360 columns, placed in three rows, one over the other: the lower row, 38 feet high, was of marble, and ornamented with 3000 statues; the second row was of glass; the third of wood, gilt. The theatre of Curio was movable, and was converted from two theatres into an amphitheatre. Pompey was the first who erected a stone theatre in Rome, the remains of which now compose the palace Ursini. It was built after the plan of the theatre of Mitylene, and was finished under Caligula. It held 40,000 persons. After the erection of this, stone theatres were built, not merely in Rome, but also in other cities of the Roman government. From this time, also, the stages were covered with marble, and surrounded with marble columns. At Nero's command they were covered with gold; and as the whole of the theatre, and all that was put upon the stage, was gilt, or adorned with gold, the day in which this happened was called the golden. Behind the stage, in the Roman theatres, which, as is well known, had no roof, a covered colonnade was erected, for the shelter of spectators in bad weather. This was also the case in the theatre of Pompey, which enclosed a place filled with trees and ornamented with fountains and statues. Some time after the Punic war, Quintus Catulus introduced into Rome, from Campania, the custom of covering the theatre and the orchestra with a cloth, to protect the persons present from the weather. The cloth used was commonly dyed with purple and other rich colors. In later times, the finest and most costly linen was employed; and Nero even appropriated to that purpose a carpet, adorned with gold, in the middle of which his image was wrought, surrounded with stars, guiding the chariot of the sun. In order to lessen the heat caused by such a mass of spectators in such covered theatres, very expensive means were resorted to. Pompey caused the passages, and the steps leading to the seats, to be moistened with water. Afterwards, a mixture of wine and water was used, in which was steeped the best Cilician saffron, in order to produce an agreeable perfume. This was conducted through pipes, concealed in the walls of the theatre, and was raised by pressure to the highest seats. There the pipes had very small openings, through which the hquid issued in a fine rain, and diffused coolness through the whole theatre. There was likewise sometimes a balsam mixed with the wine; and frequently the statues, with which the

theatre was ornamented, were employed in sprinkling it, they being made hollow, and the wine carried through them in pipes. The theatres were built, whenever it was possible, upon the declivity of a hill, in order to be able, conveniently, to place the seats for the spectators, like steps, one above another. If the place was level, it was necessary, of course, to support the raised seats artificially. This was less frequently done in the Greek theatres than in the Roman. The form of the building was a semicircle, the ends of which were somewhat prolonged, and were connected by a straight part. It had three principal parts: 1st, the theatre, properly so called, that is, the place for the spectators, in the semicircle; 2d, the scene, or the place for the players, in the straight part; 3d, the orchestra, the place extending from the stage to the seats of the spectators. In these respects the Greek and Roman theatres were essentially alike. But they differed considerably in other particulars. (See Orchestra, and Proscenium.) To the machinery, especially the Greek, belongs, 1st, the machine, particularly so called, at the left entrance over the stage, in order to represent, in tragedy, the gods and heroes hovering in the air; 2d, the theologeion, over the stage, for representing the gods in Olympus; 3d, the crane, which was let down in order to raise a person quickly from the stage; 4th, the hanging cords, to support the gods and heroes hovering in the air. Other machines were placed under the stage; as, for instance, one to elevate it. Besides the theatres already named, the principal ones of antiquity were those at Segestus, Syracuse and Agyrium. The beautiful theatres at Corinth and Sparta (of which there are still remains), and at Epidaurus and Megalopolis, upon the island of Ægina, were probably the most magnificent in Greece. Of that at Epidaurus, extensive ruins are still to be seen. Of the ancient theatres in the Italian cities, we mention only those discovered in modern times at Herculaneum and Pompeii, and those at Iguvium in Umbria, at Antioch and Pola. Rome, the most remarkable, besides the theatre of Pompey, were the theatre of Cornelius Balbus, and that of Marcellus, which could contain 22,000 men. In the interior, as well as the exterior, the theatres of the present day differ essentially from the Greek and Roman.-The early theatrical representations in Germany took place either in the open air, or in buildings not specially appropriated to this pur

In

pose. The finest of the present theatres in Germany are that at Munich, the new one at Berlin, the theatre on the Wien, in Vienna, those at Carlsruhe and Darmstadt; in France, the théâtre Français, and that at Bordeaux. (See Paris Theatres.) In Italy, the largest are that in Naples (San Carlo), in Milan (the Scala) and that of Turin. The term theatre is also given to buildings for the delivery of anatomical lectures, accompanied with dissections; also to the body of pieces, in any language, written for representation; thus we say, the French theatre, the English theatre, &c.

THEBAID, OF THEBAIS. (See Statius.) THEBES; an ancient city, and capital of Egypt, in the Thebaid, or Upper Egypt, on both sides of the Nile, about 260 miles south of Cairo. Thebes is famous as "the city of a hundred gates," the theme and admiration of ancient poets and historians, the wonder of travellers" that venerable city," in the language of doctor Pocock, "the date of whose destruction is older than the foundation of other cities, and the extent of whose ruins, and the immensity of whose colossal fragments, still offer so many astonishing objects, that one is riveted to the spot, unable to decide whither to direct the step or fix the attention." These ruins extend about eight miles along the Nile, from each bank to the sides of the enclosing mountains, and describe a circuit of twenty-seven miles. The most remarkable objects on the eastern side are the temples of Carnac and Luxor; and on the western side are the Memnonium, or palace of Memnon, two colossal statues, the sepulchres of the kings, and the temple of Medinet Abu. The glory of Thebes belongs to a period prior to the commencement of authentic history. It is recorded only in the dim lights of poetry and tradition, which might be suspected of fable, did not such mighty witnesses remain to their truth. At the time of the Persian invasion, Memphis had supplanted Thebes; and the Ptolemies afterwards removed the seat of empire to Alexandria. Strabo and Diodorus described Thebes under the name of Diospolis, and gave such magnificent descriptions of its monuments as caused the fidelity of those writers to be called in question, till the observations of modern travellers proved their accounts to have fallen short of the reality. At present, its site presents only a few scattered villages, consisting of miserable cottages, built in the courts of the temples. The ancient structures, however, remain in a state of wonderful preservation. Almost the whole

or.

extent of eight miles along the river is covered with magnificent portals, obelisks, decorated with the most beautiful sculpture, forests of columns, and long avenues of colossal statues. The largest of these temples, and of any in Egypt, is that at Carnac, on the site of the ancient Diospolis. Diodorus describes it as thirteen stadia (about one and a half mile) in circumference, which nearly agrees with the observation of Denon. It has twelve principal entrances; and the body of the temple, which is preceded by a large court, consists of a prodigious hall or portico, the roof of which is supported by one hundred thirty-four columns, some twenty-six, others thirty-four feet in circumference: four beautiful obelisks then mark the entrance to the shrine, which consists of three apartments, built entirely of granite. About one and a fourth mile above Carnac is the village and temple of LuxThis temple, though not of such vast dimensions as that of Carnac, is in a superior style of architecture, and in more complete preservation. The entrance is thought to surpass every thing else that Egypt presents. In front are the two finest obelisks in the world, formed of rose-colored granite, and rising, as Denon supposes, after allowing for the portion buried in the ground, to the height of 100 feet. But the object which most attracts attention consists in the sculptures which cover the east wing of the northern front. They contain, on a great scale, a representation of a victory, gained by one of the ancient kings of Egypt over their Asiatic enemies. The number of human figures introduced amounts to 1500, 500 on foot and 1000 in chariots. The Memnonium (see Memnon), and the temple of Medinet Abu, are objects of great interest, both for the grandeur of their architecture and the richness and variety of their sculptures. The tomb of Osymandyas, the temple of Isis, the labyrinth, and the catacombs, also lie on the western side of the Nile. In the interior of the mountains which rise behind these monuments are found objects less magnificent and imposing indeed, but not less interesting

the tombs of the kings of Thebes. Several of these were opened by Belzoni, and were found in a state of great preservation, with mummies in the sarcophagi, as well as dispersed through the chambers. The colossal statues have excited great admiration. The largest has been broken off at the waist, and the upper part laid prostrate on the back. It measures six feet and ten inches over the front, and sixty

two feet round the shoulders. Two other colossal statues, about fifty feet high, are seated on the plain. Champollion (Précis du Système Hieroglyphique) has deciphered many of the inscriptions on these ruins. That the magnificent ruins of Carnac, Luxor and Medinet Abu are the remains of the hundred-gated Thebes, the earliest capital of the world, cannot be doubted. According to the measurement made by the French, the distance of these ruins from the sea on the north amounts to 680,000 metres (850 miles), and from Elephantine on the south to 180,000 metres (225 miles), corresponding exactly with the 6800 and 1800 stadia of Herodotus (ii, 9). Without including the Hippodrome and Medamud (an Arab village), the circumference of the ruins is about 15,000 metres, agreeing with the 140 stadia (17 miles) mentioned by Diodorus (i, 45) as the ci cumference of Thebes. The origin of the name of this celebrated city, as well as the date of the foundation, is unknown. Theba of the Greeks is, perhaps, derived from the Egyptian Thbaki (the city); and the No-Ammon of the Hebrews, and Diospolis of the Greeks, are mere translations of the Egyptian Thbakiantepi-Amoun (city of the Most High).See Champollion, Egypte sous les Pharaons, i, 218; and the great work of the French government, Description de l'Egypte (12 vols., folio, 25, 8vo.).

THEBES (OnBa); the capital of Boeotia, and one of the most celebrated cities of Greece, the birth-place of Pindar, Epaminondas and Pelopidas. It was situated on an elevated level, on which were the sources of the Dirce and Ismenus. Cadmus, leading thither a Phoenician colony, is said to have founded the city by building the citadel called Cadmea (B. Č. 1500). Amphion built the city around it, and enclosed it with a wall, having seven gates, which he called from the names of his seven daughters by Niobe. The circuit of the city is said to have been almost seventy stadia. The environs were adorned with meadows and gardens. To the east was the celebrated fountain Edipodia, in which Edipus purified himself after the murder of his father. The city, once the first in Greece, contained many splendid temples and public buildings, with numerous statues. In the time of Pausanias (viii, 33, 1), with the exception of the citadel and the few houses contained in it, it was merely a heap of ruins. The Theban government was at first monarchical, and three dynasties successively occupied the throne: 1. the

Cadmeans, the descendants of Cadmus, till Antesion; 2. the three Sparti, Amphion and Zethus, during the minority of Laius, and Creon between Laius and Edipus; 3. the Boeotians, or last kings. The sons of Edipus, Eteocles (q. v.) and Polynices, fell in single combat, each by the hand of the other, after the latter had called in the Argives to his assistance. Laodamas, son of Eteocles, next ascended the throne, during whose minority his great uncle Creon acted as regent. The Argives, who still continued the war, were all slain except Adrastus, at whose suit Theseus marched against Creon, slew him, and compelled the Thebans to suffer the burial of the Argives, which they had hitherto prevented. The sons or grandsons (Epigoni) of the slaughtered princes, ten years later, revenged the death of their ancestors. The war called the "expedition of the seven against Thebes," and the war of the Epigoni, are celebrated in the early Grecian annals. Led by Alcmæon and Thersander, the Epigoni (q. v.) conquered and destroyed Thebes (about 1215 B. C.), and put to death, or drove out, Laodamas. When Xanthus, the last king of the Thebans, fell in single combat with Melanthus, king of Athens, a democratical form of government was substituted for the monarchical in Thebes (about 1126 B. C.) Thebes now aspired, in rivalry with Athens and Sparta, to obtain the supremacy in Greece. But the inactivity of the Thebans, and their perfidious leagues with the Persians, obstructed the growth of their power. Their Baotian towns fell off, and an alliance with Sparta, concluded with the design of recovering their former ascendency in Baotia, proved ineffectual. Athens took the Baotians under her protection, and Thebes lost her dominion over Bootia, which now became subject to the Athenians. In the Peloponnesian war, the Thebans rendered the most important services to the Spartans; and they were successful in several subsequent wars against Athens and Sparta. But Phœbidas, the Spartan commander, finally possessed himself of the Cadmea, and the aristocratical party in Thebes gained the upper hand. All sorts of oppression and injustice were committed, until Pelopidas and Epaminondas headed a conspiracy which put an end to the tyranny by the death of the tyrants (B. C. 378). Those two chiefs were therefore named Bootarchs amid the acclamations of the people. The Spartan Cleombrotus invaded Bootia for the purpose of punishing the au

thors of this revolution; and Athens, although it had favored the conspiracy, abandoned the Thebans; but Pelopidas, to excite the Athenians against Sparta, instigated Sphodrias, who had been left in command of the Spartan forces by Cleombrotus, to attack the Athenian port Piræus. He was repulsed, and Athens immediately declared war against Sparta. The allies now gained several victories; but Athens finally concluded a peace with the Lacedæmonians, under the mediation of Persia. Thebes, nevertheless, continued the war, to preserve Boeotia, and gained those brilliant victories under Epaminondas and Pelopidas, which suddenly raised her above all the Grecian states. Nearly all of the Peloponnesians took part against Sparta, and formed alliances with Thebes. The Persians and Athenians now joined the Lacedæmonians, but were unable to effect much; and the war continued with almost uninterrupted success on the side of the Thebans till the battle of Mantinea (B. C. 363), in which Epaminondas fell. A general peace was then negotiated by the mediation of Artaxerxes, in which each party was left in possession of its own territory. Thebes, although for some time still formidable, now began to decline. In the sacred war (so called because it was undertaken on account of the alleged encroachments of the Phocensians on the possessions of the Delphic temple, and during which they stormed and plundered the temple), in which all the Grecian states finally became involved, Thebes took part against Phocis (354 B. C.), and subsequently entered into an alliance with the Athenians, and other Greeks, against Philip of Macedon. After the battle of Cheronæa, it was obliged to receive a Macedonian garrison, and recall the exiles. After Philip's death, an insurrection broke out in Thebes, and an attempt was made to drive the Macedonians from the Cadmea. But Alexander hastened to their relief, captured and destroyed (B. C. 335) the city, and reduced the inhabitants to slavery. Twenty years afterwards, Cassander rebuilt Thebes; but it never recovered its former importance. In the war of the Romans against Mithridates, king of Pontus, it joined the latter out of gratitude to Athens, and was severely chastised by the Romans. From this time, the Thebans disappear more and more from history. In its most flourishing period, Thebes was a very populous city. The inhabitants, like those of Athens, were divided into three classes

citizens, strangers and slaves. The city was, in a certain degree, the head of Bootia, and was the leading power in a confederacy composed of several Boeotian cities. Public affairs were discussed by the four councils of the four districts into which Boeotia was divided, and which, together, chose éleven Bœótarchs, and decided in a general council composed of delegates from each town. The latter assembly convened at Thebes. The city had its own senate: the command, in war, and the administration of justice, were intrusted to the Bootarchs and polemarchs, who were chosen annually. Merchants and mechanics could become citizens, but could not hold office. Children who could not be supported by their parents were not, as in other Grecian cities, exposed, but sold to some wealthy citizen as slaves. The Boeotian cities often attempted to dissolve their connexion with Thebes, and render themselves independent, but rarely with success. THEFT. (See Larceny.) THEISM. (See Deism.)

THELLUSON, Peter; a native of Geneva, descended from an ancient family of French Protestants, who settled as a merchant in London, and acquired an immense fortune. He died at his seat at Plastow, in Kent, July 21, 1797. The testamentary disposition which he made of his property was not a little extraordinary. To his widow and children (three sons and three daughters) he bequeathed about £100,000, and the remainder, amounting to more than £600,000, he left to trustees, to accumulate during the lives of his three sons, and the lives of their sons; then the estates directed to be purchased with the produce of the accumulating fund, to be conveyed to the eldest male descendant of his three sons, with benefit of survivorship. This singular will, being contested by the heirs at law, was finally established by a decision of the house of lords, June 25, 1805. It, however, occasioned the passing of the act of parliament of the 39th and 40th of George III, cap. 98, restraining the power of devising property, for the purpose of accumulation, to twenty-one years after the death of the testator. In case there should be no such heir as the devisee described in the will, the accumulated property is to be added to the sinking fund.

THEME, in music, is a series of notes which is taken as the text of a new composition.

THEMIS, goddess of order among the Greeks, was the daughter of Cœlus and

Terra (Heaven and Earth); according to some, of Helios, or the Sun. Jupiter was inflamed by her charms; and, although she for a long time avoided his embraces, her footsteps finally betrayed her near Ichnæ, in Macedonia, and she became the wife of the god of gods. She bore him the Hours and the Fates (Parca); and her daughter Dice (see Hours), the goddess of justice, is often confounded with her. According to Homer, she dwelt in Olympus, and attended to the just distribution of food at meals, and to every thing relating to the preservation of order. Orpheus (Hymn lxxviii) sings of her: the black-eyed goddess first presided over the Delphic oracle, and delivered oracles to the gods: she taught Apollo right and justice: she instructed mortals in the holy rites of Bacchus: from her come all the mysteries and divine worship. It was Themis who warned Jupiter and Neptune not to marry Thetis. According to Homer, she sits by the side of Jupiter, and converses with him.

THEMISTO. (See Athamas.) THEMISTOCLES, a Grecian commander, was born at Athens (B. C. 514), and early displayed a remarkable energy of mind. He paid little regard to morals and to the fine arts, which formed the chief objects of attention in the education of the Athenians, but eagerly studied the political sciences. Love of glory was his ruling passion. After the victory at Marathon, he was observed to be peculiarly thoughtful; and, on being asked the reason, he replied, "The trophies of Miltiades will not let me sleep." His conduct was marked by many extravagances and excesses; and, in order to acquire notoriety, he exhibited public spectacles, and exceeded his means in his expenditures. The Athenians were at that time divided into two parties, the aristocratical and the democratical. Themistocles courted the favor of the latter, while Aristides (q. v.) was connected with the former. His suppleness, and his ability in the administration of public affairs, soon gained him great reputation; but his fame was less pure than that of Aristides, and his patriotism was weaker than his ambition. Although the Persians had been repulsed by their defeat at Marathon, Themistocles foresaw that they would, nevertheless, renew the war; and he prevailed upon the Athenians to apply the product of their silver mines, which had previously been distributed among the citizens, to the augmentation of their navy. During the exile of Aristides, Themistocles enjoyed the great

est influence in Athens. Three years afterwards, Xerxes renewed the preparations for the subjugation of Greece, and sunimoned the Greeks to submit to him. According to Plutarch, Themistocles instigated the Athenians to put to death the Grecian interpreter who bore this message; but, according to Herodotus, it was at the time of the first Persian invasion, that an act of this kind was committed. Themistocles exhorted the Greeks to forget their domestic divisions, and to unite in opposition to the common enemy. He prevailed upon Epicydes, whose nomination to the post of commander-in-chief had been procured by intrigue, to resign that place for a sum of money, and obtained his own appointment to the command. His advice to occupy the pass of Thermopyla (see Thermopyla, and Leonidas) was, however, neglected, and Bootia was soon entirely overrun by the enemy, who immediately began to advance upon Athens. In this emergency, Themistocles, supported by the reply of the Delphic oracle, which had been consulted at his suggestion, proposed that the Athenians should convey their women and children to places of security, abandon their city to the Persians, and that all who were capable of bearing arins should take to their ships. This proposition was acceded to, and all the exiles, among whom was Aristides, were recalled. The latter now gave his support to his former rival. The command of the allied fleet, though consisting chiefly of Athenian ships, was intrusted to Eurybiades, a Spartan. The latter, rendered insolent by his elevation, threatened to strike Themistocles, in consequence of some expression which fell from him, while consulting concerning the plan of operations: "Strike, but hear," replied Themistocles, calmly; and Eurybiades listened to his arguments, and adopted his proposition. The conscquence of this measure was the battle of Salamis (B. C. 480), in which the Persian fleet was almost totally destroyed, and Greece was saved. The chief glory of this victory is due to Themistocles, who, before and during the battle, displayed not less valor than prudence and genius for command. He now advised the allies to sail to the Hellespont, and destroy the bridge of boats which Xerxes had constructed there, in order to intercept the retreat of the Persians. His advice was not followed, from fear of the consequences of driving an enemy, still formidable by his numbers, to despair. Themistocles, however, sent word to Xerxes