-;;.-,> 3V.*?v IAI {RARY rHH University of California. gift ok Mrs. SARAH P. WALSWORTH. Received October, 18Q4. Accessions No . Sip % *J (& : Class No. I'HE HISTORY OF GREECE BY THOMAS ^tlGffTLEY. TO WHICH IS ADDED, A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF CONTEMPORARY HISTORY. BY JOSHUA TOULM1N SMITH, AUTHOR OF " COMPARATIVE VIEW OF ANCIENT HISTORY, AND EXPLANATION OF CHRONOLOGICAL ERAS." V Of THB . . . ? . - BOSTON: HILL1ARD, GRAY, AND COMPANY 1839. T>V ^ /nrri Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1839, By Hilliard, Gray, and Company, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. STEREOTYPED AT THE BOSTON TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. EXhjveg ;) the Romans called the former Gratia, the latter, Greed. 1 A HISTORY OF GREECE. northern limit of this last-named country. This branch is called the Cambunian Mountains ; it was also named Olym- pus, from the lofty snow-crowned mountain of that name, once held to be the seat of the Grecian gods, which forms its eastern extremity. A narrow valley separates Olympus from Ossa, which rises, in form like a dome, on the south ; and Ossa is joined on the south by Pelion, which is met by a ridge, named Othrys, running eastwards from Pindus. Parallel to Olympus and Othrys on the south, another branch, named CEta, runs from the chain of Pindus to the sea. The country lying between Olympus and CEta is named Thessaly. It is divided into two portions by Mount Othrys. The northern, which may be called the Vale of the Peneius, (Peneus,) from its principal river, is a rich, fertile plain, shut in on all sides by mountains. One narrow opening between Olympus and Ossa, the romantic glen of Tempe, affords an outlet to the waters of the limpid Titaresius, and the other streams which irrigate the valley. The Peneius receives them all, and pours them through Tempe into the sea. The towns of the Vale of the Peneius are Tricca, Larissa, Scotussa, Crannon, Pheree, on the Lake Bcebei's, Pharsa- lus, etc. A road over Othrys, by the castle of Thaumakia, led from the Vale of the Peneius into that of the Spercheius. This last is watered by the Spercheius and its tributary streams, and is open on the east to the sea ; by two bays of which, the Pagasai'c and Maliac, it is penetrated. Its towns were Lamia, Hypata, Alus, Larissa Cremaste, Iolcos, Pagasoo, etc. A narrow strip of land, between Ossa and Pelion and the sea, extends from the mouth of the Peneius to that of the Bay of Pagasae : this was named Magnesia, and was con- sidered a part of Thessaly. As Tempe is the only entrance into Thessaly on the north, so the only passage out of it on the south is the narrow pass named Pylre, (Gates,) or Thermopylae, (Hot-gates,) from its warm springs, which runs between the eastern termination of CEta and the sea. South-eastwards from CEta rise in DESCRIPTION OF GREECE. 3 succession the hills named Cnemis, Acontion, and Ptoon ; which, with the land between them and the sea, form the Epicnemidian and Opuntian Locris, whose only towns of note were Opus, Scarpheia, Nicaea, and Thronion. Messapion, Mycalessos, and other hills, run along the coast, from Ptoon, and join Mount Parnes, which, running westwards, meets the rugged Cithaeron. The verdant Heli- con, the seat of the Muses, turns northwards from Cithaeron, and is succeeded by Mount Hadyleion, which joins that of Acontion. The region thus enclosed, and named Boeotia, is not a plain, like those of Thessaly, but rather a succession of hill and dale, and plains of small extent and great fertility. It is divided by a range of rocky hills, running from Heli- con to Ptoon. The northern part contained the towns of Orchomenus, Chaeroneia, Lebadeia, Coroneia, Aspledon, Haliartus, Onchestus, etc. Its principal river is the Cephis- sus, which, having collected the waters of the Valley of Phocis on the west, enters Bceotia, at the pass of Elateia, on the north, the only entrance into Bceotia,* and empties itself into Lake Copais, famous for its delicious eels. Sub- terraneous passages, thirty stadia in length, convey the superfluous waters of this lake to the sea on the east. The southern portion of Bceotia contained the towns of Thebes, Thespise, and Plataea. Its chief stream is the Asopus, which, rising in Cithaeron, enters the sea near Tanagra. The coast from Locris to Attica, containing the towns of Anthedon, Tanagra, and Oropus, was part of Bceotia, as also a strip of coast along the Corinthian Gulf. Bceotia, being the central part of Greece, and affording plains of some extent, was the scene of most of the great land battles which occur in Grecian history. South-east of Bceotia, and separated from it by the range of Parnes and Cithaeron, runs into the sea the peninsula of Attica. Hills, some rugged, some fruitful, enclosing valleys and small, fertile plains, occupy the greater part of its * When we call Tempe, Thermopylae, and the present one, the only entrances, we mean exclusive of ways over the mountains. 4 HISTORY OF GREECE. surface. The chief hills are Hymettus, Pentelicus, and the promontory of Sunion; the most extensive plains are those of Eleusis, Athens, Brauron, and Marathon. Athens and Eleusis were the only towns of note : the brooks of the Ilissus and Cephissus, at Athens, have obtained a celebrity not proportioned to their magnitude. Opposite the coast of Locris, Bceotia, and Attica, and separated from it by a narrow channel, lies the island of Eubcea, extending, in a length of twelve hundred stadia, from the Maliac Bay to the parallel of Brauron in Attica. It contained the towns of Oreos, Chalcis, Eretria, Carystus, etc. West of Attica, and south of Cithaeron, to the Corinthian Gulf, extends Megaris, consisting of barren hills and a single plain, on which stood the town of Megara, with a port on the Saronic Gulf. Between Helicon and Parnassus, in a valley extending from the Corinthian Gulf to the Epicnemidian Locris, lies Phocis. Its towns were Delphi, renowned for its oracle, Stiris, Panopeus, Hyampolis, Elateia, etc. Parnassus, Pindus, and CEta, enclose Dryopis and Doris to the north-west of Phocis ; and the Western, or Ozolian Locris, with its towns of Amphissa and Naupactus, lies west of Phocis, on the Corinthian Guif. To the west of Locris and Parnassus, and extending northwards to Pindus and the Bay of Ambracia, lies the mountainous, but not unfertile, iEtolia. Its towns were Thermon, Pleuron, Calydon, Chalcis, etc. The river Eve- nus, rising in Mount QEta, runs through it from north to south ; the Achelous, flowing from Pindus, forms its western limit. West of the Achelous, and bounded by it and the Ionian Sea, lies Acarnania. Its towns were Stratos, Alyzia, etc. The peninsula named Peloponnesus lies to the south of Greece, to which it is united by a neck of land named the Isthmus, only thirty-two stadia in its least width. The Oneian Mountains, which run south from Cithaeron, termi- nate and leave a plain at the Isthmus, which extends into Peloponnesus. DESCRIPTION OF GREECE. O A mountainous quadrangle, enclosing a district divided into separate portions by lower ranges, and sending out arms on all sides, occupies the centre of Peloponnesus. The mountains named Erymanthus, Lampe, Aroania, and Cyllene, form the north side of the quadrangle ; its eastern side is composed of Artemision, Parthenion, and Parnon. Those of Boreion, Taygeton, and Lycaeon, form its south side; and Pholoe, with the mountains which unite it to Lycaeon, close it in on the west. The included region is named Arcadia; it consists of mountain ranges, elevated plains, deep valleys, ravines, torrents, lakes, and forests. Its only opening is on the west, where the river Alpheius issues, carrying with it the waters of the Ladon and other streams. Some streams leave it on the east by subterrane- ous passages. The towns of Arcadia were Tegea and Mantineia, (both standing in a plain, the scene of many a hard-fought battle,) Orchomenus, Cleitor, Stymphalus, Megalopolis, etc. North of Arcadia, the mountains gradually sink to the sea. The narrow strip running along the coast opposite ^Etolia and Locris was named Achaia. It contained twelve towns Dyme, Patrae, iEgion, Pellene, etc. To the east of Achaia, on the coast, was the small state of Sicyon; and bounded by them, by Argolis, and Arcadia, lay the equally small states of Phliiis and Cleonae. East of Sicyon, in the plain extending through and from the Isthmus, and along the Saronic Gulf, lies the district of Corinth. The wealthy, luxurious city of that name was built south of the Isthmus, at the foot of the lofty rock named Aero-Corinth, which rises abruptly out of the plain to a height of some hundred feet. The city had two ports, Cenchreae on the Saronic, and Lechaeon on the Corinthian Gulf. A peninsula named Argolis, from its principal town, runs hence in a south-east direction. Its northern side, named the Acte, (Strand,) contained the towns of Epidaurus and Trcezen ; its southern side, those of Argos, Mycenae, Her- 1* 6 HISTORY OF GREECE. mione, etc. It is chiefly composed of ranges of hills and plains along the coast, like the opposite Attica. The Ina- chus and Erasinus, which rise in Arcadia, are its most important streams. South-east and south of Arcadia stretch two mountain ridges, terminating in the promontories of Malea and Tsenaron. They enclose a fertile valley, watered by the pellucid Eurotas, and then receive between them the Laco- nian Bay. This country was named Laconia; its towns were Sparta or Lacedaemon, Amyclae, Gytheion, (Gythium,) on the gulf, Epidaurus Limera on the east coast, etc. West of the mountain limit of Laconia named Taygeton, and extending thence to the sea, lies Messene,* one of the most fertile portions of Greece. Joining Taygeton, and at the head of the Messenian Bay, is the rich plain named Macaria, [Happy,) watered by the Pamisus, which, though short in its course, and unsung by the poets, is one of the fullest and fairest streams of Peloponnesus. North of Macaria, and environed by hills, one of which is the ever-memorable Ithome, extends the plain of Stenyclaros. Westwards, the country becomes more rugged and hilly. West of Arcadia, extending along the sea from Messene to Achaia, lies Elis, renowned as the scene of the Olympian games. It consisted of three parts, Triphylia, Pisatis, and Elis. The plain, named Hollow Elis, lying between the arms of Pholoe and Scollis, is the largest in the peninsula. The chief towns were Elis and Pisa, on the banks of the Alpheius, near which was Olympia, where the games named from it were celebrated. Greece is nearly surrounded by water, the different por- tions of which bore peculiar names. The Ionian Sea washes it on the west, sending in the Corinthian Gulf to separate the western part of Peloponnesus from Hellas Proper. The Cretan Sea succeeds, from which the Myrtoan runs up along the east coast of Peloponnesus, sending in the * So it is named by all, from Homer to Polybius. This last writer, and those who succeeded him, call it Messenia. DESCRIPTION OF GREECE. 7 Bay of Argos and the Saronic Gulf; which last is on the east, what the Corinthian is on the west, and contains the Islands of iEgina, Calauria, and Salamis. The JEgean Sea then spreads from Greece to Asia. Numerous islands stud these seas. In the Ionian, opposite Acarnania and Elis, lie Cephallenia, Ithaca, and Zacynthus. Off Cape Malea, in the Cretan Sea, is the isle of Cythera, south-east of which Crete stretches about thirteen hundred stadia from west to east : the White Mountains, and Ida and Dicte, run along its whole length : its north side is the most fertile. The chief towns were Cydonia, Lyctus, Gortys, or Gortyna, and Cnossus. The islands named Sporades {Scattered) lie north of Crete ; and north-west of these, in the ^Egean, are the Cyc- lades, (Circling,) so named from the manner in which they lie. The chief of these are Andros, Tenos, Delos, Naxos, Paros, Melos, Cythnos, and Ceos. Above Eubcea are Scyros, Sciathos,Peparethos, and others. Lemnos, Thasos, Samo- thrace, and Imbros, lie off the coast of Thrace. Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Cos, Rhodes, and others of less note, are along that of Asia. Each island had a town of its own name, but Lesbos and Rhodes had each more than one town. Greece thus presents to view a land divided by mountains, undulating with hills, now spreading into fertile plains, now contracting into deep vales, watered by streams, of which none are navigable, and many are dry in the heats of sum- mer, while clusters of islands raise their verdant heads from the sea, the apparent remains of a submerged continent. The whole surface of this Hellas, so renowned in history, is (islands included) less by a third than that of the small king- dom of Portugal ; but its extent of sea-coast exceeds that of Italy by a fifth, and is more than double that of France. Forest- and fruit-trees, of various kinds, grew on the hills and plains of Greece. Attica boasted its superior olives : the vine and fig-tree were every where to be seen. Wheat, barley, and other kinds of corn, grew in all parts. Horses, asses, mules, sheep, goats, oxen, and swine, fed on its hills, 8 HISTORY OF GREECE. vales, and plains. Its woods and mountains harbored hares, deer, wild boars, and other game; and wolves and bears enticed the daring hunter. Fish abounded in its seas and lakes. No granite peaks tower in Hellas : its mountains and hills are of lime- and sand-stone, forming spacious caverns, and affording sites in plains for strong castles. The quarries of Pentelicus, Carystus, and Paros, yielded marble in abun- dance to the sculptor and architect. The mines of Eubcea gave copper ; those of Boeotia and Laconia, iron ; silver came from Laurion in Attica, and from the isle of Siphnos, which last also yielded small quantities of gold. Such was Hellas, whose history we are about to relate a land yielding all the necessaries and most of the luxuries of life, of varied surface, of temperate climate, lying within a moderate distance of all the civilized states round the Mediterranean, and inhabited by one of the most highly-en- dowed portions of the human race. CHAPTER II. ORIGINAL STATE OF GREECE. THE PELASGIANS. THE HEROIC AGE. Hellas, in common with the rest of Europe, was peopled by that portion of mankind named the Japhetian, Caucasian, or Indo-German race ; but it is utterly beyond our power to say at what time this event occurred, or what was the con- dition of its first inhabitants. That they were not in the nomadic state, like the Turks and Arabs, is certain, for Greece affords no extensive plains for the herdsman to range with his cattle ; and the theory of the poets and philosophers of its later ages, that their forefathers had been only naked, acorn-eating savages, should be received with great caution : THE PELASGIANS. 9 it rests on no positive evidence, and is manifestly a conse- quence of the autochthonic theory, or that which supposes men to have sprung as it were from the ground like plants, rude, ignorant, and brutish a theory utterly at variance with experience. There are nations of which the original condition is to be learned from the literature of some cultivated people, who had relations of peace or war with them. It is thus that we derive our knowledge of the early state of the in- habitants of Germany, Gaul, and Britain, from the Roman writers. There are other nations whose history is only to be found among themselves : in this last case, it is always mythic, or fabulous, at the commencement, and only be- comes, strictly speaking, true, when it is contemporary with the events which it records. The mythic portion is, howev- er, by no means totally devoid of truth ; but its truth is more frequently that of manners and institutions than of events. The history of Greece is of this last kind ; it is only from the Greeks themselves that we can learn their early history. When, guided by the dim light of tradition, we attempt to penetrate the obscurity of the early ages of Hellas, we see it the abode of one race of men, divided into various tribes. The name usually given to this race (but which was never common to the whole of it) is the Pelasgian. It appears to have been very extensive, occupying not merely Greece and its islands, but the greater part of Italy and Sicily, and the west coast of Asia Minor down to Mycale ; for a similarity of religion, manners, language, and style of architecture, prevailed in all these countries. The Pelasgians, we have reason to suppose, were far removed from the savage state. Their modes of life, it is probable, varied according to the nature of the country ; in the mountainous districts, they were herdsmen and hunters ; in the fertile plains, agriculturists ; fishers, and perhaps tra- ders, on the coasts ; for it is by no means improbable that the Phoenicians exchanged with them, as they did with their successors, the Hellenes, the luxuries of Asia for the 10 HISTORY OF GREECE. produce of their soil. Agriculture was, however, the chief occupation of the Pelasgians, and their name may, without any force, be derived from it : * their favorite abodes seem to have been the plains fertilized by streams which they named argi } and on which they erected strong larissm, or castles, for their security against plunderers. These build- ings were composed of huge masses of rude stone, put to- gether without cement. They are named Cyclopian by later ages, as if built by the imaginary giants called Cyclopes, and are still to be seen in Argolis, Arcadia, Bceotia, and Epirus, as also in Italy, (chiefly in the country of the Her- nicans, J^quians, and Volscians,) and on the coast of Asia Minor and elsewhere. f As an agricultural people is usually under the monarchic, or mingled monarchic and aristocratic form of government, we may suppose such to have been the constitution of the Pelasgic states. Their religion was of a rural character, and they worshipped deities presiding over the various parts of nature, the givers of increase, and preservers of what had come into being, though, perhaps, without bestowing on them any particular names. The offerings made to their gods were, it is most likely, of a bloodless nature; and there seems to be little reason for supposing that the abom- ination of human sacrifices prevailed among the divine or noble ('5rot)| Pelasgians. The people of Latium in Italy appear to have preserved the Pelasgian religion in greatest purity. Besides the Pelasgians, tradition has preserved the names of other tribes who occupied Greece at this time. The Caucones, it was said, dwelt on the west coast of Pelopon- nesus ; the Curetes in JEtolia ; the Carians occupied the * For another and probably an older form of the name was Pelargi, which would come from nllw, to be, or to be engaged on, and aqyos, or ae/qoq, ager, land. t Strabo (ix. 5.) enumerates thirteen places in Europe and Asia named Larissa. t So they are styled by Homer, II. x. 429. Od. xix. 177. THE PELASGIANS. 11 isles of the iEgean ; the Leleges inhabited iEtolia, Bceotia, Locris, Megaris, Eubcea, Laconia, and Messene. Nothing certain, however, can be learned respecting these tribes, or their manners and institutions. In this period, also, tradition, or the fancy of later times, placed the arrival of colonies from Egypt and Asia. Ce- crops, a native of Sai's in the Egyptian Delta, is said to have come to Attica fifteen hundred and fifty years before the Christian era, where he taught the savages, who occupied it, to cultivate corn, and gave them social institutions. Danaiis, a native of Chemnis in Upper Egypt, came to Argos, and the government was resigned to him by the Pelasgian prince who ruled there. Cadmus, at the head of a colony of Phoenicians, landed on the coast of Bceotia, and, proceeding inwards, founded Thebes in a fertile valley a hundred and forty stadia distant from the sea. Finally, Pelops, a Lydian prince, being forced to quit his own country, came with a large treasure to Peloponnesus, and by means of it established the dominion of his family over nearly the whole peninsula. Lelex, from whom the name of the Leleges was derived, is also said to have been an Egyptian. Not a single one of these colonists, we may observe, is mentioned in the Homeric poems, almost our only sure guide for these times ; and scarcely any traces of Egyptian and Asiatic influence are to be discerned in the state of manners which these poems describe. The case of Cecrops is peculiarly liable to suspicion, as no mention whatever of his Egyptian origin occurs for thirteen hundred years after the assigned date of his arrival in Attica ; and the supposi- tion of the Attic population having been originally divided into castes, similar to those of Egypt, is a very unstable one ; and, even allowing its truth, such a division might have taken place without the operation of an Egyptian col- ony. The fact of the Phoenicians having communicated letters to the Greeks (as they undoubtedly did) is no con- vincing proof of their having settled in Boeotia ; and it is 12 HISTORY OF GREECE. rather curious, that Homer, whose poems chiefly celebrate the glories of the house of Pelops, in the time of his grand- sons, should have taken no notice of his Asiatic origin. These, however, are all questions of minor importance in a history of Greece ; for, as we have observed, the influence of these colonies on the national character and institutions is inappreciable, and nowhere is a national character more strongly and distinctly marked than in Hellas. It can hardly be supposed that, peaceful and industrious as the Pelasgians may have been, they could have been favored with a total exemption from the evils of war. Dis- putes must have occasionally arisen among the various communities into which they were divided; and, as the strength of the Cyclopian larissce proves, they must have been exposed to the sudden attacks of freebooters from the land or the sea. But tradition has preserved no memorial of any of these events, and the succeeding period, known under the name of the mythic, heroic, Achaean, or Hellenic period, appears before us under a totally different character. Poetry and tradition now present us with wars and battles, towns besieged, taken, and plundered, naval expeditions to distant regions, numerous exploits of single heroes : in a word, Greece appears as if growing into manhood, and, conscious of inborn strength, making trial of it in various directions. What gave occasion to this change (if change it really was) it is difficult to say. Peculiar circumstances may have given a martial energy to the hitherto pacific character of the agricultural Pelasgians ; or, as tradition told, a tribe from southern Thessaly, of vigorous character and martial habits, may, by conquest or treaty, have acquired the do- minion over the peaceful occupiers of the valleys and plains of the south. According to mythologists, a flood of water once over- spread continental Greece, from which Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha alone escaped. After the flood, they had a son, named Hellen, who was the father of Dorus, iEolus, and THE HEROIC AGE. 1$ Xuthus, which last was the father of Ion and Achaeus. This genealogy, it is probable, is not to be understood liter- ally ; and all we are to collect from it is, that, at the time it was framed, the whole of the people of Greece were com- prised under the name of Hellenes, but were divided into the separate races of Dorians, ^Eolians, AchaBans, and Ioni- ans ; between which last two a more intimate relation pre- vailed, which was expressed by making the personifications of them sons of one father, and distinct from the other two, which were, perhaps, regarded as elder branches of the Hellenic family. By those who maintain that Deucalion, Hellen, and his sons, were real personages, it is said that the country in which they originally dwelt was Phthiotis, in southern Thessaly, where, in a rich and fertile land, the numbers of their subjects rapidly increased; and the princes of the family of Hellen growing, in consequence, more powerful every day, they, partly by conquest, partly by marriage, partly by invitation, became the rulers of most districts of Greece, to whose inhabitants (mostly Pelasgians) they im- parted the Hellenic language, manners, and institutions. It is certainly in favor of this hypothesis that Hellas, originally, it would appear, only the name of a district of Phthiotis, became that of the entire country.* It is against it, that the name Hellenes, in this extent, is unknown to Homer, who calls the Greeks only Argians, Danaans, and Achasans. Laying aside, therefore, all conjectures on this obscure subject, we will take a view of the heroic age of Greece, as it is presented in the mirror of the Homeric poems ; which, though they probably did not receive the form in which they have come down to us till long after the heroic age had passed away, were doubtless framed from poems and traditions that had descended from that age * This does not, however, seem to be of much weight. Italy was at first the name of only the southern portion of the peninsula ; Libya, of a district west of Egypt ; Asia, of the plain about the Cayster j Europe, of the main land of Greece. 2 14 HISTORY OF GREECE. The Achaeans, or the inhabitants of Hellas of those days, appear in these poems as a partially civilized race, skilled in agriculture in all its different branches, cultivating the olive, the vine, and the various kinds of corn, and keeping both large and small cattle. They were of course acquaint- ed with all the necessary arts ; and the smith, the carpenter, and even the goldsmith, are spoken of in the poems. They had wheel-carriages, and consequently roads. They were by no means ignorant of navigation ; and, though their vessels were undecked, they made voyages through all parts of the ^gean to the coast of Asia Minor, and even as far as Sidon and Egypt. To the west, they probably visited Italy and Sicily. Phoenician traders resorted to their ports, where they bartered the manufactures and productions of the East. A martial spirit animated the whole population ; petty warfare was of frequent occurrence ; flocks and herds were carried off; towns were plundered and burnt, women and children dragged away into slavery. In times of peace, or in the intervals of war, music, poetry, and dancing, en- livened the feasts of the Achaean nobles, and the character of the poet (dodder) was held in high estimation. Like almost every other people in a similar state of socie- ty, the Achaeans were divided into two classes or orders, namely, the nobles and the simple freemen. The line of distinction between these orders was drawn clear and sharp, and was not to be passed ; but whence it arose is, in this case, as in most others, impossible for us to determine. As it is to be found in countries in which there are no traces of conquest,* and, as the lower class in Hellas at this time present not the slightest appearance of serfs bound to the soil, we are not justified in assenting to the opinion of those who suppose them to be the Pelasgians reduced to serfship by the victorious Hellenes. * In heathen Scandinavia, for example, which offers so many points of resemblance to Greece in the heroic age. Nowhere is the line of distinction between the chiefs or nobles and the common people more determinate than in the Polynesian Islands ; yet here there is no vestige whatever of conquest. THE HEROIC AGE. 15 The nobles were the owners of the soil, and they proba- bly gave the use of it to the freemen for a fixed share of the produce. The latter dwelt on the land; whence it would appear they derived their appellation of Demos ; * the abode of the noble was usually a castle on an eminence, in the midst of his lands; a portion of the Demos probably resided in cottages at its foot, and this castle and subject village were the origin of the future town. The appearance of Greece in the heroic age, in this as in many other points, presents a strong resemblance to that of Europe in the middle ages ; but the condition of the free Achaean was far preferable to that of the feudal serf or villain. The nobles formed an aristocracy, at the head of which, in every state of Hellas, was a hereditary king, of limited authority. In both king and nobles, high birth or descent from noble ancestors was a requisite condition ; the lineage of the king, in particular, was generally traced up to one of the gods whom the people adored. But birth alone did not suffice to secure respect : strength of body and vigor of mind, skill in martial exercises, and eloquence, justice, and generosity, were required from the prince or noble who claimed obedience. No traces of taxes, and few of tribute, appear in this age . the nobles lived from the produce of their lands, the king from that of his own lands, and of the domain (li^uevog) as- signed him. He had a share of the booty gained in war, as he was always the leader of his people, and gifts were occa- sionally presented him by his subjects. The king and the nobles were the dispensers of justice, which they administered openly in the presence of the people : they likewise deliber- ated before them on affairs of state ; and, though the people had not, strictly speaking, a voice in these matters, their approbation, or the contrary, must, to a certain extent, have had the force of public opinion. Finally, the king officiated as priest in the public sacrifices and worship of the gods. * Jijuog, from dipw^to cultivate, or perhaps from dij, (Doric da,) the same as yij, land. 16 HISTORY OF GREECE. The religion of the Achaeans consisted chiefly in the wor- ship of the Olympian gods deities whose abode was supposed to be the summit of Mount Olympus, whence they extended their power and their superintendence over the entire of Hellas, or perhaps of the earth. They adored them by prayers and sacrifices, by temples and consecrated portions of land. The oracles of Dodona and Delphi were supposed to announce their will to man. The soothsayer (fi&vri;) also discerned the will of the gods in the flight of birds, the flash of lightning, the entrails of beasts, and other signs. The religious system of the Achaeans seems to have developed itself, along with the character of the people, from the more rural one of the Pelasgians. The gods of the Achaeans had all the passions and appetites of men, and the life they led in the palace of Zeus, their sovereign, exactly resembled what was witnessed in the castle of the Achaean prince. The Achaean warriors were led to battle by their king. The common people followed their chiefs on foot, indiffer- ently armed with bows and other weapons. The nobles mostly fought from war-chariots, like the warriors of Asia, Egypt, and Britain. These chariots were two-wheeled, and drawn by two or three horses ; they carried two warriors, both nobles, one to fight, the other to manage the horses. The nobles fought with spears, swords, and bows ; shields, helmets, breastplates, girdles, and greaves, protected them : brass (%, (from an imaginary personage.) THE COLONIES. 25 CHAPTER IV. THE COLONIES. The Dorian migration was the event which scattered Grecian colonies over the coasts of the iEgean, and eventu- ally over those of the Mediterranean and Euxine Seas. As they commenced at the time of the migration, the present is, perhaps, the most suitable place for giving an account of these foreign settlements of the Greeks. Various circumstances will conquer the natural love of the land of his birth in the heart of man. As in the pres- ent case, proud and high-spirited men, who have been overcome, and have lost their lands to invaders, will gladly, rather than become the subjects of the conquerors, try their fortune in distant regions, where their swords may win them possessions equal to those they had lost. Other colonies are indebted for their origin to the spirit of civil discord, in which a beaten or a discontented faction re- solves to quit home, rather than remain witnesses of the triumph and the insolence of their rivals ; such was the ori- gin of some of the later Grecian colonies. Commercial advantages have led to the formation of numerous colonies at all times ; such were the Grecian colonies in the Euxine, those of the Phoenicians, and several in modern times. The maintenance of dominion over a conquered country is also a cause of colonization : the Roman colonies are in- stances, as also are the Latin colonies in Syria at the time of the Crusades, and in some measure those of the Spaniards in America. This last motive is, however, usually united with a commercial one. The difficulty, however, of procuring the necessaries and the comforts of life at home, caused by the increase of population, is the main motive with men to abandon their native land. They feel every day the pressure of want ; and as hope spreads illusive hues over the distant regions 3 d 26 HISTORY OF GREECE. which invite them, the toils and dangers to be undergone are unheeded. So it was in Greece at a later period than that of which we treat at present ; and when the power of colonizing had in a great measure ceased, we shall find the excess of popu- lation manifesting itself in the bands of Grecian mercenary soldiers, and in the barbarous practice of exposing new-born babes.* We are now to take a view of the Grecian colonies on the coast of Asia Minor, and the colonies which proceeded from them. The Achasans, when vanquished by the Dorians, submitted in part to the conquerors. A portion of them threw them- selves on the ^Egialeia, or southern coast of the Corinthian Gulf, which was occupied by a kindred tribe, as it would appear, named the Ionians. In a battle which took place, the Ionians were defeated ; and as, according to the rules of war in those times, they thereby lost their lands, they abandoned their country and retired to Attica, whose in- habitants were of the same race with themselves. The Achaeans remained masters of the country, which took from them the name of Achaia ; and a long period will elapse before we meet them treading the political stage as actors of importance. Another portion of the defeated Achseans wandered farther in quest of settlements. They are said to have departed under the guidance of Penthilus, a younger son of Orestes, and to have made their first stay in Eubcea. Thence proceeding northwards, they made trial of the coast of Thrace ; and finally crossing the Hellespont, took possession of the coast of Asia Minor, from the isle of Cyzicus, in the Propontis, to the river Hermus, the former realm of the Trojan monarchs, whose power their fathers * There is no allusion to this practice in the Homeric poems. The instances of it in the mythic legends are never ascribed to the poverty of the parents. China, the most densely peopled country, is the only one, we believe, in which it prevails at present. THE COLONIES. 27 had overturned. They also occupied the isles of Tenedos and Lesbos. The number of their towns on the main land was twelve, of which the best known are Cyme and Smyrna. These colonists were named ^Eolians, as they spoke the MoYic dialect of the Greek language.* The twelve ^Eolian towns, it is said, but the fact is doubtful, celebrated, as a bond of union, a common festival to Apollo in the grove of Gryneion, near Myrina. The Ionians, who had retired to Attica, finding, in the course of half a century, a want of room and occupation in that light land, resolved to follow the example of the ^Eolians, and pass over to Asia. Accordingly, uniting with Bceotians and others who were desirous of change, they crossed the sea, and attacking the Leleges and Carians, who dwelt south of the Hermus, made themselves masters of the coast from the mouth of that river to Cape Poseidion. They divided themselves, as in their original country, into twelve towns; namely, Phocaea, Clazomenae, Erythrae, Teos, Colophon, Ephesus, Priene, Myus, Lebedus, Miletus, and Chios and Samos, in the isles of the same name. The leaders of the colonists are said to have been for the most part Neleids, or princes of the royal house of Pylos in Pel- oponnesus, who had retired from thence to Attica before the Dorians ; and traces of the royal dignity long remained among the Ionians. The Ionian cities had a common fes- tival, named Panionia, which served as a bond of union among them. It was celebrated in honor of the Helico- nian t Poseidon, at a place named Panionion, on the wooded promontory of Mycale, opposite Samos. About the same time that the Ionians passed over to Asia, the Dorians of Argos, Epidaurus, and Troezen, in conse- quence of dissension, or from want of room, or urged by * The greater number of them, then, must have been Boeotians, as this was their dialect. Boeotians, therefore, are said to have joined the Achseans ; it is more simple, however, to suppose that iEolis was colonized from Bceotia alone. t So named from Helice in Achaia. 28 HISTORY OF GREECE. their adventurous spirit, crossed the sea also, and made themselves masters of the isles of Rhodes and Cos, and founded on the main land Cnidos and Halicarnassus. The three cities of Rhodes, Lindus, Jalysus, and Cameirus, with Cos, Cnidos, and Halicarnassus, formed what was named the Dorian Hexapolis, (Six-towns ;) and they kept a common festival to their national god Apollo on the Triopian prom- ontory. The Dorians also settled on some of the Sporades, and on the isles between Crete and Rhodes. Thus, within one hundred and twenty years after the sup- posed date of the capture of Troy, the Grecian colonies occupied the coast of Asia, from the Hellespont to the borders of Lycia, a length of nearly three hundred English miles. It is interesting to inquire how they were enabled to obtain possession of so much territory. We may suppose that the overthrow of the Trojan power left the region to which the ^Eolians came in a very feeble condition, so that probably no effectual opposition could be made to the settlement of the martial colonists when they landed. We have no information of the manner in which they acquired possession of the country ; most probably it was by treaty. The Ionians would seem to have gained their settlements by the sword from the Carians and Lele- ges, for we are told * that having brought no women with them from Attica, they took to wife the Carian women whose fathers and husbands they had slain. As these Ca- rians and Leleges seem to have formed separate indepen- dent communities, without any firm bond of union among them, it was easy for the Ionians, by attacking them sepa- rately, to subdue them one after the other ; for in such a state of society men are singularly negligent of the ap- proach of danger, and will stand calmly looking on, and * Herod, i. 146. The historian says, that on this account the Ionian women never ate with their husbands, or called them by their names, the wives and daughters of the murdered Carians having bound them- selves by oath not to do so, and transmitted the obligation to their daughters. The tale was perhaps invented to account for the custom. THE COLONIES. 29 perhaps rejoicing at the misfortunes of their neighbors, not perceiving that their own turn will probably come next. As to the interior of the country, there does not appear to have been at that time any state of magnitude in it, and the various tribes which dwelt there may have been indifferent as to who possessed the coast, or even to have been pleased with the arrival of the strangers, who, we know not from what cause, seem to have been more devoted to the arts of peace than to those of war. During a long series of years, the causes of colonization continued to operate. The coasts of Macedonia and Thrace on the iEgean were occupied by Grecian settlements; the Ionians of Miletus sent colonists to the Propontis, then entered the Euxine, and made settlements for the sake of commerce along the coasts of Asia, Colchis, and Scythia. On the west, Sicily and the south coast of Italy were filled with Grecian colonies, chiefly Dorian. In the south, the Isle of Cyprus became Grecian; the jealous Egyptians allowed Greeks to settle in their land, and a flourishing Grecian state was established at Cyrene, on the coast of Libya. The Phocaeans of Ionia, finally, as we shall see hereafter, effected a settlement on the south coast of France, the origin of the modern city of Marseilles. The relation between a Greek colony, founded for the sake of trade, or for disburdening the mother country, and the parent state, appears in a very pleasing light. The col- onists took with them a portion of the sacred fire which burned in the Prytaneion or council-hall of their native city ; they invited the tutelar deities of the state to accept abodes in the new country to which they were going, and erected for them there temples and altars similar to those at home. Deputies regularly repaired from the colonies with offerings to the religious festivals of the mother city; and its citizens, when they appeared at those of the colonies, were treated with the utmost respect and consideration. Finally, if the new state was becoming a colonizer in its turn, it always 3* 30 HISTORY OF GREECE. fetched the leader (&QXVYV T *ls) f the colony from the ori- ginal mother country. In times of war or distress, the parent state and its colonies mutually aided each other. CHAPTER V. THE SPARTAN CONSTITUTION. LYCURGUS. The uncertainty of tradition, and the want of contempo- rary written history, make all inquiries relating to these early ages of Greece extremely fluctuating and uncertain. We thus find it impossible to say positively in what manner, and in what space of time, the Dorian dominion was estab- lished in Peloponnesus, and what was its nature ; and anal- ogy and the view of the institutions existing in the historic times will perhaps be safer guides than the assertions of late historians. The most complete parallel which history presents to the Dorian conquest of Peloponnesus, is that of England by the Normans.* Admitting the truth in the main features of the mythic account of the former, the invaders, in each case about equal in number, were led by princes who as- serted a legal claim to the invaded country ; the invasion in either case was by sea ; one great battle proved decisive, but the conquest was gradual, and a portion of the van- quished people migrated. In the Norman conquest, the original inhabitants were treated at first with mildness; but as the power of the victors became consolidated, their use of the rights of conquest, as they are styled, became more oppressive and unjust. The same was probably the case in Laconia, to which we now confine ourselves. * This, we believe, was first observed by Dr. Arnold. See his Thucydides, i. 650. THE SPARTAN CONSTITUTION. 31 According to the historian Ephorus, the Dorians won the whole land at once, which they divided into six districts, one of which, Sparta, they kept for themselves ; Amyclae they gave to the Achaean Philonomus, who had betrayed the country to them, and over the other four they set viceroys. This, however, is only the assertion of a histo- rian not of the highest character for judgment and accu- racy; and against it is to be observed, that there is very probable evidence that Amyclae, a strong town, only twenty stadia from Sparta, maintained its independence, to a certain extent, till near the time of Lycurgus, and that, in the nar- ratives of late historians, gradual conquests are frequently resolved into one decisive victory.* When we consider the small number of the invading Dorians, it may appear the most probable supposition that in Laconia, Argos, and Messene, they contented themselves at first with a moderate portion of the territory, the prop- erty, perhaps, of those Achaeans who had retired to ^Egialeia and elsewhere. Thus we find the Dorians in Argos, in the plain about that city, which must have been the first they entered on when coming from Arcadia ; those of Messene in the Stenyclarian plain, also next to Arcadia; and those of Laconia at Sparta, and the parts nearest to Arcadia. In the course of time, as their numbers and strength increased, they extended their dominion. The Achaeans of Laconia were called Lacedaemonians t (as distinguished from the Dorians, who were named Spar- tans, ^TTccgnrirat) and Perioecians (//eoi'oixot, Dwellers-round, as Sparta being regarded as the centre, their towns lay * Sir James Mackintosh is, we believe, the first English historian who has drawn attention to the fact, that the Norman conquest of England was gradual. The best account of it will be found in M. Thierry's Histoire de la ConquHe de VAngleterre par les Normands. The English conquest of Ireland also presents some strong points of resemblance to that of the Dorians. t The historians, however, employ this name for all the free inhabit- ants of Laconia, the Spartans included. 32 HISTORY OF GREECE. in the circumference of the territory). They paid the state a tribute apparently a very moderate one for the lands which they possessed. All the arts which were exer- cised in Laconia were in their hands; they wrought the iron-mines of Taygeton ; the Laconian wares, so celebrated throughout Greece, such as drinking-vessels, tables, seats, carriages, shoes, cloaks, swords, helmets, and hardware in general, were manufactured by them. As they dwelt in the seaports, all the foreign trade of the state was in their possession. Though they were a distinct race from the Dorians, with whom they had not the right of intermarriage, and had no share in the government or legislative assem- blies, they were treated by them with consideration, and their Heavy-armed (troops) or Hoplites (ottXitcu) always formed a portion of the Lacedaemonian line of battle. They were not entitled to command in the field ; yet when Sparta began to be a naval power, the command at sea was open to them. They were therefore always on good terms with the ruling Dorians, and we nowhere read of insurrections of the Laconian Pericecians. There was another class of the conquered people, whose lot was a much harder one : these were the Helots (Ei- Xwieg) or serfs. The common story is, that the people of the town of Helos, on the coast, having risen in rebellion against their Dorian lords, were, when overcome, reduced to serfship, and the name was extended to all who after- wards came into the same condition. This, however, is apparently only a bad piece of etymology ; * the Helots were more probably a portion of the Achacans, who, instead of making terms like the others, fought for and lost their liberty; or, supposing that the Achaeans had originally won * To derive EiXwf from"EXoc, says Mailer, violates all the princi- ples of the Greek language. The root is most probably ?2co, to take, of which it is an old perfect participle taken passively. It will thus correspond with dp&f, which comes from dauuw. On the other hand, we are to observe, that the Argive Pericecians were named Orncates from a place Orneae. THE SPARTAN CONSTITUTION. 33 the land like the Dorians, the Helots may have been the descendants of the former inhabitants whom they had re- duced to this state, and who now only made a change of masters. The condition of the Helots did not at all resemble that of the slaves at Athens and Rome, or in the European colonies in America. They answer much more nearly to the villains * of the middle ages, and to the peasants of Russia at the present day. They belong to the state, and not to individuals, (differing in this from those just men- tioned ;) and those who had the use of them as servants, could neither sell them nor give them their freedom. The Helots dwelt in cottages on the lots (xATjoot) or portions of land of the Spartans, and from each they yielded the owner every year eighty-two medimns or bushels of barley, and wine and oil in proportion : the remaining produce was their own, and hence they not unfrequently acquired wealth. It is calculated that there may have been six or seven Helot families on each lot. Both the public and private servants were Helots, and large numbers of them served as light troops in the Spartan armies, and also on board their ships; they were the tutors f of the Spartan boys, and Helot women were the nurses of even the royal families. The way was open to them to freedom, and even to full citizen- ship. Those who had distinguished themselves in the service of the state, particularly in war, were, under the name of Neodamodes, (New-people,) made free, and assigned a piece of land as their own property ; and their number soon equalled that of the Spartans. There was another class of free Helots, named Mothones, (Mdduveg,) or Mo- thacs, (Modaxeg,) who had become so on account of their having been reared up with young Spartans. Their de- * Villani, predial servants or farm-laborers. t Ilaidayojybg does not answer exactly to our word tutor. The pedagogue was a servant who had charge of the boys of a family. X Mo9wv is verna, a house-slave. This proves that the Mothones were not, as has been erroneously supposed, Pericecians. E 34 HISTORY OF GREECE. scendants acquired full citizenship, for some of the most distinguished Spartan commanders of later times, such as Lysander, Callicratidas, and Gylippus, were such.* The lot of the Helots was doubtless not an enviable one ; and, as in our West Indian colonies, there must have been individual cases of cruelty and injustice ; but such could hardly have been the general practice. Late writers, in their hostility to the Spartans, and their desire to produce effect, describe their condition with a ludicrous degree of sensibility. Thus we are told f that they were obliged to wear dogskin caps and sheepskin jackets, (the ordinary dress, by the way, of the country-folk in Greece,) and to perform the meanest offices ; that they were frequently beaten, to keep them in mind that they were slaves; and that death was the fate of any Helot who was distinguished for size and beauty ; nay, his master was punished if he did not slay him. Another late writer | adds, that as a warning to the Spartan youth, the Helots were at times forced by their lords to get drunk and perform unseemly dances. The gross exaggeration of all this is apparent; we have surely no reason to suppose that the Spartans were worse than the nobles of the middle ages, and we find no charges of this nature brought against these as a body. There is some difficulty about the celebrated Crypteia, (xgvrtTsla.) We are told, on the authority of Aristotle, that the Spartan Ephors, when entering into office, always pro- claimed war against the Helots, in order that it might be lawful to murder them ; and that annually the most discreet of the Spartan youth were sent through the country armed with daggers ; and that lying in wait they fell on and slew, by day or by night, such of the Helots as came in their way. On the other hand, Plato || gives a very different view of the * .Elian. V. H. xii. 43. t By Myron, the romantic historian of the Messenian wars. (Athen. xiv.) X Plutarch, Lycurgus 28. Ibid. H Laws, i. 7. vi. 9. (Bekk.) THE SPARTAN CONSTITUTION. do Crypteia, as an institution for teaching the youth of Sparta to bear hardship, and for inspecting the state of the country. Individual cases of atrocity may have given origin to that darker view of it among strangers ; but it is hardly possible to conceive that so numerous a body as the Helots would not have stood on their defence, instead of letting them- selves be thus annually butchered. Suppose, for illustra- tion, the Jamaica planters to have instituted a Crypteia, must they not have long since become the victims of their justly irritated slaves? We now come to the dominant class in Laconia, the descendants of the conquerors, the Spartans, as they were named, from Sparta, the town in which they all dwelt: the camp, perhaps we might call it, for the Dorians have been justly compared to " an army of occupation in a conquered country."* The Dorians were a class of military nobles, owners of land, forbidden to exercise any trade or art, enjoined to practise continually military exercises. At some time, which cannot be assigned with certainty, the Laconian terri- tory had been divided into 9000 large, and 30,000 smaller lots ; the former, which were about two thirds of the whole land, belonged to the Spartans, and, as we have seen, were cultivated for them by the Helots ; the latter were assigned to the Perioecians. Freed thus from the necessity of even overseeing their lands, the Dorians had abundant leisure fox gymnastic exercises, and for thus acquiring the high mili- tary attainments which always distinguished them. A certain fixedness and adherence to ancient manners and customs was distinctive of the Dorian race. Hence the manners of the heroic age, as pourtrayed by Homer, may very frequently be discerned among them. The following are some of the most remarkable of the institutions of Sparta. All the Spartan men ate together at public tables, the * Arnold, Thucydides i. 642. 36 HISTORY OF GREECE. kings not excepted. These meals, usually named Syssities, (owaata,)* i. e. messes, were plain and simple. Each member contributed monthly a certain quantity of barley- meal, wine, cheese, and figs, and a small quantity of money to purchase opson.i Fifteen was the usual number of persons in each syssity, or mess : the members were ad- mitted by ballot, in this manner. The attendant, setting a vessel on his head, went round, and each member of the mess threw into it a bit of bread, which he squeezed in his fingers if he wished to vote against the candidate. Should there be found in the vessel even one such piece, the can- didate was rejected. The little boys sat on stools at their fathers' feet, and got their share of the food ; the elder boys messed in a similar manner to that of the grown men. A chief part of the opson was the celebrated blacK broth (fiilag tyfibg,) which by all accounts was a very unpalatable dish. The office of cook, at Sparta, we may observe, was hereditary in certain families; and as there was therefore no competition, there was no improvement in cookery. The Dorians attached great importance to the rearing and educating of their youth. When a child was born, it was brought to the elders of the House (ytvog, gens) to which its father belonged, by whom it was examined; if found strong and healthy, it was directed to be reared ; if puny or deformed, it was sent away and cast into the caverns of Mount Taygeton, a barbarous practice, no doubt, but one useful in a military state. Till the age of seven, the boys were left with their parents; they were then, those of the royal houses not excepted, placed under public instructors, and passed through various classes, till they were old enough to be admitted among the men. Their chief occupations were gymnastics, and things relating to the military life, to which every Spartan was destined. The Spartans, being of opinion that only strong and * The Spartan term was ipidlria, or ipiXina. t The opson (oxpov) was flesh-meat and fish, and whatever was eaten with bread. THE SPARTAN CONSTITUTION. 37 healthy women could bear healthy children, were equally solicitous about the rearing of their females. They, too, practised gymnastics like the youths, and in their presence. The Spartan women were famous throughout Greece for their beauty and their virtue. Love was felt more strongly and purely at Sparta than elsewhere in Greece; breach of, chastity was nearly unknown ; the married woman was held in honor by her husband, and addressed by the respectful title of Mistress, (dlonoivaj) With respect to the constitution and government of Sparta, we may regard it in one sense as an oligarchy, in another as a democracy, fixing our view on the Dorians alone. It most resembled regal Rome among ancient, Venice among modern states,* but its chiefs were heredi- tary, and not elective. At the head of the Spartan government stood two kings who claimed descent from Hercules, through Procles and Eurysthenes, the sons of Aristodemus.f Their rank and authority were therefore founded in religion, as they de- rived their lineage from heaven. They alone could offer certain sacrifices ; they named the persons sent to consult the Pythian oracle ; when they died, all the people of the land, Spartans, Pericecians, and Helots, repaired to Sparta to mourn the monarch, who was interred with magnificence. In peace the kings presided in the senate, in war they led the armies, and their power beyond the bounds of La- conia was unlimited. The Dorian royalty was evidently a continuation of that of the Heroic ages. The Gerusia (yegovala) or council of elders, the Dorian senate, consisted of twenty-eight men of sixty years or up- * For it was an oligarchy with respect to the Pericecians, a democ- racy among the Dorians themselves, who resembled the Roman Patri- cians and the Venetian Nobili. t The two royal families were named, the one Agids,from Agis, the son of Eurysthenes ; the other Proclids, from Procles, or Eurypontids, from his grandson Eurypon. The Agids were regarded as the supe- rior house. (Herod, vi. 51 .) 4 38 HISTORY OF GREECE. wards, elected by the popular assembly. They held their office for life. In conjunction with the kings, they delibe- rated on all public affairs, and prepared such measures as were to be laid before the people. They decided as judges in all criminal matters, and could punish with degrada- tion (urifila) and death ; as censors, they exercised an over- sight over the morals of the citizens in general. The people, that is, the Spartans or Dorians, possessed the legislative power. As has been already observed, in anti- quity the different races had favorite political numbers. The Dorian number was three, and accordingly the Spar- tans were divided into three tribes, the Hylleans, the Dymans, and the Pamphylans.* Each of these was again divided into ten Obes, (w^ai,) or Phratries; and each obe contained a certain number of Houses, [yifea, gentes,) each composed of a certain number of families. All Spartans who had attained the age of thirty years, and who had not been by law deprived of their rights, were authorized to appear in the popular assembly, ( e AXla } ) which was held every full moon in the open air, at a place west- wards of the town, between the brook named Knakion and the bridge Babyca. Here they decided on peace and war, and other questions of foreign policy, on laws, on the suc- cession to the throne, on changes in the constitution ; elect- ed magistrates, etc. ; exercising, in fact, the supreme political and legislative power. But they could only deliberate on what was laid before them by the government, and the ma- gistrates alone were permitted to speak. The assembly might accept or reject a proposed measure, but could make no alteration in it. The most remarkable magistracy at Sparta was the Ephory, an office the institution of which was by some ascribed to Lycurgus, by others to King Theopompus, but which seems to have been coeval with the state, though with different powers at different times. The five Ephors ( Over- * See the personifications of these tribes above, pp. 19, 20. THE SPARTAN CONSTITUTION. 39 seers) appear to have been originally the magistrates of the five villages (x5,at) which composed the town of Sparta, and appointed to decide in civil matters among their fellow- citizens. In their enlarged capacity, they were a popular magistracy chosen annually by the people out of themselves, without any qualification of wealth or age, bearing some resemblance to the Tribunes at Rome, and becoming, event- ually, in power like the formidable Council of Ten at Venice. The Ephors sat every day in their court, (&qxbTov } ) in the market by the temple of Fear. They were censors of morals, and overseers of education ; all magistrates, (the senators excepted,) and even the kings, were obliged to render them an account of their conduct in office, and they could remove them and punish them even with death ; they directed the police, and had the management of the treasury; they chiefly conducted the foreign relations of the state, and some of them usually accompanied the armies sent out of the country. In fine, as the representatives of the people, like our House of Commons, they possessed, in reality, the supreme power in the state. Political constitutions, like natural ones, are usually of gradual growth ; but when in any country there has been, or is supposed to have been, some eminent legislator, tra- dition is apt to ascribe to him singly what has been the work of many persons and of different times. Thus Rome deduced her institutions from Numa and Servius ; and we ourselves have collected around the person of Alfred the most valuable institutions of our Saxon ancestors. The Servius or Alfred of Sparta was Lycurgus. When we recollect that it was long before the Greeks, though acquainted with letters, began to write, and that Lycurgus, by the testimony of tradition, is placed more than three centuries before that time, we may see at once that his history must be purely a traditional, and in some sort a mythic one. We know how tradition loves to magnify its heroes, and to invent adventures to give interest to their 40 HISTORY OF GREECE. story. Premising therefore these cautions, we proceed to relate the history of the lawgiver of Sparta.* Lycurgus was the younger son of King Eunomus, {Good- law,) or Prytanis, [Presiding.) His elder brother Polydectes dying without children, Lycurgus succeeded; but it ap- pearing that the widow was pregnant, he declared that the royalty belonged to the child if it should be a boy, and that he would only act as guardian. The queen sent secretly to him, offering to destroy the child if he would marry her. Lycurgus feigned assent, and required her to let the babe be born, and he would then dispose of it. When her de- livery was at hand, he placed trusty persons about her, with directions, if the child should prove a male, to bring it to him, wherever he should be. He was sitting at supper with the magistrates when the new-born babe was brought to him. He took him, and, saying, " Spartans, a king is born unto us ! " laid him in the royal seat, and named him Charilaus, (People' s-joy,) to commemorate the joy that was exhibited' at his own moderation and justice. Some time after, finding the queen's family and others united in opposition to him, Lycurgus resolved to leave Sparta and visit foreign countries. He first went to Crete, and there studied the Dorian constitution in its greatest purity ; and he sent to Sparta the lyric poet Thales, whom he met there, that his songs might prepare the way for the legislation he meditated. He thence proceeded to Ionia, to study other men and other manners. Here he became ac- quainted with the poems of Homer, of which he took copies. He is said to have extended his travels to Egypt ; nay, one Spartan writer sends him to Libya, Iberia, and India ! Meantime Lycurgus was greatly missed at home, and re- peated messages were sent desiring his return, for all was in confusion, the royal power being such only in name. He came to Sparta determined to re-model the entire state. His * Herod, i. 65. Plutarch, Lycurgus. LYCURGUS. 41 first care was to go to Delphi and consult the oracle, where the Pythia, or inspired priestess, on seeing him, pronounced him a god rather than a man, and declared the god's ap- proval of his meditated changes. Returning home, he com- municated his plans to the principal people, and secured their aid. He then caused thirty of them to enter the mar- ket (uyogu) one morning in arms, to check the opposers of his views. A slight tumult ensued, and King Charilaus in terror fled to the temple of Athena Chalcioecos (Brass- house *) for safety : he was, however, easily induced to come forth and sanction the measures of reform. Lycurgus's first measure was the institution of the Ge- rusia, or senate. Then, having observed the excessive dis- proportion of landed property, and the consequent evils to the state of the extremes of wealth and poverty, he pre- vailed on the wealthy to surrender their lands, which he di- vided into thirty thousand lots for the Perioecians, and nine thousand for the Spartans. Next he prohibited the use of gold and silver money, and introduced a heavy coinage of iron, tempered in vinegar, so as to be of no value. His ob- ject in this was to banish foreign trade, and all the ministers and incentives of luxury. Proceeding a step further, he in- stituted the Syssities, and then established the regulations regarding marriage, and the rearing and educating of chil- dren, and the discipline of youth. The Crypteia is also as- cribed to him. Having completed the constitution, and seen it for some time in operation, he meditated to give it the utmost sta- bility. He therefore assembled the kings, the senate, and the people, and telling them that he had some measure of still greater importance to bring forward, but would not do so till he had consulted the god, he required from them an oath that they would make no change before his return from Delphi. They readily took the oath. He then re- * So named as being lined with brass plates, like the ancient treasu- ries at Mycense and elsewhere. 4* w 42 HISTORY OF GREECE. paired to the oracle, and, when he had sacrificed and inquired, the god replied that his laws were excellent, and Sparta would be most glorious while she followed them. This re- sponse he sent home, resolving never to return and release the Spartans from their oath. He died in Crete, or Elis, or Cirrha, and in after times the Spartans raised a temple to him as a god. CHAPTER VI. THE MESSENIAN WARS. The early history of the Dorians in Messene is as obscure as that of their brethren in Laconia, and for the same rea- son, the want of letters. It would appear that they coa- lesced more with the people of the land ; and, to judge by the names of their kings which have been transmitted to us, their character was more gentle and rural than that of the contemporary kings of Sparta.* The Dorians established themselves chiefly in the plain of Stenyclaros, bordering on Arcadia, to a daughter of one of whose princes, named Cypselus, Cresphontes was married. Cresphontes, it is said, being disposed to favor the people, (i. e. the Achaeans,) was, with his sons, put to death by his Dorian subjects ; but iEpytus, his youngest son, happening to be with his grandfather in Arcadia, escaped, and when he grew up, he was brought back to Messene by the Arcadians, and by the Dorians of Laconia and Argos, and, having re- covered the throne, he took vengeance on the murderers of his father. iEpytus became so famous that the royal family were named from him the ^Epytids. About three centuries and a half had elapsed since the * Paus. iv. 3, 4. THE MESSENIAN WARS. 43 Dorian conquest, when feud and enmity broke out between the Dorians of Laconia and of Messene. The most probable cause is, that the Spartans, having now fully reduced the Achaeans of Laconia, began to cast a longing eye on the fer- tile plains of Messene : the first occasions of enmity are thus transmitted to us.* On the confines of Laconia and Messene was a temple of Artemis Limnatis ( Of-the-Lake) common to the two na- tions. Hither, when the Spartan maidens repaired one time to keep the festival, they were violated by some young Messenians. The Spartan king, Teleclus, attempting to de- fend them, was slain ; and the maidens, unable to bear dis- grace, put an end to themselves. So said the Spartans. The Messenian account was, that when several of their principal men had visited the temple, Teleclus sent to them some beardless youths, disguised as maidens, and armed with daggers, hoping, by removing them, to conquer the country more easily. The Messenians, discovering his de- sign, slew both himself and the youths ; and the Spartans were so conscious of being in the wrong, that they sought no satisfaction for the murder of Teleclus. Nothing further occurred at this time. In the next gen- eration a new cause of enmity arose. A wealthy Messenian, named Polychares, sent some of his kine to graze on the lands of a Spartan named Euaephnus. The Spartan was to have a share of the produce of the cows; but, not content with this, he secretly sold them to some foreign traders, and then, coming to Polychares, told him that pirates had landed, and carried oif both herds and herdsmen. Just then one of Polychares' slaves, whom Euaephnus had sold with the cattle, having made his escape, came and told the truth ; and Euaephnus, being thus convicted, implored forgiveness, and offered to pay the full value of the cattle if Polychares' son would accompany him home. The youth set out with him ; but, as soon as they were on Laconian ground, the * Pans. iv. 4 24. 44 HISTORY OF GREECE. treacherous Spartan fell on and slew him. Polychares, having vainly sought justice at Sparta, became desperate, and he put to death every Spartan that fell into his hands. The Spartans now sent an embassy, demanding the sur- render of Polychares. The two kings of Messene, Andro- cles and Antiochus, were of opposite opinions, the former wishing to comply with, the latter to reject, the demand of the Spartans. It came to blows, and Androcles and his principal friends fell in the civil conflict ; Antiochus sent to Sparta, offering to submit the matter to the judgment of the Argives, their common kinsmen, or to the court of Areiopagus at Athens. The Spartans made no reply. An- tiochus died, and was succeeded by his son Euphaes ; and then the Spartans, without any declaration of war, having secretly bound themselves by oath never to rest till they were masters of Messene, made an irruption by night into that country, and surprised the town of Amphia, which was situa- ted on a lofty hill near the borders. All the inhabitants were put to the sword, a few only escaping. King Euphaes, having summoned an assembly of the peo- ple to Stenyclaros, advised them not to be cast down, and exhorted them to apply diligently to the practice of arms, and, relying on the gods and the justice of their cause, to pre- pare for the war. Three years passed away in preparation, during which the Spartans plundered, but did not injure, the land which they hoped would be theirs ; and the Messenians made descents on the coast of Laconia, and ravaged the cornfields on Mount Taygeton. At length, when Euphaes thought his people sufficiently prepared, he summoned them to his standard, and led them against the Spartans, followed by a number of servants carrying timber and all things necessary for the construction of a rampart. The armies met in a plain where there was a deep gulf in the earth : the heavy-armed stood separated by it, while the horse and the light-armed engaged each other above it. Meantime the servants raised a rampart round the rear and flanks of the Messenians, and during the night they completed it in front; THE MESSENIAN WARS. 45 the Spartans > seeing their enemies thus secured, deemed it not prudent to remain, and retired home. The following year, the Spartans, shamed by the re- proaches of their old men, invaded Messene, and a battle was fought, which was terminated by night, victory remain- ing with neither side. The Messenians, however, soon found that they were losers, on the whole, as they had spent all their money, their slaves had deserted in great numbers to the enemy, and a contagious disease had broken out in the country. They therefore resolved to abandon all their towns in the plain, and betake them to the nearly impregna- ble hill of Ithome, which stands detached on the confines of the Stenyclarian plain, and there to make their stand. When this was done, they sent to consult the god at Delphi. The Messenian envoy, (deojgbg,) whose name was Tisis, was waylaid, on his return, by the Spartans from Amphia; and as he would not surrender, they wounded and would have slain him, when a voice, they knew not whence, called out, "Let go the oracle-bearer ! " Tisis reached Ithome, and, having delivered the oracle to the king, died of his wounds. Euphaes read the response to the assembled people, and it was found that the god directed that a virgin of the blood of the yEpytids should be sacrificed at night to the sub- terrene deities. If she whose lot was drawn should escape, any other ^Epytid might give his daughter voluntarily. The lot fell on the daughter of Lyciscus; but the soothsayer Epebolus, gained by her father, declared that she was a sup- posititious child, and forbade the sacrifice. Lyciscus then made his escape with his daughter, and fled to Sparta. The people, learning this, were in consternation, but Aristodemus, an iEpytid, came forward and offered to sacrifice his maiden daughter for the good of his country. Her lover for she was betrothed in agony, denied that her father had now the right to dispose of her : then, foiled in this attempt, he boldly asserted that he had enjoyed a husband's privilege, and that she was no longer a maid, and would be ere long a mother. Aristodemus, stung to madness by this imputation 46 HISTORY OF GREECE. on the honor of his house, slew his hapless child with his own hand, and, ripping her open, proved the falsehood of her lover's assertion. Epebolus called for some other iEpytid to give his daughter, for Aristodemus had murdered Jiis, and not sacrificed her to the gods, as directed. The people rushed to take vengeance on the lover, but Euphaes, whose friend he was, declared the oracle fulfilled ; the ^Epytids all joyfully assented ; the assembly was dissolved, and the sacri- ficial feast was held. The Spartans lost spirit when they heard what had been done in Ithome. Six years afterwards, in the thirteenth of the war, the Spartans again invaded Messene, and, in the battle which ensued, King Euphaes, fighting with the utmost heroism, received a mortal wound. As he left no children, the Mes- senians proceeded to elect a king : the candidates were Aristodemus, Cleonnis, and Damis. The soothsayers Epeb- olus and Ophioneus were unanimous in declaring that the dignity of iEpytus should not be given to a man stained with the blood of his own child. The people, however, would have him, and he was chosen king. In his high office he was just and generous, and he held in particular esteem his rivals for the throne. For four years the war was confined to pillaging incur- sions into each other's territory. In the fifth year, the allies on both sides appeared. The Arcadians and some compa- nies of Argives and Sicyonians joined the Messenians ; the Spartans were only aided from Corinth. Aristodemus drew up his army at the foot of Ithome : he gave chief commands to Cleonnis and Damis. His arrangements were judicious, and a signal victory that day crowned the Messenian arms. The Spartans now sent, in their turn, to consult the ora- cle, and the god directed them to employ art as well as force ; for Messene was originally acquired, and would be acquired again, by stratagem. Stratagem was then tried, but in vain ; equally vain were the attempts to detach the allies of the Messenians. In the twentieth year of the war, the Messenians sent to THE MESSENIAN WARS. 47 Delphi, and the god replied that victory would be with those who first placed one hundred tripods round the altar of Zeus Ithomates. As this altar was within the walls of Ithome, they were now certain of success, and, having no brass, they resolved to make the tripods of wood. But a Del- phian had sent the reponses to Sparta. The council there could decide on nothing ; but a man of no note, named CEbalus, formed one hundred tripods of clay, and, putting them in a bag, and taking a hunting-net with him, entered Ithome with the peasants in the evening ; and having, during the night, placed them about the altar, he hastened home to tell what he had done. The Messenians, when they saw the tripods, knew it was an artifice of the enemy ; Aristode- mus, however, bade them be of good cheer, and they set the wooden ones round the altar. But the end of Messene was now at hand, and signs and prodigies came to announce it. The shield fell from the hand of the armed statue of Artemis, and the rams which Aristodemus was about to offer to Zeus Ithomates, dashed their heads against the altar and died. The dogs in the town assembled and kept howling all through the night, and then went off in a body to the Spartan camp. A terrific dream came to appall the firm mind of Aristodemus. He dreamed that he was armed, and going forth to battle ; the entrails of the victims lay on a table before him : suddenly his murdered daughter appeared, clad in black, and, dis- playing her open breast and womb, she cast the entrails on the ground, stripped him of his arms, placed a golden crown on his head, and arrayed him in a white garment. Aristo- demus, on awaking, judged that his death was at hand, for such was the dress in which the Messenians bore to the grave all persons of note. Soon after, seeing no further hopes for his country, and aware that he had to no purpose been the slayer of his own child, he slew himself on her grave. Struck by this event, the Messenians thought on surrender, but nobler sentiments soon prevailed : they chose Damis for their leader, and went forth to battle ; but fortune 48 HISTORY OF GREECE. still was adverse ; their leaders and men of note all fell, and, after sustaining hunger and siege for five months longer, they abandoned Ithome and their country. Thus terminated the first Messenian war, (01. 14, 1.,) after a continuance of twenty years. Such of the Messenians as had jyroxenics * iu Argos, Si- cyon, and Arcadia, retired to these places. Those who re- mained were reduced to the most oppressive state of Helot- ism, being obliged to yield their Spartan lords one half of the annual produce of their lands, and to mourn for their kings like the Helots of Laconia, etc. During thirty-eight years, the Messenians remained in this state of thraldom. A generation had arisen which knew not the evils of the former war, and it was resolved to make an effort for independence. An alliance was secretly formed with the Aigives and Arcadians, and (Ol. -3, 4.) the stand- ard of revolt was raised. The foremost in this movement were the people of Andania, (the district north-east of Steny- claros,) headed by Aristomenes, a valiant youth of the race of the jEpytids, to whom popular tradition assigned a divine origin ; for a god, it was said, had visited the chamber of his mother Nicoteleia, (Yictory-complitfr.) It was at Derae, a place on their own territory, that the Messenians first ventured to meet their oppressors in arms. The battle was indecisive ; at the close of it, the Messenians elected Aristomenes king ; but he declined royalty, satisfied with the office of commander-in-chief. He shortly after- wards secretly entered, Sparta by night, and, next morning, the haughty Dorians saw on the temple of the Chalcirecos a shield bearing the inscription, " Aristomenes to the goddess from the Spartans/' The Spartans, as was their wont, sent to Delphi, and the god directed them to fetch a counsellor from Athens. The Athenians, when applied to, feared to disobey the god, and they wished not to see the power of the Spartans increased ; * The proxeny (inol^.a) was an engagement of mutual hospitality. THE MESSENIAN WARS. 49 they therefore sent a lame poet, of no great repute for wis- dom, named Tyrtaeus. Events showed their expectation that he would be of no advantage to be a vain one. Next year the allies on both sides appeared : Arcadians, Eleians, Argives, and Sicyonians, joined the Messenians ; the Corinthians were with the Spartans. The armies met in the Stenyclarian Plain, at a spot named the Wild-Boar's Monument, (xdrroou a\ua :) the soothsayers, on both sides, urged to battle ; Tyrtseus encouraged the rear of the Spar- tans, the priests of the Great Goddesses (Demeter and the Kora) that of the Messenians, to vigorous exertion. Aris- tomenes, at the head of eighty picked men of his own age, rushed against the Spartan king Anaxander : the contest was long and bloody ; at length the Spartans fled ; the Mes- senian band attacked and routed the enemy wherever they made a stand. The soothsayer Theocles had warned Aris- tomenes not to pass a wild pear-tree on which the Dioscuri * were sitting, the invisible spectators of the conflict ; but, in the ardor of pursuit, he neglected the warning ; at the tree he dropped his shield, which the Twins conveyed away un- seen, and while he sought it the remaining foes escaped. The hero came victorious back to Andania, and the women strewed ribbons and flowers before him, while they sang verses celebrating his glorious deeds. Anxious to recover his shield, Aristomenes went to Del- phi ; and, by the directions of the Pythia, he visited the cavern of Trophonius in Lebadeia. Here he found his buckler, and, returning home, placed himself at the head of his chosen band, and one evening took and plundered the town of Pharae in Laconia. Soon after he penetrated by night into Sparta itself, but was repelled by an apparition of Helena and the Dioscuri. He then lay in wait for the Spartan damsels, who were dancing in honor of Artemis at Caryae, and carried off those of highest rank among them. At night he halted in a village of Messene ; and here some of his * The Twin-gods Castor and Pollux. 5 G 50 HISTORY OF GREECE. comrades, having drunk too much, went to offer violence to their captives. Finding remonstrance vain, the hero slew the most violent with his own hand, and he returned the virgins uninjured to their parents on receiving the usual ransom. He next made an attempt on iEgila, where the women were celebrating the feast of Demeter ; but they defended themselves so well with knives and spits, that they drove off the Messenians, and made Aristomenes himself a prisoner. But the priestess of the goddess, who loved him, gave him his liberty that night, and asserted to the Spartans that he had contrived to burn his bonds. In the third year, the Messenians, strongly aided by the Arcadians, met their oppressors at a place named the Great Ditch. The Spartans, dubious of victory, had recourse to corruption ; they bribed Aristocrates, the commander of the Arcadians, and he induced his troops to fly as the engage- ment was commencing ; the Spartans then easily surrounded the Messenians, and, in spite of all the efforts of Aristom- enes and his devoted band, a total defeat was the lot of the patriots. Assembling those who had escaped on this fatal day, the Messenian hero advised to abandon Andania and all other towns, and make their last stand at Eira, a mountain north- west of Stenyclaros, on the river Neda, and not far from the sea, whence they might get supplies. Thither they accord- ingly retired, followed by their persevering foes. Aided by the people of Pylos and Mothone, the Messenians ravaged alike by sea their own country and Laconia ; and Aristom- enes, having augmented his chosen band to three hundred men, did such mischief by plundering excursions, that the Spartans made a decree to let all the lands within his reach lie waste. Famine ensued at Sparta, and then rose a se- dition, which was stilled by the strains of Tyrtseus. Late one evening, Aristomenes set out with his trusty band, and ere day he reached the town of Amyclae, near Sparta, which he took and plundered. He retired before aid THE MESSENIAN WARS. 51 could arrive from Sparta; but, continuing to scour the country, he fell in with a large body of the Spartans, who were in pursuit of him. Numbers overwhelmed the brave Mes- senians ; and fifty of them, with their leader, who was stunned by the blow of a stone on the head, were made prisoners. On reaching Sparta, they were thrown into the pit called the Kaias : all perished in the fall but Aristomenes, whom, as the legend told, an eagle supported on his wings, and bore safely to the bottom.* Awaiting his death from hunger, he lay patiently enveloped in his cloak ; on the third day, hear- ing a noise, he uncovered his face, and saw a fox come to prey on the bodies ; he caught the animal by the tail when it came near him, and ran as it ran till he saw the light from the hole through which it used to enter the cavern, t This hole he widened sufficiently to admit him to pass through, and soon the Spartans learned, to their dismay, that Aristomenes was once more at Eira. A body of Corinthians, coming to the aid of the Spartans before Eira, were fallen on in the night, and cut to pieces by Aristomenes, who now offered, for the second time, a heca- tomphony f to Zeus Ithomates. As the Hyacinthia was at hand, the Spartans made a truce for forty days to celebrate the festival, and went home. Aristomenes came out of Eira, relying on the truce ; but he was waylaid and seized by seven Cretan archers in the pay of the Spartans : they bound him with their bowstrings: two of them ran with the joyful news to Sparta ; the rest, as it was evening, took him to a cottage, in which were dwelling only a widow and her daughter. This maiden had, the night before, had a dream, in which she saw wolves bringing her a lion bound, without * It is ludicrous to see the manner in which Gillies endeavors to extract truth out of this evident fiction. He says, the shield of Aris- tomenes, on which was the figure of an eagle, broke his fall, etc. never once thinking of the improbability of such a circumstance. t The fox was the emblem of Messene, (see above, p. 21,) hence the legend. t A sacrifice offered for having slain a hundred enemies. 52 HISTORY OF GREECE. claws : she had in her dream loosed the lion and given him claws, and he had torn the wolves; she now saw its mean- ing ; she made the Cretans drunk, cut the captive's bonds with one of their swords, and with it he then slew them all. To reward the maiden, Aristomenes united her in marriage with his son Gorgos. The eleventh year of the siege was come. Aristomenes and the soothsayer Theoclus had, after the defeat of the Great Ditch, gone to Delphi, where the Pythia told them that Messene would be lost when the buck-goat [rgdyog) drank of the Neda. They thought only of the animal : the god meant differently ; for, in this year, as Theoclus was walking along the river, he saw a wild fig-tree, which the Messenians call Buck-goat, (rQ&yog,) growing so as to dip its leaves in the water : he secretly brought his friend to the spot, and pointed out the tree. Aristomenes saw that the end of Messene was at hand ; he therefore took the sacred pledge on which the hopes of its recovery rested, and when night came, he set out and buried it in the most desert part of the Ithome. A runaway slave of a Spartan of rank, who carried on an intrigue with a Messenian woman, used to visit her when her husband was on guard at the Acropolis of Eira. One night it rained tremendously, and as Aristomenes was confined by a wound, and there seemed no danger of the Spartans making an attempt in such weather, the guards resolved to go home to their houses. The adulteress had her lover with her when her husband came : she concealed him, and he heard the Messenian tell her how they had left the citadel unguarded : he stole out, and ran to the Spartan camp, where his master happened to have the chief com- mand. The occasion was not to be lost : heedless of the storm, the Spartans set forth, and occupied the deserted citadel: a terrific howling set up by the dogs told the Messenians that the enemies were within, and they flew to arms. During the night, nothing was done on either side. With day, Aristomenes and Theoclus, though they knew THE MESSENIAN WARS. 53 all was over, exhorting the Messenians to do valiantly, led them on ; the women also, bearing arms, resolved to die rather than be slaves. The rain still poured, the thunder roared, and lightning flamed; the Messenians fought un- dismayed; the conflict was sustained day and night. On the third day, Theoclus called to Aristomenes to fight no longer in vain, but to save himself and the Messenians; then, rushing amid the foe, he cried out that Messene would not always be theirs, and fell covered with wounds. Aris- tomenes recalled his men from the fight, and directed them to form in a body, placing the women and children in the centre : he advanced at their head, intimating that he de- manded a passage : the Spartans, deeming it imprudent to drive them to despair, made way, and the last champions of independence abandoned Eira, (01. 28, 1.) The exiles directed their steps toward Arcadia. At Mount Lycaeon they found an abundant supply of food and raiment provided for them by the Arcadians, who had only been prevented from going to their aid by the treachery of Aristocrates. They offered to divide their lands and houses with them. Shortly after, Aristomenes selected five hun- dred chosen Messenians, and proposed in the assembly of the Arcadians to fall with these on the town of Sparta, now without defenders : if they succeeded, they might get their own country again in exchange ; if they failed, they would die the death of heroes. The assembly approved, and three hundred Arcadians offered to join him ; but the royal traitor sent intelligence to the Spartan king. Some of the Arca- dians, who suspected him, waylaid his messenger on his return, and found on him a letter thanking Aristocrates for his services. The traitor was stoned to death, and his body cast out of the land, unburied. The people of Pylos and Mothone also quitted their country. Getting on shipboard, they came to the port of Cyllene in Elis, whence they sent to the Messenian exiles, inviting them to come and join them in forming a colony. They joyfully consented : some were for seizing the Isle of 5* % 54 HISTORY OF GREECE. Zacynthus, and thence harassing the Spartans; others for going to Sardinia. Meantime, envoys came from Anaxilas, prince of the Dorian colony at Rhegion in Italy, inviting them to come and aid him against the Zanclaeans of Sicily. They went, conquered the Zanclaeans, then coalesced with them, and named the town, instead of Zancle, Messana, a name which, slightly altered, it still retains. Aristomenes, still hoping to be able to do injury to the Spartans, would not join the colony. Some time after, Damagetes, prince of Jalysus in Rhodes, consulting the oracle, was directed to marry the daughter of the bravest man in Greece. As none could dispute the palm with the hero of Messene, the Rhodian prince became his son-in-law, and the illustrious warrior ended his days in tranquillity at Rhodes. Those who are versed in mythic narrative, will at once discern the semi-mythic character of these Messenian wars, which are only less marvellous than those of Thebes and Troy, because the gods do not personally and visibly appear in them.* The details are not given by Herodotus ; they are only to be found in the work of Pausanias, a late writer, who derived them from the poem of Rhianus, and the ro- mantic narrative of Myron, both of whom wrote long after the Messenians had been restored to their country,! (01. 102, 3,) from the various traditions which remained of the ancient heroes and ancient misfortunes of Messene. The main facts only can therefore be regarded as truth ; the de- tails are mostly to be viewed as fiction. After the conquest of Messene the power of the Spartans was by far the greatest in Peloponnesus. They still, how- ever, were unable to make any impression on Arcadia; and a long course of warfare with their Arcadian neighbors of Tegea, whose hoplites nearly equalled their own, termi- nated in the Tegeans acknowledging their supremacy in * Yet even this feature is not totally absent. See p. 48. t Rhianus flourished Ol. 140 : the age of Myron is unknown. EARLY STATE OF ATTICA. 55 military confederations, and being assigned, in return, the second place in the combined armies.* With their neighbors of Argos the Spartans had also frequent warfare. The Dorians of Argos, who seem to have made their first settlement at the head of the Argolic Gulf, extended their conquests southwards along the sea-coast; and the district round Cynuria, reaching to Cape Malea, acknowledged their authority. When the Spartans became sufficiently strong, they coveted this region, and gradually succeeded in acquiring possession of it. CHAPTER VII. EARLY STATE OF ATTICA. CRISSiEAN WAR. LEGISLATION OF SOLON. We have seen that when the Ionians abandoned Pelopon- nesus, they retired to Attica. In like manner, the royal house of the Neleids, descendants of Neleus, father of Nes- tor, and prince of Pylos in Messene, when forced to yield to the Dorians, sought a refuge in this hospitable land. The Athenians were at that time, it is said, at war with the Boeotians, and the Boeotian prince offered to decide the dispute by a single combat between himself and the Athe- nian monarch. The combat was declined by Thymcetas, the Theseid, who then governed Athens: Melanthus, the exiled Neleid, offered to fight in his stead ; his proffer was accepted ; the Boeotian prince fell beneath his arm, the de- generate descendant of Theseus was deposed, and his royal dignity given to the valiant stranger. The throne of Athens was occupied by Codrus, the son * Herod, i. 6668. 56 HISTORY OF GREECE. of Melanthus, at the time when the Dorians of Pelopon- nesus endeavored to extend their dominion beyond the Isthmus. They had pitched their camp on the Uissus, near the town of Athens. But a response of the oracle made it dubious what the result would be ; for it had promised the victory only on condition of not violating the person of the Athenian king. Codrus, learning this, disguised himself as a peasant, and entered the Dorian camp. Here he picked a quarrel with a soldier, and fell by his hand : an Athenian herald soon appeared to demand the body of their king. The Dorians, now hopeless of success, retired, limiting their conquests to Megaris; and the Athenians, to honor the self-devotion of Codrus, decreed that none should bear the royal title again in Attica. Archon {Prince) was the name under which his son Medon (Ruler) was appointed to suc- ceed : his authority was, however, for life. Others of the sons of Codrus placed themselves at the head of the colo- nies which were at this time going over to Asia. It is scarcely necessary to point out the air of fable which these narratives present.* Their date alone, so long ante- rior to the time in which history was first written in Greece, would suffice to throw doubt on them. The facts which they contain seem to be only these ; the Neleids came to Attica, though it does not follow that they obtained the royal authority ; and monarchy was abolished there at an early period. Like all the rest of Greece, Attica appears to have origi- nally consisted of a number of small communities, inde- pendent of each other, each with its prince and its body of nobles or land-owners. Tradition spoke of a fourfold di- vision of the population, into Geleontes or Teleontes, Hop- lites, iEgicoreis, and Argadeis or Ergadeis, which some suppose to have been castes, like those of Egypt and India, and to have been established by the Egyptian Cecrops ; by * They are not to be found in Herodotus, but are related, after Ephorus chiefly, by Pausanias, Justin, and other late writers. EARLY STATE OF ATTICA. 57 others they are regarded as merely local phyles, (cpvlul,) or tribes: the Argadeis being the cultivators of the plains and vales of the interior, the ^Egicoreis the goatherds of the hills, the Hoplites the military, perhaps Ionian,* pos- sessors of the plain of Athens, and the Teleontes the sacer- dotal owners of Eleusis and its district. A further division of these phyles into the orders of the Eupatrids, (Well-born,) Geomores or Thetes, (Cultivator s,f) and Demiurges, (Workmen,) is also mentioned. This ac- cords with the divisions of society presented by the Ho- meric poems ; the Eupatrids being the owners of the soil, the Geomores the tenants, and the Demiurges the class of artisans. The phyles were also divided into Phratries (cpouTQlui) and Houses, (jivB,a t ) answering to the curia and gentes of the Roman patricians. Each phyle contained three phratries, each phratry thirty houses, and each house thirty families. A union of the phyles into one state is ascribed to a prince named Theseus, of Ionian descent, from the opposite coast of the Argolic Acte. Whether Theseus be a real prince, or, as his name might seem to denote, \ a purely mythic person, is a matter of little consequence. His name stands for an order of things, the union of Attica under one head, with the town of Athens for its capital. We are hence- forth to view the Eupatrids of the four phyles as forming one body, actuated by a common interest, and the inferior classes (there being as yet no town-population of any mag- nitude) yielding a willing obedience to those whom they regarded as their natural superiors. The struggle was be- tween the nobles and the prince ; and, as we have seen, the first advantage which they gained was the transforming him into an accountable magistrate, (like the Doge of Venice,) * It was a tradition that Ion, the son of Xuthus, (see above, p. 12,) came to Attica, and was the author of this division of the people. t There was probably among these a good number of small propri- etors. X Otjoevg, from -Situ, t/S;mj, to set, arrange, regulate. H 58 HISTORY OF GREECE. the office, however, being for life, and confined to the family of the Codrids and their relatives the Alcmaeonids. The chronologists place the death of Codrus and this change in the year 1068 B. C. ; and three hundred and six- teen years afterwards (Ol. 7, 1,) the office of archon was limited to ten years, but it was still confined to the Co- drids and Alcmaeonids. Hippomenes, the fourth of these magistrates, having, it is said, put his daughter to a cruel death for breach of chastity, the Eupatrids seized the op- portunity of extending their authority ; and, as it would appear, they opened the office of archon to other families besides the former two. At length, (Ol. 24, 2,) they ad- vanced still further ; they reduced the archontate to one year, and, instead of one archon, there were nine annually elected by and out of the body of the Eupatrids. Of these, the first was named the Archon Eponymus, (Name-giving,) as the year was named from him ; the second the Basileus, (King,) whose duty it was to perform such sacrifices as had been performed by the kings ; the third was the Polemarch, or general ; the remaining six were named Thesmothetes, or judges ; they presided in the courts, and from their decision there was no appeal. The Eupatrids, having thus succeeded in abolishing the monarchy, and drawing all power to themselves, had con- verted the constitution into an aristocracy, verging on oli- garchy. Their treatment of the inferior classes was, as is almost always the case in such a state of things, harsh and oppressive. Want of documents prevents our being able to say with certainty what the condition of the latter was at this time ; but it is probable that, in consequence of the con- nection with the flourishing colonies of Ionia, Athens now began to have a considerable trade : for this and for other purposes money was borrowed from the Eupatrids : the Geomores of the country may have gotten into their debt also from various causes. The law of debt was cruel, as the insolvent debtor and his family might be made slaves, and even sold out of the country; and, as the courts of law EARLY STATE OF ATTICA. 59 were in the hands of the Eupatrids, justice was not to be always had : altogether, the state of things very much re- sembled that at Rome after the abolition of royalty. An attempt was made (01. 39, 1) to obviate the evils of a want of fixed rules, and Draco, the archon of that year, introduced laws for that purpose. But as he did not attempt to remedy the defects of the constitution, and his laws were so immoderately severe as to defeat their own object, the attempt was a complete failure. Fortunately for mankind, those who are possessed of power have not always the wisdom to preserve it by concord among themselves. The Attic nobles, like those of the Italian cities of the middle ages, had their feuds and ani- mosities. Cylon, one of their number, had married the daughter of Theagenes, the tyrant or prince of Megara ; and in reliance on his aid, and that of his own party at home, he resolved to attempt to gain similar power. He therefore (Ol. 42, 1) suddenly seized on the Acropolis or citadel of Athens; but the other Eupatrids would not tamely yield him the supreme authority. They hastened from all parts at the head of their tenants, and besieged him in the Acrop- olis. It would appear that he had been able to lay in a sufficient supply of provisions; for, wearied out with the length of the siege, the greater part of them went home, leaving the archons to continue the blockade. Cylon and his brother contrived to escape ; the remainder, when seve- ral of them had died of hunger, sat as suppliants at the altar of the goddess Athena. Megacles the Alcmaeonid, one of the archons, persuaded them to leave it, promising them justice. They fastened a cord to the altar, and went down, still holding it in their hands ; but the cord happening to break as they came to the temple of the Erinnyes, the archons, crying out that the goddess gave them up, fell on and slaughtered them. A bitter feud now prevailed between the two parties ; and at length the wiser and more prudent people interfering, the Alcmseonids were induced to submit their cause to justice, and thirty of them were sentenced to 60 HISTORY OF GREECE. banishment; the bones of such as had died were dug up and cast out of the land, that it might be purified from the guilt of blood.* The Megarians, who had aided the party of Cylon, re- covered, during the feud, their port of Nisaea and the Isle of Salamis, of which the Athenians had had possession. The wrath of Heaven seemed also, to the apprehension of the people, to be declared against their involuntary guilt ; and Epimenides, a sage and soothsayer from Crete, was invited to come and purify the city. Epimenides, the friend of Solon, and those who meditated a removal of the political, the true evils of the country, sought to calm the terrors of superstition, and to pave the way for the intended legisla- tion of his friend, by inspiring a desire for order and justice.! Solon, the author of the new legislation, was a Codrid by descent; and his character, in which moderation and the love of justice were conspicuous traits, qualified him beyond all men of his time for the office of a lawgiver. J We must here relate the events in which he had previously borne a part. The Athenians, it is said, had suffered so much in their contests with the Megarians for the recovery of the Isle of Salamis, that they at length made a law imposing the pen- alty of death on any one who should advise the renewal of war on account of it. Solon was indignant at the dishonor of his country ; and, to evade the law, he caused a report to be spread that he was out of his mind. He meantime kept close at home, occupying himself with the composition of a poem on Salamis. When it was completed, he suddenly came into the market, and, mounting the herald's stone, be- gan to sing it. The people assembled round him ; his * Herod, v. 71. Plut. Solon, 12. t Plut. Solon. This writer's life of the legislator is the chief authority for his history and laws. t The maxim "Too much of nothing" (Mij&v ayav) was by some ascribed to Solon ; but the majority of authorities give it to Cheilon the Lacedaemonian. CRISS^AN WAR. 61 friends, as had of course been arranged, were rapturous in their applause; the enthusiasm spread, the law was repealed, war declared, and by a stratagem of Solon's the island taken. The matter being referred to five Spartan arbitra- tors, they decided in favor of the Athenians, and adjudged them the island. The Crissaeans, who inhabited the fertile plain of Phocis, extending from Delphi to the sea, naturally derived great advantage from the concourse of pilgrims who disembarked in their ports to repair to the oracle. As trade was in Greece, as in the East, connected with religion, merchants were in the habit of resorting to Delphi with their wares ; and the Crissaeans were not long without imposing duties on their goods. These duties they gradually augmented, and then proceeded to levy a tax on the pilgrims. The Del- phians, finding the number of pilgrims diminishing, com- plained of this infraction of the decree of the Amphictyons, who had declared that the oracle should be accessible to all without expense. The Crissaeans entered the Delphian ter- ritory in arms, and laid it waste ; and, not content with this injustice, they sacrilegiously plundered the temple and slaughtered the inhabitants of Delphi. The Amphictyons were now required to interfere ; but the Crissaeans, it would appear, were not without friends in that assembly ; and it was with difficulty that Solon, who was one of the Athenian deputies, induced them to declare war. The war, however, was feebly carried on ; the Crissaeans, who now had wealth, probably got soldiers and friends with ease, and the Crissaean war, like that of Troy, lasted ten years. Like it, too, it ended in the slaughter or slavery of the vanquished people; and the whole Crissaean territory was, in accordance with Solon's interpretation of a response of the oracle, consecra- ted to the god, and a curse pronounced on whoever should presume to cultivate it. It was during the time of the Crissaean war that Solon was called on to legislate for his country. The want of con- temporary history leaves us very much in the dark as to the 6 62 HISTORY OF GREECE. real state of things in Attica at this time ; but it appears that the number of the inferior orders of the people engaged in agriculture and commerce must have been considerable,* and that the distress to which they were reduced by their debts to the nobles had rendered them desperate. The no- bles, on the other hand, were weakened by feuds among themselves ; and they probably were wise enough to discern that it was better to give way in time, and yield up a part of their privileges, than see themselves deprived of the whole by the establishment of a tyranny. Solon, being archon, (Ol. 46, 3,) and invested with abso- lute powers for the purpose, reformed the state with the con- sent of all parties. He adhered as closely as was possible to the original forms of the constitution, reforming, not sub- verting, improving what was good, cutting away what was evil. His first measure was the relief of the debtors, which was effected by his seisachthy, (osiaaxdela,) or act of disburden- ment, of which, according to some authorities, the provisions were, the reduction of the rate of interest, and the raising the nominal value of money, (making the mina be counted at 100, instead of its previous value, 73 drachmas;) but others maintained that the seisachthy was a literal abolition of all outstanding debts and securities, answering to the tabula nova of the Romans. A necessary consequence of this measure was, that the lands of the small proprietors, which had been pledged, were restored unencumbered to their own- ers. The practice of reducing debtors to slavery was abol- ished ; those who were in that state were released ; those who had been sold out of the country were repurchased and set at liberty. Solon then restored to the enjoyment of their civic rights * It is probable that the trade of Athens was very extensive at this time. There was a corn trade from the Euxine, timber for ship-building was imported from Macedonia, and the Chersonese was colonized. The commercial population of Athens must, therefore, have been nu- merous. LEGISLATION OF SOLON. 63 all the citizens who had fallen into atimy, * (drifila,) except- ing only those who had been found guilty of crimes against the state. Every Athenian citizen who was not made atlmous anew, was now authorized to appear and to speak in the public assembly, and to be a juror in the courts of jus- tice. The different ages at which these rights might be ex- ercised were determined by law. Abolishing the exclusive privileges of the Eupatrids, Solon divided the citizens into four classes, regulated by property. The first class contained all those whose lands yielded them annually five hundred measures and upwards of solid or liquid produce ; hence they were called Pentacosiomedim- nians, f (nevTaxoviofiedifivoi, ;) the archontate and other great offices in the state, and the chief commands in war, belonged to them. The second class were those whose income was three hundred measures and upwards, and who were able to keep a war-horse: they were named Horsemen ^In7islg.)\ The third class consisted of those whose income was one hundred and fifty measures and upwards : they were named Zeugites, (Zsuylrat,) as keeping a yoke (^evyog) of plough- cattle. These last two classes formed the main strength of the army, and were eligible to be members of the Council of Four Hundred. The fourth class, named Thetes, ( 0rjrej,) whose income fell short of one hundred and fifty medimns, were not required to serve in war, and could hold no office ; their only privileges were those of serving on juries and ap- pearing in the assemblies. Thus we see Solon changed the aristocracy of birth into a timocracy, (i^oxodrem,) or one of wealth. The four * Mirny is incapacity of honor or office. The chief causes of atirny were, debt to the state, neglect of parents, waste of property, immoral life, cowardice, false witness, etc. The atimous could not appear in the assembly, sit as jurors, or be present at the public sacrifices. In the present case, the far greater part of the atimous were so on account of debt. t The Attic medimnus nearly answers to the English bushel. X Usually rendered Knights. This word, however, suggests ideas which are too modern. 64 HISTORY OF GREECE. phyles and their subdivisions were left untouched, and the Eupatrids, as the persons of greatest wealth in general, being in the upper classes, had still all the chief offices in their hands ; the priesthoods also were, and long continued to be, their exclusive possession. But noble birth ceased to be a thing needful, and even a Thete might now look for- ward to attaining to some importance in the state. Nowhere is Solon's political wisdom more apparent than in his measures for checking precipitation in decision and action the great fault of the Athenian character. It was necessary, it appears, to give the people the legislative power, and the task of the legislator was to regulate it. For this purpose he established a series of councils. The first was the Senate, (fiovXri,) or Council of Four Hundred. It was composed of four hundred members of the first three classes, one hundred from each phyle. They were elected annually by lot, being thirty years of age, and having stood the requisite previous examination. The chief business of this council was to consider and propose the matters which were to be brought before the popular assem- bly. The members, at the end of the year, had to render an account of their conduct while in office. The popular assembly (ixxXrjola) was regularly held on certain days in each month. Every citizen was required to attend, and every one might speak on the subjects sent to it by the senate. The voting was usually by a show of hands, sometimes by ballot. The matters brought before the assembly were questions of peace, war, alliance, embas- sies, laws, elections of magistrates, matters of finance, etc. But it was not enough for a measure to pass the senate and assembly ; the cautious lawgiver had provided a further restraint. Every year, out of the whole number of the Ec- clesiasts, or members of the assembly, six thousand of those who had attained the age of thirty years were sworn in as members of the Helioea, (^taf,)* to act as judges in the * This word is of common origin with the Spartan uXia : both are derived from aliw, uXitw, to assemble. TIME OF THE TYRANTS. 65 several courts into which it was divided. Most matters of importance, after passing the assembly, had to undergo a scrutiny in a court of the Heliaea : the magistrates laid these matters before the courts of the Heliaea, after having pre- viously considered them. The Heliasts were still members of the assembly, and they were not, like the senators, re- quired to give an account of their conduct in office. The court of Areiopagus, (Ares' Hill,) though not insti- tuted by Solon, was invested by him with a greater degree of importance than it had previously enjoyed. Its members were those who had served the office of archon with credit. It took cognizance of the moral conduct of the citizens, of matters relating to religion and public worship ; and it judged in cases of murder, and of false witness and bribery, etc. Solon evidently intended it to be the great moral prin- ciple of the state, to stem the tide of corruption which he possibly foresaw. To secure good public officers, Solon ordained that each person, before he entered on any office, should be examined by the senate and a court of the Heliaea as to his being a genuine citizen, of sufficient property, of perfect mind and body, whether he discharged his duties to the gods and his parents, paid his taxes, and had served in war. This was called the Dokimasy, (SovA^acrta.) During, and at the end of, his office, he was subject to another trial, the Euthyne, (8tdivr] } ) respecting the mode in which he exercised it. m CHAPTER VIII. TIME OP THE TYRANTS. PEISISTRATUS AND HIS SONS. LEGISLATION OF CLEISTHENES. WAR OF SPARTA AND ARGOS. Solon, having thus given the Athenians, not the best of possible constitutions, but, as he himself said, the best they 6* i 66 HISTORY OF GREECE. could bear, resolved to quit his country for a time. Like Lycurgus, he made the senate and the people swear to make no alteration in the laws for the space of ten years, hoping that by that time they would have become perfectly inured to the new constitution, and have lost all desire of change. He then departed, and visited Cyprus and Egypt ; thence repaired to Ionia ; and finally, it is said, passed some time at the court of Croesus, king of Lydia, at that time the resort of the curious and the ingenious among the Greeks. The laws of Solon were, however, too just and equitable to give satisfaction to all parties. The lower orders had looked forward to a total abolition of debts, and a new di- vision of the land, of which each should have a share : the Eupatrids did not consider the advantages secured to them a sufficient compensation for the surrender of their ancient privileges, and of so much of their property. The result of these discontents was the establishment of a tyranny. (01. 55.) Here we must pause, and go back a little, to show the ori- gin and true nature of the tyrannies of these early times. The word tyrant (tvqocvvoq) originally signified merely ruler, * and had no bad meaning attached to it. A tyrant was generally the head of the popular party in the struggle against the aristocracy, to whom the sole authority was given when the victory had been achieved. Though there were tyrants in various parts of Greece, and the colonies, during the period (Ol. 26 27) which may be named the Time of the Tyrants, they were chiefly to be found in the Dorian states ; for here the rule of the nobles, being founded on conquest, was most galling and oppressive. The first tyrant of whom we hear was Orthagoras of Sicyon, f (01. 26,) whose family held the tyranny for a cen- * It is perhaps derived from rrgaoc, a castle, or it may be the same with Koiqavoq, xvQiog, from xuqcc, head. Saran is " a lord " in Hebrew. t Arist. Pol. v. 9. Goettling. We are told that Sicyon was the oldest monarchy in Greece a thing of which we have no proof, and which, perhaps, owes ite origin to the fact stated in the text. TIME OF THE TYRANTS. 67 tury, because they respected the laws and governed with mildness and equity. Orthagoras, whom the Dorian aristo- crats called a cook, belonged to the ^Egialians, an Achaean tribe, which enjoyed an equality of rights with the three Dorian tribes in Sicyon. His son or grandson Myron was victor in the chariot-race at Olympia, (Ol. 33,) where he built a treasury, lined with Tartessian brass, and having Doric and Ionic columns. Cleisthenes, the last of the family, was distinguished in war ; he commanded, in conjunction with Eurylochus, the Thessalian Aleuad, the army of the Amphictyons in the Crissaean war ; and he was at constant enmity with the Argives, his Dorian neighbors. Out of spite to them, he suppressed the worship of the Argive hero- king Adrastus at Sicyon, and forbade the rhapsodists to recite the Homeric poems, because they contained the praises of Argos, or rather of the aristocratic principle. * He attempted to destroy the Dorian principle completely, by forcing the Dorian tribes to cultivate the land like the rest of the people. Cleisthenes was, like Myron, a victor in the public games, and he lived in great magnificence. This prince had an only daughter, named Agariste, whom he wished to see married to the best of the Greeks : for this purpose, when he won the prize at Olympia, (Ol. 49, l,)iie caused proclamation to be made, inviting those who deemed themselves worthy to be his son-in-law to repair to Sicyon within sixty days. The noblest youths of Greece and the Italian colonies appeared at his residence ; and after having detained them a year, making every trial of them, he be- stowed the hand of Agariste on Megacles, the son of Alc- mceon, the Athenian. t Cleisthenes appears to have had no son, and the tyranny expired with him. At Corinth, the Haracleid family of the Bacchiads had converted the government into an oligarchy, by confining all public offices to themselves. They were therefore hated ; and Cypselus, a man not of Doric origin, but related to them * Herod, v. 67. t Id. vi. 126-130. 68 HISTORY OF GREECE. on the mother's side, contrived, by placing himself at the head of the lower orders, to eject them from Corinth.* He now (Ol. 30) became tyrant : his rule was, like that of the tyrants of Sicyon, mild and just; he had no guards; he treated the people with great consideration, adorned the city with stately buildings, and founded colonies abroad. After a peaceful reign of thirty years, he left his power to his son Periander. Periander ruled at first with still greater mildness than his father. His sway, however, gradually became more rigor- ous; he surrounded himself with guards; he forbade the use of the public meals, and in every thing sought to root out the Dorian principle. He was a rigid guardian of the public morals, was brave in war and wise in council, and had a taste for elegance and splendor. He maintained an inti- macy with the monarchs of Lydia and Egypt, and, like his father, planted colonies along the coast of Illyria. Periander was succeeded by his son Psammitichus, with whom the tyr- anny ended, (Ol. 49, 3,) after a duration of about seventy- four years.t Procles, tyrant of Epidaurus and ^Egina, was father-in-law to Periander ; and Megara was ruled at this time by The- agenes, whose daughter was married to the Athenian Cylon. Theagenes had attained to power, like the others, by head- ing the people against the aristocracy, and like them he grat- ified the people by raising works of utility and ornament. After the failure of Cylon at Athens, Theagenes was driven from Megara, and a wild democracy established. J We thus see that Argos and Sparta alone, of the Dorian states, did not fall under the rule of tyrants. The tyranny in Greece was in fact a struggle against the rigid Dorian principle : the time during which the Tyrants ruled was one of rapid advance in the career of improvement : they were all friends of the arts, and maintained relations with distant * Herod v. 92. t Herod, ut supra. Arist., ut supra. t Arist. Pol. v. 4; Rhet. i. 2; Plut. Q. G. 18. PEISISTRATUS AND HIS SONS. 69 and more cultivated regions; and hence luxury and a taste for elegance were diffused throughout Hellas. When we consider that most of the Grecian colonies in Asia and Italy were at this time ruled by tyrants, and that they kept up a close connection and intercourse with each other, and see, as we presently shall, the relations of the Ionians with the East, we may discern the progress of refinement, and mark its influence in Greece. The aristocratic Spartans were the declared foes of the tyrants, and they are said to have overthrown several of them. The people, in most places oppressed by the nobles, and taught by poetry the mildness of the regal rule in old times, looked forward with hope to the establishment of a tyranny in their cities. We are now to witness the establishment of this form of dominion in Attica.* The parties into which the people of Attica were divided, when Solon undertook the regulation of the state, were named, the Pediaeans, (IlediaToi,) the Paralians, (IT&galoi,) and the Hyperacrians ( c YneQuxgioi.) Of these, the first, the people of the interior or plain-country, favored the old aris- tocratic system; the Paralians, or people of the coast round by Cape Sunion,f were for a medium ; the Hyperacrians, or people of Parnes and the hills to the north, were for a democracy. $ The Pediaeans were headed by a nobleman named Ly- curgus; the Paralians by Megacles, the son-in-law of Cleis- thenes of Sicyon : Peisistratus, a man descended from the Codrids, and related to Solon, placed himself at the head of the Hyperacrians, who were mostly Thetes. He trod the usual path by which the demagogue rises to power, exagger- * Herod, i. 5964. t Thuc. ii. 55. t Plut. Solon, 13. As the chief scene of contest between the parties was the city of Athens, and the strength of the Hyperacrian party, as will appear, lay there, these are probably to be taken as mere party denominations derived from places, like Ghibellines, Girondists, and such like. 70 HISTORY OF GREECE. ating the evils to which the people are subject, and repre- senting himself as the only person anxious to alleviate them. Noble birth is always of weight with the people : Peisistra- tus had, moreover, distinguished himself in the war against the Megarians, and taken their port of Nisaea. Not content with these advantages, he had, it is said, recourse to a very disgraceful stratagem : one day he gave himself and his mules several wounds, and in that condition drove into the market, and told the people that he had barely escaped with life from his and their enemies, who had fallen on him as he was going into the country. The people, to protect their benefactor, assigned him a guard of clubmen, to attend him wherever he went. He soon then made himself master of the Acropolis, and absolute ruler of the city ; but he gov- erned with justice, and did not disturb the existing laws. The rival factions soon combined, and drove him from the city ; but ere long, Megacles, being worsted in a contest with his rival, sent to Peisistratus, offering to reinstate him in the tyranny, if he would engage to espouse his daughter. This offer was readily accepted, and Peisistratus returned to Athens. On this occasion, it is said, his entrance into the city was preceded by a woman of lofty stature, habited like the goddess Pallas Athena, in full armor, and standing in a chariot ; and heralds going before cried to the Athenians to receive Peisistratus, whom the goddess herself was conduct- ing to her Acropolis.* Megacles, finding that Perisistratus did not act as he should to his daughter, drove him away again. He retired to Eretria in Eubcea, where he remained ten years, collect- ing the means of recovering the tyranny. The Thebans and others sent him money ; Lygdamis, who aspired to the * Herodotus wonders at the folly of this : he supposes the people took her for the goddess herself; but it was probably intended and un- derstood to be nothing more than a symbolical action : it may, how- ever, have been expected that fame would, as usual, magnify it in the ears of the country-people. Perhaps, as the name of the woman was Phye, (Size,) the whole may be only a fiction. PEISISTRATUS AND HIS SONS. 71 tyranny in his native isle of Naxos, brought men and money; hired troops came from Argos, and in the eleventh year he passed over and encamped at Marathon. His friends from the city and country flocked to him. His enemies advanced to engage him ; but, falling on them by surprise, he gave them a defeat, and entered Athens for the third time. The Alc- maeonids and some other families left the country: he obliged such as remained to give their children as hostages, whom he placed in Naxos, which he had reduced under the dominion of his friend Lygdamis. The wealth which he derived from his estates in Eubcea, and from his mines on the Strymon in Thrace, enabled him to gratify the people with gifts, and to adorn the city. During the ten years he now ruled Athens, his sway was mild, and he left his do- minion to his sons Hippias, Hipparchus, and Thessalus. (Ol. 63, 1.) These princes ruled with still greater lenity than their father had done. They reduced the land-tax, which he had imposed, from a tenth to a twentieth ; they were easy of ac- cess to all, and they sought to diffuse knowledge among the people. But an act of private revenge altered the entire face of things in Athens.* There was an Athenian of moderate fortune, named Aris- togeiton, who, according to the custom in Greece, had se- lected as the object of his affection a beautiful youth, named Harmodius, of the same rank in life as himself. Hippar- chus was taken with the beauty of Harmodius ; but the youth rejected his advances. Aristogeiton, however, resolved to be avenged ; and as Hipparchus took an opportunity of in- sulting Harmodius, by preventing his sister from bearing a part in a religious procession, he readily entered into the project of his friend. Others, actuated by various causes, engaged in their plans ; and it was agreed to fall on and murder the tyrants at the festival of the Panathenaea, when, the persons who formed the pomp or procession being clad * Thucyd. vi. 5459. 72 HISTORY OF GREECE. in armor, they might accomplish their design the more easily. On the day of the feast, Hippias marshalled the procession in the Cerameicus, outside of the city. Harmodius and his friend were ready with their daggers ; but seeing one of the conspirators talking familiarly with him, they feared they were betrayed, and, being resolved that Hipparchus should not escape, they went back into the city, and meeting him at the place named the Leocorion, they fell on and slew him. His guards despatched Harmodius on the spot : Aris- togeiton escaped for the moment, but he was slain after a stout resistance. When Hippias heard what had happened, he ordered those who were to form the pomp to retire to a certain spot without arms. He then had them searched, and as they were to go in procession bearing only spear and shield, he knew that all who had daggers were in the con- spiracy, and dealt with them accordingly. (01. 66, 3.) The conduct of Hippias now changed ; he became sus- picious and cruel ; he put several citizens to death ; and, to strengthen himself by foreign connections, he gave his daughter in marriage to the son of the tyrant of Lampsacus, who was in great favor at the court of Persia. Meantime, the rigorous measures which Hippias pursued augmented the number of the discontented ; and the foes of his family, the AlcmaBonids, were steadily on the watch to over- turn his power. This family was one of the most wealthy in Greece, and they had fixed themselves in a strong posi- tion at a place named Leipsydrion, on the southern declivity of Mount Parnes ; but they did not feel themselves suffi- ciently strong to attack the tyrant. Just at this time, the Amphictyons proposed to rebuild the temple at Delphi : the Alcmseonids got the contract, and though they were only bound to build it of common sandstone, they, at their own expense, fronted it with Parian marble. They, moreover, it is said, gained the Pythia by presents ; and whenever the Spartans came to consult the oracle, she enjoined them to give liberty to Athens. Moved by these repeated injunc- LEGISLATION OF CLEISTHENES. 73 tions of the god, the Spartans collected an army, chiefly of mercenaries, and putting it under the command of a Spar- tan named Anchimolius, sent it by sea to Attica, where it landed at Phaleron, close by Athens. Hippias had applied to his allies in Thessaly for aid, and a body of one thousand Thessalian horse was now arrived : these fell on and routed the invaders, and the Spartan leader himself was among the slain.* The Spartans collected another larger army, and sent it, under the command of Cleomenes, one of their kings, over- land to Attica. The Thessalian horse who came to oppose them were defeated and went home. Cleomenes marched to Athens, and being joined by those who were ill affected to the Peisistratids, besieged them in the Pelasgian wall, which surrounded the Acropolis. As they had abundance of provisions, and the Spartans knew little of sieges, Cle- omenes was about to lead home his army, when a lucky chance put him in possession of their children, whom they were sending out of the country. Hippias, to recover his children, agreed to evacuate Attica within five days. He retired to Sigeion (Sigeum) in the Troas, and the tyranny thus ended, after a duration of thirty-six years.t (Ol. 67, 3.) The Alcmaeonids and Cleomenes, we may thus see, were in reality those who freed Athens ; and never was fame more undeserved than that which has been bestowed on Har- modius and Aristogeiton. But time is sure to do jus- tice to all. The tyranny was now ended; but a struggle still remained between the aristocratic and the democratic principles. The advocates of the former were headed by a man of noble birth, named Isagoras, the friend of Cleomenes. Cleisthenes the Alcmseonid, his rival for power, either from revenge, \ * Herod, v. 62, 63. I Id. v. 64, 65. t This was his motive, in Niebuhr's opinion. u Cleisthenes, one of the nobles," says he, " from a grudge against his own order, by trans- forming the tribes, levelled the distinctions of ranks, and introduced an equality, which led to a frantic democracy ; Athens being unaccounta- 7 f 74 HISTORY OF GREECE. love of justice, or family principle, for he was grandson of the tyrant of Sicyon, took the popular side, and when archon, made a great change in the constitution. Isagoras applied to Cleomenes, and a herald came from Sparta re- quiring the expulsion of the piacular, (frayfoF,) that is, those on whom the guilt of the murder of the Cylonians lay. Cleisthenes, as an Alcmoeonid, was forced to retire; and Cleomenes, coming to Athens, expelled seven hundred per- sons, whom Isagoras pointed out as favorable to the new constitution, dissolved the senate, and put the government into the hands of three hundred of the partisans of Isagoras. The people, however, rose ; Cleomenes, Isagoras, and their friends, sought refuge on the Acropolis, whence, after a siege of two days, Isagoras and the Lacedaemonians were allowed to depart : the remainder were put to death. Cleisthenes and the seven hundred were immediately recalled, and, a war with Sparta being apprehended, envoys were sent to the Persian governor of Lydia to ask aid : assistance was offered on condition of the Athenians giving earth and water, that is, becoming vassals to the Persian king. The envoys as- sented ; but they were severely reprimanded for it when they returned home.* (Ol. 68, 1.) Cleomenes, meantime, bent on revenge, resolved to estab- lish a tyranny in the person of Isagoras, and having assem- bled an army of the Peloponnesian confederates, he led them into Attica ; the Thebans and the Chalcidians of Euboea invaded, in concert with him, the parts of Attica nearest to them. The Athenians advanced to oppose the Peloponne- sians, who were now in the plain of Eleusis ; but discord had arisen among the latter : the Corinthians, perceiving Cleom- bly preserved by fortune from falling under the dominion of tyrants/' (Hist, of Rome, i. 477.) It is the fate, we believe, of every free state, in its transition to democracy, to have its Cleisthenes, members of the aristocracy, who, to gratify their spleen, pride, vanity, avarice, or other mean passions, become ready and active instruments in destroying the influence and power of their order in the state. * Herod, v. 6C, 7073. LEGISLATION OF CLEISTHENES. 75 enes' real object, retired : his colleague Demaratus opposed his design ; the rest of the confederates broke up and went home. The Athenians, thus freed from the Peloponnesians, turned their arms against the Chalcidians. They defeated at the Euripus the Thebans, who were coming to their aid, passed the same day over to Euboea, and overcame the Chal- cidians, and took from their wealthy men (Innofioicu') four thousand lots of land for colonists. The Thebans now, in obedience to the oracle, looked for aid to the ^ginetes, who, having an old ground of quarrel with the Athenians, made descents on and ravaged the sea-coast of Attica.* iEgina, we must observe, was at this time a state of great, importance in Greece. Its favorable situation in the Sa- ronic Gulf made its people, like the Phoenicians of old times, and the Hydraotes of the present day, turn their thoughts to trade and navigation. We are told that even in the second century before the Olympiads began, the merchants of JEgi- na, being excluded by the jealousy of their neighbors from access to the parts of Arcadia nearest to them, used to sail round to Cyllene in Elis, and putting their goods on wagons, convey them into the heart of Arcadia.f The population, crowded on their little isle of only two hundred stadia in circuit, is said to have been enormous; the slaves alone being reckoned at forty-seven myriads ! J Its trade at this time extended to the Euxine, and to all points of the Med- iterranean. But its power, like that of all states without agriculture, was but transient. The Spartans, seeing the successes of the Athenians, began to fear that their power might increase too rapidly, and that they might in time become their rivals ; and they felt that they had erred in expelling Hippias. They there- fore sent for him, with the design of restoring him. Having assembled the deputies of the confederates, they declared that, deceived by false oracles, they had been led to act * Herod, v. 7480. t Paus. viii. 5, 8. t Athenaeus vi. 20, from Aristotle's Polity of the Mgin&tes. A myriad is 10,000 : the exaggeration is palpable. 76 HISTORY OF GREECE. wrong and expel their friends, but that now they wished to amend their error. Then Sosicles, the Corinthian deputy, rose, and drawing a highly-colored picture of the evil deeds of the Cypselids in his native city, declared that the Corinth- ians would have no hand in the setting-up of a tyranny. The other deputies cried out to the same effect, and the Spartans were obliged to give up their project and dismiss Hippias, who returned to Asia, placing all his hopes now in the Persian power.* Before we quit Athens, we will take a slight view of the changes made in the constitution by Cleisthenes The Solonian constitution was, as we have seen, in its substance aristocratic; the new one tended much more to democracy. To effect the change, it was necessary to break up the existing societies and relations in the state. Accord- ingly, Cleisthenes divided the people into ten instead of four tribes: the phratries and houses were allowed to remain, but their connection with the phyles ceased. The phyles were divided into denies, (<%mh;) over each phyle was its Phylarch; over each deme its Demarch. The senate was augmented to five hundred members, fifty from each phyle. The number of public officers was in general augmented ; ten, that of the phyles, becoming the prevailing number. The archontate was still confined to the Pentecosiomedimnians ; but the archons were now, like the rest, appointed by lot. The ostracism t is ascribed to Cleisthenes. It was designed as a safeguard against tyranny; but it became the mere in- strument of popular envy and party spirit. Any citizen, whose continuance in Attica a majority of six thousand votes pronounced to be dangerous to the state, was ostra- cised, and obliged to quit the country for ten years. We are now to leave Greece for a time ; but ere we depart, we must attend to the progress of hostilities between Sparta and Argos. * Herod, v. 9094. t So called from oorqaxov, a potsherd, with which the votes were given. WAR OF SPARTA AND ARGOS. 77 The Spartans had gradually deprived the Argives of the whole coast of the Myrtoan Sea. The district of Thyrea, on the confines of Laconia, being ravaged by the Spartans, (01. 59, 3,) the Argives came in arms to repel them. As the right to the possession of Thyrea was a subject of dis- pute between the two nations, it was now agreed to select three hundred men on each side to fight on the part of their respective countries ; and the disputed district to be the property of those whose champions were victorious. The armies retired, and the six hundred champions fought till all were slain but three two Argives and one Spartan. It was now night, and the Argives ran home with the news of their victory ; but the Spartan, whose name was Othryades, stripped the bodies of the slain Argives, and having carried their arms to his camp, remained there. Next morning, the two armies returned to the spot. The Argives claimed the victory, because a greater number of their men had sur- vived ; the Spartans, because their champion had kept the field. From words they proceeded to arms ; and the Lace- daemonians were victorious. Othryades, ashamed to have survived his companions, slew himself after the battle.* Some years afterwards, (01. 64, 1,) Cleomenes, the Spartan king, being told by the oracle that he should take Argos, led an army to the banks of the Erasinus. The sacrifices, pre- vious to crossing, not proving favorable, he returned to Thyrea, and passed over by sea to Nauplia and Tiryns. The Argives came and took their station opposite him at Tiryns. As an oracle menaced them with defeat by stratagem, they adopted the expedient of doing every thing they heard the herald proclaiming to the Lacedaemonians. Cleomenes, dis- covering this, directed his men, when they heard the herald give the word for breakfast, to seize their arms and advance against the enemy. The Argives, being thus attacked when at their meal, were routed with great loss, and the survivors fled to the sacred grove of the hero Argos. Cleomenes, who * Herod, i. 82 78 HISTORY OF GREECE. had learned their names from deserters, sent in a herald, inviting them to come out, saying he had received the usual ransom of two minas each. About fifty had come out, as he summoned them by name, and had been put to death, when one of those in the grove climbed a tree and saw their fate. As no more would leave it, Cleomenes made the Helots pile wood round the grove, and setting fire to the wood, he burned the grove and all the Argives who were in it. While it was burning, he asked one of the deserters to what god it belonged : on being told to Argos, he cried out that the god had deceived him, and without attacking the town, now void of defenders, he led his army back to Sparta.* Not less than six thousand Dorian Argives, it is said, per- ished on this occasion ; and the Dorians were so enfeebled by it, that the Gymnesians, as the serfs (answering to the He- lots) were called at Argos, were enabled to seize the govern- rnent, which they held till the sons of the slaughtered Dori- ans were grown up, who drove them to Tiryns, and, after an obstinate contest, succeeded in reducing or expelling them.f CHAPTER IX. KINGDOM OF LYDIA. PERSIA. INVASION OF SCYTHIA BY DARIUS. REVOLT OF THE ASIATIC GREEKS. The expulsion of the Peisistratids gave occasion to the political relations between Greece and the East, which have so much influence on the future Grecian history. The Grecian colonies on* the coast of Asia early rose to wealth by means of trade and manufactures. Though we * Herod, vi. 7680. t Id. vi. 83. vii. J 48. Arist. Pol. v. 2. KINGDOM OF LYDIA. 79 have not the means of tracing their commerce, we know that it was considerable, with the mother country, with Italy, and at length Spain, with Phoenicia and the interior of Asia, whence the productions of India passed to Greece. The Milesians, who had fine woollen manufactures, extend- ed their commerce to the Euxine, on all sides of which they founded factories, and exchanged their manufactures and other goods with the Scythians and the neighboring peoples, for slaves, wool, raw hides, bees-wax, flax, hemp, pitch, etc. There is even reason to suppose that, by means of caravans, their traders bartered their wares not far from the confines of China.* The facility with which the Greeks formed their first establishments on the coast of Asia, leads to the supposi- tion that there was no extensive monarchy in the vicinity at that time. But while they were advancing in wealth and prosperity, a powerful monarchy formed itself in Lydia, of which the capital was Sardes, a city at the foot of Mount Tmolus, about four hundred stadia from the sea. Histo- rians tell of three dynasties of kings of Lydia ; the Atyades, named from their god Atys ; the Heracleids, or rather San- donids, from a god or hero Sandon, whom the Greeks iden- tified with their own Hercules ; the Mermnads, the origin of whose name is doubtful. f Of these the two first are mythic ; the third belongs to history. Gyges, the first of this dynasty, (Ol. 16,) turned his arms against the Ionian cities on the coast. During a cen- tury and a half, the efforts of the Lydian monarchs to re- duce these states were unavailing. At length, (Ol. 55,) the celebrated Croesus mounted the throne of Lydia ; and he made all Asia this side of the River Halys (Lycia and Ci- licia excepted) acknowledge his dominion. The iEolian, Ionian, and Dorian cities of the coast all paid him tribute; but, according to the usual rule of Eastern conquerors, he * Volcker (Myth. Geographic der Griechen und ROmer, ch. viii.) traces the route to the foot of the Altai Mountains, t Herod, i. 7. 80 HISTORY OF GREECE. meddled not with their political institutions, and they might deem themselves fortunate in being insured against war by the payment of an annual sum of money. Croesus, more- over, cultivated the friendship of the European Greeks. The Lydian monarchs, from the time of Gyges, had been benefactors of the Delphic oracle ; but the offerings of Croesus far exceeded in number and value those of his predeces- sors. The splendid court of Sardes was the resort of the sages and the nobles of Greece ; and the felicity of the king of Lydia seemed complete, when a storm from the East burst over his realm and levelled all its glories.* In the country east and south of the Caspian Sea, a powerful and civilized empire had long existed. The peo- ple named the Medes had been for some time at the head of it ; but in the time of Croesus, king of Lydia, the Persians, who dwelt, subject to the Medes, partly stationary, partly nomadic, in the mountains bordering on the Persian Gulf, rose in arms under their native prince Cyrus, and wrested the supreme power from the hands of the Medes. The change was little more than a change of dynasty ; t but, as is usually the case, it was productive of an increase of mar- tial energy. The River Halys had been the boundary be- tween Median and Lydian dominion : there had, moreover, been affinity between the Lydian and Median monarchs ; a war between Cyrus and Croesus therefore naturally fol- lowed. Croesus, having assembled an army, crossed the Halys, and wasted the country beyond it. Cyrus hastened to en- gage him. The armies encountered in the Pterian Plain, J * Herod, i. 26 29. The remainder of this writer's First Book con- tains the history of Croesus and Cyrus. t There is, perhaps, too much importance given to this event in the history of the world. It is probable that the change was not in reality much greater than what has occurred almost in our own days in Persia. The Kajers, who now govern there, are a Turkish tribe, who won the throne from the Zends, a native Persian tribe. t On this plain Pompeius defeated Mithridates ; Timoor Bayazeed PERSIA. 81 south of Sinope, and victory remained with neither. Croe- sus, finding his troops inferior in number to those of the Persian monarch, led them back to Sardes. He dismissed the Greeks and other strangers who were in his service, and wrote pressing letters to the kings of Babylon and Egypt, and to the Lacedaemonians, with all of whom he was in alliance, urging them to send him troops against the ensuing spring, when he intended again to take the field. But Cyrus, on learning that Croesus had dismissed his army, resolved to push on for Sardes, and take him unprepared. He soon appeared before that city. Crcesus led his valiant Lydians out against him : but as the Lydian troops were mostly all horse, Cyrus had recourse to the stratagem of putting in the front of his army the camels, the sight and smell of which the Lydian horses could not endure. They became unmanageable ; the riders dismounted, and fought bravely, but were obliged to yield to numbers. Crcesus was besieged in his capital, and forced to surrender ; and the Lydian empire merged in that of Persia. (Ol. 58, 3.) Cyrus had, during the war, endeavored, without success, to alienate the Ionians from Crcesus. They and the JEo- lians now sent ambassadors, praying to be received to sub- mission on the same terms as those on which they had obeyed the Lydian monarch ; but the Milesians alone found favor : the rest had to prepare for war. They repaired the walls of their towns, and sent to Sparta for aid. Aid, how- ever, was refused ; but Cyrus, being called away by the war with Babylon, neglected them for the present. ' Three years afterwards, (Ol. 59, 2,) Harpagus, who had saved Cyrus in his infancy from his grandfather Astyages, came as governor of Lydia. He instantly prepared to reduce the cities of the coast- Town after town submitted ; the Teians abandoned theirs, and retired to Abdera in Thrace ; the Phocseans, get- ting on shipboard, and vowing never to return, sailed for and an army of Crusaders was annihilated on it by the Turks in the time of the first Crusade. 82 HISTORY OF GREECE. Corsica, and being there harassed by the Carthaginians and Tyrrhenians, they went to Rhegion in Italy, and at length founded Massalia (Marseilles) on the coast of Gaul. The Grecian colonies thus became a part of the Persian- empire. Cyrus, meantime, had taken Babylon ; but not long afterwards, he was defeated and slain by the Massagetes, a Turkish tribe who dwelt north of Persia. His son and suc- cessor, Cambyses, invaded and conquered Egypt. On his death, his throne was usurped by a Magian, or priest of the fire-religion of Persia, who personated the late monarch's brother ; but a conspiracy deprived him of life, and the throne was occupied (Ol. 64, 4) by Darius, son of Hystaspes, a Persian of noble birth. The dominions of Darius extended from the River Indus to the Mediterranean, from the con- fines of Scythia to those of ^Ethiopia.* An energetic prince, like Darius, at the head of a power- ful empire, could not be expected to remain at rest. As Asia now offered no enemy, he resolved to lead an army into Scythia, and teach the nomades, who roamed its plains, to respect the power of the lord of Asia. Under the direc- tion of a Samian named Mandrocles, a bridge of boats was constructed by the Greeks across the Bosporus, over which Darius led his army of seventy myriads of men.f The Greeks then sailed away to the Ister, (Danube,) near the mouth of which they made another bridge, while the Per- sian army marched through Thrace, crossed Mount Haemus, (Balkan,) and came to the banks of that river. Leaving the Greeks to take care of the bridge, Darius entered Scythia, (southern Russia;) but the Scythians would give no oppor- tunity for fighting, and want of supplies at length forced * The authority for the remainder of this chapter is Herodotus, Books iv. v. and vi. t That is, 700,000. This is evidently a gross exaggeration ; for where could food be had for such a number ? We will observe, once for all, that the numbers in ancient, middle-age, and oriental history are to be received with extreme suspicion. They are frequently greatly exaggerated. INVASION OF SCYTHIA BY DARIUS. 83 the Persian monarch to make a rapid retreat to the Ister. The Scythians had meantime urged the Greeks to seize the opportunity now presented of regaining their independ- ence, by breaking up the bridge and leaving the Persian army to perish. In the council held by the chiefs, that is, the tyrants of the subject Greek cities, Miltiades, an Athe- nian, who was tyrant of the Chersonese, strongly exhorted them to follow the advice of the Scythians ; but Histiaeus of Miletus reminding them that if the Persian yoke was thrown off, their own would not long be submitted to, it was re- solved to remain faithful to the king. To deceive the Scyth- ians, however, they began to loosen the bridge at the fur- ther side of the river. It was night when the Persian army reached the Ister; and finding the bridge loosened, they were in consternation. An Egyptian, who had a powerful voice, stood, by Darius' command, on the side of the river, and called Histiaeus the Milesian. Histiaeus soon appeared ; the bridge was speedily put together again, and the Persians passed safely over. Darius marched his army to Sestos on the Hellespont, whence he passed over to Asia, leaving a part of his troops with Megabazus in Thrace, to subdue the remainder of that country. He proceeded thence to Sardes, where he staid some time. Megabazus speedily reduced all Thrace, to the confines of Macedonia, the king of which country also acknowledged himself the vassal of Persia. He then proceeded to Sardes, where he remonstrated with Darius on the impolicy of which he had been guilty in giving Histiaeus, as a reward for his services, permission to build a town at the River Strymon in Thrace, where there were mines of gold and plenty of timber for ship-building ; so that, by putting himself at the head of the Greeks and the people of the country, he could raise a rebellion whenever he pleased. Darius saw the force of what Megabazus said, and by his advice sent for Histiaeus, and pretending that his counsel and presence were indispen- sable to him, took him with him to Persia. 84 HISTORY OF GREECE. Histiaeus left the government of Miletus to his son-in- law Aristagoras. Some time afterwards, (01. 69, 4,) in consequence of the contest between the aristocratic and democratic principles, which prevailed there as well as every where else at this time, some of the nobility were ex- pelled from the Isle of Naxos. Being guest-friends * (%evol) of Histiaeus, they came to Miletus seeking aid. Aristagoras said that his own power was not adequate to restore them, but offered to apply to Artaphernes, King Darius' brother, who was at Sardes, in their behalf. To the Persian he rep- resented how easily he might make himself master of Naxos, and then of the other Cyclades, and finally of the rich Isle of Eubcea, under the pretext of restoring these exiles. Artaphernes approved, the consent of the king was obtained, and a fleet of two hundred triremes with troops put to sea under the command of a Persian named Mega- bates. They sailed as if for the Hellespont, and stopped at Chios, intending to run for Naxos with the north wind. While here, Megabytes punished, for neglect of duty, one of the captains, who was a friend of Aristagoras. The Mile- sian insulted Megabytes, who, in revenge, sent secretly to inform the Naxians of their danger. As soon as the Naxians learned that their isle was to be attacked, they collected all their property from the country into their town, and the Persian army, after besieging them for four months, was obliged to retire for want of supplies. Aristagoras, fearing the ill consequences of this failure to himself, began now to meditate a revolt. Just at this time, too, came a message from Histiaeus recommending this course to him. For, weary of his abode at Susa, the Mile- sian prince thought his only chance of escape was to raise a rebellion on the coast, which he might be sent to quell. Fearing to write, he took a trusty slave, and shaving off the hair of his head, pricked on the skin what he wished to say ; * We use this compound, as no single word in our language will ex- press the relation indicated by it. REVOLT OF THE ASIATIC GREEKS. 85 then having kept him till the hair was grown, he sent him to Miletus, telling him to desire Aristagoras to shave off his hair and look at the skin. This decided Aristagoras ; he held a council of the principal Milesians, and all declared for revolt but Hecataeus the historian, who knew the extent and the strength of the Persian empire far better than they. Finding them, however, bent on it, he advised them to take the treasures which Croesus had dedicated at the temple of Branchidae, and to endeavor to become masters at sea. This counsel, too, was rejected. The greater part of the commanders of the ships which had been at Naxos were gained over. To win the people, Aristagoras laid down his own tyranny, and seizing the other tyrants who were on board the ships, sent them prisoners to their respective towns ; and with one exception, the people let them go free and uninjured a proof that their rule had not been very oppressive. Some powerful ally being necessary, Aristagoras repaired in person to Lacedaemon, taking with him money and a brass plate on which was cut a map of the world probably the work of Hecataeus. He addressed himself to King Cle- omenes, showing him on the map the different nations of Asia, expatiating on their wealth, and assuring him that with ease he might reach Susa and win the Persian empire. Cleomenes promised to give him his answer on the third day. When that day came, he asked him how many days' journey it was from the coast to Susa : the Milesian in- cautiously replied, three months. Cleomenes, appalled at such a distance, ordered him to quit Sparta by sunset, and left him. Aristagoras, taking a branch of olive in his hand, followed him to his house as a suppliant : he found him alone with his little daughter Gorgo, a child of eight or nine years. He begged him to send the child away, but Cleomenes bade him to say what he wished without heed- ing her. Aristagoras then offered him ten talents if he would do as he desired : he rose gradually to fifty, when the child cried out, " Father, the stranger will corrupt you if you 8 SO HISTORY OF GREECE. do not go away ! " Cleomenes left the room, and the baffled Milesian had to depart from Sparta without delay. He thence proceeded to Athens, now revelling in her recovered liberty, and drew there to the people the same brilliant picture of Asiatic dominion which he had set be- fore the Spartan king, reminding them at the same time that the Milesians were their colonists. His words found ready acceptance, and it was decreed to send twenty ships to the aid of the Ionians. Aristagoras returned home, and sent to the Paeonians whom Megabazus had taken from their own country and placed in Phrygia, offering to convey them back to Europe. The love of home excited them : with their wives and children, they came down to the coast, and were passed over to Chios, thence to Lesbos, thence to Doriscus in Thrace, whence they proceeded overland home. The Athenian fleet and five triremes from Eretria soon arrived at Miletus, and being joined by the Milesians, pro- ceeded to Ephesus. Here the troops landed, and, guided by the Ephesians, crossed Mount Tmolus, and tookSardes with- out opposition ; Artaphernes and the few troops that were with him having retired to the citadel. The houses in Sardes were mostly built of reeds, with which such of them as were of brick were also roofed. A soldier chanced to set one of them on fire : the flames spread rapidly from house to house ; the inhabitants retired to the market, through which the River Pactolus ran, and there stood on their de- fence. The Ionians, seeing their numbers, retired to Mount Tmolus, and in the night retreated to the coast. The Per- sians, who were on this side of the Halys, hastened to the aid of the Sardians, and pursuing the invaders, came up with and defeated them at Ephesus. The Athenians went home, refusing to take any further part in the war. The Ionians, having gone so far, could not recede : they sailed to the Hellespont, reduced Byzantion and some other towns, then, returning, gained over the whole of Caria, and finally in- duced the Isle of Cyprus to join in the revolt. Darius, when he heard of the revolt of the Ionians, sent REVOLT OF THE ASIATIC GREEKS. 87 for Histiseus, and intimated his suspicion of his being con- cerned in exciting it. Histiseus easily cleared himself in the king's mind, and assuring him that the want of his pres- ence had been the true cause, persuaded him to let him go down to the coast, promising to return to Susa when he had reestablished tranquillity. Meantime, Artybius, a Persian general, having assembled an army in Cilicia, and being joined by the Phoenician fleet, passed over to Cyprus, in which the people of Amathus alone obeyed the king. Onesilus, the leader of the independent party, sent to the Ionians for aid. Their fleet soon appeared, and engaged and defeated that of the Phoenicians ; but the Cypriotes, though Artybius fell by the hand of Onesilus, were overcome in the land battle, and the whole island was again reduced beneath the yoke of Persia.* At the same time, the other Persian generals reduced the cities on the Helles- pont, and defeated the Carians and Milesians at Labranda ; and Aristagoras, despairing of safety, retired to Myrcinus in Thrace, where he shortly afterwards fell in a battle against the people of the country. The whole force of Persia in these parts was now turned against Miletus. A fleet of six hundred triremes came from Phoenicia, Cyprus, Cilicia, and Egypt, and a numerous army advanced against it by land. The Milesians resolved merely to defend their walls, and only to try the chance of a naval engagement. Miletus, Myus, Erythrae, Priene, Teos, and Phocaea sent among them 123 ships, of which Miletus fur- nished 80 ; Chios sent 100, Lesbos 70, Samos 60 ; in all, 353 triremes were assembled at the Isle of Lade before the port of Miletus. The Persian leaders, fearing the number of the Greek ships, called together the expelled tyrants of the cities who were in their camp, and urged them to try to detach their former subjects from the confederacy. They therefore sent secretly, giving them terrific accounts of the * Herodotus says the defeat was caused in a great measure by the retreat of the Salaminian war-chariots. This is the last time we hear of these vehicles in Grecian warfare. bb HISTORY OF GREECE. evils that awaited them in case of defeat ; but their efforts were in vain ; the Ionians would not resign their liberty with- out at least a struggle. Dionysius, who commanded one of the three triremes which Phocsea had furnished, promised, if they would follow his directions, to render them superior to the enemy. They assented, and every day he made them get on board of their ships, and put out to sea and exercise. They bore this la- bor for seven days; but at length declaring that slavery to the Persians would be more tolerable than such hardship, they positively refused to go on board any more, and setting up tents in the isle, lived there at their ease. The Samian leaders, it is said, seeing them acting thus, lent a willing ear to the representations of iEacus, their former tyrant, and agreed to desert the Ionians. In the battle which ensued, all the Samian ships but eleven turned and fled ; the Les- bians, who were next, then followed their example, as also did some of the Ionians. The Chians fought bravely, and lost most of their ships ; the rest they ran ashore at Mycale ; but as they were going home by land, they came by night near Ephesus, where the women were celebrating the feast of the Thesmophoria ; the Ephesians, taking them for rob- bers, come to carry off the women, fell on them, and the brave Chians perished by their hands. Dionysius, knowing that his country would be enslaved, would not return. He made sail for Phoenicia, where he took several merchant- vessels, and then going to Sicily, exercised piracy against the Carthaginians and Etruscans, always sparing Greek vessels. Miletus was now attacked by sea and by land. It was taken (Ol. 71 , 3) in the sixth year after its revolt ; and its inhabitants were transplanted by King Darius to Ampe on the Tigris, at the head of the Erythrean Sea, (Persian Gulf.) Such of the Milesians as escaped joined a portion of the Samians, who would not live under the tyranny of JEacus, and going to Sicily, made themselves masters of Zancle. The whole of the revolted towns were reduced, one after the other, by the Persian arms, and the struggle for inde- pendence terminated. REVOLT OF THE ASIATIC GREEKS. 89 We must now relate the fate of Histiseus, the author of the revolt. On coming to Sardes, and finding himself sus- pected by Artaphernes, he fled away by night, and got over to Chios. He then tried to recover his former power in Miletus ; but the people, having tasted the sweets of liberty, would not admit him ; and he received a wound in the thigh in an attempt he made on the town by night. He then went to Lesbos, where the people gave him eight triremes, with which he sailed to Byzantion, and captured the Ionian ves- sels coming from the Pontus. When he heard of the defeat of the Ionians, he made sail for Chios, and with the aid of the Lesbians reduced that isle. Immediately after, he at- tacked the Isle of Thasos ; but hearing that the Phoenician fleet was reducing the coast of Ionia, he returned to the defence of Chios and Lesbos. His troops being in want of food, he led them over to the main land to seize the corn on the plains of Mysia ; but Harpagus, the Persian commander, fell upon and cut them to pieces, and Histiseus himself was made a prisoner. He was brought to Sardes, where he was instantly put to death by Artaphernes, and his head sent to Susa. Darius, mindful of his former services, gave it an honorable sepulture, and severely blamed those who had put him to death. Artaphernes now (Ol. 71, 4) regulated the tributes of the Greek cities ; * but the amount was not raised. He also prohibited their making war on and plundering each other, as they had been in the habit of doing. The following spring, (Ol. 72, 1,) Mardonius, the son of Gobryas, who was lately married to one of King Darius's daughters, came down to the sea-coast with a large army. In Cilicia he got aboard of the fleet, leaving his army to proceed by land ; and as he sailed along the coast of Ionia, he reestablished the democracies in the cities probably with a view to attaching the people to the Persian monarchy. * " Which," says Herodotus, (vi. 42,) " they still pay," i. e. toward the end of the Peloponnesian war. 90 HISTORY OF GREECE. Having put the army across the Hellespont, he advanced, professing to be about to take vengeance on Eretria and Athens. He reduced the Isle of Thasos and Macedonia 5 but his fleet being greatly shattered in doubling Mount Athos, and his army having suffered and himself being wounded in a night attack of the Thracian Bryges, he re- turned to Asia, after having subdued that people. CHAPTER X.* INVASION OF GREECE. BATTLE OF MARATHON. ARISTEIDES AND THEMISTOCLES. The conquest of Greece was now become the favorite object of the Persian monarch's ambition. He was prob- ably well instructed of the state of parties there, and ex- pected that some states would be induced to yield a volun- tary submission to his yoke. Accordingly, after the Per- sian fashion, he sent. (Ol. 71, 4) heralds, demanding earth and water, which were given by some of the continental states, and by all the islands, particularly iEgina. The Athenians, who instantly suspected that the object of the ^Eginetes was to overcome them with Persian aid, sent to Sparta to complain of this their treachery to Greece. King Cleomenes forthwith passed over to ^Egina to seize the guilty persons ; but his colleague Demaratus had secretly furnished the JEginetes with an excuse for refusing com- pliance with his demands, and he retired, meditating ven- geance on Demaratus, which he accomplished in the fol- lowing manner : Ariston, the father of Demaratus, had by stratagem ob- tained for himself the beautiful wife of his friend Agetos * Herod, vi. 104136. INVASION OF GREECE. 91 When her first child by him was born, a servant ran to an- nounce it to him, as he was sitting with the Ephors. Reckon- ing and finding that her ten months were not accomplished, he inconsiderately cried out, " Then it is not mine." No further notice, however, was taken at the time, and Dema- ratus succeeded him on the throne. But now Cleomenes incited Leotychides, of the same house with Demaratus, to call his legitimacy in question. The matter was, as usual, referred to the Delphian oracle, and Cleomenes induced one of the principal men at Delphi to use his influence with the priestess to procure a response such as he desired. Dema- ratus was accordingly declared not to be of the blood of Hercules, and was deposed, and his place given to Leotych- ides. He became a private Spartan ; but fired by an in- sult offered him by his successor, he left Lacedaemon, and finding himself still persecuted by the Spartans, he passed over to Asia, where King Darius received him joyfully, and gave him lands and towns for his support. (Ol. 72, 1.) The two kings now went to ^Egina, and caused ten of the principal people to be surrendered to them. These they gave to their enemies, the Athenians, to keep in safe custody. After the death of Cleomenes, the ^Eginetes accused Leo- tychides before the Spartans, and he was obliged to obtain the release of the prisoners from the Athenians. The guilty conspiracy against Demaratus did not pass unpunished. It came to light; the Delphian was forced to fly; the priestess was deprived of her office; Cleomenes fled to Thessaly, and thence to Arcadia, where he sought to excite war against his country. The Spartans recalled him ; but ere long he went mad, and having procured a knife while in confinement, he cut off his own flesh and died. (Ol. 72, 2.) Leotychides, having been sent with an army to Thessaly against the Aleuads, was caught in the act of taking bribes ; and being accused at Sparta, and fearing a condemnation, he fled to Tegea, where he died. The Persian monarch had now completed his preparations for the subjugation of Greece. A large army, under the 92 HISTORY OF GREECE. command of Datis, a Mede, and Artaphernes, a Persian, son of the king's brother of the same name, was assembled in Cilicia. (01. 72, 3.) A fleet of six hundred triremes and a number of horse-transports, furnished by the maritime subject states, here took the troops on board. They sailed along the coast northwards to the Isle of Samos; then, crossing the Icarian Sea, directed their course to the Isle of Naxos, where they burned the town and the. temples, and enslaved such of the inhabitants as they found, the greater part having fled to the mountains. On coming to Delos, and finding that the inhabitants had retired to Tenos, Datis sent to inform them that they need not fear, as the king's command and his own feelings forbade him to injure the place " where the two gods were born." * He burned there three hundred talents of incense on the altar. Having re- ceived the submission and hostages of the Cyclad Isles, the Persian commanders steered for Euboea, where they Landed, and forced the city of Carystus to submit. They then proceeded to Eretria, whose people, hearing of their ap- proach, sent to the Athenians for aid. The four thousand colonists at Chalcis t were ordered to go to their assistance ; but as they were coming, they were informed by the princi- pal man of the town that a large party of the Eretrians were for surrender, and he advised them to reserve themselves for the defence of their own country. They therefore retired, and passed over to Oropus. After a siege of seven days, Eretria was betrayed to the Persians : its temples were plundered and burnt, and its inhabitants reduced to slavery.j: By the advice of Hippias, * Apollo and Artemis, whom he therefore regarded as the gods of the sun and moon. t See page 75. $ Plato (Laws, iii. 14, Menexenus, 10, Bekk.) says the Persians dragged (ioayijvsvoav) the island. Of this Herodotus says nothing, and it is not likely. The historian (vi. 31) thus describes the process of dragging : the soldiers, taking hands, extended themselves in a line from sea to sea, and thus marched from one end of an island to the INVASION OF GREECE. 93 who was with them, the Persians then passed over to Mar- athon, on the coast of Attica, where a plain of some extent would permit their cavalry to act with advantage. At Athens, however, all was prepared for a vigorous de- fence. The command was committed to the ten generals (one from each phyle) and the Polemarch Archon. A swift courier, named Pheidippides, was sent to summon aid from Sparta; and on the second day, though the distance was more than nine hundred stadia, he reached that town. The Spartans readily promised their assistance ; but it was only the ninth day of the month, and it was their custom never to march from home but at the full of the moon. They therefore were reluctantly obliged to defer their departure for five days. The Athenians, meantime, had advanced to Marathon, which was two hundred stadia from their city. They halted at the temple of Hercules, where they were joined by the whole military population of their faithful allies, the Plataeans. For this people, who dwelt at the foot of Cithaeron, in Bceo- tia, being hard pressed by their ambitious neighbors, the Thebans, had (01. 65, 2) offered King Cleomenes and the Lacedaemonians to put themselves under their protection; but they represented to them that, on account of the distance, they could not always come to their aid, and advised them to apply to the Athenians ; and this they did, says Herodo- tus, not out of regard to the Athenians, but that they might be embroiled with the Thebans. The Plataeans did as directed, and the friendship and fidelity between them and their patrons was most enduring and highly honorable to both. Among the Athenian generals was Miltiades, who had been tyrant of the Athenian colony at the Chersonese, and, as we have seen, advised the Ionians to loosen the bridge on the Ister. To escape the vengeance of the Persians, he had fled back to Athens, where his family was of consequence, other, so that nothing could escape them, and the inhabitants were taken like wild beasts. 94 HISTORY OF GREECE. and resumed his rights of citizenship : his enemies accused him here of having held the tyranny, but the people acquit- ted him, and now had chosen him one of the ten generals. His knowledge of the Persians and their tactics and mode of fighting had, of course, influenced them in their choice. In the council of war which was held, the opinions were divided equally; Miltiades and four others being for en- gaging, the rest for delay. The casting vote lay with the Polemarch Callimachus. Miltiades urged on him the dan- ger of delay, as in such case, there could be little doubt that dissension would break out, and a portion of the people medise* and then their reduction under the yoke of Hip- pias would be inevitable. Callimachus was convinced, and he gave his vote for immediate action. Aristeides and the other generals who had voted on the same side, when their day of command (for they took it by turns) came, resigned it to Miltiades, who, however, would not engage till his own day was come. On that day Miltiades drew up his forces in line of battle. The Polemarch, in virtue of his office, commanded the right wing ; the Athenians extended thence in order of their phyles ; and the Plataeans formed the left wing. To give the greater extent to his front, Miltiades diminished the number of ranks in the centre, while he increased those of the wings. The enemy was now also in battle array, the Persians and Sacians forming the centre. The distance between the ar- mies was eight stadia. The sacrifices proving favorable, the Athenians advanced running, probably to give more force to their charge, or to escape the Persian arrows. The Persians, deeming them mad, received their charge, and broke and pursued the Greek centre ; but the Greek wings were victorious, and, instead of pursuing, they turned, and engaged and defeated those who had broken their centre. The Barbarians fled to their ships, abandoning their camp, * We use this verb and the substantive medism for the act of siding with the Persians. The Medes seem at this time to have been better known than the Persians. BATTLE OF MARATHON. 95 which became the prey of the victors, and seven of the ships also were taken.* On the side of the Persians, 6400 men fell; the Athenians are said to have lost but 192 : the Pole- march Callimachus was among the slain. The Persians, having taken on board their Eretrian captives, whom they had left in a small island, sailed round Cape Sunion, in the hope of surprising Athens ; but when they came to the port of Phaleron, near the city, they saw that the troops were prepared to meet them, for the Athenian commanders, sus- pecting their design, had led back all the phyles but one, which remained under Aristeides, to guard the booty and prisoners.! The Persians, thus baffled, returned to Asia. The Eretrians were sent to Darius, who settled them at a place named Ardericca, in the land of the Cissians. After the full moon, 2000 Lacedaemonians came to Athens, having marched nine hundred stadia in three days. Finding the battle over, they went to Marathon to look at the bodies of the Barbarians, and then returned home praising the valor of the Athenians. Contrary to the usual custom of the Athenians, those who fell at Marathon were buried in a mound on the spot, and pillars were set up, inscribed with their names and their phyles. Another mound contained the bodies of the Pla- teeans and the slaves. J Neither mound nor pillar marked the burial-place of the Persians. In after times, the Mara- thonians worshipped the slain as heroes, and with them a hero named Echetlaeos; for it was said, that in the fight there appeared a man of rustic mien, armed with a plough, * We have here an instance of the absurd exaggerations in which the later writers indulged. Herodotus (vi. 114) relates that an Athe- nian named Cynaegeirus, having laid hold of the stern of one of the ships, the Persians cut off his hand with an axe. Justin, (ii. 9,) to aug- ment the marvel, adds, that when his right hand was struck off, he grasped the ship with his left, and that also being cut off, he seized it with his teeth ! t Plutarch, Aristeides, 5. t Pausanias, i. 32, 3. The slaves, if any were there, were probably a part of the Platcean forces. 96 HISTORY OF GREECE. with which he did great scathe to the Barbarians. After the battle, he was seen no more ; and the oracle, being con- sulted, directed them to honor the hero Echetlaeos. It was also believed, in after times, that at night might be heard by wayfarers on the plain of Marathon the neighing of the Persian war-steeds, and the clash and clang of the arms of warriors engaged in the fray ; but no visible object met the eye of the astonished listener.* It is possible that the details of this memorable battle may have fallen short of the expectations of the reader. But its importance must be estimated by its effects : it taught the Greeks their superiority in the field over the Orientals, and led to those victories which checked the westward progress of the Persian arms. The honest histo- rian whom we have followed does not tell what the numbers were on each side ; the Latin biographer, Cornelius Nepos, and other late writers, state the Athenians at 9000, the Plataeans at 1000 men probably the true number.f These were all hoplites, for Herodotus asserts that they had neither horse nor light troops. Cornelius Nepos also gives details of the battle at variance with the narrative of Herodotus. He tells us that Miltiades drew up his army at the foot of * Paus. ut sup. The same is told of the plain of Munda in Spain, where Julius Csesar defeated the younger Pompeius. See Mendoza, Guerra de Granada, p. 320. At the present day, the shouting and the hlows of the warriors at Marathon sound so loud in fancy's ear, that the shepherds abandon their flocks and seek shelter. See Turner's Tour in the Levant, i. p. 349. t Nepos says that the Persians had 200,000 foot and 10,000 horse ; Pausanias (iv. 25) and Valerius Maximus (v. 3) say 300,000 ; Plato (Menex. 10) 500,000; Justin, always in extremes, gives the whole force at 000,000 men, of whom 200,000 perished ! Let us try to approach the truth. The fleet consisted of GOO triremes , the crew of a trireme was 200 men, and it carried thirty soldiers. Let us suppose that on the present occasion there were fifty soldiers on board of each trireme ; we thus get 120,000 rowers and sailors, and 30,000 soldiers ; and there is nothing wonderful in 10,000 Greeks defeating 30,000 Asiatics. The number of horses in a transport was usually thirty ; but we are not told how many transports there were. BATTLE OF MARATHON. 97 the mountain, having its flanks, and apparently its front, protected by felled trees, where he sustained the charge of the Persians. Now, that the Athenians were the assailants can hardly be doubted ; and we are not sure that trees fit for the purpose grew in that part of Attica, a country re- markably bare of timber. Details given by late writers must, we warn the reader, be always received with caution. This important victory of Marathon justly gained Milti- ades great influence at Athens; and when he asked the people to give him seventy triremes, with the necessary men and money, to go on an expedition which would be greatly for the advantage of the state, they granted them at once. It was probably his design to make the isles pay for their submission to the Medes ; private vengeance, it is said, made him sail first to Paros, where he laid siege to the town, demanding one hundred talents as the price of safety. Hav- ing wasted the country and besieged the town in vain dur- ing twenty-six days, he retired, and on his return to Athens popular indignation was high against him, and Xanthippus and others accused him capitally for the deception he had practised on the people. As he had had the misfortune to break his thigh during the siege of Paros, he was unable to defend himself; but he was brought in his bed into the assembly, and his friends, by reminding the people of the eminent services he had done the state, caused the capital charge to be dismissed. He was condemned, however, to pay the usual fine of fifty talents ; but he died shortly after- wards, and his son Cimon paid the fine.* It is usual to regard this conduct of the Athenians as an * Plutarch (Cimon, 4) and Nepos say that he was cast into prison, where he died ; Plato (Gorgias, 153, Bekk.) says that the people voted to cast him into the pit named the Barathron to perish, and that the sentence would have been executed, had it not been for the Prytanes, or presidents of the assembly. This last account is not very probable ; and we doubt if the authority of those two careless biographers be suf- ficient to justify us in attributing to the Athenians (who were not a cruel people) the inhumanity of casting a man with a mortified limb into prison. 9 M 98 HISTORY OF GREECE. instance of flagrant ingratitude ; but before we condemn, we should be sure that we know all the circumstances of the case. Public men are seldom actuated by a pure and dis- interested love of their country ; and if on one occasion, in their pursuit of their own glory, they have chanced to ren- der it some signal service, it is not reasonable to expect that this should procure indemnity for future transgres- sions. Public life, like private life, must be pure in its whole course, or praise and reward will be converted into blame and punishment. In the case of Miltiades, we are to recollect that he had more at stake than any one else at Marathon, for the Per- sians regarded him as a rebel and a traitor, and would have dealt with him accordingly. He certainly showed more military skill than some of his colleagues ; but in true patriotism he was perhaps exceeded by the Polemarch. There does not appear any party virulence in the prosecu- tion of him, which was conducted by one of the leading men at Athens : he was only treated like any other citizen. Two rival statesmen now appear on the scene at Athens Aristeides, the son of Lysimachus, and Themistocles, the son of Neocles. The former, of noble birth, and the intimate friend of Cleisthenes, moderate and disinterested in his char- acter, leaned to the aristocratic principle ; his rival, of in- ferior birth, (his mother being a foreigner,) courted more the people ; in integrity and moral dignity of character, he was as inferior to his rival as in birth ; but his brilliant qualities gained the people, and his influence soon became considerable in the state. Aristeides, who was styled the Just, directed his attention chiefly to the management of the finances, and was more than once chosen archon. Themistocles sought the more showy station of military command. After the death of Miltiades, he obtained the command of a fleet, and reduced the Cyclad Isles to submission. While others fondly deemed that the victory at Marathon had ended the projects of the Medes against Greece, he, as doubtless did many others, MARCH OF XERXES. 99 saw in it only the prelude to greater conflicts, for which it behoved Athens to prepare. Aware that her situation and character did not qualify her to be a land power, he sought to turn the thoughts of the people to the augmentation of the navy. To speak of the distant dangers from Persia he knew would be idle ; but the enmity to ^Egina might, he saw, be turned to advantage. In the very year that Mil- tiades went against Paros, (Ol. 72, 4,) while Aristeides was archon, he induced the people to consent to the produce of the silver mines of Laurion, which used to be divided among them, being devoted to the building of ships of war ; and they soon had a fleet of two hundred triremes afloat in their harbors. The influence of Themistocles was ere long so great, that he was able to turn the weapon of ostracism against his rival, and Aristeides was obliged to go into honorable banishment. (Ol. 74, 2.) * CHAPTER Xl.t MARCH OF XERXES. PREPARATIONS OF THE GREEKS. BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE. BATTLE OF THE ARTEMI- SION. ATTEMPT ON DELPHI. What Themistocles had foreseen came to pass. It is not the character of despotic princes to give over a contest be- cause their arms have received a check. Darius was bent more than ever on the subjugation of Greece ; and during three years, troops and ships, stores and corn, were collected for another and a greater armament against that country. But when all was nearly ready, a rebellion broke out in Egypt ; and then a dispute about the succession to the throne * Plut. Themist. 4. t Herod, vii. viii. 1 39 ; Diodorus xi. ; Plut. Themist. 100 HISTORY OF GREECE. between his sons called his thoughts away from Greece. Having arranged the succession, he was preparing for civil and foreign wars, when death surprised him in the thirty- seventh year of his reign. (Ol. 73, 4.) Xerxes, the son of Darius by Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, succeeded to the throne of Persia. His first thoughts were directed to the reduction of Egypt, and he gave but little heed to the affairs of Greece. But Mardonius, his hot and ambitious cousin, kept urging him to the subjugation of Europe ; the Peisistratids were also at the court of Susa, and showed oracles portending conquests to the arms of Persia; and envoys from the Aleuads, the princes of Thessaly, who feared for their own power from the growth of republican principles in Greece, called on him to come and receive their submission. The young monarch lent an ear to these inducements, and in the second year of his reign, the Egyptians having been reduced to obedience, he assembled a council to consider of the invasion of Greece. The king spoke, enumerating the injuries which the realm had sustained from the Greeks, and drawing a flattering pic- ture of the extent which a conquest of this people, who were the only impediment to that of Europe, would give the em- pire. He was followed by Mardonius, speaking slightingly of the Greeks, and dwelling on the facility of the enterprise. But on the other side rose Artabanus, brother of Darius and uncle of the king, who showed the danger, the difficulty, and the folly of the expedition. Xerxes kindled in wrath, and was only withheld from injuring him by respect for his father's brother. The council broke up ; dreams at night came to the monarch and to Artabanus, and the latter, con- vinced that the war was the will of heaven, ceased to op- pose it.* Four years were still employed in making preparations for the conquest of Europe. Provisions of all kinds were * The whole account of the councils and affairs of Persia given by Herodotus has such an Oriental air that he must have derived it from Persian authorities. MARCH OF XERXES. 101 conveyed by the maritime subjects of the empire to the coast of Thrace, and laid up in the towns there. A ship-canal, wide enough to let two triremes go abreast, was cut across the Isthmus, of seven stadia in width, which connects Mount Athos with the main land ; cables and all things necessary for the construction of bridges of boats were brought from Egypt and Phoenicia. At length, (01. 74, 4,) the immense army of the lord of the East was assembled in the plains of Cappadocia. The monarch set forth from Susa, and at its head crossed the Halys, marched through Phrygia, and came to Celoenae in Lydia, where he and his entire army were entertained by a Lydian, of noble birth, named Pytheas, who offered the whole of his immense wealth for the war. But Xerxes gen- erously added to the riches he would not accept. The host moved thence to Sardes, where the king passed the winter. While here, he sent heralds to all parts of Greece but Athens and Lacedsemon, demanding earth and water, and ordering them to prepare a supper for the king. Meanwhile, the Egyptians and Phoenicians were bridging over the Hellespont at Abydos, where the breadth is seven stadia ; but a tempest came on and broke their work asun- der. Then, say the Greeks, Xerxes kindled in ire ; he or- dered the heads of those who were over the work to be cut off, and he sent persons charged to give three hundred lashes to the unruly Hellespont, to cast into it a pair of golden fetters, to rebuke it for its insolence, and to say that the king would pass whether it would or not. The bridge was then renewed and completed. It was built in the fol- lowing manner. On the side next the Propontis (whence the stream flows) they ranged three hundred and sixty tri- remes, and fifty-oar vessels, lengthways across the stream, and three hundred and fourteen on the other side, facing down it ; all secured by anchors, and cables were stretched along them. Three narrow passages were left for small vessels. The whole was made fast to the shore on either side by thick cables. Pieces of timber, sawn to the due length, were 9* 102 HISTORY OF GREECE. laid along the cables ; over these were spread branches of trees and brushwood, which were covered with earth, and bulwarks were raised along each side, lest the sight of the sea should terrify the horses and beasts of burden.* In the following spring, (OI. 75, 1,) Xerxes led his host from Sardes. As he was setting forth, the sun became eclipsed, which the Magians said portended to Greece the failure (eclipse) of their cities before the king a response which filled the monarch with joy. Ere he departed, Pyth- eas came before him, and prayed him, on account of his advanced age, to allow the eldest of his five sons to remain with him. The despot was inflamed with ire, and telling Pytheas that his hospitality alone saved his other sons, he had the eldest seized and cut in two, and the army marched between the severed parts of his body.t The order of the march was as follows. First went the beasts of burden and the baggage drivers ; then a mass of troops of various nations, without any certain order; 1000 chosen Persian horsemen followed; after these came 1000 chosen spearsmen, carrying their spears points downwards ; next were led ten stately Nissean horses J richly caparisoned; the chariot of Zeus, (Ormuzd,) drawn by ten white horses, followed, the driver on foot, holding the reins in his hands ; and then came the monarch himself, in a car drawn by Nissean horses; 1000 Persian spearsmen, of the noblest fam- ilies, followed the king ; 1000 chosen horsemen succeeded ; then came 10,000 Persian footmen, (the Immortals,) 1000 with golden, the remainder with silver pomegranates on the butts of their spears; 10,000 Persian horse followed. * There is some difficulty in Herodotus's description of this bridge. It would appear that there were two roads, one over each rank of ships. See the account of the passage presently to be given. t As Herodotus tells a similar story of Darius, a mild and merciful prince, it is probably true neither of him nor of Xerxes. t Horses of a superior breed from Nisa in Media. In the religious system of Persia, Ormuzd was the good principle, the lord of light and happiness; his opposite was Ahriman, the prince of darkness. MARCH OF XERXES. 103 With an interval of two stadia, the rest of the army came behind. In this order the army marched though Lydia and My- sia; and leaving Mount Ida on the left, came to the Troas, where the famed Scamander failed them as they drank. Xerxes ascended and sacrificed on the place where Troy had stood. Soon the host spread along the Straits of Helle. A throne of marble was set on an eminence near Abydos, on which the king sat and viewed the tents and banners of the myriads who marched at his command : men and horses in countless numbers covered the plain ; the bridge which joined the two continents stretched before him ; his nume- rous navy, engaged in a sham-battle, gratified the lord of Asia with their skilful evolutions. As he gazed, his heart distended with pride, and he gloried in his strength : but soon tears were seen to gush from his eyes ; Artabanus drew nigh, and inquired the cause : " I weep," said the monarch, " to think that a hundred years hence not one of these will be alive." On the following day, as the sun rose, Xerxes poured from a golden cup a libation into the sea, and prayed the lord of day, the glorious Mithra,* to guard him from all peril in his progress. He then cast into the sea the cup he held, a golden bowl, (crater,) and a Persian cimeter. In- cense fumed all along the bridge, which was strown with boughs of myrtle. The passage then began : on the left side of the bridge moved the beasts of burden and the ser- vants ; on the right, the troops, both horse and foot. The 10,000 Persian footmen, all wearing garlands, led the way; a mingled host followed. Next day the Persian horse and spearsmen, also crowned, passed the first; and after them the sacred horses and chariot, the king himself, the spears- men, and the 1000 horse. Seven days and nights lasted this passage of Asia into Europe, the lash quickening the pace of the tardy. * So the Persians called the Sun-god. 104 HISTORY OF GREECE. When the whole host had passed, the march was resumed, the fleet sailing along the coast. The waters of the Melas failed, like those of the Scamander. The host passed the Hebrus and reached Doriscus ; and here, where a wide plain and a long shore extended, the monarch resolved to num- ber and review his troops and his navy. The ships were for this purpose all drawn on shore along the extensive beach. To number the land troops the following plan was devised. A myriad of men were placed in as close a man- ner as they could stand, and a circle was drawn round them. They were then dismissed, and a dry stone wall was built on the circle as high as a man's waist. Myriad after myriad the army entered the enclosure, and the whole was found to amount to a hundred and seventy myriads ! The Persians, the Medes, the Cissians, the Bactrians, Hyr- canians, Sacians, Arians, Parthians, Chorasmians, Sogdians, and other neighboring peoples, were armed and clad in nearly the same manner. They wore limber caps named tiaras on their heads, tunics with sleeves covered with iron scales, and trousers. They bore four-cornered shields covered with raw ox-hide, (y^ga,) short spears, quivers, bows, and arrows of reed, and daggers hanging at the right side. The Assyrians wore brazen helmets of a peculiar fashion ; their shields, spears, and swords were like those of the Egyptians ; their corselets were of linen, and they carried clubs headed with iron. The Indians were clad in cotton, with bows and arrows of cane. The Arabs wore zeirm, (eiQul y ) or coats reaching to the feet, and carried long bows. The ^Ethiopians were clad in the skins of lions and leopards; when going into battle they painted their bodies half red, half white; their bows, of six feet in length, were the pe- duncles of the palm leaves, from which they shot small reed- arrows headed with hard stone ; their short spears were headed with antelope-horn, and they carried knotty sticks. The Libyans were clad in leather, and used darts of wood hardened in the fire. The Paphlagonians, Lygians, Mari- andyniaii3, Phrygians, and other peoples of Lesser Asia, MARCH OF XERXES. 105 wore helmets, and had small shields and spears, with darts and swords, and boots coming half up the leg. The Lydi- ans were armed like the Greeks. The Bithynians had caps of fox-skin, and fawn-skin buskins; they wore tunics, over which were zeirce of various colors ; they carried darts, four-cornered shields, and short swords. The Moschi, Ti- bareni, Macrones, and Mosynceci had helmets of wood, small shields, and short spears with long heads. The Col- chians and Mares had shields covered with hide, wooden helmets, and short spears : the Colchians bore, moreover, heavy swords. The islanders from the Erythrean Sea were clad and armed like the Medes : these were the infantry, a hundred and seventy myriads in number. The flower of the army were the 10,000 Persians, named the Immortals, because their number was always kept up at its full amount. They had peculiar privileges, were richly attired, and were, in effect, the Guards of the Persian army; their leader was Hydarnes. The Persians, Medes, Cissians, Bactrians, and Caspians furnished cavalry armed and clothed like the infantry. Of these the most remarkable were the Sagartians, a Persian tribe, who gave 8000 horse ; they used no arms but daggers, but they carried a long chain of leather, with a noose on the end of it,* which they flung, and caught men or horses, whom they then despatched. The Indians sent single horse- men, and chariots drawn by horses and wild asses. The Libyans also drove war-chariots. The Arabians rode on camels fleet as horses. Eight myriads was the number of the cavalry, exclusive of the chariots and camels. The Egyptians sent 200 triremes ; the people of Palestine and Phoenicia, 300 ; the Cyprians, 150 ; the Cilicians, 100 ; the Pamphylians, 30; the Lycians, 50; the Dorians of Asia, 30; the Carians, 70 ; the Ionians, 100; the islanders, 17; * This is the kamund, or noose, borne by the heroes in the Persian heroic poem, the Shah-Nameh of Ferdousee. See the tale of " Roostem and Soohrab," in the author's " Tales and Popular Fictions," particu- larly the note at page 152. N 106 HISTORY OF GREECE. the iEolians, 60 ; the Hellespontians, 100. The whole num- ber of triremes was 1207; that of the smaller vessels and transports was 3000. Persians, Medes, and Sacians were on board the triremes to fight them. The Sidonian ships were the best; next to these the five triremes which Artemisia, the brave queen of Halicarnassus, commanded in person. When Xerxes had driven in his chariot from nation to nation, and reviewed his entire army, he got on board a Si- donian vessel, where he sat under a golden canopy, and sailed along by the prows of the ships, which were anchored for the purpose in a line four plethra (four hundred feet) from the land, with their prows turned to the shore. The review being completed, the word was given to set forward. The army marched in three parallel divisions ; the towns on the way were ruined by the quantity of provisions they were forced to supply ; the Lissus, the Echedorus, and other streams were drunk dry. All the tribes of Thrace were forced to march in the train of the Great King, and swell the number of his array. At length the host encamped at the head of the Thermai'c Gulf in Macedonia. Here the king was met by the heralds whom he had sent to Greece. They brought him the submissions of the Thessalians, Do- lopians, ^Enians, Perrhsebians, Magnetes, Melians, Phthio- tic Achoeans, Locrians, and the Thebans, and all the other Boeotians but the Thespians and Platoeans. It is now time that we should direct our view to Athens and Lacedsemon, whose destruction was menaced by this formidable host. As soon as it was ascertained that Xerxes was about to lead the forces of the East for the subjugation of Greece, the Athenians, whose conduct in this war we shall find to exceed all praise, sent to consult the oracle at Delphi. The response in dark and dubious terms announced the destruction of towns, the conflagration of temples. Filled with terror, they implored a more favorable oracle for their country. The god replied, that Zeus would only grant to the prayers of Pallas the safety of the wooden wall, and announced that "divine Salamis" would destroy the PREPARATIONS OF THE GREEKS. 107 children of women. This response, when brought to Athens, gave rise to great doubts as to its meaning. Some of the aged people, calling to mind that the Acropolis had of old been surrounded by a thorn-hedge, thought that it was the place of safety indicated ; others said it was the fleet that was meant; but as destruction at Salamis seemed to be menaced, they advised to get on shipboard and fly to some distant country. Themistocles said, that if the god meant evil to Greece, he would have said "pernicious," (crx 8T ^V t ) and not " divine," (Oeh] } ) Salamis, and that the oracle was against the foe. His opinion prevailed, and they resolved to man their triremes and fight for independence. It was decreed to build more ships immediately. A council was held at the Isthmus by the friends of the independence of Hellas, and it was determined to call on the Argives, the Cretans, the Corcyraeans, and Gelon, the tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily, to aid the common cause. Spies were also sent to Sardes to ascertain the real strength of the enemy. These spies were seized by the Persian gen- erals, who were about to put them to death; but Xerxes proudly ordered that they should be led through the host, and then dismissed in safety to tell of the might of the lord of Asia. The Argives, according to their own account, had sent to consult the god at Delphi, and the response had been to guard their head, and they would be safe. They, however, offered to join, if the Lacedaemonians would make a thirty years' truce with them, and give them the command of half the army. The truce they required lest, if any thing should befall them in the war, the Lacedaemonians might attack and conquer them before their sons were grown up. The Spartan envoys replied, that they would lay the truce be- fore the general assembly at Sparta ; as to the command, as they had two kings and the Argives but one, they could only let him be of equal authority with them. The Argives forthwith ordered them to quit the city before sunset. They deemed it, they said, better to obey the Barbarians than to 108 HISTORY OF GREECE. yield to the Lacedaemonians. According to another account, the Argives had already contracted an engagement with Xerxes. The Cretans also sent to Delphi, and the god advised them, as they interpreted the response, to abstain from the war. The Corcyraeans readily promised aid, and manned sixty triremes ; but they loitered off the coast of Messene till the great naval action was fought, to make a merit of it with the Persian if he won, to be able to say to the Greeks if the vic- tory was theirs, that adverse winds alone had prevented them from doubling Cape Malea and sharing in it. Gelon, the powerful tyrant of Syracuse, reminded the en- voys how, when he was in straits, in a war with the Cartha- ginians, he had sought aid from Greece in vain; he offered, nevertheless, to join with 200 triremes, 10,000 hoplites, 2000 horse, and 6000 archers, slingers, and light horse, and to supply corn for the whole Grecian army during the war, if they would give him the supreme command. The Spartan envoy haughtily refused. Gelon then offered to be content with the command either by sea or by land ; but the Atheni- ans declared they would yield the command at sea only to the Spartans. Offended at their haughtiness, the Sicilian bade them go back and tell to Greece that they had taken the spring out of the year ; meaning his own troops, which were to the Grecian army what the spring is to the year. It was said, however, by the Sicilians, that he would have sent aid, but that he was engaged in a war with the Carthaginians. The Thessalians were at first true to Greece. They sent to the Isthmus requesting that a body of troops might be sent to guard the Vale of Tempe, and offering to join their cavalry with it. This offer was readily accepted ; ten thou- sand hoplites, commanded by Euaenetus, a Spartan polemarch, and by Themistocles the Athenian, got on shipboard, and landing on the coast of the Phthiotic Achaia, marched through Thessaly to Tempe. But when Alexander the Macedonian sent to tell them that it was madness to stay there, and they learned also that there was another entrance PREPARATIONS OF THE GREEKS. 109 from Macedonia, through Perrhcebia, at Gonnos, the Greek commanders reembarked their troops and went back to the Isthmus. The Thessalians, thus left to themselves, sought their safety in medism. The council at the Isthmus then resolved to guard the passage at Thermopylae, while the fleet should lie at the Artemision,* or shore of Eubcea, op- posite the Bay of Pagasae, to oppose the progress of the Per- sian fleet. This fleet meantime had weighed anchor, and was sailing down the Thermaic Gulf. The Greeks, on hearing of its numbers, were seized with dread, and leaving the Ar- temision, retired to the Euripus, the narrow strait between Eubcea and Boeotia. The Persians sailed leisurely between the Isle of Sciathos and the land, and anchored at Sepias and along the coast of Magnesia. Xerxes conducted his troops through Upper Macedonia, entered Thessaly at Gon- nos, marched through it unopposed, and finally spread his tents and pavilions in Melis before the pass of Thermopylae. The historian, whose guidance we follow, takes a survey of the land and sea forces of the Persian monarch while they are complete and unimpaired, and he gives the follow- ing results. Reckoning 200 men to each of the 1207 tri- remes, their crews amounted to 241,400 men ; there were besides, 30 soldiers on board of each, which made 36,210. Calculating the 3000 small craft at 80 men apiece, they car- ried 240,000, in all, 517,610 men. There were 1,700,000 foot, and 80,000 horse, and 20,000 Libyans and Arabians with chariots and camels. The Greeks along the coasts and isles of Thrace had to furnish 120 ships, carrying 24,000 men; and the Thracians, Macedonians, and other subject peoples, increased the host by 300,000 men. The whole army of Xerxes, therefore, amounted to 2,641,610 men. The crowd of camp-followers, sutlers, etc., the women and eunuchs not included, he reckons at an equal number ; so that the whole amount was 5,283,220 ! a most monstrous * So named, as being sacred to the goddess Artemis, who had a tem- ple there. (Herod, vii. 176.) 10 110 HISTORY OF GREECE. exaggeration of Persian and Grecian vanity combined ; for OB Greece never did and never could contain a population equal to what was assembled, according to this account, in the valley of the Spercheius.* The Persian fleet, the very first night it anchored on the coast of Magnesia, was assailed by a furious tempest from the east, which lasted for three days, and destroyed not less than four hundred ships and a vast number of the smaller vessels. The Greeks, on learning their loss, took courage, and return- ed to the Artemision ; but the Barbarians, as soon as the wind fell, got round into the Pagasaean Bay, and anchored at Aphe- tae. Fifteen vessels loitered behind, and taking the Greek fleet at the Artemision for their own, were captured. A narrow pass leads from Thessaly into Greece. Its * Isocrates (Panathen. 17) gives 5,000,000 as the number of the en- tire land-force, of whom 700,000 were fighting-men. Trogus Pompeius (see Justin) reduces the number to 1,000,000, but probably without any authority. Mr. Clinton (Fasti Hellenici, i. 386) makes the greatest population of ancient Greece 3,500,000. Of the number of followers of an Eastern army, Gillies gives the following instance : an Anglo- Indian army of 6727 officers and men, had a train of 19,779 servants and followers. In reality, it is hard to conceive that the entire land-force of Xerxes could have exceeded, if it even equalled, that which he is said to have left with Mardonius after his. defeat at Salamis. We shall find that in Ol. 115, 4, an army of 25,000 men could not be kept in Attica; yet Xerxes, and afterwards Mardonius, remained there for some time. When we consider the semi-epic character of Herodotus's work,it will not seem improbable that, in his catalogue of the Persian forces, he was vying with Homer, and making a display of his geographical knowledge. The . opinion of Heeren, adopted by Mr. Thirlwall, (Hist, of Greece, ii. 254,) that Herodotus drew his account of the numbers and equipments of the various troops from the lists formed by the royal secretaries at the review at Doriscus, does not appear to us well founded. It has surprised us also to find, that neither of these able writers considers the numbers of the Persian forces to be greatly exaggerated ; yet surely, if ever there was a palpable exaggeration, this is one. We recollect nothing in Orien- tal history, or even Oriental romance, that approaches it. The enormous army of Xerxes vanishes, like those in romance, after Salamis, leaving no more trace than the snowdrift after a sudden thaw. BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE. Ill length is about five English miles, its breadth, where narrow- est, does not exceed sixty paces. The west side of this pass is formed by the steep declivity of Mount CEta ; marshes and the sea bound it on the east. About the middle of it are the hot springs which give it its name of Thermopylae, and a small plain, at either end of which it contracts again. At the northern end of the pass was a wall nearly in ruins, which had been formerly erected by the Phocians to defend their country against the Thessalians. When Xerxes reached Thermopylae, he found a small army there ready to dispute the passage. This army consisted of 300 Spartan hoplites, 1000 fromTegea and Mantineia, 1120 from the rest of Arcadia, 400 from Corinth, 200 from Phlius, and 80 from Mycenae, in all 3100 Peloponnesians, and commanded by Leonidas, one of the kings of Sparta. With these were 700 Thespians, and 400 Thebans from Bceotia ; the Phocians came 1000 in number, and all the Opuntian Locrians. It was not expected that this small force would be able effectually to resist the Persians; but it was the in- tention of the Spartans, as soon as the feast of the Carnea, which they were then celebrating, was over, to march thither with all their powers. It was not known that there was another way over the mountain into Greece, and it was thought that this force might hold out a sufficient time. At the nearer approach of the Persians, the Peloponne- sians, who had heard of the path over the mountain, and also dreaded their immense numbers, were for retiring and defending the Isthmus ; but at the prayer of the Phocians and Locrians, Leonidas detained them. Xerxes, on his side, sent forward a horseman to examine the position of the Greeks. The Spartans happening at that time to be posted outside of the wall which they had repaired, the Persian, to his surprise, beheld them amusing themselves with gymnic exercises, and carefully combing out their long hair. The king asked Demaratus, who was with him, the meaning of this practice, and he assured him that it denoted their de- termination to combat to death. Xerxes heeded him not, 112 HISTORY OF GREECE. and having waited four days in expectation of their flight, sent a body of Medes and Cissians, with orders to take them and bring them before him ; but after having continued their attacks for the entire day, they were obliged to retire with loss. The Immortals were next sent : by a feigned flight the Greeks drew them into the pass, where their numbers could not avail them, and then turning made great havock among them ; but they sustained, on this occasion, some loss themselves. Xerxes, it is said, leaped from his throne in dis- may when he saw his Guards thus defeated. The following day the assault was renewed, as it was thought that a great number of the Greeks must be disabled by their wounds ; but the resistance was as vigorous as ever. This obstinate defence of the Greeks perplexed the Persian monarch, as he saw that his army might thus be destroyed in detail. A traitor, however, soon relieved him from his apprehensions ; for a Melian, named Ephialtes, came and informed him that there was a path leading over the mountain, along which he offered to conduct a body of Persian troops. Xerxes joyfully accepted this offer; the Immortals were selected for this service, and at night-fall they set out under the guidance of Ephialtes. This path ran up the mountain, at first along the little stream Asopus, and it came out at the town Alpenus at the southern end of the pass. Leonidas, when he learned its existence, had confided the charge of it to the Phocians, and they had taken their station on the summit. At break of day, the Persians reached the summit unper- ceived. But as the mountain was covered with trees, and the summer air was perfectly still, the Phocians now heard the sound of their tread on the leaves which lay on the ground. They instantly took to their arms ; the Persians, who had not expected to meet any resistance, were daunted at first, but the showers of their arrows soon drove off the Phocians, who retired to the highest point of the mountain. The Persians then went down with all speed to get in the rear of the Greeks, who meantime had learned their impending fate. BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE. 1 13 As the soothsayer Megistias viewed the victims in the evening, he told them they were to die in the morning. Deserters arrived during the night with tidings of the treason ; at day- break the sentinels came down from the mountain to an- nounce the approach of the foes. Leonid as saw that all was over, and he deemed it useless to squander blood in vain : himself and his Spartans must remain and fall, for their laws forbade retreat ; the Thebans, as their state had mediscd, he resolved should share their fate ; the rest he desired to return to their homes. All obeyed except the gallant Thespians, who would not quit the Spartans. The Thebans remained against their will. The soothsayer, an Acarnanian, would stay, but he sent home his only son. In the morning, Xerxes sent troops to attack the Greeks, who now, resolved on death, came boldly out from the pass to meet them. The contest was obstinate; the Persian officers urged on their men with blows ; the Greeks fought with des- peration. Numbers of the Barbarians fell, among whom were two uncles and two brotners of the king. Most of the Greeks had now broken their spears, and fought with their swords. Leonidas fell, and a severe conflict arose over his body, which the Greeks finally carried off. When news came of the descent of the Persians behind them, they retired into the narrow pass, and taking their station on a little knoll, the Spartans and Thespians fought till all were slain. The Thebans, as soon as they had opportunity, advanced with outstretched hands suing for mercy ; and as the Thessalians testified for their medism, they were spared. The head of Leonidas was cut off, and his body hung on a cross, by the impotent vengeance of the Persian monarch. But when the Barbarians were expelled from Greece, the Amphictyons placed on the knoll a marble lion in memory of Leonidas, and erected pillars with inscriptions over the graves of the fallen patriots. A price was set on the head of the traitor Ephialtes, and some years afterwards he was slain by a Trachinian, and though it was on another account, the Lacedaemonians rewarded his slayer. 10* o 114 HISTORY OF GREECE. Another but a much less probable account of this battle says, that Leonidas led forth his men while it was yet night, assailed the Persian camp, penetrated even to the royal tent, and slew all who were in it. Xerxes, fortunately for himself, had gone out when he heard the tumult, or the war might have been ended that night.* It is said that but one of the three hundred Spartans re- turned home. There were two, Eurytus and Aristodemus, at Alpenus on account of sore eyes. Eurytus, on hearing of the passage of the Persians, called for his arms and made his Helot lead him to where they were fighting, and there leave him, and he fell with the rest. As Aristodemus had not done the same, he was made atimous on his return : no one would speak to him or give him fire, and he was called the Coward. But he afterwards nobly retrieved his char- acter.! One of the most distinguished of the Spartans who fell in this conflict was Dieneces, many of whose acute sayings were recollected : the following is the only one transmitted to us. A Trachinian telling the Spartans, who had not yet seen the Medes, that their number was so great that the sun would be hidden by the multitude of their arrows, " 'Tis good," said Dieneces, " what the Trachinian stranger says ; for if the Medes hide the sun, we shall fight in the shade, and not in the sun." While the pass of Thermopylae was thus contested by the land-forces, the fleets were not inactive. The Greeks at the Artemision, when they saw the great number of the Persian fleet, were for dispersing, and not venturing to engage it. The Eubceans besought Eurybiades the Spartan, who held the chief command, to remain till they had removed their children and slaves over to the main land, but in vain. They then came to Themistocles, and gave him thirty talents to * Diodorus, Plutarch, Justin. t Another account said that he and another had been sent on some business out of the camp, and that his comrade returned, while he would not. BATTLE OF THE ARTEMISION. 115 induce him to cause the fleet to stay and engage the enemy there. The Athenians sent Eurybiades five of these talents as from himself, and with three he gained Adeimantus the Corinthian, the most strenuous advocate of retreat ; the re- mainder he kept for himself. It was resolved, therefore, to remain and fight. The Persians, aware of the small number of the Greek ships, were only afraid lest they should take to flight. They therefore despatched two hundred ships to sail round Eu- bcea, and occupy the Euripus behind them, and in the mean time they prepared for action. A celebrated diver named Scyllias, who was with the Persians, came over to the Greeks with the intelligence, and it was resolved to attack the two hundred ships first. As these, however, did not appear, they sailed boldly to Aphetae in order of battle. The Barbarians advanced to engage them, and the combat lasted the entire day : the Greeks took thirty ships, and one Lemnian vessel came over to them. During the night there came on a tremendous storm of thunder, lightning, wind, and rain, which did great damage to the Persian fleet. The two hundred ships which were at sea suffered still more, and most of them were wrecked off the coast of Eubcea. " The whole was done by the Deity," observes Herodotus, " that the Persian power might be made equal to that of the Greeks." Next day the Greeks were joined by fifty-three Athenian ships. The following day the Persian fleet sailed to the Ar- temision in the form of a half-moon, and enclosed the Greeks. The combat lasted the entire day, with great loss of men and ships on both sides, nearly one half of the Athenian tri- remes being disabled. They now consulted about retiring ; and when their sentinel came from Trachis, and told how Leonidas and his men had just fallen, an immediate retreat was resolved on. The Corinthians led the way, tiie Atheni- ans brought up the rear. Themistocles, taking some of the best sailing ships, went, ere he departed, to the various water- ing-places on the Artemision, and cut on the rocks an ad- 116 HISTORY OF GREECE. dress to the Ionians, reminding them of their injustice in aid- ing to enslave their fathers, and calling upon them to desert if possible, if not to keep back, in the engagement. This he did in expectation that, if they did not come over, it would make them suspected by Xerxes. The pass being now free, the Persian host, led by the Thessalians, advanced into Locris and Doris, and thence to Phocis, where, following the course of the Cephissus, they burned all the towns, the Phocians having fled to the tops of Parnassus, or to Amphissa in the country of the Ozolian Locrians. At Panopeus, Xerxes divided his army, himself leading the main body into Bceotia, and sending off a large detachment to seize and plunder the temple at Delphi. The tidings of the approach of the Barbarians threw the Delphi- ans into consternation, and they inquired of the god wheth- er they should bury the sacred treasures, or convey them to another country. The reply was, that he was able to take care of his own. They therefore sent their wives and chil- dren over to Achaia, and took refuge themselves in the large Corycian cave on Parnassus and elsewhere, leaving only six- ty men and the prophet in the town. The Barbarians were now within sight of the temple, when the prophet, to his amazement, looked and beheld the sacred arms which hung in the sanctuary, and which no man might touch, lying on the ground out before the fane. The Persian troops had reached the temple of Athena Proneia, (Before-the-tcmple,) when suddenly there burst from heaven a storm of thunder, lightning, and rain ; huge masses of rock rolled down on them from Parnassus, and from the fane of Athena issued cries of onset and conflict. Some were crushed to death ; the rest fled in dismay, pursued by the Del- phians; and when they reached the camp, they told that two warriors of superhuman size had aided in the pursuit and slaughter. In these warriors the Delphians recognized their domestic heroes, Phylacus and Autonoiis, whose chapels were in that neighborhood. BURNING OP ATHENS. 117 CHAPTER XII.* BURNING OP ATHENS. BATTLE OF SALAMIS. FLIGHT OP XERXES. BATTLE OF PLAT./EA. BATTLE OF MYCALE. Xerxes, meantime, led his army through Bceotia, all of which, as we have seen, had medised, except Thespise and Plataea; which towns, being deserted by their inhabitants, he burned. He then entered Attica, just three months having elapsed since he left the Hellespont. On coming to Athens, he found the city deserted, except by a few persons who had remained on the Acropolis, which they had barricadoed with timber : either believing this to be the sense of the oracle, or prevented by poverty from departing with the other citi- zens. For Themistocles, by appealing to the superstition as well as the reason of the Athenians, had induced them to leave their city to its fate. The sacred serpent, it was given out, had vanished from the Acropolis a sign, he said, that the goddess herself had abandoned it. A decree therefore was passed at his suggestion, that the city should be commended to the care of its patron-goddess, that the men should all get on board the ships, and each provide for the security of his wife, children, and slaves as best he could. Cimon, the son of Miltiades, set the first example ; followed by a number of young men of his own age and rank, and carrying his bridle in his hand, he ascended the Acropolis, and hanging up the bridle as now useless, and taking down one of the shields which were suspended at the temple, and making his prayer to the goddess, he went down to the sea-side and embark- ed, f The greater part sought refuge in the Isle of Sal amis, the retreat of the Athenians at all periods of their history ; others conveyed their families to iEgina and to Trcezen, on * Herod, viii. 40 to the end, and ix. Diodorus xi. Plut. Themist. and Aristeides. t Plut. Cimon, 5. 118 HISTORY OF GREECE. the opposite coast, and nothing, it is said, could surpass the generosity with which the Trcezenians acted toward them ; they allowed two oboles a day each for their support, permit- ted the children to pull the fruit where they pleased, and paid schoolmasters to teach them.* The Acropolis of Athens is a rock rising perpendicularly out of the plain to a height of two hundred and forty feet ; its summit is accessible in only one place ; a small number therefore could easily defend it. The Persians took their station on the Areiopagus, [Ares' Hill,) opposite the ascent, and thence discharged arrows, bearing lighted tow, against tho wooden defences, which they thus burned. The Peisis- tratids then vainly sought to induce the defenders to sur- render; when the Barbarians attempted to climb the ascent, they rolled down ponderous stones to crush them. At length, some of the Persians discovered an unguarded place by the temple of Aglauros, where with some difficulty they ascend- ed, and then rushed to the gates and opened them. Some of the Athenians flung themselves down from the wall and perished ; others fled to the temple, whither they were pur- sued and slaughtered by the Barbarians. The temple was plundered, and all the buildings on the Acropolis burnt. The same was the fate of the town, with the exception of such houses as the Persian officers reserved for their own quarters. The destruction of Athens was viewed by the assembled fleet of Greece, which was now lying at the Isle of Salamis. For when they retired from the Artemision, they came hither at the request of the Athenians ; who, finding that the Pel- oponnesians had not, as they expected, marched with all their forces into Boeotia to meet the invaders, but, thinking only of themselves, were securing the Isthmus, had besought them to remain at Salamis till they should have removed their families, and also to take counsel as to what future measures should be adopted. When the Athenian women * Plut. Themist. 10. Herodotus says nothing of it. BATTLE OF SALAMIS. 119 and children had been placed in safety, a council was held to determine in what place they should stay and fight. The Peloponnesians were for drawing up the fleet before the Isthmus, as in that case, if defeated, they had the land to escape to; whereas, if defeated at Salamis, there was no retreat, and they should be slaughtered in the island. They had not come to a decision, when they learned that the Acropolis of Athens had been taken by the Barbarians. Some, in their terror, got on board their ships to fly instantly, and the rest determined to retreat to the Isthmus. Night came on, and all embarked to sail from Salamis in the morning. When Themistocles returned to his ship, one of his friends, named Mnesiphilus, came and asked him what had been re- solved on : he told him. " Then," replied he, " all is lost, for they will disperse, and Eurybiades will be unable to retain them. Go, and, if you can, make him stay, and fight here." Without reply, Themistocles hastened to Eurybiades, and saying he had something to communicate to him, was de- sired to come on board his ship. He then spoke with such effect, that the Spartan agreed to summon a council to re- consider the matter. When the generals met, Themistocles, without waiting for Eurybiades to propose the subject of deliberation, according to usage, was employing his eloquence to gain the members to his opinion. " Themistocles," said Adeimantus the Corinthian, "those who rise before their time in the games are flogged." "Yes," -said he, "but those who loiter are not crowned." Then turning to Eu- rybiades, he showed him that if they retired to the Isthmus they would lose Megara, Salamis, and ^Egina, and bring the Persians on the Peloponnesus; that, moreover, they would then have to fight in the open sea instead of in a narrow strait, where their ships, which were heavier and fewer in number, would be less able to contend with those of the Barbarians ; that further, Salamis, in which there were so many Athenian families, ought to be protected. When he had spoken, Adeimantus called on Eurybiades not to listen to a man who 120 HISTORY OF GREECE. had no country. Themistocles, kindling in anger, told him that those who had manned two hundred triremes had more land and country than the Corinthians, for that no people in Greece could resist their attack. He then turned to Eurybi- ades and said, that if he did not stay and fight where he was, the Athenians would take their families on board and sail away and settle at Siris in Italy, leaving them to their fate. This menace was conclusive, and it was resolved to fight at Sal am is. At sunrise an earthquake shook the sea and land. It was resolved to seek by prayer the aid of the gods and of the heroes : the iEacids, Telamon and Ajax, the tutelar heroes of Salamis, were immediately invoked, and a vessel was sent to ^Egina to call on the rest of this heroic family. It was afterwards told that the deities of Eleusis, Demeter and the Kora, had announced defeat to the Barbarians ; for as the Persians were wasting Attica, an Athenian exile and the Spartan Demaratus being in the Thriasian plain, saw a dust as if raised by three myriads of men coming from Eleusis, and heard a cry proceeding from it, which the Athenian knew to be the mystic Iacchus. He told his ignorant companion, that if the dust moved toward Peloponnesus, it was to an- nounce ruin to the king and the land army ; if toward Sala- mis, to the fleet. They gazed, and the cloud of dust rising high in the air, sailed on to Salamis and the camp of the Greeks. They saw that destruction menaced the invaders, but they held their peace, fearing the wrath of the king. The Persian fleet, having sailed down through the Euripus, had now reached the Athenian harbor of Fhaleron undimin- ished, we are assured, * in number, for its losses had been made up by the accession of the ships of the islanders: it therefore counted 1200 ships of war. The Grecian fleet lay at Salamis : it contained 16 Lacedaemonian triremes, 40 Corinthian, 15 Sicyonian, 10 Epidaurian, 5 Trcezenian, 3 Ilermionian, 180 Athenian, 20 Megarian. iEgina furnished * Herod, viii. C6 ; but what addition of force could the Cyclads give ? BATTLE OF SALAMIS. 121 30, Chalcis 20, Eretria 7, Ceos 7, Naxos 4, Styrea 2, Cyth- nus 1. Croton in Italy sent one trireme the only aid Greece received in her glorious struggle ! The whole fleet, exclusive of a few fifty-oared vessels, amounted to 378 ships, exceeding that at the Artemision by 107. Xerxes forthwith issued his orders for the commanders of his navy to meet in council ; and when they were assembled, Mardonius went round taking their opinions as to whether they should fight or not. All but Artemisia voted for im- mediate action. This wise and heroic princess reminded Mardonius how much superior the Greeks were to the Asiatics in valor. She asked why run the risk of defeat, showed how want of provisions would soon compel the Greeks to quit Salamis and disperse, and advised, as the better course, to lead the land army into Peloponnesus. All her friends trembled for the heroine who had spoken thus freely ; but Xerxes, when informed, highly applauded her, though he re- solved to follow the opinion of the majority. The fleet made sail for Salamis in order of battle ; but night came on and prevented an engagement. Meantime a portion of the land forces were advancing toward the Isthmus, where a large army of Peloponnesians, under Cleombrotus, the Spartan king, was assembled. They had blocked up with rocks the narrow Scironian Way which overhangs the sea, and built a wall from sea to sea across the Isthmus. The Peloponnesians at Salamis, on hearing of this movement of the Persians, again lost courage, and seemed determined to return to the defence of their homes, and Themistocles saw that if any more time was allowed them, all would be lost. He therefore, during the night, sent a trusty servant, named Sicinnus, the tutor of his children, in a boat to the Persian camp, desiring him to say that the Athenian commander, who was their secret friend, had sent him to inform them that the Greeks were at disunion and meditated flight, and that if they attacked them at once, they would obtain an easy victory. The Persians fell readily into the snare, and that very night preparations were made for the 11 p 122 HISTORY OF GREECE. attack. The Egyptian ships were sent round Salamis to occupy the strait behind the Greeks, and a body of men were landed in the little islet of Psyttaleia, which lies before the strait, and to which it was supposed the wrecks would be carried and the men would come for refuge. The Greeks, ignorant of all this, were still in debate, when Aristeides, having seen the motions of the Persian fleet, came in a boat from iEgina, and calling out Themistocles, informed him how things were, and represented that retreat was now impossible. Themistocles then told him in confidence that it was all his own doing, and requested him to enter and inform the chiefs, as they would probably give credit to him. Aristeides did as he wished, but still several refused to believe it. But presently came a Tenian trireme, which had de- serted, with the same intelligence, and the truth of it was no longer to be disputed. Day was now dawning ; the war- riors all assembled, Themistocles addressed them in enliven- ing terms, they got on board ; the trireme sent to iEgina to invite the ^Eacids returned at that moment and took her station with the rest. The Persian monarch seated himself on his throne on the summit of the hill ^Egaleos, opposite Salamis, to view this important conflict : secretaries stood around him to note each event of the engagement. His fleet advanced in line of battle ; the Phoenicians forming the right, the Ionians the left : the Athenians were opposed to the former, the Lace- daemonians to the latter. For some time the Grecian mari- ners lay on their oars hesitating to begin. At length an Athenian trireme rushed forth and struck one of those of the enemy : others then came to its aid, and the fight soon became general along the line. So said the Athenians : the ^Eginetes asserted that it was their trireme which had been sent to call the yEacids that began the fight. It was also said that a female phantom appeared, and cried so as to be heard over the whole fleet, ' Dastards ! how long will you lie on your oars ? " When the Persians came within the strait, owing to their FLIGHT OF XERXES. 123 numbers they were unable to keep their order, while the Greeks had sufficient room. They therefore soon fell into confusion, and though the crews individually fought with the utmost heroism, several ships were soon taken, and still more disabled. Artemisia being closely pursued by an Athenian trireme, and seeing no chance of escape, ran at a Calyndian vessel and sank it ; and the Athenian trierarch, judging from this that she must be a friend to Greece, gave over the chase. Xerxes, seeing the deed, and thinking it was one of the enemy's ships she had sunk, observed, " The men are women, the women men ! " Every moment now augmented the confusion and the loss in the Persian fleet, and it soon was seen in flight for Phaleron. While the Athenian triremes moved about, every where carrying destruc- tion to the enemy, the ^Eginetes got out to sea, and fell on and destroyed those who were flying from the Athenians. Meantime, Aristeides, having collected a good body of hoplites who were on the shore of Salamis, passed over with them to Psyttaleia and slaughtered all the Barbarians who were in it. Evening terminated the conflict. The Greeks lost forty triremes; the Barbarians two hundred, exclusive of those which were taken. Among the slain were Ariabignes the admiral, Xerxes' brother, and several Medes and Persians of high rank. The Greeks returned to Salamis and collected the wrecks, and got their vessels in order, expecting another attack in the morning. But Xerxes now, either in earnest or to con- ceal his intentions of retreat, began to make preparations for constructing abridge over to the island, in order to bring his land troops against them. Whilst he was thus engaged, Mardonius came to him, and advised either an immediate invasion of Peloponnesus, or that the king should return home, leaving with him three hundred thousand picked troops, with which he pledged himself to reduce Greece be- neath his yoke. This last proposal was well pleasing to the king, now weary of war : Artemisia, on being consulted, ap- proved of it, and a secret message from Themistocles finally 124 HISTORY OF GREECE. decided him to lose no time in getting over to Asia. For Themistocles, after the victory, proposed that the fleet should sail to the Hellespont and destroy the bridge, so as to cut off the retreat of the king. But Eurybiades representing the danger and the impolicy of such a course, it was given up ; and Themistocles, then prudently resolving to make a merit of what he could not prevent, sent Sicinnus again secretly to Xerxes to tell him that the Greeks had proposed to destroy the bridge, but that he, as a friend to the king, had diverted them from it. When Xerxes had determined on retreat, he sent his fleet in all haste to the Hellespont to guard the bridge. The Greeks pursued them as far as Andros, and it was here that Themistocles made the proposal just mentioned. That pro- ject being rejected, it was resolved to punish the islands for their medism. Themistocles told the Andrians that the Athenians came, having with them two great deities, Per- suasion and Necessity, and that they must therefore give them money. The Andrians replied, that there were two worthless deities, Poverty and Inability, who never would leave their island, and who prevented them from giving any. The Greeks therefore besieged their town. The people of Paros, Carystus, and some other places, hearing of this, sent money secretly to Themistocles, and thus escaped ; and the Greeks, having spent some time to no purpose before Andros, returned to Salamis, laying waste the lands of Carystus on their way. Having divided the booty, the Greeks repaired to the Isthmus, to decide on whom the prize of valor and conduct should be bestowed. The /Eginetes were pronounced to have merited more than any other people, Themistocles more than any other commander. For each chief being desired to go to the altar of Poseidon, and declare who was first and who second in merit, each gave the first place to himself, the second to Themistocles, who was evidently therefore entitled to the first, though envy withheld it. When he went to Sparta shortly afterwards, he was present- FLIGHT OF XERXES. 125 ed with an olive-crown for wisdom, one for valor being given to Eurybiades : he was also presented with the hand- somest chariot there : and when he was departing, three hun- dred Spartans of rank attended him to the frontiers, hon- ors never before bestowed on any one. Meanwhile, the Persian host was in full retreat. In Thessaly the king parted with Mardonius, who selected the Immortals, the Persians, Medes, Sacians, Bactrians, and In dians, and such portions as he deemed best of the other troops, in all three hundred thousand horse and foot, re- solving to winter there and renew the war in spring. Xerxes came in forty-five days to the Hellespont, and found the bridge broken up by the winds and the current. He had scarcely any troops with him ; famine and the dysentery made terrific ravages among those who followed after him ; they were reduced to feed on grass and the leaves of trees, and the carcasses of myriads mouldered on the plains of Ma- cedonia and Thrace. Xerxes led the feeble remnant of his host to Sardes, and thence returned to Persia. The fleet, after it had carried the king and his troops over to Asia, wintered at Cyme, and in the spring sailed to Samos to keep Ionia from revolt. In the spring, (Ol. 75, 2,) the Grecian fleet, commanded by Leotychides the Spartan, the Athenians being led by Xanthippus the son of Ariphron, assembled to the number of one hundred and ten ships at JEgina. Here they were visited by envoys from Ionia, praying them to come and deliver that country. They sailed as far as Delos, but feared to go any further ; and, the Persians in like manner not venturing to leave Samos, both remained inactive. Mardonius, ere he opened the campaign, resolved to try to gain over the Athenians, who were now returned to their city. For this purpose, he sent to them their guest- friend Alexander the Macedonian, offering, in the name of the king, to secure them in their independence, and in their territory, to give them any other territory they chose, and to rebuild the temples which had been burnt. Alexander, 11* 126 HISTORY OF GREECE. as their friend, urged them to accept these terms. On the other side, the envoys who had hastened from Sparta be- sought them not to abandon the common cause, offering to maintain their families and do all in their power to aid them. To Alexander the Athenians replied, that while the sun pur- sued his course, they never would be the friends of him who had burnt their houses and temples. To the Spartans they said, that nothing but ignorance of the Athenian character (which, however, they excused) could have made them sup- pose that they would abandon the cause of Greece. They gratefully declined their offer of supporting their families, but requested of them to send, without loss of time, an army to their aid, as the Barbarian host would soon be in motion. Mardonius now entered Bceotia, and came to Thebes, where the oligarchs advised him to stay and fight, as the country was suited to cavalry ; but he would return to At- tica, and in the tenth month after Xerxes had taken Athens, he entered it anew, but found it deserted, the people hav- ing as usual passed over to Salamis. Again he tried nego- tiation, sending a Hellespontine Greek, named Murychides, to offer the terms he had offered before. Lycidas, one of the senate, proposed to treat, but senators and people stoned him to death, and the women inflicted the same penalty on his wife and children : the envoy was dismissed uninjured. Mardonius now wasted the country which he hitherto had spared, and he burned the remaining houses and temples. The Athenians, when they heard of the approach of Mar- donius, had sent envoys to upbraid the Spartans with not having come to the defence of Attica, and to menace them with defection if they still neglected them. The Spartans, who were then keeping their festival of the Hyacinthia, put them off from day to day for a space of ten days, during which time the wall at the Isthmus was nearly completed ; but Chileos, the Tegeate, reminding the Ephors that if the Athenians joined the Barbarians, the wall would be of no use, they saw that their policy was foolish as well as bas?, and resolved to change it. That very night they sent off five BATTLE OF PLAT.2EA. 127 thousand Spartans, each attended by seven Helots, under Pausanias, the cousin and guardian of the young king Pleis- tarchos. In the morning, the Athenian envoys came and in- formed the Ephors that, if not aided at once, they would depart, and the Athenians would join the king. The Ephors assured them, on oath, that an army was on its march, and must have already reached Arcadia. The envoys could scarce believe them ; but when they had ascertained the truth, they joyfully departed, accompanied by an additional force of five thousand Lacedaemonian Pericecians. The Argives, who had promised Mardonius to prevent the march of the Spartans, now sent a swift courier to inform him that they had been unable to stop them. As Attica was not adapted for cavalry, he resolved to return to Bceotia. He led his army into Megaris, which, as it was reported, a Lacedaemonian army had entered ; but rinding the rumor false, he returned to Attica, where he was met by some of the people who dwelt on the Asopus, sent by the Boeotarchs to conduct him. They led him by Deceleia and Sphendales to Tanagra; and having passed the night there, he came next day to Scotos in the Theban territory. He extended his camp from near Erythree to the River Asopus, and raised a rampart of timber for its defence. The Lacedaemonians were joined at the Isthmus by the other well-affected Peloponnesians ; and the sacrifices pro- ving favorable, they crossed it and advanced to Eleusis, where they were joined by the Athenians from Salamis. The sacrifices proving again favorable, they entered the passes of Cithaeron, and came to Erythrae, where finding the Barbarians encamped on the Asopus, they took up their position at the foot of Cithaeron. Mardonius, finding that they would not come down into the plain, sent his cavalry, under the command of Masistius, to attack them. The most assailable position was occupied by the Megarians ; and the Barbarians, attacking them in squadrons, reduced them to extremity. They sent to tell the generals that unless aided they must give way. None, 128 HISTORY OF GREECE. however, would stir from their place except the Athenians, three hundred picked men of whom, with some archers, went to their relief. In one of the charges, the horse of Masis- tius was wounded by an arrow, and he reared and threw his master. The Athenians rushed on to slay him, but his gold scale-corselet resisted all their efforts, till some one pierced his eye, and thus killed him. The whole Persian horse made a charge to recover his body ; the other Greeks came to the aid of the Athenians, and at length the Barba- rians were driven off, leaving the corpse of the fallen chief in the hands of the Greeks; who, placing it on a cart, carried and exposed it along their whole line. The Per- sians, as he was a man of high rank, made a great lamen- tation for him, cutting off, according to their usage, their own hair and that of their horses. The Greeks, finding their present position inconvenient, determined to get nearer to Plataea, where there was plenty of water, of which they were in want ; and moving along Cithaeron by Hysiae, they came and pitched by the fount Gargaphia, and the temenos of the hero Androcrates, on some low hills and uneven ground. Here a dispute arose between the Tegeates and the Athenians, as to which should be stationed on the left wing, (the claim of the Spartans to the right one not being disputed ;) each pleaded their deeds in former and late times ; but the recollection of Marathon made the Lacedaemonians decide in favor of the Athenians. The army was then drawn up as follows. 1.* On the right were 10,000 Lacedaemonian hoplites and 35,000 Helots; then the Tegeates, 1500. 2. The Corinthians, 5000; their colonists the Potidaeans from Pallene, 300; the Arcadian Orchomenians, 600; the Sicyonians, 3000. 3. The Epi- daurians, 800; the Trcezenians, 1000; the Lepreates of Elis, 200 ; the Mycenians and Tirynthians, 400 ; the Phli- asians, 1000. 4. The Hermionians, 300 ; the Eretrians and * The numbers 1, 2, 3, etc., in this and the next paragraph, indicate the troops which were opposed to each other. BATTLE OF PLAT^A. 129 Styreans of Eubaea, 600; the Chalcidians of the same island, 400. 5. The Ambraciotes, 500 ; the Leucadians and Anactorians, 800 ; the Paleans from Cephallenia, 200 ; the Mgmetes, 500. 6. The Megarians, 3000; the Platseans, 600; the Athenians, 8000, commanded by Aristeides. The whole number of hoplites therefore was 33,700 ; the light troops, inclusive of the Helots, amounted to 69,500 ; and as 1800 Thespians came, though without hoplite arms, to join them, the entire army amounted to eleven myriads (110,000) of fighting men.* The Persian general drew up his troops, under the advice of the Thebans, in the following order : 1. The Persians, in several lines, the weaker part being opposed to the Tege- ates ; 2. The Medes ; 3. The Bactrians ; 4. The Indians; 5. The Sacians ; 6. The Boeotians, Locrians, Melians, Thes- salinas, Macedonians, and 1000 Phocians, who had unwill- ingly joined him, the rest having fled to Parnassus, whence they descended and harassed the Barbarians. Herodotus reckons the Barbarians at 300,000 men, their Greek allies at 50,000. The soothsayers on both sides (for Mardonius complied with the usage of the Greeks) declaring that the sacrifices portended defeat to those who should attack, the two armies remained inactive for eight days. As the Greeks were con- stantly receiving accessions of men and provisions from Pel- oponnesus, a Theban named Timagenidas advised Mardo- nius to send a body of horse to occupy the pass of Cithseron in their rear, named the Three Heads, (rgsTg xeyalal,) or Oak Heads, (dovbg xecpalal.) This advice was followed, and that very night the Persian horse intercepted at the pass five hundred beasts laden with provisions for the Grecian army. Two days more passed away, during which, at the instigation of the Thebans, the Persian calvary kept harass- * One must regret the absence of the Achaeans on this glorious oc- casion. It is the only stain on the fair fame of that most estimable people. Q 130 HISTORY OF GREECE. ing the Greeks. At length Mardonius resolved to give no further heed to soothsayers. He called a council. The advice of Artabazus and the Thebans was to fall back to Thebes, and thence to send large quantities of gold and silver to the leading men in the different Grecian states, who would be easily induced to barter national independence for private gain. Mardonius, however, in reliance on the superiority of his army, resolved to give battle at once ; and sending for the different commanders, he told them to prepare for action in the morning. In the middle of the night, Alexander the Macedonian rode secretly to the Athenian outposts ; and calling for the commanders, informed them of Mardonius's resolution. They sent to inform Pausanias, who proposed that the Athe- nians, who were used to the Persian mode of fighting, should take the right wing. The change was therefore made ; but in the morning the Thebans perceived it, and Mardonius, on being informed of it, made the Persians make a similar movement. The Lacedaemonians then returned to their former position, and all things became as before. Soon after, Mardonius sent a herald to the Spartans, taunting them with their cowardice, and offering to put the whole battle to issue on a combat between an equal number of them and of the Persians. They made no reply ; and Mardonius, confident of victory, ordered his cavalry to advance. The Greeks suffered greatly from the showers of their arrows, and the Persians seized and filled up the fount of Garga- phia, which was the only watering-place the Greeks had, as they were cut off from the Asopus. Most of the leaders repaired to the right wing, to consult with Pausanias ; and it was resolved, as they had now no water, and their pro- visions were all delayed in Cithscron, through fear of the enemy, that they should move in the night to the Island of Oeroe, (as a piece of land east of Plataea, and ten stadia from their present position, was named, as being insulated by the River Oeroe, which, flowing from Cithaeron, divides to the breadth of three stadia, and then reunites;) and then to send BATTLE OF PLATiEA. 131 one half of the army to fetch the servants and provisions to the camp. When the appointed time of the night was come, the greater part of the Greeks went off in haste, and took up their position at the Herseon (temple of Hera) before Pla- taea. Pausanias then ordered the Lacedaemonians to follow, but Amompharetus, the leader of the company (l>6%og) of Pitane, refused to fly, as he termed it, before the strangers, (Barbarians.) Pausanias did all he could to move him, but in vain. The Athenians, meantime, aware, as the histo- rian says, that the Spartans usually said one thing and thought another, sent a horseman to ascertain if they were really setting out. The envoy was witness of the angry dis- pute, and Pausanias requested him to tell the Athenians to come and stand by them, as they were now left alone. Day dawned while they were debating. Pausanias would stay no longer ; he moved off at the head of the Lacedaemonians and Tegeates, keeping upon the hills through fear of the Persian horse ; the Athenians set out at the same time along the plain. Pausanias halted about ten stadia off, at the temple of Demeter, on the River Moloeis, to be at hand to aid the obstinate Amompharetus. This officer, however, when he found himself really left alone, hastened to follow, and he soon came up and joined them. The Persian horse, on finding the ground which had been occupied by the Greeks deserted, pursued after them ; Mar- donius, mounted on a stately white horse, and surrounded by a thousand chosen warriors, leading them in person. The rest of the Barbarians, when they saw the Persians in mo- tion, raised their banners and followed, without any order. As the hills concealed the Athenians from their view, the Persians fell only on the Lacedaemonians and Tegeates. Pausanias sent to pray the Athenians to come to their aid; but just as they were about to comply, they were assailed by the medising "Greeks, and the Lacedaemonians and Te- geates had to stand alone. The flights of arrows reduced them to great straits, and the sacrifices which they con- 132 HISTORY OF GREECE. tinued offering promised no good result, when Pausanias, looking to the Heraeon, implored the goddess not to let their hopes be deceived. Immediately the sacrifice proved favorable ; the Tegeates advanced, the Lacedaemonians fol- lowed : a furious conflict, hand to hand, arose at the temple of Demeter, Mardonius fell by the hand of a Spartan, his guards were slain with him, and the rest turned and fled to their camp in disorder. Artabazus, when he saw them in flight, staid no longer ; but at the head of his division of 40,000 men, made the best of his way to the Hellespont. The Athenians, on their side, defeated the Greeks op- posed to them. When the rest of the Greeks heard of ihe battle, they hasted to share in it ; the Corinthians and others keeping along the upper grounds, the Megarians and Phli- asians along the plain. These last were fallen on by the Theban horse, and six hundred of them slain. The Lacedaemonians pursued the fugitives to their wooden rampart, on which, however, they could make no impres- sion, till the Athenians, who were used to such attacks, came up ; the camp was then forced, and the Barbarians slaughtered without mercy. The historian says, that of the whole army not three thousand men escaped. The quan- tity of gold, silver, rich arms, furniture, and clothes found in the camp amazed the Greeks, unused to splendor. By command of Pausanias, all was collected by the Helots ; a tenth was then sent to Delphi, and the rest divided. The Helots had, however, contrived to secrete many articles of value, which they sold at a low rate to the iEginetes, who thence acquired great wealth. After the battle, a body of Mantineans came up, and, vexed at their having had no share in the victory, they followed the flying Barbarians of Artabazus as far as Thessaly. A corps of Eleians also arrived when too late. The leaders of both of these corps were punished for their delay on their return home. The first care of the Greeks was to bury their dead. The Lacedaemonians raised three barrows, one for the Irenes, (of- BATTLE OF MYCALE. 133 ficers,) one for the other Spartans, and one for the Helots. The Tegeates were buried under another ; the Athenians, Meo-arians, and Phliasians were interred together in the plain. Shame and vanity led those who had no share in the action to raise cenotaphs or empty barrows in after times. On the eleventh day after the battle, the army appeared before Thebes, and demanded the surrender of Timagenidas, Attaginus, and all those who had medised. Meeting with a refusal, they wasted the land and attacked the town. The Thebans then agreed to surrender the guilty persons, but Attaginus made his escape, leaving his family, which, how- ever, Pausanias was too just to punish for his offence; the others he took to Corinth, and put to death. The very day the victory was won at Platsa, another, nearly as important, was gained on the coast of Asia. Sa- mian envoys having come to the fleet at Delos, praying for aid to shake off the Persian yoke, Leotychides, moved by their arguments, and by the ominous name of one of them, Hegesistratus, (Army -leader ,) agreed to make sail for Samos. The Persians, when they heard of the approach of the Greeks, quitted Samos, and sailed to Mycale, where an army of sixty thousand men, under Tigranes, lay encamped. They drew their ships on shore, raising a rampart of stones and timber to defend them, and there awaited an attack. The Greeks at first hesitated to follow them : at length, however, they sailed, prepared for action, and their surprise was great when they saw the ships all hauled up, and the shore lined with troops. Leotychides then sailed as close to the beach as he could, calling out to the Ionians, in imi- tation of Themistocles at the Artemision, and with the same design, to join their kindred in the battle. The Persians had, however, disarmed the Samians in the camp, and sent the Milesians to keep the pass of the mountains. The Greeks, having landed, marched in two divisions aorainst the camp. The Athenians, Corinthians, Sicyonians, and Trcezenians moved along the shore; the Lacedaemo- 12 134 HISTORY OF GREECE. nians more inland, over rugged and uneven ground. The former, arriving first, attacked and carried the rampart ; the Samians and other Ionians in the camp gave them all the aid in their power ; the other Barbarians soon turned and fled, but the Persians resisted bravely, till the Lacedaemonians came up. The rout then became general ; the whole Bar- barian army was cut to pieces ; for the Milesians, who guarded the only passage into the Peninsula, either led them back to their enemies, or slaughtered them themselves : and but a small number reached Sardes, where Xerxes was still residing. The Greeks, having plundered the camp, and burnt the wall and ships, returned to Samos. It was said that, as they were advancing to the attack, a report was spread among them that the Greeks had defeated Mardonius in Boeotia, and a herald's staff was seen on the sea. It was further remarked, that as the Persians were defeated at a temple of Demeter in Greece, so there was a temple of the same goddess at Mycale. Ionia being now in revolt for the second time, the Spar- tans proposed, as it would be so difficult to defend them on account of the distance, to remove the Ionians to Greece, and give them the seaports of those states which had me- dised. To this, however, the Athenians would not consent. The Samians, Chians, Lesbians, and other islanders were then sworn to be faithful to the alliance, and the fleet sailed to destroy the bridge at the Hellespont. Finding this al- ready broken, and the winter being at hand, the Peloponne- sians returned home. The Athenians resolved to remain, and attempt the recovery of the Chersonese. They laid siege to Sestos, which was gallantly defended by its Persian garrison ; but the latter, being reduced to extremity by famine, deserted it in the night, and the whole country then submitted.* * Herodotus ends his history at this point. REBUILDING OF ATHENS. 135 CHAPTER XIII.* REBUILDING OF ATHENS. TREASON AND DEATH OF PAU- SANIAS. FLIGHT OF THEMISTOCLES. ASSESSMENT OF ARISTEIDES. HIS DEATH. VICTORY OF CIMON AT THE EURYMEDON. As soon as Greece was delivered from the presence of the Barbarians, the people of the different states returned to their homes. The Athenians forthwith set about rebuilding their city, which was now only a heap of ruins. When they commenced the walls, the ^Eginetes sent word to Sparta, and an embassy came thence to represent to them the im- policy of raising fortifications without the Isthmus, which might be to the Barbarians in their next invasion what Thebes had been to Mardonius. The true reason of this Spartan anxiety Themistocles plainly saw was jealousy and fear of the rising power of Athens; but he knew that the Peloponnesian power was too great to be resisted, and he deemed it best to have recourse to art. By his advice, the Athenians said that they would send an embassy to Sparta about the affair. The envoys appointed were himself, Aris- teides, and Abronychus. The Spartans departed ; and then Themistocles, having strictly charged the people to work without ceasing at the wall, sparing neither sacred nor pro- fane edifice for materials, set out alone for Sparta. On his arrival, he did not go near the magistrates; and to those who asked the cause he said, that he was waiting for his colleagues, and wondered much at their delay. Mean- time intelligence came that the walls were greatly advanced ; this he denied, and bade them not trust to rumors, but send some persons to ascertain the truth. He sent, at the same time, a private message to the Athenians, directing them to keep the ambassadors as hostages for the safety of himself and his colleagues, (who were now arrived,) for he feared * Thucyd. i. 89 J 17. Diod. Plut., Them., Arist., and Cimon. 136 HISTORY OF GREECE. that the Spartans might detain them. As soon as he learned that the walls were sufficiently advanced, he went to the au- thorities and openly told them that Athens was now walled in, and that the Athenians were as competent judges as any of what was for their own and the general weal. The Spar- tans dissembled their anger, as it was now useless to show it, and the envoys were dismissed on both sides. Having thus, with so much address, secured the inde- pendence of Athens, Themistocles advanced another step in his policy, which was to raise her to empire. Owing to him, in a great measure, she was become the first naval power of Greece, and all she wanted for maintaining her eminence was a fortified harbor. That of Phaleron, which was near- est the city, was too small, and he had already, while archon, (the year before Xerxes entered Greece,) commenced secur- ing that of Piraeeus,* which was at a greater distance, but far more capacious. These works he now prevailed on the people to prosecute ; and it does not appear that any oppo- sition was made by Lacedaemon. The wall was, however, raised only to one half of the height he designed ; but it sufficed for all the purposes of defence, and Athens might now safely bid defiance to any power in Greece. The Lacedaemonians sought to extend their influence in another way. They proposed, with a great appearance of justice, that such states as had mcdised should be excluded from the Amphictyonic council. Their real object was, by excluding the Thebans and Argives, to draw the chief power to themselves. Themistocles saw through their design, and probably privately exposed it ; in public, he maintained that it would be unjust to punish a state in perpetuity for the crimes of its government at a particular time. Their pro- posal was therefore rejected; they, however, soon had their revenge on Themistocles. Athens, like almost every other Grecian state, was at all times a theatre of faction. The aristocratic party was still * Piraeus {Iliiqaiivg) is the word in all the classic authors, both Greek and Latin. We doubt if Piraus, the word commonly employed, is to be found in any earlier writer than Stephanus Byzantinus. TREASON AND DEATH OF PAUSANIAS. 137 strong, and was supported by Sparta ; the people, with their usual fickleness, were offended at being frequently reminded by Themistocles of his services, and little inclined to support him against his opponents, the chief of whom were Alc- maeon, Cimon, and Xanthippus ; the influence of Sparta was employed to ruin him, if possible ; and, finally, the victor at Salamis, the savior of Greece, was ostracised! (Ol. 77, 2.) We must now return to foreign affairs. The year after the victories of PI ataea and Mycale, (Ol. 75, 3,) a fleet under Pausanias, the Athenian squadron being commanded by Aristeides and Cimon, sailed to Cyprus, and expelled the Persians from that island. It then proceeded to the Pro- pontis, and laid siege to Byzantion, which surrendered; and several Persians of rank were among the captives. Pausanias had not strength of mind to bear his elevation ; he became haughty and tyrannical to the allies, and began to imitate the pomp and splendor of the Orientals. He even, by means of Doriscus, an Eretrian who was settled in Asia, opened a treasonous communication with the court of Persia ; offering, if Xerxes would engage to give him one of his daughters in marriage, to reduce all Greece beneath his power. He set Doriscus over Byzantion, and one by one the Persian nobles were suffered to escape. Meantime the Ionians and others, disgusted with his haughtiness, put themselves under the Athenian admiral's command ; and the Lacedaemonians, having heard of Pausanias's conduct, recalled him for the purpose of inquiry. He was found guilty of some private wrongs, but there was not sufficient evidence to convict him of treason. It was resolved, however, not to intrust him again with command : Dorkis and some other Spartans were sent out with a small fleet, but the allies would not obey them. The Lacedaemonians then returned home, and their government having resolved to send out no more generals, lest, as they said, their morals should be cor- rupted, the maritime supremacy was tacitly surrendered to the Athenians. Pausanias could not rest content in a private station. He 12* R 138 HISTORY OF GREECE. hired a trireme at Hermione, and proceeded to the Helles- pont, where he renewed his negotiations with Artabazus, the Persian satrap. Soon, however, a herald, bearing the scytale,* came to command his return to Sparta. He obeyed, trusting to his wealth, and by bribery he eluded inquiry. He now turned to the Helots, offering them full citizenship if they would support him in his projects. They gave information to the Ephors, but still the government hesitated. At length, a young man, named Argilius, whom he was sending with a letter to Artabazus, having observed that none of those who had been sent hitherto had returned, opened the letter, and, finding in it a charge to put the bearer to death, went and showed it to the Ephors. They had now sufficient evidence : but they would hear Pausanias confess his guilt. By their direction, Argilius took sanctuary in the temple of Poseidon at Taenaron, and raised there a double hut for himself. Pausanias, hearing he was there, hasted to him ; the man acknowledged what he had done ; Pausanias excused himself: the Ephors who were concealed in the hut heard all, and went away, resolved to seize him in the city ; but one of them giving him a sign, he fled and took sanctuary at the temple of the Chalcicecos, and sheltered himself in a small building belonging to it. The Ephors, taking the roof and doors off the place he was in, built it up, and set a guard over him. When they saw him near expir- ing with hunger, they took him out of the sacred precincts, lest they should be polluted by death. They were going at first to fling his corpse into the Kaias, but they relented, and gave him decent sepulture. t (Ol. 78, 1.) The hero of Salamis was involved in the fate of Pausa- * When a Spartan commander was sent out, two round sticks of equal size were made, one of which was given to him, the other kept at home. If any orders were to be transmitted to him, the Ephors rolled a narrow slip of paper round their stick, and wrote them on it. The slip was then sent, and the general, putting it on his stick, read the con- tents. (Plut., Lys. 19.) It does not appear why the scytale was sent to Pausanias, who had no command at this time. t Thuc. i. 128134. FLIGHT OF THEMISTOCLES. 139 nias. The Lacedaemonians found, or said they had found, proofs of his having been acquainted with his projects, and they sent envoys to Athens to accuse him. The party in power there readily listened to the charge, and persons were sent to Argos, where he was then residing, to seize him. Having timely information, he fled to Corcyra, to the peo- ple of which island he had rendered some services. In dread of his enemies, they passed him over to the opposite coast of Epeirus, and he resolved to trust himself to the magna- nimity of Admetus, king of the Molossians, whom he knew to be his enemy. Admetus was from home when he arrived ; he implored the pity of the queen, and when her husband returned, she gave her infant child to her guest, and bade him, holding it, to sit as a suppliant on the hearth, such being the most solemn mode of supplication among that people. Admetus was moved, and laid aside his enmity; but soon came envoys from Sparta and Athens to demand him ; and the king, too generous to betray and too weak to defend him, aided him to depart and escape from his unrelenting foes. (Ol. 78, 3.) Themistocles now saw that the Persian monarch alone could protect him. He therefore crossed the mountains to Macedonia, and coming to the port of Pydna, and finding there a merchantman ready to sail for Ionia, he got on board. A storm drove the vessel to Naxos, which an Athenian fleet under Cimon was then besieging. Themistocles here told the captain who he was, and threatened, if he discovered him, to say that he had bribed him to carry him to Ionia; but assured him that if he would save him he would find him grateful. He then desired that no one should be per- mitted to leave the ship. The captain assented ; the vessel lay for a day and a night off the island ; they then made sail for Ephesus, and Themistocles, having rewarded the captain, conveyed intelligence of his retreat to his friends at Athens and Argos, who sent him as much of his property as they could save; the remainder, to the amount of eighty or one hundred talents, was confiscated. It is said that he 140 HISTORY OF GREECE. had been worth but three talents when he first engaged in politics, and we have seen some instances of the manner in which he acquired this wealth. Knowing how well Grecian exiles were received at the court of Susa, he resolved though it is said that Xerxes had set a price of two hundred talents on his head to pro- ceed thither ; making little doubt that he should be able to conciliate the young Artaxerxes, who had just ascended the throne. (Ol. 78, 4.) ' We are told that he was secretly con- veyed in a covered carriage, as if he were a Grecian female who had been purchased for some Persian noble. His re- ception at court was such as he had anticipated. He prom- ised the king great advantages, but required a year's time in order to learn the Persian language, so as to be able to explain them. At the end of that time he spoke the lan- guage with ease, and he rose higher than any Greek had ever done in the royal favor. Artaxerxes, deeming it best that he should be near the sea, sent him down to Ionia, as- signing him, according to Persian usage, the revenues of Magnesia (fifty talents a year) for his bread, those of Lamp- sacus for his wine, and those of Myus for his meat, (oyov.) It was said that he had pledged himself to reduce Greece under the yoke of Persia, and that, finding it impossible, or being unwilling to perform his promise, he put a volun- tary end to his life ; others said that he died a natural death. A monument was raised to him in the market at Magnesia; his bones, it is said, were by his own orders secretly brought to Attica, and there interred. We are not informed of the year of his death.* Such was the end of Themistocles, undoubtedly one of the greatest men that Greece ever produced. His character, as we have seen, was far from faultless ; but nothing will remove the stain of ingratitude from the Athenian people for their treatment of him ; for, questionless, as far as such an effect could be ascribed to one man, it was he who had * Thuc. i. 135138. ASSESSMENT OF AR1STEIDES. 141 made them what they now were. His character is thus drawn by the pen of Thucydides : " He exhibited most decidedly the strength of nature, and is in this respect far more to be admired than any other. For by native genius, without having previously or afterwards had instruction, he was with slight consideration the best judge of present affairs, and the best guesser at the turn which future matters would take. What he had in hand, he could execute ; of that with which he was unacquainted, he could form a good judgment. He clearly foresaw the good or ill of what was as yet hidden : and, in one word, by the force of nature and quickness of thought, he was qualified better than any other to act promptly when it was required."* Aristeides and Cimon were meantime actively engaged in laying the foundation of the future power and dignity of Athens. When the Greeks of the isles and of the coast of Asia had agreed to place themselves under the command of the Athenians, and to continue the war, it was necessary to determine what share of the burden each should bear. The task of regulating it was committed to Aristeides, and he decided that some of the allies, such as the Chians, should keep a certain number of ships at sea, while others should contribute an annual sum of money. This sum, which he assessed in so equitable a manner that it became the theme of praise to succeeding ages, amounted to 460 talents. The treasury for these contributions (yogog) was in the sacred Isle of Delos, where deputies of the allies met to consult : the treasurers, named Greek-treasurers, ('EXXrjvoTajulcti,) were Athenians. This was the foundation of the Thalassocracy or naval dominion of Athens. (Ol. 75, 4.) We must guard * The reader will observe that we rarely relate anecdotes from Plu- tarch : the truth is, we put little faith in them. Thus he says that Themistocles's father took him, and pointing to the old triremes that were lying to rot on the beach, told him that so the people treated their demagogues. Now, as this must have been in the time of the Peisistra- tids, Athens could hardly yet have had demagogues. Themistocles himself was the first person, not a genuine Eupatrid, who rose to im- portance in the state. tnrnr 142 HISTORY OF GREECE. against the error of supposing that the Athenians acquired the supremacy over Greece in general. Sparta was supreme in Peloponnesus, as before ; the rest of Greece was indepen- dent of both. As the Athenians and most of their allies were of the Ionian race, and their rivals, the Spartans and their confederates, of the Dorian, historians fell also into the incorrect habit of regarding all the Greeks as adhering to the Dorian or the Ionian principle and party. Nine years afterwards, (Ol. 78, 1,) Aristeides died, so poor that he had to be buried at the public cost ; and the state un- dertook to provide for his children. If we may credit an anecdote given by Plutarch, his right to the title of Just might be contested. He tells us that on some occasion the allies all swore to some matter in the most solemn manner, Aristeides swearing on the part of the Athenians. Some time after, it appeared to be for the interest of the Athenians not to keep the oath, and Aristeides told them to act for their advantage, leaving the guilt of the perjury to fall on him. Again, it is said, that when the Athenians talked of removing the treasure from Delos to Athens, and the Samians remon- strated, Aristeides replied, that doubtless it was not just, but it was advantageous. In a word, says Theophrastus of him, in private and domestic matters he was perfectly upright ; in public affairs he acted for the advantage of his country, which often required injustice. Aristeides was the agent in giving further advance to the democracy. In consequence of the destruction of their prop- erty during the Persian invasion, the weight and influence of the upper ranks were greatly diminished, while the in- ferior classes had merited so well of their country in the war, and had in consequence become of such influence in the state, that the very highest honors could no longer be with safety withheld from them.* Aristeides therefore was the author of a decree opening the archontate now, how- ever, nothing but a splendid pageant to all citizens, sub- ject of course to the Dokimasy and Euthjne. * Arist. Pol. ii. 8. FURTHER VICTORIES OF CIMON. 143 Under the guidance of Athens, the war against the Per- sians was continued. Cimon (Ol. 76, 1) sailed with a fleet to the coast of Thrace, and laid siege to Ei'on on the Stry- mon. The Persian garrison made a gallant defence : and finally Boges, the governor, rather than surrender, cast all his gold and silver into the river ; and having raised a huge pile of wood, slew his wives, children, and slaves, and laid their bodies on it ; then setting fire to it, he flung himself into the flames : the garrison surrendered at discretion.* Doriscus was attacked in vain, but all the other Persian gar- risons in Europe were reduced. Cimon then, as executor of an Amphictyonic decree, turned his arms against the pi- ratic Dolopians of the Isle of Scyros, whom he expelled, and filled the island with Athenian colonists. On this occasion he sought and found (as was supposed) the bones of the hero Theseus, who had died in this island eight hundred years before; and he brought them in his own trireme to Athens, an act which gained him great favor with the people.f By this time, some of the confederates were grown weary of war, and began to murmur at the toils and expense to which it put them. The people of Naxos were the first who positively refused to contribute any longer ; but the Athenians, who had tasted of the sweets of command, would not now permit the exercise of free will to their allies. Ci- mon appeared (Ol. 78, 3) with a large fleet before Naxos ; the Naxians defended themselves with vigor, but were at length forced to submit ; and the Athenians had the hardi- hood to reduce them to the condition of subjects to Athens an example which they soon followed in other cases. Most of those allies who were to give personal service agreed, in order to escape being taken from their homes, to give money and empty ships instead of service. Thus the Athenian navy increased greatly, and an irresistible force could at once be brought against any state that hesitated or withheld its contribution. * Herod, vii. 107. t Plut. Cimon, 8. 144 HISTORY OF GREECE. After the reduction of Naxos, Cimon sailed over to the coast of Asia, and learning that the Persian generals had assembled a large fleet and army in Pamphylia, he collected a fleet of two hundred triremes at Cnidos, with which he pro- ceeded to the coast of that country, and laid siege to the city of Phaselis, which, though Greek, obeyed the Persian mon- arch. Having reduced it to submission, he resolved to pro- ceed and attack the Persian fleet and army, which he learned were lying at the River Eurymedon. On his arrival, the Per- sian fleet, of three hundred and fifty triremes, fearing at first to fight till eighty Phoenician vessels, which they were ex- pecting, should come up, kept in the river ; but finding that the Greeks were preparing to attack, they put out to sea and engaged them. The action did not continue long : the Barbarians fled to the land ; two hundred ships fell into the hands of the victors, and several were destroyed. Without a moment's delay, Cimon disembarked his men, and led them against the land forces : the resistance of the Persians was obstinate for some time, but at last they turned and fled, leaving their camp a prey to the conquerors ; and Cimon had thus the rare glory of having gained two important victories in the one day. Hearing then that the eighty Phoenician vessels were at Hydros in the Isle of Cyprus, he immediately sailed thither, and took or destroyed the whole of them. The victory on the Eurymedon may be regarded as the termination of the conflict between Greece and Persia. The year after it, (Ol. 78, 4,) Xerxes was assassinated, and the usual confusion took place in the court of Susa. It is said* that some years afterwards, (Ol. 82, 4,) a treaty, named the Peace of Cimon, was concluded between the Athenians and King Artaxerxes, of which the conditions were these : the Greek cities in Asia should be independent ; no Persian ship of war should appear in the seas from the Cyanean Isles at the entrance of the Bosporus in the Euxine to the Chelido- nian Isles off the coast of Pamphylia ; no Persian com- mander should lead an army within that space nearer to the * Diodor. xii. 4. Plut. Cimon, 13. Nepos, Cimon. VICTORY OF CIMON AT THE EURYMEDON. 145 coast than a day's journey for a horse, (t. e. 300 stadia :) the Athenians, on their side, should not molest the king's territory. The actual existence of such a treaty has been disputed in both ancient and modern times. It is not noticed by either Herodotus or Thucydides, and it was the opinion of Callisthenes * (a writer, by the way, of no great repute) that there was no such treaty made, but that in effect the Persian fleets and armies did keep at those distances. On the other hand, Plutarch says that it was in a collection of decrees formed by one Craterus ; that an altar to Peace was raised on account of it at Athens, and great honors bestowed on Callias, who had headed the embassy to Susa. Isocrates, Demosthenes, and Lycurgus f speak of the conclusion of the treaty as a matter of certainty ; Demosthenes expressly names Callias, and his embassy to Susa is mentioned by Herodotus, J though he does not say what the cause of it was. Again, when Alcibiades, (Ol. 92, !..) treating on the part of the king with the Athenians, required that he should be allowed to sail along his own coast wherever and with as many ships of war as he pleased, the Athenian deputies thought the demand so unreasonable that they broke off the conference. Would it not appear from this that there had been a pre- vious treaty? The chief difficulty seems to lie in the first article, as it is well known that the cities of the coast were not independent, and continued to pay tribute to the Per- sians ; || but perhaps all that was covenanted was, that they * Callisthenes was one of the followers of Alexander the Great, by whom he was put to death. His Grecian History only embraced the period from the peace of Antalcidas to the breaking out of the Phocian war. Polybius and Cicero speak very slightingly of him. t Tsoc. Panegyr. 65; Areop. 156 ; Panath. 244 ; Demosth. False Em- bassy 428. Lycurg. v. Leocrates, c. 17. X vii. 151. Thuc. viii. 56. See below, Part II. ch. ix. || See above, p. 89, note. The revenues of Grecian cities of the coast, such as Lampsacus and Magnesia, were given by the Persian kings to Themistocles, Demaratus, and others, and their posterity continued to 13 s 146 HISTORY OF GREECE. should be governed by their own laws, and be free from the presence of Persian troops. At all events, there was peace* or at least a suspension of hostilities, with Persia from the death of Cimon till the time when the defeat of the Athenians in Sicily transferred the Peloponnesian war to the coast of Asia. CHAPTER XIV. CONSTITUTIONS OF THESSALY, BCEOTIA, AND OTHER PARTS OF GREECE. MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS. LITERATURE. With the glorious conclusion of the war with Persia we terminate the first period of Grecian history. The spirit of independence, arms and armor of greater size and strength, superior discipline, and perhaps greater physical force, en- abled the Greeks to evince that superiority which the Euro- peans have always shown in their conflicts with the Asiatics. Henceforth the court of Persia abandoned all thoughts of attempting the subjugation of Europe. We have denominated this the Aristocratic period, be- cause, until the close of it, the political power in all the states of Greece was in the hands of the nobles, or those possessed of hereditary wealth and consideration. The people, at length, in some states had, chiefly in consequence of trade, risen in power and consequence ; and the aristocracy, as is its nature, had shrunk to an oligarchy, which had lost the noble, gene- rous feelings of the old aristocracy, and was cruel and op- pressive where it had the power ; the people, on the other hand, became insolent, tyrannic, and unjust. The next di- vision of our history will present the ceaseless struggle of enjoy them ; and when the Athenians (Thuc. v. 1) expelled the people of Delos from their island, the Persian satrap Pharnaces gave them an asylum at Atramyttium on the coast of iEolis. CONSTITUTIONS OF THESSALY AND BGEOTIA. 147 these two opposite and hostile principles. Sparta, Tegea, Bceotia, and Thessaly are the chief seats of oligarchy ; Athens, Argos, Mantineia, Megara, and Elis, those of democracy. The constitutions of Sparta and Athens, the heads of these principles, have been already displayed. We will now briefly notice those of the states next in importance, and conclude with a sketch of the military affairs and the literature of this period. The Thesprotians, when they made the conquest of Thes- saly, reduced a part of the original inhabitants to a serfship similar to the Laconian Helotism. The Thessalian serfs were named Penests, (neviajai ; *) they tilled the lands, on conditions similar to those of the Helots ; like them, too, they were employed as light troops in war. But* the main strength of Thessaly lay in its cavalry, composed of the nobles, who appeared in complete panoply on strong war- horses. No part of Greece presents such a resemblance to Europe in the middle ages as Thessaly. Among the Thes- salian nobles, some families exercised a preponderating in- fluence : such were the Aleuads of Larissa and the Scopads of Crannon, who were dynasts, (dvvuoxui,\) or princes in the country. As the cities of Latium chose a Dictator to com- mand their united forces in war, so the Thessalian nobles appointed one of their number for that purpose, under the name of Tagos, (raj6g t ) or regulator. There was a Demos in Thessaly, similar, it would seem, to the Laconian Pe- ricecians, but treated with less consideration, and therefore disposed to revolt. The principal towns of Bceotia were united in a military federation, at the head of which were officers named Bce- otarchs. Thebes had the hegemony, {fyefiovia t ) or suprem- acy ; and most of the towns, particularly Orchomenus and Thebes, were oligarchic. The government of Thespiae, the enemy of Thebes, was in the hands of the ancient nobility of the family of the Thespiads, whose rule was mild and * From nivouai, l to be poor.'' t This word is mostly used in a bad sense. Arist. Pol. iv. 5. 148 HISTORY OF GREECE. paternal. Platsea, to escape the oppression of Thebes, put herself, as we have seen, under the protection of Athens. Argos had at one time extended her hegemony over the whole of Argolis, and Sicyon, and Phlius ; but with the aid of Sparta, the towns had all shaken it off. After her great defeat by Cleomenes, several of the Pericecian towns, such as Cleonae, Midea, and Mycenae, strove to become independent. When the Argives succeeded in reducing any of these towns, they removed the inhabitants to Argos, giving them rights of citizenship. This practice, hatred of Sparta, and close union with Athens, quickened the development of the democratic principle at Argos. The aristocracy in Elis had become an oppressive oligar- chy, when (Ol. 77, 2,) a syncecism, (avvoixiofibg,) or union of several of the small towns, was effected, and the city of Elis formed from them.* Democracy, in consequence, rapidly advanced; but as the Eleians were of all the Greeks the most devoted to a country life, and the practice was in- troduced of sending judges through the land, which kept the people from resorting to the town, they long escaped the curse of ochlocracy, or mob-rule. Tegea and Mantineia, standing in the same elevated plain, were, the one oligarchic and allied with Sparta, the other de- mocratic and connected with Argos, with whose aid it effect- ed a union (syncecism) of its four rural communities with the chief town f a measure which necessarily strengthened the democratic principle. Megara, even before the Persian war, gave Greece the fost example of a wild ochlocracy, which was naturally suc- ceeded by an oligarchy, when the persons of rank and wealth rallied against the rabble. J The military condition of Greece at this time was as follows. The Hoplites, (6nXliou } ) or fully armed soldiers, were the main strength of the Grecian armies. These were the militia * Diod. xi. 54. Strab. viii. 3. t Xen. Hell. v. 2. 7. Strab. ut sup. t Arist. Pol. iv. 12 ; v. 2. 4. See above, p. 68. MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS. 149 of the different towns, composed entirely of those who had property to defend, and who served without pay, finding their own arms, equipments, and provisions. Most towns had a list (xur&Xoyo^ of the citizens from the age of eighteen to sixty, who were bound to serve as hoplites, and they were called out when required according to their place in this cat- alogue. The arms of the hoplite were the same as those used in the heroic age. The inferior citizens and the serfs (in the states which had such) served as light troops, (ipdol } ) that is, as archers, slingers, and dartmen. The Thessalians, Boeotians, Phocians, and Locrians alone at this time had cavalry in their armies. The usual mode of drawing up troops was in phalanx ; that is, in a close body, the depth and breadth varying according to custom or circumstances. In a confederate army, as at Platsea, the troops of each state occupied separate ground. The troops of the same state were, as at Marathon, placed according to their phyles, or similar political divisions. The Spartans were divided into six mora, (fiogai,) or regiments, which varied in strength from 400 to 900 men,* according to the number of men called out : each mora was divided into four lochi, (X6%oi } ) or companies. The mora was com- manded by a Polemarch. The Lacedaemonian Pericecians, and also the Neodamodes, were probably arranged in a sim- ilar manner. Before engaging, the Greeks always offered sacrifices ; and they did not give battle till the soothsayer had declared the signs in the entrails of the victim favorable. Similar sacri- fices were made, especially by the Spartans, previous to pass- ing their frontiers on any military expedition. It is natural to suppose" that there was frequently an understanding be- tween the general and the soothsayer, and that the signs were declared to be favorable, or the reverse, as suited the plans and intentions of the commander. After a victory, a trophy (xgonaXov) of wood, hung with arms, was erected, and the enemies' dead were restored on their sending a * Plut. Pelop. 17. 13* 150 HISTORY OF GREECE. herald to demand them. In a naval victory, the wrecks of the enemies' vessels were carried off. The ships of the Greeks of the early ages were undecked, and served merely for passage. The Phocians are said to have made the first long ships, as they were called : these were the pentecontors, or fifty-oared vessels, twenty-five rowers at a side. The Erythrseans first constructed vessels with two benches of oars; and finally (Ol. 19, 1) the Corinthian Ameinocles built for the Samians triremes, ^TQir^eig^ or ships with three benches of oars. These ships were decked ; and besides the rowers and mariners, of whom there were two hundred, they usually carried about thirty hoplites [enlSarav^ to fight them. The trireme had at its head a strong beak of metal ; and one of the principal manoeuvres in a sea-fight was to strike the enemy's ships in the side with this beak, and thus sink them. The earliest sea-fight on record is one between the Corinthians and their colonists of Corcyra. (Ol. 28. 2.) At the head of the literature of Greece stand the wonder- ful Homeric poems, which record the manners and ideas of the heroic age, and which were to the Greeks of all times their most precious heritage and most valued records. Whether these poems, which were written in the Ionic dia- lect, and were evidently composed on the coast of Asia, are the production of one or of many minds ; whether they were originally written, or were transmitted orally for centuries ; how far they may be regarded as possessing a claim to historic credibility, are questions which engage, and long perhaps will engage, the attention of the learned. In any case, we possess in them a faithful picture of the manners of ancient Greece, and a source of one of the highest enjoy- ments of which the human mind is capable. Besides the Homeric poems, the" Greeks of this age pos- sessed those of the poets named Cyclic, (circling,) as they sang a traditional cycle or circle of events, from the origin of the world to the death of Ulysses. Of these poets, whose works have all perished, the following were the principal : LITERATURE. 151 Stasinus of Cyprus, who sang, in a poem of eleven books, named the Cypria, the events of the Trojan war anterior o the action of the Ilias. Arctinus of Miletus, the poet of the ^Ethiopis, which related in five books the expedition and death of Memnon at Troy : he also composed the Destruc- tion of Troy, another poem of two books. Lesches, of Mytilene, who, in the Little Ilias, sang in four books the events from the contest of Ulysses and Ajax to the building of the wooden horse. Augias related in five books the returns of the chiefs from Troy ; and Eugammon sang in the Telegonia, in two books, the story of Ulysses after his return. There were also poems on the adventures of Hercules, Theseus, and other heroes. Hesiod, of Ascra, in Bceotia, gave the earliest example of didactic poetry in his Works and Days. He also sang the Theogony, or origin of the gods and the world ; and the heroes and heroines of ancient days were celebrated in his verses, which were sung at festivals, like those of Homer. Tyrtaeus animated the Spartans in the Messenian wars by his spirit-stirring strains. Theognis and Solon, Mimner- mus and Simonides, gave lessons of morals in their Ele- gies. The lyric muse animated Alcman, Terpander, Al- caeus, Stesichorus, Ibycus, Anacreon, and others, and the poetesses Sappho, Erinna, and Corinna ; and, finally, in Pindar revealed her utmost strength. The drama, of im- memorial use in Attica, rose into dignity towards the time of the. Persian wars : Thespis so far improved it as to pass for its inventor ; Phrynichus, famed for the natural charms and sweetness of his lyric choruses, raised it to a still higher degree of perfection : following, perhaps, the ancient usage of the drama, he presented on the scene the recent capture of Miletus, (Ol. 71, 3,) and the party which had prevented the people from giving more effectual aid had him fined one thousand drachmas, and the piece suppressed.* ^Eschylus, who was destined to raise the drama to its utmost point of sublime perfection, had already (Ol. 70, 2) presented his * Herod, vi. 21. 152 HISTORY OF GREECE. first piece. This warrior-bard fought at Marathon and Sal a- mis ; and (Ol. 77, 1) he brought on the stage before the triumphant Athenians the flight of Xerxes after the defeat of Sal amis. In vigor, sublimity, and all the higher qualities of poetry, the dramas of iEschyl us remain, and ever will remain, unsurpassed and rarely approached. These poets, with few exceptions, breathe the tone and spirit of genuine and high-souled aristocracy. They in- culcate veneration for religion and the gods ; they inspire respect for . law and for ancient institutions; virtue, both public and private, is the theme of their praise ; high birth, attended by suitable deeds, is extolled ; the pomp and splen- dor of courts, and the liberal hospitality of princes and no- bles, meet their due encomiums ; and many of the lyrists inculcate the precepts of a philosophy akin to that after- wards taught in the gardens of Epicurus. Philosophy, towards the close of this period, rose in Ionia above the simple moral wisdom and personified cosmogonies of the elder times. Thales, Anaximander, Xenophanes, and above all Pythagoras, taught the wisdom which they are sup- posed to have learned in the East. Their dogmas, however, fall not within the province of history. The papyrus of Egypt now supplying a more abundant material than had yet been enjoyed for writing, histories began to be composed in prose, verse having been the vehicle in which the memory of events had hitherto been preserved. The names of Heca- tseus of Miletus, Charon of Lampsacus, and others, and a few short fragments of their works, have reached us ; but no contemporary narrative of the events of this period remains, and our chief or only authority is Herodotus, who was born but four years before the passage of Xerxes into Greece. His honest narrative was mostly derived from hearsay and report, and the reader must have observed the mythic tinge which pervades it.* * We have also, as we have seen, Dioddrus, Justin, and the Lives of Plutarch and Nepos ; but they drew from Herodotus, or authorities posterior to him. THE HISTORY OF GREECE PART II. DEMOCRATIC PERIOD CHAPTER I* STATE OF GREECE. REVOLT OF THE MESSENIANS. WAR OF ATHENS WITH jEGINA AND CORINTH. BATTLES OF TANAGRA AND CENOPHYTA. ATHENIAN EXPEDITION TO EGYPT. BATTLE OF CORONEIA. CONQUEST OF SAMOS. POWER OF THE ATHENIANS. CHARACTER OF PERICLES. The portion of Grecian history which we now enter on will differ from the preceding in many points. It will pre- sent Greece in a state of intestine commotion, turning her forces against herself; and the events transmitted by the pens of contemporaries will exhibit the perfect lineaments of truth. f Not only Greece in general, but every single state and town, (Sparta excepted,) will be divided into two opposite and hostile factions J the aristocratic, or, in the * Thuc. i. 100117. Plut. Cimon and Pericles. t How few of the events of even the Persian wars can be regarded as strictly true ! X Hence, when any change of policy takes place in any state or town, we are to infer at once that the party opposed to the one previously in power had gotten the upper hand. We request the reader to keep this constantly in mind. T 154 HISTORY OF GREECE. majority of cases, oligarchic, and the democratic ; and the foreground of the piece will, during the greater part of the period, be occupied by the brilliant democracy of Athens, to be succeeded after an interval by that of Thebes. Hence we denominate this the Democratic Period of Grecian history. Athens was at this time, like the other states, divided into two parties. At the head of the aristocracy stood Cimon, the son of the victor at Marathon ; Pericles, son of him who prosecuted Miltiades and conquered at Mycale, was the leader of the democracy. Cimon, who had recovered his estates in the Chersonese, and had had a large share of the plunder of the war, was extremely rich ; and he em- ployed his wealth so as to keep up and extend his influence in the state. He built at his own expense the south wall of the Acropolis, and commenced those which were to con- nect the city with her ports. He laid out and planted the garden named the Academy, and planted the market with plane-trees. The citizens were all at liberty to walk and gather fruit in his gardens and grounds near the town. As he went about, followed by his well-dressed slaves, if he met an elderly citizen badly clad, he made one of them take off his cloak and give it to him, and he lent or gave money to any whom he knew to be in need. His rival, inferior in wealth, trod a different path to popularity. Cimon and his party were anxious to keep up the friendly union with Sparta which had subsisted in old times. But the condition of Athens was now so much altered that har- mony was not to be maintained, and an occasion of enmity soon presented itself. The people of the Isle of Thasos conceived that they had a right to the ports and gold-mines on the opposite coast of Thrace, of which the Athenians had taken possession, as they had been originally their property. But might was right, now as ever, in the councils of Athens ; and Cimon appeared (Ol. 78, 4) with a fleet to end their murmurs and make them pay their tribute. He defeated them at sea, landed, and ravaged the island, and laid siege to the town. REVOLT OF THE MESSENIANS. 155 After holding out three years, the Thasians submitted, pulled down their walls, gave up their ships, paid a large sum of money, and resigned all claim to the ports and mines of Thrace, whither the Athenians sent ten thousand colonists from their own and the allied states, and settled them at a place called the Nine Roads, (Ewea 63ol } ) afterwards Am- phipolis. But shortly after, these colonists, engaging in war with the Edonians, and following them up the country, were nearly all cut to pieces by the Thracian tribes. The Thasians in their distress had implored the Lacedae- monians to aid them by invading Attica, and they were on the point of secretly sending an army thither, when (OI. 79, 1) a tremendous earthquake occurred, which destroyed the whole city of Sparta except five houses, and a great number of the inhabitants. The Messenians, who had been reduced to Helotism, seized the opportunity for vengeance and revolt ; they were joined by a part of the other Helots, and by the Thuriate and .JSthaean Perioecians, and Ithome became once more their stronghold. The Spartans in their need called on their Peloponnesian allies for aid, which was readily given ; but their united forces not being able to re- duce Ithome, the Athenians were applied to as being skilled in sieges. The leaders of the anti-Laconic party at Athens were for refusing aid, but Cimon's influence prevailed, and he himself appeared with an Athenian force at the foot of Ithome. An assault was tried without effect, and the sys- tem of blockade was resorted to ; but the Lacedaemonians, jealous or suspicious of their Athenian allies, under pretext of themselves and their other friends being quite sufficient for the blockade, declined their further services. (Ol. 79, 4.) The Athenians retired in indignation. Cimon's opponents now succeeded in having him ostracised ; and notwithstand- ing their rnedism, an alliance was formed with the Argives, the hereditary foes of Sparta, and also with the Thessalians. The Megarians, soon after, offended with the Lacedaemonians, who allowed the Corinthians to harass them, joined the Athenians, and put into their hands their port of Nisaea, 156 HISTORY OF GREECE. (which the Athenians united by long walls to the city of Megara,) and that of Peg on the Corinthian Gulf. The Messenians, having sustained a blockade often years, at length (Ol. 81, 2) capitulated, on condition of quitting Peloponnesus forever, with their wives and families. The Athenians, who had lately taken Naupactus from the Ozolian Locrians, gave it to these exiles ; and under Athenian pro- tection they dwelt there, till fortune once more restored them to their ancient country. The alliance with Megara brought on a war with Corinth and her allies. Some Athenian troops which landed at Ha- liae on the Acte were defeated by the Corinthians and Epidaurians ; but the Athenians gained a naval victory oft Cecruphaleia in the Saronic Gulf. A great. naval action was then fought between the Athenians and the iEginetes, and their allies on both sides, in which the latter were defeated with the loss of seventy triremes. The Athenians landed and laid siege to the town ; three hundred hoplites passed over from Corinth and Epidaurus to its relief, and the Co- rinthians and their allies invaded Megaris, thinking that as one part of the Athenian forces was at iEgina, and another at a still greater distance, they either could not relieve it, or to do so must leave ^Egina. But the heroism which now animated the Athenians extended to all ages. Myronides, an able general, set out for Megara at the head of an army of old men and boys. An indecisive battle was fought ; but as the Corinthians retired after it, the Athenians raised a trophy. The Corinthians, being reproached for their cow- ardice at home, returned after twelve days, and began to erect a trophy ; the Athenians came out of Megara, and killed those who were raising it, and defeated a party who came to their aid. As they were flying, a part of them inadver- tently got into a piece of ground enclosed by a deep ditch, with but one entrance. The Athenians, coming up, placed their hoplites at this entrance, and then, surrounding the place with slingers, stoned to death every one who was in it. The revolt of the Messenians seems to have kept the BATTLE OF TANAGRA. 157 Lacedaemonians from sharing in the war which was going on ; but when at this time (Ol. 80, 4) the Phocians attacked their little parent-state of Doris, filial piety led them to her aid. With fifteen hundred hoplites of their own, and ten thousand of their allies, they appeared in Phocis, and reduced its people to submission. The presence of this army in Bceotia inspired the Thebans with the idea of recovering the supremacy which they had lost; and the Lacedaemonians, glad to form a counterpoise to the Athenians, made an alli- ance with them The Athenian oligarchs also sent secretly to secure the cooperation of the Peloponnesian army ; but the democratic party, which now governed, were on their side vigilant and prepared. The Peloponnesians there- fore could not leave Bceotia, for the Athenians guarded Mount Geraneia at the Isthmus, and their fleet at Pegae commanded the Corinthian Gulf. An army also was col- lected to attack, and if possible destroy, the Peloponnesians. The Athenians gave all their disposable forces ; and, with their allies and one thousand Argives, the army numbered fourteen thousand hoplites; and a body of cavalry came from Thessaly. A battle was fought at Tanagra, in which, owing chiefly to the defection of the Thessalians, the victory remained with the Lacedaemonians, who then entered Meg- aris, and, as was the usage of war, cut down all the fruit- trees. The battle of Tanagra was fought in November ; and sixty- two days after, Myronides, the Athenian general, engaged the Boeotians at a place named (Enophyta, in the plain of Tanagra, and completely routed them. The walls of Tana- gra were thrown down, the Athenian interest gained strength throughout Bceotia, and the power of Thebes was lowered.* The same took place in Phocis, and the Opuntian Locrians * Aristotle (Pol. v. 2) says that after this battle the democracy at Thebes was overturned (by the aristocrats) in consequence of its bad management. That event would rather seem to have taken place after the battle of Coroneia, and the democracy to have been established after this of (Enophyta. 14 158 HISTORY OF GREECE. were forced to give one hundred of their principal men as hostages to the Athenians. Thus this glorious campaign of Myronides rendered the Athenian power supreme without the Isthmus, and in this same year (Ol. 81, 1) the iEginetes agreed to demolish their walls, surrender their ships, and pay tribute. Further to confirm the Athenian power, their Long Walls, the one extending to Piraeeus, the other to Phaleron, were completed, and Athens had thus little to fear from her foes. A fleet and troops under Tolmidas sailed round Pe- loponnesus, burned Gythion, the naval arsenal of the Lace- daemonians, took the Corinthian town of Chalcis in iEtolia, and landing in Sicyon, defeated those who came to oppose them. While victory was thus crowning the arms of Athens, Peri- cles provided for her indigent citizens by founding numerous colonies. He sent five hundred cleruchs, (x^rjoou/o/,) or colonists, to Naxos, two hundred and fifty to Andros, one thousand to the Chersonese, an equal number to the coun- try of the Bisaltes in Thrace, and another large body to Eubcea.* These colonies resembled those of the Romans f rather than those of the early Greeks ; they served as gar- risons in the places where they were settled ; the colonists were still Athenian citizens, and might even reside at Athens, letting their lands to the original owners. f That the colonies served greatly to maintain the power of Athens there can be little doubt; it is equally clear that, as the instances of Naxos and Andros show, the rules of justice were little heeded in the acquisition of the territories which they occupied. It has been already hinted that a part of the Athenian forces were all this, time away from home : they were in fact in Egypt! A Libyan prince named Inaros had (01. 80, 1) made himself master of a part of Lower Egypt, where the Persian yoke was felt oppressive. To strengthen himself, * Plut. Per. ii. Diod. xi. 88. t Hist, of Rome, p. 68. t In this lay the difference between the original Greek colony {an3 of this noble act of patriotism. The civil merits of his coadjutor, Archinus, exceeded his ; most of the beneficial measures which were now adopted were brought forward by the latter : the name of Cephalus, too, is to be held in honor.* * Sve Taylor's Life of Lysias, prefixed to that orator's works. RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND. 305 The archon of this year (Ol. 94, 2) was Eucleides, and it became a common practice to reckon from it as a kind of era, the preceding year being termed that of the Anarchy, (dti'tin/La.)* The Athenians, in the year of Eucleides, among other changes adopted, on the proposal of Archinus, the more complete alphabet used by the Ionians. CHAPTER Xll.f RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND. DEKCYLLIDAS IN ASIA. CONSPIRACY OF CINADON. AGESILAUS IN ASIA. CORINTHIAN OR FIRST BffiOTIAN WAR. VICTORIES OF CONON. EXPLOIT OF IPHICRATES. PROGRESS OF THE WAR. PEACE OF ANTALCIDAS. On the death of Darius, king of Persia, (Ol. 93, 4,) his son Cyrus, favored by his mother Parysatis, prepared to contest the throne with his elder brother Artaxerxes. Having had opportunity to observe the great superiority of the Greek troops, he resolved to engage a large body of them in his pay ; and the present peace, which left a number of soldiers without employment, was favorable to his views. Clear- chus, the Lacedaemonian, and some other officers, were fur- nished by him with money to raise troops, and he was thus enabled to have 10,000 Greeks in the army, which he led (Ol. 94, 4) from Asia Minor over the Euphrates. A battle was fought between the royal brothers at Cunaxa in Baby- lonia. Cyrus fell in the action, and his Barbarian troops fled ; but his Greek auxiliaries defeated those opposed to them. All the arts of treachery were employed against them by the King, acting under the advice of Tissaphernes. * That is, the year without (legal) magistrates, t Xen. iii. iv. v. 1. Diod. xiv. 3539, 7986, 94, 9799, 110. Plut. Agesilaus. 26* MM 306 HISTORY OF GREECE. Their leaders were enticed to a conference, at which they were treacherously put to death ; hut the troops appointed new officers, among whom was Xenophon, the celebrated Athenian, and setting the Persian empire at defiance, accom- plished their retreat through the mountains of Carduchia (Kurdistan) and Armenia, and reached the shores of the Euxine with little loss.. This celebrated retreat, known by the name of the Retreat of the Ten Thousand, has been finely narrated in detail by Xenophon, who conducted it ; and the proof which it afford- ed of the real weakness of the Persian empire led afterwards to most important results. Tissaphernes, on account of the services he had rendered his master, was now rewarded with the government of all the countries which had been ruled by Cyrus. But the Ionian cities, fearing and disliking him, refused their obedience. They implored protection of Sparta, and (01. 95, 2) Thim- bron came out as harmost with an army of one thousand Neodamodes and four thousand Peloponnesians. The Athenians, on being required to furnish cavalry, sent three hundred of those who had supported the Thirty, deeming that their loss would be a gain to the people. On account of the great superiority of the Persians in cav- alry, Thimbron did not at first venture to descend into the plain; but when joined by the Cyrean Greeks,* he felt him- self strong enough to act on the offensive. Some towns joined him ; a few others he took by assault. Having failed in an attempt on a place named the Egyptian Larissa, he was proceeding, by the direction of the Ephors, to Caria, when he was met at Ephesus by Dercyllidas, who was come out to replace him. On his return he had to go into exile, as the allies convicted him of having allowed his army to plunder them. Dercyllidas, who for his craft was named Sisyphus, having been in Asia with Lysander, knew the ill feeling which existed between the two satraps ; and wishing * That is, the remains of the Ten Thousand. DERCYLLIDAS IN ASIA. 307 to gratify an old grudge against Pharnabazus, he proposed a truce, which was readily accepted by Tissaphernes. He then led his army with the greatest order and discipline to iEolis, which province he speedily reduced, taking nine towns, by composition, in eight days. As winter was ap- proaching, and he was anxious not to burden the friendly states, like Thimbron, he made a peace for them with Phar- nabazus, and led his troops into the Thracian Bithynia, which he knew he might plunder with the good will of the satrap. In spring, (01. 95, 3,) he came to Lampsacus, where he was met by deputies, sent from home to announce to him the satisfaction of the government with the conduct of him- self and his troops, and to continue him in his command for another year. They also told him that the people of the Chersonese had sent to request that a wall might be built across their isthmus to protect them from the incursions of the Thracians. Dercyllidas, without telling them what he intended to do, sent them home along the coast, that they might see the happy condition of the Grecian towns; he then renewed the truce with Pharnabazus, and having conveyed his troops over the Hellespont, built in the course of the summer a wall, thirty-seven stadia long, from sea to sea, thus giving security to eleven flourishing towns and a most fertile region. On his return to Asia, learning that the Chian exiles had fixed themselves at Atarneus, whence they plun- dered Ionia, he besieged their strong-hold, which he reduced after a siege of eight months. The Asiatic Greeks had sent deputies to Sparta, stating that it was in the power of Tissaphernes to acknowledge their independence, and giving it as their opinion that an invasion of Caria, where his property lay, would force him to it. Orders, therefore, were sent out to Dercyllidas and the admiral, Pharax, to attack that province. On their invading it, (01. 95, 4,) Tissaphernes, who was now joined by Pharnabazus, marched to its defence, and having placed sufficient garrisons in it, returned to Ionia. When Dercyl- 308 HISTORY OF GREECE. lidas heard of their having recrossed the Masander, he set out to the defence of Ionia. He also had passed the river, when some of the Ephesians who were in advance saw scouts standing on the tombs by the way -side : they ascended the adjacent tombs and towers, and then beheld the whole Persian army, which the lofty standing corn had hitherto concealed. Dercyllidas lost no time in drawing up his army. The Peloponnesians, of course, stood firm; but the Asiatic Greeks and the islanders began to slink away, leav- ing their arms in the corn; and it was plain that those who staid would soon follow their example. In the other army, Pharnabazus was for fighting; but Tissaphernes, who had had experience of the Cyrean Greeks, and who thought that all Greeks were the same, resolved first to try negotiation. Dercyllidas received the envoys surrounded by his most showy officers and men. It was agreed that the Persians should retire to Tralles, the Greeks to Leucophrys, for the night, and meet in the morning at an appointed place. Next day Dercyllidas proposed that the independence of the Grecian cities should be acknowledged by the King : the satraps assented, provided the Grecian army evacuated the King's dominions, and the Lacedaemonians withdrew their harmosts from the cities. These terms were agreed on, and a truce made till the return of the envoys, who were to be sent to procure the ratifications at Sparta and Susa. While Dercyllidas was thus maintaining the Lacedaemo- nian name and influence in Asia, King Agis waged a war (Ol. 94, 4 95, 2) against the Eleians at home, whom he forced to restore all their Perioecian towns to independence. Agis dying shortly afterwards, (Ol. 95, 4,) the succession was disputed by his son Leotychides and his brother Agesi- laus. The legitimacy of the former was very dubious; his mother had been strongly suspected of an improper familiarity with Alcibiades, and Agis had frequently said that he was no son of his. Aided, therefore, by the powerful interest of Lysander, Agesilaus gained the majority of votes in the assembly, and was declared King. CONSPIRACY OF CINADON. 309 He had not been a year on the throne when a conspiracy, the first we hear of at Sparta, was discovered. A person came to the Ephors, and told them that a young man named Cinadon, who, though a citizen, was not of the Equals, (ol 6uoioi } )* had led him to one end of the market, and bidden him count what Spartans were in it. When he had counted the king, ephors, elders, and others, to the number of about forty, and asked what this meant, he told him to regard these as enemies and all the rest as friends, and that in the country towns he would in like manner find one enemy, a Spartan, and many friends. He added, that those privy to his design were few, but that they well knew that the Helots, the Neo- damodes, the inferior Spartans, and the Perioecians, all of whom hated the Spartans, would join in it ; he then led him away, and showed him a great quantity of swords, daggers, axes, hatchets, sickles, and other weapons to arm them. The Ephors were greatly dismayed at this revelation, of the truth of which they could not doubt ; they did not venture to call the Little Council,f but having consulted with the senators separately, they resolved to send Cinadon to Aulon to fetch some of the Aulonites and the Helots : and the men who were to go with him were to have secret orders to seize him. As Cinadon had often been similarly employed, he had no suspicion. The plan succeeded ; he was seized, and made to give the names of the conspirators : the list was forwarded to Sparta, and those named in it were arrested. Cinadon was then brought thither and examined : when asked his reason for conspiring, " It was," said he, " that I might be inferior to no one in Lacedaemon." He and his accomplices were scourged, led round the city, and then put to death. About this time intelligence was brought to Sparta that the Persians were getting a large fleet ready for sea in Phoenicia; and, as it was thought likely that it was destined * That is, of genuine old Dorian descent. The number of these families was now very small. t This consisted of the ephors, senators, and such of the Equals as they summoned to it. 310 HISTORY OF GREECE. to act against Greece, a council of the allies was summoned to deliberate on it. Lysander, considering the naval supe- riority of the Greeks, and the retreat of the Ten Thousand, urged Agesilaus to propose an invasion of Asia, if they would give him 30 Spartans, 2000 Neodamodes, and 6000 of the allies; he also proposed to accompany him, and restore the decarchies which the Ephors had suppressed. This plan of the campaign was adopted. (Ol. 96, 1.) Agesilaus,* wishing to emulate the ancient Peloponnesian monarch Agamemnon, who, when about to invade Asia, had sacrificed at Aulis in Bceotia, proceeded to that place. But as he was sacrificing, the Boeotarchs, for what reason we are not told, sent down some horsemen, who threw the victims off the altar, and forbade him to sacrifice. Agesilaus, having appealed to the gods, embarked and sailed to Ephesus. On his arrival, Tissaphernes proposed a truce till the King's pleasure should be known. The truce was sworn to; but the faithless satrap, instead of observing it, sent to the King for more troops. Agesilaus, though aware of what he was doing, remained quiet at Ephesus. While he staid here, the Asiatic Greeks paid so much court to Lysander, whom they knew, that the King seemed insignificant in comparison. This mortified Agesilaus and the other Spartans ; but fearing, or not wishing, to offend Lysander openly, he only showed his sense of it by refusing the requests of those whom he recommended. Lysander soon srw through his design, and requested to be sent away from Ephesus. Agesilaus gladly sent him to the Hellespont, where finJing a Persian, named Spithridites, offended with Pharnabazus, he persuaded him to desert, and brought him to Agesilaus, who obtained from him much useful infor- mation. Tissaphernes, in reliance on the army which was on its march to join him, now declared war against Agesilaus if * When reading the exploits of this prince, and of the Spartan com- manders at this time in general, we must remember that our authority is their panegyrist. AGESILAUS IN ASIA. 311 he did not quit Asia. " I give him thanks," replied he, " for having by his perjury made the gods his enemies and our allies." He ordered his troops to get ready to march, and directed the towns on the way to Caria to prepare provisions, and those on the north to forward their contingents of troops. The satrap, aware of Agesilaus' want of cavalry, and of his personal animosity to himself, judged that he would make Caria, where his property lay, and which was a rugged country, the scene of war. He sent therefore all his infantry thither, keeping his numerous cavalry in the plain of the Mceander. Agesilaus, however, suddenly turned into Phrygia, and plundered it ; but near Dascylion his cavalry fell in with a Persian body of horse of equal force, and had the worst of it. He therefore fell back to Ephesus, and being now convinced that without horse he never could move in the plains, he proclaimed through the towns that any one who would furnish a horse and horseman should be himself exempt from service. By this means he soon had cavalry, for the wealthy and luxurious lonians and iEolians gladly avoided the toils and dangers of war. In the spring, (01. 96, 2,) he assembled all his troops at Ephesus, and by proposing prizes to those who should excel in the various martial exercises, he greatly increased the skill and raised the confidence of his men. As a means of making them despise the Barbarians, he had such of them as were taken by the privateers sold naked, that the white- ness of their skin might be seen, and their effeminacy be thence inferred by the soldiers. Their year being now expired, Lysander and the Thirty returned home ; and when their successors came out, Agesi- laus gave orders to march for Sardes. Tissaphernes, think- ing this to be only a feint, and that Caria was the real object of attack, disposed his army as before ; but Agesilaus kept his word, and on the fourth day he engaged and totally defeated the Persian horse on the banks of the Pactolus. Their camp, with property to the amount of more than 312 HISTORY OF GREECE. seventy talents, was taken. The camels found in it were afterwards brought to Greece as curiosities. Tissaphernes, who had remained at Sardes, was loudly accused by the Persians of having betrayed them, and soon after Tithraustes came down from Susa with orders to be- head him and take his satrapy. The crafty and treacherous Tissaphernes being thus removed, his successor made pro- posals of peace, offering on the part of the King to leave the cities to themselves on their paying the old tribute. Agesilaus replied that he must consult his government. Tithraustes then desired that he would meantime remove into the territory of Pharnabazus. Agesilaus demanded supplies ; the satrap sent him thirty talents, and he entered Pharnabazus' part of Phrygia. While he was here, he learned that he had been invested with the supreme com- mand, by land and sea, in Asia. He forthwith sent orders to the cities of the coast and isles to equip a hundred and twenty triremes ; he also made Peisander, his wife's brother, a brave man, but one who knew nothing of the sea, admiral in the room of Pharax, who appears to have been an officer of some skill ; but family interest prevails at all times, and with most men. Tithraustes, perceiving that Agesilaus had no notion of quitting Asia, and that it was only by making a diversion that he could drive him away, gave a Rhodian, named Timoc- rates, fifty talents in money, and sent him to Greece, with directions to distribute them among the leading men in the cities, and engage them to stir up war against the Lacedae- monians. Timocrates disposed of the money at Thebes, Corinth, and Argos. The Athenians were, without it, ready enough to go to war on the first opportunity. The Thebans, aware that the Lacedaemonians would not commence hostilities, urged the Opuntian Locrians to plunder some land which was disputed between them and the Phocians. This, as was expected, produced an invasion of Locris by the Phocians. The Locrians called on the AGESILAUS IN ASIA. 313 Thebans, who forthwith entered Phocis; the Phocians sent to Lacedaemon for aid, and, glad of a fair pretext to avenge the former insults and injuries of the Thebans, and elate with the successes of Agesilaus in Asia, the Spartan government sent Lysander to Phocis, directing him to assemble an army of Phocians, CEteans, Melians, and others at Haliartus, where he would be joined on a certain day by King Pausanias with a Peloponnesian army. Lysander did as he was directed, and he induced the Orchomenians to revolt from the Thebans. The Thebans sent forthwith an embassy to Athens apologi- zing for their former conduct toward the people, but remind- ing them of their late services, and hinting that Athens had now an opportunity of recovering, and even extending her supremacy, as the Lacedaemonians had made themselves so many enemies. Thrasybulus and his friends aided them with their influence, and a decree was passed to assist the The- bans if Bceotia should be invaded. Lysander, at the appointed time, without waiting for Pau- sanias, advanced under the walls of Haliartus, and tried to induce the people to revolt. Failing in this, he attacked the town : the Thebans came with all speed, both horsemen and hoplites, to its relief. Lysander fell in the action, and his men fled to a hill, closely pursued by the Thebans. Here they turned, and casting darts and rolling down stones, they drove them back, with the loss of upwards of two hundred men. During the night they dispersed, and returned to their homes. When the Thebans in the morning found them gone, they were greatly elated ; but the appearance of King Pausanias with his army damped their joy. The Athenians, however, arriving next day, they prepared to give battle ; but Pausanias having held a council with his officers, it was deemed more advisable to try to obtain the bodies of Ly- sander and those who fell with him by a truce. The The- bans would restore the bodies only on condition of their quitting Bceotia, and these terms were excepted. Pausanias, on his return, was tried for his life, both on account of his 27 NN 314 HISTORY OF GREECE. conduct on this occasion, and his former behavior at Athens. To escape the sentence of death which was passed on him, he fled to Tegea, where he died. The Spartan government, perceiving the confederacy that was formed against them, resolved to recall Agesilaus to the defence of his country. This able prince had been uni- formly successful in Asia. Guided by Spithridates, he had wasted and plundered Phrygia, and penetrated to Paphla- gonia; the prince of which country, Cotys, formed an alli- ance with him, and gave him one thousand horse and two thousand peltasts. Agesilaus negotiated a marriage be- tween the son of Cotys and a daughter of Spithridates, and a Lacedaemonian trireme was directed to convey the maiden from Cyzicus, where she was residing. This affair being concluded, Agesilaus proceeded to winter at Dascylion, the hereditary property of Pharnabazus. The satrap's fine parks were destroyed, the trees cut down, and the villages plun- dered by the soldiery. He was himself reduced to the con- dition of a wanderer, and a Spartan officer named Herip- pidas, by a sudden attack one morning, took his camp and most of his portable property. But Herippidas, in his anxiety to make a great show of booty, forced Spithridates and the Paphlagonians to give up their plunder ; and this was in their eyes such injustice, that they went off in the night to Sardes to join Ariaeus, who had been in the service of Cyrus, and was now again in revolt. This event annoyed Agesilaus very much, as it was so calculated to derange his plans. His plan, in fact, was to dismember the Persian empire, by inducing the satraps and subject princes to assert their in- dependence. In an interview which he had shortly afterwards with Pharnabazus, he sought to excite him to revolt : the sa- trap was too honorable to do this ; but he freely acknowl- edged his ideas of allegiance to be such, that if the King were to put a satrap over him in his own country, he should con- sider himself justified in forming an alliance with the Greeks. Agesilaus, satisfied with this, promised to withdraw his army, THE CORINTHIAN WAR. 315 and to abstain from Pharnabazus' country as long as there was any other to plunder. He then led his troops to the plain of Thebes, on the coast, and began, it being now spring, (OI. 96, 3,) to make preparations for pushing on for the heart of the Persian empire, reckoning that all the nations in his rear would be lost to the King. It is evident that in form- inor this bold plan he was guided by the advice of his friend and panegyrist Xenophon, who had conducted the retreat of the Ten Thousand. It was therefore with sincere grief that Agesilaus re- ceived the summons to abandon these brilliant prospects, and return to fight against Greeks. He, however, hesitated not to obey : he called the allies together, and told them of the necessity he was under of leaving them, but promised a speedy return. The assembly shed tears, and voted troops to the aid of Lacedaemon. By offering prizes, Agesilaus obtained select and well-appointed troops, and then leaving Euxenus as harmost, with four thousand men for the pro- tection of the towns, he crossed the Hellespont and pursued the route for Greece formerly trodden by Xerxes. The confederacy against the Lacedaemonians, created by their own insolence and tyranny, and by the gold of Persia, had now assumed a formidable appearance It consisted of Boeotia, Athens, Argos, Corinth, Acarnania, most part of Thessaly, Eubcea, and Chalcidice. Deputies from most of these states met at Corinth. The troops of the confederates also assembled there, as it was judged best to make Laconia, or at least its vicinity, the seat of war ; for, as Timolaus the Corinthian said in the council, the Lacedaemonians were like a river, which is small and fordable at its source, but is in- creased by others as it flows ; for they are few when setting out, but become formidable by the accession of auxiliaries. He also likened them to wasps, which are most safely de- stroyed by putting fire to their nest. The Lacedaemonians were meantime on the advance to engage the confederates. They had 6000 hoplites of their own, and 600 horse. Elis and its vicinity sent them about 3000 ; Sicyon, 1500 ; Epi- 316 HISTORY OF GREECE. daurus, Troezen, Hermione, 3000 : they were also joined by the troops of Tegea and Mantineia, but their numbers are not given. They had 300 Cretan archers, and about 400 slingers. In the confederate army there were 6000 Athenian hop- lites, 7000 Argive, 3000 Corinthian, 5000 Boeotian, 3000 EubcEan ; there were S00 Boeotian, and 600 Athenian horse- men, 100 from Chalcis in Eubcea, and 50 from Opuntian Locris. Their light troops were very numerous. The Lacedaemonian army assembled at Sicyon. As they advanced through the hilly country, they were annoyed by the light troops of the enemy ; but when they reached the sea, and got into the plain, they wasted the country at their will. The confederates advanced to engage them. The Boeotians, who were on the left, fearing the Lacedaemonians, who were opposite them, declared the sacrifices unfavorable ; but when the Athenians had changed places with them, they found the sacrifices propitious, and gave the signal to engage. In the battle, all the Lacedaemonian allies were defeated by those opposed to them ; but the Athenians, in consequence of their phalanx being too deep, were surrounded and routed by the Lacedaemonians, who then attacked other bodies of the confederates, and drove them off the field. They raised a trophy on the spot, and retired to Sicyon. Meantime Agesilaus was advancing from the Hellespont. Dercyllidas met him at Amphipolis with the news of the late victory, and he sent him on with the tidings to the cities of Asia : he then pursued his march through Macedonia into Thessaly. As he advanced, he was continually harassed by the desultory attacks of the Thessalian cavalry, but near the borders of Phthia, the cavalry, which he had himself raised and formed in Asia, gave an effectual check to the renowned Thessalian horse. His march on to Boeotia now lay through a friendly country; but just as he was entering it, he re- ceived tidings of the defeat of his fleet and the death of Peisander. To keep up the spirits of the soldiers, he gave out, that though Peisander had fallen, the fleet had been vic- torious ; and he sacrificed as for a victory. In the neighbor- THE CORINTHIAN WAR. 317 hood of Coroneia he found an army of Boeotians, Argives, Corinthians, Athenians, Euboeans, ^Enians, and Locrians waiting to receive him. He had been joined by the Pho- cians and Orchomenians, by a mora from Peloponnesus, and half a mora that had been in garrison at Orchomenus. The forces were about equal on both sides. Agesilaus advanced from the Cephissus ; the confederates from the foot of Hel- icon. When they were about a stadia asunder, the confed- erates shouted, and charged running ; the Cyreans, followed by the Asiatic Greeks, ran also, and drove back those opposed to them : the Argives fled to Helicon before the troops led by Agesilaus in person ; but the Thebans defeated the Or- chomenians, and penetrated to the baggage. Agesilaus led his phalanx against them ; the Thebans, seeing their allies all dispersed, formed in a close body in order to force their way ; and Agesilaus, instead of prudently opening to let them pass, and assailing their flanks and rear, met them face to face. The contest was obstinate : at length a part of the Thebans were slain ; the rest forced their way to Helicon. Agesilaus himself being wounded, Gylis the polemarch by his direction drew out the troops next morning, and raised a trophy to the sound of flutes, all the soldiers wearing gar- lands. Their dead were restored to the Thebans, and Ages- ilaus proceeded to Delphi to offer the tithe of his booty in Asia (100 talents) to the god. Gylis led the army through Phocis into Ozolian Locris, which country they plundered. The Locrians harassed them from the hills; and, in an at- tempt to drive them off, Gylis himself was slain. Agesilaus then disbanded his army, and returned home over the Gulf. Sicyon and Corinth being the head-quarters of the two opposed armies, (Ol. 96, 4,) the Corinthian territory natu- rally suffered much. The aristocratic party there, as the richest proprietors, were of course the greatest sufferers ; and, besides, their inclination was for the Lacedaemonian alliance. The meetings which they held for this purpose did not escape the democratic leaders, and, with the con- sent of their allies, they resolved to murder those whom 27* xnnYiRsiT 318 HISTORY OF GREECE. they most dreaded and suspected. Regardless of the sanc- tity of a religious festival, they sent armed men, on the last day of the Eucleiae, into the market, who fell on and slew all those who had been designated. In vain they fled to the altars and statues of the gods ; they were dragged from them and massacred. Those thus slain were mostly men in years; the young men were kept together at the Cranion by Pasimelus, one of their chiefs, who suspected danger ; and when they heard of what was going on in the market, they made for the Aero-Corinth, and driving off some Ar- gives and others who attempted to stop them, took posses- sion of it. Here they might have defended themselves ; but a capital happening to fall from a column without any as- signable cause, the soothsayers, on consulting the entrails, advised them to descend from the fortress. They obeyed, and were about to quit their country ; but their friends and relatives entreated them to stay, and as the democratic leaders swore that they should receive no injury, a part of them returned to their houses. A union, such as we have no other instance of in Grecian history, had been effected between Argos and Corinth. The boundaries between the two states were removed and ef- faced ; the whole was named Argos, and the same political constitution prevailed in both, Argos being, it would appear, the seat of government. This state of things was intolerable to the oligarchs of Corinth, who found that, though safe in their persons, they had less influence in their native city than even the metoecs ; and they resolved to make Corinth what she had been, or perish in the attempt. To recur to the Lacedaemonians for aid was, of course, their first thought; and two of them, Pasimelus and Alcimenes, stole out through the bed of the stream which passed through the walls, and going to Sicyon, proposed to Praxitas, the Lacedaemonian polemarch there, to put him in possession of the long walls from Corinth to its port of Lechason. Praxitas, knowing he might depend on them, agreed to the proposal. They re- turned home, and on a certain night opened a gate in the THE CORINTHIAN WAR. 319 walls, the custody of which had been intrusted to them, and admitted Praxitas with his mora and some Sicyonians, and about one hundred and fifty Corinthian exiles. As the walls were far asunder, Praxitas made a ditch and paling across, that he might be able to hold out till relief came. Nothing further was done till the second day, when the Argives, sup- ported by the Corinthians and by the troops of the Athe- nian Iphicrates, came down upon them, relying on their numbers. The Argives soon routed the Sicyonians, and plucking up the paling, chased them to the sea. The Spar- tan commander of the few horse made his men dismount and tie their horses to trees, and then take up the larger shields of the slain or fugitive Sicyonians, and advance against the Argives. As these shields had an S (Z) upon them, the Argives made light of them. " By the twin-gods, [tu * Xen. vi. 4, 2937. THE SECOND BOEOTIAN WAR. 349 where they had sought refuge, tied on a wagon, brought backhand tried and executed, the Mantineans sitting jointly as judges. About eight hundred fled to Lacedaemon; and, as the Mantineans had now clearly violated the terms of the peace, Agesilaus was directed (Ol. 102, 3) to lead an army against them. The Mantineans were joined by all the Ar- cadians except the Orchomenians, who were at enmity with them ; they were also aided by the Argives and the Eleians, and it was expected that the Thebans would send an army into Peloponnesus. The other Arcadians assembled their forces at A sea, while the Mantineans advanced to attack Orchomenus ; but a body of mercenaries had arrived there from Corinth, and they were repelled and driven home. Agesilaus had meantime entered and ravaged their lands. The Arcadians, having moved to the borders of Tegea and Mantineia, were now in his rear. Some were for attacking him at once, but the ma- jority preferred waiting till they were joined by the Man- tineans. Agesilaus resolved not to impede the junction, deeming it best to have all his enemies in fair field before him. Next morning, at daybreak, he was joined by the mer- cenaries from Orchomenus, and by the Phliasian horse. He remained there for four days, and then led his army home, it being now mid-winter. The Thebans arrived soon after, and finding no enemy in the country, were preparing to go home again ; but the Ar- cadians, Eleians, and Argives, seeing the number and condi- tion of the Theban army, were urgent with them to join in an invasion of Laconia. This army was composed of Boeo- tians, elate with the victory at Leuctra, of Phocians, Euboe- ans, both Locrians, Acarnanians, Heracleotes, and Malians, with horse and peltasts from Thessaly, and was led by Epam- inondas. The Theban leader urged that the passes were well guarded, and that the Lacedaemonians, who could soon collect their forces, would fight with desperation on their own soil, and he hesitated to assent. But when some per- sons came from Caryae, and told how destitute of defence 30 350 HISTORY OF GREECE. the country was, and offered to be their guides, and some of the Pericecians sent offering to join them, and telling how they had already refused to take arms at the call of the Spar- tans, he no longer hesitated. Laconia was now (Ol. 102, 4) invaded for the first time since the Dorian conquest.* The Thebans entered by the way of Caryae, the Arcadians through the Sciritis, and they joined their allies at Caryae. They plundered and burned Sellasia ; and next day, moving down the left bank of the Eurotas, came opposite Sparta, wasting and burning the country as they advanced. The Spartans were in arms at the temple of Athena Alea, and the invaders did not venture to cross the river. The women, who had never seen an ene- my, could not endure the sight of the smoke rising from the burnt houses; but the men, aware of the paucity of their numbers, doubted if they could defend their unwalled city. Liberty was offered to such of the Helots as would take arms in defence of the country. As no less than six thousand of- fered themselves, their numbers were a new cause of alarm, till aid arrived from Phlius, Corinth, Epidaurus, Pellene, and other towns ; and these, with the mercenaries from Orcho- menus, formed a sufficient force to keep them in check. The invaders crossed the Eurotas opposite Amyclae, and marched up its right bank toward Sparta. The Thebans every night secured their camp by placing hewn trees before it ; the Arcadians kept no order, but ran every where in quest of plunder. On the third or fourth day, the cavalry reached the horse-course close to Sparta. The few Lacedaemonian horse advanced against them, and three hundred young men, who had been placed in ambush in the temple of the Tyndaridae, rushing out at the same time, the enemy's horse stood not to receive them ; many of the foot also fled when they saw the horse give way. It being deemed too hazardous to risk an attack on the city, the army retraced its steps, and * Plutarch (Pelop. 24) gives the number of the invading army at 70,000 men. Diodorus (xv. 62) says it was upwards of 50,000. THE SECOND BCEOTIAN WAR. 351 following the course of the river down to the sea-coast, took and burned Helos and such towns as were open. Three days were spent in attacking Gythion, where the naval ar- senal was, and some of the Pericecians came and aided in the attack. To obtain the aid of Athens was now of vital importance to the Spartans : accordingly deputies from them and their allies appeared in that city. The senate convoked the as- sembly without delay. The Lacedaemonians spoke, remind- ing the Athenians how in time of need their two states had always stood by each other, and that now, if united, they might humble Thebes. There was a murmur in the assembly of" They now speak fair, but when they had the power they kept us down ! " What weighed most in their favor was, that, when the Thebans wanted to destroy Athens, they had prevented it ; but it still was a matter of doubt whether they or the Mantineans had been the aggressors, and therefore how far the Athenians could justly interfere. The Corinth- ian Cleiteles said that, however that might be, there was no doubt of Corinth's having observed the peace, and yet the Thebans, in their passage through it, had robbed and plun- dered, cut the trees, and burnt the houses. This decided the question ; aid was voted, and Iphicrates appointed to command. Without a moment's delay the Athenians marched to Corinth, and thence to Arcadia. The Thebans, having spent three months in Laconia, were now in retreat ; for their Argive, Eleian, and Arcadian allies were gradually leaving them and going home to secure their plunder, and provisions were becoming every day more scarce : moreover, as it was winter, they were themselves anxious to get home. Iphicrates, as they advanced, fell back to the Isthmus; but he made no effort to impede their retreat, and Xenophon greatly blames his conduct on this occasion. This historian, the friend and panegyrist of the Spartans, though he has never perhaps wilfully falsified, omits on several occasions matters to their discredit. On the present, he never tells how Messene was once more raised to the 352 HISTORY OF GREECE. rank of an independent state. Other authorities * inform us that Epaminondas led his army into Messene, called the de- scendants of the Messenians to liberty, invited back those who were in Italy, Sicily, and elsewhere, built at the foot of Ithome a city named Messene, and left a Theban garrison to protect it. Thus the Lacedaemonians lost one half of their territory forever, and got instead of serfs inveterate foes, a just retribution for their original injustice ! In the spring, envoys from the Lacedaemonians and their allies again appeared at Athens. An alliance was proposed on the equitable and natural terms of the Athenians com- manding by sea, and the Lacedaemonians by land. This proposal was at first vehemently approved of; but Cephiso- dotus, an Athenian orator, argued that in such case the Athenians could only have the command over Helots and mercenaries, as these would compose the principal part of the Lacedaemonian marine, while their own horsemen and hoplites would be commanded by Spartan officers. He proposed that there should be a joint command, and it was decreed that each should hold it for five days alter- nately. A combined army was sent soon after (Ol. 103, 1) to guard the Isthmus; but, owing to the imprudence or treachery of a Lacedaemonian polemarch, the Thebans passed unopposed, and joining their allies, attacked Sicyon and Pellene. They then turned to Epidaurus, and ravaged the country, and as they were returning they made a sudden rush for the gate of Corinth leading to Phlius : but some light troops, commanded by Chabrias the Athenian, came out, and mounting the tombs and other eminences, drove them off. The Corinthians dragged the bodies under the walls, and raised a trophy when the Thebans had sent to demand them. * Plut. Pelop. 24. Diodor. xv. 66. Pausanias (iv. 26, 27) relates it with his due complement of dreams and wonders, such as the finding of the pledge buried by Aristomenes, (see above, p. 52,) which con- tained the rites of the Great Goddesses, etc. THE SECOND BffiOTIAN WAR. 353 At this very time arrived a fleet of upwards of twenty ships, sent by Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, to aid the Lacedaemonians. On board of this fleet were Celtic and Iberian troops, the first of these remote nations ever seen in Greece, and about fifty horsemen, probably Iberians. Next day, the Thebans and their allies were drawn out, and filled the plain down to the sea, wasting it every where. The Corinthian and Athenian horse feared to engage them ; but the new-comers attacked them boldly, and by their desultory mode of fighting did them much mischief. A few days afterwards, the Thebans and their allies separated and went home ; and the troops of Dionysius, having made an irruption into Sicyon, and defeated the Sicyonians who came out against them, also departed and returned to Syr- acuse. Hitherto the Peloponnesians of their party had willingly submitted to the supremacy of the Thebans; but their late successes had elated the Arcadians, and Lycomedes of Man- tineia, a man of birth, wealth, and ambition, represented to them, that they alone were genuine Peloponnesians ; that in numbers and in strength of body they excelled all the other Greeks, for without their aid neither the Lacedaemonians nor the Thebans could have achieved what they had done ; and that if they were wise, they would not follow either the one or the other, but insist on equal command with the Thebans. Language like this inflated the Arcadians ; they regarded Lycomedes as the first of men, and followed his directions in all things. Just at this time, the Argives having invaded Epidaurus, a body of Corinthians, Athenians, and Chabrias' mercenaries had cut off their retreat : the Arcadians marched to their aid, and liberated them. Again they attacked Asine and Laconia, defeated the garrison, and killed the polemarch. In fine, says Xenophon, neither night, nor storm, nor length of way, not mountains checked them, so that they were soon regarded as the best soldiers of the time.* The Thebans gradually became suspicious * It is evidently the Eparits that he means. 30* ss 354 HISTORY OF GREECE. of them ; the Eleians also cooled toward them, for when they asked them to restore the towns in Triphylia, of which the Lacedaemonians had deprived them, they met with a refusal. The Lacedaemonians always looked to Persia in time of need, for in the present state of Greece the gold of Persia could in general turn the political beam. In consequence of their solicitations, an Abydene, named Philiscos, came from Ariobarzanes, satrap of Bithynia, and summoned a congress to Delphi to treat of peace. But the Thebans, insisting on the independence of Messene, the object of Philiscos' coming could not be attained. With the money committed to him by the satrap, he therefore raised a large body of mercenaries to aid the Lacedaemonians. A second armament having come from Dionysius, (01. 103, 2,) Ar- chidamus united it with the Lacedaemonian troops ; and he took the revolted town of Caryae by assault, and put every soul in it to death. He then advanced into Arcadia, and laid waste the lands of Parrhasiae. When the Arcadians and Argives appeared, he fell back to the heights over Midea. Here the commander of the Sicilian troops left him, saying his term of service was expired, and led his men back to Sparta ; but finding a narrow pass on the road occupied by the Messenians, he sent to summon Archidamus to his aid. Archidamus made no delay : at a turn of the road they found the Argives and Arcadians prepared to dis- pute their passage. The Spartan prince encouraged his men ; favorable signs, it is said, appeared in the sky ; the attack was impetuous, the resistance of the enemy brief; the horse and the Celts did great execution on the fugitives ; and the Lacedaemonians, without the loss of a single man, gained a most complete victory : hence this is called the Tearless Battle. When the joyous tidings reached Sparta, they were received with tears of joy by Agesilaus, the sena- tors, the ephors, and all the people ; and the Thebans and Eleians were hardly less pleased than they at this humiliation of the pride of the Arcadians. AFFAIRS OF PELOPONNESUS. 355 The Thebans did not confine their views to Peloponnesus ; they wished also to establish an influence in Thessaly, where there was a strong party hostile to the Tagos, Alexander. Pelopidas and his friend Ismenias had gone thither, (Ol. 103, 1,) but by the imprudence of the former they were both made prisoners. An army of eight thousand hoplites and six hundred horse was immediately sent off; but Alex- ander being assisted from Athens, and the Thessalians not supporting them as expected, and provisions failing, the BcBOtarchs resolved to retire. On their retreat they suffered greatly from the Thessalian cavalry ; till Epaminondas, who was serving in a private station, was called on by the soldiers to take the command ; and by a proper use of the horse and light troops he insured the safe retreat of the hoplites. The release of Pelopidas was afterwards effected by force or by negotiation. The Thebans, aware of the strength which the Lacedae- monians derived from their connection with Persia, resolved to try if they could divert to themselves the golden stream that flowed from thence. They called together their allies, and stating that a Lacedaemonian agent was at Susa, en- gaged them to join in sending an embassy thither. Pelopi- das went on the part of the Thebans ; the Athenians, when they heard of it, sent thither also Timagoras and Leon to attend to their interests. (Ol. 103, 2.) Pelopidas conducted the negotiation with great ability. He reminded the King of the services of the Thebans in the time of Xerxes, made a merit of their impeding the sacrifice of Agesilaus, and dwelt on the fame they had acquired by the victory at Leuctra and the invasion of Laconia. Timagoras the Athenian seconded him in all things. The King asked Pelopidas what he, desired to be written : he replied, Mes- sene to be independent, the Athenians to lay up their ships, and if they did not, war to be made on them, and any city refusing its aid to be the first attacked. The rescript was made to this effect. On the return of the ambassadors, the Thebans summoned deputies from all the states to hear it : 356 HISTORY OF GREECE. the Persian who bore it showed the royal seal ; the Thebans called on all to swear to it, if they would be friends to them and the King : the deputies replied, that they were sent to hear, not to swear. The Thebans, finding themselves thus foiled, sent deputies to the separate states, menacing them with their wrath and that of the King if they did not swear to the treaty ; but, the Corinthians setting the example, several refused, and the hopes of the Thebans to gain the supremacy in this way were frustrated. Timagoras the Athenian was on his return convicted by his colleague of having taken large bribes, and was put to death by a sentence of the people. Epaminondas, anxious to extend the Theban influence in Peloponnesus, now directed his views to the Achaeans, who had as yet taken no decided part. He therefore (Ol. 103, 3) desired Peisias, the Argive general, to occupy the Oneian mountains ; and as the Athenian and Lacedaemonian troops there guarded it negligently, Peisias was able one night to seize the height over Cenchreae. The Thebans then passed safely, and being joined by their allies, entered Achaia. The constitution of this country had always had a large portion of aristocracy in it, and the persons of highest rank and wealth deemed it now their wisest course to appeal to the justice and magnanimity of Epaminondas for protection against their democratic opponents. They were not deceived ; the illus- trious Theban, probably judging that the people would not be happier under a pure democracy, made no change what- ever in the constitution, and, satisfied with the Achaeans join- ing the Theban alliance, led home his troops. But his con- duct was so loudly clamored at by the Arcadians and the Achaean democrats, as having in effect given Achaia to the Lacedaemonians, that the Thebans sent harmosts to the Achaean towns, expelled the upper ranks, and established pure democracies. The exiles however, who were numer- ous, recovered the towns one after the other, and then openly took the Lacedaemonian side ; and the Arcadians had thus enemies on the north as well as the south. The ever-varying political relations of Greece now assume AFFAIRS OF PELOPONNESUS. 357 a new form. The town of Oropus, on the confines of Attica and Bceotia, which had long been subject to the Athenians, was now seized by a party of exiles, aided by Themison, tyrant of Eretria in Eubcea. The Athenians instantly recalled their general Chares, who was at Phlius, and marched with all their forces to recover it ; and at their approach Themison with- drew, having given up the town to the Thebans to keep till it should be legally determined who had a right to it. The Athenians were offended with the Thebans on this account, and with their allies for not having come to their assistance : and the able Lycomedes, the Arcadian, observing their dis- satisfaction, represented to the Ten Thousand that it might not be difficult now to engage the Athenians in an alliance with Arcadia ; and he went himself to Athens to make the proposal. It seemed at first strange to the Athenians that they, the friends of the Lacedaemonians, should become the allies of their enemies ; but on the other hand, they saw that it was for the interest of both to detach the Arcadians from the Thebans, and they accepted the proposed alliance. Lycomedes, having thus succeeded, got on board a ship to return home ; but happening to land at the place where most of the Arcadian exiles dwelt, he was fallen on by them and slain, and with him died Arcadia's chance of supremacy. Soon afterwards Corinth made peace with Thebes, with the consent of Lacedsemon, and a similar peace was made by the Phliasians. The scene of war now changes (Ol. 103, 4) to Elis, which was invaded by the Arcadians. The Eleians called on the Lacedaemonians, and Archidamus entered Arcadia ; but having sustained a defeat he was forced to retige. The Arcadians were masters of Olympia when the time of the games came, (01. 104, 1,) and they prepared to celebrate them with the people of Pisa, who claimed the right from of old. But as they were in the midst of them, the Eleians came in arms, aided by the Achaeans ; and they fought with and defeated the Arcadians and Argives hard by the sacred enclosure of the Altis. Next day, finding the town barrica- 358 HISTORY OF GREECE. ded, they retired, having astonished by their prowess the assembled Greeks, who had hitherto held them in contempt as soldiers. At Olympia, as at Delphi, there was a large quantity of treasure, votive offerings, and the property of states and in- dividuals intrusted to the sanctity of religion. This treasure, now in the power of the Arcadians, was employed by them in the payment of their Eparits ; but the Mantineans, either from religion or from the prevalence of the aristocratic inter- est, declared that they would have no share in the sacrilege ; and collecting among themselves their proportion of the pay of the Eparits, they sent it to the general government. For this their magistrates were summoned before the Ten Thou- sand, and on their not appearing they were condemned, and a party of the Eparits sent to seize them. The Mantineans closed their gates, and would not admit them. Many mem- bers of the Ten Thousand now took courage, and spoke out against the sacrilege. This feding becoming general, such of the Eparits as could not afford to serve without pay re- tired, and this force now consisted only of men of some sub- stance. Those who had seized the sacred treasures, fearing to be called to account, sent off to Thebes, and declared that if a force were not sent, all Arcadia would Laconise. The other party then made the Arcadian people send an em- bassy to the Thebans, desiring them not to come in arms to Arcadia unless when called on. They at the same time made peace with the Eleians. This peace was sworn to in Tegea by all the Arcadians, and by the Theban commander of three hundred Boeotians who were in ^Jiat town. But in the midst of the festivities in which they were indulging on occasion of it, the gates were closed by the Thebans, and such of the Eparits as ad- hered to those who dreaded being called to account, and the principal men of most of the towns, were seized and impris- oned. Some escaped over the walls ; and the Mantineans, whom they had been most anxious to take, had, on account of the vicinity of their town, already gone home. In the AFFAIRS OF PELOPONNESUS. 359 morning the Mantineans sent round to all the towns, telling them what had occurred, and desiring them to be on their guard ; and they sent to Tegea, demanding the delivery of those who had been seized. The Theban became alarmed, and set them all at liberty, asserting that he had been de- ceived by an account of a plan to betray Tegea to the La- cedaemonians. The Mantineans took no notice of what he said, but sent an embassy to Thebes to accuse him. Epam- inondas, it was said, replied, that he had done far better when he seized, than when he let them go ; and he assured them they should soon see a Theban army in Arcadia. The direction of the Theban affairs now lay entirely with Epaminondas, for Pelopidas was no more. The Thessalians, weary of the oppression of the Tagos, had sent to Thebes for aid, and Pelopidas gladly seized the occasion of taking vengeance on him. He entered Thessaly at the head of 7000 men, and engaged a superior force led by the Tagos. Carried away by his impetuous desire of vengeance, Pelopidas fell ; but victory remained with his troops, and Alexander was obliged to submit to a peace and alliance. (Ol. 104, 1.) Epaminondas assembled (01. 104, 3) an army of Boeo- tians, Eubceans, and Thessalians, (these last furnished by Alexander as well as his opponents,) and prepared to enter Peloponnesus for the fourth time. He expected to be joined there by the Argives, Messenians, and the Arcadians of Tegea, Megalopolis, Asea, and Pallantion. The Arcadians were joined by the Elians and Achseans ; they sent to the Athenians and Lacedcemonians, inviting them to unite in the task of liberating Peloponnesus from the Thebans, and aid was readily promised by both. As Corinth was at peace with Thebes, Epaminondas reached Nemea unimpeded. He stopped there in hopes of intercepting the Athenians ; but learning that they were gone by sea to Laconia, he marched on to Tegea, where he quartered his troops within the town, as by this means his plans would be best concealed from the enemy, while he could observe all their motions at his leisure. 360 HISTORY OF GREECE. The confederates were encamped at Mantineia, waiting for the arrival of Agesilaus and the Lacedaemonians, who were now on their way. Epaminondas, finding that no town had declared for him, while time was- passing and his reputation was endangered, resolved to make a bold effort. Agesilaus and his forces were now at Pallene, about one hundred stadia from Sparta, which was nearly destitute of men ; it might be taken, he thought, by a sudden attack, and such an event have the most important results. The Theban general, after supper, put himself at the head of his troops, and gave the word, For Sparta ! The city would have been taken, says the historian, like a bird's nest, but that a Cretan (perhaps a deserter *) brought word to Agesilaus, who led back his hoplites without delay, for the horse and mercenaries were at Mantineia. When Epaminondas arrived, he feared to enter the open town, where his numbers would give him no advantage, and his men might be slain from the tops of the houses : he therefore halted on an eminence without the town. Archidamus, at the head of not quite one hundred men, issued suddenly from the town, and fell on a part of the Theban forces. Daunted by their impet- uosity, the redoubtable Thebans gave way with some loss : the Spartans, pursuing too far, lost a few men in their turn ; they, however, erected their trophy and restored the dead, according to custom. Epaminondas, foiled in his hopes of surprising Sparta, and expecting that the Arcadians would come to the aid of their allies, in which case he would have to fight them and all the Lacedaemonians, returned in haste to Tegea, where he halted his hoplites. He sent the horse off at once toward Mantineia, as he justly reckoned that the Mantineans would be taking advantage of his absence to get in their harvest, and that their cattle and slaves would be out in the fields. They were actually in the midst of their harvest ; but a body of Athenian cavalry, who had made a forced march by" the Isthmus and Cleonae, was now arrived. The Mantineans implored them to aid in protecting their * Polyb. ix. 8, 6. BATTLE OF MANTIxNEIA. 361 property, and the Athenians, though just off a long journey, and themselves and their horses fasting, gallantly sallied forth to engage the Thebans and Thessalians, who were counted the first cavalry in Greece, and on this occasion were far superior in number. The action was smart, and brave men fell on both sides ; but the Athenians saved the property of their allies, and the enemies were obliged to re- ceive some of their dead under truce. Epaminondas was now pressed with difficulties ; he had failed in all his projects, the time of service of his troops was nearly expired, and he must lead them home, in which case his Peloponnesian allies would remain exposed to their enemies : a victory alone could save him, and if he fell, it would be with glory, in the attempt to make his country mistress of Peloponnesus. He ordered his troops to prepare for battle. Every eye grew bright, every heart beat high at the word; shields were cleansed, helmets polished, swords and spears whetted. His influence over his troops was, in fact, surprising ; they shunned neither toil nor privation : day and night they were ready to face any danger at his command, the true indication of a great general ! When his troops were drawn out, instead of advancing direct to the enemy, he led them toward the mountains west of Tegea, and made them ground their arms there. The enemies, deceived by this feint, deemed that he had no intention of fighting that day, and they became negligent of their order of battle. Suddenly forming his left wing of great depth, he gave orders to advance. The sight of the Thebans in motion caused great confusion in the enemies ; some might be seen putting on their corselets, others bri- dling their horses, others hastening to their ranks, others forming. It was the Theban tactics to form deep, and di- rect their whole force on one point ; and Epaminondas, now at the head of the deep phalanx of his best troops, bore down on the enemy's right wing, composed of Lacedaemo- nians and Mantineans, confident that if he could defeat them the victory was won. His cavalry advanced, simi- 31 T T 362 HISTORY OF GREECE. larly formed, with numerous light troops (ufiiTtTtoi) mixed through it, while that of the enemy was only of the same depth with their phalanx, and without light troops. To prevent the Athenians, who were on the left, from coming to their aid, he placed some horse and hoplites on the heights opposite them. His measures were completely successful. The Lacedae- monians and Mantineans gave way after an obstinate re- sistance ; but in the midst of victory Epaminondas fell, pierced in the breast by a spear : his hoplites paused in dis- may, and did not think of pursuing the routed enemy ; the horse, though victorious, halted and retired; their light troops, passing to the right, fell on the Athenians, by whom they were cut to pieces. Epaminondas died on the extrac- tion of the spear, in the persuasion of having obtained a complete victory. Each side, however, raised its trophy; each, as defeated, claimed its dead, under truce ; each, as victorious, restored those of the other. The troops on both sides retired to their respective homes, and few of the great results which had been anticipated followed. It is said * that Epaminondas, finding his wound to be mortal, called for Diophantus, intending to give him the command of the army. He was told that he was dead. He then called for Iolai'das, and hearing that he also had fallen, " Make then peace," said he, " for Thebes has no longer a general ! " In fact, the importance which Thebes had acquired was entirely owing to a few able men whom she possessed ; f and her greatness, and even that of Greece, was truly said to have been buried in the grave of Epami- nondas. Xenophon and some other historians end their works with the battle of Mantineia, intimating, as it were, that Grecian independence was no more. t Polybius, xi. 43. LAST DATS OF AGESILAUS. 363 CHAPTER XV. GENERAL PEACE. LAST DAYS OF AGESILAUS. DEATH OF ALEXANDER OF PHER.E. MILITARY AFFAIRS. LITERA- TURE. The battle of Mantineia was followed by a general peace, in which the Spartans alone were not included, for they haughtily refused to join in a treaty to which the Messe- nians were parties. They, however, abstained from hostilities, and Messene was lost to them forever.* The western provinces o the Persian empire had been of late years in a state of complete insubordination : and in Egypt, a man named Tachos had succeeded in withdrawind a great part of the country from its obedience. Tachos, who had in his pay a great number of Grecian mercenaries, sent (Ol. 104, 3) to propose an alliance with Lacedaemon. Agesilaus, though now upwards of eighty years of age, gladly seized the occasion of revenge on the Persian king, who had been a chief cause of the loss of Messene; and he hoped to have yet the satisfaction of withdrawing the Asiatic Greeks from his dominion. He took the command of one thousand hoplites sent to the aid of Tachos, and the whole mercenary land forces were put under him on his arrival in Egypt. The fleet was commanded by the Athenian Cha- brias, who was in the pay of the Egyptian prince. Tachos himself commanded in chief. He invaded Syria ; but during his absence a rebellion took place in Egypt, and he was deserted by his army, and fled to Sidon. The competitors for the throne of Egypt (there were two of them) sought to gain Chabrias and Agesilaus; and Nectanebos making the better offer, they joined him, and seated him on the throne. He rewarded them munificently ; and shortly af- terwards Agesilaus, seeing that there was nothing of im- * Diodor. xv. 89. Polybius, iv. 33. 364 HISTORY OF GREECE. portance to effect in Asia, sailed homewards, resolving to devote his remaining days and the wealth he had acquired, to the reduction of Messene. But he fell sick at sea, and putting into a port of the Cyrenean territory, died there. As honey could not be had at the time, his body was en- closed in wax, and thus brought home to be interred with those of his fathers.* Had Jason of Pherae, with his virtues and talents, been now living, the supremacy of Greece might have fallen to Thes- saly. But the present Tagos, Alexander, was such an odious tyrant, that the hatred of him was universal. He had reigned eleven years, when his wife, irritated, it was said, at learning that it was his design to divorce her, as being barren, and to marry the widow of Jason, resolved to have him murdered. She told her brothers, Tisiphonus and Lycophron, that the tyrant had designs against them, and their only safety was in his death. She then concealed them near her chamber during the day. At night, Alexander came to her apartment to sleep as usual ; he had drunk a good deal, and soon fell asleep : a lamp was burning in the room. She took away his sword, and went to call her brothers. They hesitated ; she threatened to awake the tyrant ; they entered the cham- ber ; she stood at the door, and held the bolt till the deed was done. The assassins were applauded by the enemies of the tyrant, but they had only removed him to tread in his steps : they retained the mercenaries, and by their means continued to exercise dominion over Thessaly.t Athens was again become the most important state in Greece. The conduct of her best generals, particularly Ti- motheus, gained her respect ; and the people of the towns and coasts of the ^Egean, to obtain the protection of her navy against piracy, became once more her subject allies, and paid the tribute imposed by Aristeides. After the death of Pericles, the evils of political licentious- ness displayed themselves more and more each day. The * Xen. Agesilaus, 4. Plut. Agesilaus, 3640. Diodor. xv. 92, 93. t Xen. vi. 4. Plut. Pelop. 35. MILITARY AFFAIRS. 365 demagogues, who were to the sovereign people what their flatterers were to tyrants, heedless of the public weal, and thinking only of their own advantage, urged them into every excess. The allies were plundered and oppressed, and the persons of property at home harassed by eternal requisitions to fit out triremes, provide choirs for the festivals, and other- wise spend their money on the people.* Numbers were thus reduced to beggary. They were further exposed to the vexatious persecution of the Sycophants, or public in- formers,! who lived by taking advantage of the fears of the rich, and the envy and injustice of the paid jurors. Nothing, in fact, could be less enviable than the condition of a man of property at Athens, more especially from the time of the loss of the army in Sicily. | It is probable that things were not much better in the other Grecian democracies, of which we have not information ; while in oligarchies the ruling party thought only of oppressing and keeping down the people. One of the chief causes of the ruin of Greece attained its height, though it clid not commence, in this period. This was the use of mercenary troops, or Xeni, (Serot, ' strangers,') as they were named. It would not be easy to point out any period in the history of the world in which men did not sell their blood for pay ; but in Greece, before the Peloponnesian war, the practice does not seem to have been common. The Arcadians, the Swiss of Hellas, owing perhaps to the poverty of their mountains, were the most addicted to it ; and we * Arist. Pol. vi. 3. t The Sycophants answer to the Delators under the Roman Em- perors. + The pay of the Ecclesiasts, which had been reestablished, was raised (Ol. 96, 3) by Agyrrhius to three oboles ; this of course drew the poorer citizens to the assemblies in great numbers, (see Aristoph. Eccles. 302, 380, 392, 543, and the Scholia,) and they made what de- crees the demagogues pleased. " In some oligarchies," says Aristotle, (Pol. v. 7,) " they swear, ' and I will be evil minded toward the demos, and counsel all the ill I can.'" 31* 366 HISTORY OF GREECE. read, not without surprise,* that while Xerxes was before Thermopylae, Arcadians entered his camp looking for ser- vice ; the Cretan archers, likewise, were at all times to be had for money. It was, however, the civil dissension in the various towns of Greece that chiefly caused the evil. Men, driven from their homes, and robbed of their property, had seldom any resource but arms ; they usually joined the enemies of their country, in hopes by their aid of defeating the faction at home which had expelled them. Others were allured by pay alone, especially after the Persians began to hire Greek troops : Pissuthnes had Arcadians in his pay ; f and from the time of the younger Cyrus, the Persian kings and satraps maintained large bodies of Greek mercenaries : they were also employed by the tyrants of Sicily, and even by the Carthaginians. Any one who is acquainted with the history of the Italian republics of the Middle Ages will at once recognize the similarity between their condottieri and the leaders of the mercenary bands in Greece ; and the history of Charidemus, given by Demos- thenes,! might well pass for that of a Braccio or a Sforza. The Brabancons, Free Companies, etc. of France and Eng- land were also exactly similar to the Greek Xeni. In Greece, as in modern Italy, the dislike of all orders of people in the towns to personal service led to the employment of Xeni, instead of the old burgher force of hoplite militia. The manners and morals. of the mercenary troops of all ages are the same ; the camp is their home ; they care not for whom they fight; they squander in luxury and sensual pleasure their pay and their plunder, thoughtless of the morrow. During this period a considerable change was made in the military art by Iphicrates, namely, his forming a new description of the troops called Peltasts, which were a mean between the hoplites and the light-armed. Their arms and armor were similar to those of the hoplites ; but their ar- mor was all lighter, while their swords and spears were * Herod, viii. 26. t Thuc. iii. 34. $ Against Aristocrates. LITERATURE. 367 longer : hence they were more active and more efficient. The peltast troops were always composed of mercena- Though this was a time of incessant war, literature did not cease to be cultivated. Poetry now became almost ex- clusively dramatic, and its chief seat was Athens. In tra- gedy, Sophocles was distinguished for a calm and amiable spirit of religion, a love of law and order, and high regard for moral worth and dignity. The consummate skill with which his dramas are constructed can never be enough ad- mired, and the sweetness and elegance of his verses must ever inspire delight. Euripides, inferior in genius, sought to move by presenting his characters in the outward garb of woe and poverty, and by employing the language of senti- mentality. The construction of his plays offers a tedious uniformity, and he is accused of having patched up his cho- ruses (to us so beautiful) from the popular songs. He also injured his pieces by the introduction of the skeptical philos- ophy then in vogue, and by scenes of regular pleading as in a court of law. Many of his dramas are, nevertheless, highly beautiful ; but true taste will rank the best of them much below those of ^Eschylus and Sophocles. The ancient comedy was of a peculiar nature. In form it resembled the tragedy, and, like it, introduced real char- acters on the scene ; but those of comedy were living persons, who were usually keenly satirized for their public or private vices and follies. The drama at Athens was, in some sort, what the public press is with us, the organ of political par- ties. To the credit of the comic muse, she seems to have mostly advocated a domestic and foreign policy beneficial to the state. The most distinguished writers of the ancient comedy were Eupolis, Cratinus, and Aristophanes. Eloquence now became an art, taught for hire by Gorgias, * Nepos, from whom alone we have a description of these peltasts, seems, with a Roman's usual ignorance of Grecian affairs, to have supposed that Iphicrates converted the hoplites into peltasts. 368 HISTORY OF GREECE. Protagoras, and the other Sophists, as they were named. In proportion as the characters of citizen and soldier sepa- rated, the statesman (q^tcoq) became divided from the gen- eral. Historical writing also was now cultivated ; and we have contemporary history for the whole of this period. Philosophy, mostly of a skeptical character, attracted vo- taries as the reverence for the old religion decreased. But, in the hands of the Sophists, it spent its energies in idle speculation in physics, or in the mischievous hair-splitting of dialectics. The illustrious Socrates stood forth as their de- clared enemy, and combated them triumphantly with their own weapons. Man and his duties were the subject of Ms philosophy : he taught in no school, nor for hire ; his con- versation (for he gave no lectures) was free to all ; his life adorned his doctrine, and was passed in honorable poverty. But the friend of wisdom and virtue, and the great master of irony, could not be without numerous enemies at Athens. He was publicly accused (01. 95, 2) by Anytus, Melitus, and Lycon, of impiety and corruption of the youth, and an ignorant, credulous, and prejudiced jury passed on him a sen- tence of death. Means of escape were proposed to him, but rejected. On the appointed day, he received and conversed calmly and cheerfully with his friends, and then drinking the hemlock-juice expired, in the seventieth year of his age. The people were soon seized with unavailing regret, and they made what atonement they could by punishing those concerned in his death. THE HISTORY OF GREECE PART III. MONARCHIC PERIOD. CHAPTER I. KINGDOM OF MACEDONIA. PHILIP OF MACEDONIA. CON- FEDERATE WAR. PHOCIAN OR SACRED WAR. PROGRESS OF PHILIP. SACRED WAR. WAR IN PELOPONNESUS. OLYNTHIAN WAR. We denominate this last period of Grecian history, the Monarchic,* not because this form of government prevailed in Greece, but because we shall find the influencing and gui- ding power in all its affairs to have been a monarchy. Aris- tocracy is at an end ; democracy, after a few struggles, sinks into impotence ; Greece loses the independence of which she is no longer deserving. To narrate her decline is now our task.t Each state of Greece and its vicinity was, as we may have- observed, to come forward, at one time or other, as an im- portant actor on the political stage. The time for the ap- pearance of Macedonia is now arrived. * It is usually called the Macedonian Period. t The principal authorities for this and the following chapter are Diodorus, (who copied Theopompus,) Plutarch, Justin, and the orators Demosthenes and iEschines. UU 370 HISTORY OF GREECE. This country, lying north of Thessaly, though inhabited by a people akin to the Greeks, was never counted part of Greece. Its kings claimed their descent from the Teme- nids, or Heracleids, of Argos, and as such were admitted to contend at the Olympic games, from which all but Greeks were excluded. Macedonia might be termed a constitutional monarchy : the crown was hereditary in one family ; but the king was not absolute ; he governed by law and custom : a judge in peace, the leader of the army in war, he strongly resembled the monarchs of the Heroic age ; and the form of government which had once prevailed over Greece and the adjacent countries, and which we find in Homer, appears to have been preserved, though somewhat altered and modi- fied, in Macedonia and Epeirus. The earliest mention we meet of Macedonia is at the time of the Persian war, when we find its kings united in public friendship with the Athenian people. It is probable that the intercourse between it and Athens had been of long stand- ing; for ship-timber, an article indispensable to the Athe- nians, who had none of their own, grew abundantly in Ma- cedonia, whence, down to the period of which we write, they constantly imported it. The Peloponnesian war brought Ma- cedonia into relations with Sparta ; proximity at all times produced much intercourse between it and Thessaly. It was, however, always looked upon as a power of little con- sequence, its people termed Barbarians, and its friendship or enmity but lightly regarded by the haughty republics. . After the death of Archelaus, (Ol. 95, 2,) an able and en- lightened prince, the succession to the throne was disputed, and a civil war terminated in favor of Amyntas, cousin to the late king. Amyntas dying (Ol. 102, 3) at an advanced age, left three sons, Alexander, who succeeded him, and Perdiccas and Philip, both boys. Alexander, after a short reign, fell by the hand of an assassin. Two competitors for the throne appeared ; the queen-mother Eurydice im- plored the aid of the Athenian general Iphicrates, then with a fleet on the coast of Thrace, and by his influence Perdic- PHILIP OF MACEDONIA. 371 cas was quietly seated on the throne.* On account of his youth, the regency was committed to Ptolemaeus, a prince of the blood royal. During the time of the regency, Pelopidas visited Macedonia as ambassador from Thebes, and he in- duced the government to change the Athenian for the The- ban alliance. As securities for the good faith of the Macedonian government, and perhaps at the same time with a view to their education, the king's brother Philip, and some youths of the noblest families, were sent to reside at Thebes. Philip was there placed under the care of Pammenes, and the improvement of his mind appears to have been sedulous- ly attended to.t Perdiccas, after a brief reign, was slain, (Ol. 105, 1,) defending his kingdom against an invasion of the Illyrians. The next heir was his brother Philip, now twenty-three years old, and at that time settled in the government of a province which his brother had, according to the usage of the Macedonian kings, given him as an appanage. But the heritage was, to all appearance, one not to be coveted. The Illyrians spread their ravages over the country; the Paeonians invaded it on the north ; the two former competi- tors for the throne, Argaeus and Pausanias, appeared again, the one supported by the Athenians, the other by Cotys, king of Thrace. About four thousand Macedonians had fallen with their king, and the people were in general dejected ; but the elo- quence of Philip raised their spirits, and his talents inspired them with confidence. The Illyrians, like barbarians in general, hastened home to secure their plunder; presents and promises properly employed, induced the Paeonian chiefs to abstain from hostilities; in a similar way Cotys was engaged to abandon the cause of Pausanias; and there only remained Argseus, to whose aid the Athenians had sent Mantias with a fleet and three thousand hoplites. * JSschines, False Embassy, 31 , 30, et seq. t Plutarch, Pelopidas, 26. 372 HISTORY OF GREECE. Mantias, on coming to Methone, a port of Pieria subject to Athens, landed his troops ; and Argaeus, at the head of these and some troops of his own, set out for ^Eg33, or Edessa, the former capital of Macedonia, distant about two hundred and forty stadia. Having vainly essayed to gain the people to declare for him, he was leading back his troops to Methone, when he was met and attacked by Philip. Ar- gaeus fell, and with him a good number of his men ; the rest retired to a hill, where they surrendered. Such Athenians as were among them were treated with great consideration by the victor ; all their property was collected and restored to them, and they were set at liberty. He sent ministers to Athens to treat of peace ; and, as he knew that the chief cause of enmity had been the aid given to the people of Amphipolis by his brother, he declared that city free, and withdrew its Macedonian garrison. The Athenian people then listened to his proposals, and peace was concluded. (Ol. 105, 2.)* Fortunately for Philip, Agis the king of the Paeonians died ; and it is probable some confusion arose of which he took advantage; for entering Paeonia with his army he over- came the force opposed to him, and reduced the country to a province of his kingdom. He now found himself strong enough to venture on war with the Ulyrians ; and having, according to Macedonian usage, held an assembly of the people and gained their consent, he invaded Illyria at the head of 10,000 foot and 600 horse. The Ulyrian chief, Bardylis, who was now ninety years of age, sent to propose peace, on the condition of each retaining what they had ; but Philip insisted on the Ulyrians restoring the towns which they held in Macedonia. These terms were refused. Bar- dylis met the Macedonians with about an equal force : a sanguinary action ensued; but Philip's superior tactic* gained him a complete victory, and the Ulyrians fled, with the loss of their aged chief and seven thousand men. Peace * Diodorus, xvi. 3, 4. Demosthenes, ag. Aristocrates, 6C0. PHILIP OF MACEDONIA. 373 was then granted them on their giving up the Macedonian towns; in consequence of which the dominions of Philip now extended westwards to Lake Lychnitis, and thus per- haps exceeded in magnitude those of his predecessors. These victories gave Philip great credit in the eyes of his warlike subjects, and now, (Ol. 105, 3,) having persuaded the credulous Athenians, that, when he had reduced it, he would give it to them in exchange for Pydna,* he led his forces against Amphipolis, in which there was a devoted Macedonian party. Philip battered the walls till a breach was effected; the town then capitulated; the heads of the adverse party were banished; the rest of the inhabitants were treated with great favor, according to the humane and politic course which Philip had laid down for himself in his pursuit of empire. The Olynthians and the Athenian party in Amphipolis had sent to Athens for aid; but so strongly were the people persuaded that Philip would give them the town, that they would not attend to them. The object nearest to Philip's heart was to drive the Athenians from the north coast of the ^Egean, where their supremacy had been restored by Conon. For this purpose (Ol. 106, 1) he formed an alliance with the Olynthians, to whom he resigned all rights to Anthemus, which had be- come a member of their confederacy. Pydna was the first object of their joint attack ; and a party in the town, in the Macedonian interest, opened the gates when Philip appeared. Potidrea was next invested, and after an obstinate defence forced to surrender. The Athenians there were dismissed in safety, and the town given to the Olynthians. Methone alone now remained to Athens in these parts. The great talents of Philip were at all times seconded by fortune. The Athenians had always held the Macedonians in contempt, and Persia was still the only foreign power of which they had any apprehensions. They were therefore * Demosthenes ag. Aristocrates, C59. 32 374 HISTORY OF GREECE. not likely to view at any time the progress of Philip with apprehension ; but luckily for him they had now other matters on their hands, which gave them abundant occu- pation. Just at the time when Philip was attacking Amphipolis, the Thebans sent a force into Euboea to aid a party there against the tyrants of Eretria and Chalcis. These applied for aid to Athens: and such was the fear of seeincr that island alienated, that at the impulse of Timotheus a sea and land force was prepared within five days, and within thirty days the Thebans were overcome and dismissed under truce. The Athenian orators state with pride that no at- tempt was made to take advantage of this success, and that the Eubceans were left, as before, to themselves. Soon afterwards, (Ol. 105, 4,) a war, which lasted three years, broke out between Athens and her allies. The Athe- nians had not used their recovered superiority at sea with all the prudence and moderation which the altered condition of the times demanded, and the diminished state of their revenues and the corruption of their public men led to much oppression and extortion. Mausolus, king of Caria, who now aspired to influence in the Grecian sea states, took advantage of the increasing dissatisfaction among the allies to form a confederacy of the most powerful among them, Rhodes, Cos, Chios, and Byzantion, to resist the unjust demands of the Athenians, to whom they declared that they would protect their own commerce, and would therefore pay no more tribute. The Athenians were never a people to submit quietly to the loss of any of their real or even fancied rights. War was at once declared. After a good deal of delay, a fleet, under Chares, with whom Chabrias was either joined in command or served as a trierarch, appeared at Chios, where a strong fleet of the Confederates had now assembled. The town was invested by sea and land. Chares headed the land forces, while Chabrias led the fleet into the harbor, where a smart conflict ensued, in which Chabrias himself fell, and THE CONFEDERATE WAR. 375 the fleet was forced to retire with some loss. The siege of Chios was then abandoned, and nothing of consequence undertaken during the remainder of the year. The following year, (Ol. 106, 1,) the Confederates put to sea a fleet of one hundred ships : and as that of Chares of sixty ships was not able to oppose them, they plundered the isles of Lemnos and Imbros, and then sailing to Samos wasted the country and laid siege to the town. Moved by the danger of Samos, the Athenians sent out (01. 106, 2) another fleet of sixty ships under Timotheiis, Iphicrates, and Menestheus, (the son of the latter and son-in-law of the former general,) to cooperate with that of Chares.* Instead of sail- ing to the relief of Samos, the Athenian commanders steered for the Hellespont, rightly judging that the Confederates would not, for the chance of taking Samos, risk the loss of Byzantion, which was now without adequate defence. Ac- cordingly, when they learned whither the Athenians were gone, they abandoned Samos and hastened to the Helles- pont, at the entrance of which they met the Athenian fleet. The wind, which was now strong, was adverse to the Athe- nians; Chares, however, was for fighting, but Iphicrates and Timotheiis refused their consent, and no action took place. Chares wrote home, accusing his colleagues of treachery, and the following year they had to answer the charge be- fore their sovereign, the people. Iphicrates was acquitted, but Timotheiis was fined a hundred talents. f Chares was now- again sole commander ; but his troops, who were mercenaries, would not serve without regular pay, and no money was sent out to him from home. He must therefore have dismissed them, or have followed the usual course of robbing and plundering the allies. But Artabazus, the satrap of Bithynia, who was in rebellion, hearing that a large force was coming against him, sent to endeavor to induce the army of Chares to come to his aid. Forced by * Nepos, Timoth. 3. t Id. ibid. Isocrates (Permutation, 75) says it was the largest fine ever imposed. 376 HISTORY OF GREECE. his men, led by his own interest, or deeming it for the ad- vantage of the Athenians to have the army, which they could not or would not pay themselves, kept together for them, he entered the service of the satrap. The Athenians were at first well pleased at what he had done ; but when, soon after, Persian envoys came to complain of him, and to in- form them that the Phoenician fleet would be ordered to join that of the Confederates, they began to ponder on the consequences. The king of Macedonia had extended his power very considerably, a new war was on the eve of breaking out in Greece, and no one could tell what turn events might take : it would therefore, they thought, be ad- visable to have peace at the other side of the JEgean. The Confederates, on their part, were also desirous of peace ; their deputies came to Athens ; the Athenians renounced their claims of sovereignty ; peace was made ; and the Con- federate War, as it is named, terminated.* From the time of Solon, down to the present period, hardly any mention of the Amphictyonic council occurs in Grecian history. The deputies of the different states had probably continued to meet at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes of each year, at Pylae and Delphi, and make regu- lations for the support of the temple and public worship at Delphi ; but, owing probably to the balance of power among Lacedaemon, Athens, and Thebes, the three great states of Dorian, Ionian, and ^Eolian race, who were members of it, it had never been employed for political purposes. Now, however, that the Lacedaemonians were depressed, the The- bans deemed the occasion good, as they were sure of the Thessalian votes, for making it the instrument of their ven- geance. Deprived of the wisdom of Epaminondas, they raised a conflagration in which their city and their indepen- dence were eventually to perish.t Not content with the ample revenge which they had had for the seizure of the Cadmeia, they charged the Lacedae- * Diodor. xvi. 7, 21, 22. t The details of this war are only to be found in Diodorus. THE SACRED WAR. 377 monians before the Amphictyons with that offence, and with the destruction of some Boeotian towns. A fine of five hun- dred talents was imposed on them ; and on their neglecting to pay it, it was doubled, according to Amphictyonic law. It still however remained unpaid, as the Amphictyons had no means of enforcing their decree. The Thebans had, there- fore, only the satisfaction of having insulted the haughty Spartans. The Phocians were another people to whom they bore a grudge ; they had been generally on ill terms with them ; they had refused to take share in the last expedition to Peloponnesus ; and their destruction would be likely to give the Thebans the command of the Delphian temple and its treasures. To these public grounds of enmity, we are told a private one, as is so often the case, was added. An heiress in Phocis was sought in marriage by a Theban and a Phocian ; the latter was successful, and the disappointed suitor sought to kindle a war. Another account says the war was caused by a Phocian's abduction of a Theban lady.* The charge made against the Phocians was that of having cultivated the devoted lands of the Cirrhaeans.f An enor- mous fine was imposed by the obsequious Amphictyons ; and this not being paid, all Phocis was declared forfeit to the god. The Spartans were included in this sentence, which was engraved on a pillar at Delphi. As the Amphictyons called on all Greece to aid in carrying their decree into exe- cution, the Phocians, knowing the hostility of the Thebans, Thessalians, and the peoples of Mount (Eta, felt no little alarm ; but Philomelus, one of their leading men, urged them not to submit tamely to be deprived of their country by an unjust decree, but to seize on Delphi, which by right, and the testimony of Homer, belonged to them, and to stand on their defence. He pledged himself for their ultimate success, if they would make him their general. The arguments of Philomelus were of effect, and he was * Arist., Pol., v. 3. Athenseus, xiii. 560. t That is, the Crissseans. See above, p. 61. 32* vv 378 HISTORY OF GREECE. appointed general with unlimited powers, [avTOKQum^.) Leaving then his brothers, Onomarchus and Phayllus, to command in Phocis, he repaired in person to Sparta, where he secretly communicated his plans to King Archidamus, showing him that the interests of Sparta were as deeply in- volved as those of Phocis. Archidamus assented to all he said, but as he did not deem it prudent for the Lacedaemo- nians openly to make common cause with the Phocians, he would only aid them underhand for the present. He gave him fifteen talents, to which Philomelus added as many of his own, and with this sum he hired from 2000 to 3000 mer- cenaries, whom he led direct from the Isthmus to Delphi, and seized the town and temple. (Ol. 105, 4.) The Thra- cides, (a kind of Levites,) who attempted resistance, were cut to pieces, and their property confiscated ; but all the other inhabitants were assured of safety. The Ozolian Locrians, who dwelt at hand, hastened with all their forces to the de- fence of the temple ; but they were speedily put to flight. Philomelus then effaced the decrees of the Amphictyons, and declared that he had no intention whatever of plundering the temple, his only objects being to restore to the Phocians the right of precedence, of which they had been unjustly deprived. He immediately set about fortifying Delphi, and augmenting his mercenary force, whose pay he raised ; he also selected the best men among the Phocians for military service, and he had soon 15,000 men under his command. With the whole or a part of these he invaded and ravaged Locris. In a skirmish with the Locrians, (probably in the defiles of the mountains,) he lost about twenty of his men, and when he sent a herald to claim their bodies, he was told, that it was the law of Greece to leave unburied the bodies of temple-robbers. Irritated at this insolent reply, he at- tacked the Locrians, killed some of them, and then forced them to exchange the bodies. On his return to Delphi, deeming that an oracle in his favor might be turned to good account, he insisted on the Pythia's ascending the sacred tripod. At first she declined ; THE SACRED WAR. 379 but when he menaced her, she cried out that he might do whatever he pleased. This seeming to him sufficient re- sponse, he had it written out and exposed in public, to en- courage the people. He sent embassies to Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and all the chief towns of Greece, to assure them that he had no intention of plundering the temple, and of- fering to give an account of the treasures, with the number and weight of the offerings, to any who should require it. He called on all to aid, or at least not to act against them. The Athenians, the Lacedaemonians, and some few others, became open allies and supporters of the Phocians ; the Thebans and their friends prepared for war in the cause of the god. Philomelus, seeing war inevitable, augmented his mer- cenary force. He still, it is said, abstained from touching the sacred treasures; but he made the wealthy Delphians furnish the sums requisite for the pay of his men. In the spring, (Ol. 106, 1,) he invaded Ozolian Locris ; theLocrians came boldly out against him, but they met a total defeat at a place named the Phaedriad Rocks ; and no longer hoping to be able to withstand the Phocians, they sent to the Boeo- tians, imploring them to come to their aid and that of the god. The Boeotians sent to the Thessalians and the other Amphictyons, and all joined in a declaration of war against the Phocians as temple-robbers. (Ol. 106, 2.) While the Boeotians and their allies were collecting their forces, Philomelus again led his troops into Locris. A body of Boeotians came to the aid of the Locrians, and a skirmish of cavalry ensued, in which the Phocians had the advantage ; and soon after they defeated six thousand Thessalians, who were on their way to Locris. The Boeotians now took the field with a force of thirteen thousand men ; that of Philo- melus somewhat exceeded ten thousand, and he was joined by fifteen hundred Achaeans, so that he felt himself strong enough to offer them battle. No action took place as yet; but the Boeotians, happening to make prisoners several of the Phocian mercenaries, as they were out foraging, put them publicly to death, as accomplices in sacrilege. This 380 HISTORY OF GREECE. conduct enraged the remainder of the mercenaries; they required of Philomelus to retaliate, and, exerting themselves to the utmost, they took a great many of the enemy prisoners, all of whom were put to death. This made the self-styled army of the god cease from their arrogant cruelty. Soon after, the advance-guards of the two armies, as they were moving their quarters, encountering by accident in a rugged and woody country, an action followed, in which the Pho- cians, who were much inferior in numbers, were defeated with great slaughter. Philomelus fought with desperation, and received several wounds ; at length, having ascended a precipice, and seeing no chance of escape, he flung himself down, rather than become a captive to his inveterate foes. The Boeotians appear to have returned home without making any use of their victory, probably in consequence of the near approach of winter. A general council of the Pho- cians and their allies met at Delphi, to deliberate on the subject of the war : a part of those present were for trying to make peace, but the great majority declared for continuing the war. Onomarchus was appointed general (Ol. 106, 3) in the room of his late brother ; it was resolved to prosecute the war with vigor, and additional mercenaries were taken into pay. It is a matter of doubt whether Philomelus had used any part of the sacred treasures or not ; but we are assured that Onomarchus felt no scruples on the subject, and that he employed the stores of brass and iron in the manufacture of arms, and coined a large quantity of the gold and silver to pay his troops and to bribe the leading persons in the various states of Greece. Resuming the war, he invaded Epicnemidian Locris, and took Thronion, its chief town : he reduced Amphissa, in Ozolian Locris, ravaged the lands and villages of Doris, and then making an irruption into Baeotia, took Orchomenus, and laid siege to Chaeroneia; he was here, however, defeated by the Thebans, and forced to retire. It is rather remarkable, that at. the very time (Ol. 106, 3) when the Thebans were thus at war with the Phocians, and PROGRESS OF PHILIP. 381 even hard pressed by them, they sent an army out to Asia. Artabazus, having lost the aid of Chares and his troops, who had been recalled, applied to the Thebans for a force to support him against the royal army. Service in Asia was now become extremely popular in Greece, and probably the satrap had given money in the proper quarters ; aid was therefore voted at once, and Pammenes, the friend of Epam- inondas, led five thousand men by sea to Asia. Thus re- enforced, Artabazus gave the satraps two great defeats, whence fame and profit accrued to the Boeotian troops and their leader. We must now return to the enterprising king of Mace- donia. After the reduction of Potidsea, he led his troops against Cotys, king of Thrace. This prince, famed in the annals of gluttony, fled in terror before him, and Philip pen- etrated to the groves of Onocarsis, the chief scene of the Thracian's luxurious enjoyments. Near them lay the gold mines of Pangneus and the town of Crenidoe, of which he took possession. He named the town from himself, Philippi, and he peopled it with Greeks from Pydna and the other con- quered towns. He personally inspected the mines, and by an improved mode of working made them produce one thou- sand talents a year, which when coined into Philips drew mercenaries to his standard and bribed the venal orators of the Grecian republics. The Aleuads of Thessaly, galled by the insolence and oppression of the tyrants of Pherge, applied for aid to Philip, as their ancient ally. He came gladly ; the troops of the tyrants fled before him, and the independence of the towns was restored. In their gratitude they ceded to him the right of collecting and appropriating their tolls and customs. He at this time further strengthened himself by a marriage with Olympias, sister of Arrhibas, king of the Molossians in Epeirus. The next year, (01. 106, 1,) the Ulyrians, Paeonians, and Thracians simultaneously took up arms against the king of Macedonia. Philip sent a part of his troops, under Parme- 382 HISTORY OF GREECE. nion, one of his ablest officers, against the Illyrians ; he him- self engaged and speedily reduced the Paeonians, and the dis- cord which prevailed among the princes of Thrace enabled him to add a large part of that country to his dominions. By those writers who study effect more than accuracy we are told, that he received in one day tidings of a decisive victory gained by Parmenion, of a race won by his horse at the Olympic games, and of the birth of his son Alexander the Great. Cotys, king of Thrace, having been assassinated by two citizens of ^Enos, Python and Heracleides,* his dominions were disputed by his son Kersobleptes, and two princes named Amadocus and Berisades. The Athenians, taking advantage of these civil dissensions, sent out successively Athenodotus, Chabrias, and Chares, and succeeded in regain- ing the Chersonese, which Cotys had joined to his domin- ions. Philip, having made some ineffectual efforts to get a footing in the Chersonese, forced Kersobleptes to cede him the region north of it ; and as the people of Cardia (a town at its neck) were not ceded to the Athenians, he took care to keep up the ill-will which they felt towards the Athenian colonists who were now (Ol. 106, 1 4) sent out to the Chersonese. The Athenians were justly provoked at Philip's encroach- ments, and in conjunction with the people of Methone they began to exercise hostilities against Macedonia. But Philip suddenly appeared before Methone: the inhabitants made an obstinate defence, but at length were forced to surrender : they were allowed to depart, each with a single garment ; the town was levelled, the lands distributed among the Ma- cedonians. During this siege Philip received a wound from an arrow, which deprived him of the sight of his left eye.t (Ol. 106, 4.) * Demosth. Aristocr. 659. Aristotle (Pol. v. 8) calls the former Pyrrhon or Parrhon ; he says they slew Cotys to avenge their father. t An archer, it is said, named Aster, whose proffered services Philip had rejected with mockery, shot at him an arrow with ' For Philip's THE SACRED WAR. 383 The power of Lycophron and Peitholaus, the tyrants of Pherse, in consequence, probably, of the sudsidies which they drew from Phocis, having again become formidable to the adverse party in Thessaly, they applied to Philip, who once more entered the country. (Ol. 107, 1.) Lycophron also called on his allies, andPhayllus, the brother of Onomarchus, led seven thousand men to his aid. A battle ensued, in which theTagos and his allies were defeated. Onomarchus, aware of the danger of the union of the Thessalian and Ma- cedonian power, marched without delay his entire force into Thessaly. Having the superiority of numbers, he gave Philip two complete defeats, who was with difficulty able to effect a retreat into Macedonia. Having thus reestab- lished the authority of the Tagos, Onomarchus led his troops back to Baeotia, where he defeated the Boeotians and took the town of Coroneia. But Philip, equally aware of the im- portance of Thessaly, had returned with a new army. Lyc- ophron sent to recall the Phocian chief, and Onomarchus passed Thermopylae with twenty thousand foot and five hun- dred horse. The united forces of Philip and the Thessalians were upwards of twenty thousand foot and three thousand horse. A battle was fought near the Bay of Pagasae, where an Athenian fleet, under Chares, was at that time lying. Ow- ing chiefly to his superiority in cavalry, the victory remained with Philip. The Thessalian horse cutting off retreat, the troops of Onomarchus flung away their armor, and cast themselves into the sea, to swim to the Athenian ships. Some were slain, others drowned : the entire loss was six thousand men, among whom was Onomarchus himself, and three thousand prisoners, whom Philip, it is said, drowned as being sacrilegious. It is also said that he hung Onomarchus' body on a gibbet. The first use which Philip made of his victory was to lead right eye ' upon it. Philip had it shot back, with If Philip takes the town, he will hang Aster ' on it as a reply, and he kept his word. The anecdote is utterly unworthy of credit. 334 HISTORY OF GREECE. his forces to Pherae. Lycophron and Peitholaus surrendered the city, and retired to Phocis. Having thus won the hearts of the Thessalians by suppressing the tyranny, he prepared to pass Pylae, and carry the war into the valleys of Phocis. But an Athenian force, under Diophantus, had been sent off to occupy the pass ; and Philip, either fearful of not being able to force it, or deeming the time not to be yet come for his interference in Southern Greece, retired on Diophantus' refusal of a passage. Pherae, Pagasae, and other places were now in his possession, and he was become the real head of the Thessalian confederacy. Phayllus now occupied the place of his brothers; the Del- phian treasures were not yet exhausted ; new bands of merce- naries were hired ; aid came from the allies ; the Laedaemo- nians sent 1000, the Achaeans 2000 soldiers ; the Athenians 5000 foot and 400 horse ; Lycophron had brought with him from Pherae 2000 mercenaries ; several of the smaller states also gave their aid. With this force Phayllus invaded Bceo- tia; but without success, receiving three successive checks at Orchomenus, on the Cephissus, and at Coroneia. Quitting Bceotia, he suddenly entered the Epicnemidian Locris, and took several towns. At one, named Aryca, a friendly party admitted his troops by night; but the rest of the people rose and drove them out, with the loss of two hundred men. While he was besieging Abae, the principal town, the Boeo- tians came, and falling on him by night, killed a good many of his men. They then entered and ravaged Phocis, and re- turning to Locris, attempted to relieve the Arycaeans, who were besieged ; but Phayllus came up, defeated them, and took and levelled the town. This was his last exploit ; he died soon after of a disease with which he had been for some time afflicted, the punishment of his impiety, according to his enemies, leaving as his successor Phalaecus, the son of Onomarchus ; and as he was but a youth, he appointed Mna- seas, one of his friends, to be his guardian and general. Mna- seas, however, fell shortly afterwards in a night assault of the Boeotians ; and Phalaecus, then assuming the command, sue- WAR IN PELOPONNESUS. 385 cessively took and lost Chaeroneia, and the Boeotians entered and ravaged a great part of Phocis. The loss of Messene had utterly enfeebled Lacedaemon, and its recovery alone could restore her to her former con- sequence ; but so long as Megalopolis existed on her north- ern frontier it was unsafe to attack Messene. The Lace- daemonian government proceeded, with much art, to repre- sent that every state should be put into its former condition ; that Triphylia should be restored to the Eleians, Tricaranon to the Phliasians, Oropus to the Athenians ; and those who had been forced to quit their lands and villages to become inhabitants of Megalopolis, be allowed to return to them. The party in power at Megalopolis, seeing themselves menaced with invasion from Laconia, sent to call on their friends for aid ; and as it was of great importance for both sides to gain the Athenians, embassies from both Sparta and Megalopolis arrived at Athens. On this occasion Demos- thenes, afterwards so renowned, made one of his earliest speeches, in which he first developed the principle which ever after guided his policy, namely, that it was the interest of Athens, aiming as she did at the supremacy in Greece, to maintain a balance of power among the other states. He therefore advised to aid the Megalopolitans in case the La- cedaemonians should attack them, as, if that impediment were removed, they might recover their former power and become as formidable as ever. We are not informed what the resolve of the Athenian people was ; but the Spartan king, Archidamus, at the head of a Lacedaemonian army, and three thousand foot and one hundred and fifty horse of the Phocian mercenaries, entered and ravaged the lands of the Megalopolitans. The Argives, Sicyonians, and Messenians hastened to the aid of their allies, and four thousand foot and five hundred horse came from Thebes. The Confederates encamped at the sources of the Alpheus, the Lacedaemonians at Mantineia, whence they went and laid siege to Orneae, in the Argive territory, and defeated the Argives, who ventured to engage them. The 33 ww 386 HISTORY OF GREECE. Thebans now came up, and a severe conflict ensued ; but though the Confederates were double the number of the Lacedaemonians, the action, owing to their inferiority in discipline, was indecisive. After the battle the Argives and the other Peloponnesians separated, and went home; and Archidamus, having made an irruption into Arcadia, and taken and plundered the town of Elissus, led his troops back to Sparta. When the Confederates reassembled, an action to the disadvantage of the Lacedaemonians, whose general, Anaxander, was made prisoner, was fought at Tel- phusa. The Confederates were successful in two other en- gagements; but at length the Lacedaemonians gave them a complete defeat. A truce followed, and the Thebans re- turned home. To obtain a footing in Eubcea, Philip saw, would be of the utmost advantage to him in a contest with Athens. He had, it would appear, at this time contrived to introduce some of his troops into it; and Plutarchus of Eretria, fearing to lose his power, sent (Ol. 107, 3) to call on the Athenians to save the island. The people were always sensitive on this point; Demosthenes alone opposed what he called " an inglorious and expensive war." Aid was voted, and a small force under Phocion sent thither. But the Eubceans soon grew suspicious of their allies, and Pho- cion found treachery every where : he advanced, however, and took a station on a hill near Tamynae. Callias and Taurosthenes of Chalcis assembled what forces they could, and joining with them the Macedonians and a body of the Phocian mercenaries, came and surrounded them. As the enemy advanced, Phocion directed his men to remain steady till he had sacrificed. As he was a long time about this duty, Plutarchus, affecting to ascribe his delay to cowardice, charged with his mercenaries ; the Athenian horse followed, without any order : they were repulsed, and Plutarchus ran away. The enemies advanced to their rampart, and began to pull it down. Phocion, directing the phalanx to re- main steady and receive the fugitives, attacked the enemy THE OLYNTHIAN WAR. 387 at the head of a body of select troops; Cleophanes rallied the horse, and a complete victory was gained. Phocion then drove Plutarchus from Eretria for his treachery ; and having taken the fortress of Zaretra, he let go those who were in it, lest the orators should excite the people to some act of cruelty.* Having settled the affairs of Eubcea, he returned home. His successor, Molossus, let himself be beaten and made a prisoner : the Macedonian influence was restored, and the predictions of Demosthenes were verified. The ambitious projects of Philip now began to cause ap- prehensions to his Olynthian allies, whose commerce also suffered from the Athenian privateers : they therefore pro- posed a peace to the Athenians, which was accepted. Philip, who was then in Thrace, where he had a severe illness, sent, with his usual policy, to remonstrate and complain ; but as soon as he recovered, he appeared with his army in Chal- cidice. (01. 107, 4.) The Olynthians immediately sent to Athens to propose an alliance, and solicit aid. The powerful eloquence of Demosthenes was exerted in their favor ; the alliance was accepted, and Chares sent off with two thou- sand mercenaries. He landed in Pallene, where he met and defeated a body of eight hundred men led by one Au- daeus ; and he then returned home to boast of his victory, and, in his usual way, gain the rabble by banquets. The Olynthians, however, the next year, (01. 108, 1,) being hard pressed by Philip, sent again to Athens ; and Charidemus was despatched with four thousand peltasts and other light troops, and one hundred and fifty horse. These, united with the Olynthians, invaded and ravaged Pallene and Bot- tiaea; but when they retired, Philip entered Chalcidice, where he took and razed the fortress of Zeira, and forced several other towns to submit. The affairs of Thessaly, where Peitholaus had recovered his authority in Pherae, then calling him away, he went thither and expelled hira. * Plutarch, Phocion, 13. The reason probahly belongs to the biog- rapher, who was thinking of the Cleons of former days ; for the lead- ing orators of both parties now were by no means sanguinary men. 383 HISTORY OF GREECE. The Olynthians had meantime again called on their Athe- nian allies; and the necessity of the case was now so evi- dent, that in spite of their aversion to personal service in war, two thousand hoplites and three hundred horse, all Athenian citizens, embarked for Chalcidice. Philip, who had gained the towns of Mecyberna and Torone by treach- ery, now led his forces against Olynthus itself. When within forty stadia of the city, he sent to say that they must quit Olynthus, or he Macedonia. The Olynthians and their Athenian allies gave him battle twice, but were defeated; and a body of five hundred Olynthian cavalry were betrayed into his hands by their own commanders. Lasthenes and his associates, the hirelings of Philip, got the direction of afFairs, and they lost no time in delivering up the city. Philip treated it with unwonted rigor; the town was plun- dered, and the inhabitants sold into slavery. The same was the fate of Apollonia and thirty-two other towns of Chal- cidice and the coast of Thrace.* Philip testified his joy at the conquest of Olynthus by celebrating with great splendor the Olympia, a national feast of the Macedonians, at Dion. (Ol. 108, 2.) The concourse of strangers was great, and artists of every kind were pres- ent from all parts of Greece. Among these was Satyrus, a celebrated comedian. Philip, always liberal, distributed numerous presents at the banquet which he held, and ob- serving that Satyrus asked for nothing, he inquired the cause. He replied, that what he would ask was easy for Philip to grant, but he doubted if he would do so. The king averred that he would refuse him nothing; the noble-minded player then said that he had had a friend at Pydna, named Apol- lophanes, who was murdered, and whose daughters were removed, by their friends, for safety to Olynthus, where, on the taking of the city, they were made slaves; they were now in Philip's possession, and he prayed him to give them to him, adding that it was his intention to portion them and * Demosth., False Embassy, 426. PEACE BETWEEN PHILIP AND THE ATHENIANS. 389 marry them reputably. A tumult of approbation burst forth among the guests, and Philip, though Apollophanes had been one of those who murdered his brother Alexander, moved by the generosity of Satyrus and by regard for those present, granted his request. Very different from the conduct of Satyrus was that of the ambassadors of some Grecian re- publics, who received as presents from Philip unfortunate Olynthian women and children for slaves ! * CHAPTER II. PEACE BETWEEN PHILIP AND THE ATHENIANS. END OF THE SACRED WAR. ATHENIAN STATESMEN. SIEGE OF PERIN- THUS AND BYZANTIUM. AMPHISSIAN OR THIRD SACRED WAR. BATTLE OF CHJERONEIA. DEATH OF PHILIP. Philip and the Athenians were now equally anxious for peace. The commerce of both suffered from each other's privateers, for Philip now had shipping which had made descents on Lemnos and Imbros, taken rich merchantmen from Euboea, and even landed at Marathon, and carried off the Salaminian trireme. His influence in Thebes, Eubcea, Megara, and Peloponnesus caused the Athenians much ap- prehension, for they found their embassies every where de- feated by the orators whom his gold had purchased. Some Eubcean ambassadors, coming to Athens to treat of peace, stated that they were authorized by Philip to say that * Demosth., False Embassy, 401. jEschines, as he was returning from an embassy to Arcadia, met the Arcadian ambassadors with a train of Olynthian women and children whom Philip had given them, (Demosth., ibid. 439:) Philocrates brought Olynthian women to Athens, (ibid. 440.) Yet Mitford says, " Support wholly fails among the orators of the day for the report of the annalist of three centuries after, that he plundered the town, and sold the inhabitants for slaves." 33* 390 HISTORY OF GREECE. he also was desirous of peace.* Soon after, an Athenian named Phrynon, being taken by one of Philip's cruisers during the truce of the Olympic Games, (Ol. 108, 1,) and being ransomed, requested the people to appoint him an ambassador to Philip, that he might try to get back his ransom. The people appointed him and Ctesiphon, (Ol. 108, 3 ; ) and the latter on his return speaking highly of Philip, and his desire of peace, leave was granted, on the motion of Philocrates, for Philip to send heralds and an embassy to treat of peace. As there had been a decree prohibiting all intercourse with Philip, Philocrates was accused of a breach of law; but Demosthenes defended him, and he was triumphantly acquitted. Several Athenians had been made prisoners at Olynthus, among whom were two persons named Stratocles and Eu- crates, whose relatives implored the people to interfere in their favor ; and Aristodemus, the player, was sent to Philip, with whom he was a great favorite, for this purpose. Philip released Stratocles at once without ransom, who on his return declared that monarch's anxiety for peace, to which Aristodemus added, that he even wished to become the ally of the city. It was then decreed, on the motion of Philoc- rates, that an embassy of ten persons should be sent to Philip ; and Philocrates, Demosthenes, ^Eschines, and Aris- todemus were among those appointed. The chief objects proposed, besides the security of the Athenian dominions, were to prevent Philip from interfering in Euboaa, to save Kersobleptes, and to have the Phocians included in the peace. The ambassadors were received by Philip with the utmost courtesy; he was particularly attentive to iEschines and Philocrates ; and if Demosthenes is to be believed, (and there surely is no reason to doubt him,) he secured their cooperation in his projects by bribes.t He then dismissed them with the heads of a treaty * All these transactions are related by jEschines, (False Embassy, 29, 30.) t Demosthenes (False Embassy, 380) specifies the value of the lands PEACE BETWEEN PHILIP AND THE ATHENIANS. 391 in which the Phocians were not included ; but iEschines assured the people that Philip had told him in private that he was obliged to keep measures with the Thebans, but that his real intentions were to save the Phocians, and to force the Thebans, as having been the real authors of the sacri- lege, to make good the deficiency in the sacred treasures. Meantime Philip pursued his conquests in Thrace ; and he sent Parmenion, Antipater, and Eurylochus as his ministers to Athens to conclude the peace ; his hirelings there being pledged to forward his views as much as possible. Demos- thenes himself, for the honor of his country, entertained these ambassadors in a very splendid manner, and showed them every attention while they staid. Peace and alliance with Philip were concluded; and Demosthenes immediately had a decree passed that Proxenus, who commanded a fleet off Eubcea, should convey the ambassadors appointed to receive Philip's ratification of the treaty (two of whom were himself and iEschines) to wherever Philip might be at the time; for he well knew that any conquests he might make in the interval would be so much clear gain to him, as the Athenians would never renew the war for the sake of them. But the views of iEschines and his friends were different; they were, to make as much delay as possible; they there- fore would not take any short way ; they spent twenty-three days going round by Thessaly, and then would stay at Pella to wait for Philip ; thus giving him, in all, nearly three months to prosecute his conquests; during which time he forced Kersobleptes, who had taken refuge in the peninsula of Mount Athos, to submit ; so that there could be now no question othim in the treaty. He had also reduced Doris- cus, Serrion, the Sacred Hill, and other places in Thrace, which were now all resigned to him ; and when the author- ity of the Athenians was acknowledged over the Chersonese, in Phocis which Philip gave ^schines and Philocrates. iEschines, it is true, retorts the charge ; but what credit can be given to the man who (Ctes. 62, 63) accuses Demosthenes of having taken bribes from Philip? 392 HISTORY OF GREECE. the Cardians, as allies of Philip, were exempted from their jurisdiction. Philip swore to the peace on these terms ; and as he was now on the eve of marching against the Phocians, he made JEschines and his friends detain the embassy some time longer at Pella, lest the Athenians, being officially in- formed of his intentions, should send troops to occupy Pylae. On their return, when they appeared before the senate, Demosthenes told the whole truth, and charged his colleagues with their treachery; and his representations had such effect, that the senate did not as usual give the embassy their supper in the Prytaneion. But when they came before the assembly, iEschines rose, and very pom- pously assured the people that he had persuaded Philip to do every thing that was for their advantage in the affair of the Amphictyons, and in every thing else; and that if they would only stay quietly at home for two or three days, they would hear of Thebes being besieged, Thespise and Platsea rebuilt, and the Thebans, not the Phocians, being made to replace the treasures of the god; and that Philip would give up Euboea to them. He had also arranged something further, of which he would not now speak, meaning Oropus. He ceased : Demosthenes then mounting, the bc?na, began by declaring that all these things were unknown to him ; and he was proceeding, when ^Eschines stood up on one side, and Philocrates on the other, and shouted at and mocked him ; the people then began to laugh, and would not listen to him.* While the Athenians were thus beguiled through their desire of peace, Philip was on his march against the Phocians. The war between them and the Boeotians had still continued, with the advantage rather on the side of the former, who held the towns of Orchomenus, Coroneia, and Corsiae, in Bceotia. An accusation of having made away with several articles of the sacred treasures, was made against PhalaDCUs, and he was deprived of his command ; * Deraosth., False Embassy, 346, 347, 389391. END OF THE SACRED WAR. 393 three generals, Deinocrates, Callias, and Sophanes, were appointed in his stead, and a strict inquiry into the dilapida- tions was instituted. Philon, one of those principally con- cerned, being put to the torture, gave information against his accomplices; and after having been made to restore all that remained of their plunder, they were put to death as temple robbers. It appears that Phalsecus and his friends, not content with what was remaining of the treasures of Croesus and of the different states, had dug up the floor of the temple, inferring from a passage of Homer * that a treas- ure was buried there. We are told that when they began to dig about the tripod, the ground was shaken by earth- quakes, and they desisted in terror. The Thebans, in want of both men and money, implored the aid of the king of Macedonia, who sent them some troops. The Phocians were soon obliged to restore the chief command to Phalsecus, for he remained at the head of the mercenaries, and had also a strong party among the peo- ple ; but as the designs of Philip were now no secret, they sent to the Athenians, offering to put into their hands the three Locrian towns, Alponus, Thronion, and Nicaea, which commanded the pass of Pylse, if they would come to their aid. This was before the conclusion of the peace with Philip ; and it was decreed at once that Proxenus should sail with fifty triremes and take possession of these places, and that all the citizens under thirty years of age should march to Locris. But Phalsecus and his officers, who had their own views, prevented this, and they abused and ill- treated the ministers who had concluded the treaty with Athens. As the danger became more imminent, King Ar- chidamus, who had been sent with one thousand hoplites to aid the Phocians, offered to garrison those fortresses ; but Phalsecus and his party made an insolent reply, and the Lacedaemonians left Phocis to its fate. Philip passed the strait at the head of an army : Phalsecus, who lay at Nicaea * II. ix. 404 X X 394 HISTORY OF GREECE. with eight thousand men, feigned to be preparing to give him battle; but he secretly negotiated, and at length de- livered up the fortresses, on condition of himself and his troops being allowed to pass over to Peloponnesus. The wretched Phocians, who were now entirely at the mercy of Philip, surrendered unconditionally. A council of Am- phictyons was assembled, in which of course the deputies of states adverse to them formed the majority. Philip, who was never wantonly cruel, found it necessary to moderate the violence of some of the more zealous, such as the CEteans, who ferociously proposed that all the grown men should be flung from a rock and killed. He, however, deemed it prudent to give way to the Thebans and Thessalians, and the following not very gentle decree was passed : The Pho- cians were no longer to have any part in the temple or in the Amphictyonic council, their two votes in which were to be given to the king of Macedonia and his posterity; their towns were to be destroyed, and the inhabitants divided into villages of not more than fifty houses each, and not less than a stadion asunder : they were to pay sixty talents a year to the god, till the whole of the treasure was replaced, and till that was done they were to have neither horses nor armor ; those which they had at present were to be given up; the former to be sold, the latter to be broken and burnt. The Lacedaemonians, as abettors of the sacrilege, were to be excluded from the council, and the Corinthians to lose the presidence of the Pythian games, which, with the right of promanty, was awarded to the pious king of Macedonia. Philip carried the decree of the Amphictyons into execution, and laid Phocis waste. He offered an asylum in his domin- ions to the wretched inhabitants, and peopled with them some of the towns which he founded in Thrace. The Sacred War, excited by the malice and cupidity of the Thebans, thus terminated in the ruin of an innocent people; for surely the Phocians are not chargeable with the guilt of their leaders. It was in every way injurious to Greece; it carried to the height the ruinous practice of ATHENIAN STATESMEN. 395 mercenary service ; and it utterly destroyed the remaining reverence for religion, by scattering the votive offerings of piety, and by inuring men to set at nought the anger of the deities of popular belief. Historians have endeavored to show, that all the aiders and abettors of the sacrilege met with due chastisement : * Athens and Sparta, for in- stance, lost their independence ; Archidamus was slain, aid- ing the Tarentines, in Italy ; Phalsecus and several of his men were killed by lightning, as they were making an at- tempt on the town of Cydonia, in Crete ; the remainder were slain, or sold for slaves, by the Arcadians and Eleians : the woman who got the collar of Eriphyle perished in the flames of a house, set fire to by her own son ; and she who got that of Helena became a common harlot. Remarks of this kind, however, are little to be heeded ; they indicate the weakness of superstition, not the strength of rational religion. The Athenians alone can now be regarded as the rivals of the king of Macedonia. A glance at the public men at Athens will be therefore of advantage.f Isocrates, the amiable, excellent old man, the master of so many statesmen and historians, was still alive. Born five years before the Peloponnesian War, he had been the witness of all the intestine tumults and divisions of Greece, for which he saw no remedy but a general confederacy, headed by the king of Macedonia, against the Persians. But he was a sincere patriot, and never dreamed of sacri- ficing the independence of Athens. The worthy (/grjaTdg) Phocion, plain and simple in man- ners, pure in life, viewed with disgust and contempt the * Diodor. xvi. 61 64. t Our views of some of these characters will be found to differ widely from those of Mitford. We are conscious of no prejudice, and that writer's are well known. It is to be observed, that Mitford has not a single follower on the Continent ; and, if names are to decide, that of Niebuhr is beyond his. Mitford makes Demosthenes almost worse than Cleon, Niebuhr terms him a (political) saint. 396 HISTORY OF GREECE. sunken condition of the Athenian character. He was there- fore opposed to war, from which he anticipated no sub- stantial advantages to his country ; but, like the aristocrats of the preceding period, though he disapproved of her poli- tics, he never refused her his services, and he was chosen general not less than forty-five times by the people, who knew his worth. Had Phocion been more mild and con- descending, his virtues would probably have been more pro- ductive of good to the state. Demosthenes, whose imagination was filled with the glory and power of Athens at the time when Macedonia was as nought in the political scale, could not brook the idea of tamely yielding up the supremacy which she had nearly regained. He was fully aware of the degeneracy of the Athenians ; but he relied on his own mighty powers to raise them to a level with himself, and he did achieve won- ders, but the evil was beyond cure. His policy, therefore, though generous, was ill-judged ; but the lover of national independence must always view his character with respect and veneration. Lycurgus, a second Aristeides, felt, and thought, and acted with Demosthenes. Hypereides, Polyeuctes, Diophantus, Hegesippus, and others, all men of talent, were on the same side. As political parties never can be altogether pure, this one was disgraced by the unworthy Timarchus. Against these patriots were arrayed the hirelings of Philip, at the head of whom was iEschines, a man of con- siderable talent, and, in general, respectable in character. He had been, as he boasted, the first to see through the de- signs of Philip, and had exerted himself to thwart them ; * but, on the occasion of his first embassy to Macedonia, that able prince found means to purchase his services, and he was to the last the ready agent of his will. Eubulus, also a man of talent, was purchased in like manner when on an embassy. Philocrates made no secret of his having sold * Demosth., False Embassy, 438. ATHENIAN STATESMEN. 397 himself. Demades, originally a boatman, without regular education, but powerful as an extemporary speaker, whose extravagance, it was said, would have wasted even the reve- nues of Persia, was naturally in the pay of Philip. These were the chief, but several of inferior note actively co- operated with them. But Philip had a more powerful ally in the character of the Athenian people, who thought only of enjoyment, and shrank from the toils of war. The lower orders were un- willing to serve personally, and the rich were adverse to giving their money to hire mercenaries; and these, when hired, were not to be depended on. Phocion and Diopeithes were brave and upright officers ; but the swaggering, worth- less Chares was the favorite of the people, and was but too often preferred to them. The faithless, mercenary Chari- demus was also frequently employed on expeditions of im- portance. With Philip every thing was different. He could form his plans in secret, having no popular assembly to persuade ; he had money in abundance; he had a standing army of mercenaries and of his own subjects, for he had now formed the renowned Macedonian phalanx, a body of greater depth and with longer spears then any that had yet been em- ployed : he had able generals and ministers ; above all, he was himself one of the first generals and statesmen of the age. To form and consolidate an empire northwards of Greece, to exercise the hegemony over Greece itself, and to lead a combined army of Greeks and Macedonians to the conquest of Persia, were the objects that guided his policy. There is no reason for supposing that he ever aimed at making Greece a province of his empire. Having thus shown the policy of Philip and his opponents, we are freed from the necessity of giving the events of the three next years in detail, and shall only briefly point them out. The year after the end of the Phocian war (Ol. 108, 4) Philip spent chiefly in Thrace, founding towns, in which he 34 393 HISTORY OF GREECE. placed the Phocians and other Greeks. He then turned his arms against the Illyrians, to secure his dominions on that side. Soon afterwards, (Ol. 109, 1,) he remodelled Thessaly, so as to put the power there completely into the hands of his own friends ; he divided it into its four original provinces, Phthiotis, Histiaeotis, Pelasgiotis, and Thessaliotis. Mean- time he made himself master of Leucas and Ambracia on the Ionian Sea, and he formed alliances with the Argives, Messenians, Arcadians, and Eleians in Peloponnesus. Eubcea chiefly attracted his attention, on account of its proximity to Attica. The Eretrians, after the expulsion of Plutarchus, were split into two parties, one for Athens, another for Philip. The latter got the upper hand, and Philip sent thither one thousand mercenaries, and placed the chief power in the hands of Hipparchus, Automedon, and Cleitarchus, who were devoted to him. He acted in the same manner at Oreos, where he set up Philistides, and thus established his influence over the whole island. Philip again (Ol. 109, 3) led his troops into Thrace, and extended his conquests as far as the Ister, where he spent an entire winter. But the Chersonese and the cities on the Propontis were what he really aimed at. He sent troops to the aid of the Cardians, who were hard pressed by the Athenians. Diopeithes, whom the Athenians had sent out, took satisfaction for this by an incursion into Thrace ; and, when Philip complained, as usual, they, by the advice of Demosthenes, paid no attention to his representations. The orator himself went to the coast of Thrace, on the part of his country, and formed an alliance with the people of By- zantion, Perinthus, Selymbria, and some of the petty princes about there; and soon after, the people of Eubcea having solicited aid against their tyrants, an army, commanded by Phocion, who was accompanied by Demosthenes, passed over and restored them to liberty. Philip, who was now returned from beyond Mount Haemus, came and laid siege to Selymbria; and leaving some troops to blockade it, he advanced with 30,000 men, SIEGE OF PERINTHUS. 399 and sat down before Perinthus. (01. 110, 1.) He assailed the town incessantly with battering-rams and machines of every kind : the Perinthians made a gallant defence ; the Byzantians sent them supplies of arms ; and the Persian satraps of the opposite coast, aware of Philip's ulterior de- signs, sent them money, corn, arms, and a good body of mercenaries. Philip, having long assailed Perinthus in vain, divided his forces ; and leaving one half at Perinthus, went himself with the remainder, and laid siege to Byzantion. But this city being, like Perinthus, built on a peninsula, was easy to defend ; and the Athenians, at length fully aware of the designs of Philip, resolved to aid it. Demosthenes had, with difficulty, gained the advantage over the Macedonian hirelings in the Athenian assembly ; and he now showed so plainly the consequences of Philip's becoming master of the Bosporus, that it was voted that Philip had broken the peace, and a fleet of one hundred and twenty triremes was got ready for the relief of Byzantion. But the command was given to the unprincipled Chares, whose character was so notorious that the Byzantians would not admit him into their harbor. It was then transferred to Phocion, and him they cheerfully received into their town. The Chians, Coans, and Rhodians sent assistance to their ancient allies ; and Philip was at length obliged to raise the sieges of Perinthus and Byzantion, the people of which towns decreed all kinds of public honors to the Athenians, as their preservers.* With a view apparently to indemnify his troops for the loss of the plunder of the towns, which he had promised them, Philip took advantage of the alleged treachery of a Scythian prince, and led them once more over Mount Hae- mus, and plundered the valley of the Danube. As he was returning, with a large booty of slaves and mares, his army was suddenly fallen on by a tribe named the Triballians, * Diodor. xvi. 7476. Justin, ix. 1, 2. Plut. Phocion, 14. De- mosth., Crown, 252257. 400 HISTCRY OF GREECE. and he himself narrowly escaped being slain in the engage- ment.* While Philip was in Scythia, a transaction highly dis- honorable to him was brought to light at Athens. There was a man, named Antiphon, who had been struck out of the list as not being a genuine Athenian citizen ; he re- paired to Philip, and, for a suitable reward, undertook to serve him, and gratify his own desire of vengeance, by burning the docks at Athens. He returned secretly, and lurked at the Piraeeus for that purpose ; but Demosthenes had received information, and he dragged him before the assem- bly, and charged him with his design. ^Eschines then rose, and crying out against the atrocity of going into private houses without a warrant, and insulting unhappy persons, so moved the people that they let him go. The court of Areiopagus, however, had him taken up again and brought before the people, who, moved by their authority, directed that he should be put to the torture ; he then confessed his guilt, and was executed.! This court further testified its opinion of ^Eschines' character by removing him from the office of advocate, (avi'dixog,) to which the people had nominated him in a dispute between the Athenians and De- lians, regarding the custody of the temple of Delos, and appointing Hypereides to plead the cause of Athens in his stead. During Philip's absence in Scythia, accident or design J furnished him with a pretext for appearing again in Greece. ^Eschines, being one of the Athenian deputies to the Am- * Justin, ix. t Demosth., Crown, 271. Plutarch (Demosth. 14) says that Demos- thenes' conduct on this occasion was highly aristocratic. He observes, (as any one must who reads his speeches,) that he rebuked and op- posed the people with great freedom. Yet Mitford calls him " the favorite and flatterer of the people ! " He says also that Demosthenes was no favorite with Plutarch ! % Demosthenes (Crown, 275, 276) maintained that it had been con- certed between .) to the agree- able, the easy, and the advantageous. We have observed above that he rated the Athenian people too high ; but who CHARACTER OF DEMOSTHENES. 425 can avoid admiring the steadfastness and consistency of his whole political life? "His politics," says Heeren, " came forth from the recesses of his soul : he remained true to his feelings and his conviction, spite of all change of relations, of all menacing dangers. Hence was he the most powerful of orators, since no compromise with his conviction, no half- yielding, no symptom of weakness in general is visible in him. This is the true kernel of his art; all the rest is only the shell. In this how high does he tower above Cicero ! But who has ever suffered more severely for this greatness than he? Among all political characters, Demosthenes is the most highly and purely tragic that history is acquainted with. When, still penetrated by the tremendous power of his words, we peruse his life in Plutarch, when we transfer ourselves to his times, to his position, we are carried away by a sympathy such as the hero of an epic or a tragedy could hardly excite. From his first appearance, to the moment when he takes the poison in the temple, we behold him in conflict with a destiny that seems almost cruelly to mock him : it flings him down repeatedly, but never conquers him. What a flood of feelings must have assailed his manly bosom in this change of reviving and cheated hopes ! How naturally did the furrows of melancholy and indignation, which we still perceive on his image, plough themselves into that serious countenance ! " * Demosthenes was naturally the object of virulent slander in his own day, and he was, of course, accused of taking bribes. Space does not allow of our examining the several charges; but we will ask what credit can be given to the as- sertion of iEschines, who describes him as bribed by Philip? As to his having received money from the court of Persia, we may allow the charge to be true, and yet see little reason to condemn him. Different times have different modes of viewing the same acts ; the name of Algernon Sydney is, * Would it not have augmented the orator's melancholy to have known that, 2000 years after his death, every disingenuous art would be employed to defame him ? 36 B B B 426 HISTORY OF GREECE. in genera], by ourselves regarded as synonymous with pa- triotism, yet he received presents from Louis XIV. of France to aid him in pursuing a policy which he conscientiously followed,* and which the monarch deemed to be for his ad- vantage also. May not the same have been the case with the A thenian ? May he not have thought the interests of Athens and Persia to be the same, and himself justified in supporting the common cause with Persian gold? We believe that the more closely the history of Demosthenes is viewed, the greater and purer will he appear ; the charges made against him will fade to nothing, and little remain but want of phys- ical courage, too steadfast a continuance in a line of policy whose success had become hopeless, and an occasional em- ployment of the artifices common to political leaders. Should we tell the end of the vile Demades? He was sent some time after to Antipater to request him to withdraw the garrison from the Munychia ; but among the papers of Perdiccas had been found a letter from Demades to him, inviting him to come and deliver Greece from Antipater. The Macedonian had heard of that letter, and Demades and his son were put to death by his orders. CHAPTER V.t POLYSPERCHON AND CASSANDER. DEATH OF PHOCION. SIEGE OF MEGALOPOLIS. CONTESTS IN GREECE. DEME- TRIUS POLIORCETES IN GREECE AND IN ASIA. IRRUPTION OF THE GAULS. PYRRHUS IN PELOPONNESUS; HIS DEATH. jETOLIAN AND ACIIiEAN LEAGUES. ARATUS. The early death of Alexander, and the want of an heir to his crown capable of assuming the government, inspired his * Hallam, Const. Hist, of England, vol. ii. pp. 272274, 4to edit. t Diodor. xviii. 48, 49, 5457, 6475; xix. 85, 30, 4954, 60 64, 74, 75. Plutarch, Phocion, 3137, Demetrius, Pyrrhus, Ar&tus. POLYSPERCHON AND CASSANDER. 427 generals with the ambition of becoming independent sove- reigns in various parts of his enormous empire.* The sword was speedily drawn, and numerous battles by land and by sea were fought. These wars, however, and the establish- ment of the kingdoms to which they gave rise, belong not strictly to Grecian history ; we will therefore only touch on such points as immediately relate to Greece. Antipater, after the termination of the Lamian war, passed over to Asia, and took part in the affairs there. Being ap- pointed guardian to the Kings, as the children and relatives of Alexander were called, he returned to Macedonia, leading them with him. During his absence in Asia, the JEtolians, at the instiga- tion, it is said, of Perdiccas, resumed arms and entered Thes- saly, where they were joined by numbers, and their united forces amounted to twenty-five thousand foot and one thou- sand five hundred horse. It is probable that the troops of Polysperchon, whom Antipater had left in his place in Macedonia, would not have been able to meet this army ; but luckily for him, the Acarnanians seized this occasion of in- vading ^Etolia; and the JEtolians hastening home to de- fend their property, Polysperchon defeated the remainder, and reduced Thessaly to its previous state of subjection. Antipater died (01. 115, 3) shortly after his return to Macedonia. He directed that Polysperchon, his ancient mate in arms, should succeed him in his office, while to his son Cassander he left only the second place. ButCassander, an ambitious youth, looked upon his father's authority as his inheritance ; and relying on the aid of the aristocratic party in the Grecian states, of Ptolemaeus, who ruled in Egypt, and of Antigonus, the most powerful general in Asia, he resolved to dispute it with Polysperchon. Under pretext of going a-hunting, he escaped out of Macedonia, and passed over to Asia to concert matters with Antigonus. Polysperchon, seeing war inevitable, resolved to detach * They were named the Successors, ( Rome ) Punic wars. Roman power greatly extended. Rome interferes in the affairs Greece Events of other Nations. Israel subverted by As- syria. Seventy years' captiv- ity of Jews begins. Babylon falls before Cyrus. Ezra renews ancient system of polity among the Jews. Palestine under Persia till the time of Alexander the Great ; thence under his Successors in Syria. Ptolemy of Egypt con- quers Palestine. Parthia rises, under Arsaces. Jews subject to Syria. Jews under Macca- bees throw off Syri- an yoke. Carthage falls. Jerusalem opened to Pompey. FOURTEEN DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 2qNov j 556C NOV an ? 56Rk JAW 5 1956 LU ftff n & pcri'D LD rvC-v * is i*^ NOW 91 10 CQ liUV * loTO LD 21-100m-2,'55 TT .General Librapr (B139s22)476 UniveM r j*g hforma m