I-~~ - — 7i -— i~i " ___ -~ —--- - ____ -- ________ _ _ ___________________/_______' _____ ________ NCOSS______________________ PHOTOG-RAPHIO VIEW OF ATHENS, TAKEN IN 18^. A HIST~R,`Y OF C, EFiCE, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE ROMAN CONQUEST WITH SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTERS ON THE HISTORY OF LITERATURE AND ART BY WILLIAM SMITH, LL.D., EDITOR OF THE DICTIONARIES OF " GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES," " BIOGRAPHY AND MYTHOLOGY," AND " GEOGRAPHY." WITH NOTES, AND A CONTINUATION TO THE PRESENT TIME, BY C. C. FELTON, LL.D., ELIOT PROFESSOR OF GREEK LTER.ITURE IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY. BOSTON: HICKLING, SWAN, AND BROWN. NEW YORK: R. B. COLLINS; LEAVITT & ALLEN.-PHILADELPHIA: COWPERTHWAIT, DESILVER, & BUTLER; LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO, & CO. -B A L T IM O R E: CUSHINGS & BAILEY. -W AS H I N G T 0 N, D. C.: R. FARNHAM. -C H A RLE ST ON NS.C.: MCCARTER & CO.-N EW O R LE AN S: WILLIA31 FLEMMING1; THOMAS L. WHITE. - MOBILE: STRICKLAND & CO. IN C I N T I I: MOORE, WILSTACH, KEYS, & CO. -S T. LO U I S: FISHER & BENNETT.CHICAGO: KEENE & LEE. 18 5 5. P tEFA E OF THE AMERICAN EDITOR. THE works of Dr. William Smith, on Classical Biography, Antiquities, and Geography, are so well known in the United States, that any commendation of them would be superfluous in this place. The History of Greece published by him in 1854 is marked by excellences similar to those of his other books, and is, beyond all question, the best summary in our language of the ancient history of that country, for the use of schools and colleges. The editor of the present American republication has carefully revised the text, and corrected a number of misprints which escaped the author in the original English edition. In one place, a passage of some length is inadvertently repeated in nearly identical terms; the repetition, in this edition, has of course been omitted.* In the Chronological Table, the heading of the third book is omitted; that omission has been supplied. An attempt has been made to introduce a greater degree of uniformity in the spelling of the classical names. The example of Grote and other high authorities in English literature is now beginning to be followed, and English usage, in this respect, is gradually conforming itself to that which has been established among the scholars of Germany. Still I have not ventured to carry out the principle in all cases, having limited myself generally to those in which an opposite practice has not been irrevocably fixed. With regard to the Modern Greek names, I have followed the orthography of the Greek rather than of any other language. Thus, I have written Tricoupes, X Pages 172, 173, and pages 181, 182, of the English work. iv PREFACE OF THE AMERICAN EDITOR. and not Tricoupi; Rhegas, and not Rigas; Colocotrones, and not Colocotroni; and so of many others. With regard to the passages from the poets, cited by Dr. Smith in his excellent chapters on Greek Literature, I have in a few cases substituted other translations. This has been done for the purpose of more exactly representing the form of the originals. The foot-notes are, for the most part, founded upon personal observations in Greece. All the vignettes, maps, and wood-cut illustrations of Dr. Smith's work have been retained, and a considerable number have been added, besides those prefixed to the new chapters. One of them, the Gate of Lions at Mycene, has been redrawn, for the sake of representing it in its present condition. When I visited Mycene, the approach to the gate had been entirely cleared of the rubbish which formerly blocked it up, and the pavement of the street, with the ancient wheel-ruts, was laid open. The drawing in the present edition exhibits it precisely as it now appears. The view of the Acropolis in its present state is copied from a drawing made by an accomplished English friend, whose society I had the pleasure of enjoying at Athens. It exhibits exactly the appearance of the western end of the Acropolis, since the excavations made under the superintendence of M. Beule, a member of the French school in Athens, brought to light an ancient door at the foot of the marble stairs, and is, I think, in other respects, the most faithful representation ever yet published. This copy, and all the other new drawings, have been executed by the skilful hand of Mr. Ernest Sandoz. As the Greek nation has wonderfully survived through the disastrous period of the Middle Ages, and their long subjection to the oppression of the Turks, I have thought it would add to the interest of the volume to complete the story down to the present day. The method of accomplishing this object has been a matter of some perplexity. The space is necessarily limited, and the time to be included in it embraces many centuries. A complete narrative would fill several volumes; a mere enumeration of the events in chronological order would be tedious and dry. Instead of following either of these courses, I decided to select those events and persons that have most prominently influenced the course of Hellenic history during the periods in question, or that seemed best to illustrate the condition and genius of the race. It is hoped that the reader will find PREFACE OF THE AMIERICAN EDITOR. V that, in proportion to the original work, a tolerably full and clear account has been given on all these points. The present condition of the Greek people is one of deep interest. In the kingdom of Hellas a remarkable progress has been made in letters and education, during the quarter of a century since the close of the terrible war of the Revolution. The Greeks have -been greatly misrepresented by the hasty judgments of travellers, and the complicated interests involved in the Eastern war now raging have tended to disseminate political prejudices against them, both in Europe and America. Yet the war of the Revolution proved to an admiring world that a noble spirit still animated the breasts of the Greeks, after so many ages of suffering and slavery. In patience, in bravery, in public and individual devotion to the cause of their country, the Greeks of that day bear a favorable comparison with any nation which has ever struggled to redeem itself from oppression. The distinguished and heroic personages who appeared on the scene of action during the long-drawn and bloody drama of the Revolution prove that the race and the age were fruitful of the highest qualities of character. The names of Marcos Botzares, Karaiskakes, Diakos, Alexander and Demetrius Ypselantes, and numerous other departed warriors and patriots, shine in history with an imperishable lustre; while among the living, Alexander Mavrocordatos, Tricoupes, Kalerges, Psyllas, Pericles Argyropoulos, and others equally deserving, though less conspicuous, exhibit to the world the most conclusive proof that talents and integrity, in ample measure, still adorn the land of Pericles and Demosthenes. The capacity of the Greeks for political affairs and self-government has been demonstrated from the first opening of the Revolution. Among the earliest cares of those who commenced the struggle, the establishment of a regular constitutional administration held the most conspicuous place; and during the whole conflict, though its progress was marked at times by civil dissensions, and the overwhelming power of the enemy brought the insurgents more than once to the brink of destruction, yet the spirit of legality and the forms of representative government carried the people through their fiery trials. After the establishment of a monarchy, the desire for a constitutional government continued to animate the heart of the nation, and in 1843 that desire was fulfilled by the formation Vi PREFACE OF THE AMERICAN EDITOR. of a constitution, which was adopted at the beginning of the following year. The mode in which the people gained this great object of their long-postponed hopes; the moderation which marked their proceedings; the good feeling they exhibited towards the king and queen, and the confidence in the people manifested by these august personages; the proceedings at the elections, and the acts of the members of the assembly that framed the constitution; the excellent features of the constitution itself, entitle the people and the popular leaders to the applause of enlightened lovers of order and liberty everywhere. In literature and scholarship the Greeks are fast rising to distinction. The private schools established in many places, the system of public instruction supported by the government, and encouraged by the most liberal private contributions, are admirable. The activity of the press supplies the country with translations of the best foreign books, and numerous original works by the industrious scholars and writers of Hellas; and the names of Asopios, Argyropoulos, Rangabes, Kontogones, Philippos Johannis, and Manouses would do honor to any European university. The History of the Greek Revolution, now nearly completed, by his Excellency Spyridon Tricoupes, the Greek Minister at the Court of St. James, in point of style and matter compares well with the historical works of the classical ages. Since the Revolution - to sum up in a few words the progress of the Greeks -cities and villages have been rebuilt, commerce has widely extended its operations, and the mercantile marine has largely increased; a general system of public instruction has been established, which places the opportunity of education within the reach of every child in Greece, at the public charge. Organic legislative bodies are established by the constitution, and the laws are ably and impartially administered by the judiciary; the trial by jury and an able and independent bar guard the rights of the citizens against the encroachments of power. The freedom of the press is guaranteed by the constitution. Surely, a people just emancipated from four centuries of enslavement, who have effected all this in a quarter of a century, are entitled to respect, even if their roads are rough, and their plains ill cultivated, and the public domain not so wisely administered as the friends of Greece might desire. I am therefore of opinion, that the interest which attaches CE OF THE AMERICAN EDITOR. Vii.4+seif to the Hellenic name does not cease at the Roman conquest. In the existing state of affairs, the Greeks form the saving and intellectual element of the Eastern world; and if ever those regions - so richly endowed by nature with the most varied resources for national prosperity and happiness, and so long sunk in wretchedness by the vices of Turkish misrule and the pernicious institutions of a society founded on the Mohammedan imposture - are to be restored to civilization, it must be through the influence of the Hellenic race and the Oriental Church, liberalized and purified by the science and letters and general intellectual culture of the Western nations. The study of Greek literature is, all over the civilized world, one of the most powerful agents of liberal education. The political institutions of the Ancient Greeks are the most instructive subjects of study to the citizens of a free commonwealth. But there are peculiar and striking analogies, which make these studies especially important to the citizens of the United States. Greek literature must for ever be congenial to the political tendencies which sway a republican people. The spirit which breathes from the historians, orators, and poets of Ancient Greece can best be appreciated under constitutional governments like those of England and the United States; and the struggles for freedom which have marked the modern history of Greece meet with the heartiest sympathy among a free people, who, like those of the United States, stand aloof from the political entanglements of Europe, which checked the sympathies naturally to be expected from Christian nations in behalf of a Christian nation striking for liberty. The services rendered by America to Greece in her war of independence are not forgotten by a grateful people. The feelings of the American nation found fit utterance in the admirable papers of Mr. Everett, - especially in an article published in the North Amer, ican Review for October, 1823, which exhibited the qualities of comprehensive and elegant scholarship, with the rarest beauties of style, and appealed to the Christian sentiment and literary sympathies of the country. This was followed by the speech of Mr. Webster, delivered in Congress, in January, 1824, which, in power of argument and classical finish of language, stands on a level with the masterly models handed down from the brilliant days of the Athenian republic. These noble efforts of scholarship and eloquence were followed up by the most im Vlii PREFACE OF THE AMERICAN EDITOR. portant practical results, chiefly through the agency of Dr. S. G. Howe,- a name which future ages will. not willingly let die, either in Greece or in the United States. Large contributions of money were forwarded to the government, and abundant supplies of clothing and provisions were shipped at different times, by which hundreds of the sufferers were saved from perishing. These generous movements were well deserved by the people for whose benefit they were made, not only on account of the illustrious associations with the great ancients, but on account of the virtues and calamities of the living race. And now the love of constitutional government, the eager desire of knowledge, the capacity for letters, politics, and eloquence, the industry, frugality, and high spirit, which characterize the inhabitants of the Hellenic kingdom, entitle them to respect and cordial sympathy. They have a difficult part to perform in the conflicts now drenching the East with blood; and if they commit errors, they should not be censured on a partial view of their position and their political relations. There are two sides to every question. But whatever opinion may be formed of particular transactions, arising out of the crisis of the moment, all well-informed men will agree, that the welfare of the East of Europe depends in no small measure on the future development of the Hellenic-Christian element in that part of the world. In preparing the chapters which I have added to Dr. Smith's work, I have consulted,-1. The Byzantine Historians. 2. Mr. Finlay's " Greece under the Romans," " Mediaval Greece and Trebizond," and "Byzantine and Greek Empires," and Gibbon's "Decline and Fall." 3. Sir James Emerson Tennent's " History of Modern Greece." 4. Gordon and Howe's Histories of the Greek Revolution. 5. Zinkeisen's " Geschichte Griechenlands." 6. Pouqueville's " Histoire de la Grece." 7. Professor Paparregopoulos,'Ioropla TOD'EXXqvIcKOV "EOvov9. 8. Tricoupes,'IrE7opla rs means for perpetuating the memory of any historical facts. Before that CHAP. I.] THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS. 1 period everything is vague and uncertain; and for two centuries afterwards we meet with only a few isolated events, and possess nothing in the form of a continuous history. But even the mythical age must not be passed over entirely. In all cases the traditions of a people are worthy of record; and this is especially true of the Greeks, whose legends moulded their faith and influenced their conduct down to the latest times. ~ 2. Few nations have paid more attention to their genealogy than the Greeks. In modern times families are ambitious of tracing back their origin to some illustrious ancestor; but in Greece this feeling was not confined to families, but pervaded alike all associations of men. Every petty tribe or clan claimed descent from a common ancestor, whose name was borne by each member of the community. This ancestor was usually represented as the son or immediate descendant of a god, or else as sprung from the earth,* which was in such cases regarded as a divine being. Thus the Greek people considered themselves the children of one common father, in whose name they gloried as the symbol of fraternity. This ancestor was HELLEN, the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, from whom the people derived the name of Hellenes. Hellen had three sons, Dorus, Xuthus, and 2Eolus. Of these Dorus and AEolus gave their names to the Dorians and XEolians; and Xuthus, through his two sons, Ion and Acheus, became the forefather of the Ionians and Achl2ans. In this way the four great divisions of the Greek race, the Dorians, LEolians, Ionians, and Acheans, were supposed to be the descendants of the patriarch Iellen. ~ 3. The descent of the Hellenes from a common ancestor, I-Hellen, was a fundamental article in the popular faith. It was a general practice in antiquity to invent fictitious persons for the purpose of explaining names of which the origin was buried in obscurity. It is in this way that Hellen and his sons came into being. But though they never had any real existence, their history may be regarded as the traditional history of the races to whom they gave their names. Thus, when we are told that Hellen reigned in the South of Thessaly, near the foot of Mount Othrys, which was the part of Greece first called Hellas, we may conclude that the Greeks believed this district to be the original abode of their race. In like manner the migrations of the sons of Hellen from the South of Thessaly, and their settlements in the different parts of Greece, represent the current belief respecting the early history of the four great divisions of the race. AEolus succeeded his father Hellen as king of Hellas in Thessaly, but his descendants occupied a great part of Central Greece, as far as the Isthmus of Corinth, and also took possession of the western coast of Peloponnesus. The JEolians were the most widely diffused of all the descendants of Hellen. Many of their towns, such as Corinth and Iolcus in Thessaly Hence called an Autochthon (Avro]XOcov). 12 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. I. were situated upon the coast, and the worship of Poseidon (Neptune), the god of the sea, prevailed extensively among them. The Achmans appear in the latter part of the Heroic Age as the most warlike of the Grecian races. At that time they are represented as inhabiting the original abode of the Hellenes in Thessaly, and also the cities of Mycene, Argos, and Sparta, in the Peloponnesus. The most distinguished of the Grecian heroes in the Trojan war were Achwans; and such was the celebrity of the race at that period, that Homer frequently gives their name to the whole body of the Greeks. The Dorians and Ionians are of far less importance in the ancient legends, though they afterwards became the two leading races in Greece, to whom the Spartans and Athenians respectively belonged. The Dorians were almost confined to the small mountainous district named after them, lying between Thessaly and Phocis; the lonians were found chiefly in Attica and along the narrow slip of coast in the North of Peloponnesus, which in historical times was known by the name of Achaia. ~ 4. Such was the general belief of the Greeks respecting the early ciffusion of their race. But it is natural for us to go farther back, and to endeavor to ascertain the real origin of the people. Now the only sure and certain means of ascertaining the origin of any people is a knowledge of its language. Tradition misleads as often as it guides the inquirer; and the indications afforded by mythology, manners, and customs are frequently deceptive and always vague. Language, on the other hand, is an enduring memorial; and, whatever changes it may have undergone in the course of ages, it rarely loses those fundamental elements which proclaim its origin and affinities. If then we conduct our inquiry into the origin of the Greek people by means of their language, we have no difficulty in coming to a satisfactory conclusion. The Greek language is a member of that great family of languages to which modern scholars have given the name of Indo-European. The various nations speaking the different varieties of this language were originally one people, inhabiting the high table-land of Central Asia. At some period, long antecedent to all profane history, they issued from their primeval seats, and spread over a considerable portion both of Asia and of Europe. In Asia the ancient Hindoos, who spoke Sanscrit, and the Medes and Persians, whose language was the Zend, were the two principal branches of this people. Is Europe the Germans, Pelasgians, Slavonians, and Celts were the four chief varieties. It is foreign to our present purpose to give any account of the other branches of the IndoEuropean family; but a few remarks must be made upon the Pelasgians, from whom the Greeks derived their origin. ~ 5. The Pelasgians are represented by the Greeks themselves as the most ancient inhabitants of their land. The primitive name of Greece is said to have been Pelasgia. In the historical period, those parts of Greece which had been subject to the fewest changes of inhabitants were supposed CHAP. 1.] THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS. 13 to be peopled by the descendants of the Pelasgians. This was especially the case with Arcadia and Attica, which claimed to have been inhabited by the same tribes from time immemorial. The Pelasgians were spread over the Italian as well as the Grecian peninsula; and the Pelasgic language thus formed the basis of the Latin as well as of the Greek. It is true that Herodotus speaks of the Pelasgic as a foreign language, totally distinct from the Greek; but his testimony on such a subject is not entitled to any weight, since the ancients were lamentably deficient in philological knowledge, and had no notion of the affinity of languages. Of the Pelasgians themselves our information is scanty. They were not mere barbarians. They are represented as tilling the ground and dwelling in walled cities.* Thei'i religion appears to have been essentially the same as the religion of the Hellenes. Their great divinity was Zeus, the national Hellenic god, and the chief seat of his worship was Dod5na in Epirus. Hence Homer gives to the Dodonmma Jove the title of Pelasgic; and his oracle at Dodona was always regarded as the most ancient in Greece. The Pelasgians were divided into several tribes, such as the Hellenes, Leleges, Caucones, and others. In what respects the Hellenes were superior to the other Pelasgic tribes we do not know; but they appear at the first dawn of history as the dominant race in Greece. The rest of the Pelasgians disappeared before them or were incorporated with them; their dialect of the Pelasgic tongue became the language of Greece; and their worship of the Olympian Zeus gradually supplanted the more ancient worship of the Dodonean god. ~ 6. The civilization of the Greeks and the development of their language bear all the marks of home growth, and probably were little affected by foreign influence. The traditions, however, of the Greeks would point to a contrary conclusion. It was a general belief among them, that the Pelasgians were reclaimed from barbarism by Oriental strangers, who settled in the country and introduced among the rude inhabitants the first elements of civilization.. Many of these traditions, however, are not ancient legends, but owe their origin to the philosophical speculations of a later age, which loved to represent an imaginary progress of society, from the time when men fed on acorns and ran wild in woods, to the time when they became united into political communities and owned the supremacy of law and reason. The speculative Greeks who visited Egypt in the sixth and fifth centuries before the Christian era were profoundly impressed with the monuments of the old Egyptian monarchy, which even in that early age of the world indicated a gray and hoary antiquity. The Egyptian priests were not slow to avail themselves of the impression made upon their visitors, and told the latter many a wondrous tale to prove that W A fortified town was called Larissa by the Pelasgians. 14 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. I. the civilization, the arts, and even the religion of the Greeks, all came from the land of the Nile. These tales found easy believers; they were carried back to Greece, and repeated with various modifications and embellishments; and thus, no doubt, arose the greater number of the traditions respecting Egyptian colonies in Greece. ~ 7. Although we may therefore reject with safety the traditions respecting these Egyptian colonies, two are of so much celebrity that they cannot be passed over entirely in an account of the early ages of Greece. Attica is said to have been indebted for the arts of civilized life to Cecrops, a native of Sais in Egypt. To him is ascribed the foundation of the city of Athens, the institution of marriage, and the introduction of religious rites and ceremonies. The Acropolis or citadel of Athens, to which the original city was confined, continued to bear the name of Cecropia even in later times. Argos, in like manner, is said to have been founded by the Egyptian Danaus, who fled to Greece with his fifty daughters to escape from the persecution of their suitors, the fifty sons of his brother AEgyptus. The Egyptian stranger was elected king by the natives, and from him the tribe of the Danai derived their name, which Homer frequently uses as a general appellation for the Greeks. The only fact which lends any countenance to the existence of an Egyptian colony in Greece is the discovery of the remains of two pyramids at no great distance from Argos; but this form of building is not confined to Egypt. Pyramids are found in India, Babylonia, and Mexico, and may therefore have been erected by the early inhabitants of Greece independently of any connection with Egypt. ~ 8. Another colony, not less celebrated and not more credible than the two just mentioned, is the one led from Asia by Pelops, from whom the southern peninsula of Greece derived its name of Peloponnesus. Pelops is usually represented as a native of Sipylus in Phrygia, and the son of the wealthy King Tantalus. By means of his riches, which he brought with him into Greece, he became king of Mycenae and the founder of a powerful dynasty, one of the most renowned in the Heroic Age of Greece. From him was descended Agamemnon, who led the Grecian host against Troy. ~ 9. The case is different with the Phoenician colony, which is said to have been founded by Cadmus at Thebes in Boeotia. We have decisive evidence that the Phoenicians planted colonies at an early period in the islands of Greece; and it is only natural to believe that they also settled upon the shores of the mainland. Whether there was such a person as the Phcenician Cadmus, and whether he built the town called Cadmea, which afterwards became the citadel of Thebes, as the ancient legends relate, cannot be determined; but, setting aside all tradition on the subject, there is one fact which proves indisputably an early intercourse between Phoenicia and Greece. It was to the Phoenicians that the Greeks were indebted for the art of writing; for both the names and the forms o CHAP. I.] THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS. 15 the letters in the Greek alphabet are evidently derived from the Phoenician. With this exception the Oriental strangers left no permanent trace of their settlements in Greece; and the population of the country continued to be essentially Grecian, uncontaminated by any foreign elements. Paris, from the YEginetan Sculptures.* * In the Glyptothek at Munic. - ED. -16 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. II. Ajax, from the 2Eginetan Sculptures.@ CHAPTER II. THE GRECIAN HEROES. ~ 1. Mythical Character of the Heroic Age. ~ 2. Hercules. ~ 3. Theseus. ~ 4. Minos. ~ 5. Voyage of the Argonauts.,~ 6. The Seven against Thebes and the Epigoni. ~ 7. The Trojan War as related in the Iliad. ~ 8. Later Additions. ~ 9. Return of the Grecian Heroes from Troy. ~ 10. Date of the Fall of Troy. ~ 11; Whether the Heroic Legends contain any Historical Facts. ~ 12. The Homeric Poems present a Picture of a Real State of Society. ~ 1. IT was universally believed by the Greeks, that their native land was in the earlier ages ruled by a noble race of beings, possessing a superhuman though not a divine nature, and superior to ordinary men in strength of body and greatness of soul. These are the Heroes of Grecian mythology, whose exploits and adventures form the great mine from which the Greeks derived inexhaustible materials for their poetry," Presenting Thebes or Pelops' line, Or the tale of Troy divine." According to mythical chronology the Heroic Age constitutes a period of about two hundred years, from the first appearance of the Hellenes in Thessaly to the return of the Greeks from Troy. Since the legends of this period belong to mythology and not to history, they find their proper In the Glyptothek at Munich.- ED. CHAP. II.] THE GRECIAN HEROES. 17 place in a work devoted to the former subject. But some of them are so closely interwoven with the historical traditions of Greece that it is impossible to pass them by entirely. Among the heroes three stand conspicuously forth: Hercules, the national hero of Greece; Theseus, the hero of Attica; and Minos, king of Crete, the principal founder of Grecian law and civilization. ~ 2. Of all the Heroic families none was more celebrated than that of Danaus, king of Argos. In the fifth generation we find it personified in Danae, the daughter of Acrisius, whom Zeus wooed in a shower of gold, and became by her the father of Perseus, the celebrated conqueror of Medusa. Perseus was the ancestor of Hercules, being the great-grandfather both of Alcmena and of her husband Ainphitryon. According to the well-known legend, Zeus, enamored of Alemena, assumed the form of Amphitryon in his absence, and became by her the father of Hercules. To the son thus begotten Zeus had destined the sovereignty of Argos; but the jealous anger of Hera (Juno) raised up against him an opponent and a master in the person of Eurystheus, another descendant of Perseus, at whose bidding the greatest of all heroes was to achieve those wonderful labors which filled the whole world with his fame. In these are realized, on a magnificent scale, the two great objects of ancient heroism,-the destruction of physical and moral evil, and the acquisition of wealth and power. Such, for instance, are the labors in which he destroys the terrible Nemean lion and Lernean hydra, carries off the girdle of Ares from Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons, and seizes the golden apples of the Hesperides, guarded by a hundred-headed dragon. At the same time, however, we perceive, as is the case with all the Grecian heroes, that the extraordinary endowments of Hercules did not preserve him from human weakness and error, and the consequent expiation which they demanded. After slaying in his ungovernable rage his friend and companion, Iphitus, the son of Eurytus, he is seized with sickness, becomes the slave of the Lydian queen, Omphale, devotes himself to effeminate occupations, and sinks into luxury and wantonness. At a subsequent period another crime produces his death. The rape of Iole, the daughter of the same Eurytus whose son he had slain, incites his wife Deianira to send him the fatal shirt, poisoned with the blood of the centaur, Nessus. Unable to endure the torments it occasions, he repairs to Mount CEta, which becomes the scene of his apotheosis. As he lies on the funeral pile there erected for him by Hyllus, his eldest son by Deianira, a cloud descends and bears him off amidst thunder and lightning to Olympus, where he is received among the immortal gods, and, being reconciled to Hera, receives in marriage her daughter Hebe, the goddess of youth. ~ 3. Theseus was the son of JEgeus, king of Athens, and of A2thra, daughter of Pittheus, king of Trcezen. On his return to Athens 2Egeus left 2Ethra behind him at Trcezen, enjoining her not to send their son to 3 18 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. II. Athens till he was strong enough to lift from beneath a stone of prodigious weight his father's sword and sandals, which would serve as tokens of recognition. Theseus, when grown to manhood, accomplished the appointed feat with ease, and took the road to Athens over the Isthmus of Corinth, a journey beset with many dangers from robbers, who barbarously mutilated or killed the unhappy wayfarers who fell into their hands. But Theseus overcame them all, and arrived in safety at Athens, where he was recognized by 2Egeus, and declared his successor. Among his many memorable achievements the most famous was his deliverance of Athens from the frightful tribute imposed upon it by Minos for the murder of his son. This consisted of seven youths and seven maidens, whom the Athenians were compelled to send every nine years to Crete, there to be devoured by the Minotaur, a monster with a human body and a bull's head, which Minos kept concealed in an inextricable labyrinth. The third ship was already on the point of sailing with its cargo of innocent victims, when Theseus offered to go with them, hoping to put an end for ever to the horrible tribute. Ariadnej the daughter of Minos, became enamored of the hero, and having supplied him with a clew to trace the windings of the labyrinth, Theseus succeeded in killing the monster, and in tracking his way out of the mazy lair. As he returned towards Athens, the pilot forgot to hoist the white sail, agreed on as the signal of success, in place of the black sail usually carried by the vessel which bore that melancholy tribute, whereupon JEgeus, thinking that his son had perished, threw himself into the sea which afterwards bore his name. Theseus, having now ascended the throne, proceeded to lay the foundations of the future greatness of Athens. He united into one political body the twelve independent states into which Cecrops had divided Attica, and made Athens the capital of the new kingdom. In order to accommodate the increased population of the city, he covered with buildings the ground lying to the south of the Cecropian citadel; and in commemoration of the union, he instituted the festivals of the Panathenaa and Synoikia in honor of Athena (Minerva), the patron goddess of the city. He then divided the citizens into three classes; namely, Etupatricl, or nobles, Geomzori, or husbandmen, and Demiurgi, or artisans. He is further said to have established a constitutional government, retaining in his own hands only certain definite powers and privileges, so that he was regarded in a later age as the founder of civil equality at Athens. I-e also extended the Attic territory to the confines of Peloponnesus, and established the games in honor of Poseidon (Neptune), which were celebrated on the isthmus. He subsequently engaged in a variety of adventures in conjunction with Hercules and Peirithous, king of the Lapithe. But on his return to Athens after these exploits, the Athenians refused to obey him any longer, whereupon he retired to the island of Scyros, and was there murdered through the treachery of King Lycomedes. CHAP. II.] THE GRECIAN HEROES. 19 ~ 4. Minos, king of Crete, whose story is connected with that of Thescus, appears, like him, the representative of an historical and civil state of life. Minos is said to have received the laws of Crete immediately from Zeus; and traditions uniformly represent him as king of the sea. Possessing a numerous fleet, he reduced the surrounding islands, especially the Cyclades, under his dominion, and cleared the sea of pirates. A later legend recognizes two heroes of the name of Minos; one, the son of Zeus and Europa, who after his death became a judge in the lower world, and the other his grandson, who held the dominion of the sea. ~ 5. If, turning from the exploits of individual heroes, we examine the enterprises undertaken by a collective body of chiefs, we shall again find three expeditions more celebrated than the rest. These are the Voyage of the Argonauts, the War of the Seven against Thebes, and the Siege of Troy. In the Voyage of the Argonauts the 2Eolids play the principal part. Pelias, a descendant of ZEolus, had deprived his half-brother 2Eson of his dominion over the kingdom of Iolcus in Thessaly. When Jason, son of Eson, had grown up to manhood, he appeared before his uncle and demanded back his throne. AEson consented only on condition that Jason should first fetch the golden fleece from AEa,* a region in the farthest East, ruled by 2Eetes, offspring of the Sun-god. H-ere it was preserved in the grove of Ares (Mars), suspended upon a tree, and under the guardianship of a sleepless dragon. The Argo, a ship built for the expedition, gave its name to the adventurers, who, under the conduct of Jason, embarked in the harbor of Iolcus, for the purpose of bringing back the fleece. They consisted of the most renowned heroes of the time. Hercules and Theseus are mentioned among them, as well as the principal leaders in the Trojan war. Jason, however, is the central figure and the real hero of the enterprise. When he and his companions arrived, after many adventures, at Ea, King IEetes promised to deliver to him the golden fleece, provided he yoked two fire-breathing oxen with brazen feet, ploughed with them a piece of land, sowed in the furrows thus made the remainder of the teeth of the dragon slain by Cadmus, and vanquished the armed men that would start from his seed. Iere also, as in the legend of Theseus, love played a prominent part. Mledea, the daughter of ZEetes, who was skilled in magic and supernatural arts, furnished Jason with the means of accomplishing the labors imposed upon him; and as her father still delayed to surrender the fleece, she cast the dragon asleep during the night, seized the fleece, and set sail in the Argo with her beloved Jason and his companions. AEetes pursued them; but after many long and strange wanderings, they at length reached Iolcus in safety. * Identified by the Greeks of a later age with Colchis. 20 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. II ~ 6. In the Heroic Age Thebes was already one of the principal cities of Greece. Towards the close of this period it became the scene of the last struggles of a fated race, whose legendary history is so full of human crime, of the obscure warnings of the gods, and of the inevitable march of fate, as to render it one of the favorite subjects of the tragic poets of Athens. Laius, king of Thebes, was warned by an oracle to beget no children, or he would be murdered by his son. He neglected the prediction, but to obviate its effects caused his son CEdipus by Jocasta to be exposed to death. The infant, however, was saved and carried to Corinth, where King Polybus reared him as his own. Grown up to manhood, and stung by the reproaches which he heard cast upon his birth, (Edipus consulted the Delphic oracle representing his parentage, and was warned by it not to return to his native land, as he was there destined to slay his father and commit incest with his mother. OEdipus, believing Polybus to be his real father, now avoided Corinth and took the road to Thebes, but by so doing incurred the very fate which he sought to avoid. Meeting Laus in a narrow road, lie slew him in a quarrel, and then, proceeding to Thebes, obtained the hand of his mother, Queen Jocasta, promised as a reward to the man who should solve a riddle propounded by the Sphinx, a monster which had long infested the land, but which was driven to slay itself by the solution of its enigma. Two sons and two daughters were the fruit of the incestuous marriage. These horrors drew down a pestilence on the land, and in order to avert it, an oracle commanded the banishment of the murderer of Laifus. The inquiries instituted to discover the guilty man revealed the fatal truth. Jocasta hangs herself; (Edipus, unable any longer to bear the light of day, puts out his eyes, and being expelled from the city by his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, pronounces upon them a curse which speedily takes effect. In a struggle for undivided dominion, Polynices is driven out of Thebes by his' brother, and, repairing to Argos, obtains the aid of King Adrastus to reinstate him in his rights. Besides that monarch and Polynices five other heroes join the expedition, making the confederacy known under the name of the " Seven against Thebes." All of them except Adrastus are slain, whilst Polynices and Eteocles fall by each other's hands. Ten years later the sons of the allied princes undertake another expedition against Thebes in order to avenge their fathers' fate, hence called the war of the.Epigoni, or the Descendants. It proved successful. Thebes was taken and razed to the ground after the greater part of its inhabitants had left the city on the advice of the prophet Tiresias. ~ 7, In mythological chronology the war of the Epigoni immediately precedes the expedition against Troy, whose legend forms the termination of the Heroic age. While it was the last, it was also the greatest of all the Heroic achievements. It formed the subject of innhmerable epic poems, and has been immortalized by the genius of Homer. CHAF. II.] THE GRECIAN HEROES. 21 Paris, son of Priam, king of Ilium or Troy, abused the hospitality of Menelaus, king of Sparta, by carrying off his wife, Helen, the most beautiful woman of the age. All the Grecian princes looked upon the outrage as one committed against themselves. Responding to the call of Menelaus, they assemble in arms, elect his brother, Agamemnon, king of Mycene, leader of the expedition, and sail across the AEgean in nearly twelve hundred ships to recover the faithless fair one. Several of the confederate heroes excel Agamemnon in fame.. Among them Achilles, chief of the Thessalian Myrmidons, stands preeminent in strength, beauty, and valor, whilst Odysseus, king of Ithaca, surpasses all the rest in the mental qualities of counsel, subtilty, and eloquence. Thus, though by opposite endowments, these two heroes form the centre of the group. Next to them we observe the aged Nestor, king of Pylus, distinguished for his wisdom and experience; the valiant Diomedes, king of Argos, son of Tydeus, slain at Thebes, and one of the Epigoni; the Telamonian Aias (Ajax) of Salamis, who, though somewhat heavy and unwieldy, is next to Achilles in person and fighting power; and lastly, Idomeneus of Crete, a grandson of Minos. Among the Trojans, Hector, one of the sons of Priam, is most distinguished for heroic qualities, and forms a striking contrast to his handsome but effeminate brother, Paris. Next to Hector in valor stands 2Eneas, son of Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus). Even the gods take part in the contest, encouraging their favorite heroes, and sometimes fighting by their side or in their stead. It is not till the tenth year of the war that Ilium yields to the inevitable decree of fate, and it is this year which forms the subject of the Iliad. Achilles, offended by Agamemnon, abstains from the war, and even entreats his mother Thetis to obtain from Zeus (Jove) victory for the Trojans. In his absence the Greeks are no match for Hector. The Trojans drive them back into their camp and are already setting fire to their ships, when Achilles gives his armor to his friend Patroclus, and allows him to charge at the head of the Myrmidons. Patroclus repulses the Trojans from the ships, but the god Apollo is against him, and he falls under the spear of Hector. Desire to avenge the death of his friend proves more powerful in the breast of Achilles than anger against Agamemnon. He appears again in. the field in new and gorgeous armor, forged for him by the god Hephastos (Vulcan) at the prayer of Thetis. The Trojans fly before him, and although Achilles is aware that his own death must speedily follow that of the Trojan hero, he slays hin in single combat. ~ 8. The Iliad closes with the burial of Hector. The death of Achilles and the capture of Troy were related in later poems, as well as his victories over Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons, and:Memnon, king of Ethiopia. The hero of so many achievements perishes by an arrow shot by 22 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. II. the unwarlike Paris, but directed by the hand of Apollo. The noblest combatants had now fallen on either side, and force of arms had proved unable to accomplish what stratagem at length effects. It is Odysseus (Ulysses) who now steps into the foreground and becomes the real conqueror of Troy. By his advice a wooden horse is built, in whose inside he and other heroes conceal themselves. The infatuated Trojans admit the horse within their walls. In the dead of night the Greeks rush out and open the gates to their comrades. Ilium is delivered over to the sword, and its glory sinks in ashes. ~ 9. The return of the Grecian leaders from Troy forms another series of poetical legends. Several meet with tragical ends. Agamemnon is murdered, on his arrival at Mycenme, by his wife, Clytsmnestra, and her paramour, iEgisthus. Diomedes, who also finds his house defiled, is driven from Argos and settles in Italy. But of these wanderings the most celebrated and interesting are those of Odysseus (Ulysses), which form the subject of the Odyssey. After twenty years' absence he arrives at length in Ithaca, where he slays the numerous suitors who devoured his substance and contended for the hand of his wife, Penelope. ~ 10. It has been already stated that the Trojan war closes the Heroic age, and the poet Hesiod relates that the divine race of heroes was exhausted before the walls of Thebes and on the plain of Ilium. As the Trojan war was thus supposed to mark an epoch in Grecian history, great pains were taken in the later periods of antiquity to fix its date. That of Eratosthenes, a grammarian at Alexandria, enjoyed most credit, which placed the fall of that city four hundred and seven years before the first Olympiad, and consequently in the year 1184 B. c. ~ 11. In relating the legends of the Heroic Age we have made no attempt to examine their origin, or to deduce from them any historical facts. All such attempts are in our opinion vain and fruitless. Whether there were real persons of the name of Hercules, Theseus, and Minos can neither be affirmed nor denied. Our only reason for believing in their existence is the tradition of the Greeks respecting them; and knowing how worthless is tradition, especially when handed down by a rude and unlettered people, we cannot accept the Grecian heroes as real personages upon such evidence. It has been supposed by many modern writers, that the wonderful story of the Argonauts took its rise from the adventurous voyages of early Greek mariners to the coasts of the Euxine; that the expeditions of the " Seven against Thebes" and their descendants represented in a legendary form an actual contest between Argos and Thebes; and that the Homeric tale of the Trojan war was based upon historical facts. But for such statements we have no authority. They are at the best only probable conjectures. While, therefore, we do not deny the possibility of an historical Trojan war, we cannot accept it as a fact supported by trustwor. thy evidence, since Homer is our sole authority for it. CHAP. II.] THE GRECIAN HEROES. 23 ~ 12. Although the Homeric poems cannot be received as a record of historical persons and events, yet they present a valuable picture of the institutions and manners of a real state of society. Homer lived in an age in which antiquarian research was unknown; his poems were addressed to unlettered hearers, and any description of life and manners which did not correspond to the state of things around them would have been unintelligible and uninteresting to his contemporaries. In addition to this, there is an artless simplicity in his descriptions which forces upon every reader the conviction that the poet drew his pictures from real life, and not from an antiquated past or from imaginary ideas of his own. The description which he gives of the government, manners, society, and customs of his age demands our attentive consideration, since with it our knowledge of the Greek people commences. 24 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIIAP. III Gate of Lions at Mycenae. CHAPTER III. STATE OF SOCIETY OF THE HEROIC AGE. 1. Political Condition of Greece. - The Kings. ~ 2. The Boul4, or Council of Chiefs. ~ 3. The Agorwa, or General Assembly of Freemen. ~ 4. The Condition of common Freemen and Slaves. ~ 5. State of Social and Moral Feeling. ~ 6. Simplicity of Manners. ~ 7. Advances made in Civilization. ~ 8. Commerce and the Arts. ~ 9. The Physical Sciences. ~ 10. The Art of War. ~ 1. IN the Heroic Age Greece was already divided into a number of independent states, each governed by its own king. The authority of the king was not limited by any laws; his power resembled that of the patriarchs in the Old Testament; and for the exercise of it he was responsible only to Zeus, and not to his people. It was from the Olympian god that his ancestors had received the supremacy, and he transmitted it, as a divine inheritance, to his son. He had the sole command of his people in war, he administered to them justice in peace, and he offered up on their behalf prayers and sacrifices to the gods. He was the general, judge, and priest of his people. They looked up to him with reverence as a being of.divine descent and divine appointment; but at the same time he was obliged to possess personal superiority, both of body and mind, to keep alive this feeling in his subjects. It was necessary that he should be brave in war, wise in counsel, and eloquent in debate. If a king became weak in body or feeble in mind, he could not easily retain his position; but as long as his personal qualities commanded the respect of his subjects, they quietly submitted to acts of violence and caprice. An ample domain was assigned to him for his support, and he received frequent presents to avert his enmity and gain his favor. CHAP. III.] SOCIETY OF THE HEROIC AGE. 25 Although the king was not restrained in the exercise of his power by any positive laws, there were, even in the Heroic Age, two bodies which must practically have limited his authority, and which became in republican Greece the sole depositaries of political power. These were the Boule, or council of chiefs, and the Agora, or general assembly of freemen. ~ 2. The king was surrounded by a limited number of nobles or chiefs, to whom the title of Basileus was given, as well as to the monarch himself. Like the king, they traced their descent from the gods, and formed his Boule, or Council, to which he announced the resolutions he had already formed, and from which he asked advice. The Boutl possessed no veto upon the measures of the king, and far less could it originate any measure itself. This is strikingly shown by the submissive manner in' which Nestor tenders his advice to Agamemnon, to be adopted or rejected, as the "king of men " might choose,* and by the description which Homer frequently gives of the meetings of the gods in Olympus, which are evidently taken from similar meetings of men upon earth. In heaven, Zeus, like the Homeric king, presides in the councils of the gods and listens to their advice, but forms his own resolutions, which he then communicates to them. ~ 3. When the king had announced his determination to the Council, he proceeded with his nobles to the Agora. The king occupied the most important seat in the assembly, with the nobles by his side, while the people sat in a circle around them. The king opened the meeting by announcing his intentions, and the nobles were then allowed to address the people. But no one else had the right to speak; no vote was taken; the people simply listened to the debate between the chiefs; and the assembly served only as a means for promulgating the intentions of the king. It is true that this assembly formed a germ, out of which the sovereignty of the people subsequently sprang; but in the Heroic Age the king was the only person who possessed any political power, and Homer expresses the general feeling of his time in the memorable lines, - The rule of many is not a good thing: let us have only one ruler, one king,- him to whom Zeus has given the sceptre and the authority." t There was another important purpose for which the Agora was summoned. It was in the Agora that justice was administered by the king, sometimes alone and sometimes with the assistance of his nobles. It may be remarked in passing, that this public administration of justice must have had a powerful tendency to check corruption and secure righteous judgments. ~ 4. The Greeks in the Heroic Age were divided into the three classes of nobles, common freemen, + and slaves. ~ The nobles were raised far above the rest of the community in honor, power, and wealth. They were distinguished by their warlike prowess, their large estates, and their Iliad, ix. 95 -101. t Iliad, ii. 203 -206. 8t &r/os, XauO. a 8s 4 26 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. III. numerous slaves. The condition of the general mass of freemen is rarely mentioned. They possessed portions of land as their own property, which they cultivated themselves: but there was another class of poor freemen, called Thetes, who had no land of their own, and who worked for hire on. the estates of others. Among the freemen we find certain professional persons, whose acquirements and knowledge raised them above their class, and procured for them the respect of the nobles. Such were the seer, the bard, the herald, and likewise the smith and the carpenter, since in that age a knowledge of the mechanical arts was confined to a few. Slavery was not so prevalent in the Heroic Age as in republican Greece, and it appears in a less odious aspect. The nobles alone possessed slaves, and they treated them with a great degree of kindness, which frequently secured for the masters their affectionate attachment. ~ 5. The state of social and moral feeling in the Heroic Age presents both bright and dark features. Among the Greeks, as among every people which has just emerged from barbarism, the family relations are the grand sources of lasting union and devoted attachment. The paternal authority was highly reverenced, and nothing was so much dreaded as the curse of an offended father. All the members of a family or a clan were connected by the closest ties, and were bound to revenge with their united strength an injury offered to any individual of the race. The women were allowed greater liberty than they possessed in republican Greece; and to Penelope, Andromache, and other women of the Heroic Age, there is an interest attaching, which we never feel in the women of the historical period. The wife occupied a station of great dignity and influence in the family, but was purchased by her husband from her parents by valuable presents,* a custom which prevailed among the ancient Jews and the barbarous nations of Germany. In the Heroic Age, as in other early stages of society, we find the stranger treated with generous hospitality. The chief welcomes him to his house, and does not inquire his name nor the object of his journey till he has placed before him his best cheer. If the stranger comes as a suppliant, he has a still greater claim upon his host, - although this tie may expose the latter to difficulty and danger, and may even bring upon him the hostility of a more powerful neighbor; for Jove punishes without mercy the man who disregards the prayer of a suppliant. The three facts we have mentioned - the force of the family relations, hospitality to the stranger, and protection to-fe- suppliant form the bright features in the social and moral feelings of the age. tWe now turn to the darker side of the picture. The poems of Homer represent a state of society in which the protection of law is practically unknown. The chief who cannot defend himself k Called'e8va, or Eva. CHAP. III.] SOCIETY OF THE HEROIC AGE. 27 is plundered and maltreated by his more powerful neighbor. The occupation of a pirate is reckoned honorable; homicides are of frequent occurrence; and war is conducted with the most ferocious cruelty. Quarter is rarely given; the fallen foe is stripped of his armor, which becomes the spoil of his conqueror, and if the naked corpse remains in the power of the latter, it is cast out to beasts of prey. The poet ascribes to his greatest heroes savage brutalities. Achilles sacrifices twelve human victims on the tomb of Patroclus, and drags the corpse of Hector around the walls of Troy, while the Greek chiefs pierce it with their spears. ~ 6. The society of the Heroic Age was marked by simplicity of manners. The kings and nobles did not consider it derogatory to their dignity to acquire skill in the manual arts. Ulysses is represented as building his own bedchamber and constructing his own raft, and he boasts of being an excellent mower and ploughman. Like Esau, who made savory meat for his father Isaac, the Heroic chiefs prepared their own meals and prided themselves on their skill in cookery. Kings and private persons partook of the same food, which was of the simplest kind. Beef, mutton, and goat's flesh were the ordinary meats, and cheese, flour, and sometimes fruits, also formed part of the banquet. Bread was brought on in baskets, and the guests were supplied with wine diluted with water. Before drinking, some of the wine was poured on the ground as a libation to the gods, and the guests then pledged each other with their cups. But their entertainments were never disgraced by intemperance, like those of our Northern ancestors. The enjoyment of the banquet was heightened by the song and the dance, and the chiefs took more delight in the lays of the minstrel than in the exciting influence of the wine. The wives and daughters of the chiefs, in like manner, did not deem it beneath them to discharge various duties which were afterwards regarded as menial. Not only do we find them constantly employed in weaving, spinning, and embroidery, but, like the daughters of the patriarchs, they fetch water from the well and assist their slaves in washing garments in the river. ~ 7. Although the Heroic Age is strongly marked by martial ferocity and simplicity of habits, it would be an error to regard it as one essentially rude and barbarous. On the contrary, the Greeks in this early period had ahleady made considerable advances in civilization, and had successfully cultivated many of the arts which contribute to the comfort and refinement of life. Instead of living in scattered villages like the barbarians of Gaul and Germany, they were collected in fortified towns, which were surrounded by walls and adorned with palaces and temples. The houses of the nobles were magnificent and costly, glittering with gold, silver, and bronze, while the nobles themselves were clothed in elegant garments and protected by highly-wrought armor. From the Phoenician merchants they obtained the finest productions of the Sidonian loom, as well as tin, iron, 28 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. III. and electrum. They travelled with rapidity in chariots drawn by highbred steeds, and they navigated the sea with ease in fifty-oared galleys. -Property in land was transmitted from father to son; agriculture was extensively practised, and vineyards carefully cultivated. It is true that Homer may have occasionally drawn upon his imagination in his brilliant pictures of the palaces of the chiefs and of their mode of living, but the main features must have been taken from life, and we possess even in the present day memorials of the Heroic Age which strikingly attest its grandeur. The remains of Mycenae and Tiryns and the emissaries of the lake Copais belong to this period. The massive ruins of these two cities, and the sculptured lions on the gate of Mycense, still excite the wonder of the beholder.* The emissaries or tunnels which the inhabitants of Orchomenus constructed to carry off the waters of the lake Copais, in Boeotia, are even more striking proofs of the civilization of the age. A people who felt the necessity of such works, and who possessed sufficient industry and skill to execute them, must have ah'eady made great advances in social life. t ~ 8. Commerce, however, was little cultivated, and was not much esteemed. It was deemed more honorable for a man to enrich himself by robbery and piracy than by the arts of peace. The trade of the Mediterranean was then exclusively in the hands of the Phoenicians, who exchanged the commodities of the East for the landed produce and slaves of the Greek chiefs. Commerce was carried on by barter; for coined money is not mentioned in the poems of Homer. Statuary was already cultivated in this age, as we see from the remains of Miycenae, already mentioned; and although no paintings are spoken of in Homer, yet his descriptions of the works of embroidery prove that his contemporaries must have been acquainted with the art of design. Whether the Greeks were acquainted at this early period with the art of writing is a question that has given rise to much dispute, and which will demand our attention when we come to speak of the origin of the Homeric poems. Poetry, however, was cultivated with success, though yet confined to epic strains, or the narration of the exploits and adventures of the Heroic chiefs. The bard sung his own song, and was always received with welcome and honor in the palaces of the nobles. ~ 9. In the state of society already described, men had not yet begun to study those phenomena of nature which form the basis of the physical sciences. They conceived the earth to be a plane surface surrounded by an ever-flowing river called Oceanus, from which every other river and sea derived their waters. The sky was regarded as a solid vault supported by Atlas, who kept heaven and earth asunder. Their geographical @ See drawings on pp. 9, 24. t One of these tunnels is nearly four English miles in length, with numerous shafts let down into it. One shaft is about 150 feet deep. CHAP. III.] SOCIETY OF THE HEROIC AGE. 29 knowledge was confined to the shores of Greece and Asia Minor and the principal islands of the JEgean Sea. Beyond those limits all was uncertain and obscure. Italy appears to have been unknown to Homer, and Sicily he peoples with the fabulous Cyclops. Libya, Egypt, and Phcenicia were known only by vague hearsay, while the Euxine is not mentioned at all.* ~10. In the battles of the Heroic Age, as depicted in the poems of Homer, the chiefs are the only important combatants, while the people are introduced as an almost useless mass, frequently put to rout by the prowess of a single hero. The chief is mounted in a war-chariot drawn by two horses, and stands by the side of his charioteer, who is frequently a friend. He carries into battle two long spears, and wears a long sword and a short dagger; his person is protected by shield, helmet, breastplate, and greaves. In the wars, as in the political system, of the Heroic Age, the chiefs are everything and the people nothing. * This is rather too strongly expressed. Phoenicia and Egypt were doubtless well known to the Greeks in the Heroic Age. - ED. Greek Warrior. 30 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. IV. Hercules and Bull. (From a bas-relief in the Vatican.) CHAPTER IV. RETURN OF THE HERACLEIDE INTO PELOPONNESUS, AND FOUNDATION OF THE EARLIEST GREEK COLONIES. 1. The Mythical Character of the Narrative of these Events. ~ 2. Migration of the Boeotians from Thessaly into Boeotia. ~ 3. Conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians. ~ 4. The Legendary Account of this Event. The Invasion. ~ 5. The Legendary Account continued. The Division of Peloponnesus among the Conquerors. ~ 6. Remarks upon the Legendary Account. ~ 7. Foundation of the Greek Colonies in Asia Minor. ~ 8. The 2Eolic Colonies. ~ 9. The Ionic Colonies. ~ 10. The Doric Colonies. ~ 11. Colonization of Crete by the Dorians. ~ 12. Conclusion of the Mythical Age. ~ 1. AT the commencement of Grecian history in the first Olympiad we find the greater part of Peloponnesus occupied by tribes of Dorian conquerors, and the western shores of Asia Minor covered by Greek colonies. The time at which these settlements were made is quite uncertain. They belong to a period long antecedent to all historical records, and were known to the Greeks of a later age by tradition alone. The accounts given of them are evidently fabulous, but at the same time these stories are founded upon a basis of historical truth. That Peloponnesus was at some early period conquered by the. Dorians, and that Greek colonies were planted in Asia,. are facts which admit of no dispute; but whether the conquest of Peloponnesus and the colonization of Asia Minor took place in the manner and at the time described by the ancient legends, is a very different question. These legends are not entitled to more credit than those of Hercules and Theseus, although they are proved in these CHAP IV.] RETURN OIP THE HERACLEIDE. 31 particular cases to have been fashioned out of real events; for, as we have already said, it is impossible to separate the historical facts from the subsequent embellishments. ~ 2. Before relating the conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians, we must say a few words respecting an earlier, though less celebrated, migration, namely, that of the Boeotians from Thessaly into Boeotia. The Thessalians were a rude and uncivilized race, who originally dwelt in the district of Epirus, called Thesprotia, from which they migrated into the country named after them, Thessaly. These Thessalian conquerors either subdued or expelled the original inhabitants of the country. The Boeotians, who inhabited the fertile district of ~Eolis, in the centre of Thessaly, wandered southwards into the country called after them Boeotia, where they drove out in their turn the ancient inhabitants of the land. According to mythical chronology this event happened in 1124 B. c., or sixty years after the fall of Troy. ~ 3. The conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians is said to have taken phace twenty years after the expulsion of the Boeotians from Thessaly, and was accordingly placed in 1104 B.. We have already seen that these dates are of no historical value; and the Dorian conquest of Peloponnesus probably took place after the time of Homer, since neither in the Iliad nor in the Odyssey do we find any traces of Dorians in Peloponnesus. The Dorians were a warlike tribe in Northern Greece, who had frequently changed their homes, and who at length settled in a mountainous district between Thessaly, Locris, and Phocis. They now appear for the first time in Grecian history. - They had no share in the glories of the Heroic Age; their name does not occur in the Iliad, and they are only once mentioned in the Odyssey as a small portion of the many tribes of Crete: but they were destined to form in historical times one of the most important elements of the Greek nation. Issuing from their mountain fastnesses, they overran the greater part of Peloponnesus, destroyed the ancient Achean monarchies, and expelled or reduced to subjection the original inhabitants of the land, of which they became the undisputed masters. This brief statement contains all that we know for certain respecting this celebrated event. We now proceed to give the mythical account. ~ 4. The Dorians were led to the conquest of Peloponnesus by the Heracleidcs, or descendants of the mighty hero, Hercules. Hence this migration is called the Return of the Heracleida3. The children of Hercules had long been fugitives upon the earth. They had made many attempts to regain possession of the dominions in the Peloponnesus of which their great sire had been deprived by Eurystheus, but hitherto without success. In their last attempt, Hyllus, the son of Hercules, had perished in single combat with Echemus of Tegea; and the HeracleidTc had become bound by a solemn compact to renounce their enterprise for a hundred years. This period had now expired; and the great-grand 32 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. IV. sons of Hyllus - Temenus, Cresphontes, and Aristodemus - resolved to make a fresh attempt to recover their birthright. They were assisted in the enterprise by the Dorians. This people espoused their cause in consequence of the aid which Hercules himself had rendered to the Dorian king, AEgimius, when the latter was hard pressed in the contest with the Lapithm. The invaders were warned by an oracle not to enter Peloponnesis by the Isthmus of Corinth, but across the mouth of the Corinthian Gulf. The inhabitants of the northern coast of the gulf were favorable to their enterprise. Oxylus, king of the }Etolians, became their guide; and the Ozolian Locrians granted them a port for building their fleet, from which memorable circumstance the harbor was soon afterwards called Naupactus.* Here Aristodemus was struck by lightning and died, leaving twin sons, Eurysthenes and Procles; but his remaining brothers crossed over the gulf in safety, landed in Achaia, and marched against Tisamenus, son of Orestes, then the most powerful monarch in Peloponnesus. A single battle decided the contest. Tisamenus was defeated, and retired with a portion of his Achaean subjects to the northern coast of Peloponnesus, then occupied by the Ionians. He expelled the Ionians, and took possession of the country, which continued henceforth to be inhabited by the Achaeans, and to be called after them. The lonians withdrew to Attica, and the greater part of them afterwards emigrated to Asia Minor. ~ 5. The Heracleidce and the Dorians now divided between them the dominions of Tisamenus and of the other Achaean princes. The kingdom of Elis was given to Oxylus as a recompense for his services as their guide; and it was agreed that Temenus, Cresphontes, and the infant sons of Aristodemus should draw lots for Argos, Sparta, and Messenia. Argos fell to Temenus, Sparta to the sons of Aristodemns, and Messenia to Cresphontes. The settlement of the conquerors in their new territories is said to have been made with scarcely any opposition. The Epeans, who inhabited Elis, submitted to Oxylus and his }Etolians after their king had been killed in single combat by one of the lEtolian chiefs. From this time the Epeans disappear from history, and their place is supplied by the Eleans, who are represented as descendants of the JEtolian conquerors. The share of Temenus originally comprehended only Argos and its immediate neighborhood; but his sons and sons-in-law successively occupied Troezen, Epidaurus, IEgina, Sicyon, and Phlius, which thus became Doric states. The sons of Aristodemus obtained possession of Sparta by the treason of an Achean, named Philonomus, who received as a recompense the neighboring town and territory of Amycle. The towns are said to have * From vais, " a ship," and the root gray, which occurs in 7rvryvvl, "fasten" "build." CHAP. IV.] COLONIES IN ASIA MINOR. 33 submitted without resistance, with the exception of Helos, the inhabitants of which were, as a punishment, reduced to slavery, thus giving rise to the class of slaves or serfs called Helots. Messenia yielded to Cresphontes without a struggle. Melanthus, who ruled over the country as the representative of the race of the Pylian Nestor, withdrew to Attica with a portion of his subjects. Corinth was not conquered by the Dorians till the next generation. One of the descendants of Hercules, named Hipp6tes, had put to death the seer Carnus, when the Heracleide were on the point of embarking at Naupactus. He had in consequence been banished for ten years, and was not allowed to take part in the enterprise. His son, Aletes, who derived his name from his long wanderings, subsequently attacked Corinth at the head of a body of Dorians. The mighty dynasty of the Sisyphids was expelled, and many of the JEolian inhabitants emigrated to foreign lands. ~ 6. Such are the main features of the legend of the Return of the Heracleidac. In order to make the story more striling and impressive, it compresses into a single epoch events which probably occupied several generations. It is in itself improbable that the brave Achlaans quietly submitted to the Dorian invaders after a momentary struggle. We have, moreover, many indications that such was not the fact, and that it was only gradually and after a long-protracted contest that the Dorians became undisputed masters of the greater part of Peloponnesus. The inagination loves to assign to one cause the results of numerous and different actions. Thus in our own history we used to read that the conquest of England by the Normans was completed by the battle of Hastings, in which Harold fell, whereas we now know that the Saxons long continued to offer a formidable resistance to the Norman invaders, and that the latter did not become undisputed masters of the country for two or three generations. That portion of the tradition which makes the Dorians to have been conducted into Peloponnesus by princes of Achaean blood, may safely be rejected, notwithstanding the general belief of the fact in ancient times. The Dorians, as we have already seen, were poor in mythical renown; and it would appear that the royal family at Sparta, though of Dorian origin, claimed Hercules as their founder in order to connect themselves with the ancient glories of tlhe Aclhean race. They thus became the representatives of Agamemnon and Orestes; and in the Persian war the Spartans on one occasion laid claim to the supreme command of the Grecian forces in consequence of this connection. We cannot err in supposing the story to be a fabrication of later times, seeing that there are such obvious reasons for its forgery, and such inherent improbability in its truth. ~ 7. The foundation of the Greek colonies in Asia Minor is closely connected in the legends with the conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians. There is nothing improbable in the statement, that the original inhabitants, 5 34 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CRAP. IV. who had been dislodged by the invaders, sought new homes on the coasts of Asia Minor; but in this case, as in the conquest of Peloponnesus, many separate occurrences are unquestionably grouped into one. The stream of migration probably continued to flow across the AEgean from Greece to Asia Minor for several generations. New adventurers constantly joined the colonists who were already settled in the country, and thus in course of time the various Greek cities were founded, which were spread over the western coast of Asia Minor, from the Propontis on the north to Lycia on the south. These cities were divided among the three great races of 2Eolians, Ionians, and Dorians, -the Eolians occupying the northern portion of the coast, together with the islands of Lesbos and Tenedos, the lonians the central part, with the islands of Chios, Samos, and the Cyclades, and the Dorians the southwestern corner, with the islands of Rhodes and Cos. ~ 8. The 2Eolic colonies are said to have been the earliest. Achieans, who had been driven out of Peloponnesus by the Dorians, were led by their native princes, the descendants of Orestes, to seek new homes in the East. In Boeotia they were joined by a part both of the original inhabitants of the country and of their Bceotian conquerors. From the latter, who were AEolians, the migration is called the _ZEolic, but sometimes also the Boeotian. The united body of emigrants, however, still continued under the command of the Achgean princes. They embarked at the port of Aulis, from which Agamemnon had sailed against Troy. They first occupied Lesbos, where they founded six cities; and a detachment of them settled on the opposite coast of Asia Minor, from the foot of Mount Ida to the mouth of the river Hermus. Smyrna was originally an A2olic city, but it afterwards passed into the hands of the Ionians. In the historical times there were eleven lEolic cities on the mainland, but of these Cyme was the only one which rose to importance.* ~ 9. The Ionic migration was more important than the preceding one, and gave rise to some of the most flourishing cities in the Hellenic world. It derived its name from the Ionians, who had been expelled by the Ach eans from their homes on the Corinthian Gulf, and had taken refuge in Attica. The Ionians, however, appear to have formed only a small part of the emigrants. Inhabitants from many other parts of Greece, who had been driven out of their native countries, had also fled to Attica, which is said to have afforded protection and welcome to all these fugitives. The small territory of Attica could not permanently support this increase of population; and accordingly these strangers resolved to follow the example of the IEolians and seek new settlements in the East. They were led by princes of the family of Codrus, the last king of Attica. In their pas* The names of the eleven Eolic cities were Cym6, Temnos, Larissa, Neon-Tlchos,.IEgse, Myrina, Grynium, Cilla, Notium, 2Egiroessa, Pitane. CHAP. IV.] COLONIES IN ASIA MINOR. - 35 sage across the Egean Sea they colonized most of the Cyclades; and in Asia Minor they took possession of the fertile country from the Hermus to the Meander, which was henceforth called Ionia, and also of the neighboring islands of Chios and Samos. In this district we find twelve independent states in later times, all of which adopted the Ionic name, notwithstanding the diversity of their origin, and were united by the common worship of the god Poseidon (Neptune) at the great Pan-Ionic festival.* There can be no doubt that these cities were really founded at different periods and by different emigrants, although their origin is ascribed to the great legendary migration of which we have been speaking, and which is referred by chronologists to one special year, one hundred and forty years after the Trojan war.,., I. A. L YID IL A.I - I A. Map of the chief Greek Colonies in Asia Minor. * The names of the twelve Ionic cities, enumerated from south to north, were Miletus, Myfs, Pri6en, Samos, Ephesus, Colophon, Lebedus, Teos, Erythroe, Chios, Clazomelae, Phocaea. To these twelve Smyrna was afterwards added. 36 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. IV. ~ 10. The Doric colonies in the southwestern corner of Asia Minor and in the neighboring islands may be traced in like manner to the conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians. In the general change of population and consequent emigrations caused by this important event, some of the Doric chiefs were also induced to quit the country they had recently subdued, and to lead bodies of their own countrymen and of the conquered Achaans to Asia. The most celebrated of the Doric migrations was that conducted by the Argive Althaemenes, a descendant of Temenus, who, after leaving some of his followers at Crete, proceeded with the remainder to the island of Rhodes, where he founded the three cities of Lindus, Ialysus, and Camirus. About the same time Dorians settled in the neighboring island of Cos, and founded the cities of Halicarnassus and Cnidus on the mainland. These six colonies formed a confederation, usually called the Doric Hexapolis. ~ 11. Doric colonies were also founded in mythical times in the islands. of Crete, Melos, and Thera. The colonization of Crete more particularly deserves our attention, on account of the similarity of the institutions of its Doric cities to those of Sparta. There were Dorians in Crete in the time of the Odyssey, but their chief migrations to this island took place in the third generation after their conquest of Peloponnesus. Of these two are expressly mentioned, one conducted under the auspices of Sparta, and the other by the Argive Althsemenes. Of the latter we have already spoken; the former consisted chiefly of Minyans, who had been settled at Amycle -by the Achean Philonomus, to whom the Spartans had granted this city on account of his treachery, as has been already related. These Minyans, having revolted against Sparta, were sent out of the country as emigrants, but accompanied by many Spartans. They sailed towards Crete, and in their passage settled some of their number in the island of Mlelos, which remained faithful to Lacecdamon, even in the time of the Peloponnesian war. In Crete they founded Gortys and Lyctus, which are mentioned as Spartan colonies. The Doric colonists in Crete were anxious to connect themselves with the mythical glories of Minos, and consequently ascribed their political and social institutions to this celebrated hero. Hence the tradition arose that the Spartan institutions were borrowed by Lycurgus from those of Crete; but it seems more probable that their similarity was owing to their common origin, and that the Dorians of Crete brought from the mother country usages which they sought to hallow by the revered name of Minos. ~ 12. The Return of the Heracleide and the foundation of the abovementioned colonies form the conclusion of the Mythical Age. From this time to the commencement of authentic history in the first Olympiad, there is a period of nearly three hundred years, according to the common chronology. Of this long period we have scarcely any record. But this ought not to excite our surprise. The subjects of mythical narrative are drawn, CHAP. IV.] COLONIES IN ASIA MINOR. 37 not from recent events, but from an imaginary past, which is supposed to be separated from the present by an indefinite number of years. Originally no attempt was made to assign any particular date to the grand events of the Mythical Age. It was sufficient for the earlier Greeks to believe that their gods and heroes were removed from them by a vast number of generations; and it was not till a later time that the literary men of Greece endeavored to count backwards to the Mlythical Age, and to affix dates to the chief events in legendary Greece. Temple of Ares in Halicarnassus 38 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. V 0?1 OYM EN H XPONOIIAIAE OAYE'E z A O_ A hiPO' MYeOZ Homer enthroned. CHAPTER V. THE POEMS OF HOMER. ~ 1. Importance of the Subject. ~ 2. Rise of Poetry in Greece. Epic Ballads preparatory to the Epopee. ~ 3. The Poems of the Epic Cycle, in which the Iliad and the Odyssey were included. ~ 4. Diversity of Opinions respecting the Life and Date of Homer. ~ 5. Iliad and Odyssey recited to Public Companies by the Rhapsodists. ~ 6. A standard Text of the Poems first formed by Peisistratus. ~ 7. Modern Controversy respecting the Origin of the Homeric Poems. Prolegomena of Wolf. ~ 8. The Iliad and the Odyssey were originally not committed to writing. ~ 9. They were preserved by the Rhapsodists. ~ 10. They did not consist originally of separate Lays, but were composed by one Poet, as is shown by their Poetical Unity. ~ 1. No history of Greece would be complete without some account of the poems of Homer, and of the celebrated controversy to which they have given rise in modern times. Homer was called by the Greeks themselves The Poet. The Iliad and the Odyssey were the Greek Bible. They were the ultimate standard of appeal on all matters of religious doctrine and early history. They were learnt by boys at school, they were the study of men in their riper years, and even in the time of Socrates there were Athenian gentlemen who could repeat both poems by heart. In whatever part of the ancient world a Greek settled, he carried with him a love for the great poet; and long after the Greek people had lost their CHAP. V.] POEMS OF HOMER. 39 independence the Iliad and the Odyssey continued to maintain an undi. minished hold upon their affections. No production of profane literature has exercised so wide and long-continued an influence, and consequently the history of these poems demands and deserves our careful attention. ~ 2. The origin of the Iliad and the Odyssey cannot be understood without a short account of the rise of poetry in Greece. Among the Greeks, as among all other nations, poetry was cultivated before prose. The first poetical compositions appear to have been hymns addressed to the gods, or simple ballads recounting the adventures and exploits of some favorite hero. We have already seen that the Greeks of the Heroic Age were passionately fond of poetry, and that the entertainments of the nobles were enlivened by the songs of the bard. Originally these songs appear to have been short, unconnected lays. They may be regarded as epic poems in the more indefinite sense of the term, since they perpetuated and adorned the memory of great men or great deeds. The next important step in the progress of popular poetry was to combine these separate epical songs into one comprehensive whole. Such a poem may be called an Epopee, and presents a much more advanced state of the art. It requires genius of a far higher order, a power of combination and construction, not needed in poems of the former class. Short epical poems appear to have existed before the time of Homer, as we may infer from the Lay of the Trojan Horse, sung by the bard Demodocus in the Odyssey; but the construction of the epopee, or the epic poem in the nobler sense, is probably to be attributed to the genius of Homer. ~ 3., A large number of these epic poems were extant in antiquity. We know the titles of more than thirty of them. Their subjects were all taken from the Greek legends. They were arranged by the grammarians of Alexandria, about the second century before the Christian era, in a chronological series, beginning with the intermarriage of Heaven and Earth, and concluding with the death of Odysseus by the hands of his son Telegonus. This collection was known by the name of the Epic Cycle, and the poets whose works formed part of it were called Cyclic poets. The Iliad and the Odyssey were comprised in the Cycle, and consequently the name of Cyclic poet did not originally carry with it any association of contempt. But as the best poems in the Cycle were spoken of by themselves or by the titles of their separate authors, the general name of Cyclic poets came to be applied only to the worst, especially as many of the inferior poems in the Cycle appear to have been anonymous.- Hence we can understand why Horace * and others speak in such disparaging terms of the Cyclic writers, and how the inferiority of the Cyclic poems is contrasted with the excellence of the Iliad and the Odyssey, although the latter had been originally included among them. * " Nec sic incipies, ut scriptor cyclicus olim." - Hor. Ars Poet. 137. 40' HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. V. ~ 4. All these poems are now lost with the exception of the Iliad and the Odyssey, which stood out prominently above all the others. Throughout the flourishing period of Greek literature these unrivalled works were universally regarded as the productions of a single mind. At a later time some of the Alexandrine grammarians attributed the Iliad and the Odyssey to two different authors; but this innovation in the popular belief was never regarded with much favor, and obtained few converts. * Although antiquity was nearly unanimous in ascribing the Iliad and Odyssey to Homer, there was very little agreement respecting the place of his birth, the details of his life, or the time in which he lived. Nor is this surprising. His poems were the productions of an age in which writing was either totally unknown or at all events little practised, and which was unaccustomed to anything like historical investigation. Seven cities laid claim to his birth,t and most of them had legends to tell respecting his romantic parentage, his alleged blindness, and his life of an itinerant bard acquainted with poverty and sorrow. It cannot be disputed that he was an Asiatic Greek; but this is the only fact in his life which can be regarded as certain. Several of the best writers of antiquity supposed him to have been a native of the island of Chios, where there existed a poetical gens or fraternity of Homerids, who traced their descent from a divine progenitor of this name. Most modern scholars believe Smyrna to have been his birthplace. The discrepancies respecting his date are no less worthy of remark. The different epochs assigned to him offer a diversity of nearly five hundred years. Herodotus places Homer four hundred years before himself, according to which he lived about B. c. 850. This date, or a little later, appears more probable than any other. He must be placed before the first Olympiad, or B. C. 776; while, if we suppose him to have lived very long before that epoch, it becomes still more wonderful that his poems should have come downl from such an age and society to historical times. ~ 5. The mode in which these poems were preserved has occasioned great controversy in modern times. On this point we shall speak presently; but even if they were committed to writing by the poet himself, and were handed down to posterity in this manner, it is certain that they were rarely read. We must endeavor to realize the difference between ancient Greece and our own times. During the most flourishing period of Athenian literature, manuscripts were indifferently written, without division into parts and without marks of punctuation. They were scarce and costly, could only be obtained by the wealthy, and only read by those who had had considerable literary training. Under these circumstances the Greeks could never become a reading people; and thus the great mass * The grammarians who maintained the separate origin of the Iliad and Odyssey were called Chorizontes (Xcwpl'ovres) or Separatists. t "1 Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Salamis, Rhodos, Argos, Athense, Orbis de patria certant, Homere, tua." CHAR. V.] POEMS OF HOMER. 41 even of the Athenians became acquainted with the productions of the leading poets of Greece only by hearing them recited at their solemn festivals and on other public occasions. This was more strikingly the case at an earlier period. The Iliad and the Odyssey were not read by individuals in private, but were sung or recited at festivals or to assembled companies. They were addressed to the ear and feelings of a sympathizing multitude; and much of the impression which they produced must have been owing to the talent of the reciter, and would have disappeared altogether in solitary reading. The bard originally sung his own lays to the accompaniment of his lyre. He was succeeded by a body of professional reciters, called Rhapsodists,* who rehearsed the poems of others. They employed no musical accompaniment, and depended solely for effect upon voice and manner. They travelled from town to town, bearing in their hands a laurel branch or wand as their badge of office; and many of them seem to have acquired great excellence in their art. We do not know at what time the rhapsodist succeeded to the bard; but the class of professional reciters must have arisen as epic poetry ceased to be produced; and it is certain that before the time of Solon the epic poems were recited exclusively by the Rhapsodists, either in short fragments before private companies, or as continuous poems at public festivals. ~ 6. In early times the Rhapsodists appear to. have had exclusive possession of the Homeric poems. But in the seventh century before the Christian era, literary culture began to prevail among the Greeks; and men of education and wealth were naturally desirous of obtaininng copies of the great poet of the nation. From this cause copies came to be circulated among the Greeks; but most of them contained only separate portions of the poems, or single rhapsodies, as they were called. Entire copies of such extensive works must have been very rare at this early period of literature. The way in which the separate parts should be arranged seems to have given rise to some dispute; and it was found that there were numerous variations in the text of different copies. The very popularity and wide extension of the poems contributed to the corruption of the text. Since the Iliad and the Odyssey were the recognized standard of early history and mythology, each tribe was anxious that honorable mention should be made of their heroes and their race in these poems, and endeavored to supply such omissions by interpolating passages favorable to themselves. The Rhapsodists also introduced alterations, and, in order to gratify their vanity, inserted lines of their own composition. From these causes, as well as from others, we can easily account for the variations found in the text by The etymology of the word Rhapsodist (pa+A'os) is uncertain; some deriving it from the staff or wand of office (pa/d3os, or pa7rts), and others from padrreFv aootzv to denote the coupling together of verses without any considerable pauses, - the even, unbroken flow of the epic poem as contrasted with lyric verses. 6 42 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. V the reading class which began to be formed in the seventh century. The discovery of these varieties naturally led to measures for establishing a standard text of the national poet. Solon is said to have introduced improved regulations for the public recitations of the poems at the Athenian festivals; but it is to Peisistratus, the tyrant or despot of Athens, that the great merit is ascribed of collecting and arranging the poems in their present form, in order that they might be recited at the great Panathenaic festival at Athens. It is expressly stated by Cicero,* that Peisistratus is " reputed to have arranged the books of Homer, previously in a state of confusion, in the form in which we now possess them "; and this statement is supported by the testimony of other ancient writers. From this time, therefore, (about B. C. 530,) we may conclude that the Greeks possessed a standard text of their great poet, which formed the basis of all subsequent editions. ~ 7. We have already seen that the whole of antiquity, with scarcely an exception, regarded the Iliad and the Odyssey as the productions of the one poet, called Homer. This opinion continued to be held by almost all modern scholars down to the year 1795, when the celebrated German Professor, F. A. Wolf, published his Prolegomena, or Prefatory Essay to the Iliad. In this work he maintained the startling hypothesis that neither the Iliad nor the Odyssey was composed as a distinct whole, but that they originally consisted of separate epical ballads, each constituting a single poem, and that these separate lays, which had no common purpose nor fixed arrangement, were for the first time reduced to writing and formed into the two great poems of the Iliad and the Odyssey by Peisistratus and his friends. Strange and startling as this theory seems, it was not entirely new. The substance of it had been already propounded by Vico, a Neapolitan writer of great originality, and by our own great countryman, Bentley; f but their opinions had not been supported by arguments, and were soon forgotten. Accordingly, the publication of Wolf's Essay took the whole literary world by surprise, and scarcely any book in modern times has effected so complete a revolution in the opinions of scholars. Even those who were the most opposed to his views have had their own opinions to some extent modified by the arguments which he brought forward, and no one has been able to establish the old doctrine in its original integrity. It is impossible in the present work to enter into the details of the controversy to which Wolf's Essay has given rise. We can only endeavor to give a sketch of his principal arguments and of the chief De Oratore, iii. 34. t Vico died in 1744. The words of Bentley are: " Homer wrote a sequel of songs and rhapsodies, to be sung by himself, for small earnings and good cheer, at festivals and other days of merriment; the Iliad he made for the men, the Odysseis for the other sex. These loose songs were not collected together into the form of an epic poem until five hundred years after." CHAP. V.] POEMS OF HOMER. 43 objections of his opponents, stating at the same time the opinion which seems to us the most probable. ~ 8. The first argument which Wolf brought forward to support his position was, that no written copies of the Iliad and the Odyssey could be shown to have existed during the earlier times to which their composition is referred, and that, without writing, such long and complicated works could neither have been composed nor transmitted to posterity. In order to prove this, he entered into a minute discussion concerning the age of the art of writing. It is sufficient to state here a few of the more important results at which he arrived. In early times the Greeks had no easy and convenient materials for writing, such as must have been indispensable for long manuscripts like the Iliad and the Odyssey. Moreover, the traces of writing in Greece are exceedingly rare, even in the seventh century before the Christian era, and we have no remaining inscriptions earlier than the 40th Olympiad (B. c. 620). In the Homeric poems themselves there is not a single trace of the art of writing.* We find no mention of any epitaph or inscription; coins are unknown, and even the supercargo of a ship has no written list of his cargo, but is obliged to remember it.t In addition to this, the absence of the letter called Digamma in the text of the poems is a strong proof that they were not originally committed to writing. This letter existed at the time of the composition of the poems, and was constantly employed by the poet, but it had entirely vanished from the language when they were first written. ~ 9. It seems, therefore, necessary to admit the former part of Wolf's first argument, that the Iliad and Odyssey were originally not written; but does it therefore follow, that without this means such long poems could neither have been composed nor handed down to posterity? These two questions are not necessarily connected, though they have been usually discussed together. Those who have maintained the original unity of the Iliad and Odyssey, in opposition to Wolf, have generally thought it incumbent upon them to prove that the poems were written from the beginning. But this appears to us quite unnecessary. In the present day the memory has become so muc jeakened by the artificial aid of writing, that it may be difficult for us t4co ceive of the production of a long work without such assistance. But there is nothing impossible in it. Even modern poets have composed long poems, and have preserved them faithfully in their memories, before committing them to writing. It must also be recollected, that poetry was the profession of the ancient bards; that it was not the amusement of their leisure hours, but that they devoted to it # The only passage in which letters are supposed to be mentioned is in the Iliad, vi. 168; but here the aol-ara Xvypa are supposed by Wolf and others to signify pictorial, and not alphabetical characters. t Ie is (poprov p v'lioov. Odyss. viii. 164. 44 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. V. all the energies of their hearts and souls. The poems which they thus composed were treasured up in the memories of their faithful disciples, and were handed down to posterity by the Rhapsodists, whose lives were also devoted to this object. The recollection of these poems was rendered easier by the simple nature of the story, by the easy structure of the verse, by the frequent recurrence of the same words, phrases, and similes, and by the absence of abstract ideas and reflective thoughts. Accordingly, we believe that the Iliad and the Odyssey might have been composed and might have been handed down to posterity without being written. ~ 10. The second argument employed by Wolf to maintain his hypothesis was derived from an examination of the Iliad and Odyssey themselves. He endeavored to show that the only unity of the poems arises from their subjects, and that the numerous contradictions found in them plainly prove that they could not have been the productions of a single mind. The Trojan war and the wanderings of Ulysses (Odysseus), he remarks, had formed the subjects of numerous epic ballads, and it was only because they had happened to fit into one another that they were combined into two comprehensive poems by Peisistratus and his literary friends. A modern disciple of his school has gone so far as to attempt to resolve the Iliad into the original independent lays out of which he supposes the poem to have been formed. Now it is evident that this question can only be settled by a minute examination of the structure of the poems, for which there is no space in the present work. We can only state, that the best modern scholars, with very few exceptions, have come to a conclusion directly contrary to Wolf's daring theory. Some of the ablest critics in modern times have directed their attention to this subject, and while they have not denied the existence of interpolations, more or less extensive, in both poems, the general result has been to establish their poetical unity, and to vindicate their claim to be the greatest models of the epic art. Bust of Homer. Primitive Vessels from Athens and Argos. BOOK II. GROWTH OF THE GRECIAN STATES. B. C. 776-500. CHAPTER VI. GENERAL SURVEY OF THE GREEK PEOPLE. ~ 1. Nature of the Subject. ~ 2. The Chief Ties which bound the Greeks together. Community of Blood and of Language. ~ 3. Community of Religious Rites and Festivals. ~ 4. The Amphictyonic Council. ~ 5. The Olympic Games. ~ 6. The Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian Games. ~ 7. The Influence of these Festivals. ~ 8. Influence of the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. ~ 9. Community of Manners and Character. ~ 10. The Independent Sovereignty of each City a settled Maxim in the Greek Mind. ~ 1. THE present Book will contain the History of Greece from the first Olympiad, or the year 776 B. c., to the commencement of the revolt of the Ionic Greeks from Persia, in the year 500 B. C. Our knowledge of the early part of this period is very scanty, and consists of only a small number of solitary facts, which have little or no connection with one another. The division of Greece into a number of small independent states is a circumstance that causes great difficulties to the historian. Unlike the history of Rome, which is confined to an account of the origin and development of a single people, the history of Greece from its commencement to its close suffers to a greater or a less extent from a want of unity in its subject. This is strikingly the case with the first two 46 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. VI. centuries of the period narrated in the present Book; and it is not till we come to its close, that we are able to present a connected history of the Grecian nation. It was the Persian invasions of Greece which first impressed the leading Greek states with the necessity of uniting together against the common foe; and since the military resources of Sparta were then confessedly superior to those of all the other Greeks, they naturally intrusted to her the conduct of the war. In this way Grecian history acquires a unity of interest which is altogether wanting in the earlier times. There are, however, some facts during the earlier period wlich claim our attention. Of these the most important are the growth of Sparta and Athens; the number of despots who arose in the various Grecian cities; the foundation and progress of the numerous colonies planted on the coasts of the Mediterranean and its connected seas; and, last of all, the origin and progress of literature and art. Before we proceed to give an account of these events, it may be useful to take a general survey of the Greeks in the earlier period of their history, and to point out the various causes which united them as a people, notwithstanding their separation into so many independent communities. ~ 2. The chief ties, which bound together the Grecian world, were community of blood and language, community of religious rites and festivals, and community of manners and character. Of these the first and the most important was the possession of a common descent and a common language. The Greeks were all of the same race and parentage; they all considered themselves descendants of Hellen; and they all described men and cities which were not Grecian by the term Barbarian. This word has passed into our own- language, but with a very different idea; for the Greeks applied it indiscriminately to every foreigner, to the civilized inhabitants of Egypt and Persia, as well as to the rude tribes of Scythia and Gaul. Originally it seems to have expressed repugnance to one using a foreign language; but as the Greeks became in course of time superior in intelligence to the surrounding nations, it conveyed also a notion of contempt. Notwithstanding the various dialects employed in different parts, there was, throughout the Grecian world, sufficient uniformity in the language to render it everywhere intelligible to a Greek; and there can be no doubt that the wide-spread popularity of the Homeric poems in early times powerfully assisted in maintaining the same type of language among the different Greek races. ~ 3. The second bond of union was a community of religious rites and festivals. From the earliest times the Greeks appear to have worslipped the same gods; but originally there were no religious meetings common to the whole nation. Such meetings were of gradual growth. They were either formed by a number of neighboring towns, which entered into an association for the periodical celebration of certain religious rites, or they grew out of a festival originally confined to a single state, but which was CHAP. VI.] AMPHICTYONIC COUNCIL. 47 gradually extended to the inhabitants of other cities, till at length it became open to the whole Grecian world. Of the former class we have an example in the Amphictyonies, of the latter in the Olympic, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian games. ~ 4. The word Amphictyony is usually derived from the mythical hero Amphictyon; but the name probably signifies only residents around and neighbors,* and was used to designate a religious association of neighboring tribes or cities, who were accustomed to meet at fixed times to offer sacrifices to the god of a particular temple, which was supposed to be the common property and under the common protection of all. There were many religious associations of this kind in Greece; but there was one of so much celebrity, that it threw all the others into the shade, and came to be called the Amphictyonic Council. This assembly seems to have been originally of small importance; and it acquired its superiority over other similar associations by the wealth and grandeur of the Delphian temple, of which it was the appointed guardian. It held two meetings every year, one in the spring at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, and the other in the autumn at the temple of Demeter (Ceres) at Thermopyle. Its members, who were called The Amphictyons,t consisted of sacred deputies sent from twelve tribes, each of which contained several independent cities or states. The deputies were composed of two classes of representatives from each tribe, - a chief called Hieromnemon, and subordinates named Pylagorae. The names of these twelve tribes are not the same in all accounts, but they were probably as follows: Thessalians, Bceotians, Dorians, Ionians, Perrhmbians, Magnetes, Locrians, (Etmans, Achieans, Phocians, Dolopes, and Malians. These names are of themselves sufficient to prove the great antiquity of the Council. Several of the tribes here mentioned scarcely ever occur in the historical period; and the fact of the Dorians standing on an equality with the Dolopes and the Malians, shows that the Council must have existed before the Dorian conquest of Peloponnesus. The tribes represented in it stood on a footing of perfect equality, two votes being given by the deputies from each of the twelve. Of the duties of the Amphictyonic Council nothing will give us a better idea than the oath taken by its members. It ran thus: " We will not destroy any Amphictyonic town, nor cut it off from running water, in war or peace: if any one shall do so, we will march against him and destroy his city. If any one shall plunder the property of the god, or shall be cognizant thereof, or shall take treacherous counsel against the things in his temple at Delphi, we will punish him with foot, and hand, and voice, and by every means in our power." We thus see that the main duties of the @ The original form of the name seems to have been'A0tcKTtovla, not'AjfliKrvovla. The word i4LMKTlovev signifies those that dwell round or near. + O1'AlrPKTvoves. 48 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. VI. Council were to restrain acts of aggression against its members, and to preserve the rights and dignity of the temple of Delphi. It is true that the Amphictyons sometimes took a larger view of their functions; but these were only employed for political purposes when they could be made subservient to the views of one of the leading Grecian states. They were never considered as a national congress, whose duty it was to protect and defend the common interests of Greece. If such a congress had ever existed, and its edicts had commanded the obedience of the Greeks, the history of the nation would have had a different course; the Macedonian kings would probably have remained in their subordinate condition, and united Greece might even have defied the legions of conquering Rome.) The Amphictyonic Council is rarely mentioned, except in connection with the Delphian temple; but when the rights of the god had been violated, it invoked the aid of the different members of the league. Of this we have a memorable instance in'the earlier period of Greek history. The Phocian town of Crissa was situated on the heights of Mount Parnassus, near the sanctuary of the god, which belonged to this town in the most ancient times.* It possessed a fertile and valuable territory, extending down to the Corinthian Gulf, on which it had a port called Cirrha. Gradually the port seems to have grown into importance at the expense of the town: while at the same time the sanctuary of the god fell into the hands of the Dorian tribe of the Delphians, and expanded into a town under the name of Delphi. It was at the port of Cirrha that most of the strangers landed who came to consult the god; and the inhabitants of this place availed themselves of their position to levy exorbitant tolls upon the pilgrims, and to ill-use them in other ways. In consequence of these outrages the Amphictyons resolved to punish the Cirrhseans; and after waging war against them for ten years (B. C. 595 - 585), the Council at length succeeded, chiefly by the assistance of the Thessalians and Athenians, in taking the guilty city. It is related, but on rather suspicious authority, that the city was taken by a stratagem of Solon, who poisoned the waters of the river Pleistus, which flowed through the place. Cirrha was razed to the ground, and its territory- the rich Cirrhaean or Crissoean plain -was consecrated to the god, and curses imprecated upon any one who should cultivate it. Thus ended the First Sacred War, as it is usually called; and the spoils of the city were employed by the victorious allies in founding the Pythian games. ~ 5. The four great festivals of the Olympic, Pythian, Isthmian, and * Crissa was situated at the foot of Mount Parnassus, where it descends precipitously to the Crisssean Plain. The present name is Chryso. The situation is one of remarkable beauty, having the lofty heights of Parnassus in the rear, and between it and the Corinthian Gulf, the beautiful Crisssean Plain, with its picturesque olive-groves and fertile fields, watered by the Pleistus. There are considerable remains of the ancient walls, which, as well as the existing name, serve to identify the place. — ED. CHAP. VI.] NATIONAL FESTIVALS. 49 Nemean games were of greater efficacy than the Amphictyonic Council in promoting a spirit of union among the various branches of the Greek race, and in keeping alive a feeling of their common origin. They were open to all persons who could prove their Hellenic blood, and were frequented by spectators from all parts of the Grecian world. The most ancient as well as the most famous of these festivals was that celebrated at Olympia, on the banks of the Alpheus, in the territory of Elis, and near the ancient temple of the Olympian Zeus. The origin of this festival is lost in the Mythical Ages. It is said to. have been revived by Iphitus, king of Elis,, and Lycurgus, the Spartan legislator, in the year 776 B. c.; and accordingly, when the Greeks at a later time began to use the Olympic contest as a chronological era, this year was regarded as the first Olympiad. It continued to maintain its celebrity for many centuries after the extinction of Greek freedom; and it was not till 394 A. D. that it was finally abolished by the Emperor Theodosius. It was celebrated at the end of every four years,* and the interval which elapsed between each celebration was called an Olympiad. The whole festival was under the management of the Eleans, who appointed some of their own number to preside as judges, under the name of the Hellanodicxe.t During the month in which it was celebrated all hostilities were suspended throughout Greece. The territory of Elis itself was considered especially sacred during its continuance, and no armed force could enter it without incurring the guilt of sacrilege. The number of spectators was very great; and consisted not only of those who were attracted by private interest or curiosity, but of deputies + from the different Greek states, who vied with one anothler in the number of their offerings and the splendor of their general appearance, in order to support the honor of their native cities. At first the festival was confined to a single day, and consisted of nothing more than a match of runners in the stadium; but in course of time so many other contests were introduced, that the games occupied five days. They comprised various trials-of strength and skill, such as wrestling, boxing, the Pancratium (boxing and wrestling combined), and the complicated Pentathlum (including jumping, running, the quoit, the javelin, and wrestling), but no combats with any kind of weapons. There were also horse-races and chariot-races; and the chariot-race, with four full-grown horses, became one of the most popular and celebrated of all the matches. The only prize given to the conqueror was a garland of wild-olive; but this was valued as one of the dearest distinctions in life. To have his t The festival was called by the Greeks a Pentaeteris (7rewraecrlpts'), because it was celebrated every fth year, according to the ancient mode of the reckoning. In the same manner, a festival which occurred at the end of every two years was said to be celebrated every third year, and was called a Trieteris (7rpLerpis). t'EXcavoi For a further account of the topography of Athens and the Peirseus, see Chap. XXXIV. B.C. 471.] TREASON AND FALL OF PAUSANIAS. 231 principal leaders, regarded with love and veneration the stable institutions of Sparta, which formed a striking contrast to the democratical innovations which were making such rapid progress in their own city. The Lacedemonians on their side were naturally inimical to the Athenian democracy, as the party most opposed to their interests and power; and to Themistocles himself they were personally hostile, on account of the deception which he had lately practised upon them. Hence, when Pausanias became suspected of Medism, they urged the political opponents of Themistocles to accuse him of being implicated in the same crime. This accusation was at all events premature; nor is it surprising that the Athenian statesman should have been acquitted of a charge which could not at that time be brought home to Pausanias himself. The result, however, of this accusation was to embitter party spirit at Athens to such a degree, that it was found necessary to resort to ostracism, and Themistocles was condemned to a temporary banishment (B. c. 471). He retired to Argos, and had been residing in that city for a space of about five years when indubitable proofs were discovered of his being implicated in the treasonable correspondence of Pausanias with the Persians. But in order to explain the fall of the Athenian statesman, we must first relate that of the Spartan regent, with which it was intimately connected.'' ~11. The recall of Pausanias from Byzantium has been already mentioned. On his arrival at home he seems to have been acquitted of any definite charges; yet the general presumption of his guilt was so strong, that he was not again intrusted with the command of the fleet. This was perhaps an additional motive with him to complete his treachery. Under pretence of serving as a volunteer, he returned to Byzantium with a single trireme, and renewed his negotiations with Artabazus. Here he seems to have again enjoyed a sort of ascendency, till his conduct obliged the Athenians to expel him from this city. He then retired to Colonre, in the Troad, where he still pursued his designs; employing both Persian gold, and perhaps the influence of the Spartan name, in order to induce various Grecian cities to participate in his schemes. At the news of these proceedings the Spartans again ordered Pausanias home, under pain of being denounced as a public enemy. With this order he deemed it prudent to comply; foreseeing that, if proscribed, his influence would be at an end, and relying, probably, on his riches to bribe his judges and procure an acquittal. But, though at first imprisoned by the Ephors, nobody was bold enough to come forward as his accuser. His treachery, though sufficiently palpable, seems to have offered no overt and legally tangible act, and he was accordingly set at liberty. He now employed himself in hatching treason nearer home. He tampered with the Helots, and by promises of enfranchisement and political rights endeavored to persuade them to overthrow the Ephors, and make him sole sovereign. Though these plots were communicated to the Ephors, they 232 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXII. were still either unable or unwilling to prosecute so powerful a criminal. lMeanwhile, he continued his correspondence with Persia; and an accident at length aforded cpnvincing proofs of his guilt. A favorite slave, to whom he had intrusted a letter to Artabazus, observed with dismay that none of the messengers employed in this service had ever returned. Moved by these fears, he broke the seal and read the letter, and finding his suspicions of the fate that awaited him confirmed, he carried the document to the Ephors. But in ancient states the testimony of a slave was always regarded with suspicion. The Ephors refused to believe the evidence offered to them unless the slave placed them in a position to have it confirmed by their own ears. For this purpose they directed him to plant himself as a suppliant in the grove of Poseidon, near Cape Temnarus, in a hut behind which two of their body might conceal themselves. Pausanias, as they had expected, anxious and surprised at the step taken by his slave, hastened to the spot to question him a1out it. The conversation which ensued between them, and which was overheard by the Ephors, rendered it impossible for them any longer to doubt the guilt of Pausanias. They now determined to arrest him on his return to Sparta. They met him in the street near the temple of Athena Chalcioecus (of the Brazen House); when Pausanias, either alarmed by his guilty conscience, or put on his guard by a secret signal from one of the Ephors, turned and fled to the temple, where he took refuge in a small chamber belonging to the building. From this sanctuary it was unlawful to drag him; but the Ephors caused the doors to be built up and the roof to be removed; and his own mother is said to have placed the first stone at the doors. When at the point of death from starvation, he was carried from the sanctuary before he polluted it with his corpse. ~ 12. Stch was the end of the victor of Platea. After his death proofs were discovered among his correspondence that Themistocles was implicated in his guilt. The Lacedoemonians now again called upon the Athenians to prosecute their great statesman before a synod of the allies assembled at Sparta; and joint envoys were sent from Athens and Sparta to arrest him. Themistocles avoided the impending danger by flying from Argos to Corcyra. The Corcyroeans, however, refusing to shelter him, he passed over to the continent; where, being still pursued, he was forced to seek refuge at the court of Admetus, king of the Molossians, though he had made Admetus his personal enemy by opposing him on one occasion in some favor which the king begged of the Athenians. Fortunately, Admetus happened to be from home. The forlorn condition of Themistocles excited the compassion of the wife of the Molossian king, who placed her child in his arms, and bade him seat himself on the hearth as a suppliant. As soon as the king arrived, Themistocles explained his peril, B. C. 449.] DEATH OF THE3IISTOCLES. 233 and adjured him by the sacred laws of hospitality not to take vengeance upon a fallen foe. Admetus accepted his appeal and raised him from the hearth; he refused to deliver him to his pursuers, and at last only dismissed him on his own expressed desire to proceed to Persia. Having traversed the mountains, Themistocles reached Pydna, on the Thermaic Gulf, where, under an assumed name, he took passage in a merchant-vessel bound for the coast of Asia Minor. The ship was driven by stress of weather to the island of Naxos, which happened at that very moment to be blockaded by an Athenian fleet. In this conjuncture Themistocles adopted one of those decisive resolutions which never failed him in the hour of danger. Having summoned the master of the vessel, he disclosed to him his real nam'e, and the peril which menaced him in case of discovery. He then conjured the master not to make the land, at the same time threatening that, if detected, he would involve him in his own ruin by representing him as the accomplice of his flight; promising, on the other hand, a large reward if he would secure his escape. These representations induced the master to keep the sea in spite of the weather; and Themistocles landed safely at Ephesus. ~ 13. Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, was now upon the throne of Persia, and to him Themistocles hastened to announce himself. Having been conducted to Susa, he addressed a letter to the Persian king, in which he claimed a reward for his past services in favoring the escape of Xerxes, and promised to effect much for Persian interests if a year were allowed him to mature his plans. Artaxerxes welcomed the arrival of the illustrious stranger, and readily granted his request. According to the tales current at a later period, the king was so transported with joy as to start from his sleep at night and thrice to cry out, "I have got. Themistocles the Athenian." At the end of the year, Themistocles, having acquired a sufficient knowledge of the Persian language to be able to converse in it, entertained Artaxerxes with magnificent schemes for the subjugation of Greece, and succeeded in gaining his entire confidence and favor. Artaxerxes loaded him with presents, gave him a Persian wife, and appointed Magnesia, a town not far from the Ionian coast, as his place of residence. In accordance with Eastern magnificence, the revenues of that place, amounting to the yearly sum of fifty talents,* were assigned to him for bread, whilst Myos was to supply condiments, and Lampsacus wine. At Magnesia Themistocles was joined by his family; and after living there some time was carried off by disease at the age of sixty-five, without having realized, or apparently attempted, any of those plans with which he had dazzled the Persian monarch. Rumor, which ever dogs the footsteps of the great, ascribed his death to poison, which he took of his own accord, from a consciousness of his inability to perform his * About $ 52,000. —ED. 30 234 HISTORY OF GREECE. ICHAP. XXII. promises; but this report, which was current in the time of Thucydides, is rejected by that historian, though it was subsequently adopted by writers of no mean note. The tale was probably propagated by the friends of Themistocles, who also asserted that, at his express command, they had carried his bones to Attica, and had secretly buried them in his native land. In the time of the Roman empire his tomb was shown upon the promontory at the right hand of the entrance of the great harbor of Peiraus.* This was doubtless the invention of a later age; but the imagination could not have chosen a fitter spot for the ashes of the founder of the maritime greatness of Athens. Hence we find in an ancient epigram, supposed to have been inscribed upon his tomb:"By the sea's margin, on the watery strand, Thy monument, Themistocles, shall stand: By this directed to thy native shore, The merchant shall convey his freighted store; And when our fleets are summoned to the fight, Athens shall conquer with thy tomb in sight." Themistocles is one of those characters which exhibit at once all the greatness and all the meanness of human nature. Acuteness in foreseeing, readiness and wisdom in contriving, combined with vigor and decision in acting, were the characteristics of this great statesman, and by these qualities he not only rescued his country from the imminent danger of the Persian yoke, but enabled her to become one of the leading states of Greece. Yet his lofty genius did not secure him from the seductions of avarice and pride, which led him to sacrifice both his honor and his country for the tinsel of Eastern pomp. But the riches and luxury which surrounded him served only to heighten his infamy, and were dearly bought with the hatred of his countrymen, the reputation of a traitor, and the death of an exile. ~ 14. Aristeides died about four years after the banishment of Themistocles. The common accounts of his poverty are probably exaggerated, and seem to have been founded on the circumstances of a public funeral, and of handsome donations made to his three children by the state. But in ancient times these were no unusual marks of respect and gratitude towards merit and virtue; and as he was archon eponymus at a time when only the first class of the Solonian census was admissible to this office, he must have enjoyed a certain amount of property. But whatever his property may have been, it is at least certain that he did not acquire or increase it by unlawful means; and not even calumny has ventured to assail his well-earned title of the Just. - Massive remains still exist of what has been called the Tomb of Themistocles. The situation is most appropriate for such a monument, commanding a near view of the whole scene of the battle of Salamis, and laved by the waters that bore the Persian fleet on that memorable day. -ED. CHAP. XXIII.] RISE AND GROWTH OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE. 235 l ABHNAIUZ Pericles and Aspasia. CHAPTER XXIII. RISE AND GROWTH OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE. - FROMI THE BATTLE OF EURY3MEDON TO THE THIRTY YEARS' TRUCE WITH SPARTA. ~ 1. Cimon Leader of the Aristocratical Party at Athens. ~ 2. Revolt of Naxos. ~ 3. Battle of Eurymedon. ~ 4. The Athenians blockade Thasos, and attempt to found Colonies in Thrace. ~ 5. Earthquake at Sparta and Revolt of the Helots. ~ 6. Decline of Spartan Power. ~ 7. Cimon assists the Spartans to suppress the Revolt, but without Success. The Spartans offend the Athenians by dismissing their Troops. ~ 8. Parties at Athens. Character of Pericles. ~ 9. Attack upon the Areopagus. ~ 10. Ostracism of Cimon. ~ 11. Administration and Foreign Policy of Pericles. ~ 12. Expedition of the Athenians into Egypt against the Persians. ~ 13. Hostilities waith Corinth and gsina. Defeat of the Corinthians at Megara. ~ 14. The Long Walls of Athens commenced. ~ 15. The Lacedemonians rch into Beotians. Battle of Tanagra. ~ 16. Recall of Cimon. ~ 17. Battle of (E hophyta, and Conquesot of oti. Conquest o gina. ~ 18. The Five Years' Truce. Expedition of Cimonl to Cyprus. His Death. ~ 19. Conclusion of the War with Persia. ~ 20. The Athenian Power at its Height. ~ 21. Decline of the Atlenian Power. Revolution in Boeotia. Other Athenian Reverses. Invasion of Attica by the Lacedeemonians under Pleistoanax. ~ 22. Pericles recovers Eubcea. Thirty Years' Truce with Sparta. ~ 1. ON the death of Aristeides, Cimon became the undisputed leader of the aristocratical or conservative party at Athens. Cimon was generous, affable, magnificent; and, notwithstanding his political views, of exceedingly popular manners. He had inherited the military genius of his father, and was undoubtedly the greatest commander of his time. 236 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXIII. He employed the vast wealth acquired in his expeditions in adorning Athens and gratifying his fellow-citizens. He kept open house for such of his demos (the Laciade) as were in want of a meal, and appeared in public attended by well-dressed slaves, who were often directed to exchange their comfortable garments with the threadbare clothes of needy citizens. But his mind was uncultivated by arts or letters, and what eloquence he possessed was rough and soldierlike. ~ 2. The capture of Eion and reduction of Scyros by Cimon have been already related. It was two or three years after the latter event that we find the first symptoms of discontent among the members of the Confederacy of Delos. Naxos, one of the confederate islands, and the largest of the Cyclades, revolted in B. c. 466, probably from a feeling of the growing oppressiveness of the Athenian headship. It was immediately invested by the confederate fleet, and after a blockade of unknown duration reduced and made tributary to Athens. It was during this blockade that Themistocles, as before related, passed the island in- his flight to Asia. This was another step towards dominion gained by the Athenians, whose pretensions were assisted by the imprudence of the allies. Many of the smaller states belonging to the confederacy, wearied with perpetual hostilities, commuted for a money payment the ships which they were bound to supply; and thus, by depriving themselves of a navy, lost the only means by which they could assert their independence. ~ 3. The same year was marked by a memorable action against the Persians. Cimon, at the head of two hundred Athenian triremes, and one hundred furnished by the allies, proceeded to the coast of Asia Minor, where he expelled the Persians from several Grecian towns in Caria and Lycia. Meanwhile the Persians had assembled a large fleet and army at the mouth of the river Eurymedon in Pamphylia. Their fleet already consisted of two hundred vessels, chiefly Phoenician; and as a reinforcement of eighty more was expected, Cimon resolved to lose no time in making an attack. After speedily defeating the fleet, Cimon landed his men and marched against the Persian army, which was drawn up on the shore to protect the fleet. The land force fought with bravery, but was at length put to the rout. These victories were still further enhanced by the destruction of the eighty vessels, with which Cimon happened to fall in on his return. A victory gained on the same day both by sea and land added greatly to the renown of Cimon, and was commemorated on the tripod dedicated to Apollo as one of the most glorious of Grecian exploits. ~ 4. The successes of the Athenians, and their undisputed power at sea, led them to extend their empire by means of colonies. Some of the Athenians who had settled at Eion on the Strymon after the expulsion of the Persians, had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the surrounding country, which was principally occupied by Edonian Thracians, and was distinguished not only by the fertility of its soil, but also by its gold B. C. 464.] EARTHQUAKE AT SPARTA. 237 mines on Mount Pangseus. But in their attempts to form a permanent settlement on this coast, the Athenians were opposed by the inhabitants of the opposite island of Thasos, who were possessed of considerable territory upon the continent of Thrace, and derived a large revenue from the mines of Scapte Hyle and other places. The island of Thasos was a member of the Confederacy of Delos, with which, however, this quarrel does not appear to have been in any way connected. The ill-feeling soon reached such a pitch, that Cimon was despatched in B. c. 465 with a powerful fleet against the Thasians. In this expedition the Athenians gained various successes both by sea and land, but totally failed in their attempt to found a colony on the mainland, near Eion. This result, however, was owing to the hostility of the native tribes. A body of ten thousand Athenians and their allies, who had taken possession of Ennea Hodoi, a place on the Strymon, about three miles above Eion, were attacked by the Thracians and nearly all of them slain. Nevertheless the Athenians did not abandon the blockade of Thasos. After a siege of more than two years that island surrendered, when its fortifications were razed, its fleet and its possessions in Thrace were confiscated, and it was condemned to pay an annual, as well as an immediate, tribute. ~ 5. The expedition to Thasos was attended with a circumstance which first gives token of the coming hostilities between Sparta and Athens. At an early period of the blockade the Thasians secretly applied to the Lacedaemonians to make a diversion in their favor by invading Attica; and though the Lacedtemonians were still ostensibly allied with Athens, they were base enough to comply with this request. But their treachery was prevented by a terrible calamity which befell themselves. In the year B. c. 464, their capital was visited by an earthquake which laid it in ruins and killed twenty thousand of its citizens, besides a large body of their chosen youth, who were engaged in a building in their gymnastic exercises. But this was only part of the calamity. The earthquake was immediately followed by a revolt of the Helots, who were always ready to avail themselves of the weakness of their tyrants. Some of that oppressed people had been dragged from the sanctuary of Poseidon at Tanarus, probably in connection with the affair of Pausanias, related in the preceding chapter; and now the whole race, and even the Lacedaemonians themselves, believed that the earthquake was caused by the anger of that " earth-shaking " deity. Encouraged by this signal of the divine favor, and being joined by some of the Perioeci, the Helots rushed to arms, and marched straight upon Sparta. In this attempt to seize the capital they were repulsed; nevertheless they were still able to keep the field; and, being joined by the Messenians, fortified themselves in Mount Ithome in Messenia. Hence this revolt is sometimes called the third Messenian war. After two or three years spent in a vain attempt to dis 238 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXIII. lodge them from this position, the Lacedemonians found themselves obliged to call in the assistance of their allies, and among the rest of the Athenians. ~ 6. That Sparta should thus have condescended to solicit the assistance of her rival to quell a domestic feud, shows that she must have fallen greatly from her former power and station. During the period, indeed, in which we have traced the rise of Athens, Sparta had been proportionably declining. Of the causes of this decline we can only mention some of the more prominent. Foremost among them was the misconduct of her leaders. The misconduct of Pausanias, by which the maritime supremacy was transferred to Athens, has been already related. His infamy found a counterpart in the infamy of Leotychides, another of her kings, and the conqueror of Mycale; who, being employed in arranging the affairs of Thessaly after its evacuation by the Persians, was convicted of taking bribes from the Persian king. The Lacedaemonians committed, moreover, a great political blunder in the settlement of Boeotia, whose affairs had been so thoroughly shaken by the Persian invasion. Thebes, convicted of Medism, was, with the concurrence of Sparta, degraded from her former rank and influence; whilst Plattea and Thespiae, which stood opposed to the capital, were strengthened, and the latter repeopled. Thus the influence of Athens in Bceotia was promoted, in proportion as Thebes, her ancient enemy, was weakened and degraded. The affairs of the Peloponnesus itself had been unfavorable to the Spartans. They had been engaged in a harassing war with the Arcadians, and were also cramped and menaced by the growing power of Elis. And now all these causes of weakness were aggravated by the earthquake, and consequent revolt of the Helots. ~ 7. It was with great difficulty that Cimon persuaded his countrymen to assist the Lacedmemonians in quelling this revolt. His power was now somewhat waning before the rising influence of Pericles. Notwithstanding what he had accomplished at Thasos, it is even said that more had been expected by the Athenians, and that Pericles actually accused him, though without success, of having been diverted from the conquest of Macedonia, by the bribes of Alexander, the king of that country. Cimon, however, at length succeeded in persuading the Athenians to despatch him, with a force of four thousand hoplites, to the assistance of the Lacedmemonians; but the ill success of this expedition still further strengthened the hands of his political opponents. The aid of the Athenians had been requested by the Lacedaemonians on account of their acknowledged superiority in the art of attacking fortified places. As, however, Cimon did not succeed in dislodging the Helots from Ithome, the Lacedaemonians, probably from a consciousness of their own treachery in the affair of Thasos, began to suspect that the Athenians were playing them false. The conduct of the latter does not seem tc B. C. 464.1 PERICLES. 239 have afforded the least ground for this suspicion, and Cimon, their general, was notoriously attached to Sparta. Yet the Lacedaemonians, fearing that the Athenians intended to join the Helots, abruptly dismissed them, stating that they had no longer any occasion for their services; although the other allies were retained, and the siege of Ithome still proceeded. ~'8. This rude dismissal gave great offence at Athens, and annihilated for a time the political influence of Cimon. The democratical party had from the first opposed the expedition; and it afforded them a great triumph to be able to point to Cimon returning not only unsuccessful but insulted. That party was now led by Pericles. A sort of hereditary feud existed between Pericles and Cimon; for it was Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, who had impeached Miltiades, the father of Cimon. The character of Pericles was almost the reverse of Cimon's. Although the leader of the popular party, his manners were reserved. He was of high family, being descended on his mother's side from the princes of Sicyon and the Alcmeonidoe, whilst on his father's he was connected with the family of Peisistratus, to which tyrant he is said to have borne a striking personal resemblance. He appeared but little in society or in public, reserving himself for great occasions; a conduct which, when he did come forward, enhanced the effect of his dignified bearing and impressive eloquence. His military talents were but slender, and in fact in this department he was frequently unsuccessful. But his mind had received the highest polish which that period was capable of giving. He constantly conversed with Anaxagoras, Protagoras, Zeno, and other eminent philosophers. To oratory in particular he had devoted much attention, as an indispensable instrument for swaying the public assemblies of Athens; and he is said to have been the first who committed his speeches to writing. He was not much distinguished for private liberality; but he made amends for the popularity which he lost in this way by his lavish distribution of the public money. Such was the man who for a considerable period was to administer the affairs of Athens. ~ 9. Pericles seized the occasion presented by the ill success of Cimon, both to ruin that leader and to strike a fatal blow at the aristocratical party. The latter object he sought to accomplish by various changes in the Athenian constitution, and particularly by an attack upon the Areopagus. That venerable and time-honored assembly contained the very pith and marrow of Athenian aristocracy. Besides its high judicial functions, it exercised a kind of general censorship over the citizens. By the nature of its constitution it was composed of men of advanced years, and of high position in the state. The measure of Aristeides, already mentioned, opened it, at least ostensibly, even to the lowest class of citizens; but this innovation, which was perhaps only designed to stave off those more serious changes which the rapid progress of democratical opinion seemed to threaten, was probably of little practical 240 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXIII effect. So long as magistracies continued to be elective, there can be little doubt that the rich would carry them, to the exclusion of the poor. A fatal blow to aristocratical power was, however, struck about this time by rendering the election to magistracies dependent upon lot; though it is uncertain whether this measure was originated by Pericles. We are also ignorant of the precise nature of the changes which he introduced into the constitution and functions of the Areopagus, though, with regard to their result, it is certain that they left that august body the mere shadow of its former influence and power. Other changes which accompanied this revolution-for such it must be called-were, the institution of paid dicasteries or jury-courts, and the almost entire abrogation of the judicial power of the Senate of Five Hundred. As the seal and symbol of these momentous innovations, Ephialtes, the friend of Pericles, caused the tablets containing the laws of Solon to be brought down from the Acropolis and deposited in the market-place, as if to signify that the guardianship of the laws had been transferred to the people. ~10. It cannot be supposed that such fundamental changes were effected without violent party strife. Even the theatre became a vehicle to express the passions and the principles of the agora. In the drama of the Efumenides, IEschylus in vain exerted all the powers of his genius in support of the aristocratical party and of the tottering Areopagus; his exertions on this occasion resulted only in his own flight from Athens. The same fate attended Cimon himself. In the heat of political contention, recourse was had to ostracism, the safety-valve of the Athenian constitution, and Cimon was condemned to a ten years' banishment. Nay, party violence even went the length of assassination. Ephialtes, who had taken the lead in the attacks upon the Areopagus, and whom Pericles, in conformity with his policy and character, seems to have put forward throughout as the more active and ostensible agent, fell beneath the dagger of a Boeotian hired by the conservative party to despatch him. This event took place after the banishment of Cimon, who was guiltless of all participation in so foul a deed. ~11. It was from this period that the long administration of Pericles may be properly said to have commenced. The effects of his accession to power soon became visible in the foreign relations of Athens. Pericles had succeeded to the political principles of Themistocles, and his aim was to render Athens the leading power of Greece. The Confederacy of Delos had already secured her maritime ascendency; Pericles directed his policy to the extension of her influence in Continental Greece. The insult offered by Sparta to Athens in dismissing her troops had highly inflamed the Athenians against that power, whose supporters at Athens were designated with the contemptuous name of Laconizers. Pericles and the democratic party turned the conjuncture to account, not only by persuading the people to renounce the Spartan alliance, butto join her B. C. 460.] EXPEDITION AGAINST THE PERSIANS. 241 bitterest enemies. Argos, the ancient rival of Sparta, claimed the headship of Greece rather from the recollections of her former mythical renown than from her present material power. But she had availed herself of the embarrassment which the revolt of the Helots occasioned to Sparta, to reduce to subjection Mlycene, Tiryns, and some other neighboring towns. With Argos thus strengthened Athens now formed a defensive alliance against Sparta, which the Thessalians were also induced to join. Soon afterwards Athens still further extended her influence in Continental Greece by an alliance with Megara. This step, which gave signal offence both at Sparta and Corinth, greatly increased the power of the Athenians, not only by opening to them a communication with the Crissmean Gulf, but also by giving them the key to the passes of Mount Geraneia, and thus enabling them to arrest the progress of an invading army from Peloponnesus. In order to strengthen 3Meegara the Athenians adopted a contrivance which they afterwards applied to their own city. 3Megara was seated on a hill, at the distance of nearly a mile from its port, Nissea. To prevent the communication between the port and city from being cut off, the Athenians caused them to be connected together by two parallel lines of wall, and placed a permanent garrison of their own in the place. ~ 12. Whilst these things were passing in Greece, the Athenians were still actively engaged in prosecuting the war against Persia. The confederate fleet was hovering about the coasts of Cyprus and Phoenicia; and the revolt of Inaros (B. c. 460) gave them an opportunity to carry the war into Egypt. Inaros, a Libyan prince, and son of Psammetichus, was bent on expelling the Persians from Egypt and obtaining the sovereignty of that country; and with this view he solicited the assistance of the Greeks. The Athenian fleet at Cyprus, amounting to two hundred triremes, accordingly sailed to the Nile, and proceeded up that river as far as Memphis. From this city they succeeded in expelling the Persians, who, however, maintained themselves in a kind of citadel or fortification called "the White Fortress." The siege of this fortress had already lasted four or five years, when Artaxerxes sent a large army, together with a Phoenician fleet, into Egypt, under the command of Megabyzus, who compelled the Athenians to raise the siege and to retire to an island in the Nile, called Prosopitis, as the Persians had prevented their further retreat by obstructing the lower part of the river. Here the Athenians offered a long and heroic resistance, till at length MI[egabyzus, having diverted one of the channels which formed the island, was enabled to attack, them by land. The Athenians, who had previously burnt their ships, were now obliged to capitulate. The barbarians did not, however, observe the terms of the capitulation, but perfidiously massacred the Athenians, with the exception of a small body, who succeeded in cutting their way through the enemy, and escaping to Cyrene, and thence to 31 242 HISTORY OF GREECE. LCHAP. XXIII. Greece. Inaros himself was taken and crucified. As an aggravation of the calamity, a reinforcement of fifty Athenian vessels, whose crews were ignorant of the defeat of their countrymen, fell into the power of the enemy and were almost entirely destroyed. Thus one of the finest armaments ever sent forth from Athens was all but annihilated, and the Persians regained possession of the greater part of Egypt (B. c. 455). ~ 13. It may well excite our astonishment that, while Athens was employing so large an armament against the Persians, she was still able to maintain and extend her power in Greece by force of arms. Corinth, Epidaurus, and }Egina were watching her progress with jealousy and awe. At the time of the Megarian alliance no actual blow had yet been struck; but that important accession to the Athenian power was speedily followed by open war. The'JEginetans, in conjunction with the Corinthians, Epidaurians, and other Peloponnesians, fitted out a large fleet. A battle ensued near the island of XEgina, in which the Athenians gained a decisive victory, and entirely ruined the naval power of the AEginetans. The Athenians captured seventy of their ships, and, landing a large force upon the island, laid siege to the capital. The growth of the Athenian power was greatly promoted by the continuance of the revolt of the Helots, which was not put down till the year B.C. 455. This circumstance prevented the Lacedaemonians from opposing the Athenians as they would otherwise probably have done. All the assistance afforded by the allies to the AEginetans consisted of a miserable detachment of three hundred men; but the Corinthians attempted to divert the Athenians by making an attack upon Megara. Hereupon Myronides marched from Athens at the head of the boys and old men, and gave battle to the enemy near Megara. The affair was not very decisive, but the Corinthians retired, leaving their adversaries masters of the field. On their return home, however, the taunts which they encountered at having been defeated by so unwarlike a force incited them to try their fortune once more. The Athenians again marched out to the attack, and this time gained a decisive victory, rendered still more disastrous to the Corinthians by a large body of their troops having marched by mistake into an inclosed place, where they were all cut to pieces by the Athenians. ~ 14. It was about this time (B.C. 458-457) that the Athenians, chiefly through the advice of Pericles, began to construct the long walls which connected the Peirieus and Phalerum with Athens. They were doubtless suggested by the apprehension that the Lacedemonians, though now engaged with domestic broils, would sooner or later take part in the confederacy which had been organized against Athens. This gigantic undertaking was in conformity with the policy of Themistocles for rendering the maritime power of Athens wholly unassailable; but even the magnificent ideas of that statesman might perhaps have deemed the work B. C. 457.] BATTLE OF TANAGRA. 243 chimerical and extravagant. The wall from Phalerum was thirty-five stadia, or about four miles long, and that from PeirTus forty stadia, or about four miles and a half in length. The plan of these walls was probably taken from those already erected at Megara, which had been recently tried, and perhaps found to be of good service in the war which had taken place there. The measure was violently opposed by the aristocratic party, but without success. ~ 15. The progress of Athens had now awakened the serious jealousy of Sparta, and though she was still engaged in the siege of Ithome, she resolved on taking some steps against the Athenians. Under the pretence of assisting the Dorians, whose territory had been invaded by the Phocians, fifteen hundred Spartan hoplites, supported by ten thousand allies, were despatched into Doris. The mere approach of so large a force speedily effected the ostensible object of the expedition, and compelled the Phocians to retire. The Lacedamlonians now proceeded to effect their real design, which was to prevent the Athenians from gaining such an ascendency in Beotia as they had gained in other places. In consequence of the part she had played during the Persian wars, Thebes had lost much of her former influence and power; and the conduct of Sparta herself in the subsequent settlement of Greece had,.as before related, been conducive to the same result. The Lacedemonians seem to have now become sensible of the mistake which they had committed; and though their general policy was adverse to the confederation of cities, yet they were now induced to adopt a different course, and to restore the power of Thebes by way of counterpoise to that of Athens. With this view the Lacedaemonian troops were marched into Bceotia, where they were employed in restoring the fortifications of Thebes, and in reducing the Boeotian cities to her obedience. The designs of Sparta were assisted by the traitorous co-operation of some of the oligarchical party at Athens. That faction, finding itself foiled in its attempt to arrest the progress of the long walls, not only invited the Lacedemonians to- assist thnm in this attempt, but also to overthrow the democracy itself. The Lacedaemonians listened to these proposals, and their army took up a position at Tanagra, on the very borders of Attica. The Athenians, suspecting that some treason was in progress, now considered it high time to strike a blow. With such of their troops as were not engaged at -Egina, together with a thousand Argeians, and some Thessalian horse, they marched out to oppose the Lacedemonians at Tanagra. Here a bloody battle ensued (B.C. 457), in which the Lacedamonians gained the advantage, chiefly through the treacherous desertion of the Thessalians in the very heat ot the engagement. The victory was not sufficiently decisive to enable the Lacedaemonians to invade Attica; but it served to secure them an un. molested retreat, after partially ravaging the Megarid, through the passes of the Geraneia. 244 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXIII ~ 16. Previously to the engagement, the ostracized Cimon, who was grievously suspected of being implicated in the treacherous correspondence of some of his party with the Lacedaemonians, presented himself before the Athenian army as soon as it had crossed the border, and earnestly entreated permission to place himself in the ranks of the hoplites. His request bein rrefused, he left his armor with some friends, conjuring them to wipe out, by their conduct in the field, the imputation under which they labored. Stung by the unjust suspicions of their countrymen, and incited by the exhortations of their beloved and banished leader, a large band of his most devoted followers, setting up his armor in their ranks, fought side by side with desperate valor, as if he still animated them by his presence. A hundred of them fell in the engagement, and proved by their conduct that, with regard at least to the majority of Cimon's party, they were unjustly suspected of collusion with the enemy. Cimon's request had also stimulated Pericles to deeds of extraordinary valor; and thus both parties seemed to be bidding for public favor on the field of battle, as they formerly had done in the bloodless contentions of the Athenian assembly. A happy result of this generous emulation was that it produced a great change in public feeling. Cimon's ostracism was revoked, and the decree for that purpose was proposed by Pericles himself. ~ 17. The healing of domestic faction gave a new impulse to public spirit at Athens. At the beginning of the year B. c. 456, and only about two months after their defeat at Tanagra, the Athenians again marched into Boeotia. The Boeotians went out to meet them with a numerous army; but in the battle of CEnophyta, which ensued, the Athenians under Myronides gained a brilliant and decisive victory, by which Thebes itself, and consequently the other Bccotian towns, fell into their power. The Athenians now proceeded to reverse all the arrangements which had been made by the Lacedemonians, banished all the leaders who were favorable to Spartan ascendency, and established a democratical form of government. To these acquisitions Phocis and Locris were soon afterwards added. From the Gulf of Corinth to the Straits of Thermopyle Athenian influence was now predominant. In the year after the battle of (Enophyta (B. c. 455), the Athenians finished the building of the long walls and completed the reduction of Agina, which became a subject and tributary ally. Their expeditioh into Egypt, and its unfortunate catastrophe in this year, has been already related. But notwithstanding their efforts and reverses in that quarter, they were strong enough at sea to scour the coasts of Greece, of which they gave a convincing proof. An Athenian fleet, under command of Tolmides, sailed round Peloponnesus, and insulted the Lacedemonians by burning their ports of Methone and Gythium. Naupactus, a town of the Ozolian Locrians near the mouth B. C. 452.] EXPEDITION OF CIAION TO CYPRUS. 245 of the Gulf of Corinth, was captured; and in the latter place Tolmides established the Helots and Messenians, who in the course of this year had been subdued by the Lacednemonians, and compelled to evacuate Ithome. During the course of the same expedition the islands of Zacynthus and Cephallenia were gained over to the Athenian alliance, and probably also some towns on the coast of Achaia. ~ 18. After the battle of Tanagra the Lacedaemonians made, for a while no further attempts to oppose its progress, and quietly beheld the occupation of Boeotia and Phocis. Even after the surrender of Ithome they still remained inactive; and three years after that event (B. c. 452), concluded a five years' truce with the Athenians. This truce was effected through the mediation of Cimon, who was anxious that no dread of hostilities at home should divert him from resuming operations against the Persians; nor perhaps was Pericles unwilling that so formidable a rival should be absent on foreign service. Cimon sailed to Cyprus with a fleet of two hundred triremes belonging to the confederacy; whence he despatched sixty vessels to Egypt, to assist the rebel prince Amyrtaus, who still held out against the Persians among the marshes of the Delta. But this expedition proved fatal to the great Athenian commander. With the remainder of the fleet, Cimon undertook the siege of Citium in Cyprus; but died during the progress of it, either from disease or from the effects of a wound. The command now devolved on Anaxicrates; who, being straitened by a want of provisions, raised the siege of Citium, and sailed for Salamis, a town in the same island, in order to engage the Phoenician and Cilician fleet. Here he gained a complete victory both on sea and land, but was deterred, either by pestilence or famine, from the further prosecution of the war; and, having been rejoined by the sixty ships from Egypt, sailed home to Athens. ~ 19. After these events a pacification was concluded with Persia, which has sometimes, but erroneously, been called " the peace of Cimon." It is stated that by this compact the Persian monarch agreed not to tax or molest the Greek colonies on the coast of Asia Minor, nor to send any vessels of war westward of Phaselis in Lycia, or within the Cyanean rocks at the junction of the Euxine with the Thracian Bosporus; the Athenians on their side undertaking to leave the Persians in undisturbed possession of Cyprus and Egypt. Even if no treaty was actually concluded, the existence of such a state of relations between Greece and Persia at this time must be recognized as an historical fact, and the war between them considered as now brought to a conclusion. ~ 20. During the progress of these events the states which formed the Confederacy of Delos, with the exception of Chios, Lesbos, and Samos, had gradually become, instead of the active allies of Athens, her disarmed and passive tributaries. Even the custody of the fund had been transferred from Delos to Athens, but we are unable to specify the precise 246 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXIII. time at which this change took place. This transfer marked the subjection of the confederates as complete: yet it is said to have been made with the concurrence of the Samians; and it is probable that Delos would have been an unsafe place for the deposit of so large a treasure. The purpose for which the confederacy had been originally organized disappeared with the Persian peace; yet what may now be called Imperial Athens continued, for her own ends, to exercise her prerogatives as head of the league. Her alliances, as we have seen, had likewise been extended in Continental Greece, where they embraced Megara, Bcootia, Phocis, Locris; together with Troezen and Achaia in Peloponnesus. Of these allies some were merely bound to military service and a conformity of foreign policy, whilst others were dependent tributaries. Of the former kind were the states just mentioned, together with Chios, Lesbos, and Samos; whilst in the latter were comprehended all the remaining members of the Confederacy of Delos, as well as the recently conquered AEgina. Such was the position of Athens in the year 448 B. c., the period of her greatest power and prosperity. From this time her empire began to decline; whilst Sparta, and other watchful and jealous enemies, stood ever ready to strike a blow. ~21. In the following year (B. c. 447) a revolution in Bmotia deprived Athens of her ascendency in that country. This, as we have seen, was altogether political, being founded in the democracies which she had established in the Bmeotian towns after the battle of CEnophyta. These measures had not been effected without producing a numerous and powerful class of discontented exiles, who, being joined by other malecontents from Phocis, Locris, and other places, succeeded in seizing Orchomenus, Chaeronea, and a few more unimportant towns of Boeotia. With an overweening contempt of their enemies, a small band of one thousand Athenian hoplites, chiefly composed of youthful volunteers belonging to the best Athenian families, together with a few auxiliaries, marched under the command of Tolmides to put down the revolt, in direct opposition to the advice of Pericles, who adjured them to wait and collect a more numerous force. The enterprise proved disastrous in the extreme. Tolmides succeeded, indeed, in retaking Chaeronea and garrisoning it with an Athenian force; but whilst his small army was retiring from the place, it was surprised by the enemy and totally defeated. Tolmides himself fell in the engagement, together with many of the hoplites, whilst a still larger number were taken prisoners. This last circumstance proved fatal to the interests of Athens in Boeotia. In order to recover these prisoners, she agreed to evacuate Bceotia, to restore the exiles, and to permit the reestablishment of the aristocracies which she had formerly overthrown. Thus all Boeotia, with the exception of Plataea, once more stood opposed, and indeed doubly hostile, to Athens. But the Athenian reverses did not end here. The expulsion of the B. C. 445.] DECLINE OF THE ATHENIAN POWE. 2417 partisans of Athens from the government of Phocis and Locris, and therevolt of Eubcea and MIegara, were announced in quick succession; whilst to crown all, the Spartans, who were now set free to act by the termination of the five years' truce, were preparing to invade Attica itself. The youthful Pleistoanax, king of Sparta, actually penetrated, with an army of Lacedhmonians and Peloponnesian allies, as far as the neighborhood of Eleusis; and the capital itself, it is said, was saved only by Pericles having bribed the Spartan monarch, as well as Cleandrides, his adjutant and counsellor, to evacuate the country. The story was at least believed at Sparta; for both Pleistoanax and Cleandrides were found guilty of corruption and sent into banishment. ~ 22. Pericles had been recalled by the Spartan invasion from an expedition which he had undertaken for the reconquest of Eubcea, and which he resumed as soon as the Spartans had departed from Attica. With an overwhelming force of fifty triremes and five thousand hoplites he soon succeeded in reducing the island to obedience, in some parts of which the land-owners were expelled and their properties given to Athenian cleruchs or colonists. But this was the only possession which Athens succeeded in recovering. Her empire on land had vanished more speedily than it had been acquired; whilst in the distance loomed the danger of an extensive and formidable confederacy against her, realized some years afterwards by the Peloponnesian war, and not undeservedly provoked by her aggressive schemes of conquest and empire. Thus both her present position and her future prospects were well calculated to fill the Athenians, and their leader Pericles, with apprehension and alarm; and under these feelings of despondency they were induced to conclude, at the beginning of the year B. c. 445, a thirty years' truce with Sparta and her allies, by which they consented to abandon all the acquisitions which they had made in Peloponnesus, and to leave Megara to be included among the Peloponnesian allies of Sparta. 248 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXIV. The Acropolis restored. CHAPTER XXIV. FROM THE THIRTY YEARS' TRUCE TO THE WAR BETWEEN CORINTH AND CORCYRA. 1. State of Parties at Athens. Thucydides. ~ 2. Opposite Political Views. ~ 3. Ostra cism of Thucydides. Administration of Pericles. He adorns Athens. His Foreign Policy. ~ 4. Athenian Colonization. Cleruchise. Thurii and Amphipolis. ~ 5. Nature of the Athenian Maritime Empire. Amount of Tribute. Oppressions. ~ 6. Revolt of Samos. Reduction of the Island by Pericles. ~ 1. TIE aristocratical party at Athens had been nearly annihilated by the measures of Pericles recorded in the preceding chapter. In order to make the final effort against the policy of that statesman, the remnant of this party had united themselves under Thucydides, the son of Melesias. Thucydides —who must not be confounded with his namesake, the great historian - was a relative of Cimon's, to whose political principles he succeeded. In ability and character he differed considerably from Cimon. He was not much distinguished as a military man; but as a statesman and orator he might even bear some comparison with his great opponent, Pericles. Thucydides, however, had not the advantage of being on the popular side; and his manner of leading the opposition soon proved the ruin both of himself and of his party. The high character and great services of Aristeides and Cimon, the conciliatory manners of both, and especially the affable and generous temper of Cimon, had, in spite of their unpopular views, secured them considerable influence. Thucydides, on the contrary, does not appear to have been distinguished by any of B. C. 445.] STATE OF PARTIES AT ATHENS. 249 these qualities; and though the steps which he took to give his party a stronger organization in the assembly at first enabled him to make head against Pericles, yet they ultimately proved the cause of his overthrow. Not only were his adherents urged to a more regular attendance in the assembly, but they were also instructed to take up a separate and distinct position on the benches; and thus, instead of being mixed as before with the general mass of citizens, they became a regularly organized party. This arrangement seemed at first to lend them strength. Their applause or dissent, being more concentrated, produced a greater effect. At any sudden turn in a debate they were in a better position to concert their measures, and could more readily put forward their best speakers according to emergencies. But these advantages were counterbalanced by still greater drawbacks. A little knot of men, who from a particular corner of the ecclesia were constantly opposing the most popular measures, naturally incurred a great share of odium and suspicion; but what was still worse, the paucity of their numbers - and from their position they could easily be counted -was soon remarked; and they then began to fall into contempt, and were designated as The Few. ~ 2. The points of dispute between the two parties were much the same as they had been in the time of Cimon. Thucydides and his followers were for maintaining amicable relations with the rest of Greece, and were opposed to the more popular notion of extending the Athenian dominion even at the risk of incurring the hostility of the other Grecian states. They were of opinion that all their efforts should be directed against the common enemy, the Persians; and that the advantages which Athens derived from the Confederacy of Delos should be strictly and honestly applied to the purposes for which that confederacy had been formed. With regard to this subject the administration of Pericles had produced a fresh point of contention. The vast amount of treasure accumulated at Athens from the tribute paid by the allies was more than sufficient for any apprehended necessities of defence, and Pericles applied the surplus to strengthening and beautifying the city. Thucydides complained that, by this misapplication of the common fund, Athens was disgraced in the eyes of Greece. Pericles, on the other hand, contended that, so long as he reserved sufficient to guarantee security against the Persians, he was perfectly at liberty to apply the surplus to Athenian purposes. This argument is the argument of the strongest, and, if valid in this case, mightt at any time be applied to justify the grossest abuses of power. The best that we can say in favor of the Athenians is, that, if they were strong enough to commit this injustice, they were also enlightened enough to apply the proceeds in producing works of art that have excited the wonder and admiration of the world. Other conquerors have often contented themselves with carrying off the works of others; the Athenians had genius enough to produce their own. But we can hardly justify the means by pointing to the result. 32 250 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXIV ~ 3. From the opposition of Thucydides, Pericles was released by ostracism; though by which party such a step was proposed cannot be determined. Thucydides went into banishment. This event, which probably took place about two years after the conclusion of the Thirty Years' Truce, completely broke up the aristocratical party; and for the remainder of his life Pericles enjoyed the sole direction of affairs. His views were of the most lofty kind. Athens was to become the capital of Greece, the centre of art and refinement, and at the same time of those democratical theories which formed the beau ideal of the Athenian notions of government. In her external appearance the city was to be rendered worthy of the high position to which she aspired, by the beauty and splendor of her public buildings, by her works of art in sculpture, architecture, and painting, and by the pomp and magnificence of her religious festivals. All these objects Athens was enabled to attain in an incredibly short space of time, through the genius and energy of her citizens and the vast resources at her command. No state has ever exhibited so much intellectual activity and so great a progress in art as was displayed by Athens in the period which elapsed between the Thirty Years' Truce and the breaking out of the Peloponnesian war. But of the literature of this period, as well as of the great works of art produced in it, an account is given in another place,* and it will suffice to mention briefly here the more important structures with which Athens was adorned, during the administration of Pericles. On the Acropolis rose the magnificent temple of Athena, called the Parthenon, built from the plans of Ictinus and Callicrates, but under the direction of Pheidias, who adorned it with the most beautiful sculptures, and especially with a colossal statue of Athena in ivory, forty-seven feet in height. At the same time a theatre designed for musical performances, called the Odeum, was erected at the southeastern foot of the Acropolis. Both these structures appear to have been finished by 437 B. c. Somewhat later were erected the Propyliea, or magnificent entrance to the Acropolis, at the western end. Besides these vast works, others were commenced which were interrupted by the breaking out of the Peloponnesian war, as the reconstruction of the Erechtheum, or ancient temple of Athena Polias; the building of a great temple of Demeter, at Eleusis, for the celebration of the Eleusinian mysteries; another of Athena at Sunium, and one of Nemesis at Rhamnus. Besides these ornamental works, Pericles undertook others of a more useful kind. In order to render the communication between Athens and Peiraus still more secure, he constructed a third long wall, between the two already built, running parallel to, and at a short distance from, the one which united the city to Peirteus. At the same time Peireus itself was improved and beautified, and a new dock and arsenal constructed, said to have cost one thousand talents.'The * See below, Chap. XXXIV., XXXV. B. C. 443.] ATHENIAN COLONIES. 251 whole cost of these improvements was estimated at three thousand talents, or about ~ 732,000 (nearly $ 3,170,000). In this part of his plans Pericles may be said to have been entirely successful. The beautiful works which arose under his superintendence established the empire of Athenian taste, not only for his own time but for all succeeding ages. But the other and more substantial part of his projects - the establishment of the material empire of Athens, of which these works were to be but the type and ornament- was founded on a miscalculation of the physical strength and resources of his country; and after involving Athens, as will be seen in the sequel, in a long series of suffering and misfortune, ended at last in her degradation and ruin. ~ 4. Colonization, for which the genius and inclination of the Athenians had always been suited, was another and safer method adopted by Pericles for extending the influence and empire of Athens. The settlements made under his auspices were of two kinds, Cleruchies,* and regular colonies. The former mode was exclusively Athenian. It consisted in the allotment of land in conquered or subject countries to certain bodies of Athenians, who continued to retain all their original rights of citizenship. This circumstance, as well as the convenience of entering upon land already in a state of cultivation, instead of having to reclaim it fiom the rude condition of nature, seems to have rendered such a mode of settlement much preferred by the Athenians. The earliest instance which we find of it is in the year B. C. 506, when four thousand Athenians entered upon the domains of the Chalcidian knights. But it was under Pericles that this system was most extensively adopted. During his administration one thousand Athenian citizens were settled in the Thracian Chersonese, five hundred in Naxos, and two hundred and fifty in Andros. His expeditions for this purpose even extended into the Euxine. From Sinope, on the shores of that sea, he expelled the despot Timesilaus and his party, whose estates were confiscated, and assigned for the maintenance of six hundred Athenian citizens. The islands of Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros, as well as a large tract in the North of Euboea, were also completely occupied by Athenian proprietors. The most important colonies settled by Pericles were those of Thurii and Amphipolis. Since the destruction of Sybaris by the Crotoniates, in B. c. 509, the former inhabitants had lived dispersed in the adjoining territory along the Gulf of Tarentum. They had in vain requested Sparta to recolonize them, and now applied to Pericles, who granted their request. In B. c. 443 he sent out a colony to found Thurii, near the site of the ancient Sybaris. But though established under the auspices of Athens, Thurii can hardly be considered an Athenian colony, since it contained settlers from almost all parts of Greece. Among those who joined this * KXpovXlat. 252 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIAP. XXIV. colony were the historian Herodotus and the orator Lysias. The colony of Amphipolis was founded some years later (B. c. 437), under the conduct of Agnon. But here also the proportion of Athenian settlers was small. Amphipolis was in fact only a new name for Ennea HIodoi, to colonize which place the Athenians, as before related, had already made some unsuccessful attempts. They now succeeded in maintaining their ground against the Edonians, and Amphipolis became an important Athenian dependency with reference to Thrace and Macedonia. ~ 5. Such were the schemes of Pericles for promoting the empire of Athens. That empire, since the conclusion of the Thirty Years' Truce, had again become exclusively maritime. Yet even among the subjects and allies united with Athens by the Confederacy of Delos, her sway was borne with growing discontent. One of the chief causes of this dissatisfaction was the amount of the tribute exacted by the Athenians, as well as their misapplication of the funds. During the administration of Pericles, the rate of contribution was raised upwards of thirty per cent., although the purpose for which the tribute was originally levied had almost entirely ceased. In the time of Aristeides and Cimon, when an active war was carrying on against the Persians, the sum annually collected amounted to four hundred and sixty talents. In the time of Pericles, although that war had been brought to a close by what has been called the peace of Cimon, and though the only armament still maintained for the ostensible purposes of the confederacy was a fleet of sixty triremes, which cruised in the AZEgman, the tribute had nevertheless increased to the annual sum of six hundred talents. The importance of this tribute to the Athenians may be estimated from the fact that it formed considerably more than, half of their whole revenue; for their income from other sources amounted only to four hundred talents. It may be said, indeed, that Greece was not even yet wholly secure from another Persian invasion; and that Athens was therefore justified in continuing to collect the tribute, out of which, it must in justice to Pericles be admitted, a large sum had been laid by, amounting, when the Peloponnesian war broke out, to six thousand talents. But that there was no longer much danger to be apprehended from the Persians is shown by subsequent events; and though it is true that Pericles saved a large sum, yet he had spent much in decorating Athens; and the surplus was ultimately applied, not for the purposes of the league, but in defending Athens from enemies which her aggressive policy had provoked. But the tribute was not the only grievance of which the allies had to complain. Of all the members of the Confederacy of Delos, the islands of Chios, Samos, and Lesbos were the only states which now held the footing of independent allies; that is, they alone were allowed to retain their ships and fortifications, and were only called upon to furnish military and naval aid when required. The other members of the league, some of them indeed with their own consent, had been deprived of their B. C. 440.] REDUCTION OF SAMOS. 253 navy and reduced to the condition of tributaries. The deliberative synod for discussing and conducting the affairs of the league had been discontinued, probably from the time when the treasury was removed from' Delos to Athens; whilst the Hellenotamia had been converted into a board consisting solely of Athenians. Notwithstanding, therefore, the seeming independence of the three islands just mentioned, the Athenians were in fact the sole arbiters of the affairs of the league, and the sole administrators of the fund. Another grievance was the transference to Athens of all lawsuits, at least of all public suits; for on this subject we are unable to draw the line distinctly. In criminal cases, at all events, the allies seem to have been deprived of the power to inflict capital punishment. It can scarcely be doubted that even private suits in which an Athenian was concerned were referred to Athens. In some cases, it is true, the allies may have derived benefit from a trial before the Athenian people, as the dicasteries were then constituted; but on the whole, the practice can only be regarded as a means and a badge of their subjection. Besides all these causes of complaint, the allies had often to endure the oppressions and exactions of Athenian officers both military and naval, as well as of the rich and powerful Athenian citizens settled among them. Many of these abuses had no doubt arisen before the time of Pericles; but the excuse for them had at all events ceased to exist with the death of Cimon and the extinction of the Persian war. To expect that the Athenians should have voluntarily relinquished the advantages derived from them might be to demand too much of human nature, especially as society was then constituted; and the Athenians perhaps, on the whole, did not abuse their power to a greater extent than many other nations both in ancient and modern times. With this argument for their exculpation we must rest content; for it is the only one. They were neither better nor worse than other people. The allurement, it must be confessed, was a splendid one. By means of the league Athens had become the mistress of many scattered cities, formerly her equals; and the term of despot over them was applied to her not only by her enemies, but adopted in her overweening confidence and pride by herself. ~ 6. The principal event in the external history of Athens during the period comprised in the present chapter was the subjugation of the island of Samos, the most important of the three islands which still retained their independence. In B. C. 440, the Milesians, who had been defeated by the Samians in a war respecting the possession of Priene, lodged a formal complaint in Athens against the Samians; and it was seconded by a party in Samos itself, who were adverse to the oligarchical form of government established there. As the Samians refused to submit to the arbitration of the Athenians, the latter resolved to reduce them to obedience by force; and for that purpose despatched an armament of forty 254 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXIV. ships to Samos, under the command of Pericles, who established a democratical form of government in the island, and carried away hostages belonging to the first Samian families, whom he deposited in the isle of Lemnos. But no sooner had Pericles departed than some of the oligarchical party, supported by Pissuthnes, satrap of Sardis, passed over in the night-time to Samos, overpowered the small Athenian garrison which had been left by Pericles, and abolished the democracy. They then proceeded to Lemnos, and, having regained possession of the hostages, proclaimed an open revolt against Athens, in which they were joined by Byzantium. When these tidings reached Athens a fleet of sixty triremes immediately sailed for Samos. Pericles was again one of the ten strategi or generals in command of the expedition, and among his colleagues was Sophocles, the tragic poet.. After several engagements between the hostile fleets, the Samians were obliged to abandon the sea and take refuge in their city, which, after enduring a siege of nine months, was forced to capitulate. The Samians were compelled to raze their fortifications, to surrender their fleet, to give hostages for their future conduct, and to pay the expenses of the war, amounting to one thousand talents. The Byzantines submitted at the same time. During these operations, it was a point disputed among the states opposed to Athens whether the Samians should be assisted in their revolt; a question decided in the negative, chiefly through the influence of the Corinthians, who maintained the right of every confederacy to punish its refractory members. The triumphs and the power of Athens were no doubt regarded with fear and jealousy by her rivals; but the conquest of Samos was not followed by any open manifestation of hostility. A general impression however prevailed, that sooner or later a war must ensue; but men looked forwards to it with fear and trembling, from a conviction of the internecine character which it must necessarily assume. It was a hollow peace, which the most trifling events might disturb. The train was already laid; and an apparently unimportant event, which occured in B. c. 435 in a remote corner of Greece, kindled the spark which was to produce the conflagration. This was the quarrel between Corinth and Corcyra, which will be detailed in the following chapter. Bust of the poet Sophocles. B. C. 435.] QUARREL BETWEEN CORINTH AND CORCYRA. 255 The Propyleaa of the Acropolis, restored. CHAPTER XXV. CAUSES OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. I 1. Quarrel between Corinth and Corcyra. ~ 2. Corcyrean Embassy to Athens. De cision of the Athenians. ~ 3. They send a Fleet to Corcyra. Naval Engagements. Defeat of the Corinthians. ~ 4. Revolt of Potidaca. ~ 5. Congress of the Peloponnesian Allies at Sparta. The Spartans decide for War. ~ 6. Second Congress. The Allies resolve upon War. ~ 7. The Lacedaemonians require the Athenians to expel Pericles. ~ 8. Attacks upon Pericles, Aspasia, and Anaxagoras. Imprisonment and Death of Pheidias. ~ 9. Further Requisitions of the Lacedmemonians. Rejected by the Athenians. ~ 10. The Thebans surprise Platea. ~ 11. The Athenians prepare for War. Portents. ~ 12. Forces of the Lacedcamonians and Athenians. 13. The Pelopon nesian Army assembles at the Isthmus of Corinth. ~ 1. ON the coast of Illyria, near the site of the modern Durazzo, the Corcyreans had founded the city of Epidamnus. Corcyra (now Corfu) was itself a colony of Corinth; and, though long at enmity with its mother country, was forced, according to the time-hallowed custom of the Greeks in such matters, to select the founder or ekist * of Epidamnus from the Corinthians. Accordingly Corinth became the metropolis of Epidamnus also. At the time of which we speak, the Epidamnians were hard pressed by the Illyrians, led by some oligarchical exiles of their own city, whom they had expelled in consequence of a domestic sedition. In their distress they applied to Corcyra for assistance; which the Corcyreans, being principally connected with the Epidamnian oligarchy, refused. The Epidamnians, after consulting'the oracle of Delphi, then sought help from the Corinthians, who undertook to assist them, and organized an expedition * OiKtr1s. 256 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CAP. XXV. for that purpose, consisting partly of new settlers, and partly of a military force. The Corcyraeans highly resented this interference, proceeded to restore the Epidamnian oligarchs, and with a fleet of forty ships blockaded the town and its new Corinthian garrison. Hereupon the Corinthians fitted out a still stronger expedition, for which they collected both ships and money from their allies. The Corcyrseans, having made a fruitless attempt to persuade the Corinthians to refer the matter to arbitration, prepared to meet the blow. Their fleet, the best in Greece after that of Athens, completely defeated the Corinthians off Cape Actium; and on the same day Epidamnus surrendered to their blockading squadron (B. c. 435). ~ 2. Deeply humbled by this defeat, the Corinthians spent the two following years in active preparations for retrieving it. They got ready ninety -well-manned ships of their own; and by active exertions among their allies, they were in a condition, in the third year after their disgrace, to put to sea with a fleet of one hundred and fifty sail. The Corcyrseans, who had not enrolled themselves either in the Lacedlemonian or Athenian alliance, and therefore stood alone, were greatly alarmed at these preparations. They now resolved to remedy this deficiency; and as Corinth belonged to the Lacedaemonian alliance, the Corcyraeans had no option, and were obliged to apply to Athens. Ambassadors were accordingly despatched to that city, who, being introduced into the assembly, endeavored to set in a striking light the great accession of naval power which the Athenians would derive from an alliance with the Corcyreans. The Corinthians, who had also sent an embassy to Athens, replied to the arguments of the Corcyraean envoys, appealing to the terms of the Thirty Years' Truce, and reminding the Athenians that it was through the representations of the Corinthians that the Peloponnesian allies had not assisted the Samians in their late revolt. The opinions of the Athenian assembly were much divided on the subject; but the views of Pericles and other speakers at length prevailed. They urged that, whatever course might now be taken, war could not ultimately be avoided; and that therefore the more prudent course was to avail themselves of the increase of strength offered by the Corcyrsean alliance, rather than to be at last driven to undertake the war at a comparative disadvantage. To avoid, however, an open infringement of the Thirty Years' Truce, a middle course was adopted. It was resolved to conclude only a defensive alliance with Corcyra; that is, to defend the Corcyreans in case their territories were actually invaded by the Corinthians, but beyond that not to lend them any active assistance. ~ 3. By entering upon this merely defensive alliance the Athenians also hoped to stand aloof and see the Corinthian and Corcyrman fleets mutually destroy one another; and it was probably in accordance with this policy that only a small squadron of ten triremes, under the command B. C 433.] QUARREL BETWEEN CORINTH AND CORCYRA. 257 of Lacedaemonius the son of Cimon, was despatched to the assistance of the Corcyroeans. The Corinthian fleet of one hundred and fifty sail took up its station at Cape Cheimerium on the coast of Epeirus; where the Corinthians established a naval camp, and summoned to their assistance the friendly Epeirot tribes. The Corcyrsaan fleet of one hundred and ten sail, together with ten Athenian ships, was stationed at one of the adjoining islands called Sybota. A battle speedily ensued, which, for the number of ships engaged, was the greatest yet fought between fleets entirely Grecian. Neither side, however, had yet adopted the Athenian tactics. They had no conception of that mode of attack in which the ship itself, by the method of handling it, became a more important instrument than the crew by which it was manned. Their only idea of a naval engagement was to lay the ships alongside one another, and to leave the hoplites on deck to decide the combat after the fashion of a land fight. At first Lacedsemonius, in accordance with his instructions, took no part in the battle, though he afforded all the assistance he could to the Corcyreans by manoeuvring as if he were preparing to engage. After a hard-fought day, victory finally declared in favor of the Corinthians. The Athenians now abandoned their neutrality, and did all in their power to save the flying Corcyraans from their pursuers. This action took place early in the morning; and the Corinthians, after returning to the spot where it had been fought, in order to pick up their own dead and wounded, prepared to renew the attack in the afternoon, and to effect a landing at Corcyra. The CorcyrTans made the best preparations they could to receive them, and the Athenians, who were now within the strict letter of their instructions, determined to give their new allies all the assistance in their power. The war paan had been sounded, and the Corinthian line was in full advance, when suddenly it tacked and stood away to the coast of Epeirus. This unexpected retreat was caused by the appearance of twenty Athenian vessels in the distance, which the Corinthians believed to be the advanced guard of a still larger fleet. But though this was not the case, the succor proved sufficient to deter the Corinthians from any further hostilities. Drawing up their ships along the coast of Epeirus, they sent a few men in a small boat to remonstrate with the Athenians for having violated the truce; and finding from the parley that the Athenians did not mean to undertake offensive operations against them, they sailed homewards with their whole fleet, after erecting a trophy at Sybota. On reaching Corinth eight hundred of their prisoners were sold as slaves; but the remaining two hundred and fifty, many of whom belonged to the first families in Corcyra, though detained in custody, were treated with peculiar kindness, in the hope that they would eventually establish in that island a party favorable to Corinth. These events took place in the year B. c. 432. ~ 4. The Corinthians were naturally incensed at the conduct of Athens, 33 258 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXV. and it is not surprising that they should have watched for an opportunity of revenge. This was soon afforded them by the enmity of the Mlacedonian prince Perdiccas towards the Athenians. Offended with the Athenians for having received into their alliance his two brothers Philip and Derdas, with whom he was at open variance, Perdiccas exerted all his efforts to injure Athens. He incited her tributaries among the Chalcidians and Bottieans to revolt, including Potidaa, a town seated on the isthmus of Pallene. Potidcea, though now a tributary of Athens, was originally a colony of the Corinthians, towards whom it still owed a sort of metropolitan allegiance, and received from them certain annual magistrates called Epidemiurgi.* Aware of the hostile feeling entertained at Corinth against the Athenians, Perdiccas not only sent envoys to that city to concert measures for a revolt of Potidaca, but also to Sparta to induce the Peloponnesian league to declare war against Athens. The Athenians were not ignorant of these proceedings. They were about to despatch an armament in the Thermaic Gulf, designed to act against Perdiccas; and they now directed the commander of this armament to require the Potid.Tans to level their walls on the side of the town towards the sea, to dismiss their Corinthian magistrates, and to give hostages, as a pledge of their future fidelity. Thereupon the Potidaeans openly raised the standard of revolt, in the summer apparently of B. c. 432. Instead of immediately blockading Potidaca, the Athenian fleet wasted six weeks in the siege of Therma, during which interval the Corinthians were enabled to throw a reinforcement of two thousand troops into Potidiea. Thereupon a second armament was despatched from Athens, and joined the former one, which was now engaged in the siege of Pydna on the Macedonian coast. But as the town promised to hold out for some time, and as the necessity for attacking Potida seemed pressing, an accommodation was patched up with Perdiccas, and the whole Athenian force marched over-land against Potidaea. Aristeus, the Corinthian general, was waiting to receive them near Olynthus, and a battle ensued in which the Athenians were victorious. The Corinthians ultimately succeeded in effecting their retreat to Potidaea; and the Athe-.nians, after receiving a further reinforcement, completely blockaded the town, both by sea and land. ~ 5. Meanwhile the Lacedemonians, urged on all sides by the com-plaints of their allies, summoned a general meeting of the Peloponnesian confederacy at Sparta. Besides the Corinthians other members of it had;heavy grievances to allege against Athens. Foremost among these were,the Megarians, who complained that their commerce had been ruined by * In some of the Grecian states, the executive magistrates bore the title of Demiurgi (8rtovpyoI.) The Epidemiurgi were governors sent by the metropolis to manage the affairs of the colony.- ED. B. C. 432.] IMEETING OF THE PELOPONNESIAN ALLIES. 259 a recent decree of the Athenians, which excluded them from every port within the Athenian jurisdiction. The pretexts for this severe measure were, that the Megarians had harbored runaway Athenian slaves, and had cultivated pieces of unappropriated and consecrated land upon the borders. These reasons seem frivolous; and the real cause of the decree must no doubt be ascribed to the hatred which the Athenians entertained towards Megara, since her revolt from them fourteen years before. 2Egina was another, though not an open, accuser. No deputy from that island actually appeared at the congress; but the }Eginetans loudly complained, through the mouths of others, that Athens withheld from them the independence to which they were entitled. The assembly having been convened, the deputies from the various allied cities addressed it in turn, the Corinthian envoy reserving himself for the last. He depicted in glowing language the ambition, the enterprise, and the perseverance of Athens, which he contrasted with the overcautious and inactive policy of Sparta. Addressing himself to the Spartans, he exclaimed: " The Athenians are naturally innovators, prompt both in deciding and in acting; whilst you only think of keeping what you have got, and do even less than what positive necessity requires. They are bold beyond their means, venturesome beyond their judgment, sanguine even in desperate reverses; you do even less than you are able to perform, distrust your own conclusions, and when in difficulties fall into utter despair. They never hang back, you never advance; they love to serve abroad, you seem chained at home; they believe that every new movement will procure them fresh advantage, you fancy that every new step will endanger what you already possess." And after telling them some more home-truths, he concluded with a threat, that, if they still delayed to perform their duty towards their confederates, the Corinthians would forthwith seek some other alliance. An Athenian ambassador, charged with some other business, was then residing at Sparta; and when the Corinthian envoy had concluded his address, he rose to reply to it. After denying the right of Sparta to interfere in a dispute between Corinth and Athens, he entered into a general vindication of the Athenian policy. He contended that empire had not been sought by Athens, but thrust upon her, and that she could not abdicate it without endangering her very existence. He alluded to the eminent services rendered by Athens to all Greece during the Persian war; maintained that her empire was the natural result of her conduct in that conjuncture, and denied that it had been exercised with more severity than was necessary, or than would have been used' by any other Grecian power, including Sparta herself. He concluded by calling upon the Lacedaemonians to pause before taking a step which would be irretrievable, and to compose all present differences by an amicable arbitration; declaring that, should Sparta begin the war, Athens was prepared to resist her, 260 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXV as he now called those gods to witness who had been invoked to sanctify the truce. After these speeches had been delivered, all strangers, including the Peloponnesian allies, were ordered to withdraw from the assembly, and the Lacedaemonians then proceeded to decide among themselves the question of peace or war. In this debate the Spartan king Archidamus spoke strongly in favor of peace; but the ephor Sthenelaidas, who presided upon this occasion in the assembly, called upon his countrymen, in a short and vigorous speech, to declare immediate war against Athens. The Spartan assembly was accustomed to vote by acclamation, and, on the question being put, the vote for war decidedly predominated. But in order to remove all doubts upon so important a subject, Sthenelaidas, contrary to the usual practice, ordered the assembly to divide, when a vast majority declared themselves for war. ~ 6. Before their resolution was publicly announced, the Lacedaemonians, with their characteristic caution, sent to consult the oracle of Delphi upon the subject. The god having promised them his aid, and assured them of success, provided they exerted themselves to obtain it, another congress of the allies was summoned at Sparta. In this, as in the former one, the Corinthians took the most prominent part in the debate. The majority of the congress decided for war, thus binding the whole Peloponnesian confederacy to the same policy. This important resolution was adopted towards the close of n. c. 432, or early in the following year. ~ 7. Previously to an open declaration of war, the Lacedaemonians sent several requisitions to Athens, intended apparently to justify the step they were about to take against her, in case she refused to comply with their demands. The first of these requisitions seems to have been a political manceuvre, aimed against Pericles, their most constant and powerful enemy in the Athenian assembly. Pericles, as we have said, belonged to the Alcmaeonidse; a family regarded as having incurred an inexpiable taint through the sacrilege committed nearly two centuries before by their ancestor Megacles, in causing the adherents of Cylon to be slaughtered at the altar of the Eumenides, whither they had fled for refuge.* The Lacedaemonians, in now demanding that Athens should expel from her borders this' abomination," t hardly expected that she would consent to the banishment of her great statesman; but they at all events gave his opponents in the assembly an opportunity to declaim against him, mid to fix upon him the odium of being, in part at least, the cause of the impending war. ~ 8. For Pericles, despite his influence and power, had still many bitter and active enemies, who not long before had indirectly assailed him * See above, p. 88. 4 To ayos eXavvetv, to expel the accursed thing. Thucyd. - ED. B. C. 432.] ATTACKS UPON PERICLES. 261 through his private connections, and even endeavored to wound his honor by a charge of peculation. His mistress Aspasia belonged to that class of women whom the Greeks called ffeterce, literally " female companions," or, as we should designate them, courtesans.* Many of these women were distinguished, not only for their beauty, but also for their wit and accomplishments, and in this respect formed a striking contrast to the generality of Athenian ladies; who, being destined to a life of privacy and seclusion, did not receive the benefit of much mental culture. Pericles, after divorcing a wife with whom he had lived unhappily, took Aspasia to his house, and dwelt with her till his death on terms of the greatest affection. Their intimacy with Anaxagoras, the celebrated Ionic philosopher, was made a handle for wounding Pericles in his tenderest relations. Paganism, notwithstanding its license, was, with surprising inconsistency, capable of producing bigots: and even at Athens the man who ventured to dispute the existence of a hundred gods with morals and passions somewhat worse than those of ordinary human nature, did so at the risk of his life. Anaxagoras was indicted for impiety. Aspasia was included in the same charge, and dragged before the dicastery by the comic poet Hermippus. Anaxagoras prudently fled from Athens, and thus probably avoided a fate which in consequence of a similar accusation afterwards overtook Socrates. Pericles himself pleaded the cause of Aspasia. He was indeed indirectly implicated in the indictment; but he felt no concern except for his beloved Aspasia, and on this occasion the cold and somewhat haughty statesman, whom the most violent storms of the assembly could not deprive of his self-possession, was for once seen to weep. His appeal to the dicastery was successful, but another trial still awaited him. An indictment was preferred against his friend, the great sculptor Pheidias, for embezzfement of the gold intended to adorn the celebrated ivory statue of Athena; and, according to some, Pericles himself was included in the charge of peculation. Whether Pericles was ever actually tried on this accusation is uncertain; but at all events, if he was, there can be no doubt that he was honorably acquitted. The gold employed in the statue had been fixed in such a manner that it could be detached and weighed, and Pericles challenged his accusers to the proof. But Pheidias did not escape so fortunately. There were other circumstances which rendered him unpopular, and amongst them the fact that he had introduced porIt is not easy to define precisely the position of Aspasia. She.did not belong to the common class of Hetcercs, since she lived, in all respects, as the wife of Pericles. As the laws at that time severely prohibited the intermarriage of a citizen with a foreign woman, the offspring of such a union were, of course, in some sense illegitimate. In the case of Pericles and Aspasia, the relation was analogous to the left-handed marriages of modern princes. The fact that Aspasia stood at the head of Athenian society, and that her house was resorted to by not only the most eminent men of her times, but by many of the most respectable Athenian ladies, shows that she was not regarded by her contemporaries as the mistress of Pericles. - ED. 262 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXV. traits both of himself and Pericles in the sculptures which adorned the frieze of the Parthenon. Pheidias died in prison before the day of trial; and some even whispered that he had been poisoned by the enemies of Pericles, in order to increase the suspicions which attached to the latter. Another report, equally absurd and unfounded, was that Pericles, in order to avoid the impending accusation, kindled the Peloponnesian war. But although these proceedings proved that Pericles had many bitter enemies at Athens, still the majority of the Athenians were in his favor, and were not prepared to sacrifice him on account of the absurd and obsolete charge which the Lacedemonians now thought fit to bring against him. They retorted that the Spartans themselves had some accounts to settle on the score of sacrilege, and required.them to clear themselves from having violated the sanctuary of Poseidon at Cape Tenarus by dragging away and slaying the Helots who had taken refuge there, as well as from their impiety in starving to death the regent Pausanias in the temple of Athena Chalcimecus. ~ 9. Having failed in this requisition, the Lacedcemonians brought forward others more pertinent to the matter in hand. They demanded that the Athenians should withdraw their troops from Potidxaa, restore the independence of ZEgina, and repeal their decree against the Megarians. On the last of these demands they laid particular stress, and intimated that war might be avoided by a compliance with it. But this was rejected, as well as the others. The Lacedaemonians then sent their ultimatum. They declared that they wished for peace, and that it would not be interrupted if the Athenians consented to recognize the independence of the other Grecian states. This requisition, so different from and so much more general than the preceding demands, showed clearly enough that the Lacedemonians were resolved upon war. The character of this requisition seems to indicate that it had been adopted as a sort of manifesto in order to enlist the sympathy of all Greece in favor of the Peloponnesian league, which now professed to stand forwards as the champion of its liberties. That this was the view taken of it by the Athenian assembly may be inferred from the debate that ensued, in which the principal topic was the AMegarian decree, and the possibility of still avoiding a war by its repeal. On this point a warm discussion took place. A majority of the assembly seemed still inclined for peace. But Pericles, in a speech of surpassing eloquence and power, again contended that no concessions could ultimately avert a war, and, after passing in review the comparative forces of Athens and her opponents, concluded by persuading the Athenians to return for answer, that they were ready to give satisfaction respecting any matter which properly concerned the Thirty Years' Truce, and that they would forbear from commencing hostilities; but that at the same time they were prepared to repel force by force. This answer was accordingly adopted, B. C. 431.] THE THEBANS SURPRISE PLATEA. 263 though not without much reluctance, and communicated to the Spartan envoys. ~10. Before any actual declaration of war, and whilst both parties stood in suspense, hostilities were begun in the spring of B. c. 431 by a treacherous attack of the Thebans upon Platea. Though Boeotians by descent, the Platseans did not belong to the Boeotian league; but, as we have seen, had long been in alliance with the Athenians, and enjoyed in some degree a communion of their civil rights. Hence they were regarded with hatred and jealousy by the Thebans, which sentiments were also shared by a small oligarchical faction in Platsea itself. The state of affairs in Greece seemed favorable for striking a secret and unexpected blow. Naucleides, the head of the oligarchical faction at Platea, entered into a correspondence with the Thebans, and it was agreed to surprise the town at a time when the citizens were off their guard. During a religious festival, and in a rainy night, a body of more than three hundred Thebans presented themselves before one of the gates of Platsea, and were admitted by Naucleides and his partisans. The latter wished to conduct the Thebans at once -to the houses of their chief political opponents, in order that they might be secured or made away with. The Thebans, however, hesitated to commit so gross a piece of violence. They expected to be reinforced the next day by the larger part of the Theban army, when they should be able to dictate their own terms without having recourse to the invidious act which had been proposed to them. They accordingly took up a position in the agora, or market-place, and directed their herald to summon all- the inhabitants whose political views coincided with their own, to come and join their ranks. The first feeling of the Platseans was one of surprise and alarm on being roused from their sleep with the astounding intelligence that their ancient enemies were in possession of their town. But when the small number of the Thebans began to be ascertained, they took heart, established communications with one another by breaking through the walls of their houses, and, having barricaded the streets with wagons, fell upon the enemy a little before daybreak. The Thebans formed in close order, and defended themselves as well as they could. But they were exhausted by their midnight march through a soaking rain; they were unacquainted with the narrow, crooked streets of the town, now choked with mud and obstructed by barricades; whilst the women hurling the tiles from the housetops, with loud yells and execrations, completed their confusion and dismay. A very few succeeded in escaping over the walls. The great majority, mistaking the folding-doors of a large granary for the city gates, rushed in and were made prisoners. The march of the reinforcement had been delayed by the rain, which had rendered the river Asopus scarcely fordable; and when they at last arrived, they found all their countrymen either slain or captured. The Thebans without the walls now proceeded to lay hands on all the 264 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIAP. XXV. persons and property they could find, as pledges for the restoration of the prisoners. Hereupon the Plataeans despatched a herald to remonstrate against this flagrant breach of the existing peace, promising at the same time, that, if they retired, the prisoners should be given up, but if not, that they would be immediately put to death. The Thebans withdrew on this understanding. But no sooner were they gone than the Plataans, instead of observing the conditions, removed all their movable property from the country into the town, and then massacred all the prisoners, to the number of one hundred and eighty. ~ 11. At the first entrance of the Thebans into Platiea a messenger had been despatched to Athens with the news, and a second one after their capture. The Athenians immediately sent a herald to enjoin the Platreans to take no steps without their concurrence; but he arrived too late, and the prisoners were already slain. So striking an incident as this attempt on the part of the Thebans could not fail to produce an immediate war, and the Athenians concerted their measures accordingly. They immediately issued orders for seizing all Bceotians who might happen to be in Attica, placed an Athenian garrison in Platia, and removed thence all the women and other inhabitants incapable of taking a part in its defence. War was now fairly kindled. All Greece looked on in suspense as its two leading cities were about to engage in a strife of which no man could foresee the end; but the youth, with which both Athens and Peloponnesus then abounded, having had no experience in the bitter calamities of war, rushed into it with ardor. Every city, nay, almost every individual, seemed desirous of taking a part in it; most of them, however, from a feeling of hatred against Athens, and with a desire either of avoiding or of being relieved from her yoke. The predictions of soothsayers and oracles were heard on all sides, whilst natural portents were eagerly inquired after and interpreted. A recent earthquake in Delos, which had never before experienced such a calamity, seemed to foreshadow the approaching struggle, and to form a fitting introduction to a period which was to be marked, not only by the usual horrors of war, but by the calamities of earthquakes, drought, famine, and pestilence. ~ 12. The nature of the preparations and the amount of forces on both sides were well calculated to excite these apprehensions. On the side of Sparta was ranged the whole of Peloponnesus, — except Argos and Achaia,- together with the Megarians, Bcceotians, Phocians, Opuntian Locrians, Ambraciots, Leucadians, and Anactorians. The force collected from these tribes consisted chiefly of hoplites, or heavy-armed foot-soldiers; but Boeotia, Phocis, and Locris also supplied some excellent cavalry. A good navy was the great deficiency on the side of the Peloponnesians; though Corinth and several other cities furnished ships. Yet, with the assistance of the Dorian cities in Italy and Sicily, they hoped to collect a fleet of five hundred triremes; and they even designed to apply to the Persian king, and thus bring a Phoenician fleet again to act against Athens. B. C. 431.] FORCES OF SPARTA AND ATHENS. 265 The allies of Athens, with the exception of the Thessalians, Acarnanians, Messenians at Naupactus, and Plataeans, were all insular, and consisted of the Chians, Lesbians, Corcyraeans, and Zacynthians, and shortly afterwards of the Cephallenians. To these must be added her tributary towns on the coast of Thrace and Asia Minor, together with all the islands north of Crete, except IMelos and Thera. The resources at Athens immediately available were very great. They consisted of 300 triremes ready for active service, 1,200 cavalry, 1,600 bowmen, and 29,000 hoplites, for the most part Athenian citizens. Of these, 13,000 formed the flower of the army, whilst the rest were employed in garrison duty in Athens and the ports, and in the defence of the long walls. In the treasury of the Acropolis was the large sum of 6,000 talents, or about ~ 1,400,000 sterling, in coined silver. This reserve had at one time amounted to 9,700 talents, but had been reduced to the sum stated by the architectural improvements in Athens, and by the siege of Potid-ea. The plate and votive offerings in the temples, available in case of urgent need, were estimated at nearly 1,000 talents of silver. Besides these resources, Athens had also the annual tribute of her subjects. ~ 13. Such were the forces of the two contending cities. Immediately after the attempted surprise of Platcea, the Lacedxmonians issued orders to their allies to send two thirds of their disposable troops at once to the isthmus of Corinth, where they were to assemble by a day named, for the purpose of invading Attica. At the appointed time, the Spartan king Archidamus, the commander-in-chief of the expedition, reviewed the assembled host, and addressed a few words of advice and exhortation to the principal officers. Archidamus still cherished hopes that the Athenians would yield, when they saw the hostile army ready to enter Attica, and accordingly he sent forwards Melesippus to announce the impending invasion. But, at the instance of Pericles, the assembly had adopted a resolution to receive neither envoy nor herald; and Melesippus was escorted back without having been permitted to enter the city. As he parted from his escort at the Attic border, he could not help exclaiming, "This day will be the beginning of many calamities to the Greeks." QOYKYAIAHC Bust of the historian Thucydides. 34 266 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVI I;U~-:I 1The Parthenon, restored. The Partllenon, restored. CHAPTER XXVI. PELOPONNESIAN WAR. - FROM THE CIOMMENCEIENT OF THE WAR TO THE CAPTURE AND DESTRUCTION OF PLATLEA. ~ 1. The Peloponnesians invade Attica. ~ 2. Athenian naval Expeditions to Peloponnesus and Locris. ~ 3. The Athenians invade the Megarid. ~ 4. Second Invasion of Attica. Plague at Athens. ~5. Unpopularity of Pericles. He is accused of Malversation. ~ 6. His domestic Misfortunes. Death. Character. ~ 7. The Lacedemonians ravage Attica. Their naval Operations. ~ 8. Surrender of Potidnea. ~ 9. The Lacedaemonians besiege Platma. ~ 10. Part of the Garrison escape. ~ I1. Surrender of the Town. Trial and Execution of the Garrison. ~ 1. ARCHIDAMrU had entered upon the war with reluctance, and he now prosecuted it without vigor. He still clung to the idea that the Athenians would ultimately incline to peace, and he did all he could to promote so desirable a result. The enormous force which he was leading against them was, indeed, well calculated to test their firmness. It consisted, according to the lowest estimate, of 60,000 men, whilst some writers raise the number to 100,000; and the greater part of them were animated with a bitter hatred of Athens, and with a lively desire of revenge. Archidamus, having lingered as long as he could at the isthmus, marched slowly forwards after the return of Melesippus, and, taking a circuitous road, crossed the Attic border. Having wasted several days in an unsuccessful attack upon the frontier fortress of aCnoe, and not having received, as he expected, any message from the Athenians, he proceeded towards Eleusis and the Thriasian plain, where he arrived about the middle of June in B. c. 431. B.C. 431.1 INVASION OF ATTICA. 267 Meanwhile, Pericles had instructed the inhabitants of Attica to secure themselves and their property within the walls of Athens. They obeyed his injunctions with reluctance, for the Attic population had from the earliest times been strongly attached to a rural life. But the circumstances admitted of no alternative. From all quarters they might be seen hurrying towards the capital with their families and goods; whilst the cattle.were for the most part conveyed to Eubcoa, or some other of the adjoining islands. Every vacant spot in the city or in Peiraeus, even those which belonged to the temples, were occupied by the encampments of the fugitives. The Acropolis, indeed, was preserved from this profane invasion; but the ground immediately under it, called the Pelasgicon, which, in obedience to Lan ancient oracle, had hitherto been suffered to remain unoccupied, was now brought into use. The towers and recesses of the city walls were converted into dwellings, whilst huts, tents, and even casks were placed under the long walls to answer the same purpose. Archidamus, after ravaging the fertile Thriasian plain, in which lie was but feebly opposed by a body of Athenian cavalry, proceeded to Acharne, one of the largest and most flourishing of the Attic boroughs, situated only about seven miles from Athens. Here he encamped on a rising ground within sight of thle metropolis, and began to lay waste the country around, expecting probably by that means to provoke the Athenians to battle. But in this he was disappointed. The Athenians, indeed, and especially the Acharnians now within the walls, who had contributed no fewer than three thousand hoplites to the army, were excited to the highest pitch of exasperation at beholding their houses, their ripening crops, their fruitful vineyards and orchards, destroyed before their very eyes. Little groups might be seen gathered together in the streets angrily discussing the question of an attack, quoting oracles and prophecies which assured them of success, and indignantly denouncing Pericles as a traitor and a coward for not leading them out to battle. Among the leaders of these a(tacks upon Pericles, Cleon, the future demagogue, now first rising into public notice, was conspicuous. It required all the firmness of Pericles to stem the torrent of public indignation. HIe had resolved not to venture an engagement in the open field, and steadily refused, in the present excited state of the public mind, to call an assembly of the people, in which, no doubt, some desperate resolution would have been adopted. In order, however, to divert in some degree the popular clamor, he permitted the Athenian and Thessalian cavalry to make sallies for the purpose of harassing the plundering parties of the enemy, and of protecting as much as possible the lands adjacent to the city. ~ 2. But whilst Pericles thus abandoned the Attic territory to the enemy, he was taking active measures to retaliate on the Peloponnesus itself the sufferings inflicted on the Athenians. For this purpose an Athenian 268 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVT. fleet of one hundred triremes, strengthened by fifty Corcyrmean ships, as well as by some from the other allies, sailed round Peloponnesus, and, disembarking troops at various points, caused considerable damage. This expedition penetrated as far northwards as the coast of Acarnania, where the Corinthian settlement of Sollium and the town of Astacus were taken, whilst the island of Cephallenia, which voluntarily submitted, was enrolled among the allies of Athens. Meanwhile a smaller fleet of thirty triremes had been despatched to the coast of Locris, where the towns of Thronium and Alope were taken and sacked, and a naval station established at the small uninhabited island of Atalanta, in order to coerce the Locrian privateers who infested Euboa. The naval operations of the year were concluded by the total expulsion of the JiEginetans from their island. The situation of JEgina rendered it of the highest importance as a maritime station; and the Athenians were, moreover, incensed against the inhabitants for the part they had taken in exciting the war. The whole of the population was transported to the coast of Peloponnesus, where the Spartans allowed them to occupy the town and district of Thyrea; and their island was portioned out among a body of Athenian cleruchs. ~ 3. Archidamus evacuated Attica towards the end of July, by the route of Oropus and Boeotia; after which his army was disbanded. The Athenians availed themselves of his departure to wreak their vengeance on the Megarians. Towards the end of September, Pericles, at the head of thirteen thousand hoplites, and a large force of liglit-armed troops, marched into the Megarid, which he ravaged up to the very gates of the city. The Athenians repeated the same ravages once, and sometimes twice, every year whilst the war lasted. In the course of this year the Athenians also formed an alliance with Sitalces, king of the Odrysian Thracians, whose assistance promised to be of use to them in reducing Potidoea and the revolted Chalcidian towns. Such were the results of the first campaign. From the method in which the war was conducted it had become pretty evident that it would prove of long duration; and the Athenians now proceeded to provide for this contingency. It was agreed that a reserved fund of one thousand talents should be set apart, which was not to be touched in any other case than an attack upon Athens by sea. Any citizen who proposed to make a different use of the fund incurred thereby the punishment of death. With the same view, it was resolved to reserve every year one hundred of their best triremes, fully manned and equipped. Towards the winter Pericles delivered, from a lofty platform erected in the Cerameicus, the funeral oration of those who had fallen in the war. This speech, or at all events the substance of it, has been preserved by Thucydides, who may possibly have heard it pronounced. It is a valuable. monument of eloquence and patriotism, and particularly interesting for the B. C. 430.] PLAGUE OF ATHENS. 269 sketch which it contains of Athenian marners, as well as of the Athenian constitution.* ~4. Another year had elapsed, and in the spring of B. c. 430 the Peloponnesians, under Archidamus, again invaded Attica. At the same time the Athenians were attacked by a more insidious and more formidable enemy. The plague broke out in the crowded city. This terrible disorder, which was supposed to have originated in IEthiopia, had already desolated Asia and many of the countries around the Mediterranean. At Athens it first appeared in the Peireus; and the numbers of people now congregated in a narrow space caused it to spread with fearful rapidity. A great proportion of those who were seized perished in fiom seven to nine days. Even in those who recovered, it generally left behind some dreadful and incurable distemper. It frequently attacked the mental faculties, and left those who recovered from it so entirely deprived of memory, that they could neither recognize themselves nor others. The disorder being new, the physicians could find no remedy in the resources of their art, nor, as may be well supposed, did the charms and incantations to which the superstitious resorted prove more effectual. Despair now began to take possession of the Athenians. Some suspected that the Peloponnesians had poisoned the wells; others attributed the pestilence to the anger of Apollo. A dreadful state of moral dissolution followed. The sick were seized with unconquerable despondency; whilst a great part of the population who had hitherto escaped the disorder, expecting soon to be attacked in turn, abandoned themselves to all manner of excess, debauchery, and crime. The dread of contagion produced an all-pervading selfishness. Men abstained from tending and alleviating the sufferings even of their E A slight sketch of this masterly discourse will not be out of place here. It is not only a eulogy on the dead, but an elaborate and very able exhibition of the merits of the Athenian constitution, and the social life and genius of Athens for the civilizing arts. Such a country, he argues, is entitled to the love of her citizens, and must be defended at the hazard of life itself. " We enjoy," said lie, a form of government, not emulating the laws of neighboring states, being ourselves rather a model to others than copying from them. It has been called by the name of Democracy, because the power resides not with the few, but with the m ajority." He then shows in what manner the Athenian institutions secured not only equality of rights before the law, but a liberal and generous confidence in private life: how they cherished obedience to the magistrate, and a fine sense of honor, which submitted to the unwritten laws of noble conduct, both from the self-respect of gentlemen- and from a sensibility to the shame attached to their violation by public opinion. He appeals to their patriotic pride in the great achievements of their ancestors, and their own. " Having displayed our power in noble manifestations, and most assuredly not without witnesses, we shall be the admiration of the present age, and of those who are to come after us. We have forced every sea and every land to be accessible to our enterprise:-for such a country, the heroes of past ages laid down their lives, receiving a most distinguished sepulchre, not so much that in which their bodies lie buried as that in which their gloiy, on every occasion of word or deed, shall be held in everlasting remembrance. For of illustrious men the whole earth is the sepulchre, signalized not alone by the inscription of the column in their native land, but, in lands not their own, by the unwritten memory which dwells with every man, of the spirit more than the deed." - ED. 270 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVI. nearest relatives and friends during their sickness, as well as from administering the sacred rites of sepulture to their remains after death. These pious offices of duty and friendship either remained unperformed, or were left to be discharged by strangers, who, having recovered from the disease, enjoyed an immunity from its further attacks. Often would a struggle arise for the possession of a funeral pile, and many a body was burnt on the pile destined for another. But for the most part the dead and the dying lay unheeded in the streets and temples, but more particularly around the wells, whither they had crowded to quench the burning and insatiable thirst excited by the disorder. The very dogs died that preyed upon the corpses, whilst b;y a peculiar instinct the vultures and other birds of prey abstained from feeding on them.* The numbers carried off by the pestilence can hardly be estimated at less than a fourth of the whole population. Such at least was about the ascertained proportion among the knights and hoplites forming the upper classes. The number of victims among the poorer part of the population was never ascertained, but there can be no doubt that the ratio among these was much higher. ~ 5. Oppressed at once by war and pestilence, their lands desolated, their homes filled with mourning, it is not surprising that the Athenians were seized with rage and despair, or that they vented their anger on Pericles, whom they deemed the author of their misfortunes. But that statesman still adhered to his plans with unshaken firmness. Though the Lacedaemonians were in Attica, though the plague had already seized on Athens, he was vigorously pushing his plans of offensive operations. A foreign expedition might not only divert the popular mind, but would prove beneficial by relieving the crowded city of part of its population; and accordingly a fleet was fitted out, of which Pericles himself took the command, and which committed devastations upon various parts of the Peloponnesian coast. But, upon returning from this expedition, Pericles found the public feeling more exasperated than before. Envoys had even been despatched to Sparta to sue for peace, but had been dismissed without a hearing; a disappointment which had rendered the populace still more furious. Pericles now found it necessary to call a public assembly in order to vindicate his conduct, and to encourage the desponding citizens to persevere. But though he succeeded in persuading them to prosecute the war with vigor, they still continued to nourish their feelings of hatred against the great statesman. His political enemies, of whom Cleon was the chief, took advantage of this state of the public mind to bring against him a charge of peculation. The main object of this accusation was to incapacitate him for the office of strategus, or general. He was brought before the dicastery - The description of the plague of Athens (Thucyd. B. II. cc. 47- 54) is one of the most master'v delineations in historical literature.-ED. B. C. 430.] DEATH AND CHARACTER OF PERICLES. 271 on this charge, and sentenced to pay a considerable fine; but eventually a strong reaction occurred in his favor. He was re-elected general, and apparently regained all the influence he had ever possessed. ~ 6. But he was not destined long to enjoy this return of popularity. His life was now closing in, and its end was clouded by a long train of domestic misfortunes. The epidemic deprived him not only of many personal and political friends, but also of several near relations, amongst whom were his sister and his two legitimate sons, Xanthippus and Paralus. The death of the latter was a severe blow to him. During the funeral ceremonies, as he placed a garland on the body of this his favorite son, he was completely overpowered by his feelings, and wept aloud. His ancient house was now left without an heir. By Aspasia, however, he had an illegitimate son who bore his own name, and whom the Athenians now legitimized, and thus alleviated, as far as lay in their power, the misfortunes of their great leader: a proceeding all the more striking, since Pericles himself had proposed the law which deprived of citizenship all those who were not Athenians on the mother's side, as well as on the father's. After this period it was with difficulty that Pericles was persuaded by his friends to take any active part in public affairs; nor did he survive more than a twelvemonth. An attack of the prevailing epidemic was succeeded by a low and lingering fever, which undermined both his strength of body and vigor of intellect. As he lay apparently unconscious on his death-bed, the friends who stood around it were engaged in recalling his exploits. The dying man interrupted them by remarking, " What you praise in me is partly the result of good fortune, and at all events common to me with many other commanders. What I chiefly pride myself upon, you have not noticed, - no Athenian ever wore mourning through me." The character of Pericles has been very variously estimated. Those who reflect upon the enormous influence which, for so long a period, and especially during the last fifteen years of his life, he exercised over an ingenious but fickle people like the Athenians, will hardly be disposed to question his intellectual superiority. This hold on the public affection was not, as in the case of Cimon, the result of any popularity of manner, for, as we have said, the demeanor of Pericles was characterized by a reserve bordering upon haughtiness. To what then are we to attribute it? Doubtless, in the first place, to his extraordinary eloquence. Cicero regards him as the first example of an almost perfect orator, at once delighting the Athenians with his copiousness and grace, and overawing them by the force and cogency of his diction and arguments. He seems, indeed, on the testimony of two comic poets who will not be suspected of exaggeration in his favor, to have singularly combined the power of persuasion with that more rapid and abrupt style of oratory which takes an audience by storm and defies all resistance. According to Eupolis, persuasion itself 272 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVI. sat upon his lips, and he was the only orator who left a sting behind; whilst Aristophanes characterizes his eloquence as producing the same effects upon the social elements as a storm of thunder and lightning exerts upon the natural atmosphere. His reserved manners may have contributed, and were perhaps designed, to preserve his authority from falling into that contempt which proverbially springs from familiarity; whilst the popularity which he enjoyed in spite of them may probably be traced to the equivocal benefits which he had conferred on the Athenians, by not only making the humblest citizen a partaker in all the judicial and legislative functions of the state, but even paying him for the performance of them. These innovations are condemned by the two greatest philosophers, though of opposite schools, that Greece ever saw, by Plato and Aristotle, and not only by them, but by the unanimous voice of antiquity. Pericles, indeed, by the unlimited authority which he possessed over the people, was able to counteract the evil effects of these changes, which, however, soon became apparent after his death, and made the city a prey to the artifices of demagogues and rhetors. But if Pericles as a politician may not be deserving of unqualified praise, Pericles as the accomplished man of genius and the liberal patron of literature and art is worthy of the highest admiration. By these qualities he has justly given name to the most brilliant intellectual epoch that the world has ever seen. But we have already touched on this point, and shall have occasion to refer to the subject hereafter.* ~ 7. Whilst the Athenians were suffering from the pestilence, the Lacedamnonians were prosecuting their second invasion even more extensively than in the previous year. Instead of confining their ravages to the Thriasian plain, and the country in the immediate neighborhood of Athens, they now extended them to the more southern portions of Attica, and even as far as the mines of Laurium. The Athenians still kept within their walls; and the Lacedclmonians, after remaining forty clays in their territory, again evacuated it as before. This year, however, the operations of the latter by sea formed a new feature in the war. Their fleet of a hundred 4 The character of Pericles is thus summed up by Thucydides: - During the whole time that he stood at the head of the state in peace, he governed it with moderation, and watched over its safety, and under him it rose to the highest pitch of greatness. After the war broke out it was seen that he had a true conception of its power: and after his death, his foresight in relation to the war was still more clearly recognized. The cause of his influence was, that, powerful in dignity of character and wisdom, and having conspicuously shown himself the most incorruptible of men, he curbed the people freely, and led them instead of being led by them. For he did not speak to their present favor, endeavoring to gain power by unbecoming means, but dared to brave their anger while holding fast to his own dignity and honor. The constitution was a democracy in word; but in fact, it was the government of the most distinguished citizen. Those, however, who came after him, being more on an equality with one another, and each eager to stand foremost, made the gratification of the people their aim, and sacrificed to this the public interest." - ED. B. C. 429.] SURRENDER OF POTIDmA.' 273 triremes, under the command of Cnemus, attacked and devastated the island of Zacynthus, but did not succeed in effecting a permanent conquest. They were too inferior in naval strength to cope with the Athenians on the open sea; but the Peloponnesian privateers, especially those from the Megarian port of Nisoea, inflicted considerable loss on the Athenian fisheries and commerce. Some of these privateers even ventured as far as the coasts of Asia Minor, and molested the Athenian trade, for the protection of which the Athenians were obliged to despatch a squadron of six triremes, under Melesander. A revolting feature in this predatory warfare was the cruelty with which the Lacedaemonians treated their prisoners, who were mercilessly slain, and their bodies cast into clefts and ravines. This produced retaliation on the part of the Athenians. Some Peloponnesian envoys, on their way to the court of Persia to solicit aid against Athens, were joined by the Corinthian general Aristeus, who persuaded them to visit the court of the Thracian king, Sitalces, in order if possible to detach him from the Athenian alliance. But this was a fatal miscalculation. Not only was Sitalces firmly attached to the Athenians, but his son Sadocus had been admitted as a citizen of Athens; and the Athenian residents at the court of Sitalces induced him, in testimony of zeal and gratitude for his newly conferred rights, to procure the arrest of the Peloponnesian envoys. The whole party were accordingly seized and conducted to Athens, where they were put to death without even the form of a trial, and their bodies cast out among the rocks, by way of reprisal for the murders committed by the Lacedcemonians. ~ 8. By this act the Athenians got rid of Aristeus, who had proved himself an active and able commander, and who was the chief instigator of the revolt of Potideea, as well as the principal cause of its successful resistance. In the following winter that town capitulated, after a blockade of two years, during which it suffered such extremity of famine, that even the bodies of the dead were converted into food. Although the garrison was reduced to such distress, and though the siege had cost Athens two thousand talents, the Athenian generals, Xenophon, the son of Euripides, and his two colleagues, granted the Potidaeans favorable terms. For this they were reprimanded by the Athenians, who had expected to defray the expenses of the siege by selling the prisoners as slaves, and perhaps also to gratify their vengeance by putting the intrepid garrison to death. Potidaea and its territory was now occupied by a body of a thousand colonists from Athens. ~ 9. The third year of the war (B. C. 429) was now opening, and nothing decisive had been performed on either side. After two invasions, but little mischief, probably, was capable of being inflicted on the Attic territory, or at all events not sufficient to induce the Peloponnesians to incur the risk of infection from the plague. Archidamus, therefore, now directed his whole force against the ill-fated town of Platiea. As he approached 35 274 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVI. their city, the Platseans despatched a herald to Archidamus to remonstrate against this invasion, and to remind him of the solemn oath which Pausanias had sworn, when, after the defeat of the Persians, he offered sacrifice to Zeus Eleutherios in the great square of Platxa, and there, in the presence of the assembled allies, bound himself and them to respect and guarantee their independence. Archidamus replied, that by their oaths they were bound to assist him in the liberation of the rest of Greece; but, if they would not agree to do this, their independence should be respected if they only consented to remain neutral. After this summons had been twice repeated, the Plataans returned for answer, that they could do nothing without the consent of the Athenians, in whose custody their wives andf familes now were; adding, that a profession of neutrality might again induce the Thebans to surprise their city. Hereupon Archidamus proposed to them to hand over their town and territory to the Lacedwmonians, together with a schedule of all the property which they contained, engaging to hold them in trust and to cultivate the land till the war was terminated, when everything should be safely restored. In the mean time, the Platetans might retire whithersoever they chose, and receive an allowance sufficient for their support. The offer seemed fair and tempting, and the majority of the Platooans were for accepting it, but it was resolved first of all to obtain the sanction of the Athenians: who, however, exhorted them to hold out, and promised to assist them to the last. The Platrans, afraid to send a herald to the Spartan camp, now proclaimed from the walls their refusal of the proffered terms; when Archidamus invoked the gods and heroes of the soil to witness, that it was not until the Plataeans had renounced the oaths which bound them, that he had invaded their territory. The Peloponnesians, indeed, seem to have been really unwilling to undertake the siege. They were driven into it by the ancient grudge of the Thebans against Plataea. The siege that ensued is one of the most memorable in the annals of Grecian warfare. Plataea was but a small city, and its garrison consisted of only 400 citizens and 80 Athenians, together with 110 women to manage their household affairs. Yet this small force set at defiance the whole army of the Peloponnesians. The first operation of Archidamus was to surround the town with a strong palisade formed of the firuit-trees which had been cut down, and thus to deprive the Plataeans of all egress. He then began to erect a mound of timber, earth, and stones against the wall, forming an inclined plane up which his troops might march, and thus take the place by escalade. The whole army labored at this mound seventy days and nights; but whilst it was gradually attaining the requisite height, the Plat-eans on their side were engaged in raising their walls with a superstructure of wood and brickwork, protected in front with hides. They also formed a subterranean passage under their walls, and undermined the mound, which thus fell in and required constant additions. And B. C. 427.] SIEGE OF PLATEA. 275 as even these precautions seemed in danger of being ultimately defeated,'they built a new interior wall, in the shape of a crescent, whose two horns joined the old one at points beyond the extent of the mound; so that if the besiegers succeeded in carrying the first rampart, they would be in no better position than before. So energetic was the defence, that the Lace daemonians, after spending three months in these fruitless attempts, resolved to turn the siege into a blockade, and reduce the place by famine. ~ 10. They now proceeded to surround the city with a double wall of circumvallation, the interior space between the two of sixteen feet in breadth being roofed in, and the'whole structure protected by a ditch on each side, one towards the town and the other towards the country. The interior was occupied by the troops left on guard, half of which consisted of Boeotians and the other half of Peloponnesians. In this manner the Plataeans endured a blockade of two years, during which the Athenians attempted nothing for their relief. In the second year, however, about half the gar rison effected their escape in the following bold and successful manner Provisions were beginning to run short, and the Platcan commander exhorted the garrison to scale the wall by which they were blockaded. Only 212 men, however, were found bold enough to attempt this hazardous feat. Choosing a wet and stormy December night, they issued from their gates, lightly armed and carrying with them ladders accurately adapted to the height of the wall. These were fixed against it in the space between two towers occupied by the guard, and the first company, having mounted, slew, without creating alarm, the sentinels on duty. Already a great part of the Plataeans had gained the summit, when the noise of a tile loosened by one of the party, and falling down, betrayed what was passing. The whole guard immediately turned out, but in the darkness and confusion knew not whither to direct their blows, whilst the lighted torches which they carried rendered them a conspicuous aim for the arrows and javelins of those Plataeans who had gained the other side of the walls. In this manner the little band succeeded in effecting their escape, with the exception of one man who was captured, and of a few who lost their courage and returned to Plataea. ~ 11. But though the provisions of the garrison were husbanded by this diminution in their number, all the means of subsistence were at length exhausted, and starvation began to stare them in the face. The Lacedaemonian commander had long been in a condition to take the town by storm, but he had been directed by express orders from home to reduce it to a voluntary capitulation, in order that, at the conclusion of a peace, Sparta might not be forced to give it up, as she would be in case of a forcible capture. Knowing the distressed state of the garrison, the Lacedamonians sent in a herald with a summons to surrender and submit themselves to their disposal, at the same time promising that only the guilty should be punished. The besieged had no alternative, and submitted. This took place in B. c. 427, after the blockade had lasted two years. 276 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVI. The whole garrison, consisting of 200 Plataeans and 25 Athenians, were now arraigned before five judges sent from Sparta. Their indictment was framed in a way which precluded the possibility of escape. They were simply asked, "Whether during the present war they had rendered any assistance to the Lacedwemonians or their allies?" So preposterous a question at once revealed to the prisoners that they could expect neither justice nor mercy. Nevertheless, they asked and obtained permission to plead their cause. Their orators, by recalling the services which Platea had rendered to Greece in general in the Persian war, and to Sparta in particular, by aiding to suppress the revolt of the Helots, seemed to have produced such an impression on their judges that the Thebans present found it necessary to reply. Their speech does not appear to have contained any very cogent arguments, but it was successful. The Plateans were mercilessly sacrificed for reasons of state policy. Each man, including the twenty-five Athenians, was called up separately before the judgmentseat, and the same question having been put to him, and of course answered in the negative, he was immediately led away to execution. The town of Platoea, together with its territory, was transferred to the Thebans, who, a few months afterwards, levelled all the private houses to the ground, and with the materials erected a sort of vast barrack around the Herveum, or temple of Hera, both for the accommodation of visitors, and to serve as an abode for those to whom they let out the land. Thus was Plataea blotted out from the map of Greece. B. C. 429.] PELOPONNESIAN WAR CONTINUED. 277 Statue of Theseus, from the Pediment of the Parthenon, in the British Museum. CHAPTER XXVII. PELOPONNESIAN WAR CONTINUED. -FROM THE SIEGE OF PLATiEA TO THE SEDITION AT CORCYRA. 1~. General Character of the War. ~ 2. Military and Naval Operations of the Third Year. Attempt of Peloponnesians to surprise Peiraus. ~ 3. Fourth Year. Revolt of Mytilend. ~ 4. Fifth Year. Surrender of Mytilend. ~ 5. Debates of the Athenian Assembly respecting the Mytilennaans. Cleon and the Athenian Demagogues. ~ 6. Bloody Decree against the Mytilennans. ~ 7. Second Debate. Reversal of the Decree. Lesbos colonized by Athenians. ~ 8. Civil Dissensions at Corcyra. ~ 9. Picture of the Times by Thucydides. ~ 1. In recording the fall of Plat-ea, we have anticipated the order of chronology. The investment of that town formed, as \we have related, the first incident in the third year of the Peloponnesian war. The subsequent operations of that war down to the eleventh year of it, or the year B. C. 421, - when a short and hollow peace, or rather truce, called the peace of Nicias, was patched up between the Lacedaemonians and Athenians, - were not of a decisive character. There was, indeed, much mutual injury inflicted, but none of those great events which bring a war to a close by disabling either one or both parties from continuing it. The towns captured were, moreover, restored at the peace; by which, consequently, Athens and Sparta were placed much in the same state as when the war broke out. It would be tedious to detail at length all the little engagements which occurred, 278 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVII. and which the reader could with difficulty remember; and we shall therefore content ourselves with a sketch of the more important events, especially those which display the general character of the period, the actions of the more remarkable men who. flourished in it, and the motives, views, and dispositions of the contending parties. ~ 2. Except the siege of Plataea, the operations by land in the third year of the war were unimportant. The Athenians failed in an attempt to reduce the town of Spartolus in Chalcidice; nor were the efforts of their new ally, Sitalces, more successful in that quarter. According to the ancient myth of Tereus, Sitalces considered himself a kinsman of the Athenians; but some well-applied bribes were probably a more effacious inducement for him to undertake the reduction of Chalcidice, and the dethronement of Perdiccas, king of Macedonia. The sway of Sitalces over the barbarous tribes of Thrace was very extensive. He was able to collect an army estimated at 150,000 men, one third of which was cavalry. With this multitudinous, but wild and disorderly host, he penetrated far into the dominions of Perdiccas, and compelled the Macedonians, who did not venture to meet him in the open field, to shut themselves up in their fortresses. He also detached a force to reduce the Chalcidians and Bottiaans. But his expedition was undertaken at too late a period of the year, seemingly about the end of November, or beginning of December; and as the winter proved very severe, and the Athenians neglected to send any armament to his assistance, Sitalces was compelled to relinquish his conquests after a campaign, or rather foray, of thirty days. In the same year the naval superiority of the Athenians was strikingly exhibited by the victories of Phormio in the Corinthian Gulf. The Lacedaemonians had planned an expedition against Acarnania, and had sent a fleet of forty-seven sail, under the command of Cnemus, to carry this project into effect. Phormio was stationed at Naupactus with only twenty Athenian ships; but notwithstanding his numerical inferiority, he gained a brilliant victory over the Peloponnesian fleet. But this was not all. The Spartans lost no time in collecting another fleet, amounting to seventyseven sail. Meantime Phormio had received no reinforcements; but such was his confidence in the skill of his seamen, that he ventured to meet even these overpowering numbers, and though this victory was not so decisive as the previous one, the Peloponnesians relinquished all further operations and sailed back to Corinth. The Peloponnesian commanders tried to compensate for these losses by surprising the harbor of Peirasus, which was unprotected by a guard, or even by a chain. Having marched overland from Corinth to the Megarian port of Nisea, they embarked their men in forty old triremes, which, however, were in a sufficient state of repair for so short an expedition. But either their courage failed them at the very moment of executing their project, or else, as they gave out, the wind proved adverse. Instead of attempting Peiraeus, they proceeded to B. C. 428.] REVOLT OF MYTILENE. 279 the opposite island of Salamis. Here they landed in the night, captured three guard-ships, ravaged the island, and succeeded in retreating with their booty before the alarmed and enraged Athenians could come up with them. The Athenians, however, took warning from this insult, and were more careful in future in guarding their harbors. ~ 3. The fourth year of the war (B. c. 428) was marked by the usual invasion of Attica on the part of the Peloponnesians. It was accompanied by the alarming news of the revolt of Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos, and of the greater part of that island. This revolt had been long meditated; but though the Athenians had before received some intimation of it, their reduced condition fiom the war and from the plague had prevented them from taking any measures to arrest it. An embassy which they now sent to the Mytilenmeans, to persuade them to remain in their duty, having failed, the Athenian commander, Cleippides, who was on the point of sailing to the Peloponnesus with a fleet of forty triremes, was ordered to proceed directly to Mytilene. It was one of the disadvantages of the Athenian constitution, so far at least as the foreign relations of Athens were concerned, that the executive power lay with the people, and that thus, all their debates and resolutions being public, it was impossible to keep them concealed from those who were the subjects of them. The MytilenTeans, having received information of the intended expedition through a spy, postponed the festival of Apollo, during which the Athenians had expected to surprise them, and made every preparation to receive the hostile fleet. But being still inferior in strength, they pretended to enter into negotiations with Cleippides, who fell into the snare; and in the mean time secretly despatched envoys to Sparta to implore immediate assistance. The embassy which the Mytilenmans had sent to Athens with the ostensible purpose of negotiating, having, as might be expected, failed, Cleippides, who had been reinforced by several vessels from the allied islands, as well as by one thousand Athenian hoplites under Paches, commenced hostilities, and by the beginning of October succeeded in blockading MAytilene both by sea and land. The Mytilenean envoys despatched to Sparta arrived during the celebration of the Olympic festival, where most of the members of the Peloponnesian alliance were present. After the festival was concluded they set forth the grounds of their complaints against Athens, which were chiefly two; namely, their fear of being reduced to the condition of the other subject allies of Athens, and their repugnance to assist that state in her ambitious policy, which was generally offensive to the states of Greece. Their application was of course favorably received by their Peloponnesian auditors. They were promised assistance, and were formally received into the Peloponnesian alliance. Not only was a second invasion of Attica ordered, but it was also proposed to transport on trucks, across the isthmus, from the harbor of Lecheum into the Saronic Gulf, the ships which had fought against Phormio, and to employ them against Athens. 280 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVII. A very general impression seems at this time to have prevailed among the allies, that the plague and war combined had nearly exhausted the resources of the Athenians. Nor was this opinion altogether without foundation. The fund which they possessed at the beginning of the war was now exhausted, with the exception of the reserve of one thousand talents put by to meet a naval invasion. The numbers of their soldiers, and especially of their able seamen, had also no doubt been considerably reduced by the war and pestilence. But there were still ample means, and above all an indomitable spirit, among the Athenians, to supply the deficiencies thus created. A higher class both of citizens and metics than those who had hitherto engaged in the naval service was ordered on board the fleet, from which duty only the two highest classes, namely, the Pentacosiomedimni, and the Hippeis, or Knights, were now exempted. And in order to replenish the public treasury the Athenians were for the first time subjected to a direct contribution or income tax, by which a sum of two hundred talents was raised. By these efforts the Athenians manned a fleet of one hundred triremes, which suddenly and unexpectedly appeared off the isthmus, and made descents at various points. At the same time the Lacedcemonians assembled there were surprised by the news that another Athenian fleet of thirty triremes, which had been previously despatched under Asopius, the son of Phormio, was committing devastations on the coast of Laconia. These energetic proceedings arrested the projected enterprise of the Lacedaemonians, especially as their allies were engaged in gathering the harvest, and had therefore assembled only in small numbers. Accordingly they returned home, and contented themselves with preparing a fleet of forty triremes for the relief of Mytilene. ~ 4. This armament, however, could not be got ready till the spring of the following year (B. c. 427). Meanwhile Salmethus, a Lacedaemonian envoy, proceeded to Lesbos, and, having contrived to enter Mytilene, encouraged the citizens to hold out till the arrival of the promised succors. In the course of April the Peloponnesian fleet, consisting of fortytwo triremes under Alcidas, actually sailed, and at the same time, in order to create a diversion, the allied army again invaded Attica. But week after week passed away, and Alcidas did not appear before Mytilene. The provisions of the town were exhausted, the populace was growing impatient, and even Saltthus himself began to despair of the arrival of the fleet. It was therefore resolved, as a last desperate expedient, to make a sally, and endeavor to raise the blockade. With this view even the men of the lower classes were armed with the full armor of the hoplites. But this step produced a very different result from what * The TEroTLKOL, metics, were resident aliens, of whom a large number were found at Athens, on account of the liberal treatment extended to strangers in that city.-ED. B. C. 427.] CLEON. 281 Salsethus had expected or intended. The great mass of the Mytilenaeans were not adverse to the Athenian dominion; but they regarded their own oligarchical government with suspicion, accused it of starving the citizens whilst it possessed stores of concealed provisions for the use of the higher classes; and being now strengthened by the arms which had been distributed to them, threatened that, unless their demands were complied ~with, they would surrender the city to the Athenians. In this desperate emergency the Mytilenoean government perceived that their only chance of safety lay in anticipating the people in this step. They accordingly opened a negotiation with Paches, and a capitulation was agreed upon by which the city was to be surrendered, and the fate of its inhabitants to be decided by the Athenian Assembly. It was stipulated, however, that they were to be permitted to send envoys to Athens to plead their cause; and Paches engaged that meanwhile nobody should be imprisoned or sold into slavery. When Paches entered the city, those Mytilenaeans who had been the chief instigators of the revolt took refuge at the altars; but he induced them by his assurances to quit their places of refuge, and placed them in Tenedos. Scarcely had this capitulation been concluded, when, to the surprise of the Mytilenmeans, the Peloponnesian fleet appeared off the coast of Ionia. Alcidas, overawed by the maritime reputation of Athens, had neglected to discharge his duty with the energy required by the crisis; and, finding that he had arrived too late to save Mytilene, he sailed back to Peloponnesus, without attempting anything further. ~ 5. Paches, being now undisputed master of Lesbos, despatched to Athens those Mytilenmeans who had been deposited at Tenedos, together with others implicated in the late revolt, and likewise Salethus, the Lacedoemonian envoy, who had been detected in a place of concealment in the city. The Athenians assembled to decide on the fate of these prisoners, amounting in number to more than a thousand. Salhethus was at once put to death. The disposal of the other prisoners caused some debate., It was on this occasion that the demagogue Cleon, whom we have already noticed as an opponent of Pericles, first comes prominently forwards in Athenian affairs. The effects of the extensive commerce of Athens, ande more particularly of the political changes introduced by Pericles, were now beginning to show themselves. Down to the time of that statesman, the democracy of Athens had been governed by aristocratic leaders alone. The personal qualities of Pericles, in spite of the growing feeling of democracy, secured his ascendency in the assembly; but even during his lifetime men of a much lower rank than those who had formerly pretended to govern the people were beginning to step forward, and to claim a share of power. Such were Eucrates, the rope-maker, Lysicles, the sheepdealer, and Hyperbolus, the lamp-maker. The humblest mechanic, if an Athenian citizen, was at liberty to address the assembly; there was 36 282 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVII. nothing to prevent him but disfranchisement for debt or crime. If he succeeded, his fortune was made; for the influence thus acquired might be converted, in various, but not over-reputable ways, into a source of profit. Success, however, demanded some peculiar qualifications. An Athenian audience was somewhat fastidious; but more especially the vastness of their assemblies, and the noise and clamor with which they frequently abounded, demanded not only a considerable share of nerve, but also physical powers, especially a loud voice, which are not always found combined with the higher mental requisites of an orator. Hence those who possessed even a moderate share of ability, if endowed with audacity and a stentorian voice, stood a much better chance in the assembly than men of far higher talent, but deficient in those indispensable qualifications. If we may trust the picture drawn by Aristophanes, Cleon, the leatherseller, was a perfect model of that new class of low-born orators just alluded to; a noisy brawler, loud in his criminations, insolent in his gestures, corrupt and venal in his principles; extorting money by threats of accusations, a persecutor of rank and merit, a base flatterer and sycophant of the populace. In this portrait much allowance must no doubt be made, not only for comic license and exaggeration, but also for party feeling and personal pique. Aristophanes was on the aristocratic side in politics, and was moreover engaged in a private quarrel with Cleon, caused by the latter having complained to the Senate of his comedy of the Babylonians. Thucydides, indeed, in his account of Cleon, goes very far to confirm the description of Aristophanes. But here too we must be somewhat on our guard respecting the testimony of an historian otherwise remarkable for his impartiality; for it was to Cleon that Thucydides owed his banishment. Still, after making all due allowance for the operation of these causes, we cannot refrain from thinking that the character of Cleon conveyed to us by these two writers is, in its main features, correct. Even a caricature must have some grounds of truth for its basis; nor would Aristophanes, out of mere regard for his poetical reputation, have ventured to produce before an Athenian audience a character of their well-known demagogue so unlike the truth as not to be easily recognized. The actions of Cleon, which are undisputed, show him cruel and cowardly; characteristics which may lead us to infer any degree of baseness in a man. Along with his.impudence and other bad qualities he must, however, no doubt have possessed a certain share of ability, sincej at the period of which we are now -speaking, he possessed more influence than any other orator in the Athe-'nian Assembly. It was he who took the lead in the debate respecting the'disposal of the Mytilenmeans, and made the savage and horrible proposal to put to death not only the prisoners who had been sent to Athens, but the whole male population of Mytilene of military age, - including therefore those who had not participated in, or were even opposed to, the revolt, - and to sell the women and children into slavery. This motion B. C. 427 DECREE AGAINST THE MYTILENEANS. 283 he succeeded in carrying, notwithstanding the opposition of Diodotus and others; and in order seemingly that no room might be left for cooler reflection, a trireme was immediately despatched to Mytilene, conveying orders to Paches to put the bloody decree into execution. ~ 6. The barbarous laws of ancient warfare justified atrocities which in modern times would be regarded with horror and detestation; and we have already described the Lacedaemonians as exercising those laws with the most revolting severity in the case of the garrison of Platea; -an event, however, which took place a little after the time of which we are now speaking. The conduct of the Lacedemonians on that occasion admits of no excuse. But this decree of the Athenians was infinitely worse, not only on account of the much greater number of persons whom it devoted to death, but also and principally because it made no discrimination between the innocent and the guilty. One night's reflection convinced the better part of the Athenians of the enormity which they had sanctioned. Ordinary experience shows that bodies of men will perpetrate acts which the individuals composing them would shrink from with horror: and this tendency was one of the worst evils springing from the multitudinous and purely democratical composition of the Athenian assemblies. On the morrow so general a feeling prevailed of the horrible injustice that had been committed, that the Strategi acceded to the prayer of the Mytilenaean envoys, and called a fresh assembly; though by so doing they committed an illegal act and exposed themselves to impeachment. ~ 7. Cleon, however, had not changed his opinion. In the second assembly he repeated his arguments against the Mytilenans, and clamored for what he called "justice" against them. He denounced the folly and mischief of reversing on one day what had been done on the preceding; and, though himself the very type and model of a demagogue, had the impudence to characterize his opponents as guilty and ambitious orators, who sacrified the good of the republic either to their interests or their vanity! His opponent, Diodotus, very wisely abstained from appealing to the humanity of an assembly which had passed the decree of the previous day. He confined himself entirely to the policy of the question, and concluded by recommending that the Mytilenaans already in custody should be put upon their trial, but that the remainder of the population should be spared. This amendment having been carried by a small majority, a second trireme was immediately despatched to Mytilene, with orders to Paches to arrest the execution. The utmost diligence was need.fil. The former trireme had a start of four-and-twenty hours, and nothing but exertions almost superhuman would enable the second to reach Mytilene early enough to avert the tragical catastrophe. The oarsmen were allowed by turns only short intervals of rest, and took their food, consisting of barley-meal steeped in wine and oil, as they sat at the oar. Happily 284 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVII. the weather proved favorable; and the crew, who had been promised large rewards in case they arrived in time, exerted themselves to deliver the reprieve, whilst the crew of the preceding vessel had conveyed the order for execution with slowness and reluctance. Yet even so the countermand came only just in time. The mandate was already in the hands of Paches, who was taking measures for its execution. With regard to the prisoners at Athens, the motion of Cleon to put them to death was carried, and they were slain to the number of more than a thousand. The fortifications of Mytilene were razed, and her fleet delivered up to the Athenians. The whole island, with the exception of Methymna, which had remained faithful, was divided into three thousand lots, three hundred of which were set apart for the gods, and the remainder assigned to Athenian cleruchs. The fate of Paches, the Athenian commander at Mytilene, must not be passed over in silence. On his return to Athens, he was arraigned before the dicastery for the dishonor of two Mytilengean women, whose husbands he had slain; and such was the feeling of indignation excited by this case among the susceptible Athenians, that Paches, without waiting for his sentence, killed himself with his sword in open court. ~ 8. The fate of the Platreans and 3Mytilenveans affords a fearful illustration of the manners of the age; but these horrors soon found a parallel in Corcyra. It has been already related, that, after the sea-fight off that island, the Corinthians carried home many of the principal Corcyreans as prisoners. These men were treated with the greatest indulgence; and while Mytilene was under blockade, were sent back to Corcyra, nominally under the heavy ransom of eight hundred talents, but in reality with the view of withdrawing the island from the Athenian alliance. Being joined by the rest of the oligarchical citizens on their return, they assassinated the leaders of the democratical party in the senate-house, and then carried a resolution in the assembly of the people, that the Corcyraeans should for the future observe a strict neutrality between the contending parties. But they did not stop here. They determined on putting down the democratical party by force, and with this view seized the principal harbor, together with the arsenal and market-place. The people, however, got possession of the higher parts of the town, together with the Acropolis; and having been reinforced by slaves from the interior, whom they promised to emancipate, they renewed the combat on the following day. The oligarchs, driven to extremity, adopted the desperate expedient of setting fire to the town, and thus destroyed a great deal of property near the docks; but an adverse wind fortunately prevented it from extending to the remainder of the city. The Athenians had been informed of the state of things at Corcyra, and at this juncture an Athenian squadron of twelve triremes, under the command of Nicostratus, arrived from Naupactus. Nicostratus behaved with B. C. 427.] REVOLUTIONS XT CORCYRA. 285 great moderation, and did his best to restore peace between the parties. He had apparently succeeded in this object, when the position of affairs was suddenly changed by the arrival of a Peloponnesian fleet of fifty-three galleys under the command of Alcidas. Nicostratus succeeded, by skilful manoeuvres, in keeping the enemy at bay with his small fleet, but was obliged at last to retreat, which he did in good order, and without losing any of his vessels. Alcidas, however, with hsl usual slowness, neglected to make use of the opportunity, and attack the capital at once, though Brasidas strongly advised him to do so. He lost a day in ravaging the country, and in the following night fire-signals upon the island of Leucas telegraphed the approach of an Athenian fleet of sixty triremes under Eurymedon. Alcidas now only thought of making his escape, which he effected before daybreak, leaving the Corcyraean oligarchs to their fate. Another vicissitude thus rendered the popular party in Corcyra again triumphant. The vengeance which they took on their opponents was fearful. The most sacred sanctuaries afforded no protection; the nearest ties of blood and kindred were sacrificed to civil hatred. In one case a father slew even his own son. These scenes of horror lasted for seven days, during which death in every conceivable form was busily at work. Yet the Athenian admiral did not once interpose to put a stop to these atrocities. About five hundred of the oligarchical party, however, effected their escape, and fortified themselves on Mount Istone, not far from the capital. ~ 9. Thucydides, in drawing this bloody picture of domestic dissensions, traces the causes of it to the war. In peace and prosperity, when men are not overmastered by an irresistible necessity, the feelings both of states and individuals are mild and humane. But a war under the auspices of Sparta and Athens - one the representative of the aristocratic, the other of the democratic principle -became a war of opinion, and embittered the feelings of political parties, by offering to each the means and opportunity of enforcing its views through an alliance with one or the other of the two leading cities. The example of Corcyra was soon followed in other Hellenic states. Not only were the dispositions of men altered by these causes, but even the very names of things were changed. Daring rashness was honored with the name of bravery, whilst considerate delay was denounced as the mere pretext of timidity. Wisdom was regarded as equivalent to cowardice, and the weighing of everything as a pretence for attempting nothing. The simplicity which generally characterizes virtue was ridiculed as dulness. and stupidity; whilst he was regarded as the cleverest who excelled in cunning and treachery, and especially if he employed his arts to the destruction of his nearest, and therefore unsuspecting, friends and relatives.* X It will be worth while to give the substance of this remarkable description, in a literal translation of the words of Thucydides. The profound wisdom of the passage is of univer 286 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVIII. sal application; but nowhere so directly applicable as to a confederated r.epublic, like the United States of America. "Afterwards the whole Hellenic world was thrown into commotion. The leaders of the popular party called in the Athenians, the oligarchical party, the Lacedsemonians, feuds existing everywhere. In peace I hey would have had no pretext or preparation for summoning them; but being at war, and each party forming an alliance for the damage of their antagonists, and their own security, occasions of invoking foreign aid were easily furnished to those who aimed to effect political changes. And many heavy calamities befell the states through these feuds, which happen and always will happen so long as the nature of man remains the same: greater, or milder, and varying in their aspects, as variations of condition in each case arise. For in peace and prosperity both communities and individuals are better disposed, because they are not driven to intolerable necessities. But war, withdrawing the supplies of daily life, is a hard teacher, and subdues the passions of the many to the quality of present circumstances. Discord then reigned throughout the states..... And they changed the customary meaning of words applied to things, according to the caprices of the moment; for reckless audacity was considered manly fidelity to party; prudent delay, fair-seeming cowardice; moderation, the screen for feebleness. Headlong frensy was set down on the side of manhood. The unrelenting was trusted; whoever argued against him was suspected. He who plotted, if successful, was thought sagacious; who counterplotted, still abler. He who forecasted the means, whereby he should not need these resorts, was charged with ruining the party and fearing their opponents. In a word, he was applauded who got the start of another when intending to do an injury, and who induced one to do a wrong, that had no thought of doing it himself. And what was worse, kin became more alien than party, because party was prompter for unscrupulous daring. For such combinations aim not for the benefit of the established institutions, but in their grasping spirit run counter to the lawful authorities. Their pledges to one another were sanctioned, not by divine law, but by their having together violated law. The cause of this state of things was the lust of power, for purposes of rapacity and ambition, and the hot temper of those who were engaged in the conflict. Thus neither party held to sacred honor; but those were more highly spoken of who, under cover of plausible pretences, succeeded in effecting some purpose of hatred. The citizens who stood between the extremes, and belonged to neither, both parties endeavored to destroy. So every species of wickedness became established by these feuds over the Hellenic world. Simplicity of character, wherein nobleness of nature most largely shares, being scoffed at, disappeared; and mutual opposition of feeling, with universal distrust, prevailed. For there was neither binding word nor fearful oath to compose the strife. And for the most part, those who were meaner in understanding were the more successful; for fearing their own deficiency, and the ability of their adversaries, apprehensive that they should be worsted in argument and eloquence, and outwitted by the intellectual adroitness on the other side, they went audaciously on to deeds of violence; but their opponents, contemptuous in the presumption of foreknowledge, and not feeling the need of securing by action what could be compassed by genius, the more easily perished undefended." -ED. B. C. 426.1 SIXTH YEAR OF THE WAR. 287 From the Frieze of the Parthenon. Panathenaic Procession. CHAPTER XXVIII. PELOPONNESIAN WAR CONTINUED. -FROM THE SEDITION AT CORCYRA TO THE PEACE OF NICIAS. ~ 1. Sixth Year of the War. Return'of the Plague. Purification of Delos. ~ 2. Seventh Year. Fortification of Pylos. ~ 3. Attempts of the Lacedcemonians to-recovee —Pylos. ~ 4. Arrival and Victory of the Athenian Fleet. Blockade of Sphacteria. ~ 5. The Lacedsemonians sue for Peace at Athens. Extravagant Demands of Cleon. ~ 6. Renewal of Hostilities. ~ 7. Debates in the Assembly. Cleon elected General. ~ 8. Capture ot Sphacteria. ~ 9. Advantages of the Victory. ~ 10. Proceedings at Corcyra. Slaughter of the Oligarchs ~. ~ 1. Eighth Year of the War. Capture of Cythera. ~ 12. Invasion of the Megarid and Boeotia by the Athenians. Capture of Nisaa, the Port of Megara. Defeat of the Athenians at the Battle of Delium. ~ 13. Brasidas in Thrace. Takes Anmphipolis. Banishment of Thucydides. ~ 14. Ninth Year of the War. A Truce between Sparta and Athens. The War continued in Thrace. ~ 15. Tenth Year of the War. Cleon proceeds to Amlphipolis. His Defeat and Death. Death of Brasidas. ~ 16. Eleventh Year of the War. Fifty Years' Peace between Athens and Sparta. ~ 1. THE beginning of the sixth year of the war (B. c. 426) was marked by natural calamities which seemed to present a counterpart to the moral disturbances which were agitating Greece. Floods and earthquakes of unusual violence and frequency occurred in various parts; and the La;cedmmonians, alarmed at these portents, abstained from their intended invasion of Attica. The military operations of the Athenians were unimportant. The plague, which had reappeared at Athens towards the close of the preceding year, was now making fearful ravages. This scourge was attributed to the anger of Apollo; and in order, as it seems, to propitiate that deity, a complete purification of Delos was performed in the autumn. All the bodies interred there were exhumed and reburied in the neighboring island of Rhenea; whilst for the future it was ordered that no deaths or births should be suffered to take place on the sacred 288 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVIII. island. At the same time the celebration of the Delian festival, to be renewed every fourth year, was revived with extraordinary splendor; and thus in some measure compensated the Athenians for their exclusion, through the war, from the Olympic and Pythian games. ~ 2. In the seventh year of the war (B. C. 425) the Lacedemonian army under Agis, after a stay of only fifteen days in the Attic territory, was recalled by the news that the Athenians had established a military post at Pylos in Messenia. In consequence of circumstances to which we shall have occasion to allude hereafter, the Athenians had sent a fleet of forty ships to Sicily, under the command of Eurymedon and Sophocles; but on their way thither these officers were directed to stop at Corcyra, and to assist the people against the oligarchs, who, as already related, had fortified themselves at Mount Istone, and were annoying the capital. Demosthenes, who had acquired great glory by a campaign against the Ambracians, had also embarked in the same fleet, with a kind of roving commission to make descents on the Peloponnesian coasts. Pylos, on the modern bay of Navarino, struck him as an eligible spot on which to establish some of the Messenians from Naupactus, since it was a strong position, from which they might annoy the Lacedemonians, and excite revolt among their Helot kinsmen. As the Peloponnesian fleet, however, was announced to have arrived at Corcyra, Eurymedon and Sophocles were averse to the delay which the scheme of Demosthenes would occasion. But an accident caused its accomplishment. The fleet had scarcely passed Pylos, when it was driven back to that spot by a violent storm; and as the bad weather continued for some time, the soldiers on board amused themselves, under the directions of Demosthenes, in constructing a sort of rude fortification. The nature of the ground was favorable for the work, and in five or six days a wall was thrown up sufficient for the purposes of defence. Demosthenes undertook to garrison the place. Five ships and two hundred Hoplites were left behind with him; and, being afterwards joined by some Messenian privateers, he appears altogether to have possessed a force of about one thousand men. ~ 3. This insult to the Lacedmemonian territory caused great alarm and indignation at Sparta. The Peloponnesian fleet, under Thrasymelidas, was ordered from Corcyra to Pylos; and at the same time Agis evacuated Attica, and marched towards the same place. So vast a force, both naval and military, seemed to threaten destruction to the little garrison. Thrasymelidas, on arriving with the fleet, immediately occupied the small uninhabited and densely wooded island of Sphacteria, which, with the exception of two narrow channels on the north and south, almost blocked up the entrance of the bay. Between the island and the mainland was a spacious basin, in which Thrasymelidas stationed his ships. It was on this side that Demosthenes anticipated the most dangerous attack. The Lacedclmonians were notoriously unskilful in besieging walls, B.C. 425.] LACEDEMONIANS ATTACK PYLOS. 289 and on the land side a few imperfectly armed troops would suffice to keep their whole army at bay. But towards the sea was a small open space which remained unfortified. Here, therefore Demosthenes, after hauling his three remaining triremes ashore, - for on the approach of the enemy he had despatched two to Eurymedon, to solicit assistance, - took post himself, with sixty chosen hoplites. The assault from the sea was led by Brasidas, one of the bravest and most distinguished commanders that Sparta ever produced. The narrowness of the landing-place admitted only a few triremes to approach at once. Brasidas stood on the prow of the foremost, animating his men by his words and gestures; but he was soon disabled by numerous wounds, and fell backwards into his vessel, fainting with loss of blood. After repeated attempts on this and the following day, the Lacedaemonians were unable to effect a landing; whilst the Athenians considered their success decisive enough to justify the erection of a trophy, the chief ornament of which was the shield of Brasidas, which had dropped into the water. _. M J. ~'-.Bay of Pylos. A. Island of Sphacteria. B. Pylos. C. The modern Navarino. D D. Bay of Pylos. E. Promontory of Coryphasium. ~ 4. Whilst the Lacedaemonians were preparing for another assault, they were surprised by the appearance of the Athenian fleet. They had 37 290 HISTORY OF GREECE. I CHAP. XXVIII. strangely neglected to secure the entrances into the bay: and although the Athenian admiral spent the first day in reconnoitring, they were still either so inconceivably slow, or so paralyzed by surprise and terror, that, when on the morrow the Athenian ships came sailing through both the undefended channels, many of their triremes were still moored, and part of their crews ashore. The battle which ensued was desperate. Both sides fought with extraordinary valor; but victory at length declared for the Athenians. Five Peloponnesian ships were captured; the rest were saved only by running them ashore, where they were protected by the Lacedaemonian army. The Athenians, thus masters of the sea, were enabled to blockade the island of Sphacteria, in which the flower of the Lacedmemonian army was shut up, many of them native Spartans of the highest families. In so grave an emergency messengers were sent to Sparta for advice. The Ephors themselves immediately repaired to the spot; and so desponding was their view of the matter, that they saw no issue from it but a peace. They therefore proposed and obtained an armistice for the purpose of opening negotiations at Athens. They agreed to surrender their whole fleet, and to abstain from all attacks upon Pylos till the return of the envoys, when their ships were to be restored. Meanwhile, the Athenians were to continue the blockade of Sphacteria, but not to commit any acts of hostility against it; whilst the Lacedamonians were to be allowed to supply the besieged with provisions enough for their subsistence during the armistice. ~ 5. Great was the sensation excited at Athens by beholding the pride of Sparta thus humbled and her envoys suing for peace. Cleon availed himself of the elation of the moment to insist on extravagant demands. Nothing less would satisfy him than the restoration of those places which Athens had ceded fourteen years before, when the thirty years' truce was concluded; namely, Nisea, Pegae, Troezen, and Achaia; and his influence in the assembly induced it to adopt his views. The Lacedaemonian envoys, perceiving that nothing could be hoped from the assembly, proposed a private negotiation with a few chosen individuals. But Cleon would not hear of this arrangement, and when the envoys attempted to remonstrate, he completely bullied and silenced them by his violence, and caused them to be sent back to Pylos, as they had come, in an Athenian trireme. ~ 6. When the envoys returned, the Lacedmmonians demanded the restoration of their fleet, according to agreement; but Eurymedon refused to comply, under the, apparently, false pretext that the Lacedemonians had violated the armistice by an attempt to surprise Pylos. Hostilities were now resumed, but without any decisive result. The blockade of Sphacteria began to grow tedious and harassing. The force upon it continually received supplies of provisions, either from swimmers, who B. C. 425.] CLEON ELECTED GENERAL. 291 towed skins filled with linseed and poppy-seed mixed with honey, or from Helots, who, induced by the promise of emancipation and large rewards, eluded the blockading squadron during dark and stormy nights, and landed cargoes on the back of the island. The summer, moreover, was fast wearing away, and the storms of winter might probably necessitate the raising of the blockade altogether. Under these circumstances, Demosthenes began to contemplate a descent upon the island; with which view he collected reinforcements from Zacynthus and Naupactus, and also sent a message to Athens to explain the unfavorable state of the blockade, and to request further assistance. ~ 7. These tidings were very distasteful to the Athenians, who had looked upon Sphacteria as their certain prey. They began to regret having let slip the favorable opportunity for making a peace, and to vent their displeasure upon Cleon, the director of their conduct on that occasion. But Cleon put on a face of brass. He charged the messengers from Pylos with having misrepresented the facts of the case; and when that position proved untenable, began to abuse the strategi. His political opponent, Nicias, was then one of those officers, a man of quiet disposition and moderate abilities, but - a peculiar distinction in those days - thoroughly honest and incorruptible, pure in his morals and sincerely religious. Him Cleon now singled out for his vituperation, and, pointing at him with his finger, exclaimed, "It would be easy enough to take the island if our generals were men. If Iwere Strategus, I would do it at once 1" This burst of the tanner made the assembly laugh. He was saluted with cries of "Why don't you go then?" and Nicias, thinking probably to catch his opponent in his own trap, seconded the voice of the assembly, by offering to place at his disposal whatever force he might deem necessary for the enterprise. Cleon at first endeavored to avoid the dangerous honor thus thrust upon him. But the more he drew back, the louder were the assembly in calling upon him to accept the office; and as Nicias seriously repeated his proposition, he adopted with a good grace what there was no longer any possibility of evading. Nay, he even declined the assistance of the regular Athenian hoplites, and engaged, with some heavyarmed Lemnian and Imbrian troops, together with some Thracian peltasts and four hundred bowmen, in addition to the soldiers already at Pylos, to take Sphacteria within twenty days, and either kill all the Lacedaemonians upon it, or bring them prisoners to Athens. ~ 8. Never did general set out upon.an enterprise under circumstances more singular; but, what was still more extraordinary, fortune enabled him to make his promise good. In fact, as we have seen, Demosthenes had already resolved on attacking the island. Cleon procured that general to be named his second in command, and thus stepped in, with a nominal authority, to intercept the honors which were in reality due to another. On the other hand, Nicias is not free from blame on this occasion. He 292 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVIII. seems to have given the command to Cleon, whom he deemed totally incompetent for it, merely with the view of ruining a political opponent, and to have left the interests of Athens wholly out of sight.* When Cleon arrived at Pylos he found everything prepared for the attack. Accident favored the enterprise. A fire kindled by some Athenian sailors, who had landed for the purpose of cooking their dinner, caught and destroyed the woods with which the island was overgrown, and thus deprived the Lacedaemonians of one of their principal defences. Nevertheless, such was the awe inspired by the reputation of the Spartan arms, that Demosthenes considered it necessary to land about 10,000 soldiers of different descriptions, among whom were 800 Athenian hoplites, although the Lacedaemonian force consisted of only about 420 men. Their commander, Epitadas, was posted with the main body in the centre of the island. An outpost of thirty hoplites defended the extremity farthest from Pylos. The end of the island facing that place, steep and rugged by nature, was rendered still stronger by a circuit of rude stones, of ancient and unknown origin, which answered the purpose of a fort. The Athenians, having landed before daybreak, surprised and cut to pieces the advanced guard of thirty hoplites. Then Demosthenes, having divided his light-armed troops into bodies of about 200 men each, which were to hover round and annoy the enemy, drew up his 800 hoplites in battle array near the spot where he had landed. Epitadas had therefore to advance against him with his main body, about 360 in number, over ground obstructed by the ashes and stumps of the burnt wood, and amidst a shower of missiles from the light troops on his flanks and rear. At length, distressed by a species of warfare which he had no means of repelling, and almost blinded by the dust and ashes, Epitadas ordered his men to retreat to the stone fort at the extremity of the island, whither they were followed by the Athenian hoplites. Here, however, having the advantage of the ground, and being able to use their spears and swords in close combat, the Lacedaemonians for a long while kept their assailants at bay; till some Messenians, stealing round by the sea-shore, over crags and cliffs which the Lacedemonians had deemed impracticable, suddenly appeared on the high ground which overhung their rear. They now began to give way, and would soon have been all slain; but Cleon and Demosthenes, being anxious to carry them prisoners to Athens, called off their men from the pursuit, and sent a herald to summon the Laeedemonians to surrender. The latter, in token of compliance, dropped their shields and waved their hands above their heads. They requested, however, permission to communicate with their countrymen on the mainland; who, after two or * It is more probable that Nicias proposed the appointment of Cleon, merely to show up the cowardice and boastfulness of the demagogue, without anticipating the possibility of his actually being forced to accept the command by the populace, ever ready to sacrifice a serious interest for the sake of enjoying a joke. - ED. B. C. 425.] CAPTURE OF SPHACTERIA. 293 three communications, sent them a final message, " to take counsel for themselves, but to do nothing disgraceful." The survivors then surrendered. They were 292 in number, 120 of whom were native Spartans, belonging to the first families. By this surrender the prestige of the Spartan arms was in a great degree destroyed. The Spartans were not, indeed, deemed invincible; but their previous feats, especially at Thermopyle, had inspired the notion that they would rather die than yield; an opinion which could now no longer be entertained. ~ 9. Cleon had thus performed his promise. On the day after the victory, he and Demosthenes started with the prisoners for Athens, where they arrived within twenty days from the time of Cleon's departure. Altogether, this affair was one of the most favorable for the Athenians that had occurred during the war. The prisoners would'serve not only for a guaranty against future invasions, which might be averted by threatening to put them to death, but also as a means for extorting advantageous conditions whenever a peace should be concluded. Nay, the victory itself was of considerable importance, since it enabled the Athenians to place Pylos in a better posture of defence, and, by garrisoning it with Messenians from Naupactus, to create a stronghold whence Laconia might be overrun and ravaged at pleasure. The Lacedemonians themselves were so sensible of these things, that they sent repeated messages to Athens to propose a peace, but which the Athenians altogether disregarded. ~ 10. Meanwhile, after the victory at Sphacteria, Eurymedon and Sophocles proceeded with the Athenian fleet to Corcyra, where, in conjunction with the people, they took by storm the post of the oligarchs on Mount Istone. The latter at first retired to an inaccessible peak, but subsequently surrendered themselves on condition of being sent to Athens to be judged by the Athenian assembly. Eurymedon, the same man, it will be observed, who had before abandoned the Corcyrxeans to all the fury of civil discord, assented to these conditions, and caused the prisoners to be secured in the small adjoining island of Ptychia. But he took not the slightest pains to carry out the agreement; nay, he even connived at the artifices of the Corcyrean democracy to entrap the prisoners into a breach of the capitulation, and thus procure a pretext for their destruction. For this purpose emissaries in the guise of friends were sent over to Ptychia to persuade the prisoners that Eurymedon intended to hand them over to their enemies, and thus succeeded in inducing some of them to escape in a boat provided for that purpose. The boat was seized in the act, and Eurymedon now delivered up the prisoners to the democratical party. They were at first confined in a large building, whence, chained two and two together, they were led out to execution in companies of twenty. They advanced through a road lined with armed men, who singled out their private enemies, and struck and' wounded them till they perished. "These scenes," says a great historian, " are real prototypes of the September massacres at Paris: all 294 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVIII the prisoners, just as at Paris, were led from the prison between two rows of armed men, and cut to pieces." What, however, renders this scene still more disgusting than the Parisian massacres, is, that a third partyEurymedon, with his Athenians - looked on in cold blood, and saw these atrocities perpetrated without making the slightest attempt to prevent them. After three companies had been destroyed the remaining prisoners refused to quit the building, or to allow any one to enter it; at the same time piteously imploring the Athenians to kill them, rather than abandon them to the cruelties of their countrymen. But Eurymedon was inexorable. The people now unroofed part of the building, and assailed the prisoners with showers of tiles and arrows, till, in order to escape this lingering fate, they were driven to commit suicide. The work of death proceeded through the night. At daybreak the people entered the building with carts, and piling upon them the dead bodies, in number about three hundred, carried them out of the city. ~ 11. The eighth year of the war (B. c. 424) opened with brilliant prospects for the Athenians. But their good fortune had now reached its culminating point; and before the year closed, their defeat at the battle of Delium and the loss of their empire in Thrace more than counterbalanced all the advantages they had previously gained. At first, however, success still attended their arms. Nicias reduced the important island of Cythera, at the southern extremity of Laconia, and placed garrisons in the towns of Cythera and Scandeia. He then proceeded to the coasts of Laconia, which he ravaged in various places. Among his conquests here was the town of Thyrea, where the Lacedmnmonians had allowed the }Eginetans to settle after their expulsion from their own island. Thyrea was destroyed, and the surviving IAEginetans carried to Athens and put to death. Among the horrors which the great historian of the Peloponnesian war has noted as characterizing the times, the murder of two thousand Helots by the Lacedaemonians stands conspicuous. Alarmed for their own safety since the establishment of an Athenian and Messenian force at Pylos, the Lacedaemonians about this time proclaimed that those Helots who had distinguished themselves by their services during the war should come forward and claim their liberty. A large body appeared, out of whom two thousand were selected as worthy of emancipation. Crowned with garlands, and honored with all the imposing ceremonies of religion, the unhappy Helots paid with their lives for the liberty thus solemnly acquired. In a short time they all disappeared, no man knew how, by secret orders from the Ephors, who took this perfidious and detestable method to rid themselves of formidable enemies. ~ 12. Elate with their continued good fortune, the Athenians aimed at nothing less than the recovery of all the possessions which they had held be. Niebuhr, " Lectures on Ancient History," Vol. II. p. 69. B. C. 424.1 BATTLE OF DELIUM. 290 fore the thirty years' truce. For this purpose they planned two important expeditions, one against Megara and the other against Boeotia. In the former they were partially successful. They seized Nismsa, the port of Megara, which they permanently occupied with an Athenian garrison; but they were prevented from obtaining possession of Megara itself by the energy of Brasidas, who was at that time in the neighborhood of Corinth, collecting troops for his Thracian expedition. Receiving intelligence of the danger of Megara, he immediately marched to the assistance of the city with a considerable force, whichthe Athenians did not venture to attack. The expedition against Boeotia was attended with the most disastrous results. Some Bceotian exiles, and other malecontent citizens, had formed a plan to betray Siphae, on the Gulf of Corinth, and Chleronla, on the borders of Phocis, into the hands of the Athenians, who were on the same day to invade Bootia from the south, and to seize the temple of Apollo at Delium, a place about five miles from Tanagra, strongly situated upon the cliffs on the eastern coast. It was anticipated that these simultaneous attacks at various points would divide the Boeotian forces, and render the enterprise easy of execution. But the scheme was betrayed, and miscarried. Demosthenes, who was to attack Siphbn and Charonea, found those places preoccupied by a formidable Boeotian force, which rendered vain all hopes of surprising them. Hippocrates, who commanded the army of invasion from the south, proceeded to execute his part in the arrangement, and marched to Delium with the large force of seven thousand Athenian hoplites, together with twenty-five thousand light-armed troops and several hundred cavalry. A day's march brought him to Delium, where he immediately fortified the sanctuary of Apollo with a rampart and ditch, besides other works. When these were completed, a garrison was left in the place, and the army commenced its homeward march. On arriving at the heights between Delium and the plain of Oropus, they were encountered by the Boeotians, who had assembled in great force at Tanagra. Their army consisted of about seven thousand Boeotian hoplites, some of whom were the very flower of the Theban warriors, ten thousand light-armed troops, five hundred peltasts, and one thousand horse. They were led by the eleven Bceotarchs then at the head of the Boeotian confederacy, though the supreme command seems to have been vested, probably alternately, in the two Boeotarchs of Thebes, Pagondas and Aranthides. All the Boeotarchs, with the exception of Pagondas, were of opinion that, as the Athenians seemed to be in full retreat, they should be suffered to retire unmolested. But that commander, disregarding the opinion of his colleagues, appealed to the patriotic and religious feelings of the soldiers. He painted in strong colors the danger of suffering this insult to their territory to pass unpunished, and pointed out that the sacrifices were favorable for an attack, whilst, on 296 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVII. the other hand, the Athenians had incurred the anger of Apollo by violating his temple. Having by these representations persuaded the Bceotians to hazard an engagement, he drew up the army in order of battle under the brow of a hill which concealed them from the Athenians. Hippocrates, on his side, hastened to prepare his troops for the battle. His hoplites were drawn up in a line of eight deep, having the light-armed troops and cavalry on the flanks. The heavy Bocotian phalanx, on the contrary, was twenty-five deep; the Theban hoplites occupying the right, with the other heavy-armed Bceotians on the left and in the centre. The lightarmed troops and cavalry were ranged, as in the Athenian line, upon the flanks. The Bceotians, ascending the hill in this array, as soon as they came in sight of the Athenians, raised the war-shout and charged, before Hippocrates had finished addressing his men. Ravines at both extremities of the line prevented the light troops from engaging; but the serried ranks of the hoplites met in desperate conflict. The left wing of the Bceotians was repulsed; but on the right the skill and valor of the. chosen Theban warriors who led the van, as well as the superior weight of the deep and densely compacted phalanx, bore down all resistance. At the same time Pagondas, having sent round his cavalry to attack the Athenian right, restored the fortune of the day on that side also. The rout of the Athenians was now complete. Some fled back to Deliun, some to Oropus, others to the heights of Parnes. Hippocrates himself fell in the engagement, together with one thousand hoplites; a loss about double that of the Bceotians. Fortunately for the Athenians, the battle had commenced late in the day, and they were thus rescued by the friendly shades of night from the pursuit and massacre which would otherwise have overtaken them. When on the morrow an Athenian herald asked the customary permission to bury the slain, the Bceotians reproached the Athenians with the violation of Apollo's sanctuary, and refused the sacred rites of sepulture till the sacrilege should be expiated, and Deliam evacuated. They immediately invested that place, which surrendered after a siege of seventeen days. The greater part of the garrison, however, succeeded in escaping by sea, but about two hundred prisoners fell into the hands of the Bceotians. Altogether the battle of Delium was the greatest and most decisive fought during the first period of the war. An interesting feature of the battle is that both Socrates and his pupil Alcibiades were engaged in it, the former among the hoplites, the latter in the cavalry. Socrates distinguished himself by his bravery, and was one of those who, instead of throwing down their arms, kept together in a compact body, and repulsed the attacks of the pursuing horse. His retreat was also protected by Alcibiades. ~ 13. This disastrous battle was speedily followed by the overthrow of the Athenian empire in Thrace. At the request of Perdiccas, king of Macedonia, and of the Chalcidian towns, who had sued for help against the Athenians, Brasidas was sent by the Lacedaemonian government into B. C. 424.] BRASIDAS IN THRACE. 297 Thrace, at the head of seven hundred Helot hoplites and such others as he could succeed in raising in Greece. While engaged in levying troops in the neighborhood of Corinth, he saved Megara from falling into the hands of the Athenians, as has been already related. Having obtained one thousand Peloponnesian hoplites, in addition to the seven hundred mentioned above, he succeeded, by a rapid and dexterous march through the hostile country of Thessaly, in effecting a junction with Perdiccas, with whom he marched into Thrace. Here he proclaimed that he was come to deliver the Grecian cities from the tyrannous yoke of Athens. His bravery, his kind and conciliating demeanor, his probity, moderation, and good faith, soon gained him the respect and love of the allies of Athens in that quarter; whose defection was likewise promoted by the news of the Athenian reverses. Acanthus and Stagirus hastened to open their gates to him; and early in the ensuing winter, by means of forced marches, he suddenly and unexpectedly appeared before the important Athenian colony of Amphipolis on the Strymon. In that town the Athenian party was the stronger, and sent a message for assistance to Thucydides, the historian, who, in conjunction with Eucles, was then general in those parts. Thucydides hastened with seven ships from Thasos, and succeeded in securing Eion at the mouth of the Strymon; but Amphipolis, which lay a little higher up the river, allured by the favorable terms offered, had Plan of the neighborhood of Amphipolis. 1. Site of Amphipolis. 6. Lake Cercinitis. 2. Site of Eion. 7. Mount Cerdylium. 3. Ridge connecting Amphipolis with 8. Mount Pangaeus. Mount Pangaeus. already surrendered to Brasidas. For his want of vigilance on this occasion, Thucydides was, on the motion of Cleon, sentenced to banishment, and spent the following twenty years of his life in exile. From Amphipolis Brasidas proceeded to the easternmost peninsula of Chalcidice, where 38 298 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVIIL most of the towns hastened to surrender. At Torone, on the Sithonian peninsula, the gates were opened by an anti-Athenian party. The Athenian garrison fled to a neighboring fort; but Brasidas took the place by storm, and put all the prisoners to the sword. ~ 14. The Athenians were so much depressed by their defeat at Delium, that they neglected to take vigorous measures for arresting the progress of Brasidas. They now began to think seriously of peace, and to entertain the proposals of the Lacedlemonians, who were on their side solicitous about their prisoners still in custody at Athens. Early in B. c. 423, the ninth year of the war, a truce was concluded for a year, with a view to the subsequent adjustment of a definitive and permanent peace. The negotiations for that purpose were, however, suddenly interrupted by the news that Scione had revolted to Brasidas. This revolt appears to have taken place two days after the conclusion of the truce; and ih on6 of the conditions was that everything should remain in statu quo till peace was definitively concluded, the Athenians demanded that the town should be restored. With this demand Brasidas refused to comply. Excited by the speeches of Cleon, the Athenians would not listen to any proposals for arbitration, and sent an armament against Scione, with orders that every man in the place should be put to death. The war was thus revived in those distant regions, but nearer home the truce was observed. Brasidas, who had been deserted by the faithless Perdiccas, threw himself into Torone on the approach of the Athenians. Nicias and Nicostratus, who had arrived in Chalcidice with fifty triremes and a large body of troops, commenced operations against Mende, which had also revolted. The town was surrendered by a party among the citizens: the Lacedaemonian garrison contrived to escape to Scione,. which town the ~Athenians proceeded to invest; and when Nicias had completely blockaded it, he returned to Athens. ~ 15. Things remained in this state till the beginning of the year B. c. 422, when the truce expired. Early in August, Cleon, having been appointed to the command, proceeded against Scione, with a fleet of thirty triremes, carrying twelve hundred hoplites, three hundred cavalry, and a large force of subsidiary troops. In the absence of Brasidas he succeeded in taking Torone and Galepsus, but failed in an attempt upon Stagirus. He then lay for some time inactive at Eion, till the murmurs of his troops compelled him to proceed against Arnphipolis. Thither >Brasidas had also directed his march, with an army of two thousand hoplites, three hundred Greek cavalry, and a large body of light-armed Thracians. He encamped on the heights of Cerdylium, on the western bank of the river, whence he could survey all the movements of the enemy; but on the approach of Cleon, he threw all his troops into the town. That general encamped on a rising ground on the eastern side of Amphipolis. Having deserted the peaceful art of dressing hides for the more hazardous trade B. C. 422.] DEATH OF BRASIDAS AND CLEON. 299 of war, in which he was almost totally inexperienced, and having now no Demosthenes to direct his movements, Cleon was thrown completely off his guard by a very ordinary stratagem on the part of Brasidas, who contrived to give the town quite a deserted and peaceful appearance. Cleon suffered his troops to fall into disorder, till he was suddenly surprised by the astounding news that Brasidas was preparing for a sally. Cleon at once resolved to retreat. But his skill was equal to his valor. He had no conception that he could be attacked till Brasidas had drawn out his men and formed them, as if they were on parade, in regular order. He therefore conducted his retreat in the most disorderly manner. His left wing had already filed off, and his centre with straggling ranks was in the act of following, when Brasidas ordered the gates of the town to be flung open, and, rushing out at the head of only one hundred and fifty chosen soldiers, charged the retreating columns in flank. They were immediately routed; but as Brasidas was hastening to attack the Athenian right, which was only just breaking ground, and where Cleon himself was posted, he received a mortal wound and was carried off the field. Though his men were forming on the hill, Cleon fled as fast as he could on the approach of the enemy, but was pursued and slain by a Thracian peltast. In spite, however, of the disgraceful flight of their general, the right wing maintained their ground for a considerable time, till some cavalry and peltasts issuing from Amphipolis attacked them in flankl and rear, and compelled them to fly. On assembling again at Eion, it was found that half the Athenian hoplites had been slain. Brasidas was carried into Amphipolis, and lived long enough to receive the tidings of his victory. He was interred within the walls with great military pomp, in the centre of what thenceforth became the chief agora; he was proclaimed cekist, or founder of the town; and was worshipped as a hero with annual games and sacrifices. ~ 16. By the death of Brasidas and Cleon, the two chief obstacles to a peace were removed; for the former loved war for the sake of its glory, the latter for the handle which it afforded for agitation and for attacking his political opponents. The Athenian Nicias, and the Spartan king Pleistoanax, zealously forwarded the negotiations, and in the spring of the year B. c. 421, a peace for fifty years, commonly clled the peace of Nicias, was concluded on the basis of a mutual restitution of prisoners and places captured during the war. The Thebans, however, retained Plataea, on the plea that it had been voluntarily surrendered, and on the same grounds Athens was allowed to hold Nisaa, Anaetorium, and Sollium. Neutral towns were to remain independent, and pay only the assessment of Aristeides. By this treaty Sparta sacrificed the interests of her allies in favor of her own. Her confederates viewed it with jealousy and distrust, and four of them, namely, the Boeotians, Corinthians, Eleans, and Megarians, positively refused to ratify it. Alarmed at this circumstance, as well 300 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXVIII as at the expiration of her thirty years' truce with Argos, Sparta soon afterwards conicluded an offensive and defensive alliance with Athens, with the stipulation that each might increase or diminish at pleasure the number of its allies and subjects. Coin of Amphipolis. B.C. 415.1 LEAGUE OF ARGOS. 301 Centaur from the Metopes of the Parthenon. -CHAPTER XXIX. PELOPONNESIAN WAR CONTINUED. FROM THE PEACE OF NICIAS TO THE EXPEDITION OF THE ATHENIANS TO SICILY. ~ 1. League of Argos, Corinth, Elea, Mantinea, and Chalcidicd. ~ 2. Transactions between Sparta and Athens. ~ 3. Policy and Character of Alcibiades. ~ 4. He advocates a League with Argos. Resorts to a Stratagem to procure it. ~ 5. Alcibiades Victor at Olympia. His Magnificence. ~ 6. He proceeds to Peloponnesus. ~ 7. Proceedings of the Lacedemonians. Battle of Mantinea. ~ 8. Revolutions at Argos. A Democracy established. ~ 9. Conquest of Melos by the Athenians. ~ 10. Intervention of the Athenians in Sicily. ~ 11. Embassy of the Egesteans. They deceive the Athenians respecting their, Wealth. ~ 12. The Athenians resolve on an Expedition to Sicily. ~ 13. Preparations at Athens. Popular Delusion. ~ 14. Mutilation of the Hermie. Accusation of Alcibiades. ~ 15. Departure of the Athenian Fleet for Sicily. ~ 1. IT has been mentioned, that several of the allies of Sparta were dissatisfied with the peace which she had concluded; and soon afterwards some of them determined to revive the ancient pretensions of Argos, and to make her the head of a new confederacy, which should include all Greece, with the exception of Sparta and Athens. The movement was begun by the Corinthians, who felt themselves aggrieved because the Lacedmenlonians had allowed Athens to retain Sollium and Anactorium. The league was soon joined by the Eleans, the Mantineans, and the Chalcidians. But they in vain endeavored to persuade the powerful city of Tegea to unite with them; whilst the oligarchical governments of Boeotia and Megara also stood aloof. 302 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXTX. ~ 2. Between Sparta and Athens themselves matters were far from being on a satisfactory footing. Sparta confessed her inability to compel the Bootians and Corinthians to accede to the peace, or even to restore the town of Amphipolis. After the death of Brasidas, Clearidas had succeeded to the command of Amphipolis; and he now pretended that he was not strong enough to surrender it against the will of the inhabitants. However, he withdrew with his garrison from the place; and the Athenians do not appear to have made any attempt to take possession of it. All that they effected in that quarter was to reduce Scione, when the bloody decree of Cleon was carried into execution. Athens consequently refused to evacuate Pylos, though she removed the Helots and Messenians from it. ~ 3. In the negotiations which ensued respecting the surrender of Pylos, Alcibiades took a prominent part. This extraordinary man had already obtained immense influence at Athens. Young, rich, handsome, profligate, and clever, Alcibiades was the very model of an Athenian man of fashion. In lineage he was a striking contrast to the plebeian orators of the day. The Athenian public, in spite of its excessive democracy, was anything but insensible to the prestige of high birth; and Alcibiades traced his paternal descent from the AEacid heroes Eurysaces and Aias (Ajax), whilst on his mother's side he claimed relationship with the Alcmaeonidce, and consequently with Pericles. On the death of his father, Cleinias, Pericles had become his guardian. From early youth the conduct of Alcibiades was marked by violence, recklessness, and vanity. He delighted in astonishing the more sober portion of the citizens by his capricious and extravagant feats. Nothing, not even the sacredness of the laws, was secure from his petulance. Sometimes we find him beating a schoolmaster for not having a copy of Homer in his school, or interrupting the performances of the theatre by striking his fellow choregus; and on one occasion he effaces with his own hand an indictment published against a Thasian poet, and defies both prosecutor and magistrate to proceed with it. His beauty, his wit, and his escapades had made him the darling of all the Athenian ladies, nor did the men regard him with less admiration. But he was utterly destitute of morality, whether public or private. The "lion's whelp," as he-is termed by Aristophanes, was even suspected, in his boundless ambition, of a design to enslave his fellow-citizens. His vices, however, were partly redeemed by some brilliant qualities. He possessed both boldness of design and vigor of action; and though scarcely more than thirty at the time of which we are now speaking, he had already on several occasions distinguished himself by his bravery. His more serious studies were made subservient to the purposes of his ambition, for which some skill as an orator was necessary. In order to obtain it he frequented the schools of the sophists, and exercised himself in the dialectics of Prodicus, Protagoras, and above all of Socrates. As an orator he seems to B. C. 421.] ALCIBIADES. 303 have attained a respectable, but not a first, rank. He had not the rapid and spontaneous flow of ideas and words which characterized the eloquence of Pericles. He would frequently hesitate in order to cull the most choice and elegant phrase; and a lisp, whether natural or affected, which turned all the r's into l's, must have been a serious drawback to his oratory. ~ 4. Such was the man who now opposed the application of the Lacedeemonian ambassadors. It is characteristic of him that personal pique was the motive of his opposition. The politics of his ancestors had been democratic, and his grandfather was a violent opponent of the Peisistratide. But he himself on his first entrance into public life, a little before the peace of Nicias, had manifested oligarchical sentiments, and even endeavored to renew an ancient tie of hospitality which had formerly connected his family with Sparta. With the view of becoming the Spartan proxenos at Athens, he had been assiduous in his attentions towards the Spartan prisoners, and had taken an active part in forwarding the peace. But the Spartan government rejected his advances, and even sneered at the idea of intrusting their political interests to a youth known only by his insolence and profligacy. The petulant Alcibiades was not the man to brook such an affront. He immediately threw himself, with all the restless energy of his character, into the party opposed to Sparta, now deprived of its most conspicuous leader by the death of Cleon. He began to advocate a league with Argos, in which city the democratic party at that time predominated, and sent a private message to his friends there, advising them to despatch ambassadors to negotiate the admission of Argos among the allies of Athens. A joint embassy was accordingly sent from Argos, Elis, and Mantinea. The Lacedemonians endeavored to defeat this negotiation by sending three of their most popular citizens to Athens, to make another attempt to procure the cession of Pylos. Their reception was so favorable, that Alcibiades, alarmed at the prospect of their success, resorted to a trick in order to defeat it. He called upon the Lacedemonian envoys, one of whom happened to be his personal friend; and, pretending to have resumed his predilections for Sparta, he advised them not to tell the assembly that they were furnished with full powers, as in that case the people would bully them into extravagant concessions, but rather to say that they were merely come to discuss and report; promising, if they did so, to speak in their favor, and induce the assembly to grant the restitution of Pylos, to which he himself had hitherto been the chief obstacle. Accordingly, on the next day, when the ambassadors were introduced into the assembly, Alcibiades, assuming his blandest tone and most winning smile, asked them on what footing they came, and what were their powers? In reply to these questions, the ambassadors, who only a day or two before had told Nicias and the Senate that they were come as plenipotentiaries, now publicly declared, in the face of the assembly, that they were not authorized to conclude, but only to negotiate and discuss. At this announcement, those 304 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXIX who had heard their previous declaration could scarcely believe their ears. A universal burst of indignation broke forth at this exhibition of Spartan duplicity; whilst, to wind up the scene, Alcibiades, affecting to be more surprised than any, distinguished himself by being the loudest and bitterest in his invectives against the perfidy of the Lacedcmonians. Taking advantage of the moment, he proposed that the Argive ambassadors should be called in, and an alliance instantly concluded with Argos. The motion, however, was defeated for the present by an earthquake which occurred, and which caused the assembly to be adjourned. This delay procured Nicias the opportunity of proceeding to Sparta, and making another attempt at adjustment. It proved, however, unsuccessful. Nicias was obliged to make the mortifying confession of his failure before the assembly; and Alcibiades thereupon procured the completion of a treaty of alliance for one hundred years with Argos, Elis, and A1antinea. This took place in the year 420 B. c. Thus were the Grecian states involved in a complication of separate, and often apparently opposite alliances. It was evident that allies so heterogeneous could not long hold together; nevertheless, nominally at least, peace was at first observed. ~ 5. In the July which followed the treaty with Argos, the Olympic games, which recurred every fourth year, were to be celebrated. The Athenians had been shut out by the war from the two previous celebrations; but now Elean heralds came with the usual forms to invite their attendance. Curiosity was excited throughout Greece to see what figure Athens would make at this great Pan-Hellenic festival. War, it was surmised, must have exhausted her resources, and would thus prevent her'rom appearing with becoming splendor. But from this reproach she was rescued by the wealth and vanity, if not by the patriotism, of Alci)iades. By his care, the Athenian deputies exhibited the richest display o)f golden ewers, censers, and other plate, to be used in the public sacrifice and procession; whilst for the games he entered in his own name no fewer than the unheard of number of seven four-horsed chariots, of which one gained the first, and another the second prize. Alcibiades was consequently twice crowned with the olive, and twice proclaimed victor by the herald. In his private tent his victory was celebrated by a magnificent banquet. It is not improbable, however, that on this occasion he was assisted by the Athenian allies; for the whole Ionic race was interested in appearing with due honor at this grand national festival. ~ 6. The growing ambition and success of Alcibiades prompted him to carry his schemes against Sparta into the very heart of Peloponnesus, without, however, openly violating the peace. For the first time an Athenian general was beheld traversing the peninsula, and busying himself with the domestic affairs of several of its states. He persuaded the citizens ot Patri,- in Achaia to ally themselves with Athens; and proceeded with the few troops he had brought with him to assist the Argives in an attack upon B. C. 418.] BATTLE OF MANTINEA. 305 Epidaurus, a city conveniently situated for facilitating the intercourse between Argos and Athens. The territory of Epidaurus was ravaged; and late in the autumn, the Lacedemonians sent three hundred men by sea to the assistance of that city; but nothing decisive took place. ~ 7. The Lacedclmonians now found it necessary to act with more vigor; and accordingly, in B. c. 418, they assembled a very large army, consisting both of their allies and of their own troops, and invaded the territory of Argos in three divisions. Their operations were judiciously planned. The Spartan king, Agis, succeeded in surrounding the Argive army in such a manner that he might easily have cut it to pieces; but at the moment when an engagement was on the point of commencing, two of the Argive leaders proceeded to Agis, and, by undertaking to procure a satisfactory alliance between Argos and Sparta, induced him to grant' a truce of four months. Shortly after this truce had been concluded the Athenians came to the assistance of the Argives with a force of one thousand hoplites and four hundred cavalry. They were accompanied by Alcibiades, who seems, however, to have come in a civil capacity. He now persuaded the Argives to march with these troops and other allies, against the town of Orchomenos in Arcadia. Having reduced Orchomenos, they proceeded against Tegea, hoping to become masters of it through the treachery of a party among the citizens. These proceedings, however, roused the Lacedesmoni ans, who entered the territory of Mantinea with a large force. Agis, who had incurred the just indignation of his countrymen by the improvident truce before mentioned, was nevertheless intrusted with the command of this army; but only in consideration of his having promised to wipe out his former disgrace by performing some great exploit. He marched into the territory of Mantinea, and took up a position near the Heracleum, or temple of Hercules, whence he laid waste the surrounding country. The Argives and their allies marched forth from Mantinea, and, posting themselves on very rugged and advantageous ground, offered the Lacedcemonians battle. Anxious to retrieve his honor, Agis was hastening to attack them even at this disadvantage, and had already arrived within javelinthrow, whe n an aged warrior exclaimed that he was now about " to heal one mischief by another." Struck by this remark, Agis drew off his men, and, with the view of enticing the Argives from their position, commenced a retrograde march over the plain; intending also to block up a watercourse situated at some distance, and annoy the'Mantineans by flooding their lands. Finding, however, this project to be impracticable, he returned upon his steps the following day, when his columns suddenly found themselves in presence of the enemy, drawn up in order of battle upon the plain. But though taken somewhat by surprise, the admirable discipline of the Lacedlmonians, insured by a continuous subordination of officers, as well as by constant drill, enabled Agis to form his line speedily and without confusion in the face of the enemy. Instead of charging be39 306 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXIX. fore his troops were formed, the Argive generals were wasting the time in haranguing their men. The Spartans, who were soldiers by profession, needed no such encouragement, and trusted rather to discipline and valor than to fine speeches. Instead of these, the inspiriting war-song resounded through their ranks; whilst the slow and steady regularity of their march was governed by the musical time of their pipers. Their opponents, on the contrary, came rushing on at a furious pace. From the natural tendency of Greek armies to advance somewhat towards the right, in order to keep their left or shielded side as much as possible towards the enemy, the left wing of Agis was outflanked by the right of the allies, in which fought a chosen body of one thousand Argive hoplites, formed of the flower and aristocracy of the city, and maintained and drilled at the public expense. On this side the Lacedamonians were routed; but Agis, nevertheless, pushed on with his centre and right, and gained a complete victory. The loss of the allies was computed at eleven hundred, among whom were two hundred Athenians and, both their generals, Laches and Nicostratus. Of the Lacedaemonians about three hundred were slain. This battle, called the battle of Mantinea, which was fought in June, 418 B. c., had great effect in restoring the somewhat tarnished lustre of the Spartan arms. From the renown of the nations engaged in it, though not in point of numbers, it was a more important battle even than that of Delium. ~ 8. This defeat strengthened the oligarchical party at Argos, which now entered into a conspiracy to bring about an alliance with Sparta. To assist their views, the Lacedaemonians marched in great force to Tegea, and offered Argos the alternative of an alliance or war; and in spite of all the efforts of Alcibiades to counteract it, a treaty was eventually concluded between the two states. This was followed by a revolution at Argos. The democratical leaders were slain, and an oligarchical government established by means of their thousand chosen hoplites. But the oligarchs abused their power, and the brutal tyranny of Bryas, the commander of the chosen Thousand, produced a counter-revolution. A bride of the humbler class, whom he had ravished from the very midst of a wedding procession, and carried to his house, put out the eyes of the tyrant during the night with the pin of her brooch, and having thus effected her escape, roused by -her tale of woe the indignation of the people. The latter, taking advantage of the Lacedaemonians being engaged in the festival of the Gymnopaedia, rose against the aristocrats, obtained possession of the city, and renewed the alliance with Athens. An attempt to construct long walls:from Argos to the sea, a distance of four or five miles, was defeated by the Lacedaemonians; but in the spring of B. c. 416 Alcibiades arrived to sup-port the Argive democracy with an Athenian armament and twenty'triremes. Nevertheless, the peace between Sparta and Athens continued -to be nominally observed, although the garrison of Pylos were committing B. C. 418.] AFFAIRS OF THE SICILIAN GREEKS. 307 ravages in Laconia, and the Lacedamonians, by way of reprisal, infested the Athenian commerce with their privateers. ~ 9. It was in the same year that the Athenians attacked and conquered Melos, which island and Thera were the only islands in the AEgean not subject to the Athenian supremacy. Their armament consisted of thirtyeight triremes and a considerable force of hoplites. The Melians having rejected all the Athenian overtures for a voluntary submission, their capital was blockaded by sea and land, and after a siege of some months surrendered. On the proposal, as it appears, of Alcibiades, all the adult males were put to death, the women and children sold into slavery, and the island colonized afresh by five hundred Athenians. This horrible proceeding was the more indefensible, as the Athenians, having attacked the Melians in full peace, could not pretend that they were justified by the custom of war in slaying the prisoners. It was the crowning act of insolence and cruelty displayed during their empire, which from this period began rapidly to decline. ~ 10. The event destined to produce that catastrophe-the intervention of the Athenians in the affairs of Sicily - was already in progress. The feuds of race had been kindled in that island, as in the rest of Greece, by the Peloponnesian war. Eleven or twelve years before the period of which we are now speaking, the Dorian cities of Sicily (with the exception of Camarina), together with the Locrians of Italy, had, under the headship of Syracuse, joined the Peloponnesian confederacy, and declared war against Leontini, Camarina, and their ally, the city of Rhegium in Italy. In the year 427 B. c., the Leontines sent an embassy to Athens, to crave the assistance of the Athenians. At the head of it was the rhetorician, Gorgias, the novelty of whose brilliant eloquence took the Athenians by surprise, and is said to have chiefly contributed to the success of the application. However that may be, an Athenian squadron of twenty ships was despatched to the assistance of the Leontines, and also with a view to ascertain the possibility of reducing all Sicily, of whose size the Athenians seem to have had very vague and imperfect notions, to the obedience of'Athens. A subsequent expedition in 425 B. c., consisting of forty triremes, under the command of Eurymedon and Sophocles, has been already mentioned.* The selfish and ambitious designs of Athens had however become so evident, that in the spring of the following year a congress of the Sicilian cities met at Gela; where the Syracusan, Hermocrates, in an able and patriotic speech, succeeded in persuading them to lay aside their dissensions, and to unite in defeating the schemes of Athens. The Athenians were so disappointed at this failure, that when Eurymedon and his colleagues, Sophocles and Pythodorus, returned, they were indicted and * See above, p. 288. 308 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXIX. convicted of having taken bribes to accede to the peace. Eurymedon was sentenced to pay a fine, and his fellow-commanders were banished. ~11. In the year 422 B. c., another application for assistance was made to the Athenians by the Leontine democracy, who had been expelled by the aristocrats; but the Athenians, then smarting under their recent losses, and having just concluded a truce with Sparta, could not be persuaded to grant any effectual succor. In the spring of 416 B.., however, an embassy from the Sicilian town of Egesta was more successful. A quarrel had broken out between Egesta and Selinus, both of which cities were seated near the western extremity of Sicily; and Selinus, having obtained the aid of Syracuse, was pressing very hard upon the Egestaeans. The latter appealed to the interests of the Athenians rather than to their sympathies. They represented how great a blow it would be to Athens if the Dorians became predominant in Sicily, and joined the Peloponnesian confederacy; and they undertook, if the Athenians would send an armament to their assistance, to provide the necessary funds for the prosecution of the war. Their application was supported by the Leontine exiles still resident at Athens. But their most powerful advocate was Alcibiades, whose ambitious views are said to have extended even to the conquest of Carthage. In these distant expeditions he beheld a means of gratifying his passion for adventure and glory, and at the same time of retrieving his fortune, which had been dilapidated by his profligate expenditure. The quieter and more prudent Nicias and his party threw their weight into the opposite scale; and at their instance it was resolved, before an expedition was undertaken, to ascertain whether the Egestxans were really able to perform the promises they had made. For this purpose commissioners were despatched to Egesta, whom, however, the cunning Egesteans completely deceived. In the splendid temple of Aphrodite on Mount Eryx, a magnificent display of offerings was set out, consisting of vessels which the Egestaans passed off for solid gold, though only silver gilt. In the private houses, where they were invited to banquet after banquet, the Athenian envoys were astonished at the profusion of plate under which the sideboards groaned, but which was slily transferred for the occasion from one house to another. Sixty talents of silver, placed in their hands as earnest-money, completed the delusion; and the commissioners, who were, perhaps, not unwilling to be deceived, returned to Athens with magnificent accounts of the wealth of Egesta. ~12. Dazzled by the idea of so splendid an enterprise, the means for accomplishing which seemed ready provided, the Athenian assembly at once decided on despatching a fleet of sixty triremes, under Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus, with the design of assisting Egesta, of restoring the Leontine democracy, and lastly of establishing the influence of Athens throughout Sicily, by whatever means might be found practicable. Nicias, though named as one of the commanders of the expedition, entirely disap B. C. 415.] MUTILATION OF THE I-ERnE. 309 proved of it, and denounced it in the assembly as springing from the vainglory and ambition of Alcibiades. The latter repelled these not unmerited attacks in a violent speech, and persuaded the assembly to ratify their former decision. Another attempt of Nicias to deter the Athenians from the enterprise by representing the enormous force which it would require, had an effect exactly contrary to what he had intended; for the assembly, taking him at his word, decreed a fleet of one hundred instead of sixty triremes, together with a proportionate increase in the land forces. ~ 13. For the next three months the preparations for the undertaking were pressed on with the greatest ardor. Young and old, rich and poor, all vied with one another to obtain a share in the expedition. Oracles and prophecies predicting success were circulated through the city, and greedily listened to. So great was the throng of volunteers, that the care of the generals was restricted to the task of. selection. The trierarchs contended which should produce his vessel, not only in the most efficient, but in the most ornamental, state of equipment. Five years of comparative peace had accumulated a fresh supply both of men and money; and the merchants of Athens embarked in the enterprise as in a trading expedition. It was only a few of the wisest heads that escaped the general fever of excitement. Meton, the astronomer, and Socrates, the philosopher, are said not to have shared in the universal enthusiasm; the latter warned, perhaps, by that familiar demon to whose whispered wisdom his ears were ever open. ~ 14. And now the magnificent armament is on the point of sailing. The brilliant city is alive with hope, and pride, and expectation, when a sudden and mysterious event converts all these exulting feelings into gloomy foreboding. At every door in Athens, at the corners of streets, in the market-place, before temples, gymnasia, and other public places, stood HermaI, or statues of the god I-Hermes, consisting of a bust of that deity surmounting a quadrangular pillar of marble about the height of the human figure. When the Athenians rose one morning towards the end of May, 415 B. c., it was found that all these figures had been mutilated during the night, and reduced by unknown hands to a shapeless mass. We may partly realize the feelings excited by this occurrence, by picturing to ourselves some Roman Catholic town, in which all the statues of the Virgin should have been suddenly defaced. But the act inspired political, as well as religious, alarm. It seemed to indicate a wide-spread conspiracy, for so sudden and general a mutilation must have been the work of many hands. Athens, like other Grecian states, abounded with clubs, which, like our societies of freemasons, offered facilities for secret and extensive combinations. This will probably afford the most natural explanation of the fear which now pervaded Athens; for the sacrilege might only be a preliminary attempt of some powerful citizen to seize the despotism, and suspi 310 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIIAP. XXIX. cion pointed its finger at Alcibiades. Active measures were taken and large rewards offered for the discovery of the perpetrators. A public board was appointed to examine witnesses, which did not, indeed, succeed in eliciting any facts bearing on the actual subject of inquiry, but which obtained evidence respecting similar acts of impiety committed at previous times in drunken frolics. In these Alcibiades himself was implicated; and though the fleet was on the very eve of departure, Pythonicus rose in the assembly and accused him of having profaned the Eleusinian mysteries by giving a representation of them in a private house, producing in evidence the testimony of a slave. Pythonicus also charged him with being privy to the mutilation of the IHermoe, but without bringing forward the slightest proof. Alcibiades denied the accusation, and implored the people to have it investigated at once. His enemies, however, had sufficient influence to get the inquiry postponed till his return; thus keeping the charge hanging over his head, and gaining time to poison the public mind against him. ~ 15. The day had arrived for the sailing of the fleet. Corcyra was appointed for the rendezvous of the allies; but even the departure of the Athenian armament was a spectacle imposing in the extreme. Of the hundred triremes, sixty were equipped as men-of-war, the rest as transports. Fifteen hundried chosen Athenian hoplites, seven hundred of the class of Thetes to act as marines, together with five hundred Argive and two hundred and fifty Mantinean hoplites, marched at daybreak to embark at the Peir'eus, accompanied by nearly the whole of the population. As the ships were preparing to slip their moorings, the sound of the trumpet enjoined silence, and the voice of the herald, accompanied by that of the people, was lifted up in prayer. Then followed the chanting of the paean, whilst the officers on the decks of their respective vessels made libations of wine to the gods from gold and silver goblets. At length, at a given signal, the whole fleet started from Peiraeus, each crew striving, as in a nautical'contest, to arrive first at the island of AEgina. The people who lined the beach watched the vessels till they were out of sight, and then returned to the city with heavy hearts and ominous misgivings. B. C. 415.] THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION. 311 Bust of Alcibiades, CHAPTER XXX. PELOPONNESIAN WAR CONTINUED. THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION. 1. Armament mustered at Corcyra. ~ 2. Its Reception in Italy. Proceedings at Syra cuse. ~ 3. Plans of the Athenian Generals. ~ 4. The Advice of Alcibiades adopted. He gains over Naxos and Catana. ~ 5. Proceedings at Athens respecting the Mutilation of the Hermae, and the Profanation of the Mysteries. ~ 6. Alcibiades accused, and ordered to return to Athens. ~ 7. Proceedings of Nicias in Sicily. ~ 8. Preparations of the Sicilians for Defence. ~ 9. Nicias lays Siege to Syracuse. ~ 10. He seizes Epipolae and constructs a Fort at Sykd. Attempt of the Syracusans against it. ~ 11. Arrival of the Spartan General Gylippus. Change in the Athenian Prospects. ~ 12. Invasion of Attica by the Lacedamonians. They fortify Deceleia. ~ 13. The Syracusans defeat the Athenians at Sea. ~ 14. Demosthenes and Eurymedon arrive in Sicily with Reinforcements. Reverses. The Athenians resolve to retreat. ~ 15. Naval Engagement in the Great Harbor. Victory of the Syracusans. ~ 16. Its Effects. Disastrous Retreat of the Athenians. Surrender of Demosthenes. ~ 17. Surrender of Nicias. Treatment of the Prisoners. Death of Nicias and Demosthenes. ~ 18. Their Characters. ~ 1. THE Athenian fleet destined for Sicily was joined at Corcyra by the other allies in the month of July, 415 B. C. The whole armament when mustered consisted of one hundred and -thirty-four triremes and two Rhodian penteconters, and had on board five thousand one hundred hoplites, four hundred and eighty bowmen, of whom eighty were Cretans, seven hundred Rhodian slingers, and one hundred and twenty Megarian exiles, who served as light-armed troops. The fleet was accompanied by no fewer than five hundred transports, carrying provisions, warlike stores, and artificers, as well as by a great many private trading-vessels. Three fastsailing triremes were sent in advance to ascertain the dispositioh of th, 312 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXX. Italian and Sicilian towns, and to notify to the Egesteans the approach of assistance. The fleet then made for the Iapygian promontory, in three divisions, commanded by Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus. ~ 2. Their reception in Italy was far from encouraging. The utmost they could obtain was permission to take in water, and even this was refused by the Tarentines, and by the Epizephyrian Locrians. At Rhegium, however, they were allowed to land and to purchase provisions; but they were not permitted to enter the town, and the citizens refused to join or assist them. Here, therefore, they awaited the return of the three exploring vessels. Rumors of the intended expedition prevailed at Syracuse, but were treated as incredible. Hermocrates, however, was better informed than his fellow-citizens. He urged them to summon their allies and to prepare for defence, and even exhorted them to sail at once to the friendly harbor of Tarentum, and from thence to offer battle to the Athenian fleet in the Ionian Gulf. But the demagogue Athenagoras treated the whole matter as a fiction invented to serve the interests of the oligarchical party. At last one of the generals put an end to the debate by undertaking to place the city in a posture of defence. ~ 3. Meantime the three vessels which had been sent to Egesta returned to Rhegium, with the discouraging news that the accounts respecting the wealth of Egesta were entirely fictitious, and that the sum of thirty talents was all the assistance that could be hoped for from that quarter. A council of war was now held. It appears that the Athenian generals had proceeded thus far without having formed any definite plan, and each now prloposed a different one. Nicias was of opinion, that, since no effectual help could be expected from the EgestTeans, the objects of the expedition should be confined to the narrowest possible limits, and, with that view, that they should sail at once against the Selinuntines, obtain from them the best terms possible, and then return home. Alcibiades, whose hopes of glory and profit would have been ruined by this plan, proposed to gain as many allies as they could among the Greek cities in Sicily, and, having thus ascertained what assistance they could rely upon, to attack Syracuse and Selinus. Lamachus was for bolder measures. He recommended an immediate attack upon Syracuse, whilst it was yet unprepared for defence. The terror of the Syracusans would probably cause them to surrender, and the capture of their city would determine the conduct of the rest of Sicily; but if they lingered, negotiated, and did nothing, they would first be regarded with indifference and then with contempt. ~ 4. The advice of Lamachus was the most soldierlike, and, though seemingly the boldest, would undoubtedly have been the safest and most prudent in the end. But neither of his colleagues approved of it, and as Lamachus was poor, and possessed no great political interest, he was B. C. 415.] ACCUSATION OF ALCIBIADES. 313 obliged to give way. The counsel of Alcibiades was adopted as a mean between the other two. Messana refused his solicitations, but Naxos cordially joined the Athenians. Alcibiades then sailed southwards with a considerable portion of the fleet, and, passing Syracuse, despatched ten triremes into the Great Harbor, for the purpose of surveying its docks and fortifications. Nothing further was attempted; but as they sailed back, the Athenians obtained possession by surprise of the important city of Catana, which was now made the head-quarters of the armament. ~ 5. An unwelcome message greeted Alcibiades at Catana. After his departure from Athens fresh inquiries were instituted respecting the mutilation of the Herma, and the offer of large rewards brought forward additional evidence. The public agitation and anxiety were kept alive by the demagogues Peisander and Charicles, two of the commissioners of inquiry, who denounced the affair not only as a sacrilege, but also as a conspiracy for putting down the democracy and establishing a tyranny. Numerous arrests were made, and citizens of the highest character were thrown into prison on the testimony of hireling wretches. Terror reigned in the city, and the fear of being informed against rose to such a pitch, that the convocation of the Senate by the herald was a signal to the crowd which filled the market-place to disperse. Among the persons arrested was Andocides, the orator, who was induced by his fellow-prisoners to come forward and state what he knew of the affair. Hle was a young man of rank, and his evidence was implicitly believed, especially as it was confirmed by his slaves, who were put to the torture. Those whom he denounced were executed. He saved his own life by turning informer, but the hatred he incurred was such that he was obliged to leave the city. His evidence was most probably false, and the whole affair has ever remained involved in mystery. ~ 6. The execution of the supposed criminals had the effect of tranquillizing the city respecting the mutilation of the Hermae; but the profanation of the Eleusinian mysteries, a rite regarded with the deepest reverence at Athens, still remained unexpiated. The Eumolpidce, and other great families who held hereditary offices in the celebration of the mysteries, looked upon themselves as personally insulted. The public excitement was increased by the appearance of a Lacedcemonian force on the frontier, which, it was suspected, might be connected with some internal conspiracy. Both oligarchs and democrats were loud in demanding the arrest of Alcibiades; and Thessalus, the son of Cimon, who belonged to the former party, preferred an indictment against him. In pursuance of this step the public trireme, called the Salaminia, was despatched to Sicily, carrying the decree of the assembly for Alcibiades to come home and take his trial, and which met him, as before related, on his arrival at Catana. The commander of the Salaminia was, however, instructed not to seize his person, but to allow him to sail in his own trireme. Alcibiades availed 40 314 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXX himself of this privilege to effect his escape. When the ships arrived at Thurii in Italy, he absconded, and contrived to elude the search that was made after him. Nevertheless, though absent, he was arraigned at Athens, and condemned to death; his property was confiscated, and the Eumrolpidta pronounced upon him the curses of the gods. On hearing of his sentence Alcibiades is said to have exclaimed, " I will show them that I am still alive." ~ 7. Three months had now been frittered away in Sicily, during which the Athenians had done little or nothing, if we except the acquisition of Naxos and Catana. The Syracusans began to look upon them with contempt. They even meditated an attack upon the Athenians at Catana; and Syracusan horsemen rode up and insulted them in their camp. Nicias was thus absolutely shamed into undertaking something, and resolved to make an attempt upon Syracuse. By a false message that the Catanaans were ready to assist in expelling the Athenians, he induced the Syracusans to proceed thither in great force, and he availed himself of their absence to sail with his whole fleet into the Great Harbor of Syracuse, where he landed near the mouth of the Anapus, in the neighborhood of the temple of the Olympian Zeus. Here he intrenched himself in a strong position, on the right bank of the Anapus, breaking down the bridge over the river. The Syracusans, when they found that they had been deceived at Catana, marched back and offered Nicias battle in his new position. The latter accepted it, and gained the victory; after which he retired to Catana, and subsequently to Naxos into winter-quarters. He then sent messages to Athens for fresh supplies of cavalry and money, and to his Sicilian allies for reinforcements. ~ 8. The Syracusans employed the winter in preparations for defence. They built a new wall, covering both their inner and outer town to the westward (see Plan, G, HI, I), and rendering any attempt at circumvallation more difficult. They fortified and garrisoned the temple and grove of the Olympian Zeus, in the neighborhood of the city. They despatched envoys to Corinth and Sparta to solicit assistance, in the latter of which towns they found an unexpected advocate. Alcibiades, having crossed from Thurii to Cyllene in Peloponnesus, received a special invitation to proceed to Sparta. Here he revealed all the plans-of Athens, and exhorted the Lacedaemonians to frustrate them. For this purpose he advised them to send an army into Sicily, under the command of a Spartan general, and, by way of causing a diversion, to establish a fortified post at Decelea in the Attic territories. The Spartans fell in with these views, and resolved to send a force to the assistance of Syracuse in the spring, under the command of Gylippus. ~ 9. Nicias, having received a reinforcement of cavalry from Athens, as well as three hundred talents in money, recommenced hostilities as soon as the season allowed of it, and resolved on besieging Syracuse. That town B. C. 414.] DESCRIPTION OF SYRACUSE. 315 consisted of two parts, the inner and the outer city. The former of these - the original settlement - was comprised in the island of Ortygia; the latter, afterwards known by the name of Achradina, covered the high ground of the peninsula north of Ortygia, and was completely separate from the inner city. The island of Ortygia, to which the modern city is now confined, is of an oblong shape, about two miles in circumference, lying between the Great Harbor on the west and the Little Harbor on the east, and separated from the mainland by a narrow channel. The Great Harbor is a splendid bay, about five miles in circumference, the entrance of which is protected on the left hand by the promontory Plemmyrium, and on the right hand by a projecting cape of the island of Ortygia. The little port, also called Laccius, which lay between Ortygia and the outer city, was spacious enough to receive a large fleet of ships of war. The outer city was surrounded on the north and east by the sea, and by seawalls, which rendered an assault on that side almost impracticable. On the land side it was defended by a wall, and partly also by the nature of the ground, which in some parts was very steep. The low ground between the outer city and Ortygia seems not to have been included in the fortifications of either, but was employed partly as a burial-ground, partly for games and religious processions. West and northwest of the wall of the outer city stood two unfortified suburbs, which were at a later time included within the walls of Syracuse under the names of Tyche and Neapolis. At the time of which we are speaking, the latter was called Temenites, from having within it the statue and consecrated ground of Apollo Temenites. Between these two suburbs the ground rose in a gentle acclivity to the summit of the ranges of hills called Epipole. ~ 10. It was from the high ground of Epipola that Syracuse was most exposed to attack. The Syracusan generals had hitherto neglected this important position, and were on the point of occupying it, when they were anticipated by Nicias. Landing at Leon, a place upon the Bay of Thapsus, at the distance of only six or seven stadia from Epipolx, the Athenian troops reached the summit just as the Syracusans were marching towards the heights. They made, however, an attempt to dislodge the Athenians. which was repulsed; and on the following morning, Nicias and Lamachus marched their troops down the ridge and offered battle, which was declined by the Syracusans. On the summit of Epipole, Nicias constructed a fort called Labdalum; and then, coming farther down the hill towards Syracuse, he built another fort of a circular form and of considerable size at a place called Syke. From, the latter point he commenced his line of circumvallation, one wall extending southwards from Syke to the Great Harbor, and the other wall running northwards from the same fortress to the outer sea at Trogilus. (See Plan, K, L, M.) While the Athenians were busy upon their lines towards the north, the Syracusans ran a counterwall from their own lines up the slope of the Epipole (see Plan, N, 0), 316 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXX. but after a sharp conflict it was taken by the Athenians and destroyed. Not disheartened by this failure, the Syracusans commenced a second counter-work, and succeeded in constructing a ditch and stockade, which extended again from their own lines across the marsh to the Anapus. (See Plan, P, Q.) From this new position they were also dislodged by the L C WHEREAT Pon t; F' Plan of Syracuse. (From Grote's Greece.) A, B, C, D. Wall of the Outer City of Syracuse at the time of the arrival of Nicias in Sicily. E, F. Wall of Ortygia, or the Inner City of Syracuse, at the same time. G, IH, I. Additional fortification built by the Syracusans in the winter of 415 - 414 B.. K. Athenian fortification at Syke. K, L, M. Southern portion of the Athenian circumvallation from Syke to the Great Harbor. N, 0. First counter-work erected by the Syracusans. P, Q. Second counter-work constructed by the Syracusans. K, P. Intended, but unfinished, circumvallation of the Athenians from the northern side of Syk6 to the outer sea at Trogilus. S, T-, U. Third Syracusan counter-wall. V. Outer fort constructed by Gylippus. V, W, T. Wall of junction between this outer fort and the third Syracusan counter-work. Athenians; but in the assault, which was led by Lamachus, this gallant officer was slain. At the same time the Athenian fleet entered the Great Harbor, where it was henceforth permanently established. The Syracusans offered no further opposition to the progress of the circumvallation, which was at length completed towards the south. It consisted of two distinct walls, with a space between them, which was perhaps partly roofed over, in order to afford shelter for the troops. The B. C. 414.] ARRIVAL OF GYLIPPUS. 317 northern wall towards Trogilus was never completed, and through the passage thus left open, the besieged continued to obtain provisions. Nicias, who, by the death of Lamachus, had become sole commander, seemed now on the point of succeeding. The Syracusans were so sensible of their inferiority in the field, that they no longer ventured to show themselves outside the walls. They began to contemplate surrender, and even sent messages to Nicias to treat of the terms. This caused the Athenian commander to indulge in a false' confidence of success, and consequent apathy; and the army having lost the active and energetic Lamachus, operations were no longer carried on with the requisite activity. ~ 11. It was in this state of affairs that the Spartan commander Gylippus passed over into Italy with a little squadron of four ships, two Lacedemonian and two Corinthian, with the view merely of preserving the Greek cities in that country, supposing that Syracuse, and, with her, the other Greek cities in Sicily, were irretrievably lost. As he proceeded southwards along the Italian coast, a violent storm drove him into Tarentum. Nicias, though informed of his arrival, regarded his little squadron with contempt, and took no measures to interrIp.: his progress. From the Epizephyrian Locrians Gylippus learned, to his great surprise and satisfaction, that the Athenian wall of circumvallation at Syracuse had not yet been completed on the northern side. He now sailed through the Straits of Mlessana, which were left completely unguarded, and arrived safely at Himera on the north coast of Sicily. Here he announced himself as the forerunner of larger succors, and began to levy an army, which the magic of the Spartan name soon enabled him to effect; and in a few days he was in a condition to march towards Syracuse with about three thousand men. His approach had been already announced by Gongylus, a Corinthian, who had been sent forwards from the Corinthian fleet then assembled at Leucas. The Syracusans now dismissed all thoughts of surrender,, and went out boldly to meet Gylippus, who marched into Syracuse over the heights of Epipole, which the supineness of Nicias had left unguarded. Upon arriving in the city, Gylippus sent a message to the Athenians allowing them a five days' truce to collect their effects and evacuate the island. Nicias returned no answer to this insulting proposal; but the operations of Gylippus soon showed that the tide of affairs was really turned. His first exploit was to capture the Athenian fort at Laialum, which made him master of Epipols. He next commenced constructing a counter-wall to intersect the Athenian lines on the northern' side. This third counter-work of the Syracusans extended from their city wall to the northern cliff of Epipole, and was brought to a successful completion. (See Plan, S, U.) Gylippus subsequently built a fort (V) upon Epipolc; and from this fort carried another wall which joined at right angles the counter-work already erected. (See Plan, VY W, U.) This turn of affairs induced those Sicilian 318 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXX. cities, which had hitherto hesitated, to embrace the side of Syracuse. Gylippus was also reinforced by the arrival of thirty triremes from Corinth, Leucas, and Ambracia. Nicias now felt that the attempt to blockade Syracuse with his present force was hopeless. He therefore resolved to occupy the headland of Plemmyrium, the southernmost point of the entrance to the Great Harbor, which would be a convenient station for watching the enemy, as well as for facilitating the introduction of supplies. Here he accordingly erected three forts and formed a naval station. Some slight affairs occurred, in which the balance of advantage was in favor of the Syracusans. By their change of station the Athenians were now a besieged rather than a besieging force. Their triremes were becoming leaky, and their soldiers and sailors, were constantly deserting. Nicias himself had fallen into a bad state of health; and in this discouraging posture of affairs he wrote to Athens requesting to be recalled, and insisting strongly on the necessity of sending reinforcements, ~ 12. The Athenians refused to recall Nicias, but they determined on sending a large reinforcement to Sicily, under the joint command of Demosthenes and Eurymedon. The news of these fresh and extensive preparations incited the Lacedaemonians to more vigorous action. The peace, if such it can be called, had been violated in the year 414 B. c., when the Lacedemonians invaded and ravaged the Argive territories, whilst the Athenians assisted the Argives with a fleet of thirty triremes, and laid waste Epidaurus, and some neighboring places. But in the spring of 413' B. c., the Lacediemonians, under King Agis, invaded Attica itself, and, following the advice of Alcibiades, established themselves permanently at Decelea, a place situated on the ridge of Mount Parnes, about fourteen miles north of Athens, and commanding the Athenian plain. The city was thus placed in a state of siege. Scarcity began to be felt within the walls; the revenues were falling off, whilst, on the other hand, expenses were increasing. Yet even under these circumstances the Athenians had no thoughts of abandoning their ambitious enterprises. It was resolved not only to send reinforcements to Sicily, but also to insult the coasts of Laconia. For this purpose Charicles was sent thither with a fleet of thirty triremes; and being assisted by Demosthenes with the armament which he was conducting to Sicily, Charicles succeeded in establishing himself on the coast of Laconia, at a spot opposite to the island of Cythera, in a manner somewhat similar to the Athenian fort at Pylos. ~ 13. Meanwhile in Sicily the Syracusans had gained such confidence that they even ventured on a naval engagement with the Athenians. A battle was fought at the mouth of the Great Harbor, in which the Athenians were, indeed, victorious; but when they sailed back to their station at Plemmyrium, they found that Gylippus had taken advantage of this diversion to attack and take their forts there, and that a great quantity of stores and provisions had fallen into his hands. Moreover, the B. C. 413.] THE ATHENIAN FLEET DEFEATED. 319 Syracusans were not discouraged by their defeat from venturing on another naval engagement. They had greatly improved the construction of their vessels by strengthening their bows, and had learnt how to meet or evade the nautical manoeuvres of the Athenians, which were also considerably impeded by the narrow limits of the Great Harbor, now the scene of conflict. The second battle lasted two days, and ended in the defeat of the Athenians, who were now obliged to haul up their ships in the innermost part of the Great Harbor, under the lines of their fortified camp. A still more serious disaster than the loss of the battle was the loss of their naval reputation. It was evident that the Athenians had ceased to be invincible on the sea; and the Syracusans no longer despaired of overcoming them on their own element. ~ 14. Such was the state of affairs when, to the astonishment of the Syracusans, a fresh Athenian fleet of seventy-five triremes, under Demosthenes and Eurymedon, entered the Great Harbor with all the pomp and circumstance of war. It had on board a force of five thousand hoplites, of whom about a quarter were Athenians, and a great number of light-armed troops. The active and enterprising character of Demosthenes led him to adopt more vigorous measures than those which had been hitherto pursued. He saw at once that whilst Epipolae remained in the possession of the Syracusans there was no hope of taking their city, and he therefore directed all his efforts to the recapture of that position. But all his attempts were unavailing. He was defeated, not only in an open assault upon the Syracusan wall, but in a nocturnal attempt to carry it by surprise. These reverses were aggravated by the breaking out of sickness among the troops. Demosthenes now proposed to return home and assist in expelling the Lacedemonians from Attica, instead of pursuing an enterprise which seemed to be hopeless. But Nicias, who feared to return to Athens with the stigma of failure, refused to give his consent to this step. Demosthenes then urged Nicias at least to sail immediately out of the Great Harbor, and take up their position either at Thapsus or Catana, where they could obtain abundant supplies of provisions, and would have an open sea for the maneuvres of their fleet. But even to this proposal Nicias would not consent; and the army and navy remained in their former position. Soon afterwards, however, Gylippus received such large reinforcements, that Nicias found it necessary to adopt the advice of his colleague. Preparations were secretly made for their de. parture; the enemy appear to have had no suspicion of their intention, and they were on the point of quitting their ill-fated quarters on the following morning, when on the very night before (27 Aug. 413 B. c.) an eclipse of the moon took place. The soothsayers who were consulted said that the army must wait thrice nine days, a full circle of the moon, before it could quit its present position; and the devout and superstitious Nicias forthwith resolved to abide by this decision. 320 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXX. Meanwhile the intention of the Athenians became known to the Syracusans, who determined to strike a blow before their enemy escaped. They accordingly attacked the Athenian station both by sea and land. On land the attack of Gylippus was repulsed; but at sea the Athenian fleet was completely defeated, and Eurymedon, who commanded the right division, was slain. The spirits of the Syracusans rose with their victories, and though they would formerly have been content with the mere retreat of the Athenians, they now resolved on effecting their utter destruction. With this view they blocked up the entrance of the Great Harbor with a line of vessels moored across it. All hope seemed now to be cut off from the Athenians, unless they could succeed in forcing this line, and thus effecting their escape. The Athenian fleet still numbered one hundred and ten triremes, which Nicias furnished with grappling-irons, in order to bring the enemy to close quarters, and then caused a large proportion of his land force to embark. Before they set off, Nicias addressed the most earnest and touching appeals both to the crews and to the individual commanders to fight with bravery, since not only their own fate, but that of Athens itself, depended on the issue of that day's combat. He himself remained on shore, where the army was drawn up to witness the conflict. ~ 15. Never perhaps was a battle fought under circumstances of such intense interest, or witnessed by so many spectators vitally concerned in the result. The basin of the Great Harbor, about five miles in circumference, in which nearly two hundred ships, each with crews of more than two hundred men, were about to engage, was lined with spectators; whilst the walls of Ortygia, overhanging the water, were crowded with old men, women, and children, anxious to behold a conflict which was to decide the fate of their enemies, if not their own. The surface of the water swarmed with Syracusan small craft, many of them manned by youthful volunteers of the best families, ready to direct their services wherever they might be wanted. The whole scene, except in its terrible reality and the momentous interests depending on it, resembled on a large scale the naumachine exhibited by the RIoman emperors for the amusement of their subjects. The Syracusan fleet, consisting of seventy-six triremes, was the first to leave the shore. A considerable portion was detached to guard the barrier at the mouth of the harbor. Hither was directed the first and most impetuous attack of the Athenians, who sought to break through the narrow opening which had been left for the passage of merchant-vessels. Their onset was repulsed, and the battle then became general. The shouts of the combatants, and the crash of the iron heads of the vessels as they were driven together, resounded over the water, and were answered on shore by the cheers or wailings of the spectators, as their friends were victorious or vanquished. For a long time the battle was maintained with heroic courage and dubious result. At length, as the Athe B. C. 413.] DISASTROUS RETREAT OF THE ATHENIANS. 321 nian vessels began to yield and make back towards the shore, a universal shriek of hornor and despair arose from the Athenian army, whilst shouts of joy and victory were raised from the pursuing vessels, and were echoed back from the Syracusans on land. As the Athenian vessels neared the shore their crews leaped out, and made for the camp, whilst the boldest of the land army rushed forward to protect the ships from being seized by the enemy. The Athenians succeeded in saving only sixty ships, or about half their fleet. The Syracusan fleet, however, had been reduced to fifty ships; and on the same afternoon, Nicias and Demosthenes, as a last hope of escape, exhorted their men to make another attempt to break the enemy's line, and force their way out of the harbor. But the courage of the crews was so completely damped, that they positively refused to re-embark. ~ 16. The Athenian army still numbered forty thousand men; and as all chance of escape by sea was now hopeless, it was resolved to retreat by land to some friendly city, and there defend themselves against the attacks of the Syracusans. This Hermocrates was determined to prevent. The day on which the battle was fought happened to be sacred to Hercules, and a festival among the Syracusans. This circumstance, in addition to the joy and elation naturally resulting from so great a victory, had thrown the city into a state of feasting and intoxication; and had the Athenians taken their departure that night, nobody would have been found to oppose them. Hermocrates, therefore, when darkness had set in, sent down some men to the Athenian wall, who, pretending to come from the secret correspondents of Nicias in Syracuse, warned him not to decamp that night, as all the roads were beset by the Syracusans. Nicias fell into the snare, and thus, by another fatal mistake, really afforded the Syracusans an opportunity for obstructing his retreat. It was not till the next day but one after the battle that the Athenian army began to move. Never were men in so complete a state of prostration. Their vessels were abandoned to the enemy, without an attempt to save them. As the soldiers turned to quit that fatal encampment, the sense of their own woes was for a moment suspended by the sight of their unburied comrades, who seemed to reproach them with the neglect of a sacred duty; but still more by the wailings and entreaties of the wounded, who clung around their knees, and implored not to be abandoned to certain destruction. Amid this scene of universal woe and dejection, a fresh and unwonted spirit of energy and heroism seemed to be infused into Nicias. Though suffering under an incurable complaint, he was everywhere seen marshalling his troops, and encouraging them by his exhortations. The march was directed towards the territory of the Sicels in the interior of the island. The army was formed into a hollow square, with the baggage in the middle; Nicias leading the van, and Demosthenes bringing up the rear. Having forced the passage of the river Anapus, they marched on 41 322 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIAP. XXX. the first day about five miles to the westward, on the second day about half that distance, and encamped on a cultivated plain. From this place the road ascended by a sort of ravine over a steep hill called the Acraean cliff, on which the Syracusans had fortified themselves. After spending two days in vain attempts to force this position, Nicias and Demosthenes resolved during the night to strike off to the left towards the sea. Nicias, with the van, succeeded in reaching the coast; but Demosthenes, who had lost his way, was overtaken by the Syracusans at noon on the following day, and surrounded in a narrow pass. Many of his troops had disbanded during the night march, and many fell in the conflict which now ensued, till, being reduced to the number of six thousand, they surrendered, on condition of their lives being spared. ~ 17. Meanwhile Nicias, with. the van, had pursued his march, and crossed the river Erineus. On the following day, however, Gylippus overtook him, and, having informed him of the fate of his colleague, summoned him to surrender. But Nicias was incredulous, and pursued his march amidst the harassing attacks of the Syracusans. The attempt to cross the river Asinarus decided the fate of his army. The men rushed into the water in the greatest disorder, partly to escape the enemy, but chiefly from a desire to quench the burning thirst with which they were tormented. Hundreds were pressed forwards down the steep banks of the river, and were either trodden under foot, or impaled on the spears of those below, or carried away by the stream. Yet others from behind still kept pressing on, anxious to partake of the now turbid and bloody water. The troops thus became so completely disorganized, that all further resistance was hopeless, and Nicias surrendered at discretion. Out of the forty thousand who started from the camp, only ten thousand at the utmost were left at the end of the sixth day's march; the rest had either deserted or been slain. The prisoners were sent to work in the stone-quarries of Achradina and Epipolae. Here they were crowded together without any shelter, and with scarcely provisions enough to sustain life. The numerous bodies of those who died were left to putrefy where they had fallen, till at length the place became such an intolerable centre of stench and infection, that, at the end of seventy days, the Syracusans, for their own comfort and safety, were obliged to remove the survivors. All but the Athenians and the Italian and Sicilian Greeks were sold into slavery. What became of the Athenians we are not informed, but they were probably employed as slaves by the richer Syracusans, since the story runs that many succeeded in winning the affection and pity of their masters by reciting portions of the dramas of Euripides. Nicias and Demosthenes were condemned to death, in spite of all the efforts of Gylippus and Hermocrates to save them. The latter contrived to spare them the humiliation of a public execution, by providing them with the means of committing suicide. B.C. 413.1 NICIAS AND DEMOSTHENES. 323 ~ 18. Such was the end of two of the largest and best appointed armaments that had -ever gone forth from Athens. Nicias, as we have seen, was from the first opposed to the expedition in which they were employed, as pregnant with the most dangerous consequences to Athens; and though it must be admitted that in this respect his views were sound, it cannot at the same time be concealed, that his own want of energy, and his incompetence as a general, were the chief causes of the failure of the undertaking. Possessing much fortitude but little enterprise, respectable in private life, punctual in the performance of his religious duties, not deficient in a certain kind of political wisdom, which, however, derived its color rather from timidity and over-caution than from that happy mixture of boldness and prudence which characterizes the true statesman, Nicias had by these qualities obtained far more than his just share of political reputation and influence, and had thus been named to the command of an expedition for which he was qualified neither by military skill nor by that enthusiasm and confidence of success which it so peculiarly demanded. His mistakes involved the fall of Demosthenes, an officer of far greater resolution and ability than himself, and who, had his counsels been followed, would in all probability have conducted the enterprise to a safe termination, though there was no longer room to hope for success. The career of Demosthenes marks him as one of the first generals of the age, but unfortunately he held only a subordinate rank in Sicily. The Athenians became sensible when too late of the difference between the two commanders. On the pillar erected to the memory of the warriors who fell in Sicily, the name of Demosthenes found a place, whilst that of Nicias was omitted. 324 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXL Street of the Tripods at Athens, from a bas-relief. CHAPTER XXXI. FROM THE END OF THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION TO THE OVERTHIROW OF THE FOUR HUNDRED AT ATHENS. ~ 1. Consternation and Hardships at Athens. ~ 2. Measures for Defence. ~ 3. Revolt of Chios, Erythre, and Clazomene. ~ 4. Spread of the Revolt. Defection of Teos. Lesbos, and Miletus. Revolution at Samos, which becomes the Head-quarters of the Athe nian Fleet. ~ 5. Recovery of Lesbos by the Athenians. Dissatisfaction of the Lacedsemo nians with Tissaphernes. ~ 6. Schemes of Alcibiades. ~ 7. He proposes a League between the Athenians and Persians, and the Establishment of an Oligarchy at Athens. ~ 8. Agitatioli for an Oligarchy at Athens. ~ 9. Conference of Peisander with Alcibiades. Artifices of the Latter. Fresh Treaty between Tissaphernes and the Lacedsemonians. ~ 10. Progress of the Oligarchical Conspiracy at Athens and Samos. ~ 11. Establishment of the Four -Hundred. ~ 12. Their Proceedings. ~ 13. Proceedings at Samos. Alcibiades joins the Democracy there. ~ 14. The Athenian Envoys at Samos. ~ 15. Dissensions among the Four Hundred. They negotiate with Sparta. ~ 16. Counter Revolution at Athens. Defeat of the Athenian Fleet and Capture of Eubcea by the Lacedaemonians. ~ 17. The Four Hundred deposed and Democracy re-established at Athens. ~ t. The first intelligence of the destruction of the Sicilian armament is said to have been communicated by a stranger, in a barber's shop in tho Peiraeus. Big with the eventful news, the unfortunate barber hastened up to Athens to communicate it to the archons and the public; but he was treated as a talebearer and impostor; and being unable to corroborate his story, in consequence of the disappearance of his informant, he was put to the torture. The tidings were, however, soon confirmed by the arrival of fugitives who had managed to escape from the disastrous scene. Athens was now filled with affliction and dismay. To private grief for the loss of friends was added despair of the public safety. There seemed to be no means of preventing the city from falling into the hands of the B. C. 413.1 DISMAY OF THE ATHENIANS. 325 Lacedemonians. The popular fury vented itself in abusing the orators who had recommended the expedition, and the soothsayers who had foretold its success. The affairs of the Athenians wore indeed a most threatening aspect. The Lacedaemonian post at Decelea was a constant source of annoyance. No part of Attica escaped the forays which were made from thence. All the cattle were destroyed, and the most valuable slaves began to desert in great numbers to the enemy. Athens was almost in a state of siege. The fatigue of guarding the large extent of wall became very onerous on the reduced number of citizens. The knights or horsemen were on constant duty in order to repress the enemy's marauders; but their horses were soon lamed and rendered inefficient by the hard and stony nature of the soil. But what chiefly excited the despondency of the Athenians was the visible decline of their naval superiority. An engagement with the Corinthian fleet near Naupactus, in the summer of 413 B. c., had ended with neither side gaining the advantage, though the forces were nearly equal; but to the Athenians the moral effects were equivalent to a defeat. ~ 2. Yet that cheerfulness and energy under misfortune which form such striking and excellent traits in the character of the Athenians, did not long desert them. After the first movements of rage. and despair, they began to contemplate their condition more calmly, and to take the necessary measures for defence. A board of elders was appointed, under the name of Probuli,* to watch over the public safety. The splendor of the public ceremonies was curtailed in order to raise funds for the necessities of the state; the garrison recently established on the coast of Laconia was recalled; the building of a new fleet was commenced; and Cape Sunium was fortified in order tb insure an uninterrupted communication between Peiraeus and Eubea, from which island the Athenians principally drew their provisions. ~ 3. Whilst the imperial city was thus driven to consult for her very existence, it seemed a chimerical hope that she could retain her widely scattered dependencies. Her situation inspired her enemies with new vigor; states hitherto neutral declared against her; her subject allies prepared to throw off the yoke; evexn the Persian satraps and the court of Susa bestirred themselves against her. The. first blow to the Athenian empire was struck by the wealthy and populous island of Chios. This again was the work of; Aleibiades, the implacable enemy of his native land. In the winter following the overthrow of the Athenian armament in Sicily, several of the most powerful allies of Athens, among whom were the Eubeeans, Chians, and Lesbians, had solicited Sparta to assist them in throwing off the Athenian yoke. At the same time envoys appeared at * IHpoovXot. 326 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXI. Sparta from Tissaphernes, the Persian satrap of Ionia, Caria, and the adjacent coasts, and from Pharnabazus, whose satrapy extended from the Euxine to the Gulf of Elma, inviting the Lacedaemonians to co-operate with them in destroying the Athenian empire in Asia, and promising to provide the necessary funds. By the advice of Alcibiades, the Lacedemnonians resolved that the Chians should have the preference, and that a fleet should be sent to their assistance. Impatient of delay, Alcibiades shortly afterwards crossed over to Chios with a Lacedemnonian squadron of five ships, under the command of Chalcideus. The oligarchical party at Chios had matured. all their plans for the revolt, and the arrival of Alcibiades caused them to be put into execution. The people were taken by surprise, and were reluctantly induced to renounce their alliance with Athens. Their example was almost immediately followed by Erythrae and Clazomenae. ~ 4. The reserve of one thousand talents, set apart by Pericles to meet the contingency of an actual invasion, still remained untouched; but now by a unanimous vote the penalty of death, which forbade its appropriation to any other purpose, was abolished, and the fund applied in fitting out a fleet against Chios. Meantime, Alcibiades was indefatigable in fanning the flames of revolt, which now spread rapidly through the Athenian allies. Teos, Lesbos, and Miletus proclaimed their independence of Athens. At Miletus, Chalcideus, on the part of Sparta, concluded an infamous treaty with Tissaphernes, stipulating that the Greek cities and territory formerly belonging to Persia should be restored to her; that the Athenians should not be permitted to derive any revenue from them; and that Persia and the Lacedaemonians should jointly carry on the war against Athens. To conclude the bargain, Miletus was handed over to Tissaphernes. Samos still remained faithful to the Athenians, and, amidst the general defection of their Asiatic allies, had become of the last importance to them. This island, like Chios, was governed by an oligarchy; but, warned by the revolution in that island, the Samians rose against the oligarchs, slew two hundred of them, and banished four hundred more. The Athenians at once recognized the newly established democracy, and secured the adhesion of the Samians by putting them on the footing of equal and independent allies. Samos became the head-quarters of the Athenian fleet, and the base of their operations during the remainder of the war. ~ 5. The tide of success at length began to turn in favor of the Athenians. They had succeeded in collecting a considerable fleet at Samos, with which they recovered Lesbos and Clazomenae, defeated the Chians, and laid waste their territory. They also gained a victory over the Peloponnesians at Miletus, but this powerful city still remained in the hands of Tissaphernes and the Peloponnesians. Towards the close of the year, Astyochus, the Lacedaemonian com B. C. 412.] SCHEMES OF ALCIBIADES. 327 mander, received large reinforcements from Peloponnesus, and was now at the head of so imposing an armament that he was enabled to modify the former treaty with Tissaphernes, of which the Lacedmmonians were heartily ashamed. The new treaty, however, differed from the previous one rather in terms than substance, and appears to have been far from giving satisfaction at Sparta. The conduct of Tissaphernes afforded another reason for discontent. He had given notice that he could no longer continue the high rate of payment of a drachma per day for the seamen's wages, the sum agreed upon in the first treaty, without express instructions from the court of Susa; and though he had reduced that sum:.by one half, it was very irregularly paid; whilst his whole behavior displayed a great want of hearty co-operation with the Lacedaemonians. Another Peloponnesian squadron was therefore despatched to the coast of Asia, having on board Lichas and' ten other Spartans, for the purpose of remonstrating with Tissaphernes and opening fresh negotiations. Having obtained an interview with Tissaphernes at Cnidus, Lichas took exceptions to the two former treaties; of which the first expressly, the second by implication, recognized the claims of Persia, not only to the islands of the..AEgean, but even to Thessaly and Boeotia. Lichas, therefore, proposed a new treaty; but Tissaphernes was so indignant at the proposition, that he immediately broke off the negotiation. ~ 6. The conduct of Tissaphernes towards the Lacedaemonians was the result of the counsels of Alcibiades, who was scheming to effect his return to Athens by means of his intrigues with the Persian satrap. In the course of a few months Alcibiades had completely forfeited the confidence of the Lacedaemonians. His ultra-Athenian temperament and manners must have been as unwelcome to them as their own slowness and gravity were to him. The Spartan King Agis, whose wife he had seduced, was his personal enemy; and the Ephor Endius, his chief protector, went out of office in 412 B. c. To the preceding causes for private dislike was now added the want of that rapid success which he had promised to the Lacedaemonians in the East. In a man whose character for deceit was notorious it is not surprising that this failure should excite a suspicion of treachery. After the defeat of the Peloponnesians at Miletus, King Agis denounced Alcibiades as a traitor, and persuaded the new Ephors to send out instructions to put him to death. Of this, however, he was informed time enough to make his escape to Tissaphernes at Magnesia. Here he began to play an anti-Hellenic, instead of his former anti-Athenian game. He ingratiated himself into the confidence of the satrap, and persuaded him that it was not for the interest of Persia that either of the Grecian parties should be successful, but rather that they should wear each other out in their mutual struggles, when Persia would in the end succeed in expelling both. This advice was adopted by the satrap; and in order to;arry it into execution, steps were taken to secure the inactivity of the 328 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXI. Peloponnesian armament, which, if vigorously employed, was powerful enough to put a speedy end to the war. With this view the Lacedaemonian commanders were first persuaded to await the arrival of the Phcenician fleet, which, however, was never intended to appear. But as this was a pretext which could not be made available for any length of time, the next argument was in the more solid shape of pecuniary bribes administered to Astyochus and the other Spartan leaders. Spartan virtue, which exists rather in imagination than reality, was not proof against this seduction. The Syracusan, Hermocrates,-for a Sicilian squadron was co-operating with the Peloponnesian fleet, -was alone found to be incorruptible. ~ 7. Alcibiades, having thus in some degree detached Tissaphernes from the Lacedaemonians, now endeavored to persuade him that it was more for the Persian interest to conclude a league with Athens than with Sparta; since the former state sought only to retain her maritime dependencies, whilst Sparta had held out promises of liberty to every Grecian city, from which she could not consistently recede. The only part of his advice, however, which the satrap seems to have sincerely adopted, was that of playing off one party against the other. But about this Alcibiades did not at all concern himself. It was enough for his views, which had merely the selfish aim of his own restoration to Athens, if he could make it appear that he possessed sufficient influence with Tissaphernes to procure his assistance for the Athenians; and for this the intimate terms on which he lived with the satrap seemed a sufficient guaranty. He therefore began to communicate with theAthenian generals at Samos, and held out the hope of a Persian alliance as the price of his restoration to his country. But as he both hated and feared the Athenian democracy, he coupled his offer with the condition that a revolution should be effected at Athens, and an oligarchy established. The Athenian generals greedily caught at the proposal; and though the great mass of the soldiery weie violently opposed to it, they were silenced, if not satisfied, when told that Athens could be saved only by means of Persia. The oligarchical conspirators formed themselves into a confederacy, and Peisander was sent to Athens to organize the clubs in that city. But the conspirators overlooked the fact that the word of Alcibiades was their only security for the co-operation of Persia. Phrynichus alone among the Athenian generals opposed the scheme; not that lie disliked oligarchy, but that he hated Alcibiades, and saw through his designs. ~ 8. The proposition for an oligarchy which Peisander made in the Athenian assembly met with the most determined opposition; whilst the personal enemies of Alcibiades, especially the sacred families of the Eumolpidee and Ceryces, violently opposed the return of the man who had profaned the mysteries. The single but unanswerable reply of Peisander was, the necessities of the republic. A reluctant vote for a change of con B. C. 412.1 SCHEMES OF ALCIBIADES. 329 stitution was at length extorted from the people. Peisander and ten others were despatched to treat with Alcibiades and Tissaphernes. At the same time Phrynichus and his colleague Scironides were deposed from their command at Samos, and their places supplied by Diomedon and Leon. Before his departure Peisander had brought all the oligarchical clubs in Athens into full activity. During his absence the same task was undertaken by Antiphon, the rhetorician. He was assisted by Theramenes, and subsequently by Phrynichus, who, after his arrival at Athens, had become a violent partisan of the oligarchy. ~ 9. When Peisander and his colleagues arrived in Ionia, they informed Alcibiades that measures had been taken for establishing an oligarchical form of government at Athens, and required him to fulfil his part of the engagement by procuring the aid and alliance of Persia. But Alcibiades knew that he had undertaken what he could not perform, and now resolved to escape from the dilemma by one of his habitual artifices. He received the Athenian deputation in the presence of Tissaphernes himself, and made such extravagant demands on behalf of the satrap that Peisander and his colleagues indignantly broke off the conference. They attributed, however, the duplicity of Alcibiades to his want of will, and not to his want of power, to serve them; and they now began to suspect that lis oligarchical scheme was a mere trick, and that in reality he desired the democracy to remain, and to procure his restoration to its bosom. Tissaphernes, who did not wish absolutely to break with the Lacedemonians, now began to fear that he was pushing matters too far; and, as they already felt the pinch of want, he furnished them with some pay, and concluded a new treaty with them, by which they agreed to abandon all' the continent of Asia, and consequently the Greek cities in that quarter. To this treaty Pharnabazus was also a party. Persia did not waive her claim to the islands, but nothing was stipulated respecting them. On' these conditions the aid of a Phoenician fleet was promised to the Peloponnesians. ~ 10. Notwithstanding the conduct of Alcibiades, the oligarchical conspirators proceeded with the revolution at Athens, in which they had gone too far to recede. Peisander, with five of the envoys, returned to Athens to complete the work they had begun; the rest were sent to establish oligarchies among the allies. The leaders of the army at Samos began a similar movement in that island. Their first step was the gratuitous murder of Hyperbolus, an Athenian demagogue who had been ostracized some years before, and who was now residing at Samos, though apparently without possessing any influence there. But the new commanders, Diomedon and Leon, were favorable to the democracy, and they found by personal inquiry that the great majority of the crews, and especially that of the public trireme called the Paralus, were ready to support the ancient constitution. Accordingly, when the oligarchs rose, they were overpowered 42 330 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXI. by superior numbers; thirty of them were killed in the contest, and three were subsequently indicted and banished. Meanwhile at Athens, after the departure of Peisander, the council of Probuli, as well as many leading citizens, had joined the oligarchs. Their attacks upon the democracy were not open, but were conducted by means of depreciating speeches respecting its costliness, through the pay given to the dicasts and others discharging civil offices, which, it was represented, the state could no longer afford. They did not venture to propose the entire abolition of the democracy, but merely a modification of it, by restricting the number of those entitled to the franchise to five thousand. But even this proposition was never intended to be carried into execution. Those who stood forward to oppose. the scheme were privately assassinated. A reign of terror now commenced. Citizens were continually falling; yet no man could tell whose hand struck the blow, or whose turn might come next. ~ 11. The return of Peisander was the signal for consummating the revolution. He proposed in the assembly, and carried a resolution, that a committee of ten should be appointed to prepare a new constitution, which was to be submitted to the approbation of the people. But when the day appointed.for that purpose arrived, the assembly was not convened in the Pnyx, but in the temple of Poseidon at Colonus, a village upwards of a mile from Athens. Here the conspirators could plant their own partisans, and were less likely to be overawed by superior numbers. The Grapkh Paranomon (ypafq 7rapavowov), or action against those who proposed any unconstitutional measure, having first been repealed, Peisander obtained the assent of the meeting to the following revolutionary changes:- 1. The abolition of all the existing magistracies; 2. The cessation of all payments for the discharge of civil functions; 3. The appointment of a committee of five persons, who were to name ninetyfie. more; each of the hundred thus constituted to choose three persons; the body of Four Hundred thus formed to be an irresponsible government, holding its sittings in the Senate-House. The Four Hundred were to convene the select body of five thousand citizens whenever they thought proper. Nobody knew who these five thousand were, but they answered two purposes, namely, to give an air of greater popularity to the government, as well as to overawe the people by an exaggerated notion of its strength. ~ 12. The government thus constituted proceeded to establish itself by force. A body of hoplites having been posted in the neighborhood of the Senate-House, the Four Hundred entered it, each with a dagger concealed under his garment, and followed by their body-guard of a hundred and twenty youths, the instruments of the secret assassinations already mentioned. The ancient Senate was dismissed, but the pay due to the members was offered, and basely accepted. Thus perished the Athenian democracy, after an existence of nearly a century since its establishment B. C. 411.] THE FOUR HUNDRED AT ATHENS. 331 by Cleisthenes. The revolution was begun from despair of the foreign relations of Athens, and from the hope of assistance from Persia; but it was carried out through the machinations of Antiphon and his accomplices after that delusion had ceased. ^ Having divided themselves into Prytanias or sections, and installed themselves with sacrifice and prayer, the Four Hundred proceeded to put to death or imprison the most formidable of their political enemies. Their next step was to make overtures for peace to Agis. The Spartan king, however, believed that the revolution was not safely established, and preferred an attempt to capture the city during the dissensions by which he supposed it to be torn. But on marching up to the walls he found them carefully guarded, and his troops were repulsed by a sally of the besieged. A second application of the Four Hundred met with a better reception, and they were encouraged to send to Sparta. ~ 13. The failure of the revolution at Samos was highly unfavorable to the success of the revolution at Athens; but the Four Hundred despatched envoys to that island, with instructions to make the matter as palatable as possible. These, however, had been forestalled by Chaereas. Under the impression that the democracy still existed at Athens, Chlereas had been sent to the city from Samos in the Paralus with the news of the counter-revolution in the island. But when the Paralus arrived, the Four Hundred had already been installed; whereupon some of her democratic crew were imprisoned, and the rest transferred to an ordinary trireme. Chaereas himself found means to escape, and returned to Samos, where he aggravated the proceedings at Athens by additions of his own, and filled the army with uncontrollable wrath. At the instance of Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus, a meeting was called in which the soldiers pledged themselves to maintain the democracy, to continue the war against Peloponnesus, and to put down the usurpers at Athens.. The whole army, even those who had taken part in the oligarchical movements, were sworn to uphold these principles; and to every male Samian of military age a similar oath was administered. Thus the Athenian democracy continued to exist at Samos alone. The soldiers, laying aside for a while their military character, constituted themselves into an assembly of the people, deposed several of their officers, and appointed others whom they could better trust. The meeting resounded with patriotic speeches. Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus were appointed to the chief command; the former of whom proposed the return of Alcibiades, who, it was believed, was now able and willing to aid the democratic cause with the gold and forces of Persia. After considerable opposition the proposal was agreed to; Alcibiades was brought to Samos and introduced to the assembly, where, by his magnificent promises, and extravagant boasts respecting his influence with Tissaphernes, he once more succeeded in deceiving the Athenians. The accomplished traitor was elected one of the generals, and, in pur 832 IISTOnY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXI. suance of his artful policy, began to pass backwards and forwards between Samos and Magnesia, with the view of inspiring both the satrap and the Athenians with a reciprocal idea of his influence with either, and of instilling distrust of Tissaphernes into the minds of the Peloponnesians. ~ 14. Such was the state of affairs at Samos when the envoys from the Four Hundred arrived. They were invited by the generals to make their communication to the assembled troops; but so great was the antipathy manifested towards them, that they could hardly obtain a hearing. Their presence revived a proposition which had been started before,- to sail at once to Athens, and put down the oligarchy by force. By the advice of Alcibiades, seconded by Thrasybulus, this proposal was, however, again discarded. The envoys were sent back to Athens with the answer that the army approved of the five thousand, but that the Four Hundred must resign and reinstate the ancient Senate of Five Hundred. ~15. At the first news of the re-establishment of democracy at Samos, distrust and discord had broken out among the Four Hundred. Antiphon and Phrynichus, at the head of the extreme section of the oligarchical party, were for admitting a Lacedaemonian garrison; and, with a view to further that object, actually caused a fort to be, erected at Eetionza, a tongue of land commanding the entrance to the harbor of the Peiraeus.* But others, discontented with their share of power, began to affect more popular sentiments. Conspicuous among these were Theramenes and Aristocrates, the former of whom began to insist on the necessity for calling the shadowy body of five thousand into a real existence. As the answer from Samos very much strengthened this party, their opponents found that no time was to be lost; and Antiphon, Phrynichus, and ten others, proceeded in all haste to Sparta, with offers to put the Lacedhemonians in possession of the Peiraeus. The latter, however, with their usual slowness, or perhaps from a suspicion of treachery, let slip the golden opportunity. All they could be induced to promise was, that a fleet of forty-two triremes should hover near the Peiraeus, and watch a favorable occasion for seizing it. The failure of this mission was another blow to the party of Phrynichus; and shortly afterwards that leader himself was assassinated in open daylight whilst leaving the Senate-House.- Some hoplites, of the same tribe as Aristocrates, now seized the fort at Eetionea. Theramenes gave his sanction to the demolition of the fort, which was forthwith accomplished; whilst the inability of the Four Hundred to prevent it betrayed the extent of their power, or rather of their weakness. ~ 16. The Four Hundred now appear to have taken some steps to call the five thousand into existence. But it was too late. Tlte leaders of the counter-revolution, entering armed into the theatre of mioniysus at the Peiraeus, formed a democratic assembly under the olWd forms, which k On the left to one entering the harbor, i. e. on the northern side.- ED. B. C. 411.] OVERTHROW OF THE FOUR HUNDRED. 333 adjourned to the Anaceum, or temple of the Dioscuri, immediately under the Acropolis. Here the Four Hundred sent deputies to negotiate with them, and another assembly was appointed to be held in the theatre of Dionysus; but just as they were meeting the news arrived that the Lacedaemonian fleet was approaching the Peirmus. The Athenians were immediately on the alert, and the Lacedamonian admiral, perceiving no signs of assistance from within, doubled Cape Sunium and proceeded to Oropus. It was now plain that their object was to excite a revolt in Euboea. In all haste the Athenians launched an inadequate fleet of thirty-six triremes, manned by inexperienced crews. At Eretria in Euboea it was encountered by the Lacedaemonian fleet, and completely defeated, with the loss of twenty-two ships. Euboea, supported by the Lacedaemonians and Boeotians, then revolted from Athens. ~ 17. Great was the dismay of the Athenians on receiving this news. The loss of Euboza seemed a death-blow. The Lacedaemonians might now easily blockade the ports of Athens and starve her into surrender; whilst the partisans of the Four Hunidred would doubtless co-operate with-the enemy. But from this fate they were again saved by the characteristic slowness of thel Lacedaemonians, who confined themselves to securing the conquest of Euboea. Thus left unmolested, the Athenians convened an assembly in the Pnyx. Votes were plassd for deposing the Four Hundred, and placing the government in the hands of the five thousand, of whom every citizen who could furnish a panoply might be a member. In short, the old constitution was restored, except that the franchise was restricted to five thousand citizens, and payment for the discharge of civil functions abolished. In subsequent assemblies, the Archons, the Senate. and other institutions were revived; and a vote was passed to recall Alcibiades and some of his friends. The number of the five thousand was never exactly observed, and was soon enlarged into universal citizenship. Thus the Four Hundred were overthrown after a reign of four months. Theramenes stood forward and impeached the leaders of the extreme oligarchical party, on the ground of their embassy to Sparta. Most of them succeeded in making their escape from Athens; but Antiphon and Archiptolemus were apprehended, condemned, and executed, in spite of the admiration excited by the speech of the former in his defence. The rest were arraigned in their absence and condemned, their houses razed, and their property confiscated.* * Thucydides (Lib. VIII. 68) states that Antiphon made the ablest defence that had ever been heard down to his time. The houses of Archiptolemus and Antiphon were razed to the ground, and on the columns marking the boundaries of their lots were inscribed the words, " Archiptolemus and Antiphon, the two traitors." - ED. 334 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIL One of the Caryatides supporting the southern portico of the Erechtheum. CHAPTER XXXII. FROM THE FALL OF THE FOUR HUNDRED AT ATHENS TO THE BATTLE OF JEGOSPOTAMI. ~ 1. State of the Belligerents. ~ 2. Defeat of the Peloponnesians at Cynossema. ~ 3. Capture of Cyzicus by the Athenians, and Second Defeat of the Peloponnesians at Abydos. ~ 4. Arrest of Alcibiades by Tissaphernes, and his subsequent Escape. Signal Defeat of the Peloponnesians at Cyzicus. ~ 5. The Athenians Masters of the Bosporus. The Lacedemonians propose a Peace, which is rejected. ~ 6. Pharnabazus assists the Lacedaemonians. ~ 7. Capture of Chalcedon and Byzantium by the Athenians. ~ 8. Return of Alcibiades to Athens. ~ 9. He escorts the Sacred Procession to Eleusis. ~ 10. Cyrus comes down to the Coast of Asia. Lysander appointed Commander of the Peloponnesian Fleet. 11. Interview between Cyrus and Lysander.'~ 12. Alcibiades at Samos. Defeat of Antiochus at Notium. ~ 13. Alcibiades is dismissed. ~ 14. Lysander superseded by Callicratidas. Energetic Measures of the Latter. ~ 15. Defeat of Conon at Mytilene, and Investment of that Town by Callicratidas. ~ 16. Excitement at Athens, and Equipment of a large Fleet. ~ 17. Battle of Arginussa. Defeat and Death of Callicratidas. ~ 18. Arraignment and Condemnation of the Athenian Generals. ~ 19. Reappointment of Lysander as Navarchus. ~ 20. Siege of Lampsacus, and Battle of JEgospotami. ~ 1. IT is necessary now to revert to the war, and the state of the contending parties. The struggle had become wholly maritime. Although B. C. 411.] DEFEAT OF THE PELOPONNESIANS AT CYNOSSEMA. 335 the Lacedaemonians occupied at Decelea a strong post within sight of Athens, yet their want of skill in the art of besieging towns prevented them from making any regular attempt to capture that city. On the other hand, the great reverses sustained by the Athenians in Sicily disabled them from carrying the war, as they had formerly done, into the enemy's country. Yet they still possessed a tolerable fleet, with which they were endeavoring to maintain their power in the AEgean and on the coasts and islands of Asia Minor. This was now become the vital point where they had to struggle for empire, and even for existence; for, since the commencement of the war, the maritime power of the Spartans and their allies had become almost equal to the maritime power of Athens. They now put to sea with fleets generally larger than the fleets of the Athenians; and their ships were handled, and naval manoeuvres executed, with a skill equal to that of their rivals. The great attention which the Lacedemonians had bestowed on naval affairs is evinced by the importance into which the new office of the NavarchMa * had now risen amongst them. The Navarchus * enjoyed a power even superior, whilst it lasted, to that of the Spartan kings, since he was wholly uncontrolled by the Ephors; but his tenure of office was limited to a year. From this state of things it resulted that the remainder of the war had to be decided on the coasts of Asia; and it will assist the memory to conceive it divided into four periods: 1. The war on the Hellespont (which must be taken to include the Propontis, whither it was transferred soon after the oligarchical revolution at Athens); 2. From the Hellespont it was transferred to Ionia; 3. From Ionia to Lesbos; 4. Back to the Hellespont, where it was finally decided. ~ 2. Mindarus, who now commeanded the Peloponnesian fleet, disgusted at length by the often-broken promises of Tissaphernes, and the scanty and irregular pay which he furnished, set sail fiom Miletus and proceeded to the Hellespont, with the intention of assisting the satrap Pharnabazus, and of effecting, if possible, the revolt of the Athenian dependencies in that quarter. Hither he was pursued by the Athenian fleet under Thrasyllus. In a few days an engagement ensued (in August, 411 B. c), in the famous straits between Sestos and Abydos, in which the Athenians, though with a smaller force, gained the victory, and erected a trophy on the promontory of Cynossema, near the tomb and chapel of the Trojan queen, Hecuba. After this defeat Mindarus sent for the Peloponnesian fleet at Euboea, which, however, was overtaken by a violent storm near the headland of Mount Athos, and totally destroyed. But though this circumstance afforded some relief to Athens, by withdrawing an annoying enemy from her shores, it did not enable her to regain possession of Euboea. The Eubceans, assisted by the Boeotians, and by the inhabitants of Chalcis and other cities, constructed a bridge across the narrowest part of the Euripus, and thus deprived Euboea of its insular character. * NavapXtla: NavapXos. 336 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXII. ~ 3. The Athenians followed up their victory at Cynossema by the reduction of Cyzicus, which had revolted from them. A month or two afterwards another obstinate engagement took place between the Peloponnesian and Athenian fleets near Abydos, which lasted a whole day, anti was at length decided in favor of the Athenians by the arrival of Alcibiades with his squadron of eighteen ships from Samos. The Peloponnesian ships were run ashore, where they were defended, with great personal exertion, by Pharnabazus and his troops. ~ 4. Shortly after this battle Tissaphernes arrived at the Hellespont with the view of conciliating the offended Peloponnesians. He was not only jealous of the assistance which the latter were now rendering to Pharnabazus, but it is also evident that his temporizing policy had displeased the Persian court. This appears from his conduct on the present occasion, as well as from the subsequent appointment of Cyrus to the supreme command on the Asiatic coast, as we shall presently have to relate. When Alcibiades, who imagined that Tissaphernes was still favorable to the Athenian cause, waited on him with the customary presents, he was arrested by order of the satrap, and sent in custody to Sardis. At the end of a month, however, he contrived to escape to Clazomene, and again joined the Athenian fleet early in the spring of 410 B.c. Mindarus, with the assistance of Pharnabazus on the land side, was now engaged in the siege of Cyzicus, which the Athenian admirals determined to relieve. Having passed up the Hellespont in the night, they assembled at the island of Proconnesus. Here Alcibiades addressed the seamen, telling them that they had nothing further to expect from the Persians, and must be prepared to act with the greatest vigor both by sea and land. He then sailed out with his squadron towards Cyzicus, and by a pretended flight inveigled Mindarus to a distance from the harbor; whilst the other two divisions of the Athenian fleet, under Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus, being favored by hazy weather, stole between Mindarus and the harbor, and cut off his retreat. In these circumstances the Spartan commander ran his vessels ashore, where, with the assistance of Pharnabazus, he endeavored to defend them against the attacks of the Athenians. Alcibiades having landed his men, a battle ensued, in which Mindarus was slain, the Lacedaemonians and Persians routed, and the whole Peloponnesian fleet captured, with the exception of the Syracusan ships, which Hermocrates caused to be burnt. The severity of this blow was pictured in the laconic epistle in which Hippocrates, the second in command,* announced it to the Ephors: " Our good luck is gone; 3Mindarus is slain; the men are starving; we know not what to do." ~ 5. The results of this victory were most important. Perinthus and Selymbria, as well as Cyzicus, were recovered; and the Athenians, once * Called Epistoleus ('E7rtrroXevX ) or "Secretary " in the Lacedemonian fleet. B. C. 407.] ALCIBIADES RETURNS TO ATHENS. 337 more masters of the Propontis, fortified the town of Chrysopolis, over against Byzantium, at the entrance of the Bosporus; re-established their toll of ten per cent. on all vessels passing from the Euxine; and left a squadron to guard the strait and collect the dues. So great was the discouragement of the Lacedaemonians at the loss of their fleet, that the Ephor, Endius, proceeded to Athens to treat for peace on the basis of both parties standing just as they were. The Athenian assembly was at this time led by the demagogue Cleophon, a lamp-maker, known to us by the later comedies of Aristophanes. Cleophon appears to have been a man of considerable ability; but the recent victories had inspired him with too sanguine hopes, and he advised the Athenians to reject the terms proposed by Endius. Athens thus threw away the golden opportunity of recruiting her shattered forces, of which she stood so much in need; and to this unfortunate advice must be ascribed the calamities which subsequently overtook her. ~ 6. Meanwhile Pharnabazus was active in affording the Lacedaemonians all the assistance in his power. He clothed and armed their seamen, furnished them with provisions and pay for two months, opened to them the forests of Mount Ida for supplies of timber, and assisted them in building new ships at Antandros. He helped them to defend Chalcedon, now besieged by Alcibiades, and by his means that town was enabled to hold out for a long time. But the Athenians had already obtained their principal object. The possession of the Bosporus reopened to them the trade of the Euxine. From his lofty fortress at Decelea, the Spartan king, Agis, could descry the corn-ships from the Euxine sailing into the harbor of the Peiraeus, and felt how fruitless it was to occupy the fields of Attica whilst such abundant supplies of provisions were continually finding their way to the city. ~ 7. The year 409 B. c. was not marked by any memorable events; but in the following year Chalcedon at length surrendered to the combined Athenian forces, in spite of an attempt of Pharnabazus to save it. Selymbria was also taken by Alcibiades about the same time. Byzantium fell next. After it had been besieged by Alcibiades for some months, the gates were opened to the Athenians towards the close of the year 408 B. c., through the treachery of a party among its inhabitants. ~ 8. These great achievements of Alcibiades naturally paved the way for his return to Athens. In the spring of 407 B. c. he proceeded with the fleet to Samos, and from thence sailed to Peireus. His reception was far more favorable than he had ventured to anticipate. The whole population of Athens flocked down to Peireus to welcome him, and escorted him to the city. In the Senate and in the assembly he protested his innocence of the impieties imputed to him, and denounced the injustice of his enemies. His sentence was reversed without a dissentient voice; his confiscated property restored; the curse of the Eumolpidce revoked, and the leaden 43 338 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIL plate on which it was engraven thrown into the sea. He seemed to be in the present juncture the only man capable of restoring the grandeur and the empire of Athens; he was accordingly named general with unlimited powers, and a force of one hundred triremes, fifteen hundred hoplites, and one hundred and fifty cavalry placed at his disposal. ~ 9. But whatever change eight years of exile and his recent achievements had produced in the public feeling towards Alcibiades, it was one of forgiveness rather than of love, and rested more on the hopes of the future than on the remembrance of the past. The wounds which he had inflicted on Athens in the affairs of Syracuse and Decelea, in the revolts of Chios and Miletus, and in the organization of the conspiracy of the Four Hundred, were too severe to be readily forgotten; and he had still many enemies, who, though silent amid the general applause, did not cease to whisper their secret condemnation. Alcibiades, however, disbelieved or disregarded their machinations, and yielded himself without reserve to the breeze of popular favor which once more filled his sails. Before his departure, he took an opportunity to atone for the impiety of which he had been suspected. Although his armament was in perfect readiness, he delayed its sailing till after the celebration of the Eleusinian mysteries at the beginning of September. For seven years the customary procession across the Thriasian plain had been suspended, owing to the occupation of Decelea by the enemy, which compelled the sacred troop to proceed by sea. Alcibiades now escorted them on their progress and return with his forces, and thus succeeded in reconciling himself with the offended goddesses and with their holy priests, the Eumolpidae. ~ 10. Meanwhile, a great change had been going on in the state of affairs in tile East. We have already seen that the Great King was displeased with the vacillating policy of Tissaphernes, and had determined to adopt more energetic measures against the Athenians. During the absence of Alcibiades, Cyrus, the younger son of Darius, a prince of a bold and enterprising spirit, and animated with a lively hatred of Athens, had arrived at the coast for the purpose of carrying out the altered policy of the Persian court; and with that view had been invested with the satrapies of Lydia, the Greater Phrygia, and Cappadocia, as well as with the military command of all those forces which mustered at Castolus. The arrival of Cyrus opens the last phase of the Peloponnesian war. Another event, in the highest degree unfavorable to the Athenian cause, was the accession of Lysander, as Navarchus, to the command of the Peloponnesian fleet. Lysander was the third of the remarkable men whom Sparta produced during the war. In ability, energy, and success he may be compared with Brasidas and Gylippus, though immeasurably inferior to the former in every moral quality. He was born of poor parents, and was by descent a mothax, or one of those Lacedaemonians who could nevei enjoy the full rights of Spartan citizenship. The allurements of money B.C. 407.J ARRIVAL OF CYRUS ON THE COAST. 339 and of pleasure had no influence over him; but his ambition was boundless, and he was wholly unscrupulous about the means which he employed to gratify it. In pursuit of his objects he hesitated at neither deceit, nor perjury, nor cruelty, and he is reported to have laid it down as one of his maxims in life, to avail himself of the fox's skin where the lion's failed. ~ 11. Lysander had taken up his station at Ephesus, with the Lacedaeemonian- fleet of seventy triremes; and when Cyrus arrived at Sardis, in the springo-f 407 B. C., he hastened to pay his court to the young prince, and was received with every mark of favor. A vigorous line of action was resolved on. Cyrus at once offered five hundred talents, and affirmed that, if more were needed, he was prepared to devote his private funds to the cause, and even to coin into money the very throne of gold and silver on which he sat. In a banquet which ensued, Cyrus drank to the health of Lysander, and desired him to name any wish which he could gratify. Lysander immediately requested an addition of an obolus to the daily pay of the seamen. Cyrus was surprised at so disinterested a demand, and from that day conceived a high degree of respect and confidence for the Spartan commander. Lysander on his return to Ephesus employed himself in refitting his fleet, and in organizing clubs in the Spartan interest in the cities of'Asia. ~ 12. Alcibiades set sail from Athens in September. He first proceeded to Andros, now occupied by a Lacedsemonian force; but, meeting with a stouter resistance than he expected, he left Conon with twenty ships to prosecute the siege, and proceeded with the remainder to Samos. It was here that he first learnt the altered state of the Athenian relations with Persia. Being ill provided with funds for carrying on the war, he was driven to make predatory excursions for the purpose of raising money. He attempted to levy contributions on Cyme, an unoffending Athenian dependency, and, being repulsed, ravaged its territory; an act which caused loud complaints against him to be lodged at Athens. During his absence on this expedition, he intrusted the bulk of the fleet at Samos to his pilot, Antiochus, with strict injunctions not to venture on an action. Notwithstanding these orders, however, Antiochus sailed out and brought the Peloponnesian fleet to an engagement off Notium, in which the Athenians were defeated with the loss of fifteen ships, and Antiochus himself was slain. Among the Athenian armament itself great dissatisfaction was growing up against Alcibiades. Though at the head of a splendid force, he had in three months' time accomplished literally nothing. His debaucheries and dissolute conduct on shore were charged against him, as well as his selecting for confidential posts not the men best fitted for them, but those who, like Antiochus, were the boon companions and the chosen associates of his revels. ~ 13. These accusations forwarded to Athens, strengthened by com 340 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXII. plaints from Cyme, and fomented by his secret enemies, soon produced an entire revulsion in the public feeling towards Alcibiades. It was seen that he was still the same man, and that he had relapsed into all his former habits, in the confidence that his success and two or three years of good behavior had succeeded in recovering for him the favor and esteem of his countrymen. The Athenians voted that he should be dismissed from his command, and appointed in his place ten new generals, with Conon at their head. ~ 14. The year of Lysander's command expired about the same time as the appointment of Conon to the Athenian command. Through the intrigues of Lysander, his successor, Callicratidas, was received with dissatisfaction both by the Lacedaemonian seamen and by Cyrus. Loud complaints were raised of the impolicy of an annual change of commanders. Lysander threw all sorts of difficulties into the way of his successor, to whom he handed over an empty chest, having first repaid to Cyrus all the money in his possession, under the pretence that it was a private loan. The straightforward conduct of Callicratidas, however, who summoned the Lacedaemonian commanders, and, after a dignified remonstrance, plainly put the question whether he should return home or remain, silenced all opposition. But he was sorely embarrassed for funds. Cyrus treated him with haughtiness; and when he waited on that prince at Sardis, he was dismissed, not only without money, but even without an audience. Callicratidas, however, had too much energy to be daunted by such obstacles. Sailing with his fleet from Ephesus to Miletus, he laid before the assembly of that city, in a spirited address, all the ills they had suffered at the hands of the Persians, and exhorted them to bestir themselves and dispense with their alliance. He succeeded in persuading the Milesians to make him a large grant of money, whilst the leading, men even came forward with private subscriptions. By means of this assistance he was enabled to add fifty triremes to the ninety delivered to him by Lysander; and the Chians further provided him with ten clays' pay for theiseamen. He now sailed for Lesbos, and, taking the town of Methymna by storm, delivered it over to be plundered by his men. He likewise caused all the slaves to be sold for their benefit, but he nobly refused to follow the example of his predecessors, in selling the Athenian garrison and Methymnmean citizens as slaves; declaring that, so'long as he held the command, no Greek should ever be reduced to slavery. ~ 15. The fleet of Callicratidas was now double that of Conon. Like the Doge of Venice in modern times, he claimed the sea as his lawful bride, and warned Conon by a message to abstain from his adulterous intercourse. The latter, who had ventured to approach Methymna, was compelled to run before the superior force of Callicratidas. Both fleets entered the harbor of Mytilene at the same time, where a battle ensued in which Conon lost thirty ships, but he saved the remaining forty by hauling them B. C. 406.] BATTLE OF ARGINUS2E. 341 ashore under the walls of the town. Callicratidas then blockaded Mytilene both by sea and land; whilst Cyrus, on learning his success, immediately furnished him with supplies of money. Conon, however, contrived to despatch a trireme to Athens with the news of his desperate position. ~ 16. As soon as the Athenians received intelligence of the blockade of Mytilene, vast efforts were made for its relief; and we learn with surprise, that in thirty days a fleet of one hundred and ten triremes was equipped and despatched from Peiraeus. The armament assembled at Samos, where it was reinforced by scattered Athenian ships, and by contingents from the allies, to the extent of forty vessels. The whole fleet of one hundred and fifty sail then proceeded to the small islands of Arginusae, near the coast of Asia, and facing Malea, the southeastern cape of Lesbos. Callicratidas, who went out to meet them, took up his station at the latter point, leaving Eteonicus with fifty ships to maintain the blockade of Mytilene. He had thus only one hundred and twenty ships to oppose to the one hundred and fifty of the Athenians, and his pilot, Hermon, advised him to retire before the superior force of the enemy. But Callicratidas replied, that he would not disgrace himself by flight, and that if he should perish, Sparta would not feel his loss. ~ 17. The greatest precautions were taken in drawing up the Athenian fleet. The main strength was thrown into the wings, each of which consisted of sixty Athenian ships, divided into four squadrons of fifteen each, ranged in a double line. The Peloponnesian fleet, on the contrary, was drawn up in a single extended line; a circumstance displaying great confidence of superiority, and which denoted a vast change in the relative naval skill of the parties; for at the beginning of the war their tactics had been precisely the reverse. It must, however, be borne in mind, that the far greater part of the Athenian fleet was on this occasion manned by hastily raised crews, who had never been to sea before; Whilst the Peloponnesian sailors had been well trained by several years' experience. The battle was long and obstinate. All order was speedily lost, and the ships fought singly with one another. In one of these contests, Callicratidas, who stood on the prow of hig vessel ready to board the enemy, was thrown overboard by the shock of the vessels as they met, and perished. At length victory began to declare for the Athenians. The Lacedaemonians, after losing seventy-seven vessels, retreated with the remainder to Chios and Phocaea. The loss of the Athenians was twenty-five vessels. Eteonicus was now in jeopardy at Mytilene. When informed of the defeat of his countrymen, he directed the vessel which brought the news to put to sea again, and to return with wreaths and shouts of triumph; whilst, taking advantage of the false impression thus raised in the minds of the Athenians, he hastily got ready for sea, and reached Chios in safety. At the same time the blockading army was withdrawn to Methymna. Conon, thus unexpectedly liberated, put to sea, and the united fleet took up their station at Samos. 842 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXI. ~ 18. The battle of Arginuse led to a deplorable event, which has for ever sullied the pages of Athenian history. At least a dozen Athenian vessels were left floating about in a disabled condition after the battle; but, owing to a violent storm that ensued, no attempt was made to rescue the survivors, or to collect the bodies of the dead for burial. Eight of the ten generals were summoned'home to answer for this conduct; Conon, by his situation at Mytilene, was of course exculpated, and Archestratus had died. Six of the generals obeyed the summons, and were denounced in the assembly by Theramenes, formerly one of the Four Hundred, for neglect of duty. The generals replied, that they had commissioned Theramenes himself and Thrasybulus, each of whom commanded a trireme -in the engagement, to undertake the duty, and had assigned forty-eight ships to them for that purpose. This, however, was denied by Theramenes; and unluckily the generals, from a feeling of kindness towards the latter, had made no mention of the circumstance in their public despatches, but had attributed the abandonment of the foundering vessels solely to the violence of the storm. There are discrepancies in the evidence, and we have no materials for deciding positively which statement was true; but probability inclines to the side of the generals. Public feeling, however, ran very strongly against them, and was increased by an incident which occurred during their trial. After a day's debate the question was adjourned; and in the interval the festival of the Apaturia was celebrated, in which, according to annual custom, the citizens met together according to their families and phratries. Those who had perished at Arginusa were naturally missed on such an occasion; and the usually cheerful character of the festival was deformed and rendered melancholy by the relatives of the deceased appearing in black clothes and with shaven heads. The passions of the people were violently roused. At the next meeting of the Assembly, Callixenus, a senator, proposed that the people should at once proceed to pass its verdict on the generals, though they had been only partially heard in their defence; and, moreover, that they should all be included in one sentence, though it was contrary to a rule of Attic law, known as the psephisma of Cannonus, to indict citizens otherwise than individually. Callixenus carried his motion in spite of the threat of Euryptolemus to indict him for an illegal proceeding under the Graphe1 Paranomon. The Prytanes, or senators of the presiding tribe, at first refused to put the question to the Assembly in this illegal way; but their opposition was at length overawed by clamor and violence. There was, however, one honorable exception. The philosopher Socrates, who was one of the Prytanes, refused to withdraw his protest.* But his opposition 5 Socrates happened to be President ('ETrta-raTrv) of the Prytanes on that day; and, as presiding officer, refused to put the vote. The decision was therefore adjourned to the next day, when a more pliant officer put the vote and the generals were condemned. - ED. B. C. 406.1 EXECUTION OF THE GENERALS. 343 was disregarded, and the proposal of Callixenus was carried. The generals were condemned, delivered over to the Eleven for execution, and compelled to drink the fatal hemlock. Among them was Pericles, the son of the celebrated statesman. The Athenians afterwards repented of their rash precipitation, and decreed that Callixenus and his accomplices should in their turn be brought to trial; but before the appointed day they managed to escape. ~ 19. After the battle of Arginusa the Athenian fleet seems to have remained inactive at Samos during the rest of the year. Through the influence of Cyrus, and the other allies of Sparta, Lysander again obtained the command of the Peloponnesian fleet at the commencement of the year 405 B. c.; though nominally under Aracus as admiral; since it was contrary to Spartan usage that the same man should be twice Navarchus.* His return to power was marked by more vigorous measures. Fresh funds were obtained from Cyrus; the arrears due to the seamen were paid up; and new triremes were put upon the stocks at Antandrus. Oligarchical revolutions were effected in Miletus and other towns. Summoned to visit his sick father in Media, Cyrus even delegated to Lysander the management of his satrapy and revenues during his absence. Lysander was thus placed in possession of power never before realized by any Lacedamonian commander. But the Athenian fleet under Conon and his coadjutors was still superior in numbers, and Lysander carefully avoided an engagement. He contrived, however, to elude the Athenian fleet, and to cross the Egean to the coast of Attica, where he had an interview with Agis; and, proceeding thence to the Hellespont, which Conon had left unguarded, he took up his station at Abydos. ~ 20. The Athenians were at this time engaged in ravaging Chios; but when they heard of this movement, and that Lysander had commenced the siege of Lampsacus, they immediately sailed for the Hellespont. They arrived too late to save the town, but they proceeded up the strait and took post at iEgospotami, or the " Goat's River"; a place which had nothing to recommend it, except its vicinity to Lampsacus, from which it was separated by a channel somewhat less than two miles broad. It was a mere desolate beach, without houses or inhabitants, so that all the supplies had to be fetched from Sestos, or from the surrounding country, and the seamen were compelled to leave their ships in order to obtain their meals. Under these circumstances the Athenians were very desirous of bringing Lysander to an engagement. But the Spartan commander, who was in a strong position, and abundantly supplied with provisions, was in no hurry to run any risks. In vain did the Athenians sail over several days in succession to offer him battle; they always found his ships ready manned, and drawn up in too strong a position to * Lysander received the title of Epistoleus. See note on p. 336. 844 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXII. warrant an attack; nor could they by all their manoeuvres succeed in enticing him out to combat. This cowardice, as they deemed it, on the part of the Lacedemonians, begat a corresponding negligence on theirs: discipline was neglected, and the men allowed to straggle almost at will. It was in vain that Alcibiades, who since his dismissal resided in a fortress in that neighborhood, remonstrated with the Athenian generals on the exposed nature of the station they had chosen, and advised them to proceed to Sestos. His counsels were received with taunts and insults. At length, on the fifth day, Lysander, having watched an opportunity when the Athenian seamen had gone on shore and were dispersed over the country, rowed swiftly across the strait with all his ships. He found the Athenian fleet, with the exception of ten or twelve vessels, totally unprepared, and succeeded in capturing nearly the whole of it, without having occasion to strike a single blow. Of the, hundred and eighty ships which composed the fleet, only the trireme of Conon himself, the Paralus, and eight or ten other vessels, succeeded in escaping. Conon was afraid to return to Athens after so signal a disaster, and took refuge with Evagoras, prince of Salamis, in Cyprus. All the Athenian prisoners, amounting to three or four thousand, together with the generals, were put to death by order of Lysander, in retaliation for the cruelty with which the Athenians had treated the prisoners they had lately made. By this momentous victory, which was suspected to have been achieved through the corrupt connivance of some of the Athenian generals, the contest on the Hellespont, and virtually the Peloponnesian war, was brought to an end. The closing scene of the catastrophe was enacted at Athens itself; but the fate of the imperial city must be reserved for another chapter. Bust of the Poet Euripides. B.C. 405.] ALARM AT ATHENS. 345 View of Phyld. CHAPTER XXXIII. FROM THE BATTLE OF tEGOSPOTAMI TO THE OVERTHROW OF THE THIRTY TYRANTS AND THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS. ~ 1. Alarm at Athens. ~ 2. Proceedings of Lysander. Capture of the Athenian Dependencies. ~ 3. Measures of the Athenians. Athens invested. ~ 4. Embassy of Theramenes. Conditions of Capitulation. ~ 5. Lysander takes Possession of Athens. Destruction of the Long Walls, &c. ~ 6. Return of the Oligarchical Exiles. Establishment of the Thirty. ~ 7. Surrender of Samos and Triumph of Lysander. ~ 8. Proceedings of the Thirty at Athens. ~ 9. Opposition of Theramenes. ~ 10. Proscriptions. Death of Theramenes. ~ 11. Suppression of Intellectual Culture. Socrates. ~12. Death of Alcibiades. ~ 13. Jealousy of the Grecian States towards Sparta and Lysander. ~ 14. Thrasybulus at Phyld. ~ 15. Seizure and Massacre of the Eleusinians. ~ 16. Thrasybulus occupies Peirpeus. Death of Critias. ~17. Deposition of the Thirty, and Establishment of the Ten. Return of Lysander to Athens, and Arrival of Pausanias. ~ 18. Peace with Thrasybulus, and Evacuation of Attica by the Peloponnesians. ~ 19. Restoration of the Democracy. ~ 20. Archonship of Euclides. Reduction of Eleusis. ~ 1. TIHE defeat of JEgospotami, which took place about September, 405 B. c., was announced at Peiraeus in the night, by the arrival of the Paralus. "On that night," says Xenophon, " no man slept." The disaster, indeed, was as sudden and as authentic as it was vast and irretrievable. The proceedings of the dejected assembly which met on the 44 846 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIII. following day at once showed that the remaining struggle was one for bare existence. In order to make the best preparations for a siege, it was resolved to block up two of the three ports of Athens, - a plain confession that maritime supremacy, the sole basis of her power, had departed from her. ~'2. Lysander, secure of an easy triumph, was in no haste to gather it by force. The command of the Euxine enabled him to control the supplies of Athens; and, sooner or later, a few weeks of famine must decide her fall. With the view of hastening the catastrophe, he compelled the garrisons of all the towns which surrendered to proceed to the capital. The question was not one of arms, but of hunger; and an additional garrison, so far from adding to her strength, would complete her weakness. A strong proof of the insecure foundation of her power! A naval defeat in a remote quarter had not only deprived her of empire, but was about to render her in turn a captive and a subject. Lysander now sailed forth to take possession of the Athenian towns, which fell one after another into his power as soon as he appeared before them. In all a new form of government was established, consisting of an oligarchy of ten of the citizens, called a decarchy, under a Spartan harmost. Chalcedon, Byzantium, MSytilene, surrendered to Lysander himself; whilst Eteonicus was despatched to occupy and revolutionize the Athenian towns in Thrace. Amidst the general defection, Samos alone remained faithful to Athens. All her other dependencies at once yielded to the Lacedamonians; whilst her cleruchs were forced to abandon their possessions and return home. In many places, and especially in Thasos, these revolutions were attended with violence and bloodshed. ~ 3. The situation of Athens was now more desperate even than when Xerxes was advancing against her with his countless host. The juncture demanded the hearty co-operation of all her citizens; and a general amnesty was proposed and carried for the purpose of releasing all debtors, accused persons, and state prisoners, except a few of the more desperate criminals and homicides. The citizens were then assembled in the Acropolis, and swore a solemn oath of mutual forgiveness and harmony. About November Lysander made his appearance at 2Egina, with an overwhelming fleet of one hundred and fifty triremes, and proceeded to devastate Salamis and blockade Peirmus. At the same time the whole Peloponnesian army was marched into Attica, and encamped in the precincts of the Academia, at the very gates of Athens.* Famine soon began to be felt within the walls. Yet the Athenians did not abate of their pretensions. In their proposals for a capitulation, they demanded the preservation of their long walls, and of the port of Peiraeus. But the Spartan Ephors, to ~ The words of Xenophon are 7rpos rvv IroXkw eo-paroreSeveV pv rTf'AKa8Slia, Tr KaXovFve yv /mvaoita. It was about a mile north of the city. - ED. B. C. 404.] CAPITULATION OF ATHENS. 347 whom the Athenian envoys had been referred by King Agis, refused to listen to such terms, and insisted on the demolition of the long walls for the space of ten stadia at least. The spirit of the people, however, was still so unsubdued- though some of them wye ly dying of hunger - that the senator Archestratus was imprion l1 o: proposing to accept the terms offered by the Ephors; and on the -motion of Cleophon, it was forbidden to make any such proposal in future. ~ 4. Theramenes, formerly one of the Four Hundred, now offered to proceed to Lysander for the purpose of learning his real intentions with regard to the fate of Athens; and as he pretended that his personal connections would afford him great facilities in such an undertaking, his offer was accepted. After wasting three months with Lysander, -three months of terrible suffering to the Athenians, - he said that Lysander had then informed him for the first time that the Elphrs alone had power to treat. The only construction that can be put on this conduct of Theramenes is, that he designed to reduce the Athenians to the last necessity, so that they should be compelled to purchase peace at any price. If such was his object he completely succeeded. When he returned to Athens the famine had become so dreadful, that he was immediately sent back to conclude a peace on whatever terms he could. In the debate which ensued at Sparta, the Thebans, the Corinthians, and others of the more bitter enemies of Athens, urged the very extinction of her name and the sale of her whole population into slavery. But this proposition was resolutely opposed by the Lacedemonians, who declared, with great appearance of magnanimity, though probably with a view to their own interest in converting Athens into a useful dependency, that they would never consent to enslave or annihilate a city which had rendered such eminent services to Greece. The terms which the Ephors dictated, and which the Athenians were in no condition to refuse, were, that the long walls and the fortifications of Peirreus should be demolished; that the Athenians should give up all their foreign possessions, and confine themselves to their own territory; that they should surrender all their ships of war; that they should rieadmit all their exiles; and that they should become allies of Sparta. As Theramenes re-entered Athens, bearing in his hand the roll, or scytale, which contained these terms, he was pressed upon by an anxious and haggard crowd, who, heedless of the terms, gave loud vent to their joy that peace was at length concluded. And though there was still a small minority for holding out, the vote for accepting the conditions was carried, and notified to Lysander. ~ a. It was about the middle or end of March, B. c. 404, that Lysander sailed into Peiraeus, and took formal possession of Athens; the war, in singular conformity with the prophecies current at the beginning of it, having lasted for a period of thrice nine, or twenty-seven years. The Lacedaemonian fleet and army remained in possession of the city till the 348 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIII. conditions of its capitulation had been executed. Lysander carried away all the Athenian triremes except twelve, destroyed the naval arsenals, and burned the ships on the stocks. The insolence of the victors added another blow to the feelings of the conquered. The work of destruction, at which Lysander presided, was converted into a sort of festival. Female flute-players and wreathed dancers inaugurated the demolition of the strong and proud bulwarks of Athens; and as the massive walls fell piece by piece, exclamations arose from the ranks of the Peloponnesians that free. dom had at length begun to dawn upon Greece. The solidity of the works rendered the task of demolition a laborious one. After some little progress had been made in it, Lysander withdrew with his fleet to prosecute the siege of Samos. Thuis fell imperial Athens, in the seventy-third year after the formation of the Confederacy of Delos, the origin of her subsequent empire. During that interval she had doubtless committed many mistakes and much injustice; had uniformly, perhaps, overrated the real foundations of her strength, and frequently employed unjustifiable means in order to support it. But, on the other hand, it must be recollected that in that brief career she had risen by her genius and her valor from the condition of a small and subordinate city to be the leading power in Greece; that in the first instance empire had not been sought by her ambition, but laid at her feet, and in a manner thrust upon her; that it had been accepted, and successfully employed, for the most noble of human purposes, and to avert an overwhelming deluge of barbarism; and that Greece, and more particularly Athens herself, had been thus enabled to become the mother of refinement, the nurse of literature and art, and the founder of European civilization. ~ 6. The fall of Athens brought back a host of exiles, all of them the enemies of her democratical constitution. Of these the most distinguished was Critias, a man of wealth and family, the uncle of Plato and once the intimate friend of Socrates, distinguished both for his literary and political talents, but of unmeasured ambition and unscrupulous conscience. Critias and his companions soon found a party with which they could co-operate. A large portion of the senators were favorable to the establishment of an oligarchy; of which Theramenes had already laid the foundation during his residence with Lysander. Scarcely was the city surrendered, when this faction began to organize its plans. The political clubs met and named a committee of five, who, in compliment to the Lacedemonians, were called Ephors. Their first step was to seize the leaders of the democratical party, whom they accused of a design to overturn the peace. Cleophon had already fallen, on an accusation of neglect of military duty, but in reality from his perseverance in opposing the surrender of Athens. The way being thus prepared, Critias and Theramenes invited Lysander from Samos, in order that his presence might secure the success of the movement. B. C. 404.] THE THIRTY TYRANTS. 349 It was then proposed in the assembly, that a committee of thirty should be named to draw up laws for the future government of the city, and to undertake its temporary administration. Among the most prominent of the thirty names were those of Critias and Theramenes. The proposal was of course carried. Lysander himself addressed the assembly, and contemptuously told them that they had better take thought for their personal safety, which now lay at his mercy, than for their political constitution. The committee thus appointed soon obtained the title of the Thirty Tyrants, the name by which they have become known in all subsequent time. ~ 7. After completing the revolution at Athens, Lysander returned to Samos. The island surrendered towards the end of summer, when an oligarchical government was established, as in the other conquered states. Never had Greek commander celebrated so great a triumph as that which adorned the return of Lysander to Sparta. He brought with him all the prow ornaments of the numerous ships he had taken; he was loaded with golden crowns, the gifts of various cities; and' he ostentatiously displayed the large sum of four hundred and seventy talents, the balance which still remained of the sums granted by Cyrus for prosecuting the war. ~ 8. Meanwhile, the Thirty at Athens, having named an entirely new Senate, and appointed fresh magistrates, proceeded to exterminate some of their most obnoxious opponents. In order to insure their condemnation the Thirty presided in person in the place formerly occupied by the Prytanes; and the senators were obliged to deposit their voting pebbles on tables placed immediately before them. Frequently even this show of legality was dispensed with, and the accused were put to death by the mere order of the Thirty. But Critias, and the more violent party among them, still called for more blood; and, with the view of obtaining it, procured a Spartan garrison, under the harmost Callibius, to be installed in the Acropolis. Besides this force, they had an organized band of assassins at their disposal. Blood now flowed on all sides. Many of the leading men of Athens fell, others took to flight. A still greater refinement of cunning and cruelty was, to implicate distinguished citizens in their own crimes by making them accomplices in their acts of violence. Thus, on one occasion, they sent for five citizens to the government house, and ordered them with horrible menaces to proceed to Salamis, and bring back as a prisoner an eminent Athenian named Leon. Socrates was one of the five, and again did himself immortal honor by refusing to participate in such an act of violence. ~ 9. Thus the reign of terror was completely established. In the bosom of the Thirty, however, there was a party, headed by Theramenes, who disapproved of these proceedings. Theramenes was long-sighted and cunning, as we have seen from his former acts, and so shifting and unstable in his political views as to have obtained the nickname of (Cothurnus, 350 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIII. from resembling a shoe that would fit either foot. But he was not unnecessarily and gratuitously cruel; and though he had approved of the slaughter of those citizens whom, from their former political conduct, lie deemed dangerous and irreconcilable enemies to the new state of thihgs, yet he was not disposed to sanction murder merely for the sake of obtaining the wealth of the victims. He was also inclined to give the new government a more constitutional form; and it.was at his suggestion that the Thirty were induced to bestow the franchise on three thousand citizens, chosen, however, as much as possible from their own adherents. But this show of liberality, as managed by the majority of the Thirty, was in reality only a vehicle for greater oppression towards the remainder of the citizens. All except the chosen three thousand were considered to be without the pale of the law, and might be put to death without form of trial by the simple fiat of the Thirty; whilst, in order to render them incapable of resistance, they were assembled under pretence of a review, during which their arms were seized by a stratagem. ~ 10. The Thirty now proceeded more unsparingly than ever. A regular proscription took place. A list was made out of those who were to be slain and plundered; and the adherents of the Thirty were permitted to insert in it whatever names they pleased. So little was the proscription of a political character, that it extended'to metics (resident aliens) as well as to citizens; and under the metics were included Lysias, the celebrated orator, and his brother, Polemarchus. Theramenes stood aloof from these atrocities; and when offered the choice of a victim among the metics, to be destroyed and plundered for hisown especial benefit, he indignantly rejected the offer. His moderation cost him his life. One day, as he entered the Senate-House, Critias rose and denounced him as a public enemy, struck his name out of the privileged three thousand, and ordered him to be carried off to instant death. Upon hearing these words Theramenes sprang for refuge to the altar in the Senate-House; but he was dragged away by Satyrus, the cruel and unscrupulous head of the "Eleven," a body of officers who carried into execution the penal sentence of the law. Being conveyed to prison, he was compelled to drink the fatal hemlock. The constancy of his end' might have adorned a better life. After swallowing the draught, he jerked on the floor a drop which remained in the cup, according to the custom of the game called cottabos, exclaiming, " This to the health of the gentle Critias! " ~11. Thus released from all check, the tyranny of Critias and his colleagues raged with tenfold violence. It has been affirmed by subsequent orators, that no fewer than fifteep hundred victims were put to death without trial by the. Thirty; and though this is probably an exaggeration, the number was undoubtedly prodigious. Measures were taken to repress all intellectual culture, and to convert the government into one of brute force. A decree was promulgated, forbidding the teach B. C. 404.] DEATH OF ALCIBIADES. 351 ing of "the art of words"; a phrase which, in its comprehensive Greek meaning, included logic, rhetoric, and literature in general, and was more particularly levelled at those ingenious and learned men who went by the name of " Sophists." * Socrates, the most distinguished among them, had commented with just severity on the enormities perpetrated by the Thirty. He was summoned before Critias, and prohibited in future from all conversation with youths. Socrates exposed, in his usual searching style, the vagueness of the command, and the impossibility of its execution; but this only provoked the more the rage of the tyrants, who dismissed him with the hint that they were not ignorant of the censures he had passed upon them. ~ 12. Alcibiades had been included by the Thirty in the list of exiles; but the fate which now overtook him seems to have sprung from the fears of the Lacedmmonians, or perhaps from the personal hatred of Agis. After the battle of 2Egospotami Alcibiades felt himself insecure on the Thracian Chersonese, and fled to Pharnabazus in Phrygia, not, however, without the loss pf much of his' wealth. He solicited from the satrap a safe-conduct to the court of Susa, iri the hope, perhaps, of playing the same part as \Themistocles. Pharnapazus refused this request, but permitted him to live in Phrygia, and assigned him a revenue for his maintenance. But a scytale, or despatch,L came out from Sparta to Lysander, directing that Alcibiades should be put to death. Lysander communicated the order to Pharnabazus. The motives of the latter for carrying it into execution are not altogether clear. It seems probable that the demands of the Spartans were supported by Cyrus, who was now forming designs against his brother's throne, and feared perhaps that Alcibiades' would reveal them at Susa. Be this, however, as it may, it is certain that the murder was undertaken under the superintendence of the uncle and brother of Pharnabazuis. They surrounded the house of Alcibiades with a band of assassins, and set it on fire. Alcibiades rushed out with drawn sword upon his assailants, who shrank from his attack, but who slew him from a distance with their javelins and arrows. Timandra, a female with whom he lived, performed towards his body the last offices of duty and affection. Thus perished miserably, in the vigor of his age, one of the most remarkable, but not one of the greatest, characters in Grecian history. Alcibiades was endowed with most of those qualities which serve to constitute greatness. He possessed talent, ambition, enterprise, courage, great presence of mind, and inexhaustible resources in emergencies; but all these were marred and rendered pernicious, instead of profitable, to * The term Sophist, in the age of Socrates, generally designated the character now signified by the word. In earlier times it was applied to those who studied wisdom and science. Socrates was the most formidable opponent of the Sophists of his age. The Thirty Tyrants classed all thinkers under this name, as Napoleon contemptuously calls those of his time ideologues.- ED. 352 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIII. himself and to his country, by profligacy, selfishness, pride, rapacity, and utter want of principle. With qualities which, properly applied, might have rendered him the greatest benefactor of Athens, he contrived to attain the infamous distinction of being that citizen who had inflicted upon her the most signal amount of damage. ~ 13. Meantime an altered state of feeling was springing up in Greece. Athens had ceased to be an object of fear or jealousy, and those feelings began now to be directed towards Sparta. That state persisted in retaining the large amount of booty acquired by the war; and when the Thebans and Corinthians sent in their claim, it was resented almost as an insult. Yet in the monument erected at Delphi in commemoration of the victory at ZEgospotami, Lysander had not only caused his own statue in bronze to be erected, but also that of each commander of the allied contingents. Lysander had risen to a height of unparalleled power. He was in a manner idolized. Poets showered their praises on him, and even altars were raised in his honor by the Asiatic Greeks. The Ephesians set up his statue in the famous temple of their goddess Artemis; the Samians did the like at Olympia, and altered the name of their principal festival from Hereaa to Lysandria. In the name of Sparta he exercised almost uncontrolled authority in the cities he had reduced, including Athens itself. But it was soon discovered that, instead of the freedom promised by the Spartans, only another empire had been established, whilst Lysander was even meditating to extort from the subject cities a yearly tribute of one thousand talents. And all these oppressions were rendered still more intolerable by the overweening pride and harshness of Lysander's demeanor. ~ 14. Even in Sparta itself, the conduct of Lysander was beginning to inspire disgust and jealousy. Pausanias, son of Plistoanax, who was now king with Agis, as well as the new Ephors appointed in September, B. c. 404, disapproved of his proceedings. The Thebans and Corinthians themselves were beginning to sympathize with Athens, and to regard the Thirty as mere instruments for supporting the Spartan dominion; whilst Sparta in her turn looked upon them as the tools of Lysander's ambition. Many of the Athenian exiles had found refuge in Bceotia; and one of them, Thrasybulus, with the aid of Ismenias and other Theban citizens, starting from Thebes at the head of a small band of exiles, seized the fortress of Phyle, in the passes of Mount Parnes and on the direct road to Athens. The Thirty marched out to attack Thrasybulus, at the head of the Lacedcemonian garrison, the three thousand enfianchised citizens, and all the Athenian knights. But their attack was repulsed with considerable loss. A timely snow-storm, by compelling the Thirty to retreat, relieved Thrasybulus and the exiles from a threatened blockade, and enabled him to obtain reinforcements which raised his little garrison to the number of seven hundred. In a subsequent rencrnitre Thrasybulus surprised at day B. C. 403.1 THE THIRTY DEPOSED. 353 break a body of Spartan hoplites and Athenian horse that had been sent against him; and, after killing one hundred and twenty of the Spartans, carried off a considerable store of arms and provisions to Phyle. ~ 15. Symptoms of wavering now began to be perceptible, not only among the three thousand, but even among the Thirty themselves; and Critias, fearful that power was slipping from his grasp, resolved to secure Salamis and Eleusis as places of refuge. All the Eleusinians capable of bearing arms were accordingly seized and carried to Athens, and their town occupied by adherents of the Thirty. The same was done at Salamis. Critias then convoked the three thousand and the knights in the Odeum, which he had partly filled with Lacedemonian soldiers, and compelled them to pass a vote condemning the Eleusinians to death. This was done, as he plainly told them, in order the more thoroughly to identify their interests with those of the Thirty. The prisoners were immediately led off to execution. ~ 16. Thrasybulus, whose forces were now a thousand strong, incited probably by this enormity, and reckoning on support from the party of the reaction at Athens, marched from Phyle to Peireus, which was now an open town, and seized upon it without opposition. When the whole force of the Thirty, including the Lacedaemonians, marched on the following day to attack him, he retired to the hill of Mutnychia, the citadel of Peirasus, the only approach to which was by a steep' ascent. Here he ~ drew up his hoplites in files of ten deep, posting behind them his slingers and dartmen, whose missiles, owing to the rising ground, could be hurled over the heads of the foremost ranks. Against them Critias and his confederates advanced in-close array, his hoplites formed in a column of fifty deep. Thrasybulus exhorted his men to stand patiently till the enemy came within reach of the missiles. At the first discharge the assailing column seemed to waver; and Thrasybulus, taking advantage of their confusion, charged down the hill, and completely routed them, killing seventy, among- whom was Critias himself. ~ 17. The partisans of the Thirty acknowledged the victory by begging a truce to bury their dead. The loss of their leader had thrown the majority into the hands of the party formerly led by Theramenes, who resolved to depose the Thirty and constitute a new oligarchy of Ten. Some of the Thirty were re-elected into this body; but the more violent colleagues of Critias were deposed, and retired for safety to Eleusis. The new government of the Ten sent to Sparta to solicit further aid; and a,similar application was made at the same time from the section of the Thirty at Eleusis. Their request was complied with; and Lysander once more entered'Athens at the head of a Lacedmmonian force, whilst his brother Libys blockaded Peiraeus with forty triremes. Fortunately, however, the jealousy of the Lacedemonians towards Lysander led them at this critical juncture to supersede him in the command. King Pausanias 45 354 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIII. was appointed to lead an army into Attica, and when he encamped in the Academia he was joined by Lysander and his forces. It was known at Athens that the views of Pausanias were unfavorable to the proceedings of Lysander; and his presence elicited a vehement reaction against the oligarchy, which fear had hitherto suppressed. At first, however, Pausanias made a show of attacking Thrasybulus and his adherents, and sent a herald to require them to disband and return to their homes. As this order was not obeyed, Pausanias made an attack on Peiroeus, but was repulsed with loss. Retiring to an eminence at a little distance, he rallied his forces and formed them into a deep phalanx. Thrasybulus, elated by his success, was rash enough to venture a combat on the plain, in which his troops were completely routed and driven back to Peirsus, with the loss of a hundred and fifty men. ~ 18. Pausanias, content with the advantage he had gained, began to listen to the entreaties for an accoipmodation which poured in on all sides; and when Thrasybulus -sent to lap for peace, he granted him a truce for the purpose of sending envoys to Sparta. The Ten also despatched envoys thither, offering to submit themselves and the city to the absolute discretion of Sparta. The Ephors and the Lacedaemonian assembly referred the question to a committee of fifteen, of whom Pausanias was one. The decision of this board was, that the exiles in Peiraeus should be readmitted to Athens; and that there should be an amnesty for all that had passed, except as regarded the Thirty, the Eleven, and the Ten. Eleusis was recognized as a distinct government, in order to serve as a refuge for those who felt themselves compromised at Athens. ~ 19. When these terms were settled and sworn to, the Peloponnesians quitted Attica; and Thrasybulus and the exiles, marching in solemn procession from Peiraeus to Athens, ascended to the Acropolis and offered up a solemn sacrifice and thanksgiving. An assembly of the people was then held, and after Thrasybulus'had addressed an animated reproof to the oligarchical party, the democracy was unanimously restored. This important counter-revolution appears to have taken place in the spring of 403 B. c. The archons, the Senate of five hundred, the public assembly, and the dicasteries, seem to have been reconstituted in the same form as before the capture of the city. All the acts of the Thirty were annulled, and a committee was appointed to revise the laws of Draco and Solon, and to exhibit their amendments at the statues of the eponymous heroes. These laws, as afterwards adopted by the whole body of five hundred nomothetae, and by the Senate, were ordered to be inscribed on the walls of the Paecile Stoa, on which occasion the full Ionic alphabet of twentyfour letters was for the first time adopted in public acts, though it had. long been in private use. The old Attic alphabet, of sixteen or eighteen letters, had been previously employed in public documents. ~ 20. Thus was terminated, after a sway of eight months, the despotism B.C. 403.] RESTORATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 355 of the Thirty. The year which contained their rule was not named after the archon, but was termed "the year of anarchy." The first archon drawn after their fall was Eucleides, who gave his name to a year ever afterwards memorable among the Athenians. The democracy, though smarting under recent wrongs, behaved with great moderation; a circumstance, however, which may in some degree be accounted for by the facts, that three thousand of the more influential citizens had been more or less implicated in the proceedings of the Thirty, and that the number of those entitled to the franchise was now reduced by its being restricted to such only as were born of an Athenian mother as well as father. Eleusis was soon afterwards brought back into community with Athens. The only reward of Thrasybulus and his party were wreaths of olive, and one thousand drachmae given for a common sacrifice. But though Athens thus obtained internal peace, she was left a mere shadow of her former self. Her formtfications, her fleet, her revenues, and the empire founded on them, had variis)l-d; and hey history henceforwards consists of struggles, not to rule over others, but! to maintain her own independence. Clio, the Muse of History. 356 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIAP. XXXIV. The Erechtheum restored, viewed from the southwest angle. CHAPTER XXXIV. ATHENS, AND ATHENIAN AND GRECIAN ART DURING THE PERIOD OF HER EMPIRE. ~ 1. Situation of Athens. ~ 2. Origin and Progress of the Ancient City. ~ 3. Extent of the New City. Peiraus and the Ports. ~ 4. General Appearance of Athens. Population. ~ 5. Periods and General Character of Attic Art. ~ 6. Sculptors of the First Period. Ageladas, Onatas, and others. ~ 7. Second Period. Pheidias. ~ 8. Polycletus and Myron. ~ 9. Painting. Polygnotus. ~ 10. Apollodorus, Zeuxis, and Parrhasius. ~ 11. Architecture. Monuments of the Age of Cimon. The Temple of Nikd Apteros, the Theseum, and the Pcecild Stoa. ~ 12. The Acropolis and its Monuments. The Propylaea. ~ 13. The Parthenon. ~ 14. Statues of Athena. ~ 15. The Erechtheum. ~ 16. Monuments in the Asty. The Dionysiac Theatre. The Odeum of Pericles. The Areopagus. The Pnyx. The Agora and Cerameicus. ~ 17. Monuments out of Attica. The Temple of Zeus at Olympia. ~ 18. The Temple of Apollo near Phigalia. ~ 1. IN the present book, we have beheld the rise of Athens from the condition of a second or third rate city to the headship of Greece: we are now to contemplate her triumphs in the peaceful but not less glorious pursuits of art, and to behold her establishing an empire of taste and genius, not only over her own nation and age, but over the most civilized portion of the world throughout all time. First of all, however, it is necessary to give a brief description of CHAP. XXXIV.] DESCRIPTION OF ATHENS. 357 Athens itself, the repository, as it were, in which the most precious treasures of art were preserved. Athens is situated about five miles from the sea-coast, in the central plain of Attica, which is inclosed by mountains on every side except the southwest, where it is open to the sea. In the southern part of the plain rise several eminences. Of these the most prominent is a lofty insulated mountain, with a conical peaked summit, now called the Hill of St. George, and which bore in ancient times the name of Lycabettus. This mountain, which was not included within the ancient walls, lies to the northeast of Athens, and forms the most striking feature in the environs of the city. It is to Athens what Vesuvius is to Naples, or Arthur's Seat to Edinburgh. Southwest of Lycabettus there are four hills of moderate height, all of which formed part of the city. Of these the nearest to Lycabettus, and at the distance of a mile from the latter, was the Acropolis, or citadel of Athens, a square craggy rock rising abruptly about a hundred and fifty feet, with a flat summit * of about eleven hundred feet long from east to west, by four hundred and fifty broad from north to south. Immediately west of the Acropolis is a second hill, of irregular form, the Areopagus. To the southwest there rises a third hill, the Pnyx, on which the assemblies of the citizens were held; and to the south of the latter is a fourth hill, known as the JMuseum. On the eastern and western sides of the city there run two small streams, which are nearly exhausted before they reach the sea, by the heats of summer and by the channels for artificial irrigation. That on the east is the Ilissus, which flowed through the southern quarter of the city: that on the west is the Cephissus. South of the city was seen the Saronic Gulf, with the harbors of Athens. The ground on which Athens stands is a bed of hard limestone rock, which the ingenuity of the inhabitants converted to architectural purposes, by hewing it into walls, levelling it into pavements, and forming it into steps, seats, cisterns, and other objects of utility or ornament. The noblest description of Athens is given by Milton in his Paradise Regained:"Look once more, ere we leave this specular mount, Westward; much nearer by southwest behold, Where on the 2Egean shore a city stands, Built nobly; pure the air, and light the soil; Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence, native to famous wits, Or hospitable, in her sweet recess, City or suburban, studious walks and shades. See there the olive grove of Academe, Plato's retirement, where the Attic bird Trills her thick-warbled notes the summer long; There flowery hill Hymettus, with the sound t The summit is three hundred feet above the town, and three hundred and fifty above the surrounding plain. - ED. 358 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIVOf bees' industrious murmur, oft invites To studious musing: there Ilissus rolls His whispering stream: within the walls then view The schools of ancient sages; his who bred Great Alexander to subdue the world, Lyceum there, and painted Stoa next." rig Plan of Athens. 1. Pnyx, Ecclesia. 4. Odeum of Pericles. 2. Theseum. 5. Temple of the Olympian 3. Theatre of Dionysus. Zeus. ~ 2. Athens is said to have derived its name from the prominence given to the worship of Athena by its King Erechtheus. The inhabitants were previously called Cranai and Cecropidae, from Cecrops, who, according to tradition, was the original founder of the city. This at first occupied only the hill or rock which afterwards became the Acropolis; but gradually the buildings began to spread over the ground at the southern foot of this hill. It was not till the time of Peisistratus and his sons (B. c. 560 - 514) that the city began to assume any degree of splendor. The most remarkable building of these despots was the gigantic temple of the Olympian Zeus, which, however, was not finished till many centuries later. In B. c. a00, the theatre of Dionysus was commenced on the southeastern slope of the Acropolis, but was not completed till B. c. 340; though it must have been used for the representation of plays long before that period. ~ 3. Xerxes reduced the ancient city almost to a heap of ashes. After the departure of the Persians, its reconstruction on a much larger scale was commenced under the superintendence of Themistocles, whose first care was to provide for its safety by the erection of walls. The Acropolis now formed the centre of the city, round which the new walls described CHAP. XXXIV.] DESCRIPTION OF ATHENS. 359 an irregular circle of about sixty stadia, or seven and a half miles in circumference. The new walls were built in great haste, in consequence of the attempts of the Spartans to interrupt their progress; but though this occasioned great irregularity in their structure, they were nevertheless firm and solid. The space thus inclosed formed the Asty, or city, properly so called. But the views of Themistocles were not confined to the mere defence of Athens: he contemplated making her a great naval power, and for this purpose adequate docks and arsenals were required. Previously the Athenians had used as their only harbor the open roadstead of Phalerum, on the eastern side of the Phaleric bay, where the seashore is nearest to Athens. But Themistocles transferred the naval station of the Athenians to the peninsula of Peireus, which is' distant about five miles from Athens, and contains three natural harbors, - a large one on the western side, called simply Peirceus or The Harbor, and two smaller ones on the eastern side, called respectively Zea and Munychia, the latter being nearest to the city. Themistocles seems to have anticipated from the first that the port-town would speedily become as large a place as the Asty or city itself; for the walls which he built around the peninsula of Peiraeus were of the same circumference as those of Athens, and were fourteen or fifteen feet thick. It was not, however, till the time of Pericles that Peiraus was regularly laid out as a town by the architect Hippodamus of Miletus. It was also in the administration and by the advice of Pericles, but in pursuance of the policy of Themistocles, that the walls were built which connected Athens with her ports. These were at first the outer or northern Long Wall, which ran from Athens to Peiraus, and the Phaleric wall, connecting the city with Phalerum. These were commenced in B. c. 457, and finished in the following year. It was soon found, however, that the space thus inclosed was too vast to be easily defended; and as the port of Phalerum was small and insignificant in comparison with the Peiraus, and soon ceased to be used by the Athenian ships of war, its wall was abandoned and probably allowed to fall into decay. Its place was supplied by another Long Wall, which was built parallel to the first at a distance of only five hundred and fifty feet, thus rendering both capable of being defended by the same body of men. The magnitude of these walls may be estimated from the fact, that the foundations of the northern one, which may still be traced, are about twelve feet thick, and formed of large quadrangular blocks of stone. Their height in all probability was not less than sixty feet. In process ol time the space between the two Long Walls was occupied on each side by houses. ~ 4. It will be seen from- the preceding description, that Athens, in its larger acceptation, and including its port, consisted of two circular cities, To "Aoarv. 360 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIV. the Asty and Peiraeus, each of about seven and a half miles in circumference, and joined together by a broad street of between four and five miles long. Its first appearance was by no means agreeable or striking. The streets were narrow and crooked, and the meanness of the private houses:formed a strong contrast to the magnificence of the public buildings. Athens and its Port Towns. A. The Asty. GO. The Phaleric Wall. B. Peiraeus. H. Harbor of Peiraeus. C. Munychia, citadel of Peiraeus. I. Phaleric Bay. D. Phalerum. K. Harbor of Munychia. EE, FT. The Long Walls: EE, the Northern L Harbor of Zea. Long Wall; FF, the Southern Wall. None of the houses were more than one story high, which often projected over the street. They were for the most part constructed either of a framework of wood, or of unburnt bricks dried in the open air. The front towards the street rarely had any windows, and was usually nothing but a curtain wall covered with a coating of plaster. It was not till the Macedonian period, when public spirit had decayed, that the Athenians, no longer satisfied with participating in the grandeur of the state, began to erect handsome private houses. Athens was badly drained, and scantily supplied with water. It was not lighted, and very few of the streets were paved. Little care was taken to cleanse the city; and it appears to have been as dirty as the filthiest town of Southern Europe in the present day.* X Dicaearchus, a contemporary of Aristotle, in the fragments of his work on the " Life of Greece," describes the city as " ill-furnished with water and irregular on account of its antiquity; the houses, generally mean and inconvenient; so that a stranger would at first hardly believe this to be the celebrated city of Athens. But when he should behold the CHAP. XXXIV.] BEST PERIOD OF ATHENIAN ART. 361 The population of Athens cannot be accurately ascertained. The population of the whole of Attica probably exceeded half a million, of whom, however, nearly four fifths were slaves, and half the remainder metics, or resident aliens. The number of citizens —native males above the age of twenty, enjoying the franchise- was. twenty or twenty-one thousand. The population resident in Athens itself has been variously estimated at from a hundred and twenty to a hundred and ninety-two thousand souls. ~ 5. Such was the outward and material form of that city, which during the brief period comprised in our present book reached the highest pitch of military, artistic, and literary glory. The progress of the first has been already traced, and it is to the last two subjects that we are now to devote our attention. The whole period contemplated embraces about eighty years, the middle portion of which, or that comprised under the ascendency of Pericles, exhibits Athenian art in its highest state of perfection, and is therefore by way of excellence commonly designated as the age of Pericles. The generation which preceded, and that which followed, the time of that statesman, also exhibit a high degree of excellence; but in the former perfection had not yet attained its full development, and in the. latter we already begin to observe traces of incipient decline. The progress both of poetry and of the plastic arts during this epoch is strikingly similar. The great principle that pervaded all was a lively and truthful imitation of nature, but nature of an ideal and elevated stamp. Epic poetry and the ode give place to a more accurate and striking rendering of nature by means of dramatic representations; whilst sculpture presents us not only with more graceful Corms, but with more of dramatic action in the arrangement of its groups..l this latter respect, however, the age was probably excelled by the succeeding one of Scopas and Praxiteles. The process by which Athenian genius freed itself from the trammels of ancient stiffness, is as visible in the tragedies of XEschylus, Sophocles, and superb theatre; the costly temple of Athena, called the Parthenon, overhanging the theatre; the temple of Olympian Zeus, which, though unfinished, fills the beholder with amazement by the magnificence of its plan; the three Gymnasia, the Academy, the Lyceum, and the Cynosarges, all of them shaded with trees and embellished with grassy lawns; having witnessed the haunts of the philosophers, and the various schools, and the festive scenes by which the cares of life are cheated of their prey, — he would have another impression, and believe that this was in very truth the famous city of Athens. The hospitalities of the citizens make the stay of the stranger agreeable. The city abounds with supplies for every want, and the means of gratifying every desire. The neighboring towns are but suburbs of Athens. The inhabitants are prompt to know every artist; and though among the Attics there are busybodies and gossips, who pass their time in spying out the way of life of strangers, yet the genuine Athenians are magnanimous, simple in manners, trusty friends, and accomplished critics of the arts. In short, as much as other cities excel the country in the means of enjoyment, so much does Athens surpass all other cities. As Lysippus says, -'Hast not seen Athens, then thou art a log; Hast seen, and not been charmed, thou art an ass.' "- ED. 46 362 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIV Euripides, as in the productions of the great masters of the plastic arts during the same period. In the dramas of ~Eschylus majesty and dignity are not unmixed with a rigid and archaic simplicity, which also marks the works of the contemporary sculptors. In the next generation, during the time of Pericles, we find this characteristic giving place to the perfection of grace and sublimity united, as in the tragedies of Sophocles and in the statues of Pheidias. Art could not be carried higher. In the next step we find equal truthfulness and grace; but the former had lost its ideal and elevated character, and the latter was beginning to degenerate into over-refinement and affectation. Such are the examples offered by the plays of Euripides, and by the sculptures of Myron and Polycletus. In like manner, with regard to architecture, the Parthenon, erected in the time of Pericles, presents the most exquisite example of the Doric style in the happiest medium between antique heaviness and the slender weakness of later monuments. Painting also, in the hands of Polygnotus, attained its highest excellence in the grace and majesty of single figures. But painting is a complicated art; and the mechanical improvements in perspective, light and shade, grouping, and composition in general, afterwards introduced by Apollodorus and Zeuxis, and still later by Apelles, undoubtedly brought the art to a greater degree of perfection. ~ 6. Among the artists of this period the sculptors stand out prominently. In-general the eminent sculptors of this period also possessed not only a theoretical knowledge, but frequently great practical skill in the sister arts of painting and architecture. One of the earliest sculptors of note was Ageladas of Argos, whose fame at present chiefly rests on the circumstance of his having been the master of Pheidias, Myron, and Polycletus. He was probably born about B. c. 540, so that he must have been an old man when Pheidias became his pupil. Another distinguished statuary and painter among the immediate predecessors of Pheidias was Onatas, an JEginetan, who flourished down to the year B. c. 460. His merit as a painter appears from the fact that he was employed, in conjunction with Polygn5tus, to decorate with paintings a temple at Plataea. Contemporary with these elder masters of the best period of Greek art were Hegias, Canachus, Calamis, and others. The somewhat stiff and archaic style which distinguished their productions from those of Pheidias and his school was preserved even by some artists who flourished at the same time with Pheidias; as, for instance, by Praxias and Androsthenes, who executed some of the statuary which adorned the temple of Delphi. ~ 7. Pheidias is the head of the new school. He was born about 490 B. C., began to flourish about 460, and died just before the breaking out of the Peloponnesian war in 432. He seems to have belonged to a family of artists, and to have first turned his attention towards painting. He was the pupil, as we have said, of Ageladas, and probably of Hegias; and CHAP. XXXIV.] PHEIDIAS, POLYCLETUS, AND MYRON. 363 his great abilities were developed in executing or superintending the works of art with which Athens was adorned during the administration of Pericles. He went to Elis about B. c. 437, where he executed his famous statue of the Olympian Zeus. He returned to Athens about 434, and shortly afterwards fell a victim to the jealousy against his friend and patron, Pericles, which was then at its height; and though he was acquitted on the charge of peculation, he was condemned on that of impiety, for having introduced his own likeness, as well as that of Pericles, among the figures in the battle of the Amazons, sculptured on the shield of Athena. He was in consequence thrown into prison, where he shortly afterwards died. The chief characteristic of the works of Pheidias is ideal beauty of the sublimest order, especially in the representation of divinities and their worship. He entirely emancipated himself from the stiffness which had hitherto marked the archaic school, but without degenerating into that almost meretricious grace which began to corrupt art in the hands of some of his successors. His renderings of nature had nothing exaggerated or distorted: all was marked by a noble dignity and repose. We shall speak of his works when we come to describe the buildings which contained them. ~ 8. Among the most renowned sculptors contemporary with Pheidias were Polycletus and Myron. There were at least two sculptors of the name of Polycletus; but it is the elder one of whom we here speak, and who was the more famous. He seems to have been born at Sicyon, and to have become a citizen of Argos. The exact date of his birth is uncertain, but he was rather younger than Pheidias, and flourished probably from about 452 to 412 B. c. Of his personal history we know absolutely nothing. The art of Polycletus was not of so ideal and elevated a character as that of Pheidias. The latter excelled in statues of gods, Polycletus in those of men; but in these he reached so great a pitch of excellence, that on one occasion, when several artists competed in the statue of an Amazon, he was adjudged to have carried away the palm from Pheidias. The greatest of his works was the ivory and gold statue of Hera in her temple between Argos and Mycenae, which always remained the ideal model of the queen of the gods, as Pheidias's statue at Olympia was considered the most perfect image of the king of heaven. Myron, also a contemporary and fellow-pupil of Pheidias, was a native of Eleutheroe, a town on the borders of Attica and. Boeotia. He seems to have been younger than Pheidias, and was probably longer in attaining excellence, since he flourished about the beginning of the Peloponnesian war. He excelled in representing the most difficult, and even transient, postures of the body, and his works were marked by great variety and versatility. He appears to have been the first eminent artist who devoted much attention to the figures of animals, and one of his statues most celebrated in antiquity was that of a cow. It was represented as lowing, and 364 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIV stood on a marble base in the centre of one of the largest open places in Athens, where it was still to be seen in the time of Cicero, but was subsequently removed to Rome. This, as well as most of his other works, was in bronze. He excelled in representing youthful athlete; and a celebrated statue of his, of which several copies are still extant, was the discobolus, or quoit-player. ~ 9. The art of painting was developed later than that of sculpture, of which it seems to have been the offspring, and in its earlier period to have partaken very closely of the statuesque character. The ancient Greek paintings were either in water-colors or in wax: oil-colors appear to have been unknown. We have already given some account of the rudiments of the art among the Greeks.* The first Grecian painter of any great renown was Polygn5tus, who was contemporary with Pheidias, though probably somewhat older. He was a native of Thasos, whence he was, in all probability, brought by his friend and patron Cimon, when he subjugated that island in B. c. 468. At that period he must at least have been old enough to have earned the celebrity which entitled him to Cimon's patronage. He subsequently became naturalized at Athens, where he probably died about the year 426 B. c. His chief works in Athens were executed in adorning those buildings which were erected in the time of Cimon; as the temple of Theseus, and the Poecile Stoa, or Painted Colonnade. His paintings were essentially statuesque, - the representation by means of colors on a flat surface of figures similar to those of the sculptor. But the improvements which he introduced on the works of his predecessors were very marked and striking, and form an epoch in the art. He first depicted the open mouth, so as to show the teeth, and varied the expression of the countenance from its ancient stiffness. He excelled in representing female beauty and complexion, and introduced graceful, flowing draperies, in place of the hard, stiff lines by which they had been previously depicted. He excelled in accuracy of drawing, and in the nobleness, grace, and beauty of his figures, which were not mere transcripts from nature, but had an ideal and elevated character. His masterpieces were executed in the Lesche (inclosed court or hall for conversation) of the Cnidians at Delphi, the subjects of which were taken from the cycle of epic poetry. In these there seems to have been no attempt at perspective, and names were affixed to the different figures. ~ 10. Painting reached a further stage of excellence in the hands of Apollod5rus, Zeuxis, and Parrhasius, the only other artists whom we need notice during this period. Apollodorus was a native of Athens, and first directed attention to the effect of light and shade in painting, thus creating another epoch in the art. His immediate successors, or rather contemporaries, Zeuxis and Parrhasius, brought the art to a still greater degree of * See p. 141. CHAP. XXXIV.] ZEUXIS AND PARRHASIUS. 365 perfection. Neither the place nor date of the birth of Zeuxis can be accurately ascertained, though he was probably born about 450 B. c., since thirty years after that date we find him practising his art with great success at Athens. He was patronized by Archelaiis, king of Macedonia, and spent some time at his court. He must also have visited Magna Grrecia, as he painted his celebrated picture of Helen for the city of Croton. He acquired great wealth by his pencil, and was very ostentatious in displaying it. He appeared at Olympia in a magnificent robe, having his name embroidered in letters of gold; and the same vanity is also displayed in the anecdote, that, after he had reached the summit of his fame, he no longer sold, but gave away, his pictures, as being above all price. With regard to his style of art, single figures were his favorite subjects. He could depict gods or heroes with sufficient majesty, but he particularly excelled in painting the softer graces of female beauty. In one important respect he appears to have degenerated from the style of Polygnotus, his idealism being rather that of form than of character and expression. Thus his style is analogous to that of Euripides in tragedy. He was a great master of color, and his paintings were sometimes so accurate and lifelike as to amount to illusion. This is exemplified in the story told of him and Parrhasius. As a trial of skill, these artists painted two pictures. That of Zeuxis represented a bunch of grapes, and was so naturally executed that the birds came and pecked at it. After this proof, Zeuxis, confident of success, called upon his rival to draw aside the curtain which concealed his picture. But the painting of Parrhasius was the curtain itself, and Zeuxis was now obliged to acknowledge himself vanquished; for, though he had deceived birds, Parrhasius had deceived the author of the deception. Whatever may be the historical value of this tale, it at least shows the high reputation which both artists had acquired for the natural representation of objects. But many of the pictures of Zeuxis also displayed great dramatic power. He worked very slowly and carefully, and he is said to have replied to somebody who blamed him for his slowness, " It is true I take a long time to paint, but then I paint works to last a long time." His masterpiece was the picture of Helen, already mentioned. Parrhasius was a native of Ephesus, but his art was chiefly exercised at Athens, where he was presented with the right of citizenship. His date cannot be accurately ascertained, but he was probably rather younger than his contemporary, Zeuxis, and it is certain that he enjoyed a high reputation before the death of Socrates. The style and degree of excellence attained by Parrhasius appear to have been much the same as those of Zeuxis. He was particularly celebrated for the accuracy of his drawing, and the excellent proportions of his figures. For these he established a canon, as Pheidias had done in sculpture for gods, and Polycletus for the human figure; whence Quintilian calls him the legislator of his art. His vanity seems to have been as remarkable as that of Zeuxis. Among 366 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIV. the most celebrated of his works was a portrait of the personified Athenian Demos, which is said to have miraculously expressed even the most contradictory qualities of that many-headed personage. The excellence attained during this period by the great masters in the higher walks of sculpture and painting was, as may be well supposed, not without its influence on the lower grades of art. This is particularly visible in the ancient painted vases, which have been preserved to us in such numbers, the paintings on which, though of course the productions of an inferior class of artists, show a marked improvement, both in design and execution, after the time of Polygnotus. ~ 11. Having thus taken a brief survey of the progress of sculpture and painting in the hands of the most eminent masters, we now turn to contemplate some of the chief buildings which they were employed to adorn. The first public monuments that arose after the Persian wars were erected under the auspices of Cimon, who was, like Pericles, a lover and patron of the arts. The principal of these were the small Ionic temple of Nik6 Apteros (Wingless Victory), the Theseum, or temple of Theseus, and the P(ecile Stoa. The temple of Nike Apteros was only twentyseven feet in length by eighteen in breadth, and was erected on the Acropolis in commemoration of Cimon's victory at the Eurymedon. It was still standing in the year 1676, but it was subsequently overthrown by the Turks in order to form a battery. Its remains were discovered in 1835, and it was rebuilt with the original materials. A view of it is given on p. 203, and its position on the Acropolis, on one side of the Propylsea, is seen in the drawings on pp. 248 and 255. Four slabs of its sculptured frieze, found in a neighboring wall, are now in the British Museum. The Theseum is situated on a height to the north of the Areopagus, and was built to receive the bones of Theseus, which Cimon brought from Scyros in B. c. 469. It was probably finished about 465, and is the best preserved of all the monuments of ancient Athens. (See drawing on p. 224.)~ It was at once a tomb and temple, and possessed the privileges of an asylum. It is of the Doric order, one hundred and four feet in length.by forty-five feet broad, and surrounded with columns, of which there are six at each front and thirteen at the sides, reckoning those at the angles twice. The cella is forty feet in length. It is not therefore by its size,'but by its symmetry, that it impresses the beholder. The eastern front was the principal one, since all its metopes, together with the four adjoining ones on either side, are sculptured, whilst all the rest are plain. The sculptures, of which the subjects are the exploits of Hercules and Theseus, have sustained great injury, though the temple itself is nearly perfect. The figures in the pediments have entirely disappeared, and the'metopes and frieze have been greatly mutilated. The relief is bold and salient, and the sculptures, both of the metopes and friezes, were painted, CHAP. XXXIV.] THE PROPYLrEA. 367 and still preserve remains of the colors. There are casts from some of the finest portions of them in the British Museum. The style exhibits a striking advance on that of the iEginetan marbles, and forms a connecting link between them and the sculptures of the Parthenon. The Pcecile Stoa, which ran along one side of the Agora, or market-place, was a long colonnade formed by columns on one side and a wall on the other, against which were placed the paintings, which were on panels.* ~ 12. But it was the Acropolis which was the chief centre of the architectural splendor of Athens. After the Persian wars the Acropolis had ceased to be inhabited, and was appropriated to the worship of Athena, and the other guardian deities of the city. It was covered with the temples of gods and heroes; and thus its platform presented not only a sanctuary, but a museum, containing the finest productions of the architect and the sculptor, in which the whiteness of the marble was relieved by Plan of the Acropolis. 1. Parthenon. 3. Propylaea. 2. Erechtheum. 4. Temple of Nik6 Apteros. 5. Statue of Athena Promachus. brilliant colors, and rendered still more dazzling by the transparent clearness of the Athenian atmosphere. It was surrounded with walls, and the surface seems to have been divided into terraces communicating with one another by steps. The only approach to it was from the Agora on its western side. At the top of a magnificent flight of marble steps, seventy feet broad, stood the Propylsea,t constructed under the auspices of Pericles, and which served as a suitable entrance to the exquisite works within. The Propylaea were themselves one of the masterpieces of Athenian art. They were entirely of Pentelic marble, and covered the whole of the western end of the Acropolis, having a breadth of one hundred and sixty-eight feet. They were erected by the architect Mnesicles, at a cost * Hence its name of Pcecild (rolKtXl, variegated orpainted),.t lporvXala. 368 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIV. of two thousand talents, or ~ 485,500. The central portion of them consisted of two hexastyle porticos, of which the western one faced the city, and the eastern one the interior of the Acropolis. Each portico consisted of a front of six fluted Doric columns, four feet and a half in diameter and nearly twenty-nine feet in height, supporting a pediment. The central part of the building just described was fifty-eight feet in breadth, but the remaining breadth of the rock at this point was covered by two wings, which projected twenty-six feet in front of the western portico. Each of these wings was in the form of a Doric temple. The northern one, or that on the left of a person ascending the Acropolis, was called the Pinacotheca, from its walls being covered with paintings. The southern wing consisted only of a porch or open gallery. Immediately before its western front stood the little temple of Nike Apteros already mentioned. (See drawing on p. 255.) ~ 13. On passing through the Propylea all the glories of the Acropolis became visible. The chief building was the Parthenon,t the most perfect production of Grecian architecture. It derived its name from its being the temple of Athena Parthenos,4 or Athena the Virgin, the invincible goddess of war. It was also called Hecatompedon, from its breadth of one hundred feet. It was built under the administration of Pericles, and was completed in B. c. 438. The architects were Ictimus and Callicrates; but, as we have said, the general superintendence of the building was intrusted to Pheidias. The Parthenon stood on the highest part of the Acropolis, near its centre, and probably occupied the site of an earlier temple destroyed by the Persians. ~ It was entirely of Pentelic marble, on a rustic basement of ordinary limestone, and its architecture, which was of the Doric order, was of the purest kind. Its dimensions, taken from the under step of the stylobate, were about two hundred and twenty-eight feet in length, one hundred and one feet in breadth, and sixty-sixty feet in height to the top of the pediment. It consisted of a cella, surrounded by. a peristyle, which had eight columns at either front, and seventeen at either side (reckoning the corner columns twice), thus containing forty' six columns in all. These columns were six feet two inches in diameter at the base, and thirty-four feet in height. The cella was divided into two chambers of unequal size, the eastern one of which was about ninetyeight feet long, and the western one about forty-three feet. The ceiling of both these chambers was supported by rows of columns. The whole building was adorned with the most exquisite sculptures, executed by various * Over $ 2,100,000.- ED. t IHapOevWv, i. e. House of the Virgin. t'AOvii 7rap0evos. ~ There is no doubt on this subject at present. The limits of the original foundation are visible, and the addition necessary to make the foundation of the new temple, on an enlarged scale, is distinctly defined. - ED. CHAP. XXXIV.] THE PARTHENON. 369 artists under the direction of Pheidias. These consisted of,- 1. The sculptures in the tympana of the pediments (i. e. the inner portion of the triangular gable ends of the roof above the two porticos), each of which was filled with about twenty-four colossal figures. The group in the eastern or principal front represented the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus, and the western the contest between Athena and Poseidon for the land of Attica. An engraving of one of the figures in the pediments is given on p. 277. 2. The metopes between the triglyphs in the frieze of the entablature (i. e. the upper of the two portions into which the space between the columns and the roof is divided) were filled with sculptures in high relief, representing a variety of subjects relating to Athena herself, or to the indigenous heroes of Attica. Each tablet was four feet three inches square. Those on the south side related to the battle of the Athenians with the Centaurs. One of the metopes is figured on p. 301. 3. The frieze which ran along outside the wall of the cella, and within the external columns which surround the building, at the same height and parallel with the metopes, was sculptured with a representation of the Panathenaic festival in very low relief. This frieze was three feet four inches in height, and five hundred and twenty feet in length. A small portion of the frieze is figured on p. 287. A large number of the slabs of the frieze, together with sixteen metopes from the south side, and several of the statues of the pediments, were brought to England by Lord Elgin, of whom they were purchased by the nation and deposited in the British Museum. The engraving on p. 266 represents the restored western front of the Parthenon.* ~ 14. But the chief wonder of the Parthenon was the colossal statue of the Virgin Goddess executed by Pheidias himself, which stood in the eastern or principal chamber of the cella. It was of the sort called chryselephantine,t a kind of work said' to have been invented by Pheidias. Up to this time colossal statues not of bronze were acroliths, that is, having - A peculiar refinement has recently been discovered in the architectural details of the Parthenon, and other Grecian temples of the best period. The lines which in ordinary architecture are straight, in these temples are delicate curves: and instead of perpendicular lines, as in the columns, inclined lines are employed. The lines of the stylobate, for example, rise so that the middle is higher than the extremities: and the lines in the entablature are nearly parallel. The axes of the columns incline inwards towards the temple, giving in reality a pyramidal shape to the structure. The object of these deviations from the rectilinear construction is " to correct certain optical illusions arising fiom the influence produced upon one another by lines which have different directions, and by contrasting masses of light and shade." These deviations are quite imperceptible, from the usual points of view: and the optical effect they produce is that of perfect regularity. Without them, the lines of the stylobate would appear to sag in the middle, and the columns to incline outward. The failure of most modern buildings in the Greek style has probably been owing to the ignorance of the architects with respect to this practice of the ancients. The subject is fully discussed in the beautiful and scientific work of Mr. Francis C. Penrose, entitled " An Investigation of the Principles of Athenian Architecture," &c. London, 1851. Folio. It is also treated by Mr. Beuld, in L'Acropole d'Athenes, Tome II. Chap. I. This writer suggests a different theory from that mentioned above. -ED. f I. e. of gold and ivory, from xpvcovs' golden, and eXEai'vrTvos, of ivory. 47 370 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIV. only the face, hands, and feet of marble, the rest being of wood, concealed by real drapery. But in the statue of Athena Pheidias substituted ivory for marble in those parts which were uncovered, and supplied the place of the real drapery with robes and other ornaments of solid gold. Its height, including the base, was twenty-six cubits, or. nearly forty feet. It represented the goddess standing, clothed with a tunic reaching to the ankles, with a spear in her'left hand, and an image of Victory, four cubits high, in her right. She was girded with the aegis, and had a helmet on her head, and her shield rested on the ground by her side. The eyes were of a sort of marble resembling ivory, and were perhaps painted to represent the iris and pupil. The weight of solid gold employed in the statue was, at a medium statement, forty-four talents, and was removable at pleasure. The Acropolis was adorned with another colossal figure of Athena in bronze, also the work of Pheidias. It stood in the open air, nearly opposite the Propylaea, and was one of the first objects seen after passing through the gates of the latter. With its pedestal it must have stood about seventy feet high, and consequently towered above the roof of the Parthenon, so that the point of its spear and the crest of its helmet were visible off the promontory of Sunium to ships approaching Athens. It was called the " Athena Promachos," * because it represented the goddess armed, and in the very attitude of battle. It was still standing in A. D. 395, and is said to have scared away Alaric when he came to sack the Acropolis. In the annexed coin the statue of Athena Promachus and the Parthenon are represented on the summit of the Acropolis: below is the cave of Pan, with a flight of steps leading up to the top of the Acropolis. Coin showing the Parthenon, Athena Promachos, and the Cave of Pan. ~ 15. The only other monument on the summit of the Acropolis which it is necessary to describe is the Erechtheum, or temple of Erechtheus. The Erechtheum was the most revered of all the sanctuaries of Athens, and was closely connected with the earliest legends of Attica. The tradit rrp& axov, the Defender.: mrpol. axos' the Defender. CHAP. XXXIV.] ERECHTHEUSI.- DIONYSIAC THEATRE. 371 tions respecting Erechtheus vary, but according to one set of them he was identical with the god Poseidon. He was worshipped in his temple under the name of Poseidon Erechtheus, and from the earliest times was associated with Athena as one of the two protecting deities of Athens. The original Erechtheum was burnt by the Persians, but the new temple was erected on the ancient site. This could not have been otherwise; for on this spot was the sacred olive-tree which Athena evoked from the earth in her contest with Poseidon, and also the well of salt-water which Poseidon produced by a stroke of his trident, the impression of which was seen upon the rock. The building was also called the temple of Athena Polias, because it contained a separate sanctuary of the goddess, as well as her most ancient statue. The building of the new Erechtheum was not commenced till the Parthenon and Propylaea were finished, and probably not before the year preceding the breaking out of the Peloponnesian war. Its progress was no doubt delayed by that event, and it was probably not completed before 393 B. c. When finished it presented one of the finest models of the Ionic order, as the Parthenon was of the Doric. It stood to the north of the latter building, and close to the northern wall of the Acropolis. The form of the Erechtheum differs from every known example of a Grecian temple. Usually a Grecian temple was an oblong figure with a portico at each extremity. The Erechtheum, on the contrary, though oblong in shape, and having a portico at the eastern or principal front, had none at its western end, where, however, a portico projected north and south from either side, thus forming a kind of transept. This irregularity seems to have been chiefly owing to the necessity of preserving the different sanctuaries and religious objects belonging to the ancient temple. A view of it from the southwest angle is given on p. 356. The roof of the southern portico, as shown in the view, was supported by six Caryatides, or figures of young maidens in long draperies, one of which is figured on p. 334. Such were the principal objects which adorned the Acropolis at the time of which we are now speaking. Their general appearance will be best gathered from the engraving on p. 248. ~ 16. Before quitting the city of Athens, there are two or three other objects of interest which must be briefly described. First, the Dionysiac Theatre, which, as already stated, occupied the slope at the southeastern extremity of the Acropolis. The middle of it was excavated out of the rock, and the rows of seats ascended in curves one above another, the diameter increasing with the height. It was no doubt sufficiently large to accommodate the whole body of Athenian citizens, as well as the strangers who flocked to Athens during the Dionysiac festival, but its dimensions cannot now be accurately ascertained.* It had no roof, but the spectators x The dimensions may be nearly ascertained, as the upper tiers of seats, cut in the solid 372 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIV. were probably protected from the sun by an awning, and from their elevated seats they had a distinct view of the sea, and of the peaked hills of Salamis in the horizon. A representation of this theatre viewed from below is given on a brass coin of Athens. The seats for the spectators are distinctly seen; and on the top, the Parthenon in the centre, with the Propylaea on the left. Theatre of Dionysus, from a coin. Close to the Dionysiac Theatre on the east was the Odeum of Pericles, a smaller kind of theatre, which seems to have been chiefly designed for the rehearsal of musical performances. It was covered with a conical roof, like a tent, in order to retain the sound, and in its original state was perhaps actually covered with the tent of Xerxes. It served as a refuge for the audience when driven out of the theatre by rain, and as a place for training the chorus. The Areopagus * was a rocky height opposite the western end of the Acropolis, from which it was separated only by some hollow ground. It derived its name from the tradition that Ares was brought to trial here before the assembled gods, by Poseidon, for murdering Halirrhothius, the son of the latter. It was here that the Council of Areopagus met, frequently called the Upper Council, to distinguish it from the Council of Five Hundred, which assembled in the valley below. The Areopagites sat as judges in the open air, and two blocks of stone are still to be seen, probably those which, according to the description of Euripides, t were occupied respectively by the accuser and the accused. The Areopagus was the spot where the Apostle Paul preached to the men of Athens. At the southeastern corner of the rock is a wide chasm leading to a gloomy recess containing a fountain of very dark water. This was the sanctuary rock, remain, and a part of the substructions of the stage buildings. The distance from the upper seats to the orchestra was about three hundred feet; to the stage, the distance was considerably greater. - ED. * O "Apelos 7raicyos, or Hill of Ares (Mars). f Iphig. Taur. 961. CHAP. XXXIV.] STATUE OF THE OLYMPIAN JOVE. 373 of the Eumenides, called by the Athenians the Semnai,* or Venerable Goddesses. The Pnyx, or place for holding the public assemblies of the Athenians, stood on the side of a low, rocky hill, at the distance of about afurlong from the Areopagus. Between the Pnyx on the west, the Areopagus on the north, and the Acropolis on the east, and closely adjoining the base of these hills, stood the Agora (or market-place). Its exact boundaries cannot be determined. The Stoa Poecile, already described, ran along the western side of it, and consequently between it and the Pnyx. In a direction from northwest to southeast a street called the Ceramelcus ran diagonally through the Agora, entering it through the valley between the Pnyx and the Areopagus. The street was named after a district of the city, which was divided into two parts, the Inner and Outer Ceramelcus. The former lay within the city walls, and included the Agora. The Outer Cerameicus, which formed a handsome suburb on the northwest of the city, was the burial-place of all persons honored with a public funeral. Through it ran the road to the gymnasium and gardens of the Academy, which were situated about a mile from the walls. The Academy was the place where Plato and his disciples taught. On each side of this road were monuments to illustrious Athenians, especially those who had fallen in battle. East of the city, and outside the walls, was the Lyceum, a gymnasium dedicated to Apollo Lyceus, and celebrated as the place in which Aristotle taught. ~ 17. Space will allow us to advert only very briefly to two of the most distinguished monuments of the art of this period out of Attica. These are the temple of Zeus at Olympia, and the temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassse, near Phigalia in Arcadia. The former, built with the spoils of Pisa, was finished about the year 435. It was of the Doric order, two hundred and thirty feet long by ninety-five broad. There are still a few remains of it. We have already adverted to the circumstance of Pheidias being engaged by the Eleans to execute some of the works here. His statue of the Olympian Zeus was reckoned his masterpiece, and one of the wonders of the world. The idea which he essayed to embody in this work was that of the supreme deity of the Hellenic nation, enthroned as a conqueror, in perfect majesty and repose, and ruling with a nod the subject world. The statue was about forty feet high, on a pedestal of twelve feet. The throne was of cedar-wood, adorned with gold, ivory, ebony, precious stones, and colors. The god held in his right hand an ivory and gold statue of Victory, and in his left a sceptre, ornamented with all sorts of metals, and surmounted by an eagle. The robe which covered the lower part of the figure, as well as the sandals, was of gold. After the comple* at LEjia. 374 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIV. tion of the statue, Zeus is related to have struck the pavement in front of it with lightning in token of approbation. ~ 18. The Doric temple of Apollo near Phigalia was built by Ictinus, and finished about 430 B. c. It was one hundred and twenty-five feet long by forty-seven broad. The frieze of this temple, which is preserved in the British Museum, represents in alto-rilievo the combat of the Centaurs and Amazons, with Apollo and Artemis hastening to the scene in a chariot drawn by stags. The sculpture by no means equals that of the Parthenon, or even of the Theseum. The figures are short and fleshy. Some of the groups evidently indicate the influence of Attic art, and especially an imitation of the sculptures of the Theseum; but in general they may be regarded as affording a standard of the difference between Athenian and Peloponnesian art at this period. CHAP. XXXV.1 EARLY LITERATURE OF ATHENS. 375 Melpomend, the Muse of Tragedy. Thalla, the Muse of Comedy. CHAPTER XXXV. HISTORY OF ATHENIAN LITERATURE DOWN TO THE END OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. ~ 1. Characteristics of the early Literature of Athens. ~ 2. Origin of the Drama. ~ 3. Introduction of the Drama at Athens. Susarion, Thespis, Phrynichus, Pratinas. ~ 4..Eschylus. ~ 5. Sophocles. ~ 6. Euripides. ~ 7. Athenian Comedy. Cratinus, Eupolis, Aristophanes. ~ 8. Prose-writers of the Period. Thucydides. ~ 9. Xenophon. ~ 10. Athenian Education. ~ 11. Rhetors and Sophists. ~ 12. Life of Socrates. ~ 13. How he differed from the Sophists. ~ 14. Enmity against him. ~ 15. His Impeachment, Trial, and Death. ~ 1. ALTHOUGH the Ionians were one of the most intellectual of the Grecian races, we have had as yet little occasion to mention the Athenians in the literary history of Greece. In this path they were at first outstripped by their colonists in Asia Minor. The Asiatic Greeks, settled in a fertile and luxurious country, amongst a race wealthier than themselves, but far inferior to them, soon found those means of ease and leisure which, to a certain degree at least, seem necessary to the development of intellectual culture; whilst at the same time their kinsmen in Attica were struggling for a bare existence, and were often hard pressed by the surrounding tribes. It was not till the time of Peisistratus and his sons that we behold the first dawn of literature at Athens. But this literature was of an exotic growth; the 376 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXV. poets assembled at the court of the Peisistratids were mostly foreigners; and it was only after the fall of that dynasty, and the establishment of more liberal institutions at Athens, that we find the native genius shooting forth with vigor. It was probably the democratic nature of their new constitution, combined with the natural vivacity of the people, which caused Athenian literature to take that dramatic form which pre-eminently distinguishes it. The democracy demanded a literature of a popular kind, the vivacity of the people a literature that made a lively impression; and both these conditions were fulfilled by the drama. ~ 2. Though the drama was brought to perfection among the Athenians, it did not originate with them. Both tragedy and comedy, in their rude and early origin, were Dorian inventions. Both arose out of the worship of Dionysus. There was at first but little distinction between these two species of the drama, except that comedy belonged more to the rural celebration of the Dionysiac festivals, and tragedy to that in cities. The name of tragedy* was far, from signifying anything mournful, being derived from the goat-like appearance of those who, disguised as Satyrs, performed the old Dionysiac songs and dances. In like manner, comedy t was called after the song of the band of revellers + who celebrated the vintage festivals of Dionysus, and vented the rude merriment inspired by the occasion in gibes and extempore witticisms levelled at the spectators. It was among the Megarians, both those in Greece and those in Sicily, whose political institutions were democratical, and who had a turn for rough humor, that comedy seems first to have arisen. It was long, however, before it assumed anything like a regular shape. Epicharmus appears to have been the first who moulded the wild and irregular Bacchic songs and. dances into anything approaching a connected fable, or plot. He was born at Cos, about B. C. 540, but spent the better part of his life at Syracuse. He wrote his comedies some years before the Persian war, and from the titles of them still extant it would appear that the greater part of them were travesties of heroic myths. They seem, however, to have contained an odd mixture of sententious wisdom and broad buffoonery, for Epicharmus was a Pythagorean philosopher as well as a comic poet. ~ 3. Comedy, in its rude and early state, was introduced into Attica long before the time of Epicharmus, by Susarion, a native of Tripodiscus, in Megara. It was at Icaria, an Attic village noted for the worship of Dionysus, where Susarion had taken up his residence, that he first represented comedy, such as it then existed among the Megarians, in the year 578 B.c. The performances of Susarion took no root; and we hear nothing more of comedy in Attica for nearly a hundred years. It was during this interval that tragedy was introduced into Attica, and * TpayA8la, literally " the goat-song." t KO)li38la. j KCOLosV. CHAP. XXXV.] THESPIS, PHRYNICHUS, PRATINAS. 377 continued to be successfully cultivated. We have already observed that tragedy, like comedy, arose out of the worship of Dionysus; but tragedy, in its more perfect form, was the offspring of the dithyrambic odes with which that worship was celebrated. These were not always of a joyous cast. Some of them expressed the sufferings of Dionysus; and it was from this more mournful species of dithyramb that tragedy, properly so called, arose. Arion introduced great improvements into the dithyrambic odes.* They formed a kind of lyrical tragedy, and were sung by a chorus of fifty men, dancing round the altar of Dionysus. The improvements in the Dithyramb were introduced by Arion at Corinth; and it was chiefly among the Dorian states of the Peloponnesus that these choral dithyrambic songs prevailed. Hence, even in Attic tragedy, the chorus, which was the foundation of the drama, was written in the Doric dialect, thus clearly betraying the source from which the Athenians derived it. In Attica an important alteration was made in the old tragedy in the time of Peisistratus, in consequence of which it obtained a new and dramatic character. This innovation is ascribed to Thespis, a native of the Attic village of Icaria. It consisted in the introduction of an actor, for the purpose, it is said, of giving rest to the chorus. He probably appeared in that capacity himself, taking various parts in the same piece by means of disguises effected by linen masks. Thus, by his successive appearance in different characters, and by the dialogue which he maintained with the chorus, or rather with its leader, a dramatic fable of tolerable complexity might be represented. The first representation given by Thespis was in 535 B. c. He was succeeded by Chorilus and Phrynichus, the latter of whom gained his first prize in the dramatic contests in 511 B. C. He deviated from the hitherto established custom in making a contemporary event the subject of one of his dramas. His tragedy on the capture of Miletus was so pathetic, that the audience were melted into tears; but the subject was considered so ill-chosen, that he was fined a thousand drachmoe.t The only other dramatist whom we need mention before Eschylus is the Dorian Pratinas, a native of Phlius, but who exhibited his tragedies at Athens. Pratinas was one of the improvers of tragedy by separating the satyric from the tragic drama. As neither the popular taste nor the ancient religious associations connected with the festivals of Dionysus would have permitted the chorus of Satyrs to be entirely banished from the tragic representations, Pratinas avoided this by the invention of what is called the Satyric drama; that is, a species of play in Thich the ordinary subjects of tragedy were treated in a lively and farcical nanner, and in which the chorus consisted of a band of Satyrs in ap)ropriate dresses and masks. After this period it became customary to exhibit dramas in tetralogies, or sets of four; namely, a tragic trilogy, or * See p. 124. t See p. 159. 48 378 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXV, series of three tragedies, followed by a Satyric play. These were often on connected subjects; and the Satyric drama at the end served like a merry afterpiece to relieve the minds of the spectators. The subjects of Greek tragedy were taken, with few exceptions, from the national mythology.* Hence the plot and story were of necessity known to the spectators, a circumstance which strongly distinguishes the ancient tragedy from the modern. It must also be recollected, that the representation of tragedies did not take place every day, but only, after certain fixed intervals, at the festivals of Dionysus, of which they formed one of the greatest attractions. During the whole day the Athenian public sat in the theatre witnessing tragedy after tragedy; and a prize was awarded, by judges appointed for the purpose, to the poet who produced the best set of dramas..'. ~ 4. Such was Attic tragedy when it came into the hands of 2Eschylus, who, from the great improvements which he introduced, was regarded by the Athenians as its father or founder, just as Homer was of Epic poetry, and Herodotus of History. AEschylus was born at Eleusis in Attica, in B. C. 525, and was thus contemporary with Simonides and Pindar. His father, Euphorion, may possibly have been connected with the worship of Demeter at Eleusis; and hence, perhaps, were imbibed those religious impressions which characterized the poet through life. His first play was exhibited in B. c. 500, when he was twenty-five years of age. He fought with his brother Cynaegeirus at the battle of Marathon,t and also at those of Artemisium, Salamis, and Platlea. In B. c. 484 he gained his first tragic prize. The first of his extant dramas, the Persai, was not brought out till B. C. 472, when he gained the prize with the trilogy of which it formed one of the pieces. In 468 he was defeated in a tragic contest by his younger rival, Sophocles; shortly afterwards he retired to the court of King Hiero, at Syracuse. In 467 Hiero died; and in 458 2Eschylus must, have returned to Athens, since he produced his trilogy of the Oresteia in that year. This trilogy, which was composed of the tragedies of the Agamemnon, the Choephoroi, and the Eumenides, is remarkable as the only one that has come down to us in anything like a perfect shape. His defence of the Areopagus, however, contained in the last of these three dramas, proved unpalatable to the new and more democratic generation which had now sprung up at Athens; and either from disappointment or fear of the consequences }Eschylus again quitted Athens and retired once more to Sicily. On this occasion he repaired to Gela, where he died in B. C. 456, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. It is unanimously related that an eagle, mistaking the poet's bald head for a stone, let a tortoise fall upon it in order to break the shell, thus fulfilling an oracle predicting that: To this should be added the traditions of the great families in the heroic age. - ED. t See p. 166. CHAP. XXXV.] AESCHYLUS AND SOPHOCLES. 379 he was to die by a blow from heaven. After his death, his memory was held in high reverence at Athens. A decree was passed that a chorus should be provided at the public expense for any one who might wish to revive his tragedies; and hence it happened that they were frequently reproduced upon the stage. The improvements introduced into tragedy by JEschylus concerned both its form and composition, and its manner of representation. In the former his principal innovation was the introduction of a second actor; whence arose the dialogue, properly so called, and the limitation of the choral parts, which now became subsidiary. His improvements in the manner of representing tragedy consisted in the introduction of painted scenes, drawn according to the rules of perspective, for which he availed himself of the pictorial skill of Agatharchus. He furnished the actors with more appropriate and more magnificent dresses, invented for them more various and expressive masks, and raised their stature to the heroic size by providing them with thick-soled cothurni or buskins. He paid great attention to the choral dances, and invented several new figures.* The genius of JEschylus inclined rather to the awful and sublime than to the tender and pathetic.t He excels in representing the superhuman, in depicting demigods and heroes, and in tracing the irresistible march of fate. His style resembles the ideas which it clothes. It is bold, sublime, and full of gorgeous imagery, but sometimes borders on the turgid.+ ~ 5. Sophocles, the younger rival and immediate successor of }Eschylus in the tragic art, was born at Colonus, a village about a mile from Athens, in B.c. 495. We know little of his family, except that his father's name was Sophilus; but that he was carefully trained in music and gymnastics appears from the fact that in his sixteenth year he was chosen to lead, naked, and with lyre in hand, the chorus which danced round the trophy, and sang the hymns of triumph, on the occasion of the victory of Salamis (B. c. 480). We have already adverted to his wresting the tragic prize from ZEschylus in 468, which seems to have been his first appearance as a dramatist. This event was rendered very striking by the circumstances under which it occurred. The Archon Eponymus had not yet appointed the judges of the approaching contest, "Persona pallaeque repertor honestae.Eschvlus, et modicis instravit pulpita tignis, Et docuit magnumque loqui, nitique cothurno." Hon., Ar. Poet. 278. t In passages - as in the description of the sacrifice of Iphigeneia in the Agamemnon - 4Eschylus shows the most exquisite tenderness of feeling, as well as beauty of language. -ED.: AEschylus is said to have written seventy tragedies; but only seven are extant, which were probably represented in the following order: the Persians, B. c. 472; the Seven against Thebes, B. c. 471; the Suppliants; the Prometheus; the Agamemnon, Choephoroi, and Eumenides, B. C. 458. 380 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIAP. XXXV. respecting which public expectation and party feeling ran very high, when Cimon and his nine colleagues in command entered the theatre, having just returned from Scyros. After they had made the customary libations to Dionysus, the archon detained them at the altar and administered to them the oath appointed for the judges in the dramatic contests. Their decision, as we have said, was in favor of Sophocles. From this time forwards he seems to have retained the almost undisputed possession of the Athenian stage, until a young but formidable rival arose in the person of Euripides. In 440 we find Sophocles elected one of the ten Strategi, of whom Pericles was the chief, to conduct the expedition against Samos; an honor which he is said to have owed to his play of the Antigone, which was brought out in the spring of that year, and which is the earliest of his extant dramas. He was now fifty-five years of age, yet his poetical life seemed only beginning. From this time to his death was the period of his greatest literary activity; but of his personal history we have few details. He was one of the ten elders, or Probouli, a sort of committee of public safety appointed by the Athenians after the failure of the Sicilian expedition, unless indeed the Sophocles mentioned on that occasion by Thucydides be some other person. The close of his life was troubled with family dissensions. Iophon, his son by an Athenian wife, and therefore his legitimate heir, was jealous of the affection manifested by his father for his grandson Sophocles, the offspring of another son, Ariston, whom he had had by a Sicyonian woman. Fearing lest his father should bestow a great part of his property upon his favorite, Iophon summoned him before the Phratores, or tribesmen, on the ground that his mind was affected. The old man's only reply was, "If I am Sophocles, I am not beside myself; and if I am beside myself, I am not Sophocles." Then taking up his (Edipus at Colonos, which he had lately written, but had not yet brought out, he read from it the beautiful passage beginning, Evt'Irrov, ive, Ta(o8e Xapas, with which the judges were so struck that they at once dismissed the case. He died shortly afterwards, in B. c. 406, in his ninetieth year. The singular beauties of this chorus have invested the hill of Colonos with rare poetic interest. To one who reads the poem on the spot, notwithstanding the changes time has made,- especially the disappearance of the temples and the groves (except she olive-groves of the Academy, at a short distance), -most of the points in the desciiptionlare still vividly traceable. Professor Thiersch, the veteran scholar, who to his classical acquirements adds a profound knowledge of the Greek as now spoken, recited his elegant translation of this chorus, while standing on the hill of Colonos with his son, a distinguished young painter; who afterwards embodied the poet's thought in a very spirited and classical composition. It is very appropriately placed among the artistic and classical treasures of his father's house in Munich. Colonos has acquired an additional and melancholy interest, as the burial-place of Carl Ottfried Muller, who died a few years ago in Athens, in consequence of a sun-stroke received while making excavations at Delphi. A nobler scholar has not adorned the literature of the present age, and a more fitting sepulture could not have been found for the editor of the Eumenides. - ED. CHAP. XXXV.] EURIPIDES. 381 As a poet Sophocles is universally allowed to have brought the drama to the greatest perfection of which it is susceptible. His plays stand in the just medium between the sublime but unregulated flights of AEschylus, and the too familiar scenes and rhetorical declamations of Euripides. His plots are worked up with more skill and care than the plots of either of his great rivals: that of the (Cdipus Tyrannus in particular is remarkable for its skilful development, and for the manner in which the interest of the piece increases through each succeeding act. Sophocles added the last improvement to the forim of the drama by the introduction of a third actor; a change which greatly enlarged the scope of the action. The improvement was so obvious, that it was adopted by 2Eschylus in his later plays; but the number of three actors seems to have been seldom or never exceeded. Sophocles also made considerable alterations in the choral parts, by curtailing the length of the songs, and by giving the chorus itself the character of an impartial spectator and judge, rather than that of a deeply interested party, which it often assumes in the plays of AEschylus.* ~ 6. Euripides was born in the island of Salamis, in B. c. 480, his parents having been among those who fled thither at the time of the invasion of Attica by Xerxes. In early life he practised painting with some success, but he devoted himself with still more earnestness to philosophy and literature. He studied rhetoric under Prodicus, and physics under Anaxagoras, and also lived on intimate terms with Socrates. He is said to have written a tragedy at the age of eighteen; but the first play brought out in his own name was acted in B.C. 455, when he was twentyfive years of age. It was not, however, till 441 that he gained his first prize, and from this time he continued to exhibit plays until B. c. 408, the date of his Orestes. Soon after this he repaired to the court of Macedonia, at the invitation of King Archelaiis, where he died two years afterwards at the age of seventy-four (B. c. 406). Common report relates that he was torn to pieces by the king's dogs, which, according- to some accounts, were set upon him by two rival poets out of envy. Euripides received tragedy perfect from the hands of his predecessors,. and we do not find that he made any changes in its outward form. But he varied from them considerably in the poetical mode of handling it, and his innovations in this respect were decidedly for the worse. He converted the prologue into a vehicle for the exposition of the whole plot, in which he not only informs the spectator of what has happened up to that moment, but frequently also of what the result or catastrophe will be. In his hands, too, the chorus grew feebler, and its odes less connected with the X Sophocles is said to have written 117 tragedies, but of theze only seven are extant, which are to be ranked, probably, in the following chronological order: the Antigone, B. c. 440; Electra; Trachinice; (Edipus Tyrannus; Ajax; Philoctetes, B. c. 409; (Edipus at Colonos, brought out by the younger Sophocles B. c. 401. 382 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXV subject of the drama, so that they might frequently belong to any other piece just as well as to the one in which they were inserted. In treating his characters and subjects he often arbitrarily departed from the received legends, and diminished the dignity of tragedy by depriving it of its ideal character, and by bringing it down to the level of every-day life. His dialogue was garrulous and colloquial, wanting in heroic dignity, and frequently frigid through misplaced philosophical disquisitions. Yet in spite of all these faults Euripides has many beauties, and is particularly remarkable for pathos, so that Aristotle calls him "th_ most tragic of poets." Eighteen of the tragedies of Euripides are still extant, omitting the Rhesus, the genuineness of which there are good reasons for doubting. One of them, the Cyclops, is particularly interesting as the only extant specimen of the Greek satyric drama.* ~ 7. Comedy was revived at Athens by Chionides and his contemporaries, about B. c. 488; but it received its full development from Cratinus, who lived in the age of Pericles. Cratinus, and his younger contemporaries, Eupolis and Aristophanes, were the three great poets of what is called the Old Attic Comedy.t The comedies of Cratinus and Eupolis are lost; but of Aristophanes, who was the greatest of the three, we have eleven dramas extant. Aristophanes was born about 444 B. c. Of his private life we know positively nothing. He exhibited his first comedy in 427, and from that time till near his death, which probably happened about 380, he was a frequent contributor to the Attic stage.+ The old Attic comedy was a powerful vehicle for the expression of opinion; and most of the comedies of Aristophanes, and those of his contemporaries likewise, turned either upon political occurrences, or upon some subject which excited the interest of the Athenian public. Their chief object was to excite laughter by the boldest and most ludicrous caricature; and provided that end was attained, the poet seems to have cared but little about the justice of the picture. A living historian has well remarked: " Never probably will the full and unshackled force of comedy be so exhibited again. Without having Aristophanes actually before us, it would have been impossible to imagine the unmeasured and unsparing license of attack assumed by the old comedy upon the gods, the institutions, the politicians, philosophers, poets, private citizens, specially named, * The following is a list of his extant plays: the Alcestis, B. c. 438; Medea, 431; Hippolytus, 428; Hecuba, about 424; Heraclidce, about 421; Supplices, Ion, Hercules Furens, Andromache; Troades, 415; Electra; Helena, 425; Iphigeneiac in Tauris; Orestes, 408;.Phcenissce, Bacchce, and Iphigeneia in Aulis were brought out after the death of Euripides by ihis son, the younger Euripides. The date of the Cyclops is quite uncertain. t Eupolis atque Cratinus Aristophanesque poetae, Atque alii quorum comoedia prisca virorum est. - HR. Sat. I. 4.: The eleven extant dramas are: the Acharnians, B. c. 425; Knights, 424; Clouds, 423; Wasps, 422; Peace, 419; Birds, 414; Lysistrata, 411; Thesmophoriazusce, 411; Plutus, 408 Frogs, 405; Ecclesiazusce, 392. CHAP. XXXV.] ARISTOPHANES. 383 -and even the women, whose life was entirely domestic, of Athens. With this universal liberty in respect of subject there is combined a poignancy of derision and satire, a fecundity of imagination and variety of turns, and a richness of poetical expression such as cannot be surpassed, and such as fully explains the admiration expressed for him by the philosopher Plato, who in other respects must have regarded him with unquestionable disapprobation. His comedies are popular in the largest sense of the word, addressed to the entire body of male citizens on a day consecrated to festivity, and providing for their amusement or derision with a sort of drunken abundance, out of all persons or things standing in any way prominent before the public eye." * In illustration of the preceding remarks we may refer to the Knights of Aristophanes, as an example of the boldness of his attacks on one of the leading political characters of the day, —the demagogue Cleon; whilst the Clouds, in which Socrates t is held up to ridicule, and the Thesmophoriazuse and Frogs, containing slashing onslaughts on Euripides, show that neither the greatest philosophers nor the most popular poets were secure. Even Pericles himself is now and then bespattered with ridicule, and the aversion of the poet for the Peloponnesian war is shown in many of his dramas. From the nature of his plays it would be absurd, as some have done, to quote them gravely as historical authority; though, with due allowance for comic exaggeration, they no doubt afford a valuable comment on the politics, literature, and manners of the time. Nor can it be doubted that, under all his bantering, Aristophanes often strove to serve the views of the old aristocratical party, of which he was an adherent. The more serious political remarks were commonly introduced into that part of the chorus called the parabasis, when, the actors having left the stage, the choreutm turned round, and, advancing towards the spectators, addressed them in the name of the poet. Towards the end of the career of Aristophanes the unrestricted license and libellous personality of comedy began gradually to disappear. The chorus was first curtailed and then entirely suppressed, and thus made way for what is called the Middle Comedy, which had no chorus at all. The Plutus of Aristophanes, which contains no political allusions, exhibits an approach to this phase. An extract from the Knights of Aristophanes will give some idea of the unmeasured invective in which the poet indulged. The chorus come upon the stage, and thus commence their attack upon Cleon: Close around him, and confound him, the confounder of us all, Pelt him, pummel him, and maul him; rummage, ransack, overhaul him; Overbear him arid outbawl him; bear him down, and bring him under; Bellow like a burst of thunder, Robber! harpy! sink of plunder! Rogue and villain! rogue and cheat! rogue and villain, I repeat! * Grote's Hist. of Greece, Vol. VIII. p. 450. t Socrates, and through him the Sophists, were the objects of attack in the Clouds. - ED. 384 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXV. Oftener than I can repeat it has the rogue and villain cheated. Close around him, left and right; spit upon him, spurn and smite: Spit upon him as you see; spurn and spit at him like me. But beware, or he'11 evade ye, for he knows the private track Where Eucrates was seen escaping with his mill-dust on his back. Cleon. Worthy veterans of the jury, you that, either right or wrong, With my threepenny provision, I've maintained and cherished long, Come to my aid! I'm here waylaid, - assassinated and betrayed. Chorus. Rightly served! we serve you rightly, for your hungry love of pelf; For your gross and greedy rapine, gormandizing by yourself; You that, ere the figs are gathered, pilfer with a privy twitch Fat delinquents and defaulters, pulpy, luscious, plump, and rich; Pinching, fingering, and pulling, tampering, selecting, culling, With a nice survey discerning which are green and which are turning, Which are ripe for accusation, forfeiture, and confiscation. Him, besides, the wealthy man, retired upon an easy rent, Hating and avoiding party, noble-minded, indolent, Fearful of official snares, intrigues, and intricate affairs; Him you mark; you fix and hook him, whilst he's gaping unawares; At a fling, at once you bring him hither from the Chersonese, Down you cast him, roast and baste him, and devour him at your ease. Cleon. Yes! assault, insult, abuse me! this is the return I find For the noble testimony, the memorial I designed: Meaning to propose proposals for a monument of stone, On the which your late achievements should be carved and neatly done. Chorus. Out, away with him the slave! the pompous, empty, fawning knave! Does he think with idle speeches to delude and cheat us all? As he does the doting elders that attend his daily call. Pelt him here, and bang him there; and here and there and everywhere. Cleon. Save me, neighbors! 0 the monsters! 0 my side, my back, my breast! Chorus. What, you're forced to call for help? you brutal, overbearing pest.@ X Translated by Mr. Frere. It is not a little remarkable, that most of the schemes of political and social reform which have been discussed of late years were anticipated by Aristophanes, and brought by him upon the comic stage. In the Ecclesiazusse particularly, the doctrine of woman's right to an equal - or rather a superior - share of political power and honor is humorously burlesqued. The women of Athens, discontented with the state of public affairs, and stimulated by the eloquence of a lady who has a violent desire to address the people, are represented as plotting a scheme of revolution, by which the reins of government shall be placed in their hands. Accordingly, after having duly practised speaking in a preliminary meeting, they manage to steal their husband's garments, and, taking their seats very early in the Pnyx, hurry a decree through all the stages of legislation, transferring to the women the supreme power of the state. The destruction of private property, the abolition of marriage, the establishment of a complete system of Socialism, follow In rapid succession. The arguments on which these reforms are defended are precisely such as modern schemers have employed, without having given them the slightest additional force. - ED. CHAP. XXXV.] THUCYDIDES. 385 ~ 8. Of the prose-writers of this period, Thucydides is by far the greatest. Herodotus, who belongs to the same period, and who was only a few years older than Thucydides, has been noticed in a previous chapter. Thucydides was an Athenian, and was born in the year 471 B. c. His father was named Olorus, and his mother Hegesipyle, and his family was connected with that of Miltiades and Cimon. Thucydides appears to have been a man of wealth; and we know from his own account that he possessed gold mines in Thrace, and enjoyed great influence in that country. We also learn from himself that he was one of the sufferers from the great plague at Athens, and among the few who recovered. He commanded an Athenian squadron of seven ships at Thasos, in 424 B. c., at the time when Brasidas was besieging Amphipolis; and having failed to relieve that city in time, he went into a voluntary exile, in order probably to avoid the punishment of death. He appears to have spent twenty years in banishment, principally in the Peloponnesus, or in places under the dominion or influence of Sparta. He perhaps returned to Athens in B. c. 403, the date of its liberation by Thrasybulus. According to the unanimous testimony of antiquity he met with a violent end, and it seems probable that he was assassinated at Athens, since it cannot be doubted that his tomb existed there; but some authorities place the scene of his death in Thrace. From the beginning of the Peloponnesian war he had designed to write its history, and he employed himself in collecting materials for that purpose during its continuance; but it is most likely that the work was not actually composed till after the conclusion of the war, and that he was engagd upon it at the time of his death. Some critics are even of opinion that the eighth and concluding book is not from his hand; but there seems to be little ground for this assumption, though he may not have revised it with the same care as the former books. Such are all the authentic particulars that can be stated respecting the greatest of the Athenian historians. It is only necessary to add a short account of his work. The first book is introductory, and contains a rapid sketch of Grecian history from the remotest times to the breaking out of the war, accompanied with an explanation of the events and causes which led to it, and a digression on the rise and progress of the Athenian power. The remaining seven books are filled with the details of the war, related according to the division into summers and winters, into which all campaigns naturally fall; and the work breaks off abruptly in the middle of the twenty-first year of the war (B. c. 411). It is probable that the division of his history into books was the work of the Alexandrine critics, and that as it came from the hands of the author it formed a continuous narrative. The materials of Thucydides were collected with the most scrupulous care; the events are related with the strictest impartiality; and the work probably offers a more exact account of a long and eventful period 49 386 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXV. than any other contemporary history, whether ancient or modern, of an equally long and important era. The style of Thucydides is brief and sententious, and whether in moral or political reasoning, or in description, gains wonderful force from its condensation. It is this brevity and simplicity that renders his account of the plague of Athens so striking and tragic. But this characteristic is sometimes carried to a faulty extent, so as to render his style harsh, and his meaning obscure. ~ 9. Xenophon properly belongs to the next period of Grecian history; but the subject of the earlier portion of his History is so intimately connected with the work of Thucydides, that it will be more convenient to speak of him in the present place. Xenophon was the son of Gryllus, an Athenian, and was probably born about B. c. 444. Socrates is said to have saved his life in the battle of Delium, which was fought in B. c. 424, and as we know that he lived to a much later period, he could hardly have been more than twenty at the time of this battle. Xenophon was a pupil of Socrates, and we are also told that he received instructions from Prodicus of Ceos, and from Isocrates. His accompanying Cyrus the younger in his expedition against his brother Artaxerxes, king of Persia, formed a striking episode in his life, and has been recorded by himself in his Anabasis; but as we shall have occasion to relate this event in our next book, we need not touch upon it here. He seems to have been still in Asia at the time of the death of Socrates in 399 B. c., and was probably banished from Athens soon after that period, in consequence of his close connection with the Lacedaemonian authorities in Asia. He accompanied Agesilaus, the Spartan king, on the return of the latter from Asia to Greece; and he fought along with the Lacedacmonians against his own countrymen at the battle of Coronea in 394 B. c. After this battle he went with Agesilaus to Sparta, and soon afterwards settled at Scillus in Elis, near Olympia, where he was joined by his wife and children. His time seems to have been agreeably spent at this residence in hunting, and other rural diversions, as well as in literary pursuits; and he is said to have composed here his Anabasis, and a part, if not the whole, of the Hellenica. - From this quiet retreat he was at length expelled by the Eleans, but at what date is uncertain; though he seems at all events to have spent at least twenty years at this place. His sentence of banishment from Athens was repealed on the motion of Eubulus, but in what year we do not know. His two sons, Gryllus and Diodorus, are said to have fought with the Athenians'and Spartans against the Thebans, at the battle of Mantinea in 362. There is, however, no evidence that Xenophon ever returned to Athens. He seems to have retired to Corinth after his expulsion from Elis, and it is probable that he died there. He is said to have lived to more than'ninety years of age, and he mentions an event which occurred as late as;357 B. C. Probably all the works of Xenophon are still extant. The Anabasis CHAP. XXXV.] ATHENIAN EDUCATION. 387 is the work on which his fame as an historian chiefly rests. It is written in a simple and agreeable style, and conveys much curious and striking information. The Hellenica is a continuation of the history of Thucydides, and comprehends in seven books a space of about forty-eight years; namely, from the time when Thucydides breaks off, B. c. 411, to the battle of Mantinea in 362. The subject is treated in a very dry and uninteresting style; and his evident partiality to Sparta, and dislike of Athens, have frequently warped his judgment, and must cause his statements to be received with some suspicion. The Cyropced7a, one of the most pleasing and popular of Xenoplhon's works, professes to be a history of Cyrus, the founder of the Persian monarchy, but is in reality a kind of political romance, and possesses no authority whatever as an historical work. The design of the author seems to have been to draw a picture of a perfect state; and though the scene is laid in Persia, the materials of the work are derived from his own philosophical notions and the usages of Sparta, engrafted on the popularly current stories respecting Cyrus. Xenophon displays in this work his dislike of democratic institutions like those of Athens, and his preference for an aristocracy, or even a monarchy. Xenophon was also the author of several minor works; but the only other treatise which we need mention is the JMemorabilia of Socrates, in four books, intended as a defence of his master against the charges which occasioned his death, and which undoubtedly contains a genuine picture of Socrates and his philosophy. The genius of Xenophon was not of the highest'order; it was practical rather than speculative; but he is distinguished for his good sense, his moderate views, his humane temper, and his earnest piety. ~ 10. In closing this brief survey of Athenian literature, it is necessary to make a few remarks upon Athenian education, and upon the greatest teacher of his age, -the philosopher Socrates. A certain amount of elementary education seems to have prevailed among the free citizens of all the Grecian states at the time of which we are speaking. Instruction was usually imparted in schools. The Paedagogue, or private tutor, was not a teacher; he was seldom a man of much knowledge, - often indeed a slave, - and his office was merely to watch over his pupils in their idle hours, and on their way to the schools. When a youth could read with fluency, he was set to learn by heart passages selected from the best poets, in which moral precepts and examples of virtuous conduct were inculcated and exhibited. The works of ]Esop and Theognis were much used for this purpose. He was then taught those accomplishments which the Greeks included under the comprehensive head of " music," and which comprised not only the art of playing on the lyre, and of singing and dancing, so as to enable him to bear a part in a chorus, but also to recite poetical compositions with grace and propriety of accent and pronunciation. At the same time his physical powers were developed and strengthened by a course of gymnastic exercises. At the age of 388 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXV. eighteen or twenty the sons of the more wealthy citizens attended the classes of the rhetors and sophists who gave their lectures in the Lyceum, Academy, or other similar institutions; a course somewhat analogous to entering a university in our own times. Here the young man studied rhetoric and philosophy; under which heads were included mathematics, astronomy, dialectics, oratory, criticism, and morals. ~ 11. It will be perceived from the above sketch that the rhetor and sophist - whose provinces were often combined, and are generally difficult to distinguish with accuracy - played the most important part in the formation of the future man. They gave the last bias to his mind, and sent him forth into the world with habits of thought which in after life he would perhaps have neither the leisure nor the inclination to alter, or even to examine. Most of the young men who attended their lectures had little more in view'than to become qualified for taking a practical part in active life. The democratical institutions which had begun to prevail in Athens, Sicily, and other parts of Greece during the fifth century before the Christian era, and which often obliged a public man to confute an adversary, to defend himself from an attack, or to persuade a public assembly, rendered it necessary for him to obtain some knowledge of rhetoric and dialectics. It was for this purpose that the schools of the rhetors and sophists were frequented by the great mass of their hearers, without, perhaps, much care for their speculative principles, except so far as they might serve as exercises to sharpen dialectic skill. Among the most eminent of these teachers in the time of Socrates were Protagoras of Abdera, Gorgias of Leontini, Polus of Agrigentum, Hippias of Elis, Prodicus of Ceos, and others. As rhetorical instructors they may be compared with Isocrates or Quintilian; but, generally speaking, there was more or less of philosophical speculation mixed up with their teaching. The name of " Sophist" borne by these men had not originally that invidious meaning which it came to possess in later times. In its early use it meant only a wise or a clever man. Thus it was applied to the seven sages, and to the poets, such as Homer and Hesiod; men as far removed as possible from the notion implied in the modern term sophist. The word seems to have retained its honorable meaning down to the time of Socrates; but Plato and Xenophon began to use it in a depreciatory sense, and as a term of reproach. Whenever they wished to speak of a truly wise i ian, they preferred the word " philosopher." It may therefore be inferred that the name of " Sophist" began to fall into contempt through the teaching of Socrates, more especially as we find that Socrates himself shrank from the name. ~ 12. But the relation of Socrates to the Sophists will be best shown by a brief account of his life. Socrates was born in the year 468 B. c., in the deme of Alopece, in the immediate neighborhood of Athens. His father, Sophroniscus, was a CHAP. XXXV.] SOCRATES. 389 sculptor, and Socrates was brought up to, and for some time practised, the same profession. A group of the Charites or Graces, from his chisel, was preserved in the Acropolis of Athens, and was extant in the time of Pausanias. His mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife. Thus his station in life was humble, but his family was of genuine Attic descent. He was married to Xanthippe, by whom he had three sons; but her bad temper has rendered her name proverbial for a conjugal scold. His physical constitution was healthy, robust, and wonderfully enduring. Indifferent alike to heat and cold, the same scanty and homely clothing sufficed him both in summer and winter; and even in the campaign of Potidcla, amidst the snows of a Thracian winter, he went barefooted. He was moderate and frugal in his diet, yet on occasions of festival could drink more wine than any other man without being intoxicated. It was a principle with him to contract his wants as much as possible; for he had a maxim, that to want nothing belonged only to the gods, and to want as little as possible was the nearest approach to the divine nature. But though thus gifted with strength of body and of mind, he was far from being endowed with personal beauty. His thick lips, flat nose, and prominent eyes gave him the appearance of a Silenus, or satyr. We know but few particulars of his life. He served with credit as an hoplite at Potidaea (B. c. 432), Delium (B. C. 424), and Amphipolis (B. c. 422); but it was not till late in life, in the year 406 B. c., that he filled any political office. He was one of the Prytanes when, after the battle of Arginuse, Callixenus submitted his proposition respecting the six generals to the public assembly, and his refusal on that occasion to put an unconstitutional question to the vote has been already recorded.* He had a strong persuasion that he was intrusted with a divine mission, and he believed himself to be attended by a daemon or genius, whose admonitions he frequently heard, not, however, in the way of excitement but of restraint. He never wrote anything, but he made oral instruction the great business of his life. Early in the morning he frequented the public walks, the gymnasia, and the schools; whence he adjourned to the market-place at its most crowded hours, and thus spent the whole day in conversing with young and old, rich and poor, -with all in short who felt any desire for his instructions. There was, however,-a certain set of persons who were in the habit of following him to hear his conversation, and these became known as his disciples. From this public manner of life, he became one of the best-known characters in Athens, and this circumstance was probably the reason why he was selected for attack, as the representative of the Sophists in general, by Aristophanes and the comic poets. But the picture of Aristophanes shows that he either did not know, or was not solicitous about, the real * See p. 342. 390 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXV objects and pursuits of Socrates: his only object seems to have been to raise a laugh. The dramatist represents Socrates as occupied with physical researches. But though in early life Socrates had paid some attention to natural philosophy, he soon abandoned the study in disgust, from reading a treatise of Anaxagoras, in which he found that the philosopher's hypotheses were not sustained by any basis of reasoning. This led Socrates to turn his attention to dialectics. In this pursuit there can be little doubt that he derived great assistance from the Eleatic school of philosophers, especially Parmenides and Zeno, who visited Athens when Socrates was a young man. He seems to have borrowed from the Eleatics his negative method; namely, that of disproving and upsetting what is advanced by a disputant, as a means of unmasking not only falsehood, but also assertion without authority, yet without attempting to establish anything in its place. ~ 13. We are now in a condition to see in what points Socrates differed from the ordinary teachers or Sophists of the time. They were these: 1. He taught without fee or reward, and communicated his instructions freely to high and low, rich and poor alike. 2. He did not talk for mere vain show and ostentation, but for the sake of gaining clear and distinct ideas, and thus advancing both himself and others in real knowledge. It was with this view that he had abandoned physics, which, in the manner in which they were then taught, were founded merely on guesses and conjectures, and had applied himself to the study of his fellow-men, which opened a surer field of observation. And in order to arrive at clear ideas on moral subjects, he was the first to employ definition and inference, and thus confine the discourse to the eliciting of truth, instead of making it the vehicle for empty display. A contrary practice on these two points is what constituted the difference between Socrates and the Sophists. The teaching of Socrates forms an epoch in the history of philosophy. From his school sprang Plato, the founder of the Academic philosophy; Eucleides, the founder of the Megaric school; Aristippus, the founder of the Cyrenaic school; and many other philosophers of eminence. ~ 14. That a reformer and destroyer, like Socrates, of ancient prejudices and fallacies which passed current under the name of wisdom should have raised up a host of enemies, is only what might be expected; but in his case this feeling was increased by the manner in which he fulfilled his mission. The oracle of Delphi, in response to a question put by his friend Chgrephon, had affirmed that no man was wiser than Socrates. No one was more perplexed at this declaration than Socrates himself, since he was conscious to himself of possessing no wisdom at all. However, he determined to test the accuracy of the priestess, for though he had little wisdom, others might have still less. H-Ie therefore selected an eminent politician who enjoyed a high reputation for wisdom, and soon elicited, by his scrutinizing method of cross-examination, that this statesman's reputed CHAP. XXXV.] SOCRATES. 391 wisdom was no wisdom at all. But of this he could not convince the subject of his examination; whence Socrates concluded that he was wiser than this politician, inasmuch as he was conscious of his own ignorance, and therefore exempt from the error of believing himself wise when in reality he was not so. The same experiment was tried, with the same result, on various classes of men; on poets, mechanics, and especially on the rhetors and sophists, the chief of all the pretenders to wisdom. ~15. The first indication of the unpopularity which Socrates had incurred is the attack made upon him by Aristophanes in the "Clouds," in the year 423 B. c. That attack, however, seems to have evaporated with the laugh, and for many years Socrates continued his teaching without molestation. It was not till B. C. 399 that the indictment was preferred against him which cost him his life. In that year, Meletus, a leather-seller, seconded by Anytus, a poet, and Lycon, a rhetor, accused him of impiety in not worshipping the gods of the city, and in introducing new deities, and also of being a corrupter of youth. With respect to the latter charge, his former intimacy with Alcibiades and Critias may have weighed against him. Socrates made no preparations for his defence, and seems, indeed, not to have desired an acquittal. But although he addressed the dicasts in a bold, uncompromising tone, he was condemned only by a small majority of five or six, in a court composed of between five and six hundred dicasts. After the verdict was pronounced, he was entitled, according to the practice of the Athenian courts, to make some counterproposition in place of the penalty of death, which the accusers had demanded, and if he had done so with any show of submission it is probable that the sentence would have been mitigated. But his tone after the verdict was higher than before. All that he could be brought to propose against himself by way of punishment was a fine of thirty mince, which Plato and other friends engaged to pay for him. Instead of a fine, he asserted that he ought to be maintained in the Prytaneum at the public expense, as a public benefactor. This tone seems to have enraged the dicasts, and he was condemned to death. It happened that the vessel which proceeded to Delos on the annual deputation to the festival had sailed the day before his condemnation; and during its absence it was unlawful to put any one to death. Socrates was thus kept in prison during thirty days, till the return of the vessel. He spent the interval in philosophical conversations with his friends. Crito, one of these, arranged a scheme for his escape by bribing the gaoler; but Socrates, as might be expected from the tone of his defence, resolutely refused to save his life by a breach of the law. His last discourse, on the day of his death, turned on the immortality of the soul, and has been recorded, and probably embellished, in the Phcedo of Plato. With a firm and cheerful countenance he drank the cup of hemlock amidst his sorrowing and weeping friends. His last words were addressed to Crito: 392 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXV. "Crito, we owe a cock to 2Esculapius; * discharge the debt, and by no means omit it." Thus perished the greatest and most original of the Grecian philosophers, whose uninspired wisdom made the nearest approach to the divine morality of the Gospel.t S In allusion to the sacrifice usually offered by sick persons to that deity on their recovery. t It is very remarkable that Socrates, if we may rely upon the account Plato gives of the conversations held in the prison, during the last two days of his life, inculcates the doctrine of the forgiveness of injuries, as one which would not be assented to at that time, but which was nevertheless to him a truth. - ED. Bs of SPATHeC Bust of Socrates. 393 The Pactolus at Sardis. BOOK V. THE SPARTAN AND THEBAN SUPREMACIES. B. C. 403-371. CHAPTER XXXVI. THE EXPEDITION OF THE GREEKS UNDER CYRUS, AND RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND. $ 1. Causes of the Expedition. ~ 2. Cyrus engages an Army of Greek Mercenaries. Their Character. 8 3. March to Tarsus. ~ 4. Discontent of the Greeks. March to Myriandrus. ~ 5. Passage of the Euphrates, and March through the Desert. ( 6. Battle of Cunaxa, and Death of Cyrus. ~ 7. Dismay of the Greeks. Preparations for Retreat. ~ 8. Retreat of the Army to the Greater Zab. Seizure of the Generals. ~ 9. Election of Xenophon and others as Generals. ~ 10. March from the Zab to the Confines of the Carduchi. March across the Mountains of the Carduchi. ~ 11. Progress through Armenia. ~ 12. March through the Country of the Taochi, Chalybes, Scythini, Macrones, and Colchi to Trapezus on the Euxine. ~ 13. March along the Coast of the Euxine to Chrysopolis. Passage to Byzantium. ~ 14. Proceedings at Byzantium. g 15. The Greeks enter the Service of Seuthes. Q 16. Are engaged by the Lacedemonians. Last Exploits of the Army, and Retirement of Xenophon. ~ 1. THE intervention of Cyrus in the affairs of Greece, related in the preceding book, led to a remarkable episode in Grecian history, which 50 894 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVL strongly illustrates the contrast between the Greeks and Asiatics. This was the celebrated expedition of Cyrus against his brother Artaxerxes, in which the superiority of Grecian to Asiatic soldiers was so strikingly shown. It was the first symptom of the repulsion of the tide of conquest, which had in former times flowed from east to west, and the harbinger of those future victorious expeditions into Asia which were to be conducted by Agesilaus and Alexander the Great. It has been already mentioned, in the account of the death of Alcibiades, that Cyrus was forming designs against the throne of his brother Artaxerxes. The death of their father, Darius Nothus, took place about the beginning of the year B. C. 404, shortly before the battle of iEgospotami. Cyrus, who was present at his father's death, was charged by Tissaphernes with plotting against the new monarch. The accusation was believed by Artaxerxes, who seized his brother, and would have put him to death, but for the intercession of their mother, Parysatis, who persuaded him not only to spare Cyrus, but to confirm him in his former government. Cyrus returned to Sardis, burning with revenge, and fully resolved to make an effort to dethrone his brother. ~ 2. From his intercourse with the Greeks Cyrus had become aware of their superiority to the Asiatics, and of their usefulness in such an enterprise as he now contemplated. The peace which followed the capture of Athens seemed favorable to his projects. Many Greeks, bred up in the practice of war during the long struggle between that city and Sparta, were now deprived of their employment, whilst many more had been driven into exile by the establishment of the Spartan oligarchies in the various conquered cities. Under the pretence of a private war with the satrap Tissaphernes, Cyrus enlisted large numbers of them in his service. The Greek in whom he placed most confidence, and who collected for him the largest number of mercenaries, was Clearchus, a Lacedasmonian, and formerly harmost of Byzantium, who had been condemned to death by the Spartan authorities for disobedience to their orders. It was not, however, till the beginning of the year B. c. 401, that the enterprise of Cyrus was ripe for execution. The Greek levies were then withdrawn from the various towns in which they were distributed, and concentrated in Sardis, to the number of seven thousand seven hundred hoplites, and five hundred light-armed troops; and in March or April of this year Cyrus marched from Sardis with them, and with an army of one hundred thousand Asiatics. The object of the expedition was proclaimed to be an attack upon the mountain-freebooters of Pisidia; its real destination was a secret to every one except Cyrus himself and Clearchus. The Greeks who took part in this expedition were not mere adventurers and outcasts; many of them had some position in their own cities, and several were even opulent. Yet the hope of gain, founded on the B. C. 401.] ROUTE OF THE TEN THOUSAND. 395 Ai ~r %~, ~~ %..~ ad,f~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~T 1ZI U1i L4U` gt 4~t ~~~~~~~~ r',' cil~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~P a t y iI.~tC~~~W a ~Q~~~ riches of Persia, and on the known liberality of Cyrus, was the motive which allured them. Among them was Xenophon, an Athenian knight, to whom we owe a narrative of the expedition. He went as a volunteer, *at the invitation- of his friend Proxenus, a Bceotian, and one of the generals of Cyrus., ~''~,~: ~'~,,;.F~''m~ ~'~ ~,~.. 4 d B~~~!,,, L~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ riches~2 of Peria,~o the knw libeaiyof''), Cyru,3T w asth m o i gene\rals of Cyrus 396 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVI. ~ 3. The march of Cyrus was directed through Lydia and Phrygia. After passing Colosswe he arrived at Celaenae, where he halted thirty days to await the arrival of Clearchus with the reserves and reinforcements. The grand total of the Greeks, when reviewed here by Cyrus, amounted to eleven thousand hoplites and two thousand peltasts. The line of march, which had been hitherto straight upon Pisidia, was now directed northwards. Cyrus passed in succession the Phrygian towns of Peltse, Ceramon Agora, the Plain of Cayster, Thymbrium, and Tyriaum. At the last of these places he was met by Epyaxa, wife of Syennesis, the hereditary prince of Cilicia. Epyaxa supplied him with money enough to furish four months' pay to the Greeks, who had previously been murmuring at the irregularity with which they received their stipend. A review was then held, in which the Greeks, in their best array, and with newly-furbished shields and armor, went through their evolutions, and executed a mock charge with such effect that Epyaxa jumped out of her palanquin and fled in affright, followed by a great part of the Asiatics. Cyrus was delighted at seeing the terror which the Greeks inspired. From Tyrihum Cyrus marched to Iconium (now Konieh), the last city in Phrygia, and from thence through Lycaonia to Dana, south of which lay the pass across Mount Taurus into Cilicia. This pass, called the Gates of Taurus, or the Cilician Gates, was occupied by Syennesis. But the resistance of that prince, who was a vassal of the Persian crown, was in fact a mere feint. He had already, as we have seen, supplied Cyrus with money through his wife; and he now abandoned his impregnable position, and retired first to Tarsus, and thence to an inaccessible fortress in the mountains. But when Cyrus arrived at Tarsus, Syennesis, at the first invitation of his wife, repaired thither, and furnished the young prince with a supply of money and a contingent of troops for his expedition. ~ 4. Pisidia had now been passed, and the Greeks plainly saw that they had been deceived, and that the expedition was designed against the Persian king. Seized with alarm at the prospect of so long a march, they declared their resolution to proceed no farther. But they had already advanced so far that to retreat seemed as difficult and dangerous as to advance; and, after considerable hesitation and delay, they sent a deputation to Cyrus to ask him what his real intentions were. Cyrus replied that his design was to march against his enemy, Abrocomas, satrap of Syria, who was encamped on the banks of the Euphrates. The Greeks, though they still suspected a delusion, contented themselves with this answer in the face of their present difficulties, especially as Cyrus promised to raise their pay from one daric to one daric and a half a month. The whole army then marched forwards to Issus, the last town in Cilicia, seated on the gulf of the same name. Here they met the fleet, which brought them a reinforcement of eleven hundred Greek soldiers, thus raising the Grecian force to about fourteen thousand men. B. C. 401.1 PASSAGE OF THE EUPHRATES. 397 Abrocomas, who commanded for the Great King in Syria and Phoenicia, alarmed at the rapid progress of Cyrus, fled before him with all his army, reported as three hundred thousand strong; abandoning the impregnable pass situated one day's march from Issus, and known as the Gates of Cilicia and Syria. This pass was a narrow road, nearly half a mile in length, lying between the sea and Mount Amanus, and inclosed at either end by gates. Marching in safety through this pass, the army next reached Myriandrus, a sea-port of Phoenicia, where the Grecian generals Xenias and Pasion deserted, and hired a merchant-vessel to convey them home. Cyrus might easily have captured them with his triremes, but declined to do so; -conduct which won for him the confidence and love of the army. ~ 5. Cyrus now struck off into the interior, over Mount Amanus. Twelve days' march brought him to Thapsacus on the Euphrates, where for the first time he formally notified to the army that he was marching to Babylon against his brother Artaxerxes. At this intelligence loud murmurs again broke forth from the Grecian ranks, and accusations against the generals of having deceived them. The discontent, however, was by no means so violent as that which had been manifested at Tarsus. The real object of the march had evidently been suspected beforehand by the soldiers, and the promise of a large donative soon induced them to proceed. The water happened to be very low, scarcely reaching to the breast; and Abrocomas made no attempt to dispute the passage. The army now entered upon the desert, where the Greeks were struck with the novel sights which met their view, and at once amused and exhausted themselves in the chase of the wild ass and the antelope, or in the vain pursuit of the scudding ostrich. After several days of toilsome march, the army at length reached Pylae, the entrance into the cultivated plains of Babylonia, where they halted a few days to refresh themselves. ~ 6. Soon after leaving that place symptoms became perceptible of a vast hostile force moving in their front. The exaggerated reports of deserters stated it at one million two hundred thousand men; its real strength was about nine hundred thousand. In a characteristic address Cyrus exhorted the Greeks to take no heed of the multitude of their enemies; they would find in them, he affirmed, nothing but numbers and noise, and if they could bring themselves to despise these, they would soon find of what worthless stuff the natives were composed. The army then marched cautiously forwards, in order of battle, along the left bank of the Euphrates. They soon came upon a huge trench, thirty feet broad and eighteen deep, which Artaxerxes had caused to be, dug across the plain for a length of about forty-two English miles, reaching from the Euphrates to the wall of Media. Between it and the river was left only a narrow passage about twenty feet broad; yet Cyrus and his army found with surprise that this pass was left entirely undefended. This circumstance inspired them with 398 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVI a contempt of the enemy, and induced them to proceed in careless array; but on the next day but one after passing the trench, on arriving at a place called Cunaxa, they were surprised with the intelligence that Artaxerxes was approaching with all his forces. Cyrus immediately drew up his army in order of battle. The Greeks were posted on the right, while Cyrus himself, surrounded by a picked body-guard of six hundred Persian cuirassiers, took up his station in the centre. It was long, however, before the army of the Great King appeared in sight. A white cloud of dust in the extreme distance gave the first indication of their approach. Out of this an undefined and ominous dark spot began gradually to emerge; presently arms and armor glanced in the sunbeams; and at length the whole array of the enemy became discernible, advancing in dense and threatening masses. On their left wing, and consequently opposed to the Greeks appeared Tissaphernes, at the head of the Persian horsemen, with white cuirasses; on his right the Persian bowmen with their gerrha, or light wicker shields, which they planted in the ground, and from behind them shot their arrows; next, the array of the Egyptian infantry, whose long wooden shields covered their whole body from head to foot. In front was a line of chariots, having scythes attached to the wheels, and which were to lead the charge. The Persian line was so vast that its centre extended beyond the left of Cyrus. Before the battle began Cyrus desired Clearchus to attack the Persian centre, where the king in person was posted. But Clearchus, whose right rested on the river, cared not to withdraw from that position, lest he should be surrounded by the superior numbers of the enemy, and therefore returned a general answer that he would manage everything for the best. His over-precaution occasioned the defeat and death of Cyrus. When the enemy were about half a mile distant the Greeks charged them with the usual war-shout. The Persians did not await their onset, but turned and fled. Tissaphernes and his cavalry alone offered any resistance; the remainder of the Persian left was routed without a blow. As Cyrus was contemplating the easy victory of the Greeks, his followers surrounded him, and already saluted him with the title of king. But the centre and right of Artaxerxes still remained unbroken; and that monarch, unaware of the defeat of his left wing, ordered the right to wheel and encompass the army of Cyrus. No sooner did Cyrus perceive this movement than with his body-guard he impetuously charged the enemy's centre, where Artaxerxes himself stood, surrounded with six thousand horse. The latter were routed and dispersed, and were followed so eagerly by the guards of Cyrus, that he was left almost alone with the select few called his " Table Companions." In this situation he caught sight of his brother Artaxerxes, whose person was revealed by the flight of his troops, when, maddened at once by rage and ambition, he shouted out, "I see the man! " and rushed at him with his handful of companions. Hurling his javelin at his brother, he wounded him in the breast, B. C. 401.] RETREAT OF THE GREEKS. 399 but was himself speedily overborne by superior numbers and slain on the spot. ~ 7. Meanwhile, Clearchus had pursued the flying enemy upwards of three miles; but hearing that the king's troops were victorious on the left and centre, he retraced his steps, again routing the Persians who endeavored to intercept him. When the Greeks regained their camp they found that it had been completely plundered, and were consequently obliged to go supperless to rest. It was not till the following day that they learned the death of Cyrus; tidings which converted their triumph into sorrow and dismay. A Greek in the service of Artaxerxes now appeared in their camp, with a message requiring them to lay down their arms. If the king," replied the Grecian generals, "thinks himself strong enough, let him come and take them." But they were in a difficult position. They were desirous that Arieus, who now commanded the army of Cyrus, should lay claim to the Persian crown, and offered to support his pretensions; but Ariaus answered that the Persian grandees would not tolerate such a claim; that he intended immediately to retreat; and that if the Greeks wished to accompany him, they must join him during the following night. This was accordingly done; when oaths of reciprocal fidelity were interchanged between the Grecian generals and Ariasus, and sanctified by a solemn sacrifice. The difficult question now arose how their retreat was to be conducted. They were nearly fifteen hundred miles from Sardis, and were to find their own way back, without guides, and by a new route, since the former. one was impracticable on account of. the desert and the want of provisions. Moreover, though they might easily defy the Persian infantry, however numerous, yet the Persian cavalry, ever hovering on their rear, would prove a formidable obstacle to their retreat. They commenced their march eastwards towards some Babylonian villages, where they hoped to find supplies; but on reaching them at the end of a long day's, march, they found that they had been plundered, and that no provisions were to be obtained. On the following day a message arrived from the Persian king, with a proposal to treat for peace on equal terms. Clearchus affected to treat the offer with great indifference, and made it an opportunity for procuring provisions. " Tell your king," said he to the envoys, " that we must first fight; for we have had no breakfast, nor will any man presume to talk to the Greeks about a truce, without first providing for them a breakfast." This was agreed to, and guides were sent to conduct the Greeks to some villages where they might obtain food. In these all the riches of Babylon were spread before them. Corn in vast abundance, dates of such size and flavor as they had never before seen, wine made from the date palm; in short, luxury and abundance in place of their late scanty fare and privations. Whilst they were enjoying these quarters, they received a visit 400 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIV from Tissaphernes, who came in great state. He pretended much friendship towards them, and said that he had come from the Great King to inquire the reason of their expedition. Clearchus replied-what was indeed true of the greater part of the army - that they had not come thither with any design to attack the king, but had been enticed forwards by Cyrus under false pretences; that their only desire at present was to return home; but that if any obstacle was offered, they were prepared to repel hostilities. In a day or two Tissaphernes returned, and with some parade stated that he had with great difficulty obtained permission to save the Greek army; that he was ready to conduct them in person into Geeece, and to supply them with provisions, for which, however, they were to pay; but if he failed to supply them, then they were to be at liberty to help themselves. An agreement was accordingly entered into to this effect. Artaxerxes, indeed, seems to have been heartily desirous of getting rid of them. They were now within ninety miles of Babylon, a rich country intersected by canals, and easily defensible against cavalry. But a painful interval of twenty days ensued, during which Tissaphernes neglected to return; whilst at the same time the suspicions of the Greeks were excited by the friendly messages which Arimus received from Artaxerxes, with promises of oblivion and forgiveness of his past conduct. At length, however, Tissaphernes returned, and undertook the direction of the homeward march. ~ 8. The troops of Ariaeus were now mingled with those of Tissaphernes, whilst the Greeks followed the combined army at a distance of three miles. In three days' march they reached the wall of Media, and passed through it. This wall was one hundred feet high and twenty feet broad, and was said to extend a distance of seventy miles. Two days more brought them to the Tigris, which they crossed on the following morning by a bridge of boats. They then marched northward, arriving in four days at the river Physcus and a large city called Opis. Six days' further march through a deserted part of Media brought them to some villages belonging to Queen Parysatis, which, out of enmity to her as the patron of Cyrus, Tissaphernes abandoned to be plundered by the Greeks. From thence they proceeded in five days to the river Zabatus, or Greater Zab, having previously crossed the Lesser Zab, which Xenophon neglects to mention. In the first of these five days they saw on the opposite side of the Tigris a large city called Caenae, the inhabitants of which brought over provisions to them. At the Greater Zab they halted three days. Mistrust, and even slight hostilities, had been already manifested between the Greeks and Persians, but they now became so serious, that Clearchus demanded an interview with Tissaphernes. The latter protested the greatest fidelity and friendship towards the Greeks, and promised to deliver to the Greek generals, on the following day, the calumniators who had set the two armies at variance. But when Clearchus, with four other B. C. 401.] RETREAT OF THE GREEKS. 401 generals, accompanied by some lochages, or captains, and two hundred soldiers, entered the Persian camp, according to appointment, the captains and soldiers were immediately cut down; whilst the five generals were seized, put into irons, and sent to the Persian court. After a short imprisonment, four of them were beheaded; the fifth, Menon, who pretended that he had betrayed his colleagues into the hands of Tissaphernes, was at first spared; but after a year's detention was put to death with tortures. This scene naturally produced a commotion in the Persian camp; and the Greeks, who observed it from afar, warned by one of the companions of the generals, who came running wounded towards them, rushed to arms in expectation of a general attack. None, however, followed; but Arieus rode up at the head of three hundred horse, and, relating to the Greeks the fate of their generals, called upon them to surrender. ~ 9. It seems to have been the opinion of the Persians, that under these circumstances the Greeks would feel themselves completely helpless; but some of the Greek officers stepped forward and dismissed Arieus with indignant reproaches. Yet apprehension and dismay reigned among the Greeks. Their situation was, indeed, appalling. They were considerably more than a thousand miles from home, in a hostile and unknown country, hemmed in on all sides by impassable rivers and mountains, without generals, without guides, without provisions. Despair seemed to have seized on all. Leaving their watch-fires unlighted and their suppers uncooked, they threw themselves on the ground, not to sleep, but to ruminate on their forlorn condition. Xenophon slumbered, indeed, but his fancy was filled with the images naturally conjured up by his desperate situation. He dreamed that a thunderbolt had struck his paternal house, and enveloped it in flames. This partly favorable and partly unfavorable omen indicated at all events a message from Zeus; and the superstition which formed so marked a trait in his character led him to consider it as a warning to rise and bestir himself. He immediately got up, and, calling an assembly of the captains, impressed upon them the danger of their position, and the necessity for taking immediate precautions. Xenophon, though young, possessed as an Athenian citizen some claim to distinction; and his animated address showed him fitted for command. He was saluted general on the spot; and in a subsequent assembly was, with four others, formally elected to that office. ~ 10. The Greeks, having first destroyed their superfluous baggage, crossed the Greater Zab, and pursued their march on the other bank. Tissaphernes preceded them with his host, but without daring to dispute their passage or molest their route; though some cavalry, under Mithridates, annoyed the rear-guard with their missiles. In order to meet this species of attack, a small body of fifty horse and two hundred Rhodian slingers was organized. It was found highly useful, as the leaden bullets of the Rhodians carried farther than the stones of the Persian slingers. 51 402 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVI. Another day's march brought the Greeks to the Tigris, near the deserted city of Larissa, seven miles in circumference, with walls twenty-five feet thick and one hundred feet high. Pursuing the course of the Tigris, they arrived on the following day at Mespila, another deserted city. It was in this neighborhood that Nineveh was situated, and, according to a modern theory, the two were both formerly comprised under the name of Nineveh. Larissa seems to be represented by the mound now called Nirmroud, and ANespila by that of Kouyujik, opposite the modemn town of Mosul. The march from Mespila to the mountainous country of the Carduchi occupied several days, in which the Greeks suffered much from the attacks of the enemy. ~ 11. Their future route was now a matter of serious perplexity. On their left lay the Tigris, so deep that they could not fathom it with their spears; while in their front rose the steep and lofty mountains of the Carduchi, which came so near the river as hardly to leave a passage for its waters. A Rhodian soldier proposed to transport the army across the Tigris by means of inflated skins; but the appearance of large masses of the enemy's cavalry on the opposite bank rendered this ingenious scheme impracticable. As all other roads seemed barred, they formed the resolution of striking into the mountains of the Carduchi,- a tribe of fierce and warlike highlanders, who, though surrounded on all sides by the dominions of the Persian king, had succeeded in maintaining their independence. On the farther side of these mountains lay Armenia, where both the Tigris and the Euphrates might be forded near their sources. The Greeks found the first mountain-pass undefended, and descended thence into some villages; but all their attempts to conciliate the inhabitants proved unavailing. Every pass was disputed. Sometimes huge rocks were hurled down on the defiling army; sometimes they were attacked by the Carduchian slingers and bowmen. The latter were of extraordinary skill, and their bows and arrows of such strength as to pierce the shields and corslets, and even the brazen helmets, of the Greeks. After a difficult and dangerous march of seven days, during which their sufferings were far greater than any they had experienced from the Persians, the army at length emerged into the plain, and reached the river Centrites, the boundary of Armenia. ~12. Their first attempts to cross the Centrites failed. The cavalry of Tiribazus, satrap of Armenia, lined the opposite bank of the river, which was two hundred feet broad, up to the neck in depth, with a rapid current and slippery bottom. All the efforts of the Greeks to ford it proved abortive; and as the Carduchi were threatening their rear, their situation seemed altogether desperate. On the following morning, however, two young men fortunately discovered a ford about half a mile higher up the stream, by which the whole army succeeded in getting across. They now prosecuted their march in Armenia, and in three days arrived at some B. C. 401.J ARRIVE IN SIGHT OF THE EUXINE. 403 villages situated on the river Teleboas. Here Tiribazus proposed to them that they should proceed unmolested through his satrapy, taking what supplies they wanted, but without damaging the villages. During the first part of their march Tiribazus kept his word, and the only annoyance they felt was the severity of the weather. It was now the month of December, and Armenia was cold and exposed, being a table-land raised high above the level of the sea. Whilst halting near some well-supplied villages, the Greeks were overtaken by two deep falls of snow, which almost buried them in their open bivouacs. Hence a five days' march brought them to the eastern branch of the Euphrates. Crossing the river, they proceeded on the other side of it over plains covered with deep snow, and in the face of a biting north wind. Here many of the slaves and beasts of burden, and even a few of the soldiers, fell victims to the cold. Some had their feet frost-bitten; some were blinded by the snow; whilst others, exhausted with cold and hunger, sunk down and died. The army next arrived at some singular villages, consisting of dwellings excavated in the earth, and entered by means of a ladder through an opening like a well. As these villages were plentifully stocked with cattle, corn, vegetables, and beer, they here took up their quarters for a week, in order to refresh themselves. On the morning after their arrival, they despatched a detachment which brought in most of the soldiers left behind during the march On the eighth day they proceeded on their way, ascending the banks of the Phasis, not the celebrated river of that name, but probably the one usually called Araxes. ~ 13. From thence they fought their way through the country of the Taochi and Chalybes, both of them brave and warlike tribes. Then, after crossing the Harpasus (the modern Tchorouk), they reached the country of the Scythini, in whose territory they found abundance in a large and populous city called Gymnias. The chief of this place having engaged to conduct them within sight of the Euxine, they proceeded for five days under, his guidance; when, after ascending a mountain, the sea suddenly burst on the view of the vanguard. The men proclaimed their joy by loud shouts of " The sea! the sea! " The rest of the army hurried to the summit, and gave vent to their joy and exultation in tears and mutual embraces. With spontaneous impulse they erected a pile of stones, by way of trophy, to mark the spot; and dismissed their guide with many presents and expressions of the warmest gratitude. The Greeks now entered the country of the Macrones, with whom they opened negotiations through a peltast conversant with their language, and agreed for an unmolested passage and the purchase of provisions. The Colchians, through whose territory the march next lay, attempted to oppose their progress, but were soon dispersed. The honey of this region produced a singular effect upon the Greeks. It was grateful to the palate, and when eaten in moderation produced/a species of intoxication; but 404 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVI. those who partook largely of it were seized with vomiting and diarrhoea, and thrown into a state resembling madness. Two days' further march at length brought them to the objects for which they had so often pined, and which many at one time had never hoped to see again, - a Grecian city and the sea. By the inhabitants of Trapezus or Trebizond, on the Euxine, where they had now arrived, they were hospitably received, and being cantoned in some Colchian villages near the town, refreshed themselves after the hardships they had undergone by a repose of thirty days. They also seized this opportunity to discharge the vows which they had made for a safe deliverance, after the capture and massacre of their generals by Tissaphernes, by offering up sacrifices to Zeus the Preserver, Hercules the Conductor, and other gods. Solemn games followed and completed these sacred ceremonies. ~ 14. The most difficult part of the return of the Ten Thousand was now accomplished, but much still remained to be done. The sight of the sea awakened in the army a universal desire to prosecute the remainder of their journey on that element. " Comrades," exclaimed a Thurian soldier, " I am weary of packing up, of marching and running, of shouldering arms and falling into line, of standing sentinel and fighting. For my part I should like to get rid of all these labors, and go home by sea the rest of the way, so that I might arrive in Greece outstretched and asleep, like Odysseus of old." The shouts of applause which greeted this address showed that the Thurian had touched the right chord; and when Cheirisophus, one of the principal officers, offered to proceed to Byzantium and endeavor to procure transports for the conveyance of the army, his proposal was joyfully accepted. Meanwhile, the Ten Thousand were employed in marauding expeditions, and in collecting all the vessels possible, in case Cheirisophus should fail in obtaining the requisite supply. That officer delayed to return; provisions grew scarce, and the army found itself compelled to evacuate Trapezus. Vessels enough had been collected to transport the women, the sick, and the baggage to Cerasus, whither the army proceeded by land. Here they remained ten days, during which they were mustered and reviewed; when it was found that the number of hoplites still amounted to eight thousand six hundred, and with peltasts, bowmen, &c., made a total of more than ten thousand men. From Cerasus they pursued their journey to Cotyora, through the territories of the Mosynmci and Chalybes. They were obliged to fight their way through the former of these people, capturing and plundering the wooden towers in which they dwelt, and from which they derived their name. At Cotyora they waited in vain for Cheirisophus and the transports. Many difficulties still stood in the way of their return. The inhabitants of Sinope represented to them that a march through Paphlagonia was impracticable, and the means of a passage by sea were not at hand. After remaining forty-five days at Cotyora, a sufficient number of B. C. 400.1 PROCEEDINGS AT BYZANTIUM. 405 vessels was collected to convey the army to Sinope. A passage of twenty-four hours brought them to that town, where they were hospitably received and lodged in the neighboring sea-port of Armene. Here they were joined by Cheirisophus who, however, brought with him only a single trireme. From Sinope the army proceeded to Heraclea, and from thence to Calpe, where Cheirisophus died. From Calp6 they marched across Bithynia to Chrysopolis, a town immediately opposite to Byzan tium, where they spent a week in realizing the booty which they had brought with them. ~ 15. The satrap Pharnabazus was desirous that the Greeks should evacuate Asia Minor; and, at his instance, Anaxibius, the Lacedaemonian admiral on the station, induced them to cross over by promising to provide them with pay when they should have reached the other side. But instead of fulfilling his agreement, Anaxibius ordered them, after their arrival at Byzantium, to proceed to the Thracian Chersonese, where the Lacedemonian harmost, Syniscus, would find them pay; and during this long march of one hundred and fifty miles they were directed to support themselves by plundering the Thracian villages. Preparatory to the march they were ordered to muster outside the walls of Byzantium. But the Greeks, irritated by the deception which had been practised on them, and which, through want of caution on the part of Anaxibius, became known to them before they had all quitted the town, prevented the gates from being closed, and rushed in infuriated masses back into the city, uttering loud threats, and bent on plunder and havoc. The lives and property of the citizens were at their mercy; for at the first alarm Anaxibius had retired with his troops into the citadel, whilst the affrighted inhabitants were either barricading their houses, or flying to the ships for refuge. In this conjuncture Xenophon felt that tle destruction of a city like Byzantium would draw down upon the army the vengeance not merely of the Lacedaemonians, but of all Greece. With great presence of mind, and under color of aiding their designs, he caused the soldiers to form in an open square called the Thracion, and by a well-timed speech diverted them from their designs. Shortly afterwards, the army entered into the service of Seuthes, a Thracian prince, who was anxious to recover his sovereignty over three revolted tribes. But after they had accomplished this object, Seuthes neglected to provide the pay which he had stipulated, or to fulfil the magnificent promises which he had made to Xenophon personally, of giving him his daughter in marriage, and putting him in possession of the town of Bisanthe. The army, now reduced to six thousand, was thus again thrown into difficulties, when it entered on the last phase of its checkered career by engaging to serve the Lacedaemonians in a war which they had just declared against the satraps Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus. Xenophon 406 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVI. accordingly conducted his comrades to Pergamus in Mysia, where a considerable booty fell into their hands by the capture of a castle not far from that place. Xenophon was allowed to select the choicest lots from the booty thus acquired, as a tribute of gratitude and admiration for the services which he had rendered. Shortly after this adventure, in the spring of B. c. 399, Thimbron, the Lacedmmonian commander, arrived at Pergamus, and the remainder of the Ten Thousand Greeks became incorporated with his army. Xenophon now returned to Athens, where he must have arrived shortly after the execution of his master Socrates. Disgusted probably by that event, he rejoined his old comrades in Asia, and subsequently returned to Greece along with Agesilaus, as we have already related.* * See p. 386. B. C. 405] THE SPARTAN SUPREMACY. 407 Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, in the Street of Tripods at Athens. CHAPTER XXXVII. FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE SPARTAN EMPIRE TO THE BATTLE OF CNIDOS. ~ 1. Invasion and Reduction of Elis by King Agis. ~ 2. Ambitious Projects of Lysander. ~ 3. He procures the Throne for Agesilaus. ~ 4. Character of Agesilaus. ~ 5. Nature of the Spartan Empire. ~ 6. Affairs of Asia Minor. ~ 7. Agesilaus proceeds thither. ~ 8. Mortifies Lysander. ~ 9. Campaigns of Agesilaus against Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus. ~ 10. Execution of Tissaphernes. Q 11. Proceedings of Conon. Rhodes revolts from Sparta. ~ 12. Agesilaus ravages the Satrapy of Pharnabazus. Interview between them. ~ 13. Recall of Agesilaus. ~ 14. Battle of Cnidos. ~ 1. RESUMING the thread of the narrative, we shall now briefly trace the history of the Spartan supremacy, which resulted from' the battle of fEgospotami, and the consequent capture of Athens, related in the preceding book. This supremacy lasted altogether thirty-four years, from the victory of 2Egospotami in B. c. 405 to the defeat of Leuctra in B. c. 371. 408 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVII. It was, however, only during the first nine years of this period that Sparta exercised an undisputed sway in Greece, since the battle of Cnidus, fought in B. C. 394, deprived her of her maritime ascendency, and consequently of much of her power. After the fall of Athens Sparta stood without a rival in Greece. The first use she made of her undisputed power was to take vengeance on her neighbors the Eleans for some wrongs and insults which she had received at their hands. It will be recollected, that in the year in which Alcibiades conducted the Athenian the6ria at Olympia with so much splendor, the Eleans had excluded the Spartans from the festival; and moreover, that they had subsequently, in conjunction with Argos and Mantinea, borne arms against Sparta. To these causes of offence a fresh insult had been recently added by the exclusion of King Agis from the temple of Olympia, whither he had gone to offer sacrifice and consult the oracle. The Spar. tans also viewed with dislike and suspicion the democratical form of government established in Elis. Accordingly, they now demanded that the Eleans should make good their quota of the expenses of the war against Athens, and also that they should relinquish their authority over their dependent townships in the district of Triphylia. Upon the refusal of the Eleans to comply with these demands, King Agis entered their territory at the head of a Lacedemonian army, in the summer of B. C. 402, but he was induced to retire and disband his troops by the unfavorable omen of an earthquake. In the following year, however, he resumed the expedition with more success. Assisted by the allies of Sparta, among whom even the Athenians now furnished their contingent, he ravaged and plundered the territory of Elis, performed by force the sacrifice at Olympia from which he had been debarred, and ultimately compelled the Elcans to accept a humiliating peace. This success placed Sparta in a more commanding position than she had ever before occupied; and she took advantage of it to root out her ancient enemies the Messenians, some of whom had been planted by the Athenians in Naupactus, and others in the island of Cephallenia. ~ 2. Meanwhile the overgrown wealth and power of Lysander made him ill-satisfied to remain in the condition of a private citizen. Stimulated by the flattery which he received from every quarter, he began to contemplate setting aside the two regal families of Pausanias and Agis, and, by rendering the crown elective, to pave the way for his own accession to it. It is to be recollected, however, that at Sparta such a design must not be regarded in quite the same light as in any other monarchy. Although the two chief magistrates there enjoyed the title of Basileus, or King, they were not kings in the modern sense of the term. They were merely hereditary magistrates, enjoying indeed certain privileges and exercising certain definite civil and military functions; but they had no share in the government, which was carried on by the Ephors and the Senate, with B. C. 398.] ACCESSION OF AGESILAUS. 409 occasional appeals to the public assembly; and even in the discharge of their appointed duties they were subject to the control of the Ephors. ~ 3. Aware of the influence of religion over the Spartan mind, Lysander, in pursuance of his scheme, endeavored by bribery to procure for it the sanction of the oracles of Delphi, Dodona, and Zeus Ammon in Libya. But the priests of those famous temples proving on this occasion incorruptible, he employed his influence in obtaining for another the sceptre which had eluded his own grasp. About a year after his campaign in Elis, King Agis died, leaving a son named Leotychides, about fifteen years of age. The legitimacy of Leotychides was however doubted, and Agis himself suspected him to be the offspring of Alcibiades. Agesilaus, the younger brother of Agis, but by a different mother, took advantage of these doubts, and, being assisted by the powerful influence of Lysander, succeeded in setting aside Leotychides and ascending the throne, B. c. 398. ~ 4. Agesilaus was now forty years of age, and esteemed a model of those virtues more peculiarly deemed Spartan. He was obedient to the constituted authorities, emulous to excel, courageous, energetic, capable of bearing all sorts of hardship and fatigue, simple and frugal in his mode of life. To these severer qualities he added the popular attractions of an agreeable countenance and pleasing address. The character of Agesilaus seems, however, to have been magnified beyond its real worth by the indiscriminating panegyrics of his biographers,. who relate of him many trivial anecdotes with a sort of unctuous admiration; and though he was indisputably a good general, yet his campaigns present us with little that is striking or decisive. Previously to his accession he had filled no prominent public office, and his character consequently remained in a great measure unknown even to Lysander himself; who erroneously considered him to be of a yielding and manageable disposition, and hoped by a skilful use of those qualities to extend his own influence, and under the name of another to be in reality king himself. The personal defects of Agesilaus at first stood in the way of his promotion. He was not only low in stature, but also lame of one leg; and there was an ancient oracle which warned the Spartans to beware " of a lame reign." The ingenuity of Lysander, assisted probably by the popular qualities of Agesilaus, contrived to overcome this objection by interpreting a lame reign to mean, not any bodily defect in the king, but the reign of one who was not a genuine descendant of Hercules. Once possessed of power, Agesilaus supplied any defect in his title by the prudence and policy of his conduct; and by the marked deference which he paid both to the Ephors and the Senators, he succeeded in gainihg for himself more real power than had been enjoyed by any of his predecessors. The very beginning of his reign was threatened by the conspiracy of Cinadon, one of the poorer class of citizens, but possessing all the pride of an ancient Spartan. The conspiracy, however, was discovered, and Cinadon and 52 410 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVII. his accomplices were arrested by a stratagem of the Ephors and put to death. ~ 5. The discontent which gave birth to this conspiracy originated in a great measure from the altered condition of Spartan citizens, in consequence of the extension of Spartan power and dominion. Sparta had now stepped into the place of Athens. In the various cities which had belonged to the Athenian empire, Lysander established an oligarchical Council of Ten, called a Dekarchy* or Decemvirate, subject to the control of a Spartan Harmost t or governor. The Dekarchies, however, remained only a short time in power, since the Spartan government regarded them with jealousy as the partisans of Lysander; but Harmosts continued to be placed in every state subject to their empire. The government of the Harmosts was corrupt and oppressive; no justice could be obtained against them by an appeal to the Spartan authorities at home; and the Grecian cities soon had cause to regret the milder and more equitable sway of Athens. The commencement of the Spartan degeneracy and decay may be dated from her entrance upon imperial power. Before the victories of Lysander, iron had formed the only Spartan money. That commander brought vast sums of gold and silver into.the public treasury, in spite of the opposition of some of the Ephors, who regarded such a proceeding as a flagrant violation of the ordinances of Lycurgus. Several instances of corruption recorded in the course of this history have, however, shown that the Spartans were far from insensible to the love of money, and that they contrived to gratify it even under the old system. But properly regarded, an extension of the currency was rendered necessary by the altered situation of Sparta. It would have been impossible to maintain a large fleet and a colonial empire without the requisite funds; and how, for instance, could a revenue of one thousand talents, which Sparta levied from the subject states, have been represented in iron money? Whether Sparta had now entered on a career to which the national genius was suited is another question; and it would not perhaps be difficult to show that, in grasping the splendid prize of empire, she lost those homely virtues which previously formed her chief distinction, and for which her children were naturally most fitted. It is at all events certain that the influx of wealth caused a great alteration in her internal condition. It was only the leading men who were able to enrich themselves by foreign commands or at the expense of the public treasury. Hence arose a still more marked distinction between the higher class of citizens, called Peers, and the lower, called the Equals or the Inferiors. $ The latter, though nominally in the A ^eKapXla t'Apzoa-T7N9, literally "one who fits or arranges." $ See p. 59. B. C. 397.] WAR IN ASIA MINOR. 411 enjoyment of equal privileges, were no longer able, in consequence of the altered scale of living, to bear their share at the Syssitia, or public tables, and thus sank into a degraded and discontented class, in which Cinadon found the materials of his sedition. ~ 6. The affairs of Asia Minor soon began to draw the attention of Agesilaus to that quarter. The assistance lent to Cyrus by the Spartans was no secret at the Persian court, and Tissaphernes, who had been rewarded for his fidelity with the satrapy of Cyrus in addition to his own, no sooner returned to his government than he attacked the Ionian cities, then under the protection of Sparta. A considerable Lacedsemonian force under Thimbron was despatched to their assistance, and which, as related in the preceding chapter, was joined by the remnant of the Greeks who had served under Cyrus. Thimbron, however, proved so inefficient a commander, that he was superseded apparently at the end of 399 or beginning of 398 B. c., and Dercyllidas appointed in his place, a man who from his cunning and resources had acquired the name of Sisyphus. On assuming the command, Dercyllidas concluded a truce with Tissaphernes, in order that he might direct his whole force against Pharnabazus, from whom he had received a personal injury. He overran the greater part of AEolis with great rapidity, reducing nine towns in eight days, and took up his winter quarters in Bithynia. Early in the ensuing spring he proceeded into Thrace, where he built a wall across the Chersonese, to protect the Grecian colonies from the attacks of the barbarians of the interior. On his return to Asia he received orders from the Ephors to attack Tissaphernes in Caria, whilst the Lacedmemonian fleet under Pharax co-operated with him on the coast. But here the Persians appeared in such force, the two satraps having united their armies, that he was able to effect but little; and being surprised in an unfavorable position, would himself have suffered severely but for the timidity of Tissaphernes, who was afraid to venture upon an action. Under these circumstances an armistice was agreed to for the purpose of treating for a peace. Dercyllidas demanded on the part of the Spartans the complete independence of the Grecian cities in Asia: the Persians on their side required the Lacedemonians to withdraw their army from Asia, as well as their various harmosts, or governors. This armistice took place in 397 B. c. Pharnabazus availed himself of it to make active preparations for a renewal of the war. He obtained large reinforcements of Persian troops, and began to organize a fleet in Phoenicia and Cilicia. This was to be intrusted to the Athenian admiral Conon, of whom we now first hear again after a lapse of seven years since his defeat at.Egospotami. After that disastrous battle, Conon fled with nine triremes to Cyprus, where he was now living under the protection of Evagoras, prince of Salamis. At the instance of Pharnabazus, seconded by Evagoras, Conon consented to accept the command of the Persian fleet, which was to be raised to the number of three hundred vessels. ~ 7. It was the news of these extensive preparations that induced Ages 412 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVII. ilaus, on the suggestion of Lysander, to volunteer his services against the Persians. He proposed to take with him only thirty full Spartan citizens, or peers, to act as a sort of council, together with two thousand Neodamodes, or enfranchised Helots, and six thousand hoplites of the allies. But Thebes, Corinth, and Athens refused, on different pleas, to join the expedition. Lysander intended to be the leader of the thirty Spartans, and expected through them to be the virtual commander of the expedition of which Agesilaus was nominally the head. Since the time of Agamemnon no Grecian king had led an army into Asia; and Agesilaus studiously availed himself of the prestige of that precedent in order to attract recruits to his standard. The Spartan kings claimed to inherit the sceptre of Agememnon; and to render the parallel more complete, Agesilaus proceeded with a division of his fleet to Aulis, intending there to imitate the memorable sacrifice of the Homeric hero. But as he had neglected to ask the permission of the Thebans, and conducted the sacrifice and solemnities by means of his own prophets and ministers, and in a manner at variance with the usual rites of the temple, the Thebans were offended, and expelled him by armed force; — an insult which he never forgave. ~ 8. It was in 396 B. c. that Agesilaus arrived at Ephesus, and took the command in Asia. He demanded the same conditions of peace as those previously made by Dercyllidas; and in order that there might be time to communicate with the Persian court, the armistice was renewed for three months. During this interval of repose, Lysander, by his arrogance and pretensions, offended both Agesilaus and the Thirty Spartans. Agesilaus, determined to uphold his dignity, subjected Lysander to so many humiliations that he was at last fain to request his dismissal from Ephesus, and was accordingly sent to the Hellespont, where he did good service to the Spartan interests. ~ 9. Meanwhile Tissaphernes, having received large reinforcements, sent a message to Agesilaus before the armistice had expired, ordering him to quit Asia. Agesilaus replied by saying that he thanked the satrap for perjuring himself so flagrantly as to set the gods against him, and immediately made preparations as if he would attack Tissaphernes in Caria; but having thus put the enemy on a false scent, he suddenly turned northwards into Phrygia, the satrapy of Pharnabazus, and marched without opposition to the neighborhood of Dascylium, the residence of the satrap himself. Here, however, he was repulsed by the Persian cavalry; and the sacrifices proving unfavorable for an advance, Agesilaus gave orders to retreat. He now proceeded into winter quarters at Ephesus, where he employed himself in organizing a body of cavalry to compete with the Persians. A conscription was accordingly made of the richest Greeks in the various towns, who, however, were allowed if they pleased to provide substitutes. By these and other energetic exertions, which during the winter gave to Ephesus the appearance of one vast arsenal, the army was brought into B. C. 396.1 AGESILAUS IN ASIA. 413 excellent condition; and Agesilaus gave out early in the spring of 395 B. c. that he should march direct upon Sardis. Tissaphernes, suspecting another feint, now dispersed his cavalry in the plain of the MImander. But this time Agesilaus marched as he had announced, and in three days arrived unopposed on the banks of the Pactolus, before the Persian cavalry could be recalled. When they at last came up, the newly raised Grecian horse, assisted by the peltasts and some of the younger and more active hoplites, soon succeeded in putting them to flight. Many of the Persians were drowned in the Pactolus, and their camp, containing much booty and several camels, was taken. ~ 10. Agesilaus now pushed his ravages up to the very gates of Sardis, the residence of Tissaphernes. But the career of that timid and treacherous satrap was drawing to a close. The queen-mother, Parysatis, who had succeeded in regaining her influence over Artaxerxes, making a pretext of the disasters which had attended the arms of Tissaphernes, but in reality to avenge the part which he had taken against her son Cyrus, caused an order to be sent down fiom Susa for his execution; in pursuance of which he was seized in a bath at Colosse, and beheaded. Tithraustes, who had been intrusted with the execution of this order, succeeded Tissaphernes in the satrapy, and immediately reopened negotiations with Agesilaus; proposing that, if he quitted Asia, the Greek cities there should enjoy their independence, with the sole exception of paying to Persia the tribute originally imposed upon them. Agesilaus replied that he could decide nothing without consulting the authorities at home. For this purpose an armistice of six months was concluded; and meanwhile Tithraustes, by a subsidy of thirty talents, induced Agesilaus to move out of his satrapy into that of Pharnabazus. ~ 11. During this march into Phrygia Agesilaus received a new commission from home, appointing him the head of the naval as well as of the land force,- two commands never before united in a single Spartan. For the first time since the battle of AEgospotami the naval supremacy of Sparta was threatened. Conon, with a fleet of forty triremes, occupied the port of Caunus, on the confines of Caria and Lycia, and was there blockaded by a Lacedemlonian fleet of one hundred and twenty triremes under Pharax; but a reinforcement of forty more ships having come to the aid of Conon, Pharax raised the blockade and retired to Rhodes. Here the first symptoms appeared of the detestation in which the Spartan government was held. The inhabitants rose, compelled the Spartan fleet to leave the island, and put themselves under the protection of Conon, who now sailed thither. ~ 12. Agesilaus, having despatched orders to the Lacedaemonian maritime dependencies to prepare a new fleet of one hundred and twenty trirelmes against the following year, and having appointed his brother-in-law, Peisander, to the command of it, marched himself into the satrapy of Pharnabazus. He passed the winter in the neighborhood of Dascylium, the 414 -HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVII. rich and fertile country about which afforded comfortable quarters and abundant plunder to the Grecian army. Towards the close of the winter, a Greek of Cyzicus, named Apollophanes, brought about an interview between Agesilaus and Pharnabazus. Agesilaus, with the Thirty, having arrived first at the appointed place, sat down without ceremony on the grass. When the satrap came, accompanied with all the luxury of Oriental pomp, his attendants prepared to spread some rich carpets for him; but Pharnabazus, observing how the Spartans were seated, was ashamed to avail himself of such luxuries, and sat down on the grass by.the side of Agesilaus. After mutual salutes, Pharnabazus began to reproach the Greeks with their treatment of one who had always been their faithful ally. "You have reduced me so low," he observed, "that I have scarcely a dinner except from your leavings. My residences, my parks and hunting-grounds, the charm of my life, are all burnt or destroyed. Pray-tell me if this is gratitude." The Spartans seemed struck with shame; and Agesilaus, after a long pause, remarked in apology, that their war with the Persian king compelled them to act as they had done; that towards himself personally they had the most friendly feelings, and invited him to join their alliance, when they would support him in independence of the Persian king. The reply of Pharnabazus was characterized by a noble frankness. "If the king," he said, "should deprive me of my command, I would willingly become your ally; but so long as I am intrusted with the supreme power, expect from me nothing but war." Agesilaus was touched with the satrap's magnanimity. Taking ihn by the hand, he observed, "5 Would to Heaven that with such noble sentiments it were possible for you to be our friend. But at all events I will at once quit your territory, and never again molest you or your property so long as there are other Persians against whom to turn my arms." ~ 13. In pursuance of this promise Agesilaus now entered the plains of Thebe, near the Gulf of Elhus; but whilst he was here preparing an expedition on a grand scale into the interior of Asia Minor, he was suddenly recalled home (B. c. 394) to avert the dangers which threatened his native country. Meanwhile Conon, who had remained almost inactive since the revolt of Rhodes, proceeded in person to Babylon, and succeeded in obtaining a considerable sum of money from Artaxerxes. He shared his command with Pharnabazus, and by their joint exertions a powerful fleet, partly Phoenician and partly Grecian, was speedily equipped, superior in number to that of the Lacediemonians under Peisander. About the month of July Conon proceeded to the peninsula of Cnidos, in Caria, and offered Peisander battle. Though inferior in strength, Peisander did not shrink from the encounter. Being abandoned, however, by his Asiatic allies, he was soon overpowered by numbers, and fell gallantly fighting to the last. More than half the Lacedaemonian fleet was either captured or destroyed. This event occurred about the beginning of August, B. c. 394. B. C. 394.] MISSION OF TIMOCRATES. 415 i~.... ~~ - -~ ~i ~ View of Corinth and the Acrocorinthos. CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE CORINTHIAN WAR.-FROM THE BATTLE OF CNIDOS TO THE PEACE OF ANTALCIDAS. ~ 1. Mission of Timocrates to the Grecian Cities. ~ 2. Hostilities between Sparta and Thebes. ~ 3. The Athenians join the Thebans. Defeat and Death of Lysander. Retreat of Pausanias. ~ 4. League against Sparta. Battle of Corinth. ~ 5. Homeward March of Agesilaus. ~ 6. Battle of Coronea. ~ 7. Loss of the Spartan Maritime Empire. ~ 8. Conon rebuilds the Walls of Athens. ~ 9. Civil Dissensions at Corinth. ~ 10. Campaign of Agesilaus in the Corinthian Territory. ~ 11. New System of Tactics introduced by Iphicrates. Destruction of a Spartan Mora by his light-armed Troops. ~ 12. Negotiations of Antalcidas with the Persians. Death of Conon. Defeat and Death of Thimbron. ~ 13. Maritime War on the Coast of Asia. Revolt of Rhodes. Thrasybulus appointed Athenian Commander. His Death at Aspendus. Anaxibius defeated by Iphicrates at the Hellespont. ~ 14. War between Athens and 3Egina. Teleutias surprises the Peirseus. ~ 15. Peace of Antalcidas. ~ 16. Its Character. ~ 1. THE jealousy and ill-will with which the newly acquired empire of the Spartans was regarded by the other Grecian states had not escaped the notice of the Persians; and when Tithraustes succeeded to the satrapy of Tissaphernes he resolved to avail himself of this feeling by exciting a war against Sparta in the heart of Greece itself. With this view he despatched one Timocrates, a Rhodian, to the leading Grecian cities which appeared hostile to Sparta, carrying with him a sum of fifty talents to be distributed among the chief men in each for the purpose of bringing them over to the views of Persia. This transaction, however, is scarcely to be viewed in the light of a private bribe, but rather as a sum publicly 416 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVIII. advanced for a specific purpose. Timocrates was successful in Thebes, Corinth, and Argos; but he appears not to have visited Athens. ~ 2. Hostilities were at first confined to Sparta and Thebes. A quarrel having arisen between the Opuntian Locrians and the Phocians respecting a strip of border land, the former people appealed to the Thebans, who invaded Phocis. The Phocians on their side invoked the aid of the Lacedaemonians, who, elated with the prosperous state of their affairs in Asia, and moreover desirous of avenging the affronts they had received from the Thebans, readily listened to the appeal. Lysander, who took an active part in promoting the war, was directed to attack the town of Haliartus, having first augmented the small force which he took with him by contingents levied among the tribes of Mount CEta; and it was arranged that King1 Pausanias should join him on a fixed day under the walls of that town, with the main body of the Lacedaemonians and their Peloponnesian allies. ~ 3. Nothing could more strikingly denote the altered state of feeling in Greece than the request for assistance which the Thebans, thus menaced, made to their ancient enemies and rivals, the Athenians; even offering as an inducement, to assist them in recovering their lost empire. Nor were the Athenians backward in responding to the appeal. Disunion, however, prevailed among the Boeotians themselves; and Orchomenus, the second city in importance in their confederacy, revolted at the approach of Lysander, and joined the Lacedaemonians. That commander, after ravaging the country round Lebadea, proceeded according to agreement to Haliartus, though he had as yet received no tidings of Pausanias. Here, in a sally made by the citizens, opportunely supported by the unexpected arrival of a body of Thebans, the army of Lysander was routed, and himself slain; and though his troops, favored by some rugged ground in their rear, succeeded in rallying and repulsing their assailants, yet, disheartened by the severe loss which they had suffered, and by the death of their general, they disbanded and dispersed themselves in the night-time. Thus when Pausanias at last came up, he found no army to unite with; and as an imposing Athenian force had arrived, he now, with the advice of his council, took the humiliating step- always deemed a confession of inferiority- of requesting a truce in order to bury the dead who had fallen in the preceding battle. Even this, however, the Thebans would not grant, except on the condition that the Lacedaemonians should immediately quit their territory. With these terms Pausanias was forced to comply; and after duly interring the bodies of Lysander and his fallen comrades, the Lacedlemonians dejectedly pursued their homeward march, followed by the Thebans, who manifested by repeated insults, and even by blows administered to stragglers, the insolence inspired by their success. Pausanias, afraid to face the public indignation of the Spartans, took refuge in the temple of Athena Alea at Tegea; and being condemned to death in B. C. 394.] BATTLE OF CORINTH. 417 his absence, only escaped that fate by remaining in the sanctuary. He was succeeded by his son Agesipolis. ~ 4. The enemies of Sparta took fresh courage from this disaster to her arms. Athens, Corinth, and Argos now formed with Thebes a solemn alliance against her. The league was soon joined by the Euboeans, the Acarnanians, the Ozolian Locrians, the Ambraciots, the Leucadians, and the Chalcidians of Thrace. In the spring of 394 B.. the allies assembled at Corinth, and the war, which had been hitherto regarded as merely Boeotian, was now called the Corinthian, by which name it is known in history. This threatening aspect of affairs determined the Ephors to recall Agesilaus, as related in the preceding chapter. The allies were soon in a condition to take the field with a force of twenty-four thousand hoplites, of whom one fourth were Athenians, together with a considerable body of light troops and cavalry. The Laced&monians, under the conduct of Aristodemus, had also made the most active preparations. The exact amount of their force is not known, but it was in all probability inferior to that of the allies. The latter were full of confidence, and the Corinthian Timolaus proposed marching straight upon Sparta, in order, as he expressed it, to burn the wasps in their nest before they came forth to sting. This bold, but perhaps judicious advice, was however anticipated by the unwonted activity of the Lacedcumonians, who had already crossed their border, and, advancing by Tegea and Mantinea, had taken up a position at Sicyon. The allies, who had proceeded as far as,Nemea, now fell back upon Corinth, and encamped on some rugged ground in the neighborhood of the city. Iere a battle ensued, in which the Lacedemonians gained the victory, though their allied troops were put to the rout. Of the Spartans themselves only eight men fell; but of their allies eleven-1iundred perished, and of the confederates as many as twenty-eight hundred. This battle, called the battle of Corinth, was fought apparently about the same time as that of Cnidos, in July, 394 B.C. ~ 5. Agesilaus, who had relinquished with a heavy heart his projected expedition into Asia, was now on his homeward march. By the promise of rewards at Sestos in the Chersonese, he had persuaded the bravest and most efficient soldiers in his army to accompany him, amongst whom were many of the Ten Thousand, with Xenophon at their head. The route of Agesilaus was much the same as the one formerly travelled by Xerxes, and the camels which accompanied the army gave it somewhat of an Oriental aspect. At Amphipolis he received the news of the victory at Corinth; but his heart was so full of schemes against Persia, that the feeling which it awakened in his bosom was rather one of regret that so many Greeks had fallen, whose united efforts might have emancipated Asia Minor, than of joy at the success of his countrymen. Having forced his way through a desultory opposition offered by the Thessalian cavalry, he crossed Mount 53 418 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVIII. Othrys, and marched unopposed the rest of the way through the straits of Thermopyle to the frontiers of Phocis and Bceotia. Here the evil tidings reached him foreshadowed according to ancient superstition by an eclipse of the sun (14 Aug. 394 B. c.) of the defeat and death of his brother-in-law, Peisander, at Cnidos. Fearing the impression which such sad news might produce upon his men, he gave out that the Lacedaemonian fleet had gained a victory, though Peisander had perished; and, having offered sacrifice as if for a victory, he ordered an advance. ~ 6. Agesilaus soon came up with the confederate army, which had pre pared to oppose him in the plain of Coronea. The hostile forces approached each other slowly and in silence, till within about a furlong, when the Thebans raised the paean, and charged at a running pace. They succeeded in driving in the Orchomenians, who formed the left wing of the army of Agesilaus, and penetrated as far as the baggage in the rear. But on the remainder of the line Agesilaus was victorious, and the Thebans now saw themselves cut off from their companions, who had retreated and talken up a position on Mount Helicon. Facing about and forming in deep and compact order, the Thebans sought to rejoin the main body, but they were opposed by Agesilaus and his troops. The shock of the conflicting masses which ensued was one of the most terrible recorded in the annals of Grecian warfare. The shields of the foremost ranks were shattered, their spears broken, so that daggers became the only available arm. The regular war-shout was suppressed, but the silence was occasionally broken by deep and furious exclamations. Agesilaus, who was in the front ranks, unequal by his size and strength to sustain so furious an onset, was flung down, trodden on, and covered with wounds; but the devoted courage of the fifty Spartans forming his body-guard rescued him from death. The Thebans finally forced their way thnough, but not without severe loss. The victory of Agesilaus was not very decisive; but the Thebans tacitly acknowledged their defeat by soliciting the customary truce for the burial of their dead. After the battle Agesilaus visited Delphi, where he dedicated to Apollo a tithe, valued at the large sum of one hundred talents, of the booty which he had acquired during his Asiatic campaigns. He then returned to Sparta, where lie was received with the most lively demonstrations of gratitude and esteem, and became henceforwards the sole director of Spartan policy. ~ 7. Thus in less than two months the Lacedemonians had fought two battles on land, and one at sea; namely, those of Corinth, Coronea, and Cnidos. But though they had been victorious in the land engagements, they were so little decisive as to lead to no important result; whilst their defeat at Cnidos produced the most disastrous consequences. It was followed by the loss of nearly all their maritime empire, even faster than they had acquired it after the battle of 2Egospotami. For as Conon and B. C. 393.] CONON REBUILDS THE WALLS OF ATHENS. 419 Pharnabazus sailed with their victorious fleet from island to island, and from port to port, their approach was everywhere the signal for the flight or expulsion of the Spartan harmosts. Abydos formed the only exception to this universal surrender. Fortunately for Sparta the able and experienced Dercyllidas was then harmost in that city, and by his activity and courage he succeeded in preserving not only Abydos, but also-the opposite Chersonese, from the grasp of Pharnabazus.' ~ 8. In the spring of the following year, B. c. 393, Conon and Pharnabazus sailed from the Hellespont with a powerful fleet, and, after visiting Melos and several of the Cyclades, directed their course to the Peloponnesus. After ravaging the coast of Laconia at several points, and taking the island of Cythera, where they established an Athenian garrison, they sailed to the Isthmus of Corinth, then occupied as a central post by the allies. The appearance of a Persian fleet in the Saronic Gulf was a strange sight to Grecian eyes, and one which might have served as a severe comment on the effect of their suicidal wars. Pharnabazus assured the allies of his support, and gave earnest of it by advancing to them a considerable sum of money. Conon dexterously availed himself of the hatred of Pharnabazus towards Sparta to procure a boon for his native city. As the satrap -was on the point of proceeding homewards Conon obtained leave to employ the seamen in rebuilding the fortifications of Peirmus and the long walls of Athens. Pharnabazus also granted a large sum for the same purpose; and Conon had thus the glory of appearing, like a second Themistocles, the deliverer and restorer of his country. By a singular revolution of fortune, the Thebans, who had most rejoiced at the fall of Athens, as well as the Persians, who had subsidized Sparta to destroy the city, now gave their funds and labor to restore it. Before the end of autumn the walls were rebuilt. Athens seemed now restored, if not to power, at least to independence; and if she reflected but the shadow of her former greatness, she was at least raised up from the depths of her degradation.- Having thus, as it were, founded Athens a second time, Conon sailed to the islands to lay again the foundations of an Athenian maritime empire. ~ 9. During the remainder of this and the whole of the following year (B. c. 392), the war was carried on in the Corinthian territory. The Onean Mountains, which extend across the Isthmus south of its narrowest part, afford an excellent line of defence against an invading army. Through these mountains there are only three passes, one by the Saronic Gulf, close to Cenchreme, a second through a ravine at the eastern side of the Acrocorinthos or citadel of Corinth, and a third along the narrow strip of land which lies between the western foot of the Acrocorinthos and the Corinthian Gulf. The two former of these passes could easily be defended by a resolute body of troops against superior numbers; and the third was completely protected.by two long walls running down from Corinth to 420 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVIII, Lechaeum, the port of the city upon the Corinthian Gulf. Corinth and the passes of the Onean Mountains were now occupied by the allied troops; but while the allies themselves suffered little or nothing, the whole brunt of the war fell upon Corinth. The Spartans took up their head-quarters at Sicyon, whence they ravaged the fertile Corinthian plain upon the coast. The wealthy Corinthian proprietors suffered so much from the devastation of their lands, that many of them became anxious to renew their'I ^ Plan of Corinth. A. Acrocorinthos. C. Lechaeum. B. Corinth. I, I. Long Walls. old alliance with Sparta. A large number of the other Corinthians participated in these feelings, and the leading men in power, who were violently opposed to Sparta, became so alarmed at the wide-spread disaffection among the citizens, that they introduced a body of Argives into the city during the celebration of the festival of the Eucleia, and massacred numbers of the opposite party in the market-place and in the theatre. The government now formed such a close union with Argos, that even the boundary marks between the two states were removed, and the very name of Corinth was changed to that of Argos. But the aristocratical party al Corinth, which was still numerous, contrived to admit Praxitas, the Lacedemonian commander at Sicyon, within the long walls which connected Corinth with Lechoeum. In the space between the walls, which was of considerable breadth and about a mile and a half in length, a battle took place between the Lacedaemonians and the Corinthians, who had marched out of the city to dislodge them. The Corinthians, however, were defeated, and this victory was followed by the demolition of a considerable part of the long walls by Praxitas. The Lacedaemonians now marched across the Isthmus, and captured Sidus and Crommyon. These events happened in B. c. 392. B. C. 391.] VICTORY OF IPHICRATES. 421 ~ 10. The breach effected in the long walls of Corinth excited great alarm at Athens, as it opened a secure passage to the Lacedaemonians into Attica and Boeotia. Accordingly the Athenians moved in great force to Corinth, with carpenters and other necessary workmen; and with this assistance the Corinthians soon restored the breach. In the summer of B. C. 391, this step was, however, rendered useless, in consequence of Agesilaus, assisted by the Lacedaemonian fleet under his brother Teleutias, having obtained possession not only of the long walls, but also of the port of Lecheum itself:. Agesilaus followed up his success by marching into the rocky peninsula between the bay of Lechbeum and the Alcyonian sea, from which Corinth derived both support and assistance. The two principal places in this district, Peirmum and (Cnoe, together with large booty and many captives, fell into his hands. Corinth was nowv surrounded on every side; and the Thebans were thrown into such alarm that they sent envoys to Agesilaus to treat of peace. Agesilaus had never forgiven the Thebans for having interrupted his sacrifice at Aulis; and he now seized the opportunity of gratifying his spite against them. Accordingly, when they were introduced into his presence, he treated them with the most marked contempt, and affected not to notice them. But a retributive Nemesis was at hand. As Agesilaus sat in a pavilion on the banks of a lake which adjoined the sacred grove of Hera, feasting his eyes with the spectacle of a long train of captives, paraded under the guard of Lacedsemonian hoplites, a man galloped up on a foaming horse, and acquainted him with a disaster more novel and more astounding than any that had ever yet befallen the Spartan arms. This was nothing less then the destruction of a whole Lacedemonian mora, or battalion, by the light-armed mercenaries of the Athenian Iphicrates. ~ 11. For the preceding two years Iphicrates had commanded a body of mercenaries, consisting of peltasts,* who had been first organized by Conon after rebuilding the walls of Athens. For this force Iphicrates introduced those improved arms and tactics which form an epoch in the Grecian art of war. His object was to combine as far as possible the peculiar advantages of the hoplites and light-armed troops. He substituted a linen corslet for the coat of mail worn by the hoplites, and lessened the shield, while he rendered the light javelin and short sword of the peltasts more effective by lengthening them both one half. These troops soon proved very effective. At their head Iphicrates attacked and defeated the Phliasians, gained a victory near Sicyon, and inflicted such loss upon the Arcadian hoplites that they were afraid to meet his peltasts in the field. He now ventured upon a bolder exploit. A body of Amyclean hoplites had obtained leave to celebrate the festival of the Hyacinthia in their native city; and a Lacedaemonian mora, > So called from the pelta, or kind of shield which they carried. 422 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVIII. six hundred strong, was appointed to escort them till they should be considered out of reach of attack. Iphicrates, who was in Corinth with his peltasts, suffered the Amycleans and their escort to pass unmolested; but on the return of the Lacedemonians, he sallied forth with inconceivable hardihood, and attacked them in the flank and rear.. So many fell under the darts and arrows of the peltasts, that the Lacednemonian captain called a halt, and ordered the youngest and most active of his hoplites to rush forward and drive off the assailants. But: their heavy arms rendered them quite unequal to such a mode of fighting; nor did the Lacedemonian cavalry, which now came up, but which acted with very little vigor and courage, produce any better effect. At length the Lacedaemonians succeeded in reaching an eminence, where they endeavored to make. a stand; but at this moment Callias arrived with some Athenian hoplites from Corinth, whereupon the already disheartened:Lacedaemonians broke and fled in. confusion, pursued by the peltasts, who committed such havoc, chasing and killing some of them even in the sea, that but very few of the whole body succeeded in reaching Lechaum. The news of this defeat produced a great change in the conduct of the Theban envoys then with: Agesilaus. They did not say another word about peace, but merely asked permission to communicate with their countrymen at Corinth. Agesilaus, perceiving their altered sentiments, and taking them with him, marched on the following day with his whole force to Corinth, where he defied the garrison to come out to battle. But Iphicrates was too prudent to hazard his recently achieved success; and Agesilaus marched back to Sparta as it were by stealth, avoiding all those places where the inhabitants,, though allies, were likely to show their satisfaction at the disgrace of the Spartan arms.- No sooner was he departed than Iphicrates sallied forth from Corinth and retook Sidus, Crommyon, Peiraeum, and CEnoe, thus liberating all the northern and eastern territory of Corinth. But, in spite of his military abilities and great services, the domineering character of Iphicrates had rendered him so unpopular at Corinth, that the Athenians were obliged to recall him, and appoint Chabrias in his place. ~ 12. Mleantime important events had taken place in connection with the maritime war. The success of Conon had inspired the Lacedamonians with such alarm, that they resolved to. spare no efforts to regain the good-will of the Persians. With this view they sent Antalcidas, an able politician trained in the school of Lysander, to negotiate with Tiribazus, who had succeeded Tithraustes in the satrapy of Ionia, in order to bring about a general peace under the mediation of Persia. His negotiations, however, though supported by the influence of Tiribazus, at present proved unsuccessful. Conon, and the other representatives of the allies in Asia, rejected with indignation the proposal of Antalcidas to abandon the Grecian cities in Asiato Persia; nor was the court of Susa itself as B. C. 389.] REVOLT OF RHODES. 423 yet disposed to: entertain any amicable relations with Sparta. Tiribazus, however, covertly supplied the Lacedaemonians with money for the purposes of their fleet, and, by a gross breach of public faith, caused Conon to be seized and detained, under the pretence that he was acting contrary to the interests of the Great King. This event proved the end of Conon's public life. According to one account the Persians caused him to be put to death in prison; but it seems more' probable that he escaped. and again took refuge with Evagoras in Cyprus. Be this, however, as it may,'the public labors of one of the most useful, if not one of the greatest, of Athenian citizens, were now brought to a close: a man from who6se hands his country reaped nothing but benefit, and to whose reputation history seems to have done but scanty justice. Struthas, who held' the commanid in Ionia during the absence of Tiribazus at Susa, carried on hostilities with vigor against the Lacedaeionians. In spite of his proved incapacity, Thimbron had been again intrusted with the command of an army of eight thousand men; but while on his march from Ephesus he was surprised by Struthas, and suffered a complete defeat. Thimbron himself was among the slain, and' those of his soldiers who escaped were compelled to take refuge in the neighboring cities. ~ 13. The island of Rhodes now' demanded the attention of the belligerents. The democratical party in this island, having obtained the upper hand, had revolted from Persia; and the Spartans, fearing that they would form an alliance with Athens, sent Teleutias, the brother of Agesilaus, with a fleet to reduce the island, although they were themselves at war with Persia,' so much greater was their fear of the Athenians'than of the Persians. On his way from Cnidos, Teleutias fell in with and captured an Athenian squadron of ten triremes under Philocrates, which'was proceeding to assist Evagoras in a struggle that was impending between him and the Persians. The news of this reverse, as well as the great increase of the Laceda3monian fleet, induced the Athenians to despatch, in'B. c. 389, a fleet of forty triremes, under Thrasybulus, to the coasts of Asia Minor,a feat which betokens a considerable renovation of their naval power. Thrasybulus first proceeded to' the Hellespont, where he extended the Athenian alliance among the people on both'sides of the straits, persuaded or compelled Byzantium and obther cities to establish democratical governments, and reimposed the toll of a tenth on all vessels: passing from the Euxine. After this, Thrasybulus sailed to Lesbos, where he defeated the Lacedaemonian harmost, arid next visited several places on the mainland, with the view of raising funds for' his meditated expedition to Rhodes. But the inhabitants of Aspenduis'in Panmphylia, where he had obtained some contributions, surprised his naval camp in the night, and slew him. Thus perished the man who had delivered his country from the Thirty Tyrants. He was succeeded in his command by Agyrrhius. 424 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVIIL The success of Thrasybulus in the Hellespont created such anxiety at Sparta, that the Ephors were induced to supersede Dercyllidas, and appoint Anaxibius to the government of Abydos. Anaxibius took with him a force that rendered him master of the straits, and enabled him to intercept the merchantmen bound to Athens and other ports belonging to the allies. The Athenians now despatched Iphicrates with eight triremes and twelve hundred peltasts to make head against Anaxibius; and by a welllaid stratagem the Athenian commander succeeded in surprising Anaxibius among the mountain ranges of Ida, whilst on his homeward march from Antandros to Abydos. The troops of Anaxibius were completely routed and himself and twelve other harmosts slain. ~ 14. This exploit rendered the Athenians again masters of the Hellespont. But whilst thus successful in that quarter, their attention was attracted nearer home by the affairs of IEgina. After the battle of iEgospotami, Lysander had restored to the island as many of the ancient population as he could find; and they were now induced by the Lacedaemonian harmost to infest the Athenian trade with their privateers; so that, in the language of Pericles, JEgina again became "thle eyesore of Peiraeus." The most memorable event in this period of the war was the surprise of Peiraus by Teleutias with a squadron of only twelve sail. Teleutias was the most popular commander in the Lacedaemonian fleet, and was sent by the Ephors to appease the discontent among the Lacedaemonian seamen at iEEgina, in consequence of not receiving their pay. Teleutias plainly told them that they had nothing to depend upon but their swords, and he bade them prepare for an enterprise, the object of which he did not then disclose. This was nothing less than an attack upon Peiraeus; an enterprise which it seemed almost insane to attempt with a force of only twelve triremes. But Teleutias reckoned on taking the Athenians by surprise. Quitting the harbor of ZEgina at nightfall, and rowing along leisurely and in silence, Teleutias found himself at.daybreak within half a mile of PeirTus, and when it was fully light he steered his vessels straight into the harbor, which was beginning to assume again some of its former commercial importance. Here, as he expected, he found no preparations for repelling an attack, and though the alarm was immediately raised, he had time to inflict considerable damage before any troops could be got together to oppose him. His men disembarked on the quays, and carried off, not only the portable merchandise; but also the shipmasters, tradesmen, and others whom they found there. The larger merchant-ships were boarded and plundered; several of the smaller were towed off with their whole cargoes; and even three or four triremes met the same fate. All this booty Teleutias succeeded in carrying safely into' Egina, together with several corn-ships, and other merchantmen which he fell in with off Sunium. The prizes were then sold, and yielded so large a sum that Teleutias was able to pay the seamen a month's wages. B. C. 387.] PEACE OF ANTALCIDAS. 425 ~ 15. Whilst these things were passing in Greece, Antalcidas, conducted by Tiribazus, had repaired to the Persian court a second time, for the purpose of renewing his negotiations for a general peace, on the same basis as he had proposed before. This time he succeeded in winning the favor of the Persian monarch, in spite of his dislike of the Spartans generally, and prevailed on him both to adopt the peace, and to declare war against those who should reject it. Antalcidas and Tiribazus again arrived on the coasts of Asia Minor in the spring of B. c. 387, not only armed with these powers, but provided with an ample force to carry them into execution. In addition to the entire fleet of Persia, Dionysius of Syracuse had placed twenty triremes at the service of the Lacedaemonians; and Antalcidas now sailed with a large fleet to the Hellespont, where Iphicrates and the Athenians were still predominant. But the overwhelming force of Antalcidas, the largest that had been seen in the Hellespont since the battle of 7Egospotami, rendered all resistance hopeless. The supplies of corn from the Euxine no longer found their way to Athens; the 2Eginetan privateers resumed their depredations; and the Athenians, depressed at once both by what they felt and by what they anticipated, began to long for peace. The Argives'participated in the same desire; and as without the assistance of Athens it seemed hopeless for the other allies to struggle against Sparta, all Greece seemed inclined to listen to an accommodation. Under these circumstances deputies from the Grecian states were summoned to meet Tiribazus; who, after exhibiting to them the royal seal of Persia, read to them the following terms of a peace: " King Artaxerxes thinks it just that the cities in Asia and the islands of Clazomenae and Cyprus should belong to him. He also thinks it just to leave all the other Grecian cities, both small and great, independent, - except Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros, which are to belong to Athens, as of old. Should any parties refuse to accept this peace, I will make war upon them, along with those who are of the same mind, both by land and sea, with ships and with money." The deputies reported these terms to their respective governments, all of which at once accepted the peace with the exception of the Thebans, who claimed to take the oath not in their own behalf alone, but for the Bceotian confederacy in general. But when Agesilaus threatened the Thebans with war if they did not comply, they consented to take the oath for their own city alone, - thus virtually renouncing their federal headship. ~ 16. This disgraceful peace, called the peace of Antalcidas, was concluded in the year B. c. 387. By it Hellas seemed prostrated at the feet of the barbarians; for its very terms, engraven on stone and set up in the sanctuaries of Greece, recognized the Persian king as the arbiter of her destinies. Although Athens cannot be entirely exonerated from the blame of this transaction, the chief guilt rests upon Sparta, whose designs were far deeper and more hypocritical than they appeared. Under the specious 54 426 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXVIII. pretext of securing the independence of the Grecian cities, her only object was to break up the confederacies under Athens and Thebes, and,:with the assistance of Persia, to pave the way for her own absolute dominion in Greece. Her real aim is pithily characterized in an anecdote recorded of Agesilaus. When somebody reniarked, "Alas for Hellas, that our Spartans should be Mlledizing! "-" Say rather," replied Agesilaus, "that the Medes are Lacobnizing." Adventures of Dionysus, from the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. B. 0. 385.] REBUILDING: OF PLATEA. 427 Adventures of Dionysus, from the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. CHAPTER XXXIX. FROM THE PEACE OF ANTALCIDAS TO THE PEACE OF CALLIAS. ~ 1. Aggressions of Sparta in Boeotia. Rebuilding of Plataea. ~ 2. Reduction of Mantinea. ~ 3. Olynthian Confederation. Sparta interferes. ~-4. Seizure of the Cadmea at Thebes bythe Lacedemonians. ~ 5. Reduction of Olynthus. ~ 6. Unpopularity of Sparta. ~ 7. Revolution at Thebes. ~ 8. The Lacedemonians expelled from the Cadmea. ~ 9. Their Expeditions against Thebes. Alarm of the Athenians, who ally themselves with Thebes. ~ 10. Reorganization of the Athenian Confederation. ~ 11. Preparations for War. The Theban "Sacred Band." ~ 12. Character of Epameinondas. ~ 13. Spartan Invasions of Boeotia. ~ 14. Maritime Affairs. Battle of Naxos. Success of Timotheus. ~ 15. Prog ress of the Theban Arms. ~ 16. The Athenians form a Peace with Sparta, which is immediately broken. Proceedings at Corcyra. ~ 17. The Lacedaemonians solicit Persian Aid. ~ 18. Congress at Sparta to treat of Peace. The Thebans are excluded from it. ~ 1. No sooner was the peace of Antalcidas concluded, than Sparta, directedby Agesilaus, the ever-active enemy of Thebes, exerted all her power to weaken that city. She began by proclaiming the independence of the various Boeotian cities, and by organizing in each a local oligarchy, adverse to Thebes and favorable to herself. The popular feeling in these cities was in general opposed to the Spartan dominion; two alone, Orchomenus and Thespiea, preferred it to that of Thebes; and in these the Lacedamonians placed garrisons,: and made them their main stations in Bceotia. Even such a step as this seemed to exceed the spirit of the treaty, which required merely the independence of each city; but the restoration of Plataa, now effected by the Lacedmmonians, was an evident work of supererogationj undertaken only to annoy and weaken Thebes, and to form a place for another Lacedmmonian garrison. Since the destruction of Platma,:most of her remaining citizens had become domiciled at Athens, had married Athenian women, and had thus almost forgotten their native country. -These were now restored, and their city rebuilt; but merely that it might become a Spartan outpost. Thebes was at present too weak to resist these encroachments on her dignity and power, which even at Sparta 8 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIX. were regarded with dissatisfaction by King Agesipolis and the more moderate party. ~ 2. The Lacedlemonians now found themselves in a condition to wreak their vengeance on the Mantineans, by whom they deemed themselves aggrieved. They could not, indeed, bring any charge of positive hostility against the Mantineans; but they accused them of lukewarmness and equivocal fidelity; of having been slack in furnishing their contingents during the late war; and of having supplied the Argives with corn when at war with Sparta. On these grounds a message was sent requiring the Mantineans to raze their walls; and as they hesitated to comply, an army was despatched under Agesipolis to enforce obedience. Agesipolis succeeded in taking Mantinea, which was well supplied with provisions, by damming up the river Ophis which ran through it. The inundation thus caused undermined the walls, which were built of baked bricks, and obliged the citizens to capitulate. Much harder terms were now exacted from them. They were required not only to demolish their fortifications, but also a great part of their town, so as to restore it to the form of five villages, out of which it had been originally formed. Each of these villages was left unfortified, and placed under a separate oligarchical government. About the same time the Lacedemonians compelled the city of Phlius to recall a body of exiles who had been expelled on account of their attachment to the interests of Sparta. ~ 3. But the attention of Sparta was soon called to more distant regions. Olynthus, a town situated at the head of the Toronaic Gulf in the peninsula of the Macedonian Chalcidice, had become the head of a powerful confederation, which included several of the adjacent Grecian cities, and among them Potidaa, on the isthmus of Pallene. Acanthus and Apollonia, the largest cities after Olynthus in the Chalcidic peninsula, had refused to join the league; and as they were threatened with war by Olynthus, they despatched envoys to Sparta to solicit aid (B. C. 383). The envoys gave an alarming account of the designs of Olynthus: and they being seconded by ambassadors from Amyntas, king of Macedonia, the Lacedmamonians were easily persuaded to enter upon an undertaking which harmonized with their present course of policy. Their allies were persuaded or rather overawed into the adoption of their views, and an army of ten thousand men was voted. The emergency, however, was so pressing that Eudamidas was despatched at once witha force of two thousand hoplites. Marching rapidly with only a portion even of these, he arrived in season to defend Acanthus and Apollonia, and even succeeded in inducing Potidvea to revolt from the league. But though joined by Amyntas with his forces, he was not strong enough to take the field openly against the Olynthians. ~ 4. This expedition of the Lacedmmonians led incidentally to an affair of much greater importance. The Thebans had entered into an alliance with Olynthus, and had forbidden any of their citizens to join the Lace B. C. 383.] SEIZURE OF THE CADMEA AT THEBES. 429 demonian army destined to act against it; but they were not strong enough to prevent its marching through their territory. Phoebidas, the brother of Eudamidas, was appointed to collect the tooops which were not in readiness at the time of his brother's departure, and to march with all possible speed towards Olynthus. On his way through Boeotia he halted with his division at a gymnasium not far from Thebes; where he was visited by Leontiades, one of the polemarchs of the city, and two or three othei leaders of the Lacedemonian party in Thebes. It happened that the festival of the Thesmophoria was on the point of being celebrated, during which the Cadmea, or Theban Acropolis, was given up for the exclusive use of the women. The opportunity seemed favorable for a surprise; and Leontiades and Phoebidas concerted a plot to seize it. Whilst the festival was celebrating, Phoebidas pretended to resume his march, but only made a circuit round the city walls; whilst Leontiades, stealing out of the Senate, mounted his horse, and, joining the Lacedsemonian troops, conducted them towards the Cadmea. It was a sultry summer's afternoon, so that the very streets were deserted; and Phoebidas, without encountering any opposition, seized the citadel and all the women in it, to serve as hostages for the quiet submission of the Thebans. Leontiades then returned to the Senate, and caused his fellow-polemarch, Ismenias, who was the head of the opposite, or patriotic party, to be seized and imprisoned. After this blow, three hundred of the leading men of his party fled to Athens for safety. Ismenias was shortly afterwards brought to trial by Leontiades before a packed court, and put to death on the ground of his receiving money from Persia and stirring up the late war. This treacherous act during a period of profound peace awakened the liveliest indignation throughout Greece. Sparta herself could not venture to justify it openly, and Phoebidas was made the scape-goat of her affected displeasure. The Ephors, though they had secretly authorized the proceeding, now disavowed him; and Agesilaus alone, prompted by his burning hatred of Thebes, stood forth in his defence. The result was a truly Laconian piece of hypocrisy. As a sort of atonement to the violated feeling of Greece, Phoebidas was censured, fined, and dismissed. But that this was a mere farce is evident from the fact of his subsequent restoration to command; and, however indignant the Lacedaemonians affected to appear at the act of Phcbidas, they took care'to reap the fruits of it by retaining their garrison in the Cadmea. ~ 5. The once haughty Thebes was now enrolled a member of the Lacedtemonian alliance, and furnished her contingent the grateful offering of the new Theban government for the war which Sparta was prosecuting with redoubled vigor against Olynthus. The troops of that city, however, especially its cavalry, were excellent, and the struggle was protracted for several years. During the course of it King Agesipolis died of a fever brought on by his exertions; and the war, which had begun in 30 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIX. B. C. 383, was ultimately brought to a close by his successor, Polybiades, in B. C. 379: who, by.closely blockading Olynthus, deprived it of its supplies, and thus forced it to capitulate. The Olynthian confederacy-was now dissolved; the Grecian cities belonging to it were compelled to join the LacedLemonian alliance; whilst the maritime towns of MIacedonia were again reduced under the domination of Amyntas. Sparta thus inflicted a great blow upon Hellas; for the Olynthian confederacy might have served as a counterpoise to the growing power of Macedon, destined soon to overwhelm the rest of Greece. About the same time as the reduction of Olynthusj Phlius yielded to the arms of Agesilaus, who, on the complaint of the restored exiles that they could not obtain a restitution of their rights, had undertaken the siege of that city. A government nominated by Agesilaus was now appointed there. ~ 6. The power of Sparta on land had now attained its greatest height. At sea, she divided with Athens the empire of the smaller islands, whilst the larger ones seem to have been independent of both. Her unpopularity in Greece was commensurate with the extent of her harshly administered dominion. She was leagued on all sides with the enemies of Grecian freedom,-with the Persians, with Amyntas of Macedon, and with Dionysius of Syracuse. But she had now reached the turning-point of her fortunes, and her successes, which had been earned without scruple, were soon to be followed by misfortunes and disgrace. The first blow came from Thebes, where she had perpetrated her most signal injustice. ~ 7. That city had been for three years in the hands of Leontiades and the Spartan party. During this time great discontent had grown up among the resident citizens; and there was also the party of exasperated exiles, who had taken refuge at Athens. Among these exiles was Pelopidas, a young man of birth and fortune, who:had already distinguished himself by his disinterested patriotism and ardent character. He applied a great part of his wealth to the relief of his indigent fellow-citizens, and gave such undivided attention to public affairs as to neglect the management of his own property. Pelopidas.took the lead in the plans now formed for the liberation of his country, and was the heart and soul of the enterprise. Rebuked by his friends on account of his carelessness, he replied that money was certainly useful to such as were lame and blind. His warm and generous. heart was irresistibly attracted by everything great and.noble; and hence he was led to form a close and intimate, friendship with: Epameinondas, who was several years older. than himself,. and of a still loftier character. Their friendship is said to have originated in a:campaign in which they served together, when, Pelopidas having fallen in battle apparently dead, Epameinondas protected his body at the imminent risk of his own life. Pelopidas; afterwards endeavored to persuade Epamei B. C. 379.] LIBERATION OF, THEBES. 431 nondas to share his riches with him; and when he did not succeed, he resolved to live on the same frugal fare as his great friend. A secret correspondence was opened with his friends at Thebes, the chief of whom were Phyllidas, secretary to the polemarchs, and Charon. lEpameinondas was solicited to take a part in the conspiracy; but, though he viewed the Lacedcemonian government with abhorrence, his principles forbade him to participate in a plot which was to be carried out by treachery and murder. The dominant faction, besides the advantage of the actual possession of power, was supported by a garrison of fifteen hundred. Lacedemonians. The enterprise, therefore, was one of considerable difficulty and danger. In the execution of it Phyllidas took a leading part. It was arranged that he should give a supper to Archias and Philippus, the two polemarchs, whose company was to be secured by the allurement of an introduction to some Theban women. remarkable for their beauty. After they had partaken freely of wine, the conspirators were to be introduced, disguised as women, and to complete their work by the assassination of the polemarchs. On the day before the.banquet, Pelopidas, with six other exiles, arrived at Thebes from Athens, and, straggling through the gates towards dusk in the disguise of rustics and huntsmen, arrived safely at the house of Charon, where they remained concealed till the appointed hour. Before it arrived, however, a summons which Charon received to attend the polemarchs filled the conspirators with.the liveliest alarm.. These magistrates, whilst enjoying the good cheer of Phyllidas,. received a vague message from Athens respecting some. plot formed by the exiles; and, as Charon was known to be connected with them, he. was immediately sent for and questioned. By the aid of Phyllidas, however, Charon contrived to lull the suspicions of the polemarchs, who were already half intoxicated. Shortly after the departure of Charon another messenger arrived from Athens with a letter for Arehias, in which the whole plot was accurately detailed. The messenger, in accordance with his instructions, informed Archias that the letter related to matters of serious importance. But the polemarch, completely engrossed by the pleasures of the table, thrust the letter under the pillow of his couch, exclaiming, "Serious matters to-morrow." The hour of their fate was now ripe, and the polemarchs, flushed with wine, desired Phyllidas to introduce the women. The conspirators, disguised with veils, and in the ample folds of female attire, were ushered into the room. For men in the state of the revellers the deception was complete; but when they attempted to lift the veils from the women, their passion was rewarded by the mortal thrust of a dagger. After thus slaying the two polemarchs, the conspirators went to the house of Leontiades, whom they found reclining after supper, whilst his wife sat spinning by his side. Leontiades, who was strong.and.courageous, immediately seized.his sword and inflicted a mortal wound on one of the conspirators, but was at 432 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIX. length overpowered and killed by Pelopidas. Then the conspirators proceeded to the gaol, and, having liberated the prisoners, supplied them with arms. The news of the revolution soon spread abroad. Epameinondas, whose repugnance to these proceedings attached only to their secret and treacherous character, now appeared, accompanied by a few friends in arms. Proclamations were issued announcing that Thebes was free, and calling upon all citizens who valued their liberty to muster in the market-place. As soon as day dawned, and the citizens became aware that they were summoned to vindicate their liberty, their joy and enthusiasm were unbounded. For the first time since the seizure of their citadel they met in public assembly; the conspirators, being introduced, were crowned by the priests with wreaths, and thanked in the name of their country's gods; whilst the assembly, with grateful acclamation, unanimously nominated Pelopidas, Charon, and Mellon as the first restored Boeotarchs. ~ 8. Meanwhile the remainder of the Theban exiles, accompanied by a body of Athenian volunteers, assembled on the frontiers of Boeotia; and, at the first news of the success of the conspiracy, hastened to Thebes to complete the revolution. The Lacedaemonian garrison sent to Thespiae and Plataea for reinforcements; but these were dispersed by the Theban cavalry before they could approach the gates. The Thebans, under their new Boeotarchs, were already mounting to the assault of Cadmea, when the Lacedaemonians capitulated, and were allowed to march out with the honors of war. But several of the Theban citizens of the Lacedlmonian party, who had taken refuge in the citadel, were put to death, and in some cases even their children shared their fate. The surrender of the Cadmea seems to have been a disgraceful dereliction of duty on the part of the three commanding Spartan harmosts; nor are we surprised to hear that two of them were put to death, and the third fined and banished. ~ 9. The news of this revolution gave a shock to the Lacedaemonian power throughout Greece. At Sparta itself it occasioned the greatest consternation. Although it was the depth of winter, the allied contingents were immediately called out, and an expedition undertaken against Thebes. As Agesilaus, bekig now more than sixty years of age, declined to take the. command, it was assigned to his colleague, Cleombrotus, who penetrated as far into Boeotia as Cynoscephalle; but after remaining there sixteen days, he returned to Sparta without having effected anything, leaving, however, a third of his army at Thespime, under the command of Sphodrias. This expedition caused great alarm at Athens. The Lacedemonians sent envoys to demand satisfaction for the part which the Athenians had taken in the Theban revolution. Among those who had aided and abetted the plot were two of the Strategi or generals, who were now sacrificed to the public security, one of them being condemned and executed, and the other, who fled before trial, sentenced to banishment. BB.. 378.] ATHENIAN CONFEDERACY REORGANIZED. 433 The Thebans, now fearing that the Athenians would remain quiet and leave them to contend single-handed against the Spartans, bribed Sphodrias to invade Attica. Accordingly Sphodrias set out from Thespie with the intention of surprising the Peirmus by night; but being overtaken by daylight whilst still on the Thriasian plain near Eleusis, he retreated, though not without committing various acts of depredation. This attempt excited the liveliest indignation at Athens. The Lacedemonian envoys still at Athens, were seized and interrogated, but exculpated themselves from all knowledge of the enterprise. Sphodrias himself was indicted for it at Sparta, but the influence of Agesilaus procured his acquittal. His escape was denounced by the unanimous voice of Greece. At Athens it at once produced an alliance with Thebes, and a declaration of war against Sparta (B. c. 378). ~ 10. From this time must be dated the era of a new political combination in Greece. Athens strained every nerve to organize a fresh confederacy. She already possessed the nucleus of one in a small body of maritime allies, and envoys were now sent to the principal ports and islands in the iEgean, inviting them to join the alliance on equal and honorable terms. Thebes did not scruple to enroll herself as one of its earliest members. At Athens itself the fortifications of Peireus were completed, new ships of war were built, and every means taken to insure naval supremacy. The basis on which the confederacy was formed closely resembled that of Delos. The cities composing it were to be independent, and to send deputies to a congress at Athens, for the purpose of raising a common fund for the support of a naval force. Care was taken to banish all recollections connected with the former unpopularity of the Athenian empire. The name of the tribute was no longer phoros,* but syntaxis,t or " contribution "; and all previous rights of cleruclia were formally renounced. The confederacy, which ultimately numbered seventy cities, was chiefly organized through the exertions of Chabrias, of Timotheus the son of Conon, and of the orator Callistratus; but of these Timotheus was particularly successful in procuring accessions to the, league. ~ 11. The first proceeding of the assembled congress was to vote twentythousand hoplites, five hundred cavalry, and two hundred triremes. To meet the necessary expenses, a new graduated assessment of the eisphora,4 or property tax, was instituted at Athens itself (B. c. 378); a species of tax never imposed except on urgent occasions. These proceedings show the ardor with which Athens embarked in the war. Nor were the The. bans less zealous, amongst whom the Spartan government had left a lively feeling of antipathy. They hastened to enroll themselves under Pelopidas and his colleagues; the most fertile portion of the Theban territory was * qopos. t ovra^t,. t lo opa. 55 434 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIIAP. XXXIX. surrounded with a ditch and palisade, in order to protect it from invasion; the military force was put in the best training, and the famous " Sacred Band" was now for the first time instituted. This band was a regiment of three hundred hoplites. It was supported at the public expense, and kept constantly under arms. It was composed of young and chosen citizens of the best families, and organized in such a manner that each man had at his side a dear and intimate friend. Its special duty was the defence of the Cadmea. ~ 12. The Thebans had always been excellent soldiers; but their good fortune now gave them the greatest general that Greece had hitherto seen. Epameinondas, who now appears conspicuously in public life, deserves the reputation, not merely of a Theban, but of a Grecian hero. Sprung from a poor but ancient family, Epameinondas possessed all the best qualities of his nation, without that heaviness, either of body or mind, which characterized and deteriorated the Theban people. In the exercises of the gymnasium he aimed rather at feats of skill, than of mere corporeal strength. lie excelled in music, a term wyhich among the Greeks denoted not only instrumental and vocal performance, and dancing, but also the just and rhythmical intonation of the voice and movement of the body. To these accomplishments he united the more intellectual study of philosophy. Through the Theban Simmias, and the Tarentine Spintharus, both of whom had been companions of Socrates, Epameinondas imbibed the wisdom and the method of the great philosopher of Athens; whilst by the Pythagorean Lysis, a Tarentine exile resident at Thebes, he was initiated into the more recondite doctrines of the earliest of Grecian sages. By these varied communications his mind was enlarged beyond the sphere of vulgar superstition, and emancipated from that timorous interpretation of nature, which caused even some of the leading men of those days to behold a portent in the most ordinary phenomenon. A still rarer accomplishment for a Theban was that of eloquence, which he possessed in no ordinary degree. These intellectual qualities were matched with moral virtues worthy to consort with them. Though eloquent, he was discreet; though poor, he was neither avaricious nor corrupt; though naturally firm and courageous, he was averse to cruelty, violence, and bloodshed; though a patriot, he was a stranger to personal ambition, and scorned the little arts by which popularity is too often courted. Pelopidas, as we have already said, was his bosom friend. It was natural, therefore, that, when Pelopidas was named Bootarch, Epameinondas should be prominently employed in organizing the means of war; but it was *not till some years later that his military genius shone forth in its full lustre. ~ 13. The Spartans were resolved to avenge the repulse they had ~received, and in the summer of B. C. 378, Agesilaus marched with a large army into Boeotia. He succeeded in breaking through the Theban,circumvallation, and ravaged the country up to the very gates of Thebes B. C. 376.] BATTLE OF NAXOS. 435 though the- combined Theban and Athenian armies — the latter under Chabrias - presented too formidable a front for him to venture upon an engagement. After spending a month in the Bceotian territory without striking, a decisive blow, Agesilaus returned to Sparta with the bulk of his army, leaving the rest under the command of Phcebidas at Thespia; who shortly afterwards fell in a skirmish. A second expedition undertaken by Agesilaus in the following summer (B. c. 377) ended much in the same manner. An injury to his leg, which he received on the home, ward march, and which was aggravated by the unskilfulness of his surgeon, disabled him for a long time from active service; so that the invasion in the summer of B. C. 376 was conducted by Cleombrotus. But the Thebans had now acquired both skill and confidence. They anticipated the Lacedaemonians in seizing the passes of Citheron; and Cleombrotus, instead of invading Boeotia, was forced to retreat ingloriously. ~ 14. This ill-success on land determined the Lacedaemonians to try what they could effect at sea; and a fleet of sixty triremes under Pollio was accordingly despatched into the }Egean. Near Naxos they fell in with the Athenian fleet under Chabrias, who completely defeated them, thus regaining once more for Athens the mastery of the seas (B. c. 376). It was on this occasion that young Phocion first distinguished himself. The Athenians followed up this success by sending Timotheus, the son of Conon, with a fleet into the western seas. Timotheus won success as much by prudence and conciliation as by arms. The inhabitants of Cephallenia and Corcyra, several of the tribes of Epeirus, together with the Acarnanians dwelling on the coast, were persuaded- to join the Athenian alliance. Off Acarnania he was attacked by the Peloponnesian fleet, which however he defeated; and being subsequently reinforced by some triremes from Corcyra, he became completely master of the seas in that quarter. ~ 15. The justice and forbearance, however, which Timotheus observed towards friends and neutrals, obliged him to draw largely upon the Athenian treasury; and the losses inflicted on the Athenian commerce by the privateers of AEgina caused the drain to be still more seriously felt. Athens was thus compelled to make fresh demands on the members of the confederacy; with which, however, the Thebans refused to comply, though it was partly at their instance that the Athenian fleet had been sent into the,Egean. This refusal was embittered by jealousy of the rapid strides, which, owing to the diversion caused by the maritime efforts of Athens, Thebes had recently been making. For two years Boeotia had been free from Spartan invasion; and Thebes had employed this time in extending her dominion over the neighboring cities. One of her most important successes during this period was the victory gained by Pelopidas near Tegyra, a village dependent upon Orchomenus (B. C. 375). The Spartan harmost of Orchomenus having left that town with the greater part of the garrison in order to make an incursion into Locris, Pelopidas formed the 436 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIX. project of surprising Orchomenus, but, finding it impracticable, was on his road home, when he fell in near Tegyra with the Lacedaemonians on their return from Locris. Pelopidas had with him only the Sacred Band and a small body of cavalry, while the Lacedaemonians were nearly twice as numerous. He did not, however, shrink from the conflict on this account; and when one of his men, running up to him, exclaimed, " We are fallen into the midst of the enemy," he replied, " Why so, more than they into the midst of us?" In the battle which ensued, the two Spartan commanders fell at the first charge, and their men were put to the rout. So signal a victory inspired the Thebans with new confidence and vigor, as it showed that Sparta was not invincible even in a pitched battle and with the advantage of numbers on her side. By the year 374 B. c.,the Thebans had succeeded in entirely expelling the Lacedemonians from Bmootia, had put down the oligarchical factions in the various cities, and revived the Bceotian confederacy. Orchomenus alone, which lay on the borders of Phocis, together with its dependency Chaeronea, still remained under Spartan government. The Thebans now began to look beyond their own boundaries, and to retaliate on the Phocians for the assistance they had lent to Sparta. The success of the Thebans in that quarter would have laid open to them the temple of Delphi with all its treasures; nor did such a result seem improbable, as the Phocians were at the same time hard pressed by Jason of Pherae in Thessaly. But at the instance of the Phocians Cleombrotus came to their aid, and succeeded in assuring their safety, as well as that of Orchomenus. ~ 16. Such were the successes of the Thebans which revived the jealousy and distrust of Athens. Phocis was her ancient ally; and the Theban menace of that country, coupled with the anger excited by the refusal of the Thebans to pay tie required tribute, induced the Athenians to make proposals of peace to Sparta. These were eagerly adopted, and Timotheus was instructed to sail back to Athens with the fleet. The peace, however, was broken almost as soon as made. On his way back, Timotheus disembarked at Zacynthus some exiles belonging to that island, and assisted them in establishing a fortified post. For this proceeding Sparta. demanded redress at Athens in the name of the Zacynthian government'; which being refused, war was again declared. The Lacedemonians now sent a large force under the command of Mnasippus to subdue the important island of Corcyra, which has not appeared in Grecian history since the time of the fearful dissensions by which it was torn asunder in the Peloponnesian war. Mnasippus having effected a landing and blockaded the capital, the Corcyrceans invoked the aid of the Athenians, who appointed Timotheus to conduct a fleet to their relief; and whilst this was preparing despatched Stesicles with six hundred peltasts overland through Thessaly and Epeirus. These, being conveyed across the channel to Corcyra, contrived to get into the city, and revived the hopes of the B. C. 371.] PEACE BETWEEN ATHENS AND SPARTA. 437 besieged with the news of the approaching Athenian fleet. The distress and privation had now become very great within the city; but the misconduct of Mnasippus afforded the Corcyrseans an opportunity of retrieving their affairs. His soldiers, who were mostly mercenaries, being irregularly paid and harshly treated, became mutinous and insubordinate; the watch was badly kept; and the besieged, observing their opportunity, made a sally, in which the Lacedaemonians were defeated and Mnasippus himself slain. Shortly afterwards, the approach of the Athenian fleet being announced, the Lacedaemonians hastily evacuated the island, leaving behind them a large store of provisions and many slaves, besides a considerable number of sick and wounded soldiers. When the Athenian fleet arrived, it was found to be commanded by Iphicrates, Chabrias, and the orator Callistratus. Timotheus had been superseded in the command, because he was thought to have wasted time unnecessarily in equipping the fleet. Iphicrates, soon after his arrival at Corcyra, captured nine out of ten triremes sent by Dionysius of Syracuse to the assistance of Sparta. From thence he crossed over to the opposite coast of Acarnania, and even laid waste the western shores of Peloponnesus. ~17. These successes of the Athenians occasioned great alarm at Sparta. Antalcidas was again despatched (B. c. 372) to solicit the intervention of Persia, on the plea that the peace had been infringed by the re-establishment of the Boeotian confederation. But even Athens had become anxious for peace, in consequence of the increasing jealousy of Thebes, which had recently destroyed the restored city of Platsea, and obliged its inhabitants once more to seek refuge at Athens. Prompted by these feelings, the Athenians opened negotiations for a peace with Sparta; a resolution which was also adopted by the majority of the allies. Due notice of this intention was given to the Thebans, who were also invited to send deputies to Sparta. ~18. A congress was accordingly opened in that city in the spring of 371 B. c. The Athenians were represented by Callias, Autocles, and Callistratus; and the Thebans by Epameinondas, then one of the polemarchs. The terms of a peace were agreed upon, by which the independence of the various Grecian cities was to be recognized; the armaments on both sides were to be disbanded, and the Spartan harmosts and garrisons everywhere dismissed. Sparta ratified the treaty for herself and her allies; but Athens took the oaths only for herself, and was followed separately by her allies. But when the turn of the Thebans came, Epameinondas refused to sign except in the name of the Boeotian confederation, and justified his refusal in a bold and eloquent speech, in which he maintained that the title of Thebes to the headship of Boeotia rested on as good a foundation as the claim of Sparta to the sovereignty of Laconia, which he maintained was derived only from the power of the sword. 438 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XXXIX. This novel and startling view of the matter, which nobody before had even ventured to open, was peculiarly insulting to Spartan ears. Agesilaus was incensed beyond measure at what he regarded as another instance of Theban insolence. Starting abruptly from his seat, and addressing Epameinondas, he exclaimed: "Speak out, will you, or will you not leave each Bccotian city independent?" Epamiriondas replied by another question: "Will you leave each of the Laconian towns independent?" Agesilaus made no answer, but, directing the name of the Thebans to be struck out of the treaty, proclaimed them excluded from it. Thus ended the congress. The peace concluded between Sparta, Athens, and their respective allies, was called the peace of Callias. The result with regard to Thebes and Sparta will appear in the following chapter. e Be rm e o m o Ao The Wind Boreas, from the Horologium of Andronicus Cyrrhestes at Athens. B. C. 371.] DESIRE AT SPARTA TO CRUSH THEBES. 439 Ithome, from the Stadium of Messene. CHAPTER XL. THE SUPREMACY OF THEBES. ~ 1. Invasion of Boeotia by Cleombrotus. ~ 2. Battle of Lenctra. ~ 3. Its Effect throughout Greece. ~ 4. Jason of Phere joins the Thebans. ~ 5. Progress of Thebes. ~ 6. Assassination of Jason. ~ 7. Establishment of the Arcadian League. ~ 8. First Invasion of Peloponnesus by Epameinondas. Alarm at Sparta. Vigorous Measures of Agesilaus. ~ 9. Epameinondas founds Megalopolis, and restores the Messenians. ~ 10. Alliance between Atlens and Sparta. Second Invasion of Peloponnesus by Epameinondas. ~ 11. Invasion of Laconia by the Arcadians. ~ 12. Expedition of Pelopidas into Thessaly. The "Tearless Battle" between the Arcadians and Lacedemonians.. 13. Third lIvasion of Peloponnesus by Epameinondas. ~ 14. Mission of lelopidas to the Court of Susa. ~ 15. Seizure of Pelopidas by Alexander. His Release. ~ 16. The Athenians acquire Oropus. Alliance between Athens and Arcadia. ~ 17. Attempt of the Athenians to seize Corinth, followed by an Alliance between the Corinthians and Thebans. ~ 18. Suc cess of the Athenians at Sea. A Theban Fleet commanded by Epameinondas. ~ 19. Death of Pelopidas. ~ 20. Wars between Elis and Arcadia. Battle at Olympia dluring the Festival. ~ 21. Dissensions among the Arcadians. ~ 22. Fourth Invasion of Peloponnesus by Epameinondas. Attempts upon Sparta and Mantinea. ~ 23. Battle of Mantinea, and Death of Epameinondas. ~ 24. Death of Agesilaus. ~ 1. IN pursuance of the treaty, the Lacecdmonians withdrew their harmosts and garrisons, whilst the Athenians recalled Iphicrates with the fleet from the Ionian Sea. Only one feeling prevailed at Sparta, — a desire to crush Thebes; and this was carried to an almost insane extent; so that even Xenophon, a warm partisan of the Lacedxmnonians, compares it to the misleading and fatal inspiration of the Homeric Ate. But this 440 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XL. was an afterthought. Before the actual collision, the general opinion, not only at Sparta, but throughout Greece, was very different. Thebes was regarded as doomed to destruction; and it was not for a moment imagined that, single-handed, she would be able to resist the might of Sparta. At the time when the peace was concluded, Cleombrotus happened to be in Phocis at the head of a Lacedemonian army; and he now received orders to invade Boeotia without delay. The Thebans, on their side, were equally determined on resistance. In order to prevent Cleombrotus from penetrating into Boeotia, Epameinondas occupied with a strong force the narrow pass near Coronea, situated between the Lake Copais and a spur of Mount Helicon, through which Agesilaus had forced a passage on his homeward march from Asia. But Cleombrotus took a circuitous road, deemed hardly practicable, and therefore but slightly guarded, over the mountains to the south. Arriving thus unexpectedly before Creusis on the Crissoean Gulf, he took that place by surprise, and seized twelve Theban triremes which lay in the harbor. Then, having left a.garrison in the town, he directed his march through the territory of Thespire, and encamped on the memorable plain of Leuctra. ~ 2. This march of Cleombrotus displays considerable military skill. He had not only succeeded in penetrating into Boeotia almost without opposition; but, by seizing the port of Creusis, he had secured a safe retreat in case of disaster. The Thebans were discouraged at his progress, and it required all the energy and address of Epameinondas and Pelopidas to revive their drooping spirits. Omens of evil import had attended their march from Thebes; and when they encamped within sight of the Lacedemonians, three out of the seven Boeotarchs were for returning to the city and shutting themselves up in it, after sending away their wives and children to Athens. But Epameinondas had too much confidence in his own genius to listen to such timorous counsels. Iis own mind was proof against the fears of superstition, and luckily some favorable portents now gave encouragement to his troops. A Spartan exile serving with the Thebans bade them remark, that on that very spot stood the tomb of two Boeotian virgins who slew themselves in consequence of having been outraged by Lacedemonians. The shades of these injured maidens, he said, would now demand vengeance; and the Theban commanders, seizing the omen, crowned the tombs with wreaths. The forces on each side are not accurately known, but it seems probable that the Thebans were outnumbered by the Lacedalmonians. The military genius of Epameinondas, however, compensated any inferiority of numbers by novelty of tactics. Up to this time Grecian battles had been uniformly conducted by a general attack in line. Epameinondas now first adopted the manceuvre, used with such success by Napoleon in modern times, of concentrating heavy masses on a given point of the enemy's array. Having formed his left wing into a dense column of fifty deep, so B. C. 371.] BATTLE OF LEUCTRA. 441 that its depth was greater than its front, he directed it against the Lacedraeonian right, containing the best troops in their army, drawn up twelve deep, and led by Cleombrotus in person. Meanwhile the Theban centre and right were ordered to be kept out of action, and in readiness to support the advance of the left wing. The battle began with skirmishes of cavalry in front, in which the Lacedaemonian horse were soon driven in. The Theban left, the Sacred Band with Pelopidas at their head, leading the van, now fell with such irresistible weight on the Lacedemonian right, as to bear down all opposition. The shock was terrible. Cleombrotus himself was mortally wounded in the onset, and with difficulty carried off by his comrades. Numbers of his officers, as well as of his men, were slain, and the whole wing was broken and driven back to their camp. On no other part of the line was there any serious fighting; partly owing to the disposition made by Epameinondas, and partly to the lukewarmness of the Spartan allies, who occupied the centre and part of the right wing. The loss of the Thebans was small compared with that of the Lacedsemonians. Out of seven hundred Spartans in the army of the latter, four hundred had fallen; and their king also had been slain, an event which had not occurred since the fatal day of Thermopylae. Many of their allies hardly concealed the satisfaction which they felt at their defeat; whilst so great was the depression among the Lacedemonians themselves, that very few were found bold enough to propose a renewal of the combat, in order to recover the bodies of the slain. The majority decided that a truce should be solicited for that purpose. But, though the bodies of the fallen were given up, their arms were retained; and five centuries afterwards the shields of the principal Spartan officers were seen at Thebes by the traveller Pausanias. ~ 3. The victory of Leuctra was gained within three weeks after the exclusion of the Thebans from the peace of Callias. The effect of it throughout Greece was electrical. It was everywhere felt that a new military power had arisen, - that the prestige of the old Spartan discipline and tactics had departed. Yet at Sparta itself, though the reverse was the greatest that her arms had ever sustained, the news of it was received with an assumption of indifference characteristic of the people. The Ephors forbade the chorus of men, who were celebrating in the theatre the festival of the Gymnopsedia, to be interrupted. They contented themselves with directing the names of the slain to be communicated to their relatives, and with issuing an order forbidding the women to wail and mourn. Those whose friends had fallen appeared abroad on the morrow with joyful countenances, whilst the relatives of the survivors seemed overwhelmed with grief and shame. The Ephors then directed their attention to the rescue of the defeated army. The whole remaining military force of Sparta, including even the more aged citizens, together with what forces could be collected from the allies, was placed under the command of Archidamus, 56 442 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XL. son of Agesilaus, and transported by sea from Corinth to Creusis, which port now proved an invaluable acquisition. ~ 4. Immediately after the battle the Thebans had sent to Jason of Pherme in Thessaly, to solicit his aid against the Lacedaemonians. We have already had occasion to mention this despot, who was one of the most remarkable men of the period. He was Tagus,* or Generalissimo, of all Thessaly; and Macedonia was partially dependent on him. He was a man of boundless ambition, and meditated nothing less than extending his dominion over the whole of Greece, for which his central situation seemed to offer many facilities. Upon receiving the invitation of the Thebans, Jason immediately resolved to join them, and marched with such rapidity that he forestalled all opposition, though he had to proceed through the hostile territories of the Heracleots and Phocians. When he arrived, the Thebans were anxious that he should unite with them in an attack upon the Lacedletmonian camp; but Jason dissuaded them from the enterprise, advising them not to drive the Lacedamonians to despair, and offering his mediation. He accordingly succeeded in effecting a truce, by which the Lacedtmonians were allowed to depart from Boeotia unmolested. Their commander, however, did not trust to this; but, having given out that he meant to march over Mount Citharon, he decamped in the night to Creusis, and from thence proceeded by a difficult road along the side of the rocks upon the coast to.iEgosthena in the Megarid; where he was met by Archidamus and his army. As the defeated troops were now in safety, the object of the latter had been attained, and the whole armament was disbanded. ~ 5. According to Spartan custom, the survivors of a defeat were looked upon as degraded men, and subjected to the penalties of civil infamy. No allowance was made for circumstances. But those who had fled at Leuctra were three hundred in number; an attempt to enforce against them the usual penalties might prove not only inconvenient, but even dangerous; and on the proposal of Agesilaus, they were, for this occasion only, suspended. The loss of material power which Sparta sustained by the defeat was great. The ascendency she had hitherto enjoyed in parts north of the Corinthian Gulf fell from her at once, and was divided between Jason of Phere and the Thebans. The latter, flushed by. success, now panted for nothing but military glory, and under the superintendence of Epameinondas devoted themselves to an active course of warlike training. Their alliance was sought on every side. The Phocians were the first to claim it, and their example was soon followed by the Euboeans, the Locrians, the Malians, and the Heracleots. In this flood-tide of power the Thebans longed to take vengeance on their ancient enemy, Orchomenos, to destroy the town, and to sell the inhabitants for slaves; and from this * Tayos. B. C. 370.] JASON OF PHERJL. 443 design they were only diverted by the mildness and wisdom of Epameinondas. But the Orchomenians were forced to make their submission, and were then readmitted as members of the Boeotian confederation. The same lenity was not extended to the Thespians, who were expelled from Boeotia, and their territory annexed to Thebes. They took refuge, like the Plateans, at Athens. ~ 6. At the same time Jason of Phere was also extending his influence and power. It was known that he was revolving some important enterprise, but it was doubtful whether he would turn his arms against the Persians, against the cities of Chalcidice, or against the states of Southern Greece. After the battle of Leuctra the last seemed the most probable. He had announced his intention of being present at the Pythian festival, which was to take place in August, 370 B. c., at the head of a numerous army; on which occasion his sacrifice to the Delphian god was to consist of the enormous quantity of one thousand bulls, and ten thousand sheep, goats, and swine. But it was unpleasant tidings for Grecian ears to learn that he intended to usurp the presidency and management of the festival, which were the prerogatives of the Amphictyonic Council. In this conjuncture the alarmed Delphians consulted the god as to what they should do in case Jason approached their treasury, and received for answer that he would himself take care of it. Shortly afterwards the despot was assassinated by seven youths as he sat in public to give audience to all comers. The death of Jason was felt as a relief by Greece, and especially by Thebes. He was succeeded by his two brothers, Polyphron and Polydorus; but they possessed neither his ability nor his power. ~ 7. The Athenians stood aloof from the contending parties. They had not received the news of the battle of Leuctra with any pleasure, for they now dreaded Thebes more than Sparta. But instead of helping the latter, they endeavored to prevent either from obtaining the supremacy in Greece, and for this purpose called upon the other states to form a new alliance upon the terms of the peace of Antalcidas. Most of the Peloponnesian states joined this new league; but the Eieans declined, on the ground that they would thus deprive themselves of their sovereignty over the Triphylian cities. Thus even the Peloponnesian cities became independent of Sparta. But this was not all. Never did any state fall with greater rapidity. She not,only lost the dominion over states which she had exercised for centuries; but two new political powers sprung up in the peninsula, which threatened her own independence. The first of these was the Arcadian confederation, established a few months after the battle of Leuctra; the second was the new Messenian state, founded by Epameinondas two years later. It has been related how the Lacedamonians had some years previously broken up Mantinea into its five original villages, and thus degraded it from the rank of a city. The Mantineans, assisted by the Arcadians of 444 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XL. various other quarters, now availed themselves of the weakness of Sparta to rebuild their town. Its restoration suggested the still more extensive scheme of a union of all the Arcadian cities. Hitherto the Arcadians had been a race, and not a nation, having nothing in common but their name. The idea of uniting them into a federal state arose with Lycomedes, one of the leading men of the restored Mantinea. It was expected that the Thebans and Argives would lend their aid to the project, which was well received throughout the greater part of Arcadia, though opposed by Tegea and certain other cities jealous of Mantinea. The Spartans would not tamely allow such a formidable power to spring up at their very doors; and, accordingly, Agesilaus marched with a Lacedemonian army against Mantinea (B. c. 370). But the Mantineans were too prudent to venture on an engagement till reinforced by the Thebans, to whom they had applied for assistance; and as they kept within their walls, Agesilaus, after ravaging their territory, marched back to Sparta. ~ 8. Ever since the battle of Leuctra, Epameinondas had been watching an opportunity for interfering in the affairs of Peloponnesus. But his views were not confined to the establishment of an Arcadian union. He also proposed to restore the exiled Messenians to their territory. That race had formerly lived under a dynasty of their own kings; but for the last three centuries their land had been in the possession of the Lacedemonians, and they had been fugitives upon the face of the earth. The restoration of these exiles, now dispersed in various Hellenic colonies, to their former rights, would plant a bitterly hostile neighbor on the very borders of Laconia. Epameinondas accordingly opened communications with them, and numbers of them flocked to his standard during his march into Arcadia, late in the autumn of 370 B. c. He entered that country shortly after Agesilaus had quitted it, and, in addition to the Arcadians, was immediately joined by the Argives and Eleans. The combined force, including the Thebans, is estimated at seventy thousand men. Epameinondas, who had in reality the chief command, though associated with the other Bccotarchs, brought with him choice bodies of auxiliaries from Phocis, Locris, and other places, and especially the excellent cavalry and peltasts of Thessaly. But it was the Theban bands themselves that were the object of universal admiration; which, under the inspection of Epameinondas, had been brought into the highest state of discipline and efficiency. The Peloponnesian allies, elated at the sight of so large and so well appointed an army, pressed Epameinondas to invade Laconia itself, since his services.were no longer required in Arcadia, in consequence of the retreat of Agesilaus. Although it was now mid-winter, he resolved, after some hesitation, to comply with their request. Dividing his army into four parts, he crossed without any serious opposition the mountains separating Arcadia from Laconia, and reunited his forces at Sellasia. From thence he marched to Amycle, two or three miles below Sparta, B. C. 370.] EPAMEINONDAS INVADES PELOPONNESUS. 445 where he crossed the river Eurotas, and then advanced cautiously towards the capital. Sparta, which was wholly unfortified, was now filled with confusion and alarm. The women, who had never yet seen the face of an enemy, gave vent to their fears in wailing and lamentation. Moreover, the state was in great danger from her own intestine divisions. Not only was she threatened by the customary discontent of the Perioeci and Helots, but the large class of poor and discontented citizens called "Inferiors " looked with anger on the wealth and political power of the "Peers." " But the emergency was pressing, and called for decisive measures. The.Ephors ventured on the step of offering freedom to such Helots as would enlist as hoplites for the defence of the city. The call was responded to by no fewer than six thousand, who now inspired fear by their very numbers; and the alarm was justified and heightened by the fact that a considerable body of Periceci and Helots had actually joined the Thebans. In the midst of these pressing dangers, Sparta was saved by the vigilance and energy of her aged king Agesilaus. He repulsed the cavalry of Epameinondas as they advanced towards the city; and so vigorous were his measures of defence, that Epameinondas abandoned all further attempt upon the city, and proceeded southwards as far as Helos and Gythium on the coast, the latter the port and arsenal of Sparta. After laying waste with fire and sword the valley of the Eurotas, he retraced his steps to the frontiers of Arcadia. ~ 9. Epameinondas now proceeded to carry out the two objects for which his march had been undertaken; namely, the consolidation of the Arcadian confederation, and the establishment of the Messenians as an independent community. In the prosecution of the former of these designs, the mutual jealousy of the various Arcadian cities rendered it necessary that a new one should be founded, which should be regarded as the capital of the confederation. Consequently, a new city was built on the banks of the Helisson, called Megalopolis, and peopled by the inhabitants of forty distinct Arcadian townships. Here a synod of deputies from the towns composing the confederation, called " The Ten Thousand," t was to meet periodically for the despatch of business. A body of Arcadian troops, called Epariti, - was also levied for the purposes of the league. Epameinondas next founded the town of Messene. Its citadel was placed on the summit of Mount Ithome, which had three centuries before been so bravely defended by the Messenians against the Spartans; whilst the town itself was seated lower down upon the western slope of the mountain, but connected with its Acropolis by a continuous wall. The strength of its fortifications was long afterwards a subject of admiration. The territory attached to the new city extended southwards to the Messenian Gulf, and 5 See p. 410. t MuptoL.':'ETrcaprol. 446 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XL. northwards to the borders of Arcadia, comprising some of the most fertile land in Peloponnesus. In order to settle the affairs of Arcadia and Messenia, Epameinondas had remained in Peloponnesus four months after the legal period of his command had expired; for which offence he and the other Boeotarchs were arraigned on his return to Thebes. But they were honorably acquitted, Epameinondas having expressed his willingness to die if the Thebans would record that he was put to death because he had humbled Sparta, and taught his countrymen to conquer her armies. ~ 10. So low had Sparta now sunk, that she was fain to send envoys to beg the assistance of the Athenians. This request was acceded to; and shortly afterwards an alliance was formed between the two states, in which Sparta waived all her claims to superiority and headship. It was agreed that the command both on land and sea should alternate every five days between Athens and Sparta, and that their united forces should occupy Corinth and guard the passes of the Onean Mountains across the isthmus, so as to prevent the Thebans from again invading Peloponnesus. Before this position Epameinondas appeared with his army in the spring of the year B. C. 369; and as all his attempts to draw on a battle proved unavailing, he resolved on forcing his way through the hostile lines. Directing his march just before daybreak against the position occupied by the Lacedemonians, he succeeded in surprising and completely defeating them. I-e was thus enabled to form a junction with his allies in Peloponnesus, whilst the Lacedaemonians and Athenians do not appear to have stirred from their position. Sicyon now deserted Sparta and joined the Theban alliance; but the little town of Phlius remained faithful to the Lacedaemonians, and successfully resisted all the attempts made to capture it.. The Thebans were also defeated in an attempt upon Corinth; and the spirits of the Spartan allies were still further raised by the arrival at Lechaeum of a Syracusan squadron, bringing two thousand mercenary Gauls and Iberians, together with fifty horsemen, as a succor fiom the despot Dionysius. After a while, however, according to the usual desultory nature of Grecian warfare, both armies returned home without having achieved anything of importance. ~ 11. Meanwhile the Arcadians, elate with their newly acquired power, not only believed themselves capable of maintaining their independence without foreign assistance, but thought themselves entitled to share the headship with Thebes, as Athens did with Sparta. Lycomedes, whom we have already mentioned as an able and energetic citizen of Mantinea, was the chief promoter of these ambitious views, and easily flattered the national vanity of his countrymen by appeals to their acknowledged courage and hardihood. They responded to his representations by calling upon him to lead them into active service, appointed him their commander, and chose all the officers whom he nominated. The first exploit of Ly B. C. 368.] THE TEARLESS BATTLE. 447 comedes was to rescue the Argive troops in Epidaurus, where they were in great danger of being cut off by a body of Athenians and Corinthians under Chabrias. He then marched into the southwestern portion of Messenia, where he penetrated as far as Asine, defeated the Spartan commander Geranor, who had drawn out the garrison to oppose him, and destroyed the suburbs of the town. It was probably by this expedition that the annihilation of the Spartan dominion in that quarter was completed. The hardihood and enterprise displayed in it excited everywhere both admiration and alarm; but at Thebes it also occasioned jealousy. At the same time circumstances arose which tended to disunite the Arcadians and Eleans. The former objected to Elis resuming her sovereignty over the towns of Triphylia, which they had thought to regain after the decay of the Spartan supremacy. ~ 12. During the year 368 B. c. the Thebans undertook no expedition into Peloponnesus; but Pelopidas conducted a Theban force into Thessaly for the purpose of protecting Larissa and other cities against the designs of Alexander, who, by the murder of his two brothers, had become despot of Phera3 and Tagus of Thessaly. Alexander was compelled to solicit peace; and Pelopidas, after establishing a defensive league amongst the Thessalian cities, marched into Macedonia, when the regent Ptolemy entered into an alliance with the Thebans. Amongst the hostages given for the observance of this treaty was the youthful Philip, son of Amyntas, afterwards the celebrated king of Macedon, who remained for some years at Thebes. Shortly afterwards, the Lacedemonians, under the command of Archidamus, supported by the reinforcements sent by Dionysius, succeeded in routing the Arcadians with great slaughter, whilst not a single Lacedemonian fell, whence the victory derived the name of " the Tearless Battle." The news of this defeat of the Arcadians was by no means unwelcome at Thebes, as it was calculated to check their presumption, and to show them that they could not dispense with Theban aid. ~ 13. Epameinondas now resolved on another expedition into Peloponnesus, with the view of bringing the Achmeans into the Theban alliance. Until the battle of Leuctra the cities of Achaia had been the dependent allies of Sparta; but since that event they had remained free and neutral. On the approach of Epameinondas they immediately submitted, and consented to be enrolled among the allies of Thebes. That commander, with his usual moderation, did not insist upon any change in their governments. But this was made a subject of accusation against him at home. The Arcadians charged him with having left men in power in the Achaan cities who would join Sparta on the first opportunity. These accusations, being supported by the enemies of Epameinondas, prevailed: his proceedings in Achaia were reversed'; democratic governments were established in the various Achaean cities; and in the ensuing year Epameinondas himself 448 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XL was not re-elected as Boeotarch. But the consequence was, that the exiles thus driven from the various Achsean cities, watching their opportunity, succeeded in effecting counter-revolutions, and afterwards took a decided part with Sparta. ~ 14. The Thebans now resolved to send an embassy to Persia. Ever since the peace of Antalcidas the Great King had become the recognized mediator between the states of Greece; and his fiat seemed indispensable to stamp the claims of that city which pretended to the headship. The recent achievements of Thebes might entitle her to aspire to that position; and at all events the alterations which she had produced in the internal state of Greece, by the establishment of Megalopolis and Messene, seemed to require for "their stability the sanction of a Persian rescript. For this purpose Pelopidas and Ismenias proceeded to the court of Susa, apparently in the years 367- 366 B. C. They were accompanied by other deputies from the allies; and at the same time the Athenians sent Timagoras and Leon to counteract their influence. Pelopidas may probably have pleaded the former services of Thebes towards Persia at the time of the invasion of Greece by Xerxes, as well as in having opposed the expedition of Agesilaus into Asia. But the great fact which influenced the decision of the Persian king would doubtless be, that Thebes was now the strongest state in Greece; for it was evidently easier to exercise Persian ascendency there by her means, than through a weaker power. Pelopidas had therefore only to ask his own terms. A rescript was issued declaring the independence of Messene and Amphipolis; the Athenians were directed to lay up their ships of war in ordinary; Thebes was declared the head of Greece; and the dispute between Elis and Arcadia on the subject of the Triphylian cities was decided in favor of the former power: probably at the instance of Pelopidas, and on account of the estrangement now subsisting between Arcadia and Thebes. The Athenian and Arcadian envoys had attempted in vain to secure better terms for their own states. Antiochus, the representative of Arcadia, on his return to Megalopolis, vented his displeasure by a most depreciatory report t tthe Ten Thousand of all that he had seen during his journey. There were armies, he said, of cooks, confectioners, wine-bearers, and the like, but not a single man fit to fight against Greeks; and even the vaunted golden plane-tree itself, he affirmed, was too small to afford shade for a single grasshopper. The Thebans, on the contrary, made the most of their success. Deputies from the allied cities were summoned to Thebes to hear the royal rescript read; but it was coldly received by all present. Lycomedes, the Arcadian envoy, even protested against the headship claimed for Thebes, and asserted that the allied synod should not be exclusively convened in that city, but in the actual seat of war. After some angry language, the Arcadians withdrew from the assembly, and the other deputies seem to have followed their example. Nor were B. C. 366.] SEIZURE OF PELOPIDAS BY ALEXANDER. 449 the Thebans more successful in an attempt to get the rescript recognized by sending it round to the various cities separately. ~ 15. It was, in all probability, during a mission undertaken by Pelopidas and Ismenias, for the purpose of procuring the acknowledgment of the rescript in Thessaly and the northern parts of Greece, that they were seized and imprisoned by Alexander of Pherm. That tyrant met them at Pharsalus under all the appearances of peace, but took occasion of their being without guards to seize and carry them off to Pherm. Such value was attached to the person of Pelopidas, that his imprisonment induced several of the Thessalian partisans of Thebes to submit to Alexander. Even the Athenians did not disdain to avail themselves of this treacherous breach of public faith, and sent Autocles with a fleet of thirty triremes and one thousand hoplites to the support of Alexander. Meanwhile the justly incensed Thebans had despatched an army of eight thousand hoplites and six hundred cavalry, to recover or avenge their favorite citizen. Unfortunately, however, they were no longer commanded by Epameinondas, who, as we have related, had not been re-elected to the office of Boeotarch. Their present commanders were utterly incompetent. They were beaten and forced to retreat, and the army was in such danger from the active pursuit of the Thessalians and Athenians, that its destruction seemed inevitable. Luckily, however, Epameinondas was serving as a hoplite in the ranks. By the unanimous voice of the troops he was now called to the command, and succeeded in conducting the army safely back to Thebes. Here the unsuccessful Boeotarchs were disgraced, and Epameinondas, whose reputation now shone forth more brilliantly than ever, was restored to the command, and placed at the head of a second Theban army destined to attempt the release of Pelopidas. Directed by his superior skill, the enterprise proved successful. Anxious, however, for the life of his friend, Epameinondas avoided reducing Alexander to such extremities as might induce him to make away with Pelopidas; and thus, though the main object of the expedition was attained, it was. not accompanied with such striking and decisive results as to counterbalance the advantages which Alexander had derived from his treachery. ~ 16. The acquirement of Oropus was, however, some compensation to the Thebans for their losses on the other side of their frontier. The possession of that town, which lay on the borders of Athens and Thebes, had long been a subject of contention between the two states. For many years past it had been in the hands of the Athenians; but it was now seized by a party of exiles favorable to the Theban interest, and immediately occupied by a Theban garrison, which deprived the Athenians of all hopes of retaking it. The Athenians had been displeased at the want of zeal manifested by their Peloponnesian allies in not assisting them in the affair of Oropus; and Lycomedes, who was disgusted with the Theban ascendency, took advantage of this feeling to negotiate an alli57 450 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHIAP. XL. ance between Arcadia and Athens. He procured himself to be appointed ambassador to that city, where he was favorably received, and preliminary arrangements made for an alliance; but on his way home he was assassinated by some Arcadian exiles of-tthe opposite party. The negotiations, however, proceeded. Callistratus was sent from Athens as ambassador to the Arcadian Ten Thousand, whilst Epameinondas hastened from Thebes, to counteract, if possible, the machinations of the eloquent Athenian. But though Epameinondas here displayed his ready talent in debate, he was unsuccessful. The Athenians concluded an alliance with Arcadia, but at the same time without formally breaking with Thebes. ~ 17.- This connection rendered it desirable for Athens to secure an uninterrupted communication with Peloponnesus, and for this purpose she formed the treacherous design of seizing Corinth by surprise. She was not only at peace, but in alliance, with that city; and her auxiliaries were serving in the Corinthian forts and outposts. These, however, were to be the instruments of her treachery. Under pretence of a reinforcement, an armament under the command of Chares was despatched to Corinth. But the designs of Athens had reached the ears of the Corinthians, who refused to admit Chares into their port of Cenchreme; and at the same time dismissed the other Athenians in their service, yet with all the appearance of good-will. Though thus saved for the moment, this step had placed the Corinthians in a state of isolation; and they therefore resolved to open negotiations with Thebes for a general peace. Their overtures were well received by the Thebans. A meeting of the allies was then convened at Sparta, in which the Corinthians set forth the necessity of their case, and endeavored to induce the rest of the confederates to follow their example in concluding a peace with Thebes, the terms of which were to be the independence of each individual city, including Messene; but without recognizing the headship of Thebes, or entering into any formal alliance with her. On this basis a peace was accordingly concluded between Thebes, Corinth, Phlius, Epidaurus, and perhaps one or two other cities; but as the Thebans made the independence of Messene an indispensable condition, Sparta resolutely refused to join it, and the larger states of Greece, Thebes, Athens, Sparta, Arcadia, and others, still remained at war. ~ 18. Athens availed herself of the distracted condition of Greece to extend her maritime empire. She had no longer occasion to dread any opposition from Sparta; and she accordingly sent a powerful fleet into the JEgean under the command of Timotheus, who succeeded in conquering Samos, and in obtaining possession of Potidaea, Pydna, Methone, and it is said even of Olynthus itself. But in the midst of his success, he was menaced by the unexpected appearance of a Theban fleet. Epameinondas, jealous of the maritime empire of Athens, had persuaded his countrymen to try their strength on a new element. Sparta, he said, was 13. C. 363.] DEATH OF PELOPIDAS. 451 humbled; it was not she, but Athens, who was now their prominent enemy; and he exhorted them not to rest content till they had transferred to the Theban Cadmea the Propylaea which adorned the acropolis of Athens. A fleet of one hundred triremes was constructed, and he himself appointed to the command; whilst envoys were sent to Rhodes, Chios, and Byzantium, to induce them to break with Athens. It was with this fleet that Epameinondas appeared in the Hellespont in B. c. 363. He seems, however, to have effected little,. —at least nothing splendid is recorded, -and this expedition proved both the first and last of the Thebans by sea. ~ 19. It was in the same year that his friend Pelopidas led an'expedition into Thessaly against Alexander of Pherge. Strong complaints of the tyranny of that despot arrived at Thebes, and Pelopidas, who probably also burned to avenge his private wrongs, prevailed upon the Thebans to send him into Thessaly to punish the tyrant. The forces he had collected were far inferior in number to those of Alexander; and when informed at Pharsalus, that the tyrant was advancing towards him with a great army, he remarked that it was so much the better, since there would be more for him to conquer. The battle was fought on the hills of Cynoscephale; the troops of Alexander were routed; and Pelopidas, observing his hated enemy endeavoring to rally them, was seized with such a transport of rage, that, regardless of his duties as a general, he rushed impetuously forwards and challenged him to single combat. Alexander shrunk back within the ranks of his guards, followed impetuously by Pelopidas, who was soon slain, fighting with desperate bravery. Although the army of Alexander was defeated with severe loss, the news of the death of Pelopidas deprived the Thebans and their Thessalian allies of all the joy which they would otherwise have felt at their victory. The Thebans, however, subsequently avenged the death of their general by sending a fresh force of seven thousand hoplites into Thessaly; with which they compelled Alexander to relinquish all his dependencies in that country, to confine himself to the actual limits of Pherte, and to swear allegiance to Thebes. The Thebans thus acquired greater influence than they had ever before enjoyed in Northern Greece. ~ 20. Meantime a war had been carried on between Elis and Arcadia. It has been already remarked, on more than one occasion, that the Eleans claimed the sovereignty of the Triphylian towns, in which they were backed by Sparta, but opposed by the Arcadians. The Eleans also laid claim to a tract of hilly ground lying north of the Alpheus, containing Lasion and some other towns which had been included in the Arcadian league. They seized Lasion by surprise, but were driven out again by the Arcadians, who afterwards took formal possession of the sacred district of Olympia. Other acts of hostility had occurred between the Eleans and Arcadians, and the former had called in the assistance of the Lacedaemonians, but without any decisive result. In 364 B. C. the Arcadians 452 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XL. were still in possession of Olympia; and as the Olympic festival occurred in that year, they availed themselves of their situation to transfer the presidency of the games from the Eleans to the Pisatans, who had long laid claim to it. It was anticipated that the Eleans would assert their rights by force; and the Arcadians prepared to resist any attempt of that kind, not only by a large army of their own, but also by summoning their allies. The festival had already commenced, many of the games had been performed, and the wrestling match was going on, when bodies of the Eleans, and their allies, the Achseans, were observed approaching the sacred ground. The Arcadians immediately rushed to arms, and formed on the bank of the little river Cladeus, to prevent their approach. The Eleans advanced with the utmost boldness, but were finally repulsed and obliged to retire. On this occasion the temple of the Olympian deity himself was converted into a fortress, and the majestic Zeus of Pheidias looked down with calm dignity upon those who were contending for the honor of celebrating his festival. The Eleans subsequently avenged themselves by striking the 104th Olympiad out of the list of the festivals. ~ 2i. Not content with this insult to the Eleans, the Arcadians carried their insolence to the extent of sacrilege, by despoiling the rich temples of Olympia. But this act ripened the seeds of disunion which were already springing up among the Arcadians themselves. The assembly of Mantinea passed an act renouncing all participation in the sacred spoil, and though the Ten Thousand attempted at first to seize the leading men at Mantinea as traitors to the Arcadian league, the views of the Mantineans respecting the employment of the sacred treasures were so evidently just, that even their opponents were at length shamed into them. Accordingly a peace was concluded with the Eleans, who were restored to all their rights with regard to Olympia. Since the Spartans had supported the Eleans, the Mantineans were naturally brought into close connection with the former; whilst the rest of the Arcadians, and especially the Tegeans,, favored Thebes. Tegea thus became the centre of Theban influence in Arcadia, and was occupied by a Theban harmost and a garrison of three hundred Boeotians. The Thebans viewed the success of the Mantineans and Spartan party with suspicion; and when the peace, recently concluded, was sworn to at- Tegea, they seized the principal members of the Spartan party. The news of this treacherous act was received with great indignation at 3lantinea. Heralds were immediately despatched by the Mantineans to demand the release of their own citizens. Hereupon the Theban harmost released the prisoners, protesting that he had been misled by a false report of the approach of a Spartan force, prepared to co-operate witl a party within the walls in order to seize Tegea. The Mantineans and their party, however, were not satisfied with this apology, but sent envoys to Thebes, demanding the punishment of the harmost. Epameinondas, incensed that a peace had been concluded without the sanction of Thebes, justified the harmost's conduct, and bade the envoys B. C. 362.] BATTLE OF MANTINEA. 453 carry back word that he would himself soon lead an army into Arcadia. The Mantineans and their partisans immediately made preparations for war, and sent ambassadors to request the assistance of the Lacedaemonians. ~ 22. These events occurred in 362 B. c. and in the summer of that year Epameinondas undertook his fourth and last invasion of Peloponnesus. The proceedings in Arcadia, which threatened to undo all that he had done in that country, and ultimately to lead to an alliance between it and Sparta, were the motives for his expedition. His army was nu merous, and included many troops fiom Northern Greece. He marched without opposition to Tegea, where he was joined by such of the Arcadians and other Peloponnesians as were favorable to the Theban cause. The other party concentrated themselves at Mantinea, whither the aged Agesilaus was marching with a Lacedtemonian force, whilst Athenian succors were also expected. Epameinondas, whose movements were characterized by decision and rapidity, resolved to surprise Sparta in the absence of Agesilaus by a sudden march upon it. Providentially, however, a swift Cretan runner overtook Agesilaus in time to warn him of the danger. He got back to Sparta early enough to anticipate the attempt of Epameinondas; and though that commander actually entered the city, yet he found the streets and houses so well defended, that he was fain to retire. The alarm caused by this diversion had however occasioned the recall of the Lacedemonian army destined for Mantinea, and Epameinondas took advantage of that circumstance to attempt the surprise of that place. Fortunately for the Mantineans, the Athenian cavalry had reached their city an hour or two before the arrival of Epameinondas, and, though hungry and tired with their march, succeeded in repulsing the Theban and Thessalian horse. Epameinondas now fell back upon Tegea. ~ 23. Thus both these well-planned manoeuvres were accidentally frustrated. As the enemy had now succeeded in concentrating their forces at Mantinea, it was clear that a general action was unavoidable. The plain between Tegea and Mantinea, though two thousand feet above the level of the sea, is shut in on every side by lofty mountains. In length it is about ten miles, whilst its breadth varies from one to eight. About four miles south of Mantinea it contracts to its narrowest dimensions, and here the Lacedaemonians and Mantineans took up their position. Epameinondas, in marching northwards from Tegea, inclined to the left, so as to skirt the base of Mount Maenalus, which bounds the plain on the west. On arriving in sight of the hostile lines, Epameinondas ordered his troops to halt and ground arms. Hence the Lacedemonians inferred that he did not mean to offer battle that day; and so strong was this persuasion, that they left their ranks, whilst some of the horsemen took off their breastplates and unbridled their horses. But meanwhile Epameinondas was making his dispositions for an attack. His plan very much resembled that of the battle of Leuctra. His chief reliance was upon the Boeotian troops, whom he had formed into a column of extraordinary depth. 454 HISTORY OF GiEECE. [CHAP. XL. The enemy at length became aware of his intentions, and hurried into their ranks; but they were in no condition to receive the onset of the Theban hoplites, who bore down all before them. The Mantineans and Lacedaemonians turned and fled, and the rest followed their example. The day was won; but Epameinondas, who fought in the foremost ranks, fell pierced with a mortal wound. His fall occasioned such consternation among his troops, that, although the enemy were in full flight, they did not know how to use their advantage, and remained rooted to the spot. Hence both sides subsequently claimed the victory and erected trophies, though it was the Lacedcmonians who sent a herald to request the bodies of the slain. Epameinondas was carried off the field with the spear-head still fixed in his breast. Having satisfied himself that his shield was safe, and that the victory was gained, he inquired for lolaidas and Daiphantus, whom he intended to succeed him in the command. Being informed that both were slain: "Then," he observed, "you must make peace." After this he ordered the spear-head to be withdrawn; when the gush of blood which followed soon terminated his life. Thus died this truly great man; and never was there one whose title to that epithet has been less disputed. Antiquity is unanimous in his praise, and some of the first men of Greece subsequently took him for their model. With him the commanding influence of Thebes began and ended. His last advice was adopted, and peace was concluded probably before the Theban army quitted Peloponnesus. Its basis was a recognition of the status quo,- to leave everything as it was, to acknowledge the Arcadian constitution and the independence of Messene. Sparta alone refused to join it on account of the last article, but she was not supported by her allies. ~ 24. Agesilaus had lived to see the empire of Sparta extinguished by her hated rival. Thus curiously had the prophecy been fulfilled, which warned Sparta of the evils awaiting her under a "lame sovereignty." But Agesilaus had not yet abandoned all hope; and he and his son Archidamus now directed their views towards the east, as a quarter from which Spartan power might still be resuscitated. At the age of eighty the indomitable old man proceeded with a force of one thousand hoplites to assist Tachos, king of Egypt, in his revolt against Persia. The age and insignificant appearance of the veteran warrior made him, however, a butt for Egyptian ridicule, and he was not intrusted with the supreme command. But in spite of this affront he accompanied the Egyptian army on an expedition into Phoenicia. During the absence of Tachos, Nectanebis rose against him, and, being supported by Agesilaus, obtained the throne of Egypt. Nectanebis rewarded this service with a present of two hundred and thirty talents. But Agesilaus did not live to carry this money home to Sparta. He died on his road to Cyrene, where he had intended to embark for Greece. His body was embalmed in wax, and splendidly buried in Sparta. He was succeeded by his son Archidamus III. B.C. 407.] REVOLUTIONS AT SYRACUSE. 455 Bust of Plato. CHAPTER XLI. HISTORY OF THE SICILIAN GREEKS FROM THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ATHENIAN ARMAMENT TO THE DEATH OF TIMOLEON. ~ 1. Revolutions at Syracuse. Dionysius the Elder seizes the Despotism. ~ 2. His Successes. ~ 3. His Poetical Compositions. Plato visits Syracuse. ~ 4. Death of Dionysius. His Character. Story of Damocles. ~ 5. Accession of the Younger Dionysius. Second Visit of Plato. Banishment of Dion. Third Visit of Plato. ~ 6. Dion expels Dionysius, and becomes Master of Syracuse. ~ 7. Assassination of Dion. ~ 8. Revolutions at Syracuse. The Syracusansinvoke the Aidof Corinth. ~ 9. Character of Timoleon. ~ 10. His Successes. Surrender of Dionysius and Conquest of Syracuse. ~ 11. Moderation of Timoleon. He remodels the Constitution. 6 12. Defeats the Carthaginians at the Crimesus. ~ 13. Deposes the Sicilian Despots. ~ 14. Retires into a Private Station. His great Popularity and Death. ~ 1. The affairs of the Sicilian Greeks, an important branch of the Hellenic race, deserve a passing notice. After the destruction of the Athenian armament in B. c. 413, the constitution of Syracuse was rendered still more democratical by a new code of laws, which Diodes, one of the principal citizens, took the chief part in drawing up. Shortly afterwards, in B. c. 410, I-ermocrates, the leader of the aristocratical party, who had greatly distinguished himself during the Athenian invasion, was banished; and Diocles thus obtained for a time the undisputed direction of the Syracusan government. But two years afterwards Diodes was in his turn banished in consequence of his want of success in the war against the Carthaginians. Meantime Hermocrates had returned to Sicily and collected a considerable force at Selinus, from whence he carried on hostilities against the Carthaginians and their allies with considerable success, and thus secured a strong party at Syracuse in his favor. Relying upon this circumstance, he endeavored to effect his restoration by force, but was slain in an attempt to enter Syracuse by night, B. c. 407. This state of things opened the way for a still more daring and successful aspirant. 456 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLI This was the celebrated Dionysius, the son of a person also named Hermocrates. Dionysius was of humble origin, but of good education, and began life as a clerk in a public office. He had taken an active part in the enterprise of Hermocrates just mentioned, in which he had been wounded and given out for dead, -'a circumstance by which he escaped a sentence of banishment. After the death of Hermocrates, the domestic discontents of the Syracusans were still further fomented by another invasion of the Carthaginians in 406 B. c., during which they took and plundered Agrigentum. Dionysius, who now headed the party of Hermocrates, taking advantage of the prevailing discontent, in an artful address to the assembly attributed the fall of Agrigentum to the incompetence of the Syracusan generals, and succeeded in procuring their deposition, and the appointment of others in their stead, of whom he himself was one. His advent to power was immediately followed by the restoration of all the exiles of his party. His next step was to get rid of his colleagues by accusing them of treachery and corruption, and to procure his own sole appointment with unlimited and irresponsible authority. The remaining steps towards a despotism were easy. Under pretence that his life had been attempted, he obtained a body-guard of one thousand men for his protection; by whose means he made himself master of Syracuse, and openly seized upon the supreme power, B. c. 405. ~ 2. Dionysius first directed his arms against Naxos, Catanla, and Leontini, which successively fell into his power, either by force or treachery; but it was not till B. C. 397 that he considered himself sufficiently strong to declare war against Carthage. This war was conducted with varying success. In 395 -4 Syracuse itself seemed on the point of falling into the hands of the Carthaginians. The Carthaginian fleet, after obtaining a great naval victory at Catana, sailed into the harbor of Syracuse upwards of two hundred strong. At the same time their army established itself in the neighborhood of the city, and Imilcon, the Carthaginian general, took up his head-quarters in the temple of Olympian Zeus, within about a mile and a half of the walls, and even occupied and plundered the suburb of Achradina. The situation of Dionysius now seemed desperate. It is even said that he was on the point of giving up all for lost and making his escape; from which he was deterred by one of his friends observing, "that sovereign power was an honorable winding-sheet. " A pestilence which shortly afterwards broke out in the Carthaginian camp proved the salvation of Syracuse. The Carthaginians fell by thousands, whilst the Syracusans themselves remained unharmed. Dionysius made a successful attack both by sea and land on their weakened forces; and Imilcon was glad to secure a disgraceful retreat by purchasing the connivance of Dionysius for the sum of three hundred talents. After this period the career of Dionysius was marked by great, though not altogether unvarying success. In 393 the Carthaginians under Nagon B. C. 387.] DIONYSIUS THE ELDER. 457 once more threatened Syracuse, but were again defeated, and compelled to sue for peace. Dionysius willingly concluded a treaty with them, since he was anxious to pursue his schemes of conquest in the interior of Sicily, and in Magna Grsecia. By the year 384 he had reduced the greater part of the former, and a considerable portion of the latter country. He had now arrived at his highest pitch of power, and had raised Syracuse to be one of the chief Grecian states, second in influence, if indeed second, to Sparta alone. Under his sway Syracuse was strengthened and embellished with new fortifications, docks, arsenals, and other public buildings, and became superior even to Athens in extent and population. Dionysius took every opportunity of extending his relations with foreign powers, and strengthening himself by alliances. He cultivated the friendship of the Lacedsmonians; and among the last acts of his reign was the sending of an auxiliary force in two successive years to support them against the increasing power of the Thebans. ~ 3. Dionysius was a warm patron of literature, and was anxious to gain distinction by his literary compositions. In the midst of his political and military cares he devoted himself assiduously to poetry, and not only caused his poems to be publicly recited at the Olympic games, but repeatedly contended for the prize of tragedy at Athens. Here he several times obtained the second and third prizes; and finally, just before his death, bore away the first prize at the Lenean festival, with a play called "The Ransom of Hector." In accordance with the same spirit we find him seeking the society of men distinguished in literature and philosophy. Plato, who visited Sicily about the year 389 from a curiosity to see Mount LEtna, was introduced to Dionysius by Dion. The high moral tone of Plato's conversation did not however prove so attractive to Dionysius as it had done to Dion; and the philosopher was not only dismissed with aversion and dislike, but even, it seems, through the machinations of Dionysius, seized, bound, and sold for a slave in the island of }Egina. He was, however, repurchased by Anniceris of Cyrene, and sent back to Athens. ~ 4. Dionysius died in B. c. 387, after a reign of thirty-eight years. Love of power was his ruling passion: the desire of literary fame his second. In his manner of life he was moderate and temperate; but he was a stranger to pity, and never suffered it to check him in the pursuit of his ends. Although by no means deficient in personal courage, the suspicious temper of Dionysius rendered him the miserable prey of uneasiness in the midst of all his greatness, and drove him to take precautions for the security of his life even against his nearest friends and relatives. The miseries of absolute, but unlegalized and unpopular power, cannot be more strongly illustrated, than by the celebrated story of the despot of Syracuse and his flatterer Damocles. The latter having extolled the power and majesty, the abundant possessions and magnificent 58 458 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLI. palaces, which rendered his master the happiest of men, Dionysius invited Damocles to try what his happiness really was, and then ordered him to be placed on a golden couch, decked with coverings of the richest and most magnificent embroidery: The sideboards groaned under the weight of gold and silver plate; pages of the choicest beauty waited on him; his head was crowned with garlands and reeked with unguents; the smell of burning odors filled all the apartment, and the table was covered with the most exquisite viands. Damocles now thought himself supremely happy; but in the midst of his enjoyments he happened to cast his eyes towards the ceiling, and beheld a naked cimeter suspended over his head by a single hair. At this sight his satisfaction vanished in an instant, and he entreated to be released from the enjoyment of pleasures which could only be tasted at the risk of life.* Such was the tyrant's practical illustration of his own envied condition. ~ 5. Dionysius was succeeded by his eldest son, commonly called the Younger Dionysius, who was about twenty-five years of age at the time of his father's death. The elder Dionysius had married two wives at the same time. One of these was a Locrian woman named Doris; the other, Aristomache, was a Syracusan, the daughter of Hipparinus, one of the most active partisans of Dionysius, and sister to Dion, whom we have already had occasion to mention as the friend of Plato. The marriage with Doris proved immediately fruitful, and by her he had three children, of whom the eldest, Dionysius, was his successor. But Aristomache was long childless, much to the chagrin of Dionysius, who, attributing the circumstance to the spells and incantations of the mother of Doris, caused the latter to be put to death. At length Aristomache also bore him children, two sons and two daughters. Dionysius having died without appointing any successor, Dion at first attempted to secure the inheritance for his youthful nephews, but found himself obliged to relinquish all such claims in favor of the son of Doris. The inexperience of the young Dionysius, however, inclined him to listen to the counsels of Dion, who had always enjoyed the respect and confidence of his father, and who now became the confidential adviser of the son. Plato's lofty and ideal conceptions of civil government had sunk deep into the mind of Dion, and the influence which he now enioyed over the youthful sovereign made him long to seize the opportunity for realizing them in practice. To expel the Carthaginians from Sicily, to civilize and Hellenize the semi-barbarous Siceliot tribes, and to convert Syracuse from a despotism into a constitutional monarchy governed by equal laws,- these were the projects which floated in the imagination of D " Destrictus ensis cui super impia Cervice pendet, non Siculm dapes Dulcem elaborabunt saporem; Non avium cithareque cantus Somnum reducent." - Hon. Carm. iii. 1. 17 B. C. 360.] DIONYSIUS THE YOUNGER. 459 Dion, and which he endeavored to instil into Dionysius. With this view he persuaded -Dionysius to invite Plato again to Syracuse, nothing doubting that his eloquence and conversational powers would work an irnmense effect upon the youthful monarch. But Plato was now growing old, and had already experienced the danger of attempting to instruct despots in the sublime, but somewhat visionary, theories of perfect government. Nevertheless, after something of a struggle, he sacrificed his scruples and apprehensions to the pressing instances of his friend Dion, and the warm invitation of young Dionysius himself. The philosopher was received with the greatest honor. His illustrious pupil immediately began to take lessons in geometry; superfluous dishes disappeared from the royal table; and Dionysius even betrayed some symptoms of a wish to mitigate the former rigors of the despotism. But now his old courtiers took the alarm; nor does Plato himself appear to have used with skill the opportunity for a practical application of his doctrines which chance had thrown in his way. It was whispered to Dionysius that the whole was a deeplaid scheme on the part of Dion for the purpose of effecting a revolution and placing his own nephews on the throne. These accusations had the desired effect on the mind of Dionysius; and an intercepted letter from Dion to the Carthaginian generals, in which he invited them to make their communications through him, afforded Dionysius a pretext for getting rid of him. In the course of a conversation he enticed Dion down to tlie very brink of the harbor, when, suddenly producing the intercepted letter, and charging him to his face with treason, he forced him to enter a vessel that was in readiness to convey him to Italy. The situation of Plato was now very critical. Many advised Dionysius to put him to death; but the despot refused to listen to these suggestions. He even invited Plato to his palace, and treated him with the greatest respect; but he cautiously abstained from any more lessons in a philosophy which he had now been taught to regard with suspicion, as designed only to deprive him of his power. Plato was at length suffered to escape from the kind of honorable captivity in which he was held; but at the pressing invitation of Dionysius he again reluctantly returned to Syracuse in the hope of prevailing upon the tyrant to recall Dion from banishment. In this, however, he proved unsuccessful; nay, Dionysius even proceeded to measures of violence against his former guide and minister. First, the remittances which Dion, who was now residing at Athens, was in the habit of receiVing, were stopped, and at length all his large property was confiscated and sold, and the proceeds distributed among the personal friends of Dionysius. Plato beheld this injustice towards his friend with grief and mortification, but without the power of preventing it; and it was with difficulty that he himself at length obtained permission to return to Greece. ~ 6. This event took place early in 360 B. c.; and at the Olympic festival of that year Plato met his friend Dion, and acquainted him with the 460 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLI. measures which had been taken against him by Dionysius. The natural indignation of Dion was further inflamed by other acts of the Syracusan tyrant. Dionysius compelled Arete, the wife of Dion, and his own half. sister, to marry one of his friends, named Timocrates. He also acted in the most brutal manner towards Dion's youthful son. Thus wounded in the tenderest points, Dion resolved on revenge. The popularity which he had acquired, not only at Athens but at Sparta and in the Peloponnesus, and especially among those who were attached to Plato and his teaching, rendered many disposed to serve him; whilst the natural desire of a great part of the Syracusan population to recover their liberty, as well as the contempt into which Dionysius had fallen from his drunken and dissipated habits, promised success to any enterprise against him, though undertaken with ever so small a force. After two or three years spent in preparations, Dion, in the summer of 357 B.C., landed on the coast of Sicily with only eight hundred men. The enterprise was favored by an imprudent step on the part of Dionysius, who had recently sailed with a fleet of eighty vessels on an expedition to the coasts of Italy. By a rapid night-march Dion appeared unexpectedly before Syracuse; at dawn his troops were beheld from the walls in the act of crossing the little river Anapus, first crowning their heads with garlands, and sacrificing to the rising sun. Their advance resembled rather the solemn procession of a festival than the march of a hostile army. The inhabitants, filled with joy and enthusiasm, crowded through the gates to welcome Dion as their deliverer, who proclaimed by sound of trumpet that he was come for the purpose of putting down the despotism of Dionysius, and of liberating not only the Syracusans, but all the Sicilian Greeks. Dion easily rendered himself master of the whole of Syracuse, with the exception of Ortygia, which was still held by the partisans of Dionysius. Such was the state in which that tyrant found his capital on his return from his Italian expedition. Dionysius at first attempted to recover possession of the city by force, but having been defeated in a sea-fight, he determined to quit Syracuse, and sailed away to Locri in Italy, leaving his son Apollocrates in charge of the citadel (B. c. 356). After his departure, dissensions broke out among the besiegers, and Dion was deposed from the command; but the disasters of the Syracusans, arising from the incapacity of their new leaders, soon led to his recall, and to his appointment as sole general with uncontrolled authority. Not long after, Apollocrates was compelled by famine to surrender the citadel. ~ 7. Dion was now master of Syracuse, and in a condition to carry out all those exalted notions of political life which he had sought to instil into the mind of Dionysius. He seems to have contempleted some political changes, probably the establishment of a kind of limited and constitutional monarchy, after the fashion of Sparta, combined perhaps with the oligar B. C. 410.] TIMOLEON INVADES SICILY. 461 chical institutions of Corinth. But this scheme of a constitution existed only in his imagination: his immediate and practical acts were tyrannical, and were rendered still more unpopular by his overbearing manners. The Syracusans looked for republican institutions, - for the dismantling of the fortifications of Ortygia, the stronghold of despotism, - and for the destruction of the splendid mausoleum, which had been erected there to the memory of the elder Dionysius, by way of pledge that the despotism was really extinct and overthrown. But Dion did nothing of all this. Nay, he even caused Heracleides, who had proposed the destruction of Ortygia, to be privately assassinated. This act increased to the highest pitch the unpopularity under which he already labored. One of his bosom friends - the Athenian Callippus- seized the opportunity to mount to power by his murder, and, having gained over some of his guards, caused him to be assassinated in his own house. This event took place in 353, about three years after the expulsion of the Dionysian dynasty. ~ 8. Callippus contrived to retain the sovereign power about a twelve month. He was ultimately driven out by Hipparinus, the nephew of Dion (son of the elder Dionysius by Aristomache), who reigned but two years. Nysous, another of Dion's nephews, subsequently obtained the supreme authority, and was in possession of it when Dionysius presented himself before Syracuse with a fleet, and became master of the city by treachery, about B. C. 346. Dionysius, however, was not able to re-establish himself firmly in his former power. Most of the other cities of Sicily had shaken off the yoke of Syracuse, and were governed by petty despots: one of these, Hicetas, who had established himself at Leontini, afforded a rallyingpoint to the disaffected Syracusans, with whom he joined in making war on Syracuse. Meantime, the Carthaginians prepared to take advantage of the distracted condition of Sicily. In the extremity of their sufferings, several of the Syracusan exiles appealed for aid to Corinth, their mother city. The application was granted, and Timoleon was appointed to command an expedition destined for the relief of Syracuse. ~ 9. Timoleon was one of those models of uncompromising patriotism which we sometimes meet with in the history of Greece, and still more frequently in that of Rome, but which, under some of its phases, we in modern times are at a loss whether to approve or to condemn. Whein a man's country was comprised in a small state or a single city, the feeling of patriotism grew stronger in proportion as it was more condensed; and to this circumstance, as well as to the humanizing effects of Christianity, may perhaps be chiefly attributed the difference between ancient and modern views respecting the duty of a patriot. Timoleon was distinguished for gentleness as well as for courage, but towards traitors and despots his hatred was intense. He had once saved the life of his elder brother Timophanes in battle at the imminent peril of his own; but when Timophanes, availing himself of his situation as commander of the 462 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLI. garrison in the Acrocorinthos, endeavored to enslave his country, Timoleon did not hesitate to consent to his death. Twice before had Timoleon pleaded with his brother, beseeching him not to destroy the liberties of his country; but when Timophanes turned a deaf ear to these appeals, Timoleon connived at the action of his friends who put him to death, whilst he himself, bathed il a flood of tears, stood a little way aloof. The action was not without its censurers even among the Corinthians themselves: but these were chiefly the adherents of the despotic party, whilst the great body of the citizens regarded the conduct of Timoleon with love and admiration. In the mind of Timoleon, however, their approving verdict was far more than outweighed by the reproaches and execrations of his mother. The stings of blood-guiltiness and the maternal curse sunk so deep into his soul, that he endeavored to starve himself to death, and he was only diverted from his purpose by the active interference of his friends. But for many years nothing could prevail upon him to return to public life. He buried himself in the country far from the haunts of men, dragging out the life of a self-condemned criminal and exile, till a chance voice in the Corinthian assembly nominated him as the leader of the expedition against Dionysius. ~ 10. Roused by the nature of the cause, and the exhortations of his friends, Timoleon resolved to accept the post thus offered to him. The prospect however was discouraging. Before he sailed, a message arrived from Sicily to countermand the expedition, Hicetas and the anti-Dionysian party having entered into secret negotiations with the Carthaginians, who refused to allow any Corinthians to land in Sicily. But the responses of the Delphic oracle and the omens of the gods were propitious; especially the circumstance that, in the temple of Delphi itself, a wreath of victory ell from one of the statues upon the head of Timoleon. The fleet of Timoleon consisted of only ten triremes, but by an adroit stratagem he contrived to elude the Carthaginian fleet of twenty sail, and arrived safely at Tauromenium in Sicily, where he was heartily welcomed by the inhabitants. IHicetas, meanwhile, had made great progress in the war against Dionysius. He had defeated him in battle, and had made himself master of the whole of Syracuse with the exception of Ortygia, in which he kept the despot closely besieged. Hicetas, learning that Timoleon was advancing to occupy Adranum, hastened thither to anticipate him, but was defeated with heavy loss. Timoleon now marched upon Syracuse. Dionysius, who appears to have abandoned all hope of ultimate success, judged it better to treat with Timoleon than with Hicetas, and accordingly surrendered the citadel into the hands of the Corinthian leader on condition of being allowed to depart in safety to Corinth, B. c. 343. Dionysius passed the remainder of his life at Corinth, where he is said to have displayed some remnants of his former luxury by the fastidious taste which he showed in the choice of his viands, unguents, dress, and furni B. C. 343.] SUCCESS OF TIMOLEON. 463 ture; whilst his literary inclinations manifested themselves in teaching the public singers and actors, and in opening a school for boys. Hicetas still had possession of Achradina; * and, since he saw that his selfish plans were on the point of failure, he now called in the aid of the whole Carthaginian force for the reduction of Ortygia. The harbor of Syracuse was occupied by one hundred and fifty Carthaginian ships, whilst an army of sixty thousand Carthaginians was admitted within the walls of Syracuse. But while Hicetas and Magon, the Carthaginian general, marched with a great part of their force to attack the town of Catana, whence the garrison of Ortygia was supplied with provisions, Neon, the Corinthian commander in Ortygia, watching a favorable opportunity, made a sally, defeated the blockading force on all sides, and even obtained possession of the suburb of Achradina. This unexpected success raised the suspicions of Magon, who, fearing that Hicetas meant to betray him, resolved to quit the island, and sailed away with all his forces to Carthage. Notwithstanding the defection of his powerful ally, Hicetas attempted to retain possession of that part of Syracuse which was still in his power, but he was unable to resist the attack of Timoleon, and was obliged to abandon the city and return to Leontini. ~ 11. Thus was the apparently hopeless enterprise of Timoleon crowned with entire success in an incredibly short space of time. It now remained for him to achieve a still greater victory, - a victory over himself. He was master of Syracuse and of Ortygia, with all its means and resources for establishing a despotism in his own favor; but his first public act was to destroy those impregnable fortifications which would have rendered such a usurpation feasible. All the Syracusans were invited to assist in demolishing the walls of Ortygia, and the monument of the elder Dionysius, the record of their former slavery; and on the ruins of these dreaded works Timoleon caused courts of justice to be erected, at once the pledge and instruments of equal laws and future freedom. Much, however, remained to be done to restore Syracuse to its former prosperity, and Sicily in general to a state of liberty and order. With this view all exiles were invited to return; whilst Corinth was intreated to co-operate in the work of restoration, and to become a second time the founder of Syracuse. Two leading Corinthian citizens were accordingly despatched to assist Timoleon and the Syracusans in recasting their constitution, which was remodelled on the basis of the laws of Diocles.t To remedy the poverty into which Syracuse had been plunged by its misfortunes, new colonists were invited to enroll themselves; and thus a body of ten thousand citizens, including the Syracusan exiles, was collected at Corinth and transported to Syracuse. But larger bodies of Greeks soon poured in from Italy, so that altogether the immigrants are reckoned at sixty thousand.' See plan of Syracuse, p. 316. t See p. 455. 464 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLI. ~ 12. Meantime, Timoleon was not idle. He attacked Hicetas in Leontini, and compelled him to capitulate. But the submission of Hicetas was a mere feint in order to gain time for calling in the Carthaginians; who, highly indignant at the precipitate retreat of Magon, were anxious to wipe out the disgrace by some signal act of vengeance. An army of seventy thousand men was accordingly disembarked at Lilybheum. To meet this formidable force, Timoleon could raise only about twelve thousand men; and on his march against the enemy this small force was still further reduced by the defection of about one thousand of his mercenaries. With the remainder Timoleon marched westwards into the Carthaginian province. As he was approaching the Crimesus, or Crimissus, a small river which flows into the Hypsa on the southwestern coast of Sicily, he was saluted by one of those omens which so frequently either raised the courage of the Greeks or sunk them into despondency. The army was met by several mules bearing loads of parsley, the usual ornament of tombs. Perceiving the alarm of his soldiers, Timoleon, with great presence of mind, gave the omen another and a favorable direction. Crowns of parsley were also employed to reward the victors in the Isthmian games; and Timoleon, seizing a handful and making a wreath for his own head, exclaimed, "Behold our Corinthian symbol of victory; its unexpected appearance here affords an unequivocal omen of success." These timely words reanimated his men, who now followed him with alacrity. In the battle which ensued, Timoleon appeared to have been again favored by the gods. In the hottest of the fight a terrific storm of hail, rain, thunder, and lightning beat right in the faces of the Carthaginians, and by the confusion which it created enabled the Greeks to put them to the rout. The same cause occasioned the death of thousands in their retreat, for the river Crimesus, swollen by the sudden rain, carried away a great part of those who attempted to recross it. Ten thousand Carthaginians are said to have perished in the battle, while fifteen thousand more were made prisoners. The remainder fled without stopping to Lilybseum, whence they immediately embarked for Carthage, not without a dread that the anger of the gods would still pursue them at sea. ~ 13. The victory of the Crimesus brought Timoleon such an accession of power and influence, that he now resolved to carry into execution his project of expelling all the despots from Sicily. The Carthaginians sent another expedition to assist these despots, but they were unable to effect anything, and were glad to conclude a treaty with Timoleon in B. c. 338. While the war still continued with the Carthaginians, Timoleon obtained possession of the town of Leontini, as well as of the person of Hicetas, whom he caused to be put to death. Mamercus, despot of Catana, was next deposed and executed by order of the public assembly at Syracuse, and the other despots in Sicily soon shared his fate. ~ 14. Having thus effected the liberation of the island, Timoleon imme B. C. 336.] DEATH OF TIMOLEON. 465 diately laid down his power. All the reward he received for his great services was a house in Syracuse, and some landed property in the neighborhood of the city. He now sent for his family from Corinth, and became a Syracusan citizen. He continued, however, to retain, though in a private station, the greatest influence in the state. During the latter part of his life, though he was totally deprived of sight, yet, when important affairs were discussed in the assembly, it was customary to send for Timoleon, who was drawn in a car into the middle of the theatre, amid the shouts and affectionate greetings of the assembled citizens. When the tumult of his reception had subsided, he listened patiently to the debate. The opinion which he pronounced was usually ratified by the vote of the assembly; and he then left the theatre amidst the same cheers which had greeted his arrival. A truly gratifying position! and one which must have conferred on Timoleon more real happiness than the possession of the most absolute power could ever have bestowed. In this happy and honored condition he breathed his last, in B. c. 336, a few years after the battle of Crimesus. He was splendidly interred at the public cost, whilst the tears of the whole Syracusan population followed him to the grave. 59 466 View of Delphi and Mount Parnassus. BOO K VI. THE MACEDONIAN S.UPREMACY. B. C. 359 - 146. CHAPTER XLII. FROM THE ACCESSION OF PHILIP TO THE END OF THE SACRED WAR. $ 1. State of Greece. $ 2. Description of Macedonia. g 3. Kings of Macedon., 4. Character of Philip. S 5. He subdues the Peonians and Illyrian's. ~ 6. His Military Discipline. $ 7. Capture of Amphipolis, and Foundation of Philippi. / ~'8. The Social War. ~ 9. Commencement of the Sacred War. The Phocians seize Delphi. ~ 10. Successes of the Phocians. 11. Philip interferes in the War. Conquers Thessaly. ~ 12. Philip in Thrace. Demosthenes. ~ 13. The Olynthian War. $ 14. Character of Phocion. Fall of Olynthus. ~ 15. Progress of the Sacred War. Embassy to Philip. ~ 16. Conquest of Phocis by Philip. Sentence of the Amphictyonic Council on the Phocians. ~ 1. The internal dissensions of Greece, which have formed the subject of the two preceding books, are now about to produce their natural fruits; and in the present book we shall have to relate the downfall of her independence, and her subjugation by a foreign power. We have first of all seen Sparta exercising a sort of empire of opinion over the other Grecian states, and looked up to by them with willing obedience as their tradi B. C. 359.] HISTORY OF MACEDONIA. 467 tional and chosen leader. After the Persian wars Athens contests the palm with her, and, through the confederacy of Delos, becomes virtually the head of Greece in material power, if not recognized as such by thle public opinion of the nation. But Sparta and most of the other Grecian states, from jealousy of the Athenian supremacy, league together for rthe purpose of crushing Athens. After a long struggle, Athens falls into the power of her enemies; and Sparta becomes the ruler of Greece. The power which she has thus acquired, she exercises with harshness, cruelty, and corruption; her own allies desert her; and in little more thlanl thirty years after the battle of JEgospotami she is in her turn, not only deprived of the supremacy, but even stripped of a considerable portion of hler own ancient territory, chiefly through the power and influence of Thebes. For a little while Thebes becomes the predominant state; but she owes her position solely to the abilities and genius of Eparmeinondas, and! after his death sinks down to her former level. The state of exhaustion into which Greece had been thrown by these protracted intestine dissensions is ablready shown by her having condescended to throw herself at the feet of Persia, and to make her hereditary enemy the arbiter of her quarrels. Athens alone, during the comparative state of tranquillity af-brded her through the mutual disputes of her neighbors, has succeeded in regaining some portion of her former strength, and becomes the leading power in the struggle which now threatens to overwhelm the whole of Greece. This new danger comes from an obscure Northern state, hitLerto overlooked and despised, and considered as altogether barbarous, and without the pale of Grecian civilization. ~ 2. Macedonia — for that is the country of which we are speakinghad various limits at different times. Properly, however, it may be regarded as separated from Thessaly on the south by the Cambunian I ountains; from Illyria on the west by the great mountain chain called Scardus and Bernus, and which, under the name of Pindus, also separates Thessaly from Epeirus; from Maesia on the north by the mountains called Orbelus and Scoinius; and from Thrace on the east by the river Strymon. It is drained by three rivers of considerable size, the Axius, the Lydias, andc the Haliacmon; each of which has its separate valley, -formed by two mountain ranges running southeastwards from the mountains that divide Illyria and Macedonia. All these rivers discharge themselves into the Thermaic Gulf. The origin of the people who inhabited this tract of country has been much disputed. The Greeks themselves looked upon them as barbarians, that is, as not of Hellenic origin. They were probably an Illyrian people, and the similarity of the manners and customs, as well as of the languages, so far as they are known, of the early Macedonians and Illyrians, seems to establish the identity of the races. ~ 3. But though the Macedonians were not Greeks, their sovereigns claimed to be descended from an Hellenic race, namely, that of Temenus 468 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLII. of Argos; and it is said that Alexander I. proved his Argive descent previously to contending at the Olympic games. Perdiccas is commonly regarded as the founder of the monarchy; of the history of which, however, little is known till the reign of Amyntas I., his fifth successor, who was contemporary with the Peisistratidm at Athens. Under Amyntas, who submitted to the satrap Megabyzus, Macedonia became subject to Persia, and remained so till after the battle of Plataea. The reigns of- the succeeding sovereigns down to Philip II. present little that is remarkable, with the exception of that of Archelaus (n. c. 413). This monarch ef fected much for Macedonia by improving the condition of the army, by erecting fortresses to check the incursions of his barbarous neighbors, by constructing roads, and by endeavoring to diffuse among his subjects a taste for literature and art. He transferred his residence from ~Egm to Pella, which thus became the capital, and he employed Zeuxis to adorn his palace there with paintings. He entertained many literary men at his court; such as Agathon and Euripides, the latter of whom ended his'days at Pella. Archelaus was assassinated in B. C. 399, and the crown devolved upon Amyntas II., a representative of the ancient line. Amyntas left three sons: Alexander II., who was assassinated by Ptolemy Alorites; Perdiccas III., who recovered his brother's throne by slaying Ptolemy, and who fell in battle against the Illyrians; and lastly, the celebrated Philip, of whom we have now to speak. ~ 4. It has been already mentioned that the youthful Philip was one of the hostages delivered to the Thebans as security for the peace effected by Pelopidas. His residence at Thebes gave him some tincture of Grecian philosophy and literature. It seems probable that he made the personal acquaintance of Plato; and he undoubtedly acquired that command over the Greek language which put him on a level with the best orators of the day. But the most important lesson which he learned at Thebes was the art of war, with all the improved tactics introduced by Epameinondas. At the time of Philip's residence, moreover, Thebes was the centre of political interest, and he must accordingly have had opportunities to become intimately acquainted with the views and policy of the various Grecian powers. The genius and character of Philip were well calculated to derive advantage from these opportunities. He had great natural' acuteness and sagacity, so as to perceive at a glance the men to be employed, and the opportunities to be improved. His boundless ambition was seconded by an iron will,-which no danger could daunt and no repulse dishearten; and when he had once formed a project, he pursued it with untiring and resistless energy. His handsome person, spontaneous eloquence, and apparently frank deportment were of great assistance to him in the prosecution of his schemes; whilst under these seducing, qualities lurked no inconvenient morality to stand between his desires and their gratification. Corruption was his instrument as frequently as force; and B. C. 359.] ACCESSION OF PHILIP. 469 it was one of his favorite boasts, that he had taken more towns with silver than with iron.* Yet when force was necessary no man could wield it better; for with the skill of a general he united a robustness of constitution which enabled him to bear all the hardships of a campaign as well as the meanest soldier. ~ 5. Such was the man who at the age of twenty-three assumed the government of Macedonia (B. c. 359). It had probably been intrusted to him when his brother Perdiccas set out on the expedition against the I1lyrians in which he fell; and after that event he became the guardian of his brother's infant son. This minority induced two pretenders to claim the crown: Pausanias, who was supported by the king of Thrace; and Argeus, whose claims were backed by the Athenians with a force of three thousand hoplites, because he had engaged to put them in possession of Amphipolis. But by his promises and address Philip contrived to propitiate both the king of Thrace and the Athenians; to the latter of whom he made the same offers as Argeus had done. The two pretenders, being thus deprived of their supporters, were easily got rid of, and Philip was left at liberty to turn his arms against the Pseonians and Illyrians, who were threatening Macedonia with invasion. The former people were easily subdued, and Philip then marched against the Illyrians with a force of ten thousand men. He was met by Bardylis, the aged chief ofq4 Illyria, with an army of about the same strength. This was the first important engagement fought by Philip. He displayed in it the military skill which he had acquired in the school of Epameinondas, and, like that commander, gained the victory by concentrating his forces on one point of the enemy's line. Nearly two thirds of the Illyrian army were destroyed; and they were consequently compelled to submit unconditionally, and to place in the hands of Philip the principal mountain passes between the two countries. It was after these victories that Philip seems to have deposed his nephew, and to have assumed the crown of Macedon. This revolution, however, was unattended with harshness or cruelty. Philip continued to bring up his nephew at court, and ultimately gave him one of his daughters in marriage. ~ 6. It was natural that success acquired with so much ease should prompt a youthful and ambitious monarch to further undertakings. In anticipation of future conquests he devoted the greatest attention to the training and discipline of his army. It was in his Illyrian wars that he is said to have introduced the far-famed Macedonian phalanx. But perhaps the greatest of his military innovations was the establishment of a standing army. We have already noticed certain bodies of this description at - " Diffidit urbium Portas vir Macedo et subruit nemulos Reges muneribus." - HoR. Ca7'r. iii. 16. 13. 470 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLII Argos and Thebes. Philip, however, seems to have retained on foot the ten thousand men which he had employed against the Illyrians; and this standing force was gradually enlarged to double the number. Among the soldiersc discipline was preserved by the severest punishments. Thus we hear of a youth of noble birth being scourged for leaving the ran'ks to get a draught of wine at a tavern; and of another, who, though a favorite at court, was put to death for a similar offence, aggravated by a breach of positive orders. ~ 7. Philip's views were now turned towards the eastern frontiers of his dominions, where his interests clashed with those' of the Athenians. A few years before, the Athenians had made various unavailing attempts to obtain possession of Amphipolis, once the jewel of their empire, but which they had never recovered since its capture by Brasidas in the eighth year of the Peloponnesian war. Its situation at the mouth of the Strymon rendered it also valuble to Macedonia, not only as a commercial Fort, but as opening a passage into Thrace. The Olynthians were likewise anxious to enroll Amphipolis as a member of their confederacy, and accordingly proposed to the Athenians to form an alliance for the purpose of defending Amphipolis against their mutual enemy. An alliance between these two powerful states would have proved an insurmountable obstacle to Philip's views; and it was therefore absolutely necessary to prevent this coalition. Here we have the first instance of Philip's skill and duplicity in negotiation. By secretly promising the Athenians that. he would put Amphipolis into their hands, if they would give him possession of Pydna, he induced them. to reject the overtures of the Olynthians; and by ceding to the latter the town of Anthemus, he bought off their opposition. He now laid siege to Ainphipolis, which, being thus left unaided, fell into his hands (B. c. 358).:He then forthwith marched against Pydna, which surrendered to him; but on the ground tbhat it was not the Athenians who had put him in possession of this town, he refused to give up Amphipolis to them. Philip had now just reason to dread the enmity of the Athenians, and accordingly it was his policy to court the favor of the Olynthians, and to prevent them. from renewing their negotiations with the Athenians. In order to separate them more effectually, he assisted the Olynthians in recovering Potidaea, which had formerly belonged to their confederacy, but was now in the hands of the Athenians. On the capture of the town, he handed it over to the Olynthians; but at the same time he treated the Athenian garrison with kindness, and allowed them to return home in safety. Plutarch relates that the capture of Potidaea was accompanied with three other fortunate events in the life of Philip; namely, the prize gained by his chariot at the Olympic games, a victory of his general, Parmenio, over the Illyrians, and the birth of his son Alexander. These events happened in B. C. 356. B. C. 358.] THE SOCIAL WAR. 471 Philip now crossed the Strymon, on the left bank of which lay Pangsus, a range of mountains abounding in gold mines. Pangaeus properly belonged to the Thracians, but had sometines been in tlie possession of the Athenians, and sometimes of the Thasians; and at this time was held by the latter people. Philip conquered the district, and founded there a new town called Philippi, on the site of the ancient Thasian town of Crenides. By improved methods of working the mines he made them yield an annual revenue of one thousand talents, nearly ~ 250,000. But it was chiefly as a military post that Philippi was valuable to him, and as a means of pushing his conquests farther eastwards; for which, however, he was not at present prepared. ~ 8. Meanwhile, Athens was engaged in a war with her allies, which has been called the. Social War; and which was, perhaps, the reason why she was obliged to look quietly on whilst Philip was thus aggrandizing himself at her expense. This war broke out in B.c. 358. The chief causes of it seem to have been the contributions levied upon the. allies by the Atlenian generals,, and the re-establishment of the system of cleru — chies, which the Athenians had formally renounced when they were beginning to.. reconstruct their empire. However this may be, a coalition was formed against Athens, of which either Byzantium or Rhodes was the head, and which was soon joined by Chios, Cos, and other places. The insurgents were also assisted by the Carian prince,' Mauslus. The first step taken by the Athenians in order to quell this insurrection was to attack Chios with sixty triremes, under Chares and Chabrias. The expedition proved unsuccessful. Chabrias was slain whilst gallantly leading the way into the harbor of Chios, and the armament was altogether defeated. We next find Timotheus and Iphicrates employed in this war in conjunction with Chares: but the details recorded of it are obscure, and sometimes contradictory. Chares got rid of his two colleagues on a charge of failing to support him in a battle. On this indictment they were subsequently tried, when Iphicrates was acquitted; but Timotheus was condemned, and retired to Chalcis, where he soon afterwards died. Athens thus lost her best commanders; and Chares, having obtained the sole command, entered the service of the satrap Artabazus, who had revolted against Artaxerxes, and was rewarded with a large sum, which enabled him to pay his men. He did not succeed, however, in reducing the refractory allies to obedience; and when Artaxerxes threatened to support them with a fleet of three hundred ships; the Athenians were obliged to consent to a disadvantageous peace, which secured the independence of the more important allies (B.c. 355). The Athenians only succeeded in retaining some of the smaller towns and islands, and their revenue from them was reduced to the moderate sum of forty-five talents. ~ 9. The Social War tended still further to exhaust the Grecian states, and thus pave the way for Philip's progress to the supremacy. Another 472 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLII. war, which had been raging during the same time, produced the same result even to a greater extent. This was the Sacred War, which broke out between Thebes and Phocis in the same year as the Social War (B. c. 357). An ill feeling had long subsisted between those two countries. It was with reluctance that the Phocians had joined the Theban alliance. In the last campaign of Epameinondas in the Peloponnesus, they positively refused their assistance; and after the death of that leader, they seem to have committed some'actual hostilities against Boeotia. The Thebans now availed themselves of the influence which they possessed in the Amphictyonic Council to take vengeance upon the Phocians, and accordingly induced this body to impose a heavy fine upon the Phocians, because they had cultivated a portion of the Cirrhkean plain, which, after the first sacred war, had been consecrated to the Delphian god,* and was to lie waste for ever.4 The' Phocians pleaded that the payment of the fine would ruin them; but instead of listening to their remonstrances, the Amphictyons doubled the amount, and threatened, in case of their continued refusal, to reduce them to the condition of serfs. Thus driven to desperation, the Phocians resolved to complete the sacrilege with. which they had been branded, by seizing the very temple of Delphi itself, to the possession of which they asserted an ancient right, founded on a verse in Homer, in which the "rocky Pytho" was reckoned among the Phocian towns.t If they succeeded in seizing the temple, not only would all its treasures be at their command, but they would even be able to dictate the responses of the oracle. The leader and counsellor of this enterprise was Philomelus, who, with a force of no more than two thousand men, surprised and took Delphi. The Locrians of Amphissa, who came to the rescue of the temple, were defeated by him with great loss. Being now master of the temple, Philomelus destroyed the records containing the sentence of the Amphictyons, and appealed to all Greece against its injustice. At first, however, he carefully abstained from touching the sacred treasure; but he levied large sums on the private property of the Delphians, He then fortified the temple afresh; and, having hired more mercenaries, which swelled his force to five thousand men, invaded the Locrian territory. After some petty skirmishes, the Locrians were finally defeated in a pitched battle; whereupon they applied to the Thebans for assistance. ~ 10. Meanwhile, Philomelus, being master of the oracle, extorted a decree from the priestess sanctioning all that he had. done; and sent envoys to the principal Grecian cities, including Thebes, to vindicate his conduct, and to declare that the treasures of Delphi were untouched. The envoys succeeded in obtaining the alliance of Sparta and Athens, but from Thebes they were repulsed with threats. There, however, the 4 See p. 48. f Iliad, ii. 517. B. C. 352.] INTERFERENCE OF PHILIP. 473 application of the Locrians met with a ready acquiesence; and messages were sent, by the Thebans to stir up the Thessalians and all the Northern tribes which belonged to the Amphictyonic Council. The Boeriansnnow saw themselves threatened by a powerful combination, whilst from Athens, weakened by the Social War, and from Sparta, hampered by Megalopolis and Miessene, they could expect but little aid. In this emergency Philomelus threw off the scruples which he had hitherto assumed,.anld announced that the sacred treasures should be converted into a fund for the payment of mercenaries. Crowds of adventurers now flocked on all sides to his standard, and he soon found himself at the head of ten thousand men. With these he again invaded Locris, and defeated the Thebans and Thessalians. Subsequently, however, the'Thebans obtained large reinforcements, and, having become manifestly the strongest, put to death all Phocian prisoners, as being guilty'f sacrilege. The war thus assumed the most barbarous character, and the Phocians, by way of self-preservation, were obliged to retaliate. The details of the struggle are not accurately known, but it appears that a great battle was at length fought, in which the Phocians were defeated and Philomelus killed.' The victory, however, does not seem to have been sufficiently decisive to enable the Thebans to obtain possession of Delphi, and they subsequently returned home. Onomarchus, who succeeded his brother Philomelus in the command, carried on the war with vigor and success. He reduced both the Western and Eastern Locrians, as well as the little state of Doris. He then invaded Boeotia, captured Orchomenus, and laid siege to Chaeronea; which, however, the Thebans compelled him to raise, and drove him back with some-loss into Phocis. ~ 11. Such was the state of the Sacred War when Philip first began to interfere in it. It was only, however, through his previous conquests inl Thessaly that he was enabled to do so. Even before he could enter that country he had to reduce the town of Meth5nle which lay between him and the Thessalian frontier; and it was at the siege of this place that he lost his eye by an arrow. After the capture of Meth5ne, his road lay open into Thessaly; and at the invitation of the Aleuade of Larissa, who were disgusted with the tyranny exercised by the successors of Alexander of Pherme, he undertook an expedition against that state. Alexander himself had been despatched through the machinations of his wife Thebe, who caused him to be murdered by her three half-brothers. These subsequently ascended the throne, and exercised a tyranny as harsh as that of their predecessor. Phera,,it seems, had shown some disposition to assist the Phocians; and when Onomarchus heard that Philip was marching against it, lie sent his brother, Phayjllus, with a force of seven thousand men, to its assistance. Philip defeated Phayllus, but was subsequently routed and compelled to retreat by Onomarchus in person. The latter 60 474 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLII. then turned his arms against Coronea, which he reduced; but the news that Philip had re-entered Thessaly, at the head of twenty thousand men, soon compelled him again to march thither. Philip now assumed the character of a champion of the Delphic god, and made his soldiers wear wreaths of laurel, plucked in the groves of Tempe. Onomarchus was at the head of about an equal number of men: but in the encounter which ensued, apparently near the Gulf of Pagase, he was slain, and his army totally defeated (B. C. 352). This victory made Philip master of Thessaly. He now directed his'march southwards with the view of subduing the Phocians; but upon reaching Thermopylae, he found the pass guarded by a strong Athenian force, and was compelled, or considered it more prudent, to retreat. ~ 12. After his return from Thessaly, Philip's views were directed towards Thrace and the Chersonese; but he first carried his arms so far into the interior of the country, that the Athenians could learn nothing ofihis movements. It was at this juncture that Deniosthenes stepped forwards as the proclaimed opponent of Philip, and delivered the first of those celebrated orations which from their subject have been called " the Philip. pics." Since the establishment of democracy at Athens, a certain degree of ability in public speaking was indispensable to a public man. Hitherto, however, the leading men of Athens had, like Cimon and Pericles, been statesmen and warriors, as well as orators. But. the great progress made in the art of rhetoric, as well as in the art of war, since the improved tactics introduced by Epameinondas, had now almost completely separated the professions of the orator. and the soldier. Phocion, the contemporary of Demosthenes, was the last who combined the provinces of the two. The ears of the Athenians had become fastidious. They delighted in displays of oratorical skill; and it was this period which produced those speakers who have been called by way of eminence " the Attic orators." Demosthenes, the most famous of them all, was born in B. c. 82 - 381. Having lost his father at the early age of seven, his guardiais abused their trust, and defrauded him of the greater part of his paternal inheritance. This misfortune, however, proved one of the causes which tended to make him an orator. Demosthenes, as he advanced towards manhood, perceived with indignation the conduct of his guardians, for which he resolved to make them answerable when the proper opportunity should arrive, by accusing them himself before the dicastery. The weakness of his bodily frame, which unfitted him for the exercises of the gymnasium, caused him to devote himself with all the more ardor to intellectual pursuits. He placed himself under the tuition of Issus, who then enjoyed a high reputation as an advocate; and when he had acquired a competent degree of skill, he pleaded his cause against his guardians, and appears to have recovered a considerable portion of his estate. This success encouraged him to speak in the public assembly; but his first attempt proved a failure B. C. 352.1 DEMOSTHENES. -FIRST., PHILIPPIC. 475 and he retired from the bema amidst the hldotings and 1augihter of the citizens. The more judicious and candid among his auditors perceived, however, marks of genius in his speech, and rightly attributed his failure to timidity and want. of due preparation. Eunomus, ai aged citizen, who met him wandering about the Peirxeus in a state of dejection at his ill-success, bade him take courage and persevere. " Your mann ler of speaking," said he, " very much resembles that of Pericles; you Ifail only through want of confidence. You are too much disheartened by the tumult of a popular assembly, and you do not take any pains even to acquire that strength of body which is requisite for the beoma." Struck and encouraged by these remarks, Demosthenes withdrew awhile from public life, and devoted himself perseveringly to remedy his defects. They were such as might be lessened, if not removed, by practice, and consisted chiefly of a weak voice, imperfect articulation, and ungraceful and inappropriate action. He derived much assistance from Satyrus, the actor, who exercised him in reciting passages from Sophocles and Euripides. He studied the best rhetorical treatises and orations, and is said to have copied the work of Thucydides with his own hand no fewer than eight times. He shut himself up for two or three months together in a subterranean chamber, i order to practise composition and declamation. It may also be well supposed that he devoted no inconsiderable part of his attention to the laws cf Athens and the politics of Greece. His perseverance was crowned wjith success; and he, who on the first attempt had descended from the bema amid the ridicule of the crowd, became at last the most perfect orator the world has ever seen. ~ 13. Demosthenes had established himself as a public speaker before the period which we have now reached; but it is chiefly in connection with Philip that we are to view him as a statesman as well as an orator, Philip had shown his ambition by the conquest of Thessaly, azcn by the part he had taken in the Sacred War; and Demosthenes now began to regard him as the enemy of the liberties of Athens and of Greece. In his first " Philippic," Demosthenes tried to rouse his countrymen to energetic measures against this formidable enemy; but his warmnins and exhortations produced little effect, for the Athenians were no longer distinguished by the same spirit of enterprise which had characterized them in the days of their supremacy. It is true they were roused to momentary action, towards the end of n. c. -352, by the news that Philip was besieging the fortress of Hereaum on the Propontis; but the armament which they voted, upon receiving the news, did not sail till the autumn of B. c. 351, and then on a reduced scale, under the command of Charidemus. For the next two years no important step was taken to curb the growing power of Philip; and it was the danger of Olynthus which first induced the Athenians to prosecute the war with a little more energy. In 350 B. c., Philip having captured a town in Chalcidice, Olynthus 476 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLII. began to tremble for her own safety, and sent envoys to Athens to crave assistance. Olynthus was still at the head of thirty-two Greek towns, and the confederacy was a sort of counterpoise to the power of Philip. It was on this occasion that Demosthenes delivered his three Olynthiac orations, in which he warmly advocated an alliance with Olynthus. ~ 14. Demosthenes was opposed by a strong party, with which Phocion commonly acted. Phocion is one of the most singular and original characters in Grecian history. Naturally simple,, upright, and benevolent, his manners were nevertheless often rendered repulsive by a tinge of misananthropy and cynicism. He viewed the multitude and their affairs with a, scorn which he was at no pains to disguise; receiving their anger with indifference, and their praises with contempt. When a response from Delphi iannounced to the Athenians that, though they were themselves unanimous, there was one man who dissented from them, Phocion stepped forwards, and said: " Do not trouble yourselves to seek for this refractory citizen;- I am he, and I like nothing that you do." On another occasion, when one of his speeches was received with general applause, he turned round to his friends, and incquired: " Have I said anything bad?" Phocion's whole art of oratory consisted in condensing his speeches into the smallest possible compass, without any attention to the smoothness of his periods or the grace of his language. Yet their terse and homely vigor was often heightened by a sort of dry humor, which produced more effect than the most studied efforts of oratory. "What, at your meditations, Phocion?" inquired a friend, who perceived him wrapt up in thought. "Yes," he replied, " I am considering whether I can shorten what I have to say to the Athenians." His known probity also gave him weight with the assembly. He was the only statesman of whom Demosthenes stood in awe; who was accustomed to say, when Phocion rose, "Here comes the pruner of my periods." But Phocion's desponding views, and his mistrust of the Athenian people, made him an ill statesman at a period which demanded the most active patriotism. He doubtless injured his country by contributing to check the more enlarged and patriotic views of -Demosthenes; and though his own conduct was pure and disinterested, he unintentionally threw his weight on the side of those who, like Demades and others, were actuated by the basest motives. This division of opinion rendered the operations of the Athenians for the aid of the Olynthians languid and desultory. Town after toivn of the confederacy fell before Philip; and in B. c. 348, or early in 347, he laid siege to Olynthus itself. The city was vigorously defended; but Philip at length gained admission through the treachery of Lasthenes and Euthycrates, two of the leading men, when he razed it to the ground and sold the inhabitants into slavery. The whole of the Chalcidian peninsula thus became a Macedonian province. Philip celebrated his triumph at Dium, a town on the borders of Thessaly; where, on the occasion of a'festival to B. C. 347.] EMBASSY TO PHILIP. 477 the Muses, instituted by Archelaus, he amused the people with banquets, games, and theatrical entertainments. ~ 15. The prospects of Athens now became alarming. Her possessionsfi the Chersonese were threatened, as well as the freedom of the Greek towns upon the Hellespont. At this juncture Demosthenes endeavored to persuade the Athenians to organize a confederacy among the Grecian states for the purpose of arresting a power which seemed to threaten the liberty of all; and in this he was seconded by some of those politicians who usually opposed him. But though steps were taken towards this object, the attempt entirely failed. The attention of the Athenians was next directed towards a reconciliation with Thebes. The progress of the Sacred War, to which we must now briefly revert, seemed favorable to such a project. After the death of Onomarchus, his brother Phayllus had assumed the command of the Phocians; and as the sacred treasure was still unexhausted, he succeeded in obtaining large reinforcements of troops. The Spartans sent one thousand men; the Achaans two thousand; the Athenians five thousand foot and four hundred horse under Nausicles. With these forces Phajllus undertook a successful invasion of Boeotia; and afterwards attacked the Epicnemidian Locrians, and took all their towns except Naryae. But in the course of the year Phayllus died, and was succeeded in the conduct of the war by Mnaseas, guardian of Phalecus, the youthful son of Onomarchus. MInaseas, however, was soon slain, and Phalhecus himself then assumed the command. Under him the war was continued between the Phocians and Thebans, but without any decisive success on either side. The treasures of Delphi were nearly exhausted, and on the other hand the war was becoming every year more and more burdensome to the Thebans. It was at this juncture that the Athenians, as before hinted, were contemplating a peace with Thebes; nor did it seem improbable that one might be concluded, not only between those two cities, but among the Grecian states generally. It seems to have been this aspect of affairs that induced Philip to make several indirect overtures to the Athenians in the summer of B. c. 347. In spite of Subsidies from Delphi the war had been very onerous to them, and they received these advcances with joy, yet not without suspicion, as they were quite unable to divine Philip's motives for making them. On the motion of Philocrates, however, it was decreed that ten ambassadors should be despatched to Philip's court. Philocrates himself was at the head of them, and among the rest were the rival orators, Demosthenes and sEschines, and the actor Aristodemus. We have; however, no particulars on which we can rely respecting this embassy. All that we can gather in relation to it is from the personal recriminations of Demosthenes and LEschines, and we can only infer on the whole that it was a miserable failure. Philip seems to have bribed some of the ambassadors, and to have cajoled the rest by his hospitable banquets and his winning 478 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLII and condescending manners. Nothing decisive was done respecting Amphipolis or the Phocians; and as far as we can learn, the whole fruits of the embassy were sone'vague promises on the part of Philip to respect the Athenian possessions in Thrace. Soon after the return of Philocrates and his colleagues, Anltipater, Parmenio, and Eurylochus, three of Philip's most distinguished generals and statesmen, came on a mission to Athens, Nwhere they were entertained by Demosthenes. The basis of a treaty of peace and alliance seems now to have been arranged, in which Philip dictated his own terms. Another embassy, consisting probably of the former ten, was appointed to procure the ratification of this treaty by Philip; and on the news that he was invading the dominions of Kersobleptes,* they were directed to hasten their departure, and to seek that monarch in whatever q-.-trter he might be. With this view they proceeded to the port of Oreus in Eubcea; but instead of following the advice of Demosthenes, and embarking for the Hellespont, which they might have reached in two or three days, they wasted some time at that place, and then proceeded by a circuitous route to Pella: hence they did not reach that city till upwards of three weeks after quitting Athens. Here they met ambassadors from other states concerned in the progress of the Sacred War, as Thebes, Phocis, Sparta, and Thessaly; but Philip was still in Thrace, and they had to wait a month for his return. Even when he arrived at Pella, he delayed the final ratification of the treaty, and persuaded the ambassadors to accompany him on his march to Pherae in Thessaly, under pretence that he desired their mediation between the Pharsalians and Halus; though his real motive undoubtedly was to gain time for invading Phocis. He at length swore to the treaty in Pheras ) but the Phocians were expressly excluded from it. ~ 16. Scarcely had the Athenian ambassadors returned home, when Philip began his march towards Thermopylae. Demosthenes, on his return, protested against the acts of his colleagues, and his representations had such an effect, that the ambassadors were not honored with the usual vote of thanks. The main charge which he brought against his colleagues, and against 2Eschines in particular, was that of having deluded the people with false hopes respecting Philip's views towards Athenis. But the opposite party had possession of the popular ear. Not only was nothing done for the Phocians, but a decree was even passed to convey the thanks of Athens to Philip, and to declare that, unless Delphi was. delivered up by the Phocians to the Amphictyons,.the Athenians would help to enforce that step. The ambassadors were again directed to carry this decree to Philip; but Demosthenes was so disgusted with it that he refused to go, and IEschines also declined, on the plea of ill-health. The Phocians now lay at the mercy of Philip. As soon as the king - IKersobleptes was king of Thrace, and an ally of the Athenians.- ED. B. C. 346.] END OF THE SACRED WAR. 479 had passed the straits of Thermopylah, Phalecus secured his own safety by concluding a treaty with Philip, by which he was permitted to retire into the Peloponnesus with eight thousand mercenaries. When Philip entered Phocis, all its towns surrendered unconditionally at his approach. Philip then occupied Delphi, where he assembled the Amphictyons to pronounce sentence upon those who had been concerned in the sacrilege committed there. The Council decreed that all the cities of Phocis, except Abme, should be destroyed, and their inhabitants scattered into villages containing not more than fifty houses each; and that they should replace by yearly payments the treasures of the temple, estimated at the enormous sum of ten thousand talents, or nearly twio millions and a half sterling. Sparta was deprived of her share in the Amphictyonic privileges; the two votes in the Council possessed by the Phocians were transferred to the kings of M3acedonia; and Philip was to share with the'hebans and Thessalians the honor of presiding at the Pythian games. These were no slight privileges gained by Philip. A seat in the Amphictyonic Council recognized him at once as a Grecian power, and would afford him occasion to interfere in the affairs of Greece. Thebes recovered the 1places which she had lost in Boeotia. Such was the termination of the Sacred War (B. c. 346). 480 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIII. The Plain of Chseronea. CHAPTER XLIII. FROM THE END OF THE SACRED WAR TO THE DEATH OF PHILIP. 1. Results of the Sacred War. ~ 2. Macedonian Embassy to Athens. Second Philippic ~ 3. Philip's Expedition into Thrace. ~ 4. Third Philippic. Progress of Philip. Siege of Perinthus. ~ 5. Phocion's Successes in Euboea. ~ 6. Declaration of War between Athens and Macedon. Phocion compels Philip to evacuate the Chersonese. ~ 7. Charge of Sacrilege against the Amphissians. ~ 8. Philip appointed General by the Amphictyons, to conduct the War against Amphissa. ~ 9. He seizes Elatea. League between Athens and Thebes. ~ 10. Battle of Chetronea. ~ 11. Philip's extravagant Joy for his Victory. ~ 12. Congress at Corinth. Philip's Progress through the Peloponnesus. ~ 13. Philip's Domestic Qu;arrels. ~14. Preparations for the Persian Expedition. ~ 15. Assassination of Philip. ~ 1. The result of the Sacred War rendered Macedon the leading state in Greece. Philip at once acquired by it military glory, a reputation for piety, and an accession of power. His ambitious designs were now too plain to be mistaken. The eyes of the blindest among the Athenians were at last opened; the promoters of the peace which had been concluded with Philip incurred the hatred and suspicion of the people; whilst on the other hand Demosthenes rose higher than ever in public favor. They showed their resentment against Philip by omitting to send their usual deputation to the Pythian games at which the Macedonian monarch presided. It was either this omission, or the unwillingness of the Athenians to aclknowledge Philip as a member of the Amphictyonic league, that induced him to send an embassy to Athens for the purpose of settling a point which neither his dignity nor his interest would permit to lie in abeyance. It was generally felt that the question was one of peace or war. Yet the B. C. 344.] SECOND PHILIPPIC. 481 Athenians were so enraged against Philip, that those who were for maintaining peace with him could hardly obtain a hearing in, the assembly. On this occasion we have the remarkable spectacle of Eschines and Demosthenes speaking on the same side, though from widely different motives. The former adhered to his usual corrupt policy in favor of Philip; whilst Demosthenes, in supporting him, was actuated only by views of the most sagacious and disinterested policy. These he detailed and enforced in his Oration On the Peace, in which he persuaded the Athenians not to expose themselves at that time to the risk of a war with Philip, supported, as he would be, by the greater part of Greece. ~ 2. Philip had now succeeded to the position lately occupied by Thebes, and in virtue of it prepared to exercise the same influence which that state had previously enjoyed in the Peloponnesus. He declared himself the protector of the Messenians, and the friend and ally of the Megalopolitans and Argives. Demosthenes was sent into Peloponnesus to endeavor to counteract Philip's proceedings in the peninsula; but his mission led to no result. During-his stay there, he had openly accused Philip of perfidy; and that monarch now sent an embassy to Athens, accompanied by envoys from Argos and Messen6, to complain of so grievous an accusation. It was on this occasion that the Second Philippic of Demosthenes was delivered, which was chiefly directed against the orators who supported Philip (B. c. 344). In the following year a prosecution was instituted against }Eschines and Philocrates for "malversation in their embassy" to the Macedonian court. The latter, conscious of his guilt, evaded the trial by flight; and JEschines, who defended himself with great skill, was acquitted by only thirty votes.* ~ 3. Meanwhile, in B. C. 344, Philip overran and ravaged Illyria; mand subsequently employed himself in regulating the affairs of Thessaly, where he occupied Pheras with a permanent -3acedonian garrison. He was likewise busied with preparations for the still vaster projects which he contemplated, and which embraced an attack upon the Athenian colonies, as well as upon the Persian empire. For this purpose he had organized a considerable naval force, as well as an army; and in the spring of 342 B. C. he set out on an expedition against Thrace. His progress soon appeared to menace the Chersonese and the Athenian possessions in that quarter; and at length the Athenian troops under Diopeithes came into actual collision with the Macedonians, whilst the former were engaged in defending their allies from the encroachments of the Cardians, who were under the protection of Philip. Diopeithes likewise invaded that part of Thrace which had submitted to Philip, and, besides committing several acts of violence, seized a Macedonian envoy, who had come to treat for ~ See the speeches of Demosthenes and E'schines 7rept rapaarppeoa3efas. 61 482 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIII the release of some prisoners, and refused to dismiss him without a considerable ransom. ~ 4. Philip despatched a letter of complaint and remonstrance to the Athenians on the subject of these attacks, which gave occasion to the speech of Demosthenes On the Chersonese (B. c. 341), in which he directed the attention of the people from the more immediate, subject of the character and proceedings of Diopeithes to the more general question of the best means of resisting Philip. This oration was soon followed by the Third Philippic, a still more vigorous call to action. Our accounts of Philip's movements at this time are scanty and uncertain. Diopeithes was retained in the command of the Athenian troops; and Philip must have continued gradually to push his conquests, since in this year (341) we find him beginning to attack the Greek cities north of the Hellespont. He first besieged and captured Selymbria on the Propontis, and then turned his arms against Perinthus. The latter/city was not only strong by nature, being seated on a lofty promontory surrounded on two sides by the sea, but also well fortified. It was built on a series of terraces rising one above another; so that when Philip, by means of the improved artillery which he employed on this occasion, had succeeded in battering down the outer wall, he found himself in front of a fresh rampart, formed by houses standing on higher ground, and connected together by a wall carried across the streets. In this siege Philip was assisted by his fleet, which had previously intercepted and captured twenty Athenian vessels laden with corn. But all his efforts to capture Perinthus proved unavailing, as both the Byzantines and the Persians - the latter probably at the instigation of the Athenians - continually found means to supply it with arms and provisions. Finding his progress thus checked, Philip left half of his army to prosecute the siege, and with the remainder proceeded to the attack of Byzantium itself, which he hoped to find unprepared. ~ 5. Meanwhile, the arms of Athens, under the conduct of Phocion, had been successful in Eubcea, whither Demosthenes had roused his countrymen to send an expedition in the autumn of 341 B. c., for the purpose ot counteracting the influence of Macedon in that quarter, and thus erecting another barrier against the encroachments of Philip. Oreus and Eretria, two of the principal cities in the island, were in the hands of despots supported by Philip; but Callias of Chalcis having formed a plan to reduce all Eubcea under his own dominion, Demosthenes seized the opportunity to unite the Athenian arms with his; and Phocion, with the assistance of Callias, expelled the despots Cleitarchus and Philistides from Eretria and Oreus. For his advice on this occasion the Athenians honored Demosthenes with a golden crown. The same Callias, or perhaps an Athenian commander of that name, also did good service at this time by a naval expedition into the Gulf of Pagasce, when he took the towns on the coast, and made prize of a considerable quantity of Macedonian merchantmen. B. C. 341.] WAR BETWEEN ATHENS AND MACEDON. 483 ~ 6. Although Athens and Macedon were still nominally at peace, it is evident that the state of things just described was incompatible with its further maintenance. Philip addressed a long letter, or rather manifesto, to the Athenians, (which has come down to us,) in which he complained of the acts by which they had violated the existing treaty, recapitulated the legitimate grounds which he had for hostility, and concluded with a sort of declaration' of war. Demosthenes was not behindhand in accepting this challenge. He excited his countrymen to pass a decree for war, to take down the column on which the treaty had been inscribed, and to equip a fleet for the immediate relief of Byzantium, then besieged by Philip. The expedition was intrusted to Chares, in whose hands it proved a miserable failure; though he perfectly succeeded in making both himself and the Athenian name odious and suspected among the allies, by his oppressions, and by the large sums which he extorted under the name of benevolences. The orators of the Macedonian party took occasion from the ill success of Chaies to disgust the Athenians with the war, and they began to repent of having sent any succors to Byzantium. But Phocion, who did not act with those orators on this occasion, stood up and told the people, that they should not be angry at the distrust of their allies, but rather at their own generals, who were altogether unworthy of confidence. It is they, said he, who cause you to be suspected by the very people who cannot be saved without your help. The Athenians were so struck with these representations, that they immediately superseded Chares, and appointed Phocion in his place. Phocion sailed with one hundred and twenty triremes; and his high reputation for probity and honor caused him to be immediately admitted with his forces within the walls of Byzantium. Philip was now forced to raise the siege, not only of that town, but of Perinthus also, and finally to evacuate the Chersonesus altogether. For these acceptable services the grateful Byzantians erected a colossal statue in honor of Athens. After his repulse from the Chersonesus, Philip marched to the aid of Atheas, king of the Scythians, who had invoked his assistance against the tribes on the banks of the Danube. Before he arrived, however, the danger had ceased, and Atheas dismissed him with an insulting message. Hereupon Philip crossed the Danube, defeated the Scythians, and returned with an immense booty. But as he was passing through the country of the Triballi they demanded a share of the spoil; and upon being refused, gave battle to the Macedonians, in which Philip was so severely wounded that he was reported to be dead. Probably Philip's chief object in undertaking this expedition was to -withdraw the attention of the Greeks from his ambitious projects, and to delude them into the belief that other affairs were now engaging his attention. But meanwhile his partisans were not idle, and events soon occurred which again summoned him into the heart of Greece. 484 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIII. ~ 7. In the spring of 339 B.. 2JEschines was appointed with three others to represent Athens in the Amphictyonic Council. In this assembly the deputies of the Locrians of Amphissa, stimulated, it is said, by the Thebans, charged the Athenians with sacrilege, for having, in commemoration of.their victory over the Persians and Thebans, dedicated some golden shields in a chapel at Delphi before it had been regularly consecrated. The Locrians themselves, however, were, it seems, amenable to a similar charge, for having cultivated and used for their own benefit the very land which had been the subject of the Sacred rWar against the Phocians; and IEschines, irritated by the language of the deputies from Amphissa, denounced them as guilty of sacrilege. A proclamation was in consequence issued requiring all the Delphians, as well as the members of the Amphictyonic Council, to assemble and vindicate the honor of the god; and on the following day they marched down to Cirrha with spades and pickaxes, and destroyed some buildings which the Amphissians had erected there. But as they returned, the Amphissians lay in wait for them, and they narrowly escaped with their lives. Hereupon, the Amphictyons issued a decree, naming a certain day on which the Council was to assemble at Thermopyle, for the purpose of bringing the Amphissians to justice. ~ 8. 2Eschines was strongly suspected of having adopted the conduct which he pursued on this occasion in order to play into the hands of Philip, Demosthenes procured a decree,. preventing any Athenians from attending the Council at Thermopyle; and the Thebans, who were friendly to the Amphissians, also absented themselves. But, with these exceptions, the meeting was attended by deputies from the other Grecian states; war was declared against the Amphissians; and Cottyphus was appointed to lead an army against them. Demosthenes asserts that this expedition failed; but according to other accounts it was successful, and a fine was laid upon the Amphissians, which, however, they refused to pay. Accordingly, at the next ordinary meeting of the Amphictyons, either in the autumn of 339 or spring of 338, Philip, who had now returned from Thrace, was elected their general for the purpose of carrying out the decree against Amphissa.. ~9. Early in 338 Philip marched southwards; but instead of proceeding in the direction of Amphissa, he suddenly seized Elatea, the chief town in the eastern part of Phocis, and began to restore its fortifications; thus-showing clearly enough that his real design was against Bceotia and Attica. Intelligence of this event reached Athens at night, and daused extraordinary alarm. The market was cleared of the retail dealers, who commonly occupied it; their wicker booths were burned, and the whole city prepared as if for an immediate siege. At daybreak, on the following morning, the Five Hundred met in the senate-house, and the people assembled in the Pnyx, where the news was formally repeated. The herald then gave the usual invitation to speak, but nobody was inclined to B. C. 338.] BATTLE OE CILERONEA. 485 come forwards. At length Demosthenes ascended the bema, and calmed the fears of the people by pointing out that Philip was evidently not acting in concert with the Thebans, as appeared from the fact of his having thought it necessary to secure Elatea. He then pressed upon the assembly the necessity for making the most vigorous preparations for defence, and especially recommended trem to send an embassy to Thebes, in order to persuade the Thebans to unite with them against the common enemy.. This advice was adopted, and ten envoys were appointed to proceed to Thebes, amongst whom was Demosthenes himself. A counter-embassy had already arrived in that city from Macedonia and Thessaly, and it was with great difficulty that the Athenian envoys at length succeeded in persuadirng the Thebans to shut their gates against Philip, Athens had made vigorous preparations, and had ten thousand mercenaries in her service. Philip, on the other hand, was at the hea-rof thirty thousand men; but after the conclusion of the alliance between Thebes and Athens he did not deem it prudent to march directly against the latter city, and therefore proceeded towards Amphissa, as if in prosecution of the avowed object of the war., He sent a manifesto to his allies in Peloponnesus, requiring t.their assistance in what he Represented as a.purely religious object; but his application was coldly received. 0~ 1O. The details of the war that followed are exceedingly obscure. Philip appears to have again opened negotiations with the Thebans, which failed; and we then find the combined Theban and Athenian armies marching out to meet the -Macedonians. The former gainedsome advantage in two engagements; butt the decisive battle was fought on the 7th of August, in the plain'of Chetronea in B ootia, near the frontier of Phocis. In the Macedonian army was Philip's son; the youthful Alexander, who was intrusted with the command of one of the wings; and it was a charge made by him on the Theban sacred band, that decided the fortune of the day. The sacred band was cut to pieces, without flinching from the ground which it occupied, and the remainder of the combined army was completely routed. Demosthenes, who was serving as a foot-soldier in the Athenian ranks, has been absurdly reproached with cowardice because he participated in the general flight. An interesting memorial of this battle still remains. The Thebans who fell in the engagement were buried on the spot, and their sepulchre was surmounted by a lion in stone, as an emblem of their courageous spirit. This lion was still seen by Pausanias, when he visited Ch-eronea in the second century of the Christian era. It afterwards disappeared, though the site of the sepulchre continued to be marked by a large mound of earth; but a few years ago this tumulus was excavated, and a colossal lion discovered, deeply imbedded in its interior.* E This marble lion is in fragments. It is of remarkably fine workmanship. The head lies on the ground, looking upwards, and the noble expression given to it by the artist is still very impressive and significant. - ED. 486 HISTORY OF GREECE, [CHAP. XLIII. The battle of Chaeronea crushed the liberties of Greece, and made it in reality a province of the Macedonian monarchy. To Athens herself the blow was almost as fatal as that of 2Egospotami. Such was the consternation it created in that city, that many of the wealthier citizens prepared for immediate flight; and it was found necessary to arrest emigration by a decree which made it a capital offence. Demosthenes roused his fellow-citizens by his energy and eloquence to adopt the most vigorous measures for defending the city, and contributed three talents out of his own private fortune towards the repair of the walls. He was appointed to pronounce the funeral oration over those slain at Cheronea; a proof that the Athenians did not consider him guilty of any dereliction of duty in that engagement; but Lysicles, the Athenian geleral, was brought to trial, and condemned to death. ~ 11. The exultation of Philip at his victory knew no bounds. He eel ebrated his triumph with drunken orgies; and, reeling from the banquet to the field of battle, he danced over'the dead, at the same time singing and beating time to the opening words of the decree of Demosthenes, which happened to have the rhythm of a comic Iambic verse.* It is said that the orator Demades put an end to this ridiculous and unroyal exhibition by reminding Philip, " that, though fortune had placed him in the position of Agamemnon, he preferred playing the part of Thersites." But when Philip had returned to his sober senses, the manner in which he used his victory excited universal surprise. He dismissed the Athenian prisoners, not only without ransom, but with all their baggage, and some of them he even provided with new apparel. He then voluntarily offered a peace on terms more advantageous than the Athenians themselves would have ventured to propose. They were, indeed, required to relinquish a part of their foreign dependencies; but they were in some degree compensated for this by being put in possession of Oropus, of which the Thebans were now deprived. Philip, indeed, seems to have regarded Athens with a sort of love and respect, as the centre of art and refinement, for his treatment of the Thebans was very different, and marked by great harshness and severity. They were compelled to recall their exiles, in whose hands the government was placed, whilst a Macedonian garrison was established in the Cadmea. They were also deprived of their sovereignty over the Boeotian towns, and Platsea and Orchomenus were restored, and again filled with a population hostile to Thebes; ~ 12. But the mildness of Philip's conduct towards Athens, though it bore the appearance of magnanimity, and afforded matter for triumph to the orators of the peace party, was, after all, perhaps in no small degree the result of policy. It was by no means certain that, if Philip laid siege to Athens, he would be able to take the city; at all events, the siege * Afio-loo'0vT s ArCooOEvovs Ha Iltavev ra' ctirev. B. C. 337. PHILIP'S DOMESTIC QUARRELS. 48.7 would be a protracted one; the exasperated Thebans lay in his rear; and the attempt would certainly delay the more brilliant enterprise which he had long meditated against Persia. For this latter purpose he now convened a congress of the Grecian states at Corinth, though its ostensible object was the settlement of the affairs of Greece. Sparta was the only state unrepresented in this assembly. War was declared against Persia, Philip was appointed generalissimo of the expedition, and each state was assessed in a certain contingent of men or ships. - But before he returned to the North of Greece, he determined to chastise Sparta for her ill-disguised hostility. His march through Peloponnesus, and back by the western coast, though he here and there met with resistance, resembled rather a royal progress than an expedition into a hostile country. The western states north of the isthmus now submitted to his authority, and a Macedonian garrison was placed in Ambracia. Byzantium also executed a treaty with Philip, which was virtually an.act of subjection. Having thus established his authority throughout Greece, he returned to Macedonia in the autumn of B. c. 338, in order to prepare for his Persian expedition. ~13. But the fortune of Philip, which had triumphed over all his foreign enemies, was destined to be arrested by the feuds which arose in the bosom of his own family. Soon after his return to Macedonia, and probably in the spring of 337, he celebrated his nuptials with Cleopatra, the beautiful niece of Attalus, one of his generals. He had already several wives, for he had adopted the Eastern custom of polygamy; but it was Olympias, daughter of Neoptolemus, king of Epeirus, by whom Philip had become the father of Alexander, who regarded herself as his legitimate queen; a violent and imperious woman, who prided herself on the ancient nobility of her family, which traced its descent from Pyrrhus, son of Achilles. The banquet which followed the wedding was marked by an extraordinary scene. When the cup had freely circulated, and wine had begun to unlock the hearts of the guests, Attalus uncautiously disclosed the ambitious views with which his daughter's marriage had inspired him, by calling upon the company to invoke the gods to bless the union they were celebrating with a legitimate heir to the throne. Fired at this expression, which seemed to convey a reflection on his birth, the young prince Alexander hurled his goblet at Attalus, exclaiming, " Am I then called a bastard?" Philip at these words started from his couch, and, seizing his sword, rushed towards Alexander, whom he would probably have slain, had not his foot slipped and caused him to fall. Alexander rose and left the banqueting-hall; but as he withdrew levelled a taunt at his prostrate parent. "Behold the man," he exclaimed, " who was about to pass from Europe to Asia, but who has been overthrown in going from one couch to another!" Alexander and his mother Olympias now hastened to quit Macedonia. 488 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIIAP. XLII. The latter found refuge at the court of her brother Alexander, king of Epeirus, whilst the former took up his abode in Illyria. The fugitives appear to have stirred up both these countries to wage war against Philip, who however at length contrived to effect a show of reconciliation. Through the mediation of a friend, he induced Alexander to return to Pella, and he averted the hostility of his brother-in-law, the king of Epeirus, by offering him the hand of his daughter, Cleopatra. Olympias was now compelled to return to Philip's court; but both she and Alexander harbored an implacable resentment against him. ~ 14. These domestic disturbances delayed Philip's expedition during the year 337; but in the following spring he appears to have sent some forces into Asia, under the command of Attalus, Parmenio, and Amyntas. These were designed to engage the Greek cities of Asia in the expedition, and to support the disaffected subjects of Persia. But before quitting Macedonia, Philip determined to provide for the safety of his dominions by celebrating the marriage of his daughter with Alexander of Epeirus. It was solemnized at AEga, the ancient capital of Macedonia, with much pomp, including banquets, and musical and theatrical entertainments. Most of the Grecian towns sent their deputies to the festival, bringing crowns of gold and other presents to the king. But a terrible catastrophe was impending, which several omens are said to have predicted. The oracle of Delphi, when consulted by Philip, as head of the Amphictyons, respecting the issue of his Eastern expedition, responded with its usual happy ambiguity, - "The bull is crowned, everything is ready, and the sacrificer is at hand." And the player, Neoptolemus, who had been engaged to recite some verses during the nuptial banquet, chose an ode which spoke of power, pride, and luxury, and of the rapid and stealthy approach of death, which terminates in a moment the most ambitious expectations. ~ 15. The day after the nuptials was dedicated to theatrical entertainments. The festival was opened with a procession of the images of the twelve Olympian deities, with which was associated that of Plilip himself. The monarch took part in the procession, dressed in white robes, and crowned with a chaplet. A little behind him walked his son and his new son-in-law, whilst his body-guards followed at some distance, in order that the person of the sovereign might be seen by all his subjects. Whilst thus proceeding through the city, a youth suddenly rushed out of the crowd, and, drawing a long sword which he had concealed under his clothes, plunged it into Philip's side, who fell dead upon the spot. The assassin was pursued by some of the royal guards, and, having stumbled in his flight, was despatched before he could reach the place where horses had been provided for his escape. His name was Pausanias. He was a youth of noble birth, and we are told that his motive for taking Philip's life was that the king had refused to punish an outrage which Attalus had committed against him. Both Olympias and her son Alexander were suspected B. C. 336.] ASSASSINATION OF PHILIP. 489 of being concerned in the murder. Olympias is said to have prepared the horses for the escape of the assassin; and it is certain that she manifested an extravagant satisfaction at Philip's death. The suspicion that Olympias was privy to her husband's assassination is considerably strengthened by the improbability that Pausanias, without incitement from some other quarter, should have avenged himself on Philip rather than on Attalus, the actual perpetrator of the injury which he had received. With regard to Alexander, however, there is no evidence worth a moment's attention to inculpate him; and though an eminent historian* has not scrupled to condemn him as a parricide, yet we should hesitate to brand him, on such slender suspicions, with a crime which seems foreign to his character. Thus fell Philip of Macedon in the twenty-fourth year of his reign and forty-seventh of his age (B. c. 336). When we reflect upon his achievements, and how, partly by policy and partly by arms, he converted his originally poor and distracted kingdom into the mistress of Greece, we must acknowledge him to have been an extraordinary, if not a great man, in the better sense of that term. His views and his ambition were certainly as large as those of his son Alexander, but he was prevented' by a premature death from carrying them out; nor would Alexander himself have been able to perform his great achievements had not Philip handed down to him all the means and instruments which they required. * Niebuhr. Bust of Demosthenes. 62 490 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHA. XLIV. Battle of Issus. From a Mosaic at Pompeii, now in the Museo Borbonico at Naples. CHAPTER XLIV. ALEXANDER THE GREAT. ~ 1. Education of Alexander. ~ 2. Rejoicings at Athens for Philip's death. Movements in Greece. ~ 4. Alexander overawes the Malecontents, and is appointed Generalissimo for the Persian War. ~ 4. Alexander subdues the Triballians, Getae, Illyrians, and Taulantians. ~ 5. Revolt and Destruction of Thebes. ~ 6. Alexander prepares to invade Persia. Nature of that Empire. ~ 7. Alexander crosses the Hellespont. ~ 8. Battle of the Granicus. ~ 9. Alexander overruns Asia Minor. The Gordian Knot. ~ 10. March through Cilicia. Battle of Issus. Victory. ~ 11. Conquest of Phcenicia. Siege of Tyre. ~ 12. Alex ander marches into Egypt. Foundation of Alexandria. Oracle of Ammon. ~ 13. Battle of Arbela. ~ 14. Alexander takes Possession of Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis. ~ 15. March to Ecbatana, and Pursuit of Darius. Death of Darius. ~ 16. March through Hyrcania, Asia, and Drangiana. Conspiracy of Philotas. ~ 17. Alexander crosses the Oxus. Death of Bessus. Reduction of Sogdiana. Alexander marries Roxana. ~ 18. Murder of Clitus. ~ 19. Plot of the Pages. Alexander invades the Penjab, and defeats Porus. Marches as far as the Hyphasis. ~ 20. Descent of the Hydaspes and Indus. ~ 21. March through Gedrosia. Voyage of Nearchus. 4 22. Arrival at Susa. Intermarriages of the Greeks and Persians. Mutiny of the Army. ~ 23. Death of Hephuestion. Alexander takes up his Residence at Babylon. His Death. ~ 24. Character. ~ 1. NOTWITHSTANDING the suspicions of Olympias and Alexander, it does not appear that Philip had ever really entertained the design of depriving Alexander of the throne. At the time of his father's death he was in his twentieth year, having been born in B. C. 356. At a very tender age he displayed a spirit which endeared him to his father. His early education was intrusted to Leonidas, a kinsman of his mother, a man of severe and parsimonious. character, who trained him with Spartan simplicity and hardihood; whilst Lysimachus, a sort of under-governor, early inspired the young prince with ambitious notions, by teaching him to love and emulate the heroes of the Iliad. According to the traditions of his family, the blood of Achilles actually ran in the veins of Alexander; and B. C. 336.] REJOICINGS AT ATHENS FOR PHILIP'S DEATH. 491 Lysimachus nourished the feeling which that circumstance was calculated to awaken, by giving him the name of that hero, whilst he called Philip Peleus, and himself Phoenix. But the most striking feature in Alexander's education was, that he had Aristotle for his teacher, and that thus the greatest conqueror of the material world received the instructions of him who has exercised the most extensive empire over the human intellect. It was probably at about the age of thirteen that he first received the lessons of Aristotle, and they can hardly have continued more than three years, for Alexander soon left the schools for the employments of active life. At the age of sixteen we find him regent of Macedonia during Philip's absence; and at eighteen we have seen him filling a prominent military post at the battle of Cheeronea. ~ 2. On succeeding to the throne, Alexander announced his intention of prosecuting his father's expedition into Asia; but it was first necessary for him to settle the affairs of Greece, where the news of Philip's assassination, and the accession of so young a prince, had excited in several states a hope of shaking off the Macedonian yoke. Athens was the centre of these movements. Demosthenes, who was informed of Philip's death by a special messenger, resolved to avail himself of the superstition of his fellow-citizens by a pious fraud. He went to the senate-house and declared to the Five Hundred that Zeus and Athena had forewarned him in a dream of some great blessing that was in store for the commonwealth. Shortly afterwards public couriers arrived with the news of Philip's death. Demosthenes, although in mourning for the recent loss of an only daughter, now came abroad dressed in white, and crowned with a chaplet, in which attire he was seen sacrificing at one of the public altars. He also moved a decree that Philip's death should be celebrated by a public thanksgiving, and that religious honors should be paid to the memory of Pausanias. Phocion certainly showed a more generous spirit in disapproving of these proceedings. " Nothing," he observed, " betrays a more dastardly turn of mind than expressions of joy for the death of an enemy. And truly you have fine reason to rejoice, when the army you fought with at Cheronea is only reduced by one man!" In this last remark, indeed, he depreciated the abilities of Philip, as much as Demosthenes was inclined to underrate the abilities of Alexander., During his embassy to Pella, the Athenian orator had conceived a mean opinion of the youthful prince, whom he now compared to Homer's Margites, and assured the Athenians that he would spend all his time in either prosecuting his studies, or inspecting the entrails of victims. At the same time Demosthenes made vigorous preparations for action. He was already in correspondence with the Persian court for the purpose of thwarting Philip's projected expedition into Asia; and he now despatched envoys to the principal Grecian states for the purpose of exciting them against Macedon. Sparta, and the whole Peloponnesus, with the exception of Megalopolis and Messenia, seemed inclined to 492 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIV shake off their compulsory alliance. Even the Thebans rose against the dominant oligarchy, although the Cadmea was in the hands of the Macedonians. ~ 3. But the activity of Alexander disconcerted all these movements. He retained the Thessalians in obedience partly by flattery, partly by a display of force, and having marched through their territory, he assembled the Amphictyonic Council at Thermopylae, who conferred upon him the command with which they had invested his father during the Sacred War. lie then advanced rapidly upon Thebes, and thus prevented the meditated revolution. The Athenians were now seized with alarm, and sent an embassy to deprecate the wrath of Alexander, and to offer to him the same honors and privileges which they had before conferred upon Philip. IDemosthenes was appointed one of the envoys, but when he had proceeded tas far as the confines of Attica, he was filled with apprehension respecting Alexander's intentions, and found a pretence for returning home. The other ambassadors were graciously received, and their excuses accepted. Alexander then convened a general congress at Corinth, which, as on the former occasion, was attended by all the Grecian states except Sparta. Here he was appointed generalissimo for the Persian war in place of his father. Most of the philosophers and persons of note near Corinth came to congratulate him on this occasion; but Diogenes of Sinope, who was then living in one of the suburbs of Corinth, did not make his appearance. Alexander therefore resolved to pay a visit to the eccentric Cynic, whom he found basking in the sun. On the approach of Alexander with a numerous retinue, Diogenes raised himself up a little, and the monarch affably inquired how he could serve him? "By standing out of my sunshine," replied the churlish philosopher. Alexander was struck with surprise at a behavior to which he was so little accustomed; but whilst his courtiers were ridiculing the manners of the cynic, he turned to them and said, " Were I not Alexander, I should like to be Diogenes." ~ 4. The result of the congress might be considered a settlement of the affairs of Greece. Alexander could very well afford to despise Sparta's obsolete pretensions to the supremacy of Greece, and did not deem it worth while to undertake'an expedition for the purpose of bringing her to reason. He then returned to Macedonia, in the hope of being able to begin his Persian expedition in the spring of B. C. 335; but reports of disturbances among the Thracians and Triballians diverted his attention to that quarter. He therefore crossed Mount Heamus (the Balkan) and marched into the territory of the Triballians, defeated their forces, and pursued them to the Danube, where they fortified themselves in an island. Leaving them in that position, Alexander crossed the river by means of a fleet which he had caused to be sent from Byzantium, and proceeded to attack the Getre. The barbarians fled at his approach, and Alexander, who had acquired a large booty, regained the banks of the Danube, where he re B. C. 335.] ALEXANDER DESTROYS THEBES. 493 ceived the submissions of the Danubian tribes, and admitted them into the'Macedonian alliance. Thence he marched against the Illyrians and Taulantians, who were meditating an attack upon his kingdom, and speedily reduced them to obedience. ~ 5. During Alexander's absence on these expeditions, no tidings were heard of him for a considerable time, and a report of his death was industriously spread in Southern Greece. The Thebans rose and besieged the Macedonian garrison in the Cadmea, at the same time inviting other states to declare their independence. Demosthenes was active in aiding the movement. He persuaded the Athenians to furnish the Thebans with subsidies, and to assure them of their support and alliance. But the rapidity of Alexander again crushed the insurrection in the bud. Before the Thebans discovered that the report of his death was false, he had already arrived at Onchestus in Boeotia. Alexander was willing to afford them an opportunity for repentance, and marched slowly to the foot of the Cadmea. But the leaders of the insurrection, believing themselves irretrievably compromised, replied with taunts to Alexander's proposals for peace, and excited the people to the most desperate resistance. An engagement was prematurely brought on by one of the generals of Alexander, in which some of the Macedonian troops were put to the rout; but Alexander, coming up with the phalanx whilst the Thebans were in the disorder of pursuit, drove them back in turn and entered the gates along with them, when a fearful massacre ensued, committed principally by the Thracians in Alexander's service. Six thousand Thebans are said to have been slain, and thirty thousand were made prisoners. The doom of the conquered city was referred to the allies, who decreed her destruction. The grounds of the verdict bear the impress of a tyrannical hypocrisy. They rested on the conduct of the Thebans during the Persian war, on their treatment of Platiea, and on their enmity to Athens. The inhabitants were sold as slaves, and all the houses, except that of Pindar, were levelled with the ground. The Cadmea was preserved to be occupied by a Macedonian garrison. Thebes seems to have been thus harshly treated as an example to the rest of Greece, for towards the other states, which were now eager to make their excuses and submission, Alexander showed much forbearance and lenity. The conduct of the Athenians exhibits them deeply sunk in degradation. When they heard of the chastisement inflicted upon Thebes, they immediately voted, on the motion of Demosthenes, that ambassadors should be sent to congratulate Alexander on his safe return from his Northern expeditions, and on his recent success. Alexander in reply wrote a letter, demanding that eight or ten of the leading Athenian orators should be delivered up to him. At the head of the list was Demosthenes. In this dilemma, Phocion, who did not wish to speak upon such a question, was loudly called upon by the people for his opinion; when he rose and said that the persons whom Alexander de 494 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIV. manded had brought the state into such a miserable plight that they deserved to be surrendered, and that for his own part he should be very happy to die for the commonwealth. At the same time he advised them to try the effect of intercession with Alexander; and it was at last only by his own personal application to that monarch, with whom he was a great favorite, that the orators were spared. According to another account, however, the wrath of Alexander was appeased by the orator ~Demades, who received from the Athenians a reward of five talents for his services. It was at this time that Alexander is said to have sent a present of one hundred talents to Phocion. But Phocion asked the persons who brought the money, "Why he should be selected for such a bounty?" "Because," they replied, "Alexander considers you the only just and honest man." "Then," said Phocion, "let him suffer me to be what I seem, and to retain that character." And when the envoys went to his house and beheld the frugality with which he lived, they perceived that the man who refused such a gift was wealthier than he who offered it. ~ 6. Having thus put the affairs of Greece on a satisfactory footing, Alexander marched for the Hellespont inithe springof B. C. 334, leaving Antipater regent of Macedonia in his absence, with a force of twelve thousand foot and fifteen hundred horse. Alexander's own army consisted of only about thirty thousand foot and five thousand horse. Of the infantry about twelve thousand were Macedonians, and these composed the pith of the celebrated Macedonian phalanx. Such was the force with which he proposed to attack the immense but ill-cemented empire of Persia, which, like the empires of Turkey and Austria in modern times, consisted of various nations and races, with different religions and manners, and speaking different languages; the only bond of union being the dominant military power of the ruling nation, which itself formed only a small numerical portion of the empire. The remote provinces, like those of Asia Minor, were administered by satraps and military governors, who enjoyed an almost independent authority, frequently transmitting their provinces, like hereditary fiefs, to their heirs, and sometimes, as we have already seen ih the course of this history, defying their sovereign or their brother satraps in open war. The expedition of Cyrus, and the subsequent retreat of the Ten Thousand Greeks, had shown how easy it was for a handful of resolute and well-disciplined men to penetrate into the very heart of an empire thus weakened by disunion, and composed for the most part of an unwarlike population, and we are not therefore surprised at the confidence with which Alexander set out upon his expedition. Before he departed he distributed most of the crown property among his friends, and when Perdiccas asked him what he had reserved for himself, he replied, " My hopes." ~ 7. A march of sixteen days brought Alexander to Sestos, where a large fleet and a number of transports had been collected for the embar B.C. 334.] BATTLE OF THE. GRANICUS. 495 kation of his army. Alexander steered with his own hand the vessel in which he sailed towards the very spot where the Achoeans were said to have landed when proceeding to the Trojan war. When half the passage had been completed, he propitiated Poseidon and the Nereids with the sacrifice of a bull and with libations from a golden goblet; and as his trireme neared the shore, he hurled his spear towards the land, by way of claiming possession of Asia. He was, as we have said, a great admirer of Homer, a copy of whose works he always carried with him; and on landing on the Asiatic coast, he made it his first business to visit the plain of Troy. A temple of Athena still existed there, and the very altar was pointed out to him at which Neoptolemus was said to have slain Priam. Alexander then proceeded to Sigeum, where he crowned with a garland the pillar said to mark the tumulus of his mythical ancestor, Achilles, and, according to custom, ran round it naked with his friends, whilst Hephoestion paid similar honors to the tomb of Patroclus. ~ 8. Alexander then rejoined his army at Arisbe, near Abydos, and marched northwards along the coast of the Propontis. The satraps of Lydia and Ionia, together with other Persian generals, were encamped near Zelea, a town on the Granicus, with a force of twenty thousand Greek mercenaries, and about an equal number of native cavalry, with which they prepared to dispute the passage of the river. A Rhodian, named Memnon, had the chief command. The veteran general Parmenio advised Alexander to delay the attack till the following morning; to which he replied, that it would be a bad omen at the beginning of his expedition, if, after passing the Hellespont, he should be stopped by a paltry stream. He then directed his cavalry to cross the river, and followed himself at the head of the phalanx. The passage, however, was by no means easy. The stream was in many parts so deep as to be hardly fordable, and the opposite bank was steep and rugged. The cavalry had great difficulty in maintaining their ground till Alexander came up to their relief. He immediately charged into the thickest of the fray, and exposed himself so much, that his life was often in imminent danger, and on one occasion was only saved by the interposition of his friend Cleitus. Having routed the Persians, Alexander next attacked the Greek mercenaries, two thousand of whom were made prisoners, and the rest nearly all cut to pieces. In this engagement Alexander killed two Persian officers with his own hand. After the battle he visited the wounded, and granted immunity from all taxation to the families of the slain. He also sent three hundred suits of Persian armor to Athens, to be dedicated to Athena in the Acropolis; a proceeding by which he hoped, perhaps, further to identify his cause as the common cause of Hellas against the barbarians, as well as to conciliate the Athenians, from whose genius he wished to receive an adequate memorial of his exploits. ~ 9. Alexander now marched southwards towards Sardis, which sur 496 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIV. rendered before he came within sight of its walls. Having left a garrison in that city, he arrived after a four days' march before Ephesus, which likewise capitulated on his approach. Magnesia, Tralles, and Miletus next fell into his hands, the last after a short siege. Halicarnassus made more resistance. It was defended by Ephialtes, an Athenian exile, supported by Memnon, whose head-quarters were now in the island of Cos. It was necessary that the city should be regularly approached; but at length Memnon, finding it no longer tenable, set fire to it in the night, and crossed over to Cos. Alexander caused it to be razed to the ground, and leaving a small force to reduce the garrison, which had taken refuge in the citadels and forts, pursued his march along the southern coast of Asia Minor, with a view of seizing those towns which might afford shelter to a Persian fleet. The winter was now approaching, and Alexander sent a considerable part of his army under Parmenio intb winter-quarters at Sardis. He also sent back to Macedonia such officers and soldiers as had been recently married, on condition that they should return in the spring with what reinforcements they could raise; and with the same view he despatched an officer to recruit in the Peloponnesus. Meanwhile he himself with a chosen body proceeded along the coasts of Lycia and Pamphylia, having instructed Parmenio to rejoin him in Phrygia in the spring, with the main body. After he had crossed the Xanthus, most of the Lycian towns tendered their submission, and Phaselis presented him with a golden crown. On the borders of Lycia and Pamphylia, Mount Climax, a branch of the Taurus range, runs abruptly into the sea, leaving only a narrow passage at its foot, which is frequently overflowed. This was the case at the time of Alexander's approach. He therefore sent his main body by a long and difficult road across the mountains to.Perge; but he himself, who loved danger for its own sake, proceeded with. a chosen band along the shore, wading through water that was breast-high for nearly a whole day. From Perge he advanced against Aspendus and Side, which he reduced; and then, forcing his way northwards through the barbarous tribes which inhabited the mountains of Pisidia, he encamped in the neighborhood of Gordium in Phrygia. Here he was rejoined by Parmenio and by the new levies from Greece. Gordium had been the capital of the early Phrygian kings, and in it was preserved with superstitious veneration the chariot or wagon in which the celebrated Midas, the son of Gordius, together with his parents, had entered the town, and in conformity with an oracle had been elevated to the monarchy. An ancient prophecy promised the sovereignty of Asia to him who should untie the knot of bark which fastened the yoke of the wagon to the pole. Alexander repaired to the Acropolis, where the wagon was preserved, to attempt this adventure. Whether he undid the knot by drawing out a peg, or cut it through with his sword, is a matter of doubt; but that he had fulfilled the prediction was placed beyond dispute that very night by a great storm of thunder and lightning. B. C. 333.] BATTLE OF ISSUS. 497 ~ 10. In the spring of 333, Alexander pursued his march eastwards, and on arriving at Ancyra received the submission of the Paphlagonians. He then advanced through Cappadocia without resistance; and forcing his way through the passes of Mount Taurus (the Pylce Gilicie), he descended into the plains of Cilicia. Hence he pushed on rapidly to Tarsus, which he found abandoned by the enemy. Whilst still heated with the march, Alexander plunged into the clear but cold stream of the Cydnus, which runs by the town. The result was a fever, which soon became so violent as to threaten his life. An Acarnanian physician, named Philip, who accompanied him, prescribed a remedy; but at the same time Alexander received a letter informing him that Philip had been bribed by Darius, the Persian king, to poison him. He had, however, too much confidence in the trusty Philip to believe the accusation, and handed him the letter whilst he drank the draught. Either the medicine or Alexander's youthful constitution at length triumphed over the disorder. After remaining some time at Tarsus, he continued his march along the coast to Mallus, where he first received certain tidings of the great Persian army, commanded by Darius in person. It is said to have consisted of six hundred thousand fighting men, besides all that train of attendants which usually accompanied the march of a Persian monarch. This immense force was encamped on the plains of Sochi, where Amyntas, a Greek renegade, advised Darius to await the approach of Alexander. But Darius, impatient of delay, and full of vainglorious confidence in the number of his forces, rejected this advice, and resolved to cross the mountains in quest of his foe. Alexander had mean time passed through Issus; had secured the whole country from that place to the maritime pass called the Gates of Syria and Cilicia, and had pushed forwards to Myriandrus, where he was detained by a great storm of wind and rain. Meanwhile Darius had crossed Mount Amanus, more to the north, at a pass called the Amanic Gates, and had thus got into Alexander's rear; who heard with joy that the Persians were moving along the coast to overtake him. By this movement, however, Issus had fallen into the hands of the Persians. Alexander now retraced his steps to meet Darius, whom he found encamped on the right bank of the little river Pinarus. The Persian monarch could hardly have been caught in a more unfavorable position, since the narrow and rugged plain between Mount Amanus and the sea afforded no scope for the evolutions of large bodies, and thus entirely deprived him of the advantage of his numerical superiority. Alexander reoccupied the pass between Syria and Cilicia at midnight, and at daybreak began to descend into the plain of the Pinarus, ordering his troops to deploy into line as the ground expanded, and thus to arrive in battle array before the Persians. Darius had thrown thirty thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry across the river, to check the advance of the Macedonians; whilst on the right bank were drawn up his choicest Per. 63 498 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIV. sian troops to the number of sixty thousand, together with thirty thousand Greek mercenaries, who formed the centre, and on whom he chiefly relied. These, it appears, were all that the breadth of the plain allowed to be drawn up in line. The remainder of the vast host were posted in separate bodies in the farther parts of the plain, and were unable to take any share in the combat. Darius took his station in the centre of the line, in a magnificent state chariot. The banks of the Pinarus were in many parts steep, and where they were level Darius had caused them to be intrenched. As Alexander advanced, the Persian cavalry which had been thrown across the river were recalled; but the twenty thousand infantry had been driven into the mountains, where Alexander held them in check with a small body of horse. The left wing of the Macedonians, under the command of Parmenio, was ordered to keep near the sea, to prevent being outflanked. The right wing was led by Alexander in person, who at first advanced slowly; but when he came within shot of the Persian arrows he gave the order to charge, rushed impetuously into the water, and was soon engaged in close combat with the Persians. The latter were immediately routed; but the impetuosity of the charge had disarranged the compact order of the Macedonian phalanx, and the Greek mercenaries took advantage of this circumstance to attack them. This manceuvre, however, was defeated by Alexander, who, after routing the Persians, wheeled and took the Greeks in flank. But what chiefly decided the fortune of the day was the timidity of Darius himself, who, on beholding the defeat of his left wing, immediately took to flight. His example was followed by his whole army; and even the Persian cavalry, which had crossed the river, and was engaging the Macedonian left with great bravery, was compelled to follow the example. One hundred thousand Persians are said to have been left upon the field. On reaching the hills Darius threw aside his royal robes, his bow and shield, and, mounting a fleet courser, was soon out of reach of pursuit. The Persian camp became the spoil of the Macedonians; but the tent of Darius, together with his chariot, robes, and arms, was reserved for Alexander himself. It was now that the Macedonian king first had ocular proof of the nature of Eastern royalty. One compartment of the tent of Darius had been fitted up as a bath, which steamed with the richest odors; whilst another presented a magnificent pavilion, containing a table richly spread for the banquet of Darius. But from an adjoining tent issued the wail of female voices, where Sisygambis, the mother, and Statira, the wife of Darius, were lamenting the supposed death of the Persian monarch. Alexander sent to assure them of his safety, and ordered them to be treated with the most delicate and respectful attention. ~ 11. Such was the memorable battle of Issus, fought in November, OB. c. 333. A large treasure, which Parmenio was sent forward with a detachment to seize, fell into the hands of the Macedonians at Damascus. B.C. 3331] SIEGE OF TYRE. 499 Another favorable result of the victory was that it suppressed some attempts at revolt from the Macedonian power, which, with the support of Persia, had been manifested in Greece. But in order to put a complete stop to all such intrigues, which chiefly depended on the assistance of a Persian fleet, Alexander resolved to seize Phcenicia and Egypt, and thus to strike at the root of the Persian maritime power. Meanwhile, Darius, attended by a body of only four thousand fugitives, had crossed the Euphrates at Thapsacus. Before he had set out from Babylon, the whole forces of the empire had been summoned; but he had not thought it worth while to wait for what he deemed a merely useless encumbrance; and the more distant levies, which comprised some of the best troops of the empire, were still hastening towards Babylon. In a short time, therefore, he would be at the head of a still more numerous host than that which had fought at Issus; yet he thought it safer to open negotiations with Alexander than to trust to the chance of arms. With this view he sent a letter to Alexander, who was now at Marathus in Phoenicia, proposing to become his friend and ally; but Alexander rejected all lis overtures, and told him that he must in future be addressed, not in the language of an equal, but of a subject. As Alexander advanced southwards, all the towns of Phoenicia hastened to open their gates; the inhabitants of Sidon even hailed him as their deliverer. Tyre, also, sent to tender her submission; but coupled with reservations by no means acceptable to a youthful conqueror in the full tide of success. Alexander affected to receive their offer, which was accompanied with a present of a golden crown and provisions for his army, as an unconditional surrender, and told them that he would visit their city and offer sacrifices to Melcart, a Tyrian deity, who was considered as identical with the Grecian Hercules. This brought the matter to an issue. The Tyrians now informed him that they could not admit any foreigners within their walls, and that, if he wished to sacrifice to Melcart, he would find another and more ancient shrine in Old Tyre, on the mainland. Alexander indignantly dismissed the Tyrian ambassadors, and announced his intention of laying siege to their city. The Tyrians probably deemed it impregnable. It was by nature a place of great strength, and had been rendered still stronger by art. The island on which it stood was half a mile distant from the mainland; and though the channel was shallow near the coast, it deepened to three fathoms near the island. The shores of the island were rocky and precipitous, and the walls rose from the cliffs to the height of one hundred and fifty feet in solid masonry. The city was abundantly supplied with fresh water; was well furnished with arms and provisions; possessed an intelligent and warlike population; and though the greater part of the fleet was absent in the Persian service, it had in its two harbors a competent number of vessels of war. As Alexander possessed no ships, the only method by which he could approach the town 500 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIV. was by constructing a causeway, the materials for which were collected from the forests of Lib- nus and the ruins of Old Tyre. Through the shallow part of the water the work proceeded rapidly; but as it approached the town the difficulties increased, both from the greater depth of the water, and from the workmen being exposed to missiles from the town and from the Tyrian galleys. To obviate the latter inconvenience, Alexander caused two wooden towers, covered with hides, to be built at the head of the mole, which would serve both to protect the workmen, and to keep assailants at a distance by the missiles hurled from engines at the top of the towers. The Tyrians, however, contrived to burn these towers, bJy seizing the opportunity of a favorable breeze to drive against them a vessel filled with dry wood, besmeared with pitch, and other combustible materials. The Macedonians being thus driven from the mole, the Tyrians came off in boats, and destroyed such parts of it as the flames had spared. But Alexander was so far from being discouraged by this mishap, that he began the work again on a larger scale. He also procured ships from Sidon and other places in order to protect it, and in a little time had collected a fleet of two hundred and fifty sail, which he exercised in nautical manceuvres; and thus forced the Tyrian galleys, which had previously molested the progress of the work, to keep within their harbor. After overcoming many difficulties, the mole was at length pushed to the foot of the walls, which were now assailed with engines of a novel description. The besieged on their side resorted to many ingenious methods of defence, among which was the discharging of heated sand on the besiegers, which, penetrating beneath the armor, occasioned great torment. But it now began to grow evident that the city must fall; and as soon as Alexander had effected a practicable breach, he ordered a general assault both by land and sea. The breach was stormed under the immediate inspection of Alexander himself; and though the Tyrians made a desperate resistance, they were at length overpowered, when the city became one wide scene of indiscriminate carnage and plunder. The siege had lasted seven months, and the Macedonians were so exasperated by the difficulties and dangers they had undergone, that they granted no quarter. Eight thousand of the citizens are said to have been massacred; and the remainder, with the exception of the king and some of the principal men, who had taken refuge in the temple of Melcart, were sold into slavery, to the number of thirty thousand. Tyre was taken in the month of July, B. c. 332. Whilst Alexander was engaged in the siege of Tyre, Darius made him further and more advantageous proposals. He now offered ten thousand talents as the ransom of his family, together with all the provinces west of the Euphrates, and his daughter Barsine in marriage, as the conditions of a peace. When these offers were submitted to the Council, Parmenio was not unnaturally struck with their magnificence, and observed, that, were he Alexander, he would accept them. " And so would I," replied the king, B. C. 332.] FOUNDATION OF ALEXANDRIA. 501 " were I Parmenio." Had Alexander's views been bounded by the political advantage of Macedonia, he would doubtless have adopted the advice of his veteran general. But his ambition was wholly of a personal nature. He felt more pleasure in acquiring than in possessing; and as his prospects expanded with his progress, he was unwilling to accept what he considered as only an instalment of the vast empire which he was destined to attain. Darius, therefore, prepared himself for a desperate resistance. ~ 12. After the fall of Tyre, Alexander marched with his army towards Egypt, whilst his fleet proceeded along the coast. Gaza, a strong fortress on the sea-shore, obstinately held out, and delayed his progress three or four months. According to a tradition preserved in Josephus, it was at this time that Alexander visited Jerusalem, and, struck with its pious priests and holy rites, endowed the city with extraordinary privileges, and the priesthood with ample gifts; but this story does not appear in any other ancient author. After the capture of Gaza, Alexander met his fleet at Pelusium, and ordered it to sail up the Nile as far as Memphis, whither he himself marched with his army across the desert. Alexander conciliated the affection of the Egyptians by the respect with which he treated their national superstitions, whilst the Persians by an opposite line of conduct had incurred their deadliest hatred. Alexander then sailed down the western branch of the Nile, and at its mouth traced the plan of the new city of Alexandria, which for many centuries continued to be not only the grand emporium of Europe, Africa, and India, but also the principal centre of intellectual life. Being now on the confines of Libya, Alexander resolved to visit the celebrated oracle of Zeus Ammon, which lay in the bosom of the Libyan wilderness, and which was reported to have been consulted by his two heroic ancestors, Hercules and Perseus. As he marched towards the oasis in which it was situated, he was met by envoys from Cyrene, bringing with them magnificent presents, amongst which were five chariots and three hundred war-horses. After marching along the coast for about two hundred miles, Alexander struck to the southeast into the desert; when a five days' journey over pathless sands and under a scorching sun brought him to the well-watered and richlywooded valley, containing the renowned and ancient temple of Ammon. The conqueror was received by the priests with all the honors of sacred pomp. He consulted the oracle in secret, and is said never to have disclosed the answer which he received; though that it was an answer that contented him appeared from the magnificence of the offerings which he made to the god. Some say that Ammon saluted him as the son of Zeus. ~ 13. Alexander returned to Phoenicia in the spring of 331. He then directed his march through Samaria, and arrived at Thapsacus on the Euphrates about the endof August. After crossing the river, he struck to the northeast through a fertile and well-supplied country. On his march he 502 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIV. was told that Darius was posted with an immense force on the left bank of the Tigris; but on arriving at that river, he found nobody to dispute his passage. He then proceeded southwards along its banks, and after four days' march fell in with a few squadrons of the enemy's cavalry. From some of these who were made prisoners Alexander learned that Darius was encamped with his host on one of the extensive plains between the Tigris and the mountains of Kurdistan, near a village called Gaugamela (the Camel's House). The town of Arbila, after vwhich the battle that ensued is commonly named, lay at about twenty miles' distance, and there Darius had deposited his baggage and treasure. That monarch had been easily persuaded that his former defeat was owing solely to the nature of the ground; and therefore he now selected a wide plain for an engagement, where there was abundant room for his multitudinous infantry, and for the evolutions of his horsemen and charioteers. Alexander, after giving his army a few days' rest, set out to meet the enemy soon after mid night, in order that he might come up with them about daybreak. On ascending some sand-hills the whole array of the Persians suddenly burst upon the view of the Macedonians, at the distance of three or four miles. Darius, as usual, occupied the centre, surrounded by his body-guard and chosen troops. In front of the royal position were ranged the war-chariots and elephants, and on either side the Greek mercenaries, to the number, it is said, of fifty thousand. Alexander spent the first day in surveying the ground and preparing for the attack; he also addressed his troops, pointing out to them that the prize of victory would not be a mere province, but the dominion of all Asia. Yet so great was the tranquillity with which he contemplated the result, that at daybreak on the following morning, when the officers came to receive his final instructions, they found him in a deep slumber. His army, which consisted only of forty thousand foot and seven thousand horse, was drawn up in the order which he usually observed, namely, with the phalanx in the centre in six divisions, and the Macedonian cavalry on the right, where Alexander himself took his station. And as there was great danger of being outflanked, he formed a second line in the rear, composed of some divisions of the phalanx and a number of light troops and cavalry, which were to act in any quarter threatened by the enemy. The Persians, fearful of being surprised, had stood under arms the whole night, so that the morning found them exhausted and dispirited. Some of them, however, fought with considerable bravery; but when Alexander had succeeded in breaking their line by an impetuous charge, Darius mounted a fleet horse and took to flight, as at Issus, though the fortune of the day was yet far from having been decided. At length, however, the rout became general. Whilst daylight lasted, Alexander pursued the flying enemy as far as the banks of the Lycus, or Greater Zab, where thousands of the Persians perished in the attempt to pass the river. After resting his men a few hours, Alexander continued B. C. 331.] BATTLE OF ARBELA. 503 the pursuit at midnight, in the hope of overtaking Darius at Arbela. The' Persian monarch, however, had continued his flight without stopping; but the whole of the royal baggage and treasure was captured at Arbela. ~ 14. Finding any further pursuit of Darius hopeless, Alexander now directed his march towards Babylon. At a little distance from the city the greater part of the population came out to meet him, headed by their priests and magistrates, tendering their submission, and bearing with them magnificent presents. Alexander then made his triumphant entry into Babylon, riding in a chariot at the head of- his army. The streets were strewed with flowers, incense smoked on either hand on silver altars, and the priests celebrated his entry with hymns. Nor was this the mere display of a compulsory obedience. Under the Persian sway the Chaldaan religion had been oppressed and persecuted; the temple of Belus had been destroyed and still lay in ruins; and both priests and people consequently rejoiced at the downfall of a dynasty from which they had suffered so much wrong. Alexander, whose enlarged views on the subject of popular religion had probably been derived from Aristotle, observed here the same politic conduct which he had adopted in Egypt. He caused the ruined temples to be restored, and proposed to offer personally, but under the direction of the priests, a sacrifice to Belus. He then made arrangements for the safety and government of the city. He appointed Mazaeus, the Persian.officer who had been left in charge of it, satrap of Babylon; but he occupied the citadel with a garrison of one thousand Macedonians and other Greeks, whilst the collection of the revenues was also intrusted to a Greek named Asclepiodorus. Alexander contemplated making Babylon the capital of his future empire. His army was rewarded with a large donative from the Persian treasury; and, after being allowed to indulge for sometime in the luxury of Babylon, was again put in motion, towards the middle of November, for Susa. It was there that the Persian treasures were chiefly accumulated, and Alexander had despatched Philoxenus to take possession of the city immediately after the battle of Arbela. It was surrendered without a blow by the satrap Abulites. The treasure found there amounted to forty thousand talents in gold and silver bullion, and nine thousand in gold Darics. But among all these riches the interest of the Greeks must have been excited in a lively manner by the discovery of the spoils carried off from Greece by Xerxes. Among them were the bronze statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, which Alexander now sent back to Athens, and which were long afterwards preserved in the Cerameicus. At Susa Alexander received reinforcements of about fifteen thousand men from Greece. Amyntas, who conducted them, brought tidings of dis. turbances in Greece, fomented by Sparta; and to assist in quelling them Alexander transmitted a considerable sum to the regent Antipater. He then directed his march southeastwards towards Persepolis. His road 504 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIV. lay through the mountainous territory of the Uxians, who refused him a passage unless he paid the usual tribute which they were in the habit of extorting even from the Persian kings. But Alexander routed them with great slaughter. The difficult mountain defile called the " Persian Gates," forming the entrance into Persis, still remained to be passed, which was defended by Ariobarzanes, the satrap of that district, with forty thousand foot and seven hundred horse. Ariobarzanes had also built a wall across the pass; but Alexander turned the position by ascending the heights with part of his army, whilst the remainder stormed and carried the wall; and the Persians were nearly all cut to pieces. He then advanced rapidly to Persepolis, whose magnificent ruins still attest its ancient splendor. It was the real capital of the Persian kings, though they generally resided at Susa during the winter, and at Ecbatana in summer. The treasure found there exceeded that both of Babylon and Susa, and is said to have amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand talents, or nearly thirty million pounds sterling.* It was here that Alexander is related to have committed an act of senseless folly, by firing with his own hand the ancient and magnificent palace of the Persian kings; of which the most charitable version is that he committed the act when heated with wine at the instigation of Thais, an Athenian courtesan. By some writers, however, the story is altogether disbelieved, and the real destruction of Persepolis referred to the Mohammedan epoch. Whilst at Persepolis, Alexander visited the tomb of Cyrus, the founder of the Persian monarchy, which was situated at a little distance, at a city called Pasargadae. ~15. Thus, in between three and four years after crossing the Hellespont, Alexander had established himself on the Persian throne. But Darius was not yet in his power. After the battle of Arbela, that monarch had fled to Ecbatana, the ancient capital of Media, Where he seemed disposed to watch the turn of events, and whence, if he should be again threatened, he meditated flying farther north across the Oxus. It was not till about four months after the battle of Arbela, and consequently early in 330, that Alexander quitted Persepolis to resume the pursuit of Darius. On approaching Ecbatana, he learned that the Persian monarch had already fled with the little army which still adhered to him. On arriving at that place, Alexander permitted the troops of the allies to return home if they wished, as the main object of the expedition had been accomplished; but many volunteered to remain with him, and the rest were dismissed with a handsome share of booty, in addition to their pay. The treasures which had been conveyed from Persepolis were lodged in the citadel of Ecbatana, under the guard of six thousand Macedonians, besides cavalry and light troops. Alexander, with his main body, then pursued Darius through Media by forced marches, and reached RhagTe, a distance of three About $ 125,000,000. -ED. B. C. 330.] DEATH OF DARIUS. 505 hundred miles from Ecbatana, in eleven days. Such was the rapidity of the march, that many men and horses died of fatigue. At Rhage he heard that Darius had already passed the defile called the " Caspian Gates," leading into the Bactrian provinces; and, as that pass was fifty miles distant, urgent pursuit was evidently useless. He therefore allowed his troops five days' rest, and then resumed his march. Soon after passing the Gates he learned that Darius had been seized and loaded with chains by his own satrap, Bessus, who entertained the design of establishing himself in Bactria as an independent sovereign. This intelligence stimulated Alexander to make still further haste with part of his cavalry and a chosen body of foot. On the fourth day he succeeded in overtaking the fugitives with his cavalry, having been obliged to leave the infantry behind, with directions to follow more at leisure. The enemy, who did not know his real strength, were struck with consternation at his appearance, and fled precipitately. Bessus and his adherents now endeavored to persuade Darius to fly with them, and provided a fleet horse for that purpose. But the Persian monarch, who had already experienced the generosity of Alexander in the treatment of his captiye family, preferred to fall into his hands, whereupon the conspirators mortally wounded him in the chariot in which they kept him confined, and then took to flight. Darius expired before Alexander could come up, who threw his own cloak over the body. He then ordered him to be magnificently buried in the tomb of his ancestors, and provided for the fitting education of his children. ~ 16. Alexander next invaded Hyrcania, a province of the Persian empire, on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, and took possession of Zadracarta, the chief town in the country. From thence he undertook an expedition against the Mardians, a warlike tribe in the western part of Hyrcania, who, thinking themselves secure amidst their forests and mountains, had refused to make their submission. After chastising the 3Mardians, Alexander quitted Zadracarta, and pursued his march eastwards through the province of Aria. Near Artacoana, the capital of Aria, he founded a city on the banks of the river Arius, called after him (Alexandria Ariorum), and which, under the name of Herat, is still one of the chief cities in Central Asia. Hence he proceeded southwards to Prophthasia, the capital of Drangiana, where his stay was signalized by a supposed conspiracy against his life, formed by Philotas, the son of Parmenio. Alexander had long entertained suspicions of Philotas. Whilst still in Egypt he had discovered that Philotas had spoken disparagingly of his exploits, and had boasted that, without the aid of his father and himself, Alexander would never have been able to achieve his conquests. He had also ridiculed the oracle respecting Alexander's supernatural birth, and had more recently opposed the inclination which that monarch now began to display to assume all the pomp and state of a Persian king. But the immediate subject of accusation against him was, that he had not revealed 64 506 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIV a conspiracy which was reported to be forming against Alexander's life, and which he had deemed too contemptible to notice. He was consequently suspected of being implicated in it; and on being put to the torture, he not only confessed his own guilt in his agonies, but also implicated his father. Phil5tas was executed, and an order was sent to Ecbatana, where Parmenio then was, directing that veteran general to be put to death. A letter, purporting to be from his son, was handed to him; and whilst the old man was engaged in reading it, Polydamas, his intimate friend, together with some others of Alexander's principal officers, fell upon and slew him. His head was carried to Alexander. Hephsastion, who had been active in exciting the king's suspicion against Philotas, was rewarded with a share of the command vacated by his death; but the horse-guards were now divided into two regiments, one of which was given,to Hephasstion and the other to Cleitus. ~ 17. Late in the year 330, Alexander directed his march southwards, to the banks of the Etymandrus (the Helmund), where he remained sixty days. Hence he penetrated into Arachosia, and founded there another Alexandria, which is supposed to be the modern city of Candaacr. He then crossed the lofty mountains of Paropamisus, called Caucasus by the Greeks (now Hindoo-Koosh), which were covered with deep snow, and so barren that they did not even afford firewood for his army. At the foot of one of the passes of these mountains Alexander founded another city called Alexandria ad Caucasum, situated probably about fifty miles northwest of Cabul. Alexander now entered Bactria; but Bessus did not wait his approach, and fled across the Oxus into Sogdiana. Early in the summer of 329, Alexander followed him across the Oxus; and shortly afterwards Bessus was betrayed by two of his own officers into the hands of Alexander. Bessus was carried to Zariaspa, the capital of Bactria, where he was brought before a Persian court, and put to death in a cruel and barbarous manner. Alexander next took possession of Maracanda (now Samarcand)j the capital of Sogdiana, from whence he advanced to the river Jaxartes (Sir), which he designed to make the boundary of his empire against the Scythians. On the banks of that river he founded the city of Alexandria Eschate (the last or farthest), probably the modern Khojend. After crossing the river and defeating the Scythians, who menaced him on the opposite bank, he returned into winter-quarters at Zariaspa. Sogdiana, however, was not yet subdued, and accordingly, in the following year, 328, Alexander again crossed the Oxus. He divided his army into five bodies, ordering them to scour the country in different directions. With the troops under his own command he marched against the fortress called the Sogdian Rock, seated on an isolated hill, so precipitous as to be deemed inaccessible, and so well supplied with B. C. 328.] MURDER OF CLEITUS. 507 provisions as to defy a blockade. The summons to surrender was treated with derision by the commander, who inquired whether the Macedonians had wings? But a small body of- Macedonians having succeeded in scaling some heights which overhung the fortress, the garrison became so alarmed that they immediately surrendered. To this place a Bactrian, named Oxyartes, an adherent of Bessus, had sent his daughters for safety. One of them, named RoxanSa, was of surpassing beauty, and Alexander made her the partner of his throne. ~ 18. Alexander now returned to Maracanda, where he was joined by the other divisions of his army, and while remaining at this place he appointed his friend Cleitus satrap of Bactria. On the eve of the parting of the two friends, Alexander celebrated a festival in honor of the Dioscuri, though the day was sacred to Dionysus. The banquet was attended by several parasites and literary flatterers, who magnified the praises of Alexander with extravagant and nauseous flattery. Cleitus, whom wine had released from all prudent reserve, sternly rebuked their fulsome adulation; and, as the conversation turned on the comparative merits of the exploits of Alexander and his father Philip, he did not hesitate to prefer the exploits of the latter. He reminded Alexander of:his former services, and, stretching forth his hand, exclaimed, "It was this hand, Alexander, which saved your life at the battle of the Granicus " The king, who was also flushed with wine, was so enraged by these remarks, that he rushed at Cleitus with the intention of killing him on the spot, but he was held back by his friends, whilst Cleitus was at the same time hurried out of the room. Alexander, however, was no sooner released, than, snatching a spear, he sprang to the door, and meeting Cleitus, who was returning in equal fury to brave his anger, ran him through the body. But when the deed was done, he was seized with repentance and remorse. He flung himself on his couch and remained for three whole days in an agony of grief, refusing all sustenance, and calling on the names of Cleitus and of his sister Lanice, who had been his nurse. It was not till his bodily strength began to fail through protracted abstinence that he at last became more composed, and consented to listen to the consolations of his friends, and the words of the soothsayers; who ascribed the murder of Cleitus to a temporary frenzy with which Dionysus had visited him as a punishment for neglecting the celebration of his festival. ~ 19. After reducing the rest of the fortresses of Sogdiana, Alexander returned into Bactria in 327, and began to prepare for his projected expedition into India. Whilst he was thus employed, a plot was formed against his life by the royal pages, incited by Hermolaus, one of their number, who had been punished with stripes for anticipating the king during a hunting party in slaying a wild boar. Hermolaus and his associates, among whom was Callisthenes, a pupil of Aristotle, were first 508 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIV. tortured, and then put to death. It seems certain that a conspiracy existed; but no less certain, that the growing pride and haughtiness of Alexander were gradually alienating from him the hearts of his followers. Alexander did not leave Bactria till late in the spring. He crossed the Indus by a bridge of boats near Taxila, the present Attock, where the river is about one thousand feet broad, and very deep. He is said to have entered India, at the head of one hundred and twenty thousand foot and fifteen thousand horse, the greater part of whom must necessarily have been Asiatics..He now found himself in the district at present called the Penj-ab (or the Five Rivers). Taxiles, the sovereign of the district, at once surrendered Taxila, his capital, and joined the Macedonian force with five thousand men. Hence Alexander proceeded with little resistance to the river Hydaspes (Behut or Jelum). On the opposite bank, Porus,* a powerful Indian king, prepared to dispute his progress with a numerous and well-appointed force. Alexander, however, by a skilful stratagem, conveyed his army safely across the river. An obstinate battle then ensued. In the army of Porus were many elephants, the sight and smell of which frightened the horses of Alexander's cavalry. But these unwieldy animals ultimately proved as dangerous to the Indians as to the Greeks; for when driven into a narrow space, they became unmanageable, and created great confusion in the ranks of Porus. By a few vigorous charges the Indians were completely routed, with the loss of twelve thousand slain and nine thousand prisoners. Among the latter was Porus himself, who was conducted into the presence of Alexander. The courage which he had displayed in the battle had excited the admiration of the Macedonian king. Mounted on an enormous elephant, he retreated leisurely when the day was lost, and long rejected every summons to surrender; till at length, overcome by thirst and fatigue, he permitted himself to be taken. Even in this situation Porus still retained his majestic bearing, the effect of which was increased by the extraordinary height of his stature. On Alexander's inquiring how he wished to be treated, he replied, " Like a king. " " And have you no other request?" asked Alexander. "No," answerd Porus; "everything is comprehended in the word king." Struck by his magnanimity, Alexander not only restored him to his dominions, but also considerably enlarged them; seeking by these means to retain him as an obedient and faithful vassal. Alexander rested a month on the banks of the Hydaspes, where he celebrated his victory by games and sacrifices, and founded two towns, one of which he named Nicaea, and the other Bucephala, in honor of his * Porus is probably a corruption of the Sanscrit word "Paurusha," which signifies & "hero." B. C. 327.] INVASION OF INDIA. 509 gallant charger Bucephalus, which is said to have died here. He then overran the whole of the Penj-ab, as far as the Hyphasis (Gharra), its southern boundary. The only resolute resistance he experienced was from the warlike tribe of the Cathaei, whose capital, Sangala, was probably the modern Lahore. They were subdued, and their territory divided amongst the other Indian tribes. Upon reaching the Hyphasis, the army, worn out by'fatigues and dangers, positively refused to proceed any farther; although Alexander passionately desired to attack a monarch still more powerful than Porus, whose dominions, he heard, lay beyond the river. All his attempts to induce his soldiers to proceed proving ineffectual, he prepared to submit with a good grace to an alternative which he perceived to be unavoidable. Pretending that the sacrifices were unfavorable for the passage of the Hyphasis, he gave the order for retreat; having first erected on its banks twelve colossal altars to mark the boundary of his conquests in that direction. ~ 20. When Alexander again arrived at his newly founded cities of Nicsa and Bucephala on the Hydaspes, he divided his army into three detachments. Two of these, under the command of Hephaestion and Craterus, were ordered to descend the Hydaspes on its opposite banks; whilst he himself, at the head of eight thousand men, embarked on board a fleet of about two thousand vessels, which he had ordered to be prepared with the view of sailing down the Indus to its mouth. The ignorance which prevailed among the Macedonians respecting the geography of the region to be traversed, may be estimated from the circumstance that Alexander at first considered the Indus to be a branch of the Nile. The army began to move in November, 327. The navigation lasted several months, but was accomplished without any serious opposition, except from the tribe of the Malli, who are conjectured to have occupied the site of the present Mooltan. At the storming of their town the life of Alexander was exposed to imminent danger. He was the first to scale the walls of the citadel, and was followed by four officers; but before a fifth man could mount, the ladder broke, and Alexander was left exposed on the wall to the missiles of the enemy. From this situation there were only two methods of escape; either by leaping down among his own army, or into the citadel among the enemy. Alexander chose the latter; and, alighting on his feet, placed his back to the wall, where he succeeded in keeping the enemy at bay, and slew two of their chiefs who had ventured within reach of his sword. But an arrow which pierced his corslet brought him to the ground, fainting with the loss of blood. Two of his followers who had jumped down after him now stood over and defended him; till at length, more soldiers having scaled the walls, and opened one of the gates, sufficient numbers poured in not only to rescue their monarch, but to capture the citadel; when every living being within the place was 510 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIV. put to the sword. Alexander's life was long in great danger; but when he was sufficiently recovered, he was again placed in his vessel, and dropped down the Hydraotes (Rave) to its confluence with the Acesines. Here his army was encamped; and the soldiers testified by shouts and tears their joy at again beholding their commander. Hence Alexander pursued his course to the point where the four rivers, now united into one stream, the Acesines (Chenab), join the Indus. At their confluence he ordered dock-yards to be constructed, and another Alexandria to be built. Hence he pursued his voyage to the Indian Ocean, all the towns on either bank of the river submitting at his approach. When he arrived at the mouth of the Indus, he explored its estuaries, and, accompanied by a few horsemen, skirted the margin of the Delta next the sea. Nearchus with the fleet was directed to explore the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates, with the view of establishing a maritime communication between India and Persia. We have hitherto beheld Alexander only as a conqueror; but these cares exhibit him in the more pleasing light of a geographical discoverer, and of a sovereign solicitous for the substantial benefit of his subjects. ~ 21. From this point Alexander proceeded with his army, in the autumn of 326, through the burning deserts of Gedrosia towards Persepolis; marching himself on foot, and sharing the privations and fatigues of the meanest soldier. In these regions the very atmosphere seems to be composed of a fine dust, which on the slightest wind penetrates into the mouth and nose, whilst the soil affords no firm footing to the traveller. The march through this inhospitable region lasted sixty days, during which numbers of the soldiers perished from fatigue or disease. At length they emerged into the fertile province of Carmania. Whilst in this country, Alexander was rejoined by Nearchus, who had arrived with his fleet at Harmozia (Ormuz); but who subsequently prosecuted his voyage to the head of the Persian Gulf. The main body of the army under Hephestion was directed to march along the shores of the Gulf; whilst Alexander himself, with his horse-guards and light infantry, took a shorter route through Pasargads and Persepolis. During his stay in the latter city, he remedied the disorders which had been committed since he left it, and executed summary justice on the delinquent satraps who had oppressed the provinces of Persis. It was thus that he caused his empire to be respected, as much by the equity of his administration as by the irresistible force of his arms. ~ 22. From Persepolis Alexander pursued his march to Susa (B.C. 325), where the soldiers were allowed to repose from their fatigues, and were amused with a series of brilliant festivities. It was here that he adopted various measures with the view of consolidating his empire. One of the most important was to form the Greeks and Persians into one people by means of intermarriages. He himself celebrated his nuptials with Stateira, B. C. 325.] MUTINY OF THE ARMY. 511 the eldest daughter of Darius, and bestowed the hand of her sister, Drypetis, on Hephmstion. Other marriages were made between Alexander's officers and Asiatic women, to the number, it is said, of about a hundred; whilst no fewer than ten thousand of the common soldierg followyed their example and took native wives. As another means of amalgamating the Europeans and Asiatics, he caused numbers of the latter to be admitted into the army, and to be armed and trained in the Macedonian fashion. But these innovations were regarded with a jealous eye by most of the Macedonian veterans; and this feeling was increased by the conduct of Alexander himself, who assumed every day more and more of the state and manners of an Eastern despot. At first, indeed, the growing discontent was repressed by the large bounties distributed among the soldiers, and by the discharge of all their debts. But at length their long stifled dissatisfaction broke out into open mutiny and rebellion at a review which took place at Opis on the Tigris. Alexander here proposed to dismiss such Macedonians as were wounded or otherwise disabled; but though they had clamored for their discharge whilst on the other side of the Indus, they now regarded this proposal as an insult, and called out "that the king had better dismiss them all,-his father Ammon would fight his battles." But the mutiny was quelled by the decisive conduct of Alexander. He immediately ordered thirteen of the ringleaders to be seized and executed, and then, addressing the remainder, pointed out to them how, by his own and his father's exertions, they had been raised from the condition of scattered herdsmen to be the masters of Greece and the lords of Asia; and that whilst he had abandoned to them the richest and most valuable fruits of his conquests, he had reserved nothing but the diadem for himself, as the mark of his superior labors and more imminent perils. He then secluded himself for two whole days, during which his Macedonian guard was exchanged for a Persian one, whilst nobles of the same nation were appointed to the most confidential posts about his person. Overcome by these marks of alienation on the part of their sovereign, the Macedonians now supplicated with tears to be restored to favor. A solemn reconciliation was effected, and ten thousand veterans were dismissed to their homes under the conduct of Craterus. That general was also appointed to the government of Macedonia in place of Antipater, who was ordered to repair to Asia with fresh reinforcements. ~ 23. Soon after these occurrences, Alexander proceeded to Ecbatana, where during the autumn he solemnized the festival of Dionysus with extraordinary splendor. The best actors and musicians in Greece, to the number, it is said, of three thousand, were assembled for the occasion; whilst the natives flocked from all quarters to the Median capital, to witness what was to them a novel spectacle. But Alexander's enjoyment was suddenly converted into bitterness by the death of Hephaestion, who was carried off by a fever. This event threw Alexander into a deep mel 512 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIV. ancholy, from which he never entirely recovered. The memory of He phoestion was honored by extravagant marks of public mourning, and his body was conveyed to Babylon, to be there interred with the utmost magnificence. His name was still retained as commander of a division of the cavalry; and the officer who actually discharged the duties of the post was only regarded as his lieutenant. Alexander entered Babylon in the spring of 324, notwithstanding the warnings of the priests of Belus, who predicted some serious evil to him if he entered the city at that time. Babylon was now to witness the consummation of his triumphs and of his life. As in the last scene of some well-ordered drama, all the results and tokens of his great achievements seemed to be collected there to do honor to his final exit. Ambassadors from all parts of Greece, from Libya, Italy, and probably from still more distant regions, were waiting to salute him, and to do homage to him as the conqueror of Asia; the fleet under Nearchus had arrived, after its long and enterprising voyage, and had been augmented by other vessels constructed in Phoenicia, and thence brought overland to Thapsacus, and down the river to Babylon; whilst for the reception of this navy, which seemed to turn the inland capital of his empire into a port, a magnificent harbor was in process of construction. A more melancholy, and, it may be added, a more useless monument of his greatness, was the funeral pile now rising for Hephaestion, which was constructed with such unparalleled splendor, that it is said to have cost ten thousand talents. The mind of Alexander was still occupied with plans of conquest and ambition; his next design was the subjugation of Arabia; which, however, was to be only the stepping stone to the conquest of the whole known world. He despatched three expeditions to survey the coast of Arabia; ordered a fleet to be built to explore the Caspian Sea; and engaged himself in surveying the course of the Euphrates, and in devising improvements of its navigation. The period for commencing the Arabian campaign had already arrived; solemn sacrifices were offered up for its success, and grand banquets were given previous to departure. At these carousals Alexander drank deep; and at the termination of the one given by his favorite, Medius, he was seized with unequivocal symptoms of fever. For some days, however, he neglected the disorder, and continued to occupy himself with the necessary preparations for the march. But in eleven days the malady had gained a fatal strength, and terminated his life on the 28th of June, B. c. 323, at the early age of thirty-two. Whilst he lay speechless on his death-bed his favorite troops were admitted to see him; but he could offer them no other token of recognition than by stretching out his hand. ~ 24. Few of the great characters of history have been so differently judged as Alexander. Of the magnitude of his exploits, indeed, and of the justice with which, according to the usual sentiments of mankind, they B. C. 323.] CHARACTER OF ALEXANDER. 513 confer upon him the title of " Great," there can be but one opinion: it is his motives for undertaking them that have been called in question. An eminent writer * brands him as an " adventurer "; an epithet which, to a certain extent, must be allowed to be true, but which is not more true of him than of most other conquerors on a large scale. His military renown, however, consists more in the seemingly extravagant boldness of his enterprises, than in the real power of the foes whom he overcame. The resistance he met with was not greater than that which a European army experiences in the present day from one composed of Asiatics; and the empire of the East was decided by the two battles of Issus and Arbela. His chief difficulties were the geographical difficulties of distance, climate, and the nature of the ground traversed. But this is no proof that he was incompetent to meet a foe more worthy of his military skill; and his proceedings in Greece before his departure show the reverse. His motives, it must be allowed, seem rather to have sprung from the love of personal glory and the excitement of conquest, than from any wish to benefit his subjects. The attention which he occasionally devoted to commerce, to the foundation of new cities, and to other matters of a similar kind, form rather episodes in his history, than the real objects at which his aims were directed; and it was not by his own prudence, but through the weariness of his army, that his career of conquest was at length arrested, which he wished to prosecute before he had consolidated what he had already won. Yet on the whole his achievements, though they undoubtedly occasioned great partial misery, must be regarded as beneficial to the human race; the families of which, if it were not for some such movements, would stagnate in solitary listlessness and poverty. By the conquests of Alexander the two continents were put into closer communication with one another; and both, but particularly Asia, were the gainers. The language, the arts, and the literature of Greece were introduced into the East; and after the death of Alexander Greek kingdoms were formed in the western parts of Asia, which continued to exist for many generations. * Niebuhr. Bust of the Poet Menander. 65 514 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLV. The Group of Niobe. From the collection in the Uffic Palace at Florence. CHAPTER XLV. FROM THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT TO THE BATTLE OF IPSUS. 4 1. Division of the Provinces after Alexander's Death. ~ 2. Retrospective View of Grecian Affairs. Revolt of Agis. Demosthenes de Corona. ~ 3. Arrival of Harpalus at Athens. Accusation and Exile of Demosthenes. ~ 4. The Lamian War. Defeat of Antipater, and Siege of Lamia. ~ 5. Defeat and Death of Leonnatus. Battle of Crannon. End ol the Lamian War. ~ 6. Death of Demosthenes. ~ 7. Ambitious Projects of Perdiccas. His Invasion of Egypt, and Death. ~ 8. Fresh Division of the Provinces at Triparadisus. Death of Antipater. Polysperchon becomes Regent, and conciliates the Grecian States. Death of Phocion. ~ 9. War between Polysperchon and Cassander. Ill-success of Polysperchon. Cassander becomes Master of Macedonia, and puts Olympias to Death. 4 10. Coalition against Antigonus. Peace concluded in B. c. 311. Murder of Roxana and her Son. ~ 11. Renewal of the War against Antigonus. Demetrius Poliorcetes expels the Macedonians from Athens. ~ 12. Demetrius Poliorcetes at Cyprus. Battle of Salamis. Attempt on Egypt. Siege of Rhodes. ~ 13. Battle of Ipsus, and Death of Antigonus. ~ 1. THE unexpected death of Alexander threatened to involve both his extensive dominions and his army in inextricable confusion. On the day after his death a military council assembled to decide on the course to be pursued. Alexander on his death-bed is said to have given his signet-ring to Perdiccas, but he had left no legitimate heir to his throne, though his wife Roxana was pregnant. In the discussions which ensued in the. council, Perdiccas assumed a leading part; and after much debate, and a quarrel between the cavalry and infantry, which at first threatened the most serious consequences, an arrangement was at length effected on the following basis: That Philip Arrhidaeus, a young man of weak intellect, the half-brother of Alexander (being the son of Philip by a Thessa B. C. 323.1 PARTITION OF THE EMPIRE. 515 lian woman named Philinna), should be declared king, reserving, however, to the child of Roxana, if a son should be born, a share in the sovereignty; that the government of Macedonia and Greece should be divided between Antipater and Craterus; that Ptolemy, who was reputed to be connected with the royal family, should preside over Egypt and the adjacent countries; that Antigonus should have PhrygiaProper, Lycia, and Pamphylia; that the Hellespontine Phrygia should be assigned to Leonnatus; that Eumenes should have the satrapy of Paphlagonia and Cappadocia, which countries, however, still remained to be subdued; and that Thrace should be committed to Lysimachus. Perdiccas reserved for himself the chiliarchy, or command of the horse-guards, the post before held by Hephsstion, in virtue of which he became the guardian of'Philip Arrhid.eus, the nominal sovereign. It was not till some time after these arrangements had been completed, that the last rites were paid to Alexander's remains. They were conveyed to Alexandria, and deposited in a cemetery which afterwards became the burial-place of the Ptolemies. Nothing could exceed the magnificence of the funeral car, which was adorned with ornaments of massive gold, and so heavy, that more than a year was occupied in conveying it from Babylon to Syria, though drawn by eighty-four mules. In due time Roxana was delivered of a son, to whom the name of Alexander was given, and who was declared the partner of Arrhidmeus in the empire. Roxana had previously inveigled Stateira and her sister Drypetis to Babylon, where she caused them to be secretly assassinated. ~ 2. It is now necessary to take a brief retrospective glance at the affairs of Greece. Three years after Alexander had quitted Europe, the Spartans made a vigorous effort to throw off the Macedonian yoke. They were joined by most of the Peloponnesian states, but the Athenians kept aloof. In B. C. 331, the Spartans took up arms under the command of their king, Agis; but though they met with some success at first, they were finally defeated with great slaughter by Antiphter, near Megalol0olis. Agis fell in the battle, and the chains of Greece were riveted more firmly than ever. This victory, and the successes of Alexander in the East, encouraged the Macedonian party in Athens to take active measures against Demosthenes; and IEschines trumped up an old charge against him which had lain dormant for several years. Soon after the battle of Chaeronea, Ctesiphon had proposed that Demosthenes should be presented with a golden crown in the theatre during the great Dionysiac festival, on account of the services he had conferred upon his country. For proposing this decree _Eschines indicted Ctesiphon; but though the latter was the nominal defendant, it was Demosthenes who was really put upon his trial.* l By the Attic law, a citizen proposing a + tao/,La or decree mightfbe indicted for violation of existing laws, by the process called ypa]) 7rapavo[tciv; provided the prosecutor entered his complaint before the decree had been adopted by the popular assembly, and so 516 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLV The case was decided in 330 B. c., and has been immortalized by the memorable and still extant speeches of AEschines "Against Ctesiphon," and of Demosthenes " On the Crown." AEschines, who did not obtain a fifth part of the votes, and consequently became himself liable to a penalty, was so chagrined at his defeat that he retired to Rhodes. ~ 3. In B. c. 325, Harpalus arrived in Athens. Harpalus was a great favorite with Alexander, as he had embraced his side during his quarrel with his father, Philip. When Alexander, after the conquest of Persia and Media, determined to push on into the interior of Asia, in pursuit of Darius, he left Harpalus at Ecbatana, with six thousand Macedonian troops, in charge of the royal treasures. From thence he removed to Babylon, and appears to have held the important satrapy of that province, as well as the administration of the treasury. It was here that, during the absence of Alexander in India, he gave himself up to the most extravagant luxury and profusion, squandering the treasures intrusted to him, at the same time that he alienated the people subject to his rule by his lustful excesses and extortions. He had probably thought that Alexander would never return from the remote regions of the East into which he had penetrated; but when he at length learnt that the king was on his march back to Susa, and had visited with unsparing rigor those of his officers who had been guilty of any excesses during his absence, he at once saw that his only resource was in flight. Collecting together all the treasures which he could, and assembling a body of six thousand mercenaries, he hastened to the coast of Asia, and from thence crossed over to Attica. He seems to have reckoned on a favorable reception at Athens, as during the time of his prosperity he had made the city a large present of corn, in return for which he had received the right of citizenship. At first, however, the Athenians refused to receive him; but bribes administered to some of the principal orators induced them to alter their determination. Such a step was tantamount to an act of hostility against Macedonia itself; and accordingly Antipater called upon the Athenians to deliver up Harpalus, and to bring to trial those who had accepted his bribes. The Athenians did not venture to disobey these demands. HIarpalus was put into confinement, but succeeded in making his escape from prison. Demosthenes was among the orators who were brought to trial for corruption. He was declared to be guilty, and was condemned to pay a fine of fifty talents. Not being able to raise that sum, he was thrown into prison; but he contrived to make his escape, and went into exile. There are, however, good grounds for doubting his guilt; and it is more probable that he fell a vichad become a law. If the charge was proved to be well founded, the proposer of the decree was liable to a penalty. Ctesiphon was prosecuted by Eschines on this process. The proposal to crown Demosthenes is attacked on three principal points:-1. Demosthenes had not yet settled the accounts of his office. 2. The proposed place was illegal. 3. His political course was unworthy of such a distinguished honor.- ED. B. C. 323.] THE LAMIAN WAR. 517 tim to the implacable hatred of the Macedonian party. Upon quitting Athens, Demosthenes resided chiefly at }Egina or Trcezen, in sight of his native land, and whenever he looked towards her shores it was observed that he shed tears. ~ 4. When the news of Alexander's death reached Athens, the antiMacedonian party, which, since the exile of Demosthenes, was led by Hypereides, carried all before it. The people in a decree declared their determination to support the liberty of Greece; a fleet of two hundred and forty triremes was ordered to be equipped; all citizens under forty years of age were commanded to enroll themselves for service; and Leosthenes was directed to levy an army of mercenaries. Envoys were despatched to all the Grecian states to announce the determination ofAthens, and to exhort them to struggle with her for their independence. This call was responded to in the Peloponnesus only by the smaller states, whilst Sparta, Arcadia, and Achaia kept aloof. In Northern Greece the confederacy was joined by most of the states except the Bceotians; and Leosthenes was appointed commander-in-chief of the allied forces. Phocion, as usual, was opposed to this war, thinking the forces of Athens wholly inadequate to sustain it. Leosthenes scoffed at him, and asked him " what he had ever done for his country during the long time that he was general." "Do you reckon it nothing," answered Phocion, "that the Athenians are buried in the sepulchres of their forefathers?" And when Leosthenes continued his pompous harangues, Phocion said, "Youtng man, your speeches resemble cypress-trees, which are indeed large and lofty, but produce no fruit." " Tell us, then," interrupted Hypereides, " what will be the proper time for the Athenians to make war." Phocion answered, "Not till young men keep within the bounds of decorum, the rich contribute with liberality, and the orators desist from robbing the people." The allied army assembled in the neighborhood of Thermopylae. Antipater now advanced from the north, and offered battle in the vale of the Spercheus; but being deserted by his Thessalian cavalry, who went over to his opponents during the heat of the engagement, he was obliged to retreat, and threw himself into Lamia, a strong fortress on the Malian Gulf. Leosthenes, desirous to finish the war at a blow, pressed the siege with the utmost vigor; but his assaults were repulsed, and he was compelled to resort to the slower method of a blockade. From this town the contest between Antipater and the allied Greeks has been called the Lamian War. ~ 5. The novelty of a victory over the Macedonian arms was received with boundless exultation at Athens, and this feeling was raised to a still higher pitch by the arrival of an embassy fiom Antipater to sue for peace. Phocion was bantered unmercifully. He was asked whether he would not like to have done such great things as Leosthenes? "Cer 518 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLV. tainly,' said he; "but I should not have advised the attempting of them." And when messenger after messenger announced the successes of the Athenian arms, he exclaimed sarcastically, "When shall we have done conquering? " The Athenians were so elated with their good fortune, that they would listen to no terms but the unconditional surrender of Antipater. Meantime Demosthenes, though still an exile, exerted himself in various parts of the Peloponnesus in counteracting the envoys of Antipater, and in endeavoring to gain adherents to the cause of Athens and the allies. The Athenians, in return, invited Demosthenes back to his native country, and a ship was sent to convey him to Peiraus, where he was received with extraordinary honors. Meanwhile Leonnatus, governor of the Hellespontine Phrygia, had appeared on the theatre of war with an army of twenty thousand foot and twenty-five hundred horse. Leosthenes had been slain at Lamia in a sally of the besieged; and Antiphilus, on whom the command of the allied army devolved, hastened to offer battle to Leonnatus before he could arrive at Lami'a. The hostile armies met in one of the plains of Thessaly, where Leonnatus was killed and his troops defeated. Antipater, as soon as the blockade of Lamia was raised, had pursued Antiphilus, and on the day after the battle he effected a junction with the beaten army of Leonnatus. Shortly afterwards, Antipater was still further reinforced by the arrival of Craterus with a considerable force from Asia; and being now at the head of an army which outnumbered the forces of the allies, he marched against them, and gained a decisive victory over them near Crannon in Thessaly, on the 7th of August, B. C. 322. The allies were now compelled to sue for peace; but Antipater refused to treat with them except as separate states, foreseeing that by this means many would be detached from the confederacy. The result- answered his expectations. One by one, the various states submitted, till at length all had laid down their arms. Athens, the original instigator of the insurrection, now lay at the mercy of the conqueror. As Antipater advanced, Phocion used all the influence which he possessed with the Macedonians in favor of his countrymen; but he could obtain no other terms than an unconditional surrender. On a second mission, Phocion received the final demands of Antipater; which were that the Athenians should deliver up a certain number of their orators, among whom were Demosthenes and Hypereides; that their political franchise should be limited by a property qualification; that they should receive a Macedonian garrison in Munychia; and that they should defray the expenses of the war. Such was the result of the Lamian War. ~ 6. After the return of the envoys bringing the ultimatum of Antipater, the sycophant Demades procured a decree for the death of the denounced orators. Demosthenes and the other persons compromised made their escape from Athens before the Macedonian garrison arrived. _Egina was B. C. 322.] DEATH OF DEMOSTHENES. 519 their first place of refuge, but they soon parted in different directions. Hypereides fled to the temple of Demeter at Hermione in Peloponnesus, whilst Demosthenes took refuge in that of Poseidon in the isle of Calaurea, near Troezen. But the satellites of Antipater, under the guidance of a Thurian named Archias, who had formerly been an actor, tore them from their sanctuaries. Hypereides was carried to Athens, and it is said that Antipater took the brutal and cowardly revenge of ordering his tongue to be cut out, and his remains to be thrown to the dogs. Demosthenes contrived at least to escape the insults of the tyrannical conqueror. Archias at first endeavored to entice him from his sanctuary by the blandest promises. But Demosthenes, forewarned, it is said, by a dream, fixing his eyes intently on him, exclaimed, "Your acting, Archias, never touched me formerly, nor do your promises now." And when Archias began to employ threats, " Good," said Demosthenes; "now you speak as from the Macedonian tripod; before you were only playing a part. But wait awhile, and let me write my last directions to my family." So, taking his writing materials, he put the reed into his mouth and bit it for some time, as was his custom when composing; after which he covered his head with his garment and reclined against a pillar. The guards who accompanied Archias, imagining this to be a mere trick, laughed, and called him coward, whilst Archias began to renew his false persuasions. Demosthenes, feeling the poison work, - for such it was that he had concealed in the reed, — now bade him lead on. "You may now," said he, "enact the part of Creon, and cast me out unburied; but at least, O gracious Poseidon, I have not polluted thy temple by my death, which Antipater and his Macedonians would not have scrupled at." But whilst he was endeavoring to walk out, he fell down by the altar and expired. ~ 7. The course of events now carries us back to the East. Perdiccas possessed more power than any of Alexander's generals, and was regarded as the regent of the empire. He had the custody of the infant Alexander, the son of Alexander the Great, and the weak Philip Arrhidmxus was a puppet in his hands. Perdiccas had at first courted the alliance of Antipater, and had even married his daughter Nicaea. But when Olympias offered him the hand of her daughter Cleopatra, if he would assist her against Antipater, Perdiccas resolved to divorce Nicea at the first convenient opportunity, and espouse Cleopatra in her stead, believing that such an alliance with the royal family would pave his way to the Macedonian throne, to which he was now aspiring. His designs, however, were not unknown to Antigonus and Ptolemy; and when he attempted to bring Antigonus to trial for some offence in the government of his satrapy, that general made his escape to Macedonia, where he revealed to Antipater the full extent of the ambitious schemes of Perdiccas, and thus at once in duced Antipater and Craterus to unite in a league with him and Ptolemy, and openly declare war against the regent. Thus assailed on all sides, 520 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLV Perdiccas resolved to direct his arms in the first instance against Ptolemy. In the spring of B. c. 321 he accordingly set out on his march against Egypt, at the head of a formidable army, and accompanied by Philip Arrhidmeus, and Roxana and her infant son. He advanced without opposition as far as Pelusium, but he found the banks of the Nile strongly fortified and guarded by Ptolemy, and was repulsed in repeated attempts to force the passage of the river; in the last of which, near Memphis, he lost great numbers of men, by the depth and rapidity of the current. Perdiccas had never been popular with the soldiery, and these disasters completely alienated their affections. A conspiracy was formed against him, and some of his chief officers murdered him in his tent. ~ 8. The death of Perdiccas was followed by a fresh distribution of the provinces of the empire. At a meeting of the generals held at Triparadisus in Syria, towards the end of the year 321 B. c., Antipater was declared regent, retaining the government of Macedonia and Greece; Ptole-.my was continued in the government of Egypt; Seleucus received the satrapy of Babylon; whilst Antigonus not only retained his old province, but was rewarded with that of Susiana. Antipater did not long survive these events. He died in the year 318, at the advanced age of eighty, leaving Polysperchon, one of Alexander's oldest generals, regent; niuch to the surprise and mortification of his son Cassander, who received only the secondary dignity of Chiliarch, or commander of the cavalry. Cassander was now bent on obtaining the regency,; but seeing no hope of success in Macedonia, he went over to Asia to solicit the assistance of Antigonus. Polysperchon, on his side, sought to conciliate the friendship of the Grecian states by proclaiming them all free and independent, and by abolishing the oligarchies which had been set up by Antipater. In order to enforce these measures, Polysperchon prepared to march into Greece, whilst his son Alexander was despatched beforehand with an army towards Athens, to compel the Macedonian garrison under the command of Nicanor to evacuate Munychia. Nicanor, however, refused to mbve without orders from Cassander, whose general he declared himself to be. Phocion was supposed to be intriguing in favor of Nicanor, and, being accused of treason, fled to Alexander, now encamped before the walls of Athens. Alexander sent Phocion and the friends who accompanied him to his father, who was then in Phocis; and at the same time an Athenian embassy arrived in Polysperchon's camp to accuse Phocion. A sort of mock trial ensued, the result of which was that Phocion was sent back to Athens in chains, to be tried by the Athenian people. The theatre,.where his trial was to take place, was soon full to overflowing. Phocion was assailed on every side by the clamors of his enemies, which prevented his defence from being heard, and he was condemned to death by a show of hands. To the last Phocion maintained his calm and dignified, but some B. C. 317.] WAR BETWEEN POLYSPERCHON AND CASSANDER. 521 what contemptuous bearing. When some wretched man spat upon him as he passed to the prison, "Will no one," said he, " check this fellow's indecency?" To one who asked him whether he had any message to leave for his son Phocus, he answered, " Only that he bear no grudge against the Athenians." And when the hemlock which had been prepared was found insufficient for all the condemned, and the jailer would not furnish more unless he was paid for it, " Give the man his money," said Phocion to one of his friends, "since at Athens one cannot even die for nothing." He died in B. c. 317, at the age of eighty-five. The Athenians afterwards repented of their conduct towards Phocion. His bones, which had been east out on the frontiers of Megara, were subsequently brought back to Athens, and a bronze statue was erected to his memory. ~ 9. Whilst Alexander was negotiating with Nicanor about the surrender of Munychia, Cassander arrived in the Peirqeus with a considerable army, with which Antigonus had supplied him; and though Polysperchon himself soon came up with a large force, he found the fortifications of Peiraus too strong for him. Leaving, therefore, his son to blockade the city, Polysperchon advanced with the greater part of his army into the Peloponnesus. Here he laid siege to Megalopolis; but that town was defended with such extraordinary efforts, that Polysperchon was compelled to withdraw. His ill-success, as well as the destruction of his fleet by the fleet of Cassander, produced an unfavorable turn in the disposition of the Greek states towards Polysperchon, and Athens in particular abandoned his alliance for that of Cassander, who established an oligarchical government in the city under the presidency of Demetrius of Phalerus. At the same time Eurydice, the active and intriguing wife of Philip Arrhideus, conceived the project of throwing off the yoke of the regent, and concluded an alliance with Cassander, while she herself assembled an army with which she obtained for a time the complete possession of Macedonia. But in the spring of 317, Polysperchon, having united his forces with those of AEacides, king of Epeirus, invaded Macedonia, accompanied by Olympias. Eurydice met them with equal daring; but when the mother of Alexander appeared on the field, surrounded by a train in bacchanalian style, the Macedonians at once declared in her favor, and Eurydice, abandoned by her own troops, fled to Amphipolis, where she soon fell into the hands of Olympias, who put both her and her husband to death, with circumstances of the greatest cruelty. She next wreaked her vengeance on the family of Antipater, and on the adherents of Cassander. These events determined Cassander to proceed with all haste into Macedonia. At his approach Olympias threw herself into Pydna, together with Roxana and her son. Cassander forthwith laid siege to this place; and after a blockade of some months it surrendered, in the spring of 316. Olympias had stipulated that her life should be spared, but Cassander soon afterwards caused her to be murdered. After the fall of Pydna all 66 522 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAi. XLV. Macedonia submitted to Cassander; who, after shutting up Roxana and her son in the citadel of Amphipolis, married Thessalonica, a half-sister of Alexander the Great, with the view of strengthening his pretensions to the throne. Shortly afterwards Cassander marched into Greece, and began the restoration of Thebes (B.. 315), in the twentieth year after its destruction by Alexander, a measure highly popular with the Greeks. ~ 10. A new war now broke out in the East. Antigonus had become the most powerful of Alexander's successors. He had conquered Eumenes, who had long defied his arms, and he now began to dispose of the provinces as he thought fit. His increasing power and ambitious projects led to a general coalition against him, consisting of Ptolemy, Seleucus, Cassander, and Lysimachus, the governor of Thrace. The war began in the year 315, and was carried on with great vehemence and alternate success in Syria, Phoenicia, Asia Minor, and Greece. After four years all parties became exhausted with the struggle, and peace was accordingly concluded in 311, on condition that the Greek cities should be free, that Cassander should retain his authority in Europe till Alexander came of age, that Ptolemy and Lysimachus should keep possession of Thrace and Egypt respectively, and that Antigonus should have the government of all Asia. The name of Seleucus does not occur in the treaty. This hollow peace, which had been merely patched up for the convenience of the parties concerned, was not of long duration. It seems to have been the immediate cause of another of those crimes which disgrace the history of Alexander's successors. Alexander, who had now attained the age of sixteen, was still shut up with his mother Roxana in Amphipolis; and his partisans, with injudicious zeal, loudly expressed their wish that he should be released and placed upon the throne. In order to avert this event, Cassander contrived the secret murder both of the mother and the son. ~ 11. This abominable act, however, does not appear to have caused a breach of the peace. Ptolemy was the first to break it (B. c. 310), under the pretext that Antigonus, by keeping his garrisons in the Greek cities of Asia and the islands, had not respected that article of the treaty which guaranteed Grecian freedom. After the war had lasted three years, Antigonus resolved to make a vigorous effort to wrest Greece from the hands of Cassander and Ptolemy, who held all the principal towns in it. Accordingly, in the summer of 307 B. c. he despatched his son Demetrius from Ephesus to Athens, with a fleet of two hundred and fifty sail, and five thousand talents in money. Demetrius, who afterwards obtained the surname of "Poliorcetes," or " Besieger of Cities," was a young man of ardent temperament and great abilities. Upon arriving at the Peirmus, he immediately proclaimed the object of his expedition to be the liberation of Athens and the expulsion of the Macedonian garrison. Supported by the B. C. 306.] BATTLE OF SALAMIS. 523 Macedonians, Demetrius the Phalerean had now ruled Athens for a period of more than ten years. Of mean birth, Demetrius the Phalerean owed his elevation entirely to his talents and perseverance. His skill as an orator raised him to distinction among his countrymen; and his politics, which led him to embrace the party of Phocion, recommended him to Cassander and the Macedonians. He cultivated many branches of literature, and was at once an historian, a philosopher, and a poet; but none of his works have come down to us. During the first period of his administration he appears to have governed wisely and equitably, to have improved the Athenian laws, and to have adorned the city with useful buildings.* But in spite of his pretensions to philosophy, the possession of uncontrolled power soon altered his character for the worse, and he became remarkable for luxury, ostentation, and sensuality. Hence he gradually lost the popularity which he had once enjoyed, and which had prompted the Athenians to raise to him no fewer than three hundred and sixty bronze statues, most of them equestrian. The Athenians heard with pleasure the proclamations of the son of Antigonus; his namesake, the Phalerean, was obliged to surrender the city to him, and to close his political career by retiring to Thebes. The Macedonian garrison in Munychia offered a slight resistance, which was soon overcome. Demetrius Poliorcetes then formally announced to the Athenian assembly the restoration of their ancient constitution, and promised them a large donative of corn and shiptimber. This munificence was repaid by the Athenians with the basest and most abject flattery. Both Demetrius and his father were deified, and two new tribes, those of Antigonias and Demetrias, were added to the existing ten which derived their names from the ancient heroes of Attica. ~ 12. Demetrius Poliorcetes did not, however, remain long at Athens. Early in 306 B. c. he was recalled by his father, and, sailing to Cyprus, undertook the siege of Salamis. Ptolemy hastened to its relief with one hundred and forty vessels and ten thousand troops. The battle that ensued was one of the most memorable in the annals of ancient naval warfare, more particularly on account of the vast size of the vessels engaged. Ptolemy was completely defeated; and so important was the victory deemed by Antigonus, that on the strength of it he assumed the title of king, which he also conferred upon his son. This example was followed by Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Lysimachus. Encouraged by their success at Cyprus, Antigonus and Demetrius made an attempt upon Egypt, which, however, proved a disastrous failure. By way of revenge, Demetrius undertook an expedition against Rhodes, which had refused its aid in the attack upon Ptolemy. It was from the $ A census which Demetrius took of the population of Attica, probably in 309 B. c., the year of his archonship, gave 21,000 freemen, 10,000 metics, or resident aliens, and the amazing number of 400,000 slaves. The wives and families of the free population must of course be added. 524 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIIAP. XLV. memorable siege of Rhodes that Demetrius obtained his name of " Poliorcetes." After in vain attempting to take the town from the sea-side, by means of floating batteries, from which stones of enormous weight were hurled from engines with incredible force against the walls, he determined to alter his plan and invest it on the land-side. With the assistance of Epimachus, an Athenian engineer, he constructed a machine which, in anticipation of its effect, was called Helepolis, or "the city-taker." This was a square wooden tower, one hundred and fifty feet high, and divided into nine stories, filled with armed men, who discharged missiles through apertures in the sides. When armed and prepared for attack, it required the strength of two thousand three hundred men to set this enormous machine in motion. But though this formidable engine was assisted by the operation of two battering-rams, each one hundred and fifty feet long and propelled by the labor of one thousand men, the Rhodians were so active in repairing the breaches made in their walls, that, after a year spent in the vain attempt to take the town, Demetrius was forced to retire and grant the Rhodians peace. ~ 13. Whilst Demetrius was thus employed, Cassander had made great progress in reducing Greece. He had taken Corinth, and was besieging Athens, when Demetrius entered the Euripus. Cassander immediately raised the siege, and was subsequently defeated in an action near Thermopylse. When Demetrius entered Athens, he was received as before with the most extravagant flatteries. He remained two or three years in Greece, during which his superiority over Cassander was decided, though no great battle was fought. In the spring of 301 B. c. he was recalled by his father Antigonus, who stood in need of his assistance against Lysimachus and Seleucus. In the course of the same year the struggle between Antigonus and his rivals was brought to a close by the battle of Ipsus in Phrygia, in which Antigonus was killed, and his army completely defeated. Antigonus had attained the age of eighty-one at the time of his death. Demetrius retreated with the remnant of the army to Ephesus, whence he sailed'to Cyprus, and afterwards proposed to go to Athens; but the Athenians, alienated by his ill-fortune at Ipsus, refused to receive him. Seleucus and Lysimachus shared between them the possessions of Antigonus. Lysimachus seems to have had the greater part of Asia Minor, whilst the whole country from the coast of Syria to the Euphrates, as well as a part of Phrygia and Cappadocia, fell to the share of Seleucus. The latter founded on the Orontes a new capital of his empire, which he named after his father Antioch. The fall of Antigonus secured Cassander in the possession of Greece, though it does not appear that any formal treaty was entered into for that purpose. B. C. 296.] DEMETRIUS CAPTURES ATHENS. 525 Group of Dirce. From the Museum at Naples. CHAPTER XLVI. FROM THE BATTLE OF IPSUS TO THE CONQUEST OF GREECE BY THE ROMANS. ~ 1. Proceedings of Demetrius Poliorcetes. He captures Athens. ~ 2. Obtains the Macedonian Crown. His Flight and Death. ~ 3. Lysimachus reigns over Macedonia. He is defeated and slain by Seleucus. ~ 4. Seleucus assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus. Invasion of the Celts, and Death of Ptolemy Ceraunus. ~ 5. Antigonus Gonatas ascends the Macedonian Throne. Death of Pyrrhus of Epeirus. Chremonidean War. ~ 6. The Achaean League. ~ 7. State of Sparta. Reforms of Agis and Cleomenes. The Cleomenic War. ~ 8. The tolian League. ~ 9. The Social War. ~ 10. War between Philip and the Romans. ~ 11. Philopoemen. ~ 12. Second War between Philip and the-Romans. Battle of Cynoscephale. ~ 13. Defeat of Antiochus, and Subjugation of the Atolians by the Romans. ~ 14. Extension of the Achaean League. Conquest of Sparta. Death of Philopcemen. ~ 15. War between Perseus and the Romans. Conquest of Macedonia. 16. Proceedings of the Romans in Greece. ~ 17. Athens and Oropus. War between the Acheans and Spartans. ~ 18. The Spartans appeal to the Romans, who reduce Greece into a Roman Province. ~ 1. AFTER his repulse from Athens, Demetrius proceeded towards Peloponnesus, but found that his allies in that quarter had also abandoned him and embraced the cause of Cassander. He was, however, neither ruined nor discouraged. On leaving the Peloponnesus (B. C. 300) he proceeded to the Thracian Chersonese, and ravaged the territory of Lysimachus. Whilst engaged in this expedition he was agreeably surprised by receiving an embassy from Seleucus, by which that monarch solicited his daughter Stratonlce in marriage. Demetrius gladly granted the request, and found himself so much strengthened by this alliance, that in the spring of the year 296 he was in a condition again to attack Athens, 526 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIHP. XLVI. which he captured after a long siege, and drove out the bloodthirsty tyrant Lachares, who had been established there by Cassander. Such was. the extremity of famine to which the Athenians had been reduced, that we are told of a father and son quarrelling for a dead mouse; and the philosopher Epicurus supported himself, and the society over which he presided, by dividing amongst them daily a small quantity of beans. On becoming master of the city, Demetrius, much to the surprise of the Athenians, treated them with great lenity and indulgence, and, in consideration of their distresses, made them a present of a large quantity of corn. ~ 2. Meanwhile Cassander had died shortly before the siege of Athens, and was succeeded on the throne of Macedon by his eldest son, Philip IV.* But that young prince died in 295, and the succession was disputed between his two brothers, Antipater and Alexander. Their mother Thessalonica, a daughter of the great Philip, seems to have been their guardian, and to have attempted to arrange their disputes by dividing the kingdom between them; but Antipater, thinking that she favored Alexander, slew her with his own hand in a fit of jealous rage. Alexander now called in the aid of Pyrrhus, king of Epeirus, as well as of Demetrius, who was in the Peloponnesus with his army. Pyrrhus, as the nearest, was the first to respond to this call, and effected a partition of Macedonia between the two brothers; an arrangement, which, as it weakened a neighboring kingdom, was favorable to his own interests. Shortly afterwards (294) Demetrius, who saw in the distracted state of Macedonia an opening for his own ambitious designs, appeared in that country with his forces. Alexander having joined him with his army, Demetrius caused that young prince to be assassinated, and was saluted king by the troops. Demetrius reigned over Macedonia, and the greater part of Greece, about seven years. He aimed at recovering the whole of his father's dominions in Asia; but before he was ready to take the field, his adversaries, alarmed at his preparations, determined to forestall him. In the spring of B. C. 287, Ptolemy sent a powerful fleet against Greece, while Pyrrhus on the one side and Lysimachus on the other simultaneously invaded Macedonia. Demetrius had completely alienated his own subjects by his proud and haughty bearing, and by his lavish expenditure on his own luxuries; while Pyrrhus, by his generosity, affability, and daring courage, had become the hero of the Macedonians, who looked upon him as a second Alexander. The appearance of Pyrrhus was the signal for revolt: the Macedonian troops flocked to his standard, and Demetrius was compelled to fly. Pyrrhus now ascended the throne of Macedonia; but his reign was of brief duration; and at the end of seven months he was in turn driven out by Lysimachus. Demetrius made several attempts to regain his power in Greece, and then set sail for Asia, k Philip Arrhidaeus is called Philip III. B. C. 281.] LYSIMACHUS DEFEATED AND SLAIN. 527 where he successively endeavored to establish himself in the territories of Lysimachus, and of his son-in-law, Seleucus. Falling at length into the hands of the latter, he was kept in a kind of magnificent captivity in a royal residence in Syria; where, in 283, at the early age of fifty-five, his checkered, career was brought to a close, partly by chagrin, and partly by the sensual indulgences with which he endeavored to divert it. ~ 3. The history of Alexander's successors continued to be marked to the end by the same ambition, the same dissensions, and the same crimes which had stained it from the first. The power of Lysimachus had been greatly increased by the acquisition of Macedonia; and he now found himself in possession of all the dominions in Europe that had formed part of the Macedonian monarchy, as well as of the greater part of Asia Minor. Of Alexander's immediate successors, Lysimachus and Seleucus were the only two remaining competitors for power; and with the exception of Egypt, those two sovereigns divided Alexander's empire between them. In Egypt the aged Ptolemy had abdicated in 285 in favor of his son by Berenice, afterwards known as Ptolemy Philadelphus, and to the exclusion of his eldest son, Ptolemy Ceraunus, by his wife Eurydice. Ptolemy Ceraunus quitted Egypt in disgust, and fled to the court of Lysimachus: and although Arsinoe, the wife of Lysimachus, was own sister to his rival, Ptolemy Philadelphus, he succeeded in gaining her entire confidence. Arsinoe, jealous of her step-son Agathocles, the heir apparent to the throne, and desirous of securing the succession for her own children, conspired with Ptolemy Ceraunus against his life. She even procured the consent of Lysimachus to his murder; and after some vain attempts to make away with him by poison, he was flung into prison, where Ptolemy Ceraunus despatched him with his own hand. Lysandra, the mother of Agathocles, fled with the rest of her family to Seleucus, to demand from him protection and vengeance; and Seleucus, induced by the hopes of success inspired by the discontent and dissensions which so foul an act had excited among the subjects of Lysimachus, espoused her cause. The hostilities which ensued between him and Lysimachus were brought to a termination by the battle of Corupedion, fought near Sardis in 281, in which Lysimachus was defeated and slain. By this victory, Macedonia, and the whole of Alexander's empire, with the exception of Egypt, Southern Syria, Cyprus, and part of Phoenicia, fell under the sceptre of Seleucus. ~ 4. That monarch, who had not beheld his native land since he first joined the expedition of Alexander, now crossed the Hellespont to take possession of Macedonia. Ptolemy Ceraunus, who after the battle of Corupedion had thrown himself on the mercy of Seleucus, and had been received with forgiveness and favor, accompanied him on this journey. The murder of Agathocles had not been committed by Ptolemy merely to oblige Arsinoe. He had even then designs upon the supreme 528 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVI power, which he now completed by another crime. As Seleucus stopped to sacrifice at a celebrated altar near Lysimachia in Thrace, Ptolemy treacherously assassinated him by stabbing him in the back (280). After this base and cowardly act, Ptolemy Ceraunus, who gave himself out as the avenger of Lysimachus, was, by one of those movements wholly inexplicable to our modern notions, saluted king by the army; but the Asiatic dominions of Seleucus fell to his son Antiochus, surnamed Soter. The crime of Ptolemy, however, was speedily overtaken by a just punishment. In the very same year his kingdom of Macedonia and Thrace was invaded by an immense host of Celts, and Ptolemy fell at the head of the forces which he led against them. A second invasion of the same barbarians compelled the Greeks to raise a force for their defence, which was intrusted to the command of the Athenian Callippus (B. c. 279). On this occasion the Celts, attracted by the report of treasures which were now perhaps little more than an empty name, penetrated as far southwards as Delphi, with the view of plundering the temple. The god, it is said, vindicated his sanctuary on this occasion in the same supernatural manner as when it was attacked by the Persians; it is at all events certain that the Celts were repulsed with great loss, including that of their leader, Brennus. Nevertheless some of their tribes succeeded in establishing themselves near the Danube; others settled on the sea-coast of Thrace; whilst a third portion passed over into Asia, and gave their name to the country called Galatia. ~ 5. After the death of Ptolemy Ceraunus, Macedonia fell for some time into a state of anarchy and confusion, and the crown was disputed by several pretenders. At length, in 278, Antigonus Gonatas, son of Demetrius Poliorcetes, succeeded in establishing himself on the throne of Macedonia; and with the exception of two or three years (274- 272) during which he was temporarily expelled by Pyrrhus, he continued to retain possession of it till his death in 239. The struggle between Antigonus and Pyrrhus was brought to a close at Argos, in 272. Pyrrhus had marched into the Peloponnesus with a large force in order to make war upon Sparta, but with the collateral design of reducing the places which still held out for Antigonus. Pyrrhus, having failed in an attempt to take Sparta, marched against Argos, where Antigonus also arrived with his forces. Both armies entered the city by opposite gates; and in a battle which ensued in the streets, Pyrrhus was struck from his horse by a tile hurled by a woman from a house-top, and was then despatched by some soldiers of Antigonus. Such was the inglorious end of one of the bravest and most warlike monarchs of antiquity; whose character for moral virtue, though it would not stand the test of modern scrutiny, shone out conspicuously in comparison with that of contemporary sovereigns; but whose enterprises, undertaken rather from the love of action than from any well-directed ambition, were rendered abortive by their desultory nature. B. C. 251.] THE ACHEAN LEAGUE. 529 Antigonus Gonatas now made himself master of the greater part of Peloponnesus, which he governed by means of tyrants whom he established in various cities. He then applied himself to the reduction of Athens, whose defence was assisted by an Egyptian fleet and a Spartan army. This war, which is sometimes called the Chremonidean War from the Athenian Chremonides, who played a conspicuous part in defending the city, lasted six or seven years, and reduced the Athenians to great misery. Athens was at length taken, probably in 262. ~ 6. While all Greece, with the exception of Sparta, seemed hopelessly prostrate at the feet of Macedonia, a new political power, which sheds a lustre on the declining period of Grecian history, arose in a small province in Peloponnesus, of which the very name has been hitherto rarely mentioned since the heroic age. In Achaia, a narrow slip of country upon the shores of the Corinthian Gulf, a league, chiefly for religious pirposes, had existed from a very early period among the twelve chief cities of the province. This league, however, had never possessed much political importance, and it had been finally suppressed by the Macedonians. At the time of which we are speaking, Antigonus Gonatas was in possession of all the cities formerly belonging to the league, either by means of his garrisons or of the tyrants who were subservient to him. It was, however, this very oppression that led to a more efficient revival of the league. The Achean towns, now only ten in number, as two had been destroyed by earthquakes, began gradually to coalesce again; a process which was much facilitated after Antigonus had withdrawn from Greece to take up his residence at Pella, where the affairs of Macedonia chiefly occupied his attention. But Aratus of Sicyon, one of the most remarkable characters of this period of Grecian history, was the man who, about the year 251 B. C., first called the new league into active political existence. Aratus was one of those characters who, though not deficient in boldness and daring, seem incapable of exerting these qualities except in stratagems and ambuscades. He had long lived in exile at Argos, whilst his native city groaned under the dominion of a succession of tyrants. Having collected a band of exiles, Aratus surprised Sicyon in the night-time, and drove out the last and most unpopular of these tyrants. Instead of seizing the tyranny for himself, as he might easily have done, Aratus consulted only the advantage of his country, and with this view united Sicyon with the Achaean league. The accession of so important a town does not appear to have altered the constitution of the confederacy. The league was governed by a Strategus, or general, whose functions were both military and civil; a G&rmnmateus, or secretary; and a council of ten demiurgi. The sovereignty, however, resided in the general assembly, which met twice a year in a sacred grove near 2Egium. It was composed of every Achgean who had attained the age of thirty, and possessed the right of electing the officers of the league, and of deciding all questions of war, 67 530 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CAP. XLVL peace, foreign alliances, and the like. In the year 245 B. c. Aratus was elected Strategus of the league, and again in 243. In the latter of these years he succeeded in wresting Corinth from the Macedonians by another nocturnal surprise, and uniting it to the league. The confederacy now spread with wonderful rapidity. It was soon joined by Trcezen, Epidaurus, Hermione, and other cities; and ultimately embraced Athens, Megara, JEgina, Salamis, and the whole Peloponnesus, with the exception of Sparta, Elis, and some of the Arcadian towns. ~ 7. Sparta, it is true, still continued to retain her independence, but without a shadow of her former greatness and power. The primitive simplicity of Spartan manners had been completely destroyed by the collection of wealth into a few hands, and by the consequent progress of luxury. The number of Spartan citizens had been reduced to seven hundred; but even of these there were not above a hundred who possessed a sufficient quantity of land to maintain themselves in independence. The Spartan kings had ceased to be the patriotic servants and generals of their country. Like the Condottieri of more modern times, they were accustomed, since the time of Alexander the Great, to let out their services to the highest bidder; and, no longer content with the simple habits of their forefathers, they repaired to foreign courts in order to squander the wealth thus acquired in luxuries which they could not procure at home. The young king, Agis IV., who succeeded to the crown in 244, attempted to revive the ancient Spartan virtue, by restoring the institutions of Lycurgus, by cancelling all debts, and by making a new distribution of lands; and with this view he relinquished all his own property, as well-as that of his family, for the public good. These reforms, though promoted by one of the Ephors, were opposed by Leonidas, the colleague of Agis in the monarchy, who rallied the majority of the more wealthy citizens around him. Agis and his party succeeded, however, in deposing Leonidas, and for a time his plans promised to be successful; but having undertaken an expedition to assist Aratus against the 2Etolians, the opposite party took advantage of his absence to reinstate Leonidas, and when Agis returned, he was put to death (241). But a few years afterwards, Cleomenes, the son of Leonidas, succeeded in effecting the reforms which had been contemplated by Agis; a course which he was probably induced to take by the widow of Agis, whom he had married. It was his military successes that enabled Cleomenes to carry out his political views. Aratus, in his zeal for extending the AchcLan confederacy, attempted to seize the Arcadian towns of Orchomenus, Tegea, and Mantinea, which the 2Etolians had ceded to Sparta, whereupon a war ensued (227-226) in which the forces of the league were defeated by Cleomenes. The latter then suddenly returned home at the head of his victorious army, and, after putting the Ephors to death, proceeded to carry out the reforms projected by Agis, as well as several others which regarded military discipline. The effect of these B. C. 220.] THE,ETOLIAN LEAGUE. 531 new measures soon became visible in the increased success of the Spartan arms. Aratus was so hard pressed that he was compelled to solicit the assistance of the Macedonians. Both Antigonus Gonatas and his son Demetrius II. - who had reigned in Macedonia from 239 to 226 B. C.were now dead, and the government was administered by Antigonus DOson, as guardian of Philip, the youthful son of Demetrius II. Antigonus D6s5n, who obtained the latter surname from his readiness in making promises, was the grandson of Demetrius Poliorcetes, and the nephew of Antigonus Gonatas. The Macedonians compelled him to accept the crown: but he remained faithful to his trust as guardian of Philip, whose mother he married; and though he had children of his own by her, yet Philip succeeded him on his death. It was to Antigonus Dos6n that Aratus applied for assistance; and in 223 the Macedonian king marched into the Peloponnesus and compelled Cleomenes to retire into Laconia. This war between Cleomenes and Aratus, which is called the Cleomenic war, lasted altogether about six years. It broke out in 227, and was not brought to a close till two years after the intervention of D56sn. After his defeat, Cleomenes raised a considerable sum by allowing six thousand Helots to purchase their freedom; and having thus recruited his army, he in the following year attacked and destroyed Megalopolis. He afterwards pushed his successes up to the very walls of Argos; but in 221 he was totally defeated by Antigonus Doson in the fatal battle of Sellasia in Laconia. The army of Cleomenes was almost totally annihilated; he himself was obliged to fly to Egypt; and Sparta, which for many centuries had remained unconquered, fell into the hands of the victor. ~ 8. Antigonus, however, did not live long to enjoy his success. Before the end of the year he was recalled to Macedonia by an invasion of the Illyrians, which he repelled; but he shortly afterwards died of a consumption. He was succeeded by Philip V., the son of Demetrius II., who was then about sixteen or seventeen years of age. His youth encouraged the _Etolians to make predatory incursions into the Peloponnesus. That people were a species of freebooters, and the terror of their neighbors; yet they were united, like the Acheans, in a confederacy or league. The AEtolian League was a confederation of tribes instead of cities, like the Achaean. Its history is involved in obscurity; but it must at all events have had a fixed constitution even in the time of Philip and Alexander the Great, since Aristotle wrote a treatise on it; and after the death of Alexander we find the League taking a prominent part in the Lamian war. The diet or council of the league, called the Panaetolicum, assembled every autumn, generally at Thermon, to elect the Strategus and other officers; but the details of its affairs were conducted by a committee called Apocleti, who seem to have formed a sort of permanent council. The lEtolians had availed themselves of the disorganized state of Greece consequent upon the death of Alexander to extend their power, and had 532 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVI. gradually made themselves masters of Locris, Phocis, Boeotia, together with portions of Acarnania, Thessaly, and Epeirus. Thus both the Amphictyonic Council and the oracle of Delphi were in their power. They had early wrested Naupactus from the Acheans, and had subsequently acquired several Peloponnesian cities. ~ 9. Such was. the condition of the 2Etolians at the time of Philip's accession. Soon after that event we find them, under the leadership of Dorimachus, engaged in a series of-freebooting expeditions in Messenia, and other parts of Peloponnesus. Aratus marched to the assistance of the Messenians at the head of the Achaan forces, but was totally defeated in a battle near Caphyre. The Achfeans now saw no hope of safety except through the assistance of Philip. That young monarch was ambitious and enterprising, possessing considerable military ability and much political sagacity. He readily listened to the application of the Achaans, and in 220 entered into an alliance with them. The war which ensued between the, Etolians on one side, and the Achans, assisted by Philip, on tile other, and which lasted about three years, has been called the Social War. Philip gained several victories over the AEtolians, but he concluded a treaty of peace with them in 217, because he was anxious to turn his arms against another and more formidable power. ~ 10. The great struggle, now going on between Rome and Carthage, attracted the attention of the whole civilized world. It was evident that Greece, distracted by intestine quarrels, must soon be swallowed up by whichever of those great states might prove successful; and of the two, the ambition of the Romans, who had already gained a footing on the eastern shores of the Adriatic, was by far the more formidable to Greece. Philip's inclination to take part in the great. struggle in the west was increased by the news of the overthrow of the Romans at the lake of Trasimene; and he therefore readily listened to the advice and solicitations of Demetrius of Pharos, who had been driven by the Romans from his I1lyrian dominions, and who now appealed to him for assistance. After the conclusion of the peace with the JEtolians, Philip prepared a large fleet, which he employed to watch the movements of the Romans, and in the following year (216) he concluded a treaty with Hannibal, which, among other clauses, provided that the Romans should not be allowed to retain their conquests on the eastern side of the Adriatic. He even meditated an invasion of Italy, and with that view endeavored to make himself master of Apollonia and Oricum. But though he succeeded in taking the latter city, the Romans, under M. Valerius Lxvinus, surprised his camp whilst he was besieging Apollonia; and as they had likewise blockaded the mouth of the river Aous with their fleet, Philip was compelled to burn his ships and retire. Meanwhile Philip had acted in a most arbitrary manner in the affairs of Greece; and when Aratus remonstrated with him respecting his proceedings, he got rid of his former friend and counsellor by means of a slow and secret poison (B. c. 213). B. C. 208.] PHILOPoEMEN. 533 When the affairs of the Romans had begun to recover in Italy, they directed their attention more seriously towards Greece, and in the year 211 concluded an alliance with the AEtolians, who were now weary of peace, and, declared war against Philip. Before the end of the year, the Romans made themselves masters of Zacynthus, with the exception of the capital; and, having also wrested AEniadae and Naxos from the Acarnanians, transferred these acquisitions to the 2Etolians, and retained the booty for themselves, agreeably to the treaty. In the following year the town of Anticyra and the island of 2Egina were treated in a similar manner. ~ 11. In B. C. 209, the Achelans, being hard pressed by the 2Etolians, were again induced to call in the aid of Philip. The spirit of the Achaeans was at this time revived by Philopcemen, one of the few noble characters of the period, and who has been styled by Plutarch " the last of the Greeks." HIe was a native of Megalopolis in Arcadia, and had already distinguished himself in the Cleomenic war, and especially at the battle of Sellasia, which was mainly won by a decisive charge which he made, without orders, at the head of the Megalopolitan horse. In 210 he was appointed to the command of the Achean cavalry, and in 208 he was elected Strategus of the League. In both these posts Philopoemen made great alterations and improvements in the arms and discipline of the Achean forces, which he assimilated to those of the Macedonian phalanx. These reforms, as well as the public spirit with which he had inspired the Achalans, were attended with the most beneficial results. In 207 Philopoemen gained at 3Mantinea a signal victory over the Lacedaemonians, who had joined the Roman alliance; four thousand of them were left upon the field, and among them Machanidas, who had made himself tyrant of Sparta. This decisive battle, combined with the withdrawal of the Romans, who, being desirous of turning their undivided attention towards Cartha, had made peace with Philip (205), secured for a few years the tranquillity of Greece. It also raised the fame of Philopcemen to its highest point; and in the next Nemean festival, being a second time general of the league, he was hailed by the assembled Greeks as the liberator of their country. ~ 12. Upon the conclusion of the second Punic war, the Romans renewed their enterprises in Greece, for which the conduct of Philip, who had assisted the Carthaginians, afforded them ample pretence. Philip's attempts in the AlEgean Sea and in Attica had also caused many complaints to be lodged against him at Rome; and in B. c. 200 the Romans declared war against him. Athens, which he had besieged, was relieved by a Roman fleet; but before he withdrew, Philip, prompted by anger and revenge, displayed his barbarism by destroying the gardens and buildings in the guburbs, including the Lyceum and the tombs of the Attic heroes; and in a second incursion which he made, with large reinforcements, he committed still greater excesses. For some time, however 534 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVI the war lingered on without any decided success on either side. But in 198 the Consul T. Quinctius Flamininus succeeded in gaining over the Achean league to the Roman alliance; and as the iEtolians had previously deserted Philip, both those powers fought for a short time on the same side. In 197 the struggle between the Romans and Philip was brought to a termination by the battle of Cynoscephale, near Scotussa, in Thessaly, which decided the fate of the Macedonian monarchy. Philip was obliged to sue for peace, and in the following year (196) a treaty was ratified, by which the Macedonians were compelled to renounce their supremacy, to withdraw their garrisons from the Grecian towns, to surrender their fleet, and to pay a thousand talents for the expenses of the war. At the ensuing Isthmian games, Flamininus solemnly proclaimed the freedom of the Greeks, and was received by them with overwhelming joy and gratitude. The Romans, however, still held the fortresses of the Acrocorinthos, Demetrias, and Chalcis; and it was not till 194 that they showed any real intention of carrying out their promises by withdrawing their armies from Greece. ~ 13. The iEtolians, dissatisfied with these arrangements, endeavored to persuade Nabis, who had succeeded 1rMachanidas as tyrant of Sparta, Antiochus III., king of Syria, as well as Philip, to enter into a league against the Romans. But Antiochus alone, at whose court Hannibal was then residing as a refugee, ventured to listen to these overtures. He passed over into Greece with a wholly inadequate force, and was defeated by the Romans at Thermopylae (B. c. 191). The _Etolians were now compelled to make head against the Romans by themselves. After some ineffectual attempts at resistance, they were reduced to sue for peace, which they at length obtained, but on the most humiliating conditions (B. c. 189). These, as dictated to them in Ambracia, by M. Fulvius Nobilior, differed but little fiom an unconditional surrender. They were required to acknowledge the supremacy of Rome, to renounce all the conquests they had recently made, to pay an indemnity of five hundred talents, and to engage in future to aid the Romans in their wars. The power of the AEtolian league was thus for ever crushed, though it seems to have existed, in name at least, till a much later period. ~ 14. The Achaean league still subsisted, but was destined before long to experience the same fate as its rival. At first, indeed, it enjoyed the protection of the Romans, and even acquired an extension of members through their influence; but this protectorate involved a state of almost absolute dependence. Philopoemen also had succceeded, in the year 192, in adding Sparta to the league, which now embraced the whole of Peloponnesus. But Sparta having displayed symptoms of insubordination, Philopoemen marched against it in 188, and captured the city; when he put to- death eighty of the leading men, commanded all the inhabitants who had been enfranchised by the recent tyrants to leave the place by a B. C. 172.] WAR BETWEEN PERSEUS AND THE ROMANS. 535 fixed day, razed the walls and fortifications, abolished the institutions of Lycurgus, and compelled the citizens to adopt the democratic constitution of the A'chaeans. Meanwhile, the Romans regarded with satisfaction the internal dissensions of Greece, which they foresaw would only render her an easier prey, and neglected to answer the appeals of the Spartans for protection. In 183 the Messenians, under the leadership of Dinocrates, having revolted from the league, Philopoemei, who had now attained the age of seventy, led an expedition against them; but having fallen fiom his horse in a skirmish of.cavalry, he was captured, and conveyed with many circumstances of ignominy to Messene, where, after a sort of mock trial, he was executed. His fate was avenged by Lycortas, the commander of the Achaean cavalry, the father of the historian Polybius. In the following year, Lycortas, now Strategus, captured Messene, and having compelled those who had been concerned in the death of Philopomen to put an end to their own lives, conveyed the ashes of that general to Megalopolis, where they were interred with heroic honors. ~ 15. In B. c. 179 Philip died, and was succeeded by his son Perseus, the last monarch of Macedonia. The latter years of the reign of Philip had been spent in preparations for a renewal of the war, which he foresaw to be inevitable; and when Perseus ascended the throne, he found himself amply provided with men and money for the impending contest. But, whether from a sincere desire of peace, or from irresolution of character, he sought to avert an open rupture as long as possible, and one of the first acts of his reign was to obtain from the Romans a renewal of the treaty which they had concluded with his father. It is probable that neither party was sincere in the conclusion of this peace, at least neither could entertain any hope of its duration; yet a period of seven years elapsed before the mutual enmity of the two powers broke out into open hostilities. Meanwhile, Perseus was not idle; he secured the attachment of his subjects by equitable and popular measures, and formed alliances, not only with the Greeks and the Asiatic princes, but also with the Thracian, IIlyrian, and Celtic tribes which surrounded his dominions. The Romans naturally viewed these proceedings with jealousy and suspicion; and at length, in 172, Perseus was formally accused before the Roman Senate, by Eumenes, king of Pergamus, in person, of entertaining hostile designs against the Roman power. The murder of Eumenes near Delphi, on his return homewards, of which Perseus was suspected, aggravated the feeling against him at Rome, and in the following year war was declared against him. Perseus was at the head of a numerous and well-appointed army, but of all his allies only Cotys, king of the Odrysians, ventured to support him against so formidable a foe. Yet the war was protracted three years without any decisive result; nay, the balance of success seemed on the whole to incline in favor of Perseus, and many states, which before were wavering, 536 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVI. now showed a disposition to join his cause. But his ill-timed parsimony restrained him from taking advantage of their offers, and in 168 the arrival of the Consul L. XEmilius Paulus completely changed the aspect of affairs. Perseus was driven from a strong position which he had taken up on the banks of the Enipeus, forced to retreat to Pydna, and finally to accept an engagement near that town. At first the serried ranks of the phalanx seemed to promise superiority; but its order having been broken by the inequalities of the ground, the Roman legionaries penetrated into the disordered mass, and committed fearful carnage, to the extent, it is said, of twenty thousand men. Perseus fled first to Pella, then to Amphipolis, and finally to the sanctuary of the sacred island of Samothrace, but was at length obliged to surrender himself to a Roman squadron. IHe was carried to Rome to adorn the triumph of Paulus (167), and was afterwards cast into a dungeon; from whence, however, he was liberated at the intercession of his conqueror, and permitted to spend the remainder of his life in a sort of honorable captivity at Alba. Such was the end of the Macedonian empire, which was now divided into four districts, each under the jurisdiction of an oligarchical council. ~ 16. The Roman commissioners deputed to arrange the affairs of Macedonia did not confine their attention to that province, but evinced their designs of bringing all Greece under the Roman sway. In these views they were assisted by various despots and traitors in different Grecian cities, and especially by Callicrates, a man of great influence among the Acheans, and who for many years lent himself as the base tool of the Romans to effect the enslavement of his country. After the fall of Macedonia, Callicrates denounced more than a thousand leading Achseans who had favored the cause of Perseus. These, among whom was Polybius the historian, were apprehended and sent to Rome for trial. Polybius was one of the survivors, who, after a captivity of seventeen years, were permitted to return to their native country. A still harder fate was experienced by AZtolia, Bmcotia, Acarnania, and Epeirus. In the last-named country, especially, no fewer than seventy of the principal towns were abandoned by Paulus to his soldiers for pillage, and a hundred and fifty thousand persons are said to have been sold into slavery. ~ 17. An obscure quarrel between Athens and Oropus was the remote cause which at length afforded the Romans a pretence for crushing the small remains of Grecian independence by the destruction of the Achaean league. For some time Athens had been reduced to a sort of political mendicancy, and was often fain to seek assistance in her distress from the bounty of the Eastern princes or of the Ptolemies of Egypt. In the year 156 the poverty of the Athenians became so urgent, that they were induced to make a piratical expedition against Oropus for the purposes of plunder. On the complaint of the Oropians, the Roman Senate assigned the adjudication of the matter to the Sicyonians, who condemned the B. C. 147.] ROMAN COMMISSIONERS SENT TO GREECE. 537 Athenians to pay the large fine of five hundred talents. In order to ob, tain a mitigation of this fine the Athenians despatched to Rome (in 151) the celebrated embassy of the three philosophers, - Diogenes the Stoic, Critolaiis the Peripatetic, and Carneades, the founder of the third Academy. The ambassadors were nominally successful, since they obtained a reduction of the fine to a hundred talents; a sum, however, still much greater than the Athenians were in a condition to pay. The subsequent relations between Athens and Oropus are obscure; but in 150 we find the Oropians complaining of a fresh aggression, which consisted in an attack upon some of their citizens by the Athenian soldiers. On this occasion the Oropians appealed for protection to the Achaean league, which, however, at first declined to interfere. The Oropians now bribed a Spartan named Menalcidas, who was at that time Strategus, with a present of ten talents; and Menalcidas employed the corrupt influence of Callicrates to procure the intervention of the league. Menalcidas having subsequently defrauded Callicrates of the sum which he had promised him, the latter accused him of having advised the Romans during his administration to effect the detachment of Sparta from the league. Menalcidas escaped condemnation by bribing Dieus, his successor in the office of Strategus. But such was the obloquy incurred by Diaeus through this transaction, that, in order to divert public attention from himself, he incited the Achaeans to violent measures against Sparta, which ultimately involved the league in a fatal struggle with Rome. His pretext for making war on the Spartans was, that, instead of appealing to the league respecting a boundary question, as they ought to have done, they had violated its laws by sending a private embassy to Rome. ~ 18. The Spartans, feeling themselves incompetent to resist this attack, appealed to the Romans for assistance; and in 147 two Roman commissioners were sent to Greece to settle these disputes. These commissioners decided that not only Sparta, but Corinth, and all the other cities except those of Achaia, should be restored to their independence. This decision occasioned serious riots at Corinth. All the Spartans in the town were seized, and even the Roman commissioners narrowly escaped violence. On their return to Rome a fresh embassy was despatched to demand satisfaction for these outrages. But the violent and impolitic conduct of Critolaiis, then Strategus of the league, rendered all attempts at accommodation fruitless, and after the return of the ambassadors the Senate declared war against the league. The cowardice and incompetence of Critolas as a general were only equalled by his previous insolence. On the approach of the Romans under Metellus from Macedonia, he did not even venture to make a stand at Thermopylse; and being overtaken by them near Scarphla in Locris, he was totally defeated, and never again heard of. Diasus, who succeeded him as Strategus, displayed rather more energy and courage. But a fresh Roman force under MIummius having 68 538 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVI landed on the isthmus, Diaeus was overthrown in a battle near Corinth; and that city was immediately evacuated, not only by the troops of the league, but also by the greater part of the inhabitants. On entering it Mummius put the few males who remained to the sword; sold the women and children as slaves; and, having carried away all its treasures, consigned it to the flames (B. c. 146). Corinth was filled with masterpieces of ancient art; but Mummius was so insensible of their surpassing excellence, as to stipulate with those who contracted to convey them to Italy, that, if any were lost in the passage, they should be replaced by others of equal value! Mummius then employed himself in chastising and regulating the whole of Greece; and ten commissioners were sent from Rome to settle its future condition. The whole country, to the borders of Macedonia and Epeirus, was formed into a Roman province, under the name of Achaia, derived from that confederacy which had made the last struggle for its political existence. Apollo Citharcedus. From the collection in the Vatican. CHAP. XLVII.] LATER SCHOOL OF ATTIC SCULPTURE. 53 Group of the Laocoon in the Vatican. CHAPTER XLVII. HISTORY OF GRECIAN ART FROM THE END OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR TO ITS DECLINE. ~ 1. Later School of Athenian Sculpture. ~ 2. Scopas. ~ 3. Praxiteles. ~ 4. Sicyonian School of Sculpture. Euphranor, Lysippus. ~ 5. Sicyonian School of Painting. Eupompus, Pamphilus, Apelles. ~ 6. Architecture. ~ 7. Period after Alexander the Great. School of Rhodes. ~ 8. Plunder of Greek Works of Art by the Romans. ~ 1. AFTER the close of the Peloponnesian war, what is called the second or later school of Attic sculpture still continued to assert its pre-eminence. In style and character, however, it presented a marked difference from the school of the preceding age. The excitement and misfortunes which had attended the war had worked a great change in the Athenians. This was communicated to their works of art, which now manifested an expression of stronger passion and of deeper feeling. The serene and composed majesty which had marked the gods and heroes of the earlier artists altogether vanished. The new school of sculptors preferred to take other deities for their subjects than those which had been selected by their predecessors; and Zeus, Hera, and Athena gave place to gods characterized by more violent feelings and passions, such as Dionysus, Aphrodite, and Eros. These formed the favorite subjects of the later Athenian school, and received from it that stamp and character of representation which they retained through the succeeding period of classic art. A change is also observable in the materials employed, and in the technical handling of 040 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIIAP. XLVII. them. The magnificently adorned chryso-elephantine statues almost wholly disappear; marble becomes more frequently used, especially by the Athenian statuaries, and the whole execution is softer and more flowing. ~ 2. The only two artists of this school whom it will be necessary to mention are Scopas and Praxiteles. Scopas was a native of Paros, and flourished in the first half of the fourth century B. c. His exact date cannot be ascertained, nor is there anything klnown of his life, except in connection with his works, of which some specimens still remain. Among these are the bas-reliefs on the frieze of the peristyle which surrounded the Mausoleum, or tomb of Mausolus, at Halicarnassus (Budrum), some of which are now deposited in the British Museum (Budrum lMarbles). Their style is very similar to that of the sculptures on the frieze of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, which is of the same period of art.* Both are of high excellence, but inferior to the frieze of the Parthenon. Scopas, however, was more famous for single statues and detached groups than for architectural sculpture. His statues of Aphrodite were very celebrated in antiquity. That of the Victorious Aphrodite (Venus Victrix) in the Louvre at Paris is ascribed to his chisel by many competent judges. But the most esteemed of all his works was a group representing Achilles conducted by the marine deities to the island of Leuce. It consisted of figures of Poseidon, Thetis, and Achilles, surrounded by Nereids on dolphins, huge fishes, and hippocampi, and attended by Tritons and sea-monsters. In the treatment of the subject, heroic grandeur is said to have been combined with grace. A group better known in modern times, from a copy of it preserved in the Museum at Florence, is that of Niobe and her children slain by the hands of Artemis and Apollo.f There can be no doubt that it filled the pediment of a temple. At a later period it was preserved in the temple of Apollo Sosianus at Rome, but it was a disputed point among the Romans whether it was from the hands of Scopas or Praxiteles. In the noble forms of the countenances grief and despair are portrayed without distortion. Another celebrated work of Scopas was the statue of the Pythian Apollo playing on the lyre, which Augustus placed in the temple which he built to Apollo on the Palatine, in thanksgiving for his victory at Actium. The copy of this statue in the Vatican is figured on p. 538. Scopas was an architect as well as a statuary, and built the temple of Athena Alea at Tegea, in Arcadia, one of the largest and most magnificent in the Peloponnesus. ~ 3. Praxiteles was contemporary with Scopas, though perhaps somewhat younger. Nothing is positively known of his history, except that he was at least acitizen, if not a native, of Athens, and that his career as an artist was intimately connected with that city. He excelled in representing the softer beauties of the human form, and especially the female $ See below, p. 544. f See drawing on p. 514. CHAP. XLVII.] SICYONIAN SCHOOL OF SCULPTURE. 541 figure. But art had now sunk from its lofty and ideal majesty. The Cnidian Aphrodite, the masterpiece of Praxiteles, expressed only sensual charms, and was avowedly modelled from the courtesan Phryne. Yet such was its excellence that many made a voyage to Cnidos on purpose to behold it; and so highly did the Cnidians prize it, that they refused to part with it to King Nicomedes, although he offered to pay off their public debt in exchange for it. In this work Aphrodite was represented either as just entering or just quittifng the bath; and it is said to have been the first instance in which any artist had ventured to represent the goddess entirely divested of drapery. At the same time he made a'draped statue of the goddess for the Coans, which however never enjoyed so much reputation as the former, though Praxiteles obtained the same price for it. He also made two statues of Eros, one of which he deemed his masterpiece. It is related that, in his fondness for Phryne, he promised to give her any statue she might choose, but was unwilling to tell her which he considered his masterpiece. In order to ascertain this point Phrynd sent a message to Praxiteles that his house was on fire; at which news he rushed out, exclaiming that he was undone if the fire had touched his Satyr or his Eros. He also excelled in representing Dionysus with his fauns and satyrs. A statue of Apollo, known as Apollo Sauroctonos, or the lizardkiller, was among his most famous pieces. It was in bronze, and numerous copies of it are still extant. ~ 4. The later Athenian school of sculpture was succeeded by the Sicyonian school. It is characterized by representations of heroic strength and of the forms of athlete, and by a striving after the colossal. Its chief artists were Euphranor and Lysippus. Euphranor was a native of the Corinthian isthmus, but practised his art at Athens. He appears to have flourished during the time of Philip of Macedon, and beyond the period of Alexander's accession. He excelled in painting as well as in statuary. He executed figures in bronze and marble of all sizes, from a drinking-cup to a colossal statue. One of his most celebrated works was a statue of Paris. Lysippus was a native of Sicyon, and flourished during the reign of Alexander the Great. He was originally a mere workman in bronze, but through his genius and a sedulous study of nature rose to the highest eminence as a statuary. He followed the school of Polycletus, whose Doryphoros formed his standard model; but by this course of study the ideal of art was sacrificed to the merely natural. Hercules, a human hero, was the favorite subject of his chisel; but he deviated from the former models, in which Hercules was endowed with ponderous strength, and represented him as characterized by strength and agility combined. This type was adopted by subsequent artists. The celebrated Farnese Hercules in the 3Museum at Naples is probably a copy of one of his works. Lysippus excelled in portraits; in which department he also adhered to his principles of art, and followed nature so closely as to por 542 HISTORY OF GREECE. ICHAP. XLVII. tray even the defects of his subjects. Thus, in his busts of Alexander, he did not omit his wry neck. Nevertheless, that monarch was so pleased with his performances; that he forbade anybody but Lysippus and Apelles to represent him. The most renowned of Lysippus's statues of Alexander was that which represented him brandishing a lance, and which was regarded as a companion to the picture of Apelles, in which he wielded a thunderbolt. It has been observed that the features of Alexander pervade most of the heroic statues of this period. Lysippus worked principally in bronze. One of his most celebrated productions was an equestrian group of the chieftains who fell at the battle of the Granicus. His works were very numerous, and are said to have amounted to fifteen hundred. ~ 5. With regard to painting, the Asiatic school of Zeuxis and Parrhasius was also succeeded by a Sicyonian school, of which Eupompus may be considered as the founder. He was excelled, however, by his pupil Pamphilus, who was renowned as a teacher of his art, and founded a sort of academy. His period of instruction extended over ten years, and his fee was a talent. The school of Pamphilus produced several celebrated artists, of whom Apelles was by far the greatest. Apelles seems to have been a native of Colophon, in Ionia; but, as we have said, he studied ten years under Pamphilus at Amphipolis; and subsequently, even after he had attained some reputation, under Melanthius at Sicyon. Thus to the grace and elegance of the Ionic school he added the scientific accuracy of the Sicyonian. The greater part of his life seems to have been spent at the court of Pella. He was warmly patronized by Alexander, who frequently visited his studio, and, as mentioned before, granted him the exclusive privilege of painting his portrait. In one of these visits Alexander began to descant on art, but' exposed his ignorance so much that Apelles gave him a polite hint to be silent, as the boys who were grinding the colors were laughing at him. He appears to have accompanied Alexander in his Eastern expedition, and after the death of that monarch to have travelled through the western parts of Asia. He spent the latter part of his life at the court of King Ptolemy in Egypt. The character of Apelles presents us with traits quite the reverse of the silly vanity of Zeuxis. He was always ready to acknowledge his own faults, as well as the merits of others. In fact, there was only one point in which he asserted his superiority over his contemporaries, namely, grace; and there can be no doubt that this was no vain assumption. He was not ashamed to learn fiom the humblest critics. With this view he was accustomed to exhibit his unfinished pictures before his house, and to conceal hi.'elf behind them in order to hear the criticisms of the passersby. On one of these occasions a cobbler detected a fault in the shoes of one of his figures, which Apelles corrected. The next time he passed, the cobbler, encouraged by the success of his criticism, began to remark CHAP. XLVII.] ARCHITECTURE. 543 upon the leg; at which the artist lost all patience, and, rushing from behind his picture, commanded the cobbler to keep to his shoes. Hence the proverb, " Ne sutor ultra crepidam," - Let the cobbler stick to his last. His conduct towards his contemporary, Protogenes of Rhodes, exhibits a generosity not always found among rival artists. On arriving at Rhodes, Apelles saw that the works of Protogenes were scarcely at all valued by his countrymen; whereupon he offered him fifty talents for one of his pictures, at the sam tisme ti spreading the report that he meant to sell it again as one of his own. Apelles studied with the greatest industry, and always went on trying to improve himself; yet he knew when to leave off correcting his pictures, and laid it down as a maxim that over-care often spoiled a piece. His pictures seem to have been chiefly on movable panels, and he was probably the first who used a sort of varnish to his pictures, with an effect somewhat similar to that of the modern toning or glazing.. He generally painted single figures, or groups of only a few. He excelled in portraits, among the most celebrated of which was that already mentioned of Alexander wielding the thunderbolt. The hand which held it seemed to stand out of the panel; and in order to heighten this effect of foreshortening, Alexander's complexion was made dark, though in reality it was light. The price paid for this picture was twenty talents. But the most admired of all his paintings was the " Aphrodite (Venus) Anadyomene," * or Aphrodite rising from the Sea. The goddess was represented wringing her hair, whilst the falling drops formed a veil around her. It was originally painted for the temple of Aisculapius at Cos, and was afterwards placed by Augustus in the temple which he dedicated to Julius Caesar at Rome. Another figure of Aphrodite, also painted for the Coans, Apelles left incomplete at llis death, and nobody could be found to finish it. By the general consent of the ancients Apelles was the first of painters, and some of the later Latin poets use his name as a synonyme for the art itself. ~ 6. The architecture of this period was marked rather by the laying out of cities in a nobler and more convenient fashion, and by the increase of splendor in private residences, than by any improvement in the style of public buildings and temples. The conquests of Alexander caused the foundation of new cities, and introduced into the East the architecture of Greece. The two finest examples of cities which arose in this manner were Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch in Syria. The regularity of its plan, the colossal size of its public buildings, and the beauty and solidity of its private houses, rendered Alexandria a sort of model city; yet it was surpassed by Antioch in the pleasing nature of the impression produced. The fittings and furniture of the apartments kept pace with the increased external splendor of private dwellings. This age was also distinguished * 17 Cva(lvol;iev'Aipoari. 544 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVII. by its splendid sepulchral monuments: the one to the memory of her husband Mausolus, erected at Halicarnassus, by the Carian Queen Artemisia, was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world. It was adorned with sculptural decorations by the greatest artists of the later Attic school. (See p. 540.) At the same time temple architecture was not neglected; but the simple and solid grandeur of the Doric order, and the chaste grace of the Ionic, began to give place to the more florid Corinthian. One of the most graceful monuments of this period still extant is the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, at Athens, vulgarly called the Lantern of Demosthenes, which was dedicated by Lysicrates in B. c. 335, as we learn from an inscription on the architrave, in commemoration of a victory gained by the chorus of Lysicrates in the dramatic contests. It is a small, circular building on a square basement, of white marble, and covered by a cupola, supported by six Corinthian columns; the summit of the cupola was formerly crowned by the tripod which Lysicrates had gained as the prize. The frieze of the monument, of which there are casts in the British Museum, represents the destruction of the Tyrrhenian pirates by Dionysus and his attendants. A drawing of the monument is given on p. 407, and portions of the frieze are figured on pp. 427, 428. Another extant monument of this period at Athens is the Horologium of Andronicus Cyrrhestes, probably erected about B. c. 100, and vulgarly called the " Temple of the Winds," from the figures of the Winds upon its faces. It is an octagonal tower, with its eight sides facing respectively the direction of the eight winds into which the Athenian compass was divided. The directions of the several sides are indicated by the figures and names of the eight Winds, which were sculptured on the frieze of the entablature. On the summit of the building there stood originally a bronze figure of a Triton, holding a,wand in his right hand, and turning on a pivot, so as to serve for a weathercock. (See drawing on p. 657.) ~ 7. After the age of Alexander, Greek art began visibly to decline. The great artists that had gone before had fixed the ideal types of the ordinary subjects of the sculptor and painter, and thus in a manner exhausted invention; whilst all the technical details of handling and treatment had been brought to the highest state of perfection and development. The attempt to outdo the great masterpieces which already existed induced artists to depart from the simple grace of the ancient models, and to replace it by striking and theatrical effect. The pomp of the monarchs who had divided amongst them the empire of Alexander required a display of Eastern magnificence, and thus also led to a meretricious style in art. Nevertheless, it was impossible that the innate excellence of the Greek schools should disappear altogether and at once. The perfect models that were always present could not fail to preserve a certain degree of taste; and even after the time of Alexander, we find many works of great CHAP. XLVII.] SCHOOL OF RHODES. 54a excellence produced. Art, however, began to emigrate from Greece to the coasts and islands of Asia Minor: Rhodes, especially, remained an eminent school of art almost down to the Christian era. This school was an immediate offshoot of that of Lysippus, and its chief founder was the Rhodian Chares, who flourished about the beginning of the third century B.c..His most noted work was the statue of the Sun, which, under the name of the Colossus of Rhodes, was esteemed one of the seven wonders of the world. It was of bronze, and 105 feet high. It stood at the entrance of the harbor of Rhodes; but the statement that its legs extended over the mouth of the harbor does not rest on any authentic foundation. It was twelve years in erecting, at a cost of three hundred talents, and was so large that there were few who could embrace its thumb. It was overthrown by an earthquake fifty-six years after its erection. But the most beautiful work of the Rhodian school at this period is the famous group of the Laocoon in the Vatican, so well known by its many copies. (See drawing on p. 539.) It was the work of three sculptors, Agesander, Polyd5rus, and Athenod5rus. In this group the pathos of physical suffering is expressed in the highest degree, but not without a certain theatrical air and straining for effect, which the best age of Greek art would have rejected. To the same school belongs the celebrated group called the Farmesian Bull, in the Museum at Naples, representing Zethus and Amphion binding Dirce to a wild bull, in order to avenge their mother. (See drawing on p. 525.) It was the work of two brothers, Apollonius and Tauriscus of Tralles. About the same time eminent schools of art flourished at Pergamus and Ephesus. To the former may be referred the celebrated Dying Gladiator in the Capitoline Museum at Rome, and to the latter the Borghese Gladiator in the Louvre. The well-known statue of Aphrodite at Florence, called the " Venus de' Medici," also belongs to the same period. It was executed by an Athenian artist named Cleomenes, whose exact date is unknown, but who lived before the capture of Corinth, in B. c. 146. ~ 8. When Greece began to fall into the hands of the Romans, the treasures of Greek art were conveyed by degrees to Rome, where ultimately a new school arose. The triumphs over Philip, Antiochus, the -Etolians, and others, but, above all, the capture of Corinth, and, subsequently, the victories over Mithridates and Cleopatra, filled Rome with works of art. The Roman generals, the governors of provinces (as Verres), and finally the emperors, continued the work of spoliation; * but so prodigious was the number of works of art in Greece, that, even in the second century of the Christian era, when Pausanias visited it, its temples and other public buildings were still crowded with statues and paintings. * Nero alone is said to have brought five hundred statues from Delphi, merely to adorn his golden house. 69 546 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVIII. APII:T' Bust of Aristotle. CHAPTER XLVIII. GRECIAN LITERATURE FROM THE END OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR TO THE LATEST PERIOD. 1. The Drama. The Middle Comedy. The New Comedy: Philemon, Menander. ~ 2. Oratory. Circumstances which favored it at Athens. ~ 3. Its Sicilian Origin. ~ 4. The Ten Attic Orators: Antiphon, Andocides, Lysias, Isocrates, Isseus, JEschines, Lycurgus, Demosthenes, Hypereides, and Dinarchus. ~ 5. Athenian Philosophy: Plato. ~ 6. Sketch of his Philosophy. ~ 7. The Megarics, Cyrenaics, and Cynics. ~ 8. The Academicians. ~ 9. Aristotle and the Peripatetics. 10. The Stoics and Epicureans. ~ 11. The Alexandrian School of Literature. ~ 12. Later Greek Writers: Polybius, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Diodorus Siculus, Arrian, Appian, Plutarch, Josephus, Strabo, Pausanias, Dion Cassius, Lucian, Galen. ~ 13. The Greek Scriptures and Fathers, Conclusion. ~ 1. IN reviewing the preceding period of Greek literature, we have already had occasion to notice the decline of tragedy at Athens. It continued, indeed, still to subsist; but after the great tragic triumvirate, we have no authors who have come down to us, or whose works were at all comparable to those of their predecessors. There are, however, a few names that should be recorded; as that of Agathon, the contemporary and friend of Euripides, whose compositions were more remarkable for their flowery elegance than for force or sublimity: of Iophon, the son of Sophocles, whose undutiful conduct towards his father has been already mentioned, the author of fifty tragedies, which gained considerable reputation: of Sophocles, the grandson of the great tragic poet: and of a second Euripides, the nephew of the celebrated one. With regard to comedy the case was different. After the days of Aristophanes it took, indeed, a wholly different form; but a form which rendered it a more perfect imitation of nature, and established it as the model of that species of composition in every civilized nation of after times. We have already noticed, in the plays of Aristophanes himself, a transition from the genuine Old Comedy to the Middle CHAP. XLVIII.] THE DRAMA. 547 Comedy. The latter still continued to be in some degree political; but persons were no longer introduced upon the stage under their real names, and the office of the chorus was very much curtailed. It was, in fact, the connecting link between the Old Comedy and the New, or the Comedy of Manners. The most distinguished authors of the Middle Comedy, besides Aristophanes, were Antiphanes and Alexis. The New Comedy arose after Athens had become subject to the Macedonians. Politics were now excluded from the stage, and the materials of the dramatic poet were derived entirely from the fictitious adventures of persons in private life. The two most distinguished writers of this school were Philemon and Me- nander. Philemon was probably born about the year 360 B. c., and was either a Cilician or Syracusan, but came at an early age to Athens. He is considered as the founder of the New Comedy, which was soon afterwards brought to perfection by his younger contemporary, Menander. Philemon was a prolific author, and is said to have written ninety-seven plays, of which only a few fragments remain. Menander was an Athenian, and was born in B. c. 342. Diopeithes, his father, commanded the Athenian forces on the Hellespont, and was the person defended by Demosthenes in one of his extant speeches.* Menander was handsome in person, and of a serene and easy temper, but luxurious and effeminate in his habits. Demetrius Phalereus was his friend and patron. He was drowned at the age of fifty-two, whilst swimming in the harbor of Peireus. He wrote upwards of one hundred comedies; yet during his lifetime his dramatic career was not so successful as his subsequent fame would seem to imply; and he gained the prize only eight times. The broader humor of his rival Philemon seems to have told with more effect on the popular ear. But the unanimous praise of posterity made ample compensation for this injurious neglect, and awakens our regret for the loss of the works of one of the most elegant writers of antiquity. The number of his fragments, collected from the writings of various authors, shows how extensively he was read; but unfortunately none are of sufficient length to convey to us an adequate idea of his style and genius. The comedies, indeed, of Plautus and Terence may give us a general notion of the New Comedy of the Greeks, from which they were confessedly drawn; but there is good reason to suppose that the works even of the latter Roman writer fell far short of the wit and elegance of Menander. ~ 2. The latter days of literary Athens were chiefly distinguished by the genius of her orators and philosophers. Both rhetoric and philosophy were at first cultivated exclusively by the sophists, and, till the time of Socrates, remained almost entirely in their hands. Socrates, by directing the attention of philosophers to the more useful questions of morals, effected a separation between rhetoric and philosophy. After his time we find * IIEpt TW)v Ev XepacolVYcrp. 548 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVIII. various schools of moral philosophy springing up, as the Academicians Peripatetics, Stoics, &c., whilst the more technical part of the art of speaking became a distinct profession. The extreme democratical nature of the Athenian institutions, especially after the reforms of Pericles, rendered it indispensable for a public man to possess some oratorical skill. All public business, both political and judicial, was transacted by the citizens themselves, in their courts and public assemblies. The assembly of the people decided all questions, not only of domestic policy, but even those which concerned their foreign relations. They not only made, but administered, the laws; and even their courts of justice must be regarded as a sort of public assemblies, from the number of dicasts who composed them. The vast majority of those who met either in the public assemblies or in the courts of justice were men of no political or legal training.* The Athenian citizen was a statesman and a judge by prerogative of birth. Although he took an oath to decide according to the laws, he was far from considering himself bound to make them his study, or to decide according to their letter. The frequency and earnestness with which the orators remind the dicasts of their oath betray their apprehension of its violation. It contained, indeed, a very convenient clause for tender consciences, as it only bound the dicast to decide according to the best of his judgment; and the use which might be made of this loophole by a clever advocate is pointed out by Aristotle.t Hence it is surprising how little influence the written code had on the decision of a case. The orators usually drew their topics from extraneous circumstances, or from the general character of their adversary, and endeavored to prejudice the minds of their audience by personal reflections wholly foreign to the matter in hand, and which modern courts would not tolerate for a moment. In addition to all this, the natural temperament of the Athenians rendered them highly susceptible of the charms of eloquence. They enjoyed the intellectual gladiatorship of two rival orators, and even their mutual reproaches and abuse. ~ 3. It is remarkable, however, that, though the soil of Attica was thus naturally adapted to the cultivation of eloquence, the first regular professors of it, as an art, were foreigners. Protagoras of Abdera, who visited Athens in the earlier part of the fifth century before Christ, was the first who gave lessons in rhetoric for money. He was followed by Prodicus of Ceos, and Gorgias of Leontini; the latter of whom especially was very celebrated as a teacher of rhetoric. The art, however, had been established in Sicily before the time of Gorgias by Corax and his pupil Tisias. Co@ This is not strictly correct. The Athenian had a practical training, both in law and politics, in the actual working of the civil and judicial institutions; and long before he had reached the legal age to take a personal part in public affairs, he was generally quite familiar both with principles and forms. -ED. t Rhetoric, 1. 15. 5. CHAP. XLVIII.] ATHENIAN ORATORY. 549 rax has been regarded as the founder of technical oratory, and was at all events the first who wrote a treatise on the subject. The appearance of Gorgias at Athens, whither he went as ambassador from Leontini, in 427 B. c., produced a great sensation among the Athenians, who retained him in their city for the purpose of profiting by his instructions. His lectures were attended by a vast concourse of persons, and attracted many from the schools of the philosophers. His merit must have been very great to have drawn so much attention in the best times of Athens; and we are told by Cicero that he alone of all the sophists was honored with a golden, and not merely a gilt, statue at Delphi. ~ 4. The Athenians had established a native school of eloquence a little before the appearance of Gorgias among them. The earliest of their professed orators was Antiphon (born B. c. 480), who stands at the head of the ten contained in the Alexandrian canon. Gorgias seems to have been known at Athens by his works before he appeared there in person; and one of the chief objects of Antiphon was to establish a more solid style in place of his dazzling and sophistical rhetoric. Thucydides was among the pupils in the school which he opened, and is said to have owed much to his master. Antiphon was put to death in 411 B. c., for the part which he took in establishing the oligarchy of the Four Hundred. Fifteen of his orations have come down to us. The remaining nine Attic orators contained in the Alexandrian canon were Andocides, Lysias, Isocrates, Ismus, lEschines, Lycurgus, Demosthenes, Hypereides, and Dinarchus. Andocides, who has been already mentioned as concerned with Alcibiades in the affair of the Herme., was born at Athens in B. c. 467, and died probably about 391. We have at least three genuine orations of his, which, however, are not distinguished by any particular merit. Lysias, also born at Athens in 458, was much superior to him as an orator, but being a metic, or resident alien, he was not allowed to speak in the assemblies or courts of justice, and therefore wrote orations for others to deliver. Of these thirty-five are extant, but'some are incomplete, and others probably spurious. His style may be regarded as a model of the Attic idiom, and his orations are characterized by indescribable gracefulness, combined with energy and power. Isocrates was born in 436. After-receiving the instructions of some of the most celebrated sophists of the day, he became himself a speechwriter and professor of rhetoric; his weakly constitution and natural timidity preventing him from taking a part himself in public life. His style is more periodic than that of the other Attic orators, and betrays that it was meant to be read rather than spoken. Although pure and elegant, it is wanting in simplicity and vigor, and becomes occasionally monotonous, * See p. 313. 550 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVIII. through the recurrence of the same turns. Isocrates made away with himself in 338, after the fatal battle of Chaeronea, in despair, it is said, of his country's fate. Twenty-one of his speeches have come down to us. He took great pains with his compositions, and is reported to have spent ten, or, according to others, fifteen years over his Panegyric oration. Ismus, according to some, was a native of Chalcis; others call him an Athenian; and it is certain, at all events, that he came at a very early age to Athens. His exact date is not known, but he flourished between the end of the Peloponnesian war and the accession of Philip of Macedon. He opened a school of rhetoric at Athens, and is said to have numbered Demosthenes among his pupils. The orations of Iseus were exclusively judicial, and the whole of the eleven which have come down to us turn on the subject of inheritances. Of AEschines, the antagonist of Demosthenes, we have already had occasion to speak. He was born in the year 389, and was a native of Attica, but of low, if not servile, origin, and of a mother of more than equivocal reputation. This, however, is the account of Demosthenes; and 2Eschines himself tells a different story. He was successively an assistant in his father's school, a gymnastic teacher, a scribe, and an actor; for which last profession a strong and sonorous voice peculiarly qualified him. He afterwards entered the army, where he achieved more success; for besides a vigorous, athletic form, he was endowed with considerable courage. The reputation which he gained in the battle of Tamynae encouraged him to come forwards as a public speaker. As a politician he was at first a violent anti-Macedonian; but after his embassy along with Demosthenes and others to Philip's court, he was the constant advocate of peace. Demosthenes and 2Eschines now became the leading speakers on their respective sides, and the heat of political animosity soon degenerated into personal hatred. In 343, Demosthenes charged ZEschines with having received bribes from Philip during a second embassy; and the speech, or rather pamphlet,* - for it was not spoken, - in which he brought forward this accusation, was answered in another by IEschines. The result of this charge is unknown, but it seems to have detracted from the popularity of JEschines. We have already adverted to his impeachment of Ctesiphon, and the celebrated reply of Demosthenes in his speech De Corona.t After the banishment of ZEschines on this occasion (B. c. 330), he spent several years in Ionia and Caria, where he employed himself in teaching rhetoric. After the death of Alexander he retired to Rhodes, and established a school of eloquence, which afterwards became very celebrated, and which held a middle place between Attic simplicity on the one hand, and the ornate Asiatic style on the other. He died in Samos in 314. As an orator he was second only to Demosthenes. He never * Iept 7rapawpaci Elas. t See pp. 515, 516. CHAP. XLVIII.] DEMOSTHENES. 551 published more than three of his speeches, which have come down to us; namely, that against Timarchus, that on the Embassy, and the one against Ctesiphon. Of the life of his great rival, Demosthenes, we have already given some account, and need therefore only speak here of his literary merits. The verdict of his contemporaries, ratified by posterity, has pronounced Demosthenes the greatest orator that ever lived. The principal element of his success must be traced in his purity of purpose, which gave to his arguments all the force of conscientious conviction; and which, when aided by a powerful logic, perspicuous arrangement, and the most undaunted courage in tearing the mask from the pretensions of his adversaries, rendered his advocacy almost irresistible. The effect of his speeches was still further heightened by a wonderful and almost magic force of diction. It cannot, however, be supposed that his orations were delivered in exactly that perfect form in which we now possess them. There can be no doubt that they were carefully revised for publication; but, on the other hand, any trifling defects in form and composition must have been more than compensated by the grace and vivacity of oral delivery. This is attested by the well-known anecdote of ZEschines, when he read at Rhodes his speech against Ctesiphon. His audience having expressed their surprise that he should have been defeated after such an oration: "You would cease to wonder," he remarked, " if you had heard Demosthenes." Sixty-one of the orations of Demosthenes have come down to us; though of these some are spurious, or at all events doubtful. The most celebrated of his political orations are the Philippics, the Olynthiacs, and the oration on the Peace; among the private ones, the famous speech on the Crown. The remaining three Attic orators, viz. Lycurgus, Hypereides, and Dinarchus, were contemporaries of Demosthenes. Lycurgus and Hypereides both belonged to the anti-Macedonian party, and were warm supporters of the policy of Demosthenes. Of Lycurgus only one oration is extant; and of Iypereides only two, which have been recently discovered in a tomb in Egypt. Dinarchus, who is the least important of the Attic orators, survived Demosthenes, and was a friend of Demetrius Phalereus. He was an opponent of Demosthenes, against whom he delivered one of his three extant orations, in relation to the affair of Harpalus.* ~ 5. Whilst Attic oratory was thus attaining perfection, philosophy was making equal progress in the new direction marked out for it by Socrates. Of all the disciples of that original and truly great philosopher, Plato was by far the most distinguished. Plato was born at Athens in 429 B. C., the year in which Pericles died. By Ariston, his father, he was said to be descended from Codrus, the last of the Athenian kings; whilst the * See pp. 516, 517. 552 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVIIL family of his mother traced a relationship with Solon. His own name which was originally Aristocles, is said to have been changed to Plato on account of the breadth of his shoulders.* He was instructed in music, grammar, and gymnastics, by the most celebrated masters of the time. His first literary attempts were in epic, lyric, and dithyrambic poetry; but his attention was soon turned to philosophy by the teaching of Socrates, whose lectures he began to frequent at about the age of twenty. From that time till the death of Socrates he appears to have lived in the closest intimacy with that philosopher. After that event Plato withdrew to Mlegara, and subsequently undertook some extensive travels, in the course of which he visited Cyrn6e, Egypt, Sicily, and Magna Grecia. His intercourse with the elder Dionysius at Syracuse has been already related.t His absence from Athens lasted about twelve years; on his return, being then upwards of forty, he began to teach in the gymnasium of the Academy, and also in his garden at ColSnus. His instructions were gratuitous, and his method, like that of his master, Socrates, seems to have been by interrogation and dialogue. His doctrines, however, were too recondite for the popular ear, and his lectures were not very numerously attended. But he had a narrower circle of devoted admirers and disciples, consisting of about twenty-eight persons, who met in his private house; over the vestibule of which was inscribed, "Let no one enter who is ignorant of geometry." The most distinguished of this little band of auditors were Speusippus, his nephew and successor, and Aristotle. But even among the wider circle of his hearers, who did not properly form part of his school, were some of the most distinguished men of the age, as Chabrias, Iphicrates, Timotheus, Phocion, and others. Whether Demosthenes attended his lectures is doubtful. In these pursuits the remainder of his long life was spent, relieved, however, by two voyages to Sicily.+ He died in 347, at the age of eighty-one or eighty-two, and bequeathed his garden to his school. ~ 6. Plato must be regarded principally as a moral and political philosopher, and as a dialectician; as a physical inquirer he did not shine, and the Timceus is his only work in that branch of philosophy. His dialectic method was a development of that of Socrates; and though he did not, like Aristotle, produce any formal treatise on the subject, it is exemplified in most of his works, but especially in the Theetetus, Sophistes, Parmenides, and one or two others of the same class. The fundamental principle of Plato's philosophy is the belief in an eternal and self-existent cause, the origin of all things. From this divine being emanate not only the souls of men, which are also immortal, but that of the universe itself, which is supposed to be animated by a divine spirit. The material objects of our sight and other senses are mere fleeting emanations of the divine idea; r* Xarvs'. t See p. 457. t See pp. 458, 459. CHAP. XLVIII.] PLATO. 553 it is only this idea itself that is really existent; * the objects of sensuous perception t are mere appearances, taking their forms by participation + in the idea. Hence it follows that in Plato's view all knowledge is innate, and acquired by the soul before birth, when it was able to contemplate real existences, and all our ideas in this world are mere reminiscences of their true and eternal patterns. These principles, when applied to the investigation of language, necessarily made Plato a realist; that is, he held that an abstract name, expressing a genus, - as, for instance, mankind, comprehending all individual men, tree, comprehending every species of tree, and so forth, - were not mere signs to express our modes of thinking, but denoted real existences, in fact the only true existences, as being the expressions of the eternally pre-existent idea. In this matter he seems to have departed from Socrates; and,-indeed, the reader who should seek the philosophy of Socrates in the writings of Plato would often be led very far astray. Socrates believed in a divine cause, but the doctrine of ideas and other figments with which Plato surrounded it seem to have been his own. As a moral and political philosopher the views of Plato were sublime and elevated, but commonly too much tinged with his poetical and somewhat visionary cast of mind to be of much practical utility. They are speculations which may awake our admiration as we read them, but which for the most part it would be difficult or impossible to put in practice. His belief in the immortality of the soul naturally led him to establish a lofty standard of moral excellence, and, like his great teacher, he constantly inculcates temperance, justice, and purity of life. His political views are developed in the Republic and the Laws. The former of these works presents us with a sort of Utopia, such as never has existed, and never could exist. The main feature of his system is the subordination, or rather the entire sacrifice, of the individual to the state. The citizens are divided into three classes, in fanciful analogy with the faculties of the soul. Thus the general body, or working class, represents the passions and appetites; the will is typified by the military order, which is to control the general mass, but which is in turn to be thoroughly subservient to the government, whose functions correspond with those of the intellect, or rational faculty. With such views Plato was naturally inimical to the unrestricted democracy of Athens, and inclined to give a preference to the Spartan constitution. In the Laws, however, he somewhat relaxed the theory laid down in the Republic, and sought to give it a more practical character. Thus he abandons in that work the strict separation of classes, sets some limits to the power of the government, and attempts to reconcile freedom and absolutism by mingling monarchy with democracy. * TO oreTs ov. t Ta yLytVevoa.. et. 70 554' HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVIII ~ 7. Plato, as we have said, visited Megara after the death of Socrates, where other pupils of that philosopher had also taken refuge. Among these the most famous was Eucleides, who must not be confounded with the great mathematician of Alexandria. Eucleides founded the sect called from his residence the Megaric, and which, from the attention they paid to dialectics, were also entitled Dialectici and Eristici (or the Disputatious). Two other offshoots of the Socratic school were the Cyrenaics and Cynics. The former of these sects was founded by Aristippus of Cyrene in Africa, the latter by Antisthenes. Aristippus, though a hearer of Socrates, wandered far from the precepts of his great master. He was fond of luxurious living and sensual gratifications, which he held to be shameful only when they obtained so uncontrolled an empire over a man as to render him their entire slave. His chief maxim was to discover the art of extracting pleasure from all the circumstances of life, and to make prosperity and adversity alike subservient to that end. Such tenets made him a favorite with the clever and cultivated man of the world, and we find him more than once approvingly alluded to by Horace.* Antisthenes was an Athenian, and also a pupil of Socrates. He taught in the Cynosarges, a gymnasium at Athens designed for Athenian boys born of foreign mothers, which is said to have been his own case. It was from this gymnasium that the sect he founded was called the Cynic, though some derive the name from their dog-like habits, which led them to neglect all the decent usages of society. It was one of the least important of the philosophical schools. One of its most remarkable members was Diogenes of Sinope, whose interview with Alexander the Great at Corinth we have had occasion to relate.t No writings of any of the three last-mentioned sects have survived. ~ 8. Such were the most celebrated minor schools which sprang from the teaching of Socrates. The four principal schools were the Academicians, who owed their origin to Plato; the Peripatetics, founded by his pupil Aristotle; the Epicureans, so named from their master Epicurus; and the Stoics, founded by Zeno. Speusippus, Plato's nephew, became the head of the Academy after his uncle's death. Under him and his immediate successors, as Xenocrates, Polemon, Crates, and Crantor, the doctrines of Plato were taught with little alteration, and these professors formed what is called the Old Academy. The Middle Academy begins with Arcesilaus, who flourished towards the close of the third century B. c., and who succeeded to the chair on the' " Nunc in Aristippi furtim precepta relabor Et mihi res non me rebus subjungere conor." HOR. Ep. i. 1. 18. And again: - "Omnis Aristippum decuit color et status et res." Ibid. 17. 23. t See p. 492. CHAP. XLVIII.] ACADEMICIANS. -PERIPATETICS. 555 death of Crantor. Under him the doctrines of the Academy underwent some modification. He appears to have directed his inquiries almost exclusively to an investigation of the grounds of knowledge, and to have approached in some degree the Pyrrhonists or Sceptics. The Platonic doctrines suffered a further change in the hands of Carneades, the founder of the New Academy. Carneades flourished towards the middle of the second century B. c. Under him doubt and hesitation began still more strongly to characterize the teaching of the Platonists. His distinguishing tenet was an entire suspension of assent, on the ground that truth has always a certain degree of error combined with it; and so far did he carry this principle, that even Clitomachus, his most intimate pupil, could never discover his master's real tenets on any subject. ~ 9. But of all the Grecian sects, that of the Peripatetics, founded by Aristotle, had the greatest influence, so far as the researches of the intellect are concerned; and this not merely in antiquity, but even perhaps'to a still greater extent in modern times, and especially during what are called the Middle Ages. Aristotle was born in 384 B. C., at Stagira, a sea-port town of Chalcidice, whence he is frequently called the Stagirite. His father, Nicomachus, was physician to Amyntas II., king of Macedonia. At the age of seventeen, Aristotle, who had then lost both father and mother, repaired to Athens. Here he received the instructions of Heracleides Ponticus, and other Socratics; and when, about three years after his arrival at Athens, Plato returned to that city, Aristotle immediately attended his lectures. Plato considered him his best scholar, and called him "the intellect of his school." Aristotle spent twenty years at Athens, during the last ten of which he established a school of his own; but during the whole period he appears to have kept up his connection with the Macedonian court. On the death of Plato, in 347, Aristotle quitted Athens, and repaired to Atarneus, in Mysia, where he resided two or three years with Hermias, a former pupil, who had made himself dynast of that city and of Assos, and whose adopted daughter he married. Atarneus being threatened by the Persians, into whose hands Hermias had fallen, Aristotle escaped with his wife to Mytilene, and in 342 accepted the invitation of Philip of Macedon to undertake the instruction of his son Alexander. Philip treated the philosopher with the greatest respect, and at his request caused the city of Stagira to be rebuilt, which had been destroyed in the Olynthian war. It was here, in a gymnasium called the Nymphaum, that Aristotle imparted his instructions to Alexander, as well as to several other noble youths. In 335, after Alexander had ascended the throne, Aristotle quitted Macedonia, to which he never returned. He again took up his abode at Athens, where his friend Xenocrates was now at the head of the Academy. To Aristotle himself the Athenians assigned the gymnasium called the Lyceum; and from his habit of delivering his lectures whilst walking up and down in the shady 556 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVIII. walks of this place, his school was called the peripatetic. In the morning he lectured only to a select class of pupils, called esoteric,t and these lectures were called acroamatic,+ in contradistinction to being written and published. His afternoon lectures were delivered to a wider circle, and were therefore called exoteric.~ His method appears to have been that of a regular lecture, and not the Socratic one of question and answer. It was during the thirteen years in which he presided over the Lyceum that he composed the greater part of his works, and prosecuted his researches in natural history, in which he was most liberally assisted by the munificence of Alexander. The latter portion of Aristotle's life was unfortunate. He appears to have lost from some unknown cause the friendship of Alexander; and, after the death of that monarch, the disturbances which ensued in Greece proved unfavorable to his peace and security. Being threatened with a prosecution for impiety, he escaped from Athens and retired to Chalcis; but he was condemned to death in his absence, and deprived of all the rights and honors which he previously enjoyed. He died at Chalcis in 322, in the sixty-third year of his age. In person Aristotle was short and slender, with small eyes, and something of a lisp. His manners were characterized by briskness and vivacity, and he paid considerable attention to his dress and outward appearance. Of all the, philosophical systems of antiquity, that of Aristotle was best adapted to the practical wants of mankind. It was founded on a close and accurate observation of human nature and of the external world; but whilst it sought the practical and useful, it did not neglect the beautiful and noble. His works consisted of treatises on natural, moral, and political philosophy, history, rhetoric, criticism, &c.; indeed, there is scarcely a branch of knowledge which his vast and comprehensive genius did not embrace. Any attempt to give an account of these works would far exceed the limits of the present work. His greatest claim to our admiration is as a logician. He perfected and brought into form those elements of the dialectic art which had been struck out by Socrates and Plato, and wrought them by his additions into so complete a system, that he may be regarded as at once the founder and perfecter of logic as an art, which even down to our own days has been but very little improved. ~ 10. The school of the Stoics was founded by Zeno, a native of Citium in the island of Cyprus. The exact date of Zeno's birth is uncertain; but he seems to have gone to Athens about the beginning of the third century (B. c. 299); a visit which, according to some accounts, was owing to his having been shipwrecked in the neighborhood of Peiraeus. At Athens: From 7rept7rar7v, to walk about. Others, however, perhaps more correctly, derive it from the place itself being called' 6 7repwlTaros or thepromenade. I EocorepLKtoS, inner, intimate. t aKpoajaTLKosE, to be heard, i. e. communicated orally. ~ c EweTptfKOs, external. CaAP. XLVIII.] STOICS.- EPICUREANS. 557 he first attached himself to the Cynics, then to the Megarics, and lastly to the Academicians; but after a long course of study he opened a school of his own in the Pcecile Stoa, or painted porch, whence the name of his sect. The speculative doctrines of Zeno were not marked by much originality. He inculcated temperance and self-denial, and his practice was in accordance with his precepts. The want of reach in the Stoic tenets, which did not demand so much refined and abstract thought as those of many other sects, as well as the outward gravity and decorum which they inculcated, recommended their school to a large portion of mankind, especially among the Romans, by whom that sect and the Epicurean were the two most universally adopted. Two of the most illustrious writers on the Stoic philosophy, whose works are extant, are Epictetus and the Emperor M. Aurelius. Epicurus was born at Samos in 342, of poor but respectable Athenian parents. He followed at first the profession of a schoohnaster, and, after spending some time in travelling, settled at Athens at about the age of thirty-five. Here he purchased a garden, apparently in the heart of the city, where he established his philosophical school. He seems to have been the only head of a sect who had not previously gone through a regular course of study, and prided himself on being self-taught. In physics he adopted the atomic theory of the Pythagoreans aud Ionics; in morals that of the Cyrenaic school, that pleasure is the highest good; a tenet, however, which he explained and dignified by showing that it was mental pleasure that he intended. His works have perished, but the main substance, both of his physical and religious doctrines, may be derived from Lucretius, whose poem De?Rerum Nactura is an exposition of his principal tenets. The ideas of atheism and sensual degradation with which the name of Epicurus has been so frequently coupled are founded on ignorance of his real teaching. But as he denied the immortality of the soul, and the interference of the gods in human affairs, - though he held their existence, -his tenets were very liable to be abused by those who had not sufficient elevation of mind to love virtue for its own sake. ~ II. We have thus traced the progress of Grecian literature from its earliest dawn till it was brought to perfection by the master-minds of Athens. After the death of Alexander, Grecian literature did not become extinct: there was a vitality about it that insured its subsistence for several ages, though not in its former splendor. Alexandria, now the emporium of commerce, became also the chief seat of learning, where it was fostered by the munificence and favor of the first Ptolemies. It was here that literature became a profession, supported by the foundation of noble and extensive libraries, and cultivated by a race of grammarians and critics. These men were of great assistance to literature by the critical care which they bestowed on editions of the best authors, and by 558 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVIII, the invention of many aids to facilitate the labors of the student, as better systems of grammar, punctuation, &c. One of the most eminent of them was Aristophanes of Byzantium, chief librarian at Alexandria in the reigns of the second and third Ptolemies, and who founded there a school of grammar and criticism. It was he and his pupil Aristarchus who were chiefly concerned in forming the canon of the Greek classical writers; and in their selection of authors they displayed for the most part a correct taste and a sound judgment. To Aristophanes is ascribed the invention of the Greek accents. Aristarchus is chiefly renowned as the editor of the H-omeric poems in the form in which we now possess them. From their school proceeded many celebrated grammarians and lexicographers. It must not, however, be supposed that this was the sole species of literature which flourished at Alexandria. Theocritus, the most charming pastoral poet of antiquity, - of which species of composition he was the inventor,- though a native of Syracuse, lived for some time at Alexanclria, where he enjoyed the patronage of Ptolemy II. His contemporaries and imitators, Bion of Smyrna and Moschus of Syracuse, also wrote with much grace and beauty. This school of poetry was afterwards cultivated with success by Virgil, Tibullus, and others among the Romans. At Alexandria also flourished Callimachus, the author of many hymns, elegies, and other poems, which were much admired at Rome, and were translated and imitated by Catullus and Propertius. Amongst numerous other poets we can only mention Apollonius Rhodius, the author of an epic poem on the exploits of the Argonauts; and Aratus, who composed two poems on astronomy and natural phenomena. Among the Alexandrian writers on pure science, the mathematician Euclid (Eucleides) stands conspicuous, whose elements of geometry still form the text-book of our schools. He flourished during the time of the first Ptolemy (B. c. 323283). ~ 12. The list of the Greek writers down to the extinction of the Greek empire might be indefinitely enlarged; but our limits would only permit us to present the reader with a barren list of names; and we therefore content ourselves with selecting for notice a few of the most eminent. The historian Polybius (B. C. 204- 122) has already been mentioned as taking a part in the final struggle of his country with Rome. His History, though the greater part of it has unfortunately perished, is one of the most valuable remains of antiquity. His long residence among the Romans afforded him an opportunity of studying their annals; and from the period of the second Punic war he has been very closely followed by Livy. Another Greek writer of Roman history was Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who flourished in the latter half of the first century B. C. He spent a considerable part of his life at Rome, and devoted himself to the study of CHAP. XLVIII.I LATER GREEK WRITERS. 559 the history and antiquities of that city, on which he wrote a book, a considerable part of which is still extant. He was, however, a better critic than historian, and we still possess several of his treatises in that department of literature. Diodorus, called from his country Siculus, or the Sicilian, also lived at Rome in the time of Julius and Augustus Cesar. He was the author of a universal history in forty books, called The Historical Library, of which fifteen books are still extant. Arrian, of Nicomedia in Bithynia, who lived in the first century of our era, wrote an account of Alexander's expedition, as well as several works on philosophical and other subjects. Appian of Alexandria lived in the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius, and was the author of a Roman history. One of the best and most valuable Greek writers of this time was Plutarch, the biographer and philosopher. He was a native of Cheronea in Boeotia. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but it must have been about the middle of the first century of our era. He passed a consider- v able time in Rome and Italy; but it was late in his life before he applied himself to the study of Roman literature, and he appears never to have completely mastered the language. The later years of his life seem to have been spent at Chieronea, where he discharged several magisterial offices, and filled a priesthood. His Lives, if not the most authoritative, are certainly one of the most entertaining works ever written. They have perhaps been more frequently translated than any other book, and have been popular in every age and nation. Besides his Lives, Plutarch was the author of a great number of treatises on moral and other subjects. About the same time flourished Josephus, the Jewish historian, who was born at Jerusalem A. D. 37. Though a Hebrew, the Greek style of Josephus is remarkably pure. Strabo, the celebrated geographer, was a native of Amasia in Pontus, and lived in the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. His valuable work on geography, which also contains many important historical facts, still exists pretty nearly entire, though the text is often corrupt. Pausanias, author of the Description of Greece, is supposed to have been a native of Lydia, and flourished in the second century of our era. His account of Greece is of considerable value, for many of the great works of Grecian art were extant when he travelled through the country, and he appears to have described them with fidelity as well as minuteness. Dion Cassius, the historian, was born at Nicea in Bithynia, A. D. 155. His History of Rome in eighty books extended from the earliest times to A. D. 229. It has come down to us in a very imperfect state, but is still a valuable authority for the history of the later republic and a considerable portion of the empire. Lucian, one of the wittiest and most entertaining of ancient writers, and 560 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLVIII. who, from his sparkling style, his turn of mind, and his disregard for authority, may be compared to Swift or Voltaire, was born at Samosata, probably about A.D. 120. Of his numerous works, the best known are his Dialogues of the Dead, which have been universally esteemed, not only for their wit, but also for their Attic grace of diction. We cannot close this imperfect list of Greek profane writers without mentioning the name of Galen, the celebrated physician. Galen was born at Pergamus in Mysia, A. D. 130. He completed his education at Smyrna, Corinth, and Alexandria, after which he undertook some extensive travels. He. seems to have visited Rome at least twice, and attended on the Emperors AI. Aurelius and L. Verus. The writings of Galen formed an epoch in medical science, and after his time all the previous medical sects seem to have become merged in his followers and imitators., ~ 13. But the Greek language was not merely destined to be the vehicle of those civilizing influences which flow from the imagination of, the sublimest poets. and the reasonings of the most profound philosophers. The still more glorious mission was reserved for it, of conveying to mankind through the Gospel that certain prospect of a life to come, which even the wisest of the Grecian sages had beheld only as in a glass, darkly. Three at least of the four Gospels were written in the Greek tongue, as well as the greater portion of those Scriptures which compose the New Testament. We have already alluded to the facilities which the conquests of Alexander afforded to the spreading of the Gospel; nor were there wanting in subsequent ages men who assisted its extension by their writings. Even the works of an author like Lucian were subservient to this end, by casting ridicule on the gods of pagnism, and thus preparing the minds of men for the reception of a purer doctrine. Among the Greek Fathers of the Church were many men of distinguished talent; as Justin Martyr, one of the earliest of the Christian writers, Clemens of Alexandria, Origen, Gregory of Nazianzus, and many others; especially Joannes, surnamed Chrysostomus, or the golden-mouthed, from the power of his eloquence. The Greek language and literature continued to subsist till the taking of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. Even that shock did not entirely destroy their vitality. The many learned Greeks who then took refuge in Italy were the means of reviving the study of their tongue, then almost entirely neglected, in the West, and especially at Florence, under the auspices of Cosmo de' Medici, who appointed Johannes Argyropulus, one of these refugees, preceptor to his son and nephew. Maximus Planudes, Manuel Moschopulus, Emanuel Chrysoloras, Theodore Gaza, and others, assisted in this work; and through these men and their successors, and particularly through the labors of Aldus Manutius, the Venetian printer, who flourished in the same century, the chief masterpieces of Grecian literature have been handed down and made intelligible to us. The Acropolis of Athens in its present State. BOOK VII. GREECE FROM THE ROMAN CONQUEST TO THE PRESENT TIME. CHAPTER XLIX. GREECE UNDER THE ROMANS. ~ 1. Roman Administration. ~ 2. Sylla, Mithridatic War. ~ 3. Cilician Pirates. ~ 4. State of Greece. ~ 5. Effects of the Establishment of the Roman Empire. ~ 6. Hadrian's Bene factions to Greece. Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius, Herodes Atticus, Caracalla. ~ 7. Goth ic Invasion. ~ 8. Language, Poetry, Christianity. ~ 9. Decay of Paganism. Popular Elements of Christianity. ~ 10. Roman View of Christianity. Triumph of Christianity. ~ 1. THE Roman administration of Greece, commencing about the middle of the second century B. c., was at first wise and moderate. The public burdens, instead of being increased, were lessened. The local administrations and municipal institutions remained unchanged, so far as they were compatible with the exercise of supreme power by the Romans. The conquerors felt the superiority of the conquered in letters and art, and though they had no profound appreciation of these excellent ornaments of the life of man, yet they at first conceded to the authors and cultivators of them a social esteem very flattering to the vanity of the Hellenic race. In general, they paid respect to the religious feelings and the objects of worship, and the plundering of temples and robbing cities of cherished 71 562 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIX. works of art- which afterwards became one of the most irritating forms of proconsular oppression - was looked upon with abhorrence by the honorable men at Rome. Polybius uses the strongest language, when he speaks of the Roman honesty. Under their circumstances, as Mr. Finlay says, " Prudence and local interests would everywhere favor submission to Rome; national vanity alone would whisper incitements to venture on a struggle for independence." ~ 2. The Mithridatic war furnished the occasion on which the national vanity, concurring with the private inclinations of many leading men, induced the Greeks to make the attempt. Sylla was charged with the conduct of the war against the king of Pontus; and when he appeared in Greece, at the head of a powerful army, Athens almost single-handed confronted him, - the others having submitted with as much lightness as they had taken up arms. Sylla laid siege to the city, and found it no easy task, with the whole force of his army, and the abundant resources with which he was supplied, to reduce the fiery republicans, under the command of Aristion. At last, their material means of defence being exhausted, they resorted to a mode of proceeding quite characteristic of the Athenians, —they sent out some of their orators, to try what eloquence could do with the hard-headed, Roman. Admitted to an audience, the spokesman began to remind the general of their past glory, and was proceeding to touch upon Marathon, when the surly soldier fiercely growled, " I was sent here to punish rebels, not to study history." And he did punish them. He broke down the wall between the Peiraus and the Sacred Gates, and poured in his soldiers to plunder and slay. With drawn swords they swept through the streets. The ground ran with blood, which poured its horrid tide into the ancient burying-place of the Cerameicus. Great numbers of the citizens were slain: their property was plundered by the soldiers. The groves of the Academy and the Lyceum were cut down; and columns were carried away from the temple of Olympian Zeus, to ornament the city of Rome. The town of Peirmus was utterly destroyed, being treated with more severity than Athens itself. From this frightful moment the decline of the population of Greece commenced. "Both parties," says the able historian already quoted, "during the Mithridatic war, inflicted severe injuries on Greece, plundered the country, and destroyed property most wantonly, while many of the losses were never repaired. The foundations of national prosperity were undermined: and it henceforward became impossible to save, from the annual consumption of the inhabitants, the sums necessary to replace the accumulated capital of ages, which this short war had annihilated. In some cases the wealth of the communities became insufficient to keep the existing public works in repair." ~ 3. Scarcely had the storm of Roman war passed by, when the Cilician pirates, finding the coasts of Greece peculiarly favorable for their marauding incursions, and tempted by the wealth accumulated in the cities and B. C. 30.] GREEK LITERATURE AT ROME. 563 temples, commenced their depredations on so gigantic a scale, that the Romans felt obliged to employ all their military force for their suppression. The exploits of Pompey the Great, who was clothed with autocratic power to put down this gigantic evil, fill the brightest chapter in the history of that celebrated but too unfortunate commander. He captured ninety brazen-decked ships, and took twenty thousand prisoners, with whom he repeopled the ancient town of Soli, which henceforth was called Pompeiopolis. The civil wars, in which the Roman Republic expired, had the fields of Greece for their theatre. Under the tramp of contending armies, her fertile plains were desolated, and civil blood, in a cause not her own, again and again moistened her soil. ~ 4. But at length the civil wars have come to an end, and the Empire introduces, for the first time in the melancholy history of man, a state of universal peace. Greece still maintains her pre-eminence in literature and art; and her schools are frequented by the sons of the Roman aristocracy. The elder poetry serves as models to the literary genius of the Augustan age. Horace copies Alceus, and admires Sappho. Virgil copies Theocritus in his Eclogues, and the Iliad and Odyssey in his.Eneid. The historians form themselves on Attic prototypes; and the philosophers of Rome divide themselves among the Grecian sects, while in Athens the Platonists, the Stoics, the Peripatetics, and the Epicureans still haunt the scenes with which the names of their masters were inseparably associated. The ancient spirit, which animated the breasts of the Greeks in the republican days, and which broke forth like an expiring gleam in Philopoemen and Polybius, had either vanished utterly from the hearts of the people, or had been smothered and oppressed into silence, by the evils of the times. The country was, however, still covered with splendid temples, and crowded with the works of art, - the productions of the best ages; -nor had the practice of art been entirely lost. But the ravages of war had left the most important cities in such a state, that, even in the time of Cicero, they suggested melancholy reflections to the most thoughtful minds. Says Sulpicius, in his letter of consolation to the great orator, " When I returned from Asia, and was sailing from AEgina towards Megara, I began to gaze upon the regions around me. Behind me lay iEgina; before me, Megara; on my right, Peiraeus; on my left, Corinth; cities which once were most flourishing, but now overwhelmed, and in ruins." Such was the general aspect of that illustrious region even then; but the great temples, whose ruins still astonish the traveller by their magnificence and melancholy beauty, had suffered nothing from time and comparatively little from the hand of man. They were regarded, even by those who had no conception of the genius required for their construction, with a kind of awe and reverence. ~ 5. The establishment of the Empire made but little change in the administration of Greece. Augustus indeed showed no great solicitude 564 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIX except to maintain the country in subjection by his military colonies,especially those of Patre and Nicopolis, a policy first introduced by Julius Cesar. -Ie even deprived Athens of the privileges she had enjoyed under the Republic, and broke down the remaining power of Sparta, by declaring the independence of her subject towns. -Some of his successors treated the country with favor, and endeavored by a clement use of power to mitigate the sufferings of its decline. Even Nero was proud to display the extent of his musical abilities in the theatres, which had resounded with the compositions of the Greeks. He listened eagerly to their flatteries, as they accompanied him from the city, received with complacency the eighteen hundred laurel crowns with which they decorated him, and when at last - in an excess of adulation which it is wonderful he did not suspect of satire - they styled him the Saviour of the Human Race, the musical monster repaid the compliment by declaring them free from tribute. The noble Trajan allowed them to retain their former local privileges, and did much to improve their condition by his wise and just administration. ~ 6. Hadrian was a passionate lover of Greek art and literature. Athens especially received the amplest benefits from his taste and wealth. He finished the temple of Olympian Zeus; established a public library; built a pantheon and gymnasium; rebuilt the temple of Apollo at Megara; improved the old roads of Greece, and built new ones, and especially made the difficult highway into Peloponnesus, by the Scironian Rocks, passable for wheeled carriages. A part of it is still to be seen, running along these dangerous and lofty precipices, with the ruined masses of the immense substruction which supported it. Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius showed good-will to Greece; the latter rebuilt the temple at Eleusis, and improved the Athenian schools, raising the salaries of the teachers, and in various ways contributing to make Athens, as it had been before, the most illustrious seat of learning in the world. It was in the reign of this Emperor, in the second century of our era, that one of the greatest benefactors of Athens, and all Greece, lived, - Herodes Atticus, distinguished alike by his wealth, learning, and eloquence. Born at Marathon, within sight of the spot where the Persian hosts were defeated; educated at Athens by the best teachers his father's wealth could procure, he became, on going to Rome, which he did in early life, the rhetorical teacher of Marcus Aurelius himself. Antoninus Pius bestowed on him the dignity of the consulship; but he preferred the career of a teacher at Athens, to the higher political dignities which imperial favor placed within his reach; and he was followed thither by young men of the most eminent Roman families, from the emperors down. Later he withdrew from Athens to Cephissia, a town about eight miles distant, where he built a magnificent villa, adorned with porticos, walks, groves, and fountains, traces of which still remain. At Athens he built the Stadium, lined with Pentelic marble, whose enormous dimensions, south of the Ilissus, testify to the magnificence and liberality of this princely A. D. 267.] GOTHIC INVASION. 565 citizen; and the theatre of Regilla, - so named in honor of his wife, at the southwest angle of the Acropolis, the walls, arches, and seats of which are to a great extent still remaining, though the interior is encumbered with the accumulated rubbish of sixteen centuries; at Corinth he built a theatre, at Olympia an aqueduct, at Delphi a race-course, and at Thermopyle a hospital. Peloponnesus, Euboea, Boeotia, and Epeirus experienced his bounty; and even Italy was not forgotten in the lavish distribution of his wealth. He died in A. D. 180. The grateful citizens of Athens would not allow his body to be buried at Marathon, as he had desired, but insisted on bestowing upon his remains every honor in their power to devise. His praises were commemorated in a funeral discourse by his friend and pupil, Adrianus, of whose genius Herodes had expressed himself in the strongest terms of admiration. Of the numerous literary works left by thi s illustrious citizen, whose character and genius gild the declining days of Athens, nothing has been preserved; but few have left so many traces of their public spirit and liberality in the land of their birth. The frantic Caracalla, early in the third century, pursued by the avenging demons of those he had murdered, yet did one good deed in clothing the free inhabitants of the provinces with the rights of Roman citizenship: "but the moral supports," says Finlay,' of the old framework of society were destroyed before the edict of Caracalla had emancipated Greece; and when tranquillity arrived, they were only capable of enjoying the felicity of having been forgotten by the tyrants." ~7. About the middle of the third century, the Gothic hordes began to appear on the northern frontiers of Greece. A few years later they crossed the Hellespont and 2Egean, and descended upon the coasts of Attica. Disembarking at the Peirnus, they marched upon Athens, which was bravely but unsuccessfully defended by Dexippus, who added the abilities of a a I am sorry we have so few traces of this scholar warrior. He did not let the Goths escape with impunity; but, rallying his followers in a grove near the city, addressed them in an animating harangue, of which the following sentences are all that is preserved. " Bravery, and not the number of combatants, governs the issue of war. Our force is still considerable. Our army numbers two thousand warriors; our position is concealed. From this spot we must attack the enemy when they disperse over the country. So will victory inspire us with new vigor, and fill our invaders with terror. If we meet them in open fight, remember that courage mounts with danger. Victory comes unlooked for in the hour of need and in battle for all that is dearest, when the soldier is animated with the hope of revenge. And who have a juster cause of vengeance than we, who see our families and our city at the mercy of the foe? I am resolved to share your fate, to fight boldly for all we most prize on earth; and be assured I will take care that through me the glory of Athens shall never be dishonored. It becomes us to remember the deeds of olr fathers; to shine forth an example of bravery and freedom to the other Greeks; and to secure for ourselves, among the present and future generations, the imperishable renown of having shown by our actions that the courage of the Athenians remains unbroken, even in adversity. We march to battle to redeem our children, and all we hold most dear. May the gods be our support." The army received his words in a transport of enthusiasm, and demanded to be led to instant battle. We have no clear account of what followed; but it appears, that, after the 566 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. XLIX. general to the accomplishments of the scholar and philosopher. Athens was subjected to the plunder of the savages. It is related by Zonaras, "that one of the Gothic chiefs, finding a party of his soldiers on the point of burning the libraries of Athens, having collected the books in a pile, told them to leave those things to the effeminate Greeks; for the hand accustomed to the smoothness of the papyrus would but feebly grasp the brand of the warrior." Happy influence of letters, which, had it universally prevailed, would have saved the earth from becoming the dreadful slaughter-house it has been in every age, and seems likely to be again in ours. ~ 8. The language of Greece, no longer existing under the forms of numerous dialects, all in their several countries, and in special departments of literature, of equal classical authority, had become, under the designation of the later Attic, or Hellenistic, the medium of political communication and literary composition throughout the Eastern World. Intellectual activity in Egypt, where the institutions of the Ptolemies were respected by the Roman Emperors, assumed a motley aspect among the philosophic and Oriental systems and jargons, which concentrated, in an astonishing medley, in that land of pyramids and hieroglyphics. Of the poetical names which shine with mild lustre here, we have Callimachus, the author of hymns, and Theocritus, the pastoral poet, whose naive Sicilian Doric still charms the student more than the stately imitations of Virgil; Apollonius, the Rhodian; Lycophron, chiefly famous for his unintelligibility, whose sixty tragedies have not come down to us. Christianity was early preached, and churches established, not only among the Greeks of Asia Minor, but on the continent of Greece, as appears both by the early history of the religion, and by the apostolic documents themselves. The most memorable passage in apostolic history is beyond all comparison the appearance of St. Paul at Athens, and the discourse he delivered to the philosophers, who courteously invited him up the Hill of Mars, - the most sacred and venerable spot, from the mythical times, down to the latest days of Attic splendor, and in our own times. The Greeks, though some of them found the preaching of the Apostles foolishness, were in many respects morally and intellectually susceptible to its influences. Some of the elder thinkers had reasoned out the great peculiar doctrines of Christianity. Plato, looking upon the sorrowful and fallen condition of man, had felt the want of a divine being to raise him up and restore him to the lost dignity of his nature. Socrates, his master, had reflected upon the immortality of the soul, and the joys of a better life to come, until these sublime truths assumed a clearness and consistency which nerved barbarians had sated themselves with the plunder of the city, they found some difficulty in escaping to their ships, or hurrying to the North. Those who went by land rushed tumultuously through Bootia, Acarnania, Thessaly, and Epeirus, spreading terror and destruction wherever they appeared. CHAP. XLIX.] CHRISTIANITY IN GREECE. 567 him to meet the felon's death an unjust sentence had doomed him to suffer, and just as he was about to drink the fatal hemlock, he declared the memorable Christian doctrine, that it was better to forgive injuries than to avenge them. The tenderness and humanity of the Christian faith found an echo in the Grecian heart; and a sentiment deeper than curiosity - though that mingled largely in the emotions of the hour - secured to the great Apostle the respectful attention of the most cultivated audience he ever addressed. Philosophy had strengthened the great minds of Greece, and the most accomplished intellects of Rome, but still had left an aching void in the heart. No doubt, when death parted families, bereaving the parent of the hope and the charm of life, or leaving tender children orphans in a desolate world, the sunshine of nature lighted the universe in vain for their sorrowing spirits, and the theories of philosophy fell far short of that blessed assurance which alone can soothe the agony of the dark hour. In this period, also, the belief in the ancient divinities must have died out in nearly every thinking mind. The glory of the nation had suffered an eclipse, from which the gods of Olympus had been powerless to save. Private life had been overwhelmed with disaster and woe; and philosophy could only help the sterner natures to bear the general lot with composure. The tenderness of the sepulchral inscriptions, in the anthologies, or those briefer ejaculations of sorrowing affliction from the dying to the living and the living to the dying, which still speak to us so touchingly from the crumbling marbles of ancient Hellenic tombs, tell us by what is not said, still more eloquently than by what is expressed, how ready was the heart of Hellas for the consolations of the Christian faith. ~ 9. The temples remained in their magnificence; ceremonies and processions represented the ancient pomps of popular worship; but, in many cases, the wealth belonging to them was monopolized by private persons, or diverted from its religious use by the corporations charged with their management, and Christianity gained a victory — though not without a long struggle against the conservative element of Paganism - over the indifference of the people to their ancient rites. It has been well remarked, that the early converts to the Christian Church were from the middling and the literary classes. Besides the peculiar consolations afforded by Christianity to the afflicted, of all ranks and conditions, there were popular elements in its early forms which could not fail to commend it to the regards of common men. It borrowed the designition ecclesia from the old popular assembly, and liturgy, from the services required by law of the richer citizens for the popular festivities. It taught the equality of all men in the sight of God; the brotherhood of all the races of man; and this doctrine could not fail to be affectionately welcomed by a downtrodden people. Their assemblies were organized upon democratic principles, at least in Greece, and retained a semblance of the free assemblies of former time,; and the daily business of communities was transacted under 568 HISTORY OF GREECE. [C XAP. XLIX, these popular forms, no less than spiritual affairs. "From the moment a people," says Mr. Finlay, "in the state of intellectual civilization in which the Greeks were, could listen to the preachers, it was certain they would adopt the religion. They might alter, modify, or corrupt it, but it was impossible they should reject it. The existence of an assembly, in which the dearest interests of all human beings were expounded and discussed, in the language of truth, and with the most earnest expressions of persuasion, must have lent an irresistible charm to the investigation of the new doctrine among a people possessing the institutions and feelings of the Greeks. Sincerity, truth, and a desire to persuade others, will soon create eloquence, where numbers are gathered together., Christianity revived oratory, and with oratory it awakened many of the characteristics which had slept for ages. The discussions of Christianity gave also new vigor to the communal and municipal institutions, as it improved the intellectual qualities of the people." ~ 10. But it was impossible for such organizations to exist, withoutgradually rising to an important influence in the state; and it was impossible for the maxims of Christianity to gain an extensive prevalence, without coming in collision with the maxims of the Roman government. The responsibility of rulers and ruled to a common and impartial tribunal could not be very tasteful to the rapacious masters of the Roman Empire; and the doctrine of equality and brotherhood was a strange lesson for those whose policy and arms had enslaved the world. A bond which united the Christians of all countries in the strictest relations of friendship and affection, could not but be viewed with suspicion by those who regarded the citizenship of Rome as the most binding and exalted relation possible among men. And the Roman, in his nature, was less susceptible to religious influences than the Greek; he looked upon Christianity with reference to its supposed political bearings, and persecuted it accordingly. But, in spite of all obstacles, in defiance of all persecutions, Christianity identified itself with the habits, thoughts, sentiments, hopes, and nationality of the Hellenic race. It was bound up with the language, in which the Apostles and earliest Fathers preached and taught and wrote. It held them together, and saved them from absorption into the vast body of the Roman Empire, and from annihilation by the hordes of barbarians who swept the country like a whirlwind, and settled upon it like devouring locusts. It ascended the throne with Constantine, and for eleven centuries shared in the highest dignities of the Eastern Empire. A. D.330.] INAUGURATION OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 569 Cathedral Church of St. Sophia. CHAPTER L. FROM THE ACCESSION OF CONSTANTINE TO THE IMMIGRATION OF THE SLAVONIANS INTO GREECE. ~ 1. Building of Constantinople. ~ 2. Effect of transferring the Seat of Government to Byzantium. ~ 3. Local Governments. ~ 4. The Emperor Julian. 4 5. Separation of the Eastern and Western Empires. The Goths. New Meaning of the Name Hellenes. Attila and the Huns. ~ 6. Reign of Justinian. ~ 7. Slavonians. ~ 1. Constantine removed the seat of empire from Rome to Constantinople, and inaugurated the latter city, with great pomp and ceremony, in the year A. D. 330. For thirty-four years the newly founded capital was the single seat of government in the Roman world, down to the reign of Jovian. For one hundred and one years the Empire was double-headed, the Eastern Empire having its seat of government at Constantinople, and the Western at Rome, until Romulus Augustulus closed his inglorious reign, and with it the Western Roman Empire, in the year 476. From this time the Roman Empire was the Eastern Empire, living on, under the Roman organization and Roman law, and claiming to be Roman, in all essential respects, under a succession of twenty-eight Emperors, until the accession of Leo III., commonly called the Isaurian, who ascended the throne in the year 717, and reigned twenty-four years. With the reign of this reforming Emperor, the old Roman spirit of the administration was ex72 570 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. L. tinguished, and the proper Byzantine period commences. From the close of this Emperor's reign, in 741, to the conquest of Constantinople by the Western princes, or the termination of the reign of Alexius Ducas, in 1204, forty-three rulers, including three Empresses, Irene, Zoe, and Theodora, held the reins of government for a period of four hundred and sixtythree years. The Latin Emperors, five in number, held the throne of Constantinople fifty-seven years only, when, in 1261, the line of Greek Emperors was restored, in the person of Michael Paleologus VIII. A succession of nine Emperors filled the period down to the reign of Constantine XIII., the last of the Palaeologi, who closed his reign and his life with the downfall of the Byzantine Empire, in 1453, when Mohammed II., entering the city of Constantinople over the body of the slaughtered Emperor, planted the crescent on the dome of St. Sophia. For the long period of more than eleven hundred years Constantinople had been the great Christian capital of the East. The ancient city of Byzantium was founded by Megarian colonists, in the seventh century before Christ. It was built on a promontory, facing the waters of the Bosporus and the shores of Asia: and certainly no city in the world can surpass it in the beauty of its position, its facilities for commerce, or the picturesqueness of the scenery that surrounds it. It is washed on the east by the Bosporus, on the north by the Golden Horn, which derived this name from the rich traffic the fisheries supplied, at a very early period, and retains it to the present day. The harbor is seven miles in length, and the water, scarcely affected by tides, is deep enough to float vessels of the largest size. It was and is the key to the Euxine and the AEgean Seas, and its possession was an object of eager rivalship among the most powerful nations of antiquity. Philip of Macedonia, no less than Nicholas of Russia, made every effort to bring it under his power, and was prevented only by the energetic resistance of Demosthenes, for which the people of Byzantium decreed, in honor of the Athenians, a statue and a golden crown. In the wars of the Romans, Byzantium suffered her full share of disasters, in sieges, slaughters, the demolition of her walls, and changes in her political institutions. When Constantine determined to place his new capital here, he greatly enlarged the boundaries, and, to make it in all respects another Rome, took in the seven hills, which rise one above the other, and are covered by the city. From his time it has borne the name of Constantinopolis - Constantinople- in the languages of Europe, Constanyi in the Arabic, and Stamboul in the Turkish, which is formed from the Greek words eia r7v rroXvw, into or in the city. The line of walls across the peninsula was marked by the Emperor, marching at the head of a procession: a splendid exhibition of chariot games was given in the hippodrome, after which the Emperor was drawn in a magnificent car through the city, bearing a golden statue of Fortune in his hand, surrounded by his guards arrayed in A. D. 361.] THE EMPEROR JULIAN. 571 festal robes, and carrying lighted torches. The ceremonies of inauguration lasted forty days. The walls were not completed until the reign of Constantius; they were overthrown by an earthquake at the beginning of the fifth century; and the dilapidated walls which still exist, running from the Sea of MIarmora to the harbor, are the remains of the double line, reconstructed in A. D. 447 with rectangular flanking towers at short intervals. The circuit of the city was about thirteen miles. ~ 2. One effect of the transference of the seat of government to Byzantium was to bring the Greeks into a more direct communication with the Roman administration. It was the aim of the first Roman Emperorsthose of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries - to establish the Latin language, the Roman law, and Roman institutions generally, on a more permanent footing than they had yet gained in the East. The influence of the court had some effect. Those who were connected with it, or dependent on its favors, prided themselves in adopting the style, manners, and dignities of Roman officers: they called themselves Romans, and their country Rome, and even the spoken Greek language was subsequently known, and is known down to the present day, as the Romaic. In the writings of those times we find a strange jumble of Latin with the Greek, especially in the legal documents. But this effect did not extend among the Greeks generally. The strong nationality of the race easily withstood this tide of foreign manners, and while the dignitaries of the empire, and some of the leading ecclesiastics, were indulging in the pomp and ceremonies of the Roman court at Constantinople, the body of the Greek people, and the humbler clergy, remained faithful to the Hellenic ideas, and to the simple form of the religion they had received from the Apostles and their immediate successors. In fact, their aim was to make Constantinople a Greek and not a Latin city. The Roman spirit of the administration was gradually destroyed, though the capital shared little in the national feeling, and, giving itself up to the enjoyments of the largesses, and the games of the circus, granted her by the favor of the Emperors, remained insensible to the sufferings of the provinces and the decline of the Empire. ~ 3. In Greece, the local governments were still allowed to exist, but the public burdens were rigorously enforced by the imperial government: so that the reforms inaugurated by Constantine were of no substantial benefit to the Greeks as a nation. A system of monopoly, -since imitated by that overpraised barbarian, the Pacha of Egypt, - in which the Emperor and members of the imperial household largely shared, interfered with the natural course of commerce, and tended powerfully to impoverish the provinces, and to weaken the barriers which the Empire had maintained against the inroads of the barbarians. ~ 4. The remarkable career of the Emperor Julian, who ascended the throne A.D. 361, twenty-four years after the death of Constantine, deserves a brief notice, with reference to its bearings on the condition and fortunes of the Greeks. In his childhood and youth, tholil,1 —"i -'. 1 572 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. L jealous eyes of Constantius, and deprived of liberty, he was nevertheless carefully educated, both in the dogmas of the established church and in Greek and Roman literature. Athens was still the centre of Greek culture, and here, after with difficulty obtaining the Emperor's consent, Julian was permitted to retire from the Asiatic cities, and for a time to lead the life of a scholar and private man. His acquirements and elegant tastes attracted the attention of the most eminent masters, and he passed his time in a circle of young men of congenial tastes, among whom was Gregory of Nazianzus, who was afterwards known as the Christian orator and bitter enemy of the apostate Emperor, and the fiery antagonist of the Arians. In a short time he was disturbed from these peaceful pursuits, and placed in a military command, in the western and northern provinces of the Empire. He describes his feelings on quitting Athens in his letter to the Athenians: " What fountains of tears did I shed, what lamentations did I utter, stretching my hands up towards the Acropolis, when I invoked and supplicated Athena to save her servant, and not to abandon him." His brilliant successes awoke again the jealousies of the Emperor Constantius, who recalled the best portion of his troops, under pretence of needing them for the defence of the East. The troops refused to obey, and, breaking into the lodgings of their beloved commander, forced him to accept the imperial crown. Before he came into actual conflict with the armies of the East, the Emperor died, and now, without opposition, Julian mounted the throne, in A. D. 361. Up to this moment he had disguised his apostasy from the religion in which he had been educated, though it had already been suspected by his brother Gallus, by Gregory, and perhaps by others. The policy of Constantine, the cruelty of Constantius, the persecuting spirit already displaying itself between the Orthodox and Arians, backed by the arguments of the Athenian philosophers, with whom he had chiefly associated, had completely alienated him from the Christian faith. He however published an edict of toleration, professing to secure to both Christians and Pagans the rights of conscience: but he gratified his private inclinations by preferring Pagans to Christians in civil and military offices, and forbidding the Christians to teach rhetoric and grammar in the schools. He was initiated into the mysteries of Eleusis; did much towards restoring Athens, Argos, and Corinth to their ancient splendor; re-established the Isthmian games; and in many other ways manifested his passionate attachment to the land of Greece, her literature, her institutions, and her arts. But the dream of restoring to her declining gods the ancient reverence was that of an enthusiast, but an imperial enthusiast; of ~a pedant in paganism, though a very able and perhaps honest one. The work he wrote against the Christian dogmas, though it excited a prodigious controversy in its day, is known only by tradition, and by extracts preserved in Cyril, who replied to it, -the copies of the work being destroyed by Theodosius II. The impression his name makes in later:times is due chiefly to the odious epithet of Apostate, by which he is A. D. 364.] CHRISTIANS AND HELLENES. 573 generally designated. In reality he was a philosopher of great moderation; a sovereign whose reign was distinguished above most of his successors for devotion to the happiness of the people. Those of his writings which are not on controversial subjects display uncommon literary care for the age, and some of them are of great historical importance. Two or three of them, his Cesars, or the Banquet, and The MAisopogon, or Beard-hater, exhibit a considerable turn for satire. But his deliberate preference of Paganism over Christianity, in consequence of the quarrels and scandalous conduct of some of' the professors of the latter, and the superior urbanity and literary accomplishments of some of the adherents to the former, instead' of forming his opinion upon the moral and religious ideas which lie at the respective foundations of the two, will justly and for ever deprive him of the praise of being a profound thinker. ~ 5. The Eastern and Western Empires were separated in A. D. 364, by Valentinian and Valens. In the north and east, the storm of barbarian invasion was ominously gathering against the Empire. The Goths were permitted by Valens to pass the Danube, when the fiercer Huns, advancing from the confines of China, compelled them to seek the protection of the Emperor. This movement quartered a million of warriors within the domain of Rome, between whom and the Empire a desperate war speedily broke out. But the separation of the East from the West bound up the interests of the sovereigns more intimately with the fortunes of their Greek subjects. The Greek language began to supplant the Latin at the court, and the feeling of Greek nationality penetrated even to the imperial family; and new vigor seemed about to be infusedinto the eastern portion of the Empire. The municipal and ecclesiastical organizations of the Greeks gained still greater influence in the general government; andl the Christian religion gradually directed the attention of the educated to theological questions, almost exclusively. There still remained in the schools, however, a number of philosophical adherents to declining paganism; many of them, like Julian and Libanius, not only distinguished by their literary accomplishments, but by the general purity of their lives. The name of Hellenes was gradually limited to the Pagan Greeks of Europe. Christians and Hellenes became distinctive terms in Greece itself, which still retained the name of Hellas. At the present day this application of the term is not unknown in some parts of Greece. Tlh influence of the lawyers on the general administration of justice began to exercise a very important, control, not only over the judicial tribunals, but as a check to the injustice of proconsuls, and even to the despotism of the Emperors themselves; but it is a singular fact, and one which diminished the beneficial influence of this body among the Greeks, that though the Greek language was the language of the Eastern Church, yet the Latin was the language of legal business in the East, until the time of Justinian, -that is, till after the sixth century;- a circumstance that enabled the clergy, by their more intimate connection with the people, to extend their sphere of activity beyond the range of ecclesias 574 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. L. tical, to the civil affairs. All this apparent progress was arrested, or at least interrupted, by the troubles with the Goths. The Huns pressed forward, subjecting district after district, and province after province. In the first half of the fifth century, at the head of an immense troop of followers, Attila advanced upon Europe, and, almost without the show of resistance, invaded, occupied, and desolated all the regions from the Euxine to the Adriatic Sea. Greece suffered the extremities of spoliation under these swarming hordes, with all its atrocities and horrors. The Emperor was terrified into purchasing peace by the payment of an annual tribute of two thousand pounds of gold, and ceding an extensive territory of fifteen days' journey in breadth, and extending in length from Nyssae to Belgrade. For the next seven years Attila was the terror of the East and West. His exploits were the theme of popular songs among the barbarians, and tradition added fable to the facts of history. Under the name of Etzel he reappears in the earliest legends of Germany, and is one of the leading personages in that grand old poem, the Nibelungenlied. "He was interred," says Sir James Emerson Tennent, " after the ancient manner of the fathers of his nation, the Huns cutting off their hair, and gashing their faces with hideous wounds, to bewail their chieftain, not with effeminate tears, but with the blood of warriors. His body, placed beneath a silken pavilion, was exhibited in the midst of the plain, whilst the horsemen of his tribe rode around it, and celebrated his exploits in funeral hymns. In the darkness of midnight the remains of Attila were inclosed in a golden, and again in a silver coffin, to mark that the Romans and the Greeks had been his tributaries; and all was enveloped in an iron chest, to indicate the untamed ferocity of his dominion. The trappings of his war-horse, and his royal insignia, were committed to the same sepulchre with himself; and the slaves who hollowed out his tomb were slain when the work was finished, in order that no mortal might disclose the last resting-place of the warrior of the Huns." ~ 6. The long reign of Justinian, from 527 to 565,- thirty-nine years, was in some respects a brilliant one; but, to use the language of another, "it was merely a glowing episode in a tale of ruin,- a meteor in a midnight sky, which flashes brightly for an instant, and, vanishing, leaves no halo of its transient brilliancy behind." Yet he was indefatigably occupied with reforms, intended to strengthen the Empire. He embellished the capital with costly edifices, rebuilt the cathedral church of St. Sophia, repaired the walls and towers of Constantinople, the strongholds in the North of Greece, the fortifications of Athens and Peireus, and protected the Peloponnesus by fortresses at Corinth and on the Isthmus. He paid more than a million of dollars towards rebuilding and embellishing Antioch, after it had been overthrown by an earthquake. He abolished the consulship which had been in existence more than a thousand years, and in his reign the schools of Athens and Alexandria, in which doctrines antagonistic to Christianity were still taught, were closed. He was brilliantly A. 1). 717.] THE SLAVONIANS. 575 successful in his wars, through his generals, and this with his contemporaries gave him still greater glory than his works of peace: but posterity acknowledge him chiefly for his agency in compiling the Institutes, Digest, and Pandects, - the Corpus Juris Civilis, - which has so largely influenced the administration of justice down to the present day. ~ 7. The Western Empire ended with the inglorious reign of Romulus Augustulus, in A. D. 476; but the Eastern Empire, under Roman influences, continued for a period of about one hundred and fifty years after Justinian, to the accession of Leo the Isaurian, in A. D. 717, when, in the opinion of Mr. Finlay, the proper Byzantine Period commences. In this century and a half seventeen Emperors sat upon the throne; but the most important events, so far as the Greeks were concerned, were the settlements of Slavonians, and other foreign or barbarous races, over the greater part of Greece. The diminution of the Hellenic people had gone on, partly owing to the general decay of the Empire, and partly to other and local causes, chiefly, among the latter, by the accumulation of immense landed estates in the hands of individuals. The neglect of roads led to the abandonment of the cultivation of the soil on large tracts of country, and its conversion into pasture land; and, as the revenues to be derived from a country in this condition were insignificant, the government at Constantinople became indifferent to its defence. The provinces of Greece were thus exposed to the inroads of Slavonian settlers, which commenced early in the sixth century. The progress of these settlements is obscurely intimated in the Byzantine historians; but the fact that they occupied the greater part of Macedonia, and in such numbers that Justinian II., at the end of the seventh century, was able to remove into Asia, and settle on the shores of the Bosporus, a colony of one hundred and fifty thousand souls, shows in what numbers they came. They became almost the sole possessors of the territories once occupied by the Illyrians and Thracians. They advanced southward, occupying the waste lands; but as they penetrated into the heart of Greece, they met with more obstruction from a dense population, especially in the neighborhood of the still remaining walled towns. In the early part of the eighth century, nearly the whole of the Peloponnesus was occupied by the Slavonians, and it was then regarded by pilgrims from Western Europe as the Slavonian land; and the complete colonization of the whole country of Greece and the Peloponnesus is dated by the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus from the time of the great pestilence that depopulated the East, in A. D. 746, which is a little later than the commencement of the Byzantine period. Such are the principal facts known in history with regard to this extraordinary series of events, by which an old population was almost entirely displaced, in the course of two centuries, by swarms of another race, coming into the country partly as warriors and enemies, partly as agriculturists, herdsmen, and shepherds, to occupy the lands left vacant by the greatly diminished numbers of the Greeks. These bodies seem to have been set in motion 576 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. L. by wars along the line of the northern provinces; and when they were once established, they lived in a rude and wild independence. They took possession of the valleys chiefly, and the interior of the provinces, and they left traces of their possession in the still remaining Slavonic names which are scattered all over the surface of Greece. The Greeks themselves still held the sea-coasts and the large towns, the old Greek names of which were for the most part still retained. From time to time, the old and the new inhabitants came into collision, and wars raged here and there. Twice, at least, the aid of the Emperor was supplicated, large armies were sent from Constantinople, and the Slavonians were partially conquered and compelled to pay tribute to the imperial government. But the singularity of this chapter in Greek history consists in'the fact, that this great body of intrusive settlers gradually disappeared from the soil of Greece as mysteriously as they came. Some had, of course, mingled with the Greeks, were converted to Christianity, and in the course of time, by the blending of families, became Hellenized in language, manners, and b0loct, and to all intents and purposes Greeks, just as the descendants of a foreign settler in England, mingling his blood with the native lrace, lose the original nationality of their ancestors and become Englishmen. Professor Fallmereyer indeed, in his learned and entertaining work, written in German, - the History of the Peninsula of the Morea, - maintains that the Hellenic population was entirely exterminated, and that the people who call themselves Greeks at the present day are nothing but descendants of these Slavonian hordes. His book has called forth several replies; and his unfounded assumptions and numerous misrepresentations of historical facts have been ably exposed by Zinkeisen, in his excellent History of Greece. But in truth, it is quite unnecessary to enter largely into historical research, to show the fallacy of Fallmereyer's opinion. The Slavonians are light-haired, blonde-complexioned, and blue-eyed; the Greeks have dark hair, brown complexions, and sparkling black eyes. The Slavonians are broad-faced, stout, and somewhat clumsy; the Greeks are lithe, slender, nimble, graceful. The same features that we admire in the ancient statues, nature still reproduces everywhere in Greece. The intellectual qualities of the races are strikingly different. The Greek is lively, quick to understand, adroit, eloquent, curious, eager for novelty; the Slavonian slow, indifferent, not easily moved to take an interest in anything that does not immediately concern himself, and, what is more, the traveller in Greece falls in, here and there, with descendants of the Slavonians and other foreign settlers, - sometimes occupying an entire village by themselves. Even in Athens, theire is a quarter inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians; and not ten miles from Athens there is a village where Greek is not understood. Now it is impossible for the most careless observer to mistake these people for one another, either in their looks or their speech: or in their mental characteristics. A. D. 1081.] CONQUESTS OF THE NORMANS. 577 Constantinople, or Stamboul. CHAPTER LI. PARTITION OF THE EMPIRE. ~ 1. Conquests of the Normans. ~ 2. Crusades. Frankish Domination in Greece. ~ 3. Dukes of Athens. ~ 4. Origin and Progress of the Turks. ~ 5. Mohammed II. Preparations for the Capture of Constantinople. ~ 6. Capture of Constantinople. ~ 7. Conquest of the Morea. ~ 8. Conquest of Trebizond. ~ 9. Byzantine Writers, their General Characteristics. ~ 10. Zosimus, Procopius, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Nicephorus Bryennius, Anna Comnena, Laonicos Chalcocondyles. ~ 1. FROM the period of which we have been speaking, the condition of Greece remained without undergoing any important change, until the conquests of the Normans in the eleventh century. In 1081 Robert Guiscard passed over from Brindisi to Corfou with a powerful fleet. The inhabitants of the island making no resistance, he then landed in Epeirus; but in consequence of the death of the chieftain the expedition had no permanent consequence on the condition of the country. Another invasion of Greece was made by Bohemund, called the Duke of Antioch: it was repelled by the Emperor Alexis, and Bohemund forced to acknowledge himself liegeman of the Byzantine Emperor. A third invasion was conducted by Roger, the powerful and wealthy king of Sicily. He appeared off Corfou in 1146 with a fleet of seventy sail, and, having easily mastered the island, proceeded to the mainland, marched through Epeirus and Attica, and plun73 578 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LI. dered Thebes, Athens, and Corinth. Thebes was then a rich manufacturing town, especially remarkable for the silk trade. The city was completely plundered, - gold, silver, jewels, bales of silk, carried off to the fleet, and the most skilful of the silk-workers borne off as slaves to Sicily, there to exercise their industry for the benefit of their new masters.. Corinth was sacked with equal cruelty. These spoliations were a fatal blow to the prosperity of Greece, which had been silently advancing for the last two centuries; but little occurred to disturb the country during the century that followed, until the Crusades broke -ut and precipitated the chivalry of Europe upon the coasts of Asia. The Califs interfered but little with the Christian pilgrims visiting the sacred places in the Holy Land, but when the Seljouk Turks, having secured the dominion over the Saracens, became masters of Jerusalem, the pilgrims were exposed to unheard-of cruelties, which exasperated the Christian world. ~ 2. The religious enthusiasm of Western Europe, harmonizing with the spirit of chivalry, created a storm of unparalleled violence, and swept the combined hosts of the Christian powers from Europe to the East, resolved to rescue the Holy Sepulchre from the polluting hands of the Infidel. Here commenced the question about the Holy Places, which originally armed the great nations of Christendom against the followers of Mahomet; and which now, blending with political interests of the same great nations, has armed them in defence of the Turk against the encroachments of the Czar. The first three Crusades, though very important in their effects upon the Byzantine Empire, did not directly act upon the condition of Greece; but the fourth Crusade, which took place in A. D. 1203, had the most important consequences. The arrival of the armies of the West was, in the highest degree, unwelcome to the Emperors of the East: but they could not well save themselves from the necessity of extending a reluctant hospitality to the intruders. The Greek assumed to be far in advance of the rest of the world in refinement, and felt contempt for the rudeness and barbarism of the Latin; and the Latin looked upon the Greek as of a degraded caste, and a heretic. In June, A. D. 1203, the Venetian fleet, with the army of Crusaders on board, appeared at Constantinople, having engaged to restore the son of the dethroned Emperor to his hereditary rights. They were commanded by Henry Dandolo, the blind old warrior of Venice, who had private wrongs to avenge, no less than public engagements to execute. After two days of desperate fighting, the city was taken, and Alexius IV. crowned Emperor. A second destructive conflagration soon after laid a great part of the city in ashes. This was caused by a wilful act of incen iarism, committed in a drunken frolic by some Flemish soldiers, and Constantinople never entirely recovered from this calamity. The fury of the people was excited beyond all bounds, and fifteen thousand of the Latins, who resided within the walls of the city, were forced to quit the capital and seek safety in Galata, beyond the Golden Horn. The A. D. 1205.] DUKEDOM OF ATHENS. 579 Venetians and Crusaders again laid siege to Constantinople, on the 12th of April, 1204; and another quarter of the city perished by a third conflagration. " These three fires," it is said, "which the Franks had lighted in Constantinople, destroyed more houses than were contained in the three largest cities in France." Thus the capital of the Byzantine Empire fell. into the hands of Latin princes, and the Empire itself, under the name of Romania, reorganized, under a series of Western Emperors, continued until A. D. 1261,-or fifty-seven years. Greece, too, was completely remodelled. The Crusaders entered Greece, and divided its provinces. Boniface, Marquis of Montferrat, became sovereign of Salonica: Epeirus still continued, under the title, at first, of a despotat, to be governed by a Byzantine family. Afterwards it was changed into an empire, and then changed back again to a despotat: and it lasted until A. D. 1469. Achaia and the Morea became a principality under William de Champlitte and his successor, Geoffrey Villehardouin, and continued to A. D. 1387.* The Dukedom of the Archipelago, or Naxos, lasted from A. D. 1207 to A. D. 1566;- a greater prolongation of the Frankish power than occurred elsewhere in the East. ~ 3. But by far the most interesting of these Frank establishments in Greece was the Dukedom of Athens, which began in A. D. 1205, with the reign of Otho de la Roche, and continued under his family until A. D. 1308,- five dukes. The house of Brienne succeeded at this time, in the person of Walter de Brienne, who, being threatened by his enemies, called in the assistance of the Grand Catalan Company, - a troop of marauders whose adventures in the East fill a very remarkable episode in this chapter of history. But when he attempted to dismiss them they defied him, and, marching into the plains of Beotia, took up a position on the banks of the Cephissus, near the ancient Orchomenos. The Duke of Athens, with a numerous cavalry, pursued them. The Catalan leaders had conducted the waters of the Cephissus into the fields covered with corn, just in front of their own lines, making the ground soft and muddy, while the verdure concealed every appearance of irrigation. The Duke dashed in with his cavalry; but, getting inextricably involved in the yielding earth, the whole band of cavalry, with the exception of two, were slain. The Catalans pushed their conquests vigorously, capturing both Thebes and Athens. The History of the Conquest of Morea is contained in a curious metrical chronicle, written in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. It was published in its complete form by Buchon, with other documents relating to the same period, in 1845. It consists of 7,892 verses, with a Prologue of 1,302, in the metre technically called versusspoliticus,- accented but not rhymed. It is valuable in an historical point of view, and very curious as an illustration of the state of the language. It is called BLXilov r7s KovyKeo-ras rov Mopalws, - The Book of the Conquest of the Morea. The Prologue begins: - "I will a tale to thee rehearse, a tale of import mighty; And if attention you do lend, I hope the tale will please you.'T is how the Frank by arms did gain the realm of fair Morea." 580 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CtIAP. LI. At Thebes they burned the magnificent palace of St. Omar, whose splendor had been the theme of minstrels in that- age. At Athens they laid waste the olive groves of the Academy and Colonos. They divided the fiefs of the nobles who had fallen, and the officers took in marriage the surviving widows and heiresses: and in the language of Muntaner, the quaint old Spanish chronicler, who was an eyewitness of what he describes, many stout Catalan warriors received as wives noble ladies, for whom, the day before their victory, they would have counted it an honor to be allowed to hold their washing basin." These events were followed by the establishment of a duke from the Sicilian branch of the house of Aragon, on a request conveyed by a deputation of the Catalans to Frederick II. From that time the duchy of Athens and Neopatras became an appanage to the house of Aragon. It remained in this line until A. D. 1386, about sixty years.' From this line of princes the power passed to the Florentine house of Acciauoli, who had risen by commercial success to great influence, both in Italy and in the East. Six dukes of this family ruled over Athens, from A. D. 1386 to A. D. 1456, when Attica, with the rest of Greece, fell under the yoke of the Turks, and the transient reflex of ancient prosperity she had enjoyed under these Western rulers sank in the long night of slavery. During the period of the Dukes of Athens, Muntaner declares, the Frank chivalry of Greece was second to none in Europe; the Duke of Athens was one of the greatest princes of the Empire of Romania, and among the noblest of those sovereigns who did not bear the kingly title. Athens was the resort of the gayest knights in those ages; and chivalrous games and ceremonies were often rehearsed among the classic ruins which still abounded in that city. The service of the Roman Church was performed in the Parthenon, then consecrated to the Blessed Virgin; and on one occasion, the pages of the delightful old chronicler attest, a visitor to the ducal palace received the honor of knighthood in the temple of Athena. Among the classic sculptures still found, though in mutilated beauty, on the Acropolis, there are some rude fragments executed in the time of the Franks. But these Latin princes never identified themselves with the native population. They preserved their language, as they did their manners, unchanged; and Muntaner says, "The French was spoken as well at Athens as at Paris." The feudal system they introduced was not in harmony with the spirit of the people. They lived a ruling caste among a subject race; and the vices of the system made them an easy prey to the fiery zeal and hardihood of a fresh nation of conquerors. They, too, like the invaders who preceded them, entirely disappeared from the face of Hellas, with their language, their manners, their jousts and tournaments, their stately revels, and their devotion to. the fair. They left a few ruined castles, here and there, on the hill-tops of Greece, contrasting strangely with the classic ruins of Hellenic times. The A.D. 1451.] THE TURKS. 581 stately palace of St. Omar, at Thebes, where Muntaner visited his master, Don Fernando of Majorca, who was then a prisoner in its grand old halls, is all gone except a ruined tower, which hostile forces and the convulsions of nature have been alike unable to shatter. Here and there, in the decaying monasteries of Greece, a few musty records of their existence may be explored by the curious traveller. The Dukes of Athens, who held their knightly revels in their palace by the Propylaea, or presided over tournaments in the plain of Athens, are now to be traced only in an arched subterranean chamber, an old tower, and two stone coffins in the crumbling monastery of Daphne, which occupies the site of an ancient temple of Apollo, thrown carelessly into a dark room filled with rubbish, and only known by the nearly obliterated fleur-de-lis carved on the side.* ~ 4. The Turks are first mentioned in history in the sixth century. They are a Tatar race, from the great Steppes of Northern Asia, at the foot of the Altai Mountains. In the eighth century they blended with the Saracens in Persia, and reigned over Palestine, Syria, and Egypt in the tenth. In the eleventh century, another tribe, called the Seljouk Turks, subdued the greater part of Western Asia, and established the powerful empire with which the Crusaders waged war for the -possession of the Holy Sepulchre. The Ottoman Empire, built upon the ruins of the transient powers established by their predecessors, and now representing the Saracens, Arabs, and Turks, was founded in the thirteenth century, by Osman, who extended the bounds of his territories to the shores of the Black Sea. This was a century and a half before the capture of Constantinople. In A. D. 1360,~ Adrianople was taken by Amurath I., and became for a time the seat of the Turkish Empire in Europe. TThe successors of this prince were involved in wars with the Venetians, Hungarians, and Poles, in which at times the destinies of European civilization hung trembling in the balance. ~ 5. Mohammed II. was born at Adrianople in A. D. 1430, and succeeded Amurath II. in 1451. He was a man of uncommon ability and acquirements for his race and his age. He understood five languages. The Greek k The fame of the brilliant court of Athens resounded through the West of Europe, and many a chapter in old romance is filled with gorgeous pictures of its splendors. One of the heroines of Boccaccio's Decameron, in the course of her adventurous life, is found at Athens inspiring the Duke by her charms. Dante was a contemporary of Guy II. and Walter de Brienne; and in his Divine Comedy applies to Theseus, king of ancient Athens, the title so familiar to him, borne by the princely rulers in his own day. Theseus is, like Otho or Walter, il Ducs d'Atene, - the Duke of Athens. Chaucer too- the bright herald of English poetry-had often heard of the Dukes of Athens, and he, like Dante, gives that title to Theseus. And finally, in the age of Elizabeth, when Italian poetry was much studied by scholars and courtiers, Shakespeare, in the delightful scenes of the Midsummer Night's Dream, introduces the illustrious Theseus, the conqueror and the lover of Hippolyta, the warrior Queen of the Amazons, as the Duke of Athens. 582 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LI historian, Phrantzes, who had seen him at the court of Amurath, describes him as energetic and able, and fond of the society of learned men, himself not ignorant of science, and addicted to astrology; but he was cruel to the last degree, pitiless, and licentious. No consideration, human or divine, stood between him and the gratification of his desires. But his acts and his conquests come within the scope of our subject no further than they affected the fortunes of the Greeks, and on this topic a few words only must suffice. The conquest of Constantinople was the first object on which his thoughts were fixed, at the opening of his reign; the resolution with which he had formed this purpose expressed itself in the stern reply to the ambassadors of the Emperor, offering him tribute if he would renounce the project of building a fort on the European shore of the Bosporus, which, at the distance of only five miles from the capital, would give him the command of the Black Sea. He ordered the envoys to retire, and threatened to flay alive any who should dare to bring him a similar message again. The fort was finished in three months, and garrisoned with four hundred Janizaries; a tribute was exacted of all vessels that passed; and war was formally declared by the Sultan. Constantine made the best preparations in his power for defence; but he could only muster six hundred Greek troops. Disheartened by the feebleness and want of. spirit manifested by his own subjects, the Emperor made overtures to the Pope for a reunion of the Eastern and Western Churches, in the hope of drawing to his standard a portion of the warlike troops and officers then so numerous in Italy. A cardinal was accordingly despatched to Constantinople, and on the 12th of December, A. D. 1452, the Emperor Constantine celebrated his union with the Catholic Church in the cathedral of St. Sophia. A few troops came from Italy, and Justiniani, an Italian officer, arrived from Genoa, with two galleys and three hundred chosen men: he was appointed general of the guard. But with all the reinforcements thus received, the number was insignificant, compared with the extent of the walls to be defended, and the overpowering host the Sultan was concentrating around the devoted city. The, hatred of the Greeks for the Latin Christians was an insurmountable obstacle to thorough co-operation. Dissensions broke out between the Grand Duke Notaras and the Italian commander. " I beseech you, my brethren," said the Emperor, " be at peace; the war from abroad is enough; for God's mercy, do not fight with one another." Instead of rallying round their Emperor unanimously, the bigots spent their time in denouncing his apostasy, and insulting him as he passed through the streets.* The means of defence - the machines, artillery, and powder (for artillery and gunpowder had already begun to be Gennadios, who was afterwards Patriarch under the Sultan, carried this insane spirit of intolerance so far, that he declared he would rather see the turban of the Turk ruling hi the heart of the city, than the mitre of the Latin. (Ducas, Hist. Byzant., c. 37, p. 264.) A. D. 1453.] SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 5S3 used)- were scantily provided. The land wall, for five miles exposed at every point to attack, had to be manned. The wall towards the port and the Propontis was some nine miles, and the whole garrison amounted to only nine thousand men. The fleet consisted of twenty-three vessels, of all kinds. The entry of the port was closed by a strong chain, the end of which was secured in a fort of which the Greeks held possession, in Galata. The first division of the Ottoman army left Adrianople in February, 1453. In April the Sultan established his lines, from the head of the port to the shore of the Propontis, and erected his batteries, fourteen in all, against the principal gates, — especially against Chasias and St.'Romanos, - the latter of which is now called Top Kapou, Cannon Gate, in commemoration of the siege. A Dacian artilleryman had cast a monster cannon expressly for this assault, two and a half feet in diameter at the mouth, for the purpose of firing granite balls. This tremendous piece was mounted opposite the St. Romanos Gate, where the chief assault was to be made. The army is said to have amounted to two hundred and fifty thousand men, of all arms, and the fleet to four hundred and twenty vessels, of all sizes. These numbers are probably an exaggeration; but the overwhelming superiority of the Turkish forces, and the fiery energy of the youthful Sultan, left no hope of a successful resistance. Yet some disasters checked the ardor of the besiegers. Four corn-ships, bound for Constantinople, destroyed the Turkish galleys that intercepted them, and passed triumphantly into the harbor, over the chain, which was lowered for their passage. The great gun burst, without doing any damage, except killing its inventor and many Turks; and a wooden tower they had brought up against the wall was burnt down in a night sortie by Justiniani. But these incidents only stimulated the activity of the Sultan. He resolved to bring his fleet, which still lay in the upper part of the Bosporus, into direct communication with his armies; but the harbor was closed, and well defended. He accordingly conceived and executed, with incredible energy, the plan of transporting his galleys by land over the height of Pera, and launching them in the Golden Horn under protection of his own batteries. A road was formed, laid with planks and rails, and covered with tallow, up which the vessels were dragged, by the aid of windlasses and numerous yokes of oxen, one after the other, and let down the opposite slope, just above the present arsenal. The removal of a division of the Ottoman fleet thus took place in a single night, and at daylight the Greeks looked out with amazement upon seventy hostile ships, riding at anchor under the batteries. Having accomplished this signal achievement, the Sultan next threw a bridge across the harbor, defended by artillery, to establish an easy communication between the besieging force and the naval, camp up the Bosporus. Mohammed now summoned the Emperor to surrender, offering him an appanage as a vassal of the Porte; but Constantine, who had calmly resolved not to survive the fall of the city, indignantly rejected 584 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIIAP. LI. the insulting offer. On the night before the assault, the'Emperor rode round to all the posts, encouraging the troops by his cheerful demeanor; then, resorting to the church of St. Sophia, he partook, with his companions, of the holy sacrament, according to the Latin forms. He returned to the lmperial palace, and, asking pardon of all the members of his household for every offence he might ever have given them, withdrew, amidst their sighs and prayers and tears, mounted his horse, and rode away, with the solemn certainty that he should never meet them again in this world. ~ 6. Before the dawn of clay, May 29, A. D. 1453, preparations were made for the assault, the troops rapidly taking their positions before the portions of the wall they were to attack, and the galleys, with towers and scaling platforms, moving up against the fortifications of the fort, protected by the artillery on the bridge. The principal attack was directed to the gate of St. Romanos, where a passage had already been effected into the city. For more than two hours the defence was maintained at every point, and in the harbor victory seemed for a time to incline to the besieged; but at length, the small number of the defenders being diminished by death, exhausted by fatigue, unrelieved by irest, their commander wounded, and the Emperor left almost unsupported, a chosen band, led on by a gigantic warrior, I-assan of Ulubad, gained the summit of the dilapidated tower which flanked the passage. Theophilus Paleologos, when he saw the Emperor fighting, and the city on the point of falling, cried out, with a loud voice, and with tears, " eoco Oavfv wakXXov r) (v," " I wish to die rather than to live," and rushing into the midst of the enemy, and hewing many down with his sword, was at length overpowered and slain. The Emperor, left almost alone, was slain by the Turks, who, in the dim twilight of the morning, failed to recognize him. Hassan, and many of his followers, fell; but fresh columns coming up, a corps of Janizaries rushed into Constantinople over the lifeless body of the unrecognized Emperor. Other columns entered at other points, and the despairing people - senators, priests, monks, nuns, husbands, wives, and children - sought safety in the church of St. Sophia. A prophecy had been circulated, that here the Turks would be arrested by an angel from heaven, with a drawn sword; and here the miserable multitude crowded, in the expectation of supernatural help. The conquerors followed, sword in hand, slaughtering those they encountered in the streets. They broke down the doors of the church with axes, and, rushing in, committed every act of atrocity that a frantic thirst for blood and the inflamed passions of demons could suggest. "Who," says Ducas, "shall describe the calamity? The lamentations of children, the tears and cries of mothers and fathers, who shall describe? MIen dragged away by the hair of the head; the servant bound with her mistress, the master with his slave; maidens, whom the sun had never looked upon, dragged away, and beaten if they resisted." The unhappy victims were divided as slaves among the soldiers, without regard to blood A. D. 1453.] CAPTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 585 or rank, and hurried off to the camp; and the mighty cathedral, so long the glory of the Christian world, soon presented only traces of the most frightful orgies. The other quarters of the city were plundered by other divisiohs of the army, and similar scenes enacted. " Those who yielded at once," says Phrantzes, an eyewitness, "were made slaves; those that resisted, slain. In some places the earth was hidden by the. dead. A strange spectacle was there; - loud laments, and measureless violence in seizing noble ladies; maidens, and nuns consecrated to God, pitilessly dragged by the hair from the churches by the Turks; the cries of children, -who shall describe the horrors that were seen and heard?" The rich warehouses along the port were speedily pillaged of their accumulated merchandise. About noon the Sultan made his triumphal entry by the gate of St. Romanos, passing by the body of the Emperor, which lay concealed among the slain. Entering the church, he ordered a moolah to ascend the bema, and announce to the Moslems that St. Sophia was now a mosque consecrated to the prayers of the true believers. He directed the body of the Emperor to be sought, his head to be exposed to the people, and afterwards to be sent as a trophy, to be seen by the Greeks, in the principal cities of the Ottoman Empire. For three days the city was given up to the indescribable horrors of pillage and the license of the Mussulman soldiery. Forty thousand perished during the sack of the city, and fifty thousand were reduced to slaves. Youth, strength, beauty, and rank only insured their possessors the sad lot of servitude, adding often the harsher doom of an enforced conversion to the Moslem faith. Many families were utterly destroyed. The Grand Duke Notaras, one of the most distinguished persons in the Empire, refused to comply with the demand of the Sultan, that his.youngest son should be sent to become a page in the palace, well knowing the fate which would await him there. The Sultan ordered him and all his sons to instant execution. The scene of the execution, as described by Ducas and Phrantzes, is most pathetic,the father encouraging his sons by Christian exhortations to meet death bravely, and then, retiring to a chapel for a moment's prayer, calmly submitting to the headsman, with the bodies of his murdered children lying before him. Of other families, the men were put to death, the male children placed in the.schools of the Janizaries, and the females shut up in the harems of the Sultan and his courtiers. Even Mohammed, when he arrived at the imperial palace, was struck by the melancholy aspect of the place, and so awful an illustration of the mutability of human affairs. Even he - stained with blood - recalled a couplet of the Persian poet Firdusi:"The spider's curtain hangs before the portal of CGesar's palace, The owl fills with his nocturnal wail the watch-tower of Afrasiab." ~ 7. The.princes of the Morea, learning the capture of Constantinople, sent their submission to the Sultan, which was received, on condition 74 586 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. L1. of a yearly tribute of twelve thousand gold ducats. But disturbances and revolts called for the presence of the Sultan, and by a vigorous campaign, in A. D. 1458, he reduced the rebels to submission. Again, in A. D. 1460, he passed the Isthmus of Corinth, to suppress new tumults; and by a series of the most atrocious massacres, not only of men taken with arms in their hands, but of unarmed men, women, and children,- more than six thousand having been put to death, and ten thousand transported to Constantinople, - finally overthrew the power of the Byzantine rulers; and after a few more desperate struggles by the local organizations, where similar scenes of slaughter were enacted, the subjection of Morea, with the exception of a few places held by the Venetians, was completed,- its resources exhausted, its spirit broken, - so that the annual payment of children the Christians were compelled to send to Constantinople failed to awaken either patriotism or despair among the Greeks. And now nearly the whole of Greece, from north to south, was subjected to the sceptre of the Moslems, almost without further resistance. ~ 8. A singular chapter, or appendix, of Byzantine life and history, is presented by the empire of Trebizond. Along the shores of the Black Sea many cities were early settled by colonists from Greece. From the mouth of the Halys to the Caucasus extends a magnificent country, of rich plains, wooded hills, forests, and rapid, fertilizing streams. On a tableshaped rock, on the southeast shore of the Euxine, the Greeks established a citadel, which from its form they called Trapezous, - now changed into Trebizond, - as early as the eighth century before Christ. In the Roman times it became an important centre of commercial relations between Persia and Europe, enjoying the privileges of a free city. It shared the fortunes of the Byzantine Empire, and in the Iconoclastic period became the capital of the Theme of Chaldia, and the centre of the diplomatic relations between the imperial government and the princes of Armenia; and when the wars between the Saracens and Christians broke out, the Duke of Chaldia, who was charged with the business relating to them, made Trebizond his principal residence. From time to time, the rulers of this theme attempted to make themselves independent of the imperial government. But it was not until the Crusaders captured Constantinople, and divided the greater part of the provinces of the Empire among their princes, that Trebizond became a separate government, under the rule of a descendant of the Comneni. This family, who gave a dynasty to Byzantium, first appeared prominently towards the end of the tenth century, and from that time, for four hundred years, took a conspicuous, though not always an honorable, part in the affairs of the world. Alexius Comnenos, a young prince, nephew of the Emperor Isaac Comnenos, escaped to Colchis, during the siege of Constantinople, with his brother David; and there succeeded in raising an army, with which he entered Trebizond just at the moment of the fall of the capital. Assuming the title of Megas A.D. 1461.] CONQUEST OF TREBIZOND. 587 Comnenos, or Grand Comnenos, to distinguish himself from the numerous descendants of other branches of the family, he was readily acknowledged Emperor, and at the age of twenty-two was crowned at Trebizond.* His career of conquest at first was rapid and brilliant. At length, the young Emperor, coming into collision with the Seljouk Turks, who were spreading desolation along their path, was obliged to acknowledge himself a vassal of the Seljouk empire, and to pay an annual tribute to the Sultan Azeddin. From 1222 to 1280 Trebizond continued tributary to the Seljouk Sultans, but on the accession of John II. her independence was completely restored. The history of Trebizond, from this time forward, under twelve Emperors, and three Empresses, is crowded with the details of external and civil wars, which have no important bearing upon the general condition of the world. The Orthodox Eastern Church was here supported, under the protection of St. Eugenios, who was so great a favorite, that one son out of every family bore his name. A document relating to a lawsuit was found by Fallmereyer, in which three of the litigating parties were named Eugenios. In the conquering career of the Turks, its doom was postponed until Constantinople had fallen, and the Morea had yielded to the arms of Mohammed II. In 1461, the Sultan advanced with his fleets and armies, resolved on the subjugation of Trebizond. He met with little opposition from David, the last Emperor of the Comnenian line, who made terms with the invader, surrendered the city, and withdrew with his family and his treasures to his European appanage. The wealthy inhabitants were compelled to emigrate to Constantinople, and their estates and palaces conferred on Ottoman officers; the remainder of the population of both sexes were set apart as slaves of the Sultan and the army. The sons of the noblest families, remarkable for personal beauty, were placed as pages in the imperial seraglio, and others were enrolled in the corps of Janizaries, or distributed among the soldiers as slaves. Ancient churches and monasteries, with curious paintings in the Byzantine style, -pictures of saints and portraits of emperors, -still attest its former arts and piety; but they are fast disappearing, by decay and neglect, and, unless the lovers of art soon take measures for their protection, will utterly disappear, as Christian art has long since perished at Constantinople. At the present day, not a single descendant of an ancient This chapter of history has not been fully known until the last few years. Documents have come to light, since Gibbon's time, which have cleared up a subject he had not the means of illustrating; in particular, a manuscript work, by Michael Panaretos,. a monk of Trebizond, who held an office about the person of the last Emperor, and which contains. a list, nearly complete, of the Grand Comnenoi, with some of the principal events of their reigns. This very curious document was found by Professor Fallmereyer among the books of Cardinal Bessarion preserved at Venice, and was published, in 1832, by Professor Tafel of Frankfort. It is also very curious as an illustration of the state of the language. It is the basis of the History of Trebizond by Fallmereyer, and of the very elegant chapters on the sam 3 subject in Mr. Finlay's Medieval Greece. 588 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LI Trapezuntian family is known to survive. The dethroned Emperor was permitted to live in peace a few years; but about A. D. 1470 he fell under the jealous suspicions of the Sultan, was arrested, with all his family, and carried to Constantinople. He was ordered to embrace the faith of Islam, under pain of death; but he rejected the condition with firmness. The Emperor, his seven sons, and his nephew Alexius, were put to death, and their lifeless bodies cast out, unburied, beyond the walls. They would have been consumed by the dogs, " accustomed," says an eloquent writer, "during the reign of Mohammed II., to feed on Christian flesh," but for the pious care of the Empress Helen, who, clad in humble garb, repaired to the spot where they lay, watched over their bodies during the day, and in the darkness of night, assisted by a few compassionate friends, silently committed them to the earth. Her daughter was torn from her arms, and worse than buried in a Turkish harem. Widowed, childless, or more unhappy still, the fallen Empress, having suffered the saddest changes of public fortune and the most harrowing and heart-breaking of private calamities, - like some doomed heroine of the tragic families of antiquity, - passed the short remainder of her life in mourning and prayer, and then found a welcome refuge in the grave. ~ 9. The series of Byzantine historians extends from the fourth nearly to the sixteenth century, if we include the few who wrote after the capture of Constantinople. These writers contain the immense mass of materials of which Gibbon made so admirable use in his unequalled History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The most convenient edition is the octavo reprint, projected and in part superintended by Niebuhr. These writers are quite apart from the usual range of classical studies, and are generally neglected. But some of these works are written by men of literary accomplishments, honorable characters, and large experience in affairs. None of them equal the Attic historians in the high qualities of natural and lucid style. But some are clear, accurate, instructive, and interesting. Others, in striving to acquire a factitious elegance, become pompous and inflated. Some aim at the antique manner, and become affected; others, writing in the language of their times, fall into the corrupt forms of the vulgar Byzantine Greek; and others; finally, are marked by all the peculiarities of idiom and construction which belong to the spoken Greek of the present day. In passages of the best, there is often vivid description and stirring eloquence; in the worst, uniform tediousness. ~ 10.: Zosimus wrote on the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, in a style clear and concise; but being a Pagan, he is described by Photius as one " impious in religion, and howling against the pious." Procopius lived in the sixth century, and is conspicuous for having been the secretary ~of Belisarius, whom he accompanied in his wars. In literary ability he was, perhaps, the best of all the Byzantine historians, and his style is a A. D. 1137.1 BYZANTINE HISTORIANS. 589 nearer approach than any of them to the classic models.' He wrote the history of the wars with the Persians, Vandals, and Goths, besides other works, particularly a scandalous chronicle of the court. Agathias, a lawyer and scholar of the same century, besides love poems, which are lost, wrote a continuation of the history of Procopius, in a somewhat bombastic style. In the next two centuries there is but little of any interest. It was an evil time for literature. In the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries there was more literary activity, if not a revival of letters. In the tenth century reigned the learned and excellent Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, who, besides being a connoisseur in art, wrote many important works on history and administration, and labored assiduously to encourage literature, and to improve the education of the times. The greatest name, in the eleventh century, is that of Michael Psellos, who was the prodigy of his age. The Emperor gave him the title of Prince of Philosophers. His works were on the most extraordinary variety of subjects, theological,' philosophical, mathematical, legal, and one on the operation of Demons. Many of them still remain unpublished. The style is said to be perspicuous and elegant, and worthy of a better age. To the twelfth century belong Anna Comnena, and her husband, Nicephorus Bryennius. This illustrious family presents a pleasing picture of happiness and literary accomplishments. Bryennius was a Greek nobleman, of a family distinguished for its antiquity and the many high places which had been held by members of it. He became the confidential friend and adviser of the Emperor Alexis Comnenos immediately upon his accession to the throne. As a mark of his respect the Emperor created a new title, Panhypersebastos, All-superlatively-august, and, what was still more to the purpose, bestowed on him the hand of his beautiful daughter, Anna Comnena, who was equally remarkable for the graces of her person. and her intellectual accomplishments. Bryennius took a leading part in the wars of the age,'and was one of the most skilful diplomatists at the imperial court. His various talents and his affable manners made him so great a favorite, that his ambitious wife endeavored, but without success, to persuade her father to name him his successor; and the only serious fault chargeable upon his life is, that he listened to her suggestion, and endeavored to deprive his young brother-in-law of the crown, on the death of Alexis. Failing in this, his estates were confiscated, and he, with his wife, was banished to GEnoe, on the Black Sea, where they lived in retirement several years. He was, however, restored to favor, and died, soon after 1137, at Constantinople. The peculiar interest of the period in'which he lived arises from the circumstance that the Crusaders at this time brought the Western and Eastern powers into contact and collision; and it was by his prudent counsels that the Emperor was chiefly guided in the first differences between himself and the crusading princes. Bryennius wrote a history, in four books, of 590 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LI the events of which he had been a contemporary and in great part an eyewitness. He left it incomplete, covering a period of a little more than twenty years, from about A. D. 1057 to 1078, —intending to bring it down to the reign of Alexis, but being interrupted by death. "This mighty task," says he to his mother-in-law, the Empress, "O thou, my wisest intellect and inspiration, thou hast laid upon me; thou hast commanded me to write the deeds of Alexis the Great, who having fallen on troublous times, and assuming the power when the affairs of the Empire were fallen to the earth, raised them up and reinstated them in their greatest glory..... I dare not assume to write this history, nor to compose a eulogy on him; for this, scarcely would the power of Thucydides and the eloquence of Demosthenes suffice. I presume only to furnish the means to those who desire to celebrate his deeds; and therefore let this work be called the materials of history." Notwithstanding the modest estimate he ventures to entertain of his own ability, his work is written in a very manly style, and shows the experience of a man versed in affairs, and the calm and cool judgment of the philosophic statesman. Anna Comnena was considerably younger than her husband, being born in 1083. She was celebrated as the handsomest woman in the highest society of Constantinople; and her accomplishments in literature were equally the admiration of the scholars, philosophers, and poets by whom she was surrounded. The domestic happiness she enjoyed is certainly a remarkable and bright spot in the general degeneracy of the age. Her married life lasted more than forty years, and the only interruption to its felicity was its close by the death of her husband. Her palace was the resort of the literary men and of the most brilliant society in the twelfth century, - the centre of the arts and sciences of Constantinople for many years. She survived her husband, and worthily employed the remainder of her days in finishing the task he left incomplete at his death. It is the life of her father Alexis, - under the name of the Alexiad; and though abounding in rhetorical faults, it is one of deep interest. She writes with the partiality of a daughter for her father, and with a good deal of ambitious vanity, — presenting in this respect a strong contrast to the simple and honest style of her husband, for whom she cherished the most unbounded affection as long as she lived. She describes him " as a man surpassing in personal beauty, fineness of understanding, and eloquence of speech, all that lived in his time; he was a wonder to look at and listen to, and in all respects a most distinguished person." She then recounts the circumstances under which he began his history, and its interruption by his death,- " a misfortune to the subject," she adds, "and the loss of much pleasure to the readers." "What harmony and what grace were in his words, those know best who were most familiar with his writings." She attributes his death to his unceasing labors, and his exposure during the long campaigns he served in. As she A. D. 1446.] BYZANTINE HISTORIANS. 591 writes these things, her soul, she says, is weary with sorrow, and her eyes fill with tears, recalling to memory the graces of his person, and the gifts of his mind, worthy of a higher than royal dignity. Her affliction would move the hardest heart to sympathy. But she wipes her tears, and commences her task. The work is certainly a remarkable illustration of the literary culture of the twelfth century, and proves that the women of the highest classes were carefully trained in literary discipline. The narrative is generally clear, though at times ambitious and turgid; and the period embraced by the work is of the highest interest, - especially the latter part, the period of the Crusades. It has something of the spirit ot hero-worship and self-worship; and when she enlarges on her own accomplishments, one is tempted to smile. But, remembering that she was an emperor's daughter, and surrounded through a long life by the adulations of a luxurious court, - that she was beautiful beyond her contemporaries, and that amidst the dangerous influences of the times she kept the purity of her character untainted, exhibited a lofty example of domestic virtue, and cherished with undiminished ardor the common affections of daily life, which grace the highest station, while they lend a sanctity to the lowliest,-we may admit that her vanity is pardonable and her pedantry not without excuse.* We will mention only one more of these writers, Laonicos Chalcocondylas, who belongs to the fifteenth century. Very few incidents of his life have been preserved, except that he was a native of Athens, and employed by the Emperor John Palteologus VII. as ambassador to Amurath or Murad II. in 1446, that he probably lived till towards the end of the century, and consequently witnessed the downfall of Constantinople, the conquest of Greece, and perhaps the overthrow of Trebizond, by the Turks. He seems to have remained in Constantinople, or returned after the Sultan had introduced some degree of order in the affairs of the capital,: A few sentences will show the style into which she rose, when she aimed at being particularly fine. It is fair to say that the whole book is by no means in this vein. " Time, rolling on, irresistibly and for ever, whirls and sweeps away all existing things, and sinks them in the depths of oblivion, - where lie both those of little worth and those which are great and worthy of remembrance, -or, as the tragedy hath it, brings to light the hidden things, and hides those that are conspicuous. But the word of history is the strongest dike against the stream of time, and checks its mighty current, binding up and holding together what is therein, that it may not glide down into the depths of Letle. Knowing this,- I, Anna, daughter of the imperial Alexis and Eirene, child and nursling of the purple, - not unskilled in letters, but accomplished in the Greek to the highest perfection, -not unpractised in rhetoric, but having carefully read the treatises of'Aristotle and the Dialogues of Plato, - and having strengthened my intellect by the quaternion of the sciences, - (for it is my duty, and not a matter of self-gratification, to set forth those qualifications which either nature or the study of the sciences has given me, or God has bestowed on me from above, or occasion has contributed,)- I, Anna, desire, in this my composition, to narrate the\deeds of my father, undeserving to be betrayed to forgetfulness, or swept away by the stream of time into the ocean of oblivion." 592'HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LI. and formed one of the small circle of literary men who still kept up the spirit of ancient scholarship. He. wrote a work, in ten books, on the history of the Turks, from their origin down to the conquests of Mohammed II., and the best judges have pronounced it eminently worthy of credit. He was a wise and sound judge of affairs; a scholar of great and various learning; and his work is one of the best sources for the history of the decline of the Greek Empire. His style is not perfectly simple, but affects too much the classical phraseology of antiquity. We feel the labor of the writer a little too much; but it is perspicuous, and in many places exceedingly interesting and animated. He introduces here and there curious episodes upon the condition and' character of the Western nations, sometimes correct, and always worthy of attention, as coming from an Athenian writer of the fifteenth century. Germany, France, and England are described with some detail.* In an historical point of view, the most striking part of this very interesting work is the minute, graphic, and vivid description, in the eighth book, of the capture and sack of Constantinople. It is more affecting than the stately picture Gibbon has given of that great event; because'it is written with the sense of the reality which so tremendous a tragedy must have left in the mind of a contemporary, and that profound'sympathy with its horrors and sufferings, which a countryman, a patriot, and a victim cannot but'feel, whenever he calls up the image of so dire a catastrophe; and when he says, at the conclusion, " Such were the events that befell the Greeks of Byzantium, - and this disaster appears to me to surpass in woe all that have ever happened in the world," - he carries the reader along with him, and we close the book with the feeling of pity and terror which the tragic downfall of a nation ought always to inspire.' After describing the geographical position and political arrangements of the British Isles, he says: "The king could not easily take away his principality from any of the great lords, nor would they submit to him, contrary to their own usages. The kingdom has suffered many calamities from civil wars, &c. The island does not produce wine, nor many fruits; but it bears corn and barley and honey. They have the most beautiful wool in the world, so that they weave immense quantities of cloth. They speak a language that resembles no other; neither German, nor French, nor that of any of the surrounding nations. They have a custom throughout the island, that, when a visitor enters the house of a fiiend, the wife receives him with a kiss, as a preliminary to the hospitalities of the house. The city of London is the most powerful and prosperous of all the cities in these islands, and inferior to none in the West; and in the martial valor of its inhabitants, it is superior to all who live towards the setting sun." He gives many other particulars, but these are the most characteristic. He evidently did not understand the English language, and probably was mistaken in some of the customs of the country; but his notices of the industry and martial virtues of the English people show that he had well observed the qualities that have made them the foremost power in the world. A. D. 1453.] EFFECT OF THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 593. ~ 1..i __ _]__ _ l,, Side View of the Theseum. CHAPTER LII. GREECE UNDER THE TURKS. ~ 1. Effect of the Fall of Constantinople on Western Europe. ~ 2. Efforts to combine the Christian Powers against the Turks. ~ 3. Greek Literature in the West before the Fall of Constantinople. ~ 4. Diffusion of Greek Literature after the Fall of Constantinople. ~ 5. Wars of the Venetians with the Turks. Battle of Lepanto. Expedition of Morosini. ~ 6. Efforts of the Turks to recover the Peloponnesus. Peace of Passarowitz. ~ 7. Turkish Organization of Greece. Extortions of the Pachas. Taxes. Haratch. Land Tax. Other Burdens. Condition of the Rayahs. ~ 8. The wat8oliaod(olaa, or Levy, of Children for the Janizaries. History of the Janizaries. ~ 9. General Condition of Greece. Greek Islands. ~ 10. Preservation of the Greek Nationality during the Period of Turkish Domination. Armatoloi, Klephtai. Character of the Klephts. Klephtic Ballads. ~ 11. Preparations for the Revolution. Rhegas. Coraes. ~ 1. THE fall of Constantinople sent a shock throughout the Christian nations of Western Europe. The capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders had destroyed the most precious memorials of ancient art and wealth in the city; had exhausted its resources, and broken down its martial energies; had divided the Empire into fragments for the benefit of their own princes, driving out the native rulers. And when, sixty years later, they were themselves driven back from a conquest they had wrongfully held, the Emperors of Constantinople reassumed an empire shorn of its power and splendor, not only by Saracens and Turks, but 75 594 HISTORY OF GREECE. LCIAP. LII. more fatally still by Christians of another branch of one common faith; so that, when the final struggle came, the only wonder was, that a capital, over which conflagration and plunder had so often swept, resisted so long and with so much spirit the conquering energies of a people in the full impulse of their march towards extended empire. ~ 2. The Pope endeavored in vain to combine the nations of Europe for the expulsion of the Turk; war was actually declared in the Diet at Frankfort, in 1454; but that was all. Pius II. convened a Congress at Mantuta, in 1459; and the princes of Europe agieed to furnish large means for the crusade, which the Pope was to lead in person; but when the head of the Church arrived at Ancona to embark, he found every promise and engagement had been violated, and none were there except a. rabble rout of vagabonds, clamoring for service and for pay. The danger proved less than had been anticipated. Mohammed II. met with a gallant resistance from the Hungarians, and was repulsed by the Knights of St. John from the island of Rhodes. In the mountains of Epeirus, the heroic chieftain whose exploits are sung by his contemporaries under the name of Scanderbeg kept him at bay for twenty years. The successors of Mohammed were inferior to him in martial vigor, and thus the tide of Ottoman conquests was, at least temporarily, stayed, and the alarms of Europe somewhat quieted..~ 3. From the downfall of the Western Roman Empire, and especially after the alienation of the Greek and Latin Churches, the influence of Greek literature had been decaying, until nearly all knowledge of it had died out in theWest. Only here and there a name is retained, among the few who kept alive a love of letters in Europe, as having some tincture- of Grecian learning. In the East, libraries of manuscripts had been formed, by the labors of centuries, not only connected with the schools of public instruction, but in the monasteries. The ancient classics had been multiplied, in parchment copies, carefully and handsomely transcribed, by the inmates of these establishments; but doubtless many of these perished in the successive plunderings of the capital, and the final loss of many of the most precious treasures of ancient genius is to be traced to the barbarous conduct of the Crusaders, whose very name Anna Comnena thought it an insult to the Greek language to record, and to the Ottomans, whose agency was scarcely more destructive. But before these pillaging enterprises took place, now and then an individual found his way from the schools of Constantinople, with a supply of Grecian literature, and, establishing himself in the West, communicated his treasures to a narrow circle of pupils and friends. As early as the seventh century, the Pope sent to England a Greek ecclesiastic born at Tarsus, who became Archbishop of Canterbury, and, having carried with him a quantity of manuscripts, introduced some knowledge of Greek into the Anglo-Saxon Church.'The Venerable Bede and Alcuin are bright names A. D. 1423.] GREEK LITERATURE IN ITALY. 595 among the earliest restorers of learning; and Erigena, and otlier Irish ecclesiastics, even knew something of the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. In 1240, John Basing, Archdeacon of St. Albans, brought a number of Greek books from Athens; and Roger Bacon was not ignorant of the Greek language. But these studies were more assiduously cultivated in Italy, as might -have been expected, than in any other country out of the Byzantine Empire, in the Middle Ages. Particularly, from the eleventh century, many individuals are known in literary history for their knowledge of Greek, — not very extensive, to be sure, but still worth something. Among these, for instance, Papias is classified, on the strength of a quotation of five lines from Hesiod. But the revival of Greek studies in Italy properly dates from the time of Petrarch and Boccaccio, in the fourteenth century. Italy was visitedlby many ecclesiastical Greeks, who adhered to the Pope of Rome, in the quarrel between the two Churches; and there are to this day, both in Ancona and Rome, Greek churches, with a Greek liturgy,'acknowledging the supreme authority of the Pope. Several learned Calabrians, about this time, after having long resided in Greece, had much to do with the introduction of the Greek language among the scholars and poets of Italy. Barlaam, sent as ambassador by the Emperor to Italy, endeavored to teach Petrarch Greek; but whether he was too muci absorbed by his fantastic passion for Laura, and by the composition of his amorous sonnets, it is certain, from his own confession, that the tuneful poet never got far enough to read Homer in the original,- which he pathetically laments. Boccaccio had better success with Leontios Pilatos, for whom he procured the appointment of public teacher at Florence, although he describes him as long-haired, hirsute-bearded, and very dirty. About the end of the fourteenth century, Emanuel Chrysoloras, a man of high rank, and distinguished in the diplomacy of the Byzantine Empire, was induced to emigrate to Italy, and taught the Greek language and literature in several of the principal cities. Among his scholars were the most eminent Italian men of letters. In 1423, two hundred and thirty-eight manuscripts, including Plato, Diodorus, Pindar, Callimachus, and others, were brought from Greece to Italy, by a Sicilian named Aurispa. Filelfo, a scholar well known in literary history in the same age, not only brought home. from Greece a large number of manuscripts, but became Professor of Greek and Latin at Florence, exciting, as he himself says, the wonder and admiration of the whole city. "All love me," continues the self-complacent Professor, "all honor me, and exalt me to the skies with their praises. When I walk through the city, not only the first citizens, but the noblest ladies; yield me the pass, to show in what high honor they hold me. I have daily.more than four hundred hearers; and these for the most part distinguished persons, and of senatorial rank." As the dangers that threatened the overthrow of the Greek Empire 596 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LII. drew nearer, emigration to Italy became more frequent. Theodore Gaza, well known in Greek philosophy, fled from Thessalonica in 1430, when that city was taken by the Turks. Bessarion of Trebizond was made a cardinal in 1439, and twice came near being elected Pope; and having been employed in many high functions, received from the Pope, who affected to consider himself sole head of the Church, the titular dignity of Patriarch of Constantinople. He was a great promoter of Greek literature, and wherever he lived, his house was the resort of all those who cultivated the sciences and the arts. In 1468, he presented his magnificent library to the republic of Venice, and thefamous Aldine editions of the classics are founded chiefly on the manuscripts it contained. Here too, the manuscript of Panaretus was found by Professor Fallmereyer. George of Trebizond taught Greek at Vicenza, Venice, and Rome. Johannes Argyropoulos, a native of Constantinople, arrived in Italy in 1434, and was called by the Medici to Florence in 1456. He went to Paris to so licit the assistance of the king of France in purchasing his family, who had fallen into the hands of the Turks. He taught Greek fifteen years at Florence, and afterwards for some time at Rome. Here the celebrated Reuchlin being present at one of his lectures on Thucydides, the old Professor invited the young German to interpret a passage of the historian. He was so much astonished at the facility with which Reuchlin accomplished the task, that he exclaimed, "Exiled Greece has crossed the Alps." Gemistos Plethon, a man of the highest rank at the imperial court, of great learning and probity of character, and a voluminous writer, went to Florence as a deputy of the Greek Church, in 1438, where he became acquainted with Cosmo de' Medici, and during his residence there opened a school for the explanation of the Platonic philosophy, of which he was an ardent and eloquent-advocate. Cosmo embraced his views, and Platonism became the rage of the literary people of that capital. The Platonic Academy, which afterwards produced many eminent scholars, owes its origin to Plethon. He afterwards returned to Greece, and died in the Peloponnesus, at the age, it is supposed, of about one hundred years. These few names will serve to show that the literary tendencies of Italy were favorable to progress; and that the diplomatic intercourse between the Churches of Rome and Byzantium, the interchange of visits among the literary men of the two countries, and the introduction of numerous manuscripts from Greece and Constantinople into the chief Italian cities, had made a great and almost providential preparation for those Greek scholars who, having witnessed the downfall of the capital of their nation and the seat of their religion, and the subjection of their nation to the despotism of the Turks, fled westward, and carried with them the light of the East. ~ 4. Of course the number of Greek refugees was very considerable, after the fall of Constantinople. Constantine Lascaris, belonging to one of the imperial families, became instructor of the princess Hippolyta, daugh A. D. 1478.] VENETIAN WAR. 597 ter of Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan. Afterwards he taught in several of the Italian cities, and finally died at Messina, having bequeathed his library to that city. It was afterwards transported to Spain, and now forms part of the collection of the Escorial. Another Lascaris, a relative of Constantine, was employed by Lorenzo de' Medici in collecting books in the East, and was afterwards distinguished at the courts of Charles VIII. and Louis XII. in France. When Leo X. was raised to the Papal throne he placed Lascaris at the head of a college he had founded in Rome for the education of Greeks. The Pope, in a letter addressed to Francis I., describes Lascaris as a man distinguished for his illustrious birth, his literary acquirements, his experience in affairs, the purity of his morals, and gentleness of his manners. He died at Rome at the age of ninety. Demetrius Chalcocondylas, an Athenian, and perhaps a relative of the historian, taught Greek at Perugia and Florence; afterwards he removed to Milan. Other distinguished names are Michael Apostolius, Callistos, and Masuros, Professor of Greek at Padua, where he knew Erasmus, who speaks of him as wonderfully learned in the Latin tongue; thence he went to Venice, and became an assistant of the elder Aldus in the publication of his beautiful editions. Mloschos, a Lacedaemonian, son of an old teacher, who continued at Sparta after the catastrophe of 1453, was Professor of Greek at Ferrara and Mantua, and wrote a poem on the story of Helen. In the same century the Greek language was taught in Paris by Hermonymos of Sparta, and other scholars of the same nation. In 1474, Contablacos opened a school in Basle. The scholars of Germany, hearing of the literary excitement produced by these Greeks, hastened over into Italy, became their pupils, and purchased many books, with which they enriched the libraries of their native land. The most eminent of these was Reuchlin, one of the ablest, if not the ablest, restorer of learning in Germany; but his name is now chiefly known from its connection with the controversy that once raged on the pronunciation of the Greeks. Thus, a second time in the history of civilization, the arts and letters that embellish life were scattered by the Greeks over the world, after a tremendous national catastrophe. ~ 5. At the time when Mohammed II. invaded the Peloponnesus, the Venetians were still in possession of some places in the Peninsula. They held, in fact, Pylos, Corone, Methone, Nauplia, and Argos; besides the Ionian Islands, Naupactos, Euboea, and Crete. The Venetians and Turks soon engaged in a desperate struggle, which found a temporary lull in the armistice of 1478, which- lasted for about twenty years, into the reign of Mohammed's son and successor, Bajazet. The condition of the Greeks during these destructive wars was wretched in the extreme. Many places in Greece changed masters frequently during, these years. Sometimes the Greeks took part with the Christians in the struggle, and when the Christians were conquered, they suffered the most bar 598 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHP. LII. barous treatment at the hands of the Turks; and if they remained neutral, the heaviest calamities of the war fell upon them. By degrees the Turks got possession of Greece, and the. islands, except those along the western coast, which now constitute the Ionian Republic. Eubcea was conquered in 1470; Rhodes in 1522, by the Sultan Solyman I. In 1570 Selim II. took Cyprus. The celebrated battle of Lepanto, or Naupactus, was fought by the confederated, fleets of the Pope, the king of Spain, and the Venetian republic, amounting to two hundred ships, and the Turkish fleet of. three hundred. "For many hours," says an old writer, " diverse and doubtful was the whole face of the battle; as fortune offered unto every man his enemy, so he fought; according as every man's disposition put him into courage or fear, or as he met with more or fewer enemies, so was there here and there sometimes victory and sometimes loss. The chance of war, in one place, lifteth up the vanquished, and in another overthroweth the victorious; all was full of terror, error, sorrow, and confusion." After five hours of desperate fighting the Turks gave way, and the triumph of the allies was complete. One hundred and thirty galleys were taken, while the rest of the hostile ships were dashed upon the rocks, sunk in the sea, or consumed by fire. Thirty-five hundred were taken prisoners, and twenty-five thousand fell in the battle. Had the Christian powers followed up this great victory, they might probably have driven the Turks back into Asia; but they neglected to pursue their advantage, and in the following year the Sultan Selym was able to put to sea again with two hundred and twenty sail. The allies abandoned all further efforts, and Venice made peace, surrendering to the Sultan the kingdom of Cyprus, and several fortresses in Epeirus. A contemporary remarked, that the destruction of the Turkish fleet was merely cutting off the Sultan's beard, which a few days would restore, while the surrender of Cyprus was the amputation of an arm from Venice, which time could neither remedy nor reproduce. Greece was now incorporated, without further struggle, into the Turkish emopire, and placed at the disposal of Turkish governors. In 1670, the Turks conquered from the Venetians, after a war of nearly thirty years' duration, the important island of Crete, at an expense of two hundred thousand men, and one hundred million golden crowns; but in the reign of the same Sultan, Mohammed IV., in the year 1684, the Turks having experienced a great defeat at Vienna, the Venetians joined the Christian league, and M]orosini, having the command of a powerful fleet, attacked and reduced Santa Maura and Prevesa, and in the following year commenced his operations against the Turks in the Morea. The most important posts, Pylos, Methone, and at last Nauplia, one after the other, capitulated.. During these movements, the Greeks generally flew to arms, eager to throw off the Turkish yoke. In the course of two years Morosini reconquered the whole Peloponnesus, with the aid of the Greeks, and A. D. 1718.] ORGANIZATION OF GREECE. 599 in 1687, following up his successes, sailed into the harbor of Peiraeus on the 21st of September, and immediately, landing without opposition, marched to Athens, and took possession of the town. The Turks fortified themselves in the Acropolis, and refused to surrender. Batteries were raised on the neighboring heights of the Mluseion and the Pnyx, and the bombardment of the Acropolis commenced on the 26th. Unfortunately, the Turks had stored their ammunition in the Parthenon, and a bomb falling into the magazine, threw down all the central portion of that wonderful work, which had, up to that time, remained in a good state of preservation, with the greater part of the sculptures, which adorned the tympana, the metopes, and the frieze of the cella. The firing continued for several days longer, but at last, all the wooden buildings of the Acropolis having been consumed by a great conflagration, the garrison held out a flag of truce. The Turks, with their wives and children, were allowed five days to prepare for their departure. Three thousand left the place; but it is said by Sir Paul Rycault, that three hundred Turks, rather than leave Athens, chose to abjure the Moslem faith, and were baptized into the Catholic Church. The Venetians retained possession of Athens only a few months, the admiral needing his troops elsewhere, and these brilliant successes had no permanent result. Venetians and Turks were alike wearied with the. war, and in 1699 the peace of Carlowitz left only the Peloponnesus in the possession of the republic. The conquest of the 3Iorea is the last triumph of the Venetians, and this was due to the genius of Morosini, who received the designation of the Peloponnesian. ~ 6. The Turks made gigantic preparations to avenge their losses and recover the conquered country. In 1715 the Grand Vizier of Achmet III. burst into the Peloponnesus with an army of one hundred thousand men, supported by a fleet of one hundred sail, and, notwithstanding the efforts of the Knights of Malta and the Grand Duke of Tuscany to assist the Venetians in the defence of Greece, Delfino, who had been left in command, was compelled to abandon the Morea. The Turks, advancing upon Corinth, butchered on the spot one half of the capitulating garrison, reserving the remainder to be executed under the walls of Nauplia, within sight of the Venetians. Argos was recovered without striking a blow; Nauplia was betrayed, and the city and fortress entered at midnight, and the inhabitants put to the sword. In 1718, the peace of Passarowitz surrendered the whole of Greece again to Turkey; and so she remained enslaved, with only a few partial movements towards emancipation, until the revolution which commenced in 1821. ~ 7. In organizing his newly conquered territories, Mohammed II. divided them into military departments, called Pachalics, and these again were subdivided into AMoussemlics, Agalics, and Vaivodalics.; and these were subjected to a supreme magistrate entitled Rumeli Valesi, or Grand Judge of Roumelia. The Pachas were, like the satraps of the.old Persian 600 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LIT empire, quite independent of each other, and often engaged in mutual hostilities, for purposes of conquest or plunder. The number of pachalics in Greece differed at different times; and in some parts of the country, on account of its mountainous.dharacter and the spirit of the inhabitants, it was never possible to establish the Turkish system thoroughly. Some towns and smaller districts were governed by Beys, Agas, and Vaivodes. About 1812 there were five pachalics, the chief of which was that of Joannina, or Albania, under the government of the celebrated Ali Pacha, including Epeirus, Acarnania, lEtolia, Phocis, the greater part of Thessaly, and the western portions of Macedonia and Boeotia, and uniting into one the territories which at an earlier period had constituted five or six pachalics. Attica and Lebadeia were each under the command of a Vaivode. Zagora was under the administration of a Greek Primate; the North of Macedonia was broken up into numerous agalics; the Morea, with the exception of Mane, was under the Pacha of Tripolizza, with eight or nine Beys, and other inferior chiefs subordinate to him. The principal islands, and some of the coast districts, were under the Capitan Pacha, who visited them annually to collect the tribute; the others were in the hands of the Divan, or belonged to some of the pachalics. The mass of the population was at once reduced to the condition of tenants of the crown, with the exception of a few of the old families in the Morea, who were suffered to retain their properties on the payment of large tributes. The whole system of administration, if that could be called a system, whose only principles were rapacity, corruption, and venality, was one which tended inevitably to the extinction of every manly trait in the character of the people. The Pachas of Greece, as well as of other provinces in the empire, purchased their appointments by the payment of large sums'into the imperial treasury; the Porte usually bestowing the office on the highest bidders. They accordingly indemnified themselves by extortions practised upon their unhappy subjects. Besides this, they must contribute a large amount annually to the revenues of the empire. Says D'Arvieux, a French writer, "The viceroys, local governors, and other officers of the Ottoman Empire are farmers of revenues, and are obliged to remit the sums agreed upon to the Grand Vizier, under pain of sending their own heads to the imperial treasury. No'excuse is received; the money must be forthcoming, even if there is none; and as their life and fortune depend on their punctuality in paying, they resort to every means of accomplishing the end." In their provinces, the power of the Pachas was absolute, and their state was maintained with Oriental pomp. They usually acquired enormous wealth, by means of the variety of taxes and extortions they could with impunity enforce. Ali Pacha's dominion extended over four hundred villages, and his annual income was about one million dollars. The Beys and Agas exercised a similar authority. The only restraint upon these powerful chieftains CHAP. LII.] CONDITION OF GREECE. 601 was the probability of the bowstring, whenever they fell under the displeasure of the Porte, or it became desirable to recruit an exhausted treasury by confiscating the ill-gotten wealth of an overgrown Pacha. The Christian population.of the conquered territories were obliged to pay a lifetax, called the haratch, which was regarded at first as a composition or compromise for the privilege of keeping their heads on their shoulders. In some places this tax was paid for children from the moment of birth; in others, from a certain age, five, eight, twelve, or fifteen years; the amount, too, varied. According to Colonel Leake, the tax for a whole family usually amounted to about ~ 2; but any individual subject to this impost was liable to fiequent and insolent examination in the street, and on failing to produce his legal receipt was forced to pay it to the next official authority, whether he -had paid it before or not. The land-tax amounted, at different times and places, to one twentieth, one twelfth, one tenth, or one seventh of the produce of the soil; at the entrance of every town, duties were paid on cattle, provisions, wine, fire-wood. Various costly restrictions on commerce; composition for exemption from labor on the public works; arbitrary requisitions for the service of the Sultan; one tenth of the value in dispute in legal proceedings; avanias, or moneys exacted from the inhabitants of a district where a crime had been committed, on the ground that they might have prevented it; requisitions to supply a certain proportion of wheat at a nominal price, to be stored up at Constantinople, or sold at an enormous profit, -are only a few of the more prominent forms under which extortions were practised by the Turkish governors. Says Sir James Emerson Tennent, " So undefined was the system of extortion, and so uncontrolled the power of those to whom its execution was intrusted, that the evil spread over the whole system of administration, and insinuated itself into every relation and ordinance of society, till there were few actions or occupations of the Greeks that were not burdened with the scrutiny and interference of his masters, and none that did not suffer, in a greater or less degree, from their heartless rapine." The rayahs, or common laboring classes, were reduced to the condition of serfs, subjected to every species of oppression, with no prospect or possibility of improving their condition, but condemned to hopeless slavery and degradation. ~ 8. There was a most cruel contribution of male children, who were torn from their parents, subjected to the rites of the Mohammedan faith, and employed in various offices, menial or other, according to their ability, or placed in the corps of the Janizaries. This terrible Pretorian Guard of the Sultans was created by Orkan, the second Sultan of In the almost endless list of petty occasions on which the most vexatious extortions were practised, some are almost too-ridiculous to be mentioned; for example, one source of revenue was called tooth-lmoney, to remunerate the Pacha and his suite for the fatigue of eating the food prepared and furnished them by the Greeks, during their journeys for the collection of taxes. 76 602 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CIHAP. LII. the Ottoman dynasty, in the fourteenth century, and consisted at first of young Christians, taken captive in war and trained up in the Mohammedan faith, and discipline of arms. When organized, the troop was blessed by an aged dervish. "The soldiery which you have just created," said he to the sovereign, " shall be Jani-Tscheri,- New Troop; it shall be victorious in every combat; its face shall be white, its arm formidable, its sabre sharp-edged, and its arrow piercing." It became, in the course of time, a formidable power, not only to the Sultan's enemies, but to the Sultan himself. Revolutions were made, at the beck of this band; Sultans were enthroned and Sultans were deposed, according to their licentious will. It was one of those instruments of despotism which most emphatically turn to plague their inventors. The supply of boys to recruit this body, in Greece, amounted to about one thousand annually, and was afterwards increased. The imposition was called the 7ratoltadi(oa, or childc-tribute, the form the impost assumed after the captives taken in war ceased to be sufficient. It continued down to the middle of the seventeenth century, and the whole number of those furnished by Greece alone amounted, according to the estimate of one of the Professors in the University of Athens, to little less than five hundred thousand.* Afterwards, the recruits were taken from the children of the Janizaries. This military organization existed until 1826, when Sultan BMahmoud, finding their power and turbulence obstacles in the way of his projected reforms, resolved on disbanding them, and putting his armies on the footing of the Europeans. Thirty thousand rose in rebellion; but the Sultan, having consulted the highest authorities of the Moslem law, and received their solemn sanction to the measure, unrolled the standard of the Prophet, and rallied all true Moslems to the support of the throne. Fifty thousand men marched against them, surrounded the barracks in the Hippodrome, set them on fire, and slaughtered those who attempted to escape. So perished, by flame and sword, a body of men descended from Christian captives, or children torn by violence from Christian families, forced to apostatize from the religion of their fathers, and for centuries the instrument and the terror of tyrants. ~ 9. We have a few notices of the condition of Greece in these times. Gerbel, in a work published in the middle of the sixteenth century, in speaking of Athens, exclaims: " 0 tragic change of human power! a city once surrounded by walls, filled with edifices, powerful in arms and wealth and men, now reduced to a miserable village; once free and living under its own laws, now subjected by the yoke of slavery to the most cruel and brutal masters. Go to Athens and behold, in place of the most magnificent works, a mass of deplorable ruins." And Pinet, a French writer,,at the close of his description,' exclaims: "And now, 0 heavens, there: Professor Paparrhegopoulos,'Ioropla rTs'EXXcaos. CHAP. LII.] PRESERVATION OF GREEK NATIONALITYo 603 remains only a little castle, and a miserable village, unprotected from foxes and wolves, and other wild beasts." Another writer, a little later, says: " Greece once was, Athens once was; now there is neither Athens in Greece, nor Greece in Greece itself." And Ortelius, the geographer, says: " Now only a few miserable huts remain; the place at the present day is called Setine." In 1584, a work was published by Martin Kraus, a German professor, under the title of Turco-Grecia, containing letters in answer to inquiries addressed by him to the Patriarch of Constantinople and other distinguished Greeks, on the condition of Hellas. They all tell the same story of poverty and ignorance, but describe the Greeks as still possessing natural brightness of intellect. Says Zygomala, the prothonotary of the Patriarch, "They -are very quick to receive instruction whenever they have the chance of being taught by a professor of letters "; but the same writer states that at this time only one school existed, and that was at Nauplia, in which ancient Greek was taught. The Greek islands, being visited by the Turks only periodically, forthe collection of tribute, were much less wretched than the mainland, and much less exposed to the vices of the Turkish system, whether of plundering in general, or of the administration of justice. To sum up all, says Sir James Emerson Tennent, " The energies of the nation were either cramped in their infancy, or crushed in their mature development; the course of.justice was diverted from its genial channels, or fouled by venality and religious favoritism; the fruits of domestic toil were arrested by local despots and delegated tyrants, or sacked by the unresisted spoiler and the wandering bandit." ~ 10. There were, however, several causes which tended to the preservation of their nationality during, this period. In the first place, it was impossible for them to combine with their oppressors and form one people, because the moral, intellectual, and social tendencies of the two races were mutually repulsive at every point of contact. A second cause was the superiority of the Greeks in mental capacity, which made it necessary for the Turks to intrust the direction of affairs to native leaders, in many parts of the country. A third cause was their inextinguishable devotion to the Christian Church, which they regarded, from an early period of the Byzantine times, as their ark of safety. And finally, the preservation of the national spirit is: due in a great measure to the fact, that there were parts of Greece which the Turks were never able to subdue. The Manotes of the Peloponnesus long maintained their independence, and always asserted the right of being governed by a native ruler. The warlike inhabitants of the mountainous regions in the North - Olympus, Pelion, Pindus, and Agrapha - steadily refused submission to the Turks, and were permitted, on the payment of an inconsiderable tribute, to retain their arms, and to assume the military protection of their native districts. These were called Arnmatoloi, or bearers 604 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LII. of arms, and their districts Armatolics, of which, at the beginning of the last century, there were seventeen. Each of these districts or counties acknowledged the authority of a chieftain, called Capitanos, or Headman, whose office was hereditary, descending with his sword to his oldest son. The members of his military corps were called Pallecaria, — a term from an ancient Greek word signifying youth, but used in the Modern Greek for Braves, and quite as famous in poetry as the term Hero in the Iliad. But besides the Armatoles, there were many impatient and daring spirits, who, refusing to make any terms with their conquerors, betook themselves to a life of lawless rapine among the inaccessible fastnesses of the mountains. These, too, were organized, like the Armatoles, into bands commanded by Capitanoi, and bore the honorable name of KX[EraL the ancient KXcrrat - or Robbers. The same general characteristics prevailed in both. Their valor, their endurance of fatigue, their well-strung frames, and wonderful activity, were the themes of native bards, whose songs almost reproduce the pictures of ancient Homeric times. The Klephts maintained themselves in a wild independence, seizing every opportunity of rushing down upon the Turkish villages and camps, plundering, killing, or taking captive, and climbing back into their Limeria, - their rocky eyries, - before the Turks could rally in pursuit. The life of the Klephts placed them beyond the reach of lettered culture. They had no more time or taste for reading and writing than the warriors of the Iliad, under the walls of Troy; but, like them, they delighted in feats of strength and hardihood, and listened with ecstasy to the ballads which perpetuated, in unwritten minstrelsy, the glory of their fathers' achievements. Achilles singing in his tent the lays of heroes, is the classical prototype of the poet Klepht of Agrapha; and swift-footed Achilles himself could scarcely have overmatched him in speed of running or lightness of leap. Nico-Tsara sprang over seven horses abreast, and it was no uncommon thing for a full-armed Klepht to outrun the swiftest racer. The Capitanos Zacharias, whose exploits in speed of foot are commemorated in more than one Klephtic ballad, used, when doing his best at running, to strike his ears with his heels. In other more martial qualities, he and his band were equally conspicuous. One of the ballads says: " Three days he keeps the battle up, three days and nights incessant, And snow they ate, and snow they drank, and flash on flash retorted." And again: — "Three days he keeps the battle up, three days and nights unceasing, Nor bread ate he, nor water drank, nor sleep came o'er his eyelids." Such men could expect no quarter from the Turks, whenever the chances of war threw them into their hands. The tortures they underwent without a groan make us shudder, as we read the horrible details. The euthanasia of a Klepht was death in battle. The favorite toast at CHAP. LII.] KLEPHTIC BALLADS. 605 their banquets was KaXovw /oX v3, "Welcome the bullet." The bodies of those who fell they honored with the name of victims, o-0a]ya, but those who died of sickness or age, - of what we call a natural death, - they stigmatized as carcasses. Their religious ideas were primitive. The principal use which they conceived a priest could be put to, was to shrive the soul of a dying hero; and monasteries they regarded simply as magazines of provisions, which it was their duty to help themselves to, whenever occasion served. It was a special triumph to carry off a Turkish Bey or Aga to the mountains, and keep him there under careful watch, until ransomed by the payment of a pretty large sum. Whenever the wives and daughters of the Turks fell into their hands, as not unfrequently happened, they were treated with the most scrupulous delicacy and honor, - a striking contrast, it is needless to say, to the practice of the Turks; and they seldom retorted upon men the cruelties practised on themselves. The worst they did was to make them turn the spit in preparing a Klephtic feast. One of the ballads speaks thus of Kaliakoudas, a chief, and his troop: "And they had lambs, and roasted them, and rams were duly spitted: Five captive Beys they also had, who kept the spits a turning." It is not difficult to imagine the charm of this Klephtic life to the young and fiery spirits, chafing under the Turkish domination in the lowlands. The ballads are full of simplicity and natural feeling, and redolent of the racy freshness of the free, wild ways among the mountains. The following is literally translated from a collection published last year by Zampelios, a Greek gentleman of Leucadia. It illustrates at once the intolerable oppression of the Turkish rule, the seducing charm of Klephtic life, and the sweet touch of love of nature, which was ever springing freshly up in the hearts of this people. "Mother, I tell thee I can no longer be a slave to the Turks; I cannot; my heart struggles against it. I will take my gun and go and become a Klepht; - to. dwell on the mountains among the lofty ridges: to have the woods for my companions; to hold converse with the beasts; to have the snow for my covering, the rocks for my bed; —with sons of the Klephts to have my daily habitation. I will go, mother; but weep not; and give me thy blessing. And we will pray, my mother dear, that I may slay many a Turk. - And plant the rose and plant the dark carnation; - and give them sugar and musk to drink. And as long, 0 mother mine, as the flowers blossom and put forth, thy son is not dead, but is warring with the Turks. And if the day of sorrow comes, the day of woe, and the two fade away and the flowers Fall, then I too shall have been slain, and thou mayest clothe thyself in black...... "Twelve years have passed and fifteen months, when the roses blossomed, and the buds bloomed; and one spring morning, the first of May, when the birds were singing, and the heaven was smiling, at once it thun 606 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LII. ders, and lightens and dlarkens. The carnation sighed, the rose wept,both withered up together, and the flowers fell; and with e them the hapless in6ther became a heap of earth." ~ 11. But towarlds the end'of the century, a remarkable revival took place in the intellectual energies of the Hellenic race. Of those remaining at Constantinople, many had risen to eminent positions as interpreters, phlysicians, and even as Hospodars, with the title of Prince, in the Moldavian and Wallachian provinces. The distinguished and patriotic families of the Mavrocordatos and Ypselantes belong to these classes. Others had become wealthy merchants and bankers, at Constantinople, Smyrna, and in the principal cities of Western Europe. The Ralles, the Zosimades,'so well known for their liberal patronage of letters, splendidly illustrate the'commercial genius and generous patriotism of the reviving race. In Greece itself, a growing zeal for education, never wholly lost sight of even in their deepest misery, showed itself in the establishment of schools and colleges, and the increased circulation of books. A society was formed, called the Hetaeria, which extended all over Greece, and wherever Greeks were to be found, uniting them in a secret system of concerted action for the emancipation of the country. The lyric songs of Rhegas, especially his animated and Tyrtuas-like rallying-cry to fight for liberty, thrilled the heart of the nation; and his tragical death, when he was delivered up to the Turks by the Austrians, seemed to seal the sanctity of their cause by the baptism of blood. Later still, the illustrious Coraes, a scholar and patriot second to none in this age, who in the year 1833 closed at Paris a long life of virtuous and distinguished labors, - by his elegant and animated appeals to all that was august and glorious in their past history, and to every patriotic and kindling sentiment native to the Hellenic heart, nerved his countrymen to dare every extremity of fortune in the struggle to regain their long-lost independence. The heart of the nation was ready for the great encounter; it had gone through the stern discipline of adversity, until adversity had exhausted its lessons of patient endurance. The moment for striking the long-meditated blow had come; and the people, led on by their chieftains, and inspired by the approbation, and in some instances by the active participation, of their spiritual guides, rose in arms, in the sacred cause of nationality and liberty. A. D. 1768.] INSURPECTION OF 1769. 607 Castle of Patre. CHAPTER LIII. THE GREEK REVOLUTION. - KINGD'OMI OF HELLAS. ~ 1. Movements previous to the War of the Revolution. Insurrection of 1769. Orloff and the Russian Fleet. Naval Expedition of Lampros, in 1787. Ali iPacha. Androutsos. 2. Characteristics of the War of the Revolution, as sketched by Mr. Trieoupcs. ~ 3. Opelll- of the Wrl. Pr:ince YpselaintSs. Germanos, Alrchbishop of P'tre. Scenes a. Con.stantilople. Defeat at I)ra'Latsclhan. ~ 4. Death of Dilkos at Themuopyle. ~ 5. Capturle of Tripolis ('ripolitza). Local Governments. First National Assembly atl Epidauros. Filrst Constitution. ~ 6. Maissacre of Scio. ~ 7. Second National Assembly at Astros. Ma-cos Botzards. ~ 8. ErIforts in Favor of tlhe Greeks. ~ 9. Intervention of Mellemet Ali, Paclha, of ElL-pt. Loan. ~ 10. Philhellenes. Gordon, Fabvier, Meyer, Hastings, Generi:l Chuieli, Miller, Howe, Finl-y, Lord Byron. ~ 11. Siege and Capture of Mesoloiii. ~ 12. lIoveiients subseqiuent to the Fall of Mesolongi. Sieoe of Athens. Gourtis takes Possession of the Citadel. Deatl of Gouras. Attempts to relieve the Ga'rison. ~ 13. National Assembly at Trcezene. Electio! of Capo D'Istrias to the Presidency of Greece. Kar ikakes. 4 14. Bad Faith of the Greeks. Death of Karaiskakes. His Character. ~ 15. Ba.ttle in the Plain of Athens. ~ 16. Interference of the European Cabinets. ~ 17 Obstinaicy of the Porte. Battle of Navarino. War between Russia and'urkey. Cessation of -Hostilities. ~ 18. Attempts to settle the Affairs of Greece. Assassination of Caipo D'Istrias. Selection of Otho of Bavaria as King.' His Arrival. Organization of Greece. His Marriage. ~ 19. Constitution of 1843. ~ 20. State of Education. ~ 21. Language. ~ 22. Literature. ~ 23. Popular Poetry and Klephtic Ballads. ~ 1. IN the reign of Catherine II., in the year 1768, a war broke out between Tulrkey and Russia. The crafty Empress endeavored, and with instant success, to rouse the Greek nation to throw off the yoke, inspiring them with the hope of recovering their ancient liberty. Two years pre 608 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LIII. viously, a Greek, who had been in the Russian army, was despatched into Peloponnesus to prepare the insurrection, and in 1769 a Russian fleet, under the command of Orloff, came to the Peloponnesus. The population flew to arms. The Turkish government poured a host of Albanians into the Peloponnesus, and suppressed the revolt with immense slaughter. Orloff, witnessing the ill success of the attempt, forgot his promises, and sailed away, leaving the Greeks to their fate. An Armatole chieftain, named Androutsos, distinguished himself by feats of eminent bravery in this affair; and a body of four hundred Laconians showed themselves no unworthy descendants of the heroes of Thermopylae. At the conclusion of the peace between Russia and.the Porte, the provinces which had received the Russians, or were suspected of having co-operated with them, were heavily punished. The patriarch Meletios was tortured, and then banished. Large fines were inflicted on the wealthier classes. The city of Moschopolis was plundered and destroyed. Three thousand of the inhabitants of Tricca were killed. Many Larisseans were slain, and their only church was demolished; priests and magistrates were beheaded in Lemnos, and the Christians of Smyrna were indiscriminately massacred as they came out of the church. The enormities practised by the Albanians in Peloponnesus were indescribable; and the question was debated in the Divan, whether it would not be advisable to seize this opportunity of extirpating the entire HIellenic race. But by the influence of Hassan Pacha milder counsels prevailed, and he was intrusted with the pacification of the Peloponnesus. This he accomplished by calling to his aid the mountain Klephts, by whom the Albanians were speedily routed, and driven from the Peloponnesus. The family of Colocotrones, one of whom, Theodore, played so conspicuous a part in the war of independence, first appear as leaders at this crisis. In 1787, war was renewed between Russia and. Turkey, and new commotions again agitated Greece. Lampros, a Lebaleian, who had taken part in the former insurrection, supported by many wealthy merchants of Smyrna and Constantinople, led a naval expedition against the Turks, with considerable effect; and about the same time the Souliotes of Epeirus, who for a century had maintained their independence among the moluntains, commenced their heroic struggle with the cruel and crafty Ali Pacha; they were joined by many Thessalian warriors, of wlhom the most distinguished was Ancroutsos, who since the insurrection of 1769 had led a wandering life, constantly pursued by the Turks, and with difficulty escaping the dangers by which he was. encompassed. A treaty of peace was again concluded between Russia and Turkey in 1792. Androutsos attempted to escape into Russia through Venice, but he was seized and surrendered by the Venetians to the Turks, sent to Constantinople, and there put to death. The Souliotes continued the war until 1803, when they were obliged to come to terms with the Pacha; but, with the cruelty and perfidy natural to his character, he violated his plighted A. D 1821.] THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 609 faith. Many of these brave men fell a sacrifice to his falsehood, others escaped to Parga and the Ionian Islands, and, as a Greek historian says, " afterwards avenged the treachery of the Turks in a thousand battles." ~ 2. It is well remarked by Mr. Tricoupes-in his excellent History, that "the Greek revolution is distinguished from other revolutions by some peculiar and very important characteristics. This revolution attempted neither to put a check to absolutism nor despotism; neither to change the local government, nor to break the bonds of union with the mother country. It aimed at a mightier and more glorious object than all these: to expel from Greece, by force of arms, an alien race of another faith, which had made her captive by arms, ages before, and to.the last continued to regard her as their captive, and subject to their sword." "This war broke out between two nations, living indeed in Europe, but ignorant of the military art and the political science by which all the rest of Europe was and is distinguished; and for this reason it may be regarded as a political and military anomaly in the midst of the political and military sciences of the present day, often reminding us, by many of its events and catastrophes, of the heroic times of ancient Hellas." "Greece," continues he, "declared and proclaimed before God and all mankind, at the beginning of her contest, that she aimed to break the foreign yoke and to recover her nationality and her independence." The disproportion between the resources of the contending parties is another circumstance worthy of consideration. The party which fought to throw off the yoke, for years without support from other quarters, he estimates at one twentieth of the enemy, and their resources were trifling in comparison, because they were, as the resources of private individuals, contrasted with those of an ancient and powerful despotism. " The happy and unlooked for result," adds the patriotic and eloquent historian, " is sufficient to breathe courage into suffering and outraged nations, when, poor and powerless, they engage, with firm resolve, in the sacred struggle for faith and fatherland, for freedom and for justice, for national honor and happiness, against spiritual oppression and the devastation of their country, slavery and wrong, national annihilation and social wretchedness." The passions out of which the struggle grew determined its character. On the one side, the habit of tyranny, rapine, and oppression, and the contempt of barbarian masters for those whom they had so long oppressed; on the other, a sleepless sense of wrong and desire of revenge, mingling with and inflaming the love of country, inspired by consciousness of superior intellect, and the illustrious memories of the past. Religious hatred - the fiercest perhaps of all human passions gave intensity to resolve, and steeled the hearts of the contending parties to sympathy and pity. Hatred of race was another irritating element which envenomed the strife; but, after all, it was a desperate struggle of barbarism, misplaced in this century, against reviving civilization and the Christian 77 610 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LIII. faith. And it was this circumstance which finally gathered around the Grecian cause the hearty sympathies, the fervent prayers, the effective co-operation, of Christian nations everywhere. For years after the commencement of the struggle, the cabinets of Europe looked coldly on; more than once the cry for help was answered by the disheartening response, " Let the Greek rebels return to their allegiance to their lawful sovereign," -as if at any moment of the four centuries of their enslavement there was a single element of legal sovereignty in the oppressive rule of the Turks, a single moment when the Christian victims had not a right to use every means within their reach to reclaim the freedom theirs by inheritance, and ravished from them by overpowering wrong. And so the great powers of Europe were forced, by the irresistible course of events, to acknowledge, when the contest was drawing nigh to its conclusion, "for the first time," as the Greek historian truly remarks, "the discordant politics of Europe harmonized, and listened to the salutary precepts of morality, and the sacred voice of suffering humanity." ~ 3. The insurrection was opened by Prince Alexander Ypselantes, selected as leader by the Hetmeria, at the head of the Greeks of Moldavia, who issued a proclamation in March, 1821, that all the Greeks on that day had thrown off the Turkish yoke; and within a few weeks the provinces of the Peloponnesus, and the other parts of Greece, had risen in arms. Among the most gallant leaders of the opening scenes of the war was Germanos, Archbishop of Patroe. At Constantinople a suspicion had already existed that a conspiracy was forming among the Greek inhabitants of the city, and when the information arrived of the movements in Greece, the most rigorous measures were taken against the Greeks; their schools were suppressed, their arms were seized, and the annihilation of the Hellenic race was again proposed in the Divan; women ard children were thrown into the sea, and Prince Mourouzes, chief Dragoman, was beheaded in the Seraglio. A proclamation called on all Moslems to arm against the rebels, and the wildest and most ferocious fanaticism prevailed in the capital. In the streets where the Greeks resided, bodies of the dead and dying were everywhere to be seen. Ten thousand persons disappeared in the first few days; and before three months had passed, it is supposed that more than thirty thousand Greeks were butchered in different cities of the empire. The Beys of Greece struggled in vain to smother the insurrection. The resolution to strike for liberty was universal and unchangeable, and the massacres were renewed at the capital. Gregorios, the Patriarch of Constantinople, then eighty years of age, with three bishops and eight priests, was seized by the order of the Grand Vizier, as they were leaving mass, and all were hung in their robes before the principal gate of the church. The lifeless body of the patriarch, two days after the murder, was cut down, dragged through the streets, and thrown into the sea. It was taken up by Greek sailors, carried to Odessa, and there honored with A. D. 1821] CAPTURE OF TRIPOLIS. 611 a magnificent funeral. In the army of Prince Ypselantes were many of the noblest young men,- the very flower of the Grecian youth. Five hundred students rallied at the call of their country, and enrolling themselves as the Sacred Band, with uniform of black, and the Spartan motto on their standard, "H rav i) e Jr riv, " Either this or on this," —placed themselves under the command of the Prince. Four hundred of this gallant troop perished in the battle of Dragaschan, on the 19th of June, and the rest dispersed. Such was the ill-omened beginning of the war. ~ 4. Among the first who fell in Greece in the struggle for independence was a Klephtic leader named Diakos, who at the head of a small band met the army of Omer Vriones, near the pass of Thermopylae. The Turkish force was so overwhelming, that most of his followers fled to the mountains, leaving him with only eighteen Palicars, as the ballad relates, - or at all events a very small number, as we know from historical sources. This little band, as devoted and as worthy of immortal fame as the three hundred Spartans, held their ground for three hours, and, after killing many times their number of Turks, were themselves either killed or taken. Diakos was among the latter. According to Tricoupes,* after the battle they carried Diakos and his companions to Zeitoun. In the course of the night he was broughlt into the presence of Halil Bey and other Turkish officers, and questioned with regard to the insurrection. Diakos told them fearlessly that all Greece was resolved to be free or perish in the attempt. Mehemet Pacha, admiring the boldness of'the hero, promised him his life if he would enter his service. " I will not serve you," answered Diakos, "and if I did, it would not help you." "I will kill you," answered the Pacha, " unless you join me." " Greece," he replied, " has many a Diakos beside me." On the following day, it was determined to impale him. As he was proceeding to the place of execution, casting a look around him upon the face of nature, all smiling with the beauties of Spring, he repeated the following distich from an old ballad: - " Behold the time that Charon chose to take me from the living; The boughs are blooming now with flowers, the earth puts forth its herbage." Then continuing his way, he bore with unshaken soul for three hours the tortures of the agonizing death they inflicted on him. ~ 5. In the latter part of the year, several marked successes attended tlie arms of the insurgents in Peloponnesus who rallied "ound the popular chiefs Petros Mavromichales and Theodore Colocotrones. Monembasia surrendered in July to Alexander Cantacuzenos; Pylos (Navarino) was taken by a land force commanded by Gregorios, Bishop of Methone (Modon), with the co-operation of the Spezziotes by sea. But the most remarkable event was the siege and capture of Tripolis (Tripolitza), the *'Ioropla rTs'EXXtKrV1K'E7rava('rraecos, Kc,. 18. 612 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LIII. Turkish capital of the province, and the ordinary residence of the Pachas of the MIorea. This city lies on the central table-land of Arcadia, surrounded by the summits of MeInalion, Parthenion, and Artemision. It was surrounded by a wall, and strongly fortified, and at the time of the siege contained about twenty-five thousand inhabitants. The besiegers were commanded by Colocotrones, Anagnostaras, Ypselantes, Yatrakos, and Petros Mavromichales. The siege was continued until the 5th of October, when the city was taken by assault, and the captors, inflamed by the memory of long-continued wrongs, and eager for plunder, enacted a scene of horror only surpassed by the cruelties of the Turks at Scio. "Their insatiable cruelty," says Gordon, " knew no bounds, and seemed to inspire them with a superhuman energy for evil, which set lassitude at defiance...... During the sack of the city, the air was close, dull, and oppressively hot, and the whole terrible picture afforded a lively image of Tartarus." With all the difficulties of their position, it is surprising how readily the old instinct of legality and political order revived among the Greeks, when the responsibility of conducting a national conflict fairly began to be felt.'Mavrocordatos formed a local government in the western part of Greece; in the eastern part, a local council, called the Areopagus, assumed the control, under the presidency of Theodore Negres; al Peloponnesian Gerousia, or senate of twenty members, assembled at Argos, under the presidency of Prince Demetrius Ypselantes, and these three governments, under the influence of Mavrocordatos, undertook to form a constitution and a central government for confederated Greece. The first national assembly of Hellas, consisting of sixty-seven deputies, met in January, 1822, at Epidaurus, and proceeded at once to frame a provisional constitution. They proclaimed the national independence in the following terms: " In the name of the Holy and Indivisible Trinity. The Greek nation, under the frightful tyranny of the Ottomans, unable to bear the unexampled weight of the yoke of tyranny, and having shaken it off with/great sacrifices, proclaims this day, through its lawful representatives, in a national congress assembled, before God and men, its political existence and independence." The vigor and eloquence of the proclamation are worthy of the cause. Its authors state clearly and briefly the causes of the war, declaring that, " far from being the effect of a seditious and jacobinical movement, or the pretext of an ambitious faction, it is a national war, undertaken for the sole purpose of reconquering our rights, and securing our existence and honor...... A thousand ages of prescription would not bar the sacred rights, whose creation was the work of Nature herself. They were torn from us by violence; and violence more righteously directed may one day win them back...... Grecians, but a little while since ye A. D. 1822.] MASSACRE OF SCIO. 613 said,'No more slavery!' and the power of the tyrant has vanished. But it is concord alone which can consolidate your liberty and independence. The assembly offers up its prayers, that the mighty arm of the Most High may raise the nation towards the sanctuary of His Eternal Wisdom." The constitution, while making the Orthodox Eastern Church the ecclesiastical establishment of the nation, enacted the toleration of all other forms of worship. It lodged the government in a Senate and Executive body,- the Senate to consist of thirty-three members, and the Executive Council of five; it provided annual elections; eight secretaries were appointed, namely, of State, Interior, Public Economy, Justice, War, Navy, Religion, and Police. The judicial branch consisted of eleven members, chosen by the government, but holding office by an independent tenure; civil and criminal justice to be administered according to the legislation of the Greek Emperors; and the French Commercial Code was adopted for the regulation of mercantile affairs. Torture and confiscation were abolished, and freedom of the press established. The great defect of the constitution was the limited power of the Executive, especially in the critical circumstances of the country; a defect severely felt in the conduct of the war. Alexander Mavrocordatos was chosen President of the Executive body; Athanasius Kanakares, Vice-President; and Ypselantes was offered the presidency of the Senate, but he declined, and Petros Mavromichales was put in his place. The departments were organized by the appointment of secretaries or commissions; the first Secretary of State was Theodore Negres. Mavrocordatos and his colleagues proceeded with great energy and ability to organize and arrange the operations of the government, and to introduce some degree of order into the military affairs. ~ 6. The most striking and terrible event of the year 1822 was the massacre of Scio. The inhabitants of this island had risen to a high degree of wealth and refinement. The population, before the Revolution, was estimated at more than one hundred thousand. They took little or no part in the war until March, 1822, when an insurrection broke out, and the Turkish garrison was shut up in the citadel. The Capitan Pacha, or Turkish admiral, who was on his way to the Peloponnesus with a large fleet, changed his plan, and suddenly landed fifteen thousand men upon the island, resolved to strike terror into the people by an example of frightful severity. A massacre of the defenceless inhabitants at once commenced, such as the annals of warfare seldom record. Men, women, and children were tortured, and then put to death. Some fled to the mountains, and hid themselves in caverns; others succeeded in getting on board the foreign ships lying in the harbor; others made their escape to the neighboring islands; more than forty thousand were slain in the course of a month; thousands of the most refined and cultivated were carried off, and sold into slavery in the bazaars of Smyrna and Constantinople. Many were bought by Turks for the pleasure of torturing and put 614 HISTORY OF GREECE.' [CHAP. LIII ting them to death; and many - as eyewitnesses to these scenes have relatecd- were redeemed by Europeans residing in Smyrna, who sacrificed their wealth in this work of Christian charity. From one hundred and twenty thousand the population was reduced to sixteen thousand souls, in one year; a terrible catastrophe, an unheard of series of atrocities, for which our own age is responsible. The news of these events filled all Greece with sorrow and indignation. The I-ydriotes, Spezziotes, and Ipsariotes sailed with a large fleet under the command of the illustrious naval hero, Andreas Miaoules, and on the 19th of May encountered the Turkish armament between Scio and the coast of Asia Minor, and a battle ensued. But it was not until June that deserved vengeance overtook the bloody Kara Ali, the Capitan Pacha, - at the hands of another Greek hero, Callares, who with his countrymen had been watching at Ipsara an opportunity of striking a fatal blow at the hostile fleet. By a bold movement, he conducted some fire-ships within the Turkish lines, and, attaching one of them to the prow of the flag-ship, which was lying at anchor in the centre of the fleet, instantly set it on fire. Canards and his gallant crew escaped in a boat; the ship was burned; two thousand men perished. The Capitan Pacha, severely injured by the flames, leaped into a boat, but had scarcely seated himself when one of the masts fell, crushing him and capsizing the boat; and he was borne ashore by swimmers, bruised and burnt, and in a dying condition, and expired in the midst of the most terrible sufferings, on the very scene of his unparalleled cruelties. ~ 7. The disheartening answer received from the Congress at Verona, in December, 1822, pronouncing the enterprise inconsiderate and culpable, and requiring the Greeks to submit to their lawful sovereign, the Sultan, - the civil dissensions between Colocotrones and the central government, -led to the calling of a second national convention at Astros, in March, 1823, which introduced some amendments into the constitution, and elected Petros Mavromichales, President. They made various changes in the ministry, and resolved to organize a land force of fifty thousand troops, and a fleet of one hundred men-of-war. The, events of the year were confused and bloody; but one act of heroism shines conspicuous above all others, - the midnight attack of Marcos Botzares and his gallant band of Souliotes upon the Turkish camp at Carpenesion. The immediate object - the capture of the Bey in his tent - was not accomplished, and Botzares fell in the battle. Eight hundred Turks were slain, with a loss of only fifty of the Greeks. " The commander," it is well said by one of his countrymen, "did not cease, after his death, to serve his country; for, if we except the achievement of our naval heroes, and the last siege of Mesolongi, no other event excited such admiration for Grecian valor as the death of Marcos Botzares." This heroic achievement has been immortalized in American literature by the splendid lyrical poem of Halleek, - A. D. 1824.] EFFORTS IN FAVOR OF THE GREEKS. 615 " One of the few, the immortal names That were not born to die." These transactions certainly show that the Greeks had fallen in no respect below the martial spirit of their ancestors. ~ 8. The sympathy growing up among the people everywhere was some compensation to the Greeks for the coldness and indifference of the Holy Alliance. In 1823, Louriottes, a confidential friend of Mavrocordatos, proceeded to London to negotiate a loan, which the executive was authorized to contract, on the security of the national lands. His arrival in the British capital, and the details he communicated on the state of Greece, excited the greatest interest. Under the auspices of Mr. Baring, and with the approbation of liberal politicians, like Lord John Russell, Lord Milton, and others, public meetings were called, and circulars addressed to the principal cities in the kingdom, soliciting subscriptions; and donations poured in from every quarter. Committees were appointed for the management of the funds, and to correspond with Philhellenic committees in other countries. An agent, Mr. Blaquiere, was sent to Greece to coni fer with the government. In Germany and Switzerland similar movements took place, and large supplies of money, arms, and soldiers were furnished by their activity. To add to the sympathy now growing stronger and stronger daily, the unhappy refugees were expelled from the countries embraced in the Holy Alliance. A large number were driven from Russia; many of them died of cold and hunger on the journey; the wretched survivors were.refused admission to Austria, France, and the Sardinian States. At length, with great difficulty, the committees of Geneva and Zurich obtained permission for them to traverse France by small detachments, and sent them from Marseilles to Greece at their own expense. From the United States contributions were not wanting. In 1824, about $ 80,000 were sent, which had been collected by the local committees. Some attempts were made by the English and Russians to bring about the pacification of Greece. The plan proposed by the Russian agent, craftily arranged to bring the revolted provinces under the control of the Czar, while nominally replacing them as tributaries to the Porte, was rejected by the Sultan; and as he had been assured by the British minister that the great powers were determined to leave the Greeks to their fate, the rejection of any interference could not well be made the ground of complaint. ~ 9. The ill success that had, however, attended three campaigns, convinced the Turks that they would be unable to reduce the Greeks without assistance; and Mehemet Ali, the Viceroy of Egypt, who had made himself almost an independent sovereign, received flattering proposals from the Sultan, with the offer of the Morea as a Pachalic to his step-son Ibrahim, on condition of suppressing the revolt. But, notwithstanding the formidable arrangements made for the invasion of the Morea by the 616 HIrTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LIII. Egyptian fleets and armies, the Greek government was greatly encouraged by the success of their agents in contracting a loan of a large amount, on the security of the national property; and, although procured on very disadvantageous terms, a debt of ~800,000 being incurred for an available sum of only ~280,000, a little more than one fourth of the amount, - the money was a very important relief in the pressure of their affairs. The Egyptian armament did not reach the Peloponnesus until' 1825. This invasion, and the ravages carried over the Peloponnesus by the Egyptian armies, disciplined and led by European officers, and apparently the instruments bywhich the subjugation of Greece must be accomplished, were, under the guiding hand of Providence, the means of bringing this people out of their great perils, in the darkest hour of distress and danger. ~ 10. The accession of numerous Philhellenes to the cause was not, in all respects, beneficial. They came with different views, objects, and expectations. Some of them were ardent, enthusiastic men, whose sympathy for the country rested more on her ancient greatness than her present sufferings. But there were many honorable and distinguished men, who, well understanding the nature of the struggle, and not led away by literary enthusiasm, or by the memories of the past, consecrated their best efforts, their lives and their fortunes, to the restoration of Greece. There was Colonel Gordon, a man of calm intrepidity and the coolest head; there was Fabvier, the gallant Frenchman, who refused all pecuniary compensation, and spent his property in the service; there was Meyer, the German, who stood to his post bravely, and perished beneath the ruins of Mesolongi; Hastings, whose modest worth and gallant spirit have left a name never to be forgotten in the annals of those times; General Church, who, though he arrived in Greece only to share in the last year of the struggle, showed the virtues of chivalry and the humanity of a Christian gentleman, and who still lives, an object of universal respect for his probity, his defence of liberal principles, his unbending virtue in public and private life. He is a member of the Senate, and though not an orator, is a man of sagacity and of widely extended influence. There were our countrymen, Miller and Howe, both brave men, and the latter known throughout the world for his genius and philanthropy, having by his later achievements in peace eclipsed the fame he won on the theatre of his early adventures. There was Finlay, an accomplished Scotch gentleman, who, having lent his aid to the achievement of independence, is now giving studious years to the history of the country of his adoption, and whose works rank with the best productions of historical research in this age so fruitful of distinguished authorship in that department of letters. But the greatest sensation was created by the advent of Lord Byron, and his early death at Mesolongi gives a profound interest to this chapter of Hellenic history, which a much longer period of active service A. D. 1823.] LORD BYRON. 617 might have failed to inspire. The most indulgent judge must pass severe censure on many parts of Lord Byron's life. But his better nature began to waken from the delusions of the passions; and his good angel gave him an opportunity of crowning his life- all too short for himself and for the world —with a radiant and glorious close. He had formerly travelled through Greece, and celebrated its past achievements, as well as painted its present degradation, in the most transcendent poetry of modern times. He was misled by no enthusiasm of lettered and romantic youth; he knew thoroughly the condition of the Greeks, and no man had judged their faults of character with more severity. Blended with his poetical genius, there was in Lord Byron a quality of practical good sense, which, in other circumstances, would have made him eminent in the business of public or private life. With this good sense he scrutinized the condition of Greece, and reasoned out the probability of his power of rendering her a worthy service in that hour of her peril. He came to the conclusion calmly, without passion, without enthusiasm, without delusion, that here was a field in which he could achieve a good beyond the value of any poetical success; and having come to this conclusion, he forthwith consecrated his thoughts, his time, his fortune, his personal exertions, to the cause of Greece. He set sail from Leghorn on the 24th of July, 1823, and ten days after arrived in Cephalonia, and thence despatched messengers to make particular inquiries into the state of affairs in Greece. In the mean time he made an excursion to Ithaca, and examined with interest the antiquities of that rocky capital of Ulysses' kingdom. Finding here a number of families who had escaped from the massacre of Scio, from Patmos, and other places, he furnished generously the money for their relief. One of his messengers brought him a letter from Marco Botzares, written only a few hours before his heroic death. In this letter he says, "I shall have something to do to-night against a corps of six or seven thousand Albanians, encamped close to this place. The day after tomorrow I will set out, with a few chosen companions, to meet your excellency. Do not delay. I thank you for the good opinion you have of my fellow-citizens, which God grant you will not find ill-founded; and I thank you still more for the care you have so kindly taken of them." * He did not embark for Mesolongi until the end of Decemher, having employed the intervening time in corresponding with the friends of Greece, the Greek government, and the heads of the different parties, by whose dissensions the condition of the country was much endangered. It is impossible not to admire the just and comprehensive views developed by Lord Byron during these months of preliminary arrangements for his great enterprise. The wisdom of his conduct inre* This refers to his having taken into his pay a body of the Souliotes, who had been homeless since their defeat by All Pacha. 78 618 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LIII. fusing to be drawn into the schemes of any of the factions, and the sagacity with which he penetrated and baffled their intrigues to secure his adhesion, the earnestness of his exhortations to concord and union, can never be sufficiently praised. To the general government of Greece he writes: " We have heard some rumors of new dissensions, nay, of the existence of civil war. With all my heart I pray that these reports may be false or exaggerated, for I can imagine no calamity more serious than this." "You have fought gloriously; act honorably towards your fellow-citizens and the world, and it will then no more be said, as has been repeated for two thousand years, that Philopoemen was the last of the Grecians. Let not calumny itself compare the patriot Greek, when resting from his labors, to the Turkish Pacha, whom his victories have exterminated." And to Mavrocordatos he says: "I am very uneasy at hearing that the dissensions of Greece still continue, and at a moment when she might triumph over everything. Greece is at present placed between three measures: either to reconquer her liberty, to become a dependence of the sovereigns of Europe, or to return to a Turkish province. Civil war is but a road which leads to the two latter." He arrived at Mesolongi on the 5th of January, 1824, having narrowly escaped being captured by the Turkish fleet. The whole population welcomed him on the shore; the ships fired salutes as he passed; and Mavrocordatos, at the head of the troops, and the civil authorities of the place, gave him a reception as hearty as it was full of joy, and escorted him in a body to the house which had been prepared for him. His conduct, in the midst of the difficulties by which he was at once surrounded, showed the same coolness, good sense, and generosity, where generosity could be serviceable, that had marked his course ever since he engaged in the enterprise. The suppression of discord, and the diminution of the inevitable horrors of war, by tempering it with sentiments of humanity, too often forgotten by the Greeks as well as by the Turks in the moment of victory, were the first objects he had at heart. He let no opportunity escape of inculcating and illustrating this spirit; he employed his influence successfully, in inducing the government to set some Turkish prisoners, who had been long languishing in dungeons, at liberty, and restoring them to their friends. Others he relieved by pecuniary aid, and others still he provided the means of sending to their homes. His ample income was employed without stint, and at the same time with excellent judgment, in the public service. It is an interesting incident in his literary life, that the last lines he wrote are these memorable ones, on the 22d of January, 1824, on completing his thirty-sixth year. The last stanza was ominous of his approaching fate: — "Seek out -less often sought than found - A soldier's grave, for thee the best; Then look around and choose thy ground, And take thy rest." A. D. 1824.] DEATH OF LORD BYRON. 619 He had been haunted from the beginning by a presentiment that he was destined to close his life in Greece. In taking leave of his friends in Italy, he more than once expressed this apprehension. The first indication of his failing health was given by a violent convulsion, on the 15th of February, while he was conversing with a few friends. This alarming incident created the most serious anticipations, and Lord Byron was urged to retire to some more healthy place, until his health should be restored. In reply to one of these friendly invitations he says: " I cannot quit Greece while there is a chance of my being of any (even supposed) utility; there is a stake worth millions such as I am, and, while I can stand at all, I must stand by the cause." In the following month he took the fever, from an exposure to a violent rain, which in a few days ended his life. The details of that last illness and death fill one of the saddest chapters in the history of Greece; and the affliction which fell on the country, as the news rapidly spread from province to province, testified how deeply his generous devotion to their cause had sunk into the hearts of the Greeks. In his last thoughts, indistinctly uttered in the broken words which were all the dissolving organs could convey, the names of his friends, his wife, his daughter, and of Greece, were confusedly mingled, - daughter and Greece were the very last words he spoke, - and then the silence and sleep of death settled on him who had electrified the world, and on whom, but now, the hopes of a nation centred. A storm of thunder broke over the town at the moment of his departure, and the Greeks who thronged the street to learn his condition cried out, as the awful crash fell from the sky, " The great man is gone." It was the festival of Easter, - usually celebrated with great joy by the Greeks. But the day of festivity and rejoicing was turned into sorrow and mourning. All amusements ceased; the shops were shut; prayers were offered in the churches. The funeral ceremony took place on the 22d of April, in the church where lie the bodies of Marcos Botzares and the brave General Norman. Mr. Tricoupes, the friend of Mavrocordatos and of Byron, the able secretary, the vigorous historian, and now the worthy representative of his country in England, delivered a funeral oration in the church on Easter Sunday. "What an unlooked for event " exclaimed the orator, "what a deplorable misfortune! It is but a short time since the people of much-suffering Greece, all joy and exultation, welcomed to their bosoms this distinguished man; and to-day, all woe and despair, they bedew his funeral couch with bitterest tears, and mourn without consolation. The sweetest salutation, Christ is arisen, became joyless on Easter day, upon the lips of the Christians of Greece; who, when they met one another in the morning of that day, before they had yet spoken the congratulations of the festival, anxiously inquired, How is my lord? Thousands of men, assembled to interchange the sacred salutation of love, in the broad plain outside the walls of our city, appeared 620.HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LIII. to have assembled only to beseech the Saviour of all for the health of the champion in behalf of the freedom of our nation." The orator goes on to speak, in the most feeling manner, of the services Lord Byron had rendered; of the liberal employment of his wealth; of his excellent judgment; of his splendid genius. "All lettered Europe," says he, "has eulogized, and will eulogize, the poet of our age; and all ages will celebrate him, because he was born for all Europe and for all ages." "In the agony of death, - yes, at the moment when the veil of eternity is rent to him who stands on the borders of mortal and immortal life,in that awful hour, the illustrious departed, when leaving all the world, bore only two names upon his lips, that of his much beloved daughter, and that of his much beloved Hellas. These names, deeply rooted in his heart, the moment of death itself could not obliterate.' My daughter!' he said;' Greece!' he said; and his voice expired. What Grecian heart is not broken, when it recalls this scene?..... "Thine arm, 0 dearly cherished daughter! will receive him; thy tears will console the tomb which holds his body, and the tears of the orphans of Greece shall be shed over the urn that holds his most precious heart, and upon the whole land of Hellas, because the whole land of Hellas shall be his sepulchre. As in the last moments of his life he had thee and Hellas in his heart and on his. lips, it was just that after his death Hellas also should receive a part of his precious remains. Mesolongi presses in her arms the urn that holds his heart as a symbol of his love; but all Greece, in mourning and inconsolable, renders his body back to thee with ecclesiastical, civil, and military honors, crowned with her gratitude and bedewed with her tears. Learn, most noble maiden, that chieftains bore it on their shoulders to the church; that thousands of Grecian warriors lined the way through which the procession moved, with arms reversed, as if they would war against the very earth which snatched away their faithful friend; they surround his bier, and swear never to forget the sacrifices your father made, and never to allow a barbarous and tyrannic foot to trample the spot where his heart remains. A thousand Christian voices are this. moment raised, and the temple of the Most High resounds with funeral chants; all is filled with prayers that his revered remains may be safely restored to his native land, and that his soul may rest where rest the righteous for ever." Mr. Tricoupes spoke the feelings of the whole country. A deeper sense of loneliness and woe never fell upon that afflicted land than when her greatest benefactor died. "Such honors Ilion to her hero paid, And peaceful slept the mighty Hector's shade." ~ 11. The successes of Ibrahim Pacha were checkered with reverses and defeats; but wherever he went, he laid the country waste, and, slaughtering the men, sent the women and children to be sold as slaves in A. D. 1826.] CAPTURE OF MESOLONGI. 621 Egypt. On the 18th of November, 1825, the fleet of Ibrahim arrived from the Peloponnesus at Mesolongi, and a few days after another division of his army joined'the forces by way of Lepanto, and the city was immediately invested by an army of thirty thousand men. The most active measures for its reduction by a vigorous assault were taken. The besiegers were often repulsed with heavy losses, and in February it was resolved to reduce the place by a rigorous blockade. The gallant attempts of Miaules to break the blockade were fruitless. Ibrahim Pacha sent to the garrison a request that they would depute persons to treat with him who could speak Albanian, Turkish, and French; but they replied, " We are illiterate, and do not understand so many languages; Pachas we do not recognize, but we know how to handle the sword and gun." In three days eight thousand shot and shells were fired into the town, demolishing the houses, but killing few of the people. The outposts were taken one by one, but only after the most desperate and bloody resistance. At length the supplies from without were cut off, and the garrison reduced to the most miserable condition, feeding on rats, raw hides, and sea-weed. The earth was covered with the starving, sick, and wounded; but they persisted in their refusal to surrender, and resolved, since the place could no longer be defended, to leave it with arms in their hands. A sortie was arranged for the night of April 22d, and would probably have been quite successful but for the treachery of a Bulgarian, who gave notice to Ibrahim Pacha, and thus enabled him, shortly before the appointed moment, to make preparations for the attack. The plan was that three thousand armed men should throw themselves suddenly upon the enemy's line, and open a way for the women and children. The women and boys armed themselves with swords and daggers. Many of the inhabitants, however, including the sick and wounded, resolved not to quit their native place, but to share its downfall and bury themselves in its ruins. The leavetaking of those who determined to make the desperate attempt, and of their friends.and relations who remained behind, is described as heartrending; the wailing and lamentations not only filled the city, but reached the posts of the besieging army. According to the arrangement, the soldiers of the garrison passed out by the eastern outlet, and awaited the signal; but growing impatient under the enemy's fire, they started up, and, shouting " Death to the barbarians!" passed the trenches, broke through the infantry, silenced the batteries, and killed the artillery-men at their guns. In the confusion of the hour, a part of the plan failed to be carried into effect. A panic broke out among the people, and instead of taking instant advantage of the enemy's confusion, they rushed back to the town. The Turks and Arabs, eager for slaughter and plunder, poured in from every side, and commenced the work of destruction and blood. The cries of the wounded and dying filled the night. The roll of musketry, and the explosions of magazines, fired by the inhabitants, and 622 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LIII. slaying multitudes of the besiegers, added to the horrors of the scene. A lame private soldier named Capsales had retired with his family into the principal magazine, which contained thirty barrels of gunpowder. He sat with a lighted torch, and when it was crowded by the frantic Moslems the veteran applied the torch, and all were blown, mutilated corpses, into the air by the horrible explosion. The loss of the besiegers was increased by the struggle for the spoils between the Egyptians and the European Turks. When the assault commenced there were in Mesolongi nine thousand souls: five hundred were slain in the sortie, six hundred afterwards died by starvation in the mountains; about eighteen hundred escaped, of whom two hundred were females. The spirit shown by these Grecian heroines is illustrated by one of the incidents of the escape. A young girl, flying with a brother in delicate health, was pursued by a Turkish horseman. Carrying the brother, exhausted by fatigue, to a neighboring hillock, she seized his gun, received the fire of the Turk, which fortunately was without effect, and then coolly took aim and shot him dead. Among the slain were a number of European Philhellenes, and two brothers of Tricoupes, the orator and historian. Three thousand were sabred in the streets, and nearly the same number of women and children were sold into slavery. Greece was again clothed in mourning. Not only was the downfall of Mesolongi disastrous in a military and political view; it gave new occasion for civil strifes, which the government could not repress; and it placed in the hands of the enemy the spot which they had sworn at the death of Byron he should never pollute with his footsteps. But the endurance and heroism of the defenders, the gallantry of those who cut through the besieging lines, and of those who stayed to perish in the ruins, crowned the name of MIesolongi with unfading glory. ~ 12. After the siege of MIesolongi, Ibrahim returned into the Peloponnesus only to renew his ravages; but in attempting to reduce the Nlanotes, he suffered several severe repulses. Athens, almost the only place in Eastern Greece that still held out, was closely besieged. An attempt of Colonel Fabvier on Eubcea had failed. The third national assembly of the Greeks, held in April at Epidauros, dismayed at the fall of Miesolongi, appointed two commissions, one of twelve members, for the regulation of the war, the other of thirteen, for the civil government and the administration of the revenue. The assembly then adjourned until September, and the committee repaired to Nauplia to assume their functions. The war was carried on in Eastern Greece, Western Greece, Peloponnesus, and the Islands; the state of affairs now seemed hopeless in all these great divisions of the theatre of action. In the month of July, the Turkish commander, Kiutahi or Reschid Pacha, commenced his operations against Athens, then commanded by Gouras, formerly a lieutenant of Odysseus, who, having surrendered himself to the troops sent against him in 1824, was held in close confinement A. D. 1826.1 SIEGE OF ATHENS. 623 as a prisoner in the Acropolis at Athens. A few days after, his mutilated body was found at the foot of the Acropolis, under a tower in which he was imprisoned. It was given out that he fell, and was accidentally killed in attempting to escape. But various circumstances afterwards, concurring with expressions of remorse uttered by Gouras, led to the opinion that that chieftain had yielded to the importunities of enemies of Odysseus, and consented that he should secretly be put to death. Gouras was instructed by the government to keep the Turks at a distance from Athens; but, disregarding their orders, he filled the magazines of the Acropolis with provisions, which he forced the inhabitants of Athens in the most arbitrary manner to supply, and prepared with his troops to stand a siege in that almost impregnable fortress. Many of the citizens went over to Salamis, as they did in the old Persian wars; the rest stood by their hearths and altars in the city. The Turks soon got possession of the town, though the outposts were bravely defended by the citizens. The operations of the siege were interrupted by the appearance of Colonel Fabvier and Karaiskakes in the plain of Athens, with a considerable force. But a battle taking place, the Greeks were routed, and fled, and the bombardment of the Acropolis from the hill of the Museum, near the monument of Philopappus, was resumed with great energy. The siege was carried on, not only by the incessant firing of the batteries, but by a series of mines and countermines, in which many men perished. Gouras lost his life early in October. One night, as he was going the rounds, one of his attendants snapped a musket, and two shots being fired in the direction of the flash, one of them struck: him on the head, and he died without a groan. Several attempts were made to relieve the garrison, but only one succeeded. It was executed by Colonel Fabvier and a body of about six hundred picked men, who, on the night of December 13th, broke through the Turkish lines, and entered the Acropolis under a shower of grape from the Museum, with a loss of only six killed and fourteen wounded. A large supply of powder was almost the only advantage secured to the garrison by this daring adventure. The siege was vigorously pressed, and the distress arising from the crowded state of the Acropolis increased. The constant discharge of cannon did great mischief to the splendid monuments of the Acropolis, despite the firman obtained from the Sultan by Sir Stratford Canning, that the Parthenon and the Erechtheion should be spared. A large part of the Erechtheion was battered down, and the family of Gouras, with the principal ladies of Athens, who had taken shelter there, perished beneath its ruins. 13. A fresh national assembly assembled at Trcezen in March, 1827, and introduced some very important modifications into the constitution, the most essential of which was the placing the executive power in the hands of a single magistrate, under the title of President of Greece, 624 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LIII. extending the term of office to seven years, and enlarging his powers generally. After a good deal of angry dispute, and with great reluctance on the part of many members, the choice finally rested on John Capo D'Istrias, a Corfiote, a man of great talent and sagacity, and of large experience in affairs, having been long in the Russian service, and being at the moment a member of the cabinet of that country. As some time must elapse before he would arrive in Greece, the executive power was intrusted to a commission of three. The same assembly appointed Lord Cochrane to the chief command by sea, and placed General Church in the supreme command of the land forces. These two officers immediately entered upon their respective commands, and arrangements were at once made for an attack on the Turkish besiegers of the Acropolis. Karaiskakes also returned from a brilliant expedition in the North. Public attention was concentrated upon the operations for raising the siege of Athens, as if that was the last hope of the country, and troops poured in from every quarter, in answer to the calls of the government and the commanders. ~ 14. The Greeks, during the operations that followed, committed one of those acts of bad faith which have brought so much reproach upon them. An attack was made on the Turkish positions in Munychia. The Turks fled, and three hundred took refuge in the monastery of St. Spyridon. Though surrounded by the Greeks and cut off from all communication, and without the slightest chance of escape, they refused to surrender unless allowed to retain their arms. The monastery was cannonaded, and at last General Church proposed to allow them to pass out with their arms, contrary to the wishes of the native officers. The Greeks were disappointed and enraged, thinking that the garrison would in a few days be reduced to an unconditional surrender. Hostages had been given for the faithful performance of the agreement; among the rest Karaiskakes himself, and other distinguished chieftains of the Greeks, placed themselves at the disposal of the Turks. The troops left the monastery, having the hostages in their centre. But the Greeks, murmuring and tumultuous and little accustomed to military obedience, surrounded them; a quarrel arose between a Turkish officer and a Greek soldier, which led to an instant attack. The Greek officers did their best, at the risk of their own lives, to save the Turks, and one was killed and several wounded. Karaiskakes, frantic at this shameful violation of the truce, struggled in vain against his countrymen; then, turning to the Turks, cried out, " Kill me, as I have killed you." Two hundred were killed, and about seventy made their escape and reached the camp of Reschid Pacha. The result of such an act of treachery was most disastrous. It demoralized the Greek forces, and disheartened the European commanders. General Church, horrorstruck, was on the point of resigning his command, and was only dissuaded from this step by the entreaties of the Moreote officers. The next A. D. 1827.] BATTLE IN THE PLAIN OF ATHENS. 625 disastrous incident was the death of Karaiskakes, in a skirmish on the 4th of May. A body of Greek soldiers made an irregular attack upon some of the Turkish outposts. The assailants were driven back. 1araiskakes was sick and in bed; but, hearing the fire, he rose, sprang upon his horse, and galloped into the midst of the battle. While endeavoring to rally the fugitives he received the fire of a Turkish horseman, and was carried mortally wounded from the field. He was taken on board one of the ships, and there, conscious of his approaching death, passed the last hours of his existence in an earnest conversation with Lord Cochrane and the other chiefs on the state of the country and the proper measures to be taken for her deliverance. When some words of consolation were addressed to him in praise of the brilliancy of his achievements, he answered, " What I have done, I have done; what has happened, has happened; now for the future." And when he was drawing his last breath, he said to those around him, among whom were Lord Cochrane and General Church, "My country laid upon me a heavy task; I have fulfilled my duty by ten months of terrible battles; nothing remained except my life; this I owed to my country, this I surrender to my country. I am dying; let my fellow-soldiers finish my work; let them save my Athens." These were the last words he spoke. His bravery, his patriotism, his heroic death, made the errors of his previous life forgotten, and he is justly regarded by his countrymen as one of the most illustrious of her heroes. Funeral honors were paid to his memory by the national assembly at Trcezene, and an eloquent discourse pronounced by Mr. Tricoupes in the presence of the deputies and the Executive Council, and a large concourse of citizens. The stranger who visits Athens gazes with interest, as he enters the harbor of Peiraeus, upon the ruins of the tomb of Themistocles, which looked out upon the waters of Salamis, the scene of his glory; and as he passes up from Peiraeus to Athens, along the foundations of the ancient walls which connected the port with the city, he beholds with equal interest, in a field at a distance from the road, the monument erected on the spot where the modern hero fell. ~ 15. Two days afterwards the fate of the attempt to raise the siege of Athens was decided. On the 6th of May, one of the most sanguinary battles which had occurred in the whole war was fought in the environs of the city. Lord Cochrane had said that he should dine on the Acropolis. Vain boast. The Turkish horsemen —always the most formidable arm of the service - dashed impetuously upon the Greeks, and cut them to pieces with dreadful slaughter. The panic-stricken survivors of the main body fled. A band of Souliotes maintained their ground, and were nearly all slain. The rout was complete; " and for two hours," says Dr. Howe, "the plain presented only a picture of detached fights between bands of ten, five, or three Greeks and dozens of Turks, who soon cut them to pieces, though after desperate resistance." Lord Cochrane and General 79 626 HISTORY OF GREECE. [CHAP. LIII. Church, who were advancing with supplies and reinforcements, were obliged to retreat and take refuge on board the ships. The centre and left wing, amounting to seven thousand men, who had taken no part in the battle, immediately fled in the direction of the Isthmus; the posts around Peireus were abandoned. The ground was strewn with fifteen hundred of the flower of the Grecian warriors; nearly all the Europeans engaged in the battle perished; many of the bravest leaders fell; others were taken prisoners, of whom two hundred and forty were beheaded the next morning. Lord Cochrane immediately withdrew with his squadron to Hydra. General Church remained at Phaleron with two thousand men three weeks longer, when, finding his men disheartened and ready to desert, he dismantled the batteries and abandoned all the positions. Some attempts were subsequently made to relieve the garrison by an expedition in the enemy's rear, to cut off his supplies. The citadel was, however, surrendered on the 5th of June. The fall of Athens was felt as a tremendous blow over all Greece. It seemed to extinguish the last spark of hope that the war could be continued. The poverty that covered the country was indescribable. But the sympathies of the world were aroused anew by the tales of starvation and woe which reached the ears of the humane everywhere. In the United States societies were formed to raise contributions, and seven ship-loads of provisions and clothing were despatched, which saved from death thousands of the wretched population, and infused new strength into the heart of the nation. ~ 16. The cabinets of Europe also were no longer insensible to the duty of putting a stop to the present state of things. The tone of the English government had been greatly altered by the influence of Canning's genius and fine humanity; and the former sympathy with the Turks in their lawful efforts to suppress the unjustifiable insurrection of their rebellious rayas was felt to be false to the spirit of the times, and traitorous to the rights of man. Before the insurrection, the Greeks had sent a deputation to St. Petersburg, to offer the crown of Greece to one of the Grand Dukes, in the hope of securing the support of so powerful a state to their cause. The offer was declined. During the war they sent another deputation to Paris, proposing that one of the sons of Louis Philippe - then Duke of Orleans - should be placed on the throne; here, again, they met with disappointment. Later still, they threw themselves on the protection of England, offering to confer the crown on Prince Leopold; but'the proposition was at first coldly received. The successes of Ibrahim Pacha, and the prospect of having a powerful Egyptian government, independent of the Porte, established in Greece, had some effect in exciting