B
Bacchus
Son of Jupiter and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus. He was the god of wine, and is generally represented crowned with vine leaves. He is…
Baiae
A town in Campania, on a small bay west of Naples, and opposite Puteoli, was situated in a beautiful country, which abounded in warm…
Baleares
Also called Gymnesiae, by the Greeks. Two islands in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Spain, distinguished by the epithets Major and…
Barbari
The name given by the Greeks to all foreigners, whose language was not Greek, and who were therefore regarded by the Greeks as an inferior…
Bassareus
A surname of Dionysus, probably derived from bassaris, a fox-skin, worn by the god himself and the Maenads in Thrace. Hence Bassaris was…
Bacchante
Belesis or Belesys. A Chaldean priest at Babylon, who is said, in conjunction with Arbaces, the Mede, to have overthrown the old Assyrian…
Belgae
A people of German origin, inhabiting the northeast of Gaul, were bounded on the north by the Rhine, on the west by the ocean, on the south…
Belgium
The name generally applied to the territory of the Bellovaci, and of the tribes dependent upon the latter, namely, the Atrebates, Ambiani…
Belisarius
A celebrated general who, in the reign of Justinian, emperor of Constantinople, renewed the victories which had rendered the first Romans…
Bellerophon
Son of Glaucus, king of Ephyre, and Eurymede, was at first called Hipponous. He was sent by Iobates, king of Lycia, to conquer the monster…
Bellona
Goddess of war, was daughter of Phorcys and Ceto; called by the Greeks Enyo, and is often confounded with Minerva. She prepared the chariot…
Belus
One of the most ancient kings of Babylon, about 1800 years before the age of Semiramis, was made a god after death, and was worshipped by…
Berenice
The mother of Agrippa, whose name occurs in the history of the Jews as daughterin-law of Herod the Great. A number of others of minor…
Bithynia
A district of Asia Minor, bounded on the west by Mysia, on the north by the Pontus Euxinus, on the east by Paphlagonia, and on the south by…
Boadicea
A famous British queen who rebelled against the Romans and was defeated, upon which she poisoned herself. Her cruel treatment by the Romans…
Boeotia
A district of Greece, bounded north by Opuntian Locris, east by the Euboean Sea, south by Attica, Megaris, and the Corinthian Gulf, and…
Boethius
A Roman statesman and author, born about A. D. 470, was famous for his general learning, and especially for his knowledge of Greek…
Boreas
The name of the north wind blowing from the Hyperborean mountains. According to the poets, he was son of Astraeus and Aurora. Boreas is…
Bovillae
An ancient town in Latium at the foot of the Alban mountain, on the Appian Way, about ten miles from Rome. Near it Clodius was killed by…
Briseis
Daughter of Briseus, of Lyrnessus, fell into the hands of Achilles, but was seized by Agamemnon Hence arose the dire feud between the two…
Britannia
The island of England and Scotland, which was also called Albion. Hibernia, or Ireland, is usually spoken of as a separate island, but is…
Britannicus
Son of the emperor Claudius and Messalina, was born A. D. 42. Agrippina, the second wife of Claudius, induced the emperor to adopt her own…
Bucephalus
A horse of Alexander's, so frequently named by writers that the term has become proverbial. Alexander was the only person that could mount…
Babylon, Bituriges, Boii & Briareus
One of the oldest cities of the ancient world, built on both banks of the river Euphrates. A numerous and powerful Celtic people in Gallia…