538 ATT 
appellation from the architect who built it. The ftxth 
and laft court was called kiliaa ; it was by far the greateft, 
and is generally conceived to have derived its name from 
the judges fitting in the open air expofed to the fun. Ail 
the Athenians who were free citizens were allowed by law 
to fit in thefe courts as judges; but before they took their 
feats ivere fworn by Apollo Partins, Ceres, and Jupiter 
the king, that they would decide all tilings rigliteoully and 
according to law, where there was any law to guide them; 
and by the rules of natural equity, where there was none. 
The helaeaftic court confided at lead of fifty, but its ufual 
number was 500, judges ; when caufes of very great con- 
fequence were to be tried, 1000 fat therein ; and now and 
then the judges were increafed to 1500, and even to 2000. 
There were many inferior courts in Athens for the decilion 
of trivial caufes; but of thefe there is no necellity of fpeak- 
ing, (ince we delign no more than a fuccinft view of the 
Athenian republic, as it was fettled by and in confequence 
of Solon’s laws. For the prefent date of the ancient and 
celebrated city of Athens, fee that article ; alfo Stuart’s 
and Revett’s Antiquities of Athens, 3 vols. folio. 
AT'TICUS (Titus Pomponius), one of the mod ho¬ 
nourable men of ancient Rome. He underdood the art 
of managing himfelf with fuch addrefs, that, without leav¬ 
ing his (tate of neutrality, he preferved the edeem and 
affection of all parties. His ftrift friendfhip with Cicero 
did not hinder him from having great intimacy with Hor- 
tenlius. Theconteftsat Rome between Cinna’s party and 
that of Marius induced him to go to Athens, where he 
continued for a long time. He was very fond of polite 
learning, and kept at his houfe feveral librarians and read¬ 
ers. He might have obtained the mod confiderable pods 
in the government ; but cliofe rather not to meddle, be- 
caufe in the corruption and faftion which then prevailed 
he could not difcharge them according to the laws. He 
wrote Annals. He married his daughter to Agrippa; and 
attained to the age of 77. 
ATTIGNY', a town 0 y p rancej an j f ea t c f a tribunal, 
in the department of Ardennes, two leagues north-wed of 
Vouzieres, and fix foutli of Mezieres. 
AT'TILA, king of the Huns, furnamed the fcourge of 
God, lived in the 5th century. He may be ranked among 
the greateft conquerors, litice there was fcarcely any pro¬ 
vince in Europe which did not feel the weight of his vic¬ 
torious arms. He deduced his regal defcent from the an¬ 
cient Huns, who had formerly contended with the nio- 
narchs of China. His features, according to the obler- 
vations of a Gothic hiftorian, bore the damp of his national 
origin ; and the portrait of Attila exhibits the genuine 
deformity of a modern Calmuck ; a large head, a fwarthy 
complexion, fmall aeep-feated eyes, a flat nofe, a few 
hairs in the place of a beard, broad flioulders, and a fliort 
fquare body, of nervous flrength, though of a dilpropor- 
tioned form. The haughty frep and demeanour of the 
king of the Huns exprefled the confcioufnefs of his fupe- 
riority above the red of mankind ; and he had a cuftom 
of fiercely rolling his eyes, as if he wifiied to enjoy the 
terror which he infpireu. Yet this favage hero was not 
inuccefiible to pity ; his fuppliant enemies might confide 
in the affurar.ce of peace or pardon ; and Attila was con- 
fidered by his fubjefts as a juft and indulgent mafter. He 
delighted in war : but, after he had afcended the throne 
in a mature age, his head, rather than his hand, atchieved 
the eonqueft of the north ; and the fame of an adventurous 
foldier was ufefully exchanged for that of a prudent and 
fuccefsful general. The effeCts of perfonal valour are fo 
inconfiderable, except in poetry or romance, that viftory, 
even among barbarians, m.uft depend on the degree' of 
(kill with which the patlionsof the multitude are combined 
and guided for the fervice of a fingle man. The arts of 
Attila were fkilfully adapted to the character of his age 
and country. It was natural enough, that the Scythians 
/fliouid adore, witli peculiar devotion, the god of war; 
but as they were incapable of forming either an abftraft 
idea, or a corporeal reprefentatiou, they wcrfhipped their 
ATT 
tutelar deity under the fymbol of an iron fcimitar. One 
of the fltepherds of the Huns perceived, that a heifer, 
who was grazing, had wounded herfelf in the foot; and 
curioufly followed the track of the blood, till he difeo- 
vered, among the long grafs, the point of an ancient 
fword ; which he dug out of the ground, and prefented 
to Attila. That artful prince accepted with pious gra¬ 
titude this celeftial favour ; and, as the rightful pofleffor 
of the fword of Mars, aliened his divine and indefeafible 
claim to the dominion of the earth. If the rites of Scy¬ 
thia were praftifed on this folemn occafion, a lofty altar, 
or rather pile of faggots, 300 yards in length and in 
breadth, was railed in a fpacious plain ; and the fword of 
Mars was placed erect on the fummit of this ruftic altar, 
which was annually confecrated by the blood of ftieep, 
liorfes, and of the hundreth captive. Whether human 
facrifices formed any part of the worfhip of Attila, or 
whether he propitiated the god of war with the victims 
which he continually offered in the field of battle, the fa¬ 
vourite of Mars foon acquired a facred character, which 
rendered his conqueits more eafy and more permanent ; 
and the barbarian princes confeffed, in the language of de¬ 
votion or flattery, that they could not prefume to gaze 
with a fteady eye on the divine majefty of the king of 
the Huns. His brother Bleda, who reigned over a con¬ 
fiderable part of the nation, was compelled to relign'his 
feeptre and his life. Yet even this cruel aft was attributed 
to a fupernatural impulfe ; and the vigour with which 
Attila wielded the fword of Mars, convinced the world 
that it had been referved alone for his invincible arm. 
But the extent of his empire affords the only remaining 
evidence of the number and importance of his victories ; 
and the Scythian monarch, however ignorant of the value 
of Fcience and philofophy, might perhaps lament that his 
illiterate fubjefts were deftitute of the art which could 
perpetuate the memory of his exploits. 
If a line of reparation were drawn between the civilized 
and the favage climates of the globe ; between the inha¬ 
bitants of cities who cultivated the earth and the hunters 
and fltepherds who dwelt in tents ; Attila might afpire to 
the title of fupreme and foie monarch of the barbarians. 
He alone, among the conquerors of ancient and modern 
times, united the two mighty kingdoms of Germany and 
Scythia; and thofe vague appellations, when they are ap¬ 
plied to his reign, may be underftood with an extenfive la¬ 
titude. Thuringia, which ftretched byond its aftual limits 
as far as the Danube, was in the number of bis provinces: 
he interpofed, with the weight of a powerful neighbour, 
in the domeftic affairs of the Franks; and one of his lieu¬ 
tenants chaftifed, and almort exterminated, the Burgun¬ 
dians of the Rhine. He fubdued the iflands of the ocean, 
the kingdoms of Scandinavia, encompafled and divided 
by the waters of the Baltic ; and the Huns might derive a 
tribute of furs from that nor.hern region, which has been 
protefted from all other conquerors by the feverity of the 
climate, and the courage of the natives. Towards the 
eaft, it is difficult to circumfcribe the dominion of Attila 
over the Scythian deferts ; yet we may be allured, that he 
reigned on the banks of the Volga ; that the king of the 
Huns was dreaded, not only as a warrior, but as a magi¬ 
cian ; that he infulted and vanquiflied the khan of the for¬ 
midable Geougen ; and that he lent ambaffadors to nego- 
ciate an equal alliance with the empire of China. In the 
proud review of the nations who acknowledged the fove- 
reignty of Attila, and who never entertained during his 
lifetime the thought of a revolt, the Gepidae and the 
Oftrogoths were diftinguifhed by their numbers, their 
bravery, and the perfonal merit of their chiefs. The re¬ 
nowned Ardaric king of the Gepidte was the faithful 
and fagacious counfellor of the monarch ; who efteemed 
his intrepid genius, whilft he loved the mild and difereet 
virtues of the noble Walimer king of the Oftrogoths. 
The crowd of vulgar kings, the leaders of fo many mar¬ 
tial tribes, who ferved under the ftar.dard of Attila, were 
ranged hi fubmiffive order of guards and domellics round 
