Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/100

HIMALAYA. proximity to one aiiutlicr on the Tibetan side of the liiniiilaya — with their niUfjnirRent trihula- ries, derive their chief supplies from the melting of the ^.ninvs of these mountains, and eunsequenlly are in llood at the hottest season of the year, when the moisture they supply is most needed. Trees and eultivated grains onlinarily attain their highest limits in the mountains at 11,800, and shrubs at 15,200 feet above the sea, a limited number of (lowering plants attaining to I'.l.SOO feet. The tea-plant can be cultivated along the entire southern face of the Himalaya to an ele- vation of 5000 feet, but the l>est is produced at from 2000 to 3000 feet above the sea. Tigers and a|M's are fuund at an elevation of 11,000, and the leopard at 13,000 feet, while the ilog follows the herds over passes 18,000 feet high. .Snakes are found at an elevation of 15.000 feet, but the highest limit of the mosquito is 8000 feet above the sea. On account of the majestic height of this mountain range, and the apparent impossibility of reaching its summit, the imagination of the ancient Hindus invested it with the most mys- terious properties, and connected it with the history of some of their deities. In the Punlnas (q.v.) the Himalaya is placed to the south of the fabulous mountain Meru. which stands in the centre of the world (see JIeki'). and described as the king of mountains, who was inaugurated as such when Prithu was installed in the govern- ment of the earth. As the abode of Siva, he is the goal of penitent pilgrims, wlio repair to his summit in order to win the favors of this terrific god. His wife was Mena. whom the Pitris or di'Mii;.'o<ls engendered by the mere power of their Ihniiglit. HIMALAYAN SUBREGION. A faunal district of the Oriental region (q.v. I. also styled 'Hiraalo-Chinese,' because its most characteristic forms occur along the lower slopes of the Hima- laya Mountains and their extension into China. See iNno-rmxE.SE Si-bregion. HIMEJI, h^ma'jf. The capital of the .Jap- anese Province of Harina, situated in the south- ern part of Hondo. 34 miles by rail from KoIk; and at the junction of three highways (Map: Japan. D 6). It has a well-preserved castle dating from the fourteenth century, and the second in size in .lapan. Cotton and stamped leather are amonc the products. Population, in 1898, 35,282. HIM'ERA (Lat., from Gk. Im^po). A city on the north coast of .Sicily, founded B.C. fi40 by colonists from Zancle (Messana) and exiles from Syracuse. In B.C. 481-80 the tyrant Terillus, be- ins expelled by Theron of Agrigentiun. invoked the aid of the Carthaginians. They sent a large army under Hamilcar. but were totally defeated at Himera by the Greeks under Gelon of Syra- cuse. Thrasyda-us. son of Theron. brought a large body of Doric emigrants to the city in 476; but a few years later, after the death of Theron, Thrasyd^pus was driven from Agrigcntuni by Hiero. and Himera became free. It seems to have enjoyed great prosperity during the rem.ninder of the fifth fcnlnrv. but in 400 was razed to the ground by the Carthaginians. A new city. Ther- mie Himerenses. was founded in B.C. 407 close to the former site. This name was derived from the famous liot spring in which Hercules was said to have bathed. The new city remained in Cartha- ginian hands until it was taken bv the Romans 84 HIMMEL. during the First Punic War. It was peculiarly favored by them, and was left a free city under its own laws. In the time of Cicero it was a nourishing town, though not very large. Under Augiistus it became a colony. Ergoteles, an tdympian victor, celebrated by Pindar, was a citizen of Himera. Stcsicborus the poet was a native of the city, and his statue wa.s preserved at Thernur in the time of Cicero. Agathoclcs, the great tyrant of Syracuse, was a native of llier- mie. HIME'BITIS (Lat. from Gk. ^I^iiplos) (c.315c.380) . . Greek teacher of rhetoric. Ik- was born at Prusa, in Hithynia, and lived for some time at Antioch at the Court of the Em- peror .Julian, but settled in Athens as a teacher. Among his pupils were (Gregory NazianzA'U and Basil the (Jreat. He was a pagan, but did not attack Christianity. His works, of which twenty- four orations are preserved (edited by Diibner, 184!)), were in a llorid. artificial style. They are valuable becau-* of references to evcnt-s of the time or quotations from a more classic period, es|K>cially from the lyric poets. HIM'EROS (Lat., from Gk. 'Iiu/m). In Greek mylhiilogj', the personification of longing and desire. He is the companion of Eros and of Aphrodite. HIMIL'CO (Phcenician, 'grace of Milkar,' Gk. '1ij.Ikuv, IliiiiilkOn) . A Carthaginian general, son of Hanno, who commanded the expedition against Sicily, B.C. 40(3. and conquered the west- ern part of that island. When Dionysius of Syra- cuse renewed the war, B.C. 'Ml. Himilci) again commanded the Carthaginians, at first with suc- cess, but subsequently Dionysius assaulted him when greatly disabled by pestilence, and forced him to capitulate. Himilco abandoned his allies and mercenaries to the mercj- of the enemy, and paid a large gratuity for [)ermission to with- draw with his native Carthaginians. Tlie dis- grace of this surrender so weighed upon him that soon after returning to Carthage he com- mitted suicide. HIMILCO. or HIMILCAB. An early Car- tliaginian navi^xator of uncertain date, who ex- plored the northwest coast of Europe, at the same time that Hanno explored the west coast of Africa. Avienus has preserved some fragments of the history of this voyage, in which mention ia made of the Iliberni and .lbioni, and of a prom- ontorj'. ffistrymnis. tliought to !«■ Cornwall, and a group of islands. fEstr'mnidcs, thought to be the Scilly Islands. HIMMALEH, him male. See Him.lava. HIM'MEL, Krieurich Heixricii (1705-1814). A Gernuin musician, born at Treuenbrietzen. Friedrich Wilhelm II. became his patron and en- abled him to study music with Naumann at Dresden. On his return he was made royal chamber composer. In 1704 he went to Italy to continue his studies, producing there the operas II primo nnriqntore (1704) and Srmirnmiilf (1795). In the latter year he returned to Ger- many and became Court" kapellmeister in Berlin. In 1798 he went to Russia and "brought out at Saint Petersburg his opera A!i:<i.')nn/Irn. Sub- sequently he traveled much throufrhout Europe, settling finally in Berlin. Of his many popular operas the most successful was Fanchon, das Leiermiidchen (1804). while of his songs, "An