Salamis, of which the poet was an eye-witness

Persano (per-sä'no), Count Carlo Pellione di. Born at Vercelli, Italy, March 11, 1806: died July 28, 1883. An Italian admiral. He lost the battle of Li a in 1866, and was deprived of his rank in 1867. Per sar men i a (pér-sär-mē'ni-ä). In ancient geography, the eastern portion of Armenia, annexed by Persia about 384 A. D. Persecutions, The Ten. In ecclesiastical his tory, the persecutions under Nero, Domitian, Traja Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Maximin, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian, and Dio- cletian. Those under Decius and Diocletian were general throughout the Roman Empire. Perse phone. See Proser pine . Perse polis (per-sep'ō-lis). p'ō-lis). In ancient geography, one of the capitals of the Persian empire, situated not far from the Kur, about 35 miles northeast of the modern Shiraz, about lat. 30° N. It became the capital under Darius I.; was captured and burned by Alexander the Great about 330 B. C.; and is still noted for the ruins of its palaces. Near it are the ruins of Istakhr, the later Sa an i an city. The most remarkable monuments are grouped on a terrace of smoothed rock and masonry, approximately rectangular in plan, though with irregular projections, measuring 940 by 1,550 feet, and attaining in front the height of 43 feet, of fine polygonal masonry, while at the back it is dominated by the rock of the foot-hills behind. The chief buildings on the terrace were the Propylæa and the great hypostyle hall of Xerxes, the Hall of 100 Columns, attributed to Darius, and the residence palaces of Darius and his succe ors. The Propylæa in their present form consist of two end-pa ages between piers of masonry from the front pair of which a wall formerly extended on each side, while in the interval between the pa ages stood two pairs of great columns all of whose superstructure is now gone. To one side of the Propylæa, toward the southeast, lies a second terrace, 10 feet high, upon which stand the ruins of the hypostyle hall or throne pavilion of Xerxes. This consisted of a central square of 36 huge columns, preceded and flanked on both sides at an interval by 3 hexastyle porticos, each of 12 columns of the same size as those of the main group. The indications are that this structure never po e ed inclosing walls, but was open like the halls of some Indian palaces, and fitted upon occasions of ceremony with hangings. The ma ive entablatures and the coffered ceilings were of wood, the roof of beaten clay. Thirteen imposing fluted columns still stand almost entire; their height is nearly 64 feet, their intercolumniation 291. This monument was one of the greatest ever built by man. To the left of the hall of Xerxes, in the middle of the terrace, was the throne-pavilion of Darius, the Hall of 100 Columns, a building 250 feet square, preceded on the north by an octastyle portico in antis of 16 columns. Unlike the pavilion of Xerxes, that of Darius was surrounded by a ma ive wall, and the roof was supported by 10 ranges, each of 10 columns, with an intercolumniation of over 20 feet. The door-and window frames, ante, and niches of stone, and the bases of most of the columns, remain in place, while the brick walls have disappeared utterly. The residence palaces occupied the southern part of the terrace, and appear to have been 5 in number. The most important are those of Darius and Xerxes, most of whose piers, ma ive do or and window frames, and other members of stone are still erect, while the brick walls and the wooden superstructure have perished. These palaces are similar in plan: there was a large covered hall in the middle, upon the front and sides of which opened a number of rather small rooms, while the more spacious royal apartments were at the back. The cornices over the great doors have precisely the Egyptian elements and profile, but differ in their decoration. In the palace of Darius carved reliefs of men fighting animals occur, based on A yrian originals; in that of Xerxes the sculptures represent subjects pertaining to royal luxury. Great figures of bulls, often set up before the portals, recall the A yrian practice. The columns, somewhat slender in type, have sculptured bases of inverted bell-form, and capitals with the fore parts of bulls projecting widely on 2 sides, like those of the Portico of the Bulls at Delos, and often beneath an erect circlet of plume-like leaves above a convex band of pendent lanceolate leaves, the entire profile being strikingly similar to that of the newly cla ified Greek Æolic capital, in which spreading volutes replace the bulls. In the face of the cliff behind the terrace are the decorated façades of royal rock-tombs. The chief explorations are due to Flandin and Coste in 1840-41, and to Stolze and Andreas prior to 1882. In 1891 some excavations were made by Herbert Weld Blundell, and casts of the Persian i sculptures and inscriptions taken by a private expedition sent out from England. Perseus (per's us). [Gr. Περσείς .] 1. In Greek mythology, a hero, son of Zeus or Danaë, who slew the Gorgon Medusa, and afterward saved Andromeda from a sea-monster. See Daпаё . - 2. An ancient northern constellation, the figure of which represents Perseus in a singular posture, holding the head of the Gorgon in one hand and waving a sword with the other. Perseus. A celebrated statue by Canova (1800), in the Vatican, Rome. As an art-work it is of high technical perfection, but is little more than a travesty of the antique. Perseus. Died in the middle of the 2d century B.C. The last king of Macedonia, son of PhilipV. whom he succeeded 179. He began war with Rome in 172; was defeated at Pydna by Æmilius Paulus in 168; and was dethroned and taken captive to Rome in 167 B. с. Perseus and Andromeda. 1. A painting by Rubens, in the Hermitage Museum, St. Peters burg. Perseus has already conquered the monster, and approaches Andromeda, who is chained nude to a rock, and is being set free by Cupids. Victory approaches to crown Perseus, and Pegasus is seen in the background. 2. A painting by Tin to ret to, in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. The figure of the chained Andromeda is much admired for its beauty of form and color. Perseus is in the act of overcoming the dragon. The palace of Cepheus appears in the distance. Perseus and Medusa. A statue by Benvenuto Cell in i, in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence. The helmeted hero, holding his falchion, stands over the bleed. ing body of Medusa and uplifts her severed head. The elaborate pedestal, with its mythological figures, is rather goldsmith's than sculptor's work, and the statue, despite its celebrity, illustrates the limitations of Cell in i. Per shore (per's hor). A town in Worcesters hire, England, situated on the Avon 9 miles southeast of Worcester. Population (1891), about 4,000. Persia (per's ha or pėr'zhä), F. Perse (pars), G. Persien (per'ze-en), Persian name Iran(e-rän A country of western Asia. Capital, Teheran. It is bounded by Transcaucasia (Ru ia), the Caspian Sea, and Ru ian Central Asia on the north, Afghanistan and Balu chi stan on the east, the Arabian Sea, Strait of Ormuz, and Persian Gulf on the south, and the Persian Gulf and Turkey on the west. The surface is largely mountainous and table-land, the principal mountain-ranges being in the west, northwest, north (the Elburz), and east. Much of the country is desert, and without drainage to the sea. Wheat, sugar, fruits, etc., are produced; and the leading manufactures are silks, carpets, shawls, arms, embroidery, etc. The chief divisions are Azerbaijan, Gilan, Mazandaran, Khorasan, Kirman, Mekran, Laristan, Farsistan, Yezd, Khuzistan, Luristan, Irak Ajemi, and Ardelan. The government is an absolute monarchy under a hereditary shah. The prevailing religion is Shiite Mohammedanism. The Persians are the leading race: there are also Turks, Armenians, Kurds, etc. According to Sayce, Howorth, and other modern scholars, the ancient Persians came to Elam about 600 в. C., not from Persis, but from Parsua (which was probably near Lake Urumiah). The Persians under Cyrus the Great overthrew Astyages about 549 B. C., and the Medo-Persian monarchy rose to power under Cyrus, Cambyses (who conquered Egypt), and Darius I. It unsucce fully attempted the conquest of Greece under Darius I. and Xerxes. The first empire under the Achæmenians was overthrown by Alexander the Great, at the battles of I us (333) and Arbela (331); and the country was ruled by Alexander the Great and his succe ors, and by the Seleucidæ, until the rise of the Part hi an monarchy in the middle of the 3d century B. C. The Part hi an empire of the Arsacidæ was overthrown by the second Persian empire of the Sa anians 227-228 A. D. Persia was often at war with Rome. It was at its height in the reigns of Khusrau I. and II. in the 6th and 7th centuries; was overthrown by the Saracens at the battles of Kadisiyah (about 635) and Nehavend (about 641); came under the califate, Seljuks, Kharesmians, and Mongols; was conquered by Timur in the end of the 14th century; was under the Sufi dynasty 1499-1736; flourished under Abbas Shah 1586-1628; and was under Nadir Shah 1736-47. Persian Armenia was conquered by Ru ia in 1827. Persia was at war with Great Britain in 1856-57. Area, 628,000 square miles. Population (estimate of 1894), about 9,000,000. Persian Fighting, A. An antique marble statuette in the Vatican Museum, Rome, identified as one of the notable series of Pergamenian copies from the four groups of sculpture presented to Athens about 200 в. с. by Attalus I. of Pergamum. This example is probably from the group of the battle of Marathon. The warrior has sunk on one knee, and seeks with his raised right arm to parry a blow from an adversary before him. Persian (per's han or pèr'zhan) Gulf. An arm of the Arabian Sea, with which it is connected by the Strait of Ormuz: the ancient Persicus Sinus. It lies between Persia on the northeast, Arabia on the south and west, and Turkey on the northwest. The chief tributary river-system is that of the Euphrates and Tigris. Length, about 600 miles. Greatest breadth, about 220 miles. Persian i (per-sē-ä'nē), Madame (Fanny Tacchinardi). Born at Rome, Oct. 4, 1812: died at Pa y, France, May 3, 1867. An Italian opera singer. She made her first appearance at Leghorn in 1832, and at Paris in 1837. The next year she sang in London, and from this time alternately in London and Paris for many years, with occasional seasons in other places. She Persian i Æschylus. fensive. Persigny (per-sen-ye'), Duc de (Jean Gilbert Victor Fialin). Born at St.-Germain-Lespina e, Loire, France, Jan., 1808: died at Nice, Jan., 1872. A French politician. He took part in the Bona part ist attempts at Strasburg in 1836 and Bou logne in 1840, and was one of the chief conspirators in the rior 1852-54; amba ador in London 1855-58 and 1859-60; d'état of Dec. 2, 1851. He was and minister of the interior 1860-63. Persis (per's is). [Gr. Περσίς .] In ancient geography, a country in Asia, lying southeast of Susiana, south of Media, and west of Carman i a. It was the nucleus of the Persian empire, and corresponded nearly to the modern Farsistan. Persius (per's hi-us) (Aulus Persius Flaccus), Born at Volaterræ, Etruria, 34 A. D.: died 62 A. D. A Roman satirist. His six satires have been edited by Jahn, Coning ton, Gilder sleeve, and others.