=Philocte´tes= was one of the Argonauts. He received from Hercules the arrows which had been dipped in the gall of the Hydra. The Greeks, in the tenth year of the Trojan war, were informed by the oracle that Troy could not be taken without these arrows. Philoctetes repaired to the Grecian camp, where he destroyed a number of the Trojans, among whom was Paris, with the arrows. The adventures of Philoctetes are the subject of one of the best tragedies of Sophocles. =Philome´la.= A daughter of Pandion, king of Athens. Her sister Procne had married Tereus, king of Thrace, and being separated from Philomela spent her time in great melancholy. She persuaded her husband to go to Athens and bring her sister to Thrace. Tereus, on the journey, treated Philomela with great cruelty, and cut off her tongue, confining her in a lonely castle, and reporting to Procne that she was dead. Philomela, however, found means to inform Procne that she was living. In revenge for the cruelty of Tereus, Procne murdered his son and served him up as food at a banquet. On hearing this Tereus drew his sword to slay the sisters, when he was changed into a hoopoe, Philomela into a nightingale, and Procne into a swallow. =Philopoe´men.= A celebrated general of the Achæans, born at Megalopolis. At an early age he distinguished himself in the field of battle, at the same time appearing fond of agriculture and a country life. He adopted Epaminondas as his model, and was not unsuccessful in imitating the prudence and other good qualities of the famous Theban. When Megalopolis was attacked by the Spartans, Philopoemen, then in his thirtieth year, gave the most decisive proofs of his valor. Raised to the rank of commander, he showed his ability to discharge that important trust, by killing with his own hand Mechanidas, the tyrant of Sparta, and defeating his army. Sparta having become, after its conquest, tributary to the Achæans, Philopoemen enjoyed the triumph of having subdued one of the most powerful states of Greece. He was at length made prisoner by the Messenians, and was treated by their general, Dinocrates, with great severity. He was poisoned in his seventieth year, about 183 years before the Christian era. =Philos´tratus.= A famous Sophist, born at Lemnos, or, according to some, at Athens. He came to Rome, where he was patronized by Julia, the wife of the emperor Severus. She intrusted him with some papers referring to Apollonius, whose life he wrote. This biography is written with elegance, but contains many exaggerated descriptions and improbable stories.