PLINIUS, I. C., SEctinnus. cun'-a'us, generally called the Elder Pliny, born A.D. 13, of a noble family at Verona, i served, when young, in the army Germany, and afterwards went to Rome to practise as a barrister, but devoted most of his time to severe study. He was in favour with the emperor Vespasian and his son Titus, and placed in command, over the Roman fleet at Misenum. He Was attracted by the first ap pearances of the great eruption of Vestivius which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum, and, to gratify his curiosity, landed at Stabim, where, unable to retire, he was overwhelmed in the ashes and smoke, and suffocated, 7g. Of his numerous works, only his Natural History, dedicated to Titus, is extant. 2. C., CIECILIUS SECUNDUS, si-cur'-dus, generally spoken of as the Younger Pliny, born at COMUM, A.D. 6x, son of C. Cmcilius, was nephew and (being early left an orphan) adopted son of (t), whose library and MSS. he inherited. He was educated under Quin tilian, and at zo began to practise at the bar, but, unlike the other orators, he took no fees. He was made consul A.D. zoo by the emperor Trajan, on whom he pronounced a fulsome Panegyric, still extant. He was proprmtor in Pontus and Bithynia, 003, where he ac quired great popularity, and, by his represen tations to Tmjan, stayed the persecution of the Christians. On his return to Rome, he still further distinguished himself by his phi lanthropy and ben :volence. He aided his pre ceptor Quintilian and the poet Martial, and presented a valua ale library to his birthplace. He died 113. Of his works, including nu merous orations, the history of his times, poems, Re., there are extant only his Pane gyric, distinguished by the affectation and pomposity of the time, and ten books of Efiistles, written with elegance and purity. PLOSTHENES, plis'-thi-nis, son of King Atreus of Argos, was father of the Alrida (q.v.), Agamemnon and Menelaus, according to Hesiod and others.
PLOT.E, /30-tee (See STROPHADES). PLOTINUS,23/0-te-21Us, the first Neo-Platonic philosopher, of Lycop6lis in Egypt, born about 203, was educated under Ammonius, and accompanied Gordian to the East ; he after wards taught at Rome, where he acquired great popularity. In his old age he retired to PuteOli, in Campania, where he died, 262. PLOTIUS TUCCA, tuc'-ca, a friend of Horace and of Virgil, to whom, with Varius, the latter bequeathed his literary works. PLUTARCHUS,j3i17-iar'-ChUS, the moralist and biographer, born at Chmronea, his father and grandfather, Lamprias, being distinguished for their virtues and learning. He studied philo
sophy and mathematics under Ammonius at Delphi, and afterwards travelled in Egypt and Italy, and taught at Rome temp. Domitian ; and on the accession of Trajan, who admired his abilities, he was made Consul, and after wards governed Illyricum. On the death of his benefactor, Plutarch returned to Chmronea, where, after holding the various civic offices of his birthplace and the priesthood, he died at an advanced age. He had, by his wife Timo xena, a daughter and four sons ; and two of the latter, Plutarchus and Lamprias, survived him, and published his writings, which consist of the well-known Parallel Lives of famous Greeks and Romans, which are the perfection of biographical writing, and about sixty trea tises of or ethical essays.
PLUTO (-onis), filu'-eo, the infernal god, was son of Saturn (and Ops), whose kingdom was divided between him and his brothers Jupiter and Neptune, Pluto receiving all under ground, and thus becoming the god of the infernal world, death, and funerals. He received various names—Hades, Dis (as the giver of wealth, being confounded with Plutus), Orcus, &c. As all the goddesses refused marriage with him, from the gloominess of his abode, he carried off Ceres' daughter Proser .
qnne, the Persephone of the Greeks, when gathering flowers in the plains of Enna. During the war of the gods and Titans he was protected by a helmet he received from the Cyclopes, which made him invisible, and which was used by Perseus at the conquest of the Gorgons. According to the ancients, Pluto, holding a two-pronged sceptre, sat on a throne of sulphur, from which issued the rivers Leth'e, Cocytus, Phlegethon, and Ach6ron, while Cer b6rus watched at his feet, the Harpies hovered round him, Proserpine sat .m his left with the snake-crowned Furies, and in his right stood the Parcm (Fates), each with the symbol of her office,—the distaff, spindle, or scissors.
PLurus, p/e-ircs, the gee, of wealth, and often confounded with Plum, was son of Iasion and Cfires, and was reared 1 y Pax. He was represented as winged and blind.
PNVX (Huq, gen. fivsviig), the place at Athens where the assemblies held, was cut out of the side of a little hill west of the Acropiilis, and was of semicircular form, like a theatre, with seats hewn from the rock.