Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 13, MAT-MIC

MEL [ 496 ] MEL
I.le>T,n,b- and populous than Weymouth. They are now one ed Calydon. and Althaea went to the temple of the M.!.?',...
rt|jls corporation and borough, confiding of a mayor, re- gods to return thanks for the vidory which her fon ||
Meleager. cortIer, two bailiffs, an uncertain number of aldermen, had gained : But being informed that her brothers MeIiceres.
t—-y-—/ and twenty-four capital burgefles. Whoever has been had been killed by Meleager, die in a moment of re-
a mayor is ever after an alderman. They fend fom* fentment threw into the fire the fatal dick on which
burgefles to parliament, who are ele&ed by fuch as her fon’s life depended, and Meleager died as loon as
have freeholds, whether they are inhabitants or not-, it was confumed. Homer does not mention the fire-
the number of voters is near 700. Every eledor, as in brand $ whence fome have imagined that this fable is
London, has the privilege of voting for four perfons, poderior to that poet’s age. But he fays, that the
who when chofen are returned, in two diftind inden- death of Toxeus and Plexippus lb irritated Althcea,
tures, as the burgefles of Weymouth and the burgefles that die uttered the moil horrible curfes and impreea-
of Melcomb-regis. tions upon her fon’s head.
MELD/E, in Ancient Geography, a town of Gallia Meleager, a Greek poet, the fon of Euerates,
Celtica, (called Meldorutn Civitas in the Notitia), on was born at Seleucia in Syria, and flourilhed under
the Matrona. Now Meaux, a city of Champagne, on the reign of Seleucus VI. the lad king of Syria. He
the Marne, in France. was educated at Tyre 5 and died in the ifland of Coos,
MELEAGER, in fabulous hidory, a celebrated he- anciently called Merope. He there compofed the
ro, fon of Oeneus king of Calydonia, by Althaea daugh- Greek epigrams called by us X\\q Antho/ogia. Thedif-
ter of Thedius. The Parcae were prefent at the mo- polition of the epigrams in this colleddion was often
ment of his birth, and predicted his future greatnefs. changed afterwards, and many additions have been made
Clotho faid that he w-ould be brave and courageous 5 to them. The monk Planudes put them into the order
Lachelis foretold his uncommon drength and valour : they are in at prefent, in the year 1380.
and Atropos faid that he diould live as long as that fire- MELEAGRIS, the Turkey; a genus of birds
brand, which was on the fire, remained entire and un- belonging to the order of gallinse. See Ornithology
confumed. Althaea no looner heard this, than die Index.
fnatched the dick from the fire, and kept it with the MELES, the Badger. See Ursus, Mammalia
mod jealous care, as the life of her fon totally depend- Index.
ed upon its prefervation. I he fame of Meleager in- Meles, in Ancient Geography, a fine river running
creafed with his years ; he fignalized himfelf in the by the walls of Smyrna in Ionia, with a cave at its head,
Argonautic expedition, and afterwards delivered his where Homer is faid to have written his poems. And
country from the neighbouring inhabitants, who made from it Homer takes his original name Melejigenes,
war againd his father at the indigation of Diana, given him by his mother Critheis, as being born on its
whofe altars Oeneus had neglefted. But Diana pu- banks. (Herodotus).
nidied the negligence of Oeneus by a greater calamity. MELETIANS, in ecclefiadical hidory, the name.
She fent a huge wild boar, which laid wade all the of a confiderable party who adhered to the caufe of
country, and feemed invincible on account of its im- Meletius bidiop of Lycopolis, in Upper Egypt, after
menfe fize. It became foon a public concern : all he wras depofed, about the year 306, by Peter bilhop
the neighbouring princes aflfembled to dedroy this of Alexandria, under the charge of his having facri-
terrible animal: and nothing is more famous in my- ficed to the gods, and having been guilty of other
thological hidory, than the hunting of the Calydonian heinous crimes ; though Epiphanius makes his only
boar. Fhe princes and chiefs that aflfembled, and failing to have been an excefifive feverity againd the
which are mentioned by mythologids, were Meleager lapfed. This difpute, which was at fird a perfonai
fon of Oeneus, Idas and Lynceus Tons of Apharcus, difference between Meletius and Peter, became a reli-
Dryas fon of Mars, Cador and Pollux fons of Jupi- gious controverfy ; and the Meletian party confided
ter and Leda, Pirithous fon of Ixion, Thefeus fon of in the fifth century, but Avas condemned by the fird
./Egeus, Anceus and Cepheus fons of Lycurgus, Ad- council of Nice.
metus fon of Pheres, Jafon fon of TEfon, Peleus and MELIA, Azaderach, or the Bead Tree, a genus
Telamon fons of iEcus, Iphicles fon of Amphitryon, of plants, belonging to the deeandria clafs; and in the
Eurytrion fon of A£!or, Atalanta daughter of Schoe- natural method ranking under the 23d order, Trihilatce.
neus, lolas tire friend of Hercules, the fons of Thef- See Botany Index.
tius, Amphiaraus fon of Oileus, Protheus, Cometes, MELIANTHUS, Honey-flower, a genus of
the brothers of Althaea, Hippothous fon of Cercyon, plants belonging to the didynamia clafs; and in the na-
Leucippus, Adradus, Ceneus, Phileus, Echion, Lelex, tural method ranking under the 24th order, Coryda/cs.
Phoenix fon of Amyntor, Panopeus, Hyleus, Hippa- See Botany Index.
fus, Nedor, Menoetius the father of Patroclus, Am- MELIBOEA, in Ancient Geography, an ifland of
phicides, Laertes the father of Ulyfles, and the four Syria, at the mouth of the Orontes; which before it
ions of Hippocoon. This troop of armed men attack- falls into the fea, forms a fpreading lake round it. This
ed the boar, and it rvas at lad killed by Meleager.— ifland was famous for its purple dye. Thought to be a
1 he conqueror gave the fkin and the head to Atalanta, colony of Thefl'alians; and hence Lucretius’s epithet,
who had fird wounded the animal. This irritated the Theffalicus.
red, and particularly Toxeus and Plexippus the bro- MELICA, Ropegrass, a genus of the digynia or-
thers of Althaea, and they endeavoured to rob Ata- der, belonging to the triandria clafs of plants ; and in
lanta of the honourable prefent. Meleager defended the natural method ranking under the 4th order, Grami-
her, and killed his uncles in the attempt. Meantime na. See Botany Index.
"he news of this celebrated conqued had already reach- MELICERES, in Surgery, a kind of eneyfled tu¬
mour,