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STORY OFQTHE WORLD
FOR
THE CHILDREN OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
BOOtt I.
ON THE SHORES OF THE
GREAT SEA
FROM THE DAYS OF ABRAHAM TO
THE BIRTH OF CHRIST
o
N THE SHORES OF
THE GREAT SEA
M. B. SYNGE
AUTHOR OK 4 BRAVE MEN AND BRAVE DEEDS/
'LIFE n- GENERAL GORDON FOR BOYS,' ETC.
ILLUSTRATED BY E. M. SYNGE, A.R.E.
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
1907
All Rights reservea
CONTENTS.
PAGE
1. THE HOME OP ABRAHAM . . , , . . 1
2. INTO AFRICA ....... . .4
? AN ^LD TRADE-ROUTE ...... 8
4.WOSEPH IN EGYPT ....... 12
5. *HE STORY OP TH* 1 ! NILE FLOOD ..... 17
6. IN A STRANGE LAND ....... 20
7. THE CHILDREN OP ISRAEL ...... 24
8. BACK TO THE FATHERLAND ...... 28
/ 9. THE FIRST MERCHANT FLEET . . . , % 32
10. CONQUERORS OF THE SEA ^/ ^^Y .%~*^*b* 35
11. EARLY PIONEERS ...... -.39
12. HIRAM, KING OF TYRE ...... 42
L:*. KING SOLOMON'S FLEET ...... 45
14. THE STORY OF CARTHAGE ...... 48
15. OUT OF THE SHADOWLAND ...... 52
L6. THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS ..... 55
17. THE SIEGE OF TROY . . . . - . . .61
L8. THE ADVENTURES OF ULYSSESS/ ^-l/U^^^^^P . 64
19. THE DAWN OF HISTORY ...... 68
20. THE FALL OP TYRE ....... 72
21. THE RISE OF CARTHAGE
82. HANNO'S ADVENTURES \
23. SOME MORE ABOUT GREECE ...... 79
. I, i . XJ74
f^* \ ' '. *" ' C" vfe
VI CONTENTS,
t
24. A CLOUD IN THE SALT 83
25. THE BATTLE OF MARATHON . . . \ 86
26. KING AHASUERUS 7 90
2. HOW LEONIDA8 KEPT THE PASg 94
28. VICTORY FOR THE GREEKS 97
29. SOME GREEK COLONIES 101
30. ACROSS THE BLIfE WATERS 104
3L THE BEAUTY OF ATHENS ,..*.. 106
32. THE DEATfc OF SOCRATES ...... 110
33. RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND 115
34. THE STORY OF ROMULUS AND RE1JU8 . . . .119
35. HOW HORATIUS KE^T THE BRIDGE * . . 122
36. CORIOLANUS { 127
37. ALEXANDER THE GREAT . . . ** . . ..132
38. KING OF MACEDONIA ' 9fl
39. CONQUEST OF THE EACT . . . . *" . 43$
40. THE CONQUEST OF INDIA 143
41. ALEXANDER'S CITY * *. 147
42. BACK TO ROME AGAIN 151
43. A GREAT CONFLICT 154
44. THE ROMAN FLEET . . , . . .158
/5. HANNIBAL'S vowV/ . .pA^^W^ ^ ^ 162
46. THB ADVENTURES OF HANNIBAL . . . .165
47. THE END OF CARTHAGE 169
48. THE TRIUMPH OF ROME \73
49. TWO YOUNG ROMANS 177
50. JULIUS 02ESAR 180
51. THE FLIGHT OF POMPEY 184
52. THE DEATH OF CJI8AR 189
53. THE EMPIRE OF ROME 194
64. PAX ROMANA ,,.,.... i99
TEACHER'S APPENDIX ....... 201
ON THE SHOKES OF THE GEEAT SEA.
1. THE HOME OP \BRAHAM.
" In the faith of liUle children, we went on our ways."
KIPLING.
IT i^ strange to think of a very old world, when
men knew nothing of the great salt sea that
washed their shores, and nothing of the wonder-
ful lands, that lay beyond. Each day the sun
rose and set as it does to-day, but they did not
know the reason why : the rivers flowed through
the land, but they did not know whence they came,
or whither they went.
These men of old, knew one great fact. They
knew that they must live in a land, where there
was plenty of water. How else could their sheep
and oxen stay their thirst? how else should they
and their children get food and drink ? and how
should the grain grow to save the land from
famine ?
So wherever a man settled down with his famijy
A
2 ABOUT THE CHALDEANS.
in the old days, hd "dhose so r me place near a^Viver
or spring. Perhaps others would wander ovef the
knd till 'they came to the same river, and there
they would settle too, until there would be quite
a little colony of families all attracted to the same
spot by the fact that fresh, clean water, was flow-
ing througlj the land.
And so it was that, long ago, the old stories
tell us of a group of men, women, and* children,
who came and set-tied around a great river, called
the Euphrates, away in the far East. It was one
of the four rivers that watepd {he garden ,of
Eden a very ' beautiful and fertile spot.
This little group of settlers known as the 1
Chaldeans grew corn in their rich country and
became very prosperous, while other men were
wandering about the trackless land with no fixed
abode or calling.
These Chaldeans taught themselves many things.
They made bricks and built houses to live in,
they looked at the deep blue sky over their
heads and learnt about the sun ; they wandered
about by night and learnt about the moon and
the stars, they divided their time into seven
days and called the days after seven stars, they
taught themselves arithmetic and geometry. , Of
course they had no paper and pens to write
with, but they scratched simple pictures on
stones and tablets. For instance, a little draw-
ipg of one nail meant the figure L, two nails
B.O. 1921.] THE CALL OP ABRAHAM. 3
meant II., three nails in a row meant III., and
so on.
Even to-day men go out to this old country,
which has long since ceased to take any part in
the world's history, and they find the old stones
and tablets scratched by the Chaldeans, and learn
more about these industrious psople.
The Chaldeans knew a great deal, but they knew
nothing beyond their own country, for how should
they ? Ther3 were no carts, no trains, no bridges
over the rivers, no ships, r^ those early days.
Travelling was ve*y slow and difficult. On the
Lacks of camels or asses the journeys must be
made, under the burning sun and over the track-
less desert land : food must be carried, and even
water ; for how could they tell where rivers ran in
those unknown, unexplored regions ?
But the day was at hand when one man with
his whole family should travel from this land beyond
the Euphrates, tmvel away from the busy life of the
Chaldean cities into a new and unknown country.
That man was known as Abraham.
He was a great man in the far East; he was
well read in the stars, and had learnt much about
the rising and setting of the sun and moon.
Why he was called to leave his native land is
not known. " Get thee out of thine own country,
and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house,*
unto a land that I will show thee."
These were Abraham's orders.
4 ABRAHAMS JOURNEY. [B.C. 1921.
And one day he 1 i*ose up, and taking his old
father Tera?i, his wife Sarai, and his fatherless
young nephew Lot, with camels and asses bearing
all his possessions, he left Chaldea.
The little party journeyed for a day, perhaps
more, until they came to the frontier fortress of
their own country ^ and here the old father Terah
died before ( ever he had crossed that river that
bounded the land of his birth.
And Abraham started off again to travel into
the unknown land. The great river Euphrates
rolled its vast volume of watery between him, and
the country to which his steps were bent.** TW<J
days' journey would bring him to the high chalky
cliffs, from which he could overlook the * wide
western desert. Broad and strong lay the great
stream below. He crossed it, probably near the
same point where it is still forded. He crossed
it and became known as the Hebrew the man
who had crossed the river flood the man who
came from beyond the Euphrates.
2. INTO AFRICA.
"And Abraham went down into Egypt to sojourn there."
GEN. xii. *0.
THE land of Canaan was now before him. It was
a low-lying country, now marked on modern maps
ap Syria, the ' old highway between the tract of
B.C. 1920.] THROUGH THE LAND OF CANAAN. 5
land known as Asia and that known now as
Africa. Its coast was washed by the blue sea,
known to men of old time as the Great Sea, 1 on
the waters of which no one had as yet ventured
to trust themselves.
As pilgrims travel now in the East, so would
Abraham have travelled then through this land
of Canaan, with his wife and young Lot. With
all his possessions heaped high on the backs of
camels and asses, with his slaves running along
by his side, with his flocks t>f sheep and goats
moving under the towering forms of the camels,
he would start slowly into the new country.
Abraham himself, in a scarlet robe, as chief of
the i,nbe, would guide the march, settling where
the nightly tent should be pitched, and arranging
pasture and water for the flocks and herds. On
and on, under the fiercely blazing sun, the long
caravan would slowly travel, ever journeying
southwards.
He was the first explorer of a new land of whom
there is a full account.
But while he yet journeyed, there came on one
of those droughts to which the land of Canaan
was always subject, when day after day the sky
was blue and cloudless, when no rains fell to water
the thirsty land, and Abraham went on still farther
south till he reached Africa.
Now, while the great colony on the banks of
1 Mediterranean Sea.
6 INTO EGYPT.
the river Euphrates was growing and thriving
away in Asia, another colony was growing along
the banks of the Nile the greatest river in Africa.
Here family after family had come, attracted by
the fertile land watered by the Nile, in just the
same way as tbe Chaldeans had settled by the
Euphrates. And this country was known as Egypt
the gift of the Nile.
So out of the shadowland of early history we
get these two settlements t*he Chaldeans on the
Euphrates in Asia and the Egyptians on the Nile
in Africa. They were hundreds of miles apart,
and though men may have journeyed from cjne tp
the other before, yet' Abraham is the first traveller 4
of whom we have any record.
It must have been with feelings of awe that
he approached the land of Egypt. He might be
denied the corn he had come hither to obtain, he
might be slain, unknown dangers and difficulties
might lie before him. He must have been sur-
prised at what he found in Egypt, after all. He
found a very old settlement, as old as perhaps
older than that from which he had come.
The Egyptians could tell him stories of a
king, that had ruled over them thousands of
years ago, called Menes, a king who had buUt
their wonderful city of Memphis on the Nile,
where the* modern town of Cairo stands to-day.
They could point to their thirty pyramids, the
tc?mbs of their kings, and the great temple of the
WHAT ABBABAM FOUNT) IK EGYPT,
Sphinx, landing roond about
their old city, even as some
of them stand round about
Cairo to-day.
They could tell
Abraham the story
of how those pyra-
mids were built ; of
the immense granite
blocks which were
brought five hundred
miles ; of the great
causeway, which took
ten years to con-
struct, along which
these blocks could
be carried ; of the
twenty years it took to build one pyramid, and
the thousands and thousands of men employed
i$L the work.
And under these massive structures the old
Eastern kings slept their last sleep; while to-day
we still wonder at the industry and patience of
the ancient Egyptians.
8 BACK TO CANAAN. [s.C. 1918.
"Soldieis," said th^ 1 great Napoleon, as he led
the French army through the f heart of Egypt come
hundred years ago " Soldiers, forty centuries iook
down upon you, from the top of the pyramids."
Indeed, later on, when roads cut up the countries
of the earth, and ships sailed on the seas, these old
pyramids of Egypt were ranked among the Seven
Wonders of the World.
This strange land to which Abraham Ijad come
was a land of plenty; thers was cprn growing
along the fertile Galley, for the mighty Nile de-
pended not on local 'rains to water the earth. 1
And the greao king, or Pharaoh, as he was called,
treated Abraham well. It is said that the Chal-
dean explorer taught the Egyptians astronqmy ;
he certainly did well in the strange land, and
when he left, Pharaoh gave him sheep and oxen,
men-servants and maid-servants, and Abraham was
a very rich man.
8. AN OLD TRADE-ROUTE.
" Then there passed by ... merchantmen." GEN. xxxvii. 28.
IT was a much larger caravan which passed out
of Egypt, when t the time came at last for Abraham
to go back to Cajiaan ; there were more flocks
1 See chapter 5.
B.c. 1918.] ABRAHAM AND LOT. 9
and herds, sheep and cattle, camels and asses.
They returned by the same way they came, till
they reached one of their old camping - grounds
near Bethel.
But Abraham and Lot were no longer wandering
explorers, in search of pasture for their flocks.
They were rich men now, with numerous atten-
dants, and the pasture that was enough to feed
all, in the old days, was no longer enough for both.
And there was some quarrelling between the herd-
men of Abraham's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's
cattle.
Together, the two men stood on a piece of
rising ground, from which they could look over
the nrrounding country.
" Is not the whole land before thee ? " said the
older man, who had already made up his mind as to
the future. " Separate thyself, I pray thee, from
me; if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will
go to the right; or if thou depart to the light
hand, then I will go to the left."
And Lot, knowing the value of the river Jordan
which flowed through the midst of the land, chose
its fertile plain, which was well watered every-
where, like the land of Egypt, from which he had
just come. So he took his servants, his cattle,
and his sheep, and there he made his new home.
Abraham lived in Canaan, right away from Lot;
but he did not forget the little colony that had
settled in the plains of Jordan liko a branch from
10 TRADE SETTLEMENTS. [B.O. 1857.
the old root, and when Lot was in difficulties
with his foei, Abraham was the first to go tc his
help.
It was the same in those old days as it is now ;
the mother country helps her colonies, when they
are in trouble.
After a time Abraham's descendants possessed
the whole land of Canaan, which reached from his
old home beyond the river Euphrates to the river
Nile in Egypt. But the lote of the* old country
was still strong within him ; and when it was time
to choose a wife for his son Isaac, it was to the land
beyond the Euphrates that he turned.
Thence came Rebekah, who became the grand-
mother of Joseph, the story of whose life in Egypt
is at once so pathetic and interesting.
As time went on, there was more and more
traffic between the two settlements in Asia and
Africa, through the land of Canaan. More than
one route was discovered by which the long lines
of camels and caravans could pass with safety from
the one country to the other. And why should
they want to go from one land to the other ? For
purposes of trade.
If one settlement could make and produce what
another settlement could not, it was natural that
an exchange should take place. And so it came
to pass that iong lines of camels were constantly
journeying across Canaan bearing spices, balm,
and myrrh intb Egypt, and taking back with
B.O. 1729.] THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 11
them silk and ivory from that country. It was to
one of these parties of merchantmen, bhat Joseph
was sold merchants, on their way down into
Egypt.
The story of Joseph is familiar to every child.
They know how he was loved by his father Jacob,
and how he lived with his pareiits in the land of
Canaan, inherited from his grandfather Abraham.
How his older brothers had gone south to pasture
their flocks, like the Arabs of the present day,
wherever the wild country was unowned. How
by-end-by Jacob, growing uneasy about his elder
sons, sen*; Joseph, then a boy of seventeen, clad
'in his coat of many colours, to see how they
were getting on. How the elder brothers hated
Joseph because he was his father's favourite, and
how, when they saw him coming, they whispered
among themselves, " Come now, therefore, and let
us slay him."
Finally, they sold him to the party of merchants
passing with their camels, laden with spices, for
Egypt. So the boy Joseph, now robbed of his
coat of many colours, was carried off to Egypt,
and there sold to one Potiphar, a courtier of the
great Pharaoh of the country.
And while Joseph was serving in Egypt his old
father was weeping for him away in Canaan.
"All his sons and all his daughters rose*
up to comfort him ; but he refused to be com-
forted."
12 THE PHARAOHS. [B.O. 1729.
Little did Jacob tmftk, as he mourned for JFoseph
as dead, thgft some day he too should travel down
to Egypt, where he should find his son again,
'governor over all the lahd."
4. JOSEPH IN EGYPT.
" Governor over all the land of Egypt." GEN. xlv. 26.
THERE had been changes in Egypt since the days
of Abraham, The long line c native kings had
come to an end, and some new rulers or *Ph^raohs
had arisen, known as " Shepherd kings." It was
during the reign of one of these shepherd -kings
that Joseph was sold into Egypt. There had been
a great deal of fighting, too, in the country, and
now the tract of land belonging to the Egyptians
was much larger than of old, and a wonderful new
city tailed Thebes had been built on the Nile, some
distance above Memphis.
Now these Pharaohs ruling over Egypt were
held to be very great men, and they were treated
with great pomp and dignity. The old tablets
and monuments tell us, in their quaint picture
stories, how splendid were the courts of these
kings, and how all men bowed down to them.
They tell us * stories of the king's household : of
his many servants, the royal barbers and perfunurs,
shoemakers, tailors ; of those who presided over
B.C. ins.] PHARAOH'S DREAM. 13
the royal linen, of the laundresses who washed it
in the river Nile. They tell us of tLe troops of
musicians, singers, dancers, cooks, butlers, bakers,
and magicians.
The Egyptians of old drew pictures showing
how the Pharaohs received taxes from the people,
not in money, for they did not use money in
those days, but in fruit, oxen, or grain. And
there wers buildings connected with the royal palace
at Memphis . there was the storehouse for grain,
the storehouse for fruit, and the white storehouse,
whe^e stuffs and jewels are kept.
So the Pharaohs were very rich and powerful,
and they did as they pleased with their king-
doms. Joseph would have heard all about the
ruler of Egypt from his master, but being a
slave himself he would have had no chance of
seeing him.
Now, since he had been in Egypt, Joseph had
shown himself very clever at explaining dreams,
and this fact came to the ears of the great
Pharaoh, who was puzzling sorely over a strange
dream he had lately had.
So he sent for the young Hebrew 1 servant, and
Joseph stood before Pharaoh.
" I have dreamed a dream," said the great king,
" and there is none that can interpret it : and I
have heard say of thee, that thou canst under-
stand a dream to interpret it."
1 See chapter 1.
14 JOSEPH'S WISDOM. [B.C. 1715.
It must have been a great moment for the
young stranger from Canaan as he listened to
Pharaoh's dream, but his fame had not gone
abroad in vain. He understood the dream, and
he said to Pharaoh :
" Behold, there come seven years of great plenty
throughout all the land of Egypt : and there shall
arise after Lhem seven years of famine ; and all
the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt ;
and the famine shall consume the land ; and the
plenty shall not be known in the land by reason
of that famine following ; for it shall be ^very
grievous." *
Then, unbidden, Joseph went on to tell the kin:
what had better be done to save the land.
66 Let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise,
and set him over the land of Egypt. . . . And let
him appoint officers over the land, and take up
the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven
plenteous years. And let them gather all the food
of those good years that come, and lay up corn
under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food
in the cities. . . . That the land perish not through
the famine/'
The words of the young stranger showed great
foresight, at which the king must have marvelled.
Surely such wisdom was no common thing.
" Can we fend such a one as this is ? " he said
to his servants round him. Then turning to Joseph
be said :
Joseph btf&t Pharwh.
16 JOSEPHS PROMOTION. [B.C. 1708.
"Thou shalt be over my t house, and according
unto thy word shall all my people be ruled : only
in the throne will I be greater than thou. . . .
See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt."
And so, while his father mourned for him as
dead in the lard of Canaan, Joseph was governor
over all the lana of Egypt second only to the
king. Instead of the little coat of many colours,
he now wore the white robe of state, uhe king's
own ring was on his finger, the king's own gold
chain was about his t neck. He rod^ in the royal
chariot, and before him the Egyptians ran shcut-
ing, as they do in the streets of Cairo to-day when
any great person is driving through the crow^
masses of men and beasts.
It was thirteen years since he had left his home,
a shepherd boy in Canaan. Now he travelled
all over the country, seeing that the grain was
stored up in every large city of Egypt. And so
the seven years of plenty passed by and the gran-
aries of Egypt were full to overflowing.
The story of the Nile overflow, by which years
of plenty and famine were decided, is a world-famed
story, dating from the very dawn of history to the
present day.
Let it be told yet once again.
THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 17
5. THE STORY OP THE NILE FLOOD.
"The higher Nilus swells
The more it promises : as it ebbs, the seedsman
Upon the slime and ooze scatters his grain
And shortly comes to harvest."
SHAKSPJglKE.
LET it be told once again the story of how this
great river, sometimes so shallow and sluggish
that a child might safely walk across, becomes a
mighty rushing sea pouring itself into the ocean,
with r, force that no man can stem.
The source of the Nile was as great a mystery to
the men of old as was the reason of its yearly flood.
So, as they could not find out where this great
river rose, they said it must rise in Paradise, that
it must flow through burning regions, pass through
a sea, and finally make its way through Egypt.
The annual flood they explained to themselves by
saying that it was caused by Isis, the Egyptian
goddess, mourning for her brother Osiris. Every
year, toward the middle of June, she let fall a
tear for the great Nile-god, and at once the river
swelled and descended upon earth. This quaint
old story has lasted down through all the ages,
and to this very day the people in Egypt say
that a drop from heaven falls during the night
of the 18th of June and brings about the rise of
the Nile.
B
18 ANXIETY.
That night is known as the " night of the drop."
During the months of April, May, and Juno the
river Nile falls and falls. The fields on either side
are parched and dry ; the air is full of dust. The
trees are leafless, the plains are cracked ; man and
beast alike languish. And all day long the fiery
sun, undimmed by the lightest cloud, marches on
its pitiless way through a sky of the deepest blue.
As the season advances, anxiety becomes intense.
" Will the river rise well this ye&r ? " ask the
bronze-faced men one of another. " Is it not late
already ? "
A year of plenty or a year of famine used to
hang on this mysterious rise. At last, the day
dawns when news comes flashing along the river-
banks : " The Nile is rising a little, away up near
its source/' Slowly very slowly at first, and then
with ever-increasing speed the water creeps up its
banks. Gradually the current quickens and the
water becomes a deepened colour. It has now be-
come a rushing mighty stream against which no
man could swim, as it swirls and roars along to
the sea.
And yet not a drop of rain has fallen, no cloud
has crossed the sky, no storm has broken over the
land. It is to tropical rains some two thousand
miles away that this tumult of waters is due. By
Septembei the country is a huge lake, the whole
land is a land of rivers, as it once was a lard of
dust. Men's 'spirits rise with the rising waters,
A YEAH OF PLENTY. 19
the animals rejoice in this first necessity of life,
brow^-skinned men and boys plunge with delight
into the life-giving stream. All are happy and
content. For it will be a year of plenty for
Egypt.
As September wears on, the rivor begins to fall.
Its work is done. Before long it is flowing between
its banks as usual, winding through the long hot
land to the Great Sea the " Very Green," as the
men of Egypt called it.
We know a great deal about the sources of the
Nile now, though it was many centuries before the
discoveries were made. At Khartum known to
Llotory for Gordon's famous defence and death
the great river divides into two branches, one
called the Blue Nile, the other known as the
White Nile.
It was in 1770 that a Scotch explorer named
James Bruce reached the source-lakes of the Blue
Nile, high up on the plains which crowned tlie
mountains of Abyssinia. He told such wonderful
stories on his return home of all he had seen and
heard that people did not believe him. But now
we know all he said was perfectly true. It was
not till 1858 that two Englishmen discovered the
source of the White Nile in Lake Victoria,
But it happened years ago that the tropical
rains sometimes failed; the rise of the Nile was
very poor, the dry earth remained parched and
cracked, and famine was the result. So it was a*
20 FAMINE IN EGYPT. [B.C. 1708.
very important matter to the old kings of Egypt
whether the Nile rose well or not.
To-day famine is impossible, owing to the dykes,
canals, and dams which have been arranged to hold
the water should the Nile fail to rise well.
6. IN A STRANGE LAND.
My sons, and ye the children of my sons,
Jacob your father goes upon his ; ay."
CLOUGH.
FOR the first seven years after Joseph had been
made governor of Egypt, the Nile rose well, and
every fifth part of the country's produce was stored
up in the granaries of Egypt, 1 and " in all the land
of Egypt there was bread." The bad years came.
The Nile did not rise, the corn did not grow, and
the famished people cried to Pharaoh for bread.
" Go unto Joseph ; what he saith to you, do,"
was Pharaoh's answer to all the clamouring people.
And Joseph opened the storehouses of grain and
sold to the Egyptians.
Not only was there famine in Egypt, but the
famine was " over all the face of the earth." This
included the land of Canaan, where Joseph's father
and brothers still lived. There came a day, as the
famine grew woise and worse, when Jacob called
his sons.
1 See chapter 4.
B.C. 1707.] JOSEPH'S BROTHERS. 21
" Behold, I have heard that there is corn in
Egypt," he said to them : " get you down thither,
and buy for us from thence ; that we may live, and
not die."
The ten brothers started off for Egypt to buy
corn. They found that the governor was selling the
corn in person. He was the great man of the land,
and they bowed down themselves before him with
their face? to the earth. They little thought that
this man to whom every one bowed down was their
young brother Joseph, but Joseph recognised his
brothers at once. The sight of their familiar faces
moved hun strangely, and he turned from them in
tears. He behaved generously towards them, but
he did not tell them who he was. And when they
had filled their sacks with corn they went home.
But the famine went on, and again they came,
bringing Benjamin, the youngest son, with them
this time. They brought Joseph presents too
honey and spices, nuts and almonds. Again they
bowed low before him.
" Is your father well, the old man of whom ye
spake ? Is he yet alive ? " were Joseph's eager
words when he saw them again. Yet again he
turned from them in tears, which they could not
understand.
At last he told them who he was told them
simply, weeping and alone, " I am ^Joseph your
brother, whom ye sold into Egypt/'
Then he informed them that he was lord of
22 JACOB IN EGYPT. [B.C. 1706.
Pharaoh's house, and a ruler throughout all the
land of Egypt.
" And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in
Egypt, and of all that ye r have seen ; and ye shall
haste and bring down my father hither."
So the brothers journeyed back into Canaan,
laden with good things from Egypt, to tell their
father the ^ood news.
"It is enough," said the old man; "Joseph my
son is yet alive : I will go and see, him before I
die."
And Jacob left his old home, arid he took t his
sons and his grandsons, and all their wives arid' chil-
dren, his cattle and all his goods. It must have
been a long line of camels and asses, together with
the waggons that Pharaoh had sent from Egypt,
that crossed the burning desert, to go down into
Egypt. And Joseph drove out in his chariot to
meet his father, and " he fell on his neck and wept
a good while."
Joseph brought his father into the presence of
the great Pharaoh, and the king treated the old
man well, giving him a portion of land to dwell
in Goshen between Memphis and the Great Sea,
at the delta of the Nile. It was one of the
best pieces of land in Egypt, and there Jacob
settled down with his sons and his grandsons,
theii; wiv^s und children, to live in peace and
plenty.
Now Jacob ?Vas already old when he came down
"Thou sAatt am? m* out
24 THE LAND OF GOSHEN. [B.C. 1689.
into the land of Egypt. And when the time came
for him to die, his one yearning was to get back to
his old home. He could not rest in the land of the
pyramids. 1 The Egyptians were kind, but they
were not his own kin ; he felt he must lie in the
land of his fathers.
" Bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt," he
pleaded wi+h Joseph : " but I will lie with my
fathers, and thou shalt carry me out .of Egypt,
and bury me in their bury ing-place.'*
So Jacob died, and the Egyptian? mourned for
him, as if he had been one of themselves ;
which his whole family carried him home to
land of his birth. It was a very great company
that bore him to Canaan ; the camels and asses
of the house of Jacob, mingling strangely with
the chariots and horses of the Egyptians.
So they buried him in the land of Canaan,
as he had desired them, and then Joseph and
all his brethren returned to their new home in
Egypt.
7. THE CHILDREN OP ISRAEL.
" Unto a land flowing with milk and honey." EXODUS iii. 8.
THE children: of Jacob, or Israel, lived long in
the land of Egypt, on the plot of land given to
See chapter 2.
B.O. 1635.] OPPRESSION OF CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. 25
them by Pharaoh. Fifty four years after his
father, Joseph died. Like Jacob, he yearned to
be buried in the land of his fathers, but for the
present this was impossible. The years rolled on,
and king after king reigned and died in Egypt,
until the memory of Joseph was forgotten.
Meanwhile the children of Israel were rejoicing
in the good pasture -land watered by the Nile,
the land of Goshen as it was called, between
Memphis and the Great Sea, and their families
increased, ti]l they had become quite a large colony
in the land of Egypt. But in course of time there
arose a Pharaoh, who no longer cared to have all
Joseph's descendants settled in the land ; this great
colony of foreigners would be a danger in case of
war.
So he set taskmasters over them and oppressed
them. He took them away from their quiet
shepherd lives, to "service in the field," such as
we still see along the banks of the Nile. There
to-day the peasants work under the burning sun,
drawing up buckets of water, from the level of the
river, to pour on the fields above. The children
of Israel were made to build the high brick walls,
too, which surrounded the old cities of the land
of Goshen ; they were treated as slaves, and
beaten by the Egyptians in authority over them,
until we seem to hear their bitter cries, for de-
liverance from this bondage.
At last, as more and more children were born
26 STORY OF MOSES. [B.C. 1571.
to the children of ijrael, Pharaoh ordered that
all the sorib born to these strangers, should hence-
forth be thrown into the Nile.
But a son was born, soon after this order, to a
great grandson of Jacob's, and he was so beauti-
ful, that his mother hid him in the house, for
three months. Then, fearing for his life, she
put him in a little boat or basket made of reeds,
and laid him away among the rushes, by the
river-side.
The story of Moses is well know, and every
child has heard how the royal princess, one of
Pharaoh's daughters, came down with her maidens,
to bathe in the river. How she found the little
basket and the crying child within, and how she
had not the heart to let the baby drown. How
he was nursed by his own mother, brought up in
the house of the Egyptian princess, and named
Moses : " Because," said the princess, " I drew
him out of the water/'
Now, though Moses was brought up as an
Egyptian child, he was yet an Israelite at heart ;
when he grew old enough he resented seeing his
own people badly treated, and even beaten, in
the land of their adoption. And this was the
man chosen to lead his own people from the 1^'id
of Egypt, back to their own land the land given
to their fc/efathers Abraham and Jacob the land
of Canaan.
The story of ^their start for home is very pictur-
B.C. 1491.] DEPARTURE OUT OF EGYPT. 27
esque. One can see the shepherd tribes of Goshen
snatching their last hasty meal ; their feet,
usually bare, now shod for their long journey ;
men, women, and children with staffs in their
hands, their long Eastern garments girt up round
their waists, for walking over the sandy desert.
It was night too ; probably one of those glorious
African nights, with stars shining out brightly,
even as they shine to-day over stretches of veldt,
while the moon lit up the country round.
" Get yon forth from among my people ; also
take your flocks and herds, as ye have said, and
be gene," were the words wrung at last from the
reluctant Pharaoh, who had sc long refused to let
them go.
So in that quiet starlit night, the children of
Israel, like a huge army, with their camels and
asses, stole forth from Egypt, on their way back to
their fatherland.
Very soon the green pasture-land of the Nile
was left behind ; the scorching desert track lay
before.
Encamped by the shores of the Red Sea,
suddenly a cry of alarm would run through the
vast multitude, as across the ridges of the desert
hills came the terrible Egyptian chariots pur-
suing after them. In the midst of their terror
the sun sank down, and darkness fell over the.
wafers of the Red Sea, which cut them off from
the land of Canaan. The story of their crossing
28 FROM EGYPT TO CANAAN. [B.C. 1491.
over is too well known to repeat. When morning
broke over ohe hills of Arabia, they stood in safety
on the farther shore, but the chariots and horse-
men of Egypt had perished in the waters.
8. BACK TO THE FATHERLAND.
" Shout, Israel. Let the joyful cry
Pour forth the notes of victory,
High let it swell across the sea,
For Jacob's weary tribes are free."
(aged thirteon).
Fort two hundred and fifteen years the Israelites
had lived in Egypt. Now they had passed from
Africa, into Asia. Not one of them could remem-
ber Jacob now, or his long journey down into
Egypt. Behind right across the waters lay
the strange land of their exile, the land of Egypt
with its life-giving river, its pyramids, its stone
statues, its tyrant kings. Behind, lay the endless
stir and life of the busy Egyptians, with their
trained armies marching through their walled cities,
their vast processions with drums and cymbals, the
rumble of their horses and chariots.
Before them lay mile after mile of burning desert
land, through the deep silence of which, they must
march, da} after day, week after week, month after
month. Now and then they might rest by gome
spring of water to refresh themselves and their
B.C. 1451.] DEATH OF MOSES. 29
little ones, their camels aud their asses. But
onvard and ever onward they pressod towards
the land of Canaan.
For months they wandered thus, now deeper
and deeper into the mountains, struggling over
rugged passes, till they reached the desolate range
of the hills of Sinai. From these heights their
leader Moses brought to them the c^de of laws,
by which they were to live, the code of laws by
which we Irve to-day the Ten Commandments.
After a long stay in the desert land of Sinai,
the six hundred thousand exiles set forth once
more OK their weary march north, to Canaan. It
r^ust have been a great day, when they first caught
sight of the river Jordan, across which lay their
new country, even though across that river their
leader Moses was not to lead them.
The story of his death is perhaps one of the
saddest in history. Encamping his people in the
plain below, he went up into a high mountain *rom
which he could see the land he was never to reach.
Beneath him lay the black tents of the Israelites,
behind him the weary waste of hot sand and the
bitter waters ; while away across the river Jordan
he could see the land of Canaan stretching away
tc ^he sea the good land "flowing with milk and
honey," the land for which he had gladly borne
toils and dangers, for which he, too, had hungered
and thirsted.
It was his last view. From that mountain-
30 THE LAND OF CANAAN. [B.C. 1444.
top he came down no more. In that strange
land he died, and another man was choser to
lead on the people.
Joshua was a simple, straightforward, undaunted
soldier "strong and of a good courage." He
turned neither to the right hand nor to the left
hand. At the head of the hosts of Israel he
went right ^orward from Jordan to Jericho, from
Jericho to Ai, onwards and onwards, till his work
was done, and the children of Israel had conquered
the Promised Land.
It stretched from the rive^ Euphrates, from
the banks of which Abraham had wandered
long ago, right away to the river of Egypt,
the Nile, while its shores were washed by
the Great Sea, the value of which, as yet, they
knew not.
It was the highway between the two great
rivals of the Old World ; the only road by which
the} could approach each other, by which alone,
the Chaldeans could get to Egypt, and the Egyp-
tians to Chaldea, lay along the broad flat strip of
coast belonging to Canaan.
What a land this was to possess ! After the
weary march of forty years, through the lonely
desert, after the daily struggle for existence, af^er
the hunger, the thirst, the anxiety, and long-
delayed hope, the new fatherland must have been
very welcome. Very welcome the shade of paim-
tree and olives, of vineyards and fruit-trees ; wel-
32 THE GREAT SEA [B.C. 1445.
come the 'hills and ravines, the gushing springs
and green plains. There were cattle, sheep/ p-id
goats on the hillsides ; there were waving corn-
fields in the sunny plains ; there were flowers
blooming in the early summer when they first
arrived, and bees swarming round their combs in
rock and w^ood.
No wonder, then, the way-worn travellers should
love to dwell on the words that had cheered them
through the weariness of th6 way ; to them it was
indeed " a laud flowing with milk and honey, the
glory of all lands. ',V
9. THE FIRST MERCHANT FLEET.
" They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business
in great waters." PSALM cvii. 23.
, it has been said that the waters of the Great
Sea, washed the shores of the land of Canaan, into
which, the Israelites had just entered. Let us see
what this Great Sea is, and how the people who
lived on the coast of Canaan, found out, how to sail
on its calm surface. Seeing branches of trees and
leaves floating down the river, they first got +he
idea of floating down themselves on a log.
Then followed the notion of guiding themseives
by means of a pole or paddle. Sometimes the log
was hollowed ov.t, sometimes covered by an inflated
EAKLY BOATS. 33
skin. By-and-by a number 01 logs, placea together,
suggested the idea of a raft, for carrying a number
of persons or animals across a river. These were
the rude beginnings of shipbuilding, in the olden
days. They soon added the idea of oars for pro-
pelling the rafts, using them in the same way, that
a duck uses its legs to swim.
Then they found that sometimes the wind helped
them, so ohey made sails that is to say, they
spread sheets of linen to catch the wind, and blow
the ship forwards. They were ever thinking of
something fresh, uutil at last they fathered up
enough courage to trust themselves on the sea
itself.
The Egyptians first tried the lied Sea, which
washes the east coast of Africa. It was a narrow
arm of the sea, more like a very broad river,
save that it was salt, and there were no large
waves.
While the Israelites were yet groaning under
their bondage in the land of Egypt, there reigned
a queen called Hatasu, or " Queen of the South and
North," as she was more often called. She caused a
great fleet to be built on the shores of the lied Sea.
Each ship was built with oars and sails, each cap-
abL of holding sixty passengers. Of these, thirty
were the rowers, who were to plough the waves
and bring the ships to land whether the wind
were favourable or not.
The object of the expedition was to trade with*
34 EXPEDITION TO SOMALILAND.
another ].,art of East, Africa, that could not well
be reached by land. There were men-at-arrr' in
each ship, in case hostile tribes hindered them in
their trade dealings.
Away started the ships, five of them, and fav-
ourable winds bore them southwards to the land of
Punt, or Somaliland, as we call that tract of country
to-day. The voyagers were well received by the
natives, who were trustful people. The Egyptians
soon found the chief of the country. He had a
dwarf wife, who was very distressing to behold ;
but the royal couple proved /ery friendly ; they
were charmed with the presents from Egyp f , *uid
allowed the new-comers to trade freely.
They had leave to enter the forests, cut down
the trees, and carry them to the ships. They
dug up thirty-one of these trees, and placed them
on the ships' decks, screening them from the sun's
rays by an awning. Other things were brought
to the beach by the natives, who were ready to
exchange gold, silver, ivory, ebony, and other woods
for the gifts brought to them from Egypt. Mon-
keys, dogs, leopard-skins, and slaves, were also put
on board, and the Queen of Punt herself insisted
on accompanying the ships back to Egypt.
The Egyptians seem to have been much arrived
by the antics of the monkeys on the voyage home,
as they sprang about the sails and rigging of the
ships. While the ships returned to the harbour in
+,he Bed Sea from which they had sailed, some of
PICTURE-STORY AT THEBES. 35
the ca^go, including the trees, were taken across the
deLTt, shipped on Nile boats, and so carried to
Thebes. 1 The day of the return of the expedition
was kept as a gala day in the city of Thebes. A
large number of the townspeople came out to meet
the returning travellers, and the poor little Queen
of Punt, did homage to the Queen of Egypt.
The complete success which had attended this
first sea-adventure pleased Hatasu immensely, and
she celebrated the event by building a new temple
at Thebes, on the walls of which were painted the
chief scenes of the expedition.
.Heie may be seen, even to-day, the most ancient
pictures of sea-going ships that the world contains
pictures of the Queen of Punt and the chiefs,
the crews of the ships, the arrival of the expedi-
tion at Thebes in twelve large Nile boats, and the
grand festival held in honour of the safe return of
the fleet.
10. CONQUERORS OP THE SEA.
u My purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset and the baths
Of all the western seas until I die."
TENNYSON, Ulysses.
Now when the six hundred thousand children of
Israel came trooping into the land of Canaan,
1 See chapter 4.
36 THE PHOENICIANS.
i
i
there wer^ a great many t tribes already Jiving
there. Amongst others there was a large tr'oe,
known as the Phoenicians, living in the extreme
north. They occupied ai narrow strip of coast
land between the high snow-capped mountains of
Lebanon and the Great Sea.
It was simpler for them to trade by sea than
to reach thu inland country over the mountains of
Lebanon a journey which had to be accomplished
on mules. The smiling sea' which lay in front of
them, invited them to trust themselves to its calm
surface. The island of Cyprus * was plainly visible
across the waters, offering them safe harbours i&
case of sudden storms.
So the Phoenicians learnt the value of the sea,
and by reason of this, they rose to fame and
played a large part in the history of the world.
It must have required some courage to sail even
on the tideless waters of the Great Sea, in those
early days, for, as we have already seen, the ships
were very untrustworthy. They were not like
the magnificent steamships, that put to sea in
all weathers from every navigable port in these
days.
Here is the story of a shipwreck, that took place
before Joseph was sold into Egypt, and which
shows how terrified the Eastern people were of
venturing "on the sea.
"I set sail/' says the shipwrecked sailor, *" in
a vessel one hrupdred and fifty cubits long and
EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 37
forty wide, with one hundred and fifty c T the best
sailers of Egypt, whose hearts were more resolute
than lions. They had foretold, that the wind would
not be contrary, or that there would be none at
all ; but a squall came on unexpectedly, while we
were in the open, and as we approached land the
wind freshened and raised waves to the height of
eight cubits. As for me, I clung to p beam, but
those who were on the vessel perished, without
one escaping. A wave cast me on an island, after
having speiiu three days alone with no other com-
panion than my own heart. I slept there in the
shndp of a thicket, then I set my legs in motion
in quest of something for my mouth."
Now, when the new Israelite tribes began to
sweep over the country, the tribes already in
the land were pushed towards the coast, and the
little strip known as Phoenicia became very much
overcrowded. This gave a new life to their
enterprise.
Up to this time they had sailed from headland
to headland along their coast, under the friendly
shelter of their tall mountains sailed in their
home-made boats, handling with skill their "sea-
hor^es," as they called them, when they rode
from shore to shore.
Their one idea had been to trade tc exchange
the products of their own country for the products
of those beyond the seas.
38 SAILING ON THE GREAT SEA.
Now tl^ir own country was too full, they must
go in search of settlement where some of t^eir
people could go and live ; they must find ports
and harbours, points good for trade, where their
kinsmen might barter and sell the products of
the old country.
The island of Cyprus had long ago attracted the
Phoenicians They could see its clear outline on
fine summer evenings in the glow of the western
sky ; they could sail with ease and safety, keeping
land in sight all the way. Thither iv was natural
that their eyes should turn vhen in search of a
colony.
Beyond Cyprus, too, to the smaller island of
Rhodes they ventured, and steering through un-
known seas, they discovered Sicily.
Farther and yet farther they ventured.
Cutting down cedars, for which the mountains of
Lebanon were famous, they built more and more
ships, they added a greater number of oars, they
made better sails.
Westward, and ever westward, they fought
their way battling with the wind and waves
of the Great Sea right along the coast of
North Africa.
They would pass not a single town, they w^uld
meet not a single ship, unless it was one of their
own. Thoy did not know the currents of the sea,
they had no means of knowing the force of the
wind, they had no compass to guide them. The
DISCOVERIES.
T
39
sun overhead was their only, 'guide, the stars and
the moon by night th'eir only light.
They were indeed a brave people, and their
success was richly deserved.
EARLY PIONEERS.
"Conquering, holding, daring, ventur-
ing, as we go the unknown \vays,
Pioneers, O Pioneers ! "
W. WHITMAN.
ALONG the northern coast of Africa they kept, till
they reached the spot known to the people of old as
the " Pillars of Hercules." These were lofty rocks
which were supposed to mark the limit of the world
in this directidn. It was, according to t^heir ideas,
the t farthest point reached by the god Hercules.
Beyond this point was the home of'tjhe gods, so they
40 1HE PILLARS OF HERCULES. [B.C. 1100.
said, and Jjeaven and parth met together. If they
could please the gods, then 4 the Phoenician &aHors
might pass this point and discover the truth of
their belief; but either ^the sea was too rough
for them or the sailors were too timid, for twice
they returned home without having passed the
Pillars.
Again they tried, and again they failed. At
last a third fleet of Phoenician ships was fitted
out ; and this time they managed to *pass through
the narrow straits, and to penetrate the mysteries
beyond.
There were no gods. The Pillars of Hercules
were not the ends of the world. The rocky gates
opened a path from the Great Sea, to the bound-
less waters of the Atlantic Ocean, which were
to play such a great part in the history of the
New World.
It was on this well-known voyage, that they
founded the city of Gades, a port on the coast of
Spain. Here they built a beautiful temple to the
god Hercules, who had allowed them to pass the
narrow straits. This city is our modern Cadiz, the
most ancient town in all Europe.
The surrounding country they called Tarshish.
Here they found a quantity of silver.
" The ships of Tarshish," says the prophet Ezekiel,
to Phoenicia, *"were thy caravans; so wert thou
replenished, and very glorious in the midst of ithe
sea."
BEYOND THE GREAT SEA. 41
So much silver, indeed, did the Phoenicians get at
Ta/shish, that, in order to carry home as much as
they could, they made anchors of silver for their
ships, leaving the old iion anchors behind.
" Rivers of the liquid metal, mountains of solid
ore, forests and meadows covered with silver :
silver, silver, silver everywhere, in the land beyond
the Pillars of Hercules/' sang the old peats.
There :^ an old story that says, when the
Phoenicians nad passed through the Straits of
Gibraltar, tney took their course along the coast
of Africa; but tluy were carried away far into
the iceni by a strong wind. After being driven
about many days by the stoi-rn, they came to a
large island, which was so fertile and possessed
such a glorious climate, that they thought it
must be a dwelling for the gods, rather than
of men.
They called them the " Isles of the Blessed."
To-day we ki^ow these islands as the Canary and
the Madeira Islands, and they are coaling-stations,
for the great steamships which ply between Eng-
land and South Africa, every week, in all weathers,
throughout the year.
There is little doubt, that the old Phoenician
strps got as far as the English Channel, in their
search for wealth, braving the high seas of the
Bay of Biscay to do this. Coasting -along the
shores of Spain and France, they reached the
Scilly Isles off the coast of Cornwall the
42 " STRONG TO DO AND DARE. [B.C. 1014.
i
t
Islands, a they called them in order to * carry
tin back to Phoenicia. ' ^
Thus Phoenicia became the mistress of the Great
Sea.
Backwards and forwards, went the Phoenicians,
between their own country and foreign lands, col-
lecting wealth, planting colonies, taking possession
of whole islands, undisputed. They improved their
ships, they grew more and more adventurous, until
their country, that narrow strip of iand shut in
between the mountains of Lebanon anU the Great
)
Sea, became very rich.
They were conquerors of the sea indeed, mercbnjita
of the people of maity isles, strong to do and clare,
the first Naval Power in the Old World.
12. HIRAM, KING OP TYEB.
"For Hiram was ever a lover of David." 1 KINGS v. 1.
So the Phoenicians were already a great seafaring
people when the Israelites finally conquered Canaan
and were united under their first king, Saul, though
they had not reached the full height of their fame
till Solomon became King of Israel.
Now, a great friendship had existed between
David, the poet king of Israel, Solomon's father,
and Hiram, the young king of Phoenicia. And
Hiram heard, that King David was going
B.C. 1014.] SOLOMON AND HIRAM. 43
to build himself a palace, in his new capital of
Jerusalem, Hiram sent him a present of newly
felled cedar-trees from Lebanon, together with an
offer of carpenters and masons, to help in the
building. David accepted both, and the skilled
workmen from Phoenicia came with their tools to
Jerusalem and worked there. Hiram was ever a
lover of David, but he was a yet gr3ater friend
of Solomc^. A treaty of trade was soon estab-
lished, between the two kingdoms of Israel and
Phoenicia.
Here is the well-known story.
" And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants
unto Solomon ; for he had heard that they had
anointed him king in the room of his father : for
Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon
sent to Hiram, saying, . . . Command thou that
they hew me cedar-trees out of Lebanon ; and my
servants shall be with thy servants : and unto thee
will I give hire for thy servants according to all
that thou shalt appoint : for thou knowest that
there is not among us any that can skill to hew
timber like unto the Sidonians. . . . And Hiram
sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the
things which thou sentest to me for : and I will
cL all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and
concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring
them down from Lebanon unto the bea ; and I
will convey them by sea in floats unto the place
that thou shalt appoint me, and ,vill cause thejn
44 THE BUILDING OF TYRE.
to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive
them : ana thou shalt accomplish my desire, in
giving food for my household."
So Phoenicia supplied Israel with wood and
craftsmen, and Israel supplied Phoenicia with corn
and oil, year by year.
Phoenicia was growing richer and richer, and
Hiram set to work to enlarge, adorn, and fortify
his capital, Tyre, until it became one o^ the most
beautiful and renowned cities, in the ancient
world.
Tyre and Sidon were already of world-wide fame,
when Hiram came to the throne of Phoenioia ; but
much was needed in the way of harbours for the
ever-increasing shipping, and to this task he set
himself.
Old Tyre lay on the sea-shore, but with the rapid
growth of trade, the sailors of the old town, began
to use the island which lay close by, and afforded
excallent shelter to their ships. King Hiram had
this island enlarged and surrounded by strong
walls, which ran out sharply into the sea. Then
he built two harbours, one to the north, looking
towards Sidon ; the other to the south, looking
towards Egypt, so that in bad weather, when the
waves rose high and the winds blew, the merchants
of Tyre could reach a safe port.
Above tlie city itself rose battlements and towers.
Pleasant houses lay amid gardens and orchards,
shaded by vines and olives. With ivory and
B.C. 992.1 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 45
t \
t
ebony,, with gold and silver,* with preciqus stones
anc jewels, Tyre was beautified.
" The king of Tyre sits like a god in the seat
of God," sings Ezekiel, "'in the midst of the seas.
He dwells as in Eden. Precious stones are the
covering of his palaces."
The wonderful mixture of land and sea is pictur-
esquely described by an old poet: " The sailor
furrows tbe sea with his oar, as the ploughman
the soil : the lowing of oxen and the song of birds,
answer the deep roar of the main : the breeze from
Lebanon, while it ^ools the rustic at his midday
labour; speeds the sailor seaward."
13. KING SOLOMON'S FLEET.
" And King Solomon made a navy of ships ... on the shore
of the Red Sea." 1 KINGS ix. 20.
Now when Solomon had finished building the
wonderful temple at Jerusalem, he turned his
attention to other parts of his dominions. He had
learned much from the Phoenicians ; he saw the
wealth that poured yearly into T} r re, and he felt
thct a navy for his own people, would greatly tend
to improve foreign trade and commerce.
True, he had* by his marriage with* the* daughter
of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, improved the trade-
routes between the two countries' of Egypt and
46 THE RED SEA FLEET. [B.C. 992.
! L
Canaan. ;But the power of the sea was beginning
to make itself felt through the Eastern world, uid
Solomon appealed to Hiram for help.
Now, the Phoenicians had no port on the shores
of the Red Sea, and very gladly Hiram seems to
have thrown himself into the scheme for building
a new navy for Solomon. To the chosen port, King
Solomon travelled himself, to arrange about the
making of the fleet. "The Giant's Backbone," as
the port was called, was soon teeming with life
and activity, shipbuilders from Tyre, ' and sailors
from the land of Phoenicia, :/ere hard at
preparing the new ships, until at last the,
fleet was ready to sail forth.
Guided by Phoenician pilots, manned by Phoeni-
cian sailors, Phoenicians and Israelites sailed forth
together on their mysterious voyages, into the
southern seas. They sailed to India, to Arabia
and Somaliland, and they returned with their
ships laden with gold and silver, with ivory and
precious stones, with apes and peacocks.
The amount of gold brought to Solomon by his
navy was enormous. Silver was so abundant, as
to be thought nothing of in those days, and all
the king's drinking-cups and vessels were of wrought
gold, and every three years his fleet returned w : th
yet more and more gold and silver.
For the "first- time, too, we can see the beginning
of contact between the West and East.
"'The kings > of Tarshish and of the isles shall
THE PHOENICIANS AT HOMr.. 47
i
bring presents/' sang the Psa/mist. This was from
th* West, from the Tarshish in Spain, 1 already dis-
covered by the Phoenician sailors, the Tarshish from
whence pure silver flowed in glowing streams.
" The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts,"
sang the Psalmist again. This was from the East,
from the shores of Arabia, from the yet more distant
coasts of India, now opened up for th^ first time
in history, " Yea, all kings shall fall down before
him ; all nations shall serve him." So it was the
Phoenicians that taught the Israelites, how to attain
all this splendour and riches, insomuch as they
taught +hem the value of the sea.
Now, though the Phoenicians were the first
pioneers of the sea, yet they did not neglect their
home-work. They excelled in bronze work and
ivory carving. There are two bronze gates now
to be seen in England, carved by these old
Phoenicians ; they are covered with groups of figures
busy with all the occupations of a seaport.
Tyrian dyes, too, were renowned throughout the
ancient world. Here is the old story of how they
discovered the purple dye.
It was in the old, old days, so they said, that
one day the nymph Tyros was walking by the sea-
sho v e with Hercules, her beloved. Suddenly her
dog broke a small shell with his teeth, and his
mouth immediately became dyed with ^ brilliant
red -colour. Tyros declared that unless Hercules
1 See chapter 12.
48 DEATH OF HIBAM.
would procure for her*- a robe of the same tint, he
should see ner face no more. Hercules gathered a
number of the shells, and having dipped a garment
in the blood of the shellfish, he presented it to
Tyros, who was henceforth adorned with the royal
purple, which throughout all ages has remained
the royal colour for British kings and princes.
In mining, too, the Phoenicians were experts.
They dug mines in Lebanon their own mountains
then in the country now known as' lihodesia in
South Africa.
While Phoenicia was still afc the height ofMier
fame, Hiram, King of Tyre, died. And still to-day 5
in far-away Syria, & grey weather-beaten tomb of
unknown age, raised aloft on three rocky pillars,
looks down from the hills above Tyre looks over
the city and over the sea beyond. It is pointed
out by the natives, to those who visit the once
famous land of Phoenicia, as the " tomb of Hiram."
14. THE STORY OF CARTHAGE.
" Attempt not to acquire that which may not be retained."
ONE of the largest of the Phoenician settlements
was called Carthage, which was on the northern
coast of Afrita. There is an old* legend about
the founding of 'this ancient city which is very
quaint.
B.O. 850.] STORY OF DIDO. 49
One of the kings of Tyre died, leaving a son
called Pygmalion and a daughter Dido, who was
very beautiful. Though Pygmalion was but a boy
when his father died, the Phoenicians made him
king. His sister Dido married a very rich man, of
whose wealth Pygmalion was very jealous. After
a time he slew his brother-in-law, hoping to get the
wealth he owned. But Dido hid the treasure. She
was very sa; 1 and troubled, for she loved her hus-
band, and she made up her mind to escape from the
country. Taking many nobles of the city with her,
she put all her riches on board one of her brother's
shipo and set sail for Cyprus secretly.
Now, when Pygmalion found that his sister had
fled, taking some of his citizens with her, he was
very angry and would have pursued her, but he was
hindered by the prophets, who said
" It will go ill with thee, if thou hinder the found-
ing of that which shall be the most fortunate city
in the whole world."
Then Dido sailed from Cyprus to the coast of
Africa, landing some fifteen miles from Utica, which
had long been a Phoenician colony. She found
the natives on the coast friendly, and bought a
piece of land, " so much as could be covered with
the hide of an ox, that she might refresh her
companions, who were now greatly wearied with
their voyage."
Thither came many natives bringing merchandise
for sale, and very soon there grew up a large town/
D
50 PHOENICIAN COLONY. [B.C. 850.
The peopk of Utica claimed kindred with the new-
comers, for were they not all from the old councry
Phoenicia ? And they built up their beautiful city,
and called it Carthage. The site was well chosen.
The promontory, on which it stood, afforded excellent
harbours for shipping, and the Phoenician settlers,
anchoring in this haven, were not slow to see its
advantages.
Midway in the Great Sea, within ep'^y reach of
Spain and Sicily, this new African town w^s indeed
to be "the most fortnnate city in the whole world."
Phoenicia was at the height of her power, Greece
was not yet great, Rome had not risen. The ^reao
empires of the East, Egypt and Babylon, were
slowly dying ; Carthage was yet to rule the Great
Sea and overshadow the mother country.
The city grew more and more flourishing. The
beauty and fame of Dido were noised abroad until
it reached the ears of the King of the Moors. He
sent for the men of Carthage.
" Go back to the queen and say that I demand
her hand in marriage," said the king ; " and if she
be not willing, then I will make war upon her and
her city."
But these men, fearing to give Dido the king's
message, knowing the love she bore her husbuad,
invented a crafty device.
" The King of the Moors," they said, " desireth to
find some one who shall teach his people a more
gentle manner of life ; but who shall be found that
B.C. 850.] THE FOUNDING OF CARTHAGE. 51
will leave his own kinsfolk tnd go to a/barbarous
people that are as the beasts of the field ? "
Dido reproved them.
" No man should refuse to endure hardness of
life, if it be for his own country's sake : nay, he
must give his very life to it, if need be," she
answered, with a patriotism rare in those early
days.
Then thb men of Carthage answered
"Thou art judged out of thine own mouth,
queep. What therefore thou eounsellest to others,
do thyself if thou wtmldst serve thy country."
* Divj.o*Ilad Mien into her own trap. She was very
unhappy.
"Give me the space of three months," she said,
" that I may lament my former estate."
Then she went to the farthest part of the city
the city of her own founding, destined to such great
things. She had built a great funeral-pile, and one
day she herself mounted it to the top, having* a
drawn sword in her hand.
Looking down upon the Carthaginians, who were
gathered round, she cried aloud with a resolution
O '
born of despair
" Ye bid me go to my husband. See, then, I go."
Thereupon she drove the sword into her heart,
and fell down /lead. Such is the legend of the
founding of Carthage.
52 PHCENICIAN VOYAGES.
15. OUT OP THE SHADOWLAND.
" Worlds on worlds are rolling ever
From creation to decay."
SHELLEY.
MEANWHILE the Phoenicians were still masters
of the Great Sea, though their colony of Car-
thage was destined to outshine them in course
of time.
Under Neco, King of Egyjit, it is said, they
attempted to sail right round Africa. Neuo^vath
a view to commerce^ wished the coast of Africa to
be explored as far as possible, so he applied to the
Phoenicians, as the first sailors of their day, for
help. Had they not braved the terrors of the
Atlantic, outside the Pillars of Hercules ? Had
they not manned Solomon's navy with their finest
navigators ?
The Phoenicians, as usual, seemed ready to go,
and Neco started them off, from a port in the Red
Sea, with orders to sail southwards, keeping the
coast of Africa on their right, and to return to
Egypt if possible by way of the Great Sea. There
is some doubt among the old historians as 'to
whether they succeeded or ftot.
Coasting along the shores of the Red Sea, they
would pass through the narrow Straits of Bab- el-
Mandeb and dnter the Indian Ocean. So much
THE CHILDHOOD OF GREECE. 53
they had already done ; bivt instead of going off
tct India, they would hug the coast of East Africa,
past Somaliland, Zanzibar, and Zululand, till they
reached South Africa. How the Phoenician boats,
with their many sails and oars, rounded the Cape
of Storms, which defied the Portuguese sailor
two thousand years later, is not related ; but,
according to the old story, they coasted up the
west side of Africa, entered the Great Sea by the
Straits of Gibraltar, and reached Egypt. It took
them three years to perform the voyage, and Neco
the king must have* given them up as lost long ago,
.for he- knew they had no food to last them so long.
But'the Phoenicians had been equal to the occasion.
Every autumn they had landed on the coast,
ploughed up a tract of land, sowed it with grain,
and awaited the ripening of the corn the following
spring.
And so, if this story be true, Africa was circum-
navigated six hundred years B.C.
It seems strange to think that such a nation
of adventurers should so completely have died out.
Before relating the story of the fall of Phoenicia
from her high pedestal of fame and glory, let us
just glance at some of the quaint old stories of
ib?, childhood of Greece, that nation that should
play such a large part in the history of the
world. * *
While Moses was leading the* children of Israel
from Egypt to Canaan, and the men of Tyre were
54 THE GODS OF GREECE.
conquering the seas, Greece was beginning to awake
from her legendary shadowland and to take her p^rt
in the world's struggles.
These people dwelt on the opposite shores of the
Great Sea. Their broken coast faced North Africa,
a little to the west of where the river Nile empties
itself into the sea. Of course it was much too far to
see across to the other side, so they imagined all
sorts of things.
First, these old Greeks thought that there were
twelve gods and goddesses who lived at the top
of a real mountain called Olympus. They had
not yet learnt, as the children of Israel haJ, that
there was but one God over all. Their chief god
they called Zeus, and he had a brother, Neptune,
who was the god of the ocean. The goddess of
the moon was called by them, Diana, the god of
the sun Apollo. In the far east lived Aurora,
the dawn, who opened the gates of the flat world
wi+h her rosy fingers, and out came the golden
car of the sun with its glorious white horses.
Then there was Venus, the goddess of beauty ;
Mars, the god of victory ; Hercules, the god of
strength, and a great many more. It was this
god Hercules, who came to the end of the Great
Sea, and set up the two pillars on each side of
the Straits of Gibraltar, which cost the Phoenicians
so much trouble to pass.
They had an old story, and a very strange one,
which told of the peopling of their country.
THE STORIES OF GREECE. 55
/? *
A fair lady, they said, namecl Europa, was playing
in -the meadows on the coast of Phoenicia, between
the mountains of Lebanon and the Great Sea. One
day a great white bull t came to her ; he let her
wreath his horns with flowers, lay clown, and in-
vited her to mount his back. No sooner had she
done so than he rose, trotted down with her to the
sea, and swam out of sight. He took her first to
the island of Crete or Candia, not far from the
coast of Greece ; and as settlers came over there
from the East, they called the name of the country
after Europa, and \t is knowh to this day by the
name - of* Europe.
i But this, like the story of Djdo and the founding
of Carthage, is but a legend made up by the old
Greeks when they were creeping out of their
shadowland.
16. THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS.
" The life of the Greeks is mirrored in their legends."
THESE old Greek stories, which were handed down
from father to son, are a curious mixture of truth
and romance, and no one knows which is which.
Let us take their story of the Argonauts, when
fifty of their heroes under the guidance of Jason,
went off in search of the Goldefc Fleece. Here
56 BUILDING THE ARGO.
is the account of how they built their ship an
account which they must have taken from ^he
Phoenicians :
" Then they felled their pines and shaped them
with an axe, and Argus, the famed shipbuilder,
taught them to build a galley, the first long ship
that ever sailed the seas. They pierced her for
fifty oars, an oar for each hero of the crew, and
pitched her with coal - black pitch, and painted
her bows with vermilion, and they named her
Argo, after Argus, and worked at her all day
long.
" And at last the ship was finished, and th^y tried
to launch her down the beach ; but she was too
heavy for them to move her, and her keel sank
deep into the sand.
" Then all the heroes looked at each other blush-
ing, but Jason spoke and said, c Let us ask the
magic bdugh, perhaps it can help us in our need.'
Then a voice came from the bough and bade Orpheus
play upon the harp, while the heroes waited round,
holding the pine-trunks, to help her towards the
sea.
" Orpheus took his harp and began his magic
song :
" * How sweet it is to ride upon the surges, and to
leap from wave to wave, while the wind sings in
the cheerful cordage and the oars flash fast among
the foam ! How sweet it is to roam across the
ocean, and see new towns and wondrous lands, and
" They named her Argo, anJ iwrfa/ at lift- c^! day
58 SEARCH FOR THE GOLDEN FLEECE.
to come home laden with treasure and to win
undying fame ! '
" And the good ship Argo heard him, and longed
to be away and out at sei, till she stirred in every
timber and heaved from stem to stern, and leapt up
from the sand upon the rollers, and plunged onward
like a gallant horse, and the heroes fed her path
with pine-trunks till she rushed into the whispering
sea.
" Then they stored her well with food and water,
and pulled the ladder up on board, and settled
themselves each man to his o*ir, and kept time to
Orpheus's harp ; and away across the b?y they
rowed southward, while the people lined the cliffs,
and the women wept while the men shouted at the
starting of that gallant crew.
" Jason was chosen captain, and each hero vowed
to stand by their captain, faithfully, in the adventure
of the Golden Fleece. And they rowed away over
the long swell of the sea, past Olympus, and past
the wooded bays of Athos, through the narrow
straits, which led into the Sea of Marmora. Up
the Bosphorus they went, to that land of bitter
blasts, that land of cold and misery, and there was
a battle of the winds, and the heroes trembled in
silence as they heard the shrieking of the blasts.
For the forest pines were hurled earthward, north
and south, and east and west, and the Bosphorus
boiled white with foam, and the clouds were
dashed against the cliffs. And these dark storms
IN THE BLACK SEA. 59
and whirlwinds, haunt the / Bosphorus until this
day.
" Then the Argonauts went out into the open
sea, which we now call the Black Sea. No Greek
had ever crossed it, and all feared that dread-
ful sea, and its rocks, and shoals, and fogs, and
bitter freezing storms. So the heroes trembled,
for all their courage, as they came into that
wild Black Sea and saw it stretching out before
them without a shore, as far as the eye could
see.
" But after a time they looked eastward, and mid-
way between the sea and the sky they saw white
know -peaks hanging, glittering sharp and bright
above the clouds. And they knew that they were
come to Caucasus, at the end of all the earth ;
Caucasus, the highest of all mountains, the father
of the rivers of the East. It was near here, amid
the dark stems of the mighty beeches, that they
saw the Golden Fleece.
" It would take too long to tell how Jason at last
tore the fleece from off the tree-trunk, and how,
holding it on high, he cried, c Go now, good Argo,
swift and steady, if ever you would see Olympus
more/
" And she went as the heroes drove her, grim and
silent all, with muffled oars, till the pinewoocl bent
like willow in their hands and stout Argo groaned
beneath their strokes.
" On and on beneath the dewy darkness, till they
60 RETURN OF (THE HEROES.
heard the merry mus ; c of the surge upon the bar
as it tumbled in the moonlight alone. Into -uhe
surge they rushed, and Argo leapt the breakers
like a horse, for she knew the time was come to
show her mettle, and win honour for the heroes
and herself.
" Into the surge they rushed, and Argo leapt the
breakers like a horse, till the heroes stopped, all
panting, each man upon his oar, as she slid into the
still broad sea. And the heroes' hearts rose high,
and they rowed on stoutly and steadfastly, ,away
into the darkness of the West.
"After many adventures in unknown seas they
returned home again ; but they were weary and
spent with years of voyage ; they had no strength
to haul their boat on to the beach, so they sat and
wept till they could weep no more. For the houses
were all altered, the faces they saw were strange,
and their joy was swallowed up in sorrow, while
they thought of their youth and toil and the gallant
comrades they had lost.
"'Who are you that you sit weeping here?'
asked the people at last.
" c We are the sons of your princes, who sailed out
many a year ago, to fetch the Golden Fleece, and we
have brought it and grief therewith. Give us nc%vs
of our fathers and mothers, if any of them be left
alive/ *
" Then there was shouting and laughing and weep-
ipg, and all the kings came to the shore, and they
B.C. 1193.] MORE STOBITJS OF GREECE. 61
led the heroes to their homos. And Jason found
his old father ; but the old man would not believe it
was his son, who had returned.
" c Do not mock me, young hero/ he cried. 'My
son Jason is dead at sea, long ago/
" c But I am your son Jason/ cried the hero.
'And I have brought home the Golden Fleece.
Give me now the kingdom/
" So all the heroes went their several ways, and
that was the end of the story of the Argonauts."
17. THE SIEGE OF TROY.
" Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy."
TENNYSON.
HERE is another story of these old heroic days before
the dawn of history in Greece. And yet there is
some truth in it, as there is in all these old
stories. The city of Troy stood in the north-west
corner of the land we now know as Asia Minor.
It was therefore quite close to Greece.
This siege of Troy is supposed to have taken
place, about the time that the children of Israel
were settling down, under their first king, Saul.
Long, long ago, then, so the story runs, there
was a King of Troy, called Priam. He had nine-
teen children, of whom Paris was the second. When
Paris was old enough, he built a ship, and sailed
away to visit the Greek kings. Re made greaj
62 GREEKS AND TROJANS. [B.C. 1193.
friends with the King of Sparta, but he repaid
his kindness, by stealing away his wife, the
beautiful Helen.
As soon as the King of Sparta found how his
hospitality had been misused, he called upon all
the Greek heroes to help him to recover his wife
and to revenge himself on Paris. Every one re-
plied to the call, and for many years, the Greeks
collected their forces together. At last they were
ready, and the King of Sparta's brother, Aga-
memnon, took command of them all.
With over a thousand ships and a hundred
thousand men, the Greeks landed on the Trojan
coast. They hauled their ships on shor^, fastened
them with ropes to large stones, which served as
anchors, and surrounded the fleet with fortifications
to protect it against the enemy. They fought the
Trojans, with swords and spears. The chiefs
generally, went to battle in a chariot, which was
an open car drawn by two horses and driven by
some trusty friend, who held the horses, while the
chief stood up, and sent spear after spear, among
the enemy.
The Greeks soon showed themselves to be
superior to the Trojans, who shut themselves up
within the huge walls of their city, leaving an
opening on one side only, from which they might
receive corn, cattle, and other supplies.
Nine summers and nine winters went by, and
still the siege of Troy went on. The Greek heroes
B.C. 1184.] THE WOODEN HORSE. 63
i
lost many of their finest nWi, but neither side
woild give in. The great hero among the Greeks
was Achilles, among the men of Troy, Hector, the
eldest son of old Priam.- Both these were killed
at last, and not very long after Paris himself was
slain.
Still the King of Sparta could not get Helen
back. Priam used to make her come and sit beside
him on the battlements, over the gateway at Troy,
to tell him the names of all the Greek chiefs.
Bu 4 * the King of Sparta grew desperate at last,
and a means was devised for p'ettiiur into Trov.
s r-> O
Together with a number of Greek heroes, he hid
Iftmself iiu a monstrous wooden horse which was
found on the sea-shore. Some one told the Trojans,
if they would drag this wooden horse into Troy,
their luck would turn, and it would bring them
good fortune. So the Trojans harnessed themselves
to the horse, and began to drag it into Troy, little
thinking it was full of the enemy. Night came on,
and suddenly at a given signal, the wooden horse
was opened, and out tumbled the King of Sparta
and his men, while outside, the other Greeks had
seen the signal and rushed in.
Troy was set on fire, the King of Sparta rescued
hi& beautiful wife and carried her down to his
ship. Old Priam tried to put on his armour and
defend his wife and daughters, but he was killed
in the court of his palace. And all the rest of
the men of Troy were either killed, Dr made slavey.
64 ESCAPE OF AENEAS. [B.C. 1184.
Only one great man of Troy escaped. That was
-^Eneas, who, seeing that all was lost, took his
old father on his back, and leading his little son
by the hand, while his wife followed, escaped from
the burning city. He found a ship on the coast
and sailed away in safety.
After long years and marvellous adventures, he
arrived on the shores of Italy, landing near the
spot, where Rome now stands. It is said, that on
the side of one of the mountains, he built a city,
known as the Long White city ; and here for three
hundred years the descendants jf Troy reigned.
So ended the great siege of Troy. It vas first
sung of, by the great poet Homer, in his wonderful
poem called the ' Iliad ' ; but the acts of the
heroes, have inspired many and many a poet since
that time, until it has become one of the best known
scenes, of the world's great history.
18. THE ADVENTURES OP ULYSSES.
" Come, my friends,
Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order, smite
The sounding furrows."
TENNYSON.
WHEN the great city of Troy was taken, all the
chiefs who had fought against it, set sail for their
homes, though few of them returned in safety.
HOMEF/S STORY. 65
One, who wandered farthest ind suffered most, was
Ulysses. He had brought twelve ships to Troy,
and in each ship were fifty men ; but that was
ten years ago, and half his men slept their last
sleep on the plains of Troy. This is some of his
story as the Greek poet Homer tells it :
" Now Zeus, 1 gatherer of the clouds, aroused the
North Wind against our ships with a terrible
tempest, and covered land and sea alike with
clouds, and down sped night from heaven. Thus
the ^hips were driven headlong, and their sails
were torn to shreds by the might of the wind.
So we lowered the sails into the hold, in fear of
death, but rowed the ships landward, apace. There
for two nights and two days, we lay continually,
consuming our hearts with weariness and sorrow.
But when the fair - tressed dawn had, at last,
brought the full light of the third day, we set up
the masts and hoisted the white sails and sat us
down, while the wind and the helmsman guided
the ships.
" And now I should have come to mine own
country all unhurt, but the waves and the stream
of the sea and the North Wind swept me from
my course as I was doubling Cape Malea and
dxave me wandering past Cythera. Thence for
nine whole days, was I borne by ruinous winds,
over the teeming deep ; but on the tenth day, we
set foot on the land of the lotus-eaters, who eat
1 See chapter 17.
E
66 THE LOTUS .EATERS.
a flowery food. So we stepped ashore and drew
water, and when we had tasted meat and driuk,
I chose out two of my fellows to go and make
search, what manner of men they were, who here
live upon the earth, by bread. Then straightway
they went and mixed with the men of the lotus-
eaters, and the lotus - eaters gave them of the
lotus to taste.
" Now whosoever of them did eat the honey-sweet
fruit of the lotus had no more wish to bring tidings
nor to come back, but there he chose to abide* with
the lotus-eating men, ever feeding on the lotus and
forgetful of his homeward way. Therefore * I led
them back to the ships, weeping and soj-e, against
their will, and dragged them beneath the benches
and bound them in the hollow barks. So they
embarked and sat upon the benches, and sit-
ting orderly, they smote the grey sea with their
oars.
''Thence we sailed onward, stricken at heart.
And we came to the land of the Cyclopes (Sicily).
These lawless folk dwell in hollow caves on the
crests of the hills. Now, there is a waste isle
stretching without the harbour of the land of the
Cyclopes, wherein are wild goats unnumbered, for
no path of man scares them, nor do hunters resc/t
thither. Moreover, the soil lies evermore unsown
and untilled, desolate of men, and feeds the bleat-
ing goats. Yet it is in nowise a sorry land, but
would bear all .things in their season ; for therein,
ON THE GREAT SEA. 67
are soft water meadows by the shores of the grey
salt sea, and there the vines know no decay, and
the land is level to plough. Also there is a fair
haven, where is no need of moorings, but men may
run the ship on the beach, and tarry until such
time, as the sailors are minded to be gone and
favourable breezes blow."
Leaving Sicily, Ulysses came to the Isle of the
Winds, which floated about in the ocean, and still
he wandered on and on in the unknown seas.
Here is his account of how his ship was struck by
lightning : " But n^>w, when we left that isle, nor
any ether land appeared but sea and sky, even
+hen a dark cloud stayed above the hollow ship,
and beneath it, the deep darkened. And the ship
ran on her way for no long while, for, of a sudden,
came the shrilling West, with the rushing of a
great tempest, and the blast of wind snapped the
two forestays of the mast, and the mast fell back-
ward, and all the gear dropped into the bottom
of the ship. And behold the mast struck the
head of the pilot and brake all the bones of his
skull together, and, like a diver he dropped down
from the deck, and his brave spirit left his bones.
In that same hour Zeus thundered and cast his
b^lt upon the ship, and she reeled all over,
being stricken by the bolt of Zeus, and was filled
with sulphur, and lo, my company lell out of the
vessel.
" Like seagulls, they were borne ^ound the black
68 RETUKN OF ULYSSES.
ship upon the billows ind never returned. I kept
pacing through my ship till the surge loosened the
sides from the keel, and the waves swept her along,
stript of her tackle, and brake her mast clean off
at the keel. Then I lashed together both keel
and mast, and sitting thereon, I was borne by
the ruinous winds/'
All night he drifted, rowing with his hands,
until he was cast on to an island where he had
to remain for the next eight years. Homer, the
blind old poet, gives a touching account o^ his
home-coming at last. Ulys3es returned as a
beggar, broken down, weary, and footsore. None
knew him again, neither his old father, nor hia
son Telemachus, nor his wife Penelope, only his
poor old dog Argus knew him, and he just licked
his tired feet and died of joy.
19. THE DAWN OP HISTORY.
" The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece."
BYRON.
WHILE the heroic age of Greece is passing with
its memories of the Argonauts, the siege of Trc/,
and the adventures of Ulysses, let us take a look at
the country, which was destined to become so great
a power in the world.
One glance at the map will show, that Greece was
ABOU* GBEEC^!. 69
cut up into little States. "W hy was this ? Greece
is Naturally cut up into little pieces by its moun-
tains, and deeply indented by its sea. One part is
entirely divided from another part, by deep ravines
with steep sides, and across these ravines no man
could walk. Intercourse, therefore, between such
a people was very difficult, often impossible.
See how different Greece is from Egypt. Egypt
is a rich flat land stretching away on either side
of the river Nile. The Egyptians could sail up
the Nile with the wind, and* drop down it, with
the current, so th^t it was always quite easy to
*go from one part to another.
* And so* it was that from the very earliest times
Egypt was one country under one king, like the
Pharaohs of Bible history.
In Greece it was all different. There is no one
flat tract of land anywhere. The great ranges of
mountains divide it into a number of small districts,
and each of these districts must have its own chief
or king. These old Greeks were a free and hardy
race, full of imagination and adventure, loving
their old stories, loving their mountains, their sea,
their freedom. Further than this, they enjoyed a
climate which would breathe life into the dullest
race ; a climate, that clothed their mountains and
islands with a . beauty, of which the ir poets have
ever loved to sing, which has raided them to that
keen sense of beauty and art famous, throughout
all ages.
70 HOW THE PHOENICIANS TAUGHT THE GREEKS.
i
To such a people, shipping became a necessity.
They would learn the art of shipbuilding from the
Phoenicians, who had long since made a settlement
on the rocky crag, rising from out the plain known
as the Acropolis, or Rock City. Thither came the
Phoenicians, when the Greeks were but mere farmers,
until very soon, on the Greek coast too, a new and
busy life began. The Greeks had much to learn
from the seafaring men from Tyre and Sidon, who
came more and more to the Greek coasts, exchang-
ing their own goods for Grecian products. In 1 time
the Greeks on the coast came to know all the
Phoenicians knew: they took their alphabet, .their
weights and measures ; they made ships like those
used by the Phoenicians, and began to sail along
their own shores.
It was therefore somewhat natural, that after a
time the Greeks should turn their eyes eastwards
across the blue waters, now known as the Archi-
pelago, to the fertile shores of Asia Minor. Vast
fields of rich grain and orchards of fruit, tempted
the new settlers, until shipload after shipload had
left the mother country, and scattered themselves
along the opposite shores of Asia Minor, known
as Ionia.
There is an old story of this Ionian migration,
which says, tjiat a certain king in Greece died,
and his sons, riot caring to live on in a country,
where they could not live as princes, decided to
kave it. They assembled at the Acropolis while
B.C. 1040.] GREEK, COLONIES. 71
t
their ships were preparing, and after a tedious
voyage across the Archipelago, they landed on the
coast of Asia Minor. They soon began to build
cities, and before long, . there were no less than
twelve beautiful seaport towns on the Ionian coast
belonging to Greece.
The chief of these were Miletus and Ephesus,
both of which we shall hear of again. Miletus
was stoutly defended by the natives already living
there, which so enraged the Greeks that they slew
every man they found and made the widowed
women their wiv^s. Legend relates, that the
women were so heart-broken at this conduct, that
they refused to sit at meat .with their new hus-
bands, or to call them by their names.
Ephesus rose to great importance as a seaport,
and was also famous for the wonderful temple
built to the goddess Diana, a worship which filled
St Paul with such sorrow, when he spent three
years among these Ephesians.
These towns had their day ; they rose and fell,
and nothing remains of them to-day, save reedy
swamps and fever-stricken haunts, where once arose
a perfect forest of masts, belonging to the ships
trading with all parts of the then known world.
72 THE EISB OE GREECE. [B.C. 688.
20. THE FALL OP TYRE.
" Is this your joyous city, whose kntiquity is of ancient days ? "
ISAIAH xxiii. 7.
So the Greek nation slowly arose on the shores
of the Great Sea, and by-and-by the colonies
founded by Phoenicia, in Greece, had to be given
up one by one. No longer were the Phoenicians
free to come and go, to buy and sell, along the
opposite shores. Greek cities rose, Greek ships put
to sea, Phoenician colonies became Greek coiorijies.
But if a dangerous rival had appeared by;
sea, a yet more dangerous one had appeared by
land. Nebuchadnezzar was King of Babylon,
and Babylon was growing very powerful and
strong. And this great king came down from
the north, with chariots and horses and much
people ; he captured Sidon, laid low Jerusalem,
and then came to reduce the renowned old city
of Tyre.
For the last time, through the piercing eyes
of Ezekiel, we seem to see Tyre, the old queen
of commerce, in all her ancient glory :
" The ships of Tarshish were thy caravans for thy merchandise : *
And thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the heart
of the sea. t *-
Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters :
The east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the sea.
B.C.
!. 574.] THE PALL OF PHOENICIA. 73
And all that handle the oar, the m? riners, and all the pilots of
the sea,
They shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon
the land ;
And shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry
bitterly.
And they shall weep for thee in bitterness of soul with bitter
mourning.
And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee,
And lament over thee, saying, Who is there like Tyre,
Like her that is brought to silence in the midst of the seas ? "
And Nebuchadnezzar made forts against Tyre ;
he set his battering engines against her walls
those walls that Hiram had built so strong. He
broke down her towers ; her walls shook at the
noise of his horsemen, when he entered into her
gates. With the hoofs of his horses he trod down
all her streets ; he slew her people with the sword ;
he took her gold and silver, broke down her walls,
destroyed her pleasant houses, while her timber
from Lebanon, he cast into the waters.
Well, indeed, might the prophet Isaiah cry,
" Howl, ye ships of Tarshish ; for your strong place
is laid waste."
Phoenicia fell in the year 574 B.C.
So busy had they been with the vast expansion
of their trade on the seas that they had neglected
home defence ; when invasion came, they were
powerless. Again, they had collected great wealth,
but they had no worthy use for it. t They did not
understand, that wealth, if used aright, is but
74 THE YOUNG? COLONY.
means to nobler end^f To the Phoenicians it was
an end in itself. The old Egyptian civilisation Kad
not affected them, the wondrous new beginnings
of Greek art did not appeal to them. They were
the conquerors of the sea, the first colonisers in
the Old World, and as such will always be re-
membered.
They have been compared to a flower that has
bloomed too much and withered at its root ; but
the work was done, the seed had fallen in many
places.
They vanished from the pagete of history, leaving
but memories behind, and now the tideless Svaters
of the Mediterranean Sea lap peacefully over the
old cities of Tyre and Sidon, while the world-
famed Phoenicia of ancient days plays no part in
the busy world of commerce which has shifted
westwards.
,21. THE RISE OF CARTHAGE.
Because ye are Sons of the Blood and call me Mother still."
KIPLING.
WHILE the mother country, Phoenicia, was falliiVg,
by reason of Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Tyre, her
young colony* of Carthage, was rapidly springing
into fame. She was destined to eclipse even the
glories of Tyre.* Once indeed, not long after the
THE GROWTH OF CARTHAGE. 75
fall of Tyre, while Carthage was busy extending
her dominions, she had a narrow escape from de-
struction.
Cambyses, King of Persia, had conquered Egypt
with such ease, that he was looking about for
another country to lay low. Carthage was great
enough to prove a danger, so he determined to
march against that city. But it was two thousand
miles away by land, and by sea alone could he
hope to reach it. His fleet was made up of Phoe-
nician ships, and manned by Phoenician sailors.
These refused to take part in the expedition against
their own kith and kin.
" We aro bound to the Carthaginians," they said,
" by solemn oaths. They too are our children, and
it would be wicked to make war against them."
And Cambyses had to be content with this answer,
and give up his cherished plan of reducing Carthage.
Like the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians soon
established colonies across the seas; but they took
care to protect them. The Great Sea was no
longer free to them to come and go as they liked.
Greek ships sailed the seas, Greek colonies had
sprung up along the coasts.
Nevertheless they owned colonies on the coast
ot Africa ; the islands of Sardinia, Malta, and Cor-
sica were theirs, they owned the group of Balearic
Islands, while a great part of Southern Spain was
under their rule. They had inherited a spirit of
commerce from the parent State.
76 A CARTHAGINIAN EXPLORER.
So the colony of Carthage had all the energy
trading instincts of the mother country. She held
her own on the Great Sea, at a time when rival
ships were sailing the sea, and Greece and Rome
were clamouring for ports and colonies around the
coast. She held her own till greed of conquest
seized her, and in trying to get more than she
could keep, she fell.
The story of her fall will be told later.
22. HANNO'S ADVENTURES.
" Tides duly ebbed and flowed,
Stars rose and set,
And new horizons glowed."
TENNYSON.
Now Carthage can boast of having produced the
first real explorer who has written an account of
his doings. His name was Hamio. This Hanno
was given command of a fleet of ships, to go and
found a chain of colonies on the Atlantic sea-
board of Africa. He took sixty ships and some
thirty thousand men and women, who were to
settle along the coast. When he came back to
Carthage he wrote an account of the voyage,
which was inscribed on a marble tablet and
placed in the temple of the city ; and this is
what he said :
" It was decreed, by the Carthaginians, that
B.C. 520.] WEST AFKICA- 77
should sail beyond th# .Pillars of Hercules
an& found cities. Accordingly he sailed, with sixty
ships of fifty oars each, and a multitude of men
and women to the number of thirty thousand, and
provisions and other equipment.
"When we had set sail and passed the pillars,
after two days' voyage, we founded the first city.
Below this city lay a great plain. Sailing thence
westward we came to Cape Cantin, a promontory
of Africa thickly covered with trees. Here we built
a temple, and proceeded thence^ half a day's journey
eastward,, till we reached a lake, lying not far from
the sea, and filled with abundance of great reeds.
Here elephants were feeding and a great number of
other wild animals.
" After we had gone a day's sail beyond the lakes,
we founded cities near to the sea. Sailing thence,
we came to a great river which flows from Africa.
On its banks wandering tribes were feeding their
flocks. With these we made friendship, and re-
mained among them certain days. Beyond these
dwell the ' inhospitable ^Ethiopians,' inhabiting a
country that abounds in wild beasts, and is divided
by high mountains. After this, sailing up a great
river (the Senegal), we came to a lake. Proceed-
ing thence a day's sail, we came to the farthest
shore of the lake. Here it is overhung by great
mountains, in which dwell savage ryen, clothed with
the skins of beasts. These drove us away, pelting
us with stones, so that we could not Jand.
78 THE RIVER GAMBIA.
Sailing thence, we came to another river grea+
and broad, and full of crocodiles and river-horses.
Thence returning, we came back again to Herne,
and from Herne, we sailed again towards the south
for twelve days, coasting along the land. The
whole of this land is inhabited by ^Ethiopians.
" On the last day, we came near to certain large
mountains, covered with trees, and the wood of
these trees was sweet-scented and of divers colours.
Sailing by these mountains, for the space of two
days, we came to a great opening of thb sea,
and on either side of this sea, was a great plain,
from which, at night, we saw fire arising in all
directions. Here we watered, and afterwards
sailed for five days until we came to a great
bay, which the interpreters told us, was called
the Western Horn.
" In this bay was a large island. Here we
landed, and in the daytime we could find nothing,
but saw wood -ashes ; but in the night we saw
many fires burning, and heard the sound of flutes,
and cymbals, and drums, and the noise of confused
shouts. Great fear then came upon us. We
sailed, therefore, quickly thence, being much terri-
fied, and passing on for four days, found at night
a country full of fire. In the middle was a loicy
fire, greater than all the rest, so that it seemed
to touch the stars. When day came, we found
that this was a great mountain which they call
the Chariot of the gods. On the third of our
TO SIERRA LEON,E. 79
Departure thence, having sailed by streams of fire,
we* came to a bay which is called the Southern
Horn (close to Sierra Leone).
"At the end of this bay lay an island with a
lake, and full of savage people, of whom the
greater part were women. Their bodies were
covered with hair, and our interpreters called
them Gorillas. We pursued them ; but the men
we were not able to catch, for being able to
climb the precipices, and defending themselves
with "stones, these all escaped. But we caught
three wo^ien. But" when these, biting and tear-
ing tKose that led them, would not follow us,
We slew them, and flaying off their skins, carried
these to Carthage.
" Farther we did not sail, for our food failed us."
23. SOME MORE ABOUT GREECE.
" Two voices are there : one is of the sea,
One of the mountains ; each a mighty voice.
In each from age to age thou didst rejoice ;
They wefe thy chosen music, Liberty."
WORDSWORTH.
Carthage is growing day by day, and year
by year, to take her place among the peoples, round
the Mediterranean Sea, let us return to Greece,
now taking a far larger part in tfye world's his-
tory, than Carthage would ever
80 THE. OLYMPIAN RACES. [B.C. 884.
A little inland, on the western coast of Souther^
Greece, was a wide and beautiful plain. It was
watered by a flowing stream and shaded by well-
wooded mountains. The 'spot was called Olympia,
and it was dedicated to the worship of the
great god Zeus. To this place every fourth
year flocked the men of Greece, in olden times,
to take part in the great festival, held in the
god's honour. Games were the chief feature of
the festival.
There was an old story saying that Hei'cules,
when a little boy, had here won a foot-race with
his brothers, so some of the Greeks in the south,
founded this feast, with foot-races, for all the people
to take part in. There were chariot - races and
horse-races as well as foot-races ; boxing-matches,
wrestling, throwing weights, singing and reciting
of poetry, so that all might have a chance.
The only prize given to the winners was a garland
of wild olive, cut from a sacred tree in the grove.
The victors were thus crowned before the people,
each holding a palm branch in his hand, while
the heralds proclaimed his name and that of his
father and country.
From north and south, and east and west,
the men of Greece flocked to Olympia. It Was
a bond of \mion, for all the scattered tribes of
Greece. It helped the colonies to keep in touch
with the mother country. It made a centre where
of all parts could meet and discuss matters of
THE SPAKTANS. 81
t
importance, and it gave a feeling of brotherhood
to those, who were separated by the natural barriers
of their divided country.
Now, amongst the cfcief people who attended
these games, every four years at Olympia, were
the Spartans. They lived in the south of Greece,
and they were supposed to be the descendants of
Hercules, and to have settled there, after their
return from the siege of Troy. These Spartans
were a very strict people, every citizen was a
soldier. If a child were born weak or unhealthy,
legend said, it was -laid out on the wild slopes of
.the mountain-side to die. Only the strong and
healthy were allowed to live.
So the Spartans became a very strong people.
When seven years old, a boy was taken from his
home, he was taught to endure hardships, and
trained to love his country. At twenty he be-
came a soldier and lived under stern discipline.
The one aim of his life, was to become a good
soldier ; he existed for the State alone. His food
was of the plainest ; he had to wear the same
garment summer and winter ; no complaints were
tolerated. Indeed there are stories telling how
the Spartan boys, would die under the lash of
tl.9 whip, rather than utter a murmur of com-
plaint.
Women were" proud of their sons, ai'id urged them
to acts of heroism.
" Return either with your shielft or upon it,"
82 ABOUT ATHENS.
they would cry to the young soldiers, going forth
to battle.
So the Spartans became a well-trained body of
soldiers at a time, when military training was
little thought about in Greece. They grew very
powerful, and subdued the lesser States around
them.
Another important spot in Greece at this time
was Athens, and the men of Athens travelled far,
to be present at the games of Olympia every four
years. They had a lovely city built on a ,rocky
height l jutting out Into the spa.
There was an old story that the gods'Npptune
and Athene had a strife as to which should be
the patron of the city, and that it was to be given
to whichever should produce the most precious
gift for it. Neptune struck the earth, and there
appeared a war-horse ; but Athene's touch brought
forth an olive-tree, and this was judged the most
useful gift. So the city bore her name, and the
olive-tree grew in the court of the old Acropolis,
a sacred citadel on a rock above the city.
The King of Athens was called Solon ; he was
supposed to have been one of the seven wisest
men of Greece at this time. He drew up a very
clever code of laws for the men of Athens, lays
which are spoken of, to the present day.
Corinth was another important centre, from
which the Greeks flocked to Olympia. This city
1 See chapter 19.
B.O. 559.] THE KINGDOM OF PERSIA. 83
stood on the rocky isthmus that connects North
and South Greece together ; an isthmus called by
one of the old poets the "bridge of the untiring
sea."
And these three States, Sparta, Athens, and
Corinth, played a large part in the history of
Greece.
24. A CLOUD IN THE BAST.
" He shall stir up all the realms against Grecia." DAN. xi.
WHILE the Greeks were sailing their seas and
working out their laws, untroubled by any
thoughts of fear, beyond the shores of the blue
Mediterranean, great kingdoms were rising and
falling in the East.
King Nebuchadnezzar, of whose acts the book
of Daniel is so full, had restored the kingdom of
Babylon, beyond the Euphrates. He had made
the city of Babylon, the greatest city in the
world. Stray Greeks had visited it and brought
back stories of the amazing palaces and temples,
the hanging gardens and terraced parks. With
tiie death of King Nebuchadnezzar the kingdom
of Persia rose to fame under King Cyrus.
Now the deeds of Nebuchadnezzar had not
troubled Greece at all, but now that Cyrus was
King of Persia, things were different. Already
84 STORY OF CYKUS. [B.C. 546.
Babylon had fallen to him, and he was casting hie
eyes towards the Greek colonies, on the shores of
Asia Minor under one Croesus.
A story is told of these two monarchs. Cyrus
had determined to put Croesus to death ; so he
built a great pyre, and placed Croesus on it, bound
in chains. While he stood waiting for the flames
to rise around him, some words uttered by Solon,
came into his head, and groaning aloud he cried,
" Oh, Solon, Solon, Solon ! "
Cyrus heard him, and asked of whom he spoke.
Croesus quoted Solon's wise words, " Call no man
happy, till his death."
Cyrus was greatly struck. " Sure^," he re-
flected, " here is a man worth saving." And he
ordered the prisoner to be set free. But already,
the flames were blazing with such strength and
fury, that the men could not put them out. Then
Croesus cried to one of the Greek gods for help,
ard the story says, suddenly clouds came into the
clear sky and a downpour of rain put out the
roaring fire. So Croesus lived and became the
o
friend and adviser of the King of Persia.
Under Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, Persia be-
came yet more powerful, for he conquered Egypt
from the Pharaohs, and, as we have already set,n,
would have taken Carthage, if the Phoenician
sailors had helped him.
But it was the third great King of Persia,
Darius, that the Greeks feared the most, and
B.C. 513.] DARIUS ENTERS EUROPE. 85
had good reason to fear ; for was he not
king of the mightiest kingdom of the East?
Had not the Persians already subdued the sea-
coast on the farther shores of the Archipelago ?
was not the land of Egypt that rich and
fertile land theirs too ? Was it likely that
Darius would be content with what he had,
when he could command the soldiers of so many
lands ?
No sooner had he set his kingdom in order at
home, than he started forth on his conquests.
Now when Darius made up his mind to go into
Europe, his shortest way would have been to cross
the Black Sea ; but this was impossible in early
days. To get to Europe at all, the water must
be crossed, so Darius ordered the Ionian Greeks 1
living on the coast and in the islands off the
coast, to raise a fleet of six hundred ships. Then
he marched to the shores of the Bosphorus, a
narrow strait that divides Asia from Europe. Here
a bridge of boats had been made by an engineer
from one of the Greek islands belonging to Persia,
and the Persian army marched over it to the
shores of Europe.
Darius marched the army northward till he
reached the river Danube, which, at this time,
was supposed to be the greatest river in the world.
Here, according to their orders, the Greeks had
already built a bridge of boats, across the river.
1 See chapter 19.
86 STOEY OF DARIUS. [B.C. 513.
Darius now took a cord so says the old legend
in which he tied sixty knots.
" Untie one of these knots every day," he said
to the Greek captains, "and remain here and
guard the bridge till they are all untied. If I
have not returned at the end of that time, sail
home."
The sixty days passed, the knots were untied,
but Darius did not return. The Greeks heard
rumours, that the Persians had been defeated and
were in full retreat, and that their only hope of
safety lay in the bridge.
"Let us destroy the bridge," urged one of the
Greeks, Miltiades, the future hero of Marathon ; l
" then shall Darius and his army perish and we
shall regain our freedom."
" No," said another ; " by destroying Darius, we
destroy ourselves."
His counsel prevailed. The Greeks kept the
br'dge, and Darius passed back in safety.
25, THE BATTLE OF MARATHON.
"The mountains look on Marathon,
And Marathon looks on the sea."
BYRON.
Now the Ionian Greeks longed for freedom from
the Persians. They liked to think they belonged to
1 See chapter 25.
B.C. 494.] DIONYSIUS THE^ GREEK. 87
*:he mother country, not to tihese foreigners, whom
they had to serve. So they made another attempt
to throw off the yoke of Persia, and this time the
men of Athens helped th6m.
But it was no use, for the Persians were too
strong for them. Miletus was the strongest of
these coast cities belonging to the Ionian Greeks.
When the men of Miletus found that the whole
great Persian army was about to blockade their
city, they resolved, in their despair, to take to their
ships 'and surround the city themselves, and so
prevent the Persians entering it. They mustered
some three hundred and fifty -three ships in all,
btit what \vas their dismay to find, that the Per-
sians had brought double that number, manned
by Phoenician sailors !
Then arose a Greek, named Dionysius, commander
of the Greek ships. He promised them certain
victory, even, over the Phoenician sailors, if they
would only work hard under his directions, afid
learn better how to manage their ships. From
morning to night, through seven long summer days,
the Greeks practised, under their commander, for
the coming battle. But on the eighth day they
lost all patience. They were a pleasure-loving race
and not used to discipline. They had not been
brought up HkQ the Spartan boys. 1 m So they left
their ships and spent the precious .hours, in careless
ease, under the shade of the trees on* shore.
1 See chapter 23.
88 DARI/US AT MARATHON. [B.C. 490.
The Persian fleet attacked, the Greeks scramble' 1
on board; the last struggle for the freedom of
Ionia was at hand. But a disgraceful scene followed ;
many of the Greek ships ' deserted, and the result
was, the capture of Miletus, by the Persians. They
killed all the men and carried the women and
children into captivity. Everywhere they carried
fire and sword, and the Ionian Greeks were more
than ever subject to them.
Still Darius was not satisfied. He was very
angry with the men of Athens for helping the
Ionian Greeks against him, and he made a vow
that he would punish them. It is said, that he
bade one of his slaves, to say to him three timefe
at dinner, " Sire, remember the Athenians."
It was early, on one September day, in the year
490 B.C., that a great Persian fleet sailed into the
Bay of Marathon, the seaport of Athens, in order
to attack the city by land and sea. From the
heights above the town, the men of Athens beheld
the plain crowded with Persian tents, and the bay
full of Persian ships beheld them with terror and
awe. Was not this Darius, who had captured
their rich seaboard cities in Asia Minor, who pos-
sessed Egypt and would fain possess the rest of
the world ? The very name of Persia was a terror
to the Greeks.
A great question was before the men of Athens.
Should they await the approach of the great Per-
sian army, or should they boldly go forth to meet
B.C. 490.] VICTORY FOR THE GREEKS. 89
? There were five times as many Persians
\ * .
as * Athenians ; a fact which seemed to promise
no chance of victory. They assembled together.
Miltiades 1 spoke. He . was the man who had
urged the lonians to destroy the bridge over the
Danube some years before. He now proposed that
the army should march to Marathon and meet the
Persians there. His decision carried the day. He
had won undying fame.
The Athenians marched out of their city and
encarhped on the hills, overlooking the plain of
Marathon, for Marathon lay between the mountains
and tlie sea. They were alone in their desperate
peril, for the Spartans could hardly arrive in time.
The battle-signal was given, and the whole Greek
army, shouting their war-cry, " lo psean ! lo psean ! "
charged down the hills, at a run, into the plain of
Marathon. Such courage deserved success. For
some time Athenians and Persians fought together
at Marathon ; then the Persians gave way and ran
backwards toward the sea, while six thousand lay
dead upon the plain.
Thus Athens saved Greece from the Persians.
The battle of Marathon was one of the most
splendid battles that has ever been fought and
won ; for had Greece become subject to Darius, the
great monarch of the East, the history of Europe
might have been, like the history of Asia, a story
of misery and oppression.
1 See chapter 24.
90 XERXES, KING OF PERSIA. [B.C. 485.
And still the ships f of to-day, sailing eastward <%
may see the monument, put up to the heroes of
Marathon, bearing the words of the old Greek
poet
" At Marathon for Greece the Athenians fought."
26. KING AHASUBBUS.
" This is Ahasuerus which reigned from India even unto Etjiiopia,
over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces." ESTHEK i.
WHEN King Darius heard tidings of the defeat of
his army at Marathon, he was yet more tingry with
the Athenians, and more determined than ever to
make war against Greece. But before he could
get ready again, to march against them, he died,
and his son Xerxes became King of Persia. This
Xerxes was probably the same king of whom we
reafl, in the Book of Esther, and the great feast
that he held in his palace, three years after his
father's death, was to arrange about carrying on
the war against Greece.
It was not till five years had passed away, that
Xerxes was ready to start for Greece, with his
enormous army. First of all he ordered a fleet
of ships to anchor near Mount Athos, for he re-
membered the 'terrible storm, that had wrecked the
first Persian expedition to Greece, at this dangerous
spot. He made $he men from these ships dig a
B.C. 480.] CROSSING THE HELLESPONT. 91
trench, wide enough for two ships of war
to pass side by side, so there was no more danger
of shipwreck at Mount Athos.
When all was ready Xerxes himself, came from
his palace at Shushan, to review his troops, and to
have bridges built over the Hellespont. This was
done by Phoenician and Egyptian engineers. But
when the work was finished, there arose a great
storm, and the bridges were destroyed. Xerxes was
very angry at this accident, and not only did he
order'the engineers to be beheaded, but commanded
that three hundred 3 lashes of the whip, should be
inflicted on the waters of the Hellespont. Those
who scourged the sea were ordered to address it
in these words :
" bitter water, our lord lays this punishment
upon thee for having done him wrong, who never
did wrong to thee. King Xerxes will cross thee
whether thou wilt or not, thou treacherous and
briny river."
Then other engineers set to work and the bridges
were made, but they were not finished till the winter
had set in.
It was one day, in the early spring, when the
sun had but just risen, that the huge army
began to cross the bridges, leading them from
Asia into Europe. The soldiers and horsemen
went over one bridge, while the servants of the
army and beasts of burden, went .over the other,
all crossing under the lash. ^or this mighty
92 CRUELTY OF XEEXES. [B.C. 480.
Xerxes was a cruel man. There is a story
told of how, just before the crossing of teie
bridges, an old man came to him and asked
him a favour.
"O my lord," said the old man, "I have five
sons, and thou art taking them all with thee for
this war, which thou makest against the Greeks.
Have pity on me, king, remembering my old
age, and release from this service, one of my
sons, even the eldest, that he may stay and take
care of me."
But the king was furious.
" The life of him whom thou lovest above the rest
shall be forfeit," he cried in anger, as he prdered the
eldest son to be slain at once. One-half of his body
was to be placed on the right side of the road, the
other on the left, and the army was ordered to pass
between the two halves. Such a man, then, was
this great Eastern king, who now hoped to win
Europe for himself.
On a marble throne erected on the shore, Xerxes
watched his army which, according to old stories,
took seven days and seven nights to reach the
opposite shore.
While the great fleet lay on the quiet blue
waters under the lee of the land, the king heXi
a great review of troops, which showed him to
have no less than five million of men under him
the largest number, ever known in ancient or
modern history.
fcO.
PASSAGE* OP THE W&SIAN8.
93,
There were the Persians, wearing coats of mail
Ami trousers, with their wicker shields, large bows,
and short spears. There were men from Assyria
with helmets of brass, wooden clubs with knots of
iron, and short
swords. There
were Indians clad
in cotton ; men
from the Caspian
shores in goat-
skin ; men from
Ethiopia in Lower
Egypt in lion-skins and leopard-skins, armed with
arrows, and many others.
King Xerxes looked on his splendid army, on
the glittering helmets, on the countless spears*
with a golden pomegranate at the end ; at the
milk-white horses, that drew the* sacred c
the eod Zeus; at the sea covered with his \
94 PREPARING FOR THE PERSIANS. [B.C. 480.
the land covered with his men, and he counted
himself a happy man.
" But afterwards/' says the old historian, " after-
wards he wept."
27. HOW LEONIDAS KEPT THE PASS.
" The graves of those who cannot die."
BYKON.
MEANWHILE, what were the Greeks doing, to
prepare for the Persian invasion ? There \vas at ,
Athens, a certain man, but newly risen into the
front rank of the citizens. His name was Themis-
tocles. His idea was to make Athens a sea-state,
the strongest sea-state in Greece, if possible. He
looked out on the bays and inlets of the coast and
realised what good harbours they were. He looked
beyond, to the many islands, lying in the Archi-
pelago, all offering shelter and refuge to ships,
and he saw that one strong fleet, might protect
Greece from the Persians, better than any army
she could raise.
A rich bed of silver had just been found in
the neighbourhood, and the treasury was vei^
rich ; so Themistocles advised the Athenians to
spend this sum of money, in building new ships,
and at last he persuaded them to listen to him.
Before many years had passed, Athens had a fleet
B.C. 480.] THE PASS OF THERMOPYLAE. 95
of two hundred ships the most powerful fleet
in Greece.
Themistocles had some difficulty in carrying his
point, because there was another citizen in Athens,
who disapproved of his plan. His name was
Aristides, and he was known as the Just, because
he was the soul of honour. He thought, that if
Athens had beaten the Persians once by land, she
might do so again. He thought it was better
for the people to improve their army, rather than
their cnavy. For his opposition, he was exiled for
ten years from Greece, but he found a way of
helping Athens afterwards, which has made his
name famous.
It was agreed that the King of Sparta should
undertake the defence of a narrow pass which con-
nected North and South Greece together, and
through which the Persian army must pass.
The name of Leonidas, King of Sparta, will
ever live in the world's history for his splendid,
if hopeless, defence of the Pass of Thermopylae.
With some hundreds of Spartans he marched
northwards, to take up the post allotted to him.
The pass lay between high mountains and the
sea. It was about a mile long. The narrow en-
Dances were known as the Pylae or Gates, and
the whole pass, distinguished for its hot springs,
was known as the Pass of the Hot*Gates. The
fleet under a Spartan commander, took up its
position at the sea end of the pass ; the moun-
96 THE GKEEKS BETRAYED. [B.C. 480.
tain road was kept by some Greeks from a neigh-
bouring state.
The Persians approached. For four days they
lay before the pass without attacking, astonished to
see the Spartans quietly practising their gymnastics
and combing their long hair, as they did before a
festival.
" You will not be able to see the sun for the
clouds of javelins and arrows," the Persians cried to
Leonids, before they began the attack.
" We will fight in the shade then," was his quiet
and heroic reply.
On the fifth day the Persians attacked, but they
met with no success, against the stout - hearted
Spartans. Even the choicest of the Persian, soldiers,
known as the Ten Thousand or the Immortals, made
no impression on them.
" Thrice," says the old historian, " the king sprang
from his throne in agony for his army."
On the third day after the fighting had begun, a
native of Greece told Xerxes of a path over the
mountain, and at nightfall a strong Persian force
was sent to ascend the path and attack the Greeks
in the rear. In the early morning the Greeks, at
the head of the pass, heard a trampling through the
woods. They fled away in terror and the Persia.^
marched on, behind Leonidas.
In the course of the night, Leonidas knew what
had happened. He saw that, if he did not retreat
at once, he must be surrounded and perish. But the
B.C. 480.] DEATH OF LEONID AS. 97
law of Sparta forbade the soldier to leave his post.
Leonidas had no fear of death. The other troops
went away, but the King of Sparta and his six
hundred men resolved to die at their post. The
Persians came on, and things became more and more
desperate for the Greeks. Leonidas was killed, and
one by one the brave Spartans fell around him.
They did not die in vain. It was a moment
when the hearts of the Greeks were wavering and
men were inclined to forsake country for self, that
the Spartan King Leonidas and his Spartan subjects,
showed Greece how citizens should do their duty.
At the entrance to the pass the king and his
warriors ^vere buried, while these words were
engraved in their memory :
" Go, tell the Spartans, thou that passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie."
28. VICTORY FOR THE GREEKS.
" A king sat on the rocky brow
Which looks o'er sea-born Salamis :
And ships, by thousands, lay below,
And men in nations : all were his.
He counted them at break of day
And when the sun set, where were they ? "
BYRON.
HAVING gained the pass, it was natural that Xerxes
should lead his army on to Athens. The Spartans
did not care, whether Athens fell into the hands
G
98 SAL AMIS. [B.C. 480.
of the Persians, or not. They wished to save
Corinth, and so save South Greece, where lay
their own land ; for Greece was not a united
country ; each little state wanted what it could
get for itself.
The men of Athens knew it was hopeless to try
and defend their city alone, against the whole Per-
sian army, so they resolved to abandon it. Very
full of sorrow, men, women, and children left their
homes and streamed down to the sea-shore, carry-
ing what they could with them. There they found
the Greek ships waiting to bear them away, and
so when Xerxes and his mighty army reached
Athens, they found it silent and desertod. Only a
few poor and desperate men had refused to depart,
and had posted themselves on the top of the Acro-
polis, the fortress of Athens. The Persians, dis-
appointed of their prey, took their revenge. They
stormed the Acropolis, slew the brave defenders,
and set the town on fire.
Athens had fallen. There was but one hope now
for the Greeks, They had their ships. Themis-
tocles had been right after all. The ships were
yet to save the country.
When Xerxes had advanced to Athens, his fleet
had sailed along the coast, and was now anchored.
The Greek fleet lay but a few miles off, close to
the large island of Salamis, between Athens on the
one side and Corinth on the other.
A council of Greeks was held. Themistocles rose
B.C. 480.] PATRIOTISM OF ARISTIDES. 99
to speak at once and to urge a naval battle without
delay. The Corinthian general was very angry.
" O Themistocles," he cried, " those who stand up
too soon in the games, are whipped."
"Yes," answered Themistocles, "but those who
start late, are not crowned."
He saw that the Greeks must fight at once, or in
their despair at the loss of Athens, they might not
remain faithful. Still he could not get others to
see things from his point of view, so he thought of
a plan to bring on the battle quickly. He sent a
trusty slave across the narrow strait to the Persian
admiral, saying that the Greeks were panic-stricken
and about to escape. The Persian admiral fell into
the trap. In the dead of night, he moved his fleet
noiselessly round and blocked up the narrow inlet of
the strait, so that the Greeks could not escape.
Early next morning it was still dark, and the
commanders were sitting at council, when Themis-
tocles was called out by a stranger. It was the
exile Aristides. In the ruin and distress of Athens,
he had come to serve those, who had banished him,
and had made his way through the Persian fleet
in the darkness, to tell the Greek commanders, that
they had been surrounded.
"Themistocles," he urged, "let us still be rivals,
but let our contest be, who best shall serve our
country."
As the rising sun of the September morning, cast
its shadows across the blue Bay of Salamis, the
100 NAVAL VICTORY. [B.C. 480.
Greek fleet put out from shore, to the accustomed
notes of the war hymn to Apollo. The enemy's
ships faced them all across the narrow strait,
stretching far away to right and left, and cutting
off all chance of escape. Behind the Persian ships
the Persian army was drawn up along the shore,
and a lofty throne was set in the midst, from
which the great King Xerxes could survey the
battle. The Persian fleet advanced, and the
Greeks, seized with terror, began to back their
oars towards the shore.
Soon the two fleets were engaged. Tho Greeks
fought in good order and kept their ships in line,
while the Persian fleet was soon in contusion, oars
and helms were broken, ships lay helpless on the
water. The old vessels had no rudders, but were
steered with broad blades. Confusion soon became
a panic. Vessel crashed against vessel. Persian
ships were jammed together in the narrow space.
Beaten and disabled, they disappeared under the
very eyes of Xerxes the king. Some two hundred
were thus destroyed, and the rest fled out of the
narrow strait. By sunset the battle was over.
The Greeks had won their victory and saved their
country from the Persians.
And so the great conflict between Eastern tyr-
anny and European freedom was over. Marathon,
Thermopylae, fealamis close one of the most import-
ant and thrilling chapters in the world's great
history.
B.C. 480.] CYREN& 101
29. SOME GREEK COLONIES.
"Hear, for thy children speak, from the uttermost parts of the
sea."
KIPLING.
Now, while Greece was settling down after her
warfare with Persia, let us take a glance at her
possessions abroad and see how her children over
the 3eas are getting on.
One of her largest and most important colonies
was "Gyrene, on the north coast of Africa, and
opposite the southern point of Greece. It was
one of the fairest spots on the face of the earth.
Standing about ten miles from the sea, high above
sea-level, it was sheltered from the hot blasts of the
desert and open to the cool breezes of the Medi-
terranean, over whose blue waters it commanded
a glorious view. Terraces rich and fertile.
stretched from mountain to shore. To the west
her boundaries reached those of Carthage, being
marked by the " Altar of the Phitaeni."
A curious story is told of how the men of
Carthage and the men of Gyrene agreed on their
boundary. Carthage belonged to the Phoenicians
and Gyrene to the Greeks, and these were rival
Powers on the shores of the Mediterranean.
It was arranged that at a given, time two men
from each city should start, and the spot where
102 SYRACUSE. [B.C. 480.
they met, should be the boundary. The men of
Carthage chose two brothers called the Philaeni.
They ran much faster than the Greeks of Gyrene,
so that the Greeks accused them of starting be-
fore the appointed time. After some dispute the
Greeks agreed to accept the spot as boundary, if
the Philseni would consent to be buried alive, at
this very spot in the sand. The brothers bravely
agreed, for their country's sake, to suffer death ;
they were accordingly buried alive in the sand, in
the full vigour of their manhood. Their grateful
countrymen erected the altar to their memppy. It
was known as the Altar of the Phibeni.
But still more important than Cyren3, was the
Greek colony of Syracuse, the capital of Sicily the
old legendary land of the Cyclops known to the
ancients, as Greater Greece.
The great haven of Syracuse, with its island and
its hill, occupied the most striking site on the east
coast of Sicily, and could not fail to invite early
colonists. So, three hundred years before this, the
Greeks had driven out the Phoenicians, who had
a station there, and now it was one of their most
thriving colonies. Like the colonists at Gyrene, the
"lord" of Syracuse sent his racehorses and chariots
to contend in the great games at Olympia, and the
Grecian poets wrote odes in honour of Sicilian
victories. Possessing such a fine harbour, this
colony of Syracuse had her own ships.
Let us see what these ships were like at this
B.C. 480.1 GREEK SHIPS. 103
J \
time. The early Greek warships were long and
narrow, with twenty-five benches, on each of which
sat two oarsmen, that is to say, they were rowed
by no less than fifty oars. Later the Greeks built
their ships with two rows of benches, one above the
other, so that the number of oarsmen and the speed
could be increased without adding to the length of
the ship.
But about this time the Phoenicians invented
a new sort of ship, and the Greeks soon copied
them. The new ship had three banks of oars,
and was, rowed by no less than one hundred and
seventy men. This was the kind of ship that
.was used by the Greeks at the battle of Salamis.
These " triremes," as they were called, had a square
sail to be raised when the wind was favourable.
Now the men of Syracuse invented an improvement
to these triremes as warships. The old idea in
naval warfare was to dash the pointed beak of the
ship's front into the enemy's vessel, so cutting it in
two and causing it to sink. The men of Syracuse
made their beaks, or prows, of bronze, which was
more effective, and it gave them the victory over
the Phoenicians in the harbour of Syracuse.
104 CARTHAGE AND SICILY. [B.C. 48<X
30. ACROSS THE BLUE WATERS.
" Without freedom, what wert thou, Greece ?
Without thee, Greece, what were the world ? "
MULLER.
JUST across the blue Mediterranean from Sicily,
lay the flourishing colony of Carthage, belonging
to the Phoenicians. Now there was great rivalry
between these two people, for each owned large
possessions along the shores of the Great Sea,
and the men of Carthage were known to covet
the rich colony of Sicily. It lay but fifty miles
across that tideless blue sea, an easy enough
voyage for the clever Phoenicians. At last
they saw their chance of attacking the Greeks
there.
Xerxes, the great King of Persia, was attacking
the mother country, Phoenician sailors were manning
her ships ; was not this the time for the sailors of
younger Phoenicia even the men of Carthage to
sail across and take the younger Greece even
Sicily ?
The men of Carthage began to prepare under
their commander, Hamilcar. When all was ready
they set sail with three thousand ships and an
enormous number of men. They had men from
the island of Sardinia, from the island of Corsica,
and men from Spain ; but on the way over, they
B.c. 480.] THE DEATH OF HAMILCAR. 105
encountered a terrific storm and a number of ships
and horses were lost.
Hamilcar landed at Palermo, at the western end
of the three-cornered island.
" The war is over," he murmured as he stepped on
shore, so sure did he feel that he would win.
Here he gave his army a rest and then marched
on Himera. There he dragged his ships on shore
and made a deep ditch to protect them.
A long and terrible battle was fought, in which
the men of Carthage were hopelessly defeated, and
the Carthaginians went home and told a grand story
of the death of their commander.
"All day long/' they said, "Hamilcar stood
apart from the fight, like Moses of old. All day
for the battle raged from sunrise to sunset he
threw burnt -offerings into a great fire, according
to the belief of his forefathers. Towards evening
the news reached him, that his army was defeated.
The moment for the greatest sacrifice of all had
come. And Hamilcar threw himself into the burn-
ing fire as the most costly gift of all."
The rest of the story is equally tragic. Another
storm overtook the returning fleet, and one little
boat alone carried back to Carthage the dismal
news that its army, fleet, and commander had
perished.
The battle of Himera was fought oil the same day
as the battle of Salamis, and on both occasions the
Greeks were victorious. They had fought bravely
106 PERICLES AND ATHENS. [B.C. 450
for their freedom, they had thrown off the yoke of
Persia and the yoke o? Carthage.
We must see now what use Greece made of her
liberty, and how she taught the world that com-
merce and trade were not the only ends in view,
that ambition in itself was paltry, and how she
created that beauty and art, which have influenced
nation upon nation, and which play so large a part
in the civilisation of to-day.
31. THE BEAUTY OP ATHENS.
" As the flowers adorn the earth and the stars the oky, so Athens
adorns Greece and Greece the world." HERDER.
ATHENS and Sparta were now the greatest Powers
in Greece, and all the smaller Powers were anxious
to obtain the friendship of one or the other. Let
us see how Athens outstripped them all. First she
sprang into a great commercial city thronged with
traders ; her merchant ships were in every part of
Greece ; her navy was the strongest in the world.
She had untold wealth, arid might have exceeded
the old towns of Tyre and Carthage in the glory
of her trade.
But one citizen arose, who dreamt of higher
things for Greece. His name was Pericles. He
saw at once that, since the Persian wars, every-
thing was changed, and he wanted to see the
B.C. 450.] THE GREATNESS OF A r HENS. 107
men of Greece capable of ruling themselves and
their country. And so while Sparta remained a
plain village, Athens became a most beautiful city,
which stood forth as an example to others.
Pericles had realised that mere wealth and pros-
perity alone could never make lasting greatness.
He wanted to see his fellow-countrymen happy
and prosperous, but he saw this could only come
through education. He must wake up the faculties
of the Greeks, by making their daily life bright
and active, instead of dull and listless.
Under his guidance the temples and statues of
the guds were made grand and calm and beautiful.
Pictures were painted in public places of the -great
events in Grecian history, so that the minds of
the citizens should dwell on great and noble deeds
of heroism, rather than ideas of gaining wealth for
wealth's own sake, as the Phoenicians had done
before them. Plays, too, were written by great
poets, and performed at the cost of the State in
a large open building before crowds of people.
These plays were known as tragedies and
comedies ; they gave the Athenians great pleas-
ure, helping them to enjoy the higher and nobler
views of life, rather than the stupid amusements
of the day. The great writer of tragedies for
the men of Greece was called JSschylus ; he had
borne shield and spear at Marathon, he had
fought at Salamis, and so could write of the
Persian wars from his own knowledge.
108 BUILriNG THE PARTHENON. [B.C. 438,
Sophocles, another great writer, was only fifteen
at the battle of Salamis, but he was so beauti-
ful and musical that he was chosen to lead the
chorus, which sang the hymn of victory after the
battle.
So Athens herself was made beautiful by the
wise Pericles. The first spoils of the Persian war
had already been devoted to the honour of the
goddess of Athens Athene on the Acropolis. This
colossal bronze statue stood warlike and erect, with
helmet, spear, and shield, high above the city.
And the sailor from afar at sea, could see the point
of her spear and the crest of her helmet gleaming
across the blue waters. But the goddess Athene
was to receive greater honours yet. On the south
side of the Acropolis a magnificent temple, known
to-day as the Parthenon, was built in her honour,
as a storehouse of sacred treasure.
There is an old story which says, that the
question was raised, whether the figure should be
of marble or of ivory ; the great sculptor Phidias
suggested marble as the cheapest, but the whole
assembly of Athenians shouted aloud for ivory
and gold, nothing being too rich for the statue
of Athene.
A theatre of music was also built, its pointed roof,
made from the masts of the Persian ships which
were captured at Salamis, being shaped like the
tents of Xerxes.
It was little wonder, then, that when Pericles
B.C. 429.] DEATH OF PEDICLES. 109
lay dying, the men of Athens began to talk of
the noble deeds he had done, "to praise his wisdom,
his learning, as well as his buildings.
" He found Athens of brick," they said, " and left
her of marble."
Suddenly the sick man raised himself on his
bed.
" I wonder," he said, " you praise these things
in me, and yet you have left out what is my chief
honour namely, that I never caused any fellow-
citizen to put on mourning."
It wa^ perhaps ihe first time in history, that
humanity had been placed above all else.
, Such, briqfly, was Athens after the Persian wars,
unequalled in beauty, unrivalled as queen of Greece.
Phoenicia had given to her colonies the heritage
-of commerce and trade. Greece gave her colonies
a higher heritage than this. Wealth to her was
a means to an end ; she made her city beautiful,
and so raised the minds of her citizens to care for
things above riches alone. And this idea grew and
spread beyond her city, beyond her colonies, even
beyond her empire.
Her poetry has inspired poets of the ages that
followed ; her historian, Herodotus, is still called
the " Father of all history"; her Art alone reached
the standard of perfect beauty. What, if the very
cause of her gr'eatest glory, was like (vise the cause
of her fall? She gave to the world that, which
no nation had given yet, that, which has helped
110 A GIpAT TEACHER. [B.C. 469-399.
men to do and die for their country, that which
has shown them, th&t there are higher and better
things to live for, than the attainment of wealth
or the ambition of conquest.
32. THE DEATH OP SOCRATES.
" And because right is right, to follow right
Were wisdom, in the scorn of consequence."
TENNYSON.
ONE of the most familiar figuies in Athens at this
time was that of Socrates, and the story of his
life and death, thrills us with interest to-day. His
youth and manhood were passed in the most
splendid period of Athenian history. Pericles was
making the city beautiful ; men were writing poetry
and history, as they had never been written since
the world began ; art and sculpture ranked high
in that period of genius. As a boy, Socrates re-
ceived the usual education in music and gym-
nastics ; he learnt a little science and mathematics,
and understood something of astronomy.
But his greatness did not spring from his learn-
ing, rather it sprang from his thoughtfulness, and
his close observation of his fellow-men. He was V
man who hated everything sham, or hollow. He
loved truth 'and justice for their 1 own sake; he
loved all that was high, and honourable, and right.
He was a well-known figure in Athens, for all day
"Sotrates was a well-known figure in Athens"
112 TRUTH AND JUSTICE. [B.C. 469-399,
long, he wandered about the streets, now talking
with a group of clevar men at one of the corners,
now speaking to the children, who might care to
listen, now arguing with his devoted pupils and
disciples.
This great Socrates was strange enough to look
at. He was very ugly, with a flat nose and pro-
minent eyes, and he was dressed very shabbily,
because he was always poor. When the men of
Athens turned on him at the last, and brought
him up for trial, 4 was all he had to offer for
his life. Wealth, beauty, prai>e, these things he
despised as unworthy. Truth, justice, courage,
honour, these were the things, that made a man
acceptable to his God.
Here is the account of him by his great friend.
" At one time we were fellow-soldiers together,"
he says. " His fortitude in enduring cold was sur-
prising. There was a severe frost, for the winter
in that region is really tremendous ; and everybody
else either remained indoors, or if they went out,
had on an amazing quantity of clothes, and were
well shod and had their feet swathed in felt and
fleeces ; in the midst of this, Socrates, with his
bare feet on the ice and in his ordinary dress,
marched better than the other soldiers who had
shoes, and they looked daggers at him because
he seemed to despise them."
Such was the man who stood head and shoulders
above his fellows. Let us look at him when he is an
B.C. 469-399.] SOCRATES AND f LYSIS. 113
old man still discoursing, in the streets of Athens.
This time he is speaking to tw*o little schoolboys on
friendship. He has just been brought into a newly
built school.
"Having come in," he says, " we found the
boys all in their white array, and games at
dice were going on among them. There was
also a circle of lookers - on : among them was
Lysis. He was standing with the other boys
and youths, having a crown upon his head, like
a vision, and not less worthy of praise for his
goodness than for his beauty. We went over
to tlie opposite side of the room, where we
sat down and began to talk. This attracted
Lysis, who was constantly turning round to
look at us he was evidently wanting to come
to us/ 3
Presently Lysis and a boy friend came and sat
down by the old man, and Socrates began talking
to them.
*
"Which of you two youths is the elder ?" he
asked.
" That is a matter of dispute between us," answered
one of the boys.
" And which is the nobler ? Is that also a matter
of dispute ? "
"Yes, certainly/' they answered.
" And another disputed point is, 'which is the
fairer ? "
The two boys laughed.
H
114 THE TKIAJL OF SOCRATES. [RO. 399.
" I do not ask which is the richer of the two,"
he said, "for you aie friends, are you not?"
" Certainly," they replied.
" And friends have all things in common, so that
one of you can be no richer than the other, if you
say truly that you are friends."
In this way the wise old man talked to the
boys. But as time went on, the men of Athens did
not approve of his teaching. He talked as if there
were higher things than sacrificing to the Greek
gods, and the Greeks grew alarmed.
The trial and death of Socrates, as it, has been
written by his beloved pupil Plato, is one GI the
masterpieces even to-day in the world's history. He
tells, how Socrates appeared before his judges, the
men of Athens, to answer the charges against him-
self, and it gives the words of that wonderful defence.
Socrates begs for his life, not for his own sake, but
for theirs : he is their heaven-sent friend, though
they know it not. He is an old man already, and
the Athenians will gain nothing by taking away
from him the few years of life remaining. But
they can acquit him or condemn him, he is will-
ing to die many deaths for the cause he feels to
be right.
And the men of Athens condemned him to die.
Fearlessly he speaks to his judges of death.
" Be of good cheer about death," he cries to the
crowded court, cf and know of a certainty that no
evil can happen to a good man, either in life, or
B.C. 399.] DEATH OF SOCJRATES. 115
after death. The hour of departure has arrived
and we go our ways I to 1 die and you to live.
Which is better, God only knows."
Every touching detail of the last hours of the
master is carefully told by his faithful pupil
Plato.
The sun was just setting upon the hills behind
Athens, when Socrates took the cup of poison,
which was to end his seventy years of work.
Friend after friend broke down, and sobs of strong
men filled the room as the Greek philosopher lay
dying.
" What is this strange outcry ? " he asked at last.
" I have be^n told that a man should die in peace.
Be quiet, then, and have patience."
And so he died, "of all the men of his time, the
wisest and justest and best."
33. RETREAT OP THE TEN THOUSAND.
" A march in the ranks hard-pressed and the road unknown.' 1
W. WHITMAN.
SOCRATES was dead, and the brilliant period, which
had made Athens the mistress of Greece, was dead
too. Pericles had foreseen truly that sooner or
later there must be war between Athens and Sparta.
It was well for him that he died before the result of
that war was known ; for the fall of his beautiful
116 EXPEDITION OF CYRUS. [B.C. 401.
city, which took place during the lifetime of Socrates,
would have broken hik heart. After a long war the
Spartans took formal possession of Athens ; but to
accomplish this, they had called in the help of the
Persians.
And so it came to pass, when the Persians wanted
help, they called in the help of the Spartan Greeks.
It is a wonderful story, how ten thousand Greeks
inarched into the very heart of the Persian empire,
and a yet more wonderful one of their retreat.
The expedition started two years before the death
of Socrates. It was led by Cyrus, the, younger
brother of the reigning King of Persia, who wished
to make himself king instead. But the, true object
of the expedition was kept secret from the Greek
soldiers.
Marching inland through Asia Minor, they skirted
the north of Phoenicia and marched on till they
reached the river Euphrates. Here it was im-
possible to keep from the Greeks, the secret, that
they were indeed inarching against the King of
Persia. To the complaining army, which had been
so deceived, Cyrus was full of promises. Each
soldier should receive a year's pay, and "to each
of you Greeks, moreover/' added Cyrus, " I shall
present a wreath of gold."
This speech impressed the Greeks favourably, and
they agreed t6 go on. They now plunged into the
desert, " smooth as a sea, treeless," but alive with
all kinds of beasts strange to the Greek eyes
B.C. 401.] TEN THOUSAND 1 GREEKS. 117
wild asses, ostriches, and antelopes. For thirteen
days they tramped through the desert, until they
reached the edge of the land of Babylon.
And now they learned that the king's host was
advancing. It was not long before the two armies
were engaged in battle. But though the King of
Persia was well prepared, and had a strong force
of Egyptians to help him, the Greeks won the
victory. The Persians were flying before them,
when suddenly Cyrus caught sight of his brother,
the brother whom he hated with his whole soul.
He galloped forward, hoping to slay him with his
own hand. He got near enough to throw his
javelin and wound him, but in the scuffle that
ensued Cyrus was slain.
The Greeks were now in the heart of Persia, girt
about by foes on every side their leader dead, their
cause destroyed. Their one great desire was to get
home. But they had no food, and they did not
know the way. The king now pretended he would
send a guide who would take them safely back to
their own country ; but treachery was at work, and
the Greeks were deserted when they were yet eight
months' march, by the shortest way from home.
Rivers and desert land lay before them ; Persian
troops were waiting to fall on them. They were in
despair. Few ate any supper that Anight; every
man lay down to rest, but not tp sleep, for they
were heavy with sorrow, and longing for those
they might never see again.
118 THE COURAGE OF XENOPHON. [B.C. 400.
Amid the ranks was a young Athenian called
Xenophon. He had been a pupil of Socrates. 1 That
night he had a dream which made him spring up at
dawn.
"Why am I lying here?" he cried to himself.
" At daybreak the enemy will be upon us and we
shall be killed."
He called the officers together ; he urged im-
mediate action. His speech put new life into the
despairing men ; they swore to obey him, and so
began one of the most wonderful marches the world
has ever seen. They went on till they cariie to the
mountains, where dwelt some wild tribes, who stood
on steep heights shooting arrows and throwing down
stones at them. After much suffering and loss of
life, they reached Armenia. It was December, and
their way home lay through wintry snows and
ice. On and on plodded the Ten Thousand ; cold
and hunger was their lot, but home lay before them,
and encouraged by their young leader Xenophon,
they would reach Greece yet.
Suddenly, one day, a great cry arose from those in
front. Xenophon, who was behind with the rear,
galloped up quickly, fearing an enemy. As fresh
men galloped to the front, the cry increased.
" The sea ! the sea ! " cried the Greeks, as they
reached the summit of a hill and saw in the dis-
i *
tance the blue Caters. The sight of the sea was
to the weary men, as the sight of home. Their
1 See chapter 33.
B.C. 399.] RETREAT OF THE GREEKS. 119
troubles would soon be over now, and they wept
on each other's necks for very joy. It was only
the Black Sea, and they had many long miles yet
to march.
Now that the danger of attack was over, the
army began to loose its strength of union, and
Xenophon had all he could do to keep it together.
Notwithstanding Xenophon's entreaties, the Ten
Thousand, now reduced in numbers, fell away from
the brave beginnings. They plundered the country
through which they passed, and at last Xenophon
handed them over to a Spartan general to take
charge of them.
Then Xerophon returned to Athens, and settling
in a quiet country place near Olympia, he wrote the
account of the Retreat of the Ten Thousand, and it
is due to his industry and talent, that we know
the famous story of their wonderful march.
34. THE STORY OF ROMULUS AND REMUS.
"The troubled river knew them,
And smoothed his yellow foam,
And gently rocked the cradle
That bore the fate of Rome."
MACAULAY.
GOING westward from Greece, another peninsula
stretches down into the Mediterranean Sea. In
shape it is something like a long leg, and at the
120 ROMULtfS AND REMUS.
lower end, lies the island of Sicily, which resembles
a foot. We have alre&dy heard something of Sicily,
and seen how the Greeks had colonies there. There
is also the old story of how JSneas escaped from
the siege of Troy, carrying on his back his aged
father, and how, after years of adventures, he
landed on the shores of Italy and built the city
of Alba Longa, where for hundreds of years his
descendants lived.
At the end of this time so runs the old legend
there was a king called Numitor. He had a
brother, Amulius, who drove hftn from the throne,
slew his daughter, and seized her two baby sons.
Amulius then gave orders, that the babies should be-
thrown into the river Tiber, which flowed through
the city. Now the Tiber had overflowed its banks,
and when the waters began to subside the cradle
containing the twin babies was left high and dry,
on the shallow ground, at the foot of the Palatine
Hill.
p
There, says the story, they were found by a
shepherd. He was walking by the river, when he
saw a cradle lying under a fig-tree, and beside the
cradle, stood a large wolf. She had taken care of
the children, but now she ran away into the woods
and the shepherd carried the babies home to his
wife. She named them Romulus and Remus, and
brought them 'up as shepherds.
So in this home at the foot of the Palatine
Hill the boys grew to manhood, they grew also
B.c. 753.] FOUNDATION 0* HOME. 121
very strong and brave. One day, as years went
on, they discovered their oiigin, that they were
the grandsons of Numitor, who had been dethroned
by his brother. So the twins arose, collected an
army, drove away Amulius, and brought their
grandfather back to Alba Longa. They then re-
solved to build a new city for themselves, on one
of the seven low hills, beneath which ran the
yellow river Tiber.
But Remus wanted to build on one hill and
Romulus on another. Their grandfather advised
them each to stand on a hill, and whichever of
them saw the greatest number of vultures flying,
he should build the city on his chosen hill. Remus
saw six vultures, but Romulus saw twelve from
the Palatine Hill, so that was made the beginning
of the new city, and Romulus was chosen king.
Yoking together a white cow and a snow-white
bull to a ploughshare, he drew a furrow around the
Palatine and began to build the walls of the city.
But Remus was angry with him, and before the
walls had reached his own height he jumped over
them, mocking as he did so. He was immediately
slain, while Romulus cried, " So perish all who dare
to climb these ramparts."
He called the name of the city Rome, after him-
self, and lived in a mud hovel, covered with thatch
in the midst of it.
This was in the year 753, and the Romans count
their history from this date, just as the Greeks
122 EARLY ROME, [B.C. 753.
count theirs from the beginnings of the Olympic
games.
Under Romulus the population of the new city
grew apace, partly because he allowed it to be a
refuge for runaway slaves and murderers. He
made laws and appointed a senate a body of
elderly men to help him with the government. It
was this Romulus, too, who divided the year into
ten months, the first being March, named from
Mars, the god he delighted to honour. But his
successor added two more, making January the first
month, after the god Janus, to \vhom he had built
a temple.
This was how Rome began, that Pome which
was to play such an immense part in the world's
great history Rome, the Eternal City; Rome,
the City of the Seven Hills ; Rome, long ago, the
Mistress of the World.
35. HOW HOBATIUS KEPT THE BRIDGE.
" With weeping and with laughter
Still is the story told,
How well Horatius kept the bridge
In the brave days of old."
MACAULAY.
STILL in the shadow-land of history, a family called
Tarquin came to live in Rome. Their father, a
B.C. 508.] THE GREEKS IN ROME. 123
wealthy merchant, had come from Greece, bringing
with him some of the artists* and sculptors, whose
genius had made his Greek home so beautiful.
Tarquin married an Italian lady and made great
friends with the king, at whose death he became
King of Rome himself.
So a Greek ruled over Rome. This Tarquin was
the first Roman king to wear a purple robe and
crown of gold, and he planned a sort of little
Olympia, in the plain below the city, where games
could be played and chariot-races run. For over a
hundred* years, the* Tar quins ruled over Rome, and
tKey did a great deal for the city, by introducing
what they had learnt in Greece. But after a time
the Romans rose against them. They dethroned
the last of the Tarquins and elected two consuls
instead.
Tarquin fled to a great and powerful king
called Lars Porsena, who collected an army and
marched with him to Rome to help him regain
his lost kingdom. But the Romans had a brave
citizen called Horatius, and the legend says he
defended the bridge over the Tiber and so saved
Rome.
This is the story : While Lars Porsena and his
huge army were on the march to Rome, laying
waste the country, through which they passed, the
consul of Rome and the Fathers of the City were
holding a hurried council before the River Gate.
124 TARQTJIN'S ATTACK ON ROME. [B.C. sos,
" The bridge must be destroyed," said the consul.
"Nothing else can save the town."
" Just then a scout came flying,
All wild with haste and fear :
4 To arms ! to arms ! Sir Consul :
Lars Porsena is here/ "
On the low hills to the westward, the great army
could be seen. Louder and louder sounded the
trumpet's war-notes, while in broken gleams shone
the long array of bright helmets and glittering
spears. Under the royal standard Lars Porsena
himself sat in his ivory car. The Roman consul
grew very grave.
" ' Their van will be upon us
Before the bridge goes down ;
And if they once may win the bridge,
What hope to save the town ? '
Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate :
'To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odd*,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his Gods.
1 Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul,
With all the speed ye may;
I, with two more to help me,
Will hold the foe in play.
In yon strait path a thousand
May ^>ell be stopped by three.
Now ".vho will stand on either hand,
And keep the bridge with me ] ' "
B.o. 508,] MACAULAY S, LAY. 125
Two Romans stepped forth at once and offered to
help, and the dauntless thr^e went forth against
the mighty army of Lars Porsena.
" Now while the Three were tightening
Their harness on their backs,
The Consul was the foremost man
To take in hand an axe :
And Fathers, mixed with Commons,
Seized hatchet, bar, and crow,
And smote upon the planks above,
And loosed the props below."
On came the great host, laughing at the thought
of three" men keeping the bridge against them.
Three chiefs with swords and shields came forward
to fight, but in a few minutes they all three lay
[lead at the feet of Horatius and his two friends.
Forward came another three, but only to meet
with the same fate. The laughter died away,
and for a time, none dared venture forth against
these brave Hornans.
" But meanwhile axe and lever
Have manfully been plied ;
And now the bridge hangs tottering
Above the boiling tide.
' Come back, come back, Horatius ! '
Loud cried the Fathers all.
( Back, Lartius ! back, Herminius !
Back, ere the ruin fall 1 '
Bade darted Spurius Lartius ; ,
Herminius darted back : ,
And, as they passed, beneath tjieir feet
They felt the timbers crack.
126 THE TRIUMPH OF HORATIUS. [B.C. 508.
But when they turned their faces,
And on the farther shore
Saw brave Horatius stand alone,
They would have crossed once more.
But with a crash like thunder
Fell every loosened beam,
And, like a dam, the mighty wreck
Lay right athwart the stream.
And a long shout of triumph
Rose from the walls of Rome,
As to the highest turret-tops
Was splashed the yellow foam."
Alone stood Horatius thrice 30,000 foes before
and the broad flood behind. His foes besoaght him
to yield, but he took no notice. He looked beyond
the rushing river, to the white porch of his home, on
the Palatine Hill, and then he cried to the river
that rolls by the towers of Rome
" ' Oh, Tiber ! father Tiber !
To whom the Romans pray,
A Roman's life, a Roman's arms,
Take thou in charge this day.' "
With these words he plunged headlong into the
fiercely flowing river. Not a sound of joy or sorrow
rose from either bank. All watched in breathless
silence the brave man's struggles. Suddenly they
saw his helmet appear above the foaming waters,
and a shout of delight arose from the Romans
" ' Heaven help him ! ' quoth Lars Forsena,
' And ^ring him safe to shore ;
For such a gallant feat of arms
Was never seen before.' "
B.O. 496.] AN OLD ROMAIC STORY. 127
Horatius reached home in safety, and amid weep-
ing and clapping he was borne through the gate
of Rome by the joyous crowds. They erected a
golden statue of their hero and wrote his deed
in letters of gold.
36. CORIOLANUS.
" O my mother, mother ! O
You have won a happy victory to Rome :
But, for your son " . . .
&HAKSPERE.
HERE is oije more story of the old Roman days,
before the true history of Rome begins. It is the
story of a man, who became a traitor to his country,
which was only saved by his mother's tears.
When Coriolanus was a boy he was called Caius
Mfrrcius. His mother brought him up in Rome, to
be all that a boy ought to be, brave and honour-
able and true. He was also strong, and could run
so fast, that none could compare with him. He
first fought in the battle of Lake Regillus, said
to have been won by the twin gods Castor and
Pollux on their snow - white steeds. For his
bravery he received a crown of oak-leaves, though
only sixteen at the time.
There was a tribe of people living* some way from
Rome who had a quarrel with tlie Romans. They
were known as Volscians. Against one of their
128 A YOUNG ROMAK. [B.C, 493.
towns, called Corioli, the Romans now marched,
and among them was the young Caius Marcius.
He fought so well, that it was mainly due to him,
that the town was taken. Wherever the fight was
thickest, there was the young Roman. At last he
was badly wounded. The soldiers begged him to
go to his tent that his wounds might be dressed,
and rest.
" It is not for conquerors to be tired," he cried,
and went on fighting.
The fighting over, and the town of Corioli taken,
the Roman consul made a speech to the army,
praising the gallant deeds of Caius Marcius.
" Of all the plunder we have gained we will give
the tenth part to Caius Marcius," he said, " for he
has well deserved it."
He then crowned him and gave him the surname
of Coriolanus in honour of his victory. Coriolanus
refused all reward ; he only asked for the freedom
of a friend who had been taken prisoner.
3oon after this, there was a great famine in
Rome. During the wars, no one had tilled the
land, and there was no corn, except what was
brought from Sicily.
One day a large shipload of corn arrived from
Sicily ; Coriolanus stood up in the Senate and pro-
posed withholding it from the people. The people
were furious.
" Coriolanus would take from us this foreign corn,
which is our only chance of getting bread for our
B.C. 491.] BANISHMENT OF COBIOLANUS. 129
children/' they cried, " unless we give up our power
of voting for laws. He will iflake us slaves or force
us to die of hunger."
They tried to kill Coriolanus, and the Senate
ordered that he should be tried. He was tried and
condemned to exile. He must leave Rome and
never return.
In vain he pleaded that he loved his country.
The people were firm. He must go. Then the
love of Coriolanus for Rome turned to hate, and
with the fierce words, " There is a world elsewhere/'
he left tlrem. *
"He went straight to the country of the Volscians,
and entering the house of the warrior chief, he sat
down by the fire and covered his face with his
cloak. At last he spoke.
" I am Caius Marcius," he said, " the man who
has done so much to harm you. The ungrateful
people of Rome have driven me away from their
city. I come to ask you to let me join you against
the Romans."
The warrior was greatly surprised ; but the
Volscians were delighted to have Coriolanus,
and very soon they led a large army against
Rome.
When the Romans heard that the banished
Coriolanus was in command of an army of the
Volscians within five miles of Rorfie, they were
very much alarmed. They sent friends of his
men he once loved to plead with him for his
130 COBIOLANUS AND HIS MOTHER. [B.C. 488.
native city ; but Coriolanus told them unless they
would give up a large piece of land to the Volscians
he would fight.
Again the Romans sent messengers to plead with
him. But in vain. He would not relent. He in-
tended to have his revenge on Rome. At last the
Romans thought of a last resource. They remem-
bered the love that Coriolanus had always borne
his mother, and they now begged her to go to
him and beg him to spare Rome.
Taking one of her little grandsons by the hand,
accompanied by her daughter-in-law leading the
other, and followed by a band of Roman women,
Volumnia stood, one day, before her exiled son
Coriolanus. In pitiful terms she told him of Rome's
unhappiness at his action ; she spoke of her own
misery at his fall and plan of revenge ; she re-
minded him of his upright youth, his honour, and
his old love for her. Kneeling at his feet, the two
women and the children entreated him to spare
Rome. The proud man was touched. What the
other messengers could not do these Roman women
had accomplished.
" Oh mother, mother ! what have you done ? " he
cried, gently raising her up. " You have saved
Rome, but lost your son. I go, conquered by you
alone."
The women carried the glad news back to
Rome, and Coriolanus led his army back to the
Volscians. But they were angry at his having
132 MACEDONIA. [B.C. 356.
made peace with their enemies, and they arose
and killed him.
So Coriolanus died, and the Romans built a
temple on the spot where Volumnia had knelt to
him.
37. ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
"Men are but children of a larger growth.' 1
1 )RYDEX.
WHILE Rome is struggling into existence, while
Carthage is growing in power oil the opposite coast
of Africa, let us take a look at a newly growing
nation to the north of Greece, which threatened
for a time the whole existing world. The story
of this nation, which was known as Macedonia, is
really the story of Alexander the Great, for it was
due to his greatness alone, that Macedonia became
the power she was.
Some two hundred miles to the north of Athens,
lay the little mountainous country of Macedonia.
It was of little or no importance in the then known
world, until a king called Philip arose, who in the
year 356 B.C. had a son called Alexander. Philip
boasted his descent from Hercules, while his wife
traced her lineage back to the hero Achilles, so
that in the boy Alexander two lines of ancient
northern kings were joined.
One story survives of Alexander's boyhood, which
B.C. 344.] ALEXANDER AND HIS HORSE. 133
shows what stuff he was made of. A vicious horse
was one day brought before King Philip in a field
where he was standing with his wife and son.
But the animal seemed so fierce and unmanageable,
rearing high when the grooms tried to mount it,
that Philip bade them take it away.
" What an excellent horse they are losing for
want of skill and spirit to manage him," said the
boy Alexander several times, until his father turned
to him, saying, " Young man, you find fault with
your elders, as if you could manage the horse
better."
*" a I could manage this horse better than others
do," answered the boy.
" And if you do not," said his father, " what will
you pay for your rashness ? "
" I will pay the whole price of the horse," he
answered bravely.
At this the whole company laughed, but Alex-
ander ran at once to the horse. Laying hold of
the animal's bridle, he turned him first to the
sun, for he noticed how the strong shadow dis-
turbed the animal. Then letting him go forward
a little, still keeping the reins in his hand and
stroking him gently, when he found him beginning
to grow fiery, he let fall his upper garment softly
and with one nimble leap, securely mounted him.
When he was seated, he drew in the bridle and
curbed him gradually, without striking him. Then
he let him go at full speed, urging him on with
134 "MACEDONIA is uoo SMALL FOR THEE." [B.C. 343.
a commanding voice and touching him with his
heel.
The king and assembled company looked on, in
silent anxiety, till they saw the boy riding the
horse back in triumph. Then they all burst out
in loud applause, and his father kissed him with
tears in his eyes as he cried
in his joy, " my son, look
thee out a kingdom equal
to thyself, for Macedonia is
too small for thee/'
Philip now sent for Aristotle, the most learned
and celebrated philosopher of his time, to come
and teach his son, who was now thirteen. Aristotle
had been the pupil of Plato, from whom he must
have learnt much of Socrates, Plato's beloved
master. Such a man, then, as this Aristotle
whose works are read and taught everywhere to-
day was likaly to train the mind of this ex-
ceptional boy to 1 the very best advantage.
A story is 'told, that Aristotle taught several
B.C. 343.] ARISTOTLE'S JPUPIL. 135
princes, as well as Alexander, in the school by the
shady Grove. One day he tsaid to one of these
kings' sons, " When, some day, you become king,
what favour do you think you will show me, your
teacher ? "
"You shall dine at my table, and I will make
all show you honour and respect/' answered the
boy.
"And you ? " he inquired of another.
" I will make you my chief treasurer/' answered
the next.
Then Jburning to* Alexander he said, " And you,
my son, what do you propose to do with me, your
old teacher^ when you come to sit on the throne
of your father ? "
" What right have you to ask me of the future ? "
answered the boy. " As I have no knowledge of
the morrow, I can only say, that when the day
aiifl hour is come, then I will give you your
answer."
" Well said/' cried his master, "well said, Alex-
ander, world-monarch, for thou wilt one day be the
greatest king of all."
And Aristotle was right.
136 " ALEXANDER IS KING/' [B.C. 340.
38. KING 'OP MACEDONIA.
" My son, thou art invincible." DELPHIAN ORACLE.
WHEN he was but sixteen years old, Alexander had
his first experience of public affairs ; for in the
summer of this year, 340, Philip set out on an ex-
pedition, leaving his young son " in charge of affairs
and of the seal." Alexander made better use of his
time than his father ; for where Philip had failed,
his son succeeded beyond all expectation,, in sub-
duing a restless mountain tribe. His influence
now grew rapidly, and the Macedonian^ murmured
already, " Alexander is king."
But a family quarrel arose ; hot words passed
between Alexander and his father. There was a
scene, in which the king sprang on his son with
drawn sword; but he fell down before he reached
him, and Alexander's taunt has passed into history.
"'Here is a man," he cried scornfully, "who has
been preparing to cross from Europe into Asia, but
he has been upset in crossing from one couch to
another."
After this, Alexander and his mother left the
country. But not for long. Before the year was
out Philip was dead killed by an assassin and
Alexander wai king of Macedonia.
He was surrounded by enemies on all sides.
Now, since the days of Socrates, when Athens
B.C. 336.] ADVICE OF DEMOSTHENES. 137
was at the height of her glory, Greece had suffered
greatly from her want of unity. She had been torn
by her small wars, and even the common danger of
Persia had not brought her union. Now there was
another common danger, but the Greeks were slow
to realise it. There was one Greek citizen, how-
ever, who saw more clearly than the rest, how
yearningly the eyes of Philip were turned towards
Greece.
" Let the Greeks cease their quarrels with one
another and unite to preserve the liberty, which is
their birthright, against the despot who seeks to
ettslave them all."
Such was % the cry of Demosthenes, this far-seeing
man the most famous orator Greece ever had.
But he cried to the people in vain. Philip came
down to Greece, and it was not long before her
liberties were crushed and she became a province of
Macedonia. Now, Philip was dead, and the Grecian
states hoped to shake off the yoke of Macedonia.
Demosthenes was seen in the streets of Athens,
wearing a garland about his head and dressed
in white, as for a holiday, for he knew the enemy
of Athens was dead, and he did not know, that
Alexander would be a greater conqueror, than his
father had been.
The new young King of Macedonia, though full
of foreign schemes, first turned his attentions to
Greece. He marched south to Corinth. City after
city in Greece submitted to the new and powerful
138 EAST AND WEST. [B.C. 334.
King of Macedonia, until with the fall of Thebes,
the last Grecian town to hold out, Alexander's
campaign in Europe was at an end. The rest of
his life was spent in Asia.
The world toward which Alexander had set his
face, and which he was now preparing to enter, was
the great old world of the East that world which
was great long before Greece and Rome that
world which was being left utterly behind, in the
great march of mankind forwards.
The boundary between Asia and Europe has
always been a rigid one. It was tha same in the
days of Alexander as it is to-day. The continents
are divided by customs, dress, homes, and faith
differences that thousands of years have never suc-
ceeded in altering ; for the difference of East and
West abides in the very heart of things.
To unite the East and West was the dream of
Alexander's life that is to say, he tried to do what
has not been done even to-day. He wanted to
conquer the great old world, to teach the men of
the East about Greece, to tame the old world and
bring it into order. He did not succeed in doing
this, but he did succeed in a great deal that he set
out to do.
B.C. 334.] ACROSS THE HELLESPONT. 139
39. CONQUEST OP ' THE EAST.
" See the conquering hero comes,
Sound the trumpet, beat the drums."
NATH. LEE, Alexander the Great.
BEFORE starting forth on his great expedition,
Alexander divided his royal forests and domains
among his friends, as though he expected never
to return.
"And what is left for yourself?" asked one of
these friends. J
* " Hope/' was the fine answer.
"Then," c\ried the friend, rejecting his portion of
the land, " we who go forth to fight with you need
share only in your hope."
Such was the enthusiasm with which Alexander
left his country.
The Persian empire was very weak at this time,
and governed by a feeble monarch. Two genera-
tions had passed away since Xenophon had led his
famous Ten Thousand into the heart of the country.
Alexander had no doubts as to his being able to
conquer it. He soon reached the Hellespont, or,
as we now call it, the Dardanelles, and steering
with his own hands the flagship across the narrowest
spot, where one hundred and forty-six years before,
Xerxes had stretched his famous bridge of boats,
he was the first to leap ashore. ' He had already
hurfed a spear into the soil from the prow of the
140 ALEXANDER'S VICTORY. [B.C. 334.
ship, where, in full armour, he stood. While the
mighty Greek army \\as crossing the narrow water,
in the one hundred and sixty triremes hired for
the purpose, Alexander was hurrying to Troy, to
honour the memory of the heroes, who were buried
there, to crown with a garland the gravestone of
his forefather Achilles, and to sacrifice to Athena.
This episode shows how imbued Alexander was
with Greek traditions indeed, it is said, he always
carried with him a copy of Homer's works, so much
did he admire the old blind poet of Greece.
Meanwhile the Persian troops were encamped on
the farther bank of a little river, and it was neces-
sary to fight in the gate of Asia, as it were, for an
entrance. The day was far advanced when Alex-
ander made up his mind to attack. His old general
advised him to wait till morning broke to cross the
river.
" I should be ashamed," cried the young king,
" having crossed the Hellespont, to be detained by
this paltry little stream. If I halt now, the Per-
sians will take courage and flatter themselves they
are a match for the Macedonians."
Sending on some of his cavalry to engage the
enemy, Alexander, in his glittering armour, mounted
his horse, called to his men to remember their valour,
and while the trumpets blared, and the war-cry
echoed far, he plunged into the stream. Showers
of arrows fell on them as they struggled through
the water, while the Persians hurled javelins down
B.C. 334.] STORY OF THE GOF-DIAN KNOT. 141
on them from the opposite banks. But at last they
gained the muddy bank on the farther shore, and
with spears attacked the foe. Alexander was in
the thick of the fight, his large plume of white
feathers making him ever a marked man ; but he
gained a splendid victory and escaped without a
wound. Some of the Persian rugs and golden
goblets rich booty of his victory he sent home
to his mother ; three hundred suits of armour were
sent to Athens to be hung up in the Acropolis.
Alexander had now made his name. He was
but twenty- two, blae-eyed and golden haired, with
a clear white skin, and very beautiful to look on.
But, better than all this, he was frank and gener-
ous ; fear to him was unknown ; he was loyal to his
friends, and he was greatly beloved.
With the dust of battle still on him he led his
army forwards. Ephesus soon fell into his hands,
in 1 , gratitude for which, he helped to rebuild the
great temple of Diana, which had been destroyed
the day of his own birth. It was not long be-
fore the whole of Asia Minor had fallen into his
hands. There is a story told of him, when he was
at a place called Gordia, from which the saying
"Gordiaii knot" has been taken. On the hill
above the town, stood the royal palace of King
Midas, where stood a famous chariot to which the
yoke was fastened by the knotted boagh of a cornel-
tree. It was said that whoever could untie this
knot, should be lord of Asia. To the delight of all,
142 A CONQUERING HERO. [B.C. 332.
Alexander somehow managed to cut the knot and
so fulfil the prophecy.
It was spring-time when he dashed down over
some high mountains, to take possession of the
town of Tarsus. After a long ride in the burning
sun he bathed in the cool waters of a stream, which
brought on a violent chill, and nearly ended his
life. As soon as he was well enough, he dashed
onwards, for he knew that a large Persian host
was advancing against him. A magnificent host it
was. In the centre of it was the king in a high
and richly adorned chariot, wealing a purple mantle
trimmed with precious stones. He was surrounded
by a band of Immortals, in golden robes, carrying
silver-handled lances. Following him, in covered
chariots, were his mother, his wives and children,
six hundred mules and three hundred camels with
their luggage.
The Persians made sure of crushing Alexander
this time. But it was not to be. Alexander
gained another great victory ; the Immortals gave
way ; the king sprang from his chariot, mounted
a horse, and never rested till he was on the far
side of the river Euphrates. He had left his old
mother behind at the mercy of the victor.
Having conquered Asia Minor, Alexander pro-
ceeded to Phoenicia and took Tyre after a long
siege. Then he went down into Egypt.
B.C. 331.] FOUNDING OF ALEXANDRIA. 143
40. THE CONQUEST OF INDIA.
" Turn, and the world is thine."
KIPLING.
IT was now two and a half years since Alexander
had entered Asia. The fall of Tyre had given him
not only Syria, but Egypt too, and the command of
the sea, in this part of the Mediterranean. For
Egypt was not strong enough to withstand this
world-conqueror, so Alexander was crowned king at
Memphis, the old capital of the Pharaohs. Here he
held athletir* games and a contest of poets, to which
the most famous artists came over from Greece.
From Memphis he sailed down the river Nile and
founded a city, which is still called by his name,
Alexandria, the port of Egypt. The new lord of
Egypt and Syria, with the whole coast-land now
in his possession, then started for Persia once
more, for the Shah was again preparing to oppose
him.
A great battle was fought one of the greatest on
record of the ancient world. The Shah had once
more to ride breathlessly for his life, his army was
scattered to the winds, and thousands were made
captive.
It seemed, indeed, that Alexander was invincible.
Babylon submitted to him at once, Shushan, the
old capital, fell without a blow, and the victorious
144 MURDER OF CLITUS. [B.C. 327.
monarch marched ever forwards. The death of
the Shah of Persia put fresh power into his hands.
It was the task of his life to spread Greek ideas
in the East : the best way to do this seemed
to be, to become king of the East, according to
Eastern ideas. So he surrounded himself with
Eastern forms and pomp ; he married a Persian
wife ; he dressed in the white tunic, and wore
the Persian girdle, common to the great Eastern
rulers.
This change was highly unpopular with his
countrymen.
One night at a feast in one of the Persian foi-
tresses, Clitus, the foster-brother and dear friend
of Alexander, suddenly sprang up and began to
abuse the king. They had all been drinking the
strong wines of the country, and stung by the
taunts of Clitus, Alexander rose. He snatched a
spear, and in a sudden fury dashed it into his
foster-brother. Clitus sank to the ground dead.
An agony of remorse followed for Alexander ; for
three days he lay in his tent, neither sleeping nor
eating, till at last they roused him.
" Is this the Alexander, whom the whole world
looks to, lying here and weeping like a slave ? "
cried one of his friends, as he beheld the pros-
trate form of the king.
Alexander now turned his eyes towards India,
still to the outer world, an unknown land. Strange
stories of its wonders, had reached the Greek
B.C. 326.] KING PORUS. 145
invaders stories of monster ants, who turned up
gold-dust from the vast sand deserts ; stories of
men clothed in garments, made of plaited rushes,
like mats ; of trees that bore wool, instead of fruit ;
of lakes full of oil ; of giants, dwarfs, and palm-
trees that touched the skies.
Alexander and his army crossed the barriers of
the Hindu Rush mountains, and entered the plains,
through which flowed the river Indus. He had
again passed from one world into another, a world
which was to remain unknown for twenty centuries
after the- days of Alexander, until the discovery of
the Cape of Good Hope should open out a sea-path
to India.
Crossing the Indus by a bridge of boats, he found
himself in the district, now known as the Punjab,
where five rivers meet. On the opposite bank of
one of these rivers a powerful Indian king, named
Porus, disputed his advance. A battle was fought,
in which the sight and smell of the Indian elephants,
on which King Porus's men were mounted, frightened
the Persian horses. Finally, however, Alexander
won. The vanquished Indian king was brought
before him ; he was very tall and majestic, and his
bravery in battle had excited the admiration of
the king. He inquired of Porus how he would
wish to be treated.
" As a king," was the stern ansvfer.
"And have you no other request?" asked
Alexander.
146 ALEXANDER'S RETURN. [B.C. 324.
"No," answered Porus, " everything is included
in the word king."
So struck was he with this answer, that Alex-
ander restored him his kingdom.
It was soon after this battle, that Alexander lost
his beautiful horse Bucephalus, the one lie had
tamed as a boy, and which had carried him ever
since. The poor beast died of age and weariness,
and the king built a city, to its memory, on the
banks of the river; which monument survives to-
day the city of Jalalpur.
Alexander longed to press on, and se& all the
wonders of India and the great river Ganges, but
the Macedonians were weary of the mp.rch and ab-
solutely refused to go another step farther. Their
clothes were worn out, and they had to wrap their
bodies in Indian rags ; the hoofs of their horses
were rubbed away by the long rough marches;
their arms were blunted and broken. And the
king, with unexplored lands yet before him, had
to turn back.
He reached Babylon in the spring of 324, and at
once began to fortify it, as the capital of his new and
mighty empire. Here he held his court, seated on
the golden throne of the Persians, with a golden
canopy studded with emeralds and precious stones.
Here he received people from every known country.
Here he stood v at the highest point of glory, know-
ing not, how near the end was.
While he was preparing for the conquest of
B.C. 323.] DEATH OF ALEXANDER. 147
Arabia, he was taken with a violent fever ; he lay
in bed eagerly discussing tletails, b u t h e grew
rapidly worse. In the cool of one June evening,
while the fever was yet raging, they carried him
to the river and rowed him across to a garden
villa. As he grew worse they took him back to
the palace. One by one the Macedonian soldiers
filed past the bed of their young and dying king ;
he was too ill to speak to them. A few days
later, Alexander the Great lay dead at the early
age of thirty-three.
Into .thirteen ^ears he had compressed the
anergies of a lifetime, for in that short time he
had doubled the area of the world, as known to
the Greeks of his day.
41. ALEXANDER'S CITY.
Forward, backward, backward, forward, in the immeasurable sea,
Sway'd by vaster ebbs and flows than can be known to you
or me."
TENNYSON.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT was dead, and with his
death the mighty empire of the East, that he had
founded, crumbled away. But the city, called by
his name in Egypt, lived and thrived.
There is a curious story told aboi>t the founding
of Alexandria. The king had already staked out a
piece of ground on which to build his Grecian city
148 ALEXANDRIA, [B.C. 331.
when he had a dream. In his sleep he saw an old
grey-headed man, whom he recognised as Homer.
Standing over him the Greek poet said
" An island lies, where loud the billows roar,
Pharos they call it, on the Egyptian shore."
Alexander got up and went off to Pharos at once.
He found there a little island, at the mouth of the
river Nile, and at once saw how suitable a place
this was for a port. Here was a long neck of land
stretching, like an isthmus, between large lagoons on
one side, and the sea on the o^her. Hence there
was a harbour on the sea side, sheltered by the
island of Pharos, and one on the other ide, opening
to the Nile. The place seemed to be the meeting-
point of the whole Nile region, with the Medi-
terranean world.
The king ordered, that a plan of the city should
be marked out ; but the soil was black and they
had no chalk, so they laid out the lines with
flour. Suddenly a number of birds rose up from
the lagoons like a black cloud, and pecked up
every morsel of the flour. At first the king was
troubled ; but he soon took heart again when the
prophets told him that it was a sign, that the new
city would be the feeder of many nations.
So the city rose ; it was joined to the island of
Pharos, by a c&useway of a mile long, and its great-
ness, as a mart of * the world, must have far surpassed
the wildest dreams of Alexander. He had opened
B.C. 331.] LIGHTHOUSE AT' PHAROS. 149
up new channels of trade, and raised fresh wants
and fresh hopes for each country he conquered. In
the vast tracts of country through which he had
passed, he had founded Greek cities and colonies
peopled by Greeks, who taught the Eastern folk
something of trade and habits of industry.
Thus new articles of commerce, of which the
Western world knew nothing, were brought to
light ; a cotton tree was discovered, from which
paper could be made, shawls were created from
the hair of the goats found in Thibet, rice was
brought 'from Indul, and wine was made from the
juice of palms.
In the foundation of Alexandria the king showed
he was keenly alive to the value of commerce be-
tween Europe arid the East ; but more important
still, he was the first to see, that the command of
the sea, is necessary to the possession of land.
So vessels plied up and down the Mediterranean
Sea, backwards and forwards, bringing merchandise
to Alexandria, trading with Athens, with Carthage,
with Syracuse, with Rome, with the East, until the
city grew and grew. A wonderful lighthouse, of
white marble, was built on the island of Pharos,
four hundred feet high, which was reckoned among
the seven wonders of the world. 1 Fires were lit on
its summit to guide the vessels safely into port ;
and to-day a modern lighthouse Stands on the
same spot, flashing out its light far over the dark
1 fc>ee chapter 2.
150 SEASONS FOR SAILING.
waters, to guide the great steamers on their way
from Europe to India.
Heavy and round were the old ships, that were
used for the merchant service in those days. Many
a one might be seen in the port of Alexandria with
its single sail, its curly prow, and the eye painted
on either side to ward off ill-luck. Often enough
these ships were painted bright colours, blue,
purple, and red, and must have looked quaint
enough, as they put out to sea in the fine summer
weather. They could only sail for certain months
in the year.
" For fifty days before the end of the harvest is
the tide for sailing/' says an old writer < " then you
will not wreck your ship, nor will the sea wash
down your crew. In that season winds are steady
and ocean kind : with mind at rest, launch your
ship and stow your freight, but make all speed to
return home, and await not till the winter ap-
proaches and the terrible South wind stirs the
waves and makes the sea cruel/'
In the port of Alexandria too, as well as on the
seas, might be seen some of the Greek warships
known as triremes. They were built with three
rows of benches, one above another, on each bench
two rowers, so that sometimes there were as many
as one hundred and seventy rowers in the ship.
It was all tery different in those days to what
it is now, when no ship is rowed at sea, save near
B.C. 396.] THE GAULS. 151
the coast. Winter and summer, through night and
through day, the great steamships of all countries
ride the rough seas, carrying cargoes from one land
to another.
42. BACK TO ROME AGAIN.
"The Gaul shall come against thee
From the land of snow and night ;
Thou shalt give his fair-haired armies
To the raven and the kite."
MACAULAY.
WE left Rome struggling to assert herself above the
neighbouring tribes of Italy. But she had further
struggles before her, before she should be free
and great great enough to conquer even Greece
herself.
Some hundred years had passed away, since the
death of the traitor Coriolanus, and one Camillus
was now Dictator.
And now some new foes began to sweep down,
from the north, towards Rome. They were known
to the Romans, as the Gauls, a fierce and savage
people, who loved fighting. They were tall, strong
men with fair hair, unlike the dark Romans.
They dressed in bright colours, with gold collars
round their necks, carrying round shields and huge
broadswords. *
Over the Alps came these savage warriors, on
152 THE GAULS IN HOME. [B.C. 390.
and on towards Rome herself. No one had ever
seen the like of them jbefore, and the Romans grew
very much alarmed, when they heard the Gauls
shouting out their war - songs and clashing their
arms like barbarians.
A fight took place near Rome in which the Gauls
were victorious, and Brennus, the King of the
Gauls, led his rough army into Rome. To their
surprise they found the city empty. Terror had
seized the Romans. They had no hope of defend-
ing their city, so they made their way, with their
women and children, to the Capitol, a steep rocky
hill, defended with strong walls, the great national
temple of old Rome, where they hoped to be safe.
The city itself was empty save for a few infirm
and sick people, a little garrison, and eighty old
senators, who determined to sit still in the Forum
and await the foe. They were too old to flee ; they
thought if they sacrificed themselves to the gods,
the city would be saved. They dressed themselves
in their splendid robes of state, and sat down in
a row, with their ivory staves in their hands, on
their ivory chairs, to await what they knew must
be their end.
The savage Gauls burst into Rome. When they
came to the Forum they stood amazed, at the sight
of the eighty grand old men, sitting calm and still
in their chairs. One of the Gauls put out his hand
to touch one of the long white beards, but the old
man resented it and struck the rude soldier with
B,c. 390.] CAPTURE OF ROME. 153
his ivory staff. At this, the Gaul instantly drew
his sword, and killed the old Koman. Then the
slaughter began. The Gauls killed the old men,
plundered their houses, arid then attacked the
Capitol.
The Romans let them come half-way up, and then
hurled them down the steep rocks. As they could
not take the Capitol by force, the Gauls now laid
siege to it. Time went on and the brave Romans
were nearly starved, shut up in the lofty Capitol
and surrounded by their enemies. At last a
Ptoman made his way through the Gauls at night,
climbed the steep rock to the Capitol, and told
the weary garrison, that Camillus was coming with
an army to rescue them. Then he slid down the
rock and made his way back safely. But the
broken twigs and torn ivy, showed the Gauls, that
the Capitol had been scaled. What man had done,
map could do.
So King Brennus sent up some of his men by
night in twos ; they crept up silently, but just
as they came to the top, some geese began to
cackle and scream, and a Roman ran out, to see
what was the matter. There he saw a tall Gaul
standing on the wall, at the top of the rock.
Rushing at him, he struck him such a blow, that
knocked him right off the wall, and down the rocks,
and no other Gauls dared to climb up.
But in the end the Romans \fron ; for Camillus
arrived on the scene, defeated the Gauls, took their
154 ROMANS AND GREEKS. [B.C. 281.
camp, and not a man was left to carry back the
news to their own country.
So Rome shook herself free once more, and
Camillus was always known, as the second founder
of Home, for he had saved his city from the Gauls.
43. A GREAT CONFLICT.
" The Greek shall come against thee,
The conqueror of the East."
MACAULAY.
As the years rolled on, the power of Home grew
greater. While King Alexander was conquering
in the East, she was subduing tribe after tribe in
Italy. But still on the sea-coasts of the south,
there were many towns built by the Greeks, who
had sailed over the sea and settled there. Now
there was a quarrel between the Greeks of a city
called Tarentum and the Romans. The people of
Tarentum, unable to defend themselves against so
powerful a foe as Rome, sent to the mother country
for help.
One winter's night, in the midst of a boisterous
storm, the waves of the Mediterranean washed
upon the shores of Southern Italy a brave man.
He was more dead than alive, for he had thrown
himself overboard, from the prow of a royal Greek
ship, and had bSen sorely buffeted by the wind
and the waves. They had no respect for a royal
B.C. 281.] PYRRHUS, KING OF EPIRUS. 155
crown ; they knew not, that he was a king ruling
over a strong people, and tjiat he had left his
kingdom, with thousands of archers and footmen
and knights, together with a quantity of huge
elephants.
It was no less a person than Pyrrhus, king of
a part of Greece. He had taken Alexander the
Great as his model, and already conquered Mace-
donia. Hearing that his fellow-countrymen were
in trouble with the Eomans, he made up his mind
to go and help them. And this is how he came to
be voyaging in haiste to Italy, and how he came to
be shipwrecked on this winter's night.
Before hetstarted one of his counsellors asked the
king, what he should do, if lie beat the Romans,
who were reputed great warriors.
"The Romans overcome/' answered the king,
" no city would dare to oppose me, and I should be
master of all Italy."
"And Italy conquered, what next?" asked the
counsellor.
" Sicily next holds out her arms to receive us/'
he answered. " She is a wealthy and populous
island and easy to be gained."
" And what next ? " asked the counsellor again.
" There is Africa and Carthage," said the king.
" Then 1 should be able to master all Greece."
" And then ? " continued the counsellor.
" Then I would live at ease, *eat and drink all
day, and enjoy pleasant conversation."
156 VICTORY FOR GREECE. [B.C. 280.
"And what hinders you now, from taking the
ease, that you are planning to take, after so much
risk and bloodshed ? "
Pyrrhus could not answer this question. His
ambition to be like the great king, Alexander,
led him on.
Once landed on the shores of Italy, he marched
to Tarentum. There he found an idle colony of
Greeks, given up to pleasure. Pyrrhus soon shut
up their places of amusement and trained the
young men as soldiers.
A great battle took place. The Romans could
easily see, which was the Greek king, by hfs
splendid armour and scarlet mantle. So marked
was he, that presently he gave his glittering arms
and mantle to one of his officers, knowing well that
if he were killed, the Romans would easily win the
day. The battle was long and fierce. The officer
wearing the king's scarlet mantle was suddenly
killed. The Greeks thought that Pyrrhus was
killed and began to retreat. But the king threw
off his helmet, rode bareheaded through the ranks,
and rallied his soldiers.
Then he ordered a charge of the elephants. The
Romans had never seen these monsters in battle
before ; their horses were terrified in the same way
that Alexander's had been in the battle with Porus,
the Indian king, and they turned and fled in con-
fusion. When Pyrrhus looked at the field of battle,
and saw the Romans lying dead, with their faces to
B.C. 274.] VICTORY FOR .ROME. 157
the foe, he cried out, " Oh, how easy would it be
for me to conquer the world, if I had the Romans
for my soldiers."
The following year another great battle was
fought between the Greeks and Romans ; but the
Romans no longer feared the elephants in battle,
for they had learnt that these animals are afraid
of fire. They got ready bundles of sticks, dipped
in pitch, which they lighted and threw among
them. The elephants were terrified of the fire ;
they turned round and ran wildly about among the
Greeks, trampling down a great many and killing
more. So the battle ended ; Pyrrhus fled at once
from Italy jyid sailed away to Greece.
And Rome gloried in her victory. The houses
were decked with flowers ; every window was
filled with faces ; the streets were crowded to
see the great procession wending its way to the
Capitol. First in the procession, walked the
senators ; then, guarded by Roman soldiers, came
the spoils taken from the Greeks, piled high on
waggons beautiful pictures and statues, robes and
armour, were there ; together with all sorts of
things, made by the skilful Greeks and never even
seen by the simple Romans. Here, too, were the
great elephants, seen for the first time in the
streets of Rome.
There were soldiers of Greece too, the finest
foot-soldiers in the world ; and* at last came a
triumphal car, in which sat the Roman general, who
158 SICILY. [B.C. 274,
had gained this victory for his country. He wore
a splendid mantle, embroidered with gold, he was
crowned with a laurel wreath, and in his right hand,
he carried a laurel bough. Behind him rode his
officers, with laurel garlands, twisted round their
spears, singing the praises of their successful
general.
So the Romans mounted the steep way to the
Capitol, to give thanks to their god, for the
victory and deliverance from the Greeks.
44. THE ROMAN FLEET.
* Over the seas our galleys went,
With cleaving prows in order brave,
To a speeding wind and a bounding wave
A gallant armament."
R. BROWNING.
HARDLY had Pyrrhus turned his back for the last
time on Italy, when the first note of war, sounded
between the Romans, and the men of Carthage. It
came from that fair island the foot of Italy, the
Cyclops of the old Argonauts l Sicily. As Pyrrhus
disappeared from the Western world he had cried,
with his last breath, half in pity, half in envy,
" How fair a battlefield are we leaving to the
Romans and Carthaginians I "
The battlefield for the next hundred years was
1 See chapter 16.
B.C. 264-241.] THE FIRST PUNIC WAR. 159
to be Sicily. Sooner or later, all knew that the
struggle must come the struggle for power be-
tween these two great nations. It was not a
struggle for Sicily only, it was a contest for the
sea for possession of the blue Mediterranean, that
washed the shores of Italy, that carried the ships
of Carthage into every known port in Europe and
North Africa.
Theirs was the greatest of all islands, the island
of Sardinia; theirs the tiny Elba, with its won-
drous supply of metals ; theirs Malta, the outpost.
From the Altar of the Philense on the one side to
the Pillars of Hercules, on the other, stretched the
country of t-he Carthaginians, the richest land of
the ancient world. No wonder, then, they viewed
the growing power of Rome with distrust ; no
wonder they prepared for the struggle, which they
knew must come.
The Romans were not so well prepared. Up to
this time all their fighting had been by land, they
knew nothing of the sea. Great as soldiers, they
had not the enterprise, that had prompted the
sailors of Tyre and of Carthage, to enlarge the
bounds of the world, and to guide their home-made
ships, into unknown seas.
To the Romans, as to the Egyptians, the great
salt ocean, was an object of terror. But now the
time had come, when the Romans* must have a
navy. They had some of the old* triremes, such as
the Greeks used ; but they knew that the Cartha-
160 THE ROMAN FLEET. [B.C. 262.
ginians had newer and better ships at sea, than
these old triremes, with their three banks of oars.
One day, says an old story, a large ship from Car-
thage was washed ashore on the coast of Italy. It
was a war vessel with sails and five banks of oars.
The Romans set to work to copy it. Within sixty
days, a growing wood was cut down and built
into a fleet of a hundred ships on the new model.
While the hundred ships were building, it is said,
a large number of Roman landsmen were trained
to row on dry land, and in two months the new
fleet put to sea.
Never did ships sail under greater difficulties.
But with admirable pluck, the sea-si^k landsmen
pulled their oars, heedless of the starting timbers, of
the new unseasoned wood of their vessels. And
forth into the Mediterranean, went the Romans
against their new foes.
But the skill in naval warfare, which had taken
the Carthaginians years and years to learn, could
not be mastered by the men of Rome in a day.
They devised a new method of naval fighting, by
which they could board the enemy's ships and
fight hand to hand. It was a clumsy idea, but
they won their first sea-fight with the foe. They
put up a strong mast, on the front of each ship,
to which they lashed a kind of drawbridge, with
a sharp spike of strong iron at the end, not unlike
the long bill of a raven. When the enemy's ship
drew near, they would let this heavy drawbridge
B.C. 260.] SEA BATTLE AT MYL^E. 161
fall with a crash, on to the deck of the attacking
ship. The iron beak would pierce the planking,
and in a few moments the Roman sailors would
be on board the Carthaginian ships locked in a
hand-to-hand battle.
Off the coast of Sicily the Carthaginians met the
clumsy Roman fleet. They bore down upon it,
laughing at the strange appearance of the vessels
with uncouth masts, and wondering what w r as
hanging on to those masts. Confidently thirty
ships of Carthage advanced, their decks cleared
for action.
What was their surprise, then, to find them-
selves suddenly imprisoned, by the iron beaks,
which had excited their contempt, but a short time
before. Ptound swung the fatal raven, pinning the
ships together, while the Romans were leaping on
to their decks, and fighting them hand to hand.
After fifty of their ships of war had been destroyed
in this way, the remainder refused to fight any
more, and the Romans returned home, having won
their first naval victory over the greatest naval
Power, the world had yet seen.
A pillar was put up in the Forum, at Rome,
adorned with the brazen beaks of the Carthaginian
ships, which the clumsy skill of the Romans had
enabled them to capture.
162 APPEARANCE OF HAMILCAR. [B.C. 253.
45. HANNIBAL'S VOW.
" Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean roll ;
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain."
BYRON.
FIFTEEN years passed away and Rome and Car-
thage were still fighting for the mastery of the
sea. Since the victory of Mylao, the Roman
fleet had been beaten more than once, by the
Carthaginians these weather- .vise maste/s of the
sea.
It was about this time that one great man,
called Hamilcar, appeared on the scene at Car-
thage, and to him the Carthaginians entrusted
the command of their army. The war dragged
on listlessly, for another eight years, and then
Hamilcar made peace with the Romans. He con-
sented, on behalf of the Carthaginians, to give up
the island of Sicily to Rome ; but he had made
great plans of his own, by which he hoped that
his own country should yet retain the command
of the Mediterranean. Hamilcar had patience and
genius, he loved his country with true patriotism,
he hated the very name of Rome, and, moreover,
he had an infant son, whom he w r as bringing up
in the same spirit. This was the boy Hannibal,
who was to become one of the greatest men, the
world had ever seen.
B.C. 238.] THE BOY HANNIBAL. 163
And all the while, this Hamilcar was dreaming
of an empire in Spain an empire rich, powerful,
mighty, which should more than make up to the
Carthaginians for the loss of Sicily. Accompanied
by the fleet, he made his way slowly along the
north African coast, reached Gibraltar, and set
foot for the first time in Spain. With him was
his little nine-year-old son Hannibal.
There is an old story, which tells us, that Hamil-
car was sacrificing to the god of his country, before
starting forth to Spain, when he suddenly bade
his servants withdraw, while he asked the little
Hannibal, if he would like to go with him to the
wars. The boy eagerly said " Yes."
" Then/' said his father, " lay your hand on the
sacrifice and swear eternal hatred to Rome."
The little boy did as he was told, and right
faithfully through his whole life did he keep his
oath.
It was indeed into a land of promise that Hamil-
car and his little son now passed ; for the next
nine years he worked industriously. Under him
the gold and silver mines of Spain yielded double
their old value, which enabled him to collect a
Spanish army. He worked to carry out his mag-
nificent schemes, until he died a soldier's death in
battle, leaving his son-in-law, Hasdrubal, and his
young son Hannibal to fulfil his dying heritage,
of eternal hatred of Rome.
Hasdrubal enlarged the empire he had founded
164 HANNIBAL LEADS THE CARTHAGINIANS. [B.C. 218.
in Spain, giving it a capital in New Carthage. It
was an excellent harbour, and soon rose to rival
its namesake on the opposite coast. When Has-
drubal died some years later, Hannibal, now a man
of twenty-nine, was chosen as commander of the
Spanish army. He had already distinguished him-
self by fighting under his father, and he had not
forgotten his oath of revenge. He at once began
to prepare for war with Rome by taking a town
that had formed an alliance with Home. Then
the Romans sent messengers to Hannibal.
" We bring you peace or war/' they said. " Take
which you please."
" War/' was Hannibal's fierce answer And war
it was.
Hannibal retreated into winter quarters at New
Carthage and dismissed his Spanish troops to their
homes.
" Come back in the early spring," he said, " pnd
I will be your leader in a war, from which, both the
glory and the gain will be immense."
So the rival nations prepared for battle. The die
was now cast and the arena cleared for the fore-
most man of his race and his time, to show himself
the greatest military genius, that the world had
ever seen.
B.C. 218-202.] SECOND PUNIC WAR. 165
46. THE ADVENTURES OP HANNIBAL.
"Attempt not to acquire that, which may not be retained."
FOUNDERS OF CARTHAGE.
LEAVING Spain to the care of his younger brother
Hasdrubal, Hannibal set out from New Carthage,
with his Spanish troops, a number of horses, and
thirty -seven elephants set out to accomplish a
feat, which still fills the world with wonder and
admiration. Why he did not sail across the sea
from New Carthage to Italy, with a fleet, is not
known ; he preferred to scale the mountain passes,
which led him by land into the country he fain
would make his own. Over the high Pyrenees,
mountains which divide Spain from France, the
army started and marched up the valley of the
Ilhone. Crossing the river at a spot " nearly
four days' journey from the sea/' they soon found
themselves at the foot of the Alps.
The passes of these sharplv peaked mountains,
which soar high above the snow-line, have always
been the gate of traffic, between Italy and the rest
of Europe. To-day a railway runs right through
one of the passes and through the region of eternal
snow.
Hannibal's difficulties now began. The one track
over the mountains, was occupied in force by
mountaineers, but Hannibal found out that these
166 CLIMBING THE ALPS. [B.C. 218.
people always returned to their homes at night.
So when darkness fell, he took his most active
troops, and climbed up to the place, just left by
the mountaineers.
Next morning, the rest of the army followed,
winding slowly and painfully up the steep pass.
The path was very narrow, and many of the
horses and elephants lost their footing, and rolled
headlong down the precipices, carrying the baggage
with them. The whole army moved forward,
descending into a rich valley, where the natives
seemed friendly enough.
They now entered the narrow way, leading to
the main mountain wall of the Alps ; the one
barrier, that yet separated Hannibal from the
land of his hopes. Here the cliffs rose steeply
above them and the torrent foamed angrily below ;
but they pushed bravely on, till suddenly, stones
came thundering down, from the natives, on the
heights, and it seemed for a time, as if the whole
army must perish. Here, at the "white stone,"
which is still standing at the foot of the St
Bernard Pass, Hannibal stood to arms the whole
night through, while his army passed on upwards.
On the ninth day, they reached the top, and a
two days' rest was ordered. It was a sorry spot
on which to recruit. It was late in October,
snow lay thick on the peaks above, and the troops,
drawn from burning Africa and sunny Spain, shiv-
ered in the keen mountain air. Depression seized
B.C. 2i8.] HANNIBAL'S FEAT. 167
them. Their ranks were sadly thinned, and the
paths were getting more anpl more difficult, but
the enthusiasm of their leader remained the same.
In a few stirring words, he bid them keep up heart.
Below their feet lay Italy the land of their desire.
" You are climbing not the walls of Italy only, but
of Rome herself," cried Hannibal to his weary men.
" After one or two battles we shall have the capital
of Italy in our hands. Yonder," he cried, pointing
away to the fair horizon, where he saw, in his
mind's eye, the goal of all his hopes "yonder
lies Rome." *
The spirits of the soldiers rose, and amid fall-
ing snow, tbey began the descent. More dangers
awaited them. They had to march over a steep
and slippery ice slope, just covered with a thin
coating of freshly fallen snow. Men, horses, and
elephants slipped and rolled about, now sticking
fast in a snowdrift, now falling into a chasm, now
preferring death in the snow, to the struggle of
going on. At last they reached a spot, where
the track was lost and neither man nor beast
could pass. Destruction once more stared them
in the face. But Hannibal's pluck did not fail
him. He set the soldiers to work to make a
new road, over which he took the army. And so,
at last they descended into the plains of Italy.
Hannibal had succeeded, but tbe sacrifice was
enormous. More than half his ifien had perished;
horses and elephants had died in that dreaded
168 HANNIBAL'S VICTORY. [B.C. 217.
march of over 500 miles, in that month of misery.
It was a wonderful feat ; but still more wonderful
was the fact that he defeated the whole Roman
army, not once but twice, with his wayworn men,
until there seemed nothing to bar his road, right
on to the city of Rome.
The Gauls those wild enemies of Rome now
joined him, and he led them over the Apennines
and into the valley of the Arno. The melting of
the snows on the mountains had caused the Arno
to overflow, converting the plain into a vast swamp.
For four days and nights the Lrmy toiled through
the water, unable to find a dry spot, either to sit
down or sleep. The horses fell in heaps, the
Gauls grumbled loudly, Hannibal himself was tor-
tured with inflammation in his eyes. He rode
bravely onwards, on the one elephant that had
survived, and escaped with only the loss of an
eye.
On the shores of a great lake, not far from
Rome, he met the Roman army. There was a
thick fog, through which the Romans advanced,
only to find, as the mist rolled away, that they
were advancing into the jaws of death. Their
whole army was cut up by Hannibal, and but few
returned to carry back the sad tidings to Rome,
to destroy the bridges over the Tiber, and prepare
for the ad vane 3 of Hannibal to their capital.
B.C. 216.] THE BATTLE OF CANNJS. 169
47. THE END OP CARTHAGE.
''Now sleep and silence brood o'er the city."
GOLDSMITH.
WHEX the news of the disaster reached Rome an
anxious crowd gathered in the Forum.
"We have been defeated in a great battle/' said
the chief magistrate, towards sunset, mounting the
orator's platform in the Forum. Day after day the
senator!?, sat from sunrise to sunset, preparing now
for the worst. But Hannibal did not march on
Rome, and % the Romans took heart again and pre-
pared another great army to fight the Carthaginian
general.
Once more the two armies met, once more the
Romans were defeated, and Hannibal stood victori-
ous on the battlefield of Cannce. To show Carthage
how great had been his victory, he sent ten thou-
sand of the gold rings, taken from the fingers of
the Roman nobles, slain in this battle.
Hannibal was now at the height of his success.
From the day he had set forth over the Pyrenees,
he had known no defeat ; now, under the spell of
his genius, hundreds flocked to his standard.
But while the successful Carthaginian was carry-
ing all before him, a young Ro&ian soldier was
making a name for himself, by* carrying the war
into Spain. Young Scipio managed very cleverly
170 BATTLE OF ZAMA. [B.C. 202.
to take New Carthage, the great Carthaginian
seaport on the southern coast of Spain, with its
mines of gold and silver, its merchant vessels and
its fine dockyards, all of which were a terrible
loss to Carthage.
"I see the doom of Carthage," exclaimed Han-
nibal at last, when his brother's head was brought
to him after a defeat by the Romans.
Still he kept his army in Italy, waiting for the
opportunity that should give him the object of
his life Rome. But the opportunity never came.
Before he had gathered an army strong enough,
to march on Italy's capital, he was recalled to his
native land to defend Carthage against Scipio.
The scheme of his boyhood and manhood was
spoiled, and it is said the great commander could
hardly restrain his tears, as the ships bore him
from the land, he had failed to conquer the land
in which he had spent fifteen years of his life
across the sea to North Africa. It was thirty-six
years since he had left Carthage with his father,
thirty-six years since he had laid his small hand,
on the sacrifice, and sworn undying hatred to
Rome.
One autumn day in the year 202, the two
great commanders, Hannibal and Scipio, met for
the first and last time in battle. The battle of
Zama was to decide for centuries to come, the
fate of Rome it was to make her supreme among
the nations of the Old World. The battlefield
lay some five days' journey to the south of Car-
B.C. 202.] DEFEAT OF HANNIBAL. 171
thage, amid the sandy wastes of the North
African desert land.
In the forefront of Hannibal's army marched a
magnificent array of eighty elephants, but they
were terrified at the blare of the trumpets, and
fled in confusion right among Scipio's soldiers. He
had wisely prepared for this, and the elephants
were more cumbrous, than helpful. After a hard
fight the Romans won, and Hannibal, the hero of
a hundred battles, made his way to Carthage
a defeated man.
With * dignity and self-respect he accepted his
failure ; though it must have been bitter to him
to bow do\^n to the terms of peace, now offered
by Scipio. True, the Carthaginians were to keep
their own laws, and their own home ; but they
were to give up all their prisoners, all their ele-
phants, and all their warships save ten ; they were
to, renounce all claim to the rich islands in the
Mediterranean and to their kingdom of Spain, and
for the next fifty years they must pay a large
sum of money to Rome.
Yet a further humiliation was in store for Hanni-
bal and the Carthaginians. Five hundred ships
the pride and glory of the Phoenician race, ships
which had sailed up and down the Mediterranean
trading with this port and that were slowly towed
out of the harbour and set on fire by the victorious
Romans, in the sight of the fallen* Carthaginians.
" And a cry was heard, unfathered of earthly lips,
What of the ships, Carthage ? Carthage, what of the ships 1 "
The sight 01 the flames
was terrible to the van->
quished people as ter-
rible as if their very city
had been burnt.
" And the smouldering grief of
a nation burst with the
kindling blaze."
In the days of her pros*
perity, when a storm at
sea destroyed some of
her ships, the whole
State would go into
mourning, and the huge,
walls of the city woulcl
be draped in bkdb
B.C. 202.] THE FALL OF CARTHAGE. 173
What must their feelings be now, when the
whole fleet was blazing under their very eyes,
and with it their command of the sea was gone
for ever !
So Carthage fell, overcome by her dreams of
conquest. She had acquired that she could not
retain, she had envied that, she could not possess.
And what is left of her to-day? A few scattered
piles of stones, some broken columns, and a few
old tombs, are the only fragments of her glorious
past. Carthage herself, the home of Hannibal,
the victor of nations, mother of cities, centre of
the world's commerce, lies crumbled in the sand
and dust of two thousand years.
48. THE TRIUMPH OF BOMB.
" Tis Greece, but living Greece no more."
BYRON.
ROME had conquered Carthage. Where the busy
Phoenicians had lived and thriven for five hundred
years, Romans now pastured the herds of their
distant masters. Roman merchants flocked across
the seas to this new Roman province, called now
for the first time in history Africa.
Flushed with her victories here, she turned her
eyes towards Greece toward the country, which
Alexander the Great had made so strong, but
174 STORY OF PERSEUS. [B.C. 168.
which was now crumbling into decay, under one
Perseus.
The Romans now chose one of their consuls, the
brother-in-law of the dead Scipio, to march against
Macedonia. That kingdom once subdued, they
knew that Greece would soon fall under their
sway.
There is a quaint old story about this brother-
in-law of the great Scipio. His name was Paulus,
the Roman word for Paul. He had just been
chosen general of the Roman troops, and was
coming home when he met Lis little daughter
weeping bitterly.
" What is the matter ? " he asked, drawing the
child to him.
Throwing her arms round his neck and kissing
him, she cried, " O father, do you not know that
Perseus is dead ? "
Paulus must have wished the news was true,
with regard to the enemy, against whom, he was
so soon to march ; but the little girl was crying
over the death of a favourite dog, named Per-
seus, and her father could only kiss her, saying,
" Good fortune, my little daughter, I accept the
omen/'
So Paulus went off to the wars, and it was not
long before the news reached Rome, that he had
conquered the Macedonians, and was bringing back
Perseus as a prisoner. He sailed up the river Tiber
in the king's galley, with its sixteen banks of oars.
B.C. 167.] TRIUMPH OF PAULUS. 175
It was richly adorned with arms captured from the
Greeks, with cloths of purple, and scarlet. As the
vessel was rowed slowly against the stream, the
Romans crowded on the shore to meet him. And
the Romans decreed a triumph for the conqueror
a triumph, which lasted three days, the like of
which had never been seen before. The people
erected scaffolds in the Forum and dressed them-
selves in white.
On the first day two hundred and fifty chariots
passed through the streets, with the beautiful
statues, ^pictures, and colossal images, which had
been brought from Greece, the home of art and
beauty. J
On the second day, waggons carried the magnifi-
cent armour of the Macedonians, all polished and
glittering. There were shields and coats of mail,
targets, quivers of arrows, and naked swords all
piled up in confusion. After the waggons came
three thousand men carrying seven hundred and
fifty vessels of silver, while others followed with
silver bowls and cups all of which impressed the
Romans very much.
But for the third day, was reserved the greatest
triumph of all. Quite early in the morning, the
trumpeters sounded, and a number of young Romans
appeared, wearing frocks with ornamented borders
and leading one hundred and twejity oxen with
their horns gilded and adorned Vith ribbons and
garlands, to be sacrificed. Then came all the gold
176 CONQUEGT OF GREECE. [B.C. 146.
plate, that had been used at the table of the 'king
of rich Macedonia, followed by the chariot of
Perseus himself, in which lay his armour and his
crown.
A sight followed that drew tears from the eyes
of the Roman crowd. The kings three little
children were led captives, surrounded by a train
of attendants, masters, and teachers, all stretch-
ing out their hands to the spectators and entreat-
ing pity. Perseus himself followed, clad all in
black and "wearing the boots of his country";
he looked like one stunned, through the greatness
of his misfortunes. A number of his friends,
sobbing with grief, followed.
Then came Paulus himself, seated on a magnifi-
cent chariot. He was an old man and worthy to
be looked at, in his purple robe interwoven with
gold, holding a laurel branch in his right hand.
The whole Roman army followed with boughs of
laurel in their hands, singing verses and songs" of
triumph in praise of the deeds of Paulus. And
this ended the great procession.
So Greece became subject to the ever-growing
power of Rome, and she has never returned to
the pinnacle of glory that once made her the
chief nation in the Old World.
B.C. 106-48.] POMPEY.
49. TWO YOUNG ROMANS.
" Great men have been among us."
WORDSWORTH.
Two men were now pushing their way to the
forefront of affairs in Home men whose names
were to become famous, not only in the history
of their own country, but famous in the history of
tlie whole world. Their names were Pompey and
Cfesar. They were born within six years of one
another, about a hundred years before the birth of
Christ, and they were young men still, when they
became" rivals for Roman power.
.Pompey first made his mark. As a child he was
very beautiful, and he was ever beloved by the
people of Rome for his gentle ways and his kingly
maifners. He early distinguished himself by fight-
ing, for Rome had still enemies left in both Spain
and Africa. On his return from the wars, though
still a very young man, he was made consul of Rome.
There is a story told of him at this time, which
shows how popular he was. There was an ancient
custom in Rome, by which the knights, who had
served their time in the wars, led their horses into
the market-place, before two officers : they gave
an account of their service and received their dis-
charge, every man with honour or disgrace, accord-
ing to his deserts. The knights were passing thus,
178 POMPEY THE GREAT. [B.C. 67.
before the officers, when Pompey was seen leading
his horse into the Forum, wearing the dress of a
consul.
" Pompey the Great," said the senior officer, " I
demand of you, whether you have served the full
time in the laws which is ordered by the Roman
law."
" Yes," replied Pompey in a loud voice, " I have
served all, and all under myself as general."
On hearing this all the people gave a great
shout, and they went on shouting, till the officers
rose from their judgment - seat and accompanied
the hero to his home, amid the clapping of hands
and shouts of joy.
When his term of office was over he wa6 giver}
authority, for three years, over the whole Mediter-
ranean Sea, so that he might crush out the pirates
or sea-robbers, who were ruining the trade of that
great sea.
Now these sea-robbers were growing very dan-
gerous. They had built for themselves swift-sailing
ships, with which to pursue the merchant vessels ;
they had harbours, towers, and beacons, all round
the sea-coast. Their ships had gilded masts, the
sails were purple, the oars plated with silver. They
were the terror of navigators from the Straits of
Gibraltar, to the shores of the Black Sea ; they
stopped and robbed the ships bringing wheat from
Sicily and Alexandria, to feed the llomans, and
it was plain that something must be done.
B.C. 61. J TRIUMPH OF POMPEY. 179
*
Pompey divided the sea into thirteen parts, and
sent officers and men to fight the sea-robbers in
each part. Up and down the blue Mediterranean,
sailed these ships, chasing the pirates, till in forty
days the whole sea was cleared and Pompey was
free to undertake some new work, for his country.
The great kingdoms of the East were once more
on the war-path, and Pompey was now sent to
subdue them.
When Pompey next returned to Rome, he was
at the height of his glory. He had marched a
great Roman army through Syria ; he had ex-
' tended the Roman Empire, as far as the river
Euphrates. It was small wonder, then, that Rome
accorcted him a two days' triumph, which exceeded
in magnificence, even the triumph of Paulus. All
his great deeds were set forth on bronze tablets
which were carried before him. These told how
he . had founded cities, captured eight hundred
ships, one thousand fortresses, and nearly as many
towns ; he had poured money wholesale into the
treasury of Rome, while three hundred captive
princes walked before his chariot. He returned
triumphant, and dreams of kingship were already
in his mind. He had left Rome but four years
before, the very idol of the people.
" Know you not Pompey 1 Many a tiu^e and oft
Have you climbed up to walls and .battlements,
To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops,
Your infants in your arms, and there have sat
180 POMPEY'S RIVAL. [B.C. 61.
The livelong day with patient expectation
To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome ;
And when you saw his chariot but appear,
Have you not made an universal shout
Till Tiber trembled underneath her banks ? "
But now, as he stepped from his chariot after his
triumph, Pompey the Great found himself alone ;
no longer was he surrounded by admirers and
flatterers, no longer was he the idol of Home.
For another favourite had enthroned himself in
the hearts of the people. And that was Julius
Caesar a far greater man than Pompey could ever
be, for
" This was the greatest Roman of them all."
50. JULIUS CAESAR.
" Veni, vidi, vici " " I came, I saw, I conquered."
LET us take a look at this Caesar, whose name
and deeds are talked of still, though nearly two
thousand years have rolled away, since he lived
and died in far-off Rome. He was now growing
up, in his father's house, a tall handsome youth,
with dark piercing eyes, a sallow face, somewhat
thick lips, and a high forehead.
As quite a >oung boy, he must have seen and
heard much, about his country. He must have
known well, his uncle Marius, who was a great
B.C. 100-44.] JULIUS CAESAR. 181
soldier and did much for Rome, till he was exiled
in disgrace, by those he had tried to serve. Sulla,
the rival of Marius, he knew well too, for had not
this powerful Dictator uttered the ominous words
" I charge you to look after this youth with the
loose girdle, for in this young Coesar, there is many
a Marius " ?
Having incurred Sulla's wrath, Caesar joined the
Roman army and left Italy. He distinguished
himself in the field, both in Asia and in Spain,
and returned to Rome to find the work of his
life.
He was now a marked man ; he had spoken in
the Senate , he had been consul ; he had pleaded
in favour of the appointment of Pompey to his
high commands, and Pompey had married his
daughter Julia. It was to him the Romans now
looked, to rid them of a great danger, which
threatened them in the north. Gaul and Germany
were once more in a state of great unrest, and
might at any time let loose their wild armies, in
the plains of North Italy. Caesar was forty-two,
when he left Rome to take up his military com-
mand in Gaul.
As a younger man, reading the life of Alexander
the Great, he had burst into tears, and on being
asked the reason he had answered, " Do you not
think I have just cause to weep, when I consider
that Alexander 1 at my age, had conquered so
1 See chapter 41.
182 OESAR IN BRITAIN. [B.C. 55.
many nations, and I have all this time done noth-
ing that is memorable ? "
He was yet to make himself a name as great,
if not greater, than his hero. To subdue these
restless tribes beyond the Alps the country we
now know as Switzerland, France, and Germany
was Caesar's object in life, and to establish the
power of Rome over them.
New countries, undreamt of by Rome, were now
discovered, by the ever - advancing army under
Caesar. Across the great German Rhine, and over
the French Seine, he passed, conquering und sub-
duing the fierce tribes, which fell back before the
trained Roman legions, under their great com-
mander. Arrived at the north of France, Caesar
looked across the Channel from Calais and saw
the white cliffs on the English coast.
No one could tell him anything of that country,
so, one calm evening, he sailed from the coast of
France, and morning found him off the coast of
Dover. The white cliffs were lined with painted
warriors, waving lances, and ready to hurl large
stones into Caesar's ship, if he attempted to land.
Calling his officers round him, while his fleet col-
lected, he ordered them to move along the coast
with the tide. The Britons followed by the cliffs,
scrambling along with their cars and horses. It
was evident they meant to oppose any landing.
Caesar anchored near the shore, but the water
was up to the shoulders of the Roman soldiers.
fc.o. so.] CJESAR'S CONQUESTS. 183
Then an officer sprang into the sea, waving the
standard of the Roman eagle, and cried to his
men to follow. With a great cheer the men
sprang overboard. The Britons rode their horses
into the waves and for a time stopped their pro-
gress, but the Romans managed to land and the
Britons galloped away. Some sharp fighting took
place on land, but the wild tribes were no match
for the Romans.
It was now nine years since Coesar had left
Rome. Now he had made a name indeed for
himself. He was returning to lay at his country's
feet, a province larger than Spain, new lands of
which the Romans had never heard, warriors de-
voted to himself, and a detailed history of all his
doings. His countrymen had watched his career
steadily. The Senate had listened to every story
of his inarches and battles, his perils and victories,
as they were recited one by one.
" Caesar has not only repulsed the Gauls, he has
conquered them," cried Cicero, one of the greatest
of Romans. "The Alps were once the barrier be-
tween Italy and the barbarians ; the gods placed
them there, for that very purpose to shelter Rome
in the weakness of her infancy. Now let them sink
and welcome ; from the Alps to the ocean she has
no enemy to fear."
But there was one man in Rome who watched
Caesar's growing power with dismay. It was Pom-
pey, now consul of Rome. He dreaded the return
184 CROSSING THE BUBICON. [B.C. 49.
and triumph of this great conqueror, whose name
was on every lip, of whose genius none could spe.'ik
too highly. The return of Caesar would mean the
fall of Pompey, for Caesar had been promised the
consulship. The state of Rome was very corrupt at
this time. Men were afraid of offending Pompey ;
they were yet more afraid of Caesar, with his legions
in the north. Day by day matters grew worse ;
was it to be peace or w r ar ?
The answer was not long in coming. It was
war.
51. THE PLIGHT OP POMPEY.
" Oh you hard hearts, you cruel men of li
Knew you not Pompey ? "
SHAKSPERE.
C/ESAR now assembled his soldiers on the banks of
the river Rubicon, which divided Italy from Gaul.
The Romans still thought his heart might fail or
his troops desert him. But neither of these things
happened. True, it is said, that for a moment, the
great conqueror paused.
Suddenly dismayed by the greatness of his under-
taking, he asked himself, was he right to bring so
much trouble on his countrymen? The destinies
of the Roman nation hung on his decision. Then,
as if acting on some sudden impulse, he cried,
"The die is cast." So saying he urged his charger
186 FLIGHT OF POMPEY. [B.C. 49.
through the stream. The Hubicon was crossed.
He was on his way to Rome. There could be
no turning back now.
The news reached Rome. Caesar's charger had
been seen on the Apennine hills. He was coming
at last. Pompey did not hesitate. In flight lay
his only safety. Up rose consuls and senators,
and leaving their wives and children to their
fate, they fled for their lives, with Pompey, out of
Rome. They played the part of cowards, and in
the old Roman days, men would not have deserted
their city like this.
"It is all panic and blunder," cried Cicero ; " the
flight of the Senate, the departure o f the magis-
trates, the closing of the treasury, will not stop
Caesar I am broken-hearted."
Pompey could not raise an army by land, but the
sea was his. His was the East with all its treas-
ures, his the fleets of the Mediterranean. CiPsar
might win for the moment, but Pompey had the
naval power to bring against Italy.
So Caesar entered Rome in peace. He soon left
it again for Spain, where he went to prepare an
army and a fleet to fight against Pompey.
" I go," he said to the Romans " I go to engage
an army without a general : I shall return, to attack
a general, without an army."
The Romans at once made him Dictator, and he
set out for his chase after Pompey. Pompey was
in Greece preparing for his great invasion of Italy.
B.C. 48.] (LESAK PURSUES POMPEY. 187
i
It was earjy in January, just a year since he had
crossed the Rubicon, that .Caesar sailed from
Brindisi for Greece. Pompey's admiral, from the
heights of Corfu, saw his ship. He had let Caesar
pass, but he would not let his soldiers and ships
pass in the same way. So Caesar waited on one
side of the Adriatic and his ships and troops on
the other. The months passed on and Caesar
watched in vain for the sails of his ships.
There is an old story that says he at last made
itp his mind to row over to Brindisi and see what
had happened. t?e hired a boat of twelve oars,
disguised himself as a slave, crept on board in the
night-time, ^ind lay down at the bottom of the
Jx>at. * It was very rough and the weaves were
dashing very high on the Greek coast, so high,
indeed, as to render the crossing very dangerous.
The master of the boat ordered the rowers to
turn back. Then the disguised slave arose.
" Go forward, my friend," shouted the great
Caesar, above the roar of wave and wind. " Fear
nothing, you carry Caesar and his fortunes."
The rivals for Roman power met at last, in
Greece, and Pompey was defeated once and for
ever by Caesar. Pompey's fall w r as complete. He
escaped secretly on foot to the coast, and getting
on board a merchant vessel, sailed to Mitylene,
where his wife and son were waiting. His wife
received the news with tears, and sinking into
Pompey's arms, she cried, "Ah that I should see
188 DEATH OF POMPEY. [B.C. 48.
you reduced to one poor vessel, who were wont
to sail in these seas with a fleet of five hundred
ships ! "
Putting his wife and son on board, Pompey now
sailed down the coast of Asia Minor, then across
to Cyprus, and on to Egypt. Egypt was under
Roman influence, though not exactly a Roman
province, and here the fugitive might gain pro-
tection.
The country was under a boy king, called
Ptolemy, and his sister Cleopatra. Pompey an-
chored at sea and sent to the }oung king for per-
mission to land. He w r as invited to come ashore,
and saying good-bye to his wife, he stepped into
the boat sent for him. As he stepped ashore, he
w r as treacherously murdered, his head cut oft*, and
his body thrown back into the sea. A devoted
slave whom Pompey had set free, watched for the
body to be washed on shore ; then he wrapped it
in his shirt and buried it in the sand, and so
the last rites were performed for one, who but a
short time since, was second to none in Rome.
Meanwhile Caesar had been following his fallen
foe. Hearing that he had sailed for Egypt, he
took ship and landed at Alexandria, to be received
by the news of Pompey's death. Hoping to please
him, the head of his rival was brought him. From
it, he turned in horror and burst into tears, for
Pompey had once been his friend.
B.C. 47.] CJESAR'S TRIUMPH. 189
52. THE DEATH OP
"The last of all the Romans, fare thee well."
SHAKSPERE.
AFTER a three months' stay in Egypt, during which
time, he made friends with Cleopatra, Caesar re-
turned to Rome. He had been made Dictator a
second time, and was to hold the post for ten
years. A thanksgiving of forty days was decreed,
temples and statues were raised in his honour, a
goklen chair was placed in the Senate for him to
sit in. He v 7 as called the "Father of his country,"
a name that Cicero had already borne, and four
triumphs were celebrated in his honour.
In return Caesar feasted the Iloman people at
twenty-two thousand tables, and entertained them
at combats of wild animals and gladiators, beneath
awnings of the richest silks. For Pompey had
built a splendid theatre in Rome, in which lions
and elephants, and men known as gladiators, who
fought with swords, for the amusement of the
people, engaged in combat before crowds of de-
lighted spectators ; for the Romans thought the
shedding of blood was pleasing to their gods.
But Cresar did more than this. He made new
Roman laws, he tried to bridge over the terrible
inequality, between the very ridh and the very
poor, he added hugely to the number of senators, he
190 CAESAR SUPREME. [B.C. 46.
arranged the foreign provinces, and he rearranged
the calendar. This was a very important piece of
work. Up to this time the year had been made
to consist of three hundred and fifty-five days ;
but as that did not exactly fit in, with the revolu-
tion of the earth round the sun, an extra month,
had to be added at intervals. This made great
confusion, arid festivals for the harvest and vintage
came three months before there was any corn or
grapes.
The Julian calendar, as it was called, made the
year to consist of three hundred and nxty-five
days and six hours ; which arrangement lasted for
one thousand six hundred years after the death of
Caesar.
So Caesar became undisputed master of this
mighty empire of Rome. He had shown himself
to be, not only one of the greatest conquerors,
the world had ever seen, but one of the greatest
statesmen. He governed Rome, as a king, in all
but name. It was reported in the city, that he
wished to be called king. Did he not dress in
royal purple robes, had he not given himself all
the airs of kingship ?
One morning some one placed a crown of laurels,
upon the head of his statue, which stood in the
Forum. It was done publicly, in the midst of a
vast crowd, in (Caesar's presence. The wreath was
torn down. A few days later, as he was riding
through the streets of Rome, he was saluted by
B.C. 44.] QUESTION OF KINGSHIP. 191
the mob as " king." A stifled murmur of dis-
approval ran through the crowd.
" I am no king, but Caesar," cried the Homan
Dictator hastily.
Yet again the prize of kingship seemed within
reach. Caesar was in his golden chair, dressed in
purple, and wearing a wreath of bay wrought in
gold, presented by the senators. He was presiding
over a popular festival, when suddenly the chief
performer approached Coesar, and drawing a small
crown from his girdle he placed it on Caesar's
head, saying, " The people give you this, by my
hand."
As Coesai* took off' the crown, a loud burst of
applause broke from the people.
" I am not king," he said in a loud voice ; " the
only king of the Romans is Jupiter." Saying
which, he ordered the crown to be carried, to the
temple of Jupiter, in the Capitol.
The question of kingship was over, but there
was a spirit of unrest and distrust abroad in
Rome. Men hated this supreme power ; they
thought Coesar was a tyrant, and they wished to
see Rome free. Coesar knew there was danger,
but he went daily to the Senate, unarmed, and
without a guard.
"It is better to suffer death once, than always to
live in fear of it," he had replied* loftily to those
who urged care. *
Cicero the foremost orator of his day did not
192 THE IDES OF MARCH. [B.C. 44.
agree with such rashness, on the part of one, whose
life was yet so precious to Rorne.
" Be you watchful/' he urged in a brilliant speech
in the Senate, where Csesar was sitting, but a few
weeks before his murder. " All our lives are bound
up in yours. With sorrow I have heard you say
that you have lived long enough. For your coun-
try, you have not. Put away, I beseech you, this
contempt of death. Be not wise at our expense.
Your work is unfinished. It remains for you to
rebuild the constitution. Live till this is done.
Live till you see your country at peace. Vour life
shall continue fresh in the memory of ages to come :
men will read with wonder of empire and provinces,
of the Rhine, the ocean, and the Nile, of battles
without number, of amazing victories, of countless
monuments and triumphs ; but unless this State be
wisely established, your name will not live. There-
fore, we beseech you, to watch over your own
safety."
But Caesar heeded not, and a secret plot, to
kill him, went forward. An important meeting of
the Senate had been called for the 15th of March.
The day was known in ancient Rome, as the Ides
i.e., the middle day of the month. This was
the day fixed for the murder of Caesar. He had
been warned by a soothsayer, that this should
happen, and it ip said he was restless and nervous,
when the morning came. Unarmed, however, he
shook off his uneasiness ; he crossed the hall of
B.C. 44.] DEATH OF JULIUS CAESAR. 193
his palace on the way to the senate-house. As
he did so, his own statue fell and broke in pieces
on the stones. Outside the senate-house, he met
the soothsayer, who had warned him.
" The Ides of March are come/' said Caesar,
laughing.
" Yes," answered the soothsayer in a low voice,
" but they are not gone."
Caesar entered the senate-house of Rome for the
last time. The senators rose to do him honour,
as he took his seat, in the golden chair. Men
gathered round him. He knew them all. There
was not one, who did not owe him gratitude. He
had no suspicions.
Suddenly some one stabbed him in the throat.
He started from his chair with a cry. He was
surrounded by swords and gleaming steel. For a
moment he tried to defend himself. Then seeing
Brutus, his friend, with raised sword, he drew
his cloak over his face, " And thou too, Brutus ? "
He uttered the words with his last breath as he
fell dead at the foot of Pompey's statue, beside
his golden chair.
The Senate rose in confusion and rushed out
to proclaim to the Romans, that the tyrant was
dead, and Rome was free, while the body of the
great Cresar lay alone in the senate-house, where
but a few weeks ago, Cicero had told him, that
every senator would die, before harm should reach
him.
N
194 CAESAR'S HEIR. [B.C. 36.
i
"We have killed the king," cried ( Cicero in
bitterness of heart, " but the kingdom is with us
still. We have taken away the tyrant, but the
tyranny still lives. "
The great Roman Republic was ended. It had
narrowly escaped being a kingdom. It was now to
be an empire under an emperor an empire so vast
and so important that the history of the world
henceforth became the history of Home.
53. THE EMPIRE OP ROME.
" Comes the Last Age, of which the Sibyl sang
A new-born cycle of the rolling years :
Justice returns to earth."
VIRGIL.
IT was, indeed, a dangerous Rome, to which young
Csesar, now came to claim his birthright ; but he
soon showed his countrymen, that he was a worthy
successor, of his great uncle. Stories were told of
him, as an infant, that showed he was marked out
for greatness, according to the early ideas of the
Homans.
When he was a small baby he was laid in his
cradle by his nurse. The next day he was missing
and nowhere to be found. They sought for him
long, and then found him on a high tower, com-
manding a view of the sea, lying with his face
to the rising sun. When he first began to speak, a
B.C. 31.] MAKK ANTONY. 195
story says, that he commanded some troublesome
croaking frogs, to be silent, and the frogs have
never croaked there since that day.
It was not long, before the Romans made Caesar's
young heir consul, while Mark Antony, who had
grasped at power, on the death of the man he had
called his friend, was declared to be an enemy of
the State. The murderers of Julius Csesar had,
in their turn, been murdered, amongst them the
aged Cicero ; but Home was still unsettled, Rome
was still dangerous.
At last Mark Antony fled to raise an army
against the young Csesar. He had schemes of
conquering the East and making Alexandria the
capital of the world ; but instead of this, he be-
came captivated by the beautiful Queen of Egypt,
for whom Julius Cresar had fought before. He had
met her in Rome, when she had stayed with Csesar.
Now he met her again at Tarsus, and at once fell
captive to her charms and her wit.
Cleopatra sailed up the river, in a gilded vessel,
with purple sails and silver oars, to the music of
flutes and reed pipes. She lay under an awning
spangled with gold, surrounded by her beautiful
slaves. Mark Antony soon loved her. He spent
all his time with her, he laid aside his Roman
dress and his Roman manners to adopt those of
Egypt.
Ugly rumours about him, reached Rome, and
Co3sar determined to put an end, to this growing
196 DEATH OF CLEOPATRA. [B.C. 30.
power, beyond the seas. He mustered a fleet and
army and met the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra
off the southern coast of Greece. For some days
a rough sea prevented any battle, but when the
battle began, it was very unequal. The huge bulks
of the Eastern ships were ill adapted for advance
or retreat. They were no match for the skilfully
managed triremes of the Romans, and while they
rolled heavily on the waters, up went the sail of
Cleopatra's galley, and, followed by sixty Egyptian
ships and the despairing Antony, she fled across
the sea to Alexandria. Thither Ctesar followed,
by way of Asia and Syria. All the princes of Asia
bowed down to him, and Herod, King of Judea,
made friends with the conqueror. He arrived at
Alexandria, to hear the news, that Antony had
killed himself, and that the queen, Cleopatra, had
shut herself up in a strong tower.
Once, and once only, Ccesar saw her ; she tried
to excite his pity, but failed. She discovered that
he intended to have her taken to Rome, to take
part in his triumph. The humiliation was more
than she could bear. The next day she was found
lying on her couch, in her royal robes, dead. Her
two maids were dying on either side.
" Is this well ? " asked the man, who found her.
"It is well for the daughter of kings/' answered
the dying maid.
And so Egypt became a Roman province.
Csesar went back to Rome, triumphant. The
8
198 KEIGN OF OESAR AUGUSTUS. [B.C. 27.
death of Antony put an end to the fierce struggles,
that had torn Rome, fo the ten years, following the
death of Julius Csesar. It seemed, as if the great
empire of Rome, might have rest for a time now,
under the man, who had already done so much.
He now occupied not only the highest place in the
city and the highest place in the State, but he was
chief of the army.
The man who rules an empire and commands the
army of that empire is called an emperor ; so Cocsar
was now an emperor. He also took the name of
Augustus, a word applied to things most noble,
most dignified, most high. From this time, there-
fore, we must call him Caesar Augustus.
Well and wisely did Augustus rule the Roman
people. He lived simply amongst them, he dressed
as a plain citizen, he joined in the life of the people.
His house was unadorned, his meals were taken in
haste and were not luxurious. To his Court and to
his person he drew the greatest poets and writers
of his age. In his reign Virgil, tall, dark, and shy,
might have been seen walking about the streets of
Rome, while Horace, who had fought for his country
in days gone by, was poet-laureate to the emperor.
Lesser singers lived too, in these days of prosperity,
ever praising the man, who had restored law and
order to Rome, the man who had won peace for
their great empire even Caesar Augustus, the first
Emperor of the Rortian Empire.
B.C. 5.] A WORLD OF PEACE. 199
54. PAX ROMANA.
" And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree
from Ca.sar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. . . .
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city." Sr
LUKE ii.
So there was peace from end to end of the great
Roman Empire under Ca3sar Augustus. From
the great Atlantic Ocean, that washes the western
coasts of -France and Spain, to the river Euphrates,
'crossed by Abraham nearly two thousand years
before, therewas peace. From the German Rhine,
to thef burning African deserts, there was peace
too. Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt all were quietly
resting under the mighty sway of Rome, under
the wise rule of the Emperor Cresar Augustus.
It was time to make a regular division of this
great empire, to divide it into provinces, to prepare
for a census or numbering of the people. In order
to carry out this plan, each family had to go to
their own home, however far away that home
might be. Herod had made known this command
from Rome, and the whole country of Judaea was
astir.
Living away in distant Nazareth, some eighty
miles, from his native town, was o$e Joseph. He
too must journey across the coifntry to obey the
command of Csesar Augustus. Taking his wife
200 THE BIBTH OF CHRIST. [n.c. 4.
Mary, he started off on the eighty-mile journey.
The story is familiar to every child.
When Joseph and Mary reached Bethlehem,
after a long and weary climb to the hill-city, the
town was full of strangers, and there was no room
for them in the inn ; so they had to be satisfied
with sleeping in a manger. And in this manger at
Bethlehem, Jesus Christ was born.
The event made no stir, in the great world
beyond quiet Judaea. Cresar Augustus continued
to reign over the lioman Empire, ships sailed to
and fro over the blue waters of the Mediterranean
Sea, men bought and sold as usual, and the news 1
of Mary's little Son was not known outside the
country of the East.
But, though as yet unknown to the world at
large, the event was one which was destined to
throw over the history of the great world the
widest, deepest, mightiest influence, that has ever
been known.
The birth of Christ passed by unnoticed. His
death, thirty years later, was of world - wide
interest. The love of Him, has lasted true,
throughout two thousand years, and to-day men
are ready to live, ready to die, for that love.
TEACHER'S APPENDIX.
IT will be noted that the Bible chronology has been used in this book, and
that any mention of Egyptian chionology has been purposely omitted, for
the reason that it is a subject under deep discussion, and that no satisfactory
conclusion has yet been arrived at. See article on Chronology in 'Bible
Treasury.'
A few books are here suggested as a help to this period from the days of
Abraham to the Birth of Christ.
Chaps. t
1-15. The Illustrated MM* Treasury in Nelson's Bible
The Story of Ejctinct Civilisations of the East. Anderson
Eyypt, Phanwia, Carthage. The Story of the Nations Series.
IllUBt.
Dwellers on the Nile. Budge. By- Paths of Bible Knowledge.
Illust.
Babylonian Life and History. Budge. By-Paths of Bible
Knowledge. Illust.
16 and onwards. Primer on Greece. Fyffe
Smith's Smaller History of Greece
Primer on Europe. Freeman
16. The Heroes. Kmgsley. Temple Classics
17. Iliad. Homer. Blackwoods' Ancient Classics
Stories from Homer. Church. Illust.
*Eneid. Virgil. Blackwoods' Ancient Classics
Stories from Virgil. Church. Illust.
18. Odyssey. Homer. Blackwoods 1 Ancient Classics
The Odyssey. Butcher <fe Lang. Illust.
24-28. Greeks and Persians. Cox. Epochs of Ancient History
31,32. Athenian Empire. Cox. Epochs of Ancient History
Life of Pericles. Plutarch. CasseU's National Library,
No, 50
Greece in the Aye of Pericles. Grant
202 TEACHER'S APPENDIX.
Chaps.
33. The Trial and Death of Socrates. Transl. by Chi rcli
34 and onwards. Early Rome. Epochs of Ancient History
Smith's Smaller Uistory of Home
Rome. Oilman. Story ot the Nations
36. Horatius. Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. Masterpiece
Library
37. Coriolanus. Shakspeie. Cassell's National Library
Coriolanus. Plutarch's Lives. Cassell's National Libiary,
No. 25
38. Alexander the Great. Plutarch. Cassell's National Library,
No. 9
Alexander the Great. Story of tho Nations
45. Carthage. Story of the Nations
Hannibal. Heioea of the Nations
Rome and Carthage. Epochs of Ancient History
60. Jidius Cazsar. Heroes of the Nations
Julius Ccesar. Plutarch. Cassell's National Library, No. 9
Julius Casar. Shakspere. Cassell's National Library
Julius Ccesar. A Study by Froude
203
NOTE.
It is intended that the outline Map of the World at the end
of the volume should be chalked, in colours, by the pupil as
the discovery or colonisation of each new region is mentioned
in the book.
PRINTED BY WIM.I4M BLACKWOOD AND SONS.
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