GAN'YMEDE (Lat., from Gk. 'raw 1.17,67s). According to the Iliad, the son of Tros; or, ac cording to others, of Laomedon, Ilus, or Erich thonius. The most beautiful of mortals, he was carried to heaven to become the cup-bearer of Zeus. The _legend gradually developed, and it was the common belief that he had been borne away by the eagle of Zeus, or by Zeus himself in the form of an eagle. The eagle carrying away the boy was seemingly a favorite subject with later artists. The most celebrated was the work of Leochares, of which some conception may be obtained from a small marble copy in the Vatican. Ganymede was also identified with the divinity who presided over the sources of the Nile. The Greek astronomers likewise placed him among the stars, under the name of Aqua rius (the water-bearer).
GAP, gap. The capital of the Department of Hautes-Alpes, France, pleasantly situated on the right bank of the Luye, 841/2 miles from Grenoble by rail (Map: France, N 7). It is approached
through avenues of walnut trees, and is sur rounded by vine-clad hills. The chief public buildings are the handsome Gothic cathedral, rebuilt since 1887; the bishop's palace; the pre fecture building, containing a museum and the marble mausoleum of the Constable de Lesdi guieres; a lyceum, a seminary, a library, and a theatre. The city is the seat of a bishop since the fifth century, has a court of assize, and a commercial tribunal. It has manufactures of hats, cement, leather, etc. Population, in 1901, 11,018. Gap (the ancient V apinicum) was for merly capital of a district of Dauphin6 to which it gave the name of Gapencais. At the commence ment of the seventeenth century it is said to have had about 16,000 inhabitants. Its decay dates from 1692, when it was sacked and almost wholly reduced to ashes by Victor Amadeus of Savoy.