ORE 
their journey had been explained, flie refolved, with the 
two friends, to fly from Cherfonefus, and to carry away 
the ftatue of Diana. Their flight was difcovered, and 
Thoas prepared to purfue them ; but Minerva interfered, 
and told him, that all had been done by the will and ap¬ 
probation of the gods. Some fuppofe that Oreltes came 
to Cappadocia from Cherfonefus, and that there he left 
the ftatue of Diana at Comana. Others contradict this 
tradition ; and, according to Paufanias, the ftatue of Diana 
Orthia was the fame as that which had been carried away 
from the Cherfonefus. Some aifo fuppofe, that Oreltes 
brought it to Aricia in Italy, where Diana’s w'orlhip was 
eftablilhed. 
After thefe celebrated adventures, Oreltes afcended the 
throne of Argos, where he reigned in perfedt fecurity, 
and married Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus, and 
gave his filter to his friend Pylades. The marriage of 
Oreltes with Hermione, is a matter of difpute among the 
ancients. All are agreed, that fhe had been promil'ed to 
the fon of Agamemnon; but Menelaus had married her 
to Neoptolemus, the fon of Achilles, who had Ihown him- 
1 ’elf fo truly interefted in his caufe during the Trojan 
war. The marriage of Hermione with Neoptolemus dif- 
pleafed Oreltes; he remembered that Ihe had been early 
promifed to him, and therefore he refolved to recover 
her by force or artifice. This he effected by caufing 
Neoptolemus to be alfaflinated, or aflaflinating him him- 
fielf. According to Ovid’s Epiftle of Hermione to Oreltes, 
Hermione had always been faithful to her firft lover, and 
even it was by her perfuafions that Oreltes removed her 
from the houle of Neoptolemus. Hermione was diflatisfied 
with the partiality of Neoptolemus for Andromache, and 
her attachment for Oreltes was increafed. Euripides how¬ 
ever, and others, fpeak differently of Hermione’s attach¬ 
ment to Neoptolemus: Ihe loved him fo tenderly, that Hie 
refolved to murder Andromache, who feemed to lhare, in a 
fmall degree, the afteCtions of her hulband. She was ready to 
perpetrate the horrid deed when Oreltes came into Epirus ; 
and. flie was ealily perluaded by the foreign prince to 
withdraw herlelf, in her hulband’s abfence, from a coun¬ 
try which feemed to contribute fo much to her forrows. 
Oreltes, the better to fecure the affeCtions of Hermione, 
alfaflinated'Neoptolemus, and retired to his kingdom 
of Argos. His old age was crowned with peace and 
fecurity, and he died in his goth year, leaving his 
throne to his fon Tilamenes by Hermione. Three years 
after, the Heraclidae recovered the Peloponnefus, and 
banilhed the defcendants of Menelaus from the throne of 
Argos. Oreltes died in Arcadia, as fiome fuppofe, by the 
bite of a ferpent; and the Lacedaemonians, who had be¬ 
come his fubjeCts at the death of Menelaus, were directed 
by an oracle to bring his bones to Sparta. They were, 
fome time after, difcovered at Tegea; and his ftature ap¬ 
peared to be feven cubits, according to the traditions 
mentioned by Herodotus and others. The friendlhip of 
Oreltes and of Pylades became proverbial; and the two 
friends received divine honours among the Scythians, and 
were worfliipped in temples. 
ORESTE'UM, a town of Arcadia, about eighteen miles 
from Sparta. It was founded by Oreftheus, a fon of Ly- 
caon, and originally called Orefthefium; and afterwards 
OreJ'teum, from Oreltes, the fon of Agamemnon, who 
came there. 
ORESTI'DiE, the defcendants or fubjedts of Oreftes, 
the fon of Agamemnon. They were driven from the 
Peloponnefus by the Heraclidse; and came to fettle in a 
country which, from them, was called Ovejiida, at the 
foutli-weft of Macedonia. Some fuppofe that that part 
of Greece originally received its name from Oreftes, who 
fled and built there a city, which gave its founder’s name 
to the whole province. 
ORETA'NI, in ancient geography, a people of Spain, 
whofe capital was Oretum, now Oreto. 
OREX'IS, f. [Greek.] An appetite for food. Scott. 
Vol. XVII. No. izii. 
O R F 725 
OREYPOU'R, a town of Hindooftan, in Marawar: 
twenty-five miles north of Ramanadporum. 
ORE'ZA, a town of the illand of Corfica, in the de¬ 
partment of Corte. 
OR'FA. See Ourfa. 
OR'FANEL (Hyacinth), a Spanilh dominican monk, 
and a martyr to his zeal for propagating the catholic 
faith in Japan, was born in the province of Valencia, in 
1578. He entered, when very young, into the order of 
St. Dominic ; and, in the year 1605, was fent out a mif¬ 
fionary to the Philippine illands. Thence he went to 
Japan, where he chiefly applied himfelf to the inftrudtion 
of the poor; and is faid to have made numerous converts 
to the catholic religion. While thus engaged, he endured 
great privations and fufterings; and, being at length ar- 
refted, was condemned to be burnt alive at a flow fire, in 
1622. He claims this notice, from his having contri¬ 
buted to the colleftion of Miflionary travels among the 
Pagans of the Eaft, a work written in the Spanilh lan¬ 
guage, which relates to a country little known to Euro¬ 
peans; and it is faid to abound in curious and interefting 
matter, and to be recommended by its ftridt fidelity. So 
careful was the author to render it perfectly accurate, 
that, while he was in prifon, he read it to his fellow-mif- 
iionaries, who aflifted him in correcting any miffakes into 
which he might have fallen. It was printed at Madrid 
in 1673, and is entitled “ The Ecclefiaftical Hiftory of 
the Succefs of Chriftianity in Japan, from the Year 1602, 
when the Author entered into the Order of Preachers, to 
the Year 1621; and continued to the End of the Year 1622, 
by Father Diego Collado.” Gen. Biog. 
OR'FER, a town of Scotland, on the fouth coaft of the 
illand of Pomona: ten miles foutli-weft of Kirkwall. 
OR'FGILD, /’. [from the Sax. opp, cattle, and ^llb, re- 
compenfe.] A delivery or reftitution of cattle. But Lam- 
‘ bard fays, it is a reftitution made by the hundred, or 
county, for any wrong done by one who was in pledge; 
or rather a penaltyfor taking away cattle. Lamb. Arch. 125. 
OR'FO, a town of Africa, in the diftriCt of Labadde, 
on the Gold Coaft. 
OR'FORD, or O'reford, a decayed borough and mar¬ 
ket-town in the county of Suffolk, fituated on the north- 
weft bank of the river Ore, (from which it derives its 
name,) near where that river joins the Aide, and falls 
into the fea : it is five miles from Aldeborough, nineteen 
from Ipfwich, and ninety north-eaft from London. Or- 
ford was formerly a place of fome confequence, and a 
fea-port; as it fent three fliips and fixty-two men, to aflift 
Edward III. at the fiege of Calais in the year 1357. Pre¬ 
vious to the year 1500, it contained three churches; but 
of thefe only one remains. Here, according to the “ Suf¬ 
folk Traveller,” was a houle of Auguftine friars, an hof- 
pital of St. Leonard, and a chantry, which was valued at 
the dilfolution at 61 . 13s. iigd. The decay of the town is 
attributed to the lofs of its harbour, as the fea has retired 
from this part of the coaft. The towers of the callle and 
church area fea-mark for colliers,coafters, and fliips that 
come from Holland. 
This town gave the title of earl to admiral Ruffed, who 
was elevated to the peerage by William III. Becoming 
extindf in that family, the fame dignity was conferred 
on the celebrated fir Robert Walpole, and continued in 
his family till the year 1797, when it again became ex- 
tindl, by the dgmife of Horatio, the fourth earl, without 
iflue. It has fince however been once more revived, in 
the perfon of Horatio baron Walpole of Wolterton, who 
is now earl of Orford. 
Here is a weekly market on Mondays; and a fair on 
the 24th of June, but that formely held on Shrove Mon¬ 
day is difeontinued. This place fends two members to 
parliament, though in 1801 the number of inhabitants 
was only 399. 
The church of Orford is of great antiquity; and was, 
when entire, a fpacious and very handfome ftrufture. At 
8 Y the 
