.ffineas Sylvius. See Pius II.
iE'lion (AiVwi', from Chald. I^"1?, Enavan' , foun- tains; Buxtorf, Lex. Talm. col. 1601), the name of a place near Salim, where John baptized (John iii, 23) ; the reason given, " because there was much water (vSara 7co\\d, many waters') there," would suggest that he baptized at the springs from which the place took its name. Eusebius (Onomast. s. v.) places it eight Roman miles south of Scythopolis (Bethshean), and fifty-three north-east of Jerusalem ; and it was evidently (comp. John iii, 26 with i, 28) on the west side of the Jordan (contrary to Kuinol and Lampe in loc. ; after Zorn, De JEnone, in his Opitsc. ii, 71-94; also in Ugolini Thesaur. vii), but not necessarily in Judaja (as Wieseler, Chronol. Synop. p. 248). See the curious speculations of Lightfoot (Cent. Chorog. 1, 2, 3, 4). Dr. Robinson's most careful search, on his second visit (new ed. of Researches, iii, 333), failed to discover any trace of either name or remains in the locality in- dicated by Eusebius ; but a Salim has been found by him to the east of and close to Nablus, where there are two very copious springs (ib. ii, 279 ; iii, 298). This position agrees with the requirements of Gen. xxxiii, 18. See Shalem. In favor of its distance from the Jordan is the consideration that, if close by the river, the evangelist would hardly have drawn at- tention to the " much water" there. Dr. Barclay is disposed to locate /Enon at Wady Farah, a secluded valley about five miles to the N.E. of Jerusalem, run- ning into the great Wady Fowar immediately above Jericho ; but the only grounds for this identification are the copious springs and pools with which W. Farah abounds, and also the presence of the name Selarn or Seleim, the appellation of another valley close by (City of the Great King, p. 558-570).— Smith. See Salim.
-ffion (a'uov, an aye), originally, the life or dura- tion of any person or thing. In the system of Gnos- ticism we find the term used to signify spiritual beings wlio emanated from the Deity, and who presided over the various periods of the history of the world. See Gnostics.
.ZEpinus, Johannes, originally named Hoch, was born in 1499, in the province of Brandcnburgh, and studied at Wittenberg, where he imbibed the princi- ples of the Reformers. In 1529 lie was appointed pas- tor at Hamburg, and for many years he contributed to further the cause of the Reformation by preaching, writing, and travelling. He took part against Me- lancthon in the Adiaphoristic eontrnrersy (q. v.), but was very moderate and kind in his views and state- ments. He wrote a work de Pia-gatorio, and died 1553.— Adami, Vita Theol.
.ZEra, a series of years used for chronological pur- poses, dating from some well-known event. See Epoch.
I. The ancient Jetcs made use of several a>ras in
their computations: 1. From Gen. vii, 11, and viii, 13, it appears that they reckoned from the lives of the patriarchs, or other illustrious persons. 2. From their departure out of Egypt, and the first institution of their polity (Exod. xix, 1 ; Num. i, 1 ; xxxiii, 38 ; 1 Kings vi, 1). 3. Afterward, from the building of the temple (1 Kings ix, 10; 2 Chron. viii, 1), and from the reigns of the kings of Judah and Israel. 4. From the commencement of the Babylonian captivity (Ezek, i, 1 ; xxxiii, 21 ; xl, 1), and, perhaps, also from their return, and the dedication of the second temple. In process of time they adopted, 5, the /Era of the Seleu- cida;, which, in the books of Maccabees is called the /Era of the Greeks, and the Alexandrian /Era ; it be- gan from the year when Seleucus Nicanor attained the sovereign power ; that is, about 312 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. This ajra continued in gen- eral use among the Orientals, with the exception of the Mohammedans, who employed it, together with their own a?ra, from the flight of Mohammed. The Jews had no other epoch until A.D. 1040, when, being expelled from Asia by the caliphs, they began to date from the Creation, though still without entirely drop- ping the /Era of the Seleucida:. 6. They were accus- tomed, also, to reckon their years from the years when their princes began to reign. 1 hus, in 1 Kings xv, 1 ; Isa. xxxvi, 1 ; and Jer. i, 2, 3, we have traces of their anciently computing according to the years of their kings; and, in later times (1 Mace, xiii, 42; xiv, 27), according to the years of the Asmonean princes. Of this mode of computation we have vestiges in Matt, ii, 1 ; Luke i, 5; and iii, 1. 7. Ever since the compila- tion of the Talmud, the Jews have reckoned their years from the creation of the world, which they fix at B.C. 3761. (See Reland, Antiq. Hebr. ; Schulzii Compend. Arch. Hebr.; Jahn, Arch. Bibl.) See Chro- nology.
II. The ancient Heathens used the following aeras: 1. The /Era of the First Olympiad is placed in the year of the world 3228, and before the Vulgar /Era 776. 2. The taking of Troy by the Greeks, in the year of the world 2820, and before Christ 1884. 3. The voyage undertaken for the purpose of bringing away the gold- en fleece, in the year of the world 2760. 4. The foundation of Borne, in B.C. 753. 5. The /Era of Na- bonassar, in B.C. 747. 6. The /Era of Alexander the Great, or his last victory over Darius, B.C. 330. 7. The Julian /Era, from B.C. 45. 8. In a great part of India, the /Era of Sulwanah, from A.D. 78. 9. In the later Roman empire, the /Era of Diocletian, from A.D. 284. 10. Among the Mohammedans, the Hegira, from A.D. 622. 11. Among the modern Persians, the /Era of Yezdcgird, from A.D. 632. See Age.