The "Medea" came out in 431 B

C. along with the poet's "Phi loc tetes," "Dictys," and the satyric "Reapers" (the last was early lost). It was based upon a play of Neophron's, and only obtained the third prize, Euphorion 1761.-4. An opera by Mayr, produced in 1812. -5. See Médée . Médec in malgré lui (mad-san' mal-grā' lüē), Le. [F., 'The Doctor in Spite of Himself.'] A farce-comedy by Molière, produced in 1666. The story is taken from a fabliau of the middle ages, "Le vilain mire." (See Sganarelle .) Gounod wrote music for an adap tation of this comedy, and it was produced in 1858 in Paris. It was brought out as "The Mock Doctor" in England in 1865. Mrs. Cent livre's "Love's Contrivance" (1703) is made from "Le médec in malgré lui" and "Le mariage forcé." Médec in Volant (mad-san' vō-lon'), Le. [F., The Flying Doctor.'] An early comedy of Mo lière, in the Italian style, acted in 1659. Parts of it were afterward incorporated in "Le médec in malgré lui" and "L'Amour médec in." Médée (ma-da'). 1. A tragedy by La Péruse, played in 1553. It was the second tragedy played in France. 2. A tragedy by Pierre Corneille, played in 1635: "incomparably the best French tragedy up to its date" ( Saints bury ).-3. Alyric tragedy by Thomas Corneille, with music by Char pen tier, produced in 1693.-4. An opera by Cherubin i, produced in 1797. The words are by Hoffman.-5. A tragedy by Legouvé, played in 1855. Me dell in (mā-del-yen'). A small town in the province of Badajoz, Spain, situated on the Guadiana 53 miles east of Badajoz. It was the defeated Spaniards. birderietor dered there aarch 28, 1809, the French Me dell in. The capital of the department of Antioquia, Colombia, about 40 miles southeast of Antioquia. Population, about 40,000. Medelpad (ma'del-p 'del-päd). A territory in the laen (province) of Westernorrland, Sweden. Medes (mēdz). [Gr. Μήδοι .] The inhabitants of Media. See the extract, and Media . Madai are the Medes, the Mada of the A yrians. We first hear of them in the cuneiform records under the name of Amada, about B. C. 840, when their country was invaded by the A yrian monarch. They were at that time settled in the Kurdish Mountains, considerably to the east of Lake Urumiyeh. Some fifty years later, however, we find them in Media Rhagiana, where they are called no longer Amada but Mada. It was from the latter form of the name that the Greeks took the familiar "Mede." The Medes proper were an Aryan people who claimed relationship to the Aryans of northern India and the Aryan populations of Europe, and one of the tribes belonging to them was that of the Persians, who had established themselves further south, on the eastern shores of the Persian Gulf. But in cla ical times the older inhabitants of the regions into which the Medes migrated were cla ed along with them under the general title of "Medes," so that the name ceased to be distinctive of race. Sayce , Races of the O. T., p. 45 Medford (med ford). A town in Middle sex County, Ma achusetts, situated on Mystic River 5 miles northwest of Boston: the seat of Tufts College(Universalist). Population (1890), 11,079. Medhurst (med'hėrst), Walter Henry. Born at London, 1796: died at London, Jan. 24, 1857. An English mi ionary in China and the East Indies, and Sinologist. He translated the Bible into Chinese; edited the "Chinese Repository" (1838-51); and published "A Chinese-English Dictionary" (1842-43), "An English-Chinese Dictionary" (1847-48), "China: its State IMG:content-0668.png:[ocr errors] Media (mē'di-ä). [Gr. Μηδία .] An ancient country comprising the northwest of the Iranian highland, extending from the Caspian Sea to the Araxes. It was bounded on the northeast by Hyrcania, on the east by Parthia, on the south by Sus i an aPers i a, and nearly corresponded to the modern Persian Media Mediterranean Sea provinces Azerbaijan, Ardilan, and Irak-Ajemi. Later the southeastern the country was called Great Media, and the northwestern, or A trop a tene, Little Media. The Medes (Hebrew and A yrian Madai , Old Persian Mada ) are enumerated in Genesis x. 2 as among the descendants of Japhet; and they, together with the Persians, constituted the most important and powerful Aryan population in western Asia. It is a umed that the country was originally settled by another (perhaps Turanian) tribe, and that the Medes gradually advanced from the northeast to the west and southwest. Media came into contact with As syria at least as early as Ramannirari III. (811-782 B. C.), who mentions Media as a conquered and tributary land. Tig lath Pile ser III. was the first A yrian king who annexed Median territory; and Sargon transplanted Israel it ish war captives to Median cities, and claims in his annals of 713 B. C. to have received tribute from 45 Median chiefs. Sennacherib also received tribute from the Medes. Under Esarhaddon the Medes entered into alliance with the ature, son of Giovanni de' Medici (died 1429). He inherited his father's vast fortune, and, like him, practically ruled the republic through his skill in securing the elevation of his own creatures to the chief offices in the commonwealth. He was expelled with his whole family Mineans (see Armenia ) and the Cimmerians against As syria, apparently without succe . But from that time the Medes grew more united and more powerful against tyrannical As syria. The Median kings of this period are, according to Hero dot us, Deioces (about 700-647), Phraortes and theres IMG:content-0669.png:[ocr errors] against As syria was undertaken by Phraortes, and, according to Hero dot us, ended with the complete defeat of the Medes and the death of Phraortes. Cyaxares repeated the undertaking, and defeated the A yrian army. The attack on the A yrian capital, Nineveh, was delayed for a while in consequence of the invasion of the Scythians. After these were driven out, the Medes, in alliance with the Babylonians under Nabopola ar, advanced once more against Nineveh, and brought about its downfall (608 or 606 B. c.). In the division of the A yrian empire, As syria proper and Me so pot am i a as far as Haran Media, which, however, could not develop into a world's empire on account of the rise of the new Babylonian empire un der Nabopola ar and Nebuchadnezzar. Even the independence of Media was of but short duration, for As trades (585-549) lost in 549 his crown to Cyrus. After that fate of Media was bound up in that of Persia. Still it seems to have preserved a kind of independence or particularism while united to Persia. Thus, the Old Testament writings speak of an empire of "the Persians and Medes." Only the Book of Daniel seems to a ume the existence a Median empire between the last Babylonian king, Nabonidus (Belshazzar), and Cyrus. After the destruction of the Persian empire, Media fell, in the division of Alexander's empire, to Seleucus, the founder of the Syrian monarchy, and later to the Part hi an empire. Since the Mohammedan conquest, the name of Media has given place to that of Irak (Arjaka), also Irak-Ajemi (Persian) to distinguish it from the Arabic or Babylonian Irak. The old Medes were, according to the cla ical writers, a warlike people: in Isa. xiii. they are described as hard and cruel. The religion of the Medes was, according to Strabo (XV. 7, 32), the same as that of the Persians, i. e. dualism. They worshiped, besides the sun-god Mithoras, the moon, Venus, fire, the earth, winds, and water. The oldest capital of Media was Rhagæ, on the site of modern Teheran. Deioces moved the capital to Ecbatana, founded by himself, in the western part of the country, which remained the summer residence of the Persian and Part hi an kings. To Media belonged also Behistun (Bag has tana, 'place of the gods'), which became famous through the great trilingual cuneiform inscription discovered there. Median Wall (mē'di-an wal). [L. Mediæ mu rus .] In ancient history, a wall north of Babylon, extending from the Tigris to the Euphrates, built as a defense of Babylonia. Mediasch (mā'de-äsh). A town in the county of Nagy-Küküllö, Transylvania, situated on the river Nagy-Küküllö 26 miles north-northeast of Hermannstadt. It has a trade in wine. Population (1890), 6,766. Medicean Stars (med-i-sē'an stärz). The name given by Galileo, in honor of the Medici, to the satellites of Jupiter discovered by him. Medici (med'e-che or mã độ-che). [It., physicians.'] An Italian family which formerly ruled in Florence and Tuscany, celebrated for the num ber of statesmen which it produced, and for its patronatembof the family to prig i part in his tory was Silvestro de' Medici, who took part in the revolt of the Ciompi in 1378. Giovanni de' Medici (died 1429) ama ed a large fortune as a banker, and became the founder of the political greatne of the family. He ruled the city by means of his wealth, without holding office. letters. Its is uncer He left two sons Cosmo (1389-1464) and Lorenzo (13951440), each of whom became founder of a branch line of the family. The elder branch, descended from Cosmo, ruled in Florence until its extinction in 1537, except during two periods when it was in exile (1494-1512 and 15271530). Its rule was exercised under the forms of republican institutions down to about 1531, when A le andro de' Medici was made hereditary duke of Florence by the emperor. Among the notable members of this branch were Cosmo the Elder, Lorenzo the Magnificent, and the popes Leo X. and Clement VII. The elder branch became extinct at the death of A le andro in 1537. He was succeeded as duke of Florence by Cosmo I., who represented the younger branch of the family, descended from Lorenzo. Cosmo I. obtained po e ion of Siena and its territories, and in 1569 received the title of grand duke of Tuscany from the Pope, although the imperial confirmation was first received by his succe or Francesco I. in 1575. The younger branch ruled as grand dukes of Tuscany until its extinction at the death of Giovan Gastone de' Medici in 1737. Medici, A le andro de'. A a inated Jan. 5, 1537. First duke of Florence, illegitimate son of Lorenzo (1492-1519). In 1523 the head of the Me dici at Florence, Cardinal Giulio, became pope under the title of Clement VII. He appointed his nephews A le andro and Ippolito joint rulers of Florence in his place under the regency of Cardinal Silvio Pa er in i. In 1527 the populace expelled both A le andro and Ippolito; but in 1531 the former, who had married Margaret of Austria, natural daughter of the emperor Charles V., was restored by his father-in-law and made hereditary duke of Florence, the Medici having till that time exercised power under the forms of republican institutions. Medici, Catharine de'. See Catharine de ' Me dici . Medici, Cosmo or Cosimo de', surnamed "The Elder." Born 1389: died Aug. 1, 1464. A Flor endine banker states in an und patron of liter by the rival family of the Albizzi in 1433, but returned in 1434. He was a magnificent patron of art and literature, and his palace became an asylum for Greek scholars exiled by the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Medici, Cosmo or Cosimo de', called "The Great." Born 1519: died 1574. Grand Duke of Tuscany, son of Giovanni de' Medici (1498–1526). He represented the younger branch of the Medici, descended from Lorenzo de' Medici (1395-1440), and became duke of Florence on the extinction of the elder branch in 1537. He conquered Siena in 1555, and had the title of grand duke of Tuscany conferred on him by the Pope in 1569. See Medici . Medici, Ferdinand I. de'. Born about 1549: died 1609. Grand Duke of Tuscany 1587-1609, younger son of Cosmo the Great. He succeeded his brother Francesco I. Medici, Francesco I. de'. Born 1541: died 1587. Grand Duke of Tuscany 1574-87, son of Cosmo the Great whom he succeeded. Medici, Giovanni de'. Died 1429. A Florentine merchant. He ama ed an immense fortune, and by his adroitne in procuring the elevation of his creatures to the chief offices became virtual ruler of the republic. He left two sons Cosmo (1389-1464) and Lorenzo (13951440), who became the founders of the elder and younger branches of the Medici respectively. Medici, Giovanni de'. See Leo X. Medici, Giovanni de', called "Giovanni delle Bande Nere." Born 1498: killed in battle, 1526. An Italian general. He was a descendant of Lorenzo de' Medici (1395-1440), founder of the younger branch of the Medici. Medici, Giulio de'. See Clement VII . Medici, Ippolito de'. Born 1511: died 1535. An Italian cardinal, grandson (illegitimate) of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Medici, Lorenzo de', surnamed "Il Magnifico" ('the Magnificent'). Born about 1449: died April 8, 1492. A celebrated Florentine statesman and patron of letters, grandson of Cosmo the Elder. On the death of his father Piero in 1469, he succeeded to the immense wealth and political power of his family con jointly with a younger brother Giuliano. The latter was a a inated by a rival family, the Pazzi, in 1478, leaving Lorenzo sole ruler of Florence. Like his predece ors, he governed the republic without any title, merely by a free use of his wealth and by his adroitne in procuring the elevation of his own creatures to the chief offices in the state. Medici, Lorenzo de'. Born 1492: died 1519. Duke of Urbino, grandson of Lorenzo de' Medici (the Magnificent). He became the head of the republic of Florence on the elevation of his uncle to the papal chair under the title of Leo X. in 1513, and in 1516 was appointed by the latter duke of Urbino. Medici, Maria de'. See Maria de Medici . Medicine Bow Mountains. A chain of the southern Wyoming. Rocky Mountains, in northern Colorado and Medill (me-dil'), Joseph. Born at St. John, New Brunswick, April 6, 1823. An American journalist. He was admitted to the bar in 1846, but abandoned law and took up journalism about 1849. In 1855 he became connected with the Chicago "Tribune," of which he obtained control in 1874. Medina (me-dēʻnä), Ar. Medinat-Rasul-Allah (me-de'nät-rä-söl'ällä), or Medinat-el-Rabi (me-dē'nät-el-rä'bē). A city in Hedjaz, Arabia, the second holy city of the Mohammedans, situated about lat. 24° 30′ N., long. 40° E.: the ancient Yathrib, called by Ptolemy Lathrippa. It is celebrated as the place where Mohammed took refuge at the flight (622 A. D.) (see Hejira ), and where he died and was buried. From this it is sometimes designated "the city of the prophet." The Great Mosque contains Mohammed's tomb. The inclosure measures about 500 by 390 feet, and as usual is surrounded by arcaded galleries. The tomb is in an inclosure in the southeastern corner, beneath a conspicuous pointed dome: the pavement of this part of the mosque is formed of beautiful mosaics. The tomb consists of a structure of black stones, with two pillars: it is wholly concealed from the eyes of the profane by precious draperies. The actual buildings of the mosque are at least in large part very modern, the arches, though of pointed horseshoe-form, not being extra dosed, while the columns are pseudo-cla ical. Medina was the capital of the Mohammedan empire down to the acce ion of the Ommiads (661). Population, estimated, 16,000. Medina (mē-dīna). In Spenser's "Faerie Queene," the second of the three sisters Eli a, Medina, and Peri a. She far excelled the other two, representing the golden mean, while Eli a was froward and always discontented, and Peri a was loose and ex travagant, and indulgent in all pleasures. Medina (ma-dē'nä), Sir John Baptist. Bornat Bru els in 1659: died at Edinburgh, Oct. 5, 1710. A Belgian-English portrait-painter, pupil of François Du Châtel of Bru els. He went to London in 1686, and to Edinburgh in 1688. He was knighted in 1707. Medina (ma-The'nä), José Maria. Born about 1815: died at Santa Rosa, Feb. 8, 1878. A Central American politician, president of Honduras Feb. 15, 1864, to Aug., 1872. During this period the country was brought to bankruptcy by reckle financiering in connection with an interoceanic railway scheme. Salvador Mediterranean Sea and Guatemala having made war on Honduras, Medina was defeated and deposed by his own troops. He revolted against Leiva (Dec., 1875, to May, 1876), but was defeated, and for a second attempted revolt was shot. Medina-Celi (-tha'le). A small town in the province of Soria, Spain, situated 12 miles northeast of Siguenza: noted for an ancient castle. Medina del Campo (ma-The'nä del kämpō). A town in the province of Valladolid, Spain, situated on the Zabardiel 25 miles south-southwest of Valladolid. The Castillo de la Mota is a very interesting castle, built of brick in 1440, now ruinous within but comparatively perfect without, with its broad moat, strongly fortified gate, square keep, round angle-towers, and numerous projecting bartizans. Here Queen Isabella died in 1504. Population (1887), 5,581. Medina de Rio Seco (dā rē ́ō sā kō). A town in the province of Valladolid, Spain, 24 miles northwest of Valladolid. Here, July 14, 1808, the French under Be ières defeated the Spaniards under Cuesta. Population (1887), 4,776. Medina Sidonia (ma-The'nä se-do'ne-ä). A town in the province of Cadiz, Spain, 24 miles east by south of Cadiz: noted in Spanish history. Population (1887), 11,705. Medinat-ez-Zahra (me-de'nät-ez-zä'rä). See the extract. One of his [the calif's] wives, whose name was Ez-Zahra, 'the Fairest,' to whom he was devotedly attached, once begged him to build her a city which should be called after her name. The Great Khalif, like most Mohammedan sovereigns, delighted in building, and he adopted the suggestion. He at once began to found a city at the foot of the mountain called the "Hill of the Bride," over against Cordova, and a few miles distant. Every year he spent a third of his revenues upon this building; and it went on all the twenty-five remaining years of his reign, and fifteen years of the reign of his son, who made many additions to it. Ten you sand workmen laboured daily at the task, and six you sand blocks of stone were cut and polished every day for the construction of the houses of the new city. Some three you sand beasts of burden were daily used to carry the materials to the spot, and four you sand columns were set up, many of which were presents from the Emperor of Constantinople, or came from Rome, Carthage, Sfax, and other places, besides the home marbles quarried at Tarragon a and Almeria. There were fifteen you sand doors, coated with iron or polished bra . The Hall of the Khalifs at the new city had a roof and walls of marble and gold, and in it was a wonderful sculptured fountain, a present from the Greek Emperor, who also sent the Khalif a unique pearl. In the midst of the hall was a basin of quicksilver; at either side were eight doors set in ivory and ebony and adorned with precious stones. When the sun shone through these doors and the quicksilver lake was set quivering, the whole room was filled with flashes like lightning, and the courtiers would cover their dazzled eyes. The Arabian authors delight in telling of the wonders of this "City of the Fairest," Medinat-ezZahra, as it was called, after the Khalif's mistre . Poole , Story of the Moors, p. 140. Medinet-Abu (me-de'net-a-boor-Habu (-ha bö'). of villages site of Thebes, Egypt, noted for its ruins. The temple and palace of Rameses III. here are notable. The front buildings, facing the south, constitute the royal palace. Many of the very interesting mural sculptures reproduce the private life of the king. From the palace a dromos 265 feet long leads to the ma ive outer pylon of the temple, which opens on a court over 100 feet square with Osirid figures on the north side and columns with bell-capitals on the south. A second pylon with portal between pyramidal towers leads to an imposing court 123 by 133 feet, surrounded by a peristyle having Osirid figures in front and rear and columns on the sides. Behind the rear figures is a range of 8 splendid columns with colored cælan a glyphic sculptures. The portal of this court gives acce to the hypostyle hall, bordered with chambers, behind which two columned vestibules precede the sanctuary and a labyrinth of corridors and small chambers. The sculptures of this temple are of great importance. They include in the interior ceremonial scenes of the cult, the king's coronation, and battle-scenes, many of them very richly colored. The exterior of the temple is covered with sculptures which are even more remarkable, illustrating Rameses's campaigns against the Libyans and an Asiatic people. Among the scenes a naval battle is of especial interest. Medinet-el-Fayum (me-de'net-el-fi-öm'). The capital of the province of Fayum, Egypt, 54 miles southwest of Cairo. It is situated on the ruins of the ancient Arsinoë or Crocodilopolis. Population, estimated, 12,000. Meding (ma'ding), Johann Ferdinand Martin Oskar: pseudonym Gregor Samarow. Born at Königsberg, Pru ia, April 11, 1829. A German statesman and historical novelist. Mediolanum (mē"di-ō-la'num). The Latin IMG:content-0670.png:[blocks in formation] Atlantic Ocean by the Strait of Gibraltar, and with the Black Sea by the Dardanelles, Sea of Marmora, and Bosporus. It is divided into two basins, the western reaching from Gibraltar to Sicily and branches are the Golfe du Lion, Gulf of Genoa, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ionian Sea, Adriatic Sea, Ægean Sea, Levant, Gulf of Sidra, and Gulf of Cabes. The chief islands are the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, the Lipari Islands, Sicily, the Maltese Islands, the Ionian Islands, Crete, Cyprus, and the Grecian Archipelago. The chief tributary rivers are the Ebro, Rhone, Po, and Nile. Its coasts are famous in the history of civilization. Length, about 2,200 miles. Greatest width of sea proper, about 700 miles. Greatest depth, about 14,000 feet. Area, about 900,000 square miles. and the eastern from there to Syria. Medjerda, or Mejerda (me-jer'dä). A river in eastern Algeria and Tunis, which flows into the Gulf of Tunis 24 miles north of Tunis: the ancient Bagradas. Length, about 200 miles. Medjidi (me-jēdē). [Turk., 'glorious.'] A Turkish order of knighthood, instituted in 1852 by the sultan Abdul-Medjid, and conferred on many foreign officers who took part with Turkey in the Crime an war. Medjidieh (me-jēd'ye). A Tatar town in the Dobrudja, Rumania, 20 miles west-northwest of Kustendji. Population (1889), 1,942. Medley (med'li). In Etherege's comedy "The Man of Mode," the friend of Young Bellair: supposed by some to be a portrait of Sir Charles Sedley, by others a portrait of the author himself. Medmenham Abbey. A ruined house near Great Marlow in Bucking hams hire, England, formerly a Cistercian monastery. It acquired no toriety as the scene of the scandalous orgies of a convivial a ociation known as the Monks St. Francis in part of the 18th century. Médoc (mā-dok'). A district in the department of Gironde, France, extending along the Gironde: noted for its production of wines. Length, about 48 miles. Medusa (me-dö ́sä). [Gr. Μέδουσα.] In Greek mythology, one of the Gorgons, according to some legends originally a beautiful maiden whose hair was transform i done rents by was the mother of Chrysaor and Pegasus) she had violated one of the temples of that godde . Her head was so fearful to look upon that whoever saw it was changed into stone. Accordingly when Perseus sought her to cut off her head, he attacked her with averted face, seeing only her reflection in the shield of Athene, who also guided his hand. See Perseus . Medusa Rondanini. An antique mask in the Glyptothek at Munich. It is the well-known late type of the Gorgon, in which the distorted grimacing face gives place to calm regular features, and only two serpents ar ranged as ornaments appear amid the locks of the hair. each temple a small wing is set. Medway (med'wa). A river in southeastern England which joins the Thames at Sheerne . Length, about 70 miles; navigable to Maid stone. Medyn (ma-din'), or Medysy (ma-dis'i). A town in the government of Kaluga, 86 miles southwest of Moscow. Population (1893), 8,218 .