A Smaller History of Greece: from the Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest
by William Smith · English · Gutenberg #2096 · 581,056 chars · public domain (US)
The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Smaller History of Greece: from the Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: A Smaller History of Greece: from the Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest
Author: William Smith
Release date: March 1, 2000 [eBook #2096]
Most recently updated: December 31, 2020
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2096
Credits: Produced by an anonymous volunteer. HTML version by Al Haines.
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A SMALLER HISTORY OF GREECE: FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE ROMAN CONQUEST ***
Produced by an anonymous volunteer. HTML version by Al Haines.
A SMALLER HISTORY OF GREECE
from the earliest times to the Roman conquest.
by
WILLIAM SMITH, D.C.L., LL.D.
Note:
In this Etext, printed text in italics has been written in capital
letters.
Many words in the printed text have accents, etc. which have been
omitted. Dipthongs have been expanded into two letters.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I . . Geography of Greece.
CHAPTER II . . Origin of the Greeks, and the Heroic Age.
CHAPTER III . . General Survey of the Greek People.
National Institutions.
CHAPTER IV . . Early History of Peloponnesus and Sparta to
the end of the Messenian Wars, B.C. 668.
CHAPTER V . . Early History of Athens down to the
Establishment of Democracy by Clisthenes,
B.C. 510.
CHAPTER VI . . The Greek Colonies.
CHAPTER VII . . The Persian Wars.--From the Ionic Revolt to
the Battle of Marathon, B.C. 500-490.
CHAPTER VIII . . The Persian Wars.--The Battles of Thermopylae
Salamis, and Plataea, B.C. 480-479.
CHAPTER IX . . From the end of the Persian Wars to the
beginning of the Peloponnesian War,
B.C. 479-431.
CHAPTER X . . Athens in the time of Pericles.
CHAPTER XI . . The Peloponnesian War.--First Period, from the
commencement of the War to the Peace of Nicias,
B.C. 431-421.
CHAPTER XII . . The Peloponnesian War.--Second Period, from
the Peace of Nicias to the Defeat of the
Athenians in Sicily, B.C. 421-413.
CHAPTER XIII . . The Peloponnesian War.--Third Period, from the
Sicilian Expedition to the end of the War,
B.C. 413-404.
CHAPTER XIV . . The Thiry Tyrants, and the death of Socrates,
B.C. 404-399.
CHAPTER XV . . The Expedition of the Greeks under Cyrus, and
Retreat of the Ten Thousand, B.C. 401-400.
CHAPTER XVI . . The Supremacy of Sparta, B.C. 404-371.
CHAPTER XVII . . The Supremacy of Thebes, B.C. 371-361.
CHAPTER XVIII . . History of the Sicilian Greeks from the
Destruction of the Athenian Armament to the
Death of Timoleon.
CHAPTER XIX . . Phillip of Macedon, B.C. 359-336.
CHAPTER XX . . Alexander the Great, B.C. 336-323.
CHAPTER XXI . . From the Death of Alexander the Great to the
Conquest of Greece by the Romans, B.C. 323-146.
CHAPTER XXII . . Sketch of the History of Greek Literature
from the Earliest Times to the Reign of
Alexander the Great.
CHAPTER I.
GEOGRAPHY OF GREECE.
Greece is the southern portion of a great peninsula of Europe, washed
on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea. It is bounded on the north by
the Cambunian mountains, which separate it from Macedonia. It extends
from the fortieth degree of latitude to the thirty-sixth, its greatest
length being not more than 250 English miles, and its greatest breadth
only 180. Its surface is considerably less than that of Portugal.
This small area was divided among a number of independent states, many
of them containing a territory of only a few square miles, and none of
them larger than an English county. But the heroism and genius of the
Greeks have given an interest to the insignificant spot of earth
bearing their name, which the vastest empires have never equalled.
The name of Greece was not used by the inhabitants of the country.
They called their land HELLAS, and themselves HELLENES. At first the
word HELLAS signified only a small district in Thessaly, from which the
Hellenes gradually spread over the whole country. The names of GREECE
and GREEKS come to us from the Romans, who gave the name of GRAECIA to
the country and of GRAECI to the inhabitants.
The two northerly provinces of Greece are THESSALY and EPIRUS,
separated from each other by Mount Pindus. Thessaly is a fertile plain
enclosed by lofty mountains, and drained by the river Peneus, which
finds its way into the sea through the celebrated Vale of Tempe.
Epirus is covered by rugged ranges of mountains running from north to
south, through which the Achelous the largest river of Greece, flows
towards the Corinthian gulf.
In entering central Greece from Thessaly the road runs along the coast
through the narrow pass of Thermopylae, between the sea and a lofty
range of mountains. The district along the coast was inhabited by the
EASTERN LOCRIANS, while to their west were DORIS and PHOCIS, the
greater part of the latter being occupied by Mount Parnassus, the abode
of the Muses, upon the slopes of which lay the town of Delphi with its
celebrated oracle of Apollo. South of Phocis is Boeotia, which is a
large hollow basin, enclosed on every side by mountains, which prevent
the waters from flowing into the sea. Hence the atmosphere was damp
and thick, to which circumstance the witty Athenians attributed the
dullness of the inhabitants. Thebes was the chief city of Boeotia.
South of Boeotia lies ATTICA, which is in the form of a triangle,
having two of its sides washed by the sea and its base united to the
land. Its soil is light and dry and is better adapted for the growth
of fruit than of corn. It was particularly celebrated for its olives,
which were regarded as the gift of Athena (Minerva), and were always
under the care of that goddess. Athens was on the western coast,
between four and five miles from its port, Piraeus. West of Attica,
towards the isthmus, is the small district of MEGARIS.
The western half of central Greece consists of WESTERN LOCRIS, AETOLIA
and ACARNANIA. These districts were less civilised than the other
countries of Greece, and were the haunts of rude robber tribes even as
late as the Peloponnesian war.
Central Greece is connected with the southern peninsula by a narrow
isthmus, on which stood the city of Corinth. So narrow is this isthmus
that the ancients regarded the peninsula as an island, and gave to it
the name of PELOPONNESUS, or the island of Pelops, from the mythical
hero of this name. Its modern name, the MOREA, was bestowed upon it
from its resemblance to the leaf of the mulberry.
The mountains of Peloponnesus have their roots in the centre of the
country, from which they branch out towards the sea. This central
region, called ARCADIA, is the Switzerland of the peninsula. It is
surrounded by a ring of mountains, forming a kind of natural wall,
which separates it from the remaining Peloponnesian states. The other
chief divisions of Peloponnesus were Achaia, Argolis, Laconia,
Messenia, and Elis. ACHAIA is a narrow slip of country lying between
the northern barrier of Arcadia and the Corinthian gulf. ARGOLIS, on
the east, contained several independent states, of which the most
important was Argos. LACONIA and MESSENIA occupied the whole of the
south of the peninsula from sea to sea: these two countries were
separated by the lofty range of Taygetus, running from north to south,
and terminating in the promontory of Taenarum (now Cape Matapan), the
southernmost point of Greece and Europe. Sparta, the chief town of
Laconia, stood in the valley of the Eurotas, which opens out into a
plain of considerable extent towards the Laconian gulf. Messenia, in
like manner, was drained by the Pamisus, whose plain is still more
extensive and fertile than that of the Eurotas. ELIS, on the west of
Arcadia, contains the memorable plain of Olympia, through which the
Alpheus flows, and in which the city of Pisa stood.
Of the numerous islands which line the Grecian shores, the most
important was Euboea, stretching along the coasts of Boeotia and
Attica. South of Euboea was the group of islands called the CYCLADES,
lying around Delos as a centre; and east of these were the SPORADES,
near the Asiatic coast. South of these groups are the large islands of
CRETE and RHODES.
The physical features of the country exercised an important influence
upon the political destinies of the people. Greece is one of the most
mountainous countries of Europe. Its surface is occupied by a number
of small plains, either entirely surrounded by limestone mountains or
open only to the sea. Each of the principal Grecian cities was founded
in one of these small plains; and, as the mountains which separated it
from its neighbours were lofty and rugged, each city grew up in
solitary independence. But at the same time it had ready and easy
access to the sea, and Arcadia was almost the only political division
that did not possess some territory upon the coast. Thus shut out from
their neighbours by mountains, the Greeks were naturally attracted to
the sea, and became a maritime people. Hence they possessed the love
of freedom and the spirit of adventure, which have always
characterised, more or less the inhabitants of maritime districts.
CHAPTER II.
ORIGIN OF THE GREEKS AND THE HEROIC AGE.
No nation possesses a history till events are recorded in written
documents; and it was not till the epoch known by the name of the First
Olympiad, corresponding to the year 776 B.C., that the Greeks began to
employ writing as a means for perpetuating the memory of any historical
facts. Before that period everything is vague and uncertain; and the
exploits of the heroes related by the poets must not be regarded as
historical facts.
The PELASGIANS are universally represented as the most ancient
inhabitants of Greece. They were spread over the Italian as well as
the Grecian peninsula; and the Pelasgic language thus formed the basis
of the Latin as well as of the Greek. They were divided into several
tribes, of which the Hellenes were probably one: at any rate, this
people, who originally dwelt in the south of Thessaly, gradually spread
over the rest of Greece. The Pelasgians disappeared before them, or
were incorporated with them, and their dialect became the language of
Greece. The Hellenes considered themselves the descendants of one
common ancestor, Hellen, the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. To Hellen
were ascribed three sons, Dorus, Xuthus, and AEolus. Of these Dorus
and AEolus gave their names to the DORIANS and AEOLIANS; and Xuthus;
through his two sons Ion and Achaeus, became the forefather of the
IONIANS and ACHAEANS. Thus the Greeks accounted for the origin of the
four great divisions of their race. The descent of the Hellenes from a
common ancestor, Hellen, was a fundamental article in the popular
faith. It was a general practice in antiquity to invent fictitious
persons for the purpose of explaining names of which the origin was
buried in obscurity. It was in this way that Hellen and his sons came
into being; but though they never had any real existence, the tales
about them may be regarded as the traditional history of the races to
whom they gave their names.
The civilization of the Greeks and the development of their language
bear all the marks of home growth, and probably were little affected by
foreign influence. The traditions, however, of the Greeks would point
to a contrary conclusion. It was a general belief among them that the
Pelasgians were reclaimed from barbarism by Oriental strangers, who
settled in the country and introduced among the rude inhabitants the
first elements of civilization. Attica is said to have been indebted
for the arts of civilized life to Cecrops, a native of Sais in Egypt.
To him is ascribed the foundation of the city of Athens, the
institution of marriage, and the introduction of religious rites and
ceremonies. Argos, in like manner, is said to have been founded by the
Egyptian Danaus, who fled to Greece with his fifty daughters, to escape
from the persecution of their suitors, the fifty sons of his brother
AEgyptus. The Egyptian stranger was elected king by the natives, and
from him the tribe of the Danai derived their name, which Homer
frequently uses as a general appellation for the Greeks. Another
colony was the one led from Asia by Pelops, from whom the southern
peninsula of Greece derived its name of Peloponnesus. Pelops is
represented as a Phrygian, and the son of the wealthy king Tantalus.
He became king of Mycenae, and the founder of a powerful dynasty, one
of the most renowned in the Heroic age of Greece. From him was
descended Agamemnon, who led the Grecian host against Troy.
The tale of the Phoenician colony, conducted by Cadmus, and which
founded Thebes in Boeotia, rests upon a different basis. Whether there
was such a person as the Phoenician Cadmus, and whether he built the
town called Cadmea, which afterwards became the citadel of Thebes, as
the ancient legends relate, cannot be determined; but it is certain
that the Greeks were indebted to the Phoenicians for the art of
writing; for both the names and the forms of the letters in the Greek
alphabet are evidently derived from the Phoenician. With this
exception the Oriental strangers left no permanent traces of their
settlements in Greece; and the population of the country continued to
be essentially Grecian, uncontaminated by any foreign elements.
The age of the heroes, from the first appearance of the Hellenes in
Thessaly to the return of the Greeks from Troy, was supposed to be a
period of about two hundred years. These heroes were believed to be a
noble race of beings, possessing a superhuman though not a divine
nature, and superior to ordinary men in strength of body and greatness
of soul.
Among the heroes three stand conspicuously forth: Hercules, the
national hero of Greece; Theseus, the hero of Attica; and Minos, king
of Crete, the principal founder of Grecian law and civilization.
Hercules was the son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Alcmena; but the jealous
anger of Hera (Juno) raised up against him an opponent and a master in
the person of Eurystheus at whose bidding the greatest of all heroes
was to achieve those wonderful labours which filled the whole world
with his fame. In these are realized, on a magnificent scale, the two
great objects of ancient heroism, the destruction of physical and moral
evil, and the acquisition of wealth and power. Such, for instance, are
the labours in which he destroys the terrible Nemean lion and Lernean
hydra, carries off the girdle of Ares from Hippolyte, queen of the
Amazons, and seizes the golden apples of the Hesperides, guarded by a
hundred-headed dragon.
Theseus was a son of AEgeus, king of Athens, and of AEthra, daughter of
Pittheus, king of Troezen. Among his many memorable achievements the
most famous was his deliverance of Athens from the frightful tribute
imposed upon it by Minos for the murder of his son. This consisted of
seven youths and seven maidens whom the Athenians were compelled to
send every nine years to Crete, there to be devoured by the Minotaur, a
monster with a human body and a bull's head, which Minos kept concealed
in an inextricable labyrinth. The third ship was already on the point
of sailing with its cargo of innocent victims, when Theseus offered to
go with them, hoping to put an end for ever to the horrible tribute.
Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, became enamoured of the hero, and
having supplied him with a clue to trace the windings of the labyrinth,
Theseus succeeded in killing the monster, and in tracking his way out
of the mazy lair. Theseus, on his return, became king of Attica, and
proceeded to lay the foundations of the future greatness of the
country. He united into one political body the twelve independent
states into which Cecrops had divided Attica, and made Athens the
capital of the new kingdom. He then divided the citizens into three
classes, namely, EUPATRIDAE, or nobles; GEOMORI, or husbandmen; and
DEMIURGI, or artisans.
Minos, king of Crete, whose history is connected with that of Theseus,
appears, like him, the representative of an historical and civil state
of life. Minos is said to have received the laws of Crete immediately
from Zeus; and traditions uniformly present him as king of the sea.
Possessing a numerous fleet, he reduced the surrounding islands,
especially the Cyclades, under his dominion, and cleared the sea of
pirates.
The voyage of the Argonauts and the Trojan war were the most memorable
enterprises undertaken by collective bodies of heroes.
The Argonauts derived their name from the Argo, a ship built For the
adventurers by Jason, under the superintendence of Athena (Minerva).
They embarked in the harbour of Iolcus in Thessaly for the purpose of
obtaining the golden fleece which was preserved in AEa in Colchis, on
the eastern shores of the Black Sea, under the guardianship of a
sleepless dragon. The most renowned heroes of the age took part in the
expedition. Among them were Hercules and Theseus, as well as the
principal leaders in the Trojan war; but Jason is the central figure
and the real hero of the enterprise. Upon arriving at AEa, after many
adventures, king AEtes promised to deliver to Jason the golden fleece,
provided he yoked two fire-breathing oxen with brazen feet, and
performed other wonderful deeds. Here, also, as in the legend of
Theseus, love played a prominent part. Medea, the daughter of AEtes,
who was skilled in magic and supernatural arts, furnished Jason with
the means of accomplishing the labours imposed upon him; and as her
father still delayed to surrender the fleece, she cast the dragon
asleep during the night, seized the fleece, and sailed away in the Argo
with her beloved Jason.
The Trojan war was the greatest of all the heroic achievements. It
formed the subject of innumerable epic poems, and has been immortalised
by the genius of Homer. Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy, abused the
hospitality of Menelaus, king of Sparta, by carrying off his wife
Helen, the most beautiful woman of the age. All the Grecian princes
looked upon the outrage as one committed against themselves.
Responding to the call of Menelaus, they assembled in arms, elected his
brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, leader of the expedition, and
sailed across the AEgean in nearly 1200 ships to recover the faithless
fair one. Several of the confederate heroes excelled Agamemnon in
fame. Among them Achilles, chief of the Thessalian Myrmidons, stood
pre-eminent in strength, beauty, and valour; whilst Ulysses, king of
Ithaca; surpassed all the rest in the mental qualities of counsel and
eloquence. Among the Trojans, Hector, one of the sons of Priam, was
most distinguished for heroic qualities and formed a striking contrast
to his handsome but effeminate brother Paris. Next to Hector in valour
stood AEneas, son of Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus). Even the gods
took part in the contest, encouraging their favourite heroes, and
sometimes fighting by their side or in their stead.
It was not till the tenth year of the war that Troy yielded to the
inevitable decree of fate; and it is this year which forms the subject
of the Iliad. Achilles, offended by Agamemnon, abstains from the war;
and in his absence the Greeks are no match for Hector. The Trojans
drive them back into their camp, and are already setting fire to their
ships, when Achilles gives his armour to his friend Patroclus, and
allows him to charge at the head of the Myrmidons. Patroclus repulses
the Trojans from the ships, but the god Apollo is against him, and he
falls under the spear of Hector. Desire to avenge the death of his
friend proves more powerful in the breast of Achilles than anger
against Agamemnon. He appears again in the field in new and gorgeous
armour, forged for him by the god Hephrastus (Vulcan) at the prayer of
Thetis. The Trojans fly before him, and, although Achilles is aware
that his own death must speedily follow that of the Trojan hero, he
slays Hector in single combat.
The Iliad closes with the burial of Hector. The death of Achilles and
the capture of Troy were related in later poems. The hero of so many
achievements perishes by an arrow shot by the unwarlike Paris, but
directed by the hand of Apollo. The noblest combatants had now fallen
on either side, and force of arms had proved unable to accomplish what
stratagem at length effects. It is Ulysses who now steps into the
foreground and becomes the real conqueror of Troy. By his advice a
wooden horse is built, in whose inside he and other heroes conceal
themselves. The infatuated Trojans admit the horse within their walls.
In the dead of night the Greeks rush out and open the gates to their
comrades. Troy is delivered over to the sword, and its glory sinks in
ashes. The fall of Troy is placed in the year 1184 B.C.
The return of the Grecian leaders from Troy forms another series of
poetical legends. Several meet with tragical ends. Agamemnon is
murdered on his arrival at Mycenae, by his wife Clytaemnestra and her
paramour AEgisthus. But of these wanderings the most celebrated and
interesting are those of Ulysses, which form the subject of the
Odyssey. After twenty years' absence he arrives at length in Ithaca,
where he slays the numerous suitors who devoured his substance and
contended for the hand of his wife Penelope.
The Homeric poems must not be regarded as a record of historical
persons and events, but, at the same time, they present a valuable
picture of the institutions and manners of the earliest known state of
Grecian society.
In the Heroic age Greece was already divided into a number of
independent states, each governed by its own king. The authority of
the king was not limited by any laws; his power resembled that of the
patriarchs in the Old Testament; and for the exercise of it he was
responsible only to Zeus, and not to his people. But though the king
was not restrained in the exercise of his power by any positive laws,
his authority was practically limited by the BOULE; or council of
chiefs, and the Agora, or general assembly of freemen. These two
bodies, of little account in the Heroic age, became in the Republican
age the sole depositories of political power.
The Greeks in the Heroic age were divided into the three classes of
nobles, common freemen, and slaves. The nobles were raised far above
the rest of the community in honour, power, and wealth. They were
distinguished by their warlike prowess, their large estates, and their
numerous slaves. The condition of the general mass of freemen is
rarely mentioned. They possessed portions of land as their own
property, which they cultivated themselves; but there was another class
of poor freemen, called Thetes, who had no land of their own, and who
worked for hire on the estates of others. Slavery was not so prevalent
in the Heroic age as at a later time, and appears in a less odious
aspect. The nobles alone possessed slaves, and they treated them with
a degree of kindness which frequently secured for the masters their
affectionate attachment.
Society was marked by simplicity of manners. The kings and nobles did
not consider it derogatory to their dignity to acquire skill in the
manual arts. Ulysses is represented as building his own bed-chamber
and constructing his own raft, and he boasts of being an excellent
mower and ploughman. Like Esau, who made savoury meat for his father
Isaac, the Heroic chiefs prepared their own meals and prided themselves
on their skill in cookery. Kings and private persons partook of the
same food, which was of the simplest kind. Beef, mutton, and goat's
flesh were the ordinary meats, and cheese, flour, and sometimes fruits,
also formed part of the banquet; wine was drunk diluted with water, and
the entertainments were never disgraced by intemperance, like those of
our northern ancestors. The enjoyment of the banquet was heightened by
the song and the dance, and the chiefs took more delight in the lays of
the minstrel than in the exciting influence of the wine.
The wives and daughters of the chiefs, in like manner, did not deem it
beneath them to discharge various duties which were afterwards regarded
as menial. Not only do we find them constantly employed in weaving,
spinning and embroidery, but like the daughters of the patriarchs they
fetch water from the well and assist their slaves in washing garments
in the river.
Even at this early age the Greeks had made considerable advances in
civilization. They were collected in fortified towns, which were
surrounded by walls and adorned with palaces and temples. The massive
ruins of Mycenae and the sculptured lions on the gate of this city
belong to the Heroic age, and still excite the wonder of the beholder.
Commerce, however, was little cultivated, and was not much esteemed.
It was deemed more honourable for a man to enrich himself by robbery
and piracy than by the arts of peace. Coined money is not mentioned in
the poems of Homer. Whether the Greeks were acquainted at this early
period with the art of writing is a question which has given rise to
much dispute, and must remain undetermined; but poetry was cultivated
with success, though yet confined to epic strains, or the narration of
the exploits and adventures of the Heroic chiefs. The bard sung his
own song, and was always received with welcome and honour in the
palaces of the nobles.
In the battle, as depicted by Homer, the chiefs are the only important
combatants, while the people are an almost useless mass, frequently put
to rout by the prowess of a single hero. The chief is mounted in a war
chariot, and stands by the side of his charioteer, who is frequently a
friend.
CHAPTER III.
GENERAL SURVEY OF THE GREEK PEOPLE--NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
The Greeks, as we have already seen, were divided into many independent
communities, but several causes bound them together as one people. Of
these the most important were community of blood and
language--community of religious rites and festivals--and community of
manners and character.
All the Greeks were descended from the same ancestor and spoke the same
language. They all described men and cities which were not Grecian by
the term BARBARIAN. This word has passed into our own language, but
with a very different idea; for the Greeks applied it indiscriminately
to every foreigner, to the civilized inhabitants of Egypt and Persia,
as well as to the rude tribes of Scythia and Gaul.
The second bond of union was a community of religious rites and
festivals. From the earliest times the Greeks appear to have
worshipped the same gods; but originally there were no religious
meetings common to the whole nation. Such meetings were of gradual
growth, being formed by a number of neighbouring towns, which entered
into an association for the periodical celebration of certain religious
rites. Of these the most celebrated was the AMPHICTYONIC COUNCIL. It
acquired its superiority over other similar associations by the wealth
and grandeur of the Delphian temple, of which it was the appointed
guardian. It held two meetings every year, one in the spring at the
temple of Apollo at Delphi, and the other in the autumn at the temple
of Demeter (Ceres) at Thermopylae. Its members, who were called the
Amphictyons, consisted of sacred deputies sent from twelve tribes, each
of which contained several independent cities or states. But the
Council was never considered as a national congress, whose duty it was
to protect and defend the common interests of Greece; and it was only
when the rights of the Delphian god had been violated that it invoked
the aid of the various members of the league.
The Olympic Games were of greater efficacy than the amphictyonic
council in promoting a spirit of union among the various branches of
the Greek race, and in keeping alive a feeling of their common origin.
They were open to all persons who could prove their Hellenic blood, and
were frequented by spectators from all parts of the Grecian world.
They were celebrated at Olympia, on the banks of the Alpheus, in the
territory of Elis. The origin of the festival is lost in obscurity;
but it is said to have been revived by Iphitus, king of Elis, and
Lycurgus the Spartan legislator, in the year 776 B.C.; and,
accordingly, when the Greeks at a later time began to use the Olympic
contest as a chronological era, this year was regarded as the first
Olympiad. It was celebrated at the end of every four years, and the
interval which elapsed between each celebration was called an Olympiad.
The whole festival was under the management of the Eleans, who
appointed some of their own number to preside as judges, under the name
of the Hellanodicae. During the month in which it was celebrated all
hostilities were suspended throughout Greece. At first the festival
was confined to a single day, and consisted of nothing more than a
match of runners in the stadium; but in course of time so many other
contests were introduced, that the games occupied five days. They
comprised various trials of strength and skill, such as wrestling
boxing, the Pancratium (boxing and wrestling combined), and the
complicated Pentathlum (including jumping, running, the quoit, the
javelin, and wrestling), but no combats with any kind of weapons.
There were also horse-races and chariot-races; and the chariot-race,
with four full-grown horses, became one of the most popular and
celebrated of all the matches.
The only prize given to the conqueror was a garland of wild olive; but
this was valued as one of the dearest distinctions in life. To have
his name proclaimed as victor before assembled Hellas was an object of
ambition with the noblest and the wealthiest of the Greeks. Such a
person was considered to have conferred everlasting glory upon his
family and his country, and was rewarded by his fellow-citizens with
distinguished honours.
During the sixth century before the Christian era three other national
festivals--the Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian games--which were at first
only local became open to the whole nation. The Pythian games were
celebrated in every third Olympic year, on the Cirrhaean plain in
Phocis, under the superintendence of the Amphictyons. The games
consisted not only of matches in gymnastics and of horse and chariot
races, but also of contests in music and poetry. They soon acquired
celebrity, and became second only to the great Olympic festival. The
Nemean and Isthmian games occurred more frequently than the Olympic and
Pythian. They were celebrated once in two years--the Nemean in the
valley of Nemea between Phlius and Cleonae--and the Isthmian by the
Corinthians, on their isthmus, in honour of Poseidon (Neptune). As in
the Pythian festival, contests in music and in poetry, as well as
gymnastics and chariot-races, formed part of these games. Although the
four great festivals of which we have been speaking had no influence in
promoting the political union of Greece, they nevertheless were of
great importance in making the various sections of the race feel that
they were all members of one family, and in cementing them together by
common sympathies and the enjoyment of common pleasures. The frequent
occurrence of these festivals, for one was celebrated every gear,
tended to the same result.
The Greeks were thus annually reminded of their common origin, and of
the great distinction which existed between them and barbarians. Nor
must we forget the incidental advantages which attended them. The
concourse of so large a number of persons from every part of the
Grecian world afforded to the merchant opportunities for traffic, and
to the artist and the literary man the best means of making their works
known. During the time of the games a busy commerce was carried on;
and in a spacious hall appropriated for the purpose, the poets,
philosophers, and historians were accustomed to read their most recent
works.
The habit of consulting the same oracles in order to ascertain the will
of the gods was another bond of union. It was the universal practice
of the Greeks to undertake no matter of importance without first asking
the advice of the gods; and there were many sacred spots in which the
gods were always ready to give an answer to pious worshippers. The
oracle of Apollo at Delphi surpassed all the rest in importance, and
was regarded with veneration in every part of the Grecian world. In
the centre of the temple of Delphi there was a small opening in the
ground, from which it was said that a certain gas or vapour ascended.
Whenever the oracle was to be consulted, a virgin priestess called
PYTHIA took her seat upon a tripod which was placed over the chasm.
The ascending vapour affected her brain, and the words which she
uttered in this excited condition were believed to be the answer of
Apollo to his worshippers. They were always in hexameter verse, and
were reverently taken down by the attendant priests. Most of the
answers were equivocal or obscure; but the credit of the oracle
continued unimpaired long after the downfall of Grecian independence.
A further element of union among the Greeks was the similarity of
manners and character. It is true the difference in this respect
between the polished inhabitants of Athens and the rude mountaineers of
Acarnania was marked and striking; but if we compare the two with
foreign contemporaries, the contrast between them and the latter is
still more striking. Absolute despotism human sacrifices, polygamy,
deliberate mutilation of the person as a punishment, and selling of
children into slavery, existed in some part or other of the barbarian
world, but are not found in any city of Greece in the historical times.
The elements of union of which we have been speaking only bound the
Greeks together in common feelings and sentiments: they never produced
any political union. The independent sovereignty of each city was a
fundamental notion in the Greek mind. This strongly rooted feeling
deserves particular notice. Careless readers of history are tempted to
suppose that the territory of Greece was divided among comparatively
small number of independent states, such as Attica, Arcadia, Boeotia,
Phocis, Locris, and the like; but this is a most serious mistake, and
leads to a total misapprehension of Greek history. Every separate city
was usually an independent state, and consequently each of the
territories described under the general names of Arcadia, Boeotia,
Phocis, and Locris, contained numerous political communities
independent of one another. Attica, it is true, formed a single state,
and its different towns recognised Athens as their capital and the
source of supreme power; but this is an exception to the general rule.
CHAPTER IV.
EARLY HISTORY OF PELOPONNESUS AND SPARTA, DOWN TO THE END OF THE
MESSENIAN WARS, B.C. 668.
In the heroic age Peloponnesus was occupied by tribes of Dorian
conquerors. They had no share in the glories of the Heroic age; their
name does not occur in the Iliad, and they are only once mentioned in
the Odyssey; but they were destined to form in historical times one of
the most important elements of the Greek nation. Issuing from their
mountain district between Thessaly, Locris and Phocis, they overran the
greater part of Peloponnesus, destroyed the ancient Achaean monarchies
and expelled or reduced to subjection the original inhabitants of the
land, of which they became the undisputed masters. This brief
statement contains all that we know for certain respecting this
celebrated event, which the ancient writers placed eighty years after
the Trojan war (B.C. 1104). The legendary account of the conquest of
Peloponnesus ran as follows:--The Dorians were led by the Heraclidae,
or descendants of the mighty hero Hercules. Hence this migration is
called the Return of the Heraclidae. The children of Hercules had long
been fugitives upon the face of the earth. They had made many attempts
to regain possession of the dominions in the Peloponnesus, of which
their great sire had been deprived by Eurystheus, but hitherto without
success. In their last attempt Hyllus, the son of Hercules, had
perished in single combat with Echemus of Tegea; and the Heraclidae had
become bound by a solemn compact to renounce their enterprise for a
hundred years. This period had now expired; and the great-grandsons of
Hyllus--Temenus, Cresphontes, and Aristodemus--resolved to make a fresh
attempt to recover their birthright. They were assisted in the
enterprise by the Dorians. This people espoused their cause in
consequence of the aid which Hercules himself had rendered to the
Dorian king, AEgimius, when the latter was hard pressed in a contest
with the Lapithae. The invaders were warned by an oracle not to enter
Peloponnesus by the Isthmus of Corinth, but across the mouth of the
Corinthian gulf. The inhabitants of the northern coast of the gulf
were favourable to their enterprise. Oxylus, king of the AEtolians,
became their guide; and from Naupactus they crossed over to
Peloponnesus. A single battle decided the contest. Tisamenus, the son
of Orestes, was defeated and retired with a portion of his Achaean
subjects to the northern coast of Peloponnesus, then occupied by the
Ionians. He expelled the Ionians, and took possession of the country,
which continued henceforth to be inhabited by the Achaeans, and to be
called after them. The Ionians withdrew to Attica, and the greater
part of them afterwards emigrated to Asia Minor.
The Heraclidae and the Dorians now divided between them the dominions
of Tisamenus and of the other Achaean princes. The kingdom of Elis was
given to Oxylus as a recompense for his services as their guide; and it
was agreed that Temenus, Cresphontes, and Eurysthenes and Procles, the
infant sons of Aristodemus (who had died at Naupactus), should draw
lots for Argos, Sparta, and Messenia. Argos fell to Temenus, Sparta to
Eurysthenes and Procles, and Messenia to Cresphontes.
Such are the main features of the legend of the Return of the
Heraclidae. In order to make the story more striking and impressive,
it compresses into a single epoch events which probably occupied
several generations. It is in itself improbable that the brave
Achaeans quietly submitted to the Dorian invaders after a momentary
struggle. We have, moreover, many indications that such was not the
fact, and that it was only gradually and after a long protracted
contest that the Dorians became undisputed masters of the greater part
of Peloponnesus.
Argos was originally the chief Dorian state in Peloponnesus, but at the
time of the first Olympiad its power had been supplanted by that of
Sparta. The progress of Sparta from the second to the first place
among the states in the peninsula was mainly owing to the military
discipline and rigorous training of its citizens. The singular
constitution of Sparta was unanimously ascribed by the ancients to the
legislator Lycurgus, but there were different stories respecting his
date, birth, travels, legislation, and death. His most probable date
however is B.C. 776, in which year he is said to have assisted Iphitus
in restoring the Olympic games. He was the son of Eunomus, one of the
two kings who reigned together in Sparta. On the death of his father,
his elder brother, Polydectes, succeeded to the crown, but died soon
afterwards, leaving his queen with child. The ambitious woman offered
to destroy the child, if Lycurgus would share the throne with her.
Lycurgus pretended to consent; but as soon as she had given birth to a
son, he presented him in the market-place as the future king of Sparta.
The young king's mother took revenge upon Lycurgus by accusing him of
entertaining designs against his nephew's life. Hereupon he resolved
to withdraw from his native country and to visit foreign lands. He was
absent many years, and is said to have employed his time in studying
the institutions of other nations, in order to devise a system of laws
and regulations which might deliver Sparta from the evils under which
it had long been suffering. During his absence the young king had
grown up, and assumed the reins of government; but the disorders of the
state had meantime become worse than ever, and all parties longed for a
termination to their present sufferings. Accordingly the return of
Lycurgus was hailed with delight, and he found the people both ready
and willing to submit to an entire change in their government and
institutions. He now set himself to work to carry his long projected
reforms into effect; but before he commenced his arduous task he
consulted the Delphian oracle, from which he received strong assurances
of divine support. Thus encouraged by the god, he suddenly presented
himself in the market-place, surrounded by thirty of the most
distinguished Spartans in arms. His reforms were not carried into
effect without violent opposition, and in one of the tumults which they
excited, his eye is said to have been struck out by a passionate youth.
But he finally triumphed over all obstacles, and succeeded in obtaining
the submission of all classes in the community to his new constitution.
His last act was to sacrifice himself for the welfare of his country.
Having obtained from the people a solemn oath to make no alterations in
his laws before his return, he quitted Sparta for ever. He set out on
a journey to Delphi, where he obtained an oracle from the god,
approving of all he had done, and promising prosperity to the Spartans
as long as they preserved his laws. Whither he went afterwards, and
how and where he died, nobody could tell. He vanished from earth like
a god, leaving no traces behind him but his spirit: and his grateful
countrymen honoured him with a temple, and worshipped him with annual
sacrifices down to the latest times.
The population of Laconia was divided into the three classes of
Spartans, Perioeci and Helots.
I. The SPARTANS were the descendants of the leading Dorian
conquerors. They formed the sovereign power of the state, and they
alone were eligible to honours and public offices. They lived in
Sparta itself and were all subject to the discipline of Lycurgus. They
were divided into three tribes,--the HYLLEIS, the PAMPHILI, and the
DYMANES,--which were not, however, peculiar to Sparta, but existed in
all the Dorian states.
II. The PERIOECI were personally free, but politically subject
to the Spartans. [This word signifies literally DWELLERS AROUND THE
CITY, and was generally used to indicate the inhabitants in the country
districts, who possessed inferior political privileges to the citizens
who lived in the city.] They possessed no share in the government, and
were bound to obey the commands of the Spartan magistrates. They
appear to have been the descendants of the old Achaean population of
the country, and they were distributed into a hundred townships, which
were spread through the whole of Laconia.
III. The HELOTS were serfs bound to the soil, which they tilled
for the benefit of the Spartan proprietors. Their condition was very
different from that of the ordinary slaves in antiquity, and more
similar to the villanage of the middle ages. They lived in the rural
villages, as the Perioeci did in the towns, cultivating the lands and
paying over the rent to their masters in Sparta, but enjoying their
homes, wives, and families, apart from their master's personal
superintendence. They appear to have been never sold, and they
accompanied the Spartans to the field as light armed troops. But while
their condition was in these respects superior to that of the ordinary
slaves in other parts of Greece, it was embittered by the fact that
they were not strangers like the latter, but were of the same race and
spoke the same language as their masters, being probably the
descendants of the old inhabitants, who had offered the most obstinate
resistance to the Dorians, and had therefore been reduced to slavery.
As their numbers increased, they became objects of suspicion to their
masters, and were subjected to the most wanton and oppressive cruelty.
The functions of the Spartan government were distributed among two
kings, a senate of thirty members, a popular assembly, and an executive
directory of five men called the Ephors.
At the head of the state were the two hereditary kings. The existence
of a pair of kings was peculiar to Sparta, and is said to have arisen
from the accidental circumstance of Aristodemus having left twin sons,
Eurysthenes and Procles. This division of the royal power naturally
tended to weaken its influence and to produce jealousies and
dissensions between the two kings. The royal power was on the decline
during the whole historical period, and the authority of the kings was
gradually usurped by the Ephors, who at length obtained the entire
control of the government, and reduced the kings to a state of
humiliation and dependence.
The Senate, called GERUSIA, or the COUNCIL OF ELDERS, consisted of
thirty members, among whom the two kings were included. They were
obliged to be upwards of sixty years of age, and they held their office
for life. They possessed considerable power and were the only real
check upon the authority of the Ephors. They discussed and prepared
all measures which were to be brought before the popular assembly, and
they had some share in the general administration of the state. But
the most important of their functions was, that they were judges in all
criminal cases affecting the life of a Spartan citizen.
The Popular Assembly was of little importance, and appears to have been
usually summoned only as a matter of form for the election of certain
magistrates, for passing laws, and for determining upon peace and war.
It would appear that open discussion was not allowed and that the
assembly rarely came to a division.
The Ephors were of later origin, and did not exist in the original
constitution of Lycurgus. They may be regarded as the representatives
of the popular assembly. They were elected annually from the general
body of Spartan citizens, and seem to have been originally appointed to
protect the interests and liberties of the people against the
encroachments of the kings and the senate. They correspond in many
respects to the tribunes of the people at Rome. Their functions were
at first limited and of small importance; but in the end the whole
political power became centred in their hands.
The Spartan government was in reality a close oligarchy, in which the
kings and the senate, as well as the people, were alike subject to the
irresponsible authority of the five Ephors.
The most important part of the legislation of Lycurgus did not relate
to the political constitution of Sparta, but to the discipline and
education of the citizens. It was these which gave Sparta her peculiar
character, and distinguished her in so striking a manner from all the
other states of Greece. The position of the Spartans, surrounded by
numerous enemies, whom they held in subjection by the sword alone,
compelled them to be a nation of soldiers. Lycurgus determined that
they should be nothing else; and the great object of his whole system
was to cultivate a martial spirit, and to give them a training which
would make them invincible in battle. To accomplish this the education
of a Spartan was placed under the control of the state from his
earliest boyhood. Every child after birth was exhibited to public
view, and, if deemed deformed and weakly, was exposed to perish on
Mount Taygetus. At the age of seven he was taken from his mother's
care, and handed over to the public classes. He was not only taught
gymnastic games and military exercises but he was also subjected to
severe bodily discipline, and was compelled to submit to hardships and
suffering without repining or complaint. One of the tests to which he
was subjected was a cruel scourging at the altar of Artemis (Diana),
until his blood gushed forth and covered the altar of the goddess. It
was inflicted publicly before the eyes of his parents and in the
presence of the whole city; and many Spartan youths were known to have
died under the lash without uttering a complaining murmur. No means
were neglected to prepare them for the hardships and stratagems of war.
They were obliged to wear the same garment winter and summer, and to
endure hunger and thirst, heat and cold. They were purposely allowed
an insufficient quantity of food, but were permitted to make up the
deficiency by hunting in the woods and mountains of Laconia. They were
even encouraged to steal whatever they could; but if they were caught
in the fact, they were severely punished for their want of dexterity.
Plutarch tells us of a boy, who, having stolen a fox, and hid it under
his garment, chose rather to let it tear out his very bowels than be
detected in the theft.
The literary education of a Spartan youth was of a most restricted
kind. He was taught to despise literature as unworthy of a warrior,
while the study of eloquence and philosophy, which were cultivated at
Athens with such extraordinary success, was regarded at Sparta with
contempt. Long speeches were a Spartan's abhorrence, and he was
trained to express himself with sententious brevity.
A Spartan was not considered to have reached the full age of manhood
till he had completed his thirtieth year. He was then allowed to
marry, to take part in the public assembly, and was eligible to the
offices of the state. But he still continued under the public
discipline, and was not permitted even to reside and take his meals
with his wife. It was not till he had reached his sixtieth year that
he was released from the public discipline and from military service.
The public mess--called SYSSITIA--is said to have been instituted by
Lycurgus to prevent all indulgence of the appetite. Public tables were
provided, at which every male citizen was obliged to take his meals.
Each table accommodated fifteen persons, who formed a separate mess,
into which no new member was admitted, except by the unanimous consent
of the whole company. Each sent monthly to the common stock a
specified quantity of barley-meal, wine, cheese, and figs and a little
money to buy flesh and fish. No distinction of any kind was allowed at
these frugal meals. Meat was only eaten occasionally; and one of the
principal dishes was black broth. Of what it consisted we do not know.
The tyrant Dionysius found it very unpalatable; but, as the cook told
him, the broth was nothing without the seasoning of fatigue and hunger.
The Spartan women in their earlier years were subjected to a course of
training almost as rigorous as that of the men, and contended with each
other in running, wrestling and boxing. At the age of twenty a Spartan
woman usually married, and she was no longer subjected to the public
discipline. Although she enjoyed little of her husband's society, she
was treated by him with deep respect, and was allowed a greater degree
of liberty than was tolerated in other Grecian states. Hence she took
a lively interest in the welfare and glory of her native land, and was
animated by an earnest and lofty spirit of patriotism. The Spartan
mother had reason to be proud of herself and of her children. When a
woman of another country said to Gorgo, the wife of Leonidas, "The
Spartan women alone rule the men," she replied, "The Spartan women
alone bring forth men." Their husbands and their sons were fired by
their sympathy to deeds of heroism. "Return either with your shield,
or upon it," was their exhortation to their sons when going to battle.
Lycurgus is said to have divided the land belonging to the Spartans
into 9000 equal lots and the remainder of Laconia into 30,000 equal
lots, and to have assigned to each Spartan citizen one of the former of
these lots, and to each Perioecus one of the latter.
Neither gold nor silver money was allowed in Sparta, and nothing but
bars of iron passed in exchange for every commodity. As the Spartans
were not permitted to engage in commerce, and all luxury and display in
dress, furniture, and food was forbidden, they had very little occasion
for a circulating medium, and iron money was found sufficient for their
few wants. But this prohibition of the precious metals only made the
Spartans more anxious to obtain them; and even in the times of their
greatest glory the Spartans were the most venal of the Greeks, and
could rarely resist the temptation of a bribe.
The legislation of Lycurgus was followed by important results. It made
the Spartans a body of professional soldiers, all trained and well
disciplined, at a time when military training and discipline were
little known, and almost unpractised in the other states of Greece.
The consequence was the rapid growth of the political power of Sparta,
and the subjugation of the neighbouring states. At the time of
Lycurgus the Spartans held only a small portion of Laconia: they were
merely a garrison in the heart of an enemy's country. Their first
object was to make themselves masters of Laconia, in which they finally
succeeded after a severe struggle. They next turned their arms against
the Messenians, Arcadians, and Argives. Of these wars the two waged
against Messenia were the most celebrated and the most important. They
were both long protracted and obstinately contested. They both ended
in the victory of Sparta, and in the subjugation of Messenia. These
facts are beyond dispute; but of the details we have no trustworthy
narrative.
The FIRST MESSENIAN WAR lasted from B.C. 743 to 724. During the first
four years the Lacedaemonians made little progress; but in the fifth a
great battle was fought, and although its result was indecisive, the
Messenians did not venture to risk another engagement, and retired to
the strongly fortified mountain of Ithome. In their distress they sent
to consult the oracle at Delphi, and received the appalling answer that
the salvation of Messenia required the sacrifice of a virgin of the
royal house to the gods of the lower world. Aristodemus, who is the
Messenian hero of the first war, slew his own daughter, which so
disheartened the Spartans, that they abstained from attacking the
Messenians for some years. In the thirteenth year of the war the
Spartan king marched against Ithome, and a second great battle was
fought, but the result was again indecisive. The Messenian king fell
in the action; and Aristodemus, who was chosen king in his place,
prosecuted the war with vigour. In the fifth year of his reign a third
great battle was fought. This time the Messenians gained a decisive
victory, and the Lacedaemonians were driven back into their own
territory. They now sent to ask advice of the Delphian oracle, and
were promised success upon using stratagem. They therefore had
recourse to fraud: and at the same time various prodigies dismayed the
bold spirit of Aristodemus. His daughter too appeared to him in a
dream, showed him her wounds, and beckoned him away. Seeing that his
country was doomed to destruction, Aristodemus slew himself on his
daughter's tomb. Shortly afterwards, in the twentieth year of the war,
the Messenians abandoned Ithome, which the Lacedaemonians razed to the
ground, and the whole country became subject to Sparta. Many of the
inhabitants fled into other countries; but those who remained were
reduced to the condition of Helots, and were compelled to pay to their
masters half of the produce of their lands.
For thirty-nine years the Messenians endured this degrading yoke. At
the end of this time they took up arms against their oppressors. The
SECOND MESSENIAN WAR lasted from B.C. 685 to 668. Its hero is
Aristomenes, whose wonderful exploits form the great subject of this
war. It would appear that most of the states in Peloponnesus took part
in the struggle. The first battle was fought before the arrival of the
allies on either side, and, though it was indecisive, the valour of
Aristomenes struck fear into the hearts of the Spartans. To frighten
the enemy still more, the hero crossed the frontier, entered Sparta by
night, and affixed a shield to the temple of Athena (Minerva), with the
inscription, "Dedicated by Aristomenes to the goddess from the Spartan
spoils." The Spartans in alarm sent to Delphi for advice. The god
bade them apply to Athens for a leader. Fearing to disobey the oracle,
but with the view of rendering no real assistance, the Athenians sent
Tyrtaeus, a lame man and a schoolmaster. The Spartans received their
new leader with due honour; and he was not long in justifying the
credit of the oracle. His martial songs roused their fainting courage;
and so efficacious were his poems that to them is mainly ascribed the
final success of the Spartan arms.
Encouraged by the strains of Tyrtaeus, the Spartans again marched
against the Messenians. But they were not at first successful. A great
battle was fought at the Boar's Grave in the plain of Stenyclerus, in
which they were defeated with great loss. In the third year of the war
another great battle was fought, in which the Messenians suffered a
signal defeat. So greet was their loss, that Aristomenes no longer
ventured to meet the Spartans in the open field. Following the example
of the Messenian leaders in the former war, he retired to the mountain
fortress of Ira. The Spartans encamped at the foot of the mountain; but
Aristomenes frequently sallied from the fortress, and ravaged the lands
of Laconia with fire and sword. It is unnecessary to relate all the
wonderful exploits of this hero in his various incursions. Thrice was
he taken prisoner; on two occasions he burst his bonds, but on the
third he was carried to Sparta, and thrown with his fifty companions
into a deep pit, called Ceadas. His comrades were all killed by the
fall; but Aristomenes reached the bottom unhurt. He saw, however, no
means of escape, and had resigned himself to death; but on the third
day perceiving a fox creeping among the bodies, he grasped its tail,
and, following the animal as it struggled to escape, discovered an
opening in the rock, and on the next day was at Ira to the surprise
alike of friends and foes. But his single prowess was not sufficient
to avert the ruin of his country. One night the Spartans surprised
Ira, while Aristomenes was disabled by a wound; but he collected the
bravest of his followers, and forced his way through the enemy. Many
of the Messenians went to Rhegium, in Italy, under the sons of
Aristomenes, but the hero himself finished his days in Rhodes.
The second Messenian war was terminated by the complete subjugation of
the Messenians, who again became the serfs of their conquerors. In
this condition they remained till the restoration of their independence
by Epaminondas in the year 369 B.C. During the whole of the intervening
period the Messenians disappear from history. The country called
Messenia in the map became a portion of Laconia, which thus extended
across the south of Pelponnesus from the eastern to the western sea.
CHAPTER V.
THE EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS, DOWN TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMOCRACY BY
CLISTHENES, B.C. 510.
Sparta was the only state in Greece which continued to retain the
kingly form of government during the brilliant period of Grecian
history. In all other parts of Greece royalty had been abolished at as
early age, and various forms of republican government established in
its stead. The abolition of royalty was first followed by an Oligarchy
or the government of the Few. Democracy, or the government of the Many,
was of later growth. It was not from the people that the oligarchies
received their first and greatest blow. They were generally overthrown
by the usurpers, to whom the Greeks gave the name of TYRANTS. [The
Greek word Tyrant does not correspond in meaning to the same word in
the English language. It signifies simply an irresponsible ruler, and
may, therefore, be more correctly rendered by the term Despot.]
The rise of the Tyrants seems to have taken place about the same time
in a large number of the Greek cities. In most cases they belonged to
the nobles, and they generally became masters of the state by espousing
the cause of the commonalty, and using the strength of the people to
put down the oligarchy by force. At first they were popular with the
general body of the citizens, who were glad to see the humiliation of
their former masters. But discontent soon began to arise; the tyrant
had recourse to violence to quell disaffection; and the government
became in reality a tyranny in the modern sense of the word.
Many of the tyrants in Greece were put down by the Lacedaemonians. The
Spartan government was essentially an oligarchy, and the Spartans were
always ready to lend their powerful aid in favour of the government of
the Few. Hence they took an active part in the overthrow of the
despots, with the intention of establishing the ancient oligarchy in
their place. But this rarely happened; and they found it impossible in
most cases to reinstate the former body of nobles in their ancient
privileges. The latter, it is true, attempted to regain them and were
supported in their attempts by Sparta. Hence arose a new struggle.
The first contest after the abolition of royalty was between oligarchy
and the despot, the next was between oligarchy and democracy.
The history of Athens affords the most striking illustration of the
different revolutions of which we have been speaking.
Little is known of Athens before the age of Solon. Its legendary tales
are few, its historical facts still fewer. Cecrops, the first ruler of
Attica, is said to have divided the country into twelve districts,
which are represented as independent communities, each governed by a
separate king. They were afterwards united into a single state, having
Athens as its capital and the seat of government. At what time this
important union was effected cannot be determined; but it is ascribed
to Theseus, as the national hero of the Athenian people.
A few generations after Theseus, the Dorians are said to have invaded
Attica. An oracle declared that they would be victorious if they
spared the life of the Athenian King; whereupon Codrus, who then
reigned at Athens, resolved to sacrifice himself for the welfare of his
country. Accordingly he went into the invaders' camp in disguise,
provoked a quarrel with one of the Dorian soldiers and was killed by
the latter. Upon learning the death of the Athenian king, the Dorians
retired from Attica without striking a blow: and the Athenians, from
respect to the memory of Codrus, abolished the title of king, and
substituted for it that of Archon or Ruler. The office, however, was
held for life, and was confined to the family of Codrus. His son Medon
was the first archon, and he was followed in the dignity by eleven
members of the family in succession. But soon after the accession
Alcmaeon, the thirteenth in descent from Medon, another change was
introduced, and the duration of the archonship was limited to ten years
(B.C. 752). The dignity was still confined to the descendants of
Medon; but in the time of Hippomenes (B.C. 714) this restriction was
removed, and the office was thrown open to all the nobles in the state.
In B.C. 683 a still more important change took place. The archonship
was now made annual, and its duties were distributed among nine
persons, all of whom bore the title. The last of the decennial archons
was Eryxias, the first of the nine annual archons Creon.
Such is the legendary account of the change of government at Athens,
from royalty to an oligarchy. It appears to have taken place peaceably
and gradually, as in most other Greek states. The whole political power
was vested in the nobles; from them the nine annual archons were taken,
and to them alone these magistrates were responsible. The people, or
general body of freemen, had no share in the government.
The Athenian nobles were called EUPATRIDAE, the two other classes in
the state being the GEOMORI or husbandmen, and DEMIURGI or artisans.
This arrangement is ascribed to Theseus; but there was another division
of the people of still greater antiquity. As the Dorians were divided
into three tribes, so the Ionians were usually distributed into four
tribes. The latter division also existed among the Athenians, who were
Ionians, and it continued in full vigour down to the great revolution
of Clisthenes (B.C. 509). These tribes were distinguished by the names
of GELEONTES (or TELEONTES) "cultivators," HOPLETES "warriors,"
AEGICORES "goat-herds," and ARGADES "artisans." Each tribe contained
three Phratriae, each Phratry thirty Gentes, and each Gens thirty heads
of families.
The first date in Athenian history on which certain reliance can be
placed is the institution of annual archons, in the year 683 B.C. The
duties of the government were distributed among the nine archons in the
following manner. The first was called THE ARCHON by way of
pre-eminence, and sometimes the Archon Eponymus, because the year was
distinguished by his name. The second archon was called THE BASILEUS
or THE KING, because he represented the king in his capacity as
high-priest of the nation. The third archon bore the title of THE
POLEMARCH, or Commander-in-chief and was, down to the time of
Clisthenes, the commander of the troops. The remaining six had the
common title of THESMOTHETAE, or Legislators. Their duties seem to
have been almost exclusively judicial.
The government of the Eupatrids was oppressive; and the discontent of
the people at length became so serious, that Draco was appointed in 624
B.C. to draw up a written code of laws. They were marked by extreme
severity. He affixed the penalty of death to all crimes alike; to
petty thefts, for instance, as well as to sacrilege and murder. Hence
they were said to have been written not in ink but in blood; and we are
told that he justified this extreme harshness by saying that small
offences deserved death, and that he knew no severer punishment for
great ones.
The legislation of Draco failed to calm the prevailing discontent. The
people gained nothing by the written code, except a more perfect
knowledge of its severity; and civil dissensions prevailed as
extensively as before. The general dissatisfaction with the government
was favourable to revolutionary projects; and accordingly, twelve years
after Draco's legislation (B.C. 612), Cylon, one of the nobles,
conceived the design of depriving his brother Eupatrids of their power,
and making himself tyrant of Athens. Having collected a considerable
force, he seized the Acropolis; but he did not meet with support from
the great mass of the people, and he soon found himself closely
blockaded by the forces of the Eupatrids. Cylon and his brother made
their escape, but the remainder of his associates, hard pressed by
hunger, abandoned the defence of the walls, and took refuge at the
altar of Athena (Minerva). They were induced by the archon Megacles,
one of the illustrious family of the Alcmaeonidae, to quit the altar on
the promise that their lives should be spared; but directly they had
left the temple they were put to death, and some of them were murdered
even at the altar of the Eumenides or Furies.
The conspiracy thus failed; but its suppression was attended with a
long train of melancholy consequences. The whole family of the
Alcmaeonidae was believed to have become tainted by the daring act of
sacrilege committed by Megacles; and the friends and partisans of the
murdered conspirators were not slow in demanding vengeance upon the
accursed race. Thus a new element of discord was introduced into the
state, In the midst of these dissensions there was one man who enjoyed
a distinguished reputation at Athens, and to whom his fellow citizens
looked up as the only person in the state who could deliver them from
their political and social dissensions, and secure them from such
misfortunes for the future. This man was Solon, the son of
Execestides, and a descendant of Codrus. He had travelled through many
parts of Greece and Asia, and had formed acquaintance with many of the
most eminent men of his time. On his return to his native country he
distinguished himself by recovering the island of Salamis, which had
revolted to Megara (B.C. 600). Three years afterwards he persuaded the
Alcmaeonidae to submit their case to the judgment of three hundred
Eupatridae, by whom they were adjudged guilty of sacrilege, and were
expelled from Attica. The banishment of the guilty race did not,
however, deliver the Athenians from their religious fears. A
pestilential disease with which they were visited was regarded as an
unerring sign of the divine wrath. Upon the advice of the Delphic
oracle, they invited the celebrated Cretan prophet and sage,
Epimenides, to visit Athens, and purify their city from pollution and
sacrilege. By performing certain sacrifices and expiatory acts,
Epimenides succeeded in staying the plague.
The civil dissensions however still continued. The population of
Attica was now divided into three hostile factions, consisting of the
PEDIEIS or wealthy Eupatrid inhabitants of the plains; of the DIACRII,
or poor inhabitants of the hilly districts in the north and east of
Attica; and of the PARALI, or mercantile inhabitants of the coasts, who
held an intermediate position between the other two. Their disputes
were aggravated by the miserable condition of the poorer population.
The latter were in a state of abject poverty, They had borrowed money
from the wealthy at exorbitant rates of interest upon the security of
their property and their persons. If the principal and interest of the
debt were not paid, the creditor had the power of seizing the person as
well as the land of his debtor, and of using him as a slave. Many had
thus been torn from their homes and sold to barbarian masters, while
others were cultivating as slaves the lands of their wealthy creditors
in Attica. Matters had at length reached a crisis; the existing laws
could no longer be enforced; and the poor were ready to rise in open
insurrection against the rich.
In these alarming circumstances the ruling oligarchy were obliged to
have recourse to Solon; and they therefore chose him Archon in B.C.
594, investing him under that title with unlimited powers to effect any
changes he might consider beneficial to the state. His appointment was
hailed with satisfaction by the poor; and all parties were willing to
accept his mediation and reforms.
Solon commenced his undertaking by relieving the poorer class of
debtors from their existing distress. He cancelled all contracts by
which the land or person of a debtor had been given as security; and he
forbad for the future all loans in which the person of the debtor was
pledged. He next proceeded to draw up a new constitution and a new
code of laws. As a preliminary step he repealed all the laws of Draco,
except those relating to murder. He then made a new classification of
the citizens, distributing them into four classes according to the
amount of their property, thus making wealth and not birth the title to
the honours and offices of the state. The first class consisted of
those whose annual income was equal to 500 medimni of corn and upwards,
and were called PENTACOSIOMEDIMNI. [The medimnus was one bushel and a
half.] The second class consisted of those whose incomes ranged
between 300 and 500 medimni and were called KNIGHTS, from their being
able to furnish a war-horse. The third class consisted of those who
received between 200 and 300 medimni, and were called ZEUGITAE from
their being able to keep a yoke of oxen for the plough. The fourth
class, called THETES, included all whose property fell short of 200
medimni. The first class were alone eligible to the archonship and the
higher offices of the state. The second and third classes filled
inferior posts, and were liable to military service, the former as
horsemen, and the latter as heavy-armed soldiers on foot. The fourth
class were excluded from all public offices, and served in the army
only as light-armed troops. Solon, however, allowed them to veto in
the public assembly, where they must have constituted by far the
largest number. He gave the assembly the right of electing the archons
and the other officers of the state; and he also made the archons
accountable to the assembly at the expiration of their year of office.
This extension of the duties of the public assembly led to the
institution of a new body. Solon created the Senate, or Council of
Four Hundred with the special object of preparing all matters for the
discussion of the public assembly, of presiding at its meetings, and of
carrying its resolutions into effect. No subject could be introduced
before the people, except by a previous resolution of the Senate. The
members of the Senate were elected by the public assembly, one hundred
from each of the four ancient tribes, which were left untouched by
Solon. They held their office for a year, and were accountable at its
expiration to the public assembly for the manner in which they had
discharged their duties.
The Senate of the Areopagus [It received its name from its place of
meeting, which was a rocky eminence opposite the Acropolis, called the
hill of Ares (Mars Hill)], is said by some writers to have been
instituted by Solon; but it existed long before his time, and may be
regarded as the representative of the Council of Chiefs in the Heroic
age. Solon enlarged its powers, and intrusted it with the general
supervision of the institutions and laws of the state, and imposed upon
it the duty of inspecting the lives and occupations of the citizens.
All archons became members of it at the expiration of their year of
office.
Solon laid only the foundation of the Athenian democracy by giving the
poorer classes a vote in the popular assembly, and by enlarging the
power of the latter; but he left the government exclusively in the
hands of the wealthy. For many years after his time the government
continued to be an oligarchy, but was exercised with more moderation
and justice than formerly.
Solon enacted numerous laws, containing regulations on almost all
subjects connected with the public and private life of the citizens.
He encouraged trade and manufactures, and invited foreigners to settle
in Athens by the promise of protection and by valuable privileges. To
discourage idleness a son was not obliged to support his father in old
age, if the latter had neglected to teach him some trade or occupation.
Solon punished theft by compelling the guilty party to restore double
the value of the property stolen. He forbade speaking evil either of
the dead or of the living.
Solon is said to have been aware that he had left many imperfections in
his laws. He described them not as the best laws which he could
devise, but as the best which the Athenians could receive. Having
bound the government and people of Athens by a solemn oath to observe
his institutions for at least ten years, he left Athens and travelled
in foreign lands. During his absence the old dissensions between the
Plain, the Shore, and the Mountain broke out afresh with more violence
than ever. The first was headed by Lycurgus, the second by Megacles,
an Alcmaeonid, and the third by Pisistratus, the cousin of Solon. Of
these leaders, Pisistratus was the ablest and the most dangerous. He
had espoused the cause of the poorest of the three classes, in order to
gain popularity, and to make himself master of Athens. Solon on his
return to Athens detected the ambitious designs of his kinsman, and
attempted to disuade him from them. Finding his remonstrances
fruitless, he next denounced his projects in verses addressed to the
people. Few, however, gave any heed to his warnings: and Pisistratus,
at length finding his schemes ripe for action, had recourse to a
memorable strategem to secure his object. One day he appeared in the
market-place in a chariot, his mules and his own person bleeding with
wounds inflicted with his own hands. These he exhibited to the people,
telling them that he had been nearly murdered in consequence of
defending their rights. The popular indignation was excited; and a
guard of fifty clubmen was granted him for his future security. He
gradually increased the number of his guard and soon found himself
strong enough to throw off the mask and seize the Acropolis (B.C. 560).
Megacles and the Alcmaeonidae left the city. Solon alone had the
courage to oppose the usurpation, and upbraided the people with their
cowardice and their treachery. "You might," said he, "with ease have
crushed the tyrant in the bud; but nothing now remains but to pluck him
up by the roots." But no one responded to his appeal. He refused to
fly; and when his friends asked him on what he relied for protection,
"On my old age," was his reply. It is creditable to Pisistratus that
he left his aged relative unmolested, and even asked his advice in the
administration of the government. Solon did not long survive the
overthrow of the constitution. He died a year or two afterwards at the
advanced age of eighty. His ashes are said to have been scattered by
his own direction round the island of Salamis, which he had won for the
Athenian people.
Pisistratus however did not retain his power long. The leaders of the
factions of the Shore and the Plain combined and drove the usurper into
exile. But the Shore and the Plain having quarrelled, Pisistratus was
recalled and again became master of Athens. Another revolution shortly
afterwards drove him into exile a second time, and he remained abroad
ten years. At length, with the assistance of mercenaries from other
Grecian states and with the aid of his partisans in Athens, he became
master of Athens for the third time, and henceforth continued in
possession of the supreme power till the day of his death. As soon as
he was firmly established in the government, his administration was
marked by mildness and equity. He maintained the institutions of
Solon, taking care, however, that the highest offices should always be
held by some members of his own family. He not only enforced strict
obedience to the laws, but himself set the example of submitting to
them. Being accused of murder, he disdained to take advantage of his
authority, and went in person to plead his cause before the Areopagus,
where his accuser did not venture to appear. He courted popularity by
largesses to the citizens and by throwing open his gardens to the poor.
He adorned Athens with many public buildings. He commenced on a
stupendous scale a temple to the Olympian Zeus, which remained
unfinished for centuries, and was at length completed by the emperor
Hadrian. He was a patron of literature, as well as of the arts. He is
said to have been the first person in Greece who collected a library,
which he threw open to the public; and to him posterity is indebted for
the collection of the Homeric poems. On the whole it cannot be denied
that he made a wise and noble use of his power.
Pisistratus died at an advanced age in 527 B.C., thirty-three years
after his first usurpation. He transmitted the sovereign power to his
sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, who conducted the government on the same
principles as their father. Hipparchus inherited his father's literary
tastes. He invited several distinguished poets, such as Anacreon and
Simonides, to his court. The people appear to have been contented with
their rule; and it was only an accidental circumstance which led to
their overthrow and to a change in the government.
Their fall was occasioned by the conspiracy of Harmodius and
Aristogiton, who were attached to each other by a most intimate
friendship. Harmodius having given offence to Hippias, the despot
revenged himself by putting a public affront upon his sister. This
indignity excited the resentment of the two friends, and they now
resolved to slay the despots at the festival of the Great Panathenaea,
when all the citizens were required to attend in arms. Having
communicated their design to a few associates, the conspirators
appeared armed at the appointed time like the rest of the citizens, but
carrying concealed daggers besides. Harmodius and Aristogiton had
planned to kill Hippias first as he was arranging the order of the
procession outside the city, but, upon approaching the spot where he
was standing, they were thunderstruck at beholding one of the
conspirators in close conversation with the despot. Believing that
they were betrayed, they rushed back into the city with their daggers
hid in the myrtle boughs which they were to have carried in the
procession, and killed Hipparchus. Harmodius was immediately cut down
by the guards. Aristogiton died under the tortures to which he was
subjected in order to compel him to disclose his accomplices.
Hipparchus was assassinated in B.C. 514, the fourteenth year after the
death of Pisistratus. From this time the character of the government
became entirely changed. His brother's murder converted Hippias into a
cruel and suspicious tyrant. He put to death numbers of the citizens,
and raised large sums of money by extraordinary taxes.
The Alcmaeonidae, who had lived in exile ever since the third and final
restoration of Pisistratus to Athens, now began to form schemes to
expel the tyrant. Clisthenes, the son of Megacles, who was the head of
the family, secured the Delphian oracle by pecuniary presents to the
Pythia, or priestess, henceforth, whenever the Spartans came to consult
the oracle, the answer of the priestess was always the same, "Athens
must be liberated." This order was so often repeated, that the Spartans
at last resolved to obey. Cleomenes, king of Sparta, defeated the
Thessalian allies of Hippias; and the tyrant, unable to meet his
enemies in the field, took refuge in the Acropolis. Here he might have
maintained himself in safety, had not his children been made prisoners
as they were being secretly carried out of the country. To procure
their restoration, he consented to quit Attics in the space of five
days. He sailed to Asia, and took up his residence at Sigeum in the
Troad, which his father had wrested from the Mytilenaeans in war.
Hippias was expelled in B.C. 510, four years after the assassination of
Hipparchus. These four years had been a time of suffering and
oppression for the Athenians, and had effaced from their minds all
recollection of the former mild rule of Pisistratus and his sons.
Hence the expulsion of the family was hailed with delight. The memory
of Harmodius and Aristogiton was cherished with the fondest reverence;
and the Athenians of a later age, overlooking the four years which had
elapsed from their death to the overthrow of the despotism, represented
them as the liberators of their country and the first martyrs for its
liberty. Their statues were erected in the market-place soon after the
expulsion of Hippias; their descendants enjoyed immunity from all taxes
and public burdens; and their deed of vengeance formed the favourite
subject of drinking songs.
The Lacedaemonians quitted Athens soon after Hippias had sailed away,
leaving the Athenians to settle their own affairs. Clisthenes, to whom
Athens was mainly indebted for its liberation from the despotism,
aspired to be the political leader of the state but he was opposed by
Isagoras, the leader of the party of the nobles. By the Solonian
constitution, the whole political power was vested in the hands of the
nobles; and Clisthenes soon found that it was hopeless to contend
against his rival under the existing order of things. For this reason
he resolved to introduce an important change in the constitution, and
to give to the people an equal share in the government.
The reforms of Clisthenes gave birth to the Athenian democracy, which
can hardly be said to have existed before this time. His first and
most important measure was a redistribution of the whole population of
Attica into ten new tribes. He abolished the four ancient Ionic
tribes, and enrolled in the ten new tribes all the free inhabitants of
Attica, including both resident aliens and even emancipated slaves. He
divided the tribes into a certain number of cantons or townships,
called DEMI, which at a later time were 174 in number. Every Athenian
citizen was obliged to be enrolled in a demus, each of which, like a
parish in England, administered its own affairs. It had its public
meetings it levied rates, and was under the superintendence of an
officer called DEMARCHUS.
The establishment of the ten new tribes led to a change in the number
of the Senate. It had previously consisted of 400 members, but it was
now enlarged to 500, fifty being selected from each of the ten new
tribes. The Ecclesia, or formal assembly of the citizens, was now
summoned at certain fixed periods; and Clisthenes transferred the
government of the state, which had hitherto been in the hands of the
archons, to the senate and the ecclesia. He also increased the
judicial as well as the political power of the people; and enacted that
all public crimes should be tried by the whole body of citizens above
thirty years of age, specially convoked and sworn for the purpose. The
assembly thus convened was called HELIAEA and its members HELIASTS.
Clisthenes also introduced the OSTRACISM, by which an Athenian citizen
might be banished without special accusation, trial, or defence for ten
years, which term was subsequently reduced to five. It must be
recollected that the force which a Greek government had at its disposal
was very small; and that it was comparatively easy for an ambitious
citizen, supported by a numerous body of partisans, to overthrow the
constitution and make himself despot. The Ostracism was the means
devised by Clisthenes for removing quietly from the state a powerful
party leader before he could carry into execution any violent schemes
for the subversion of the government. Every precaution was taken to
guard this institution from abuse. The senate and the ecclesia had
first to determine by a special vote whether the safety of the state
required such a step to be taken. If they decided in the affirmative,
a day was fixed for the voting, and each citizen wrote upon a tile or
oyster-shell [OSTRACON, whence the name OSTRACISM] the name of the
person whom he wished to banish. The votes were then collected, And if
it was found that 6000 had been recorded against any one person, he was
obliged to withdraw from the city within ten days: if the number of
votes did not amount to 6000, nothing was done.
The aristocratical party, enraged at these reforms called in the
assistance of Cleomenes, king of the Lacedaemonians. Athens was
menaced by foreign enemies and distracted by party struggles.
Clisthenes was at first compelled to retire from Athens; but the people
rose in arms against Cleomenes, expelled the Lacedaemonians, who had
taken possession of the city, and recalled Clisthenes. Thereupon
Cleomenes collected a Peloponnesian army in order to establish Isagoras
as a tyrant over the Athenians, and at the same time he concerted
measures with the Thebans and the Chalcidians of Euboea for a
simultaneous attack upon Attica. The Peloponnesian army, commanded by
the two kings, Cleomenes and Demaratus, entered Attica, and advanced as
far as Eleusis; but when the allies became aware of the object for
which they had been summoned, they refused to march farther, and
strongly protested against the attempt to establish a tyranny at
Athens. Their remonstrances being seconded by Demaratus, Cleomenes
found it necessary to abandon the expedition and return home. At a
later period (B.C. 491) Cleomenes took revenge upon Demaratus by
persuading the Spartans to depose him upon the ground of illegitimacy.
The exiled king took refuge at the Persian court.
The unexpected retreat of the Peloponnesian army delivered the
Athenians from their most formidable enemy, and they lost no time in
turning their arms against their other foes. Marching into Boeotia,
they defeated the Thebans and then crossed over into Euboea, where they
gained a decisive victory over the Chalcidians. In order to secure
their dominion in Euboea, and at the same time to provide for their
poorer citizens, the Athenians distributed the estates of the wealthy
Chalcidian landowners among 4000 of their citizens, who settled in the
country under the name of CLERUCI.
The successes of Athens excited the jealousy of the Spartans, and they
now resolved to make a third attempt to overthrow the Athenian
democracy. They had meantime discovered the deception which had been
practised upon them by the Delphic oracle; And they invited Hippias to
come from Sigeum to Sparta, in order to restore him to Athens. The
experience of the last campaign had taught them that they could not
calculate upon the co-operation of their allies without first obtaining
their approval of the project; and they therefore summoned deputies
from all their allies to meet at Sparta, in order to determine
respecting the restoration of Hippias. But the proposal was received
with universal repugnance; and the Spartans found it necessary to
abandon their project. Hippias returned to Sigeum, and afterwards
proceeded to the court of Darius.
Athens had now entered upon her glorious career. The institutions of
Clisthenes had given her citizens a personal interest in the welfare
and the grandeur of their country. A spirit of the warmest patriotism
rapidly sprang up among them; and the history of the Persian wars,
which followed almost immediately, exhibits a striking proof of the
heroic sacrifices which they were prepared to make for the liberty and
independence of their state.
CHAPTER VI.
THE GREEK COLONIES.
The vast number of the Greek colonies, their wide-spread diffusion over
all parts of the Mediterranean, which thus became a kind of Grecian
lake, and their rapid growth in wealth, power, and intelligence, afford
the most striking proofs of the greatness of this wonderful people.
Civil dissensions and a redundant population were the chief causes of
the origin of most of the Greek colonies. They were usually undertaken
with the approbation of the cities from which they issued, and under
the management of leaders appointed by them. But a Greek colony was
always considered politically independent of the mother-city and
emancipated from its control. The only connexion between them was one
of filial affection and of common religious ties. Almost every
colonial Greek city was built upon the sea-coast, and the site usually
selected contained a hill sufficiently lofty to form an acropolis.
The Grecian colonies may be arranged in four groups: 1. Those founded
in Asia Minor and the adjoining islands; 2. Those in the western parts
of the Mediterranean, in Italy, Sicily, Gaul, and Spain; 3. Those in
Africa; 4. Those in Epirus, Macedonia, and Thrace.
1. The earliest Greek colonies were those founded on the western shores
of Asia Minor. They were divided into three great masses, each bearing
the name of that section of the Greek race with which they claimed
affinity. The AEolic cities covered the northern part of this coast,
together with the islands of Lesbos and Tenedos; the Ionians occupied
the centre, with the islands of Chios and Samos; and the Dorians the
southern portion, with the islands of Rhodes and Cos. Most of these
colonies were founded in consequence of the changes in the population
of Greece which attended the conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians.
The Ionic cities were early distinguished by a spirit of commercial
enterprise, and soon rose superior in wealth and in power to their
AEolian and Dorian neighbours. Among the Ionic cities themselves
Miletus and Ephesus were the most flourishing, Grecian literature took
its rise in the AEolic and Ionic cities of Asia Minor. Homer was
probably a native of Smyrna. Lyric poetry flourished in the island of
Lesbos, where Sappho and Alcaeus were born. The Ionic cities were also
the seats of the earliest schools of Grecian philosophy. Thales, who
founded the Ionic school of philosophy, was a native of Miletus.
Halicarnassus was one of the most important of the Doric cities, of
which Herodotus was a native, though he wrote in the Ionic dialect.
2. The earliest Grecian settlement in Italy was Cumae in Campania,
situated near Cape Misenum, on the Tyrrhenian sea. It is said to have
been a joint colony from the AEolic Cyme in Asia and from Chalcis in
Euboea, and to have been founded, according to the common chronology,
in B.C. 1050. Cumae was for a long time the most flourishing city in
Campania; and it was not till its decline in the fifth century before
the Christian era that Capua rose into importance.
The earliest Grecian settlement in Sicily was founded in B.C. 735. The
extraordinary fertility of the land soon attracted numerous colonists
from various parts of Greece, and there arose on the coasts of Sicily a
succession of flourishing cities. Of these, Syracuse and Agrigentum,
both Dorian colonies, became the most powerful. The former was founded
by the Corinthians in B.C. 734, and at the time of its greatest
prosperity contained a population of 500,000 souls, and was surrounded
by walls twenty-two miles in circuit. Its greatness, however, belongs
to a later period of Grecian history.
The Grecian colonies in southern Italy began to be planted at nearly
the same time as in Sicily. They eventually lined the whole southern
coast, as far as Cumae on the one sea and Tarentum on the other. They
even surpassed those in Sicily in number and importance; and so
numerous and flourishing did they become, that the south of Italy
received the name of Magna Graecia. Of these, two of the earliest and
most prosperous were Sybaris and Croton, both situated upon the gulf of
Tarentum, and both of Achaean origin. Sybaris was planted in B.C. 720
and Croton in B.C. 710. For two centuries they seem to have lived in
harmony, and we know scarcely anything of their history till their
fatal contest in B.C. 510, which ended in the ruin of Sybaris. During
the whole of this period they were two of the most flourishing cities
in all Hellas. Sybaris in particular attained to an extraordinary
degree of wealth, and its inhabitants were so notorious for their
luxury, effeminacy, and debauchery, that their name has become
proverbial for a voluptuary in ancient and modern times. Croton was
the chief seat of the Pythagorean philosophy. Pythagroras was a native
of Samos, but emigrated to Croton, where he met with the most wonderful
success in the propagation of his views. He established a kind of
religious brotherhood, closely united by a sacred vow. They believed
in the transmigration of souls, and their whole training was designed
to make them temperate and self-denying. The doctrines of Pythagoras
spread through many of the other cities of Magna Graecia.
Of the numerous other Greek settlements in the south of Italy, those of
Locri, Rhegium, and Tarentum were the meet important. Locri was founded
by the Locrians from the mother-country in B.C. 683. The laws of this
city were drawn up by one of its citizens, named Zaleucus, and so
averse were the Locrians to any change in them, that whoever proposed a
new law had to appear in the public assembly with a rope round his
neck, which was immediately tightened if he failed to convince his
fellow-citizens of the necessity of the alteration. Rhegium, situated
on the straits of Messina, opposite Sicily, was colonised by the
Chalcidians, but received a large body of Messenians, who settled here
at the close of the Messenian war. Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium about
B.C. 500, was of Messenian descent. He seized the Sicilian Zancle on
the opposite coast, and changed its name into Messana, which it still
bears. Tarentum was a colony from Sparta and was founded about B.C.
708. After the destruction of Sybaris it was the most powerful and
flourishing city in Magna Graecia, and continued to enjoy great
prosperity till its subjugation by the Romans. Although of Spartan
origin, it did not maintain Spartan habits, and its citizens were noted
at a later time for their love of luxury and pleasure.
The Grecian settlements in the distant countries of Gaul and Spain were
not numerous. The most celebrated was Massalia, the modern Marseilles,
founded by the Ionic Phocaeans in B.C. 600.
3. The northern coast of Africa, between the territories of Carthage
and Egypt, was also occupied by Greek colonists. The city of Cyrene
was founded about B.C. 630. It was a colony from the island of Thera
in the AEgean, which was itself a colony from Sparta. The situation of
Cyrene was well chosen. It stood on the edge of a range of hills, at
the distance of ten miles from the Mediterranean, of which it commanded
a fine view. These hills descended by a succession of terraces to the
port of the town, called Apollonia. The climate was most salubrious,
and the soil was distinguished by extraordinary fertility. With these
advantages Cyrene rapidly grew in wealth and power; and its greatness
is attested by the immense remains which still mark its desolate site.
Cyrene planted several colonies in the adjoining district, of which
Barca, founded about B.C. 560, was the most important.
4. There were several Grecian colonies situated on the eastern side of
the Ionian sea, in Epirus and its immediate neighbourhood. Of these
the island of Corcyra, now called Corfu, was the most wealthy and
powerful. It was founded by the Corinthians about B.C. 700, and in
consequence of its commercial activity it soon became a formidable
rival to the mother-city. Hence a war broke out between these two
states at an early period; and the most ancient naval battle on record
was the one fought between their fleets in B.C. 664. The dissensions
between the mother-city and her colony are frequently mentioned in
Grecian history, and were one of the immediate causes of the
Peloponnesian war. Notwithstanding their quarrels they joined in
planting four Grecian colonies upon the same line of coast--Leucas,
Anactorium, Apollonia, and Epidamnus.
The colonies in Macedonia and Thrace were very numerous, and extended
all along the coast of the AEgean, of the Hellespont, of the Propontis,
and of the Euxine, from the borders of Thessaly to the mouth of the
Danube. Of these we can only glance at the most important. The
colonies on the coast of Macedonia were chiefly founded by Chalcis and
Eretria in Euboea; and the peninsula of Chalcidice, with its three
projecting headlands, was covered with their settlements, and derived
its name from the former city. The Corinthians likewise planted a few
colonies on this coast, of which Potidaea, on the narrow isthmus of
Pallene, most deserves mention.
Of the colonies in Thrace, the most flourishing were Selymbria and
Byzantium, both founded by the Megarians, who appear as an enterprising
maritime people at an early period.
CHAPTER VII.
THE PERSIAN WARS.--FROM THE IONIC REVOLT TO THE BATTLE OF MARATHON,
B.C. 500-490.
The Grecian cities on the coast of Asia Minor were the neighbours of an
Asiatic power which finally reduced them to subjection. This was the
kingdom of Lydia, of which Sardis was the capital. Croesus, the last
and most powerful of the Lydian kings, who ascended the throne B.C.
560, conquered in succession all the Grecian cities on the coast. His
rule, however, was not oppressive, and he permitted the cities to
regulate their own affairs. He spoke the Greek language, welcomed
Greek guests, and reverenced the Greek oracles, which he enriched with
the most munificent offerings. He extended his dominions in Asia Minor
as far as the river Halys, and he formed a close alliance with
Astyages, king of the Medes, who were then the ruling race in Asia.
Everything seemed to betoken uninterrupted prosperity, when a people
hitherto almost unknown suddenly became masters of the whole of western
Asia.
The Persians were of the same race as the Medes and spoke a dialect of
the same language. They inhabited the mountainous region south of
Media, which slopes gradually down to the low grounds on the coast of
the Persian gulf. While the Medes became enervated by the corrupting
influences to which they were exposed, the Persians preserved in their
native mountains their simple and warlike habits. They were a brave
and hardy nation, clothed in skins, drinking only water, and ignorant
of the commonest luxuries of life. Cyrus led these fierce warriors
from their mountain fastnesses, defeated the Medes in battle, took
Astyages prisoner, and deprived him of his throne. The other nations
included in the Median empire submitted to the conqueror, and the
sovereignty of Upper Asia thus passed from the Medes to the Persians.
The accession of Cyrus to the empire is placed in B.C. 559. A few
years afterwards Cyrus turned his arms against the Lydians, took
Sardis, and deprived Croesus of his throne (B.C. 546). The fall of
Croesus was followed by the subjection of the Greek cities in Asia to
the Persian yoke. They offered a brave but ineffectual resistance, and
were taken one after the other by Harpagus the Persian general. Even
the islands of Lesbos and Chios sent in their submission to Harpagus,
although the Persians then possessed no fleet to force them to
obedience. Samos, on the other hand, maintained its independence, and
appears soon afterwards one of the most powerful of the Grecian states.
During the reign of Cambyses (B.C. 529-521), the son and successor of
Cyrus, the Greek cities of Asia remained obedient to their Persian
governors. It was during this reign that Polycrates, tyrant of Samos,
became the master of the Grecian seas. The ambition and good fortune
of this enterprising tyrant were alike remarkable. He possessed a
hundred ships of war, with which he conquered several of the islands;
and he aspired to nothing less than the dominion of Ionia, as well as
of the islands in the AEgean. The Lacedaemonians, who had invaded the
island at the invitation of the Samian exiles, for the purpose of
overthrowing his government, were obliged to retire, after besieging
his city in vain for forty days. Everything which he undertook seemed
to prosper; but his uninterrupted good fortune at length excited the
alarm of his ally Amasis, the king of Egypt. According to the tale
related by Herodotus, the Egyptian king, convinced that such amazing
good fortune would sooner or later incur the envy of the gods, wrote to
Polycrates, advising him to throw away one of his most valuable
possessions and thus inflict some injury upon himself. Thinking the
advice to be good, Polycrates threw into the sea a favourite ring of
matchless price and beauty; but unfortunately it was found a few days
afterwards in the belly of a fine fish which a fisherman had sent him
as a present. Amasis now foresaw that the ruin of Polycrates was
inevitable, and sent a herald to Samos to renounce his alliance. The
gloomy anticipations of the Egyptian monarch proved well founded. In
the midst of all his prosperity Polycrates fell by a most ignominious
fate. Oroetes, the satrap of Sardis, had for some unknown cause
conceived a deadly hatred against the Samian despot. By a cunning
stratagem the satrap allured him to the mainland, where he was
immediately arrested and hanged upon a cross (B.C. 522).
The reign of Darius, the third king of Persia. (B.C. 521-485), is
memorable in Grecian history. In his invasion of Scythia, his fleet,
which was furnished by the Asiatic Greeks, was ordered to sail up the
Danube and throw a bridge of boats across the river. The King himself,
with his land forces, marched through Thrace; and, crossing the bridge,
placed it under the care of the Greeks, telling them that, if he did
not return within sixty days, they might break it down, and sail home.
He then left them, and penetrated into the Scythian territory. The
sixty days had already passed away, and there was yet no sign of the
Persian army; but shortly afterwards the Greeks were astonished by the
appearance of a body of Scythians, who informed them that Darius was in
full retreat, pursued by the whole Scythian nation, and that his only
hope of safety depended upon that bridge. They urged the Greeks to
seize this opportunity of destroying the Persian army, and of
recovering their own liberty, by breaking down the bridge. Their
exhortations were warmly seconded by the Athenian Miltiades, the tyrant
of the Thracian Chersonesus, and the future conqueror of Marathon. The
other rulers of the Ionian cities were at first disposed to follow his
suggestion; but as soon as Histiaeus of Miletus reminded them that
their sovereignty depended upon the support of the Persian king, and
that his ruin would involve their own, they changed their minds and
resolved to await the Persians. After enduring great privations and
sufferings Darius and his army at length reached the Danube and crossed
the bridge in safety. Thus the selfishness of these Grecian despots
threw away the most favourable opportunity that ever presented itself
of delivering their native cities from the Persian yoke. To reward the
services of Histiaeus, Darius gave him the town of Myrainus, near the
Strymon. Darius, on his return to Asia, left Megabazus in Europe with
an army of 80,000 men to complete the subjugation of Thrace and of the
Greek cities upon the Hellespont. Megabazus not only subdued the
Thracians, but crossed the Strymon, conquered the Paeonians, and
penetrated as far as the frontiers of Macedonia. He then sent heralds
into the latter country to demand earth and water, the customary
symbols of submission. These were immediately granted by Amyntas, the
reigning monarch (B.C. 510); and thus the Persian dominions were
extended to the borders of Thessaly. Megabazus, on his return to
Sardis, where Darius awaited him, informed the Persian monarch that
Histiaeus was collecting the elements of a power which might hereafter
prove formidable to the Persian sovereignty, since Myrcinus commanded
the navigation of the Strymon, and consequently the commerce with the
interior of Thrace. Darius, perceiving that the apprehensions of his
general were not without foundation, summoned Histiaeus to his
presence, and, under the pretext that he could not bear to be deprived
of the company of his friend, carried him with the rest of the court to
Susa. This apparently trivial circumstance was attended with important
consequences to the Persian empire and to the whole Grecian race.
For the next few years everything remained quiet in the Greek cities of
Asia; but about B.C. 502 a revolution in Naxos, one of the islands in
the AEgean Sea, first disturbed the general repose, and occasioned the
war between Greece and Asia. The aristocratical exiles, who had been
driven out of Naxos by a rising of the people, applied for aid to
Aristagoras, the tyrant of Miletus and the son-in-law of Histiaeus.
Aristagoras readily promised his assistance, knowing that, if they were
restored by his means, he should become master of the island. He
obtained the co-operation of Artaphernes, the satrap of western Asia by
holding out to him the prospect of annexing not only Naxos, but all the
islands of the AEgean sea, to the Persian empire. He offered at the
same time to defray the expense of the armament. Artaphernes placed at
his disposal a fleet of 200 ships under the command of Megabates, a
Persian of high rank; but Aristagoras having affronted the Persian
admiral, the latter revenged himself by privately informing the Naxians
of the object of the expedition, which had hitherto been kept a secret.
When the Persian fleet reached Naxos they experienced a vigorous
resistance; and at the end of four months they were compelled to
abandon the enterprise and return to Miletus. Aristagoras was now
threatened with utter ruin. Having deceived Artaphernes, and incurred
the enmity of Megabates, he could expect no favour from the Persian
government, and might be called upon at any moment to defray the
expenses of the armament. In these difficulties he began to think of
exciting a revolt of his countrymen; and while revolving the project he
received a message from his father-in-law, Histiaeus, urging him to
this very step. Afraid of trusting any one with so dangerous a
message, Histiaeus had shaved the head of a trusty slave, branded upon
it the necessary words, and as soon as the hair had grown again sent
him off to Miletus. His only motive for urging the Ionians to revolt
was the desire of escaping from captivity at Susa, thinking that Darius
would set him at liberty in order to put down an insurrection of his
countrymen. The message from Histiaeus fixed the wavering resolution
of Aristagoras. He forthwith called together the leading citizens of
Miletus, laid before them the project of revolt, and asked them for
advice. They all approved of the scheme, with the exception of
Hecataeus, one of the earliest Greek historians. Aristagoras laid down
the supreme power in Miletus, and nominally resigned to the people the
management of their own affairs. A democratical form of government was
established in the other Greek cities of Asia, which thereupon openly
revolted from Persia (B.C. 500).
Aristagoras now resolved to cross over to Greece, in order to solicit
assistance. The Spartans, to whom he first applied, refused to take
any part in the war; but at Athens he met with a very different
reception. The Athenians sympathised with the Ionians as their kinsmen
and colonists, and were incensed against the satrap Artaphernes, who
had recently commanded them to recall Hippias. Accordingly they voted
to send a squadron of twenty ships to the assistance of the Ionians;
and in the following year (B.C. 499) this fleet, accompanied by five
ships from Eretria in Euboea, crossed the AEgean. The troops landed at
Ephesus, and, being reinforced by a strong body, of Ionians, marched
upon Sardis. Artaphernes was taken unprepared; and not having
sufficient troops to man the walls, he retired into the citadel,
leaving the town a prey to the invaders. Accordingly they entered it
unopposed; and while engaged in pillage, one of the soldiers set fire
to a house. As most of the houses were built of wickerwork and
thatched with straw, the flames rapidly spread, and in a short time the
whole city was in flames. The Greeks, on their return to the coast,
were overtaken by a large Persian force and defeated with great
slaughter. The Athenians hastened on board their ships and sailed home.
When Darius heard of the burning of Sardis, he burst into a paroxysm of
rage. It was against the obscure strangers who had dared to burn one
of his capitals that his wrath was chiefly directed. "The Athenians!"
he exclaimed, "who are they?" Upon being informed he took his bow,
shot an arrow high into the air, saying, "Grant me, Jove, to take
vengeance upon the Athenians!" And he charged one of his attendants to
remind him thrice every day at dinner "Sire, remember the Athenians."
Meantime the insurrection spread to the Greek cities in Cyprus, as well
as to those on the Hellespont and the Propontis, and seemed to promise
permanent independence to the Asiatic Greeks; but they were no match
for the whole power of the Persian empire, which was soon brought
against them. Cyprus was subdued, and siege laid to the cities upon
the coast of Asia. Aristagoras now began to despair, and basely
deserted his countrymen, whom he had led into peril. Collecting a large
body of Milesians, he set sail for the Thracian coast, where he was
slain under the walls of a town to which he had laid siege. Soon after
his departure, his father-in-law, Histiaeus came down to the coast.
The artful Greek not only succeeded in removing the suspicions which
Darius first entertained respecting him, but he persuaded the king to
send him into Ionia, in order to assist the Persian generals in
suppressing the rebellion. Artaphernes, however, was not so easily
deceived as his master, and plainly accused Histiaeus of treachery when
the latter arrived at Sardis. "I will tell you how the facts stand"
said Artaphernes to Histiaeus; "it was you who made the shoe, and
Aristagoras has put it on." Finding himself unsafe at Sardis, he
escaped to the island of Chios; but he was regarded with suspicion by
all parties. At length he obtained eight galleys from Lesbos, with
which he sailed towards Byzantium, and carried on piracies as well
against the Grecian as the barbarian vessels. This unprincipled
adventurer met with a traitor's death. Having landed on the coast of
Mysia, he was surprised by a Persian force and made prisoner. Being
carried to Sardis, Artaphernes at once caused him to be crucified, and
sent his head to Darius, who ordered it to be honourably buried,
condemning the ignominious execution of the man who had once saved the
life of the Great King.
In the sixth year of the revolt (B.C. 495), when several Grecian cities
had already been taken by the Persians, Artaphernes laid siege to
Miletus by sea and by land. A naval engagement took place at Lade a
small island off Miletus, which decided the fate of the war. The
Samians deserted at the commencement of the battle, and the Ionian
fleet was completely defeated. Miletus was soon afterwards taken, and
was treated with signal severity. Most of the males were slain; and the
few who escaped the sword were carried with the women and children into
captivity (B.C. 494). The other Greek cities in Asia and the
neighbouring islands were treated with the same cruelty. The islands
of Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos were swept of their inhabitants; and the
Persian fleet sailed up to the Hellespont and Propontis, carrying with
it fire and sword. The Athenian Miltiades only escaped falling into
the power of the Persians by a rapid flight to Athens.
The subjugation of Ionia was now complete. This was the third time
that the Asiatic Greeks had been conquered by a foreign power: first
by the Lydian Croesus; secondly by the generals of Cyrus; and lastly by
those of Darius. It was from the last that they suffered most, and
they never fully recovered their former prosperity.
Darius was now at liberty to take vengeance upon the Athenians. He
appointed Mardonius to succeed Artaphernes as satrap in western Asia,
and he placed under his command a large armament, with injunctions to
bring to Susa those Athenians and Eretrians who had insulted the
authority of the Great King. Mardonius, after crossing the Hellespont,
commenced his march through Thrace and Macedonia, subduing, as he went
along, the tribes which had not yet submitted to the Persian power. He
ordered the fleet to double the promontory of Mount Athos, and join the
land forces at the head of the gulf of Therma; but one of the
hurricanes which frequently blow off this dangerous coast overtook the
Persian fleet, destroyed 300 vessels and drowned or dashed upon the
rocks 20,000 men. Meantime the land forces of Mardonius had suffered
so much from an attack made upon them by a Thracian tribe, that he
could not proceed farther. He led his army back across the Hellespont,
and returned to the Persian court covered with shame and grief (B.C.
492).
The failure of this expedition did not shake the resolution of Darius.
He began to make preparations for another attempt on a still larger
scale, and meantime sent heralds to most of the Grecian states to
demand from each earth and water as the symbol of submission. Such
terror had the Persians inspired by their recent conquest of Ionia,
that a large number of the Grecian cities at once complied with the
demand; but the Athenians cast the herald into a deep pit, and the
Spartans threw him into a well bidding him take earth and water from
thence.
In the spring of B.C. 490 a large army and fleet were assembled in
Cilicia, and the command was given to Datis, a Median, and Artaphernes,
son of the satrap of Sardis of that name. Warned by the recent
disaster of Mardonius in doubling the promontory of Mount Athos, they
resolved to sail straight across the AEgean to Euboea, subduing on
their way the Cyclades. These islands yielded a ready submission; and
it was not till Datis and Artaphernes reached Euboea that they
encountered any resistance. Eretria defended itself gallantly for six
days, and repulsed the Persians with loss; but on the seventh the gates
were opened to the besiegers by the treachery of two of its leading
citizens. The city was razed to the ground, and the inhabitants were
put in chains. From Eretria the Persians crossed over to Attica, and
landed on the ever memorable plain of Marathon, a spot which had been
pointed out to them by the despot Hippias, who accompanied the army.
As soon as the news of the fall of Eretria reached Athens, a courier
had been sent to Sparta to solicit assistance. This was promised; but
the superstition of the Spartans prevented them from setting out
immediately, since it wanted a few days to the full moon, and it was
contrary to their religious customs to commence a march during this
interval. Meantime the Athenians had marched to Marathon, and were
encamped upon the mountains which surrounded the plain. They were
commanded, according to the regular custom, by ten generals, one for
each tribe, and by the Polemarch, or third Archon, who down to this
time continued to be a colleague of the generals. Among these the most
distinguished was Miltiades, who, though but lately a tyrant in the
Chersonesus, had shown such energy and ability, that the Athenians had
elected him one of their commanders upon the approach of the Persian
fleet. Upon learning the answer which the courier brought from Sparta,
the ten generals were divided in opinion. Five of them were opposed to
an immediate engagement with the overwhelming number of Persians, and
urged the importance of waiting for the arrival of the Lacedaemonian
succours. Miltiades and the remaining four contended that not a moment
should be lost in fighting the Persians, not only in order to avail
themselves of the present enthusiasm of the people, but still more to
prevent treachery from spreading among their ranks. Callimachus, the
Polemarch, yielded to the arguments of Miltiades, and gave his vote for
the battle. The ten generals commanded their army in rotation, each
for one day; but they now agreed to surrender to Miltiades their days
of command, in order to invest the whole power in a single person.
While the Athenians were preparing for battle, they received unexpected
assistance from the little town or Plataea, in Boeotia. Grateful to
the Athenians for the assistance which they had rendered them against
the Thebans, the whole force of Plataea, amounting to 1000 heavy-armed
men, marched to the assistance of their allies and joined them at
Marathon. The Athenian army numbered only 10,000 hoplites, or
heavy-armed soldiers: there were no archers or cavalry, and only some
slaves as light-armed attendants. Of the number of the Persian army we
have no trustworthy account, but the lowest estimate makes it consist
of 110,000 men.
The plain of Marathon lies on the eastern coast of Attica, at the
distance of twenty-two miles from Athens by the shortest road. It is in
the form of a crescent, the horns of which consist of two promontories
running into the sea, and forming a semicircular bay. This plain is
about six miles in length, and in its widest or central part about two
in breadth. On the day of battle the Persian army was drawn up along
the plain about a mile from the sea, and their fleet was ranged behind
them on the beach. The Athenians occupied the rising ground above the
plain, and extended from one side of the plain to the other. This
arrangement was necessary in order to protect their flanks by the
mountains on each side, and to prevent the cavalry from passing round
to attack them in rear. But so large a breadth of ground could not be
occupied with a small a number of men without weakening some portion of
the line. Miltiades, therefore, drew up the troops in the centre in
shallow files, and resolved to rely for success upon the stronger and
deeper masses of his wings. The right wing, which was the post of
honour in a Grecian army, was commanded by the Polemarch Callimachus;
the hoplites were arranged in the order of their tribes, so that the
members of the same tribe fought by each other's side; and at the
extreme left stood the Plataeans.
Miltiades, anxious to come to close quarters as speedily as possible,
ordered his soldiers to advance at a running step over the mile of
ground which separated them from the foe. Both the Athenian wings were
successful, and drove the enemy before them towards the shore and the
marshes. But the Athenian centre was broken by the Persians, and
compelled to take to flight. Miltiades thereupon recalled his wings
from pursuit, and charged the Persian centre. The latter could not
withstand this combined attack. The rout now became general along the
whole Persian line; and they fled to their ships, pursued by the
Athenians.
The Persians lost 6400 men in this memorable engagement: of the
Athenians only 192 fell. The aged tyrant Hippias is said to have
perished in the battle, and the brave Polemarch Callimachus was also
one of the slain. The Persians embarked and sailed away to Asia.
Their departure was hailed at Athens with one unanimous burst of
heartfelt joy. Marathon became a magic word at Athens. The Athenian
people in succeeding ages always looked back upon this day as the most
glorious in their annals, and never tired of hearing its praises
sounded by their orators and poets. And they had reason to be proud of
it. It was the first time that the Greeks had ever defeated the
Persians in the field. It was the exploit of the Athenians alone. It
had saved not only Athens but all Greece. If the Persians had
conquered at Marathon, Greece must, in all likelihood, have become a
Persian province; the destinies of the world would have been changed;
and oriental despotism might still have brooded over the fairest
countries of Europe.
The one hundred and ninety-two Athenians who had perished in the battle
were buried on the field, and over their remains a tumulus or mound was
erected, which may still be seen about half a mile from the sea.
Shortly after the battle Miltiades requested of the Athenians a fleet
of seventy ships, without telling them the object of his expedition,
but only promising to enrich the state. Such unbounded confidence did
the Athenians repose in the hero of Marathon, that they at once
complied with his demand. This confidence Miltiades abused. In order
to gratify a private animosity against one of the leading citizens of
Paros, he sailed to this island and laid siege to the town. The
citizens repelled all his attacks; and having received a dangerous
injury on his thigh, he was compelled to raise the siege and return to
Athens. Loud was the indignation against Miltiades on his return. He
was accused by Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, of having deceived
the people, and was brought to trial. His wound had already begun to
show symptoms of gangrene. He was carried into court on a couch, and
there lay before the assembled judges, while his friends pleaded on his
behalf. They could offer no excuse for his recent conduct, but they
reminded the Athenians of the services he had rendered, and, begged
them to spare the victor of Marathon. The judges were not insensible
to this appeal; and instead of condemning him to death as the accuser
had demanded, they commuted the penalty to a fine of fifty talents.
Miltiades was unable immediately to raise this sum and died soon
afterwards of his wound. The fine was subsequently paid by his son
Cimon. The melancholy end of Miltiades must not blind us to his
offence. He had grossly abused the public confidence, and deserved his
punishment. The Athenians did not forget his services at Marathon, and
it was their gratitude towards him which alone saved him from death.
Soon after the battle of Marathon a war broke out between Athens and
AEgina. This war is of great importance in Grecian history, since to
it the Athenians were indebted for their navy, which enabled them to
save Greece at Salamis as they had already done at Marathon. AEgina
was one of the chief maritime powers in Greece; and accordingly
Themistocles urged the Athenians to build and equip a large and
powerful fleet, without which it was impossible for them to humble
their rival. There was at this time a large surplus in the public
treasury, arising from the produce of the silver-mines at Laurium. It
had been recently proposed to distribute this surplus among the
Athenian citizens; but Themistocles persuaded them to sacrifice their
private advantage to the public good, and to appropriate the money to
building a fleet of 200 ships.
The two leading citizens of Athens at this period were Themistocles and
Aristides. These two eminent men formed a striking contrast to each
other. Themistocles possessed abilities of the most extraordinary
kind; but they were marred by a want of honesty. Aristides was
inferior to Themistocles in ability, but was incomparably superior to
him in honesty and integrity. His uprightness and justice were so
universally acknowledged that he received the surname of the "Just."
Themistocles was the leader of the democratical, and Aristides of the
conservative party at Athens. After three or four years of bitter
rivalry, the two chiefs appealed to the ostracism, and Aristides was
banished (B.C. 483). We are told that an unlettered countryman gave
his vote against Aristides at the ostracism, because he was tired of
hearing him always called the Just.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE PERSIAN WARS.--THE BATTLES OF THERMOPYLAE, SALAMIS, AND PLATAEA,
B.C. 480-479.
The defeat of the Persians at Marathon served only to increase the
resentment of Darius. He now resolved to collect the whole forces of
his empire, and to lead them in person against Athens. For three years
busy preparations were made throughout his vast dominions. In the
fourth year his attention was distracted by a revolt of the Egyptians;
and before he could reduce them to subjection he was surprised by
death, after a reign of 37 years (B.C. 485). Xerxes, the son and
successor of Darius, had received the education of an eastern despot,
and been surrounded with slaves from his cradle. In person he was the
tallest and handsomest man amidst the vast hosts which he led against
Greece; but there was nothing in his mind to correspond to this fair
exterior. His character was marked by faint-hearted timidity and
childish vanity. Xerxes had not inherited his father's animosity
against Greece; but he was surrounded by men who urged him to continue
the enterprise. Foremost among these was Mardonius, who was eager to
retrieve his reputation, and to obtain the conquered country as a
satrapy for himself after subduing Egypt (B.C. 484), Xerxes began to
make preparations for the invasion of Greece. For four years the din of
preparation sounded throughout Asia. Troops were collected from every
quarter of the Persian empire, and were ordered to assemble in
Cappadocia. As many as forty-six different nations composed the
land-force, of various complexions, languages, dresses, and arms.
Meantime Xerxes ordered a bridge to be thrown across the Hellespont,
that his army might march from Asia into Europe: and he likewise gave
directions that a canal should be cut through the isthmus of Mount
Athos, in order to avoid the necessity of doubling this dangerous
promontory, where the fleet of Mardonius had suffered shipwreck. The
making of this canal, which was about a mile and a half long employed a
number of men for three years.
In the spring of B.C. 480 Xerxes set out from Sardis with his vast
host. Upon reaching Abydos on the Hellespont the army crossed over to
Europe by the bridge of boats. Xerxes surveyed the scene from a marble
throne. His heart swelled within him at the sight of such a vast
assemblage of human beings; but his feelings of pride and pleasure soon
gave way to sadness, and he burst into tears at the reflection that in
a hundred years not one of them would be alive. Xerxes continued his
march through Europe along the coast of Thrace. Upon arriving at the
spacious plain of Doriscus, which is traversed by the river Hebrus, he
resolved to number his forces. He found that the whole armament, both
military and naval, consisted of 2,317,610 men. In his march from
Doriscus to Thermopylae he received a still further accession of
strength; and accordingly when he reached Thermopylae the land and sea
forces amounted to 2,641,610 fighting men. The attendants are said to
have been more in number than the fighting men; but if they were only
equal, the number of persons who accompanied Xerxes to Thermopylae
reaches the astounding figure of 5,283,220! The number is quite
incredible; but though the exact number of the invading army cannot be
determined, we may safely conclude, from all the circumstances of the
case, that it was the largest ever assembled at any period of history.
From Doriscus Xerxes his march along the coast through Thrace and
Macedonia. The principal cities through which he passed had to furnish
a day's meal for the immense host, and for this purpose had made
preparations many months before-hand. The cost of feeding such a
multitude brought many cities to the brink of ruin. At Acanthus his
fleet sailed through the isthmus of Athos and after doubling the
promontories of Sithonia and Pallene joined him at the city of Therma,
better known by its later name of Thessalonica. Thence he continued
his march through the southern part of Macedonia and Thessaly, meeting
with no opposition till he reached the celebrated pass of Thermopylae.
The mighty preparations of Xerxes had been no secret in Greece; and
during the preceding winter a congress of the Grecian states had been
summoned by the Spartans and Athenians to meet at the isthmus of
Corinth. But so great was the terror inspired by the countless hosts
of Xerxes that many of the Grecian states at once tendered their
submission to him, and others refused to take any part in the congress.
The only people, north of the isthmus of Corinth, who remained faithful
to the cause of Grecian liberty, were the Athenians and Phocians, and
the inhabitants of the small Boeotian towns of Plataea and Thespiae.
The other people in northern Greece were either partisans of the
Persians, like the Thebans, or were unwilling to make any great
sacrifices for the preservation of their independence. In
Peloponnesus, the powerful city of Argos and the Achaeans stood aloof.
From the more distant members of the Hellenic race no assistance was
obtained. Gelon, the ruler of Syracuse, offered to send a powerful
armament, provided the command of the allied forces was intrusted to
him; but the envoys did not venture to accept a proposal which would
have placed both Sparta and Athens under the control of a Sicilian
tyrant.
The desertion of the cause of Grecian independence by so many of the
Greeks did not shake the resolution of Sparta and of Athens. The
Athenians, especially, set a noble example of an enlarged patriotism.
They became reconciled to the AEginetans, and thus gained for the
common cause the powerful navy of their rival. They readily granted to
the Spartans the supreme command of the forces by sea as well as by
land, although they furnished two-thirds of the vessels of the entire
fleet. Their illustrious citizen Themistocles was the soul of the
congress. He sought to enkindle in the other Greeks some portion of
the ardour and energy which he had succeeded in breathing into the
Athenians.
The Greeks determined to make a stand at the pass of Thermopylae, which
forms the entrance from northern into southern Greece. This pass lies
between Mount OEta and the sea. It is about a mile in length. At each
of its extremities the mountains approach so near the sea as to leave
barely room for the passage of a single carriage. The northern, or, to
speak more properly, the western Gate, was close to the town of
Anthela, where the Amphictyonic council held its autumnal meetings;
while the southern, or the eastern Gate, was near the Locrian town of
Alpeni. These narrow entrances were called Pylae, or the Gates. The
space between the gates was wider and more open, and was distinguished
by its hot springs, from which the pass derived the name of
Thermopylae, or the "Hot-Gates." The island of Euboea is here
separated from the mainland by a narrow strait, which in one part is
only two miles and a half in breadth; and accordingly it is easy, by
defending this part of the sea with a fleet, to prevent an enemy from
landing troops at the southern end of the pass.
The Grecian fleet, under the command of the Spartan Eurybiades, took up
its station off that portion of the northern coast of Euboea which
faces Magnesia and the entrance to the Thessalian gulf and which was
called Artemisium, from a neighbouring temple of Artemis (Diana). It
was, however, only a small land-force that was sent to the defence of
Thermopylae. When the arrival of Xerxes at Therma became known, the
Greeks were upon the point of celebrating the Olympic games, and the
festival of the Carnean Apollo, which was observed with great solemnity
at Sparta and in other Doric states. The Peloponnesians therefore sent
forward only 300 Spartans and 3000 hoplites from other Peloponnesian
states, under the command of the Spartan king Leonidas, a force which
they thought would be sufficient to maintain the pass till the
festivals were over. In his march northwards Leonidas received
additions from the Thespians, Phocians, and Locrians, so that he had
under his command at Thermopylae about 7000 men.
Meanwhile Xerxes had arrived within sight of Thermopylae. He had heard
that a handful of desperate men, commanded by a Spartan, had determined
to dispute his passage, but he refused to believe the news. He was
still more astonished when a horseman, whom he had sent to reconnoitre,
brought back word that he had seen several Spartans outside the wall in
front of the pass, some amusing themselves with gymnastic exercises,
and others combing their long hair. In great perplexity, he sent for
the exiled Spartan king Demaratus, who had accompanied him from Persia,
and asked him the meaning of such madness. Demaratus replied, that the
Spartans would defend the pass to the death, and that it was their
practice to dress their heads with peculiar care when they were going
to battle. Later writers relate that Xerxes sent to them to deliver up
their arms. Leonidas desired him "to come and take them." One of the
Spartans being told that "the Persian host was so prodigious that their
arrows would conceal the sun:"--"So much the better" (he replied), "we
shall then fight in the shade."
At length, upon the fifth day, Xerxes ordered a chosen body of Medes to
advance against the presumptuous foes and bring them into his presence.
But their superior numbers were of no avail in such a narrow space, and
they were kept at bay by the long spears and steady ranks of the
Greeks. After the combat had lasted a long time with heavy loss to the
Medes, Xerxes ordered his ten thousand "Immortals," the flower of the
Persian army, to advance. But they were as unsuccessful as the Medes.
Xerxes beheld the repulse of his troops from a lofty throne which had
been provided for him, and was seen to leap thrice from his seat in an
agony of fear or rage.
On the following day the attack was renewed, but with no better
success: and Xerxes was beginning to despair of forcing his way
through the pass, when a Malian, of the name of Ephialtes, betrayed to
the Persian king that there was an unfrequented path across Mount OEta,
ascending on the northern side of the mountain and descending on the
southern side near the termination of the pass. Overjoyed at this
discovery, a strong detachment of Persians was ordered to follow the
traitor. Meantime Leonidas and his troops had received ample notice of
the impending danger. During the night deserters from the enemy had
brought him the news; and their intelligence was confirmed by his own
scouts on the hills. His resolution was at once taken. As a Spartan
he was bound to conquer or to die in the post assigned to him; and he
was the more ready to sacrifice his life, since an oracle had declared
that either Sparta itself or a Spartan king must perish by the Persian
arms. His three hundred comrades were fully equal to the same heroism
which actuated their King; and the seven hundred Thespians resolved to
share the fate of this gallant band. He allowed the rest of the allies
to retire, with the exception of four hundred Boeotians, whom he
retained as hostages. Xerxes delayed his attack till the middle of the
day, when it was expected that the detachment sent across the mountain
would arrive at the rear of the pass. But Leonidas and his comrades,
only anxious to sell their lives as dearly as possible, did not wait to
receive the attack of the Persians, but advanced into the open space in
front of the pass, and charged the enemy with desperate valour.
Numbers of the Persians were slain; many were driven into the
neighbouring sea; and others again were trampled to death by the vast
hosts behind them. As long as the Greeks could maintain their ranks
they repelled every attack; but when their spears were broken, and they
had only their swords left, the enemy began to press in between them.
Leonidas was one of the first that fell, and around his body the battle
raged fiercer than ever. The Persians made the greatest efforts to
obtain possession of it; but four times they were driven back by the
Greeks with great slaughter. At length, thinned in numbers, and
exhausted by fatigue and wounds, this noble band retired within the
pass, and seated themselves on a hillock. Meanwhile the Persian
detachment, which had been sent across the mountains, began to enter
the pass from the south. The Spartan heroes were now surrounded on
every side, overwhelmed with a shower of missiles, and killed to a man.
On the hillock, where the Greeks made their last stand, a marble lion
was set up in honour of Leonidas. Another monument, erected near the
spot, contained the memorable inscription:--
"Go, tell the Spartans, thou that passest by,
That here obedient to their laws we lie."
While Leonidas had been fighting at Thermopylae, the Greek fleet had
also been engaged with the Persians at Artemisium. The Persian fleet
set sail from the gulf of Therma, and arrived in one day at almost the
southern corner of Magnesia. In this position they were overtaken by a
sudden hurricane, which blew upon the shore with irresistible fury.
For three days and three nights the tempest raged without intermission;
and when calm at length returned, the shore was seen strewed for many
miles with wrecks and corpses. At least four hundred ships of war were
destroyed, together with a countless number of transports, stores, and
treasures. The Greek fleet had been seized with a panic terror at the
approach of the Persians, and retreated to Chalcis in the narrowest
part of the Euboean straits; but upon hearing of the disaster of the
Persian fleet, they took courage, and sailed back with the utmost speed
to their former station at Artemisium. Being now encouraged to attack
the enemy, they gained some success. On the following night another
terrific storm burst upon the Persians. All night long it blew upon
the Thessalian coast at Aphetae, where the Persian ships were
stationed, thus causing little inconvenience to the Greeks upon the
opposite shore. Notwithstanding these losses, the Persian fleet still
had a vast superiority of numbers, and determined to offer battle to
the Greeks. Quitting the Thessalian coast, they sailed towards
Artemisium in the form of a crescent. The Greeks kept near the shore,
to prevent the Persians from bringing their whole fleet into action.
The battle raged furiously the whole day, and each side fought with
determined valour. Both parties suffered severely; and though the
Persians lost a greater number of ships and men, yet so many of the
Greek vessels were disabled that they found it would be impossible to
renew the combat. Under these circumstances the Greek commanders saw
that it would be necessary to retreat; and their determination was
hastened by the news which they now received, that Leonidas and his
companions had fallen, and that Xerxes was master of the pass of
Thermopylae. Having sailed through the Euboean strait, the fleet
doubled the promontory of Sunium, and did not stop till it reached the
island of Salamis.
Meanwhile the Peloponnesians had abandoned Attica and the adjoining
states to their fate, whilst they strained every nerve to secure
themselves by fortifying the isthmus of Corinth. The Athenians,
relying upon the march of a Peloponnesian army into Boeotia, had taken
no measures for the security of their families and property, and beheld
with terror and dismay the barbarian host in full march towards their
city. In six days it was calculated Xerxes would be at Athens--a short
space to remove the population of a whole city: but fear and necessity
work wonders. Before the six days had elapsed, all who were willing to
abandon their homes had been safely transported, some to AEgina, and
others to Troezen in Peloponnesus; but many could not be induced to
proceed farther than Salamis. It was necessary for Themistocles to use
all his art and all his eloquence on this occasion. The oracle at
Delphi had told the Athenians that "the divine Salamis would make women
childless,"--yet, "when all was lost, a wooden wall should still
shelter the Athenians." Themistocles told his countrymen that these
words clearly indicated a fleet and a naval victory as the only means
of safety. Some however gave to the words another meaning; and a few,
especially among the aged and the poor, resolved to shut themselves up
in the Acropolis, and to fortify its accessible or western front with
barricades of timber.
On his march towards Athens, Xerxes sent a detachment of his army to
take and plunder Delphi. But this attempt proved unsuccessful. The
god of the most renowned oracle of the Grecian world vindicated at once
the majesty of his sanctuary and the truth of his predictions. As the
Persians climbed the rugged path at the foot of Mount Parnassus,
leading up to the shrine, thunder was heard to roll, and two crags,
suddenly detaching themselves from the mountain, rolled down upon the
Persians, and spread dismay and destruction in their ranks, Seized with
a sudden panic, they turned and fled, pursued, as they said, by two
warriors of superhuman size and prowess, who had assisted the Delphians
in defending their temple.
On arriving before Athens, Xerxes found the Acropolis occupied by a
handful of desperate citizens, who made a brave resistance; but they
were overpowered and put to the sword. The temples and houses on the
Acropolis were pillaged and burnt; and Xerxes thus became undisputed
master of Athens.
About the same time the Persian fleet arrived in the bay of Phalerum.
Its strength is not accurately known, but it must have exceeded 1000
vessels. The combined Grecian fleet at Salamis consisted of 366 ships,
of which 200 were Athenian.
At this critical juncture dissension reigned in the Grecian fleet. In
the council of war which had been summoned by Eurybiades the Spartan
commander, Themistocles urged the assembled chiefs to remain at
Salamis, and give battle to the Persians in the narrow straits, where
the superior numbers of the Persians would be of less consequence. The
Peloponnesian commanders, on the other hand, were anxious that the
fleet should be removed to the isthmus of Corinth, and thus be put in
communication with their land-forces. The council came to a vote in
favour of retreat; but Themistocles prevailed upon Eurybiades to
convene another assembly upon the following day. When the council met,
the Peloponnesian commanders loudly expressed their dissatisfaction at
seeing a debate re-opened which they had deemed concluded. Adimantus,
the Corinthian admiral broke out into open rebukes and menaces.
"Themistocles," he exclaimed, "those who rise at the public games
before the signal are whipped." "True," replied Themistocles; "but
they who lag behind it never win a crown." Another incident in this
discussion has been immortalized by Plutarch. Eurybiades, incensed by
the language of Themistocles, lifted up his stick to strike him,
whereupon the Athenian exclaimed, "Strike, but hear me!" Themistocles
repeated his arguments and entreaties; and at length threatened that he
and the Athenians would sail away to Italy and there found a new city,
if the Peloponnesians still determined to retreat. Eurybiades now gave
way and issued orders for the fleet to remain and fight at Salamis; but
the Peloponnesians obeyed the order with reluctance. A third council
was summoned and Themistocles, perceiving that the decision of the
assembly would be against him, determined to effect his object by
stratagem. He secretly despatched a trusty slave with a message to
Xerxes, representing the dissensions which prevailed in the Grecian
fleet, and how easy a matter it would be to surround and vanquish an
armament both small and disunited. Xerxes readily adopted the
suggestion, and ordered his captains to close up the straits of Salamis
at both ends during the night. On the council assembling in the
morning, Aristides arrived with the news that the Grecian fleet was
completely surrounded by that of the Persians, and that retreat was no
longer possible. As the veil of night rolled gradually away, the
Persian fleet was discovered stretching as far as the eye could reach
along the coast of Attica. The Grecian fleet, being concentrated in
the harbour of Salamis, was thus surrounded by the Persians. Xerxes
had caused a lofty throne to be erected upon one of the projecting
declivities of Mount AEgaleos, opposite the harbour of Salamis, whence
he could survey the combat, and stimulate by his presence the courage
of his men.
As a battle was now inevitable the Grecian commanders lost no time in
making preparations for the encounter. The Greek seamen embarked with
alacrity, encouraging one another to deliver their country, their
wives, and children, and the temples of their gods, from the grasp of
the barbarians. History has preserved to us but few details of the
engagement. The Persian fleet, with the exception of some of the Ionic
contingents, fought with courage. But the very numbers on which they
so confidently relied, proved one of the chief causes of their defeat.
Too crowded either to advance or to retreat, their oars broken or
impeded by collision with one another, their fleet lay like an inert
and lifeless mass upon the water, and fell an easy prey to the Greeks.
A single incident will illustrate the terror and confusion which
reigned among the Persians. Artemisia, queen of Halicarnassus in
Caria, distinguished herself in it by deeds of daring bravery. At
length she turned and fled, pursued by an Athenian galley. Full in her
course lay the vessel of a Carian prince. Instead of avoiding, she
struck and sunk it, sending her countryman and all his crew to the
bottom. The captain of the Athenian galley, believing from this act
that she was a deserter from the Persian cause, suffered her to escape.
Xerxes, who from his lofty throne beheld the feat of the Halicarnassian
queen, but who imagined that the sunken ship belonged to the Greeks,
was filled with admiration at her courage, and exclaimed--"My men are
become women, my women men!"
Two hundred of the Persian ships were destroyed and sunk when night put
an end to the engagement. But notwithstanding this loss the fleet was
still formidable by its numbers. The Greeks themselves did not regard
the victory as decisive, and prepared to renew the combat. But the
pusillanimity of Xerxes relieved them from all further anxiety. He
became alarmed for his own personal safety; and his whole care was now
centred on securing his retreat by land. The best troops were
disembarked from the ships, and marched towards the Hellespont, in
order to secure the bridge, whilst the fleet itself was ordered to make
for Asia. These dispositions of Xerxes were prompted by Mardonius. He
represented to his master that the defeat, after all, was but slight;
that having attained one of the great objects of the expedition by the
capture of Athens, he might now retire with honour, and even with
glory; and that for the rest he (Mardonius) would undertake to complete
the conquest of Greece with 300,000 men. While the Persian fleet
sailed towards Asia, Xerxes set out on his homeward march. In Thessaly
Mardonius selected the 300,000 men with whom he proposed to conclude
the war; but as autumn was now approaching, he resolved to postpone all
further operations till the spring.
After forty-five days' march from Attica, Xerxes again reached the
shores of the Hellespont, with a force greatly diminished by famine and
pestilence. On the Hellespont he found his fleet, but the bridge had
been washed away by storms. Landed on the shores of Asia, the Persian
army at length obtained abundance of provisions, and contracted new
maladies by the sudden change from privation to excess. Thus
terminated this mighty but unsuccessful expedition.
Greece owed its salvation to one man--Themistocles, This was virtually
admitted by the leaders of the other Grecian states, when they
assembled to assign the prizes of wisdom and conduct. Upon the altar of
Poseidon, at the isthmus of Corinth, each chief deposited a ticket
inscribed with two names, of those whom he considered entitled to the
first and second prizes. But in this adjudication vanity and self-love
defeated their own objects. Each commander had put down his own name
for the first prize; for the second, a great majority preponderated in
favour of Themistocles. From the Spartans, also, Themistocles received
the honours due to his merit. A crown of olive was conferred upon him,
together with one of the most splendid chariots which the city could
produce.
On the very same day on which the Persians were defeated at Salamis the
Sicilian Greeks also obtained a victory over the Carthaginians. There
is reason to believe that the invasion of Sicily by the Carthaginians
was concerted with Xerxes, and that the simultaneous attach on two
distinct Grecian peoples, by two immense armaments, was not merely the
result of chance. Gelon, the powerful ruler of Syracuse, defeated
Hamilcar, the Carthaginian general, with the loss it is said of 150,000
men.
In the spring of B.C. 479 Mardonius prepared to open the campaign. He
was not without hopes of inducing the Athenians to join the Persian
alliance, and he despatched Alexander, king of Macedon, to conciliate
the Athenians, now partially re-established in their dilapidated city.
His offers on the part of the Persians were of the most seductive kind;
but the Athenians dismissed him with a positive refusal, whilst to the
Lacedaemonians they protested that no temptations, however great,
should ever induce them to desert the common cause of Greece and
freedom. In return for this disinterested conduct all they asked was
that a Peloponnesian army should be sent into Boeotia for the defence
of the Attic frontier: a request which the Spartan envoys promised to
fulfil. No sooner, however, had they returned into their own country
than this promise was completely forgotten.
When Mardonius was informed that the Athenians had rejected his
proposal, he immediately marched against Athens, accompanied by all his
Grecian allies; and in May or June, B.C. 479, about ten months after
the retreat of Xerxes, the Persians again occupied that city. With
feelings of bitter indignation against their faithless allies, the
Athenians saw themselves once more compelled to remove to Salamis.
Mardonius took advantage of his situation to endeavour once more to win
them to his alliance. Through a Hellespontine Greek, the same
favourable conditions were again offered to them, but were again
refused. One voice alone, that of the senator Lycidas, broke the
unanimity of the assembly. But his opposition cost him his life. He
and his family were stoned to death by the excited populace. In this
desperate condition the Athenians sent ambassadors to the Spartans to
remonstrate against their breach of faith, and to intimate that
necessity might at length compel them to listen to the proposals of the
enemy. The Spartans became alarmed. That very night 5000 citizens,
each attended by seven Helots, were despatched to the frontiers; and
these were shortly followed by 5000 Lacedaemonian Perioeci, each
attended by one light-armed Helot. Never before had the Spartans sent
so large a force into the field. Their example was followed by other
Peloponnesian cities; and the Athenian envoys returned to Salamis with
the joyful news that a large army was preparing to march against the
enemy, under the command of Pausanias, who acted as regent for the
infant son of Leonidas.
Mardonius, on learning the approach of the Lacedaemonians, abandoned
Attica and crossed into Boeotia. He finally took up a position on the
left bank of the Asopus, and not far from the town of Plataea. Here he
caused a camp to be constructed of ten furlongs square, and fortified
with barricades and towers. Meanwhile the Grecian army continued to
receive reinforcements from the different states, and by the time it
reached Boeotia, it formed a grand total of about 110,000 men. After
several days' manoeuvring a general battle took place near Plataea.
The light-armed undisciplined Persians, whose bodies were unprotected
by armour, maintained a very unequal combat against the serried ranks,
the long spears, and the mailed bodies of the Spartan phalanx.
Mardonius, at the head of his body-guard of 1000 picked men, and
conspicuous by his white charger, was among the foremost in the fight,
till struck down by the hand of a Spartan. The fall of their general
was the signal for flight to the Persians, already wearied and
disheartened by the fruitless contest; nor did they once stop till they
lad again crossed the Asopus and reached their fortified camp. The
glory of having defeated the Persians at Plataea rests with the
Lacedaemonians, since the Athenians were engaged in another part of the
field with the Thebans. After repulsing the Thebans, the Athenians
joined the Lacedaemonians, who had pursued the Persians as far as their
fortified camp. Upon the arrival of the Athenians the barricades were
stormed and carried, after a gallant resistance on the part of the
Persians. The camp became a scene of the most horrible carnage. The
Persian loss was immense, while that of the Greeks seems not to have
exceeded 1300 or 1400 men.
It remained to bury the dead and divide the booty, and so great was the
task that ten days were consumed in it. The booty was ample and
magnificent. Gold and silver coined, as well as in plate and trinkets,
rich vests and carpets, ornamented arms, horses, camels--in a word, all
the magnificence of Eastern luxury. The failure of the Persian
expedition was completed by the destruction of their naval armament.
Laotychides, the Spartan admiral, having sailed across the AEgean,
found the Persian fleet at Mycale a promontory of Asia Minor near
Miletus. Their former reverses seem completely to have discouraged the
Persians from hazarding another naval engagement. The ships were
hauled ashore and surrounded with a rampart, whilst an army of 60,000
Persians lined the coast for their defence. The Greeks landed on the
very day on which the battle of Plataea was fought. A supernatural
presentiment of that decisive victory, conveyed by a herald's staff
which floated over the AEgean from the shores of Greece, is said to
have pervaded the Grecian ranks at Mycale as they marched to the
attack. The Persians did not long resist: they turned their backs and
fled to their fortifications, pursued by the Greeks, who entered them
almost simultaneously. A large number of the Persians perished; and
the victory was rendered still more decisive by the burning of the
fleet.
The Grecian fleet now sailed towards the Hellespont with the view of
destroying the bridge; but hearing that it no longer existed,
Leotychides departed homewards with the Peloponnesian vessels.
Xanthippus however, the Athenian commander, seized the opportunity to
recover from the Persians the Thracian Chersonese, which had long been
an Athenian possession; and proceeded to blockade Sestos, the key of
the strait. This city surrendered in the autumn, after a protracted
siege, whereupon the Athenians returned home, carrying with them the
cables of the bridge across the Hellespont, which were afterwards
preserved in the Acropolis as a trophy.
CHAPTER IX.
FROM THE END OF THE PERSIAN WARS TO THE BEGINNING OF THE PELOPONNESIAN
WAR, B.C. 479-431.
The Athenians, on their return to Attica, after the defeat of the
Persians, found their city ruined and their country desolate. They
began to rebuild their city on a larger scale than before, and to
fortify it with a wall. Those allies to whom the increasing maritime
power of Athens was an object of suspicion, and especially the
AEginetans, to whom it was more particularly formidable, beheld her
rising fortifications with dismay. They endeavoured to inspire the
Lacedaemonians with their fears, and urged them to arrest the work.
But though Sparta shared the jealousy of the allies, she could not with
any decency interfere by force to prevent a friendly city from
exercising a right inherent in all independent states. She assumed
therefore the hypocritical garb of an adviser and counsellor.
Concealing her jealousy under the pretence of zeal for the common
interests of Greece, she represented to the Athenians that, in the
event of another Persian invasion, fortified towns would serve the
enemy for camps and strongholds, as Thebes had done in the last war;
and proposed that the Athenians should not only desist from completing
their own fortifications, but help to demolish those which already
existed in other towns.
The object of the proposal was too transparent to deceive so acute a
statesman as Themistocles. Athens was not yet, however, in a condition
to incur the danger of openly rejecting it; and he therefore advised
the Athenians to dismiss the Spartan envoys with the assurance that
they would send ambassadors to Sparta to explain their views. He then
caused himself to be appointed one of these ambassadors; and setting
off straightway for Sparta, directed his colleagues to linger behind as
long as possible. At Sparta, the absence of his colleagues, at which
he affected to be surprised, afforded him an excuse for not demanding
an audience of the ephors. During the interval thus gained, the whole
population of Athens, of both sexes and every age, worked day and night
at the walls, which, when the other ambassadors at length arrived at
Sparta, had attained a height sufficient to afford a tolerable defence.
Meanwhile the suspicions of the Spartans had been more than once
aroused by messages from the AEginetans respecting the progress of the
walls. Themistocles, however, positively denied their statements; and
urged the Spartans to send messengers of their own to Athens in order
to learn the true state of affairs, at the same time instructing the
Athenians to detain them as hostages for the safety of himself and
colleagues. When there was no longer any motive for concealment,
Themistocles openly avowed the progress of the works, and his intention
of securing the independence of Athens, and enabling her to act for
herself. The walls being now too far advanced to be easily taken, the
Spartans found themselves compelled to acquiesce, and the works were
completed without further hindrance.
Having thus secured the city from all danger of an immediate attack,
Themistocles pursued his favourite project of rendering Athens the
greatest maritime and commercial power of Greece. He erected a town
round the harbour of Piraeus, distant between four and five miles from
Athens, and enclosed it with a wall as large in extent as the city
itself, but of vastly greater height and thickness. Meanwhile an event
occurred which secured more firmly than ever the maritime supremacy of
Athens, by transferring to her the command of the allied fleet.
In the year after the battle of Plataea a fleet had been fitted out and
placed under the command of the Spartan regent, Pausanias, in order to
carry on the war against the Persians. After delivering most of the
Grecian towns in Cyprus from the Persians, this armament sailed up the
Bosporus and laid siege to Byzantium, which was garrisoned by a large
Persian force. The town surrendered after a protracted siege; but it
was during this expedition that the conduct of the Spartan commander
struck a fatal blow at the interests of his country.
The immense booty, as well as the renown, which Pausanias had acquired
at Plataea, had filled him with pride and ambition. After the capture
of Byzantium he despatched a letter to Xerxes, offering to marry the
king's daughter, and to bring Sparta and the rest of Greece under his
dominion. Xerxes was highly delighted with this letter, and sent a
reply in which he urged Pausanias to pursue his project night and day,
and promised to supply him with all the money and troops that might be
needful for its execution. But the childish vanity of Pausanias
betrayed his plot before it was ripe for execution. Elated by the
confidence of Xerxes, and by the money with which he was lavishly
supplied, he acted as if he had already married the Great King's
daughter. He assumed the Persian dress; he made a progress through
Thrace, attended by Persian and Egyptian guards; and copied, in the
luxury of his table and the dissoluteness of his manners, the example
of his adopted country. Above all, he offended the allies by his
haughty reserve and imperiousness. His designs were now too manifest to
escape attention. His proceedings reached the ears of the Spartans,
who sent out Dorcis to supersede him. Disgusted by the insolence of
Pausanias, the Ionians serving in the combined Grecian fleet addressed
themselves to Aristides, whose manners formed a striking contrast to
those of the Spartan leader, and begged him to assume the command.
This request was made precisely at the time when Pausanias was
recalled; and accordingly, when Dorcis arrived, he found Aristides in
command of the combined fleet (B.C. 478).
This event was not a mere empty question about a point of honour. It
was a real revolution, terminated by a solemn league, of which Athens
was to be the head. Aristides took the lead in the matter, for which
his proverbial justice and probity eminently qualified him. The league
obtained the name of "the Confederacy of Delos," from its being
arranged that deputies of the allies belonging to it should meet
periodically for deliberation in the temple of Apollo and Artemis
(Diana) in that island. Each state was assessed in a certain
contribution, either of money or ships, as proposed by the Athenians
and ratified by the synod. The assessment was intrusted to Aristides,
whose impartiality was universally applauded. Of the details, however,
we only know that the first assessment amounted to 460 talents (about
106,000L sterling), that certain officers called Hellenotamiae were
appointed by the Athenians to collect and administer the contributions,
and that Delos was the treasury.
Such was the origin of the Confederacy of Delos. Soon after its
formation Aristides was succeeded in the command of the combined fleet
by Cimon, the son of Miltiades.
Pausanias, on his return to Sparta, seems to have been acquitted of any
definite charges; but he continued his correspondence with Persia, and
an accident at length afforded convincing proofs of his guilt. A
favourite slave, to whom he had intrusted a letter to the Persian
satrap at Sardis, observed with dismay that none of the messengers
employed in this service had ever returned. Moved by these fears, he
broke the seal and read the letter, and finding his suspicions of the
fate that awaited him confirmed, he carried the document to the ephors.
But in ancient states the testimony of a slave was always regarded with
suspicion. The ephors refused to believe the evidence offered to them
unless confirmed by their own ears. For this purpose they directed him
to plant himself as a suppliant in a sacred grove near Cape Taenarus,
in a hut behind which two of their body might conceal themselves.
Pausanias, as they had expected, anxious at the step taken by his
slave, hastened to the spot to question him about it. The conversation
which ensued, and which was overheard by the ephors, rendered the guilt
of Pausanias no longer doubtful. They now determined to arrest him on
his return to Sparta. They met him in the street near the temple of
Athena Chalcioecus (of the Brazen House), when Pausanias, either
alarmed by his guilty conscience, or put on his guard by a secret
signal from one of the ephors, turned and fled to the temple, where he
took refuge in a small chamber belonging to the building. From this
sanctuary it was unlawful to drag him; but the ephors caused the doors
to be built up and the roof to be removed, and his own mother is said
to have placed the first stone at the doors. When at the point of
death from starvation, he was carried from the sanctuary before he
polluted it with his corpse. Such was the end of the victor of
Plataea. After his death proofs were discovered among his papers that
Themistocles was implicated in his guilt. But in order to follow the
fortunes of the Athenian statesman, it is necessary to take a glance at
the internal history of Athens.
The ancient rivalry between Themistocles and Aristides had been in a
good degree extinguished by the danger which threatened their common
country during the Persian wars. Aristides had since abandoned his
former prejudices, and was willing to conform to many of the
democratical innovations of his rival. The effect of this was to
produce, soon after their return to Attica, a still further
modification of the constitution of Clisthenes. The Thetes the lowest
of the four classes of Athenian citizens, were declared eligible for
the magistracy, from which they had been excluded by the laws of Solon.
Thus not only the archonship, but consequently the Council of
Areopagus, was thrown open to them; and, strange to say, this reform
was proposed by Aristides himself.
Nevertheless party spirit still ran high at Athens. Cimon and Alcmaeon
were violent opponents of Themistocles, and of their party Aristides
was still the head. The popularity of Aristides was never greater than
at the present time, owing not only to the more liberal spirit which he
exhibited, but also to his great services in establishing the
Confederacy of Delos. Themistocles had offended the Athenians by his
ostentation and vanity. He was continually boasting of his services to
the state; but worse than all this, his conduct was stained with
positive guilt. Whilst, at the head of an Athenian squadron, he was
sailing among the Greek islands for the ostensible purpose of executing
justice, there is little room to doubt that he corrupted its very
source by accepting large sums of money from the cities which he
visited. Party spirit at length reached such a height that it was
found necessary to resort to ostracism, and Themistocles was condemned
to a temporary banishment (B.C. 471). He retired to Argos, where he
was residing when the Spartans called upon the Athenians to prosecute
their great statesman before a synod of the allies assembled at Sparta,
on the ground of treasonable correspondence with Persia. Accordingly
joint envoys were sent from Athens and Sparta to arrest him (B.C. 466).
Themistocles avoided the impending danger by flying from Argos to
Corcyra. The Corcyraeans, however, not daring to shelter him, he passed
over to the continent; where, being still pursued, he was forced to
seek refuge at the court of Admetus, king of the Molossians, though the
latter was his personal enemy. Fortunately, Admetus happened to be
from home. The forlorn condition of Themistocles excited the
compassion of the wife of the Molossian king, who placed her child in
his arms, and bade him seat himself on the hearth as a suppliant. As
soon as the king arrived, Themistocles explained his peril, and adjured
him by the sacred laws of hospitality not to take vengeance upon a
fallen foe. Admetus accepted his appeal, and raised him from the
hearth; he refused to deliver him up to his pursuers, and at last only
dismissed him on his own expressed desire to proceed to Persia. After
many perils, Themistocles succeeded in reaching in safety the coast of
Asia. Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, was now upon the throne of
Persia, and to him Themistocles hastened to announce himself. The king
was delighted at his arrival, and treated him with the greatest
distinction. In a year's time, Themistocles, having acquired a
sufficient knowledge of the Persian language to be able to converse in
it, entertained Artaxerxes with magnificent schemes for the subjugation
of Greece. Artaxerxes loaded him with presents, gave him a Persian
wife, and appointed Magnesia, a town not far from the Ionian coast, as
his place of residence. After living there some time he was carried off
by disease at the age of sixty-five, without having realised, or
apparently attempted, any of those plans with which he had dazzled the
Persian monarch. Rumour ascribed his death to poison, which he took of
his own accord, from a consciousness of his inability to perform his
promises; but this report, which was current in the time of Thucydides,
is rejected by that historian.
Aristides died about four years after the banishment of Themistocles.
The common accounts of his poverty are probably exaggerated, and seem
to have been founded on the circumstances of a public funeral, and of
handsome donations made to his three children by the state. But
whatever his property may have been, it is at least certain that he did
not acquire or increase it by unlawful means; and not even calumny has
ventured to assail his well-earned title of THE JUST.
On the death of Aristides, Cimon became the undisputed leader of the
conservative party at Athens. Cimon was generous, affable,
magnificent; and, notwithstanding his political views, of exceedingly
popular manners. He had inherited the military genius of his father,
and was undoubtedly the greatest commander of his time. He employed
the vast wealth acquired in his expeditions in adorning Athens and
gratifying his fellow-citizens. It has been already mentioned that he
succeeded Aristides in the command of the allied fleet. His first
exploits were the capture of Eion on the Strymon, and the reduction of
the island of Scyros (B.C. 476). A few years afterwards we find the
first symptoms of discontent among the members of the Confederacy of
Delos. Naxos, one of the confederate islands, and the largest of the
Cyclades, revolted in B.C. 466, probably from a feeling of the growing
oppressiveness of the Athenian headship. It was immediately invested
by the confederate fleet, reduced, and made tributary to Athens. This
was another step towards dominion gained by the Athenians, whose
pretensions were assisted by the imprudence of the allies. Many of the
smaller states belonging to the confederacy, wearied with perpetual
hostilities, commuted for a money payment the ships which they were
bound to supply; and thus, by depriving themselves of a navy, lost the
only means by which they could assert their independence.
The same year was marked by a memorable action against the Persians.
Cimon at the head of 200 Athenian triremes, and 100 furnished by the
allies, proceeded to the coast of Asia Minor. The Persians had
assembled a large fleet and army at the mouth of the river Eurymedon in
Pamphylia. After speedily defeating the fleet, Cimon landed his men
and marched against the Persian army which was drawn up on the shore to
protect the fleet. The land-force fought with bravery, but was at
length put to the rout.
The island of Thasos was the next member of the confederacy against
which the Athenians directed their arms. After a siege of more than
two years that island surrendered, when its fortifications were razed,
and it was condemned to pay tribute (B.C. 463).
The expedition to Thasos was attended with a circumstance which first
gives token of the coming hostilities between Sparta and Athens. At an
early period of the blockade the Thasians secretly applied to the
Lacedaemonians to make a diversion in their favour by invading Attica:
and though the Lacedaemonians were still ostensibly allied with Athens,
they were base enough to comply with this request. Their treachery,
however, was prevented by a terrible calamity which befel themselves.
In the year B.C. 461 their capital was visited by an earthquake which
laid it in ruins and killed 20,000 of the citizens. But this was only
part of the calamity. The earthquake was immediately followed by a
revolt of the Helots, who were always ready to avail themselves of the
weakness of their tyrants. Being joined by the Messenians, they
fortified themselves in Mount Ithome in Messenia. Hence this revolt is
sometimes called the Third Messenian War (B.C. 464). after two or three
years spent in a vain attempt to dislodge them from this position, the
Lacedaemonians found themselves obliged to call in the assistance of
their allies, and, among the rest, of the Athenians. It was with great
difficulty that Cimon persuaded the Athenians to comply with this
request; but he was at length despatched to Laconia with a force of
4000 hoplites. The aid of the Athenians had been requested by the
Lacedaemonians on account of their acknowledged superiority in the art
of attacking fortified places. As, however, Cimon did not succeed in
dislodging the Helots from Ithome the Lacedaemonians, probably from a
consciousness of their own treachery in the affair of Thasos, suspected
that the Athenians were playing them false, and abruptly dismissed
them, saying that they had no longer any occasion for their services.
This rude dismissal gave great offence at Athens, and annihilated for a
time the political influence of Cimon. The democratical party had from
the first opposed the expedition; and it afforded them a great triumph
to be able to point to Cimon returning not only unsuccessful but
insulted. That party was now led by Pericles. A sort of hereditary
feud existed between Pericles and Cimon; for it was Xanthippus, the
father of Pericles, who had impeached Miltiades, the father of Cimon.
The character of Pericles was almost the reverse of Cimon's. Although
the leader of the popular party, his manners were reserved. He
appeared but little in society, and only in public upon great
occasions. His mind had received the highest polish which that period
was capable of giving. He constantly conversed with Anaxagoras,
Protagoras, Zeno, and other eminent philosophers. To oratory in
particular he had devoted much attention, as an indispensable
instrument for swaying the public assemblies of Athens.
Pericles seized the occasion presented by the ill success of Cimon,
both to ruin that leader and to strike a fatal blow at the
aristocratical party. He deprived the Areopagus of its chief
functions, and left it a mere shadow of its former influence and power.
He rendered the election to magistracies dependent simply upon lot, so
that every citizen however poor, had an equal chance of obtaining the
honours of the state. Other changes which accompanied this
revolution--for such it must be called--were the institution of paid
DICASTERIES or jury-courts, and the almost entire abrogation of the
judicial power of the Senate of Five Hundred. It cannot be supposed
that such fundamental changes were effected without violent party
strife. The poet AEschylus, in the tragedy of the EUMENIDIES, in vain
exerted all the powers of his genius in support of the aristocratical
party and of the tottering Areopagus; his exertions on this occasion
resulted only in his own flight from Athens. The same fate attended
Cimon himself; and he was condemned by ostracism (B.C. 461) to a ten
years' banishment. Nay, party violence even went the length of
assassination. Ephialtes, who had taken the lead in the attacks upon
the Areopagus, fell beneath the dagger of a Boeotian, hired by the
conservative party to dispatch him.
It was from this period (B.C. 461) that the long administration of
Pericles may be said to have commenced. The effects of his accession
to power soon became visible in the foreign relations of Athens.
Pericles had succeeded to the political principles of Themistocles, and
his aim was to render Athens the leading power of Greece. The
Confederacy of Delos had already secured her maritime ascendency;
Pericles directed his policy to the extension of her influence in
continental Greece. She formed an alliance with the Thessalians,
Argos, and Megara. The possession of Megara was of great importance,
as it enabled the Athenians to arrest the progress of an invading army
from Peloponnesus, AEgina, so long the maritime rival of Athens, was
subdued and made tributary. The Athenians marched with rapid steps to
the dominion of Greece. Shortly afterwards the battle of OEnophyta
(B.C. 456), in which the Athenians defeated the Boeotians, gave Athens
the command of Thebes, and of all the other Boeotian towns. From the
gulf of Corinth to the straits of Thermopylae Athenian influence was
now predominant. During these events the Athenians had continued to
prosecute the war against Persia. In the year B.C. 460 they sent a
powerful fleet to Egypt to assist Inarus, who had revolted against
Persia; but this expedition proved a complete failure, for at the end
of six years the revolt was put down by the Persians, and the Athenian
fleet destroyed (B.C. 455). At a later period (B.C. 449) Cimon, who
had been recalled from exile, sailed to Cyprus with a fleet of 200
ships. He undertook the siege of Citium in that island; but died during
the progress of it, either from disease or from the effects of a wound.
Shortly afterwards a pacification was concluded with Persia, which is
sometimes, but erroneously, called "the peace of Cimon." It is stated
that by this compact the Persian monarch agreed not to tax or molest
the Greek colonies on the coast of Asia Minor, nor to send any vessels
of war westward of Phaselis in Lycia, or within the Cyanean rocks at
the junction of the Euxine with the Thracian Bosporus; the Athenians on
their side undertaking to leave the Persians in undisturbed possession
of Cyprus and Egypt. During the progress of these events, the states
which formed the Confederacy of Delos, with the exception of Chios,
Lesbos, and Samos, had gradually become, instead of the active allies
of Athens, her disarmed and passive tributaries. Even the custody of
the fund had been transferred from Delos to Athens. The purpose for
which the confederacy had been originally organised disappeared with
the Persian peace; yet what may now be called Imperial Athens
continued, for her own ends, to exercise her prerogatives as head of
the league. Her alliances, as we have seen, had likewise been extended
in continental Greece, where they embraced Megara, Boeotia, Phocis,
Locris, together with Troezen and Achaia in Peloponnesus. Such was the
position of Athens in the year 448 B.C., the period of her greatest
power and prosperity. From this time her empire began to decline;
whilst Sparta, and other watchful and jealous enemies, stood ever ready
to strike a blow.
In the following year (B.C. 447) a revolution in Boeotia deprived
Athens of her ascendency in that country. With an overweening contempt
of their enemies, a small band of 1000 Athenian hoplites, chiefly
composed of youthful volunteers belonging to the best Athenian
families, together with a few auxiliaries, marched under the command of
Tolmides to put down the revolt, in direct opposition to the advice of
Pericles, who adjured them to wait and collect a more numerous force.
The enterprise proved disastrous in the extreme. Tolmides was defeated
and slain near Chaeronea, a large number of the hoplites also fell in
the engagement, while a still larger number were taken prisoners. This
last circumstance proved fatal to the interests of Athens in Boeotia.
In order to recover these prisoners, she agreed to evacuate Boeotia,
and to permit the re-establishment of the aristocracies which she had
formerly overthrown. But the Athenian reverses did not end here. The
expulsion of the partisans of Athens from the government of Phocis and
Locris, and the revolt of Euboea and Megara, were announced in quick
succession. The youthful Pleistoanax, king of Sparta, actually
penetrated, with an army of Lacedaemonians and Peloponnesian allies, as
far as the neighbourhood of Eleusis; and the capital itself, it is
said, was saved only by Pericles having bribed the Spartan monarch.
Pericles reconquered Euboea; but this was the only possession which the
Athenians succeeded in recovering. Their empire on land had vanished
more, speedily than it had been acquired; and they were therefore
induced to conclude, at the beginning of B.C. 445, a THIRTY YEARS'
TRUCE with Sparta and her allies, by which they consented to abandon
all the acquisitions which they had made in Peloponnesus, and to leave
Megara to be included among the Peloponnesian allies of Sparta.
From the Thirty Years' Truce to the commencement of the Peloponnesian
war, few political events of any importance occurred. During these
fourteen years (B.C. 445-431) Pericles continued to enjoy the sole
direction of affairs. His views were of the most lofty kind. Athens
was to become the capital of Greece, and the centre of art and
refinement. In her external appearance the city was to be rendered
worthy of the high position to which she aspired, by the beauty and
splendour of her public buildings, by her works of art in sculpture,
architecture, and painting, and by the pomp and magnificence of her
religious festivals. All these objects Athens was enabled to attain in
an incredibly short space of time, through the genius and energy of her
citizens and the vast resources at her command. No state has ever
exhibited so much intellectual activity and so great a progress in art
as was displayed by Athens in the period which elapsed between the
Thirty Years' Truce and the breaking out of the Peloponnesian war. She
was the seat and centre of Grecian literature. The three great tragic
poets of Greece were natives of Attica. AEschylus, the earliest of the
three, had recently died in Sicily; but Sophocles was now at the full
height of his reputation, and Euripides was rapidly rising into notice.
Aristophanes, the greatest of the Grecian comic poets, was also born in
Attica, and exhibited plays soon after the beginning of the
Peloponnesian war. Herodotus, the Father of History, though a native
of Halicarnassus in Asia Minor, resided some time at Athens, and
accompanied a colony which the Athenians sent to Thurii in Italy.
Thucydides, the greatest of Greek historians, was an Athenian, and was
a young man at this period.
Colonization, for which the genius and inclination of the Athenians had
always been suited, was another method adopted by Pericles for
extending the influence and empire of Athens. The settlements made
under his auspices were of two kinds CLERUCHIES, and regular colonies.
The former mode was exclusively Athenian. It consisted in the allotment
of land in conquered or subject countries to certain bodies of
Athenians who continued to retain all their original rights of
citizenship. This circumstance, as well as the convenience of entering
upon land already in a state of cultivation instead of having to
reclaim it from the rude condition of nature, seems to have rendered
such a mode of settlement much preferred by the Athenians. The
earliest instance which we find of it is in the year B.C. 506, when
four thousand Athenians entered upon the domains of the Chalcidian
knights (see Ch.5). But it was under Pericles that this system was
most extensively adopted. During his administration 1000 Athenian
citizens were settled in the Thracian Chersonese, 500 in Naxos, and 250
in Andros. The islands of Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros, as well as a
large tract in the north of Euboea, were also completely occupied by
Athenian proprietors.
The most important colonies settled by Pericles were those of Thurii
and Amphipolis. Since the destruction of Sybaris by the Crotoniates,
in B.C. 509, the former inhabitants had lived dispersed in the
adjoining territory along the gulf of Tarentum, In B.C. 443 Pericles
sent out a colony to found Thurii, near the site of the ancient
Sybaris. The colony of Amphipolis was founded some years later (B.C.
437), under the conduct of Agnon.
But Pericles, notwithstanding his influence and power, had still many
bitter and active enemies, who assailed him through his private
connections, and even endeavoured to wound his honour by a charge of
peculation. Pericles, after divorcing a wife with whom he had lived
unhappily, took his mistress Aspasia to his house, and dwelt with her
till his death on terms of the greatest affection. She was
distinguished not only for her beauty, but also for her learning and
accomplishments. Her intimacy with Anaxagoras, the celebrated Ionic
philosopher, was made a handle for wounding Pericles in his tenderest
relations. Paganism, notwithstanding its licence, was capable of
producing bigots: and even at Athens the man who ventured to dispute
the existence of a hundred gods with morals and passions somewhat worse
than those of ordinary human nature, did so at the risk of his life.
Anaxagoras was indicted for impiety. Aspasia was included in the same
charge, and dragged before the courts of justice. Anaxagoras prudently
fled from Athens, and thus probably avoided a fate which in consequence
of a similar accusation afterwards overtook Socrates. Pericles himself
pleaded the cause of Aspasia. He was indeed indirectly implicated in
the indictment; but he felt no concern except for his beloved Aspasia,
and on this occasion the cold and somewhat haughty statesman, whom the
most violent storms of the assembly could not deprive of his
self-possession, was for once seen to weep. His appeal to the jury was
successful, but another trial still awaited him. An indictment was
preferred against his friend, the great sculptor Phidias, for
embezzlement of the gold intended to adorn the celebrated ivory statue
of Athena; and according to some, Pericles himself was included in the
charge of peculation. Whether Pericles was ever actually tried on this
accusation is uncertain; but at all events, if he was, there can be no
doubt that he was honourably acquitted. The gold employed in the
statue had been fixed in such a manner that it could be detached and
weighed, and Pericles challenged his accusers to the proof. But Phidias
did not escape so fortunately. There were other circumstances which
rendered him unpopular, and amongst them the fact that he had
introduced portraits both of himself and Pericles in the sculptures
which adorned the frieze of the Parthenon. Phidias died in prison
before the day of trial.
The Athenian empire, since the conclusion of the Thirty Years' Truce,
had again become exclusively maritime. Yet even among the subjects and
allies united with Athens by the Confederacy of Delos, her sway was
borne with growing discontent. One of the chief causes of this
dissatisfaction was the amount of the tribute exacted by the Athenians,
as well as their misapplication of the proceeds. In the time of
Aristides and Cimon, when an active war was carrying on against the
Persians, the sum annually collected amounted to 460 talents. In the
time of Pericles, although that war had been brought to a close, the
tribute had nevertheless increased to the annual sum of 600 talents.
Another grievance was the transference to Athens of all lawsuits, at
least of all public suits; for on this subject we are unable to draw
the line distinctly. In criminal cases, at all events, the allies seem
to have been deprived of the power to inflict capital punishment.
Besides all these causes of complaint, the allies had often to endure
the oppressions and exactions of Athenian officers, both military and
naval, as well us of the rich and powerful Athenian citizens settled
among them.
In B.C. 440 Samos, one of the free independent allies already
mentioned, revolted from Athens; but even this island was no match for
the Athenian power. Pericles, who sailed against the Samians in
person, defeated their fleet in several engagements, and forced the
city to capitulate. The Samians were compelled to raze their
fortifications, to surrender their fleet, to give hostages for their
future conduct, and to pay the expenses of the war.
The triumphs and the power of Athens were regarded with fear and
jealousy by her rivals; and the quarrel between Corinth and Corcyra
lighted the spark which was to produce the conflagration. On the coast
of Illyria near the site of the modern Durazzo, the Corcyraeans had
founded the city of Epidamnus. Corcyra (now Corfu) was itself a colony
of Corinth; and though long at enmity with its mother country, was
forced, according to the time-hallowed custom of the Greeks in such
matters, to select the founder of Epidamnus from the Corinthians.
Accordingly Corinth became the metropolis of Epidamnus as well as of
Corcyra. At the time of which we speak, the Epidamnians, being hard
pressed by the Illyrians, led by some oligarchical exiles of their own
city, applied to Corcyra for assistance, which the Corcyraeans, being
connected with the Epidamnian oligarchy, refused. The Epidamnians then
sought help from the Corinthians, who undertook to assist them. The
Corcyraeans, highly resenting this interference, attacked the
Corinthian fleet off Cape Actium, and gained a signal victory (B.C.
435).
Deeply humbled by this defeat, the Corinthians spent the two following
years in active preparations for retrieving it. The Corcyraeans, who
had not enrolled themselves either in the Lacedaemonian or Athenian
alliance, and therefore stood alone, were greatly alarmed at these
preparations. They now resolved to remedy this deficiency; and as
Corinth belonged to the Lacedaemonian alliance, the Corcyraeans had no
option, and were obliged to apply to Athens. The majority of the
Athenians were ready to comply with their request; but in order to
avoid an open infringement of the Thirty Years' Truce, it was resolved
to conclude only a defensive alliance with Corcyra: that is, to defend
the Corcyraeans in case their territories were actually invaded by the
Corinthians, but beyond that not to lend them any active assistance. A
small Athenian squadron of only 10 triremes was despatched to the
assistance of the Corcyraeans. Soon after their arrival a battle
ensued off the coast of Epirus, between the Corinthian and Corcyraean
fleets. After a hard-fought day, victory finally declared in favour of
the Corinthians. The Athenians now abandoned their neutrality, and did
all in their power to save the dying Corcyraeans from their pursuers.
This action took place early in the morning; and the Corinthians
prepared to renew the attack in the afternoon, when they saw in the
distance 20 Athenian vessels, which they believed to be the advanced
guard of a still larger fleet. They accordingly sailed away to the
coast of Epirus; but finding that the Athenians did not mean to
undertake offensive operations against them, they departed homewards
with their whole fleet. These events took place in the year B.C. 432.
The Corinthians were naturally incensed at the conduct of Athens; and
it is not surprising that they should have watched for an opportunity
of revenge. This was soon afforded them by the enmity of the
Macedonian prince Perdiccas towards the Athenians. He incited her
tributaries upon the coast of Macedonia to revolt, including Potidaea,
a town seated on the isthmus of Pallene. Potidaea, though now a
tributary of Athens, was originally a colony of the Corinthians, and
received from them certain annual magistrates. Being urged as well by
the Corinthians as by Perdiccas, the Potidaeans openly raised the
standard of revolt (B.C. 432). A powerful Athenian armament was
despatched to the coast of Macedonia and laid siege to Potidaea.
Meanwhile the Lacedaemonians, urged on all sides by the complaints of
their allies against Athens, summoned a general meeting of the
Peloponnesian confederacy at Sparta. The Corinthians took the most
prominent part in the debate; but other members of the confederacy had
also heavy grievances to allege against Athens. Foremost among these
were the Megarians, who complained that their commerce had been ruined
by a recent decree of the Athenians which excluded them from every port
within the Athenian jurisdiction. It was generally felt that the time
had now arrived for checking the power of Athens. Influenced by these
feelings, the Lacedaemonians decided upon war; and the congress passed
a resolution to the same effect, thus binding the whole Peloponnesian
confederacy to the same policy. This important resolution was adopted
towards the close of B.C. 432, or early in the following year. Before
any actual declaration of war, hostilities were begun in the spring of
B.C. 431 by a treacherous attack of the Thebans upon Plataea. Though
Boeotians by descent, the Plataeans did not belong to the Boeotian
league, but had long been in close alliance with the Athenians. Hence
they were regarded with hatred and jealousy by the Thebans, which
sentiments were also shared by a small oligarchical faction in Plataea
itself. The Plataean oligarchs secretly admitted a body of 300 Thebans
into the town at night; but the attempt proved a failure; the citizens
flew to arms, and in the morning all the Thebans were either slain or
taken prisoner.
CHAPTER X.
ATHENS IN THE TIME OF PERICLES.
[Note: The figures referred to in a few places in this chapter have had
to be omitted from the etext.]
At the commencement of the Peloponnesian war Athens was at the height
of its glory under the brilliant administration of Pericles. We may
therefore here pause to take a brief survey of the city and of its most
important buildings. Athens is situated about three miles from the
sea-coast, in the central plain of Attica. In this plain rise several
eminences. Of these the most prominent is a lofty insulated mountain,
with a conical peaked summit, now called the Hill of St. George, and
which bore in ancient times the name of LYCABETTUS. This mountain,
which was not included within the ancient walls, lies to the north-east
of Athens, and forms the most striking feature in the environs of the
city. It is to Athens what Vesuvius is to Naples, or Arthur's Seat to
Edinburgh. South-west of Lycabettus there are four hills of moderate
height, all of which formed part of the city. Of these the nearest to
Lycabettus and at the distance of a mile from the latter, was the
ACROPOLIS, or citadel of Athens, a square craggy rock rising abruptly
about 150 feet, with a flat summit of about 1000 feet long from east to
west, by 500 feet broad from north to south. Immediately west of the
Acropolis is a second hill of irregular form, the AREOPAGUS. To the
south-west there rises a third hill, the PNYX, on which the assemblies
of the citizens were held; and to the south of the latter is a fourth
hill, known as the MUSEUM. On the eastern and western sides of the
city there run two small streams, which are nearly exhausted before
they reach the sea, by the heats of summer and by the channels for
artificial irrigation. That on the east is the Ilissus, which flowed
through the southern quarter of the city: that on the west is the
Cephissus. South of the city was seen the Saronic gulf, with the
harbours of Athens.
Athens is said to have derived its name from the prominence given to
the worship of Athena by its king Erechtheus. The inhabitants were
previously called Cranai and Cecropidae, from Cecrops, who according to
tradition, was the original founder of the city. This at first occupied
only the hill or rock which afterwards became the ACROPOLIS; but
gradually the buildings began to spread over the ground at the southern
foot of this hill. It was not till the time of Pisistratus and his
sons (B.C. 560-514) that the city began to assume any degree of
splendour. The most remarkable building of these despots was the
gigantic temple of the Olympian Zeus, which, however, was not finished
till many centuries later. In B.C. 500 the theatre of Dionysus was
commenced on the south-eastern slope of the Acropolis, but was not
completed till B.C. 340; though it must have been used for the
representation of plays long before that period.
Xerxes reduced the ancient city almost to a heap of ashes. After the
departure of the Persians, its reconstruction on a much larger scale
was commenced under the superintendence of Themistocles, whose first
care was to provide for its safety by the erection of walls. The
Acropolis now formed the centre of the city, round which the new walls
described an irregular circle of about 60 stadia or 7 1/2 miles in
circumference. The space thus enclosed formed the ASTY, or city,
properly so called. But the views of Themistocles were not confined to
the mere defence of Athens: he contemplated making her a great naval
power, and for this purpose adequate docks and arsenals were required.
Previously the Athenians had used as their only harbour the open
roadstead of PHALERUM on the eastern side of the Phaleric bay, where
the sea-shore is nearest to Athens. But Themistocles transferred the
naval station of the Athenian
Showing first 200,000 characters. Full text: gutenberg.org/ebooks/2096