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On this page: Hymen – Hymnus – Hypaethral Temple – Hypaspistae – Hyperborei – Hyperides

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HYMEN——HYPERIDES.

theus, and fell in single combat with fichemus, king of Tegea. It was in the " third generation " after him that the sons of his grandson Aristomachus, viz. Temenus, Cresphontes, and Aristodemus, at last con­quered the Peloponnesus, which was then under the rule of Tlsamenus, son of Orestes.

HJmen (Gr, HymSnaiiis; Lat. Hymenceus). The Greek god of marriage and of the mar­riage-song (named after him). He is some­times described as the son of Apollo and a Muse (either Terpsichore, Urania, or Cal­liope), who had vanished on his own wedding-day, and was consequently always sought for at every wedding. He is also described as a son of the Thessalian Magnes and of the Muse Clio, and as beloved by Apollo and Thamyris ; or as the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, who lost his voice and life while singing the nuptial song at the marriage of Dionysus and Ariadne. According to Attic tradition, he was an Argive youth who, in the disguise of a girl, followed to the feast of Demeter at Eleusis a young Athenian maiden whom he loved with­out winning the consent of her parents. Hymenjeus and some of the maidens who were celebrating the festival, were carried off by pirates, whom he afterwards killed in their sleep, and henceforth became the champion of all women and damsels. In art he is represented like Eros, as a beau­tiful, winged youth, only with a more serious expression, and carrying in his hand the marriage torch and nuptial veil. The marriage-song called Hymenams, which ia mentioned as early as Homer, was sung by young men and maidens, to the sound of flutes, during the festal procession of the bride from the house of her parents to that of the bridegroom. In character it was partly serious and partly humorous. The several parts always ended with an invoca­tion of Hymenaeus. (See epithalamium.) On the Roman god of weddings, see talassio.

Hymnus generally meant among the Greeks an invocation of the gods, especially in the form of an ode sung by a choir, to the accompaniment of the clthara, while they stood round the altar.

Hypsethral Temple A temple not covered by a roof. (See further under temple.)

HJpaspistse. The shield-bearers in the Greek army, who followed the heavy-armed warriors and carried a portion of their burdensome equipment, principally the shield, the necessary baggage, and the

usual provision for three days. Among the Macedonians the light infantry were so called to distinguish them from the heavy Phalanglta; (see hoplites), and the archers. They wore a round felt hat (see causia), a linen jerkin, and had a long dagger and a short hand-pike. They were a standing body of 6,000 men, and in war formed the king’s bodyguard. (See agema.)

Hyperb6rei, lit. "dwellers beyond the north wind " (Bfireas}. A people of Greek legend, whose existence was denied by some of the ancients, while others en­deavoured to define their position more precisely. They were said to dwell far away in the north, where the sun only rose and set once a year, a fancy due, perhaps, to some dim report of the long arctic sum­mer day. The fruits of the earth ripened quickly with them ; they lived in unbroken happiness, knowing no violence or strife, and reached the age of 1,000 years; any who were weary of life casting them­selves from a sacred rock into the sea. The myth is connected with the worship of the god of light, Apollo, who during the dark winter was supposed to visit them, as his priestly people, in a chariot drawn by swans; returning to Delphi for the sum­mer. There was a tradition in DelSs, that in earlier times they used to send to that island the firstfruits of their harvests by way of Dodona, Thessaly, and Eubcea.

Hyperides (Gr. Hypereides). One of the Ten Attic Orators, born about B.C. 390, son of the Athenian Glaucippus. He was a pupil of Plato and Isocrates, and won for himself an important position as a forensic and political orator, although his private life was not unblemished. As a statesman, he decidedly shared the views of Demosthenes, and was his steadfast ally in the struggle against the Macedonian party. It is true that he afterwards [b.c. 324] took part in the prosecution of Demosthenes, when accused of having taken bribes from Alexander‘s treasurer, Harpalus, and that he contributed to his condemnation on that charge. After the destruction of Thebes by Alexander [335]it wasonly with difficulty that he and Demosthenes escaped being given up to the Macedonians. After the death of Alexander [323] he was the chief instigator of the Lamian War, at the unfor­tunate conclusion of which he and Demos­thenes (who had been reconciled to one another in the meantime) and other patriots were condemned to death by the Macedonian.