Stylite
one of a class of anchorites in the early Church who took up their abode on lofty pillars. Their position was an attempt to realize the two fundamental ideas of Christian asceticismseparation from the things of earth, and aspiration after those of heaven. The first Stylite was Simeon, the Syrian (A. D. 390-459), who who commenced this mode of life near Antioch, about A. D. 420. His life was one of great austerity. After his death the Stylites became numerous, and peculiar privileges were accorded to them.
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Stylobate
in architecture, the substructure of a Greek temple below the columns, sometimes formed of three steps which were continued round the peristyle, and sometimes of walls raised to a considerable height, in which case it was approached by a flight of steps at one end.
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Stymphalus
A town in the northeast of Arcadia . The town itself was situated on a mountain of the same name, and on the north side of the lake Stymphalis (Zaraka), on which dwelt, according to tradition, the celebrated birds, called Stymphalides, destroyed by Hercules .
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Styr
a river of eastern Galicia, emptying into the Pripet Marshes, along which heavy fighting took place between German and Russian forces during the World War, in the fall of 1915. Here, and along the Strypa river, further S., sudden the Russians developed a strength after, for several months, during the summer, being driven back along their whole front by the Teutons. The by battle in this region, which began in the first week of October, 1915, continued with unceasing severity into the winter months, and proved the turning point in favor of the Russians, who, in the following spring began an offensive which proved all but disastrous to the armies of the Central Empires along the Easern front.
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Styrax
in botany, the storax; the typical genus of Styracaceæ. Elegant trees and shrubs, mostly with stellate hairs, entire leaves, and racemes of white or cream-colored flowers. Found in the warmer parts of America and Asia; one is European and one African. S. officinale, a tree from 15 to 20 feet high, has ovate leaves, shining above, downy beneath, longer than the racemes, which consist of five or six flowers. It is a native of Syria, Greece, and Italy. It furnishes storax, which exudes and hardens in the air when the bark is wounded. S. benzoin is the benjamin storax, or gum-benjamin tree. It is found in Sumatra, Java, and the Malay Archipelago generally, and produces benzoin. S. reticulata, S. ferruginea, and S. aurea yield a gum used as incense. Among other American species are S. grandiflorus, S. laevigatus, and S. pulverulentus, S. serratulum, and S. virgatum, small trees, natives of Bengal, yield gum, but of inferior quality.
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Styria
a former duchy, now a state in the Austrian Republic, bounded by Upper and Lower Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Carniola, Carinthia, and Salzburg; area, 8,662 square miles. Pop. about 1,400,000. Capital Gratz, 156,000. The duchy, with the exception of the S. part, is mountainous. The Noric Alps traverse the district between the Enns and the Mur; the Styrian Alps between the Mur and the Drave; and the Carnic Alps between the Drave and the Save. These mountains rise to the height of between 7,000 and 8,000 feet, and are rich in minerals. Styria belongs to the basin of the Danube, which drains it by means of the four rivers mentioned above. On the S. plains and in the valleys the land is fertile, and wheat, maize, hemp, flax, and the poppy are raised. The vine thrives well in many districts. The chief sources of wealth are the forests and minerals, dairy farming, mining, and manufactures. Gratz is the capital. Pop. about 10,500.
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Styx
in mythology, one of the rivers of Hades-the 10th part of the waters of Oceanus-flowing round it seven times with dark and sluggish stream, across which Charon ferries the shades of the departed. The nymph of this stream was the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and she first, together with her children, came to the help of Zeus against the Titans. For this service they were taken to Olympus, and she herself became the goddess by whom the most solemn oaths of the immortals were When such an oath was taken sworn. Iris brought some of her sacred water in a golden cup, and whoever swore falsely by it lay speechless and breathless for a year, and was banished nine years from the councils of the gods. A rocky stream falling into the Crathis in the N. E. of Arcadia bore this name, the scenery around it being fittingly weird and desolate.
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Sub-Deacon
the lowest step in holy orders in the Roman Catholic Church, the highest of the minor orders among the Greeks. In the Roman Catholic Church, sub-deacons prepare the sacred vessels and the bread and wine for mass, pour the water into the chalice at the offertory, and sing the Epistle; in the Greek Church they prepare the sacred vessels, and guard the gates of the sanctuary. There are no sub-deacons in the Anglican Communion.
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Subject
that which is placed under the authority, jurisdiction, dominion, or influence of something else. One who is under the authority, rule, or dominion of another. That on which any mental operation is exercised; that which is treated or handled as an object of examination, thou hought or discussion; that concerning which anything is affirmed or denied; as, a subject for inquiry or consideration. That on which any physical operation or experiment is performed; as, a subject for medical treatment. The hero of a piece; the person treated of; as, Byron is the subject of one of Macaulay's lay's finest essays. In logic, the term of which the other is affirmed or denied; as, the subject of a proposition. In grammar, the nominative case of a verb. In fine arts, that which it is the desire and aim of the artist to express; as, the subject of a picture. In anatomy, a dead body serving as an object for anatomical dissection. In music, the chief melody or theme of a movement.
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