east and the other on the west side of the island, open | Propylæa, like the great temple on the Acropolis. The into this deep landlocked bay, which presents the appear-length of the west coast of Attica from the Horns to Coance of a great lake; the channel on the west is narrower and lonnes is about sixty miles. Strabo states the distance from more intricate than the eastern, which has sufficient depth Peiræus to Sunium at 330 stadia, which is very near the of water for any ships. The bay itself is a capacious haven, true distance of about forty miles. with a great depth of water. The termination of the range of Egaleos on the Attic coast forms a hilly peninsula opposite the eastern end of Salamis; here Strabo places the ferry, to which he assigns a breadth of two stadia, or about 1250 Eng lish feet, but the width of the narrowest part of the channel is at least 1250 yards. The small rocky island of Psyttaleia, the name of which is connected with the great sea-fight of Salamis (Herod. viii. 95), lies at the entrance of the eastern passage into the bay of Eleusis. [See SALAMIS.] Proceeding along the coast we come to the ports of Athens, already described [see ATHENS]; to the promontory Colias, on the east side of the Phaleric bay; and to a low marshy shore, or lagoon, occupying a large part of the coast between Colias and the Cape of Hale, now Cape Pavlo. Between Hala and Zoster, which forms the most remarkable projection on this coast, are some small rocky islands (Leake), which the Persian ships, when flying from the battle of Salamis, at first sight mistook for the enemy's fleet; but Herodotus (viii. 97, 107) says, though he probably might be mistaken, that the heights which appeared like ships were on the mainland. The position of Cape Astypalea seems to be indicated by the island of Eleussa (now Lagonisi), which lies in front of it. The extreme point of Attica, Cape Sunium, is now called Colonnes, from the fourteen remaining Doric columns of white marble, which adorned the temple of Athena of Sunium, the tutelary goddess of the land. Sunium was made a strong fort (Thucyd. viii. 4), and the walls are still traceable in all their circuit except in some parts, which, owing to the precipitous character of the rock, needed no defence. The circuit of the enclosure is above half a mile; the temple occupied a small part of it close upon the bold promontory, and appears to have had The east coast of Attica from the small bay of Sunium northwards is rugged and barren, rising into hills covered with trees and brushwood; the hills between Sunium and Thoricus are the silver-mine district of Laurium. Between Sunium and Thoricus is the bay of Panórimo, the antient Panormus. Thoricus, now Theriko, with its port Mandri, was once a demos of some importance: the traces of the fortifications (Xen. Hellen. i. 2, 1), the ruins of a theatre, and of a quadrangular building which was surrounded by a Doric colonnade, still exist. Dhaskalio is probably the port of the antient demos of Potamus. Rafti, farther north, a port of considerable size, appears to have belonged to the antient Prasiæ. On a small island in this bay there is a colossal statue of white marble in a sitting posture, to which the modern name of Raftes, 'the tailor,' has been given, and hence transferred to the bay. The Erasinus, the only stream that waters the Mesogaia, runs past Vraona, supposed to be Brauron, and enters the sea three miles north of Port Rafti. About ten miles north of the mouth of the Erasi nus some offsets of Pentelicus come close upon the coast, forming the S. and S. W. boundary of the plain of Marathon; the north and north-eastern boundary seems to be formed by the offsets of Parnes and Cape Stomi, conjectured by Leake to be the antient Cynosura. The name Marathon, which originally belonged to one of the four towns which formed the Tetrapolis, was afterwards used as a general name for the whole district. [See MARATHON.] North of Marathon, on the coast, we find at Ovrio Castro the remains of the antient Rhamnus, and of the temple of Nemesis. Parts of a colossal figure found there are supposed to be the remains of the statue of Nemesis, which was the work of Phidias (Pausan. i. 33). The words of Pausanias seem to imply that there was a road along the coast from Rhamnus to Oropia; this road must have passed Psaphis, which Col. Leake would place at Calamo. The coast line from Sunium to Calamo is about sixty miles, or very near it, which is the same length that we have assigned to the western coast; it happens, also, that the direct distances from Sunium to the Horns and Calamo respectively are very nearly the same. We shall now make a few remarks on the two great plains of Attica, the Eleusinian and the Athenian. We have preferred the name of Eleusinian for the western plain of Attica, though the chief part of it is called the Thriasian by antient writers, from the demos of Thria. The range of Egaleos formed a natural limit between the Athenian and Eleusinian plains, and, as far as we can follow the obscure traces of old traditions, the Eleusinians, in the earliest history of Attica, were a community quite distinct from the Athenians, and sometimes at war with them. The fertile Thriasian plain extended between the range of Ægaleos and Eleusis along the borders of the bay, and to the north of it. The Sacred road from Athens to Eleusis, after crossing Ægaleos by the narrow pass where the modern convent of Dhafni stands, came down on the east coast of the bay of Eleusis, near the Rheiti or salt ponds, whose fish formed a part of the revenue of the great temple of Eleusis. [See ELEUSIS.] This lagoon, or at least one of them, seems marked in the recent survey, as in some measure communicating with the water of the bay. From the neighbourhood of the Rheiti the Sacred road ran in the rocks above the Rheiti to Eleusis, from which town the road continued, as it now does, below the Horns on the west side of the bay to the town of Megara. When Attica was invaded on the west, the fertile plain of Thria was the first to suffer from the ravages of an enemy. (Thucyd. ii. 19.) We cannot determine in what part of the Eleusinian plain we must look for the Rharian plain; some modern writers have placed it to the west of Eleusis. Attica is a dry country, and where the soil is not irrigated, it is generally unproductive. Two small streams water the Eleusinian plain: one, called the Cephisus, descends from the great mountain of Citharon, through the narrow plain of Eleuthera, into that of Eleusis; the other small stream rises near the pass of Phyle in the range of Parnes, and runs through the Thriasian plain towards the Rheiti. The remains of an arched aqueduct intended to supply Eleusis with water are still seen stretching across the plain towards Eleusis from the upper course of this latter stream. The Cephisus, though almost dry in the warm weather, brings down from Citharon a prodigious quantity of water in the wet season, and in antient times mounds were raised to protect Eleusis from those sudden inundations. The chief river of the Athenian plain is the Cephisus. Its most north-eastern source is at Trinemii (Strab. p. 400), between the northern face of Pentelicus and Parnes; another branch rises on the south face of Pentelicus, and flowing westward joins the main stream north of Athens; other branches rise in the high range of Parnes about Deceleia, and still farther westwards. The Cephisus flows southwards on the west side of Athens, through what was called by distinction The Plain (rò mediov); its outlet was originally in the bay of Phalerum, and when the long walls were built it was necessary to make funnels to carry off so much of the river as was not consumed in irrigation. Strabo remarks, that the Cephisus is only a torrent stream, and that in summer it fails altogether. The accounts of this river are somewhat contradictory: that of Thiersch is as follows: -The Cephisus is anything but a torrent; it springs from copious and beautiful springs, and is never dry. In the autumn of 1831, in the month of November, when the rains had hardly begun, and the dry weather had continued for eight months, it still flowed, and the natives all assured me that it was never without water. During the whole summer it irrigates the two hundred gardens on its banks, and in winter it supplies water for the olive-trees which are planted in these gardens. To conduct the water to the grounds, the inhabitants have made small trenches and ditches; the irrigation takes place on fixed days and hours, so that each garden is watered twice a week. The same writer informs us, that the irrigation all through Attica is in an excellent condition, and that the valley of the Cephisus, with its noble gardens and antient olive-trees, corresponds exactly to the beautiful description by Sophocles (Ed. Col. 685) of the fertility conferred on his native district by the Cephisus. We have already spoken of the Ilissus in the description of Athens; the main branch rises on the north face of the greater Hymettus, from which it takes a turn to the west. and then to the south, running along the east side of Athens. The Eridanus, which joins it near Athens, rises on the western slope of the greater Hymettus, at a place called Syriani; its fountain is in a beautiful spot, surrounded by verdure. In summer, the Ilissus is quite dry in the neighbourhood of Athens; it seems originally to have terminated, where the Cephisus did, in the Phaleric bay. Besides these streams there are only two others worth notice: one is the Erasinus, which flows from the eastern slopes of Hymettus through the Mesogaia into the sea, north of Port Rafti; and the other is the river of the plain of Marathon, which comes from Mount Phelleus. The range of Parnes stands like a wall between Attica and Boeotia, but the ascent is much greater from the Athenian side; the ascent from the higher level of Boeotia is less difficult. There are several passes through this range, which were formerly of great importance for the military defence of Attica. The most western pass was by the Three Heads, as the Boeotians called it, or the Oak Heads, according to Athenian usage (Herod. ix. 39), which we may conjecture was some remarkable eminence near the defile of Citharon. This is now called the pass of Kondura, at which place the roads from Megara, Athens, and Eleusis meet, and from this point the road is continued to Plataea and Thebes, through the deep defile near the Three Heads. The pass of Phyle is about N. by W. of Athens. The fortification, which still retains its name, stands on a steep rock, which can only be approached on the east side, and completely commands the narrow pass. From this elevated fort Thrasybulus and the little band of exiles could view the whole Athenian plain and the Saronic gulf, before they meditated a descent into the low country. Panactum (Thucyd. v. 3. 42), an Athenian fort on the confines of Attica and Boeotia, was possibly connected with some part of this pass, but there seem to be no data for determining its position. The great eastern pass was that of Deceleia (now Tatóy), which runs past the solitary church of St. Mercurius, and descends into the Baotian plain at Buyáti.' (Leake.) On this pass Herodotus (ix. 15) places the demos of Sphendale; and this was the road that Mardonius took when he retreated from Attica: by this pass also the grain imported into Athens from Euboea through Oropus was carried. (Thucyd. vii. 28.) The highest points of Parnes lie between the passes of Deceleia and Phyle: one of the summits between these two points appears to be that to which we have assigned the height of 4193 feet. Another pass, still more to the eastward, leads from the plain of Marathon, past Capandriti to Marcopoulo in the Oropia. At a time when this interesting province is beginning to be more completely examined, it is necessary to use existing authorities with more caution than if all prospects of further information were shut out. We shall here state briefly a few facts as to the products of this region which appear to be well established. The great mass of the mountains of Attica are calcareous, but the stone differs very much in quality and colour. The best specimens of white marble from the quarries of Mendel (the antient Pentelicus) are very white, hard, and fine-grained; but owing to numerous little pieces of flint or quartz imbedded in it, this marble is exceedingly difficult to be worked by the sculptor. Between Pentelicus and Parnes, the mass of rocks appears to be mica slate, which is also the basis of the region of Pentelicus. Marble also was in former times quarried on Hymettus, and, as well as that of Pentelicus, was an article of export: this marble extends to the promontory of Zoster. Near the boundary of Megaris in the Horns, there is an immense deposit of conchiferous limestone, which did not escape the notice of Pausanias (i. 44. 6 see also Gell's Itin. of Greece). The silver-mine district of Laurium may probably still be worked to advantage with the aid of modern improvements, for we can hardly suppose that the ore is exhausted. Salt was made in antient times from the salt marshes on the coast. Attica cannot produce much grain in proportion to her surface, and with the exception of some of the best lands, the husbandman will cultivate more profitably the olive, fig, and grape: all kinds of legu. minous vegetables can be successfully cultivated on the banks of the Cephisus of the Athenian plain. (Thiersch.) The fragrance and abundance of flowers in Attica has rendered Hymettus noted for its honey, and we find that, when Wheler visited Attica, the monks of Mendeli, a mo : nastery of Pentelicus, had 5000 hives. Attica is not well adapted for breeding the horse to any amount, nor does the cow in general succeed well either here, or in any of the low hot parts of Greece. The sheep, and especially the kid, formed of old a large part of the wealth of the husbandmen; and in Greece generally at the present day, butter and cheese are solely produced from the milk of the goat and the sheep. The seas round the coast of Attica abound in excellent fish, all the species of which were known to and highly prized by the antient gastronomists: the red mullet caught about Cape Zoster is as much valued as it ever was (Leake), and with the increased demand which will now probably arise in Attica, we may expect to see the rich fisheries of the Attic seas again flourish. Political Divisions.-If we want any proof as to the remote antiquity of political communities in Attica, and its occupation at some time by a people not of the same Greek stock as those of the age of Pericles, we may find it in the names of mountains, streams, and places. The names of mountains and rivers are in all countries the most permanent memorials of a nation's existence. Many Attic names can be explained from the Greek language as known to us, and others can be traced to personal names which belong to the circle of the Greek mythi. But there still remain many which we can only explain by a comparison of Greek words with those of kindred languages, or which we cannot explain at all: such are Cephisus or Keph-issus, Il-issus, Hym-ettus, Bril-essus or Bril-ettus, Garg-ettus, Parnes (compare Parn-assus), Braur-on, Marath-on, Sunium, &c. Another proof of the remote antiquity of settlements in Attica is found in the numerous political divisions of which traces remained in the historical period. The oldest political division of Attica known by tradition was that by Cecrops into twelve parts (see Strabo, p. 397), the names of which, with a few exceptions, belong to that class of words which the Greek language cannot explain. The names Cecropia, Deceleia, Eleusis, and several others, included in the twelve, were preserved in the historical period of Attica. Another division into four parts, among the four sons of Pandion (Strabo, p. 392), has a distinct reference to the physical divisions of the Attic peninsula, including in this term Megaris, which, as we have remarked, was the only portion which afterwards fell into the hands of the Dorians. That there is an historical fact contained in the division of the peninsula among the four sons of Pandion appears from there being three great natural divisions of Attica after the separation of Megaris, which three divisions formed the groundwork of the three political parties in the time of Pisistratus. (Herod, i, 59,) These parties, as Plutarch remarks (Solon, 13), were in number just as many as the natural divisions of the country they were the Diacrii or Hyperacrii, the inhabitants of the mountainous N.E. region and the range of Parnes; the men of the Plain (under which name the plain of Athens, and probably the Eleusinian also are included), and the Parali, or inhabitants of the Paralia, a term which we have already explained. The tribes (puxai) established by Cleisthenes were Hippothoontis, Antiochis, Cecropis, Erechtheis, Pandionis, Leontis, geis, Acamantis, Eneis, Æantis. The ten tribes were subdivided into 174 demi or townships, each demos apparently containing a town, or small village. Though the tribes (puλai) were local divisions, and though neighbouring demi were generally classed under the same tribe, there are numerous examples of contiguous demi assigned to different tribes; just as we sometimes observe in England a detached part of one county completely imbedded in a different county. The most populous of the Attic demi was Acharnæ. (Thucyd. ii. 19.) Under Macedonian influence two tribes were added, Antigonis and Demetrias; but these were afterwards changed to Ptolemais and Attalis. A new tribe was added in honour of Hadrian. As to the antient population of Attica, it is difficult to come to any satisfactory conclusion. Mr. Clinton considers, that about B.C. 317 it may have been 527,660, a large population for such a territory (being above 700 to a square mile), even if we take into account that it contained a populous city. The numbers, however, with the exception of the Metoci (who are probably exaggerated in Mr. Clinton's calculation), are fairly deduced from the census of Demetrius the Phalerean, as it is reported in Athenæus (p. 272). The reader is referred to Mr. Clinton's essay for the various arguments. (Appendix to the first volume of the Fasti Hellenici.) With respect to some of Mr. Clinton's subsidiary arguments deduced from the area of Attica (which he estimates at 748 square miles, including Salamis) and the amount of its products, we may observe, first, that the area as determined from all maps hitherto published is necessarily incorrect, the coast line having only been accurately ascertained by Captain Copeland in 1830, and the interior boundary line being still very inadequately laid down; and secondly, that the calculations as to the possible or probable production of grain in Attica are at present exceedingly hazardous, and probably far from the truth. Attica is one of the Eparchies of the actual kingdom of Greece; it contains one city, Athens, and 118 villages. The population is not known. For more exact information on the physical character of Attica, we must look to the Germans and others at present in the country. Colonel Leake's Essay on the Demi of Attica, in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature, is a most excellent and accurate work. The reader may also consult Kruse's Hellas, but with caution, and not without the assistance of Leake. See also Thiersch, De l'Etat actuel de la Grèce, Leipzig, 1833; the Unedited Antiquities of Attica; and Hermann's Lehrbuch, &c. ATTIC DIALECT, a term which is applied to designate one of the varieties of the antient Greek language, We have seen the close connexion and relationship which existed between the old inhabitants of Attica and the Ionians; and in conformity with this fact, we find it stated (Strabo, p. 333) that the Ionic form of the Greek language, or the Ionic dialect, as it is generally called, was the same as the old Attic, for the antient Athenians were called Ionians.' But in course of time the language of Athens, which was improved by a great number of writers, gradually acquired a distinct character, and also a decided preeminence, owing to the excellent works which were written great works of antiquity which have been transmitted to our times are written in the Attic dialect. Some writers have made two, and some three divisions of the Attic dialect, with reference to extant writers; but the general division of the Attic dialect into old and new seems to be sufficiently exact. To the former division belong Eschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Antiphon, Thucydides, &c.; to the latter, Demosthenes, Eschines, and the contemporary orators. The language of Xenophon, Plato, and indeed Aristophanes also, may be considered as possessing a character somewhat intermediate between the two classes, and the name of middle may consequently be given to it; but it would be difficult to say exactly how a writer of this middle class is to be distinguished from the writers of the new Attic. A division into four tribes (pvλai), and also a division into four castes, is attributed to Ion. The division of the four Ionian tribes remained, as we have observed (see ATHENS), to the time of Cleisthenes, who increased them to ten; and the four castes or classes of Ion were re-in it on almost every branch of literature. Most of the presented in number, though perhaps in no other respect, by the four classes into which Solon distributed the Athenian citizens according to their property. Besides the twelve political divisions of Cecrops, we find another division of four:-Cecropia, Autochthon, Actæa, Paralia: the first two are mythical, and the two last clearly are significant, local names. The name Cecropia, assigned to one of the four divisions, and also to one of the twelve divisions of Cecrops, existed in the time of Thucydides, and appears to have been applied to a district (as Colonel Leake conjectures) lying in the lower but hilly tract which connects Ægaleos with Parnes (Thucyd. ii. 19): Cecropis was also the name of one of the ten tribes. Four other divisions are also mentioned under the names of Cranais, Atthis, Mesogaia, and Diacris; of which the last two are local denominations. The four divisions are again mentioned under the names of Dias, Athenais, Poseidonias, and Hephaestias, referring to the names of four divinities, including those of Athene and Poseidon, the national gods of the old settlers and the Ionians respectively. After the time of Alexander, when the Greeks were more united as a nation, the superiority of Athenian literature made the language of Athens the common language of those who wrote pure Greek. Aristotle may be considered as the earliest extant writer, not an Athenian by birth, who adopted the language of Athens. The Attic dialect, then somewhat modified under Macedonian influence and by local circumstances, became the common written language of the educated Greeks. We find accordingly, under the successors of Alexander, and afterwards under the Romans, a series of Greek prose writers belonging to various countries, but all attempting to write one common language. These writers no doubt have each some peculiarities; but these peculiarities are not of that kind which distinguish the Ionic Greek of Herodotus, or the Doric Idylls of Theocritus from the language of Thucydides and Euripides. This common language of the learned Greeks was called the common dialect ( Kown, or 'EXŋvieη_diáλekrog): Polybius, a native of the Peloponnesus, Strabo of Asia Minor, Diodorus of Sicily, and others, belong to the writers who use the Common Dialect. Some late writers affected rather to imitate the pure old Attic standard than to use the modified Attic, or Common Dialect, as Lucian, Arrian in his Anabasis, Aristides, &c. The name of Atticists ('ATTIKIOTA) was given to this artificial class of writers, but especially to such imitators as Aristides. [See ARISTIDES, ELIUS. The real characteristics of the Attic dialect can only be known by a careful study of the writers. The reader may consult Maittaire's Græcæ Linguæ Dialecti, by Sturz, 1807; Buttmann's Greek Grammar; and Matthiæ's Greek Grammar. ATTICUS, T. POMPONIUS, was descended from a very antient family which formed one of the chief ornaments of the equestrian order. He was born the 9th of March, B.C. 109, being three years older than Cicero and Pompey, and nine older than Cæsar. He is sometimes called Q. Cæcilius (Cic. ad Att. iii. 20), a name which he derived, B.C. 58, from his maternal uncle Cæcilius, who left him a considerable estate. His early years were spent under the direction of his father, whose taste for literature induced him to give his son the best education which Rome could supply; and that he was successful in inspiring him with his own love of learning is proved by the subsequent career of Atticus. He lived during the most stormy period of Roman history, and yet he contrived to retain the friendship of the various parties which in succession directed public affairs. Though he took no active part in politics, he was ever ready to help the unfortunate, to whatever party they might belong. He sent money to the son of Marius after he had been declared a public enemy; and yet he was on such friendly terms with Sulla, that this general was anxious to take him with him to Italy on his return from the Mithridatie war; but Atticus excused himself without losing the favour of Sulla. He was also on good terms with Cæsar, Pompey, M. Brutus, Antony, and Augustus; but his most intimate friend was Cicero, with whom he seems to have kept up a constant correspondence. Pomponia, the sister of Atticus, was married to Cicero's brother Quintus; but the match was not a happy one, as there is plenty of evidence to show that Quintus and his wife did not agree. We still possess the letters of Cicero to Atticus, in sixteen books, one of the most valuable records of that important period. Atticus spent a considerable portion of his life at Athens (from 85 to 65 B.C.), having proceeded to that city about B.C. 85, that he might not be witness of the misery caused by the factions of Cinna and Sulla; and it is not unlikely, though we have no information on the subject, that he derived the name of Atticus from his residence in this city. He so ingratiated himself with the Athenians, that the day of his departure was one of mourning to its inhabitants. Atticus had also an estate in Epirus, near Buthrotum, where he appears to have spent a considerable part of his time. He returned to Rome B.C. 65, when the political horizon seemed somewhat more bright, the same year in which Horace was born. We have no materials for a detailed account of his life, which was spent in the delights of literary retirement. He married at a late period (Feb. 12, B.C. 56) Pilia, of whom we know nothing more than the name (Cic. ad Att. iv. 4), and that her health appears not to have been very good. His daughter, Pomponia (called by Cicero also Caecilia and Attica), married M. Vipsanius Agrippa, the intimate friend and able minister of Augustus; and his grand-daughter by this marriage, Vipsania Agrippina, was married to Tib. Claudius Nero, afterwards emperor, by whom she had Drusus. After Vipsania was divorced from Tiberius, she married Asinius Gallus, by whom she became the mother of a numerous family. Atticus, whose health seems to have been particularly good, if we except some attacks from ague, died at the age of seventy-seven, March 31, B.C. 32, of voluntary starvation, after he found that a disease, with which he was seized, was incurable. He was the author of several works, none of which have been preserved. He wrote annals, in which he observed a strict chronological arrangement, and traced with much diligence the genealogy of illustrious families. They included a period of seven centuries; and though they referred principally to the history of Rome, he gave in them an abridged account of several of the more celebrated nations of antiquity. He was particularly happy in the composition of short epigrammatic inscriptions to be placed under the busts of illus trious men. He wrote also a history of the consulate of Cicero in the Greek language, in a plain, unadorned style. (Cic. ad Att. ii. 1.) In his philosophical opinions, Atticus belonged to the epicurean sect, as we see from various passages in Cicero's Letters; and conformably to the views of this sect, he avoided the troubles and the cares of public life. But though Atticus avoided the anxieties of a political career, he was an active man in looking after his own affairs. His equestrian rank enabled him to hold a share in one or more of those lucrative societies which farmed the public revenues; and accordingly we find him prosecuting a claim, arising out of such a connexion, against the corporation of Sicyon, in B.C. 61; and, at a later period, duties of a similar nature required his presence in Asia. Atticus had a great number of slaves, who were well educated, and appear to have served him as amanuenses and transcribers of books. Accordingly, Cicero (ad Att. i. 1) begs Atticus to see that a copy of his History of his Consulship is placed in Athens, and in every town in Greece; and he also shows, on several occasions, great eagerness to purchase a library which Atticus possessed, and apparently had formed himself. The Life of Atticus, by his contemporary and friend Cornelius Nepos, must be considered rather as the production of a panegyrist than of an impartial writer; and some have lately attempted to prove that it is not the work of this author. (Held, Prolegom. ad Vitam Attici quæ vulgo Corn. Nepoti adscribitur, Vratislav. 1826; see also T. Pomp. Atticus, eine Apologie, Eisenach, 1784; Hisely, De Fontibus Corn. Nepotis.) ATTICUS, HERO'DES. [See HERO'DES.]. ATTILA. This formidable conqueror was the nephew of Roas, a king or leader of the Huns, who at the beginning of the 5th century was established with his hordes in Pannonia, on the south bank of the Danube. Attila and his brother Bleda succeeded Roas A.D. 433. The first act of their reign was to conclude a peace with the Emperor Theodosius II. on terms disgraceful to the majesty of the Roman empire. Being thus at liberty to pursue his conquests in the north, Attila extended his dominions from the Danube eastward to the Volga, and northward even to the Baltic. A doubtful provocation, or an unscrupulous ambition, urged him, in violation of existing treaties, to cross the Danube; and he led an irresistible force through Mosia into Thrace and Macedonia, signalising his way by three successive defeats of the forces of the Eastern Empire. The whole coast of the Archipelago, from Thermopyla to Constantinople, was exposed to his ravages; and Theodosius in alarm retired into Asia. To obtain peace, he consented (A.D. 446) to terms still more humiliating than those of the former treaty; among which we find the cession of the tract along the banks of the Danube extending to the breadth of fifteen days' journey, and the payment of an increased tribute. Soon after, Attila, impatient of a partner in the throne, procured the assassination of his brother Bleda. In 448 the historian Priscus accompanied ambassadors sent to apologize to Attila for the non-fulfilment of some articles of this treaty; and we derive from him some account of the domestic manners of the Huns. In the plains of Upper Hungary, somewhere between the Danube, the Theiss, and the Carpathian mountains, they came to a large village, which had grown up about the palace of Attila. The royal edifice was entirely of wood: the houses of the Huns were of the same or some meaner material, and the only stone building was a set of baths erected by the king's favourite Onegesius. But the wood was fashioned into columns, carved and polished; and the ambassadors could discover some evidence of taste in the workmanship, as well as barbarous magnificence in the display of the rich spoils of more civilized na tions. They were soon invited to a sumptuous entertain- I hurdles; no food but fish; no wealth beside their boats, and no merchandise but salt, which they exchanged for other provisions. Attila treated Milan and Pavia with unusual clemency: he neither fired the buildings, nor massacred the inhabitants. From Milan, Attila purposed to advance upon Rome: but as he lay encamped on the banks of Lake Benacus, he was approached by a supplicatory embassy, led by Avienus and Pope Leo I. [see AVIENUS]. He received them with kindness and respect, and consented to a truce with Rome, the duration of which was to depend either on the fulfilment of his claims on the princess Honoria, or the payment of a proportionate ransom. Prudence and superstition combined in this instance to check the implacable temper of the Hun. His troops, inured to the rigours of a northern climate, and the rude simplicity of a pastoral life, began to melt away in the luxurious plains of Italy; and the great Etius, unable to oppose his progress, still hung on his march with a constant hostility. His friends reminded him of the fall of Alaric, after having plundered the Eternal City, and the example was not without effect upon his own mind. Nor were the dignity and eloquence of Leo void of influence; and the memory of that influence probably was preserved and amplified in the fable which represents St. Peter and St. Paul appearing to the barbarian, and threatening him with instant death if he rejected the request of their successor. Jornandes states, that, on the signature of this treaty, Attila retired beyond the Danube. The death of Attila took place in 453. The common opinion is, that he died by the bursting of a blood-vessel on the night of his marriage with a beautiful maiden, whom he added to his many other wives; some, with a natural suspicion, impute it to the hand of his bride. Jornandes, transcribing, probably, from Priscus, relates the current story, and the solemn ceremony of his funeral. Priscus observes, that no one ever subdued so many countries in so short a time. The vanity of the Romans refused to honour Attila with the title of king; they only styled him general of their armies, disguising an annual tribute under the specious name of military pay. His portrait, given by Jornandes, presents the genuine features of the Calmuck race: he was low in stature, broad-chested, and of powerful framedark-complexioned, with a few straggling hairs in the place of beard-with a large head, flat nose, and small eyes. His carriage was fierce and haughty; and no one could behold him without concluding that he was sent into the world to disturb it. It was a saying of his own, that the grass never grew on a spot where his horse had trod. A tale is told by the Hungarian writers, that when he was in Gaul, a hermit told him that he was the scourge of God, who had put the sword of justice into his hand, to punish the vices of the Christians; but that it would be wrested from him when they were reclaimed. They add, that Attila remembered this saying after the defeat of Châlons, and added to his titles that of Flagellum Dei. His empire was overthrown and disjointed immediately upon his death, by the disputes and dissensions of his sons and chieftains; the fate of most unwieldy empires hastily erected by violence. (Jornandes, De Rebus Geticis, and Priscus, Excerpta de Legationibus, furnish the best antient materials for the history of Attila. For modern compilations, see Buat, Histoire des Peuples de l'Europe, and De Guignes, Hist. des Huns, besides the work of Gibbon, which has been our chief authority, and the Anc. Un. Hist.) ATTLEBURGH, a town in Norfolk, in the hundred of Shropham, on the high-road from London to Norwich, through Thetford; 14 miles from Thetford, 14 from Norwich, and 94 from London. It is now a small and unimportant place, but appears to have been of some consequence in former ages, though its origin and early history are involved in considerable obscurity. The church tower is old, being part of the church originally built here; but the remainder of the edifice is of later date, and in the decorated English style, with some fine windows and excellent details. It is a cross church, and was collegiate. The foundation of the college was designed by Sir Robert de Mortimer, in the time of Richard II., and carried into effect by his executors or trustees in the time of Henry IV. It consisted of a master, warden, and four secular priests. Attleburgh has three fairs in the year; and a market every Thursday. There are places of worship for Methodists and Baptists. The population in 1831 was 1939. |