H E C 
«93 
H E B 
Marathon, or whofe piety would not groiv wanner among 
the ruins of Iona. 1 ’ 
HEB'RIDES. See New Hebrides. 
HE'BRON, or K.i rjath-arba, or Area, in ancient 
geography* a city of Paleftine, belonging to the tribe of 
Judah; fituated in the mountains of that province. It 
was one of the cities of the Levites of the family of Ko- 
hath, (though the fields and other dependencies were 
given to Caleb fon of Jephunneh for his inheritance) 
and was alfo one of the fix cities of refuge. This city 
appears to have been of great antiquity, being built fe- 
ven years before Zoan or Tanis in Egypt; and was the 
refidence of the patriarch Abraham, who built an altar 
here. The original name of this place was Kirjath-arba, 
or Arba, i. e. the city of Arba, a great man among the 
Anakims, who dwelt here previous to the conqueft of 
Canaan by Ifrael, and who probably founded this city. 
It afterwards became the feat of one of the Canaanitilh 
kings, the laft of which, named Hoham, fell at the taking 
of this place by Jofhua. Here David commenced his 
reign, and having reigned feven years and fix months 
over Judah, the elders of the remaining tribes affem- 
bled here for the purpofe of anointing him king over 
Ifrael at large. Here Abner fell by the treacherous 
hands of Joab, and here he was buried ; David attend¬ 
ing at his obfequies. As Jerufalem after this became 
the capital of the kingdom, Hebron appears to have gra¬ 
dually declined, for we find nothing more concerning it, 
until the Maccabean wars ; when the enemies of Judas 
Maccabeus having fheltered themfelves here, he totally 
deftroyed the city and fortrefs, and thus rendered it of 
no further confequence. Gen. xiii. 18. Numb. xiii. 22. 
JoJk. x. 3, 36. xi. 21. xiv. 15. xv. 54. xxi. 10-13. 2 Sam. 
ii. 1-4. iii. 27, &c. 1 Macc. v.65. It is now called Hcbroun. 
The Chriftians have a church here, which they fay con¬ 
tains the tombs of Abraham and Sarah, to which the 
Mahometans, as well as Chriftians, come in pilgrimage. 
The plain of Mamre is not far from Hebron ; it is fer¬ 
tile, and planted with excellent vineyards. Conftantine 
built a church here, the walls of which are yet in exift- 
ence : eight leagues fouth-weft of Jerufalem. 
HE'BRON, in ancient geography, a city of Paleftine, 
belonging tp the tribe of ,A(her; fituated upon the boun¬ 
dary of that province, jojh.x ix. 28. 
HE'BRON, a town of the American States, in Cum¬ 
berland county, Maine, fituated on the north-eaft fide 
of Little Androfcoggin, incorporated in 1792. It is 
thirty-five miles north-by-weft of Portland. 
HE'BRON, a townlhip of the American States, in 
Walhington county, New York, containing 1703 inha¬ 
bitants. 
HE'BRON, a townlhip, of the American'States, in 
Tolland county, Connecticut*fettled in 1704 from Nor¬ 
thampton. Mod of the lands were given by Jolhua, 
fachem of the Mohegan tribe, in his lath will and tefta- 
ment. It lies between Lebanon and Glaftonbury, about 
eighteen miles fouth-eaft of Hartford, and fixteen fouth 
of Tolland. 
HE'BRON, a Moravian fettlement in Pennfylvania, fix- 
teen miles from Litiz, which is feventy miles northerly 
of Philadelphia. This fettlemtent was eftablilhed in 1757. 
HE'BRONITE, f. A defeendant of Hebron, an inha¬ 
bitant of Hebron. 
HE'BRUS, in ancient geography, the largeft river of 
Thrace, riling from mount Scrombrus, and running in 
two channels till it reaches Philippopolis, where they 
unite. It empties itfelf at two mouths into the ZEgean 
Sea, to the north of Samothrace. It was fuppofed to 
roll its waters upon golden fands. The head of Or¬ 
pheus was thrown into it after it had been cut off by the 
Ciconian women. Mela. 
HEB'TICH, a town of Germany, in the circle of the 
Upper Rhine, and county of. Spenheim ; two miles fouth- 
eaft of Traarbach. 
Vol, IX. No. 585. 
HEB'UDES. See Hebrides. 
HECA'ERGE, the name of a nymph, a huntrefs. 
HEC'ALE, in ancient geography, a town of Attica. 
HECALE'SIA, a feftival in honour of Jupiter of He- 
cale, inftituted by Thefeus, or in commemoration of the 
kindnefs of Hecale, which Thefeus liad experienced 
when he went againft the bull of Marathon, &c. 
HECAM'EDA, a woman’s nairie, daughter of Arli- 
nous. 
HECAT^'US, an hiftorian of Miletus, born . 549 
years before Chriil, in the reign of Darius Hyftafpes. He¬ 
rodotus. 
HEC'ATE, in mythology, a daughter of Perfes and 
Afteria, the fame asProferpine or Diana. She was'call- 
ed Luna in heaven, Diana on earth, and Hecate or Pro- 
ferpine in hell ; whence her name of Diva triformis, terge - 
mina , triceps. She was fuppofed to prefide over magic 
and enchantments; and was generally reprefented like 
a woman, with the head of a horfe, a dog, or a boar; 
and fometimes Ihe appeared with three different bodies, 
and three different faces, with one neck. Dogs, lambs, 
and honey, were generally offered to her, efpecially in 
high-ways and crofs-roads ; whence ihe obtained the 
name of Trivia. She was placed in the highways, it is 
laid, to induce her to avert any evils on account of pia- 
cular crimes committed on the public roads. Her power 
was fuppofed to extend over the heavens, the earth, the 
fea, and hell; and to her kings and nations fuppofed 
themfelves indebted for their profperity. PauJ'anias .— 
ProfefTor Vofshas endeavoured to trace the origin of this 
goddefs, which he finds firft in Thrace ; to fhow the pro¬ 
bable caufe of the great variety of attributes beftowed 
on her, and to reduce them to fome fort of unity. He 
adopts it as a principle, the truth of which is confirmed 
by the hiftory of Hecate, whofe image Paufanias found 
ftill in a fimjlar fliape at ^Egina, that all deviations from 
the noble figure of man, in the reprefentation of deities, 
owe their origin to later myftics and artifts; and he con- 
fiders it as fingular that the triple goddefs has never 
been transformed into one multiplied by thefacred num¬ 
bers feven or nine, or even by a hundred ; that though 
the name of Hecate is often ufed for Selene, Artemis, 
and Perfephone, or Proferpine, we never find a triple 
Selene, or Perfephone, but often a three-headed Arte¬ 
mis, mentioned ; and that frequently, by the fide of He¬ 
cate, a three-headed Artemis is introduced. 
HECATE'SIA, an annual feftival obferved by the 
Stratonicenfians in honour of Hecate. The Athenians 
paid alfo particular worfiiip to this goddefs, who was 
deemed the patronefs of their families and of children. 
From this circumftance the ftatues of the goddefs were 
eredted before the doors of the houfes; ana upon every 
new moon a public fupper was always provided at the 
expence of the richeft people, and fet in the ftreets, 
where the pooreft of the citizens were permitted to re¬ 
tire and feaft upon it, while they reported that Hecate 
had devoured it. There were alfo expiatory offerings, 
to fupplicate the goddefs to remove whatever evils 
might impend on the head of the public. Plutarch. 
HEC'ATOMB, /. in antiquity, a facrifice of an hun¬ 
dred beafts of the fame kind, at an hundred altars, and 
by an hundred prieftsor facrificerS. The word is formed 
of the Greek exoIo/x/Sjj, which denotes a magnificent fa¬ 
crifice. Concerning the origin of hecatombs Strabo re¬ 
lates, that there were one hundred cities in Laconia, 
and that each city ufed to facrifice a bullock every year 
for the common fafety of the country. Others refer the 
origin to a plague, wherewith the one hundred cities of 
Peloponnefus were affli&ed ; for the removal whereof, 
they jointly contributed to fo fplendid a facrifice. Ju¬ 
lius Capitolinus relates, that fora hecatomb they erect¬ 
ed one hundred altars of turf, and on thefe facrificed one 
hundred Iheep and one hundred hogs. He adds, that 
when the emperors offered facrifices of this kind, they 
4 F iacrifiesd 
