HYRAX. 412 HYKTL. is remarkably large and furry, so that its skin is o( iiiuc'li value as material for cloaks. Cuiisiill for syslemutic revision uf tlic order, Thomas, "Un the Species of the Hjrueoidea," in I'rucccdittyn of the Zoological Hociety of London (London, 18'J2). HYRCA'NIA (Lat, from c;k. "tpKavia, Hyr- kiiniii). An aiiiiiiit district of Asia, south of the Caspian Sea (anciently called Uijrcunum Marc), hounded on the southeast by the .Sariphi Moun- tains (now KIburz), which separated it from Parthia, and on the west by Media. It corre- sponded to the modern Mazandcran and Astra- bad. The district is called " ihrLiimi in the Atcsta. a name which recalls the ancient name for wolf {lalirh-a). The reyion was wild and lieavily wooded, and not generally fertile with the exception of the valleys among the hills, which produced com, oil, and wine. HYBCA'NUS (Lat., from Gk. 'Tpmiiif, Hyr- kanos) . 1 lie name uf two Jewish high priests and princes of the Asmoiiean family. ( 1 ) John (Heb., Johanan) Hyrcanus, son of Simon Mac- cabiBUS, was, during the lifetime of his father, governor of the seacoast, with his scat in Ga- zara, and defeated Cendeba;us, the Syrian generaL When I'tolLiny succeeded in murdering Simon, an attempt was made also on Hyrcanus, but he escaped and obtained control of Judea (B.C. 135). At the beginning of his reign Antio- chus Sidetes invaded the country, and Hyrcanus was compelled to sue for peace after having been Bhut up in .Jerusalem. Antiochus showed him- self inclined to be sparing and .Jerusalem escaped destruction. Shortly afterwards .Judea assisted Antiochus in a campaign against his brother, Demetrius Nicator, in which, however, Antiochus lost his life. Heniet rius's short reign marked a period of internal dissensions in' Syria, which enabled Hyrcanus to establish the inde])endence of Judea. In this his alliance with Komc (a policy inaugurated by his uncle .Judas and fol- lowed by his father Simon) was of material help. After tiie fall of Demetrius and his rival Alex- ander Zablna. Hyrcanus began ( n.c. 123) the conquest of trnubles(mie neiglibors. First attack- ing Medaha in the Jordan district, he marched toward Schechem and succeeded in destroying the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim (c. 120 B.C.), though the Samaritans were not brought to submission till c. 109 n.c. Next the Idu- ma?ans were conquered and compelled to accept the Jewish faith. Kven the trans-.Jordanic ieo- ples felt the power of Hyrcanus. and under his strong rule .Judea reached the highest point of its power and equaled the .Judea of Solomon's day. Coins were minteil with the inscription, "Johanan High Priest and Chief of the Common- wealth of the Judeans." T,ike the Maccabees be- fore him, Hyrcanus was a Pharisee, but because of an asjwrsion east upon his mother, who had been a prisoner of war, he became a Sadducee, and the latter part of his reign was involved in this factional difficulty. He died in B.C. 10") and left five sons — Aristnbulus. Antigonus, Alexander, Absalom, and another whose name is not known — two of whom, Aristobulus J. and Alexander Jan- niFUs. governed with the title of kinfr. (2 I H^Ti- CANi'S IL, son of Alexander, and grandson of the preceding. On the death of his father. B.C. 70 (or 78). he was appointed high priest by his mother. Salome Alexandra, who ruled .Judea her- self for several years. After her death (B.C. 69), he became temporal ruler also; but his younger brother, Aristobulus, an abler and more ener- getic man, seized the government, and furt-ed Hyrcanus to make an agreement by «IikIi Aris- tobulus was to rule ami Hyrcanus be only high l)riest. Induced by the Idunnran Antipater, he broke this agreement, and, aided by Aretas, King of Arabia I'etriea, he endeavored to win back his dominions. Seaurus, the legate of Pompey, was bribed by Aristobulus, and Aretas had to aban- don the siege of .Jerusalem, liy counter bribery on the part of Antipater, Hyrcanus obtained the control. PomjK'y took away the kingship from Hyrcanus, leaving him high priest, and pro- claimed Antipater governor of the country. Aris- tobulus and his two sons, who had been carried away captives, tried at dilTerent times to wre.st the power from Antipater, but failed. Finally, in B.C. 47, Cicsar made Hyrcanus tetrarch and liigh ]iriest and Antipater was made procurator. Those around Hyrcanus and Hyrcanus himself began to suspwt Antipater. and. while banqueting with Hyrcaiuis, Antipater was poisoned (n.c. 43), though Hyrcanus was not involved in this act. In B.C. 40 Antigonus, son of Aristobulus II., with the help of tlie Parthians, invaded the land, cap- lured Hyrcanus by treachery, cut oti his ears, and thus disqualified him for the ollice of high priest, and carried him olJ to Seleucia, on the Tigris. Some years later Herod, son of Antipater. ob- tained supreme power in .Judea. and invited the aged Hyrcanus liome to .Jerusalem. I'or some time he lived in ease and comfort, but. falling under suspicion of intriguings against Herod, was put to death I n.c. 30). Consult Griltz, (itschichle dcrJtitliii ( Herlin. lH.i4-7.i), vol. ii., chaps, i.iii. HYRIEUS, hl-ri'#-us or hir'i-iis (Lat., from Gk. 'Tpieiff, Ui/iiciis, Oipuic, 'Oiiriciis) . Son of Poseidon and King of Hyria in Hu-otia. for whom Agamedes and Trophonius built a treasure- house. In this, one stone was so arranged that it could be removed from the outside, thus en- abling them to plunder the treasury at will. When Agamedes was finally caught in a trap set by the King, Trophonius cut olJ his brother's head to ])revent discovery, and fled to ]>ebadea, where he was swallowed up by the earth. (See Tkoi'IIONII s.) The story is that of Rhompsini- tus in Herodotus, and is found as a folk-tale in many lands, and in many variations. HYBTL, her't'l, Joseph (1810-94). An Aus- trian anatomist, born in Eisenstadt in Hungary. He was educated at the University of Vienna. He became professor of anatomy at Prague in 1837, and filled a similar position at Vienna from 1845 to IH74. His last years were spent in retire- ment and almost total blindness. Hyrtl endowed several charities in Vienna. His high rank in the scientific world was reeogiiized before his death by the erection of a colossal marble statue in the arcade of the llniversity of Vienna ( 1889). His researches dealt with comparative anatomy. esf)ecially that of fishes, the construction of the ear and of the testicles, and above all. with the subject of angiologj-. in which his great discov- eries were made. Besides monographs on such subjects, includin<; Vnlrrsuchunfim iihcr dag Oehiirorgan dcs Moiachrn und dcr Sdugetiere (184.5), Verglcichende Angiologic (18.50), and Die Bliitgefiisse dcr mennchlirhm ynchgehurt (1870), he wrote on general anatomy, l.ohrhurh der Anatomic dcs Mcimchcn (184fi; 2nth ed. 1889), and a valuable and original Hamlbuch dcr
