the history of ancient greece its colonies and conquests v3 1000029145

HISTORY

O F

ANCIENT GREECE,

ITS COLONIES, AND CONQUESTS;

From the Earlieft Accounts till the

Divifion of the Macedonian Empire in the Eaft.

By JOHN GILLIES, LL. D. F, A.S.

EK /*"" Toiye Tr;; aicayruv TT^OJ

xa.\ TO re^tnot tx. TV

POLYBIUS, 1. i. C. V

THE SECOND EDITION.

VOL. III.

LONDON:

Printed for A. STRAHAN; and T. CADELL, in the Strand,

MDCCLXXXVII.

Annex

v,2"CONTENTS

O F T H E

THIRD VOLUME.

CHAP. XXL

f^Onfequencesofthe Athenian Misfortunesin Sicfly."

Formidable ConfederacyagainjiAthens. "PeculiarRejourcesoffreeGovernments. " NavalOperations." Battle of Miletus. " IntriguesofAlcibiades." The Athenian Democracyfubverted.." TyrannicalGovernment of the Four Hundred."

Battle of Eretria. " Democracyre-eftablijhedin Athens. " Naval Succefsof the Athenians."TriumphantReturn of Alcibiades." The Eleu-ftnianMyfteries" and Plynteria. Page i

CHAP. XXII.

Character of Lyfander." His Conferencewith Cy-rus."

He defeatsthe Athenian Fleet." Difgraceof Alcibiades.-~ LyfanderJucceededby Callicra-tidas." His Tranfaftionswith the Perfians" withthe SpartanAllies." Battle ofArginujfe." Trialof the Athenian Admirals. " Eteonicus checks aMutinyof the PeloponnefianTroops;"" Lyfander

A 2. refumes

iv CONTENTS.

refumes the Command. " Battle of Mgos Pota-

mos. " Spartan Empire in Afia.-"'Siegeand Sur-render

of Athens. -^-Humiliation of the Athe-nians.

Page 52

CHAP. XXIII.

Rapacity and Cruelty of the Spartan Government.^

"

The Thirty Tyrants in Athens. " Perfecutionof

Lyjias and his Family. " Theramenes oppofestheTyrants. " Sanguinary Speech of Critias. " Death

of Theramenes. " Perfecutionand Death of Alci-

biades." Thrafybulusfeizfs Phyle " Defeats the

Tyrants." Memorable Speech of Thrafybulus."

Oath of Amnefty " not faithfullyobferved. 96

CHAP. XXIV.

Accufationof Socrates. " Artificesof his Accufers.

"

His Defence." Condemnation. " Addrefs to the

Judges." His Converfationin Prifon" and Death.

" Tranjient Perfecution of his Difciples."-Writings of Cebes " AZfcbines." State of Phi-

lofophy." Of the Fine Arts. " Of Literature.-"'

Herodotus" Thucydides" Xenophon. " Tranjition

to the public TranfacJions of Greece. " The

Spartans invade Elis."The Mejfenians drivenfrom Greece.

" Hiftory-of Cyrene " Of Sicily."War with Carthage." Siege of Agrigentum."Reign of Dionyfws

.

" Sicilythe firftProvince ofRome. 127

CONTENTS.

CHAP. XXV.

t)eath of Darius No tbus. " Cyrus difputesthe Suc-

cejjionwith his elder Brother Artaxerxes."Character of Cyrus. " State of Lower Afia un-der

his Adminiflration." His Strength and Re-

Jources." His Expedition into Upper AJia.-~DeJ"cries the vaft Army of his Brother. " Battle

of Canaxa. " Death of Cyrus. " His Grecian

Auxiliaries victorious."

Their Treaty with Tif-Japhernes"" Perfidious AJJaJ/inationof the Gre-cian

Generals."

Artaxerxes fends to the Greeks

to demand their Arms. " Conference on that

Subjeff. Page 177

CHAP. XXVI.

Confternation of the Greeks. " Manly Advice of

Xenophon." TheirRetreat. " Difficultiesattendingit

"

Surmounted by their Skill and Perfeverance."Their Sufferingsamong the Carduchian Moun-tains.

" They traverfe Armenia. " Firft behold

the Sea from Mount Theches. " Defeat the Col-

chians." Dejcriptionof thefouthern Shore of the

Euxine." Tranfa5lions with the Greek Colonies

there."

The Greeks arrive at "Byzantium."Enter into the Service of Seuthes."His Hiftory.

"Conjunft Expeditionsof the Greeks and Thra-

cians."

The Greeks return to the Service of their

Country. - 208

VI

CHAP. XXVII.

Tijfaphernes makes War on the Greeks " by Order ofArtaxerxes. " Attacks the AZolian Cities." Ex-pedition

of Thimbron. " He is Jucceededby Der-

cyllidas." His Treaty with Tijfaphernes." Age-filausKing ofSparta." Cinadon's Con/piracy."

AgejilausCommander of the Grecian Forces inAfia." His Succejs." TiffapbermsJucceeded byTithrauftes." Great Views of Agefilaus." Warrekindled in Greece. " League aga'mftSparta."

Campaign of Lyjander in Bceotia. " His Death.Page 241

CHAP. XXVIII.

Recal of Agefilausfrom the Eaft." He invadesBceotia. " yiews of Evagoras King of Cyprus."His Friend/hipwith Conon. " The latter entruftedwith the Perfian Fleet. " He defeatsthe Lacede-monians.

"Battle of Coron"ea. " The Corinthian

War."

Conon rebuilds the Walls and Harbours

of Athens. " Conqueftsof Conon and Thrafybulus."

Peace ofAntalcidas. 275

CHAP. XXIX.

Reflectionsupon the Peace of Antalcidas. " Am-bitiousViews of Sparta." State of Arcadia. "

Siege of Mantinxa. " Olynthian Confederacy." "The Spartans make War on Olynthus." Sub-

miffionof that Republic." Pella becomes theCapitalof Macedon. " Pbabidas feizes the The-

ban

CONTENTS.

Ian Citadel," 'The Meafure approved by Ageji-laus.

" Conjpiracyof the 'Theban Exiles. " TheTheban Democracy reftored. Page 309

CHAP. XXX.

The Bofotian War." UnfuccefsfulAttempt of Spho-

drias againftthe Pir^us. " Doubts concerningXenophon'sAccount of that TranfaEfion." Ageft-laus invades Bceotia.

" Military Succefs of the'Thebans,

"Naval Succefsof the Athenians. "

Congrefsfor Peace under the Mediation of Ar-

taxerxes. " Epaminondas^Deputyfrom Thebes. "

Cleombrotus invades Eceotia."

Battle of Leuflra.

"-State of Greece. " Jafon of TheJJaly." His

Character and Views." AJfaJfinatedin the midft

of his Projetts. - 343

C H A P. XXXI.

Tumults in the Peloponnefus." Invajion of Laco-nla.

" Epaminondas rebuilds MeJJene." Founda-tion

of Megalopolis."Archidamus reflorestheFortune of Sparta." Affairs of ThejfalyandMacedon. "Negotiationsfor Peace. " The Pre-

tenfiojisof Thebes rejected." Epaminondas invadesthe Peloponnefus." Revolutions in Achaia."~

Speech of Archidamus in the Spartan Council. "

Dejignsof Thebes. " Difcancer ted by Athens."Pelopidas'sExpeditioninto Thejfaly." The Arca-dians

Jelze the Olympic Treajure." Battle ofMantin"sa.

" Agefilaus'sExpeditioninto Egypt.4 388

va

CONTENTS.

CHAP. XXXII.

State of Greece after the Battle of

The AmpbiSfyonic Council."

Returning Projpe-

rity of Athens."

Vices rejultingfrom its Govern-ment.

"

Abujes of the judiciary Power."

-Of the

'Theatre."

Degeneracy of Grecian Mujic." Ex-treme

Profligacy of the Athenians."

The Vices

of Chares render him the Idol of the Multitude.

"

The Social War"

Banijhment of Timotheus

and Iphicrates."

Difgraceful IJJue of the War.

"Philofophy."

Statuary. Praxiteles. The

Cnidian Venus."

Painting. Pampbilus, Nicias,

Zeuxis."

Literature. Xenophon. His Military

Expeditions. Religious and Literary Retreat.

Lyfias. Ifocrates. Plato. His Travels. He

Jetties in the Academy. His great Views.

Theology. Cofmogony. Doftrine of Ideas. Of

the Human Under/landing. The Pajfions. Vir-tues.

State of Retribution. Genius, and Cha-

rafter.-

Page 465

t H "

HISTORY

O F

GREECE.

CHAP. XXI.

Conferences of the Athenian Misfortunes in Sicily."

Formidable Confederacy,againft Athens."Peculiar Refourcesoffree Governments. " Naval

Operations." Battle of Miletus. " Intrigues ofAlcibiades.

"

The Athenian Democracy fubver ted.

" tyrannical Government of the Four Hundred.

"Battle of Eretria. " Democracy re-eftablifoed

in Athens."

Naval Succejsof the Athenians."triumphant Return of Alcibiades. " The Eleu-

finian Myfteries" and Plynteria.

IN the populous and extenfive kingdoms of c H A p.modern Europe, the revolutions of public.

X^L^Iaffairs feldom difturb the humble obfcurityof Extent of

privatelifej but the national tranfaftions of Greece Sa^iSf"involved the intereft of every family,and. deeply f"rg"c"jesaffeded the fortune and happinefsof every indivi-

VOL. III. B dual.

2 THE HISTORY OF GREECE.

CHAP. dual. Had the arms of the Athenians proved fuc-xx r

i_r

'_"cefsful in Sicily,each citizen would have derivedfrom that event an immediate accefllon of wealth,

as well as of power, and have felt a proportionalincreafe of honour and fecurity.But their proudhopesperifhedfor ever in the harbour of Syracufe.The fucceedingdifafters fhook to the foundationthe fabric of their empire. In one rafh enterprifethey loft their army, their fleet,the prudence oftheir experiencedgenerals,and the flourifhingvigourof their manly youth1" Irreparabledifafters!which totallydifabled them to refiftthe confederacyof Peloponnefus,reinforced by the refentment ofa new and powerfulenemy. While a Lacedae-monian

army invefted their city,they had reafonto dread that a Syracufan fleet fhould affault thePiraeus; that Athens muft finallyyield to thefecombined attacks,and her once profperouscitizens

deftroyedby the fword, or draggedinto captivity,atone by their death or difgracefor the crueltieswhich they had recentlyinflided on the wretchedrepublicsof Melos and Scione.

The news The dreadful alternative of vi"ory and defeat,Athens"0ren(krs itlittlefurprifmgthat the Athenians fhouldOlymp. have rejectedintelligence,which they muft havevet ^

*"^*

A. C. 413.received with horror. The firftmeftengersof fuchfad news were treated with contempt: but it was

1 Thucyclid. 1. vii. p. 557. Cicero goes farther. Hie primumopes illius civitatis vidz, comrainutas, depreflxque funt : inboc portu Athenienfium nobilitatis,imperij, gloriasnairfragiumfa"um exifttmatur. Cicer. in Verrem, v. 37.

3 impofnble

THE HISTORY OF GREECE. 3

impofTiblelong 2 to with-hold belief from the CHAP.miferable fugitives,whofe fqualidand dejected. -^-'jicountenances too faithfullyattefted the publiccala-mity.

Such evidence could not be refufedj thearrogance of incredulitywas abafhed,and the whole

republicthrown into confternation, or feized withdefpair.The venerable members of the Areo-pagus

exprefiedthe majeftyof filent forrowj butthe piercingcries of woe extended many a milealongthe loftywalls which joinedthe Piraeus to thecity; and the licentious populaceraged with un-bridled

furyagainftthe diviners and orators, whofeblind predictions,and ambitious harangues,hadpromoted an expeditioneternallyfatal to their

country 3.

The diflrefsof the Athenians was too great to Combina-

admit the comfort of fyinpathy;but had theybeen Greececapableof receiving,they had little reafon toexpect,that melancholy confolation. The tidingsfo afflictingto them gave unfpeakablejoy to theirneighbours; many feared, moil hated, and allenvied a people who had long ufurpedthe do-minion

of Greece. The Athenian allies,or rather

fubjects,fcattered over fo many coafts and iflands,

* The calamitywas fo great that the boldeft imaginationhadnever dared to conceive its exiftence. Their minds being thus

unprepared, the Athenians, fays Thucydides, dilbelievedxon TO"? mx.vv fuv r^st-ua-Tut ti;awry in igyu iJtawifevyocri"even thofe foldiers who efcaped from this melancholy bufinefs*The (lories of Plutarch in Nicia, of Athenseus, "c. may be

fafelycondemned as fidions,fince they are inconfiftent withThucydides's narrative.

* Thucydid. 1. viii.p. 558, " feqq.B 2 prepared

4 THE HISTORY OF GREECE. ,

CHAP, preparedto aflert their independence; the con-^

_'_. federates of Sparta,among whom the Syracufans

juftlyaflumed the firftrank, were unfatisfiedwithvictory,and longedfor revenge : even thofe com-munities,

which had hitherto declined the dangerof a doubtful conteft,meanly folicited to become

partiesin a war, which theyexpectedmuft finallyterminate in the deftruction of Athens 4.

Abetted Should all the efforts of fuch a powerfulcon-"tntment*federacyftillprove inefficient to accompliilitheof Perfia. ru'm of tne devoted city,there was yet another

enemy behind, from whofe flrengthand animofitythe Athenians had every thingto fear. The longand peacefulreignof Artaxerxes king of Perfia,expiredfour hundred and twenty-fiveyears beforethe Chriftian sera. The two followingyears wereremarkable for a rapidfucceffion of kings,Xerxes,Sogdianus,Ochus ; the laft of whom afllimed thename of Darius, to which hiftorians have added

the epithetof Nothus, the baftard,to diftinguifhthis effeminate princefrom his illuftrious prede-ceflbr s. The firityears of Darius Nothus were

employed in confirming his difputedauthority,and in watching the dangerous intriguesof hisnumerous kinfmen who afpiredto the throne.When every rival was removed that could either

difturb his quiet or offend his fufpicion,themonarch funk into an indolent fecurity,and hisvoluptuous court was governed by the feeble ad-

* Thucydid. 1.viii.p. 558, " feqq. Diodor. 1. xiii.p. 348.* Diodor. 1. xii. p. 32*. Ctefias,Perfic. c. xlv. " feqq.

miniftration

THE HISTORY OF GREECE. $

miniflration of women and eunuchs 6. But in the c TI A p"

ninth year of his reignDarius was roufed from his L-^^Jethargyby the revolt of Egypt and Lydia. Thedefection of the latter threatened to tear from his

dominion the valuable provincesof Afia Minor;a confequencewhich he determined to prevent byemploying the bravery of Pharnabazus, and thepolicyof the craftyTifTaphernes,to govern re-fpectivelythe northern and fouthern diftrictsofthat rich and fertilepeninfula.The abilitiesofthefe generalsnot only quelledthe rebellion inLydia, but extended the arms of their mailer to-wards

the fhores of the./Egean,as well as of the

Hellelpontand Propontis; in direct oppofitiontothe treatywhich fortyyears before had been ratifiedbetween the Athenians, then in the heightof theirprofperity,and the unwarlike Artaxerxes. Butthe recent misfortunes of that ambitious peopleflattered the Perfian commanders with the hopeof reftoringthe whole Afiatic coaft to the greatking7,as well as of inflictingexemplarypunifhmenton the proud city,which had refifted the power,difmembered the empire,and tarnilhed the gloryof Perfia.

' The terror of fuch a formidable combination ThcAthe-might have reduced the Athenians to defpair;and ""

our furprifethat this confequencefhould not imme- revolt,diatelyfollow,will be increafed by the followingreflection. Not to mention the immortal trophies

6 Ctefias,c. xlvii.

7 Thucydid. 1.viii.p. 560. " Ctefias,Perfic. c, li.

B 3 of

6C HA p. Of Alexander, or the extenfive ravages of ZingigKhan, Tamerlane, and the Tartar princesof theirrace; the Spaniards,the Portuguefe,and othernations of modern Europe, have, with a handful

of men, marched victorious over the effeminate or

barbarous coafts of the eaftern and weftern world.

The hardy difciplineof Europe eafilyprevailedover the unwarlike foftnefsof India and the favageignoranceof America. But the rapidfuccefs ofall thefe conquerors was owing to their militaryknowledge 8 and experience.By the fuperiorityof their arms and of their difcipline,the Romansfubdued the nations of the earth. But the Athe-nians

afford the only example of a people,who,

by the virtues of the mind alone, acquiredan ex-tenfivedominion over men equallyimproved with

themfelves in the arts of war and government.

They poffefled,or were believed to pofiefs,fuperiorcourage and capacityto the nations around them;and this opinion,which fhould feem not intirelydeftitute of foundation, enabled them to maintain,

by very feeble garrifons,an abfolute authorityinthe iflands of the

.^igean,as well as in the citiesof the Afiatic coaft. Their difafters and difgracein Sicilydeftroyedat once the real and the ideal

fupportsof their power; the lofs of one third oftheir citizens made it impoffibleto fupply,withfrelh recruits, the exhaufted ftrengthof their

8 If that of the Tartars fhould be doubted, the reader mayconfult Mnnf. de Guignes'sHilt, des Huns, and Mr. Gibbon'sadmirable defcriptionof the manners of the paftoralnations,v. ii.

garrifons


garrifonsin foreignparts; the terror of their fleet c H A p.was no more ; and their multiplieddefeats,before "__'

-t',_j"

the walls of Syracufe,had converted into contemptthat admiration in which Athens had been longheld by Greeks and Barbarians.

But in free governments there are many latent Peculiar

refources which publiccalamities alone can bringto Of frcelight;and adverfity,which, to individuals en- g"vern~dowed with inborn vigour of mind, is the greatfchool of virtue and of heroifm, furnifhes alfo tothe enthufiafm of popular aflemblies the nobleftfield for the difplayof national honour and mag-nanimity.

Had the meafures of the Athenians

depended on one man, or even on a few, it is

probablethat the felfifhtimidityof a prince,andthe cautious prudence of a council, would havefunk under the weightof misfortunes, too heavyfor the unfupportedftrengthof ordinaryminds.But the firft fparkof generous ardour, which thelove of virtue, of glory, and the republic,oreven the meaner motives of ambition and vanity,excited in the aflembled multitude, was difrufedand increafed by the natural contagionof rympa-thy; the patrioticflame was communicated to

every breaft ; and the focialwarmth, reflected fromfuch a varietyof objects,became too intenfe to berefilledby the coldnefs of caution and the dampsof defpair.

With one mind and refolution the Athenians Prudent

determined to brave the leverityof fortune,and towithftand the aflaultsof the enemy. Nor did thisnoble defignevaporate in ufelefs (peculation; the nians.

B 4 wifeft


CHAP, wifefl meafures were adopted for reducing it to

t_'

_.practice.The great work began, as national re-formation

ought always to begin,by regulating% the finances, and lopping off every branch of

fuperfluousexpence. The clamour of turbulent

demagogues was filenced; aged wifdom and ex-periencewere allowed calmlyto direct the public

councils j new levies were raifed ; the remainder

of theirfleet was equippedfor fea ; the motions ofthe colonies and tributaryflates were watched with

an anxious folicitude,and every proper expedientwas employed that might appeafetheir animofity,or render it impotent9. Yet thefe meafures,prudent and vigorous as they were, could not,probably,have fufpendedthe fall of Athens, hadnot feveral concurringcaufes facilitatedtheir opera-tion.

The weak, dilatory,and ineffectual pro-ceedingsof the Spartan confederacyj the tem-

porifmg,equivocal,and capriciousconduct of thePerfian governors j above all,the intriguesandenterprifmggenius of Alcibiades,who, after in-volving

his country in inextricable calamities,

finallyundertook its defence,and retarded,thoughhe could not prevent, itsdeftiny.

In the year followingthe unfortunate expeditionans and into Sicily,the Spartansprepared a fleet of an

prepare tohundred fail,of which twenty-fivegallieswere

a"3 againft furnifhed by their own fea-ports: twenty-five bytheAfiatic

, _,, , cc , ,r_

..

J *

depend- the Thebans ; fifteen by the Corinthians ; and the

Athens!*remainder b7 Locris, Phocis, Megara, and the

9 Thucydid.I.viii.p. 559. Diodor. 1. xiii. p. 349.maritime

to THE HISTORY OF GREECE.

CHAP, dered the allies from acting expeditioufly,at aXXI

u

'

.

time when expeditionwas of the utmoft import-defeat the

ance. A varietyof privateviews diverted them

rin- from the generalaim of the confederacy;and thethians and feafon was f^ advanced before the Corinthians,the vDi-

who had been diftinguifhedby excefs of antipathyto Athens, were preparedto fail. They determin-

".0.413. ed" from pride perhaps, as well as fuperflition,to celebrate", before leavingtheir harbours, theIfthmian games, conlecrated to Neptune, the third

of the Grecian feftivals in point of dignityandfplendour. From this ceremony the Athenians,though enemies, were not excluded by the Co-rinthian

magiftrates;nor did they exclude them-felves,though opprefledby the weight of paftmisfortunes,and totallyoccupied by the thoughtsof providingagainftfuture evils. While their re-prefentativesfhared the amufements of this facredipe"acle,they neglectednot the commiffion re-commended

by their country. They iecretlyin-formedthemfelves of the plan and particularcir-

cumftances of the intended revolt,and learned the

precifetime fixed for the departureof the Corin-thianfleet. In confequenceof this importantin-telligence,

the Athenians anticipatedthe defignsofthe rebels of Chios, and carried off feven fhipsaspledgesof their fidelity.The fquadronwhich re-turned

from this ufeful enterprife,interceptedthe

T1 "ripivTaIcn5.ai"ZntfTotffeM."The fchotufl jufllyobferve?,

the force of the " Aa," " thoroughly,completely," /. e. un-tilthey had celebrated the games, the complete number of days,

appointedby antiquity. Vid, 2E, Port, ad loc. p. 563.

Cor in-

THE HISTORY OF GREECE, *i

Corinthians as they failed through the Saronic CHAP.

gulph; and havingattacked and conqueredthem, " -y-'jpurfuedand blocked them up in their harbours".

Meanwhile the Spartansand their allies fent to succefsfulthe Ionian coaft fuch fquadronsas were fucceffive- "pera-lyreadyfor fea,under the conduct of Akibiades, the con-Chalcideus, and Aftyochus. The firftof thefe federat"-

commanders failed to the ifleof Chios, which wasdiftracled by contendingfactions. The Athenian

partifanswere furprifed,and compelled to fubmit;and the city,which poflefledfortygallies,and

yieldedin wealth and populoufnefsto none of theneighbouringcolonies,became an acceflion to thePeloponnefianconfederacy.The ftrongand richtown of Miletus followed the example: Erythraeand Clazomene furrendered to Chalcideusj feveralplaces of lefs note were conquered by Afty-ochus.

When the Athenians received the unwelcome Battle ofintelligenceof thefe events, they voted the expen- JJ'ietiw.

c i r j i t " i "Olymp.

diture or a thouiand talents,which, m more pro- xcii. a.

iperoustimes, they had depofitedin the citadel,A* C* 4"*under the fanftion of a decree of the fenate and

people,to referve it for an occafion of the utmoftdanger. This feafonable fupplyenabled them toincreafe the fleet,which failed,under Phrynichusand other leaders,to the ifleof Lefbos. Havingfecured the fidelityof the Lefbians, who were ripefor rebellion,they endeavoured to recover theirauthorityin Miletus, ancientlyregardedas the

" Thucydid, p. 564.

capital

uCHAP, capitalof the Ionic coaft. A bloody battle was' ' '

foughtbefore the walls of that place,between theAthenians and Argives on one fide, and the Pelo-

ponnefians,affifted by the troops of Tiffaphernesand the revolted Milefians, on the other. The

Athenian braverydefeated,on this occafion, the

fuperiornumbers of Greeks and Barbarians towhom they were oppofed ; but their Argiveauxiliaries were repuliedby the gallantcitizens ofMiletus : fo that,in both parts of the engagement,the Ionic race, commonly reckoned the lefs war-like,

prevailedover- their Dorian rivals and ene-mies.Elevated with the joy of victory,the

Athenians preparedto aflaultthe town, when theywere alarmed by the approachof a fleet of fifty-five fail,which advanced in two divifions,the onecommanded by the celebrated Hermocrates, theother by Theramenes the Spartan. Phrynichusprudentlyconfidered,that his own ftrengthonlyamounted to forty-eightgallies,and refuled tocommit the lafthope of the republicto the dangerof an unequalcombat. His firmnefs deipifedtheclamours of the Athenian failors,who infulted13,under the name of cowardice, the caution of their

TheAthe- admiral ; and he calmly retired with his whole*"rce to ^ ^e "f Samos, where the popularfac-tion

havinglatelytreated the nobles with fhocking

*s Like Fabius," Non ponebat enim rumores ante falutem."

ENNIUS apud Cic,

which Thucydides exprefleswith more vigour, " v$t WOT" ratuffXtu o""tj=" "i|as;aAcfi'j$ix.y.H$vnvcrw,"p. 574-

injuftice


injufticeand cruelty,too frequentin Grecian de- cmocracies, were ready to receive with open arms ithe patrons of that fierce and licentious form of

government.The retreat of the Athenian fleet acknowledged TheAthe-

i ,-""/- i rnianafFairs

the naval luperionty of the enemy; a luperionty retrievedwhich was alone fufficient either to acquire or to *

" blades.

maintain the fubmiffion of the neighbouringcoaftsand iflands. In other refpectstoo, the Pelopon-nefians enjoyed the mofl decifive advantages.Their gallieswere victualled,their foldiers werepaidby Tiffaphernes,and theydailyexpecteda rein-forcement

of an hundred and fiftyPhoenician ihips,which, it was faid,had alreadyreached Afpendus,a fea-portof Pamphylia. But, in this dangerouscrifis,fortune feemed to refpectthe decliningageof Athens, and, by a train of accidents,fingularand almoft incredible,enabled Alcibiades, fo longthe misfortune and the fcourge,to become the de-fence

and the faviour,of his country.During his long refidence m Sparta,Alcibiades His iti-

aflumed the outward gravityof deportment, andconformed himfelf to the fparediet,and laborious

exercifes,which prevailedin that auftere republic;but his character and his principlesremained aslicentious as ever. His intriguewith Timea, thefpoufeof king Agis, was difcovered by an excefsof female levity. The queen, vain of the attach-ment

of fo celebrated a character, familiarlygavethe name of Alcibiades to her fon Leotychides", aname which, firft confined to the privacyof her

female


.CHAP, female companions, was foon fpreadabroad in the

c"y",^world. Alcibiades punifhed her follyby a moftmortifyingbut well-merited declaration,boafting^that he had folicited her favours from no other mo-tive

but that he might indulgethe ambitious defireof givinga king to Sparta. The offence itfelf,andthe fhamelefs avowal, ftillmore provoking than theoffence,excited the keeneft relentment in the breaft

of the injuredhufband14. The magiftratesand gene-ralsof Sparta,jealousof the fame, and envious of

the merit of a ftranger,readilyfympathifedwith themisfortune, and encouraged the revenge of Agis;and, as the horrid practiceof affaffination ftilldif-

gracedthe manners of Greece, orders were fent toAftyochus,who commanded in chief the Pelopon-nefian forces in Afia, fecretlyto deftroyAlcibiades,whole power defied thofe laws which in everyGrecian republiccondemned adulterers to death'5.But the active and fubtile Athenian had iecured

too faithful domeftic intelligencein die principalfamilies of Spartato become the victim of this exe-crable

defign.With his ufual addrefs he eluded allthe fnares of Aftyochus: his fafety,however, re-quired

perpetualvigilanceand caution, and he de-terminedto efcapefrom a fituation,which fubject-

ed him to fuch irkfome conftraint.

His con- Publiclybaniftied from Athens, fecretlyperle-Tif- cuted by Sparta,he had recourfe to the friendlhip

faphcrncs.

Plutarch, ii. 49. in Alcibiad.

Lyfias in defence of Euphiletus, "c. p. 419.

Of


of TifTaphernes,who admired his accompliihments,c l*".and refpectedhis abilities,which, though far fupe-rior in degree,were fimilar in kind to his own.

Tifiapherneswas of a temper the more readilytoferve a friend,in proportionas he lefs needed hisfervices. Alcibiades,therefore,carefullyconcealedfrom him the dangerous refentment of the Spar-tans.

In the felfilh breaft of the Perfian no at-tachment

could be durable unlefs founded on in-

tereft; and Alcibiades,who had deeplyftudied his

character, began to flatter his avarice, that he

mightenfure his protection.He informed him,that by allowing the Peloponnefianfailors adrachma, or feven-pencefterling,of dailypay, hetreated them with an ufelefs and even dangerousliberality:that the pay given by the Athenians,even in the moft flourifhingtimes, amounted onlyto three oboli; which proceeded,not from a dif-inclination to reward the fkill and valour of their

feamen, but from an experience,that iftheyreceivedmore than half a drachma each day,the fuperfluitywould be fquanderedin fuch profligatepleafuresasenfeebled and corruptedtheir minds and bodies,andrendered them equallyincapableof activityand ofdifcipline.Should the failorsprove dirTatisfiedwiththis equitablereduction, the Grecian character af-forded

an eafyexpedientfor filencingtheir licenti-ousclamours. It would be fufficientto bribe the

naval commanders and a few mercenary orators,and the carelefs and improvident feamen wouldfubmit, without fufpicion,the rate of their pay, aswell as every other concern, to the influence and

audio-

THE HISTORY OF GREECE.

CHAP.XXI.

Perfuades

him to di-

minifh his

fubftdies

to the

Pelopon-jiebans.

Alienates

him fromthe inte-reft of

Sparta.

authorityof thofe who were accuftomed to governthem16.

TifTaphernesheard this advice with the attentionof an avaricious man to every propofalfor favinghis money; and fo true a judgment had Alcibiadesformed of the Greeks, that Hermocrates the Syra-cufan was the onlyofficer who difdained,meanlyand perfidioufly,to betraythe intereft of the menunder nis command: yet throughthe influence ofhis colleagues,the planof oeconomy was univer-

fallyadopted, and on a future occafion, TifTa-

phernesboafted that Hermocrates, though more

coy, was not lefs corruptiblethan others, and thatdie only reafon far which he undertook the patron-age

of the failors,was to compelhis own reluctanceto comply with the exorbitance of his demands.This reproachilluftratesthe opinionentertained byforeignnations of Grecian virtue; but it is pro-bably

an afperfionon the fame of the illuftriousSyracufan.

The intriguesof Alcibiades had fown jealoufyand diftruft in the Peloponnefianfleet : they hadalienated the minds of the troops both from Tif-

faphernesand their commanders : the Perfian wasready to forfake thofe whom he had learned todefpife;and Alcibiades profitedof this dilpofitionto infmuate that the alliance of the Lacedaemonians

was equallyexpenfiveand inconvenient for thegreat king and his lieutenants. " That thefehaughtyrepublicanswere accuftomed to take arms

Thucydid. p. 584, " feqq.

to

^ THE HISTORY OF GREECE.

QHAP. dus "om failingto afliftthe enemy. Aftumingyjl^^.graduallymore boldnefs,as he perceivedthe fuc-

cefs of his intrigues,he finallydeclared that the

Athenians might obtain not merely the neutrality,but perhaps,the afiiftance of Artaxerxes, fnould

theyconlent to abolifh their turbulent democracy,fo odious to the Periians, and entruft the admini-

flrationof government to men worthy to negociatewith fo mighty a monarch.

This mea- When the illuftriousexile propofedthis meafure,beenhai-^ *s uncertain whether he was acquaintedwith theready in fecret cabals which had been alreadyformed, both

bmh in*"in the cityand in the camp., for executingthe de-th(\c.Ity,fignwhich he fuggefted.The misfortunes,occa-

fioned by the giddyinfolence of the multitude,hadthrown the principalsauthorityinto the hands ofthe noble and wealthy,who, corruptedby theftveetsof temporary power, were defirous of ren-dering

itperpetual.Many prompted by ambitionfeveral moved by inconftancy,a few directed by ajuftfenfe of the incurable defects of democracy,were preparedto encounter every danger,that theymight overturn the eftablifned conftitution. In thethird and moft honourable clals was Antiphon, aman of an exalted character,and endowed with

extraordinarytalents. The irreliftibleenergy ofhis eloquencewas fufpectedby the people. He

appearednot in the courts of juftice,nor in the af-fembly; but his artful and elaborate compofitionsoften faved the lives of his friends. He was the in-

vifible agent who governed all the motions of the

conlpiracyj and when compelled,after the ruin ofhis

THE HISTORY OF GREECE* 19

liisparty, to ftand trial for his life,he difcovered CHA p,

an activityand force of mind that aftonifhed themoft difcerningof his contemporariesl7. Pifahder,Theramenes, and the other leaders of the arifto-

cratical party, warmly approvedthe views of Alci-biades. The Athenian foldiers likewife,though

they detefted the impiety,admired the valour, ofthe illuftrious exile,and longed to fee him reftored

to the fervice of his country. All ranks lamented

the dangerousfituation of Athens ; many thoughtthat their affairs mufl become defperate,fhould

Tiliaphernescommand the Phoenician fleet to co^operate with that of Peloponnefus;and many .re-joiced

in the profpectof a Perfian alliance,in con-fequenceof which theywould enter at once intothe pay of that wealthyfatrap^18.

i

J7 Thucydid. 1, viii.p, 600, A few lines above, Thucydidesdefcribes the character of Antiphon with expreffiveenergy :

amp AQvHztav TUV xab eavTov awert Te. tfoEvo; t"Y"g"K"x'ou xga-nro? n9i"ff/j-Swan ysM/nsvcf, xai a, yvwr,, HTTW.

" An Athenian, in virtue fe-

cond to no man then living,endowed with the greatcftvigour of

thought, and the greateftpower of exprefiion," Plutarch in the

very inaccurate and imperfedtwork, intitled,The Lives of theTen Orators, tells us, that Antiphon was the firft who wroteinllitutions of oratory; and that his pleadings were the moftancient that had come down to pofterity. The chara"er givenby Plutarch of the writingsof Antiphon agrees with the highcommendation of Thucydides,

18 What influence this confederation muft have had, may be

conjedlnred from the information of Andocides, Orat. iii.whofays, that in the courfe of this war the Spartans received, from

their Perfian allies,,fuhfidies to the amount of five thoufand ta-lents,about a million fterling. The fum is prodigious,confider-

ipg'the value of money in tbat age.

C 2 One

16 THE HISTORY OF GREECE,

CHAP. One man, the perfonalenemy of Alcibiades,t

-y- _alone oppofed the generalcurrent. But this man

Phryni-was Phrynichus,whofe prudentfirmnefs as a corn-

counter- mander we have alreadyhad occafion to remark,

ablades*^ne courage with which he invited dangersmanyhave equalled,but none ever furpafledthe bold-nefs with which he extricated himfelf from diffi-culties.

When he perceivedthat his colleagueswere deaf to every objectionagainftrecallingthefriend of Tiflaphernes,he fecretlyinformed the

Spartanadmiral Aftyochus,of the intrigueswhich

were carryingon to the difadvantageof his coun-try.Daring as this treacherywas, Phrynichus

addrefled a traitor not lefsperfidiousthan himfelf.

Aftyochus was become the penfionerand crea-tureof Tiflaphernes,to whom he communicated

the intelligence.The Perfian againcommunicat-edit to his favourite Alcibiades, who complained

in ftrongterms to the Athenians of the bafenefsand villanyof Phrynichus. The latter excul-pated

himfelf with confummate addrefsj but asthe return of Alcibiades might prove fatal to hisfafety,he ventured, a fecond time, to write to"Aftyochus,gentlyreproachinghim with his breachof confidence, and explainingby what means hemight furprifethe whole Athenian fleet at Samos;an exploitthat muft for ever eftablifh his fame andfortune. Aftyochus again betrayedthe fecret toTiflaphernesand Alcibiades; but before their let-ters

could be conveyed to the Athenian camp,Phrynichus,who, by fome u'nknown channel, was

informed


Informed of this fecond treachery,anticipatedthe C H A P4

dangerous difcovery,by apprifmgthe Atheniansof the enemy'sdefignto furprifetheir fleet. Theyhad fcarcelyemployed the proper means to coun-teract

that purpofewhen meflengerscame fromAlcibiades to announce the horrid perfidyof awretch who had bafelyfacrificedto privaterefent-ment the laft hope of his country. But the mef-

fengersarrived too late; the priorinformation ofPhrynichus,as well as the bold and fingularwick-ednefs of his defign,which no common degreeofevidence was thoughtfufficientto prove, were fuf-tained as arguments for his exculpation;and itwas believed that Alcibiades had made ufe of a

ftratagemmoft infamous in itfelf,but not unex-ampled

among the Greeks, for deftroyinga manwhom he detefted'*.

The oppofitionof Phrynichus,thoughit retard-ed the defignsof Alcibiades,preventednot the Con-meafures of Pifander and his aflbciates for abolilh- lpir.ac/".

agamlttneing the democracy. The foldiers at Samos were democra-induced, by the reafons above mentioned, to ac- govern-quiefcein the refolution of their generals.But a ment*more difficulttafk remained; to deprivethe peopleof Athens of their liberty,which, fmce the expul-fion of the familyof Pififtratus,theyhad enjoyedan hundred years. Pifander headed the deputa-tion

which was fent from the camp to the citytoeffeft this importantrevolution. He acquaintedthe extraordinaryaflembly,fummoned on that oo

*9 Thucydid.p. 587"590.C 3 cafion


CHAP, cafion in the theatre of Bacchus, of the meafures"

which had been adoptedby their foldiers and fellow-citizens,at Samos. The compact bandi0 of con-

Ipiratorswarmly approved the example; but loudmurmurs of difcontent refounded in different quar-ters

of that fpaciotistheatre. Pifander aiked thereafon of this difapprobation.f{ Had his oppo-nents

any thingbetter to propofe?If theyhad, letthem come forward and explainthe grounds oftheir diiient: but, above all,let them explainhow

theycould fave themfelves,their families,and their

country, unlefs they compliedwith the demand of

Tiffaphernes.The imperious voice of necefiitywas. fuperiorto law ; and when the actual dangerhadceafed,theymight re-eftablifhtheir ancient confti-tutipn." The opponents of Pifander were unable

or afraid to reply: and the afTemblypaffeda de-cree,

invertingten ambaffadors with fullpowers tqtreat with the Perfian fatrap.

Soon after the arrival of the Peloponnefianfleeton the coaft of Afia, the Spartancommanders had

phernes. concluded, in the name of their republic,a treatyxcii. i. with Tiffaphernes;in which it was ftipulated,thatA. c. 41 j. tne fubficljesfhould be regularlypaidby the king

of Perfia,and that the Peloponnefianforces fhouldemploy their utmoft endeavours to recover, for

ao Or rather bands, according to Thucydides. Pifandertvas at pains to gain over to his views T"? ?t7Wftw"*?" aiTre^{tyy^aov wpoTtpoK t'J rr" TroXs* tja-cti SKI SIXUK;xcti ""%3K* *' The fac-tions

or juntosalready formed in Athens, with a view to thruftthemfelves into the feats of judicatureand the great offices offtate." Thucydid. p.59Z.

that

THE HISTORY OJ GREECE.^

that monarch, the dominions of his anceftors,CHAP..XXI

which had been long unjuftlyufurped,and cruellyi__ ^"'_finfuited,by the Athenians. This treatyfeemed fohonourable to the great king, that his lieutenantcould not venture openlyto infringeit. It is pof-fible,that in the interval between his intrigueswithAlcibiades, and the arrival of the Athenian am-bafiadors at Magnefia,the placeof his ufual refi-^dence, Tiffaphernesmight receive frefh inftruc-tions from his court to make good his agreementwith the Spartans. Perhapsthe craftyfatrapne-ver

entertained any ferious thoughtsof an alliancewith the Athenians,althoughhe fufficientlyreliih-ed the advice givenhim by Alcibiades to weakenboth parties.

.

But whatever motive determined

him, it is certain that he fhewed a difmclination toenter into any negociationwith the Athenian am-bafiadors. Alarmed at the decayof his influencewith the Perfians,on which he had built the flat-tering

hopesof returningto his country, Alcibiadesemployed all the refources of his geniusto concealhis difgrace.By felicitations,intreaties,-and the Artificesmeaneft compliances,he obtained an audience for his " c

fellow-citizens. As the agent of Tifiaphernes,hethen propofedthe conditions on which theymightobtain the friendfhipof the great king. Severaldemands v/ere made, demands moft difgracefultothe name of Athens: to all of which the ambafla-

dors fubmitted. They even agreed to furrenderthe whole coaft of Ionia to its ancient fovereign.But when the Cartful Athenian (fearfulleft theyfhould,on any terms, admit the treatywhich Tif-

C 4 faphernes.

CHAP, faphcrneswas refolved on no terms to grant)de-mandedthat the Perfian fleets ihould be allowed

to fail,undifturbed, in the Grecian feas, the am-

bafladors,well knowing that fhould this condition

be complied with, no treaty could hinder Greece

from becoming a province of Perfia, expreffedtheir indignationin very unguarded language,andleft the arTemblyin difguft.This imprudence en-abled

Alcibiades to affirm, with fome appearanceof truth, that their own anger and obftinacy,notthe reluctance of Tiflaphernes,had obftructed the

negoeiation,which was precifelythe iffue of theaffair moft favourable to his views ".

Thede- His artificesfucceeded, but were not attended

overturn-with the confequencesexpected from them. The

AthensAthenians, both in the camp and city,perceived,

Olymp. by this tranfadtion,that his credit with the Perfians

,A C.-iii.was kfs tnan ne reprefentedit; and the ariftocra-tical faction were glad to get rid of a man, whofereftlefs ambition rendered him a dangerous aflb-ciate. They perfifted,however, with great acti-vity,

in executingtheir purpofe; of which Phry-nichus, who had oppofed them only from hatredof Alcibiades, became an active abettor. When

perfuafionwas ineffectual,they had recourfe toviolence. Androcjes, Hyperbolus**,and other

licentious;

41 Thucydid. 1. viii.p. 593.** Thucydides paints his character in few words : 'Ywip"oXo"

Jfyperbplu*, a worthlefs fellow, and banifhed by the Oftracifm,pot from fear of his power and dignity,but on account of bis ex-

" THE HISTORY OF GREECE,

C II^Ap. nian orators and ftatefmen were liable to proievcution44 before the ordinarycourts of jnftice,forfuch fpeechesand decrees as had been approvedand confirmed by the affembly. In eonfequenceof this acl of indemnity,Pifander and his partyboldlydeclared, that neither the fpiritnor theforms of the eflabliihed conftitution (which hadrecentlyfubjectedthem to fuch a weight of mif-fortunes)fuited the prefentdangerous and alarm-ing

crifis. That it was neceflaryto new-model thewhole fabric of government; for which purpofefive perfons(whofenames he read) ought to beappointedby the people,to choofe an hundredothers i each of whom fhould felect three afibci-

ates ; and the four hundred thus chofen, men of

dignityand opulence,who would ferve their coun-trywithout fee or reward, ought immediatelytq

be invefted with the majeftyof the republic.Theyalone fhould conduct the adminiftration uncon-

trouled,and afiemble,as often as feemed proper,five thoufand citizens,whom they judged modworthy of beingconfulted in the management ofpublicaffairs. This extraordinarypropofalwasacceptedwithout oppofition: the partifansof de-mocracy

dreaded the ftrengthof the cabal j andthe undifcerningmultitude, dazzled by the im-pofmg name of five thoufand, a number far ex-ceeding

the ordinaryaffemblies of Athens, per-ceivednot that they furrendered their libertiesto

the artificeof an ambitious faction*5.

** By the ypap*i wypcuopw. See Vol. I. Chap. xiii.*""" Thucydid. " Lyfias,ubi fupra.

But


.

But the conduct of the four hundred tyrants CHAP.

(forhiflorians have juftlyadoptedthe languageof t__ -,T-'_JAthenian refentment) foon opened the eyes and Their ^~

/ *rannyren-*

xmderftandingof the mofl thoughtlefs. They ders themaboliihed every veftigeof ancient freedom ; em-ployed

mercenary troops levied from the fmall

iilands of the ^Egean, to overawe the multitude,and ,to intimidate, in fome inflances to deftroy,their real or fufpectedenemies. Inftead of feiz-

ing the opportunityof annoyingthe Peloponne-.

fians,enraged at the treacheryof Tiffaphernes,and mutinous for want of pay and fubfiftence,theyfent ambaffadors to folicitpeace from the Spar-tans

on the mofc dilhonourable terms. Their ty-rannyrendered diem odious in the city,and their

cowardice made them contemptiblein the campat Samos. Their crueltyand injufticewere de-fcribed,and exaggerated,by the fugitiveswhocontinuallyarrived in that ifland. The ge.nerousyouth, employed in the fea and land fervice,wereimpatientof the indignitiesoffered to their fellow-citizens. The fame indignitiesmight be inflided Theirpar.on themfelves, ifthey did not vindicate their free- o'ansat;

3' Samos de-

dom. Thefe fecret murmurs broke out into loud ftroyedby-arid licentious clamours, which were encouragedby'buius andthe approbationof the Samians. Thrafybulusand Thrafyi-Thrafyllus,two officers of highmerit and diflinc-tion,though not actuallyentrufted with a ihare inthe principalcommand26, gaveadivityand boldnefs

to

a6 Neither gener,alsnor admiraU; for Thrafybulus only com-mandeda galley; and Tluafyllusferyedin the heavy-armed in-fantry,

2S THE HISTORY OF GREECE.

CHAP, to the infurgents.The abettors of the new go-vJ*l^_.vernment were attacked by furprife:thirtyof the

moft criminal were put to death, feveral others

were banifhed, democracy was re-eftablifhed in the

camp, and t|iefoldiers were bound by oath tomaintain their hereditarygovernment againftthe

confpiracyof domeftic foes, and to aft with vi-gourand unanimityagainftthe publicenemy.

The for- Thrafybulus,who headed this fuccefsful and

dudts"Af-meritorious fedition,had a mind to conceive, acibiadesto tongue to perfuade,and a hand to execute, the

5. moft daringdefigns. He exhorted the foldiersnot to defpairof effectingin the capitalthe famerevolution which they had produced in the camp.But fhould theyfailin that defignthey ought nolonger to obey a citywhich had neither wealthnor wifdom, neither fuppliesnor good counfel tofend them. They were themfelves more nume-rous

than the fubjeftsof the four hundred, andbetter provided in all things neceflaryfor war.They porTeffedan ifland which had formerlycon-tended

with Athens for the command of the fea,and which, it was hoped,theymight defend againftevery foe, foreignand domeftic. But were theycompelled to forfake it,they had ftillreafon toexpeft that,with an hundred fhipsof war, andwith fo many brave men, they might acquirean eftablifhment not lefs valuable elfewhere,inwhich they would enjoy,undifturbed,the invalu-

fantry,whether as an officer,or in the ranks, the expreflionleavesuncertain. The fcholiaft,however, conliders o7rAiT"fim gs fyno-fiimous with ta o7z-Vn"" a^xfn,* Thucydid.p. 6041

able

THE HISTORY O GREECE* 29

able poflefllonof liberty.Their moft immediate CHAP.

concern was to recallAlcibiades,who had been de- '

ceived and difgracedby the tyrants^ and who notonlyfeltwith peculiarfenfibility,but could refentwith becoming dignity,the wrongs of his countryand his own. The advice of Thrafybuluswas ap-proved

; foon after he failed to Magnefia,and re-turnedin company with Alcibiades.

Near four years had elapfedfmce the eloquentHefon of Clinias had fpokenin an Athenian affembly.Being prefentedby Thrafybulusto his fellow- men.citizens,he began by accuiinghis fortune,and

lamentinghis calamities. " Yet his banifhmentought not to affect him with permanent farrow,fmce ithad furnifhed him with an opportunitytoferve the caufe of his country. This event, other-

wife unfortunate,had procuredhim the acquaint-anceand friendfhipof TifTaphernes

"

who, moved

by his entreaties,had withheld the ftipulatedpayfrom the Peloponnelianforces, and who, hedoubted not, would continue his good offices tothe Athenians, fupplythem with every thingre-quifitefor maintainingthe war, and even fummonthe Phoenician fleetto their afliftance." Thefe

were magnificentbut flatteringpromiles. Inmaking them, Alcibiades however did not confultmerely the dictates of vanity.They raifed hiscredit with the army, who immediatelyfalutedhim generala7j they widened the breach between

*7 MfT" tui Trtznaw " They aflbciated him with the formercommanders. But Thucydides immediately adds, """ T"

ita.no. o""T*3wa", and referred every thing to hitp. "99.

Tiffa-

3" THE HISTORY OFGREECE/

CHAP. Tiflaphernesand the Spartans;and they ftrnck

vJ^l^ terror (when his Ipeech got abroad) into thetyrants of Athens, who had provokedthe refent-ment of a man capableto fubvert their usurpation.

His mef- Alcibiades leftthe care of the troops to his col-

fagctothe leaguesThrafybulusand Thrafyllus,and with-drewhimfelf from the applaufesof his admiring

countrymen, on pretence of concertingv/ith Tifia-

phernes the lyftem of their future operations.But his principalmotive was to fhew himfelf tothe Perfian, in the new and illuftrious character

with which he was inverted} for havingrailed hisauthorityamong the Athenians by his influence^with the fatrap,he expectedto ftrengthenthis in-fluence

by the fupportof that authority.Beforehe returned to the camp, ambaffadors had been

fent by the tyrants, to attempt a negociationwiththe partifcnoof democracy, who, inflamed bycontinual reports of the indignitiesand crueltiescommitted in Athens, prepared to fail thither toprotecttheir friends and take vengeance on theirenemies. Alcibiades judicioufiyoppofedthis rafhrefolution,which mufl have left the Hellefpont,Ionia, and the iflands,at the mercy of the hoftilefleet. But he commanded the ambaftadors todeliver to their mafters a Ihort but pithymeflage:cc That they muft diveft themfelves of their il-legal

p6wer, and reftore the ancient confritution.If they delayedobedience, he would failto thePirseus,and deprivethem of their authorityandtheir lives13."

28 Thucydid. ibid. " Plut. ii. 54. in Vit. Alcibiad.

When

THE HISTORY OF GREECE,"1

When this meffage was reported at Athens, it C HAP.XXI

added to the diforder and confufion in which that L-l^-Ljunhappy city was involved. The four hundred, Tumults

in Athens.who had acted with unanimityin usurpingthe go-vernment,

foon difagreedabout the adminiftration,and fplitinto factions,which perfecutedeach otheras furiouflyas both had perfecutedthe people29.Theramenes and Ariftocrates condemned and op-

pofed the tyrannicalmeafures of. their colleagues.The perfidiousPhrynichuswas '(lain: both partiespreparedfor takingarms ; and the horrors of aCorcyrean fedition were ready to be renewed inAthens, when the old men, the children, the

women, and ftrangers,interpofedfor the fafetyofa city which had long been the ornament ofGreece, the terror of Perfia,and the admiration ofthe world 3".

Had the publicenemy availed themfelves of this Mutinyopportunityto aflault the Pirseus,Athens could

p

not have been faved from immediate deilruction. camp.

But the Peloponnefianforces at Miletus, longclamorous and difcontented,had broken out into

open mutiny, when theyheard of the recall of Al-cibiades,and the hoilile intentions of TirTaphernes.To the duplicityof the fatrap,and the treacheryof their own captains,theyjuftlyafcribed the wantof pay and fubfiftence,and all the misfortuneswhich theyfeltor dreaded. Their refentment wasviolent and implacable.They deftroyedthePerfian fortificationsin the neighbourhoodof

*9 Lyfiasadv. Agorat, 3" Thucydtd. p. 610.

6 Miletus;

ja THE HISTORY OF GREECE.

CHAP. Miletus ; they put the garrifonsto the fword *t

v^-^A^ their treacherous commander, Aftyochus,faved

his lifeby flyingto an altar; nor was the tumult

appealeduntil the guiltywere removed from their

fight,and Myndarus, an officer of approvedvalourand fidelity,arrived from Sparta to afiiime the

principalcommand 3f.Amid ft j^ Dreadful confequences which muft havethe tu- *

muitsin refuked to the Athenians, if,during the fury or

the Pelo- their fedition,the enemy had attacked them withponnefian

a fleet of an hundred and fiftyfail,may be con-pears on ceived by the terror infpiredby a much fmaller

ic coa. pe}0p0nnefianfquadronof onlyforty-twoveffels,

commanded by the Spartan Hegefandridas.Thefriends of the conflitution had affembled in the

fpacioustheatre of Bacchus. Meflengerspalledbetween them and the partifansof Antiphon andPifander,who had convened in a diftant quarter ofthe city. The moft importantmatters were inagitation,when the alarm was giventhat fome Pe-loponnefianfhipshad been feen on the coaft. Bothaflemblies were immediatelydiflblved. All rankscf men haftened to the Piraeus ; manned the veflels

in the harbour; launched others; and preparedthirty-fixfor takingthe fea. When Hegefandri-das

perceivedthe ardent oppofitionwhich he muftencounter in attemptingto land, he doubled thepromontory of Sunium, and failed towards thefertile ifland of Euboea, from which, fmce thefortificationof Decelia, the Athenians had derived

3' Thucydid.p.6ii.

far

JO


c H A p. to difourden the republicof its domeftic foes,who

^

'

ihad fummoned, or who were at leaft believed tohave fummoned, the. affiftance of the Lacedae-monian

fleet,that theymight be enabled to enflavetheir fellow-citizens. Antiphon, Pifander, andothers moft obnoxious, feafonablyefcaped; the reftfubmitted. A decree was paffed,recallingAlci-biades,and approvingthe conducl of the troops atSamos. The fedition ceafed. The democracy,which had been interruptedfour months, was re-ilored; and fuch are the refources of a free govern-ment,

that even this violent fermentation was not

unproductiveof benefit to the ftate. The Athe-nians

completed whatever had been left imperfectin former reformations 33 j and determined to de-fend,

to the laftextremity,the ancient gloryof therepublic,

TheAthe- By the imprudentor perfidiousconduct of theirtoriouTatcommanders, and the feditiousfpiritof their troops,^' the Peloponnefiansloft a feafonable opportunitytoxcii. a. terminate the war with equaladvantageand honour;

" and having neglectedthe profperouscurrent oftheir fortune,theywere compelledlongand labori-oufiy to ftrive againftan unfavourable ftream.

JJ The government was brought back to its original prin-ciples,as eftablilhed by Solon. Among other falut^ry regula-tions,it was enacted, that no one fhould receive a falaryfor any

public magiftracy. " And now," faysThucydides, " for thefirfttime, in the prefent age at leaft,the Athenians modelledtheir government aright; and this enabled Athens again to raifeher head." Thucydid. p. 6zj. It is remarkable, that neitherDiodorns, Plutarch, nor any of the orators, make the leaftmention of thofe falntaryregulations, which, however, laftednot long after the return of Alcibiades.

5 The


The doubtful Tiffapherneshefitated between the c H A p.

part of an open enemy, or a treacherous ally", the

Spartans,who had formerlyrejectedthe friend-fhip,now courted the protection,of his rivalPhar-nabazusj to whofe northern provincethey failedwith the principalftrengthof their armament,leavingonlya fmall fquadronat Miletus, to defendtheir fouthern acquifitions.The Athenians, ani-mated

by the manly counfels of Thrafybulusand

Thrafyllus,the generous defenders of their free-dom,

proceedednorth wards in purfuitof the enemy;and the importantftraits,which jointhe Euxineand j^Egeanfeas,became, and longcontinued, thefcene of conflict. In the twenty-firft winter of the

war, a year alreadydiftinguilhedby the dirTolutionand revival of their democracy,the Athenians pre-vailed

in three fucceffive engagements, the event

of which became continuallymore decjfive. Inthe firft,which was foughtin the narrow channelbetween Seftos and Abydus, the advantageswerein fome meafure balanced, fince Thrafybulustooktwenty Peloponnefianfhips,with the lofs of fifteenof his own. But the gloryremained entire to theAthenians, who repelledthe enemy, and offered torenew the battle 34. Not long afterwards,theyin-tercepted

a fquadronof fourteen Rhodian veffels,near Cape Rhegium. The iflanders defended them-felves with their ufual bravery. Myndarus beheldthe engagement from the diftance of eightmiles,while he performedhis morning devotions to Mi-

3+ Thucydid. 1. viii. p. 6a6.

D 2 nerva


CHAP, nerva in the loftytempleof Ilium. Alarmed for

vJ^Ljthe fafetyof his friends,he rulhed from that facrededifice,and haftened with great diligenceto the

fhore, that he might launch his fhips,and prevent,by fpeedyafliitance,the capture or deftruftion of

the Rhodians ". The principalAthenian fquadronattacked him near the fhore of Abydus. The en-gagement

was foughtfrom morning tillnight,andftillcontinued doubtful, when the arrival of eigh-teen

gallies,commanded by Alcibiades, turnedthe fcale of victory. The efcapeof the Pelopon-nefians was favoured by the braveryof Pharna-bazus, who, at the head of his Barbarian troops,had been an impatientfpedator of the combat.He gallantlyrode into the fea, encouraginghismen with his voice,his arm, and his example. The

Spartanadmiral drew up the greateftpart of hisfleet along the fhore, and preparedto refift theaffailants

;but the Athenians, fatisfiedwith the ad-vantages

alreadyobtained, failed to Seftos, carry-ingwith them a valuable prize,thirtyPeloponne-

fian gallies,as well as fifteen of their own, whichtheyhad loft in the former engagement. Thrafyl-lus was fent to Athens, that he might communicatethe good news, and raife fuch fuppliesof men and

money as could be expectedfrom that exhauftedcity36.

Alcibiades The Spartansyieldedpoffeffionof the fea,which

anTtakes^ey n"Pec^^oon to recover, and retired to thethe whole friendlyharbours of Cyzicus,to repairtheir fhat-

" Xenoph. Hellen. 1.i. c, i. Dioddr. xiii.p. 354. J* Id. ibid.

tered

THE HISTORY OF GREECE.

tared fleet; while the Athenians profitedof the c

fame of their victory,and the terror of their arms,to demand contributions from the numerous and

wealthytowns in that neighbourhood.The feveraldivifions returned to Seftos, having met with veryindifferent fuccefs in their defignj nor, withoutobtainingmore decifive and importantadvantages,could theyexpectto intimidate fuch flronglyforti-fied

places as Byzantium, Selembria, Perinthus,on the European, or Lampfacus, Parium, Chalce-

don, on the Afiatic, coaft. It was determined

therefore,chieflyby the advice of Alctbiades, toattack the enemy at Cyzicus;for which purpofetheyfailed,with eightygallies,to the fmall iflandof Proconnefus, near the weflern extremityof the

Propontis,and ten miles diftantfrom the ftation ofthe Peloponnefianfleet. Alcibiades furprifedfixtyveffels in a dark and rainymorning, as they weremanoeuvring at a diftance from the harbour, and

fkilfullyinterceptedtheir retreat. As the day cleared

up, the reft failed forth to their affifbance; the

adtion became generalj the Athenians obtained a

completevictory,and their valour was rewarded

by the capture of the whole Peloponnefianfleet,

except the Syracufanfhips,which were burned, inthe face of a victorious enemy, by the enterprifmgHermocrates. The circumftances and confequencesof this important aftion were related in few, but

expreflivewords, to the Spartanfenate,in a letterwritten by Hippocrates,the fecond in command,and interceptedby the Athenians: " All is loft;

D our


C H A t". our fhipsare taken ; Myndarus is flam ; the menull,,^ want bread; we know not what to do31."

ThcAthe- The fataldifafter at Cyzicus prevented the Pe-

im- loponnefiansfrom obftrufting,during the follow-ve their jng yeari the defignsof the enemy, who took pof-

tagcs. fefiion of that wealthyfea-port,as well as of the

^"m?' ftrongcityPerinthus; raifed a largecontributionA. c. 410. on Selembria ; and fortified Chryfopolis,a fmall

town of Chalcedonia, only three miles diftant from

Byzantium. In this new fortrefs they placedaconfiderable body of troops ; and guarded the

neighbouringftrait with a fquadronof thirtyfail,commanded by Theramenes and Eubulus, anddeftined to exact, as tribute,a tenth from all friipswhich failedthroughthe Bofphorus into the Euxinefea 38. The Peloponnefianswere affiftedby Phar-nabazus in equippinga new fleet; but were de-prived

of the wife counfels of Hermocrates, whofe

abilitieswere well fitted both to prepare and to em-ploy

the refources of war. The fuccefs of the

Afiatic expeditionhad not correfpondedto the fan-guine hopes of his countrymen j the infolent po-pulace

accufed the incapacityof their commanders;and a mandate was fent from Syracufe,depriving

37 Xenoph. Hdlen. 1. 5. c. i. " Plut. p. 60. in Alcibiad.38 It is well known, that Mahomet the Second obtained the

fame end, by fortifying two caftles, one on the Afiatic,andanother on the European fide. That near to Chryfopolis iscalled by the modern Greeks Neocaftron; but the name of thetown itfelf is now changed to Scutari, a place deemed by theTurks one of the fuburbs of Conftantinople.

TOURNEFORTE, Lettre 15.them

T;HE HISTORY OF GREECE. 39

them of their office,and punifhingthem with C TJ A P.banifhment. The conduct of Hermocrates is

.

__

y-,Ljworthy of admiration. Having called an afTembly,he deploredhis hard fortune,but recommended the haviour ofmoil fubmiffive obedience to the authorityof the cralJTtherepublic.He then exhorted the failors to name Syracufan.

temporary commanders, till the arrival of thofe

who had been appointedby their country. Butthe aflembly,efpeciallythe captainsand pilots,tumultuouflycalled out, {C That he and his col-leagues

ought to continue in the command." Her-mocratesthen conjuredthem " not to rebel againft

the government. When theyfhould return home,they would then enjoya fair opportunityto dojufticeto their admirals,by recountingthe battleswhich they had won, by enumerating the Ihipswhich they had taken, and by relatinghow theirown courage, and the conduct of their commanders,had entitled them to the moft honourable placein

every engagement by fea and land." At the earneftand unanimous entreaty of the aflembly,he con-fented,however, to retain his authority,till thearrival of his fucceffors. His colleaguesimitatedthe example}and foon afterthis memorable fcene,Demarchus, Myfco, and Potamis, the admiralsnamed by the ftate,took the command of the

Syracufanforces. Yet the foldiers and failorswould not allow their beloved leaders to depart,before takingin their prefencea folemn oath to re-voke

their unjuftbanilhment, whenever theythem-felves returned to Syracufe. On Hermocrates in

particular,the captainsand pilotsbeftowed manyD 4 diftin-

40 THE HISTORY OF GREECE,

CHAP. diftins;ui{hedtokens of their affection and refpect,xxi

"

^__r-'_.v/hich his behaviour had juftlymerited; for everymorning and eveninghe had called them together,communicated his defigns,aficedtheir opinionand

advice, reviewed the paft,and concerted the future,

operationsof the war; while his popular.manners' and condefcendingaffabilityfecured the love ofthofe who reipectedhis fkill,his vigilance,and his

courage 39.

Thrafyi- Meanwhile Thrafyllusobtained at Athens the

fuccefsful,fupplieswhich he had gone to folicit; fuppliesfaris defeated

more powerfulthan he had reafon to expect. Theytie of E- confifled in a thoufand heavy-arrrjedmen, an hun-

dred horfe, and fiftygallies,manned by five thou-*cii- 4- fand experiencedfeamen. That the failors mightA. C, 409.

' * '

be ufefullyemployed on every emergence at fea orland, theywere providedwith the fmall and lightbucklers, the darts,fwords, and javelins,appro-priated

to the Grecian targeteers, who, unitingftrengthand velocity,formed an intermediate andufeful order between the archers and pikemen.With thefe forces,Thrafyllusfailed to Samos, hop-ing

to render the twenty-thirdcampaign not lefs

gloriousthan the preceding; and ambitious torival,by his victories in the central and fouthern

parts of the Afiatic coaft, the fame acquiredbyAlcibiades and Thrafybulusin the north. His firftoperationswere fuccefsful. He took Colophon,with feveral placesof lefs note, in Ionia ; pene-p-atedinto the heart of Lydia, burningthe corn

39 Xenoph. p. 431.and


c H A P. refuied to rank with the foldiers of Thrafyllus.whoXXI.

T_-T" ,

_"

had been To fhamefullyfoiled before the walls of

Ephefus. They fubmitted, however, though notwithout reluctance, to live in the fame winter-

quarters ; from which theymade a conjunctexpedi-tionagainftAbydus. Pharnabazus defended the

placewith a numerous body of Perfian cavalry.The difgracedtroops of Thrafyllusrejoicedin anopportunityto retrieve their honour. They at-tacked,

repelled,and routed the enemy. Their

victorydecided the fate of Abydus, and their

courage was approved by the army of Alcibiades,who embraced them as feilow-foldiersand friends.

Alcibiades For feveral years the meafures of the Athenians

7*mium~ had been almoft uniformlyfuccefsful; but theHisfuccefs twenty-fourthcampaign was diftinguifhedby pe-land. culiar favours of fortune. The invafion of SicilyxcHi"1!*ky the Carthaginianspreventedthat ifland fromA. c. 408. fendingany effectual affiflance to their Peloponne-

fian allies. The dangerousrevolt of the Medeswithheld the Perfian reinforcements,which wereneceffaryto fupportthe arms of Pharnabazus41.Both nations were repeatedlydefeated by the Athe-nians,

driven from their encampments and fortreffes

near the Ihore, and purfuedinto the inland country,which was plunderedand defolated by the victors.The Athenians returned in triumph to attack thefortifiedcities,which flilldeclined fubmifTion ; anundertakingin which Alcibiades dilplayedthewonderful refources of his extraordinarygenius.

*' Diodorus, L xiii.

By


By gradualapproaches,by fudden afTaults,by fur- c HA p.

prife,by treafon,or by ftratagem,he in a few "_____ ,-,^jmonths became mailer of Chalcedon, Selembria,and at lad of Byzantium itfelf. His naval fuccefs

was equallyconfpicuous. The Athenians again^commanded the fea. The fmall fquadronsfittedout by the enemy fucceffivelyfellinto their power jand thefe multipliedcaptures, which were madewith little difficulty,accumulated the trophiesofthe well-foughtbattles which we have alreadydefcribed. It was computed by the partifansofAlcibiades, that, fmce aflumingthe command, hehad taken or deflroyedtwo hundred Syracufanand

Peloponnefiangallies; and his fuperiorityof naval

ftrengthenabled him to raife fuch contributions,both in the Euxine and Mediterranean, as abun-dantly

fnppliedhis fleet and army with every necef-faryarticle of fubfiflenceand accommodation 42.

While the Athenian arms were crowned with H'8 tr'*

r i i u j L A " "umphant

fuch glory abroad, the Attic territorywas con- rttum to

tinuallyharaffed by king Agis, and the Lacedas-monian troops portedat Decelia. Their bold and *ciii,-*"

A. C. 407.fudden incurfions frequentlythreatened the fafetyof the cityitfelf; the defolated lands afforded noadvantageto the ruined proprietors; nor could theAthenians venture without their walls, to celebrate

their accuftomed feftivals" Alcibiades,animated

by his foreignvictories,hoped to relieve the do-meftic fufferingsof his country; and after anabfence of many years, diftinguifhedby fuch a

4* Xcnoph. Hellen. Diodor. 1. xiii. Plut. in Alcibiad.

variety

44 THEHISTORY OF GREECE.

CHAP, varietyof fortune, eagerlylonged to revifit hisnative city,and to enjoythe rewards and honoursufuallybellowed by the Greeks on fuccefsful valour.This celebrated voyage, which feveral ancient

hiftorians ftudiouflydecorated with every circum-flance of naval triumph 43, was performedin the

twenty-fifthfummer of the war. Notwithstandingall his fervices,the cautious fon of Clinias, in-

flru"ted by adverfity,declined to land in the Piraeus,until he was informed that the affemblyhad re-pealed

the decrees againfthim, formallyrevokedhis banifhment, and prolonged the term of hiscommand. Even after this agreeableintelligencehe was flill unable to conquer his well-founded

diftruft of the variable and capricioushumours ofthe people; nor would he approach the crowdedIhore, tillhe obferved, in the midft of the multi-tude,

his principalfriends and relations invitinghim by their voice and action. He then landedamidft the univerfal acclamations of the fpeclators?who, unattentive to the naval pomp, and regardlelsof the other commanders, fixed their eyes only onAlcibiades. Next day an extraordinaryaffemblywas fummoned, by order of the magiftrates,thathe might explainand juftifyhis apparent mifcon-duft, and receive the rewards due to his acknow-ledged

merit. The publicanticipatedhis apology,by contraflingthe melancholy fituation of affairswhen Alcibiades affumed the command, with the

condition of the republic. " At the former

*5 Duds apud Plut. in Alcibiad,

THE HISTORY OF GREECE. 4$

periodAthens yieldedthe command of the Tea : C H A P.the enemy were every where victorious ; the ftate . --'._/was oppreffedby foreignwar, torn by fedition,without refources,and without hope. The addrelsand dexterityof Alcibiades were alone capabletohave difunited the councils,to have weakened and

afterwards repelledthe efforts,of a powerfulcon-federacy

j his activityand courage could alonehave animated the dejectionof the citizens to pur-fue the meafures of offenfive war : his abilities,his

virtue,and his fortune,could alone have renderedthofe meafures fuccefsful."

Before judgesfo favourablydifpofedto hear him, His recep-Alcibiades found no difficultyto make his defence

-,

tlon there'

but it was difficultboth for him and his friends to

moderate the exceffive tranfportsof the people,who would have loaded their favourite with ho-nours

incompatiblewith the geniusof a free repub-lic,and which might, therefore,have proved dan-gerous

to his future fafety.He received, withpleafure,the crowns and garlands,with other ac-cuftomed pledgesof publicgratitudeand admira-tion;

but he refpectfullydeclined the royalfcep-tre, expreftinga firm refblution to maintain thehereditaryfreedom of his country 4*. Athens re-quired

not a king,but a generalwith undividedpower, capableof refloringthe ancient fplendourofthe commonwealth. To this illuftrious rank,which had been filledby Themiftocles and Cimon,the fon of Clinias might juftlyafpire. He was

44 Com. Ifocrat,Orat. pro Alcibiad et PlutJn Akibiad.

appointed


CHAP: appointedcommander in chief by fea and land4*.*"

v"

" An hundred gallieswere equipped,and tranfportswere prepared for fifteen hundred heavy-armedmen, with a proportionalbody of cavalry.

The Eku-. Several months 4"s had pattedin thefe prepara-myfieries.tions,when the Eleufinian feilivalapproached; a

time deftined to commemorate and to diffufe the

temporaland fpiritualgiftsof the goddeisCeres,originallybellowed on the Athenians, and by themcommunicated to the reft of Greece 47. Corn,

wine, and oil,were the principalproductionof At-tica

; each of which had been introduced into that

country by the propitiousintervention of a divinity,whofe feilival was diilinguifhedby appropriatedhonours. Minerva, who had given not only theolive,but what was regardedas far more valuable,her peculiarprotectionto the cityof Athens, wasrewarded with innumerable folemnities. Various

allb were the profefiionsof gratitudeexpreffed,inftated days of the fpringand autumn, to the gene-

** Ap2"p,9;i"ciTrcttTuv yysfAvv KVTvx.pa.Tuf*' ' He was chofen ab-

folute commander of all." Xenoph. p. 440.

*5 From the feftivals Plynteriaand Eleufinia, mentioned in the

text, it appears that he arrived in July, and failed in No-vember.

4-7 Meurfius, apud Gronov. Thefaur. has colle"ed all the paf-fages in ancient writers refpeding this feftival. It is faid to have

been celebrated in the month Boedromion, which, according toFather Petant, an fivers to our November. But as the Attic year

was lunar, the months of that year could not exactlycorrefpondto thofe of ours. In the computation of their months, theGreeks agreed not with other nations, nor even among them-

felves. Vid. Plut. in Vit. Romul. ". Ariftid.

rous


rous author of the vine. The worfhip of Ceres c HA P.

returned,indeed, lefs frequently; but was partly,on that account, the more folemn and awful; and

partly,becaufe difdnguifhedby the Eleufmian

myfleries,thofe hidden treafures of wifdom and

happinefs,which were poured out on the initiatedin the templeof Eleufis. Fourteen *8 centuries Be-fore

the Chriftian aera, the goddefs,it is faid,com-municatedthefe invaluable rites to Eumolpus and

Keryx, two virtuous men, who had received her in

the form of an unknown traveller with pious hof-

pitality49.Their defendants, the EumolpidseandKerykes,continued the minifters and guardiansofthis memorable inflitution,which was finallyabo-lifhed by the great Theodofius, after it had lafted

eighteenhundred years 50. The candidates for ini-tiationwere preparedby watching,abftinence,fa-

crifice,and prayer ; and before revealingto themthe divine fecrets,the moft awful filence was en-joined

them. Yet enough tranipiredamong theprophanevulgarto enable us ftillto collect,from

impartial51and authentic teftimony,that the my-fleries*8 Marb. Arund. Epoch. 14.+9 Dioclor. l.v. Ifocrat. Panegyr. Pollux, 1. viii. c. ix.5" Zozim. Hift.l. iv.

S1 I fayimpartial,becanfe Ifocrates, the fcholar of Socrates,cannot be fuppoled to exaggerate the merit of ceremonies, whichhis mafter is faid to have defpifed. The paflage is remarkable :

' Though what I am going to relate may be disfiguredby tradi-tionand fable,the fubltarice of it is not the lefs defervingof your

regard. When Ceres travelled to Attica in queft of her daughter,fhe received the moft hofpitable treatment, and thofe particulargood officeswhich are known to the initiated. The goddefs was

not


C HAP. fteriesof Ceres expreffedby external fignsthe im-

v_ -r-'_. mortalityof the human foul,and the rewards pre-paredin a future life for the virtuous fervants of

heaven. The fecrecyenjoinedby her minifters,fo unworthy the truths which they taught,mightjuftifythe indifference of Socrates5*, whofe doc-trines,

not lefsdivine, were inculcated with unre-

lerved freedom. But the fate of Socrates may

juftifyin itsturn, the circumfpedionof the hiero-phantsof Ceres.

Akibiades Befldes the myfteriousceremonies of the temple,th*eEku- the worlhipof that bountiful goddefswas celebratedfinun pro- by vocai ancj inftrumental mufic, by publicIhows,

and exhibitions,which continued during feveraldays, and above all,by the pompous proceffion,which marched for ten miles along the facred road

leadingfrom Athens to Eleufis53. This import-antpart of the folemnityhad formerlybeen inter-mitted,

becaufe the Athenians, after the lofs ofDecelia, were no longermailers of the road, andwere compelled,contrary to eftablifhed cuftom, toproceedby fea to the temple of Ceres. Alcibia-des

determined to wipe off the ftain of impiety

not ungrateful for fuch favour?, but in return conferred on ouranceflors the two mod valuable prefents which either heaven canbeftow, or mankind can receive; the practice of agriculturewhich delivered us from the fierce and precarious manner of life"common to us with wild animals ; and the knowledge of thofefacred myfteries which fortifythe initiated againft the terrors ofdeath, and infpirethem with the pleafinghopes of an happy im-mortality.

See Panegyr. p. 24. " Eufeb. Praspar.Evang. 1. iii.** Laert. in Diogene." Herodot. 1. viii.c. Ixv. " Plut. in Alcibiad.

which


CHAP lities and fortune of their commander would

fpeedilyreduce Chios, Ephefus,Miletus, and theother revolted cities and iflands. The general

alacrity,however, was fomewhat abated by the

reflection,that the arrival of Alcibiades in Athens

coincided with the anniverfaryof the Plynteria55,a day condemned to melancholy idlenefs,from a

fuperflitiousbelief that nothing undertaken onthat day could be brought to a profperouscon-clufion. The celebrated Parthenon^ whofe re-mains

ftillatteft the magnificenceof Pericles,wasconfecrated by the prefenceof a goddefs, whorealized the infpirationsof Homer, as far as theywere capableof being expreffedby the geniusofPhidias. Minerva, compofed of gold and ivory,and twenty-fix cubits high, was reprefentedwith the cafque,the buckler^ the lance, and allher ufual emblems; and the warm fancyof theAthenians, enlivened and tranfportedby the grace-ful

majeftyof her air and alpeft,confounded thepainfulproductionof the ftatuarywith the in-ftantaneous creation of Jupiter. To confirm thisufeful illufion the craftyprieftsof the templecarefullywafhed and brightenedthe image, whofe

extraordinaryluilre increafed the veneration ofthe multitude. The Plynteria,during which this

ceremony was performed,required uncommonfecrecyand circumfpeclion.The eyes and ima-gination

of the vulgar might have become too

5y nxtwir, to wafh; wXtiyryjfl,wKvrrwn, ; and in the pluralneu-ter," the ceremony of ablution."

familiar


familiar with their revered goddefs, had they be- C HA P.

held her flopped of her accuftomed ornaments,__^

"

/

and obferved every part of her form brighteninginto new beauty under the plaftichands of the

priefts. To prevent this dangerous confequence,the Plynteria was veiled in myftic obfcurityj.thedoors of the temple were fhut; that facred edifice

was furrounded on all fides to intercept the ap-proachof indifcretion or profanity;and the re-turn

of Alcibiades, the favourite hope of his coun-try,

happening on the inaufpiciousday whenMinerva hid her countenance, was believed by

many to announce the dreadful calamities which

foon afterwards befel the republic56.

*6 Xenoph. p. 438. " Pint, in Alcibiad.

E

52 THE HISTORYOF GREECE.

CHAP. XXII.

Char after of Lyfander." His Conferencewith Cy-

YUS. " He defeatsthe Athenian fleet. " Difgraceof Alcibiades. " LyfanderJucceeded by Callicra-

tidas."

His Tranfaffionswith the Perfians" withthe Spartan Allies. " Battle ofArginujf"e." Trialof the Athenian Admirals. " Eteonicus checks a

Mutiny of the PeloponnefianTroops." Lyfanderrefumes* the Command. " Battle of JEgos Pota-

mos. " Spartan Empire in Afia." Siegeand Sur-render

of Athens. " Humiliation of the Athe-nians.

CHAP. T "ff 7 HILE the fuperftitiousmultitude trembledV-V-IT HI /^L /

,_

_'i

V V at the imaginaryanger of Minerva, menLyfander of reflection and experiencedreaded the activitycommand and valour of Lyfander,who, during the refidenceof the Pe- Qf Alcibiades at Athens, had taken the commandloponne-fian forces of the Peloponnefianforces in the Eaft. The

oiymp?' forms of the Spartan conftitution requireda ra-xcni. a. pj^ fucceffion of generals; a circumftance, which,A. C. 407-

amidft the numerous inconveniences with which

it was attended, enlarged the fphereof militarycompetition,and multiplyingthe number of actorson the theatre of war, afforded an opportunityforthe difplayofmany illuftrious characters,which muftotherwife have remained in obfcurky. In the ro-tation


tation of annual elections,offices of importance c \and dignity will often be entrufted to men im-

O J

worthy to fillthem; but in the vaft varietyof ex-periments,abilitiesof the moftdiftinguifhedorder (if

any fuch exift in the community) muft fome timebe called into exertion, honoured with confidence,

and armed with authority.

Such abilities the Spartansfinallydifcovered in His chLyfander; a {hoot of the Herculean flock, but ra"ftcr-

not defcended from either of the royalbranches.He had been educated with all the feverityof

Spartan difcipline;and having fpenthis youth-and his manhood in thofe honourable employ-ments

' which became the dignityof his birth,he approachedthe decline of life,when his fu-

periormerit recommended him to the chief com-mandin a feafon of publicdanger. Years had

added experienceto his valour, and enlargedtherefources,without abatingthe ardour, of his am-bitious

mind. In his tranfactions with the world,he had learned to foften the harfri alperityof hisnational manners; to gain by fraud what couldnot be effected by force ; and, in his own figur-ative

language,to " eke out the lion's with thefox's {kin*." This mixed character admirably

1 He had ferved in the array and navy ; had been employed asambafiador in foreignftates,"c. Plut. in Lyfand.

* This was faid, in alltifion to the lion's Ikin of Hercules, to

one who afked Lyfander, " How he, who fprang from that hero,could condefcend to conquer his enemies by fraud ?" His cha-raftcr is diffufelydefcribcd by Plutarch, t. iii.p. 4"15.

E 3 fuited

5* THE HISTORY OF GREECE.

C xxt?' ^u'lte t^ne Part wnicn he was called to ad. His en-v.

"

/"^ terprifingcourage was fuccefsfullyexerted in the

hoflile operationsagainflthe Greeks; his fubtileand insinuatingaddrefs gave him an afcendant in

every negociationwith the Perfians; and the re-unionof thole various qualitiesenabled him, in

a few years, finallyto terminate the war, and toproduce an importantand permanent revolution inthe affairs of Athens, of Sparta,and of Greece.

His con- Since the decifive action at Cyzicus,the Pelo-

wSth Cy. ponnefians,unable to refift the enemy, had been"c"

(

employed in preparingfhipson the coaft of theirxciii. i. own peninfula,as well as in the harbours of their

.407. perftan and Grecian allies. The molt confider-

able fquadronshad been equippedin Cos, Rhodes,Miletus, and Ephefusj in the laft of which thewhole armament, amounting to ninety fail,wascollected by Lyfander. But the aiTemblingoffuch a force was a matter of little confequence,unlefs proper meafures fhould be taken for hold-ing

it together,and for enablingit to ad withvigour. It was neceffary,above all, to fecure

pay for the feamenj for this purpofe,Lyfander,accompanied by feveral Lacedasmonian ambafTa-dors, repairedto Sardis, to congratulatethe happyarrival of Cyrus, a generous and valiant youthof feventeen, who had been entrufted by his fa-ther

Darius with the government of the inland

parts of Lefler Afia; or, in the languageof thePerfian court, with the command of the nume-rous

troops, who rendezvoufed in the plains ofKaftolus,


Kaftolus3. Lyfander complained to the youngand magnanimous prince," of the perfidiousdu-plicity

of TifTaphernes,by which the Athenianshad been enabled to re-aflume that afcendant in

the Eaft, which had formerlyproved fo danger-ousand difgracefulto the Perfian name. That

fatrapfeemed, on one occafion indeed, to havedifcovered the fatal tendency of his meafures;and had attempted to check the victorious careerof thofe ambitious republicans,by feizingthe per-fon of Alcibiades4. Pharnabazus had more ef-fectually

ferved the caufe of his mafter, by hisactive valour in the field;by detainingthe Athe-nian

ambafTadors, who had been fent to furprifethe unfufpectinggenerofityof Darius5; and byfupplyingthe Peloponnefians,after the unfortunate

engagement at Cyzicus,with the means of pre-

3 This was the ftyleof the letter,confirmed by the royal feal.

K.a,Ta.7Tip7ruKvfovxxfavw rtav E"; KarwAov a0pOi"OfMfMteXenoph. p.

* This event, which happened in the twenty-firftyear of the

war, is related by Xenophon, p. 439. It was omitted in the text,becaufe Alcibiades foon effected his efcape; and the treachery of

Tifiaphernes only difplayed his own worthlefihefs, withouthurting his enemies.

5 This difhonourable tranfa"flion was approved even by Cyrus,which {hews the difregardof the Perfians to the laws of nations.He begged Pharnabazus to put the Athenians in his hands; at

leaft,not to fet them at liberty,that their countrymen might beignorant of the meafures in agitationagainftthem. But a re-morfe of confcience feized Pharnabazus, who had fworn, either tocondudl the ambafladors to the great king, or to fend them tothe Ionian coaft ; in confequenceof which, the Athenians werereleafed. Xenoph. p. 438.

E 4 paring


C H^AP. paring a new fleet,and with the neceffaries and

"^r^-,'-

conveniencies of life,while they were employed inthis ufeiul undertaking. But TifTapherneswas

unwilling,and Pharnabazus was perhapsunable, to

difchargethe ftipulatedpay, without which theGrecian feamen and foldiers could not be kept to-gether,

or engaged to act with vigour againftthecommon enemy." Cyrus replied," That he hadbeen commanded by his father to affift the Lace-dasmonians, and to pay their troops with the moft

exact punctuality.That, for this purpofe,he hadcarried with him five hundred talents (near anhundred thoufand pounds fterling); and if fucha fum fhould be found infufficient,he would will-ingly

expend his privatefortune, and even meltdown and coin into money the golden throne onwhich he fat6."

The pay This difcourfe gave extraordinaryfatisfactionto

Grecian his Grecian auditors; and Lyfander endeavouredfailors,

to avaj} himfeif Of what, judging by his own cha-and com-

. .

' J o o j

piement rafter,he imagined might be nothingmore than afudden tranfportof generofity,by requeftingthatthe feamen's pay might be raifed from three obolito an Attic drachma a day. Cyrus anfwered," That, on this fubjecttoo, he had received ex-prefsorders from his father7. That the pay fhould

continue

Kou TO" Vfwzv xccraxoyw, it u EXaS^To, ovra K^yvfUy KCH xpvcrut.Literally," that he would cut in pieces the throne on which hefat," which was compofed of filver and gold.

7 Xenophon makes Cyrus anfwer with more art than truth,

s Aeysjv, ov


CHAP, come the perfonalenemy of Cyrus. He magni-vjJ^Ll^fied the beauty,the ftrength,and the courage, of

the young prince. His addrefs in militaryexer-cifes,and the extraordinaryendowments of his

mind (thefame of which had reached the moftdiftant countries),were extolled with the moft ela-borate

praife.It is not improbablethat he mightfind a topicof panegyricin a qualityof which Cyruswas not a litt

the history of ancient greece its colonies and conquests v3 1000029145

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