POLYNESIANS. 221 POLYPHONY. several edible roots, the Ijrfadl'ruit, the cocoanut, etc. Consult: Grey, Poh/iwuiaii Mytholoyy (Lon- don 185.5) ; Turner, Xiiivtrrn Yeiirs in Polynesia (ib., 18G1); De Quatrefages, Lcs Polynt-siens et leurs migrations (Paris, IStiti) ; Jleinicke, Die Inseln. dcs siillen Oceans (Leipzig, 1875) ; Gill, Bislorical Sketches of Savage Life in Poly- nesia (London, 1880) ; id., Myths and Songs from the South Pacific (ib., 1870) ; Lesson, Les Polynesiens, leur origine, leurs migrations, leur langage (Paris, 1880-84) ; Fornander, An Ac- count of the Polynesian Race (London, 1878-90) ; Edge-Partington, Ah Albmn of the ^^'ea|)ons, Tools, Orii/nnrnis, Articles of Dress, etc., of the natives of the Pacific Islands ( JIanchester, 1890- 98) ; Brandstetter, Malaio-Polynesische Forsch- migcn (Lucerne, 1895-00) ; Jlacdonald, Oceania, Linguistic and Anthropological (Melbourne, 1889) ; Reeves, Brotrn Men and Women (London, 1898) ; Graf von Pfeil, Studirn and Beohacht- ungen aus der Siidsee (Leipzig, 1899) ; Ratzel, History of Mankind (English trans., London, 1898) ; and the publications of the Polynesian Society of Wellington, X. Z. POLYNESIAN SUBREGION. A subregion of the Australian region in zoogeography, em- bracing all nf the islands of the Pacific Ocean from Guam on the west to the ilarquesas on the east. It is characterized mainly by the absence of indigenous mammals, the great scarcity of reptiles, and the com])arative uniformity of its birds. The central and most characteristic fauna seems to be in the Xew Hebrides. The Hawaiian Islands, although included in the subregion. have so many distinctive peculiarities that some nat- uralists regard them as a separate subregion. POLYNICES, pol'i-nl'sez (Lat., from Gk. VLoXiivfU-ni. PoJunrilces) . A son of CEdipus and brother of Eteocles. See Eteocles and Polt- NICES. POLYNOMIAL ( from Gk. tovs. polys, much, many -^ Lat. iitmien, name, thing). A general name for algebraic expressions of more than one term. See Algebra; P"NCTI0N. POLYOLBION. A long descriptive poem by Michael Drayton in thirty parts or songs, pub- lished in lOI.'S and 1622. It is a kind of poetical gazetteer, a description of the rivers, mountains, • and forests of England. Avith histories, traditions, curious facts, and genealogies, generally so ac- curate that it was used as an authorit.y by later writers. POLYP ( Fr. polype, from Lat. polypus, from Gk. TroXyirous, poly pons. ]ioIyp. polypus in the nose, many-footed, from woXvs. polys, much, man}' + iroit, pons, foot). A name once given to any of those minute, attached, usually colonial animals having tentacles around the mouth, now recog- nized either as a special form of coelenterates (usually some hydroid), or as Polyzoa. The name was given by Reaumur on account of their external resemblance to the many-armed cuttle- fishes, which were so denominated by Aristotle; and our knowledge of these organisms, as mem- bers of the animal kingdom, hardly dates ))ack much more than a century. Jlost of them live in colonies, sometimes of great extent, supported on a common stock, to which the term 'polypi- dnm' (pnlyp-home) is sometimes given, and which may be horny, gelatinous, or calcareous. The polyps are either imbedded in cavities in the substance of the calcareous jjolypidom or inclosed in minute eujis or tubes in the horny polypidoms, from which the body can be protruded, and into which it can be retracted at pleasure. The solitary species often attain a considerable size (as, for instance, many of the sea-anemones), but the social polyps are always minute, although, the combined power of some of the species in modifying the earth's crust is neither slight nor limited in extent, as is shown by the dimensions and geographical importance of coral. See Coral; Coral Lsland.s and Coral Reefs. POLYPETALY (from Gk. iroXu's, polys, many --Tr4Taoi', pctalon, leaf). A condition in flowers in which the petals are distinct from one another. See Flower. POL'YPHE'MUS (Lat., from Gk. noXi'0w<", PolyphCinos) . In the Odyssey, the son of Posei- don and Thoijsa, the most celebrated of the fabu- lous Cyclopes (q.v.), who inhabited the coast of Thrinakia. He was of immense size and had only one ej'e. On his return from Troy Odysseus landed in this region, visited the cave of the Cyclopes in his absence, and awaited his return. The monster penned the Cireeks in his cave and ate two at once. Xext morning he devoured two more, but that night, after his evening meal, Odysseus presented hint with some strong wine, and, when he had fallen into a drunken sleep, bored out his eye with a blazing ship's mast. Thej' then escaped beneath the bellies of the sheep which he had penned within the cave. It was in answer to the prayer of Polyphemus that Poseidon visited Odysseus with so many troubles l)y sea. The later Alexandrian poetry took up the story of Polypliemus as the giant shepherd, and depicted Ids love for the coy nymph Galatea, and the same subject was a favorite with artists of the Roman period. POLYPHEMUS MOTH. One of the large American silk moths {Tclai Polyphemus) , ex- panding five or six inches. It is yellowish or brownish, with a window-like spot in each wing, divided by a vein, and encircled by yellow and black rings; a dusky band margined with pink lies near the outer margin of both pairs of wings. The caterpillar is light green, with an oblique yel- low line on each side of each segment, except the first and last ; it feeds on tree foliage. The co- coon is dense, oval, and ustially inclosed in a leaf. Sometimes it is sus]iended from a twig, but ordi- narily falls to the ground in the autumn. POLYPH'ONY ( from Gk. woKvipavla, polypho- nia, variety of sounds, from iroXiJ^wi-os. polypho- nos. having many sounds, from ttoXiJs, polys, much, many -f- ifiwvri, phone, sound, voice). In musical composition, the combination in har- monious progressions of two or more jiarts, each of ;hieh has an independent melody of its own. Polyphony is opposed to homophony (q.v.), which consists of a princiiial part with a leading idea and accessory parts furnisliing the harmony. The construction of polyphonic i)hrnses is called counterpoint (q.v.). About the ninth century we find the beginnings of modern polyphony in organuni (q.v.) or diaphony, which was the pro- gression of parts in parallel fifths or fourths. In these first attempts at polyphony there are many dissonances which seem to us intolerable; but in the course of time composers learned the secret of obviating the harsh effects by using
