HERACLEI DE. This term means, in its widest sense, all "the descendants of Heraeles" (I lereules), of whatever time, and in whatever district of Greece, but is speci ally applied to those adventurers who, founding their claims on their supposed descent from the great hero (to whom Zeus had promised a portion of the land). joined the Dorians in the conquest of the Peloponnesus. There were five different expeditions, the last and greatest occurring eighty years after the Trojan war. The leaders of this last were Temenns, Cresphontes, and Aristodemus, sons of Aristomachus. They defeated Tisamenus, son of Orestes, and grandson of Agamemnon, and thus gained possession of Argos, Sparta, and Myceute. The other parts of the country quickly sub mitted to them, and they then proceeded to divide the spoil. Argos fell to Temenus; Lacediemon to Procics and Eurystheus, the sons of Aristodemus: and Messenia to Cresphontes. This story of the return of the Heraelidm touches on the historical period, and though there is much of fable and tradition, yet there seems to be also a large sub stratum of truth in the records.—See 311Ther's Dorians, Thirlwall's and Grote's Greece.
HERACLErTIIS, a Greek philosopher, was b. at Ephesus, in Asia Minor, and flourished about 300 He is said to have traveled much, and to have been very sorrowfully impressed with the weaknesses of his fellow creatures, whence, according to old tradi tions, lie obtained the nick-name of the " weeping philosopher," in contrast to Democritus, "the laughing philosopher." lie died at the age of 60. The result of Ileracleitus's researches and meditations was a work on the nature of things, said to have been entitled Peri P1syReo8 (on nature). Such fragments of it as remain were collected and elucidated by Schleiermacher in Wolf and Buttmann's .31n8eum der AlterthuinsicimenRehaften (vol. i. part 3, Berlin, 180G).. From these, it appears that he considered fire to he the first prin ciple of all phenomena, and the original substance out of which they have all been evolved. Heracleitus was neither a very original nor a very coherent thinker, and his speculations deserve little attention.