, may be reitified in time. Grew. —This 
term is fometimes uled in mathematics, for what is more 
ufually called incommenfurability; when between tw.a 
quantities there is no common meafure. 
ASYM'PHONY, f. [of a. priv. and harmo¬ 
ny.] A diforder in defcant, a difagreement. 
ASYM'PHORUS, f. [from a. neg. and crvy.piqu, to pro¬ 
fit.] Not inconvenient; not improper or dangerous. 
ASYM'PHYTUS,/ [from a ncg. and o-v^vto^ of 
the fame kind. ] Diflimilar in its parts ; diftinct. 
A'SYMPTOTE,/ [from* priv. o-w, with, and 7 r%a, 
