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INTRODUCTION BY
HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT
HISTORIAN
GEORGE EDWIN RINES
MANAGING EDITOR
Reviewed and Endorsed by Fifteen Professors in History and Educators in
American Universities, amuny whom are the following :
GEORGE EMORY FELLOWS, Ph.D.,
LL.D.
President, University of Maine
KEMP PLUMMER BATTLE, A.M.,
LL.D.
Professor of History, University of North Carolina
AMBROSE P. WINSTON, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Economics, Washington Uni-
versity
WILLIAM R. PERKINS
Professor of History, University of Iowa
REV. GEO. M. GRANT, D.D.
Late Principal of Queen's University, Kingston,
Ontario, Canada
MOSES COIT TYLER, A.M., Ph.D.
Late Professor of American History, Cornell Uni-
versity
ELISHA BENJAMIN ANDREWS, LL.D.,
D.D.
Chancellor, University of Nebraska
WILLIAM TORREY HARRIS, Ph.D.,
LL.D.
Formerly United States Commissioner of Education
JOHN HANSON THOMAS McPHER-
SON, Ph.D.
Professor of History, University of Georgia
RICHARD HEATH DABNEY. A.M.,
Ph.D.
Professor of History, University 01 Virginia
NEW YORK AND CHICAGO
THE BANCROFT SOCIETY
1910
COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY
GEORGE EDWIN R1NES.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME III.
ANCIENT HISTORY. -CONTINUED.
CHAPTER X.— RISE OF GREECE.
SECTION I. — Geography of Ancient Greece 703
SECTION II. — Primeval Greece and the Heroic Age 712
SECTION III. — Grecian Mythology and Religion 723
SECTION IV. — Grecian States, Islands and Colonies 749
SECTION V. — Sparta under the Laws of Lycurgus 768
SECTION VI. — Athens under the Laws of Draco and Solon . 781
SECTION VII. — Early Greek Poetry and Philosophy 793
CHAPTER XL— GREECE IN HER GLORY.
SECTION I. — The Persian War (B. C. 499-449) 809
SECTION II. — Supremacy of Athens and Age of Pericles 833
SECTION III. — The Peloponnesian War (B. C. 431-404) 857
SECTION IV. — Supremacies of Sparta and Thebes 886
SECTION V. — Literature, Philosophy and Art 927
SECTION VI. — General View of Greek Civilization 945
CHAPTER XII.— GR^CO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
SECTION I. — Rise of Macedon under Philip 957
SECTION II. — Conquests of Alexander the Great 982
SECTION III. — Dissolution of Alexander's Empire 1004
SECTION IV. — Oratory, Philosophy and Art 1010
CHAPTER XIIL— THE GR^ECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
SECTION I. — Macedon and Greece 1019
SECTION II. — Syrian Empire of the Seleucidae 1028
701
CONTENTS.
SECTION III. — Egypt under the Ptolemies 1037
SECTION IV. — Thrace and the Smaller Greek Kingdoms of Asia 1048
SECTION V. — Parthian Empire of the Arsacidse 1062
SECTION VI. — The Jews under the Maccabees and the Herods 1074
SECTION VII. — Edom, or Idumaea 1089
SECTION VIII. — Later Greek Science and Literature.
1097
MAP OF
ANCIENT GREECE
CHAPTER X.
RISE OF GREECE.
SECTION I.— GEOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT GREECE.
HELLAS, or Greece proper, is a peninsula in the South of Europe, Hellas, or
and is about two hundred and fifty English miles long, and about one
hundred and eighty miles wide. It has been estimated to contain about
thirty-five thousand square miles. It is bounded on the north by Olym-
pus, the Cambunian mountains, and an imaginary line extending west-
ward from the Acroceraunian promontory ; on the east by the ./Egean
Sea ; on the south by the Mediterranean ; and on the west by the Ionian
Sea.
The Hellenic peninsula has a number of mountains and a very irreg-
ular and extensive coast-line. Many deep bays strongly indent the
shores, and long narrow promontories extend far into the sea on every
side ; and this is the reason for the territorial area of Greece being less
than that of any other country of Southern Europe. There are many
excellent harbors. The sea is not dangerous in its vicinity. There
are many littoral islands of exceeding beauty and fertility off the coast.
The structure of the coast-line has been favorable to maritime pursuits
and to navigation, as communication between most portions of the
country is easier by sea than by land, the greater mountains which in-
tersect the peninsula in every direction being mainly lofty and rugged,
and thus traversable only by a few passes, which are frequently blocked
by snow during the winter.
The mountain-system of Greece may be considered a branch of the
European chain of the Alps. At a point a little to the west of the
twenty-first meridian of longitude east from Greenwich, the Albanian
Alps give out a spur, which, under the names of Scardus, Pindus, Corax,
Taphiassus, Panachaicus Lampea, Pholoe, Parrhasius and Taygetus,
runs in a direction a little east of south from the forty-second parallel
of north latitude to the promontory of Taenarum. A series of lateral
branches project from this great chain on both sides, having a general
direction from east to west, and from these project other cross ranges,
703
Greece
Proper.
Physical
Features.
Moan-
tains.
704 RISE OF GREECE.
following the direction of the main chain, or backbone of the region,
pointing almost south-east. The chains running east and west are par-
ticularly prominent in the eastern part of the country, between the
Pindus and the ^Egean. There project in succession the Cambunian
and Olympic range, forming the northern boundary of Greece proper ;
the range of Othrys, separating Thessaly from Malis and JEniania;
the range of CEta, dividing between Malis and Doris; and the range
of Parnassus, Helicon, Cithseron and Parnes, starting from Delphi and
ending in the Rhamnusian promontory, opposite Euboea, forming in
the eastern part a great barrier between Boeotia and Attica. On the
opposite side were others of the same character, such as Mount Lingus,
in the North of Epirus, which extended westward from the Pindus at a
point almost opposite the Cambunians; and Mount Tymphrestus in
Northern, and Mount Bomius in Central ^Etolia. The principal chain
in the Peloponnesus extended from Rhium to Taenarum, sending off on
the west Mount Scollis, which separated Achsea from Elis, and Mount
Elseon, which divided Elis from Messenia ; while on the east its branches
were one named Erymanthus, Aroania and Cyllene, dividing Achsea
from Arcadia, and extending eastward to the Scyllaean promontory in
Argolis ; and another known as Mount Parthenium, separating Argolis
from Laconia. The smaller important chains running north and south
were Mount Pelion and Mount Ossa, which closed in Thessaly on the
east ; the range of Pentelicus, Hymettus and Anhydrus, in Attica ; and
Mount Parnon, in the Peloponnesus, extending from near Tcgea to
Malea.
Plains. The mountain-chains of Greece take up so much of the country that
there are few plains, and these are very small. Yet there are some
plains which were highly fertile. Most of Thessaly was an extensive
plain, surrounded by mountains, and drained by the river Peneus.
There were two large plains in Bffiotia — the marshy plain of the
Cephissus, of which much was occupied by Lake Copais ; and the plain
of Asopus, on the edge of which were the cities of Thebes, Thespiae
and Platsea. There were three chief plains in Attica — the plain of
Eleusis, the plain of Athens, and the plain of Marathon. In the West
and South of the Peloponnesus were the lowlands of Cava Elis on each
side of the river Peneus, of Macaria, about the mouth of the river
Pamisus, and of Helos at the mouth of the Eurotas. In the central
region of the Peloponnesus were the elevated upland plains, or basins,
of Tegea, Mantinea, Pheneus and Orchomenus. In the Eastern Pelo-
ponnesus was the fertile alluvial plain of Argos, drained by the Chi-
marrhus, the Erasinus, the Phrixus, the Charadrus and the Inachus.
Rivera. Greece had many small rivers, most of them being mainly winter tor-
rents, carrying little or no water during the summer. The only con-
GEOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT GREECE.
siderable streams were the Acheloiis, which rose in Epirus, separating
^Etolia from Acarnania ; the northern Peneus, which drained the great
plain of Thessaly; and the Alpheus, on the banks of which was
Olympia. The principal secondary streams were Thyamis, Oropus
and Arachthus, in Epirus ; the Evenus and the Daphnus, in ^Etolia ;
the Spercheius, in Malis ; the Cephissus and the Asopus, in Boeotia ; the
southern Peneus, the Pamisus, the Eurotas and the Inachus, in the
Peloponnesus, the peninsula now called Morea. Many of the rivers of
Greece disappear in subterraneous passages. The limestone rocks are
full of caves and fissures, while many of the plains consist of land-
locked basins which seem to have no outlet. Here the streams generally
form lakes, of which the waters flow off to the sea through an under-
ground channel, some of them visible, others only supposed to exist.
The Cephissus finds such an outlet from Lake Copai's in Boeotia, and
most of the lakes of the Peloponnesus have such outlets. Lakes Hylice
and Trephia, in Bosotia, are believed to have similar outlets.
Greece has many small lakes. The largest is Lake Copai's, in Lakes.
Bosotia, which is estimated to have an area of forty-one square miles.
The next in size is probably Boebei's, in Thessaly, formed chiefly by the
overflowings of the river Peneus. On the southern shore of Lake Pam-
botis, in Epirus, was the oracular shrine of Dodona. Lakes Trichonis
and Conope were in JEtolia, between the Evenus and Acheloiis. Lake
Nessonis was near Lake Boebei's, in Thessaly. Lake Xynias was in
Achjea Phthiotis. Lakes Hylice and Trephia were in Boeotia. Lakes
Pheneus, Stymphalus, Orchomenus, Mantinea and Tegea, in Arcadia.
Greece is naturally divided into Northern, Central and Southern Divisions.
Greece. Northern Greece extends from the northern limits of the pe-
ninsula to the points where the Gulf of Malis indents the eastern shores,
and the Gulf of Ambracia, or Actium, the western shores. Central
Greece extends from these latter limits south to the isthmus of Corinth.
Southern Greece embraces the peninsula south of th Gulf of Corinth,
which peninsula was anciently known as the Peloponnesus (now the
Morea).
In ancient times Northern Greece embraced the two chief states of Northern
Greece
Thessaly and Epirus, separated from each other by the lofty chain
of Mount Pindus. On the eastern side of this mountain barrier were
the smaller states of Magnesia and Achaga Phthiotis. In the mountain
region itself, midway between the two gulfs, was Dolopia, or the coun-
try of the Dolopes.
Thessaly, the most fertile country, was nearly identical with the Thessaly.
basin of the Peneus, being a region of almost circular shape and sev-
enty miles in diameter. It was surrounded on all sides by mountains,
from which numerous streams descended, all of which converged and
706
RISE OF GREECE.
Epirus.
Magnesia
and
Achsea
Phthiotis.
Dclopia.
Central
Greece.
flowed into the Peneus. The combined waters reached the sea through
a single narrow gorge, the famous Vale of Tempe, said to have been
caused by an earthquake. Thessaly was divided into four provinces —
Perrhaebia on the north, along the borders of Mount Olympus and the
Cambunians ; Histiseotis, towards the west, on the sides of Mount Pin-
dus, and along the upper course of the Peneus ; Thessaliotis, towards
the south, bordering on Achaea Phthiotis and Dolopia ; and Pelasgiotls,
toward the east, between the Enipeus and Magnesia. The principal
towns of Thessaly were Gonni and Phalanna, in Perrhaebia; Gomphi
and Tricca, in Histioeotis; Cierium and Pharsalus, or Pharsalia, in
Thessaliotis ; Larissa and Pheras, in Pelasgiotis.
Epirus, the other principal country of Northern Greece, had an
oblong-square shape, seventy miles long from north to south, and about
fifty-five across from east to west. It was chiefly mountainous, and
contained a series of lofty chains, twisted spurs from the Pindus range,
having narrow valleys between, along the courses of the numerous
streams which drained this region. The chief divisions were Molossis
in the east, Chaonia in the north-west, and Thesprotia in the south-west.
The principal cities were Dodona and Ambracia, in Molossis ; Phoenice,
Buthrotum and Cestria, in Chaonia; Pandosia, Cassope, and, in later
times, Nicopolis, in Thesprotia. During the entire historical period
Epirus was more Illyrian than Greek.
Magnesia and Achaea Phthiotis were sometimes considered parts of
Thessaly, but in the earlier period they constituted separate countries.
Magnesia was the tract along the coast between the mouth of the
Peneus and the Pegasaean Gulf, embracing the two connected ranges
of Mounts Ossa and Pelion, with the country just at their base. It
was sixty-five miles long, and from ten to fifteen miles wide. Its prin-
cipal cities were Myrae, Meliboea and Casthanaea upon the eastern coast ;
lolcus, in the Gulf of Pagasae; and Boabe, near Lake Boebei's, in the
interior. Achaea Phthiotis was the region just south of Thessaly, ex-
tending from the Pagasaean Gulf on the east to the portion of Pindus
occupied by the Dolopes. It was a tract almost square in shape, each
side of the square measuring about thirty miles. It embraced Mount
Othrys, with the country at its base. The principal cities were Halos,
Thebae Phthiotides, Itonus, Melitae, Lamia and Xyniae, on Lake Xynias.
Dolopia, the country of the Dolopes, included a portion of the Pin-
dus range, with the more western part of Othrys, and the upper valleys
of several streams which ran into the Acheloiis. It was a small region,
being only forty miles long by fifteen miles wide, and was exceedingly
rugged and mountainous.
Central Greece, the tract located between Northern Greece and the
Peloponnesus, contained eleven countries — Acarnania, ^Etolia, Western
GEOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT GREECE.
707
Locris, JEniania, Doris, Malis, Eastern Locris, Phocis, Boeotia, Attica
and Megaris.
Acarnania was the most western of these countries, and was a trian- Acarna-
gular tract, bounded on the north by the Ambracian Gulf, on the east n*a-
by the Acheloiis, and on the south-west by the Adriatic. The northern
side was fifty miles long, the eastern side thirty-five miles, and the
south-western side thirty miles. Its leading cities were Stratus, situ-
ated in the interior, and Anactorium, Solium, Astacus and CEniadse,
located on the coast.
yEtolia bordered Acarnania on the east and extended in that direc- jEtolia.
tion as far as yEniania and Doris. It was bounded on the north by
Delopia, and on the south by the Corinthian Gulf. It was twice as
large as Acarnania, and its area was considerably more than that of
any other country in this part of Hellas. It was mainly mountainous,
but contained a flat and marshy tract between the mouths of the Evenus
and the Acheloiis ; and further north was a large plain, in which were
Lakes Conope and Trichonis. Its chief cities were Pleuron, Calydon
and Thermon.
Western Locris, the country of the Locri Ozolae, lay along the coast
of the Corinthian Gulf, just east of /Etolia. It was about thirty-seven
miles long along the coast, and from two to twenty-three miles wide.
Its chief cities were Naupactus, on the coast, and Amphissa, in the
interior.
yEniania, or /Etaea, also lay east of yEtolia, but towards the north,
while Locris adjoined it towards the south. xEniania was separated
from /Etolia by the Pindus range, and was bounded on the north by
Mount Othrys, and on the south by Mount CEta. It thus lay on the
upper course of the Spercheius river. It was oval-shaped, and about
twenty-seven miles long by eighteen miles wide. The principal town
was Hypata.
Doris was located between xEniania and Western Locris. It was a Doris,
small and rugged country, enclosed between Mounts Parnassus and
Callidromus, on the upper course of the Pindus river, a tributary of
the Boeotian Cephissus. Its greatest length was about seventeen
miles, and its greatest width about ten miles. Its principal cities were
Pindus, Erineus, Boeum and Cytinium, and it was on this account
known as the Dorian Tetrapolis.
Malis lay north of Doris, south of Achfea Phthiotis, and east of Malis.
xEniania. It resembled Doris in shape, but was smaller. Its greatest
length was about fifteen miles, and its greatest width about eight miles.
Its chief cities were Anticyra and Trachis, and in later times, Heraclea.
The famous pass of Thermopylae was at the extreme eastern end of
Malis, between the mountains and the sea.
Western
Locris.
JEniania
or
JElzea.
708
RISE OF GREECE.
Eastern
Lochs.
Phocis.
Bceotia.
Attica.
Eastern Locris lay next to Malis, along the coast of the Euripus, or
Euboean channel. Its political divisions were Epicnemidia and Opun-
tia. These in later times were naturally divided by a small strip of
land regarded as belonging toy Phocis. Epicnemidia extended about
seventeen miles, from near Thermopylae to near Daphnus, with an aver-
age width of eight miles. Cnemides was its principal town. Opuntia
extended from Alope to beyond the mouth of the Cephissus, a distance
of about twenty-six miles. It was about as broad as Epicnemidia. Its
name was derived from Opus, its leading city.
Phocis extended from Eastern Locris on the north to the Corinthian
Gulf on the south. It was bounded on the east by Boeotia, and on
the west by Doris and Western Locris. It was square in shape, with
an average length of twenty-five miles and an average breadth of
twenty miles. The central and southern parts were very mountainous,
but there were some fertile plains along the course of the Cephissus and
its tributaries. The principal cities were Delphi, on the south side of
Mount Parnassus, Elataea, Parapotamii, Panopeus, Abse, renowned for
its temple, and Hyampolis.
Boeotia was more than twice as large as Phocis, being fifty miles
long, with an average breadth of twenty-three miles. It was mainly
flat and marshy, but contained the Helicon mountain range on the
south, and the hills known as Mounts Ptoiis, Messapius, Hypatus and
Teumessus, towards the more eastern part of the country. Lake
Copais occupied an area of forty-one square miles, or more than one-
thirtieth of the surface. Lakes Hylice and Trephia were between
Lake Copai's and the Euboean Sea. The principal rivers of Boeotia
were the Cephissus, which entered the country from Phocis, the Asopus,
the Termessus, the Thespius and the Oe'roe. Boeotia was celebrated for
its many great cities, the chief of which was Thebes. The other im-
portant cities were Orchomenus, Thespiae, Tanagra, Coronsea, Lebedeia,
Haliartus, Chaeroneia, Leuctra and Copae.
Attica was the peninsula projecting from Boeotia to the south-east.
It was seventy miles long from Cithaeron to Sunium. Its greatest
breadth, from Munychia to Rhamnus, was thirty miles. Its area has
been estimated at seven hundred and twenty square miles, about three-
fourths of that of Boeotia. The general character of the region was
mountainous and sterile. On the north Mounts Cithasron, Parnes and
Phelleus constituted a continuous line running almost east and west.
From this range three spurs descended : Mount Kerata, which divided
Attica from Megaris ; Mount ^galeos, separating the plain of Eleusis
from that of Athens; and Mount Pentelicus in the north, Mount Hy-
mettus in the center, and Mount Anhydrus near the southern coast.
Athens was the only important city of Attica. Marathon, famous for
GEOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT GREECE. 709
the first Greek victory over the Persians, was a small town twenty miles
north-east of Athens. The rivers of Attica — the two Cephissuses, the
Ilissus, the Erasmus and the Charadrus — were not much more than
torrent courses.
Megaris, adjoining Attica on the west, occupied the northern part Megaris.
of the Isthmus of Corinth, which connected Central Greece with the
Peloponnesus. It was the smallest country of Central Greece, except-
ing Doris and Malis, being about fourteen miles long by eleven miles
wide, and embracing less than one hundred and fifty square miles. Its
only city was Magara, with the ports of Nisaea and Pegae.
Southern Greece, or the peninsula of the Poloponnesus, comprised Southern
eleven countries — Corinth, Sicyon, Achaea, Elis, Arcadia, Messenia, Pelopon-
Laconia, Argolis, Epidauria, Troezenia and Hermionis.
The territory of Corinth adjoined Megaris and embraced the greater Corinth,
part of the isthmus, along with a larger tract in the Peloponnesus. Its (jorinthia.
greatest length was twenty-five miles, and its greatest width was about
twenty-three miles. It had a very irregular shape, and its area was
about two hundred and thirty square miles. The only important city
was Corinth, the capital, whose ports were Lechasum, on the Corinthian
Gulf, and Cenchreae, on the Saronic Gulf.
Sicyon, or Sicyonia, adjoined Corinth on the west. It was situated Sicyon,
along the shore of the Corinthian Gulf for a distance of about fifteen
miles, and was about twelve or thirteen miles wide. Sicyon was its
only city.
Achaea, or Achaia, was next to Sicyon, and extended along the coast Achaea,
for a distance of about sixty-five miles. Its average width was about
ten miles, and its area about six hundred and fifty square miles. It
had twelve cities, of which Dyme, Patrae (now Patras) and Pellene
stand first in importance.
Elis lay on the west coast of the Peloponnesus, extending from the
mouth of the Larisus to that of the Neda, a distance of fifty-seven
miles, and reaching from the coast inland to the foot of Mount Ery-
manthus about twenty-five miles. It was one of the most level parts
of Greece, comprising wide tracts of plain along the coast, and valleys
of considerable width along the courses of the Peneus, and Alpheus
and the Neda rivers. Its principal cities were Elis, on the Peneus, the
port of Cyllene, on the gulf of the same name, Olymplia and Pisa, on
the Alpheus, and Lepreum, in Southern Elis.
Arcadia was the mountain land in the center of the Peloponnesus. Arcadia.
It extended from Mount Erymanthus, Aroania and Cyllene, in the
north, to the sources of the Alpheus towards the south, a distance of
about sixty miles. The average width of this country was about forty
miles. The area was about seventeen hundred square miles. The
710 RISE OF GREECE.
country was chiefly a mountainous table-land, the rivers of which, ex-
cepting towards the west and south-west, are absorbed in subterranean
passages and have no visible outlet to the sea. There are many high
plains and small lakes, but the far greater portion of the country is
occupied by mountains and narrow though fertile valleys. There were
many important cities, among which were Mantinea, Tegea, Orcho-
menus, Pheneus, Hersea, Psophis, and in later times, Megalopolis.
Messinia. Messinia lay south of Elis and Western Arcadia, occupied the most
westerly of the three southern peninsulas of the Peloponnesus, and cir-
cled round the gulf between this peninsula and the central one to the
mouth of the Choerius river. It was forty-five miles long from the
Neda river to the promontory of Acritas, and its greatest width between
Laconia and the western coast was thirty-seven miles. The area of the
country was about eleven hundred and sixty square miles. A consid-
erable portion was mountainous ; but along the course of the Pamisus,
the chief stream of this country, there were some broad plains, and the
whole region was fertile. Stenyclerus was the original capital, but
subsequently Messene, on the south-western flank of Mount Ithome,
was the principal city. The other important towns were Eira, on the
upper Neda, Pylus (now Navarino), and Methone, south of Pylus
(now Modon).
Laconia comprised the other two southern peninsulas of the Pelo-
ponnesus, along with a considerable region to the north of them. Its
greatest length between Argolis and the promontory of Malea was
almost eighty miles, and its greatest width was nearly fifty miles. Its
area was almost nineteen hundred square miles. The country embraced
chiefly the narrow valley of the Eurotas, which was enclosed between
the lofty mountain chains of Parnon and Taygetus. Hence the ex-
pression, " Hollow Lacedaemon." Sparta, the capital, was situated on
the Eurotas river, about twenty miles from the sea. The other towns
were Gythium and Thyrea, on the coast, and Sellasia, in the ^Enus
valley.
Argolis. Argolis was the name sometimes assigned to the entire region extend-
ing eastward from Achaea and Arcadia, excepting the small territory
of Corinth ; but Argolis proper was bounded by Sicyonia and Corinthia
on the north, by Epidaurus on the east, by Cynuria, a part of Laconia,
on the south, and by Arcadia on the west. Its greatest extent from
north to south was about thirty miles, and from east to west about
thirty-one miles. Its whole area was not over seven hundred square
miles. It was mountainous, like the other portions of the Peloponnesus,
but included a large and fertile plain at the head of the Gulf of
Argolis. Its early capital was Mycenae. Argos subsequently became
GEOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT GREECE.
711
the chief city. The other important cities were Philus, Cleonae and
Tiryns. Nauplia was the jort of Argos.
Epidauria lay east of Argolis, and east and south of Corinthia. It
was about twenty-three miles long from north to south, and about eight
miles wide from east to west. Its only important city was Epidaurus,
the capital.
Troezenia lay just south-east of Epidauria. It embraced the north-
eastern half of the peninsula of Argolis, along with the rocky penin-
sula of Methana. Its greatest length was sixteen miles, and its great-
est breadth, without Methana, was nine miles. Its only important
cities were Troezen and Methana.
Hermionis lay immediately north of Epidauria and east of Troe-
zenia. It constituted the western end of the peninsula of Argolis. It
was about as large as Troezenia and its only important town was
Hermione.
The littoral islands of Greece are numerous and important. The
largest of these is Euboea (now Negropont), off the entire eastern
coast of Attica, Boeotia and Locris, from which it is separated by a
long, narrow strait or channel. It is more than one hundred miles
long, with an average width of about fifteen miles. The island next
in size to Euboea is Corcyra (now Corfu), off the western coast of the
peninsula, which is about forty miles long and f ronl five to fifteen miles
wide. Other islands off the west coast are Paxos, Leucas, or Leucadia,
Ithaca, Cephallenia and Zacynthos (now Zante). Off the southern
coast are CEnussae and Cythera. Off the eastern coast are Tiparenos,
Hydria, Calauria, ^gina, Salamis, Cythnos, Ceos, Helene, Andros,
Scyros, Peparethos, Halonnesos and Sciathos. The Cyclades and the
Sporades extend in a continuous series, across the ^Egean Sea to Asia
Minor. On the western side, from Corcyra and the Acroceraunian
promontory, the opposite coast of Italy can be seen on a clear day.
Besides the littoral islands already noted, there are several others,
in the JEgean Sea, deserving mention. These are Lemnos, Imbros,
Thasos and Samothrace, in the north of the ^Egean; Tenos, Syros,
Gyaros, Delos, Myconos, Naxos, Paros, Siphnos, Melos, Thera, Amor-
gos, etc., in the Central ^Egean ; besides the littoral islands of Andros,
Ceos and Cythnos; and Crete, to the south of the ^Egean. Crete is
one hundred and fifty miles long from east to west, with an average
width of about fifteen miles from north to south. Its area is consid-
erably over two thousand square miles. Its principal cities were Cy-
donia and Gnossos, on the nothern coast, and Gortyna, in the interior.
The entire island is mountainous though fertile. The Greek islands
off the west coast of Asia Minor, in the eastern part of the JEgean Sea,
are Lesbos, Chios (now Scio), Samos, Icaria, Cos, Rhodes and a number
2—7
Epi-
dauria.
Troezenia.
Hermio-
nis.
Littoral
Islands.
Other
Islandf.
712
RISE OF GREECE.
of lesser islands. Southeast of Asia Minor, in the north-eastern cor-
ner of the Mediterranean Sea, is the large island of Cyprus, colonized
bj Greeks.
Homer's
Epics.
Herod-
otus,
Thucyd-
ides,
Diodorus
and
Plutarch.
Modern
Authori-
ties.
Value of
Oral
Tradi-
tions.
Early
Inhabi-
tants.
SECTION II.— PRIMEVAL GREECE AND THE HEROIC AGE.
THE early history of Greece embraces legends, traditions and fables
covering the period from about B. C. 1856 to about B. C. 1100. The
native Grecian sources are Homer's two great epic poems, the Iliad and
the Odyssey, which, whatever their real origin may be, must ever remain
the chief authority for the primeval condition of Greece. Modern
criticism coincides with ancient in regarding them as the most ancient
remains of Grecian literature that have been transmitted; and if their
real date was about B. C. 850, as now generally believed, they must be
considered as the only authority in Grecian history for almost four
centuries.
Another native Grecian authority was Herodotus, who, though writ-
ing chiefly about the great Persian War, gave a sketch of previous
Grecian history to the most remote antiquity, and was a reliable au-
thority for the antiquities of his own and contemporaneous nations.
Thucydides was also a great Greek authority. The opening sketch of
his history gives the opinions of enlightened Athenians of the fourth
century before Christ concerning the antiquities of Greece. Diodorus
Siculus gathered from previous writers, especially from Ephorus and
Timaeus, the early traditional and legendary history of Greece, and
related it in his fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh books; of which the
fourth and fifth remain, the other two being lost, excepting a few frag-
ments. Much interesting and valuable information of primitive Gre-
cian history is given us by the ancient geographers, especially such
as Strabo, Pausanias and Scymus Chius. Plutarch's Lives treat of
but one character of this early period — Theseus.
Among celebrated modern writers on ancient Greece may be men-
tioned the eminent Germans, Heeren, Niebuhr, Curtius andMiiller,and
the English authors, Clinton, Mitford, TMrlwall and Grote. We can
see that the value attaching to the early historical narrative will depend
on the opinion formed regarding the probability of oral traditions
transmitting correctly the general outline of important national events,
and likewise on the question as to what time the historical events began
to be contemporaneously recorded by the Greeks in inscriptions or
otherwise.
The Greeks of the historical period appear to have had no traditions
concerning a migration of their ancestors from Asia. They believed
PRIMEVAL GREECE AND THE HEROIC AGE.
their forefathers had always been in the country, though they had not
always been called Hellenes, which was the name by which the Greeks
called themselves. They called their country Hellas. The names
Greece and Greek, or Grecian, were originated by the Romans. Greece
had been inhabited from very earl}7 times by races mainly homogeneous
and chiefly allied with their own people. These were the Pelasgians,
the Leleges, the Curetes, the Caucones, the Aones, the Dolopes, the
Dryopes and many other barbarous tribes. All these tribes were pure
Aryans, being thus related with the Hindoos, the Medes and Persians,
and the different nations of Europe, which had migrated from their
primeval homes in Central Asia in prehistoric times.
The Pelasgians were by far the most important of all these early The
tribes. They were savages, feeding on roots and acorns, and clothing
themselves with the skins of beasts. The Pelaspic, or ante-Hellenic
period of Greece was characterized by general peace and was the
golden age of the Greek poets. The general pursuit was agriculture.
The Pelasgic architecture was massive and not much ornamented. The
religion was simple, and there were no distinct names of gods. The
national sanctuary was at Dodona.
The Hellenes proper had originally been but one tribe out of many The
cognate Aryan nations. They had inhabited Achasa Phthiotis or the lenea.
country near Dodona, and had originally been insignificant in numbers
and of little importance. But in the course of time they became more
famous than any of the other tribes. They were consulted and ap-
pealed to for aid in times of difficulty. Other tribes adopted their
name, their language and their civilization. The Hellenes developed
and diffused themselves by their influence and not by conquest. They
did not subdue or expel the Pelasgi, the Leleges or other tribes, but by
degrees assimilated them.
There were only two original Hellenic tribes, the Achamns and the Achaeans,
Dorians. The Achaeans were in the ascendant in early times. They Dorians,
had occupied Achasa Phthiotis from a very early period, and were the and
most important race of the Peloponnesus before the Dorian occupation.
They are said to have had three kingdoms in the Peloponnesus — those
of Argos, Mycenae and Sparta — all of which had reached a consider-
able degree of civilization and prosperity. The Dorians were said to
have dwelt originally in Achaea Phthiotis with the Achaeans; but the
earliest discovered home was the region of Upper Pindus, which was
called Doris until the Roman period. In this " small and sad region "
the Dorians became great, increased their population, acquired warlike
habits, and developed a peculiar discipline, different from the other
Greeks. The lonians were the most important Pelasgic tribe, and in
early times they occupied the entire northern coast of the Peloponnesus,
RISE OF GREECE.
The
Mythic
Hellen.
Inachus,
Cecrops,
Lelex,
Cadmus,
Danaus
and
Pelops.
Their
Mythical
Charac-
ter.
Greek
Alphabet.
Magaris, Attica and Euboea. The JEolians were another Pelasgic
tribe, and embraced the Thessalians, the Boeotians, the vEtolians, the
Locrians, the Phocians, the Eleans, the Pylians and others.
The Achaeans, the Dorians, the lonians and the JEolians by degrees
became Hellenized, and the whole four tribes came to be considered
Hellenic. A mystic genealogy was framed to express the race unity
and the tribal diversity of the four great branches of the Hellenic
nation. Thus Hellen was the mythical ancestor of the entire Hellenic
race, and his three sons were Dorus, Xuthus and ^Eolus. Xuthus is
said to have had two sons, Achseus and Ion. Thus the Greeks supposed
themselves to have been descended from Hellen through his sons, Dorus
and JEolus, and his grandsons, Achseus and Ion ; these sons and grand-
sons being regarded as the ancestors respectievly of the Dorians, the
JEolians, the Achaeans and the lonians.
According to the Greek traditions, some foreign elements became
fused into the Hellenic nation during this early period. Thus Inachus,
a Phoenician, was said to have founded Argos, the oldest city in Greece,
in B. C. 1856. Three hundred years later, B. C. 1556, Cecrops, an
Egyptian, was said to have founded in Attica a city which he named
Athens, in honor of the goddess Athene, or Pallas, the Roman Minerva.
Corinth was said to have been founded in B. C. 1520. The Egyptian
Lelex is reputed to have laid the foundations of the celebrated city of
Sparta, in Laconia, or Lacedsemon, about B. C. 1520. Thebes, the
famous capital of Boeotia, with its celebrated citadel, the Cadmsea, was
believed to have been founded about the year B. C. 1493 by the Phoe-
nician Cadmus, who was said to have introduced letters into Greece.
In the year B. C. 1485 Danaus, an Egyptian, was reputed to have
arrived at Argos with his fifty daughters, and to have taught the people
to dig wells. About the year B. C. 1350 Pelops, a Phrygian prince,
was said to have migrated to the peninsula of Southern Greece, which
was thereafter named in his honor Peloponnesus, or the Island of Pelops.
Inachus, Cecrops, Lelex, Cadmus, Danaus and Pelops were all fabu-
lous personages, and the accounts given of them by the early Greeks
are regarded as entirely mythical. Modern authorities consider
Cecrops as simply a Pelasgian hero. The accounts of Inachus and
Danaus settling at Argos are regarded as pure fables. Modern writers
accept the account of Cadmus coming to Thebes and teaching letters to
the inhabitants as mainly true, as the Greeks evidently derived their
alphabet from Phoenicia ; but it is questioned whether he built Thebes or
founded the Cadmea. The name and form of the Gerek alphabet, and
the early intercourse between Greece and Phoenicia, lend probability to
the account that the Greeks derived their alphabet from the Phoenicians.
Although writing was not much used for several centuries after its
PRIMEVAL GREECE AND THE HEROIC AGE.
715
introduction, yet its occasional employment for public purposes was a
very important check upon the strange tendencies of oral tradition, and
paved the way for a more authentic record of Grecian history.
Inscriptions on the offerings in the temple, and registers of the suc-
cessions of kings and priests, were some of the oldest historical docu-
ments in Greece ; and though we have no positive proof that they went
back to the first period, there is no evidence to contradict it, and many
of the ablest historical critics believe that the Greeks used writing in
public matters at this early period.
Though the civilization of the Egyptian and Phoenician settlers in
Greece was higher than that of the Greeks themselves, and though some
benefits were derived by the Greeks from these foreign sources, it is
clearly evident that Hellenic civilization did not receive its general
character and direction from these foreign influences, as the foreign
colonists were comparatively few in number and were absorbed into the
Hellenic nation without leaving any distinct trace of themselves upon
the Grecian language, customs or religion. Thus Greek civilization
was mainly an indigenous product of Hellas itself — a native develop-
ment of the Hellenic race. Even the ideas adopted from foreign
sources became so stamped with the Grecian character that they ac-
quired the characteristics of originality. Thus the Greeks developed
their own civilization — a civilization totally different from the Oriental
or the Egyptian — a civilization stamped with ideas on the subjects
of art, politics, morals and religion which raised them far in advance
of every other ancient nation, and wherein was found the first asser-
tion of the right of man to self-government. In Greece were the first
experiments in democracy.
We will now pass to the legends and myths of early Grecian history.
The fabulous characters of the Heroic Age were Heracles, or Hercules,
the national hero of Greece; Theseus, the civilizer of Attica; and
Minos, the Cretan lawgiver. The famous Argonautic Expedition,
undertaken by Jason of Thessaly to recover the Golden Fleece, which
had been carried to Colchis ; the War of the Seven against Thebes, and
the Trojan War, so celebrated in Homer's Iliad, are among the great
legendary events of the Heroic Age.
Theseus, the legendary hero-king of Athens, was said to have con-
solidated the twelve boroughs or cantons of Attica into one state; to
have defeated the Amazons, a race of fabled female warriors; to have
cleared the Isthmian highways of robbers, and to have slain the Mino-
taur, a monster kept in a labyrinth by Minos, the lawgiver-king of
Crete, and who fed upon youths and maidens sent from Athens as a
forced tribute.
VOL. 3.— 2
Historical
Docu-
ments.
Origi-
nality of
Greek
Civiliza-
tion.
The
Heroic
Age.
Theseus.
716 RISE OF GREECE.
Minos, the mythical king and lawgiver of Crete, was a great tribal
hero of the Dorians, and was said to have been a legislator of divine
wisdom; to have suppressed piracy* in Grecian waters, and to have
founded the first great maritime power in Hellas.
Heracles, Heracles, or Hercules, was celebrated for his wonderful feats of
Hercules, strength, as Samson had been among the Hebrews. Heracles was
reputed to be the son of Zeus and Alcmena, the wife of Amphitryon,
King of Thebes. While yet an infant in his cradle, he is said to have
strangled two huge serpents which the goddess Here had sent to destroy
him. The "Twelve Labors of Heracles" were the following: 1. He
killed the Nemean lion by putting his arms around his neck, and wore
his skin in the remainder of his exploits. 2. He slew the Lernean hydra,
a nine-headed serpent, whose heads grew on as fast as cut off, and
which was destroyed when Heracles seared its neck with a hot iron. 3.
He brought the Erymanthean boar upon his shoulders to Eurystheus.
4. He subdued the golden-horned and brazen-hoofed stag of Artemis,
or Diana. 5. He destroyed the foul Stymphalian birds with his
arrows. 6. He cleansed the Augean stables of the King of Elis, which
had remained uncleansed for thirty years, by turning into them a river
which flowed close by. 7. He tamed the furious bull of Crete. 8.
He gave Diomedes to be devoured by his own horses. 9. He van-
quished the Amazons. 10. He killed the three-headed, six-legged and
six-armed Geryon, King of Gades, now Cadiz, in Spain, and brought
his oxen to Greece. 11. He killed the hundred-headed dragon of the
Hesperides, and obtained the golden apples of his garden. 12. He
dragged the three-headed dog Cerberus from the gate of Hades, into
which he descended twice. It is also related that Heracles separated
Spain from Africa, and connected the Mediterranean Sea with the
Atlantic Ocean by heaping up a mountain on each side. These moun-
tains were named the Pillars of Hercules (now Straits of Gibraltar).
Heracles killed the centaur Nessus with an arrow poisoned with the
blood of the Lernean hydra, because the centaur had insulted the hero's
wife, Dejanira, the arrow being given to Philocletes. The dying cen-
taur persuaded Dejanira to give a tunic dipped in his blood to her
husband in reconciliation; but as soon as Heracles clothed himself in
this garment he was poisoned by it, and perished in the flames of a
funeral pile which he had built on Mount (Eta, and which had been
fired by Philocletes. Zeus received him as a god, and gave to him in
marriage Hebe, the goddess of youth. Heracles is usually repre-
sented as a robust man, leaning on his club, wearing the skin of the
Nemean lion on his shoulders, and holding the Hesperian fruit in his
hands.
PRIMEVAL GREECE AND THE HEROIC AGE.
In the time of Heracles, Jason, a prince of Thessaly, went on the Argo-
celebrated Argonautic Expedition, so called from the ship Argo, in ^ut^
which he sailed. The following is the story of the Argonautic Expe- tion.
dition, according to the Greek poets. Phryxus, a Theban prince, and
his sister Helle, being obliged to leave their native country to escape
the cruelty of their step-mother, mounted the back of a winged ram
with a golden fleece, to be conveyed to Colchis, a country on the eastern
border of the Euxine, or Black Sea, where an uncle of theirs was king.
While passing over the strait now called the Dardanelles, Helle became
giddy, fell into the water, and was drowned ; whence the strait received
the name of Hellespont, or Sea of Helle. Phryxus arrived safely in
Colchis, and sacrificed his winged ram to Jupiter, in acknowledgment
of Divine protection, and put the golden fleece into that deity's temple.
He was afterwards murdered by his uncle, who wished to obtain the
golden fleece. It was to avenge the death of Phryxus and to secure the
golden fleece that Jason undertook the Argonautic Expedition. Jason
obtained the golden fleece and married Media, a daughter of the King
of Colchis.
Another great event of the Heroic Age was the War of the Seven War of the
against Thebes, second in interest and importance only to the siege of Seven
Troy. Laius, King of Thebes — the third in descent from the mythical Thebes.
Cadmus — being warned by an oracle that he would be slain by his own
son in case one were born to him, thought that he might prevent the
fulfillment of the prophecy by causing his infant child to be exposed
on Mount Cithseron ; but the child was rescued by a shepherd and
brought up by the King of Corinth, being named CEdipus. Upon
reaching manhood CEdipus sought information from the Delphic oracle
concerning his parentage, but the only reply he received was a warning
not to return to his native country, as in case he should do so he would
kill his father and become the husband of his own mother. He there-
fore avoided Corinth and turned toward Thebes, but on the way he
met Laius with an attendant and killed him in a quarrel, not knowing
that he was his father. Soon afterward the Thebans, distressed by
a woman-headed monster, called the Sphinx, who proposed a riddle to
them, and, as often as they failed in their answers, seized and devoured
one of the inhabitants of the city. Any one who should solve the riddle
could become King of Thebes and husband of Jocasta, the widow of
Laius. CEdipus solved the riddle, and so received the Theban crown
and married Jocasta, thus fulfilling the oracle's prophecy. The rid-
dle was : " What animal walks on four legs in the morning, on two at
noon and on three at night ? " The answer was : " Man, who creeps
in infancy, walks upright in manhood and supports his steps with a
staff in old age." As a result of the murder of Laius, a terrible doom
718 RISE OF GREECE.
afflicted the royal family after the truth became known. Jocasta
hanged herself ; CEdipus, in agonized f renzy, tore out his own eyes, and
his sons, Etocles and Polynices, drove their father from Thebes, for
which act CEdipus invoked the curse of Heaven upon his sons, being
accompanied in his exile by his daughters Antigone and Ismene. The
sons of CEdipus then quarreled about the throne, Polynices fleeing to
Argos and seeking the aid of Adrastus, the Argive king, who, with
five other chiefs and Polynices, made war on Thebes, all the heroes
except Adrastus being killed, one of them, Amphiaraus, being received
into the world of shades by the opening earth, while the brothers
Etocles and Polynices were slain by each other. Creon, the new King
of Thebes, refused to permit Adrastus to bury or burn the corpses of
his dead companions ; whereupon Adrastus petitioned Theseus, the hero-
king of Athens, to avenge this wrong, the denial of the burial rites
being regarded by the Greeks as a most impious act. Accordingly
Theseus made war on Creon, subdued him and thus secured the rites
of sepulture for the bodies of the slain heroes. A decade later occurred
Destruc- the War of the Descendants, or Epigoni, in which Thebes was taken
Thebes an^ destroyed by the sons of the slain heroes, in revenge for the deaths
by the of their sires, Adrastus leading the expedition according to one account,
and Thersander, the son of Polynices, according to another account.
This legend was the source of a hundred tales, which gave rise to some
of the greatest productions of the Greek tragic poets.
Trojan The most important event of the early period of Grecian history
ar< was the famous Trojan War, the knowledge of which we derive largely
from Homer's Iliad. The beautiful Helen, wife of Menelaiis, King
of Sparta, was carried away by Paris, son of Priam, King of Troy,
or Ilium, in Asia Minor. The Greek princes, indignant at this out'
rage, and bound by a previous promise, assembled their armies, and
having appointed Agamemnon, one of their number, commander-ini
chief, crossed the ^Egean Sea, and laid siege to Troy (B. C. 1194).
The chief of the Greek leaders besides Agamemnon were Achilles of
Thessaly and Ulysses of Ithaca. During the siege of Troy many bold
exploits are said to have been performed by both. Of these exploits
the most celebrated was the killing of the Trojan Hector by the Gre>.
cian Achilles. Finally, after a siege of ten years, Troy was taken by
a stratagem of Ulysses. The Greeks, after having constructed a large
wooden horse, filled it with soldiers, and then retiring a short distance,
pretended to abandon the siege. The Trojans then brought the
wooden horse into the city. During the night the Greek soldiers got
out of the wooden horse and opened the gates of the city, which was
then entered by the Grecian army. Troy was reduced to ashts, and
its inhabitants were driven away or put to death (B. C. 1184). But
PRIMEVAL GREECE AND THE HEROIC AGE.
719
the conquerors met with many misfortunes: Achilles died in Troy;
Ulysses wandered about for ten years before he was enabled to reach
his native shores; and Agamemnon was murdered by his own faithless
wife, Clytemnestra, who had formed an attachment for another person
in his absence.
In Homer's poetical narrative the gods are represented as partici-
pating in the struggle. Modern historians have doubted whether such
a city as Troy ever existed, and the story of the Trojan War conse-
quently receives little credence from then. In recent years, however,
some remarkable discoveries have been made in the Troad which may
perhaps aid in settling this uncertainty. A series of extensive explora-
tions have been conducted by Dr. Schliemann upon the reputed site of
ancient Troy, and his excavations have disclosed the remains of a
city dating evidently more than a thousand years before Christ. These
ruins lie from twenty-three to thirty-three feet below the surface of the
earth, and seem to bear marks of a destructive conflagration. Many
articles of domestic use, arms, ornaments, etc., have been unearthed by
Dr. Schliemann. This would appear to prove at least that an ancient
city existed on the site assigned by Homer to Troy, and that the an-
cient city to which the ruins belong was destroyed by fire, but it has not
been proven beyond a doubt that the city was Troy.
Homer describes the social and political condition of Greece during
the Heroic Age with very great precision. The country was not united
under one general government, but was divided into many independent
states, each governed by its own king. These petty sovereigns exer-
cised patriarchal rather than regal authority, and were responsible only
to Zeus for the exercise of their power, as they claimed to be the descen-
dants of the gods themselves, and received their authority from them.
In war the kings were the sole commanders of their respective
armies. In peace they were the judges and priests of the people, admin-
istering justice among them, and offering prayers and sacrifices to the
gods. Though the kingly authority was acknowledged by the people,
they required a personal superiority in the king over them as a condi-
tion of obedience to him. He was expected to display personal
bravery in war, wisdom in council, and eloquence in debate. As long
as he exhibited these high qualities, his right to govern them was rec-
ognized by every one, and even his caprices and violence did not
encounter any opposition. When he manifested bodily or mental
weakness his authority began to decline.
The Greeks at this early period were divided into three distinct
classes — nobles, common freemen and slaves. The nobles claimed de-
scent from the gods, as did the king. They were very rich and pow-
erful, possessing great estates and numerous slaves. They were the
Dr.
Schlie-
mann's
Excava-
tions.
Petty
Grecian
States.
Grecian
Kings.
Greek
Classes.
720
Family
and
Social
Relations.
Social
Customs
and Occu-
pations.
Warlike
Habits.
RISE OF GREECE.
leaders of the people in war. According to Homer, these chiefs did
the fighting, the common soldiers being frequently only spectators of
the conflict. The freemen appear to have owned the lands which they
themselves cultivated. A poorer class, who were not land-owners, seem
to have worked on the lands of the others for pay. The seer, the bard
and the herald belonged to the class of common freemen, but their
attainments gave them a rank above that of their fellows, and made
them respected by the nobles. The carpenters formed other classes,
as only a few possessed a knowledge of the mechanical arts. The
nobles only were slave-owners. There were not so many of them as in
later times, and they were better treated at this early day than in after
times. A kindly relation at this time existed between masters and slaves.
The family relations in primeval Greece occupied a prominent place
in the social system. The authority of parents was highly reverenced,
and a father's curse was dreaded above everything else. All the mem-
bers of a family or clan were united by the closest ties, and were bound
to avenge any injury offered any individual of their clan. In the
early period of Greece women held a more exalted position than in later
times. The wife and mother was regarded as holding a position of
great dignity and influence, notwithstanding the fact that wives were
purchased by their husbands. All classes were solemnly enjoined to be
hospitable. Strangers were cordially welcomed, and were given the
best that the house afforded before being asked about their names or
business. A stranger who sought protection had even a stronger claim
upon the host, even if it brought the host into difficulty, as it was
believed that Zeus would mercilessly punish any man who would not
grant the request of a suppliant.
The manners of this primitive age were very simple. Labor was
deemed honorable, and the kings did not consider it beneath their dig-
nity to engage in it. Ulysses is said to have built his own bed-chamber,
and to have made his raft, and boasted of his skill in ploughing and
mowing. The people's food was simple, and consisted of beef, mutton,
goats' flesh, cheese, wheat bread, and sometimes fruits. Wine was
used, but there was no intemperance. The chiefs were proud of their
excellence in cooking. The wives and daughters of kings and nobles
engaged in spinning and weaving. They likewise brought water from
the well, and aided their slaves in washing garments in the river.
The ancient heroes were, however, fierce and unrelenting in war.
The more powerful chief plundered and maltreated his weaker neigh-
bor. Piracy was considered honorable. Bloodshed was the order of
the day. Quarter was seldom given to a vanquished enemy. The arms
of the defeated foe became the trophy of the victor. The naked body
of a fallen antagonist was cast out to the birds of prey. Homer rep-
GREEK TOOLS, WEAPONS, AND IMPLEMENTS OF EARLY HISTORIC TIMES
PRIMEVAL GREECE AND THE HEROIC AGE.
721
resents Achilles as sacrificing twelve hundred human victims on the
tomb of Patroclus.
As already said, the Greeks of the Heroic Age lived in fortified
cities, surrounded by strong walls and adorned with palaces and tem-
ples. The nobles had magnificent and costly houses, ornamented with
gold, silver and bronze. Their dress in peace was costly and elegant.
They wore highly-wrought armor in war. They were supplied with
everything they did not themselves produce by the Phoenicians. The
massive ruins of Mycenae and Tiryns belong to this period, and furnish
abundant proof of the strength and splendor of the cities of Greece
during the Heroic Age. The arts of sculpture and design had con-
siderably advanced. Poetry was also cultivated, but it is not very cer-
tain that writing was yet known.
Important movements of the chief races appear to have occurred
near the end of the Heroic Age of Grecian history. These probably
originated in the pressure of the Illyrians, perhaps the ancestors of
the modern Albanians. The tribes west of the Pindus were always con-
sidered less Hellenic than those east of that range, and the Illyrian
element in that region was greater than the Grecian. The Trojan
War, if it actually occurred, may have been the result of Illyrian pres-
sure upon the Greek tribes ; and the Greeks may have sought a vent for
an overcrowded population in the most accessible portion of Asia
Minor. The same cause may have operated to produce the great
movement which began in Epirus about B. C. 1200, and which caused
a general migration of the populations of Northern and Central Hellas.
Starting from Thesprotia, in Epirus, the Thessalians crossed the Pin-
dus mountain-range, descended on the fertile valley of the Peneus,
drove out the Boeotians, and occupied the country. The Boeotians pro-
ceeded westward over Mounts Othrys and QEta into the plain of Cephis-
sus, drove out the Cadmeians and the Minyans, and seized the territory
which received its name from them. The Cadmeians and the Minyans
dispersed, and sought refuge in Attica, in Laconia, and in other parts
of Greece. The Dorians at the same time left their original seats and
overran Dryopis, to which they gave the name of Doris, and from
which they drove the Dryopians, who fled by sea, finding a refuge in
Euboea, in Cythnos, and in the Peloponnesus.
About B. C. 1100 another movement of Grecian tribes occurred.
The Dorians, overcrowded in the narrow valleys between Mounts CEta
and Parnassus, formed an alliance with their neighbors, the ^Etolians,
crossed the Corinthian Gulf at the narrowest point, between Rhium
and Antirrhium, and overspread the Peloponnesus, where they succes-
sively subdued Elis, Messenia, Laconia and Argolis. Elis was assigned
to the JEtolians, and Dorian kingdoms were established in Messenia,
Fortified
Cities,
Architec-
ture and
Other
Arts.
Tribal
Migra-
tions.
Return
of the
Heracli-
dse.
722
RISE OF GREECE.
Patriotic
Devotion
of
Codrus.
Greek
Migra-
tions to
the Isles,
to Asia
Minor and
Italy.
Lacoma and Argolis. The Achseans, who had previously occupied
these countries, partly yielded, and partly fled northward and settled
themselves on the northern coast of the Peloponnesus, expelling the
lonians, who found a temporary refuge in Attica. The conquest of
the Peloponnesus by the Dorians is known as The Return of the Her-
aclidce, because the Dorians claimed that they were recovering the
territories of their great ancestor, Heracles, who had been driven from
the Peloponnesian peninsula a century before.
About the year 1068 B. C., the Dorians invaded Attica and threat-
ened Athens. The Dorians having consulted the oracle of Delphi, were
told that they would conquer Athens if they did not kill Codrus, the
Athenian king. When Codrus was informed of the answer of the
Delphic oracle, he determined to sacrifice his life for his country ; and
going into the Dorian camp disguised in the dress of a peasant, he
provoked a quarrel with a Dorian soldier and suffered himself to be
killed. When the Dorians recognized the body as that of Codrus,
they retreated from Attica and gave up the contest in despair. Out
of respect to the memory of Codrus, the Athenians declared that no
one was worthy of succeeding him as King of Athens ; and abolishing
the monarchy altogether, established an aristocratic republic, the chie£
magistrates of which were called archons. These archons were at first
chosen for life from the family of Codrus. Afterwards they were
appointed for ten years, and still later a senate of archons was elected
annually.
These migrations and conquests led to other movements of Grecian
tribes. Finding themselves overcrowded in their small continental ter-
ritories of Greece proper, some of the Greeks settled in the islands of
the ^Egean Sea and on the western shores of Asia Minor. The Boeotian
conquest of the plain of the Cephissus led to the colonization of the
island of Lesbos, in the ^Egean Sea, and to the first and most northern
of the Greek settlements in Asia Minor, between the river Hermus and
the Hellespont, in the district of ^Eolis, where the ^olians founded
twelve cities, of which Mitylene, in the island of Lesbos, was the chief.
Many of the lonians, who had been driven from the northern coast of
the Peloponnesus, sojourned for a short time in Attica; after which
they passed on to the Cyclades, and thence to the islands of Chios and
Samos, and to the shores of Asia Minor directly opposite, between the
Hermus and the Meander, where they founded the twelve cities in the
district of Ionia. After being driven from the Peloponnesus by the
Dorians, many of the Achaeans migrated partly to Southern Italy, but
chiefly, under Doric leaders, to the islands of Cos and Rhodes, and to
the coast of Caria, in the South-west of Asia Minor, where they founded
the six cities of the Dorian Hexapolis.
GREEK DIVINITIES
Zeus
Athena
Dionysus
Hermes
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION. 733
SECTION III.— GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION.
ACCORDING to Grecian theogony first came Chaos, a shapeless and Grecian
formless mass of matter. This is the condition in which the Greek ™QQV
poets supposed the world to have existed before the Almighty power
brought the confused elements into order. Chaos was the consort of
Darkness; and from the union of the two sprang Terra, or Gaea, or
Earth, and Uranos, or Heaven. So the obscure fiction of the Grecian
poets coincides with the Hebrew account given by Moses as follows:
" And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light."
Gaea, or Earth, married Uranos, or Heaven. Their offspring were Titan and
Titan and Kronos, or Saturn, the god of time. Titan, the elder son, Kronos.
gave up his dominion to his brother Kronos, who thus became King
of Heaven and Earth. Kronos married his sister, Cybele, who was
also known as Rhea, or Ops. The reign of Kronos was called the
golden age. The earth yielded spontaneously subsistence for its popu-
lation, and war was unknown. All things were in common, and Astrea,
the goddess of justice, controlled the actions of men.
But Kronos had received his kingdom from Titan on condition that Warofthe
he would devour all his male children, which he solemnly promised to
do. His wife, Cybele, concealed from him Zeus, Poseidon and Pluto.
Titan and his giant half-brothers, the Titans, then made war on
Kronos. Each of the Titans had fifty heads and a hundred hands.
They dethroned Kronos and took him captive. His son Zeus then took
up arms, assembling his brothers and the other later gods on Mount
Olympus. The Titans collected their forces on Mount Othrys, oppo-
site Olympus, and the war of the gods commenced. After the war had
lasted ten years Zeus called the Cyclops to his aid, and also some pow-
erful giants whom he had released from captivity. These assisted
him in the war. Mount Olympus was now shaken to its foundation.
" The rea rose, the earth groaned, and the mighty forests trembled."
Zeus flung his mighty thunderbolts. The lightnings flashed, and the
woods blazed. The Titans attempted, in return, to storm the skies,
throwing massive oaks at the heavens, piling up the mountains upon
each other, and hurling them at Zeus. But Zeus flung the giants into
the abyss of the earth below, and being completely triumphant, he
released his father from captivity.
But Kronos was afterwards deposed by Zeus, and found refuge in Expul-
Italy, where he was highly honored, becoming King of Latium, the Kronos
region in which Rome was situated. He taught his subjects agri-
culture and other useful arts. Kronos was represented as an old man,
724
RISE OF GREECE.
The
Twelve
Great
Deities.
Their
Residence
on Mount
Olympus.
Zeus, the
Supreme
God.
bent with age and infirmity, and was regarded as the god of time. -In
his right hand he held a scythe, and in his left a child, which he was
on the point of devouring. By his side was a serpent biting his own
tail, being symbolical of time and of the revolution of the year. With
the expulsion of Kronos, the ancient gods were almost forgotten, and
" they seemed to retreat behind mysterious clouds and mist."
We come now to the twelve great deities — six gods and six god-
desses— who formed the council of the great gods on Mount Olympus,
presided over by Zeus. The six great gods of the Olympian council
were Zeus, called Jupiter, or Jove, in Latin, the supreme god ; Poseidon,
called Neptune in Latin, the god of the sea ; Apollo, the sun-god, and
the patron of music, poetry and eloquence ; Ares, called Mars in Latin,
the god of war; Hephaistos, called Vulcan in Latin, the god of fire
and blacksmiths; Hermes, called Mercury in Latin, the herald of the
gods, and the patron of commerce and wealth. The six great god-
desses of the same council were Here, called Juno in Latin, the great
goddess of nature, and the wife and sister of Zeus ; Athene, or Pallas,
called Minerva in Latin, the daughter of Zeus, and the goddess of civ-
ilization, learning and art; Artemis, called Diana in Latin, the moon-
goddess and the goddess of hunting, and the twin-sister of Apollo, the
sun-god ; Aphrodite, called Venus in Latin, the goddess of beauty and
love; Hestia, called Vesta in Latin, the goddess of domestic life;
Demeter, called Ceres in Latin, the goddess of corn and harvests.
The throne of Zeus was high on the summit of Olympus, which was
also the residence of the other great gods, by whom the affairs of
mortals are governed. This mountain summit was wrapped in clouds,
and the gods were thus veiled from the sight of mortals. Far above
these clouds, the Greeks supposed their deities to reside " in a region
of perpetual sunshine, far above and free from the storms of the
lower world." Communication was had with the earth by a gate of
clouds, guarded by the goddesses of the seasons. Each god had his
own dwelling, but was required to go to the palace of Zeus always
when summoned. " There they feasted on ambrosia and nectar, con-
versed upon the affairs of heaven and earth, and listened to the music
of Apollo's lyre and the songs of the Muses."
After becoming the supreme god, Zeus divided the dominion of the
universe with his brothers, Poseidon and Hades, reserving heaven for
himself and assigning the sea to Poseidon and the infernal regions
under the earth to Hades, or Pluto. Zeus was said to have been born
in Crete, or to have been sent there for concealment in infancy. The
Titans disturbed the peaceful beginning of his reign by hurling rocks
and heaping mountains upon mountains. They attempted to storm
the skies, so that the affrighted gods fled to Egypt to escape their fury.
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION. 735
With the aid of Heracles, Zeus conquered the Titans and hurled them
down into the abyss of the earth below. As the Greeks inconsistently
attribute all the passions and vices of human beings to the gods, they
frequently represent Zeus as resorting to the most unworthy artifices
to accomplish the basest designs. Everything but the decrees of
Fate was subject to him. The Greek poets describe Zeus as a majestic
personage, occupying a throne of gold and ivory, under a rich canopy,
wielding a thunderbolt in one hand, and in the other a scepter of
cypress. Whenever it thundered the Greeks believed that Zeus was
angry and was hurling his bolts. Whenever a cloud sailed over the sky
it was believed to be the chariot of Zeus. An eagle with expanded
wings sits at his feet or on his scepter. He is represented with a flowing
beard, with golden shoes and an embroidered cloak. The Cretans rep-
resented him without ears to signify impartiality.
" He, whose all conscious eyes the world behold,
Th' eternal thunderer, sits enthroned in gold;
High heaven the footstool of his feet he makes,
And wide beneath him all Olympus shakes."
Poseidon, the god of the sea, was the brother of Zeus, and the son Poseidon,
of Kronos and Rhea. Zeus conferred upon Poseidon the sovereignty g?*
of the sea. When the storms raged at sea and the billows rolled, the
Greeks believed that Poseidon was angry and was shaking his trident.
Poseidon was also supposed to manifest his rage in earthquakes.
Rivers, fountains and all waters were subject to him. With a blow
of his trident, he could cause islands to spring up from the bottom of
the sea. He was the god of all ships and of all maritime affairs. He
could raise dreadful storms which would swallow up vessels, but with a
word he could still the fury of the tempest and allay the violence of
the waves. During the Trojan War, Poseidon sat upon the top of a
woody mountain, in the isle of Samos, and gazed upon the conflict.
Seeing the Trojans victorious, his anger was aroused against Zeus.
He at once arose and came down from the mountain, which trembled
as he walked. He crossed the horizon in three steps, and with the
fourth step he reached his place in the depths of the sea. He then
mounted his chariot, and drove so rapidly over the waves that the water
scarcely touched the brazen axle of his chariot. The whales and sea-
monsters all rose to do him honoj. The waves shook with fear, and
receded respectfully as he passed along. Poseidon desired to marry
Amphitrite and sent a dolphin to persuade her to become his wife.
Amphitrite was the daughter of Oceanus and Hatys. To reward the
dolphin for obtaining Amphitrite's consent, Poseidon placed that fish
among the stars, and it became a constellation in the heavens. Posei-
RISE OF GREECE.
don was represented as a majestic god, having a grim and angry
aspect. He had black hair and blue eyes, and wore a blue mantle.
He sat erect in his chariot. He held his trident in his right hand. He
sometimes supported his wife, Amphitrite, in his left. His chariot was
a large shell, drawn by dolphins or sea-horses. He was very gener-
ally worshiped. The Libyans regarded him as the most powerful of
all the gods. The famous Isthmian Games were founded in his honor
by the Greeks. He was the father of Proteus and of Triton.
Apollo, Apollo, the Sun-God, was the son of Zeus and Latona and brother
Sun-god °f the goddess Artemis. He was born in the island of Delos, whither
his mother had fled to avoid the jealousy of Here, the wife and sister of
Zeus. He was the god of all the fine arts, and the inventor of medicine,
music, poetry and eloquence. He presided over the Muses, and pos-
sessed the power of looking into futurity. His oracles were renowned
throughout the world among the ancients. Apollo destroyed all of the
Cyclops, who had forged the thunderbolts with which Zeus slew yEscu-
lapius, the son of Apollo. Zeus banished him from heaven for this
act, and deprived him of his divinity. During his exile he hired him-
self as a shepherd to Admetus, King of Thessaly, on which account he
is called the god of shepherds. He raised the walls of Troy by the
music of his harp, and destroyed the serpent Python with the arrows
he shot from his bow. Apollo, as the Sun-God, was called Sol by
the Latins. He is represented as a graceful youth, having long hair,
and with a laurel crown upon his head, a bow and arrows in one hand
and a lyre in the other. His head is usually surrounded with beams
of light. His most famous oracle was that of Delphi. He often
dwelt with the Muses on Mount Parnassus.
Ares, Ares was the god of war, and the son of Zeus and Here. He was
^a° educated by the god Prispus, who instructed him in all manly exercises.
He did not have many temples in Greece, but the warlike Romans
bestowed on him great honors, as Mars. The wolf is consecrated to
Ares for his rapacity, the dog for his vigilance in pursuing prey, the
cock for his watchfulness, and the raven because he feeds on the car-
casses of the slain. He is represented as an old man, with a fierce
countenance, and armed with a helmet, a pike and a shield. He sits
in a chariot drawn by furious horses, called Flight and Terror by the
Greek poets. His sister, Bellona, the goddess of war, conducts his
chariot. Discord, in a tattered garment, holding a torch in his hand,
goes before them, while Clamor and Anger follow.
Hephais- Hephaistos was the son of Here. He was the god of fire, and the
of We. patron of all those who worked in iron or other metals. He received
his education in heaven. Zeus became angry at him and hurled him
from Mount Olympus. He fell on the island of Lemnos, and was
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION. 737
maimed thereafter. He established his abode on that island, erected
for himself a palace, and built forges to work metals. He forged
the thunderbolts for Zeus, also the arms for the gods and demi-gods.
He made the golden chambers in which the gods resided, and also their
seats and their council-table, which came moving itself from the sides
of the apartment. Hephaistos created Pandora, whom the Greeks
believed to have been the first woman, of clay. When she had been
endowed with life, all the gods presented her with precious gifts ; and
Zeus gave her a beautiful box, which she was to give to the man who
became her husband. Pandora carried the box to Prometheus, who
refused to receive it. Thereupon she married Epimethus. When
the box which she presented to her husband was opened, a vast number
of evils and distempers issued forth from it, dispersing themselves over
the world, where they have remained ever since. Only Hope remained
at the bottom of the box, thus enabling the human race to bear its sor-
rows and afflictions with resignation and fortitude. Hephaistos became
reconciled to his parents, and was restored to his place on Mount
Olympus. The other gods constantly laughed at his lameness and
deformity. He married Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. His
forges were supposed to be under Mount JStna, in Sicily, and actually
in all parts of the world where there were volcanoes. A temple to his
honor was erected on Mount ^Etna, and was guarded by dogs, who had
such an acute sense of smelling that they were able to distinguish the
virtuous from the wicked among the visitors to the temple. The ser-
vants of Hephaistos were called Cyclops. They had only one eye,
which was in the middle of the forehead. They were of immense
stature. He likewise had a son named Polyhemus, King of all the
Cyclops in Sicily, who, like them, had one eye. He fed on human
flesh. When Ulysses visited Sicily with twelve of his companions,
Polyhemus seized them and confined them in his cave, devouring two
of them at a meal. Finally Ulysses made the monster intoxicated with
wine, put out his eye with a fire-brand, and escaped. Hephaistos is
generally represented at his anvil, with all his tools about him, forging
a thunderbolt, with a hammer and pincers in his hand. His forehead
is represented as blackened with smoke, his arms are nervous and mus-
cular, his beard is long, and his hair disheveled. He was considered
the god of blacksmiths.
Hermes was the son of Zeus, and of Maia, the daughter of Atlas. Hermes,
He was born upon Mount Cyllene in Arcadia; and in his infancy he g^|e^e
was assigned the care of the seasons. He was the messenger of the Gods,
gods, more particularly of Zeus. He was the patron of travelers and
shepherds. He showed the souls of the dead the way into the infernal
regions. He presided over merchants and orators, and likewise over
2-4
728
RISE OF GREECE.
Here,
Wife and
Sister of
Zeus.
Athene,
Goddess
of
Wisdom.
thieves and all dishonest persons. He invented letters and excelled in
eloquence. He first taught the arts of buying, selling and trading.
On the very day that he was born he displayed his thievish propen-
sity by stealing the cattle of Admetus, which Apollo tended. The
divine shepherd bent his bow against him, but Hermes meanwhile stole
his quiver and arrows. He afterwards robbed Poseidon of his trident,
Aphrodite of her girdle, Ares of his sword, Zeus of his scepter, and
Hephaistos of mechanical instruments. He is represented as an old
man, with a cheerful countenance. He is likewise represented with
wings fastened to his cap and his sandals. He holds in his hand the
caduceus, or rod, intwined with two serpents. He could awaken those
who were asleep, or put those awake to sleep by a touch cf his wand.
Here, the queen of heaven, was the wife and sister of Zeus, and the
daughter of Kronos, and of Rhea, or Ops. She was born in the isle
of Samos, where she resided until her marriage with Zeus. Her chil-
dren were Hephaistos, Ares and Hebe. The nuptials of Zeus and
Here were celebrated with the greatest solemnity. All the inhabitants
of heaven and earth were spectators. The nymph Chelone refused
to attend, whereupon Hermes changed her into a tortoise, and con-
demned her to everlasting silence. The Greek poets represent Here
with a majesty fully becoming her rank as queen of the skies. Her
aspect is a combination of all that is lofty, graceful and magnificent.
Her jealousy of Zeus, her brother and husband, and her occasional
disputes with him, caused constant confusion in heaven. Zeus sus-
pended her from the skies by a golden chain, because of her cruel treat-
ment of Heracles. When Hephaistos came to her aid, Zeus kicked
him from heaven, and his leg was broken by the fall. The worship
of Here was the most solemn and universal of all the Grecian divinities.
Her most renowned temples were at Argos and Olympia. Her attend-
ant and messenger was Iris, the rainbow. Here is represented as seated
on a throne, or in a golden chariot drawn by peacocks. She holds a
scepter in her hand, and wears a crov/n of diamonds, encircled with
roses and lilies. Her daughter Hebe, the goddess of youth and health,
attends upon her. Hebe was the cup-bearer of Zeus, but was dis-
charged from office on account of having fallen down while pouring
out nectar for the gods at a solemn festival. Ganymede was appointed
in her place.
Athene was tre goddess of wisdom, and is said to have sprung from
the brain of Zeus, fully grown and completely armed. She was at once
received into the assembly of the great Olympian deities, and became
the faithful counselor of Zeus. She ranked as the most accomplished
of all the goddesses. Athene invented the art of spinning, and is
often represented with a distaff in her hand, instead of a spear.
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION.
Arachne, the daughter of a dyer, was so skillful in working with the
needle that she challenged Athene to a trial of skill. The work of
Arachne was very elegant, but it did not rival that of the goddess. In
despair, Arachne hanged herself, and Athene changed her into a
spider. The great goddess Athene's countenance was usually more
indicative of masculine firmness than of grace or softness. She was
arrayed in complete armor, with a golden helmet, a glittering crest, and
a nodding plume. She wore a golden breast-plate. She held a lance
in her right hand. In her left hand she held a shield, on which was
placed the dying head of Medusa, with serpents around it. Her eyes
were azure blue. An olive crown was entwined around her helmet.
Her principal emblems were the cock, the owl, the basilisk and the
distaff. She was worshiped universally, but her most splendid temples
were in the Acropolis, the citadel of Athens. One of these temples was
the Parthenon, which was built of the purest white marble. In this
edifice was the statue of Athene, made of gold and ivory. It was
twenty-six cubits high, and was regarded as one of the master-pieces
of Phidias. The ruins of this temple are still seen at Athens, and are
admired by every beholder.
Artemis was the goddess of hunting. She was the daughter of Zeus
and Latona, and was the twin-sister of Apollo. She was worshiped on
earth under the name of Artemis, but was called Luna in heaven, and
was invoked in Tartarus as Hecate. Artemis avoided the society of
men, and retired to the woods, accompanied by sixty Oceanides, daugh-
ters of Oceanus, a powerful sea-god, and by twenty other nymphs, of
whom every one, like herself, had resolved never to marry. Artemis,
armed with a golden bow and lighted by a torch kindled by the light-
nings of Zeus, led her nymphs through the dark forests and the woody
mountains, in pursuit of the swift stag. The high mountains were
said to tremble at the twang of her bow, and the forests were said to
resound with the panting of the wounded deer. After the chase Arte-
mis would hasten to Delphi, the residence of her brother, Apollo, and
hang her bow and quiver upon his altar. At Delphi she would lead
forth a chorus of Muses and Graces, and unite with them in singing
praises to her mother, Latona. Chione, a nymph whom Apollo loved,
boldly spoke with scorn of the beauty of Artemis; whereupon the
offended goddess drew her bow and discharged an arrow through the
nymph's tongue, thus cruelly silencing her. CEneus, a king of Caly-
don, sacrificed the first fruits of his fields and orchards to the gods,
but he neglected to make any offering to Artemis ; whereupon she sent
a fierce wild boar to ravage his entire vineyard. Artemis was repre-
sented as very tall and beautiful, and attired as a huntress, with a bow
in one hand, a quiver of arrows hung across her shoulders, her feet
Artemis,
Goddess
of
Hunting.
730
RISE OF GREECE.
covered with buskins, and a bright silver crescent on her forehead. She
was also sometimes described as sitting in a silver chariot, drawn by
hinds. The emblem of Artemis was the bright moon, which cast her
light over the hills and the forests. Endymion, an astronomer, was
said to pass the night on some lofty mountain, viewing the moon and
the heavenly bodies. This gave rise to the ancient fable representing
Artemis, or the moon, descending from heaven to visit the shepherd
Endymion. The temple of Artemis at Ephesus was classed as one of
The Seven Wonders of the World. A man named Erostratus, desiring
to make his name immortal, even by some bad act, set fire to this mag-
nificent edifice, which was thus burned to the ground.
Aphro- Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty, of laughter, grace
Goddess an(^ pleasure. She is said to have risen from the froth of the sea,
of Love near the island of Cyprus. The Zephyrs wafted her to the shore,
Beauty, where she was received by the Seasons, the daughters of Zeus and
Themis. Flowers bloomed at her feet as she walked, and the rosy
Hours attired her in divine apparel. When she was conveyed to
heaven, the gods, struck with her beauty, all hastened to marry her;
but Zeus betrothed her to Hephaistos, the ugliest of all the deities and
the most deformed. Aphrodite's power was aided by a famous girdle
called zone by the Greeks, and cestus by the Latins. It possessed the
power of giving grace, beauty and elegance to the wearer of it. Eris,
goddess of discord, in revenge for not having received an invitation
to the marriage of Peleus, King of Thessaly, with a sea-nymph, named
Thetis, who afterwards became the mother of Achilles, threw into the
assembly a golden apple, on which was written : " For the fairest."
Here, Athene and Aphrodite all claimed this as their own. As these
three goddesses were unable to decide the dispute, they referred the
matter to the decision of Paris, a young shepherd, who was feeding
his flocks upon Mount Ida. Here offered him a kingdom ; Athene, mili-
tary glory ; and Aphrodite, the most beautiful woman in the world for
his wife. Paris decided that the golden apple belonged to Aphrodite.
In pursuance of Aphrodite's promise, Paris afterwards got posses-
sion of Helen, the wife of Menelaiis, King of Sparta, causing the
Trojan War. Adonis, the son of the King of Cyprus, being killed
by a wild boar, Aphrodite mourned his sad death, and changed his
blood, which was shed on the ground, into the flower anemone. Upon
hearing his dying voice, she hastened to his aid. In doing so, she
accidentally ran a thorn into her foot, and the blood which flowed
therefrom upon a rose changed the color of that flower from white to
red. Aphrodite then prayed to Zeus that Adonis might be restored to
life for six months every year — a prayer which was granted. The
rose, the myrtle and the apple were sacred to Aphrodite, as were such
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION.
781
birds as the dove, the swan and the sparrow. Aphrodite was some-
times, described as traversing the heavens in an ivory chariot, drawn by
doves. She was attired in a purple mantle, glittering with diamonds,
and was bound around the waist by the zone. Her doves were har-
nessed with a light golden chain. Her son, Eros — in Latin, Cupid —
and a train of doves fluttered around her chariot on wings of silk. The
three Graces, Aglaia, Thalia and Euphrosyne, attended her. On
another occasion Aphrodite was carried through the ocean in a shell,
her head being crowned with roses, while Cupids, Nereids and Dolphins
sported around her. She was represented as perfectly beautiful and
graceful, her countenance being expressive of gentleness and gayety.
Aphrodite had many temples, the most famous being those at Paphos,
Cythera, Idalia and Cnidus.
Demeter, the goddess of corn and of harvests, was the daughter of
Kronos and Rhea. Demeter was the mother of Persephone, or Proser-
pine, who was carried off by Pluto, the god of the infernal regions, or
Hades, while she was gathering flowers in Enna, a beautiful valley in
Sicily. When Demeter discovered that her daughter was missing, she
sought her all over Sicily, and at night she lighted two torches by the
flames of Mount ^Etna, to enable her to continue her search. She
finally met the nymph Arethusa, who informed her that Pluto had car-
ried off her daughter. Thereupon Demeter flew to heaven in a chariot
drawn by two dragons, and implored Zeus to order that her daughter
be restored to her. Zeus consented to do this, provided Proserpine had
not eaten anything in Pluto's dominions. Demeter then hastened to
Pluto, but Proserpine had unfortunately eaten the grains of a pome-
granate which she had gathered in the Elysian fields, and could not
therefore return to earth. But Zeus, moved with compassion for the
grief of Demeter, allowed Proserpine to pass six months of every year
with her mother. When Demeter was searching for her daughter, she
became weary with traveling, and stopping at the cottage of an old
woman named Baubo, begged for a little water. The old woman gave
her water and barley broth. Demeter eagerly commenced to eat the
broth. Stellio, the little son of Baubo, scoffed at the goddess, where-
upon Demeter threw some of the broth into his face, and the little boy
was changed into a lizard. After these occurrences, upon returning
to earth, Demeter discovered that it had suffered greatly in her absence,
from want of tillage. Attica, especially, had become very barren and
desolate. Celeus, King of Eleusis, in Attica, had a son named Trip-
tolemus, whom Demeter instructed in the arts of agriculture, in return
for the hospitable reception given her by Celeus during her journey.
She taught him to plough, to sow and to reap, to make bread and to
rear fruit trees. She then made him a present of a chariot drawn by
VOL. 3.— 3
Demeter,
Goddess
of Agri-
culture.
732 RISE OF GREECE.
flying dragons, and sent him to teach agriculture to mankind. Men
then fed upon acorns and roots, but Triptolemus instructed them to
sow their fields with wheat, which Demeter had given him. The god-
dess Demeter is represented as tall in stature and majestic in appear-
ance. Her golden hair is encircled with a wreath of corn. She holds a
sickel in her right hand, and a lighted torch in her left. There were
numerous magnificent temples erected to Demeter, and many festivals
were held in her honor. In the spring the husbandman offered sacrifices
to this goddess, and also oblations of wine, milk and honey. The most
famous of all the festivals in honor of Demeter were those celebrated at
Eleusis. These were called the Eleusinian Mysteries, because of the
secrecy with which they were conducted, and will be fully described
farther on in this section.
Hestia. Hestia, the household goddess, was the daughter of Kronos and
Rhea. She presided over the domestic hearth. Her worship was intro-
duced into Italy by ^Eneas, a famous Trojan prince, and her rites at
Rome varied somewhat with those of Greece, and as Vesta, the house-
hold goddess, she was dear to every Roman heart.
Inferior Besides the twelve great gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus,
there is a large number of other deities, infernal, marine and terrestrial.
There were divinities inhabiting every field, forest and river; and
all nature was believed to be working through a number of personal
agents.
Eros, God Eros, the son of Aphrodite, and the god if love, is represented as a
ve* beautiful boy, with wings, a bow and arrows, and usually a bandage
over his eyes. He has wings, which denoted his caprice and his desire
for change. He is described as blind, to show that we do not see the
faults of those we love.
Amphi- Amphitrite, the wife of Poseidon, in her chariot ride in the sea may
Wife of ke described thus : Several dolphins appeared, whose scales seemed gold
Poseidon, and azure; they swelled the waves, and made them foam with their
sporting; after them came tritons, blowing their curved shells; they
surrounded Amphitrite's chariot, drawn by sea-horses that were whiter
than snow, and which ploughed the briny waves, and left a deep furrow
behind them in the sea; their eyes flamed, and foam issued from their
mouths as they moved on. Amphitrite's car was a shell of marvelous
form ; it was of a more shining white than ivory ; its wheels were of
gold, and it seemed to skim the surface of the peaceful waters.
Nymphs, crowned with flowers, whose lovely tresses flowed over their
shoulders, and waved with the winds, swam in shoals behind the car of
this lovely goddess. Amphitrite had, in one hand, a scepter of gold,
to command the waves ; and, with the other, held on her knees the little
god Palemon, her son, who hung at her breast. Her countenance was
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION.
733
serene and mild, but an air of majesty repressed every seditious wind
and lowering tempest. Tritons guided the steeds, and held the golden
reins. An immense purple sail waved in the air above the car, and was
gently swelled by a multitude of little Zephyrs, who strove to blow it
forward with their breath. In the midst of the air, ^Eolus appeared
busy, restless and vehement ; his wrinkled face and sour looks, his threat-
ening voice, his long bushy eyebrows, his eyes full of gloomy fire and
severity, silenced the fierce north winds, and drove back every cloud.
Immense whales and all the monsters of the deep issued in haste from
their profound grottoes to view the goddess.
Triton was the son of Posiedon and Amphitrite, and was his father's
trumpeter. He is described as half man and half fish, and is usually
represented as blowing a shell. He was a very powerful marine god,
and was able to raise storms at sea and calm them at his pleasure.
Oceanus was an ancient sea-god, the son of Kronos and Rhea. When
Zeus was King of Heaven, he deprived Oceanus of his dominion, and
conferred it upon his brother, Poseidon. Oceanus married Thethys, a
name sometimes used in poetry to signify the sea. He had three thou-
sand children, and was the father of rivers. He is described as an
old man, having a long flowing beard, and sitting upon the waves of
the sea. He held a pike in his hand, and a sea-monster stood beside
him. The ancients prayed to him very solemnly before they started
on any voyage.
Nereus was the son of Oceanus. He married Doris, and was the
father of fifty sea-nymphs, called Nereides. He lived mainly in the
^Egean Sea, and was represented as an old man, having azure hair. He
was able to predict future events. He was frequently represented with
his daughters, the Nereides, dancing around him in chorus.
Hades — in Latin called Pluto — was the chief deity of the infernal
regions, Hades, the dark and gloomy regions under the earth. He was
King of Hell, Hades, or Tartarus, and the son of Kronos and Rhea.
None of the goddesses would marry him on account of the gloominess
and sadness of the infernal regions, which were his abode, and he there-
fore resolved to obtain one by force. He carried away Persephone, or
Proserpine, whom he saw gathering flowers with her companions in
Sicily, driving up to her in his black chariot with coal black horses,
compelling her to go with him, notwithstanding all her bitter tears.
Vainly did the young nymph Cyone endeavor to stop the snorting
horses, as Pluto struck the ground with his scepter, whereupon the
earth suddenly opened, and the chariot and horses descended through
the opening with Pluto and Persephone, the latter becoming the Queen
of Hell, or the infernal regions. Black victims, especially black bulls,
were sacrificed to Pluto. The blood of the slaughtered animals was
Triton.
Oceanus.
Werceus.
Hades,
King of
Hell.
His Wife
Perse-
phone.
764
RISE OF GREECE.
sprinkled upon the ground, so that it could penetrate to the infernal
regions. The melancholy cypress tree was sacred to this gloomy god,
as were likewise the narcissus and the white daffodil, because Persephone
was gathering these when she was carried off by Pluto. Pluto was rep-
resented as seated upon a throne of sulphur, with a crown of cypress.
The three-headed dog Cerberus kept watch at his feet. His wife Per-
sephone sat on his left hand. He held a key to signify that when he
receives the dead into his kingdom he has the gates locked, so that they
can never again return to life.
Plutus, Plutus was the god of riches. He was the son of Jason and
Riches. Demeter. He is represented as blind and injudicious, thus showing
that wicked men often acquire wealth, while good men continue
in poverty. He is described as being lame, thus showing that riches
are accumulated slowly. He was said to be timid and fearful, thus
representing the care with which men guard their treasures. His
wings signify how quickly riches may be lost.
Somnus, Somnus, the god of sleep, was the son of Erebus and Nox. His
Sleep palace was a dark cave, where the sun never penetrated. Poppies grew
at the entrance to the cave, and Somnus himself was believed to be
always asleep upon a bed of feathers, having black curtains. Dreams
passed in and out through the two gates of his palace. Morpheus was
his chief minister.
leto. We will now notice the terrestrial deities. Leto — Latona in Latin —
daughter of Phoebe and of Corus the Titan, had once been a celestial
goddess, but her wonderful beauty caused her to be admired by all the
gods, especially by Zeus. This aroused the jealousy of Here, who
caused Leto -to be cast out of heaven and sent the serpent Python to
persecute her. Leto wandered from one place to another. The
heavens refused to again receive her. The earth refused her a resting-
place, for fear of arousing the anger of Here. The serpent Python
continually haunted her and affrighted her with his terrors. Finally
Poseidon was moved with pity for the outcast goddess. The little
island of Delos, which had thus far wandered about the JEgean Sea,
sometimes appearing above and sometimes below the waters, became
suddenly stationary when struck by Poseidon's trident, whereupon Leto
flew there in the shape of a quail ; and there her children, Apollo and
Artemis, were born. Still Here persecuted her, so that Leto was
obliged to fly from Delos. She traveled over most of the world, and
finally arrived at the country of Lycia, in Asia Minor, where she wan-
dered about the fields in the intense heat of the sun. Becoming faint
and dizzy, she joyfully ran towards a spring which she saw in a cool
valley ; but when she knelt down before the spring to quench her thirst
with the cool water, some rude peasants drove her away. Leto earnestly
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION.
begged mercy of them, but the cruel peasants were unmoved by her
entreaties. Leto turned around as she left the valley and called upon
Zeus to punish the unmerciful peasants, whereupon they were at once
all changed into frogs.
Dionysos — in Latin called Bacchus — was the god of wine and drunk- Djonysos,
ards. He was supposed to be an ancient conqueror and lawgiver.. Wine.
He was born in Egypt, and was educated at Nysa in Arabia.
He taught the culture of the grape, the art of making wine
from the juice of the grape, and also the way of making honey.
He conquered India and other countries. He first taught nations
the uses of commerce and merchandise, the art of navigation, and
the method of tilling the soil. He founded cities, instituted wise
laws, civilized many savage and barbarous tribes and nations, and
taught them the worship of the gods and goddesses. In his youth
some pirates who found him asleep in the island of Naxos, struck with
his beauty, carried him off in their ship, intending to sell him as a slave.
When Dionysos awoke he pretended to weep, to test the mercy of his
captors, but they laughed at his distress, whereupon the ship at once
stood still on the waters. Vines sprang up, twining their branches
around the oars, the masts and the sails. The youthful god waved a
spear, whereupon tigers, panthers and lynxes surrounded the ship. The
astonished and affrighted pirates sprang into the sea, and were imme-
diately changed into dolphins, with the single exception of the pilot,
who had manifested some interest in the fate of Dionysos on this occa-
sion. Grateful to Midas, King of Phrygia, for some service rendered
him, Dionysos offered the king whatever he desired. Midas wished that
everything which he touched might be converted into gold, but soon
discovered that he had made a foolish request, as even his food and
drink were changed into gold. The fir, the ivy, the fig and the pine
were consecrated to Dionysos ; and goats were sacrificed to him, because
of that animal's propensity to destroy the vine. This god is sometimes
represented as an effeminate youth, and sometimes as an aged man.
He is crowned with leaves of the ivy and the vine. He holds in one
hand a javelin with an iron head, encircled with leaves of the ivy and
the vine. He is seated in a chariot drawn by tigers and lions, and
sometimes by panthers and lynxes ; his guard being riotous demons,
nymphs and satyrs. The festivals of Dionysos were celebrated with
drunken riots and excesses. The priestesses, styled Bacchanates, ran
wild upon the mountains, with disheveled hair, and with torches in their
hands, rending the air with their frenzied shouts, and chanting hymns
in praise of Dionysos. During the celebration of these Bacchanalian
rites, the people ran about the city in masks, or with wine-washed faces.
736
RISE OF GREECE.
Niobe.
Eos,
Goddess
of the
Morning.
Pan,
God of
Shep-
herds and
Hunts-
men.
Niobe was the daughter of Totalus, and the wife of Amphion, King
of Thebes. She was very proud of her fourteen beautiful children.
She indiscreetly cast off Latona, and said that she herself had a better
right to altars and sacrifices. Thereupon Latona asked her children,
Apollo and Artemis, to punish the proud Niobe. Apollo and Artemis
obeyed their mother and armed themselves with bows and arrows.
Niobe's sons were pierced with Apollo's darts, and her daughters were
destroyed by Artemis. The unfortunate Niobe, bereft of her children,
wandered into the wilderness, weeping bitterly. The gods had com-
passion on her and changed her into a stone. Latona was worshiped at
Argos and Delos, and her children received divine honors, being admitted
into the council of the great deities on Mount Olympus.
Eos — in Latin called Aurora — was the goddess of the morning, the
sister of Apollo and Artemis, and the mother of the stars and the winds.
She was the daughter of Gaea, or Earth, and Titan, or, according to
some, of Hyperion and Thea. She married Astraeus, son of the Titans.
The Greek poets represent her as seated in a golden chariot, drawn by
horses as white as snow. A bright star is seen sparkling upon her fore-
head. She opens the gates of the east with her rosy fingers, lifts the
dark veil of night, and sprinkles dew upon the grass and flowers. The
stars disappear on her approach, well knowing that the rosy clouds
surrounding her announce the coming of her great brother, Apollo, or
the sun. This fair goddess also married Tithonus, a Trojan prince,
who prayed her to give him immortality. The goddess procured this
precious gift for Tithonus, but forgot to ask for the vigor, youth and
beauty which could only render immortal life desirable. Consequently
Tithonus became old and feeble. Becoming tired of life, he prayed
Eos to let him die. Unable to grant this prayer, the goddess changed
him into a grasshopper. The Greeks regarded this insect as singu-
larly happy and long-lived.
Pan was the god of shepherds and huntsmen, and the most renowned
of all the rural deities. He was born in Arcadia, and was the son of
Hermes. Dryope, an Arcadian nymph, was usually regarded as his
mother. Pan invented the pastoral flute, with seven tubes, which he
called Syrinx, whereupon a nymph so named and whom he loved fled
from him, and was changed into a bundle of reeds by the gods. All
strange noises heard in lonely places were ascribed to Pan, for which
reason fear without cause is called a panic. Pan was represented as a
grotesque monster, half man and half beast, having a long beard, and
the horns, legs and feet of a goat. His complexion was ruddy, and
his head was crowned with pine. He held a staff in one hand, and a
pipe of reeds in the other. The nymphs danced around him, and the
gods were cheered by his music. He taught the art of music to Apollo.
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION.
737
Flora was the goddess of flowers and gardens. She was described
as a beautiful female who was possessed of perpetual youth. She wore
a crown of flowers, and her robe was covered with garlands of roses,
while she held a cornucopia, or horn of plenty.
Pomona was the goddess of fruit-trees, and is represented in the
bloom of health and beauty, decorated with the blossoms of fruit-trees,
and holding a branch loaded with apples in one hand.
Comus was the god of revelry and feasting. He presided over enter-
tainments, and was generally represented as a young and drunken man,
sometimes having a torch in one hand, sometimes a mask. Though
standing upright, he seemed more asleep than awake, except when he
was excited. During his festivals, men and women frequently ex-
changed dresses with each other.
Momus was the god of pleasantry and folly, and was born of Night
and Sleep. He constantly laughed at the other gods and ridiculed
them, for which reason they finally drove him from heaven.
^Eolus was the god of the winds. He resided in one of the JEolian
islands, which were named in his honor. He could foretell winds and
tempests long before their appearance, and was able to raise and con-
trol them. When Ulysses visited ^Eolus in his island, this god gave him
a bag in which were tied up all the contrary winds, so that they might
not prevent his safe passage. The companions of Ulysses opened this
bag to see what is contained, whereupon the winds rushed out, destroy-
ing the entire fleet, except the ship which carried Ulysses. ^Eolus was
supposed to have been a skillful astronomer and natural philosopher,
and to have invented sails, for which reason the Greek poets called him
the god of the winds. He was believed to show his anger in storms
and tempests. The mild goddess Zephyr manifested herself in gentle
breezes. Iris showed her presence in the rainbow. Hebe was the celes-
tial cupbearer.
Astrea was the goddess of justice. She was sometimes called the
daughter of Themis, and at other times she was confounded with
Themis herself ; Themis being the daughter of Uranos, or Heaven, and
Gaea, or Earth. Astrea dwelt upon earth in the golden age, but the
wickedness and impiety of men drove her to heaven. She was rep-
resented as stern and majestic in appearance. In one hand she held a
balance, in which she weighed the actions of men, the good actions on
one side of the scales and the bad on the other. She wielded a sword
in the other hand to punish the wicked. She had a bandage over her
eyes, to show that she would listen impartially to persons of every rank
and condition.
Terminus was the god of boundaries, and his duty was to see that
no one encroached upon his neighbor's land. His image was a stone
Flora.
Pomona.
Comus.
Momus.
.Solus
God of
Winds.
Zephyr,
Iris,
Hebe.
Astrea,
Goddess
of Justice.
Termi-
nus,
God of
Bound-
aries.
788
RISE OF GREECE.
Nemesis,
Goddess
of Ven-
geance.
Innumer-
able
Deities.
The
Dryads,
Hama-
dryads,
Oreads,
Naids,
Satyrs,
Fauns.
The
Hereides.
The
Muses.
head, having no feet or arms, to show that he constantly remained
where he was stationed, never to be removed.
Nemesis was the goddess of vengeance. She was the daughter of
Nox and Oceanus. She rewarded virtue and punished vice. In Attica
there was a famous statue of Nemesis, sculptured by Phidias.
The Greeks believed all nature to be filled with an innumerable num-
ber of invisible deities. They supposed the dark grove, the shady vale,
the cool rivulet, and every solitary scene to be the haunt of half divine
beings, " more beautiful than mortals, less sacred than the gods." So
it was that in the depth of the gloomy forests lived the Dryads. The
Hamadryad was born, lived and died with the oak. The Oread roamed
over the mountains, pursuing the swift stag, or the young Naiad leaned
upon her urn, while bending over the cool fountain reflecting her divine
image. It was believed that the shepherd in wandering through Arca-
dia's shady groves imagined these invisible beings all around him.
Their soft voices were heard in the rustling of the leaves or in the bab-
bling brook. The hunter in pursuing the deer over the lonely moun-
tains supposed the fleet Oread bounding past him with bow and quiver
and joining the train of the huntress queen. It was thought that the
discordant laugh of the half -human Satyr and the mocking Faun were
heard beside the lonely rock, in the dark and gloomy recess. The
superstitious peasant imagined that he saw bands of these strange
beings dancing under the branches of the oak, with mocking features
and with human bodies and the horns and feet of goats.
Half divine and half human creatures filled every river, grove and
dale. The quiet sea-shores were populated with the green-haired
Nereides, or sea-nymphs, who usually abode in the grottoes and rocky
caves by the coast, where altars were smoking in their honor, and
where offerings of oil, milk and honey were laid by the mariner, who
came to solicit their favor and protection. Their light forms were
seen gliding along the shore with coral and pearls sparkling in their
long tresses, and plunging into the blue waters to attend Amphitrite's
car when Triton blew a blast upon his silver shell.
The Muses were nine sisters, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, and
these were respectively named Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpo-
mene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia and Urania. Calliope was the
Muse of eloquence and heroic poetry ; Clio, of history ; Erato, of elo-
quence or lyric poetry ; Euterpe, of music ; Melpomene, of tragedy ;
Polyhymnia, of singing and rhetoric ; Terpsichore, of dancing ; Thah'a,
of pastoral or comic poetry ; and Urania, of astronomy and hymns, and
sacred subjects. The Muses chiefly resided on Mounts Parnassus, Pin-
dus and Helicon. The Castalian spring was on the descent of Mount
Parnassus. On Mount Helicon were the fountains of Aganippe and
THE NORNS OR FATES
From the Painting by P. Thumann
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION. 7gg
Hippocrene, the latter gushing forth below the hoof of the winged
horse Pegasus, a deified monster. The Muses were universally wor-
shiped by the Greeks. Every poet began his lays by solemnly invoking
the whole nine of them. They were specially esteemed among the
Thespians.
The Graces were three sisters, daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, a The
sea-nymph ; and their respective names were Aglaia, Thalia and Euphro-
syne. They surrounded the throne of Zeus on Mount Olympus, and
constantly attended Aphrodite, a^ beauty necessarily always accom-
panied grace. Temples and altars were erected to the honor of the
Graces in every place occupied by the Hellenic race, and their dominion
was recognized in heaven and earth. They were represented as young
and dressed lightly, in a dancing attitude, with their hands joined.
The Hours, children of Zeus and Themis, sometimes mingled with them
in chorus.
The Sirens were three sea-nymphs, daughters of the Muse Melpo- The
mene and the river Achelous. Their faces were like those of beautiful
women, but their bodies were like those of flying fishes. They dwelt
near the promontory of Pelorus, in Sicily, where their sweet voices
allured to sleep all who passed by, after which they took them from the
ship and drowned them in the sea and devoured them.
The Furies, or Eumenides, three in number and named respectively The
Tisiphone, Megaera and Alecto, were said to have sprung from the F*ines-
wound given by Kronos to his father, Uranos. They punished the
guilty in this world by pursuing them with the pangs of remorse, and
in the infernal regions by perpetual torture and flagellation. They
were universally worshiped, but every one was afraid to pronounce their
names or to look upon their temple. Turtle doves and sheep, with
branches of cedar and hawthorne, were offered to them. They had the
faces of women, but these were grim and terrible. Their black apparel
was spotted with blood. They held lighted torches, daggers, and whips
of scorpions. Snakes were twining around their heads and lashing
their necks and shoulders.
The three Fates, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, were daughters of The
Nox and Erebus, and their power was exceedingly great, as they were
entrusted with the management of the fatal thread of life. Clotho
drew the thread between her fingers. Lachesis turned the wheel.
Atropos cut the spun thread with a pair of scissors. Their decrees
were irrevocable. They were usually described as three old women, The
dressed in white ermine robes, having purple borders. They wore L?Jes» "*
chaplets of wool, interwoven with the flowers of the narcissus. the
The Lares, or Penates, were household gods, presiding over hospi- T°[|°nS>
tality. Their altar was the Dearth, which was regarded as a sane- Harpies.
740
RISE OF GREECE.
Scylla
and
Charyb-
dis.
Dragon
of the
Hesper-
ides.
Demi-
gods, or
Deified
Heroes.
Heracles,
Jason and
Theseus.
Centaurs.
Chiron.
Castor
and
Pollux.
Perseus
and his
Feats.
tuary for strangers, a place of refuge. The Manes were infernal
deities presiding over sepulchral monuments. Sometimes by Manes
only the souls of the departed are meant. The three Gorgons were
beautiful, but their heads were covered with vipers instead of hair.
Those who saw them were struck with terror and changed into stone.
The three Harpies were voracious monsters, having the faces of women,
the bodies of vultures, and the claws of dragons. Scylla and Charybdis
were sea-monsters that guarded the perilous passage of the Sicilian
Straits. Another monster was the Dragon of the Hesperides.
The ancients looked upon any one who by superior valor, knowledge
or beneficence outranked those of the age in which he lived and by
whom he was surrounded, as more than mortal, and thus deified him.
His actions were often magnified by the credulity of the ignorant into
deeds worthy of the gods themselves. After the death of these cele-
brated persons, flattery and superstition induced the people to bestow
upon them divine honors, thus worshiping some as heroes and others as
gods. We see that truth and fiction became so mingled together in
the history of these demigods that the one cannot be separated from the
other. These ancient heroes were viewed as beings of a higher order,
born upon this earth, but having risen to the skies by their deeds and
fame. Heracles, the greatest of the deified heroes of Greece, has
already been alluded to, as have also the exploits of Jason and Theseus.
The Centaurs, half man and half horse, were believed to live in
Thessaly. They were usually of a savage character ; but one of them,
Chiron, was highly accomplished. It was widely believed that Chiron
instructed Achilles in music, and a picture discovered in one of the
houses of Herculaneum represents this Centaur giving lessons on the
harp. The Centaurs did not all have the gentlemanly breeding of
Chiron, and the poets tell us that he conquered them in a fierce conflict.
The Argonauts visited him in their expedition.
Castor and Pollux were twin-brothers, sons of Zeus and Leda.
Castor was very skillful in riding and managing horses, and Pollux in
wrestling. These brothers went with the Argonautic Expedition to
Colchis. A frightful tempest arose during the voyage, when two
flames were observed playing around the heads of Castor and Pollux,
wherupon the storm at once abated. Zeus allowed them to enjoy
immortality by turns, so that they alternately lived and died every
month. They were drawn as two youths riding beside each other,
upon white horses, armed with spears, and having a brilliant star upon
their heads.
Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danse, who was the daughter of
Acrisius, King of Argos. Hermes gave him a pair of wings and a
diamond dagger. Pluto gave him a helmet which had the power of
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION.
741
making the wearer invisible. Athene gave him a shield of brass,
reflecting images like a looking-glass. He cut off the head of the
Gorgon Medusa, and while he was carrying it across the Libyan
desert the drops of blood which fell from it produced the innumerable
serpents which have infested that country ever since. When Atlas,
King of Mauritania, treated Perseus with inhospitality during the
latter's journey, Perseus showed him the Gorgon's head, which
changed into stone all who beheld it. Atlas at once became the moun-
tain still bearing his name, in the North of Africa. On the east of
Ethiopia, Perseus saw the beautiful Andromeda chained to a rock and
a sea-monster going to devour her. He showed the head of Medusa
to this sea-monster, who then became a stone. Perseus then unloosed
Andromeda and married the lovely goddess. The winged horse
Pegasus sprang from the blood of Medusa's head when it was cut off
by Perseus. This horse flew to Mount Helicon j~nd there became the
favorite of the Muses.
^Esculapius, the son of Apollo and the nymph Ceronis, was a
physician to the Argonauts, and after his death was worshiped as the
god of medicine. He was instructed by Chiron, the Centaur. By
his knowledge of the medicinal properties of herbs, he restored so
many of the dead to life that Pluto complained to Zeus; whereupon
Zeus struck JEsculapius with thunder, and Apollo avenged the death
of his son by killing the Cyclops who forged the thunderbolts.
yEsculapius was represented as an old man with a long beard and a
laurel crown, and leaning upon his cane. He was the father of
Hygeia, who was worshiped as the goddess of health, but most writers
regard her as the same as Athene.
Prometheus, a Titan, or giant, forms the subject of one of the most
noted of Grecian myths. As a punishment for having stolen fire
from heaven and given it to men, and for having taught them the arts
of life, Prometheus was chained by Zeus to a lonely cliff on the remote
shores of the Euxine Sea, and an eagle sent to feed upon his liver
constantly gnawed at that vital organ as it grew anew each night.
Prometheus was the father of Deucalion, King of Thessaly, in whose
reign the earth was submerged by a deluge. The wickedness of man-
kind provoked Zeus to destroy every human creature, except Deucalion
and his wife Pyrrha, who were saved by entering a vessel which Pro-
metheus had advised his son to build.
Atlas, the brother of Prometheus, was King of Mauritania; and
was, as we have said, changed into the mountain of that name in North
Africa, which is so lofty that the ancients believed it to reach to
heaven. Atlas was also believed to have borne the world upon his
shoulders. His three daughters were the Hesperides, in whose western
His Wife
Androm-
eda.
JEscula-
pius,
God of
Medicine.
Prome-
theus, the
Chained
God.
Deu-
calion's
Deluge.
Atlas.
The
Hes-
perides.
74S
RISE OF GREECE.
Helios.
Orpheus
and his
Lyre.
Amphion
and his
Lute.
All
Nature
Working
through
Deities.
garden golden apples grew. Helios was an ancient sun-god, in Latin
called Sol.
Orpheus, the son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope, played so
sweetly on his father's lyre that he tamed the wild beasts of the forests
and stopped the rivers in the courses. The highest trees even bent down
to listen to his music. His wife, Eurydice, whom he loved very affec-
tionately, was bit by a serpent that lurked in the grass, and died of
the wound. Disconsolate for her loss, Orpheus descended to Pluto's
gloomy abode in Hades, determined to have her or die. The wheel
of Ixion was stopped at the sound of his divine lyre, while the stone
of Sisyphus stood still, Tantalus forgot his thirst, and even the Furies
relented. Proserpine, the wife of Pluto, was moved by his grief, and
the grim Pluto himself forgot his sternness and agreed to restore
Eurydice to Orpheus on condition that he would not look at her until
the light of day. Orpheus gladly agreed to this condition ; but when
the upper regions of the air appeared in sight, he turned back to take
a look at his long-lost Eurydice, whereupon she disappeared from his
view. After this, Orpheus fled from mankind forever, and his lyre
remained silent. The Thracians were so enraged at him for avoiding
their society that they killed him during the feast of Dionysos, and
cast his head into the river Hebrus. As it was carried down into the
/Egean Sea, it was heard to murmur Eurydice's name.
Amphion, also a famous musician, was the son of Zeus and Antiope.
By the music of his lute, which he had received from Hermes, he raised
the walls of Thebes. He is also said to have moved stones to build
these massive walls. These fables are believed to signify that by the
force of his eloquence he induced the wild and uncivilized Thebans of
early days to build a defense around their city, as a protection against
their foes.
Thus it will be seen the fertile imagination of the Greeks filled the
earth, the air and the sea with a great multitude of beings endowed
with more than mortal power. Every natural object, every human
quality of thought or emotion, was represented among the celestial
personages. The most ordinary, as well as the most remarkable, inci-
dents of life were believed to result from the interference of the gods
in human affairs. Thunder was considered the voice of Zeus, and
the lightning his spear. The gentle summer breeze was believed to
be the impulse given by Zephyr's wing, and the forest's echo was the
voice of a goddess. Aphrodite decreed the affection of lovers, and
the wound inflicted by the arrow of Eros manifested itself in the
anxiety of the enamored bosom. Ares led the way in battle, while
the various gods participated in the conflict, supplying their favorites
with charmed arms, and bestowing upon them supernatural power and
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION.
74$
skill. On the sea Poseidon was believed to closely watch events, and
when the storms arose and the billows raged he was supposed to be
manifesting his fury. ^Eolus showed his anger in the raging tempest,
of which he was the author. A cloud ' sailing through the sky was the
chariot of Zeus. The rosy-fingered Eos, or Aurora, introduced the
morning. Iris manifested her presence in the rainbow. "All earth
was a kind of heaven, and heaven was upon earth."
Thus Grecian mythology was formed upon poetical imagination.
It was a mixture of allegory and history. The physical characteristics
were more prominent in the various deities than were the moral qual-
ities. The gods and goddesses of the Greeks were represented as par-
ticipating in the affairs of mortals, frequently giving their powerful
and divine aid to the furtherance of vicious and villainous projects.
They were actuated by envy, malice, and all the evil passions to
which human nature is subject, and readily adopted the basest meas-
ures to gratify their most nefarious purposes. Zeus, the King of
Heaven, is even said to have been very profligate upon earth. Their
gods and goddesses made love to each other and married. They had
children the same as mortals. They also at times warred. The Greeks
were intensely religious. The story of their gods had been transmitted
to them with the authority of a great antiquity, and custom had made
them reverence beings who were endowed with passions and qualities
which reason condemned.
The Greek mythology had been coined in the imagination of the
early Grecian poets. The Grecian philosophers of later times rejected
the absurd polytheism which was the popular belief; and some of
them, Socrates and Plato among the number, were monotheists, believ-
ing in one Supreme and All-powerful God, who had created and who
continued to rule the entire universe.
The Greeks believed in the immortality of the soul and in future
rewards and punishments, according to the good or evil conduct of
mortals in this life. They believed that after death the human souls
descended to the shores of the dreary and pestilential river Styx, where
the grim-looking Charon acted as ferryman in rowing the departed
spirits across the dismal stream, which formed the boundary of Pluto's
dominions. The deceased had to be buried in order to obtain a pas-
sage in Charon's boat. Those drowned at sea, or those who were in
any manner deprived of the customary rites of burial, were forced to
wander about the banks of the river Styx for a hundred years, before
they could cross the stream.
After leaving Charon's boat, the trembling shades of the departed
spirits advanced to Pluto's palace, whose gate was guarded by the
monstrous three-headed dog, Cerberus, whose body was covered with
Sensual
Character
of Greek
Mythol-
ogy-
Religiot
of the
Philoso-
phers.
Future
Rewards
and
Punish-
ments.
River
Styx and
Charon's
Boats.
Trial
of the
Departed.
744
RISE OF GREECE.
Punish-
ments in
Tartarus.
Tantalus,
Ixion and
Sisyphus.
Elysium.
Greek
Worship.
Temples.
snakes instead of hair. The departed spirits were then brought by
Hermes before the three judges of the infernal regions, Minos, Rhada-
manthus and ^Eacus, who condemned the wicked to perpetual torments
in Hades, or Tartarus, and rewarded the righteous with celestial
pleasures in the happy islands of Elysium.
Tartarus, the place of punishment for the wicked, was the abode of
darkness and terror. Tantalus, for a vile crime in his life upon
earth, was in this horrible place surrounded with water, which fled
from his lips whenever he sought to quench his burning thirst, while
the branches laden with fruit over his head shrunk from his grasp
every time his hand attempted to grasp them. Ixion was also in this
horrible abode, bound with serpents to the rim of a wheel, which per-
petually revolved, thus permitting no cessation of his agonies.
Sisyphus was condemned to the never-ending task of rolling an im-
mense stone up the sides of a steep mountain, but as soon as he would
accomplish his feat the stone would again roll down to its original
place. In this dreary place were criminals writhing under the mer-
ciless lash of the avenging Furies, and other wretches were tortured
incessantly with unquenchable fires.
Elysium, the residence of the righteous, was a region of inde-
scribable loveliness and pleasure. All around were groves of the
richest verdure and streams of silvery clearness. The air was pure,
serene and temperate. The woods perpetually resounded with the
warbling of birds, and a far more brilliant light than that of the sun
was constantly diffused throughout that delightful abode, whose inhab-
itants, undisturbed by cares or sorrow, spent their time in the enjoy-
ment of such pleasures as they had experienced on earth, or in admiring
the wisdom and power of the gods.
The Greek worship of the gods and goddesses consisted of prayers
and thanksgivings, and sacrifices, or sin-offerings, such as animals, or
fruits, vines, milk, honey and frankincense. Public worship was con-
ducted by the priests in the open air, on mountain-tops, in groves and
forests, or in temples, particularly on the occasion of the great
national festivals, which consisted of pompous processions, public
games, dramatic entertainments, feasting, masquerading, and also
drunkenness, indecency, uproar and every kind of licentiousness, as
in the worship of Dionysos.
The Grecian temples were erected in the woods, in the valleys, or
by the brink of rivers or fountains, according to the deity in whose
honor they were set up ; as the ancients attributed the management of
every particular affair to some particular god or goddess, and assigned
to each a special style of building, in accordance with his or her pecu-
liar character or attributes. Nevertheless, when temples were first
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION. 74,5
reared, the ancients continued to worship their deities without any
statue or visible representation of the divinity. The worship of idols is
believed to have been introduced into Athens from the very beginning
of the city. There idols were first formed of rude blocks of wood or
stone, until the time that the art of engraving or carving was invented,
when these rough masses were fashioned into figures resembling living
creatures. Marble and ivory, or precious stones, were afterwards used
in the construction of these images, anp! at length gold, silver, brass
and other metals were used. Finally, in the refined ages of Greece,
all the genius of the sculptor was employed in making those beautiful
statues which have remained unsurpassed to this day.
The altars in the Grecian temples were usually lower than the statues Altars
of the gods. They were heaps of earth, ashes or stone, arranged in gan .
the form of an oblong square. Some were made of horn or brick, while fices.
others, more beautiful and splendid, were overlaid with gold. Some
were designed for sacrifices made with fire. Animals were offered
upon others to appease or propitiate the deity. Cakes, fruits or inani-
mate things were only placed upon others as offerings. All temples,
statues and altars were regarded as sacred. The privilege of pro-
tecting offenders was granted to many of them. The Greek poets
often allude to this practice. Thus says Euripides:
" The wild beast is protected by the rocks,
And vile slaves by the altars of the gods."
The priests were not expected to teach lessons of morality. They priests,
only taught that the gods required slavish adulation, and an outward
show of reverence for them from their worshipers, who were rewarded
with the divine favor in proportion to the quantity and costliness of
their offerings.
Besides the public religious services there were certain mysterious Eleusin-
rites, performed only in secret by those who had been initiated, in honor ^n . ys"
of particular divinities. The most remarkable of these mystical observ-
ances were those already noticed as celebrated at Eleusis, in Attica, in
honor of Demeter and Persephone, and known as the Eleusinian Mys-
teries. All who were initiated in them were bound by the most solemn
oath never to reveal them. It was considered a crime even to speak of
them to the uninitiated. Those who were initiated in them were
regarded as under the special protection of the gods and goddesses.
Only Athenians could be admitted to the Eleusinian Mysteries, and
they took good care to embrace their special privilege, believing that
such as died without initiation would be condemned to an eternity of
woe in the infernal regions. The death penalty was denounced against
all who divulged these mysterious ceremonies. Nevertheless, sufficient
746
RISE OF GREECE.
Oracle of
Zeus at
Dodona.
Oracle of
Apollo at
Delphi.
The
Delphic
Pytho-
ness and
Her
Prophe-
was disclosed concerning them to prove that they mainly consisted of
such mystical rites and optical delusions as were calculated to excite the
superstitious veneration and dread of the alarmed votaries. Proces-
sions, gymnastic contests, music and dancing constituted a necessary
part of this religious festival, as well as of others, and the nocturnal
orgies of the devotees were almost as immoral and extravagant as those
of the Bacchanalians.
The Greeks believed that the gods communicated with mortals, and
that they made known their will and revealed the secrets of futurity
by means of oracles, of which there were several in different portions
of Greece. Zeus was believed to speak in the rustling of the leaves.
The oldest and the most famous oracle of Zeus was that at Dodona,
in Epirus. Near that place was a grove of oaks, which, according to
the superstitious belief of the Greeks, chanted the message of Zeus to
pious inquirers. It is also said that black pigeons frequented this
grove and gave oracular responses. The oracle at Dodona is believed
to have owned its origin to an artful woman, who had been stolen from
the temple of Ammon in Egypt, and sold as a slave in Epirus. To
release herself from the evils of slavery, this woman determined to work
upon the ignorance and credulity of those among whom she had been
brought, and for this purpose she stationed herself in the grove of oaks
which afterward acquired such celebrity, and announced that she was
inspired by Zeus and could foretell future events. This scheme was
entirely successful, and the woman soon acquired a great reputation
for her skill in divination; and, after her death, other artful persons
readily embraced a profession rewarded with both honor and profit.
The most celebrated of all the Grecian oracles was that of Apollo
at Delphi, a city built on the slope of Mount Parnassus, in Phocis.
At a very ancient period it had been discovered that from a deep cave
in the side of that mountain a stupefying vapor issued, with so pow-
erful an effect as to throw both men and cattle into convulsions. The
savage inhabitants of the surrounding country, unable to account for
such a phenomenon, concluded that it must be caused by some super-
natural agency, and they considered the incoherent ravings of those
who had inhaled the noxious vapor as prophecies uttered under the
inspiration of some deity. As the intoxicating exhalation arose out of
the ground, it was at first supposed that the newly-discovered oracle
must be that of the very ancient goddess, Gaea, or Earth ; but Poseidon
was afterwards associated with this divinity as an auxiliary.
Ultimately the entire credit of the oracle was transferred to Apollo.
A temple was soon erected on the consecrated spot ; and a priestess,
called the Pythoness, was appointed to perform the duty of inhaling
the prophetic vapor at stated intervals. To enable her to perform the
GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION.
747
office assigned her without the danger of falling into the cave, as sev-
eral persons had previously done, a seat, called a tripod, because it had
three feet, was constructed directly over the mouth of the crevice for
her accommodation. Nevertheless the Pythoness held an office neither
agreeable nor safe, as the convulsions into which the noxious vapors of
the cave threw her were sometimes so violent as to produce instant
death, and were always so painful that force was frequently required
to bring the priestess to the prophetic seat of the temple. The gas
escaping from the crevice was believed to be Apollo's breath, and the
fumes were supposed to inspire the Pythoness. She made known the
will of Apollo to attendant priests, who communicated the revelation
to the inquirer. The unconnected words screamed out by the Pythoness
in her madness were arranged into sentences by these attendant priests,
who managed to place them in such an order and fill up the breaks in
such a manner as to make them express whatever was most essential to
the interests of the shrine, as this was the chief object. To maintain
the credit of the oracle, care was taken to generally put the responses
of the oracle in such obscure and enigmatical language that the pre-
diction might not be falsified, or might at least seem to be verified,
regardless of the course of events.
The fame of the Delphic oracle soon spread far and wide; and no
important enterprise was undertaken in Greece, or in its many colonies,
without consulting the Pythoness. The many presents given the
oracle by those who resorted to it for advice, many of whom were
princes or rich and influential leaders, constituted a source of great
and permanent revenue, affording the officiating priests a comfortable
support, and furnishing the means for building a magnificent temple
in the place of the rude structure which had been originally erected.
The high veneration bestowed upon the Delphic oracle gave its direc-
tors great influence in public affairs ; and this influence they sometimes
exerted in a most worthy manner in sanctioning and encouraging the
projects of the statesmen, legislators and warriors who endeavored to
improve the political systems, reform the laws and manners, or defend
the liberties, of Hellas. Like the Olympic and other games, and like
the celebrated Amphictyonic Council, the Delphic oracle constituted a
bond of union among the many independent Grecian communities ; and,
by giving the authority of the gods to measures of general public
utility, it frequently repressed petty jealousies and disputes, and en-
couraged all to labor for the common welfare of the entire Hellenic
race.
While the rest of Greece was distracted by intestine wars, Delphi,
the chosen spot of Apollo, escaped the ravages of contending armies ;
and, in order to sufficiently secure the temple of Delphi from being
YOL. 3.— 4
Fame and
Influence
of the
Delphic
Oracle.
Amphic-
tyonic
Council.
RISE OF GREECE.
plundered by warlike bands, that famous sanctuary was placed under
the special protection of the Amphictyonic Council, so called from its
reputed founder, the legendary Amphictyon, who is asserted by some
to have been one of the early Kings of Attica. This council con-
sisted of two deputies from each of the leading states of Greece; and
it assembled twice a year, in the spring at Delphi, and in the autumn
at the pass of Thermopylae. The duties of the Amphictyonic Council
were to effect a settlement of all religious and political disputes that
might arise among the different Grecian states, and to decide upon pro-
posals of peace or war with foreign nations. Each deputy took an
oath that he would never subvert or injure any Amphictyonic city,
and that he would oppose by force of arms any such outrage if
attempted by others. He also swore that if any party in any way
injured the sacred territory of Delphi, or formed designs against the
temple to Apollo, he would do his utmost to bring the offenders to pun-
ishment. The Amphictyonic Council was sometimes of great advan-
tage to the Greeks, but it very seldom exercised much influence in pre-
venting domestic dissensions or civil wars among the Grecians.
Olympic jn the process of time nearly all the states of Greece abolished mon-
and archy and established republican governments. The division of Greece
as manv independent republics as there were Grecian towns, and
the almost incessant wars that distracted the Hellenic race, greatly
retarded the progress of Grecian civilization. At length, Iphitus,
King of Elis, having obtained authority from the Delphic oracle, insti-
tuted the Olympic Festival, by which the Greeks, notwithstanding
their almost constant wars with each other, were enabled to meet on
friendly terms once in every four years, or Olympiad, as such a period
of time was thereafter called, at Olympia, a town in Elis. The estab-
lishment of the Olympic Festival took place in the year 776 B. C.,
from which date the Greeks thereafter reckoned time. To this festival
all the people of Greece were invited; and in order to enable them to
attend, the Delphic oracle commanded that a general armistice should
take place some time before and after each celebration. The Olympic
Festival consisted of religious rites to Zeus and Heracles, and of various
games, such as wrestling and boxing matches, foot and chariot races,
and other contests requiring strength and agility, and of compositions
in poetry and music. The victors in the Olympic Games were crowned
with olive wreaths, which was esteemed by the Greeks as a very high
honor.
Deacrip- In wrestling, the competitors were almost or altogether naked, and
Olympic6 *^ev appear to have exhibited great skill and agility. The presence
Games, of a vast multitude excited them to put forth wonderful efforts, and
they showed no evidence of suffering, though bruised and maimed in
GRECIAN STATES, ISLANDS AND COLONIES.
749
the struggle. Leaping was performed by springing over a bar.
None were allowed to enter this sport who had not practiced ten
months. Boxing was a favorite sport, and seems to have been prac-
ticed much as it is now in England. No unfair advantage was taken
in this or in any other contest. The slightest trick was severely pun-
ished. The energies of the most powerful men were called forth by
the throwing of the discus, or coit, a round piece of stone; and the
most wonderful feats were performed in hurling large weights. Run-
ning was also practiced, and the Greek writers give us accounts of the
remarkable fleetness of the races. Prominent among the sports were
horse-racing and chariot-racing, the latter of which was especially im-
posing, persons of the highest rank engaging therein. The greatest
poets and musicians were assembled from all portions of Hellas: and a
vast multitude of rich and poor, high and low, collected to witness these
exhibitions, which were rendered interesting by the excitement which
they produced and by the sanction bestowed upon the occasion by the
national religion. There is not at the present time any public fes-
tivity, in any country, which engages the passions of men so deeply as
the games of ancient Greece.
Three other great national festivals were subsequently established Isthmian,
by the Greeks — the Isthmian Games celebrated near Corinth, the
Pythian Games at Delphi, and the Nemean Games in Argolis. These
occurred in the various years intervening between the successive fes-
tivals at Olympia ; but though they acquired some celebrity, none of
them reached the importance and splendor of the Olympic Games.
Nemean
Games.
SECTION IV.— ORECIAN STATES, ISLANDS AND
COLONIES.
THE history of Greece after the Dorian conquest and occupation of
the Peloponnesus resolves itself into that of the several states. A few
general remarks may be necessary before proceeding with the history
of the more important cities and states. The progress of Hellenic
civilization was checked for a time and to some extent by the migra-
tions of the different Greek races and the troubles resulting therefrom.
More powerful and more enterprising, but ruder, races took the places
of the weaker but more polished ones. Physical characteristics
assumed a superiority over grace, refinement and ingenuity. The con-
quering races in comparison with the conquered ones were generally
what the rough Dorians were as compared with the refined Achaeans.
But the political vigor of the new era compensated for this loss. " War
and movement, bringing out the personal qualities of each individual
Results
of the
Dorian
Conquest
of the
Pelopon-
nesus.
750 RISE OF GREECE.
man, favored the growth of self-respect and self-assertion. Amid toils
and dangers which were shared alike by all, the idea of political
equality took its rise. A novel and unsettled state of things stimulated
political inventiveness ; and, various expedients being tried, the stock
of political ideas increased rapidly. The simple hereditary monarchy
of the heroic times was succeeded everywhere, except in Epirus, by
some more complicated system of government — some system far more
favorable to freedom and to the political education of the individual."
^City Another natural result of the new order of things was the special
dignity and importance acquired by the CITY. The conquerors nat-
urally established themselves in some stronghold, and remained together
for their better security, each such stronghold becoming a separate
independent state, holding a certain portion of the surrounding ter-
ritory in subjection. At the same time the unsubdued countries per-
ceived the strength resulting from this unity, and consequently many
of these abolished their previous system of village life and centralized
and consolidated themselves by establishing capitals and transferring
the greater part of their population to them. Such was the case with
Athens, Mantinea, Tegea and Dyme. In countries occupied by but
one race, but divided into as many district states as there were cities,
political confederations arose, sometimes resulting from a pre-existing
amphictyony, but occasionally without any such previous condition.
The federal tie was generally weak, and only in Boeotia did such a
union constitute a permanent state of the first rank.
Pan- The division of Greece into a multitude of small states held together
Feeling, by no common political tie, and perpetually at war with each other, did
not stand in the way of the formation and maintenance of a certain
common Pan-Hellenic feeling — " a consciousness of unity, a friend-
liness, and a readiness to make common cause against a foreign enemy."
A conviction of race identity was the^foundation of this feeling, which
was further encouraged by the possession of a common language and
a common literature; of the same habits and the same ideas; of the
same religion, with rites, temples and festivals equally open to all.
Rise of The first Grecian state attaining political importance under the new
order of things was Argos. According to tradition, the first Dorian
colonists forming settlements in Epidaurus, Trcezen, Phlius, Sicyon
and Corinth went from Argos, and from these places Doric power was
still further extended, as from Epidaurus, which colonized ^Egina and
Epidaurus Limera, and from Corinth, which colonized Megara.
Argos, the mother of all these states, was the protectress and mistress
of most of them. Her dominion extended from the Isthmus of Corinth
to Cape Malea and ihe island of Cythera. For three or four centuries
— from the death of Pheidon, about B. C. 744 — Argos was the leading
GRECIAN STATES, ISLANDS AND COLONIES.
751
power of the Peloponnesus, a fact never forgotten by her, and which
influenced her subsequent history.
Originally the government of Argos was a monarchy of the heroic
order, the supreme power being hereditary in the family of the Teme-
nidae, believed to be descendants from Temenus, the Heracleid, the
eldest son of Aristomachus. But before long aspirations for political
liberty arose among the Argive people, the kingly power was dimin-
ished, and a government, in form monarchical but really republican,
was established. This condition of affairs continued for some cen-
turies; but about B. C. 780 or 770, on the accession of the able
Pheidon, a reaction set in. Pheidon recovered all the lost royal privi-
leges and extended them, thus becoming the first Greek " tyrant,"
which was the name that the Greeks applied to one who usurped
powers to which he had no hereditary or delegated right. Under the
able rule of Pheidon, Argos exercised somewhat of a practical hege-
mony over the entire Peloponnesus ; and during his reign probably
Argos sent forth the colonies which settled in Crete, Rhodes, Cos,
Cnidus and Halicarnassus. The connection with Asia thus estab-
lished induced Pheidon to introduce coined money into Greece, and also
the weights and measures believed to have been identical with the Baby-
lonian system. After Pheidon's death, the power of Argos declined,
the bond uniting the confederacy weakened, the government returned
to its previous form, and Argive history became almost a blank.
After the capture of Thebes by the Epigoni, the Boeotians, expelled
by the Thracian hordes, retired to Arne in Thessaly; but about the
time of the great Dorian migration they returned to their native land
and became united with some ^Eolian tribes. Monarchy was abol-
ished upon the death of Xuthus, B. C. 1126, and the Boeotians formed
a confederation of as many states as the province contained cities, at
the head of which was Thebes, but with many indefinite privileges.
The constitutions of the states were unsettled, and they constantly
fluctuated between a lawless democracy and a tyrannical oligarchy.
This great evil, along with the unsettled condition of the confederacy,
prevented the Boeotians from taking a prominent part in Grecian
affairs.
Corinth was the most important of the Peloponnesian states after
Sparta. At the time of the Dorian conquest of the Peloponnesus, the
Corinthian throne was usurped by Aletes, whose descendants ruled the
state for five generations. On the death of Telessus, the last of the
Aletian dynasty, Bacchis usurped the throne (B. C. 777); and his
descendants, called Bacchiadae, governed the state for five generations
longer. Telestes, the last of these kings, was assassinated, whereupon
royalty was abolished, and a kind of oligarchy was established in its
Political
Changes
Pheidon,
Tyrant of
Argos.
Boeotian
States.
Revolu-
tions in
Corinth.
754
RISE OF GREECE.
Island of
Cyprus.
Diffusion
of Greek
Colonies.
Causes of
Greek
Coloniza-
tion.
Independ-
ent
Greek
Colonies.
Cyprus was only partially colonized by the Greeks, their chief settle-
ment being Salamis, founded by Teucer, shortly after the Trojan War
(B. C. 1100). The island was in succession under the dominion of the
Phoenicians, the Egyptians and the Persians. The Kings of Salamis
often revolted against their Persian masters, and always maintained a
limited independence. When Alexander the Great besieged Tyre (B.
C. 332) nine Cypriot kings voluntarily joined him, and thereafter the
island was a Macedonian dependency.
The number and wide diffusion of the Greek colonies are very
remarkable. From the Sea of Azov to the Pillars of Hercules (Straits
of Gibralter), nearly the whole coasts of the continents and the islands
were studded with the settlements of this active and enterprising race.
These colonies were most thickly sown towards the north and north-
east, where the civilization of Hellas came in contact with that of
Phoenicia, and where it successfully maintained itself against its for-
midable rival. Carthage and Tyre were unable to prevent the Greeks
from forcing themselves into these regions, as well as in Egypt and
Cyrenai'ca; while the Grecian race held exclusive possession of the
northern Mediterranean shores, except in Spain, coming in contact
with their Phoenician and Carthaginian rivals in the islands of Corsica,
Sardinia, Sicily and Cyprus.
Two prominent causes led to the distribution of the Hellenic race
over so many and such remote regions. One of the causes was the
rapid increase of the race, which found itself overcrowded in its mother
country and in its older colonies, and therefore sought a vent abroad.
Thus arose those formidable migrations and colonizations of the Greek
race, both in its native land and on foreign shores. The first of these
Grecian colonizations of foreign shores were the ^Eolian, Ionian and
Dorian settlements on the western shores of Asia Minor and the
Achaean settlements in Southern Italy. The other chief cause of these
Hellenic colonizations was the spirit of commercial or political enter-
prise, the state founding a colony desiring to extend its influence or its
trade into a new region. The settlements thus founded were colonies
proper, and these maintained at first a certain relation with their
mother country — a relation not existing in the case of colonies arising
from migrations of Hellenic races. Sometimes individual caprice or
political disturbance led to the forming of new cities, but these
instances were very rare.
In some of the Greek colonies proper the political connection with
the mother country was weak ; in others it was strong. The former
were practically independent communities, attached to the mother
country only by race affection and by certain prevailing usages, which
were not obligatory nor very definite. The colony generally worshiped
GRECIAN STATES, ISLANDS AND COLONIES.
755
its original founder as its hero, and adored the same god as the parent
city. It participated in the great festivals of its metropolis and con-
tributed offerings to them. It distinguished the citizens of the mother
country by special honors at its own games and festivals. It used the
same emblems upon its coins. Its chief priests were in some cases
drawn constantly from the mother country; and it sought a leader
from the parent state if it intended to found a new colony itself. War
between a parent city and its colony was considered impious, and each
was regarded as under a certain obligation to aid the other in times of
danger and emergency. The observance of these different usages,
however, was entirely voluntary, no effort ever being undertaken to
enforce them, the complete independence of the colonies being
recognized.
In the other class of Greek colonies the parent state sent a body of
its citizens to found a new settlement in territory which it considered
its own ; the colonists retaining all their rights as citizens of their
mother country, and being chiefly , a garrison in the new settlement
designed to uphold the authority of those who sent them out. These
colonies thus were absolutely and entirely dependent upon the parent
state. The cleruchs were simply citizens of their mother country, who
had been assigned certain special duties and granted certain benefits.
The Greek settlements of every class may be divided geographically
into Eastern, Western and Southern. The Eastern colonies were those
on the eastern and northern shores of the ^Egean and on the northern
and southern shores of the Propontis (those on the southern coast of
Macedon and Thrace and on the western coast of Asia Minor), those on
the western, southern, eastern and northern shores of the Euxine, or
Black Sea, and on the Palus Maeotis (now Sea of Azov). The western
colonies were those of Magna Grsecia (Great Greece) in Southern
Italy, and those of Sicily, Gaul, Spain and the neighboring islands.
The southern colonies were those of Cyrenai'ca, in North Africa, west
of Egypt.
The colonies founded by the Greeks between the time of the Dorian
migration and the Macedonian conquest of Greece were the most
numerous and the most important established by any ancient nation,
and all contributed immensely to the advancement of civilization. We
will first notice the Greek colonies along the western, or JEgean coast
of Asia Minor, from the Hellespont to Cilicia, in consequence of the
changes wrought by the Dorian migration and conquest of the Pelo-
ponnesus. These colonies were established by the JEolians, lonians,
Dorians and Achaeans ; and in them arose the first of Grecian poets,
Homer and Alcams, and the first of Grecian philosophers, Thales
and Pythagoras.
Depend-
ent
Greek
Colonies.
Eastern,
Western
and
Southern
Colonies.
Impor-
tance
of the
Greek
Colonies.
Greek
Colonies
of Asia
Minor.
756
RISE OF GREECE.
JEolian
Colonies
in Asia
Minor.
Ionian
Colonies
in Asia
Minor.
Miletus,
Phocaea,
Samos.
After conquering the Peloponnesus, the ^Eolians settled at first in
Thrace; but a generation later (B. C. 1124) they passed over into
Asia Minor, and occupied the coasts of Mysia and Caria, naming the
strip of territory which they colonized ^Eolis. They likewise colonized
the islands of Lesbos, Tenedos and the group called the Hecatonnesi
(hundred islands). The ^Eolians founded twelve cities on the main-
land of Asia Minor, the chief of which were Cyme and Smyrna, the
others being Myrina, Gryneium and Pitane, on the coast, and Temnus,
Larissa, Neonteichos, ^Egse, Cilia, Notium and JEgiroessa, in the
interior. Smyrna was destroyed by the Lydians, B. C. 600, and was
not restored for four hundred years, after which it became a prosperous
Macedonian colony. Mitylene, on the island of Lesbos, was the most
important of the JEolian cities in this quarter. It was the home of
Pittacus, one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece. Methymna, Antissa,
Eresus and Pyrrha were JEolian cities in the island of Lesbos. Cyme
and Lesbos sent out colonies which settled along the shores of the
JEgean to the Hellespont, thus founding the towns of Antandrus,
Gargara and Assus. Sestus, in the Chersonesus, and ^Enus, on the
coast of Thrace, were also ^Eolian colonies. The ^Eolian towns were
independent of each other. The ^Eohan cities of Asia Minor were
finally conquered by Croesus, the great Lydian king, in B. C. 568, and
by Cyrus the Great of Persia in B. C. 554, but they afterwards
became independent.
The Ionian migration, which occurred some years later than the
^Eolian, about B. C. 1044, was the largest that ever left Greece. The
direct cause of this migration was the abolition of royalty at Athens.
The sons of Codrus, unwilling to retire to private life, determined to
lead a colony to Asia Minor, and were readily joined by the Ionian
exiles from the northern Peloponnesus, who were overcrowded in
Attica, and by large numbers of emigrants from neighboring states,
who were actuated by political discontent or by the mere desire for
change. They were supplied liberally with ships and munitions of
war, after which they sailed to Asia Minor, landing on the JEgean
coast south of ^Eolis. After many bloody wars with the native bar-
barians, the lonians acquired possession of the lands along that coast
from Miletus to Mount Sipylus. The Ionian Greeks founded twelve
cities in the new district, which received the name of Ionia. The twelve
Ionian cities were Ephesus, Erythrae, Clazomenae, Colophon, Myus,
Miletus, Priene, Phocaea, Lebedos, Samos, Teos and Chios, of which
the last three were on islands bearing their respective names. Phocaea
and Miletus were by far the most important of these cities in early
times. Miletus became a powerful state and for a long time warred
successfully with the Kings of Lydia, but was finally subdued. As
GRECIAN STATES, ISLANDS AND COLONIES.
757
early as B. C. 780 Miletus sent colonies which settled on the shores of
the Hellespont, the Propontis, the Euxine and the Sea of Azov. About
B. C. 600 Phoczea became renowned as a maritime power, her sailors
being the first Greeks who explored the Adriatic and the Western Med-
iterranean, and the only Greeks known to have ventured beyond the
Pillars of Hercules into the Atlantic Ocean. The Phocaeans traded
with Tartessus in Spain, and founded Alalia, in Corsica ; Massilia (now
Marseilles), on the southern coast of Gaul; and Elea, or Velia (now
Vela), in Italy. Samos became a great power about B. C. 550, under
the tyrant Polycratcs, and extended her dominion over many of the
islands of the JEgean. The Ionian Greeks also colonized the vEgean
islands of Ceos, Cythnos, Seriphos, Siphnos, Paros, Naxos, Syros,
Andros, Tenos, Rheneia, Delos and Myconos.
All the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor and the neighboring
islands were united by an Amphictyonic confederacy. Deputies from
the different cities met, at stated times, in the temple of Poseidon on
the promontory of Mycale, which they called Heliconean, from Helice,
the chief of the Ionian cities in the North of the Peloponnesus. In
this temple they deliberated on all matters relating to the Pan-Ionian
league; but this Amphictyonic Council never interfered with the
domestic affairs of the different Ionian cities. They also celebrated fes-
tivals and public games, which rivaled those of Greece proper in mag-
nificence. In the midst of their prosperity, the Ionian cities became
involved in a long and desperate struggle with the Kings of Lydia,
which resulted in the gradual conquest of the several cities by the
Lydian monarchs. Miletus successfully resisted all attempts at sub-
jugation until its conquest by Croesus in the first half of the sixth
century before Christ. When Lydia was conquered by Cyrus the
Great of Persia in B. C. 554, the Ionian cities of Asia Minor were also
absorbed into the Medo-Persian dominion, but they afterwards became
independent.
The Dorians being checked in their conquests in Greece proper after
their subjugation of the Peloponnesus, many of them proceeded in
detached bands to the coast of Caria and to the islands of Cos and
Rhodes. This was after the ^Eolian and Ionian migrations. The
six cities of the Dorian Hexapolis were Halicarnassus and Cnidus, on
the Carian peninsula, Cos in the island of the same name, and lalyssus,
Cameirus and Lindus in the island of Rhodes. These were united thus
in a sort of Amphictyony, which met in the temple of Apollo Triopius,
near Cnidus. Other Dorian cities in Caria were Myndus and Phaselis.
In the JEgean, Dorian colonies were settled in the Southern Cyclades,
namely, in such islands as Melos, Pholegandrus, Thera, Anaphe, Asty-
palaea, Calymna, Nisyrus, Telos and Chalcia. The Dorian colonies in
Ionian
Amphic-
tyony.
Dorian
Colonies
in Asia
Minor.
758
RISE OF GREECE.
Colonies
on the
JEgean
Coast of
Macedon.
Colonies
on the
JEgean
Coast of
Thrace.
[Asia Minor were inferior to the JEolian or the Ionian, both in extent
and importance. Occupying a narrow and unfruitful tract in Caria,
south of Ionia, the six cities of the Dorian Hexapolis always continued
in a condition of weakness, only Halicarnassus and Cnidus, on the
mainland, in Caria, arriving at any degree of importance, while Lindus
in the island of Rhodes also reached a degree of consideration. The
bold navigators of Rhodes rivaled those of the most powerful com-
mercial states. Halicarnassus eventually became the capital of a
wealthy monarchy ; and this city was the native place of two renowned
Greek historians — Herodotus, " the Father of History," and Dionysius
Halicarnassus. The Dorian colonies were finally subdued by Croesus,
and when Lydia was conquered by Cyrus the Great they passed under
the Medo-Persian dominion. A dynasty of Hellenized Carians ruled
in Halicarnassus under the Persian kings.
The coasts of Thrace and Macedon were lined with flourishing
Greek colonies, which were settled mainly from Athens and Corinth.
The Greek colonies on the northern coast of the ^Egean were Methone,
on the eastern coast of the Thermic Gulf, founded about B. C. 730
by colonists from Eretria, and in Pallene, Sithonia and Acte, which
were on the three great projections of the Chalcidic peninsula.
Potidsea, the most important of these in early times, was a colony from
Corinth. The Chalcidian cities in Sithonia were Torone, Singus, Ser-
myle, Galepsus and Mecyberna. Olynthus became a possession of
Chalcedon in B. C. 480. The colonies of Eretria were chiefly in
Pallene, and the most important was Mende. Sane was founded by
Andros, near the canal of Xerxes. Acanthus, Stageirus and Argilus
were on the coast between Athos and Amphipolis. Chalcedon and
Olynthus arose to great power in the fifth and fourth centuries before
Christ.
The Greek colonies on the coast of Thrace, between the Strymon
and Nessus rivers, were Amphipolis, Ei'on, Myrcinus, Apollonia,
Gelepsus, (Esyme, Neapolis, Datum, Scapte-Hyle and Crenides (after-
wards Philippi). The earliest of these settlements were made from
Thasos. Mycrinus was founded by a colony from Mitylene about B.
C. 508. Amphipolis was founded by Athens B. C. 465, and soon
became a powerful and important city. It revolted from Athens B.
C. 424, and was conquered by Philip of Macedon B. C. 358. The
Greek colonies between the Nestus and the Hellespont were Abdera,
founded by the Teians when their city had been threatened by Har-
pagus, the Persian general, about B. C. 553 ; Maroneia, a colony of
Chios ; Mesambria, of Samothrace ; Cardia, of Miletus and Clazom-
ense, Elaeus, of Tenos, ^nos, A'.opeconnesus and Sestos, of ^Eolis.
The Greek cities of Madytus, Gallipolis and Pactya were in the Cher-
GRECIAN STATES, ISLANDS AND COLONIES.
759
sonesus, which became a powerful kingdom under the first Miltiades
about B. C. 560, and which was held by the Persians from B. C. 493
to B. C. 419. On the Illyrian coast of the Adriatic were Apollonia
and Epidamnus.
The Phocseans founded Lampsacus on the Propontis adjoining the
Hellespont, having previously obtained a grant of the site of the city
from one of the native princes whom they had aided in war. Lamp-
sacus was subsequently occupied by the Milesians, under whom it
became a place of vast wealth and immense commerce. Other Milesian
colonies on the Asiatic coast of the Propontis were Priapus, Artace
and Cius. Proconnesus was a Milesian colony in an island in mid sea.
Parium was a colony of Erythrse.
Cyzicus, a very ancient city, erected on an island connected by
bridges with the coast of Asia Minor, is said to have been founded in
the earliest stages by the Tyrrhenian Pelasgi, and to have been subse-
quently occupied by the Argonauts. About B. C. 751 it was taken
possession of by the Milesians, who likewise occupied the neighboring
island of Proconnesus (now Marmora). Under the Roman dominion,
Cyzicus became one of the most beautiful and flourishing cities of
Asia Minor.
On the coast of Thrace, just opposite Cyzicus, was Perinthus, after-
wards called Heracleia, which was founded by a colony from Samos.
On the European side of the Bosphorus was Byzantium (now Constan-
tinople), named from Byzas, who founded the city in B. C. 606.
Byzantium was the most prosperous of the Greek colonies in this
quarter. This city commanded the entrance to the Euxine Sea, and
therefore controlled the important trade which the Greeks carried on,
chiefly for corn, with Thrace and Scythia. Opposite Byzantium, on
the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, was Chalcedon (now Scutari). Both
Byzantium and Chalcedon were founded by Megarian colonies.
On the eastern, or Euxine coast of Thrace were a number of Greek
colonies, the most important of which, beginning from the south, near
the Bosphorus, were Apollonia, Mesambria, Odessus, Callatis, Tomi
and Istria, all of which were Milesian settlements, except Mesambria,
which was Megarian. These colonies were mainly founded in the
seventh century before Christ. Odessus was once the head of a league
of most of these cities. The most important of them commercially
was Istria, or Istropolis.
Most of the Greek colonies on the shores of the Propontis (now
Sea of Marmora), the Euxine (now Black Sea), and the Palus Masotis
(now Sea of Azov), were founded by the citizens of Miletus during
the eighth and ninth centuries before Christ. Miletus, whose com-
merce occupied four harbors and whose naval power amounted to
2—10
Lamp-
sacus and
Other
Colonies.
Cyzicus.
Perin-
thus,
Byzan-
tium,
Chalce-
don.
Colonies
on the
Euxine
Coast of
Thrace.
Milesian
Colonies
on the
Propontis
and
Euxine.
760
RISE OF GREECE.
Heracleia,
Sinope,
Amis us,
Trapezus.
Phana-
goria.
Milesian
Colonies
on the
Northern
Euxine
Coast.
almost a hundred war-galleys, owed its prosperity and greatness to its
control of the northern trade. To secure this lucrative commerce, the
Milesians founded numerous colonies along all the coasts of the Euxine
and the Propontis, all of which became prosperous commercial marts.
Their commerce was not limited to the sea-coasts. Their merchants
penetrated into Scythia and advanced even beyond the Caspian to the
regions now embraced in the Khanates of Khiva and Bokhara. The
Phocaeans also established important colonies, but they were mainly
absorbed in the western trade, leaving the northern to the Milesians,
who founded almost all the colonies along the shores of the Euxine.
Heracleia, on the Bithynian coast, which was colonized first from
Megara and afterwards from Miletus, was the first Greek colony on the
shores of the Euxine. The most powerful Grecian state on the
Euxine shores was Sinope, in Paphlagonia, founded by the Milesians.
The next best harbor on the Euxine coast, to Sinope, was Amisus, in
Pontus, also a Milesian colony. After being long under the dominion
of Miletus, Amisus was seized by the Athenians during the age of
Pericles, when its name was changed to Peiraeaeus. In the time of its
prosperity, Amisus founded a colony which soon surpassed the parent
state in importance — Trapezus (now Trebizond).
Phasis, Dioscurias and Phanagoria were on the eastern coast of the
Euxine, and were early Milesian colonies. During the Macedonian
period Phanagoria became the capital of the Greek cities on the Asiatic
side of the Bosphorus. It owed its prosperity to its being the prin-
cipal mart for the slave-trade, which has ever been prevalent in the
countries around the Caucasus, and likewise to its being the emporium
for the products brought from Central and Southern Asia by way of
the Caspian Sea and the Oxus river.
The Milesians founded settlements in the Tauric Chersonesus (now
Crimea), and wrested most of that peninsula from the barbarous
natives. The chief of the Milesian settlements in the Tauric Cher-
sonesus and on the neighboring coasts of Scythia were Tyras, at the
mouth of the river Tyras (now Dniester) ; Olbia, on the estuary
of the Hypanus (now Bug); Panticapaeum (afterwards Bosphorus),
near the modern Kertch ; Phanagoria, on the opposite Asiatic
coast; Theudosia, on the site of Kaffa; and Tanais, at the mouth
of the river Tanais (now Don). Chersonesus Heracleiotica, near
the site of the modern Sebastopol, was a colony of Heracleia Pon-
tica, on the opposite coast of Asia Minor, which was itself a colony
from Megara. These colonies were mostly founded in the eighth cen-
tury before Christ. The most important of the Milesian colonies in
this quarter was the city of Panticapaeum, which became the capital
of the little Greek kingdom of the Bosphorus, and which maintained
GRECIAN STATES, ISLANDS AND COLONIES.
761
its independence until the first century before Christ, when it was seized
by Mithridates the Great, the powerful King of Pontus, who there kid
the foundations of his subsequent power.
On the coast of Northern Africa, west of Egypt, was the flourishing
Greek city of Cyrene, founded by a Dorian colony from the island of
Thera, about B. C. 651, in obedience to the direction of the Delphic
oracle. The government was at first a monarchy, the crown being
hereditary in the family of Battus, the founder of the city; but the
people of Cyrene could never establish a permanent constitution, and
the state was distracted by domestic dissensions until it was annexed
to the Egyptian kingdom of the Ptolemies. The territory of Cyrene
was called the Cyrenai'ca, and other important cities besides Cyrene
were Barca and Apollonia, the latter the port of Cyrene.
In Southern Italy there were so many Greek colonies that the
country was called Magna Gratia (Great Greece). The earliest
Greek settlement in Southern Italy was made by a colony from Chalcis,
in the island of Euboea. This colony founded Cumae, B. C. 1030.
This city early reached a high degree of prosperity, established a
powerful navy, and founded many flourishing colonies, the chief of
which were Neapolis (now Naples) and Zancle (afterwards called
Messana). Cumae had an aristocratic form of government. This
constitution was subverted by the tyrant Aristodemus, B. C. 544, but
his assassination restored the old constitution. Exhausted by civil
dissensions and suffering severely in a war with the Etrurians and Dau-
nians (B. C. 500), the Cumaeans were eventually subdued by the Cam-
panians. Cumae was annexed to the territories of the Roman Republic
B. C. 345, but on account of its harbor at Pateoli it remained impor-
tant even after losing its independence.
Tarentum was founded by the Parthenii from Sparta, under Pha-
lantus, B. C. 707. These colonists were obliged to carry on long wars
against the Italian tribes in their vicinity, particularly the Massapians
and the Lucanians. They triumphed over these native barbarians,
and made their city one of the most flourishing maritime states in the
West of Europe. But luxury ultimately rendered them weak and
effeminate. To escape the grasping ambition of Rome, the Taren-
tines invited Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, the greatest general of his time,
into Italy. After gaining several great victories over the Romans,
Pyrrhus was defeated and withdrew from Italy; whereupon Tarentum
became a dependency of Rome (B. C. 277).
Croton was founded by the Achasans, B. C. 710. Even during the
first century of its existence, this city became so powerful as to raise
an army of one hundred and twenty thousand men. The constitution
was very democratic, and so continued until the philosopher Pythag-
Cyrene,
in North
Africa.
Magna
Gratia,
in
Southern
Italy.
Comae.
Taren-
tum.
Croton,
763
RISE OF GREECE.
Rise and
Fall
of the
Pythag-
oreans.
Sybaris.
Its
Conquest
and
Destruc-
tion.
The
Sybarites
and
Thurium.
eras made his residence at Croton (B. C. 540). He established a
kind of secret association among his disciples, the main purpose of
which was to secure the chief political power in the hands of the
Pythagorean society. In a few years three hundred Pythagoreans
held the sovereignty of Croton, and the influence of the new sect
extended over all the Greek colonies of Italy and Sicily, and even over
Greece proper and the isles of" the JEgean. The Crotonians soon after-
wards warred with the Sybarites and destroyed their city. Intoxicated
with prosperity, and under the instigation of the artful and ambitious
Cylon, who had been excluded from the Pythagorean order because of
his turbulent manners, the inferior men of Croton clamored for an
equal division of the conquered territory of Sybaris; and when this
demand was denied, as incompatible with the nature of the Pythagorean
oligarchy, these inferior Crotonians secretly plotted against their
rulers, attacked them with surprise in the senate-house, put many
of them to death, and drove the others into exile. Pythagoras himself
soon afterwards died at Metapontum, in Lucania, having lived just
long enough to see the ruin of the oligarchy to which he devoted his
labors in building up. Croton never fully recovered from the effects
of this ruinous civil war. It was frequently captured by the Kings
of Syracuse, and it became a dependency of Rome after the departure
of Pyrrhus from Italy.
Sybaris was founded by an Achaean colony, B. C. 720. The exceed-
ingly-fertile soil, and the liberality of admitting all strangers to the
privileges of citizenship, caused such a rapid increase in the population
that the Sybarites are said to have raised an army of three hundred
thousand men in a war against the Crotonians. Its immense wealth,
obtained mainly from a vast trade in wine and oil with the people of
North Africa and Gaul, made Sybaris the most populous and luxurious
city in Europe during the half century from B. C. 600 to B. C. 550 ;
and the Sybarites became notorious for their debauchery and effem-
inacy. The contests between the aristocratic and democratic factions
produced a civil war. At length Telys, the democratic leader,
obtained the supreme power and banished five hundred of the leading
nobles, who sought refuge in Croton. The Sybarites demanded these
refugees, and when this demand was rejected they put the Crotonian
ambassadors to death. This outrage of course produced a war between
Sybaris and Croton (B. C. 510). The Crotonians defeated a far
superior Sybarite army in the field, took Sybaris by storm and razed
the city to the ground.
Driven from their homes, the Sybarites solicited the aid of the
Spartans and the Athenians in restoring their city, and requesting
them to send a colony to swell the population of the proposed new
GRECIAN STATES, ISLANDS AND COLONIES.
city. The Spartans refused the request of the Sybarite ambassadors,
but the Athenians gladly granted them assistance (B. C. 446). An
Athenian squadron of ten ships under Lampo and Xenocrates was sent
to Italy with a large body of troops on board; while a proclamation
was made throughout Greece, offering the protection of the Athenian
fleet to all who would emigrate to the new colony. Many availed them-
selves of the offer ; and the Sybarites, with the aid of the new colonists,
soon regained their old possessions, and founded Thurium, near the
site of Sybaris. But Thurium was soon torn by quarrels among its
heterogeneous population, concerning who should be regarded as
founders of the new city. The Delphic oracle was appealed to (B. C.
433), and the priests of that sanctuary declared Thurium to be a
colony of Apollo. But the Sybarites were not satisfied with this
decision ; and, believing themselves to have the best right to the coun-
try, they began to exclude, from all honors and employments, the
foreign colonists whom they had invited to join them in founding the
new city ; but, as the new foreigners were the most numerous, this
proceeding provoked a civil war, which ended in the second expulsion
of the Sybarites. The Thurians then invited fresh colonists from
Greece, and formed themselves into a commonwealth, choosing Cha-
rondas, of Catana, for their lawgiver. They were soon enervated by
luxury ; and, as they were unable to defend themselves against the
Lucanians, they placed themselves under the powerful protection of
Rome. This gave the Tarentines a pretext for attacking Thurium,
which they captured, thus subjecting themselves to the vengeance of
the Romans. After the Roman conquest of Tarentum, Thurium
became a Roman dependency. The city suffered terribly in the
Second Punic War ; and, having become almost depopulated, was occu-
pied by a Roman colony (B. C. 190).
The city of Locri-Epizephyrii was founded by colonists from Locri- Locri-
Ozola? (B. C. 683) ; but these were j oined by various settlers, mainly from
the West of Greece. Zaleucus, one of their own citizens, became the
lawgiver of the Locrians, and his wise institutions remained intact for
two centuries. The constitution seemed to have contained a judicious
mingling of aristocratic and democratic elements. The Locrians were
noted for their peaceful condition, their quiet conduct and good man-
ners, until Dionysius II., the tyrant of Syracuse, having been exiled
by his subjects, sought refuge in Locri-Epizephyrii, which was his
mother's native country (B. C. 357). His insolence and licentious-
ness, and the excesses of his followers, brought Locri-Epizephyrii to
the brink of ruin; and, when he returned to Syracuse (B. C. 347), the
Locrians revenged their wrongs on his unfortunate family. When
Pyrrhus invaded Italy, he placed a garrison in Locri-Epizephyrii (B.
VOL. 3. — 5
764
RISE OF GREECE.
C. 277) ; but the Locrians revolted and massacred the garrison. In
revenge the King of Epirus stormed and pillaged the city. After his
return to Epirus, Locri-Epizephyrii submitted to the Romans, and
suffered terribly in the Second Punic War.
Rhegium. Rhegium was a Greek colony founded jointly by the Chalcidians
and the Messenians (B. C. 668) ; but the Messenian aristocracy pos-
sessed the chief political power. Anaxilaiis subverted this oligarchy
and established an absolute despotism (B. C. 494). The Rhegians
sometime afterward recovered their freedom, and sought to secure tran-
quillity by adopting the constitution of Charondas from the Thurians.
Rhegium thereafter enjoyed tranquillity and happiness, until it was
captured and destroyed by Dionysius I., of Syracuse (B. C. 392).
Dionysius II. partly restored the city ; but during the wars of Pyrrhus
with the Romans, it was so weak that it required a Roman garrison to
protect it. A legion, raised in Campania, was sent to Rhegium, under
the command of Decius Jubellus. These soldiers had been accustomed
to a life of hardship, and they soon began to envy the luxurious ease
and wealth of the citizens they had come to protect, and treacherously
planned their destruction. They forged letters from the Rhegians to
Pyrrhus, offering to surrender the city to that monarch; and, under
this pretense, they massacred most of the citizens and drove the others
into exile. The Roman Senate quickly punished his outrage, sending
an army against the guilty Campanians, who had been reinforced by
several bands of profligate plunderers ; and, after a desperate struggle,
the Roman troops obtained possession of the city, and scourged the
guilty legionaries with rods and beheaded them in bands of fifty at a
time. The few surviving Rhegians had their estates, their liberties and
laws, restored to them. But the city was reduced to such weakness
that it was unable to maintain its independence, and it therefore became
subject to Rome.
The principal Greek colonies in Sicily were Syracuse, Agrigentum,
Gela, Camarina, Selinus and Megara-Hyblaea, founded by the Dorians ;
and Naxos, Catana, Leontini, Messana and Himera, founded by the
Syracuse. lonians. Of all these cities, Syracuse was by far the most important,
and its history was largely the history of ancient Sicily. Syracuse
was founded by a Corinthian colony under the direction of Archytas,
a nobleman of rank who had been obliged to leave his native country
on account of a political dispute. Syracuse had a republican form of
government for two and a half centuries, and during this period the
Syracusans founded the colonies of Acrae, Casmenae and Camarina.
An aristocratic faction cruelly oppressed the citizens, but the populace
threw off their yoke and drove the tyrannical nobles into exile (B. C.
485). They fled to Gela, then under the rule of Gelon, an able and
Greek
Colonies
in Sicily.
GRECIAN STATES, ISLANDS AND COLONIES.
765
ambitious usurper, who had just become sovereign of his country.
Gelon raised an army, and marched to Syracuse, accompanied by the
exiles, and easily obtained possession of the city.
Under the administration of Gelon, Syracuse rose suddenly to
wealth and importance, while Gelon himself won such renown by his
repeated victories over the Carthaginians that the Athenians and Spar-
tans, at that time threatened by the Persian invasion, eagerly sought
his aid. Gelon demanded, as a condition of such aid, that he be
appointed captain-general of the allied Greeks, but the Athenians and
Spartans sternly refused such a stipulation; and before Gelon could
take any further steps, he ascertained that Xerxes had engaged the
Carthaginians to attack the Greek colonies in Sicily and Italy, while
he invaded Greece proper.
After three years of preparation, the Carthaginians sent against
Sicily a vast armament, under the command of Hamilcar, numbering,
it is said, three hundred thousand men, two thousand ships of war, and
three thousand vessels of burden. After landing in Sicily, Hamilcar
besieged Himera, then ruled by Theron, Gelon's father-in-law. The
King of Syracuse could muster only fifty thousand men for this sudden
emergency, but he marched hastily to raise the siege of Himera. On
his way he fortunately intercepted a messenger from the Selinuntines
to the Carthaginian general, promising to send him a stipulated body
of cavalry on a specified day. Gelon led the same number of his own
horsemen to the Carthaginian camp at the appointed time; and,
having been admitted unsuspectedly, he suddenly attacked the enemy,
who were so thoroughly disconcerted by the assault that their entire
host was completely demoralized, and the Syracusans gained an easy
triumph. Hamilcar was slain, and his army was cut to pieces. Car-
thage humbly sued for peace, which the conquering Syracusans gen-
erously granted. During the few remaining years of his reign, Gelon
strenuously devoted himself to the welfare of his subjects; and after
his death the Syracusans honored him as a demi-god.
Gelon. died B. C. 477, and was succeeded by his brother Hiero I.,
whose reign was more brilliant than beneficial. He protected the arts
and sciences, but he also encouraged a taste for luxury and magnifi-
cence, contrary to his more enlightened predecessor's policy. He con-
quered the cities of Catana and Naxos, expelled their inhabitants, and
repopulated those cities with colonies from Syracuse and the Pelopon-
nesus. He also inflicted a decisive defeat upon the Etruscan pirates
off Cumae. These pirates had for a time been the terror of the Western
Mediterranean, but after Hiero's victory over them they did not again
infest the seas for several centuries. After this great achievement
Hiero engaged in war with the tyrant of Agrigentum, who was obliged
Gelon's
Victories
over the
Cartha-
ginians.
Gelon's
Final
Victory
over the
Cartha-
ginians.
Con-
quests by
Hiero I.
RISE OF GREECE.
The
Tyrant
Thrasy-
bulus.
Destruc-
tion
of the
Athenian
Arma-
ment.
The
Tyrant
Dionysius
I.
The
Tyrant
Dionysius
II.
His
Over-
throw by
Timo-
leon
to resign his power, whereupon his subjects placed themselves under
Hiero's protection.
Thrasybiilus, also a brother of Gelon, succeeded to the sovereignty
of Syracuse upon Hiero's death, in B. C. 459; but his tyranny and
cruelty soon provoked a revolution, which ended in his dethronement
and the restoration of the republican constitution. The Syracusans,
however, gained little by the change. A system of secret voting,
called petalism, was instituted, exactly like the Athenian ostracism,
and most of the prominent statesmen were banished by the vote of the
fickle populace. At this period the Athenians made their unfortunate
attempt to conquer Sicily, whose disastrous result will be fully
described in our account of the Peloponnesian War. After the utter
destruction of the Athenian armaments (B. C. 413), the Egestans,
who had invited the Athenians to make the invasion, solicited and pro-
cured the aid of Carthage ; thus giving rise to a series of sanguinary
wars, which he have already described in the history of Carthage.
Dionysius I. took advantage of the political disturbances in Syracuse
by usurping the government (B. C. 405), and though he deserves the
title of tyrant, his vigorous reign was signalized by triumphs over for-
eign foes and by internal prosperity. Most of his reign was occupied
in wars with Carthage and the cities of Magna Graecia, and likewise
against the ancient race of the Siculi, whose choice of party usually
decided the success of these wars.
Dionysius I. was poisoned B. C. 368, and was succeeded by his
youthful son, Dionysius II., who was under the guidance of the vir-
tuous Dio. But neither Dio nor his friend, the great Athenian phi-
losopher, Plato, were able to reform the corrupted character of the
young sovereign. He banished Dio (B. C. 360), and then utterly
abandoned himself to the most extravagant luxury and debauchery.
Dio returned three years later (B. C. 357), and restored the repub-
lican form of government, after a long struggle, but was assassinated
(B. C. 353). Syracuse was also distracted by the contests of san-
guinary factions, and Dionysius II. took advantage of these to recover
his throne, after ten years of exile. His tyranny, and the treachery
of Icetas, the Leontine, who, when invited to aid the Syracusans,
betrayed their interests to the Carthaginians, obliged the Syracusans
to solicit assistance from Corinth. Timoleon, one of the truest repub-
licans of ancient history, was sent from Corinth to the aid of the
Syracusans, but with forces entirely insufficient for the emergency
(B. C. 345). His abilities, however, triumphed over all obstacles.
He dethroned Dionysius II., expelled Icetas, and humbled the pride of
the Carthaginians by a brilliant victory. After Timoleon's death (B.
C. 357), Syracuse was for a long time in a weak and distracted con-
GRECIAN STATES, ISLANDS AND COLONIES.
767
dition, which was terminated by the usurpation of Agathocles (B. C.
317). The wars of that usurper have been described in our account of
the history of Carthage.
After the death of Agathocles (B. C. 289), the Syracusans, dis-
tracted by domestic dissensions, and hard pressed by the Mamertines
and the Carthaginians, suffered the most terrible misfortunes, and were
eventually obliged to solicit the aid of Pyrrhus, King of Epirus.
After having conquered nearly the whole of Sicily, Pyrrhus so dis-
gusted his supporters by his arrogance that he was obliged to retire
from the island (B. C. 275). Tired of anarchy, the Syracusans at
length conferred the throne on Hiero II., a descendant of the ancient
roj^al family of Gelon. Under this sovereign, Syracuse enjoyed peace
and prosperity during the wars between Rome and Carthage, in which
the city wisely sided with the Romans. Hiero II. died of old age (B.
C. 215), after a long and prosperous reign. After his death the
party friendly to Carthage acquired the ascendency in Syracuse, and
by the profligate use of their power so provoked the resentment of the
Romans that a Roman army was sent into Sicily. After a long siege,
practiced by the mechanical skill and ingenuity of the renowned mathe-
matician and philosopher, Archimedes, the Romans took Syracuse by
storm and razed the city to the ground (B. C. 212).
Most of the other Greek cities in Sicily were involved in the fortunes
of Syracuse. As the Carthaginians had used Agrigcntum for a naval
station, the Romans seized that city as early as B. C. 282. Sicily ulti-
mately became a Roman province, and was one of the most valuable
of all the Roman possessions. It was one of the best governed of the
Roman territories, in consequence of its vicinity to the heart of the
Roman power, but more especially on account of its corn-harvests
being considered the resource to which the Romans should look, as the
agricultural productions of Italy became more and more insufficient
to supply the Roman population.
The Greeks also established colonies in Gaul, Spain and Corsica.
Massilia (now Marseilles), founded by the enterprising Phocaeans
about B. C. 600, was the most important Grecian colony on the coast
of Gaul, and was famous for its trade by sea and land, its merchants
visiting the interior of Gaul, and even procuring tin and lead by this
route from the Scilly Isles. Her territory was rich in corn and wine.
Massilia extended her colonies eastward and westward along the coast
of Gaul. It planted the colonies of Olbia, Antipolis (now Autibes),
Nicaea (now Nice), and Monoecus (now Monaco), to the east along
the coast. To the west Massilia planted such colonies as Agatha,
Rhoda, Emporiae, Hemeroscopeium and Maenaca, the last named near
Malaga, in Spain. Commercial jealousy between Massilia and Car-
Agatho-
cles.
Domestic
Dis-
sensions.
Hiero n.
Roman
Conquest
and
Destruc-
tion of
Syracuse.
Roman
Conquest
of Sicily.
Greek
Colonies
in Gaul,
Spain
and
Corsica.
Massilia.
768
RISE OF GREECE.
Her
Victories
over
Carthage,
Gauls
and
Ligu-
rians.
Sagun-
tum.
Diffusion
of the
Hellenic
Race.
thage led to irequent wars between the two powers, but Massilia was
always victorious. The hostility of the native Gauls and Ligurians
was far more dangerous to the security of Massilia ; but these trouble-
some foes were held in check, with the aid of the Romans, who became
allies of Massilia in B. C. 218; and Massilia remained independent
until the time of the Roman civil wars, when it was conquered by
Julius Caesar and annexed to Rome's dominions. Saguntum was a
Greek city in Spain, whose capture by Hannibal caused the Second
Punic War.
Thus it will be seen that the Hellenic race, instead of being confined
to Greece proper and the neighboring islands, had diffused itself over
a great portion of the ancient world, peopling the shores of the Medi-
terranean, the ^Egean and the Euxine. Wherever the Greek lan-
guage was spoken and wherever Grecian civilization was carried there
was Hellas.
Sparta
and its
Edifices.
SECTION V.— SPARTA UNDER THE LAWS OF LYCURGUS.
THE city of Sparta was built on a series of hills, whose outlines were
varied and romantic, along the right bank of the river Eurotas, within
sight of the chain of Mount Taygetum. Sparta was for centuries with-
out walls and fortifications, relying upon the valor of its inhabitants as
sufficient to protect itself against the attacks of foreign enemies. But
the most lofty hill served for a citadel, and around this hill five towns
were ranged, separated by considerable intervals, and occupied by the
five Spartan tribes. The great forum, or public square, in which the
leading streets of these five towns terminated, was adorned with tem-
ples and statues, and contained edifices in which the Senate, the Ephori,
and other public bodies of Spartan magistrates were accustomed to
assemble. There was likewise a splendid portico, erected by the Spar-
tans from their portion of the spoils taken from the Persians in the
battle of Plataea. The roof did not rest on pillars, but was supported
by immense statues, representing the Persians attired in flowing robes.
On the highest eminence was the temple of Athene, which had the priv-
ileges of a place of refuge, as had the grove surrounding it. This
temple was built of brass, as the one to Apollo at Delphi had originally
been. Most of these Spartan public edifices were not distinguished
by any architectural beauty, being of rude workmanship and destitute
of ornamentation. Private houses in Sparta were small and unadorned,
as the Spartans spent most of their time in porticoes and public halls.
On the south side of the city was the Hippodromos, or race-course, and
near that was the Platanistae, or place of exercise for youth, shaded
by beautiful palm-trees.
From Stereograph, copyright igoj by Underwood &• Under-wood
THE ACROPOLIS OF SPARTA
All that remains of its former power and grandeur
SPARTA UNDER THE LAWS OF LYCURGUS.
In the early period of Spartan history, after the Dorian conquest
and occupation, the Dorian conquerors endeavored to extend their power.
They were at first confined to the upper portion of the valley between
the Taygetus and Parnon mountain-ranges, a region about twenty-five
miles long by about twenty miles wide. The Achaeans occupied the
lower valley, containing the capital, Amyclae, on the Eurotas, about
two miles south of Sparta. For three centuries there was constant
war between Sparta and Amyclae, but Sparta made no progress south-
ward. The powerful fortifications of Amyclae held the Spartans in
check and baffled every effort which they made to extend their domin-
ion. Sparta then unsuccessfully endeavored to reduce Arcadia. She
even provoked quarrels with Messenia and Argos, which led to wars of
little consequence. In the eleventh century before Christ, the Dorians
fully established themselves in the Peloponnesus. Sparta continued
her struggle with Amyclae for the possession of the Eurotas valley, and
at this early period she was confined to the upper portion of the valley
by the Achaeans.
During this period Sparta had been rapidly growing in power and
importance. Sparta was governed by two kings, who acted as checks
upon each other, and the royal power was consequently reduced to
almost utter insignificance by the middle of the ninth century before
Christ. From the very first the Dorian conquerors of Laconia con-
stituted themselves a permanent ruling caste at Sparta, reducing most
of the inhabitants of the country to a condition of vassalage, or more
properly, to a state of complete slavery. During the two centuries
that Sparta carried on tedious wars with Argos, the Spartan state was
distracted by domestic dissensions, resulting from the unequal division
of property, the ambition of rival nobles, and the diminishing power
of the kings.
The Spartan nation consisted of three classes. The first of these
was the Spartans, numbering nine thousand, who inhabited the capital,
and who were descended from the Dorian conquerors and constituted
the nobles of the state. These possessed the whole political power in
the state, owned most of the land, and lived in Sparta on the rents
paid them by their tenants. The second class were the Periceci, the
free inhabitants of the rural towns and villages of Laconia, who were
citizens in a certain sense, but had no political rights. They were of
mingled Doric and Achaean descent, were scattered over Laconia, pos-
sessed the poorest lands, and were the only class engaged in commerce
and the mechanical arts. They constituted the heavy-armed troops
in the Spartan army, but were not subject to the military discipline of
the Spartans. The third class were the Helots, or slaves, who were
originally of Achaean blood, and who were employed in cultivating the
Growth
of the
Spartan
Power.
Domestic
Troubles
in
Sparta.
Classes
in
Sparta.
770
Lycurgus,
the
Spartan
Lawgiver.
His
Posthu-
mous
Nephew.
Lycurgus
in Crete
and Asia
Minor.
RISE OF GREECE.
lands of their Spartans masters, to whom they paid a fixed rent of
half the produce.
Towards the close of the ninth century before Christ, Sparta sud-
denly emerged from obscurity ; and under the wise legislation of
Lycurgus, her celebrated lawgiver, she became the great rival of
Athens. Lycurgus was the second son of Eunomus, one of the two
joint Kings of Sparta, and is believed to have flourished in the latter
part of the ninth century before Christ. After the death of Eunomus,
who was killed in a seditious tumult, his eldest son, Polydcctes, suc-
ceeded to the throne, but died shortly afterward. Lycurgus became
his successor, but reigned only for a short time. Ascertaining that a
posthumous child of Potydectes would probably soon be born, Lycurgus
announced his intention to abdicate the throne, if the child proved to
be a son, and to continue to administer the government only as pro-
tector or regent during his nephew's minority. When the widow of
Polydectes heard of the intention of Lycurgus, she told him privately
that if he would marry her, no child of his brother should ever stand
in the way of his possession of the throne. Lycurgus was horrified at
this unmotherly proposition, but discreetly suppressed his indignation;
and, to insure the preservation of the child, induced his sister-in-law
to believe that he himself intended to destroy it immediately after its
birth. At the same time he secretly instructed her attendants to bring
the child to him as soon as it was born. Accordingly, one evening,
as he was supping with the magistrates of the city, the fatherless
infant boy was brought to Lycurgus, who instantly took his newly-
born nephew in his arms, and, addressing the company, said : " Spar-
tans, behold 3*our king." The Spartans joyfully hailed the infant
boy as their sovereign, and expressed the strongest admiration of the
disinterested and upright course of Lycurgus in thus relinquishing
the crown when he could have retained it so easily.
Although this noble act of Lycurgus raised him in the estimation of
good men, it made the disappointed widow of Polydectes and her
friends and adherents his enemies. They circulated a report that
Lycurgus designed murdering the infant and usurping the throne, and
pursued him so relentlessly with their annoyances and persecutions that
he at length retired to Crete, to study the peculiar laws and institu-
tions of Minos, which had been instrumental in raising that island to
great power and prosperity. The similarity of the system instituted
afterwards at Sparta by Lycurgus to that established in Crete by
Minos adequately demonstrated that the Spartan lawgiver had taken
the Cretan institutions as his model. After residing for some time in
Crete, Lycurgus proceeded to Asia Minor, and examined the laws,
customs and manners of the Grecian cities founded in that quarter.
SPARTA UNDER THE LAWS OF LYCURGUS.
771
At that time the Ionian colonies of Asia Minor far surpassed the most
flourishing of the parent states of Greece. These colonies had at this
early day advanced considerably in commerce and the arts, in conse-
quence of their favorable maritime position, their fertile soil and their
wise institutions. Lycurgus found there the poems of Homer, partly
collected them and subsequently introduced them into Greece proper,
where they had previously been almost unknown.
During the absence of Lycurgus from Sparta, the internal disor-
ders and factious broils which had distracted the state for so long a
period reached such a degree that the laws fell into utter contempt,
the authority of the kings was entirely disregarded, and anarchy and
confusion prevailed. This deplorable condition of affairs convinced
the Spartan people that a reform of the national institutions was abso-
lutely essential to the welfare of the state. The eyes of the Spartans
were therefore directed to Lycurgus as the person whose experience,
wisdom and integrity particularly fitted him for the work of framing
a new constitution for his country. Lycurgus agreed to undertake
this duty, after frequent invitations to do so; but before beginning
his legislative task, he considered it advisable to procure the sanction
of religion for the institutions which he intended to introduce at
Sparta, in order that these institutions might receive the ready acquies-
cence of his countrymen. He accordingly went to Delphi, where he
obtained a response from the famous oracle, telling him that he was
peculiarly favored by the gods, that he was himself more divine than
human, and that the system which he was about to establish would be
the most excellent ever invented. Having thus secured the sanction
of the Delphic oracle, Lycurgus returned to Sparta, where he cau-
tiously began his labors by explaining his plans privately to a few of
his friends. After having secured the cooperation and support of
ma*iy of the leading citizens, he proceeded to summon a general
assembly of the Spartan people, at which his party was strong enough
to overcome all opposition, and he was therefore enabled to proceed
openly in the development of his plans and the reduction of them
to practice.
Lycurgus first devoted himself to the improvement of the civil and
political institutions of Sparta. He retained the system of divided
royalty established in the time of the twin-brothers, Eurysthenes and
Proclcs, and he confirmed the joint possession of the throne to the
descendants of these princes, though he greatly restricted the royal
prerogative, transferring the executive authority to a Senate of thirty
members, including the two kings, who were the official presidents of
the body. The other twenty-eight Senators were selected from the
wisest and most noble of the citizens of Sparta, and Lycurgus directed
Lycurgus
Agrees
to Frame
a Code.
Political
Institu-
tions of
Lycurgus
772
RISE OF GREECE.
that the successors of these twenty-eight should ever afterward be
elected by the Spartan people. The Senators were to hold office for
life, and no person was eligible to the Senatorial office who was less
than sixty years of age. The Senate was vested with deliberative as
well as executive duties. The laws which it originated were afterwards
submitted to the people in their general assemblies, for their approval
or rejection, which each citizen signified by a single vote, without alter-
ing or even without discussing the measures brought before the people.
Besides being presidents of the Senate, the kings were also the military
commanders of the Spartans, and the high-priests of the national relig-
ion. They were favored with the chief seat in every public assembly,
received strangers and ambassadors, and superintended the public
buildings and the public highways. To guard against the kings
exceeding their constitutional powers, five officers caller Ephori were
chosen yearly by the Spartan people; and these were vested with
authority to bring any and all who violated the laws, irrespective of
rank, to trial, and were empowered to punish, by fine or flogging, even
the kings and Senators themselves.
Social After having settled the form of government for Sparta, Lycurgus
t?0sns "f directed his attention to reforming the social institutions and the manners
Lycurgus. of his countrymen. Observing the state menaced with danger in conse-
quence of the animosity between the rich and the poor, he determined on
the heroic measure of equally dividing the lands. He therefore parceled
out the territory of Laconia into thirty-nine thousand lots, giving one
of these to each citizen of Sparta, or free inhabitant of Laconia, or
Lacedaemon. Each of these lots was only large enough to barely
supply the necessaries of a single family, as Lycurgus was resolved
that no person should be placed in circumstances enabling him to live
in luxury. To render the state dependent only on its own territorial
products, and to prevent any individual from accumulating an undue
amount of wealth, he prohibited the use of any money, except an iron
coin, with so small a value in comparison with its bulk and weight that
the necessity of using it as a medium of exchange would make it
difficult to carry on trade, especially foreign commerce. By sub-
jecting this iron coin to a process rendering it brittle and unfit for any
other use, Lycurgus endeavored to destroy every desire to hoard it as
treasure. Some ancient writers tell us that this measure produced all
the effects which Lycurgus hoped would result therefrom. Foreign
merchants ceased to trade in Sparta, and the native artisans refrained
from the manufacture of articles of luxury and ornament, because
there was no longer any valuable money to offer in exchange for such
wares.
SPARTA UNDER THE LAWS OF LYCURGUS. 773
Lycurgus struck a more effective blow at luxury by directing The
that all persons, regardless of rank or age, should eat only at public -fables0
tables, and strictly forbidding any to eat at home or in private. These
public tables were furnished with the plainest and least relishing food,
supplied by the people, each individual being required to contribute
monthly a certain portion of provisions for public use. To guard
against any evasion of this law, by any person partaking of a richer
fare at home or in private, regular attendance at the public meals was
stringently enforced. This measure was at first violently resisted, and
caused a tumult, during which a young man named Alcander beat out
the eyes of Lycurgus; but the effect of this outrage was to turn the
current of public feeling in favor of Lycurgus, and Alcander was
delivered to the lawgiver for punishment. But Lycurgus took the
young man home with him, and, by mild treatment and calm expostula-
tion, convinced him of the impropriety of his conduct, thus converting
him from a fierce opponent to an admiring supporter. All noisy con-
versation was forbidden at the public meals, and no person was per-
mitted to mention elsewhere anything that had been said on these occa-
sions. At the tables the Spartans reclined on benches without
cushions; while their children, who were allowed to be present from a
very tender age, were seated on stools at their feet. The regular fare
was black broth, boiled pork, barley-bread, cheese, figs and dates.
The drink was wine and water, served in quantities so small as to be
barely sufficient to quench the thirst. A dessert, consisting of poultry,
fish, game, cakes and fruits, was generally furnished at the expense
of some private individual. At a later period, when the severity of the
Spartan manners was relaxed, many rich and costly dainties and deli-
cacies were added to the public meals, under the name of this dessert.
As intercourse with foreigners might corrupt the simple manners Laconic
of the Spartans, all strangers were ordered to leave Sparta, and Spar- Speech,
tans were not permitted to travel abroad. Lycurgus being a man of
few words, disliked great talkers, and took great pains to introduce
a short and forcible style of expression among his countrymen, in
which he succeeded so well that Spartans soon became celebrated for
the terseness and brevity of their speech. Such a style of expression is
still called laconic, from Laconia, the name of the Spartan territory.
As an essential for public duty, all Spartans were subjected to a Public
strict system of training from the day of their birth to that of their ^Qn of
death. As soon as an infant was born, its father was obliged to bring Infants,
it to certain public officers, who examined it; and if it was found to
be sickly or deformed, is was considered of no use to the state, and was
cast out into the fields to perish. Those infants whom these judges
ordered to be preserved were then given in charge of nurses, provided
774
RISE OF GREECE,
Physical
and
Military
Training.
Personal
Self-
sacrifice
and
Public
Welfare,
by the state, who were instructed to rear the children in such a manner
as to make them hardy in body and courageous in spirit.
At the age of seven years boys were placed in public schools for
training and education. They were there divided into companies, over
each of which an older boy, or a more active one, was placed as cap-
tain, and was authorized to repress disorder and punish the disobe-
dient and rebellious. Their discipline was scarcely more than an
apprenticeship to hardship, self-denial and obedience ; and the only
intellectual culture given them was an unconquerable spirit of forti-
tude and endurance, an enthusiastic love of military glory, and an
unbounded attachment to their country. As the young were advanc-
ing in years they were subjected to severer privations, and were accus-
tomed to still more trying exercises. In the most inclement weather
they were forced to go barefoot, and were very lightly clothed, being
permitted to wear but one garment, and this they were obliged to wear
for an entire year, no matter how dirty and ragged it had become in
the meantime. They were compelled to sleep on beds of reeds, and
were not allowed anything that might tend to produce effeminate
habits. To cultivate their love for war, they were encouraged to
engage with one another in frequent combats, while their seniors
looked on and applauded such as fought courageously and dexterously
or did not display any outward signs of pain upon receiving the
hardest blows. All their exercises were designed to make them robust
in body, patient in suffering, bold in spirit, and quick and decisive in
action. To make them sly and cunning, boys were encouraged to steal
provisions from one another, and even from the public tables, and from
the houses and gardens of the citizens. If detected in the theft, they
were severely flogged, not for attempting to steal, but for not doing
it carefully enough to escape detection.
Even Spartan adults were much restricted in their personal freedom,
and had their respective duties assigned them by the laws, like soldiers in
a camp. Every Spartan citizen was expected to consider only the
public welfare, regardless of his own personal interests or pleasures,
and to be prepared at any moment to sacrifice his life cheerfully, if
he thus served the state. Spartan citizens were forbidden employing
themselves in the mechanical arts or in tilling the soil. When not
employed in military duty they were engaged in superintending the
public schools, and in athletic and military exercises, in hunting, in
assemblies for conversation, or in religious services. They were not
permitted to take part in public affairs until they had reached the age
of thirty, and even then a man of ordinary position who meddled much
with political matters was considered rather forward and presumptuous.
It was regarded as dishonorable for a man to spend much time
SPARTA UNDER THE LAWS OF LYCURGUS.
775
his family or to manifest a fondness for their society. The state only
was regarded as deserving a Spartan's affection.
In Laconia, or Lacedaemon, the slaves were the property of the state, Helots, or
and were distributed, with the land, among the free inhabitants of the
country. The Spartan slaves were partly descended from the original
inhabitants of Laconia, and were called Helots, from the town of Helos,
where their ancestors had made an obstinate resistance to the con-
quering Dorians ; and to them only were assigned the duties of agri-
culture and the mechanical arts. They were required to follow their
masters during war, and constituted a numerous light cavalry force
in every Spartan army. They also officiated as domestic servants and
in every other menial capacity. They were the most useful members
of the Spartan community. Nevertheless, their haughty masters
treated them in the most cruel and shameful manner, and frequently
put them to death out of mere caprice or sport. They were required
to appear in a dress denoting their bondage, such as a dog-skin bonnet
and a sheep-skin vest. They were not allowed to teach their children
any accomplishments which might seem to equalize them with their
masters. A Spartan might flog his slaves once a day, for no other
reason than to only remind them that they were slaves. They were
sometimes forced to drink until they became intoxicated, and to engage
in ridiculous and indecent dances, to show the Spartan youth the dis-
graceful and disgusting condition to which intoxicating liquors
reduced men. The law did not punish' any one for murdering a slave,
and it was the custom for young Spartans to scatter themselves over
the country in small bands, to waylay and kill the stoutest and hand-
somest Helots they could find, simply to exercise their prowess. v
Spartan girls were trained as rigorously in athletic exercises as boys.
They were regarded as the part of the state whose duty was to give
Sparta a race of hardy sons. All Spartan women were generally
married at the age of twenty, and although the wife enjoyed little of
her husband's society, she was treated with great respect by him, and
was permitted more freedom than was enjoyed by women in the other
Grecian states. She was taught to take a deep interest in the honor
and welfare of her country, and the high spirit of Spartan women
encouraged the men to heroic deeds.
Lycurgus desired only to form a nation of able-bodied, hardy and
warlike citizens ; and to accomplish this result he trampled upon every
amiable and modest feeling of the Spartan women, if he could advance
his favorite object. He directed that the women should give up their
retired manner of living, and that they should publicly exercise them-
selves in running, wrestling, throwing the javelin, and other masculine
diversions. He also tried to show that he had a thorough contempt
2-11
Spartan
Their
Warlike
776
RISE OF GREECE.
Spartan
Military
Virtues.
Personal
Liberty
De-
stroyed.
General
Spartan
Charac-
ter.
Retire-
ment and
Death of
Lycurgus.
for that marriage obligation which is the basis of so much of the virtue
and happiness of modern society. A Spartan mother was mainly
desirous that her sons should be brave warriors, and a suit of armor
was considered the most precious gift which she could bestow upon
them. The advice of Spartan mothers to their sons when they
departed for the battle-field was : " Return with your shield or upon it."
No Spartan mother would deign to look at her son who had disgraced
himself by cowardice or treason to his country.
The sole object of Spartan education was to prepare the people of
Lacedaemon for war, and the aim of Lycurgus was to make the Spar-
tans a warlike race, not, however, to enlarge their territory, as he
dreaded the consequences of an extension of the Lacedaemonian terri-
tory beyond the borders of Laconia. The Spartan youth were taught
to be sober, cunning, persevering, brave, insensible to hardships,
patient in suffering, obedient to their superiors, and unyielding in their
devotion to their country. These were simply military virtues. The
Spartan laws did not allow a Spartan soldier to flee before an enemy.
But the system of Lycurgus was a narrow and barbarous scheme.
It destroyed personal liberty, and made every Spartan the slave of
the state or community. Social independence was thus annihilated.
The principle underlying the whole system and institutions of Lycur-
gus was — the citizen for the state, not the state for the citizen. The
object of his code was not to make the people happy in the enjoyment
of peaceful pursuits, happy in the enjoyment of the largest liberty,
happy in being virtuous, happy in their homes, their families, their
religion, their good fame — it was not the object of the Lycurgean
system to make the Spartans happy in any of these.
The frugality and temperance of the Spartans, their grave beha-
vior, their invincible valor, their patriotic devotion, their heroic forti-
tude— all these have been subjects of commendation; but the extremes
to which these qualities were carried made them ascetic, harsh and
unfeeling. Their love of war impelled them to an aggressive and
tyrannical foreign policy, and their contempt for the peaceful arts
and the quiet enjoyments of domestic life prevented them from culti-
vating those gentler and kindlier feelings of human nature which are
practically the main sources of human happiness.
After Lycurgus had completed his code, he convoked an assembly
of the Spartan people, and told them that there was yet one point con-
cerning which he desired to consult the Delphic oracle ; but that, before
he departed for that purpose, he desired them to swear that they would
keep his institutions, social and political, unaltered until his return.
His countrymen having taken such an oath, Lycurgus proceeded to
Delphi, where he obtained an assurance from the oracle that if Sparta
SPARTA UNDER THE LAWS OF LYCURGUS. 777
would continue to faithfully comply with his laws it would become the
greatest and most flourishing state in the world. He committed this
favorable reply in writing, and transmitted it to Sparta; after which,
it is said, he voluntarily starved himself to death, so that his coun-
trymen would be forever bound by their oath to maintain his laws and
institutions without change. But some writers tell us that he died in
Crete at an advanced age; and that, in accordance with his request,
his body was afterwards cremated, and the ashes cast into the sea, so
that his remains could never be conveyed to Sparta, and that his coun-
trymen might therefore have no pretext to declare themselves relieved
from their solemn obligation to abide by his laws.
The laws of Lycurgus — which the Spartans observed for five cen- Effects
turies — made that people the greatest warriors of Greece. But the £awsof
Spartans became only a nation of warriors. They produced no phi- Lycurgua
losophers, no orators, no historians, no artists. The effects of the laws
of Lycurgus upon the Spartans were soon made manifest. They
became a body of well-trained, disciplined professional soldiers, at a
time when scarcely any Grecian state understood the value of any kind
of military discipline or training, or practiced it. Consequently
Sparta became irresistible in war, and rapidly conquered the neigh-
boring states, thus making herself supreme in the Peloponnesus.
Towards the close of the ninth century before Christ she took Amyclae
and became mistress of the whole Eurotas valley, the Achaeans sub-
mitting or fleeing to Italy. In the next century the effects of the
Lycurgean system upon the Spartans were still more manifest. Sparta
then became a compact and organized state, spreading over the whole
of Laconia, and possessing the only completely-disciplined army in
Greece. She began deliberately to quarrel with the other Pelopon-
nesian states for the apparent purpose of extending her domain. In
wars with Arcadia and Argos, Sparta gained some signal advantages,
Argos losing all her territory south of Cynuria.
Sparta then began a series of aggressions upon the neighboring First
state of Messenia, actuated partly by a desire for more territory, and senian
partly by a dislike of the liberal policy pursued by the Dorian con- War-
querers of Messenia towards their Achaean subjects. Hostilities soon
resulted, and the contest known as the First Messenian War com-
menced B. C. 743 and lasted Jwenty years (B. C. 743-723). Sparta's
only ally in this war was Corinth. Messenia was aided by Argos,
Arcadia and Sicyon. The war was prolonged by the long defense of
the city of Ithome. During the struggle the Messenians consulted
the Delphic oracle concerning the best means of securing the favor of
the gods, and received as a response that they ought to sacrifice a noble-
born virgin to the infernal deities. Thereupon Aristodemus, a Mes-
778
RISE OF GREECE.
Aristode-
mus
and the
Defense of
Ithome.
Second
Mes-
senian
War.
Aristom-
enes and
Tyrtaeus.
Aristom-
enesand
the
Defense
of Ira.
senian commander, offered his own daughter as a victim ; and as she was
about to be sacrificed, her lover desperately endeavored to save her by the
pretext that she was not fitted for the immolation. The only effect of
this declaration was to excite the rage of Aristodemus, who had so greatly
distinguished himself during the struggle by his valor and ability that
he was elevated to the throne of Messenia. But in the midst of all his
greatness and his triumphs, remorse for having sacrificed his daughter
tormented him, so that he finally committed suicide upon her grave.
His death was followed by the conquest of the Messenians by the
Spartans, who forced the Messenians to evacuate Ithome. Thus ended
the First Messenian War, B. C. 723, Messenia being annexed to the
Lacedaemonian territory. Many of the Messenians sought refuge in
Argolis and Arcadia, and those who remained were reduced to slavery
by the Spartans. Ithome was razed to the ground.
After enduring Spartan oppression for .thirty-nine years, the Mes-
senians rose in revolt against their tyrannical masters; and, under the
leadership of a skillful general named Aristomenes, they began the
Second Messenian War, which lasted seventeen years (B. C. 685-668).
The Messenians were aided by the Argives, the Arcadians, the Elians
and the Sicyonians ; while Sparta's only ally, as in the preceding war,
was Corinth. The first battle was indecisive ; but, with the assistance of
their allies, the Messenians, under their able general, Aristomenes,
defeated the Spartans in three battles. Thoroughly disheartened by
their reverses, the Spartans consulted the Delphic oracle, and were
told that they must obtain a leader from Athens if they wished to be
victorious. In consequence of the natural jealousy between Sparta
and Athens, the Spartans were reluctant to send to Athens for a leader,
and the Athenians were as reluctant to furnish one, but both feared to
disobey the oracle. The Athenians in derision sent the lame school-
master and poet, Tyrtaeus, to lead the Spartan armies; but Tyrtaeus
proved to be as good a leader as could have been found, as he so aroused
the patriotic ardor . and martial spirit of the Spartans by his soul-
stirring odes and lyrics that their drooping spirits were revived, and
they were stimulated to redoubled exertions and speedily caused the
struggle to assume an attitude favorable to them and discouraging to
their foes.
The Spartans were defeated with great loss by the Messenians and
their allies in a great battle at the Boar's Grave, in the plain of
Stenyclerus, and were obliged to retire to their own territory ; but in
the third year of the war the Messenians were defeated through the
treachery of Arist6crates, the king of the Arcadian Orchomenus. As
a result of this defeat, Aristomenes, unable to again take the field,
threw himself into the mountain fortress of Ira, where he continued the
SPARTA UNDER THE LAWS OF LYCURGUS.
struggle for eleven years, resisting all the Spartan assaults, and fre-
quently sallying forth from his stronghold and ravaging Laconia with
fire and sword. His exploits were very brilliant. He three times
offered to Zeus the Ithomates, the sacrifice called Hecatomphonsa,
which could only be offered by a warrior who had slain a hundred foes
with his own hand. He was at one time captured with some of his com-
panions, carried to Sparta, and cast with them into a deep cavern,
which the Spartans were accustomed to use as a receptacle for such
criminals as had been condemned to capital punishment. Aristomenes
escaped unhurt by the fall, but all his companions were killed. He
expected to die of hunger in this dismal cavern ; but on the third day,
after he had lain himself down to die, he heard a faint noise, and, after
rising up, he observed, by a faint light descending from above, a fox
busily engaged in gnawing the dead bodies of his companions. He
cautiously approached the fox and seized hold of its tail, and was thus
enabled to follow the animal in its efforts to escape through the dark-
ness, until it made its way to the outside by a small opening. With a
little effort, Aristomenes widened this opening sufficiently to enable his
body to pass through, and thus escaped to Messenia, where he was
joyfully welcomed by his, countrymen.
Notwithstanding the valor of Aristomenes, the war ended in the
triumph of the Spartans^, who surprised Ira one night while Aristom-
enes was disabled by a wound. He succeeded in cutting his way
through the enemy with the bravest of his followers, and was thus
enabled to escape. Taking refuge in Arcadia, he there formed a plan
to surprise Sparta, but this plan was betrayed by Aristocrates, who was
stoned to death by his countrymen for this treachery. Aristomenes
then retired to the island of Rhodes, where he married a chief's daughter
and lived the remainder of his days in ease and quiet. Many of the Mes-
senians, not willing to submit to Sparta a second time, abandoned their
country and retired to the island of Sicily, where they colonized Mes-
sana. Those who remained were reduced by the Spartans to the con-
dition of Helots, or slaves; with the exception of the inhabitants of a
few of the Messenian towns, who were admitted to the position of
Perioeci. Thus ended the Second Messenian War, B. C. 668; and
Messenia was annexed to Laconia, and its history ceased until B. C.
369. The Messenians for a long time cherished the memory of Aris-
tomenes, and the legends of subsequent times declared that his spirit
was seen animating his countrymen and scattering ruin among their
enemies, in the famous battle of Leuctra, in which the power of the
Spartans was finally crushed by the Thebans.
After subduing the Messenians, the Spartans carried on a war with
the Arcadians, who had been among the allies of the Messenians.
VOL. 3. — 6
Conquest
with
Argos.
780
RISE OF GREECE.
Sparta's
Power,
Influence
and Am-
bition.
Sparta
and
Athena.
The Spartans conquered the southern portion of Arcadia, but were
unable to reduce the city of Tegea, which offered a successful resist-
ance and defied the Lacedaemonian power for a century, before it was
finally taken, B. C. 554, and Arcadia reduced. Sparta had been the
rival of Argos from the earliest times. Argos then held the entire
eastern coast of the Peloponnesus under her dominion. Soon after the
death of Lycurgus the Spartans wrested from the Argives all the
territory eastward to the sea and northward beyond the city of Thyrea,
annexing it to Laconia. About B. C. 547 the Argives began another
war against Sparta to recover their lost territory, but they were
defeated and their power was broken.
Sparta was for some time the most powerful state of Greece. Her
own territory of Laconia, or Lacedasmon, embraced the entire South
of the Peloponnesus, and the other Peloponnesian states were so com-
pletely humbled that they were unable to resist her supremacy. The
Spartan influence had thus far been restricted within the narrow limits
of the Peloponnesus, but about this time it began to extend into for-
eign lands. In B. C. 555, Croesus, the great Lydian king, sent an
embassy to Sparta, acknowledging that state as the leading power in
Greece, and soliciting its alliance to resist the rising power of Persia
under Cyrus the Great. The Spartans accepted the offers of Croesus,
and prepared an expedition to assist him, but before it could be sent
Cyrus conquered Lydia. This alliance marks the commencement of
Sparta's foreign policy, and was followed by other Spartan expedi-
tions beyond the limits of the Greek continent. In B. C. 525 Sparta
and Corinth sent a combined expedition to the coast of Asia Minor
to depose Poly crates, the tyrant of Samos, but it failed in its object.
Sparta's ambition now arose to such a height that she assumed the right
to interfere in the affairs of the Greek states outside of the Pelopon-
nesus, as the champion of the cause of oligarchy. Her efforts against
Attica excited the fear and hatred which the Athenians entertained
for the Spartans for almost a century and a half. Sparta's influence
among the states of Greece was always on the side of oligarchy or des-
potism, and against democracy, such as that of Athens; and the aris-
tocracy of every Grecian city regarded Sparta as its natural champion
and protector, while the democratic elements everywhere looked to
Athens as their friend and supporter.
Thus Sparta — the great power of the Peloponnesus and the great
rival of Athens during the whole period of Grecian history — became
the leader of the Dorian branch of the Hellenic race, and the champion
of aristocracy and oligarchy among the Grecian states ; while Athens
became the head of the Ionian element, the champion of democracy,
and the leader in Greek philosophy, literature, oratory and art.
ATHENS UNDER THE LAWS OF DRACO AND SOLON.
781
SECTION VI.— ATHENS UNDER THE LAWS OF DRACO
AND SOLON.
WHILE Sparta under the laws of Lycurgus was advancing in power
and extending its dominion, Athens was greatly distracted and nearly
brought to the brink of ruin by the contests of domestic factions,
being a prey to all the evils of oligarchical oppression on the one hand
and popular violence and disorder on the other.
During the early period the people of Athens were divided into four
tribes — Teleontes, Hopletes, JEgicoreis and Argadeis. These were
subdivided into two branches — brotherhoods and clans, and Thirdlings
and Naucraries. The former division was founded upon consan-
guinity. The latter was upon an artificial arrangement of the state
for purposes of taxation and military service. There were three
classes of citizens — nobles, farmers and artisans. The nobles were
vested with the whole political power, and filled all the offices in the
state. The Senate, or Court of Areopagus, which held its sessions
on Mars' Hill, was composed of members of this class.
The first archon of Athens after the abolition of royalty in B. C.
1068 was Medon, the son of Codrus, the last Athenian king, who had
so patriotically sacrificed his life in a war with the Dorians. On the
death of Alcmseon, the thirteenth archon, and the last one for life, the
Eupatrids, or Athenian nobles, limited the archon's term of office to
ten years (about B. C. 752). This dignity was still bestowed on the
descendants of Codrus and Medon ; but about B. C. 714 all the nobles
were made eligible to the office.
In the year B. C. 683 another important change was made in the
constitution by increasing the number of archons from one to nine, to
be thenceforth elected annually. The first of these archons was the
head of the executive power and was usually called, by way of distinc-
tion, The Archon, and sometimes the Archon Eponymus, because he
he gave his name to the year. He presided over the whole body of
archons, and wai the representative of the dignity of the state. He
decided all disputes concerning the family and protected widows and
orphans. The second archon was honored with the title of The
Basileus, or The King, as he represented the king in his position as
the high-priest of the state religion. He was the judge in every case
regarding the national religion and homicide. The third archon,
styled The Polemarch, or Commander-in-chief, directed the war depart-
ment, and commanded the Athenian army in the field until the time of
Clisthenes. He adjudicated disputes between Athenian citizens and
strangers. The remaining six archons, called Thesmothetce, or Legis-
Troubles
in
Athens.
Tribes
and
Classes in
Athens.
The
Early
Archons.
Nine
Archons.
782
RISE OF GREECE.
Court of
Areopa-
gus.
Tyranny
of the
Archons.
Draco,
the First
Lawgiver
of
Athens.
Cylon
and the
Alcmoni-
dae.
lators, officiated as presidents of law courts and decided all matters
not specially pertaining to the first three. The whole body of archons
constituted the supreme council of the state. There being no code in
Athens, the decisions of the archons had the force of laws.
In addition to the archons, there was the Court of Areopagus, or
Senate, which derived its name from the place of its meeting, on a
rocky eminence, opposite the Acropolis, known as the Hill of Ares, or
Mars' Hill. This council was composed of Eupatrids, or nobles, only ;
and all the archons became members of it at the end of their official
terms of archonship. It was called simply the Senate or Council.
Solon afterwards instituted another Senate, and the original council
was named Areopagus, to distinguish it from the new body.
The nobles possessed the chief power in the state, and they used this
power to oppress the people, as oligarchies generally do. The archons
were vested with arbitrary powers, as there was no written code to
restrain them, and they very naturally advanced the interests of their
own order to the injury of the commons. In about half a century
after the establishment of the yearly archons, the popular dissatis-
faction reached such a height, and the general demand for a written
code of laws had become so vehement, that the nobles were unable to
resist any longer. The crimes and disorders of the state continued
with unabated violence.
In this situation of affairs, Draco, a man of uprightness and integ-
rity, but of a stern and cruel disposition, was elected archon (B. C.
623), and was assigned the task of preparing a code and reforming
the institutions of Athens. He framed for the Athenian people a
code of laws so severe that it was said " they were written in blood
instead of ink." He punished even the slightest offenses with death,
saying that the smallest crimes deserved death and that he had no
severer punishment for the greatest ones. The only effect of Draco's
severe laws was to render them inoperative, as is usually the case with
over-rigorous statutes. Men were willing to prosecute only the great-
est criminals; and as a result almost all offenders escaped punishment,
and were thus encouraged to continue in their wrong-doing.
Draco's code placed the lives of the citizens at the mercy of the
nobles, and thus increased the popular discontent. A noble named
Cylon sought to turn this feeling to his own advantage by making
himself tyrant of Athens, B. C. 612. He had won the olive crown at
the Olympic Games, and had married the daughter of Theagenes, who
had made himself tyrant of Megara. He consulted the Delphic
oracle before making his attempt, and was told to seize the Acropolis
of Athens " at the great festival of Zeus." Cylon forgot that the
Diasia was the greatest festival of Zeus at Athens, and supposed that
ATHENS UNDER THE LAWS OF DRACO AND SOLON. 733
the oracle alluded to the Olympic Games; and at the next celebration
of these games he seized the Acropolis, with a strong force consisting
of his own partisans and of troops furnished him by his father-in-law,
the tyrant of Megara. He was not supported by the great mass of the
people, and was blockaded in the Acropolis by the troops of the gov-
ernment. Cylon succeeded in making -his escape ; but his followers,
reduced by hunger, soon submitted to the government troops, and
found refuge at the altar of Athene. The archon, Megacles, a mem-
ber of the renowned family of the Alcmseonida, found them at that
altar, and induced them to come forth from there, by promising to
spare their lives, fearing that their death there would pollute the
sanctuary. But as soon as they had left the temple they were attacked
and massacred. Some were even slain at the sacred altar of the Furies,
or Eumenides, where they sought safety. This act of sacrilege on
the part of the archons aroused fresh troubles at Athens. The entire
family of the Alcmaeonidas were looked upon as tainted with the sac-
rilege of Megacles, and the friends of those thus massacred demanded
vengeance upon the accursed race. By means of their wealth and
influence, the family of Megacles were able to uphold themselves
against their enemies to the end of the seventh century before Christ;
but were finally banished from Attica by the decree of a council of
three hundred members of their own order (B. C. 597).
The banishment of the Alcmaeonidae in B. C. 597 did not quiet the Plague at
superstitious alarm excited at Athens by the sacrilege of Megacles ; and Athens
while the Athenian people were aroused by these fears a plague broke out Sacrifices
in the city, and this was considered a punishment sent by the gods for P1"
this dreadful crime. The people consulted the Delphic oracle, which
told them to invite the renowned Cretan prophet and sage, Epimenides,
to visit Athens and purify the city of pollution and sacrilege. Epimen-
ides was grcatiy famed for his knowledge of the healing powers of
nature. He visited Athens and performed certain rites and sacrifices
which the people believed would propitiate the offended deities. The
plague disappeared; and the Athenians, in gratitude, offered their
deliverer a talent of gold, which he refused. He would accept no
other payment than a branch of the sacred olive tree which grew on
the Acropolis. This purification of Athens occurred in B. C. 596.
The archons now opened their eyes to a proper sense of the perils Dessen-
which menaced the state. The sacrifices of Epimenides had stopped
the plague, but did not end the popular discontent. The factious dis-
turbances in the city became more and more frequent and fierce. The
Athenians were now divided into three factions. The first of these
consisted of the wealthy nobles, who favored an oligarchy, or a govern-
ment in which all political power is vested in a few privileged indi-
784
RISE OF GREECE.
viduals. The second party consisted of the poor peasantry, who
favored democracy, or a government in which the masses of the people
are the ruling power. The third party was composed of the mer-
chants, who preferred a mixed constitution, in which the oligarchical
and democratic elements were combined. These three factions were
arrayed against each other in the fiercest animosity.
Oppres- Another element of trouble adding to the distraction of the state
the'poor was tne ^ost^e feeling which had grown up between the rich and the
by the poor. Some of the citizens had acquired great wealth, while the great
mass of the people had sunk into the most abject poverty, and were
generally overborne with burdens entailed on them by their extrava-
gance, and which they had no reasonable hope of ever being able to
discharge. This condition of affairs was rendered more distressful
by the fact that a harsh law existed in Athens, authorizing a creditor
to seize the person of his debtor, and to retain, or even to sell, him as a
slave. The rich only too eagerly took advantage of this cruel statute ;
and the poor were consequently exasperated to so intense a pitch that
a general insurrection of the lower orders appeared to be on the verge
of breaking out in Athens.
Solon, the In this dangerous condition of affairs at Athens, the wisest men of
Second an parties looked to Solon, a descendant of Codrus, and a person of
Lawgiver
of recognized talents, virtues and wisdom, as the only person who pos-
Athens. sesse(j sufficient ability and influence to allay the unhappy differences
which divided the people and to avert the misfortunes which threat-
ened the state. Solon's justice, wisdom and kindness won for him the
affection of the poor, while the rich were friendly to him because he
was one of their class, so that he possessed the respect and confidence
of every class. Influential persons encouraged him to aspire to, or
rather to assume, regal power, so that he could more readily and
effectually repress disorder and tumult, control faction, and force
obedience to such laws as he might deem necessary to enact; but he
resolutely and persistently declined to follow such advice. After
some deliberation, Solon accepted the office of Archon, with special
powers, which had been conferred upon him by an almost unanimous
vote.
Solon's Solon was a native of the island of Salamis. His father, Execes-
Mercan- tides, although of distinguished rank, possessed only a very moderate
Travels, degree of wealth, so that Solon found himself obliged to devote a
great part of his youth to mercantile pursuits, to acquire for himself
a competence. This proved of some advantage to him as a lawgiver,
as it led him to visit foreign lands, thus affording him the best pos-
sible opportunities for studying men and manners, and for comparing
the different systems of civil and political economy then existing in the
ATHENS UNDER THE LAWS OF DRACO AND SOLON.
785
various civilized countries of the ancient world. During these mercantile
expeditions, Solon is said to have met and conferred with the six cele-
brated men, who, with himself, received the honorable title of the
Seven Wise Men of Greece, of whom we shall hereafter give an account.
Solon was a poet no less than a sage, and in the character of a poet
lie made his first public appearance in Athens.
At that time the Athenians had been engaged in a long struggle
with the Megarians for the possession of the island of Salamis, but
they had now become weary of the war, and had enacted a law that
whoever should advise a renewal of the war for the recovery of Salamis
should be put to death. But before long they wished this law abro-
gated, but fear of the penalty which it denounced prevented every one
from proposing its repeal. In this juncture, Solon ingeniously devised
a plan by which he was able to accomplish the desired result without
any injury to himself. He had for some time pretended insanity
so successfully that he deceived even some of his personal friends, and
having composed a poem on the war of Salamis, he one day rushed into
the market-place, and recited his verses before the assembled people
with the wildest gesticulation. The citizens at first gathered about
him out of curiosity, but excited by what had been recited to them, and
encouraged by some of Solon's confidential friends who were present,
the people repealed the obnoxious law and voted another expedition
against Salamis, appointing Solon its commander. Solon led the expe-
dition against Salamis and reduced its inhabitants to their former
subjection to Athens.
Solon appeared very conspicuously as the Athenian delegate in the
Amphictyonic Council when that body waged the First Sacred War
against the great and prosperous commercial cities of Crissa and
Cirrha, in Phocis, in the early part of the sixth century before Christ
(about B. C. 595-586). These Phocian cities had annoyed and plun-
dered the pilgrims to the sacred shrine of Apollo at Delphi, and finally
pillaged the sacred temple itself, which sacrilege induced the Amphic-
tyonic Council to send successive military expeditions against Crissa
and Cirrha, and these expeditions successively took and destroyed both
cities, to appease the wrath of Apollo; while the vengeance of the
offended god was invoked upon any one who should presume to rebuild
the razed cities, and the territories which they had occupied were con-
secrated to Apollo, thus forbidding the cultivation of these lands or
their secular use in any way.
But it is as a lawgiver that Solon achieved for himself an enduring
fame. As the discontent of the poor was the greatest danger threat-
ening the state, he began his reforms of the social and political institu-
tions of Athens. He ameliorated the condition of the poorer classes
Solon and
the War
with
Megaris
for
Salamis.
First
Sacred
War in
Greece.
Solon's
Relief
of the
Poor.
786
RISE OF GREECE.
Solon's
Political
Reforms.
The
Court of
Areop-
agus.
The
Helisea.
by canceling all their debts, reducing the rate of interest, and by
abolishing imprisonment or enslavement for debt. He also restored
to freedom those debtors who had been enslaved by their creditors, and
repealed all of Draco's sanguinary laws, except one which declared
murder punishable with death.
Solon next proceeded to reform the political and judicial institu-
tions of Athens. Theseus had divided the citizens of Athens into three
classes ; but Solon divided them into four classes, according to the sum
of their yearly incomes. The two higher or aristocratic classes were
required to serve as cavalry in time of war, and were therefore called
knights (meaning horsemen) ; while citizens of the two lower classes
composed the infantry. The highest class held the highest offices in the
state and paid the largest amount of taxes ; the second and third classes
held the remainder of the offices and paid the remainder of the taxes;
while the lowest class were excluded from all offices and exempt from
all taxation. A Senate, or Council of State, consisting of four hun-
dred members, elected yearly, one hundred of whom were selected by
lot from the four wards of Attica, was vested with the sole power of
originating all legislative measures. When Attica was divided into ten
wards, each ward returned ten Councilors, thus increasing the Council
of State to five hundred members. The measures proposed by the
Senate, or Council of State, only became laws if they were accepted
by the general assembly of the citizens of Athens, a purely democratic
body, which was vested with the absolute and unlimited power of
approving or rejecting the proposed measures.
The Court of Areopagus, which Solon restored, and which held its
sittings on the eastern side of the Athenian Acropolis, was composed of
such individuals as had worthily discharged the duties of archonship.
Its members held their offices for life. This tribunal possessed para-
mount jurisdiction in criminal cases, and also exercised a censorship
over the public morals, the affairs of religion, and the education of the
people. It was empowered to punish impiety, profligacy and idleness,
and also possessed the power of annulling or changing the decrees of
the general assembly of the people. Every citizen was bound to make
to this court an annual statement concerning his income and the sources
from which it was derived. In its judicial capacity this court sat
during the night and without lights; and those who conducted the
prosecution or the defense of accused persons brought before the court
were not allowed to make use of oratorical declamation and were
required to state plainly the facts of the case. The Court of Areop-
agus was long regarded with very great esteem.
Solon transferred the judicial powers previously exercised by the
archons to a popularly-constituted court called the Heliaea, consisting
ATHENS UNDER THE LAWS OF DRACO AND SOLON.
787
of at least six thousand jurors, and sometimes being subdivided into
ten inferior courts, each with six hundred jurors. Six of these courts
were for civil cases, and four for criminal cases. Every citizen over
thirty years of age, and not legally disqualified, was eligible as a juror
of the Heliasa. The jurors received a small compensation for their
attendance at court.
Solon established a system of rewards and punishments to stimulate
virtue and to repress vice and crime. Among the rewards for faithful
citizenship were crowns conferred publicly by the Senate or the people ;
public banquets in the town-hall, or Prytaneum ; places of honor in
the theater and in the public assembly; and statues in the Angora or
in the streets. Foreigners were encouraged to settle in Athens, but
were obliged to follow some useful occupation. The Court of Areop-
agus punished idleness and profligacy severely. A thief was pun-
ished by being compelled to restore twice the value of the property
he had stolen.
To prevent indifference regarding the public good, Solon decreed
that any one remaining neutral in civil contests should be punished
with forfeiture of property and banishment from Athens. To restrain
female extravagance and ostentation, he instituted measures for strictly
regulating the dress of women and their conduct on public occasions.
He provided for the punishment of idleness, and decreed that such
parents who neglected to bring up their children to some trade or pro-
fession should, in their old age, have no right to expect aid or support
from those children. Pie prohibited evil speaking of the dead, and
provided for the imposition of a fine on those who publicly slandered
the living. He forbade any father giving a dowry to his daughters,
in order to discourage mercenary marriages. Solon's constitution
remained, in force, with slight interruption, for five centuries, and laid
the foundation for Athenian greatness.
Solon was accused by his own order of having yielded too much, and
by the other classes of not having granted them enough. He can-
didly admitted that his laws were not perfect, but that they were the
best that the people would accept. The high regard in which he was
held prevented any outbreak for some time among his countrymen.
When Solon had finished his code of laws, he exacted a solemn
promise from the Athenians that they would not repeal or alter them
for a hundred years. As officious persons afterwards constantly
annoyed him with their suggestions of amendments for the improve-
ment of his code, Solon concluded to retire from Athens until his coun-
trymen should have time to become familiarized with and attached to
his institutions. After obtaining the consent of the Athenians to
travel abroad for ten years, and exacting from them an oath that thej
Rewards
and
Punish-
ments,
Solon's
Social
Reforms.
Partial
Satisfac-
tion.
Solon's
Travels
in Egypt
and
Cyprus.
788
RISE OF GREECE.
Solon's
Visit to
Croesus.
Renewed
Dissen-
sions in
Athens.
Solon and
Pisistra-
tus.
Artful
Trick of
Pisistra-
tus.
would preserve his laws unaltered until his return, Solon sailed lo
Egypt, where he frequently conversed on philosophical questions with
priests and learned men of that ancient nation. He afterwards visited
the island of Cyprus, where he aided a petty king, named Philocyprus,
to lay out and build a city, which was called Soli, on account of the
share which the great Athenian lawgiver had in its erection.
Solon proceeded from Cyprus to Asia Minor, going first to Sardis,
the capital of Lydia, where he visited the wealthy and renowned King
Croesus, on which occasion occurred the conversation in which the
Lydian king asked the Athenian sage and lawgiver if he did not con-
sider him a happy man, and to which Solon replied that life was full
of vicissitudes and that no one was perfectly happy in this world —
a conversation for the account of which we refer the reader to the his-
tory of Lydia in the chapter on Asia Minor.
Long before the expiration of the ten years for which Solon obtained
leave of absence, Athens had again become distracted by the contests
of the old factions, which renewed their struggles for the ascendency.
Though Solon, on his return, in B. C. 560, found his laws nominally
observed, he saw everything falling into confusion. The party of the
Plam, or the nobles, had a leader named Lycurgus; the party of the
Shore, or the merchants, was led by Megacles; and the party of the
Mountain, or the peasants, the advocates of democracy, was headed by
Pisistratus, a cousin of Solon. These parties were actuated by the
fiercest animosity to each other. Pisistratus, the leader of the Moun-
tain, or democratic party, had become a great popular favorite because
of his eloquence, his generosity, his personal beauty and his military
prowess. Solon clearly saw that he was an ambitious demagogue, and
that by his bland and conciliatory manners, his affected moderation,
and his pretended zeal for the rights of the poor, he designed to over-
ride the republican constitution and make himself master of Athens.
Solon vainly endeavored to persuade his ambitious cousin to relin-
quish his selfish designs. At length Pisistratus, having wounded him-
self with his own hand, appeared in the general assembly of the people,
covered with blood, and accused his political adversaries of having
attacked and maltreated him. He declared that no friend of the poor
could live in Athens if the people did not allow him to adopt measures
for his own safety. By this artful trick he so aroused the indignation
of the people that they voted a body-guard of fifty men for the pro-
tection of their favorite, whose life they had been induced to believe
had been threatened. Solon earnestly endeavored to dissuade the
people from their course by telling them that the ambitious Pisistratus
would use his power for the subversion of their own liberties, but all
his entreaties were useless.
ATHENS UNDER THE LAWS OF DRACO AND SOLON.
789
Solon's predictions were soon verified ; as the artful Pisistratus grad-
ually increased his body-guards until they constituted a corps of con-
siderable strength, when he seized the Acropolis. The alarmed sup-
porters of the constitution fiercely resisted, but Pisistratus triumphed
over all opposition and usurped the government of Athens, by making
himself absolute dictator or tyrant. The word tyrant was used by
the ancient Greeks in a different sense from which we now use it.
They called every usurper by that title, no matter how mildly and
beneficently he administered the laws. Therefore Pisistratus was
called a tyrant, notwithstanding that he governed the people in a
merciful and enlightened manner.
After he had fully established himself in power, Pisistratus treated
Solon with the greatest kindness and respect, and maintained and
executed his laws, notwithstanding the opposition which the patriotic
sage had persistently offered to his ambitious designs. Nevertheless
Solon could never reconcile himself to his cousin's usurpation, though
he sometimes gave Pisistratus the counsel and aid which he had solicited.
Solon consequently retired once more from Athens, and spent the
remaining days of his life in voluntary exile. It is said that he died
in the island of Cyprus, in the eightieth year of his age. In testimony
of the respect which they entertained for his memory, the Athenians
afterwards erected a statue of the wise and good sage and lawgiver in
the Agora, or place of assembly ; and the inhabitants of his native
island of Salamis honored him in a similar manner. In accordance
with his will, his ashes were scattered around the island of Salamis,
which he had saved to Athens.
For the first six years of his usurped administration, Pisistratus
faithfully observed the laws of Solon. In B. C. 554 the factions of the
Plain and the Shore united in driving him from Athens ; but these two
factions quarreled a few years afterward, whereupon Megacles, the
leader of the Shore, invited Pisistratus back to his sovereignty on con-
dition that the usurper should marry his daughter. Pisistratus
accepted this offer and regained his former power in B. C. 548. He
married the daughter of Megacles, in accordance with the agreement,
but he did not treat her as his wife, as he had children by a former mar-
riage, and he did not wish to connect his blood with a family considered
accursed on account of Cylon's sacrilege. Offended at this, Megacles
renewed his alliance with Lycurgus, the leader of the Plain, and the
two again drove Pisistratus from Athens, B. C. 547. After remaining
in exile for ten years, occupying his time in raising troops and money
in different portions of Greece, Pisistratus landed at Marathon with
a strong army in B. C. 537 ; and, being joined by many of his sup-
Pisistra-
tus,
Tyrant of
Athens.
Solon's
Volun-
tary Exile
and
Death.
Exiles
and
Returns
of
Pisistra-
tus.
790
RISE OF GREECE.
Beneficent
Rule of
Pisistra-
tus.
Hippias
and Hip-
parchus.
Con-
spiracy of
Hanno-
dius and
Aristo-
giton.
Assassi-
nation of
Hip-
parchus.
Tyranny
of
Hippias.
porters, he advanced upon Athens, defeated his foes, and again made
himself master of the city.
After this second restoration to power, Pisistratus governed Athens
for the remaining ten years of his life, administering Solon's laws with
impartial justice, so that the people forgot their lost freedom in the
fairness with which he governed them. He also distinguished himself
as a patron of literature and the fine arts. He adorned Athens with'
many elegant public edifices, and established beautiful gardens for
the accommodation of the people. He established the first public
library ; and caused the poems of Homer, which had hitherto existed in
a fragmentary condition, to be collected and arranged properly, so
that they could be chanted by the rhapsodists at the Greater Pana-
thenasa, or twelve days' festival in honor of Athene, the guardian god-
dess of Athens. By his beneficent rule, Pisistratus fully merited the
opinion which Solon expressed concerning him, that he was the best of
tyrants, whose only vice was ambition. He died in B. C. 527.
Pisistratus was succeeded in the government of Athens by his two
sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, who are generally known as the Two
Tyrants of Athens. They ruled peacefully for fourteen years, and,
like their father, governed for a time with mildness and liberality.
Like him, they patronized learning and munificently encouraged men
of genius, thus inducing the renowned poets, Anacreon and Simonides,
to make Athens their residence. The Athenians enjoyed such pros-
perity under the united administration of these two brothers, and made
such progress in civilization and refinement, that an ancient philoso-
pher called that period of Athenian history a golden age. All this
prosperity existed in spite of the fact that these rulers reduced the
land-tax from one-tenth to one-twentieth.
Although Hippias and Hipparchus governed Athens wisely and well,
their administration was cut short by a sudden and violent end. A
citizen of Athens, named Harmodius, having insulted Hippias, the
tyrant avenged himself by a public affront to the sister of Harmodius.
This so exasperated Harmodius that he determined upon the destruc-
tion of both of the tyrants, and organized a conspiracy for that pur-
pose with his intimate friend, Aristogiton. The two conspirators
assassinated Hipparchus at the festival of Panathensea, but Harmodius
himself was slain in the tumult (B. C. 514).
Alarmed for his own safety, Hippias from this time suspected every
one of being an enemy, and his character at once changed. He now
became severe, and for the first time acted in such a manner as to fully
deserve the title of tyrant, in the worst signification of the term. His
suspicion caused him to put many citizens to death and raise vast sums
by excessive taxation. In order to discover some secret connected with
ATHENS UNDER THE LAWS OF DRACO AND SOLON.
the death of Hipparchus, Hippias caused a woman named Leona to
be put to the torture. But the woman firmly refused to reveal any-
thing, and, in the midst of her agony, bit off her tongue and spit it
in the tyrant's face. She remained firm in her refusal until death
ended her sufferings. To escape the oppression of Hippias, many
influential citizens now left Athens. The people of Athens became
so exasperated at the tyrant that he felt that his overthrow would
come sooner or later. To secure a place of refuge in such a case,
Hippias cultivated friendly relations with the Medo-Persians.
The Alcmasonidffi, who had lived in exile ever since the third and last Over-
restoration of Pisistratus, now invaded Attica in the hope of expelling E^ile^of
Hippias, but were defeated by the tyrant. Clisthenes, the leader of Hippias.
the Alcmaeonidae, bribed the Delphians by the gift of a splendid temple
in the place of the old edifice, which had been previously destroyed by
fire, and obtained a decree from the oracle, commanding the Spartans
to aid in freeing Athens from the rule of the tyrant Hippias. In
consequence the Spartans joined the Athenian exiles in an invasion of
Attica, but were unsuccessful. In a second invasion they captured
Athens and compelled Hippias to resign his powers, and banished him
and his family and kin to Ligeum, an Athenian colony founded on the
Hellespont by his father Pisistratus (B. C. 510).
The republican constitution framed by Solon was now reestablished, Beneficent
and the memory of Harmodius and Aristogiton, who had first drawn ciisthe-
the sword against the Pisistratidas, was ever afterward held in the nes.
greatest veneration by the Athenians, who recorded their praises in
verses regularly chanted at some of the public festivals. Clisthenes,
the leader of the revolution which had delivered Athens from the rule
of the family which had subverted its liberties, now became the head of
the state and the leader of the popular party. He divided the Athenian
people into ten tribes, which he subdivided into denies, or districts, each
of which was assigned a magistrate and a popular assembly. All the
free inhabitants of Attica were admitted to the privileges of citizen-
ship, and the Senate, or Council of State, was increased to five hundred
members, or fifty from each tribe.
As a precaution against any ambitious individual usurping the Estab-
authority of the state in the future, Clisthenes established the cele- ^fthe"
brated institution of the Ostracism, by which any citizen could be ban- Ostra-
ished for ten years, without trial, or even without any formal accusa- asm*
tion, but simply by a vote of the people, each citizen writing on a shell
the name of the individual whom he desired to have banished, and six
thousand votes being required against a person to determine his con-
demnation. This institution was efficacious in the purpose for which
it was established.
2—12
792
RISE OF GREECE.
Isagoras
and the
Spartans.
Athens
Threat-
ened by
the
Spartans.
Sparta
and Other
Foes of
Athens.
Sparta
and
Hippias.
Clisthe-
nes and
Pure
Democ-
racy.
The measures of Clisthenes highly offended the nobles, whose leader,
Isagoras, solicited the aid of the Spartans to drive out the Alcmasonidse.
The Spartans responded to his call ; and Isagoras, with the aid of the
Spartan king Cleomenes, proceeded to banish seven hundred families
from Athens, to dissolve the Senate, and to begin other revolutionary
changes. The Athenian people rose in arms, besieged Isagoras and
the Spartans in the citadel, and permitted then to surrender only on
condition of leaving the Athenian territory. The Spartan army then
retired from Athens, Clisthenes was recalled, and his democratic insti-
tutions were restored.
In the meantime Cleomenes, the Spartan king, had been collecting
a large army in the Peloponnesus, and had entered into an alliance with
the Thebans and with the Chalcidians of Euboea, for the purpose of
reducing Athens and forcing her to accept the rule of Isagoras as
tyrant. Alarmed at the power of their antagonists, the Athenians
sought the aid of the Persians. The Persians consented to aid them on
condition of their becoming tributary to Persia, but the Athenians
indignantly rejected this condition and prepared to meet their adver-
saries single-handed. In the meantime the allied foes of Athens had
invaded Attica.
Cleomenes had hitherto concealed from his Peloponnesian allies the
real object of the invasion. As soon as they discovered it they refused
to assist in crushing the liberties of Athens, and thus the Spartan king
was obliged to relinquish his design and return home. When the Athe-
nians were delivered from the Spartan invasion, they advanced against
the Thebans and defeated them, after which they crossed over into
Euboea and chastised the Chalcidians. They formally took possession
of the island and distributed the estates of the wealthy Chalcidian land-
owners among four thousand of their own citizens, who settled in
Eubosa under the name of Cleruchi, or lot-holders.
Sparta now sought to wage another war against Athens, this time
to compel her to accept the rule of Hippias once more. The other
Peloponnesian states declined taking part in the attempt, and Sparta
was again obliged to relinquish her designs against Athens. Hippias,
who was now an old man, countenanced the Spartan project. When
it failed he returned to the Persian court, where he ceaselessly sought
the aid of the Dorians in replacing him in power in Athens.
Thus after the expulsion of Hippias, Athens, under the patriotic
statesman Clisthenes, became a pure democracy; the suffrage being
extended to all classes, except slaves. Under the blessings of political
equality, and impelled by patriotism, all classes, rich and poor, felt an
equal interest in the welfare and greatness of the state; and Athens,
under her free institutions, entered upon a new and glorious career.
EARLY GREEK POETRY AND PHILOSOPHY.
793
It is said that Clisthenes was the first victim of his own institution, the
Ostracism.
SECTION VII.— EARLY GREEK POETRY AND
PHILOSOPHY.
HOMER, the father of poetry and the great national poet of Greece,
was an Ionian Greek of Asia Minor, and flourished in the ninth cen-
tury before Christ. He led a sad and wandering life, and became
blind in his old age.
Smyrna, but in anciei
be his birth-place, and an English poet has said:
Modern authorities consider him a native of
Smyrna, but in ancient times, after his death, seven cities claimed to
"Seven cities claimed the Homer dead,
Through which the living Homer begged his bread."
Homer's two great epics are the Iliad, which dwells on the Trojan
War, and the Odyssey, which recounts the adventures of Ulysses on his
way home after the fall of Troy. These two epics were the great
national poems of Greece, and were sung or recited at the national
festivals and in the public assemblies of every Grecian state, and also
related at every Grecian fireside. They were preserved by memory
and from age to age, by being taught from father to son. These
poems brought into prominence the unity of the Hellenic race and
constituted one of the strongest ties that bound together its different
branches.
The Iliad opens with the beginning of the last year of the siege of
Troy, and the remaining incidents and final result of the contest are
described in succession with great poetical power. This forms the
entire subject of the twenty-four books or sections of the Iliad; but
the characters and scenes portrayed in the poem are so many as to con-
tribute the strong charm of variety to its other beauties and its many
merits. The immortal gods are represented as feeling a deep interest
in the struggle and as participating actively in it; and this mingling
of divine and human agency in the poem of course renders it naturally
improbable. Still, aside from this objection, there is much in the Iliad
to attract the attention of an inquirer into the early history of the
human race.
Achilles is represented as the leader of the Greeks, and many curious
tales are told concerning him. He was taught war and music by the
Thessalian Centaur, Chiron, and in his infancy his mother, Thetis,
dipped him in the river Styx, thus making him invulnerable, except
the heel by which she held him. Hector is represented as the Trojan
leader, and it is said that more than thirty Greek chiefs fell beneath his
Homer.
His Two
Great
Epics.
The
Iliad.
The
Heroes
of the
Iliad.
794
RISE OF GREECE.
Incidents
Described
in the
Iliad.
General
Character
of the
mad.
The
Odyssey.
Hesiod
and His
Epics.
powerful hand. His character, as a son, a husband, a brother and a
patriot, is illustrated with wonderful skill and power, considering the
rudeness and barbarism of the age.
The poem is full of descriptions and incidents which give us con-
siderable light upon either the time of action in the poem or the time
of its composition. Heroes are represented as yoking their own cars in
those days. Queens and princes are represented as engaged in spin-
ning. Achilles is said to have killed his mutton with his own hand,
and to have dressed his own dinner. Yet these tame and commonplace
incidents, vulgar as they may appear when compared with the occupa-
tions of modern neroes and heroines, do not, in Homer's hands, detract
in the slightest manner from the dignity and grandeur of the charac-
ters performing them.
The general tone of the Iliad is grave and dignified, and occasionally
sublime. There is often a remarkable facility in the language, so that
one word will sometimes present a perfect and delightful picture to
the mind. But the strength of thought and the singular ardor of
imagination displayed in the poem constitute its great merit. Says
Dr. Blair: " No poet was ever more happy in the choice of his subject,
or more successful in painting his historical and descriptive pieces.
There is considerable resemblance in the style to that of some parts of
the Bible — as Isaiah, for instance — which is not to be wondered at, as
the writings of the Old Testament are productions of nearly the same
age, and of a part of the world not far from the alleged birth-place
of Homer."
The Odyssey has been described as resembling a poem called forth
by the Iliad, and does not rank as a whole as high as the Iliad. It
recounts the adventures of Ulysses, King of Ithaca, on his way home
after the fall of Troy. Both poems have for more than twenty cen-
turies continued to enjoy the admiration of mankind, and no effort in
the same style of poetry has since been so successful.
HESIOD, another great Greek epic poet, lived a century after Homer,
in Boeotia, where, in his youth, he was a shepherd, tending his father's
flocks on the slopes of Mount Helicon, sacred to the Muses. He
described the homely rustic scenes with which he was familiar, his
chief poems being Works and Days, consisting mostly of precepts of
ordinary life, and Tlieogony, which described the origin of the world,
and of gods and men. Not many events of his life have been recorded,
and the scanty notices transmitted to us concerning him apparently
deserve little credit. He gained a public prize in a poetical contest at
the celebration of funeral games in honor of a King of Euboea. He
died at a good old age, and is said to have spent the closing years of
his life in Locris, in the vicinity of Mount Parnassus. Though he
EARLY GREEK POETRY AND PHILOSOPHY.
795
Grecian
Lyric
Poetry.
Archilo-
chus.
Tyrtaeus.
was of a quiet and inoffensive disposition, it was his sad fate to die a
violent death. A Milesian who lived in the same house with him had
committed a gross outrage upon a young woman, whose brothers
wrongly suspected Hesiod of conniving at the crime, and murdered
both the poet and the guilty Milesian, and cast their bodies into the sea.
In the seventh century before Christ, Grecian lyric poetry, which
at first consisted of cheerful songs, took the place of the epic poetry
of the earlier period, the period of Homer and Hesiod. It was called
lyric poetry because it was written to be sung to the lyre. ARCHILO-
CKUS, a native of the island of Paros, and who flourished in the seventh
century before Christ, was a great satirical poet, whose writings have
nearly all perished.
TYRT^US, the first great Greek lyric poet, by his patriotic odes
roused the martial ardor of the Spartans, whose armies he commanded
in the first war against the Messenians, having been sent for that pur-
pose by the Athenians in accordance with the decree of the Delphic
oracle. He was by birth an Ionian Greek of Asia Minor, being a
native of Miletus. When a young man he settled in Athens, where he
became a schoolmaster. After his military campaigns he resided at
Sparta, where he was highly esteemed on account of his valuable public
services. Most of his productions have likewise perished, but his name
is yet familiar as a household word in Greece. He was lame, and also
blind in one eye.
ALCMAN, a native of Sparta, was also a noted lyric poet of the Alcman.
seventh century before Christ. Most of his verses, which were mainly
on amatory subjects, have been lost. TERPANDER, another lyric poet
of the same period, was born in the island of Lesbos. He was an
accomplished musician, and won several prizes for music and poetry
at the Pythian or Delphic Games and at a public festival at Sparta.
He improved the lyre and introduced several new measures into Greek
poetry.
SAPPHO, who was born at Mitylene in the island of Lesbos, was a
celebrated lyric poetess of the sixth century before Christ. The Greeks
so admired her genius that they called her " the Tenth Muse." She
married a wealthy inhabitant of the island of Andros, to whom she bore
a daughter, named Cleis. Sappho was short in stature, swarthy in
complexion, and not beautiful by any means. She was gifted with a
warm and passionate temperament, and mainly wrote poetry describing
the hopes and fears inspired by love. One or two of her lyrics have
been wholly preserved, namely, a Hymn to Aphrodite and an Ode to a
Young Lady, both of which are so full of beauty, feeling and anima-
tion as to fully entitle the poetess to the admiration with which her
poetical genius was regarded by the ancient Greeks. Her ardent affec-
VOL. 3.— 7 .
Sappho.
796
RISE OF GREECE.
Alcaeus.
Ibycus.
Mimner-
mus.
tion at last caused her to commit suicide. After her husband's death,
she fell deeply in love with a young man named Phaon, and as all her
persistent efforts failed to excite a reciprocal passion in him, she cast
herself into the sea from a high rock on the promontory of Leucate.
The place where she was drowned was afterwards called " Lover's
Leap."
ALC^US, a lyric poet, contemporary with Sappho, was, like her, a
native of Mitylene in the isle of Lesbos ; and is said to have been one of
her lovers. Like her, he was also endowed with strong passions, uncon-
trollable by proper moral feeling. IBYCUS, a writer of amatory lyrics,
was born at Rhegium, in Southern Italy, about B. C. 600. While a
young man he emigrated to the island of Samos. He was finally mur-
dered by a band of robbers while making a journey. Most of his
poems have likewise perished.
MIMNERMTTS, a famous elegiac poet and an accomplished musician,
was a native of Colophon, one of the Ionian cities of Asia Minor, and
flourished early in the sixth century before Christ. Only a few of
Theognis. his writings have been transmitted to modern times. THEOGNIS, the
author of a collection of moral maxims in the form of verse, was born
at Megara, and flourished about the middle of the sixth century before
Christ.
ANACREON, a very celebrated lyric poet, was born at Teos, an Ionian
city of Asia Minor, about the middle of the sixth century before Christ.
His fame induced Hipparchus, who, with his brother Hippias, then
ruled Athens, to invite him to visit that city; and Plato tells us that
he sent a fifty-oared vessel to convey him to Attica. After the assassi-
nation of Hipparchus, Anacreon returned to his native city of Teos;
but was again obliged to leave it, on account of the advance of the
Persian army when the Greek cities of Asia Minor attempted to free
themselves from the Medo-Persian dominion, in B. C. 500. He then
returned to the Teian settlement at Abdera, and there died in the
eighty-fifth year of his age, about B. C. 470. It is said that he was
choked to death by a grape-stone while drinking a cup of wine. The
remaining works of Anacreon consist of odes and sonnets, principally
referring to subjects of love and wine. He was merely an inspired
voluptuary, though his style is graceful, sprightly and smooth. The
Athenians erected a monument to him in the form of a drunkard
singing.
THESPIS, a native of Icaria, in Attica, was the first Greek dramatic
poet, and flourished in the early part of the sixth century before
Christ. The origin of theatrical representations has been traced to
the custom of celebrating, in the grape season, the praises of
Dionysos, the god of wine, by joyous dances and the chanting of
Anacreon.
Thespis
and His
Dramas.
From Stereograph, copyright iSt)f by Underwood & Underwood
GREEK THEATRE OF DIONYSUS
Past and Present
EARLY GREEK POETRY AND PHILOSOPHY.
797
hymns. To vary the hymns, or Dithyrambics, as they were called,
Thespis, from whom the theatrical performers were called Thespians,
began the custom of introducing a single speaker, whose duty it was
to recite before the company for their entertainment. Thespis also
invented a movable car, on which his performers went through their
exhibitions in different places. The car of Thespis was the first form
of the stage. The single reciter was the first kind of actor. The
persons singing the hymns or choruses continued thenceforth to be an
essential part of the Grecian theater, under the designation of the
chorus, and their duty was to stand during the performance and make
explanatory comments upon it.
A fixed wooden stage in the temple of Dionysos soon took the place
of the car of Thespis ; when a second reciter was introduced ; masks,
dresses and scenery were used; and in a remarkably short space of
time from the rise of Thespis, entertainments of this description had
assumed the dramatic form. The incidents originally represented
were mainly selected from the fabulous and legendary history of prime-
val Greece. The ancient theaters were constructed on a very large
scale, and differed in many particulars from the modern theater. The
Grecian theater was a large area, inclosed with a wall, but open above,
in which nearly the whole population passed the entire day, during the
celebration of the festivals of Dionysos, in witnessing the dramatic
performances. The site selected for the theater was usually the slope
of a hill, that the natural inclination of the ground could enable the
spectators who occupied the successive tiers of seats to see the per-
formers on the stage without any obstruction. The enclosure some-
times embraced a space so large that it could accommodate from twenty
to thirty thousand people. Back of the scenes was a double portico,
to which the audience was allowed to retire for shelter when it rained.
The theater opened in the morning, and the people brought cushions
with them to sit on, and also a supply of provisions, so that
they might not be obliged to leave their places for the purpose of
obtaining refreshments while the entertainment was in progress. The
daily dramatic performances embraced a succession of four plays —
three tragedies and a comedy — and at the end of the representation
the relative merits of the pieces performed were decided by certain
judges, who awarded the theatrical prize to the favorite of the day.
These public awards of honor excited emulation, which led to the pro-
duction of large numbers of dramatic compositions throughout Greece,
especially in Athens. It is said that the theater of Athens possessed
at one time at least two hundred and fifty first-class tragedies, and five
hundred second-class, along with as large a number of comedies and
satirical farces.
First
Grecian
Theaters.
Their
Plays.
798
RISE OF GREECE.
Other
Drama-
tists.
Greek
Philos-
ophy.
Thales.
His Visit
to
Egypt
Incidents
in the
Life of
Thales.
PHEYNICUS, a pupil of Thespis, is said to have invented the theatric
mask. His contemporary, CHOERILUS, was the first dramatic poet
whose plays were performed on a fixed stage. Another contemporary
was PRATINUS, who invented the satyric drama, so called because
choruses were introduced into it principally by satyrs.
Greek philosophy arose in the sixth century before Christ, among
the Ionian Greeks of Asia Minor, and the great Ionian city of Miletus
was the birth-place and home of the first three great Greek philoso-
phers who taught the Ionic school of Grecian philosophy — Thales,
Anaximander and Anaximenes — whose respective careers we will now
briefly notice, beginning with the first and greatest.
As noticed, the first Grecian philosopher was THALES, who was born
at Miletus, about the year B. C. 640, and who is regarded as the great-
est of the " Seven Wise Men of Greece." His father was a Phoenician,
who had settled at Miletus, and who is said to have claimed to be
descended from Cadmus, the founder of Thebes. Thales early dis-
played his superior talents, and was called upon to take a prominent
part in public affairs. But he preferred the quiet studies of phi-
losophy to the exciting pursuits of politics, and soon relinquished his
official positions and traveled into Crete and Egypt for the purpose
of conversing with the learned men of those countries, who were far
ahead of the rest of the world in a knowledge of the arts and sciences.
In Egypt, Thales is said to have received invaluable instructions in
mathematics from the priests of Memphis, and to have taught them,
in return, a method of measuring the height of the Pyramids by
means of their shadows.
Afterward returning to Miletus, Thales continued his philosophical
studies with unrelenting zeal. His intense application to his studies
gave him a habit of abstraction which sometimes put him in awkward
predicaments and exposed him to the ridicule of the vulgar. It is said
that being absorbed one night in the contemplation of the celestial
bodies, when he should have looked down at his feet, he fell into a pit,
whereupon an old woman who came to assist him sarcastically asked:
" Do you think you will ever be able to comprehend things which are
in heaven, when you cannot observe what is at your very feet?" He
would never marry, as he said he was unwilling to expose himself to
the anxieties and griefs of wedded life. It is said that when his mother
first advised him to take a wife, he replied : " It is yet too soon."
When she gave him the same advice in his later years, he answered : " It
is now too late." Thales used to express his thankfulness that he was
a human being and not a beast, that he was a man and not a woman, and
that he was a Greek and not a barbarian.
EARLY GREEK POETRY AND PHILOSOPHY.
799
Thales ranks as the founder of the Ionic school of philosophy, from
which subsequently proceeded the Socratic and several other philosoph-
ical sayings. His writings have all perished. From what others say of
him, he seems to have supposed all things to have been first formed from
water by the creative power of One Great God. He regarded the
divine mind as pervading and animating all things, and as the origin
of all motion. He believed in the immortality of the human soul, and
supposed that all inferior animals, and even all substances, which have
motion, like the magnet, have a soul, or animating principle.
As a scientist, Thales made great advances in astronomy and mathe-
matics. He taught that the earth is a special body in the center of
the universe, that the sun and stars are fiery bodies nourished by vapors,
and that the moon is an opaque body receiving its light wholly from
the sun. Thales was the first Greek who predicted an eclipse of the
sun, and who discovered that the solar year consists of three hundred
and sixty-five days. He taught the Greeks the division of the heavens
into five zones, and the solstitial and equinoctial points. He also in-
vented the fundamental problems afterwards incorporated into Euclid's
Elements. This great philosopher died at the age of ninety, overcome
with heat and pressure of the crowd at the Olympic Games, which he
had gone to witness (B. C. 550).
ANAXIMANDEII, the disciple and friend of Thales, was, like him, a
native of Miletus, where he was born, B. C. 610. He was the first
Greek who taught philosophy in a public school. He adopted some
of the opinions of Thales, but disagreed with him on different points.
He taught that the sun occupies the highest place in the heavens, the
moon the next place, and the stars the lowest place. He maintained
that the sun is twenty -eight times larger than the earth, and that the
stars are globes composed of fire and air, and inhabited by the gods.
Anaximander considered Infinity the origin of all things, and that all
things must finally be resolved into this Infinity. The different parts
might change, but the whole is immutable. Anaximander made several
improvements in mathematics and astronomy, and was the first to delin-
eate the map of the earth upon a globe. He likewise introduced the
Babylonian sun-dial into Greece.
ANAXIMENES, like Thales and Anaximander, a native of Miletus, was
a disciple of the latter and his successor as teacher of the Ionic school
of philosophy. He believed that air is God and the first principle of
all things, from which fire, water and earth proceed by rarefaction or
condensation.
PYTHAGORAS, the greatest of the early Grecian philosophers, was a
native of the island of Samos, and flourished about the middle of the
sixth century before Christ. His father, who was a merchant, gave
Philos-
ophy of
Thales.
Thales
as an
Astron-
omer and
Mathema-
tician.
Anaxi-
mander.
Anaxi-
menes.
Pythago-
ras.
800
RISE OF GREECE.
him an excellent education, and it is said that he manifested remark-
able talents at a very early age. He visited Egypt, where he remained
twenty-two years, during which he acquired a thorough acquaintance
with its religious and scientific knowledge and with the three styles of
writing in that famous land. After extensive travels and vast study,
Pythagoras returned to Samos, where he engaged in teaching his coun-
trymen the principles of morality, and in initiating a chosen band of
friends and disciples in the mystic and abstract philosophy to which
he had so long devoted his study. The Samians eagerly flocked around
him to receive his instructions, and his philosophical school was in a
flourishing condition when he suddenly decided to leave his native
Samos.
His Pythagoras passed to Southern Italy and made his residence at
mentin Croton, a city of Magna Graecia. The people of Croton were then
Southern notorious for their immorality, and as soon as Pythagoras arrived he
y* devoted himself to the work of reforming their manners. While land-
ing on the shore he saw some fishermen drawing in their nets which
were full of fish. He purchased the fish and caused them all to be
thrown back into the sea ; thus seeking to impress upon the Crotonians
the duty of refraining from destroying animal life. He made prac-
tical use of the art, which he had learned from the Egyptian priests,
of obtaining the respect of the ignorant and superstitious by affecting
mystery and assuming supernatural powers. By this means he
attracted the attention of the citizens and induced them to listen to his
lectures on morality. His persuasive eloquence is said to have caused
the Crotonians to abandon their corrupt and licentious practices.
His Laws At the request of the magistrates of Croton, Pythagoras established
Croton ^aws ^or ^e ^u*ure government of the community. He then opened
a school of philosophy, and now became so popular that from two to
three thousand persons were soon enrolled as his pupils. Pythagoras
considered the sublime teachings of philosophy too sacred and valuable
to be taught to ordinary men who were unable to comprehend these
great truths. Every person applying for admission to his school was
subjected to a rigid examination, and he only received as his disciples
those whose features, conversation and general behavior gave him satis-
faction, and of whose personal character he obtained a favorable
account.
The The school constituted a society called Pythagoreans, who had all
their property and all their meals and exercises in common, and who
led a stern and moral life. The pupils were subjected to years of the
most rigid mental and bodily discipline. Any applicant whose
patience could not endure this protracted probation, was allowed to
withdraw from the society, and to take more property with him than
o 3
o §
< S
Cti
I
H
EARLY GREEK POETRY AND PHILOSOPHY.
he had contributed to the society upon entering. The Pythagoreans
then celebrated his funeral obsequies and erected a tomb for him, as if
he had been removed by death — a ceremony designed to signify how
thoroughly the man who relinquishes the paths of wisdom is lost to
society. Those applicants who passed through the appointed proba-
tion creditably were received into the body of select disciples, or Pythag-
oreans proper. They were admitted behind the curtain; and were
instructed in the principles of moral and natural philosophy, after
having sworn not to disclose what was taught them. They practiced
themselves in music, mathematics, astronomy, morals and politics, by
turns, and the most sublime speculations concerning the nature of
God and the origin of the universe were communicated to them in the
most direct and undiguised language. Those instructed by Pythag-
oras in this clear and familiar style were said to constitute the
esoteric, or private school ; while those attending his public lectures, in
which the moral truths were usually delivered in symbolical or figura-
tive style, were at the same time regarded as forming the exoteric, or
public school. Their
The esoteric school at Croton had six hundred members. They crotonf
lived together as one family, with their wives and children, in a public
building called the common auditory. The entire business of the
society was conducted with the most rigid regularity. Each day was
commenced by deliberating distinctly upon the manner in which it
should be spent, and was ended with a careful review of the occur-
rences which had transpired and the business which had been trans-
acted. They arose in the morning before the sun made his appearance
above the eastern horizon, in order that they might pay homage to
that luminary, after which they repeated select verses from Homer and
other poets, and enlivened their spirits to fit them for the day's duties
by vocal and instrumental music. They then devoted a few hours to
the study of science. After this there was an interval of leisure,
usually employed in a solitary walk for the purpose of meditation.
The next part of the day was devoted to conversation. The hour just
before dinner was employed in different kinds of athletic exercises.
Their dinner consisted mainly of bread, honey and water; as they
entirely dispensed with wine after being fully initiated. The rest of
the day was given to civil and domestic matters, bathing, conversation
and religious ceremonies.
Pythagoras while teaching, in public or in private, wore a long white Pythago-
robe, a flowing beard, and, some say, a crown upon his head, always Teacher*
maintaining a grave and dignified manner. Besides desiring to have
it supposed that he was of a nature superior to that of ordinary men,
and not subject to their passions and feelings, he took care never to
802
RISE OF GREECE.
His
Monothe-
ism.
His
Doctrine
of
Metemp-
sycho-
sis.
Pythago-
ras as a
Moralist.
Pythago-
ras as an
As-
tronomer.
display any signs of joy, sorrow or anger, and to seem thoroughly
calm under all circumstances.
Pythagoras appears to have taught that the Supreme Being is the
soul of the universe, and the first principle of all things; that he
resembles light in substance, and is like to truth in nature ; that he is
invisible, incorruptible, and not capable of pain. He maintained that
one divine mind emanated from four orders of intelligence, namely,
gods, demons, heroes and human souls. The gods were the highest of
these; the demons second; the heroes, who were described as an order
of beings having bodies consisting of a subtle, luminous substance,
ranked as third; while the human mind comprised the fourth. The
gods, demons and heroes lived in the upper air, and exercised a
beneficent or malignant influence on men, dispensing at will sickness,
prosperity and adversity.
Pythagoras considered the human soul a self -moving principle, con-
sisting of the rational and irrational — the former a part of the divine
mind with its seat in the brain, and the latter the source of happiness
with its seat in the heart. This philosopher taught the doctrine of the
metempsychosis, or transmigration of the soul, and his disciples there-
fore abstained rigidly from animal food, and were unwilling to take
the life of any living creature, as they feared that in felling an ox or
in shooting a pigeon they would dislodge the soul of a distinguished
warrior or sage of bygone ages, or perhaps even be raising their hands
against the lives of some of their own departed relatives or friends.
Pythagoras even went so far as to declare that he remembered when
he himself had passed through several human existences before he
became Pythagoras.
His rank as a moral teacher was very high, and the following are
specimens of his many sound and excellent precepts : " It is incon-
sistent with fortitude to abandon the post appointed by the Supreme
Lord before we obtain his permission." " No man ought to be
esteemed free who has not the perfect command of himself." " That
which is good and becoming is rather to be pursued than that which
is pleasant." " Sobriety is the strength of the soul, for it preserves
the reason unclouded by passion." " The gods are to be worshiped
not under such images as represent the forms of men, but by simple
lustrations and offerings, and with purity of heart."
Pythagoras regarded the sun as a fiery globe, located in the center
of the universe, with the earth and the other planets revolving around
it. He considered the sun, the moon and the stars to be inhabited by
gods and demons. He taught that there are ten heavenly spheres —
that of the earth, those of the seven planets, that of the fixed stars, and
an invisible one called the antichthon, located opposite the earth. In
EARLY GREEK POETRY AND PHILOSOPHY. 803
moving through the pure ether occupying all space, these spheres
emit sounds ; and their respective distances from the earth correspond-
ing to the proportion of the notes in the musical scale, the tones vary in
accordance with the relative distances, magnitudes and velocity of the
several spheres, so as to form the most perfect harmony. In this way
Pythagoras accounted for the music of the spheres, which his followers
fabled that the gods allowed him only to hear. Pythagoras explained
the eclipses of the sun as caused by the intervention of the moon
between the sun and the earth, and the eclipses of the moon as pro-
duced by the interposition of the antichthon, or invisible sphere. Thus
Pythagoras had a clearer idea of the real arrangement of the universe
than any other ancient philosopher, which may be ascribed to his pro-
tracted residence in Egypt.
Pythagoras regarded musical and arithmetical numbers as vested His View
with a mysterious importance. He is represented as teaching that of Music
one, or unity, signifies God, or the animating principle of the universe ; Numbers.
that two symbolizes matter, or the passive principle ; that three denotes
the world formed by the combination of the two principles ; and that
four is the emblem of nature. The sum of these numbers is the
decade, embracing all arithmetical and musical qualities and pro-
portions.
Pythagoras, as we have seen, was himself very fond of music, and pythago-
was well versed in that science. It is believed that he discovered the ras as a
musical ratios, and invented the monochord, or single-stringed instru- ^3 a
ment, with movable bridges to measure and regulate the ratios of Geometer.
musical intervals. He was likewise profound in geometry, and made
many important additions to that science. He originated the famous
demonstration in Euclid's Elements, the forty-seventh in the first book. His
Pythagoras visited and taught in many other cities of Southern
Italy and Sicily, besides Croton. He obtained numerous disciples tion and
wherever he went, and these looked upon him with a veneration almost
equal to that entertained for a god. He included politics as well as
morals in his lectures, and excited the people by his denunciations of
oppression and his appeals to the people to uphold their rights, thus
inciting the inhabitants of several cities to cast off the yoke of their
tyrannical rulers. But his active interference in politics soon aroused
against him a host of foes, and finally led to his destruction. The
aristocratic party throughout Magna Grascia were alarmed and fiercely
opposed the Pythagoreans. The philosopher was driven from one
place to another, until he finally came to Metapontum, where his
enemies excited the people against him and compelled him to seek
refuge in a temple dedicated to the Muses, in which he perished from
hunger.
804
RISE OF GREECE.
His Sons
as
Teachers.
Persecu-
tion of
His Fol-
lowers.
JEsop,
The
Fabulist.
The
Seven
Wise Men
of
Greece.
Pythagoras was more than eighty years of age when he died. He
left two sons and a daughter, and these three acquired considerable
fame for their intellectual attainments. The sons directed their
father's philosophical school, and the daughter was celebrated for her
learning and wrote an able commentary on Homer's poems. It is not
believed that Pythagoras committed any of his doctrines to writing,
and they seem to be only gathered from his disciples.
For some time after the death of Pythagoras, his disciples were
everywhere cruelly persecuted, but they subsequently recovered their
former popularity. The Pythagorean school of philosophy was re-
stored, statues were raised in his honor, and the house in which he had
lived at Croton was converted into a temple to Demeter.
^Esop, the noted fabulist, was an ingenious and successful teacher
of wisdom. His moral lessons were veiled under an allegorical form,
and were productive of durable impression. ^Esop was a native of
Phrygia and was born about B. C. 600. He was physically deformed.
He was sold as a slave to an Athenian named Demarchus, and while
at Athens he acquired an extensive knowledge of the Greek language.
He was afterwards purchased by a Samian philosopher named Xanthus,
and subsequently became the property of another philosopher of Samos,
named Idmon, who perceived and admired his genius, and gave him
his liberty, after which ^Esop spent his time in traveling throughout
Greece, teaching moral allegories to the people. He arrived at Athens
soon after the usurpation of Pisistratus, and warned the dissatisfied
Athenians, who unwillingly submitted to the usurper, as to the dangers
of attempting political changes by telling them the fable of the frogs
who asked Zeus to give them a king. JEsop was finally put to death
by the citizens of Delphi, whose indignation he had aroused by his
freedom in condemning their vices. His death is believed to have
occurred about B. C. 561, when he was in his thirty-ninth year. The
Athenians so esteemed his memory that they raised a statue in his
honor.
The Seven Wise Men of Greece were the great philosopher THALES
of Miletus, the great lawgiver SOLON of Athens, PERIANDER of
Corinth, CHILD of Sparta, CLEOBULUS of Lindus, PITTACUS of
Mitylene, and BIAS of Priene. Ancient writers mention two occasions
on which these seven sages met together — once at Delphi and a second
time at Corinth. The title of " Seven Wise Men " is said to have
been given them from the following circumstance: Some Milesian fish-
ermen, after casting their nets into the sea, sold the expected draught
of fish to some persons standing near by. But when the nets were drawn
it was discovered that they contained a golden tripod, whereupon the
fishermen refused to give it to the purchasers of the draught, saying
EARLY GREEK POETRY AND PHILOSOPHY.
805
that they sold only the fish that might be caught in the nets. After
much wrangling both parties consented to refer the matter to the
citizens of Miletus, who sent to consult the Delphic oracle concerning
it. The oracle ordered the tripod to be awarded to the wisest man that
could be found, whereupon they offered it to their fellow-citizen,
Thales, who modestly declined it, saying that there were many wiser
men than himself. Thales next sent it to Bias of Priene, but he like-
wise declined it and sent it to another. Thus this golden tripod passed
in succession through the hands of all who were afterwards classed as
the Seven Wise Men of Greece; after which it was consecrated to
Apollo and deposited in the famous temple of that god at Delphi.
We will now show how the Seven Wise Men sought to enlighten and
improve mankind by disseminating a number of moral truths and pre-
cepts in the form of maxims and proverbs. These seven sages were
not only inventors of popular proverbs and moral maxims. Some of
them were active politicians. One of them was a famous lawgiver, ana
another was a celebrated natural philosopher.
We have already given a sketch of the philosopher Thales of Thales of
Miletus, the greatest of the Seven Wise Men. The following were
some of his maxims : " The same measure of gratitude which we show
our parents, we may expect from our children." " It is better to adorn
the mind than the face." " It is not the length of a man's tongue
that is the measure of his wisdom." " Never do that yourself which
you blame in others." " The most happy man is he who is sound in
health, moderate in fortune and cultivated in understanding." " Not
only the criminal acts, but the bad thoughts of men are known to the
gods." " The most difficult thing is to know one's self ; the easiest,
to give advice to others." " The most ancient of all beings is God,
for he has neither beginning nor end." " All things are full of God,
and the world is supreme in beauty, because it is his workmanship."
" The greatest of all things is space, for it comprehends all things ;
the most rapid is the mind, for it travels through the universe in a
single instant ; the most powerful is necessity, for it conquers all
things ; the most wise is time, for it discovers all things."
We have also given a full account of Solon, the wise and virtuous Solon of
lawgiver of Athens, but we will mention an incident which transpired
during his stay at Miletus while he was visiting Thales. Solon asked
Thales why he did not take a wife. Without giving a direct answer,
Thales introduced to Solon a person whom he said had just arrived
from Athens. Solon, having left his family at home in Athens, eagerly
inquired of the stranger if he had any 'news. The stranger, whom
Thales had advised what to say, replied that there was nothing new
at Athens, except that the son of a great lawgiver, named Solon, was
Athens.
806
RISE OF GREECE.
Periander
of
Corinth.
Chile of
Sparta.
Cleobulus
of
Lindus.
dead, and had been followed to the grave by a vast multitude of citi-
zens. On receiving these sad tidings, the gentle and affectionate Solon
broke out in loud lamentations. Thales at once relieved his distin-
guished guest's mind by informing him that he had been deceived by
a fabricated story, and remarked smilingly that he himself had been
prevented from marrying and rearing a family by the dread of meet-
ing with just such sorrows as his visitor had felt. Some of Solon's
precepts are the following : " Reverence God and honor your parents."
" Mingle not with the wicked." " Trust to virtue and probity rather
than to oaths." " Counsel your friend in private, but never reprove
him in public." " Do not consider the present pleasure, but the ulti-
mate good." " Do not select friends hastily ; but when once chosen,
be slow to reject." " Believe yourself fit to command when you have
learned to obey." " Honors worthily gained far exceed those which
are accidental."
Periander was born at Corinth, in B. C. 665 ; and, as we have noticed,
was the son of Cypselus, who had subverted the republican institutions
of Corinth and made himself tyrant. Periander succeeded his father
in the government of Corinth, and ruled with firmness and prudence,
but with great severity. He is said to have been violent and cruel,
although classed as one of the Seven Wise Men. In a fit of anger
he killed his wife Melissa by a kick, and afterwards caused some
women to be burned to death, having become enraged by their calum-
nious accusations. He banished his younger son for expressing abhor-
rence of him because he had murdered his wife, and is said to have
committed other similar atrocious crimes. He died at the age of
eighty, B. C. 584. Among his excellent precepts, many of which he
never carried into practice, were the following: " In prosperity, be
moderate ; in adversity, be prudent." " Pleasure is fleeting ; honor is
immortal." " Prudence can accomplish all things." " The intention
of crime is as sinful as the act." " Perform whatever you have
promised."
Chilo was a Spartan, born about B. C. 630, and was one of the
Ephori of that state. The following were some of his precepts : " The
three most difficult things are, to keep a secret, to employ time properly,
and to bear an injury." " Never speak evil of the dead." " Rever-
ence old age." " Govern your anger." " Be not over-hasty." " The
tongue ought to be always carefully restrained, but especially at the
festive board." " Seek not impossibilities." " Let your friendship be
more conspicuous in adversity than in prosperity." " Prefer loss to
ill-gotten wealth; the former is a trouble only once endured, but the
latter will constantly oppress you."
Cleobulus was tyrant of Lindus, in the island of Rhodes, where he
was born about B. C. 634. He was noted for his personal strength
EARLY GREEK POETRY AND PHILOSOPHY.
807
and beauty, as well as for his wisdom. He visited Egypt to gain
knowledge, and is supposed to have acquired in that country the taste
for enigmatical writing afterwards manifested by him. He died at
the age of seventy, about B. C. 564. Besides his three hundred enig-
matical verses, he wrote many maxims, of which the following are
samples : " Before you quit your house, consider what you have to do ;
and when you return, reflect whether it has been done." " Be more
attentive than talkative." " Educate your children." " Detest ingrat-
itude." " Endeavor always to employ your thoughts on something
worthy."
Pittacus was born at Mitylene, in the isle of Lesbos, about B. C.
650. He was noted for his bravery in war with the Athenians, and
afterwards in the dethronement of Melanchrus, the tyrant of Lesbos.
His countrymen, in gratitude for his services, placed him at the head
of the state, in which capacity he served until he had fully restored
order and reformed the laws and institutions of the state, after which
he resigned his power and retired to private life. He died in the
eighty-second year of his age, B. C. 568. The following are some
of his precepts : " The possession of power discovers a man's true char-
acter." " Whatever you do, do it well." " Do not that to you»
neighbor which you would take ill from him." " Know your oppor-
tunity." " Never disclose your schemes, lest their failure expose you
to ridicule as well as to disappointment."
Bias was a native of the city of Priene, in Ionia, being therefore a
Greek of Asia Minor. The date of his birth is uncertain. He was
very generous and had a philosophical contempt for wealth. He was
an able orator, and his death is said to have been caused by over-
exertion while pleading the cause of a friend. He was witty as well
as wise, as will be seen by the following anecdote. A scoffer having
inquired of him as to his religion, he gave no reply. His inquirer
desired to know the reason of his silence, whereupon he answered : " It
is because you ask me about things that do not concern you." Being
once in a storm at sea, the profligate sailors began to pray, in fright ;
whereupon Bias remarked : " Be silent, lest the gods discover that it
is you who are sailing." The following were some of his maxims:
" Endeavor to gain the good will of all men." " Speak of the gods
with reverence." " Esteem a worthy friend as your greatest blessing."
" Yield rather to persuasion than to compulsion." " The most mis-
erable man is he who cannot endure misery." " Form your plans with
deliberation, but execute them with vigor." " Do not praise an un-
worthy man for the sake of his wealth." " It is better to decide a
difference between your enemies than your friends ; for, in the former
case, you will certainly gain a friend, and in the latter lose one."
2—13
Pittacus
of
Mitylene.
Bias of
Prienne
I
ANCIENT
AND HER COLONIES.
. C. 7200- 148.
By I. S. Ctars.
SCALE OF MITES.
e is 60 re 100 u»
Ionian StmftF Colored
Doriui ••'
Pvupl*
Yillo*
CHAPTER XI.
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
SECTION I.— THE PERSIAN WAR (B. C. 499-449).
IN B. C. 502 the Ionian Greeks of Asia Minor revolted against the
Persian king, Darius Hystapes, and sent messengers to Greece to
solicit aid against the Persians. It is related that the Ionian messen-
gers had almost succeeded in inducing Cleornenes, King of Sparta,
to join in the war against the Persians, when his daughter exclaimed:
" Fly, father, or the ambassador will corrupt you ! " Thereupon t'leom-
enes refused to aid the revolted lonians. At this time Artaphernes,
the Persian satrap of Lydia, at the instigation of Hippias, the expelled
tyrant of Athens, who had applied to him for support, sent an inso-
lent message to the Athenians, ordering them to restore Hippias to his
power if they did not wish to incur the hostility of Persia. This
impudent attempt at dictation so exasperated the Athenians that they
at once determined to aid the Greeks of Asia Minor in their resistance
to the insolent Persians, and sent a fleet of twenty ships to Miletus
for that purpose. From Miletus the Athenian and Ionian fleets pro-
ceeded to Ephesus, where the land troops debarked and marched
against Sardis, the capital of the Persian satrapy of Lydia, and cap-
tured and burned this city before the eyes of the Persian satrap,
Artaphernes himself, who had taken refuge in the castle or strong-
hold of the city. But a large Medo-Persian army was soon collected,
and this army defeated the united forces of the Greeks in turn. The
Athenian auxiliaries returned home, and the Ionian Greeks of Asia
Minor were compelled to submit to the power of the Medo-Persian
Empire, after a protracted struggle.
When the Persian king, Darius Hystaspes, heard of the burning
of Sardis, he became very much exasperated, and resolved to revenge
himself upon the Athenians by invading their territory, and, if pos-
sible, to conquer all Greece. Shooting an arrow into the air, in
accordance with the Persian custom, he prayed that Ahura-Mazda
would aid him to punish the Athenians for their part in the burning
809
Ionian
Revolt in
Asia
Minor
against
Persia.
lonians
Aided by
Athens.
Persian
Invasion
of
Macedon
and
Thrace.
810
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Persian
Invasion
of
Greece.
Persian
Arma-
ments.
Athenian
Prepara-
tions.
of Sardis. He caused an attendant to remind him of the conduct of
the Greeks every time he sat down at table, so that he would not forget
his purpose. He immediately began active preparations for an inva-
sion of Greece, and fitted out an immense armament, which, under the
command of Mardonius, the son-in-law of Darius Hystaspes, proceeded
across the ^Egean sea towards the shores of European Greece, in the
year B. C. 493. Mardonius debarked his land troops upon the coast
of Macedon, after which he sailed southward with his fleet, but encoun-
tered a violent storm in sailing around the promontory of Mount Athos,
by which he lost three hundred vessels and about twenty thousand men.
His land force was defeated in a night attack by the Thracians with
heavy loss. Disheartened by this double misfortune, Mardonius
speedily returned to Asia with the shattered remnants of his fleet and
army.
King Darius Hystaspes was more determined than ever upon the
invasion and conquest of Greece, and raised an army of half a million
men for that purpose. Heralds were sent to the Greek states to
demand earth and water as symbols of submission. This demand was
complied with by the smaller Grecian states, which feared the conse-
quences of provoking the displeasure of the King of Persia ; but Athens
and Sparta indignantly refused, throwing the Persian heralds into deep
wells and telling them to take thence their earth and water.
In B. C. 490 Darius Hystaspes sent a fleet of six hundred galleys
and many transports, conveying an army of one hundred and twenty
thousand men, under the command of Datis, a Median nobleman, and
Artaphernes, son of the satrap of the same name, to conquer Greece,
and especially to destroy Athens, and also Eretria, in the island of
Euboea, and enslave the inhabitants. Datis and Artaphernes sailed
directly across the ^Egean, reducing Cyclades on the way ; and, reach-
ing Euboea, captured Eretria, after a siege of six days, through the
treachery of two members of the aristocratic party. The city was
sacked and burned, and its inhabitants were placed in chains on board
Persian ships. Datis then crossed the Euripus and landed at Mara-
thon, in Attica, to wreak vengeance uopn Athens.
The Athenians, greatly alarmed at this formidable invasion of their
territory by the Persians, applied to the Spartans for aid; but the
superstitious Lacedsemonians refused to give any assistance before a
full moon ; and as at the time of the application, it was still five days
before that period, they delayed the march of their troops. The
Athenians were therefore obliged to encounter the Persian invaders
without any help, except by a heroic band of one thousand Platasans,
who, grateful for the protection often extended to them by the Athe-
nian*, against the power of Thebes, hastened to assist their friends in
THE PERSIAN WAR.
811
this emergency. Besides these Plateans the Athenian army mustered
about nine thousand men, with about a thousand light-armed slaves.
Notwithstanding the vast numerical inferiority of the Athenians com-
pared with the immense host of the Medo-Persians, the Athenian
leaders decided, after due deliberation, that they v.oulil lead tlu:r forces
against the foe in the open country.
In accordance with the Athenian custom, ten generals were ap-
pointed to command the army, one being selected from each of the
ten wards of Attica, and each general being in turn vested with the
chief command for a single day. But Aristides, one of these ten com-
manders, and a man of singular wisdom and honor, seeing the inconve-
niences and perils of this arrangement, resigned his day in favor of
Miltfades, another of the generals, whose military talents had been
fully tested. The other eight generals followed the example of Aris-
tides, so that Miltfades was left in sole command. He thus had an
opportunity to adopt such measures as were essential to insure success
to his little army, and acted with a skill and prudence that fully jus-
tified the confidence reposed in him by his brother officers.
Finding the Medo-Persian host encamped upon the plain of Mara-
thon, Miltiadcs took up a position on the declivity of a hill about a
mile distant from the enemy. He caused the intermediate space
between the two armies to be strewed with trunks and branches of trees
during the night, in order to obstruct the movements of the Medo-
Persian cavalry. The next day he drew up his eleven thousand troops
in line of battle, putting the Athenian freemen on the right, the Pla-
tseans on the left, and the armed slaves in the center.
The Medo-Persian army numbered one hundred and ten thousand
men, and was a mixed horde, consisting of levies from the many tribes
and nations under the dominion of the Great King. Some of them
were armed with spears, swords and battle-axes ; but most of them
fought with bows and arrows, darts and other missile weapons. They
carried light targets of reeds or ozie in their left hands, and their
bodies were in some cases covered with thin plates of metal. Their
defensive armor was nevertheless inferior to that of the Athenians, and
did not by any means enable the Orientals to withstand the shock of
the dense Grecian phalanx. Miltfades was well aware of this, and he
caused his troops to advance to the attack at a running pace, in order
to give the bowmen and javelin-throwers as short a space as possible
to use their missiles, and to enable the Athenian spearmen to bear down
and break open the ranks of the more lightly armed Persians. This
movement succeeded admirably.
At first the Grecian center, consisting of slaves, was broken by the
foe ; but the Athenian and Plat.-ean freemen on the two flanks carried
YOL. 3.— 8
Athenian
Generals.
Prepara-
tions of
Miltiades.
Battle
of Mara-
thon.
Athenian
Victory.
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Its Result
and
Import-
ance.
Meaning
of the
Grecian
Victory.
Persian
Retreat.
everything before them, after which they closed in upon the Persian
troops who had broken their center, defeated them also, and remained
in full possession of the field. The panic-striken Persians fled in haste
to their ships, pursued actively and slaughtered in great numbers by
the triumphant host of Miltiades. More than six thousand Persians
were slain in this memorable battle, while the victorious Athenians lost
only one hundred and ninety-two killed, two of the ten generals being
among the number. The Athenians also took seven of the Persian ves-
sels, the rest of the fleet returning to Asia. Among the slain on the
side of the Persians was Hippias, the expelled tyrant of Athens, who
had sought to revenge his overthrow by jqining the enemies of his
country. The Spartan troops arrived the day after the battle, having
left Sparta as soon as the moon was full, and having hastened by
forced marches to aid the Athenians. After contemplating with great
interest the scene of this glorious Athenian victory, and bestowing
merited praises upon the valor of the heroic little band under Miltiades,
the Spartans returned home (B. C. 490).
Such was the memorable battle of Marathon — one of the most impor-
tant battles in the history of Greece and of the world. It was the first
serious check ever experienced by the Medo-Persians in any quarter,
and taught the Greeks the value of their disciplined valor as arrayed
against the vast hosts of Asia. It gave the Hellenic race a respite in
which to prepare for the decisive struggle for the preservation of their
freedom and their civilization, and encouraged them to make the effort
when the final and greater crisis confronted them.
Had the Medo-Persians triumphed at Marathon, not only would
Greece have been enslaved, but all European civilization would have
perished; and thus the whole fate of the human race and the entire
course of history would have been changed. So the Greek victory
at Marathon was a victory for the cause of civilization and human
freedom in all time. It was a triumph of European civilization over
Asian barbarism — a victory as great and decisive for the future of
Europe, civilization and mankind as the subsequent victories of Europe
over hosts of Asia in the battles of Chalons in A. D. 451 and Tours in
A. D. 732. Had any of these three great battles terminated differently
European civilization and institutions would have perished, and the
political, social and religious systems of Asia would thereafter have
swayed the destinies of the human race, and we would now be having
Asian despotism as the universal system of this planet.
After menacing Athens, Datis, with the Medo-Persian fleet, returned
to Asia with his Eretrian prisoners ; and Greece was for the time freed
from its invaders. The victory of Marathon was hailed by the Athe-
nians with unbounded joy. Miltiades was regarded as the saviour of
THE PERSIAN WAR.
813
Greece, and was received with the highest honors, being for awhile
the most distinguished and beloved citizen of the Athenian republic.
But soon after his great victory, his glorious career was brought to
a sad end.
Even while prince in the Chersonesus, Miltiades had won the grati-
tude of the Athenians by annexing the isles of Lemnos and Imbros
to their dominions ; and he now won a greater claim to their regard by
having delivered them from their most threatening danger, so that they
now had unlimited confidence in him. When he therefore promised
them a still more lucrative enterprise, though less glorious than the
recent ones against the Persians, they very readily granted his request
for a fleet of seventy ships and a large supply of men and money for
their use, of which he was not to render any account until his return.
Miltiades at once set sail for the isle of Paros, which had furnished a
trireme to the Persians during the recent invasion. He was repulsed
in his attack upon Paros and received a dangerous wound. Discour-
aged, he relinquished the siege and returned in disgrace to Athens.
Xanthippus, the leader of the aristocracy, accused him of having
received a bribe from the Persians to retire from Paros. Severely
wounded, Miltiades was brought into court upon a couch ; and although
his brother, Tisagoras, undertook his defense, the only plea that Mil-
tiades made was in the two words " Lemnos " and " Marathon."
Though the offense, if proven, was capital, the people refused to
sentence the victor of Marathon to death. They commuted his
punishment to a fine of fifty talents — equal to about fifty thousand
dollars of our money — which being unable to pay, he was cast into
prison, where he died of the wound he had received at Paros (B. C.
489). His remains were not allowed to be buried until his son, Cimon,
shortly afterward paid the fine. Nevertheless the glory acquired by
Miltiades by his victory at Marathon survived; and although his coun-
trymen persecuted him while living, they ever afterward revered his
memory.
The Persians had brought a block of white marble with them, intend-
ing to erect it as a trophy upon the field of Marathon in honor of the
victory which they anticipated. A half century later this marble
block was carved by Phidias into a gigantic figure of the avenging
goddess, Nemesis ; while the brazen weapons and shields of the Persians
were cast by the same artist into the colossal statue of Athene, which
was set up in the Acropolis, and which could be seen from the sea far
beyond the promontory of Sunium. About the same time a picture
of the battle of Marathon was painted by order of the state, and the
figure of Miltiades was represented in the foreground, animating his
troops to victory. The one hundred and ninety-two heroes who sac-
Miltiades
Honored.
Con-
tinued
Honors to
Mil-
tiades.
His
Disgrace
and
Death.
Ingrati-
tude of
His
Country-
men.
Com-
memora-
tion of
Marathon
and Its
Heroes.
814
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Themis-
tocles and
Aristides.
Their
Respec-
tive
Charac-
ters.
Exile of
Aristides.
rificed their lives for their country's liberties in this celebrated conflict
were buried in the field, and a mound or tumulus was raised over them.
The victory of Marathon, which saved the liberties of Greece,
also contributed immensely to raise the prestige of Athens, and the
commanding abilities of several of her eminent statesmen also added
vastly to her power and influence. At the head of the galaxy of bril-
liant and talented Athenians at this period of Grecian glory were Aris-
tides and Themistocles, both of whom, though opposed to each other
in everything else, labored alike for the greatness and welfare of their
country. Aristides was entirely devoid of personal ambition and was
desirous only of the public welfare. Aristides was, as we have seen,
one of the ten generals who commanded the Athenian army on the
glorious field of Marathon. He was a son of a person of moderate
fortune, named Lysimachus. Themistocles was likewise descended
from a respectable Athenian family. These two great statesmen were
companions in boyhood, and are said to have even then manifested
striking indications of the difference of their dispositions. Aristides
was calm, moderate, candid and upright. Themistocles was bold,
enthusiastic, artful and plausible.
The people of Athens were still divided into the aristocratic and
democratic parties. Aristides became the leader of the aristocratic
party, while Themistocles headed the democratic. Thus these two
leaders were forced into almost constant opposition, both by their posi-
tion and by the difference of their political views. The character of
Aristides was ranked deservedly high for wisdom and uprightness;
but Themistocles, by his wonderful oratorical powers and his persua-
sive eloquence, was often enabled to triumph over the more honest but
less eloquent Aristides. But instead of being discouraged by such
occurrences, Aristides waited patiently until the people should arrive at
a sounder opinion, exerting himself meanwhile to prevent as much as
possible the evil results which he anticipated from their imprudent
decisions. In the year after the battle of Marathon, Aristides was
chosen first Archon, or chief magistrate of the Athenian republic ; and
in this capacity he gave so many signal proofs of his uprightness and
fairness that the people honored him with the surname of " The Just,"
and many of the citizens referred their disputes to his decision, in
preference to carrying them to the ordinary courts of justice.
Jealous because of the civic honors bestowed upon his esteemed and
conscientious rival, Themistocles took advantage of this circumstance
to concoct and circulate an injurious rumor to the effect that Aristides
was seeking to usurp all authority, judicial as well as civil, in his own
person, as a preliminary step toward making himself absolute ruler of
Athens. The Athenians had not yet forgotten the usurpation of Pisis-
THE PERSIAN WAR.
815
tratus, who, under the mask of moderation and anxiety for their
welfare, had subverted the constitution of the republic for his own
individual aggrandizement. They therefore eagerly hearkened to the
eloquent and persuasive voice of Themistocles ; and, alarmed at the
very allegation that a popular leader was once more entertaining the
design of assuming unconstitutional power, they rashly condemned
Aristides to ten years' banishment by ostracism. While the voting by
ostracism was in progress, a country voter who was unable to write
came up to Aristides, whom he did not know personally, and requested
him to write the name of Aristides upon a shell; whereupon Aristides
asked: "Did this man ever injure you?" To which the citizen
replied : " No, nor do I even know him ; but I am weary of hearing him
everywhere called ' the Just ' ! " Thereupon Aristides, without saying
another word, wrote his name upon the shell, and returned it to the
country citizen.
Themistocles was now without a rival at Athens, and his ascendency
in the councils of the republic was undisputed ; but he was destitute of
that pure and unselfish patriotism which had characterized his ban-
ished rival. He had an insatiable desire for political fame, and wished
to make Athens great and powerful in order that he might win for
himself an imperishable renown. So great was the desire of Themis-
tocles for preeminence that the glory won by Miltiades at Marathon
threw him into a state of deep melancholy ; and when asked the reason
of this, he replied that " the trophies of Miltiades would not allow him
to sleep." When he had won influence in the state, an opportunity
for obtaining distinction soon manifested itself. The commerce of
Athens had for some time suffered from the hostility of the inhabitants
of the island of JEgina. Themistocles advised his countrymen to ap-
propriate the produce of the silver mines of Mount Laurium, which
had thus far been yearly divided among the citizens, to the construc-
tion of a fleet to chastise those troublesome islanders. The Athe-
nians acted on his advice, and built one hundred galleys, with which
Themistocles effectually broke the naval power of JEgina, hitherto the
maritime rival of Athens. Athens thus became the leading maritime
power of Greece, but Themistocles continually added to the number
of its war-vessels, until they amounted to two hundred triremes, and
Athens was in a short time absolute and undisputed mistress of the seas.
Themistocles was governed in his action by a belief that the Persians
would renew their efforts to conquer Greece. He foresaw the impor-
tance of a well-equipped fleet for external defense in such a contin-
gency, or as a refuge for the citizens in case of being overcome by the
invaders. Events subsequently demonstrated the correctness of the
anticipations of Themistocles.
Themis-
tocles and
the
Athenian
Navy.
Foresight
of The-
mistocles.
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Formid-
able
Persian
Invasion
of
Greece by
Xerxes.
Prepara-
tions of
Xerxes.
His
Immense
Arma-
ments.
His
Whipping
of the
Helles-
pont.
His
Passage
of the
Helles-
pont.
Upon hearing of the defeat of his army at Marathon, King Darius
Hystaspes resolved upon another expedition for the invasion and con-
quest of Greece on a far grander scale than the other; but a revolt in
Egypt interrupted his preparations, and death soon afterward put
an end to all his earthly designs (B. C. 485). His son and successor,
Xerxes the Great, after crushing the Egyptian revolt, prepared to
execute his father's projects for the subjugation of Greece. Persian
heralds were again sent to all the Grecian states, except Athens and
Sparta, which had treated the former heralds so cruelly, to demand
earth and water in token of submission ; and many of the smaller states
again granted the required acknowledgment, fearing to arouse the
displeasure of the Great King.
Xerxes was engaged four years in raising an army, building a fleet,
and cutting a canal across the isthmus connecting Mount Athos with
the Greek continent. This passage was provided for to enable the
Medo-Persian army to continue their progress directly southward, in-
stead of sailing around the dangerous promontory of Athos, where the
fleet of Mardonius had been wrecked. As soon as the preparations were
finished, Xerxes personally assumed command of the expedition, and
marched directly for the Hellespont.
His army was the largest ever raised, and is said to have consisted of
more than two millions of fighting men, of whom one million seven
hundred thousand were infantry, while four hundred thousand were
cavalry. The immense multitude of slaves and women who followed
the army raised the vast host to more than four millions of souls. The
fleet consisted of twelve hundred ships of war and three thousand trans-
ports, and carried about six hundred thousand fighting men. It is
said that, on one occasion, while Xerxes was viewing this mighty host,
he was moved to tears by the thought that not one individual of all
the thousands before him would be living a hundred years thereafter.
Xerxes caused a bridge of boats to be constructed across the Helles-
pont, between the two towns of Abydos and Sestos, where the narrow
strait is less than a mile wide ; but this bridge was destroyed by a
furious storm, which so angered the despot that he ordered all the
workmen engaged in constructing it to be put to. death. He is also
said to have caused the waters of the Hellespont to be beaten with rods,
and fetters to be dropped into the strait, as a token of his determina-
tion to curb its violence, while his servants addressed it in this style:
" It is thus, thou salt and bitter water, that thy master punishes thy<
unprovoked injury, and he is determined to pass thy treacherous
streams, notwithstanding all the insolence of thy malice."
Another bridge, consisting of a double line of vessels, strongly an-
chored on both sides of the Hellespont, and joined together by hempen
THE PERSIAN WAR.
817
Grecian
Congress
at
Corinth.
cables, was then constructed, and trunks of trees were laid across the
decks of the vessels, the whole being smoothly covered with planks, thus
affording an easy passage for the troops. The Persian hosts occupied
seven days and nights in crossing this remarkable bridge ; after which
Xerxes marched through Thrace, Macedon and Thessaly towards the
southern portions of Greece, receiving the submission of the different
nothern states through which he advanced; while his fleet crossed what
is now known as the Gulf of Contessa and passed through the canal of
Athos, and thereafter sailed southward.
In the meantime those Grecian states which had refused to submit
to the advancing Persians were making vigorous preparations to
resist the invaders. A congress of deputies from these different states,
convened at Corinth, adopted measures for the common defense. The
united Greeks exhibited extraordinary courage at this momentous
crisis, not manifesting any signs of despondency for a single instant,
notwithstanding the terrible odds against them. They drew upon the
entire population of the confederated states for all the military force
at their command to resist the immense hosts of the Medo-Persian Em-
pire ; yet with all their efforts, the Grecian forces did not exceed sixty
thousand freemen and perhaps as many armed slaves. To add to the
discouragement of the Greeks in this extraordinary emergency, the re-
sponses which they received from the Delphic oracle were dark and
menacing. The Spartans were informed that the voluntary death of
a king of the race of Heracles could save them, and the Athenians were
answered in this style : " All else, within Cecropian bounds and the
recesses of divine Cithasron, shall fall; the wooden walls alone Zeus
grants to Athene to remain inexpugnable, a refuge to you and your
children. Wait not therefore the approach of horse or foot, an im-
mense army, coming from the continent ; but retreat, turning the
back, even though they be close upon you. O divine Salamis ! thou
shalt lose the sons of women, whether Demeter be scattered or gath-
ered!"
The Athenians were puzzled to know what was meant by the phrase "_Wopden
" wooden walls," referred to by the oracle. Some supposed that these
words alluded to the Acropolis, or citadel of Athens, which had in early
times been surrounded with a wooden palisade; but Themistocles
insisted that the fleet constituted the wooden walls meant by the oracle,
and advised the Athenians to rely entirely upon their ships for their
defense against the Persian invaders. This advice was ultimately fol-
lowed ; and while the Spartan king Leonidas with eight thousand con-
federate Greek troops took up a strong position in the narrow pass of
Thermopylae, between Thessaly and Phocis, the Athenian fleet, rein-
forced by the fleets of the other confederated Grecian states, sailed to
Walls"
of
Athens.
818
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Tri-
umphal
March of
Xerxes.
His
Arrival at
Ther-
mopylae.
Battle of
Ther-
mopylae.
the strait separating the island of Euboea from the coast of Thessaly,
and took up its station at the promontory of Artemisium, about fifteen
miles from the pass of Thermopylae.
The march of Xerxes had so far resembled that of a triumphal pro-
cession more than a hostile invasion. None had the courage to oppose
his advance, and the different minor states of Greece through which
he passed vied with each other in the respect which they showed the
Great King and in the cordial welcome with which they greeted him
and the millions of his gigantic host. But he was now to be enlight-
ened with that unconquerable Grecian valor which had overcome the
armies of his illustrious father.
When Xerxes arrived at the pass of Thermopylae and discovered that
it was defended by so small a force, he sent messengers to demand of
them to lay down their arms. To this demand the heroic Leonidas
replied in true Spartan style : " Come and take them." The Persian
messengers then assured the Greeks that if they would lay down their
arms, the Great King would receive them as his allies and give them a
country more fertile than Greece. But the brave Greeks replied that
" no country was worth acceptance, unless won by virtue ; and that, as
for their arms, they should want them whether as the friends or the
enemies of Xerxes." After giving this intrepid reply, the Greeks
resumed the gymnastic exercises and the other amusements in which
they had been engaged when the messengers of the Persian king
arrived.
Xerxes waited four days in the hope that the Greeks would sur-
render. Observing that they remained as resolute as ever, he gave
orders to begin the attack, and thus commenced the ever-memorable
battle of Thermopylae. But the extreme narrowness of the pass, which
was only fifteen feet wide in one place and twenty-five in another, pre-
vented the Persians from reaping the full advantage which their enor-
mous superiority of numbers would otherwise have given them, and the
undaunted Spartans repulsed with tremendous slaughter every suc-
cessive column of the Persians that entered the narrow defile to force
a passage. King Xerxes viewed the desperate conflict from a neigh-
boring height ; and being repeatedly startled with irrepressible emotion
as he saw the bravest of his troops defeated and slaughtered, he finally
ordered the discontinuance of the assault on the heroic Grecian band.
The next day the combat was renewed with no better success on the
part of the invaders, who, however, effected by stratagem what they
were unable to obtain by force ; and the treachery of a Greek named
Epialtes, who was a native of Malis, led to the entire destruction of the
heroic defenders of Thermopylae.
THE PERSIAN WAR.
819
Epialtes offered, for a large bribe, to show the Persians a secret path
over the mountains, a few miles west of Thermopylae, by which the
invaders could reach the other extremity of the pass, intercept the
retreat of Leonidas and assail him in the rear. The Persians eagerly
accepted the offer of the Greek traitor; and the Immortals, numbering
twenty thousand men, under the command of a distinguished officer
named Hydarnes, started over this secret and circuitous path, in the
evening. This chosen detachment marched all night, and arrived
near the summit of the height about sunrise the next morning. But
the invaders here found their way obstructed by a guard of Phocians,
who had been assigned by Leonidas to the defense of this unfrequented
mountain path.
The Persians advanced for some time without being observed, under
the shadow of an oak forest covering the sides of the hill ; but the Pho-
cians were finally alarmed by the unwonted rustling among the leaves
and the heavy tread of so numerous a detachment of troops, and pre-
pared to offer a resolute resistance to the advancing foe. The Pho-
cians, supposing that the Immortals had come to attack them, left their
position in the pass and posted themselves on a rising ground where
they would be less exposed to the darts of their assailants; but
Hydarnes did not attack them, as they had expected he would, but,
paying no further attention to them, continued his march along the
evacuated pass, towards the plains.
The gallant defenders of Thermopylae had many secret friends in
the Persian camp. The recruits which Xerxes had forced into his
service during the march were not at heart enemies of Greece, and one
of them managed to escape to the Grecian camp with intimation of the
treachery of Epialtes, a few hours after the march of the Immortals
under Hydarnes. Leonidas at once summoned a council of war, which
decided that all the Greeks except the Spartans should at once retreat
towards the Isthmus of Corinth, as all perceived that the pass of
Thermopylae was now untenable. But Leonidas and his heroic band of
three hundred Spartans declared that, as the laws of Sparta did not
allow a Spartan soldier to flee before an enemy, they would either con-
quer or die at their post. Seven hundred Thespians, inspired to
emulation by this noble example of Spartan heroism, also announced
their determination to remain at their post and share the fate of
Leonidas and his gallant band.
All the Greek troops then retired from the pass of Thermopylae, with
the exception of the three hundred Spartans and the seven hundred
Thespians, and about four hundred Thebans whom Leonidas had re-
tained as hostages because of the known sympathy of Thebes with the
Persian invaders who had come to destroy the liberties of the other Gre-
Treach-
ery of
Epialtes.
Persian
Advance.
Leonidas
and His
Little
Band
of
Spartan
Heroes.
Progress
of the
Defense
of Ther-
mopylae.
820
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Spartan
Valor.
Heroism
and
Death of
Leonidas.
Fate
of the
Spartan
Heroes.
cian states which the Thebans disliked. Leonidas then exhorted his
brave companions in arms to acquit themselves as men who expected
death and were prepared for it at any moment. Said he : " Come, my
fellow-soldiers, let us sit down to the last meal we shall eat on earth;
to-morrow we shall sup with Pluto."
On the approach of midnight Leonidas led his heroic little band
against the overwhelming host of the Persians, who were completely
surprised by this sudden and unexpected attack, and thus thrown into
the greatest confusion, being unable to distinguish friend from foe in
the darkness, so that in many cases they attacked each other ; while the
gallant Spartans and their heroic Thespian allies remained together
in a compact body, fighting with the wild energy of men who had relin-
quished every hope of life, making dreadful havoc in the demoralized
and wavering ranks of the Persians, and penetrating almost to the tent
of Xerxes himself.
When the dawn of the morning disclosed to the Persians the small-
ness of the Spartan and Thespian bands, Leonidas led his men into the
defile, whither the Persians followed him, and for a time the conflict
raged with desperate obstinacy on both sides. The Spartans and
Thespians fought with the courage of despair, and multitudes of the
Persians fell beneath their swords. While the battle was raging the
fiercest, a Persian dart pierced the heart of the brave Leonidas, and
he expired ; but this only aroused his gallant followers to greater fury,
and the Persians began to waver, when the twenty thousand Immortals
under Hydarnes were observed approaching from the other end of
the pass.
The Spartans and Thespians then took their stand behind a wall
on a rising ground at the narrowest point of the defile, resolved to sell
their lives as dearly as possible. The Thebans cowardly begged for
quarter, saying that they had been forced into the conflict against their
wishes, and their lives were spared; whereupon they deserted to the
Persians, by whom many of them were slain, however, before their
movement was understood. The Persians now closed in upon the de-
voted Spartans and Thespians on all sides, some of them beating down
the wall behind which the heroic defenders had stationed themselves,
while others assailed them with showers of arrows. The Spartans and
their allies held out heroically to the last. When one said that the
Persians' darts were so numerous that they obstructed the light of the
sun, Dioneces, a Spartan, replied : " How favorable a circumstance ! the
Greeks now fight in the shade !" Finally, after performing prodigious
feats of valor, the whole Spartan and Thespian band was overpowered
and slain, excepting one who made his escape to Sparta to announce
the fate of his heroic comrades, and who was received with contempt
THE PERSIAN WAR.
821
because he had not the courage to die at his post with those gallant com-
panions. The dead of the Spartans and Thespians were literally cov-
ered with the arrows which their numerous Persian assailants had
showered upon them.
Such was the famous battle of Thermopylae, in which perished
Leonidas and his brave band, winning for themselves an immortal
fame — a fame which has grown brighter with all the succeeding ages.
Two monuments were afterwards erected near the spot where they fell.
The inscription on one of these recorded the heroism with which a
handful of Spartans and Thespians had resisted unto death three mil-
lions of Persians. The other monument was dedicated to the memory
of Leonidas and his Spartan band of three hundred, and was inscribed
with these words : " Go, stranger, and tell to the Spartans that we died
here in obedience to their divine laws."
While the band of Leonidas was displaying such signal proofs of
its valor in defending unto death the pass of Thermopylae, the Grecian
fleet was contending with the Persians at sea with better fortune, while
the elements were also on the side of Hellas. The gigantic fleet of
Xerxes had anchored in the bay of Casthanaea, on the coast of Thes-
saly, where it was attacked by a terrific storm lasting three days, thus
losing about four hundred war-vessels and a vast number of transports
and store-ships, which were totally wrecked. After the subsidence of
the storm, the Persians, eager to abandon a place where they found so
little shelter, sailed into the strait dividing the island of Euboea from
the mainland of Greece, and anchored in the road of Aphetae, about
ten miles from the promontory of Artemisium, where the Greek fleet
was stationed.
The Persian fleet was still very large, notwithstanding the great loss
caused by the tempest, and the Greeks were much alarmed in conse-
quence of its arrival in the vicinity of their own united fleet. The
Greeks therefore held a council of war, which decided by a large ma-
jority that the Grecian fleet should retreat southward. The Euboeans
sought to prevent the adoption of this course, as it exposed them to the
vengeance of the Persians ; and with this view they endeavored to in-
duce Eurybiades, the Spartan admiral, who commanded the combined
Grecian fleet, to defer its departure, at least to allow them sufficient
time to remove their families and their valuable property to a place
of safety. As Eurybiades remained inexorable in his decision, the
Euboeans applied to Themfstocles, who commanded the Athenian divi-
sion of the confederated fleet, and who, in the council of war, had op-
posed the proposition to retreat. Themfstocles reminded them that
gold was sometimes more persuasive than words, and consented to pre-
vent the contemplated retreat of the combined fleet, if he were fur-
Com-
memora-
tion of the
Spartan
Heroic
Band.
Grecian
and
Persian
Fleets.
Greek
Council
of War.
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Merce-
nary
Greek
Admirals.
Persian
Fleet
Destroyed
by a
Storm.
Two
More
Greek
Naval
Victories.
nished with thirty talents (about thirty thousand dollars). When the
Euboeans had paid the stipulated sum, Themistocles induced Eury-
biades, by means of a bribe of five talents, to countermand the orders
for the retreat of the united fleet. All the officers obeyed the com-
mands of the Spartan admiral and commander-in-chief, except Adi-
mantus, the Corinthian admiral, who persisted in his purpose to sail
away, until Themistocles bought his acquiescence in the postponement
by a gift of three talents. He retained the remaining twenty-two tal-
ents for himself.
Thus the conduct of Themistocles on this occasion, by its lack of
high moral principle, and the mercenary spirit manifested by the Spar-
tan and Corinthian admirals, who could only be induced by a bribe to
face the Persians, presented a striking contrast to the patriotic zeal
and heroic example of the gallant defenders of Thermopylae.
The Persian admiral now prepared for battle, and dispatched two
hundred galleys with orders to sail around the eastern side of the island
of Euboea and station themselves at the southern extremity of the strait
of Euripus. When the Greeks were informed of this movement by a
deserter from the Persian fleet, they held another council of war, which
decided to attack the Persian fleet, now weakened both by the effects
of the recent tempest and by the departure of the two hundred ships.
The Greek ships therefore anchored near sunset and attacked the Per-
sian fleet. Despite the vast numerical superiority of the Persians, the
Greeks soon captured thirty of the enemy's ships and sunk a larger
number of them. The conflict was ended by the approach of night
and by a sudden furious storm.
The united Greek fleet soon regained its former position off Arte-
misium ; but the Persians, who were unacquainted with the narrow and
intricate seas of Greece, and who were confused by the darkness and
the violence of the tempest, could not determine in what direction to
steer, and many of their ships were wrecked before the fleet returned
to its former station at Aphetae. The storm caused still greater havoc
among the two hundred galleys which had sailed for the southern end
of the strait of Euripus. These galleys were caught by the tempest
in the open sea, and being unable, in the midst of the dense darkness
of the night, to see a solitary star by which to direct their course, they
were tossed to and fro by the merciless winds and waves, until finally
the whole squadron was driven upon the Euboean coast, where it miser-
ably perished.
The next day the Greek admirals were informed of this last event
by the crews of three new Athenian ships, which had come to reinforce
the united Grecian fleet. Elated by this favorable intelligence, the
Greeks renewed their attack upon the Persian fleet on the evening of
THE PERSIAN WAR.
the same day, totally destroying a detachment of it, called the Cili-
cian squadron. Mortified because they had been completely beaten by
a foe so far inferior in numbers, the Persian commanders determined
upon a vigorous effort to retrieve their reputation, and the next morn-
ing they gave orders for a general engagement. About noon they
approached the combined Grecian fleet, and a desperate struggle fol-
lowed, ending in another Greek victory ; the Greeks, however, losing
five galleys, and many of their vessels being damaged, especially those
of the Athenian division. In consequence of this circumstance and
the discouraging effect of the intelligence of the destruction of Leon-
idas and his Spartan band at Thermopylae, the Greek admirals decided
to retreat southward, so that they might be able to give all the aid in
their power to the inhabitants of Attica and the Peloponnesian states,
which would be exposed to immediate invasion by the Persians in con-
sequence of the result of the battle of Thermopylae. The confeder-
ated Greek fleet therefore sailed southward, and, proceeding to the Sar-
onic Gulf, anchored in the strait between the island of Salamis and
the coast of Attica.
The Persian army now marched through Phocis and Boeotia into
Attica, while the Persian fleet likewise moved southward, in pursuit of
the Greek fleet into the Saronic Gulf. The Persian army was scarcely
opposed in its march, for the Peloponnesian troops had retired within
the Isthmus of Corinth, as they despaired of being able to make any
effective resistance in the open country. The Athenians made no
effort to defend their territory, as they had been deserted by their
allies, and as the chief portion of their armed force was on board the
united Grecian fleet. The sacred fane of the temple of Apollo at Del-
phi was preserved in this time of general panic.
The Delphians were alarmed upon receiving intelligence that the
Persians had forced the pass of Thermopylae, and consulted the oracle
as to what was necessary to do for the protection of the temple and
the security of the valuable treasures contained therein. The oracle
replied that " the arms of Apollo were sufficient for the defense of his
shrine." The Delphians then transported their wives and children
across the Gulf of Corinth into Achaia, abandoned their city, and con-
cealed themselves in the deep caverns and among the rocky summits
of Mount Parnassus. Delphi could only be approached by a steep
and difficult road, winding about among the narrow defiles and steep
mountain crags. When the Persian detachment marched along this
road, a thunder-storm came on, arousing their superstitious fears and
encouraging the Delphians, who fancied that Apollo was fulfilling his
promise to interfere for the protection of his temple. Two enormous
fragments of rock rolled down from the heights of Parnassus upon the
2—14
Move-
ments of
the
Rival
Fleets.
Persian
Invasion
of
Attica.
Persians
at
Delphi.
824
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Supersti-
tion of
Both
Parties.
Athe-
nians
Take
Refuge
in Their
" Wooden
Walls."
Capture
and
Burning
of
Athens.
Greek
Council
of War.
heads of the affrighted Persians, either by the agency of the lightning
or by the secret efforts of the Delphians, caused the precipitate flight
of the invaders. The Delphians then emerged from their hiding-
places and pursued the panic-stricken Persians with terrific slaughter.
When the Persian detachment returned to the main army, they
apologized for their disgraceful discomfiture by telling many wonder-
ful tales concerning the unearthly voices they had heard and the
frightful forms they had beheld. The Delphic priests having an in-
terest in crediting and circulating reports of the same nature, the belief
soon became universal that the calamity which had befallen the sacri-
legious invaders of the sacred shrine had been effected by supernatural
agency.
Themistocles saw that there was no further hope of saving Attica
when the combined Grecian fleet had arrived at Salamis. He there-
fore persuaded the Athenians to seek refuge in their ships, in accord-
ance with his previous interpretation of the promise given them by
the Delphic oracle that they should find safety behind their " wooden
walls." They consequently conveyed their women, children and old
men to the islands of Salamis and vEgina, and the sea-port town of
Troezene, in Argolis, thus abandoning their country and city to the
vengeance of the Persians. But before they departed they passed a
decree, at the instigation of Themistocles, recalling all their exiles for
the common defense, thus obtaining the valuable aid of Aristides in
this great emergency. Aristides was then residing in the island of
^Egina, and as he had heard of the decree he proceeded to the general
rendezvous at Salamis, generously and patriotically forgetting the
injustice done him by his countrymen, and desirous only for their
welfare.
The Medo-Persian army soon overran and ravaged Attica with fire
and sword, taking Athens and reducing it to ashes, and massacring
the few inhabitants who had remained in it, and who had vainly en-
deavored to defend the citadel. The Persian fleet at the same time
stationed itself at Phalerum, an Athenian sea-port, near the bay in
which the Grecian navy had taken its position. The allied Greeks now
deliberated upon the question of risking another conflict with the Per-
sian fleet or retiring farther up the Saronic Gulf to assist in defending
the Isthmus of Corinth, across which the Peloponnesians had raised a
line of fortifications to stop the advance of the invaders. Themistocles
vainly urged the council of war to remain where they then were and
give battle to the Persians. Most of the Grecian admirals desired to
depart, and the council of war finally decided to move the fleet at once.
The council was then broken up. Themistocles, who saw that if the
resolution just adopted was carried into effect the Hellenic cause would
THE PERSIAN WAR.
825
Eury-
be utterly ruined, prevailed upon Eurybiades to convene another coun-
cil of war, at which he used all the persuasive powers of his eloquence
to induce the Grecian admirals to revoke their weak decision. In the
progress of the discussion, he said something to give offense to Eury-
bfades, who raised his stick as if to strike the Athenian; but Themfs-
tocles, who was only bent on persuading the admirals to remain where
they then were, paid no more attention to the threatening attitude of
the Spartan admiral than to say to him calmly : " Strike, but hear
me." Eurybiades, ashamed of his hasty violence, requested Themis- mistocles.
tocles to proceed with his speech, giving him no further interruption.
Themistocles then endeavored to convince the council of the disadvan-
tages to which they would expose themselves and the cause of Greece
by abandoning their present station, as they would thus give up a
narrow channel, in which the entire Persian fleet would be unable to
attack them at once, for the open seas, where they might be quickly
overpowered by the superior numbers of the enemy's fleet. He like-
wise alluded to the cruelty of abandoning the Athenian women and
children collected in the islands of Salamis and JEgina to the mercy
of the invaders.
As soon as Themistocles had finished his speech, Adimantus, the Remarks
Corinthian admiral, insultingly asked whether they were to be guided
by the wishes of the men who had no longer a city to defend, alluding
to the destruction of Athens by the Persians. Themistocles replied
indignantly that " the Athenians had, indeed, sacrificed their private
possessions for the sake of preserving their own independence and the
common liberties of Greece, but that they had still a city in their two
hundred ships." He further said that " if deserted by the confeder-
ates, they would embark their wives and children, and seek a new home
on the coast of Italy, where ancient oracles had foretold that the Athe-
nians should one day found a flourishing state." He also intimated
that " if the allies provoked them to adopt this course, they would
speedily have cause to regret that they had driven away the only fleet
which was capable of protecting their coasts."
These words of Themistocles so alarmed the council, who feared that
the Athenians might withdraw from the Grecian alliance, that it was
resolved to remain at Salamis, and there give battle to the Persian fleet, mistocles.
Nevertheless, several of the Peloponnesian admirals soon manifested a
desire to depart, and Themistocles was informed that most of them
intended to sail that night. To thwart their design, he secretly sent
a messenger to Xerxes to tell him that the Grecian fleet was preparing
to make its escape, and that if he desired to crush his foes at once
he should guard both ends of the strait in which they were stationed
with his ships. Supposing Themistocles to be secretly in the Persian
Strata-
°
826
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Naval
Battle of
Sal a mis.
Grecian
Fleet.
Persian
Fleet and
Army.
Sacrifice
of
Persian
Youths.
Victory
of the
Greek
Fleet at
Salamis.
interest, Xerxes acted on his advice; and when the Greeks found
themselves inclosed, they made a virtue of necessity by preparing for
battle.
In the morning of the day on which occurred the ever-memorable
battle of Salamis — October 20, B. C. 480 — the Greeks chanted sacred
hymns and paeans, " while, with their voices, the spirit-stirring sounds
of the shrill war-trumpet ever and anon mingled." While forming
themselves in line of battle under the direction of their leaders, they
encouraged each other by mutual exhortations to fight bravely in
defense of their wives and children, their liberties and the temples of
their gods. Every heart gave a willing response to such patriotic ap-
peals, and under the inspiration of their righteous cause they per-
formed prodigies of valor.
The Persians were not actuated by such worthy sentiments, but still
they had strong motives for bold and active exertion. They knew that
they were to fight under the immediate eye of their sovereign, as Xerxes
had drawn up his army along the opposite shore of Attica, and had
seated himself upon a magnificent throne on the summit of a neigh-
boring mountain, where he watched the onset of the combatants and
the progress of the battle, while around him were his guards and many
secretaries, whose duty it was to record the manner in which his sea-
men acquitted themselves in the conflict. Persian troops lined the
shores of Attica for a considerable extent, and the entire Persian army
was in motion by dawn, as the soldiers were impelled by curiosity to
station themselves on the neighboring heights. They chose the most
commodious eminences, and every hill and elevation commanding a view
of the water was eagerly sought by those desirous of viewing the im-
pending conflict.
A shocking affair occurred in the galley of Themistocles, during
this moment of anxiety and hope. While he was offering sacrifices on
deck, three beautiful captive youths, said to have been nephews of
Xerxes, were brought to Themistocles. The soothsayer who attended
on the sacrifice took Themistocles by the hand, and ordered that the
three youths be sacrificed to Dionysos, that the Greeks might be as-
sured of safety and victory by this means. Themistocles was aston-
ished at this extraordinary and cruel order, as no human sacrifices had
been permitted among the Athenians. But the people, calling upon
the god, led the youthful captives to the altar and insisted that they
be offered up as victims in accordance with the directions of the sooth-
sayer.
When a favorable breeze sprang up, the signal was given for the
attack ; and the Grecian fleet, composed of three hundred and eighty
ships, advanced to encounter the Persian fleet, consisting of one thou-
THE PERSIAN WAR.
827
•and three hundred vessels of war. The skillful assault of the Athe-
nians soon broke the Persian line; and the Greeks gained a complete
victory, after a long and desperate conflict, marked by many examples
of personal valor. The Persians lost so heavily that the sea itself
was scarcely visible for the many dead bodies for some distance.
Many of the Persian vessels were taken or destroyed, and the remain-
der, utterly panic-stricken, were dispersed in different directions.
The Greeks lost forty ships, but very few lives, many of those whose
vessels were sunk having saved themselves by swimming to the shore.
A chosen detachment of Persian infantry had been stationed on the
small island of Psyttalea, between Salamis and the mainland, to aid
the Persian fleet and destroy the Greeks who might seek a refuge there
while the battle was in progress. But the vigilant Aristides led a
detachment of Athenian troops, who attacked and massacred the entire
Persian detachment, within sight of Xerxes himself, who, seeing his
fleet dispersed and destroyed, and his select soldiers cut to pieces by
the triumphant Greeks, sprung from his throne in anguish, rent his
garments in paroxysms of despair, and hastily ordered the withdrawal
of his army from the coast. The scattered remnants of the Persian
fleet fled, some seeking refuge in the Hellespont, and others in the
ports of Asia Minor, while Xerxes and his land forces beat a hasty
and precipitate retreat into Thessaly.
Such was the famous sea-fight of Salamis, in which the pride of
Xerxes was thoroughly humbled. The Great King was in such fear
of the Greeks that he believed himself in peril so long as he remained
in Europe, though surrounded with millions of his soldiers. He there-
fore decided upon immediately returning to Asia, and leaving three
hundred thousand of his troops under Mardonius to conduct the war
in Greece. Xerxes was confirmed in his decision to return to Asia by
a message sent him by Themistocles, telling him that the Grecian coun-
cil of war had entertained a proposition to sail at once to the Helles-
pont and destroy the Persian king's bridge of boats, to prevent his
return to Asia, but that Themistocles had dissuaded his allies from
executing this design. It is believed that the wily Athenian leader
gave this intimation to Xerxes for the twofold purpose of hastening
the retreat of a still formidable foe, and of securing for himself the
Persian king's protection, in case any vicissitude of fortune required
it. And the time when such a refuge became necessary did come to
the victor of Salamis.
The retreat of Xerxes from the battle of Salamis was one of the
most disastrous recorded in history. No arrangements having been
made to supply the vast host of Xerxes with provisions, in the midst
of the confusion and panic incident to this hasty flight, famine soon
VOL. 3.— 9
Defeat of
Persian
Infantry.
Persian
Retreat.
Flight of
Xerxes.
Trickery
of The-
mistocles
Disas-
trous
Persian
Retreat.
828
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Destruc-
ersia
Host.
Misfor-
Humilia-
tion of
Dis-
The^
mistocles.
Honesty
Aris°tides
The
wrought frightful havoc and distress. The Persian soldiers were re-
duced to such extremities that they ate the leaves and bark of the
trees and the grass of the fields, as they returned to their distant home.
To the horrors of famine were soon added those of pestilence, and the
line of retreat through Thessaly, Macedon and Thrace was everywhere
strewn with heaps of dead bodies.
Sixty thousand of the chosen troops, placed under the command of
Mardonius, accompanied Xerxes to the Hellespont as a body-guard.
With the exception of these, who, as guardians of the monarch's per-
son, were partly supplied with provisions, while the common soldiers
were left to suffer the pangs of starvation, nearly the entire multitude
which followed the retreat of their sovereign from the plains of Thes-
saly miserably perished before Xerxes arrived at the shores of the
Hellespont, after a march of forty-five days.
The magnificent bridge of boats by which Xerxes had previously
crossed over the strait had been destroyed by a tempest, and the hu-
miliated king was glad to obtain a Phoenician vessel to transport him
over to the Asiatic side of the Hellespont. Thus ended in misfortune
and humiliation the most gigantic military expedition ever undertaken
by man, furnishing an illustration of the evils caused by senseless van-
ity and immoderate ambition.
After the retreat of the Persians, the Grecian navy went into port
^or ^e wm^er» excepting the Athenian squadron, which, under the
command of Themistocles, sailed to the Cyclades. Under the pretense
of chastising the inhabitants of these islands for aiding the Persians,
Themistocles extorted from them a heavy contribution, which he was
accused of afterwards appropriating to his own private use, instead
of putting it into the public treasury. About the same time he gave
another example of his lack of principle. He told his countrymen
that he had something to propose, which would inure to their benefit,
but that he could not with propriety disclose it to the popular assem-
bly. The Athenians directed him to communicate his purpose to Aris-
tides, and promised that if that upright statesman approved the design
they would sanction its execution.
Themistocles therefore informed Aristides that his project was to
Durn the united Grecian fleet while wintering in the harbor of Pagasae,
so that Athens would be the only maritime power in Greece. Aris-
tides reported to the people that " nothing could be more advantage-
ous, and at the same time more unjust, than the project of Themis-
tocles."
Upon hearing this, the Athenians rejected the proposition of The-
mistocles, without even inquiring as to its nature, thus attesting their
boundless confidence in the wisdom and honesty of Aristides. The
THE PERSIAN WAR. 339
Athenians were now enabled to return to their ruined city, which most
of them did. But fearful that Mardonius might again force them to
abandon it, many permitted their wives and children to still remain
on the islands of Salamis and /Egina. The confederated Greeks Grecian
passed the winter in offering sacrifices to the gods in gratitude for ingg°ana
their deliverance from the Persian invasion, in dividing the spoils of Prizes,
victory, and in bestowing prizes on those who had principally distin-
guished themselves in the war. While these prizes were being awarded,
an incident transpired, which testified to the military talents of The-
mistocles and to the vanity of his military colleagues.
When the commanders of the allied Grecian fleet were asked to fur- Honors to
nish a list of the names ef such as had displayed the greatest heroism mjgtocles.
and skill in the battle of Salamis, each admiral placed his own name
at the head of the list, while most agreed in placing the name of
Themistocles second. But the general voice of the Grecian states de-
clared Themistocles the hero of Salamis; and the Spartans especially
vied with his Athenian countrymen in the honors conferred upon him.
He was invited to visit Sparta, and, upon his arrival in that city, was
pompously crowned with an olive wreath, as the ablest and wisest of
the Greeks. The Spartans at the same time conferred a similar mark
of distinction upon their own admiral, Eurybiades, as the bravest.
They likewise presented Themistocles with a splendid chariot, and sent
three hundred of their noblest youths as a guard of honor to attend
him to the frontier when he was on his journey home. On his next
appearance in public, at the celebration of the Olympic Games, his
presence excited such an interest that no attention was paid to the
contestants in the arena, all eyes and minds being fixed upon the hero
of Salamis who had saved Greece from the Persians.
In the meantime the Persian general, Mardonius, was not idle. He Intrigues
regarded the Athenians as the most formidable enemies with whom he ° juus. &
had to contend, and therefore he sought to induce them to secede from
the Grecian alliance by many liberal and tempting offers. He caused
Alexander, King of Macedon, to visit Athens, and to promise in the
name of the Persian king that the city should be rebuilt, the citizens
enriched, and the dominion of all Greece bestowed upon them, if they
would retire from the war. The Spartans had received intimation of
this proceeding, and sent ambassadors to Athens at the same time to
remind the Athenians of their duties to Greece, and to offer them any
pecuniary aid they wished or needed, and also an asylum in Sparta
for their women and children.
Under the advice of Aristides, the Athenians answered both the Per- Patriotic
sians and the Spartans in the noblest and most patriotic style. The j^j^*11
Athenians replied thus : " We are not ignorant of the power of the
830
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Athens
in the
Lurch.
Athe-
nians
again
Seek
Refuge in
Their
Ships.
Patriot-
ism of the
Athe-
nians.
Athens
again De-
stroyed.
Athenian
Embassy
tc
Sparta.
Mede, but for the sake of freedom we will resist that power as we can.
Bear back to Mardonius this our answer: So long as yonder sun con-
tinues his course, so long we forswear all friendship with Xerxes ; so
long, confiding in the aid of our gods and heroes, whose shrines and
altars he has burned, we will struggle against him for revenge. As
for you, Spartans, knowing our spirit, you should be ashamed to fear
our alliance with the barbarian. Send your forces into the field with-
out delay. The enemy will be upon us when he knows our answer.
Let us meet him in Breotia before he proceed to Attica." Mardonius
immediately marched upon Athens when his overtures were rejected.
The confederated Greeks again shamefully left the Athenians in the
lurch, not rendering them assistance in this perilous crisis. Even the
Spartans, who had so recently exhorted the Athenians to stand by the
general cause of all Greece, did not furnish a man to assist in the
defense of Attica against the new Persian invasion ; but, acting on the
promptings of their selfish and cold-hearted policy, seemed satisfied
with erecting new fortifications at the Isthmus of Corinth, to protect
the Peloponnesus.
The Athenians were consequently forced to abandon their city a
second time. They again transported to Salamis such of their famil-
ies as had returned to Athens, and embarking on board their ships,
prepared to defend themselves to the last extremity. The patriotism
which they exhibited so enthusiastically in this emergency forms a
favorable contrast to the narrow and selfish behavior of the Spartans.
Upon invading Attica, Mardonius sent another messenger to the
Athenians, renewing his previous liberal offers, if they would secede
from the Grecian confederacy ; but even the perilous situation to
which they were reduced, by the base and ungrateful conduct of their
allies in deserting them in this dire extremity, did not cause the coun-
trymen of Aristides and Themistocles to abandon the common cause
of Grecian independence. An example of their opposition to any con-
cession to Persia in this perilous conjuncture is furnished by their
treatment of Lycidas, a member of the Council of Five Hundred, whom
they stoned to death for simply proposing that the message of Mar-
donius should be taken into consideration, and whose wife and children
were put to death by a band of enraged women.
The troops of Mardonius now devastated Attica, and destroyed
Athens a second time, after which they retired again into Boeotia, lest
they should be surprised by the Greeks in the mountainous part of
Attica, where their large army would be at a disadvantage, and where
their cavalry would be hampered in their movements.
In the meantime, a deputation from Athens, headed by Aristides,
had gone to Sparta, to remonstrate with the Lacedaemonians and urge.
THE PERSIAN WAR.
them to send immediate aid to the distressed Athenians. When the
deputation arrived the Spartans were celebrating one of their public
festivals, apparently little concerned about the fate of the Athenians;
and Aristides and his colleagues had to wait ten days before they could
receive any response to their representations. Finally, when the Athe-
nian envoys had threatened to come to terms with Mardonius, a force
of five thousand Spartans and thirty-five thousand light-armed Helots,
to which were added a guard of five thousand heavy-armed Laconi-
ans, was sent to the relief of Athens. While crossing the Isthmus of
Corinth, this Lacedaemonian army was reinforced by the troops of the
other Peloponnesian states, and when they arrived in Attica they were
joined by eight thousand Athenians, and bodies of troops from Pla-
tasa, Thespiaea, Salamis, ^Egina and Euboea. As Sparta had long
ranked as the leading military state of Greece, Pausanias, the Lace-
daemonian general, assumed the chief command of the confederated
Grecian army, which numbered almost forty thousand heavy-armed
and about seventy thousand light-armed troops. The Athenian con-
tingent was commanded by Aristides.
The Greeks at once assumed the offensive and moved against Mar-
donius, who was found encamped on the banks of the Asopus, in Boeo-
tia. Some days were passed in marching and countermarching, and
in occasional skirmishing with the foe, after which the Greeks took up
a position near the foot of Mount Cithaeron, in the territory of Plataea,
with the river Asopus in front of them, separating them from the Per-
sians. A severe skirmish occurred, known as the battle of Erythrae,
and was opened by an attack upon the Greeks by the Persian cavalry
commanded by Masistius, the most illustrious Persian general next to
Mardonius. His magnificent person, clad in scale-armor of gold and
burnished brass, was conspicuous upon the battle-field; and his horse-
men, then the most celebrated in the world for their skill and valor,
severely harassed the Megarians, who were posted in the open plain.
A chosen body of Athenians under Olympiodorus went to their aid, and
Masistius spurred his Nisjean steed across the field to meet his antag-
onist. In the sharp combat that ensued, Masistius was unhorsed, and
as he lay on the ground was assailed by a host of enemies ; but his
heavy armor, which prevented him from rising, protected him from
their weapons, until, finally, an opening in his visor enabled a lance to
penetrate his brain, and his death decided the conflict in favor of the
Greeks.
After this victory the Greek army moved still closer to the town
of Platsea, where they had a more abundant supply of water and a
more convenient ground. This Greek army was the most formidable
force which the Persians had thus far encountered in Greece, number-
831
Confeder
ated
Greek
Army.
Battle of
Erythrae.
The Rival
Armies
883
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Battle of
Plataea.
Decisive
Grecian
Victory.
ing one hundred and ten thousand men, including allies and attend-
ants. The two armies lay facing each other for ten days without any
important action, but the Persians intercepted convoys of provisions
and choked up the spring which supplied the Greeks with water, while
they prevented them from approaching the river by means of their
arrows and javelins. Thereupon Pausanias determined to retire to a
level and well-watered meadow still nearer to Platea, followed thither
by Mardonius.
A general engagement, known as the battle of Platam, occurred on
September 22, B. C. 479. The Spartans being attacked while on the
march, immediately sent to the Athenians for assistance ; and the Athe-
nians, while marching to the aid of their Lacedaemonian allies, were
intercepted by the Ionian allies of the Persians, and were thus cut off
from the intended rescue. Pausanias, being thus forced to engage
the enemy with a small part of his army, ordered a solemn sacrifice,
his troops awaiting the result without flinching, in the midst of a
storm of Persian arrows. The omens were unfavorable, and the sacri-
fices were renewed repeatedly. Finally Pausanias cast his tearful eyes
toward the temple of Here, beseeching the goddess that if the Greeks
were destined to defeat they might die like men ; whereupon the sacri-
fices assumed a more favorable aspect, and the order for battle was given.
The Spartan phalanx moved slowly and steadily in one dense mass
against the Persians. The Persians behaved with remarkable resolu-
tion, seizing the lances of the Lacedaemonians or wresting from them
their shields, while engaging in a desperate hand-to-hand contest with
them. Mardonius himself, at the head of his chosen guards, fought
in the front ranks, and encouraged his men by word and example. But
he received a mortal wound, whereupon his followers fled in dismay to
their camp, where they made another stand against the Spartans, who
possessed no skill in attacking fortified places ; but the Athenians, who
had in the meantime beaten the Ionian allies of the Persians, now came
to the aid of their Spartan allies, and completed the defeat of the
Persians, scaling the ramparts and effecting a breach, through which
the remainder of the Greeks entered their camp. The Persians, utterly
routed, fled in all directions; but were so hotly pursued by the tri-
umphant Greeks that their entire army was well-nigh destroyed, ex-
cepting the forty thousand Parthians under Artabazus, who had aban-
doned the field as soon as it was known that Mardonius was dead, and
who hastily retreated by forced marches in the direction of the Helles-
pont. The Persians thus lost almost two hundred thousand men ; and
the vast treasures of the camp of Mardonius, consisting of gold and
silver, besides horses, camels and rich raiment, became the spoil of the
victorious Greeks.
Solon
Lycurgus
Themistocles
GREEK WARRIORS AND STATESMEN
Demosthenes
/£schines
Miltiades
Pericles
SUPREMACY OF ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
833
Such was the famous battle of Platsea, which freed Greece from her
Persian invaders. Mounds were raised over the heroic and illustrious
dead. The soil of Platasa became a second " Holy Land," whither
embassies from the Grecian states went every year to offer sacrifices to
Zeus, the deliverer, and games were celebrated every fifth year in honor
of liberty. The Platasans themselves were thereafter exempt from
military service, and became the guardians of the sacred ground, and
it was decreed to be sacrilege to attack them.
On the very day of the battle of Plataa — September 22, B. C. 479
— a sea-fight occurred at the promontory of Mycale, in Asia Minor,
between the Grecian and Persian fleets, ending in the utter destruction
of the latter. There a Persian land force under Tigranes had been
stationed by Xerxes to protect the coast, and thither the Persian fleet
retired before the advance of the Greek fleet. The Persians drew their
ships to land, protecting them by intrenchments and formidable earth-
works. When the Greeks discovered the sea-coast deserted, they ap-
proached so close that the voice of a herald could be heard. This her-
ald exhorted the lonians in the Persian army to remember that they
also had a share in the liberties of Greece. The Persians, who did not
understand the language of the herald, began to distrust their Ionian
allies. They deprived the Samians of their arms, and placed the Mile-
sians at a distance from the front to guard the path leading to the
heights of Mycale. After the Greeks had landed they drove the Per-
sians from the shore to their intrenchments, and the Athenians stormed
the barricades. The native Persians fought desperately, even after
Tigranes was slain, and finally fell within their camp. All the Greek
islands which had aided the Persians were now permitted to enter the
Hellenic League, and gave solemn pledges never again to desert it.
Thus while the battle of Plataga delivered European Greece from the
Persian invaders, the simultaneous land and naval battle at Mycale lib-
erated the Ionian cities of Asia Minor from the Persian yoke. Thus
ended in disgrace and humiliation the Medo-Persian attempt to conquer
the Hellenic race and subvert the liberties of Europe. The preserva-
tion of Grecian independence involved the preservation of European
civilization.
Com-
memora-
tion of
the
Greek
Victory.
Naval
Battle of
Mycale.
Deliver-
ance of
Greece.
SECTION II.— SUPREMACY OF ATHENS AND AGE OF
PERICLES.
ALTHOUGH the great battles of Salamis, Plataea and Mycale had freed Persians
Greece from all danger of foreign conquest, the struggle with Persia De_
continued thirty years longer in the Medo-Persian dominions ; and dur- fensive.
ing this period the Greeks from being the assailed became themselves the
834
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Destruc-
tion of
Persian
Naval
Power.
Recovery
of Cyprus
and
Byzan-
tium.
Grecian
Siege and
Capture
of
Sestos.
Athenian
Democ-
racy.
Proposal
of
Aristides.
assailants, and the Persians who had commenced the struggle on the
offensive were compelled to act on the defensive ; so that instead of try-
ing to conquer the Greeks, they were now obliged to protect their do-
minions against Hellenic conquest.
The Persian power in the Mediterranean was so completely destroyed
by the battles of Salamis and Mycale that no Persian fleet ventured to
oppose the naval power of the Greeks for twelve years. The Greeks
were thus enabled to revenge themselves upon the Persians for the in-
juries inflicted upon them, and they did not allow their discomfited foes
to rest.
The Greeks prepared a fleet of fifty vessels to deliver every Grecian
city in Europe and Asia which still felt the Persian power. The Athe-
nians furnished most of the ships, but the Spartan leader, Pausanias,
commanded the fleet. Pausanias first wrested the island of Cyprus
from the Persians, after which he sailed to Byzantium (now Constanti-
nople) and liberated that city also from the Persian yoke, and estab-
lished his residence there for seven years.
The Athenians determined upon recovering the colony of Sestos,
which Miltfades had founded in the Chersonesus. The entire remain-
ing force of the Persians made a final stand at Sestos, and withstood a
siege so obstinate that they even consumed the leather of their harness
and bedding when pressed for want of food. They ultimately suc-
cumbed to the besieging Greeks, who were gladly welcomed by the in-
habitants. The Athenians returned home in triumph, laden with treas-
ures and secured in a well-earned peace. Among the relics long seen
in the Athenian temples were the broken fragments and cables of the
Hellespontine bridge of Xerxes.
While Athens was thus becoming the leading state of Greece, inter-
nal changes in her constitution made her government still more demo-
cratic. The power of the people steadily increased, while that of the
old archons declined until it became a mere phantom. The rulers of
Athens were the people themselves, who met in a body in their general
assembly in the Agora, to pass or reject the legislative measures pro-
posed by the Senate, or Council of State. In the meantime the power
of the great aristocratic families was broken ; and the masses, who had
borne the brunt of the hardships and the dangers of the contest with
Persia, were recognized as an important element in the state. Aris-
tides, the leader of the aristocratic party, proposed an amendment and
secured its adoption, giving the people, without distinction of rank or
property, a share in the government of the republic, with no other
requisites than intelligence and good moral character. The archon-
ship, hitherto restricted to the Eupatrids, was now thrown open to all
classes (B. C. 478).
ol
SUPREMACY OF ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
835
Themfstocles was the great popular leader in Athens. He first de-
voted himself to rebuilding the walls of the city, and obtained the means
for this enterprise by levying contributions upon the islands which had
furnished assistance to the Persians. This proceeding aroused the jeal-
ousy of the Spartans, who sent ambassadors to remonstrate against the
fortification of Atl.cns, declaring that its wal's would not be able to
protect it, and would only make it an important stronghold for the Per-
sians in case of another invasion of Greece. The Athenians, unwill-
ing to quarrel with the Lacedaemonians, or to relinquish their project
of fortifying their city, adopted a temporizing policy, reminding the
Spartans that the exposed position of Athens on the sea-coast made it
necessary to fortify the city with walls to protect it from the attacks
of pirates, but denying that they meditated the construction of such
fortifications as Avould endanger the liberties of Greece, and promising
to send ambassadors to Sparta, thus showing that they were doing noth-
ing to give any just cause for alarm.
Accordingly Themistocles, Aristides and Abronycus were appointed
to proceed to Sparta. As the object of the Athenians was to gain time
to push forward the fortification of their city, Themistocles first went
to Sparta, arranging that Aristides and Abronycus should not follow
him until the walls should have been built to a considerable height.
After arriving at Sparta, Themistocles stated that he was not author-
ized to give the promised explanations until his colleagues had arrived ;
and by this pretext and also by means of bribes, he managed to gain
so much time that the fortifications were well advanced before the Lace-
daemonians had become impatient. The Athenians labored night and
day, even the women and children aiding to the utmost of their ability
in the important task.
Eventually the Spartans received accounts of the exertions of the
Athenians in the work of fortification. Themistocles, being unable to
calm the alarm which these rumors excited, advised the Spartans not
to give any credence to mere rumors, but to send some persons of rank
and character to Athens to ascertain by personal observation what was
actually transpiring there. The Spartans acted on his advice, but as
soon as the Spartan deputies reached Athens they were arrested under
the secret orders of Themistocles himself, and were detained as hostages
for the safety of Themistocles and his colleagues, who had by this time
also arrived at Sparta. As the fortifications of Athens were now well
advanced, Themistocles boldly avowed the artifice by which he had
gained time. Seeing that they had been outwitted, the Lacedaemonians
dissembled their resentment, and allowed Themistocles and his colleagues
to return to Athens unmolested ; but they never forgave him, and their
subsequent animosity contributed considerably to accomplish his ruin.
Fortifica-
tion of
Athens.
Spartan
Embassy
to
Athens.
Athenian
Embassy
to
Sparta.
Artifice of
The-
mistocles.
Treach-
erous
Act of
The-
mistocles
856
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Harbor of
Pirseus.
Disgrace
and Exile
of The-
mistocles.
Treason
of Pau-
sanias.
Athens thus far had no port suitable for the necessary accommoda-
tion of her vast maritime commerce. To supply this want, Themis-
tocles now employed his fellow citizens in the construction of the com-
modious harbor of Piraeus, a place on the Saronic Gulf, about five miles
from Athens. A town was built there at the same time, and was sur-
rounded with stronger fortifications than those of Athens itself. The
walls of the Piraeus were formed of large square masses of marble, bound
together with iron, and were of sufficient thickness to allow two car-
riages to be driven abreast along the top of them. These measures
gave greatly-increased facilities to the foreign trade of Athens, and the
city soon became much more opulent and magnificent than it had been
before the Persian invasion.
Notwithstanding all the great and important civil and military ser-
vices of Themistocles, a powerful party was gradually growing in
Athens against him, fostered by Spartan intrigues, and caused in a
large measure by the pomp he began to display and his ostentatious
references in his public harangues to the greatness of his deserts. His
popularity only served to increase his peril, instead of protecting him
against the machinations of his enemies. It was asserted that he
wielded a degree of influence inconsistent with the security of republi-
can institutions, and that his recent behavior gave cause for the fear
that he designed to overthrow the democratic constitution and estab-
lish himself in absolute power. The people of Athens, jealous upon
this point ever since the days of the Pisistratidae, and acting upon the
principle that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, banished the hero
of Salamis by ostracism. Aristides nobly refused to join in the gen-
eral clamor against his rival, and deprecated the violent proceedings of
his countrymen, although he himself had been previously banished
mainly through the unkind intrigues of Themistocles.
The war with Persia was still in progress. After the capture of
Byzantium, the Spartan general, Pausanias, the victor of Platasa,
proved a traitor to his country. After the victory of Plataea he had
engraven on the golden tripod dedicated to Apollo by all the Greeks,
an inscription claiming for himself all the glory of the victory. The
Spartan government was offended at this proceeding and caused this
inscription to be replaced by another, omitting his name entirely, and
naming only the confederated cities of Greece. But the pride and am-
bition of Pausanias, seeing that his own country was about to retire him
to private life, now sought other fields for their display and activity.
Although generalissimo of the Grecian forces, Pausanias was not a
Spartan king, but only a regent for the son of Le6nidas. His inter-
views with his Persian captives, some of whom were relatives of the
Great King, opened other fields to the ambition and avarice of Pau-
SUPREMACY OF ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
837
sa'nias. His own relative, Demaratus, had relinquished the austere life
of a Spartan for the luxury of an Oriental palace, with the govern-
ment of three ^Eolian cities. The superior abilities of Pausanias en-
titled him to still higher dignities and honors. He therefore formed
the design of betraying his country. He released his noble prisoners
with a message to Xerxes, in which he offered to sub j ect Sparta and the
whole of Greece to the Persian dominion, on condition of receiving the
Great King's daughter in marriage, with wealth and power suitable to
his rank. Xerxes received these overtures with delight, and at once
sent commissioners to continue the negotiations. Elated by his appar-
ently-brilliant prospects, Pausanias became insolent beyond endurance.
He assumed the dress of a Persian satrap, and made a journey into
Thrace in true Oriental pomp, with a guard of Persians and Egyp-
tians. He insulted the Greek officers and subjected the common sol-
diers to the lash. He even insulted Aristides when the latter desired
to know the reason of his singular conduct. Rumors concerning the
extraordinary proceedings of Pausanias reached the Spartan govern-
ment, which recalled its treacherous chief. He was tried and convicted
for various personal and minor offenses, but the evidence concerning
the charge of treason was not considered sufficient to convict him. He
returned to Byzantium without permission from the Spartan govern-
ment, but the allied Greeks banished him for his treasonable behavior.
He was again recalled to Sparta, and tried and imprisoned, but escaped
and renewed his intrigues with the Persians and with the Helots, or
Spartan slaves, whom he promised to liberate and vest with the rights
of citizenship if they would assist him in overthrowing the government
and making himself tyrant.
But Pausanias was eventually caught in his own trap. A man His Sad
named Argilius, whom he had intrusted with a letter to Artabazus, re- Fate,
membered that none of those whom he had sent on the same errands had
returned. He broke the seal and discovered considerable matter of a
treasonable nature, and also directions for his own death when he should
arrive at the court of the Persian satrap. This letter was laid before
the Ephori, and the treason of Pausanias being thus fully established,
preparations were made for his arrest. He received warning, and fled
for refuge to the temple of Athene at Chalcioecus, where he suffered
the penalty for his crimes. The roof of the temple was removed, and
his own mother brought the first stone to block up the entrance to the
building. When it was known that he was almost exhausted by hunger
and exposure, he was brought out to perish in the open air, so that his
death might not pollute the shrine of the goddess.
By the treasonable conduct of Pausanias, Sparta lost her ancient Con-
superiority in the military affairs of Greece, and Athens then became
838
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Death of
A. r is tides.
Rise of
Cimon.
His First
Naval
Victories.
the leading Grecian state. When Pausanias was first recalled, in B.
C. 477, the allied Greeks unanimously placed Aristides at their head.
In order to disarm all jealousy, Aristides named the sacred isle of Delos
as the seat of the Hellenic League, which, from this circumstance, was
called The Confederacy of Delos. On this sacred island the general
congress of all the Grecian states met, and here was the common treas-
ury, containing the contributions of all the states, for the defense of
the ^Egean coasts and the prosecution of active hostilities against the
Persians. Aristides acted with such wisdom and justice in the assess-
ment of these taxes that not a word of accusation or complaint was
whispered by any of the allies, although he had absolute control of all
the treasures of Greece. It was agreed that the allied states should
annually raise among them the sum of four hundred and sixty talents
(about four hundred and sixty thousand dollars), to defray the ex-
penses of the war.
After thus laying the foundation for the supremacy of Athens, Aris-
tides died, full of years and honors. Although he had occupied suc-
cessively many important official positions, he discharged his duties so
faithfully, and with so little attention to his private interests, that he
always remained a poor man, and did not leave behind him money suf-
ficient to defray his funeral expenses. He was buried at the expense
of the state, and his countrymen testified their respect for his memory
by erecting a monument to him at Phalerum, bestowing a marriage por-
tion on each of his daughters, and granting a piece of land and a
yearly pension to his son Lysimachus. The character of Aristides is
the most spotless furnished by antiquity, and may be compared with
that of our own Washington.
After Aristides had laid the foundation for the supremacy of Athens,
he retired from the active command of the allied Greek fleet in B. C.
476, and had been succeeded by Cimon, the son of Miltiades. This
young noble was a man of extraordinary talent, of frank and generous
manners, and of valor in war, as proven in the struggle with the Per-
sians. He obtained immense wealth by the recovery of his father's
estates in the Chersonesus, and employed it in the most liberal manner,
thus contributing much to the adornment of Athens and the comfort
of its poorer citizens, and adding immensely to his popularity, while
his bravery and sincerity commended him to the Spartans, so that the
allies considered him the most acceptable of all the Athenian leaders.
Cimon's first expedition was against the Thracian town of Eion, then
occupied by a Persian garrison, and which was reduced by famine,
when its governor, who feared the displeasure of Xerxes more than
death, placed his family and his treasures upon a funeral pile, and set-
ting fire to it, perished in the flames. The town surrendered to Cimon,
SUPREMACY OF ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
839
and the garrison was sold into slavery. Cimon then proceeded to Scy-
rus, whose inhabitants had incurred the wrath of the Hellenic League
by their piracies. The pirates were driven away, and the town was
occupied by an Attic colony. The fear of Persian invasion having
subsided, the ties between the allied Greeks and their chief became
weaker. Carystus refused to pay tribute ; and Naxos, the most impor-
tant of the Cyclades, openly revolted. But the vigilant Cimon sub-
dued Carystus and sent a powerful fleet against Naxos, which was taken
after a long and obstinate siege, whereupon the island was reduced
from an ally to a subject.
Cimon's victorious fleet then proceeded along the southern coast of
Asia Minor ; and all the Greek cities, either encouraged by his presence
or overawed by his power, improved the opportunity by throwing off
the Persian yoke. Cimon's force was augmented by the accession of
these allies when he reached the river Eurymedon, in Pamphylia, where
he found a Persian fleet anchored near its entrance, while a powerful
Persian army was drawn up on the banks of the stream. The Persians
were more numerous than the Greeks, and still expected reinforcements
from Cyprus ; but Cimon, desiring to attack them without delay, sailed
up the river and engaged their fleet. The Persians fought feebly ; and
while being driven to the narrow and shallow portion of the stream,
they abandoned their ships and joined their army on the land. Cimon
seized and manned two hundred of the deserted Persian triremes and
destroyed many of the others (B. C. 466).
After being thus victorious on water, Cimon's men demanded to be
led on shore, to oppose the Persian army, which was arranged in close
array. As the men had been fatigued with the sea-fight, it was perilous
to land in the face of the numerically-superior army of the Persians,
who were yet fresh and unworn, but the ardor of the triumphant Greeks
overcame all objections. The land battle was more stubborn than the
sea-fight. Many noble Athenians were slain, but the Greeks were ulti-
mately triumphant, and obtained possession of the field and of a vast
amount of spoils.
To crown his victory, Cimon advanced with the Grecian fleet to the
island of Cyprus, where he captured or destroyed the Phoenician squad-
ron of eighty vessels on their way to reinforce the Persian fleet in the
Eurymedon, and the vast treasures which became the prize of the vic-
tors were used to increase the splendor of Athens. By these splendid
victories, Cimon completely annihilated the naval power of Persia, and
the Greek cities of Asia Minor were delivered from all danger of Per-
sian supremacy. No Persian troops appeared within a day's journey
on horseback of the Grecian seas, whose waters were cleared of all Per-
sian ships. The spirit of Artaxerxes Longimanus was so thoroughly
2-15
Naval
Battle of
Eurym-
edon.
Land
Battle of
Eurym-
edon.
Cimon's
Victoryoff
Cyprus.
840
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Athenian
Suprem-
acy
Complete.
Athenian
Glory,
Wealth
and
Power.
Athena
under
Cimon.
humbled that he dared no longer undertake any offensive operations
against Greece. All reasonable grounds for continuing the war had
now passed ; but the Greeks were so elated by the great valuable spoils
obtained that they were unwilling to relinquish the profitable contest,
and thus continued the war seventeen years longer, not so much to hu-
miliate Persia as to plunder her conquered provinces.
Cimon was the head of the aristocratic party in Athens, but he pur-
sued the policy of Themistocles and executed that great statesman's
designs to augment the naval power of Athens. As all danger of Per-
sian invasion and conquest had now passed, many of the smaller Gre-
cian states, which had a scant population, began to grow weary of the
struggle, and furnished reluctantly their annual contingent of men to
reinforce the allied Grecian fleet. It was therefore arranged that those
states whose citizens were not willing to perform personal service should
send simply their proportion of ships, and pay into the common treas-
ury a yearly subsidy for the maintenance of the sailors with whom the
Athenians undertook to man the fleet. This arrangement resulted in
establishing the complete supremacy of Athens. The annual subsidies
gradually assumed the character of a regular tribute, and were forcibly
levied as such ; while the recusant states, deprived of their fleets, which
had come into the possession of the Athenians, were not able to make
any effectual resistance to the oppressive exactions of the dominant
republic.
The Athenians were elevated to an unexampled degree of power and
opulence, and were thus enabled to adorn their great city, to live in
dignified ease and idleness, and to enjoy a continual succession of the
most costly public amusements, at the expense of the vanquished Per-
sians, and also of the harshly-treated states of the dependent Confed-
eracy of Delos. Cimon caused the fortifications of the Acropolis, or
citadel of Athens, to be completed, and the way leading from the city
to the harbor of the Pirasus, a distance of five miles, to be protected
by two long walls as strong and thick as those with which Themistocles
had surrounded the town of Piraeus itself; so that the whole circuit of
the fortifications of Athens, including those of its port and of the line
of communication between them, when completed, would measure almost
eighteen miles.
As Aristides was now dead and Themistocles in exile, Cimon was the
greatest and richest man of Athens. His immense wealth was liberally
employed in the adornment of Athens and the pleasure of her citizens,
and added constantly to his power. He did not apply to his own use
the valuable share of the Persian spoil falling to him as commander-in-
chief, but expended all of it for the public good, using it in the con-
struction of magnificent porticoes .inrl the formation of shady groves,
SUPREMACY OF ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
tasteful gardens, and other places of public accommodation and resort.
He planted the market-place with Oriental plane-trees. He laid out
walks, and adorned the Academia, afterward so celebrated by the lec-
tures of Plato, with shady groves and fountains. He erected beautiful
marble colonnades, where the Athenians delighted to congregate for
social intercourse. He caused the dramatic entertainments to be cele-
brated with greater elegance and brilliancy. He even Went so far in
his liberality as to throw down the fences of his gardens and orchards,
and invite all to enjoy them and partake of their produce, declaring
that he regarded whatever he possessed as the property of all the citi-
zens. He kept a free table at his own house for men of all ranks, and
especially for the benefit of the poorer classes. He was accompanied
in the streets by a train of servants laden with cloaks, which were given
to such needy persons as were met. He also administered to the wants
of the more sensitive by charities which were offered in a more delicate
and secret manner. Cimon was prompted to these liberal acts, partly
by the intrinsic generosity of his nature, and in some measure by a
politic consideration of the necessity of courting popularity in so
purely a democratic republic as Athens. With this increase of wealth
the tastes of the Athenians became luxurious, and Athens emerged from
her poverty and her secondary rank to become the most powerful and
the most splendid of Grecian cities.
The fall of Themistocles was brought about indirectly by that of Fall of
Pausanias. When the great Athenian statesman had been banished .^he;
nustocles
from his country, he went to reside at Argos, where he was visited by
Pausanias, the Spartan leader, who unsuccessfully sought to induce
Themistocles to join in his treasonable designs against the liberties of
Greece. But after the death of Pausanias, some papers were discovered
showing that the Athenian exile had been at least aware of the Spartan
traitor's designs; and the Spartans Ephors, glad of a pretext to injure
the man they hated, sent messengers to Athens to demand that Themis-
tocles be brought to trial before the Amphictyonic Council for treason
against Greece. The party led by Cimon, the son of Miltiades, was
now in the ascendant in Athens, and the Athenian people, now friendly
to Sparta, readily consented to this ; and Themistocles was accordingly
summoned to appear. But, instead of obeying the summons, he fled
to the island of Corcyra, whence he crossed over into Epirus. As he His
found himself insecure in the latter country, he proceeded into Molos- Exile,
sia, although he was aware that Admetus, the Molossian king, was his
personal enemy. The exile, entering the royal residence when Admetus
was absent, informed the queen of the dangers which surrounded him;
and, in accordance with her advice, he took one of her children in his
arms, and knelt before the household gods, awaiting the king's return.
842
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
His
Flight
to the
Persian
Court.
His
Residence
in Asia
Minor.
Suicide
of The-
mistocles.
Adinetus was so affected to pity at this sight that he generously for-
gave his unfortunate enemy and gave the exiled statesman his protec-
tion.
But Themfstocles was not yet allowed to enjoy rest. Messengers
from Athens and Sparta were sent to Admetus to demand the surrender
of the fugitive, but Adinetus honorably refused compliance with this
demand. In order to release Admetus from any threatened hostility
on the part of the allied Grecian states, Themfstocles journeyed through
Macedon to Pydna, a port on the JEgean sea, there embarking, under
an assumed name, on board a merchant vessel, and arriving safely at
Ephesus, in Asia Minor, after having narrowly escaped capture by
the allied Grecian fleet at the island of Naxos, in the JEgean sea. He
then wrote to Artaxerxes Longimanus, who had just succeeded his
father, Xerxes, on the throne of Persia, claiming protection because of
services formerly rendered to the late monarch. Artaxerxes Longi-
manus received his application with favor and treated Themfstocles
with the greatest generosity, inviting the exile to his court at Susa and
making him a present of two hundred talents (about two hundred thou-
sand dollars) upon his arrival there, telling him that, as that was the
price which the Persian government had set upon his head, he was en-
titled to receive that sum because he placed himself into their power
voluntarily.
The exiled statesman learned the Persian language so well during the
first year of his residence in the Persian dominions that he was able to
converse with the king without the assistance of an interpreter. His
brilliant talents and his winning manners very soon made him a great
favorite with Artaxerxes Longimanus, who at length assigned him an
important command in Asia Minor and bestowed upon him the revenues
of the cities of Myus, Lampsacus and Magnesia for his support. He
passed his remaining years in Magnesia in great magnificence, enjoy-
ing all the luxuries of the East, but still feeling bitterly the persecu-
tion he had endured.
When Egypt revolted against the Persian king and was aided by
Athens (B. C. 44-9), Artaxerxes Longimanus called upon Themfstocles
to make good his promises and commence operations against Greece.
But Themfstocles, having spent the best years of his life in building
up the supremacy of Athens, could not now assist in destroying that
supremacy for the benefit of the empire to which he contributed more
than any man then living to destroy. He only desired to escape from
the ingratitude of his countrymen, not to injure them. Rather than
prove a traitor to his country by assisting its enemy in conquering it,
Themfstocles made a solemn sacrifice to the gods, took leave of his
friends, and committed suicide by swallowing poison.
SUPREMACY OF ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
843
The citizens of Magnesia erected a splendid monument to his mem-
ory, and bestowed peculiar privileges upon his descendants. It is said
that his remains were conveyed to Attica at his own request, and were
there interred secretly, the laws prohibiting the burial of banished per-
sons within the Athenian territories. The conduct of Themistocles
during his public career fully bespeaks his character. His talents
rank him as one of the most remarkable statesmen that ever lived, but
his utter selfishness and his entire lack of integrity attest his low moral
standard.
As soon as the fear of Persian conquest, which had been the only
effectual bond of union among the many independent Grecian states,
had been dispelled, symptoms of that unhappy disposition to civil
dissensions which was the source of innumerable evils to the Hellenic
race speedily commenced to manifest themselves. Old jealousies were
revived and new causes of animosity were discovered or imagined.
Sparta beheld the rapid rise of Athens in wealth, power and influence
with envy ; while the haughty and arrogant behavior of Athens toward
the weaker states which she called allies, but which she really treated
as vassals, was submitted to impatiently, and was repaid with secret
enmity or with open but ineffectual hostility.
In this condition of Grecian affairs, the inhabitants of the island of
Thasos, who regarded themselves as wronged by some measure of the
Athenians relative to the gold mines of Thrace, renounced the Con-
federacy of Delos and sent messengers to Sparta to solicit the protec-
tion and assistance of that state. Cimon immediately led an Athenian
fleet against Thasos, which speedily reduced the entire island, except
the chief town, which, being well fortified and defended with obstinate
valor, resisted heroically for three years, at the end of which it finally
surrendered on honorable terms (B. C. 463), when its walls were lev-
eled, its shipping transferred to the Athenians, and all its claims upon
the Thracian gold mines were renounced. The Thracians were obliged
to pay all their arrears of tribute to the Delian treasury, and also to
engage to meet their dues punctually in the future.
In the meantime the Spartans had ardently espoused the cause of
the Thasians, and were about to render them effective aid against the
Athenians, when unexpected calamities absorbed the attention of the
Lacedaemonians at home. In the year B. C. 464 Sparta was over-
whelmed by a dreadful earthquake, whose repeated and violent shocks
engulfed all the houses in the city but five, and destroyed the lives of
twenty thousand of its inhabitants. Great rocks from Mount Tay-
getus rolled down into the streets. The shocks were long-continued,
and the terror of the supposed vengeance of the gods was added to the
anguish of poverty and bereavement. The anticipated vengeance soon
VOL. 3. — 10
His
Charac-
ter.
Grecian
Dis-
sensions.
Cimon's
Conquest
of
Thasos.
Sparta
Destroyed
by an
Earth-
quake.
844
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Revolt
of the
Spartan
Helots.
Third
Mes-
senian
War.
Athenian
Aid to
Sparta.
Rupture
between
Athens
and
Sparta.
manifested itself in human form ; as the oppressed Helots, thinking that
the catastrophe which had befallen Sparta furnished them with a good
opportunity to strike an effective blow to recover their freedom, flocked
together in bands and added another peril to the existence of the state.
It was a fearful crisis for Sparta ; but her heroic king, Archidamus,
was equal to the grave emergency. No sooner had the shocks of earth-
quake died away than he caused the trumpets to sound to arms during
the first alarm caused by apprehension of the revolt. But for his pru-
dent measures, the Spartan freemen would have paid with their lives for
the oppression and cruelty which they had for many centuries inflicted
upon their bondsmen. Every Lacedaemonian freeman who survived the
ruin caused by the earthquake hastened to the king, and very soon a
disciplined force was ready to resist the rebellious Helots who threat-
ened to attack them. Spartan valor and discipline prevailed, and
Sparta was safe for the time. The rebels fled and dispersed them-
selves over the country, calling upon all who were oppressed to join
their standard. The Messenians rose in revolt en masse, seized the
strong fortress of Ithome, where their immortal hero, Aristomenes, had
so long withstood the Spartan arms, fortified it afresh, and formally
declared war against Sparta. A struggle of ten years ensued, which
is known as the Third Messenian War (B. C. 464-455).
In her perilous dilemma, Sparta appealed for aid to Athens, and two
parties in the latter state entered into a bitter controversy as to the
policy of assisting the Lacedaemonians. Cimon was always friendly to
these people, whose brave and hardy character he had always held up
as a model to his own countrymen, and he lost much of his popularity
by naming his son Lacedaemonius. He therefore favored giving the
Spartans the assistance which they solicited. When others urged that
it was well to allow Sparta to be humiliated and her power for mischief
broken, Cimon exhorted his countrymen not to permit Greece to be
crippled by the loss of one of her two great powers, thus depriving
Athens of her companion. The generous advice of this great states-
man prevailed, and Cimon himself led an Athenian army against the
rebellious Helots and Messenians, who were driven from the open coun-
try and forced to shut themselves up in the citadel of Ithome.
In B. C. 461 the Spartans again solicited the aid of the Athenians
in the war with the rebellious Helots and Messenians, and Cimon led
another Athenian army to their assistance. But the superior skill of
the Athenians in conducting siege operations excited the envy of the
Lacedaemonians, even when employed in their own defense ; and the
rivalry of the two powerful states again broke out into open feuds
during the ten years' siege of Ithome. The Spartans soon dismisse&
the Athenian auxiliaries, on the pretext that their help was no longer
SUPREMACY OF ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
845
required. But as the Spartans retained the auxiliaries of the other
Grecian states, including JSgina, the old rival of Athens, the Athenians
felt the dismissal as an insult ; and were irritated to such a degree that,
as soon as their troops returned from before Ithome, they passed a
decree in their popular assembly for dissolving the alliance with Sparta,
and entered into a league with Argos, the inveterate enemy of Sparta,
and also with the Aleuads of Thessaly. The Hellenic treasury was
removed from Delos to Athens, for the ostensible purpose of securing
it against the needy and rapacious Spartans.
Thus were sown the seeds of rancorous enmity between the two lead-
ing states of Greece, which afterwards proved so disastrous to the inter-
ests of the Hellenic race. Cimon, who was the leader of the aristo-
cratic party in Athens, had all the time been an enthusiastic admirer
of the aristocratic institutions of Sparta, and therefore friendly to that
state. The favor with which the Spartans now regarded him was his
greatest crime. The Athenians had some reason to fear for the secu-
rity of their democratic institutions, as the Spartans always maintained
a party in Athens who were believed to be secretly conspiring against
its republican constitution. However enthusiastically and sincerely
Cimon supported aristocratic institutions, his countrymen, wiser and
more honest, opposed him. When the Athenians therefore began to
regard Sparta with enmity, his popularity rapidly declined, and the
democratic opposition to him became so powerful that, when the Spar-
tans dismissed the Athenian auxiliaries sent to their aid, the popular
resentment ultimately culminated in the banishment of Cimon for ten
years by ostracism.
Cimon's influence in Athens had for some time vastly declined. The
democratic party had recovered from its temporary eclipse caused by
the fall of Themistocles, as a new leader was rising to popularity and
was destined to outshine all the rest of the galaxy of brilliant states-
men of the Athenian republic. This leader was Pericles, the son of
that Xanthippus who had impeached Miltfades. His mother was the
niece of Clisthenes, " the second founder of the Athenian constitution."
Pericles was said to have nothing to contend against him except his
advantages, as he was born of illustrious ancestry, and as his talents
were of the very highest order, and had been carefully cultivated by
the best tutorage which Greece produced. Pericles did not make any
haste to enter public life, but prepared himself by long and diligent
study for the part he expected to enact. He sought the wisest teachers,
and acquired a skill in the science of government, while he improved
his oratorical talents by training in all the arts of expression.
Anaxagoras, of Clazomenae, the first great Grecian philosopher who
announced his belief in One Supreme Creative Mind creating and gov-
Cimon's
Fall and
Ostra-
cism.
Rise of
Pericles.
His
Teacher
Anaxag-
oras.
846
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Character
of
Pericles.
His
Elo-
quence
and
Oratory.
Greatness
of
Athens
under
Peiicles.
His
Political
Ascend-
ency.
erning the universe, was the special friend and instructor of Pericles,
and had taught him natural and moral science, imbuing his mind with
opinions far more enlarged and liberal than those prevalent at the time,
so that he was as remarkable for the superiority of his intellectual
acquirements as for his freedom from the prejudices and superstitions
of the vulgar. To the sublime doctrines of Anaxagoras men ascribed
the high tone and purity of the young statesman's eloquence.
In person Pericles was handsome, and bore so striking a resemblance
to Pisistratus as to deter him for awhile from taking a prominent part
in public affairs, because of the superstitious jealousy with which some
Athenians regarded him on that account. He was grave and dignified
in manner, and affable and courteous in his intercourse with his fellow-
citizens ; but he never mingled in their social parties, and seldom was
seen to smile, as he preferred study to amusement, and the calls of duty
to the allurements of ease and idle pleasure.
After serving for several years in the Athenian army, Pericles ven-
tured to participate in the proceedings of the popular assembly, where
he soon acquired a great degree of influence. His splendid and im-
pressive eloquence was compared to thunder and lightning, and his ora-
tions were marked by an elaborate polish and a richness of illustration,
far surpassing anything of the kind previously known in Athens. His
readiness and tact were equal to his eloquence. He never lost his self-
possession, or permitted his enemies to betray him into an unwise mani-
festation of chagrin or anger, but pursued with steadiness and calm-
ness the course approved by his judgment, regardless of the violence
and abuse of his opponents.
The banishment of Cimon afforded Pericles a free field for the dis-
play of his talents and ambition, and under his leadership Athens en-
tered upon the most glorious period of her history. That republic had
now reached the height of her greatness. She wielded a power greater
than that of any of the mightiest contemporary monarchs, in her capac-
ity as head of the Grecian confederacy and as mistress of the numerous
communities on the mainland and islands of Greece and on the coasts
of Asia Minor, which she honored with the designation of allies.
Athens was now virtually the capital, not only of Attica, or even of
Greece proper, but of the entire civilized world ; and the liberal rewards
which her immense wealth enabled her to bestow on men of genius and
learning had attracted to her the most distinguished philosophers, ora-
tors, poets and artists from every part of the earth.
It was an object of the most towering ambition to be the leading
man in such a flourishing republic, and Pericles now perceived the way
to this exalted position opening up before him. To establish and main-
tain his ascendency in the assembly of the people, it was absolutely
SUriUvMAC Y OF ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
847
necessary that he should provide a constant succession of magnificent
spectacles and festive entertainments for the citizens, and as he had
no large fortune, like Cimon, he was not able to afford the vast expendi-
ture thus required. The thought that the deficiencies of his private
purse might be supplied from the public treasury occurred to him ; but
the obstacle in the way of such a consummation was the fact that the
disbursements of the public money were regulated by the Court of
Areopagus, most of the members of which belonged to the aristocratic
party and would have antagonized any expenditure calculated to
strengthen the influence of the democratic leaders. Pericles therefore
determined to begin his plans by curtailing the power of that hitherto
highly-respected and influential body, and induced his colleague, Ephi-
altes, to carry a decree through the popular assembly to deprive the
Court of Areopagus of all control over the issues from the treasury,
and to transfer mi%Ji of this judicial power to the popular tribunals.
Pericles next bribed the Athenian people with their own money, by
augmenting the compensation of those who served as jurors in the
courts of justice, and giving pay to the citizens for their attendance
in the political assemblies. Large sums were also expended in adorn-
ing the city with magnificent temples, theaters, gymnasia, porticoes and
other public buildings. The religious festivals became more numerous
and more splendid, and the citizens were daily feasted and diverted at
the public expense. To obtain the funds necessary to meet this new
expenditure, Pericles vastly augmented the amount of tribute exacted
from the allied dependencies of Athens, so that it now amounted to a
yearly revenue equal in amount to one and a half million dollars. The
lines of wall begun by Cimon for connecting Athens with its ports of
Pirams and Phalerum were earnestly pushed to completion under Peri-
cles. One wall was extended to Phalerum and another to Piraeus ; but
the difficulty in defending so large an enclosed space led to the erec-
tion of a second wall to Pirasus, at a distance of five hundred and fifty
feet from the first. Between these two Long Walls was a continuous
line of dwellings bordering the carriage-road, almost five miles long,
extending from Athens to its main harbor.
As the war with Persia furnished the only pretext for the burden-
some impost, that contest was still continued. Soon after Pericles came
into power, an Athenian fleet of two hundred triremes was sent to
Egypt, to aid the revolted inhabitants of that countr}7, under their able
leader, Inarus, in their efforts to cast off the hated Persian yoke (B.
C. 460). After a struggle of five years (B. C. 460—455), this expe-
dition ended in humiliation and disgrace, as we shall presently see.
In the same year in which the Athenian armament was sent to aid
the Egyptian rebels under Inarus (B. C. 460), civil dissensions broke
His
Adorn-
ment and
Fortifica-
tion of
Athens.
Athenian
Aid to
Egyptian
Revolts.
84-8
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Megara
and
Athens
against
Corinth
and
Sparta.
Doris and
Sparta
against
Phocis
and
Athens.
Battle of
Tanagra.
out in Greece itself. A dispute between Megara and Corinth involved
Athens on the side of Megara and Sparta on the side of Corinth, and
thus led to a war of three years (B. C. 460-457). The war was
prosecuted with vigor. The Athenians were defeated at Hals, but
soon afterward achieved a naval victory at Cecryphalia, thus more than
retrieving their reputation. JEgina now came to the aid of Sparta
and Corinth, whereupon an Athenian army landed on the island and
laid siege to the city. A Peloponnesian army was sent to the assis-
tance of JEgina, while the Corinthians invaded Megaris. The ene-
mies of Athens hoped for an easy triumph, as all the forces of that
republic were employed in Egypt and ^Egina. But an Athenian army
of old men and boys, commanded by Myronides, marched to the relief
of Megara. After an indecisive battle, the Corinthians retired to their
capital, while the Athenians remained in possession of the field and
erected a trophy. In consequence of the censures of their government,
the Corinthian army returned twelve days after the battle and raised
a monument on the field claiming the victory. But the Athenians again
attacked them and inflicted upon them a decisive and humiliating
defeat.
The Spartans were unable to interfere with the great and rapid devel-
opment of Athenian power, as their attention was wholly absorbed in
the siege of Ithome; but their ancestral home of Doris experienced a
terrible calamity in a war with the Phocians, which for a time withdrew
the attention of the Spartans from their own domestic troubles. An
army composed of fifteen hundred heavy-armed Spartans and ten thou-
sand auxiliaries, sent to the relief of the Dorians, drove the Phocians
from the town they had captured, and compelled them to agree to a
treaty in which they promised to behave themselves in the future. The
Athenian fleet in the Gulf of Corinth and the garrison in Megaris now
cut off the retreat of the Spartans to their own land. But the Spartan
commander, Nicomedes, desired to remain for some time longer in Boeo-
tia, as he was plotting with the aristocratic party in Athens for the
recall of Cimon from exile to power, and as he likewise wished to aug-
ment the power of Thebes for the purpose of raising up a near and
dangerous rival to Athens.
When the Athenians became cognizant of this conspiracy they were
aroused to revenge. They at once sent an army of fourteen thousand
men against Nicomedes at Tanagra. Both sides fought bravely and
skillfully ; but when the Thessalian cavalry deserted from the Athenians
to the Spartans, the latter began to gain ground, and although the
Athenians and their allies still held out for some hours, the Spartans
won the victory when the conflict was ended at daylight. The only
fruit which Nicomedes reaped from his triumph was a safe return to
SUPREMACY OF ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
849
Sparta, but Thebes thereby increased her power over the cities of
Bceotia (B. C. 457).
The Athenians were aroused to greater efforts in consequence of
their defeat at Tanagra. The gallant Myronides entered Boeotia two
months after that battle, and gained a most decisive victory at CEno-
phyta (B. C. 456). The victors leveled the walls of Tanagra with
the ground. Phocis, Locris, and all of Boeotia, except Thebes, were
obliged to become the allies of Athens; and these alliances were made
effective by the establishment of free governments in all the towns,
which were thus obliged to side with Athens from motives of self-preser-
vation. Thus Myronides not only conquered the foes of Athens, but
filled Central Greece with garrisons or allies.
Soon after the Long Walls connecting Athens with the Piraeus had
been completed the island of JSgina submitted to Athens, her navy
being surrendered and her walls destroyed, and this life-long rival be-
came a tributary and subject. An Athenian fleet of fifty vessels, under
the command of Tolmides cruised around the Peloponnesus, burned
Gythium, a port of Sparta ; captured Chalcis, in JEtolia, which was a
possession of Corinth, and defeated the Sicycnians on their own coast
(B. C. 455). This fleet returned by way of the Corinthian Gulf, cap-
turing Naupactus in Western Locris, as well as all the cities in
Cephallenia.
In the same year (B. C. 455) the Spartans ended the Third Messen-
ian War and the rebellion of the Helots by the capture of Ithome, the
Messenian stronghold, which surrendered after a siege of ten years.
This heroic defense won the respect of even the Spartans themselves.
The Helots were again reduced to slavery, but the Messenians were
allowed to migrate to the sea-port town of Naupactus, in Western
Locris, which was presented to them by its captor, -the Athenian ad-
miral, Tolmides.
In the same year (B. C. 455) the Athenian expedition which had
been sent to Egypt five years before to assist its revolted inhabitants
under Inarus experienced an inglorious end. When a Persian army
relieved the beleaguered Persian garrison in the citadel of Memphis,
the Athenian auxiliaries retired to Prosopitis, an island in the Nile,
around which they anchored their vessels. The Persians followed them
and drained the channel, thus stranding the Athenian ships on dry land.
The Egyptian rebels submitted, but the Athenians burned their stranded
vessels and withdrew to the town of Byblus, where they were besieged
by the Persians for eighteen months, until the besiegers marched across
the dry bed of the channel and took the town by storm. Most of the
Athenians fell in the defense of the place, only a few escaping across
the Libyan desert to Cyrene and returning home. An Athenian fleet
Athenian
Con-
quests.
Athenian
Naval
Succes-
ses.
Sparta's
Conquest
of the
Rebell-
ious
Helots.
Athenian
Naval
Defeat
by the
Persians
in
Egypt.
850
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Cimon's
Recall.
Peace
between
Athens
and
Sparta.
Cimon's
Victories
over the
Persians
in
Cyprus.
His
Death.
Peace
with
Persia.
Rise and
Fall of
Thucyd-
idea.
of fifty vessels sent to their relief arrived too late, and was defeated by
the Persian and Phoenician fleet.
The Athenians, who had formerly been dazzled by the brilliant vic-
tories of Cimon over the Persians and enriched by the spoils of his
splendid campaigns, were becoming dissatisfied with the little glory and
profit accruing to them from the petty wars waged with Sparta and her
allies ; and this dissatisfaction eventually manifested itself in a general
desire for the recall of the exiled statesman, whose peaceful views and
whose friendly feelings toward the Lacedaemonians caused him to be
regarded as the person most fitted to negotiate a peace with that people.
Pericles perceived the drift of public sentiment, and wisely concluding
to bend to it, rather than throw himself in the way of it, he likewise
expressed himself as desiring the recall of his banished rival, and ac-
cordingly proposed a decree for that purpose in the assembly of the
people and carried it through successfully, thus reversing Cimon's sen-
tence of banishment (B. C. 453).
Upon his return Cimon used all his influence in favor of peace, and
after three years of negotiations Athens concluded a truce of five years
with Sparta, in B. C. 451. The Athenians then directed their atten-
tion to a more vigorous prosecution of hostilities with Persia. They
cast longing eyes upon the isle of Cyprus, which was divided into nine
petty states and over which the Persian monarch still claimed the sov-
ereignty, notwithstanding its previous conquest by the Spartans under
Pausanias. Cimon accordingly sent an Athenian fleet of two hundred
ships to seize that island, and he succeeded in effecting a landing upon
it and gaining possession of many of its towns, in the face of the three
hundred Persian war-vessels guarding the coast; but while engaged in
besieging Citium the illustrious statesman and commander died (B. C.
449). In accordance with his direction, his death was concealed from
his followers until they had achieved another glorious victory in his
name, both by land and sea. The sea-fight occurred off the Cyprian
Salamis — a name of propitious omen to the Athenians. A treaty of
peace was thereupon concluded with Persia, thus ending the long strug-
gle which Darius Hystaspes began against Greece, and which had
lasted exactly half a century (B. C. 499-449). By this treaty Athens
relinquished Cyprus and withdrew from Egypt, while the King of Per-
sia acknowledged the independence of the Greek cities of Asia Minor.
Cimon's remains were brought home to Athens, where a splendid
monument was erected to his memory. The aristocratic party at once
brought forward a new leader in Cimon's brother-in-law, Thucydides,
who was a man of high birth and possessed of moderate abilities as a
statesman, though by no means equal in that resnoct to Pericles, who a
few years later caused his rival to be banished by ostracism.
SUPREMACY OF ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
851
Hostilities were renewed in Greece in consequence of a slight inci-
dent. The city of Delphi, though located within the Phocian territory,
claimed independence in the management of the temple of Apollo and
its treasures. The inhabitants of Delphi were of Dorian descent, and
were thus closely united with the Spartans. The great oracle at Del-
phi always cast its influence on the side of the Doric as opposed to the
Ionic race, where the interests of Greece were divided. The Athenians
consequently did not oppose their allies, the Phocians, when the latter
seized the Delphian territory and assumed the care of the temple. The
Spartans immediately engaged in what they regarded as a holy war,
by which they expelled the Phocians and reestablished the Delphians
in their former privileges. Delphi now declared itself a sovereign
state; and bestowed on the Spartans the first privilege in consulting
the oracle, as a reward for their intervention. The Delphians inscribed
this decree upon a brazen wolf erected in their city. The Athenians
could not willingly relinquish their share in a power which, in conse-
quence of the popular superstition, could frequently confer victory in
war and prosperity in peace. As soon therefore as the Spartans with-
drew from Delphi, Pericles marched into the sacred city and restored
the temple to the Phocians. The brazen wolf was made to tell another
story and to give the precedence to the Athenians.
This was the signal for a general war ; and the exiles from the various
Boeotian cities, who had been driven out in consequence of the estab-
lishment of democratic governments, united in a general movement,
seized Chasronea, Orchomenus and other towns, and restored the olig-
archic governments which had been subverted by the Athenians. These
changes produced intense excitement in Athens. The Athenian people
clamored for instant war, but Pericles opposed this, as the season was
unfavorable, and as he regarded the honor of Athens as not immediately
at stake. But the advice of Tolmides prevailed; and that leader
marched into Bceotia with a thousand young Athenian volunteers, aided
by an army of allies ; and the Athenians soon subdued and garrisoned
Chasronea.
The Athenian army, while on its return home, elated with victory,
fell into an ambush in the vicinity of Coronaea, where it suffered an
inglorious defeat, Tolmides himself, with the flower of the Athenian
soldier}', being left dead upon the field (B. C. 445). Many of the
Athenians were taken prisoners, and the Athenian government recov-
ered these by concluding a treaty with the new oligarchies and with-
drawing their troops from Boeotia. Locris and Phocis were deprived
of their free institutions and became allies of Sparta.
The oppressive exactions of the Athenians had for some time been
impatiently submitted to by their dependencies ; one of which, the large
Delphi,
Phocis,
Sparta
and
Athens.
General
Grecian
War.
Battle of
Coronaa
Revolt of
Eubcea.
852
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Revolt of
Megara.
Spartan
Invasion
and
Retreat
from
Attica.
Peace
between
Athens
and
Sparta.
island of Euboea, took advantage of the quarrel of Athens with Boeotia
to assert its own independence, and other subject islands manifested
signs of disaffection (B. C. 447). At the same time the five years'
truce with Sparta expired, and that state made vigorous preparations
to avenge its humiliation at Delphi.
Pericles, whom the people honored with increased esteem and confi-
dence because of his warnings against the war in Boeotia, acted with
energy and promptness against the revolted Euboeans. He no sooner
landed on the island with a force large enough to reduce the rebellious
Eubo2ans to submission than he was informed that the Megarians had
also risen in rebellion, and that the Spartans were preparing to invade
Attica. With assistance from Sicyon, Epidaurus and Corinth, the re-
volted Megarians massacred the Athenian garrisons, except a few in
the fortress of Nisoea; and all the Peloponnesian states had united to
send an army into Attica. But the energetic and politic measures of
Pericles dispelled the dangers which menaced Athens. He hastened
back to the mainland and defeated the revolted Megarians, and on the
approach of the Peloponnesian army under the young Spartan king
Plistoanax he bribed Cleandrides, the influential adviser of Plistoanax,
to retire from Attica with his forces. No sooner had Plistoanax and
his counselor Cleandrides returned to Sparta than they were accused
of having been bribed to retreat from Attica, and, rather than face
their accusers, both fled from the country, thus leaving no doubt as to
the truth of the charges against them. Having thus reduced the Me-
garians and gotten rid of the Spartans and their Peloponnesian allies,
Pericles landed in Euboea a second time, reduced the revolted island to
submission, and founded a colony at Histiaea, thus constantly adding
to the glory of Athens.
When Pericles afterwards gave in his account of the expenses in-
curred in these campaigns, he charged the sum with which he bribed
the counselor of the Spartan king Plistoanax, as " ten talents " (about
ten thousand dollars) "laid out for a necessary purpose"; and the
Athenian people had such confidence in his integrity that they passed
the article without demanding any explanation. As all parties had
now become weary of the war, Athens and Sparta concluded a truce
of thirty years, Athens relinquishing her empire on land, such as the
foothold in Troezene, the right to levy troops in Achaia, the possession
of Megaris, and the protectorate of free governments in Central Greece
(B. C. 445). But the party which began the war suffered most heav-
ily, while the power and popularity of Pericles had reached the highest
pinnacle. It was at this time that Thucydides, Cimon's brother-in-law
and his successor as leader of the aristocracy, was banished by ostra-
cism, whereupon he retired to Sparta (B. C. 444). This exiled Athe-
SUPREMACY OP ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
853
nian politician must not be confounded with the great Athenian histo-
rian Thucydides, who was living at the same time.
The great popularity and power of Pericles enabled him to now unite
all parties and to wield the supreme control of Athenian affairs during
the remainder of his life. By the vigor and wisdom of his policy, he
had obtained an honorable peace and increased prosperity for his coun-
trymen, who were so swayed by his irresistible eloquence that they were
willing to sanction any measures proposed by him. The aristocracy,
who had hitherto opposed him because he was the democratic leader,
now respected him as one of their own class, and became desirous of
conciliating his favor, as they were no longer able to obstruct his course.
The merchants and alien settlers were enriched by his protection of
trade. The shippers and sailors were benefited by his attention to mari-
time affairs. The artisans and artists were helped by the public works
which he was constantly engaged in constructing. The ears of all
classes were charmed by his eloquence, and their eyes were delighted
by the magnificent edifices with which he adorned Athens, such as the
Parthenon, or temple of the virgin goddess Athene, embellished by
Phidias with the most beautiful sculptures, especially with the colossal
statue of the goddess Athene made of ivory and gold, forty-seven feet
high. The Erechtheum, or ancient sanctuary of Athene Polias was
rebuilt ; the Propylaea, constructed of Pentelic marble, was erected ; and
the Acropolis now received the designation of " the city of the gods."
Conscious of the peculiar strength of his position, as he was sus-
tained by the two great parties in Athens, Pericles began to assume
greater reserve and dignity, and to manifest less promptness in grati-
fying the wishes of the poorer classes than formerly. His power was
practically as great at that time as that of any absolute monarch, al-
though on less stable a foundation.
Only 'three islands in the neighboring seas now remained independent,
and the most important of these was Samos. The Milesians, who had
some grounds for complaint against the Samians, appealed to the arbi-
tration of Athens, and were supported by a party in Samos itself which
was opposed to the oligarchy. The Athenians very willingly assumed
the judgment of the matter, and as Samos declined their arbitration
they determined to subdue the island. Pericles sailed with an Athenian
fleet to Samos, overthrew the oligarchy and established a democratic
government in the island, and brought away hostages from the most
powerful families. But he had no sooner retired from the island than
some of the deposed oligarchs returned by night, overpowered the
Athenian garrison and restored the oligarchy. They gained posses-
sion of their hostages, who had been placed on the isle of Lemnos, and
being joined by Byzantium, they declared open war against Athens.
Popu-
larity of
Pericles.
His
Great
Influence.
Conquest
of
Samos
by
Pericles.
Its
Revolt.
854-
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Athenian
Reduction
of
Samos
and
Byzan-
tium.
Corcyra's
Revolt
against
Corinth.
War
between
Athens
and
Corinth.
As soon as intelligence of this event reached Athens, an Athenian
fleet of sixty vessels was sent against Samos, Pericles being one of the
ten commanders. After several naval battles, the Samians were driven
within the walls of their capital, where they withstood a siege of nine
months ; and when they were finally obliged to succumb, they were com-
pelled to destroy their fortifications, to surrender their fleet, to give host-
ages for their future good behavior, and to indemnify Athens for her
expenses in the war. The Byzantines submitted to Athens at the same
time. Athens was completely triumphant, but the terror which she
inspired was mingled with jealousy. During the Samian revolt the
rival states of Greece had seriously contemplated aiding the Samians,
but the adoption of this course was prevented by the influence of Cor-
inth, which, though unfriendly to Athens, feared that such a course
might furnish a precedent in case of a revolt of her own colonies.
After ten years of general peace among the Grecian states, a dispute
between Corinth and its dependency, the island of Corcyra (now
Corfu), led to a war which again involved the whole of Greece. Cor-
cyra was a colony of Corinth, but having by its maritime skill and
enterprise attained a higher degree of opulence than the parent city,
it refused to acknowledge Corinthian supremacy and engaged in a war
with her regarding the government of Epidamnus, a city founded by
the Corcyraeans on the Illyrian coast. Epidamnus was attacked by
some Illyrian tribes, led by exiled Epidamnian nobles ; and the Corin-
thians refused to grant the Corcyraeans the aid which they solicited,
because the exiles belonged to the party in power in the parent city.
The Epidamnians then applied for aid to Corinth, which undertook
their defense with great energy. Corcyra, in great alarm, solicited
assistance from Athens. The Athenian people in their general assem-
bly were divided in opinion as to the advisability of aiding Corcyra,
but the opinion of Pericles prevailed, that statesman having urged that
war could not in any event be much longer postponed, and that it was
more prudent to go to war in alliance with Corcyra, whose fleet was,
next to that of Athens, the most powerful in Greece, than to be ulti-
mately forced to fight at a disadvantage.
But as Corinth, as an ally of Sparta, was included in the thirty years'
truce, the Athenians decided upon making only a defensive alliance
with Corcyra, that is, to render aid only if the Corcyrsean territories
should be invaded, but not to take part in any aggressive proceeding.
The Corinthians defeated the Corcyraeans in a naval battle off the coast
of Epirus, and prepared/o effect a landing in Corcyra. Ten Athenian
vessels were present, under the command of Laceda?monius, son of
Cimon, and were now, according to the letter of their agreement, free
to engage in fight with the Corinthians. But the Corinthians suddenly
SUPREMACY OF ATHENS AND AGE OF PERICLES.
855
withdrew after the signal for battle had been given, and steered away
for the coast of Epirus. Twenty Athenian ships had appeared in the
distance, which the Corcyraeans fancied to be the vanguard of a large
Athenian fleet. Though thus deceived, the Corinthians refrained from
further hostilities and returned home with their prisoners.
The Corinthians were so exasperated at the interference of Athens
that they sought revenge by joining Perdiccas, King of Macedon, in
inciting revolts among the Athenian tributaries in the Chalcidic penin-
sulas. Thus the Corinthians incited the revolt of Potidaea, a town in
Chalcidice, near the frontiers of Macedon, which had originally been
a colony of Corinth, but was now a tributary of Athens. The Athe-
nians at once sent a fleet and army for the reduction of Potidaea, and
this armament defeated the Corinthian general at Olynthus and block-
aded him in Potida>a, where he had sought refuge (B. C. 432).
A congress of the Peloponnesian states convened at Sparta, and com-
plaints from many quarters were uttered against Athens. The ^Egine-
tans regretted the loss of their independence; the Megarians deplored
the crippling of their commerce; and the Corinthians were alarmed
because they were overshadowed by the boundless ambition of their
powerful neighbor. At the same time the Corinthians contrasted the
restless activity of Athens with the selfish inaction of Sparta, and
threatened that, if the latter state still deferred performing her duty
to the Peloponnesian League, they would look for a more efficient ally.
After the Peloponnesian envoys had departed, Sparta concluded to
participate in the war against Athens. Before beginning actual hos-
tilities, the Spartans sent messengers to Athens, demanding, among
other things, that the Athenians should " expel the accursed " from
their presence — alluding to Pericles, whose race they affected to regard
as still tainted with sacrilege. But Pericles replied that the Spartans
themselves had not atoned for their flagrant acts of sacrilege, such as
starving Pausanias in the sanctuary of Athene and dragging away and
massacring the Helots who had sought refuge in the temple of Poseidon
during the great Helot revolt. The Athenians rejected the other Spar-
tan demands with more deliberation, those respecting the independence
of Megara and /Egina and the general abandonment by Athens of her
position as head of the Hellenic League, or Confederacy of Delos.
The Athenians declared that they would abstain from beginning hos-
tilities, and would make reparation for any infringement of the thirty
years' truce which they might have committed, but that they were
prepared to meet force with force.
While both parties thus hesitated to commence hostilities, the The-
bans brought matters to a crisis by making a treacherous attack upon
the city of Plataea, which they regarded with jealousy, because it had
8—16
Potidasa's
Revolt
against
Athens.
General
Grecian
Congress
at
Sparta.
War
between
Sparta
and
Athens.
Theban
Attack on
Plataea.
856
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Plataean
Treach-
ery.
Persecu-
tion of
Pericles,
Anaxago-
ras and
Aspasia.
Aspasia.
been in friendly alliance with Athens, instead of joining the Boeotian
League. A small oligarchical party in Platam favored the Thebans,
and Nauclides, the head of this party, admitted three hundred of them
into the town at dead of night. The Plataeans, upon waking from
their sleep, found their enemies encamped in their market-place, but
they did not submit, though scattered and betrayed. They secretly
communicated with each other by breaking through the walls of their
houses; and after they had thus formed a plan, they attacked the
Thebans before daybreak.
The Thebans were exhausted by marching all night in the rain, and
were entangled in the narrow, crooked streets of Plataea. Even the
Plataean women and children fought against the Theban invaders by
hurling tiles from the roofs of the houses. The reinforcement which
the Thebans expected was delayed, and before its arrival the three hun-
dred were either slain or made prisoners. The Thebans outside the
walls of Platsea now seized such property and persons as came within
their grasp, as security for the release of the prisoners. The Plataeans
sent a herald to inform these Thebans outside the walls that the cap-
tives would be instantly put to death if the ravages did not cease, but
that if the Thebans retired the prisoners would be released. The ma-
rauding Thebans thereupon withdrew, but the Plataeans violated their
promise by gathering all their movable property into the town and
then massacring all their prisoners. Fleet-footed messengers had al-
ready conveyed the news to Athens. These messengers brought back
orders to the Plataeans to undertake nothing of importance without the
advice of the Athenians. But it was too late to spare the lives of the
prisoners or to vindicate the honor of their captors.
Pericles viewed the impending conflict without dismay, but his coun-
trymen were not equally undaunted. They realized that they were
about to be called upon to exchange the idle and luxurious life which
they had for some years been leading for one of hardship and peril, and
they commenced to murmur against their great statesman for involving
them in so dangerous a struggle. They did not at first possess suffi-
cient courage to impeach Pericles himself, but vented their displeasure
against his friends and favorites. Phidias, the renowned sculptor,
whom the illustrious statesman had appointed superintendent of public
buildings, was convicted on a trivial charge and sentenced to imprison-
ment. Anaxagoras, the philosopher and the preceptor of Pericles, was
accused of promulgating doctrines subversive of the national religion,
and was consequently banished from Athens. The celebrated Aspasia,
the second wife of Pericles, was also a victim of persecution.
Aspasia was a native of Miletus. She was a woman of remarkable
beauty and brilliant talents, but her dissolute life made her a reproach,
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
857
as she would have been otherwise an adornment to her sex. When this
remarkable woman made her residence in Athens, she attracted the
attention of Pericles, who was so captivated by her beauty, wit and
eloquence that he separated from his wife, with whom he had been liv-
ing unhappily, and then married Aspasia.
The Athenians generally believed that Aspasia had instigated Peri-
cles to quarrel with the Peloponnesian states, in order to gratify a
private grudge; and her unpopularity on this account caused her to
be now accused before the assembly of the people of impiety and of
gross immorality. Pericles personally conducted her defense, and
pleaded for her so earnestly and sincerely that he was moved to tears.
The people acquitted her, either because they believed the charges to
be unfounded, or because they were unable to resist the eloquence of
Pericles.
The enemies of Pericles next directed their attacks against the great
statesman himself. They accused him of embezzlement of the public
money, but he utterly refuted the charge and proved that his private
estate was his only source of income. The Athenian people were fully
convinced of the honesty of his administration of public affairs, because
of his frugal and unostentatious manner of living. While he was
beautifying Athens with temples, porticoes and other magnificent works
of art, and providing many expensive entertainments for the people,
his own domestic establishment was managed with such strict regard to
economy that the members of his family complained of his parsimony,
which contrasted in a remarkable degree with the splendor in which
many wealthy Athenians then lived.
After being thus vindicated by the people and confirmed in his
authority by this thorough refutation of the slanders of his enemies,
Pericles adopted wise measures for the defense of Attica against the
invasion threatened from the Peloponnesus.
Her
Vindica-
tion.
Vindica-
tion of
Pericles.
His
Defense
of
Attica.
SECTION III.— THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR (B. C. 431-404).
THE famous Peloponnesian War, which involved all Greece, began
in the year B. C. 431, and lasted twenty-seven years (B. C. 431— B.
C. 404). It is generally divided into three distinct periods — the Ten
Years' War (B. C. 431-B. C. 421); the Sicilian Expedition (B. C.
415-B. C. 413) ; and the Decelian War (B. C. 413-B. C. 404).
Sparta had for her allies all the Peloponnesian states, except Argos
and Achaia, together with Megara, Boeotia, Phocis, Opuntian Locris,
Ambracia, Leucadia and Anactoria. The allies of Athens were Thes-
saly and Acarnania and the cities of Plataea and Naupactus, on the
Three
Periods
of the
War.
Parties
to the
War.
858
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Race
Struggle.
Pelopon-
nesian
Invasion
of
Attica.
Athens
Crowded
and Pro-
visioned.
Pelopon-
nesian
Devasta-
tion of
Attica.
Athenian
Devasta-
tion of
the
Pelopon-
nesus.
mainland, and her tributaries on the coast of Thrace and Asia Minor
and on the Cyclades, besides her island allies, Chios, Lesbos, Core; ra,
Zacynthos, and afterwards Cephallenia.
It was a struggle for supremacy between the Ionic races, as repre-
sented by Athens, and the Doric races, as represented by Sparta and
her Peloponnesian allies. It was also a struggle between the principle
of democracy, as championed by Athens, and the principle of oligarchy
or aristocracy, as maintained by Sparta.
The great struggle was commenced by an invasion of Attica by
sixty thousand Peloponnesian troops under the Spartan king Archi-
damus about the middle of June, B. C. 431. As Pericles was unwill-
ing to risk a battle with the Spartans, who were regarded as invin-
cible by land as the Athenians were by sea, he caused the inhabitants
of Attica to transport their cattle to Euboea and the neighboring
islands, and to retire within the walls of Athens with as much of their
other property as they were able to take with them.
By his provident care, the city was stored with provisions sufficient
to support the multitudes now crowding into it, but it was not so easy
to find proper accommodations for so vast a population. Many found
lodgings in the temples and other public edifices, or in the turrets on
the city walls, and great numbers were obliged to seek shelter in tem-
porary abodes which they had constructed within the Long Walls con-
necting the city with the port of Piraeus.
Meeting with no opposition, the Peloponnesian invaders of Attica
proceeded along the eastern coast, burning the towns and laying waste
the country. Among the crowded population of Athens violent de-
bates arose respecting the prosecution of the war. The people were
exasperated at Pericles on account of the inactivity of the army, while
the enemy was ravaging the country almost to the very gates of the
city, and all his authority was required to keep the people within their
fortifications.
While the Peloponnesians and their allies were desolating Attica with
fire and sword, the Athenian and Corcyramn fleets were, by the direc-
tion of Pericles, retaliating upon their enemies by devastating the al-
most defenseless coast of the Peloponnesus. Two Corinthian settle-
ments in Acarnania were captured, and the island of Cephallcnia re-
nounced its allegiance to Sparta and acknowledged the sway of Athens.
The Eginetans were expelled from their island, which was then occu-
pied by Athenian colonists. The desolation of the Peloponnesian coast
by the Athenian navy, along with the scarcity of provisions, caused
Archidamus to retire from Attica into the Peloponnesus, after an in-
vasion of five or six weeks. He withdrew from Attica by retreating
along its western coast, continuing his ravages as he retired. After
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
859
returning to the Peloponnesus he disbanded his army. The Athenians
then set their army in motion to chastise the Megarians, whom they
regarded as revolted subjects. They ravaged the whole of Megaris to
the gates of the city of Megara itself, and these devastations were
repeated every year during the continuance of the war.
Early in the following summer (B. C. 430), the Peloponnesians
again invaded Attica, which they were again allowed to devastate at
their pleasure, as Pericles persisted in his cautious policy of confining
his efforts to the defense of Athens.
The Athenians were now attacked by an enemy far more terrible
than the Peloponnesian invaders. A pestilence, believed to have had its
origin in Ethiopia, and which had by degrees ravaged Egypt and West-
ern Asia, now reached Attica, making its first appearance in the town
of Piraeus, whose inhabitants at first believed that the enemy had poi-
soned their wells. The pestilence rapidly spread to Athens, where,
because of the crowded condition of the city, it produced frightful
havoc, carrying off vast multitudes of people. This pestilence was
described as having been a species of infectious fever, accompanied
with many painful symptoms, and followed by ulcerations of the bow-
els and limbs in the case of those who survived the first stages of the
disease. It is said that the birds of prey refused to touch the unburied
bodies of the victims of the plague, and that the dogs which fed upon
the poisonous remains perished. The prayers of the devout and the
skill of the physicians were alike unavailing to stay the advance of the
disease; and the wretched Athenians, driven to despair, fancied them-
selves to be delivered to punishment by their gods, and particularly
by Apollo, the special protector of the Doric race. The sick were in
many instances left unattended, and the bodies of the dead were left
unburied, while those whom the plague had not yet reached openly
defied all human and divine laws by plunging into the wildest excesses
of criminal indulgence.
In the anger of their despair, the Athenians vented their wrath upon
Pericles, whose cautious policy they blamed as the cause of their suf-
ferings. He still refused battle with the enemy, as he believed that
the reduced numbers and exhausted spirit of his army would expose
him to almost certain defeat ; but, with a fleet of one hundred and fifty
ships, he ravaged the coasts of the Peloponnesus with fire and sword.
On his return to Athens, finding that the enemy had hastily retired from
Attica from fear of the contagion of the plague, he sent a fleet to the
coast of Chalcidice, to aid the Athenian land forces still engaged in
the siege of Potidam — an unfortunate proceeding, as its only result
was to communicate the pestilence to the besieging army, by which
the greater number of the troops were carried off.
VOL. 3.— 11
Attica
again
Ravaged.
Plague at
Athena.
The
Pelopon-
nesus '
again
Ravaged.
Atheni.v-
Misfor-
tunes.
8()0
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Rage
against
Pericles.
Pericles
Defends
His
Course.
His Self
Justifica-
tion.
Disgrace
and
Family
Afflic-
tions of
Pericles.
His
Rein-
statement
and
Death.
Maddened by their calamities, the Athenians became louder and
louder in their murmurs against Pericles, whom they accused of being
the author of at least some of their misfortunes by involving them in
the Peloponnesian War. During his absence, while he was ravaging
the enemy's coasts, the Athenians had sent an embassy to Sparta to
sue for peace, and when the Spartans rejected the suit contemptuously
the rage of the Athenians against their great statesman increased.
Pericles justified his conduct in entering upon the war before an
assembly of the people, and exhorted his countrymen to courage and
perseverance in defense of their independence. He remarked that the
hardships to which they had been exposed were only such as he had in
former addresses prepared them to expect, and that the pestilence was
a calamity which no human prudence could have foreseen or averted.
He reminded his countrymen that they still possessed a fleet with which
no other navy on earth was able to cope, and that their navy might
yet enable them to acquire universal dominion after the present evil
should have passed away.
Said he : " What we suffer from the gods, we should bear with pa-
tience ; what from our enemies, with manly firmness ; and such were
the maxims of our forefathers. From unshaken fortitude in misfor-
tune has arisen the present power of this commonwealth, together with
that glory which, if our empire, according to the lot of all earthly
things, decay, shall still survive to all posterity."
The eloquent harangue of Pericles did not silence the fury of his
personal and political enemies nor calm the alarm and irritation of the
Athenian people. By the influence of Cleon the tanner, an unprin-
cipled demagogue, the eminent statesman who had so long swayed the
destinies of Athens was dismissed from all his offices and fined to a
large amount. In the meantime domestic afflictions united with polit-
ical anxieties and mortifications to oppress the mind of this illustrious
leader, as the plague was depriving him of the members of his family
and his nearest relatives one by one.
But he displayed, amid all these adversities, a fortitude which ex-
cited the admiration of all around him. Finally, at the funeral of
the last of his children, his firmness gave away ; and as he was placing
a garland of flowers on the head of the corpse, in accordance with the
national custom, he burst into loud lamentations and shed streams of
tears. It was not very long before his fickle and ungrateful country-
men repented of their harshness towards their renowned statesman and
reinstated him in his civil and military authority. But he soon fell
a victim to the same plague which had carried his children and so many
of his countrymen to their graves (B. C. 429). It is said that as he
lay on his death-bed, and those around him were recounting his great
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
861
actions, he suddenly interrupted them by saying : " All that you are
praising was either the result of good fortune, or, in any case, common
to me with many other leaders. What I chiefly pride myself upon is,
that no act of mine has ever caused any Athenian to put on mourning."
Ancient writers agree in assigning Pericles the first place among
Grecian statesmen for wisdom and eloquence. Notwithstanding his
ambition for power, he was moderate in the exercise of that power ; and
it is highly creditable to his memory that, in an age and country which
exhibited so little scruple in the shedding of blood, his long administra-
tion was no less mild and merciful than it was vigorous and effective.
When obliged to wage war against his country's enemies, this cele-
brated statesman constantly studied how to overcome the foe with the
least possible sacrifice of life, both on the side of his countrymen and
on that of their enemies.
After the death of Pericles, the first period of the war continued
seven years longer, but with no decisive advantage to either side. Dur-
ing the first part of this period, Cleon, the unscrupulous demagogue
who had led the opposition against Pericles, directed the councils of
Athens.
The second Peloponnesian raid into Attica was more destructive than
the first, as the ravages extended to the silver mines of Laurium. The
Peloponnesian fleet destroyed the fisheries and commerce of Athens and
devastated the island of Zacynthos. During the next winter Potidaea
surrendered to the Athenians, after a blockade of two years, and was
occupied by a thousand Athenian colonists.
The Spartans directed their third campaign against Plataea. When
Archidamus approached, the Platseans sent a solemn remonstrance, re-
minding him of the oath which Pausanias had sworn on the evening
of the great battle before their city, making Plataea forever sacred
from invasion. The Spartan king replied that the Plataeans were also
bound by oath to strive for the independence of every state of Greece.
He reminded them of their atrocious crime in massacring the Theban
prisoners; but promised that, if they abandoned the cause of Athens
and remained neutral in the war, their privileges would be respected.
But the Platseans would not forsake their old ally, and so the Spartans
laid siege to their city.
The Plataean garrison which thus resisted the entire Peloponnesian
army numbered only four hundred and eighty men, but they made up
in energy for their lack in numbers. Archidamus commenced the siege
by closing up every outlet of the town with a wooden palisade, then
erected against this palisade a mound of earth and stone, forming an
inclined plane up which his troops would be able to march. The Pla-
taeans undermined the mound, which thus fell in, and rendered useless
His
Character
and
Great-
ness.
Cleon.
Ravage of
Attica.
Siege of
Plataa.
Its
Resolute
Defense.
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Its
Despera-
tion and
Surren-
der.
Athens
and Her
Allies
in the
North.
Mity-
lene's
Revolt.
Its Re-
duction
by
Athens.
seventy days' work of the entire besieging army. They likewise con-
structed a new wall inside of the old one, so that the Spartans would
still not capture the city if they took the old wall (B. C. 429).
When the Peloponnesians perceived that the Plataeans could only be
reduced by famine, they converted the siege into a blockade, surround-
ing the city with a double wall, and roofing the intermediate space, thus
affording shelter to the soldiers on duty. The Plate-cans were thus cut
off from all communication with the outside world for two years. Pro-
visions began to fail; and in the second year of the blockade almost
half of the garrison escaped by climbing over the barracks and forti-
fications of their besiegers in the rain and darkness of a December night.
The Plataeans still remaining were ultimately reduced to absolute star-
vation. A Spartan herald was now sent by Archidamus to demand
their submission, but promising that the guilty only should be pun-
ished. The Plataeans thereupon surrendered. When brought before
the Spartan judges, every man of the Plataean garrison was declared
guilty and put to death. The town and territory of Plataea was be-
stowed on the Thebans, who destroyed all private dwellings, and with
the materials they constructed a vast barrack to give shelter to visitors
and dwellings to the serfs who tilled the land. The city of Platsea
thus ceased to exist (B. C. 427).
The Athenians and their ally, Sitalces, a Thracian chief, were prose-
cuting the war in the North with not very much success. Sitalces, at
the head of a Thracian army of one hundred and fifty thousand men,
invaded Macedonia for the purpose of dethroning Perdiccas, the king
of that country. The Macedonians withdrew into their fortresses, as
they were unable to withstand Sitalces in the open field, and Sitalces
withdrew after thirty days, as he had no means for conducting sieges.
Phormio, an Athenian commander, gained two victories in the Corin-
thian Gulf over a vastly larger Spartan fleet. He had twenty ships
in the first battle, while the Spartans had forty-seven. In the second
engagement he encountered a fresh Spartan fleet of seventy-seven ves-
sels (B. C. 429).
In the fourth year of the war the city of Mitylene, in the island of
Lesbos, revolted against Athens. Envoys were sent to Sparta to solicit
aid, which was readily granted, and the Mitylenians were received into
the Peloponnesian League.
In the spring of B. C. 427 the Spartan fleet advanced to Mitylene,
but when it arrived it found the city already in the possession of the
Athenians. When almost reduced by famine, the governor, acting in
accordance with the advice of the Spartan envoy, had armed all the
men of the lower classes for a final desperate sortie ; but the result was
contrary to his expectations, as the mass of the Mitylenian people
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
863
preferred the Athenian supremacy to their own oligarchical govern-
ment. Taking advantage of their situation, the armed Mitylenians
declared that they would treat directly with the Athenians if all their
demands were not granted. The governor's only choice was to begin
negotiations with the Athenians himself. The city was surrendered to
the Athenians, and the fate of its inhabitants was left to the decision
of the popular assembly of Athens, whither the oligarchical ring-leaders
of the revolt were sent.
A thousand Athenians convened in the Agora to decide the fate of
their Mitylenian prisoners. Salaethus, the Spartan envoy, was instantly
put to death. An animated debate ensued regarding the others. Cleon
the tanner, the former opponent of Pericles, took a prominent part in
the proceedings. This unprincipled demagogue, i« spite of more hu-
mane and moderate counsels, obtained the adoption of his cruel propo-
sition by the popular assembly to massacre all the men of Mitylene and
to sell all the women and children into slavery. This proposition was
all the more atrocious because the great mass of the Mitylenians were
friendly to Athens, while the revolt had been brought about by the
oligarchy, who were the enemies and oppressors of the people. The
opposition to Cleon's brutal decree had been so formidable in the Athe-
nian popular assembly that Cleon feared a reversal of the death-sen-
tence of the Mitylenians, and for that reason he caused a galley to be
instantly dispatched to the island of Lesbos with orders for its imme-
diate execution.
Cleon had good reasons for his apprehensions, as a sober second
thought of the Athenian people after a night's reflection asserted itself,
and the better class of the citizens were horrified at the inhuman decision
at which they had so hastily arrived. They demanded a new assembly
of the people to reconsider the matter, and although this was contrary
to the law, the strategi gave their consent and again convened the citi-
zens. In the second day's debate the iniquitous decree was rescinded.
Every nerve was now strained to enable the vessel bearing the account
of this merciful decision to overtake the messengers of the death-sen-
tence, who were in advance a whole day's journey. The strongest oars-
men were selected for the occasion, and were urged to their greatest
efforts by the promise of liberal rewards in case they should arrive in
time to spare the hastily-condemned Mitylenians. Their food was
given them while they plied the oars, and they were only allowed to
sleep in short intervals and by turns. The weather was favorable, and
they arrived just in time to prevent Paches from executing the first
order. Thus the lives of the Mitylenians were spared, but the walls
of their city were leveled, and their fleet was surrendered to the Athe-
nians. The island of Lesbos, excepting Methymna, which had np*
Cleon's
Cruel
Measure.
It is Re-
scinded.
864
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Revolu-
tion in
Corcyra.
Bloody
Civil War
in
Corcyra.
Floods,
Earth-
quakes,
Plagues
and
Military
Ravages.
taken part in the revolt, was divided into three thousand parts, three
hundred of which were devoted to the gods, and the remainder were
allotted to Athenian settlers. The ring-leaders of the revolt, who were
the oligarchs who had been carried as prisoners to Athens, were tried
for their part in the conspiracy and were put to death.
The Corcyrsean prisoners who had been taken to Corinth in B. C.
432 were now sent home, in the expectation that their account of the
generous treatment accorded them would lead their countrymen to
abandon their alliance with Athens. They united with the oligarchical
faction to effect a revolution in Corcyra, killed the chiefs of the popu-
lar party, and acquired possession of the harbor, the arsenal and the
market-place; and thus, by overawing the people, procured a vote in
the assembly to maintain a strict neutrality in the future. But the
people fortified themselves in the higher parts of the town, and sum-
moned the serfs from the interior of the island to their assistance and
promised them freedom.
Thereupon the oligarchical faction fired the town ; but while the fire
was raging, a small Athenian squadron arrived from Naupactus, and
its commander wisely endeavored to induce the contending parties to
make peace. When he had apparently effected his purpose, a Pelo-
ponnesian fleet more than four times as large as his own arrived, under
the command of Alcidas. The Athenians retired without loss, and
Alcidas had momentary possession of Corcyra ; but, with his habitual
lack of promptness, he spent a day in ravaging the island, and the
approach of an Athenian fleet larger than his own was announced by
beacon fires on Leucas at night. Alcidas retired before morning, leav-
ing the oligarchical party in the city to their fate. During the next
seven days Corcyra was the scene of a reign of terror. The popular
party, under the protection of the Athenian fleet, gave way to the
fiercest promptings of revenge. Civil hatred outweighed natural affec-
tion. A father killed his own son. Brothers extended no mercy to
brothers. The aristocratic party was well-nigh exterminated ; but five
hundred succeeded in making their escape, and fortified themselves on
Mount Istone, near the capital.
The sixth year of the Peloponnesian War opened amid floods and
earthquakes, which added their terrors to the civil and political convul-
sions which distracted the land of the Hellenes. Athens was again
suffering from the ravages of the plague. To appease the wrath of
Apollo, a solemn purification was performed in the autumn in the sacred
isle of Delos, the birthplace of that god. All bodies that had been
buried there were removed to a neighboring island, and the Delian
festival was revived with greater splendor. Attica escaped a Spartan
invasion this year, either because of the awe inspired by the supposed
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
865
wrath of the gods or by the dread of the plague. The next year,
however (B. C. 425), the Spartan king Agis I. invaded and ravaged
Attica ; but was recalled, after fifteen days, by the news that the Athe-
nians had established a military station on the coast of Messenia.
An Athenian fleet under Eurymedon and Sophocles, bound for Sicily,
had been delayed by a storm near the harbor of Pylos. The command-
ers chose this locality for a settlement of Messenians from Naupactus,
who could thus communicate with their Helot kinsmen and annoy the
Spartans. The Athenian commander, Demosthenes, with five ships and
two hundred soldiers, was reinforced by a Messenian detachment, thus
augmenting his force to a thousand men. The wrath of the Spartans
was as great as their alarm at this encroachment on their territory.
Their fleet was immediately ordered from Corcyra, while Agis I., with
his army, withdrew from Attica. The long and narrow island of
Sphacteria, covering the entrance to the Bay of Pylos, was occupied
by Thrasymelidas, the Spartan, whose ships were sheltered in the basin
which it thus enclosed. While waiting for reinforcements, Dem6s-
thenes, with his handful of troops, was obliged to encounter a largely
superior force. Brasidas, one of the greatest of Spartan captains, led
the attack from the sea. He fought on the prow of the foremost ship,
encouraging his men by word and example, but he was severely wounded,
and the engagement terminated to the advantage of the Athenians.
The next day the conflict was renewed and the Athenians were again
successful. They erected a trophy, ornamenting it with the shield of
Brasidas.
After the Athenian fleet had arrived, a still more decisive Athenian
victory followed. The triumphant Athenians proceeded to blockade
Sphacteria, which contained the flower of the Peloponnesian army.
The emergency was so serious for Sparta that the Ephors saw no other
escape but through peace. An armistice was agreed upon, and the
better spirits on both sides entertained a hope for the end of the devas-
tating war. But the foolish vanity of Cleon and the party at his back
demanded the most extreme and unreasonable conditions, which the
Spartans rejected. Hostilities were renewed, with equal vexation on
both sides. Fearing that his blockade would be interrupted by the win-
ter's storms, Demosthenes determined to make an attack upon the island,
and sent to Athens for reinforcements, at the same time explaining his
position. This report disheartened the assembly of the people, who now
accused Cleon of having persuaded them to throw away the opportunity
for an honorable peace. Cleon retorted by accusing the officers of
cowardice and incompetency, and declared that if lie commanded the
army he would reduce Sphacteria instantly. The entire assembly burst
out in laughter at this boast of the tanner, and assailed him with cries
Athenian
Successes
at
Sphac-
teria.
Cleon
and the
Blockade
of Sphac-
teria.
866
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Redaction
of
Sphac-
teria.
Other
Athenian
Victories.
Spartan
Dishonor.
of " Why don't you go then ? " The lively spirits of the Athenians
at once recovered from their unusual depression, and the simple joke
developed into a determination. Cleon endeavored to draw back, but
the assembly of the people insisted on his assuming command. Finally
he engaged, with a certain number of auxiliaries reinforcing the troops
already at Pylos, to reduce the island in twenty days, and either kill
all the Spartans thereon or bring them to Athens in chains.
Cleon succeeded remarkably in his undertaking. Demosthenes had
made every preparation for the attack ; and his prudence, along with
the accidental burning of the woods on Sphacteria, rather than Cleon's
military skill, was mainly the cause of the Athenian victory. The
Athenians landed before daylight, overpowered the guard at the south-
ern end of the island, and then, formed in line of battle, sending out
skirmishing parties to provoke the Spartans to a conflict. Blinded
by the light ashes raised by the march of his troops, the Spartan gen-
eral advanced over the half -burned stumps of the trees with some diffi-
culty. His army was vastly outnumbered by the Athenians, who har-
assed him from a distance with arrows and compelled him to retire to
the extremity of the island, where the Spartans again fought with their
usual valor; but a detachment of Messenians, who had clambered over
some crags generally considered inaccessible, appeared upon the heights
above and decided the battle in favor of the Athenians. All the sur-
viving Spartans surrendered, and Cleon and Demosthenes started in-
stantly for Athens with their prisoners, arriving there within twenty
days. This was one of the most important victories ever achieved
by the Athenians. The harbor of Pylos was strongly fortified and
garrisoned with Messenian troops, for a base of operations against
Laconia.
The eighth year of the war (B. C. 424) opened with the Athenians
everywhere triumphant; and the humiliated and disheartened Spartans
had repeatedly solicited peace. In the early part of the year Nicias
conquered the island of Cythera and placed garrisons in two of its prin-
cipal towns, which were a perpetual defiance of the Lacedaemonians.
He next devastated the coast of Laconia and captured some towns,
among which was Thyrea, where the Eginetans had been allowed to
settle after they had been expelled from their own island. Such of the
original settlers who survived were taken to Athens and put to death.
The brutalizing effects of the war became more apparent year after
year, and these atrocious massacres were now a common occurrence.
About the same time the Spartans, alarmed at the nearness of the
Messenian garrisons of Pylos and Cythera, announced that such Helots
as had distinguished themselves by their faithful services during the
war should be given their freedom. Many of the bravest and ablest
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
867
claimed the offer. Two thousand of these were selected as deserving
liberation, and were crowned with garlands and dignified with high
religious honors. But several days later they had all disappeared, no
one knew how but the Spartan Ephors, who were not moved from their
narrow regard for the supposed interest of the state, either by honor
or pity.
The Athenians were also somewhat successful in their expedition
against Megaris, but their attack on Boeotia ended in disaster. The
chief movement against Boeotia was managed by Hippocrates, who led
an Athenian army of more than thirty-two thousand men across the
Boeotian frontier to Delium, a town strongly situated near Tanagra,
among the cliffs of the eastern coast, where he fortified the temple of
Apollo and placed a garrison in the works, after which he started for
home. A large Boeotian army assembled at Tanagra now marched to
intercept the Athenian invaders upon the heights of Delium. The
battle began late in the day. The Athenian right was at first success-
ful, but their left was borne down by the Theban phalanx. In the
Athenian ranks in this battle were the immortal philosopher Socrates
and his pupils, Alcibiades and Xenophon, the former afterwards cele-
brated as a political and military leader, and the latter renowned as a
general and a historian. The arrival of the Boeotian cavalry decided
the fate of the day, the Athenians fleeing in every direction, only the
darkness and night saving them from total destruction. Such was the
battle of Delium (B. C. 424). Delium was taken by the triumphant
Boeotians after a siege of seventeen days.
Soon after these disasters in Boeotia, the Athenians were deprived
of their entire dominion in Thrace. The Spartan general Brasidas
had conducted a small but select army to the assistance of Perdiccas,
King of Macedon, and the Chalcidian towns. The valor and integrity
of Brasidas induced many of the allies of Athens to forsake her cause,
and on his sudden appearance before Amphipolis that city surrendered
with scarcely an effort at defense. The Athenian party in Amphipolis
solicited aid from the Athenian general Thucydides, the great histo-
rian, who commanded in that region. He was sentenced to banish-
ment, in consequence of his failure, and passed the next twenty years
in exile, during which he did more for Grecian glory by his literary
work than he would have been able to accomplish in his military com-
mand. Brasidas proceeded to the most easterly of the three Chalcidic
peninsulas, and most of the towns submitted to him.
The Athenians were now so depressed by their losses that they in turn
asked for peace; while the Spartans, anxious for the return of their
noble youths who were held prisoners in Athens, as ardently longed for
a treaty. A truce of one year was accordingly agreed upon in B. C.
Battle of
Delium.
Brasidas
and Thu-
cydides
in
Thrace.
Peace
Negotia-
tions.
868
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Death of
Cleon
and
Bras Idas.
Peace of
Nicias.
Appear-
ance of
Alcibia-
des.
Renewal
of the
War.
423, to facilitate permanent negotiations. But two days after the
truce had commenced Scione revolted from the Athenians, who de-
manded its restitution; and as the Spartans refused, an entire year
passed without additional efforts in the direction of peace. At the
end of the year Cleon proceeded to Thrace with an Athenian fleet and
army, and took the towns of Torone and Galepsus ; but his attempt to
recover Amphipolis resulted in a battle in which he was killed and his
army defeated. Brasidas was also mortally wounded, but lived long
enough to know that his troops were victorious.
Cleon's successor in the direction of public affairs at Athens was
Nicias, the leader of the aristocratic party, a man of good character,
though unenterprising, and a military officer of moderate abilities. By
the death of Cleon and Brasidas, the Athenian and Spartan leaders, the
two great obstacles to peace were removed ; and in the spring of B. C.
421 a treaty for fifty years, usually known as the Peace of Nicias, was
concluded betweeen Athens and Sparta. Some of the allies of Sparta
complained that that power had sacrificed their interests to her own,
and formed a new league with Argos, Elis and Mantinea, for the osten-
sible purpose of defending the Peloponnesian states against the aggms-.
sions of Athens and Sparta.
The Athenians had been excluded from the two previous celebrations
of the Olympic Games, but in the summer of B. C. 420 the Elian her-
alds made their appearance to invite them to attend. Those who ex-.
pected to see Athens poverty-stricken, because of her numerous fosses.^
were surprised at the magnificence exhibited by her delegates, whe
made the most expensive display in all the procession. Alcibiades, a-,
young man who ranked as one of the ablest citizens of Athens, entered
on the lists seven four-horse chariots, and received two olive crowns in
the races. His genius, valor and quickness in emergencies enabled him
to become the greatest benefactor of his country, but his misdirected
and uncontrolled ambition and his thorough lack of principle rendered
him the cause of the greatest calamities to Athens.
Thus ended the first period of the Peloponnesian War — the period
known as the Ten Years' War. It was not long, however, before the
sanguinary contest was renewed. The new league alluded to in a pre-
ceding paragraph, and fresh distrusts between Athens and Sparta on
account of the reluctance felt and manifested by both to relinquish cer-
tain places which they had bound themselves by treaty mutually to sur-
render, contributed to excite new jealousies, which were fanned into a
violent flame by the artful proceedings of Alcibiades, the young Athe-
nian just mentioned, who was now rising into political power, and whose
genius and character subsequently exercised a powerful influence upon
the affairs of Athens.
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
869
Alcibiades was the son of Clinias, an Athenian of exalted rank.
Endowed with unusual beauty of person and with talents of the very
highest order, he was destitute of principle and integrity ; and his vio-
lent passions frequently led him to conduct himself in such a manner
as to bring disgrace on his memory. Even in boyhood he displayed
wonderful proofs of the extent of his talents and his energy of charac-
ter. It is said that on one occasion, while playing with some boys of
his own age in the streets of Athens, he observed a loaded wagon ap-
proach the place where he was, and not wishing to be interrupted at
that moment, he demanded of the teamster to stop ; and when the team-
ster refused, he threw himself in front of the horses, saying to the
teamster : " Drive over me if you dare ! " The driver stopped his
horses, and Alcibiades only allowed him to proceed when he had fin-
ished his game.
He passed his youth in a very dissipated manner among the gay com-
panions whom his high birth, his showy and prepossessing manners,
and his boundless liberality, attracted to him. Flattered by the hom-
age paid him by one sex because of his wit, and by the other on account
of his beauty — for it is said that the Athenian ladies vied with one
another in their endeavors to win his affections — Alcibiades would
likely have been totally spoiled, had he not been so singularly fortu-
nate in early life as to attract the attention of the immortal philosopher
Socrates.
This good man did not wish to see a youth endowed with so many
brilliant and noble qualities utterly lost to virtue, and he therefore
earnestly sought by his exhortations and reproofs to induce Alcibiades
to relinquish his dissipated habits and to get him away from the society
of his profligate associates. The philosopher succeeded to some ex-
tent ; but though Alcibiades grew to love and respect the sage, and
felt the full influence of his wise precepts, the impetuosity and reck-
lessness of his disposition, the power of his passions, and the number
and variety of the allurements to which he was exposed, too frequently
acquired the mastery over his virtuous resolutions.
While yet very young, Alcibiades served in the Athenian army en-
gaged in the siege of Potidasa. He was accompanied by Socrates,
who saved his youthful friend's life in one of the battles, by hastening
to his aid when he was wounded and about to be killed. Alcibiades
afterward repaid this important service by saving the life of Socrates
during the flight of the Athenian army after the battle of Delium.
When Alcibiades first took part in public affairs, which he did at an
uncommonly early age, his popular manners, his unrivaled address, and
his polished and persuasive eloquence, soon won for him a great degree
of influence. He was at first friendly to Sparta, with which state his
Character
of Alci-
biades.
His
Popu-
larity.
Alcibia-
des and
Socrates.
In the
Battle of
Delium.
Alcibia-
des and
the
Spartans.
870
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
He Frus-
trates
Preserva-
tion of
Peace.
His
Trickery.
His
Continued
Artifice.
family had been anciently connected by ties of the strongest amity.
But the Spartans did not like his dissipated and luxurious habits, and
remembered in a resentful spirit the solemn renunciation which his
great-grandfather made concerning his friendship toward them when
they interfered in Athenian affairs in the times of the Pisistratidae.
For these reasons the Spartans rejected the advances of Alcibiades
disdainfully, and transacted all their affairs in Athens through the
medium of his rival, Nicias.
Incensed at this treatment, Alcibiades became as unfriendly to the
Spartans as he had previously been friendly, and he soon showed them
that he could not be trifled with. Therefore when mutual distrusts
arose between Athens and Sparta concerning the fulfillment of certain
stipulations in the treaty of Nicias, Lacedaemonian ambassadors arrived
in Athens clothed with full authority to conclude an amicable adjust-
ment, Alcibiades managed to prevent a resumption of friendly inter-
course between the two states, as he considered such a possible con-
summation as incompatible with his interests.
When the Spartan ambassadors announced that they were fully au-
thorized to treat on all disputed points, he privately advised them to
retract this declaration, because the popular assembly of Athens would
take advantage of it to extort unfavorable terms from Lacedasmon, and
he promised that", if they acted on his advice, he would support their
demands before the Athenian people. The Lacedaemonian ambassadors
were so weak as to follow his recommendation, and as soon as they had
stated that their powers were limited, he attacked them in a fierce man-
ner, to their utter amazement and dismay, accusing them of dishonesty
and falsehood, while he cunningly took advantage of the circumstance
to arouse the popular assembly against Sparta.
The Athenian people were excited with indignation at what had
transpired, and were about to dissolve the league with Sparta, when
the assembly was adjourned until the following day in consequence of
a shock of earthquake. When the people reassembled, Nicias, observ-
ing that they were then disposed to listen to more moderate counsels,
proposed that they should send an embassy to Sparta to bring about a
reconciliation, before adopting any hostile measure toward that state.
This proposition was accepted by the assembly ; but, at the artful sug-
gestion of Alcibiades, the Athenian ambassadors were directed to insist
on such preliminary conditions as he very well knew the Lacedaemonians
would never agree to. His expectations were fully realized. The
Athenian ambassadors returned from Sparta without accomplishing
anything, and the Athenians at once entered into an offensive and
defensive league with the recently-formed confederacy headed by
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
871
Argos. When Athens joined this alliance, Corinth at once seceded
from it, to renew its old alliance with Sparta.
Thus the Peloponnesian War was renewed (B. C. 419), but with
little spirit or energy for several years. After the vigorous prosecu-
tion of the war had recommenced, many bloody battles were fought,
countless deeds of atrocity were perpetrated, and the states of Greece
were for many years involved in confusion and suffering by a war
begun with scarcely any cause and persisted in without any reasonable
object.
Alcibiades had now attained the undisputed leadership in public
affairs in Athens. Elated with his success, his taste for luxury and
magnificence exceeded all bounds. He imitated the effeminacy of Ori-
ental manners by wearing a purple robe with a flowing train, and when
he personally took part in the wars he carried a golden shield, on
which was represented Eros armed with a thunderbolt. The wiser por-
tion of the people regretted his excessive love of display and his unre-
strained arrogance and licentiousness ; but the fickle multitude admired
his brilliant talents and his exalted demeanor, while they were con-
firmed in their favorable disposition towards him by the feasts, games
and spectacles to which he treated them.
War soon arose between Sparta and Argos, in which the Spartan
king Agis I. won an important victory in the battle of Mantinea, B.
C'. 418. After the oligarchical party had come into power at Argos,
that state renounced her alliance with Athens and entered into a treaty
with Sparta. But the Argive nobles abused their power by committing
brutal outrages upon the people, who effected another revolution by
which they obtained possession of the city. Alcibiades came to the
assistance of the Argive people with an Athenian fleet and army, at
their request. Though Athens and Sparta were nominally at peace,
the Athenian garrison of Pylos continued its depredations in Laconia,
and Spartan privateers inflicted serious injuries upon Athenian com-
merce.
About this time an embassy from Sicily solicited the assistance of
Athens for the city of Egesta, which was then engaged in a contest
with its neighbor Selinus, which had obtained aid from Syracuse. The
" war of races " had actually begun in Sicily twelve years previously,
and the Athenians had repeatedly aided the Ionian cities, Leontini and
Camarma, against their Dorian neighbors, who had joined the Pelopon-
nesian League. Alcibiades used all his influence to induce his country-
men to assist Egesta, with the hope of at once improving his ruined
fortunes with the spoils of Sicily and gratifying his ambition with the
glory of foreign conquest. He actually hoped not only to establish
the supremacy of Athens over all the Grecian colonies, but also to sub-
2—17
Resump-
tion of
Hostili-
ties.
Popu-
larity and
Ascend-
ency of
Alci-
biades.
Sparta
and
Argos.
War of
Races in
Sicily.
872
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Athenian
Embassy
to
Egesta.
Athenian
Expedi-
tion to
Sicily.
Myste-
rious
Sacri-
lege.
due the republic of Carthage and all its dependencies in the Western
Mediterranean.
Nicias and the entire moderate party in Athens opposed the enter-
prise of Alcibiades, but they only succeeded in having an embassy sent
to Egesta, to ascertain if its people were actually able to fulfill their
promise to furnish funds for the prosecution of the war. These Athe-
nian envoys were thoroughly outwitted by the Egestans. They saw
a splendid display of vessels in the temple of Aphrodite, apparently
of solid gold, but really only silver-gilt. They were feasted at the
houses of citizens, and were surprised at the abundance of gold and
silver plate adorning their sideboards, unaware that the same articles
were being passed from house to house and were doing repeated service
in their entertainment. The Egestans paid sixty talents of silver as a
first installment, and the Athenian envoys carried home with them glow-
ing accounts of Egestan wealth.
Most Athenians seemed thus satisfied as to the resources of the Eges-
tans; and accordingly the people voted to send an expedition under
the command of Alcibiades, Nicias and Lamachus to Sicily. Un-
bounded zeal took possession of all Athenians, young and old, rich and
poor, all desiring to take part in the expedition ; and the generals found
it difficult to select from the throng of volunteers. When the arma-
ment was about to sail, a mysterious incident filled the excited masses
of Athens with dismay. The Hermce, or statues of the god Hermes,
which stood before every door in Athens, before every temple or gym-
nasium, and in every public square, were found one morning thrown
down and mutilated. The Athenian people, in a fit of superstitious
horror, insisted upon the detection and punishment of the individuals
guilty of the sacrilegious outrage. The people suspected Alcibiades,
as he had once burlesqued the Eleusinian Mysteries in a drunken frolic,
and was believed to be capable of committing any sacrilege. His ene-
mies took advantage of the popular suspicion and belief to openly
accuse him of the horrible deed, but he indignantly denied his guilt
and demanded an immediate investigation. The people readily be-
lieved the accusers of Alcibiades, on account of his dissipated habits,
and made preparations to try him at once for the impious act ; but as
the army seemed determined to support him, his accusers and enemies
were afraid to proceed, and contrived to have the trial delayed until
his return from Sicily, thus sending him out with the expedition under
the burden of an unproven charge, so that they might revive it for his
condemnation in case of disaster to the expedition. All his persistent
demands for an immediate trial were unavailing, as his enemies obsti-
nately refused to grant it.
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
873
On the day appointed for the sailing of the armament, almost the
entire population of Athens accompanied the troops on their march at
dawn to Pirasus. When all were on board, the trumpet commanded
silence, and the voice of the herald, in conjunction with that of the
people, was lifted up in prayer. After this the pasan was sung, while
the officers at the prow of each ship poured a libation from a golden
goblet into the sea. At a given signal, the whole fleet slipped its cables
and started at the greatest speed, each crew endeavoring to reach
Egesta before the others.
The entire armament of Athenians and allies mustered at Corcyra
in July, B. C. 415, and consisted of one hundred and thirty-six vessels
of war and five hundred transports, carrying six thousand three hun-
dred soldiers, in addition to artisans and a vast quantity of food and
arms. When the fleet reached the coast of Italy, three fast-sailing
triremes were sent to notify the Egestans of its arrival and to ascertain
their present condition. These vessels rejoined the fleet at Rhegium,
with the disappointing report that the wealth of Egesta was entirely
fictitious, and that thirty talents more were all the aid that could be
expected. The three admirals now disagreed in their opinions. Ni-
cias desired to sail immediately to Selinus, make the best possible terms,
and then return to Athens. Alcibfades proposed to look for new allies
among the Greek cities, and with their assistance to attack both Selmus
and Syracuse. Lamachus urged an attack upon Syracuse at once, as
that was the greatest and wealthiest city in Sicily. This advice was
both the boldest and the safest, as the Syracusans were unprepared for
defense, and their surrender would have placed the island under the
dominion of Athens ; but as Lamachus was neither rich nor influential,
his plan was ignored, and that of Alcibfades was adopted. The fleet
sailed southward, reconnoitered the defenses of Syracuse, and took pos-
session of Catana, which was made its headquarters.
At this point Alcibfades received a decree of the popular assembly
commanding him to return to Athens for his trial. A judicial inquiry
had acquitted him of the mutilation of the Hermse, but he was still
charged with profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries, by mimicking them
at his own house for the amusement of his friends. The public mind
was by degrees wrought up to the highest pitch of excitement by this
charge, and by the rumors which the enemies of Alcibiades circulated
as soon as he had sailed from Athens, to the effect that he was forming
plots for the subversion of the republican constitution of the state.
Some of his slaves testified to his burlesquing the Eleusinian Mysteries.
This was an unpardonable crime, and those noble families which had
inherited a special right from their heroic or divine ancestors to officiate
in the ceremonies regarded themselves as grossly insulted. Many of
Departure
of the
Arma-
ment.,
Its
Arrival in
Sicily.
Accusa-
tion
against
Alci-
biades.
874
The War
in
Sicily.
Alci-
biades at
Sparta.
His
Tempo-
rary
Popu-
larity
There.
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
the friends of Alcibiades were cruelly put to death. The public trireme-
which brought the summons to Alcibiades was under orders not to arrest
him, but to allow him to return in his own ship. But instead of return-
ing to Athens as ordered to do, the wily general took advantage of the
courtesy extended to him to effect his escape. Landing at Thurium,
he eluded his pursuers, and the messengers returned to Athens without
him. In his absence from Athens the death-sentence was passed upon
him, his property was confiscated, and the Eumolpidse, or priests, sol-
emnly pronounced him " accursed."
In the meantime the Athenians had spent three months in Sicily,
effecting so little as to excite the contempt of the Spartans. Nicias,
thus shamed into making some effort, circulated a rumor that the
Catanseans were disposed to drive the Athenians from their city; and
thus drew a large army from Syracuse to their assistance. While this
army was absent from home, the entire Athenian fleet sailed into the
Great Harbor of Syracuse, and landed a force which intrenched itself
near the mouth of the river Anapus. On the return of the Syracusans
a battle ensued, in which Nicias was victorious. He did not follow up
his success, however, but retired into winter-quarters at Catana, and
subsequently at Naxos, while he sent to Athens for a supply of money,
and to his Sicilian allies for a reinforcement of troops for the subse-
quent prosecution of hostilities.
The Syracusans passed the winter in active preparations for the
struggle. They built a new wall across the peninsula between the Bay
of Thapsus and the Great Port, thus covering their city on the west
and the north-west. At the same time they sent to Corinth and Sparta
for assistance, finding an unexpected ally in the latter city in the person
of Alcibiades, who had crossed from Italy to Greece and had received
a special invitation from the Spartans to come to their city, where he
was received with an honorable welcome, in spite of the former ani-
mosity between him and the Spartans, and his proffered services were
gladly accepted by the Lacedaemonians. At Sparta he gratified his
revenge against his Athenian countrymen by disclosing all their plans
and urging the Spartans to send an army into Sicily to thwart their
movements.
Alcibiades exhibited a remarkable proof of his self-command while
in Sparta. Aware of the simple and self-denying manner in which
the Spartans lived, he relinquished his effeminate manners and his rich
dress, and affected so much gravity of behavior and simplicity of attire
that the Lacedaemonians could scarcely realize that he had once been
the sprightly and voluptuous Alcibiades. He shaved his head, re-
stricted his diet to the coarse bread and black broth of the public tables
of Sparta, and made himself conspicuous for his austerity, even among
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 375
the rigid Lacedaemonians. His speech likewise acquired that laconic
style for which the Spartans were remarkable.
But the Athenians in the course of time found cause to regret that His
they had resorted to such harsh proceedings against their ablest leader. tions*
Under the guidance of Alcibiades, the Spartans adopted measures There,
which led to the disastrous failure of the Athenian expedition to Sicily
and caused several of the Athenian dependencies in Asia Minor and the
isles of the ^Sgean to revolt.
Alcibiades passed over into Asia Minor to incite the Ionian cities to He Loses
throw off the yoke of Athens, and he also negotiated an alliance between of the
Persia and Sparta, through Tissaphernes, the Persian satrap of Lydia. Spartans.
While he was thus absent from Lacedaemon, a strong party was formed
against him among the Spartan nobility, under the leadership of King
Agis I., and secret orders were dispatched to the Lacedaemonian gen-
eral in Ionia to put him to death ; but Alcibiades received intimation
as to what was in progress, and fled from the camp, seeking refuge in
Lydia, where his lively wit and winning manners soon made him a
favorite with Tissaphernes.
Nicias began the siege of Syracuse by the opening of the spring of Siege of
B. C. 414, by fortifying the heights of Epipolae, which commanded
the city. He also built a fort at Syke and dislodged the Syracusans
from the counter-walls which they were erecting. The Athenian fleet
was stationed in the Great Harbor; and the Syracusans, in despair of
offering an effectual resistance, sent messengers to negotiate terms for
the surrender of the city. But the heroic Lamachus had been slain,
and Nicias, who thus was left as sole commander of the Athenian ex-
pedition, did not exhibit sufficient activity to grasp the victory which
thus seemed to await him.
Just then Gylippus, the Spartan, reached the coast of Italy with Progress
four ships, and thinking that Syracuse and all Sicily were lost beyond Siege,
recovery, he endeavored to save only the cities on the peninsula. To
his great satisfaction, he ascertained that the Athenians had not actu-
ally finished their northern line of works around Syracuse. He has-
tened through the Straits of Messina, which he discovered were not
guarded, landed at Himera, and began to raise an army from the
Dorian cities of Sicily. With these troops he proceeded directly to
Syracuse over the heights of Epipolae, which Nicias had neglected to
hold. After he had entered the city, he sent orders to the Athenian
general to evacuate the island within five days. Nicias paid no re-
gard to the message, but the subsequent events attested that the Spar-
tan commander was master of the situation. He captured the Athenian
fort at Labalum, erected another upon the heights of Epipolae, and
connected it with Syracuse by a strong wall.
VOL. 3.— IS
876
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Athenian
Neces-
sities.
Desperate
Straits
of the
Besiegers.
Raising
of the
Siege of
Syracuse.
The towns of Sicily which had hesitated to take part in the struggle
now joined the winning side. Reinforcements for the Syracusans and
Spartans arrived from Corinth, Leucas and Ambracia. As Nicias was
unable to continue the siege with his present inadequate force, he with-
drew to the headland of Plemmyrium, south of the Great Port. His
vessels needed repair, his men were discouraged and disposed to desert,
and his health was impaired. He wrote to Athens, imploring for im-
mediate reinforcements for the army and for his recall. Athens itself
was at this time in a state of siege, as the Spartan king Agis I. was
encamped at Decelea, fourteen miles north of the city, in a position
commanding the entire plain of Athens. The public funds were well-
nigh exhausted, famine began to be felt, and the decreasing number
of citizens were worn out with the labor of defending the walls day and
night. But it was decided to send reinforcements to Nicias and also
to harass the Spartans in their own territory. With this view, Chari-
cles was sent to establish a military station on the south coast of La-
conia, like that of Pv'.os in Mcsseaia; while Demosthenes and Eurym-
edon proceeded with a fleet and army to Sicily. The first enterprise
succeeded, but the second was too late.
The Syracusans had been defeated in one naval engagement, but
they won a thorough victory in a second sea-fight, which lasted two
days, and the Athenian vessels were locked up in the extremity of the
harbor. The arrival of Demosthenes with fresh troops did something
toward checking the foe and encouraging the Athenians. Seeing at
once that Epipolze was the vital point, that Athenian commander used
every endeavor to accomplish its recapture, but all his efforts were
unavailing. Convinced that the siege was now hopeless, Demosthenes
urged Nicias to return to Athens and drive the Spartan invaders out
of Attica. But as Nicias remembered the bright anticipations and the
magnificent ceremonies with which the expedition had started from
Athens, he could not think of returning home with the humiliation of
an ignominious failure. Nor would he retire to Thapsus or Catana,
where Demosthenes pointed out the advantages of an open sea and
constant supplies of provisions. But when large reinforcements ar-
rived for Syracuse, the retreat of the Athenian forces became neces-
sary, and the plans were so well arranged that it could have been easily
accomplished without the enemy's knowledge.
Unfortunately for the Athenians, an eclipse of the moon occurred
on the very evening of the proposed retreat. The soothsayers con-
cluded that Artemis, the moon-goddess, the special protectress of Syra-
cuse, was manifesting her wrath against the Athenian assailants of the
city. They declared that the Athenian army must remain in its pres-
ent situation three times nine days. This delay enabled the Syracusans
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
877
to learn all about the intended retreat of the besiegers, and they deter-
mined to strike an effective blow before the defeated assailants should
effect their escape. A land and naval battle ensued. The Athenians
repulsed their assailants on land, but their fleet was completely defeated
and Eurymedon was slain.
The Syracusans now determined upon the complete destruction of Utter
their enemy, and with this view they blockaded the Great Harbor with Of the
a line of ships moored across its entrance. The only hope for the Athenian
Athenians was to break this line, and for this purpose Nicias made m^^at
preparations for another engagement. The hills surrounding the har- Syracuse,
bor were crowded with multitudes of spectators of either party, who
viewed with anxiety the conflict which was to decide their destinies.
The yachts of wealthy Syracusans covered the water, prepared to offer
their services whenever they might be required. The Athenians made
their first attack upon the barrier ships at the entrance of the harbor,
but were unsuccessful ; after which the Syracusan fleet of seventy-six
triremes engaged the Athenian fleet, which numbered one hundred and
ten triremes. The air resounded with the noise produced by the crash
of the iron prows, the shouts of the combatants, and the responding
groans or cheers of their friends upon the shore. The result was in
doubt for a long time, but finally the Athenian fleet commenced to
retreat toward the shore, whereupon a cry of despair seized the Athe-
nian army, which was answered by shouts of triumph from the pursuing
Syracusan vessels and the citizens on the walls of the city, whose siege
was thus raised.
The Athenian fleet was now reduced to sixty ships, and the Syra- Athe-
cusan to fifty. Nicias and Demosthenes endeavored to induce their trapped
followers to renew their attempt to force their way out of the harbor,
but they were so utterly disheartened that they absolutely refused to
engage in any more conflicts by sea. The Athenian army still
amounted to forty thousand men, and it was determined to retreat by
land to some friendly city, where they would be able to defend them-
selves until the arrival of transports. If this design had been imme-
diately put into execution it might have succeeded, as the Syracusans
had abandoned themselves to drunken revelries, in consequence of their
rejoicings over their victory and by the festival of Heracles, and did
not for the moment think of their fleeing foe. But Hermocrates, the
most prudent of the Syracusans, determined to prevent the contem-
plated Athenian movement. He sent messengers to the wall, who pre-
tended to come from spies of Nicias within the city, and warned the
Athenian generals not to move that night, because all the roads were
strongly guarded. Nicias was thus entrapped, and lost the last hope
of escape from his perilous situation.
878
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Continued
Athenian
Defeats.
Surrender
of the
Athenian
Com-
manders.
Athens
Deserted
by the
Allies.
Spartan
Alliance
with
Persia.
Athe-
nian
Succes-
ses.
On the second day after the battle, the Athenian army began its
march in the direction of the interior of the island, leaving the deserted
fleet in the harbor, the dead unburied, and the wounded to the ven-
geance of the enemy. On the third day of the march the road lay
over a steep cliff, guarded by a detachment of Syracusan troops. The
Athenians were repulsed in assaults upon this strong position for two
days, and their generals resolved during the night to turn in the direc-
tion of the sea. Nicias was successful in reaching the coast with the
van ; but Demosthenes lost his way, was overtaken by the foe and sur-
rounded in a narrow pass, where he surrendered the shattered remnants
of his army, then amounting to only six thousand men. The victorious
Syracusans then pursued Nicias and overtook him at the river Asinarus.
Great numbers of the Athenians perished in their endeavors to cross
the stream. Closely pressed by the army of Gylippus, the rear of the
Athenians rushed forward upon the spears of their comrades, or were
hurled down the steep banks and carried away by the swift current.
All discipline was at an end, and Nicias surrendered. The two Athe-
nian generals were condemned to death by the Syracusan council. The
common soldiers were imprisoned in stone-quarries, without food or
shelter, thus suffering greater miseries than all that had preceded. A
few of the survivors were sold into slavery, and in some cases their tal-
ents and accomplishments won for them the esteem and friendship of
their masters.
Amid their private grief and public consternation, the Athenians
discovered that they were being deserted by their allies. Alcibiades
was inciting revolts in Chios, which, along with Lesbos and Euboea,
solicited the assistance of Sparta to deliver them from the dominion of
Athens. The two Persian satraps of Asia Minor sent envoys to Sparta,
seeking her aid to overthrow the Athenian dominion in Asia Minor, and
pledging Persian gold for the whole expense. To the disgrace of
Sparta, she concluded a treaty at Miletus, to unite with Persia in a
war against Athens and to reestablish the Persian sway over all the
Greek cities of Asia Minor which were formerly thus ruled. This
clause was explained in a subsequent treaty to include all the islands
of the vEgean and also Thessaly and Boeotia, thus abandoning the
glorious field of Plataea to the Persians and establishing the Persian
frontier on the very borders of Attica. Miletus itself was at once sur-
rendered to Tissaphernes, the satrap of Lydia.
Amid the general defection of her allies, Samos remained faithful to
Athens and afforded a very important station for the Athenian fleet
during the remainder of the war. The Samians, taking warning from
the example of Chios, overthrew their oligarchical government, and
the democracy which took its place *#a& acknowledged by Athens as an
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
879
equal and independent ally. Athens now made great preparations.
The reserve fund of a thousand talents, which had not been touched
since the days of Pericles, was employed in fitting out a fleet against
Chios. The Athenians were now again victorious by sea and land.
They conquered Lesbos and Clazomenae, defeated the Chians, and also
the Spartans in a battle at Miletus. Miletus remained in the power
of the Persians and the Spartans, but these allies no longer entertained
a cordial friendship for each other. The Spartans felt disgraced by
their alliance with the great enemy of the Hellenic race, and Tissa-
phernes was now under the influence of Alcibiades, who persuaded the
satrap that the true interests of Persia did not permit any power in
Greece to become too powerful, but rather to let them exhaust each
other in mutual hostilities, and then seize the territories of both. This
advice operated mostly to the disadvantage of the Spartans, who were
now so strongly reinforced that they might have soon put an end to
the war. Accordingly Tissaphernes kept the Lacedaemonian fleet in-
active, waiting for the Phoenicians, vrho were never to make their ap-
pearance ; and when this pretext was no longer available, his gold was
employed in bribing the Sparfan commanders to cease from active
operations.
Alcibiades now endeavored ^o bring Tissaphernes into alliance with
Athens, and when he failed in this he sought to convince his Athenian
countrymen at Samos that he was able to bring about such an alliance,
as he only desired to be recalled to his native city. As he hated and
feared the Athenian democracy, he demanded, as the price of his inter-
cession with the Persian satrap, that a revolution should be effected in
Athens by which the oligarchical government should be established.
The Athenian generals at Samos agreed to his project, and Pisander
was sent to Athene to organize the political clubs in favor of the con-
templated oligarchical revolution.
When Pisander announced the project of Alcibiades in the popular
assembly at Athens, a great tumult ensued. The people remonstrated
against the surrender of their rights, and the Eumolpidae protested
against the return of a wretch who had been guilty of profaning the
Eleusinian Mysteries. Pisander was only allowed to plead the exhaus-
tion and the misery of the republic, but this plea was irrefutable, how-
ever distasteful it may have been. The people agreed to the change
in the constitution with great reluctance, and Pisander was sent with
ten colleagues to treat with Alcibiades. The exile was well aware that
he had promised more than he could fulfill ; and, to save his credit, he
received the eleven ambassadors in the presence of the Persian satrap,
and made such extravagant demands in his name that they broke up
the conference in anger and retired.
Alcibia-
des and
Tista-
phernes.
Machina-
tions of
Alcibia-
des.
Alcibia-
des
and His
Country-
men.
880
GREECE IX HER GI.OUY.
Revolu-
tion in
Athens.
Council
of Four
Hundred .
Troubles
of
Athens.
Athenian
Demo-
cratic
Constitu-
tion
Restored.
Spartan
Naval
Skill.
Though these ambassadors had been deceived by Alcibiades, they
had proceeded too far to recede from the contemplated revolution.
Pisander returned to Athens with five of his colleagues, while the other
five went about among the allies of Athens to establish oligarchies.
The old offices were abolished at Athens, where a Council of Four Hun-
dred, mostly self -constituted, ruled for four months (B. C. 4)11).
This council was authorized to convoke an assembly of five thousand
of the leading citizens for advice and aid in any emergency. As soon
as these four hundred oligarchs were invested with power, they sub-
verted every remnant of the free institutions of Athens. They treated
the Athenian people with the greatest insolence and severity, and sought
to perpetuate their usurped authority by raising a body of mercenary
troops in the islands of the ^Egean for the purpose of overawing and
enslaving their fellow-citizens. When the Athenian army in the island
of Samos received intelligence of the revolution in Athens and the
tyrannical proceedings of the oligarchical faction, the soldiers indig-
nantly refused to obey the new government and invited Alcibiades to
return among them and aid them in restoring the democratic constitu-
tion. He complied with their request, and the troops chose him for
their general as soon as he arrived in Samos. He then sent a message
to Athens, ordering the four hundred oligarchs to relinquish their
usurped authority at once, threatening them with deposition and death
at his hands if they refused.
The message of Alcibiades reached Athens at the time of the great-
est confusion and alarm. The four hundred oligarchs had quarreled
among themselves and were on the point of appealing to the sword.
The island of Euboea, from which the Athenians had for some time
mainly obtained their supplies of provisions, had again revolted from
Athens, and the Athenian fleet which had been sent to reduce it to sub-
mission had been destroyed by the Spartans, so that the coast of Attica
and the port of Athens itself were then without any defense.
In this distressing condition of affairs, the Athenian people, aroused
to desperation, rose against their oppressors, overthrew the govern-
ment of the four hundred oligarchs who had ruled for four months,
and reestablished their former republican institutions. Many of the
oligarchs were accused of treason for their dealings with the Spartans.
Most of them fled, but Archept61emus and Antiphon were tried and
executed.
The remaining portion of the Peloponnesian War was entirely mari-
time, and its scene of operations was on the coast of Asia Minor. By
long practice and close collision with the Athenians, the Spartans had
become almost equal to their great rivals in naval skill. Their atten-
tion to this arm of the service was attested by the annual appointment
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
881
of the navarchus, an officer who for the time being exercised greater
power than the kings, as he was above the jurisdiction of the Ephors.
Mindarus, the Spartan commander at Miletus, became so disgusted
with the fickle policy of Tissaphcrnes that he sailed for the Hellespont,
hoping to find the other Persian satrap of Asia Minor, Pharnabazus,
more stable as an ally of Sparta. Mindarus was pursued by the Athe-
nian fleet, under Thrasyllus, which, though smaller than the Spartan
fleet, won a great victory in the strait between Sestos and Abydos (B.
C. 411). Mindarus now sent for the allied fleet at Euboea, but it was
overtaken by a furious storm in passing Mount Athos and entirely
destroyed. The Athenians followed up their victory by capturing
Cyzicus, which had revolted from them ; and several weeks afterward
they won another great victory near Abydos, in consequence of the
timely assistance of Alcibiades.
In the spring of B. C. 410 Mindarus besieged Cyzicus, and the
Athenians resolved to relieve the town. They sailed up the Hellespont
in the night and assembled at Proconnesus. Alcibiades sailed toward
Cyzicus with his division of the Athenian fleet, and succeeded in entic-
ing Mindarus to some distance from the harbor, while the other Athe-
nian division stole between the Spartan fleet and the city and cut off
the retreat of Mindarus. In the battle which followed Mindarus was
slain, the Spartans and their Persian allies were routed, and the whole
Peloponncsian fleet was captured, excepting the Syracusan vessels,
which Hermocrates caused to be burned. This great Athenian naval
victory restored the control of the Propontis and the trade of the Eux-
ine to the Athenians. Ships laden with corn now reached Piraeus,
bringing relief to the starving poor of Athens ; and the Spartan king
Agis I., who still occupied the heights of Decelea, in the forlorn hope
of starving Athens into surrender, was utterly discouraged.
The Persian satrap Pharnabazus was in the meantime assisting the
Spartans by all the means at his command. He fed and clothed, armed
and paid their seamen, permitted them to cut timber in the forests of
Mount Ida and to build their ships at his docks of Antandros. Through
his aid, Chalcedon, on the Bosphorus, was able to make a defense of two
years against Alcibiades, but it finally surrendered in B. C. 408 ;
Selymbria and Byzantium being taken about the same time.
These repeated Athenian victories restored the credit of Alcibiades,
who was in consequence welcomed back to Athens amid transports of
joy, in B. C. 407. All the Athenian people met him at Piraeus, with
as much rejoicing and enthusiasm as when they had escorted him
thither eight years previously, when he sailed on the fatal expedition
to Sicily. Chaplets of flowers were showered upon his head, and amidst
the most enthusiastic acclamations he proceeded to the Agora, where
Athenian
Naval
Victories.
Battle
of
Cyzicus.
Pharna-
bazus.
Athenian
Succes-
ses.
Alcibia-
des
Recalled
to
Athens.
882
GREECE IX HER GLORY.
Cyrus the
Younger
and
Lysander.
Second
Disgrace
and
Fall of
Alcibia-
des.
His
Wander-
ing
Exile.
he addressed the assembly of the people in a speech of such eloquence
and power that the people placed a crown of gold upon his head when
he had finished, while they vested him with the supreme command of
the military and naval forces of Athens. He protested his innocence
before the Senate and the people. His sentence was reversed by ac-
clamation, his confiscated property was restored to him, and the Eumol-
pidse, or priests, were directed to revoke the curses which they had for-
merly pronounced upon him. Before he had departed with the large
fleet and army now at his command, he determined to atone to Demeter
for the sacrilege he had committed against her by burlesquing the
Eleusinian Mysteries, celebrated in honor of that goddess. The sacred
procession from Athens to Eleusis had been intermitted during these
seven years, on account of the close proximity of the Spartan army.
Alcibiades now postponed his departure, in order to escort and protect
those who took part in the sacred ceremonies of the Mysteries.
When two new officers arrived upon the scene of war in the JSgean,
the tide of battle turned against Athens. One of these officers was the
younger Cyrus, the brother of the Persian king, Artaxerxes Mnemon.
The other was Lysander, the new Spartan navarchus, who assumed the
command of the Peloponnesian fleet at Ephesus. These two acted in
unison in adopting measures for severe and unrelenting war against the
Athenians. The Spartan admiral augmented the pay of his seamen
with the gold which the Persian prince lavishly bestowed upon his ally.
By this timely liberality, Lysander won over large numbers from the
allies in the Athenian fleet, and rendered such as did not desert, dis-
satisfied and mutinous.
Alcibiades found the situation less favorable than he had hoped, upon
arriving with the Athenian fleet. The Spartan troops were better paid
and equipped than his own, and he resorted to levying forced contri-
butions on friendly states, in order to raise funds. While he was ab-
sent on one of these forays he left the Athenian fleet in charge of one
of his officers named Antfochus, who, contrary to express orders, en-
gaged in battle with the Spartan fleet and was defeated with heavy
loss. When the news of this event reached Athens a violent clamor
was excited against Alcibiades, who was accused of having neglected
his duty, and was in consequence dismissed from all his offices. Upon
hearing of this, he left the fleet and retired to a fortress which he had
constructed in the Thracian Chersonesus, where he gathered around
him a band of military adventurers, with whose aid he engaged in a
predatory warfare with the neighboring tribes of Thrace. Thus the
fallen pupil of Socrates became a brigand and a pirate.
Alcibiades did not long survive his second disgrace. When he found
his residence in Thrace insecure, because of the increasing power of
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
883
his Spartan enemies, he crossed the Hellespont into Asia Minor and
settled in Bithynia. But when he was there attacked and plundered
by the Thracians, he proceeded into Phrygia, placing himself under
the protection of the Persian satrap Pharnabazus. But the unfortu-
nate chief was even followed thither by the unrelenting hostility of
the Spartans, who privately urged Pharnabazus to put him to death.
The treacherous Persian, in order to gain the favor of the Lacedae-
monians, yielded to their wishes, and appointed two of his own relatives
to assassinate the fallen chief whom he had promised to protect.
Alcibiades was then living in a small country village, when the assas-
sins surrounded his house one- night and set it on fire. Being roused
from his sleep by the fire, he instantly realized the facts in the case.
He hastily wrapped his robe around his left hand, grasped his dagger
in his right, sprang through the flames, and safely reached the open
air. His great fame for personal strength and valor deterred his assas-
sins from resisting his attack at close quarters, or from trying to oppose
his advance, but they retired a short distance and killed him with a
shower of arrows. Timandra, who had accompanied Alcibiades in all
his later wanderings, was left alone to dress his body and perform
his funeral obsequies.
Thus perished one of the ablest public men of ancient Greece, about
the fortieth year of his age (B. C. 403). He was celebrated as a war-
rior, a statesman and an orator. He was noble and generous in his
nature, and if he had not lacked integrity he would be worthy of our
admiration. His want of principle and his ungovernable passions led
him to the commission of many grievous blunders, which contributed
vastly to aggravate the misfortunes which eventually overtook him.
After dismissing Alcibiades the Athenians appointed ten generals,
with Conon at their head. When Conon arrived to assume command
of the Athenian fleet, Callicratidas superseded Lysander as the Spartan
navarchus (B. C. 406). Callicratidas was coldly received both by his
own Lacedaemonian countrymen and by their Persian allies, whom Ly-
sander had designedly prejudiced against him. Cyrus refused to see
him or assist him. Callicratidas thereupon sailed to Miletus and urged
its citizens to renounce the Persian alliance. Many wealthy citizens
aided him with liberal contributions of money, with which he equipped
fifty new triremes and sailed to Lesbos with a fleet twice as large as
that of the Athenians.
Callicratidas engaged in a battle with Conon in the harbor of Mity-
lene, in which the Athenians lost almost half of their ships and only
saved the remainder by drawing them ashore under the walls of the
city. The victorious Spartan commander then blockaded Mitylene by
sea and land; and the younger Cyrus, seeing his success, aided him
Assassi-
nation
of
Alcibia-
des.
His
Charac-
ter
Conon
and
Callicrati-
das.
Blockade
of
Mitylene.
884
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Athenian
Victory.
Lysander
and
Conon.
Battle
of
JEgoa-
Potamos.
End
of the
Athenian
Empire.
with supplies of money. Athens made great efforts as soon as Conon's
condition was known. A large Athenian fleet was sent out in a few
days, and, after being reinforced by the allies at Samos, reached the
south-eastern extremity of Lesbos, numbering one hundred and fifty
vessels. Callicratidas left fifty ships to continue the blockade of Mity-
lene, and sailed to meet his adversary.
A long and terrible conflict ensued, but Callicratidas was at length
cast overboard and drowned, and the Athenians were victorious. The
Spartans had lost twenty-seven vessels, and their fleet at Mitylene has-
tily retired, leaving the harbor open for Conon and his victorious fleet
to escape.
At the beginning of the next year (B. C. 405), Lysander was again
entrusted with the command of the Spartan fleet. As his numbers
were still inferior to those of the Athenian fleet, he avoided an engage-
ment, but he crossed the ^Egean to the coast of Attica for a personal
interview with King Agis I., and then sailed to the Hellespont, where
he laid siege to Lampsacus. The Athenian fleet under Conon pursued
him, but did not arrive in time to save the town from capture. Conon
stationed his fleet at ^Egos-Potamos (Goat's River), on the northern,
or European side of the Hellespont, with the design of provoking the
Lacedaemonian fleet to an engagement. The Athenians were upon a
barren plain; but the Spartans were better situated and abundantly
supplied with provisions, and were therefore in no great hurry to com-
mence the conflict. Alcibiades, then living in his own castle in that
vicinity, perceived the peril of his Athenian countrymen, and advised
their commanders to remove to Sestos, but his counsels were resented
as impertinent. The Athenians ascribed the delay of the Lacedae-
monians to cowardice, and gradually became more and more negligent
of discipline.
Finally Lysander improved the opportunity when the Athenian sea-
men were dispersed over the country, and crossed the narrow strait with
the whole Spartan force, in September, B. C. 405. Only a dozen
vessels of the Athenian fleet, under the personal command of Conon,
were fit for battle; and the entire fleet, excepting the flag-ship, the
sacred Paralus, and eight or ten others, were captured by the Spartans
without a blow. Three or four thousand prisoners, including officers
and men, were massacred, in revenge for the cruelties which the Athe-
nians had recently inflicted upon their captives. The disaster to the
Athenian navy at ^Egos-Potamos was the death-blow to the Athenian
empire. Chalcedon, Byzantium and Mitylene shortly afterwards sur-
rendered to the triumphant Lacedaemonians ; and all the Athenian towns,
except that of Samos, submitted to the victorious foe without resistance.
The Spartans everywhere subverted popular governments and estab-
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.
885
lished a new form of oligarchy, composed of ten citizens, with a Spar-
tan officer, called a harmost, at their head.
Intelligence of the great calamity which had befallen Athens reached
Piraeus at night. A cry of grief and despair immediately spread from
the port to Athens itself, as each person informed his neighbor of the
dreadful tidings. Says Xenophon, who was then in Athens : " That
night no man slept." The next morning the assembly of the people
was convened to deliberate upon measures for the preservation of the
city. The situation of Athens was most desperate, as her very exis-
tence was at stake. Even if no hostile force approached the city,
Lysander could reduce it by starvation, as he held command of the
Euxine. The number of Athenian citizens was so diminished that even
criminals could not be spared from the public service. All prisoners
were liberated, with the exception of a few murderers and desperate
villains. Private offenses were lost sight of in the common peril, and
all Athenians united in a solemn oath of mutual forgiveness.
Two months after the Athenian calamity at JEgos-Potamos, Lysan-
der reached ^Egina with an overwhelming Spartan naval force; while
the Peloponnesian army at the same time encamped in the shady groves
of Academia, near the gates of Athens. Although starvation was
already creating havoc among the Athenians, they were still resolute
in spirit ; and when the Spartan Ephors offered peace on condition that
Athens should consent to the destruction of her Long Walls, an Athe-
nian Senator was imprisoned for simply discussing the acceptance of
such terms. When the Athenians finally sent offers of surrender, three
months were consumed in useless debate before the terms were agreed
upon. The Thebans and the Corinthians insisted upon an uncondi-
tional surrender, and that the very name of Athens should be extin-
guished, the city to be entirely destroyed, and the Athenian people to
be sold into slavery. The Spartans, more generous, refused to " put
out one of the eyes of Greece," or to enslave a people who had per-
formed such great services to the entire Hellenic race in the great
emergency of the Persian invasion.
It was ultimately agreed that the Long Walls and the fortifications
of Piraeus should be destroyed, that the Athenian ships of war should
be surrendered, that all Athenian exiles should be restored to citizen-
ship, and that Athens should relinquish all her foreign possessions (B.
C. 404). These severe conditions were enforced with unnecessary in-
solence. Lysander himself presided at the demolition of the walls ;
and the work, which was difficult on account of the solidity of the walls,
was turned into a kind of festal celebration. A chorus of flute-players
and dancers, wreathed in flowers, encouraged and enlivened the work-
men engaged in the task; and as the stupendous walls built under the
Dismay
in
Athens.
Siege
of
Athens.
Negotia-
tions for
Sur-
render.
Fall of
Athens.
886
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Former
Cruelty
and
Tyranny
of
Athens.
auspices of Pericles fell, stone by stone, the army of destruction sent
up shouts of triumph, as they regarded this day as the dawn of the
liberties of the Grecian states which had so long been held under the
domination of Athens.
Thus ended the Athenian supremacy in Greece (B. C. 404), after
a continuance of seventy-three years from the date of the formation
of the Confederacy of Delos (B. C. 477-B. C. 404). The power
which had been conferred on Athens for the common defense against
the Persians had in some instances been exercised by her in an oppres-
sive manner over her subject allies, and her later history is disgraced
by many cruel acts. Though the political ascendency of Athens thus
ceased to exist, her intellectual dominion has remained imperishable ;
as her art, poetry, oratory and philosophy have continued to reign
supreme in the civilized world to the present time for a period of over
two thousand years.
Spartan
Ascend-
ency.
The
Thirty
Tyrants
of
Athens.
Their
Tyranny
and
Cruelty.
SECTION IV.— SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
SPARTA, in alliance with Persia, became the leading state of Greece
after the downfall of the Athenian ascendancy by the capture of
Athens by Lysander. All the Grecian cities yielded to the influence
of Lacedamion by abolishing their free governments and establishing
oligarchies in their stead. Athens herself abolished her democratic con-
stitution, and her government was entrusted by the Spartans to thirty
officers, whose oppressive, rapacious and sanguinary administration ere
long obtained for them the title of the Thirty Tyrants, by which desig-
nation they have always been known in history.
Critias was the leader of these unjust and cruel rulers, who unscru-
pulously put to death all whom they suspected of being friendly to free
institutions, or who had wealth that might be confiscated. As Critias
had been formerly banished from Athens by a vote of the people, he
now wreaked his revenge with the utmost cruelty upon the best and
noblest citizens. Blood was the order of the day; and imprisonments,
fines and confiscations were of hourly occurrence. By the advice of
Theramenes, who headed a more moderate party, three thousand citi-
zens were selected from the partisans of the Thirty Tyrants, whose
sanction was indispensable to important proceedings. But all, except
this enfranchised class, were placed beyond the protection of law and
were liable to be put to death at any moment at the word of the tyrants,
without even the form of a trial. A list was made of those who were
destined to be put to death, and any of the ruling party were allowed
to add such names to this list as either avarice or hate suggested. The
From Stereograph, copyright 1903 by Underwood &• Underwood
THEBES, IN GREECE
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
887
wealthiest citizens were the first victims, as the estate of the murdered
man reverted to his accuser. Theramenes, in his turn, was offered a
wealthy alien to assassinate and plunder, but rejected the proposition
with indignation. This refusal implied a protest against the reign of
terror, for which he paid with his life. He was denounced as a public
enemy, his name was stricken off from the role of the Thirty Tyrants
and also from that of the Three Thousand, and he was sentenced to
immediate execution. He sprang to the altar in the Senate-House;
but there was no longer any fear of divine vengeance, nor any human-
ity or justice, in the rulers of Athens. He was taken to prison and
condemned to drink the poison hemlock. The executions in Athens
were so numerous that more Athenians perished during the eight months
in which the Thirty Tyrants ruled than during the severest ten years
of the Peloponnesian War. Multitudes of Athenians fled from their
blood-stained city and sought refuge in Boeotia and other neighboring
Grecian states.
The reaction had already set in, both in ill-fated Athens and through-
out Greece. In her humiliation, Athens no longer excited the fear or
jealousy of her former allies; while Sparta was setting up a new em-
pire in Greece far more oppressive than that of her fallen rival, instead
of proceeding in such a manner as to deserve the title of " Liberator
of the Greeks." Even in Sparta itself, Lysander's pride and harsh-
ness aroused discontent, and the Thirty Tyrants of Athens were re-
garded by every one as the instruments of his scheming ambition.
A small band of Athenian exiles in Thebes at last resolved upon
striking a blow for the deliverance of their countrymen, and placed
themselves under the leadership of Thrasybulus, an able Athenian gen-
eral, then also living in exile in Boeotia, and seized the fortress of
Phyle, in the mountain barrier of Attica, on the road to Athens ; and
this fortress at once became the rallying-point for the friends of Athe-
nian freedom. Thrasybulus soon found himself at the head of seven
hundred men. The Thirty Tyrants, with the Spartan garrison in the
Acropolis and the Three Thousand, marched out to attack them, but
were repulsed with vigor, while a snow-storm interfered with their pur-
pose to lay siege to the fortress, and they were obliged to retire to the
city. Perceiving the doom of their power, the Thirty now committed
another horrible atrocity, in order to secure for themselves a place of
refuge. They caused all the inhabitants of Salamis and Eleusis capa-
ble of bearing arms to be brought as prisoners to Athens, while the
towns were occupied with garrisons in their own interest; after which
they filled the Odeon with Spartan soldiers and the Three Thousand,
and extorted from this assembly a vote for the instant massacre of the
prisoners from Salamis and Eleusis.
2—18
Reaction
Thrasy-
bulus
and the
Revolt
against
the
Thirty
Tyrants
888
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Over-
throw
of the
Thirty
Tyrants.
Council
of Ten.
Its
Tyranny.
Spartan
Blockade
of
Athens.
Lysander
and
Pau-
sanias.
Pacifica-
tion.
Athenian
Demo-
cratic
Institu-
tions
Restored.
The repulse of the force which the tyrants had sent against Thrasy-
bulus encouraged many Athenian citizens to flock to his standard, and
he soon found himself strong enough to attempt the deliverance of
Athens itself. Supported by the popular indignation at the brutal
tyranny of the Thirty, Thrasybulus marched with a thousand men to
Piraeus, seized the port without opposition, and fortified himself upon
its castle-hill, Munychia. The entire Spartan party in Athens marched
against him, but was defeated with heavy loss, Critias himself being
slain. This unexpected success of Thrasybulus filled the Thirty and
their unscrupulous adherents with consternation ; and shortly afterward
the citizens of Athens, emboldened by the repulse of the tyrants in their
attack upon Thrasybulus, rose in open revolt, deposed the Thirty, who
had reigned only eight months, and appointed a Council of Ten in their
stead, to administer the government of Athens provisionally and to
effect an understanding with Thrasybulus and his followers in Piraeus.
But the Council of Ten had no sooner been entrusted with authority
by the Athenian people than its members began to show a disposition
as antagonistic to popular rights as that exhibited by the Thirty Ty-
rants ; and, instead of seeking to bring about a reconciliation of parties,
they sent ambassadors to Sparta to solicit assistance to crush the insur-
rection of Thrasybulus. Messengers also arrived at Sparta with a like
request from the deposed Thirty Tyrants, who, after their overthrow,
had retired to Eleusis. The Lacedaemonians readily complied with the
requests made to them, and sent Lysander with an army to force the
Athenians to submit to the government of the Thirty Tyrants. While
Lysander entered Athens with a Spartan army, his brother blockaded
Piraeus with a Lacedaemonian fleet.
Lysander would probably have compelled Thrasybulus to surrender,
had not a party hostile to him obtained the ascendency in Sparta in
this critical emergency. This party was anxious to prevent Lysander
from acquiring the glory of conquering Athens a second time, and for
this reason they appointed Pausanias to the chief command of the
Lacedaemonian army in Attica, whither he instantly proceeded at the
head of a large army. After being first repulsed, Pausanias defeated
Thrasybulus. As soon as Pausanias had arrived at Piraeus he showed
an indisposition to continue the war begun for the purpose of replacing
Lysander's partisans in an authority which they had so grossly misused,
and, with his sanction, a treaty was concluded between the Athenians
in the city and those holding possession of Piraeus.
This pacification provided for a general amnesty for all past offenses,
except those of the Thirty Tyrants and their eleven cruel executioners,
and those of the Council of Ten; while the democratic institutions of
Athens were to be reestablished. The exiles were restored, and Thrasy-
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
889
bulus and his comrades marched in solemn procession from Piraeus, to
present their thank-offerings to Athene on the Acropolis. An assembly
of the people afterwards annulled all the acts of the Thirty Tyrants,
restored the archons, the judges, and the Senate, or Council of Five
Hundred, and ordered a revised code of the laws of Draco and Solon.
Thrasybulus and his party were rewarded with olive wreaths for their
deliverance of Athens.
With a clemency which the Thirty Tyrants had never shown to
others, those blood-thirsty monsters were permitted to reside safely at
Eleusis. But these wretches, ungrateful for the leniency thus shown
them, soon plotted for the subversion of the popular government at
Athens. When the Athenians ascertained that these bad men were
raising a body of mercenary troops to be employed against the liberties
of the people, they marched to Eleusis and put the deposed tyrants and
their chief supporters to death.
Athens, under her restored democracy, though fallen from her former
greatness, rejoiced in the restoration of her old laws; while the city,
the temples, and all the old customs and beliefs were regarded with
increased veneration. This regard for the past displayed itself in its
worst form in the condemnation and death of the immortal Socrates,
the wisest, the most virtuous, and the most celebrated of Grecian phi-
losophers. He did not belong to any political party, and opposed the
extreme measures of both the aristocracy and the democracy. He had
served the republic in civil capacities and had fought against its ene-
mies on many battlefields. He had ever used his power as a citizen
on the side of justice and mercy. Critias, the leader of the cruel and
tyrannical Thirty, had been his pupil, but when in power he hated
and persecuted his former tutor. He was now accused by the restored
democracy of despising the gods of Athens, of introducing religious
innovations, and of corrupting the morals of the young.
Socrates was born at Athens in B. C. 470. His parents were in
humble circumstances. His father, Sophroniscus, was a statuary
of little reputation, while his mother was a midwife. In his youth,
Socrates aided his father in his profession, but he subsequently relin-
quished the chisel and devoted himself to the more important duties of
a public teacher. He received a good education, in spite of his fath-
er's limited means.
He began his career as a public teacher in a plain and unpretentious
manner, which contrasted remarkably with the affected mystery and
the ostentatious display of learning with which many of the Grecian
tutors endeavored to win the attention and respect of the people. He
went about without shoes and attired in a poor cloak at every season
of the year; and, instead of confining himself to splendid halls and
Plots and
Death
of the
Fallen
Thirty
Tyrants.
Socrates.
His
Youth.
As a
Public
Teacher.
890
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
His
Disciples.
His
Teach-
ings.
Belief in
God.
Other
Deities.
Serenity
of
Socrates.
Duties
as a
Citizen.
porticoes, he passed the entire day in the public walks, the gymnasia,
the market-place, the courts, and other places of general resort, rea-
soning and conversing on moral or philosophical questions with every
one whom he met, rich or poor, learned or ignorant.
Wherever he went he was followed by a circle of admiring disciples,
who acquired from him the spirit of free inquiry and were inspired
with some of his zeal for the greatest good, for religion, for truth, and
for virtue. Among the most famous of his disciples were Crito, Alci-
biades, Xenophon, Plato, Aristippus, Phaedon, Cebes and Euclid. He
taught them in ethics, politics, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic and geom-
etry, and he read with them the works of the leading poets and pointed
out their beauties.
He pointed out the difference between religion and impiety. He
explained what constituted justice and injustice, reason and folly,
courage and cowardice, the noble and ignoble. He spoke of systems
of government and the qualities essential in a magistrate. He taught
on other subjects with which every honorable man and every good citi-
zen should be familiar. He gave a practical turn to all his inquiries,
as he maintained that virtue is the object of all knowledge.
He sincerely believed in the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient,
omnipresent and benignant God, the original cause and the ruler of
the entire universe. The entire field of nature, and particularly the
wonderful structure of the human body, appeared to him as furnish-
ing abundant evidence of an intelligent Creator. He considered it
rash to speculate upon the substance of this Great Being, and regarded
it as sufficient to point out his spiritual nature in an intelligible light.
Although he believed in one God, the Supreme Ruler of the entire
universe, he also recognized the existence of other deities whom he
appears to have considered as subordinate intelligences, possessing a
certain amount of influence over human affairs and deserving rever-
ence and worship. He always spoke respectfully of the national re-
ligion of Greece and observed its prescribed rites with regularity.
Socrates was distinguished above every other Grecian philosopher
for the unruffled serenity of his mind. He permitted no calamity to
unbalance his temper. His wife, Xantippe, was noted for her violent
temper. He was nevertheless extremely kind to her, and sought to
smooth the roughness of her temper; and when he found all his efforts
of no avail, he considered her frequent scoldings as an indispensable
discipline, calculated to teach him patience and self-control.
Socrates always treated his body as though it were a servant, and
inured it to privations of all kinds. Moderation became an easy vir-
tue to him, and he retained his youthful vigor of body and mind to
old age. He was ever ready to discharge his duties as a citizen, how-
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
ever they might conflict with his favorite studies and his professional
work as a public instructor. He served in the armies of his country
on three different occasions. First, at the age of thirty-nine, he took
part in the siege of Potidsa, where he surpassed his fellow-soldiers in
the ease with which he withstood the hardships of a winter campaign,
distinguished himself by his bravery, saved the life of his young friend,
Alcibiades, and subsequently, with commendable generosity, relin-
quished in his favor the prize of honor which his own valor had de-
served. Seven years later Socrates bore arms the second time, and was
one of the last to retreat from the field after the disastrous battle of
Delium. During this retreat he saved the life of Xenophon, who was
severely 'wounded, and who, in gratitude for this service, wrote the lif e
of his preceptor and benefactor, and transmitted to posterity the max-
ims of this great philosopher. Socrates would himself have been slain
in this retreat, had it not been for the opportune aid of Alcibiades,
who was thus enabled to repay the like service which his tutor had
rendered him at the siege of Potidaea.
Socrates subsequently served the Athenian republic in a civil capac-
ity. In his sixty-fifth year he became a member of the Council of
Five Hundred, and attained the dignity of president — a position which
none could fill for more than one day. On the day in which he exer-
cised this duty, he obtained the acquittal of ten innocent men, who had
been falsely accused by an angry party of citizens, who clamored for
their execution ; but no threats or violent language had the least par-
ticle of influence upon the inflexible justice of Socrates.
In the time of Socrates there was a class of teachers in Athens called
Sophists, who deduced correct conclusions from false premises and were
ready to defend vice as well as virtue. It was to destroy the influence
of these Sophists that Socrates discoursed with the people in the streets
and in the workshops of Athens. The great and good philosopher
exposed the false reasonings and the pernicious doctrines of the
Sophists, who professed to teach every branch of human knowledge,
declaring that they knew everything and were familiar with law, poli-
tics, philosophy, the fine arts, etc. They frequently endeavored to
embarrass and confound the great mind of Socrates himself, by means
of their miserable quibbling and playing upon words. His eminent
disciple, the philosopher Plato, has transmitted to us an amusing ac-
count of one of these disputations, in which two Sophists tried to
prove to Socrates that he was able to speak and remain silent at the
same time, that he had a father and had no father, that a dog was his
father, and that his father was everybody's father.
The right and vigorous judgment of the great philosopher was too
much for the subtleties of the Sophists, and in his contests with them
vox. 3.— 13
Military
Services.
Civil
Services.
Socrates
and the
Sophists.
He
Refutes
Them.
892
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Accusa-
tions
against
Him.
Trial and
Condem-
nation.
Resigna-
tion of
Socrates.
he always succeeded in exposing the fallacies involved in their argu-
ments and in drawing forth the truth from the errors and absurdities
under which they had hidden it in so artful a manner. In his disputa-
tions with the Sophists, Socrates used with success his favorite and
singular mode of arguing, by asking them a series of questions and
leading them by degrees to make such admissions as proved fatal to
their side of the question. By such means he overcame his opponents
and really forced them to refute themselves with their own mouths.
Socrates did not teach any system of philosophy; but, by enforcing
the maxim " Know Thyself " upon his pupils, he sought to induce
them to discover the truth for themselves.
Notwithstanding the great services which Socrates had rendered to
his country and to the great cause of truth and virtue, he was des-
tined to endure the full weight of popular ingratitude. The closing
period of his life happened to fall in that unfortunate time for Athens
when that state had sunk into a condition combining the worst evils
of anarchy and despotism, consequent upon the calamitous results of
the Peloponnesian War. Amid the general immorality then prevailing
in Athens, in consequence of the revolution in the government, hatred
and envy discovered opportunities to carry out their nefarious designs.
A base faction, under the leadership of a young Milesian, accused
Socrates before the assembly of the people of having introduced new
gods and of denying the old deities of the state, alleging that by this
and other practices he had corrupted the minds of the young. The
enemies of the great philosopher endeavored to support their accusa-
tions by perverted statements of his language and by expressions de-
tached from the connection which modified them. Conscious of his
moral purity, Socrates disdained to make a labored defense of his
character. He had no fear of death nor any respect for his judges.
With brevity and noble dignity, he showed that the charges against
him lacked any foundation whatever, and alluded to the services which
he had rendered to the republic. But the boldness and freedom with
which he spoke only tended to excite his ignorant and prejudiced
judges against him, and he was condemned, by a majority of three
voices, to die by drinking poison.
Socrates was then led to prison to await the day on which he waa
to meet his death. His mind continued tranquil and undisturbed, and
he was still consoled by a clear conscience and by religious and moral
feeling. The execution of the death-sentence was delayed by an acci-
dental circumstance. The day after his condemnation was the one on
which the sacred vessel, Paralus, sailed on its annual mission from
Athens for the sacred isle of Delos, with offerings to the god Apollo ;
and, in accordance with ancient usage, no execution could take place
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
893
until this consecrated ship's return. The great philosopher thus ob-
tained a respite of thirty days, which was an important delay for him
and his disciples. His friends assembled in his apartment every morn-
ing, and he conversed with them, as was his habit to do. He encour-
aged them in the path of virtue, instructed them in the subjects which
he had investigated, and, by his own example, showed them that real
happiness followed obedience to his precepts. In his hours of solitude
he composed a hymn to Apollo and arranged in verse several of JEsop's
fables. The resignation of Socrates contrasted remarkably with the
grief of his friends, at the thought of his approaching death. They
contrived a plan for his escape and bribed the jailor, but the consent
of Socrates himself was necessary to the success of the project. From
his known principles, his friends feared that the philosopher would
not sanction their scheme, but they resolved to make the effort. Crito,
his old and tried friend, sought to persuade him to agree to their
plans.
Early in the morning of the next to the last day, Crito visited His Last
Socrates with this end in view. As the good man was still asleep, Crito Days.
sat down gently beside his bed and waited until he awoke, when he was
informed by Crito concerning the unanimous request of his friends,
urging every motive suggested by the singular circumstances of Soc-
rates, especially the care of his family, to induce him to save his life,
if possible. After Crito had finished, Socrates thanked him for this
evidence of his affection, but declared that he could not reconcile flight
with his principles.
Finally the fatal day arrived when he was to drink the poison. His The Fata*
family and friends gathered early to pass the last hours with him. His ay*
wife, Xantippe, was intensely affected, and expressed her grief by loud
cries. Socrates made a signal to Crito to have her removed, as he
desired to pass his last moments in tranquillity. The philosopher then
talked with his friends, first respecting his verses; then regarding sui-
cide, of which he disapproved in strong terms ; and lastly, in reference
to the immortality of the soul — a doctrine in which he firmly believed.
He passed most of the day in these interesting discussions, and spoke
with such feeling and confidence of his hopes of enjoying the happy
society of the good and the great in the next world that he seemed to
his friends to be already more like a glorified spirit than a dying man.
The approach of daybreak at length warned him that the fatal hour His
had arrived. He asked for the cup of poison hemlock; and when he Death,
took it into his hand his friends were overwhelmed with such grief that
they burst into tears and loud lamentations. Socrates alone was calm
and composed. He slowly drank the hemlock, and then consoled his
friends as he walked up and down the apartment. When he found it
894
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Repent-
ance of
His
Country-
men.
Spartan
Youth at
His
Tomb.
Spartan
Suprem-
acy.
Sparta
and Elis.
difficult to walk, he lay himself down upon his couch ; and, before the
vital spark had left him, he exclaimed : " My friends, we owe a cock
— the emblem of life — to Esculapius." This reference to the god of
medicine evinced his desire to honor the religious usages of his country
in his final moments. He then covered his head with his cloak, and
passed away in the seventieth year of his age (B. C. 399).
Soon after his death, his fickle countrymen repented of their harsh
treatment towards him, acknowledged his innocence, and considered
their calamities a punishment for their injustice towards him. They
reversed his sentence, put his accusers to death, banished others who
had plotted his destruction, and erected a brazen statue in his honor.
His memory was so revered that the different philosophical sects which
afterwards arose, all claimed to have originated from his school, and
were proud to be honored by his name, even while they rejected or mis-
represented his doctrines.
History has preserved an affecting incident in connection with the
death of Socrates. A Spartan youth who heard of his fame and wis-
dom so anxiously desired to see the philosopher that he traveled to
Athens on foot for that purpose. Upon arriving at the gates of the
celebrated city, he inquired for Socrates; and upon being informed
that the great and good man had died by the decree of his own coun-
trymen, his grief and horror knew no bounds. The sorrowing youth
turned from the city and inquired for the tomb of Socrates, going
thither and bursting into tears as soon as he had reached the spot.
He slept upon the tomb that night, and the next morning started on
his sad journey back to Lacedaemon.
As we have already observed, the immediate result of the Pelopon-
nesian War was to transfer to Sparta the political ascendency previ-
ously exercised in the affairs of Greece by Athens ; and for some years
the Lacedaemonians exercised an almost unlimited supremacy over
the other Grecian states.
The Elians were the first to feel the unrestricted power of Sparta.
As guardians of the sacred grove at Olympia, where the Olympic
Games were celebrated, they had excluded the Spartans from the na-
tional games at the time when the Athenians appeared with such mag-
nificence under the direction of Alcibiades, and they had likewise borne
arms against them, as allies of the Argives and the Mantineans (B. C.
420-B. C. 416). They had capped the climax of their insults by
ejecting the Spartan king Agis I. from their temple when he had come
with sacrifices to consult the oracle. Agis now demanded satisfaction,
and when the Elians refused to give it, he invaded Elis with a large
Lacedaemonian army, but retired in superstitious alarm upon the oc-
currence of an earthquake (B. C. 402). The next year he recovered
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
895
his courage ; and with a large number of allies, among whom were
even the Athenians, he overran and plundered the sacred land and per-
formed by forcible means the sacrifice which he had not been permitted
to offer peaceably. This victorious expedition encouraged the Spar-
tan king to direct his vengeance against the Messenians who had been
settled in the Laconian territory or upon the adjacent islands, and he
drove away or enslaved all of them (B. C. 401).
King Agis I. died the following year (B. C. 400), and was suc-
ceeded in his crown by his brother Agesilaiis, who was brave, honest
and energetic — virtues which the circumstances of his reign demanded.
The alliance between Sparta and Persia and the pecuniary assistance
which the Persians had rendered to the Spartans contributed largely
to the Lacedaemonian triumph over Athens in the Peloponnesian War,
as that aid enabled the Spartans to pay and provision the large army
and navy which they were obliged to maintain. But the countenance
and aid which the Lacedaemonians gave to the younger Cyrus in his
unsuccessful attempt to wrest the Persian crown from his brother,
King Artaxerxes Mnemon, in B. C. 401, brought on a renewal of the
old hostility between the Greeks and the Persians.
In compliance with the request of Cyrus for Spartan aid in his re-
volt against his brother, the Lacedaemonians requited him for the as-
sistance he had extended to them against Athens in the Peloponnesian
War, by sending him a detachment of eight thousand heavy-armed
troops and ordering their admiral on the Ionian coast to cooperate
with the fleet of Cyrus and to act in obedience to his orders. The
Spartans also granted Cyrus permission to raise recruits in every part
of Greece, so that he soon had a force of about thirteen thousand
Grecian mercenaries, over ten thousand of whom were heavy-armed,
and the remainder targeteers. At Sardis, the capital of Lydia, the
Greek auxiliaries joined the main body of the army of Cyrus, com-
posed of a hundred thousand Asiatics ; and soon afterward the entire
army, led by this Persian prince in person, began its famous march
towards the heart of the Medo-Persian Empire.
Xenophon, a young Athenian who had been a pupil of Socrates,
and who afterwards became so renowned as a historian, accompanied
the expedition of Cyrus as a volunteer, and afterwards wrote an ac-
count of it, which is yet preserved, under the name of Xenophon's
Anabasis, and which is universally recognized as one of the most mas-
terly and beautiful pieces of narration ever produced. After advanc-
ing over fifteen hundred miles without any serious opposition, the
army of Cyrus, numbering one hundred and ten thousand men, of
whom thirteen thousand were Greek mercenaries, encountered the army
of his brother, King Artuxerxes Mnemon, numbering, according to
Agesi-
laus.
Spartan-
Persian
Alliance.
Spartan
Aid to
Cyrus the
Younger.
Xeno-
phon.
Cyrus and
Arta-
xerxes
Mnemon.
896
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Battle of
Cunaxa
and Death
of
Cyrus.
Retreat
of the
Greek
Auxilia-
ries.
Treach-
erous
Massacre
of
Greeks.
Plutarch, nine hundred thousand men, but according to Ctesias, only
four hundred thousand, on the plain of Cunaxa, about fifty-seven
miles from Babylon; as we have seen in the history of Persia, where
the battle has been fully described. The advantages which were
gained by the victory of the Greek auxiliaries in the army of Cyrus
over that portion of the army of Artaxerxes Mnemon opposed to them
were lost in consequence of the death of Cyrus, who was slain in his
imprudent eagerness to kill his brother. His severed head was exposed
to the view of both armies, and this so disheartened his troops that they
retired from the field, thus abandoning the conflict.
The Greek auxiliaries, who had pursued the defeated left wing of
the army of Artaxerxes Mnemon for a distance of some miles, did not
hear of the death of Cyrus until the day after the battle. Flushed
with recent success, they were unwilling to relinquish the enterprise in
which they had engaged with high hopes, even after they had
ascertained that they had lost their leader; and they therefore
sought to induce Ariseus, on whom the command of the Asiatic
troops of Cyrus now devolved, to continue the war against Ar-
taxerxes Mnemon, by promising him an easy triumph and the
Medo-Persian crown as his reward. But Ariaeus was very well
convinced that all hopes of bringing the enterprise to a successful end
had departed with the life of Cyrus, and he therefore declined the
flattering offers of the Greek mercenaries, at the same time inviting
them to accompany him in the retreat which he at once began in the
direction of Asia Minor. The Greeks consented with reluctance, and
the retreat was accordingly commenced, the route selected extending
almost directly northward along the banks of the river Tigris. By the
command of King Artaxerxes Mnemon, Tissaphernes, one of the Per-
sian satraps of Asia Minor, soon afterwards solicited a conference
with the Grecian leaders, and offered to give them a safe conduct to
the coast and to supply them with provisions during the journey, if
they would refrain from any further hostile acts and return home as
hastily as possible. Tissaphernes also entered into a secret negotia-
tion with Ariaeus, and, by menaces and promises, induced him to renew
his allegiance to Artaxerxes Mnemon and to aid in the king's project
for harassing and destroying the Greek auxiliary force. At length,
when the retreating army had arrived at the banks of the Zabatus, a
tributary of the Tigris, the perfidious Tissaphernes executed the atro-
cious designs which he had for some time contemplated.
The treacherous satrap first enticed into his tent Clearchus, the
Greek commander-in-chief , along with four other Grecian generals and
many inferior officers, under the pretext of holding a conference ; after
which he caused them to be apprehended and their attendants who re-
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
897
mained outside to be massacred. He then sent Ariaeus to inform the
Greeks that Clearchus had been put to death for having violated the
treaty with the King of Persia, but that the other generals were safe.
The fate of these unfortunate officers remained a mystery for a long
time, but it was finally ascertained that Tissaphernes had sent them
to Artaxerxes Mnemon, who caused them all to be put to death.
The Greeks were thrown into the utmost dismay at being thus de-
prived of their leaders, in the midst of a hostile people, at a distance
of two thousand miles from home; but the difficulties and perils which
surrounded them awakened the energies of Xenophon, who, although
having no authority in the army, assumed the command in this emer-
gency, assembled the remaining officers, exhorted them to act with a
vigor and decision worthy of the Grecian name, reminding them of
the heroic exploits of their brave ancestors in circumstances equally as
discouraging. His eloquent address powerfully influenced all who
heard it. New officers were chosen at once to supply the places of
those who had been the victims of the treachery of Tissaphernes, and
Xenophon was elected commander of one of the divisions. The troops
were formed into a hollow square, with the baggage in the middle, and
commenced the celebrated march which history has recorded under the
title of The Retreat of the Ten Thousand.
The pursuing Persians for some time hung upon the rear of the
retreating Greeks as they slowly marched toward the distant shores
of the Euxine, and harassed them with their skirmishing parties ; but
their fear of Grecian prowess prevented them from venturing upon a
general engagement, notwithstanding their overwhelming numerical
superiority over the Greeks. After having endured great hardships
from want of provisions, from the attacks of the barbarous tribes occu-
pying the countries through which their line of retreat led them, and
from the intense severity of an Armenian winter, the Greeks at length
arrived at Mount Theches, from which the Euxine is visible, although
more than fifty miles distant. Weary with their long and perilous
journey, the soldiers, upon reaching the summit of this mountain and
contemplating the cheering prospect presented to them, burst out into
a simultaneous and enthusiastic shout of " The sea ! the sea ! " They
embraced each other and wept for joy at the bright hopes of return-
ing to their homes and their friends.
A few days later they reached the Greek city of Trapezus (now
Trebizond), on the southern shore of the Euxine, after having marched
more than a thousand miles through a hostile and naturally-difficult
country with remarkably little loss. At Cerasus, another Grecian city
at which they soon arrived, their forces were mustered, which showed
that eight thousand six hundred men of the original ten thousand
Xenophon
and the
Retreat
of the
Ten
Thou-
sand.
Persian
Pursuit.
Arrival
at the
Euxine.
898
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Persian
attack
on the
Greeks
of Asia
Minor and
Sparta.
War
between
Persia
and
Sparta.
Victories
of
Agesilaus
over the
Persians.
heavy-armed still survived. From Cerasus they proceeded, partly by
land and partly by water, to Byzantium. Instead of returning to
their respective states in Greece, these gallant survivors of the Retreat
of the Ten Thousand became adventurers, first entering the service
of Seuthes, a Thracian prince, and afterwards joining the Spartan
armj' in Asia Minor.
King Artaxerxes Mnemon did not readily forget or forgive the aid
afforded his brother Cyrus by the Greeks. After harassing, to the
extent of his ability, the retreat of the auxiliaries under Xenophon,
the Persian satrap, Tissaphernes, in accordance with his sovereign's
orders, led his forces against the Greek colonies in Asia Minor, to take
revenge upon them for the hostile conduct of the parent states in Euro-
pean Greece. Sparta, as the chief abettor of the designs of Cyrus,
and as the virtual master of all Greece in consequence of her triumph
over Athens in the Peloponnesian War, was naturally the chief object
of the jealousy and resentment of the Persian king. While Sparta's
elevation to the first rank in Greece rendered her a prominent mark for
the enemy, it also brought along with it the means of resisting foreign
aggression, which the Spartans very soon put in force. When they
received information of the predicament in which their Asiatic allies
and dependencies were placed, they instantly dispatched an army to
Ionia, under the command of Thimbron, who was joined by Xenophon,
with a portion of the remnant of the Ten Thousand.
The Persian satrap Tissaphernes now endeavored to drive the Greeks
from all their cities on the coasts of Asia Minor. Though Thimbron
succeeded in regaining possession of Pergamus and several other Greek
cities, he was speedily recalled, and Dercyllidas was appointed to com-
mand the Lacedaemonian forces in Asia Minor. The new Spartan com-
mander for some time conducted the war with ability, but was also soon
recalled, though not disgraced. The third Spartan commander was
the renowned Agesilaus, one of the greatest Spartan kings and gen-
erals.
Agesilaus had become one of the joint Kings of Sparta upon the
death of his predecessor and elder brother, Agis I., to the exclusion
of the late king's son. He was small in stature and afflicted with
lameness, but was admirably adapted to guiding the helm of state in
those eventful and troublous times. He was possessed of great vivac-
ity of temper and energy of spirit, of powerful talents and invincible
resolution, being at the same time gifted with a submissive gentleness
and docility of temper, a power of bearing reprimand and listening to
reason, which delighted his friends and his followers as much as his
bold vehemence awed his foes in the council or in the field. Such was
the character of the prince who assumed the management of the Spar-
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES. 899
tan war against Persia in B. C. 396. Upon arriving in Asia Minor,
Agesilaiis established his headquarters at Ephesus, and in this city he
wintered his troops during the several ensuing campaigns. After the
Spartan army had arrived at Ephesus, in B. C. 396, they spent the
winter in busy preparations, which thus gave the wealthy city the
appearance of one vast arsenal. In the spring of B. C. 395, Agesilaiis Agesilaus
advanced upon Sardis and put the Persian cavalry to flight. The T*gS^_
Persians were defeated in every encounter, while the triumphant Spar- pheraes.
tans enriched themselves with the plunder of the Persian camp and
ravaged the country almost under the very eyes of the satrap Tissa-
phernes. The Spartan leader had not only to contend with his ene-
mies in the open field, but he likewise had to be on his guard against
the artful diplomacy of Tissaphernes, who, aware of his inability to
cope with Agesilaus in war, sought to allure him by pretended pro-
posals of peace. Agesilaus was not thus easily deceived. He pro-
ceeded in his military operations with equal caution and boldness, and
signalized his second compaign by an important victory over his ene-
mies on the banks of the river Pactolus. This defeat eventually cost
Tissaphernes his life, as his irritated and ungrateful sovereign caused
him to be put to death soon after the engagement.
The unfortunate Tissaphernes was succeeded in the command of the Pharna-
Persian forces in Asia Minor by the other Persian satrap, Pharnabazus, bazus and
who was just as unable to cope with the able Spartan leader. But the laus.
brilliant military career of Agesilaus in Asia Minor was at length
brought to a termination by causes beyond his control.
Well knowing the influence of gold over the proceedings of the Sparta
Grecian states, the Persians were unceasing in their efforts, by means *nd ?er
of bribes and diplomacy, to arouse discontents against Sparta and to Foes,
subvert her interests among the other Grecian states, while Agesilaus
was conducting his brilliant and destructive campaigns in Asia Minor.
Venal hirelings were easily found, to undertake the task of disseminat-
ing dissensions among the allies of Sparta. Thebes, Corinth and
Argos were the first Grecian cities to manifest hostility to Sparta. An
offensive league was formed against the Lacedaemonians, and Athens
was ere long induced to join this alliance against the power which
had destroyed her supremacy. The Spartans made vigorous prepara-
tions to oppose their new enemies.
The Lacedaemonians raised a large army, and entrusted the chief Lysan-
command of it to Ly^ander, the conqueror of Athens. This great and Defeat
experienced commander led his forces into the Theban territories, in and
order to end the struggle by a decisive blow; but he was surprised ea
under the walls of Haliartus by the Thebans, his army being routed
and himself slain (B. C. 395).
900
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Pau-
sanias.
Grecian
Alliance
against
Sparta.
Battle of
Corinth.
Recall
of Agesi-
laus.
Battle of
Coronaea.
Pausanias, who arrived on the field too late to give the necessary aid
to avert the defeat, did not dare to return to Sparta with the defeated
army, but took refuge in the temple of Athene at Tegea; and, as his
countrymen had sentenced him to death, he spent the rest of his life
in that sanctuary. His son, Agesipolis, succeeded him as one of the
joint Kings of Sparta.
The Theban victory at Haliartus confirmed the courage of the four
allied Grecian states and encouraged many of the minor states to join
the league against Sparta. Thus Athens, Corinth, Argos and Thebes
were strengthened in their alliance by the addition of Euboea, Acar-
nania, Western Locris, Ambracia, Leucadia, and Chalcidice in Thrace.
The allies assembled a large army at Corinth in the spring of B. C.
394, and it was proposed to march directly upon Sparta and " burn
the wasps in their nests before they could come forth to sting." But
the Spartans had advanced to Sicyon by the time that the allies arrived
at Nemea, and the ktter found themselves obliged to fall back for
the protection of Corinth, where they were attacked and defeated by
the Spartans (July, B. C. 394).
The situation of affairs had become so alarming to Sparta after the
Spartan defeat at Haliartus that messengers were sent to Agesilaiis
in Asia Minor, asking him to return at once to the defense of his coun-
try. Though in the midst of such triumphs as induced him to con-
template the subversion of the very throne of Persia, the Spartan king
instantly obeyed the order for his return (B. C. 394), declaring that
" a general only deserved the name when he was guided by the laws of
the country and obeyed its magistrates." In one month Agesilaiis
made his way across the Thracian Chersonesus and the plains of
Thessaly until he reached the Boeotian territories, taking the very route
which had detained the effeminate Xerxes an entire year. When Age-
silaiis heard of the Spartan victory at Corinth, he exclaimed : " Alas
for Greece! she has killed enough of her sons to have conquered all
the barbarians."
The approach of so great a warrior as Agesilaiis did not alarm the
Thebans and their allies. They advanced to meet him; and at Cor-
onaea, thirty miles from Thebes, a fierce battle was fought. The The-
bans were at first successful, and after they had routed the Orcho-
menians they pressed to their camp in the rear, which they plundered;
while Agesilaiis had in the meantime triumphed along the remainder
of the line and routed the allies, compelling them to seek refuge upon
the slope of Mount Helicon. The Thebans were thus surrounded and
were obliged to sustain the entire weight of the Spartan assault; and
no other battle like this had ever been fought by Grecians. The The-
bans finally succeeded in rejoining the defeated and routed hosts of
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
901
their allies; but the victory belonged to the Spartan king, as he re-
mained master of the field (B. C. 394).
While the Lacedaemonians had thus won the two victories of Corinth
and Coronsea on land, in the year B. C. 394, their navy suffered a most
disastrous defeat at Cnidus about the same time. After his calamitous
defeat at ^Egos-Potamos, just before the close of the Peloponnesian
War, Conon, the Athenian admiral, retired to Cyprus, where he passed
seven years in a kind of honorable exile, under the protection of Evag-
oras, tiie friendly and virtuous king of that island. Though Conon
lived here peacefully and happily, his patriotic spirit lamented unceas-
ingly the fate which had overtaken Athens. But Evagoras was not
sufficiently powerful to furnish the essential means for the restoration
of the Athenian republic to its former grandeur, even though a favor-
able opportunity seemed to present itself while Sparta was engaged in
her wars in Asia Minor against the Persians.
In these circumstances, Conon determined to apply to the Persian
king for assistance. Being supplied with recommendations to Ar-
taxerxes Mnemon by Evagoras, who was the Great King's tributary,
the patriotic Athenian passed over to Asia and had a personal inter-
view with the Persian monarch, who supplied him with money sufficient
to enable him to equip a powerful fleet which was manned principally
by the Greeks of Rhodes and Cyprus. In pursuance of an agreement,
Conon and the warlike Persian satrap Pharnabazus were jointly placed
in command of this fleet.
Thus Conon now reappeared in alliance with the old enemy of Greece
against the bitter foe and rival of Athens. Seeing the antipathy
beginning to be felt among the Grecian states against the growing
power of Sparta, the King of Persia had sent envoys to all the leading
cities of Greece to combine them in a league against the arrogant Lace-
daemonians.
Desirous of retrieving the honor lost by him at JEgos-Potamos,
Conon scoured the seas in quest of the fleet by which the Spartans
maintained their sway over the Greek cities of Asia Minor. In com-
mand of his fleet, Conon was soon blockaded at Caunus by the Spartan
fleet under Pharax ; but when the Persians were reinforced, the block-
ading Lacedaemonian squadron retired to Rhodes. The inhabitants of
that island had long reluctantly submitted to the dominion of the
Spartans. They arose against Pharax, forced him to withdraw and
placed themselves under the protection of Conon, who at once sailed to
Rhodes and took possession of the island, after which he repaired to
Babylon, where he obtained a still more liberal supply of money from
the Persian monarch for the active prosecution of the war against
Sparta.
Conon
and
Evagoras.
Conon
and
Pharna-
bazus.
Persian
Intrigue.
Conon
and
Pharax.
902
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Battle of
Cnidus.
End
of the
Spartan
Empire.
Walls of
Athens
Rebuilt.
Athens's
Second
Period of
Great-
ness.
Spartan
Victories
over
Corinth.
With the assistance of Pharnabazus, who was now joined with Conon
in command, the latter equipped a formidable fleet and offered battle
to Pisander, the Spartan admiral, off Cnidus, in Caria, in the South-
west of Asia Minor. The Persian fleet, consisting mainly of Greeks
and Phoenicians, was superior from the beginning, and especially when
Pisander was deserted, during the progress of the battle, by his Asiatic
Greek allies. Nevertheless he fought with Spartan valor until his
death ended the conflict. More than half the Spartan fleet was either
taken or destroyed, more than fifty galleys falling into the hands of
Conon and Pharnabazus (B. C. 394). In consequence of this Lace-
daemonian defeat, the Spartan empire fell more rapidly than it had
risen eight years before. Conon and Pharnabazus sailed from port to
port, being hailed as deliverers by all the Asiatic Greeks. The Spar-
tan harmosts everywhere fled before their arrival, and only Abydos and
the Thracian Chersonesus withstood the combined power of Athens and
Persia.
The next spring (B. C. 393), the united Athenian and Persian fleet
under the joint command of Conon and Pharnabazus crossed the
^Egean, ravaged the eastern coasts of Laconia, and placed an Athenian
garrison in the island of Cythera. By gold and promises, the Persian
commander assured the Greek allies whom he met at Corinth of his
unfailing support of them against Sparta. Through the zealous ef-
forts of Conon, who labored unceasingly for the welfare of Athens,
the Persian king disbursed a large sum from his treasury to rebuild
the walls and fortifications of Athens. By the enthusiastic labors of
the Athenians and the assistance of the crews of the combined fleets
of Athens and Persia, the Long Walls of Athens and the fortifications
of Piraeus were rebuilt ; and Athens was restored to something like her
former strength and splendor in a very short space of time. Conon's
recent services more than effaced the memory of his former disasters,
and his countrymen hailed him as a second founder of Athens and
restorer of her greatness.
The war was thereafter prosecuted in the territory of Corinth, and
the chief object of the allies was to guard the three passes in the moun-
tains extending across the southern part of the Corinthian isthmus.
The most northerly of these passes was defended by long walls, run-
ning from Corinth to Lechaeum ; the other two by strong garrisons of
the allied troops. The Spartans were at Sicyon, whence they could
easily ravage the fertile plain and plunder the country-seat of the
wealthy Corinthians. The aristocratic party in Corinth already com-
plained and longed for the old alliance with Sparta, but the dominant
democratic faction invited an Argive company into the city and massa-
cred many of the aristocracy, who avenged themselves by admitting
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
903
Praxftas, the Spartan leader, inside their long walls ; and a battle en-
sued within this confined space, in which the Corinthians were defeated.
The victorious Spartans destroyed a large portion of the walls, after
which they marched across the isthmus and captured two Corinthian
towns on the Saronic Gulf.
The Athenians were so alarmed at the way thus opened for a Spar-
tan invasion of Attica that they marched to the isthmus with a force
of masons and carpenters and assisted the Corinthians in rebuilding
their walls (B. C. 392). But they were building for their enemies,
as Agesilaiis, with the Spartan fleet, gained possession of the walls and
the port of Lechaeum. Several other towns on the Corinthian Gulf,
with a vast amount of spoils and numerous captives, likewise came into
his possession. The Lacedaemonians now surrounded Corinth on every
side ; and the Thebans, despairing of success for the allies, sent en-
voys to solicit peace with Sparta.
While these envoys were still in the presence of Agesilaiis, he re-
ceived intelligence of an unprecedented and mortifying Spartan dis-
aster. The Athenian Iphicrates had been for two years drilling a
troop of mercenaries in a new system of tactics designed to unite the
advantages of heavy-armed and light-armed troops. He had demon-
strated their efficiency in several experiments, and was now prepared
to test them upon the Spartan battalion, which was likewise regarded
as well-nigh invincible. The Spartans while returning to their camp
at Lechseum, after having escorted their Amyclsean comrades some dis-
tance on their way homeward to celebrate a religious festival, were
attacked in flank and rear, with arrows and javelins. Encumbered
with their heavy armor, the Lacedaemonians were unable to cope with
their agile adversaries, and their long pikes were of little avail against
the short swords of the peltasts. In consequence, the Spartans at
length broke their ranks in confusion, many being driven into the sea,
and pursued by their victorious foes, who wrestled with them and slew
them in the water (B. C. 392).
In Asia Minor hostilities were prosecuted with varying success.
Thimbron, the Spartan general, was defeated and killed by the Per-
sian leader, Struthas, his entire force of eight thousand men being cut
to pieces (B. C. 390). About the same time an Athenian squadron,
on its way to aid Evagoras against Persia, was captured by a Spartan
fleet. Thrasybulus was then sent with a larger Athenian naval force,
with which he reestablished Athenian supremacy in the Propontis and
reimposed the toll which Athens had formerly collected on all vessels
passing out of the Euxine; but Thrasybulus was slain in the midst
of this expedition. By renewed efforts, the Spartans again became
masters of the straits; but Iphicrates, with his peltasts, surprised the
Spartan
Blockade
of
Corinth.
Athenian
Victory
over
Sparta.
Persian
Victory
over
Sparta.
Other
Spartan
Defeats.
904
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Spartans among the passes of Mount Ida and won a decisive victory,
thus restoring the Athenian supremacy in that region.
Peace of The Spartans in the meantime had been seriously alarmed at the
Antalci- • •
das. rebuilding of the walls and fortifications of Athens. In their anxious
councils held on this occasion, they discussed the question of detaching
Persia from her alliance with the Grecian enemies of Sparta, as the
only way of stopping the proceeding so detrimental to the interests
of Sparta. They felt that they could only regain the friendship of
Artaxerxes Mnemon by abandoning for a time, if not permanently,
all hope of recovering their possessions in Asia Minor, considering
such a sacrifice a less evil than the restoration of the power of Athens.
They accordingly sent successive embassies to the Persian court, im-
ploring peace on the most humble terms, the only condition which
they made being the withdrawal of the Persian monarch's support from
Athens. Though Antalcidas, the principal Spartan envoy, was a per-
son of remarkable address and cunning, he would not probably have
induced Artaxerxes Mnemon to accede to the requests of Sparta, had
not Conon prematurely betrayed his real object in his dealing with
Persia, by endeavoring to induce the Ionian Greeks of Asia Minor and
the isles of the vEgean to once more acknowledge the supremacy of
Athens by representing Athenian power and influence as fully reestab-
lished after the rebuilding of the walls and fortifications of the cele-
brated city. Although this effort of Conon was sought to be made
in secrecy, it did not escape the ears of Antalcidas, who made an ample
and dexterous use of the circumstance at the Persian court, so that
Conon was put to death on arriving there as the Athenian envoy, while
King Artaxerxes Mnemon acceded to the petition of Antalcidas; and
thus was concluded the Peace of Antalcidas (B. C. 387).
It« The Persian Monarch furnished the means to enforce the terms of
sioo^T this treaty ; and a large Spartan and Persian fleet, commanded jointly
by Antalcidas and Tiribazus, visited the Hellespont and threatened
Athens with famine by cutting off the supplies of corn from the Eux-
ine. All the Grecian states were now ready to listen to terms, and in
a congress of deputies from the various states Tiribazus presented the
following propositions: "King Artaxerxes thinks it just that the
cities in Asia and the isles of Clazomense and Cyprus should belong
to him. He thinks it just to leave all the other Grecian cities, both
small and great, independent, except Lemnos, Imbros and Scyros,
which are to belong to Athens as of old." The Thebans at first ob-
jected to these conditions, but were soon induced to take the oath, in
consequence of the warlike threats of the Spartans. These terms of
peace, which thus prostrated Greece at the feet of the Medo-Persian
Empire, were engraven on stone tablets put in every Grecian temple.
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
905
The humiliating Peace of Antalcidas constitutes an epoch in the
decline of the Grecian states. It soon became apparent that in pro-
posing the ruinous concessions of this treaty, Sparta had acted wholly
with a view to her own -selfish interests, and that to serve these she had
willfully and permanently sacrificed the general welfare of Greece.
She had abandoned the Greek cities of Asia Minor because experience
had taught her that in contending for them, Athens had, and always
would have, the advantage, because of her maritime situation. The
provision in the treaty for the freedom and independence of the minor
communities in Greece from the supremacy of the larger and more
powerful states was introduced by Sparta to place her in the light
of a general liberator, and she thus artfully won the confidence of the
parties apparently benefited through 'her intervention. The conse-
quences of this stroke of policy displayed themselves soon after the
treaty went into operation. The Spartan Senate became the common
referee on all occasions of petty dispute among the minor Grecian
states, and decided all differences in a manner most favorable to their
own ambitious designs, which comprehended the virtual subjection of
all Greece to the sway of Sparta. Perceiving themselves deprived of
all opportunities of foreign conquest, the restless and warlike Lacedae-
monians had directed their thoughts to recovering and perfecting their
ascendency in Greece itself; and in this spirit their artful ambassador,
Antalcidas, had drawn up the conditions of the treaty of peace bear-
ing his name. The result answered his purpose, as Sparta was now
at the height of her power, being for a time the virtual arbiter of the
destinies of Greece.
The Spartan hatred of Thebes did not cease with the return of peace.
To annoy the Thebans, the Spartans caused Plataea to be rebuilt and
as many of its citizens as possible to be brought back. Sparta exer-
cised her supremacy in an arrogant manner toward the minor Grecian
communities. The city and republic of Mantinea, in Arcadia, was
the first victim of the Spartan schemes of aggression and acquisition.
Upon the pretext that the Mantineans had furnished supplies of corn
to the enemies of Sparta during the recent struggle, the Spartans sent
an army against Mantinea in B. C. 386, and after an obstinate and
protracted defense the city was compelled to surrender and to acknowl-
edge the supremacy of its Lacedaemonian conquerors. A like fate
overtook the little republic of Phlius, which was obliged to become a
submissive dependent of Sparta by the mere dread of the power of
her arms, without any attempt at resistance. But another design of
the ambitious Lacedaemonians, which they attempted to carry into exe-
cution about the same time, was not so easy of accomplishment, and
was more important in its consequences.
Spartan
Selfish-
ness.
Spartan
Conquest
of
Mantinea
and
Philur
906
Rising
Power of
Olynthus.
Spartan
Campaign
against
Olynthus.
Spartan
Conquest
of
Olynthus.
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Olynthus, the chief city in Chalcidice, had suddenly risen into
wealth and power at a time when Athens and Sparta were too busily
engaged with other matters to regard it with either jealousy or cupid-
ity, and had become the center of a powerful and flourishing league
in the southern parts of Macedonia and Thrace. But there was no
lack of malcontents in a country possessed of so much general freedom
without general intelligence. Although Olynthus had treated the
states composing the powerful confederacy which it headed with an
unusual liberality, two cities of the league, Acanthus and Apollonia,
considered themselves justified in taking offense at some part of the
Olynthian policy, and sent an embassy to Sparta, soliciting protection
from what they styled " the dangerous ambition " of the Chalcidian
capital.
Nothing could have been more agreeable to the wishes of the Spar-
tans than this request, as Olynthus had recently given deep offense by
entering into, or at least by seeking for, an alliance with Athens and
Thebes, at this time the two great objects of Lacedaemonian hatred
and jealousy. The Spartan Senate accordingly voted ten thousand
men to assist Acanthus and Apollonia, or, in reality, to subjugate
Olynthus (B. C. 382). The two brothers, Eudamidas and Phcebidas,
were ordered to lead this Spartan army against Olynthus, Eudamidas
to take the field at once with such forces as were in readiness, and
Phoebidas to follow with the remainder of the troops when collected.
Accordingly Eudamidas marched with a force of two thousand Spar-
tans to the Chalcidian district, and won some important successes over
the Olyrithians in the first campaign ; but when he afterwards ap-
proached Olynthus too recklessly, he was intercepted and slain, while
his army was irrevocably dispersed.
Agesilaiis, who was still one of the joint Kings of Sparta with
Agesipolis, next sent his brother Teleutias with ten thousand men to
conduct the Olynthian war. Teleutias defeated the Olynthians in
several engagements; but when, like Eudamidas, he had advanced too
near the walls of Olynthus, he and his army met a like fate, the cour-
age of the citizens appearing to be fully aroused when danger men-
aced their household gods. The Spartan king Agesipolis conducted
the next campaign with powerful reinforcements, and ravaged the
Olynthian territory, but was seized with a fever called calenture, which
carried him to his grave. Polybfades, who was appointed his suc-
cessor in the command of the Spartan army, proved to be an able
general and was successful in forcing the Olynthians, who were now
shut up in their capital and exhausted by four years of warfare, fam-
ine and distress, to surrender. Sparta required absolute submission in
peace or war on the part of the conquered city as the condition of
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
907
capitulation. On this occasion the Spartans introduced the barba-
vians, as they were called, of Macedon into the field of Grecian politics ;
as they accepted assistance from the Macedonian king, Amyntas, and
rewarded him at the close of the war Avith a part of the territory
wrested from Olynthus — a very dangerous proceeding, as the subse-
quent history of Greece fully proved.
We have stated that, at the beginning of the Olynthian war, Phoeb-
idas was to follow his brother with the remainder of the Spartan
troops destined for service against Olynthus. Phoebidas actually
marched with eight thousand men for the seat cf war, but was inci-
dentally led to employ his army in a different object from the one
originally designed, and this circumstance gave rise to a new struggle
which shook Greece to its very center.
While marching northward to assist in the operations against Olyn-
thus, Phoebidas halted in Boeotia and encamped in the vicinity of
Thebes. As the city of Thebes had not been exposed to the long and
severe drainage which had exhausted the resources of Athens and
Sparta, it had gradually risen in wealth and importance, until it had
become equal to any Grecian state in means, spirit and influence. But
although the Thebans did not fear injury from without, they were
distracted by internal dissensions on account of the strife of factions
for supremacy. The democratic party, which was headed by the
archon Ismenias, struggled for ascendency with the adherents of aris-
tocracy, whose leader was the archon Leontiades. The democracy had
for some time been supreme in the state, and the aristocracy habitually
looked to Sparta for aid in recovering their lost power. When there-
fore Phoebidas arrived with his troops in the vicinity of Thebes acci-
dentally, the Theban aristocrats, seeing the favorable opportunity thus
thrust upon them, resolved to call upon the Spartan commander for
assistance against their democratic antagonists. Leontiades, the aris-
tocratic leader, accordingly presented himself to Phoebidas and offered
him possession of the Cadma?a, or Theban citadel — an offer which the
Spartan general very readily accepted. The time for this enterprise
was the most auspicious that could have been selected; as it was the
season of one of the festivals of Demeter, when Theban matrons per-
formed their devotional ceremonies in the citadel, no males being pres-
ent at these rites.
When Phoebidas received the gate-keys of the Cadmaea from Leon-
tiades, he hastened from his encampment to the citadel, which he at
once seized, without encountering any resistance. The Theban people
were struck with surprise and consternation; and, although Leontiades
assured them of the peaceful intentions of the Spartans, four hundred
of the leading citizens fled to Athens when they saw Ismenias dragged
voi. 3.— 14
Phcebi-
das.
His
Seizure
of the
Cadmaea.
The
Traitor
Leontia-
des.
Spartan
Garrison
in
Thebes.
908 GREECE IX HER GLORY.
into the citadel by the Lacedaemonian invaders. When he had accom-
plished his nefarious design, Leontiades hastened to Sparta and easily
persuaded the Spartan Senate of the propriety of having a Lacedae-
monian garrison in Thebes. The Theban aristocracy, thus protected
and aided by Sparta, inaugurated a reign of terror in their city ; and
the confiscations, banishments and executions which followed were al-
most unparalleled in Grecian history. The aristocratic part}', sup-
ported by the Spartan garrison in the Cadmaea, reveled in the blood
of their democratic adversaries. But the oppressed Theban people
soon found deliverers.
Plot of Among the many Theban exiles resident at Athens, one of the most
PdasPI~ distinguished was Pelopidas, a youth of noble birth, brilliant talents
and ardent patriotism. Animated with a desire to deliver his country-
men from their oppressors, he acted in concert with a few comrades
to effect that purpose. The other Theban exiles at Athens, glad to
embrace this opportunity to take vengeance on their tyrants, warmly
supported the plot of Pelopidas and joined his standard.
Epam- Pelopidas was the ardent friend of Epaminondas, a Theban ven-
erable in years and exalted in virtue. Epaminondas at first held back
from the conspiracy formed by Pelopidas and the Theban exiles at
Athens, because its execution required deceit and the possible shedding
of innocent blood. He was a strict Pythagorean, and his principles
were so pure that he was never known to trifle with truth, even in jest,
or to sacrifice it for any interest.
Phyllidas Phyllidas, the secretary of the oligarchical government of Thebes,
Banquet. was *n the P^°^ against his masters and took a prominent part in its
execution. He invited the two polemarchs, Archias and Phih'ppus,
with the principal Spartan leaders, to a sumptuous banquet on a cer-
tain night ; and when they were sufficiently stupefied with eating and
drinking, he proposed to introduce some Theban ladies. Before these
entered the apartment, a messenger brought a letter to Archias and
requested his attention to it, as it contained a warning of something
serious that was to happen ; but the careless voluptuary, intent only on
indulgence in wine and other excesses, thrust the letter under the cush-
ions of his couch, with the remark : " Serious matters to-morrow ! "
Massacre Pelopidas and his friends, who had arrived in the city in the dis-
Tyrarts guise of hunters, thereupon entered the banquet-room shrouded in
of female garb. The half-intoxicated guests greeted them with a bois-
>es* terous welcome, and they scattered themselves, with seeming careless-
ness, among the company. As one of the Spartan lords attempted to
lift the veil of the person who was speaking to him, he received a fatal
wound; and this was the signal for a general attack. Swords and
daggers were drawn under the silken apparel, and were thrust into il.j
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
hearts of the two polemarchs and the Spartan leaders, so that none
of the tyrants escaped alive. The traitor Leontiades perished with
the rest. The prisons were now opened and five hundred captive
friends of liberty were freed from their chains, and these joined the
armed force of the revolutionary conspirators. To the profound joy
of the wondering citizens of Thebes, the voices of the heralds were
heard in the dead of the night, summoning them to the standard of
freedom, and proclaiming : " The tyrants are no more ! " On the
morrow crowds of the Theban youth flocked to the standard of the
emancipators ; democracy was reestablished ; and in a few days the
Spartan garrison, seeing that its enemies were reinforced by a strong
force of Athenian auxiliaries and returned Theban exiles, capitulated,
and were allowed to evacuate the Cadmsea.
Thus, after enduring an oppression of three years from their tyran-
nical oligarchs, the Theban people were liberated by a successful revo-
lution begun and ended in one night (B. C. 378) — a revolution, which
for righteousness of cause and energetic vigor of execution, stands
almost without a parallel in the world's history.
The Spartans, though having no right to complain of this catastro-
phe to their garrison in the Cadmaea, saw that it might furnish a
dangerous example to other subject states, and as soon as they re-
ceived intelligence of the event they resolved to go to war for the
recovery of Thebes. Active military preparations were at once en-
tered upon, and thus arose a war between Sparta and Thebes which
raged with great violence for seven years, and which contributed
largely to the final downfall of the celebrated republics of ancient
Greece.
The Spartan king Cleombrotus led an army into Baotia, and Ath-
ens was called upon to account for having furnished an asylum to the
Theban exiles. Feeling themselves unprepared to enter into a war
with Sparta, the Athenians agreed to sacrifice their two generals who
had rendered the most efficient aid to the Theban revolutionists. One
of these generals was executed, and the other, having fled from Athens,
was sentenced to banishment. The Thebans feared that they would
be left without allies to contend against the Lacedaemonian power.
For the purpose of forcing Athens to come to their assistance, they
bribed Sphodrias, the Spartan general, to invade the Athenian terri-
tory. He accordingly entered Attica in the night and perpetrated
various ravages, but retired the following day. The Spartan govern-
ment disclaimed all knowledge of this affair, and brought Sphodrias
to trial for it; but he was acquitted, through the influence of Age-
silaiis. Athens at once entered into an active alliance with Thebes
and declared war against her old enemy and rival.
909
A Signal
Revolu-
tion.
War
between
Sparta
and
Thebes.
Athens
in the
War.
910
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
League
against
Sparta.
Sacred
Band of
Thebes.
Pelopidas
and
Epam-
inondas.
Excellent
Character
of
Epam-
icondas.
Agesilans
in
Bceotia.
Spartan
Misfor-
tunes.
A new league of Grecian states was now formed against Sparta, on
the plan of the Confederacy of Delos. This league included seventy
cities in its most prosperous period. Athens was at the head, but the
independence of the various members of the league was carefully
guarded. A congress at Athens regulated the share of each state of
the confederacy in the general expenditure. The fortifications of
Piraeus were completed, new war-vessels were constructed, and all the
allies hastened forward their military contingents. Thebes raised a
Sacred Band — a heavy-armed battalion, consisting of three hundred
chosen citizens of the noblest families, united by the most intimate
bonds of friendship. Thebes had two great leaders. One of these
was Pelopidas, the illustrious liberator of his country, and a man of
high character and abilities. Still more eminent was his intimate
friend and associate, Epaminonidas, who, as we have seen, was im-
bued with the highest virtues by nature and education. Though
Pelopidas was bceotarch, Epaminondas was most prominent in drill-
ing and disciplining the troops.
Epaminondas did not covet wealth or fame, though he affected no
undue contempt for either. He only followed a public life because his
country required his services. He conducted himself in such a man-
ner in his command as to do more honor to the dignities with which he
was invested than they conferred upon him. When circumstances no
longer required his exertions he retired to private life, in order to in-
dulge in those philosophic studies which had given his mind its calm
strength and magnanimity. Though he excelled all his compeers in
eloquence, it was said respecting him that no man knew more and spoke
less. Besides being one of the most accomplished soldiers of his time,
he was one of the wisest statesmen and one of the best of citizens.
Epaminondas and Pelopidas entertained the most perfect and disin-
terested friendship for each other — a friendship rare under such cir-
cumstances, and exceedingly creditable to both.
Agesilaiis, who still directed all the councils of Sparta and con-
trolled its destinies, now perceived the necessity of taking more ener-
getic measures. He took the field in person, at the head of an army
of eighteen thousand foot and fifteen hundred horse, and conducted
two campaigns in Baotia, devastating the country and harassing
Thebes and her dependencies ; but the skill of Pelopidas and Epami-
n6ndas and their able Athenian ally, Chabrias, prevented him from
winning any decisive success (B. C. 378-B. C. 376).
Phcebidas, the former captor of the Cadmaea, whom Agesilaiis had
left in command in Bffiotia when he returned to Sparta, was defeated
and slain by the Thebans. The repeated injuries inflicted upon the
territories which supplied the Thebans with provisions now caused
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
911
them to suffer from famine, and all the efforts to obtain supplies by
sea from Euboea were foiled by the Spartan garrison established on
that island. In this emergency the Euboeans rose in revolt, drove the
Lacedaemonian garrison from the island, and Thebes was afforded
effectual relief. But Thebes was shortly afterwards menaced with a
more serious calamity. Sparta and her allies fitted out a fleet of sixty
large vessels for the purpose of transporting troops into the vicinity
of Thebes and cutting off all her communications by sea. In this
crisis Thebes was saved by Athens. Chabrias, who was as able a com-
mander by sea as by land, was entrusted with the command of a pow-
erful Athenian fleet, and inflicted a most decisive defeat upon the
Spartan fleet near the isle of Naxos, which left the trade of Thebes
and Athens perfectly free and restored the maritime empire of Athens
in the East. In the western seas, Corcyra, Cephallenia, and the neigh-
boring tribes on the mainland, joined the Athenian alliance. The
Thebans were as victorious on land, and the Boeotian cities submitted
to their control during the two years that they were free from Spartan
invasion. In B. C. 374 all Lacedaemonians were expelled from Boeo-
tia ; free governments were established in all the Boeotian cities, except
Orchomenus and Chseronea; and the Boeotian League was revived.
The triumphant Thebans now proceeded to avenge themselves on the
Phocians for having invited the Spartans into Central Greece twenty
years before, and to seize the treasures of Delphi; but the Phocians
escaped this threatened vengeance by the timely assistance of the Spar-
tan king Cleombrotus.
The Athenians now had reasons for a hostile attitude toward Thebes,
and they sent messengers to Sparta with proposals of peace, which
the Lacedaemonians gladly accepted; but the negotiations were broken
off by the inopportune restoration of the Zacynthian exiles by Timo-
theus, Conon's son, and hostilities between Athens and Sparta were
renewed. The Athenian fleet under Timotheus scoured the western
seas and routed the Spartan fleet under Nicolochus (B. C. 374).
Iphfcrates, the successor of Timotheus in command, continued his
predecessor's successful career by vanquishing a third naval force
which the Lacedaemonians had collected from Corinth, Syracuse and
other allied states and dependencies.
The Thebans were so elated with their prosperity at this stage of
the war that they rejected a proposal of the King of Persia, who
sought their aid in suppressing a rebellion against his authority in
Egypt, and who for this reason interposed his mediation between the
contending powers of Greece (B. C. 374). The Thebans, in their
hour of triumph, also outraged the feelings of humanity by razing
to the ground several hostile cities of Boeotia, among which was Platasa,
Athenian
Victories.
Thebes
and
Plataea
912
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Peace of
Callias.
Renewal
of the
War.
Military
Talents
of Epam-
inondas.
the little republic so long the friend and ally of Athens, which re-
ceived the homeless Plataean citizens and expressed the most intense
indignation against their Theban persecutors. The effect of this
harsh behavior of the Thebans brought them to reason, as they shortly
afterward agreed to a congress of the Grecian states, which was held
at Sparta, to consider the question of a general pacification, as the
states were by this time weary of the struggle (B. C. 371).
The treaty which this congress negotiated was called the Peace of
Callias, from Callias, the principal Athenian envoy. Agesilaiis rep-
resented Sparta, while Epaminondas was the leading Theban pleni-
potentiary. It was agreed that the Spartan garrisons should be with-
drawn from every Grecian city, and the independence of every Grecian
state, large or small, was acknowledged. Athens and Sparta, weary
of the struggle, signed the treaty very readily ; Athens and her allies
signing separately, but Sparta taking the oath for the whole Lace-
daemonian confederacy. Here was the rock on which the whole nego-
tiations between Sparta and Thebes split; as Epaminondas declared
with boldness and justice that he could not and would not agree to the
treaty unless he were allowed to sign in the name of the whole Boeotian
League. He defended his attitude in an eloquent speech, claiming
justly that Thebes was as rightfully the sovereign city of Boeotia as
Sparta was of Laconia. The arrogance of Sparta in refusing to con-
cede this point shows that her domineering pride had not been tamed
by calamity. While claiming the right to an irresponsible authority
over the cities around her, she was unwilling to concede the same privi-
lege to any other power. Epaminondas firmly adhered to his posi-
tion, asserting the right of Thebes to hold an equal position with any
other Grecian state. As Agesilaiis obstinately persisted in his arro-
gant refusal, the congress broke up, leaving Sparta and Thebes at
war, while peace had been concluded between all the other states.
Thebes, thus deserted by her allies, was now in a dangerous and
difficult situation, as Sparta was supported by her former allies. The
rest of the Greeks appeared to look upon the resolute courage of the
Thebans in this perilous crisis as utter madness, and expected in a
very short time to see Thebes utterly crushed by the overwhelming
power of Sparta and her allies. But Thebes was saved in this danger-
ous emergency by the military talents of Epaminondas, who proved
himself the greatest general that Greece ever produced. Conscious of
his own power and the value of the new tactics which were soon to
take the place of the Spartan system, he revived the failing spirit of
his anxious countrymen, invented good omens to counteract the dis-
couraging influence of their evil ones, and in his personality he sus-
tained the spirit of the entire nation by the greatness of his soul.
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
913
The Spartan king Cleombrotus, the colleague of Agesilaiis, was
already in Phocis, with a confederate army of twenty-four thousand
foot and sixteen hundred horse. The Thebans could not muster much
more than half that strength, but in discipline and valor they far
excelled the motley host under Cleombrotus. The Sacred Band, con-
sisting of three hundred chosen men of tried fidelity and bound to-
gether by inviolable bonds of friendship, was under the command of
Pelopidas, and always fought to conquer, until it fell before the Mace-
donian arms many years later.
Cleombrotus began the campaign with energy by seizing Creusis,
on the Crisssean Gulf, with twelve Theban vessels which lay in the
harbor, thus providing at the beginning a base of supplies and a line
of retreat. He then marched along the Gulf of Corinth into Boaotia,
and within a few months after the congress of Sparta he encamped at
Leuctra (B. C. 371). Three of the seven Theban bceotarchs were so
greatly alarmed that they proposed to retreat upon Thebes and send
their wives and children to Athens for safety, but they were overruled
in their purpose. Epaminondas and Pelopidas were vigilant and
cheerful. Though his troops were numerically inferior to those of
his enemy, Epaminondas was confident in the spirit with which he had
been chiefly instrumental in inspiring them. He so arranged his army
as to be always superior at the actual point of contact, instead of
engaging all at the same time, which had previously been the uniform
practice in Grecian warfare. The Theban left was a dense column,
fifty feet deep, led by the Sacred Band under Pelopidas. The famous
battle of Leuctra was begun by this Theban left wing, which attacked
the Lacedaemonian right, which contained the select troops of Sparta
led by Cleombrotus himself; while the Theban center and right, which
faced the allies of Sparta, were kept out of the engagement. There
had never been any fiercer fighting on any Grecian battlefield. The
Spartans sustained their ancient valor, but the onset of the Theban
left was irresistible, and the whole Lacedaemonian army was thrown
into confusion, of which Epaminondas availed himself by performing
an evolution which decided the fate of the day. He formed the at-
tacking column into a wedge, which he hurled impetuously through
the demoralized lines of the Lacedaemonians, spreading death and dis-
order all around. The Spartans and their allies never recovered from
the shock, and, in spite of their desperate resistance, were completely
routed. Cleombrotus himself was mortally wounded, and his shat-
tered army fled for refuge to its strong encampment, which Epami-
nondas prudently left unassailed. The Thebans erected a trophy on
the plain of Leuctra in honor of their splendid victory. The allies
Cleom-
brotus
and Pe-
lopidas.
Battle of
Leuctra.
914
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Effect
of the
News at
Sparta.
End of
Spartan
Suprem-
acy.
Effect at
Athens.
Jason of
Pherae.
of Sparta, many of whom were in the battle through fear rather than
choice, inwardly rejoiced at the result of the battle.
All Greece was intensely astonished at the issue of the battle of
Leuctra — the first pitched battle in which a Spartan army had been
overcome by inferior numbers. On the day when the bad news reached
Sparta, its inhabitants were engaged in celebrating festival games and
invoking the favor of the gods for the coming harvest. When the
Ephors were informed of the terrible calamity they communicated the
names of the slain to their relatives, and also commanded the women
to abstain from all signs of mourning, excepting those whose relatives
survived the defeat. On the following day the friends of the slain
appeared in their best attire in the public places and congratulated
each other on the bravery of their kinsmen, while the friends of the
survivors of the disastrous defeat looked sorrowfully forward to the
sentence of eternal disgrace which the state passed upon every citizen
who fled before an enemy. In this instance, however, the doom of
ignominy was dispensed with. Actuated either by a spirit of charity
or by the consciousness that Sparta, in her exhausted condition, could
not afford to lose more of her citizens, Agesilaiis moved in the Senate
that the rigor of the laws should be mitigated on this occasion. Said
he : " Let us suppose the sacred institutions of Lycurgus to have slept
during one unfortunate day, but henceforth let them resume their
wonted vigor ! " The prudent counsels of Agesilaiis were adopted.
The disastrous battle of Leuctra was the greatest calamity that had
ever befallen Sparta. Spartan influence was destroyed, even over the
Peloponnesian cities. The Spartan dependencies north of the Corin-
thian Gulf were lost, some being seized by the triumphant Thebans,
and the others by Jason, tyrant of Pherse, in Thessaly. The Spartan
ascendency in Greece, which had continued thirty-three years from
the time of the capture of Athens by Lysander, in B. C. 404, was now
superseded by the Theban supremacy, which lasted nine years, from
B. C. 371 to B. C. 362.
In the meantime the intelligence of the Spartan defeat at Leuctra
had produced an unexpected effect at Athens. The Thebans were so
desirous of propitiating the favor of the Athenians that they sent a
special courier to Athens to announce the event; but the Athenians,
jealous of the growing power of Thebes, coldly received the messen-
ger. Though unwilling to promote the prosperity of Thebes, the
Athenians at the same time endeavored to extort every possible advan-
tage to their own affairs from the depressed condition of Sparta.
Disappointed in their hopes of support and aid from Athens, the
Thebans sought the alliance of a prince at this time more powerful
than the Athenian republic, namely Jason of Pherse, who at this time
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
915
ruled all Thessaly. Jason was a man of extraordinary talents and
unbounded ambition, and aimed at the sovereignty of all Greece. Be-
sides being endowed with all the personal qualities of the old kings of
the Homeric period, from whom he claimed to be descended, he pos-
sessed the military skill and the political ability of his own maturely-
developed epoch. Such a personage was well calculated to rise to
power in a country like Thessaly, where the primitive habits of a
pastoral life were only partly intermingled with more refined customs,
derived from the neighboring states of the ancient Grecian confed-
eracy. Jason, who was originally simply a citizen of Pheram, a con-
siderable town in the South of Thessaly, acquired so much influence
and popularity by his talents and conduct that, under the title of
captain-general, he exercised the full extent of royal power in his
native country.
Jason's mind was capable of the loftiest designs. He saw how Hig
easily his numerous and hardy mountaineers, whom he had trained to Designs
an almost unparalleled degree of discipline, could win for him the Actions
ascendency over the exhausted states of Central Greece and the Pelo-
ponnesus. He even meditated conquests beyond Greece, like those
afterwards realized by Alexander the Great. As a preliminary step
in his policy, he diligently sought to acquire a friendly influence over
the Grecian republics. He visited the most important of them on
several occasions, and, by specious address and semi-barbaric splendor,
gained considerable favor among them. He entered into an alliance
with Thebes, though its most eminent citizen, Epaminondas, spurned
all his advances and disdainfully rejected his presents. Yet Epami-
nondas was probably the poorest citizen who ever became distinguished
as a soldier and a statesman among the republics of ancient Greece.
Entertaining such views, Jason of Pherse, as Prince of Thessaly, His
at once accepted the invitation of the Thebans to join their army and Mediation
to give them the support which Athens refused. While both the
triumphant Thebans and the vanquished Spartans still lay encamped
near the famous battlefield of Leuctra, Jason, at the head of two
thousand light horse, joined the Theban army and was gladly wel-
comed by his allies. But conscious that his ultimate designs concern-
ing Greece would be better advanced by his appearance in the charac-
ter of a mediator between the belligerent powers than as an ally of
either of them, Jason counseled peace, and, acting as negotiator him-
self, he soon succeeded to such an extent as to bring about a truce Truce.
(B. C. 370).
On the conclusion of this truce, all parties at once retired from the Jason's
field, the Lacedaemonians returning home in such haste as to imply a
lack of confidence in this sudden pacification, as well as their dislike
916
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Assassi-
nation of
Jason.
War
Renewed
between
Sparta
and
Thebes.
Invasion
of
Laconia.
of the unexpected mediator. All the Grecian states seem to have felt
at this time a considerable degree of alarm rgarding Jason, whose
proceedings, after he had returned to Thessaly, were calculated to con-
firm their worst anticipations. He openly declared his intention to
be present at the ensuing celebration of the Pythian Games at Delphi,
and to claim the right to preside there as an honor due to his descent,
his piety and his power. He collected about eleven thousand cattle of
different kinds, for the sacrifices of the oracle; thus amply indicating
the number of the followers with which he designed making his ap-
pearance.
But in this crisis of such ill omen to Greece — when the ambitious
purposes of the Prince of Thessaly were apparently approaching con-
summation— his career was ended forever by assassination. After re-
viewing his cavalry, he sat to give audience to supplicants, when seven
youths, under the plea of stating some point on which they disagreed,
approached him and murdered him (B. C. 370). The reason for this
act has ever remained a mystery. The friendly welcome given by the
Grecian cities to the five assassins who escaped fully indicates the feel-
ing with which the Grecian states received the intelligence of Jason's
assassination. This tragedy saved Greece from conquest by power-
ful northern neighbors for a period of thirty-three years, or until a
greater power came upon the scene.
In the meantime the Mantineans took advantage of the perilous
situation in which the great catastrophe at Leuctra had left Sparta
to avenge their former wrongs, and solicited the aid of Epaminondas.
Blinded by their jealous animosities, Sparta and Thebes, with their
respective allies, soon recommenced hostilities. The year after that
in which Jason lost his life was characterized by several proceedings
of some importance on the part of the rival states of Greece. Arcadia,
then in alliance with Thebes, was invaded and ravaged by Agesilaiis ;
and Epaminondas retaliated by leading an army of seventy thousand
men, consisting of the youth of Boeotia, Acarnania, Phocis, Locris,
Euboea, Argolis and Elis, into Laconia, and advanced upon Sparta
itself, which had not felt the heavy hand of a hostile invader for sev-
eral centuries (B. C. 369). During all this time the Spartan women
had never beheld an armed foe, and the defenseless city was filled with
consternation. But the energetic and venerable King Agesilaiis was
equal to the emergency. He abandoned Arcadia, on the approach of
the Thebans, and went to the relief of his native city, which, by his
consummate skill, valor and prudence, he succeeded in preserving from
the inroad of a hostile foe far outnumbering his own forces. Age-
silaiis repulsed the cavalry of Epaminondas, who retired down the
Eurotas valley, burning and plundering the rich and defenseless ter-
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
ritory of Laconia, thus wreaking the hostility which the genius of
Agesilaus had warded off from its capital.
The chief objects of the expedition of Epaminondas were yet to be
fulfilled. He desired to organize and strengthen the union of Arca-
dian towns already formed. To guard against mutual jealousy and
rivalry on the part of the existing cities, the new city of Megalopolis
was built, and peopled by colonists from forty towns. This new city
became the capital of the Arcadian League, and here a congress of
deputies, called The Ten Thousand, was to be regularly convened;
while a standing army of deputies from the different cities of the
league was likewise raised.
Epaminondas likewise contemplated a project for the restoration
of the Messenians. For three centuries this valiant people had been
exiled from their native land, which was held in possession by the Lace-
daemonians. The letters of Epaminondas now recalled the Messenian
exiles from the shores of Italy, Sicily, Africa and Asia, and they en-
thusiastically flew to arms to recover the land of their heroic ancestors.
They fortified the citadel of Ithome anew, and rebuilt the destroyed
city of Messene upon the western slope of the mountain and protected
it with strong walls. The Messenian territories extended southward
to the gulf bearing their name, and northward to Elis and Arcadia.
Epaminondas was actuated by motives of humanity in restoring the
exiled Messenians, as well as by a desire to raise a powerful rival to
Sparta in the Peloponnesus.
King Agesilaus took advantage of the disfavor with which Athens
had looked upon the Theban victory at Leuctra by sending to that
republic able and cunning emissaries, who, with the assistance of the
ambassadors of Corinth and Phlius, succeeded in inducing the Athe-
nians to take up arms, not to restore Spartan supremacy, but to estab-
lish that general peace which had been agreed to at the congress at
Sparta by every state, excepting Thebes. The existing war appeared,
in the eyes of the other Grecian states, to proceed entirely from the
obstinacy of Thebes; and, under color of this specious argument,
Athens now participated in the war as an ally of Sparta.
An Athenian army of twenty thousand men under Iphicrates
marched to Arcadia, for the purpose of diverting Epaminondas from
his campaign in Laconia. The great Theban general had just per-
fected the humane and politic proceeding of restoring the Messenians
to the land of their ancestors, when he heard of the movement of the
Athenians under Iphicrates. He immediately evacuated Laconia; and
Iphicrates at once retired from Arcadia, as if the object of the cam-
paign had been accomplished. Watching each other's movements, the
two generals withdrew in the direction of their respective homes, which
917
Megalop-
olis.
Messe-
nian
Restora-
tion by
Epami-
nondas.
Alliance
of
Sparta
and
Athens.
Iphicrates
and
Epami-
nondas.
918
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Theban
Succes-
ses.
Spartan
Misfor-
tunes.
The
"Tear-
less
Battle."
Pelopidas
in
Thessaly.
they reached without any hostile collision. This pacific end of the
campaign caused Epaminondas to be accused of misconduct; but he
defended himself in so forcible and dignified a manner before the as-
sembly of the Theban people that the factious endeavors of his enemies
to injure him simply added to his honor and popularity. The most
important result of the campaign was the revival of the Messenian
commonwealth, as it permanently deprived Sparta of almost half her
long-held territory.
The Thebans had gained other advantages, and they were prepared
to enter the field the next spring with undiminished confidence, though
the Lacedaemonians, in concert with the Athenians under Chabrias,
had fortified the Isthmus of Corinth, for the purpose of closing the
passage into the Peloponnesus against another Theban invasion. But
Epaminondas forced one of the Spartan posts and devastated the Cor-
inthian territories (B. C. 369). Sicyon deserted the cause of Sparta
and entered into an alliance with Thebes. The Thebans were in turn
defeated in an attack upon Corinth, and their foes were reinforced
by a squadron which arrived at Lechaeum, from Dionysius I., the t}rrant
of Syracuse, conveying two thousand auxiliaries from Gaul and Spain.
But here the campaign ended. Instead of marching into the Pelo-
ponnesus, Epaminondas retired with his forces and returned to Thebes.
This retreat for a time injured his popularity. The Spartans under
Archidamus, son of Agesilaiis, next expelled the Theban garrisons
which had been introduced into the different cities of Laconia. In
the meantime the Arcadians, elated by their newly-acquired power,
aspired to share the sovereignty with Thebes, as Athens did with
Sparta. Under their leader Lycomedes, who had first proposed the
league, the Arcadians gained several advantages in the West and in-
flicted the final death-blow to Spartan power in Messenia. Archi-
damus, at the head of a Spartan army, afterwards invaded Arcadia
and won a signal victory over the valiant Lycomedes. In this battle
the Arcadians suffered frightful slaughter, while the Spartans did not
lose a man (B. C. 368). When intelligence of this victory reached
Sparta, the venerable Agesilaiis and all the assembled people wept for
joy. As no Spartan mother had to lament for the loss of a son, this
engagement was styled, in the Spartan annals, the " Tearless Battle."
By fortifying their frontier in accordance with a plan suggested by
Epaminondas, the Arcadians put a stop to Lacedaemonian incursions
for a time. The Thebans did not regret this defeat of their allies, as
it curbed their pride and showed their need of protection from the
sovereign state.
In the meantime Pelopidas was sent into Thessaly with a strong
<> to restore quiet to that region, then disturbed by the t_yrant
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
Alexander of Pherae, Jason's brother and third successor on the throne
of Thessaly. When the Thebans arrived in Thessaly, the frightened
despot implored their clemency and submissively bound himself to ful-
fill every stipulation dictated to him, both those relating to his own
possessions and those respecting the Theban dominions. Pelopidas
organized a league among the Thessalian cities and entered into an
alliance with Macedon. Among the hostages sent from the Mace-
donian court was the young prince Philip, son of Amyntas, then fifteen
years of age, who was destined to act an important part in the later
history of Greece.
During the years B. C. 367 and B. C. 366, the Persian court be-
came more and more the theater of Grecian negotiations, or, more
properly, intrigues; all the belligerent states of Greece desiring at
least the pecuniary assistance of King Artaxerxes Mnemon. Pelop-
idas was the Theban ambassador sent to Susa, and he faithfully and
skillfully fulfilled the objects of his mission. The Persian monarch
was so charmed by the noble appearance and the commanding elo-
quence of Pelopidas that he distinguished him above all the rival en-
voys from the other Grecian states and ratified a treaty with him of
a most advantageous character for Thebes. This treaty was designed
for the general pacification of Greece, and by its provisions the Great
King recognized the Hellenic supremacy of Thebes and the independ-
ence of Messene and Amphipolis, decided a dispute between the Arca-
dians and the Elians in favor of the latter, and required Athens to
reduce her navy to a peace footing, and Sparta to acknowledge the
independence of Messenia, under the pain of bringing down upon both
these powers the joint vengeance of Persia and Thebes in case of re-
fusal.
These peace propositions demanded the full consideration of all the
parties concerned. Accordingly, as soon as Pelopidas had returned
home and informed his countrymen of the favorable result of his nego-
tiations, the Thebans dispatched ambassadors to all the states of
Greece, inviting them to appear by their representatives at Thebes,
to deliberate, in full congress, upon the conditions of the proposed
treaty. The minor Grecian states very generally obeyed this sum-
mons, but Athens and Sparta seem to have received it with silent con-
tempt. But the Thebans did not meet with the success they expected
in convincing the assembled deputies as to the propriety of the propo-
sitions submitted to them for their approval. Lycomedes, the Arca-
dian envoy, courageously told the Thebans that their city was not the
place for the sitting of such a congress, and that Arcadia, at least,
did not care for, nor need, the alliance of the Great King. Other
deputies expressed similar sentiments, and the congress broke up with-
2—20
919
Persian
Intrigues.
Alliance
of Persia
and
Thebes.
Grecian
Congress
at
Thebes.
920
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Captivity
of
Pelopidas
in
Thessaly.
Sparta
and
Thebes
Deserted
by
Their
Allies.
out reaching any decision. Though the alliance of Persia and The-
bes on this occasion involved no such degrading consequences to Greece
as the treaty which Antalcidas had negotiated for Sparta, the motives
of Thebes were the same as those of Sparta had been — namely, to
establish for herself an ascendency over the other Grecian states. The
just and virtuous Epaminondas stood aloof from all participation in
these political and diplomatic intrigues.
When Pelopidas was shortly afterwards called to the North a second
time, to mediate in the affairs of Macedon, and had placed the legiti-
mate heir to that kingdom on his throne, the ungrateful Alexander of
Pherae, tyrant of Thessaly, seized him by surprise as he was on his way
home with a small train, and cast him into a dungeon. The Thebans
at once sent an armed force to rescue or avenge their ambassador.
But unfortunately Epaminondas was at this time degraded from his
command, and the Theban army was defeated and almost totally de-
stroyed. The great victor of Leuctra had joined the expedition as
a private soldier, but, long before the enterprise was completed, he
was called to his old station as head of the army by acclamation of
the troops. He safely led the defeated and shattered army home, but
immediately received the command of a second expedition which suc-
ceeded in releasing Pelopidas.
Epaminondas again led a Theban army into the Peloponnesus in
B. C. 366, and, having rapidly reduced Achsea, he restored order in
that country and bound its people by oath to join the standard of
Thebes. But the Achseans did not long observe this engagement,
partly because the Thebans, after Epamniondas had returned home,
sent commissioners to reverse much that he had wisely done, thus highly
exasperating the party in Achsea which favored Sparta and which
finally acquired the ascendency in the state. The result was that the
Achaeans and the Lacedaemonians jointly ravaged Arcadia, which was
still the ally of Thebes, though habitually jealous of any effort under-
taken by that state to acquire an undue elevation. Nothing else of
importance marked the progress of the war for awhile, although the
two chief states concerned in it had lost none of their animosity toward
each other. But the secondary or subordinate parties engaged in the
struggle were weary of the constant sacrifices they were called upon
to make, without even the hope of any advantage to themselves.
Thoroughly disgusted with their allies, Athens and Arcadia contracted
an alliance for their mutual welfare and protection. Corinth, Achaea
and Phlius — communities which had been the faithful allies of Sparta,
in adversity as well as in prosperity — petitioned that republic either
to agree to the pacification recently proposed by Thebes, or, at least,
if Sparta could not with honor consent to the cession of Messenia, to
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
921
allow them to conclude a separate treaty with the latter state for them-
selves. But instigated by the ardent eloquence of Archidamus, the
son of Agesilaiis, the Spartans, though their cause and fortunes were
declining and being deserted, haughtily replied that they would never
acknowledge the independence of Messenia, but that their allies might
act as they thought best. At first Thebes would only agree to a treaty
with Corinth, Achaea and Phlius on condition that they would join
the league against Sparta ; but the three states asking for peace would
not consent to this proposition, and Thebes finally saw proper to grant
them the neutrality which they so ardently desired. By this proceed-
ing Sparta was deprived of all her influential and powerful allies ex-
cept Dionysius the younger, the reigning tyrant of Syracuse, who,
about this time, in accordance with his father's engagements, sent a
considerable force to the aid of Lacedasmon, which seems to have been
so far humbled by adversity as to think only of the defense of the
Peloponnesus, which then was not threatened with any Theban inva-
sion.
Alexander of Pheras, Prince of Thessaly, the perfidious tyrant who
had formerly been curbed in his cruelties and oppressions by Pelop-
idas and EpaminoBckts, l.tid in the meantime regained the power which
he had lost, and again tyrannized over the frontier cities of Thessaly
and Boeotia with such a degree of severity that the Thebans again
found themselves obliged to interfere. Pelopidas was accordingly sent
with ten thousand men into Thessaly, where he was joined by many
of those who had been victims of Alexander's cruelty and tyranny.
Alexander, at the head of twenty thousand men, was defeated by
Pelopidas in a battle at the foot of the mountains of Cynoscephalae
(B. C. 363). But rage at the sight of his old enemy and captor over-
came the prudence of Pelopidas, and the heroic and patriotic leader
of the conquering Thebans fell a victim to his own gallantry. Dash-
ing forward impetuously and rashly, Pelopidas challenged the Thes-
salian tyrant to a single combat. The cowardly oppressor sought
protection behind his guards, who poured a shower of javelins on
Pelopidas, slaying him before his friends could come to his rescue.
Though the Thebans were victorious in another battle with Alexander
of Pherae, the death of their favorite leader seems to have prevented
them from following up their successes to such advantage as they
might otherwise have done ; for we see that, at the end of the war in
Thessaly, they were satisfied to leave the tyrant Alexander in undis-
puted possession of his own original dominion of Pheras, although
Theban supremacv was established throughout the rest of Thessaly.
In the meantime the Peloponnesus was not at peace, though the
Thebans had their hands too full of other employment to prosecute
Victory
and
Death of
Pelopidas
in
Thessaly.
Troubles
of
Thebes.
922
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Arcadia
and
Elis.
Arcadian
Sacrilege
at
Olympia.
the war across the Isthmus of Corinth at this time, in consequence of
the occupation of their arms in Thessaly, and a dangerous outbreak
of the aristocratic faction in Thebes itself, ending in the destruction
of the city of Orchomenus.
We have observed that the Arcadians, although allies of Thebes,
were as jealous of Theban supremacy as of Spartan ascendency. The
confederated cities of Arcadia had become ambitious as they advanced
in power, and they aided Thebes against Sparta only for the purpose
of establishing their own absolute domination in the Peloponnesus,
upon the ruins of the Lacedaemonian power. Actuated by this selfish
motive, the Arcadians took the field against Elis. The peaceful Eli-
ans, finding themselves unable to repel the invaders of their territory,
solicited the aid of Sparta. The Lacedaemonians readily granted the
desired assistance; but the Arcadians continued their aggression upon
Elis, seizing one Elian town after another, until they obtained posses-
sion of the city of Olympia with its sacred grove, which they seized
during the year of the festival celebrating the one hundred and fourth
Olympiad, when vast multitudes from every portion of Greece were
present, as usual on such occasions, and when hostilities had always
been suspended.
The festive celebration was disturbed by an act of sacrilege. The
conquering Arcadians deprived the Elians of their supervision of the
games and installed the Pisatans in their place. A large army of the
Arcadians and their allies was present to enforce this irregular pro-
ceeding. The Elians and their allies, the Achaeans, attempted to sur-
prise their Arcadian conquerors in an unguarded moment in the midst
of the games, and a battle occurred on the sacred ground. The tem-
ple of Zeus was used as a fortress, and the gold and ivory statue of
that great god fashioned by Phidias seemed to gaze upon a scene of
sacrilegious strife. Some of the Arcadian leaders, from motives of
avarice, seized the rich treasures which centuries of superstition had
collected around the Olympian shrine. Other generals were shocked
at this sacrilegious act. The Mantineans refused to share in the
spoils, and were therefore proclaimed traitors to the Arcadian league;
but the majority of the confederated cities of Arcadia participated
so strongly in the feeling of horror at this spoliation that they decreed
the restitution of the sacred treasures, and even of the sacred city it-
self, to the Elians, whom they invited to send a deputation to Tegea
with the view of concluding a treaty of peace. The fear of calling
down upon their heads the vengeance of the gods was the reason for
this turn of affairs, which was as agreeable to the people of Elis as
it was distasteful to the persons sharing in the plunder of the Olym-
pian shrine. Among those who shared in this spoliation was the com-
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES.
923
mander of the Theban garrison at Tegea, where the deputies of Ar-
cadia and Elis met to negotiate the terms of peace.
After having agreed upon a peace, the deputies sat down, in accord-
ance with custom, to an entertainment prepared for them; and when
everything indicated an appearance of unity and concord, the unsus-
pecting representatives of Arcadia and Elis were suddenly seized by
a band of armed men and cast into prison. The chief actor in this
proceeding was the Theban captain, who had been instigated by others
in a similar predicament with himself regarding the sacred treasures
of the Olympian shrine. The Arcadian cities assumed such a threat-
ening attitude in consequence of this act that the Theban captain was
intimidated into speedily releasing his prisoners ; but he found it more
difficult to repair the injury which his imprudent outrage had caused
his country. The outrage just alluded to alienated the good will of
half of Arcadia from Thebes, especially when the Thebans refused to
discountenance the act of the Theban garrison at Tegea when applied
to for redress of the wrongs thus inflicted, but instead threatened to
send an army to restore order. The Arcadians were so exasperated
at this haughty and menacing course of Thebes that they solicited aid
from Athens and Sparta, and made vigorous preparations to defend
their territories against their recent powerful ally.
In the summer of B. C. 362, Epaminondas invaded the Pelopon-
nesus for the fourth and last time, leading a large allied army, con-
sisting of Boeotians, Thessalians and Euboeans, into Arcadia, and halt-
ing at Tegea, where he expected to be joined by some of his old fellow
soldiers of Arcadia ; but in this anticipation the hero of Leuctra was
disappointed. Nevertheless, he was bold in his operations and confi-
dent of the issue of the impending struggle. Upon ascertaining that
the Spartans under the venerable Agesilaiis were advancing to join
the Arcadian league at Mantinea, Epaminondas decamped in the
night-time and made a dash at Sparta, which was saved from total ruin
by the conduct of a Cretan deserter, who informed Agesilaiis of the
Theban general's design in time for the old king and his son to return
to the defense of his capital and his household gods. After a battle
in the very streets of Sparta, the Theban invader was obliged to retire.
Thus foiled in this enterprise by the betrayal of his design and by the
desperate valor of the Spartans, Epaminondas, determined to perform
some deed worthy of his renown, then marched to surprise Mantinea,
eluding the Arcadians and their allies, who had moved to the relief
of Sparta, by his rapid evolutions. Thus left unprotected by the
withdrawal of the Spartan army, Mantinea must have fallen into the
possession of the Thebans, at a time when its citizens and their slaves
were employed in the harvest-fields, had not a strong detachment of
VOL. 3. — 15
Theban
Outrage
at Tegea.
Epam-
inondas
in the
Pelopon-
nesus.
924
GREECE IX HER GLORY.
Battle of
Mantinea
and
Death of
Epam-
inondas.
His
Last
Words.
Athenian cavalry reached the city a few hours before the arrival of
Epaminondas. Though weary and hungry, the Athenians, by their
determined valor, saved Mantinea by repulsing the Theban invaders.
The Arcadian allies soon afterwards returned to their position at
Mantinea; and Epaminondas, anxious to efface the memory of his
recent failures, resolved upon risking a great battle with the enemies
of Thebes. His preparations for this engagement and his conduct
during its progress have been considered by all historians as indicating
wonderful military skill. The elevated plain between Tegea and Man-
tinea was the place destined for the final struggle between Sparta and
Thebes. When the Thebans arrived on the field they laid down their
arms, as if preparing to encamp; and the Spartans, supposing that
they did not intend to fight, scattered over the field in some confusion,
some tending their horses, some unbuckling their breast-plates. After
thus deceiving the Spartans and their allies by pretending to decline
an engagement, Epaminondas suddenly formed his Boeotian troops
into a wedge-like phalanx, as at Leuctra, and fell upon the enemy
before they had time to resume the arms which they had laid aside so
rashly. A most sanguinary conflict ensued. The Spartans fought
with their accustomed valor ; but under the disadvantage alwa}-s occa-
sioned by disorder, they were powerless to recover themselves on the
instant. Epaminondas took advantage of the situation by hurling a
bod}' of his chosen troops upon the enemy's center, whereupon the
Spartans and the Mantineans fled. But in the midst of the struggle
the heroic Epaminondas fell pierced by a javelin, thus receiving a
mortal wound. He was carried aside by his friends, whereupon his
followers stood paralyzed with dismay, and were unable to follow up
the advantage for which he had prepared the way. At the end of the
battle the Spartans asked permission to bury their dead, but both
armies claimed the honors of the day and erected trophies of victory.
Such was the famous battle of Mantinea, in which Epaminondas
bought his second great victory over the Spartans with his life (B.
C. 362).
Epaminondas lived for a short time after the tumult of battle had
ceased, the javelin still sticking in his breast. His friends feared to
remove it, lest he should die the instant it was withdrawn. The illus-
trious Theban chief bore the agony of his wound until he was assured
that his army was triumphant, whereupon he exclaimed : " Then all
is well ! " In reply to the sorrowing spectators who lamented that so
illustrious a warrior and statesman died childless, Epaminondas ex-
claimed : " I leave you two fair daughters — Leuctra and Mantinea ! "
He then drew the fatal spear-head from his wound, and, with the rush
of blood which followed, his life ebbed away, and " he died calmly and
From Stereograph, copyright 1897 by Underwood &• Underwood
THE PARTHENON
Upper ; Restoration, after Model in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Lower : Present Condition
SUPREMACIES OF SPARTA AND THEBES. 935
cheerfully, in the arms of his weeping countrymen, leaving behind His
him a name second to none in the annals of Greece." " Epaminondas ^"^
was a pure, unselfish patriot ; a refined, moral and generous citizen." ter.
Cicero regarded him as the greatest man that ancient Greece ever pro-
duced. No Greek at any time more truly deserved the title of
" Great." Many of the worthiest who came after him selected him
for their model. Like the Chevalier Bayard, Epaminondas was truly
" a knight without fear and without reproach."
The glory and preeminence of Thebes began and ended with the End of
public career of Epaminondas ; and after the battle of Mantinea that
state sank to her former position among the republics of ancient
Greece. The glory of Hellas had departed forever. Exhausted by
her intestine struggles, caused by the mutual jealousies among the
several states, Greece rapidly declined, and her ultimate rum was has-
tened by the Social War and the Sacred War, which soon followed;
so that, demoralized and disunited, this renowned land finally lay pros-
trate and ready to fall a prey to the arms of the despoiler — and this
despoiler soon appeared in the person of Philip of Macedon.
Under the auspices of the King of Persia, who still desired to levy
men for his service in Egypt, overtures for a general peace were again Agesilaua
made to the Grecian states. Sparta alone refused to agree to the new _, m .
treaty, because it recognized the independence of Messenia. Ap-
parently incensed at the course of King Artaxerxes Mnemon, Agesi-
laiis, although an octogenarian, crossed the sea at the head of one
thousand heavy-armed Lacedaemonians and ten thousand mercenaries
to assist Tachos, King of Egypt, who had sought Spartan aid in his
revolt against the dominion of Persia. The appearance of this little,
lame old man, without any royal retinue or magnificence, excited ridi-
cule among the Egyptians ; but when he abandoned the cause of Ta-
chos and joined the standard of Nectanabis, who had risen in arms
against Tachos, the Egyptians were able to comprehend the full im-
portance of the decrepit little Spartan king, as he placed Nectanabis
upon the Egyptian throne. But Agesilaus died at Cyrene on his
way home, in the eighty-fourth year of his age and the forty-first of His
his reign (B. C. 361). His body, embalmed in wax, was conveyed ^t
with great pomp to Sparta. An ancient oracle had foretold that Cyrene.
Sparta would lose her power under a lame king — a prophecy which
was now verified through no fault of the king. Agesilaus had all the
virtues of the Spartans, without their common failings of avarice and
deceit. He likewise had a warmth and tenderness in friendship seldom
possessed by his countrymen. He has been styled " Sparta's most
perfect citizen and most consummate general, in many ways, perhaps,
her greatest man."
926
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Athens
and the
Social
War.
Chabrias
and
Chares.
In the meantime Athens carried on wars in the North, by sea against
Alexander of Pherae, and by land against Macedon and the princes of
Thrace. The second period of Athenian greatness culminated in the
year B. C. 358, when Euboea, the Chersonesus and Amphipolis were
once more reduced under the dominion of Athens. The allied depend-
encies of Athens had long and patiently borne the system of exaction
which she formerly practiced, but the patience of these dependencies
finally became exhausted. In B. C. 358 the isles of Chios, Cos,
Rhodes, and the city of Byzantium, acting in concert with several
minor communities, and after having duly prepared themselves for the
consequences, transmitted a joint declaration to the Athenian govern-
ment that, " as they now needed and derived no assistance or protec-
tion from Athens, the tribute hitherto paid in return for such coun-
tenance could no longer be required." This message aroused great
indignation at Athens, which at once sent a fleet to check the rebellious
spirit of the dependent allies.
The principal instigator of this measure was Chares, a man of
profligate character, and one of the leading abettors of the oppressive
impositions which had occasioned the revolt. The conduct of the
Social War, as this contest was styled, was committed to this popular
favorite. The two ablest commanders then in Greece, Timotheus and
Iphicrates, were passed over, because of their known desire for con-
ciliatory measures in preference to hostile proceedings in this instance.
Chabrias was the only man of note or ability on board the Athenian
fleet, and the expedition was productive of honor only to him, though
he lost his life through the acquisition of it. Upon the arrival of the
Athenians at Chios, their commander, Chares, found himself unable to
take his fleet into the harbor, on account of the vigorous resistance
of the rebellious allies, who had assembled in force on the island. Cha-
brias alone entered the little bay with but one ship entrusted to him ;
but when his men found themselves unsupported by the rest of the
fleet, they leaped into the sea and swan back to the other vessels, leav-
ing their brave leader, who preferred death to dishonor, to fall by the
enemy's darts. The subsequent operations of Chares met with no bet-
ter success than this attack upon Chios. A new fleet was dispatched
to his aid, under the command of Mnestheus, the son of Iphicrates
and the son-in-law of Tim6theus, both of whom acted as his counselors,
though neither of these two veterans held any important official station
in the expedition. When the two Athenian fleets were united, it was
resolved to besiege Byzantium, for the purpose of calling the entire
strength of the revolted confederates to the defense of that city. The
project succeeded. The revolted allies united all their naval forces
and appeared before Byzantium. But a fierce storm rendered it un-
Homer
j£schylus
Herodotus
GREEK WRITERS AND THINKERS
Sophocles
Plato
Socrates
Thucydides
LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
advisable and impracticable, according to the view taken by Timo-
theus and Iphicrates, for the Athenians to confront the foe. Never-
theless Chares confidently insisted on assailing the allied rebels, not-
withstanding the risk of shipwreck and other obstacles feared by his
companions, but his opinions were overruled.
Chares at once sent messengers to Athens branding Timotheus and
Iphicrates with all the opprobrious epithets which he could think of,
and those two commanders were at once recalled and tried for neglect
of duty. Timotheus was condemned to pay a fine of one hundred
talents (about one hundred thousand dollars) to the state — a sentence
which sent this worthy son of Conon and descendant of Miltiades into
exile. Iphicrates, who was less scrupulous than his fellow-victim,
filled the court with his armed friends and thus overawed the judges
and forced an acquittal. He, however, like Timotheus, retired from
his ungrateful native city; and neither of these eminent leaders ever
afterward participated in public affairs.
Having thus rid himself of his colleagues, Chares roamed over the
seas, attended by bands of singers, dancers and harlots, without con-
cerning himself any further about the prosecution of the war. He
finally brought down upon his country the wrath of the Persian king
by hiring himself and his troops to assist the project of Artabazus,
the rebellious Persian satrap of Ionia. A threatening message from
King Artaxerxes Ochus so alarmed the Athenians that they recalled
their fleet, thus practically permitting the revolted allies the enjoy-
ment of the independence for which they had contended (B. C. 355).
Athens was also induced by other causes to submit quietly for the time
to this humiliating diminution of her dominion and her resources.
Thus the Social War was generally inglorious and exhaustive to
Athens, and her power rapidly declined thenceforth. During the four
years that this war had been in progress (B. C. 358-355), Philip of
Macedon had been able to seize all the Athenian dependencies on the
Thermaic Gulf and thus to extend the Macedonian power to the
Peneus.
Timo-
jUbi*nd
rates.
Exile of
Iphic-
ratea-
Chares
nous
Rapid
Dfxljne of
SECTION V.— LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
SIMONIDES, a highly-eminent elegiac poet, was born in the isle of
Ceos, about the year B. C. 560. Upon reaching manhood he opened
a school and for some time taught singing and dancing, but grew
weary of this occupation and passed over into Asia Minor, where he
wandered from city to city, writing, for pay, poetical eulogiums on
the victors in the public games. He visited Athens during the rule
of Hippias and Hipparchus, and afterwards sailed to Sicily, where his
Simoni-
928 GREECE IN HER GLORY.
poetical talents won for him the friendship of Hiero I., King of Syra-
cuse, who was distinguished for his liberal patronage of men of learn-
ing and genius. At the court of this enlightened sovereign, Simonides
spent most of the remaining years of his life, and it was there that he
composed some of his chief poems. Simonides was renowned for his
wisdom, as well as for his poetical genius. When Hiero asked him
concerning the nature of God, Simonides asked to be permitted to
think upon the subject before giving a reply. At the end of the time
he requested two days more, and thus continued asking, always doub-
ling the number of days demanded, until Hiero inquired in astonish-
ment for the reason of such delay. Simonides replied that the longer
he reflected upon the subject the more difficult it seemed. Being once
asked whether knowledge or wealth was most desirable, he replied that
it must be wealth, as he daily saw learned men waiting at the doors
of rich men. This answer was intended as a reflection upon syco-
phancy. Simonides mainly excelled in elegiac poetry, but he likewise
attempted other kinds of poetical composition with success. His songs
celebrated the heroes of Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea,
and were greatly admired. For the first of these pieces he gained a
prize in a contest with ^Eschylus, the tragic poet. Simonides was un-
rivaled in tenderness and plaintive sweetness, and one of his works,
styled Lamentations, is particularly mentioned by ancient writers as
a poem of such touching pathos that it was impossible to read it with-
out shedding tears. Simonides is said to have perfected the Greek
alphabet by the addition of four letters to it, and to have invented
what is styled artificial memory. He preserved his faculties until he
was very well advanced in years, and won a prize for poetical compo-
sition in his eightieth year. He died in Sicily at the age of ninety.
Only a few verses of his many poems yet remain.
Pindar. PINDAR, of Thebes — the illustrious contemporary of Simonides —
was the greatest Greek lyric poet, and celebrated the triumphs of the
victors in the Olympic Games, but likewise wrote hymns, dirges and
pastoral songs. Pindar's lyrical poems have been objects of general
admiration in ancient and modern times. He was born at Cynos-
cephala1, near Thebes, about the year B. C. 520. Pindar's first poetical
efforts were not appreciated by his countrymen, the Boeotians, but the
rest of Greece at once testified their admiration of his genius. Hiero
I., King of Syracuse, and Theron, King of Agrigentum, bestowed
their friendship and patronage upon him ; while princes and states vied
with each other in honoring him. The Delphic oracle ordered a seat
to be placed for him in the temple of Apollo, where he might sing
the verses composed by him in praise of that god. The oracle also
declared that a portion of the first fruits offered in the temple should
LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND ART. 939
be set apart for his use. He offended his countrymen by lauding the
Athenians in one of his poems, and was heavily fined in consequence;
but the Athenians at once presented him with a sum of money twice
the amount of the fine imposed upon him. Pindar's lyrics abound in
moral and elevating sentiments, while being characterized by such
originality of thought and vigor of expression that he is deservedly
considered the greatest lyric poet of Greece. Many of his poems have
been lost, and all that remain are four books of odes celebrating the
victors at the Olympian, Pythian, Nemean and Isthmian Games. Pin-
dar died suddenly in the fifty-fifth year of his age, while sitting in
the public theater. The esteem in which he had been held in life was
increased by his death. His memory was regarded with such venera-
tion that when Alexander the Great took and destroyed Thebes he
spared the house and family of Pindar.
Dramatic poetry was raised to a great height by the three great Tragic
Athenian tragic poets — ^ESCHYLUS, EURIPIDES and SOPHOCLES — all Poetry,
of whom were in some way connected with the battle of Salamis.
^Eschylus fought in the battle ; Sophocles, at the age of fifteen, danced
to the choral song of Simonides in honor of the victory ; and Euripides
was born in Salamis on the day of the battle. ^Eschylus was the first Mschy
eminent Grecian dramatist. He was born at Eleusis, in Attica, B. C.
520. He was deservedly designated as " The Father of Tragedy,"
because of the many improvements which he effected in the Athenian
theater, and because of the force and dignity of his tragic composi-
tions, which elevated and refined the infant drama. ^Eschylus was
•without a rival in dramatic composition until his fifty-sixth year, when
he was defeated in a theatrical contest by Sophocles, a young com-
petitor of merit and genius. He was unable to endure the mortifica-
tion of seeing his rival's works preferred to his own, and therefore
retired from Athens, going over into Sicily, where he was welcomed
by Hiero I., King of Syracuse, at whose court the lyric poets Simon-
ides and Pindar, and the comic writer Epicharmus, were then living.
^Eschylus wrote almost a hundred dramas, but only seven have been
preserved. His works are characterized by a boldness and originality
which have rarely been rivaled ; but, in trying to be concise and forci-
ble, he sometimes became abrupt and obscure ; and his language, though
usually grand and sublime, is frequently of a bombastic style.
^Eschylus died at Gela, in Sicily, in the sixty-ninth year of his age.
A singular account is given of the manner of his death. It is related
that, while he was one day walking, bareheaded, in the fields, an eagle,
mistaking his bald head for a stone, dropped a tortoise upon it, thus
killing him on the spot. The inhabitants of Gela buried ^Eschylus
with great pomp and erected a monument over his grave.
930
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Sopho- SOPHOCLES, the successful rival of /Eschylus, was born at Colonos,
in the vicinity of Athens, about the year B. C. 497. His father, So-
philus, although a blacksmith by trade, seems to have been an indi-
vidual of some importance and in easy circumstances. Sophocles was
given a good education and was early distinguished for his rapid
progress in his studies. At the time of the battle of Salamis he had
reached his sixteenth year, and, on account of his personal beauty and
his musical skill, he was selected to lead the chorus of noble youths
who danced around the trophy erected by the Greeks to commemorate
that great naval victory. The dramatic achievements of ^Eschylus
had early won the admiration and aroused the ambition of Sophocles,
who, upon reaching manhood, directed all his mental energies to the
composition of tragic poetry. After he had spent considerable time
in preparation, he ventured, in his twenty-eighth year, to compete
with ^Eschylus for the dramatic prize. Encouraged by the decision
of the judges in his favor, Sophocles continued to write dramas, and
is said to have produced about one hundred and twenty tragedies, of
which only seven have been transmitted to modern times. He likewise
composed many elegiac and lyric poems and a prose work on dramatic
poetry. Sophocles was a warrior and a politician as well as a poet.
He served under Pericles in one of the wars with the Spartans, and
was subsequently associated with him in the command of an army sent
by the Athenians against the island of Samos. He led the forces
which took Anasa, an Ionian city, near Samos ; and, after his return
from his campaigns, his grateful countrymen chose him for chief
Archon of the republic. His popularity continued to the end of his
life. He always made his appearance in the theater when any of his
dramas were to be performed, and on these occasions he was always
greeted with the enthusiastic plaudits of the audience, and the crown
of victory was conferred upon him by the judges twenty times. He
suffered many afflictions. When he had arrived at an advanced age,
his undutiful children, actuated by a desire to obtain possession of
his property immediately, affected to believe him fallen into a condi-
tion of mental weakness, and sought legal authority to deprive him
of the management of his affairs. But Sophocles had no difficulty
in proving that his mind remained unimpaired, notwithstanding his
advanced age.
Incidents It was Sophocles who produced the tragedy of (Edipus Coloneus,
wnicn he had J11^ composed, and then asked if a person of an imbecile
mind could produce such a work. The judges, filled with admiration
for his genius, refused the application of his children and censured
them severely for their base and unfilial conduct. Sophocles received
many invitations to visit foreign lands, but his attachment to his native
LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
931
country prevented him from leaving it, even for a short time. S6pho-
cles has been classed in the front rank of tragic poets, both by his
contemporaries and by all succeeding ages. Sophocles died in his
ninetieth year (B. C. 407). It is said that his death was caused by
the excess of his joy at receiving the prize for a drama which he had
produced at that advanced age. At the time of his death Athens was
besieged by the Spartans, and that rigid people so highly esteemed
his poetic genius that their general, Lysander, granted an armistice
until his funeral obsequies should be performed. His countrymen,
who loved him for his mild, amiable and upright character, as much
as they admired him for his brilliant talents, erected a monument to
his memory.
EURIPIDES, the third great Athenian tragic poet, was born at Sala-
mis, on the day of the great sea-fight there, as already noticed. His
father, Mnesarchus, seems to have been a person of respectable rank;
and it is said that his mother, Clito, was of noble birth, although the
comic poet Aristophanes says, in one of his dramas, that she was a
vender of pot-herbs. In the general distress resulting from the Per-
sian invasion of Attica, the parents of Euripides may have been obliged
to follow an humble calling to obtain a livelihood; but such can only
have been the case for a brief period, as they were certainly able to
give their son such an education as only persons in affluent circum-
stances could do in those times. The Delphic oracle having predicted
that Euripides would become an object of general admiration and be
crowned with the victor's wreath, his parents fancied that he was des-
tined to excel in gymnastic contests. For this reason they had him
carefully trained in athletic exercises, but they did not neglect his
mental culture. His teachers were the celebrated philosopher, Anaxag-
and the accomplished rhetorician, Prodicus. Besides philoso-
oras,
phy and oratory, he studied music and painting, especially the latter,
in which he reached great eminence.
When Euripides had arrived at the age at which he became his own
master, he abandoned the exercise of the gymnasium, which he ap-
parently never relished, and applied himself with more than his usual
zeal to his favorite philosophical and literary studies. Profiting by
the fate of his tutor Anaxagoras, who was banished from Athens for
promulgating opinions subversive of the established religion, Euripi-
prudently determined to adopt a less dangerous profession than
that of correcting popular errors, and thus commenced writing dramas
in his eighteenth year. Thenceforth, until he left Athens for Mace-
donia, in his seventy-second year, he continued his dramatic labors,
and wrote seventy-five, or according to some, ninety-two plays. He
composed a number of his tragedies in a gloomy cave in his native
Euripi-
des.
His
Dramatic
Labors.
932 GREECE IN HER GLORY.
island of Salamis, to which he retired for that purpose at times from
the noise of Athens. He wrote slowly, because of the great care he
took to polish his works; and it is said that, having once related that
he had taken three days to compose three verses, a brother poet boasted
that he had written a hundred in the same space of time. To this
Euripides replied : " That may be ; but you ought to remember that
your verses are destined to perish as quickly as they are composed,
while mine are intended to last forever." In his seventy-second year
Euripides accepted an invitation from Archelaiis, King of Macedon,
and retired to that monarch's court, where resided many other eminent
characters from the Grecian republics. Thus, by retiring to Mace-
don, Euripides had the satisfaction of living in the society of many
distinguished and talented men, among whom were Zeuxis, the cele-
brated painter ; Timotheus, a skillful musician ; and Agatho, an able
tragic writer. Altogether, the dramas of Euripides are less sublime,
but more tender, than those of vEschylus and Sophocles. They are
deservedly admired for the moral and philosophical sentiments with
which they abound, as well as for their exquisite beauty of versifica-
tion ; but Euripides has been criticised for lack of skill in forming his
plots, and the Athenians believed that they detected impiety in some
of his expressions. He married twice, and unhappily in both in-
stances, and this was perhaps the cause of that severe treatment of
the female sex in his works, for which reason he was called " the woman-
hater." Euripides died at the court of Macedon, in the seventy-fifth
year of his age and the third of his residence in that country (B. C.
405). It is said that he was torn to pieces by the hounds of King
Archelaiis while walking in a wood. The Macedonian king honored
his remains with a pompous funeral and erected a monument to his
memory.
Comic As tragedy in ancient Greece arose from the dithyrambic verses at
5 ' the feasts of Dionysos, the god of wine, so comedy originated in the
phallic hymn which was chanted by the processions of worshipers dur-
ing the same festivals. The earliest comic performances were scarcely
more than simple mountebank exhibitions. SUSURION, who is usually
alluded to as the first comedian, was an individual who wandered
through the villages of Attica with a company of buffoons, reciting
ludicrous compositions on a temporary stage. EPICHARMUS, a native
of the island of Ceos, but who lived most of his time in Sicily, whither
he was taken by his parents when he was only three months old, is
usually regarded as the first comic poet. He flourished about the
middle of the fifth century before Christ, and composed fifty-two
comedies, every one of which has perished. He was banished from
Sicily for alluding disrespectfully to the wife of Hiero L, King of
LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
933
anes.
History.
Herod-
otus.
Syracuse. He lived almost a hundred years. Other comic poets,
contemporary with Epicharmus, were CRATINUS and EUPOLIS, natives
of Athens, both of whom composed many comedies, none of which have
been preserved.
ARISTOPHANES, the most celebrated of the Grecian comic poets, was Aristoph-
likewise a native of Athens. The date of his birth is not definitely
known, but he introduced his first comedy during the fourth year of
the Peloponnesian War (B. C. 427). He was very popular, and wrote
comedies for many years. His plays, like those of the early comic
poets, consisted of caricatures and ludicrous representations of living
men and manners. He composed fifty-four plays, of which only sev-
enteen remain.
Greek historical writing arose in the fifth century before Christ.
The only records of the past prior to this period were the legends and
fables of the poets and the uncertain accounts transmitted from age
to age by tradition. HERODOTUS, the first Greek historian — called
" the Father of History " — was born at Halicarnassus, in Asia Minor,
B. C. 484. After reaching manhood he removed to Samos, where the
elegant Ionic in which Homer's poems were composed was the pre-
vailing dialect. Herodotus soon completely mastered this dialect, and
his works are said to exhibit it in greater perfection than those of any
other Greek writer. After forming the design of writing history, he
traveled for materials into Egypt and Italy and also into different
parts of Asia, acquiring much valuable information in this way con-
cerning nations previously unknown and manners and customs never
described before. After giving an account of all that he had seen
and learned, in nine books, he read parts of it to the Greeks assembled
at the Olympic Games, and thus acquired a wider and more immediate
fame than he could have obtained otherwise in times when there was
no art of printing to multiply copies of literary productions. We
are indebted to Herodotus for our knowledge of a very large and
important portion of ancient history. He is believed to have spent
the latter period of his life at Thurium in Magna Graecia, and to have
died there at the age of more than seventy years (B. C. 413).
THUCYDIDES, another renowned Greek historian, was born at Athens
in the year B. C. 470. His father, Olorus, was one of the noblest
and wealthiest citizens of Athens, and claimed to be a descendant of
the Kings of Thrace. Thucydides received an excellent education,
having been instructed in philosophy by Anaxagoras, and in oratory
by Antiphon, a famous rhetorician. When about fifteen years of age,
he accompanied his father to the Olympic festival, where he heard
Herodotus recite a part of his history amid the applauses of the as-
sembled Greeks, and on this occasion he was so strongly animated with
Thucyd-
ides.
984 GREECE IN HER GLORY.
a desire to emulate the honored historian that he burst into tears.
Herodotus observed this, and is said to have congratulated the father
of Thucydides upon having a son who manifested so ardent a love for
literature at so early an age. Thenceforth Thucydides regarded the
writing of history as the great object of his ambition. When the
Peloponnesian War broke out in B. C. 431, Thucydides, rightly believ-
ing that a series of important events were about to transpire which
would afford him ample materials for an interesting history, com-
menced taking notes of all that occurred, and continued this practice
during the greater portion of that protracted struggle. From these
notes he afterwards produced an excellent and highly-polished his-
torical work. In the early portion of the contest Thucydides resided
in Athens, and personally witnessed the ravages of the pestilence,
which he has described in a graphic and striking manner. He sub-
sequently removed to the island of Thasos, in the JEgean, near the
coast of Thrace, the country of his ancestors, where he owned exten-
sive estates and valuable gold mines. He afterwards traveled, and is
believed to have died about B. C. 410. His history, written in the
Attic dialect and consisting of eight books, is much admired for its
vigorous and lively descriptions, its scrupulous regard for truth,
and the spirit of frankness and impartiality pervading the entire
narrative.
Xeno- The next renowned Greek historian was XENOPHON, who was born
p at Athens in B. C. 450, and was a disciple of Socrates. He lived in
comparative obscurity until he was fifty years of age, when he was
invited to Sardis, the Lydian capital, by a friend who desired to intro-
duce him to the younger Cyrus, the brother and rival of the Persian
king Artaxerxes Mnemon. Xenophon was persuaded to go thither,
and he consequently joined the Greek auxiliaries through whose assis-
tance Cyrus sought to acquire his brother's crown. The expedition,
which the historical part of Xenophon's work relates in full, met with
disaster, and was followed by the celebrated Retreat of the Ten Thou-
sand, under the leadership of Xenophon, who subsequently became the
historian of this famous march. As his Athenian countrymen pro-
scribed him, King Agesilaiis of Sparta provided him with a safe retreat
of Elea, where he passed many years with his family in an agreeable
country-seat and wrote most of the historical and philosophical works
which have given him his fame. In consequence of war breaking out
between the Spartans and the Eleans, Xenophon was obliged to relin-
quish his delightful retirement and seek refuge in Corinth, where he
died at the advanced age of ninety years. His chief works are his
Memorabilia (Memoirs of Socrates) ; Cyropcedia (Institutions of
£yrus the Great); Anabasis (Expedition of the younger Cyrus);
LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
935
Hellenica (a continuation of Thucydides' unfinished history of
Greece); besides Treatises on Economics, Tyranny, Taxes, Hunting
and other sub j ects ; his view of the Spartan and Athenian republics,
and several other interesting works. Xenophon was called " the Attic
Bee," because of his clear, natural and graceful style. As a philoso-
pher Xenophon was a most worthy pupil of Socrates. For some time
after Xenophon's death there was no regular Grecian historian to take
up the chain of events at the point where he had left off; but the de-
ficiency was largely supplied by the numerous oratorical productions
of the age of Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great.
CTESIAS, a Greek historian ranking far below the three great ones Ctesiaa.
just named, Avas the contemporary of the latter two, and was for sev-
enteen years the court-physician of the Persian king Artaxerxes
Mnemon, and wrote histories of Assyria, Babylonia, Media and Persia,
contradicting those of Herodotus on nearly every essential point; but
the authority of Herodotus has been accepted in preference by the
majority of the most eminent modern historians. Ctesias returned
from Persia to Greece in the year B. C. 398.
The Athenians, having had a government correctly styled " the Oratory.
extreme of democracy," were very naturally the first people to culti-
vate public speaking. The whole administration of government was
exercised by the general assembly of the people, and there was no
more certain way to fame and fortune than the winning of their favor
by the charms of eloquence. The Athenian populace was not, how-
ever, a mere mob, whom fluent nonsense could captivate, or who pre-
ferred a howling demagogue to the refined statesman. They pos-
sessed a finer and more delicate organization than the people of more
northern climates. Their musical taste was cultivated, and their per-
ception of the beauties of style was strengthened by the musical and
literary contests at the public festivals. The more laborious employ-
ments were filled by slaves, thus giving the citizens leisure to attend
to the affairs of state; and the comic writers give us very amusing
accounts of the absolute rage for legislation, pervading all classes
of citizens in Athens. There was therefore " a great demand for
orators in the market, and consequently there was a corresponding
supply."
PERICLES was the first great Athenian orator, as well as the greatest Periclea
Athenian statesman. His style of speaking, and his character, to
some extent, resembled that of the great English statesman and orator,
George Canning, whom modern writers have frequently compared with
him. The power possessed by Pericles in Athens was wholly attrib-
utable to his brilliant talents, but he died too early for his own fame
and for his country's welfare. The funeral oration delivered by him
2-21
936
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Alcibia-
des.
Lysias
and
IsaSUS.
Philos-
ophy.
Xenoph-
anes.
Parmen-
ides.
over those who fell at Nissea has been recorded by Thucydides in his
own peculiar style, and consequently cannot be quoted as a specimen,
but it perhaps contains the essence of what he actually said, and may
therefore serve to give us some remote idea of those powers which
" wielded at will the fierce democracy."
We have observed how greatly inferior ALCIBIADES was to his re-
nowned uncle, though he seemed intended by fortune to act a similar
part. But his fame as a statesman and orator is very trifling, and
his intellectual power without the guidance of moral principle pro-
duced a lamentable effect, and his misdirected talents and misapplied
industry were the cause of sore evils to his country.
The orations of LYSIAS and IS.EUS are fine specimens of Grecian legal
oratory, rather than of public eloquence. Both these are distinguished
for their elegant style and their harmonious sentences. The former
is simple, the latter is more energetic ; but the age in which they flour-
ished, at the end of the Peloponnesian War, was not favorable to the
development of oratorical talents.
The two original schools of Grecian philosophy were the Ionic,
founded by Thales, and the Italic, or Pythagorean, founded by Pythag-
oras. These two systems gave rise to several others towards the end
of the fifth century before Christ, known respectively as the Socrdtic,
the Eledtic and the Heraclitean, the last two being modifications of
the Italic. The first sprang from the school of Thales, in the doc-
trines of which its founder, Socrates, was initiated by his teachers,
Anaxagoras and Archelaiis, who were pupils of Thales.
The founder of the Eleatic sect, so called from its seat at Elea, an
Ionian city in Asia Minor, was XENOPHANES, a native of the Ionic
city of Colophon, also in Asia Minor. This philosopher lived to the
great age of one hundred years, and is supposed to have died about
the middle of the fifth century before Christ. He at first professed
the Pythagorean philosophy, but he afterwards modified it with so
many of his own doctrines that he came to be considered the founder
of a new school. There is some uncertainty respecting the exact
nature of his philosophical system, as none of his writings have been
preserved. But it is believed that he taught that the universe is eter-
nal, maintaining that if there ever had been a time when nothing ex-
isted, nothing could ever have existed. He is also believed to have
taught that there is one God, incorporeal, eternal, intelligent and all-
pervading, and that there are innumerable worlds in the universe.
PARMENIDES, a disciple of Xenophanes, and his successor as teacher
in his philosophical school, was born at Elea, in the early part of the
fifth century before Christ. Like his master, Xenophanes, Parmen-
ides held that the universe is eternal and that there is an all-pervading
LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
937
and animating principle called God. He taught that the earth is a
sphere and located in the center of the universe ; that there are two
elements, fire and earth ; and that all things, animate and inanimate,
have been produced by the action of the animate upon the inanimate.
ZENO, usually called " the Eleatic," to distinguish him from the
philosopher of the same name who founded the sect of the Stoics, was
a native of Elea and a pupil of Parmenides, whom he afterwards suc-
ceeded as teacher of the Eleatic philosophy. Zeno zealously defended
the rights of the people, and is said to have been put to death with the
most cruel torments by the tyrant of his native city, in punishment
for having formed a conspiracy against his authority. None of
Zeno's writings remain, but it is believed that his philosophical doc-
trines varied very little from those of his predecessors in the same
school. He taught that nature does not admit of a vacuum ; that there
are four elements, namely, heat, moisture, cold and dryness ; that man's
body is formed of earth and his soul of an equal mixture of the four
elements. Zeno was an able logician, and delighted to display his
dialectic powers by indifferently supporting either side of a question,
so that there is doubt respecting his actual views on some subjects.
He maintained that motion is impossible, and Seneca asserted that he
even went so far as to question the existence of the material world.
LEUCIPPUS, a disciple of Zeno, originated the atomic theory, which
was subsequently extended by DEMOCRITUS, " the laughing philoso-
pher." Leucippus asserted that all things consist of very minute in-
dividual atoms, which, in themselves, possess the principle of motion,
but that the universe was formed in consequence of these atoms falling
into a vacuum. Democritus was born at Abdera, on the Thracian coast
of the ^Egean, in B. C. 460, and was one of the most celebrated Greek
philosophers. After having traveled through Egypt, Chaldsea and
other Oriental lands, he returned to Abdera, where he devoted himself
to philosophical studies. His grand axiom was that the greatest good
consists in a tranquil mind. He has been called " the laughing phi-
losopher," in contrast to HERACIJTUS, " the weeping philosopher."
Democritus died in B. C. 357.
Heraclitus founded the sect of the Heracliteans. He was a native
of the Ionic city of Ephesus, in Asia Minor, and flourished in the
early part of the fifth century before Christ. He was so much re-
spected for his wisdom that his fellow-citizens requested him to become
their ruler; but he refused to do so, giving as his reason that their
minds were so perverted that they could not relish or appreciate good
government. When Heraclitus appeared in public, he went about
ostentatiously bewailing the wickedness of mankind. On one occa-
sion he played at dice in public with a number of boys, to show his
Zeno.
Leucip-
pus.
Democri-
tus.
Heracli-
tus.
938
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
His
Solitude.
His
Works.
cles.
\nax6go-
ra».
contempt for the ordinary occupations of men ; and when the citizens
gathered about him in surprise, he addressed them thus : " Worst of
men, what do you wonder at? Is it not better to do this than to
govern you ? "
Being at length unable apparently to endure the society of his fel-
low men, Heraclitus retired to a mountain solitude, where he lived on
herbs and roots, like the hermits of later times. When he became
dropsical, in consequence of this poor diet, he returned to Ephesus
to ask for medical advice. But even when his life was at stake, he
was unwilling to live like other people, and therefore, instead of plainly
stating his case to the physicians, he asked them enigmatically,
" whether they could make a drought of a shower." Seeing that they
could not comprehend his meaning, and disdaining to explain himself
any further, he retired to an ox-stall, where he lay down on a heap of
dung, hoping, we are told, that its warmth would draw the watery
humors out from his body. He there died in the sixtieth year of his
age, a victim to his own cynical nature and his extreme love of sin-
gularity.
Heraclitus left behind him several works which were highly esteemed
by his disciples. He studied to write as well as to speak in an obscure
manner, so that great acuteness and great pains were required to com-
prehend his meaning. It is said that the tragic poet Euripides, hav-
ing lent Socrates a copy of a treatise produced by Heraclitus, after-
wards asked him what he thought of the work, when Socrates replied
that " the things which he understood in it were excellent, and so, he
supposed, were those which he did not understand; but they required
a Delian diver."
EMPEDOCLES, a famous Grecian philosopher of the Pythagorean
sect, was a native of Agrigentum, in Sicily, and flourished about the
middle of the fifth century before Christ. Like many other followers
of Pythagoras, Empedocles engrafted some of his own opinions upon
the Pythagorean system. He maintained the Pythagorean doctrine
of the existence of an active and passive principle ; the latter being
matter, and the former an ethereal and intelligent fire, which produced
and pervades and animates all things. He likewise believed in the
doctrine of the metempsychosis, or transmigration of the soul, and
accordingly taught the principle of refraining from killing or eating
animal flesh.
ANAXAGORAS was the first teacher of the Ionic school of philosophy
on whom the ancients bestowed the remarkable designation of Mind,
either because of the peculiar vigor of his intellect, or on account of
the fact that this philosopher was the first who described God as an
incorporeal intelligence, separate from, and entirely independent of,
LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
939
Arche-
laus.
matter. He was born in the Ionic city of Clazomenas, in Asia Minor,
in the year B. C. 500. Anaxagoras was a resident of Athens for
many years, during which period he had several pupils who afterwards
became renowned, such as Socrates, Euripides and Pericles. He was
finally brought to trial for impiety, because he taught that the sun
was a fiery stone, and not the god Apollo, as was popularly believed.
He was banished from Athens, and passed the remainder of his life in
teaching philosophy at Lampsacus, on the Asiatic side of the Helles-
pont. Anaxagoras, as we have said, was the first of the ancient phi-
losophers who taught that God is independent of matter, and not
merely a spiritual or fiery essence pervading the universe as its soul
or animating principle, which was the pantheistic doctrine taught by
P3rthagoras and a few other philosophers.
ARCHELAUS, the last teacher of the Ionic school, was a native either
of Athens or of Miletus, it is not definitely known which. He was a
disciple of Anaxagoras, and accompanied him in exile. On the death
of Anaxagoras, Archelaiis succeeded him in the charge of his school
at Lampsacus ; but afterwards returned to Athens, where he opened a
school of philosophy, which had many pupils, who embraced the doc-
trines of these philosophers.
SOCRATES, the greatest and best of all the Grecian philosophers, has Socrates,
been alluded to extensively in a preceding section of this work, where
the circumstances of his teaching and his martyrdom have been fully
narrated. We have there stated that it was to destroy the pernicious
influence of the Sophists that Socrates discoursed with the people in
the public thoroughfares and in the workshops of Athens. He did
not really teach any system of philosophy, but, by enforcing the
maxim " Know Thyself " upon his pupils, he sought to lead them to
discover the truth for themselves. It was his virtues and his efforts
to improve the morals of his countrymen that aroused his enemies, who
finally succeeded in having him condemned to death by drinking the
poison hemlock, as already related. As Socrates himself left nothing
in writing, our knowledge of his doctrines is derived from his illus-
trious disciples, Plato and Xenophon. The six schools of Grecian phi-
losophy, which afterwards arose, all traced their sources to the teach-
ing of the immortal Socrates.
PLATO — called the Divine, and one of the greatest of Athenian phi-
losophers— was born in the island of ^Egina, B. C. 430, but was of
Athenian descent. He was the founder of the Academic school of
philosophy, so called because he delivered his lectures in the shady
groves of Academus, near the gates of Athens. Plato was the most
illustrious of all the disciples of Socrates, and, in his Dialogues, he
represents himself as conversing with his famous teacher,
vou 3.— 16
Plato
and the
Academ-
ics.
940
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Plato's
Early
Works.
Attends
Lectures
of
Socrates.
Plato's
Fame.
His
Writings.
When very young, Plato gave the most promising indications of his
genius, devoting himself mainly to the cultivation of poetry and the
fine arts. Before he had arrived at the age of twenty-five he had pro-
duced epic and dramatic poems of considerable length, but he cast
these into the fire when he had heard Socrates delivering a discourse.
From that moment Plato determined to devote himself entirely to
the study of philosophy, and for eight successive years he attended
the lectures of Socrates. When that wise and good man became a vic-
tim to persecution, Plato was at his side in his latter days, and subse-
quently embodied in the dialogue called Phcedo those beautiful thoughts
on the Immortality of the Soul which the martyred philosopher ex-
pressed in his last moments. After his preceptor's death, Plato re-
tired from Athens to Megara, then traveled into Italy, Egypt and
other countries, filling his mind with the philosophic lore to be found
in each, after which he finally returned to Athens to open a new school
for the instruction of youth. He selected as the spot for this purpose
the shady grove which had been the property of a citizen named
Academus, from whom it was thenceforth called the Academy. Mul-
titudes of the most distinguished youths of Greece were soon attracted
to Plato's school by the philosopher's genius and learning, and even
females were often present at his lectures in disguise.
The fame of Plato's wisdom circulated far and wide, and many
kings and communities solicited his aid to improve the political con-
stitution of their governments. King Dionysius I., the tyrant of
Syracuse, succeeded in persuading Plato to visit his capital, but the
tyrant's character was too mean and vicious to enable him to profit
by the philosopher's teachings, and Plato was actually obliged to flee
from the court of Dionysius to save his life. Plato continued teach-
ing philosophy in Athens, with few intervals, until his death, which
occurred in the seventy-ninth year of his age. His personal character
appears to have been worthy of the genius displayed in his writings.
Plato's writings embody the views designated as the Platonic phi-
losophy, and comprise thirty-five dialogues and thirteen epistles.
These works include so immense a variety of subjects, ethical, phys-
ical, logical and political, that it is impossible to give any connected
view of them as a whole, in a limited compass. Like many of the
ancients, Plato conceived of two principles, God and Matter, as having
an eternal coexistence in the universe. He considered the Deity as
an Intelligent Cause, the origin of all spiritual being, and the creator
of the material world. Plato's writings abound with many fine
thoughts, but the whole is pervaded with a fanciful spirit of theory.
No other ancient philosopher had the honor of attracting so many fol-
lowers, so brilliantly did his genius shine forth in all his writings.
LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
941
The fine arts commenced at so early an age that their origin is not
recorded. Though they were cultivated with much success in very
early times, especially by the Egyptians and the Phoenicians, the
Greeks were the first to give them their ineffable beauty and to raise
them to a degree of perfection which the world had never before known
and which succeeding ages have never been able to surpass. The
Hellenic race seem to have possessed an exquisite sense of the grand
and the beautiful; and their fine taste stimulated and guided their
brilliant genius and enabled them to confer all the charms and dig-
nity of poetry on arts which had at first been simply mechanical. The
fine climate, the bright sun, the azure skies, the fair and blooming
vales, the majestic hills, and the romantic shores and islands of Greece
and the other lands bordering on the JEgean and Mediterranean seas,
doubtless exercised a vast amount of influence over the imaginations
of the naturally ardent and excitable people who occupied those fa-
vored regions, and contributed to direct their attention to studying
and improving those arts which imitate nature.
Ionia was the scene of the earliest triumphs of Grecian art, as well
as the birthplace of Grecian philosophy and poetry. While the civili-
zation of the mother land was retarded by an unceasing series of revo-
lutions and internal dissensions, the Hellenic colonies on the fertile
shores of Asia Minor were making rapid progress in wealth and pros-
perity, and were finding leisure to cultivate art, science and literature.
So we discover that as early as the eighth century before Christ, when
European Greece had not yet emerged from its primitive barbarism,
the Ionian cities of Asiatic Greece had already become the seats of
refinement and taste. There originated the Ionic style of architec-
ture, and there painting and sculpture were first practiced by the
Hellenic race.
But, along with its poetry and philosophy, the arts of Ionia by
degrees reached European Greece, as well as the flourishing Grecian
colonies in Italy and Sicily. At the time of the Persian invasion
Greece is said to have had a hundred ivory statues of the gods, every
one of which was of colossal size, and many of which were elegantly
gilded. At this time Greece had likewise many magnificent temples
and other splendid public edifices, constructed of the finest marble.
After the Persian invaders had been driven out, Greece ceased to
follow its colonies and itself began to lead in the cultivation of the
arts, as well as in literature and philosophy. Athens, which the bar-
barian host of Xerxes had reduced to a heap of smouldering ruins,
soon arose out of its ashes; and under the wise and liberal policy of
Themistocles, Cimon and Pericles, in the remarkably short period of
forty years, it became the most magnificent city in the world, and was
Fine
Ionic
Art.
Art in
Athenian
Art.
942
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Highest
Perfec-
tion.
Par-
thenon.
Fergus-
son's
Descrip-
tion.
Other
Grecian
Temples.
The
Acropolis
and Its
Edifices.
Phidias.
enriched with the most elegant specimens of ornamental art ever pro-
duced by any age or nation.
It was during the period after the Persian Wars, in the days of
Athenian greatness and glory, that Greek art reached its highest de-
gree of perfection, in those masterpieces of architecture and sculpture
which the greatest genius of the modern world has not even been able
to approach.
The Parthenon, which was erected during this period, yet remains
whole, after the lapse of about twenty-three centuries, and affords
abundant evidence as to the truth of the accounts transmitted to us
from the ancient authors concerning the elegance and grandeur of
Grecian architecture. This splendid temple was dedicated to Athene,
the tutelary goddess of Athens, and was constructed of beautiful white
marble. It is of the Doric style of architecture, and is two hundred
and seventeen feet long.
Fergusson, in his History of Architecture, says the following con-
cerning the Parthenon : " In its own class it is undoubtedly the most
beautiful building in the world. It is true it has neither the dimen-
sions nor the wondrous expression of power and eternity inherent in
Egyptian temples, nor has it the variety and poetry of the Gothic
cathedrals; but for intellectual beauty, for perfection of proportion,
for beauty of detail, and for the exquisite perception of the highest
and most recondite principles of art ever applied to architecture, it
stands utterly and entirely alone and unrivaled — the glory of Greece,
and the shame of the rest of the world."
Not only in Athens were there such splendid examples of the per-
fection of Grecian architecture, though it was there that they were
seen crowded in vast numbers. There were temples in Elis, Delphi,
Corinth, Eleusis, Argos and many other Grecian cities, rivaling in
size and majestic grandeur those of Athene's favored city.
The area of the Acropolis, or citadel of Athens, in which the Parthe-
non stands, was in ancient times adorned with many magnificent por-
ticoes and other public structures, and the whole of its extent, which
was over six miles in circumference, was so diversified with works of
painting and statuary that it is said to have exhibited a continuous
spectacle of elegance and beauty. Under the administration of Peri-
cles (from B. C. 458 to B. C. 429), sculpture and architecture reached
their perfection in Athens. It was during that period that the re-
nowned PHIDIAS, the greatest sculptor that the world has ever pro-
duced, adorned the city with the works of his genius. Above all the
numerous temples and statues on the rocky height of the Acropolis
towered the colossal bronze statue of Athene, with its glittering helmet
and spear, visible far out at sea, as if the goddess were guarding the
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LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
943
city bearing her name. The most admired of the works of Phidias
was the ivory statue of Athene in the Parthenon, thirty-nine feet high,
and having also about forty talents' worth of gold in its composition.
The great temple of Zeus at Olympia, in Elis, was two hundred
and thirty feet long and sixty-eight feet high. This vast edifice was
of the Doric style of architecture, and was surrounded with a splendid
colonnade, adorned with the most elaborate sculpture. A gigantic
statue of Zeus, about sixty feet high, was in the interior. This colos-
sal figure was the masterpiece of the renowned Phidias, and was made
of ivory draped with gold. It represented Zeus seated on a lofty
throne of ivory and ebony, inlaid with precious stones, and ornamented
with the most beautiful sculptures and paintings, exhibiting some of
the most striking and poetical adventures of the gods. The head of
the colossal image was encircled with an olive crown. An emblem of
victory was in the right hand, and a burnished scepter was in the
left. The flowing robes were embellished with flowers and figures of
animals wrought in gold.
Other temples were much larger than that of Olympia, if not so
richly adorned. The temple of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis,
built about the same time, was capable of containing thirty thousand
persons. Besides the Olympian statue of Zeus, Phidias executed many
beautiful figures of gods and heroes to adorn the principal temples of
Greece. The works of Phidias have excited the admiration of the
world, and succeeding artists have endeavored to rival them in vain.
We have already alluded to the origin of the three styles or orders
of architecture, which are yet recognized by builders — the Doric, the
Ionic and the Corinthian — the principal difference being in the charac-
ter of the column. The Doric is the oldest, being the style used by
the ancient Dorians, as its name implies. Though plain and massive,
it was graceful in proportions. The column is generally without a
base, and the capitals are not ornamented. The finest specimen of
this style is the Parthenon. The remains of the great temples of
Paestum, in Southern Italy, present some fine examples of the ancient
Doric style. The great temple of Apollo at Delphi, and that of
Here at Samos, the largest temples ever seen by Herodotus, were built
in this style. The latter temple was about three hundred and fifty
feet long, and one hundred and ninety feet wide.
The Ionic style, as the name implies, had its origin among the Io-
nian Greeks of Asia Minor; and its main characteristics are lightness,
gracefulness and tastefulness of ornament. The shaft of the column,
which is slender, is supported by a base; and spiral volutes adorn the
capital. The great temple of Artemis at Ephesus, begun about B.
C. 600, was of the Ionic order ; and was four hundred and twenty-five
His
Statue of
Zeus.
His
Other
Worka.
Grecian
Architec-
ture.
Doric
Style.
Ionic
Style.
944.
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Corin-
thian
Style.
Greek
Sculp-
ture.
Its
Perfec-
tion.
Crreek
Pouters.
tus.
feet long, and two hundred and twenty feet wide. The Corinthian
style, which is a modification of the Ionic, is distinguished for its
graceful ornamentation. It is said that its capital was suggested to
the mind of the famous sculptor, Calimachus, by seeing a basket
covered by a tile and overgrown by the leaves of an acanthus. The
earliest structure in the Corinthian style was the monument of Lysic-
rates, sometimes styled " the Lantern of Demosthenes," which was
erected B. C. 335. This style was generally selected for edifices requir-
ing special elegance and delicacy, as temples dedicated to Aphrodite.
Like architecture, sculpture or statuary owed its origin to religion.
The first statues, which are very rude and uncouth, are those of the
gods. Preceding the sculpture of detached figures was the adornment
of the temples by figures in relief, of which there yet remains an ex-
ample in a figure of the two lions over the gateway of the ancient
city of Mycenae. It was only in the period of Athenian glory and
greatness following the Persian War that this beautiful art reached
its perfection, under the great master, Phidias.
It is acknowledged that the Greeks reached absolute perfection in
sculpture. The finest specimens of Grecian sculpture yet remaining
are the figures that adorned the pediments and friezes of the Parthe-
non, most of which were taken to England by Lord Elgin, and are
now in the British Museum. Most of them are in a mutilated con-
dition, but they embody the very perfection of loveliness, majesty and
power. These works were executed by the school of artists under the
direction of Phidias, during the period of Athenian supremacy imme-
diately following the Persian War. The immortal works of these
sculptors are distinguished for their absolute purity and repose, which
is entirely lacking in the productions of the later sculptors, which the
uninstructed consider more beautiful.
Painting did not reach perfection among the Greeks so early as
sculpture, yet it made considerable progress in this period of Grecian
history ; and the great painters — POLYGNOTUS, PARRHASIUS and
ZEUXIS — embellished Athens with numerous pictures, and aided in mak-
ing her the glory of Greece. The most celebrated pictures of Zeuxis
are those of Heracles strangling the serpents, of Here, and of Jupiter
surrounded by the other gods.
The Greek paintings were in water colors or in wax, as all colors
were unknown. Polygnotus devoted himself to the adornment of many
of the public edifices of Athens ; and the Stoa, or painted porch, where
Zeno afterward taught his principles of philosophy, was one of his
works. Polygnotus was the first Grecian painter of fame, and was
contemporary with Phidias, during the flourishing period of Athenian
greatness and glory.
GREEK SCULPTURE
Farnese Hercules Discobulus (Discus-thrower)
Laocoon Hermes of Praxiteles
GENERAL VIEW OF GREEK CIVILIZATION.
945
Painting reached a higher degree of perfection under Zeuxis and
Parrhasius, as an interesting incident concerning these two artists
shows. In a trial of skill Zeuxis painted a bunch of grapes so natur-
ally that the birds came and picked at them. Thereupon Parrhasius
said : " Now draw aside the curtain that covers my picture." When
Zeuxis attempted to do so, he found that the curtain was the picture,
and he immediately acknowledged the superiority of his rival. Said
Zeuxis at one time : " I paint slowly, but I paint for eternity."
The Greeks carried the various arts of design to a high degree of
perfection, and in all of these they exhibited a highly delicate and
refined taste, furnishing a standard for posterity in many things.
Greek art was not only illustrated in sculpture and architecture, but
in the internal decorations of their houses, their elaborately-painted
walls and ceilings, their ornamental tiling, their tastefully-constructed
furniture, their beautiful vases, and other vessels both for use and orna-
ment. The Greeks displayed a genius in all these for the invention
of beautiful forms which has yet remained unsurpassed.
Zeuxis
and
Parrha-
sius.
Domestic
Art.
SECTION VI.— GENERAL VIEW OF GREEK CIVILIZATION.
THE ancient Greeks belonged to the Aryan, or Indo-European
branch of the Caucasian race, and were therefore kindred with the
Sanskritic, or Brahmanic Hindoos, the Medes and Persians, the Ro-
mans and other Latin nations, and the modern nations of Europe and
America. They were a finely-formed race, and their women were gen-
erally very beautiful. The characteristics of the Grecian face were
dark complexions and black hair and eyes. Excepting the Spartans,
the Greeks were lively, cheerful, ardent, volatile and fond of gay and
showy amusements. They had some of the higher gifts of mind in a
degree unsurpassed by any other nation. For this reason they made
such advances in philosophy, in the science of government, in elegant
literature, and the arts of painting, sculpture and architecture. Many
of their works of art are yet models throughout the civilized world.
In the Oriental nations the only government was despotism. There
was an absolute lord, whose subjects were virtual slaves, without any
political rights whatever. The Greeks were the first people to develop
democracy — government of the people, by the people and for the
people. It was owing to their political freedom that the Greek civ-
ilization was the highest of antiquity, and that the Greeks surpassed
all other ancient peoples in art, literature and philosophy.
The Greek states had no hired or standing armies, but relied for
their defense on a militia, composed of citizens and armed slaves,
Aryan
Origin
of the
Greeks.
Democ-
racy.
Militia.
946
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Arms and
Armor.
Mode of
Warfare.
Fortified
Towns
and
Siege
Engines.
which was called to the field in time of war. The poems of Homer
inform us that in early times many of the Greek chieftains and war-
riors fought in chariots drawn by horses ; but at a later period chariots
were wholly dispensed with. The officers and the upper classes fought
on horseback, and the common soldiers on foot. The regular cavalry
were armed with swords and spears. The infantry were composed of
two classes, respectively known as the heavy-armed and the light-
armed. The heavy-armed infantry usually consisted of citizens, while
the light-armed were made up of slaves or of freemen of the lowest
rank.
The heavy-armed foot soldiers wore helmets of brass or iron upon
their heads, and cuirasses and greaves of the same metals upon their
breasts and legs. They grasped the sword or spear with the right
hand, and carried the buckler or shield on the left arm. They usu-
ally fought in a close body, called a phalanx, in which the file was
sometimes eight men in depth, and at other times sixteen. The light-
armed troops used bows and arrows, javelins and slings, and were con-
sidered of so little importance, in comparison with the heavy-armed,
that the ancient writers, in describing battles, often said nothing about
the light soldiery, in giving the number of troops engaged.
The Greeks advanced to meet the enemy at a quick but regular
pace, and with a silence only sometimes broken by the sound of the
trumpet or the Spartan flute, until the mortal combat was announced
by the clash of arms and the groans of the dying. Every citizen
between the ages of twenty and sixty was subject to being summoned
to the defense of the state, but those of advanced age were exempted
from foreign service. The Athenians were accustomed to appointing
ten generals to every army, one being taken from each of the ten
wards of Attica. At first each of these officers was successively en-
trusted with the sole command for one day, but the evils in conse-
quence of so injudicious a custom becoming at length apparent, the
practice was modified, so far as one of the ten was appointed to the
acual command, while the other nine accompanied him as counselors,
or remained at home with the honorary title of generals.
The Grecian towns were fortified with walls, towers and fosses, or
ditches, which made it very difficult to take them by siege in those
times, although the places then considered and proved impregnable
would have been reduced in less than an hour by our modern artillery.
Although the engines of war used by the Greeks were impotent as
compared with modern cannon, they had machines by which they were
enabled to harass, and frequently to take by storm, places which wer~
very strongly fortified. The chief of these engines were the batter-
ing-ram, the moving-tower, the tortoise, the catapult and the balista.
GREEK ARMS AND MILITARY COSTUMES
GENERAL VIEW OF GREEK CIVILIZATION.
947
The battering-ram was a very large beam of wood, having at the
end an iron head, shaped so as to partially resemble that of a ram.
Some of these machines were suspended from the roof of a wooden
building erected to screen the men who worked them from the missiles
of the besieged; while others, smaller in size, were carried in the arms
of men. They were used to batter down walls, and are said to have
been sometimes dreadfully effective. For the purpose of deadening
their blows, the besieged were in the custom of lowering bags of wool
before those parts of the walls against which they were directed.
The moving-tower was a wooden building in the form of an obelisk,
and was set on wheels, by means of which it could be pushed forward
to the fortifications which were the objects of attack. These towers
were from thirty to forty feet square at the base, and were higher than
the ordinary walls of fortified towns. They contained a battering-
ram in the lower story. In the middle portion they had a drawbridge,
which could be lowered in such a way as to enable the assailants to
pass over from the tower to the walls. At the top they were filled
with soldiers, who hurled javelins and discharged arrows at the defend-
ers of the walls.
The tortoise was a kind of wooden house, about twenty-five feet
square and twelve feet high. Like the moving-tower, it was set on
wheels, by means of which it could be moved forward to the walls. It
was covered with strong hides, which had been steeped in certain drugs
to make them fire-proof. It was called a tortoise because of its im-
mense strength, which rendered those inside of it as safe as a tortoise
in a shell. It was used as a covering for the protection of persons
employed in filling up the ditches and sapping the walls of fortified
towns.
The balista and the catapult were machines used to hurl showers
of darts and stones, and are described as having to a great extent
resembled the modern cross-bow, but were proportionately of immense
size.
In Homer's time the Greek ships of war were large open boats
capable of carrying from fifty to one hundred and twenty men. A
sail was hoisted when the wind was fair and moderate, but these vessels
were ordinarily propelled by oars. At that early period the rowers
sat in a single line along each side of the vessel, but afterwards the
Corinthians invented a kind of galley, called the trireme, which had
three tiers of rowers, and which was decked like the largest of modern
vessels.
The largest triremes usually carried a crew of about two hundred
men, composed partly of sailors and partly of soldiers, or, as moderns
would call them, marines. In sea-fights these marines occupied the
Battering
Ram.
Moving
Tower.
Tortoise.
Balista
and
Catapult
War
Ships.
Triremes
and Their
Crews.
948
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Mode of
Naval
Warfare.
Public
Edifices.
Dwell-
ings.
deck of the vessel and attacked the foe with darts or javelins ; and
when the vessels approached very closely to each other, they fought
hand to hand with sword and spear. The trireme was the largest war-
vessel in most common use, but there were man}7 larger galleys. There
were many ships of four or five tiers of oars, and sometimes vessels
of enormous size had thirty or forty tiers of rowers, but these latter
were built more for show than for use.
The prows of Grecian ships were generally ornamented with sculp-
tured representations of gods, men or animals, like the figure-heads
of modern vessels. A piece of wood, armed with a brass or iron spike,
and called the beak, projected from the lower part of the prow. This
was of great service in damaging or sinking an enemy's vessel, as it
was an important part of an ancient commodore's tactics to endeavor
to strike his ship's beak against the side of the hostile ship and thus
run it down. Very often another maneuver was resorted to, for the
purpose of forcing an engagement, namely, bearing down upon the
enemy's line, so as to break the oars of his ships, and thus make them
unmanageable. The ships were then brought close to each other, and
the fortune of the day was decided by the personal conflict which
followed.
No other country in the world ever produced such magnificent and
durable public buildings as did ancient Greece. The Grecian temples
and public edifices have long been deservedly classed among the won-
ders of human art. They were constructed of polished stone or of
the finest marble, and displayed the admirable proportions and beauty
of the three styles of Grecian architecture — the Doric, the Ionic and
the Corinthian. Though now in ruins, they are still objects of imita-
tion to nations of the most refined taste. The modern architect con-
gratulates himself upon being able to copy their characteristic excel-
lences, without hoping to excel them.
The private houses of the mass of the Grecian people in the cities
were built of clay or unbaked bricks, and were arranged in irregular
lines along the sides of narrow streets. The wealthy, however, had
large and elegant mansions. Their dwellings were divided into sev-
eral apartments, having two or more stories, ascended by staircases.
A large gate was in front; and outside of this was a heap of manure
left there by the horses and mules, and a number of dogs and pigs were
accustomed to gather there. Thus the houses of the Greeks were
generally as plain as their temples and public edifices were magnificent.
The floors were of stone, and the walls were white until the time of
Alcibiades, who ordered them to be painted in Athens. The houses
generally stood away from the street. A laurel tree or altar sacred
to Anollo was often placed in front of houses. Often an inscription
GENERAL VIEW OF GREEK CIVILIZATION. 94,9
was marked on the door as a good omen. In the interior were apart-
ments surrounding an open court, about which were porticoes for ex-
ercise ; while in the center was an altar on which sacrifices were offered
to the household gods. The women's chambers were wholly separate
from those of the men, and the girls were kept in a remote room under
lock and key. The slaves were sheltered in an upper story, to which
they ascended from steps on the outside of the house. The roofs of
the houses were flat, and served as places of promenade in the cool of
the day. Curtains were sometimes used instead of doors. Houses
were heated by means of fire-places ; and, as chimneys were unknown,
the smoke escaped through openings in the ceilings. Roses and vio-
lets were planted side by side with onions. The first rooms seen upon
entering the house were decorated with paintings. The houses of
the wealthy were profusely embellished with paintings, sculptures,
vases and ornamental works of art. The walls were plastered, and
finished with joiners' work. The walls and ceilings were adorned with
paintings. The furniture was set off with gold and ivory. Screens
of rich tapestry were likewise in use.
The articles of Grecian household furniture were chairs, beds of Furni-
geese feathers, bedsteads, bedsteads with mosquito-nets, sheep-skin e>
blankets, tables, candelabras, carpets, footstools, lamps, chafing-dishes,
vases of different forms, baskets, basins, bellows, brooms, cisterns,
ovens, frying-pans, hand-mills, knives, soup-ladles, lanterns, mirrors,
mortars, sieves, spits, and most of the articles now in use, or substi-
tutes for them. Dishes and other vessels were of pottery, metal or
wood. Variously-formed and beautifully-designed lamps were used.
The Greeks ate three daily meals, reclining on couches, and using Meals,
neither table-cloths nor napkins. In primitive fashion, they used
neither knives nor forks, but spoons were in common use. They
washed their hands before and after each meal. Among the common
people dried fish and barley bread, with dates, were the principal food.
Animal food and many delicacies of cookery were also partaken of.
The wealthy, of course, indulged in all sorts of luxuries. After din-
ner came the symposium, when host and guests drank goblets of wine,
mixed with hot or cold water. The master of the feast was chosen
by lot. This drinking bout was enlivened by varied conversation,
music, dancing, and all sorts of games and amusements. Guests in-
vited to a banquet were met by slaves, who removed their sandals,
washed their feet, and furnished them with water for their hands.
Before going to a feast, the Greeks washed their bodies and anointed Feasts
them with oils ; and when they arrived, their host welcomed them either Libations
by taking their hands or by kissing their lips, hands or feet, according
as he desired to show them more or less respect. Before a repast was
950
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Notions
of Pro-
priety.
Dress.
Female
Orna-
ments.
Female
Seclu-
sion.
oegun, a part of the provisions on the table was set apart for the gods,
and a hymn was generally sung at the close of the meal. Before they
quaffed their wine, the Greeks often poured some of it on the ground
in honor of any god or absent friend whom they desired to remember.
This was called a libation.
The Greeks had some notions of propriety. They considered long
nails, dirty teeth, wiping the nose at meals, spitting upon the waiter at
table, etc., as offensively vulgar. One who talked much about himself
was regarded as a bore. Seeking to sit near the host at a ceremonious
feast was looked upon as foppery ; as were also bragging about taking
a child to Delphi to deposit his hair; saying that one had taken care
to have a black footman; placing garlands before a door when one
offered sacrifice; erecting a monument to a lap-dog, etc.
The climate of Greece being one of the mildest in the world, the
dress of the people was light and simple, being designed more as a
graceful covering for the body than as a protection against the in-
clemencies of the weather. The dress of the Greeks was nearly the
same for both sexes. Their garments were made of wool, linen, and
later of cotton. The Greek dress consisted of an inner tunic and an
outer robe or shawl called the pallium. The tunics of the men ex-
tended down to the knees, while those of the women descended in flow-
ing folds to the heels. The women bound their tunics at the waist
by a broad sash ; and their palliums, which were usually saffron-col-
ored, were confined at the waist by a broad ribbon. Both these gar-
ments were bordered at the bottom by an edging of different color.
In later times the Athenian women wore long loose dresses with flowing
sleeves. Only travelers and workmen had their heads covered ; all other
men and all the women having no covering for their heads. The
flapped hats, which were worn by workmen and travelers, were tied
under the chin. The better classes of Greeks wore sandals and shoes
on their feet out of doors, and these were bound with thongs. The
lower orders always went barefooted.
The Greek women braided and curled their hair in a very tasteful
manner, and set it off with golden grasshoppers. They also wore
golden ear-rings and bracelets; and in the days of Athenian luxury
and splendor, the ladies of Athens had a custom of painting their
cheeks and eyebrows, sprinkling their hair with yellow-colored powder,
and encircling their heads with wreaths of flowers. When they went
out of doors they always wore a veil over the face.
The Greek women were kept in a state of seclusion and restraint,
similar to that of the Turkish women and the women of other modern
Oriental nations. They were closely confined to the house, except
during solemn festivals and other public ceremonies, and employed
GREEK FEMALE DRESS
GENERAL VIEW OF GREEK CIVILIZATION.
951
their time in spinning, weaving, baking bread and superintending the
labors of their female slaves. When they appeared in public, they
walked in procession, with downcast eyes, with their slaves and attend-
ant maidens around them, or went directly and without ostentation to
the place to which they had been called by business. But the lower
classes were not practically exempted from such restrictions, and fe-
males of rank even resorted to many contrivances to evade them. The
Spartan women also conducted themselves differently, as the laws of
Lycurgus required them to exhibit themselves in public. These women
did not mourn the loss of their husbands or sons who died the death
of heroes in battle, but appeared in public with every indication of
joy after such an occurrence, and only seemed sorrowful when those
with whom they were connected had disgraced themselves by returning
to their homes unhurt from an unsuccessful battle with their country's
enemies.
Thus Greek women were virtual slaves, and led secluded lives in their Hetaerae.
homes, both before and after marriage, devoting themselves to weav-
ing, spinning and domestic duties. They took care of the sick and
had charge of the servants, who were slaves. The Hetcerce, chiefly
foreigners, were a class of women who enjoyed greater social privi-
leges, living in their own houses, and receiving guests of both sexes.
These were generally noted for their personal beauty and grace of
manners, and also for literary accomplishments, and are said to have
been " the most witty and brilliant talkers of Athens." The famous
Aspasia, who became the wife of Pericles, belonged to this class.
The Greeks were divided into two great classes, freemen and slaves. Freemen.
We have observed that in Sparta the slaves performed all mechanical,
agricultural and menial labors ; while the free citizens employed them-
selves in war and military exercises, in superintending the public
schools, in conversation, or in religious services. But in Athens and
the other Grecian republics the citizens engaged in mechanical employ-
ments, as well as in the more lucrative pursuits of commerce ; while the
slaves engaged in various handicrafts, as well as agricultural and
menial duties.
The Greeks had slaves of all classes and grades, such as domestic Slaves,
servants, agricultural laborers, and artisans. The rich families had
many slaves, while the poor citizen had only one. The governments
of the various Grecian states employed slaves upon the public works.
These slaves, generally foreigners, the Greeks called barbarians.
Many Asiatics and Thracians sold their children into slavery, and the
buying and selling of slaves was a regular business at Athens and in
other parts of Greece. Children born of slave women were doomed
to slavery. Menial slaves were at the mercy of their masters and mis-
fc-22
952
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Occupa-
tions.
Artisans,
Etc.
Athenian
Pastimes.
Writing,
Educa-
tion, Etc.
tresses. Slaves were often tortured, to make them confess their own
guilt or the guilt of their masters.
The Greeks worked mines of silver, copper and iron, and obtained
marble and other building stone from the quarries. They engaged in
spinning and weaving, pottery, and the manufacture of arms and
armor, gold and silver ornaments, hardware and furniture. Besides
the large numbers employed in industrial arts were the merchants, shop-
keepers, tradesmen and agriculturists. Piraeus was the sea-port of
Athens; but the wholesale trade, and most of the retail trade, were
conducted in the market-places.
In ancient Greece were leather bottlemakers ; bankers ; barbers, some
of them females ; barber surgeons, whose shops were lounging-places ;
basket-makers ; butchers ; blacksmiths ; carpenters ; coppersmiths ; cot-
ton manufacturers ; curriers ; dyers ; enamelers ; factors ; farmers ;
fishermen; flax-dressers; founders; fresco painters; fullers; gilders;
goldsmiths ; gardeners ; weighers ; papermakers ; perfumers ; pilots ;
tutors ; quack doctors ; shepherds ; tanners ; weavers, etc.
In Athens many of the citizens had no private occupation, but lived
on the pay they obtained for attending the political and judicial as-
semblies, on the provisions made to them at the public festivals, and
on the money occasionally granted them from the public treasury or
from the coffers of wealthy citizens. Their pastimes were conversa-
tion, or listening to the orators in the Agora, or market-place, walking
in the public gardens, attending the lectures and disputations of the
philosophers and assisting in the many processions, games and festivi-
ties, which were held in honor of the gods.
Writing was done with ink made from soot, on prepared skins, bark,
papyrus, or with a sharp-pointed instrument on thin sheets of lead
or layers of wax. During the glorious days of Athens many private
persons had large libraries. The Greeks very carefully attended to
the education of the young. The Spartan system of training, as we
have seen, consisted only of exercises calculated to discipline the mind
to fortitude and to strengthen the physical powers; as the study of
the arts and the sciences, and the pursuits of literature, were consid-
ered unworthy the attention of a Lacedaemonian citizen. But the
Athenians, and other Grecians who imitated the usages and institu-
tions of Athens, gave their youths a far more liberal education. Boys
only went to school. The schoolmaster was the grammaticus, or gram-
marian. The sons of wealthy parents had a pedagogue, or private
tutor, who watched over them when out of school, and who was gen-
erally selected from the slaves. The elementary branches, such as
reading, writing, grammar, music, recitation, and later, philosophy
and oratory, were taught. Passages from the works of the poets were
GENERAL VIEW OF GREEK CIVILIZATION.
953
Gym-
nasia.
Musical
Instru-
ments.
committed to memory. The music taught consisted of singing, play-
ing on the lyre, and reciting compositions in poetry. In early man-
hood the sons of the wealthy attended lectures on philosophy, oratory,
etc., in the Lyceum, the Academy, or some other institution. There
were many schools; while attendance upon the public debates, where
the first and greatest orators and rhetoricians in the world were heard,
was general.
Gymnasia, provided at the public expense, were much resorted to
for pastime and exercise ; and there the body was rendered supple by
running, leaping, boxing, wrestling, throwing the discus, the javelin,
or the quoit, shooting with the bow and arrow, etc. The gymnasium
was a part of Greek education, and was the training school for the
Olympic Games. In later years the porticoes became the resort of phi-
losophers, rhetoricians and Sophists, who publicly discussed moral and
metaphysical questions.
The Greeks were fond of music and played on stringed-instruments,
such as the harp and the lyre, and on wind instruments, such as the
double and the single pipe. The Athenians highly prized musical
accomplishments, and female musicians were hired at feasts and social
gatherings to heighten the enjoyment of the guests.
Marriages among the Greeks were generally arranged by the pa- Marriage,
rents, and dowries were expected. The Athenian marriages were gen-
erally formed at an early age, the Grecian women being marriageable
when they were in their fourteenth year. Nuptial engagements were
entered into with many formalities, yet they were dissolved very easily,
as all that was required for that purpose was that the parties should
furnish the Archon with a written certificate of their agreement to
separate from each other. The Spartan marriages were of a singular
character, like all the other Lacedaemonian institutions. After a Spar-
tan had obtained the consent of the lady's parents, he was obliged to
carry off his destined spouse, as it was regarded as very unbecoming
in a lady to consent to be married. Even after they had become mar-
ried, the young husband and wife were extremely careful to avoid being
seen in each other's society; and when there happened to be no chil-
dren, years sometimes passed before it was generally known that the
parties were married, so secret were they in all their associations with
each other.
The Greeks celebrated their funerals with great pomp and cere- Funerals,
mony. The corpse was first washed, anointed, and dressed in a costly
garment ; after which it was laid out in state, for one, two, or some-
times even three days. A wreath of flowers was placed on its head,
and in its hand was set a cake of flour and honey as an offering to
Cerberus, the three-headed watch-dog of Hades. The Greeks be-
954
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Religious
Rites.
Academy
and
Lyceum.
lieved that before the remains of the dead were buried the soul wan-
dered about in Hades without rest, not being permitted to cross the
river Styx into Elysium. Immediately after death a small coin, called
an obolus, and equal in value to about a penny and a half of English
money, was placed in the mouth of the deceased to pay the ferryman
Charon for taking his spirit across the dark river Styx. Between the
time of death and the funeral the body was constantly surrounded by
relatives and friends as mourners, with hired women making loud lam-
entations, and with a chorus of flute-players. On the funeral day
the corpse, enclosed in a cypress coffin, was put on a chariot and con-
veyed to the place where it was to be finally disposed of. The funeral
procession accompanying the remains was arranged in the following
order: First came musicians, playing or chanting mournful tunes;
after which advanced the male relatives and friends in black attire;
next followed the coffin, and behind it walked the women. In accord-
ance with the directions of the deceased or of the family, the corpse
was either buried in a grave, vault or tomb, or burned upon a funeral
pile. Piles of wood, called pyrce (meaning pyres), were used for
burning a corpse, and oil and perfumes were cast into the flames.
When the pyrse had burned down, the remains were extinguished with
wine, and the bones were gathered, washed with wine and oil, and de-
posited in urns, which were sometimes made of gold. Bodies which
were buried were first put in coffins usually made of baked clay or
earthenware. Vases and other articles were laid in the grave with the
dead. Libations of wine were made at the same time, or a sacrifice
was offered to the gods, prayers were said, and the name of the deceased
was invoked aloud. The ceremony was ended with a funeral banquet,
and it was customary to erect a monumental stone or statue over the
grave. At stated times sacrifices were performed at the tomb, and
the grave was decorated with flowers.
Religious rites and ceremonies mainly devolved upon the priests, but
the people attended at the services in the temples, and furnished their
finest cattle and their choicest products as offerings. No business was
undertaken by Grecians without consulting the gods by religious
ceremonies.
There were three principal gymnasia, which were places of public
exercise near Athens, and there the philosophers and rhetoricians de-
livered their lectures. The most famous of these was the Academy,
which was so named because it had been the country-seat of the wealthy
Academus, who spent most of a large fortune in ornamenting this
delightful site. It was here where Plato delivered his lectures, for
which reason his followers were named Academics. On the opposite
side of the city, near the river Ilyssus, was the Lyceum, with its shady
Q
Bl
s
o
to
UJ
ai
I *
H O
2
S *
U
GENERAL VIEW OF GREEK CIVILIZATION. 955
groves in which Aristotle lectured to his pupils. Cynosarges, about
a mile from the Lyceum, was the residence of Antisthenes, the founder
of the sect of the Cynics.
The whole country about Athens, especially the long road to Piraeus, Athens
was ornamented with various kinds of monuments, particularly with H°fb0jg
tombs of eminent poets, statesmen and warriors. This road was en-
closed by a double wall, called the Northern and Southern walls, erected
during the administration of Themistocles. This double wall was al-
most five miles long on both sides, and enclosed the two harbors called
respectively Piraeus and Phalerum. The walls, which were constructed
wholly of freestone, were more than eighty feet high and so wide that
two baggage wagons could pass each other. Piraeus and Phalerum
were really small cities, with public squares, temples, market-places,
etc. The crowd that enlivened the quays of Piraeus gave that chief
harbor a livelier appearance than Athens itself. The port of Muny-
chia lay to the east of Piraeus, and, like both Piraeus and Phalerum,
was formed by the bays of the coast. Munychia was a place of great
natural strength, and the Spartans garrisoned it after they had con-
quered Athens.
Athens was located in a plain, which, on the south-east, extended The
for about four miles toward the sea and the harbors, but was enclosed ^n^it"
by mountains on the other side. Several rocky hills arose in the plain, Temples,
of which the largest and loftiest was fortified by Cecrops as the Acrop-
olis, or citadel of Athens, and was sometimes named Cecropia. Most
of the buildings were erected around this citadel, spreading toward the
sea. The summit of the hill was almost level for a space of about
eight hundred feet long by four hundred feet wide, as if Nature her-
self had designed the site for those masterpieces of architecture which
displayed the splendor of Athens at a distance. The only road lead-
ing to the Acropolis passed through the Propylaea, a magnificent gate-
way adorned with two wings and two temples filled with the finest sam-
ples of sculpture and painting. This gateway was erected during the
rule of Pericles, and was decorated with elegant sculptures by Phidias.
Through these splendid portals was an ascent by steps leading to the
summit of the hill, which was crowned with the temples of the guardian
deities of Athens. On the left stood the temple of Athene, the pro-
tectress of cities, containing a column which fable represented as hav-
ing fallen from heaven, and an olive-tree believed to have sprung spon-
taneously from the ground at the decree of the goddess. The temple
of Poseidon was beyond that of Athene. On the right side towered
the Parthenon, sacred to the virgin Athene — " the glory of Athens,
and the noblest triumph of Grecian architecture." The Parthenon,
raising its lofty head above the city and the Acropolis, was the first
VOL. 3.— 17
956
GREECE IN HER GLORY.
Its
Environs.
Cerami-
cus and
Market
Place of
Athens.
object which caught the eyes of the traveler, whether he approached
by land or sea.
At the foot of the Acropolis, on one side, stood the Odeum, or music
hall, and the theater of Dionysos, where were celebrated the tragic
contests on the festival of that god. On the other side stood the Pry-
taneum, where the chief magistrates and the most worthy citizens were
honorably entertained at a table furnished at the public expense. A
small valley named Coele (the hollow) lay between the Acropolis and
the hill on which the Court of Areopagus had its sittings. This val-
ley also separated the Areopagus from the Pnyx, the small rocky hill
on which the people met in their general assemblies. The simplicity
of the furniture of the Pnyx contrasted remarkably with the grandeur
of the neighboring edifices. On this spot the renowned orators of
Athens addressed the assembled masses. This spot can still be seen,
as it is cut in the natural rock, and has in the present century been
cleared of its rubbish, and the four steps by which it was ascended.
The Ceramicus, or pottery-ground, containing the market-place,
lay beyond the Pnyx. The market-place was a large square sur-
rounded on every side with public buildings. On the south was the
Senate-house and the statues of the Eponymi, ten heroes from whom
the tribes of Athens derived their respective names. On the east stood
two splendid Stoai, or porticoes — that of the Hermae, or statues of
Hermes, bearing inscriptions of the names of the citizens, allies and
slaves who had distinguished themselves in the Persian War; and that
of the Poecile, ornamented with numerous elegant paintings, especially
one representing Miltiades at the battle of Marathon. Under this
Stoa Zeno lectured to his pupils, wherefore his disciples were called
Stoics.
40 Longitude
Longitude East 45 1
it from 50 Creeowich 55
\
\
MAP OF
THE EMPIRE OT
ALEXANDER THE GHEAT
B. C. 331-301
By I.S.Clare.
SCALE OF MILES
Direction Indicated
50
reenwidb 50
CHAPTER XII.
GR.ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
SECTION I.— RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP.
MACEDON, or Macedonia, was the country lying immediately north Location
of Thessaly, between Mount Scardus on the west and the maritime jja^OIL
plain of Thrace on the east. It was bounded on the north by Paeonia.
Its greatest length from north to south was about ninety miles, and
its width from east to west averaged seventy miles. Its area was prob-
ably almost six thousand square miles, about half that of Belgium.
The country is divided by high mountain-chains, capped with snow,
into a number of distinct basins, some of which have a lake in the
center, while others are watered by rivers, which flow eastward into
the ^Egean, with a single exception. The basins are of such extent
as to present the appearance of a succession of plains. The more
elevated regions are mostly richly wooded, abounding with sparkling
rivulets, deep gorges and numerous waterfalls ; but in some places the
country seems dull and monotonous, the traveler passing for miles
over a series of bleak downs and bare hillsides, stony and without
shrubs.
The chief mountains of Macedon were the Scardian and other Moun-
branches from the chain of Haemus ; Panggeus, famous for its rich gold
and silver mines; Athos, jutting into the ^Egean sea, forming a re-
markable and dangerous promontory ; and Olympus, partly belonging
to Thessaly. Most of these, especially the Scardian chain and Mount
Athos, were richly wooded, and the timber produced by them was
highly valued by ship-builders. The chief rivers of Macedon empty-
ing into the Adriatic were the Panyasus, the Apsus, the Laiis, and the
Celydnus ; those flowing into the JEgean were the Haliacmon, the
Erigon, the Axius, and the Strymon.
The soil of Macedon was fruitful; great abundance of corn, wine products,
and oil being especially produced on the seacoast; while most of the InhaW-
mountains were rich in mineral treasures. Macedonia was noted for Cities,
its excellent breed of horses, and thirty thousand brood mares were Etc<
957
958 GR.ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
kept in the royal stables at Pella. Macedonia was said to contain
one hundred and fifty different nations, each of its cities and towns
being at one time regarded as an independent state. The western
part of the country was inhabited by the barbarous Taulantii, in whose
territory was the city of Epidamnus, founded by a Corcyraean colony,
and whose name the Romans changed to Dyracchium, now called
Durazzo. In this same region was the city of Apollonia, founded by
the Corinthians. South of the Taulantii, but also on the Adriatic,
was the territory of the Alymiotae, whose chief cities were Elyma and
Bullis. East of these was the little inland district of the kingdom of
Orestes, where the son of Agamemnon is said to have settled after the
murder of his mother. Macedonia proper was the south-eastern por-
tion of the country, and contained the city of ^Egaea, or Edessa, the
cradle of the Macedonian kingdom, and Pella, the favorite capital of
its most powerful monarchs. The districts of Macedonia proper bor-
dering on the sea were called Pieria, and were consecrated to the Muses.
These districts contained the important cities of Pydna, Phyllace and
Dium. North-east was the region of Amphaxitis, bordering on the
Thermaic Gulf, and its principal cities were Therma, afterwards called
Thessalonica, now Salonica, and Stagfra, the birth-place of Aristotle.
Chalcidice, or the Chalcidian peninsula, between the Thermaic and
Strymonian Gulfs, has its coasts deeply indented with bays and inlets
of the ^Egean sea, and contained many important trading cities and
colonies, the chief of which were Pellene, in the headland of the same
name; Potidzea, a Corinthian colony; Torone, on the Toroanic Gulf;
and Olynthus, celebrated for the many sieges sustained by it. In the
region of Edonia, near the Strymon river, was Amphipolis, a favorite
Athenian colony, Scotussa and Crenidas, the name of the latter being
changed to Philippi by Philip of Macedon.
Early According to the Greek tradition the Macedonian kingdom was
BQf^ founded by Hellenic colonists from Argos under ^aranus, who were
Macedon. said to have been conducted by a flock of goats to the city of Edessa,
which was easily stormed and taken (B. C. 813). The Macedonian
people were not Hellenes, but belonged to the barbarous races, differ-
ing very little from the Greeks in ethnic type, and being most nearly
related with the Ulyrians in race. The Argive colony was hospitably
received, and gradually acquired power in the region of Mount Ber-
mius ; and, according to Herodotus, Perdiccas, one of the original
Argive emigrants, was acknowledged as king. Other ancient writers
mention three kings before Perdiccas, whose combined reigns embraced
a period of about a century. The period following is very obscure,
little being known except the names of the kings. PERDICCAS I. is
said to have reigned almost fifty years, from about B. C. 700 to B,
RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP.
959
C. 650. He was succeeded by his son, ARG^EUS, who reigned about
thirty years, from B. C. 650 to B. C. 620. Argseus was succeeded
by his son, PHILIP I., who likewise reigned about thirty years, from
B. C. 620 to B. C. 590. Philip I. was succeeded by his son, AEROPUS,
who reigned about twenty-five years, from B. C. 590 to B. C. 565.
Aeropus was followed by his son, ALCETAS, whose reign lasted twenty-
eight or twenty-nine years, from B. C. 565 to B. C. 537. Alcetas
was followed by his son, AMYNTAS I., who was king at the time when
the Persian expedition under Megabyzus invaded the country and re-
duced it to tribute B. C. 507.
In B. C. 507 Amyntas I. submitted to Darius Hystaspes; and fif-
teen years afterward, during the first expedition of Mardonius, Mace-
donia became a mere province of the Medo-Persian Empire, the native
kings being reduced to tribute. After the retreat of Xerxes, in B.
C. 480, Macedonia recovered her independence, and began to extend
her conquests eastward along the northern coast of the ^Egean, meet-
ing two rivals, the new Thracian kingdom of Sitacles upon its eastern
frontier, and the Athenian power in the Greek cities of the Chalcidic
peninsulas. PERDICCAS II., on ascending the throne, in B. C. 554,
found his kingdom exposed to attacks from the Illyrians and the Thra-
cians, while the Athenians encouraged his brother to contest the crown
with him, which caused him to aid Sparta in the Peloponnesian War.
The short but brilliant reign of ARCHELAUS I. (B. C. 413-B. C. 399)
laid the foundation of Macedonian greatness. He improved the coun-
try by the construction of roads, strengthened it by forts, and intro-
duced a better discipline in the army. He made Pella his capital and
liberally patronized literature and art, inviting Socrates to his court
and munificently protecting Euripides when he was exiled from Athens.
Archelaiis was assassinated by Crateras, one of his favorites (B. C.
400) ; and his death was followed by forty years of civil wars and san-
guinary revolutions, which are of no interest or importance.
When PERDICCAS III., who owed his elevation to the aid received
from Pelopidas the Theban, was slain in battle with the Illyrians, he
left to his infant son, Amyntas, a kingdom occupied by enemies and
weakened by internal dissensions; but in this emergency, Philip, the
late king's brother, who had escaped from Thebes, whither he had been
sent as a hostage at the age of fifteen, asserted his nephew's rights,
in opposition to several pretenders, who, according to custom, took
advantage of the troublous times to claim the sovereignty. Philip was
not swayed from his purpose by danger or difficulty. Naturally gifted
with very superior mental powers, his residence in Thebes in his boy-
hood, as a hostage, had given him the opportunity of enjoying the
instruction of Epaminondas, in whose house he is said to have been
Growth
Philip's
960 GR^ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
brought up, and whose military skill he had the opportunity of wit-
nessing. Frequent visits to the leading Grecian republics had added
to the advantages which he so early possessed, by enabling the Mace-
donian prince to examine the most civilized institutions and to form a
personal acquaintance with the greatest philosophers and warriors of
the time. As Philip was in the bloom of youth, agreeable in appear-
ance and winning in manners, it is not surprising that he so speedily
won the affections of the Macedonian people from his half -barbarous
rivals.
His The pretenders to the Macedonian throne were, however, supported
sion8" ^y ^e Thracians, who had invaded Macedon on the east after the
death of Perdiccas III., while the Paeonians and the Illyrians had en-
tered the kingdom from the north. Philip managed to disarm the
hostility of all these foes by bribes, promises and flattery — means which
he always used with skillful care, and for which he had always been
noted. In B. C. 360 or 359 he was elevated from the regency to the
throne, as PHILIP II., the people considering the precariousness of
an infant reign as not adapted to the circumstances of the time.
Athenian Athens was the quarter whence Philip was threatened with new trou-
Hostihty. jjjes Having acted as an auxiliary only during the Grecian war
which ended with the battle of Mantinea, while Sparta and Thebes had
put forth and exhausted their entire strength and resources, the Athe-
nian republic had again found itself in the ascendency among the
Grecian states at the close of the war, both respecting population and
means. But with the return of prosperity to Athens, the pride and
profligacy of its citizens likewise returned; corruption holding sway
in the court, the Senate and the assembly of the people ; the property
of the good and innocent at home being confiscated to gratify the
craving vices of the masses; while the tributary allies of the republic
were oppressively and unscrupulously taxed to supply the same in-
satiable demands.
Philip's Such was the condition of the prosperous but miserable Athenian
^Tri^ republic at the death of Perdiccas III., who had deeply incensed the
umphs. Athenians by disputing their claim to Amphipolis, a city which the
general council of Greece acknowledged as their dependency. Having
this reason for disliking Perdiccas III., the Athenians continued their
hostility to his brother and successor and sent an embassy^ to aid Ar-
gseus, the chief pretender to the Macedonian throne. Philip defeated
and killed his rival in battle and took his Athenian allies prisoners.
On this occasion Philip gave the first exhibition of that artful policy
to which his long career owed its splendor and success. Instead of
manifesting indignation against his Athenian captives, he treated them
with the greatest kindness and respect, restored their property and
RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP.
961
sent them all home without ransom, and filled with admiration for his
character and conduct. This politic and generous behavior produced
the effect for which it was intended. When Philip's ambassadors
presented themselves at Athens with peace propositions, the republic
at once agreed to a treaty. As Philip had thus adroitly rid himself
of one enemy, he next directed his attention to his northern neighbors,
the Paonians, whose king died at this crisis without heirs. Taking
advantage of this situation, the Macedonian monarch led an army into
Paeonia and easily reduced its inhabitants to subjection, annexing their
territory to his own. After augmenting his military strength and his
influence by this acquisition, Philip invaded Illyria and severely chas-
tised its people for their recent incursion into Macedonia, compelling
them to humbly beg for peace. Thus in the space of two years, the
remarkable activity and address of this youthful Macedonian monarch
restored internal tranquillity to his own kingdom, and elevated it to a
far more vigorous and healthy condition than it had ever previously
enjoyed.
After thus mastering his barbarous neighbors and securing the
northern frontiers of his kingdom, Philip directed his attention to the
south ; and while Athens was engaged in the Social War, he began
those aggressions which were destined to ultimate in his conquest of
the whole of Greece.
His first movement was as cunning as that of a fox. Olynthus and
Amphipolis, the most important of the confederated republics lying
between Macedon and the sea, naturally attracted his first attention.
To prevent the opposition of the Athenians, who claimed Amphipolis,
until his designs were accomplished, Philip deceived them with the
belief that he was about to subdue the city for them; and the Athe-
nians, occupied in the Social War, allowed themselves to be thus duped.
He also detached Olynthus from its alliance with Amphipolis. The
Amphipolitans resisted his attack with great valor, but were eventually
forced to surrender at discretion (B. C. 358). Philip treated the
vanquished with equal policy and magnanimity, banishing only a few
of the most violent leaders and instigators of the resistance to his
arms, and dealing mildly with the remainder of the citizens. The
city was incorporated with the Kingdom of Macedon, to which it
formed a valuable acquisition, on account of its maritime situation.
After this conquest, Philip diligently cultivated the friendship of the
Olynthians, feeling that their aid would enable him almost to defy the
utmost wrath of the Athenian republic, which he would not be able
to deceive much longer with regard to his actual designs. But the
Athenians were still too much occupied in other directions to examine
into the real character of the young monarch who continually grati-
His
Aggres-
sions.
Conquest
of
Amphip-
olis,
Pydna
and
Fotidaea.
963
GR/ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
don of
Thessaly.
Philip'i
Marriage.
Krvolt*
Birth of
Alexan-
der.
fied their vanity with conciliatory messages and flattering promises.,
while his actions had assumed a very ambiguous, if not a very men-
acing aspect. In addition to retaining Amphipolis, the Macedonian
king captured the Athenian fortresses of Pydna and Potidzea and sent
their garrisons home, expressing his polite regret that his alliance with
Olynthus necessitated such a proceeding in one who entertained the
profound respect for the Athenians which he did. Fully profiting
by the toleration with which Athens still treated his actions, Philip
invaded Thrace, annexing to his kingdom that part of the country con-
taining valuable gold mines.
Philip next entered Thessaly and liberated that country from the
cruel despotism of three tyrants, the brothers-in-law, and also the as-
sassins, of Alexander of Pheras. The Thessalians were so grateful
for this deliverance that they made Philip their sovereign in every-
thing except in name, ceding to him a large portion of their revenues
and placing all the conveniences of their harbors and shipping at his
command. The Macedonian king well knew how to make permanent
this valuable grant. He contrived to extract from the Thracian gold
mines about a thousand talents (equal to a million dollars) annually.
The triumphant King of Macedon now sought a consort for his
throne. In one of his excursions from Thebes, he had formerly seen
and admired Olympias, the daughter of Neoptolemus, king of the little
territory of Esoire, on the western frontier of Thessaly. He now went
thither to woo this fair princess, and before long he had the pleasure
of presenting her to his court at Pella. While engaged in the festivi-
ties attending this event, Philip was suddenly again called to take the
field, in consequence of intelligence sent to him by some of his emis-
saries, to the effect that Illyria, Paeonia and Thrace were jointly pre-
paring to release themselves from the yoke which he had imposed upon
them.
Philip sent Parmenio, one of his ablest generals, to Illyria, and per-
sonally took the field against the Paeonians and the Thracians. Both
these enterprises succeeded, and the rebellious provinces were reduced
to submission. Before Philip returned home, he received intelligence
that his horses had gained the chariot-race at the Olympic Games; an
occurrence which highly delighted him, as it measurably brought him
within the pale of Grecian citizenship. Almost at the same instant
he received the still more gladsome news that his queen had given birth
to a son at Pella. A letter which Philip wrote to Aristotle indicates
the gratification which the king felt on this occasion, as well as the
high regard which he entertained for the philosopher, whose acquain-
tance he had made at Athens. Said Philip in this letter : " Know
that a son is born to us. We thank the gods not so much for their
RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP.
963
gift as for bestowing it at a time when Aristotle lives. We assure
ourselves that you will form him a prince worthy of his father and
worthy of Macedon." Fourteen years after this letter was written
(B. C. 356), Aristotle became the tutor of Philip's son; and, undoubt-
edly, much of the future glory of Alexander the Great may be at-
tributed to the lessons of this renowned philosopher.
The dominion of the King of Macedon now extended from the Adri-
atic sea on the west to the Euxine sea on the east, and from the Hasmus
mountains on the north to the southern limits of Thessaly on the south.
Over this vast range of territory Philip's influence predominated,
though he permitted a nominal sovereignty to continue in the hands
of others in some quarters, at least temporarily. In Eastern Thrace,
Kersobleptes, son of the deceased Cotys, held the title of king, and in
Byzantium the Athenian influence still predominated, notwithstanding
that city's share in the advantages and independence resulting from
the Social War. Philip found it necessary to act cautiously in as-
suming dominion in Byzantium, because of the jealous care especially
extended by Athens to her interests and commerce in that quarter.
His desires were, however, steadily fixed upon the possession of that
great commercial city ; and his designs upon both Byzantium and Olyn-
tlms, as well as the ulterior objects to which the acquisition of these
cities was only preliminary, were furthered by a new war which broke
out in the center of Greece about this time.
This new struggle in Greece was the Second Sacred War. It began
in B. C. 358, four years after the battle of Mantinea and in the same
year in which commenced the Social War between Athens and her de-
pendent maritime allies. The Sacred War originated in certain pro-
ceedings of the Amphictyonic Council, the body which in early times
had exercised so much influence in Grecian affairs, and which, after its
rights had for a long time lain dormant, had begun to reassert them
vigorously, supported mainly by the influence of Thebes. Instigated
by the Theban representatives, the Amphictyons imprudently revived
the old subject of the seizure of the Theban citadel by Phoebidas, and
imposed a fine of five talents (about five thousand dollars) on Sparta
for that transaction. The Lacedaemonians ignored this decree, and
neither the Amphictyons nor the Thebans possessed sufficient power to
enforce it by violent means.
Incited in the same manner by the Thebans, the Amphictyonic Coun-
cil sentenced the people of Phocis to pay a heavy fine for having culti-
vated certain lands consecrated to Apollo and belonging to that deity's
famous temple in the sacred city of Delphi, where the Amphictyons
then held their sessions. The Thebans appeared to have been actuated
by mercenary, ambitious and revengeful motives in urging these meas-
Extent of
Philip's
Domin-
ions.
Second
Sacred
War.
The
Phocians
Fined
for
Sacrilege
964
OR.ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
The
Phocians
Defy The
Amphic-
tyonic
Council
Phocians
Seize
Delphi.
Their
Leader,
Philo-
melus.
ures. The preponderance of Thebes in the Araphictyonic Council
would have enabled her to pervert to her use the sums paid in as fines,
had the decrees of the council been complied with. If, on the con-
trary, the fines remained unpaid, the religious prepossessions of all
Greece would most likely have been shocked by the unconcern mani-
fested by the Spartans and the Phocians to the sacred edicts of the
Amphictyonic Council, and a plausible pretext would be furnished to
war on the Phocians at least, in defense of the pretended rights of
Apollo. Contemporary orators did not hesitate to declare that
Thebes designed replenishing her finances from the rich treasures of the
temple of Apollo, the only way to which lay through Phocis.
If these views were really entertained by the Thebans, they were
only partially fulfilled. The exorbitant amounts of the fines insured
their non-payment by the Spartans and the Phocians, and the Am-
phictyonic Council consequently declared the delinquents to be public
enemies, whom every Grecian state that hoped for divine favor was
bound to aid in forcing to compliance and submission. But the gen-
eral public opinion of Greece paid no heed to the voice of the once-
powerful Amphictyonic Council. Only the Thebans and the Locrians,
with a few minor states who were actuated by private motives, obeyed
the summons to punish the violators of law and the contemners of
religion. Before the attempt to enforce obedience to the sacred coun-
cil's decrees was made, the Phocians, who were destined to receive the
measure of punishment, had made such ample preparations for resis-
tance as to convince their enemies that they were not to be intimidated
or coerced so easily.
After receiving secret supplies of money, with assurance of addi-
tional support, from the Spartans, to whom they naturally appealed
for sympathy in this emergency, the Phocians, without waiting to be
attacked, anticipated their enemies by striking the first blow, encour-
aged to this course mainly by the advice of Philomelus, an ambitious
and daring character among them, and the head of one of their wealth-
iest and most popular families. After cunningly preparing the minds
of his countrymen for the exploit, Philomelus led a strong force hastily
to Delphi and easily got possession of the sacred city, which had hith-
erto been solely and effectually protected by the powerful influence
of superstition (B. C. 355). The Phocians were convinced by their
leader that they were not guilty of any sacrilege, as a certain passage
in Homer named them as the true guardians of the Delphic shrine.
After having successfully completed his enterprise, Philomelus was
very careful to acquaint all Greece of the grounds on which he had
expelled the Amphictyons from Apollo's sacred city, and had taken
possession of the shrine in the name of his country; and no general
RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP.
965
feeling of horror or indignation appears to have been aroused in Greece
by the tidings of this event. No new parties acceded to the contest
in consequence of it, but the animosity of those engaged in, or about
to engage in, the contest was not lessened by the seizure of Delphi.
Nevertheless the Sacred War eventually involved most of the Grecian
states, and was chiefly instrumental in subverting their independence,
as already remarked.
Thebes seems to have been unprepared for the general unconcern
with which the other Grecian republics viewed the decrees of the
Amphictyonic Council and the action of the Phocians. Even the im-
mediate dependencies of Thebes were not easily aroused to action, and
the Phocians for a time proceeded unopposed in their bold conduct.
Under the energetic leadership of Philomelus, and with the assistance
of a powerful body of mercenaries, the Phocians invaded the territory
of the Locrians and grievously harassed these allies of Thebes. When
the Thebans, after the expiration of a season, were enabled to take
the field, fortune forsook them. The Phocians triumphed in almost
every battle during the two campaigns following the capture of
Delphi.
But the Phocians at length experienced a great loss in the death
of their valiant leader, which, from its circumstances, induced the The-
bans to ascribe it to divine vengeance on account of their sacrilegious
conduct. He was wounded in battle and was driven by the enemy to
the verge of a precipice, from which he jumped, being thus dashed to
pieces. He was probably impelled to this act by fear of a death by
torture, as this war was characterized by circumstances of peculiar
barbarity; no quarter being given to the Phocians, because of their
impious crimes, and they treating their foes in the same manner, in
self-defense. Philomelus was succeeded in command of the Phocian
army by his brother, Onomarchus, who was as able as his predecessor,
but less scrupulous in the means which he employed to advance the
interests entrusted to him. He made an unsparing use of the Delphic
treasure in coining money for enlisting recruits for his army, and for
bribing the allies of Thebes to desert her cause. For a time the cause
of Phocis appeared to be invigorated with a fresh spirit, and Ono-
marchus took advantage of every favorable circumstance. In com-
mand of a large and well-equipped army, he ravaged Doris and
Locris, and finally entered Boaotia and took by storm several of
the dependent cities of Thebes. He likewise sent his brother
Phayllus into Thessaly at the head of seven thousand men, to
aid the party which had espoused the cause of Phocis in that coun-
try, in opposition to the powerful counter-interest of Macedon. But
the Macedonian king led a powerful army against Phayllus, defeated
Phocian
Tri-
umphs.
Death of
Philo-
melus.
His
Brother,
Onomar-
chus.
GR-ECO-MACEDOMAN l.MPJRE.
His
Defeat
and Death
in
Battle
with
Philip of
Macedon.
Philip's
Wily
Policy.
Alliance
against
Philip.
The
Phocians
under
Phayllus.
him and drove him out of Thessaly in humiliation. Onomarchus was
thereupon obliged to evacuate Boeotia and to advance against Philip
of Macedon. In the battle which followed, the Phocian commander,
by his skillful tactics, gained a decisive advantage over his new foe,
compelling him to retreat back into his own kingdom to recruit his
military strength. Onomarchus then returned to Bffiotia with a con-
siderable force of Thessalian auxiliaries in addition to his former
army. But as soon as he was ready to make a fresh attack upon the
power of Thebes, Philip of Macedon reentered Thessaly, so that the
Phocian general was once more called to defend that country and his
allies there. In the sanguinary battle which ensued, the Phocians were
utterly defeated and routed by the Macedonian king, Onomarchus and
six thousand of his troops being slain, while three thousand of them
were made prisoners and never afterward returned to their native land,
some writers saying that they were cast into the sea by order of the
triumphant Philip.
The King of Macedon might at this time have easily completed the
ruin of Phocis had such been his object. He desired to perpetuate
the internal dissensions of Greece, and not to strengthen any one state
at the expense of another. He therefore remained satisfied for the
time in having defeated the effort of the Phocians to wrest Thessaly
from his own possession. He was somewhat obliged to pursue this pol-
icy, as he very clearly perceived that any attempt on his part to invade
any Grecian state would instantly alarm them into the organization
of a general league, against which he would at this time be powerless.
Inspired by such motives, the wily Macedonian king again devoted
himself to such projects of gradual and limited conquest which he
perceived would furnish the most certain way to that absolute domin-
ion on which he had set his heart.
Olynthus and Byzantium now began to see more clearly the designs
entertained against them by Philip of Macedon, and to feel the re-
sults of his continued intrigues. In order to effectually resist his
power, these two commercial cities entered into a new alliance with
Athens, which republic from the very first clearly saw the ultimate
drift of Philip's policy.
Philip was for some time obliged to remain in a state of inactivity,
in consequence of a wound which he had received in one of his recent
battles, and when he recovered from this accident his attention was
again drawn to the Sacred War. Phayllus, the Phocian commander,
the brother of Onomarchus, had instigated his countrymen to renew
the struggle (B. C. 352); and by further plundering the Delphic
shrine, he obtained sufficient means to raise an army of mercenaries,
equal numerically to any other that had entered the field in the same
RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP.
967
cause.
Athens furnished five thousand auxiliaries for this force, and
Sparta furnished one thousand.
As soon as Philip heard of these preparations, he determined to seize
the opportunity to enter Phocis, thinking that, by assuming the role of
conservator of Apollo's shrine against its desecrators, the Phocians, he
would inspire the leading Greek states with such pious awe that they
would permit him to pass Thermopylae without opposition. His many-
emissaries among the different Grecian republics flattered him into
the conviction that this would be the case. Accordingly he led a large
army toward Phocis, but Greece was saved from the Macedon king's
ambition, in this crisis, by the patriotic course of Athens. Upon
receiving information of Philip's march, the Athenians instantly took
the alarm, entered their ships, and placed a strong guard in the pass
of Thermopylae before the ambitious invader was able to reach the
spot. Chagrined at finding the avenue to Central and Southern Greece
impregnably closed against him, as well as at finding his purpose thus
easily understood, Philip had no other alternative than to retire by the
way he came, leaving the Thebans and their allies to prosecute the war
against the Phocians without his assistance.
The Athenian people were elated because of the success of this first
decisive movement against the King of Macedon, and immediately
thereafter they convened in full assembly to take action in regard to
their future course. This assembly became memorable in consequence
of the first appearance of the illustrious orator, Demosthenes. This
remarkable man was the son of a respectable Athenian citizen, of
whose care he was deprived at the early age of seven years. The
guardians to whose charge the youth was afterwards assigned did not
prove faithful to their trust, and one of the first acts of Demosthenes,
when he arrived at manhood, was to accuse them in public of having
defrauded him of a part of his property.
This was the first essay of this celebrated orator in public speaking,
and though he was successful in recovering some of his embezzled
inheritance, his oratorical abilities were not considered of a very high
order. He labored under a weak habit of body and other personal
disadvantages, while his voice was exceedingly defective. But oratory
was then the only way by which an ambitious man might reach power
in Athens, or by which a patriotic soul might gain the influence essen-
tial to an efficient service of the republic. Demosthenes had both
these characteristics, and was impelled thereby to a course of severe and
incessant application, ending in his overcoming fully every obstacle
thrown by nature in the way of his acquisition of oratorical skill and
distinction.
2— 23
Athe-
nians
Seize
Ther-
mopylae
The
Athenian
Orator
Demos-
thenes.
His
Early
Career
968
GR^CO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
His
Popu-
larity.
His
Philip-
pics.
His
Rivals,
Phocion
and
lacerates.
Demosthenes is said to have overcome the impediment in his speech
by putting pebbles in his mouth ; to have cured himself of an unseemly
habit of shrugging up his shoulders by suspending a sharp-pointed
sword above them ; and, by declaiming upon the seashore, to have accus-
tomed himself to address calmly the most tumultuous of popular assem-
blies. The most brilliant success attended these diligent and perse-
vering exertions of the young orator, who is said to have made his
first speech on public questions when he was twenty-eight years of age.
Two years later, when he had acquired a large degree of popularity,
he presented himself before the public assembly referred to, and uttered
the first of a series of impassioned invectives against Philip of Mace-
don, in consequence of which that monarch ultimately acknowledged
that " Demosthenes was of more weight against him than all the fleets
and armies of Athens." These invectives, styled philippics, have been
regarded ever since as models of popular eloquence, being truly, as
described by a historian, " grave and austere, like the orator's temper ;
masculine and sublime, bold, forcible and impetuous ; abounding with
metaphors, apostrophes and interrogations ; producing altogether such
a wonderful effect upon his hearers that they thought him inspired."
The great orator directed all his mighty powers in his first philippic
to the duty of fully acquainting his Athenian countrymen with the
real character of the King of Macedon, and of inciting them to a
vigorous resistance to his designs. Demosthenes made a permanent
impression upon the Athenian democracy; but the aristocracy advo-
cated a different policy. The leaders of this opposite party were
Phocion, an eminent leader and stateman, and Isocrates, an orator of
great reputation and a man of spotless integrity. Phocion and
Isocrates used all their influence to bring about a reconciliation between
the Macedonian monarch and the Athenian people, as they were fully
convinced that such was the only method of securing peace and reviving
Grecian glory. These leaders considered their countrymen too feeble
to oppose the growing power of Macedon, and consequently regarded
it as the best policy to win the friendship of Philip. They also con-
tended that Persia, which had deprived Greece of all her colonies in
Asia Minor, was the foe always to be most dreaded. They likewise
asserted that Philip was the only general of the time that was able
to humble the Oriental barbarians and to lead the Grecian armies to
victory on the fields consecrated by the valor of their illustrious ances-
tors. They looked upon him as the only leader capable of recov-
ering the lost Hellenic colonies. Phocion and Isocrates were perfectly
sincere and disinterested in these opinions, and a number of other
influential Athenians regarded matters in the same light and enter-
tained the same views. But the gold of the Macedonian king had
RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP.
969
more influence with the adherents of this passive and peaceful policy
among the Athenian populace than all the efforts of Phocion, Isocrates
and their partisans. Not only were the ignorant and the lower classes
corrupted by Philip's emissaries, but many talented and distinguished
individuals became the unprincipled hirelings of the artful monarch,
and the ablest and most active of these was Demades, an orator who
rivaled Demosthenes himself.
The advice of Demosthenes was not at once acted upon. The
Athenians only partially raised the auxiliary force which he urged
them to send to Olynthus and other allied states that were seriously
menaced by Philip, and even this appears never to have been sent.
For two years the Macedonian king remained seemingly inactive, for
the purpose of again lulling to sleep the vigilance of the Athenians,
which had been aroused by his attempt to pass Thermopylae. Never-
theless, he was secretly occupied in distributing his gold among the
Athenian dependencies in Euboea and in making preparations to realize
his long-contemplated designs upon Olynthus. His intrigues won vast
numbers of the Euboeans to his interest ; and in B. C. 349 his adherents
in the island and those remaining faithful to Athens came to blows.
Philip sent a Macedonian detachment to the island for the protection
of his partisans, while the Athenians sent a force under Phocion to
uphold their friends. The Athenian leader's prudence caused the
hasty and complete overthrow of the Macedonian party in a pitched
battle; and after Phocion had settled the affairs of the island, he re-
turned to Athens, being triumphantly received by his rejoicing coun-
trymen.
Though Philip was disappointed by the failure of his party in
Euboea, he was not thereby alarmed into any abandonment of his am-
bitious designs ; but he took the field in person against the Olynthians,
distinctly informing them that either they must leave Olynthus or he
must leave Macedon. The Olynthians sent ambassadors to Athens
imploring instant aid, as soon as Philip had entered their territory,
and while he was occupied in the preliminary task of reducing the
minor towns in the district. Sharp debates arose in Athens concern-
ing the propriety of granting the Olynthian request. Demades and
other supporters of the Macedonian interest counseled its utter rejec-
tion ; but Demosthenes once more, in one of his most vigorous orations,
advised his countrymen to provide for their own security by defending
their allies against the ambition of Philip. The Athenians, swayed
between two opposing forces, ultimately decided upon such half meas-
ures as were worse than total inactivity. They sent their favorite,
Chares, a man calculated to charm the mob, but not adapted to mili-
tary command, with a small force to the relief of Olynthus. Chares
Philip's
Intrigues
and
Bribery.
Philip's
Attack
on
Olynthus.
Athenian
Vacilla-
tion.
970
GR^CO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Philip's
Conquest
of
Olynthus.
Phocians
and
Thebans.
did nothing whatever for the Olynthians. He made a descent upon
the coast of Thrace to fill his own coffers and to gratify the plunder-
ing spirit of his troops, and soon afterwards returned to Athens to
expend the proceeds of his expedition in entertaining the populace
with shows and feastings. Thus opposed by the Athenians, Philip
invested Olynthus with his army and besieged the city. The Olyn-
thians again sent ambassadors to Athens, and Demosthenes again lifted
his eloquent voice in behalf of the distressed republic, imploring the
Athenian people to prove themselves worthy of their heroic ancestors
by coming to the rescue of their imperiled ally.
This second Olynthian embassy to Athens was no more successful
than its predecessor. The Athenians sent four thousand foreign mer-
cenaries, under the command of Charidemus, a man of the same charac-
ter as Chares, to the relief of the beleaguered city. When this force
reached Olynthus, it conducted itself in so unworthy a manner as to
annoy and encumber the Olynthians, rather than to help them. Philip
conducted the siege with vigor, but the resolute resistance of the Olyn-
thians allowed them time to send a third embassy to Athens. On this
occasion Demosthenes made another eloquent plea in behalf of the dis-
tressed city, and with better success than previously. He thoroughly
aroused the Athenians to a sense of the dangers with which the ambi-
tion of the King of Macedon threatened Greece, and they decreed the
instant arming of the citizens to assist Olynthus. But, unfortunately,
this resolution came too late ; as Philip got possession of Olynthus
before it could be put in force, mainly in consequence of the treachery
of two Olynthian commanders. The triumphant Macedonian monarch
demolished the walls of the conquered city and carried its inhabitants
into captivity (B. C. 348). Though Philip profited by the treachery
of the two Olynthian generals who betrayed their city into his hands,
he showed his contempt for the infamous traitors by the terrible pun-
ishment which he inflicted upon them. The spoils of the vanquished
city vastly enriched the Macedonian treasury, and the entire district
of Chalcidice was annexed to Philip's dominions, while the northern
ports of the ^Egean sea were open to his fleets. These acquisitions
were celebrated by the splendid festival held at the Otympian town of
Dium, lasting nine days. It was even visited by Athenians, and all
were delighted with the affability of the wily Philip and his zeal to
do honor to learning and the Muses.
During Philip's retreat from Thermopylae, the Phocians and the
Thebans were left alone to continue their causeless and barbarous war
against each other, none of the larger Grecian states furnishing any
effective assistance to cither of them. Though Athens and Sparta
vere still nominally allies of Phocis, they were already tired of a con-
RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP.
971
test which was attended with no benefit to themselves, and but feebly
aided their ostensible allies.
Phayllus, the third Phocian leader in the Sacred War, died of con-
sumption soon after he had succeeded to the command ; and his country-
men entertained such profound reverence for the memory of his broth-
ers and himself that they appointed his son Phaleucus, who was then a
mere youth, to lead their forces. Irf several succeeding expeditions
neither party gained any decisive advantage. They alternately rav-
aged each other's frontiers, and alternately boasted of victories which
excited little attention in the rest of Greece. Even a Theban invasion
of the Peloponnesus excited little notice, except in Arcadia, the coun-
try thus invaded. The Spartans and the Phocians ultimately forced
the Thebans to retire, and Phocis and Boeotia again became the theater
of petty and indecisive hostilities.
But after the capture of Olynthus by Philip of Macedon, a change
occurred in the situation of affairs. Elated by his recent successes,
Philip determined to make himself master of the pass of Thermopylae,
usually styled " the Gates of Greece," as one of the next steps to the
general supremacy at which he aimed. The pass of Thermopylae lay
near the Phocian territories, and Philip for some time meditated upon
the best plan for seizing these territories. Perceiving that the alliance
between Athens and Phocis was a great obstacle in the way of his
projects, he sent emissaries to detach Athens from the alliance. He
also sent a squadron to invade and ravage the Athenian dependencies
of Lemnos and Imbros, in order to draw the attention of the Athenians
to their own affairs and to make them feel the demands of the Sacred
War more annoying.
This Macedonian armament fully succeeded, as it surprised the
islands of Lemnos and Imbros, and even made a descent upon the coast
of Attica itself, where several rapidly-collected detachments of Athe-
nian cavalry were defeated and routed. Philip sent another expedi-
tion to Euboea, to drive the Athenians from that island. He likewise
succeeded in this enterprise, chiefly through the aid of the powerful
party which his continued intrigues had raised among the inhabitants.
He permitted the island to enjoy a nominal independence for some
time, in order to color over this proceeding measurably to the Athe-
nians.
But the unhappy fate of the Olynthians, in addition to these recent
injuries, naturally aroused the indignation and jealousy of the Athe-
nians, who were at first inclined to appeal to arms and take vengeance
on the Macedonians, but the wily Philip soon changed the tone of the
fickle Athenian populace. He pretended that everything which he had
done had been forced upon him by the necessity of protecting his
VOL. 3.— 18
Progress
of the
Sacred
War.
Philip's
Designs
on
Thermop-
ylae.
Philip's
Expedi-
tions
against
Athenian
Depend-
encies.
Philip's
Con-
tinued
Intrigues
and His
Wily
Policy.
972
GR^ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Athenian
Embassy
to Philip.
Coward-
ice of
Demos-
thenes
Philip's
Aggres-
sions in
Thrace.
friends and allies, and professed the most ardent wish to be on amicable
terms with the Athenian republic ; and when certain influential Athe-
nian citizens appeared in his presence to make complaint concerning
the injuries received from Macedonian soldiers, he redressed their griev-
ances, lavished kindness and presents upon them, and sent them home
filled with admiration for his affability and generosity. These indi-
viduals presented themselves before the assembly of the Athenian people
at a critical time, and gave such an account of Philip's friendly feeling
towards the republic that the Athenians changed their warlike atti-
tude, suspended their military preparations, and decided to send an
embassy to the Macedonian court at Pella to deliberate on terms of
peace with Philip.
Demosthenes and his greatest oratorical rival, JEschines, were two
of the ten ambassadors sent on this peace mission to the court of Pella
(B. C. 348). Demosthenes had for a long time seen through Philip's
schemes, as his orations fully proved; and this mission was not an
agreeable one to the orator, after all that he had said, but he was
obliged to accept a share in it by the general demand of the Athenian
people. Demosthenes conducted himself in a very unworthy manner
throughout this embassy, partially on account of the embarrassment of
confronting a man whom he had so often denounced before his country-
men, and partially because of the lack of personal courage character-
istic of this orator. The majority of the other envoys were rather
friendly disposed towards Philip, who therefore found it easy to dupe
them by fair and flattering utterances. The result of the mission was
the return of the embassy to Athens with the mere announcement that
the King of Macedon was willing to enter into an alliance with the
Athenian republic. As soon as the ambassadors had taken their de-
parture from Pella, Philip instantly showed what reliance could be
placed on his professions.
With the promptitude characteristic of all his military movements,
the Macedonian monarch dashed upon Thrace, made its king, Kerso-
bleptes, prisoner, and took possession of the entire country, including
the cities of Serrium, Doriscus and others on the Thracian coast tribu-
tary to Athens. By this military expedition, Philip likewise got pos-
session of the important passage of the Hellespont, one of the great
barriers against Oriental or Scythian inroads into Greece. The Athe-
nians sent a messenger to Philip to complain of these hostile acts, but
he returned a cold and haughty reply. His position was then so for-
midable that the Athenians saw that their own security absolutely
demanded the instant conclusion of a treaty of peace with him, not-
withstanding the wrongs which they had suffered from him. Accord-
RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP.
973
ingly the ten ambassadors went to Pella a second time, and a treaty
of peace was ratified.
But being resolved to obtain possession of the pass of Thermopylae
Philip managed to entirely ignore the Phocians in this treaty, upon
the pretext that, as he had promised to aid the Thebans in their quarrel
with Phocis, it would be unbecoming in him openly to assume a friendly
attitude towards the latter state. He, however, assured the ambassa-
dors, at the same time, that he hated the Thebans, and would rather
chastise them than the Phocians. All the Athenian ambassadors, ex-
cept Demosthenes, had been bribed with Philip's gold; and they left
Pella with every indication of absolute confidence in the Macedonian
king's promises. But no sooner had they departed than Philip again
showed what amount of dependence could be placed upon his word.
He led an army towards Thermopylae, marched through the pass un-
opposed, and shortly entered the Phocian territory. The unhappy
Phocians, thrown off their guard by the accounts which they had re-
ceived from Athens immediately after the return of the ambassadors,
were duped into the belief that the Macedonian monarch was their
friend, and they cordially welcomed him. Philip for a time concealed
his ambitious designs, until he had convened the Amphictyonic Council
at Delphi.
When the great council convened, in B. C. 347, only the deputies
of Thebes, Locris and Thessaly were present, all these parties being
intensely antagonistic to Phocis. The fate of that republic was sealed
from that very moment. Under the directing influence of the ambi-
tious King of Macedon, the council decreed that the cities of Phocis
should be dismantled and reduced to the condition of villages with only
sixty houses each — a proceeding amounting nearly to depopulation;
that the arms and houses of the inhabitants should be sold; that they
should pay a heavy annual fine ; and that they should be excluded from
the Grecian confederacy and from the Amphictyonic Council. The
council passed a number of other decrees against the unfortunate Pho-
cians. Philip was appointed to preside at the Pythian Games, and
the two votes in the Amphictyonic Council which Phocis had lost were
given to Macedon, which thus became an Amphictyonic state.
The news of these harsh edicts, which the Macedonians rigorously
enforced, produced consternation and horror at Athens. The Athe-
nians now reproached themselves for their want of vigilance which
permitted Philip of Macedon to reach such a dangerous degree of
power and influence ; but they regarded it as utterly useless for them
then to assume an aggressive attitude; and when the decree incorpor-
ating Macedon with the Hellenic body by making it an Amphictyonic
state was presented to them for their approval they offered no objec-
Philip's
Seizure
of Ther-
mopylae.
Unhappy
Fate of
Phocis.
Macedon
Made an
Amphic-
tyonic
State.
Athenian
Coward-
ice and
Vacilla-
tion.
974
GR^CO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Brief
Period of
Peace.
Persian
Embassy
to Philip.
Philip
Humbles
Sparta.
tion, though they do not seem to have acknowledged Philip's claim to
be an Amphictyon. Even Demosthenes approved of peaceful meas-
ures under the existing circumstances; and the virtuous Isocrates, in
accordance with his previous views, addressed a discourse at this time
to Philip, exhorting him to a firm union with the Grecian states and
to the direction of their united power against the Medo-Persian Em-
pire. While making these concessions, the Athenians welcomed the
expatriated Phocians, allowing them to settle in Attica and other pos-
sessions of the Athenian republic.
With the end of the Sacred War came a brief period of peace for
Greece. But most of the states were either engaged with their own
private quarrels or were restless and chagrined at the terms upon
which peace had been obtained, which was consequently a hollow and
deceptive truce. Nevertheless, Philip was as diligent as ever in the
prosecution of his ambitious schemes. After he had returned from
Delphi with eleven thousand Phocian captives in his train, he visited
Thrace, in which country he founded the two cities which he named
respectively Philippopolis and Cabyla, which he peopled with most of
his captives.
Some time afterward Philip led an expedition into Illyria to
strengthen his power in that country (B. C. 344). While he was
absent there, an embassy arrived at Pella from the Persian king, Ar-
taxerxes Ochus, with offers of friendship to the King of Macedon.
Philip's son Alexander, then a boy only twelve years of age, enter-
tained the Persian envoys in his father's name, and excited their won-
der at his extraordinary intelligence and dignified behavior. The
embassy resulted in nothing of any consequence.
On returning from Illyria, Philip received a very welcome message
from the Thebans, requesting him not to suffer their allies of Arcadia
and Messene to be trampled upon by the domineering Spartans. The
King of Macedon instantly perceived how easy it would now be to
establish his influence in the Peloponnesus, and he accordingly ob-
tained a decree from the Amphictyonic Council authorizing him to
protect the aggrieved Arcadians and Messenians against the arrogant
Lacedaemonians. Armed with this decree, and in spite of the most
powerful eloquence of Demosthenes, who now exerted himself to his
utmost against the ambitious designs of the king, Philip sailed to the
coast of Laconia without being observed, and, after landing, he rav-
aged the Spartan territories and reduced the countrymen of Lycurgus
and Leonidas to submission. The triumphant Macedonian king, in his
ostensible capacity of mediator, but really that of dictator, settled the
boundaries of the Peloponnesian states and composed their differences;
after which he marched triumphantly to the city of Corinth, being
RISE OF MACEDON UNDKR PHILIP.
975
welcomed along the route with the highest honors. He returned to
Macedon, after witnessing certain festivals at Corinth.
Philip appears to have now regarded the Athenians with a certain
degree of contempt, because of their fickle and vacillating character.
His next proceedings seem to indicate such a feeling toward the people
whom he was once so careful to cajole and flatter. He seized upon
Halonnesus, an island on the Thracian coast belonging to Athens, while
he also supported and encouraged the enemies of that republic in the
Thracian Chersonesus, a measure calculated to do serious injury to the
interests of the Athenian colonies in that region.
These proceedings, and others of a similar character, aroused the
Athenians to energetic action ; and they sent a strong force under
Diopithes, a brave and skillful commander and a devoted friend of
Demosthenes, to protect their colonies in the Thracian Chersonesus.
Diopithes made an irruption into Philip's Thracian territories, carry-
ing away a vast amount of plunder and captives, without encountering
any opposition on the part of Philip, who was then occupied in Upper
Thrace. But the Macedonian king made loud complaints at Athens
through his emissaries, who induced the people to bring the accused
commander to trial. Demosthenes defended his friend in a vigorous
oration and obtained his acquittal, and the Athenians were consequently
encouraged to yet greater efforts.
They accordingly fitted out a fleet which plundered the coasts of
Thessaly, seizing many Macedonian vessels. Another Athenian force,
which was sent to Euboea, drove the Macedonians from that island.
But Philip, who had laid siege to Perinthus, indulged in remonstrances,
until the obstinate defense of the Perinthians induced him to abandon
the siege, when he led his army against Diopithes and utterly defeated
him. Philip's fleet also captured some Athenian ships laden with corn
for the relief of Perinthus — a circumstance which enabled the Mace-
donian king to execute a masterly stroke of policy. He sent vessels
back to Athens, with letters assuring the citizens that he was fully
aware that they were friendly to him, but that some mischievous lead-
ers were his enemies.
This letter failed to have the desired effect, because Demosthenes
exposed the trick and induced his Athenian countrymen to continue
their protection to those cities which Philip was endeavoring to conquer.
Phocion being sent with a new force of auxiliaries for this purpose,
found the Macedonian king engaged in the siege of Byzantium, and
forced him to abandon that enterprise. Phocion then made the most
judicious preparations for the future protection of the allies and tribu-
taries of Athens in Eastern Thrace and returned home, where he was
welcomed with the utmost enthusiasm (B. C. 340).
His
Contempt
for
Athens.
Athenian
Hostility.
Philip's
Victories
over
Athens.
Demos-
thenes
and
Phocion
976
GR^CO-MACEDONIAX EMPIRE.
Philip's
Success-
ful
Incursion
into
Scythia.
The
Locrians
and the
Amphic-
tyonic
Council.
Philip's
Seizure
of Am-
phissa.
The reason why Philip so readily submitted to the humiliation of
being thwarted in his design on Byzantium was that his attention was
called in a new direction at the time, thus affording him a plea to
retreat with credit from the attempt in which he was engaged. Some
time previously, Atheas, king of a Scythian tribe occupying the region
between the western shores of the Euxine and the Danube, solicited
Philip's assistance against some troublesome neighbors, promising, as
a reward, that the King of Macedon should be declared heir to the
throne of this Scythian tribe. Philip's ambition was tempted by this
proffer, and he sent a considerable force to aid Atheas, who, however,
had vanquished his enemies before the arrival of the Macedonian troops.
The triumphant Atheas received his Macedonian allies with the most un-
grateful coldness ; and when these returned to their king, Philip was
occupied in the siege of Byzantium ; but he resolved to abandon the
siege and have revenge on Atheas. The disciplined Macedonian sol-
diers easily overcame the Scythian barbarians ; and, after a satisfactory
campaign, Philip returned laden with booty, principally horses and
herds, and with twenty thousand captives. Philip's son, Alexander,
still a mere youth, accompanied his father on this expedition, and saved
his life in battle, after he had received a wound which made him lame
for the rest of his life.
While Philip was thus employed in the Scythian country, quarrels
again broke out among the Grecian states. The citizens of Amphissa,
a town in Locris, about eight miles from Delphi, had tilled a plain
which had been some time previously devoted by the Amphictyonic
Council to perpetual sterility in honor of Apollo. The Amphictyons,
in their next meeting, denounced the Locrians of Amphissa as guilty
of sacrilege and caused their lands to be laid waste and their houses to
be burned. The Locrians were so enraged at these proceedings that
they attacked the Amphictyons on their return from the spot, and the
council afterwards raised a military force to avenge this outrage. The
Locrians likewise appealed to arms and defended themselves against
their assailants with success, until the council decided to solicit the
assistance of Philip of Macedon, in his character of General of the
Amphictyonic Council.
The deputation from the Amphictyonic Council met Philip just
after he had returned from his Scythian campaign. He readily ac-
cepted the charge assigned to him, and was soon on his way by sea to
the coast of Locris. He eluded certain Athenian vessels stationed in
that region by the stratagem of throwing fictitious letters in their way,
and effected a safe landing; after which he marched upon Amphissa,
receiving a force of Theban auxiliaries on the way. When the Athe-
nians were informed of Philip's disembarkment and march, they were
RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP. 977
so dreadfully alarmed that they sent ten thousand mercenaries to the
defense of Amphissa. But the Macedonian king defeated and routed
this force, and immediately afterwards easily took Amphissa by storm.
After he had garrisoned the unfortunate city with Macedonian Philip's
troops, Philip followed up his success by a new measure, as bold as it 5ei2^r<
was judicious. As he had some doubts as to the permanent friendship Elatea.
of the Thebans, whose territories were very important as lying in his
way to those of Athens, he determined upon seizing the city of Elatea,
a strong fortress upon the frontier between Phocis and Boeotia, and
distant from Attica only two days' march. Philip perceived that the
possession of this strong post would enable him to keep the Thebans
on t°rms of friendship through fear, and would likewise afford him a
position from which he would, at any opportune moment, be able to
make a dash upon the towns and cities of Attica. Accordingly, Philip
led his army to Elatea, and, with his usual good fortune, he soon ob-
tained possession of the city (B. C. 338). Elatea was located on a
rocky eminence, at the base of which flowed the river Cephissus, open-
ing a navigable route from that spot into Attica. The Macedonian
monarch vastly added to the natural strength of the city by erecting
new walls and other fortifications, after which he remained in his new
stronghold for some time, getting ready for a formidable effort to
acquire the ultimate mastery of Greece.
Nothing that had thus far signalized Philip's career so alarmed the Athenians
Athenians as did his capture of Elatea. When they received intelli- . Denfos-
gence of that event they were stricken with dismay. An assembly thenes.
of the people was convened, and the eloquent voice of Demosthenes was
again heard in denunciation of the enemy of Grecian liberty. The
great orator's words had the effect of arousing his degenerate country-
men to a full sense of the perils of this crisis ; and though the Athe-
nians were then more licentious than at any other period of their his-
tory, they still showed that they could be aroused to noble exertions
in the cause of their country's freedom. Following the advice of
Demosthenes, the Athenians raised a large army to confront the Mace-
donian king, while they also sent ambassadors to Thebes and other
Grecian republics, requesting them to arm and unite in the defense of
their common independence. Demosthenes himself went on this mis-
sion to Thebes, and that republic was aroused by his vehement elo-
quence to a sense of its duty to the cause of Grecian freedom. The Alliance
Thebans openly renounced their alliance with Macedon and prepared of Athens
to unite with Athens in the struggle for the preservation of Hellenic Thebes,
independence.
Before long a formidable allied army, consisting mainly of Athe- Allies in
nians and Thebans, but also including Corinthians, Achseans, Euboeans,
978
GR^CO-MACEDOXIAX EMPIRE.
Battle of
Chaeronea
and End
of Grecian
Inde-
pendence.
Philip's
Treat-
ment of
Thebes
and
Athens.
and other Grecian confederates, in all numbering about thirty thousand
men, marched into the plains of Boeotia to expel the common enemy
from the soil of republican Greece. Philip, now fully prepared for
the impending conflict, led an army of thirty-two thousand men to
Chasronea, which he considered the most desirable place to encounter
his antagonists. The allied Grecian army also proceeded to Chseronea,
and on the plain around that city was fought the battle which decided
the fate of Greece.
The Macedonian king himself confronted the Athenians with one
portion of his army, while he assigned his youthful son Alexander to
the command of that portion facing the Thebans. In the early part
of the bloody struggle these two divisions of the Macedonian army
suffered different fortunes. Although Alexander was then only eigh-
teen years of age, he conducted his operations with such prudence and
valor that the Thebans were utterly routed with frightful slaughter,
and their valiant Sacred Band was entirely cut to pieces. The Athe-
nians made their first attack with such impetuosity that they gained
a temporary advantage over Philip's division, driving all before them
for a time. But the incompetency of the Athenian commanders, Ly-
sicles and Chares, enabled Philip to retrieve the fortunes of the day.
His adversaries followed up their success without order or discipline,
urged on by Lysicles, who arrogantly exclaimed : " Let us drive the
cowards to Macedon." But then Philip suddenly led his celebrated
phalanx to the summit of a hill and dashed down with steady and irre-
sistible force upon the Athenians, who were so overpowered by the
shock that they were unable to recover their ranks. Most of them,
Lysicles among the number, saved themselves by fleeing from the field,
thus presenting a dishonorable contrast to the heroic conduct of the
valiant but ill-fated bands of Thebes. When Philip perceived that his
victory was complete, he at once ordered the slaughter to be discon-
tinued. The survivors among his vanquished foes acknowledged them-
selves defeated, in accordance with custom, by requesting permission
to bury their dead. Before this could be done, Philip insulted the
memory of the slain by appearing on the sanguinary field in Baccha-
nalian triumph, after a banquet given in honor of the great victory
of the day. For the moment he was tamed to pity by the sight of the
Theban corpses, but he soon lost this feeling. Such was the battle of
Chasronea, which was the death-blow to Grecian independence (B. C.
338).
The triumphant Macedonian monarch treated the people of Thebes
with the most remarkable severity, rigorously punishing those opposed
to him in that republic, putting his adherents in all its offices, and gar-
risoning the city with Macedonian soldiers. But he treated the Athe-
RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP.
979
mans with kindness, as he had a more refined and more powerful people
to deal with; and, instead of doing injury to Athens or its inhabitants,
he offered them peace on certain conditions, one of which was that they
should surrender the isle of Samos, the great bulwark of their maritime
power ; but they were allowed to retain their democratic form of gov-
ernment and to remain in undisturbed possession of Attica. Alto-
gether, the terms which Philip offered to Athens were more favorable
than they could have expected, and a treaty of peace was concluded.
Thus the famous battle of Chaeronea put an end forever to the re-
publican glories of ancient Greece. The history of the decline and
overthrow of these remarkable states should ever serve as a lesson to
nations. When the Greeks were united in one firm league, they were
able to cope with the most powerful and the most remote empires ; but
when they became divided, they ultimately fell a prey to a compara-
tively-small and semi-barbarous tribe in their own immediate vicinity.
The isles, colonies, dependencies and tributaries, upon which much of
the early power of the Hellenic states depended, had already been lost
to them, one by one, in consequence of their own internal quarrels.
The battle of Chseronea left them with scarcely any of their posses-
sions, excepting those that lay within and around the walls of their
own cities. Nevertheless, as shown by a circumstance which occurred
in the year after the battle, had all the Hellenic states made common
cause with each other, Philip would not have been able to conquer
them.
In B. C. 337 the conquering King of Macedon convened a general
congress of the Amphictyonic states at Corinth, from which only the
Spartans remained absent. Those who were present made a calcula-
tion of the forces which they were able to jointly raise, and it was dis-
covered that an army of two hundred and twenty thousand infantry
and fifteen thousand cavalry could be brought into the field by the
Grecian republics. With such an available force at their command,
they would not have been obliged to submit to the yoke of a half -civil-
ized despot, had they been sufficiently united in the cause of Grecian
freedom.
Philip's motives for assembling this general Grecian congress at
Corinth were of the same ambitious character as those which had pre-
viously directed all his actions. He had from the beginning aimed at
universal dominion, and had always considered the conquest of Greece
as only a step to the conquest of Asia, which he very well knew could
only be accomplished by the friendship and aid of the Grecian states.
These ulterior designs undoubtedly afforded a sufficient reason for the
leniency with which he treated the Grecian republics after his decisive
victory at Chaeronea, and for his allowing them to retain their old
End of
Grecian
Glory.
Grecian
Congress
at
Corinth.
Philip's
Ambi-
tious
Designs.
»80
GR^ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Philip,
Generalis-
simo.
niyrian
Revolt.
Assassi-
nation of
Philip of
Macedon.
His
Abilities
and Un-
scrupu-
lousness.
democratic institutions and their nominal independence. The Mace-
donian king found a sufficient pretext for asking the aid of the assem-
bled states at Corinth, in the cruel oppression which the Greek colonies
of Asia Minor had endured from the Persian government, as adminis-
tered by its appointed satraps ; and he urged upon the Greeks to retali-
ate upon the Persians for the invasions of Greece in the times of Darius
Hystaspes and Xerxes.
The Grecian congress at Corinth entered into Philip's designs with
apparent readiness, and named him generalissimo of the Grasco-Mace-
donian armies, while the din of military preparations again resounded
throughout Greece. The king was prevented from immediately enter-
ing on his Eastern expedition by disturbances in Illyria and domestic
dissensions in Macedon. Alexander quarreled with his father for mis-
treating his mother Olympias, and ultimately, in a moment of irrita-
tion, threw himself into the arms of the dissatisfied Illyrians. The
king attacked and subdued the Illyrians, and, by the employment of
all his art, finally succeeded in soothing Alexander, and winning back
his loyalty.
The transactions just related occupied so much time that Philip's
career and life were ended before he had an opportunity to prosecute
his schemes of Asiatic conquest. In B. C. 336 — two years after his
subjugation of Greece by his victory at Chaeronea — Philip of Mace-
don was assassinated by Pausanias, a Macedonian nobleman. Some
asserted that the assassin was bribed to this deed by the Persians ; but
there is good reason for believing that Alexander only put forth this
imputation to justify his invasion of the dominions of the Great King,
or to clear himself and his mother Olympias from the suspicion which
was entertained by very many that they were accessories to the crime.
Aristotle, who was present at Pella at the time, attributed the deed to
motives of private revenge on the part of Pausanias, who was seized
and put to death immediately after he had committed the act. As
may well be supposed, the republican Greeks, and especially the Athe-
nians, rejoiced at the death of the man who had subverted the liberties
of their country.
Philip's character has been differently estimated by historians.
His contemporaries and posterity, friends and foes, have all acknowl-
edged the greatness of his abilities ; but the motives by which he was
actuated have been viewed in extremely-opposite lights. No one who
views his career impartially can doubt that he was ambitious of power
and dominion, and unscrupulous as to the means of acquiring these.
He began his career as the sovereign of a poor and unimportant king-
dom, but, by the force of his own talents, he had made himself the
virtual ruler of a hundred principalities before his death.
RISE OF MACEDON UNDER PHILIP.
981
He obtained his extended dominion by the force of arms when the
occasion required it, but his most potent instrument was his artful pol-
icy. In all the annals of history, no prince ever carried the arts of
diplomatic intrigue to the same degree as did King Philip II. of Mace-
don; and though we must not forget that the contemporary writers
who delineated his character were his avowed and inveterate enemies,
there is little reason for believing that they have misrepresented him
in ascribing bribery as at the foundation of his entire policy. His
first step, on all occasions when he desired to subject any community
to his influence or his dominion, was to discover and win over to his
side its factious and dissatisfied citizens and leaders, who, if unable to
accomplish his ends for him by secret intrigue, might, at any rate, in-
jure and check the efforts of his antagonists in the same community,
and make an open military conquest much more easy.
Though Philip was unscrupulous in the use of the basest instru-
ments to assist him in his acquisition of power and dominion, he ex-
hibited, in numerous instances, sufficient mental greatness to use the
power which he thus acquired with nobleness and generosity. His
treatment of the Athenians after the battle of Chasronea was magnani-
mous and humane, even if he was partially prompted thereto by a view
of ulterior interest. When his generals, on that occasion, advised
him to attack Athens, he calmly responded : " Have I done so much
for glory, and shall I destroy the theater of that glory? "
Historians have recorded other sayings of his, of a like character,
and uttered under similar circumstances ; and from these we may fairly
infer that Philip's ambition for power and dominion was largely min-
gled with the love of performing great deeds.
The combination of good and evil elements in Philip's character is
yet more forcibly exemplified by his conduct in other capacities than
those of the warrior and the statesman. Though almost constantly
occupied in the bustle of war and politics, he had a love for polite learn-
ing and for all those studies which refine and adorn human nature.
This feature of his character is fully shown by his letter to Aristotle
on the birth of Alexander ; and we have additional evidence of it in his
constant anxiety to attract to his court all who were renowned through-
out Greece for learning and literary ability. He personally corre-
sponded with various celebrated philosophers of the Grecian schools,
and his letters are reputed to have been remarkable for their elegance
and good sense. He was usually kind and generous to his friends to
the highest degree, and he administered justice to his subjects in a
paternal and impartial manner.
A vice by which Philip frequently, if not habitually, disgraced him-
self was his excessive indulgence in wine; and it is said that when, on
His Dip-
lomatic
Intrigue.
His Oc-
casional
Gen-
erosity.
His
Ambition.
His Love
of
Learning.
His
Intemper-
ance.
982
GRAX'O MACEDONIAN KMP1KK.
one occasion, while intoxicated, he had given judgment against an old
woman, in a case brought before him, she exclaimed : " I appeal from
Philip drunk to Philip sober." He also disturbed the domestic peace
of his family by his unfaithfulness toward his wife, Olympias.
Alexan-
der's Ac-
cession.
His Cele-
brated
War
Horse
Buceph-
alus.
Alexan-
der,
Generalis-
simo.
SECTION II.— CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
THE condition of Greece at the time of the assassination of Philip
of Macedon is sufficiently clear from the circumstances attending the
general congress of the Grecian states at Corinth, where every Am-
phictyonic state, excepting Sparta, virtually acknowledged, through
its representatives, the supremacy of Macedon. Philip's views in con-
vening that congress were fully shared by his son Alexander, who pre-
pared to carry them into effect as soon as he had ascended his father's
throne. Before he became securely seated on the Macedonian throne,
Alexander encountered some little opposition from his first cousin, the
son of Philip's brother; but the young king soon overcame this oppo-
sition. His qualifications rendered it extremely difficult for any pre-
tender to dispute his claims. Alexander was calculated to win his way
to a throne amid a multitude of rival competitors, as he was in the
flower of youth, possessed of a handsome and active though slight per-
son, and also of a countenance full of manly beauty, and winning man-
ners, and as he was already famed for his military skill and his chival-
rous valor. Alexander was only twenty years of age when he ascended
his father's throne.
Frequent allusion is made to a remarkable instance of his extra-
ordinary readiness of judgment. One day a fiery horse was brought
out before Philip and his courtiers, when it was discovered to be im-
possible for any one to mount the beast, until Alexander came forward
and easily accomplished the task, after he had discovered that the direct
cause of it being unmanageable was that its head was turned to the sun.
This ro}Tal youth was the only one present who had sufficient penetra-
tion to perceive this. This animal became the celebrated war-horse
which carried Alexander through many of his campaigns, and was
named Bucephalus. This remarkable quickness of intellect had all the
advantages of culture through the care of Aristotle.
The young king first devoted himself to measures for the preserva-
tion of the Macedonian ascendency in Grecian affairs. He made ;•
journey to Corinth for this purpose, and received the submission of
the states of Thessaly on his route thither. When he reached Corinth
he convened the deputies of the Amphictyonic republics, took his seat
among them as an Amphictyon, and easily obtained from them his
^
x«
MACEDONIAN KINGS
i. Alexander the Great
2. Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great 3. Philip V
4. Funeral car of Alexander the Great
CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
983
appointment as generalissimo, or captain-general of the Graeco-Mace-
donian confederacy, the post so recently occupied by his father.
Philip's designs on Asia by the conquest of the Medo-Persian Em-
pire, which had formally been approved by the Grecian congress at
Corinth, were revived by the youthful Alexander, and the congress
again promised the assistance of the Grecian republics (B. C. 335).
The young monarch then returned to Macedon, where his presence was
demanded, as the Illyrians, the Triballi, the independent Thracian
tribes, and other nations bordering on Macedon, had risen in arms
against that suddenly-risen power and menaced it with serious calami-
ties ; but Alexander, by his military skill and his valor, subdued the
hostile tribes very easily, and proved to his barbarian neighbors what
he had told his subjects in a different spirit when he became sovereign,
namely, that " the king's name only was changed ; but the king re-
mained the same."
Alexander likewise gave a terrible proof of his equal ability with
his father, soon afterward, in his treatment of the Grecian states.
While he was occupied in Illyria, a rumor of his death was circulated.
The democratic party at Athens was elated by the news, and Sparta
once more thought of becoming supreme in Greece; but the report
excited the greatest sensation at Thebes. That city beheld a humil-
iating memorial of departed freedom, in the Macedonian garrison
which Philip had placed in the Cadmaea. When intelligence arrived
that the youthful Macedonian sovereign was dead, a favorable oppor-
tunity seemed to have arisen for casting off the Macedonian thraldom.
The democratic party in Thebes, which had opposed the interests of
Alexander, now arose and put to death Amyntas and Timolaiis, the
commanders of the Macedonian garrison in the citadel, but who did
not reside in it.
Seeing the necessity of decisive measures to nip this revolt in the
bud, Alexander immediately led his army against Thebes, which he
reached in the remarkably-short space of fourteen days. He desired
to give the rebels an opportunity for peaceful submission, but they
sallied from the city with rash impetuosity and attacked his troops;
and the consequence was that Alexander took Thebes, and utterly de-
stroyed the city, in punishment for the revolt. A vast multitude of
the inhabitants were slain, and about thirty thousand were carried into
captivity. The walls and houses of the celebrated city which had
given Greece such an illustrious poet as Pindar and such renowned
warriors as Pelopidas and Epaminondas were leveled with the ground,
and Thebes ceased to exist forever. Amidst this merciless destruction,
Alexander displayed several traits of generous and honorable feeling.
His veneration for literary genius prompted him to spare from the gen-
3-24
His
Designs
on
Persia.
Illyrian
and
Thracian
Revolts
Sup
pressed.
Revolt of
Thebes.
Alexan-
de-a
Destruc-
tion of
Thebes.
984
GR^iCO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Athenian
Obsequi-
ousness.
Weakness
of the
Medo-
Persian
Empire.
eral ruin the house which had been the residence of the bard Pindar.
A band of Thracians had invaded the house of a noble lady named
Timoclea, who had been subjected to the grossest violence by the Thra-
cian leader. When this brutal leader afterward requested the lady to
show him where her treasure was hidden, she conducted him to a well,
and, as he was stooping over it, she pushed him into it, and overwhelmed
him with stones. She was instantly seized and taken into the presence
of Alexander, who was so struck by her majestic appearance that he
asked: " Who are you, that can venture to commit so bold a deed? "
She replied : " I am Timoclea, the sister of Theagenes, who fell at
Chasronea, fighting at the head of the force .he commanded, against
your father, for the liberties of Greece." This courageous reply won
the admiration of Alexander, who accordingly spared Timoclea and her
children from the doom of slavery, to which the patriotic Thebans had
been reduced, regardless of age, sex or rank, excepting a few individ-
uals who escaped in the tumult to Athens.
A feeling of awe was excited by the destruction of Thebes which was
most favorable to Alexander's influence among the Grecian states ; all
of which, excepting Sparta, which still maintained an appearance of
gloomy indifference to passing events, sent addresses of congratulation
to Alexander when he had returned to Macedon. On this occasion
Alexander gave Athens a sharp and unpleasing answer, thus showing
that he was fully aware of the animosity of a great party there to his
cause. He demanded of the republic that Demosthenes and nine oth-
ers, whom he mentioned as the principal instigators of disorders in
Greece, be given up. In reply, the Athenians displayed an obsequious
willingness to comply with his demand, but humbly asked that the par-
ties be left to be dealt with in accordance with the ordinary course of
law. The young monarch acceded to their request, and before long
was too closely engaged with more important matters to concern him-
self much about the punishment of a few Athenian politicians, who in
this way escaped his wrath.
Soon after he had returned to Macedon, Alexander started upon his
long-contemplated invasion of Asia. At this time the vast Medo-Per-
sian Empire, which still reached from the borders of India on the east
to the western shores of Asia Minor on the west, thus including all of
Western Asia except Arabia, had fallen into decay, in consequence of
the corrupting influence of wealth and luxury, which the Persians had
enjoyed for two centuries. Darius Codomannus had just ascended the
throne of Persia in the very year in which Alexander became King of
Macedon (B. C. 336). He was personally the best of the successors
of Cyrus the Great, but was unfitted for the difficult crisis in which
he found himself.
CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
985
Alexander started from Pella in the spring of the year B. C. 334
at the head of an army of thirty thousand infantry and almost five
thousand cavalry. Twelve thousand of the foot soldiery were fur-
nished by the Grecian republics, but five thousand of these were mer-
cenaries. Twelve thousand of the infantry were furnishd by Mace-
don itself, while the remainder were obtained mainly from Thrace and
Iltyria. Macedon, Thessaly and Thrace, being always better supplied
with horses than the republics of Greece, provided Alexander with his
cavalry.
The whole Grgeco-Macedonian army crossed the Hellespont at Ses-
tos, in galleys and transports, and thus stood upon the soil of Asia, in
the dominions of the Persian king, who was all the while perfectly
aware of the designs and movements of Alexander's army, but left the
task of opposing the invaders to his satraps in Asia Minor. These
officials made formidable preparations for the defense of their prov-
inces ; and with the standing armies of Lydia, Phrygia, Cappadocia,
Bithynia and Ionia, they advanced toward the Hellespont to encounter
Alexander's army soon after it had landed on the Asiatic shore.
The Persian satraps, headed by Memnon of Rhodes, took a position
on the eastern bank of the little river Granicus, about thirty miles from
the Hellespont, where they determined to oppose the further progress
of the invader. Alexander also advanced to the Granicus, after hav-
ing visited Troy and sacrificed to the gods there. The Macedonian
king made a skillful disposition of his troops, and then attempted to
cross the river in the face of the enemy. He himself led the cavalry
across the little stream, leaving Parmenio to follow with the infantry.
The Persians resisted bravely and drove the Macedonians back into the
river, but Alexander encouraged his troops with word and gesture and
succeeded in landing safely on the opposite side of the stream. In the
battle of the Granicus, which followed, the young Macedonian mon-
arch, who was conspicuous by his shining armor and his position in
front of his followers, performed prodigies of valor, slaying with his
own hands Mithridates, son-in-law of King Darius Codomannus, and
also piercing the heart of Rassaces, another Persian noble of high rank.
Alexander's reckless courage would have cost him his life, had not
Clitus, one of his father's old officers, come to his rescue and cut off
the arm of a Persian whose cimeter was about to descend upon Alex-
ander's head.
When the Macedonian phalanx and the remainder of Alexander's
infantry under Parmenio had succeeded in crossing the Granicus, the
victory was soon decided in favor of the invaders. It has never been
ascertained how many Persians were slain in this engagement, but it is
said to have been large, while Alexander lost only thirty of his infantry
Alexan-
der's
Army.
Alexan-
der's
Invasion
of the
Medo-
Persian
Empire.
Battle of
the
Granicua.
Alexan-
der's
Victory.
986
GR.ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
His
Trophies.
Alexan-
der's
Conquest
of Asia
Minor.
Capture
of
Miletus
and
Halicar-
nassus.
Alexan-
der's
Politic
Measures.
and eighty-five of his cavalry. Several satraps and other dignitaries
of high rank among the Persians were slain. After the battle the
triumphant Macedonian king exhibited much humanity to his captives,
and likewise to the wounded of his foes, as well as to those of his own
troops who were suffering from wounds. Among his prisoners were a
large body of Greek mercenaries who served in the Persian ranks, and
these he punished for fighting against their country and kindred by
sending them to work in the mines of Thrace.
Alexander, with consummate policy, made the Grecian states share
in his victory, by sending to Athens three hundred suits of Persian
armor to be placed in the temple of Athene, with this inscription:
" Alexander, son of Philip, and the Greeks — excepting the Lacedae-
monians— offer these, taken from the barbarians of Asia."
The consequence of the battle of the Granicus was the death-blow
to Persian authority in Asia Minor, of which Alexander was now vir-
tual master. After this first victory, Alexander proceeded to deliver
the Greek cities on the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor from Per-
sian thraldom. He marched to Sardis, the Lydian capital, which
opened its gates to him and implored and received his favor and friend-
ship. He then visited Ephesus, the Ionian capital, and also treated
its inhabitants generously, assuring them of his assistance to secure
them against Persian exaction in the future, and aiding them to re-
build their famous temple to Artemis, which was one of the Seven
Wonders of the World.
Miletus and Halicarnassus, the capitals of Caria, presented closed
gates to Alexander; but both were taken after being vigorously be-
sieged, although Halicarnassus made a heroic and vigorous defense,
the garrison being under the command of Memnon of Rhodes, one of
the ablest of the Persian generals. Memnon managed to shut himself
up in a strong castle, which Alexander did not consider of sufficient
account to waste any time in assailing. Alexander demolished Hali-
carnassus, as a war measure, to prevent it from affording a post of
vantage to the foe in the future.
This was almost the first instance in which the young Macedonian
king had thus far committed the slightest injury to private or public
property. He had bestowed benefits wherever he had made his appear-
ance; and by his generous treatment of the inhabitants of the con-
quered provinces, and by his wise regard for established customs and
institutions, Alexander secured their attachment to his cause. He re-
stored the democratic institutions of the Greeks, and allowed the Asiat-
ics to retain their own hereditary laws, being thus as generous to the
native races as to the descendants of the Hellenic colonists. As winter
overtook him at Halicarnassus, he spent a part of the season in that
CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
987
vicinity, employing himself in establishing the government of the mari-
time provinces which he had subdued. He allowed such of his troops
as had recently married to return to Macedon to spend the winter in
their own homes. This was one of those acts of kindness and indul-
gence which won for him the affections of his soldiers.
Before starting out on his invasion, Alexander had a powerful fleet
collected to support his operations on land ; but he now found it to be
thoroughly useless, because of the superior numbers of the Persian
ships, and he accordingly ordered its dispersion, saying to his generals
that he would make himself master of the sea by conquering on land,
as every harbor that surrendered to him would diminish the enemy's
naval resources. This gave him an additional reason for limiting his
early operations to the coast ; and he therefore passed some time in
Caria, where he was welcomed with exceeding hospitality. He pre-
ferred a frugal diet and unostentatious fare, although he was greatly
urged to partake of the luxuries of the place.
From Caria, Alexander passed to Lycia, a large maritime province,
which contained more than thirty large and important towns and sea-
ports. After he had received the submission of these places, he pro-
ceeded to Pamphylia, the next maritime province in the line of his
advance eastward. He found himself obliged to use stringent meas-
ures in dealing with Aspendus, the Pamphylian capital, whose inhabit
ants seemed disposed to trifle with him. While he was in Pamphylia,
Alexander decided to depart for a time from his course along the sea-
coast, and to march northward into Phrygia, where he expected rein-
forcements from Greece, and to unite with his army the detachment
under Parmenio, who had been sent to secure the Macedonian king's
interests in that province. After overcoming some trifling obstruc-
tion from an inland tribe named the Posidians, Alexander effected this
junction of his forces and arrived at Gordium, the early capital of
Phrygia, where an occurrence transpired which was regarded as pro-
phetic of his future conquest of Asia.
In the citadel of Gordium there was a very ancient consecrated char-
iot, which had of old afforded a saviour to Phrygia in an important
emergency, when the people were ordered by an oracle to look for one
such a chariot. The chariot had been preserved with reverent care
from that time, being suspended by the yoke to a wall and fastened
with a knot constructed in so intricate a manner from the rind of a
carnol-tree that no eye was able to discover where the knot commenced
or ended. It had for a long time been said that an oracle had declared
that whoever should untie this complicated knot should win the domin-
ion of Asia. Alexander visited the consecrated chariot, and, according
to some writers, finding himself unable to unfasten the intricate knot,
VOL. 3.— 19
His Stay
in Caria.
Alexan-
der in
Lycia,
Pamphy-
lia and
Phrygia.
Catting
of the
Gordian
Knot.
988
GR.ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
New
Recruits.
Alex-
ander in
Paphla-
gonia and
Czppo-
Prudence.
Designs
of
Darius.
he cut it with his sword ; but, according to the statement of his gen-
eral, Aristobulus, who witnessed the affair, Alexander wrested the pin
from the beam, saying that that was sufficient to make him lord of
Asia. Whatever he did, his army and the multitude of the time be-
lieved him to have succeeded in unfastening the Gord'ian Knot, and a
storm of thunder and lightning, occurring at the time, confirmed the
impression. Alexander countenanced this opinion by performing a
splendid sacrifice in gratitude for the future glory which had been thus
decreed for him.
Alexander met Parmenio in Phrygia, in accordance with expectation,
and likewise obtained there a reinforcement of new troops from Greece,
accompanied by those troops who had been allowed to pass the winter
at their homes. The new recruits numbered a little over a thousand
infantry and five hundred cavalry. The smallness of this reinforce-
ment was mainly attributable to the powerful check which the Persian
fleet under Memnon the Rhodian exercised upon all the coasts and
isles of the JEgean.
While Alexander was in Phrygia, he heard of Memnon's death, and
of the subsequent retirement of a great part of the marines, or land
troops serving on board, from the fleet. This circumstance caused him
to order Antipater to raise another fleet in Greece. After he had com-
pleted his purpose in Phrygia, the Macedonian king directed his at-
tention to the provinces of Paphlagonia and Cappadocia, as the pos-
session of them was essential in order to make him master of all Asia
Minor. He found this an easy task, as Paphlagonia was not gov-
erned by a Persian satrap, but by a native prince who had been a
vassal of Persia, and who was willing and glad to acknowledge Alexan-
der as lord-paramount, instead of Darius Codomannus. The Mace-
donian monarch therefore made a treaty with the Paphlagonians ; after
which he directed his attention to Cappadocia, which was a Persian
satrapy at that time without a satrap, the recent occupant of that office
having lost his life in the battle of the Granicus. Accordingly the
Macedonians found it very easy to overrun this vast province, and to
subject it to their king's dominion.
Alexander was as prudent in securing his conquests as he was active
in making them. In all the provinces through which he passed, wher-
ever he discovered an existing power friendly to him, he did not disturb
it ; and wherever there was a vacancy in such authority, he placed some
of his own trusty followers in the vacant office, assigning them a mili-
tary detachment to aid them in executing the duties of their station
and to strengthen their power as firmly as he was well able to do.
In the spring of B. C. 333 Alexander left Cappadocia, advancing
southward, with the prospect of having soon to engage in the severest
CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. ggg
conflict he would have to encounter in Asia. He had some time pre-
viously received intelligence that Darius Codomannus was raising a
vast host on the plains of Babylon to drive the Macedonian invaders
from his empire. The Persian king had the most unworthy reasons
for not appearing sooner in the field personally. He had at first hoped
and tried to relieve himself of his enterprising foe by the treacherous
means of private assassination ; and, on one occasion during Alexan-
der's career in Asia Minor, just related, he almost accomplished his
base design. A Macedonian noble, Alexander, the son of JEuropus,
whom the young Macedonian king had loaded with bounties, was pre-
vailed upon, by the offer of ten thousand talents, to plot against the
life of his ro3^al benefactor; but the treason was detected in time to
prevent its execution. These were the means by which the Persian
monarch at first endeavored to get rid of his adversary ; and he did not
entirely relinquish the ignoble design of suborning the followers of
his antagonist, even after he had recourse to the more manly and more
honorable method of leading an army to expel the invaders from his
dominions. The fact that Darius Codomannus had now an army of
about seven hundred thousand men, with which to confront his foe,
made these nefarious schemes the more disgraceful.
With this immense host, Darius, accompanied by his family, in ac- Alexander
cordance with Persian custom, and surrounded by all the trappings of *° Cilicia
Oriental splendor, moved slowly from the plains of Babylonia into Syria.
Syria. Alexander likewise led his army from Cappadocia into Syria,
but first made himself master of Cilicia, the only remaining province
of Asia Minor which had not until then submitted to his arms. While
at Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, Alexander fell into a dangerous ill-
ness, in consequence of imprudently bathing in the cold waters of the
Cydnus, at a time when his body was heated by violent exercise. His
condition was considered alarming by all his attendants, excepting
Philip the Acarnanian, an eminent physician, who acquired celebrity
in consequence of his connection with a certain incident arising from
this illness. While Philip was handing a potion to the king, the latter
received a letter from Parmenio, warning him that the physician had
been bribed to poison him. When Alexander had raised the potion
to his lips, he handed the letter to Philip, and observing that there was
no change in his countenance while reading it, drank the liquid with-
out saying a word. His confidence was well placed. The physician
calmly assured him that the charge was utterly false, and the result
proved the truth of his words, as Alexander recovered hourly from the
time that he drank the potion given him by the physician. meats of
The mountains separating Syria from Cilicia were only passable by Alex" a
an army at two points, one called the Syrian Gate, and the other named Darius.
990
GR^CO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Alex-
ander on
the Plain
of Issus.
Persian
Plan of
Battle.
Battle of
Issus.
the Amanic Gate. His confidence in the devotion and valor of his
troops, and his eagerness for a decisive encounter, induced Alexander,
upon his recovery, to lead his army through the Syrian Gate into the
plains of Syria. As soon as he had done so, he learned to his surprise
and satisfaction that Darius had withdrawn from the open country of
Syria, and had moved into Cilicia through the Amanic Gate, almost
at the very moment that the Macedonian king had conducted his army
through the Syrian Gate.
Alexander assembled his followers and eagerly pointed out to them
the error committed by the Persian king in withdrawing his army from
the open Syrian plains and taking up a new position in a hilly coun-
try, where his cavalry, the most efficient portion of his vast host, could
be of but little avail. This and other circumstances so encouraged
the Graeco-Macedonian soldiers that they requested to be led to battle
immediately. Their enterprising leader soon gratified their military
ardor. He retraced his course to the Syrian Gate, repassed it, and
soon reached the river Pinarus, on the plain of Issus. The vast Per-
sian host was posted on the opposite bank of the stream. Alexander
took charge of the right wing of his army, leaving the left wing under
the conduct of Parmenio.
On the approach of Alexander's army, Darius Codomannus posted
his Greek mercenaries, the part of his army upon which he himself
mostly relied, in the front, opposite to the Macedonian phalanx.
These Greek mercenaries were a very powerful body of troops num-
bering altogether thirty thousand. The Persian king flanked these
choice troops with his heavy-armed barbarians, but the greater part
of his unwieldy host was left behind in a condition of absolute inutil-
ity, because the confined nature of the ground would allow of no better
disposition of them.
Upon reaching the bank of the Pinarus, Alexander dashed boldly
into the river and safely landed on the opposite side. The barbarian
hosts composing the right and left wings of the Persian army fled in
confusion before the young Macedonian monarch, but the Greek mer-
cenaries of the King of Persia for a while gallantly held their ground.
After an obstinate contest they gave way, and the Persians on all sides
followed their example. A force of the Persian cavalry remained on
the field longest, and gave their king an opportunity to save himself
by flight. The retreating troops of Darius Codomannus were cut
down in vast numbers, and one hundred and ten thousand are said to
have been left dead upon the field. The battle of Issus ended in a
complete victory for Alexander, but his own loss, principally in the
struggle with the Greek mercenaries, was severe. The historians haVe
given us no exact account of the number of the Graeco-Macedonian
CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
991
slain, and the number of his troops in this engagement is uncertain,
as it is only known that he had recently received some reinforcements
from the Greek cities of Asia Minor to the force which he had orig-
inally brought with him from Macedon. King Darius Codomannus
fled from the field in the midst of the battle ; and his camp, with all its
treasures, and his family, consisting of his mother, Sysigambis, his
wife, Statira, his daughters and his infant son, fell into the hands of
the triumphant Alexander. The Macedonian king, contrary to the
ancient custom, treated his royal captives with the greatest kindness.
The wife of Darius, who was considered the most beautiful woman in
Asia, died soon after her capture, and received a most magnificent
burial from the King of Macedon. On hearing of this, Darius is said
to have exclaimed : " If it be the will of heaven that I am to be no
longer King of Asia, may Alexander be my successor ! "
Such was the famous battle of Issus, which made Alexander the
Great master of most of Syria and Phoenicia (B. C. 333). Alexander
followed up his victory by marching along the coast of Syria, which
everywhere submitted on his approach, into Phoenicia. While march-
ing thither, Alexander received a deputation from the unfortunate
Persian king, who had escaped safely to Susa, and who now made
propositions for a treaty of peace and friendship with his young con-
queror. Fully conscious of his power, and irritated at the lordly
terms in which Darius Codomannus still considered proper to address
him, Alexander replied that he could not enter into amicable negotia-
tions except on condition of being acknowledged " King of Asia, and
Lord of Darius and all he possessed."
The negotiations then ceased, and Alexander pursued his march
along the coast of Phoenicia. At Damascus a vast amount of treasure
belonging to the King of Persia fell into Alexander's possession. The
famous Phoenician seaport of Sidon and other cities, the emporiums of
commerce between Asia and the Mediterranean for many centuries,
very readily submitted to the conqueror; but Tyre, the greatest and
the most flourishing one of them all, refused him its allegiance and
prepared for a resolute resistance. Although the Tyrians had sent
ambassadors to the Macedonian king, declaring themselves ready to
yield to his orders, they boldly told him, when he announced his inten-
tion to visit their city and offer sacrifice to Heracles, that they would
admit neither Persian nor Macedonian within their walls.
The strength of Tyre's position encouraged its inhabitants to thus
brave the Macedonian power. Old Tyre, as a colonial settlement of
the Sidonians, had been built upon the mainland (B. C. 1252) ; but
after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, the great Babylonian king,
its people sought refuge upon a neighboring island, about half a mile
Capture
of the
Family of
Darius.
Alexan-
der's Con-
quest of
Syria and
Phoenicia.
Resist-
ance of
Tyre.
Its
Defense.
992 GILECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
from the mainland, where New Tyre rapidly arose, becoming more
powerful and flourishing than the older city. Relying upon the depth
of the surrounding waters, and upon the gigantic wall, more than a
hundred feet high, and proportionately thick, which enclosed New
Tyre, its inhabitants now ventured to deny an entrance to Alexander,
whom they knew to have no fleet at command, and whom they accord-
ingly hoped to resist with success.
Siege of But the Tyrians did not comprehend the indomitable energies of the
by Alex- voung Macedonian king. He clearly perceived the danger of allow-
ander. ing such a nucleus of naval power to continue in alliance with Persia ;
and he therefore determined to obtain possession of the island city at
whatever cost. His followers, whose efforts had thus far been unbaf-
fled, zealously adopted his views ; and the siege of Tyre began in earn-
est. For the purpose of opening a passage for his army, Alexander
undertook to construct a great mole between the insular city and the
mainland, as other modes of access to New Tyre were beyond his reach.
He defended his men, while they were laboring at this work, by means
of wooden towers and other contrivances ; but the Tyrians galled them
severely and retarded their operations by means of ignited darts, pro-
jectiles of different kinds, and fire-ships. But the mole advanced
slowly and surely, until one night the besieged Tyrians towed a large
hulk filled with combustibles to the mole, and, setting fire to it, suc-
ceeded in destroying completely the result of many weeks' labor. This
disaster convinced Alexander of the necessity of having the aid of a
fleet in his attack upon the city, and he was so fortunate as to soon
obtain what he needed.
Progre38 Sidon and other Phoenician maritime cities sent all their war-galleys
Siege. to assist Alexander in his siege of Tyre, and these were reinforced by
the squadrons from the islands of Cyprus and Rhodes, which had been
tributaries of Persia, but which now determined to cultivate Alexan-
der's favor. When he had received these valuable auxiliaries, Alex-
ander recommenced siege operations by sea and land with redoubled
vigor. The mole was reconstructed, and the apparently-impregnable
city of Tyre was finally taken by storm, after a siege of seven months
(B. C. 332). It would seem that the final and successful assault was
made from both the mole and the besieging fleet, and that it lasted two
days, the Tyrians defending themselves with the most determined ob-
stinacy. They emptied on their assailants vessels of boiling tar and
burning sand, which penetrated to the bone, and exhausted every means
suggested by patriotism or despair to save their city. But at length
breaches were made in the walls of the city by the battering-rams and
other engines of the besiegers, and Tyre was carried by storm. The
Tyrians suffered a heavy punishment for their obstinate defense of
CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
993
their city, eight thousand of them being slain and thirty thousand sold
into slavery. Alexander is said to have lost four hundred men in the
siege.
During the siege of Tyre, Alexander received a second letter from
King Darius Codomannus, offering his daughter in marriage to the
conquering Macedonian monarch, along with all the region between
the Euphrates and the Mediterranean for her dower, as the basis of
a treaty of peace and amity ; but Alexander's haughty answer to this
proposition caused its failure. It is said that Parmenio said to Alex-
ander when this offer was made by the Persian king : " I would accept
the terms." To this Alexander is said to have replied: " So would I,
were I Parmenio."
After the capture of Tyre, Alexander marched toward Jerusalem to
chastise its inhabitants for refusing to furnish him with provisions
during the siege ; but his wrath against them was disarmed when, upon
nearing the city, he was met by a deputation of the people, headed by
the High Priest, who had come to him to offer their submission. The
High Priest was attired in white robes, and Jehovah's name was in-
scribed on his miter. Alexander advanced with great respect and
bowed reverently before the High Priest, thus exciting the surprise of
his officers, but the young conqueror said : " It is not the priest whom
I adore, but the God whom he serves."
After having taken Tyre and obtained the submission of Jerusalem,
Alexander directed his course southward and besieged and took the
Philistine city of Gaza, which had refused to acknowledge his sway.
The conqueror on this occasion departed from his accustomed mag-
nanimity and inflicted a heavy punishment on the captured city, mas-
sacring the entire garrison of one thousand men, and causing the gov-
ernor, Boetis, to be dragged around the city behind his chariot-wheels,
in barbarous imitation of Achilles, who dragged Hector around the
walls of Troy. The fall of Gaza completed the conquest of Palestine
by Alexander the Great (B. C. 332).
After the reduction of Gaza, Alexander advanced into Egypt for
the purpose of bringing that country under his authority. The Mace-
donian conqueror was joyfully received by the people of Egypt, who
were tired of Persian oppression, and they gladly submitted to his
sway ; so that Alexander's career in Egypt was one continued trium-
phal march. Sabaces, the Persian satrap of Egypt, having been slain
in the battle of Issus, the land of the Nile was governed by a subor-
dinate official, who made no resistance to the conquering Macedonian
king, but, on the contrary, united with the Egyptian people in wel-
coming him and hailing him as their lord and sovereign. Alexander
proceeded to Memphis, the Egyptian capital, where he held a mag-
Fall of
Tyrc>
Offer of
Alexan-
lem.
Siege and
SaR ™
Alexan-
der in
Egypt.
994
GR.ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Founding
of Alex-
andria.
Alexan-
der in
Siwah.
Alexan-
der and
Darius in
Assyria.
The Two
Annies.
nificent festival, and still further won the affections of the Egyptians
by joining them in their worship of the old bull-deity, Apis.
From Memphis, Alexander passed down the main branch of the Nile
to the city of Canopus, at the mouth of that branch. Observing with
surprise that a region so fertile and so rich in commercial resources had
no suitable harbor, he determined to found a maritime metropolis which
should give Egypt one everlasting memorial of his name and dominion
— a purpose which he fulfilled in the founding of the city of Alexan-
dria, named in his honor (B. C. 332). The site of this new city was
so well chosen that it rapidly attained the condition of a flourishing
commercial emporium. For many succeeding ages Alexandria con-
tinued to be the center of the world's commerce and civilization, and
it has remained a city of the highest importance to Egypt to the
present day.
After Alexander had projected this monument of his name and his
sagacity, he proceeded to the Libyan desert, accompanied by a small
escort, for the purpose of seeing the temple of Ammon, and consulting
the oracle of that deity, as his illustrious ancestors, Perseus and Her-
acles, had done many centuries before him. The temple of Ammon
was located in the oasis of Siwah, to the south-west of Alexandria, and
about one hundred and fifty miles from the sea-coast. Alexander ad-
mired the enticing beauty of this fertile spot in the barren sands of
the desert. He received a most favorable response from* the oracle of
Ammon, after which he returned to his army at Memphis.
In the meantime King Darius Codomannus had assembled a new
army in Assyria, consisting of more than a million men, gathered from
the Eastern provinces of his empire. Alexander arranged the gov-
ernment of Egypt, putting some of his own trusty followers in the
most important offices ; and in the spring of B. C. 331 he led his army
directly from Egypt toward the very heart of the Medo-Persian Em-
pire, declaring that " the world no more admitted of two masters than
of two suns." He crossed the Euphrates and the Tigris and advanced
against the Persian king, whose immense hosts he encountered near the
Assyrian town of Arbela, on the plain of Gaugamela, east of the Ti-
gris, where was fought the battle that decided the fate of Asia.
Alexander's army had been increased, by recent reinforcements from
Europe and from his newly-acquired Asiatic dependencies, to forty-
seven thousand men, of whom almost one-seventh part consisted of
cavalry. The lowest estimate of the Persian horsemen makes them
number forty thousand, and their strength was increased by fifteen
elephants and two hundred scythe-armed chariots. Darius Codoman-
nus did not on this occasion have so powerful a body of Greek mer-
cenaries as he had at Issus, though his army was now a more efficient
CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 995
one in other respects. His forces were not now composed of the ef-
feminate guards and standing troops of Persia, but consisted mainly
of Parthians, Bactrians, Hindoos, Hyrcanians and others from the
central East — troops which were hardy and courageous, if they were
undisciplined.
Such were the characters and numbers respectively of the Grseco- Battle of
Macedonian and the Medo-Persian armies that contended with each Arbela-
other in the vicinity of Arbela for the dominion of Asia. In the even-
ing the Macedonians ascended an eminence from which they first beheld
the widespread army of the Persian king, drawn up in good order on
the plain of Gaugamela ; Darius having seen, but too fatally, the dis-
advantages of a confined position with his immense force of cavalry.
Both armies lay quiet for the night. The next morning Alexander
led down his troops, in two heavy-armed phalanxes of sixteen thousand
men each, into the plain of Gaugamela. The Persians began the bat-
tle by a charge of the Scythian cavalry on the right wing of the Mace-
donian army, but after a desperate contest they were forced back, and
Darius ordered his lines to advance. Alexander broke the lines of the
enemy by suddenly pushing his phalanxes in between the left wing and
the center of the Persian army. This movement threw the Persians
into disorder, and in a great measure decided the battle in favor of
Alexander. From that moment the scene was more of a massacre than
a battle, excepting in one point, where a powerful force of Parthian
and Indian horse maintained an obstinate struggle, but were finally
routed by the Thessalian cavalry, thus terminating the battle in the
utter defeat of the Persians. A destructive pursuit of the flying Per-
sian hosts by the triumphant Macedonians completed the disasters of
the army of Darius. The loss of the defeated Persians was about forty
thousand killed, while the Macedonians lost only about five hundred.
Such was the famous battle of Arbela, which put an end to the great Enfl of
Medo-Persian Empire after an existence of two centuries, thus making the Medo-
Alexander the Great lord of Asia at the early age of twenty-five years Empire
(B. C. 331).
After the battle Darius Codomannus fled to Ecbatana, the capital Flight of
of Media, and the summer capital of the Medo-Persian Empire, accom- ^,a*jus
panied by a few followers, resolving, if Alexander pursued him thither, mannus.
to retire still farther to the eastward, and seek refuge in Bactria.
Though determined, if practicable, to obtain possession of the person
of Darius Codomannus, for the purpose of depriving the Central Asian
tribes of a rallying point in the future, Alexander found himself
obliged to first devote his attention to the consolidation of his power
in the provinces which his decisive victory in the battle of Arbela had
placed in his power.
996
GR^CO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Alex-
ander at
Babylon,
Susa and
Pcr-
sepolis.
Assassi-
nation of
Darius
Codo-
mannus.
From Arbela, Alexander therefore led his army southward to the
opulent city of Babylon, the winter capital of the Medo-Persian Em-
pire, where a large part of the accumulated wealth of the Persian mon-
archy fell into his hands. He was accordingly enabled to distribute
ample pecuniary rewards to every one of his soldiers. After arrang-
ing the government of Babylonia, Alexander proceeded to Susa, the
capital of Susiana and the chief capital of the Medo-Persian Empire,
where he received a still greater accession to his treasury, a sum equal
to about fifty million dollars of our money coming into his possession
at this place. While at Susa, Alexander exhibited a remarkable in-
stance of his humanity by settling the family of Darius Codomannus
in the royal palace of their ancestors, and also displayed a great deal
of prudence in appointing a native chieftain to the government of
Susiana. He had pursued the same prudent and liberal policy at
Babylon, thus securing the affections of the people. From Susa, Alex-
ander marched to Persepolis, the capital of Persia proper, where still
greater accessions of wealth came into his possession. During his stay
at Persepolis, which lasted several months, the conqueror gave one of
the first indications of his having been overcome by excessive pros-
perity. At a magnificent banquet, Alexander, heated with wine, gave
his assent to a proposition offered by one of his companions that a
bonfire should be made of the old palace of the early Persian kings.
The Macedonian conqueror soon repented of having given his assent
to this mad outrage, but most of the palace was destroyed before the
fire could be extinguished.
After arranging the government of Persia proper, Alexander left
Persepolis and proceeded to Ecbatana, with the view of obtaining pos-
session of the Persian king, who was still at the Median capital, whither
he had fled after the battle of Arbela. On the approach of the Mace-
donian conqueror, King Darius Codomannus fled to the mountainous
region of Bactriana, whither he was hastily pursued by Alexander,
who, on reaching Ecbatana, heard that his intended prey had escaped
only five days before. After following upon the footsteps of the fugi-
tive king to the eastward, in a long and toilsome march, performed
with wonderful celerity, Alexander came near the object of his pursuit
upon the frontiers of Bactriana. But Alexander was here apprized
that the treacherous Bessus, the Persian satrap of Bactriana, who had
accompanied the Persian king, had thrown off his allegiance to the
unfortunate Darius Codomannus, and had kept him bound as a pris-
oner. The Macedonian monarch continued his pursuit with increased
speed, and at length discovered the fugitive party fleeing before him.
As he was going onward in hot pursuit, Alexander, to his deep and
sincere affliction, beheld Darius Codomannus dying by the roadside,
CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER T«E GREAT.
997
having been stabbed by two Persian nobles in attendance on Bessus,
for the purpose of stopping the pursuit or of facilitating their own
flight (B. C. 330). The generous Macedonian king honored the re-
mains of his unfortunate rival with a magnificent burial in the tombs
of his illustrious ancestors at Pasargadas, the original capital of Persia
proper, and treated the family of Darius Codomannus with all due re-
spect. Alexander had never sought the life of the fallen king, and he
now pursued the assassins with a spirit of the keenest resentment.
Bessus and the two assassins afterwards fell into Alexander's hands,
and he punished them with a most cruel death, in imitation of the bar-
barous customs of the East.
The provinces of Bactriana, Ariana and Sogdiana — comprising an
important part of the vast region of Central Asia, anciently known as
Scythia, but now called Tartary and Turkestan — were subdued by
Alexander the Great, only after great exertions and sacrifices on his
part, and after a campaign of almost three years. The people of
these regions are said to have expostulated with Alexander, and to have
asked him this question : " Have you furnished yourself with winged
soldiers? " This allusion to the impregnable character of their coun-
try aroused the pride of Alexander, and he resolved to conquer the
country at any cost. Nowhere else, during his wide career of con-
quest, did Alexander display so many of the qualities of the warrior
as upon the plains of Scythia, not being deterred from his purpose by
heat or cold, hunger or thirst, danger or toil, wounds or disease. Sol-
diers who have a commander who can bear all these casualties can
accomplish anything. But the gallant Macedonian warriors, who had
defied sword and lance on many a sanguinary field, narrowly escaped
perishing from hunger and fatigue.
Before the close of his Scythian campaign, Alexander married the
beautiful Roxana, " the Pearl of the East," a Bactrian princess, whom
he had taken prisoner at the capture of a Scythian fortress. Alex-
ander's love of conquest did not deter him from devoting some attention
to the civilization and durable welfare of the countries which he had
subjugated. Four new towns, named Alexandria, in his honor, became
the centers of the caravan trade, and diffused the Grecian civilization
among the people of Central Asia. Parmenio and other officers had
been engaged meanwhile in the subjugation of Hyrcania and Parthia,
which, with the reduction of Bactriana, Ariana and Sogdiana, com-
pleted Alexander's conquest of the Medo-Persian Empire (B. C. 327).
But Alexander's fair fame was tarnished by several brutal acts.
Elated by his conquests, he had assumed the pomp and dress of an
Oriental monarch, and had thus offended some of his officers. Philotas,
the son of Parmenio, the ablest of Alexander's generals, had made some
Alex-
ander's
Punish-
ment of
the Assas-
sins.
Alex-
ander's
Conquests
in
Scythia.
Close of
His
Scythian
Cam-
paign.
His Cruel
Acts.
998 GR.ECO MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
disparaging remarks upon the change in the king's manners and hab-
its, and was put to death on an unproven charge of conspiring against
his sovereign's life. Parmenio himself was executed for alleged com-
plicity in the same pretended conspiracy.
His The next year (B. C. 327), while in winter-quarters in Bactriana,
Clitus Alexander committed a deed which has left an indelible stain upon his
memory, and which showed that he was by degrees deteriorating under
the corrupting influence of success. He had originally been noted for
his temperate habits, but now he began to indulge occasionally to ex-
cess in wine and to claim the ceremony of prostration and divine hon-
ors from his followers. On one occasion, during a feast held in Bac-
triana, in honor of Castor and Pollux, at which Alexander was present,
the conversation turned upon the comparative brilliancy of his own
exploits and those of Dionysos, the god of wine, who is said to have
also conquered Asia. Many of those present conceded the superiority
to Alexander, and for this they were rebuked by Clitus, the old officer
who had saved Alexander's life in the battle of the Gramcus. As
all were heated with wine, the discussion grew animated, and at length
Clitus censured the king severely for allowing himself to be compared
to the gods. Intoxicated with the rest of the party, Alexander was
so irritated by the reproof that he arose and advanced in an angry
manner to Clitus, who was thereupon forced to leave the room by some
of the more prudent of the party. But Clitus returned, and, being
still exasperated, again reproached the king in severe terms, where-
upon Alexander, losing all self-control, killed Clitus with his sword.
This crime had no sooner been committed than it caused Alexander
much bitter repentance; and so profound was his remorse that he did
not eat or drink, or leave his chamber, for three days, until his faith-
ful and sorrowing followers succeeded in their entreaties to induce him
to return by degrees to his usual manner of living.
Revolt of While Alexander the Great was pursuing his conquering career in
SSu>* Asia, the general peace of the Grecian republics was disturbed by a
pressed by revolt of the Peloponnesian states, with Lacedaemon at their head,
upater. w]u'cn attempted to shake off the hated yoke of Macedonian supremacy.
Sparta, as we have seen, had been maintaining a sullen neutrality dur-
ing the agitations of the Grecian confederacy in the later years of
Philip's reign preceding his conquest of Greece, and had also declined
to participate in Alexander's campaigns in Asia. Three years after
Alexander had started on his career of Oriental conquest, and while
his viceroy, Antipater, was occupied in Thrace, the Spartan king Agis
II. took advantage of the apparently-favorable opportunity to head a
revolt of the Peloponnesian states against the Macedonian power; but
the effort ended in a signal failure, Agis II. being defeated and killed
CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
999
in battle with Antfpater, who had returned to Greece ; and the haughty
Spartans humbly begged for peace, which Alexander, when applied to,
magnanimously granted to them.
About the same time there was an oratorical contest in Athens be-
tween Demosthenes and ^Eschines. These renowned orators engaged
in a trial of strength, before the assembly of the Athenian people, on
the results of which depended the best interests of the one or the other.
Demosthenes came forth triumphant from this oratorical contest, and
^Eschines was condemned to exile. To the lasting honor of Demos-
thenes, he treated his fallen rival with exceeding generosity, giving
him a purse of gold to support himself in his misfortune. JEschines
showed that he also was noble-hearted and magnanimous. Upon his
banishment from Athens, he retired to the island of Rhodes, and there
established a celebrated school of eloquence. When he read to his
pupils the masterly oration of Demosthenes which had made himself a
homeless wanderer, they were unable to refrain from giving the most
vehement applause, whereupon ^Eschines said to them : " Ah ! what
would you have said, had you heard the wild beast himself roaring it
out?"
About this time Alexander sent to Athens the statues of the tyran-
nicides, Harmodius and Aristogfton, which he had taken at Susa,
whither Xerxes had carried them. By these kindly and politic dona-
tions, along with the share in his glory accruing to the republic through
the auxiliaries furnished him by Athens, which was then the ruling
power in Greece outside of Macedon, Alexander kept that state in a
friendly and peaceful attitude during the entire period of his con-
quering career.
Antfpater managed to weaken the anti-Macedonian party in Athens
by procuring the banishment of the orator Demosthenes, the life and
head of the party. Harpalus, one of Alexander's captains, had in-
curred his master's displeasure, and fled from Asia to Athens in conse-
quence, hoping to purchase an asylum there with his peculated gold —
an expectation in which he was not disappointed, as the favor of many
leading Athenians was to be bought with a price. Phocion and Demos-
thenes were the only ones who discountenanced Harpalus ; but, ulti-
mately, even Demosthenes was said to have accepted a bribe. Whether
this charge was true or false, it finally procured the banishment of the
illustrious orator. A threat from Antfpater forced the Athenians to
quickly expel Harpalus from their city, and to impeach those who had
taken his presents or espoused his cause. A heavy fine was imposed
on Demosthenes, as one of this number; and, as he was unable to pay
it, he was obliged to retire in exile to the island of
2—25
Oratorical
Triumph
of Demos-
thenes
and Exile
of Ms-
chines.
Alex-
ander's
Generous
Treat-
ment of
Athens.
Antipater
Forces
Athens to
Expel
Harpalus.
Exile of
Demos-
thenes.
1000
GR/ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Alex-
ander De-
mands the
Recall of
Grecian
Exiles.
Alex-
ander's
Invasion
of India.
Porus,
King of
the
Punjab.
Defeat
and Cap-
ture of
Porus.
After this nothing transpired to agitate the public mind in Greece
until Alexander caused a proclamation to be issued by his representa-
tives at the Olympic Games, declaring " that all the Grecian cities
should immediately recall and receive those persons who had been ex-
pelled from them, and that such cities as refused to do so should be
forced to compliance by the Macedonian arms." When this decree
was issued, there were at least twenty thousand exiles from the various
Grecian republics. Most of the states regarded this decree as a piece
of despotic insolence, as they were thus called up«n to receive into their
society persons whom the public voice had expelled as guilty of the
most enormous crimes. Athens, especially, felt intense indignation at
this imperious edict, but failed in her efforts to awaken a spirit of
resistance among some of the other Grecian states.
Ambitious of further conquests, Alexander the Great, in the year
B. C. 327, invaded India with a powerful army composed of European
and Asiatic soldiers. He had been frequently reinforced during his
last campaigns by fresh contingents from Europe, which was very nec-
essary in order to leave small detachments behind him to secure his con-
quests. Large numbers of Scythians likewise enrolled themselves un-
der his standard, on his conquest of their country. Thus he entered
upon his Indian campaign with a powerful army. This campaign
was mainly confined to the Indus valley and the Punjab.
Alexander's progress was vigorously opposed by the warlike tribes
inhabiting those regions, while the natural difficulties of the ground
were likewise very troublesome. He passed the celebrated city of Nysa,
fabled to have been founded by Dionysos, the god of wine, after which
he crossed the Indus in the upper part of its course, and continued
his advance amidst its widening tributaries. Alexander pushed for-
ward to the Hydaspes, one of the tributaries of the Indus, on the oppo-
site bank of which a powerful Indian prince, Porus, King of the Pun-
jab, had assembled an army of thirty-four thousand men, with many
armed chariots and elephants, to dispute the passage of the river by
the Macedonian army. Alexander perceived the impossibility of cross-
ing with prudence in the face of the enemy, and he therefore resorted
to the expedient of lulling to rest the vigilance of Porus, who exhib-
ited both valor and activity.
Alexander succeeded in crossing the Hydaspes, and, in a fierce en-
gagement, he defeated Porus and took him prisoner. When brought
into the presence of Alexander, the conqueror admired the loftiness
and majesty of person of his royal captive. Said Alexander: " How
shall I treat you ? " Porus calmly replied : " By acting like a king."
Thereupon Alexander responded, smiling : " That I shall do for my
own sake ; but what can I do for yours ? " Porus repeated that all he
CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
desired was contained in his first request ; and Alexander was so well
pleased with the profound sense of what was great and becoming in a
sovereign, as exhibited in the captive monarch's words, that he not
only gave Porus his liberty and restored him to his throne, but after-
wards made him viceroy of all the Macedonian conquests in India.
Alexander founded two new cities on the Hydaspes, Nicaea and
Bucephala, the former meaning city of victory, and the latter named in
honor of Alexander's celebrated war-horse, Bucephalus, which died near
the spot. After besieging the city of Sangala, Alexander found him-
self master of the entire region drained by the tributaries of the Indus,
and above the point where their confluence makes the Indus one mighty
stream. The conqueror then marched eastward to the Hyphasis, and
was preparing to add the fertile region drained by the Ganges to his
empire, when his soldiers, seeing no end to their toils and hardships,
positively refused to follow him any farther; and Alexander was
obliged, with great reluctance, to abandon his career of conquest and
to return to Persia.
After marching back to the Hydaspes, Alexander resolved upon
returning by a new route, along the coasts of the Erythraean (now
Arabian) Sea and the Persian Gulf; and, with this end in view, he
procured all the vessels he could find and built new ones, to convey his
army down the Indus. The passage of the army down the river occu-
pied several months, on account of the opposition from the barbarians
on the banks of the stream. Upon reaching the ocean, Alexander is
said to have sat upon a rock near the shore, gazing at the wide expanse
of waters, and to have wept bitterly that there were no more worlds to
conquer. Disembarking his land troops, Alexander marched along the
sea-coast with his main force, leaving his admiral, Nearchus, to pur-
sue his way to the Euphrates by sea. The toils and hardships of this
march were extremely severe. Three-fourths of the army perished in
the deserts of Gedrosia (now Beloochistan) from hunger, thirst, fa-
tigue, and from the miseries of the climate. Alexander cheered his
troops in their march by magnanimously sharing in all their privations.
Upon reaching the shores of the Persian Gulf, Alexander's army was
rejoined by the fleet under Nearchus. The march of Alexander's
army through the fertile district of Carmania (now Kerman), a prov-
ince of Persia, resembled a triumphal procession ; and the soldiers, once
more in a friendly country, believed their hardships over, and aban-
doned themselves to enjoyment. Alexander himself imitated in public
the conduct attributed to DJonysos, the god of wine, who was said to
have sung and danced with his companions all over Asia.
After his return to Persia, Alexander punished the governor of
Persepolis, who had been tempted to assume independent authority
Alex-
March.
Alex-
0
Persia.
His Last
1002 GR-ffiCO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
during the conqueror's absence. Alexander now devoted his attention
to the organization of a permanent government for the extensive em-
pire which he had established. He aimed at uniting the Medes and
Persians witli the Greeks and Macedonians into one great nation, pos-
sessed of the institutions and the civilization of Greece ; and during his
stay at Persepolis, the Macedonian customs permitting polygamy,
Alexander married Statira, daughter of the murdered Darius Codo-
mannus, and ten thousand of his officers and soldiers married Median
and Persian women. Alexander's mild and generous treatment of the
conquered people made him as much respected and beloved by the Per-
sian nobility and people as if he had been their native, legitimate
prince. During the last years of his life, Alexander's mind was occu-
pied with schemes, which, to his credit, were directed to the durable
improvement of the countries which he had subdued. He opened the
navigation of the Euphrates, founded many towns, and marked out
commercial depots to connect the trade of the Nile, the Euphrates, the
Tigris and the Indus.
His 111- While planning schemes for fresh conquests, Alexander the Great
ness and mej. w^n a premature death from the effects of his dissolute and intem-
Deatn at i i •
Babylon, perate habits. After visiting Susa and Ecbatana, and projecting im-
portant improvements in those cities, Alexander proceeded toward
Babylon, which city he intended to make the capital of his vast empire.
He was reluctant to enter Babylon, on account of various prophecies
announcing that spot as destined to prove fatal to him ; but grief for
the death of Hephsestion, the intimate friend of his youth, at Babylon,
determined him to visit that city. Upon reaching Babylon, the con-
queror was attacked with a sudden illness, caused by his excessive indul-
gence in strong drink, which carried him to his grave, at the early
age of thirty-two years, and after having reigned over Macedon and
Greece twelve years (June 28, B. C. 324).
Scenes at During the progress of his illness, his soldiers, as on various other
Deathied occasi°ns of sickness, hung about him in a state of indescribable anx-
iety and grief. When his condition became desperate, his favorite
soldiery were allowed to enter his room, when an unparalleled scene
transpired. The dying conqueror, pale and speechless, but thoroughly
conscious, beheld his gallant warriors enter one by one, weeping bit-
terly, to take a last look at the chieftain who had so often led them to
battle. He had sufficient strength to hold out his arm ; and each sol-
dier, in passing by, kissed the beloved hand which had on so many
occasions waved them on to victory. When asked, just before his
death, to whom he left his vast empire, Alexander replied : " To the
most worthy." He, however, gave his signet-ring to Perdiccas, but
said : " I am afraid my obsequies will be celebrated with bloody cere-
CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 1003
monies." The remains of Alexander the Great were conveyed to Alex-
andria, in Egypt, where they were interred.
The character of this wonderful man will be best understood by a Beneficial
reference to his deeds. Although he was a scourge to many nations, 0fSHis8
he accomplished much permanent good among them. He awakened Con-
millions of mankind from the sleep of barbarism, and diffused among (*ues '
them the arts, the institutions and the civilization of Greece. On the
wide extent of his conquests he founded at least seventy cities, whose
sites were generally so well selected that they redounded to the com-
mercial greatness and civilization of the countries in which they were
located. In his other measures of general polity, Alexander was solici-
tous for the welfare of the nations which he had conquered.
In his private character, Alexander seemed to have been constitu- Alexan-
tionally liberal, generous and humane. Though his remarkable good
fortune brought errors and vices in its train, he was guilty of fewer
odious actions than most other conquerors. The tone and temper of
his time furnish the only excuse for his insatiable ambition and his dis-
regard of human life. Although Alexander's thirst for power seems
almost insane to us, we must remember that the great philosopher
Aristotle " nursed in Alexander's boyish breast the spirit which blazed
forth so fiercely in his manhood," and that the wisest men of his time
looked upon his career with approval and admiration. Other blem-
ishes upon Alexander's character, such as his excessive indulgence in
wine, which brought him to a premature grave, and his murder of his
friend and benefactor, Clitus, were peculiarly his own.
The death of this man, whose word and will constituted the law of Alex-
most of the then-known world, produced the most important conse- ^^1 f
quences, which, of themselves, afford the most convincing evidence of ful Abil-
Alexander's wonderful personal ability. While he lived, the many ^'
commanders who served under him, and who had constantly before
them the most enticing example of successful ambition, seem ever to
have instinctively felt and recognized the presence of a master, and to
have cherished no thought of aiming at the possession of independent
power. No sooner, however, had the mighty conqueror breathed his
last, than each of these officers, in looking around among his fellows,
discovered none to whose claims he was willing to yield his own, and
therefore all began to put forward pretensions to a share of dominion.
The great and permanent result of Alexander's conquests was the Helleniza-
Hellenizing of all Western Asia and Egypt — that is, the diffusion of J^°gtern
Grecian civilization, ideas, language and literature, over this vast re- Asia and
gion ; and thus preparing the way for the birth and development of gy*) '
Christianity, a religion which arose from the commingling of the Greek
and Hebrew civilizations in Judaea. On the other hand, Greece became
VOL. 3.— 20
1004
GR^CO-MACEDONIAX EMPIRE.
influenced by Oriental habits; Grecian patriotism and public spirit
declined; art and literature decayed; and the Greeks became a nation
of pedants and adventurers.
Alexan-
der's Suc-
cessors.
Philip Ar-
rhidasus.
Regency
of Per-
diccas.
Antip-
ater,
Crater us,
Ptolemy,
Antig-
onus,
Leon-
natus,
Eumenes
and Ly-
simachus.
Interment
of Alex-
ander's
Remains.
Alexan-
der IV.
and Philip
Arrhi-
daeus.
Regency
of Per-
diccas.
Antipater
and
Craterus.
SECTION III.— DISSOLUTION OF ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT having appointed no successor, his vast
empire was about to fall to pieces upon his death. He left behind him
no heir of his person, or no descendant of his dynasty, capable of hold-
ing his vast empire together under one head. His half-brother, Philip
Arrhidseus, was weak-minded, and neither of the conqueror's widows,
Statira or Roxana, had as yet any children, though both expected to
become mothers at the time of Alexander's death. A council of Alex-
ander's leading officers, at his death, in the great palace of Babylon,
decided that Philip Arrhidams and Roxana's expected child, if it should
be a son, should be joint sovereigns of the empire, and that Perdiccas,
to whom Alexander had left his signet -ring just before his death,
should be regent in their name. None of the parties to this arrange-
ment intended that Philip Arrhidasus and Roxana's expected child
should be any more than nominal sovereigns, as they at the same time
divided all the real authority among themselves, under the title of
lieutenants or viceroys. There were at first almost forty of these lieu-
tenants, but this form of government did not continue very long. The
most important of these viceroys were Antipater and Craterus in Mace-
don and Greece ; Ptolemy in Egypt ; Antigonus in Phrygia, Lycia and
Pamphylia ; Leonnatus in Hellespontine Phrygia ; Eumenes in Paphla-
gonia and Cappadocia; and Lysimachus in Thrace.
After these arrangements the last rites were paid to the remains of
Alexander the Great. His body was conveyed to Syria, whence it was
transported to Alexandria, in Egypt, where it was deposited in a mau-
soleum erected by Ptolemy, the able and enlightened Macedonian
viceroy of Egypt.
In due time Roxana gave birth to a son, and put Statira to death
before a similar event could occur in her case. Roxana's infant son,
thus the posthumous child of Alexander the Great, was named Alex-
ander IV., and was declared joint sovereign of the empire with Philip
Arrhidaeus; but the real ruler was Perdiccas, who for two years held
the Macedonian Empire together and loyal to the family of its illus-
trious founder. Four regents, or guardians of the realm, were ap-
pointed— two in Asia and two in Europe ; but Perdiccas murdered his
co-regent, thus becoming the sole ruler of Asia, while Antfpater and
Cralerus governed Macedon and Greece.
DEATH OF DEMOSTHENES
DISSOLUTION OF ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE.
1005
When intelligence of the death of Alexander the Great reached
Greece the Athenians, the ^Etolians and other Grecian allies decided
upon rising in revolt against Antipater for the purpose of throwing
off the hated yoke of Macedonian supremacy. The revolted allies
assembled a considerable army and placed it under the command of
the able Athenian general Leosthenes ; while the Athenian people sent
a galley to the island of ^gina to bring back Demosthenes, thus clearly
showing that they would have had no objection to Alexander's Olympic
proclamation had it only applied to such men as the illustrious orator
and patriot. When Demosthenes approached Athens his countrymen
of every age, rank and sex flocked out to meet him, and brought him
into the city with the warmest demonstrations of respect and joy. But
neither Demosthenes nor Phocion, the two most experienced patriots
of Athens, appear to have expected any permanent benefit from this
momentary outburst of the old spirit of Athenian patriotism.
At the beginning of the struggle with Antipater, however, there did
seem to be some hope of permanent success. Leosthenes led the allied
Grecian army into Thessaly, where he defeated Antipater in a spirited
engagement. But Antipater sustained his military reputation by the
excellent order of his retreat, and was enabled to throw his forces into
the town of Lamia, where he was besieged by the victorious army under
Leosthenes. After an obstinate defense, Antipater finally made a suc-
cessful sally, escaping with his troops through the lines of the be-
siegers. This enabled him to join the reinforcements which he had
sent for from Asia, and soon afterward he encountered and defeated
the allies at Cranon. The vanquished allies were obliged to sue for
peace, which Antipater only granted on the most humiliating terms to
the Athenians. Athens was required to abolish her democratic form
of government; a Macedonian garrison was to be placed in the city,
and Demosthenes and other orators were to be delivered to the Mace-
donians. This struggle was called the Lamian War, because its seat
was the Thessalian town of Lamia.
When Demosthenes was informed of the conditions of peace im-
posed upon his country he fled to Calauria, a small island near JEgina,
in the mouth of the Saronic Gulf. Thither he was followed by Ar-
chias, a man who had basely undertaken to deliver the renowned orator
and other proscribed persons to Antipater, and who now sought to
persuade Demosthenes that the Macedonians intended to do him no in-
jury. The great orator was seated calmly in the temple of Poseidon
when Archias found him, and when the deceptive words were addressed
to him he begged to be permitted to retire a little farther into the
fane for the purpose of writing a few words to his family. He then
stepped aside and chewed a q'jill containing poison, and then, moving
Grecian
Revolt
against
Antip-
ater.
Recall of
Demos-
thenes.
Defeat
of Antip-
ater.
Siege of
Lamia.
Antip-
ater's
Victory.
End of the
Lamian
War.
Exile and
Suicide of
Demos-
thenes.
1006
GR.ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
JEtolian
Revolt
Quelled.
Ambition
of Per-
diccas.
Antig-
onus,
Ptolemy
and
Eumenes.
Regency
of Antip-
ater.
Antip-
ater and
Poly-
sperchon.
Death of
Phocion.
toward Archias, fell dead at the foot of the altar. Thus ended the
life and career of an orator acknowledged by the unanimous voice of
mankind to have never had an equal.
When Antipater was called to Asia soon afterward, to quiet the
dissensions prevalent there, the JEtolians embraced the opportunity to
again attack the Macedonian territories, but failed as signally as in
the previous enterprise. Peace was restored before Antipater's re-
turn.
The various viceroys and commanders who had been appointed to
the different provinces of the great Macedonian Empire, as was very
easy to see from the beginning, soon sought to retain the dominions
assigned to them, and in a short time realized these anticipations.
When the regent Perdiccas saw that it was impossible to preserve the
crown for the infant Alexander IV. he aspired to the sovereignty of
the whole Alexandrian dominions himself, but encountered opposition
from Antigonus, one of the viceroys of Asia Minor, and Ptolemy, the
viceroy of Egypt. Eumenes, another viceroy of Asia Minor, sup-
ported him. Antigonus aimed at the sovereignty himself, while
Ptolemy designed erecting his province in the Nile valley into an inde-
pendent kingdom. Perdiccas was slain by his mutinous troops in a
campaign against Ptolemy, and Craterus perished in a battle with
Eumenes in Cappadocia, thus leaving Antipater sole regent of the en-
tire Macedonian Empire. Antipater silenced Euridice, the young wife
of the puppet king, Philip Arrhidaeus, who demanded to be allowed a
share in the government, and caused the empire to be newly divided
(B. C. 320). Antigonus, being assigned to the conduct of the war
against Eumenes, seized the larger portion of Asia Minor, under the
pretext of upholding the royal authority.
Antipater died in Macedon in B. C. 319 ; and on his death-bed gave
a striking example of his disinterested regard for the interests of the
Macedonian power by appointing Polysperchon, the oldest of Alexan-
der's generals then in Europe, as his successor to the viceroyalty of
Macedon and Greece and to the regency of the entire Alexandrian
dominions, thus disregarding the claims of relationship. When some
one had once asked Alexander the Great whether Antipater did not
need a crown the conqueror replied : " Antipater is royal within."
One of Polysperchon's first acts caused the death of Phocion, the
last of the Athenians worthy of being ranked with the great men of
former times. Desiring to remove the governors appointed by Antip-
ater, to enable him to more advantageously concentrate the power of
the empire in his own person, Polysperchon ordered the Macedonian
garrisons to be dismissed from Athens and other cities. The Athe-
nians rejoiced at this decree; but Nic6»yjr, the governor of the Mace-
DISSOLUTION OF ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE.
1007
donian garrison in Athens, declined to obey the viceroy's orders, and
Phocion was charged with abetting his contumacy. The Athenians
did not pause to inquire into the truth or falsity of the accusation,
nor did they allow Phocion to defend himself ; but, in their blind rage,
they first proscribed the venerable patriot, and afterwards compelled
him to drink the cup of poison. Phocion was a citizen of spotless
virtue, and a talented warrior and statesman. He had for a long time
beheld the degeneracy of the Athenian character, and the inability of
his countrymen to occupy their former lofty position among nations,
and for that reason he had, in the days of Philip and Alexander, coun-
seled such measures as tended to promote the tranquillity of his country
and permit her to cultivate those ingenious arts from which the noblest
trophies had sprung in the period of her glorious career. When their
temporary and misguided passion had passed away, the Athenians, as
they had so frequently done in the case of other patriots, sorrowfully
remembered all of Phocion's virtues and all the benefits for which they
were indebted to him, and they erected a statue of brass to him and
paid other honors to his memory. Phocion may be regarded as the
last of the wise and able leaders of ancient Greece, and this circum-
stance doubtless accounted for the insignificance into which the Gre-
cian republics gradually sunk after this period.
The appointment of Polysperchon as Antipater's successor disgusted Polysper-
Cassander, Antipater's son, and Cassander accordingly joined Antig- sanaer
onus, who was prosecuting the war against Eumenes. Polysperchon Eumenes,
and Eumenes were endeavoring to uphold the unity of Alexander's nus ^
great empire, while Cassander, Antigonus and Ptolemy were seeking Ptolemy,
to dismember it for their own aggrandizement. Antigonus defeated
a royal fleet near Byzantium, after which he drove Eumenes beyond the
Tigris, where the latter was joined by many of the Eastern satraps;
but, in spite of this reinforcement, Eumenes was defeated after two
indecisive battles and was seized by his own troops and delivered up
to Antigonus, who put him to death (B. C. 316).
In Macedon during the same year the puppet king, Philip Arrhid- Olympias
aeus, and his wife were put to death by order of Olympias, the mother and £as~
of Alexander the Great. But Olympias herself fell into Cassander's
power at Pydna ; and, in utter violation of the conditions of her sur-
render, she was murdered by her enemies. Cassander became master
of Macedon and Greece. He secured his power by marrying Thessa-
lonica, the half-sister of Alexander the Great, and founded in her
honor the city bearing her name (B. C. 316).
The ambition of Antfgonus now began to alarm the other Mace- Ambition
donian generals and viceroys, as it was very evident that he was aim- Og|!g
ing at the undivided sovereignty of the whole of Alexander's domin-
1008
GR/ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Seleucus,
Cas-
sander,
Ptolemy
and
Lysim-
achus.
Deme-
trius Pha-
lereus.
Seleucus,
Ptolemy,
Cassander
and De-
metrius
Polior-
cetes.
Naval
Battle of
Salamis,
in
Cyprus.
ions. He disposed of the Eastern satrapies at his pleasure, and drove
Seleucus from Babylonia. Seleucus thereupon sought refuge in
Egypt, and joined Ptolemy, viceroy of Egypt; Cassander, viceroy
of Maccdon and Greece, and Lysimachus, viceroy of Thrace and Bi-
thynia, in a league against Antigonus. Thereupon a four years' war
followed (B. C. 315-311), resulting in the recovery of Babylon and
the East by Seleucus, while Antigonus gained power in Syria, Asia
Minor and Greece. The peace of B. C. 311 provided for the inde-
pendence of the Greek cities of Asia Minor, but permitted Ptolemy
to hold Egypt and Lysimachus to retain Thrace ; and left Cassander
as regent of Macedon and Greece until Alexander IV. should attain his
majority, that prince being now sixteen years of age. But both Alex-
ander IV. and his mother Roxana were murdered by order of Cas-
sander.
Cassander entrusted the government of Athens to Demetrius Pha-
lereus, whose administration of ten years was so popular that the Athe-
nians raised three hundred and sixty brazen statues to his honor; but
at length, having lost all his popularity by his dissipated habits, Deme-
trius was compelled to retire into Egypt, all his statues but one being
thrown down.
Seleucus, having recovered Babylon, also made himself master of
Susiana, Media and Persia, and was not a party to the peace. All the
allies probably considered him fully able to hold all his conquests.
The peace of B. C. 311 lasted but one year, and was broken by
Ptolemy, on the pretext that Antigonus had not liberated the Greek
cities of Asia Minor, as provided for by the treaty, and that Cassander
still maintained his garrisons in the cities of European Greece. The
war was thereupon renewed. Ptolemy gained an important success at
first in Cilicia, but was finally checked by Demetrius, son of Antigonus,
known as Demetrius Poliorcetes (the town-taker). Ptolemy then in-
vaded Greece and occupied Sicyon and Corinth. He sought to marry
Cleopatra, the sister of Alexander the Great and the last survivor of
the royal family of Macedon, but the princess was assassinated by
order of Cassander (B. C. 308). Demetrius Poliorcetes now arrived
with a large fleet for the relief of Athens, whereupon Ptolemy retired
to Cyprus and seized the island, but was followed by Demetrius Polior-
cetes in B. C. 306. A great naval battle occurred off Salamis, in
Cyprus — one of the most severe sea-fights in the world's history — in
which Pt61emy was thoroughly defeated, with the loss of all but eight
of his ships, while seventeen thousand of his soldiers and sailors were
made prisoners by the victorious fleet under Demetrius Poliorcetes.
The five leading generals now assumed the royal title. Demetrius
Poliorcetes vainly besieged Rhodes for an entire year; and that town,
DISSOLUTION OF ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE.
1009
by its heroic defense, secured the privileges of neutrality during the
remaining years of the war. During this year (B. C. 305) Cassander
made progress in his efforts to bring Greece under his authority. He
had captured Corinth and was besieging Athens when Demetrius Polior-
cetes arrived in the Euripus for the relief of the beleaguered city.
Thereupon Cassander relinquished the siege and marched against
Demetrius, but was defeated by him in a battle near Thermopylae, after
which the victorious Demetrius entered Athens, where he was joyfully
welcomed by the inhabitants. Demetrius assembled a congress at
Corinth, which conferred upon him the title of generalissimo.
Cassander, in great alarm, stirred up his allies to invade Asia Minor ;
and in the spring of B. C. 301, Demetrius was recalled to the aid of
his father, who was menaced by the united forces of Lysimachus and
Seleucus, the latter of whom had come from the East with a large
army, including four hundred and eighty elephants. A great and
decisive battle was fought at Ipsus, in Phrygia, B. C. 301, Antigonus
and Demetrius being utterly defeated, and Antigonus slain in the
eighty-first year of his age.
The battle of Ipsus resulted in a permanent division of the vast
empire founded by Alexander the Great, after twenty-two years of
sanguinary wars among his generals, during which the whole of Alex-
ander's family and all his relatives perished. The triumphant Seleu-
cus and Lysimachus divided the dominion of Asia between them ;
Seleucus receiving the Euphrates valley, Northern Syria, Cappadocia
and part of Phrygia ; while Lysimachus obtained the remainder of
Asia Minor in addition to Thrace, which extended along the western
shores of the Euxine as far north as the mouths of the Danube. Ptol-
emy was allowed to hold Egypt, along with Palestine, Phoenicia and
Coele Syria ; while Cassander was allowed to reign in Macedon and
Greece until his death.
These twenty-two years of war among Alexander's generals had dis-
astrous consequences for Macedon, by the exhausting expenditure of
blood and treasure, and likewise by the introduction of Oriental habits
of luxury and unmanly servility, in the place of the free and simple
manners of previous ages. The minds of the Greeks were enlarged
by a knowledge of the history and philosophy of the Asiatic nations,
and by the observation of the physical world with its products in new
climates and circumstances, but most of the influences which had kept
the free spirit of the Grecian race alive no longer operated. Grecian
patriotism was a thing of the past. Genius gave way to learning,
and art to imitation.
The gains to Asia Avere many splendid cities and a vastly-increased
commerce, along with the Greek military discipline and forms of civil
Cassander
and De-
metrius
Polior-
cetes.
Battle ot
Ipsus.
Perma-
nent Dis-
member-
ment of
Alexan-
der's Em-
pire.
Corrup-
tion of
Greek
Manners.
Hellen-
ization of
Western
Asia and
Egypt.
1010
GR^CO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
government, which added new strength to her armies and states. The
Greek language prevailed among the educated and ruling classes from
the Adriatic on the west to the Indus on the east, and from the north-
ern shores of the Euxine, or Black Sea, to the southern frontier of
Egypt. The influence of Hellenic thought prevailed during a thou-
sand years in Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine and Egypt, until the hosts
of Mohammed changed the face of this quarter of the world anew by
the establishment of a new Semitic dominion. The wide diffusion of
the Greek language throughout the whole West of Asia was one of the
most important preparations for the spread of the Christian religion.
Had Alexander lived to complete his great project of amalgamating
the Greek and Oriental nations, Asia would have been still more the
gainer, and Europe more the loser, in consequence.
Orators.
Age of
Demos-
thenes.
Hyper-
ides.
Otbcr
Orators.
SECTION IV.— ORATORY, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
AN ancient philosopher has said that " great occasions produce great
men." The beginning of the great struggle between Macedonian
supremacy and Grecian independence was the most important crisis in
Grecian history. " The coming events were casting their shadows be-
fore." Demosthenes appeared at this period to arouse Athenian pa-
triotism by his fervid eloquence.
The age of Demosthenes produced an abundance of orators, who
were brought forward by the busy excitement of the time. The
speeches of most of them have been lost, but the historians tell us suffi-
cient concerning them for us to form an opinion of their characters.
DEMADES was originally a common sailor, possessing strong natural
powers, but these were unpolished by education and unregulated by
moral principle. His habits in private life were coarse and brutal, and
these qualities likewise tinctured his eloquence, but his rude bluntness
often produced a greater effect in the public assemblies than the pol-
ished elegance of more refined speakers.
HYPERIDES was a speaker of a very opposite kind, as he possessed an
exquisite taste, a delicate sense of harmony, and a richly-cultured in-
tellect, but his delicate sensibility made him weak and timid. He
lacked energy and boldness sufficient to encounter the tumults of the
public assemblies, but at the courts of law he was an able and pleasing
advocate. PHOCION and LYCURGUS appeared to have been more in-
debted to their virtuous characters for their influence than to their ora-
torical talents. They were always listened to with respect, as the peo-
ple knew that they spoke from conscientious conviction, and they were
therefore more esteemed as statesmen than admired as orators. DIN-
ORATORY, PHILOSOPHY AND ART. 1011
ARCHTTS is only known as the accuser of Demosthenes on the charge of
having taken a bribe from the fugitive Harpalus to engage the Athe-
nians to protect him from Alexander's vengeance. The truth of the
charge is extremely doubtful, but it is urged in the invective of Din-
archus very artfully and spiritedly. The merits of the oration are,
however, lessened by the virulence and violence of the attack.
The rhetorical compositions of ISOCBATES, who was born B. C. 436 Isocra^s.
and was one of the most illustrious contemporaries of Demosthenes,
likewise contributed immensely to the same subject. Isocrates was
usually classed as an orator, but his discourses invariably came before
his countrymen in a written form, as the weakness of his frame and
voice made him incapable of the exertion of delivering them before a
public assembly. Isocrates was, however, fully conversant with the
principles of oratory, and taught them to the noblest youths of Athens
and Greece for a long period with the most remarkable success. His
discourses are of a very high order of composition, and in these he
sometimes addressed himself to political and likewise to moral subjects.
In his political discourses he regularly advocated the cause of Philip,
in opposition to the counsels of Demosthenes ; and although the elo-
quence of his opponent was irresistible, Isocrates always succeeded in
winning the respectful attention and the applause of his fellow-citizens.
A few of the orations of Isocrates yet remain, one of the most admired
being an address to Philip of Macedon himself.
^ESCHINES, the greatest of the oratorical rivals of Demosthenes, was .ffischines.
a supporter of the Athenian aristocracy and the Macedonian suprem-
acy as against the democracy and the opposition to Macedonian ascen-
dency as led by Demosthenes. Though lacking the boldness and
vehemence of his illustrious opponent, the style of JEschines was more
varied and ornamented. Said Quinctilian, the great Roman rhetori-
cian : " JEschines has more flesh and muscle, Demosthenes more bone
and sinew." His style is flowing and harmonious ; his periods are ex-
quisitely polished; and his ridicule is very spirited and graceful. He
would in all likelihood have reached the highest distinction at any other
period, but he was borne down by the superior talents of his renowned
rival. At first JEschines was, like Demosthenes, a most vigorous oppo-
nent of Philip of Macedon. His subsequent desertion of the demo-
cratic and patriotic party made him exceedingly unpopular, and in-
duced him to cultivate the favor of his audience by rhetorical artifices,
rather than exalted sentiments, which he actually sometimes pretended
to ridicule as forced and affected.
The career of DEMOSTHENES, the most distinguished of Athenian Demos-
orators, constitutes a portion of Grecian history, and, as such, has thenes.
already been detailed. His discourses, nevertheless, deserve more spe-
1012
GR.ECO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Philoso-
phers.
Aristotle
and the
Peripa-
tetic*.
Aristotle
and Hia
School
at the
Lyceum.
cial atention than has been given them in the preceding section. When
asked what qualities were essential to effective speaking, Demosthenes
is said to have replied that three things were requisite; and, in fuller
explanation, said that these qualities were " action — action — action."
This forcible exposition of his views of eloquence enables us to antici-
pate the characteristics of his own style of oratory. We therefore
discover that vehement delivery was the chief characteristic of Demos-
thenes' style of speaking. But if an equal power of forcible expres-
sion had not been combined in him with the power of energetic action,
he would not have been the very foremost of all orators, as he has
always been acknowledged to be. Those orations which were called
Philippics, because they were uttered against Philip of Macedon, are
usually pointed to as the most effective specimens of Demosthenes' ora-
tory. A number of others remain, of almost equal eloquence, and
among these are especially the orations for the Olynthians and the ora-
tor's defense of himself against JEschines. All of these discourses
constitute important additions to the historical records of the periods
in which they were uttered.
The Macedonian period was noted as the epoch of many distin-
guished contemporary Grecian philosophers. AEISTOTLE, the founder
of the Peripatetic sect, was born B. C. 384, and was a native of Sta-
gira, a town of Thrace, on which account he has frequently been called
the Stagirite. He was initiated into the elements of knowledge at an
early age, and at seventeen he went to Athens, where he commenced to
study under Plato. That distinguished philosopher was not long in
discovering the wonderful talents of his pupil, and was accustomed to
calling him " the Mind of the School." Aristotle went to Macedon to
become the tutor of Alexander the Great, in accordance with the prom-
ise made, at that prince's birth, to his father, King Philip. Alexander
was about fourteen years old when Aristotle undertook his education
(B. C. 343). Their connection lasted eight years, during which period
the teacher gained the regard of his pupil so thoroughly that Alexan-
der was accustomed to say that " Philip had given him life, but Aris-
totle had taught him to live well."
When Alexander ascended the Macedonian throne, and began his
career of conquest, Aristotle returned to Athens, and opened a school
in the shady grove called the Lyceum. On account of his practice of
walking there when delivering his lectures to his pupils, his followers
were called Peripatetics, or walkers. Aristotle, however, continued
corresponding with his royal pupil ; »nd, at his teacher's request, Alex-
ander employed several thousand persons in Europe and Asia to collect
specimens of the animal kingdom and sent them to Aristotle, who was
ORATORY, PHILOSOPHY AND ART. 1018
thus enabled to write a History of Animated Nature in fifty volumes,
of which only ten yet remain.
Aristotle wrote on a great many subjects, and the most acute Intel- Aris-
lects of succeeding ages have readily adopted his opinions. His His- j^ural
tory of Animated Nature has been admired for its accurate descrip- History
tions. His other works are remarkable for the wonderful acuteness ^uctivT
of mind therein displayed. Aristotle was one of the giant intellects Phil-
of the world, and his system of mental philosophy prevailed for two
thousand years, when his deductive system was superseded by Bacon's
inductive system. Aristotle's lectures attracted throngs of listeners
from all the great cities of Europe and Asia.
ANTISTHENES, a famous Athenian philosopher, born B. C. 420, was Antis-
the founder of the sect called the Cynics, who maintained that man thfn£8
attained the greatest earthly happiness by renouncing all worldly pleas- Cynics,
ures. He was also a pupil of Socrates, and was distinguished by his
severity of manners, remarkable even among the pupils of that simple
and unassuming- teacher. Socrates disapproved the raggedness which
Antisthenes delighted \f> display in his apparel. Said the immortal
preceptor : " Why so ostentatious ? Through your rags I see your
vanity."
DIOGENES, an eccentric philosopher and the most celebrated of the Diogenes,
Cynics, carried the doctrines of that sect to the wildest extreme, re- ^emf
nouncing all the pleasures, comforts and conveniences of life. He was Cynic,
a Greek of Asia Minor, being a native of Sinope, in Paphlagonia, and
was born B. C. 418. It is said that he went in rags, begged his bread
in order to be insulted, and sat in the eaves of the houses under the rain.
We are also told that he embraced snow statues in winter, and usually
lived in a tub. He did all this, it is said, to inure himself to all hard-
ships, to prepare himself to endure all vicissitudes of fortune, and to
counteract the advance of luxury by his example. He did not wish
to possess anything which he considered superfluous, and his only
worldly possessions were a ragged garment to cover his nakedness, a
wooden staff for walking, a wooden bowl for drinking, and a tub for
shelter. One day observing a boy drinking from the hollow of his
hand, the philosopher dashed his wooden bowl to pieces, saying : " Be-
hold ! That boy has taught me that I still have something that I can
do without ! "
Being at one time seen with a lighted lantern in midday in the streets Diogenes
of Athens, and being asked what he was hunting, Diogenes replied: J""d.Hi8
" An honest man." On another occasion, seeing the officers of justice
in Athens carrying off an individual for stealing a trifling article, the
philosopher remarked : " The big thieves have caught a little one."
Diogenes was rude and merciless in speech. He employed sarcasm ai
1014
GR^CO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Some of
His Cyn-
ical Say-
ings.
Diogenes
and the
Wine.
Diogenes
and Alex-
ander.
Diogenes
and
Plato.
his great weapon to teach mankind. There is, however, a noble mean-
ing in some of his sayings, which comprise the best exposition of the
Cynical philosophy.
A profligate person having written over the door of his dwelling,
" Let nothing evil enter here " ; Diogenes said : " Which way, then,
must the stranger go in? " Seeing a young man blush, the philoso-
pher said : " Take courage, friend, that is the color of virtue." In
answer to a person who asked him at what hour he ought to dine, Diog-
enes said : " If you are a rich man, when you will ; if you arc poor,
when you can." Said some one : " How happy is Calfsthcnes in living
with Alexander " ; to which Diogenes replied : " No, he is not happy ;
for he must dine when Alexander pleases."
Hearing some one complain that he should not die in his native land,
Diogenes said : " Be not uneasy ; from every place there is a passage
to the regions below." Being presented at a feast with a large gob-
let of wine, he threw it upon the ground; and upon being blamed for
wasting so much good drink, he replied : " Had I drunk it, there would
have been double waste; I, as well as the wine, would have been lost."
Being asked what benefit he reaped from his laborious philosophical
studies and his search for wisdom, Diogenes answered: " If I reap no
other benefit, this alone is sufficient compensation, that I am prepared
with equanimity to meet every sort of fortune."
When he had reached a good age, Diogenes was captured by pirates
at sea and sold as a slave in Crete, where he was purchased by a wealthy
Corinthian, who was struck with the reply the captive philosopher gave
to the auctioneer who put him up for sale. Said the vendor : " What
can you do ? " To this Diogenes replied : " I can govern men ; there-
fore sell me to some one who wants a master." He thereafter passed
much of his life in Corinth, and became the teacher of his master's
children, and likewise exercised the office of a censor of the public
morals. At that place he was visited by Alexander the Great, who
found him, at the age of eighty, sitting in his tub. Said Alexander
to the philosopher : " Can I do anything for you ? " To this Diog-
enes replied : " Yes, you can get out of my sunshine." The young
king was so well pleased with this answer that he said : " Were I not
Alexander, I would be Diogenes ! "
Diogenes did not always have the advantage in sharp speaking.
Some one, observing him embrace a statue covered with snow, inquired
if he did not suffer from the cold. " No," answered the philosopher ;
whereupon the stranger responded: "Why, then, I can see no great
merit in what you are now doing." One day he entered Plato's neatly-
furnished house and trampled a fine carpet under his feet, saying:
" Thus I trample upon the pride of Plato." To this Plato justly re-
ORATORY, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
plied : " And with a greater pride of your own." On another occa-
sion, hearing that Plato, in one of his lectures in the Academy, defined
man as a " two-legged animal without feathers," Diogenes stripped a
fowl of its feathers, and carrying it into the Academy, exclaimed:
" Behold Plato's man ! " Plato was in the habit of calling Diogenes
a mad Socrates, alluding to the combination of wisdom and extrava-
gant folly constituting his character.
Diogenes had a supreme contempt for the whole human race. He Diogenes
went barefoot even when the ground was covered with snow. His
father had been a banker at Sinope, and was banished from that city
for counterfeiting. Diogenes himself had been guilty of the same
offense before he became a Cynic, and was also exiled, whereupon he
came to Athens and visited Antisthenes, who treated him with great
contempt and would have driven him away with his staff, because he
did not wish to have any more disciples ; but Diogenes, who was neither
surprised nor intimidated, bowed his head and said : " Strike, you will
never find a stick hard enough to drive me off as long as you speak."
Antisthenes, overcome by his obstinacy, allowed Diogenes to become
one of his disciples.
ZENO, a native of the island of Cyprus, born B. C. 362, founded the Zeno and
sect of the Stoics, who practiced the strictest virtue and morality, and
sought happiness by an absolute indifference to all the vicissitudes of
life. The Stoics resembled the Cynics in general, but did not carry
their self-denial to the same extreme limits in regard to dress and hab-
its. But while the Stoics were as austere in their morals as the Cynics,
they endeavored to introduce novel principles into speculative philoso-
phy. The Stoical philosophy teaches the existence of two principles
in nature, by which, and out of which, all things have been formed.
One of these principles is active, consisting of pure ether or spirit,
which dwells on the surface of the heavens, and which is God, or the
creative spirit of the universe. The passive principle is matter, which
is in itself destitute of all qualities, but is capable of receiving any im-
pression, or being moulded into any form.
Zeno's father was a Cyprian merchant, and sent his son to Athens Zeno as a
when he was about thirty years old, with a cargo of Phoanician purple,
which was lost by shipwreck on the coast of Piraeus. But Zeno arrived
safely at Athens, and, as he had already received an excellent education,
he continued his studies and finally resolved to open a school of phi-
losophy. He selected a public portico called the Stoa, as the scene of
his lectures, and hence the term Stoic, as applied to Zeno's followers.
They were also sometimes called " the Philosophers of the Porch." On
this portico, or Stoa, Zeno taught successfully for a long time, exhib-
iting in his own life a perfect example of the stern morality which he
2—26
1016
GR^CO-MACEDONIAN EMPIRE.
Aris-
tippus.
Epicurus
and the
Epi-
cureans.
Epicurus
as a
Teacher.
Pyrrho
and the
Skeptics.
inculcated in others. He was frugal in his diet and in all his expenses,,
grave and dignified in his manners, and his dress was always plain,
though scrupulously neat. Zeno committed suicide when he was
ninety-eight years of age, in consequence of having broken one of his
fingers, a circumstance which he regarded as rendering him unfit for
earth. Said he: "Why am I thus importuned? I obey the sum-
mons." He accordingly strangled himself when he reached home, in-
fluenced to the act by a miserable superstition.
ARISTIPPUS of Cyrene, another pupil of Socrates, founded the sect
of the Cyrendics, who ran into the opposite extreme, holding that pleas-
ure was the only good and pain the only evil, a principle which opened
the way to every kind of licentiousness. EPICURUS, a disciple of Aris-
tfppus, adopted the same principle, but endeavored to correct its dan-
gerous tendency by teaching that virtue was the real source of pleasure,
and vice of pain; but his followers did not accept his reasoning in
regard to vice, especially as he denied the doctrine of the immortality
of the soul, by which his teaching could only be sustained. The sect
of the Epicureans, named after Epicurus, whom they regarded as their
founder, therefore considered luxury and the gratification of the appe-
tites as the chief end of existence.
Epicurus was born at Gargetus, a small town in the vicinity of
Athens, B. C. 344. At the age of eighteen he went to study at Athens
and remained there for a considerable time. He afterwards made his
residence successively at Mitylene and Lampsacus, in both of which
cities he opened a school for the instruction of others in his philosoph-
ical doctrines. But he was not long satisfied with a provincial reputa-
tion ; and in his thirty-eighth year he returned to Athens, where he
purchased a garden, in which he began to teach his system of philoso-
phy, therefore often called " the Philosophy of the Garden." As his
opinions were an agreeable contrast to the doctrines of the Cynics and
the Stoics, which were then prevalent, Epicurus soon became exceed-
ingly popular. Epicurus himself was noted for his temperance and
continence, and endeavored to impress upon his pupils the necessity of
restraining all the passions in order to lead a happy life.
PYRRHO, a native of the Ionic city of Elea, in Asia Minor, born B.
C. 340, founded the sect of the Skeptics, who regarded everything as
uncertain, some even going so far as to doubt their own existence. It
is said that Pyrrho's friends found it necessary to attend the philoso-
pher in his walks, lest his doubt about the existence of a precipice or
an approaching wagon or carriage might result in ending all his mor-
tal doubts at once. Like many of the other Grecian sages, Pyrrho
reached a good old age. He died at ninety, and was honored with a
monumental statue by the Athenians, as well as by the Eleans. Pyr-
ORATORY, PHILOSOPHY AND ART.
1017
rho's followers first called themselves the Pyrrhonic School, but were
finally named Skeptics.
The New Academics, founded by CARNEADES and ARCESILAS, Wew
adopted the principles of the Skeptics to some extent, and consequently a^ic-
introduced the worst doctrines of the Sophists. Several minor sects
were founded on modifications of these doctrines, but it is not neces-
sary to enumerate them in this work.
Grecian art maintained its preeminence during the Macedonian Artists.
period. The most eminent sculptors of the fourth century before
Christ were PRAXITELES, of Athens, and LYSIPPUS, of Sicyon ; and the Praxi-
most illustrious painter was APELLES, of Ephesus. The success of e8^Au8^
Apelles was owing to his constant application. His maxim was : " No Apelles.
day without a line." Lysippus was celebrated for his bronze works.
The statues of Aphrodite by Praxiteles combined feminine grace with
intellectual dignity, and have never been surpassed. Alexander the
Great ordered that only Apelles should paint his picture, and that only
Lysippus should represent him in bronze.
Among Greek sculptors, Praxiteles excelled in the soft and beauti-
ful, as Phidias did in the grand and sublime. The principal works of
Praxfteles were kept at Athens, but the Aphrodite of Cnidus was the
most famous of all the productions of his chisel, and for a long time
attracted visitors from every part of the world. This statue was exe-
cuted in Parian marble, and stood, according to the account of a spec-
tator, in a temple dedicated to the same deity. According to this
description the sculptor seems not only to have presented a form of
exquisite symmetry, but to have also given the stone something resemb-
ling the softness of flesh.
POLYCLETUS, CAMACHUs and NAUCiDES were also great sculptors of Other
the age of Praxiteles and Lysippus. These sculptors combined to fill CTa£a°ri
the temples and public edifices of the Grecian cities with models of Painters.
beauty and grace, sometimes executed in marble, and sometimes in
bronze. The most celebrated work of Polycletus was a colossal figure
of the Argive Here, composed of ivory and gold. Other famous paint-
ers of this time were TIMANTHUS, PAMPHILUS and EUPOMPUS. The
most celebrated painting of Timanthus is his Sacrifice of Ephigenia.
Sculp-
Praxi-
teles.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE GMCO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
SECTION I.— MACEDON AND GREECE.
DEMETRIUS POLIORCETES, son of Antigonus, proceeded to Greece, capture
after the battle of Ipsus, but the Athenians refused to receive him. °f
After entering into an alliance with Seleucus, King of Syria, Deme- by
trius appeared before Athens, which, after a long siege, he captured; Deme-
but instead of punishing the Athenians for their obstinate resistance, Polior-
he treated them with unexpected magnanimity, supplied their wants, cetes.
and did all in his power to relieve them from the miseries which the
long siege had occasioned.
Cassander died in B. C. 298, three years after the battle of Ipsus, Dynastic
and was succeeded by his eldest son, Philip IV., who died the same Disorders
year. Cassander's widow, Thessalonica, then divided Macedonia be- Changes,
tween her remaining sons, Antipater and Alexander. Antipater as-
pired to the undivided sovereignty of the Macedonian dominions,
murdered his mother and invited his father-in-law, Lysimachus, King
of Thrace, into Macedonia, to aid him in making himself master of
the entire kingdom. Alexander solicited the assistance of Demetrius
Poliorcetes, who after the capture of Athens had secured control of
the greater portion of Greece, as well as the aid of Pyrrhus, King
of Epirus. Antipates was put to death by Lysimachus and Alexander
by Demetrius Poliorcetes, who then made himself King of Macedon
and Greece.
Alexander had ceded some of the western Grecian provinces to Over-
Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, and Demetrius Poliorcetes endeavored to veme*-
recover these provinces, but was defeated by Pyrrhus. With a large trius
army Demetrius Poliorcetes then invaded Asia Minor, B. C. 288, for
the purpose of recovering the dominions of his father, Antigonus.
To avert this invasion, Seleucus, King of Syria, and Lysimachus, King
of Thrace, induced Pyrrhus to invade Macedonia from the south, while
Lysimachus invaded it from the east, whereupon Demetrius Poliorcetes
was obliged to relinquish the crown of Macedon and Greece, B. C. 287.
vox- 3.— 21 1019
1020
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Lysima-
chus of
Thrace
and
Seleucus
of Syria.
Ptolemy
Ceraunus.
Invasion
of
Macedon
and
Greece
by the
Gauls.
He was afterwards made a prisoner in an expedition against Seleucus,
and remained in captivity until his death three years later.
Pyrrhus and Lysimachus quarreled over the division of Macedonia,
and Pyrrhus was driven back into his own kingdom of Epirus, while
Macedonia was annexed to Thrace. Five years afterward the Mace-
donian nobles rebelled against Lysimachus and offered the Macedonian
crown to Seleucus, who defeated and killed Lysimachus in the battle
Corupedion, and annexed Macedon and Greece to the Syrian Empire
of the Seleucidae, which now embraced all the dominions of Alexander
the Great, with the exception of Egypt. A few weeks afterward
Seleucus was assassinated in Thrace by Ptolemy Ceraunus, the dis-
inherited son of Ptolemy Soter, King of Egypt.
PTOLEMY CEEAUNUS then became King of Macedon and Greece,
B. C. 280. His brief reign was blackened with many crimes. He
married his half-sister, Arsinoe, the widow of Lysimachus, and mur-
dered her children in her presence and exiled her to Samothrace, whence
she fled into Egypt and married her brother, King Ptolemy Phila-
delphus, of that country. The reign of Ptolemy Ceraunus ended in
the very year in which it began, as he perished in resisting an invasion
of the Gauls.
In the year 280 B. C., Macedonia was invaded by an immense horde
of barbarians, called Gauls, under their chief, Brennus ; and Ptolemy
Ceraunus, who had usurped the throne of Macedon, was defeated and
slain in battle against them. After frightfully ravaging Macedonia,
the Gauls, under the leadership of Brennus, invaded Greece the next
year (B. C. 279), and marched into Phocis for the purpose of plunder-
ing the temple to Apollo at Delphi. The Grecians met and defeated
the barbarians at the pass of Thermopylae, where their ancestors under
the brave Leonidas two centuries before had made so heroic a defense
against the immense Persian hosts of Xerxes; but the Gauls, like the
Persians, marched by a secret path over the mountains, revealed to them
by a traitor from the Grecian army ; and the Greeks were finally
obliged to retreat. Finding their way unobstructed, the barbarians
then pushed forward to Delphi; but the Phocians soon arose against
them and harassed their flank and rear, and at Delphi a very violent
storm and earthquake so terrified the superstitious Gauls, and caused
such a panic in their ranks, that they fought against each other, and
were at last so weakened by mutual slaughter that they retired from
Greece, many being slaughtered by the exasperated Greeks without
mercy. The Gallic leader, Brennus, who had been severely wounded
before Delphi, killed himself in despair. The shattered remnants of
the Gauls then passed over into Asia Minor, and settled in the country
named after them, Galatia.
MACEDON AND GREECE.
1021
After the death of Ptolemy Ceraunus, Macedonia became a prey
to anarchy, the throne being disputed by several pretenders. In
B. C. 278 ANTIGONUS GONATUS, the son of Demetrius Poliorcetes,
being master of Greece, marched into Macedonia with a large army
and assumed the Macedonian crown. Antiochus Soter, King of Syria,
attempted to drive out Antigonus Gonatus, but failed in the effort, and
accordingly acknowledged him as King of Macedon and Greece, giv-
ing him his sister in marriage.
King Antigonus Gonatus found a powerful rival competitor in
the ambitious Pyrrhus, King of Epirus. After having failed in an
expedition into Italy against the Romans, Pyrrhus aimed at reducing
the whole of Greece and Macedonia under his own dominion, and with
this in view he invaded Macedonia, in B. C. 273; the Macedonian
army allowing itself to be defeated twice, as the Greeks and Mace-
donians reluctantly accepted Antigonus Gonatus as their king, where-
upon he became a fugitive. But Pyrrhus was soon obliged to retire
into the Peloponnesus, and after being repulsed in an attack on
Lacedsemon, he entered Argos, where a terrible conflict ensued, in
which Pyrrhus was killed by a huge tile hurled upon him from a house
top by an Argive woman, who was enraged at seeing that he was about
to slay her son (B. C. 272). The death of Pyrrhus put an end to
the long struggle for power among Alexander's successors in the West.
Antigonus Gonatus now returned to Macedon and recovered his
crown, reigning for thirty-two years longer. He made himself master
of the entire Peloponnesus, governing it by means of tyrants whom
he set up in the various cities. Aided by an Egyptian fleet and a
Spartan army, he besieged Athens for six years, the Athenians only
surrendering their city when reduced by famine, B. C. 262. During
the siege of Athens, Antigonus Gonatus was obliged to return to
Macedon, to defend his kingdom against an invasion by Alexander,
King of Epirus, the son and successor of Pyrrhus. Alexander had
in the meantime achieved so many victories that he was acknowledged
King of Macedonia, but he was finally driven back into Epirus by
Demetrius, the son of Antigonus Gonatus, even losing possession of
his own kingdom. Alexander recovered Epirus, but he wisely confined
himself to his dominions thenceforth. In B. C. 242 Antigonus Gona-
tus captured Corinth, and he was now master of all Greece, with the
exception of Sparta.
A new power now arose in Greece which soon became a formidable
adversary to Macedonian supremacy in Greece, and which at one time
promised fair to revive the former glory and influence of the Hellenic
race. This power was the celebrated Achcean League, which at first con-
sisted only of twelve towns of Achaea associated together for common
Antig-
onus
Gonatus.
His War
with
Pyrrhus.
Death of
Pyrrhus.
Wars of
Antig-
onus
Gonatus.
The
Achaean
League.
1022
THE GPLECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Aratus
of
Sicyon.
Deme-
trius II.
His Wars.
Rome's
First
Interfer-
ence in
Greece.
Philip V.
and
Antig-
onus
Doson.
The
.3£tolian
League.
The
Spartan
Kings
Agis III.
and
Cleome-
nes.
defense and forming a little confederated republic, all the towns being
equally represented in the federal government, which was entrusted
with all matters concerning the general welfare, while each town re-
tained the right of managing its own domestic affairs. The Achaean
League did not possess much political influence until about the middle
of the third century before Christ, when Aratus, an exile from Sicyon,
with a few followers, took the city by surprise in the night, and,
without the cost of a single life, liberated it from the sway of the
tyrants who had long oppressed it with their despotic rule (B. C. 251).
Dreading the hostility of the King of Macedon, Aratus induced Sicyon
to join the Achaean League. Aratus soon became the idol of the
Achasans, and soon after the accession of Sicyon to the League he
was placed at the head of the Achaean armies. Corinth, which had
been seized by a stratagem of Antigonus Gonatus of Macedon, and
whose citadel was occupied by a Macedonian garrison, was delivered
by a gallant enterprise of Aratus of Sicyon, and was also induced to
join the Achaean League. Other cities joined the confederacy; but
Argos and Corinth, influenced by the Spartans, at length seceded from
the League. In wars with the Macedonians, the Achaeans triumphed.
Upon the death of Antigonus Gonatus, B. C. 239, his son, DEME-
TRIUS II., became King of Macedon and Greece. By entering into
an alliance with Epirus, Demetrius alienated the /Etolians, the enemies
of Epirus, whereupon the JEtolians joined their forces with those of the
Achaean League against Macedon. Demetrius drove the allied Achaean
and ^Etolian forces from Thessaly and Boeotia, but he lost the Pelopon-
nesus. The ^Etolians committed a series of aggressions upon Acar-
nania, thus bringing down the intervention of Rome in Grecian affairs
for the first time, the Romans forcing the ^Etolians to respect the
integrity of Acarnania. In B. C. 228 the Romans obtained a footing
in Greece by making themselves masters of Corcyra, Apollonia and
Epidamnus. Demetrius II. died in B. C. 227, and was succeeded by
his son PHILIP V., a boy of eight years, whose near kinsman, Antigonus
Doson, was made regent.
Besides the King of Macedon, the enemies of the Acha?an League
were the ^Ktolian League and the Spartans. The yEtolian League,
which was a confederation of the rudest of the Grecian tribes, had by
degrees extended its supremacy over Locris, Phocis, Boeotia and other
Grecian states. The valiant Spartan kings, Agis III. and Cle6menes,
endeavored to restore the ancient glory and greatness of Lacedaemon
by reviving the long-neglected laws of Lycurgus, the foundation of
Sparta's former glory. They met with considerable opposition from
the wealthy and aristocratic citizens of Lacedaemon, and Agis III. was
cruelly murdered in prison; but Cle6menes succeeded in his endeavors
MACEDON AND GREECE.
by causing the opponents to his schemes to be removed by assassination.
The ambitious Cleomenes aimed at the elevation of Sparta to the rank
of the first power in Greece ; and as the Achaean League was the chief
obstacle in the way of his cherished designs, all his energies were
directed to efforts for the dissolution of that formidable confederacy.
Seeing that the liberties of Greece were in greater danger from
Spartan than from Macedonian ambition, Aratus of Sicyon, the
Achaean chieftain, entered into an alliance with Antigonus Doson of
Macedon, the old enemy of the Achaean League. Cleomenes was de-
feated in the battle of Sellasia, B. C. 221, and obliged to flee to Egypt,
Sparta being captured by the Macedonian regent.
Upon the death of the regent Antigonus Doson, in B. C. 220, Philip
V., at the age of seventeen, assumed the government of Macedon and
Greece. The wise policy of Antigonus Doson had won great advan-
tages for Macedon, but the young king soon lost these advantages.
He began his reign with a war with the JEtolian League, the ^Etolians
taking advantage of his youth to invade Messenia. Aratus of Sicyon,
the famed leader of the Achaean League, went to the aid of Messenia
with an Achaean army, but was defeated, whereupon the frightened
Achaean League implored the assistance of the King of Macedon, and
Philip V. very readily responded to this appeal. He won several vie-
tories over the yEtolians, and made peace with the JEtoh'an League
in B. C. 217.
Philip V. of Macedon now turned his attention to a new foe. He
aimed to drive the Romans from the eastern coast of Italy and conquer
the Italian peninsula. He accordingly entered into an alliance with
the Carthaginians against the Romans in the Second Punic War after
Hannibal's great victory over the Romans at Lake Trasimenus in B.
C. 217. The first Macedonian ambassadors were captured by the
Romans, but the alliance between Macedon and Carthage was suc-
cessfully concluded in B. C. 214, after two years' negotiations.
Philip V. began his war with Rome by besieging Apollonia, the
main Roman seaport in Illyricum, and capturing Oricum ; but he soon
learned that he had underrated the power of Rome. The Romans
under Marcus Valerius Lsevinus surprised the Macedonian camp and
forced Philip to burn his ships and make a hasty retreat. But the
ambitious Macedonian king still cherished his schemes against the
Roman Republic, but committed the fatal mistake of arousing the
enmity of the Greeks by his arbitrary and insolent treatment of them.
When Aratus of Sicyon displeased Philip by advising him not to en-
ter into an alliance with the Carthaginians in their war against the
Romans the Macedonian king caused the valiant leader of the Achaean
League to be poisoned, B. C. 213.
Battle of
of
par '
Philip V.
uace<lon
His War
League.
Alliance
Of
Sicyon.
Philip V.
^ith"
Rome, as
His
Blunders.
Death of
gicyon?
1024
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Philip's
Disasters.
Philopoe-
men, the
Successor
of
Aratus of
Sicyon.
Philip's
New
Wars.
Philip's
Second
War with
Rome.
Philip's
Outrages.
In B. C. 211 the Romans, after recovering from their disasters in
Italy, formed an alliance with the ^tolians, Eleans, Spartans, II-
lyrians, and Attains, King of Pergamus, and thus attacked Philip in
his own dominions, pressing him so hard that he was obliged to implore
aid from Carthage instead of being able to send help to Hannibal.
The Romans captured Zacynthos, Nesos and (Eniadae, Anticyra in
Locris, and the island of ^Egina, and bestowed them on the ^Etolians.
The first two years of the war were signalized with varying success.
The successor of Aratus of Sicyon in the administration of the
affairs of the Achaean League was the talented and virtuous Philo-
poemen, who inaugurated a series of beneficent reforms among the
Achseans, which seemed to promise a revival of the fading glories
of ancient Greece. He subdued the Spartans by defeating them
at Mantinea in B. C. 207 and compelled them to abolish the laws of
Lycurgus and to join the Achaean League. In a general assembly of
the Greeks, Philopoemen was hailed as the restorer of Grecian liberty.
Philopoemen's victory enabled Philip V. of Macedon to dictate peace
to the ^Etolians. The Romans, in order to devote all their energy
against Carthage, now granted the King of Macedon generous terms
of peace, B. C. 205.
The unscrupulous and reckless ambition of Philip V. of Macedon
soon again involved him in war with the Romans. In B. C. 205 he
concluded a treaty with Antiochus the Great of Syria for the parti-
tion of the possessions of the Ptolemies of Egypt, thus hoping to gain
Thrace and a part of Asia Minor. This involved him in a war with
Rhodes and Pergamus, B. C. 203, which espoused the Egyptian cause
in self-defense. In B. C. 201 the Macedonian fleet was signally de-
feated by the allied squadron off Chios. Philip afterward gained the
victory of Lade, and made himself master of Thasos, Samos, Chios in
Caria, and of several places in Ionia. Philip was thus mainly success-
ful in this war, but his success was more than counterbalanced by his
winning the enmity of two powerful naval states and the ill-will of
^Etolia.
But a more serious consequence to Philip V. was the renewal of his
war with Rome. Pergamus was an ally of Rome, and as such had
been included in the previous peace treaty. In B. C. 200 Rome
remonstrated with Philip upon his violation of the treaty and the
wanton war upon her ally, but her warning was disregarded. Rome,
having ended her second war with Carthage, was now free to fight
Macedon once more, and renewed her war with that kingdom.
When the Romans declared war against Philip V. he was besieging
Athens. When a Roman fleet arrived for the relief of the city he
was obliged to retire. But before he withdrew he vented his anger
MACEDON AND GREECE.
1025
by barbarously destroying the gardens and the buildings in the suburbs,
among which were the Lyceum and the tombs of the Attic heroes.
Soon afterwards he returned with larger reinforcements and perpe-
trated additional outrages. Some of the Grecian states supported
Rome, some adhered to Macedon, while others maintained neutrality.
While affairs remained in such condition neither party gained any
decided advantage, but in B. C. 198 the Roman Consul Quinctius
Flaminius induced the Aclwean League to enter into an alliance with
Rome, while at the same time he proclaimed himself the champion of
the separate independence of the Grecian states, being joined by
almost all of them.
In B. C. 197 the Macedonian army was thoroughly defeated by
the Roman army under Flaminius in a decisive battle fought inThessaly,
near a range of low hills, called from their peculiar shape, Cynos-
cephala?, or dog's heads. This decisive defeat, and the threatened
invasion of Macedon by a combined army of Romans, Ulyrians and
Dardanians, along with a threatened attack by sea from the fleets of
Rome, Pergamus and Rhodes, obliged Philip V. to solicit peace. By
the treaty of peace which followed, B. C. 196, the King of Macedon
was obliged to acknowledge the independence of Greece, to withdraw
his garrisons from the Greek towns, to surrender his fleet to the Ro-
mans and to pay to Rome a war indemnity of a thousand talents. At
the Isthmian Games, the Roman general, to gratify the vanity of the
Greeks, proclaimed the liberation of Greece from Macedonian oppres-
sion ; but the Romans were now as intent on extending their supremacy
over Greece as the King of Macedon had been in maintaining his sway
there, and it was not until two years later that the Roman armies were
withdrawn from Greece, B. C. 194.
In the final settlement of Grecian affairs the Romans assigned to
the Greek states smaller limits than they had formerly possessed, and
left the Achsean and JEtolian Leagues as a check upon each other.
Most of the Greek states were satisfied with the new arrangement, as
the separate independence of each Hellenic state was guaranteed; but
the .-Etolians were dissatisfied, and sought to persuade Macedon,
Sparta and Syria to assist them to overthrow the settlement. Anti-
ochus the Great, King of Syria, responded favorably to the solicita-
tions of the ^Etolians. He invaded Greece with an army too small
for the undertaking, and was defeated by the Romans at Thermopylae,
B. C. 191, and driven into Asia Minor, where he suffered a most dis-
astrous defeat in the great battle of Magnesia, B. C. 190, and was
compelled to accept a disadvantageous peace. The ^Etolians were
obliged to submit unconditionally to Rome and to become her subject
allies.
Rome's
Grecian
Allies.
Battle of
Cynos-
cephalae.
Grecian
Independ-
ence.
The New
Settle-
ment.
Roman-
Syrian
War.
Battle of
Magnesia.
1026
THE GR.ECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
The
Achaean
League
under
Philopoe-
men.
Death of
Philopce-
men.
Philip's
Relations
with
Rome.
Persens
and His
Warlike
Prepara-
tions.
The overthrow of the ^Etolians aided the growth of the Achaean
League in power and importance under the encouragement of the
Romans. Under the guidance of the able and upright Philopremen,
this league made very marked and rapid advance. In B. C. 192
Sparta joined the confederacy, and the next year the last of the Pelo-
ponnesian states which had held aloof from the league — Elis and Mes-
sene — entered the confederation, which now embraced all the Pelopon-
nesian states, along with Magara and other small states beyond the
Peloponnesus. The Messenians attempting to secede from the Achaean
League, Philopremen was sent to reduce them to submission; but being
taken prisoner, the valiant Achaean leader was compelled to drink the
cup of poison, B. C. 183. Thus perished " the Last of the Greeks."
The Achjeans, however, captured Messene the following year, and put
the murderers of Philopcemen to death.
Philip V. of Macedon had remained at peace since his great defeat
at Cynoscephalae, with the exception of having assisted Rome against
Antiochus the Great of Syria and the ^tolian League. As a reward
for this service, the Romans permitted the King of Macedon to extend
his dominion over portions of Thrace and Thessaly; but when the
Romans had no further use for his assistance they ordered him to relin-
quish all his dominions except Macedonia proper. In the negotiations
which ensued, and which were conducted on Philip's part by his second
son, Demetrius, who had long resided at Rome as a hostage, the Roman
Senate modified its demands to some extent in consideration of its
friendship for the young prince; which led Perseus, Philip's eldest
son, to accuse his brother of treason, through motives of jealousy.
Perseus forged letters to sustain his accusations, thus causing Philip
V. to have Demetrius put to death. Philip discovered the falsity of
the charges against Demetrius when too late, and his remorse for the
death of Demetrius hastened Philip's own death, which occurred two
years later, B. C. 179.
Philip V. had intended to leave the Macedonian crown to a distant
relative named Antigonus, to punish Perseus for having caused the
death of Demetrius, but Antigonus being absent from the Macedonian
court at the time of Philip's death, Perseus ascended the Macedonian
throne without opposition. Philip's last years had been spent in mak-
ing preparations for a renewal of the inevitable struggle with Rome,
and Perseus continued these preparations with diligence. The mines
were worked very industriously and the Macedonian treasury was filled.
The losses in the Macedonian population were made good by import-
ing colonies from Thrace. The Macedonian army was augmented and
thoroughly disciplined. Alliances were made by Macedon with the
Illyrians, Gauls and Germans, whose assistance against Rome the King
MACEDON AND GREECE.
1027
of Macedon confidently expected. These warlike preparations con-
tinued eight years, and Perseus might have drawn all Greece to his
standard, as there was a large party in Hellas that preferred the
Macedonian to the Roman supremacy ; but as he wavered and pursued
a selfish and penurious policy he lost his opportunity.
In B. C. 172 Eumenes, King of Pergamus, formally accused Per-
seus before the Roman Senate of hostile designs. On his way back
home, Eumenes was murdered near Delphi; and believing Perseus to
be responsible for the murder, the Romans declared war against him.
In B. C. 171 the Romans landed in Epirus, and during the next few
months they induced the Greek states to join their side. They sup-
pressed the Boeotian confederacy, the ally of Macedon, and won over
Thessaly and Achsea. The friends of Perseus everywhere were
crushed. During these months Perseus himself was induced to accept
a truce. When the Romans were ready they advanced into Thessaly,
but were at first defeated by Perseus, who, however, neglected to follow
up his victory. In B. C. 168 the Roman Consul ^Emilius Paulus in-
flicted a crushing defeat on Perseus in the great and decisive battle
of Pydna. The defeated Macedonian king fled to the island of Samo-
thrace, but was soon obliged to surrender to a Roman squadron, where-
upon he was taken to Rome to grace the triumph of his conqueror,
after which he was thrown into a dungeon, but ^Emilius Paulus gener-
ously interceded in his behalf, and he was permitted to pass the rest
of his life in mild captivity at Alba.
The battle of Pydna sealed the fate of the Kingdom of Macedon,
which became a Roman province. As a compensation for the loss of
their independence, the Macedonians were required to pay to Rome
a tribute equal to only one-half of the taxes they had paid to their
own kings. Another result of the last war between Macedon and
Rome was the establishment of the Roman supremacy over four-fifths
of Greece. All the Hellenic confederacies except the Achaean League
were dissolved.
The Romans determined that it was best for them to be without ri-
vals in Greece and that the Achaean League should submit to Roman
sovereignty. In B. C. 167 the Roman Republic demanded of the
league the trial of one thousand of its chief citizens on accusation of
a secret understanding with Perseus. The Achaean assembly was
obliged to comply with the Roman demand, and the entire one thou-
sand Achaean leaders were seized and carried to Rome as hostages, and
were imprisoned in Etruscan towns. The Achaean captives were kept
in prison seventeen years without a hearing. After seven hundred of
them had died, the remaining three hundred were released and allowed
to return to Greece, burning with vengeance against the Romans.
Perseus
and His
War with
Rome.
Battle of
Pydn*
Roman
Annexa-
tion of
Macedon.
Captivity
of
Achaean
Chiefs at
Rome.
1028
THE GtLECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Roman Twenty years after the overthrow of the Macedonian monarchy,
of the arrogance of the Romans, who assisted the Spartans in a war
Greece, against the Achseans, and who demanded that the Achasan League
should be reduced to its original limits, induced the Achaeans to take
up arms in defense of the independence of Greece against Roman en-
croachments (B. C. 148). The Achseans were defeated in several
bloody battles, and finally the Roman army, commanded by the Consul
Mummius, took Corinth by storm and reduced it to ashes. Greece
then became a Roman province under the name of Achaea (B. C. 146).
Thus ends the history of the celebrated and once-flourishing republics
of Ancient Greece. We shall next proceed to a brief notice of the
several powerful and extensive kingdoms that arose from the dis-
memberment of the vast empire of Alexander the Great.
KINGS OF MACEDON.
B. C.
KINGS.
B. C.
KINGS.
795
Caranus.
360
Philip the Great
\ Dates uncertain.
Thurymas. |
336
324
Alexander the Great
Philip Arrhidaeus.
729
Perdiccas I.
317
Cassander.
684
Argaeus.
298
Philip IV.
640
Philip I.
297
Alexander IV. and Antipater.
^Eropus. \ r\ i _j. •
294
Demetrius I.
Alectas. / "^
287
Pyrrhus.
540
Amyntas I.
286
Lysimachus of Thrace.
500
Alexander I.
281
Ptolemy Ceraunus.
454
Perdiccas II.
280
Meleager.
433
Archelaus.
278
Sosthenes.
399
Orestes.
277
Antigonus Gonatus.
394
Pausanias.
239
Demetrius II.
393
Amyntas II.
227
Antigonus Doson.
369
Alexander II.
220
Philip V.
366
Ptolemy.
178
Perseus (to 168 B. C.).
364
Perdiccas III.
Seleucns
L,
Nicator.
His Do-
minions
and Con-
quests.
SECTION II.— SYRIAN EMPIRE OF THE SELEUCIDJE.
THE Syrian Empire of the Seleucidse dates from the year B. C. 312.
After SELEUCUS had been restored to the government of Babylonia, in
that year, he extended his dominion over all the provinces of Alexan-
der's empire between the Euphrates on the west and the Indus on the
east, and between the Jaxartes on the north and the Erythraean (now
Arabian) Sea on the south. He also waged war against an Indian
kingdom upon the western head-waters of the Ganges, thereby acquir-
ing a vast extension of commerce, and the addition of five hundred
elephants to his army. After the victory of Antfgonus off the Cy-
r
From Stereograph, copyright iqoo by Underwood &• Underwood
BAALBEK, ONCE THE MOST MAGNIFICENT CITY IN SYRIA
SYRIAN EMPIRE OF THE SELEUCID^. 1029
prian Salamis, Seleucus assumed the royal title. The battle of Ipsus
(B. C. 301) gave Seleucus the dominion of the country as far west
as the Mediterranean, and gave him possession of Cappadocia, part
of Phrygia, Northern Syria, and the right bank of the middle Euphra-
tes, as his share of the territory which the conquerors divided between
them ; thus making his kingdom by far the most extensive that had been
formed from the fragments of Alexander's vast empire.
Seleucus I., Nicator, thoroughly organized his extensive dominion, Provinces
which was the most important of all the monarchies which sprang cutes
from the fragments of Alexander's empire. He divided his dominions
into seventy-two provinces, all of which were placed under the rule
of Greek or Macedonian governors. A standing army of native troops
was organized and officered by Greeks or Macedonians. New cities
sprang up in each of the seventy-two provinces, as monuments of the
power of Seleucus, and as centers of Greek civilization. Sixteen of
these cities were named Antioch, in honor of the father of Seleucus ;
five Laodicea, in honor of his mother, Laodice ; seven Seleucia, in honor
of himself; and several in honor of his two wives, Apamea and Stra-
tonice. For the purpose of watching the movements of his rivals,
Ptolemy and Lysimachus, more effectually, Seleucus removed his capi-
tal from Babylon to the new city of Antioch, on the Orontes, which
for almost a thousand years remained one of the largest and most
celebrated cities of the East. The new cities of Seleucia and Antioch
in Syria became the centers of Grecian culture and refinement in Asia.
The ancient Baalbec — the Greek Heliopolis — was a splendid city, as
attested by its ruins.
In B. C. 293, Seleucus divided his empire with his son Antiochus, The Sons
giving him all the provinces east of the Euphrates. Demetrius Poli- SeleQfcus
orcetes, who had won and lost Macedonia, invaded the dominions of
Lysimachus in Asia Minor in B. C. 287, for the purpose of acquiring
for himself a new kingdom with his sword. Failing in this quarter,
he invaded Cilicia and attacked the dominions of Seleucus, by whom
he was defeated and held a prisoner the remainder of his life.
In B. C. 281 Lysimachus, King of Thrace, murdered his son, at the Seleocus
instigation of his Egyptian wife, Arsinoe, and her brother, Ptolemy j^*"^.
Ceraunus; thus alienating the affections of his subjects. The widow chus of
of the murdered prince fled to the court of Seleucus, who espoused her Tlirace'
cause and invaded the dominions of Lysimachus in Asia Minor. Se-
leucus and Lysmmchus, now both aged, were the only survivors of
Alexander's companions and generals. Lysimachus was defeated and
slain in the battle of Corupedion (B. C. 281), and all his possessions
in Asia Minor fell into the hands of the victorious Seleucus, who thus
became master of the greater part of the empire of Alexander the
1080
THE GR^ECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Antio-
chus I.,
Soter.
His Wars.
Antio-
chus II.,
Theos.
His Wars.
His
Domestic
Troubles.
Seleucus
II., Cal-
linicus.
War with
Ptolemy
Euergetes
of Egypt.
Great. After committing the government of his present dominion to
his son, Antiochus, the triumphant Seleucus crossed the Hellespont
into Thrace and advanced to Lysimachia, the capital of his late rival,
but was there assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus, who thereby became
King of Thrace and Macedonia (B. C. 280).
ANTIOCHUS L, Soter, the son of Seleucus, inherited his father's
Asiatic dominions, and soon after his accession he waged war against
the native kings of Bithynia, one of whom, Nicomedes, called to his
aid the Gauls, who were then ravaging Thrace, Macedonia and Greece,
and rewarded them for their assistance by assigning them a large ter-
ritory in Northern Phrygia, which had formed part of the dominions
of Antiochus, and which was thereafter called Galdtia. North-western
Lydia was likewise wrested from Antiochus and erected into the King-
dom of Pergamus. Antiochus acquired the title of Soter (the Deliv-
erer), from his only important victory over the Gauls (B. C. 275) ;
but his operations were generally unsuccessful, and his kingdom was
very much diminished in wealth and power during his reign. Anti-
ochus Soter was defeated and killed in battle with the Gauls, near
Ephesus, in B. C. 261.
ANTIOCHUS II., Theos (the God), who bore such a blasphemous
title, succeeded his father Antiochus Soter. He was a weak and licen-
tious monarch, and abandoned his government to his wives and disso-
lute favorites, who were neither feared nor respected in the remote
provinces, and the empire rapidly declined. In the East, Bactria and
Parthia revolted and formed themselves into independent kingdoms.
These new monarchies greatly reduced the dominions of the Seleucidae
in the East. Through the influence of his wife, Laodice, Antiochus
Theos became involved in a war with Egypt, which he ended by divorc-
ing his wife and marrying Berenice, the daughter of Ptolemy Phila-
delphus, King of Egypt.
On the death of Ptolemy Philadelphus, Antiochus sent away Bere-
nice and took back his former wife, Laodice, who, doubting his con-
stancy, murdered him, along with Berenice and her infant son, to
secure the kingdom for her son, Seleucus (B. C. 246).
SELEUCUS II., Callinicus, the son of Antiochus Theos and La6dice,
succeeded his father, and was at once involved in a war with Pt61emy
Euergetes, King of Egypt, who invaded the dominions of the Seleu-
cidae to avenge the murder of his sister and nephew, and who the next
year conquered almost the whole Syrian Empire, becoming master of
all Asia west of the Tigris, excepting part of Lydia and Phrygia;
even Susiana, Media and Persia submitting to the invader, who car-
ried his victorious arms as far east as the Indus. But his severe exac-
tions aroused discontent, and a revolt in Egypt called him home, where-
SYRIAN EMPIRE OF THE SELEUCID^. 1031
upon he lost all his conquests, Seleucus reestablishing his authority
from the Indus on the east to the JEgean on the west. Soon afterward
Antiochus Hierax (the Hawk), younger brother of the king, only
fourteen years old, revolted and was aided by his uncle and a troop of
Gauls ; while, at the same time, the Parthian king, Arsaces II., gained War ^^
some important advantages in the East, and signally defeated Seleucus an(j
Callinicus in a great battle (B. C. 237). The civil war between Parthia.
Seleucus and his youthful brother continued until B. C. 229, when Civil
the rebellious prince was defeated and obliged to flee for his life. War*
Seleucus Callinicus was killed by a fall from his horse (B. C. 226).
SELEUCUS III., Ceraunus, the son and successor of Seleucus Callini- Seleucus
cus, reigned only three years ; and in an expedition against Attalus, ceraun'us
King of Pergamus, he was killed by some of his mutinous officers (B.
C. 223).
ANTIOCHUS III., the Great, the great-grandson of Seleucus, the Antiochus
founder of the dynasty of the Seleiicidae, had an eventful reign of (jre'at e
thirty-six years (B. C. 223-187). He began his reign by crushing
the revolt of Molo, the ablest of his generals, who had made himself Revolt of
master of the provinces east of the Euphrates, and had annihilated Mol°-
every army sent against him. Antiochus finally defeated Molo in B.
C. 220, after which he waged war with Ptolemy Philopator, King of War with
Egypt, for the recovery of Phoenicia and Palestine, which had hitherto -p^^J.
been held by Ptolemy. He first conquered those provinces; Palestine tor of
having become alienated from Egypt by Ptolemy Philopator's profan- ^^ '
ation of the Temple of Jerusalem, and willingly submitting to Anti-
ochus the Great, who advanced southwards and encountered the Egyp-
tian army at Raphia, where he suffered a great defeat, which deprived
him of all his conquests except Seleucia in Syria, the port of Antiochi
(B. C. 217).
Archseus, the cousin of Antiochus, and hitherto the loyal servant of Revolt of
Antiochus and his father, had revolted in consequence of the false ac- Archaeus.
cusations of Hermias, the king's prime minister. Archasus made him-
self master of all the provinces west of the Taurus mountain-range.
After making peace with the King of Egypt, Antiochus the Great
marched against the rebel chieftain, wrested all his possessions from
him in one campaign, besieged him in Sardis two years, and finally
captured him by treachery and caused him to be put to death (B. C.
214).
Antiochus then led an army to the eastern portion of his empire to Wan
meet the Parthian king Arsaces III., who was advancing toward vvf^-
Media. By a rapid march across the desert to Hecat6mpylos, the and
Parthian capital, Antiochus took that city (B. C. 213), after which
he passed the mountains and entered Hyrcania, where he fought an
3-27
1032
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Arabs
Chas-
tised.
War with
Ptolemy
Epipha-
nes of
Egypt.
War with
Rome.
indecisive battle with the Parthians, in consequence of which he agreed
to a treaty of peace, by which he acknowledged the independence of
Parthia and Hyrcania as one kingdom under Arsaces. Antiochus
then made war on Bactria, but after he had won some successes he made
peace with the Bactrian king, Euthydemus, leaving him in possession
of Bactria and Sogdiana. A marriage was arranged between the
daughter of the Bactrian king, Euthydemus, and Demetrius, the son
of Antiochus. Antiochus then crossed the Hindoo Koosh mountain-
range and penetrated into India, where he renewed the old alliance of
Seleucus Nicator with the Indian kingdom of that region, after which
he returned home through Arachosia, Drangiana and Carmania, win-
tering in the last-named province. The next year Antiochus under-
took a naval expedition in the Persian Gulf against the Arabs on the
western shore of that body of water, to punish them for their piracies,
after which he returned home (B. C. 205), after an absence of seven
years, whereupon he received the title of the Great, by which name he
is generally known in history.
Antiochus now renewed his designs against Egypt, in which coun-
try Ptolemy Epiphanes, a child of only five years, succeeded his father,
Ptolemy Philopator, the government being conducted by a regent.
Antiochus, considering the opportunity favorable for aggrandizing
himself at the expense of the Egyptian monarchy, made a treaty with
Philip V. of Macedon to divide the kingdom of the Ptolemies between
them. Philip's designs were interrupted by his unfortunate war with
Rome ; but Antiochus prosecuted hostilities with great activity in Cosle-
Syria, Phrenicia and Palestine, and recovered those provinces by the
decisive battle of Paneas, B. C. 198. Antiochus gave his daughter
Cleopatra in marriage to Ptolemy Epiphanes, the young King of
Egypt, and promised Coele-Syria and Palestine as her dower, but
neither Antiochus nor his successors fulfilled this promise. Antiochus
then overran Asia Minor, crossed the Hellespont, and seized the Thra-
cian Chersonesus.
In B. C. 196, the Romans, after having defeated Philip V. of Mace-
don and assumed the protectorate of Egypt, sent an embassy to Anti-
ochus the Great, requiring him to surrender all the conquests of terri-
tory which he had made from Egypt and from Macedon. Antiochus
rejected this intervention of the great republic of the West with in-
tense indignation, and prepared for war, with the assistance of Han-
nibal, the great Carthaginian leader, who had found refuge at his
court. In B. C. 192 Antiochus invaded Greece and took Chalcis, but
he was decisively defeated by the Romans at Thermopylae and forced
to retire into Asia Minor. The Romans followed up their success,
and by two naval victories wrested from Antiochus the whole western
SYRIAN EMPIRE OF THE SELEUCID^.
1033
coast of Asia Minor. The Roman army under the two Scipios crossed
the Hellespont into Asia Minor, and in the great battle of Magnesia,
in Lydia, B. C. 190, reduced Antiochus to such straits that he was
obliged to sue for peace, which he only obtained by ceding all Asia
Minor except Cilicia to the Romans, and by agreeing to pay a war-
indemnity of fifteen thousand talents, equal to about fifteen million
dollars, and giving twenty hostages, among whom was his son, Anti-
ochus Epfphanes, for the payment. The territory which Antiochus
surrendered to the Romans was given to the Kingdom of Pergamus,
which was thus sufficiently powerful to serve as a check upon the Syr-
ian Empire of the Seleucida?. These losses were followed by the revolt
of Armenia, which succeeded in establishing its independence of the
Seleucidae (B. C. 190). While endeavoring to suppress the Armenian
revolt, Antiochus, in order to obtain the money to pay the indemnity
imposed upon him by the Romans, plundered the temples of Asia of
their treasures, thus exciting a tumult in Elymai's, in which he lost his
life (B. C. 187).
SELEUCUS IV., Philopator, succeeded his father, Antiochus the
Great, and had an uneventful reign of eleven years. His kingdom
was exhausted, and the Romans were ready to seize any of its exposed
provinces if he made the least hostile movement. Seleucus Philopator
was finally assassinated by his treasurer, HELIODORUS, who then
usurped the Syrian crown (B. C. 176), but the usurper was soon over-
thrown by ANTIOCHUS IV., Epfphanes, the brother of Seleucus Philop-
ator, who, aided by Eumenes, King of Pergamus, established him-
self upon the throne.
Antiochus Epfphanes had been a hostage at Rome thirteen years,
and after his accession he introduced many Roman customs into his
kingdom, to the utter surprise of his subjects. He waged war with
Armenia, and, irritated at the demand of Ptolemy Philometor, King
of Egypt, for the surrender of Syria and Palestine, which his father
had promised as a dowry to the wife of Ptolemy Epfphanes, he invaded
Egypt, and had almost conquered the country when the Romans in-
terfered and compelled him to relinquish all his conquests. Being
thus obliged to obey the Romans, Antfochus Epfphanes vented his rage
upon the Jews by capturing Jerusalem by assault, and plundering and
desecrating the Temple. His attempt to suppress the worship of
Jehovah, and to introduce the Grecian polytheism into Judsea, aroused
the Jews to revolt, and that people flew to arms under the leadership
of the High Priest, Mattathfas, and his heroic son, Judas Maccabaeus,
and several times defeated the army sent by Antfochus Epfphanes to
subdue them. Antfochus, who was then hi the East, set out in person
to punish the Jews for this insult to his authority. On the way he
Battle of
Magnesia.
Humiliat-
ing
Peace.
Revolt of
Armenia.
Seleucus
IV., Phi-
lopator.
Heliodo-
rus.
Antio-
chus IV.,
Epipha-
nes.
His
Wars
with
Armenia
and
Ptolemy
Philome-
tor of
Egypt.
His
Attempt
to Sup-
press the
Jewish
Worship.
1034
THE GILECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Jewish
Revolt
under the
Macca-
bees.
Antio-
chus V.,
Eupator.
Lysias
and
Philip.
Wars
with
Judas
Macca-
baeus,
Parthians
and
Romans.
Deme-
trius I.,
Soter.
His
Failure in
Judaea.
His Over-
throw and
Death.
Alexan-
der Balas.
stopped to plunder the temple at Elymai's, but was seized with a super-
stitious insanity which caused his death (B. C. 164). Both the Jews
and the Greeks believed that his madness was inflicted upon him as a
punishment for his sacrilege.
ANTIOCHUS V., Eupator, the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, succeeded
his father. As he was only twelve years old, the government was con-
ducted by Lysias as regent. Lysias and the youthful king proceeded
to Judaea to prosecute the war against the rebellious Jews, and forced
Judas Maccab.Tus to shut himself up in Jerusalem and besieged the
city. Philip, whom Antfochus Epiphanes had appointed guardian of
his son, now appeared at Antioch with the royal signet and seized the
government. When Lysias heard of this, he immediately caused the
young king to make peace with Judas Maccabasus, and at once re-
turned to Antioch, defeated Philip, captured him, and put him to
death. Lysias appears to have cared nothing for the interests of the
kingdom, as he made no effort to check the Parthians, who were over-
running the eastern provinces of the kingdom, and as he did not resist
the Romans, who were ravaging the kingdom on the west and harshly
enforcing the terms of the treaty made with Antiochus the Great.
In the midst of the serious danger thus threatening the kingdom of
the Seleucida?, Demetrius, the son of Seleucus Philopator, escaped from
Rome, where he had been kept for many years as a hostage, and seized
the throne, after causing both Antiochus Eupator and Lysias to be
put to death (B. C. 162).
DEMETRIUS I., Soter, spent years in unsuccessful efforts to crush
the Jewish rebellion. He was at first successfully resisted by Judas
Maccabseus ; but when that valiant chieftain perished in battle, the
Romans entered into an alliance with the Jews and forbade Demetrius
to conquer the revolted province of Judaea, which they recognized as
an independent kingdom under the Maccabees. Demetrius then en-
deavored to dethrone Ariarathes, King of Cappadocia, and bestowed
the Cappadocian crown upon Orophernes, his illegitimate brother.
The deposed satrap of Babylon instigated the impostor, Alexander
Balas, an illegitimate son of Antiochus Epiphanes, to claim the Syrian
crown. The pretender was aided by the forces of Rome, Cappadocia,
Pergamus, Egypt and Judaea, which had entered into an alliance in
his interest; and when Demetrius was slain in battle, B. C. 151, his
rival acquired the crown.
ALEXANDER BALAS reigned five years. His success was chiefly ow-
ing to Egypt, and he had married Cleopatra, the daughter of the
Egyptian king, Ptolemy Philometor; but he proved himself wholly
unfit for his royal station, as he relinquished the government to a
worthless favorite named Ammonius, and abandoned himself to licen-
SYRIAN EMPIRE OF THE SELEUCID.E. 1035
tiousness and self-indulgence. His ingratitude to his father-in-law,
Ptolemy Philometor, caused that monarch to withdraw his support, and
to take his daughter Cleopatra from him and give her in marriage to
Demetrius Nicator, the son of Demetrius I., who had been encouraged
to make pretensions to the crown in consequence of the hatred of the
Syrians towards Alexander Balas. Demetrius Nicator landed in Cili-
cia, and, aided by the Egyptian arm}" under King Ptolemy Philometor,
defeated Alexander Balas in a battle near Antioch, whereupon Alex- **is ^yerr
ander fled into Arabia, where he was assassinated by his own officers Murder.
(B. C. 146).
DEMETRIUS II., Nicator, soon alienated the favor of his subjects by ?em^T
his tyranny and cruelty. The people of Antioch having rebelled Nicator.'
against him, he permitted his body-guard, composed of Jewish mer-
cenaries, to plunder the city. Diodotus Tryphon, of Apamea, now
set up ANTIOCHUS VI., the two-year-old son of Alexander Balas, as a Antio-
claimant for the crown. Three years later Diodotus removed this in-
fant pretender, and, with the aid of Judas Maccabaeus, declared him-
self king, assuming the name of TRYPHON (B. C. 143). After fight- Tryphon.
ing ineffectually for seven years against his rivals, Demetrius left the
government in Syria to his wife, Cleopatra, as regent, and took the
field against the Parthians, who had almost conquered the eastern
province of the Seleucidre ; but Demetrius, after some successes, was war
defeated and made prisoner by the Parthian king, Arsaces VI., who
kept him in captivity ten years, but treated him with all the honors
of royalty, and gave him a Parthian princess for his second wife.
Unable to maintain her position without assistance, Cleopatra called
to her aid her husband's brother, Antiochus Sidetes, who defeated and
killed the usurper, Diodotus Tryphon, after a war of two years, and
seated himself upon the vacant throne as ANTIOCHUS VII., Sidetes (B. Antio-
C. 137). He married Cleopatra, his brother's wife, who considered
herself free on account of her husband's captivity in Parthia and his
marriage with a Parthian princess. Antiochus Sidetes made war on War with
the Jews, captured Jerusalem, after a siege of almost a year, and again J
reduced Judaea under the dominion of the Seleucidae, in which condi-
tion that country remained two years (B. C. 135-133).
Antiochus Sidetes then led an expedition against the Parthians for War with
the purpose of releasing his brother from captivity. He gained some Parthl*«
success at first, but was finally defeated, with the loss of his arm}', and
slain, after a reign of nine years (B. C. 128). Just before the death
of Antiochus Sidetes, the Parthian king had liberated Demetrius Nica-
tor and sent him to Antioch to claim his crown, for the purpose of
forcing Antiochus to retire from Parthia to preserve his kingdom.
Demetrius Nicator resumed his authority, and the death of his brother
VOL. 3.— 22
10:36
THE GRjECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Deme-
trius
Nicator
and
Zabinas.
Seleucus
V.
Antio-
chus
VIII.,
Grypus.
Zabinas.
Decline of
the
Syrian
Empire
of the
Seleuci-
dae.
Antio-
chus X.,
Cyzice-
nus.
Civil
Wars.
Arab and
Egyptian
Ravages.
Success-
ful
Revolts.
Seleucus
V.
soon afterward left him without a rival for a short time. Ptolemy
Physcon, King of Egypt, soon raised up a pretender named Zabinas,
for the purpose of revenging himself upon Demetrius for the support
which he had given the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Zabinas, who
claimed to be a son of Alexander Balas, defeated Demetrius near Da-
mascus. Thereupon Demetrius fled to his former wife, Cleopatra, at
Ptolemai's (now Acre), but she refused to receive him. He then at-
tempted to enter Tyre, but was captured and put to death (B. C.
126).
SELEUCUS V., the eldest son of Demetrius Nicator, assumed the
crown without the permission of his mother, Cleopatra, who then caused
him to be put to death, and placed herself and her second son, ANTI-
OCHUS VIII., Grypus, on the throne as joint sovereigns. Zabinas, the
pretender, at the same time reigned in part of Syria for seven years,
during which he quarreled with his patron, Ptolemy Physcon, King of
Egypt, who abandoned him (B. C. 124) ; and finally Zabinas was
defeated and captured by Antiochus Grypus, who compelled him to
take poison (B. C. 122). The next year Antiochus Grypus found
his mother conspiring against his life, whereupon he caused her to be
executed.
The Sj'rian Empire of the Seleucidae now enjoyed eight years of
peace, and well did this kingdom need rest, as it was exhausted by the
long foreign wars and the domestic commotions which distracted it,
and had lost Parthia, Bactria, and all the other provinces east of the
Euphrates, along with Judaea, thus becoming a mere petty state, with-
out energy and thoroughly corrupt. The wealth of the country was
in the possession of weak nobles enfeebled by luxury, the masses of
the people being in a condition of abject poverty.
In B. C. 114 the king's half-brother, ANTIOCHUS X., Cyzicenus, the
son of Cleopatra by her third husband, Antiochus Sidetes, headed a
rebellion against the king, thus involving the kingdom in a bloody war
of three years, and finally compelling Antiochus Grypus to divide the
kingdom with him. But the war was renewed in B. C. 105 and con-
tinued until B. C. 96, bringing dreadful loss and misery upon the king-
dom, without any decisive gain to cither party. During this period
Syria was terribly ravaged by the Arabs on the east and by the Egyp-
tians on the south. The province of Cilicia and the cities of Tyre,
Sidon and Seleucia revolted and achieved their independence. Finally,
in B. C. 96, Antiochus Grypus was assassinated by Heracleon, an
officer of the court, who made an unsuccessful effort to seize the crown.
SELEUCUS V., the son of Antfochus Grypus, succeeded his father
on the Syrian throne, and continued the war against Antiochus Cyzi-
cenus, defeating him in a great battle. The vanquished pretender
EGYPT UNDER THE PTOLEMIES.
1037
committed suicide to avoid capture, but his eldest son, ANTIOCHUS XL,
Eusebes, maintained the pretensions of the rival house, assumed the
royal title, and drove Seleucus V. into Cilicia. Seleucus endeavored
to raise money by a forced contribution from the people of the Cilician
town of Mopsuestia, but they seized him and burned him alive.
PHILIP, the brother of Seleucus V., and the second son of Antiochus
Grypus, succeeded to the Syrian throne, and with the assistance of his
younger brothers, DEMETRIUS and ANTIOCHUS DIONYSUS, continued
the war against Eusebes for some years ; and Eusebes was finally de-
feated and obliged to seek refuge in Parthia. But peace was still not
restored to the country, as Philip and his brothers could not agree upon
a satisfactory division of power between them, and made war upon each
other; and the unhappy kingdom only obtained rest when the Syrians,
tired of these dynastic quarrels, invited Tigranes, King of Armenia,
to become their sovereign.
TIGRANES readily accepted the invitation and governed Syria wisely
and well for fourteen years (B. C. 83—69), and the country enjoyed
tranquillity. Finally Tigranes incurred the vengeance of the Ro-
mans by assisting his father-in-law, Mithridates the Great, King of
Pontus, and was forced to relinquish Syria, whose crown was then con-
ferred upon ANTIOCHUS XIII. , Asiaticus, who reigned four years (B.
C. 69-65), and was the last of the Seleucidae. In B. C. 65 the Roman
general, Pompey the Great, defeated Antiochus Asiaticus and con-
verted Syria into a Roman province.
Antio-
chus XI.,
Eusebes.
Philip.
Deme-
trius.
Antio-
chus XII.,
Dionysus.
Civil
Wars.
Tigranes
of
Armenia.
Antio-
chus
XIII.,
Asiaticus.
THE SELEUCID^ OF SYRIA.
B. C.
KINGS.
B. C.
KINGS.
312
280
Seleucus Nicator.
Antiochus Soter.
146
137
Demetrius Nicator (deposed).
Antiochus Sidetes.
261
246
226
223
Antiochus Theos.
Seleucus Callinicus.
Seleucus Ceraunus.
Antiochus the Great.
128
126
111
96
Demetrius Nicator (restored).
Antiochus Grypus.
Antiochus Cyzicenus.
Seleucus V.
187
175
164
162
151
Seleucus Philopator.
Antiochus Epiphanes.
Antiochus Eupator.
Demetrius Soter.
Alexander Balas.
94
85
83
69
Antiochus Eusebes.
Philip.
Tigranes of Armenia.
Antiochus Asiaticus (to B. C.
65).
SECTION III.— EGYPT UNDER THE PTOLEMIES.
THE conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in B. C. 332 en-
tirely changed the character of Egyptian history and of the Egyptian
people, and laid the foundation of their future greatness and glory.
Greek
Civiliza-
tion in
Egypt.
1038
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Greeks,
Jews and
Egyp-
tians.
Commer-
cial and
Intellect-
ual
Activity.
Alexan-
dria, the
Seat of
Com-
merce and
Learning.
Ptolemy
I. Soter,
or Lagi.
Maritime
Power.
He made Alexandria the capital of Egypt, and conferred upon it the
advantages of Greek civilization, which rapidly spread among the
native population. This change brought Egypt into constant and
familiar intercourse with the rest of the world, and the old exclusive-
ness of the ancient Egyptians was forever broken down. Thus the
Macedonian kingdom in Egypt presented a remarkable and striking
contrast to the native kingdoms and the Persian satrapy. When
Palestine was annexed to the Macedonian-Egyptian kingdom, the Jews
were specially favored; and the Gra?co-Macedonian conquerors, the
native Egyptians, and the Jewish merchants — representatives of the
Aryan, Hamitic and Semitic branches of the Caucasian race — were
united as they had never been before. The native Egyptians, who
had never been reconciled to the Medo-Persian dominion, hailed the
Graeco-Macedonians as deliverers. Commercial pursuits were adopted
by the larger portion of the nation. The masses of the people zeal-
ously engaged in the new industries that promised wealth as the reward
of enterprise. The learned class found delight in the intellectual
society and in the rare treasures of literature and art for which the
court of the Ptolemies was distinguished.
The Greek, Macedonian and Jewish elements were principally found
in and about Alexandria. The native Egyptians in the interior of the
country retained the language and religion which they had inherited
from their ancestors; but they were also powerfully affected in man-
ners and thought, and were brought more into intercourse and sym-
pathy with the rest of mankind, by their commingling with the Greeks.
They became the willing subjects of Alexander the Great and his suc-
cessors, the Ptolemies, and under that dynasty they engaged actively
in commerce and commenced the cultivation of a literature which soon
made Alexandria the chief seat of Grecian learning and civilization,
and one of the most renowned cities of the ancient world.
Upon the death of Alexander the Great, in B. C. 324, Egypt was
conferred on PTOLEMY I., Soter, or Lagi, one of his most distinguished
generals. Ptolemy immediately took possession of his share of the
great conqueror's vast empire, and from the very beginning he in-
tended to retain this renowned country for his own personal benefit, and
proceeded, with great wisdom and energy, to its organization into an
independent kingdom for himself and his posterity. He abandoned all
other ambitious designs for the purpose of confining himself to the
strengthening of this country and the development of its internal re-
sources, restricting his conquests to those regions which oould be ac-
quired without too much risk.
Ptolemy's chief effort was to make Egypt a great maritime power,
and in this enterprise he eventually succeeded far beyond his expecta-
EGYPT UNDER THE PTOLEMIES.
1039
tions. To secure the success of this design, he sought to conquer Pal-
estine, Phoenicia and Cyprus, whose forests he needed for ship-build-
ing, and whose hardjr sailors he wanted to man his fleets. He occupied
Palestine and Phoenicia in B. C. 320, and retained possession of them
for six years, after which he lost them in a war with Antigonus, and
only fully recovered them after the battle of Ipsus, in B. C. 301.
Many conflicts occurred in and about Cyprus, the most severe and
decisive of which was the great naval battle off Salamis in B. C. 306.
Ptolemy then lost Cyprus, but recovered it in B. C. 294 or 293, and
that island constituted the most important foreign possession of the
Ptolemies as long as their kingdom remained in existence. The first
Ptolemy also annexed Cyrene and all the Libyan territory between it
and Egypt.
The kingdom founded by Ptolemy Soter was an absolute monarchy,
in which the political power was vested entirely in the king, and was
administered by Macedonian and Greek officials exclusively. The rank
and file of the standing army was likewise composed almost wholly of
Macedonians and Greeks, and was entirely officered by those people.
The Greek inhabitants of the cities alone possessed full civil and polit-
ical freedom. No important changes were, however, made in the po-
litical system or the ancient laws of the land, and Ptolemy reconciled
the native Egyptians to his rule by respecting their laws, religion and
usages. The kingdom remained divided into nomes, each having its
own ruler, who was generally a native Egyptian. The Ptolemies
rebuilt the temples, paid special honor to the bull-deity, Apis, and took
full advantage of all points of resemblance between the Greek and
Egyptian religions. Ptolemy erected a magnificent temple to Serapis
at Alexandria. The priests remained in possession of their privileges
and honors.
As Ptolemy was an author himself, he was a liberal patron of learn-
ing and literature, and pursued the most munificent policy toward men
of genius and letters. He collected the celebrated library of Alexan-
dria and placed it in a building connected with the palace.
He also founded the Museum, which attracted students and profess-
ors from every quarter of the globe. No place ever surpassed Alex-
andria in its intellectual and literary activity, and that city was pre-
eminently " the University of the East." Ptolemy induced the most
renowned scholars of the world to take up their residence at his court ;
and under his auspices Alexandria became what Athens had previously
been — the great center of Greek civilization, learning, wealth and re-
finement, and the great emporium of the world's commerce; while a
mingled civilization — Greek, Egyptian and Jewish — arose in this
famous metropolis of the ancient kingdom of the Pharaohs. In that
Conquest
of
Palestine,
Phoenicia
and
Cyprus.
Political
System.
Religion.
Learning
and
Litera-
ture.
Museum
of Alex-
andria.
1040
THE GR.liCO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Science
and Art
at Alex-
andria.
Edifices
at Alex-
andria.
Ptolemy
IL.Phila-
delphus.
Patronage
of Science
and
Litera-
ture.
Library
at Alex-
andria.
Septua-
gint
Transla-
tion of the
Hebrew
Scrip-
tures.
city Euclid first unfolded the " Kh'inaitx of Geometry" There
Eratosthenes discoursed of geography ; Hipparchus of astronomy ;
Aristophanes and Aristarchus of criticism ; Manetho of history.
There Apelles and Antiphilus added their paintings, and Philetas,
Callimachus and Apollonius their poems for the delight of a court
which has never had a parallel in its munificent patronage of men of
talent and scholarship.
Ptolemy adorned Alexandria with numerous costly and magnificent
edifices, such as the royal Palace ; the Museum ; the great light-house
on the island of Pharos, built of white marble, four hundred feet high,
the light at the top of which could be seen at a distance of forty miles,
and which was one of the Seven Wonders of the World; the mole or
causeway connecting this island with the mainland; the Hippodrome;
the temple of Serapis ; and the Soma, or Mausoleum, to contain the
remains of Alexander the Great. Ptolemy likewise rebuilt the inner
chamber of the great temple at Karnak.
Ptolemy Soter died after a brilliant reign of forty years (B. C. 323-
283), and was succeeded on the throne of Egypt by his renowned son,
PTOLEMY II., Philadelphus, who was then twenty-six years old, and
who had been carefully educated by the learned men whom his father
had gathered at the court of Alexandria. Ptolemy Philadelphus en-
couraged science and literature on a still more liberal scale than did
his illustrious father, and Alexandria reached its zenith of greatness
and glory as the intellectual metropolis of the world. He increased
the Alexandrian Library to a half million volumes, and is often spoken
of as the founder of that famous repository of ancient learning. He
appointed agents to search Europe and Asia for every valuable and
meritorious literary work and to obtain it at any cost. He founded
the minor library at Serapeium, and invited learned men from every
portion of the world to his court ; and under his patronage and aus-
pices literary works of the greatest value were undertaken.
The most important of these literary enterprises was the translation
of the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek language, by which these sa-
cred writings have become the common property of the Jewish and
Christian world. Ptolemy Philadelphus had sent an embassy to the
High Priest at Jerusalem to bring a copy of the sublime works of the
Hebrew bards and sages, along with a body of scholars who were able
to translate them into Greek. The king entertained the translators
with the greatest honor. The books of the Pentateuch were completed
during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, but the remaining books
of the Old Testament were translated by order of the later Ptolemies.
The entire translation is called the Septuagint Version, either because
it was the work of seventy translators — Greek and Jewish doctors — or
EGYPT UNDER THE PTOLEMIES. 1041
because it was authorized by the Sanhedrim of Alexandria, which con-
sisted of seventy members. The Septuagint translation was an im-
portant event in history ; and, by spreading knowledge of the Hebrew
sacred literature, prepared the way for Christianity.
It was also during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus that the Mane-
Egyptian priest Manetho wrote in Greek his celebrated History of
Egypt. Ptolemy Philadelphus liberally encouraged painting and
sculpture and adorned Alexandria with numerous grand and noble edi-
fices. He reopened the great canal built by Rameses the Great, con- New
necting the Red Sea and the Nile ; founded the port of Arsinoe (now
Suez), and also Berenice, on the Red Sea; and established a caravan
route from it to Coptos, near Thebes. Ptolemai's, on the Red Sea,
became a flourishing emporium of the ivory trade ; and various indus- Indus-
tries flourished, such as the weaving of linen, glass-blowing and paper-
making. Ptolemy Philadelphus boasted that no citizen was idle in
Alexandria. His revenue was immense, being equal to that which Revenue
Darius Hystapes had derived from the vast Medo-Persian Empire, thus ^rmv
amounting to fourteen thousand eight hundred talents, equal to about
seventeen million seven hundred and sixty thousand dollars of our
money, without counting the tribute in grain. His army numbered
two hundred and fifty thousand men, and his fleet embraced fifteen
hundred vessels.
Under Ptolemy Philadelphus, Egypt reached the culminating point Com-
of her commercial prosperity. The rich products of India, Arabia ^f/os*
and Ethiopia crowded the marts of Alexandria ; and for centuries this perity.
commerce followed the route established by this great and enterprising
monarch, and having its center at Alexandria, which was the point of
its distribution to the European nations. The Ethiopian trade was
particularly important.
Ptolemy Philadelphus did not inherit his father's military genius, Wars,
and his wars were therefore not as successful as those of his illustrious
predecessor's reign. His first war was against Macedon for the pro-
tection of the Achaean League. The second was against his half-
brother Magas, King of Cyrene, who cast off his dependence upon the Magas of
Egyptian king, and marched against Egypt, about B. C. 266. y*6116-
Thereupon Magas entered into an alliance with Antiochus Soter, King
of Syria, and invaded Egypt a second time in B. C. 264. The Egyp-
tians prevented Antiochus from coming to Africa to aid Magas by
vigorous movements in Asia, and checked the advance of Magas. In
B. C. 259 Magas was recognized as independent sovereign of the War with
Cyrenai'ca, and his daughter Berenice was betrothed to the eldest son goter
of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Ptolemy made himself master of the coast of Syria,
of Asia Minor and many of the Cyclades, during his war with Anti-
1042
THE GR^ECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Personal
Character
of
Ptolemy
Philadel-
phia.
Domestic
Life.
Custom
of
Marrying
Sisters.
Ptolemy
III.,
Euer-
getes.
War with
Antio-
chus
Theos of
Syria.
Con-
quests of
Ptolemy
Euer-
getes.
ochus Soter of Syria. Peace was made in B. C. 249, and Ptolemy
Philadelphia at the same time gave his daughter in marriage to
Antiochus Soter.
The personal character of Ptolemy Philadelphus was not so amiable
as that of his father. He began his reign by banishing Demetrius
Phalereus, merely because he had advised Ptolemy Soter not to alter
the succession. Soon afterward he caused two of his brothers to be
put to death. He was first married to Arsinoe, the daughter of Lysim-
achus, King of Thrace; but afterwards became enamored of his sis-
ter Arsinoe, who had already been married to his half-brother, Ptolemy
Ceraunus, whereupon he divorced his first wife and banished her to
Coptos, in Upper Egypt. He then married his sister, to whom he was
thenceforth most affectionately attached, though no children resulted
from the marriage. The custom thus introduced by Ptolemy Phila-
delphus was followed by all his successors, and was the cause of untold
mischief and misery to the kingdom of the Ptolemies. Ptolemy Phila-
delphus died in B. C. 247, after a glorious reign of thirty-six years
from the death of his father.
PTOLEMY III., Euergetes, the son and successor of Ptolemy Phila-
delphus, was the most enterprising monarch of this celebrated dynasty,
and was a great conqueror, as well as a liberal patron of literature
and art. He was the son of the first wife of his father. He departed
from the defensive policy of his father and grandfather, and began a
series of conquests, thus reviving the glories of Egypt under the
Pharaohs, and extended his dominions far beyond those of his predeces-
sors or successors of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He acquired the Cyre-
nai'ca by his marriage with Berenice, the daughter and heiress of
Magas. In the second year of his reign he waged war with Antiochus
Theos, King of Syria, to avenge the wrongs of his sister Berenice,
who had been divorced by Antiochus and murdered by Laodice. In
B. C. 245 Ptolemy Euergetes led an army into Syria and took Antioch,
after which he crossed the Euphrates and conquered Mesopotamia,
Babylonia, Susiana, Media and Persia, and reduced all the eastern
provinces of the Seleucidse as far as Bactria; while his fleet ravaged
the coast of Asia Minor and Thrace. But when he was suddenly re-
called to Egypt by coming troubles, all his Eastern conquests were at
once lost, and those provinces were soon recovered by Antiochus Theos.
The Egyptian king, however, retained his conquests on the sea-coast,
because his command of the sea, by means of his powerful navy, en-
abled him to hold them. Thus the Egyptian empire of Ptolemy Euer-
getes was one of immense extent, following the Mediterranean coast
from Cyrene to the Hellespont, and embracing a part of Thrace and
many islands of the Mediterranean.
A
• v
t/1
Z
o
u.
O
UJ
_J
0-
UJ
X
H
a
UJ
u
O
a:
_
uj
1
O
Q.
U.
O
EGYPT UNDER THE PTOLEMIES.
1043
In the latter years of his reign, Ptolemy Eue"rgetes annexed a part
of the western coast of Arabia and portions of Ethiopia. He par-
ticipated in the wars in Greece, first assisting the Achaean League until
it made peace with Antigonus Gonatus of Macedon, when he aided
Cleomenes, King of Sparta, against the Achaean confederates. Dur-
ing this war the Egyptian fleet defeated the Macedonian fleet off the
island of Andros. Ptolemy Euergetes remained on amicable terms
with Rome, but declined the aid offered him by that republic against
the King of Syria. He seems to have been suspicious of Roman
ambition.
Ptolemy Euergetes was likewise a great patron of literature and art,
and added many valuable manuscripts to the Alexandrian Library,
The native Egyptians were still more gratified by the recovery of some
of the oldest images of their gods, which had been taken to Assyria by
Sargon and Esar-haddon, and were brought back to Egypt by Ptol-
emy Euergetes from his Eastern campaign.
Ptolemy Euergetes died in B. C. 222, after a prosperous reign of
twenty -five years ; and with his death ended the glory of the Ptolemaic
dynasty. Under him Hellenized Egypt had reached the zenith of her
power and prosperity. Under the nine succeeding Ptolemies, who
were weak and generally worthless, Egypt rapidly declined from the
exalted position which it had held under the first three monarchs of
this famous Macedonian dynasty.
PTOLEMY IV., Philopator, the son and successor of Ptolemy Euer-
getes, was suspected of having murdered his father, and, to allay this
suspicion, he assumed the title given him — Philopator meaning lover
of his father. He, however, began his reign by murdering his mother,
his brother and his uncle, and marrying his sister Arsinoe, whom he
also put to death a few years later, after she had borne him an heir to
the throne. This last crime was committed at the instigation of a
worthless favorite of the king. Ptolemy Philopator was a weak and
shamefully-licentious sovereign, and left the government to Sosibius,
a minister who was as wicked and incompetent as his master. Through
his negligence the Egyptian army became so weak, on account of lack
of discipline, that Antiochus the Great, King of Syria, considered the
opportunity favorable to recover the lost possessions of the Seleucidae,
and he accordingly endeavored to reconquer Palestine and Phoenicia
from the Ptolemies. The Syrian king was, however, defeated by the
Egyptians at Raphia, and recovered only Seleucia in Syria, the port
of Antioch (B. C. 217). No sooner had this Syrian war closed than
a general revolt of Ptolemy Philopator's Egyptian subjects broke out,
and continued through many years of his reign, requiring a vast ex-
penditure of blood and treasure for its suppression. Although of so
His Later
War with
Macedon-
Patronage
a^l^^,
ature.
End of
Ptolemy
'
tor.
His
Weak-
less<
War with
cn^s |£e
Great of
syna-
Revolt in
1044
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Ptolemy
V.,Epiph-
anes.
Wars
with
Macedon
and
Syria.
Roman
Aid to
Egypt.
Ptolemy
VI., Phi-
lometor.
War with
Antio-
chus
Epiph-
anes
of Syria.
Ptolemy
Physcon.
The
Ptolemy
Brothers .
Roman
Aid to
Egypt.
infamous a character, Ptolemy Philopator was a liberal patron of
learning and the arts, and dedicated a temple to Homer. His ex-
cesses shortened his life, and he died B. C. 205.
PTOLEMY V., Epiphanes, was only five years old when he succeeded
his father, Ptolemy Philopator, and was the son of the murdered Ar-
sinoe, the sister and wife of his father. He was readily acknowledged
king, and Agathocles, one of his father's worthless favorites, was made
regent. He soon fell a victim to the people's wrath, along with all
his relatives ; whereupon the honest but incompetent Tlepolemus was
invested with the regency. The Kings of Syria and Macedon plotted
to divide the dominions of the Ptolemies between them, and the incom-
petent ministers of Egypt had recourse only to Roman assistance. A
united attack by the allies deprived Egypt of all her foreign posses-
sions except Cyprus and the Cyrenai'ca. In response to the appeals
of Tlepolemus for Roman aid, the Romans sent M. Lepidus, in B. C.
201, to undertake the management of Egyptian affairs. By his ef-
forts Egypt was preserved to the young Ptolemy Epiphanes, but
Lepidus was either unable or unwilling to recover for Egypt her lost
foreign dependencies. Lepidus was succeeded as regent by Aristom-
enes, an Acarnanian, whose energy and justice restored the prosper-
ity of the kingdom for a time. Ptolemy Epiphanes was declared of
age at the age of fourteen, and thenceforth the government was con-
ducted in his name. He married Cleopatra, the daughter of An-
tiochus the Great of Syria, and was assassinated B. C. 181.
PTOLEMY VI., Philometor, succeeded his father, Ptolemy Epiphanes,
at the age of seven, under the regency of his mother, Cleopatra, who
ruled vigorously and wisely for eight years. At her death, in B. C.
173, the government passed into the hands of two corrupt and incom-
petent ministers, who involved Egypt in a war with Antiochus Epiph-
anes, King of Syria, who invaded Egypt, defeated the Egyptians at
Pelusium, and gained possession of Ptolemy Philometor, whom he used
as a tool to effect the conquest of the whole kingdom. The Alexan-
drians crowned the king's younger brother, PTOLEMY PHYSCON, and
successfully withstood a siege by the army of Antiochus Epiphanes,
who was finally forced to retire by the intervention of the Romans.
The two brothers agreed to reign jointly, and Ptolemy Philometor
married his only sister, Cleopatra. The two Ptolemies then renewed
the war with Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria. The Syrian king seized
Cyprus and invaded Egypt a second time in B. C. 168. He would
have taken Alexandria and conquered the whole of Egypt, had not the
Romans again interfered in favor of Egypt and again forced him to
withdraw from the country. After reigning four years in peace the
two Ptolemies quarreled, and Ptolemy Philometor went to plead his
EGYPT UNDER THE PTOLEMIES.
1045
cause before the Roman Senate, which sustained him und reinstated
him in the possession of Egypt, assigning his younger brother, Ptol-
emy Physcon, the dominion of Libya and the Cyrenaica. Ptolemy
Physcon refused to accept the adjustment of the Roman Senate, and
went to Rome and obtained the grant of Cyprus also; but Ptolemy
Philomctor refused to relinquish that island, whereupon the two broth-
ers prepared for civil war, when a revolt in Cyrene occupied the atten-
tion of Ptolemy Physcon. Nine years later he renewed his claim, and
obtained from Rome a small squadron to aid him in seizing Cyprus;
but he was defeated and taken prisoner by his brother, in B. C. 155.
His life was, however, spared, and Cyrene was restored to him. Some
years afterward Ptolemy Philometor encouraged the rebellion of Alex-
ander Balas in Syria, for the purpose of revenging himself upon the
Seleucidae, and to gain possession of the Syrian throne. Disgusted
with the ingratitude of Alexander Balas, Ptolemy Philometor espoused
hhe cause of his rival, Demetrius, and aided him in hurling Alexander
from the Syrian throne. Ptolemy Philometor was killed by a fall
from his horse, in his last battle with Alexander Balas, near Antioch,
B. C. 146.
PTOLEMY VII., Eupator, succeeded his father, Ptolemy Philometor,
but was assassinated a few days later by his uncle, Ptolemy Physcon,
who, aided by the Romans, became King of Egypt and Cyrene with
the title of PTOLEMY VIII. Ptolemy Physcon married his sister, Cleo-
patra, the widow of his brother Ptolemy Philometor, and became a cruel
tyrant. He produced such terror by his inhuman cruelties, and such
disgust by his licentiousness, that the Alexandrians fled in such num-
bers that his capital became half depopulated, and those who remained
were almost constantly in rebellion. He was so bloated and corpulent
that he could scarcely walk. He repudiated his wife Cleopatra, al-
though she had borne him a son, and married her daughter Cleopatra,
the child of his brother. To grieve his first wife more deeply, he assas-
sinated her son, and sent her the head and hands of the victim. This
atrocity aroused the Alexandrians to rebellion, and they fought bravely
for the elder Cleopatra, whom they made queen, whereupon Ptolemy
Physcon fled to Cyprus, B. C. 130. A civil war of three years fol-
lowed.
In B. C. 127 the reigning Cleopatra imprudently solicited the aid
of Demetrius II., King of Syria, whereupon the Alexandrians became
so alarmed that they recalled Ptolemy Physcon, who so profited by the
experience of his exile that he desisted from his cruelties and devoted
his attention to literature, gaining some reputation as an author. But
he did not desist from war, and, to avenge himself on Demetrius II. of
Syria for the support he had given to Cleopatra, induced Alexander
Ptolemies
Physcon
and Phi-
lometor.
Ptolemy
VII.,
Eupator.
Ptolemy
VIII.,
Physcon.
His
Cruelties,
Crimes
and
Vices.
Civil
War.
Ptolemy
Physcon
and His
War with
Deme-
trius II.
of Syria.
1046
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Ptolemy
IX.,
Lathyrus.
His
Mother,
Cleo-
patra.
Ptolemy
Alexan-
der.
Ptolemy
X., Alex-
ander.
Ptolemy
Lathyrus
Restored.
Berenice.
Ptolemy
XI. '
His Over-
throw
and
Murder.
Zabinas, the son of Alexander Balas, to revive his father's claims to
the Syrian crown. Aided by Ptolemy Physcon, Alexander Zabinas
became King of Syria, but, like his father, ungratefully turned against
his patron, who consequently hurled him from the Syrian throne and
put Antiochus Grypus in his place, giving the latter his daughter in
marriage.
PTOLEMY IX., Lathyrus, succeeded his father, Ptolemy Physcon, on
the latter's death in B. C. 117. Ptolemy Physcon had bequeathed the
Kingdom of Cyrene to his natural son, Apion, who at his death left it
to the Romans, thus severing it from Egypt. Cyprus almost became
a separate kingdom, being first governed by Alexander, Ptolemy
Lathyrus's brother, as king. Ptolemy began his reign as King of
Egypt, but the real power was exercised by his mother, Cleopatra, who
compelled her son to divorce his sister Cleopatra and marry his other
sister Selene, who was more easily controlled by their mother. In B.
C. 107 Ptolemy Lathyrus began a policy of his own in Syria antagon-
istic to that of his mother, who thereupon forced him to retire to
Cyprus and placed his brother, Ptolemy Alexander, King of Cyprus,
on the Egyptian throne. Soon afterward the queen-mother at-
tempted to deprive Ptolemy Physcon of Cyprus also, but he success-
fully maintained himself there as king.
After Ptolemy Alexander and his mother had reigned jointly over
Egypt for eighteen years, they quarreled, whereupon Ptolemy Alex-
ander put his mother to death, and proclaimed himself sole King of
Egypt with the title of PTOLEMY X. ; but the Alexandrians thereupon
rose against him, drove him from the capital, and recalled his brother,
Ptolemy Lathyrus, from Cyprus to resume the sovereignty of Egypt.
Ptolemy Alexander soon afterward made an effort to recover Cyprus,
but was defeated, and died shortly afterwards. Soon afterward a
revolt broke out in Thebes, but the royal troops took and destroyed
the city after a siege of three years (B. C. 89-86). Ptolemy Ldthy-
rus reigned eight years in peace and died in B. C. 81.
BERENICE, the only legitimate child of Ptolemy Lathyrus, and his
daughter by Selene, succeeded him on the Egyptian throne, and reigned
six months alone, after which she married her cousin, PTOLEMY XL,
also called Ptolemy Alexander II., the son of Ptolemy X., or Ptolemy
Alexander I. The claims of Ptolemy XL were sustained by the Ro-
mans, and his marriage with Berenice was consummated for the pur-
pose of preventing civil war, with the agreement that the king and
the queen were to reign jointly, but Ptolemy XL murdered his wife
three weeks after their marriage. The Alexandrians were so enraged
at this that they rose in revolt against Ptolemy XL and killed him
(B. C. 80). During the next fifteen years (B. C. 80-65) a number
EGYPT UNDER THE PTOLEMIES.
1047
of pretenders claimed the crown, and great confusion prevailed, while
Cyprus became an entirely independent kingdom.
PTOLEMY XII., Auletes, or " the flute-player," an illegitimate son
of Lathy rus, obtained undisputed possession of the Egyptian throne
in B. C. 65, though he dated his reign from the death of his half-sister,
Queen Berenice, in B. C. 80. Ptolemy Auletes did not succeed in
obtaining recognition from the Romans until six years after he had
secured his crown (B. C. 59), when he accomplished this purpose by
bribery, after Julius Caesar had just become one of the Consuls of the
Roman Republic. Ptolemy Auletes had been obliged to deplete his
treasury in order to buy the acknowledgment of his title by the Roman
Republic, and he sought to replenish it by increased taxation. His
profligacy and oppression so disgusted his subjects that they rose in
revolt and drove him from the kingdom, thus forcing him to seek refuge
in Rome. The Alexandrians then placed his two daughters, TRY-
PHCENA and BERENICE, upon the Egyptian throne. Typhoena died a
year afterward, and Berenice ruled until B. C. 55, when her father
returned to Egypt under the protection of a powerful Roman army
under Gabinius, sent by Pompey the Great to restore him to the throne.
Berenice resisted, for the purpose of retaining the crown, but was over-
powered and put to death. Ptolemy Auletes reigned under the pro-
tection of the Romans until his death four years later (B. C. 51), when
he left the kingdom on the verge of ruin.
The celebrated CLEOPATRA, the eldest daughter of Ptolemy Auletes,
aged seventeen, and PTOLEMY XIII., his eldest son, aged thirteen, then
became joint sovereigns, in accordance with their father's directions,
and under the patronage of the Romans. Their father had ordered
that they should jointly reign, and marry each other when Ptolemy
XIII. was of full age. Ptolemy Auletes also left two younger chil-
dren, a son named Ptolemy and a daughter named Arsinoe. The Ro-
mans approved his directions, but Cleopatra was unwilling to submit
to any control and quarreled with her youthful brother and husband,
Ptolemy XIII., and civil war ensued between them. Cleopatra sought
refuge in Syria, where she met Julius Csesar, who was so fascinated
with her wonderful beauty that he became her protector. With
Caesar's aid, she conquered her brother-husband, who perished in the
struggle. Cleopatra then became sole sovereign of Egypt, on condi-
tion of marrying her younger brother when he became of age (B. C.
47). Three years later (B. C. 44) she formally complied with her
agreement, but released herself by causing her second brother-husband
to be poisoned soon after their marriage. Thenceforth she reigned
without a rival, and in great prosperity for seventeen years, display-
ing marked ability, along with the unscrupulous cruelty characteristic
2—28
Preten-
ders.
Ptolemy
XII.,
Auletes.
His Over-
throw.
Try-
phoena
and
Berenice.
Cleopatra
and
Ptolemy
XIII.
Civil
War.
Cleo-
patra,
Julius
Caesar
and Mark
Antony.
1048
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Roman
Annexa-
tion of
Egypt
of her race. Julius Caesar, whom she had captivated, protected her
during the remainder of his life; and after his death Mark Antony
allowed himself to be enslaved by her charms, and finally abandoned
his second wife and sacrificed all his interests, honor, ambition and
power, to her slightest caprices. For the sake of this beautiful but
wicked queen, this great Roman general deserted his country, and un-
gratefully left his army to its fate, after it had faithfully stood by
him through prosperity and adversity. When Mark Antony's fleet
was defeated by the fleet of his rival, Octavius Caesar, during the civil
wars of the Roman Republic, and Mark Antony was pursued in flight
to Alexandria by his triumphant rival, Cleopatra showed herself will-
ing to abandon her guilty lover to secure her own safety and to retain
her kingdom. Upon the capture of Alexandria by the triumphant
legions of Octavius Caesar, in B. C. 30, Antony and Cleopatra both
committed suicide, and Egypt became a Roman province. Thus ended
the Egyptian kingdom of the Ptolemies, after an existence of almost
three centuries (B. C. 323-B. C. 30).
THE PTOLEMIES OF EGYPT.
B. C.
KlNGS.
B. C.
KINGS.
323
283
247
222
205
181
146
117
107
Ptolemy Lagus, or Soter.
Ptolemy Philadelphia.
Ptolemy Euergetes.
Ptolemy Philopator."
Ptolemy Epiphanes.
Ptolemy Philometor.
Ptolemy Physcon.
Ptolemy Lathyrus.
Ptolemy Alexander I. and Cleo-
patra I.
89
81
80
58
55
51
47
Ptolemy Lathyrus (restored).
Ptolemy Alexander II. and Cleo-
patra I.
Ptolemy Auletes.
Berenice and Tryphosna.
Ptolemy Auletes (restored).
Ptolemy and Cleopatra II.
Cleopatra II. and the vounger
Ptolemy (to B. C. 30*).
Smaller
Greek
King-
doms.
Kingdom
of
Thrace.
SECTION IV.— THRACE AND THE SMALLER GREEK
KINGDOMS OF ASIA.
BESIDES the three great monarchies whose history we have just re-
lated— Macedon and Greece, the Syrian Empire of the Seleiicidae, and
Egypt under the Ptolemies — a number of smaller kingdoms were
erected from the ruins of the vast empire of Alexander the Great.
The most important of these will now be noticed. One of these minor
kingdoms — Thrace — was in Europe. The others were all in Asia.
The Hellenic KINGDOM OF THRACE has no important history. It
contributed nothing to art, science, literature or general civilization,
as did the kingdom of the Ptolemies in Egypt and that of the Seleucidae
in Syria. The several Thracian tribes were powerful on account of
THRACE AND THE SMALLER GREEK KINGDOMS OF ASIA. 104,9
their numbers, their hardy contempt of danger and exposure, and their
uncontrollable love of freedom. Their strength was, however, too fre-
quently exhausted in fighting against each other; and thus they were
reduced either to the condition of subjects, or that of humble allies,
of the more civilized nations to the south of them. Their position on
the Danube also rendered them the most exposed, of all the ancient
kingdoms, to the inroads of the fierce barbarians from the North.
As we have already related, the Greek Kingdom of Thrace was
founded by Lysimachus, one of the generals of Alexander the Great,
who was confirmed in its possession by the battle of Ipsus in B. C. 301.
The Kingdom of Thrace was of short duration, Lysimachus being its
first and last sovereign. Bjr his defeat and death in the battle of
Corupedion, in B. C. 281, his kingdom was absorbed into the domin-
ions of his conqueror, Seleucus I. of Syria.
The city of Pergamus, on the river Caicus, in Mysia, was considered
one of the great strongholds of Asia Minor. Lysimachus, King of
Thrace, made it the repository of the treasures of his kingdom, plac-
ing it in charge of his eunuch Philetaerus. When Lysimachus was
slain in the battle of Corupedion, Philetserus kept possession of his
principality for himself, and, with the help of the treasures of Lysi-
machus, succeeded in establishing himself as an independent ruler.
He ruled twenty years, from B. C. 283 to B. C. 263, but did not as-
sume the royal title.
EUMENES I., the nephew of Philetaerus, became his successor. Soon
after his accession, Eumenes was attacked by Antiochus I., King of
Syria, whom he defeated in a pitched battle near Sardis, thus vastly
increasing his territory. He died in B. C. 241, from the effects of
intemperance, after ruling twenty-two years.
ATTALUS I., the cousin of Eumenes I., became his successor. The
Gauls, who had been then settled in the North of Phrj^gia, afterwards
called Gfildtia, for about thirty years, made frequent predatory incur-
sions into the territories of their neighbors. They made a descent
upon the territories of Pergamus, about B. C. 239, and were terribly
defeated by Attalus. In consequence of this victory, Attalus assumed
the title of king, which none of his predecessors had taken. Ten years
afterwards he was obliged to defend his kingdom against an invasion
of the Syrians under Antiochus Hierax, the brother of Seleucus II.
This ambitious prince was seeking to make himself King of Asia
Minor, but was defeated by Attalus and driven away. Attalus like-
wise succeeded in extending his dominions, which, by the year B. C.
226, included almost all of Asia Minor west of the Halys and north
of Mount Taurus, but was deprived of his conquests by Kings Seleucus
Ceraunus and Antiochus the Great of Syria, so that by the year B.
Its
Short
Duration.
Kingdom
of Per-
gamus.
Eumenes
I.
Attalus L
Gauls
in
Galatia.
Wars
with the
Seleuci-
da.
1050
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Al<iance
with
Rome
against
Macedon.
Eumenes
n.
Alliance
with
Rome
against
Macedon
and the
Seleuci-
te.
Power of
Perga-
mus.
City of
Perga-
mus.
C. 221 he was merely sovereign of the territory of Pergamus. He
recovered ^Eolis in B. C. 218 by wise management and by a judicious
employment of Gallic mercenaries. In B. C. 216 he entered into an
alliance with Antiochus the Great, by which he recovered most of the
territory which the Syrian king had wrested from him.
In B. C. 211 Attalus formed an alliance with the Romans and the
JEtolians in their war against King Philip V. of Macedon and ren-
dered efficient service to his allies, thus gaining the powerful friendship
and patronage of Rome. After the peace of B. C. 20J> Philip attacked
Attalus, ravaged his territories and sought to drive his fleet from the
^Egean sea; but the King of Pergamus entered into an alliance with
Rhodes, and in B. C. 201 the allies terribly defeated the Macedonian
fleet off Chios. In B. C. 199 the second war between Rome and Philip
V. of Macedon commenced ; and Attalus, then seventy years old, ar-
dently espoused the cause of the Romans and afforded them important
assistance with his fleet. His efforts in their behalf caused his death
in B. C. 197.
EUMENES II., the eldest of the four sons of Attalus I., ascended the
throne of Pergamus upon his father's death, and inherited his talents
and policy. In the wars which Rome waged against Philip V. of
Macedon, Antiochus the Great of Syria, and Perseus, Philip's succes-
sor on the Macedonian throne, Eumenes rendered such important as-
sistance to the Romans that, after the battle of Magnesia, in B. C. 190,
he was rewarded with a large addition of territory on both sides of the
Hellespont. By this territorial increase, the Kingdom of Pergamus
became one of the greatest monarchies of the East. This kingdom
now embraced Mysia, Lydia, Phygria, Lycaonia, Pamphylia and parts
of Caria and Lycia, in Asia Minor; while in Europe it included the
Thracian Chersonesus, with its capital, Lysimachia, and the neighbor-
ing portions of Thrace. A war broke out between Pergamus and
Bithynia in B. C. 183, by which Pergamus acquired Hellespontine
Phrygia. Pergamus also became involved in a war with Pontus in
B. C. 183, which lasted six years. In B. C. 168 Pergamus also en-
gaged in a war with the Gauls. In these wars Eumenes II. acted on
the defensive, simply fighting to keep possession of the territories he
had won, and not seeking to conquer others.
Under Eumenes II., Pergamus rapidly grew to be one of the most
brilliant cities of antiquity- His father had liberally patronized lit-
erature, science and art ; but Eumenes far surpassed him in the aid
which he rendered them. He adorned his capital with magnificent and
stately edifices, whose splendor is still attested by their ruins. He
afforded liberal encouragement to painting and sculpture. He
founded the great library of Pergamus, which was surpassed only by
GREAT ALTAR AT PERGAMON
Upper Section : Present Condition
Lower Section : Restoration
From Drawings made by G. Rehlender
THRACE AND THE SMALLER GREEK KINGDOMS OF ASIA. 1951
that of Alexandria, and which attracted many learned men to his court.
The school of grammar and criticism which arose at Pergamus was
only excelled by that of Alexandria. In the reign of Eumenes II.,
parchment, a material far superior to the Egyptian papyrus for writ-
ing purposes, was introduced.
Eumenes II. died in B. C. 159, leaving a son named Attalus, who
was a mere child, too young to rule; and the crown was assumed by
ATTALUS II., the brother of Eumenes II. Attalus II. took the sur-
name of Philadelphus, and reigned twenty-one years, more than half
of which he passed in the defense of his kingdom against Prusias II.,
King of Bithynia. To relieve himself of so powerful an enemy, Atta-
lus Philadelphus supported the revolt of Nicomedes, the son of Prusias,
against his father, and assisted in establishing him upon the Bithynian
throne ; whereupon peace followed between Pergamus and Bithynia.
Attalus Philadelphus was celebrated as a builder, and employed the
peaceful years of his reign in erecting cities and increasing his library.
Among the cities which he founded were Eumenfa in Phrygia ; Phila-
delphia, in Lydia ; and Attalfa, in Pamphylia.
Attalus Philadelphus died in B. C. 138, and was succeeded by his
nephew, ATTALUS III., the son of Eumenes II. Attalus III. assumed
the surname of Philometor (lover of his mother). His reign of five
years was a reign of terror. He caused all the trusted friends of his
father and his uncle, and their families, and also every office-holder in
the kingdom, to be put to death. He finally murdered his mother and
many of her relatives. Remorse for his crimes then caused him to
relinquish the government of his kingdom, and to devote himself to
painting, sculpture and gardening. He died in B. C. 183 and be-
queathed his kingdom to the Roman people.
The Roman Republic very readily accepted the bequest. Aris-
tomcus, an illegitimate son of Eumenes II., claimed the kingdom as
his natural inheritance, and at first gained some important successes
over the Romans. In B. C. 131 he defeated and captured the Roman
general, Licinius Crassus, who had been sent to forcibly take posses-
sion of the kingdom ; but he was himself defeated and taken prisoner
the following year by Perpena, another Roman general ; whereupon
the Kingdom of Pergamus became a Roman province (B. C. 130).
While the Medo-Persian Empire was in existence, Bithynia was one
of its tributary kingdoms, and was governed by its own kings. It
easily regained its independence after the battle of Arbela, and success-
fully defended itself against all the attempts of Alexander's generals
to reconquer it. BAS, the king who made this successful resistance,
died in B. C. 326, leaving a flourishing independent kingdom to his
son, ZipffiTEs.
VOL. 3. — 23
Attalus
II.,
Philadel-
phus.
Attalus
III.,
Philome-
tor.
His
Crimes.
Perga-
mus, a
Roman
Province.
Kingdom
of
Bithynia.
Bas and
Zipoetes.
1052
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Civil
War.
Nicome-
des I.
Zeilas.
Prusias I.
Alliance
with
Macedon
against
Rome.
Prusias I.
and
Hannibal.
Prusias
II.
War with
Per-
gamus
and
Rome.
Zipoetes reigned forty-eight years, from B. C. 326 to B. C. 278, and
successfully resisted the efforts of Lysimachus and Antiochus Soter to
conquer his kingdom. When he died a civil war broke out between his
sons, Nicomedes and Zipoetes. Aided by the Gauls, NICOMEDES I.
defeated his brother and thus secured the crown. He founded the city
of Nicomedia, on the Gulf of Astacus. He had two wives, and by the
first of these he had a son named Zeilas. By the second wife he had
three children, to whom he desired to leave his dominions. Aided by
the Gauls, ZEILAS defeated his half-brother, and obtained the throne.
He died B. C. 228, after a reign of twenty years.
PRUSIAS I. — called " Prusias the Lame " — succeeded his father
Zeilas, and reigned until about B. C. 180, a period of about forty-
eight years. The first eight years were not marked by any important
events, but the remainder were passed in continual wars of importance.
In B. C. 220 he aided Rhodes in her struggle with Byzantium, and
in B. C. 216 he defeated the Gauls. He entered into an alliance with
King Philip V. of Macedon, in his war with the Romans ; and in B. C.
208 he attacked the dominions of Pergamus, compelling Attalus I. to
return home to defend his kingdom. By this action Prusias made an
enemy of Rome, whose indignation was aroused still more in B. C. 187,
in consequence of the refuge which Prusias gave to Hannibal, the
vanquished Carthaginian general. Aided by Hannibal, Prusias at-
tacked Eumenes II. of Pergamus and defeated him, but gained noth-
ing by his victory, as Rome now intervened, thus forcing him to in-
demnify Eumenes for his losses by ceding to him the whole of Helles-
pontine Phrygia. The Romans likewise demanded that Prusias should
deliver Hannibal into their power, threatening him with war if he re-
fused; and Prusias was alarmed into ordering Hannibal's arrest, but
Hannibal poisoned himself to escape falling into the hands of the
Romans. With his dying breath, the great Carthaginian general ex-
pressed his animosity toward the Romans and his contempt for Prusias.
The King of Bithynia then made war on Heraclea Pontica, and gained
some successes, but received a wound which gave him the surname of
the Lame, soon after which he died, about B. C. 180.
PRUSIAS II. succeeded his father, Prusias I., and reigned until B.
C. 149. He was the most wicked and contemptible of all the Kings
of Bithynia, and experienced great calamities. He married the sister
of Perseus, King of Macedon, but refused to give him active assistance
in his final struggle with the Romans. After the overthrow of Per-
seus, Prusias made the most abject submission to the Romans, who
permitted him to retain possession of his kingdom. In B. C. 156 he
made war on Attalus Philadelphus, King of Pergamus, whom he would
have conquered if the Romans had not intervened and forced him to
THRACE AND THE SMALLER GREEK KINGDOMS OF ASIA. 1Q53
make peace, to restore his conquests, and to pay Attains Philadelphia
an indemnity of five hundred talents. Seeing that his son Nicomedes
was more popular with the people than himself, Prusias II. sent him
to Rome, giving his attendants secret orders to assassinate the prince ;
but Nicomedes discovered the plot, and, with the consent of the Roman
Senate, left Rome and returned to Bithynia, where he raised the stand-
ard of revolt against his father. With the assistance of Attalus Phila-
delphus, King of Pergamus, Nicomedes defeated his father, whom he
made prisoner and put to death (B. C. 149).
NICOMEDES II., upon coming to the throne of Bithynia, in B. C.
149, assumed the surname of Epiphanes, or Illustrious. He sought
to secure the friendship of the Romans, and rendered them efficient aid
in their war against Aristonicus of Pergamus. He did not, however,
always act with good faith toward the Romans; and in B. C. 102, as
an ally of Mithridates the Great of Pontus, he subdued Paphlagonia
and seized a part of it for himself. When the Romans ordered him to
restore Paphlagonia to its legitimate heir, he made a pretense of obey-
ing, but obtained it for one of his own sons by trickery. In B. C.
96 Mithridates the Great sought to annex Cappadocia to the domin-
ions of the Kingdom of Pontus. Laodice, the widow of the late Cap-
padocian king, fled for refuge to the court of Nicomedes Epiphanes,
who married her and made her Queen of Cappadocia. She was soon
afterward driven from her kingdom by Mithridates. Nicomedes
Epiphanes afterwards attempted to recover Cappadocia by trickery,
but was unable to deceive the Romans, who deprived him of both Cap-
padocia and Paphlagonia. Nicomedes Epiphanes died in B. C. 91,
at the age of almost eighty years.
NICOMEDES III. succeeded his father, Nicomedes Epiphanes, but
was soon afterward driven from his dominions by a revolt headed by
his brother Socrates, who was assisted by Mithridates the Great of
Pontus. In B. C. 90 the Romans forced Socrates to retire, whereupon
Nicomedes III. recovered his throne. Nicomedes III. now attempted
to chastise Mithridates the Great by making inroads into the King-
dom of Pontus, whereupon Mithridates marched against the Bithynian
king with a large army and defeated him on the Amneius river, B.
C. 88, expelling him and his Roman allies from Asia Minor. This
caused the First Mithridatic War between Rome and Pontus, which
ended in the defeat of Mithridates and the restoration of Nicomedes
III. to the throne of Bithynia, B. C. 84. Nicomedes III. then reigned
in peace ten years. As he left no children when he died, in B. C. 74,
he bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans. This bequest involved
the Roman Republic in the Third Mithridatic War, which ended in the
Roman conquest of Pontus.
Prusias
II. and
Nicome-
des.
Nicome-
des II.,
Epiph-
anes.
His
Relations
with
Rome and
Mith-
ridates
the Great
of
Pontus.
Nicome-
des III.
His
Relations
with
Mith-
ridates
the Great
and
Rome.
1054
THE GRA:CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Kingdom
of Paph-
lagonia.
Paphla-
gonia's
Later
History.
Kingdom
of
Pontus.
Ariobar-
zanes I.
It is not known when the Kingdom of Paphlagonia was founded.
After the Medo-Persian Empire had been established, Paphlagonia
was nominally subject to that colossal power, but never wholly sub-
mitted to it. As early as B. C. 400 the Paphlagonian king CORYLAS
permitted the Ten Thousand under Xenophon to pass through his
kingdom on their famous retreat from Cunaxa, without attempting to
check them. In B. C. 394 the next Paphlagonian monarch, COTYS,
or OTYS, entered into an alliance with the Spartan king Agesilaiis
against Persia. About B. C. 365 THYUS, or THYS, another Paphla-
gonian sovereign, who was celebrated for his magnificent entertain-
ments, was defeated by the Persian satrap Datames, who carried him
a prisoner to the court of Artaxerxes Mnemon, where he continued to
live in extraordinary splendor.
When Alexander the Great conquered the Medo-Persian Empire,
Paphlagonia did not become a part of his vast dominion in anything
more than in name. It is not known when, or under what circum-
stances, it regained its independence; but after B. C. 200 it again
appears to have been governed by native monarchs, who were engaged
in wars to defend their independence against the Kings of Pontus on
the one hand and those of Bithynia on the other. In B. C. 189 the
Paphlagonian king, MORZES, or MORZIAS, fought against the Romans
in the war with the Greeks and the Gauls in Asia Minor ; and in B. C.
181 the same king was attacked and subdued by Pharnaces, King of
Pontus, but was restored to his dominions and compensated in B. C.
179. Another Paphlagonian king, Pylaemenes I., aided the Romans
in their war against Aristonicus, King of Pergamus, B. C. 131, and
is said to have bequeathed his kingdom to Mithridates the Great of
Pontus at his death, in B. C. 102, as he left no children. Thereupon
Mithridates the Great, and Nicomedes Epiphanes, King of Bithynia,
both seized upon Paphlagonia; and Nicomedes Epiphanes established
his own son, Pylremenes II., on the Paphlagonian throne; but after
Pylaemenes had reigned eight years he was driven out by Mithridates
the Great, who then annexed Paphlagonia to the Kingdom of Pontus
(about B. C. 94).
The Kingdom of Pontus was formed out of the Persian satrapy of
Cappadocia, which Darius Hystaspes conferred on Onates, one of the
commanders who had aided him to overthrow the impostor Smerdis.
Onates was descended from the ancient Arian Kings of Cappadocia,
and Darius Hystaspea made the satrapy hereditary in his family. In
B. C. 363 ARIOBARZAXES, the son of Mithridates, the satrap, headed
a successful revolt against Persia and made himself master of that part
of Cappadocia bordering on the coast of the Euxine. He erected his
territory into a kingdom which the Greeks called P&nttis, because it
THRACE AND THE SMALLER GREEK KINGDOMS OF ASIA. 1Q55
bordered on the Pontus Euxinus (now Black Sea). The inland por-
tion of Cappadocia remained a province of the Medo-Persian Empire.
Ariobarzanes died in B. C. 337, and was succeeded as King of Pon-
tus by his son, MITHRIDATES I. When Alexander the Great subverted
the Medo-Persian Empire, Pontus became a province of his vast em-
pire (B. C. 331). In B. C. 318 Mithridates I. cast off the Mace-
donian yoke and reestablished the independence of Pontus. He was
assassinated in B. C. 302 by order of Antigonus, who, as we have seen,
had acquired Phrygia, Lycia and Pamphylia as his share of Alexan-
der's dominions.
MITHRIDATES II., who succeeded his father, Mithridates I., reigned
thirty-six years, and enlarged his kingdom at the expense of Cappa-
docia and Paphlagonia. His son, ARIOBARZANES II., succeeded him
in B. C. 266, and had an uneventful reign of nineteen years. At his
death, in B. C. 245, his son, MITHRIDATES III., became his successor.
This monarch was more enterprising than any of the other early Pon-
tic kings. He was a minor when he became sovereign, and upon arriv-
ing at his majority he at once married a sister of Seleucus II. of Syria
and obtained the province of Phrygia with her as a dowry. In B. C.
222 Mithridates III. gave his daughter Laodice in marriage to Anti-
ochus the Great of Syria, and gave another daughter, also named
Laodice, in marriage to Achasus, a cousin of the King of Syria. He
never allowed these marriages to influence his political course, and
waged war against Syria just as if he had not contracted such ties.
Mithridates III. is supposed to have died about B. C. 190.
PHARNACES I. succeeded his father, Mithridates III., on the Pontic
throne. In B. C. 183 he conquered the Greek city of Sinope, on the
Euxine, and made it the capital of his kingdom. In B. C. 181 he
made war on Eumenes II., King of Pergamus, notwithstanding all the
exertions of the Romans to prevent the struggle. He achieved some
successes at first, but was finally obliged to agree to a peace by which
he relinquished all his conquests except Sinope.
Pharnaces I. died about B. C. 160, whereupon his son, MITHRID^TES
IV., Euergetes, became his successor. Mithridates Euergetes reigned
about forty years, from about B. C. 160 to B. C. 120. He was the
ally of Attalus Philadelphus of Pergamus against Prusias II. of
Bithynia, B. C. 154 ; and in the Third Punic War he fought in alliance
with the Romans against Carthage. He likewise assisted the Romans
in driving Aristonfcus out of Pergamus, and when the war ended the
Romans bestowed on him the Greater Phrygia as a reward for his aid.
He was assassinated in B. C. 120 by his disaffected courtiers.
Mithridates Euergetes was succeeded on the Pontic throne by his
illustrious son, MITHRIDATES V., the Great, the most renowned of all
Mith-
ridates I.
Mithri-
dates II.
Ariobar-
zanes II.
Mithra-
dates III.
Pharnaces
I.
Mithri-
dates IV.
Mithri-
dates V.,
the
Great.
1056
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
His Early
Con-
quests.
His
Conquest
of
Cappado-
cia and
Bithynia.
His
Missacre
of the
Romans
in Asia.
the Kings of Pontus. Mithridates the Great was the ablest of the
Pontic sovereigns, and one of the greatest of Asiatic monarchs. He
was a minor when he became king, and the affairs of the kingdom were
directed by his guardian for eight years, during which he diligently
applied himself to study, and is said to have acquired twenty-five dif-
ferent languages. He engaged in constant hunting expeditions in
the wildest portions of his kingdom, for the purpose of hardening his
constitution. He very early commenced to accustom himself to anti-
dotes against poison, in order to thwart any attempt upon his life, as
he perpetually distrusted his guardians. He assumed the government
at the age of twenty. He was then blessed with a hardy and vigorous
physical constitution, while his mind was filled with knowledge. His
wonderful linguistic attainments enabled him to transact business with
every portion of his dominions in its own peculiar dialect.
When Mithridates the Great ascended the throne of Pontus, he
clearly perceived that his kingdom, on account of its location, would
be exposed to the attacks of the Romans, who now aimed at the domin-
ion of the whole of Asia Minor. He also clearly saw that, in order
to encounter them successfully, he must strengthen and enlarge his
dominions. Accordingly in B. C. 112 he commenced a deliberate and
systematic attempt at conquest in the East, the quarter in which he
was secure from the intervention of Rome. During the next seven
years he annexed to his kingdom the Lesser Armenia, Colchis, all of
the eastern coast of the Euxine, the Cimmerian (now Crimean) penin-
sula, and the region extending westward from the Crimea to the Dnies-
ter. He also strengthened himself by alliances with the wild tribes
of the region of the Danube, and with the Kings of Armenia, Cappa-
docia and Bithynia. He endeavored to place his own son on the
throne of Cappadocia, in B. C. 93., and to seat Socrates on that of
Bithynia, in B. C. 90, but failed in both efforts. The Romans de-
manded that he undo these actions, and, as he was not yet prepared to
confront the gigantic power of the great Roman Republic, he con-
sidered it prudent to comply with this demand.
In B. C. 89 Nicomedes III. of Bithynia invaded Pontus, at the in-
stigation of the Romans. Mithridates the Great instantly took the
field at the head of a large army, and in the following year overran
Cappadocia and annexed it to his dominions. He then marched into
Bithynia, defeated Nicomedes III. on the Amneius, and drove him and
his allies, the Romans, out of Bithynia. Mithridates now quickly over-
ran Galatia, Phrygia and the Roman province of Asia, and made him-
self master of the whole of Asia Minor, with the exceptions of a few
towns in Lycia and Ionia. He wintered in Pergamus, where he com-
mitted the great error of his life in ordering the massacre of all the
THRACE AND THE SMALLER GREEK KINGDOMS OF ASIA. 1057
Romans and Italians in Asia. From that moment the tide turned His
against Mithridates the Great. The Roman general Sylla defeated ^^it-lT"
two large armies which he sent into Greece, at Chaeronea, and his gen- Rome,
erals were defeated in a great battle in Bithynia, while Pontus itself
was invaded and Mithridates compelled to flee.
The Pontic king was forced to agree to a humiliating peace, by Humiliat-
which he relinquished all his conquests and a fleet of seventy vessels, peace
agreed to pay two thousand talents, and recognized the Kings of Cap-
padocia and Bithynia, whom he had formerly expelled. The misfor-
tunes of Mithridates encouraged the subject nations to cast off his
yoke. He was getting ready to reduce them to submission when Mu- Second
rena, the Roman general in Asia Minor, committed an unprovoked at- w*r witjl
tack which led to the second war with the Roman Republic, but after
the Romans had been defeated on the Halys, peace was again made
(B. C. 82).
During the next seven years Mithridates subdued all his revolted Third
subjects and exhibited the most indomitable energy in recruiting his R0me<
forces. His army, composed of barbarians from the nations on the
Danube and the Euxine, were drilled and equipped according to the
Roman system, and his navy was increased to four hundred vessels.
The bequest of Bithynia to the Romans brought on the third war be-
tween Mithridates and the Roman Republic (B. C. 74). After seiz-
ing the country and gaining a land and naval victory over Cotta,
Mithridates failed in the sieges of Chalcedon and Cyzicus, and in the
second year he was beaten by Lucullus. His fleet was first defeated
off Tenedos, and then wrecked by a storm. In the third year Mithri-
dates was driven from his dominions and those of his son-in-law Defeats of
Tigranes, King of Armenia. For three years the war was carried on ^^
in Armenia, where Mithridates and Tigranes were both defeated by the Great.
Lucullus.
In B. C. 68 Mithridates returned to his kingdom and defeated the
Misfor-
Romans twice within a few months ; but in B. C. 66 Pompey assumed tunes and
command of the Roman forces in Asia ; and after Mithridates had lost Death.
almost his entire army, he abandoned Pontus and retired into the bar-
barous regions north of the Euxine, where he plotted the bold scheme
of marching upon Italy with an army drawn from the wild tribes north
of the Danube, but his officers did not exhibit the same intrepid spirit
or the same military ardor. His own son headed a conspiracy against
him ; and the old king, deserted by all his trusty followers, attempted
to poison himself, but the drugs had no effect, because his constitution
had been so guarded by antidotes, and he was finally slain by one of Roman
his Gallic soldiers (B. C. 63). Pontus then became a Roman prov- ^Jn6^"
ince, only a small part remaining under princes of its old dynasty. Pontus.
1058
THE GRjECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Kingdom
of Cap-
padocia.
Ariara-
thes I.
Ariara-
thes II.
Ariam-
nes.
Ariara-
thes III.
Ariara-
thes IV.
Relations
with
Syria and
Rome.
Ariara-
thes V.
His
Friend-
ship with
Rome.
His
Sons.
Ariara-
thes VI.
Relations
with
Mith-
ridates
the Great
of
Pont us.
We have seen that the northern portion of Cappadocia became the
independent Kingdom of Pontus. The southern part continued loyal
to Persia until the conquest of the Medo-Persian Empire by Alexander
the Great. In B. C. 331, after the battle of Arbela, ARIARATHES,
the Persian satrap of the province, assumed the state of an independent
sovereign; but was conquered by Perdiccas after the death of Alex-
ander the Great, when he was taken prisoner and crucified. Perdiccas
transferred the province to Eumenes I. of Pergamus ; but after the
death of that ruler, Cappadocia revolted, and regained its independ-
ence under ARIARATHES II., the nephew of Ariarathes I. He died
about B. C. 280, leaving his crown to his son ARIAMNES, who was suc-
ceeded by his son, ARIARATHES III. The reigns of these monarchs
are obscure. Ariarathes III. died in B. C. 220, and was succeeded by
his infant son, ARIARATHES IV., who, when he had reached manhood,
married the daughter of his cousin, Antiochus the Great of Syria, B.
C. 192. He aided Antiochus the Great in his war against Rome and
fought as his ally in the great battle of Magnesia, which destroyed the
power of the Syrian Empire of the Seleucidse (B. C. 190). This
course of the Cappadocian king exposed him to the vengeance of the
Romans, but he succeeded in appeasing the great republic, obtaining
honorable conditions of peace, and lived on friendly terms with Rome
during the remainder of his long reign, which ended with his death, in
B. C. 162.
ARIARATHES V., the son and successor of Ariarathes IV., reigned
thirty-one years, and presents the only example of a " pure and blame-
less " ruler in the three centuries succeeding Alexander. No cruel or
deceitful action stands on record against him. He sought and won
the affections of his subjects and the respect of his neighbors. Dur-
ing his reign, and under his patronage and example, Cappadocia be-
came a renowned seat of philosophy and the abode of learned men.
He continued faithful to the Roman alliance, notwithstanding the
efforts to induce him to abandon it; and when the Romans attempted
to drive Aristonicus from Pergamus, he took the field to assist them
and lost his life in their service, B. C. 131.
ARIARATHES V. left six sons, all of whom were minors at the time of
his death. His widow Laodice became regent, and poisoned five of her
sons before they became of age, for the purpose of retaining the power
in her possession ; but she ultimately fell a victim to the vengeance of
the people, and her youngest son obtained the crown as ARIARATHES
VI. His reign was unimportant. He married a sister of Mithridates
the Great of Pontus, and was assassinated by an emissary of that great
monarch, B. C. 96. Mithridates instantly seized Cappadocia, but
Laodice, the widow of Ariarathes VI., found refuge with Nicomedes
THRACE AND THE SMALLER GREEK KINGDOMS OF ASIA. 1Q59
II. of Bithynia, who married her and established her as Queen of Cap-
padocia. Mithridates the Great succeeded in driving her out of the
kingdom, and a war of several years followed, during which the King
of Pontus set up two sovereigns of Cappadocia, while the Cappado-
cians themselves set up one. The old Cappadocian dynasty became
extinct during this struggle. Pontus and Bithynia both set up pre-
tenders to the Cappadocian throne; but the Romans allowed the Cap-
padocians themselves to decide the matter by choosing their own king,
whereupon they raised ARIOBARZANES I. to the throne in B. C. 93.
He was soon driven from his kingdom by Tigranes of Armenia, but
was restored by the Romans in B. C. 92, and reigned undisturbed until
B. C. 88, when he was overthrown by Mithridates the Great, who held
Cappadocia during the whole of his first war with the Roman Repub-
lic. Ariobarzanes I. was reestablished on the Cappadocian throne by
the treaty between Rome and Pontus, but was again driven from his
kingdom by Mithridates the Great and Tigranes in B. C. 67, and was
reinstated again by the Roman general, Pompey the Great, in B. C.
66. He abdicated about B. C. 64, in favor of his son, who became
king with the title of ARIOBARZAXES II. This monarch sided with
Pompey against Casar during the civil war between those great Roman
leaders, but was generously forgiven by the triumphant Caesar after
the battle of Pharsalia, and was permitted to extend his dominions.
In the next civil war of the Roman Republic he sided with Antony and
Octavius against Brutus and Cassius, and was put to death by Cassius
in B. C. 42. When Brutus and Cassius were overthrown by the battle
of Philippi, Antony bestowed the Cappadocian crown on ARIARATHES
IX., believed to be a son of Ariobarzanes II. ; but soon turned against
him, caused him to be put to death, and conferred his crown on
ARCHELAUS, a creature of his own, who governed Cappadocia until A.
D. 15, when he was summoned to Rome by the Emperor Tiberius, whom
he had offended. Archelaiis died in Rome A. D. 17, whereupon Cap-
padocia became a Roman province.
Armenia constituted a part of the Syrian Empire of the Seleucidae
from the battle of Ipsus, in B. C. 301, to the battle of Magnesia, in
B. C. 190. After the defeat of Antiochus the Great at Magnesia,
Armenia revolted from Syria and was formed into the two independent
kingdoms of Armenia Major and Armenia Minor, or Greater and
Lesser Armenia, the former including all of Armenia east of the Eu-
phrates, and the latter embracing the portion of the country west of
that great river.
ARTAXIAS I., who had been a general under Antiochus the Great,
and had led the revolt against that monarch, was the first King of
Greater Armenia. He founded the city of Artaxata, the capital of
Ariobar-
zanes I.
Relations
with
Mith-
ridates
the Great
Ariobar-
zanes II.
Ariara-
thes IX.
Arche-
laus.
Roman
Annexa-
tion of
Cappado-
cia.
The Two
Arme-
nia s.
Kingdom
of
Armenia
Major.
1060
THE GRyECO-ORIEXTAL KINGDOMS.
v/rtoadis-
tes.
Tigranes.
Early
Con-
quests
by
Tigranes.
His
Alliance
with
Mith-
ridates
the Great
against
Rome.
Artavas-
des.
Artaxias
II.
his kingdom; and reigned until B. C. 165, when he was defeated by
Antiochus Epiphanes, who made Armenia again a province of the
Syrian Empire of the Seleucidse. This subjection continued for an
indefinite period, but about B. C. 100 Armenia again appeared as an
independent kingdom under ORTOADISTES, who was succeeded in B. C.
96 by TIGRANES, the greatest of the Armenian kings.
Tigranes commenced his reign by ceding a portion of his kingdom
to Parthia; but about B. C. 90 or 87 he achieved great victories over
the Parthians, regained his lost territory, and annexed Atrapatene
(Northern Media) and Gordyene (Upper Mesopotamia) to his king-
dom ; after which he overran and conquered the dominions of the Seleu-
cidae. For the next fourteen years — from B. C. 83 to B. C. 69 — his
kingdom extended from the frontiers of Pamphylia to the shores of
the Caspian; and during this period he founded the city of Tigran-
ocerta, which he made the capital of his kingdom. Tigranes ravaged
Cappadocia and carried away more than three hundred thousand of
its inhabitants in B. C. 75, thus making an enemy of the Roman Re-
public. He afterwards received his father-in-law, Mithridates the
Great of Pontus, who had been driven from his kingdom by the Ro-
mans, and gave him active support. The Romans thereupon demanded
that Tigranes should deliver up Mithridates to them ; and when he
refused, they invaded Armenia, defeated Tigranes, in B. C. 69, and
took his capital, Tigranocerta. The next year, B. C. 68, Tigranes,
accompanied by Mithridates, retreated to the highlands of Armenia,
whither he was pursued by the Romans, who terribly defeated him at
Artaxata. The mutiny of the Roman troops against their general,
Lucullus, checked their victories, and enabled Tigranes and Mithridates
to assume the offensive in B. C. 67. But when Pompey assumed com-
mand of the Roman army and induced the Parthians to invade Ar-
menia, Tigranes was obliged to abandon his father-in-law to his fate
in order to save his own kingdom. After conquering Pontus, Pompey
invaded Armenia, and Tigranes submitted, as he was not able to with-
stand both the Romans and the Parthians. He thereupon relinquished
all his conquests. He died in B. C. 55.
ARTAVASDES, the son and successor of Tigranes, aided the Roman
general Crassus in his expedition against the Parthians, B. C. 54, and
thus gained the friendship of the Roman Republic ; but he afterwards
offended Antony, who took him prisoner in B. C. 34, and in B. C.
30 he was put to death by order of Cleopatra.
When Artav&sdes had been taken prisoner by Antony, the Armenians
raised his son, ARTAXIAS II., to the throne. This was displeasing to
the Romans, and a period of trouble followed, which continued more
than a century, until the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan, the
THRACE AND THE SMALLER GREEK KINGDOMS OF ASIA.
1061
Kings of Armenia being simply puppets of Rome. In A. D. 114
Trajan made Armenia a Roman province, but it was relinquished by
the next Roman Emperor, Adrian.
Armenia Minor, or Lesser Armenia, as we have seen, revolted from
Antiochus the Great of Syria in B. C. 190, along with Greater Ar-
menia. ZARIADIIAS, the leader of the successful revolt, made himself
King of Lesser Armenia ; and his descendants governed the kingdom
until Mithridates the Great of Pontus conquered Lesser Armenia and
annexed it to his own kingdom. When Mithridates was overthrown,
Lesser Armenia followed the fortunes of Pontus and became a Roman
province (B. C. 65). The history of Lesser Armenia is uneventful,
and the names of the successors of Zariadras are scarcely known.
In the meantime, while the preceding kingdoms had arisen from the
fragments of Alexander's empire in South-eastern Europe, Western
Asia and Egypt, two kingdoms arose from the wrecks of the same
empire in Central Asia — Bactria and Parthia.
After the death of Alexander the Great, Bactria became a portion
of the Syrian Empire of the Seleucidae. In B. C. 255 the satrap
Diodotus cast off the yoke of the Seleucidae and founded the inde-
pendent Kingdom of Bactria, which was purely Greek in its origin,
thus forming a striking contrast to the Kingdom of Parthia, which
was founded about the same time, after casting off its allegiance to
the Seleucidas. Very little is known of the reign of DIODOTUS I. It
is believed that he aided Seleucus Callinicus in his first expedition
against Parthia, and that he was rewarded for his service by obtaining
the recognition of Bactrian independence.
Diodotus I. died about B. C. 237, and was succeeded by his
son DIODOTUS II., who reversed his father's policy by entering
into an alliance with Parthia and aiding that country to achieve
its independence. It seems that Diodotus II. was overthrown by
a revolt headed by EUTHYDEMUS, a native of Magnesia, who
seized the Bactrian throne, becoming the third monarch of this
remote Eastern Greek kingdom. Diodotus was obliged to defend his
kingdom against Antiochus the Great of Syria, and was defeated in
a battle on the river Arms, in which Antiochus was wounded. By the
peace which followed, Euthydemus was left in possession of his king-
dom (B. C. 206). His dominions were enlarged by the conquests made
by his son, Demetrius, in the region of the modern Afghanistan and
in India.
DEMETRIUS succeeded to the Bactrian throne upon his father's death,
about B. C. 200, and continued his conquests in the East. While he
was thus engaged, a leader named EUCRATIDES supplanted him at
home, and made himself sovereign of Bactria proper, north of the
Kingdom
of
Armenia
Minor.
Its
Conquest
by Rome.
Bactria
and
Parthia.
Kingdom
of
Bactria.
Diodotus
I.
Diodotus
II.
Euthy-
demus.
War with
Syria.
De-
metrius.
Eucrati-
des.
1062
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Heliocles.
Parthian
and
Scythian
Conquest
of
Bactria.
Hindoo-Kcosh mountains ; while Demetrius continued to reign in the
Bactrian dominions south of that mountain-range. The two monarchs
thus divided the Bactrian kingdom between them until the death of
Demetrius about B. C. 180, after which Eucratides reigned over the
entire kingdom as long as he lived. After he had become sole sover-
eign, Eucratides carried his conquering arms far into the Punjab, but
lost some of his western territories through the aggressions of the Par-
thians.
Eucratides was assassinated about B. C. 160, while returning from
a campaign in India, by his son HELIOCLES, who then ascended his
father's throne. Very little is known concerning his reign, during
which Bactria rapidly declined. The kingdom was sorely pressed on
the north by the Scythian tribes, while the Parthians gradually wrested
all its western provinces from its dominion. The Bactrian Greeks
solicited aid from their kinsmen in Syria, and Demetrius Nicator es-
poused their cause and led an army to their assistance, but was de-
feated and taken prisoner by the Parthians (B. C. 142). The reign
of Heliocles had ended about B. C. 150, and no account of Bactrian
history after his death has been transmitted to posterity. The Bac-
trian dominions were rapidly absorbed by the Parthians and the Scy-
thians.
Parthia
and
Bactria.
Geogra-
phy of
Parthia.
SECTION V.— PARTHIAN EMPIRE OF THE ARSACID.E.
PARTHIA and Bactria, besides being the most eastern of the mon-
archies which sprung from the wrecks of Alexander's vast empire, were
also the only two of those monarchies not swallowed up in the overshad-
owing dominion of Rome ; Bactria being absorbed by Parthia and the
Scythic tribes, and Parthia existing side by side with Rome as a power-
ful rival empire for almost five centuries, when it was overthrown by
a revolt of one of its subject nations, the Persians, who founded a new
empire on its ruins.
Parthia proper occupied mainly the region of the modern Persian
province of Khorassan, and was about three hundred miles long from
east to west, and from one hundred to one hundred and twenty miles
wide, thus embracing an area of about thirty-three thousand square
miles, about equal to that of Ireland. It was bounded on the north
by Chorasmia and Margiana, on the east by Ariana, on the south by
Sarangia, and on the west by Sagartia and Hyrcania. This region
included a mountainous tract in the North and a plain in the South.
The elevation of the mountain-chains is not great, and the heights
rarely exceed six thousand feet. The mountains are mainly barren
PARTHIAN EMPIRE OF THE ARSACID^E.
1063
and rugged, but the valleys are very rich and fertile, and some of them
are very extensive. The plain lay at the base of the mountains, and
was regarded as the true Parthia by the ancient writers. This plain is
about three hundred miles long, and has always required irrigation for
its fertility. In ancient times the fertile belt was much wider than at
present, as irrigation was more extensively practiced then than now,
but the plain could never have extended more than ten miles byond the
foot of the mountains, as the Great Salt Desert begins at that distance
and renders cultivation impossible. In comparison with the countries
around it, Parthia was a " garden spot," and the Persian monarchs
regarded it as one of the most desirable portions of their dominions.
The Parthian Empire in its greatest extent embraced the countries
between the Euphrates on the west and the Indus on the east, and from
the Araxes, the Caspian Sea, and the Lower Oxus on the north, to the
Persian, Gulf and the Erythraean (now Arabian) Sea on the south;
thus comprising about the eastern half of the same domain occupied
by the vast Medo-Persian Empire, and by the Syrian Empire of the
Seleucidse in its original extent. Its greatest length, from the Eu-
phrates to .the Indus, was almost two thousand miles, and its greatest
width from the Lower Oxus to the Erythraean Sea was about one thou-
sand miles; its area being almost one million square miles.
But a very large portion of this vast domain was scarcely inhabit-
able; as the Mesopotamian, Persian, Chorasmian, Carmanian and
Gedrosian deserts occupied about one-half of the region between the
Euphrates and the Indus, and were capable of sustaining but a scanty
population. Thus the habitable portion of the empire comprised an
area about one-third as large as that of the Roman Empire, but still
larger than that of any modern European state except Russia.
The most important provinces of the Parthian Empire, or the coun-
tries under the suzerainty of the King of Parthia proper, or Parthyene,
were Mesopotamia, Assyria, Babylonia, Susiana, Persia, Media, Atro-
patene (or Northern Media, now Azerbijan), Hyrcania, Margiana,
Ariana, Sarangia (Drangiana), Arachosia, Sacastane, Carmania (now
Kerman), and Gedrosia (now Beloochistan ) . Excepting Sacastane,
these have all been already described in our account of the geography
of the Medo-Persian Empire, to which we refer the reader. Sacastane
(the land of Sacs) lay south of Sarangia, or Drangiana, and corre-
sponded to the modern Seistan. Sacastane had probably been occu-
pied by a Scythian colony during the interval between Alexander's
conquests and the birth of the Parthian Empire. .The minor prov-
inces of this empire were Chalonitis, Cambadene, Mesene, Rhagiana,
Choarene", Comisene, Artacene, Apavartioene, Arbelftis, Apolloniatis
and others.
2—29
Extent
of the
Parthian
Empire.
Desert
and
Habitable
Regions.
Provinces
of the
Empire.
1064
THE GR^ECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Capitals
of the
Empire.
Other
Cities.
The
Parthians
a
Turanian
Race.
Their
An-
cestors.
The capital of Parthyene, or Parthia proper, and the earl}- capital
of the Parthian Empire, was Hecatompylos. The later capital of the
empire was Ctesiphon, in Assyria, on the east bank of the Tigris, in
the vicinity of the modern Bagdad. Ctesiphon, as well as Seleucia,
opposite, on the west bank of the Tigris, had been founded by the
Seleucidae.
Besides Hecatompylos, the important towns of Parthia proper were
Apamea, in Choarene, near the Caspian Gates, and Parthaunisa, or
Nisasa (Nishapur). The chief cities of the western provinces of the
Parthian Empire besides Seleucia and Ctesiphon were Arbela and
Apollonia, also in Assyria; Carrhae, Europus and Nisibis, in Mesopo-
tamia ; Babylon, Borsippa, Vologesia, in Babylonia ; Susa and Badaca,
in Susiana ; Gaza, or Gazaca, in Atropatene ; Ecbatana (now Hama-
dan), Bagistana (now Behistun), Concobar (now Kungawar), Aspa-
dana (now Isfahan), Rhagas, or Europus, and Charax in Media; and
Pasargadag (now Murgab) in Persia, Persepolis having been destroyed
by Alexander the Great. The most important cities in the eastern
provinces were Carmana, in Carmania; Syrinx, Tape, Talabroce and
Samariane, in Hyrcania; Antiochea (now Merv), in Margiana; Arta-
coana (now Herat), in Ariana; Prophthasia, in Sarangia; Sigal and
Alexandropolis, in Sacastane; Alexandropolis, Demetrias, Pharsana
and Parabeste, in Arachosia.
The Parthians were a Turanian race, like the modern Turks and
Turkomans, and were closely related with the different Scythian tribes
of Central Asia, whose descendants are the various Tartar or Turkish
tribes forming a branch of the Mongolian race. Like their Turanian
kinsmen, the modern Turks, the Parthians were treacherous in war,
indolent and unrefined in peace, rude in arts, and barbarous in man-
ners, even during the height of their empire; though they were brave
and enterprising, and possessed a genius and love for war and a talent
for government. Their appearance was repulsive. The Romans,
after conquering the rest of the known world, were obliged to acknowl-
edge their inability to subdue this fierce and warlike nation ; so that
the Parthian Empire remained independent under its own monarchs,
while all the nations to the west of the Euphrates acknowledged the
dominion of Rome, and that mighty river remained the boundary of
the two great rival powers.
The ancestors of the Parthians are supposed to have been the tribe
called Phetri or Pathri in the Hebrew Scriptures, but their early his-
tory, like that of other ancient nations, is very obscure. When the
Parthians first became known to the rest of the world they were a hardy
and warlike race, recognized as of Scythian origin. They were con-
sidered the most skillful horsemen and archers in the world. They
PARTHIAN EMPIRE OF THE ARSACHX/E.
1065
fought on horseback, shooting their arrows with unerring aim, even at
full gallop, and with equal effect, whether advancing or retreating;
their flight being thus as dangerous to an enemy as their attack. This
character they retained to the end of their history.
Parthia formed a part of the Medo-Persian Empire from the begin-
ning to the end of that great power, having been conquered by Cyrus
the Great, and being thus governed for two centuries by a Persian
satrap. Upon the conquest of the Medo-Persian Empire by Alexan-
der the Great, Parthia with the rest of the Persian dominions, fell
under the sway of that mighty conqueror. At Alexander's death Par-
thia became a part of the dominions of Seleucus Nicator, who was
confirmed in its possession by the battle of Ipsus. It remained under
the dominion of the Seleucidas for a century and a half, until B. C.
255, during the reign of Antiochus Theos. In that year the inde-
pendence of Parthia was asserted by Arsaces, the chief of a body of
Scythian Daha?, who led a revolt of the Parthian tribes and put to
death the Syrian governor of the country. The chiefs of the various
Parthian tribes supported Arsaces in this undertaking, and formed a
government resembling the feudal aristocracy of Europe during the
Middle Ages.
ARSACES I. was crowned King of Parthia B. C. 255, but he possessed
only nominal authority. The Parthian crown was elective, with the
restriction that the monarch should always be selected from the family
of the Arsacidae. The Parthian constitution was that of a kind of
limited monarch}^, the king being permanently advised by two coun-
cils, one comprising the members of his own royal house, the other the
temporal and spiritual chiefs of the nation. When the megistanes
had elected a monarch, the field-marshal, or surena, performed the
ceremony of coronation. The megistanes claimed the right to de-
throne a monarch who displeased them ; but as any attempt to exercise
this right would invariably lead to civil war, it was force, and not law,
which determined whether the chosen monarch should retain or forfeit
his crown. The anniversary of Parthian independence was annually
celebrated by the Parthian people with extraordinary festivities. Ar-
saces I. spent the two years of his reign in consolidating his authority
over the Parthian tribes, some of whom resisted him, and was finally
slain in battle with the Cappadocians.
Arsaces I. was succeeded on the Parthian throne by his brother
TIRIDATES I., who had aided him in his revolt against the Seleucidae,
and who assumed the title of ARSACES II. The practice thus com-
menced passed into a custom, which lasted until the very end of the
Parthian Empire. Arsaces II. reigned thirty-seven years (B. C. 253-
216). He wrested Hyrcania from the Seleucidse, but when Seleucus
Parthia
under
Median,
Persian
and
Macedo-
nian Do-
minion.
Parthian
Inde-
pendence
Estab-
lished by
Arsaces.
Arsaces I.
and the
Parthian
Con-
stitution.
Tiridates
I., or
Arsaces
II.
1066
THE GR^ECO-ORIEXTAL KINGDOMS.
Arsaces
III.
Arsaces
IV.
Arsaces
V.
Arsaces
VI., or
Mith-
ridates I.,
the
Founder
of the
Parthian
Empire.
Imperial
System.
Callinfcus, King of Syria, led an expedition into Parthia, Arsaces II,
fled into Scythia, but afterwards returned and defeated Seleucus Cal-
linicus, who was obliged to acknowledge the independence of Parthia.
ARSACES III., the son and successor of Arsaces II. , is believed to
have reigned twenty years (B. C. 216—196). He invaded Media,
which he endeavored to wrest from the. Seleucidae, about B. C. 21 4- ;
whereupon Antiochus the Great marched against him (B. C. 213),
drove him from Media, invaded Parthia and took its capital, Hecatom-
pylos, and pursued Arsaces III. into Hyrcania ; but after an indecisive
battle Antiochus the Great wisely made peace, confirming Arsaces III.
in the possession of both Parthia and Hyrcania.
ARSACES IV., or PRIAPATITTS, the next Parthian king, had an un-
eventful reign of fifteen years (B. C. 196-181). The next king, AR-
SACES V., or PHRAATES I., the son and successor of Arsaces IV., reigned
only seven years, but nothing is known of his reign except his at-
tempted conquest of the Mardi, a powerful tribe of the Elburz moun-
tain-region. He had many children, but left his crown to his brother
MITHRIDATES I., also called ARSACES VI., who was regarded as the
founder of the Parthian Empire of the Arsacidce, because he extended
the Parthian dominion over the neighboring countries and established
the governmental system under which that empire was thenceforth
ruled. Mithridates I., or Arsaces VI., wrested several provinces from
the neighboring Bactrian kingdom on the east; after which he turned
his conquering arms towards the west, and deprived the Seleucidas of
many of their eastern territories, thus subduing Media, Persia, Susiana
and Babylonia, and establishing the Euphrates as the western bound-
ary of the Parthian dominions. He then renewed the war with the
Bactrian Greeks, and destroyed their kingdom, after a protracted
struggle of about twenty years (B. C. 160-140) ; while Demetrius
Nicator, who, in response to their appeals for aid, had marched to
their relief, was defeated and taken prisoner by Mithridates I., who
held him in captivity until his own death, about B. C. 136.
Mithridates I., or Ars&ces VI., did not adopt the satrapial system
introduced by the Medo-Persian kings and continued by Alexander
the Great and his successors, but organized the Parthian Empire
on the older and simpler plan which had prevailed in Western Asia
under the empires of Assyria, Media and Babylonia, before the found-
ing of the Medo-Persian Empire. This was the system of allowing
the subject nations to retain their own native kings and their own
laws and usages, and only requiring the subjection of all these kings
to the monarch of the ruling nation as their feudal lord, or suzerain.
Hence the title of King of Kings is often seen on the Parthian
coins from the time of Mithridates I. Each subject king was
PARTHIAN EMPIRE OF THE ARSACIDyE.
1067
bound to furnish a contingent of troops when required, as well as
an annual tribute; but in other respects these subject monarchs were
independent.
In the height of its prosperity, the Parthian Empire was one of the
most powerful of all the Oriental monarchies. The Parthians were
a nation of mounted warriors, sheathed in complete steel, and possess-
ing a race of horses alike remarkable for speed and strength. They
overran their Persian neighbors with scarcely any opposition, and con-
verted themselves into a military aristocracy, the conquered Persians
being degraded into a mere herd of slaves. The Parthian invaders
thus became the feudal lords of the vanquished Persians, who remained
attached to the soil in the condition of serfs. The Parthian cavaliers
may thus be compared with the knights of mediaeval Europe. These
cavaliers constituted the strength of the Parthian army, and bore down
everything in their way, while the infantry was comparatively disre-
garded.
The Parthians chiefly adopted Persian customs. The Arsacidae
maintained the same state as the Achaemenidag. The Parthian court,
like the Medo-Persian, migrated with the seasons, Ctesiphon becoming
the winter capital of the Parthian Empire, and Ecbatana the sum-
mer capital. Hecatompylos, so called from its hundred gates, the
capital of Parthia proper, and the original capital of the Parthian
Empire, was a splendid city. The Parthian monarchs, like other Ori-
ental sovereigns, practiced polygamy on a large scale, as did also the
Parthian nobles. The Parthians were not, however, enervated and
corrupted by luxury, but remained to the end of their empire a rude,
coarse and vigorous people. In a few respects they adopted Greek
manners, as in the character of their coins and the legends upon them,
which, being Greek from first to last, were probably copied from the
coins of the Seleucidse. Grecian influences are also seen in the Par-
thian mimetic art, which, however, never reached a high degree of ex-
cellence.
Mithridates I., or Arsaces VI., the founder of the Parthian Empire,
was succeeded by his son, PHRAATES II., also called ARSACES VII.,
who reigned about nine or ten years (B. C. 136-127). About B. C.
129 Antiochus Sidetes, King of Syria, undertook an expedition against
Phraates II., to release his brother Demetrius and humble the pride of
the Parthians. He gained three victories and recovered Babylonia,
and the insurrectionary spirit among the Parthian feudatories reduced
Phraates II. to such extremities that he released Demetrius and sent
him into Syria, but invoked the assistance of the Turanian tribes bor-
dering his northern frontier, and before their arrival he attacked and
overpowered the Syrian army in its winter-quarters, slaying Antiochus
VOL. 3.— 24
The
Parthians,
Mounted
Warriors.
Parthian
Customs.
Arsaces
VII.
His
Unsuc-
cessful
Wars
with the
Syrians
and Tu-
ranians.
1068
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Arsaces
VIII.
Arsaces
IX.
His
Success-
ful Wars
with the
Tura-
nians and
Armenia.
Arsaces
Z.
Arsaces
XI.
Arsaces
XII.
Relations
with
Rome.
Sidetes himself in battle. The Parthian king was prevented from in-
vading Syria by the conduct of the Turanians, whose aid he had in-
voked, and who, discontented with their treatment, attacked him and
defeated him in the war which they waged against him. His army,
consisting partly of captured Greeks, betrayed him, and Phraates him-
self was slain in the struggle, about B. C. 127.
Phraates II., or Arsaces VII., was succeeded by his uncle, ARTA-
BANUS I., or ARSACES VIII. The Seleucidae made no further attempt
to recover their Eastern provinces, but the Turanian races north of the
Oxus now began making constant raids into Hyrcania and Parthia
proper, and Artabanus I. was fatally wounded in battle with a Tura-
nian tribe called Tochari, about B. C. 124. He was succeeded by his
son, MITHRIDATES II., also called ARSACES IX., who was a warlike and
powerful monarch, and whose achievements won for him the title of
the Great. He defeated the Turanian tribes in several engagements
and broke their power, and extended the Parthian dominion in many
directions in a long series of wars. He waged war against Ortoadistes,
or Artavasdes, King of Armenia, whom he forced to accept a disad-
vantageous peace, and to give hostages for its fulfillment, among whom
was Tigranes, a prince of the blood-royal of Armenia. Tigranes
induced the Parthian monarch to assist him to gain the Armenian
throne by ceding a part of Armenia to him about B. C. 96. But
when Tigranes became King of Armenia, he declared war against Mith-
rid&tes II., recovered the ceded territory, invaded Parthia itself, con-
quered Adiabene, and compelled the Kings of Atropatene and Gor-
dyene to become his tributaries, about B. C. 90 or 87. Mithridates
II., or Arsaces IX., soon afterward died, after a reign of over thirty-
five years (B. C. 124—89). Parthia now ranked next to Rome as the
most powerful state of the ancient world at that time.
Thenceforth Parthian history is uncertain and uneventful for twenty
years, during which ARSACES X. and ARSACES XI. are said to have
reigned, the latter becoming king at the age of eighty and reigning
seven years (B. C. 76—69), and being succeeded by his son, PHRAATES
III., or ARSACES XII., who took the title of Deos or " God." He be-
came king when the Romans compelled Mithridates the Great of Pon-
tus to seek refuge in Armenia ; and in B. C. 66 he entered into an alli-
ance with the Romans, and while Pompey the Great pressed Mithri-
dates of Pontus, Phraates III. attacked Tigranes of Armenia and thus
enabled Rome to triumph. But the great republic ungratefully aided
Tigrdnes against Phraates III. in B. C. 65, and took the province of
Gordyene from the Parthian king, who had in the meantime recovered
it, and bestowed it on the Armenian monarch. Phraates III. vainly
remonstrated, as Pompey was inexorable, and Phraates III. made peace
PARTHIAN EMPIRE OF THE ARSACID^.
1069
with Tigranes about B. C. 63, ceding to him Armenia. Soon after-
wards (B. C. 60) Phraates III. was poisoned by his two sons, Mithri-
dates and Orodes.
By the war with Mithridates the Great of Pontus, the Roman and
Parthian dominions became conterminous, as Syria, which now became
a Roman province, was only separated from the Parthian province of
Mesopotamia by the river Euphrates. A collision between the two
great powers which now divided between them the dominion of the
then-known world became imminent.
MITHRIDATES III., or ARSACES XIII., succeeded his father, Phraates
III. He became involved in a war with Artavasdes, King of Armenia,
the second son and the successor of Tigranes, in behalf of his brother-
in-law Tigranes, the eldest son of the late king ; but was unsuccessful
in his efforts to place the rightful claimant upon the Armenian throne.
After a reign of five years (B. C. 60-55), Mithridates III. was de-
posed by the Parthian nobles, and, after a protracted resistance at
Babylon, he was finally taken prisoner and put to death; while his
brother, ORODES L, or ARSACES XIV., was elevated to the Parthian
throne in his stead — about B. C. 55.
After its triumph over Mithridates the Great of Pontus and Ti-
granes of Armenia, the Roman Republic cast longing eyes upon the
greater and richer Parthian Empire ; and without any pretext a Roman
expedition under Crassus invaded the Parthian territories, B. C. 54, but
was entirely cut to pieces by the Parthians, Crassus himself being
among the slain (B. C. 53). In B. C. 52 and 51 a Parthian army
under Pacorus, the son of King Orodes I., crossed the Euphrates from
Mesopotamia into Syria, thus invading the Roman territories and rav-
aging them far and wide, overrunning Northern Syria and Phoenicia,
and defeating the Roman general Bibulus. But the Roman general
Cassius gained some successes ; and Orodes, suspecting the loyalty of
Pacorus, recalled him and withdrew his army from the Roman terri-
tories. In B. C. 40 Pacorus, aided by the Roman refugee Labienus,
again crossed the Euphrates and invaded Syria, destroyed a Roman
army under Decidius Saxa, occupied Antioch, Apamea, Sidon, and
Ptolem&i's, plundered Jerusalem, and placed Antigonus on the Jewish
throne as Parthian viceroy. The Parthians, being thus complete mas-
ters of Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine, invaded Asia Minor, which they
plundered as far west as Caria, Ionia and the Roman province of Asia ;
but a Roman force under Ventidius defeated and killed Labienus in
B. C. 39, and defeated Pacorus the following year (B. C. 38). The
Parthians then retired from Syria, and thereafter only acted on the
defensive against Roman aggressions in many wars during the next
two and a half centuries.
Parthia
and
Rome.
Arsaces
XIII., or
Mithri-
dates III.
Arsaces
XIV., or
Orodes I.
Invasion
of
Parthia
by a
Roman
Expedi-
tion under
Crassus.
Parthian
Invasion
of Roman
Territo-
ries.
1070
THE GR.ECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Arsaces
XV.
Parthian
Internal
Troubles.
Arsaces
XVI.
Arsaces
XVII.
Arsaces
XVIII.
Arsaces
XIX.
Civil
War.
Arsaces
XX.
Arsaces
XXI.
Arsaces
XXII.
Arsaces
XXIII.
Tiridates
of
Armenia.
Arsaces
XXIV.
Arsaces
XXV.
On the death of Orodes I., in B. C. 37, his son PHRAATES IV. became
his successor, and reigned under the title of ARSACES, XV. Mark An-
tony led a great Roman expedition into the Parthian territories in B.
C. 36, but was obliged to make a retreat almost as disastrous as that
of Crassus.
For the next century and a half— from B. C. 37 to A. D. 107—
Parthia was disturbed by internal troubles excited by the Romans.
Phraates IV., or Arsaces XV., who reigned from B. C. 37 to A. D. 4,
was annoyed by a pretender named Tiridates, who was encouraged by
the Roman Emperor Augustus, and was finally murdered by his female
slave, Thermusa, whom he had married. His son and successor, PHRA-
ATACES, or ARSACES XVI., the son of Thermusa, reigned only a few
months, when he was put to death by the Parthians, who bestowed the
crown on ORODES II., or ARSACES XVII., a member of the royal fam-
ily, but he was soon put to death on account of his cruelty (A. D. 5).
The Parthians then sent to Rome for Vonones, the eldest son of Phra-
ates IV., who was sent to them by Augustus, and who reigned from
about A. D. 6 to A. D. 14, as VONONES L, or ARSACES XVIII., when
he was forced to yield his crown to ARTABANUS II., or ARSACES XIX.,
another member of the royal family, whose reign of thirty years (A.
D. 14—44) was distracted by a revolt of the Babylonian Jews, by
pretenders supported by Augustus, and by rebellions of the tributary
kings. Upon his death two of his sons, Gotarzes and Vardanes, en-
gaged in a civil war for the possession of the crown, which ended in
the triumph of Vardanes, who reigned as ARSACES XX., for about four
years (A. D. 44-48), when Gotarzes renewed the struggle, and the
Parthians deserted and killed Vardanes and made Gotarzes king with
the title of ARSACES XXI. Gotarzes reigned only two years (A. D.
48-50), and was disturbed by a war with Meherdates, son of Vonones
I., who claimed the crown and was supported by the Romans, but was
slain after a brief struggle. Upon the death of Gotarzes in A. D. 50,
VONONES II., or ARSACES XXII., a member of the royal family, be-
came king, but reigned only a few months. His son and successor,
VOLOGESES I., or ARSACES XXIII., reigned forty years (A. D. 50—
90). Vologeses I. had conferred the crown of Armenia on his brother
Tiridates, who was so harassed by the Romans that he renounced his
allegiance to Parthia and consented to become a vassal of the Roman
Emperor Nero (A. D. 65). After the death of Vologeses I., in A. D.
90, his son, Pacorus, succeeded him as ARSACES XXIV., and reigned
seventeen years (A. D. 90-107), during which he beautified Ctesiphon.
At his death, in A. D. 107, Pacorus was succeeded by his brother,
CHOSORES, or ARSACES XXV., who immediately asserted the Parthian
supremacy over Armenia by dethroning its reigning king, Exedares,
PARTHIAN EMPIRE OF THE ARSACID.E.
1071
and placing his nephew Parthamasiris, the son of Pacorus, upon the
Armenian throne. This involved him in a war with the Roman Em-
peror Trajan, who thereupon invaded and conquered Armenia, driving
out Parthamasiris, without a struggle; after which he quickly overran
Mesopotamia and Assyria, capturing city after city, and annexing
these Parthian provinces, along with Armenia, to the Roman Empire.
Trajan then advanced southward, took Seleucia, Ctesiphon and Baby-
lon, descended the Tigris to the Persian Gulf and conquered Mesene,
the Parthian province upon its northern shore, while his hosts ad-
vanced to Susa. But revolts broke out against the Romans at Seleu-
cia, Edessa, Nisibis, Hatra and other cities, thus obliging Trajan to
retire from the Parthian territories which he had conquered. To cover
the humiliation of his retreat, Trajan held an assembly at Ctesiphon
and placed his more southern conquests under the sovereignty of a
puppet king, a native named Parthamaspates. Trajan strongly gar-
risoned his other conquests, Armenia, Mesopotamia and Assyria, and
held them as Roman provinces during the remaining two years of his
reign (A. D. 115—117), but they were relinquished by his successor,
Adrian, who withdrew the Roman legions to the west of the Euphrates,
which again became the boundary stream dividing the Roman and
Parthian Empires. Chosroes returned to his capital, which was aban-
doned by Parthamaspates, who fell back on his Roman friends, who
made him King of Armenia ; and the Parthian Empire was restored to
its former limits.
Chosroes died about A. D. 121, and was succeeded by his son, VOL-
OGESES II., or ARSACES XXVI., who reigned about twenty-eight years
(A. D. 121-149). The Alani having invaded Media Atropatene,
Vologeses II. bribed them to retire. His successor, VOLOGESES III.,
or ARSACES XXVII., reigned about forty-three years (A. D. 149-
192). He became involved in a war with the Roman Emperor Marcus
Aurelius about A. D. 161, and invaded Armenia, which had become a
Roman fief during the preceding reign. The Parthians defeated the
Roman Prefect of Cappadocia and destroyed his army, the Prefect
himself being slain. They then crossed the Euphrates and ravaged
Syria, but were soon defeated and driven from Syria and Armenia,
and the victorious Romans occupied Mesopotamia and took the cities
of Seleucia, Ctesiphon and Babylon, burning the royal palace at Ctes-
iphon (A. D. 165). Thereupon Parthia sued for peace, which she
only obtained by ceding Mesopotamia to the Romans and allowing
Armenia to again become a Roman fief.
Vologeses III. was succeeded by his son, VOLOGESES IV., or ARSACES
XXVIII., who reigned about twenty-one years (A. D. 192-213).
Vol6geses IV. became involved in a war with the Roman Emperor Sep-
Relations
with
Armenia.
War with
the
Roman
Emperor
Trajan.
Peace
with
Rome.
Arsaoes
XXVI.
Arsaces
XXVII.
War with
the
Roman
Emperor
Marcus
Aurelius.
Peace
with
Rome.
Arsaces
XXVIII.
1073
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
War with
the
Roman
Emperor
Sep-
timius
Severus.
Civil
War.
Arsaces
XXIX.
Arsaces
XXX.
Wars
with
Rome.
Peace
with
Rome.
Sadden
End
of the
Parthian
Empire.
Founding
of the
New
Persian
Empire
of the
Sassani-
te.
timius Severus, A. D. 193, in consequence of the aid which he rendered
Pescennius Niger, the rival claimant against Severus for the sover-
eignty of the Roman Empire. After the overthrow and death of
Pescennius Niger, the Roman army marched across Mesopotamia into
Assyria and occupied Adiabene, descended the Tigris in ships to fLrN-
iphon, captured Ctesiphon, Seleucia and Babylon, and returned in
safety after suffering a repulse at Hatra. Vologeses IV. purchased
peace in A. D. 199 by ceding Adiabene, or Northern Assyria, to the
Roman Empire.
After the death of Vologeses IV. a civil war arose between his sons
for the possession of the Parthian crown, which VOLOGESES V., or AR-
SACES XXIX., acquired after a short struggle. His successor, ARTA-
BANUS III., or ARSACES XXX., was the last King of Parthia, and is
supposed to have been a son of Vologeses IV. and a brother of Vologeses
V. He reigned about ten years (A. D. 216-226). When he refused
to give his daughter in marriage to the Roman Emperor Caracalla, at
the demand of the latter, Caracalla instantly crossed the Euphrates,
seized Osrhoene, proceeded through Mesopotamia to the Tigris, in-
vaded Adiabene, took Arbela, and drove the Parthians into the moun-
tains (A. D. 216). Caracalla then returned to Edessa, in Osrhoene,
but was assassinated the next year by Macrinus, who renewed the war
with the Parthian king, by whom he was twice defeated near Nisibis,
in consequence of which Macrinus only obtained peace by the payment
of a large amount of money and the cession of the Roman territory
east of the Euphrates to the Parthian king. Thus Parthia was vic-
torious in her last war with Rome.
The Parthian Empire thus recovered its old limits, and Artabanus
III. exercised the old Parthian suzerainty over Armenia by supporting
the claims of his own brother to the Armenian crown. But just at
this moment, when the Parthian Empire appeared to have recovered its
former strength and power, it suddenly received its death-blow. The
Arsacidae had never gained the affections of their Persian subjects in
the southern part of their empire ; and, after four centuries of Persian
subjection to Parthian dominion, the conquering Parthians and the
conquered Persians had not amalgamated or assimilated, but the Par-
thians continued to be an army of occupation, separated by habits,
prejudices and feelings from the mass of the Persian nation. In A.
D. 226 the Persians under Ardeshir Babegan, or Artaxerxes, the son
of Sassan, who claimed descent from Cyrus, rose in rebellion and de-
feated the Parthian forces in three great battles, in the last of which
Artab&nus III. himself was slain. These victories suddenly put an
end to the Parthian Empire by transferring the supremacy of the
Parthian dominions from the vanquished Parthians to the triumphant
PARTHIAN EMPIRE OF THE ARSACIDJE.
1073
Artaxerxes and the New Persians, who thus founded the New Persian
Empire of the Sassanidae (A. D. 226).
This important revolution put an end to the supremacy of the Tura-
nian race in the East and restored the ascendency of the Aryans. The
overthrow of the Parthian Empire in A. D. 226 holds the same place
in Asiatic history that the subversion of the Western Roman Empire
in A. D. 476 does in European annals — that of forming the connect-
ing link between ancient times and the Middle Ages.
Scarcely anything is known of the domestic history of the Parthians,
and in the Persian history the Parthian dominion is almost a blank, all
that we know of Parthian political history being derived from Roman
sources. Religion and literature were closely connected in Persian his
tory, and under the sway of the Parthian kings the religious system
of Zoroaster fell into utter neglect. After Christianity had begun to
spread, the Parthian monarchs tolerated, if they did not directly en-
courage, this new religion, and liberally afforded a refuge to Chris-
tians fleeing from the persecutions of the pagans, and from such of
their brethren as belonged to a different sect. But the expulsion of
the Parthians from Persia was followed by the restoration of the re-
ligion of Zoroaster and the Zend-Avesta. The eastward advance of
Christianity was checked, and it was thrown back upon the Roman
world, leaving, unfortunately, too many marks of its close contact
with Oriental mysticism and superstition. The foothold thus lost by
Christianity in the East was never regained.
End of
Turanian
Suprem-
acy in the
East.
Parthian
Civiliza-
tion.
Christi-
anity and
Zoroas-
trianism.
THE ARSACID^! OF PARTHIA.
B. C.
Kixoa.
A. D.
255 Artaxerxes, or Arsaces I.
253 Tiridates I., or Arsaces II.
216 Arsaces III.
196 Priapatius, or Arsaces IV.
181 Phraates I., or Arsaces V.
174 Mithridates I., or Arsaces VI.
136 Phraates II., or Arsaces VII.
127 Artabanus I., or Arsaces VIII.
124 Mithridates II., or Arsaces IX.
89 Arsaces X.
76 Arsaces XI.
69 Phraates III., or Arsaces XII.
60 Mithridates III., or Arsaces
XIII.
55 Orodes I., or Arsaces XIV.
37 Phraates IV., or Arsaces XV.
4 Phraataces, or Arsaces XVI.
5 Orodes II., or Arsaces XVII.
6 Vonones I., or Arsaces XVIII.
14 Artabanus II., or Arsaces XIX.
44 Vardanes, or Arsaces XX.
48 Gotarzes, or Arsaces XXT.
50 Vonones II., or Arsaces XXII.
50 Vologeses I., or Arsaces XXIII.
90 Pacorus, or Arsaces XXIV.
107 Chosroes, or Arsaces XXV.
121 Vologeses II., or Arsaces XXVI.
149 Vologeses III., or Arsaces
XXVII.
192 Vologeses IV., or Arsaces
XXVIII.
213 Vologeses V., or Arsaces XXIX.
216 Artabanus III., or Arsaces
XXX. (to A. D. 226).
1074
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Alexan-
der's
Conquest
of
Palestine.
Ptolemy
Soter-
Sad-
ducees,
Pharisees
and
Es series.
Palestine
under the
Ptole-
mies.
Septua-
gint
Transla-
tion
of the
Hebrew
Scrip-
tures.
SECTION VI.— THE JEWS UNDER THE MACCABEES AND
THE HERODS.
WE have seen that Palestine, or Judaea, as a part of the Persian
satrapy of Syria, was conquered by Alexander the Great, along with
the remainder of the Medo-Persian Empire (B. C. 332-331). After
Alexander's death, in B. C. 324, Palestine was by turns the prize of
the Seleucidas of Syria and the Ptolemies of Egypt, and suffered
severely from the invasions of both alternately. Ptolemy Soter be-
sieged Jerusalem and stormed it on the sabbath-day. He carried one
hundred thousand Jews captive to Egypt, Libya and Cyrena'ica, where
their posterity continued to live as a distinct people for several cen-
turies. During this period Simon the Just was High Priest. He
was distinguished for his virtues as a ruler and also for his piety, and
under his direction the canon of the Old Testament was completed (B.
C. 292). At this time arose several Jewish sects. The Sadducees,
who denied the doctrines of a resurrection and a future state, and who
endeavored to modify the Mosaic laws in accordance with Greek doc-
trines, embraced mainly the rich and powerful. The Pharisees, who
were noted for their strict adherence to the laws of Moses, and for
their hypocrisy and their regard for outward ceremonies, comprised
mostly the lower orders. The Essenes, a very small sect, held all their
possessions in common, on the communistic principle, and served
Jehovah by acts of penance and works of charity. Jesus Christ is
believed to have belonged to this sect.
The ultimate dismemberment of Alexander's empire in consequence
of the battle of Ipsus, in B. C. 301, confirmed Palestine and Coele-Syria
as portions of the Egyptian kingdom of the Ptolemies. Under the
dominion of the first three Ptolemies, Judaea was allowed considerable
local self-government ; and so long as the Jews paid their tribute regu-
larly, Ptolemies Soter, Philadelphus and Euergetes seldom attempted
to interfere in the religious or civil affairs of the Jewish nation. The
High-Priest was the civil head of the Jewish people, as well as the
chief of their national religion ; and the reigns of the first three
Ptolemies constituted a period of peace and prosperity for Judaea.
The translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek language —
known as the Septuagint version — under the auspices of Ptolemy
Philadelphus, has already been noticed. This was an important event
in the history of the Jews and of the world, as the appearance of the
Jewish sacred writings in a widely-spread language made these writings
accessible to the whole civilized world, thus exercising an important
influence upon the times, and particularly upon the Jews themselves.
THE JEWS UNDER THE MACCABEES AND THE HERODS.
1075
This translation made the Hebrew Scriptures known to the ancient
world, and prepared the way for the spread of Christianity.
Ptolemy Philopator, the fourth of that dynasty, was a weak and
licentious monarch, and mortally offended the Jews by attempting to
violate the sanctity of the Holy Temple at Jerusalem by entering it
in B. C. 217. This attempt at profanation was thwarted, and Ptolemy
Philopator avenged himself by outrages upon the Alexandrian Jews,
who had not done him any harm whatever. The Jews were so dis-
gusted and alarmed by his conduct that they sought protection from
Antiochus the Great of Syria, and voluntarily transferred their alle-
giance to that monarch, thus making Judaea a part of the Syrian
Empire of the Seleucidae. Aided by the Jews, Antiochus the Great
made himself master of all the coast between Upper Syria and the
Desert of Sinai; and the battle of Paneas, B. C. 198, in which the
Egyptians were defeated, established the power of the Seleucidse over
Judaea, which Antiochus the Great thus wrested from Ptolemy Epfph-
anes, the successor of Ptolemy Philopator, after a series of bloody
wars.
The Jews soon had reason to regret their change of masters, as they
were more oppressed by the Seleucida? after the death of Antiochus
the Great than they had been by the Ptolemies. Antiochus the Great
allowed the Jews to manage their own religious and civil affairs, but
his successor, Seleucus Philopator attempted to Hellenize them. Simon,
the governor of the Temple, who had been expelled by Onfas, the
High-Priest, found refuge among the Syrians and informed them that
there were vast treasures preserved in the sanctuary of Jerusalem.
For the purpose of appropriating the sacred treasures of the Temple
to his own pressing necessities and bringing them to Antioch, Seleucus
Philopator sent his treasurer, Heliodorus, to Jerusalem. The Jewish
tradition states that three angels made their appearance to defend the
sanctuary. One of these angels was said to have been seated on a
terrible horse, which trampled Heliodorus under his feet, while the other
scourged him to death, but the prayers of the High-Priest restored him
to life, and the treasures of the Temple remained unmolested.
Antiochus Epiphanes, the brother and successor of Seleucus Philop-
ator committed greater sacrilege and cruelly persecuted the Jews.
Soon after his accession, Antiochus Epiphanes was bribed to deprive
Onfas of the High-Priesthood. He sold the sacred office to Jason, who
had already so far conformed to Greek customs as to relinquish his
original Jewish name, Jesus. Under Jason's administration the Jewish
nation became infected with a general apostasy, the temple service to
Jehovah was neglected, academies on the Greek model were opened at
Jerusalem, and the High-Priest himself publicly sent an offering to the
Ptolemy
Philopa-
tor's Pro-
fanation
of the
Holy
Temple.
Conquest
of
Palestine
under
Antiochus
the
Great.
The Jews
under
the Seleu-
cidae.
Seleucus
Philopa-
tor and
Heliodo-
Sacrilege
of
Antiochus
Epiph-
anes.
Onias,
Jason and
Manelaus.
1076
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Jason's
Revolt.
Capture,
Pillage
and
Massacre
of
Jerusa-
lem by
Antipchus
Epiph-
anes.
His
Profana-
tion of the
Temple.
Tyrian Hercules. Antfochus Epfphanes deprived Jason of the High-
Priesthood by selling the office to Jason's brother, Menelaiis, who
plundered the Temple of all its rich ornaments to pay the large bribe
which he had promised to the king. Onias, who had lived at Antioch
since his deposition, remonstrated against this sacrilege, whereupon
the wicked Menelaiis, in great alarm, caused the worthy priest to be
assassinated, but even the apostates from Jehovah lamented his death.
Menelaiis then pursued his iniquitous policy with impunity until the
masses, unable to endure his exactions any longer, excited a formidable
riot in Jerusalem and killed the captain of the Syrian guard, who had
been brought there to protect the High-Priest. The tumult was al-
layed by the Sanhedrim, or Jewish council, which sent three deputies to
inform King Antfochus Epiphanes of the condition of affairs and
to expose the crimes of Menelaiis. The wily priest, however, won the
royal favorites by large bribes ; and, at their instigation, the deputies
were executed after they had presented themselves before the king.
The Tyrians gave the bodies of the unfortunate deputies an honorable
burial.
While Antfochus Epfphanes was invading Egjrpt, in B. C. 170, a
rumor that he had been killed before Alexandria spread through Syria
and Judaea. Thereupon Jason raised a small army to recover the
High-Priesthood, marched to Jerusalem, entered the city, and mas-
sacred all who opposed his pretensions ; but when Antfochus Epfphanes
returned to Egypt, Jason fled from Jerusalem and wandered from one
city to another as an exile, an object of universal scorn, as a traitor
to his country and an inhuman monster.
Antfochus Epfphanes was greatly incensed at Jason's rebellion and
at the public rejoicings of the Jews when they had heard the report of
his death. He led a Syrian army into Judaea, took Jerusalem by storm,
pillaged the city, massacred forty thousand of its inhabitants in three
days, sold as many more into slavery among the neighboring nations,
and plundered the Temple of its treasures to the amount of eighteen
hundred talents (B. C. 170). Two years afterward (B. C. 168), he
profaned the Temple by offering unclean animals upon the altar of
burnt offerings, polluting the entire edifice by sprinkling it with water
in which flesh had been boiled, dedicating the Temple itself to Zeus,
and erecting the statue of that Olympian deity on the altar of Jehovah
in the inner court of the Temple, with daily sacrifices of swine's flesh.
This is regarded as " the abomination of desolation," referred to by the
prophet Daniel.
The tyrannical monarch strenuously endeavored to force the Gre-
cian polytheism upon the monotheistic Jews, and sought to Hellenize
them by forcible means, beginning one of the most cruel persecutions
THE JEWS UNDER THE MACCABEES AND THE HERODS.
1077
recorded in history. He issued an edict forbidding the Jews to observe
any longer the Mosaic law regarding the sabbath and the rite of cir-
cumcision ; and two women who were found guilty of circumcising their
male children on the eighth day, according to the Law of Moses, were
led around the city with the infants hung from their necks, and then
cast headlong from the highest pinnacle of the city walls. To escape
their atrocious cruelties, multitudes of Jews fled to the craggy rocks
and caverns abounding in Palestine, living upon wild roots and herbs, to
avoid the perils of death or the disgrace of apostasy. Even in
these desolate places of refuge the persecuted Jews were pursued by the
emissaries of the cruel monarch, and in one cave more than a thousand
Jews, who had assembled to celebrate the sabbath, were massacred by
the soldiers of the provincial governor. The noble constancy and
heroic fortitude exhibited by many Jewish martyrs, of every age, sex
and condition, often obliged their idolatrous persecutors to yield them
involuntary admiration ; and many of the Syrian officers secretly evaded
the orders of their tyrannical sovereign, and endeavored to win the
Jews by gentleness and persuasion, instead of by persecution and
torture.
Mattathias, the head of the Asmonagan family, which was the first in
the classes of the hereditary priesthood, was unable to endure the
scenes of cruelty and profaneness displayed at Jerusalem, and there-
fore he retired to his native village of Modin, where he was allowed for
some time to follow the religion of his fathers. At length a Syrian
officer, who was sent to this remote place, assembled the people and
offered the king's favor and protection as a reward for apostasy.
Some miserable wretches yielded ; but as one of them was about to offer
sacrifice to the image of Zeus, Mattathias killed the renegade on the
spot. His heroic sons, imitating their father's example, overthrew
the altar and broke the idol. But as they knew that their conduct
would be considered treason, they retired from the village and sought
refuge in the " Wilderness of Judaea," whither they were soon followed
by bands of heroic followers, resolved to vindicate the Mosaic laws at
all hazards. Mattathias restored the worship of Jehovah in several of
the cities from which he had expelled the Syrian garrisons, but he died
before being able to recover Jerusalem (B. C. 166). In his last
moments he appointed his son Judas to lead the army of the faithful,
and exhorted all his sons to persevere in their heroic endeavors to re-
store the worship of Jehovah and the Mosaic laws to their original
purity.
The struggle between the Hellenized Syrians and the Jewish rebels
now assumed the character and importance of a regular war. The
sons of Mattathias were called Maccabees, because they engraved
His
Attempt
to
Suppress
the
Worship
of
Jehovah
and the
Laws of
Moses.
Jewish
Patriots
and
Martyrs.
Rebellion
of the
Jews
under
Matta-
thias.
The
Macca-
bees.
1078
THE GILECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Judas
Macca-
baeus
His
Victory
at Beth-
boron and
Recovery
of
Jerusa-
lem.
Last
Victories
and Death
of Judas
Macca-
baeus.
Jonathan
Macca-
baeus and
His
Career.
His
Assassi-
nation.
on their standards the four Hebrew letters which were the initials of
the words of the eleventh verse of the fifteenth chapter of Exodus,
Mi Kamoka B'elohim Jehovah. JUDAS MACCABEUS gained several
great victories over the Syrian armies and reduced some of the strong-
est fortresses in Judaea. The most signal of his achievements was the
defeat of the Syrians at Beth-horon, where the Syrian general Nicanor
was slain and his whole army cut to pieces. The Maccabees recovered
Jerusalem and its Temple without encountering any opposition, the
Syrian garrison having evacuated the city on their approach. When
the triumphant Jews came to Mount Zion and observed the desolation
of the city and the Temple, they rent their clothes and vented their
grief in loud lamentations. After the first emotions of sorrow had
subsided, Judas Maccabaeus secured the city by sufficient guards, and
then employed his men in purifying the Temple and restoring its
ruined altars. The holy place was thus restored three years after its
profanation, and the feasts of its dedication were celebrated with all
possible solemnity.
Judas Maccabaeus exerted himself to maintain the independence
of the Jewish nation by securing the frontiers of his country by for-
tresses. He repulsed many successive Syrian invasions, and signally
defeated the Idumaeans, the allies of the Seleucidae. Having finally
engaged the Syrian army under Bacchides against terrible odds, the
valiant Judas was abandoned by his followers and slain, after many
Syrians had fallen beneath his powerful arm (B. C. 161). His
countrymen recovered his body and buried it in his father's sepulcher
at Modin. The Jews universally mourned his death, and, as they con-
veyed his remains to the tomb, they sang a funeral hymn in imitation
of that composed by David on Jonathan's death, exclaiming : " How
is the mighty fallen ! How is the preserver of Israel slain ! "
The Syrian army under Bacchides recovered Jerusalem with ease,
and then marched against the remnant of the revolted Jewish army
under JONATHAN MACCABEUS, the brother of the heroic Judas. Sev-
eral indecisive conflicts were followed by a treaty of peace, and Jona-
that Maccabaeus was raised to the High-Priesthood by Alexander Balas,
the competitor of Demetrius for the Syrian crown. Under Jonathan's
administration, Judaea rapidly rose to be a flourishing and powerful
state, and formed an alliance with the Romans and the Spartans,
while Jonathan won the friendship of the Seleucidas by his unshaken
fidelity. He was finally assassinated treacherously by the Syrian king
Antfochus Tryphon, who feared that Jonathan would oppose his
usurpation of the Syrian throne (B. C. 143).
SIMON MACCABEUS, the last surviving brother of Judas and Jona-
than, succeeded to the sovereignty and High-Priesthood, and obtained
THE JEWS UNDER THE MACCABEES AND THE HERODS.
1079
from the Syrian monarch the privilege of coining money, which in
the East is considered an acknowledgment of independence. One of
his coins has been preserved. It has an inscription in the old Samaritan
character, signifying " the fourth year," and on the reverse " from
the deliverance of Jerusalem." Thus, after a series of sanguinary
wars, Judaea was freed from the oppressive yoke of the Seleucidae and
became an independent kingdom under the Maccabees, or Asmonaean
dynasty (B. C. 135).
After a glorious administration of eight years, Simon Maccabaeus
and his two sons were treacherously assassinated by his son-in-law
Ptolemy, the governor of Jericho (B. C. 135). JOHN HYRCANUS, his
younger son, escaped, and was immediately recognized as sovereign and
High-Priest. At the beginning of his reign, the Syrian king, Anti-
ochus Sidetes, besieged Jerusalem for two years (B. C. 135—133),
destroying its restored walls, and again reducing the Jews to tribute.
But after the death of Antiochus Sidetes, John Hyrcanus finally freed
Judaea from the Syrian yoke. He also captured Samaria and de-
stroyed the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim. He conquered
Edom, or Idumsea, and incorporated it with Judaea, and made the
Jewish state as powerful as the Syrian kingdom of the Seleucidae,
which had now become a petty state. John Hyrcanus was a zealous
friend of the Pharisees in the early part of his reign, and that sect
in turn exalted him as the only prince who had ever held the three
offices of sovereign, High-Priest and prophet; but toward the end of
his reign he quarreled with that haughty sect, and was consequently
subjected to so many annoyances that he died of sheer vexation (B. C.
106). He was succeeded by his son, ARISTOBULUS I., the first of the
Maccabees to assume the title of king. Aristobulus I. was a weak
and imbecile ruler, and his death was caused by remorse for having put
his brother to death on a groundless suspicion (B. C. 105).
The next King and High-Priest of Judaea was ALEXANDER JAN-
N.EUS, a Sadducee ; and the Pharisees raised an insurrection against
him while he was officiating as High-Priest in the Feast of the Taber-
nacles, but Alexander severely punished this rising, slaughtering six
thousand of the mob. He was a brave and able warrior, and gained
victories over the Moabites and over the Arabs of Gilead, but in a
subsequent war with the latter he suffered a great defeat ; whereupon
the Pharisees again rebelled, thus causing a civil war of six years in
Judaea. Alexander Jannaeus was driven to the mountains for a time,
but he finally recovered the ascendency and revenged himself upon the
rebels with terrible cruelty. He was given to licentious pleasures ; and
fatigues and debauches hastened his death (B. C. 79). He bequeathed
the regency to his widow, Alexandra, and the crown to whichever of
2-30
Simon
Macca-
baeus and
His
Libera-
tion of
Judaea.
Assassi-
nation of
Simon
Macca-
baeus.
Reign of
John
Hyrca-
nus.
His
Capture
of
Samaria
and
Conquest
of Edom,
or
I3.um.gsa.
The
Phari-
sees.
Reign of
Aristo-
bulus II.
Reign of
Alexan-
der
Jannaeus.
His
Wars
with the
Moabites
and the
Arabs of
Gilead.
Rebell-
ions of
the
Pharisees.
1080
THE GRJECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Alexan-
dra and
Hyrcanus
II.
Usurpa-
tion of
Aristobu-
lus II.
Antipater
the
Idumaean
and His
Siege of
Jerusa-
lem.
Siege and
Capture
of
Jerusa-
lem by
the
Romans
under
Pompey.
Civil
War of
Hyrcanus
II. and
Aristobu-
lus II.
Antipater
the Idu-
maean,
Governor
of
Judaea.
his two sons, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, she should find most worthy
of the succession.
Alexandra was entirely under the control of the Pharisees, and soon
established her authority through the influence of that sect. Her
desire to retain power induced her to bestow the High-Priesthood on
her eldest son, HYRCANUS II., because he was not of so enterprising a
character as his brother, Aristobulus, whom she kept carefully se-
cluded in private life. But no sooner had his mother died than
ARISTOBULUS II., in spite of the Pharisees, deposed his brother, Hyr-
canus II., who was unambitious and acquiesced in his brother's usurpa-
tion. But Antipater, an Idumaean proselyte, thinking that he could
easily rule in the name of Hyrcanus II., conveyed that prince to Petra,
the Idumsean capital, and, having raised a large army of Arabs, in-
vaded Judaea and besieged Aritobulus II. in Jerusalem. Aristobulus II.
solicited the aid of the Romans, who had now extended their dominion
into Asia; and both parties consented that the succession in Judaea
should be decided by the triumphant Pompey, who had just conquered
Mithridates the Great of Pontus.
Fearing that Pompey would decide in favor of Hyrcanus II., Aris-
tobulus II. fortified Jerusalem, which he resolved to defend against
the Roman general. Getting alarmed at the advance of the Romans,
he proceeded to Pompey's camp as a suppliant; but during his ab-
sence the Jews closed the gates of Jerusalem and refused to admit a
Roman garrison, whereupon Pompey ordered Aristobulus II. to be
kept in chains and at once besieged the Holy City. The Roman gen-
eral took Jerusalem by storm, after a siege of three months, and slew
twelve thousand of its inhabitants. He destroyed the walls and forti-
fications of the city, but spared the Temple and its treasures.
Hyrcanus II. was now established on the throne of Judaea and
reigned six years in peace (B. C. 63-57). In the latter year Aristo-
bulus II. escaped from Rome, where he had been held a prisoner, and,
being joined by many of his partisans, renewed the civil war with
his brother; but he was besieged in Machaerus by the Roman Pro-
consul, who also deposed Hyrcanus II., and established a kind of
oligarchy in Jerusalem. The Roman expedition under Crassus, on
its way to invade the Parthian Empire, pillaged the Temple of Jeru-
salem of its treasures. After an interval of ten years (B. C. 57-47),
Hyrcanus II. was restored to the High-Priesthood by the Romans,
who, however, appointed his friend, Antipater, the Idumaean, to the
office of Procurator, or civil governor, of Judasa.
Antipater, who was a cunning politician, supported Pompey in
his war with Julius Caesar, and after Pompey's defeat and death he won
Caesar's favor by affording him effective assistance when he was block-
THE JEWS UNDER THE MACCABEES AND THE HERODS.
1081
aded in Alexandria by the forces of the last Ptolemy. As a reward
for these services, Caesar appointed Antipater's second son, Herod, to
the office of governor of Galilee, in which capacity the latter distin-
guished himself by exterminating the banditti that infested the country.
After Caesar's death Judaea was distracted by civil wars. Antipater was
poisoned; his eldest son, Phasael, was put to death; and Herod was
driven into exile. But through the influence of the Roman general,
Mark Antony, HEROD, surnamed the Great, was restored to his former
power by the Roman Senate and even made Tetrarch, or tributary
King of Judaea, under the suzerainty of the Romans (B. C. 40).
Herod the Great, however, had to conquer his kingdom; as the Jews
submitted with reluctance to an Idumaean, and Herod's marriage with
Mariamne, a Maccabaean princess, failed to conciliate them to his rule.
In the very year of his accession (B. C. 40) ANTIGONUS, son of Aris-
tobiilus II., aided by a Parthian force, took Jerusalem, and reigned
three years, as the last of the Asmona2an princes (B. C. 40-37).
After returning to Judaea from Rome, whither he had gone on
Antipater's death, Herod conquered Galilee and marched against Jeru-
salem, which he only captured after a siege of several years, as the
Jews made a heroic resistance, being firmly attached to Antigonus, and
resenting the interference of the Romans and the reign of the Edomite
prince. After a desperate defense, the walls of Jerusalem were taken
by Herod's army, and Antigonus was executed like a common criminal
(B. C. 37). Thus ended the dynasty of the Maccabees, and thus
began the Idumasan dynasty of the Herods.
Herod, the first Idumaean King of Judaea under the suzerainty of
the Romans, was deservedly surnamed the Great, because of his abili-
ties and the grandeur of his enterprises, though he was a cruel tyrant.
He caused all who opposed him to be massacred, at the very beginning
of his reign. Particularly those whose wealth would enable him to re-
ward his Roman benefactors fell victims to his sanguinary cruelty. He
rebuilt the Temple, which had been almost destroyed in the frequent
sieges to which it had been subjected for several centuries, and its
splendor now rivaled its magnificence in the glorious days of Solomon
one thousand years before. He relieved the sufferers from famine in
Judaea and the adjacent countries at his own expense, buying vast
quantities of corn in Egypt to feed the whole people, and supplying
several provinces with seed for the ensuing harvest.
Herod the Great affected Roman tastes. He erected a circus and
amphitheater in a suburb of Jerusalem, where games and combats of
wild beasts were celebrated in honor of the Emperor Augustus. He
rebuilt the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim, and founded Caesarea,
adorning that new and magnificent city with imposing shrines of the
Antipa-
ter's Son,
Herod the
Great,
Roman
Governor
of
Galilee
and
Tributary
King of
Judaea.
Antigo-
nus, Last
of the
Macca-
bees.
Herod's
Conquest
of
Galilee
and Siege
and
Capture
of
Jerusa-
lem.
Herod's
Enter-
prise and
Cruel
Tyranny.
Rebuild-
ing of
Solo-
mon's
Temple.
Herod's
Works
and Rule.
1082
THE GR^ECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Herod's
Marriage
and
Execution
of Mari-
amne.
His Last
Cruel
Acts.
Herod the
Great
and the
Infant
Jesus.
The
Infant
Jesus
Carried to
Egypt.
Roman gods. But his universal toleration of all religions was dis-
pleasing to his Jewish subjects, and he was obliged to maintain a
countless number of spies and to surround Jerusalem with a chain of
fortresses, in order to keep down the rebellious inclinations of the
people.
The only two surviving members of the Asmonaean, or Maccabaean
family were Mariamne and Aristobulus, grandchildren of Hyrcanus
II. Herod married Mariamne and elevated Aristobulus to the office
of High-Priest ; but he became jealous of the great popularity of Aris-
tobulus, and caused him to be secretly assassinated. Herod was de-
votedly attached to Mariamne, but he twice ordered her to be put to
death in case of his own decease, while he was leading perilous expedi-
tions from Jerusalem. When these cruel orders became known to the
queen, her aversion for Herod, caused by the base murder of her
grandfather and her brother, increased. She was too high-spirited to
seek safety in concealment. She was brought to trial, and her inveter-
ate enemies persuaded Herod to agree to her execution. But so intense
was his grief and remorse that he was almost driven to insanity, and
a violent fever nearly terminated his life. His temper now became
furious, and his best friends were ordered to execution on the slightest
suspicion. Three of his sons were put to death on charges of
conspiracy.
While Herod the Great was in constant fear of being driven from
his throne by his disaffected Jewish subjects, we are told " there came
wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born
King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the East, and are
come to worship him." Herod was so greatly alarmed by this announce-
ment that' he assembled the chief-priests and the scribes, and inquired
of them where Christ should be born. Being informed that the little
village of Bethlehem, David's birth-place, about five miles from Jeru-
salem, was the place foretold by the prophets, Herod sent thither the
wise men, "and said, Go and search diligently for the young child;
and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come
and worship him also."
We are told that the infant Jesus Christ, whose birth was thus
announced, was saved from the wrath of the cruel tyrant; as the wise
men, " being warned of God in a dream that they should not return
to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And
when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to
Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child and his
mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word ;
for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose,
he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into
THE JEWS UNDER THE MACCABEES AND THE HERODS.
1083
Egypt; and was there until the death of Herod." When Herod dis-
covered that the wise men did not return, he " was exceedingly wroth,
and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and
in all the coasts thereof, from two 3Tears old and under, according to the
time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men."
Herod the Great had issued this cruel order from his death-bed, and
he died in the seventieth year of his age, in the very year in which the
infant Jesus of Nazareth was born, which has been discovered to have
occurred four years earlier than the date from which our chronology
is reckoned, or B. C. 4.
The death of Herod caused great joy among all his subjects. His
dominions, except Abilene in Syria, were divided among his three sons,
Archelaiis receiving Judaea and Samaria, Herod Antipas obtaining
Galilee, and Philip being assigned Trachonitis. Archelaiis, however,
proved to be so unworthy a governor that the Emperor Augustus
Caesar, tired of the complaints against him, deposed him from his office
and banished him to Gaul ; and Judaea formally became a Roman prov-
ince and was subjected to taxation. We are told that about this
time Jesus Christ, then twelve years old, was brought by his parents,
Joseph and Mary, to celebrate the Passover, in accordance with the
Jewish custom, which required all male children who had reached that
age to repair to the temple on the three great festivals, known as
the Pentecost, the Passover, and Tabernacles.
The Jews very reluctantly submitted to Roman taxation, and fre-
quently offered armed resistance to the publicans, or tax-gatherers;
but when Pontius Pilate became the Roman governor of Judaea (A.
D. 20), the Jews were still more alarmed for their religion, as Pilate
brought with him to Jerusalem the Roman standards, which, on ac-
count of the images borne upon them, were regarded by the Jews as
idols.
The Jews succeeded, after great difficulty, in inducing Pilate to
remove the obnoxious ensigns, but his attempt to plunder the Temple
provoked the Jews to another serious riot in Jerusalem. He ordered
his Roman soldiers to attack the mob that resisted the attempt at
plunder, and many innocent persons lost their lives in the tumult.
Under Pilate's administration the state of society in Judaea became very
corrupt, no class being free from the demoralizing effects of profligate
government and popular discontent.
At this time John the Baptist, a prophet, the forerunner of the
Messiah, appeared in the Wilderness of Judaea, " preaching the neces-
sity of repentance, and announcing that the kingdom of heaven was at
hand." His austere life and his novel doctrines caused many to become
his disciples, and these were " baptized of him in Jordan, confessing
VOL. 3. — 25
Herod's
Death.
Herod's
Sons and
Success-
ors.
Christ at
the
Passover.
Pontius
Pilate,
Roman
Governor
of
Judaea.
Pilate's
Misrule.
V
Preaching
of John
the
Baptist.
1084.
THE GR^SCO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Baptism
of Jesus
Christ.
His
Sermon
on the
Mount of
Olives.
Herod
Antipas,
Governor
of Galilee.
His
Paramour
Herodias.
Martyr-
dom of
John the
Baptist.
Betrayal
and
Cruci-
fixion of
Jesus
Christ.
their sins" (A. D. 26). Many considered him the Messiah; and the
Evangelist tells us that " the people were in expectation, and all men
mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not. John
answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but
one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy
to unloose; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire;
whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will
gather the wheat into his garner ; but the chaff he will burn with fire
unquenchable."
The preaching of John the Baptist was only the prelude to that of a
greater teacher. After Jesus Christ had reached his thirtieth year,
he presented himself to John the Baptist to be baptized. After his
baptism Christ at once entered upon his mission, " preaching the gospel
of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of*
disease among the people." He preached his doctrines to his disciples
in his famous sermon on the Mount of Olives. But the greater part
of the Jews disbelieved in his mission and incessantly plotted against
his life.
Herod Antipas was meanwhile ruling in Galilee (B. C. 4 — A. D. 39),
while Philip held the government of Trachonitis (B. C. 4> — A. D. 37).
Herod Antipas was married to the daughter of an Arabian; while
Philip was married to his own niece, Herodias. Herod Antipas sent
away his own wife and married his sister-in-law, though she had children
by his brother, thus violating the Mosaic law. The entire Jewish
nation exclaimed against this incestuous marriage. John the Baptist,
particularly, was sufficiently courageous to reprove both the king and
his paramour in the strongest possible language. Herodias was so
stung by John's reproaches that she induced her husband to imprison
him, and afterwards, by means of her daughter, procured an order for
John's execution. John the Baptist was accordingly beheaded in
prison, but his disciples gave his remains an honorable burial, and the
entire Jewish nation mourned his cruel death.
When Jesus Christ had fulfilled the object of his mission he was
basely betrayed by Judas Iscariot, one of his twelve disciples, for
thirty pieces of silver, and was delivered into the hands of his enemies,
who put him to a cruel death on the cross. The Jews falsely accused
him before Pontius Pilate, a Roman Procurator of Judaea, of a design
to subvert the government. Pilate, though repeatedly declaring his
belief that Jesus was innocent, finally yielded to the determined purpose
of the Jewish accusers and pronounced the sentence of condemnation
against the Nazarene; and Jesus Christ was crucified between two
thieves on Mount Calvary (A. D. 31). The traitor Judas Iscariot
hanged himself.
THE JEWS UNDER THE MACCABEES AND THE HERODS. 1Q85
The crucifixion of Christ did not prevent the spread of his doctrines.
On the day of Pentecost three thousand persons were converted by the
preaching of the apostle Peter, and the church received fresh accessions
each day. The conduct of the followers of Christ afforded a remark-
able example of purity, harmony and self denial, in the wicked ano!
distracted condition of Jewish society. Says the received account:
*' The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one
soul ; neither said any of them that aught of the things which he pos-
sessed was his own ; but they had all things common." This fact dem-
onstrates the communistic character of the early Christian community,
and the similarity of its doctrines to those of the Essenes, one of the
three sects of Judasa in the times of the Maccabees and the Herods.
The great increase of the church of Christ led to the appointment
of seven deacons to take charge of " the daily ministration." The most
remarkable of these was Stephen. The rulers of the synagogue, unable
to confute him, accused him before the Sanhedrim, or council, of having
blasphemed Moses and Jehovah. False witnesses were suborned to sup-
port the accusation, and Stephen was subjected to the mockery of a
trial. He easily refuted the charges brought against him, but when
he repeated his belief that Jesus was the Messiah his enemies were over-
come with rage. " They cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their
ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city,
and stoned him ; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young
man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling
upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled
down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
And when he had said this, he fell asleep."
Saul, who was a native of Tarsus, in Cilicia, had consented to
Stephen's death, and was so violent a persecutor that he obtained a
commission to search after Christ's followers who sought refuge in
Damascus. It is said that while Saul was on his way to that city he
was stricken to the earth and suddenly converted to the new faith. He
was thenceforth a zealous apostle of the new religion, and was called
Paul. He at once became an ardent missionary, and traveled through
Palestine, Asia Minor and Greece, everywhere making many proselytes.
At Antioch, in Syria, the disciples of Christ were first called Christians.
The persecution of Christ's disciples at Jerusalem was the means of
propagating the gospel ; because when the disciples were dispersed they
carried their doctrines into every city in which the Jews had syna-
gogues.
In the meantime Pontius Pilate was dismissed from the government
of Judaea and sent to Rome to answer charges of tyranny and misgov-
ernment before the Emperor Tiberius. His defense was unsatisfac-
St.
Peter's
Preach-
ing
Christ's
Followers
the First
Commun-
ists and
Social-
ists.
Martyr-
dom of
Stephen.
Conver-
sion of
Saul of
Tarsus,
or St.
Paul.
His
Mission-
ary
Travels.
Disgrace
and
Suicide of
Pontius
Pilate.
1086
THE GILECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Reign of
Herod
Agrippa.
Martyr-
dom of
St. James
the Less.
Mis-
govern-
ment and
Disorders
in Judaja.
Admini-
stration
of
Felix.
Persecu-
tion of
St. Paul.
tory, and he was accordingly banished to Gaul, where he committed
suicide with his own sword, as he was no longer able to bear the remorse
of a guilty conscience.
HEROD AGRIPPA, the grandson of Herod the Great, had been kept
in prison during the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, but was released
under Caligula, the next Emperor, and obtained the provinces of Gal-
ilee and Trachonitis with the title of king (A. D. 37 and 39).
Through the influence of Herod Agrippa, the Emperor Caligula was
induced to recall his edict for desecrating the Temple of Jerusalem by
erecting his own statue in it, and to pardon the Jews for resisting his
imperious decrees. In the reign of the next Emperor, Claudius, Herod
Agrippa also obtained the government of Samaria and Judrea, and for
three years his dominions embraced all the territories ruled by his
grandfather, Herod the Great (A. D. 41-44). He returned to Jeru-
salem, where he exhibited an extraordinary attachment to the Jewish
religion. To gratify the Pharisees, he began to persecute the Chris-
tians in the year A. D. 44. St. James, the brother of John, sometimes
called St. James the Less, to distinguish him from St. James, the first
Bishop of Jerusalem, was beheaded, and St. Peter was cast into prison ;
but soon after Peter's deliverance Herod Agrippa died in great misery
from a painful and loathsome disease, whereupon Judaea was again
placed under the government of Roman Procurators (A. D. 44).
The cruelty and rapacity of these Procurators, or provincial gover-
nors, filled Juda?a with misery. Banditti infested the roads and even
ventured to attack the towns. Certain pretended zealots, called Sicarii,
or assassins, perpetrated the most atrocious murders in the name of
religion and liberty ; while false prophets and false messiahs excited
frequent insurrections, which were punished with frightful severity.
Under the administration of Felix all these evils were aggravated.
Felix was extremely avaricious, and was always ready to perpetrate any
crime which would enable him to gratify his depraved passions. The
apostle Paul was brought before this wicked governor when the Jews
falsely accused him of disturbing the public peace. Nothing was
proven against the apostle on his public trial, but Felix detained
him in custody. At length the governor privately sent for Paul to
hear him concerning the faith in Christ, " and as he reasoned of right-
eousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and an-
swered, Go thy way for this time ; when I have a convenient season I
will call for thee. He hoped also that money should have been given
him of Paul, that he might loose him; wherefore he sent for him the
oftener, and communed with him. But after two years Porcius Festus
came into Felix's room ; and Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure,
left Paul bound."
THE JEWS UNDER THE MACCABEES AND THE HERODS.
1087
When Porcius Festus became governor of Judaea he found the Jewish
priests at war with each other concerning their shares of the tithes.
Their rancor arose to such a height that the rival parties hired troops
of assassins, and these carried massacre and carnage through Judaea,
even the temples being stained with blood; while the country was also
distracted by frequent seditions against the Romans, and by the law-
lessness of bands of robbers, who plundered and massacred everywhere.
At length St. Paul was brought before Festus for trial, but perceiving
the vindictive spirit of the Jews, and having faith in the firmness or
justice of Festus, he appealed to the Emperor, and was sent to Rome,
where he perished during the reign of Nero.
The next Roman governor of Judaea after Festus was Albinus, who
was succeeded by Gessius Florus, the last and worst of these rulers (A.
D. 64). Florus was a cruel and crafty tyrant. He shared the plun-
der of highway robbers, which he allowed and even encouraged. He
twice excited riots in Jerusalem, sacrificing thousands of lives, for the
sole purpose of pillaging the Temple in the midst of the tumult. He
had made up his mind to drive the Jews into rebellion, with the design
of preventing any inquiry into his countless oppressions. The unfor-
tunate nation took up arms to expel the Syrians from Caesarea, and
raised seditions in nearly every city in which they were settled. The
zealots ultimately attacked the Romans in the fortresses which had been
erected to secure Jerusalem, and massacred all who opposed them, in-
cluding even the garrisons that surrendered. The Roman governor of
Syria marched into Judaea to punish these disorders, but was driven
back.
The atrocities of Florus now drove the Jews into open rebellion
against the Roman power, and they determined to set the whole force
of the Empire at defiance (A. D. 67). The Christians of Jerusalem
retired to Pella, beyond the Jordan, where they escaped the miseries
of the war, while several of the higher classes of Jews also withdrew
thither. The Emperor Nero sent Vespasian to command the Roman
army employed against the revolted Jews. Vespasian was fiercely re-
sisted by the Jews, and he halted his army at Caesarea, until the Jews,
by their internal quarrels, would be reduced to such weakness as would
enable him to obtain an easy triumph (A. D. 70). His expectation
was realized. The zealots, who had fled from the Romans, now col-
lected in Jerusalem, under the leadership of a vile demagogue, John
of Gischala, and being joined by the Idumaeans, perpetrated the most
atrocious massacres, and polluted the Temple with the most frightful
assassinations. Another party was headed by Simon, the son of
Gorias, whose sanguinary deeds in the country equaled those of John
of Gischala in the city. Simon was invited into the Holy City to
Admini-
stration
of Porcius
Foetus.
Martyr-
dom of
St. Paul
Admini-
strations
ofAlbinus
and
Gesius
Florus.
Tyranny
of
Florus.
Disorders
in
Judaea.
Jewish
Rebellion
against
Roman
Power.
1088
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Siege of
Jerusalem
by
Titus.
Horrors
of the
Siege.
Destruc-
tion of the
Temple.
Massacre
and
Captivity
of Jews.
check the violence of John and the zealots, but he soon proved himself
the greater scourge of the two. A third faction was led by Eleazar,
who seized the upper portion of the Temple; and thus, while the
Romans were marching against the devoted city, the Jews comprising
the garrison and inhabitants were engaged in mutual slaughter.
In the meantime Vespasian was made Emperor of Rome, whereupon
he assigned the command of his army in Judaea to his son Titus. Titus
entered Judaea with a large and powerful army, and marched against
Jerusalem, encountering no resistance in the open country, thus being
led to believe that the Jews had repented of their rebellion and were
preparing to submit. This mistaken inference led Titus to expose
himself carelessly in the narrow valley of Jehosaphat, where he became
separated from his cavalry, in which perilous situation he was attacked
by the Jews, and was exposed to the utmost danger, from which he
rescued himself with difficulty. Titus laid siege to Jerusalem during
the Feast of the Passover, when the city was filled with people from
every part of Judaea. The Jews obstinately defended the Holy City
with an army of six hundred thousand men. After the siege had for-
mally commenced, the Jews, shut up in the city, suffered dreadfully
from famine and pestilence ; but in the midst of these horrors, and
while the Roman battering-rams were destroying the walls of the city,
the Jewish factions were waging a fierce civil war against each other
in the streets of Jerusalem and filling the city with massacre and car-
nage. The horrors of the siege are beyond the power of language to
describe. Reduced to the brink of starvation, the besieged Jews were
obliged to use the most revolting and unnatural substances for food ;
while the zealots fiendishly laughed at the miseries and groans of their
starving countrymen, and even went so far as to cruelly sheathe their
swords on these poor wretches, under the pretense of testing their
sharpness.
When the walls of the city were battered down, the Romans besieged
the Temple, where the desperate Jewish factions still maintained the
most obstinate resistance. Titus very much desired to spare the sacred
structure, but one of his soldiers cast a lighted brand into one of the
windows, and the entire edifice was soon in flames. A terrible mas-
sacre followed. The Romans gave no quarter, and many thousands
of Jews perished by fire and sword, or by suicide in casting themselves
headlong from the battlements. This scene of slaughter lasted several
days, until the Holy City was left entirely desolate. Ninety-seven
thousand Jews were made prisoners, and eleven thousand of these were
starved to death. Josephus states that during the five months of the
siege there perished at Jerusalem, by famine, pestilence and the sword,
more than a million of Jews and proselytes.
MAP OF
PALESTINE
IN THE
TIME OF CHRIST.
EDOM, OR IDUM^EA.
1089
When the victorious Romans had finished their destructive work of
burning and slaughter, Titus ordered that the whole city should be
leveled with the ground, excepting a part of the western wall and three
towers, which he left as memorials of his conquest. His orders were so
promptly executed that, with the exception of these few structures,
nothing but shapeless ruins remained to indicate the site of the re-
nowned capital and metropolis of the Jewish nation. The Jews who
had not perished were reduced to slavery and divided among the tri-
umphant Romans as prizes. Large numbers were transported into the
heart of Germany and Italy, and the golden vessels of the Temple
adorned the triumphal procession of Titus at Rome. Mount Zion was
plowed as a field and sown with salt, and the Temple was leveled with
the ground. The victory of Titus was celebrated at Rome by a splen-
did triumph. A triumphal arch, which yet remains, was erected to
commemorate the event, and a medal was struck, in which the conquered
land of Judaea was represented as a disconsolate female sitting beneath
a palm-tree, a soldier, who was standing by, laughing at her misery
and mocking at her calamity. The Jews have ever since been dispersed
among all nations, and are now found in every part of the civilized
world. Thus ended the history of the Jewish nation. Judaea was then
annexed to the Roman province of Syria (A. D. 70).
Destruc-
tion of
Jerusa-
lem.
Disper-
sion
of the
Jewish
Nation.
KINGS AND ROMAN GOVERNORS OF JUDAEA.
B. C.
THE MACCABEES
B. C.
UNDER ROMAN" RULE.
166
Judas Maccabaeus.
37
Herod the Great, King.
161
Jonathan Maccabaeus.
4
Archelaus, Herod Antipas and
143
Simon Maccabaeus.
Philip, Kings.
135
John Hyrcanus.
A. D.
106
Aristobulus I.
20
Pontius Pilate, Governor.
105
Alexander Jannaeus.
37
Herod Agrippa, King.
79
Hyrcanus II. (deposed).
44
Felix, Governor.
69
Aristobulus II.
Festus, Governor.
63
Hyrcanus II. (restored).
Albinus, Governor.
40
. .
Antigonus (to B. C. 37).
64
Floms, Governor.
SECTION VH.— EDOM, OR IDUM^EA.
THE country called Edom in Scripture, and Idumcea by the Greeks, Location
geographically constitutes a part of Arabia, but historically it is con-
nected with Palestine, or Judaea, and for a long time it formed a part
of the Jewish kingdom. Its study is interesting. Its former splendor
is attested by its magnificent ruins now secluded in almost pathless
deserts.
1090
THE GIUECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Esan
and the
Edomites.
Sinai,
Horeb
and Other
Sites.
Arabia
Petraea.
Mount
Sinai.
Edora derived its name from Jacob's brother Edom, or Esau, who
settled among the Horites, in the region of Mount Seir, about eighty
miles south-east from Jerusalem. There, within a narrow place, was
Edom proper of the Scriptures, but the Edomites extended their domin-
ion so as to embrace most of the country from Palestine to the Red
Sea. In this extended sense Edom was the scene of some of the most
extraordinary events recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, and excites
great interest in connection with the kindred land of Judaea.
The sacred Mount Sinai ; the rock of Horeb, with its burning bush,
and its caves that sheltered Elijah when he fled from Jezebel's persecu-
tion ; the pastoral solitudes where Moses tended the flocks of Jethro,
the priest of Midian ; Shur and Paran, with the bitter wells of Marah,
and the smitten rock that was said to have yielded water; the land of
Uz, the scene of the wealth and woes of Job — these are all included
within the domain of Edom.
The general physical features of this land are rocks, deserts and
mountains, but many fertile oases are scattered amidst this barren
region. The name of Arabia Petrcea, or Arabia the Stony, has been
assigned to a part of the country, because of its stony character. The
peninsula of Sinai is of particular interest, as it has been more
minutely explored and more elaborately described than any other por-
tion of Idumasa. Its general aspect is peculiarly wild. A recent trav-
eler has described it as a " sea of desolation." He remarks that it
appears as if Arabia Petrsea had once been an ocean of lava, and that
while its waves were reaching to the heights of mountains, it was
ordered to suddenly stand still. This entire wilderness is a series of
naked rocks and craggy precipices, interspersed with narrow defiles
and sandy vales which are seldom refreshed with rain or adorned with
vegetation. The mountain ridges, designated as Seir and Hor in the
Hebrew Scriptures, extend from the Sinaitic peninsula to the Dead Sea.
A long valley extends along the western side, and that valley is to this
day the route of caravans, as it was the path of the Israelites in their
forty years' " Wanderings in the Wilderness."
The mountain-group of Sinai is located near the center of the
peninsula. The upper region of this group forms a circle thirty or
forty miles in diameter. The summit of Sinai is one of the most deso-
late on the face of the earth, nothing being seen but huge peaks and
crags of naked granite, constituting a wilderness of steep and broken
rocks and valleys destitute of verdure, as far as the eye can behold.
Nevertheless, water and small spots of soil producing fruit-trees are
seen in the most elevated parts. Mount Sinai comprises two elevations
now known as Gebel Mousa and Gebel Katerin, which are usually iden-
tified with Sinai and Horeb.
EDOM, OR IDUM^A.
1091
The first historical notices of Edom are found in the Hebrew Scrip-
tures. While the Israelites were held in bondage in Egypt, the Edom-
ites, or descendants of Esau, grew into a rich and powerful nation.
The princes of Edom, as we are informed by the Book of Genesis, were
celebrated long before any king reigned over Israel, and they refused
to allow Moses a passage through their country to the Land of Canaan.
As already related, the Edomites first settled in the rocky fastnesses of
Mount Seir, which commanded the great roads traversed by the com-
mercial caravans of the early ages.
The capital of Edom was the great commercial city called Bozrah in
the Old Testament and Petra by the Greeks. This famous city was located
at the foot of Mount Hor, in a deep valley. The only means of access
to the city was through a narrow defile, partly natural, and partly cut
through the solid rock which hung over the passage and in many places
obstructed the view of the heavens. The path is so narrow that two
horsemen can barely ride abreast, while near the entrance an arch
thrown across at a great height connects the opposite cliffs. The pass
gradually slopes downward for about two miles, while the mountain-
ridge still retains its level, until at the close of the dark perspective
numerous columns, statues and graceful cornices are seen, even now
retaining their forms and colors as little injured by time and exposure
as if they had just come from the chisel. The sides of the rocky ridges
are covered with numerous excavations, some of which are private dwell-
ings, others sepulchers. The prophet Jeremiah probably alluded to
this extraordinary^ peculiarity in his denunciation of Jehovah's ven-
geance against Edom, in the following language : " Thy terribleness
hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in
the clefts of the rock, that boldest the height of the hill. Though thou
shouldst make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down
from thence, saith the Lord."
The Edomites long maintained their distinct national existence, and
successively withstood the attacks of the Egyptians, the Ethiopians,
the Hebrews, the Assyrians, the Greeks and the Romans. Diodorus
Siculus states that the great Egyptian king, Sesotris (Rameses the
Great), was so harassed by the wars carried on against him by the
Edomites that he was obliged to erect a line of defense across the
Isthmus of Suez, from Heliopolis to Pelusium, to protect his dominions
against their inroads. He says that it was exceedingly difficult to
attack or subdue these people, because they retired to their deserts,
where, if an army dared to follow them, it was certain to perish from
thirst and fatigue, as the wells and springs were only known to the
natives.
Rise
of the
Edom-
ites.
Petra.
Edom's
National
Exist-
ence.
1092
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
David's
Conquest
of Edom.
Hadad's
Revolt
against
Solomon.
Native
Tradi-
tions.
Edom and
Judah.
When David became King of Israel, the Edomites had greatly ex-
tended their dominions. They were in possession of the ports of Elath
and Ezion-Geber, on the northern point of the Red Sea (the Gulf of
Akaba), and through these places they had opened a flourishing com-
merce with India and Ethiopia. They also maintained an extensive
traffic with Phoenicia, Egypt and Babylonia. But the Hebrew armies,
under Abishai, David's general, invaded Edom, routed the Edomites
with terrific slaughter in the valley of salt, and forced them to receive
Hebrew garrisons at Elath and Ezion-Geber. David perhaps began
the trade with Ophir, which was afterwards pursued so extensively by
Solomon and Hiram.
During Solomon's reign an Edomite prince named Hadad, who had
sought refuge in Egypt when his native land was conquered by David,
returned to Edom and led a revolt against the Hebrew supremacy.
The only account which we possess concerning Hadad is that given in
the First Book of Kings, as follows : " God stirred up an adversary
unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the king's seed in
Edom. For it came to pass, when "David was in Edom, and Joab the
captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten
every male in Edom (for six months did Joab remain there with all
Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom) ; that Hadad fled, he
and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into
Egypt ; Hadad being yet a little child. And they arose out of Midian,
and came to Paran ; and they took men with them out of Paran, and
they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh, King of Egypt ; which gave him a
house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. And Hadad
found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife
the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. And the
sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned
in Pharaoh's house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among
the sons of Pharaoh. And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David
slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead,
Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own
country. Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked
with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country? And
he answered, Nothing ; howbeit let me go in any wise."
The native traditions of the country preserve the memory of Hadad's
reign in some degree, as one of the ruined edifices at Petra is yet called
by the Arabs " the Palace of Pharaoh's daughter."
Hadad's efforts for the independence of his country were apparently
only partially successful, as the Edomites remained subject to the
Kings of Judah for about a century, until the reign of Jehoram (B.
C. 888). Says the Hebrew account: " In his days, Edom revolted from
EDOM, OR IDUM^A.
1095
under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. So Joram
went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him ; and he rose by night,
and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains
of the chariots ; and the people fled into their tents. Yet Edom revolted
from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at
the same time."
Libnah was one of the cities of refuge belonging to the Kingdom of
Judah, and its alliance with Edom had a tendency to perpetuate the
hereditary animosity between the Hebrews and the Edomites. During
the reign of Jehoram in Judah, the Edomites recovered their inde-
pendence, and maintained it for eighty years. Amaziah, King of
Judah, severely chastised the hostility of the Edomites. The Book of
Chronicles says that " Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth
his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of
Seir ten thousand. An other ten thousand left alive did the children
of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the
rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they were
all broken in pieces."
Azariah, or Uzziah, the son and successor of Amaziah in Judah,
reconquered the Edomites. More than two centuries afterward they
were subjected by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and aided him in his
siege and capture of Jerusalem, thus taking an active part in all the
calamities inflicted upon the Jews. The prophet Obadiah declares that
Edom " stood on the other side in the day that the strangers carried
away captive Judah's forces, and foreigners entered into his gates and
cast lots upon Jerusalem. Edom rejoiced over the children of Judah
in the day of their destruction, spoke proudly in the day of their dis-
tress, and laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity."
The Edomites also " stood in the crossway, to cut off those that did
escape, and to deliver up those that remained." The prophet Amos
says that Edom " did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast
off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath
forever."
During the flourishing period of the Assyrian and Babylonian Em-
pires, which overthrew the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the wild
freebooters of Edom remained either wholly independent or acknowl-
edged a temporary alliance with their foes. When Babylon fell before
the conquering arms of Cyrus the Great of Persia, and when Cambyses
and Darius Hystaspes led the Persian armies to Egypt and Europe,
these conquerors found it necessary to maintain a friendly understand-
ing with the desert tribes, in order to obtain a passage through their
territories and supplies of water and provisions for their armies. He-
rodotus states that on this account they were exempted from paying
Wars
between
Them.
Edoni
under
Babylon
Edom and
Persia.
1094
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Athena us
and the
Naba-
thaeans.
The
Ptole-
mies, the
Seleucidae
and the
Naba
thaeans.
tribute, while the neighboring princes were heavily taxed. During
the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, the Edomites conquered the
southern part of Palestine and seized the city of Hebron. Thence-
forth those Edomites who occupied the southern frontiers of Palestine
were called Idumceans, while those who remained at Petra were named
Nabathceans, as some believe, from Nebaioth, a son of Ishmael.
During the wars between the successors of Alexander the Great,
Athenaeus, the general of Antigonus, was sent against the Nabathaeans,
who ravaged the territories of Antigonus and refused him permission
to collect bitumen from the Dead Sea. When Athenseus marched
against them most of them were absent from their homes, having gone
to a neighboring fair, where they were in the habit of bartering the
woolen goods which they obtained from the Tyrians for the spices
brought from the East by the caravans. As the passes of the country
had been left only slightly guarded, Athenasus easily obtained posses-
sion of Petra, surprising its magazines, and returned to the Syrian
frontier richly laden with plunder. The Nabathseans, enraged at the
news of this misfortune, assembled their forces, and urging their drome-
daries with indescribable speed, overtook Athenaeus near Gaza and
almost entirely cut his army to pieces. Demetrius Poliorcetes, the son
of Antigonus, hastened to avenge this disaster, but the Arabian deserts
and fastnesses baffled all his efforts. An Arab chief harangued the
Greek general from the top of a rock, and so vigorously portrayed to
him the perils of his enterprise that Demetrius, convinced of the great
hazards of his undertaking, at once returned to Syria.
Ptolemy Euergetes, King of Egypt, seized the Arabian ports on
the Red Sea, but penetrated no farther into the country. From about
B. C. 200 to the beginning of the Christian era several Arab chieftains
distinguished themselves in the wars of the Jews, sometimes allying
themselves with the Seleucidae of Syria, and sometimes with the Ptole-
mies of Egypt. Antiochus the Great reduced a portion of the
Northern Arab tribes to submission, and his son Hycranus was engaged
for several years in chastising their incursions and depredations.
About B. C. 170 the Nabathaeans were ruled by a prince named Hareth,
called Aretas by th*^ Greeks. His dominions reached to the frontiers
of Palestine and included the country of the Ammonites. Having
made peace with the Jews, they allowed Judas Maccabaeus and his
brother Jonathan a passage through their territories ; but notwith-
standing the friendly relations existing between them, the Nabathasans
were unable to resist the temptation to plunder even their friends when
an opportunity presented itself; and they accordingly attacked a
detachment of Jews on their march, seized their carriages, and plun-
dered their baggage.
EDOM, OR IDUM^A.
1095
During the wars of the Maccabees in Judfea, the Idumaeans who had
settled in that country displayed the old aversion of their race toward
the Jews. Judas Maccabaeus severely punished them, taking and sack-
ing their chief city, Hebron, destroying more than forty thousand of
their soldiers, and leveling their strongholds with the ground. The
Idumagans were thoroughly subdued by the Jews under John Hycranus
about B. C. 130, and were only allowed to remain in Judaea on condi-
tion of accepting the Jewish religion, whereupon they adopted the laws
of Moses, submitted to circumcision, and soon became incorporated
with the Jews. Upon the extinction of the Maccabees, the Idumsean
Herod the Great became tributary king, or Tetrarch, of Judaea, under
the suzerainty of the Romans. The name Idumsean gradually fell into
disuse, until, in the first century of the Christian era, it became entirely
obsolete.
The Nabathaeans maintained their independence for a much longer
period than did the Idumseans. When Alexander Balas, King of
Syria, was defeated by Ptolemy Philometor, King of Egypt (B. C.
146), a Nabathaean prince named Zabdiel offered protection to the van-
quished monarch, but was afterwards bribed with money to violate the
laws of hospitality by delivering up the royal fugitive. Josephus
mentions another Nabathaean prince, named Obodas, who defeated the
Jews by enticing them into an ambuscade, where he cut them to pieces
(B. C. 92). Josephus also states that Hareth, or Aretas, the sov-
ereign of Arabia Petraea, overthrew Antiochus Dionysius, King of
Damascus, and led an army of fifty thousand men into India.
The constant Arab incursions into Syria finally aroused the hostility
of the Romans, whose dominions extended as far east as the Euphrates.
The successive Roman Proconsuls of Syria — Lucullus, Pompey,
Scaurus, Gabinius and Marcellinus — undertook expeditions against
the marauding Arab tribes, but gained no other advantage than the
payment of a tribute or a temporary suspension of hostilities. The
Emperor Augustus Caesar claimed the right to impose a king upon the
Nabathaeans, but they elected a sovereign of their own, who assumed
the name of Aretes and remained at peace with the Romans during his
entire reign, which ended with his death, A. D. 40.
During the reign of the Emperor Trajan, Arabia Petra?a was made
a Roman province, under the name of Palestma Tertia, or Sdkitaris
(A. D. 106). The fluctuating condition of the Roman power in the
East prevented this province from being held in a condition of absolute
dependence. Nevertheless, Trajan put an end to the dynasty of the
ancient Nabathaean kings, and besieged Petra with a large Roman
army, but its strong position and the heroic defense of its garrison
baffled all his efforts for the reduction of the city. In one of the
2-31
The
Macca-
bees and
the Idu-
maeans.
Later
History
of the
Naba-
thaeans.
Romans
and
Arabs.
Arabia
Petraea
under
Rome.
1096
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
History of
Petra.
Extinc-
tion of
Petra.
Isaiah's
Prophecy.
assaults headed by Trajan in person, the Emperor narrowly escaped
being slain, his horse being wounded and a soldier being killed by his
side; as the Arabs, notwithstanding his disguise, discovered him by his
gray hairs and his majestic mien. The Romans were forced to relin-
quish the siege of Petra. The historians of the time ascribe this
Roman repulse to the violent tempests of wind and hail, the dreadful
flashes of lightning, and the swarms of flies that infested the camp of
the besiegers. The Roman repulse from Petra seems to be the last
military event recorded in the history of the Nabathaeans.
The foundation of the Edomite city of Petra appears to have been
coeval with the origin of Eastern commerce, and there is evidence that
it was a flourishing commercial emporium seventeen centuries before
Christ. It was the original seat of all the commerce of the North of
Arabia, and there the first merchants of the world stored the costly
commodities of the East. It constituted the great emporium of mer-
cantile trade between Palestine, Syria and Egypt. The celebrated
soothsayer Balaam was a native of Petra, and in his time its inhabi-
tants were famous for their learning, their oracular temple, and their
skill in augury. During the entire period of its history, Petra seems
to have been a seat of wealth and commerce. In the time of Christ,
Strabo described it from the account of his friend, Athenodorus, the
philosopher, who spoke highly of the civilized manners of its inhabi-
tants, of the crowds of Roman and foreign merchants found there, and
of the excellent government of its sovereigns. He represented the city
as surrounded with precipitous cliffs, but rich in gardens, and supplied
with an abundant spring, which rendered it the most important for-
tress in the desert. Pliny afterwards described it as a city almost two
miles in extent, having a river running through the midst of it, and
situated in a valley inclosed with steep mountains, which cut off all
natural access to it.
The name of Petra almost vanishes from history with the decline and
fall of the Roman power in the East. The city sunk into a gradual
decay when the commerce which had caused its prosperity was directed
into other channels. Ancient Edom was so thoroughly cut off from
the rest of the world that the very existence of the once-flourishing
city of Petra fell into oblivion ; and its discovery by the German trav-
eler Burckhardt, in 1812, in the loneliness of its desolation, seemed as
if the dead had risen from their graves. No human habitation is in
or near the site of this famous ancient city, and the terrible denuncia-
tion of the Jewish prophet Isaiah is literally fulfilled.
The following is the language of this prophet : " The cormorant
and the bittern shall possess it ; the owl also and the raven shall dwell
in it; and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the
LATER GREEK SCIENCE AND LITERATURE. 1QQ7
stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom,
but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And
thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the for-
tresses thereof ; and it shall be a habitation of dragons, and a court for
owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts
of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow ; the screech-owl also
shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. There shall the
great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her
shadow; there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her
mate."
SECTION VIII.— LATER GREEK SCIENCE AND
LITERATURE.
DURING the period following the dissolution of the empire of Alex- Alezan-
ander the Great, the Hellenic race produced many eminent scientists,
poets and historians ; but these mainly flourished in Sicily, and at
Alexandria, in Egypt. Under the Ptolemies, Alexandria took the
place formerly held by Athens as the seat of Grecian learning and
literature.
The Greeks outside of the mother country itself, especially those of Science «t
Alexandria, now cultivated the mathematical and physical sciences to Alexan-
the highest degree of perfection known to the ancients, and learned
grammarians and critics collected and arranged the works of the older
Greek writers.
The most famous of these grammarians and critics who had schools Aristoph-
at Alexandria were ARISTOPHANES and ARISTARCHUS, the former being ane?
the chief librarian during the reigns of Ptolemies Philadelphus and Aristar-
Euergetes. chnfl-
EUCLID, the eminent Greek mathematician and the father of mathe- Euclid,
matical science, flourished at Alexandria about B. C. 300, and com-
posed a text-book on geometry used thereafter for centuries. This
work immortalized his name, and in it he digested all the propositions
of the eminent geometricians who preceded him, such as Thales, Pythag-
oras and others. King Ptolemy Soter became Euclid's pupil, and
his school was so famous that Alexandria continued to be the great
resort of mathematicians for centuries. Euclid's Elements have been
translated into most languages, and have remained for two thousand
years as the basis of geometrical knowledge wherever science has cast
its light. APOL.LONIUS, the successor of Euclid, was also a famous
Greek mathematician at Alexandria, and wrote on the conic sections.
ARCHIMEDES, the most renowned ancient mathematician and a great Archi-
scientist, was a native of Syracuse, in Sicily, where he flourished in the n es*
1098
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Eratos-
thenes.
Hippar-
chus and
Ptolemy.
third century before Christ. He gained an immortal fame by his dis-
coveries in mechanical and physical science. He was renowned alike
for his skill in astronomy, geometry, mechanics, hydrostatics and
optics. He invented the combination of pulleys to raise enormous
weights, the endless screw, a sphere to represent the motions of the
celestial bodies, etc. His knowledge of the principle of specific grav-
ities enabled him to detect the fraudulent mixture of silver in the golden
crown of Hiero II., King of Syracuse, by comparing the quantity of
water displaced by equal weights of silver and gold. While he was in
the bath, the thought occurred to him, upon observing that he displaced
a bulk of water equal to his own body. It is said that he was so
intensely excited by his discovery that he ran naked out of the bath,
exclaiming: "Eureka!" (I have found it). His knowledge of the
power of the lever is indicated by his celebrated declaration to King
Hfero II. : " Give me where I may stand, and I will move the world."
His genius for invention was signally displayed in the defense of
Syracuse against the besieging Roman army under Marcellus, when
he is said to have fired the Roman fleet by means of immense reflecting
mirrors, by which the heated rays of the sun were concentrated on one
point. But the city was finally taken by storm, and Archimedes was
slain by a Roman soldier in the seventy-fourth year of his age (B. C.
212). Nine of the many works composed by Archimedes have been
transmitted to us.
ERATOSTHENES, a renowned Greek astronomer, antiquarian and
scholar, flourished at Alexandria in the third century before Christ.
He was, next to Aristotle, the most illustrious Greek scholar, and was
particularly distinguished as the first and greatest critical investigator
of Egyptian antiquity. His researches were undertaken by command
of King Ptolemy Soter, and therefore with all the advantages that
royal patronage could obtain for the investigation from the Egyptian
priests. Georgius Syncellus, Vice-Patriarch of Constantinople (A. D.
800), has given us an epitome of the list of Pharaohs as prepared by
Eratosthenes.
Two great astronomers afterwards flourished at Alexandria — HIP-
PARCHUS, in the second century before Christ, and PTOLEMY, in the
second century after Christ. Ptolemy was equally celebrated as an
astronomer and a geographer. His theory that the earth is the center
of the universe and motionless was accepted for fourteen centuries, and
his great work on geography was an authority during the same period.
Ptolemy's Syntax of Astronomy, usually styled the Almagest, the name
given it by the Arabian scholars, explains his theories, including that
of the central position and stability of the earth, and that of epicycles
to explain the movements of the other celestial bodies. This work is
ARCHIMEDES
LATER GREEK SCIENCE AND LITERATURE.
1099
to this day valued on account of its catalogue of stars, corrected from
the earlier one of Hipparchus. Ptolemy's work on geography mainly
consists of lists of places in various countries, with latitudes and lon-
gitudes and some notices of objects of interest. This work was only
superseded by the great geographical discoveries of the sixteenth cen-
tury of the Christian era.
HIPPOCRATES, a Greek of Asia Minor, who lived in the time of
Socrates and Plato, was the " Father of Medicine." GALEN, a Greek
born at Pergamus, but who studied at Alexandria, Corinth and Smyrna,
was the most eminent physician and medical writer of antiquity, and
lived in the second century after Christ (A. D. 131-200). He settled
at Rome, where he acquired an immense practice, but was driven from
that city by the intrigues of his jealous rivals, who ascribed his won-
derful success to magic. He was recalled to Rome by the Emperor
Marcus Aurelius, who confided to him the care of the health of his
son Commodus. Only a part of his many writings remain,- but even
these form five folio volumes and furnish abundant evidence of his
practical and theoretical skill. Says Liebig : " The system of Galen,
in regard to the cause of disease and the action of remedies, was
regarded during thirteen centuries as impregnable truth, and had
acquired the entire infallibility of the articles of a religious creed.
Their authority only ceased when chemical science, advancing, made
them no longer tenable. Soon after Luther burned the papal bulls,
Paracelsus burned at Basle the works of Galen."
Grecian poetry had greatly declined during the Macedonian period,
and only one distinguished dramatist flourished in this age of Greek
literature. This was MENANDER, the last great Athenian comic poet,
who flourished about B. C. 300. He was born at Athens, B. C. 342.
He composed one hundred and eight comedies, all of which have per-
ished. A few fragments of his writings only yet remain. The high
praises heaped upon him by his contemporaries are good evidence that
he must have been a dramatist of the highest order.
Pastoral poetry predominated at this period. THEOCRITUS, a native
of Syracuse, in Sicily, was the greatest of Grecian pastoral poets, and
flourished about B. C. 270. These facts, and also the names of his
parents, may be partly learned from his writings. Theocritus, in his
Idyls, describes a pastoral life full of innocence and simplicity. His
sixteenth Idyl shows that he remained at Syracuse for some time after
the beginning of his poetic career. He afterwards resided at Alex-
andria, where, at the court of Ptolemy Philadelphus, he was classed as
one of the seven celebrated men, called the Pleiades, or " seven stars."
He stands at the head of pastoral poets. The great Roman poet,
Virgil, called him " master," and in his pastorals invoked the muse of
VOL. 3.— 26
Hippoc-
rates and
Galen.
Menan-
der.
Theoc-
ritus.
1100
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Bion and
Moschus.
Lycoph-
ron,
Callim-
achus,
Apollo-
nius and
Aratus.
Lycoph-
ron's
Works.
Works of
Callim-
achus and
Apollo-
nius.
Career of
Aratus.
Theocritus, under the name of the Sicilian or Syracusan muse. Virgil
generally imitates, and often adopts and refines, the ideas of Theoc-
ritus. In some instances, according to a custom of ancient writers,
and which would in our day be considered literary theft, he translates
the very words of Theocritus, incorporating them with his own.
BION and MOSCHUS were pastoral poets, and contemporaries of
Theocritus, and both flourished in Sicily. Bion was born at Smyrna,
in Asia Minor, but spent most of his life in Sicily. Moschus was a
native of Syracuse. The pastorals of these two poets are very graceful
and beautiful. Moschus acknowledged Bion as his friend and his pre-
ceptor in pastoral poetry. Bion's works consist of a few elegant and
simple pastorals. Bion was a wealthy man, and one of the Idyls of
Moschus informs us thnt he died by poison administered by a powerful
enemy. That Moschus was a Syracusan and a contemporary of
Theocritus is seen in one of his own pastorals.
Besides Theocritus, four other Greek poets flourished at Alexandria
in the third century before Christ. These were the elegiac poets
LYCOPHRON and CALLIMACHUS, the epic poet APOLLONIUS, and
ARATUS. Lycophron was a native of Chalcis, in Euboea, but was
attracted to Alexandria by the patronage of King Ptolemy Philadel-
phus, who assigned him a position in the poetical constellation. Lycoph-
ron wrote several essays on criticism and twelve tragedies, as well as
numerous other poems, some of which were flattering anagrams on the
illustrious names which adorned the court of Ptolemy Philadelphus.
But the Cassandra is Lycophron's only poem which has escaped
oblivion.
Callimachus was born at Cyrene, and received the surname of Bat-
tiades, from Battis, the king and founder of that city, whose descendant
he claimed to be. He was one of the seven contemporary poets who
flourished at the court of Ptolemy Philadelphus. His works are said
to have been exceedingly voluminous, and consisted of elegies, hymns
and epigrams, numbering eight hundred; but only a few of his short
poems have been preserved. Apollonius was a native of Alexandria,
being born there in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus. In his early
youth he wrote the Argonautica, an epic founded on the fable of the
Argonautic Expedition and the Golden Fleece. Milton, in Paradise
Lost, made many allusions to the great epic of Apollonius.
Aratus was born at Soli, afterwards named Pompeiopolis, in Cilicia.
He was the disciple of Dionysius of Heraclea, and followed his master's
example in adopting the principles of the Stoic philosophy. The name
of Aratus appears as one of the Pleiades of Alexandria, and his friend-
ship with Theocritus is indicated by the sixth and seventh Idyls of that
illustrious pastoral poet.
LATER GREEK SCIENCE AND LITERATURE.
1101
Early in the third century before Christ also flourished the Egyptian
priest MAXETHO, who wrote his famous History of Egypt in Greek,
and who adorned the court of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Contemporary
with Manetho lived BEROSUS, the Babylonian priest who wrote a com-
plete History of Early Chaldaea and Later Babylonia in Greek, only
fragments of which have been transmitted to us by APOLLODORTJS and
POLYHISTOR, two Greek writers.
A number of distinguished Greek historians flourished during this
later period of antiquity. POLYBIUS, the most eminent Greek historian
after Xenophon, flourished in the second century before Christ, and
was a native of Greece itself, being born at Megalopolis, in Arcadia,
B. C. 204. He was one of the thousand Achseans carried captive to
Italy by the Romans in B. C. 168, on the charge of not having aided
the Romans against Perseus, King of Macedon. He resided in the
house of ^Emilius Paulus, the Roman general who vanquished Perseus
at Pydna. He became the intimate friend of Scipio, the son of ^Emilius
Paulus, and accompanied him to the siege of Carthage. The great
work of Polybius is a general history of the affairs of Greece and
Rome from B. C. 220 to B. C. 146, preceded by a brief view of early
Roman history. This work consisted of forty books, only five of
which now remain. But these are among the most valuable literary
remains of antiquity, as Polybius exerted himself to learn facts, studied
and traveled extensively, was thoroughly versed in war and politics,
and possessed a clear insight into the relations of things. His aim
being didactive, a great portion of his history consists of disquisi-
tions. His residence at Rome and his acquaintance with the promi-
nent men of his time enabled him to give his history a comprehensive
range and render it a work of great value by his accuracy and impar-
tiality. His account of the campaigns of Hannibal and others has
made his history the delight of military leaders in all subsequent ages.
His style lacks the charm of eloquence, but is clear, simple and well
sustained. Polybius reached the great age of eighty-two years. His
Arcadian countrymen erected statues to his memory in all their prin-
cipal cities.
DIODORUS SICULTTS, another distinguished Greek historian, was a
native of Sicily (hence the name Siculus), and was born about the
middle of the first century before Christ. He left his native city of
Agyrium in his youth and spent many years in his travels through the
greater part of civilized Europe and Asia, and also through Egypt.
In his journeys he gathered materials for a historical work, in the
composition of which he was engaged for a period of thirty years.
This universal history, which Diodorus called his Bibliotheca Historica,
comprised forty books, of which only fifteen yet remain, the first five
Manetho,
Berosus,
Apollo-
dorus and
Polyhis-
tor.
Polybius.
Diodorus
Siculus.
1102
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Dionysius
Halicar-
nasseus.
Strabo.
Josephus.
Plutarch.
and the second ten. The annals of Diodorus constitute the principal
remaining authority upon the subject of Egyptian, Assyrian and
Babylonian antiquities, and they are accordingly very curious and val-
uable. Though a historian of great merit, Diodorus was neither so
elegantly perspicuous as Xenophon nor so scrupulously accurate as
Polybius. He resided at Rome in the time of Julius and Augustus
Caesar, when the Greek language had become corrupted, and for this
reason he cannot rival his predecessors in beauty of style and diction.
Nevertheless, the language of Diodorus nearly equals the best ancient
standards.
DIOXYSIUS HALICARNASSEUS, so named because he was a native of
Halicarnassus, in Asia Minor, was another illustrious Greek historian
and a contemporary of Diodorus Siculus. He came to Rome about
the time when Augustus Caesar founded the Roman Empire. After
residing in Rome twenty-two years, Dionysius wrote a history of the
Roman power, for which he had long made diligent preparation and
gathered many materials. His work consisted of twenty books, of
which only the first eleven yet remain.
STRABO, a celebrated Greek historian and geographer, was born at
Amasia, in Cappadocia, about B. C. 50, and flourished in the time of
Christ. He traveled through Greece, Italy, Egypt and Asia, seeking
the most reliable information concerning the geography, the statistics
and the political condition of the countries which he visited. He is
supposed to have died after A. D. 20. His great work, in seventeen
books, besides describing various countries, gives the principal par-
ticulars of their history, notices of distinguished men, and accounts of
the customs and manners of the people. It embraces almost the entire
history of knowledge from the time of Homer to that of Augustus
Caesar. There is an English translation of Strabo's works in Bonn's
Classical Library.
FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS, a renowned Jewish historian, who flourished in
the first century of the Christian era, wrote a history of the Jewish race
in Greek. Josephus was taken prisoner by the Romans at the capture
and destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70. He has given us a most
graphic and elaborate account of that famous event, and of the calam-
ities which had befallen his countrymen.
PLUTARCH, the eminent biographer of antiquity, and a native of
Greece itself, lived in the first and second centuries of the Christian
era, and achieved an immortal fame by his Lives of the great warriors
and statesmen of Greece and Rome. Plutarch was born A. D. 46, at
Chaeronea, in Boeotia, the scene of the great victory of Philip the Great
of Macedon over the Athenians and Thebans, which prostrated the
liberties of Greece. Plutarch belonged to one of the most ancient and
LATER GREEK SCIENCE AND LITERATURE. HOJ
respectable families of his native place, and all its members were
attached to the pursuits of philosophy. His tastes were early directed
in the same channel, and he had received an excellent education under
Ammonius, an Egyptian, who had established a famous school at
Athens. Plutarch afterwards visited Egypt to store his mind with
additional knowledge. After returning to his native land, he traveled
through all its chief cities, and at length went to Rome, where he
resided about forty years. At the close of this period he returned to
Chaeronea, to spend the last years of his life in his native city. During
his residence in Rome he lectured on philosophy, as early as the reign
of Domitian. In his retirement at Chaeronea he completed the great
work upon which his fame rests, consisting of biographies of forty-six
illustrious Greeks and Romans, arranged in pairs, each pair being com-
pared in their characters. These biographies are written with a moral
purpose, and besides orderly narrative of events, they give us por-
traitures of their characters, presented in a graphic and vigorous style,
and with much good sense, honesty and generosity.
Plutarch's Lives constitute one of the most charming productions j^,-
transmitted to us from antiquity. This work has to this day been tarch's
regarded as a model of biographical composition, and so deserves to be,
because of the impartial, cautious, manly and honest style in which it
is written. Plutarch's morals and piety merit as much commendation
as those of any other pagan writer. Altogether, though morally
defective, Plutarch's Lives have done more toward inciting youth to
virtuous and exalted deeds than any other Greek or Roman production.
As tested by modern criticism, Plutarch's Lives are not historical
authorities ; as they were written, not with a critical, but with a prac-
tical aim. They present to us the most famous types of Greek and
Roman character as they appeared to the careful, scholarly, imagina-
tive and philosophical biographer. They were Shakespeare's chief
authority in the preparation of his great classical dramas. Not many
ancient or modern works have been so widely read or so generally
admired as Plutarch's Lives.
Several of Plutarch's other works have been lost, but there yet gis r^her
remain such small treatises as his Symposiacs, or Table Conversations, "Works,
and his Morals, which maintain his reputation for ability and piety.
The people of his native city honored him with the office of chief-
magistrate, and he died among his countrymen and friends in the
seventy-fifth years of his age, A. D. 120.
AREIAN, a Greek of Asia Minor, was a historian who flourished in the Arrian.
early part of the second century of the Christian era. Arrian was a
native of Nicomedfa, in Bithynia, and came to Rome when quite
young, and there studied under the famous Greek philosopher, Epic-
1104
THE GR^CO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Diogenes
Laertius.
Herodian.
tetus, whose Stoical opinions he afterwards gave to the world in two
treatises, which have ever since been ranked among the finest expositions
of ancient morality.
Appian. APPIAN, another Greek historian who flourished in the early part
of the second century of the Christian era, contemporary with Arrian,
was a descendant of one of the leading families of Alexandria. He
came to Rome during the reign of the Emperor Trajan, and began to
practice law in the Roman courts. He achieved such distinction as a
pleader that he became one of the imperial Procurators ; and, under
Trajan's successors, Adrian and Antoninus Pius, he was invested with
the dignity of provincial governor. Appian wrote a regular history
of Rome from the times of the legendary ^Eneas to the times of the
Empire. He also wrote various separate and extended accounts of
particular civil and foreign wars in the history of the Roman people.
Some of these fragmentary writings are all that now remains of his
works.
DIOGENES LAERTIUS, a Greek historian who is supposed to have
flourished about A. D. 200, wrote the Lives of the Philosophers in ten
books, a work mainly valuable for the fragments which it contains of
earlier writings which have perished.
HERODIAN was a Greek historian who lived in the third century after
Christ. He gave an accurate narrative of the events of the Roman
Empire from the reign of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, who died A.
D. 180, to the accession of Gordian III., A. D. 244, embracing a period
of about seventy years. Herodian personally witnessed the principal
events which signalized this period, and had the best opportunities for
accurate observation, because he had long been attached to the court
of the Roman Emperors. Herodian's history is in eight books, and
embraces the reigns of more than twelve Emperors. This work gives
us the most authentic knowledge of this stirring epoch. Herodian
wrote in a style of dignity and sweetness, and his comments upon the
events recorded by him are pertinent and instructive.
LUCIAN, a renowned Greek writer, was a native of Samosata, and
flourished in the second century after Christ. He was of humble
origin, and while young was placed with an uncle to study sculpture,
but his failure in his first efforts induced him to go to Antioch and
devote himself to literature and forensic rhetoric. The Roman Em-
peror Marcus Aurelius made him Procurator of Egypt. He died at
the age of ninety. Lucian's works are chiefly in the form of dialogues,
and many have been transmitted to us. The most popular are those
in which he ridiculed the pagan mythology and the philosophical sects.
Many of them are tainted with profanity and indecency, though
written in an elegant style and abounding in wit.
Lucian.
LATER GREEK SCIENCE AND LITERATURE.
1105
LONGINUS was an illustrious Greek critic and philosopher of the third
century after Christ. In his youth he traveled to Rome, Athens and
Alexandria, for improvement, attending all the celebrated masters in
philosophy and eloquence. At length he made his residence at Athens,
where he taught philosophy and published his Treatises on the Sublime.
His vast fund of knowledge caused him to be called " the living
library." When Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, heard of his fame she
invited him to her court, intrusted him with the education of her two
sons and took his advice on political matters. But this honor caused
his ruin and destruction, as the Roman Emperor Aurelian, after
reducing Palmyra, put him to death because he had counseled Zenobia
to resist the Romans and had composed the spirited letter which that
queen had addressed to the Emperor. His execution occurred A. D.
273. He encountered his fate with resignation and fortitude, saying:
" The world is but a prison ; happy therefore is he who gets soonest
out of it, and gains his liberty."
We have already alluded to the translation of the Old Testament into
Greek. The Gospels and most of the other books of the New Testa-
ment were written in Greek, so that this language was the medium
through which Christ's teachings and doctrines were made known to
mankind in the first few centuries of the Christian era. Many of the
Fathers of the Christian Church — such as JUSTIN MARTYR, CLEMENT
of Alexandria, ORIGEN, ST. ATHANASIUS, and ST. CHRYSOSTOM — also
wrote in the Greek language ; as did PORPHYRY, the bitter foe of Chris-
tianity, and EUSEBIUS, the historian of the early Christian Church.
In the meantime the Grecian polytheistic religion had sunk beneath
the attacks of the philosophers, and no system had taken its place, so
that the Greeks lived literally " without God in the world," because
they perceived the absurdity of the faith of their fathers, but as yet
knew of no better creed, and erected altars to " The Unknown God."
Amidst this practical infidelity the seeds were sown for a radical
change throughout the whole Greek and Latin world. About the
middle of the first century of the Christian era, the apostle Paul, after
preaching the Gospel of Christ at Ephesus and other Greek cities of
Asia Minor, passed over into Macedonia and there preached Chris-
tianity, making many converts, especially at Thessalonfca, where he
established a church. Driven by persecution to Athens, St. Paul
preached the new faith to the assembled Athenians on Mars' Hill. The
great apostle passed on to Corinth and there established a church.
Christianity spread rapidly to other parts of Greece, and its growth
was steady, in spite of the persecutions by which the Roman authorities
endeavored to check its progress, and in spite of the charms with which
the effete polytheism was surrounded. The preaching of Christianity
Longinus
Greek .
Christian
Fathers.
Extinc-
tion of
Grecian
Polythe-
ism.
Rise of
Christi-
anity.
Paul's
Mission-
ary
Travels.
1106
THE GR^ECO-ORIENTAL KINGDOMS.
Christi-
anity and
Greek
Philos-
ophy.
Mauso-
leum of
Halicar-
nassus.
Colossus
of
Rhodes.
produced a wonderful change, and its steady progress gradually
affected the character of the Greek nation.
Many carried into the new religion those habits of fanciful specula-
tion which had for so long a time characterized their philosophy, and
mingling with some of their old theories and doctrines with the new
faith, they introduced most of those peculiar beliefs which infected the
early Christian Church. The Alexandrian philosophers were chiefly
instrumental in producing this result, as they combined Plato's phi-
losophy with Christ's simple teachings.
The day of great masters in Grecian art had passed, and little
remains to be said upon this topic. In the third century before
Christ, Queen Artemisia erected the stately Mausoleum at Halicar-
nassus, in Asia Minor, to the memory of her departed husband, Mau-
solus. The entire structure was adorned with magnificent sculptures.
This remarkable structure was one of the Seven Wonders of the
World, as was also the gigantic Colossus of Rhodes, an immense image
of Apollo, which the Rhodians had erected to commemorate their gal-
lant and successful defense against the forces of Demetrius Poliorcetes,
B. C. 306. This colossal statue was so placed as to bestride the
entrance to the harbor. The Colossus was more than one hundred feet
high, and its thumb was so large that a man was not able to clasp it
with his arms. After lying on the ground for centuries this gigantic
figure was removed, when the metal of which it was composed loaded
nine hundred camels. .
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