ALCAeUS, one of the great lyric poets of Greece, was a native of Mitylene in Lesbos, and flourished about the year 600 b.c. From the fragments of his poems which have come down to us we learn that his life was greatly mixed up with the political disputes and internal feuds of his native city. He sided with the nobles, and took an active part against the tyrants, who at that time set themselves up in Mitylene. He was obliged, in consequence, to quit his native country, and spend the rest of his life in exile. The date of his death is unknown. His poems, which were composed in the Aeolian dialect, were collected afterwards, and apparently divided into ten books. The subjects, as we can still see from the fragments, were of the most varied kind: some of his poems were hymns to the gods; others were of a martial or political character; others again breathed an ardent love of liberty and hatred of the tyrants; and lastly, some were of an erotic kind, and appear to have been particularly remarkable for the fervour of the passion they described. Horace looks upon Alcaeus as his great model, and has, in one passage (Od. ii. 13. 26, et sqq.) given a fine picture of the poetical powers of the Aeolian bard. The care which Alcaeus bestowed upon the construction of his verses was probably the reason why one kind of metre, the Alcaic, was named after him. Not one of his compositions has come down to us entire, but a complete collection of all the extant fragments may be found in Bergk’s Poetae Lyrici Graeci, Lipsiae, 1852, 8vo.

ALCAICS, in Ancient Poetry, a name given to several kinds of verse, from Alcaeus, their reputed inventor. The first kind consists of five feet, viz., a spondee or iambic, an iambic, a long syllable, and two dactyles; the second of two dactyles and two trochees. Besides these, which are called dactylic Alcaics, there is another, simply styled Alcaic, consisting of an epitrite, two choriambi, and a bacchius; thus— Cur timet fla | vum Tiberim | tangere, cur ∣ olivum?

The Alcaic ode is composed of several strophes, each consisting of four verses; the first two of which are always alcaïcs of the first kind; the third verse is an iambic diameter hypercatalectic, consisting of four feet and a long syllable; and the fourth verse is an alcaïc of the second kind. The following strophe is of this species, which Horace calls “Alcoei minaces camenae" — Non possidentem multa vocaveris Recte beatum; rectius occupat Nomen beati, qui deorum Muneribus sapienter uti.

ALCAIDE, or Alcayde, a word of Moorish origin, being derived from the Arabic káda, to head, which was applied by the Spanish, the Portuguese, and the Moors to the military officer appointed to take charge of a fortress or prison. See Alcalde.

ALCALA DE GUADAIRA, a town of Spain, in the province of Seville, Andalusia, situated on the Guadaira, 7 miles E. of Seville. It contains an old castle and other Moorish remains; but it is now chiefly remarkable for the excellent quality of its bread, whence the epithet de los Panaderos, sometimes applied to it. Nearly the whole of the bread required by the town of Seville is made here. Population, 7000.

ALCALA DE HENARES, an ancient Spanish city on the river Henares, 17 miles E.N.E. of Madrid. It has been identified with the Roman Complutum, which was destroyed about the year 1000, and was rebuilt by the Moors in 1083. In later times it was renowned for its richly-endowed university, founded by Cardinal Ximenes in 1510, which, at the height of its prosperity, numbered more than 10,000 students, and was second only to that of Salamanca. Here the famous edition of the Holy Bible known as the Complutensian Polyglot was prepared. The college of St Ildefonso contains a magnificent chapel, in which Ximenes is buried, and is distinguished by its splendid architecture, partly Moorish and partly Gothic. Alcala is further celebrated as the birthplace of the German emperor Ferdinand I., the poet Figueroa, the naturalist Bustamente de la Camera, the historian Solis, and last and greatest of all, Cervantes, who was born here in 1547. Since the removal of the university to Madrid in 1836 the town has rapidly declined. It contains a military academy and various public institutions, but is of little commercial importance. Population, 8745.

ALCALA LA REAL, a town of the province of Jaen in Spain, 18 miles S.W. of the town of that name. It stands on a declivity between two mountain ridges, at an elevation of about 3000 feet above the sea. It possesses a fine abbey. Its distinctive name la Real, the Royal, is derived from its capture in 1340 by Alphonso XI. of Leon, in person. In 1810 the Spaniards were defeated here by the French under Sebastiani. Some trade is carried on at the place in wine and wool. Population, 11,521.

ALCALDE (from the Arabic al-cadi, the judge), an official title given in Spain to various classes of functionaries entrusted with judicial duties. Criminal judges, members of courts of appeal, magistrates, and even parish officers are all known by the name alcalde—secondary descriptive titles distinguishing their different positions and functions. It is to be observed that the word is entirely distinct from Alcaide, the latter being always employed to designate a military officer.

ALCAMENES ('Αλ κα μέnη ς ), a famous Athenian sculptor, a pupil of Phidias, who is celebrated for his skill in art by Cicero, Pliny, Pausanias, Lucan, &c. He flourished from about 448 to 400 b.c., and appears as one of the great triumvirate of Greek sculptors, Phidias, Alcamenes, and Polycletus. He is said to have once competed with his master, the subject being a statue of Minerva. In this attempt the style of Alcamenes was exquisite in finish, but he had overlooked the consideration that the statue was to be placed on a high column, and there his work would not bear comparison with that of his great master. His statue of Venus Urania, in the temple of that deity at Athens, was reckoned his masterpiece.

ALCAMO, a city of Sicily, in the Italian province of Trapani, is situated 22 miles E. of Trapani, near the Gulf of Castellamare. It lies in a district of peculiar fertility, which produces some of the best wines in the island. The town is pleasantly situated on elevated ground, but its internal appearance is mean and dirty. It contains a very strong castle, and many churches and monasteries. Near it are the ruins of the ancient Segesta, including a Doric temple and a theatre in good preservation; and there are also on the neighbouring hill Moorish towers and other remains, standing as memorials of the Saracen occupation of Sicily. Population (1865), 19,518.

ALCANTARA, the ancient Norba Coesarea, a town of Spain, in the province of Caceres, on a rocky height on the left bank of the Tagus. Alcantara (in Arabic, the bridge) derived its name from the magnificent Roman bridge which spanned the Tagus at this point, and which was erected, according to the inscription, a.d. 104, in honour of the emperor Trajan, who was a native of Spain. This remarkable structure is built entirely of blocks of granite without cement, and consisted, until its partial destruction, of six arches of various span, with a total length of 670 feet and a height of 210 feet. The second arch on the right bank was blown up by the English in 1809, and, although temporarily reconstructed, was again destroyed in 1836 to prevent the passage of the Carlist troops. The bridge has never since been repaired; and it is a striking illustration of the want of public spirit in Spain that the river is crossed by means of a ferry-boat in the neighbourhood of this grand engineering work, which it is a national duty to preserve. The population of the town is 4200.

ALCANTARA, a seaport of Brazil, in the province of Maranhao, on the bay of San Marcos. It has a tolerable harbour; and excellent cotton is grown in the vicinity, forming the chief article of commerce. Rice and salt, obtained from the neighbouring lagoons, are also exported. Population, 10,000....

ALCARAZ, a small town in Spain, in the province of Albacete, 34 miles W.S.W. of the town of that name. It stands on very hilly ground near the river Guadarmena, and has the remains of a once strong castle and of a magnificent Roman aqueduct. Weaving, iron-founding, and agriculture are the chief branches of industry. Copper and zinc are found in the vicinity. Population, 7325.