HELL. 738 HELLE. the different kinds of sin. Among early Chris- tian writers, the word hell is variously employed, sometimes to signify a place of temporary pur- gation, in which sense it comprehends the Roman Catholic purgatory; sometimes the place (Umhus patriim) in which the souls of the just of the old law awaited the coming of Christ, who was to complete their felicity; sometimes the place in which unbaptized children are believed to be detained, on account of the stain of unremitted original sin : and lastly, the prison of those who die stained with the personal guilt of grievous sin. As to the nature of the punishment to which they are subjected, whether it is con- fined to the 'pain of loss' — that is, to the re- morseful consciousness of having forfeited the presence of God and the happiness of heaven — or whether and to what degree it further includes the 'pain of sense,' there is some difference be- tween the Eastern and the Western churches, and it is sometimes alleged that the Eastern Church altogether rejects the idea of punishment of sense. This, however, is a mistake; both churches agree that the punishment of hell includes the 'pain of sense,' the controversy between them having re- garded not the existence of the pain of sense, but certain questions as to its nature, and especially whether it consists of material fire, a point which, in the decree for the union of the Greek and Latin churches at the Council of Florence, was left undecided. The controversy on the subject of the eternity of the punishment of hell dates from an early period. Origen and his school hav- ing taught that the punishment was but purga- torial in its object ; that its purifying effect hav- ing once been attained, the punishment would cease for all, even for the devils themselves; and that its duration in each case is proportioned to the guilt of the individual. This doctrine of the final restoration of all to the enjoyment of happi- ness was the well-known Origenistic theory of the apocatastasis, to which so many of the early writers refer. It was condemned by the second council of Constantinople, and a belief in the eternity of the punishments in hell became char- acteristic of both the Eastern and the Western churches, and from them passed into the creeds of the churches of the Reformation. The more radical thinkers of the Renaissance period re- jected the doctrine of hell, and especially many Baptist and Anti-Trinitarian churches. In mod- em times the belief in physical punishment after death has been abandoned by certain Protestants, and the endless duration of this punishment is rejected by many, either on the ground of a future acceptance of Christ after a punishment commensurate with the offenses committed dur- ing a brief lifetime, or for reasons connected with their general interpretation of life. Consult: So- derblom. La vie future (Paris. 1901) : Dieterich, yel-i/ia (I^eipzig, 189.3) ; Charles: Eschatologi/ (London. 1899); Bautz, Die Holle (JIayence, 1882) ; Passaglia. De .T^ternitntc pocnnrum deque Icine Inferno (Regensburg, 1854). See EscH.- TOLOGY: Heaven; Intermediate State; Judg- ment. Final. HELTjA. a to-n in Asiatic Turkey. See HiLL. . HELLADOTHE'RIUM (Neo-Lat., from Gk. 'EXXds, riellns. Greece -f ft-qplov, therion. diminu- tive of S-/ip, ther, wild beast). A fossil giraffe with hornless skull and legs of nearly equal length, skeletons of which have been found in the Pliocene deposits of Europe, Persia, and India. See Gieaffe. HELLAN'ICUS (Lat., from Gk. 'EWdwKos, Hclhiiiikos) (e.496-c.400 B.C.). A Greek logog- rapher (q.v. ) of the fifth century B.C., born at Miletus. Although a contemporary of Herodo- tus, Hellanicus's attitude was essentially that of the older Ionian logographers, rather than lliat of the historian. He traveled extensively, and the titles of his works show that he had an intimate knowledge of many parts of Greece. He wrote a chronicle based upon the records of the priestesses of Hera at Argos ('lipcml al ev ' Apyii), and another based on the lists of victors at the Carnr-ian games [Kapvsov'iKai). He also composed special histories of a number of dis- tricts in Greece, such as the 'ArOic (history of Attica), 4>opui'/f (history of Argos), 'Aauiri'f (history of Breotia), Arcadiea, JEolica, Lcsbica, etc., as well as accounts of special events, such as the Trojan War (Tpuim) and the Persian in- vasian (Iltpc/Kfi). He is blamed by Thueydides and subsequent historians for inaccuracy in his chronological statements, but there can be no doubt that his work was employed by Herodotus and later historical writers. All that is pre- served of his writings is given in Miiller, Frag- iiieiita Hisioricorum Grcecorum (Paris, 1841-70). Consult Koehler, Leipziger Studien zur klass- ischen Philolociie, xviii. (Leipzig, 1898). HEL'LAS (Lat., from Gk. 'EXXds)- In the Epos, a district of southern Thessaly, near Phthi- otis, with w-hich it is sometimes identified. As the name Hellenes ("E/'./'.;/i'ff, or, at first, IlauW- X^^i'ff) came to be applied to the whole Greek race, so the name Hellas was applied to the lands where the Greeks were settled, and in a more re- stricted sense to the mainland of Greece, espe- cially the district north of the Peloponnesus. The Hellenes, or Greeks, seem to have received this name as a collective title with the growth of the legend that Hellen ( q.v. ) , .son of Deucalion, was the father of the race. Originally it must have meant only the inhabitants of the little district of Hellas. HELLBENDER. A large, ugly-looking, but harmless salamander {Cri/ptobraitchiis Allcgliiini- ensis) , which occurs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ten- nessee, and southward. It is also commonly known as 'alligator' and 'water-dog.' It is voracious, and feeds on crayfish, fish, and other water ani- mals, and readily takes the bait from the fisher- man's hook. It exudes much slime, and is conse- quently difficult to handle. It is tenacious of life, and can live for hours out of water. The spawn much resembles that of frogs, but is lighter in color. It may reach a length of about twenty inches. HELLE, hel'le (Lat., from Gk. "EXXr,) . In Greek mythology', a daughter of Athamas, King of Orchomenus in Boeotia. and the goddess Ne- phele ('a cloud'). When .thamas married Ino, daughter of Cadmus, Nephele punished the land by a drought. Ino plotted the sacrifice of Phrixus, brother of Helle. but Nephele rescued her children by giving them the ram with the golden fleece, on which they escaped over the sea to Colchis. While passintr through the strait between Asia and Europe. Helle fell from the ram and was drowned. The strait was called Helles- pont, or sea of Helle, in her honor.
