ERCILLA Y ZUNIGA, ALONSO DE Spanish soldier and poet, distinguished himself in the campaign in Chile against the Araucanians, but, having quarrelled with one of his comrades, was condemned to death by his general, Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza. The sentence was commuted to imprison ment, but Ercilla was speedily released and fought at the battle of Quiapo (Dec. 14, 1558). He returned to Spain in 1562 with the first 15 cantos of his epic poem, La Araucana (1569). Continua tions appeared in 1578 and 1589-90. La Araucana reveals the qualities of an orator rather than a poet ; it lacks symmetry and abounds in irrelevant episodes and mythological digressions. In spite of its defects, however, it remains the best artistic epic of its kind in Spain.