Sa'ron (6 2«pwv v, r. daaapCJva, i. e. "ITCn, the Sharon), the district in which Lj-dda stood (Acts ix, 35) ; the Greek form of the name Sharon (q. v.) of the Old Test. "The absence of the article from Lydda, and its presence before Saron, is noticeable, and shows that the name denotes a district — as in ' The Shefelah,' and in our own ' The Weald,' ' The Downs.' " — Smith.
Saron, in Greek mythology, was a king of Troezene, who was fond of the chase, and built a temple to Diana. While pursuing a deer he fell into the gulf which was from that time known as the Saronian Gulf. He was buried in the grove of Diana.
Sai'dnis (Slapiovig), a surname oi Artemis at Triezene, where an annual festival was cel- ebrated in her honor under the name of Saro- nia. See Saron. Saro'tllie {"Zapoj^u v. r. Sapw^i; \n\g.Caroneth), a person named (1 Esdr. v, 34) as one of the heads of the families of " Solomon's servants" who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel ; but see the Hebrew lists (Ezra ii, 57 ; Neh. vii, 59).
Sarpedon, in Greek mythology, was (1) a son of Jupiter and Europa, who quarrelled with his brother Minos and was compelled to leave Crete. He took pos- session of Lycia, and was permitted by Jupiter to live the period of time allotted to three generations of men. (2.) A son of Jupiter and Laodamia, the daughter of Bellerophon. His uncles were'engaged in a protracted dis|)ute for the possession of the crown of Lycia, which was decided by the agreement that the realm should be awarded to him who should shoot a ring from the breast of a child without injuring the child. Laodamia pre- sented her son for this trial, and the generosity of the mother led to his being appointed king. 'NMien the Trojan war broke out, both parties sought his aid. He decided in favor of Priam, and infiicted great injury on the Greeks when they landed and afterwards. He slew Tlepolcmus (being at the same time severely wounded himself), led the fifth part of the army in the storming of the fortifications, mounted the wall, slew Alcmaion and opened the way for the advance of the Trojans, and
SARPEDONIA
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SARUK
covered Hector when stricken down by Ajax, but ulti- mately fell by the hand of Patroclus. His horses and armor became the spoil of the Greeks, but his body was, by Jupiter's command, borne to Lycia for honorable in- terment by the hands of Sleep and Death.
(3.) A son of Neptune and brother of Poltys, who lived in Thrace and was given to deeds of violence. He was slain by Hercules.
Sarpedonia {Sap7n]c6vtn),a surname of Ai-femis, derived from Cape Sarpedon, in Cilicia, where she had a temple with an oracle (Strabo, xiv, p. 676), See Smitli, Did. of Greek and Roman Mijtholorjy, s. v,
Sarpedonius, a surname of .l/jo/fo in Cilicia.
Sarpi. See Paul {Father).
Sariitor, in Koman mythology, was a god of hus- bandry whose province was the hoeing and cultivating of the growing crops.
Sar'sechim (Heb. SarseHm', Q'^SO'lb, probably prince of the eunuchs; Sept. [with great confusion] ~Sa(iovaxap v. r. 'i^ajiovijap(jaxiii, etc. ; Vulg. Sursa- chini), one of the generals of Nebuchadnezzar's army at the taking of Jerusalem (Jer. xxxix, 3), B.C. 588. He appears to have held the office of chief eunuch, for Rab- saris (q. v.) is probably a title and not a proper name. In Jer. xxxix, 13, Nebushasban is called Eab-saris, " chief eunuch," and the question arises whether Nebu- shasban and Sarsechim may not be names of the same person. Gesenius conjectures {Thesaur. s. v.) that Sar- sechim and Kab-saris may be identical, and both titles of the same office. See Sajigar-xkbo.
Sartaba (X3I3'nO), the name of a mountain on which the Jews anciently lighted the beacon-fire (the one next to the Mount of Olives) to herald the new moon (Reland, Pulcest. p. 846). In one passage it is erroneously written Sartan, 'iI3"iO (Schwarz, Palest. p. 162). It is undoubtedly the present Kiirn Surtahuh (Horn of Sartaba), on the edge of the Ghor, or Jordan valley, not far north of Jericho (Robinson, Bibl. Res. iii, 2-12, new ed.). The summit still retains traces of the platform erected for building the beacon-fires, which Lieut. Conder of the English Engineers has mistaken for the remains of the memorial altar of Josh, xxii, 10 (Qua?: Report of "Pal. Exploi; Fund^'' Oct. 1874, p. 241 sq.).
Sarto, AxDRE Vannucchi, called Del Sarto, an Ital- ian painter, was b(jrn at Florence about 1488. Having shown a taste for drawing, he was placed with a gold- smith to learn engraving on plate. Giovanni Barile, a painter, persuaded his father to intrust him to his care, and he remained with Barile three years; he was then placed by him witli Pietro Cosimo. Leaving the school of Cosimo, he formed an intimacy with Francisco Bigio, with whom he executed some works in the public build- ings of Florence, which gained him considerable reputa- tion. ^\'e are told by Vasari that Sarto passed some time in Rome. After his return, he painted for the Monastery of the Salvi his admired pictures of the De- scent of the Holy Ghost, the Bii-th of the Virf/in, and the Last iSujjper. Francis I, king of France, desirous of procuring specimens of Italian art, Sarto was commis- sioned to paint a picture for liis majesty, and sent in a Bead Christ, with the Virgin, St. John, and other figures, which ate now among the chief ornaments of the Gallery of the Louvre. The king invited him to Paris, where he obtained em])loyment from Francis and the nobility. His wife urging his return to Florence, he obtained leave of absence, and was intrusted with a considerable sum of money for the purchase of statues, pictures, etc. Hav- ing spent the king's money, as well as his own, he sank into poverty, and died of the plague in 1530. The churches, convents, and palaces of Florence contain many of his best works. In the National Gallery are two pictures by him, the Holy Family and his own por- trait. See English Cyclop, s. v.