James V., still kept a sort of insular state in Skye. There were also the Macdonalds of Clanranald and Glengarry (descendants of Somerled), with the powerful houses of Macleod of Dunvegan and Macleod of Harris, M‘Neill of Barra and Maclean of Mull. Fierce sanguinary feuds continued throughout the 16th and 17th centuries among these rival clans and their dependent tribes, and the tur- bulent spirit was not subdued till a comparatively recent period. James VI. made an abortive endeavour to colonize Lewis. William III, and Queen Anne attempted to subsidize the chiefs in order to preserve tranquillity, but the wars of Montrose and Dundee, and the Jacobite insurrections of 1715 and 1745, showed how futile were all such efforts. It was not till 1748, when a decisive blow was struck at the power of the chiefs by the abolition of heritable jurisdictions, and the appointment of sheriffs in the different dis- tricts, that the arts of peace and social improvement made way in these remote regions.
The change was great, and at first not unmixed with evil. A new system of management and high rents were imposed, in con- sequence of which numbers of the tacksmen, or large tenants, emigrated to America. The exodus continued for many years. Sheep-farming on a large scale was next introduced, and the crofters Were thrust into villages or barren corners of the land. The con- sequence was that, despite the numbers who entered the army or emigrated to Canada, the standard of civilization sank lower, and the population multiplied in the islands. The people came to subsist almost entirely on potatoes and herrings; and in 1846, when the potato blight commenced its ravages, a scene of nearly universal destitution ensued,—embracing, over the islands generally, 70 per cent. of the population. Temporary relicf was administered in the shape of employment on roads and other works; and an emigration fund being raised, from 4000 to 5000 of the people in the most crowded districts were removed to Australia.
The principal books on the Hebrides are Martin’s Description of the Western Islaads of Scotland, 1703; Pennant’s Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides, 1774; Sir Joseph Bank’s Contributions fo Pennant’s Tour; Boswell’s Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D.; Maceulloch’s Geological Account of the Hebrides, 1819; Hugh Miller’s Cruise of the Betsy; W. A. Smith’s Lewisiana, or Life in the Outer Hebrides, 1874. Their history under Norwegian rule is given in the Chronica Regun Mannie: ct Insularum, edited, with learned notes, from the MS. in the Biitish Museum by Professor P. A. Miinch of Christiania, 1860.
HEBRON, the most southern of the three cities of refuge west of Jordan (Josh. xx. 7), built “seven years before Zoan (Tanis) in Egypt” (Num. xiii. 22). Tanis, according to Brugsch, was standing at least 2100 years b.c. Hebron was originally called Mamre and Kirjath Arba, after Arba, one of the Anakim (Josh, xiv. 15), It is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament (Gen. xiii. 18 and xxiii. 19; 2 Sam. iii, 20 and v. 5). The present town encloses the /uram or sanctuary built over the supposed site of Machpelah ; but if this site be (as seems probable) genuine, the ancient Hebron must have faced the cave, as is re- marked by many ancient writers (Gen. xxiii. 17). The name Machpelah signifies “ place of division,” and the cave was therefore called as early as the 6th century Speluaca Dupler. In the 12th century an iron door (still visible) is mentioned as leading from the Haram wall to the cavern. In 1167 a.d. Hebron became the see of a Latin bishop, and it was taken in 1187 by Saladin. In 1834 it joined the rebellion against Ibrahim Pasha, who took the town and pillaged it. Modern Hebron rises on the east slope of a shallow valley—a long narrow town of stone houses, the flit roofs having small stone domes. The main quarter is about 700 yards long, and two smaller groups of houses exist north and south of this, The hill behind is terraced, and luxuriant vineyards surround the place, which is well watered on the north by three principal springs, including the Well Sirah, now ’Ain Sérah (2 Sam. iii, 26). Three conspicuous minarets rise, two from the Haram the other in the north quarter. The population includes 17,000 Moslems and 600 Jews. The Bedawin bring wool and camel’s hair to the market; and glass bracelets, lamps, and leather water-skins are manufactured in the town. The modern name of Hebron is El Khalil, “the friend,” in allusion to Abraham the friend of God. The most con- spicuous building is the Haram, an enclosure measuring 112 feet east and west by 198 north and south, surrounded with high rampart walls of masonry similar in size and dressing to that of the Jerusalem Haram walls, These ramparts are ascribed by architectural authorities to the Herodian period. The interior area is partly occupied by a 12th century Gothic church, and contains six modern cenotaphs of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. The cave beneath the platform has probably not been entered for at least 600 years. The numerous tradi- tional sites now shown round Hebron are traceable gene- rally to medieval legendary topography, including the tombs of Adam, Esau, Judah, Abner, and Jesse, the Field of Damascus, the Vale of Tears, and the Oak of Mamre (“plain ” in A. V.,Gen. xiii. 18), which has at various times been shown in different positions from 3 mile to 2 miles from the town.
HECATÆUS, son of Hegesander, was sprung from an ancient and noble family of Miletus. His life seems to fall between the years 550 and 475 b.c. His earlier years were spent in travelling. He lived some time in Egypt (Herod., ii, 143); he was well acquainted with the resources and power of the Persian empire (Herod., v. 34) ; and the extant fragments of his writings seem to imply personal acquaintance with Libya, Spain, and Italy, as well as with the countries bordering on the /Zgean and Euxine seas. After middle life he seems to have settled in Miletus, where he occupied a position of great honour, and to have devoted his time to the composition of geographical and _ historical works, When Aristagoras held a council of the leading Tonians at Miletus, to organize a revolt against the Persian rule, Hecatzus tried to dissuade his countrymen from the undertaking. Being overruled, he then advised them to equip a strong fleet, using for the emergency the treasures of the temple at Branchide, which might be repaid after the war. But both then and at a later period of the war (Herod., v. 124) his skilful and prudent advice was given in vain. When the remainder of the revolted Ionians sued for terms, he was one of the ambassadors sent to the Persian satrap Artaphernes. He wrote a work on geography entitled IepizAovs or Tepijynots tis Tis, in which he went over the countries of the known world, told their inhabitants, enumerated the towns, and described their situation and history. He improved the map of the world which Anaximander had made. He also wrote a work called Teveadoyiat or “Ioropiat, describing systematically the traditions and mythology of the Greeks. According to Arrian, he was the first to employ critical method to distinguish myth from historical fact; though he accepts Homer and the other poets as trustworthy authority. Herodotus, though obviously regarding him with respect, often controverts his statements.
HECATÆUS, of Abdera, sometimes confounded with Hecatzeus of Miletus, was a Greek historian and philosopher of the 4th century b.c. He was a disciple of Pyrrho and a contemporary of Alexander the Great and Ptolemy Sotor. He accompanied the latter in an expedition to Syria, and during the reign of the same prince sailed up the Nile as far as Thebes. Some fragments of works by him on Egypt and on the Hyperboreans still exist. According to Suidas, he also wrote a treatise on the poetry of Hesiod and Homer. Regarding his authorship of a work on the Jews, of which some fragments remain, there is some disagreement among critics, but in all probability he is not the author of it.
The Hecatei Abderite Fragmenta were collected by P. Zorn, and published at Altona in 1730. See C. Miller, Histor. Graccor. frag., and Vossius, De Historicis Grecis.
Homer, but is of great importance in other parts of the literature as well as in religious observance. The name
Hecatos, the masculine corresponding form, is a frequent
