Acerbas
Encyclopedia
Acerbas, a Tyrian priest of Hercules
, who married Elissa, the daughter of king Mutgo, and sister of Pygmalion
. He was possessed of considerable wealth, which, knowing the avarice of Pygmalion, who had succeeded his father, he concealed in the earth. But Pygmalion, who heard of these hidden treasures, had Acerbas murdered, in hopes that through his sister he might obtain possession of them. But the prudence of Elissa saved the treasures, and she emigrated from Phoenicia
. They landed and settled in North Africa, founding the city of Carthage
.
In this account Acerbas is the same person as Sychaeus, and Elissa the same as Dido
in Virgil. The names in Justin are undoubtedly more correct than in Virgil; for Servius remarks, that Virgil here, as in other cases, changed a foreign name into one more convenient to him, and that the real name of Sichaeus was Sicharbas, which seems to be identical with Acerbas.
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
, who married Elissa, the daughter of king Mutgo, and sister of Pygmalion
Pygmalion of Tyre
Pygmalion was king of Tyre from 831 to 785 BC and a son of King Mattan I .During Pygmalion's reign, Tyre seems to have shifted the heart of its trading empire from the Middle East to the Mediterranean, as can be judged from the building of new colonies including Kition on Cyprus, Sardinia , and,...
. He was possessed of considerable wealth, which, knowing the avarice of Pygmalion, who had succeeded his father, he concealed in the earth. But Pygmalion, who heard of these hidden treasures, had Acerbas murdered, in hopes that through his sister he might obtain possession of them. But the prudence of Elissa saved the treasures, and she emigrated from Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
. They landed and settled in North Africa, founding the city of Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
.
In this account Acerbas is the same person as Sychaeus, and Elissa the same as Dido
Dido, Queen of Carthage
Dido, Queen of Carthage is a short play written by the English playwright Christopher Marlowe, with possible contributions by Thomas Nashe. The story of the play focuses on the classical figure of Dido, the Queen of Carthage...
in Virgil. The names in Justin are undoubtedly more correct than in Virgil; for Servius remarks, that Virgil here, as in other cases, changed a foreign name into one more convenient to him, and that the real name of Sichaeus was Sicharbas, which seems to be identical with Acerbas.