that the charge against a portion of the Pergamene Church that some among them were of the school of Balaam, whose policj' was "to put a stumbling-block before tiie children of Israel, by inducing them <paytiv liSioXvBvra Kai TTopviraai^! (Rev. ii, 14), is in both its particulars very inappropriate to the iEsculapian rit- ual. It points rather to the Dionysus and Aphrodite worship; and the sin of the Nicolaitans, wliich is con- demned, seems to have consisted in a participation in this, arising out of a social amalgamation of themselves witii the native population. Now, from the time of the war with Antioclius at least, it is certain that there was a considerable Jewish population in Pergamene terri- tory. The decree of the Pergamenes quoted by Jose- phus (Ant. xiv, 10, 22) seems to indicate that the Jews liad farmed the tolls in some of the harliors of their territory, and likewise were holders of land. They are, in accordance with the expressed desire of tiie Roman senate, allowed to levj' port-dues upon all vessels except those belonging to king Ptolemj'. The growth of a large and wealthy class naturally leads to its obtaining a share in political rights, and the only liar to the admission of Jews to privileges of citizenship in Pergamos would be their unwillingness to take any part in the reliijious ceremonies, which were an essential part of every relation of life in pagan times. The more lax, however, might regard such a proceeding as a purely formal act of civil obedience, and reconcile themselves to it as Naaman did to " bowing himself in the house of Rimmon" when in attendance upon his sov- ereign. It is perhaps worth noticing, with reference to this point, that a Pergamene inscription published by Boclvh mentions by tiro names (Nicostraius, who is also called Tri/pho) an individual who served the office of gymnasiarch. Of these two names, the latter, a for- eign one, is likely to have been borne by him among some special body to which he belonged, and the former to have been adopted when, by accepting the position of an official, he merged himself in the general Greek population.
See Smitii, Diet, of Class. Geog. s. v.; Spon and Wheler, Voy. i, SCO, etc.; Choiseul-Gouffier, Voyage Pittoresque, ii, 25, etc. ; Arundell, Seven Chinrkes, p. 281, etc. ; Dallawav, Constantinople, Ancient and Mod- ern, p. 303; Leake, Asia Minor, p. 266 ; Fellows, Asia Minor, p. 04, etc.; Richter, WallJ'ahrten, p. 488, etc.; Eckhel, Doctr. Num. iv, 448 ; Capelle, Commeniat. de Regibus et Aniiqiiit. Pergamcn is (Amst. 1842, 8vo) ; Rosenmliller, Bibl. Geog. iii, 13-17 ; Macfarlane, Visit to the Seven Apocalyptic Churches, 1832 ; Schubert, Reise ins Morgenland; Missionary Ilera'd for 1839, p. 228-230; Bockh, Inscript. Nos. 3538, 3550, 3553; Philostratus, De Vit. Soph. p. 45, 106; Tchihatcheff, Asie Mineure, p. 230. See My Si A.
M
Coiu of Periramos.
PERGAMOS, Council of, was held at that place in 152 (.^) against the Colarbasians.
Pergolese, Giovanni Battista, was an eminent musician of tiie Neapolitan school. Evidence regard- ing the date and place of his birth is conflicting; prob- ably the correct account is that of the jMarchese di Yillarosa, his latest biographer, who states tliat he was born at Jesi, near Anconn, on Jan. 3, 1710. In 1717 he was admitted into the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesu Cristo at Naples, where he studied the violin under Domenico di Matteis, and musical composition under Gaetano Greco and Durante. Under the con- viction that melody and taste were sacrificed to learn- ing bv most of tlie masters of his time, he abandoned the style of Scurlatti and Greco for that of Vinci and Hasse. His first great work was the oratorio of San Gug'iehno d'Aquitania, composed in 1731. In that and
PERGOLESI
949
PERIOD
the following year appeared his operas of La Serva Padrona, II Prigionur Suijerho, and Lo Fra/e Innamo- rato ; in 1734, Adiiano in Siria; in 1735, II Flaminio and L' Olimpiade. In 1734 he received the appoint- ment of maestro di capella of the church of Loretto. In consequence of delicate health he removed to Poz- zuoli, where he composed the cantata of Orfeo, and his pathetic Stuhat Mater. He died there of consump- tion in 1736. Besides the ahove-mentioned works, Pergolese composed a number of pieces for the Church, ■which were better appreciated during his lifetime than his secular compositions, also a violin concerto, and thirty trios for violin, violoncello, and harpsichord. His works are all characterized by sweetness and free- dom of style. — Chambers, Cijclop. s. v. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale^i s. v.
Pergolesi. See Pekgolese.
Pergubrios, an ancient Slavonian deity who was believed to preside over the fruits. An annual festi- val was celebrated in his honor on the 22d of March.
Peri {Fairy), according to the mythical lore of the East, a being begotten by fallen spirits, which spends its life in r.U imaginable delights, is immortal, but is forever excluded from the joys of Paradise. It takes an intermediate place between angels and demons, and is either male or female. So far from there being onl}' female Peris, as is supposed by some, and these the wives of the Devs, the Peris live, on the contrarj', in constant warfare with these Devs. Otherwise thej' are of the most innocuous character to mankind, and, exactly as the fairies, with whom our own popular mythology has made us familiar, are, when female, of surpassing beauty. One of the finest compliments to be paid to a Persian ladj' is to speak of her as Peri- zadeh (born of a Peri ; Greek, Parisalis). They be- long to the great family of genii, or jin : a belief in whom is enjoined in the Koran, and for whose conver- sion, as well as for that of man, Mohammed was sent (comp. Koran, ch. Iv, Ixxii, and Ixxiv). — Chambers, Cgclop. s. V.