Chapter 8

See F. Williams,Memoirs and Correspondence of Atterbury with Notes, &c. (1869);Stuart Papers, vol. i.:Letters of Atterbury to the Chevalier St George, &c. (1847); J. Nichols,Epistolary Correspondence, &c. (1783-1796); and H.C. Beeching,Francis Atterbury, (1909).

ATTESTATION(Lat.adtestare, attestare, to bear witness,testis, a witness), the verification of a deed, will or other instrument by the signature to it of a witness or witnesses, who endorse or subscribe their names under a memorandum, to the effect that it was signed or executed in their presence. The essence of attestation is to show that at the execution of the document there was present some disinterested person capable of giving evidence as to what took place. The clause at the end of the instrument, immediately preceding the signatures of the witnesses to the execution, and stating that they have witnessed it, is known as the attestation clause. In Scots law, the corresponding clause is called the testing-clause (seeDeed;Will or Testament;Witness).

ATTHIS(an adjective meaning “Attic”), the name given to a monograph or special treatise on the religious and political history, antiquities and topography of Attica and Athens. During the 4th and 3rd centuriesB.C., a class of writers arose, who, making these subjects their particular study, were called atthidographi, or compilers of atthides. The first of these was Clidemus or Clitodemus (about 378B.C.); the last, Ister of Cyrene (died 212B.C.); the most important was Philochorus (first half of the 3rd centuryB.C.), of whose work considerable fragments have been preserved. The names of the other atthidographi known to us are Phanodemus, Demon, Androtion, Andron, Melanthius. They laid no claim to literary skill; their style was monotonous and soon became wearisome. They were in fact chroniclers or annalists—not historians. Their only object was to set down, in plain and simple language, all that seemed worthy of note in reference to the legends, history, constitution, religion and civilization of Attica. They followed the order of the olympiads and archons, and their work was supported by the authority of original documents, monuments and inscriptions. Their writings were much used by historians, as well as by the scholiasts and grammarians.

Fragments in Müller,Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, i.

ATTIC(i.e.“in the Attic style”), an architectural term given to the masonry rising above the main cornice of a building, the earliest example known being that of the monument of Thrasyllus at Athens. It was largely employed by the Romans, who in their arches of triumph utilized it for inscriptions or for bas-relief sculpture. It was used also to increase the height of enclosure walls such as those of the Forum of Nerva. By the Italian revivalists it was utilized as a complete storey, pierced with windows, as found in Palladio’s work at Vicenza and in Greenwich hospital. The largest attic in existence is that which surmounts the entablature of St Peter’s at Rome, which measures 39 ft. in height. The term is also employed in modern terminology to designate an upper storey in a roof, and the feature is sometimes introduced to hide a roof behind.

ATTICA,a district of ancient Greece, triangular in shape, projecting in a south-easterly direction into the Aegean Sea, the base line being formed by the continuous chain of Mounts Cithaeron and Parnes, the apex by the promontory of Sunium. It was washed on two sides by the sea, and the coast is broken up into numerous small bays and harbours, which, however, are with few exceptions exposed to the south wind. The surface of Attica, as of the rest of Greece, is very mountainous, and between the mountain chains lie several plains of no great size, open on one side to the sea. On the west its natural boundary is the Corinthian Gulf, so that it would include Megaris; indeed, before the Dorian invasion, which resulted in the foundation of Megara, the whole country was politically one, in the hands of the Ionian race. This is proved by the column which, as we learn from Strabo, once stood on the Isthmus of Corinth, bearing on one side in Greek the inscription, “This land is Peloponnesus, not Ionia,” and on the other, “This land is not Peloponnesus, but Ionia.”

The position of Attica was one main cause of its historical importance. Hence in part arose the maritime character of its inhabitants; and when they had once taken to the sea, the string of neighbouring islands, Ceos, Cythnos and others, some of which lay within sight of their coasts, and from one to another of which it was possible to sail without losing sight of land, served to tempt them on to further enterprises. Similarly on land, the post it occupied between northern Greece and the Peloponnese materially influenced its relation to other states, both in respect of its alliances, such as that with Thessaly, towards which it was drawn by mutual hostility to Boeotia, which lay between them; and also in respect of offensive combinations of other powers, as that between Thebes and Sparta, which throughout an important part of Greek history were closely associated in their politics, through mutual dread of their powerful neighbour.

The mountains of Attica, which form its most characteristic feature, are a continuation of that chain which, starting from Tymphrestus at the southern extremity of Pindus, passes through Phocis and Boeotia under the namesMountains.of Parnassus and Helicon; from this proceeds the range which, as Cithaeron in its western and Parnes in its eastern portion, separates Attica from Boeotia, throwing off spurs southward towards the Saronic Gulf in Aegaleos and Hymettus, which bound the plain of Athens. Again, the eastern extremity of Parnes is joined by another line of hills, which, separating from Mount Oeta, skirts the Euboic Gulf, and, after entering Attica, throws up the lofty pyramid of Pentelicus, overlooking the plain of Marathon, and then sinks towards the sea at Sunium to rise once more in the outlying islands. Finally, at the extreme west of the whole district, Cithaeron is bent round at right angles in the direction of the isthmus, at the northern approach to which it abuts against the mighty mass of Mount Geraneia, which is interposed between the Corinthian and the Saronic Gulf. Both Cithaeron and Parnes are about 4600 ft. high, Pentelicus 3635, and Hymettus 3370, while Aegaleos does not rise higher than 1534 ft. At the present day they are extremely bare, and in this respect almost repellent; but the lack of colour is compensated by the delicacy of the outlines, the minute articulation of the minor ridges and valleys, and the symmetrical grouping of the several mountains.

The soil is light and thin, and requires very careful agriculture not only on the rocky mountain sides but to some extent also in the maritime plains. This fact had considerable influence on the inhabitants, both by enforcingSoil.industrious habits and by leading them at an early period to take to the sea. Still, the level ground was sufficiently fertile to form a marked contrast to the rest of the district. Thucydides attributes to the nature of the soil (i. 2τὸ λεπτόγεων), which presented no attraction to invaders, the permanence of the same inhabitants in the country, whence arose the claim to indigenousness on which the Athenians so greatly prided themselves; while at the same time the richer ground fostered that fondness for country life, which is proved by the enthusiastic terms in which it is always spoken of by Aristophanes. That we are not justified in judging of the ancient condition of the soil by, the aridity which prevails at the present day, is shown by the fact that out of the 182 demes (seeCleisthenes) into which Attica was divided, one-tenth were named from trees or plants.

The climate of Attica has always been celebrated. In approaching Attica from Boeotia a change of temperature is felt as soon as a person descends from Cithaeron or Parnes, and the sea breeze, which in modern times is calledClimate.ὁ ἐμβάτης, or that which sets towards shore, moderates the heat in summer. The Attic comedians and Plato speak with enthusiasm of their native climate, and the fineness of the Athenian intellect was attributed to the clearness of the Attic atmosphere. It was in the neighbourhood of Athens itself thatthe air was thought to be purest. So Euripides describes the inhabitants as “ever walking gracefully through the most luminous ether” (Med.829); and Milton—

“Where, on the Aegean shore, a city stands,Built nobly, pure the air, and light the soil—Athens, the eye of Greece.”

“Where, on the Aegean shore, a city stands,

Built nobly, pure the air, and light the soil—

Athens, the eye of Greece.”

Or again Xenophon says “one would not err in thinking that this city is placed near the centre of Greece—nay, of the civilized world—because, the farther removed persons are from it, the severer is the cold or heat they meet with” (Vectigal.i. 6). The air is so clear that one can see from the Acropolis the lines of white marble that streak the sides of Pentelicus. The brilliant colouring which is so conspicuous in an Athenian sunset is due to the same cause. The epithet “violet-crowned,” used of Athens by Pindar, is due either to the blue haze on the surrounding hills, or to the use of violets (or irises) for festal wreaths. This otherwise perfect climate is slightly marred by the prevalence of the north wind. This is expressed on the Horologium of Andronicus Cyrrhestes, called the Temple or Tower of the Winds, at Athens, where Boreas is represented as a bearded man of stern aspect, thickly clad, and wearing strong buskins; he blows into a conch shell, which he holds in his hand as a sign of his tempestuous character.

Of the flora of Attica, the olive is the most important. This tree, we learn from Herodotus (v. 82), was thought at one time to have been found in that country only; and the enthusiastic praises of Sophocles (Oed. Col.700)Vegetation.teach us that it was the land in which it flourished best. So great was the esteem in which it was held, that in the early legend of the struggle between the gods of sea and land, Poseidon and Athena, for the patronage of the country, the sea-god is represented as having to retire vanquished before the giver of the olive; and at a later period the evidences of this contention were found in an ancient olive tree in the Acropolis, together with three holes in the rock, said to have been made by the trident of Poseidon, and to be connected with a salt well hard by. The fig also found its favourite home in this country, for Demeter was said to have bestowed it as a gift on the Eleusinian Phytalus,i.e.“the gardener.” Both Cithaeron and Parnes must have been wooded in former times; for on the former are laid the picturesque silvan scenes in theBacchaeof Euripides, and it was from the latter that the wood came which caused the neighbouring deme of Acharnae to be famous for its charcoal—theἄνθρακες Παρνήσιοιof theAcharniansof Aristophanes (348). From the thymy slopes of HymettusMinerals.came the famous Hymettian honey. Among the other products we must notice the marble—both that of Pentelicus, which afforded a material of unrivalled purity and whiteness for building the Athenian temples, and the blue marble of Hymettus—thetrabes Hymettiaeof Horace—which used to be transported to Rome for the construction of palaces. But the richest of all the sources of wealth in Attica was the silver mines of Laurium, the yield of which was so considerable as to render silver the principal medium of exchange in Greece, so that “a silver piece” (ἀργύριον) was the Greek equivalent term for money. Hence Aeschylus speaks of the Athenians as possessing a “fountain of silver” (Pers.235), and Aristophanes makes his chorus of birds promise the audience that, if they show him favour, owls from Laurium (i.e.silver pieces with the emblem of Athens) shall never fail them (Birds, 1106). The reputation of these coins for purity of metal and accuracy of weight was so great that they had a very wide circulation, and in consequence it was thought undesirable to make any alteration in the types lest their genuineness should be doubted. This accounts for the somewhat inartistic character which the Athenian coins maintained to the last (see furtherNumismatics:Greek, § Athens). In Strabo’s time, though the mines had almost ceased to yield, silver was obtained in considerable quantities from the scoriae; and at the present day a large amount of lead is got in the same way, the work being chiefly carried on by two companies, one of which is French and the ether Greek. In the ancient workings, many of which are in the same condition as they were left 1800 years ago, there are in all 2000 shafts and galleries.

It has been already mentioned that the base line of Attica is formed by the chain of Cithaeron and Parnes, running from west to east; and that from this transverse chains run southward, dividing Attica into a succession of plains.Plain of Megara.The westernmost of these, which is separated from the innermost bay of the Corinthian Gulf, called the Mare Alcyonium, by an offshoot of Cithaeron, and is bounded on the east by a ridge which ends towards the Saronic Gulf in a striking two-horned peak called Kerata, is the plain of Megara. It is only for geographical purposes that we include this district under Attica, for both the Dorian race of the inhabitants, and its dangerous proximity to Athens, caused it to be at perpetual feud with that city; but its position as an outpost for the Peloponnesians, together with the fact of its having once been Ionian soil, sufficiently explains the bitter hostility of the Athenians towards the Megarians. The great importance of Megara arose from its commanding all the passes into the Peloponnese. These were three in number: one along the shores of the Corinthian Gulf, which, owing to the nature of the ground, makes a long detour; the other two starting from Megara, and passing, the one by a lofty though gradual route over the ridge of Geraneia, the other along the Saronic Gulf, under the dangerous precipices of the Scironian rocks.

To the east of the plain of Megara lies that of Eleusis, bounded on the one side by the chain of Kerata, and on the other by that of Aegaleos, through a depression in which was the line of the sacred way, where the torchlight processionsPlain of Eleusis.from Athens used to descend to the coast, the “brightly gleaming shores” (λαμπάδες ἀκταί) of Sophocles (Oed. Col.1049). The deep bay which here runs into the land is bounded on its southern side by the rocky island of Salamis, which was at all times an important possession to the Athenians on account of its proximity to their city; and the winding channel which separates that island from the mainland in the direction of the Peiraeus was the scene of the battle of Salamis, while on the last declivities of Mt. Aegaleos, which here descends to the sea, was the spot where, as Byron wrote—

“A king sate on the rocky browWhich looks o’er sea-born Salamis.”

“A king sate on the rocky brow

Which looks o’er sea-born Salamis.”

The eastern portion of the plain of Eleusis was called the Thriasian plain, and the city itself was situated in the recesses of the bay just mentioned.

Next in order to the plain of Eleusis came that of Athens, which is the most extensive of all, reaching from the foot of Parnes to the sea, and bounded on the west by Aegaleos, and on the east by Hymettus. Its mostPlain of Athens.conspicuous feature is the broad line of dark green along its western side, formed by the olive-groves of Colonus and the gardens of the Academy, which owe their fertility to the waters of the Cephisus. This river is fed by copious sources on the side of Mt. Parnes, and thus, unlike the other rivers of Attica, has a constant supply of water, which was diverted in classical times, as it still is, into the neighbouring plantations (cf. Sophocles,Oed. Col.685). The position of Colonus itself is marked by two bare knolls of light-coloured earth, which caused the poet in the same chorus to apply the epithet “white” (ἀργῆτα) to that place. On the opposite side of the plain runs the other river, the Ilissus, which rises from two sources on the side of Mt. Hymettus, and skirts the eastern extremity of the city of Athens; but this, notwithstanding its celebrity, is a mere brook, which stands in pools a great part of the year, and in summer is completely dry. The situation of Athens relatively to the surrounding objects is singularly harmonious; for, while it forms a central point, so as to be the eye of the plain, and while the altar-rock of the Acropolis and the hills by which it is surrounded are conspicuous from every point of view, there is no such exactness in its position as to give formality, since it is nearer to the sea than to Parnes, and nearer to Hymettus than to Aegaleos. The most striking summit in the neighbourhood of the city is that of Lycabettus,on the north-eastern side; and the variety is still further increased by the continuation of the ridge which it forms for some distance northwards through the plain. Three roads lead to Athens from the Boeotian frontier over the intervening mountain barrier—the easternmost over Parnes, from Delium and Oropus by Decelea, which was the usual route of the invading Lacedaemonians during the Peloponnesian War; the westernmost over Cithaeron, by the pass of Dryoscephalae, or the “Oakheads,” leading from Thebes by Plataea to Eleusis, and so to Athens, which we hear of in connexion with the battle of Plataea, and with the escape of the Plataeans at the time of the siege of that city in the Peloponnesian War; the third, midway between the two, by the pass of Phyle, near the summit of which, on a rugged height overlooking the Athenian plain, is the fort occupied by Thrasybulus in the days of the Thirty Tyrants. On the sea-coast to the south-west of Athens rises the hill of Munychia, a mass of rocky ground, forming the acropolis of the town of Peiraeus. It was probably at one time an island; this was Strabo’s opinion, and at the present day the ground which joins it to the mainland is low and swampy, and seems to have been formed by alluvial soil brought down by the Cephisus. On one side of this, towards Hymettus, lay the open roadstead of Phalerum, on the other the harbour of Peiraeus, a completely land-locked inlet, safe, deep and spacious, the approach to which was still further narrowed by moles. The eastern side of the hill was further indented by two small but commodious havens, which were respectively called Zea and Munychia.

The north-eastern boundary of the plain of Athens is formed by the graceful pyramid of Pentelicus, which received its name from the deme of Pentele at its foot, but was far more commonly known as Brilessus in ancient times. ThisEastern Attica.mountain did not form a continous chain with Hymettus, for between them intervenes a level space of ground 2 m. in width, which formed the entrance to the Mesogaea, an elevated undulating plain in the midst of the mountains, reaching nearly to Sunium. At the extremity of Hymettus, where it projects into the Saronic Gulf, was the promontory of Zoster (“the Girdle”), which was so called because it girdles and protects the neighbouring harbour; but in consequence of the name, a legend was attached to it, to the effect that Latona had loosed her girdle there. From this promontory to Sunium there runs a lower line of mountains, and between these and the sea a fertile strip of land intervenes, which was called the Paralia. Beyond Sunium, on the eastern coast, were two safe ports, that of Thoricus, which is defended by the island of Helene, forming a natural breakwater in front of it, and that of Prasiac, now called Porto Raphti (“the Tailor”), from a statue at the entrance to which the natives have given that name. In the north-east corner is the little plain of Marathon (q.v.), the scene of the battle against the Persians (490B.C.). It lies between Parnes, Pentelicus and the sea. The bay in front is sheltered by Euboea, and on the north by a projecting tongue of land, called Cynosura. The mountains in the neighbourhood were the home of the Diacrii or Hyperacrii, who, being poor mountaineers, and having nothing to lose, were the principal advocates of political reform; while, on the other hand, the Pedieis, or inhabitants of the plains, being wealthy landholders, formed the strong conservative element, and the Parali, or occupants of the sea-coast, representing the mercantile interest, held an intermediate position between the two (seeCleisthenes). Finally, there was one district of Attica, the territory of Oropus, which properly belonged to Boeotia, as it was situated to the north of Parnes; but on this the Athenians always endeavoured to retain a firm hold, because it facilitated their communications with Euboea. The command of that island was of the utmost importance to them; for, if Aegina could rightly be called “the eyesore of the Peiraeus,” Euboea was quite as truly a thorn in the side of Attica; for we learn from Demosthenes (De Cor.p. 307) that at one period the pirates that made it their headquarters so infested the neighbouring sea as to prevent all navigation.

The place in Attica which has been the chief scene of excavations (independently of Athens and itsvicinity) is Eleusis (q.v.), where the remains of the sanctuary of Demeter, the home of the Eleusinian Mysteries, together with otherExcavations.buildings in its neighbourhood, were cleared by the Greek Archaeological Society in 1882-1887 and 1895-1896. Of the other classical ruins in Attica the best-known is the temple of Athena at Sunium, which forms a conspicuous object on the headland, to which it gave the name of Cape Colonnae, still used by the peasants. It is in the Doric style, of white marble, and eleven columns of the peristyle and one of the pronaos are now standing. At Thoricus there is a theatre, which was cleared of earth by the archaeologists of the American School in 1886. In the neighbourhood of Rhamnus are the remains of two temples that stood side by side, the larger of which was dedicated to Nemesis, the smaller probably to Themis, of which goddess a fine statue was discovered in its ruins in the course of the excavations of the Greek Archaeological Society in 1890. The same Society, in 1884,1886 and 1887, excavated the sanctuary of Amphiaraus, 4 m. from Oropus; in ancient times this was the resort of numerous invalids, who came thither to consult the healing divinity. Within it were found a temple of Amphiaraus, a large altar, and a long colonnade, which may have been the dormitory where the patients slept in hope of obtaining counsel in dreams. There were also baths and a small theatre, and numerous inscriptions relating to the arrangement and observances of the sanctuary and oracle. The walls and towers also of the city of Eleutherae and the fortress of Phyle are fine specimens of Hellenic fortifications.

Of the condition of Attica in medieval and modern times little need be said, for it has followed for the most part the fortunes of Athens. The population, however, has undergone a great change, independently of the large admixture of Slavonic blood that has affected the Greeks of the mainland generally, by the immigration of Albanian colonists, who now occupy a great part of the country. The district formed part of thenome(administrative division) of Boeotia and Attica until 1899, when it became a separatenome.

Bibliography.—J.G. Frazer,Pausanias’s Description of Greece, vols. ii. and v. (London, 1898); W.M. Leake,The Demi of Attica(2nd ed., London, 1841); Chr. Wordsworth,Athens and Attica(4th ed., London, 1869); C. Bursian,Geographic von Griechenland, vol. i. (Leipzig, 1862); Baedeker’sGreece(4th Eng. ed., Leipzig, 1908);Karten von Attica, published by the German Archaeological Institute of Athens, with explanatory text, chiefly by Professor Milchhofer (1875-1903); see alsoAthens,EleusisandGreece:Topography.

(H. F. T.)

ATTIC BASE, the term given in architecture to the base of the Roman Ionic order, consisting of an upper and lower torus, separated by a scotia (q.v.) and fillets. It was the favourite base of the Romans, and was employed by them for columns of the Corinthian and Composite orders, and in Byzantine and Romanesque work would seem to have been generally adopted as a model.

ATTICUS, TITUS POMPONIUS(109-32B.C.), Roman patron of letters, was born at Rome three years before Cicero, with whom he and the younger Marius were educated. His name was Titus Pomponius, that of Atticus, by which he is known, being given him afterwards from his long residence in Athens (86-65) and his intimate acquaintance with the Greek literature and language. His family is said to have been of noble and ancient descent; his father belonged to the equestrian order, and was very wealthy. When Pomponius was still a young man his father died, and he at once took the prudent resolution of transferring himself and his fortune to Athens, in order to escape the dangers of the civil war, in which he might have been involved through his connexion with the murdered tribune, Sulpicius Rufus. Here he lived in retirement, devoting himself entirely to study. On his return to Rome, he took possession of an inheritance left him by his uncle and assumed the name of Quintus Caecilius Pomponianus. From this time he kept aloof from political strife, attaching himself to no particular party, and continuing on intimate terms with men so opposed as Caesar and Pompey, Antony and Octavian. His most intimate friend,however, was Cicero, whose correspondence with him extended over many years, and who seems to have found his prudent counsel and sympathy a remedy for all his many troubles. His private life was tranquil and happy. He did not marry till he was fifty-three years of age, and his only child became the wife of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, the distinguished minister of Augustus. In 32, being seized with an illness believed to be incurable, he starved himself to death. Of his writings none is extant, but mention is made of two: a Greek history of Cicero’s consulship, and some annals, in Latin, an epitome of the events of Roman history down to the year 54. His most important work was his edition of the letters addressed to him by Cicero. He also formed a large library at Athens, and engaged a staff of slaves to make copies of valuable works.

See Life by Cornelius Nepos; Berwick,Lives of Messalla Corvinus and T.P.A.(1813); Fialon,Thesis in T.P.A.(1861); Boissier,Cicéron et ses amis(1888: Eng. trans. A.D. Jones, 1897); Peter,Historicorum Romanorum Fragmenta.

ATTICUS HERODES, TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS(c.A.D.101-177), Greek rhetorician, was born at Marathon in Attica. He belonged to a wealthy and distinguished family, and received a careful education under the most distinguished masters of the time, especially in rhetoric and philosophy. His talents gained him the favourable notice of Hadrian, who appointed him praefect of the free towns in the province of Asia (125). On his return to Athens, he attained great celebrity as an orator and teacher of rhetoric, and was elected to the office of archon. In 140 he was summoned by Antoninus Pius to undertake the education of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, and received many marks of favour, amongst them the consulship (143). He is principally celebrated, however, for the vast sums he expended on public purposes. He built at Athens a great race-course of Pentelic marble, and a splendid musical theatre, called the Odeum in memory of his wife Regilla, which still exists. At Corinth he built a theatre, at Delphi a stadium, at Thermopylae hot baths, at Canusium in Italy an aqueduct. He even contemplated cutting a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth, but was afraid to carry out his plan because the same thing had been unsuccessfully attempted before by the emperor Nero. Many of the partially ruined cities of Greece were restored by Atticus, and numerous inscriptions testify their gratitude to their benefactor. His latter years were embittered by family misfortune, and having incurred the enmity of the Athenians, he withdrew from Athens to his villa near Marathon, where he died. He enjoyed a very high reputation amongst his contemporaries, and wrote numerous works, of which the only one to come down to us is a rhetorical exerciseOn the Constitution(ed. Hass, 1880), advocating an alliance of the Thebans and Peloponnesians against Archelaus, king of Macedonia. The genuineness of this speech, which is of little merit, has been disputed.

Philostratus,Vit. Soph.ii. 1; Fiorillo,Herodis Attici quae supersunt(1801);A Biographical Notice of A.H.(London, 1832), privately printed; Fuelles,De Herodis Attici Vita(1864); Vidal-Lablache,Hérode Atticus(1871).

ATTILA(d. 453), king of the Huns, became king in 433, along with his brother Bleda, on the death of his uncle Roua. We hear but little as to Bleda, who died about 445, possibly slain by his brother’s orders. In the first eight years of his reign Attila was chiefly occupied in the wars with other barbarian tribes, by which he made himself virtually supreme in central Europe. His own special kingdom comprised the countries which are now called Hungary and Transylvania, his capital being possibly not far from the modern city of Buda-Pest; but having made the Ostrogoths, the Gepidae and many other Teutonic tribes his subject-allies, and having also sent his invading armies into Media, he seems for nearly twenty years to have ruled practically without a rival from the Caspian to the Rhine. Very early in his reign, Honoria, grand-daughter of the emperor Theodosius II., being subjected to severe restraint on account of an amorous intrigue with one of the chamberlains of the palace, sent her ring to the king of the Huns and called on him to be her husband and her deliverer. Nothing came of the proposed engagement, but the wrongs of Honoria, his affianced wife, served as a convenient pretext for some of the constantly recurring embassies with which Attila, fond of trampling on the fallen majesty of Rome, worried and bullied the two courts of Constantinople and Ravenna. Another frequent subject of complaint was found in certain sacred vessels which the bishop of Sirmium had sent as a bribe to the secretary of Attila, and which had been by him, fraudulently, as his master contended, pawned to a silversmith at Rome. There were also frequent and imperious demands for the surrender of fugitives who had sought shelter from the wrath of Attila within the limits of the empire. One of the return embassies from Constantinople, that sent in 448, had the great advantage of being accompanied by a rhetorician named Priscus, whose minute journalistic account of the negotiations, including as it does a vivid picture of the great Hun in his banquet-hall, is by far the most valuable source of information as to the court and camp of Attila. What lends additional interest to the story is the fact that in the ambassador’s suite there was an interpreter named Vigilas, who for fifty pounds of gold had promised to assassinate Attila. This base design was discovered by the Hunnish king, but had never been revealed to the head of the embassy or to his secretary. The situations created by this strange combination of honest diplomacy and secret villainy are described by Priscus with real dramatic power.

In 450 Theodosius II., the incapable emperor of the East, died, and his throne was occupied by a veteran soldier named Marcian, who answered the insulting message of Attila in a manlier tone than his predecessor. Accordingly the Hun, who had something of the bully in his nature, now turned upon Valentinian III., the trembling emperor of the West, and demanded redress for the wrongs of Honoria, and one-half of Valentinian’s dominions as her dowry. Allying himself with the Franks and Vandals, he led his vast many-nationed army to the Rhine in the spring of 451, crossed that river, and sacked, apparently, most of the cities in Belgic Gaul. Most fortunately for Europe, the Teutonic races already settled in Gaul rallied to the defence of the empire against invaders infinitely more barbarous than themselves. Prominent in this new coalition was Theodoric, king of the Visigoths, whose capital city was Toulouse. His firm fighting alliance with the Roman general Aëtius, with whom he had had many a conflict in previous years, was one of the best auguries for the new Europe that was to arise out of the ruins of the Roman empire. Meanwhile Attila had reached the Loire and was besieging the strong city of Orléans. The citizens, under the leadership of their bishop Anianus, made a heroic defence, but the place was on the point of being taken when, on the 24th of June, the allied Romano-Gothic army was seen on the horizon. Attila, who knew the difficulty that he should have in feeding his immense army if his march was further delayed, turned again to the north-east, was persuaded by the venerable bishop Lupus to spare the city of Troyes, but halted near that place in the Catalaunian plains and offered battle to his pursuers Aëtius and Theodoric. The battle which followed—certainly one of the decisive battles of the world—has been well described by the Gothic historian Jordanes as “ruthless, manifold, immense, obstinate.” It lasted for the whole day, and the number of the slain is variously stated at 175,000 and 300,000. All such estimates are, of course, untrustworthy, but there is no doubt that the carnage was terrible. The Visigothic king was slain, but the victory, though hardly earned, remained with his people and his allies. Attila did not venture to renew the engagement on the morrow, but retreated, apparently in good order, on the Rhine, recrossed that river and returned to his Pannonian home. From thence in the spring of 452 he again set forth to ravage or to conquer Italy. Her great champion Aëtius showed less energy in her cause than he had shown in his defence of Gaul. After a stubborn contest, Attila took and utterly destroyed Aquileia, the chief city of Venetia, and then proceeded on his destructive course, capturing and burning the cities at the head of the Adriatic, Concordia, Altinum and Patavium (Padua). The fugitives from these cities, but especially from the last, seeking shelter in the lagoons of the Adriatic, laid the foundations ofthat which was one day to become the glorious city of Venice. Upon Milan and the cities of western Lombardy the hand of Attila seems to have weighed more lightly, plundering rather than utterly destroying; and at last when Pope Leo I., at the head of a deputation of Roman senators, appeared in his camp on the banks of the Mincio, entreating him not to pursue his victorious career to the gates of Rome, he yielded to their entreaties and consented to cross the Alps, with a menace, however, of future return, should the wrongs of Honoria remain unredressed. As he himself jokingly said: he knew how to conquer men, but the Lion and the Wolf (Leo and Lupus) were too strong for him. No further expeditions to Italy were undertaken by Attila, who died suddenly in 453, in the night following a great banquet which celebrated his marriage with a damsel named Ildico. Notwithstanding some rumours of violence it is probable that his death was natural and due to his own intemperate habits.

Under his name of Etzel, Attila plays a great part in Teutonic legend (seeNibelungenlied) and under that of Atli in Scandinavian Saga, but his historic lineaments are greatly obscured in both. He was short of stature, swarthy and broad-chested, with a large head which early turned grey, snub nose and deep-set eyes. He walked with proud step, darting a haughty glance this way and that as if he felt himself lord of all.

The chief authorities for the life of Attila are Priscus, Jordanes, theHistoria Miscella, Apollonius Sidonius and Gregory of Tours.

(T. H.)

ATTIS,orAtys, a deity worshipped in Phrygia, and later throughout the Roman empire, in conjunction with the Great Mother of the Gods. Like Aphrodite and Adonis in Syria, Baal and Astarte at Sidon, and Isis and Osiris in Egypt, the Great Mother and Attis formed a duality which symbolized the relations between Mother Earth and her fruitage. Their worship included the celebration of mysteries annually on the return of the spring season. Attis was also known as Papas, and the Bithynians and Phrygians, according to evidence of the time of the late Empire, called him Zeus. He was never worshipped independently, however, though the worship of the Great Mother was not always accompanied by his. He was confused with Pan, Sabazios, Men and Adonis, and there were resemblances between the orgiastic features of his worship and that of Dionysus. His resemblance to Adonis has led to the theory that the names of the two are identical, and that Attis is only the Semitic companion of Syrian Aphrodite grafted on to the Phrygian Great Mother worship (Haakh,Stuttgarter-Philolog.-Vers., 1857, 176 ff.). It is likely, however, that Attis, like the Great Mother, was indigenous to Asia Minor, adopted by the invading Phrygians, and blended by them with a deity of their own.

Legends.—According to Pausanias (vii. 17), Attis was a beautiful youth born of the daughter of the river Sangarius, who was descended from the hermaphroditic Agdistis, a monster sprung from the earth by the seed of Zeus. Having become enamoured of Attis, Agdistis struck him with frenzy as he was about to wed the king’s daughter, with the result that he deprived himself of manhood and died. Agdistis in repentance prevailed upon Zeus to grant that the body of the youth should never decay or waste. In Arnobius (v. 5-8) Attis emasculates himself under a pine tree, which the Great Mother bears into her cave as she and Agdistis together wildly lament the death of the youth. Zeus grants the petition as in the version of Pausanias, but permits the hair of Attis to grow, and his little finger to move. The little finger,digitus,δάκτυλος, is interpreted as the phallus by Georg Kaibel (Gottinger Nachrichten, 1901, p. 513). In Diodorus (in. 58, 59) the Mother is the carnal lover of Attis, and, when her father the king discovers her fault and kills her lover, roams the earth in wild grief. In Ovid (Fasti, iv. 223 ff.) she is inspired with chaste love for him, which he pledges himself to reciprocate. On his proving unfaithful, the Great Mother slays the nymph with whom he has sinned, whereupon in madness he mutilates himself as a penalty. Another form of the legend (Paus. vii. 17), showing the influence of the Aphrodite-Adonis myth, relates that Attis, the impotent son of the Phrygian Caläust Lydia to institute the worship of the Great Mother, and was there slain by a boar sent by Zeus.

SeeGreat Mother of the Gods; J.G. Frazer,Adonis, Attis, Osiris(1906).

(G. Sn.)

ATTLEBOROUGH,a township of Bristol county, in south-east Massachusetts, U.S.A. Pop. (1890) 7577; (1900) 11,335, of whom 3237 were foreign-born; (1910 census) 16,215 It is traversed by the New York, New Haven & Hartford railway, and by inter-urban electric lines. It has an area of 28 sq. m. The population is largely concentrated in and about the village which bears the name of the township. In Attleborough are the Attleborough Home Sanitarium, and a public library (1885). The principal manufactures of the township are jewelry, silverware, cotton goods, cotton machinery, coffin trimmings, and leather. In 1905 the total value of the township’s factory products was $10,050,384, of which $5,544,285 was the value of jewelry, Attleborough ranking fourth among the cities of the country in this industry, and producing 10.4% of the total jewelry product of the United States. Attleborough was incorporated in 1694, though settled soon after 1661 (records since 1672) as part of Rehoboth. In 1887 the township was divided in population, wealth and area by the creation of the township ofNorth Attleborough—pop. (1890) 6727; (1900) 7253, of whom 1786 were foreign-born; (1905, state census) 7878. This township produced manufactured goods in 1900 to the value of $3,990,731, jewelry valued at $2,785,567; it maintains the Richards memorial library.

See J. Daggett,A Sketch of the History of Attleborough to 1887(Boston, 1894).

ATTOCK,a town and fort of British India, in the Rawalpindi district of the Punjab, 47 m. by rail from Peshawar, and situated on the eastern bank of the Indus. Pop. (1901) 2822. The place is of both political and commercial importance, as the Indus is here crossed by the military and trade route through the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan. Alexander the Great, Tamerlane and Nadir Shah are believed to have successively crossed the Indus at or about this spot in their respective invasions of India. The river runs past Attock in a deep rapid channel about 200 yds. broad, but is easily crossed in boats or on inflated skins of oxen. The rocky gorges through which it flows, with a distant view of the Hindu Kush, form some of the finest scenery in the world. In 1883 an iron girder bridge of five spans was opened, which carries the North-Western railway to Peshawar, and has also a subway for wheeled traffic and foot passengers. The fort of Attock was built by the emperor Akbar in 1581, on a low hillock beside the river. The walls are of polished stone, and the whole structure is handsome; but from a military point of view it is of little importance, being commanded by a hill, from which it is divided only by a ravine. On the opposite side of the river is the village of Khairabad, with a fort, also erected by Akbar according to some, or by Nadir Shah according to others. The military importance of Attock has diminished, but it still has a small detachment of British troops.

ATTORNEY(from O. Fr.atorné, a person appointed to act for another, fromatourner, legal Lat.attornare, attorn, literally to turn over to another or commit business to another), in English law, in its widest sense, any substitute or agent appointed to act in “the turn, stead or place of another.” Attorneys are of two kinds, attorneys-in-fact and attorneys-at-law. An attorney-in-fact is simply an agent, the extent of whose capacity to act is bounded only by the powers embodied in his authority, hispower of attorney. An attorney-at-law was a public officer, conducting legal proceedings on behalf of others, known as his clients, and attached to the supreme courts of common law at Westminster. Attorneys-at-law corresponded to the solicitors of the courts of chancery and the proctors of the admiralty, ecclesiastical, probate and divorce courts. Since the passing of the Judicature Act of 1873, however, the designation “attorney” has become obsolete in England, all persons admitted as solicitors,attorneys or proctors of an English court being henceforth called “solicitors of the supreme court” (seeSolicitor).

In the United States an attorney-at-law exercises all the functions distributed in England between barristers, attorneys and solicitors, and his full title is “attorney and counsellor-at-law.” When acting in a court of admiralty he is styled “proctor” or “advocate.” Formerly, in some states, there existed a grade among lawyers of attorneys-at-law, which was inferior to that of counsellors-at-law, and in colonial times New Jersey established a higher rank still—that of serjeant-at-law. Now the term attorney-at-law is precisely equivalent to that of lawyer. Attorneys are admitted by some court to which the legislature confides the power, and on examination prescribed by the court, or by a board of state examiners, as the case may be. The term of study required is generally two or three years, but in some states less. In one no examination is required. College graduates are often admitted to examination after a shorter term of study than that required from those not so educated. In the courts of the United States, admission is regulated by rules of court and based upon a previous admission to the state bar. In almost all states aliens are not admitted as attorneys, and in many states women are ineligible, but during recent years several states have passed statutes permitting them to practise. Since 1879 women have been eligible to practise before the U.S. Supreme Court, if already admitted to practise in some state court, under the same conditions as men. Astate attorneyordistrict attorneyis the local public prosecutor. He is either elected by popular vote at the state elections for the district in which he resides and goes out of office with the political party for which he was elected, or he is appointed by the governor of the state for that district and for the same term. He represents the state in criminal prosecutions and also in civil actions within his district. There is aUnited States district attorneyin each federal district, similarly representing the federal government before the courts.

An attorney is an officer of the court which admits him to practise, and he is subject to its discipline. He is liable to his client in damages for failure to exercise ordinary care and skill, and he can bring action for the value of his services. He has a lien on his client’s papers, and usually on any judgment in favour of his client to secure the payment of his fees. (See also underBar, The.)

ATTORNEY-GENERAL,in England, the chief law officer appointed to manage all the legal affairs and suits in which the crown is interested. He is appointed by letters-patent authorizing him to hold office during the sovereign’s pleasure. He isex officiothe leader of the bar, and only counsel of the highest eminence are appointed to the office. The origin of the office is uncertain, but as far back as 1277 we find anattornatus regisappointed to look after the interests of the crown, in proceedings affecting it before the courts. He has precedence in all the courts, and in the House of Lords he has precedence of the lord advocate, even in Scottish appeals, but unlike the lord advocate and the Irish attorney-general he is not necessarily made a privy councillor. He is a necessary party to all proceedings affecting the crown, and has extensive powers of control in matters relating to charities, lunatics’ estates, criminal prosecutions, &c. The attorney-general and the solicitor-general are always members of the House of Commons (except for temporary difficulties in obtaining a seat) and of the ministry, being selected from the party in power, and their advice is at the disposal of the government and of each department of the government, while in the House of Commons they defend the legality of ministerial action if called in question. Previously to 1895 there was no restriction placed on the law officers as to their acceptance of private practice, but since that date this privilege has been withdrawn, and the salary of the attorney-general is fixed at £7000 a year and in addition such fees according to the ordinary professional scales as he may receive for any litigious business he may conduct on behalf of the crown. The crown has also as a legal adviser an attorney-general in Ireland. In Scotland he is called lord advocate (q.v.). There is also an attorney-general in almost all the British colonies, and his duties are very similar to those of the same officer in England. In the self-governing colonies he is appointed by the administration of the colony, and in the crown colonies by royal warrant under the signet and sign-manual. There is an attorney-general for the duchy of Cornwall and also one for the duchy of Lancaster, each of whom sues in matters relating to that duchy.

The United States has an officer of this name, who has a seat in the cabinet. His duties are in general to represent the federal government before the United States Supreme Court, to advise the president on questions of law, and to advise similarly the heads of the state departments with reference to matters affecting their department. His opinions are published by the government periodically for the use of its officials and they are frequently cited by the courts. Every state but one or two has a similar officer. He represents the state in important legal matters, and is often required to assist the local prosecutor in trials for capital offences. He appears for the public interest in suits affecting public charities. He is generally elected by the people for the same term as the governor and on the same ticket.

ATTORNMENT(from Fr.tourner, to turn), in English real property law, the acknowledgment of a new lord by the tenant on the alienation of land. Under the feudal system, the relations of landlord and tenant were to a certain extent reciprocal. So it was considered unreasonable to the tenant to subject him to a new lord without his own approval, and it thus came about that alienation could not take place without the consent of the tenant. Attornment was also extended to all cases of lessees for life or for years. The necessity for attornment was abolished by an act of 1705. The term is now used to indicate an acknowledgment of the existence of the relationship of landlord and tenant. An attornment-clause, in mortgages, is a clause whereby the mortgagor attorns tenant to the mortgagee, thus giving the mortgagee the right to distrain, as an additional security.

ATTRITION(Lat.attritio, formed fromatterere, to rub away), a rubbing away; a term used in pathology and geology. Theologians have also distinguished “attrition” from “contrition” in the matter of sin, as an imperfect stage in the process of repentance; attrition being due to servile fear of the consequences of sin, contrition to filial fear of God and hatred of sin for His sake. It has been held among the Roman Catholics that in the sacrament of penance attrition becomes contrition.

ATTWOOD, THOMAS(1765-1838), English composer, the son of a coal merchant who had musical tastes, was born in London on the 23rd of November 1765. At the age of nine he became a chorister in the Chapel Royal, where he remained for five years. In 1783 he was sent to study abroad at the expense of the prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.), who had been favourably impressed by his skill at the harpsichord. After spending two years at Naples, Attwood proceeded to Vienna, where he became a favourite pupil of Mozart. On his return to London in 1787 he held for a short time an appointment as one of the chamber musicians to the prince of Wales. In 1796 he was chosen organist of St Paul’s, and in the same year he was made composer to the Chapel Royal. His court connexion was further confirmed by his appointment as musical instructor to the duchess of York, and afterwards to the princess of Wales. For the coronation of George IV. he composed the anthem, “The King shall rejoice,” a work of high merit. The king, who had neglected him for some years on account of his connexion with the princess of Wales, now restored him to favour, and in 1821 appointed him organist to his private chapel at Brighton. Soon after the institution of the Royal Academy of Music in 1823, Attwood was chosen one of the professors. He was also one of the original members of the Philharmonic Society, founded in 1813. He wrote the anthem, “O Lord, grant the King a Long Life,” which was performed at the coronation of William IV., and he was composing a similar work for the coronation of Queen Victoria when he died at his house in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, on the 24th of March 1838. He was buried under the organ in St Paul’s cathedral. His services and anthemswere published in a collected form after his death by his pupil Walmisley. Of his secular compositions several songs and glees are well known and popular. The numerous operas which he composed in early life are now practically forgotten. Of his songs the most popular was “The Soldier’s Dream,” and the best of his glees were “In peace Love tunes the shepherd’s reed,” and “To all that breathe the air of Heaven.” Attwood was a friend of Mendelssohn, for whom he professed an admiration at a time when the young German’s talent was little appreciated by the majority of English musicians.

ATTWOOD, THOMAS(1783-1856), English political reformer, was born at Halesowen, Worcestershire, on the 6th of October 1783. In 1800 he entered his father’s banking business in Birmingham, where he was elected high bailiff in 1811. He took a leading part in the public life of the city, and became very popular with the artisan class. He is now remembered for his share in the movement which led to the carrying of the Reform Act of 1832. He was one of the founders, in January 1830, of the Political Union, branches of which were soon formed throughout England. Under his leadership vast crowds of working-men met periodically in the neighbourhood of Birmingham to demonstrate in favour of reform of the franchise, and Attwood used his power over the multitude to repress any action on their part which might savour of illegality. His successful exertions in favour of reform made him a popular hero all over the country, and he was presented with the freedom of the city of London. After the passing of the Reform Act in 1832 he was elected one of the members for the new borough of Birmingham, for which he sat till 1839. He failed in the House of Commons to maintain the reputation which he had made outside it, for in addition to an eager partisanship in favour of every ultra-democratic movement, he was wearisomely persistent in advocating his peculiar monetary theory. This theory, which became with him a monomania, was that the existing currency should be rectified in favour of state-regulated and inconvertible paper-money, and the adoption of a system for altering the standard of value as prices fluctuated. His waning influence with his constituents led him to retire from parliament in 1837, and, though invited to re-enter political life in 1843, he had by that time become a thoroughly spent force. He died at Great Malvern on the 6th of March 1856.

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