\ 
506 PEL 
PELE'E, a /mail ifland in the Englifh chafinel, near the 
coaft of France: three miles north-eaft of Cherbnrg. 
Lat. 49. 41. N. Ion. 1. 28. W. 
PE'LEG, fon of Eber, was born in the year of the 
world 1757. The Scripture fays, his father gave him the 
name of Peleg , fignifying “divifion,” becaufe in his 
time the earth began to be divided, (Gen. xi. 16. x. 25.) 
whether it was that Noah had begun to distribute the 
earth among his defendants, fome years before the build¬ 
ing of Babel; or that Peleg/came into the world the fame 
year that Babel was begun, and at the divifion of lan¬ 
guages ; or that Eber by a fpirit of prophecy gave his fon 
the name of Pelcg fome years before the tower of Babel 
was begun ; is not abfolutely certain. That which here 
perplexes the interpreters is, Firft, that Pelegcame into the 
world not above 100 years after the deluge ; and it lhould 
feem, that the number of men was not then fufiicient for 
fuch an undertaking as that of Babel. Secondly, Joktan, 
the brother of Peleg, had already thirteen fons at the 
time of this difperfion, which happened after the confu- 
fion of Babel ; (Gen. x. 26, 27, 28, &c.) Peleg being 
born in the thirty-fourth year of Eber, (Gen. xi. 16.) 
it is impoflible his brother Joktan (hould have fuch a 
number of children at the birth of Peleg. It feems there¬ 
fore that he was not born at the time of the difperfion. 
To this may be anfwered, that Moles has there enume¬ 
rated the names of the thirteen fons of Joktan (in Gen. 
x. 26.) by way of anticipation, though they were not 
born till a good while after the confulion at Babel; but, 
as they poffeffed a very large country, it was convenient 
to take notice of them, and to name them among the 
other defcendants of Noah, who divided the provinces of 
the eaft among thetnfeives. Enc>/. Brit. 
PELEGRI'NO.an ifiand in the Pacific Ocean, difcovered 
by Quiros in 1606. Lat. 14. S. Ion. 162. W.—Alio a 
mountain on the north coaft of the ifland of Sicily, near 
Palermo, in which is a celebrated fanCtuary dedicated to 
St. Rofalia. 
PEL'ENGON, orGELENGON, a town ofPerfia, in the 
province of Lariftan : lixty-fix miles north-eaft of Lar. 
PE'LF.S, a town of Sweden, in the province of Savo- 
lax : forty-eight miles eaft of Nyflot. 
PEL'ETHITES. The Pelethites and Cherethites 
were famous under the reign of king David. They were 
the moft valiant men in the army of that prince, and had 
the guard of his perfon. See Ezekiel xxv. 16. Zepha- 
niah ii. 5. 1 Samuel xxx. 14. 2 Samuel xv. 18. xx. 7. 
PELETHRO'NII, a name or epithet given to the La- 
pithae, either becaufe they inhabited the town of Pele- 
thronium at the foot of Mount Pelion in Theflaly, or 
becaufe one of their number bore the name of Peletliro- 
nius. It is to them, we are told, that mankind are in¬ 
debted for the invention of the bit with which they tamed 
their horfes with lo much dexterity. 
PELETHRO'NIUM, a town of Theflaly, fituated in 
a flowery part of Mount Pelion ; and hence the appella¬ 
tion throna , fignifying, “flowers.” Lucan fays the Cen¬ 
taurs were natives of that place; to whom Virgil affigns 
Mount Othrys. Moft authors, however, afcribe the 
breaking of horfes to the Centaurs. Some make the 
Lapithae and Centaurs the fame; others a different 
people; allow'ed, however, to be both of Theflaly. 
Their (lory is greatly involved in fable. See Lapithus, 
vol. xii. 
PE'LEUS, in fabulous hiftory, a king of Theflaly, fon 
of .CEacusand Endeis, the daughter of Chiron. He w\as 
concerned in the murder of his brother Phocus, and was 
therefore obliged to leave his father’s dominions. He fled 
to the court of Eurytus the fon of ACtor, who reigned 
in Phthia, (or according to the opinion of Ovid, the 
truth of which is queftioned/to Ceyx, king of Trachinia.) 
He was purified of his murder by Eurytus, with the ufual 
ceremonies, and the king gave him his daughter Anti¬ 
gone in marriage. After this, as Peleus and Eurytus 
went tothechace of the Calydonian boar, the father-in- 
P E L 
law was accidentally killed by an arrow which his fon.in¬ 
law had aimed at the beaft. This unfortunate accident 
obliged him to banilh himfelf from the court of Phthia, 
and he went to Iolchos, where he was alfo purified of the 
murder of Eurytus by Acartus the king of the country. 
His refidence at Iolchos was (hort: Aftydamia, the wife 
of Acaftus, fell in love with him ; but, w’hen (he found 
him infenfible toiler paffionate declarations, (lie accufed 
him of attempts upon her virtue. The king her huf- 
band partly believed the accufations of his wife ; but, 
not willing to violate the laws of hofpitality, by putting 
him inftantly to death, he ordered his officers to conduit 
him to Mount Pelion, on pretence of hunting, and there 
to tie him to a tree and leave him a prey to the wild 
beads of the place. The orders of Acaftus were obeyed : 
but Jupiter, knowing the innocence of his grandfon Pe¬ 
leus, ordered Vulcan to fet him at liberty. As foon as 
lie had been delivered from danger, Peleus affembled his 
friends in order to punifli the ill treatment which he had 
received from Acaftus. He took Iolchos by force, drove 
the king from his poffeffions, and put to death the wicked 
Aftydamia. 
On the death of Antigone, Peleus made love to Thetis, 
of whole fuperior charms Jupiter himfelf had been ena¬ 
moured. His pretenfions were rejected; for, as he was 
but a mortal, the goddefs fled from him with the utmoft 
abhorrence ; and, the more effectually to evade his inqui¬ 
ries, fhe generally affumed the (hape of a bird, or a tree, 
or of a tigrefs. Peleus’s paflion was fanned by refufal: 
lie offered a facrifice to the gods; and Proteus informed 
him, that, to obtain Thetis, he muft furprife her while (he 
was afleep in her grotto near the (hores of Theflaly. 
This advice was immediately attended to; and Thetis, 
unable to efcape from the grafp of Peleus,at Iaft confent- 
ed to marry him. Their nuptials were celebrated with 
the greateft folemnity, all the gods attending, and making 
them each the moft valuable prefents. The goddefs of 
Difcord was the only one of the deities who was abfent, 
and (lie punifhed this feeming negleCt by throwing an ap¬ 
ple in the midft of the affembly of the gods, with the in- 
fcription of Detur pulchriori, “ To be given to the fair- 
eft.” The celebrated Achilles was the fruit of this mar¬ 
riage, wliofe education was early entrufted to the Cen¬ 
taur Chiron, and afterwards to Phoenix the fon of Amyn- 
tor. Achilles, it is well known, went to the Trojan war, 
at the head of his father’s troops 5 and Peleus gloried in 
having a fon who was fuperior to all the Greeks in va¬ 
lour and intrepidity. His death, however, was the fource 
of great grief to Peleus ; but Thetis, to comfort her lmf- 
band, promifed him immortality, and ordered him to re¬ 
tire into the grottoes of the ifland of Leuce, where he 
(hould fee and converfe with the manes of his fon. 
PEL'EW I'SLANDS,or Pala'os, a group of iflands in 
the weftern part of the Pacific Ocean, or in that exten- 
five divifion of the globe called Polynefia, fituated be¬ 
tween the Philippine Iflands and the Caroline Iflands. 
Various conjectures have been formed refpeCting the 
time of their firft difcovery by Europeans. Mr. Keate, 
the editor of the only voyage in which we have any ac¬ 
count of their climate, foil, and produce, together with 
the manners of their inhabitants, thinks they were firft 
noticed by the Spaniards from the Philippines, and by 
them named Palos from the number of trees growing in 
them refembling the mafts of (hips. This conjecture 
has been vehemently oppofed by a critic, who affirms that 
the whole of Mr. Keate’s introduction is erroneous, and 
that the iflands in queftion were firft difcovered by fome 
Jefuits of the Philippines, viz. the fathers Duberon and 
Cortil, wdio left the Philippines for this purpole on the 
14th of November, 1710. Before this time, it was only 
known, that the largelt ifland, which was the moft north¬ 
erly, was called Panlog, and that the royal refidence was 
in Falu or Pelew. After a voyage of fifteen days thefe 
fathers difcovered land towards the north-eaft; and the two 
ides that were feen were called thofe of St. Andrew,as hav¬ 
ing 
