MOSAICS OF GRECIAN HISTORY

BY MARCIUS WILLSONAND ROBERT PIERPONT WILLSON

PREFACE. 

The leading object had in view in the preparation of the presentvolume has been to produce, within a moderate compass, a Historyof Greece that shall not only be trustworthy, but interestingto all classes of readers. 

It must be acknowledged that our standard historical works, withall their worth, do not command a perusal by the people at large;and it is equally plain that our ordinary School Manuals--theabridgments and outlines of more voluminous works--do not meetwith any greater favor. The mere outline system of historicalstudy usually pursued in the schools is interesting to those onlyto whom it is suggestive of the details on which it is based; andwe have long been satisfied that it is not the best for beginnersand for popular use; that it inverts the natural order ofacquisition; that for the young to master it is drudgery; thatits statistical enumeration, if ever learned by them, is soonforgotten; that it tends to create a prejudice against the studyof history; that it does not lay the proper foundation for futurehistorical reading; and that, outside of the enforced study ofthe school-room, it is seldom made use of. The people in general--themasses--do not read such works, while they do read with avidityhistorical legends, historical romances, historical poems anddramas, and biographical sketches. And we do not hesitate to assertthat from Shakspeare's historical plays the reading public haveacquired (together with much other valuable information) ahundred-fold more knowledge of certain portions of English historythan from all the ponderous tomes of formal history that have everbeen written. It may be said that people ought to read Hume, andLingard, and Mackintosh, and Hallam, and Froude, and Freeman, instead of Shakspeare's "King John, " and "Richard II. , " and "HenryIV. , " and "Henry VIII. , " etc. It is a sufficient reply to say theydo not. 

Historical works, therefore, to be read by the masses, must beadapted to the popular taste. It was an acknowledgment of thistruth that led Macaulay, the most brilliant of historians, toremark, "We are not certain that the best histories are not thosein which a little of the exaggeration of fictitious narrativeis judiciously employed. Something is lost in accuracy, but muchis gained in effect. The fainter lines are neglected, but thegreat characteristic features are imprinted on the mind forever. "If the result to which Macaulay refers be once attained by anintroductory work so interesting that it shall come into generaluse, it will, we believe, naturally lead to the reading of someof the best standard works in the same historical field. In ourattempt to make this a work of such a preparatory character, wehave borne in mind the demand that has arisen for poetic illustrationin the reading and teaching of history, and have given thisdelightful aid to historical study a prominent place--ofttimesmaking it the sole means of imparting information. And yet wehave introduced nothing that is not strictly consistent with ourideal of what history should be; for although some of the poeticselections are avowedly wholly legendary, and others, still, ina greater or less degree fictitious in their minor details--likethe by-plays in Shakspeare's historic dramas--we believe they dono violence to historical verity, as they are faithful picturesof the times, scenes, incidents, principles, and beliefs whichthey are employed to illustrate. Aside, too, from their historicinterest, they have a literary value. Many prose selections fromthe best historians are also introduced, giving to the narrativea pleasing variety of style that can be found in no one writer, even if he be a Grote, a Gibbon, or a Macaulay. 

 * * * * *

THE PRINCIPAL HISTORIES OF GREECE. 

Believing that it may be of some advantage to the general reader, we give herewith a brief sketch of the principal histories ofGreece now before the public. We may mention, among those of acomprehensive character, the works of Goldsmith, Gillies, Mitford, Thirlwall, Grote, and Curtius:

OLIVER GOLDSMITH, "the popular poet, the charming novelist, thesuccessful dramatist, and the witty essayist, " wrote a popularhistory of Greece, in two volumes, 8vo, 1774, embracing a periodfrom the earliest date down to the death of Alexander the Great. It is an attractive work, elegantly written, but is superficialand inaccurate. 

In 1786 was published a history of ancient Greece, in severalvolumes, by DR. JOHN GILLIES, who succeeded Dr. Robertson ashistoriographer of Scotland. This is a work of considerable meritbut it is written in a spirit of decidedly monarchical tendencies, although the author evidently aimed at great fairness in hispolitical views. 

He says: "The history of Greece exposes the dangerous turbulenceof democracy, and arraigns the despotism of tyrants. By describingthe incurable evils inherent in every republican policy, it evincesthe inestimable benefits resulting to liberty itself from thelawful dominion of hereditary kings, and the steady operationof well-regulated monarchy. "

In the year 1784 appeared the first volume of WILLIAM MITFORD'S"History of Greece", subsequently extended to eight and ten volumes, 8vo. It is the first history of Greece that combines extensiveresearch and profound philosophical reflection; but it is "amonarchical" history, by a writer of very strong anti-republicanprinciples. "It was composed, " says Alison, the distinguishedhistorian of modern Europe, "during, or shortly after, the FrenchRevolution; and it was mainly intended to counteract the visionaryideas in regard to the blessings of Grecian democracy, which hadspread so far in the world, from the magic of Athenian genius. "Says Chancellor Kent: "Mitford does not scruple to tell the truth, and the whole truth, and to paint the stormy democracies of Greecein all their grandeur and in all their wretchedness. " Lord Byronsaid of the author: "His great pleasure consists in praising tyrants, abusing Plutarch, spelling oddly, and writing quaintly; and--whatis strange, after all--his is the best modern history of Greecein any language. " But this was penned before Thirlwall's and Grote'shistories were published. Lord Macaulay says of Mitford: "Wheneverthis historian mentions Demosthenes he violates all the laws ofcandor and even of decency: he weighs no authorities, he makesno allowances, he forgets the best authenticated facts in thehistory of the times, and the most generally recognized principlesof human nature. " The North British Review, after calling Mitford"a bad scholar, a bad historian, and a bad writer of English, "says, farther, that "he was the first writer of any note who foundout that Grecian history was a living thing with a practicalbearing. "

The next truly important and comprehensive Grecian history, published from 1835 to 1840, in eight volumes, 8vo, was writtenby CONNOP THIRLWALL, D. D. , Bishop of St. David's. It is a scholarly, elaborate, and philosophical work evincing a thorough knowledgeof Greek literature and of the German commentators. The historianGrote said that, if it had appeared a few years earlier, he shouldprobably never have undertaken his own history of Greece. "Ishould certainly, " he says, "not have been prompted to the taskby any deficiencies such as those I felt and regretted in Mitford. "

In comparing Thirlwall's history with Grote's, the North BritishReview has the following judicious remarks: "Many persons, probably, who have no special devotion to Grecian history wish to study itsmain outlines in something higher than a mere school-book. Tosuch readers we should certainly recommend Thirlwall rather thanGrote. The comparative brevity, the greater clearness and tersenessof the narrative, the freedom from diversions and digressions, all render it far better suited for such a purpose. But for thepolitical thinker, who regards Grecian history chiefly in itspractical bearing, Mr. Grote's work is far better adapted. Theone is the work of a scholar, an enlarged and practical scholarindeed, but still one in whom the character of the scholar isthe primary one. The other is the work of a politician and manof business, a London banker, a Radical M. P. , whose devotionto ancient history and literature forms the most illustriousconfutation of the charges brought against such studies as beinguseless and impractical. "

"The style of Thirlwall, " says Dr. Samuel Warren of England, inhis Introduction to Law Studies, "is dry, terse, and exact--notfitted, perhaps, for the historical tyro, but most acceptableto the advanced student who is in quest of things. "

GEORGE GROTE, Member of Parliament, and a London banker, whowrote a history of Greece in twelve volumes, published from 1846to 1855, has been styled, by way of eminence, the historian ofGreece, because his work is universally admitted by critics tobe the best for the advanced student that has yet been written. The London Athenæum styles his history "a great literary undertaking, equally notable whether we regard it as an accession of standardvalue in our language, or as an honorable monument of what Englishscholarship can do. " The London Quarterly Review says: "Errorsthe most inveterate, that have been handed down without misgivingfrom generation to generation, have been for the first timecorrected by Mr. Grote; facts the most familiar have been presentedin new aspects and relations; things dimly seen, and only partiallyapprehended previously, have now assumed their true proportionsand real significance; while numerous traits of Grecian character;and new veins of Grecian thought and feeling, have been revealedto the eyes of scholars by Mr. Grote's searching criticism, likenew forms of animated nature by the microscope. "

The general character of the work has been farther well summedup by Sir Archibald Alison. He says: "A decided liberal, perhapseven a republican, in politics, Mr. Grote has labored to counteractthe influence of Mitford in Grecian history, and construct ahistory of Greece from authentic materials, which should illustratethe animating influence of democratic freedom upon the exertionsof the human mind. In the prosecution of this attempt he hasdisplayed an extent of learning, a variety of research, a powerof combination, which are worthy of the very highest praise, andhave secured for him a lasting place among the historians of modernEurope. "

We may also mention, in this connection, the valuable and scholarlywork of the German professor, Ernst Curtius (1857-'67), in fivevolumes, translated by A. Ward (1871-'74). His sympathies aremonarchical, and his views more nearly accord with those of Mitfordand Thirlwall than with those of Grote. 

The work by William Smith, in one volume, 1865, is an excellentsummary of Grecian history, as is also that of George W. Cox, 1876. The former work, which to a considerable extent is an abridgmentof Grote, has been brought down, in a Boston edition, from theRoman Conquest to the middle of the present century, by Dr. Felton, late President of Harvard College. President Felton has alsopublished two volumes of scholarly lectures on Ancient and ModernGreece (1867). 

The works devoted to limited periods of Grecian history and specialdepartments of research are very numerous. Among the most valuableof the former is the History of the Peloponnesian War, by theGreek historian Thucydides, of which there are several Englishversions. He was born in Athens, about the year 471 B. C. His isone of the ablest histories ever written. 

Herodotus, the earliest and best of the romantic historians, sometimes called the "Father of History, " was contemporary withThucydides. He wrote, in a charming style, an elaborate work onthe Persian and Grecian wars, most of the scenes of which hevisited in person; and in numerous episodes and digressions heinterweaves the most valuable history that we have of the earlyAsiatic nations and the Egyptians; but he indulges too much inthe marvelous to be altogether reliable. "

Of the numerous works of Xenophon, an Athenian who is sometimescalled the "Attic Muse, " from the simplicity and beauty of hisstyle, the best known and the most pleasing are the Anab'asis, the Memorabil'ia of Socrates, and the Cyropedi'a, a politicalromance. He was born about 443 B. C. The best English translationof his works is by Watson, in Harper's "New Classical Library. "

The work of the Greek historian, Polybius, originally in fortyvolumes, of which only five remain entire covered a period fromthe downfall of the Macedonian power to the subversion of Grecianliberty by the Romans, 146 B. C. It is a work of great accuracy, but of little rhetorical polish, and embraces much of Roman historyfrom which Livy derived most of the materials for his account ofthe wars with Carthage. 

In the first century of our era, Plutarch, a Greek biographer, wrote the "Parallel Lives" of forty-six distinguished Greeks andRomans--a charming and instructive work, translated by John andWilliam Langhorne in 1771, and by Arthur Hugh Clough in 1858. 

A history of Greece, in seven volumes, by George Finlay, a Britishhistorian, long resident at Athens, is noted for a thorough knowledgeof Greek topography, art, and antiquity. The completed work embracesa period from the conquest of Greece by the Romans to the middleof the present century. 

A History of Greek Literature, by J, P. Mahaffy, is the mostpolished descriptive work in the department which it embraces. It is happily supplemented by J. Addington Symonds' Studies ofthe Greek Poets. Mr. Mahaffy, in common with many German scholars, is an unbeliever in the unity of the Iliad. 

CONTENTS. 

 [The names of authors from whom selections are taken are in CAPITOLS. ]

 CHAPTER I. 

 GENERAL VIEW OF THE GRECIAN STATES AND ISLANDS. 

 Introductory. --Olympus. --HEMANS. --Pi'e-rus. --POPE. 1. Thessaly. --Tem'pe. -HEMANS. 2. Epi'rus. --Cocy'tus, Ach'eron, Dodo'na. --MILTON: HAYGARTH: BYRON. 3. Acarna'nia. 4. Æto'lia. 5. Lo'cris. 6. Do'ris. 7. Pho'cis. --Parnassus. --BYRON. --Delphi. --HEMANS. 8. Boeo'tia. --Thebes. --SCHILLER. 9. Attica. --BYRON. 10. Corinth. --BYRON: HAYGARTH. 11. Acha'ia. 12. Arca'dia. 13. Ar'golis. --Myce'næ. --HEMANS. 14. Laco'nia. 15. Messe'nia. 16. E'lis. 17. The Isles of Greece. --BYRON. Lemnos. --Euboe'a. --Cyc'la-des. --De'los. --Spor'a-des. -- Crete. --Rhodes. --Sal'amis. --Ægi'na. --Cyth'-era. -- "Venus Rising from the Sea. "--WOOLNER. Stroph'a-des. --VIRGIL. --Paxos. --Zacyn'thus. -- Cephalo'nia. --Ith'aca. --Leu'cas or Leuca'dia. -- Corcy'ra or Cor'fu. --"Gardens of Alcin'o-us. "

 CHAPTER II. 

 THE FABULOUS AND LEGENDARY PERIOD OF GRECIAN HISTORY. 

 I. Grecian Mythology. Value of the Grecian Fables. --J. STUART BLACKIE. The Battle of the Giants. --HE'SIOD Hymn to Jupiter. --CLEAN'THES The god Apollo. --OV'ID. Fancies of the Greek Mind. --WORDSWORTH: LIDDELL: BLACKIE. The Poet's Lament. --SCHILLER. The Creation. --OVID. The Origin of Evil. --HESIOD. What Prome'theus Personified. --BLACKIE. The Punishment of Prometheus. --ÆS'CHYLUS: SHELLEY Deluge of Deuca'lion. --OVID. Moral Characteristics of the Gods, etc. --MAHAFFY: GLADSTONE: HOMER: ÆSCHYLUS: HESIOD. Oaths. --HOMER: ÆSCHYLUS: SOPH'OCLES: VIRGIL. The Future State. --HOMER. 1. Story of Tan'talus. --BLACKIE 2. The Descent of Or'pheus. --OVID: HOMER. 3. The Elys'ium. --HOMER: PINDAR. Hindu and Greek Skepticism. --(Cornhill Magazine). 

 II. The Earnest Inhabitants of Greece. The Founding of Athens. --BLACKIE. 

 III. The Heroic Age. Heroic Times foretold to Adam. --MILTON Twelve Labors of Hercules. --HOMER. Fable of Hercules and Antæ'us. --COLLINS. The Argonautic Expedition. --PINDAR. Legend of Hy'las. --BAYARD TAYLOR. The Trojan War. 1. The Greek Armament. --EURIP'IDES. 2. The name Helen. --ÆSCHYLUS. 3. Ulysses and Thersi'tes. --HOMER. (POPE). 4. Combat of Menela'us and Paris. --HOMER. (POPE). 5. Parting of Hector and Androm'a-che. --HOMER. (POPE). 6. Hector's Exploits and Death of Patro'clus. --HOMER. (POPE). 7. The Shield of Achilles. --HOMER. (SOTHEBY). 8. Address of Achilles to his Horses. --HOMER. (POPE). 9. The Death of Hector. --HOMER. (BRYANT). 10. Priam Begging for Hector's Body. --HOMER. (COWPER). 11. Lamentations of Andromache and Helen. --HOMER. (POPE). The Fate of Troy. --VIRGIL: SCHILLER. Beacon Fires from Troy to Argos. --ÆSCHYLUS. Remarks on the Trojan War. --THIRLWALL: GROTE. Fate of the Actors in the Conflict. --ENNIUS: LANDOR: LANG. 

 IV. Arts and Civilization in the Heroic Age. Political Life of the Greeks. --MAHAFFY: HEEREN. Domestic Life and Character. --MAHAFFY: HOMER. The Raft of Ulysses. --HOMER. 

 V. The Conquest of Peloponnesus, and Colonies in Asia Minor. Return of the Heracli'dæ. --LUCAN. 

 CHAPTER III. 

 EARLY GREEK LITERATURE, AND GREEK COMMUNITY OF INTERESTS. 

 Ionian Language and Culture. --FELTON. 

 I. Homer and his Poems. --ANTIP'ATER: FELTON: TALFOURD: POPE: COLERIDGE. 

 II. Some Causes of Greek Unity. The Grecian Festivals. 1. Chariot Race and Death of Ores'tes. --SOPHOCLES. 2. Apollo's Conflict with the Python. --OVID. 3. The Apollo Belvedere. --THOMSON. The National Councils. 

 CHAPTER IV. 

 SPARTA, AND THE LEGISLATION OF LYCURGUS. 

 Description of Sparta. --THOMSON. 

 I. The Constitution of Lycurgus. Spartan Patriotic Virtue. --TYMNOE'US. 

 II. Spartan Poetry and Music. Spartan March. --CAMPBELL. : HEMANS. Songs of the Spartans. --PLUTARCH: TERPAN'DER: PINDAR: ION. 

 III. Sparta's Conquests. War-song. --TYRTOE'US. 

 CHAPTER V. 

 FORMS OF GOVERNMENT, AND CHANGES IN GRECIAN POLITICS. 

 Introductory. --THIRLWALL: LEG'ARÉ. 

 I. Changes from Aristocracies to Oligarchies. --HEEREN. 

 II. Changes from Oligarchies to Despotisms. --THIRLWALL: HEEREN: BULWER: TYRTOE'US. 

 CHAPTER VI. 

 THE EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS. 

 I. The Legislation of Dra'co. 

 II. The Legislation of So'lon. --PLUTARCH: A'KENSIDE: SOLON: THOMSON: SOLON. 

 III. The Usurpation of Pisis'tratus. The Usurper and his Stratagem. --AKENSIDE. Solon's Appeal to the Athenians. --AKENSIDE. Character of Pisistratus. --THIRLWALL. Conspiracy of Harmodius and Aristogi'ton. --CALLIS'TRATUS. 

 IV. Birth of Democracy. --THIRLWALL. 

 CHAPTER VII. 

 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GREEK COLONIES. 

 The Cave of the Cumæ'an Sibyl. --VIRGIL: GROTE. The'ron of Agrigen'tum. --PINDAR. Increase among the Sicilian Greeks. --GROTE. 

 CHAPTER VIII. 

 PROGRESS OF LITERATURE AND THE ARTS. 

 I. The Poems of Hesiod. --"Winter. "--FELTON: MURE: THIRLWALL: MAHAFFY. 

 II. Lyric Poetry. Calli'nus of Ephesus. --"War Elegy". Archil'ochus of Pa'ros--SYMONDS: MAHAFFY. Alc'man. --"Sleep, or Night. "--MURE. Ari'on. --Stesich'orus. --MAHAFFY. Alcæus. --"Spoils of War. "--AKENSIDE. Sappho. --"Defence of. "--SYMONDS: ANTIP'ATER. Anac'reon. --"The Grasshopper. "--AKENSIDE. 

 III. Early Grecian Philosophy. The Seven Sages. --(Maxims). -GROTE. Tha'les, Anaxim'enes, Heracli'tus, Diog'enes, Anaximan'der, and Xenoph'anes. Pythag'oras and his Doctrines. --BLACKIE: THOMSON: COLERIDGE: LOWELL. The Eleusin'ian Mysteries. --VIRGIL. 

 IV. Architecture. The Cyclo'pean Walls. --LORD HOUGHTON. Dor'ic, Ion'ic, and Corinthian Orders. --THOMSON. Cher'siphron, and the Temple of Diana. --STORY. Temples at Pæs'tum. --CRANCH. 

 V. Sculpture. Glaucus, Rhoe'cus, Theodo'rus, Dipæ'nus, Scyllis. Cause of the Progress of Sculpture. --THIRLWALL. 

 CHAPTER IX. 

 THE PERSIAN WARS. 

 I. The Ionic Revolt. 

 II. The First Persian War. The Battle of Marathon. Legends of the Battle. --HEMANS: BLACKIE. The Death of Milti'ades: his Character. --GROTE: GILLIES. Aristi'des and Themis'tocles:--THOMSON: PLUTARCH: THIRLWALL. 

 III. The Second Persian Invasion. Xerxes at Aby'dos. --HEROD'OTUS. Bridging of the Hellespont. --JUVENAL: MILTON. The Battle of Thermop'ylæ. 1. Invincibility of the Spartans. --HAYGARTH. 2. Description of the Contest. --HAYGARTH. 3. Epitaphs on those who fell. --SIMON'IDES. 4. The Tomb of Leon'idas. --ANON. 5. Eulogy on the Fallen. --BYRON Naval Conflict at Artemis'ium. --PLUTARCH: PINDAR. The Abandonment of Athens. The Battle of Salamis. 1. Xerxes Views the Conflict. --BYRON. 2. Flight of Xerxes. --JUVENAL: ALAMANNI. 3. Celebrated Description of the Battle. --MITFORD: ÆSCHYLUS. 4. Another Account. --BLACKIE. The Battle of Platæ'a. 1. Description of the Battle. --BULWER. 2. Importance of the Victory. --SOUTHEY: BULWER. 3. Victory at Myc'a-le. --BULWER. 4. "The Wasps. "--ARISTOPHANES. 

 CHAPTER X. 

 THE RISE AND GROWTH OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE. 

 I. The Disgrace and Death of Themistocles. Tributes to his Memory. --PLATO: GEMINUS: THIRLWALL. II. The Rise and Fall of Cimon. Character of Cimon--THOMSON. Battle of Eurym'edon. --SIMONIDES. Earthquake at Sparta, and Revolt of the Helots. --BULWER: ALISON. 

 III. The Accession of Pericles to Power. Changes in the Athenian Constitution. --BULWER. Tribute to Pericles. --CROLY. Picture of Athens in Peace. --HAYGARTH. 

 CHAPTER XI. 

 THE PELOPONNESIAN WARS, AND THE FALL OF ATHENS. 

 Speech of Pericles for War. --THUCYD'IDES. 

 I. The First Peloponnesian War. Funeral Oration of Pericles. --THUCYDIDES. Comments on the Oration. --CURTIUS. The Plague at Athens. --LUCRETIUS. Death of Pericles. --CROLY: THIRLWALL: BULWER. Character of Pericles. --MITFORD. 

 II. The Athenian Demagogues. Cleon, the Demagogue. --GILLIES: ARISTOPH'ANES. The Peace of Ni'cias. 

 III. The Sicilian Expedition. Treatment of the Athenian Prisoners. --BYRON. 

 IV. The Second Peloponnesian War. Humiliation of Athens. Barbarities of the Contest. --MAHAFFY. 

 CHAPTER XII. 

 GRECIAN LITERATURE AND ART, FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE PERSIAN TO THE CLOSE OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WARS (B. C. 500-403). 

 LITERATURE. 

 Introductory. The Era of Athenian Greatness. --SYMONDS. 

 I. Lyric Poetry. Simonides. --"Lamentation of Dan'a-ë. "--MAHAFFY. Pindar. --"Threnos. "--THIRLWALL: PRIOR: SYMONDS: GRAY: POPE: HORACE. 

 II. The Drama. --BULWER. 1. Tragedy. --Melpom'ene. --AKENSIDE. Æschylus. --"Death of Agamemnon. "--PLUMPTRE: LAWRENCE: VAN SCHLEGEL: BYRON: MAHAFFY. Sophocles. --OEd'ipus Tyran'nus. "--TALFOURD: PHRYN'ICHUS: SIM'MIAS. Euripides. --"Alcestis Preparing for Death. "--SYMONDS: MILTON: MAHAFFY. The Transitions of Tragedy. --GROTE. 2. Comedy. Characterization of. Aristophanes. --Extracts from "The Cloud. " "Choral Song from The Birds. "--PLATO: GROTE: SEWELL: MILTON: RUSKIN. 

 III. History. Hecatæ'ns. --MAHAFFY: NIEBUHR. Herodotus. --"Introduction to History. "--LAWRENCE. Herodotus and his Writings. --MACAULAY. Thucyd'i-des. --MAHAFFY. Thucydides and Herodotus. --BROWNE. 

 IV. Philosophy. Anaxag'oras: his Death. --WILLIAM CANTON. The Sophists. --MAHAFFY. Socrates. --"Defence of Socrates. "--"Socrates' Views of a Future State. "--MAHAFFY: THOMSON: SMITH: TYLER: GROTE. 

 ART. 

 I. Sculpture and Painting. Phid'ias. --LÜBKE: GILLIES: LÜBKE. Polygno'tus. --Apollodo'rus. --Zeux'is. --Parrha'sius. --Timan'thes. Parrhasius and his Captive. --SENECA: WILLIS. 

 II. Architecture. Introductory. --THOMSON. The Adornment of Athens. --BULWER. I. The Acrop'olis and its Splendors. The Parthenon. --HEMANS. II. Other Architectural Monuments of Athens. The Temple of The'seus. --HAYGARTH. Athenian Enthusiasm for Art. --BULWER. The Glory of Athens. --TALFOURD. 

 CHAPTER XIII. 

 THE SPARTAN AND THEBAN SUPREMACIES. 

 I. The Expedition of Cyrus, and the Retreat of the Ten Thousand. --THOMSON: CURTIUS. 

 II. The Supremacy of Sparta. 

 III. The Rise and Fall of Thebes. Pelop'idas and Epaminon'das. --THOMSON: CURTIUS. 

 CHAPTER XIV. 

 THE SICILIAN GREEKS. 

 The Founding of Ætna. --PINDAR. Hi'ero's Victory at Cu'mæ. --PINDAR. Admonitions to Hiero. --PINDAR. Dionysius the Elder. --PLUTARCH. Damon and Pythias. --The Hostage. --SCHILLER. Archime'des. --SCHILLER Visit of Cicero to the Grave of Archimedes. --WINTHROP. 

 CHAPTER XV. 

 THE MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY. 

 I. The Sacred War. --THIRLWALL. 

 II. Sketch of Macedonia. 

 III. Interference of Philip of Macedon. Demosthenes. --"The First Philippic. "--GROTE. Pho'cion. --His Influence at Athens. --GROTE. 

 IV. War with Macedon. 

 V. Accession of Alexander the Great. 

 VI. Alexander Invades Asia. 

 VII. The Battle of Arbe'la. --Flight and Death of Dari'us. -- GROTE: ÆS'CHINES. Alexander's Feast at Persep'olis. --DRYDEN. 

 VI. The Death of Alexander. His Career and his Character. --LU'CAN. Reflections on his Life, etc. --JUVENAL: BYRON. 

 CHAPTER XVI. 

 FROM THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER TO THE CONQUEST OF GREECE BY THE ROMANS. 

 I. A Retrospective Glance at Greece. Oration of Æschines against Ctes'iphon. Oration of Demosthenes on the Crown. 

 II. The Wars that followed Alexander's Death. Character of Ptolemy Philadelphus--THEOC'RITUS. 

 III. The Celtic Invasion, and the War with Pyrrhus. Queen Archidami'a. --ANON. 

 IV. The Achæ'an League. --Philip V. Of Macedon. Epigrams on Philip and the Macedonians. --Alcoe'us. 

 V. Greece Conquered by Rome. "The Liberty of Greece. "--WORDSWORTH. Desolation of Corinth. --ANTIPATER. Last Struggles of Greece. --THIRLWALL: HORACE. 

 CHAPTER XVII. 

 LITERATURE AND ART AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 

 LITERATURE. 

 I. The Drama. --MAHAFFY. Phile'mon. --"Faith in God. " Menander. --"Human Existence. "--SYMONDS: LAWRENCE. 

 II. Oratory. --MILTON: CICERO. Æs'chines and Demosthenes. --LEGARÉ: BROUGHAM: HUME. 

 III. Philosophy. Plato. --HAYGARTH: BROUGHAM: KENDRICK: MITCHELL. Aristotle. --POPE: BROWNE: LAWRENCE: SMITH: MAHAFFY. Academe. --ARNOLD. Epicu'rus and Ze'no. --LUCRETIUS. 

 IV. History. Xen'ophon. --MITCHELL. Polyb'ius. 

 ART. 

 I. Architecture and Sculpture. Changes in Statuary. --WEYMAN. The Dying Gladiator. --LÜBKE: THOMSON. The La-oc'o-on. --THOMSON: HOLLAND. 

 II. Painting. Venus Rising from the Sea. --ANTIPATER. Apel'les and Protog'enes. --ANTHON. Protogenes' Picture at Rhodes. --THOMSON. 

 Concluding Reflections. The Image of Athens. --SHELLEY. Immortal Influence of Athens. --MACAULAY: HAYGARTH. 

 CHAPTER XVIII. 

 GREECE SUBSEQUENT TO THE ROMAN CONQUEST. 

 I. Greece under the Romans. The Revolt. --FINLAY. Christianity in Greece. --FELTON. 

 II. Changes down to the Fourteenth Century. Courts of the Crusading Chieftains. --EDINBURGH REVIEW. The Duchy of Athens. --FELTON. The Turkish Invasion. --HEMANS. 

 III. Contests between the Turks and Venetians. Past and Present of the Acropolis of Athens. The Siege and Fall of Corinth. --BYRON. 

 IV. Final Conquest of Greece by Turkey. Turkish Oppressions. --TENNENT. The Slavery of Greece. --CANNING: BYRON. First Steps to Secure Liberty. --The Klephts. --FELTON. Greek War-Songs. --RHIGAS: POLYZOIS. 

 V. The Greek Revolution. A Prophetic Vision of the Struggle. --SHELLEY'S "Hellas". Song of the Greeks. --CAMPBELL. American Sympathy with Greece. --TUCKERMAN: WEBSTER. The Sortie at Missolon'ghi. --WARBURTON. A Visit to Missolonghi. --STEPHENS. Marco Bozzar'is. --HALLECK. Battle of Navari'no. --CAMPBELL. 

 VI. Greece under a Constitutional Monarchy. Revolution against King Otho. --BENJAMIN. The Deposition of King Otho: Greece under his Rule. --TUCKERMAN: BRITISH QUARTERLY. Accession of King George. --His Government. --TUCKERMAN. Progress in Modern Greece. --COOK. 

 INDEX

CHAPTER I. 

GENERAL VIEW OF THE GRECIAN STATES AND ISLANDS. 

The country called HELLAS by the Helle'nes, its native inhabitants, and known to us by the name of Greece, forms the southern partof the most easterly of the three great peninsulas of SouthernEurope, extending into the Mediterranean between the Æge'an Sea, or Grecian Archipelago, on the east, and the Ionian Sea on thewest. The whole area of this country, so renowned in history, isonly about twenty thousand square miles; which is considerablyless than that of Portugal, and less than half that of the Stateof Pennsylvania. 

The mainland of ancient Greece was naturally divided into NorthernGreece, which embraced Thessaly and Epi'rus; Central Greece, comprising the divisions of Acarna'nia, Æto'lia, Lo'cris, Do'ris, Pho'cis, Breo'tia, and At'tica (the latter forming the easternextremity of the whole peninsula); and Southern Greece, which theancients called Pel-o-pon-ne'sus, or the Island of Pe'lops, whichwould be an island were it not for the narrow Isthmus of Corinth, which connects it on the north with Central Greece. Its modernname, the Mo-re'a, was bestowed upon it from its resemblance tothe leaf of the mulberry. The chief political divisions ofPeloponnesus were Corinth and Acha'ia on the north, Ar'golis onthe east, Laco'nia and Messe'nia at the southern extremity ofthe peninsula, E'lis on the west, and the central region of Arca'dia. 

Greece proper is separated from Macedonia on the north by theCeraunian and Cambunian chain of mountains, extending in irregularoutline from the Ionian Sea on the west to the Therma'ic Gulf onthe east, terminating, on the eastern coast, in the lofty summitof Mount Olympus, the fabled residence of the gods, where, inthe early dawn of history, Jupiter (called "the father of godsand men") was said to hold his court, and where he reigned supremeover heaven and earth. Olympus rises abruptly, in colossalmagnificence, to a height of more than six thousand feet, liftingits snowy head far above the belt of clouds that nearly alwayshangs upon the sides of the mountain. 

 Wild and august in consecrated pride, There through the deep-blue heaven Olympus towers, Girdled with mists, light-floating as to hide The rock-built palace of immortal powers. --HEMANS. 

In the Olympian range, also, was Mount Pie'rus, where was thePierian fountain, one of the sacred resorts of the Muses, sooften mentioned by the poets, and to which POPE, with gentlesarcasm, refers when he says, A little learning is a dangerous thing: Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. 

1. Thessaly. --From the northern chain of mountains, the centralPindus range, running south, separates Thessaly on the east fromEpi'rus on the west. The former region, enclosed by mountainranges broken only on the east, and watered by the Pene'us andits numerous tributaries, embraced the largest and most fertileplain in all Greece. On the Thessalian coast, south of Olympus, were the celebrated mounts Ossa and Pe'lion, which the giants, in their wars against the gods, as the poets fable, piled uponOlympus in their daring attempt to scale the heavens and dethronethe gods. Between those mounts lay the celebrated vale of Tem'pe, through which the Pene'us flowed to the sea. 

 Romantic Tempe! thou art yet the same-- Wild as when sung by bards of elder time: Years, that have changed thy river's classic name, [Footnote: The modern name of the Pene'us is Selembria or Salamvria. ] Have left thee still in savage pomp sublime. --HEMANS. 

Farther south, having the sea on one side and the lofty cliffsof Mount OE'ta on the other, was the celebrated narrow pass ofThermop'ylæ, leading from Thessaly into Central Greece. 

2. Epi'rus. --The country of Epirus, on the west of Thessaly, wasmostly a wild and mountainous region, but with fertile interveningvalleys. Among the localities of Epirus celebrated in fable andin song was the river Cocy'tus, which the poets, on account ofits nauseous waters, described as one of the rivers of the lowerworld--

 Cocytus, named of lamentation loud Heard on the rueful stream. 

The Ach'eron was another of the rivers--

 Sad Acheron of sorrow, black and deep-- --MILTON. 

which was assigned by the poets to the lower world, and overwhich the souls of the dead were said to be first conveyed, beforethey were borne the Le'the, or "stream of oblivion, " beyond. Thetrue Acheron of Epirus has been thus described:

 Yonder rolls Acheron his dismal stream, Sunk in a narrow bed: cypress and fir Wave their dim foliage on his rugged banks; And underneath their boughs the parched ground, Strewed o'er with juniper and withered leaves, Seems blasted by no mortal tread. 

As the Acheron falls into the lake Acheru'sia, and after risingfrom it flows underground for some distance, this lake also hasbeen connected by the poets with the gloomy legend of its fountainstream. 

 This is the place Sung by the ancient masters of the lyre, Where disembodied spirits, ere they left Their earthly mansions, lingered for a time Upon the confines of eternal night, Mourning their doom; and oft the astonished hind, As home he journeyed at the fall of eve, Viewed unknown forms flitting across his path, And in the breeze that waved the sighing boughs Heard shrieks of woe. --HAYGARTH. 

In Epirus was also situated the celebrated city of Dodo'na, withthe temple of that name, where was the most ancient oracle inGreece, whose fame extended even to Asia. But in the wide wasteof centuries even the site of this once famous oracle is forgotten. 

 Where, now, Dodona! is thine aged grove, Prophetic fount, and oracle divine? What valley echoes the response of Jove? What trace remaineth of the Thunderer's shrine? All, all forgotten! --BYRON. 

3. Acarna'nia. --Coming now to Central Greece, lying northwardof the Corinthian Gulf, we find Acarnania on the far west, forthe most part a productive country with good harbors: but theAcarnanians, a rude and warlike people, were little inclined toCommercial pursuits; they remained far behind the rest of theGreeks in culture, and scarcely one city of importance was embracedwithin their territory. 

4. Æto'lia, generally a rough and mountainous country, separated, on the west, from Acarnania by the river Ach-e-lo'us, the largestof the rivers of Greece, was inhabited, like Acarnania, by a hardyand warlike race, who long preserved the wild and uncivilizedhabits of a barbarous age. The river Achelous was intimatelyconnected with the religion and mythology of the Greeks. The heroHercules contended with the river-god for the hand of De-i-a-ni'ra, the most beautiful woman of his time; and so famous was the streamitself that the Oracle of Dodona gave frequent directions "tosacrifice to the Achelous, " whose very name was used, in thelanguage of poetry, as an appellation for the element of waterand for rivers. 

5. Lo'cris, lying along the Corinthian Gulf east of Ætolia, wasinhabited by a wild, uncivilized race, scarcely Hellen'ic incharacter, and said to have been addicted, from the earliestperiod, to theft and rapine. Their two principal towns wereAmphis'sa and Naupac'tus, the latter now called Lepanto. Therewas another settlement of the Locri north of Pho'cis and Boeo'tia. 

6. Do'ris, a small territory in the north-eastern angle of Ætoliaproper--a rough but fertile country--was the early seat of theDorians, the most enterprising and the most powerful of the Hellenictribes, if we take into account their numerous migrations, coloniesand conquests. Their colonies in Asia Minor founded six independentrepublics, which were confined within the bounds of as many cities. From this people the Doric order of architecture--a style typicalof majesty and imposing grandeur, and the one the most employedby the Greeks in the construction of their temples--derived itsorigin. 

7. Pho'cis. --On the east of Locris, Ætolia, and Doris was Phocis, a mountainous region, bordered on the south by the CorinthianGulf. In the northern central part of its territory was the famedMount Parnassus, covered the greater part of the year with snow, with its sacred cave, and its Castalian fount gushing forth betweentwo of its lofty rocks. The waters were said to inspire those whodrank of them with the gift of poetry. Hence both mountain andfount were sacred to the Muses, and their names have come downto our own times as synonymous with poetry and song. BYRON thuswrites of Parnassus, in lines almost of veneration, as he firstviewed it from Delphi, on the southern base of the mountain:

 Oh, thou Parnassus! whom I now survey, Not in the frenzy of a dreamer's eye, Not in the fabled landscape of a lay, But soaring snow-clad through thy native sky In the wild pomp of mountain majesty!

 Oft have I dreamed of thee! whose glorious name Who knows not, knows not man's divinest lore: And now I view thee, 'tis, alas! with shame That I in feeblest accents must adore. When I recount thy worshippers of yore I tremble, and can only bend the knee; Nor raise my voice, nor vainly dare to soar, But gaze beneath thy cloudy canopy In silent joy to think at last I look on thee!

The city of Delphi was the seat of the celebrated temple andoracle of that name. Here the Pythia, the priestess of Apollo, pronounced the prophetic responses, in extempore prose or verse;and here the Pythian Games were celebrated in honor of Apollo. 

 Here, thought-entranced, we wander, where of old From Delphi's chasm the mystic vapor rose, And trembling nations heard their doom foretold By the dread spirit throned 'midst rocks and snows. Though its rich fanes be blended with the dust, And silence now the hallowed haunt possess, Still is the scene of ancient rites august, Magnificent in mountain loneliness; Still Inspiration hovers o'er the ground, Where Greece her councils held, her Pythian victors crowned. --MRS. HEMANS. 

8. Boeo'tia. --Boeotia, lying to the east of Phocis, borderingon the Euri'pus, or "Euboe'an Sea, " a narrow strait which separatesit from the Island of Euboe'a, and touching the Corinthian Gulfon the south-west, is mostly one large basin enclosed by mountainranges, and having a soil exceedingly fertile. It was the mostthickly settled part of Greece; it abounded in cities of historicinterest, of which Thebes, the capital, was the chief--whose wallswere built, according to the fable, to the sound of the Muses:

 With their ninefold symphonies There the chiming Muses throng; Stone on stone the walls arise To the choral Music-song. --SCHILLER. 

Boeotia was the scene of many of the legends celebrated by thepoets, and especially of those upon which were founded the playsof the Greek tragedians. Near a fountain on Mount Cithæ'ron, onits southern border, the hunter Actæ'on, having been changed intoa stag by the goddess Diana, was hunted down and killed by hisown hounds. Pen'theus, an early king of Thebes, having ascendedCithæron to witness the orgies of the Bacchanals, was torn inpieces by his own mother and aunts, to whom Bacchus made himappear as a wild beast. On this same mountain range also occurredthe exposure of OEd'ipus, the hero of the most famous tragedy ofSophocles. Near the Corinthian Gulf was Mount Hel'icon, sacredto Apollo and the Muses. Its slopes and valleys were renownedfor their fertility; it had its sacred grove, and near it wasthe famous fountain of Aganip'pe, which was believed to inspirewith oracular powers those who drank of its waters. Nearer thesummit was the fountain Hippocre'ne, which is said to have burstforth when the winged horse Peg'asus, the favorite of the Muses, struck the ground with his hoofs, and which Venus, accompaniedby her constant attendants, the doves, delighted to visit. Here, we are told, Her darling doves, light-hovering round their Queen, Dipped their red beaks in rills from Hippocrene. [Footnote: Always Hip-po-cre'ne in prose; but it is allowable to contract it into three syllables in poetry, as in the example above. ]

It was here, also--

 near this fresh fount, On pleasant Helicon's umbrageous mount--

that occurred the celebrated contest between the nine daughtersof Pie'rus, king of E-ma'thi-a (the ancient name of Macedonia), and the nine Muses. It is said that "at the song of the daughtersof Pierus the sky became dark, and all nature was put out ofharmony; but at that of the Muses the heavens themselves, thestars, the sea, and the rivers stood motionless, and Heliconswelled up with delight, so that its summit reached the sky. "The Muses then, having turned the presumptuous maidens intochattering magpies, first took the name of Pi-er'i-des, fromPieria, their natal region. 

9. Attica. --Bordering Boeotia on the south-east was the districtof Attica, nearly in the form of a triangle, having two of itssides washed by the sea, and the other--the northern--shut offfrom the east of Central Greece by the mountain range of Cithæronon the north-west, and Par'nes on the east. Its other notedmountains were Pentel'icus (sometimes called Mende'li), socelebrated for its quarries of beautiful marble, and Hymet'tus, celebrated for its excellent honey, and the broad belt of flowersat its base, which scented the air with their delicious perfume. It could boast of its chief city, the favored seat of the goddessMinerva--

 Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence--

as surpassing all other cities in beauty and magnificence, andin the great number of its illustrious citizens. Yet the soilof Attica was, on the whole, exceedingly barren, with the exceptionof a few very fertile spots; but olive groves abounded, and theolive was the most valuable product. 

The general sterility of Attica was the great safety of her peoplein their early history. "It drove them abroad; it filled themwith a spirit of activity, which loved to grapple with dangerand difficulty; it told them that, if they would maintain themselvesin the dignity which became them, they must regard the resources oftheir own land as nothing, and those of other countries as theirown. " Added to this, the situation of Attica marked it out in aneminent manner for a commercial country; and it became distinguishedbeyond all the other states of Greece for its extensive commercialrelations, while its climate was deemed the most favorable ofall the regions of the civilized world for the physical andintellectual development of man. It was called "a sunny land, "and, notwithstanding the infertility of its soil, it was fullof picturesque beauty. The poet BYRON, in his apostrophe to Greece, makes many striking and beautiful allusions to the Attica of hisown time:

 Yet are thy skies as blue, thy crags as wild; Sweet are thy groves, and verdant are thy fields, Thine olive ripe as when Minerva smiled, And still its honeyed wealth Hymettus yields. There the blithe bee his fragrant fortress builds, The freeborn wanderer of thy mountain air; Apollo still thy long, long summer gilds, Still in his beam Mendeli's marbles glare; Art, Glory, Freedom fail, but Nature still is fair. 

10. Entering now upon the isthmus which leads into Southern Greece, we find the little state of Corinth, with its famous city of thesame name, keeping guard over the narrow pass, with one foot onthe Corinthian Gulf and the other on the Saron'ic, thereby commandingboth the Ionian and Æge'an seas, controlling the commerce thatpassed between them, and holding the keys of Peloponnesus. Itwas a mountainous and barren region, with the exception of a smallplain north-west of the city. Thus situated, Corinth early becamethe seat of opulence and the arts, which rendered her the ornamentof Greece. On a lofty eminence overhanging the city, forming aconspicuous object at a great distance, was her famous citadel--soimportant as to be styled by Philip of Macedon "the fetters ofGreece. " Rising abruptly nearly two thousand feet above thesurrounding plain, the hill itself, in its natural defences, isthe strongest mountain fortress in Europe. 

 The whirlwind's wrath, the earthquake's shock, Have left untouched her hoary rock, The key-stone of a land which still, Though fallen, looks proudly on that hill, The landmark to the double tide That purpling rolls on either side, As if their waters chafed to meet, Yet pause and crouch beneath her feet. --BYRON. 

The ascent to the citadel, in the days of Corinthian glory, waslined on both sides with temples and altars; but temples andaltars are gone, and citadel and city alike are now in ruins. Antip'ater of Sidon describes the city as a scene of desolationafter it had been conquered, plundered, and its walls thrown downby the Romans, 146 B. C. Although the city was partially rebuilt, the description is fully applicable to its present condition. Amodern traveller thus describes the site of the ancient city:

 The hoarse wind sighs around the mouldering walls Of the vast theatre, like the deep roar Of distant waves, or the tumultuous rush Of multitudes: the lichen creeps along Each yawning crevice, and the wild-flower hangs Its long festoons around each crumbling stone. The window's arch and massive buttress glow With time's deep tints, whilst cypress shadows wave On high, and spread a melancholy gloom. Silent forever is the voice Of Tragedy and Eloquence. In climes Far distant, and beneath a cloudy sky, The echo of their harps is heard; but all The soul-subduing energy is fled. --HAYGARTH. 

11. Adjoining the Corinthian territory on the west, and extendingabout sixty-five miles along the southern coast of the CorinthianGulf, was Acha'ia, mountainous in the interior; but its coastregion for the most part was level, exposed to inundations, andwithout a single harbor of any size. Hence the Achæ'ans were neverfamous for maritime enterprise. Of the eleven Achæan cities thatformed the celebrated Achæan league, Pal'træ (now Patras') alonesurvives. Si'çy-on, on the eastern border of Achaia, was at timesan independent state. 

12. South of Achaia was the central region of Arcadia, surroundedby a ring of mountains, and completely encompassed by the otherstates of the Peloponnesus. Next to Laconia it was the largestof the ancient divisions of Greece, and the most picturesque andbeautiful portion (not unlike Switzerland in its mountaincharacter), and without either seaports or navigable rivers. Itwas inhabited by a people simple in their habits and manners, noted for their fondness for music and dancing, their hospitality, and pastoral customs. With the poets Arcadia was a land of peace, of simple pleasures, and untroubled quiet; and it was natural thatthe pipe-playing Pan should first appear here, where musicalshepherds led their flocks along the woody vales of impetuousstreams. 

13. Ar'golis, east of Arcadia, was mostly a rocky peninsula lyingbetween the Saron'ic and Argol'ic gulfs. It was in great part abarren region, with the exception of the plain adjoining itscapital city, Argos, and in early times was divided into a numberof small but independent kingdoms, that afterward became republics. The whole region is rich in historic associations of the HeroicAge. Here was Tir'yns, whose massive walls were built by theone-eyed Cy'clops, and whence Hercules departed at the commencementof his twelve labors. Here, also, was the Lernæ'an Lake, wherethe hero slew the many-headed hydra; Ne'mea, the haunt of thelion slain by Hercules, and the seat of the celebrated Ne'meangames; and Myce'næ, the royal city of Agamemnon, who commandedthe Greeks in the Trojan War--now known, only by its ruins andits legends of by-gone ages. 

 And still have legends marked the lonely spot Where low the dust of Agamemnon lies; And shades of kings and leaders unforgot, Hovering around, to fancy's vision rise. --HEMANS. 

14. At the south-eastern extremity of the Peloponnesus was Laconia, the fertile portions of which consisted mostly of a long, narrowvalley, shut in on three sides by the mountain ranges of Ta-yg'etuson the west and Parnon on the north and east, and open only onthe south to the sea. Through this valley flows the river Euro'tas, on whose banks, about twenty miles from the sea, stood the capitalcity, Lacedæ'mon, or Sparta, which was unwalled and unfortifiedduring its most flourishing period, as the Spartans held that thereal defence of a town consists solely in the valor of its citizens. The sea-coast of Laconia was lined with towns, and furnished withnumerous ports and commodious harbors. While Sparta was equaledby few other Greek cities in the magnificence of its temples andstatues, the private houses, and even the palace of the king, were always simple and unadorned. 

15. West of Laconia was Messe'nia, the south-western division ofGreece, a mountainous country, but with many fertile interveningvalleys, the whole renowned for the mildness and salubrity ofits climate. Its principal river, the Pami'sus, rising in themountains of Arcadia, flows southward to the Messenian Gulf througha beautiful plain, the lower portion of which was so celebratedfor its fertility that it was called Maca'ria, or "the blessed;"and even to this day it is covered with plantations of the vine, the fig, and the mulberry, and is "as rich in cultivation as canbe well imagined. "

16. One district more--that of E'lis, north of Messenia and westof Arcadia, and embracing the western slopes of the Achaian andArcadian mountains--makes up the complement of the ancientPeloponnesian states. Though hilly and mountainous, like Messenia, it had many valleys and hill-sides of great fertility. The riverAlphe'us, which the poets have made the most celebrated of therivers of Greece, flows westward through Elis to the Ionian Sea, and on its banks was Olympia, the renowned seat of the Olympiangames. Here, also, was the sacred grove of olive and plane trees, within which were temples, monuments, and statues, erected inhonor of gods, heroes, and conquerors. In the very midst stoodthe great temple of Jupiter, which contained the colossal goldand ivory statue of the god, the masterpiece of the sculptorPhidias. Hence, by the common law of Greece Elis was deemed asacred territory, and its cities were unwalled, as they werethought to be sufficiently protected by the sanctity of thecountry; and it was only when the ancient faith began to giveway that the sacred character of Elis was disregarded. 

17. The Isles of Greece. --

 The Isles of Greece! the Isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung-- Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But all except their sun is set. --BYRON. 

The main-land of Greece was deeply indented by gulfs and almostland-locked bays, and the shores were lined with numerous islands, which were occupied by the Grecian race. Beginning our survey ofthese in the northern Æge'an, we find, off the coast of Thessaly, the Island of Lemnos, which is fabled as the spot on which thefire-god Vulcan--the Lucifer of heathen mythology--fell, afterbeing hurled down from Olympus. Under a volcano of the island beestablished his workshop, and there forged the thunder-bolts ofJupiter and the arms of the gods and of godlike heroes. 

Of the Grecian islands proper, the largest is Euboe'a, a longand narrow island lying east of Central Greece, from which itis separated by the narrow channel of the Euri'pus, or Euboe'anSea. South-east of Euboea are the Cyc'la-des, [Footnote: Fromthe Greek word kuklos, a circle. ] a large group that kept guardaround the sacred Island of Delos, which is said to have risenunexpectedly out of the sea. The Spor'a-des [Footnote: From theGreek word speiro, to sow; scattered, like seed, so numerous werethey. Hence our word spore. ] were another group, scattered overthe sea farther east, toward the coast of Asia Minor. The largeislands of Crete and Rhodes were south-east of these groups. Inthe Saron'ic Gulf, between Attica and Ar'golis, were the islandsof Sal'amis and Ægi'na, the former the scene of the great navalconflict between the Greeks on the one side and the Persians, under Xerxes, on the other, and the latter long the maritime rivalof Athens. 

Cyth'era, now Cer'igo, an island of great importance to theSpartans, was separated by a narrow channel from the southernextremity of Laconia. It was on the coast of this island thatthe goddess Venus is fabled to have first appeared to mortalsas she arose out of the foam of the sea, having a beautifullyenameled shell for her chariot, drawn by dolphins, as some paintingsrepresent; but others picture her as borne on a shining seahorse. She was first called Cyth-er-e'a, from the name of the island. The nymphs of ocean, of the land, and the streams, the fishesand monsters of the deep, and the birds of heaven, with rapturousdelight greeted her coming, and did homage to the beauty of theQueen of Love. The following fine description of the scene, trulyGrecian in spirit, is by a modern poet:

 Uprisen from the sea when Cytherea, Shining in primal beauty, paled the day, The wondering waters hushed, They yearned in sighs That shook the world--tumultuously heaved To a great throne of azure laced with light And canopied in foam to grace their queen. Shrieking for joy came O-ce-an'i-des, And swift Ner-e'i-des rushed from afar, Or clove the waters by. Came eager-eyed Even shy Na-i'a-des from inland streams, With wild cries headlong darting through the waves; And Dryads from the shore stretched their long arms, While, hoarsely sounding, heard was Triton's shell; Shoutings uncouth, bewildered sounds, And innumerable splashing feet Of monsters gambolling around their god, Forth shining on a sea-horse, fierce and finned. Some bestrode fishes glinting dusky gold, Or angry crimson, or chill silver bright; Others jerked fast on their own scanty tails; And sea-birds, screaming upward either side, Wove a vast arch above the Queen of Love, Who, gazing on this multitudinous Homaging to her beauty, laughed. She laughed The soft, delicious laughter that makes mad; Low warblings in the throat, that clinch man's life Tighter than prison bars. --THOMAS WOOLNER. 

Off the coast of Elis were the two small islands called theStroph'a-des, noted as the place of habitation of those fabledwinged monsters, the Harpies. Here Æne'as landed in his flightfrom the ruins of Troy, but no pleasant greetings met him there. 

 "At length I land upon the Strophades, Safe from the dangers of the stormy seas. Those isles are compassed by th' Ionian main, The dire abode where the foul Harpies reign: Monsters more fierce offended Heaven ne'er sent From hell's abyss for human punishment. We spread the tables on the greensward ground; We feed with hunger, and the bowls go round; When from the mountain-tops, with hideous cry And clattering wings, the hungry Harpies fly: They snatch the meat, defiling all they find, And, parting, leave a loathsome stench behind. " --VIRGIL'S Æneid, B. III. 

North of the Strophades, along the western coast of Greece, werethe six Ionian islands known in Grecian history as Paxos, Zacyn'thus, Cephalo'nia, Ith'aca (the native island of Ulysses), Leu'cas (or Leuca'dia), and Corcy'ra (now Corfu), which latterisland Homer calls Phæa'cia, and where he places the fabled gardensof Alcin'o-us. It was King Alcinous who kindly entertained Ulyssesin his island home when the latter was shipwrecked on his coast. He is highly praised in Grecian legends for his love of agriculture;and his gardens, so beautifully described by Homer, have affordeda favorite theme for poets of succeeding ages. HOMER'S descriptionis as follows:

 Close to the gates a spacious garden lies, From storms defended and inclement skies; Four acres was the allotted space of ground, Fenced with a green enclosure all around; Tall thriving trees confessed the fruitful mould, And reddening apples ripen here to gold. Here the blue fig with luscious juice o'erflows; With deeper red the full pomegranate glows; The branch here bends beneath the weighty pear, And verdant olives flourish round the year. The balmy spirit of the western gale Eternal breathes on fruits untaught to fail; Each dropping pear a following pear supplies; On apples apples, figs on figs arise: The same mild season gives the blooms to blow, The buds to harden, and the fruits to grow. 

 Here ordered vines in equal ranks appear, With all the united labors of the year; Some to unload the fertile branches run, Some dry the blackening clusters in the sun, Others to tread the liquid harvest join, The groaning presses foam with floods of wine. Here are the vines in early flower descried, Here grapes discolored on the sunny side, And there in Autumn's richest purple dyed. Beds of all various herbs, forever green, In beauteous order terminate the scene. 

 Two plenteous fountains the whole prospect crowned: This through the garden leads its streams around, Visits each plant, and waters all the ground; While that in pipes beneath the palace flows, And thence its current on the town bestows. To various use their various streams they bring; The people one, and one supplies the king. --Odyssey, B. VII. POPE'S Trans. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE FABULOUS AND LEGENDARY PERIOD OF GRECIAN HISTORY. 

I. GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY. 

As the Greeks, in common with the Egyptians and other Easternnations, placed the reign of the gods anterior to the race ofmortals, Grecian mythology--which is a system of myths, or fabulousopinions and doctrines respecting the universe and the deitieswho were supposed to preside over it--forms the most natural andappropriate introduction to Grecian history. 

Our principal knowledge of this system is derived from the worksof Homer, He'si-od, and other ancient writers, who have gatheredthe floating legends of which it consists into tales and epicpoems, many of them of great power and beauty. Some of these legendsare exceedingly natural and pleasing, while others shock and disgustus by the gross impossibilities and hideous deformities which theyreveal. Yet these legends are the spontaneous and the earliestgrowth of the Grecian mind, and were long accepted by the peopleas serious realities. They are, therefore, to be viewed as exponentsof early Grecian philosophy, --of all that the early Greeks believed, and felt, and conjectured, respecting the universe and its government, and respecting the social relations, duties, and destiny ofmankind, --and their influence upon national character was great. As a Scotch poet and scholar of our own day well remarks, Old fables these, and fancies old! But not with hasty pride Let logic cold and reason bold Cast these old dreams aside. Dreams are not false in all their scope: Oft from the sleepy lair Start giant shapes of fear and hope That, aptly read, declare Our deepest nature. God in dreams Hath spoken to the wise; And in a people's mythic themes A people's wisdom lies. --J. STUART BLACKIE. 

According to Grecian philosophy, first in the order of time cameCha'os, a heterogeneous mass, containing all the seeds of nature. This was formed by the hand of an unknown god, into "broad-breastedEarth" (the mother of the gods), who produced U'ranus, or Heaven. Then Earth married Uranus, or Heaven; and from this union came anumerous and powerful brood--the Ti'tans, and the Cyclo'pes, andthe gods of the wintry season Kot'-tos, Bria're-us, and Gy'ges, who had each a hundred hands), supposed to be personificationsof the hail, the rain, and the snow. 

The Titans made war upon their father, Uranus, who was woundedby Chro'nos, or Saturn, the youngest and bravest of his sons. From the drops of blood which flowed from the wound and fell uponthe earth sprung the Furies, the Giants, and the Me'lian nymphs;and from those which fell into the sea sprang Venus, the goddessof love and beauty. Uranus being dethroned, Saturn was permittedby his brethren to reign, on condition that he would destroy allhis male children. But Rhe'a (his wife), unwilling to see herchildren perish, concealed from him the birth of Zeus' (or Jupiter), Pos-ei'don (or Neptune), and Pluto. 

THE BATTLE OF THE GIANTS. 

The Titans, informed that Saturn had saved his children, made warupon him and dethroned him; but he was soon restored by his sonJupiter. Yet Jupiter soon afterward conspired against his father, and after a long war with him and his giant progeny, that lastedfull ten years, he drove Saturn from the kingdom, which he heldagainst the repeated assaults of all the gods, who were finallydestroyed or imprisoned by his overmastering power. This contestis termed "the Battle of the Giants, " and is very celebrated inGrecian mythology. The description of it which HESIOD has givenin his Theogony is considered "one of the most sublime passagesin classical poetry, conceived with great boldness, and executedwith a power and force which show a masterly though rugged genius. It will bear a favorable comparison with Milton's 'Battle of theAngels, ' in Paradise Lost. " We subjoin the following extracts fromit:

 The immeasurable sea tremendous dashed With roaring, earth resounded, the broad heaven Groaned, shattering; huge Olympus reeled throughout, Down to its rooted base, beneath the rush Of those immortals. The dark chasm of hell Was shaken with the trembling, with the tramp Of hollow footsteps and strong battle-strokes, And measureless uproar of wild pursuit. So they against each other through the air Hurled intermixed their weapons, scattering groans Where'er they fell. 

 The voice of armies rose With rallying shout through the starred firmament, And with a mighty war-cry both the hosts Encountering closed. Nor longer then did Jove Curb down his force, but sudden in his soul There grew dilated strength, and it was filled With his omnipotence; his whole of might Broke from him, and the godhead rushed abroad. The vaulted sky, the Mount Olympus, flashed With his continual presence, for he passed Incessant forth, and lightened where he trod. 

 Thrown from his nervous grasp the lightnings flew, Reiterated swift; the whirling flash, Cast sacred splendor, and the thunder-bolt Fell. Then on every side the foodful earth Roared in the burning flame, and far and near The trackless depth of forests crashed with fire; Yea, the broad earth burned red, the floods of Nile Glowed, and the desert waters of the sea. 

 Round and round the Titans' earthy forms Rolled the hot vapor, and on fiery surge Streamed upward, swathing in one boundless blaze The purer air of heaven. Keen rushed the light In quivering splendor from the writhen flash; Strong though they were, intolerable smote Their orbs of sight, and with bedimming glare Scorched up their blasted vision. Through the gulf Of yawning chaos the supernal flame Spread, mingling fire with darkness. 

 The whirlwinds were abroad, and hollow aroused A shaking and a gathering dark of dust, Crushing the thunders from the clouds of air, Hot thunder-bolts and flames, the fiery darts Of Jove; and in the midst of either host They bore upon their blast the cry confused Of battle, and the shouting. For the din Tumultuous of that sight-appalling strife Rose without bound. Stern strength of hardy proof Wreaked there its deeds, till weary sank the war. --Trans. By ELTON. 

Thus Jupiter, or Jove, became the head of the universe; and tohim is ascribed the creation of the subsequent gods, of man, andof all animal life, and the supreme control and government ofall. His supremacy is beautifully sung in the following hymn bythe Greek philosopher CLE-AN'THES, said to be the only one ofhis numerous writings that has been preserved. Like many othersof the ancient hymns of adoration, it presents us with highspiritual conceptions of the unity and attributes of Deity; andhad it been addressed to Jehovah it would have been deemed a grandtribute to his majesty and a noble specimen of deep devotionalfeeling. 

 Hymn to Jupiter. 

 Most glorious of th' immortal powers above-- O thou of many names--mysterious Jove! For evermore almighty! Nature's source, That govern'st all things in their ordered course, All hail to thee! Since, innocent of blame, E'en mortal creatures may address thy name-- For all that breathe and creep the lowly earth Echo thy being with reflected birth-- Thee will I sing, thy strength for aye resound! The universe that rolls this globe around Moves wheresoe'er thy plastic influence guides, And, ductile, owns the god whose arm presides. 

 The lightnings are thy ministers of ire, The double-forked and ever-living fire; In thy unconquerable hand they glow, And at the flash all nature quakes below. Thus, thunder-armed, thou dost creation draw To one immense, inevitable law; And with the various mass of breathing souls Thy power is mingled and thy spirit rolls. Dread genius of creation! all things bow To thee! the universal monarch thou! Nor aught is done without thy wise control On earth, or sea, or round the ethereal pole, Save when the wicked, in their frenzy blind, Act o'er the follies of a senseless mind. 

 Thou curb'st th' excess; confusion to thy sight Moves regular; th' unlovely scene is bright. Thy hand, educing good from evil, brings To one apt harmony the strife of things. One ever-during law still binds the whole, Though shunned, resisted, by the sinner's soul. Wretches! while still they course the glittering prize, The law of God eludes their ears and eyes. Life then were virtue, did they this obey; But wide from life's chief good they headlong stray. 

 Now glory's arduous toils the breast inflame; Now avarice thirsts, insensible of shame; Now sloth unnerves them in voluptuous ease, And the sweet pleasures of the body please. With eager haste they rush the gulf within, And their whole souls are centred in their sin. But oh, great Jove! by whom all good is given-- Dweller with lightnings and the clouds of heaven-- Save from their dreadful error lost mankind! Father, disperse these shadows of the mind! Give them thy pure and righteous law to know, Wherewith thy justice governs all below. Thus honored by the knowledge of thy way, Shall men that honor to thyself repay, And bid thy mighty works in praises ring, As well befits a mortal's lips to sing; More blest nor men nor heavenly powers can be Than when their songs are of thy law and thee. --Trans, by ELTON. 

Jupiter is said to have divided the dominion of the universebetween himself and his two brothers, Neptune and Pluto, takingheaven as his own portion, and having his throne and holding hiscourt on Mount Olympus, in Thessaly, while he assigned the dominionof the sea to Neptune, and to Pluto the lower regions--the abodesof the dead. Jupiter had several wives, both goddesses and mortals;but last of all he married his sister Juno, who maintainedpermanently the dignity of queen of the gods. The offspring ofJupiter were numerous, comprising both celestial and terrestrialdivinities. The most noted of the former were Mars, the god ofwar; Vulcan, the god of fire (the Olympian artist who forged thethunder-bolts of Jupiter and the arms of all the gods); and Apollo, the god of archery, prophecy, music, and medicine. 

 "Mine is the invention of the charming lyre; Sweet notes, and heavenly numbers I inspire. Med'cine is mine: what herbs and simples grow In fields and forests, all their powers I know, And am the great physician called below. " --Apollo to Daphne, in OVID'S Metam. PRYDEN'S Trans. 

Then come Mercury, the winged messenger, interpreter and ambassadorof the gods; Diana, queen of the woods and goddess of hunting, and hence the counterpart of her brother Apollo; and finally, Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and skill, who is said to haveSprung full-armed from the brain of Jupiter. 

Besides these divinities there were many others--as Ceres, thegoddess of grain and harvests; and Vesta, the goddess of homejoys and comforts, who presided over the sanctity of the domestichearth. There were also inferior gods and goddesses innumerable--suchas deities of the woods and the mountains, the meadows and therivers--some terrestrial, others celestial, according to the placesover which they were supposed to preside, and rising in importancein proportion to the powers they manifested. Even the Muses, theFates, and the Graces were numbered among Grecian deities. 

But while, undoubtedly, the great mass of the Grecian peoplebelieved that their divinities were real persons, who presidedover the affairs of men, their philosophers, while encouragingthis belief as the best adapted to the understanding of the people, took quite a different view of them, and explained the mythologicallegends as allegorical representations of general physical andmoral truths. Thus, while Jupiter, to the vulgar mind, was thegod or the upper regions, "who dwelt on the Summits of the highestmountains, gathered the clouds about him, shook the air with histhunder, and wielded the lightning as the instrument of his wrath, "yet in all this he was but the symbol of the ether or atmospherewhich surrounds the earth; and hence, the numerous fables of thismonarch of the gods may be considered merely as "allegories whichtypify the great generative power of the universe, displaying itselfin a variety of ways, and under the greatest diversity of forms. "So, also, Apollo was, in all likelihood, originally the sun-godof the Asiatic nations; displaying all the attributes of thatluminary; and because fire is "the great agent in reducing andworking the metals, Vulcan, the fire-god, naturally became anartist, and is represented as working with hammer and tongs athis anvil. Thus the Greeks, instead of worshipping Nature, worshipped the Powers of Nature, as personified in the almostinfinite number of their deities. 

The process by which the beings of Grecian mythology came intoexistence, among an ardent and superstitious people, is beautifullydescribed by the poet WORDSWORTH as very naturally arising outof the

 Teeming Fancies of the Greek Mind. 

 The lively Grecian, in a land of hills, Rivers, and fertile plains, and sounding shores, Under a copse of variegated sky, Could find commodious place for every god. In that fair clime the lonely herdsman, stretched On the soft grass through half a summer's day, With music lulled his indolent repose; And in some fit of weariness, if he, When his own breath was silent, chanced to hear A distant strain, far sweeter than the sounds Which his poor skill could make, his fancy fetch'd Even from the blazing chariot of the sun A beardless youth, who touched a golden lute, And filled the illumined groves with ravishment. 

 The night hunter, lifting a bright eye Up toward the crescent moon, with grateful heart Called on the lovely wanderer who bestow'd That timely light to share his joyous sport. And hence a beaming goddess, with her nymphs, Across the lawn, and through the darksome grove (Not unaccompanied with tuneful notes, By echo multiplied from rock or cave), Swept in the storm of chase, as moon and stars Glance rapidly along the clouded heaven When winds are blowing strong. The traveller slacked His thirst from rill or gushing fount, and thank'd The Naiad. Sunbeams, upon distant hills Gliding apace, with shadows in their train, Might, with small help from fancy, be transformed Into fleet Oreads sporting visibly. 

 The Zephyrs fanning, as they passed, their wings, Lacked not for love fair objects, whom they wooed With gentle whisper. Withered boughs grotesque, Stripped of their leaves and twigs by hoary age, From depth of shaggy covert peeping forth In the low vale, or on steep mountain side-- And sometimes intermixed with stirring horns Of the live deer, or goat's depending beard-- These were the lurking Satyrs, a wild brood Of gamesome deities; or Pan himself, The simple shepherd's awe-inspiring god. 

Similar ideas are expressed in an article on the Nature of EarlyHistory, by a celebrated English scholar, [Footnote: Henry GeorgeLiddell, D. D. , Dean of Christchurch College, Oxford. ] who says:"The legends, or mythic fables, of the Greeks are chiefly connectedwith religious ideas, and may mostly be traced to that sort ofawe or wonder with which simple and uneducated minds regard thechanges and movements of the natural world. The direct and easyway in which the imagination of such persons accounts for marvelousphenomena, is to refer them to the operation of Persons. When theattention is excited by the regular movements of sun, and moon, and stars, by the alternations of day and night, by the recurrenceof the seasons, by the rising and falling of the seas, by theceaseless flow of rivers, by the gathering of clouds, the rollingof thunder, and the flashing of lightning, by the operations oflife in the vegetable and animal worlds--in short, by any exhibitionof an active and motive power--it is natural for uninstructedminds to consider such changes and movements as the work of divinePersons. In this manner the early Greek legends associate themselveswith personifications of the powers of Nature. All attempts toaccount for the marvels which surround us are foregone; everythingis referred to the immediate operation of a god. 'Cloud-compellingZeus' is the author of the phenomenon of the air; 'Earth-shakingPos-ei'don, ' of all that happens in the water under the earth;Nymphs are attached to every spring or tree; De-me'ter, or MotherEarth, for six months rejoices in the presence of Proserpine, [Footnote: In some legends Proserpine is regarded as the daughterof Mother Earth, or Ceres, and a personification of the growingcorn. ] the green herb, her daughter, and for six months regretsher absence in dark abodes beneath the earth. 

"This tendency to deify the powers of Nature is due partly to aclear atmosphere and sunny climate, which incline a people tolive much in the open air in close communion with all that Natureoffers to charm the senses and excite the imagination; partly tothe character of the people, and partly to the poets who in earlytimes wrought these legendary tales into works which are read withincreased delight in ages when science and method have banishedthe simple faith which procured acceptance for these legends. 

"Among the Greeks all these conditions were found existing. Theylived, so to say, out-of-doors; their powers of observation wereextremely quick, and their imagination singularly vivid; and theirancient poems are the most noble specimens of the old legendarytales that have been preserved in any country. "

This tendency of the Grecian mind is also very happily set forthin the following lines by PROFESSOR BLACKIE:

 The old Greek men, the old Greek men-- No blinking fools were they, But with a free and broad-eyed ken Looked forth on glorious day. They looked on the sun in their cloudless sky, And they saw that his light was fair; And they said that the round, full-beaming eye Of a blazing GOD was there!

 They looked on the vast spread Earth, and saw The various fashioned forms, with awe Of green and creeping life, And said, "In every moving form, With buoyant breath and pulses warm, In flowery crowns and veined leaves, A GODDESS dwells, whose bosom heaves With organizing strife. "

 They looked and saw the billowy sea, With its boundless rush of water's free, Belting the firm earth, far and wide, With the flow of its deep, untainted tide; And wondering viewed, in its clear blue flood, A quick and scaly-glancing brood, Sporting innumerous in the deep With dart, and plunge, and airy leap; And said, "Full sure a GOD doth reign King of this watery, wide domain, And rides in a car of cerulean hue O'er bounding billows of green and blue; And in one hand a three-pronged spear He holds, the sceptre of his fear, And with the other shakes the reins Of his steeds, with foamy, flowing manes, And coures o'er the brine; And when he lifts his trident mace, Broad Ocean crisps his darkling face, And mutters wrath divine; The big waves rush with hissing crest, And beat the shore with ample breast, And shake the toppling cliff:

 A wrathful god has roused the wave-- Vain is all pilot's skill to save, And lo! a deep, black-throated grave Ingulfs the reeling skiff. " Anon the flood less fiercely flows, The rifted cloud blue ether shows, The windy buffets cease; Poseidon chafes his heart no more, His voice constrains the billows' roar, And men may sail in peace. 

 [Footnote: Pos-ei'don, another name for Neptune, the sea-god. ]

 In the old oak a Dryad dwelt; The fingers of a nymph were felt In the fine-rippled flood; At drowsy noon, when all was still, Faunus lay sleeping on the hill, And strange and bright-eyed gamesome creatures, With hairy limbs and goat-like features, Peered from the prickly wood. 

 [Footnote: The Sa'tyrs. ]

 Thus every power that zones the sphere With forms of beauty and of fear, In starry sky, on grassy ground, And in the fishy brine profound, Were, to the hoar Pelasgic men That peopled erst each Grecian glen, GODS--or the actions of a god: Gods were in every sight and sound And every spot was hallowed ground Where these far-wandering patriarchs trod. 

But all this fairy world has passed away, to live only as shadowsin the realms of fancy and of song. SCHILLER gives expression tothe poet's lament in the following lines:

 Art thou, fair world, no more? Return, thou virgin-bloom on Nature's face! Ah, only on the minstrel's magic shore Can we the footsteps of sweet Fable trace! The meadows mourn for the old hallowing life; Vainly we search the earth, of gods bereft; Where once the warm and living shapes were rife Shadows alone are left. 

The Latin poet OV'ID, who lived at the time of the Christian era, has collected from the fictions of the early Greeks and Orientalnations, and woven into one continuous history, the pagan accountsof the Creation, embracing a description of the primeval world, and the early changes it underwent, followed by a history of thefour eras or ages of primitive mankind, the deluge of Deuca'lion, and then onward down to the time of Augustus Cæsar. This greatwork of the pagan poet, called The Metamorphoses, is not only themost curious and valuable record extant of ancient mythology, butsome have thought they discovered, in every story it contains, amoral allegory; while others have attempted to trace in it thewhole history of the Old Testament, and types of the miracles andsufferings of our Savior. But, however little of truth there maybe in the last of these suppositions, the beautiful and impressiveaccount of the Creation given by this poet, of the Four Ages ofman's history which followed, and of the Deluge, coincides in somany remarkable respects with the Bible narrative, and withgeological and other records, that we give it here as a specimenof Grecian fable that contains some traces of true history. Thetranslation is by Dryden:

 Account of the Creation. 

 Before the seas, and this terrestrial ball, And heaven's high canopy, that covers all, One was the face of Nature--if a face-- Rather, a rude and indigested mass; A lifeless lump, unfashioned and unframed, Of jarring elements, and CHAOS named. 

 No sun was lighted up the world to view, Nor moon did yet her blunted horns renew, Nor yet was earth suspended in the sky, Nor, poised, did on her own foundations lie, Nor seas about the shores their arms had thrown; But earth, and air, and water were in one. Thus air was void of light, and earth unstable, And water's dark abyss unnavigable. No certain form on any was impressed; All were confused, and each disturbed the rest. 

 Thus disembroiled they take their proper place; The next of kin contiguously embrace, And foes are sundered by a larger space. The force of fire ascended first on high, And took its dwelling in the vaulted sky; Then air succeeds, in lightness next to fire, Whose atoms from inactive earth retire; Earth sinks beneath and draws a numerous throng Of ponderous, thick, unwieldy seeds along. About her coasts unruly waters roar, And, rising on a ridge, insult the shore. Thus when the god--whatever god was he-- Had formed the whole, and made the parts agree, That no unequal portions might be found, He moulded earth into a spacious round; Then, with a breath, he gave the winds to blow, And bade the congregated waters flow. He adds the running springs and standing lakes, And bounding banks for winding rivers makes. Some parts in earth are swallowed up; the most, In ample oceans disembogued, are lost. He shades the woods, the valleys he restrains With rocky mountains, and extends the plains. 

 Then, every void of nature to supply, With forms of gods Jove fills the vacant sky; New herds of beasts sends the plains to share; New colonies of birds to people air; And to their cozy beds the finny fish repair. A creature of a more exalted kind Was wanting yet, and then was Man designed; Conscious of thought, of more capacious breast, For empire formed and fit to rule the rest; Whether with particles of heavenly fire The God of nature did his soul inspire, Or earth, but new divided from the sky, And pliant, still retained the ethereal energy. Thus while the mute creation downward bend Their sight, and to their earthly mother tend, Man looks aloft, and with erected eyes Beholds his own hereditary skies. 

FOUR AGES OF MAN. 

The poet now describes the Ages, or various epochs in thecivilization of the human race. The first is the Golden Age, aperiod of patriarchal simplicity, when Earth yielded her fruitsspontaneously, and spring was eternal. 

 The GOLDEN AGE was first, when man, yet new, No rule but uncorrupted reason knew, And, with a native bent, did good pursue. Unforced by punishment, unawed by fear. His words were simple and his soul sincere; Needless were written laws where none oppressed; The law of man was written on his breast. No suppliant crowds before the judge appeared, No court erected yet, nor cause was heard, But all was safe, for conscience was their guard. 

 No walls were yet, nor fence, nor moat, nor mound; Nor drum was heard, nor trumpet's angry sound; Nor swords were forged; but, void of care and crime, The soft creation slept away their time. The teeming earth, yet guiltless of the plough, And unprovoked, did fruitful stores allow; The flowers, unsown, in fields and meadows reigned, And western winds immortal spring maintained. 

The next; or the Silver Age, was marked by the change of seasons, and the division and cultivation of lands. 

 Succeeding times a SILVER AGE behold, Excelling brass, but more excelled by gold. Then summer, autumn, winter did appear, And spring was but a season of the year; The sun his annual course obliquely made, Good days contracted, and enlarged the bad. Then air with sultry heats began to glow, The wings of wind were clogged with ice and snow; And shivering mortals, into houses driven, Sought shelter from the inclemency of heaven. Those houses then were caves or homely sheds, With twining osiers fenced, and moss their beds. Then ploughs for seed the fruitful furrows broke, And oxen labored first beneath the yoke. 

Then followed the Brazen Age, which was an epoch of war andviolence. 

 To this came next in course the BRAZEN AGE; A warlike offspring, prompt to bloody rage, Not impious yet. 

According to He'siod, the next age is the Heroic, in which theworld began to aspire toward better things; but OVID omits thisaltogether, and gives, as the fourth and last, the Iron Age, alsocalled the Plutonian Age, full of all sorts of hardships andwickedness. His description of it is as follows:

 Hard steel succeeded then, And stubborn as the metal were the men. Truth, Modesty, and Shame the world forsook; Fraud, Avarice, and Force their places took. Then sails were spread to every wind that blew; Raw were the sailors, and the depths were new: Trees rudely hollowed did the waves sustain, Ere ships in triumph plough'd the watery plain. Then landmarks limited to each his right; For all before was common as the light. Nor was the ground alone required to bear Her annual income to the crooked share; But greedy mortals, rummaging her store, Digged from her entrails first the precious ore; (Which next to hell the prudent gods had laid), And that alluring ill to sight displayed: Thus cursed steel, and more accursed gold, Gave mischief birth, and made that mischief bold; And double death did wretched man invade, By steel assaulted, and by gold betrayed. Now (brandished weapons glittering in their hands) Mankind is broken loose from moral bands: No rights of hospitality remain; The guest by him who harbored him is slain; The son-in-law pursues the father's life; The wife her husband murders, he the wife; The step-dame poison for the son prepares, The son inquires into his father's years. Faith flies, and Piety in exile mourns; And Justice, here oppressed, to heaven returns. 

The Scriptures assert that the wickedness of mankind was the causeof the Noachian flood, or deluge. So, also, we find that, in Grecianmythology, like causes led to the deluge of Deuca'lion. Therefore, before giving Ovid's account of this latter event, we give, fromHesiod, a curious account of

THE ORIGIN OF EVIL, AND ITS INTRODUCTION INTO THE WORLD. 

It appears from the legend that, during a controversy betweenthe gods and men, Pro-me'theus, [Footnote: In most Greek propernames ending in 'eus', the 'eus' is pronounced in one syllable;as Or'pheus, pronounced Or'phuse. ] who is said to have surpassedall his fellow-men in intellectual vigor and sagacity, stole firefrom the skies, and, concealing it in a hollow staff, brought itto man. Jupiter, angry at the theft of that which had been reservedfrom mortals for wise purposes, resolved to punish Prometheus, andthrough him all mankind, to show that it was not given to man toelude the wisdom of the gods. He therefore caused Vulcan to forman image of air and water, to give it human voice and strength, and make it assume the form of a beautiful woman, like the immortalgoddesses themselves. Minerva endowed this new creation withartistic skill, Venus gave her the witchery of beauty, Mercuryinspired her with an artful disposition, and the Graces addedall their charms. But we append the following extracts from thebeautifully written account by Hesiod, beginning with the commandwhich Jupiter gave to Vulcan, the fire-god:

 Thus spoke the sire, whom heaven and earth obey, And bade the fire-god mould his plastic clay; In-breathe the human voice within her breast; With firm-strung nerves th'elastic limbs invest; Her aspect fair as goddesses above-- A virgin's likeness, with the brows of love. 

 He bade Minerva teach the skill that dyes The wool with color's as the shuttle flies: He called the magic of Love's charming queen To breathe around a witchery of mien; Then plant the rankling stings of keen desire And cares that trick the limbs with pranked attire: Bade Her'mes [Footnote: Mercury. ] last impart the Craft refined Of thievish manners, and a shameless mind. 

 He gives command--the inferior powers obey-- The crippled artist [Footnote: Vulcan. ] moulds the tempered clay: A maid's coy image rose at Jove's behest; Minerva clasped the zone, diffused too vest; Adored Persuasion and the Graces young Her tapered limbs with golden jewels hung; Round her smooth brow the beauteous-tressed Hours A garland twined of Spring's purpureal flowers. 

 The whole attire Minerva's graceful art Disposed, adjusted, formed to every part; And last, the winged herald [Footnote: Mercury. ] of the skies, Slayers of Argus, gave the gift of lies-- Gave trickish manners, honeyed words instilled, As he that rolls the deepening thunder willed: Then by the feathered messenger of Heaven The name PANDO'RA to the maid was given; For all the gods conferred a gifted grace To crown this mischief of the mortal race. 

Thus furnished, Pandora was brought as a gift from Jupiter tothe dwelling of Ep-i-me'theus, the brother of Prometheus; andthe former, dazzled by her charms, received her in spite of thewarnings of his sagacious brother, and made her his wife. 

 The sire commands the winged herald bear The finished nymph, th' inextricable snare. To Epimetheus was the present brought: Prometheus' warning vanished from his thought-- That he disdain each offering of the skies, And straight restore, lest ill to man arise. But he received, and, conscious, knew too late Th' insidious gift, and felt the curse of fate. 

In the dwelling of Epimetheus stood a closed casket, which hehad been forbidden to open; but Pandora, disregarding theinjunction, raised the lid; when lo! to her consternation, allthe evils hitherto unknown to mortals poured out, and spreadthemselves over the earth. In terror at the sight of these monsters, Pandora shut down the lid just in time to prevent the escape ofHope, which thus remained to man, his chief support and consolationamid the trials of his pilgrimage. 

 On earth, of yore, the sons of men abode From evil free, and labor's galling load; Free from diseases that; with racking rage, Precipitate the pale decline of age. Now swift the days of manhood haste away, And misery's pressure turns the temples gray. The Woman's hands an ample casket bear; She lifts the lid--she scatters ill in air. 

 Hope sole remained within, nor took her flight-- Beneath the vessel's verge concealed from light; Issued the rest, in quick dispersion buried, And woes innumerous roamed the breathing world: With ills the land is full, with ills the sea; Diseases haunt our frail humanity; Self-wandering through the noon, at night they glide Voiceless--a voice the power all-wise denied: Know, then, this awful truth: it is not given To elude the wisdom of omniscient Heaven. --Trans. By ELTON. 

PROFESSOR BLACKIE has made this legend the subject of a pleasingpoem, from which we take the following extracts, beginning withthe acceptance by Epimetheus of the gift from Jupiter. The deludedmortal exclaims--

 "Bless thee, bless thee, gentle Hermes! Once I sinned, and strove Vainly with my haughty brother 'Gainst Olympian Jove. Now my doubts his love hath vanquished; Evil knows not he, Whose free-streaming grace prepared Such gift of gods for me. Henceforth I and fair Pandora, Joined in holy love, Only one in heaven will worship-- Cloud-compelling Jove. " Thus he; and from the god received The glorious gift of Jove, And with fond embracement clasped her, Thrilled by potent love; And in loving dalliance with her Lived from day to day, While her bounteous smiles diffusive Scared pale care away. 

 By the mountain, by the river, 'Neath the shaggy pine, By the cool and grassy fountain Where clear waters shine, He with her did lightly stray, Or softly did recline, Drinking sweet intoxication From that form divine. 

 One day, when the moon had wheeled Four honeyed weeks away, From her chamber came Pandora Decked with trappings gay, And before fond Epimetheus Fondly she did stand, A box all bright with lucid opal Holding in her hand. 

 "Dainty box!" cried Epimetheus. "Dainty well may't be, " Quoth Pandora--"curious Vulcan Framed it cunningly; Jove bestowed it in my dowry: Like bright Phoebus' ray It shines without; within, what wealth I know not to this day. "

It will be observed in what follows that the poet does not strictlyadhere to the legend as given by Hesiod, in which it is statedthat Pandora, probably under the influence of curiosity, herselfraised the lid of the mysterious casket. The poet, instead, attributes the act to Epimetheus, and so relieves Pandora of theodium and the guilt. 

 "Let me see, " quoth Epimetheus, "What my touch can do!" And swiftly to his finger's call The box wide open flew. O heaven! O hell! What Pandemonium In the pouncet dwells! How it quakes, and how it quivers; How it seethes and swells! Misty steams from it upwreathing, Wave on wave is spread! Like a charnel-vault, 'tis breathing Vapors of the dead! Fumes on fumes as from a throat Of sooty Vulcan rise, Clouds of red and blue and yellow Blotting the fair skies! And the air, with noisome stenches, As from things that rot, Chokes the breather--exhalation From the infernal pot. And amid the thick-curled vapors Ghastly shapes I see Of dire diseases, Epimetheus, Launched on earth by thee. A horrid crew! Some lean and dwindled, Some with boils and blains Blistered, some with tumors swollen, And water in the veins; Some with purple blotches bloated, Some with humors flowing Putrid, some with creeping tetter Like a lichen growing O'er the dry skin scaly-crusted; Some with twisted spine Dwarfing low with torture slow The human form divine; Limping some, some limbless lying; Fever, with frantic air, And pale consumption veiling death With looks serenely fair. 

 All the troop of cureless evils, Rushing reinless forth From thy damned box, Pandora, Seize the tainted earth! And to lay the marshalled legions Of our fiendish pains, Hope alone, a sorry charmer, In the box remains. Epimetheus knew the dolors, But he knew too late; Jealous Jove himself, now vainly, Would revoke the fate. And he cursed the fair Pandora, But he cursed in vain; Still, to fools, the fleeting pleasure Buys the lasting pain!

WHAT PROMETHEUS PERSONIFIED. 

PROFESSOR BLACKIE says, regarding Prometheus, that the commonconception of him is, that he was the representative of freedomin contest with despotism. He thinks, however, that Goethe isnearer the depth of the myth when, in his beautiful lyric, herepresents Prometheus as the impersonation of that indefatigableendurance in man which conquers the earth by skilful labor, inopposition to and despite; those terrible influences of the wild, elemental forces of Nature which the Greeks supposed wereconcentrated in the person of Jove. Accordingly, PROFESSOR BLACKIE, in his Legend of Prometheus; represents him as proclaiming, in thefollowing language, his empire on the earth, in opposition to thepowers above:

 "Jove rules above: Fate willed it so. 'Tis well; Prometheus rules below. Their gusty games let wild winds play, And clouds on clouds in thick array Muster dark armies in the sky: Be mine a harsher trade to ply-- This solid Earth, this rocky frame To mould, to conquer, and to tame-- And to achieve the toilsome plan My workman shall be MAN. 

 "The Earth is young. Even with these eyes I saw the molten mountains rise From out the seething deep, while Earth Shook at the portent of their birth. I saw from out the primal mud The reptiles crawl, of dull, cold blood, While winged lizards, with broad stare, Peered through the raw and misty air. Where then was Cretan Jove? Where then This king of gods and men?

 "When, naked from his mother Earth, Weak and defenceless, man crept forth, And on mis-tempered solitude Of unploughed field and unclipped wood Gazed rudely; when; with brutes, he fed On acorns, and his stony bed In dark, unwholesome caverns found, No skill was then to tame the ground, No help came then from him above-- This tyrannous, blustering Jove. 

 "The Earth is young. Her latest birth, This weakling man, my craft shall girth With cunning strength. Him I will take, And in stern arts my scholar make. This smoking reed, in which hold The empyrean spark, shall mould Rock and hard steel to use of man: He shall be as a god to plan And forge all things to his desire By alchemy of fire. 

 "These jagged cliffs that flout the air, Harsh granite rocks, so rudely bare, Wise Vulcan's art and mine shall own To piles of shapeliest beauty grown. The steam that snorts vain strength away Shall serve the workman's curious sway, Like a wise child; as clouds that sail White-winged before the summer gale, The smoking chariot o'er the land Shall roll at his command. 

 "'Blow, winds, and crack your checks!' my home Stands firm beneath Jove's rattling dome, This stable Earth. Here let me work! The busy spirits that eager lurk Within a thousand laboring breasts Here let me rouse; and whoso rests From labor, let him rest from life. To 'live's to strive;' and in the strife To move the rock and stir the clod Man makes himself a god!"

THE PUNISHMENT OF PROMETHEUS. 

Regarding the punishment of Prometheus for his daring act, thelegend states that Jupiter bound him with chains to a rock orpillar, supposed to be in Scythia, and sent an eagle to preywithout ceasing on his liver, which grew every night as much asit had lost during the day. After an interval of thirty thousandyears Hercules, a hero of great strength and courage, slew theeagle and set the sufferer free. The Greek poet ÆS'CHYLUS, justlystyled the father of Grecian tragedy, has made the punishment ofPrometheus the basis of a drama, entitled Prometheus Bound, whichmany think is this poet's masterpiece, and of which it has beenremarked:

"Nothing can be grander than the scenery in which the poet hasmade his hero suffer. He is chained to a desolate and stupendousrock at the extremity of earth's remotest wilds, frowning overold ocean. The daughters of O-ce'a-nus, who constitute the chorusof the tragedy, come to comfort and calm him; and even the agedOceanus himself, and afterward Mercury, do all they can to persuadehim to submit to his oppressor, Jupiter. But all to no purpose;he sternly and triumphantly refuses. Meanwhile, the tempest rages, the lightnings flash upon the rock, the sands are torn up bywhirlwinds, the seas are dashed against the sky, and all theartillery of heaven is leveled against his bosom, while he proudlydefies the vengeance of his tyrant, and sinks into the earth tothe lower regions, calling on the Powers of Justice to avenge hiswrongs. "

In trying to persuade the defiant Prometheus to relent, Æschylusrepresents Mercury as thus addressing him:

 "I have indeed, methinks, said much in vain, For still thy heart, beneath my showers of prayers, Lies dry and hard! nay, leaps like a young horse Who bites against the new bit in his teeth, And tugs and struggles against the new-tried rein, Still fiercest in the weakest thing of all, Which sophism is--for absolute will alone, When left to its motions in perverted minds, Is worse than null for strength! Behold and see, Unless my words persuade thee, what a blast And whirlwind of inevitable woe Must sweep persuasion through thee! For at first The Father will split up this jut of rock With the great thunder and the bolted flame, And hide thy body where the hinge of stone Shall catch it like an arm! and when thou hast passed A long black time within, thou shalt come out To front the sun; and Zeus's winged hound, The strong, carnivorous eagle, shall wheel down To meet thee--self-called to a daily feast-- And set his fierce beak in thee, and tear off The long rags of thy flesh, and batten deep Upon thy dusky liver!

 "Do not look For any end, moreover, to this curse, Or ere some god appear to bear thy pangs On his own head vicarious, and descend With unreluctant step the darks of hell, And the deep glooms enringing Tartarus! Then ponder this: the threat is not growth Of vain invention--it is spoken and meant! For Zeus's mouth is impotent to lie, And doth complete the utterance in the act. So, look to it, thou! take heed! and nevermore Forget good counsel to indulge self-will!

To which Prometheus answers as follows:

 "Unto me, the foreknower, this mandate of power, He cries, to reveal it! And scarce strange is my fate, if I suffer from hate At the hour that I feel it! Let the rocks of the lightning, all bristling and whitening, Flash, coiling me round! While the ether goes surging 'neath thunder and scourging Of wild winds unbound! Let the blast of the firmament whirl from its place The earth rooted below-- And the brine of the ocean, in rapid emotion, Be it driven in the face Of the stars up in heaven, as they walk to and fro! Let him hurl me anon into Tartarus--on-- To the blackest degree, With necessity's vortices strangling me down! But he cannot join death to a fate meant for me!" --Trans. By ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING. 

THE SUFFERINGS OF PROMETHEUS. 

We close this subject with a brief extract from the PrometheusBound of the English poet SHELLEY, in which the sufferings ofthe defiant captive are vividly portrayed:

 "No change, no pause, no hope! yet I endure. I ask the Earth, have not the mountains felt? I ask yon Heaven, the all-beholding Sun, Has it not seen? The Sea, in storm or calm, Heaven's ever-changing shadow, spread below, Have its deaf waves not heard my agony? Ah me! alas, pain, pain ever, forever!

 The crawling glaciers pierce me with the spears Of their moon-freezing crystals; the bright chains Eat with their burning gold into my bones. Heaven's winged hound, polluting from thy lips His beak in poison not his own, tears up My heart; and shapeless sights come wandering by-- The ghastly people of the realm of dream Mocking me; and the Earthquake fiends are charged To wrench the rivets from my quivering wounds When the rocks split and close again behind; While from their loud abysses howling throng The genii of the storm. "

Returning now to the poet Ovid, we present the account which hegives of the Deluge, or the destruction of mankind by a flood, called by the Greeks, THE DELUGE OF DEUCALION. 

Deucalion is represented as the son of Prometheus, and is styledthe father of the Greek nation of post-diluvian times. When Jupiterdetermined to destroy the human race on account of its impiety, it was his first design, OVID tells us, to accomplish it with fire. But his own safety demanded the employment of a less dangerousagency. 

 Already had Jove tossed the flaming brand, And rolled the thunder in his spacious hand, Preparing to discharge on seas and land; But stopped, for fear, thus violently driven, The sparks should catch his axle-tree of heaven-- Remembering, in the Fates, a time when fire Should to the battlements of heaven aspire, And all his blazing worlds above should burn, And all the inferior globe to cinders turn. His dire artillery thus dismissed, he bent His thoughts to some securer punishment; Concludes to pour a watery deluge down, And what he durst not burn resolves to drown. 

In all this myth, it will be seen, Jupiter may very properly beconsidered as a personification of the elemental strife thatdrowned a guilty world. Deucalion, warned, by his father, of thecoming deluge, thereupon made himself an ark or skiff, and, puttingprovisions into it, entered it with his wife, Pyrrha. The wholeearth is then overspread with the flood of waters, and all animallife perishes, except Deucalion and his wife. 

 The northern breath that freezes floods, Jove binds, With all the race of cloud-dispelling winds: The south he loosed, who night and horror brings, And fogs are shaken from his flaggy wings. From his divided beard two streams he pours; His head and rheumy eyes distil in showers. The skies, from pole to pole, with peals resound; And showers enlarged come pouring on the ground. 

 Nor from his patrimonial heaven alone Is Jove content to pour his vengeance down: Aid from his brother of the seas he craves, To help him with auxiliary waves. The watery tyrant calls his brooks and floods, Who roll from mossy caves, their moist abodes, And with perpetual urns his palace fill; To whom, in brief, he thus imparts his will:

 Small exhortation needs; your powers employ, And this bad world (so Jove requires) destroy. Let loose the reins to all your watery store; Bear down the dams and open every door. "

 The floods, by nature enemies to land, And proudly swelling with their new command, Remove the living stones that stopped their way, And, gushing from their source, augment the sea. Then with his mace their monarch struck the ground: With inward trembling Earth received the wound, And rising stream a ready passage found. The expanded waters gather on the plain, They float the fields and overtop the grain; Then, rushing onward, with a sweepy sway, Bear flocks and folds and laboring hinds away. Nor safe their dwellings were; for, sapped by floods, Their houses fell upon their household gods. The solid hills, too strongly built to fall, High o'er their heads behold a watery wall. Now seas and earth were in confusion lost-- A world of waters, and without a coast. 

 One climbs a cliff; one in his boat is borne, And ploughs above where late he sowed his corn. Others o'er chimney-tops and turrets row, And drop their anchors on the meads below; Or, downward driven, they bruise the tender vine, Or, tossed aloft, are hurled against a pine. And where of late the kids had cropped the grass, The monsters of the deep now take their place. Insulting Ner'e-ids on the cities ride, And wondering dolphins o'er the palace glide. On leaves and masts of mighty oaks they browse, And their broad fins entangle in the boughs. 

 The frighted wolf now swims among the sheep, The yellow lion wanders in the deep; His rapid force no longer helps the boar, The stag swims faster than he ran before. The fowls, long beating on their wings in vain, Despair of land, and drop into the main. Now hills and vales no more distinction know, And levelled nature lies oppressed below. The most of mortals perished in the flood, The small remainder dies for want of food. 

Deucalion and Pyrrha were conveyed to the summit of Mount Parnassus, the highest mountain in Central Greece. According to Ovid, Deucalionnow consulted the ancient oracle of Themis respecting the restorationof mankind, and received the following response:"Depart from the temple, veil your heads, loosen your girdedvestments, and cast behind you the great bones of your parent. " Atlength Deucalion discovered the meaning of the oracle--the bonesbeing, by a very natural figure, the stones, or rocky heights, ofthe earth. The poet then gives the following account of theabatement of the waters, and of the appearance of the earth:

 "When Jupiter, surveying earth from high, Beheld it in a lake of water lie-- That, where so many millions lately lived, But two, the best of either sex, survived-- He loosed the northern wind: fierce Boreas flies To puff away the clouds and purge the skies: Serenely, while he blows, the vapors driven Discover heaven to earth and earth to heaven; The billows fall while Neptune lays his mace On the rough sea, and smooths its furrowed face. Already Triton [Footnote: Son of Neptune. ] at his call appears Above the waves: a Tyrian robe he wears, And in his hands a crooked trumpet bears. The sovereign bids him peaceful sounds inspire, And give the waves the signal to retire. The waters, listening to the trumpet's roar, Obey the summons, and forsake the shore. A thin circumference of land appears, And Earth, but not at once, her visage rears, And peeps upon the seas from upper grounds: The streams, but just contained within their bounds, By slow degrees into their channels crawl, And earth increases as the waters fall: In longer time the tops of trees appear, Which mud on their dishonored branches bear. At length the world was all restored to view, But desolate, and of a sickly hue: Nature beheld herself, and stood aghast, A dismal desert and a silent waste. 

When the waters had abated Deucalion left the rocky heights behindhim, in obedience to the direction of the oracle, and went todwell in the plains below. 

MORAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GODS, AND OF THEIR RULE OVER MANKIND. 

It is a prominent feature of the polytheistic system of the Greeksthat the gods are represented as subject to all the passions andfrailties of human nature. There were, indeed, among thempersonifications of good and of evil, as we see in A'te, thegoddess of revenge or punishment, and in the Erin'nys (or Furies), who avenge violations of filial duty, punish perjury, and are themaintainers of order both in the moral and the natural world; yetwhile these moral ideas restrained and checked men, the gods seemto have been almost wholly free from such control. "The societyof Olympus, therefore, " says MAHAFFY, "is only an ideal Greeksociety in the lowest sense--the ideal of the school-boy whothinks all control irksome, and its absence the greatest good--theideal of a voluptuous man, who has strong passions, and longs forthe power to indulge them without unpleasant consequences. Itappears, therefore, that the Homeric picture of Olympus is veryvaluable, as disclosing to us the poet's notion of a society freedfrom the restraints of religion; for the rhapsodists [Footnote:Rhapsodist, a term applied to the reciters of Greek verse. ] weredealing a death-blow (perhaps unconsciously) to the receivedreligious belief by these very pictures of sin and crime amongthe gods. Their idea is a sort of semi-monarchical aristocracy, where a number of persons have the power to help favorites, andthwart the general progress of affairs; where love of factionoverpowers every other consideration, and justifies violence ordeceit. [Footnote: "Social Life in Greece, " by J. P. Mahaffy. ]

MR. GLADSTONE has given us, in the following extract, his viewsof what he calls the "intense humanity" of the Olympian system, drawn from what its great expounder has set forth in the Iliadand the Odyssey. "That system, " he says, "exhibits a kind of royalor palace life of man, but on the one hand more splendid andpowerful, on the other more intense and free. It is a wonderfuland a gorgeous creation. It is eminently in accordance with thesignification of the English epithet--rather a favorite, apparently, with our old writers--the epithet jovial, which is derived fromthe Latin name of its head. It is a life of all the pleasures ofmind and body, of banquet and of revel, of music and of song; alife in which solemn grandeur alternates with jest and gibe; alife of childish willfulness and of fretfulness, combined withserious, manly, and imperial cares; for the Olympus of Homer hasat least this one recommendation to esteem--that it is not peopledwith the merely lazy and selfish gods of Epicurus, but itsinhabitants busily deliberate on the government of man, and intheir debates the cause of justice wins. 

"I do not now discuss the moral titles of the Olympian scheme;what I dwell upon is its intense humanity, alike in its greatnessand its littleness, its glory and its shame. As the cares andjoys of human life, so the structure of society below is reflected, by the wayward wit of man, on heaven above. Though the names andfundamental traditions of the several deities were wholly or ingreat part imported from abroad, their characters, relations, andattributes passed under a Hellenizing process, which graduallymarked off for them special provinces and functions, according tolaws which appear to have been mainly original and indigenous, and to have been taken by analogy from the division of labor inpolitical society. The Olympian society has its complement ofofficers and servants, with their proper functions. He-phæs'tus(or Vulcan) moulds the twenty golden thrones which moveautomatically to form the circle of the council of the gods, andbuilds for each of his brother deities a separate palace in thedeep-folded recesses of the mighty mountain. Music and song aresupplied by Apollo and the Muses; Gan-y-me'de and He'be are thecup-bearers, Hermes and Iris are the messengers; but Themis, inwhom is impersonated the idea of deliberation and of relativerights, is the summoner of the Great Assembly of the gods in theTwentieth Iliad, when the great issue of the Trojan war is to bedetermined. " [Footnote: Address to the Edinburgh University, November 3, 1865. ]

But, however prone the gods were to evil passions, and subjectto human frailties, they were not believed to approve (in men)of the vices in which they themselves indulged, but were, onthe contrary, supposed to punish violations of justice andhumanity, and to reward the brave and virtuous. We learn thatthey were to be appeased by libations and sacrifice; and theiraid, not only in great undertakings, but in the common affairsof life, was to be obtained by prayer and supplication. Forinstance, in the Ninth Book of HOMER'S Iliad the agedPhoe'nix--warrior and sage--in a beautiful allegory personifying"Offence" and "Prayers, " represents the former as robust and fleetof limb, outstripping the latter, and hence roaming over the earthand doing immense injury to mankind; but the Prayers, followingafter, intercede with Jupiter, and, if we avail ourselves of them, repair the evil; but if we neglect them we are told that thevengeance of the wrong shall overtake us. Thus, Phoenix says ofthe gods, "If a mortal man Offend them by transgression of their laws, Libation, incense, sacrifice, and prayer, In meekness offered, turn their wrath away. Prayers are Jove's daughters, Which, though far distant, yet with constant pace Follow Offence. Offence, robust of limb, And treading firm the ground, outstrips them all, And over all the earth before them runs, Hurtful to man. They, following, heal the hurt. Received respectfully when they approach, They yield us aid and listen when we pray; But if we slight, and with obdurate heart Resist them, to Saturinian Jove they cry. Against us, supplicating that Offence May cleave to us for vengeance of the wrong. " --COWPER'S Trans. 

In the Seventeenth Book, Men-e-la'us is represented going intobattle, "supplicating, first, the sire of all"--that is, Jupiter, the king of the gods. In the Twenty-third Book, Antil'ochusattributes the ill-success of Eu-me'lus in the chariot-race tohis neglect of prayer. He says, "He should have offered prayer; then had be not Arrived, as now, the hindmost of us all. "

Numerous other instances might be given, from the works of theGrecian poets, of the supposed efficacy of prayer to the gods. 

The views of the early Greeks respecting the dispensations of anoverruling Providence, as shown in their belief in retributivejustice, are especially prominent in some of the sublime chorusesof the Greek tragedians, and in the "Works and Days" of Hesiod. For instance, Æschylus says, The ruthless and oppressive power May triumph for its little hour; But soon, with all their vengeful train, The sullen Furies rise, Break his full force, and whirl him down Thro' life's dark paths, unpitied and unknown. --POTTER'S Trans. 

The following extracts from Hesiod illustrate the certainty withwhich Justice was believed to overtake and punish those who perverther ways, while the good are followed by blessings. They alsoshow that the crimes of one are often "visited on all. "

 Earth's crooked judges--lo! the oath's dread god Avenging runs, and tracks them where they trod. Rough are the ways of Justice as the sea, Dragged to and fro by men's corrupt decree; Bribe-pampered men! whose hands, perverting, draw The right aside, and warp the wrested law. 

 Though while Corruption on their sentence waits They thrust pale Justice from their haughty gates, Invisible their steps the Virgin treads, And musters evil o'er their sinful heads. She with the dark of air her form arrays, And walks in awful grief the city ways: Her wail is heard; her tear, upbraiding, falls O'er their stained manners and devoted walls. 

 But they who never from the right have strayed-- Who as the citizen the stranger aid-- They and their cities flourish: genial peace Dwells in their borders, and their youth increase; Nor Jove, whose radiant eyes behold afar, Hangs forth in heaven the signs of grievous war; Nor scath, nor famine; on the righteous prey-- Peace crowns the night, and plenty cheers the day. Rich are their mountain oaks: the topmost tree The acorns fill, its trunk the hiving bee; Their sheep with fleeces pant; their women's race Reflect both parents in the infant face: Still flourish they, nor tempt with ships the main; The fruits of earth are poured from every plain. 

 But o'er the wicked race, to whom belong The thought of evil and the deed of wrong, Saturnian Jove, of wide-beholding eyes, Bids the dark signs of retribution rise; And oft the deeds of one destructive fall-- The crimes of one--are visited on all. The god sends down his angry plagues from high-- Famine and pestilence--in heaps they die! Again, in vengeance of his wrath, he falls On their great hosts, and breaks their tottering walls;

 Scatters their ships of war; and where the sea Heaves high its mountain billows, there is he!

 Ponder, O Judges! in your inmost thought The retribution by his vengeance wrought. Invisible, the gods are ever nigh, Pass through the midst, and bend th' all-seeing eye. The man who grinds the poor, who wrests the right, Aweless of Heaven, stands naked to their sight: For thrice ten thousand holy spirits rove This breathing world, the delegates of Jove; Guardians of man, their glance alike surveys The upright judgments and the unrighteous ways. 

 A virgin pure is Justice, and her birth August from him who rules the heavens and earth-- A creature glorious to the gods on high, Whose mansion is yon everlasting sky. Driven by despiteful wrong she takes her seat, In lowly grief, at Jove's eternal feet. There of the soul unjust her plaints ascend: So rue the nations when their kings offend-- When, uttering wiles and brooding thoughts of ill, They bend the laws, and wrest them to their will. Oh! gorged with gold, ye kingly judges, hear! Make straight your paths, your crooked judgments fear, That the foul record may no more be seen-- Erased, forgot, as though it ne'er had been. --Trans. By ELTON. 

OATHS. 

As in the beginning of the foregoing extract, so the poetsfrequently refer to the oaths that were taken by those who enteredinto important compacts, showing that then as now, and as in OldTestament times, some overruling deity was invoked to witnessthe agreement or promise, and punish its violation. Sometimesthe person touched the altar of the god by whom he swore, or theblood that was shed in the ceremonial sacrifice, while some walkedthrough the fire to sanctify their oaths. When Abraham swore untothe King of Sodom that he would not enrich himself with any ofthe king's goods, he lifted up his hand to heaven, pointing tothe supposed residence of the Deity, as if calling on him towitness the oath. When he requires his servant to take an oathunto him he says, "Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: andI will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth;"and Jacob requires the same ceremony from Joseph when the latterpromises to carry his father's bones up out of Egypt. 

When the goddess Vesta swore an oath in the very presence ofJupiter, as represented in Homer's hymn, she touched his head, as the most fitting ceremonial. 

 Touching the head of Ægis-bearing Jove, A mighty oath she swore, and hath fulfilled, That she among the goddesses of heaven Would still a virgin be. 

We find a military oath described by Æschylus in the drama of"The Seven Chiefs against Thebes":

 O'er the hollow of a brazen shield A bull they slew, and, touching with their hands The sacrificial stream, they called aloud On Mars, Eny'o, and blood-thirsty Fear, And swore an oath or in the dust to lay These walls, and give our people to the sword, Or, perishing, to steep the land in blood!

That there was sometimes a fire ordeal to sanctify the oath, welearn from the Antig'o-ne of SOPHOCLES. The Messenger who broughttidings of the burial of Polyni'ces says, "Ready were we to grasp the burning steel, To pass through fire, and by the gods to swear The deed was none of ours, nor aught we knew Of living man by whom 'twas planned or done. "

In the Twelfth Book of VIRGIL'S Æne'id, when King Turnus entersinto a treaty with the Trojans, he touches the altars of hisgods and the flames, as part of the ceremony:

 "I touch the sacred altars, touch the flames, And all these powers attest, and all their names, Whatever chance befall on either side, No term of time this union shall divide; No force nor fortune shall my vows unbind, To shake the steadfast tenor of my mind. "

The ancient poets and orators denounce perjury in the strongestterms, and speak of the offence as one of a most odious character. 

THE FUTURE STATE. 

The future state in which the Greeks believed was to some extentone of rewards and punishments. The souls of most of the dead, however, were supposed to descend to the realms of Ha'des, wherethey remained, joyless phantoms, the mere shadows of their formerselves, destitute of mental vigor, and, like the spectres of theNorth American Indians, pursuing, with dreamlike vacancy, theempty images of their past occupations and enjoyments. So cheerlessis the twilight of the nether world that the ghost of Achillesinforms Ulysses that it would rather live the meanest hirelingon earth than be doomed to continue in the shades below, eventhough as sovereign ruler there. Thus Achilles asks him--

 "How hast thou dared descend into the gloom Of Hades, where the shadows of the dead, Forms without intellect, alone reside?"

And when Ulysses tries to console him by reminding him that hewas even there supreme over all his fellow-shades, he receivesthis reply:

 "Renowned Ulysses! think not death a theme Of consolation: I would rather live The servile hind for hire, and eat the bread Of some man scantily himself sustained, Than sovereign empire hold o'er all the shades. " --Odyssey, by COWPER, B. XI. 

But even in Hades a distinction is made between the good and thebad, for there Ulysses finds Mi'nos, the early law-giver of Crete, advanced to the position of judge over the assembled shades--absolving the just, and condemning the guilty. 

 High on a throne, tremendous to behold, Stern Minos waves a mace of burnished gold; Around, ten thousand thousand spectres stand, Through the wide dome of Dis, a trembling band; Whilst, as they plead, the fatal lots he rolls, Absolves the just, and dooms the guilty souls. --Odyssey, by POPE, B. XI. 

The kinds of punishment inflicted here are, as might be expected, wholly earthly in their nature, and may be regarded rather asthe reflection of human passions than as moral retributions bythe gods. Thus, Tan'talus, placed up to his chin in water, whichever flowed away from his lips, was tormented with unquenchablethirst, while the fruits hanging around him constantly eludedhis grasp. The story of Tantalus is well told by PROFESSOR BLACKIE, as follows:

 Tantalus. 

 O Tantalus! thou wert a man More blest than all since earth began Its weary round to travel; But, placed in Paradise, like Eve, Thine own damnation thou didst weave, Without help from the devil. Alas! I fear thy tale to tell; Thou'rt in the deepest pool of hell, And shalt be there forever. For why? When thou on lofty seat Didst sit, and eat immortal meat With Jove, the bounteous Giver, The gods before thee loosed their tongue, And many a mirthful ballad sung, And all their secrets open flung Into thy mortal ear. 

The poet then goes on to describe the gossip, and pleasures, andjealousies, and scandals of Olympus which Tantalus heard andwitnessed, and then proceeds as follows:

 But witless he such grace to prize; And, with licentious babble, He blazed the secrets of the skies Through all the human rabble, And fed the greed of tattlers vain With high celestial scandal, And lent to every eager brain And wanton tongue a handle Against the gods. For which great sin, By righteous Jove's command, In hell's black pool up to the chin The thirsty king doth stand: With-parched throat he longs to drink, But when he bends to sip, The envious waves receding sink, And cheat his pining lip. 

Like in character was the punishment inflicted upon Sis'y-phus, "the most crafty of men, " as Homer calls him. Being condemned toroll a huge stone up a hill, it proved to be a never-ending, still-beginning toil, for as soon as the stone reached the summitit rolled down again into the plain. So, also, Ix-i'on, "the Cainof Greece, " as he is expressly called--the first shedder of kindredblood--was doomed to be fastened, with brazen bands, to anever-revolving fiery wheel. But the very refinement of torment, similar to that inflicted upon Prometheus, was that suffered bythe giant Tit'y-us, who was placed on his back, while vulturesconstantly fed upon his liver, which grew again as fast as it waseaten. 

THE DESCENT OF OR'PHEUS. 

Only once do we learn that these torments ceased, and that waswhen the musician Orpheus, lyre in hand, descended to the lowerworld to reclaim his beloved wife, the lost Eu-ryd'i-ce. At themusic of his "golden shell" Tantalus forgot his thirst, Sisyphusrested from his toil, the wheel of Ixion stood still, and Tityusceased his moaning. The poet OVID thus describes the wonderfuleffects of the musician's skill:

 The very bloodless shades attention keep, And, silent, seem compassionate to weep; Even Tantalus his flood unthirsty views, Nor flies the stream, nor he the stream pursues: Ixion's wondrous wheel its whirl suspends, And the voracious vulture, charmed, attends; No more the Bel'i-des their toil bemoan, And Sisyphus, reclined, sits listening on the stone. --Trans. By CONGREVE. 

Pope's translation of this scene from the Iliad is peculiarlymelodious:

 But when, through all the infernal bounds Which flaming Phleg'e-thon surrounds, Love, strong as death, the poet led To the pale nations of the dead, What sounds were heard, What scenes appeared, O'er all the dreary coasts! Dreadful gleams, Dismal screams, Fires that glow, Shrieks of woe, Sullen moans, Hollow groans, And cries of tortured ghost!!!

 But hark! he strikes the golden lyre; And see! the tortured ghosts respire! See! shady forms advance! Thy stone, O Sisyphus, stands still, Ixion rests upon his wheel, And the pale spectres dance; The Furies sink upon their iron beds, And snakes uncurled hang listening round their heads. 

The Greeks also believed in an Elys'ium--some distant island ofthe ocean, ever cooled by refreshing breezes, and where springperpetual reigned--to which, after death, the blessed were conveyed, and where they were permitted to enjoy it happy destiny. In theFourth Book of the Odyssey the sea god Pro'teus, in predictingfor Menelaus a happier lot than that of Hades, thus describes theElysian plains:

 But oh! beloved of Heaven! reserved for thee A happier lot the smiling Fates decree: Free from that law beneath whose mortal sway Matter is changed and varying forms decay, Elysium shall be thine--the blissful plains Of utmost earth, where Rhadaman'thus reigns. Joys ever young, unmixed with pain or fear, Fill the wide circle of the eternal year. Stern Winter smiles on that auspicious clime; The fields are florid with unfading prime; From the bleak pole no winds inclement blow, Mould the round hail, or flake the fleecy snow; But from the breezy deep the blest inhale The fragrant murmurs of the western gale. --POPE'S Trans. 

Similar views are expressed by the lyric poet PINDAR in thefollowing lines:

 All whose steadfast virtue thrice Each side the grave unchanged hath stood, Still unseduced, unstained with vice-- They, by Jove's mysterious road, Pass to Saturn's realm of rest-- Happy isle, that holds the blest; Where sea-born breezes gently blow O'er blooms of gold that round them glow, Which Nature, boon from stream or strand Or goodly tree, profusely showers; Whence pluck they many a fragrant band, And braid their locks with never-fading flowers. --Trans. By A. MOORE. 

There is so much similarity between the mythology of the earlyGreeks and that of many of the Asiatic nations, that we giveplace here to the supposed meditations of a Hindu prince andskeptic on the great subject of a future state of existence, as a fitting close of our brief review of the religious beliefsof the ancients. Among the Asiatic nations are to be found accountsof the Creation, and of multitudes of gods, good and evil, allquite as pronounced as those that are derived from the Grecianmyths; and while the wildest and grossest of superstitious fancieshave prevailed among the common people, skepticism and atheisticdoubt are known to have been nearly universal among the learned. The poem which we give in this connection, therefore, thoughprofessedly a Hindu creation, may be accepted not only asportraying Hindu doubt and despondency, but also as a faithfulpicture of the anxiety, doubt, and almost utter despair, not onlyof the ancient Greeks; but of the entire heathen world, concerningthe destiny of mankind. 

The Hindu skeptic tells us that ever since mankind began theirrace on this earth they have been seeking for the "signs andsteps of a God;" and that in mystical India, where the deitieshover and swarm, and a million shrines stand open, with theirmyriad idols and, legions of muttering priests, mankind are stillgroping in darkness; still listening, and as yet vainly hopingfor a message that shall tell what the wonders of creation mean, and whither they tend; ever vainly seeking for a refuge from theills of life, and a rest beyond for the weary and heavy-laden, Heturns to the deified heroes of his race, and though long he watchesand worships for a solution of the mysteries of life, he waits invain for an answer, for their marble features never relax inresponse to his prayers and entreaties; and he says, mournfully, "Alas! for the gods are dumb. " The darts of death still fall assurely as ever, hurled by a Power unseen and a hand unknown; andbeyond the veil all is obscurity and gloom. 

 I. 

 All the world over, I wonder, in lands that I never have trod, Are the people eternally seeking for the signs and steps of a God? Westward across the ocean, and northward beyond the snow, Do they all stand gazing, as ever? and what do the wisest know?

 II. 

 Here, in this mystical India, the deities hover and swarm Like the wild bees heard in the tree-tops, or the gusts of a gathering storm; In the air men hear their voices, their feet on the rocks are seen, Yet we all say, "Whence is the message--and what may the wonders mean?"

 III. 

 A million shrines stand open, and ever the censer swings, As they bow to a mystic symbol or the figures of ancient kings; And the incense rises ever, and rises the endless cry Of those who are heavy-laden, and of cowards loath to die. 

 IV. 

 For the destiny drives us together like deer in a pass of the hills: Above is the sky, and around us the sound and the shot that kills. Pushed by a Power we see not, and struck by a hand unknown, We pray to the trees for shelter, and press our lips to a stone. 

 V. 

 The trees wave a shadowy answer, and the rock frowns hollow and grim, And the form and the nod of the demon are caught in the twilight dim; And we look to the sunlight falling afar on the mountain crest-- Is there never a path runs upward to a refuge there and a rest?

 VI. 

 The path--ah, who has shown it, and which is the faithful guide? The haven--ah, who has known it? for steep is the mountain-side. For ever the shot strikes surely, and ever the wasted breath Of the praying multitude rises, whose answer is only death!

 VII. 

 Here are the tombs of my kinsfolk, the first of an ancient name-- Chiefs who were slain on the war-field, and women who died in flame. They are gods, these kings of the foretime, they are spirits who guard our race: Ever I watch and worship--they sit with a marble face. 

 VIII. 

 And the myriad idols around me, and the legion of muttering priests-- The revels and rites unholy, the dark, unspeakable feasts-- What have they wrung from the silence? Hath even a Whisper come Of the secret--whence and whither? Alas! for the gods are dumb. 

Getting no light from the religious guides of his own country, he turns to the land where the English--the present rulers ofIndia--dwell, and asks, IX. 

 Shall I list to the word of the English, who come from the uttermost sea? "The secret, hath it been told you? and what is your message to me? It is naught but the wide-world story, how the earth and the heavens began-- How the gods are glad and angry, and a deity once was man. 

And so he gathers around him the mantle of doubt and despondency;he asks if life is, after all, but a dream and delusion, whileever and ever is forced upon him that other question, "Whereshall the dreamer awake?"

 X. 

 I had thought, "Perchance in the cities where the rulers of India dwell, Whose orders flash from the far land, who girdle the earth with a spell, They have fathomed the depths we float on, or measured the unknown main--" Sadly they turn from the venture, and say that the quest is vain. 

 XI. 

 Is life, then, a dream and delusion? and where shall the dreamer awake? Is the world seen like shadows on water? and what if the mirror break? Shall it pass as a camp that is struck, as a tent that is gathered and gone From the sands that were lamp-lit at eve, and at morning are level and lone?

 XII. 

 Is there naught in the heaven above, whence the hail and the levin are hurled, But the wind that is swept around us by the rush of the rolling world-- The wind that shall scatter my ashes, and bear me to silence and sleep, With the dirge and the sounds of lamenting, and voices of women who weep? --The Cornhill Magazine. 

What a commentary on all this doubt and despondency are themeditations of the Christian, who, "sustained and soothed by anunfaltering trust, " approaches his grave

 Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams! --BRYANT. 

 * * * * *

II. THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF GREECE. 

The earliest reliable information that we possess of the countrycalled Greece represents it in the possession of a number of rudetribes, of which the Pelas'gians were the most numerous andpowerful, and probably the most ancient. Of the early characterof the Pelasgians, and of the degree of civilization to whichthey had attained before the reputed founding of Argos, we haveunsatisfactory and conflicting accounts. On the one hand, theyare represented as no better than the rudest barbarians, dwellingin caves, subsisting on reptiles, herbs, and wild fruits, andstrangers to the simplest arts of civilized life. Other and morereliable traditions, however, attribute to them a knowledge ofagriculture, and some little acquaintance with navigation; whilethere is a strong probability that they were the authors of thosehuge structures commonly called Cyclopean, remains of which arestill visible in many parts of Greece and Italy, and on the westerncoast of Asia Minor. 

Argos, the capital of Ar'golis, is generally considered the mostancient city of Greece; and its reputed founding by In'achus, ason of the god O-ce'anus, 1856 years before the Christian era, is usually assigned as the period of the commencement of Grecianhistory. But the massive Cyclopean walls of Argos evidently showthe Pelasgic origin of the place, in opposition to the traditionaryPhoenician origin of Inachus, whose very existence is quiteproblematical. Indeed, although many of the traditions of theGreeks point to a contrary conclusion, the accounts usually givenof early foreign settlers in Greece, who planted colonies there, founded dynasties, built cities, and introduced a knowledge ofthe arts unknown to the ruder natives, must be taken with a greatdegree of abatement. The civilization of the Greeks and thedevelopment of their language bear all the marks of home growth, and probably were little affected by foreign influence. Still, many of these traditions are exceedingly interesting, and haveattained great celebrity. One of the most celebrated is thatwhich describes the founding of Athens, one of the renownedGrecian cities. 

THE FOUNDING OF ATHENS. 

Ce'crops, an Egyptian, is said to have led a colony from theDelta to Greece, about the year 1556 B. C. Two years later heproceeded to Attica, which had been desolated by a deluge a centurybefore, and there he is said to have founded, on the Cecropianrock--the Acrop'olis--a city which, under the followingcircumstances, he called Athens, in honor of the Grecian goddessAthe'na, whom the Romans called Minerva. 

It is an ancient Attic legend that about this time the gods hadbegun to choose favorite spots among the dwellings of man fortheir own residence; and whatever city a god chose, he gave tothat city protection, and there that particular deity wasworshipped with special homage. Now, it happened that both Neptuneand Minerva contended for the supremacy over this new city foundedby Cecrops; and Cecrops was greatly troubled by the contest, ashe knew not to which deity to render homage. So Jove summoned acouncil of the gods, and they decided that the supremacy shouldbe given to the one who should confer the greatest gift upon thefavored city. The story of the contest is told by PROFESSOR BLACKIEin the following verses. 

Mercury, the messenger of the gods, being sent to Cecrops, thusannounces to him the decision of the Council:

 "On the peaks of Olympus, the bright snowy-crested, The gods are assembled in council to-day, The wrath of Pos-ei'don, the mighty broad-breasted, 'Gainst Pallas, the spear-shaking maid, to allay. And thus they decree--that Poseidon offended And Pallas shall bring forth a gift to the place: On the hill of Erech'theus the strife shall be ended, When she with her spear, and the god with his mace, Shall strike the quick rock; and the gods shall deliver The sentence as Justice shall order; and thou Shalt see thy loved city established forever, With Jove for a judge, and the Styx for a vow. "

So the gods assembled, in the presence of Cecrops himself, onthe "hill of Erechtheus"--afterward known as the AthenianAcropolis--to witness the trial between the rival deities, asdescribed in the following language. First; Neptune strikes therock with his trident:

 Lo! at the touch of his trident a wonder! Virtue to earth from his deity flows; From the rift of the flinty rock, cloven asunder, A dark-watered fountain ebullient rose. Inly elastic, with airiest lightness It leapt, till it cheated the eyesight; and, lo! It showed in the sun, with a various brightness, The fine-woven hues of the heavenly bow. "WATER IS BEST!" cried the mighty, broad-breasted Poseidon; "O Cecrops, I offer to thee To ride on the back of the steeds foamy-crested That toss their wild manes on the huge-heaving sea. The globe thou shalt mete on the path of the waters, To thy ships shall the ports of far ocean be free; The isles of the sea shall be counted thy daughters, The pearls of the East shall be gathered for thee!"

Thus Neptune offered, as his gift--symbolized in the salt springthat he caused to issue from the rock--the dominion of the sea, with all the wealth and renown that flow from unrestricted commercewith foreign lands. 

But Minerva was now to make her trial:

 Then the gods, with a high-sounding pæan, Applauded; but Jove hushed the many-voiced tide; "For now with the lord of the briny Æge'an Athe'na shall strive for the city, " he cried. "See where she comes!" and she came, like Apollo, Serene with the beauty ripe wisdom confers; The clear-scanning eye, and the sure hand to follow The mark of the far-sighted purpose, were hers. Strong in the mail of her father she standeth, And firmly she holds the strong spear in her hand; But the wild hounds of war with calm power she commandeth, And fights but to pledge surer peace to the land. Chastely the blue-eyed approached, and, surveying The council of wise-judging gods without fear, The nod of her lofty-throned father obeying, She struck the gray rock with her nice-tempered spear. Lo! from the touch of the virgin a wonder! Virtue to earth from her deity flows: From the rift of the flinty rock, cloven asunder, An olive-tree, greenly luxuriant, rose-- Green but yet pale, like an eye-drooping maiden, Gentle, from full-blooded lustihood far; No broad-staring hues for rude pride to parade in, No crimson to blazon the banners of war. 

 Mutely the gods, with a calm consultation, Pondered the fountain and pondered the tree; And the heart of Poseidon, with high expectation, Throbbed till great Jove thus pronounced the decree: "Son of my father, thou mighty, broad-breasted Poseidon, the doom that I utter is true; Great is the might of thy waves foamy-crested When they beat the white walls of the screaming sea-mew; Great is the pride of the keel when it danceth, Laden with wealth, o'er the light-heaving wave-- When the East to the West, gayly floated, advanceth, With a word from the wise and a help from the brave. But earth--solid earth--is the home of the mortal That toileth to live, and that liveth to toil; And the green olive-tree twines the wreath of his portal Who peacefully wins his sure bread from the soil, " Thus Jove: and to heaven the council celestial Rose, and the sea-god rolled back to the sea; But Athena gave Athens her name, and terrestrial Joy from the oil of the green olive-tree. 

Thus Jove decided in favor of the peaceful pursuits of industryon the land, as against the more alluring promises but uncertainresults of commerce, thereby teaching this lesson in politicaleconomy--that a people consisting of mere merchants, and neglectingthe cultivation of the soil, never can become a great and powerfulnation. So Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, and patroness of allthe liberal arts and sciences, became the tutelary deity of Athens. The contest between her and Neptune was represented on one of thepediments of the Parthenon. 

Of the history of Athens for many centuries subsequent to itsalleged founding by Cecrops we have no certain information; butit is probable that down to about 683 B. C. It was ruled by kings, like all the other Grecian states. Of these kings the names ofThe'seus and Co'drus are the most noted. To the former is ascribedthe union of the twelve states of Attica into one political body, with Athens as the capital, and other important acts of governmentwhich won for him the love of the Athenian people. Consulting theoracle of Delphi concerning his new government, he is said to havereceived the following answer:

 From royal stems thy honor, Theseus, springs; By Jove beloved, the sire supreme of kings. See rising towns, see wide-extended states, On thee dependent, ask their future fates! Hence, hence with fear! Thy favored bark shall ride Safe o'er the surges of the foamy tide. 

About half a century after the time of Cecrops another Egyptian, named Dan'a-us, is said to have fled to Greece, with a familyof fifty daughters, and to have established a second Egyptiancolony in the vicinity of Argos. He subsequently became king ofArgos, and the inhabitants were called Dan'a-i. About the sametime Cadmus, a Phoenician, is reported to have led a colony intoBoeo'tia, bringing with him the Phoenician alphabet, the basisof the Grecian; and to have founded Cadme'a, which afterwardbecame the citadel of Thebes. Another colony is said to have beenled from Asia by Pe'lops, from whom the southern peninsula ofGreece derived its name of Peloponne'sus, and of whom Agamemnon, King of Myce'næ, was a lineal descendant. About this time a peoplecalled the Helle'nes--but whether a Pelasgic tribe or otherwiseis uncertain--first appeared in the south of Thessaly, and, gradually diffusing themselves over the whole country, became, by their martial spirit and active, enterprising genius, the rulingclass, and impressed new features upon the Grecian character. TheHellenes gave their name to the population of the whole peninsula, although the term Grecians was subsequently applied to them by theRomans. 

In accordance with the Greek custom of attributing the originof their tribes or nations to some remote mythical ancestor, Hel'len, a son of the fabulous Deuca'lion and Pyrrha, isrepresented as the father of the Hellen'ic nation. His threesons were Æ'o-lus, Do'rus, and Xu'thus, from the two former ofwhom are represented to have descended the Æo'lians and Do'rians;and from Achæ'us and I'on, sons of Xuthus, the Achæ'ans andIo'nians. These four Hellen'ic or Grecian tribes weredistinguished from one another by many peculiarities of languageand institutions. Hellen is said to have left his kingdom toÆolus, his eldest son; and the Æolian tribe spread the mostwidely, and long exerted the most influence in the affairs ofthe nation; but at a later period it was surpassed by the fameand the power of the Dorians and Ionians. 

 * * * * *

III. THE HEROIC AGE. 

The period from the time of the first appearance of the Hellenesin Thessaly to the return of the Greeks from the expedition againstTroy--a period of about two hundred years--is usually called theHeroic Age. It is a period abounding in splendid fictions ofheroes and demi-gods, embracing, among others, the twelve wonderfullabors of Hercules; the exploits of the Athenian king The'seus, and of Mi'nos, King of Crete, the founder of Grecian law andcivilization; the events of the Argonautic expedition; the Thebanand Argol'ic wars; the adventures of Beller'ophon, Per'seus, andmany others; and concluding with the Trojan war and the supposedfall of Troy. These seem to have been the times which the archangelMichael foretold to Adam when he said, For in those days might only shall be admired, And valor and heroic virtue called: To overcome in battle, and subdue Nations, and bring home spoils with infinite Manslaughter, shall be held the highest pitch Of human glory; and, for glory done, Of triumph to be styled great conquerors, Patrons of mankind, gods, and sons of gods-- Destroyers rightly called, and plagues of men. --Paradise Lost, B. XI. 

THE LABORS OF HERCULES. 

The twelve arduous labors of the celebrated hero Hercules, whowas a son of Jupiter by the daughter of an early king of Mycenæ, are said to have been imposed upon him by an enemy--Eurys'theus--towhose will Jupiter, induced by a fraud of Juno and the fury-goddessA'te, and unwittingly bound by an oath, had made the herosubservient for twelve years. Jupiter grieved for his son, but, unable to recall the oath which he had sworn, he punished Ate byhurling her from Olympus down to the nether world. 

 Grief seized the Thunderer, by his oath engaged; Stung to the soul, he sorrowed and he raged. From his ambrosial head, where perched she sate, He snatched the fury-goddess of debate: The dread, the irrevocable oath he swore, The immortal seats should ne'er behold her more; And whirled her headlong down, forever driven From bright Olympus and the starry heaven: Thence on the nether world the fury fell, Ordained with man's contentious race to dwell. Full oft the god his son's hard toils bemoaned, Cursed the dire folly, and in secret groaned. --HOMER'S Iliad, B. XIX. POPE'S Trans. 

The following, in brief, are the twelve labors attributed toHercules: 1. He strangled the Ne'mean lion, and ever after worehis skin. 2. He destroyed the Lernæ'an hydra, which had nineheads, eight of them mortal and one immortal. 3. He brought intothe presence of Eurystheus a stag famous for its incredibleswiftness and golden horns. 4. He brought to Mycenæ the wildboar of Eryman'thus, and slew two of the Centaurs, monsters whowere half men and half horses. 5. He cleansed the Auge'an stablesin one day by changing the courses of the rivers Alphe'us andPene'us. 6. He destroyed the carnivorous birds of the lakeStympha'lus, in Arcadia. 7. He brought into Peloponnesus theprodigious wild bull which ravaged Crete. 8. He brought fromThrace the mares of Diome'de, which fed on human flesh. 9. Heobtained the famous girdle of Hippol'y-te, queen of the Amazons. 10. He slew the monster Ge'ry-on, who had the bodies of threemen united. 11. He brought from the garden of the Hesper'i-desthe golden apples, and slew the dragon which guarded them. 12. Hewent down to the lower regions and brought upon earth thethree-headed dog Cer'berus. 

The favor of the gods had completely armed Hercules for hisundertakings, and his great strength enabled him to perform them. This entire fable of Hercules is generally believed to be merelya fanciful representation of the sun in its passage through thetwelve signs of the zodiac, in accordance with Phoenician mythology, from which the legend is supposed to be derived. Thus Herculesis the sun-god. In the first month of the year the sun passesthrough the constellation Leo, the lion; and in his first laborthe hero slays the Nemean lion. In the second month, when thesun enters the sign Virgo, the long-extended constellation ofthe Hydra sets--the stars of which, like so many heads, riseone after another; and, therefore, in his second labor, Herculesdestroys the Lernæan hydra with its nine heads. In like mannerthe legend is explained throughout. Besides these twelve labors, however, Hercules is said to have achieved others on his ownaccount; and one of these is told in the fable of Hercules andAntæ'us, in which the powers of art and nature are supposed tobe personified. 

FABLE OF HERCULES AND ANTÆUS. 

Antæ'us--a son of Neptune and Terra, who reigned over Libya, orAfrica, and dwelt in a forest cave--was so famed for his Titanicstrength and skill in wrestling that he was emboldened to leavehis woodland retreat and engage in a contest with the renownedhero Hercules. So long as Antæus stood upon the ground he couldnot be overcome, whereupon Hercules lifted him up in the air, and, having apparently squeezed him to death in his arms, threwhim down; but when Antæus touched his mother Earth and lay atrest upon her bosom, renewed life and fresh power were given him. 

In this fable Antæus, who personifies the woodland solitude andthe desert African waste, is easily overcome by his adversary, who represents the river Nile, which, divided into a thousandarms, or irrigating canals, prevents the arid sand from beingborne away and then back again by the winds to desolate the fertilevalley. Thus the legend is nothing more than the triumph of artand labor, and their reclaiming power over the woodland solitudesand the encroaching sands of the desert. An English poet has veryhappily versified the spirit of the legend, to which he has appendeda fitting moral, doubtless suggested by the warning of his ownapproaching sad fate. [Footnote: This gifted poet, Mortimer Collins, died in 1876, at the age of forty-nine, a victim to excessiveliterary labor and anxiety. ]

 Deep were the meanings of that fable. Men Looked upon earth with clearer eyesight then, Beheld in solitude the immortal Powers, And marked the traces of the swift-winged Hours. Because it never varies, all can bear The burden of the circumambient air; Because it never ceases, none can hear The music of the ever-rolling sphere-- None, save the poet, who, in moor and wood, Holds converse with the spirit of Solitude. 

 And I remember how Antæus heard, Deep in great oak-woods, the mysterious word Which said, "Go forth across the unshaven leas To meet unconquerable Hercules. " Leaving his cavern by the cedar-glen, This Titan of the primal race of men, Whom the swart lions feared, and who could tear Huge oaks asunder, to the combat bare Courage undaunted. Full of giant grace, Built up, as 'twere, from earth's own granite base. Colossal, iron-sinewed, firm he trod The lawns. How vain against a demi-god! Oh, sorrow of defeat! He plunges far Into his forests, where deep shadows are, And the wind's murmur comes not, and the gloom Of pine and cedar seems to make a tomb For fallen ambition. Prone the mortal lies Who dared mad warfare with the unpitying skies, But lo! as buried in the waving ferns, The baffled giant for oblivion yearns, Cursing his human feebleness, he feels A sudden impulse of new strength, which heals His angry wounds; his vigor he regains-- His blood is dancing gayly through his veins. Fresh power, fresh life is his who lay at rest On bounteous Hertha's kind creative breast. [Footnote: Hertha, a goddess of the ancient Germans, the same as Terra, or the Earth. Her favorite retreat was a sacred grove in an island of the ocean. ]

 Even so, O poet, by the world subdued, Regain thy health 'mid perfect solitude. In noisy cities, far from hills and trees, The brawling demi-god, harsh Hercules, Has power to hurt thy placid spirit--power To crush thy joyous instincts every hour, To weary thee with woes for mortals stored, Red gold (coined hatred) and the tyrant's sword. 

 Then--then, O sad Antæus, wilt thou yearn For dense green woodlands and the fragrant fern; Then stretch thy form upon the sward, and rest From worldly toil on Hertha's gracious breast; Plunge in the foaming river, or divide With happy arms gray ocean's murmuring tide, And drinking thence each solitary hour Immortal beauty and immortal power, Thou may'st the buffets of the world efface And live a Titan of earth's earliest race. --MORTIMER COLLINS. 

THE ARGONAUTIC EXPEDITION. 

From what was probably a maritime adventure that plundered somewealthy country at a period when navigation was in its infancyamong the Greeks, we get the fable of the Argonautic Expedition. The generally accepted story of this expedition is as follows:Pe'lias, a descendant of Æ'o-lus, the mystic progenitor of theGreat Æol'ic race, had deprived his half-brother Æ'son of thekingdom of Iol'cus in Thessaly. When Jason, son of Æson, hadattained to manhood, he appeared before his uncle and demandedthe throne. Pelias consented only on condition that Jason shouldfirst capture and bring to him the golden fleece of the ram whichhad carried Phrix'us and Hel'le when they fled from their stepmotherI'no. Helle dropped into the sea between Sigæ'um and theCher'sonese, which was named from her Hellespon'tus; but Phrixussucceeded in reaching Col'chis, a country at the eastern extremityof the Euxine, or Black Sea. Here he sacrificed the ram, andnailed the fleece to an oak in the grove of Mars, where it wasguarded by a sleepless dragon. 

Joined by the principal heroes of Greece, Hercules among thenumber, Jason set sail from Iolcus in the ship Argo, after firstinvoking the favor of Jupiter, the winds, and the waves, for thesuccess of the expedition. The ceremony on this occasion, asdescried by the poets, reads like an account of the "christeningof the ship" in modern times, but we seem to have lost the fullsignificance of the act. 

 And soon as by the vessel's bow The anchor was hung up, Then took the leader on the prow In hands a golden cup, And on great father Jove did call; And on the winds and waters all Swept by the hurrying blast, And on the nights, and ocean ways, And on the fair auspicious days, And sweet return at last. 

 From out the clouds, in answer kind, A voice of thunder came, And, shook in glistening beams around, Burst out the lightning flame. The chiefs breathed free, and, at the sign, Trusted in the power divine. Hinting sweet hopes, the seer cried Forthwith their oars to ply, And swift went backward from rough hands The rowing ceaselessly. --PINDAR. Trans. By Rev. H. F. CARY. 

After many adventures Jason reached Col'chis, where, by the aidof magic and supernatural arts, and through the favor of Me-de'a, daughter of the King of Colchis, he succeeded in capturing thefleece. After four months of continued danger and innumerablehardships, Jason returned to Iolcus with the prize, accompaniedby Medea, whom he afterward deserted, and whose subsequent historyis told by the poet Euripides in his celebrated tragedy entitledMedea. 

Growing out of the Argonautic legend is one concerning the youthHy'las, a member of the expedition, and a son of the King ofMys'ia, a country of Asia Minor. Hylas was greatly beloved byHercules. On the coast of Mysia the Argonauts stopped to obtaina supply of water, and Hylas, having gone from the vessel alonewith an urn for the same purpose, takes the opportunity to bathein the river Scaman'der, under the shadows of Mount Ida. He throwshis purple chlamys, or cloak, over the urn, and passes down intothe water, where he is seized by the nymphs of the stream, and, inspite of his struggles and entreaties, he is borne by them "downfrom the noonday brightness to their dark caves in the depthsbelow. " Hercules went in search of Hylas, and the ship sailedfrom its anchorage without him. We have a faithful and beautifulreproduction of this Greek legend, both in theme and spirit, ina poem by BAYARD TAYLOR, from which the following extracts aretaken:

 Hylas. 

 Storm-wearied Argo slept upon the water. No cloud was seen: on blue and craggy Ida The hot noon lay, and on the plains enamel; Cool in his bed, alone, the swift Scamander. "Why should I haste?" said young and rosy Hylas; The seas are rough, and long the way from Colchis. Beneath the snow-white awning slumbers Jason, Pillowed upon his tame Thessalian panther; The shields are piled, the listless oars suspended On the black thwarts, and all the hairy bondsmen Doze on the benches. They may wait for water Till I have bathed in mountain-born Scamander. "

 He saw his glorious limbs reversely mirrored In the still wave, and stretched his foot to press it On the smooth sole that answered at the surface: Alas! the shape dissolved in glittering fragments. Then, timidly at first, he dipped, and catching Quick breath, with tingling shudder, as the waters Swirled round his limbs, and deeper, slowly deeper, Till on his breast the river's cheek was pillowed; And deeper still, till every shoreward ripple Talked in his ear, and like a cygnet's bosom His white, round shoulder shed the dripping crystal. 

 There, as he floated with a rapturous motion, The lucid coolness folding close around him, The lily-cradling ripples murmured, "Hylas!" He shook from off his ears the hyacinthine Curls that had lain unwet upon the water, And still the ripples murmured, "Hylas! Hylas!" He thought--"The voices are but ear-born music. Pan dwells not here, and Echo still is calling From some high cliff that tops a Thracian valley; So long mine ears, on tumbling Hellespontus, Have heard the sea-waves hammer Argo's forehead, That I misdeem the fluting of this current For some lost nymph"--again the murmur, "Hylas!"

The sound that seemed to come from the lilies was the voice ofthe sea-nymphs, calling to him to go with them where they wander--

 "Down beneath the green translucent ceiling-- Where, on the sandy bed of old Scamander, With cool white buds we braid our purple tresses, Lulled by the bubbling waves around us stealing. "

To all their entreaties Hylas exclaims:

 "Leave me, naiads! Leave me!" he cried. "The day to me is dearer Than all your caves deep-spread in ocean's quiet. I would not change this flexile, warm existence, Though swept by storms, and shocked by Jove's dread thunder, To be a king beneath the dark-green waters. Let me return! the wind comes down from Ida, And soon the galley, stirring from her slumber, Will fret to ride where Pelion's twilight shadow Falls o'er the towers of Jason's sea-girt city. I am not yours--I cannot braid the lilies In your wet hair, nor on your argent bosoms Close my drowsed eyes to hear your rippling voices. Hateful to me your sweet, cold, crystal being-- Your world of watery quiet. Help, Apollo!"

But the remonstrances and struggles of Hylas unavailing:

 The boy's blue eyes, upturned, looked through the water Pleading for help; but heaven's immortal archer; Was swathed in cloud. The ripples hid his forehead; And last, the thick, bright curls a moment floated, So warm and silky that the stream upbore them, Closing reluctant as he sank forever. The sunset died behind the crags of Imbros. Argo was tugging at her chain; for freshly Blew the swift breeze, and leaped the restless billows. The voice of Jason roused the dozing sailors, And up the mast was heaved the snowy canvas. But mighty Hercules, the Jove-begotten, Unmindful stood beside the cool Scamander, Leaning upon his club. A purple chlamys Tossed o'er an urn was all that lay before him; And when he called, expectant, "Hylas! Hylas!" The empty echoes made him answer--"Hylas!"

THE TROJAN WAR. 

Of all the events of the Heroic period, however, the Trojan warhas been rendered the most celebrated, through the genius ofHomer. The alleged causes of the war, briefly stated, are these:Helen, the most beautiful woman of the age, and the daughter ofTyn'darus, King of Sparta, was sought in marriage by all thePrinces of Greece. Tyndarus, perplexed with the difficulty ofchoosing one of the suitors without displeasing all the rest, being advised by the sage Ulysses, bound all of them by an oaththat they would approve of the uninfluenced choice of Helen, andwould unite to restore her to her husband, and to avenge theoutrage, if ever she was carried off. Menela'us became the choiceof Helen, and soon after, on the death of Tyndarus, succeeded tothe vacant throne of Sparta. 

Three years subsequently, Paris, son of Priam, King of Ilium, or Troy, visited the court of Menelaus, where he was hospitablyreceived; but during the temporary absence of the latter hecorrupted the fidelity of Helen, and induced her to flee withhim to Troy. When Menelaus returned he assembled the Grecianprinces, and prepared to avenge the outrage. Combining theirforces under the command of Agamem'non, King of Myce'næ, a brotherof Menelaus, they sailed with a great army for Troy. Theimagination of the poet EURIPIDES describes this armament asfollows:

 With eager haste The sea-girt Aulis strand I paced, Till to my view appeared the embattled train Of Hellas, armed for mighty enterprise, And galleys of majestic size, To bear the heroes o'er the main; A thousand ships for Ilion steer, And round the two Atridæ's spear The warriors swear fair Helen to regain. 

After a siege of ten years Troy was taken by stratagem, and thefair Helen was recovered. On the fanciful etymology of the wordHelen, from a Greek verb signifying to take or seize, the poetÆCHYLUS indulges in the following reflections descriptive of thecharacter and the history of this "spear-wooed maid of Greece:"

 Who gave her a name So true to her fame? Does a Providence rule in the fate of a word? Sways there in heaven a viewless power O'er the chance of the tongue in the naming hour? Who gave her a name, This daughter of strife, this daughter of shame, The spear-wooed maid of Greece! Helen the taker! 'tis plain to see, A taker of ships, a taker of men, A taker of cities is she! From the soft-curtained chamber of Hymen she fled, By the breath of giant Zephyr sped, And shield-bearing throngs in marshalled array Hounded her flight o'er the printless way, Where the swift-flashing oar The fair booty bore To swirling Sim'o-is' leafy shore, And stirred the crimson fray. --Trans. By BLACKIE. 

According to Homer, the principal Greek heroes engaged in thesiege of Troy, aside from Agamemnon, were Menelaus, Achilles, Ulysses, Ajax (the son of Tel'amon), Di'omed, Patro'clus, andPalame'des; while among the bravest of the defenders of Troywere Hector, Sarpe'don, and Æne'as. 

The poet's story opens, in the tenth year of the siege, with anaccount of a contentious scene between two of the Grecian chiefs--Achilles and Agamemnon--which resulted in the withdrawal ofAchilles and his forces from the Grecian army. The aid of thegods was invoked in behalf of Achilles, and Jupiter sent adeceitful vision to Agamemnon, seeking to persuade him to leadhis forces to battle, in order that the Greeks might realizetheir need of Achilles. Agamemnon first desired to ascertain thefeeling or disposition of the army regarding the expedition ithad undertaken, and so proposed a return to Greece, which wasunanimously and unexpectedly agreed to, and an advance was madetoward the ships. But through the efforts of the valiant andsagacious Ulysses all discontent on the part of the troops wassuppressed, and they returned to the plains of Troy. 

Among those in the Grecian camp who had complained of theirleaders, and of the folly of the expedition itself, was a brawling, turbulent, and tumultuous character named Thersi'tes, whoseinsolence Ulysses sternly and effectively rebuked. The followingsketch of Thersites reads like a picture drawn from modernlife; while the merited reproof administered by Ulysses is inthe happiest vein of just and patriotic indignation:

 Ulysses and Thersites. 

 Thersites only clamored in the throng, Loquacious, loud, and turbulent of tongue; Awed by no shame, by no respect controlled, In scandal busy, in reproaches bold; With witty malice, studious to defame; Scorn all his joy, and censure all his aim; But chief he gloried, with licentious style, To lash the great, and monarchs to revile. 

 His figure such as might his soul proclaim: One eye was blinking, and one leg was lame; His mountain shoulders half his breast o'erspread, Thin hairs bestrew'd his long misshapen head; Spleen to mankind his envious heart possessed, And much he hated all--but most, the best. Ulysses or Achilles still his theme; But royal scandal his delight supreme. Long had he lived the scorn of every Greek, Vext when he spoke, yet still they heard him speak: Sharp was his voice; which, in the shrillest tone, Thus with injurious taunts attacked the throne. 

Ulysses, in his tent, listens awhile to the complaints, and censures, and scandals against the chiefs, with which Thersites addressesthe throng gathered around him, and at length--

 With indignation sparkling in his eyes, He views the wretch, and sternly thus replies: "Peace, factious monster, born to vex the state With wrangling talents formed for foul debate, Curb that impetuous tongue, nor, rashly vain, And singly mad, asperse the sovereign reign. 

 "Have we not known thee, slave! of all our host The man who acts the least, upbraids the most? Think not the Greeks to shameful flight to bring; Nor let those lips profane the name of King. For our return we trust the heavenly powers; Be that their care; to fight like men be ours. 

 "But grant the host, with wealth our chieftain load; Except detraction, what hast thou bestowed? Suppose some hero should his spoil resign, Art thou that hero? Could those spoils be thine? Gods! let me perish on this hateful shore, And let these eyes behold my son no more, If on thy next offence this hand forbear To strip those arms thou ill deserv'st to wear, Expel the council where our princes meet, And send thee scourged and howling through the fleet. " --B. II. POPE'S Trans. 

COMBAT OF MENELAUS AND PARIS. 

The opposing armies being ready to engage, a single combat isagreed upon between Menelaus, and Paris son of Priam, for thedetermination of the war. Paris is soon vanquished, but is rescuedfrom death by Venus; and, according to the terms on which thecombat took place, Agamemnon demands the restoration of Helen. But the gods declare that the war shall go on. So the conflictbegins, and Diomed, assisted by the goddess Pallas (or Minerva), performs wonders in this day's battle, wounding and putting toflight Pan'darus, Æneas, and the goddess Venus, even woundingthe war-god Mars, who had challenged him to combat, and sendinghim groaning back to heaven. 

Hector, the eldest son of Priam King of Troy, and the chief heroof the Trojans, leaves the field for a brief space, to requestprayers to Minerva for assistance, and especially for the removalof Diomed from the fight. This done, he seeks a momentary interviewwith his wife, the fair and virtuous Androm'a-che, whose touchingappeal to him, and his reply, are both, perhaps, without a parallelin tender, natural solicitude. 

 Parting of Hector and Andromache. 

 "Too daring prince! ah, whither dost thou run? Ah, too forgetful of thy wife and son! And think'st thou not how wretched we shall be, A widow I, a helpless orphan he? For sure such courage length of life denies, And thou must fall, thy virtue's sacrifice. Greece in her single heroes strove in vain; Now hosts oppose thee, and thou must be slain! Oh grant me, gods! ere Hector meets his doom, All I can ask of heaven, an early tomb! So shall my days in one sad tenor run, And end with sorrows as they first begun. 

 "No parent now remains my griefs to share, No father's aid, no mother's tender care. The fierce Achilles wrapp'd our walls in fire, Laid The'be waste, and slew my warlike sire! By the same arm my seven brave brothers fell; In one sad day beheld the gates of hell. My mother lived to bear the victor's bands, The queen of Hippopla'cia's sylvan lands. 

 "Yet, while my Hector still survives, I see My father, mother, brethren, all in thee: Alas! my parents, brothers, kindred, all Once more will perish, if my Hector fall. Thy wife, thy infant, in thy danger share: Oh, prove a husband's and a father's care! That quarter most the skilful Greeks annoy, Where yon wild fig-trees join the walls of Troy; Thou from this tower defend the important post; There Agamemnon points his dreadful host, That pass Tydi'des, Ajax, strive to gain, And there the vengeful Spartan fires his train. Thrice our bold foes the fierce attack have given, Or led by hopes, or dictated from heaven. Let others in the field their arms employ, But stay my Hector here, and guard his Troy. "

 The chief replied: "That post shall be my care, Nor that alone, but all the works of war. How would the sons of Troy, in arms renown'd, And Troy's proud dames, whose garments sweep the ground, Attaint the lustre of my former name, Should Hector basely quit the field of fame! My early youth was bred to martial pains, My soul impels me to the embattled plains: Let me be foremost to defend the throne, And guard my father's glories and my own. 

 "Yet come it will, the day decreed by fates; (How my heart trembles while my tongue relates!) The day when thou, imperial Troy! must bend, Must see thy warriors fall, thy glories end. And yet no dire presage so wounds my mind, My mother's death, the ruin of my kind, Not Priam's hoary hairs defiled with gore, Not all my brothel's gasping on the shore, As thine, Andromache! thy griefs I dread. 

 "I see thee trembling, weeping, captive led! In Argive looms our battles to design, And woes, of which so large a part was thine! To bear the victor's hard commands, or bring The weight of waters from Hype'ria's spring. There, while you groan beneath the load of life, They cry: 'Behold the mighty Hector's wife!' Some haughty Greek, who lives thy tears to see, Embitters all thy woes by naming me. The thoughts of glory past, and present shame, A thousand griefs shall waken at the name! May I lie cold before that dreadful day, Pressed with a load of monumental clay! Thy Hector, wrapt in everlasting sleep, Shall neither hear thee sigh, nor see thee weep. "

 Thus having spoke, the illustrious chief of Troy Stretched his fond arms to clasp the lovely boy. The babe clung crying to his nurse's breast, Scared at the dazzling helm and nodding crest. With secret pleasure each fond parent smiled, And Hector hasted to relieve his child; The glittering terrors from his brows unbound, And placed the beaming helmet on the ground. Then kissed the child, and, lifting high in air, Thus to the gods preferred a father's prayer:

 "O thou! whose glory fills the ethereal throne, And all ye deathless powers! protect my son! Grant him, like me, to purchase just renown, To guard the Trojans, to defend the crown, Against his country's foes the war to wage, And rise the Hector of the future age! So when triumphant from successful toils, Of heroes slain he bears the reeking spoils, Whole hosts may hail him with deserved acclaim, And say, 'This chief transcends his father's fame;' While pleased, amidst the general shouts of Troy, His mother's conscious heart o'erflows with joy. "

 He spoke, and fondly gazing on her charms, Restored the pleasing burden to her arms; Soft on her fragrant breast the babe he laid, Hush'd to repose, and with a smile survey'd. The troubled pleasure soon chastised by fear, She mingled with the smile a tender tear. The soften'd chief with kind compassion view'd, And dried the falling drops, and thus pursued:

 "Andromache, my soul's far better part, Why with untimely sorrows heaves thy heart? No hostile hand can antedate my doom, Till fate condemns me to the silent tomb. Fix'd is the term to all the race of earth; And such the hard condition of our birth, No force can then resist, no flight can save-- All sink alike, the fearful and the brave. No more--but hasten to thy tasks at home, There guide the spindle and direct the loom: Me, glory summons to the martial scene-- The field of combat is the sphere of men; Where heroes war, the foremost place I claim, The first in danger, as the first in fame. "

 Thus having said, the glorious chief resumes His towery helmet black with shading plumes. His princess parts with a prophetic sigh, Unwilling parts, and oft reverts her eye, That stream'd at every look; then, moving slow, Sought her own palace and indulged her woe. There, while her tears deplored the godlike man, Through all her train the soft infection ran: The pious maids their mingled sorrows shed, And mourn the living Hector as the dead. --B. VI. POPE'S. Trans. 

HECTOR'S EXPLOITS, AND DEATH OF PATRO'CLUS. 

Hector hastened to the field, and there his exploits aroused theenthusiasm and courage of his countrymen; who drove back theGrecian hosts. Disheartened, the Greeks sent Ulysses and Ajaxto Achilles to plead with that warrior for his return with hisforces to the Grecian camp. But Achilles obstinately refused totake part in the conflict, which was continued with varyingsuccess, until the Trojans succeeded in breaking through theGrecian wall, and attempted to fire the Greek ships, which weresaved by the valor of Ajax. In compliance with the request ofthe aged Nestor, however, of whom the poet YOUNG tells us that--

 When Nestor spoke, none asked if he prevailed; That god of sweet persuasion never failed--

Achilles now placed his own armor on Patroclus, and, giving himalso his shield, sent him to the aid of the Greeks. The Trojans, supposing Patroclus to be the famous Achilles, became panic-stricken, and were pursued with great slaughter to the walls of Troy. 

Apollo now goes to the aid of the Trojans, smites Patroclus, whose armor is strewn on the plain, and then the hero is killedby Hector, who proudly places the plume of Achilles on his ownhelmet. 

 His spear in shivers falls; his ample shield Drops from his arm; his baldric strews the field; The corslet his astonished breast forsakes; Loose is each joint; each nerve with horror shakes; Stupid he stares, and all assistless stands: Such is the force of more than mortal hands. 

 Achilles' plume is stained with dust and gore: That plume which never stooped to earth before, Long used, untouched, in fighting fields to shine, And shade the temples of the mad divine. Jove dooms it now on Hector's helm to nod; Not long--for fate pursues him, and the god. --B. XVI. 

Then ensued a most terrific conflict for the body of the slainwarrior, in which Ajax, Glaucus, Hector, Æneas, and Menelausparticipated, the latter finally succeeding in bearing it offto the ships. The grief of Achilles over the body of his friend, and at the loss of his wonderful armor, is represented as beingintense; and so great a blow to the Greeks was the loss of thearmor considered, that Vulcan formed for Achilles a new one, andalso a new shield. Homer's description of the latter piece ofmarvelous workmanship--which is often referred to as a truthfulpicture of the times, and especially of the advanced conditionof some of the arts and sciences in the Heroic, or post-Heroic, age--is too long for insertion here entire; but we proceed togive sufficient extracts from it to show at least the magnificentconception of the poet. 

 How Vulcan Formed the Shield of Achilles. 

 He first a vast and massive buckler made; There all the wonders of his work displayed, With silver belt adorned, and triply wound, Orb within orb, the border beaming round. Five plates composed the shield; these Vulcan's art Charged with his skilful mind each varied part. 

 There earth, there heaven appeared; there ocean flowed; There the orbed moon and sun unwearied glowed; There every star that gems the brow of night-- Ple'iads and Hy'ads, and O-ri'on's might; The Bear, that, watchful in his ceaseless roll Around the star whose light illumes the pole, Still eyes Orion, nor e'er stoops to lave His beams unconscious of the ocean wave. 

 There, by the god's creative power revealed, Two stately cities filled with life the shield. Here nuptials--solemn rites--and throngs of gay Assembled guests; forth issuing filled the way. Bright blazed the torches as they swept along Through streets that rung with hymeneal song; And while gay youths, swift circling round and round, Danced to the pipe and harp's harmonious sound, The women thronged, and wondering as they viewed, Stood in each portal and the pomp pursued. 

 Next on the shield a forum met the view; Two men, contending, there a concourse drew: A citizen was slain; keen rose the strife-- 'Twas compensation claim'd for loss of life. This swore, the mulct for blood was strictly paid: This, that the fine long due was yet delayed. Both claim'd th' award and bade the laws decide; And partial numbers, ranged on either side, With eager clamors for decision call, Till the feared heralds seat and silence all. There the hoar elders, in their sacred place, On seats of polished stone the circle grace; Rise with a herald's sceptre, weigh the cause, And speak in turn the sentence of the laws; While, in the midst, for him to bear away Who rightliest spoke, two golden talents lay. 

 The other city on the shield displayed Two hosts that girt it, in bright mail arrayed; Diverse their counsel: these to burn decide, And those to seize, and all its wealth divide. The town their summons scorned, resistance dared, And secretly for ambush arms prepared. Wife, grandsire, child, one soul alike in all, Stand on the battlements and guard the wall. Mars, Pallas, led their host: gold either god, A golden radiance from their armor flowed. 

Next, described as displayed on the shield, is a picture of spiesat a distance, an ambuscade, and a battle; the scene then changesto ploughing and sowing, and the incidents connected with thegathering of a bountiful harvest; then are introduced a vineyard, the gathering of the grapes, and a merrymaking by the youths atthe close of the day; then we have a wild outlying scene ofherdsmen with their cattle, the latter attacked by two famishedlions, and the tumult that followed. The description closes asfollows:

 Now the god's changeful artifice displayed Fair flocks at pasture in a lovely glade; And folds and sheltering stalls peeped up between, And shepherd-huts diversified the scene. 

 Now on the shield a choir appear'd to move, Whose flying feet the tuneful labyrinth wove; Youths and fair girls there, hand in hand, advanced, Timed to the song their steps, and gayly danced. Round every maid light robes of linen flowed; Round every youth a glossy tunic glowed; Those wreathed with flowers, while from their partners hung Swords that, all gold, from belts of silver swung. 

 Train'd by nice art each flexile limb to wind, Their twinkling feet the measured maze entwined, Fleet as the wheel whose use the potter tries, When, twirl'd beneath his hand, its axle flies. Now all at once their graceful ranks combine, Each rang'd against the other, line with line. 

 The crowd flock'd round, and, wondering as they view'd, Thro' every change the varying dance pursued; The while two tumblers, as they led the song, Turned in the midst and rolled themselves along. Then, last, the god the force of Ocean bound, And poured its waves the buckler's orb around. --B. XVIII. SOTHEBY'S Trans. 

Achilles Engages in the Fight. 

Desire to avenge the death of Patroclus proves more powerfulin the breast of Achilles than anger against Agamemnon, and, clad in his new armor, he is with difficulty restrained fromrushing alone into the fight while his comrades are resting. Turning and addressing his horses, he reproaches them with thedeath of Patroclus. One of them is represented as beingMiraculously endowed with voice, and, replying to Achilles, prophesies his death in the near future; but, with unabated rage, the intrepid chief replies:

 "So let it be! Portents and prodigies are lost on me. I know my fate: to die, to see no more My much-loved parents and my native shore. Enough--when Heaven ordains I sink in night. Now perish Troy!" he said, and rushed to fight. 

Jupiter now assembles the gods in council, and permits them toassist either party. The poet vividly describes the terrors ofthe combat and the tumult that arose when "the powers descendingswelled the fight. " Achilles first encounters Æne'as, who ispreserved by Neptune; he then meets Hector, whom he is on thepoint of killing, when Apollo rescues him and carries him awayin a cloud. The Trojans, defeated with terrible slaughter, aredriven into the river Scamander, where Achilles receives the aidof Neptune and Pallas. 

This Death of Hector. 

Vulcan having dried up the Scamander in aid of the Trojans, allthose who survive, save Hector, seek refuge in Troy. This heroalone remains without the walls to oppose Achilles. At thelatter's advance, however, Hector's resolution and courage failhim, and he flees, pursued by Achilles three times around thecity; At length he turns upon his pursuer, determined to meethis fate; and the account of the meeting and contest with Achilles, as translated by BRYANT, is as follows:

 He spake, and drew the keen-edged sword that hung, Massive and finely tempered, at his side, And sprang--as when an eagle high in heaven Through the thick cloud darts downward to the plain, To clutch some tender lamb or timid hare. So Hector, brandishing that keen-edged sword, Sprang forward, while Achilles opposite Leaped toward him, all on fire with savage hate, And holding his bright buckler, nobly wrought, Before him. As in the still hours of night Hesper goes forth among the host of stars, The fairest light of heaven, so brightly shone, Brandished in the right hand of Pe'leus' son, The spear's keen blade, as, confident to slay The noble Hector, o'er his glorious form His quick eye ran, exploring where to plant The surest wound. The glittering mail of brass Won from the slain Patroclus guarded well Each part, save only where the collar-bones Divide the shoulder from the neck, and there Appeared the throat, the spot where life is most In peril. Through that part the noble son Of Peleus drave his spear; it went quite through The tender neck, and yet the brazen blade Cleft not the windpipe, and the power to speak Remained. 

 And then the crested Hector faintly said: "I pray thee, by thy life, and by thy knees, And by thy parents, suffer not the dogs To tear me at the galleys of the Greeks. Accept abundant store of brass and gold, Which gladly will my father and the queen, My mother, give in ransom. Send to them My body, that the warriors and the dames Of Troy may light for me the funeral pile. "

 The swift Achilles answered, with a frown: "Nay, by my knees entreat me not, thou cur, Nor by my parents. I could even wish My fury prompted me to cut thy flesh In fragments and devour it, such the wrong That I have had from thee. There will be none To drive away the dogs about thy head, Not though thy Trojan friends should bring to me Tenfold and twentyfold the offered gifts, And promise others--not though Priam, sprung From Dar'danus, should send thy weight in gold. Thy mother shall not lay thee on thy bier, To sorrow over thee whom she brought forth; But dogs and birds of prey shall mangle thee. "

 And then the crested Hector, dying, said: "I know thee, and too clearly I foresaw I should not move thee, for thou hast a heart Of iron. Yet reflect that for my sake The anger of the gods may fall on thee When Paris and Apollo strike thee down, Strong as thou art, before the Scæ'an gates. "

 Thus Hector spake, and straightway o'er him closed The light of death; the soul forsook his limbs, And flew to Hades, grieving for its fate, So soon divorced from youth and youthful might. 

The great achievement of Achilles was followed by funeral gamesin honor of Patroclus, and by the institution of various otherfestivities. At their close Jupiter sends The'tis to Achilles toinfluence him to restore the dead body of Hector to his family, and sends Iris to Priam to encourage him to go in person to treatfor it. Priam thereupon sets out upon his journey, and, havingarrived at the camp of Achilles, thus appeals to his compassion:

 Priam Begging for the Body of Hector. 

 "Think, O Achilles, semblance of the gods, On thine own father, full of days like me, And trembling on the gloomy verge of life. Some neighbor chief, it may be, even now Oppresses him, and there is none at hand, No friend, to succor him in his distress. Yet, doubtless, hearing that Achilles lives, He still rejoices, hoping day by day That one day he shall see the face again Of his own son, from distant Troy returned. But me no comfort cheers, whose bravest sons, So late the flowers of Ilium, are all slain. 

 "When, Greece came hither I had fifty sons; But fiery Mars hath thinned them. One I had-- One, more than all my sons, the strength of Troy, Whom, standing for his country, thou hast slain-- Hector. His body to redeem I come Into Achaia's fleet, bringing, myself, Ransom inestimable to thy tent. Rev'rence the gods, Achilles! recollect Thy father; for his sake compassion show To me, more pitiable still, who draw Home to my lips (humiliation yet Unseen on earth) his hand who slew my son!" --COWPER'S Trans. 

Achilles, moved with compassion, granted the request of thegrief-stricken father, and sent him home with the body of hisson. First to the corse the weeping Androm'ache flew, and thusspoke:

 Lamentation of Andromache. 

 "And oh, my Hector! Oh, my lord! (she cries) Snatched in thy bloom from these desiring eyes! Thou to the dismal realms forever gone! And I abandoned, desolate, alone! An only son, once comfort of our pains, Sad product now of hapless love, remains! Never to manly age that son shall rise, Or with increasing graces glad my eyes; For Ilion now (her great defender slain) Shall sink a smoking ruin on the plain. 

 "Who now protects her wives with guardian care? Who saves her infants from the rage of war? Now hostile fleets must waft those infants o'er (Those wives must wait them) to a foreign shore: Thou too, my son, to barbarous climes shalt go, The sad companion of thy mother's woe; Or else some Greek whose father pressed the plain, Or son, or brother, by great Hector slain, In Hector's blood his vengeance shall enjoy, And hurl thee headlong from the towers of Troy. " [Footnote: Such was the fate of Astyanax, Hector's son, when Troy was taken:

 "Here, from the tower by stem Ulysses thrown, Andromache bewailed her infant son. " --MERRICK'S Tryphiodo'rus. ]

The death of Hector was also lamented by Helen, and herlamentation is thus spoken of by COLERIDGE: "I have alwaysthought the following speech, in which Helen laments Hector, andhints at her own invidious and unprotected situation in Troy, asalmost the sweetest passage in the poem. It is another strikinginstance of that refinement of feeling and softness of tone whichso generally distinguish the last book of the Iliad from the rest. "

 Helen's Lamentation. 

 "Ah, dearest friend! in whom the gods had joined The mildest manners with the bravest mind, Now twice ten years (unhappy years) are o'er Since Paris brought me to the Trojan shore; (Oh, had I perished ere that form divine Seduced this soft, this easy heart of mine!) Yet was it ne'er my fate from thee to find A deed ungentle, or a word unkind: When others cursed the authoress of their woe, Thy pity checked my sorrows in their flow: If some proud brother eyed me with disdain, Or scornful sister, with her sweeping train, Thy gentle accents softened all my pain. For thee I mourn; and mourn myself in thee, The wretched source of all this misery. The fate I caused forever I bemoan; Sad Helen has no friend, now thou art gone! Through Troy's wide streets abandoned shall I roam! In Troy deserted, as abhorred at home!" --POPE'S Trans. 

THE FATE OF TROY. 

Homer's Iliad ends with the burial of Hector, and gives noaccount of the result of the war and the fate of the chief actorsin the conflict. But in VIRGIL'S Æne'id, which gives an accountof the escape of Æne'as, from the flames of Troy, and of hiswanderings until he reaches the shores of Italy, the way in whichTroy is taken, soon after the death of Hector, is told by Æneasto Dido, the Queen of Carthage. By the advice of Ulysses a hugewooden horse was constructed in the Greek camp, in which he andother Grecian warriors concealed themselves, while the remainderburned their tents and sailed away to the island of Ten'edos, behind which they secreted their vessels. Æneas begins his accountas follows:

 "By destiny compelled, and in despair, The Greeks grew weary of the tedious war, And by Minerva's aid a fabric reared Which like a steed of monstrous height appeared. The sides were planked with pine: they feigned it made For their return, and this the vow they paid. Thus they pretend, but in the hollow side Selected numbers of their soldiers hide; With inward arms the dire machine they load, And iron bowels stuff the dark abode. 

 "In sight of Troy lies Tenedos, an isle (While Fortune did on Priam's empire smile) Renowned for wealth; but since, a faithless bay, Where ships exposed to wind and weather lay. There was their fleet concealed. We thought for Greece Their sails were hoisted, and our fears release. The Trojans, cooped within their walls so long, Unbar their gates, and issue in a throng, Like swarming bees, and with delight survey The camp deserted where the Grecians lay. The quarters of the sev'ral chiefs they showed-- Here Phoenix, here Achilles, made abode; Here joined the battles; there the navy rode. 

 "Part on the pile their wond'ring eyes employ-- The pile by Pallas raised to ruin Troy. Thymoe'tes first ('tis doubtful whether hired, Or so the Trojan destiny required) Moved that the ramparts might be broken down To lodge the monster fabric in the town. But Ca'pys, and the rest of sounder mind, The fatal present to the flames designed, Or to the wat'ry deep; at least to bore The hollow sides, and hidden frauds explore. 

 "The giddy vulgar, as their fancies guide, With noise say nothing, and in parts divide. La-oc'o-on, followed by a num'rous crowd, Ran from the fort, and cried, from far, aloud: 'O wretched countrymen! what fury reigns? What more than madness has possessed your brains? Think you the Grecians from your coasts are gone? And are Ulysses' arts no better known? This hollow fabric either must enclose, Within its blind recess, our hidden foes; Or 'tis an engine raised above the town T' o'erlook the walls, and then to batter down. Somewhat is sure designed by fraud or force-- Trust not their presents, nor admit the horse. '

 "Thus having said, against the steed he threw His forceful spear, which, hissing as it flew, Pierced through the yielding planks of jointed wood, And trembling in the hollow belly stood. The sides, transpierced, return a rattling sound, And groans of Greeks enclosed came issuing through the wound; And, had not Heaven the fall of Troy designed, Or had not men been fated to be blind, Enough was said and done t' inspire a better mind. Then had our lances pierced the treacherous wood, And Ilion's towers and Priam's empire stood. "

Deceived by the treachery of Sinon, a captive Greek, who representsthat the wooden horse was built and dedicated to Minerva to securethe aid that the goddess had hitherto refused the Greeks, andthat, if it were admitted within the walls of Troy, the Grecianhopes would be forever lost, the infatuated Trojans break downa portion of the city's wall, and, drawing in the horse, givethemselves up to festivity and rejoicing. Æneas continues thestory as follows:

 "With such deceits he gained their easy hearts, Too prone to credit his perfidious arts. What Di'omed, nor Thetis' greater son, A thousand ships, nor ten years' siege, had done-- False tears and fawning words the city won. 

 * * * * *

 "A spacious breach is made; the town lies bare; Some hoisting levers, some the wheels prepare, And fasten to the horse's feet; the rest With cables haul along th' unwieldy beast: Each on his fellow for assistance calls. At length the fatal fabric mounts the walls, Big with destruction. Boys with chaplets crowned, And choirs of virgins, sing and dance around. Thus raised aloft, and then descending down, It enters o'er our heads, and threats the town. O sacred city, built by hands divine! O valiant heroes of the Trojan line! Four times he struck; as oft the clashing sound Of arms was heard, and inward groans rebound. Yet, mad with zeal, and blinded with our fate, We haul along the horse in solemn state, Then place the dire portent within the tower. Cassandra cried and cursed th' unhappy hour, Foretold our fate; but, by the gods' decree, All heard, and none believed the prophecy. With branches we the fane adorn, and waste In jollity the day ordained to be the last. " --The Æneid. Book II. --DRYDEN. 

In the dead of night Sinon unlocked the horse, the Greeks rushedout, opened the gates of the city, and raised torches as a signalto those at Tenedos, who returned, and Troy was soon captured andgiven over to fire and the sword. Then followed the rejoicings ofthe victors, and the weeping and wailing of the Trojan women aboutto be carried away captive into distant lands, according to theusages of war. 

 The stately walls of Troy had sunken, Her towers and temples strewed the soil; The sons of Hellas, victory-drunken, Richly laden with the spoil, Are on their lofty barks reclined Along the Hellespontine strand; A gleesome freight the favoring wind Shall bear to Greece's glorious land; And gleesome chant the choral strain, As toward the household altars now Each bark inclines the painted prow-- For Home shall smile again!

 And there the Trojan women, weeping, Sit ranged in many a length'ning row; Their heedless locks, dishevelled, sweeping Adown the wan cheeks worn with woe. No festive sounds that peal along, Their mournful dirge can overwhelm; Through hymns of joy one sorrowing song, Commingled, wails the ruined realm. "Farewell, beloved shores!" it said: "From home afar behold us torn, By foreign lords as captives borne-- Ah, happy are the dead!" --SCHILLER. 

For ten long years the Greeks at Argos had watched nightly forthe beacon fires, lighted from point to point, that should announcethe doom of Troy. When, in the Agamemnon of ÆSCHYLUS, Clytemnes'tradeclares that Troy has fallen, and the chorus, half incredulous, demands what messenger had brought the intelligence, she replies:

 "A gleam--a gleam--from Ida's height By the fire-god sent, it came; From watch to watch it leaped, that light; As a rider rode the flame! It shot through the startled sky, And the torch of that blazing glory Old Lemnos caught on high On its holy promontory, And sent it on, the jocund sign, To Athos, mount of Jove divine. Wildly the while it rose from the isle, So that the might of the journeying light Skimmed over the back of the gleaming brine! Farther and faster speeds it on, Till the watch that keep Macis'tus steep See it burst like a blazing sun! Doth Macistus sleep On his tower-clad steep? No! rapid and red doth the wildfire sweep: It flashes afar on the wayward stream Of the wild Euri'pus, the rushing beam! It rouses the light on Messa'pion's height, And they feed its breath with the withered heath. But it may not stay! And away--away-- It bounds in its fresh'ning might. 

 "Silent and soon Like a broadened moon It passes in sheen Aso'pus green, And bursts in Cithæ'ron gray. The warden wakes to the signal rays, And it swoops from the hills with a broader blaze: On--on the fiery glory rode-- Thy lonely lake, Gorgo'pis, glowed-- To Meg'ara's mount it came; They feed it again, And it streams amain-- A giant beard of flame! The headland cliffs that darkly down O'er the Saron'ic waters frown, Are passed with the swift one's lurid stride, And the huge rock glares on the glaring tide. With mightier march and fiercer power It gained Arach'ne's neighboring tower-- Thence on our Ar'give roof its rest it won, Of Ida's fire the long-descended son! Bright harbinger of glory and of joy! So first and last with equal honor crowned, In solemn feasts the race-torch circles round. And these my heralds, this my sign of Peace! Lo! while we breathe, the victor lords of Greece Stalk, in stern tumult through the halls of Troy. " --Trans. By BULWER. 

Such, in brief, is the commonly received account of the Trojanwar, as we find it in Homer and other ancient writers. Concerningit the historian THIRLWALL remarks: "We consider it necessaryto admit the reality of the Trojan war as a general fact, butbeyond this we scarcely venture to proceed a single step. Wefind it impossible to adopt the poetical story of Helen, partlyon account of its inherent improbability, and partly because weare convinced that Helen is a merely mythological person. " GROTEsays:[Footnote: "History of Greece. " Chap. XV. ] "In the eyes ofmodern inquiry the Trojan war is essentially a legend and nothingmore. If we are asked if it be not a legend embodying portionsof historical matter, and raised upon a basis of truth--whetherthere may not really have occurred at the foot of the hill ofIlium a war purely human and political, without gods, withoutheroes, without Helen, without Amazons, without Ethiopians underthe beautiful son of Eos, without the wooden horse, without thecharacteristic and expressive features of the old epic war--ifwe are asked if there was not really some such historical Trojanwar as this, our answer must be, that as the possibility of itcannot be denied, so neither can the reality of it be affirmed. "In this connection it is interesting to note that the discoveriesof the German explorer, Schliemann, upon the site of ancient Troy, indicate that Homer "followed actual occurrences more closelythan an over-skeptical historical criticism was once willing toallow. "

FATE OF THE CHIEF ACTORS IN THE CONFLICT. 

Of the fate of some of the principal actors in the Trojan warit may be stated that, of the prominent Trojans, Æneas aloneescaped. After many years of wanderings he landed in Italy witha small company of Trojans; and the Roman writers trace to himthe origin of their nation. Priam was killed by Pyrrhus, theson of Achilles, during the burning of Troy; while Achilleshimself fell some time before, shot with an arrow in the heelby Paris, as Hector had prophesied would be the manner of hisdeath. Ajax, after the death of Achilles, had a contest withUlysses for the armor of the dead hero, but was unsuccessful, and died by his own hand. The poet EN'NIUS ascribes the followingdeclaration to Tel'amon, the father of Ajax, when he heard of hisson's death:

 I knew, when I begat him, he must die, And trained him to no other destiny-- Knew, when I sent him to the Trojan shore, 'Twas not to halls of feast, but fields of gore. --Trans. By PETERS. 

Agamemnon, on his return to Greece, was barbarously murdered byhis unfaithful queen, Clytemnestra. Diomed was driven from Greece, and barely escaped with his life. It is uncertain where or howhe died. Ulysses, after almost innumerable troubles and hardshipsby sea and land, at last returned in safety to Ithaca. Hiswanderings are the subject of Homer's Odyssey. 

But it may be asked, what became of Helen, the primary causeof the Trojan war, disastrous alike to victors and vanquished?According to Virgil, [Footnote: Æneid, B. VI. ] after the deathof Paris she married the Trojan hero, De-iph'o-bus, and on thenight after the city was taken betrayed him to Menela'us, towhom she became reconciled, and whom she accompanied, as Homerrelates, [Footnote: Odyssey B. IV. ] during the eight years ofhis wandering, on his return to Greece. LANDOR, in one of hisHellen'ics, represents Menelaus, after the fall of Troy, aspursuing Helen up the steps of the palace, and threatening herwith death. He thus addresses her:

 "Stand, traitress, on that stair-- Thou mountest not another, by the gods! Now take the death thou meritest, the death, Zeus, who presides over hospitality-- And every other god whom thou has left, And every other who abandons thee In this accursed city--sends at last. Turn, vilest of vile slaves! turn, paramour Of what all other women hate, of cowards; Turn, lest this hand wrench back thy head, and toss It and its odors to the dust and flames. "

Helen penitently receives his reproaches, and welcomes thethreatened death; and when he speaks of their daughter, Hermi'o-ne, whom, an infant, she had so cruelly deserted, she exclaims:

 "O my child! My only one! thou livest: 'tis enough; Hate me, abhor me, curse me--these are duties-- Call me but mother in the shades of death! She now is twelve years old, when the bud swells, And the first colors of uncertain life Begin to tinge it. "

Menelaus turns aside to say, "Can she think of home? Hers once, mine yet, and sweet Hermione's! Is there one spark that cheered my hearth, one left For thee, my last of love?"

When she beseeches him to delay not her merited fate, her wordsgreatly move him, and he exclaims (aside), "Her voice is musical As the young maids who sing to Artemis: How glossy is that yellow braid my grasp Seized and let loose! Ah, can ten years have passed Since--but the children of the gods, like them, Suffer not age. [Footnote: Jupiter was fabled to be the father of Helen. ] (Then turning to Helen. ) Helen! speak honestly, And thus escape my vengeance--was it force That bore thee off?"

Her words and grief move him to pity, if not to love, and heagain turns aside to say, "The true alone and loving sob like her. Come, Helen!" (He takes her hand. ) (Helen. ) Oh, let never Greek see this! Hide me from Argos, from Amy'clæ [Footnote: A town of Laconia, where was a temple of Apollo. It was a short distance to the south-west of Sparta. ] hide me, Hide me from all. (Menelaus. ) Thy anguish is too strong For me to strive with. (Helen. ) Leave it all to me. (Menelaus. ) Peace! peace! The wind, I hope, is fair for Sparta. 

The intimation, by Landor and others who have sought to exculpateHelen, that she was unwillingly borne away by Paris, has beenamplified, with much poetic skill and beauty, by a recentpoet, [Footnote: A. Lang, in his "Helen of Troy. "] into the storythat the goddess Venus appeared to her, and, while Helen wasshrinking with apprehension and fear of her power, told her thatshe should fall into a deep slumber, and on awaking should beoblivious of her past life, "ignorant of shame, and blameless ofthose evil deeds that the goddess should thrust upon her. " Venusdeclares to her:

 "Thou art the toy of gods, an instrument Wherewith all mortals shall be plagued or blest, Even at my pleasure; yea, thou shalt be bent This way and that, howe'er it like me best: And following thee, as tides the moon, the West Shall flood the Eastern coasts with waves of war, And thy vexed soul shall scarcely be at rest, Even in the havens where the deathless are. 

 "The instruments of men are blind and dumb, And this one gift I give thee, to be blind And heedless of the thing that is to come, And ignorant of that which is behind; Bearing an innocent, forgetful mind In each new fortune till I visit thee And stir thy heart, as lightning and the wind Bear fire and tumult through a sleeping sea. 

 "Thou shalt forget Hermione! forget, Forget thy lord, thy lofty palace, and thy kin; Thy hand within a stranger's shalt thou set, And follow him, nor deem it any sin; And many a strange land wand'ring shalt thou win; And thou shalt come to an unhappy town, And twenty long years shalt thou dwell therein, Before the Argives mar its towery crown. 

 "And of thine end I speak not, but thy name-- Thy name which thou lamentest--that shall be A song in all men's speech, a tongue of flame Between the burning lips of Poesy; And the nine daughters of Mnemos'y-ne, With Prince Apollo, leader of the nine, Shall make thee deathless in their minstrelsy! Yea, for thou shalt outlive the race divine. "

As the goddess had declared, so it came to pass, for when Helenawoke from her long slumber, She had no memory of unhappy things, She knew not of the evil days to come, Forgotten were her ancient wanderings; And as Lethæ'an waters wholly numb The sense of spirits in Elysium, That no remembrance may their bliss alloy, Even so the rumor of her days was dumb, And all her heart was ready for new joy. 

The reconciliation of Menelaus with Helen is easily effected bythe same kind of artifice; for when, on the taking of Troy, hemeets her and draws his sword to slay her, the goddess, againappearing, throws her witching spell over him also:

 Then fell the ruthless sword that never fell When spear bit harness in the battle din, For Aphrodi'te spake, and like a spell Wrought her sweet voice persuasive, till within His heart there lived no memory of sin; No thirst for vengeance more, but all grew plain, And wrath was molten in desire to win The golden heart of Helen once again. 

It is said that after the death of Menelaus Helen was drivenfrom the Peloponnesus by the indignant Spartans. 

 * * * * *

IV. ARTS AND CIVILIZATION IN THE HEROIC AGE. 

Although but little confidence can be placed in the reality ofthe persons and events mentioned in the poems of Homer, yet thereis one kind of truth from which the poet can hardly have deviated, or his writings would not have been so acceptable as they evidentlywere to his contemporaries--and that is, a faithful portraitureof the government, usages, institutions, manners, and generalcondition of the Greeks during the age in which he lived, andwhich undoubtedly differed little from the manners and customsof the Heroic Age. The pictures of life and character that hehad drawn must have had a reality of existence, and theyunquestionably give us, to a considerable extent, a true insightinto the condition of Grecian society at that early period ofthe world's history. 

And yet we must bear in mind that epics such as those of Homer, describing the manners and customs of a half-barbarous age, andintended to honor chieftains by extolling the deeds and livesof their ancestors, and to be recited in the courts of kings andprinces, would, very naturally, be accommodated to the wishes, partialities, and prejudices of their noble hearers. And thisleads us to consider how far even the great epic of Homer is tobe relied on for a faithful picture of the political life of theGreeks during the Heroic Age. We quote the following suggestiveremarks on this subject from a recent writer and able Greek critic:

THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE GREEKS, AS REPRESENTED IN THEIR GREAT EPICS. 

"Although, in the Greek epics, the rank and file of the armyare to be marshaled by the kings, and to raise the shout of battle, they actually disappear from the action, and leave the fieldperfectly clear for the chiefs to perform their deeds of valor. There is not, perhaps, an example in all the Iliad of a chieffalling, or even being wounded, by an ignoble hand. Amid thecloud of missiles that were flying on the plains of Troy, amidthe crowd of chiefs and kings that were marshaled on either side, we never hear how a 'certain man drew a bow at a venture, andsmote a king between the joints of the harness. ' Yet this mustnecessarily have occurred in any prolonged combats such as thoseabout the walls of Troy. 

"Here, then, is a plain departure from truth, and even fromreasonable probability. It is indeed a mere omission which doesnot offend the reader; but such inaccuracies suggest seriousreflections. If the epic poets ignore the importance of themasses on the battlefield, is it not likely that they underrateit in the public assemblies? Is it not possible that here too, to please their patrons, they describe the glorious ages of thepast as the days when the assembled people would not questionthe superior wisdom of their betters, but merely assembled to betaught and to applaud? I cannot, therefore, as Mr. Grote does, accept the political condition of things in the Homeric poems, especially in the Iliad, as a safe guide to the political lifeof Greece in the poet's own day. 

"The figure of Thersites seems drawn with special spite and venom, as a satire upon the first critics that rose up among the assembledpeople to question the divine right of kings to do wrong. We maybe sure the real Thersites, from whom the poet drew his picture, was a very different and a far more serious power in debate thanthe misshapen buffoon of the Iliad. But the king who had beenthwarted and exposed by him in the day would, over his cups inthe evening, enjoy the poet's travesty, and long for the good oldtimes when he could put down all impertinent criticism by thestroke of his knotty sceptre. The Homeric Agora could hardly haveexisted had it been so idle a form as the poets represent. But asthe lower classes were carefully marshaled on the battle-field, from a full sense of the importance which the poet denies them, sothey were marshaled in the public assembly, where we may be suretheir weight told with equal effect, though the poet neglected itfor the greater glory of the counseling chiefs. " [Footnote: "SocialLife in Greece, from Homer to Menander, " by Rev. J. P. Mahaffy. ]Notwithstanding all this, as HEEREN says, "Homer is the best sourceof information that we possess respecting the Heroic Age. "

The form of government that prevailed among the early Greeks, especially after the Pelasgic race had yielded to the morewarlike and adventurous Hellenes, was evidently that of thekingly order, on a democratic basis, although it is difficultto ascertain the precise extent of the royal prerogatives. Inall the Grecian states there appears to have been an hereditaryclass of chiefs or nobles, distinguished from the common freemenor people by titles of honor, superior wealth, dignity, valor, and noble birth; which latter implied no less than a descent fromthe gods themselves, to whom every princely house seems to havetraced its origin. 

But the kings, although generally hereditary, were not always so, nor were they absolute monarchs; they were rather the most eminentof the nobility, having the command in war, and the chief seatin the administration of justice; and their authority was more orless extended in proportion to the noble qualities they possessed, and particularly to their valor in battle. Unless distinguishedby courage and strength, kings could not even command in time ofwar; and during peace they were bound to consult the people in allimportant matters. Among their pecuniary advantages were theprofits of an extensive domain which seems to have been attachedto the royal office, and not to have been the private property ofthe individual. Thus, Homer represents Telem'achus as in dangernot only of losing his throne by the adverse choice of the people, but also, among the rights of the crown, the domains of Ulysses, his father, should he not be permitted to succeed him. [Footnote:See the Odyssey (Cowper's Trans. ), xi. , 207-223. ]

During the Heroic Age the Greeks appear to have had no fixed lawsestablished by legislation. Public opinion and usage, confirmedand expounded by judicial decisions, were the only sources towhich the weak and injured could look for protection and redress. Private differences were most often settled by private means, andin these cases the weak and deserving were generally plunderedand maltreated by the powerful and guilty; but in quarrels thatthreatened to disturb the peace of the community the publiccompelled the injured party to accept, and the aggressor to pay, a stipulated compensation. As among the savage tribes of America, and even among our early Saxon ancestors, the murderer was oftenallowed to pay a stipulated compensation, which stayed the spiritof revenge, and was received as a full expiation of his guilt. Themutual dealings of the several independent Grecian states with oneanother were regulated by no established principles, andinternational law had no existence at this early period. 

DOMESTIC LIFE AND CHARACTER. 

In the domestic relations of life there was much in the conductof the Greeks that was meritorious. Children were treated withaffection, and much care was bestowed on their education; and, on the other hand, the respect which they showed their parents, even after the period of youth and dependence, approached almostto veneration. As evidence of a rude age, however, the fatherdisposed of his daughter's hand in marriage with absoluteauthority; and although we meet with many models of conjugalaffection, as in the noble characters of Andromache and Penelope, yet the story of Helen, and other similar ones, suggest tooplainly that the faithlessness of the wife was not regarded asa very great offence. The wife, however, occupied a station ofas much, if not more influence in the family than was the casein the historical period; but she was not the equal of herhusband, and even Homer portrays none of those feelings of lovewhich result from a higher regard for the female sex. 

We gather from Homer that there was a low sense of truth amongthe Greeks of the Homeric Age, but that the people were betterthan might be expected from the examples set them by the godsin whom they professed to believe. Says MAHAFFY: "At no perioddid the nation attain to that high standard which is the greatfeature in Germanic civilization. Even the Romans, with all theircoarseness and vulgarity, stood higher in this respect. Butneither in the Iliad nor the Odyssey is there, except in phrases, any reprobation of deceit as such. To deceive an enemy ismeritorious; to deceive a stranger, innocent; to deceive even afriend, perfectly unobjectionable, if any object is to be gained. So it is remarked of Menelaus--as it were, exceptionally--thathe will tell the truth if you press him, for he is veryconsiderate. But the really leading characters in the Odysseyand Iliad (except Achilles) do not hesitate at all manner oflying. Ulysses is perpetually inventing, and so is his patroness, Pallas Athe'ne; and she actually mentions this quality of wilydeceit as her special ground of love and affection for him. "Thus, we read in the Odyssey that when Ulysses, in response towhat the goddess--then disguised and unknown to him--had said, With unembarrassed readiness returned Not truth, but figments to truth opposite, For guile, in him, stood never at a pause--

the goddess, seemingly well pleased with his "tricks of speechdelusive, " thus replied:

 "Who passes thee in artifice well-framed; And in impostures various, need shall find Of all his policy, although a god. Canst thou not cease, inventive as thou art And subtle, from the wiles which thou hast loved Since thou wast infant, and from tricks of speech Delusive, even in thy native land? But come; dismiss we these ingenious shifts From our discourse, in which we both excel; For thou of all men in expedients most Abound'st and eloquence, and I throughout All heaven have praise for wisdom and for art. " --COWPER'S Trans. 

To the foregoing it may be added that "Zeus deceives both godsand men; the other gods deceive Zeus; in fact, the whole Homericsociety is full of guile and falsehood. There is still, however, an expectation that if the gods are called to witness atransaction by means of an oath, they will punish deceit. Thepoets clearly held that the gods, if they were under no restraintor fear of punishment from Zeus, were at liberty to deceive asthey liked. One safeguard yet remained--the oath by the Styx, [Footnote: see the index at the end of the volume. ] the penaltiesof violating which are enumerated in Hesiod's Theogony, andconsist of nine years' transportation, with solitary confinementand hard labor. As for oaths, the Hymn to Hermes shows that insucceeding generations their solemnity was openly ridiculed. Among the Homeric gods, as well as among the heroes, there were, indeed, old-fashioned characters who adhered to probity. Thecharacter of Apollo is unstained by deceit. So is that ofMenelaus. "

The Greeks in the Heroic Age were divided into the three classes--nobles, freemen, and slaves. Of the first we have alreadyspoken. The condition of the freemen it is difficult to fullyascertain; but the majority possessed portions of land whichthey cultivated. There was another class of freemen who possessedno property, and who worked for hire on the property of others. "Among the freemen, " says one writer, "we find certainprofessional persons whose acquirements and knowledge raisedthem above their class, and procured for them the respect andsociety of the nobles. Such were the seer, the bard, the herald, and likewise the smith and the carpenter. " The slaves were ownedby the nobles alone, and were treated with far more kindness andconsideration than were the slaves of republican Greece. 

During this period the Greeks had but little knowledge ofgeography beyond the confines of Greece and its islands and thecoasts of the Ægean Sea. The habitable world was supposed to besurrounded by an ocean-like river, like that which Homer describesas bordering the shield of Achilles, beyond which were realms ofdarkness, dreams, and death. Legitimate commerce appears to havebeen deemed of little importance. The largest ships were slender, half-decked row-boats, capable of carrying, at most, only abouta hundred men, and having a movable mast, which was hoisted, anda sail attached, only to take advantage of a favorable wind. Mostof the navigation at this early period was undertaken for thepurposes of plunder, and piracy was not deemed dishonorable. WhenMentor and Telemachus came to the court of Nestor, that prince, after entertaining them kindly, asked them, as a matter ofcuriosity, whether they were travelers or robbers!

But the Heroic Age was not one essentially rude and barbarous. Greece was then a populous and well-cultivated country, withnumerous and large cities surrounded by walls and adorned withpalaces and temples. Homer describes the different branches ofagriculture, and the various labors of farming, the culture ofthe grape, and the duties of the herdsmen. The weaving of woolenand of linen fabrics was the chief occupation of the women, andwas carried to a high degree of perfection. While Homer may havedrawn largely upon his imagination for his brilliant pictures, still their main features were undoubtedly taken from life, andmany ancient remains of Grecian art attest the general fidelityof his representations: In the wonderful description of the shieldof Achilles we get some insight into the progress which the artsof metallurgy and engraving had made, and in the followingdescription, in the Fifth Book of the Odyssey, of the raft ofUlysses, on which this wandering hero floated after leavingCalypso's isle, we learn to what degree the art of ship-buildinghad attained in the Heroic Age. Calypso furnishes him thematerial for constructing his raft. 

 The Raft of Ulysses. 

 She gave him, fitted to the grasp, an axe Of iron, ponderous, double-edged, with haft Of olive-wood inserted firm, and wrought With curious art. Then placing in his hand A polished adze, she led herself the way To her isle's utmost verge, where loftiest stood The alder, poplar, and cloud-piercing fir, Though sapless, sound, and fittest for his use, As buoyant most. To that most verdant grove His steps the beauteous nymph Calypso led, And sought her home again. Then slept not he, But, swinging with both hands the axe, his task Soon finished; trees full twenty to the ground He cast; which, dexterous, with his adze he smoothed, The knotted surface chipping by a line. Meantime the lovely goddess to his aid Sharp augers brought, with which he bored the beams, Then placed them side by side, adapting each To other, and the seams with wadding closed. 

 Broad as an artist, skilled in naval works, The bottom of a ship of burden spreads, Such breadth Ulysses to his raft assigned. He decked her over with long planks, upborne On massy beams; he made the mast, to which He added suitable the yard; he framed Rudder and helm to regulate her course; With wicker-work he bordered all her length For safety, and much ballast stowed within. Meantime Calypso brought him for a sail Fittest materials, which he also shaped, And to his sail due furniture annexed Of cordage strong, foot-ropes and ropes aloft, Then heaved her down with levers to the deep. --Odyssey, B. V. COWPER'S Trans. 

We notice in this description the use of the adze--of thedouble-edged axe; of augers for boring the beams; the caulkingof the hull; the decking made of planks; the single mast; theyard from which the sail was spread; the use of the rudder andthe helm; "foot-ropes and ropes aloft;" while, for safety, awicker-work of cordage surrounds the deck, and much "ballast"is stowed within. 

To what extent the higher orders of art--those which became inlater times the highest glory of Greece, and in which she willalways stand unrivalled--were cultivated before the time ofHomer, is a subject of much uncertainty. It is clear, however, that poetry and music, which were almost inseparably united, were early made prominent instruments of the religious, martial, and political education of the people. The aid of poetical songwas called in to enliven and adorn the banquets of the greatpublic assemblies, the Olympic and other games, and scarcely asocial or public gathering can be mentioned that would not haveappeared to the ardent Grecians cold and spiritless without thisaccompaniment. 

It is not equally clear, however, whether architecture, in Homer'stime, had arrived at such a stage as to deserve a place amongthe fine arts. But it is probable that while the private dwellingswhich the poet describes were strong and convenient rather thanornamental and elegant in design, the public buildings--thetemples, palaces, etc. --were elegant in design and in architecturaldecoration. Statuary was cultivated in this age, as appears fromthe remains of many of the Greek cities; and, although no paintingsare spoken of in Homer, yet his descriptions prove that hiscontemporaries must have been acquainted with the art of design. Whether the Greeks were acquainted at this early period with theart of writing is, perhaps, the most important of all the questionsconnected with the progress of art and knowledge at this time, asit has received the most attention. The prevalent opinion is thatthe art of writing was then unknown, and that no writtencompositions were extant until many years after the time of Homer. 

 * * * * *

V. THE CONQUEST OF THE PELOPONNESUS, AND COLONIES IN ASIA MINOR. 

Although not yet fully out of the fabulous era of Grecian history, we now enter upon a period when the crude fictions of more thanmortal heroes begin to give place to the realities of humanexistence; but still the vague, disputed, and often contradictoryannals on which we are obliged to rely shed only an uncertainlight around us; and even what we can gather as the most reliablecannot be taken wholly as undoubted historic truth. 

The immediate consequences of the Trojan war, as representedby Greek historians, were scarcely less disastrous to the victorsthan to the vanquished. The return of the Grecian heroes to theirhomes is represented, as we have seen, to have been full of tragicadventures, and their long absence encouraged usurpers to seizemany of their thrones. Hence arose fierce wars and intestinecommotions, which greatly retarded the progress of Greciancivilization. Among these petty revolutions, however, no eventsof general interest occurred until about sixty years after thefall of Troy, when a people from Epi'rus, passing over themountain-chain of Pindus, descended into the rich plains whichlie along the banks of the Pene'us, and finally conquered thecountry, to which they gave the name of Thessaly. The fugitivesfrom Thessaly, driven from their own country, passed over intoBoeo'tia, which they subdued after a long struggle, in theirturn driving out the ancient inhabitants of the land. This eventis supposed to have occurred in 1124 B. C. 

The unsettled state of society caused by the Thessalian andBoeotian conquests occasioned what is known as the "Æo'lianMigration, " so-called from the race that took the principalshare in it. These people passed over into Asia Minor, andestablished their settlements in the vicinity of the ruins ofTroy. This became known as the Æolian Confederacy. 

RETURN OF THE HERACLI'DÆ

About twenty years after the Thessalian conquest, the Dorians, who had frequently changed their homes, and had finally settledin a mountainous region on the south of Thessaly, commenced amigration to the Peloponnesus, accompanied by portions of othertribes, and led, as was asserted, by descendants of Hercules, who had been deprived of their dominions in the latter country, and who had hitherto made several unsuccessful attempts to recoverthem. This important event in Grecian history is therefore calledthe "Return of the Heraclidæ. " The Dorians could muster abouttwenty thousand fighting men; and although they were greatlyinferior in numbers to the inhabitants of the country they invaded, the whole of Peloponnesus, except a few districts, was subduedand apportioned among the conquerors. Of the Heraclidæ, Tem'enusreceived Argos, the sons of Aristode'mus obtained Sparta, andCresphon'tes was given Messe'nia. Some of the unconquered tribesof the southern part of the peninsula seized upon the provinceof Acha'ia, and expelled its Ionian inhabitants. The latter soughta retreat on the western coast of Asia Minor, south of the Æoliancities, and the settlements thus formed received the name of Ionia. At a still later period, bands of the Dorians, not content withtheir conquest of the Peloponnesus, thronged to Asia Minor, wherethey peopled several cities south of Ionia; so that the Ægean Seawas finally circled by Grecian settlements, and its islandscovered with them. 

The Dorians did not become undisputed masters of the Peloponnesusuntil they had conquered Corinth in the next generation. Thecapture of Corinth was attended by another expedition which drewthe Dorians north of the Isthmus. They invaded Attica, and encampedbefore the walls of Athens. Before proceeding to attack the citythey consulted the oracle at Delphi--the most remarkable oracleof the ancient world, of which the poet LU'CAN thus writes:

 The listening god, still ready with replies, To none his aid or oracle denies; Yet wise, and righteous ever, scorns to hear The fool's fond wishes, or the guilty's prayer; Though vainly in repeated vows they trust, None e'er find grace before him but the just. Oft to a banished, wandering, houseless race The sacred dictates have assigned a place: Oft from the strong he saves the weak in war, And heals the barren land, and pestilential air. 

The Dorians were told by the oracle that they would be successfulas long as the Athenian king, Co'drus, was uninjured. The latter, being informed of the answer of the oracle, disguised himselfas a peasant, and, going forth from the city, was met and slainby a Dorian soldier, thus sacrificing himself for his country'sgood. The superstitious Dorians, now deeming the war hopeless, withdrew from Attica; and the Athenians, out of respect for Codrus, declared that no one was worthy to succeed him, and abolished theform of royalty altogether. Magistrates called Archons were firstappointed for life from the family of Codrus, and these werefinally exchanged for others appointed for ten years. These andother successive encroachments on the royal prerogatives resultedin the establishment of an aristocratic government of the nobility, and are almost the only events that fill the meager annals ofAthens for several centuries. 

The foundation of the Greek colonies in Asia Minor may be said toform the conclusion of the Mythical Period of Grecian history, andlikewise to furnish the basis for the earlier forms of authenticGreek literature. Before proceeding, therefore, to the generalevents that distinguish the authentic period of Greek history, wewill give, first, a brief sketch of this early literature asembodied chiefly in the poems of Homer; and, second, will pointout some of the causes that tended to unite the Greeks as apeople, notwithstanding their separation into so many independentcommunities or states. 

CHAPTER III. 

EARLY GREEK LITERATURE, AND GREEK COMMUNITY OF INTERESTS. 

The earliest written compositions of the Greeks, of which traditionor history has preserved any record, were poetical; a circumstancewhich, noticed in other nations also, has led to the assertionthat poetry is preeminently the language of Nature. But the firstpoetical compositions of the Greeks were not written. The earliestof them were undoubtedly the religious teachings of the priestsand seers; and these were soon followed by others founded on thelegends and genealogies of the Grecian heroes, which were addressed, by their authors, to the ear and feelings of a sympathizingaudience, and were then taken up by professional reciters, calledRhapsodists, who traveled from place to place, rehearsing thembefore private companies or at the public festivals. 

Of the Greek colonists of Asia the Ionians possessed the highestculture, and with them we find the first development of Greekpoetry. Drawing from the common language a richer tone and aclearness and graphic power that their neighbors never equaled, they early unfolded the ancient legends and genealogies of therace into new and enlarged forms of poetical beauty. Says DR. C. C. FELTON, [Footnote: "Lectures on Ancient and Modern Greece, "vol. I. , p. 78. ] "In Ionia the popular enthusiasm took a poeticalturn, and the genius of that richly gifted race responded noblyto the call. The poets--singers as they were first called--foundin the Orally transmitted ballads the richest mines of legendarylore, which they wrought into new forms of rhythmical beauty andsplendor. Instead of short ballads, pieces of great length, withmore fully developed characters and more of dramatic action, wererequired by a beauty loving and pleasure seeking race; and theleisure of peace and the demands of refined luxury furnished theoccasion and the impelling motive to this more extended species ofepic song. " From the highly esteemed work of Dr. Felton we transcribesome observations on the beauties of the Ionian dialect, and onthe poetical taste and ingenuity that finally developed the immortalepics of Homer:

Ionian Language and Culture. 

"The Ionian dialect, remoulded from the Asiatic forms and elementswhich had traveled through the North and recrossed the Ægean Sea, under the happy influences of a serene and beautiful heaven, amidthe most varied and lovely scenery in nature, by a people of manlyvigor and exquisite mental and physical organization--of thekeenest susceptibility to beauty of sound as well as of form, ofthe most vivid and creative imagination, combined with a childlikeimpulsiveness and simplicity--this Ionian language, so sprung andso nurtured, attained a descriptive force, a copiousness andharmony, which made it the most admirable instrument on whichpoet ever played. For every mood of mind, every shade of passion, every affection of the heart, every form and aspect of the outwardworld, it had its graphic phrase, its clear, appropriate, andrich expression. Its pictured words and sentences placed thethings described, and thoughts that breathe, in living formbefore the reader's eye and mind. It was vivid, rich, melodious;in its general character strikingly concrete and objective; acharm to the ear, a delight to the imagination; copious andinfinitely flexible; free and graceful in movement and structure, having at the beginning passed over the chords of the lyre, andbeen modulated by the living voice of the singer; obeying theimpulse of thought and feeling, rather than the formal principlesof grammar. 

"It expressed the passions of robust manhood with artless andunconscious truth. Its freedom, its voluble minuteness ofdelineation, its rapid changes of construction, its breaks, pauses, significant and sudden transitions, its easy irregularities, exhibit the intellectual play of national youth; while in boldnessand splendor it meets the demands of highest invention and themost majestic sweep of the imagination, and bears the impressof genius in the full strength of its maturity. Frederic Jacobssays, fancifully yet truly, that 'the language of Ionia resemblesthe smooth mirror of a broad and silent lake, from whose deptha serene sky, with its soft and sunny vault, and the varied naturealong its smiling shores are reflected in transfigured beauty. 'In Ionia, to borrow the expressions of the same eloquent writer, the mind of man 'enjoyed a life exempt from drudgery, among fairfestivals and solemn assemblies, full of sensibility and frolicjoy, innocent curiosity and childlike faith. Surrendered to theouter world, and inclined to all that was attractive by novelty, beauty, and greatness, it was here that the people listened, withgreatest eagerness, to the history of the men and heroes whosedeeds, adventures, and wanderings filled a former age with theirrenown, and, when they were echoed in song, moved to ecstasy thebreasts of the hearers. 

"The Ionians had from the beginning a superior natural endowmentfor literature and art; and when this most gifted race came intocontact with the antique culture and boundless commercial wealthof Asia and Africa, the loveliest and most fragrant flowers ofthe intellect shot forth in every direction. Carrying with themthe traditions of their race and the war-songs of their bardsto the very scenes where the famous deeds of their forefathershad been performed, these local circumstances awakened a freshinterest in the old legends, and epic poetry took a new start, a bolder character, a loftier sweep, a wider range. A generalexpansion of the intellectual powers and the poetical spiritsuddenly took place in the midst of the new prosperity and theunaccustomed luxuries of the East--in the midst of the gay andfestive life which succeeded the ages of wandering, toil, hardship, and conflict, like the Sabbath repose following theweary warfare of the week. The loveliness of nature on the Ionianshores, and in the isles that crown the Ægean deep, was soonembellished by the genius of art. Stately processions, hymnschanted in honor of the gods, graceful dances before the altars, statues, and shrines, assemblies for festal or solemn purposesin the open air under the soft sky of Ionia, or within the hallsof princes and nobles--these fill up the moments of the new anddazzling existence which the excitable Hellenic race are invitedhere and now to enjoy. 

"Their first and deepest want--that which, in the foregoingperiods of their existence, had been the first supplied--wasthe longing of the heart, the demand of the imagination, forpoetry and song; and it would have been surprising if the brightgenius of Ionia, under all these favoring circumstances, had notbroken upon the world with a splendor which outshone all itsformer achievements. Poets sprang up, obedient to the call, anda new school of poetical composition rapidly developed itself, embodying the Hellenic traditions of the Trojan story, and thelegends handed down by the Trojans themselves. Troops or companiesof these poets--singers, as they were called--were formed, andtheir pieces were the delight of the listening multitudes thatthronged around them. At last, among these minstrels whoconsecrated the flower of their lives to the service of theMuses, appeared a man whose genius was to eclipse them all. Thisman was Homer. "

 * * * * *

I. HOMER AND HIS POEMS. 

Not only was Homer the greatest of the poets of antiquity, buthe is generally admitted to be distinguished before allcompetitors by a clear and even a vast superiority. Thecircumstances of his life are but little known, except that hewas a wandering poet, and, in his later years at least, was blind. He is supposed to have lived nearly one thousand years before theChristian era; but, strange as it may seem, nothing is known, with certainty, of his parentage or his birthplace. Although hewas probably a native of the island of Chi'os, yet seven Greciancities contended for the honor of his birth. In view of thiscontroversy, and of the real doubt that hung over the subject, the poet ANTIP'ATER, of Sidon, who flourished just before theChristian era, as if he could not give to his great predecessortoo high an exaltation, attributes his birthplace to heaven, andhe ascribes to the goddess Calli'o-pe, one of the Muses, whopresided over epic poetry and eloquence, the distinction of beinghis mother. 

 From Col'ophon some deem thee sprung; From Smyrna some, and some from Chios; These noble Sal'amis have sung, While those proclaim thee born in Ios; And others cry up Thessaly, The mother of the Lap'ithæ. Thus each to Homer has assigned The birthplace just which suits his mind. 

 But if I read the volume right, By Phoebus to his followers given, I'd say they're all mistaken quite, And that his real country's heaven; While, for his mother, she can be No other than Calliope. --Trans. By MERIVALE. 

The principal works of Homer, and, in fact, the only ones thathave not been declared spurious, are the Iliad and the Odyssey. The former, as we have seen, relates some of the circumstancesof the closing year of the Trojan war; and the latter tells thestory of the wanderings of the Grecian prince Ulysses after thefall of Troy. The ancients, to whom the writings of Homer wereso familiar, fully believed that he was the author of the twogreat epics attributed to him. It was left to modern critics tomaintain the contrary. In 1795 Professor F. A. Wolf, of Germany, published his Prolegomena, or prefatory essay to the Iliad, inwhich he advanced the hypothesis that both the Iliad and theOdyssey were a collection of separate lays by different authors, for the first time reduced to writing and formed into the twogreat poems by the despot Pisis'tratus, of Athens, and hisfriends. [Footnote: Nearly all the modern German writers followthe views of Wolf against the Homeric authorship of this poem, but among the English critics there is more diversity of opinion. Colonel Mure, Mr. Gladstone, and others oppose the German view, while Grote, Professor Geddes, Professor Mahaffy and others ofnote adopt it, so far at least as to believe that Homer was notthe sole author of the poems. ] We cannot here enter into thedetails of the controversy to which this theory has given rise, nor can we undertake to say on which side the weight of authorityis to be found. The following extracts well express the viewsof those who adhere to the common theory on the subject. PROFESSORFELTON thus remarks, in the preface to his edition of the Iliad:"For my own part I prefer to consider it, as we have received itfrom ancient editors, as one poem--the work of one author, andthat author Homer, the first and greatest of minstrels. As Iunderstand the Iliad, there is a unity of plan, a harmony ofparts, a consistency among the different situations of the samecharacter, which mark it as the production of one mind; but ofa mind as versatile as the forms of nature, the aspects of life, and the combinations of powers, propensities, and passions inman are various. "

On the same subject, the English author and critic, THOMAS NOONTALFOURD, makes these interesting observations: "The hypothesisto which the antagonists of Homer's personality must resort, implies something far more wonderful than the theory which theyimpugn. They profess to cherish the deepest veneration for thegenius displayed in the poems. They agree, also, in the antiquityusually assigned to them, and they make this genius and thisantiquity the arguments to prove that one man could not havecomposed them. They suppose, then, that in a barbarous age, instead of one being marvelously gifted, there were many: amighty race of bards, such as the world has never since seen--anumber of miracles instead of one. All experience is against thisopinion. In various periods of the world great men have arisen, under very different circumstances, to astonish and delight it;but that the intuitive power should be so strangely diffused, atany one period, among a great number, who should leave nosuccessors behind them, is unworthy of credit. And we are requestedto believe this to have occurred in an age which those who maintainthe theory regard as unfavorable to poetic art! The common theory, independent of other proofs, is the most probable. Since the earlyexistence of the works cannot be doubted, it is easier to believein one than in twenty Homers. "

Very numerous and varied are the characterizations of Homer andthe writings ascribed to him. POPE, in his "Temple of Fame", paysthis tribute to the ancient bard:

 High on the list the mighty Homer shone; Eternal adamant composed his throne; Father of verse! in holy fillets dressed, His silver beard waved gently o'er his breast; Though blind, a boldness in his look appears; In years he seemed, but not impaired by years. The wars of Troy were round the pillars seen: Here fierce Tydi'des wounds the Cyprian queen; Here Hector, glorious from Patro'clus' fall; Here, dragged in triumph round the Trojan wall. Motion and life did every part inspire, Bold was the work, and proud the master's fire: A strong expression most he seemed to affect, And here and there disclosed a brave neglect. 

It is admitted by all that the Homeric characters are drawn, each in its way, by a master's hand. "The most pervading meritof the Iliad, " says one, "is its fidelity and vividness as amirror of man, and of the visible sphere in which he lived, withits infinitely varied imagery, both actual and ideal; and thetask which the great poet set for himself was perfectlyaccomplished. " "The mind of Homer, " says another, "is like anÆolian harp, so finely strung that it answers to the faintestmovement of the air by a proportionate vibration. With everystronger current its music rises along an almost immeasurablescale, which begins with the lowest and softest whisper, andends in the full swell of the organ. "

The "lofty march" of the Iliad is also often spoken of ascharacteristic of the style in which that great epic is written. And yet, as has been said, "though its versification is alwaysappropriate, and therefore never mean, it only rises intostateliness, or into a terrible sublimity, when Homer has occasionto brace his energies for an effort. Thus he ushers in with truegrandeur the marshalling of the Greek army, in the Second Book, partly by the invocation of the Muses, and partly by an assemblageof no less than six consecutive similes, which describe, respectively--1st, the flash of the Greek arms and the splendorof the Grecian hosts; 2d, the swarming numbers; 3d, the resoundingtramp; 4th, the settling down of the ranks as they form the line;5th, the busy marshalling by the commanders; 6th, the majesty ofthe great chief Agamemnon, 'like Mars or Neptune, such as Joveordained him, eminent above all his fellow-chiefs. '"

These similes are brought in with great effect as introductoryto a catalogue of the ships and forces of the Greeks; thus pouring, from a single point, a broad stream of splendor over the whole;and although the enumeration which follows is only a plain matterof business, it is not without its poetical embellishment, andis occasionally relieved by short legends of the countries andnoted warriors of the different tribes. We introduce these strikingsimiles here as marked characteristics of the art of Homer, fromwhom, it is little exaggeration to say, a very large proportion ofthe similes of all subsequent writers have been, more or lessdirectly, either copied or paraphrased. 

When it has been decided to lead the army to battle, the agedNestor thus addresses Agamemnon:

 "Now bid thy heralds sound the loud alarms, And call the squadrons sheathed in brazen arms; Now seize the occasion, now the troops survey, And lead to war when heaven directs the way. " He said: the monarch issued his commands; Straight the loud heralds call the gathering bands: The chiefs enclose their king; the hosts divide, In tribes and nations ranked on either side. 

The appearance of the gathering hosts is then described in thefollowing

 Similes. 

 (1. ) As on some mountain, through the lofty grove, The crackling flames ascend, and blaze above; The fires expanding, as the winds arise, Shoot their long beams, and kindle half the skies; So from the polished arms and brazen shields A gleamy splendor flashed along the fields. 

 (2. ) Not less their number than the embodied cranes, Or milk-white swans on A'sius' watery plains, That, o'er the windings of Ca-ys'ter's springs, Stretch their long necks, and clap their rustling wings; Now tower aloft, and course in airy rounds, Now light with noise; with noise the field resounds. 

 (3. ) Thus numerous and confused, extending wide, The legions crowd Scamander's flowery side; With rushing troops the plains are covered o'er, And thundering footsteps shake the sounding shore. '

 (4. ) Along the river's level meads they stand, Thick as in spring the flowers adorn the land, Or leaves the trees; or thick as insects play, The wandering nation of a summer's day, That, drawn by milky streams, at evening hours, In gathered swarms surround the rural bowers; From pail to pail with busy murmur run The gilded legions, glittering in the sun. So thronged, so close the Grecian squadrons stood In radiant arms, athirst for Trojan blood. 

 (5. ) Each leader now his scattered force conjoins In close array, and forms the deepening lines. Not with more ease the skilful shepherd swain Collects his flocks from thousands on the plain. 

 (6. ) The king of kings, majestically tall, Towers o'er his armies, and outshines them all; Like some proud bull, that round the pastures leads His subject herds, the monarch of the meads, Great as the gods, the exalted chief was seen, His chest like Neptune, and like Mars his mien; Jove o'er his eyes celestial glories spread, And dawning conquest played around his head. --POPE'S Trans. 

Similes abound on nearly every page of the Iliad, and they arealways appropriate to the subject. We select from them thefollowing additional specimen, in which the brightness and numberof the fires of the Trojans, in their encampment, are likened tothe moon and stars in their glory--when, as Cowper translates thefourth line, "not a vapor streaks the boundless blue. "

 As when the moon, refulgent lamp of night, O'er heaven's blue azure spreads her sacred light, When not a breath disturbs the deep serene, And not a cloud o'ercasts the solemn scene; Around her throne the vivid planets roll, And stars unnumbered gild the glowing pole, O'er the dark trees a yellow verdure shed, And tip with silver every mountain head; Then shine the vales, the rocks in prospect rise, A flood of glory bursts from all the skies; The conscious swains, rejoicing in the sight, Eye the blue vault, and bless the useful light; So many fires before proud Ilion blaze, And lighten glimmering Xanthus with their rays. --Iliad, B. VIII. POPE'S Trans. 

Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, is said to have declared of thetwo great epics of Homer:

 Read Homer once, and you can read no more, For all books else appear so mean, so poor; Verse will seem prose; but still persist to read, And Homer will be all the books you need. 

The following characterization, from the pen of HENRY NELSONCOLERIDGE, is both true and pleasing:

"There are many hearts and minds to which one of these matchlesspoems will be more delightful than the other; there are many towhich both will give equal pleasure, though of different kinds;but there can hardly be a person, not utterly averse to the Muses, who will be quite insensible to the manifold charms of one or theother. The dramatic action of the Iliad may command attentionwhere the diffused narrative of the Odyssey would fail to do so;but how can anyone, who loves poetry under any shape, helpyielding up his soul to the virtuous siren-singing of Genius andTruth, which is forever resounding from the pages of either ofThese marvelous and truly immortal poems? In the Iliad will befound the sterner lessons of public justice or public expedience, and the examples are for statesmen and generals; in the Odysseywe are taught the maxims of private prudence and individual virtue, and the instances are applicable to all mankind: in both, Honesty, Veracity, and Fortitude are commended, and set up for imitation;in both, Treachery, Falsehood, and Cowardice are condemned, andexposed for our scorn and avoidance. 

"Born, like the river of Egypt, in secret light, these poemsyet roll on their great collateral streams, wherein a thousandpoets have bathed their sacred heads, and thence drunk beautyand truth, and all sweet and noble harmonies. Known to no manis the time or place of their gushing forth from the earth'sbosom, but their course has been among the fields and by thedwellings of men, and our children now sport on their banks andquaff their salutary waters. Of all the Greek poetry, I, forone, have no hesitation in saying that the Iliad and the Odysseyare the most delightful, and have been the most instructive worksto me; there is a freshness about them both which never fades, atruth and sweetness which charmed me as a boy and a youth, andon which, if I attain to it, I count largely for a soothingrecreation in my old age. "

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II. SOME CAUSES OF GREEK UNITY. 

The natural causes which tended to unite the Greeks as a peoplewere a common descent, a common language, and a common religion. Greek genius led the nation to trace its origin, where historicalmemory failed, to fabulous persons sprung from the earth or thegods; and under the legends of primitive and heroic ancestors liethe actual migrations and conquests of rude bands sprung fromrelated or allied tribes. These poetical tales, accepted throughoutHellas as historical, convinced the people of a common origin. Thus the Greeks had a common share in the renown of their ancientheroes, upon whose achievements or lineage the claims of familiesto hereditary authority, and of states to the leadership ofconfederacies, were grounded. The pride or the ambition of politicalrivals led to the gradual embellishment of these traditions, andended in ancestral worship. Thus Attica had a temple to Theseus, the Ionian hero; the shrine of Æsculapius at Epidau'rus was famousthroughout the classic world; and the exploits of Hercules werecommemorated by the Dorians at the tomb of a Ne'mean king. Whenthe bard and the playwright clothed these tales in verse, allGreece hearkened; and when the painter or the sculptor took thesesubjects for his skill, all Greece applauded. Thus was strengthenedthe national sense of fraternal blood. 

The possession of a common speech is so great a means of union, that the Romans imposed the Latin tongue on all public businessand official records, even where Greek was the more familiarlanguage; and the Mediæval Church displayed her unity by theuse of Latin in every bishopric on all occasions of public worship. A language not only makes the literature embodied in it theheritage of all who speak it, but it diffuses among them thesubtle genius which has shaped its growth. The lofty regard inwhich the Greeks held their own musical and flexible language isillustrated by an anecdote of Themis'tocles, who put to deaththe interpreter of a Persian embassy to Athens because he dared"to use the Greek tongue to utter the demands of the barbarianking. " From Col'chis to Spain some Grecian dialect attested theextent and the unity of the Hellenic race. 

The Greek institutions of religion were still more powerfulinstruments of unity. It was the genius of a race destitute ofan organized priesthood, and not the fancy of the poet, whichanimated nature by personifying its forces. Zeus was theall-embracing heavens, the father of gods and men; Neptunepresided over the seas; Deme'ter gave the harvest; Juno was thegoddess of reproduction, and Aphrodi'te the patroness of Jove;while Apollo represented the joy-inspiring orb of day. The sameimagination raised the earth to sentient life by assigning Dryadsto the trees, Naiads to the fountains and brooks, O're-ads tothe hills, Ner'e-ids to the seas, and Satyrs to the fields; andin this many-sided and devout sympathy with nature the imaginationand reverence of all Greece found expression. But Greek religionin its temples, its oracles, its games, and its councils, providedmore tangible bonds of union than those of sentiment. Each cityhad its tutelary deity, whose temple was usually the most beautifulbuilding in it, and to which any Greek might have access to makehis offering or prayer. The sacred precincts were not to be profanedby those who were polluted with unexpiated crime, nor by blood, nor by the presence of the dead: Hence the temples of Greece wereplaces of refuge for those who would escape from private or judicialvengeance. The more famous oracles of Greece were at Dodo'na, atDelphi, at Lebade'a in Boeotia, and at Epidaurus in Ar'golis. They were consulted by those who wished to penetrate the future. To this superstition the Greeks were greatly addicted, and theyallowed the gravest business to wait for the omens of the diviner. A people thus disposed demanded and secured unmolested access tothe oracle. The city in whose custody it was must be inviolable, and the roads thereto unobstructed. The oracle was a nationalpossession, and its keepers were national servants. 

THE GRECIAN FESTIVALS. 

The public games or festivals of the Greeks were probably ofgreater efficacy in promoting a spirit of union than any otheroutgrowth of the religions sentiment of Greece. The Greeksexhibited a passionate fondness for festivals and games, whichwere occasionally celebrated in every state for the amusementof the people. These, however, were far less interesting thanthe four great public games, sacred to the gods, which were--thePythian, at Delphos, sacred to Apollo; the Isth'mian, at Corinth, to Neptune; the Nemean, at Nemea, to Hercules; and the Olympic, at Olympia in E'lis, to Jupiter. To these cities flocked theyoung and the aged, the private citizen and the statesman, thetrader and the artist, to witness or engage in the spectacles. The games were open to all citizens who could prove their Hellenicorigin; and prizes were awarded for the best exhibitions of skillin poetry--and in running, wrestling, boxing, leaping, pitchingthe discus, or quoit, throwing the javelin, and chariot-racing. 

The most important of these games was the Olympic, though itinvolved many principles common to the others. Its origin isobscure; and, though it appears that during the Heroic Age someGrecian chiefs celebrated their victories in public games atOlympia, yet it was not until the time of Lycurgus, in 776 B. C. , that the games at Olympia were brought under certain rules, andperformed at certain periods. At that time they were revived, so to speak, and were celebrated at the close of every fourthyear. From their quadrennial occurrence all Hellas computed itschronology, the interval that elapsed between one celebrationand the next being called an Olympiad. During the month that thegames continued there was a complete suspension of all hostilities, to enable every Greek to attend them without hindrance or danger. 

One of the most popular and celebrated of all the matches heldat these games was chariot-racing, with four horses. The followingdescription of one of these races is taken from a tragedy ofSOPHOCLES--the Electra--translated by Bulwer. Orestes, son ofAgamemnon, had gained five victories on the first day of thetrial; and on the second, of which the account is here given, he starts with nine competitors--an Achæan, a Spartan, two Libyans, an Ætolian, a Magnesian; an Æ'ni-an, an Athenian, and a Boeotian--and meets his death in the moment of triumph. 

 The Chariot-race, and the Death of Orestes. 

 They took their stand where the appointed judges Had cast their lots and ranged the rival cars. Rang out the brazen trump! Away they bound! Cheer the hot steeds and shake the slackened reins; As with a body the large space is filled With the huge clangor of the rattling cars; High whirl aloft the dust-clouds; blent together Each presses each, and the lash rings, and loud Snort the wild steeds, and from their fiery breath, Along their manes, and down the circling wheels, Scatter the flaking foam. 

 Orestes still, Aye, as he swept around the perilous pillar Last in the course, wheeled in the rushing axle, The left rein curbed--that on the outer hand Flung loose. So on erect the chariots rolled! Sudden the Ænian's fierce and headlong steeds Broke from the bit, and, as the seventh time now The course was circled, on the Libyan car Dashed their wild fronts: then order changed to ruin; Car dashed on car; the wide Crissæ'an plain Was, sea-like, strewn with wrecks: the Athenian saw, Slackened his speed, and, wheeling round the marge, Unscathed and skilful, in the midmost space, Left the wild tumult of that tossing storm. 

 Behind, Orestes, hitherto the last, Had kept back his coursers for the close; Now one sole rival left--on, on he flew, And the sharp sound of the impelling scourge Rang in the keen ears of the flying steeds. He nears--he reaches--they are side by side; Now one--now th' other--by a length the victor. The courses all are past, the wheels erect-- All safe--when, as the hurrying coursers round The fatal pillar dashed, the wretched boy Slackened the left rein. On the column's edge Crashed the frail axle--headlong from the car, Caught and all mesh'd within the reins, he fell; And! masterless, the mad steeds raged along!

 Loud from that mighty multitude arose A shriek--a shout! But yesterday such deeds-- To-day such doom! Now whirled upon the earth, Now his limbs dashed aloft, they dragged him, those Wild horses, till, all gory, from the wheels Released--and no man, not his nearest friends, Could in that mangled corpse have traced Orestes. They laid the body on the funeral pyre, And, while we speak, the Phocian strangers bear, In a small, brazen, melancholy urn, That handful of cold ashes to which all The grandeur of the beautiful hath shrunk. Within they bore him--in his father's land To find that heritage, a tomb. 

The Pythian games are said to have been established in honorof the victory that Apollo gained at Delphi over the serpentPy'thon, on setting out to erect his temple. This monster, saidto have sprung from the stagnant waters of the deluge ofDeucalion, may have been none other than the malaria which laidwaste the surrounding country, and which some early benefactorof the race overcame by draining the marshes; or, perhaps, asthe English writer, Dodwell, suggests, the true explanation ofthe allegorical fiction is that the serpent was the riverCephis'sus, which, after the deluge had overflowed the plains, surrounded Parnassus with its serpentine involutions, and wasat length reduced, by the rays of the sun-god, within its duelimits. The poet OVID gives the following relation of the fable:

 Apollo's Conflict with Python. 

 From hence the surface of the ground, with mud And slime besmeared (the refuse of the flood), Received the rays of heaven, and sucking in The seeds of heat, new creatures did begin. Some were of several sorts produced before; But, of new monsters, earth created more. Unwillingly, but yet she brought to light Thee, Python, too, the wondering world to fright, And the new nations, with so dire a sight, So monstrous was his bulk; so large a space Did his vast body and long train embrace; Whom Phoebus, basking on a bank, espied. Ere now the god his arrows had not tried But on the trembling deer or mountain-goat: At this new quarry he prepares to shoot. 

 Though every shaft took place, he spent the store Of his full quiver; and 'twas long before The expiring serpent wallowed in his gore. Then, to preserve the fame of such a deed, For Python slain he Pythian games decreed, Where noble youths for mastership should strive-- To quoit, to run, and steeds and chariots drive. The prize was fame; in witness of renown, An oaken garland did the victor crown. The laurel was not yet for triumphs born, But every green, alike by Phoebus worn, Did, with promiscuous grace, his flowing locks adorn. --Metamorphoses. Trans. By DRYDEN. 

The victory of Apollo over the Python is represented by a statuecalled Apollo Belvedere, perhaps the greatest existing work ofancient art. It was found in 1503, among the ruins of ancientAntium, and it derives its name from its position in the belvedere, or open gallery, of the Vatican at Rome, where it was placed byPope Julius II. It shows the conception which the ancients hadof this benign deity, and also the high degree of perfection towhich they had attained in sculpture. A modern writer gives thefollowing account of it:

"The statue is of heroic size, and shows the very perfectionof manly beauty. The god stands with the left arm extended, stillholding the bow, while the right hand, which has just left thestring, is near his hip. This right hand and part of the rightarm, as well as the left hand, were wanting in the statue whenfound, and were restored by Angelo da Montor'soli, a pupil ofMichael Angelo. The figure is nude; only a short cloak hangs overthe left shoulder. The breast is full and dilated; the muscles areconspicuous, though not exaggerated; the body seems a little thinabout the hips, but is poised with such singular grace as to impartto the whole a beauty hardly possessed by any other statue. Thesculptor is not known: many attribute the statue to He-ge'si-as, the Ephesian, others to Praxit'e-les or Cal'amis; but its originand date must remain a matter of conjecture. "

The following poetical description of this wonderful statue isgiven us by THOMSON:

 All conquest-flushed, from prostrate Python came The quivered god. In graceful act he stands, His arm extended with the slackened bow: Light flows his easy robe, and fair displays A manly, softened form. The bloom of gods Seems youthful o'er the bearded cheek to wave; His features yet heroic ardor warms; And, sweet subsiding to a native smile, Mixed with the joy elating conquest gives, A scattered frown exalts his matchless air. 

THE NATIONAL COUNCILS. 

While the elements of union we have been considering produceda decided effect in forming Greek national character--servingto strengthen, in the mind of the Greek, the feelings which boundhim to his country by keeping alive his national love and pride, and exerting an important influence over his physical educationand discipline--they possessed little or no efficacy as a bondof political union--what Greece so much needed. It was probablya recognition of this need that led, at an early period, to theformation of national councils, the primary object of which wasthe regulation of mutual intercourse between the several states. 

Of these early councils we have an example in the severalassociations known as the Amphicty'o-nes, of which the only onethat approached a national senate received the distinctive titleof the "Amphictyon'ic Council. " This is said to have beeninstituted by Amphic'tyon, a son of Deucalion, King of Thessaly;but he was probably a fictitious personage, invented to accountfor the origin of the institution attributed to him. The councilis said to have been composed, originally, of deputies fromtwelve tribes or nations--two from each tribe. But, as independentstates or cities grew up, each of these also was entitled to thesame representation; and no state, however powerful, was entitledto more. The council met twice every year; in the spring at Delphi, and in the autumn at Anthe'la, a village near Thermopylæ. 

While the objects of this council, so far as they can be learned, were praiseworthy, and its action tended to produce the happiestpolitical effects, it was, after all, more especially a religiousassociation. It had no right of interference in ordinary warsbetween the communities represented in it, and could not turnaside schemes of ambition and conquest, or subdue the jealousiesof rival states. The oath taken by its members ran thus: "We willnot destroy any Amphictyonic town, nor cut it off from runningwater in war or peace; if anyone shall do so, we will marchagainst him and destroy his city. If anyone shall plunder theproperty of the god, or shall take treacherous counsel againstthe things in his temple at Delphi, we will punish him with foot, and hand, and voice, and by every means in our power. " Its chieffunctions, as we see, were to guard the temple of Delphi and theinterests of religion; and it was only in cases of a violationof these, or under that pretence, that it could call for thecooperation of all its members. Inefficient as it had provedto be in many instances, yet Philip of Macedon, by placing himselfat its head, overturned the independence of Greece; but its useceased altogether when the Delphic oracle lost its influence, aconsiderable time before the reign of Constantine the Great. 

Aside from the causes already assigned, the want of politicalunion among the Greeks may be ascribed to a natural and mutualjealousy, which, in the language of Mr. Thirlwall, "stifled eventhe thought of a confederacy" that might have prevented internalwars and saved Greece from foreign dominion. This jealousy theinstitutions to which we have referred could not remove; and itwas heightened by the great diversity of the forms of governmentthat existed in the Grecian states. As another writer has wellobserved, "The independent sovereignty of each city was afundamental notion in the Greek mind. The patriotism of a Greekwas confined to his city, and rarely kindled into any generallove for the welfare of Hellas. So complete was the politicaldivision between the Greek cities, that the citizen of one wasan alien and a stranger in the territory of another. He was notmerely debarred from all share in the government, but he couldnot acquire property in land or houses, nor contract a marriagewith a native woman, nor sue in the courts except through themedium of a friendly citizen. The cities thus repelling eachother, the sympathies and feelings of a Greek became more centralin his own. "

In view of these conditions it is not surprising that Greecenever enjoyed political unity; and just here was her great andsuicidal weakness. The Romans reduced various races, in habitualwar with one another and marked by variations of dialect andcustoms, into a single government, and kept them there; but theGreeks, though possessing a common inheritance, a common language, a common religion, and a common type of character, of manners, and of aspirations, allowed all these common interests, thatmight have created an indissoluble political union, to besubordinated to mutual jealousies--to an "exclusive patriotism"that rendered it difficult for them to unite even undercircumstances of common and terrible danger. "It was thispolitical disunion that always led them to turn their armsagainst one another, and eventually subjected them to the powerof Macedon and of Rome. "

CHAPTER IV. 

SPARTA, AND THE LEGISLATION OF LYCURGUS. 

 Spread on Eurotas' bank, Amid a circle of soft rising hills, The patient Sparta stood; the sober, hard, And man-subduing city; which no shape Of pain could conquer, nor of pleasure charm. Lycurgus there built, on the solid base Of equal life, so well a tempered state, That firm for ages, and unmoved, it stood The fort of Greece! --THOMSON. 

Returning to the Dorians of Peloponnesus, we find, in earlyhistorical times, that Sparta was gradually acquiring anascendancy over the other Dorian states, and extending herdominions throughout the southern portion of the peninsula. Thisresult was greatly aided by her geographical position. On atable-land environed by hills, and with arduous descents to thesea, her natural state was one of great strength, while her sterilesoil promoted frugality, hardihood, and simplicity among her citizens. 

Some time in the ninth century Polydec'tes, one of the Spartankings, died without children, and the reins of government fellinto the hands of his brother Lycurgus, who became celebratedas the "Spartan law-giver. " But Lycurgus soon resigned the crownto the posthumous son of Polydectes, and went into voluntaryexile. He is said to have visited many foreign lands, observingtheir institutions and manners, conversing with their sages, andemploying his time in maturing a plan for remedying the manydisorders which afflicted his native country. On his return heapplied himself to the work of framing a new Constitution, havingfirst consulted the Delphic oracle, which assured him that "theConstitution he should establish would be the most excellent inthe world. "

 * * * * *

I. THE CONSTITUTION OF LYCURGUS. 

Having enlisted the aid of most of the prominent citizens, whotook up arms to support him, Lycurgus procured the enactment ofa code of laws founded on the institutions of the Cretan Minos, by which the form of government, the military discipline of thepeople, the distribution of property, the education of thecitizens, and the rules of domestic life were to be establishedon a new and immutable basis. The account which Plutarch givesof these regulations asserts that Lycurgus first established asenate of thirty members, chosen for life, the two kings beingof the number, and that the former shared the power of the latter. There were also to be assemblies of the people, who were to haveno right to propose any subject of debate, but were only authorizedto ratify or reject what might be proposed to them by the senateand the kings. Lycurgus next made a division of the lands, forhere he found great inequality existing, as there were many indigentpersons who had no lands, and the wealth was centered in thehands of a few. 

In order farther to remove inequalities among the citizens, Lycurgus next attempted to divide the movable property; but asthis measure met with great opposition, he had recourse to anothermethod for accomplishing the same object. He stopped the currencyof gold and silver coin, and permitted iron money only to be used;and to a great quantity and weight of this he assigned but a smallvalue, so that to remove one or two hundred dollars of this moneywould require a yoke of oxen. This regulation is said to have putan end to many kinds of injustice; for "who, " says Plutarch, "wouldsteal or take a bribe; who would defraud or rob when he could notconceal the booty--when he could neither be dignified by thepossession of it nor be served by its use?" Unprofitable andsuperfluous arts were also excluded, trade with foreign stateswas abandoned, and luxury, losing its sources of support, diedaway of itself. 

Through the efforts of Lycurgus, Sparta was delivered from theevils of anarchy and misrule, and began a long period oftranquillity and order. Its progress was mainly due, however, to that part of the legislation of Lycurgus which related tothe military discipline and education of its citizens. The positionof Sparta, an unfortified city surrounded by numerous enemies, compelled the Spartans to be a nation of soldiers. From his birthevery Spartan belonged to the state; sickly and deformed childrenwere destroyed, those only being thought worthy to live who promisedto become useful members of society. The principal object ofSpartan education, therefore, was to render the Spartan youthexpert in manly exercises, hardy, and courageous; and at sevenyears of age he began a course of physical training of greathardship and even torture. Manhood was not reached until thethirtieth year, and thenceforth, until his sixtieth year, theSpartan remained under public discipline and in the service ofthe state. The women, also, were subjected to a course of trainingalmost as rigorous as that of the men, and they took as greatan interest in the welfare of their country and in the successof its arms. "Return, either with your shield or upon it, " wastheir exhortation to their sons when the latter were going tobattle. The following lines, supposed to be addressed by a Spartanmother to the dead body of her son, whom she had slain becausehe had ingloriously fled from the battle-field, will illustratethe Spartan idea of patriotic virtue which was so sedulouslyinstilled into every Spartan:

 Deme'trius, when he basely fled the field, A Spartan born, his Spartan mother killed; Then, stretching forth his bloody sword, she cried (Her teeth fierce gnashing with disdainful pride), "Fly, cursed offspring, to the shades below, Where proud Euro'tas shall no longer flow For timid hinds like thee! Fly, trembling slave, Abandoned wretch, to Pluto's darkest cave! For I so vile a monster never bore: Disowned by Sparta, thou'rt my son no more. " --TYMNÆ'US. 

There were three classes among the population of Laconia--theDorians, of Sparta; their serfs, the He'lots; and the people ofthe provincial districts. The former, properly called Spartans, were the ruling caste, who neither employed themselves inagriculture nor practiced any mechanical art. The Helots wereslaves, who, as is generally believed, on account of theirobstinate resistance in some early wars, and subsequent conquest, had been reduced to the most degrading servitude. The people ofthe provincial districts were a mixed race, composed partly ofstrangers who had accompanied the Dorians and aided them in theirconquest, and partly of the old inhabitants of the country whohad submitted to the conquerors. The provincials were under thecontrol of the Spartan government, in the administration of whichthey had no share, and the lands which they held were tributary tothe state; they formed an important part of the military force ofthe country, and had little to complain of but the want ofpolitical independence. 

 * * * * *

II. SPARTAN POETRY AND MUSIC. 

With all her devotion to the pursuit of arms, the bard, thesculptor, and the architect found profitable employment in Sparta. While the Spartans never exhibited many of those qualities ofmind and heart which were cultivated at Athens with such wonderfulsuccess, they were not strangers to the influences of poetry andmusic. Says the poet CAMPBELL, "The Spartans used not the trumpetin their march into battle, because they wished not to excitethe rage of their warriors. Their charging step was made to the'Dorian mood of flute and soft recorder. ' The valor of a Spartanwas too highly tempered to require a stunning or rousing impulse. His spirit was like a steed too proud for the spur. "

 They marched not with the trumpet's blast, Nor bade the horn peal out, And the laurel-groves, as on they passed, Rung with no battle-shout!

 They asked no clarion's voice to fire Their souls with an impulse high; But the Dorian reed and the Spartan lyre For the sons of liberty!

 And still sweet flutes, their path around, Sent forth Eolian breath; They needed not a sterner sound To marshal them for death! --MRS. HEMANS. 

"The songs of the Spartans, " says PLUTARCH, "had a spirit whichcould rouse the soul, and impel it in an enthusiastic manner toaction. They consisted chiefly of the praises of heroes that haddied for Sparta, or else of expressions of detestation for suchwretches as had declined the glorious opportunity. Nor did theyforget to express an ambition for glory suitable to their respectiveages. Of this it may not be amiss to give an instance. Therewere three choirs in their festivals, corresponding with thethree ages of man. The old men began, 'Once in battle bold we shone;'

the young men answered, 'Try us; our vigor is not gone;'

and the boys concluded, 'The palm remains for us alone. '

Indeed, if we consider with some attention such of theLacedæmonian poems as are still extant, and enter into the spiritof those airs which were played upon the flute when marching tobattle, we must agree that Terpan'der and Pindar have very fitlyjoined valor and music together. The former thus speaks ofLacedæmon:

 Then gleams the youth's bright falchion; then the Muse Lifts her sweet voice; then awful Justice opes Her wide pavilion. 

And Pindar sings, Then in grave council sits the sage: Then burns the youth's resistless rage To hurl the quiv'ring lance; The Muse with glory crowns their arms, And Melody exerts her charms, And Pleasure leads the dance. 

Thus we are informed not only of their warlike turn, but of theirskill in music. "

The poet ION, of Chios, gives us the following elegant descriptionof the power of Sparta:

 The town of Sparta is not walled with words; But when young A'res falls upon her men, Then reason rules, and the hand does the deed. 

 * * * * *

III. SPARTA'S CONQUESTS. 

Under the constitution of Lycurgus Sparta began her career ofconquest. Of the death of the great law-giver we have no reliableaccount; but it is stated that, having bound the Spartans to makeno change in the laws until his return, he voluntarily banishedhimself forever from his country and died in a foreign land. During a century or more subsequent to the time of Lycurgus, theSpartans remained at peace with their neighbors; but jealousiesarose between them and the Messe'nians, a people west of Laconia, which, stimulated by insults and injuries on both sides, gaverise to the FIRST MESSENIAN WAR, 743 years before the Christianera. For the first four years the Spartans made little progress;but in the fifth year of the war a great battle was fought, and, although its result was indecisive, the Messenians deemed itprudent to retire to the strongly fortified mountain of Itho'me. In the eighteenth year of the conflict the Spartans suffered asevere defeat, and were driven back into their own territory;but at the close of the twentieth year the Messenians were obligedto abandon their fortress of Ithome, and leave their rich fieldsin the undisturbed possession of their conquerors. Many of theinhabitants fled into Arcadia and other friendly territories, while those who remained were treated with great severity, andreduced to the condition of the Helots. 

The war thus closed developed the warlike spirit that theinstitutions of Lycurgus were so well calculated to encourage;and the Spartans were so stern and unyielding in their exactions, that they drove the Messenians to revolt thirty-nine years later, 685 B. C. The Messenians found an able leader in Aristom'enes, whose valor in the first battle struck fear into his enemies, and inspired his countrymen with confidence. In this strugglethe Argives, Arcadians, Si-çy-o'nians, and Pisa'tans aidedMessenia, while the Corinthians assisted Sparta. In alarm theSpartans sought the advice of the Delphic oracle, and receivedthe mortifying response that they must seek a leader from theAthenians, between whose country and Laconia there had been nointercourse for several centuries. Fearing to disobey the oracle, but reluctant to further the cause of the Spartans, the Athenianssent to the latter the poet TYRTÆ'US, who had no distinction as awarrior. His patriotic and martial odes, however, roused the spiritof the Spartans, and animated them to new efforts against thefoe. He appears as the great hero of Sparta during the SECONDMESSENIAN WAR, and of his songs that have come down to us we givethe following as a specimen:

 To the field, to the field, gallant Spartan band, Worthy sons, like your sires, of our warlike land! Let each arm be prepared for its part in the fight, Fix the shield on the left, poise the spear with the right; Let no care for your lives in your bosoms find place, No such care knew the heroes of old Spartan race. [Footnote: Mure's "History of Greek Literature, " vol. Iii. , p. 195. ]

But the Spartans were not immediately successful. In the firstbattle that ensued they were defeated with severe loss; but inthe third year of the war the Messenians suffered a signal defeat, owing to the treachery of Aristoc'rates, the king of their Arcadianallies, who deserted them in the heat of battle, and Aristomenesretired to the mountain fortress of Ira. The war continued, withvarying success, seventeen years in all; throughout the whole ofwhich period Aristomenes distinguished himself by many nobleexploits; but all his efforts to save his country were ineffectual. A second time Sparta conquered (668 B. C. ), and the yoke appearedto be fixed on Messenia forever. Thenceforward the growing powerof Sparta seemed destined to undisputed pre-eminence, not onlyin the Peloponnesus, but throughout all Greece. Before 600 B. C. Sparta had conquered the upper valley of the Eurotas from theArcadians, and, forty years later, compelled Te'gea, the capitalof Arcadia, to acknowledge her supremacy. Still later, in 524B. C. , a long struggle with the Argives was terminated in favorof Sparta, and she was now the most powerful of the Grecian states. 

CHAPTER V. 

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT, AND CHANGES IN GRECIAN POLITICS. 

Although Greek political writers taught that there were, primarily, but three forms of government--monarchy, or the rule of one;aristocracy, that of the few; and democracy, that of the many--the latter always limited by the Greeks to the freemen--yetit appears that when anyone of these degenerated from its supposedlegitimate object, the welfare of the state, it was marked by apeculiar name. Thus a monarchy in which selfish aims predominatedbecame a tyranny; and in later Grecian history, such was theprevailing sentiment in opposition to kingly rule that all kingswere called tyrants: an aristocracy which directed its measureschiefly to the preservation of its power became an oligarchy; anda democracy that departed from the civil and political equalitywhich was its supposed basis, and gave ascendancy to a faction, was sometimes designated by the term ochlocracy, or the dominionof the rabble. "A democracy thus corrupted, " says THIRLWALL, "exhibited many features of a tyranny. It was jealous of allwho were eminently distinguished by birth, fortune, or reputation;it encouraged flatterers and sycophants; was insatiable in itsdemands on the property of the rich, and readily listened tocharges which exposed them to death or confiscation. The classwhich suffered such oppression, commonly ill satisfied with theprinciple of the Constitution itself, was inflamed with the mostfurious animosity by the mode in which it was applied, and itregarded the great mass of its fellow-citizens as its mortalenemies. "

As in all the Greek states there was a large class of people notentitled to the full rights of citizenship, including, amongothers, persons reduced to slavery as prisoners of war, andforeign settlers and their descendants, so there was no suchform of government as that which the moderns understand by acomplete democracy. Of a republic also, in the modern acceptationof the term--that is, a representative democracy--the Greeksknew nothing. As an American statesman remarks, "Certain it isthat the greatest philosophers among them would have regarded assomething monstrous a republic spreading over half a continentand embracing twenty-six states, each of which would have itselfbeen an empire, and not a commonwealth, in their sense of theword. "[Footnote: Hugh S. Legaré's Writings, vol. I. , p. 440. ]

 * * * * *

I. CHANGES FROM ARISTOCRACIES TO OLIGARCHIES. 

During several centuries succeeding the period of the supposedTrojan war, a gradual change occurred in the political historyof the Grecian states, the results of which were an abandonmentof much of the kingly authority that prevailed through the HeroicAge. At a still later period this change was followed by theintroduction and establishment, at first, of aristocracies, and, finally, of democratic forms of government; which latter decidedthe whole future character of the public life of the Grecians. The three causes, more prominent than the rest, that are assignedby most writers for these changes, and the final adoption ofdemocratic forms, are, first, the more enlarged views occasionedby the Trojan war, and the dissensions which followed the returnof those engaged in it; second, the great convulsions that attendedthe Thessalian, Boeotian, and Dorian migrations; and, third, thefree principles which intercourse and trade with the Greciancolonies naturally engendered. 

But of these causes the third tended, more than any other one, to change the political condition of the Grecians. Whether themigrations of the Greek colonists were occasioned, as theygenerally were, by conquests that drove so many from their homesto seek an asylum in foreign lands, or were undertaken, as wasthe case in some instances, with the consent and encouragementof the parent states, there was seldom any feeling of dependenceon the one side, and little or no claim of authority on the other. This was especially the case with the Ionians, who had scarcelyestablished themselves in Asia Minor when they shook off theauthority of the princes who conducted them to their new settlements, and established a form of government more democratic than anywhich then existed in Greece. 

With the rapid progress of mercantile industry and maritimediscovery, on which the prosperity of the colonies depended, aspirit of independence grew up, which erelong exerted an influenceon the parent states of Greece, and encouraged the growth of freeprinciples there. "Freedom, " says an eloquent author, [Footnote:Heeren, "Polities of Ancient Greece, " p. 103. ] "ripens in colonies. Ancient usage cannot be preserved, cannot altogether be renewed, as at home. The former bonds of attachment to the soil, and ancientcustoms, are broken by the voyage; the spirit feels itself to bemore free in the new country; new strength is required for thenecessary exertions; and those exertions are animated by success. When every man lives by the labor of his hands, equality arises, even if it did not exist before. Each day is fraught with newexperience; the necessity of common defence is more felt in landswhere the new settlers find ancient inhabitants desirous of beingfree from them. Need we wonder, then, if the authority of thefounders of the Grecian colonies, even where it had originallyexisted, soon gave way to liberty?"

But the changes in the political principles of the Grecian stateswere necessarily slow, and were usually attended with domesticquarrels and convulsions. Monarchy, in most instances, wasabolished by first taking away its title, and substituting thatof archon, or chief magistrate, a term less offensive than thatof king; next, by making the office of chief ruler elective, first in one family, then in more--first for life, then for aterm of years; and, finally, by dividing the power among severalof the nobility, thus forming an aristocracy or oligarchy. Atthe time in Grecian history to which we have come democracy wasas yet unknown; but the principal Grecian states, with theexception of Sparta, which always retained the kingly form ofgovernment, had abolished royalty and substituted oligarchy. Thischange did not better the condition of the people, who, increasingin numbers and intelligence, while the ruling class declined innumbers and wealth, became conscious of their resources, and putforward their claims to a representation in the government. 

 * * * * *

II. FROM OLIGARCHIES TO DESPOTISMS. 

The fall of the oligarchies was not accomplished, however, bythe people. "The commonalty, " says THIRLWALL, "even when reallysuperior in strength, could not all at once shake off the awewith which it was impressed by years of subjection. It needed aleader to animate, unite, and direct it; and it was seldom thatone capable of inspiring it with confidence could be found inits own ranks, " Hence this leader was generally found in anambitions citizen, perhaps a noble or a member of the oligarchy, who, by artifice and violence, would make himself the supremeruler of the state. Under such circumstances the overthrow ofan oligarchy was not a triumph of the people, but only thetriumph of a then popular leader. To such a one was given thename of tyrant, but not in the sense that we use the term. HEERENsays, "The Grecians connected with this word the idea of anillegitimate, but not necessarily of a cruel, government. " Asthe word therefore signifies simply the irresponsible rule of asingle person, such person may be more correctly designated bythe term despot, or usurper; although, in point of fact, thegovernment was frequently of the most cruel and tyrannicalcharacter. 

"The merits of this race of rulers, " says BULWER, "and theunconscious benefits they produced, have not been justlyappreciated, either by ancient or modern historians. Without hertyrants Greece might never have established her democracies. Thewiser and more celebrated tyrants were characterized by an extrememodesty of deportment: they assumed no extraordinary pomp, nolofty titles--they left untouched, or rendered yet more popular, the outward forms and institutions of the government--they werenot exacting in taxation--they affected to link themselves withthe lowest orders and their ascendancy was usually productive ofimmediate benefit to the working-classes, whom they employed innew fortifications or new public buildings--dazzling the citizensby a splendor that seemed less the ostentation of an individualthan the prosperity of a state. It was against the aristocracy, not against the people, that they directed their acute sagacitiesand unsparing energies. Every politic tyrant was a Louis theEleventh, weakening the nobles, creating a middle class. Heeffected his former object by violent and unscrupulous means. Heswept away by death or banishment all who opposed his authorityor excited his fears. He thus left nothing between the state anda democracy but himself; and, himself removed, democracy naturallyand of course ensued. "[Footnote: "Athens: Its Rise and Fall, "vol. I. , pp. 148, 149. ]

From the middle of the seventh century B. C. , and during a periodof over one hundred and fifty years, there were few Grecian citiesthat escaped a despotic government. While the history of Athensaffords, perhaps, the most striking example of it, the longesttyranny in Greece was that in the city of Si'çyon, which lasteda hundred years under Orthag'orus and his sons. Their dynasty wasfounded about 676 B. C. , and its long duration is ascribed to itsmildness and moderation. The last of this dynasty was Clis'thenes, whose daughter became the mother of the Athenian Clisthenes, thefounder of democracy at Athens on the expulsion of the Pisistrat'idæ. The despots of Corinth were more celebrated. Their dynasty enduredseventy-four years, having been founded in the year 655. UnderPerian'der, who succeeded to power in 625, and whose governmentwas cruel and oppressive, Corinth reached her highest prosperity. His reign lasted upward of forty years, and soon after his deaththe dynasty ended, being overpowered by Sparta. 

Across the isthmus from Corinth was the city of Meg'ara, of which, in 630 B. C. , Theag'enes, a bold and ambitious man, made himselfdespot. Like many other usurpers of his time, he adorned thecity with splendid and useful buildings. But he was overthrownafter a rule of thirty years, and a violent struggle then ensuedbetween the oligarchy and the people. At first the latter weresuccessful; they banished many of the nobles, and confiscatedtheir property, but the exiles returned, and by force of armsrecovered their power. Still the struggle continued, and it wasnot until after many years that an oligarchical government wasfirmly established. Much interest is added to these revolutionsin Megara by the writings of THEOG'NIS, a contemporary poet, anda member of the oligarchical party. "His writings, " says THIRLWALL, "are interesting, not so much for the historical facts containedin them as for the light they throw on the character and feelingsof the parties which divided his native city and so many others. "

In the poems of THEOGNIS "his keen sense of his personal sufferingsis almost absorbed in the vehement grief and indignation withwhich he contemplates the state of Megara, the triumph of thebad [his usual term for the people], and the degradation of thegood [the members of the old aristocracy]. " Some of the socialchanges which the popular revolution had effected are thus described:

 Our commonwealth preserves its former fame: Our common people are no more the same. They that in skins and hides were rudely dressed, Nor dreamed of law, nor sought to be redressed By rules of right, but in the days of old Lived on the land like cattle in the fold, Are now the Brave and Good; and we, the rest, Are now the Mean and Bad, though once the best. 

It appears, also, that some of the aristocracy by birth had sofar forgotten their leading position as to inter-marry with thosewho had become possessed of much wealth; and of this condition ofthings the poet complains as follows:

 But in the daily matches that we make The price is everything; for money's sake Men marry--women are in marriage given; The Bad or Coward, that in wealth has thriven, May match his offspring with the proudest race: Thus everything is mixed, noble and base. 

The usurpations in Sicyon, Corinth, and Megara furnish illustrationsof what occurred in nearly all of the Grecian states during theseventh and sixth centuries before the Christian era. Some ofthose of a later period will be noticed in a subsequent chapter. 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS. 

I. THE LEGISLATION OF DRACO. 

As we have already stated, the successive encroachments on theroyal prerogatives that followed the death of Co'drus, and thatfinally resulted in the establishment of an oligarchy, are almostthe only events that fill the meager annals of Athens for severalcenturies, or down to 683 B. C. "Here, as elsewhere, " says adistinguished historian, "a wonderful stillness suddenly followsthe varied stir of enterprise and adventure, and the throng ofinteresting characters that present themselves to our view in theHeroic Age. Life seems no longer to offer anything for poetry tocelebrate, or for history to record. " The history of Athens, therefore, may be said to begin with the institution of the nineannual archons in 683 B. C. These possessed all authority, religious, civil, and military. The Athenian populace not only enjoyed nopolitical rights, but were reduced to a condition only a littleabove servitude; and it appears to have been owing to the anarchythat arose from the ruinous extortions of the nobles on the onehand, and the resistance of the people on the other, that Dra'co, the most eminent of the nobility, was chosen to prepare the firstwritten code of laws for the government of the state (624 B. C. ). 

Draco prepared his code in conformity to the spirit and the interestof the ruling class, and the severity of his laws has made hisname proverbial. It has been said of them that they were written, not in ink, but in blood. He attached the same penalty to pettythefts as to sacrilege and murder, saying that the former offencesdeserved death, and he had no greater punishment for the latter. Of course, the legislation of Draco failed to calm the prevailingdiscontent, and human nature soon revolted against such legalizedbutchery. Says an English author, "The first symptoms in Athens ofthe political crisis which, as in other of the Grecian states, marked the transition of power from the oligarchic to the popularparty, now showed itself. " Cy'lon, an Athenian of wealth andgood, family, had married the daughter of Theagenes, the despotof Megara. Encouraged by his father-in-law's success, he conceivedthe design of seizing the Acropolis at the next Olympic festivaland making himself master of Athens. Accordingly, at that timehe seized the Acropolis with a considerable force; but not havingthe support of the mass of the people the conspiracy failed, andmost of those engaged in it were put to death. 

 * * * * *

II. LEGISLATION OF SOLON. 

The Commonwealth was finally reduced to complete anarchy, withoutlaw, or order, or system in the administration of justice, whenSolon, who was descended from Codrus, was raised to the officeof first magistrate (594 B. C. ). Solon was born in Salamis, about638 B. C. , and his first appearance in public life at Athens occurredin this wise: A few years prior to the year 600 the Island ofSalamis had revolted from Athens to Megara. The Athenians hadrepeatedly failed in their attempts to recover it, and, finally, the odium of defeat was such that a law was passed forbidding, upon pain of death, any proposition for the renewal of theenterprise. Indignant at this pusillanimous policy, Solon deviseda plan for rousing his countrymen to action. Having some poeticaltalent, he composed a poem on the loss of Salamis, and, feigningmadness in order to evade the penalty of the law, he rushed intothe market-place. PLUTARCH says, "A great number of people flockingabout him there, he got up on the herald's stone, and sang theelegy which begins thus:

 'Hear and attend; from Salamis I came To show your error. '"

The stratagem was successful: the law was repealed, an expeditionagainst Salamis was intrusted to the command of Solon, and inone campaign he drove the Megarians from the island. 

Solon the poet, orator, and soldier, became the judicious law-giver, whose fame reached the remotest parts of the then known world, and whose laws became the basis of those of the Twelve Tables ofRome. Says an English poet, Who knows not Solon, last, and wisest far, Of those whom Greece, triumphant in the height Of glory, styled her father? him whose voice Through Athens hushed the storm of civil wrath; Taught envious Want and cruel Wealth to join In friendship, and with sweet compulsion tamed Minerva's eager people to his laws, Which their own goddess in his breast inspired? --AKENSIDE. 

Having been raised, as stated, to the office of first archon, Solon was chosen, by the consent or an parties, as the arbiterof their differences, and invested with full authority to framea new Constitution and a new code of laws. He might easily haveperverted this almost unlimited power to dangerous uses, and hisfriends urged him to make himself supreme ruler of Athens. Buthe told them, "Tyranny is a fair field, but it has no outlet;"and his stern integrity was proof against all temptations toswerve from the path of honor and betray the trust reposed in him. 

The ridicule to which he was exposed for rejecting a usurper'spower he has described as follows:

 Nor wisdom's palm, nor deep-laid policy Can Solon boast. For when its noblest blessings Heaven poured into his lap, he spurned them from him; Where was his sense and spirit when enclosed He found the choicest prey, nor deigned to draw it? Who, to command fair Athens but one day, Would not himself, with all his race, have fallen Contented on the morrow?

The grievous exactions of the ruling orders had already reducedthe laboring classes to poverty and abject dependence; and allwhom bad times or casual disasters had compelled to borrow hadbeen impoverished by the high rates of interest; while thousandsof insolvent debtors had been sold into slavery, to satisfy thedemands of relentless creditors. In this situation of affairs themost violent or needy demanded a new distribution of property;while the rich would have held on to all the fruits of theirextortion and tyranny. Pursuing a middle course between theseextremes, Solon relieved the debtor by reducing the rate ofinterest and enhancing the value of the currency: he also relievedthe lands of the poor from all encumbrances; he abolishedimprisonment for debt; he restored to liberty those whom povertyhad placed in bondage; and he repealed all the laws of Dracoexcept those against murder. He next arranged all the citizensin four classes, according to their landed property; the firstclass alone being eligible to the highest civil offices and thehighest commands in the army, while only a few of the loweroffices were open to the second and third classes. The latterclasses, however, were partially relieved from taxation; but inwar they were required to do duty, the one as cavalry, and theother as heavy-armed infantry. 

Individuals of the fourth class were excluded from all offices, but in return they were wholly exempt from taxation; and yet theyhad a share in the government, for they were permitted to takepart in the popular assemblies, which had the right of confirmingor rejecting new laws, and of electing the magistrates; and heretheir votes counted the same as those of the wealthiest of thenobles. In war they served only as light troops or manned thefleets. Thus the system of Solon, being based primarily on propertyqualifications, provided for all the freemen; and its aim was tobestow upon the commonalty such a share in the government as wouldenable it to protect itself, and to give to the wealthy what wasnecessary for retaining their dignity--throwing the burdens ofgovernment on the latter, and not excluding the former from itsbenefits. 

Solon retained the magistracy of the nine archons, but withabridged powers; and, as a guard against democraticalextravagance on the one hand, and a check to undue assumptionsof power on the other, he instituted a Senate of Four Hundred, and founded or remodeled the court of the Areop'agus. The Senateconsisted of members selected by lot from the first three classes;but none could be appointed to this honor until they had undergonea strict examination into their past lives, characters, andqualifications. The Senate was to be consulted by the archonsin all important matters, and was to prepare all new laws andregulations, which were to be submitted to the votes of theassembly of the people. The court of the Areopagus, which heldits sittings on an eminence on the western side of the AthenianAcropolis, was composed of persons who had held the office ofarchon, and was the supreme tribunal in all capital cases. Itexercised, also, a general superintendence over education, morals, and religion; and it could suspend a resolution of the publicassembly, which it deemed foolish or unjust, until it had undergonea reconsideration. It was this court that condemned thephilosopher Socrates to death; and before this same venerabletribunal the apostle Paul, six hundred years later, made hismemorable defence of Christianity. 

Such is a brief outline of the institutions of Solon, which exhibita mingling of aristocracy and democracy well adapted to thecharacter of the age and the circumstances of the people. Theyevidently exercised much less control over the pursuits anddomestic habits of individuals than the Spartan code, but at thesame time they show a far greater regard for the public morals. The success of Solon is well summed up in the following brieftribute to his virtues and genius, by the poet THOMSON:

 He built his commonweal On equity's wide base: by tender laws A lively people curbing, yet undamped; Preserving still that quick, peculiar fire, Whence in the laurelled field of finer arts And of bold freedom they unequalled shone, The pride of smiling Greece, and of mankind. 

Solon is said to have declared that his laws were not the bestwhich he could devise, but were the best that the Athenians couldreceive. In the following lines we have his own estimate of theservices he rendered in behalf of his distracted state:

 "The force of snow and furious hail is sent From swelling clouds that load the firmament. Thence the loud thunders roar, and lightnings glare Along the darkness of the troubled air. Unmoved by storms, old Ocean peaceful sleeps Till the loud tempest swells the angry deeps. And thus the State, in full distraction toss'd, Oft by its noblest citizen is lost; And oft a people once secure and free, Their own imprudence dooms to tyranny. My laws have armed the crowd with useful might, Have banished honors and unequal right, Have taught the proud in wealth, and high in place, To reverence justice and abhor disgrace; And given to both a shield, their guardian tower, Against ambition's aims and lawless power. "

 * * * * *

III. THE USURPATION OF PISIS'TRATUS. 

The legislation of Solon was not followed by the total extinctionof party-spirit, and, while he was absent from Athens on a visitto Egypt and other Eastern countries, the three prominent factionsin the state renewed their ancient feuds. Pisistratus, a wealthykinsman of Solon, who had supported the measures of the latterby his eloquence and military talents, had the art to gain thefavor of the mass of the people and constitute himself theirleader. AKENSIDE thus happily describes him as--

 The great Pisistratus! that chief renowned, Whom Hermes and the Ida'lian queen had trained, Even from his birth, to every powerful art Of pleasing and persuading; from whose lips Flowed eloquence which, like the vows of love, Could steal away suspicion from the hearts Of all who listened. Thus, from day to day He won the general suffrage, and beheld Each rival overshadowed and depressed Beneath his ampler state; yet oft complained As one less kindly treated, who had hoped To merit favor, but submits perforce To find another's services preferred, Nor yet relaxeth aught of faith or zeal. Then tales were scattered of his envious foes, Of snares that watched his fame, of daggers aimed Against his life. 

When his schemes were ripe for execution, Pisistratus one daydrove into the public square of Athens, his mules and himselfdisfigured with recent wounds inflicted by his own hands, butwhich he induced the multitude to believe had been received froma band of assassins, whom his enemies, the nobility, had hired tomurder "the friend of the people. " Of this scene the same poet says:

 At last, with trembling limbs, His hair diffused and wild, his garments loose, And stained with blood from self-inflicted wounds, He burst into the public place, as there, There only were his refuge; and declared In broken words, with sighs of deep regret, The mortal danger he had scarce repelled. 

The ruse was successful. An assembly was at once convoked by hispartisans, and the indignant crowd immediately voted him a guardof fifty citizens to protect his person, although Solon, who hadreturned to Athens and was present, warned them of the perniciousconsequences of such a measure. 

Pisistratus soon took advantage of the favor he had gained, and, arming a large body of his adherents, he threw off the mask andseized the Acropolis. Solon alone, firm and undaunted, publiclypresented himself in the market-place, and called upon the peopleto resist the usurpation. 

 Solon, with swift indignant strides The assembled people seeks; proclaims aloud It was no time for counsel; in their spears Lay all their prudence now: the tyrant yet Was not so firmly seated on his throne, But that one shock of their united force Would dash him from the summit of his pride Headlong and grovelling in the dust. 

But his appeal was in vain, and Pisistratus, without opposition, made himself master of Athens. The usurper made no change inthe Constitution, and suffered the laws to take their course. He left Solon undisturbed; and it is said that the aged patriot, rejecting all offers of favor, went into voluntary exile, andsoon after died at Salamis. Twice was Pisistratus driven fromAthens by a coalition of the opposing factions, but he regainedthe sovereignty and succeeded in holding it until his death(527 B. C. ). Although he tightened the reins of government, heruled with equity and mildness, and adorned Athens with manymagnificent and useful works, among them the Lyceum, thatsubsequently became the famous resort of philosophers and poets. He is also said to have been the first person in Greece whocollected a library, which he threw open to the public; and tohim posterity is indebted for the collection of Homer's poems. THIRLWALL says: "On the whole, though we cannot approve of thesteps by which Pisistratus mounted to power, we must own that hemade a princely use of it; and may believe that, though under hisdynasty Athens could never have risen to the greatness she afterwardattained, she was indebted to his rule for a season of repose, during which she gained much of that strength which she finallyunfolded. "

THE TYRANNY AND THE DEATH OF HIP'PIAS. 

On the death of Pisistratus his sons Hippias, Hippar'chus, andThes'salus succeeded to his power, and for some years trod inhis steps and carried out his plans, only taking care to fillthe most important offices with their friends, and keeping astanding force of foreign mercenaries to secure themselves fromhostile factions and popular outbreaks. After a joint reign offourteen years, a conspiracy was formed to free Attica from theirrule, at the head of which were two young Athenians, Harmo'diusand Aristogi'ton, whose personal resentment had been provoked byan atrocious insult to the family of the former. One of thebrothers was killed, but the two young Athenians also lost theirlives in the struggle. Hippias, the elder of the rulers, nowbecame a cruel tyrant, and soon alienated the affections of thepeople, who obtained the aid of the Spartans, and the family ofthe Pisistratids was driven from Athens, never to regain itsformer ascendancy (510 B. C. ). Hippias fled to the court ofArtapher'nes, governor of Lydia, then a part of the Persiandominion of Dari'us, where his intrigues largely contributed tothe opening of a war between Persia and Greece. 

The names of Harmodius and Aristogiton have been immortalizedby what some writers term "the ignorant or prejudiced gratitudeof the Athenians. " DR. ANTHON considers them cowardly conspirators, entitled to no heroic honors. But, as he says, statues were erectedto them at the public expense; and when an orator wished to suggestthe idea of the highest merit and of the noblest services to thecause of liberty, he never failed to remind his hearers of Harmodiusand Aristogiton. Their names never ceased to be repeated withaffectionate admiration in the convivial songs of Athens, whichassigned them a place in the islands of the "blessed, " by theside of Achilles and Tydi'des. From one of the most famous andpopular of these songs, by CALLIS'TRATUS, we give the followingverses:

 Harmodius, hail! Though 'reft of breath, Thou ne'er shalt feel the stroke of death; The heroes' happy isles shall be The bright abode allotted thee. * * * * * While freedom's name is understood You shall delight the wise and good; You dared to set your country free, And gave her laws equality. 

 * * * * *

IV. THE BIRTH OF DEMOCRACY. 

On the expulsion of Hippias, Clis'thenes, to whom Athens wasmainly indebted for its liberation from the Pisistratids, aspiredto the political leadership of the state. But he was opposed byIsag'oras, who was supported by the nobility. In order to makehis cause popular, Clisthenes planned, and succeeded in executing, a change in the Constitution of Solon, which gave to the peoplea greater share in the government. He divided the people into tentribes, instead of the old Ionic four tribes, and these in turnwere subdivided into districts or townships called de'mes. Heincreased the powers and duties of the Senate, giving to it fivehundred members, with fifty from each tribe; and he placed theadministration of the military service in the hands of tengenerals, one being taken from each tribe. The reforms ofClisthenes gave birth to the Athenian democracy. As THIRLWALLobserves, "They had the effect of transforming the commonaltyinto a new body, furnished with new organs, and breathing a newspirit, which was no longer subject to the slightest controlfrom any influence, save that of wealth and personal qualities, in the old nobility. The whole frame of the state was reorganizedto correspond with the new division of the country. "

On the application of Isagoras and his party, Sparta, jealousof the growing strength of Athens, made three unsuccessful attemptsto overthrow the Athenian democracy, and reinstate Hippias insupreme command. She finally abandoned the project, as she couldfind no allies to assist in the enterprise. "Athens had now enteredupon her glorious career. The institutions of Clisthenes had givenher citizens a personal interest in the welfare and the grandeurof their country, and a spirit of the warmest patriotism rapidlysprung up among them. The Persian wars, which followed almostimmediately, exhibit a striking proof of the heroic sacrificeswhich they were prepared to make for the liberty and theindependence of their state. "

CHAPTER VII. 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GREEK COLONIES. 

An important part of the history of Greece is that which embracesthe age of Grecian colonization, and the extension of the commerceof the Greeks to nearly all the coasts of the Mediterranean. Ofthe various circumstances that led to the planting of the Greekcolonies, and especially of the Ionic, Æolian, and Dorian colonieson the coast of Asia Minor and the islands of the Ægean Sea, wehave already spoken. These latter were ever intimately connectedwith Greece proper, in whose general history theirs is embraced;but the cities of Italy, Sicily, and Cyrena'ica were too farremoved from the drama that was enacted around the shores of theÆgean to be more than occasionally and temporarily affected bythe changing fortunes of the parent states. A brief notice, therefore, of some of those distant settlements, that eventuallyrivaled even Athens and Sparta in power and resources, cannot beuninteresting, while it will serve to give more accurate views ofthe extent and importance of the field of Grecian history. 

At an early period the shores of Southern Italy and Sicily werepeopled by Greeks; and so numerous and powerful did the Greciancities become that the whole were comprised by Strabo and othersunder the appellation Magna Græcia, or Great Greece. The earliestof these distant settlements appear to have been made at Cu'mæand Neap'olis, on the western coast of Italy, about the middleof the eleventh century. Cumæ was built on a rocky hill washedby the sea; and the same name is still applied to the ruins thatlie scattered around its base. Some of the most splendid fictionsof Virgil's Æneid relate to the Cumæan Sibyl, whose supposed cave, hewn out of the solid rock, actually existed under the city:

 A spacious cave, within its farmost part, Was hewed and fashioned by laborious art, Through the hill's hollow sides; before the place A hundred doors a hundred entries grace; As many voices issue, and the sound Of Sibyl's words as many times rebound. --Æneid B. VI. 

GROTE says: "The myth of the Sibyl passed from the Cymæ'ans inÆ'olis, along with the other circumstances of the tale of Æne'as, to their brethren, the inhabitants of Cumæ in Italy. In the hollowrock under the very walls of the town was situated the cavern ofthe Sibyl; and in the immediate neighborhood stood the wild woodsand dark lake of Avernus, consecrated to the subterranean gods, and offering an establishment of priests, with ceremonies evokingthe dead, for purposes of prophecy or for solving doubts andmysteries. It was here that Grecian imagination localized theCimme'rians and the fable of O-dys'seus. "[Footnote: The voyage ofUlysses (Odysseus) to the infernal regions. Odyssey, B. XI. ]

The extraordinary fertility of Sicily was a great attractionto the Greek colonists. Naxos, on the eastern coast of the island, was founded about the year 735 B. C. ; and in the following yearsome Corinthians laid the foundations of Syracuse. Ge'la, onthe western coast of the island, and Messa'na, now Messï'na, onthe strait between Italy and Sicily, were founded soon after. Agrigen'tum, on the south-western coast, was founded about acentury later, and became celebrated for the magnificence of itspublic buildings. Pindar called it "the fairest of mortal cities, "and to The'ron, its ruler from 488 to 472, the poet thus refersin the second Olympic ode:

 Come, now, my soul! now draw the string; Bend at the mark the bow: To whom shall now the glorious arrow wing The praise of mild benignity? To Agrigentum fly, Arrow of song, and there thy praise bestow; For I shall swear an oath: a hundred years are flown, But the city ne'er has known A hand more liberal, a more loving heart, Than, Theron, thine! for such thou art. 

 Yet wrong hath risen to blast his praise; Breath of injustice, breathed from men insane, Who seek in brawling strain The echo of his virtues mild to drown, And with their violent deeds eclipse the days Of his serene renown. Unnumbered are the sands of th' ocean shore; And who shall number o'er Those joys in others' breasts which Theron's hand hath sown? --Trans. By ELTON. 

In the mean time the Greek cities Syb'aris, Croto'na, and Taren'tumhad been planted on the south-eastern coast of Italy, and hadrapidly grown to power and opulence. The territorial dominionsof Sybaris and Crotona extended across the peninsula from seato sea. The former possessed twenty-five dependent towns, andruled over four distinct tribes or nations. The territories ofCrotona were still more extensive. These two Grecian states wereat the maximum of their power about the year 560 B. C. --the timeof the accession of Pisistratus at Athens--but they quarreledwith each other, and the result of the contest was the ruin ofSybaris, in 510 B. C. Tarentum was settled by a colony of Spartansabout the year 707 B. C. , soon after the first Messenian war. Nodetails of its history during the first two hundred and thirtyyears of its existence are known to us; but in the fourth centuryB. C. The Tar'entines stood foremost among the Italian Greeks, andthey maintained their power down to the time of Roman supremacy. 

During the first two centuries after the founding of Naxos, inSicily, Grecian settlements were extended over the eastern, southern, and western sides of the island, while Him'era was theonly Grecian town on the northern coast. These two hundred yearswere a period of prosperity among the Sicilian Greeks, who dweltchiefly in fortified towns, and exercised authority over thesurrounding native population, which gradually became assimilatedin manners, language, and religion to the higher civilization ofthe Greeks. "It cannot be doubted, " says GROTE, "that these firsttwo centuries were periods of steady increase among the SicilianGreeks, undisturbed by those distractions and calamities whichsupervened afterward, and which led indeed to the extraordinaryaggrandizement of some of their communities, but also to the ruinof several others; moreover, it seems that the Carthaginians inSicily gave them no trouble until the time of Ge'lon. Their positionwill seem singularly advantageous, if we consider the extraordinaryfertility of the soil in this fine island, especially near thesea; its capacity for corn, wine, and oil, the species ofcultivation to which the Greek husbandman had been accustomedunder less favorable circumstances; its abundant fisheries onthe coast, so important in Grecian diet, and continuingundiminished even at the present day--together with sheep, cattle, hides, wool, and timber from the native population in theinterior. "[Footnote: "History of Greece, " vol. Iii. , p. 367. ]

During the sixth century before the Christian era the Greek citiesin Sicily and Southern Italy were among the most powerful andflourishing that bore the Hellenic name. Ge'la and Agrigentum, on the south side of Sicily, had then become the most prominentof the Sicilian governments; and at the beginning of the fifthcentury we find Gelon, a despot of the former city, subjectingother towns to his authority. Finally obtaining possession ofSyracuse, he made it the seat of his empire (485 B. C. ), leavingGela to be governed by his brother Hi'ero, the first Sicilianruler of that name. 

Gelon strengthened the fortifications and greatly enlarged thelimits of Syracuse, while to occupy the enlarged space hedismantled many of the surrounding towns and transported theirinhabitants to his new capital, which now became not only thefirst city in Sicily, but, according to Herodotus, superior toany other Hellenic power. When, in 480 B. C. , a formidableCarthaginian force under Hamil'-car invaded Sicily at theinstigation of Xerxes, King of Persia, who had overrun Greeceproper and captured Athens, Gelon, at the head of fifty-fivethousand men, engaged the Carthaginians in battle at Himera, anddefeated them with terrible slaughter, Hamilcar himself beingnumbered among the slain. The victory at Himera procured forSicily immunity from foreign war, while the defeat of Xerxes atSalamis, on the very same day, dispelled the terrific cloud thatoverhung the Greeks in that quarter. 

Syracuse continued a flourishing city for several centuries later;but the subsequent events of interest in her history will berelated in a later chapter. Another Greek colony of importancewas that of Cyre'ne, on the northern coast of Africa, betweenthe territories of Egypt and Carthage. It was founded about 630B. C. , and, having the advantages of a fertile soil and fineclimate, it rapidly grew in wealth and power. For eight generationsit was governed by kings; but about 460 B. C. Royalty was abolishedand a democratic government was established: Cyrene finally fellunder the power of the Carthaginians, and thus remained untilCarthage was destroyed by the Romans. We have mentioned only themost important of the Grecian colonies, and even the history thatwe have of these, the best known, is unconnected and fragmentary. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

PROGRESS OF LITERATURE AND THE ARTS. 

I. THE POEMS OF HE'SIOD. 

The rapid development of literature and the arts is one of themost pleasing and striking features of Grecian history. As onewriter has well said, "There was an uninterrupted progress inthe development of the Grecian mind from the earliest dawn ofthe history of the people to the downfall of their politicalindependence; and each succeeding age saw the production of someof those master-works of genius which have been the models andthe admiration of all subsequent time. " The first period of Grecianliterature, ending about 776 B. C. , may be termed the period of epicpoetry. Its chief monuments are the epics of Homer and of Hesiod. The former are essentially heroic, concerning the deeds of warriorsand demi-gods; while the latter present to us the different phasesof domestic life, and are more of an ethical and religiouscharacter. Homer represents the poetry, or school of poetry, belonging chiefly to Ionia, in Asia Minor. Of his poems we havealready given some account, and, passing over the minor interveningpoets, called Cyclic, of whose works we have scarcely any knowledge, we will here give a brief sketch of the poems ascribed to Hesiod. 

Hesiod is the representative of a school of bards which firstdeveloped in Boeotia, and then spread over Phocis and Euboea. The works purporting to be his, that have come down to us, arethree in number--the Works and Days, the Theogony, and theShield of Hercules. The latter, however, is now generallyconsidered the production of some other poet. From DR. FELTONwe have the following general characterization of these poems:"Aside from their intrinsic merit as poetical compositions, thesepoems are of high value for the light they throw on the mythologicalconceptions of those early times, and for the vivid picturespresented, by the "Works and Days", of the hardships and pleasuresof daily life, the superstitious observances, the homely wisdomof common experience, and the proverbial philosophy into whichthat experience had been wrought. For the truthfulness of thedelineation generally all antiquity vouched; and there is inthe style of expression and tone of thought a racy freshnessredolent of the native soil. " Of the poet himself we learn, fromhis writings, that he was a native of As'cra, a village at thefoot of Mount Hel'icon, in Boeotia. Of the time of his birthwe have no account, but it is probable that he flourished fromhalf a century to a century later than Homer. But few incidentsof his life are related, and these he gives us in his works, fromwhich we learn that be was engaged in pastoral pursuits, and thathe was deprived of the greater part of his inheritance by thedecision of judges whom his brother Per'ses had bribed. Thisbrother subsequently became much reduced in circumstances, andapplied to Hesiod for relief. The poet assisted him, and thenaddressed to him the "Works and Days", in which he lays downcertain rules for the regulation and conduct of his life. 

The design of Hesiod, as a prominent writer observes, was "tocommunicate to his brother in emphatic language, and in the order, or it might be the disorder, which his excited feelings suggested, his opinions or counsels on a variety of matters of deep interestto both, and to the social circle in which they moved. The Worksand Days may be more appropriately entitled 'A Letter ofRemonstrance or Advice' to a brother; of remonstrance on thefolly of his past conduct, of advice as to the future. Upon thesetwo fundamental data every fact, doctrine, and illustration ofthe poem depends, as essentially as the plot of the Iliad onthe anger of Achilles. " [Footnote: Mure's "Language and Literatureof Ancient Greece, " vol. Ii. , p. 384. ] The whole work has beenwell characterized by another writer as "the most ancient specimenof didactic poetry, consisting of ethical, political, and minuteeconomical precepts. It is in a homely and unimaginative style, but is impressed throughout with a lofty and solemn feeling, founded on the idea that the gods have ordained justice amongmen, have made labor the only road to prosperity, and have soordered the year that every work has its appointed season, thesign of which may be discerned. "

There are three remarkable episodes in the Works and Days. Thefirst is the tale of Prome'theus, which is continued in theTheogony; and the second is that of the Four Ages of Man. Bothof these are types of certain stages or vicissitudes of humandestiny. The third episode is a description of Winter, a poemnot so much in keeping with the spirit of the work, but "one inwhich there is much fine and vigorous painting. " The followingextract from it furnishes a specimen of the poet's descriptivepowers:

 Winter. 

 Beware the January month, beware Those hurtful days, that keenly-piercing air Which flays the herds; when icicles are cast O'er frozen earth, and sheathe the nipping blast. From courser-breeding Thrace comes rushing forth O'er the broad sea the whirlwind of the north, And moves it with his breath: the ocean floods Heave, and earth bellows through her wild of woods. Full many an oak of lofty leaf he fells, And strews with thick-branch'd pines the mountain dells: He stoops to earth; the crash is heard around; The depth of forest rolls the roar of sound. The beasts their cowering tails with trembling fold, And shrink and shudder at the gusty cold; Thick is the hairy coat, the shaggy skin, But that all-chilling breath shall pierce within. Not his rough hide can then the ox avail; The long-hair'd goat, defenceless, feels the gale: Yet vain the north wind's rushing strength to wound The flock with sheltering fleeces fenced around. He bows the old man crook'd beneath the storm, But spares the soft-skinn'd virgin's tender form. Screened by her mother's roof on wintry nights, And strange to golden Venus' mystic rites, The suppling waters of the bath she swims, With shiny ointment sleeks her dainty limbs; Within her chamber laid on downy bed, While winter howls in tempest o'er her head. 

 Now gnaws the boneless polypus his feet, Starved 'midst bleak rocks, his desolate retreat; For now no more the sun, with gleaming ray, Through seas transparent lights him to his prey. And now the hornéd and unhornéd kind, Whose lair is in the wood, sore-famished, grind Their sounding jaws, and, chilled and quaking, fly Where oaks the mountain dells embranch on high: They seek to conch in thickets of the glen, Or lurk, deep sheltered, in some rocky den. Like aged men, who, propp'd on crutches, tread Tottering, with broken strength and stooping head, So move the beasts of earth, and, creeping low, Shun the white flakes and dread the drifting snow. --Trans. By ELTON. 

The Theogony embraces subjects of a higher order than the Worksand Days. "It ascends, " says THIRLWALL, "to the birth of the godsand the origin of nature, and unfolds the whole order of theworld in a series of genealogies, which personify the beings ofevery kind contained in it. " A late writer of prominence saysthat "it was of greater value to the Greeks than the Works andDays, as it contained an authorized version of the genealogy oftheir gods and heroes--an inspired dictionary of mythology--fromwhich to deviate was hazardous. " [Footnote: "The Greek Poets, "by John Addington Symonds. ] This work, however, has not thepoetical merit of the other, although there are some passages init of fascinating power and beauty. "The famous passage describingthe Styx, " says PROFESSOR MAHAFFY, "shows the poet to have knownand appreciated the wild scenery of the river Styx in Arcadia;and the description of Sleep and Death, which immediately precedesit, is likewise of great beauty. The conflict of the gods andTitans has a splendid crash and thunder about it, and is farsuperior in conception, though inferior in execution, to thebattle of the gods in the Iliad. " [Footnote: Mahaffy's "Historyof Classical Greek Literature, " vol. I. , p. 111. ] The poems ofHesiod early became popular with the country population of Greece;but in the cities, and especially in Sparta, where war wasconsidered the only worthy pursuit, they were long cast asidefor the more heroic lines of Homer. 

 * * * * *

II. LYRIC POETRY. 

From the time of Homer, down to about 560 B. C. , many kinds ofcomposition for which the Greeks were subsequently distinguishedwere practically unknown. We are told that the drama was in itsinfancy, and that prose writing, although more or less practicedduring this period for purposes of utility or necessity, was notcultivated as a branch of popular literature. There was anotherkind of composition, however, which was carried to its highestperfection in the last stage of the epic period, and that waslyric poetry. But of the masterpieces of lyric poetry only a fewfragments remain. 

CALLI'NUS. 

The first representative of this school that we may mention wasCallinus, an Ephesian of the latter part of the eighth centuryB. C. , to whom the invention of the elegiac distich, thecharacteristic form of the Ionian poetry, is attributed. Amongthe few fragments from this poet is the following fine warelegy, occasioned, probably, by a Persian invasion of Asia Minor:

 How long will ye slumber! when will ye take heart, And fear the reproach of your neighbors at hand? Fie! comrades, to think ye have peace for your part, While the sword and the arrow are wasting our land! Shame! Grasp the shield close! cover well the bold breast! Aloft raise the spear as ye march on the foe! With no thought of retreat, with no terror confessed, Hurl your last dart in dying, or strike your last blow. Oh, 'tis noble and glorious to fight for our all-- For our country, our children, the wife of our love! Death comes not the sooner; no soldier shall fall Ere his thread is spun out by the sisters above. Once to die is man's doom: rush, rush to the fight! He cannot escape though his blood were Jove's own. For a while let him cheat the shrill arrow by flight; Fate will catch him at last in his chamber alone. Unlamented he dies--unregretted? Not so When, the tower of his country, in death falls the brave; Thrice hallowed his name among all, high or low, As with blessings alive, so with tears in the grave. --Trans. By H. N. COLERIDGE. 

 [Footnote: The "sisters" here alluded to were the Par'coe, or Fates--three goddesses who presided over the destinies of mortals: 1st, Clo'tho, who held the distaff; 2d, Lach'esis, who spun each one's portion of the thread of life; and, 3d, At'ropos, who cut off the thread with her scissors. 

 Clotho and Lachesis, whose boundless sway, With Atropos, both men and gods obey. --HESIOD. ]

ARCHIL'OCHUS. 

Next in point of time comes Archilochus of Pa'ros, a satiristwho flourished between 714 and 676 B. C. He is generally consideredto be the first Greek poet who wrote in the Iambic measure; butthere are evidences that this measure existed before his time. This poet was betrothed to the daughter of a noble of Paros; butthe father, probably tempted by the alluring offers of a richersuitor, forbade the nuptials. Archilochus thereupon composed sobitter a lampoon upon the family that the daughters of the noblemanare said to have hanged themselves. Says SYMONDS, "He made Iambicmetre his own, and sharpened it into a terrible weapon of attack. Each verse he wrote was polished, and pointed like an arrow-head. Each line was steeped in the poison of hideous charges againsthis sweetheart, her sisters, and her father. " [Footnote: "TheGreek Poets;" First Series, p. 108. ]

Thenceforth Archilochus led a wandering life, full of vicissitudes, but replete with evidences of his merit. "While Hesiod was inthe poor and backward parts of central Greece, modifying withtimid hand the tone and style of epic poetry, without abandoningits form, Archilochus, storm-tossed amid wealth and poverty, amid commerce and war, amid love and hate, ever in exile andyet everywhere at home--Archilochus broke altogether with thetraditions of literature, and colonized new territories with hisgenius. " [Footnote: "Classical Greek Literature, " vol. I. , p. 157. ]He is said to have returned to Paros a short time before hisdeath, where, on account of a victory he had won at the Olympicfestival, the resentment and hatred formerly entertained againsthim were turned into gratitude and admiration. His death, whichoccurred on the field of battle, could not extinguish his fame, and his memory was celebrated by a festival established by hiscountrymen, during which his verses were sung alternately withthe poems of Homer. "Thus, " says an old historian, "by a fatalityfrequently attending men of genius, he spent a life of misery, and acquired honor after death. Reproach, ignominy, contempt, poverty, and persecution were the ordinary companions of hisperson; admiration, glory, respect, splendor, and magnificencewere the attendants of his shade. " With the exception of Homer, no poet of classical antiquity acquired so high a celebrity. Among the Greeks and Romans he was equally esteemed. Ciceroclassed him with Sophocles, Pindar, and even Homer; Plato calledhim the "wisest of poets;" and Longinus "speaks with rapture ofthe torrent of his divine inspiration. "

ALC'MAN. 

Passing over Simonides of Amorgos, who is chiefly celebrated fora very ungallant but ingenious and smooth satire on women, andover Tyrtæ'us, whose animating and patriotic odes, as we haveseen, proved the safety of Sparta in one of the Messenian wars, we come to the first truly lyric poet of Greece--Alcman--originally a Lydian slave in a Spartan family, but emancipatedby his master on account of his genius. He flourished after thesecond Messenian war, and his poems partake of the character ofthis period, which was one of pleasure and peace. They are chieflyerotic, or amatory, or in celebration of the enjoyments of sociallife. He successfully cultivated choral poetry, and his Parthenia, made up of a variety of subjects, was composed to be sung by themaidens of Tayge'tus. "His excellence, " says MURE, "appears tohave lain in his descriptive powers. The best, and one of thelongest extant passages of his works is a description of sleep, or rather of night; a description unsurpassed, perhaps unrivalled, by any similar passage in the Greek or any other language, andwhich has been imitated or paraphrased by many distinguishedpoets. " [Footnote: "History of Greek Literature, " vol. Iii. , p. 205. ] The following is this author's translation of it:

 Now o'er the drowsy earth still night prevails. Calm sleep the mountain tops and shady vales, The rugged cliffs and hollow glens; The wild beasts slumber in their dens, The cattle on the hill. Deep in the sea The countless finny race and monster brood Tranquil repose. Even the busy bee Forgets her daily toil. The silent wood No more with noisy hum of insect rings; And all the feathered tribes, by gentle sleep subdued, Roost in the glade and hang their drooping wings. 

ARI'ON AND STESICH'ORUS. 

Arion, the greater part of whose life was spent at the court ofPeriander, despot of Corinth, and Stesichorus, of Himera, inSicily, who flourished about 608 B. C. , were two Greek poetsespecially noted for the improvements they made in choral poetry. The former invented the wild, irregular, and impetuousdithyramb, [Footnote: From Dithyrambus, one of the appellationsof Bacchus. ] originally a species of lyric poetry in honor ofBacchus; but of his works there is not a single fragment extant. The latter's original name was Tis'ias, and he was calledStesichorus, which signifies a "leader of choruses. " A latehistorian characterizes him as "the first to break the monotonyof the choral song, which had consisted previously of nothingmore than one uniform stanza, by dividing it into the Strophe, the Antistrophe, and the Epodus--the turn, the return, and therest. " PROFESSOR MAHAFFY observes of him as follows: "Findingthe taste for epic recitation decaying, he undertook to reproduceepic stories in lyric dress, and present the substance of the oldepics in rich and varied metres, and with the measured movementsof a trained chorus. This was a direct step to the drama, forwhen anyone member of the chorus came to stand apart and addressthe rest of the choir, we have already the essence of Greek tragedybefore us. " [Footnote: "Classical Greek Literature, " vol. I. , p. 203. ] The works of Stesichorus comprised hymns in honor of thegods and in praise of heroes, love-songs, and songs of revelry. 

ALCÆ'US. 

Among the lyric poets of Greece some writers assign the veryfirst place to Alcæus, a native of Lesbos, who flourished about610 B. C. , and who has been styled the ardent friend and defenderof liberty, more because he talked so well of patriotism thanbecause of his deeds in its behalf. The poet AKENSIDE, however, calls him "the Lesbian patriot, " and thus contrasts his stylewith that of Anac'reon:

 Broke from the fetters of his native land, Devoting shame and vengeance to her lords, With louder impulse and a threat'ning hand The Lesbian patriot smites the sounding chords: "Ye wretches, ye perfidious train! Ye cursed of gods and free-born men! Ye murderers of the laws! Though now ye glory in your lust, Though now ye tread the feeble neck in dust, Yet Time and righteous Jove will judge your dreadful cause. "

The poems of Alcæus were principally war and drinking songs ofgreat beauty, and it is said that they furnished to the Latinpoet Horace "not only a metrical model, but also the subject-matterof some of his most beautiful odes. " The poet fought in the warbetween Athens and Mityle'ne (606 B. C. ), and enjoyed the reputationof being a brave and skilful warrior, although on one occasionhe is said to have fled from the field of battle leaving hisarms behind him. Of his warlike odes we have a specimen in thefollowing description of the martial embellishment of his own house:

 The Spoils of War. 

 Glitters with brass my mansion wide; The roof is decked on every side, In martial pride, With helmets ranged in order bright, And plumes of horse-hair nodding white, A gallant sight! Fit ornament for warrior's brow-- And round the walls in goodly row Refulgent glow Stout greaves of brass, like burnished gold, And corselets there in many a fold Of linen foiled; And shields that, in the battle fray, The routed losers of the day Have cast away. Euboean falchions too are seen, With rich-embroidered belts between Of dazzling sheen: And gaudy surcoats piled around, The spoils of chiefs in war renowned, May there be found: These, and all else that here you see, Are fruits of glorious victory Achieved by me. --Trans. By MERIVALE. 

SAPPHO. 

Contemporary with Alcæus was the poetess Sappho, the only femaleof Greece who ever ranked with the illustrious poets of the othersex, and whom Alcæus called "the dark-haired, spotless, sweetlysmiling Sappho. " Lesbos was the center of Æolian culture, andSappho was the center of a society of Lesbian ladies who appliedthemselves successfully to literature. Says SYMONDS: "They formedclubs for the cultivation of poetry and music. They studied thearts of beauty, and sought to refine metrical forms and diction. Nor did they confine themselves to the scientific side of art. Unrestrained by public opinion, and passionate for the beautiful, they cultivated their senses and emotions, and indulged theirwildest passions. " Sappho devoted her whole genius to the subjectof Love, and her poems express her feelings with great freedom. Hence arose the charges of a later age, that were made againsther character. But whatever difference of view may exist on thispoint, there is only one opinion as to her poetic genius. She wasundoubtedly the greatest erotic poet of antiquity. Plato calledher the tenth Muse, and Solon, hearing one of her poems, prayedthat he might not die until he had committed it to memory. We cannotforbear introducing the following eloquent characterization of herwritings:

"Nowhere is a hint whispered that the poetry of Sappho is aughtbut perfect. Of all the poets of the world, of all the illustriousartists of all literatures, Sappho is the one whose every wordhas a peculiar and unmistakable perfume, a seal of absoluteperfection and inimitable grace. In her art she was unerring. Even Archilochus seems commonplace when compared with herexquisite rarity of phrase. Whether addressing the maidens whom, even in Elysium, as Horace says, Sappho could not forget, orembodying the profounder yearnings of an intense soul after beautywhich has never on earth existed, but which inflames the hearts ofnoblest poets, robbing the eyes of sleep and giving them thebitterness of tears to drink--these dazzling fragments, 'Which still, like sparkles of Greek fire, Burn on through time and ne'er expire, '

are the ultimate and finished forms of passionate utterance--diamonds, topazes, and blazing rubies--in which the fire ofthe soul is crystallized forever. " [Footnote: Symond's "GreekPoets, " First Series, p. 189. ]

It is related that an associate of Sappho once derided her talents, or stigmatized her poetical labors as unsuited to her sex andcondition. The poetess, burning with indignation, thus repliedto her traducer:

 Whenever Death shall seize thy mortal frame, Oblivion's pen shall blot thy worthless name; For thy rude hand ne'er plucked the beauteous rose That on Pie'ria's sky-clad summit blows: [Symond's "Greek Poets, " First Series, p. 139. ] Thy paltry soul with vilest souls shall go To Pluto's kingdom--scenes of endless woe; While I on golden wings ascend to fame, And leave behind a muse-enamored, deathless name. 

The memory of this poetess of Love rouses the following strainof celebration in ANTIP'ATER of Sidon:

 Does Sappho, then, beneath thy bosom rest, Æolian earth? that mortal Muse confessed Inferior only to the choir above, That foster-child of Venus and of Love; Warm from whose lips divine Persuasion came, Greece to delight, and raise the Lesbian name? O ye, who ever twine the threefold thread, Ye Fates, why number with the silent dead That mighty songstress, whose unrivalled powers Weave for the Muse a crown of deathless flowers? --Trans. By FRANCIS HODGSON. 

ANAC'REON. 

The last lyric poet of this period that we shall notice wasAnacreon, a native of Teos, in Ionia, who flourished about 530B. C. He was a voluptuary, who sang beautifully of love, and wine, and nature, and who has been called the courtier and laureate oftyrants, in whose society, and especially in that of Polyc'ratesand Hippar'chus, his days were spent. The poet AKENSIDE thuscharacterizes him:

 I see Anacreon smile and sing, His silver tresses breathe perfume; His cheeks display a second spring, Of roses taught by wine to bloom. Away, deceitful cares, away, And let me listen to his lay; Let me the wanton pomp enjoy, While in smooth dance the light-winged hours Lead round his lyre its patron powers, Kind laughter and convivial joy. 

The following is Cowper's translation of a pretty little poemby Anacreon on the grasshopper:

 Happy songster, perched above, On the summit of the grove, Whom a dew-drop cheers to sing With the freedom of a king, From thy perch survey the fields, Where prolific Nature yields Naught that, willingly as she, Man surrenders not to thee. For hostility or hate, None thy pleasures can create. Thee it satisfies to sing Sweetly the return of spring, Herald of the genial hours, Harming neither herbs nor flowers. Therefore man thy voice attends, Gladly; thou and he are friends. Nor thy never-ceasing strains Phoebus and the Muse disdains As too simple or too long, For themselves inspire the song. Earth-born, bloodless; undecaying, Ever singing, sporting, playing, What has Nature else to show Godlike in its kind as thou?

 * * * * *

III. EARLY GRECIAN PHILOSOPHY. 

We now enter upon a new phase of Greek literature. While thefirst use of prose in writing may be assigned to a date earlierthan 700 B. C. , it was not until the early part of the sixthcentury B. C. That use was made of prose for literary purposes;and even then prose compositions were either mythological, orcollections of local legends, whether sacred or profane. Theimportance and the practical uses of genuine history were neitherknown nor suspected until after the Persian wars. But Grecianphilosophy had an earlier dawn, and was coeval with the poeticalcompositions of Hesiod, although it was in the sixth century thatit began to be separated from poetry and religion, and to becultivated by men who were neither bards, priests, nor seers. This is the era when the practical maxims and precepts of theSeven Grecian sages began to be collected by the chroniclers, and disseminated among the people. 

THE SEVEN SAGES. 

Concerning these sages, otherwise called the "Seven Wise Menof Greece, " the accounts are confused and contradictory, andtheir names are variously given; but those most generally admittedto the honor are Solon (the Athenian legislator); Bias, of Ionia;Chi'lo (Ephor of Sparta); Cleobu'lus (despot of Lindos, in theIsland of Rhodes); Perian'der (despot of Corinth); Pit'tacus(ruler of Mityle'ne); and Tha'les, of Mile'tus, in accordancewith the following enumeration:

 "First Solon, who made the Athenian laws; While Chilo, in Sparta, was famed for his saws; In Miletus did Thales astronomy teach; Bias used in Prie'ne his morals to preach; Cleobulus of Lindus was handsome and wise; Mitylene 'gainst thraldom saw Pittacus rise; Periander is said to have gained, through his court, The title that Myson, the Chenian, ought. " [Footnote: It is Plato who says that Periander, tyrant of Corinth; should give place to Myson. ]

The seven wise men were distinguished for their witty sayings, many of which have grown into maxims that are in current useeven at the present day. Out of the number the following sevenwere inscribed as mottoes, in later days, in the temple at Delphi:"Know thyself, " Solon; "Consider the end, " Chilo; "Suretyship isthe forerunner of ruin" (He that hateth suretyship is sure; Prov. Xi. 15), Thales; "Most men are bad" (There is none that doethgood, no, not one, Psalm xiv. 3), Bias; "Avoid extremes" (thegolden mean), Cleobulus; "Know thy opportunity" (Seize time bythe forelock), Pittacus; "Nothing is impossible to industry"(Patience and perseverance overcome mountains), Periander. GROTEsays of the seven sages: "Their appearance forms an epoch inGrecian history, inasmuch as they are the first persons who everacquired an Hellenic reputation grounded on mental competencyapart from poetical genius or effect--a proof that politicaland social prudence was beginning to be appreciated and admiredon its own account. "

The eldest school of Greek philosophy, called the Ionian, wasfounded by Thales of Miletus, about the middle of the sixthcentury B. C. In the investigation of natural causes and effectshe taught, as a distinguishing tenet of his philosophy, thatwater, or some other fluid, is the primary element of all things--a theory which probably arose from observations on the uses ofmoisture in the nourishment of animal and vegetable life. Asimilar process of reasoning led Anaxim'enes, of Miletus, halfa century later, to substitute air for water; and by analogousreasoning Heracli'tus, of Ephesus, surnamed "the naturalist, "was led to regard the basis of fire or flame as the fundamentalprinciple of all things, both spiritual and material. Diog'enes, the Cretan, was led to regard the universe as issuing from anintelligent principle--a rational as well as sensitive soul--butwithout recognizing any distinction between mind and matter;while Anaximan'der conceived the primitive state of the universeto have been a vast chaos or infinity, containing the elementsfrom which the world was constructed by inherent or self-movingprocesses of separation and combination. This doctrine was revivedby Anaxag'oras, an Ionian, a century later, who combined it withthe philosophy of Diogenes, and taught the existence of one suprememind. 

XENOPH'ANES AND PYTHAG'ORAS. 

Two widely different schools of philosophy now arose in the westernGreek colonies of lower Italy. Xenophanes, a native of Ionia, whohad fled to E'lea, was the founder of one, and Pythagoras, ofSamos, of the other. The former, known as the Eleat'ic philosophy, admitted a supreme intelligence, eternal and incorporeal, pervadingall things, and, like the universe itself, spherical in form. Thissystem was developed in the following century by Parmen'ides andZeno, who exercised a great influence upon the Greek mind. Pythagoras was the first Grecian to assume the title of philosopher, although he was more of a religious teacher. Having traveledextensively in the East, he returned to Samos about 540 B. C. ;but, finding the condition of his country, which was then ruledby the despot Polycrates, unfavorable to the progress of hisdoctrines, he moved to Croto'na, in Italy, and established hisschool of philosophy there. 

 Pythagoras, Vexed with the Samian despot's lawless sway (For tyrants ne'er loved wisdom), crossed the seas, And found a home on the Hesperian shore, Time when the Tarquin arched the infant Rome With vaults, the germ of Cæsar's golden hall. There, in Crotona's state, he held a school Of wisdom and of virtue, teaching men The harmony of aptly portioned powers, And of well-numbered days: whence, as a god, Men honored him; and, from his wells refreshed, The master-builder of pure intellect, Imperial Plato, piled the palace where All great, true thoughts have found a home forever. --J. STUART BLACKIE. 

Pythagoras made some important discoveries in geometry, music, and astronomy. The demonstration of the forty-seventh propositionof Euclid is attributed to him. He also discovered the chords inmusic, which led him to conceive that the planets, striking uponthe ether through which they move in their celestial orbits;produce harmonious sounds, varying according to the differencesof the magnitudes, velocities, and relative distances of theplanets, in a manner corresponding to the proportion of the notesin a musical scale. Hence the "music of the spheres. " From whatcan be gathered of the astronomical doctrine of Pythagoras, ithas been inferred that he was possessed of the true idea of thesolar system, which was revived by Coper'nicus and fullyestablished by Newton. With respect to God, Pythagoras appearsto have taught that he is the universal, ever-existent mind, the first principle of the universe, the source and cause of allanimal life and motion, in substance similar to light, in naturelike truth, incapable of pain, invisible, incorruptible, and onlyto be comprehended by the mind. His philosophy and teachings arethus pictured by the poet THOMSON:

 Here dwelt the Samian sage; to him belongs The brightest witness of recording fame. He sought Crotona's pure, salubrious air, And through great Greece his gentle wisdom taught. His mental eye first launched into the deeps Of boundless ether; where unnumbered orbs, Myriads on myriads, through the pathless sky Unerring roll, and wind their steady way. There he the full consenting choir beheld; There first discerned the secret band of love, The kind attraction, that to central suns Binds circling earths, and world with world unites. Instructed thence, he great ideas formed Of the whole-moving, all-informing God, The Sun of Beings! beaming unconfined-- Light, life, and love, and ever active power: Whom naught can image, and who best approves The silent worship of the moral heart, That joys in bounteous Heaven and spreads the joy. 

Pythagoras also taught the doctrine of the transmigration ofsouls, which he probably derived from the Egyptians; and heprofessed to preserve a distinct remembrance of several statesof existence through which his soul had passed. It is relatedof him that on one occasion, seeing a dog beaten, he intercededin its behalf, saying, "It is the soul of a friend of mine, whomI recognize by its voice. " It would seem as if the poet COLERIDGEhad at times been dimly conscious of the reality of thisPythagorean doctrine, for he says:

 Oft o'er my brain does that strange fancy roll Which makes the present (while the flash doth last) Seem a mere semblance of some unknown past, Mixed with such feelings as perplex the soul Self-questioned in her sleep: and some have said We lived ere yet this robe of flesh we wore. 

One of our favorite American poets; LOWELL, indulges in a likefancy in the following lines from that dream, like, exquisitefantasy, "In the Twilight, " found in the Biglow Papers:

 Sometimes a breath floats by me, An odor from Dream-land sent, That makes the ghost seem nigh me Of a splendor that came and went, Of a life lived somewhere, I know not In what diviner sphere-- Of memories that stay not and go not, Like music once heard by an ear That cannot forget or reclaim it-- A something so shy, it would shame it To make it a show-- A something too vague, could I name it, For others to know, As if I had lived it or dreamed it, As if I had acted or schemed it, Long ago!

 And yet, could I live it over, This life that stirs in my brain-- Could I be both maiden and lover, Moon and tide, bee and clover, As I seem to have been, once again-- Could I but speak and show it, This pleasure, more sharp than pain, That baffles and lures me so, The world should not lack a poet, Such as it had In the ages glad Long ago. 

On the whole, the system of Pythagoras, with many excellencies, contained some gross absurdities and superstitions, which weredignified with the name of philosophy, and which exerted apernicious influence over the opinions of many succeedinggenerations. 

THE ELEUSIN'IAN MYSTERIES, Closely connected with the public and private instruction thatthe philosophers gave in their various systems, were certainnational institutions of a secret character, which combined themysteries of both philosophy and religion. The most celebratedof these, the great festival of Eleusinia, sacred to Ce'res andPros'erpine, was observed every fourth year in different partsof Greece, but more particularly by the people of Athens everyfifth year, at Eleu'sis, in Attica. 

What is known of the rites performed at Eleusis has been gatheredfrom occasional incidental allusions found in the pages of nearlyall the classical authorities; and although the penalty of asudden and ignominious death impended over anyone who divulgedthese symbolic ceremonies, yet enough is now known to describethem with much minuteness of detail. We have not the space togive that detailed description here, but the ceremonies occupiednine days, from the 15th to the 23d of September, inclusive. Thefirst day was that on which the worshippers merely assembled; thesecond, that on which they purified themselves by bathing in thesea; the third, the day of sacrifices; the fourth, the day ofofferings to the goddess; the fifth, the day of torches, whenthe multitude roamed over the meadows at nightfall carryingflambeaus, in imitation of Ceres searching for her daughter;the sixth, the day of Bacchus, the god of Vintage; the seventh, the day of athletic pastimes; the eighth, the day devoted tothe lesser mysteries and celestial revelations; and the ninth, the day of libations. 

The language that Virgil puts into the mouth of Anchi'ses, inthe Sixth Book of the Æneid, is regarded as a condensed definitionof the secrets of Eleusis and the creed of Pythagoras. The samebook, moreover, is believed to represent several of the scenesof the mysteries. In the following words the shade of Anchisesanswers the inquiries of "his godlike son:"

 "Know, first, that heav'n, and earth's contracted frame, And flowing waters, and the starry flame, And both the radiant lights, one common soul Inspires and feeds--and animates the whole. This active mind, infused through all the space, Unites and mingles with the mighty mass. Hence men and beasts the breath of life obtain, And birds of air, and monsters of the main. Th' ethereal vigor is in all the same; And ev'ry soul is fill'd with equal flame-- As much as earthy limbs, and gross allay Of mortal members subject to decay, Blunt not the beams of heav'n and edge of day. From this coarse mixture of terrestrial parts, Desire and fear by turns possess their hearts, And grief and joy: nor can the grovelling mind, In the dark dungeon of the limbs confined, Assert the native skies, or own its heav'nly kind: Nor death itself can wholly wash their stains; But long-contracted filth ev'n in the soul remains. 

 "The relics of invet'rate vice they wear And spots of sin obscene in ev'ry face appear. For this are various penances enjoin'd; And some are hung to bleach upon the wind, Some plunged in waters, others purged in fires, Till all the dregs are drain'd, and all the rust expires. All have their ma'nes, and those manes bear: The few, so cleansed, to these abodes repair, And breathe, in ample fields, the soft Elysian air. Then are they happy, when by length of time The scurf is worn away of each committed crime; No speck is left of their habitual stains, But the pure ether of the soul remains. But, when a thousand rolling years are past (So long their punishments and penance last), Whole droves of minds are, by the driving god, Compell'd to drink the deep Lethe'an flood, In large forgetful draughts to steep the cares Of their past labors and their irksome years, That, unrememb'ring of its former pain, The soul may suffer mortal flesh again. " --Trans. By DRYDEN. 

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IV. ARCHITECTURE. 

In architecture and sculpture Greece stands pre-eminently aboveall other nations. The first evidences of the former art thatwe discover are in the gigantic walls of Tiryns, Mycenæ, andother Greek cities, constructed for purposes of defence in thevery earliest periods of Greek history, and generally known bythe name of Cyclo'pean, because supposed by the early Greeks tohave been built by those fabled giants, the Cyclo'pes. 

 Ye cliffs of masonry, enormous piles, Which no rude censure of familiar time Nor record of our puny race defiles, In dateless mystery ye stand sublime, Memorials of an age of which we see Only the types in things that once were ye. 

 Whether ye rest upon some bosky knoll, Your feet by ancient myrtles beautified, Or seem, like fabled dragons, to unroll Your swarthy grandeurs down a bleak hill-side, Still on your savage features is a spell That makes ye half divine, ineffable. 

 With joy upon your height I stand alone, As on a precipice, or lie within Your shadow wide, or leap from stone to stone, Pointing my steps with careful discipline, And think of those grand limbs whose nerve could bear These masses to their places in mid-air:

 Of Anakim, and Titans, and of days Saturnian, when the spirit of man was knit So close to Nature that his best essays At Art were but in all to follow it, In all--dimension, dignity, degree; And thus these mighty things were made to be. --LORD HOUGHTON. 

It was in the erection of the temples of the gods, however, thatGrecian architecture had its ornamental origin, and also madeits most rapid progress. The primeval altar, differing but littlefrom a common hearth, was supplanted by the wooden habitationof the god, and the latter in turn gave way to the temple ofstone. Then rapidly rose the three famed orders of architecture--the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian--the first solemn, massive, and imposing, while the others exhibit, in their ornamentalfeatures, a gradual advance to perfection. 

 First, unadorned, And nobly plain, the manly Doric rose; The Ionic then, with decent matron grace, Her airy pillar heaved; luxuriant last, The rich Corinthian spread her wanton wreath. --THOMSON, Passing over the earlier structures devoted to purposes of worship, we find at the beginning of the sixth century several magnificenttemples in course of erection. Among these the most celebratedwere the Temple of He'ra (Juno), at Samos, and the Temple ofAr'temis (Diana), at Ephesus. The order of architecture adoptedin the first was Doric, and in the second Ionic. Both were builtof white marble. The former was 346 feet in length and 189 feetin breadth; while the latter was 425 feet long and 220 feet broad. Its columns were 127 in number, and 60 feet in height; and theblocks of marble composing the architrave, or chief beams restingimmediately on the columns, were 30 feet in length. 

CHER'SIPHRON, AND THE TEMPLE OF DIANA. 

The great Temple of Diana was commenced under the supervisionof Chersiphron, an architect of Crete, but it occupied over twohundred years in building. It is related of Chersiphron that, having erected the jambs of the great door to the temple, hefailed, after repeated efforts, continued for many days, to bringthe massive lintel to its place in line with the jambs. He finallysank down in despair, and fell asleep. In his dreams he saw thedivine form of the goddess, who assured him that those who laboredfor the gods should not go unrewarded. On awaking he beheld themassive lintel in its proper place, laid there by the hand of thegoddess herself. An American sculptor and poet relates the incident, and gives its moral in the following poem:

 When to the utmost we have tasked our powers, And Nem'esis still frowns and shakes her head; When, wearied out and baffled, we confess Our utter weakness, and the tired hand drops, And Hope flees from us, and in blank despair We sink to earth, the face, so stern before, August will smile--the hand before withdrawn Reach out the help we vainly pleaded for, Take up our task, and in a moment do What all our strength was powerless to achieve. 

 Unless the gods smile, human toil is vain. The crowning blessing of all work is drawn Not from ourselves, but from the powers above. And this none better knew than Chersiphron, When on the plains of Ephesus he reared The splendid temple built to Artemis. With patient labor he had placed at last The solid jambs on either side the door, And now for many a weary day he strove With many a plan and many a fresh device, Still seeking and still failing, on the jambs Level to lay the lintel's massive weight: Still it defied him; and, worn out at last, Along the steps he laid him down at night. Sleep would not come. With dull distracting pain The problem hunted through his feverish thoughts, Till in his dark despair he longed for death, And threatened his own life with his own hand. 

 Peace came at last upon him, and he slept; And in his sleep, before his dreaming eyes He saw the form divine of Artemis: O'er him she bent and smiled, and softly said, "Live, Chersiphron! Who labor for the gods The gods reward. Behold, your work is done!" Then, like a mist that melts into the sky, She vanished; and awaking, he beheld, Laid by her hand above the entrance-door, The ponderous lintel level on the jambs. --W. W. STORY. 

Another celebrated temple of this period was that of Delphi, which was rebuilt, after its destruction by fire in 548 B. C. , at a cost equivalent to more than half a million of dollars. It was in the Doric style, and was faced with Parian marble. About the same time the Temple of Olympian Jove was commencedor restored at Athens by Pisistratus. All the temples mentionedhave nearly disappeared. That of Diana, at Ephesus, was burnedby Heros'tratus, in order to immortalize his name, on the nightthat Alexander the Great was born (356 B. C. ). It was subsequentlyrebuilt with greater magnificence, and enriched by the genius ofSco'pas, Praxit'eles, Parrha'sius, Apel'les, and other celebratedsculptors and painters. A few of its columns support the domeof the Church of St. Sophia at Constantinople, two of its pillarsare in the great church at Pi'sa, and recent excavations havebrought to light portions of its foundation. Other temples, however, erected as far back as the fourth and fifth centuries, have moresuccessfully resisted the ravages of time. Among these are thesix, of the Doric order, whose ruins appear at Selinus, in Sicily;while at Pæstum, in Southern Italy, are the celebrated ruins oftwo temples, which, with the exception of the temple of Corinth, are the most massive examples of Doric architecture extant. "Itwas in the larger of these two temples, " says a visitor, "duringthe moonlight of a troubled sky, that we experienced the emotionsof the awful and sublime, such as impress a testimony, never tobe forgotten, of the power of art over the affections. "

 There, down Salerno's bay, In deserts far away, Over whose solitudes The dread malaria broods, No labor tills the land-- Only the fierce brigand, Or shepherd, wan and lean, O'er the wide plains is seen. Yet there, a lovely dream, There Grecian temples gleam, Whose form and mellowed tone Rival the Parthenon. The Sybarite no more Comes hither to adore, With perfumed offering, The ocean god and king. The deity is fled Long-since, but, in his stead, The smiling sea is seen, The Doric shafts between; And round the time-worn base Climb vines of tender grace, And Pæstum's roses still The air with fragrance fill. --CHRISTOPHER P. CRANCH. 

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V. SCULPTURE. 

Like architecture, sculpture, or, more properly speaking, statuary, owed its origin to religion, and was introduced into Greece fromEgypt. With the Egyptians the art never advanced beyond the typesestablished at its birth; but the Greeks, led on, as a recentwriter well says, "by an intuitive sense of beauty which was withthem almost a religious principle, aimed at an ideal perfection, and, by making Nature in her most perfect forms their model, acquired a facility and a power of representing every class ofform unattained by any other people, and which have rendered theterms Greek and perfection, with reference to art, almostsynonymous. " The first specimens of Greek sculpture were rough, unhewn wooden representations of the gods. These were followed, a little later, by wooden images having some resemblance to life, and clothed and decorated with ornaments of various kinds. Whilethis branch of the art long remained in a rude state, sculpturedfigures on architectural monuments were executed in a superiorstyle as early as the age of Homer. 

Long before the period of authentic history, other materialsthan wood were used in making statues; and as early as 700 B. C. A statue was executed of Zeus, or Jupiter, in bronze. The artof soldering metals is attributed to Glaucus of Chios, about690 B. C. ; while to Rhoe'cus and his son Theodo'rus, of Samos, is ascribed the invention of modeling and casting figures ofbronze in a mould. The use of marble, also, for statues, wasintroduced in the early part of the sixth century by Dipoe'nusand Scyl'lis of Crete, who are the first artists celebrated forworks in this material. But, while these improvements wereimportant, they did not necessarily involve any change in style;and it was the removal of the restraints imposed by religion andhereditary cultivation that laid the foundation for the rapidprogress of the art and its subsequent perfection. These changes, and the results produced by them, are well summed up in thefollowing extract from THIRLWALL:

"The principal cause of the progress of sculpture was theenlargement which it experienced in the range of its subjects, and the consequent multiplicity of its productions. As long asstatues were confined to the interior of the temples, and nomore were seen in each sanctuary than the idol of its worship, there was little room and motive for innovation; and, on theother hand, there were strong inducements for adhering to thepractice of antiquity. But, insensibly, piety or ostentationbegan to fill the temples with groups of gods and heroes, strangersto the place, and guests of the power who was properly invokedthere. The deep recesses of their pediments were peopled withcolossal forms, exhibiting some legendary scene appropriate tothe place or the occasion of the building. The custom of honoringthe victors at the public games with a statue--an honor afterwardextended to other distinguished persons--contributed, perhaps, still more to the same effect; for, whatever restraints may havebeen imposed on the artists in the representation of sacred subjects, either by usage or by a religious scruple, these were removed whenthe artists were employed in exhibiting the images of mere mortals. As the field of the art was widened to embrace new objects, thenumber of masters increased; they were no longer limited, wherethis had before been the case, to families or guilds; theirindustry was sharpened by a more active competition and by richerrewards. As the study of nature became more earnest, the senseof beauty grew quicker and steadier; and so rapid was the marchof the art, that the last vestiges of the arbitrary forms whichhad been hallowed by time or religion had not yet everywheredisappeared when the final union of truth and beauty, which wesometimes endeavor to express by the term ideal, was accomplishedin the school of Phid'ias. " [Footnote: Thirlwall's "History ofGreece, " vol. I. , p. 206. ]

We cannot attempt to give here the names of the masters ofsculpture who flourished prior to 500 B. C. , or trace the stillextant remains of their genius; but their works were numerous, and the beauty and grandeur of many of them caused them to behighly valued in all succeeding ages. In fact, before the Persianwars had commenced, the branch of sculpture termed statuary hadattained nearly the summit of its perfection. 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE PERSIAN WARS. 

Returning now to the political and military history of Greece, we find that, about the year 550 B. C. , the independence of theGrecian colonies on the coast of Asia Minor was crushed byCroe'sus, King of Lydia, who conquered their territories. Thusthe Asiatic Greeks became subject to a barbarian power; butCroesus ruled them with great mildness, leaving their politicalinstitutions undisturbed, and requiring of them little more thanthe payment of a moderate tribute. A few years later theyexperienced a change of masters, and, together with Lydia, fellby conquest under the dominion of Persia, of which Cyrus theelder was then king. Under Darius Hystas'pes, the second kingafter Cyrus, the Persian empire attained its greatest extent--embracing, in Asia, all that at a later period was containedin Persia proper and Turkey; in Africa taking in Egypt as faras Nubia, and the coast of the Mediterranean as far as Barca;thus stretching from the Ægean Sea to the Indus, and from theplains of Tartary to the cataracts of the Nile. Such was theempire against whose united strength a few Grecian communitieswere soon to contend for the preservation of their very nameand existence. 

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I. THE IONIC REVOLT. 

Like the Lydians, the Persians ruled the Greek colonies with adegree of moderation, and permitted them to retain their ownform of government by paying tribute; yet the Greeks seizedevery opportunity to deliver themselves from this species ofthraldom, and in 502 B. C. An insurrection broke out in one ofthe Ionian states, which soon assumed a formidable character. Before the Persians could collect sufficient forces to quellthe revolt, the Ionians sought the aid of their Grecian countrymen, making application first to Sparta, but in vain, and then toAthens and the islands of the Ægean Sea. The Athenians, regardingDarius as an avowed enemy, gladly took part with the Ionians, and, in connection with Euboe'a, furnished them a fleet oftwenty-five vessels. The allied Grecians, though at firstsuccessful, were defeated near Ephesus with great loss. Theircommanders then quarreled, and the Athenians sailed for home, leaving the Asiatic Greeks (divided among themselves) to contendalone against the whole power of Persia. Still, the revoltattained to considerable proportions, and was protracted duringa period of six years. It was terminated by the capture of Miletus, the capital of the Ionian Confederacy, in 495 B. C. The inhabitantsof this city who escaped the sword were carried into captivityby the conquerors, and the subjugation of Ionia was complete. 

The principal achievement of the allied Grecians during thiswar was the burning of Sardis, the capital of the old Lydianmonarchy. When Darius was informed of it he burst into a paroxysmof rage, directing his wrath chiefly against the Athenians andEuboeans who had dared to invade his dominions. "The Athenians!"he exclaimed, "who are they?" Upon being told, he took his bowand shot an arrow high into the air, saying, "Grant me, Jove, to take vengeance upon the Athenians. " He also charged one ofhis attendants to call aloud to him thrice every day at dinner, "Sire, remember the Athenians!" As soon, therefore, as Dariushad satisfied his vengeance against the Greek cities and islandsof Asia, he turned his attention to the Athenians and Euboeans, in pursuance of his vow. He meditated, however, nothing lessthan the conquest of all Greece; but the Persian fleet that wasto aid in carrying out his plans was checked in its progress, off Mount Athos, by a storm so violent that it is said to havedestroyed three hundred vessels and over twenty thousand lives;and his son-in-law, Mardo'nius, who had entered Thrace and Macedonat the head of a large army, abruptly terminated his campaign andrecrossed the Hellespont to Asia. 

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II. THE FIRST PERSIAN WAR. 

Darius, having renewed his preparations for the conquest of Greece, sent heralds through the Grecian cities, demanding earth andwater as tokens of submission. Some of the smaller states, intimidated by his power, submitted; but Athens and Spartahaughtily rejected the demands of the Eastern monarch, and puthis heralds to death with cruel mockery, throwing one into apit and another into a well, and bidding them take thence theirearth and water. 

In the spring of 490 B. C. A Persian fleet of six hundred ships, conveying an army of 120, 000 men, and guided by the aged tyrantHippias, directed its course toward the shores of Greece. Severalislands of the Ægean submitted without a struggle. Euboea wasseverely punished; and with but little opposition the Persianhost landed and advanced to the plains of Marathon, within twentymiles of Athens. The Athenians called on the Platæans and theSpartans for aid, and the former sent their entire force of onethousand men; but the Spartans refused to give the much-neededhelp, because it lacked a few days of the full moon, and it wascontrary to their religious customs to begin a march during thisinterval. Meantime the Athenians had marched to Marathon, andwere encamped on the hills that surrounded the plain. Their armynumbered ten thousand men, and was commanded by Callim'achus, thePol'emarch or third Archon, and ten generals, among whom wereMilti'ades, Themis'tocles, and Aristi'des, who subsequentlyacquired immortal fame. Five of the ten generals were afraid tohazard a battle without the aid of the Spartans; but the argumentsof Miltiades finally prevailed upon Callimachus to give his castingvote in favor of immediate action. Although the ten generals wereto command the whole army successively, each for one day, it wasagreed to invest Miltiades with the command at once, and intrustto his military skill the fortunes of Athens. He immediately drewup the little army in order of battle. 

THE BATTLE OF MARATHON. 

The Persians were extended in a line across the middle of theplain, having their best troops in the center, while their fleetwas ranged behind them along the beach. The Athenians were drawnup in a line opposite, but having their main strength in theextreme wings of their army. Miltiades quickly advanced hisforce across the mile of plain that separated it from the foe, and fell upon the immense army of the Persians. As he had foreseen, the center of his line was soon broken, while the extremities ofthe enemy's line, made up of motley and undisciplined bands ofall nations, were routed and driven toward the shore, and intothe adjoining morasses. Miltiades now hastily concentrated histwo wings and directed their united force against the Persiancenter, which, deeming itself victorious, was taken completelyby surprise. The Persians, defeated, fled in disorder to theirships, but many perished in the marshes; the shore was strewnwith their dead, and seven of their ships were destroyed. Theirloss was six thousand four hundred; that of the Athenians, notincluding the Platæans, only one hundred and ninety two. Such, in brief, was the famous battle of Marathon. The Persians werestrong in the terror of their name, and in the renown of theirconquests; and it required a most heroic resolution in the Atheniansto face a danger that they had not yet learned to despise. 

LEGENDS OF THE BATTLE. 

The victory at Marathon was viewed by the people as a deliveranceby the gods themselves. It is fabled that before the battle thevoice of the god Pan was heard in the mountains, uttering warningsand threatenings to the Persians, and inspiring the Greeks withcourage. Hence the wonderful legends of the battle, in whichTheseus, Hercules, and other local heroes are represented asengaging in the combat, and dealing death among the flyingbarbarians. In the following lines MRS. HEMANS has embraced thedescription which the Greeks gave of the appearance and deeds ofTheseus on that occasion:

 There was one, a leader crowned, And armed for Greece that day; But the falchions made no sound On his gleaming war array. In the battle's front he stood, With his tall and shadowy crest; But the arrows drew no blood, Though their path was through his vest. 

 His sword was seen to flash Where the boldest deeds were done; But it smote without a clash; The stroke was heard by none! His voice was not of those Who swelled the rolling blast, And his steps fell hushed like snows-- 'Twas the shade of Theseus passed!

 Far sweeping through the foe With a fiery charge he bore; And the Mede left many a bow On the sounding ocean-shore. And the foaming waves grew red, And the sails were crowded fast, When the sons of Asia fled, As the shade of Theseus passed! When banners caught the breeze, When helms in sunlight shone, When masts were on the seas, And spears on Marathon. 

It is said that to this day the peasant believes the field ofMarathon to be haunted with spectral warriors, whose shouts areheard at midnight, borne on the wind, and rising above the dinof battle. Viewed in the light of such legends, the followingpoem on Marathon, by PROFESSOR BLACKIE, is full of interest andpoetic beauty:

 From Pentel'icus' pine-clad height [Footnote: Pentelicus overhangs the south side of the plain of Marathon. ] A voice of warning came, That shook the silent autumn night With fear to Media's name. [Footnote: After the absorption of the Median kingdom into that of Persia, the terms Mede and Persian were interchangeably used, with little distinction. ] Pan, from his Marathonian cave, [Footnote: Pan was said to have a famous cave near Marathon. For the somewhat prominent part which Pan played in the great Persian war, see Herodotus, vi. P. 105. ] Sent screams of midnight terror. 

 And darkling horror curled the wave On the broad sea's moonlit mirror. Woe, Persia, woe! thou liest low--low! Let the golden palaces groan! Ye mothers weep for sons that shall sleep In gore on Marathon. 

 Where Indus and Hydaspes roll, Where treeless deserts glow, Where Scythians roam beneath the pole, O'er hills of hardened snow, The great Darius rules: and now, Thou little Greece, to thee He comes: thou thin-soiled Athens, how Shalt thou dare to be free? There is a God that wields the rod Above: by him alone The Greek shall be free, when the Mede shall flee In shame from Marathon. 

 He comes; and o'er the bright Ægean, Where his masted army came, The subject isles uplift the pæan Of glory to his name. Strong Naxos, strong Ere'tria yield; His captains near the shore Of Marathon's fair and fateful field, Where a tyrant marched before. And a traitor guide, the sea beside, Now marks the land for his own, Where the marshes red shall soon be the bed Of the Mede in Marathon. 

 Who shall number the host of the Mede? Their high-tiered galleys ride, Like locust-bands with darkening speed, Across the groaning tide. Who shall tell the many hoofed tramp That shakes the dusty plain? Where the pride of his horse is the strength of his camp, Shall the Mede forget to gain? O fair is the pride of the cohorts that ride, To the eye of the morning shown! But a god in the sky hath doomed them to lie In dust on Marathon. 

 Dauntless, beside the sounding sea, The Athenian men reveal Their steady strength. That they are free They know; and inly feel Their high election, on that day, In foremost fight to stand, And dash the enslaving yoke away From all the Grecian land. Their praise shall sound the world around, Who shook the Persian throne, When the shout of the free travelled over the sea From famous Marathon. 

 From dark Cithæ'ron's sacred slope The small Platæan band Bring hearts that swell with patriot hope, To wield a common brand With Theseus' sons, at danger's gates, While spellbound Sparta stands, And for the pale moon's changes waits With stiff and stolid hands; And hath no share in the glory rare, That Athens shall make her own, When the long-haired Mede with fearful speed Falls back from Marathon. 

 "On, sons of the Greeks!" the war-cry rolls; "The land that gave you birth, Your wives, and all the dearest souls That circle round each hearth; The shrines upon a thousand hills, The memory of your sires, Nerve now with brass your resolute wills, And fan your valorous fires!" And on like a wave came the rush of the brave-- "Ye sons of the Greeks, on, on!" And the Mede stepped back from the eager attack Of the Greek in Marathon. 

 Hear'st thou the rattling of spears on the right? Seest thou the gleam in the sky? The gods come to aid the Greeks in the fight, And the favoring heroes are nigh. The lion's hide I see in the sky, And the knotted club so fell, And kingly Theseus's conquering eye, And Maca'ria, nymph of the well. [Footnote: The nymph Macaria, daughter of Hercules, was said to have a fountain on the field of Marathon. There is a well near the north end of the plain, where the fountain is supposed to have been. ] Purely, purely, the fount did flow, When the morn's first radiance shone; But eve shall know the crimson flow Of its wave, by Marathon. 

 On, son of Cimon, bravely on! [Footnote: Milti'ades, the general in command, whose father's name was Cimon. ] And Aristides the just! Your names have made the field your own, Your foes are in the dust! The Lydian satrap spurs his steed, The Persian's bow is broken: His purple pales; the vanquished Mede Beholds the angry token Of thundering Jove, who rules above; And the bubbling marshes moan [Footnote: There are two extensive marshes on the plain of Marathon, one at each extremity. The Persians were driven back into the marsh at the north end. ] With the trampled dead that have found their bed In gore, at Marathon. 

 The ships have sailed from Marathon On swift disaster's wings; And an evil dream hath fetched a groan From the heart of the king of kings. An eagle he saw, in the shades of night, With a dove that bloodily strove; And the weak hath vanquished the strong in fight, The eagle hath fled from the dove. [Footnote: Reference is here made to A-tos'sa's dream, as given by Æschylus in his tragedy of The Persians. ] Great Jove, that reigns in the starry plains, To the heart of the king hath shown That the boastful parade of his pride was laid In dust at Marathon. 

 But through Pentelicus' winding vales The hymn triumphal runs, And high-shrined Athens proudly hails Her free-returning sons. And Pallas, from her ancient rock, [Footnote: Pallas, or Minerva. ] With her shield's refulgent round, Blazes; her frequent worshippers flock, And high the pæans sound, How in deathless glory the famous story Shall on the winds be blown, That the long-haired Mede was driven with speed By the Greeks, from Marathon. 

 And Greece shall be a hallowed name, While the sun shall climb the pole, And Marathon fan strong freedom's flame In many a pilgrim soul. And o'er that mound where heroes sleep, [Footnote: This famous mound is still to be seen on the battle-field. ] By the waste and reedy shore, Full many a patriot eye shall weep, Till Time shall be no more. And the bard shall brim with a holier hymn, When he stands by that mound alone, And feel no shrine on earth more divine Than the dust of Marathon. 

THE DEATH OF MILTIADES. 

Soon after the Persian defeat, Miltiades, who at first receivedall the honors that a grateful people could bestow, met a fatethat casts a melancholy gloom over his history, and that hasoften been cited in proof of the assertion that "republics arefickle and ungrateful. " History shows, however, that the Athenianswere not greatly in the wrong in their treatment of Miltiades. Heobtained of them the command of an expedition whose destinationwas known to himself alone; assuring them of the honorablenessand the success of the enterprise. But much treasure was spent, many lives were lost, and through the seeming treachery ofMiltiades the expedition terminated in disaster and disgrace. It was found, upon investigation, that the motive of the expeditionwas private resentment against a prominent citizen of Paros. Miltiades was therefore condemned to death; but gratitude forhis previous valuable services mitigated the penalty to a fineof fifty talents. His death occurred soon after, from a woundthat he received in a fall while at Paros, and the fine was paidby his son Cimon. 

As GROTE well observes, "The fate of Miltiades, so far fromillustrating either the fickleness or the ingratitude of hiscountrymen, attests their just appreciation of deserts. It alsoillustrates another moral of no small importance to the rightcomprehension of Grecian affairs; it teaches us the painful lessonhow perfectly maddening were the effects of a copious draught ofglory on the temperament of an enterprising and ambitious Greek. There can be no doubt that the rapid transition, in the courseof about one week, from Athenian terror before the battle toAthenian exultation after it, must have produced demonstrationstoward Miltiades such as were never paid to any other man in thewhole history of the commonwealth. Such unmeasured admirationunseated his rational judgment, so that his mind became abandonedto the reckless impulses of insolence, antipathy, and rapacity--that distempered state for which (according to Grecian morality)the retributive Nemesis was ever on the watch, and which, in hiscase, she visited with a judgment startling in its rapidity, aswell as terrible in its amount. " [Footnote: "History of Greece, "Chap. Xxxvi. ]

But, as GILLIES remarks, "The glory of Miltiades survived him. At the distance of half a century, when the battle of Marathonwas painted by order of the state, it was ordered that the figureof Miltiades be placed in the foreground, animating the troopsto victory--a reward which, during the virtuous simplicity ofthe ancient commonwealth, conferred more real honor than allthat magnificent profusion of crowns and statues which, in thelater times of the republic, were rather extorted by generalfees than bestowed by public admiration. " [See Oration ofÆsehines, pp. 424-426. ]

ARISTI'DES AND THEMIS'TOCLES. 

After the death of Miltiades, Themistocles and Aristides becamethe most prominent men among the Athenians. The former, a mostable statesman, but influenced by ambitious motives, aimed tomake Athens great and powerful that he himself might rise togreater eminence; while the later was a pure patriot, whollydestitute of selfish ambition, and knew no cause but that ofjustice and the public welfare. The poet THOMSON thuscharacterizes him:

 Then Aristides lifts his honest front; Spotless of heart, to whom the unflattering voice Of Freedom gave the name of Just. In pure majestic poverty revered; Who, e'en his glory to his country's weal Submitting, swelled a haughty rival's fame. 

But the very integrity of Aristides made for him secret enemies, who, although they charged him with no crimes, were yet able toprocure his banishment by the process of ostracism, in which hisgreat rival, Themistocles, took a leading part. This kind ofcondemnation was not inflicted as a punishment, but as aprecautionary measure against a degree of personal popularitythat might be deemed dangerous to the public welfare. The processwas as follows: In an assembly of the people each man was atliberty to write on a shell the name of the person whom he wishedto have banished, and if six thousand votes or more were recorded, that person against whom the greatest number of votes had beengiven was banished for ten years, but with leave to enjoy hisestate, and return after that period. PLUTARCH relates thefollowing incident connected with the banishment of Aristides:"An illiterate burgher coming to Aristides, whom he took forsome ordinary person, and giving him his shell, desired him towrite 'Aristides' upon it. The good man, surprised at theadventure, asked him 'Whether Aristides had ever injured him?''No, ' said he, 'nor do I even know him; but it vexes me to hearhim everywhere called the Just. ' Aristides made no answer, buttook the shell, and, having written his own name upon it, returned it to the man. When he quitted Athens, he lifted uphis hands toward heaven, and, agreeably to his character, madea prayer, very different from that of Achilles; namely, 'thatthe people of Athens might never see the day which should forcethem to remember Aristides. '"

But it was, perhaps, fortunate for the liberties of Greece thatThemistocles, instead of Aristides, was left in full power atAthens. "The peculiar faculty of his mind, " says THIRLWALL, "whichThucydides contemplated with admiration, was the quickness withwhich it seized every object that came in its way, perceived thecourse of action required by new situations and sudden junctures, and penetrated into remote consequences. Such were the abilitieswhich were most needed at this period for the service of Athens. "Soon after the battle of Marathon a war had broken out betweenAthens and Ægina, which still continued, and which gaveThemistocles an opportunity to exercise his powers of readyinvention and prompt execution. Ægina was one of the wealthiestof the Grecian islands, and possessed the most powerful navy inall Greece. Themistocles soon saw that to successfully cope withthis formidable rival, as well as rise to a higher rank among theGrecian states, Athens must become a great maritime power. Hetherefore obtained the consent of the Athenians to devote a largesurplus then in the public treasury, but which belonged toindividual citizens, to the building of a hundred galleys; and, by this sacrifice of individual emolument to the general good, the Athenian navy was increased to two hundred ships. But theforesight of Themistocles extended still farther, and it was noless his design, in making Athens a first-class maritime power, to protect her against Persia, which, as he well knew, was preparingfor another and still more formidable attack on Greece. 

 * * * * *

III. THE SECOND' PERSIAN INVASION. 

For three years subsequent to the battle of Marathon Darius madegreat preparations for a second invasion of Greece, intendingto lead his forces in person; but death put an end to his plans. Xerxes, his son and successor, was urged by many advisers tocarry out his father's intentions. His uncle Artaba'nus aloneendeavored to divert him from the enterprise; but Xerxes, havingspent four years in collecting a large fleet and a vast body oftroops from all quarters of his extensive dominions, set out fromSardis with great ostentation, in the spring of the year 480, toavenge the disgrace of Marathon. HERODOTUS relates that, onreaching Aby'dos, on the Hellespont, Xerxes reviewed his vasthost, and wept when he thought of the shortness of human life, and considered that of all his immense host not one man wouldbe alive when a hundred years had passed away. The historian'saccount is as follows:

Xerxes at Abydos. 

"Arrived here, Xerxes wished to look upon his host; so, as therewas a throne of white marble upon a hill near the city, whichthey of Abydos had prepared beforehand, by the king's bidding, for his especial use, Xerxes took his seat on it, and, gazingthence upon the shore below, beheld at one view all his landforces and all his ships. As he looked and saw the whole Hellespontcovered with the vessels of his fleet, and all the shore andevery plain about Abydos as full as could be of men, Xerxescongratulated himself on his good-fortune; but, after a littlewhile, he wept. Then Artabanus, the king's uncle (the same whoat the first so freely spake his mind to the king, and advisedhim not to lead his army against Greece), when he heard thatXerxes was in tears, went to him, and said:

"'How different, sire, is what thou art now doing from what thoudidst a little while ago! Then thou didst congratulate thyself, and now, behold! thou weepest. '

"'There came upon me, ' replied he, 'a sudden pity when I thoughtof the shortness of man's life, and considered that of all thishost, so numerous as it is, not one will be alive when a hundredyears are gone by. '

"'And yet there are sadder things in life than that, ' returnedthe other. 'Short. As our time is, there is no man, whether itbe here among this multitude or elsewhere, who is so happy asnot to have felt the wish--I will not say once, but full manya time--that he were dead rather than alive. Calamities fallupon us, sicknesses vex and harass us, and make life, short thoughit be, to appear long. So death, through the wretchedness ofour life, is a most sweet refuge to our race; and God, who givesus the tastes we enjoy of pleasant times, is seen, in his verygift, to be envious. '" --Trans. By RAWLINSON. 

Much that is told about Xerxes--how he cut off Mount Athos fromthe main-land by a canal; how he made a bridge of boats acrossthe Hellespont, where it is three miles wide, and ordered thewaters to be scourged because they destroyed the bridge; how heconstructed new bridges, over which his vast army crossed theHellespont as along a royal road; and how his army drank a wholeriver dry--all of which is gravely related by Herodotus as fact, is discredited by the Latin poet JUVENAL, who attributes thesestories to the imaginations of "browsy poets. "

 Old Greece a tale of Athos would make out, Cut from the continent and sailed about; Seas bid with navies, chariots passing o'er The channel on a bridge from shore to shore; Rivers, whose depths no sharp beholder sees, Drunk, at an army's dinner, to the lees; With a long legend of romantic things, Which, in his cups, the browsy poet sings. --Tenth Satire. Trans. By DRYDEN. 

That Xerxes bridged the Hellespont, however, in the manner relatedby Herodotus, is an accepted fact of history. As MILTON says, Xerxes, the liberty of Greece to yoke, From Susa, his Memnonian palace high, Came to the sea, and over Hellespont Bridging his way, Europe with Asia joined. --Paradise Regained. 

He crossed to Ses'tus, a city of Thrace, and entered Europe atthe head of an army the greatest the world has ever seen, andwhose numbers have been estimated at over two millions offighting men. Having marched along the coast through Thrace andMacedonia, this immense force passed through Thessaly, andarrived, without opposition, at the Pass of Thermop'ylæ, a narrowdefile on the western shore of the gulf that lies between Thessalyand Euboea, and almost the only road by which Greece proper, orancient Greece, could be entered on the north-east by way ofThessaly. In the mean time the Greeks had not been idle. Thewinter before Xerxes left Asia a general congress of the Grecianstates was held at the isthmus of Corinth, at which the differencesbetween Athens and Ægina were first settled, and then a vigorouseffort was made by Athens and Sparta to unite the states andcities in one great league against the power of Persia. But, notwithstanding the common danger, only a few of the statesresponded to the call, and the only people north and east of theisthmus who joined the league were the Athenians, Phocians, Platæans, and Thespians. The command of both the land and navalforces was relinquished by Athens to the Spartans; and it wasresolved to make the first stand against Persia at the Pass ofThermopylæ. 

THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYLÆ. 

When the Persian monarch reached Thermopylæ, he found a body ofbut eight thousand men, commanded by the Spartan king Leonidas, prepared to dispute his passage. A herald was sent to the Greekscommanding them to lay down their arms; but Leonidas replied, with true Spartan brevity, "Come and take them!" When it wasremarked that the Persians were so numerous that their dartswould darken the sun, "Then, " replied Dien'eces, a Spartan, "weshall fight in the shade. " Trained from youth to the endurance ofall hardships, and forbidden by their laws ever to flee from anenemy, the sons of Sparta were indeed formidable antagonists forthe Persians to encounter. 

 Stern were her sons. Upon Euro'tas' bank, Where black Ta-yg'etus o'er cliff and peak Waves his dark pines, and spreads his glistening snows, On five low hills their city rose: no walls, No ramparts closed it round; its battlements And towers of strength were men--high-minded men, Who heard the cry of danger with more joy Than softer natures listen to the voice Of pleasure; who, with unremitting toil In chase, in battle, or athletic course, To fierceness steeled their native hardihood; Who sunk in death as tranquil as in sleep, And, hemmed by hostile myriads, never turned To flight, but closer drew before their breasts The massy buckler, firmer fixed the foot, Bit the writhed lip, and, where they struggled, fell. --HAYGARTH. 

Xerxes, astonished that the Greeks did not disperse at the sightof his vast army, waited four days, and then ordered a body ofhis troops to attack them, and lead them captive before him; butthe barbarians fell in heaps in the very presence of the king, and blocked the narrow pass with their dead. Xerxes now thoughtthe contest worthy of the superior prowess of his own guards, the ten thousand Immortals. These were led up as to a certainvictory; but the Greeks stood their ground as before. The combatlasted a whole day, and the slaughter of the enemy was terrible. Another day of combat followed, with like results, and theconfidence of the Persian monarch was changed into despondenceand perplexity. 

While in the uncertainty caused by these repeated failures toforce a passage, Xerxes learned, from a Greek traitor, of asecret path over the mountains, by which he was able to throwa force of twenty thousand men into the rear of the bravedefenders of the pass. Leonidas, seeing that his post was nolonger tenable, now dismissed all his allies that desired toretire, and retained only three hundred fellow-Spartans, withsome Thespians and Thebans--in all about one thousand men. Hewould have saved two of his kinsmen, by sending them with messagesto Sparta; but the one said he had come to bear arms, not tocarry letters, and the other that his deeds would tell all thatSparta desired to know. Leonidas did not wait for an attack, butsallying forth from the pass, and falling suddenly upon thePersians, he penetrated to the very center of their host, wherethe battle raged furiously, and two of the brothers of Xerxeswere slain. Then the surviving Greeks, with the exception ofthe Thebans, fell back within the pass and took their final standupon a hillock, where they fought with the valor of desperationuntil every man was slain. The Thebans, however, who from the firsthad been distrusted by Leonidas, threw down their arms early inthe fight, and begged for quarter. 

The conflict itself, and the glory of the struggle on the partof the Spartans, have been favorite themes with the poets ofsucceeding ages. The following description is by HAYGARTH:

 Long and doubtful was the fight; Day after day the hostile army poured Its choicest warriors, but in vain; they fell, Or fled inglorious. Foul treachery At last prevailed; a steep and dangerous path, Known only to the wandering mountaineers, By difficult ascent led to the rear Of the heroic Greeks. The morning dawned, And the brave chieftain, when he raised his head From the cold rock on which he rested, viewed Banner and helmet, and the waving fire From lance and buckler, glancing high amidst Each pointed cliff and copse which stretch along Yon mountain's bosom. Then he saw his fate; But saw it with an unaverted eye: Around his spear he called his countrymen, And with a smile that o'er his rugged cheek Pass'd transient, like the momentary flash Streaking a thunder-cloud--"But we will die" (He cried) "like Grecians; we will leave our sons A bright example. Let each warrior bind Firmly his mail, and grasp his lance, and scowl From underneath his helm a frown of death Upon his shrinking foe; then let him fix His firm, unbending knee, and where he fights There fall. " They heard, and, on their shields Clashing the war-song with a noble rage, Rushed headlong in the conflict of the fight, And died, as they had lived, triumphantly. 

The Greek historian Diodorus, followed by the biographer Plutarchand the Latin historian Justin, states that Leonidas made theattack on the Persian camp during the night, and in the darknessand in the confusion of the struggle nearly penetrated to theroyal tent of Xerxes. On this basis of supposed facts the poetCROLY wrote his stirring poem descriptive of the conflict; butthe statement of Diodorus, which is irreconcilable with Herodotus, is generally discredited by modern writers. 

Monuments to the memory of the Greeks who fell were erected onthe battle-ground, and many were the epitaphs written tocommemorate the heroism of the famous three hundred; but theoldest, best, and most celebrated of these is the inscriptionthat was placed on their altar-tomb, written by the poetSIMON'IDES, of Ce'os. It consists of only two lines in theOriginal Greek. [Footnote: The following is the original Greekof the epitaph: O xeiu hangeddeiy Dakedaimouiois hoti taedekeimetha, tois keiuoy hraemasi peithomeuoi. ] All Greece forcenturies had them by heart; but in the lapse of time she forgotthem, and then, in the language of "Christopher North, " "Greecewas living Greece no more. " There have been no less than threeLatin and eighteen English versions of this epitaph; and herewithwe give three of the latter:

 Go, stranger, and to Laç-e-dæ'mon tell That here, obedient to her laws, we fell. 

 Stranger, to Sparta say that here we rest In death, obedient to her high behest. 

 Go, tell the Spartans, thou who passest by, That here, obedient to their laws, we lie. 

Another inscription, said to have been written by Simonides forthe tombs of the heroes of Thermopylæ, is as follows:

 Happy they, the chosen brave, Whom Destiny, whom Valor led To their consecrated grave 'Mid Thessalia's mountains dread. Their sepulchre's a holy shrine, Their epitaph, the engraven line Recording former deeds divine; And Pity's melancholy wail Is changed to hymns of praise that load the evening gale. 

 Entombed in noble deed's they're laid-- Nor silent rust, nor Time's inexorable hour, Shall e'er have power To rend that shroud which veils their hallowed shade. Hellas mourns the dead Sunk in their narrow grave; But thou, dark Sparta's chief, whose bosom bled First in the battle's wave, Bear witness that they fell as best beseems the brave. 

Leonidas himself fell in the plain, and his body was carriedinto the defile by his followers. He was buried at the northentrance to the pass, and over his grave was erected a mound, on which was placed the figure of a lion sculptured in stone. The sculptured lion marked the grave of the hero down to the timeOf Herodotus. 

 On Phocis' shores the cavern's gloom Imbrowns yon solitary tomb: There, in the sad and silent grave Repose the ashes of the brave Who, when the Persian from afar On Hellas poured the stream of war, At Freedom's call, with martial pride, For his loved country fought and died. Seek'st thou the place where, 'midst the dead The hero of the battle bled? Yon sculptured lion, frowning near, Points out Leonidas's bier. --ANON. 

The poet BYRON, who was peculiarly the friend of Greece, and anearnest admirer of both the genius and the heroic deeds of hersons, has written the following lines commemorating the glory ofthose who fell at Thermopylæ:

 They fell devoted, but undying; The very gale their names seemed sighing: The waters murmured of their name; The woods were peopled with their fame; The silent pillar, lone and gray, Claimed kindred with their sacred clay: Their spirits wrapped the dusky mountain, Their memory sparkled o'er the fountain; The meanest rill, the mightiest river Rolled mingling with their fame forever. 

THE ABANDONMENT OF ATHENS. 

While fighting was in progress at Thermopylæ, a Greek fleet, under the command of the Spartan Eurybi'ades, that had been sentto guard the Euboean Sea, encountered the Persian ships atArtemis'ium. In several engagements that occurred, the Athenianvessels, commanded by Themistocles, were especially distinguished;and although the contests with the enemy were not decisive, yet, says PLUTARCH, "they were of great advantage to the Greeks, wholearned by experience that neither the number of ships, nor thebeauty and splendor of their ornaments, nor the vaunting shoutsand songs of the Persians, were anything dreadful to men who knowhow to fight hand-to-hand, and are determined to behave gallantly. These things they were taught to despise when they came to closeaction and grappled with the foe. Hence in this respect, and forthis reason, Pindar's sentiments appear just, when he says of thefight at Artemisium, "'Twas then that Athens the foundation laid Of Liberty's fair structure. '"

Although the Greeks were virtually the victors in these engagements, at least one-half of their vessels were disabled; and, hearingof the defeat of Leonidas at Thermopylæ, they resolved to retreat. Having sailed through the Euboean Sea, the fleet kept on its wayuntil it reached the Island of Salamis, in the Saron'ic Gulf. Here Themistocles learned that no friendly force was guardingthe frontier of Attica, although the Peloponnesian states hadpromised to send an army into Boeotia; and he saw that there wasnothing to prevent the Persians from marching on Athens. Hetherefore advised the Athenians to abandon the city to the mercyof the Persians, and commit their safety and their hopes of victoryto the navy. The advice was adopted, though not without a hardstruggle; and those of the inhabitants who were able to bear armsretired to the Island of Salamis, while the old and infirm, thewomen and children, found shelter in a city of Argolis. 

THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS. 

Xerxes pursued his march through Greece unopposed except byThespiæ and Platæa, which towns he reduced, and spread desolationover Attica until he arrived at the foot of the Cecropian hill, which he found guarded by a handful of desperate citizens whorefused to surrender. But the brave defenders were soon put tothe sword, and Athens was plundered and then burned to the ground. About this time the Persian fleet arrived in the Bay of Phale'rum, and Xerxes immediately dispatched it to block up that of theGreeks in the narrow strait of Salamis. Eurybiades, the Spartan, who still commanded the Grecian fleet, was urged by Themistocles, and also by Aristides, who had been recalled from exile, to hazardan engagement at once in the narrow strait, where the superiornumbers of the Persians would be of little avail. The Peloponnesiancommanders, however, wished to move the fleet to the Isthmus ofCorinth, where it would have the aid of the land forces. At lastthe counsel of Themistocles prevailed, and the Greeks made theattack. The engagement was a courageous and persistent one onboth sides, but the Greeks came off victorious. Xerxes had causeda royal throne to be erected on one of the neighboring heights, where, surrounded by his army, he might witness the naval conflictin which he was so confident of victory. But he had the misfortuneto see his magnificent navy almost utterly annihilated. Amongthe slain was the brother of Xerxes, who commanded the navy, andmany other Persians of the highest rank. 

 A king sate on the rocky brow Which looks o'er sea-born Salamis; And ships, by thousands, lay below, And men in nations--all were his! He counted them at break of day-- And when the sun set, where were they? --BYRON. 

Anxious now for his own personal safety, the Persian monarch'swhole care centered on securing his retreat by land. He passedrapidly into Thessaly, and, after a march of forty-five days, reached the shores of the Hellespont to find his bridges washedaway. 

 But how returned he? Say; this soul of fire, This proud barbarian, whose impatient ire Chastised the winds that disobeyed his nod With stripes ne'er suffered by the Æolian god-- But how returned he? say; his navy lost, In a small bark he fled the hostile coast, And, urged by terror, drove his laboring prore Through floating carcasses and fields of gore. So Xerxes sped; so sped the conquering race: They catch at glory, and they clasp disgrace. --JUVENAL, Satire X. Trans. By GIFFORD. 

The ignominious retreat of Xerxes was in marked contrast to thepomp and magnificence of his advance into Greece. Death fromfamine and distress spread its ravages among his troops, andthe remnant that returned with him to Asia was but "a wreck, orfragment, rather than a part of his huge host. "

 O'er Hellespont and Athos' marble head, More than a god he came, less than a man he fled. --LUIGI ALAMANNI. Trans. By AUBREY DE VERE. 

A Celebrated Description of the Battle. 

Among the Athenians who nobly fought at Marathon, and who alsotook part in the battle of Salamis, was the tragedian Æschylus;and so much did he distinguish himself in the capacity of soldier, that, in the picture which the Athenians caused to be paintedrepresenting the former battle, the figure of Æschylus held soprominent a place as to be at once recognized, even by a casualobserver. Eight years after the latter battle Æschylus composedhis tragedy of The Persians, which portrays, in vivid colors, the defeat of Xerxes, and gives a fuller, and, indeed, betteraccount of that memorable sea-fight than is found even in thepages of Herodotus. 

Says MITFORD, "It is matter of regret, not indeed that Æschyluswas a poet; but that prose-writing was yet in his age so littlecommon that his poetical sketch of this great transaction isthe most authoritative, the clearest, and the most consistentof any that has passed to posterity. " In the famous tragedy ofÆschylus the account of the destruction of the Persian fleet issupposed to be given by a Persian messenger, escaped from thefight, to Atos'sa, the mother of Xerxes. The scene is laid atSusa, the Persian capital, near the tomb of Darius. The wholedrama may be considered as a proud triumphal song in favor ofLiberty. 

Atossa, appearing with her attendants, and anxious for news ofher son, first inquires in what clime are the towers of Athens--the conquest of which her son had willed--and what mighty armies, what arms, and what treasures the Athenians boast, and what mightymonarch rules over them; and is told, to her surprise, that insteadof the strong bow, like the Persians, they have stout spearsand massy bucklers; and although their rich earth is a copiousfount of silver, yet the people, "slaves to no lord, own no kinglypower. " Then enters the messenger, who exclaims:

 Woe to the towns of Asia's peopled realms! Woe to the land of Persia, once the port Of boundless wealth! All, at a blow, has perished! Ah me! How sad his task who brings ill tidings! But, to my tale of woe--I needs must tell it. Persians--the whole barbaric host has fallen!

At this astounding news the chorus breaks out in, concert:

 Oh horror, horror, what a train of ills! Alas! Is Hellas then unscathed? And has Our arrowy tempest spent its force in vain? Raise the funereal cry--with dismal notes Wailing the wretched Persians. Oh, how ill They planned their measures! All their army perished!

Then the messenger exclaims:

 I speak not from report; but these mine eyes Beheld the ruin which my tongue would utter. In heaps the unhappy dead lie on the strand Of Salamis, and all the neighboring shores. Oh, Salamis--how hateful is thy name! Oh, how my heart groans but to think of Athens!

Atossa at length finds words to say:

 Astonished with these ills, my voice thus long Hath wanted utterance: griefs like these exceed The power of speech or question: yet e'en such, Inflicted by the gods, must mortal man, Constrained by loud necessity endure. But tell me all: without distraction, tell me All this calamity, though many a groan Burst from thy laboring heart. Who is not fallen? What leader must we wail? What sceptred chief, Dying, hath left his troops without a lord?

The messenger tells her that Xerxes himself lives, and stillbeholds the light, and then gives her a general summary of thedisasters that befell the Persians, the names of the chiefs thatwere slain, the numbers of the horsemen, and the spearmen, andthe seamen that lay "slaughtered on the rocks, " "buried in thewaters, " or "mouldering on the dreary shore. " At the request ofAtossa he then proceeds to give the following more detailedaccount, which, as we have said, is the best history that wehave of this memorable naval conflict:

 Our evil genius, lady, or some god Hostile to Persia, led to every ill. Forth from the troops of Athens came a Greek, And thus addressed thy son, the imperial Xerxes: "Soon as the shades of night descend, the Grecians Shall quit their station: rushing to their oars, They mean to separate, and in secret flight Seek safety. " At these words the royal chief, Little dreaming of the wiles of Greece, And gods averse, to all the naval leaders Gave his high charge: "Soon as yon sun shall cease To dart his radiant beams, and dark'ning night Ascends the temple of the sky, arrange In three divisions your well-ordered ships, And guard each pass, each outlet of the seas: Others enring around this rocky isle Of Salamis. Should Greece escape her fate, And work her way by secret flight, your heads Shall answer the neglect. " This harsh command He gave, exulting in his mind, nor knew What Fate designed. With martial discipline And prompt obedience, snatching a repast, Each manner fixed well his ready oar. 

 Soon as the golden sun was set, and night Advanced, each, trained to ply the dashing oar, Assumed his seat; in arms each warrior stood, Troop cheering troop through all the ships of war. Each to the appointed station steers his course, And through the night his naval force each chief Fix'd to secure the passes. Night advanced, But not by secret flight did Greece attempt To escape. The morn, all beauteous to behold, Drawn by white steeds, bounds o'er the enlighten'd earth:

 At once from every Greek, with glad acclaim, Burst forth the song of war, whose lofty notes The echo of the island rocks returned, Spreading dismay through Persia's host, thus fallen From their high hopes; no flight this solemn strain Portended, but deliberate valor bent On daring battle; while the trumpet's sound Kindled the flames of war. But when their oars (The pæan ended) with impetuous force Dash'd the surrounding surges, instant all Rush'd on in view; in orderly array The squadron of the right first led, behind Rode their whole fleet; and now distinct was heard From every part this voice of exhortation:

 "Advance, ye sons of Greece, from thraldom save Your country--save your wives, your children save, The temples of your gods, the sacred tomb Where rest your honor'd ancestors; this day The common cause of all demands your valor. " Meantime from Persia's hosts the deep'ning shout Answer'd their shout; no time for cold delay; But ship 'gainst ship its brazen beak impell'd. 

 First to the charge a Grecian galley rush'd; Ill the Phoenician bore the rough attack-- Its sculptured prow all shatter'd. Each advanced, Daring an opposite. The deep array Of Persia at the first sustain'd the encounter; But their throng'd numbers, in the narrow seas Confined, want room for action; and deprived Of mutual aid, beaks clash with beaks, and each Breaks all the other's oars: with skill disposed, The Grecian navy circled them around In fierce assault; and, rushing from its height, The inverted vessel sinks. 

 The sea no more Wears its accustomed aspect, with foul wrecks And blood disfigured; floating carcasses Roll on the rocky shores; the poor remains Of the barbaric armament to flight Ply every oar inglorious: onward rush The Greeks amid the ruins of the fleet, As through a shoal of fish caught in the net, Spreading destruction; the wide ocean o'er Wailings are heard, and loud laments, till night, With darkness on her brow, brought grateful truce. Should I recount each circumstance of woe, Ten times on my unfinished tale the sun Would set; for be assured that not one day Could close the ruin of so vast a host. 

After some farther account, by the messenger, of the magnitudeof the ruin that had overwhelmed the Persian host, the motherof Xerxes thus apostrophizes and laments that "invidious fortune"which had pulled down this ruin on her son's devoted head:

 Invidious fortune, how thy baleful power Hath sunk the hopes of Persia! Bitter fruit My son hath tasted from his purposed vengeance On Athens, famed for arms; the fatal field Of Marathon, red with barbaric blood, Sufficed not: that defeat he thought to avenge, And pulled this hideous ruin on his head! Ah me! what sorrows for our ruined host Oppress my soul! Ye visions of the night, Haunting my dreams, how plainly did you show These ills! You set them in too fair a light. 

In the Epode, or closing portion of the tragedy, the following"Lament" may be considered as expressing the feelings with whichthe Persians bewailed this defeat, with reference to its effectsupon Persian authority over the Asiatic nations:

 With sacred awe The Persian law No more shall Asia's realm revere: To their lord's hand, At his command, No more the exacted tribute bear. Who now falls prostrate at the monarch's throne? His regal greatness is no more. Now no restraint the wanton tongue shall own, Free from the golden curb of power; For on the rocks, washed by the beating flood, His awe-commanding nobles lie in blood. --POTTER'S trans. 

Among the modern poems on Xerxes and the battle of Salamis, isone by the Scotch poet and translator, JOHN STUART BLACKIE, fromwhich we take the following extracts:

 Seest thou where, sublimely seated on a silver-footed throne, With a high tiara crested, belted with a jewelled zone, Sits the king of kings, and, looking from the rocky mountain-side, Scans, with masted armies studded far, the fair Saronic tide? Looks he not with high hope beaming? looks he not with pride elate? Seems he not a god? The words he speaks are big with instant fate. 

 He hath come from far Euphrates, and from Tigris' rushing tide, To subdue the strength of Athens, to chastise the Spartan's pride; He hath come with countless armies, gathered slowly from afar, From the plain, and from the mountain, marshalled ranks of motley war; From the land and from the ocean, that the burdened billows groan, That the air is black with banners, which great Xerxes calls his own. 

 Soothly he hath nobly ridden o'er the fair fields, o'er the waste, As the earth might bear the burden, with a weighty-footed haste; He hath cut in twain the mountain, he hath bridged the rolling main, He hath lashed the flood of Hel'le, bound the billow with a chain; And the rivers shrink before him, and the sheeted lakes are dry, From his burden-bearing oxen, and his hordes of cavalry; And the gates of Greece stand open; Ossa and Olympus fail; And the mountain-girt Æmo'nia spreads the river and the gale. 

 Stood nor man nor god before him; he hath scoured the Attic land, Chased the valiant sons of Athens to a barren island's strand; He hath hedged them round with triremes, lines on lines of bristling war; He hath doomed the prey for capture; he hath spread his meshes far; And he sits sublimely seated on a throne with pride elate, To behold the victim fall beneath the sudden swooping Fate. 

Then follows an account of the nations which formed the Persianhosts, their arrangement to entrap the Greeks, who were thoughtto be meditating flight, the patriotic enthusiasm of the latter, the naval battle which followed, and the disastrous defeat ofthe Persians, the poem closing with the following satirical addressto Xerxes:

 Wake thee! wake thee! blinded Xerxes! God hath found thee out at last; Snaps thy pride beneath his judgment, as the tree before the blast. Haste thee! haste thee! speed thy couriers--Persian couriers travel lightly-- To declare thy stranded navy, that by cruel death unsightly Dimmed thy glory. Hie thee! hie thee! hence, even by what way thou camest, Dwarfed to whoso saw thee mightiest, and where thou wert fiercest, tamest!

 Frost and fire shall league together, angry heaven to earth respond, Strong Poseidon with his trident break thy impious-vaunted bond; Where thou passed, with mouths uncounted, eating up the famished land, With few men a boat shall ferry Xerxes to the Asian strand. Haste thee! haste thee! they are waiting by the palace gates for thee; By the golden gates of Susa eager mourners wait for thee. Haste thee! where the guardian elders wait, a hoary-bearded train; They shall see their king, but never see the sons they loved, again. 

 Where thy weeping mother waits thee, Queen Atossa waits to see Dire fulfilment of her troublous, vision-haunted sleep in thee. She hath dreamt, and she shall see it, how an eagle, cowed with awe, Gave his kingly crest to pluck before a puny falcon's claw. Haste thee! where the mighty shade of great Darius through the gloom Rises dread, to teach thee wisdom, couldst thou learn it, from the tomb. There begin the sad rehearsal, and, while streaming tears are shed, To the thousand tongues that ask thee, tell the myriads of thy dead!

THE BATTLE OF PLATÆ'A. 

When Xerxes returned to his own dominions he left his general, Mardo'nius, with three hundred thousand men, to complete, ifpossible, the conquest of Greece. Mardonius passed the winterin Thessaly, but in the following summer his army was totallydefeated, and himself slain, in the battle of Platæa. Two hundredthousand Persians fell here, and only a small remnant escapedacross the Hellespont. We extract from BULWER'S Athens thefollowing eloquent description of this battle, both for the sakeof its beauty and to show the effect of the religion of the Greeksupon the military character of the people. Mardonius had advancedto the neighbor-hood of Platæa, when he encountered that partof the Grecian army composed mostly of Spartans and Lacedæmonians, commanded by Pausa'nias, and numbering about fifty thousand men. The Athenians had previously fallen back to a more secure position, where the entire army had been ordered to concentrate; andPausanias had but just commenced the retrograde movement whenthe Persians made their appearance. 

BULWER says: "As the troops of Mardonius advanced, the rest ofthe Persian armament, deeming the task was now not to fight butto pursue, raised their standards and poured forward tumultuously, without discipline or order. Pausanias, pressed by the Persianline, lost no time in sending to the Athenians for succor. Butwhen the latter were on their march with the required aid, theywere suddenly intercepted by the Greeks in the Persian service, and cut off from the rescue of the Spartans. 

"The Spartans beheld themselves thus unsupported with considerablealarm. Committing himself to the gods, Pausanias ordained asolemn sacrifice, his whole army awaiting the result, while theshafts of the Persians poured on them near and fast. But theentrails presented discouraging omens, and the sacrifice was againrenewed. Meanwhile the Spartans evinced their characteristicfortitude and discipline--not one man stirring from the ranksuntil the auguries should assume a more favoring aspect; allharassed, and some wounded by the Persian arrows, they yet, seekingprotection only beneath their broad bucklers, waited with a sternpatience the time of their leader and of Heaven. Then fellCallic'rates, the stateliest and strongest soldier in the wholearmy, lamenting not death, but that his sword was as yet undrawnagainst the invader. 

"And still sacrifice after sacrifice seemed to forbid the battle, when Pausanias, lifting his eyes, that streamed with tears, tothe Temple of Juno, that stood hard by, supplicated the goddessthat, if the fates forbade the Greeks to conquer, they might atleast fall like warriors; and, while uttering this prayer, thetokens waited for became suddenly visible in the victims, andthe augurs announced the promise of coming victory. Therewiththe order of battle ran instantly through the army, and, to usethe poetical comparison of Plutarch, the Spartan phalanx suddenlystood forth in its strength like some fierce animal, erectingits bristles, and preparing its vengeance for the foe. The ground, broken into many steep and precipitous ridges, and intersectedby the Aso'pus, whose sluggish stream winds over a broad andrushy bed, was unfavorable to the movements of cavalry, and thePersian foot advanced therefore on the Greeks. 

"Drawn up in their massive phalanx, the Lacedæmonians presentedan almost impenetrable body--sweeping slowly on, compact andserried--while the hot and undisciplined valor of the Persians, more fortunate in the skirmish than the battle, broke itselfin a thousand waves upon that moving rock. Pouring on in smallnumbers at a time, they fell fast round the progress of the Greeks--their armor slight against the strong pikes of Sparta--theircourage without skill, their numbers without discipline; stillthey fought gallantly, even when on the ground seizing the pikeswith their naked hands, and, with the wonderful agility thatstill characterizes the Oriental swordsmen, springing to theirfeet and regaining their arms when seemingly overcome, wrestingaway their enemies' shields, and grappling with them desperatelyhand to hand. 

"Foremost of a band of a thousand chosen Persians, conspicuousby his white charger, and still more by his daring valor, rodeMardonius, directing the attack--fiercer wherever his armor blazed. Inspired by his presence the Persians fought worthily of theirwarlike fame, and, even in falling, thinned the Spartan ranks. At length the rash but gallant leader of the Asiatic armiesreceived a mortal wound--his skull was crushed in by a stonefrom the hand of a Spartan. His chosen band, the boast of thearmy, fell fighting around him, but his death was the generalsignal of defeat and flight. Encumbered by their long robes, andpressed by the relentless conquerors, the Persians fled in disordertoward their camp, which was secured by wooden intrenchments, bygates, and towers, and walls. Here, fortifying themselves as theybest might, they contended successfully, and with advantage, against the Lacedæmonians, who were ill skilled in assault andsiege. 

"Meanwhile the Athenians gained the victory on the plains overthe Greek allies of Mardonius, and now joined the Spartans atthe camp. The Athenians are said to have been better skilled inthe art of siege than the Spartans; yet at that time theirexperience could scarcely have been greater. The Athenians wereat all times, however, of a more impetuous temper; and the menwho had 'run to the charge' at Marathon were not to be baffledby the desperate remnant of their ancient foe. They scaled thewalls; they effected a breach through which the Tege'ans werethe first to rush; the Greeks poured fast and fierce into thecamp. Appalled, dismayed, stupefied by the suddenness and greatnessof their loss, the Persians no longer sustained their fame; theydispersed in all directions, falling, as they fled, with aprodigious slaughter, so that out of that mighty armament scarcethree thousand effected an escape. "

But the final overthrow of the Persian hosts on the battle-fieldof Platæa has an importance far greater than that of thedeliverance of the Greeks from immediate danger. Perhaps no otherevent in ancient history has been so momentous in its consequences;for what would have been the condition of Greece had she thenbecome a province of the Persian empire? The greatness which shesubsequently attained, and the glory and renown with which shehas filled the earth, would never have had an existence. LittleGreece sat at the gates of a continent, and denied an entrance tothe gorgeous barbarism of Asia. She determined that Europe shouldnot be Asiatic; that civilization should not sink into the abyssof unmitigated despotism. She turned the tide of Persianencroachment back across the Hellespont, and Alexander onlyfollowed the refluent wave to the Indus. 

"'Twas then, " as SOUTHEY says, "The fate Of unborn ages hung upon the fray: T'was at Platæa, in that awful hour When Greece united smote the Persian's power. For, had the Persian triumphed, then the spring Of knowledge from that living source had ceased; All would have fallen before the barbarous king-- Art, Science, Freedom: the despotic East, Setting her mark upon the race subdued, Had stamped them in the mould of sensual servitude. "

Furthermore, on this subject we subjoin the following reflectionsfrom the author previously quoted:

"When the deluge of the Persian arms rolled back to its Easternbed, and the world was once more comparatively at rest, thecontinent of Greece rose visibly and majestically above the restof the civilized earth. Afar in the Latian plains the infantstate of Rome was silently and obscurely struggling into strengthagainst the neighboring and petty states in which the old Etruriancivilization was rapidly passing into decay. The genius of Gauland Germany, yet unredeemed from barbarism, lay scarce known, save where colonized by Greeks, in the gloom of its woods andwastes. 

"The ambition of Persia, still the great monarchy of the world, was permanently checked and crippled; the strength of generationshad been wasted, and the immense extent of the empire only servedyet more to sustain the general peace, from the exhaustion ofits forces. The defeat of Xerxes paralyzed the East. Thus Greecewas left secure, and at liberty to enjoy the tranquillity it hadacquired, and to direct to the arts of peace the novel and amazingenergies which had been prompted by the dangers and exalted bythe victories of war. "

On the very day of the battle of Platæa the remains of the Persianfleet which had escaped at Salamis, and which had been drawnup on shore at Myc'a-le, on the coast of Ionia, were burned bythe Grecians; and Tigra'nes, the Persian commander of the landforces, and forty thousand of his men, were slain. This was thefirst signal blow struck by the Greek at the power of Persia onthe continent. "Lingering at Sardis, " says BULWER, "Xerxes beheldthe scanty and exhausted remnants of his mighty force, the fugitivesof the fatal days of Mycale and Platæa. The army over which hehad wept in the zenith of his power had fulfilled the predictionof his tears; and the armed might of Media and Egypt, of Lydiaand Assyria, was now no more!"

In one of the comedies of the Greek poet ARISTOPH'ANES, entitledThe Wasps, which is designed principally to satirize the passionof the Athenians for the excitement of the law courts, thereoccurs the following episode, that has for its basis the activityof the Athenians at the battle of Platæa. We learn from thisepisode that the appellation, the "Attic Wasp, " had its originin the venomous persistence with which the Athenians, swarminglike wasps, stung the Persians in their retreat, after the defeatof Mardonius. Occurring in a popular satirical comedy, it alsoshows how readily any allusion to the famous victories of Greececould be made to do service on popular occasions--an allusionthat the dramatist knew would awaken in the popular heart greatadmiration for him and his work:

 With torch and brand the Persian horde swept on from east to west, To storm the hives that we had stored, and smoke us from our nest; Then we laid our hand to spear and targe, and met him on his path; Shoulder to shoulder, close we stood, and bit our lips for wrath. So fast and thick the arrows flew, that none might see the heaven, But the gods were on our side that day, and we bore them back at even. High o'er our heads, an omen good, we saw the owlet wheel, And the Persian trousers in their backs felt the good Attic steel. Still as they fled we followed close, a swarm of vengeful foes, And stung them where we chanced to light, on cheek, and lip, and nose. So to this day, barbarians say, when whispered far or near, More than all else the ATTIC WASP is still a name of fear. --Trans. By W. LUCAS COLLINS. 

CHAPTER X. 

THE RISE AND GROWTH OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE. 

I. THE DISGRACE AND DEATH OF THEMISTOCLES. 

Six years after the battle of Platæa the career of Xerxes wasterminated by assassination, and his son, Artaxerxes Longim'anus, succeeded to the throne. In the mean time Athens had been rebuiltand fortified by Themistocles, and the Piræus (the port of Athens)enclosed within a wall as large in extent as that of Athens, butof greater height and thickness. But Themistocles, by his selfishand arbitrary use of power, provoked the enmity of a large bodyof his countrymen; and although he was acquitted of the chargeof treasonable inclinations toward Persia, popular feeling soonafter became so strong against him that he was condemned to exileby the same process of ostracism that he had directed againstAristides, and he retired to Argos (471 B. C. ) Some time beforethis a Grecian force, composed of Athenians under Aristides, and Cimon the son of Miltiades, and Spartans under Pausaniasthe victor of Platæa, waged a successful war upon the Persiandependencies of the Ægean, and the coasts of Asia Minor. TheIonian cities were aided in a successful revolt, and Cyprus andByzantium--the latter now Constantinople--fell into the handsof the Grecians. Pausanias, who was at the head of the wholearmament, now began to show signs of treasonable conduct, whichwas more fully unfolded by a communication that he addressedto the Persian court, seeking the daughter of Xerxes in marriage, and promising to bring Sparta and the whole of Greece underPersian dominion. 

When news of the treason of Pausanias reached Sparta, he wasimmediately recalled, and, though no definite proof was at firstfurnished against him, his guilt was subsequently established, and he perished from starvation in the Temple of Minerva, whitherhe had fled for refuge, and where he was immured by the eph'ors. The fate of Pausanias involved that of Themistocles. In searchingfor farther traces of the former's plot some correspondence wasdiscovered that furnished sufficient evidence of the complicityof Themistocles in the crime, and he was immediately accused bythe Spartans, who insisted upon his being punished. The Athenianssent ambassadors to arrest him and bring him to Athens; butThemistocles fled from Argos, and finally sought refuge at thecourt of Persia. He died at Magne'sia, in Asia Minor, which hadbeen appointed his place of residence by Artaxerxes, and a splendidmonument was raised to his memory; but in the time of the Romanempire a tomb was pointed out by the sea-side, within the portof Piræus, which was generally believed to contain his remains, and of which the comic poet PLATO thus wrote:

 By the sea's margin, on the watery strand, Thy monument, Themistocles, shall stand. By this directed to thy native shore, The merchant shall convey his freighted store; And when our fleets are summoned to the fight Athens shall conquer with thy tomb in sight. --Trans. By CUMBERLAND. 

Although "the genius of Themistocles did not secure him fromthe seductions of avarice and pride, which led him to sacrificeboth his honor and his country for the tinsel of Eastern pomp, "yet, as THIRLWALL says, "No Greek had then rendered servicessuch as those of Themistocles to the common country; and noAthenian, except Solon, had conferred equal benefits on Athens. He had first delivered her from the most imminent danger, andthen raised her to the pre-eminence on which she now stood. Hemight claim her greatness; and even her being, as his work. "The following tribute to his memory is from the pen of TULLIUSGEM'INUS, a Latin poet:

 Greece be thy monument; around her throw The broken trophies of the Persian fleet; Inscribe the gods that led the insulting foe, And mighty Xerxes, at the tablet's feet. There lay Themistocles; to spread his fame A lasting column Salamis shall be; Raise not, weak man, to that immortal name The little records of mortality. --Trans. By MERIVALE. 

 * * * * *

II. THE RISE AND FALL OF CIMON. 

Foremost among the rivals of Themistocles in ability and influence, was Cimon, the son of Miltiades. In his youth he was inordinatelyfond of pleasure, and revealed none of those characteristics forwhich he subsequently became distinguished. But his friendsencouraged him to follow in his father's footsteps, and Aristidessoon discovered in him a capacity and disposition that he coulduse to advantage in his own antagonism to Themistocles. To Aristides, therefore, Cimon was largely indebted for his influence and success, as well as for his mild temper and gentle manners. 

 Reared by his care, of softer ray appears Cimon, sweet-souled; whose genius, rising strong, Shook off the load of young debauch; abroad The scourge of Persian pride, at home the friend Of every worth and every splendid art; Modest and simple in the pomp of wealth. --THOMSON. 

On the banishment of Themistocles Aristides became the undisputedleader of the aristocratical party at Athens, and on his death, four years subsequently, Cimon succeeded him. The later was alreadydistinguished for his military successes, and was undoubtedlythe greatest commander of his time. He continued the successfulwar against Persia for many years, and among his notable victorieswas one obtained on both sea and land, in Pamphyl'ia, in AsiaMinor, and called

THE BATTLE OF EURYM'EDON. 

After dispersing a fleet of two hundred ships Cimon landed histroops, flushed with victory, and completely routed a large Persianarmy. The poet SIMONIDES praises this double victory in thefollowing verse:

 Ne'er since that olden time, when Asia stood First torn from Europe by the ocean flood, Since horrid Mars first poured on either shore The storm of battle and its wild uproar, Hath man by land and sea such glory won As by the mighty deed this day was done. By land, the Medes in myriads press the ground; By sea, a hundred Tyrian ships are drowned, With all their martial host; while Asia stands Deep groaning by, and wrings her helpless hands. --Trans. By MERIVALE. 

The same poet pays the following tribute to the Greeks who fellin this conflict:

 These, by the streams of famed Eurymedon, There, envied youth's short brilliant race have run: In swift-winged ships, and on the embattled field, Alike they forced the Median bows to yield, Breaking their foremost ranks. Now here they lie, Their names inscribed on rolls of victory. --Trans. By MERIVALE. 

On the recall of Pausanias from Asia Minor Sparta lost, and Athensacquired, the command in the war against Persia. Athens was nowrapidly approaching the summit of her military renown. The warwith Persia did not prevent her from extending her possessionsin Greece by force of arms; and island after island of the Ægeanyielded to her sway, while her colonies peopled the winding shoresof Thrace and Macedon. The other states and cities of Greece couldnot behold her rapid, and apparently permanent, growth in powerwithout great dissatisfaction and anxiety. When the Persian warwas at its height, a sense of common danger had caused many ofthem to seek an alliance with Athens, the result of what is knownas the Confederacy of Delos; but, now that the danger was virtuallypassed, long existing jealousies broke out, which led to politicaldissensions, and, finally, to the civil wars that caused the ruinof the Grecian republics. Sparta, especially, had long viewedwith indignation the growing resources of Athens and was preparingto check them by an invasion of Attica, when sudden and complicateddisasters forced her to abandon her designs, and turn her attentionto her own dominions. In 464 B. C. The city was visited by anearthquake that laid it in ruins and buried not less than twentythousand of its chosen citizens; and this calamity was immediatelyfollowed by a general revolt of the Helots. BULWER'S descriptionof this terrible earthquake, and of the memorable conduct of theLaconian government in opposing, under such trying circumstances, the dreadful revolt that occurred, has been greatly admired forits eloquence and its strict adherence to facts. 

The Earthquake at Sparta and the Revolt of the Helots. 

"An earthquake, unprecedented in its violence, occurred in Sparta. In many places throughout Laconia the rocky soil was rent asunder. From Mount Ta-yg'e-tus, which overhung the city, and on whichthe women of Lacedæmon were wont to hold their bacchanalian orgies, huge fragments rolled into the suburbs. The greater portion ofthe city was absolutely overthrown; and it is said, probablywith exaggeration, that only five houses wholly escaped disasterfrom the shock. This terrible calamity did not cease suddenly asit came; its concussions were repeated; it buried alike men andtreasure: could we credit Diodorus, no less than twenty thousandpersons perished in the shock. Thus depopulated, impoverished, anddistressed, the enemies whom the cruelty of Sparta nursed withinher bosom resolved to seize the moment to execute their vengeanceand consummate her destruction. Under Pausanias the Helots wereready for revolt; and the death of that conspirator checked, butdid not crush, their designs of freedom. Now was the moment, when Sparta lay in ruins--now was the moment to realize theirdreams. From field to field, from village to village, the newsof the earthquake became the watchword of revolt. Up rose theHelots--they armed themselves, they poured on--a wild and gatheringand relentless multitude resolved to slay, by the wrath of man, all whom that of nature had yet spared. The earthquake that leveledSparta rent their chains; nor did the shock create one chasm sodark and wide as that between the master and the slave. 

"It is one of the sublimest and most awful spectacles in history--that city in ruins--the earth still trembling, the grim anddauntless soldiery collected amid piles of death and ruin; and insuch a time, and such a scene, the multitude sensible not of danger, but of wrong, and rising not to succor, but to revenge--all thatshould have disarmed a feebler enmity giving fire to theirs; thedreadest calamity their blessing--dismay their hope. It was as ifthe Great Mother herself had summoned her children to vindicatethe long-abused, the all-inalienable heritage derived from her;and the stir of the angry elements was but the announcement of anarmed and solemn union between nature and the oppressed. 

"Fortunately for Sparta, the danger was not altogether unforeseen. After the confusion and the horror of the earthquake, and whilethe people, dispersed, were seeking to save their effects, Archida'mus, who, four years before, had succeeded to the throneof Lacedæmon, ordered the trumpets to sound as to arms. Thatwonderful superiority of man over matter which habit and disciplinecan effect, and which was ever so visible among the Spartans, constituted their safety at that hour. Forsaking the care oftheir property, the Spartans seized their arms, flocked aroundtheir king, and drew up in disciplined array. In her most imminentcrisis Sparta was thus saved. The Helots approached, wild, disorderly, and tumultuous; they came intent only to plunder andto slay; they expected to find scattered and affrighted foes--they found a formidable army; their tyrants were still theirlords. They saw, paused, and fled, scattering themselves overthe country, exciting all they met to rebellion, and soon joinedwith the Messenians, kindred to them by blood and ancientreminiscences of heroic struggles; they seized that same Ithomewhich their hereditary Aristodemus had before occupied withunforgotten valor. This they fortified, and, occupying also theneighboring lands, declared open war upon their lords. " [Footnote:"Athens: Its Rise and Fall, " pp. 176, 177. ]

"The incident here related of the King of Sparta, " says ALISON, "amid the yawning of the earthquake and the ruin of his capital, sounding the trumpets to arms, and the Lacedæmonians assemblingin disciplined array around him, is one of the sublimest recordedin history. We need not wonder that a people capable of suchconduct in such a moment, and trained by discipline and habit tosuch docility in danger, should subsequently acquire and maintainsupreme dominion in Greece. " The general insurrection of the Helotsis known in history as the THIRD MESSENIAN WAR. After two or threeyears had passed in vain attempts to capture Ithome, the Spartanswere obliged to call for aid on the Athenians, with whom they werestill in avowed alliance. The friends of Pericles, the rival ofCimon and the leader of the democratic party at Athens, opposedgranting the desired relief; but Cimon, after some difficulty, persuaded his countrymen to assist the Lacedæmonians, and hehimself marched with four thousand men to Ithome. The aid of theAthenians was solicited on account of their acknowledged skillin capturing fortified places; but as Cimon did not succeed intaking Ithome, the Spartans became suspicious of his designs, and summarily sent him back to Athens. 

 * * * * *

III. THE ACCESSION OF PERICLES TO POWER. 

The ill success of the expedition of Cimon gave Pericles theopportunity to place himself and the popular party in power atAthens; for the constitutional reforms that had been graduallyweakening the power of the aristocracy were now made availableto sweep it almost entirely away. The following extract fromBULWER'S Athens briefly yet fully tells what was accomplishedin this direction:

"The Constitution previous to Solon was an oligarchy of birth. Solon rendered it an aristocracy of property. Clisthenes widenedits basis from property to population; and it was also Clisthenes, in all probability, who weakened the more illicit and oppressiveinfluences of wealth by establishing the ballot of secret suffrage, instead of the open voting which was common in the time of Solon. The Areop'agus was designed by Solon as the aristocratic balanceto the popular assembly. This constitutional bulwark of thearistocratic party of Athens became more and more invidious tothe people, and when Cimon resisted every innovation on thatassembly he only insured his own destruction, while he expeditedthe policy he denounced. Ephial'tes, the friend and spokesman ofPericles, directed all the force of the popular opinion againstthis venerable senate; and at length, though not openly assistedby Pericles, who took no prominent part in the contention, thatinfluential statesman succeeded in crippling its functions andlimiting its authority. "

With regard to the nature of the constitutional changes effected, the same writer adds: "It appears to me most probable that theAreopagus retained the right of adjudging cases of homicide, andlittle besides of its ancient constitutional authority; that itlost altogether its most dangerous power in the indefinite policeit had formerly exercised over the habits and morals of the people;that any control of the finances was wisely transferred to thepopular senate; that its irresponsible character was abolished, and that it was henceforth rendered accountable to the people. "The struggle between the contending parties was long and bitter, and the fall of Cimon was one of the necessary consequences ofthe political change. Charged, among other things, with too greatfriendship for Sparta, he was driven into exile. Pericles nowpersuaded the Athenians to renounce the alliance with Sparta, andhe increased the power of Athens by alliances with Argos and othercities. He also continued the construction of the long walls fromAthens to the Piræus and Phalerum--a project that Themistocleshad advised and that Cimon had commenced. 

The long existing jealousy of Sparta at last broke out in openhostilities. While the siege of Ithome was in progress, Sparta, still powerful in her alliances, sent her allied forces intoBoeotia to counteract the growing influence of the Athenians inthat quarter. The indignant Athenians, led by Pericles, marchedout to meet them, but were worsted in the battle of Tan'agra. Before this conflict began, Cimon, the banished commander, appeared in the Athenian camp and begged permission to enterthe ranks against the enemy. His request being refused, he lefthis armor with his friends, of whom there were one hundred amongthe Athenians, with the charge to refute, by their valor, theaccusation that he and they were the friends of Sparta. Everyoneof the one hundred fell in the conflict. About two months after, in the early part of the year 456 B. C. , the Athenians wiped offthe stain of their defeat at Tanagra by a victory over the combinedTheban and Boeotian forces, then in alliance with Sparta; wherebythe authority and influence of Sparta were again confined tothe Peloponnesus. 

The Athenians were now masters of Greece, from the Gulf of Corinthto the Pass of Thermopylæ, and in the following year they sent anexpedition round the Peloponnesus, which captured, among othercities, Naupactus, on the Corinthian Gulf. The third and lastMessenian war had just been concluded by the surrender of Ithome, on terms which permitted the Messenians and their families toretire from the Peloponnesus, and they joined the colony whichAthens planted at Naupactus. But the successes of Athens in Greecewere counterbalanced, in the same year, by reverses in Egypt, wherethe Athenians were fighting Persia in aid of In'arus, a Libyanprince. These, with some other minor disasters, and the state ofbitter feeling that existed between the two parties at Athens, induced Pericles to recall Cimon from exile and put him incommand of an expedition against Cyprus and Egypt. In 449, however, Cimon was taken ill, and he died in the harbor of Ci'tium, to whichplace he was laying siege. 

Before the death of Cimon, and through his intervention, a fiveyears' truce had been concluded with Sparta, and soon after hisdeath peace was made with Persia. From this time the empire ofAthens began to decline. In the year 447 B. C. A revolt in Boeotiaresulted in the overthrow of Athenian supremacy there, while theexpulsion of the Athenians from Pho'cis and Lo'cris, and therevolt of Euboea and Megara, followed soon after. The revolt ofEuboea was soon quelled, but this was the only success that Athensachieved. Meanwhile a Spartan army invaded Attica and marched tothe neighborhood of Eleusis. Having lost much of her empire, witha fair prospect of losing all of it if hostilities continued, Athens concluded a thirty years' truce with Sparta and her allies, by the terms of which she abandoned her conquests in thePeloponnesus, and Megara became an ally of Sparta (445 B. C. )

THE "AGE OF PERICLES. "

With the close of the Persian contest, and the beginning of theThirty Years' truce, properly begins what has been termed the"Age of Pericles"--the inauguration of a new and important eraof Athenian greatness and renown. Having won the highest militaryhonors and political ascendancy, Athens now took the lead inintellectual progress. Themistocles and Cimon had restored toAthens all that of which Xerxes had despoiled it--the formerhaving rebuilt its ruins, and the latter having given to itspublic buildings a degree of magnificence previously unknown. But Pericles surpassed them both:

 He was the ruler of the land When Athens was the land of fame; He was the light that led the band When each was like a living flame; The centre of earth's noblest ring, Of more than men the more than king. 

 Yet not by fetter nor by spear His sovereignty was held or won: Feared--but alone as freemen fear; Loved--but as freemen love alone; He waved the sceptre o'er his kind By nature's first great title--mind! --CROLY. 

Orator and philosopher, as well as statesman and general, Pericleshad the most lofty views. "Athens, " says a modern writer, "wasto become not only the capital of Greece, but the center of artand refinement, and, at the same time, of those democraticaltheories which formed the beau ideal of the Athenian notionsof government. " Athens became the center and capital of the mostpolished communities of Greece; she drew into a focus all theGrecian intellect, and she obtained from her dependents the wealthto administer the arts, which universal traffic and intercoursetaught her to appreciate. The treasury of the state being placedin the hands of Pericles, he knew no limit to expenditure butthe popular will, which, fortunately for the glories of Grecianart, kept pace with the vast conceptions of the master designer. Most of those famous structures that crowned the Athenian Acropolis, or surrounded its base, were either built or adorned by hisdirection, under the superintendence of the great sculptor, Phidias. The Parthenon, the Ode'um, the gold and ivory statue ofthe goddess Minerva, and the Olympian Jupiter--the latter twothe work of the great sculptor himself--were alone sufficient toimmortalize the "Age of Pericles. " Of these miracles of sculptureand of architecture, as well as of the literature of this period, we shall speak farther in a subsequent place. 

Of the general condition and appearance of Athens during thefourteen years that the Thirty Years' Truce was observed, HAYGARTHgives us the following poetical description:

 All the din of war Was hushed to rest. Within a city's walls, Beneath a marble portico, were seen Statesmen and orators, in robes of peace, Holding discourse. The assembled multitude Sat in the crowded theatre, and bent To hear the voice of gorgeous Tragedy Breathing, in solemn verse, or ode sublime, Her noble precepts. The broad city's gates Poured forth a mingled throng--impatient steeds Champing their bits, and neighing for the course: Merchants slow driving to the busy port Their ponderous wains: Religion's holy priests Leading her red-robed votaries to the steps Of some vast temple: young and old, with hands Crossed on their breasts, hastening to walks and shades Suburban, where some moralist explained The laws of mind and virtue. On a rock A varied group appeared: some dragged along The rough-hewn block; some shaped it into form; Some reared the column, or with chisel traced Forms more than human; while Content sat near, And cheered with songs the toil of Industry. 

But, as the poet adds, Soon passed this peaceful pageant: War again Brandished his bloody lance--

and then began that dismal period between the "Age of Pericles"and the interference of the Romans--embracing the threePeloponnesian wars, the rising power of Macedonia under Philipof Macedon, the wars of Alexander and the contentions thatfollowed--known as the period of the civil convulsions of Greece. 

CHAPTER XI. 

THE PELOPONNESIAN WARS, AND THE FALL OF ATHENS. 

CAUSES OF THE FIRST WAR. 

The various successful schemes of Pericles for enriching andextending the power of Athens were regarded with fear and jealousyby Sparta and her allies, who were only waiting for a reasonableexcuse to renew hostilities. The opportunity came in 435 B. C. Corinth, the ally of Sparta, had become involved in a war withCorcy'ra, one of her colonies, when the latter applied to Athensfor assistance. Pericles persuaded the Athenians to grant theassistance, and a small fleet was dispatched to Corcyra. Theengagement that ensued, in which the Athenian ships bore a part--the greatest contest, Thucydides observes, that had taken placebetween Greeks to that day--was favorable to the Corinthians;but the sight of a larger Athenian squadron advancing towardthe scene of action caused the Corinthians to retreat. This firstbreach of the truce was soon followed by another. Potidæ'a, aCorinthian colony, but tributary to Athens, revolted, on accountof some unjust demands that the Athenians had enforced againstit, and claimed and obtained the assistance of the Corinthians. Thus, in two instances, were Athens and Corinth, though nominallyat peace, brought into conflict as open enemies. 

THE CONGRESS AT SPARTA. --THE PERSECUTION OF PERICLES. 

The Lacedæmonians meanwhile called a meeting of the PeloponnesianConfederacy at Sparta, at which Ægina, Meg'ara, and other statesmade their complaints against Athens. It was also attended byenvoys from Athens, who seriously warned it not to force Athensinto a struggle that would be waged for its very existence. Buta majority of the Confederacy were of the opinion that Athenshad violated her treaties, and the result of the deliberationswas a declaration of war against her. Not with any real desirefor peace, but in order to gain time for her preparations beforethe declaration was made public, Sparta opened negotiations withAthens; but her preliminary demands were of course refused, whileher ultimatum, that Athens should restore to the latter's alliestheir independence, was met with a like demand by the Athenians--that no state in Peloponnesus should be forced to accommodateitself to the principles in vogue at Sparta, "Let this be ouranswer, " said Pericles, in closing his speech in the Athenianassembly: "We have no wish to begin war, but whosoever attacksus, him we mean to repel; for our guiding principle ought to beno other than this: that the power of that state which our fathersmade great we will hand down undiminished to our posterity. " Theadvice of Pericles was adopted, all farther negotiations werethereupon concluded, and Athens prepared for war. 

Although the political authority of Pericles was now at its height, and his services were receiving unwonted public recognition, hehad many enemies among all classes of citizens, who made hisposition for a time extremely hazardous. These at first attackedhis friends--Phidias, Anaxagoras, Aspasia, and others--who wereprominent representatives of his opinions and designs. The formerwas falsely accused of theft, in having retained for himself apart of the gold furnished to him for the golden robe of AthenePar'thenos, and of impiety for having reproduced his own featuresin one of the numerous figures on the shield of the goddess. Hewas cast into prison, where he died before his trial was concluded. Anaxagoras, having exposed himself to the penalties of a decreeby which all who abjured the current religious views were to beindicted and tried as state criminals, barely escaped with hislife; while Aspasia, the mistress of Pericles, charged with impietyand base immorality, was only saved by the eloquence and tearsof the great statesman, which flowed freely and successfullyin her behalf before the jury. Finally, Pericles was attackedin person. He was accused of a waste of the public moneys, andwas commanded to render an exact account of his expenditures. Although he came forth victorious from this and all other attacks, it is evident, as one historian observes, that "the endeavors ofhis enemies did not fail to exercise a certain influence uponthe masses; and this led Pericles, who believed that war wasin any case inevitable, to welcome its speedy commencement, ashe hoped that the common danger would divert public attentionfrom home affairs, render harmless the power of his adversaries, strengthen patriotic feeling, and make manifest to the Athenianstheir need of his services. "

 * * * * *

THE FIRST PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 

On the side of Sparta was arrayed the whole of Peloponnesus, except Argos and Acha'ia, together with the Megarians, Phocians, Locrians, Thebans, and some others; while the allies of Athenswere the Thessalians, Acarnanians, Messenians, Platæans, Chi'ans, Lesbians, her tributary towns in Thrace and Asia Minor, and allthe islands north of Crete with two exceptions--Me'los and The'ra. Hostilities were precipitated by a treacherous attack of theThebans upon Platæa in 431 B. C. ; and before the close of thesame year a Spartan army of sixty thousand ravaged Attica, andsat down before the very gates of Athens, while the naval forcesof the Athenians desolated the coasts of the Peloponnesus. TheSpartans were soon called from Attica to protect their homes, and Pericles himself, at the lead of a large force, spreaddesolation over the little territory of Megaris. This expeditionclosed the hostilities for the year, and, on his return to Athens, Pericles was intrusted with the duty of pronouncing the orationat the public funeral which, in accordance with the custom of thecountry, was solemnized for those who had fallen in the war. 

This occasion afforded Pericles an opportunity to animate thecourage and the hopes of his countrymen, by such a descriptionof the glories and the possibilities of Athens as he alone couldgive. Commencing his address with a eulogy on the ancestors andimmediate forefathers of the Athenians, he proceeds to show thelatter "by what form of civil polity, what dispositions and habitsof life, " they have attained their greatness; graphicallycontrasting their institutions with those of other states, andespecially with those of the Spartans, their present enemies. 

The Oration of Pericles. [Footnote: From "History of Thucydides, " translated by S. T. Bloomfield, D. D. , vol. I. , p. 366. ]

"We enjoy a form of government not framed on an imitation of theinstitutions of neighboring states, but, are ourselves rather amodel to, than imitative of, others; and which, from the governmentbeing administered not for the few but for the many, is denominateda democracy. According to its laws, all participate in an equalityof rights as to the determination of private suits, and everyone ispreferred to public offices with a regard to the reputation heholds, and according as each is in estimation for anything; notso much for being of a particular class as for his personal merit. Nor is any person who can, in whatever way, render service to thestate kept back on account of poverty or obscurity of station. Thus liberally are our public affairs administered, and thusliberally, too, do we conduct ourselves as to mutual suspicionsin our private and every-day intercourse; not bearing animositytoward our neighbor for following his own humor, nor darkeningour countenance with the scowl of censure, which pains thoughit cannot punish. While, too, we thus mix together in privateintercourse without irascibility or moroseness, we are, in ourpublic and political capacity, cautiously studious not to offend;yielding a prompt obedience to the authorities for the time being, and to the established laws; especially those which are enactedfor the benefit of the injured, and such as, though unwritten, reflect a confessed disgrace on the transgressors. "

Having referred to the recreation provided for the public mindby the exhibition of games and sacrifices throughout the wholeyear, as well as to some points in military matters in whichthe Athenians excel, Pericles proceeds as follows: "In theserespects, then, is our city worthy of admiration, and in othersalso; for we study elegance combined with frugality, and cultivatephilosophy without effeminacy. Riches we employ at opportunitiesfor action, rather than as a subject of wordy boast. To confesspoverty with us brings no disgrace; not to endeavor to escapeit by exertion is disgrace indeed. There exists, moreover, inthe same persons an attention both to their domestic concernsand to public affairs; and even among such others as are engagedin agricultural occupations or handicraft labor there is founda tolerable portion of political knowledge. We are the only peoplewho account him that takes no share in politics, not as anintermeddler in nothing, but one who is good for nothing. Weare, too, persons who examine aright, or, at least, fully revolvein mind our measures, not thinking that words are any hindranceto deeds, but that the hindrance rather consists in the not beinginformed by words previously to setting about in deed what is tobe done. For we possess this point of superiority over others, that we execute a bold promptitude in what we undertake, and yeta cautious prudence in taking forethought; whereas with othersit is ignorance alone that makes them daring, while reflectionmakes them dastardly. 

"In short, I may affirm that the city at large is the instructressof Greece, and that individually each person among us seems topossess the most ready versatility in adapting himself, and thatnot ungracefully, to the greatest variety of circumstances andsituations that diversify human life. That all this is not amere boast of words for the present purpose, but rather the actualtruth, this very power of the state, unto which by these habitsand dispositions we have attained, clearly attests; for oursis the only one of the states now existing which, on trial, approves itself greater than report; it alone occasions neitherto an invading enemy ground for chagrin at being worsted by such, nor to a subject state aught of self-reproach, as being underthe power of those unworthy of empire. A power do we displaynot unwitnessed, but attested by signs illustrious, which willmake us the theme of admiration both to the present and futureages; nor need we either a Homer, or any such panegyrist, whomight, indeed, for the present delight with his verses, but anyidea of our actions thence formed the actual truth of them mightdestroy: nay, every sea and every land have we compelled to becomeaccessible to our adventurous courage; and everywhere have weplanted eternal monuments both of good and of evil. For such astate, then, these our departed heroes (unwilling to be deprivedof it) magnanimously fought and fell; and in such a cause it isright that everyone of us, the survivors, should readily encountertoils and dangers. "

After paying a handsome tribute to the memory of the departedwarriors whose virtues, he says, helped to adorn Athens withall that makes it the theme of his encomiums, Pericles exhortshis hearers to emulate the spirit of those who contributed totheir country the noblest sacrifice. "They bestowed, " he adds, "their persons and their lives upon the public; and therefore, as their private recompense, they receive a deathless renownand the noblest of sepulchres, [Footnote: While kings, in dusty darkness hid, Have left a nameless pyramid, Thy heroes, though the general doom Hath swept the column from their tomb, A mightier monument command-- The mountains of their native land! These, points thy muse, to stranger's eye-- The graves of those that cannot die! --BYRON. ]not so much that wherein their bones are entombed as in whichtheir glory is preserved--to be had in everlasting remembranceon all occasions, whether of speech or action. For to theillustrious the whole earth is a sepulchre; nor do monumentalinscriptions in their own country alone point it out, but anunwritten and mental memorial in foreign lands, which, more durablethan any monument, is deeply seated in the breast of everyone. Imitating, then, these illustrious models--accounting thathappiness is liberty, and that liberty is valor--be not backwardto encounter the perils of war. [Footnote: It was a kindred spiritthat led our own great statesman, Webster, in quoting from thisoration, to ask: "Is it Athens or America? Is Athens or Americathe theme of these immortal strains? Was Pericles speaking of hisown country as he saw it or knew it? or was he gazing upon abright vision, then two thousand years before him, which we seein reality as he saw it in prospect?"] For the unfortunate andhopeless are not those who have most reason to be lavish of theirlives, but rather such as, while they live, have to hazard achance to the opposite, and who have most at stake; since greatwould be the reverse should they fall into adversity. For tothe high-minded, at least, more grievous is misfortuneoverwhelming them amid the blandishments of prosperity; thanthe stroke of death overtaking them in the full pulse of vigorand common hope, and, moreover, almost unfelt. "

Says the historian from whose work the speech of Pericles istaken: "Such was the funeral solemnity which took place thiswinter, with the expiration of which the first year of the warwas brought to a close. " DR. ERNST CURTIUS comments as followson the oration: "With lofty simplicity Pericles extols the AthenianConstitution, popular in the fullest sense through having forits object the welfare of the entire people, and offering equalrights to all the citizens; but at the same time, and in virtueof this its character, adapted for raising the best among themto the first positions in the state. He lauds the high spiritualadvantages offered by the city, the liberal love of virtue andwisdom on the part of her sons, their universal sympathy in thecommon weal, their generous hospitality, their temperance andvigor, which peace and the love of the beautiful had not weakened, so that the city of the Athenians must, in any event, be an objectof well-deserved admiration both for the present and for futureages. Such were the points of view from which Pericles displayedto the citizens the character of their state, and described tothem the people of Athens, as it ought to be. He showed themtheir better selves, in order to raise them above themselves andarouse them to self-denial, to endurance, and to calm resolution. Full of a new vital ardor they returned home from the graves, andwith perfect confidence confronted the destinies awaiting themin the future. " [Footnote: "The History of Greece, " vol. Iii. , p. 66; by Dr. Ernst Curtius. ]

THE PLAGUE AT ATHENS. 

In the spring of 430 B. C. The Spartans again invaded Attica, and the Athenians shut themselves up in Athens. But here theplague, a calamity more dreadful than war, attacked them andswept away multitudes. This plague, which not only devastatedAthens, but other Grecian cities also, is described at considerablelength, with a harrowing minuteness of detail, by the Latin poetLUCRETIUS. His description is based upon the account given byThucydides. We give here only the beginning and the close of it:

 A plague like this, a tempest big with fate, Once ravaged Athens and her sad domains; Unpeopled all the city, and her paths Swept with destruction. For amid the realms Begot of Egypt, many a mighty tract Of ether traversed, many a flood o'erpassed, At length here fixed it; o'er the hapless realm Of Cecrops hovering, and the astonished race Dooming by thousands to disease and death. 

 * * * * *

 Thus seized the dread, unmitigated pest Man after man, and day succeeding day, With taint voracious; like the herds they fell Of bellowing beeves, or flocks of timorous sheep: On funeral, funeral hence forever piled. E'en he who fled the afflicted, urged by love Of life too fond, and trembling for his fate, Repented soon severely, and himself Sunk in his guilty solitude, devoid Of friends, of succor, hopeless and forlorn; While those who nursed them, to the pious task Roused by their prayers, with piteous moans commixt, Fell irretrievable: the best by far, The worthiest, thus most frequent met their doom. --Trans. By J. MASON GOOD. 

THE DEATH OF PERICLES. 

Oppressed by both war and pestilence, the Athenians were seizedwith rage and despair, and accused Pericles of being the authorof their misfortunes. But that determined man still adhered tohis plans, and endeavored to soothe the popular mind by anexpedition against Peloponnesus, which he commanded in person. After committing devastations upon various parts of the enemy'scoasts, Pericles returned to find the people still more impatientof the war and clamorous for peace. An embassy was sent to Spartawith proposals for a cessation of hostilities, but it wasdismissed without a hearing. This repulse increased the popularexasperation, and, although at an assembly that he called forthe purpose Pericles succeeded, by his power of speech, inquieting the people, and convincing them of the justice andpatriotism of his course, his political enemies charged him withpeculation, of which he was convicted, and his nomination asgeneral was cancelled. He retired to private life, but hissuccessors in office were incompetent and irresolute, and itwas not long before he was re-elected general. He appeared torecover his ascendancy; but in the middle of the third year ofthe war he died, a victim to the plague. 

 He perished, but his wreath was won; He perished in his height of fame: Then sunk the cloud on Athens' sun, Yet still she conquered in his name. Filled with his soul, she could not die; Her conquest was Posterity! --CROLY. 

Thucydides relates that when Pericles was near his end, andapparently insensible, the friends who had gathered round his bedrelieved their sorrow by recalling the remembrance of his militaryexploits, and of the trophies which he had raised. He interruptedthem, observing that they had omitted the most glorious praisewhich he could claim: "Other generals have been as fortunate, but I have never caused the Athenians to put on mourning"--referring, doubtless, to his success in achieving importantadvantages with but little loss of life; and which THIRLWALLconsiders "a singular ground of satisfaction, if Pericles hadbeen conscious of having involved his country in the bloodiestwar it had ever waged. "

The success of Pericles in retaining, for so many years, hisgreat influence over the Athenian people, must be attributed, in large part, to his wonderful powers of persuasion. Cicero issaid to have regarded him as the first example of an almost perfectorator; and Bulwer says that "the diction of his speeches, andthat consecutive logic which preparation alone can impart tolanguage, became irresistible to a people that had itself becomea Pericles. " Whatever may be said of Pericles as a politician, his intellectual superiority cannot be questioned. As theaccomplished man of genius, and the liberal patron of literatureand art, he is worthy of the highest admiration; for "by thesequalities he has justly given name to the most brilliantintellectual epoch that the world has ever seen. " The followingextract from MITFORD'S History of Greece, may be considered acorrect sketch of the great democratic ruler:

The Character of Pericles. 

"No other man seems to have been held in so high estimation bymost of the ablest writers of Greece and Rome, for universalsuperiority of talents, as Pericles. The accounts remaining ofhis actions hardly support his renown, which was yet, perhaps, more fairly earned than that of many, the merit of whoseachievements has been, in a great degree, due to others actingunder them, whose very names have perished. The philosophy ofPericles taught him not to be vain-glorious, but to rest hisfame upon essentially great and good rather than upon brilliantactions. It is observed by Plutarch that, often as he commandedthe Athenian forces, he never was defeated; yet, though he wonmany trophies, he never gained a splendid victory. A battle, according to a great modern authority, is the resource of ignorantgenerals; when they know not what to do they fight a battle. Itwas almost universally the resource of the age of Pericles; littleconception was entertained of military operations beyond ravageand a battle. His genius led him to a superior system, which thewealth of his country enabled him to carry into practice. Hisfavorite maxim was to spare the lives of his soldiers; and scarcelyany general ever gained so many important advantages with solittle bloodshed. 

"This splendid character, however, perhaps may seem to receivesome tarnish from the political conduct of Pericles; theconcurrence, at least, which is imputed to him, in depraving theAthenian Constitution, to favor that popular power by which heruled, and the revival and confirmation of that pernicioushostility between the democratical and aristocratical interests, first in Athens and then by the Peloponnesian war throughout thenation. But the high respect with which he is always spoken ofby three men in successive ages, Thucydides, Xenophon, andIsoc'rates, all friendly to the aristocratical interest, and allanxious for concord with Lacedæmon, strongly indicates that whatmay appear exceptionable in his conduct was, in their opinion, the result, not of choice, but of necessity. By no other conduct, probably, could the independence of Athens have been preserved;and yet that, as the event showed, was indispensable for theliberty of Greece. "

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II. THE ATHENIAN DEMAGOGUES. 

Soon after the death of Pericles the results of the politicalchanges introduced by him, as well as of the moral and socialchanges that had taken place in the people from various causes, became apparent in the raising to power of men from the lowerwalks of life, whose popularity was achieved and maintainedmainly by intrigue and flattery. Chief among these rose Cle'on, a tanner, who has been characterized as "the violent demagoguewhose arrogant presumption so unworthily succeeded theenlightened magnanimity of Pericles. " In the year 428 Mityle'ne, the capital of the Island of Lesbos, revolted against thesupremacy of Athens, but was speedily reduced to subjection, and one thousand or more Mityleneans were sent as prisoners toAthens, to be disposed of as the Athenian assembly should direct. Cleon first prominently appears in public in connection with thedisposal of these prisoners. With the capacity to transactbusiness in a popular manner, and possessing a stentorian voiceand unbounded audacity, he had become "by far the most persuasivespeaker in the eyes of the people;" and now, taking the lead inthe assembly debate, he succeeded in having the unfortunateprisoners cruelly put to death. From this period his influencesteadily increased, and in the year 425 he was elected commanderof the Athenian forces. For several years circumstances favoredhim. With the aid of his general, Demosthenes, he captured Py'lusfrom the Spartans, and on his return to Athens he was receivedwith demonstrations of great favor; but his military incompetencelost him both the victory and his life in the battle of Amphip'olis, 422 B. C. 

What we know of the political conduct of Cleon comes frommeasurably unreliable sources. Aristoph'anes, the chief of thecomic poets, describes him as "a noisy brawler, loud in hiscriminations, violent in his gestures, corrupt and venal in hisprinciples, a persecutor of rank and merit, and a base flattererand sycophant of the people. " Thucydides also calls him "a dishonestpolitician, a wrongful accuser of others, and the most violentof all the citizens. " Both these writers, however, had personalgrievances. Of course Cleon very naturally became a target forthe invective of the poet. "The taking of Pylus, " says GILLIES, "and the triumphant return of Cleon, a notorious coward transformedby caprice and accident into a brave and successful commander, were topics well suiting the comic vein of Aristophanes; and inthe comedy first represented in the seventh year of the war--TheKnights--he attacks him in the moment of victory, when fortunehad rendered him the idol of a licentious multitude, when nocomedian was so daring as to play his character, and no painterso bold as to design his mask. " The poet himself, therefore, appeared on the stage, "only disguising his face, the betterto represent the part of Cleon. " As another writer has said, "Of all the productions of Aristophanes, so replete with comicgenius throughout, The Knights is the most consummate andirresistible; and it presents a portrait of Cleon drawn in colorsbroad and glaring, most impressive to the imagination, and hardlyeffaceable from the memory. " The following extract from the playwill show the license indulged in on the stage in democraticAthens, the boldness of the poet's attacks, and will serve, also, as a sample of his style:

Cleon the Demagogue. 

The chorus come upon the stage; and thus commencetheir attack upon Cleon:

Chorus. Close around him, and confound him, the confounder of us all; Pelt him, pummel him, and maul him; rummage, ransack, overhaul him; Overbear him and outbawl him; bear him down, and bring him under. Bellow, like a burst of thunder, robber! harpy! sink of plunder! Rogue and villain! rogue and cheat! rogue and villain, I repeat! Oftener than I can repeat it has the rogue and villain cheated. Close around him, left and right; spit upon him, spurn and smite: Spit upon him as you see; spurn and spit at him like me. But beware, or he'll evade you! for he knows the private track Where En'crates was seen escaping with his mill-dust on his back. 

Cleon. Worthy veterans of the jury, you that, either right or wrong, With my threepenny provision I've maintained and cherished long, Come to my aid! I'm here waylaid--assassinated and betrayed"!

Chorus. Rightly served! we serve you rightly, for your hungry love of pelf; For your gross and greedy rapine, gormandizing by yourself-- You that, ere the figs are gathered, pilfer with a privy twitch Fat delinquents and defaulters, pulpy, luscious, plump, and rich; Pinching, fingering, and pulling--tempering, selecting, culling; With a nice survey discerning which are green and which are turning, Which are ripe for accusation, forfeiture, and confiscation. Him, besides, the wealthy man, retired upon an easy rent, Hating and avoiding party, noble-minded, indolent, Fearful of official snares; intrigues, and intricate affairs-- Him you mark; you fix and hook him, while he's gaping unawares; At a fling, at once you bring him hither from the Chersonese; Down you cast him, roast and baste him, and devour him at your ease. 

Cleon. Yes; assault, insult, abuse me! This is the return I find For the noble testimony, the memorial I designed: Meaning to propose proposals for a monument of stone, On the which your late achievements should be carved and neatly done. 

Chorus. Out, away with him! the slave! the pompous, empty, fawning knave! Does he think with idle speeches to delude and cheat us all, As he does the doting elders that attend his daily call? Pelt him here, and bang him there; and here, and there, and everywhere. 

Cleon. Save me, neighbors! Oh, the monsters! Oh, my side, my back, my breast!

Chorus. What! you're forced to call for help? you brutal, overpowering pest!

[Clean is pelted off the stage, pursued by the Chorus. ]

THE PEACE OF NI'ÇI-AS. 

The struggle between Sparta and Athens continued ten years withoutintermission, and without any successes of a decisive characteron either side. In the eleventh year of the struggle (421 B. C. )a treaty for a term of fifty years was concluded--called thePeace of Nicias, in honor of the Athenian general of that name--by which the towns captured during the war were to be restored, and both Athens and Sparta placed in much the same state as whenhostilities commenced. But this proved to be a hollow truce;for the war was a virtual triumph for Athens--and interest, inclination, and the ambitious views of her party leaders werenot long in finding plausible pretexts for renewing the struggle. Again, the Boeotian, Megarian, and Corinthian allies of Spartarefused to carry out the terms of the treaty by making the requiredsurrenders, and Sparta had no power to compel them, while Athenswould accept no less than she had bargained for. 

The Athenian general Nicias, through whose influence the FiftyYears' Truce had been concluded, endeavored to carry out itsterms; but through the artifices of Alcibi'ades, a nephew ofPericles, a wealthy Athenian, and an artful demagogue, the treatywas soon dishonored on the part of Athens. Alcibi'ades also managedto involve the Spartans in a war with their recent allies, theAr'gives, during which was fought the battle of Mantine'a, 418B. C. , in which the Spartans were victorious; and he induced theAthenians to send an armament against the Dorian island of Me'los, which had provoked the enmity of Athens by its attachment toSparta, and which was compelled, after a vigorous siege, tosurrender at discretion. Meanwhile the feeble resistance ofSparta, and her apparent timidity, encouraged Athens to resumea project of aggrandizement which she had once before undertaken, but had been obliged to relinquish. This was no less than thevirtual conquest of Sicily, whose important cities, under theleadership of Syracuse, had some years before joined thePeloponnesian confederacy. 

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III. THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION. 

Although opposed by Nicias, Socrates, and a few of the wiserheads at Athens, the counsels of Alcibiades prevailed, and, afterthree months of great preparation, an expedition sailed fromAthens for Sicily, under the plea of delivering the town ofEges'ta from the tyranny of Syracuse (415 B. C. ). The armamentfitted out on this occasion, the most powerful that had everleft a Grecian port, was intrusted to the joint command ofAlcibiades, Nicias, and Lam'achus. The expedition captured thecity of Cat'ana, which was made the headquarters of the armament;but here Alcibiades was summoned to Athens on the absurd chargeof impiety and sacrilege, connected with the mutilation of thestatues of the god Her'mes, that had taken place just before heleft Athens. He was also charged with having profaned theEleusinian mysteries by giving a representation of them in hisown house. Fearing to trust himself to the giddy multitude in atrial for life, Alcibiades at once threw himself upon thegenerosity of his open enemies, and sought refuge at Sparta. When, soon after, he heard that the Athenians had condemnedhim to death, he answered, "I will show them that I am stillalive. "

By the death of Lamachus, Nicias was soon after left in solecommand of the Athenians. He succeeded in landing near Syracuseand defeating the Syracusans in a well-fought engagement; buthe wasted his time in fortifying his camp, and in uselessnegotiations, until his enemies, having received aid from Corinthand Sparta, under the Spartan general Gylip'pus, were able tobid him defiance. Although new forces were sent from Athens, under the Athenian general Demosthenes, the Athenians were defeatedin several engagements, and their entire force was nearly destroyed(413 B. C. ). "Never, in Grecian history, " says THUCYDIDES, "hadruin so complete and sweeping, or victory so glorious andunexpected, been witnessed. " Both Nicias and Demosthenes werecaptured and put to death, and the Syracusans also captured seventhousand prisoners and sold them as slaves. Some of the latter, however, are said to have received milder treatment than theothers, owing, it is supposed, to their familiarity with theworks of the then popular poet, Eurip'ides, which in Sicily, historians tell us, were more celebrated than known. It is tothis incident, probably, that reference is made by BYRON in thefollowing lines:

 When Athens' armies fell at Syracuse, And fettered thousands bore the yoke of war, Redemption rose up in the Attic Muse-- Her voice their only ransom from afar. See! as they chant the tragic hymn, the car Of the o'ermastered victor stops; the reins Fall from his hands--his idle scimitar Starts from its belt--he rends his captive's chains, And bids him thank the bard for freedom and his strains. --Childe Harold, IV. , 16. 

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IV. THE SECOND PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 

The aid which Gylippus had rendered the Syracusans now broughtSparta and Athens in direct conflict. The result of the Athenianexpedition was the greatest calamity that had befallen Athens, and the city was filled with affliction and dismay. The Spartansmade frequent forays into Attica, and Athens was almost in astate of siege, while several of her allies, instigated byAlcibiades, who was active in the Spartan councils, revoltedand joined the Spartans. It was not long, however, before Athensregained her wonted determination and began to repair her wastedenergies. Samos still remained faithful to her interests, and, with her help, a new flee was built, with which Lesbos wasrecovered, and a victory was obtained over the Peloponnesiansat Miletus. Soon after this defeat Alcibiades, who had forfeitedthe confidence of the Spartans by his conduct, was denouncedas a traitor and condemned to death. He escaped to the courtof Tissapher'nes, the most powerful Persian satrap in Asia Minor. By his intrigues Alcibiades, who now sought a reconciliationwith his countrymen, partially detached Tissaphernes from theinterests of Sparta, and offered the Athenians a Persian allianceas the price of his restoration to his country. But, as he fearedand hated the Athenian democracy, he insisted that an oligarchyshould be established in its place. 

The Athenian generals accepted the proposal as the only meansof salvation for Athens; and, although they subsequentlydiscovered that Alcibiades could not perform what he hadundertaken, a change of government was effected, after muchopposition from the people, from a democracy to an aristocracyof four hundred of the nobility; but the new government, dreadingthe ambition of Alcibiades, refused to recall him. Another changesoon followed. The defeat of the Athenian navy at Ere'tria, andthe revolt of Euboea, produced a new revolution at Athens, bywhich the government of the four hundred was overthrown, anddemocracy restored. Alcibiades was now recalled; but before hisreturn he aided in destroying the Peloponnesian fleet in thebattle of Cys'icus (411 B. C. ). He was welcomed at Athens withgreat enthusiasm, a golden crown was decreed him, and he wasappointed commander-in-chief of all the forces of the commonwealthboth by land and by sea. 

THE HUMILIATION OF ATHENS. 

Alcibiades was still destined to experience the instability offortune. He sailed from Athens in September, 407, and proceededto Samos. While he was absent from the main body of his fleeton a predatory excursion, one of his subordinates, contrary toinstructions, attacked a Spartan fleet and was defeated with aloss of fifteen ships. Although in command of a splendid force, Alcibiades had accomplished really nothing, and had now lost apart of his fleet. An unjust suspicion of treachery fell uponhim, the former charges against him were revived, and he wasdeprived of his command and again banished. In the year 406 theAthenians defeated a large Spartan fleet under Callicrat'idas, but their victory secured them no permanent advantages. Lysander, a general whose abilities the Athenians could not match sincethey had deprived themselves of the services of Alcibiades, wasnow in command of the Spartan forces. He obtained the favor ofCyrus, the youngest son of the King of Persia, who had beeninvested with authority over the whole maritime region of AsiaMinor, and, aided by Persian gold, he manned a numerous fleetwith which he met the Athenians at Æ'gos-pot'ami, on theHellespont, destroyed most of their ships, and captured threethousand prisoners (405 B. C. ). The maritime allies of Athensimmediately submitted to Lysander, who directed the Atheniansthroughout Greece to repair at once to Athens, with threats ofdeath to all whom he found elsewhere; and when famine began toprey upon the collected multitude in the city, he appeared beforethe Piræus with his fleet, while a large Spartan army blockadedAthens by land. 

The Athenians had no hopes of effectual resistance, and onlydelayed the surrender of their city to plead for the best termsthat could be obtained. Compelled at last to submit to whateverterms were dictated to them, they agreed to destroy their longwalls and fortifications; to surrender all their ships but twelve;to restore their exiles; to relinquish their conquests; to becomea member of the Peloponnesian Confederacy; and to serve Spartain all her expeditions, whether by land or by sea. Thus fellimperial Athens (404 B. C. ), in the seventy-third year afterthe formation of the Confederacy of Delos, the origin of hersubsequent empire. Soon after this event, and in the same year, Alcibiades, who had been honored by both Athens and Sparta, andwas now the dread of both, met his fate in a foreign land. Whileliving in Phrygia he was murdered by the Persian satrap at theinstance of Sparta. It has been said of him that, "with qualitieswhich, if properly applied, might have rendered him the greatestbenefactor of Athens, he contrived to attain the infamousdistinction of being that citizen who had inflicted upon her themost signal amount of damage. "

The war just closed was characterized by many instances of crueltyand heartlessness, in marked contrast with the boasted clemencyand culture of the age, of which two prominent illustrationsmay be given. The first occurred at Platæa in the year 427, soonafter the execution by the Athenians of the Mitylene'an prisoners. After a long and heroic defence against the Spartans under KingArchida'mus himself, and after a solemn promise had been giventhat no harm should be illegally done to any person within itswalls, Platæa surrendered. But a Spartan court soon after decreedthat the Platæan alliance with Athens was a treasonable offence, and punishable, of course, with death. Thereupon all those whohad surrendered (two hundred Platæans and twenty-five Athenians)were barbarously murdered. The other instance occurred at Lamp'sacus, where the three thousand prisoners taken by Lysander at Ægospotamiwere tried by court-martial and put to death. 

Referring to these barbarities, MAHAFFY observes, in his SocialLife in Greece, that, "though seldom paralleled in human history, they appear to have called forth no cry of horror in Greece. Phil'ocles, the unfortunate Athenian general at Ægospotami, according to Theophrastus, submitted with dignified resignationto a fate which he confessed would have attended the Lacedæmonianshad they been vanquished. [Footnote: Plutarch relates that whenLysander asked Philocles what punishment he thought he deserved, undismayed by his misfortunes, he answered, "Do not start aquestion where there is no judge to decide it; but, now you area conqueror, proceed as you would have been proceeded with hadyou been conquered. " After this he bathed, dressed himself in arich robe, and then led his countrymen to execution, being thefirst to offer his neck to the axe. ] The barbarity of the Greeksis but one evidence out of a thousand that, hitherto in the world'shistory, no culture, no education, no political training, hasbeen able to rival the mature and ultimate effects of Christianityin humanizing society. "

CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT AT ATHENS. 

The change of government which followed the Spartan occupationof Athens conformed to the aristocratic character of the Spartaninstitutions. All authority was placed by Lysander in the handsof thirty archons, who became known as the Thirty Tyrants, andwhose power was supported by a Spartan garrison. Their crueltyand rapacity knew no bounds, and filled Athens with universaldismay. The streets of Athens flowed with blood, and while manyof the best men of the city fell, others more fortunate succeededin escaping to the territory of the friendly Thebans, who, groaningunder Spartan supremacy, sympathized with Athens, and regardedthe Thirty as mere instruments for maintaining the Spartandominion. A large band of exiles soon assembled, and choosingone Thrasybu'lus for their leader, they resolved to strike ablow for the deliverance of their country. 

They first seized a small fortress on the frontier of Attica, when, their numbers rapidly increasing, they were able to seizethe Piræus, where they entrenched themselves and defeated theforce that was brought against them, killing, among others, Cri'ti-as, the chief of the tyrants. The loss of Critias threwthe majority into the hands of a party who resolved to deposethe Thirty and constitute a new oligarchy of Ten. The rule ofthe Thirty was overthrown; but the change in government wassimply a reduction in the number of tyrants, as the Ten emulatedthe wickedness of their predecessors, and when the populaceturned against them, applied to Sparta for assistance. Lysanderagain entered Athens at the head of a large force; but the Spartancouncils became divided, Lysander was deposed from command, andeventually, by the aid of Sparta herself, the Ten were overthrown. The Spartans now withdrew their forces from Attica, and Athensagain became a democracy (403 B. C. ). Freed from foreign domination, she soon obtained internal peace; but her empire had vanished. 

CHAPTER XII. 

GRECIAN LITERATURE AND ART I FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE PERSIANTO THE CLOSE OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WARS. (500-403 B. C. )

LITERATURE. 

In a former chapter we briefly traced the growth of Grecianliterature and art from their beginnings down to the time ofthe Persian wars. Within this period, as we noticed, their progresswas the greatest in the Grecian colonies, while, of the citiesof central Greece, the one destined to become pre-eminent inliterature and the fine arts--Athens--contributed less than severalothers to intellectual advancement. "She produced no artists tobe compared with those of Argos, Corinth, Si'cy-on, and of manyother cities, while she could boast of no poets as celebratedas those of the Ionian and Æolian schools. " But at the openingof the Persian wars the artistic and literary talent of Greecebegan to center in Athens, and with the close of that contestproperly begins the era of Athenian greatness. Athens, hithertoinferior in magnitude and political importance, having bornethe brunt and won the highest martial honor of the conflict withPersia, now took the lead, as well in intellectual progress asin political ascendancy. To this era PROFESSOR SYMONDS refers, as follows:

"It was the struggle with Xerxes which developed all the latentenergies of the Greeks, which intensified their national existence, and which secured for Athens, as the central power on which thescattered forces of the race converged, the intellectualdictatorship of Hellas. It was a struggle of spiritual energyagainst brute force, of liberty against oppression, of intellectualfreedom against superstitious ignorance, of civilization againstbarbarism; and Athens, who had fought and won this battle of theSpirit--by spirit we mean the greatness of the soul, liberty, intelligence, and everything which raises men above brutes andslaves, and makes them free beneath the arch of heaven--becameimmediately the recognized impersonation of the spirit itself. Whatever was superb in human nature found its natural home andsphere in Athens. We hear no more of the colonies. All greatworks of art and literature are now produced in Athens, and itis to Athens that the sages come to teach and to be taught. "[Footnote: "The Greek Poets. " First Series, p. 19. ]

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I. LYRIC POETRY. 

SIMON'IDES AND PINDAR. 

The rapid progress made in the cultivation of lyric poetrypreceding the Persian wars found its culmination, during thosewars, in Simonides of Ceos, the most brilliant period of whoselife was spent at Athens; and in Pindar, a native of Thebes, who is considered the greatest lyric poet of all ages. The lifeof Simonides was a long one, reaching from 556 to 469 B. C. "Coming forward at a time, " says MAHAFFY, "when the tyrants hadmade poetry a matter of culture, and dissociated it from politics, we find him a professional artist, free from all party struggles, alike welcome at the courts of tyrants and among the citizens offree states; he was respected throughout all the Greek world, and knew well how to suit himself, socially and artistically, to his patrons. The great national struggle with Persia gavehim the opportunity of becoming the spokesman of the nation incelebrating the glories of the victors and the heroism of thefallen patriots; and this exceptional opportunity made him quitethe foremost poet of his day, and decidedly better known andmore admired than Pindar, who has so completely eclipsed himin the attention of posterity. " [Footnote: "Classical GreekLiterature, " vol. I. , p. 207. ]

Simonides was the intimate friend of Miltiades and Themistoclesat Athens, of Pausanias at Sparta, and of the tyrants of Sicily. In the first named city he composed his epigrams on Marathon, Thermopylæ, Salamis, and Platæa--"poems not destined to be merelysung or consigned to parchment, but to be carved in marble orengraved in letters of imperishable bronze upon the works ofthe noblest architects and statuaries. " In his elegy upon Marathonhe carried away the prize from Æschylus. He was a most prolificpoet, and his writings, comprising all the subjects that humanlife, with its joys and sorrows, its hopes and disappointments, could furnish, are noted for their sweetness and pure and exquisitepolish. He particularly excelled in the pathetic; and the mostcelebrated of the existing fragments of his muse, the "Lamentationof Dan'a-ë, " is a piece of this character. The poem is basedupon a tradition concerning Danaë, the daughter of Acris'ius, King of Argos, and her infant son, the offspring of Jove. Acrisius had been told by the oracle that his life would be takenby a son that his daughter should bear, and, for his ownpreservation, when the boy had reached the age of four years, Acrisius threw both him and his mother into a chest and set themadrift on the sea. But they were rescued by Dictys, a fishermanof the Island of Seri'phus, whose brother Polydec'tes, king ofthe country, received and protected them. The boy grew up tomanhood, and became the famous hero Per'seus, who accidentallykilled Acrisius at the funeral games of Polydectes. The followingis the

 Lamentation of Dan'a-ë. 

 While, around her lone ark sweeping, Wailed the winds and waters wild, Her young cheeks all wan with weeping, Danae clasped her sleeping child; And "Alas!" cried she, "my dearest, What deep wrongs, what woes are mine; But nor wrongs nor woes thou fearest In that sinless rest of thine. Faint the moonbeams break above thee, And within here all is gloom; But, fast wrapped in arms that love thee, Little reck'st thou of our doom. Not the rude spray, round thee flying, Has e'en damped thy clustering hair; On thy purple mantlet lying, O mine Innocent, my Fair! Yet, to thee were sorrow sorrow, Thou wouldst lend thy little ear; And this heart of thine might borrow, Haply, yet a moment's cheer. But no: slumber on, babe, slumber; Slumber, ocean's waves; and you, My dark troubles, without number-- Oh, that ye would slumber too! Though with wrongs they've brimmed my chalice, Grant, Jove, that, in future years, This boy may defeat their malice, And avenge his mother's tears!" --Trans. By W. PETER. 

Simonides was nearly eighty years old when he gained his lastpoetical prize at Athens, making the fiftieth that he had won. He then retired to Syracuse, at the invitation of Hi'ero, wherehe spent the remaining ten years of his life. He was a philosopheras well as poet, and his wise sayings made him a special favoritewith the accomplished Hiero. When inquired of by that monarchconcerning the nature of God, Simonides requested one day fordeliberating on the subject; and when Hiero repeated the questionthe next day, the poet asked for two days more. As he still wenton doubling the number of days, the monarch, lost in wonder, asked him why he did so. "Because, " replied Simonides, "the longerI reflect on the subject, the more obscure does it appear tome to be. "

Pindar, the most celebrated of all the lyric poets of Greece, was born about 520 B. C. At an early age he was sent to Athensto receive instruction in the art of poetry: returning to Thebesat twenty, his youthful genius was quickened and guided by theinfluence of Myr'tis and Corin'na, two poetesses who then enjoyedgreat celebrity in Boeotia. At a later period "he undoubtedlyexperienced, " says THIRLWALL, "the animating influence of thatjoyful and stirring time which followed the defeat of the barbarianinvader, though, as a Theban patriot, he could not heartily enjoya triumph by which Thebes as well as Persia was humbled. " Buthis enthusiasm for Athens, which he calls "the buttress of Hellas, "is apparent in one of his compositions; and the Athenians speciallyhonored him with a valuable present, and, after his death, erecteda bronze statue to his memory. It is probable, however, thatwhile he was sincerely anxious for the success of Greece in thegreat contest, he avoided as much as possible offending his ownpeople, whose sympathies and hopes lay the other way. 

The reputation of Pindar early became so great that he was employed, by various states and princes, to compose choral songs for specialoccasions. Like Simonides, he "loved to bask in the sunshineof courts;" but he was frank, sincere, and manly, assuming alofty and dignified position toward princes and others in authoritywith whom he came in contact. He was especially courted by Hiero, despot of Syracuse, but remained with him only a few years, hismanly disposition creating a love for an independent life thatthe courtly arts of his patron could not furnish. As his poemsshow, he was a reserved man, learned in the myths and ceremoniesof the times, and specially devoted to the worship of the gods. "The old myths, " says a Greek biographer, "were for the most partrealities to him, and he accepted them with implicit credence, except when they exhibited the gods in a point of view whichwas repugnant to his moral feelings; and he accordingly rejectssome tales, and changes others, because they are inconsistentwith his moral conceptions. " As a poet correctly describes him, using one of the names commonly applied to him, Pindar, that eagle, mounts the skies, While virtue leads the noble way. --PRIOR. 

The poems of Pindar were numerous, and comprised triumphal odes, hymns to the gods, pæans, dirges, and songs of various kinds. His triumphal odes alone have come down to us entire; but ofsome of his other compositions there are a few sublime and beautifulfragments. The poet and his writings cannot be better describedthan in the following general characterization by SYMONDS:

"By the force of his originality Pindar gave lyrical poetry awholly new direction, and, coming last of the great Dorian lyrists, taught posterity what sort of thing an ode should be. His grandpre-eminence as an artist was due, in great measure, to hispersonality. Frigid, austere, and splendid; not genial like thatof Simonides, not passionate like that of Sappho, not acrid likethat of Archil'ochus; hard as adamant, rigid in moral firmness, glittering with the strong, keen light of snow; haughty, aristocratic, magnificent--the unique personality of the manPindar, so irresistible in its influence, so hard to characterize, is felt in every strophe of his odes. In his isolation and elevationPindar stands like some fabled heaven-aspiring peak, conspicuousfrom afar, girdled at the base with ice and snow, beaten by winds, wreathed round with steam and vapor, jutting a sharp and dazzlingoutline into cold blue ether. Few things that have life dareto visit him at his grand altitude. Glorious with sunlight andwith stars, touched by rise and set of day with splendor, heshines when other lesser lights are dulled. Pindar among hispeers is solitary. He had no communion with the poets of hisday. He is the eagle; Simonides and Bacchyl'ides are jackdaws. He soars to the empyrean; they haunt the valley mists. Noticingthis rocky, barren, severe, glittering solitude of Pindar's soul, critics have not infrequently complained that his poems are devoidof individual interest. Possibly they have failed to comprehendand appreciate the nature of this sublime and distant genius, whose character, in truth, is just as marked as that of Danteor of Michael Angelo. "

After giving some illustrations of the impression produced uponthe imagination by a study of Pindar's odes, the writer proceedswith his characterization, in the following language: "He whohas watched a sunset attended by the passing of a thunder-stormin the outskirts of the Alps--who has seen the distant rangesof the mountains alternately obscured by cloud and blazing withthe concentrated brightness of the sinking sun, while driftingscuds of hail and rain, tawny with sunlight, glistening withbroken rainbows, clothe peak and precipice and forest in thegolden veil of flame-irradiated vapor--he who has heard the thunderbellow in the thwarting folds of hills, and watched the lightning, like a snakes tongue, flicker at intervals amid gloom and glory--knows, in Nature's language, what Pindar teaches with the voiceof Art. It is only by a metaphor like this that any attempt torealize the Sturm and Drang of Pindar's style can be communicated. As an artist he combines the strong flight of the eagle, theirresistible force of the torrent, the richness of Greek wine, and the majestic pageantry of Nature in one of her sublimermoods. " [Footnote: "The Greek Poets. " First Series, pp. 171, 174. ]

Pindar, as we have seen, was compared to an eagle, because ofthe daring flights and lofty character of his poetry--a similewhich has been beautifully expressed in the following lines byGRAY:

 The pride and ample pinion That the Theban eagle bare, Sailing with supreme dominion, Through the azure deeps of air. 

Another image, also, has been employed to show these featuresof his poetry. The poet POPE represents him riding in a gorgeouschariot sustained by four swans:

 Four swans sustain a car of silver bright, With heads advanced and pinions stretched for flight; Here, like some furious prophet, Pindar rode, And seemed to labor with th' inspiring god. 

A third image, given to us by HORACE, represents anothercharacteristic of Pindar, which may be called "the stormy violenceof his song:"

 As when a river, swollen by sudden showers, O'er its known banks from some steep mountain pours; So, in profound, unmeasurable song, The deep-mouthed Pindar, foaming, pours along. --Trans. By FRANCIS. 

As a sample of the religious sentiment of Pindar we give thefollowing fragment of a threnos translated by MR. SYMONDS, which, he says, "sounds like a trumpet blast for immortality, and, trampling underfoot the glories of this world, reveals the gladnessof the souls that have attained Elysium:"

 For them, the night all through, In that broad realm below, The splendor of the sun spreads endless light; 'Mid rosy meadows bright, Their city of the tombs, with incense-trees And golden chalices Of flowers, and fruitage fair, Scenting the breezy air, Is laden. There, with horses and with play, With games and lyres, they while the hours away. 

 On every side around Pure happiness is found, With all the blooming beauty of the world; There fragrant smoke, upcurled From altars where the blazing fire is dense With perfumed frankincense, Burned unto gods in heaven, Through all the land is driven, Making its pleasant place odorous With scented gales, and sweet airs amorous. 

 * * * * *

II. THE DRAMA. 

One of the most striking proofs that we possess of the rapidgrowth and expansion of the Greek mind, is found in the riseof the Drama, a new kind of poetical composition, which unitedthe leading features of every species before cultivated, in anew whole "breathing a rhetorical, dialectical, and ethical spirit"--a branch of literature that peculiarly characterized the eraof Athenian greatness. Its elements were found in the religiousfestivals celebrated in Greece from the earliest ages, andespecially in the feast of Bacchus, where sacred odes of a graveand serious character, intermixed with episodes of mythologicalstory recited by an actor, were sung by a chorus that dancedaround the altar. A goat was either the principal sacrifice onthese occasions, or the participants, disguised as Satyrs, hada goat-like appearance; and from the two Greek words representing"goat" and "song" we get our word tragedy, [Footnote: From theGreek tragos, "a goat, " and o'de, "a song. "] or goat-song. Atsome of the more rustic festivals in honor of the same god theperformance was of a more jocose or satirical character; andhence arose the term comedy, [Footnote: From the Greek ko'me, "a village, " and o'de, "a song. "] from the two Greek wordssignifying "village" and "song"--village-song. In the teller ofmythological legends we find the first germ of dialogue, as thechorus soon came to assist him by occasional question and remark. This feature was introduced by Thespis, a native of Ica'ria, in 535 B. C. , under whose direction, and that of Phryn'icus, hispupil, the first feeble rudiments of the drama were established. In this condition it was found by Æschylus, in 500 B. C. , whobrought a second actor upon the scene; whence arose the increasedprominence of the dialogue, and the limitation and subsidiarycharacter of the chorus. Æschylus also added more expressivemasks, and various machinery and scenes calculated to improveand enlarge dramatic representation. Of the effect of this newcreation upon all kinds of poetical genius we have the followingfine illustration from the pen of BULWER:

"It was in the very nature of the Athenian drama that, when onceestablished, it should concentrate and absorb almost every varietyof poetical genius. The old lyrical poetry, never much cultivatedin Athens, ceased in a great measure when tragedy arose; or, rather, tragedy was the complete development, the new and perfectedconsummation, of the dithyrambic ode. Lyrical poetry transmigratedinto the choral song as the epic merged into the dialogue andplot of the drama. Thus, when we speak of Athenian poetry wespeak of dramatic poetry--they were one and the same. In Athens, where audiences were numerous and readers few, every man whofelt within himself the inspiration of the poet would necessarilydesire to see his poetry put into action--assisted with all thepomp of spectacle and music, hallowed by the solemnity of areligious festival, and breathed by artists elaborately trainedto heighten the eloquence of words into the reverent ear ofassembled Greece. Hence the multitude of dramatic poets; hencethe mighty fertility of each; hence the life and activity ofthis--the comparative torpor and barrenness of every other--species of poetry. "

1. TRAGEDY. 

MELPOM'ENE, one of the nine Muses, whose name signifies "Torepresent in song, " is said to have been the inventress of tragedy, over which she presided, always veiled, bearing in one hand thelyre, as the emblem of her vocation, and in the other a tragicmask. As queen of the lyre, every poet was supposed to proclaimthe marvels of her song, and to invoke her aid. 

 Queen of the lyre, in thy retreat The fairest flowers of Pindus glow, The vine aspires to crown thy seat, And myrtles round thy laurel grow: Thy strings adapt their varied strain To every pleasure, every pain, Which mortal tribes were born to prove; And straight our passions rise or fall, As, at the wind's imperious call, The ocean swells, the billows move. 

 When midnight listens o'er the slumbering earth, Let me, O Muse, thy solemn whispers hear: When morning sends her fragrant breezes forth, With airy murmurs touch my opening ear, --AKENSIDE. 

ÆSCHYLUS. 

Æschylus, the first poet who rendered the drama illustrious, and into whose character and writings the severe and asceticdoctrines of Pythagoras entered largely, was born at Eleu'sis, in Attica, in 525 B. C. He fought, as will be remembered, in thecombats of Marathon and Salamis, and also in the battle of Platæa. He therefore flourished at the time when the freedom of Greece, rescued from foreign enemies, was exulting in its first strength;and his writings are characteristic of the boldness and vigorof the age. In his works we find the fundamental idea of theGreek drama--retributive justice. The sterner passions aloneare appealed to, and the language is replete with bold metaphorand gigantic hyperbole. Venus and her inspirations are excluded;the charms of love are unknown: but the gods--vast, majestic, in shadowy outline, and in the awful sublimity of power-passbefore and awe the beholder. [Footnote: see Grote's "Historyof Greece, " Chap. Lxvii. ] Says a prominent reviewer: "Theconceptions of the imagination of Æschylus are remarkable fora sort of colossal sublimity and power, resembling the poetry ofthe Book of Job; and those poems of his which embody a connectedstory may be said to resemble the stupendous avenues of theTemple of Elora, [See Index. ] with the vast scenes and vistas;its strange, daring, though rude sculptures; its awful, shadowy, impending horrors. Like the architecture, the poems, too, seemhewn out of some massy region of mountain rock. Æschylus appearsas an austere poet-soul, brooding among the grand, awful, andterrible myths which have floated from a primeval world, in whichtraditions of the Deluge, of the early, rudimental struggle betweenbarbaric power and nascent civilization, were still vital. "

"The personal temperament of the man, " says DR. PLUMPTRE, [Footnote:"The Tragedies of Æschylus, " by E. H. Plumptre, D. D. ] seems tohave been in harmony with the characteristics of his genius. Vehement, passionate, irascible; writing his tragedies, as latercritics judged, as if half drunk; doing (as Sophocles said ofhim) what was right in his art without knowing why; followingthe impulses that led him to strange themes and dark problems, rather than aiming at the perfection of a complete, all-sidedculture; frowning with shaggy brows, like a wild bull, glaringfiercely, and bursting into a storm of wrath when annoyed bycritics or rival poets; a Marlowe rather than a Shakspeare: thisis the portrait sketched by one who must have painted a figurestill fresh in the minds of the Athenians. [Footnote: Aristophanes, in The Frogs. ] Such a man, both by birth and disposition, waslikely to attach himself to the aristocratic party, and to lookwith scorn on the claims of the demos to a larger share of power;and there is hardly a play in which some political bias in thatdirection may not be traced. "

Æschylus wrote his plays in trilogies, or three successive dramasconnected. Of the eighty tragedies that he wrote, only sevenhave been preserved. From three of these, The Persians, Prome'theus, and Agamemnon, we have given extracts descriptive of historicaland mythological events. The latter is the first of three playson the fortunes of the house of A'treus, of Myce'næ; and thesethree, of which the Choëph'oroe and Eumenides are the other two, are the only extant specimen of a trilogy. The Agamemnon is thelongest, and by some considered the grandest, play left us byÆschylus. "In the Agamemnon, " says VON SCHLEGEL, "it was theintention of Æschylus to exhibit to us a sudden fall from thehighest pinnacle of prosperity and renown into the abyss of ruin. The prince, the hero, the general of the combined forces of theGreeks, in the very moment of success and the glorious achievementof the destruction of Troy, the fame of which is to be re-echoedfrom the mouths of the greatest poets of all ages, in the veryact of crossing the threshold of his home, after which he hadso long sighed, and amidst the fearless security of preparationsfor a festival, is butchered, according to the expression ofHomer, 'like an ox in the stall, ' slain by his faithless wife, his throne usurped by her worthless seducer, and his childrenconsigned to banishment or to hopeless servitude. " [Footnote:"Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature, " by Augustus Williamon Schlegel. Black's translation. ]

Among the fine passages of this play, the death of Agamemnon, atthe hand of Clytemnes'tra, is a scene that the poet paints withterrible effect. Says MR. EUGENE LAWRENCE, [Footnote: "A Primerof Greek Literature, " by Eugene Lawrence, p. 55. ] "Mr. E. C. Stedman's version of the death of Agamemnon is an excellent one. A horror rests upon the palace at Mycenæ; there is a scent ofblood, the exhalations of the tomb. The queen, Clytemnestra, entersthe inner room, terrible as Lady Macbeth. A cry is heard:

 "'Agam. Woe's me! I'm stricken a deadly blow within!' "'Chor. Hark! who is't cries "a blow?" Who meets his death?' "'Agam. Woe's me! Again! again! a second time I'm stricken!' "'Chor. The deed, methinks, from the king's cry, is done. '

At length the queen appears, standing at her full height, terrible, holding her bloody weapon in her hand. She seeks no concealment. She proclaims her guilt:

 "'I smote him! nor deny that thus I did it; So that he could not flee or ward off doom. A seamless net, as round a fish, I cast About him, yea, a deadly wealth of robe, Then smote him twice; and with a double cry He loosed his limbs; and to him fallen I gave Yet a third thrust, a grace to Hades, lord Of the under-world and guardian of the dead. '"

But the most finished of the tragedies of Æschylus is Choëphoroe, which is made the subject of the revenge of Ores'tes, son ofAgamemnon, who avenges the murder of his father by putting hismother to death. For this crime the Eumenides represents him asbeing driven insane by the Furies; but his reason was subsequentlyrestored. It is the chief object of the poet, in this tragedy, todisplay the distress of Orestes at the necessity he feels ofavenging his father's death upon his mother. To this BYRON refersin Childe Harold:

 O thou! who never yet of human wrong Left the unbalanced scale--great Nem'esis! Thou who didst call the Furies from the abyss, And round Orestes bade them howl and hiss For that unnatural retribution--just, Had it but been from hands less near--in this, Thy former realm, I call thee from the dust!

At the close of an interesting characterization of Æschylus andhis works--much too long for a full quotation here--PROFESSORMAHAFFY observes as follows:

"We always feel that Æschylus thought more than he expressed, that his desperate compounds are never affected or unnecessary. Although, therefore, he violated the rules that bound weakermen, it is false to say that be was less an artist than they. His art was of a different kind, despising what they prized, andattempting what they did not dare, but not the less a consciousand thorough art. Though the drawing of character was not hismain object, his characters are truer and deeper than those ofpoets who attempted nothing else. Though lyrical sweetness hadlittle place in the gloom and terror of his Titanic stage, yethere too, when he chooses, he equals the masters of lyric song. So long as a single Homer was deemed the author of the Iliadand the Odyssey, we might well concede to him the first place, and say that Æschylus was the second poet of the Greeks. Butby the light of nearer criticism, and with a closer insight intothe structure of the epic poems, we must retract this judgment, and assert that no other poet among the Greeks, either in grandeurof conception or splendor of execution, equals the untranslatable, unapproachable, inimitable Æschylus. " [Footnote: "Classical GreekLiterature, " vol. I. , p. 275. ]

SOPHOCLES. 

Æschylus was succeeded, as master of the drama, by Sophocles--the Raffaelle of the drama, as Bulwer calls him--who was alsoone of the generals of the Athenian expedition against Samosin the year 440 B. C. He brought the drama to the greatestperfection of which it was susceptible. In him we find a greaterrange of emotions than in Æschylus--figures more distinctlyseen, a more expanded dialogue, simplicity of speech mixed withrhetorical declamation, and the highest degree of poetic beauty. Says a late writer: "The artist and the man were one in Sophocles. We cannot but think of him as specially created to representGreek art in its most refined and exquisitely balanced perfection. It is impossible to imagine a more plastic nature, a genius moreadapted to its special function, more fittingly provided withall things needful to its full development, born at a happiermoment in the history of the world, and more nobly endowed withphysical qualities suited to its intellectual capacity. "

Sophocles composed one hundred and thirteen plays, but only sevenof them are extant. Of these the most familiar is the tragedyof OEd'ipus Tyran'nus--"King OEdipus. " It is not only consideredhis masterpiece, but also, as regards the choice and dispositionof the fable on which it is founded, the finest tragedy ofantiquity. A new interest has been given to it in this countryby its recent representation in the original Greek. Of its manytranslations, it is conceded that none have done, and none cando it justice; they can do little more than give its plan andgeneral character. The following, in brief, is the story of thisfamous tragedy:

OEdipus Tyrannus. 

La'i-us, King of Thebes, was told by the Delphic oracle that ifa son should be born to him, by the hand of that son he shouldsurely die. When, therefore, his queen, Jocasta, bare him a son, the parents gave the child to a shepherd, with orders to castit out, bound, on the hill Cithæ'ron to perish. But the shepherd, moved to compassion, deceived the parents, and intrusted thebabe to a herdsman of Pol'ybus, King of Corinth; and the wifeof Polybus, being childless, named the foundling OEdipus, andreared it as her own. 

Thirty years later, OEdipus, ignorant of his birth, and beingdirected by the oracle to shun his native country, fled fromCorinth; and it happened at the same time that his father (Laius)was on his way to consult the oracle at Delphi, for the purposeof ascertaining whether the child that had been exposed hadperished or not. As father and son, strangers to each other, metin a narrow path in the mountains, a dispute arose for the rightof way, and in the contest that ensued the father was slain. 

Immediately after this event the goddess Juno, always hostile toThebes, sent a monster, called the sphinx, to propound a riddleto the Thebans, and to ravage their territory until some oneshould solve the riddle--the purport of which was, "What animalis that which goes on four feet in the morning, on two at noon, and on three at evening?" OEdipus, the supposed son of Polybus, of Corinth, coming to Thebes, solved the riddle, by answeringthe sphinx that it was man, who, when an infant, creeps on allfours, in manhood goes on two feet, and when old uses a staff. The sphinx then threw herself down to the earth and perished;whereupon the Thebans, in their joy, chose OEdipus as king, andhe married the widowed queen Jocasta, by whom he had two sonsand two daughters. Although everything prospered with him--ashe loved the Theban people, and was beloved by them in turn forhis many virtues--soon the wrath of the gods fell upon the city, which was visited by a sore pestilence. Creon, brother of thequeen, is now sent to consult the oracle for the cause of theevil; and it is at the point of his return that the drama opens. He brings back the response

 "That guilt of blood is blasting all the state;"

that this guilt is connected with the death of Laius, and that

 "Now the god clearly bids us, he being dead, To take revenge on those who shed his blood, "

OEdipus engages earnestly in the business of unraveling the mysteryconnected with the death of Laius, the cause of all the Thebanwoes. Ignorant that he himself bears the load of guilt, he chargesthe Thebans to be vigilant and unremitting in their efforts, --

 "And for the man who did the guilty deed, Whether alone he lurks, or leagued with more, I pray that he may waste his life away, For vile deeds vilely dying; and for me, If in my house, I knowing it, he dwells, May every curse I spake on my head fall. "

A blind and aged priest and prophet, Tire'sias, is brought beforeOEdipus, and, being implored to lend the aid of prophecy to "savethe city from the curse" that had fallen on it, he at first refuses toexert his prophetic power. 

 Tiresias. Ah! Reason fails you an, but ne'er will I Say what thou bidd'st, lest I thy troubles show. I will not pain myself nor thee. Why, then, All vainly question? Thou shalt never know. 

But, urged and threatened by the king, he at length exclaims:

 Tier. And has it come to this? I charge thee, hold To thy late edict, and from this day forth Speak not to me, nor yet to these, for thou-- Thou art the accursed plague-spot of the land!

OEdipus at first believes that the aged prophet is merely thetool of others, who are engaged in a conspiracy to expel himfrom the throne; but when Jocasta, in her innocence, informshim of the death of Laius, names the mountain pass in which hefell, slain, as was supposed, by a robber band, and describeshis dress and person, OEdipus is startled at the thought thathe himself was the slayer, and he exclaims, "Great Zeus! what fate hast thou decreed for me? Woe! woe! 'tis all too clear. "

Yet there is one hope left. The man whom he slew in that samemountain pass fell by no robber band, and, therefore, could nothave been Laius. Soon even this hope deserts him, when the storyis truly told. He learns, moreover, that he is not the son ofPolybus, the Corinthian king, but a foundling adopted by hisqueen. Connecting this with the story now told him by Jocasta, of her infant son, whom she supposed to have perished on themountain, the horrid truth begins to dawn upon all. Jocasta rushesfrom the presence of OEdipus, exclaiming, "Woe! woe! ill-fated one! my last word this, This only, and no more for evermore. "

When the old shepherd, forced to declare the truth, tells howhe saved the life of the infant, and gave it into the keepingof the herdsman of Polybus, the evil-starred OEdipus exclaims, in agony of spirit:

 "Woe! woe! woe! all cometh clear at last. O light! may this my last glance be on thee, Who now am seen owing my birth to those To whom I ought not, and with whom I ought not In wedlock living, whom I ought not slaying. "

Horrors still thicken in this terrible tragedy. Word is broughtto OEdipus that Jocasta is dead--dead by her own hand! He rushes in:

 Then came a sight Most fearful. Tearing from her robe the clasps, All chased with gold, with which she decked herself, He with them struck the pupils of his eyes, With words like these--"Because they had not seen What ills he suffered and what ills he did, They in the dark should look, in time to come, On those whom they ought never to have seen, Nor know the dear ones whom he fain had known. " With such-like wails, not once or twice alone, Raising his eyes, he smote them; and the balls, All bleeding, stained his cheek, nor poured they forth Gore drops slow trickling, but the purple shower Fell fast and full, a pelting storm of blood. 

The now blind and wretched OEdipus, bewailing his fate and theevils he had so unwittingly brought upon Thebes, begs to be castforth with all speed from out the land. 

 OEdipus. Lead me away, my friends, with utmost speed Lead me away; the foul, polluted one, Of all men most accursed, Most hateful to the gods. 

 Chorus. Ah, wretched one, alike in soul and doom, I fain could wish that I had never known thee. 

 OEdipus. Ill fate be his who from the fetters freed The child upon the hills, And rescued me from death, And saved me--thankless boon! Ah! had I died but then, Nor to my friends nor me had been such woe. 

A touching picture is presented in the farewell of OEdipus, ondeparting from Thebes to wander an outcast upon the earth. Thetragedy concludes with the following moral by the chorus:

 Chorus. Ye men of Thebes, behold this OEdipus, Who knew the famous riddle, and was noblest. Whose fortune who saw not with envious glances? And lo! in what a sea of direst trouble He now is plunged! From hence the lesson learn ye, To reckon no man happy till ye witness The closing day; until he pass the border Which Severs life from death unscathed by sorrow. --Trans. By E. H. PLUMPTRE. 

Character of the Works of Sophocles. 

The character of the works of Sophocles is well described in thefollowing extract from an Essay on Greek Poetry, by THOMAS NOONTALFOURD: "The great and distinguishing excellence of Sophocleswill be found in his excellent sense of the beautiful, and theperfect harmony of all his powers. His conceptions are not onso gigantic a scale as those of Æschylus; but in the circle whichhe prescribes to himself to fill, not a place is left unadorned;not a niche without its appropriate figure; not the smallestornament which is incomplete in the minutest graces. His judgmentseems absolutely perfect, for he never fails; he is always fullymaster of himself and his subject; he knows the precise measureof his own capacities; and while he never attempts a flight beyondhis reach, he never debases himself nor his art by anything beneathhim. 

"Sophocles was undoubtedly the first philosophical poet of theancient world. With his pure taste for the graceful he perceived, amidst the sensible forms around him, one universal spirit ofJove pervading all things. Virtue and justice, to his mind, didnot appear the mere creatures of convenience, or the means ofgratifying the refined selfishness of man; he saw them, havingdeep root in eternity, unchanging and imperishable as their divineauthor. In a single stanza he has impressed this sentiment witha plenitude of inspiration before which the philosophy of expediencyvanishes--a passage that has neither a parallel nor equal of itskind, that we recollect, in the whole compass of heathen poetry, and which may be rendered thus: 'Oh for a spotless purity ofaction and of speech, according to those sublime laws of rightwhich have the heavens for their birthplace, and God alone fortheir author--which the decays of mortal nature cannot vary, nor time cover with oblivion, for the divinity is mighty withinthem and waxes not old!'"

Sophocles died in extreme old age, "without disease and withoutsuffering, and was mourned with such a sincerity and depth ofgrief as were exhibited at the death of no other citizen of Athens. "

 Thrice happy Sophocles! in good old age, Blessed as a man, and as a craftsman blessed, He died: his many tragedies were fair, And fair his end, nor knew be any sorrow. --PHRYN'ICHUS. 

 Wind, gentle evergreen, to form a shade Around the tomb where Sophocles is laid; Sweet ivy wind thy boughs, and intertwine With blushing roses and the clustering vine. Thus will thy lasting leaves, with beauties hung, Prove grateful emblems of the lays he sung, Whose soul, exalted by the god of wit, Among the Muses and the Graces writ. --SIM'MIAS, the Theban. 

EURIP'IDES. 

Contemporary with Sophocles was Euripides, born in 480 B. C. , thelast of the three great masters of the drama--the three beingembraced within the limits of a single century. Under Sophoclesthe principal changes effected in the outward form of the dramawere the introduction of a third actor, and a consequent limitationof the functions of the chorus. Euripides, however, changed themode of handling tragedy. Unlike Sophocles, who only limitedthe activity of the chorus, he disconnected it from the tragicinterest of the drama by giving but little attention to thecharacter of its songs. He also made some other changes; and, as one writer expresses it, his innovations "disintegrated thedrama by destroying its artistic unity. " But although perhapsinferior, in all artistic point of view, to his predecessors, the genius of Euripides supplied a want that they did not meet. Although his plays are all connected with the history and mythologyof Greece, in them rhetoric is more prominent than in the playsof either Æschylus or Sophocles; the legendary characters assumemore the garb of humanity; the tender sentiments--love, pity, compassion--are invoked to a greater degree, and an air of exquisitedelicacy and refinement embellishes the whole. These were thequalities in the plays of Euripides that endeared him to theGreeks of succeeding ages, and that gave to his works such aninfluence on the Roman and modern drama. 

Of Euripides MR. SYMONDS remarks: "His lasting title to fameconsists in his having dealt with the deeper problems of lifein a spirit which became permanent among the Greeks, so thathis poems never lost their value as expressions of currentphilosophy. Nothing strikes the student of later Greek literaturemore strongly than this prolongation of the Euripidean tone ofthought and feeling. In the decline of tragic poetry the literarysceptre was transferred to comedy; and the comic playwrights maybe described as the true successors of Euripides. The dialecticmethod, which he affected, was indeed dropped, and a moreharmonious form of art than the Euripidean was created for comedyby Menan'der, when the Athenians, after passing through theirdisputatious period, had settled down into a tranquil acceptationof the facts of life. Yet this return to harmony of form andpurity of perception did not abate the influence of Euripides. Here and there throughout his tragedies he had said, and wellsaid, what the Greeks were bound to think and feel upon importantmatters; and his sensitive, susceptible temperament repeateditself over and over again among his literary successors. Theexclamation of Phile'mon that, if he could believe in immortality, he would hang himself to see Euripides, is characteristic notonly of Philemon, but also of the whole Macedonian period ofGreek literature. " [Footnote: "The Greek Poets. " Second Series, p. 300. ]

Euripides wrote about seventy-five plays, of which eighteen havecome down to us. The Me-de'a, which is thought to be his bestpiece, is occupied with the circumstances of the vengeance takenby Medea on the ungrateful Jason, the hero of the Argonauticexpedition, for whom she had sacrificed all, and who, after hisreturn, abandoned her for a royal Corinthian bride. [Footnote:See Argonautic Expedition, p. 81. ] But the most touching of theplays of Euripides is the Alces'tis, founded on the fable ofAlcestis dying for her husband, Adme'tus. MILTON thus alludesto the story, in his sonnet on his deceased wife:

 Methought I saw my late espoused saint Brought to me, like Alcestis, from the grave, Whom Jove's great son to her glad husband gave, Rescued from death by force, though pale and faint. 

The substance of the story is as follows:

Admetus, King of Phe'ræ, in Thessaly, married Alcestis, who becamenoted for her conjugal virtues. Apollo, when banished from heaven, received so kind treatment from Admetus that he induced the Fatesto prolong the latter's life beyond the ordinary limit, oncondition that one of his own family should die in his stead. Alcestis at once consented to die for her husband, and when theappointed time came she heroically and composedly gave herselfto death. Soon after her departure, however, the hero Herculesvisited Admetus, and, pained with the profound grief of thehousehold, he rescued Alcestis from the grim tyrant Death andrestored her to her family. The whole play abounds in touchingscenes and descriptions; and the best modern critics concede thatthere is no female character in either Æschylus or Sophocles, not even excepting Antig'one, that is so great and noble, andat the same time so purely tender and womanly, as Alcestis. "Where has either Greek or modern literature, " says MAHAFFY, "produced a nobler ideal than the Alcestis of Euripides? Devotedto her husband and children, beloved and happy in her palace, she sacrifices her life calmly and resignedly--a life which isnot encompassed with afflictions, but of all the worth that lifecan be, and of all the usefulness which makes it precious tonoble natures. " [Footnote: "Social Life in Greece, p. 189. ] Wegive the following short extract from the poet's account of thepreparations made by Alcestis for her approaching end:

 Alcestis Preparing for Death. 

 When she knew The destined day was come, in fountain water She bathed her lily-tinctured limbs, then took From her rich chests, of odorous cedar formed, A splendid robe, and her most radiant dress. Thus gorgeously arrayed, she stood before The hallowed flames, and thus addressed her prayer: "O queen, I go to the infernal shades; Yet, ere I go, with reverence let me breathe My last request: protect my orphan children; Make my son happy with the wife he loves, And wed my daughter to a noble husband; Nor let them, like their mother, to the tomb Untimely sink, but in their native land Be blessed through lengthened life to honored age. "

 Then to each altar in the royal house She went, and crowned it, and addressed her vows, Plucking the myrtle bough: nor tear, nor sigh Came from her; neither did the approaching ill Change the fresh beauties of her vermeil cheek. Her chamber then she visits, and her bed; There her tears flowed, and thus she spoke: "O bed To which my wedded lord, for whom I die, Led me a virgin bride, farewell! to thee No blame do I impute, for me alone Hast thou destroyed: disdaining to betray Thee, and my lord, I die: to thee shall come Some other woman, not more chaste, perchance More happy. " As she lay she kissed the couch, And bathed it with a flood of tears: that passed, She left her chamber, then returned, and oft She left it, oft returned, and on the couch Fondly, each time she entered, cast herself. Her children, as they hung upon her robes, Weeping, she raised, and clasped them to her breast Each after each, as now about to die. --Trans. By POTTER. 

Euripides died in the year 406 B. C. , in Macedon, to which countryhe had been compelled to go on account of domestic troubles;and the then king, Archela'us honored his remains with a sumptuousfuneral, and erected a monument over them. 

 Divine Euripides, this tomb we see So fair is not a monument for thee, So much as thou for it; since all will own That thy immortal fame adorns the stone. 

We have now observed the transitions through which Grecian tragedypassed in the hands of its three great masters, Æschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. As GROTE says, "The differences between thesethree poets are doubtless referable to the working of Athenianpolitics and Athenian philosophy on the minds of the two latter. In Sophocles we may trace the companion of Herodotus; in Euripidesthe hearer of Anaxag'oras, Socrates, and Prod'icus; in both, the familiarity with that wide-spread popularity of speech, andreal, serious debate of politicians and competitors before thedikastery, which both had ever before their eyes, but which thegenius of Sophocles knew how to keep in subordination to hisgrand poetical purpose. " To properly estimate the influence whichthe tragedies exerted upon the Athenians, we must remember thata large number of them was presented on the stage every year;that it was rare to repeat anyone of them; that the theatre ofBacchus, in which they were represented, accommodated thirtythousand persons; that, as religious observances, they formedpart of the civil establishment; and that admission to them wasvirtually free to every Athenian citizen. Taking these thingsinto consideration, GROTE adds: "If we conceive of the entirepopulation of a large city listening almost daily to thoseimmortal compositions whose beauty first stamped tragedy as aseparate department of poetry, we shall be satisfied that suchpowerful poetic influences were never brought to act upon anyother people; and that the tastes, the sentiments, and theintellectual standard of the Athenians must have been sensiblyimproved and exalted by such lessons. " [Footnote: "History ofGreece, " Chap, lxvii. ]

2. COMEDY. 

Another marked feature of Athenian life, and one but little lessinfluential than tragedy in its effects upon the Athenian character, was comedy. It had its origin, as we have seen, in the vintagefestivals of Bacchus, where the wild songs of the participantswere frequently interspersed with coarse witticisms against thespectators. Like tragedy, it was a Dorian invention, and Sicilyseems to have early become the seat of the comic writers. Epichar'mus, a Dorian poet and philosopher, was the first ofthese to put the Bacchic songs and dances into dramatic form. The place of his nativity is uncertain, but he passed the greaterpart of his life at Syracuse, in the society of the greatestliterary men of the age, and there he is supposed to have writtenhis comedies some years prior to the Persian war. It seems, however, that comedy was introduced into Attica by Susa'rion, a nativeof Meg'ara, long before the time of Epichar'mus (578 B. C. ). Butthe former's plays were so largely made up of rude and abusivepersonalities that they were not tolerated by the Pisistrati'dæ, and for over a century we bear nothing farther of comedy inAttica--not until it was revived by Chion'ides, about 488 B. C. , or, according to some authorities, twenty years later. 

Under the contemporaries or successors of Chionides comedy becamean important agent in the political warfare of Athens, althoughit was frequently the subject of prohibitory or restrictive legalenactments. "Only a nation, " says a recent writer, "in the plenitudeof self-contentment, conscious of vigor, and satisfied with itsown energy, could have tolerated the kind of censorship the comicpoets dared to exercise. "

Characterization of the Old Comedy. 

In the preliminary discourse to his translation of the Comediesof Aristophanes, MR. THOMAS MITCHELL, an English critic of note, makes these observations upon the character of the Old Comedy:"The Old Comedy, as it is called, in contradistinction to whatwas afterward named the Middle and the New, stood in the extremerelation of contrariety and parody to the tragedy of the Greeks--it was directed chiefly to the lower orders of society at Athens;it served in some measure the purposes of the modern journal, inwhich public measures and the topics of the day might be fullydiscussed; and in consequence the dramatis personæ were generallythe poet's own contemporaries, speaking in their own names andacting in masks, which, as they bore only a caricature resemblanceof their own faces, showed that the poet, in his observations, did not mean to be taken literally. Like tragedy, comedyconstituted part of a religious ceremony; and the character ofthe deity to whom it was more particularly dedicated was stampedat times pretty visibly upon the work which was composed in hishonor. The Dionysian festivals were the great carnivals ofantiquity--they celebrated the returns of vernal festivity orthe joyous vintage, and were in consequence the great holidaysof Athens--the seasons of universal relaxation. 

"The comic poet was the high-priest of the festival; and if theorgies of his divinity (the god of wine) sometimes demanded astyle of poetry which a Father of our Church probably had inhis eye when he called all poetry the devil's wine, the organof their utterance (however strange it may seem to us) no doubtconsidered himself as perfectly absolved from the censure whichwe should bestow on such productions: in his compositions hewas discharging the same pious office as the painter, whose dutyit was to fill the temples of the same deity with pictures whichour imaginations would consider equally ill-suited to thehabitations of divinity. What religion therefore forbids amongus, the religion of the Greeks did not merely tolerate but enjoin. Nor was the extreme and even profane gayety of the comedy withoutits excuse. To unite extravagant mirth with a solemn seriousnesswas enjoined by law, even in the sacred festival of Ceres. 

"While the philosophers, therefore, querulously maintained thatman was the joke and plaything of the gods, the comic poet reversedthe picture, and made the gods the playthings of men; in his hands, indeed, everything was upon the broad grin: the gods laughed, men laughed, and animals laughed. Nature was considered as asort of fantastic being, with a turn for the humorous; and theworld was treated as a sort of extended jest-book, where thepoet pointed out the bon-mots [Footnote: French; pronouncedbong-mos. ] and acted in some degree as corrector of the Press. If he discharged this office sometimes in the sarcastic spiritof a Mephistopheles, this, too, was considered as part of hisfunctions. He was the Ter'roe Fil'ius [Footnote: Terroe Filius, son of the earth; that is, a human being. ] of the day; andlenity would have been considered, not as an act of discretion, but as a cowardly dereliction of duty. "

It was in the time of Pericles that the comedy just describedfirst dealt with men and subjects under their real names; andin one of the plays of Crati'nus--under whom comedy receivedits full development--Cimon is highly eulogized, and his rival, Pericles, is bitterly derided. With unmeasured and unsparinglicense comedy attacked, under the veil of satire, not only allthat was really ludicrous or base, but often cast scorn and derisionon that which was innocent, or even meritorious. For the reasonthat the comic writers were so indiscriminate in their attacks, frequently making transcendent genius and noble personality, aswell as demagogism and personal vice, the butt of comic scorn;their writings have but little historical value except in thefew instances in which they are corroborated by higher authority. 

ARlSTOPH'ANES. 

Among the contemporaries of Cratinus were Eu'polis and Aristophanes, the latter of whom became the chief of what is known as the OldAttic Comedy. Of his life little is known; but he was a memberof the conservative or aristocratic party at Athens, directinghis attacks chiefly against the democratic or popular party ofPericles, and continuing to write comedies until about 392 B. C. While his comedies are replete with coarse wit, they are wonderfullybrilliant, and contain much, also, that is pure and beautiful. As a late writer has well said, "Beauty and deformity came tohim with equal abundance, and his wonderful pieces are made upof all that is low and all that is pure and lovely. "

 The Muses, seeking for a shrine Whose glories ne'er should cease, Found, as they strayed, the soul divine Of Aristophanes. --PLATO, trans. By MERIVALE. 

MR. GROTE characterizes the comedies of Aristophanes as follows:"Never probably will the full and unshackled force of comedy beso exhibited again. Without having Aristophanes actually beforeus it would have been impossible to imagine the unmeasured andunsparing license of attack assumed by the old comedy upon thegods, the institutions, the politicians, philosophers, poets, private citizens, specially named--and even the women, whose lifewas entirely domestic--of Athens. With this universal libertyin respect of subject there is combined a poignancy of derisionand satire, a fecundity of imagination and variety of turns, anda richness of poetical expression such as cannot be surpassed, and such as fully explains the admiration expressed for him bythe philosopher Plato, who in other respects must have regardedhim with unquestionable disapprobation. His comedies are popularin the largest sense of the word, addressed to the entire bodyof male citizens on a day consecrated to festivity, and providingfor their amusement or derision, with a sort of drunken abundance, out of all persons or things standing in any way prominent beforethe public eye. " [Footnote: "History or Greece, " Chap. Lxvii. ]

In his introduction to the Dialogues of Plato, REV. WILLIAM SEWELL, an English clergyman and author, observes that "Men smile whenthey hear the anecdote of Chrys'ostom, one of the most venerablefathers of the Church, who never went to bed without somethingfrom Aristophanes under his pillow. " He adds: "But the nobletone of morals, the elevated taste, the sound political wisdom, the boldness and acuteness of the satire, the grand object, whichis seen throughout, of correcting the follies of the day, andimproving the condition of his country--all these are featuresin Aristophanes which, however disguised, as they intentionallyare, by coarseness and buffoonery, entitle him to the highestrespect from every reader of antiquity. " Yet, while the purposesof Aristophanes were in the main praiseworthy, and the personsand things he attacked generally deserving of censure, he sparedthe vices of his own party and associates; and, like all satirists, for effect he often traduced character, as in the case of thevirtuous Socrates. In an attack on the Sophists, in his playof the Clouds, he gives to Socrates the character of a vulgarSophist, and holds him up to the derision of the Athenian people. But, as another has said, "Time has set all even; and 'poorSocrates, ' as Aristophanes called him--as a far loftier bardhas sung--

 'Poor Socrates, By what he taught, and suffered for so doing, For truth's sake suffering death unjust, lives now, Equal in fame to proudest conquerors. '" --MILTON. 

The Comedy of the "Clouds. "

It is curious to observe in the Clouds of Aristophanes that whilethe main object of the poet is to ridicule Socrates, and throughhim to expose what he considers the corrupt state of educationin Athens, he does not disdain to mingle with his low buffoonerythe loftiest flights of the imagination--reminding us of thenot unlike anomaly of Shakspeare's sublime simile of the"cloud-capp'd towers, " in the Tempest. In one part of the play, Strepsi'ades, who has been nearly ruined in fortune by hisspendthrift son, goes to Socrates to learn from him the logicthat will enable him "to talk unjustly and--prevail, " so thathe may shirk his debts! He finds the master teacher suspendedin air, in a basket, that he may be above earthly influences, and there "contemplating the sun, " and endeavoring to searchout "celestial matters. " To the appeal of Strepsiades, Socrates, interrupted in his reveries, thus answers:

 Socrates. Old man, sit you still, and attend to my will, and hearken in peace to my prayer. (He then addresses the Air. ) O master and king, holding earth in your swing, O measureless infinite Air; And thou, glowing Ether, and Clouds who enwreathe her with thunder and lightning and storms, Arise ye and shine, bright ladies divine, to your student, in bodily forms. 

Then we have the farther prayer of Socrates to the Clouds, inwhich is pictured a series of the most sublime images, coloredwith all the rainbow hues of the poet's fancy. We are led, inimagination, to behold the dread Clouds, at first sitting, inglorious majesty, upon the time-honored crest of snowy Olympus--then in the soft dance beguiling the nymphs "'mid the statelyadvance of old Ocean"--then bearing away, in their pitchersof sunlight and gold, "the mystical waves of the Nile, " to refreshand fertilize other lands; at one time sporting on the foam ofLake Mæo'tis, and at another playing around the wintry summitsof Mi'mas, a mountain range of Ionia, The farther invocationof the Clouds is thus continued:

 Socrates. Come forth, come forth, ye dread Clouds, and to earth your glorious majesty show; Whether lightly ye rest on the time-honored crest of Olympus, environed in snow, Or tread the soft dance 'mid the stately advance of old Ocean, the nymphs to beguile, Or stoop to enfold, with your pitchers of gold, the mystical waves of the Nile, Or around the white foam of Mæotis ye roam, or Mimas all wintry and bare, O hear while we pray, and turn not away from the rites which your servants prepare. 

Then the chorus comes forward and answers, as if the Clouds werespeaking:

 Chorus. Clouds of all hue, Now rise we aloft with our garments of dew, We come from old Ocean's unchangeable bed, We come till the mountains' green summits we tread, We come to the peaks with their landscapes untold, We gaze on the earth with her harvests of gold, We gaze on the rivers in majesty streaming, We gaze on the lordly, invisible sea; We come, for the eye of the Ether is beaming, We come, for all Nature is flashing and free. Let us shake off this close-clinging dew From our members eternally new, And sail upward the wide world to view, Come away! Come away!

 Socr. O goddesses mine, great Clouds and divine, ye have heeded and answered my prayer. Heard ye their sound, and the thunder around, as it thrilled through the petrified air?

 Streps. Yes, by Zeus! and I shake, and I'm all of a quake, and I fear I must sound a reply, Their thunders have made my soul so afraid, and those terrible voices so nigh--

 Socr. Don't act in our schools like those comedy-fools, with their scurrilous, scandalous ways. Deep silence be thine, while these Clusters divine their soul-stirring melody raise. 

To which the chorus again responds. But we have not room forfarther extracts. The description of the floating-cloud characterof the scene is acknowledged by critics to be inimitable. Thereis one passage, in particular, in which Socrates, pointing tothe clouds that have taken a sudden slanting downward motion, says:

 "They are drifting, an infinite throng, And their long shadows quake over valley and brake"--

which, MR. RUSKIN declares, "could have been written by nonebut an ardent lover of the hill scenery--one who had watchedhour after hour the peculiar, oblique, sidelong action ofdescending clouds, as they form along the hollows and ravinesof the hills. [Footnote: The line in Greek, which is so vividlydescriptive of this peculiar appearance and motion of the clouds--

 dia toy koiloy kai toy daseoy autai plagiai--

loses so much in the rendering, that the beauty of the passagecan be fully appreciated only by the Greek scholar. ] There areno lumpish solidities, no billowy protuberances here. All ismelting, drifting, evanescent, full of air, and light as dew. "

Choral Song from "The Birds. "

In the following extract from the comedy of The Birds, Aristophanesridicules the popular belief of the Greeks in signs and omensdrawn from the birds of the air. Though undoubtedly an exaggeration, it may nevertheless be taken as a fair exposition of thesuperstitious notions of an age that had its world-renowned"oracles, " and as a good example of the poet's comic style. Theextract is from the Choral Song in the comedy, and is a truepoetic gem. 

 Ye children of man! whose life is a span, Protracted with sorrow from day to day; Naked and featherless, feeble and querulous, Sickly, calamitous creatures of clay! Attend to the words of the sovereign birds, Immortal, illustrious lords of the air, Who survey from on high, with a merciful eye, Your struggles of misery, labor, and care. Whence you may learn and clearly discern Such truths as attract your inquisitive turn-- Which is busied of late with a mighty debate, A profound speculation about the creation, And organical life and chaotical strife-- With various notions of heavenly motions, And rivers and oceans, and valleys and mountains, And sources of fountains, and meteors on high, And stars in the sky.... We propose by-and-by (If you'll listen and hear) to make it all clear. 

 All lessons of primary daily concern You have learned from the birds (and continue to learn), Your best benefactors and early instructors. We give you the warnings of seasons returning: When the cranes are arranged, and muster afloat In the middle air, with a creaking note, Steering away to the Libyan sand, Then careful farmers sow their lands; The craggy vessel is hauled ashore; The sail, the ropes, the rudder, and oar Are all unshipped and housed in store. The shepherd is warned, by the kite re-appearing, To muster his flock and be ready for shearing. You quit your old cloak at the swallow's behest, In assurance of summer, and purchase a vest. 

 For Delphi, for Ammon, Dodo'na--in fine, For every oracular temple and shrine-- The birds are a substitute, equal and fair; For on us you depend, and to us you repair For counsel and aid when a marriage is made-- A purchase, a bargain, or venture in trade: Unlucky or lucky, whatever has struck ye-- A voice in the street, or a slave that you meet, A name or a word by chance overheard-- If you deem it an omen you call it a bird; And if birds are your omens, it clearly will follow That birds are a proper prophetic Apollo. --Trans. By FRERE. 

 * * * * *

III. HISTORY. 

As we have stated in a former chapter, literary compositionsin prose first appeared among the Greeks in the sixth centuryB. C. , and were either mythological, or collections of local legends, whether sacred or profane, of particular districts. It was notuntil a still later period that the Grecian prose writers, becomingmore positive in their habits of thought, broke away fromspeculative and mystical tendencies, and began to record theirobservations of the events daily occurring about them. In thewritings of Hecatæ'us of Mile'tus, who flourished about 500 B. C. , we find the first elements of history; and yet some modern writersthink he can lay no claim whatever to the title of historian, while others regard him as the first historical writer of anyimportance. He visited Greece proper and many of the surroundingcountries, and recorded his observations and experiences in awork of a geographical character, entitled Periodus. He also wroteanother work relating to the mythical history of Greece, and diedabout 467 B. C. 

HEROD'OTUS. 

MAHAFFY considers Hecatæ'us "the forerunner of Herodotus in hismode of life and his conception of setting down his experiences;"while NIE'BUHR, the great German historian, absolutely deniesthe existence of any Grecian histories before Herodotus gaveto the world the first of those illustrious productions thatform another bright link in the literary chain of Grecian glory. Born in Halicarnas'sus about the year 484, of an illustriousfamily, Herodotus was driven from his native land at an earlyage by a revolution, after which he traveled extensively overthe then known world, collecting much of the material that hesubsequently used in his writings. After a short residence atSamos he removed to Athens, leaving there, however, about theyear 440 to take up his abode at Thu'rii, a new Athenian colonynear the site of the former Syb'aris. Here he lived the restof his life, dying about the year 420. Lucian relates that, oncompleting his work, Herodotus went to Olympia during thecelebration of the Olympic games, and there recited to hiscountrymen the nine books of which his history was composed. His hearers were delighted, and immediately honored the bookswith the title of the Nine Muses. A later account of this scenesays that Thucydides, then a young man, stood at the side ofHerodotus, and was affected to tears by his recitations. 

Herodotus modestly states the object of his history in thefollowing paragraph, which is all the introduction that he makesto his great work: "These are the researches of Herodotus ofHalicarnassus, which he publishes in the hope of thereby preservingfrom decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventingthe great and wonderful actions of the Greeks and the barbariansfrom losing their due meed of glory; and, withal, to put on recordwhat were their grounds of feud. " [Footnote: Rawlinson'stranslation. ] But while he portrays the military ambition ofthe Persian rulers, the struggles of the Greeks for liberty, and their final triumph over the Persian power, he also givesus a history of almost all the then known world. "His work begins, "says MR. LAWRENCE, "with the causes of the hostility betweenPersia and Greece, describes the power of Croe'sus, the wondersof Egypt, the expedition of Darius into Scythia, and closes withthe immortal war between the allied Greeks and the Persian hosts. To his countrymen the story must have had the intense interestof a national ode or epic. Athens, particularly, must have readwith touching ardor the graceful narrative of its early glory;for when Herodotus finished his work the brief period had alreadypassed away. What Æschylus and the other dramatists painted inbrief and striking pictures on the stage, Herodotus describedwith laborious but never tedious minuteness. His pure Ionic dictionnever wearies, his easy and simple narrative has never lost itsinterest, and all succeeding ages have united in calling him 'theFather of History. ' His fame has advanced with the progress ofletters, and has spread over mankind. "

The following admirable description of Herodotus and of his writingsis from an essay on "History, " by LORD MACAULAY:

Herodotus and his Writings. 

"Of the romantic historians, Herodotus is the earliest and thebest. His animation, his simple-hearted tenderness, his wonderfultalent for description and dialogue, and the pure, sweet flowof his language, place him at the head of narrators. He remindsus of a delightful child. There is a grace beyond the reach ofaffectation in his awkwardness, a malice in his innocence, anintelligence in his nonsense, and an insinuating eloquence inhis lisp. We know of no other writer who makes such interestfor himself and his book in the heart of the reader. He has writtenan incomparable book. He has written something better, perhaps, than the best history; but he has not written a really good history;for he is, from the first to the last chapter, an inventor. Wedo not here refer merely to those gross fictions with which hehas been reproached by the critics of later times, but we speakof that coloring which is equally diffused over his whole narrative, and which perpetually leaves the most sagacious reader in doubtwhat to reject and what to receive. The great events are, nodoubt, faithfully related; so, probably, are many of the slightercircumstances, but which of them it is impossible to ascertain. We know there is truth, but we cannot exactly decide where it lies. 

"If we may trust to a report not sanctioned, indeed, by writersof high authority, but in itself not improbable, the work ofHerodotus was composed not to be read, but to be heard. It wasnot to the slow circulation of a few copies, which the rich onlycould possess, that the aspiring author looked for his reward. The great Olympian festival was to witness his triumph. The interestof the narrative and the beauty of the style were aided by theimposing effect of recitation--by the splendor of the spectacle, by the powerful influence of sympathy. A critic who could haveasked for authorities in the midst of such a scene must havebeen of a cold and skeptical nature, and few such critics werethere. As was the historian, such were the auditors--inquisitive, credulous, easily moved by the religious awe of patrioticenthusiasm. They were the very men to hear with delight of strangebeasts, and birds, and trees; of dwarfs, and giants, and cannibals;of gods whose very names it was impiety to utter; of ancientdynasties which had left behind them monuments surpassing allthe works of later times; of towns like provinces; of riverslike seas; of stupendous walls, and temples, and pyramids; ofthe rites which the Magi performed at daybreak on the tops ofthe mountains; of the secrets inscribed on the eternal obelisksof Memphis. With equal delight they would have listened to thegraceful romances of their own country. They now heard of theexact accomplishment of obscure predictions; of the punishmentof climes over which the justice of Heaven had seemed to slumber;of dreams, omens, warnings from the dead; of princesses for whomnoble suitors contended in every generous exercise of strengthand skill; and of infants strangely preserved from the daggerof the assassin to fulfil high destinies. 

"As the narrative approached their own times the interest becamestill more absorbing. The chronicler had now to tell the storyof that great conflict from which Europe dates its intellectualand political supremacy--a story which, even at this distanceof time, is the most marvelous and the most touching in the annalsof the human race--a story abounding with all that is wild andwonderful; with all that is pathetic and animating; with thegigantic caprices of infinite wealth and despotic power; withthe mightier miracles of wisdom, of virtue, and of courage. Hetold them of rivers dried up in a day, of provinces famished fora meal; of a passage for ships hewn through the mountains; ofa road for armies spread upon the waves; of monarchies andcommonwealths swept away; of anxiety, of terror, of confusion, of despair! and then of proud and stubborn hearts tried in thatextremity of evil and not found wanting; of resistance longmaintained against desperate odds; of lives dearly sold whenresistance could be maintained no more; of signal deliverance, and of unsparing revenge. Whatever gave a stronger air of realityto a narrative so well calculated to inflame the passions andto flatter national pride, was certain to be favorably received. "

THUCYDIDES. 

Greater even than Herodotus, in some respects, but entirelydifferent in his style of composition, was the historian Thucydides, who was born in Athens about 471 B. C. In early life he studiedin the rhetorical and sophistical schools of his native city;and he seems to have taken some part in the political agitationsof the period. In his forty-seventh year he commanded an Athenianfleet that was sent to the relief of Amphip'olis, then besiegedby Bras'idas the Spartan. But Thucydides was too late; on hisarrival the city had surrendered. His failure to reach theresooner appears to have been caused by circumstances entirelybeyond his control, although some English scholars, includingGROTE, declare that he was remiss and dilatory, and thereforeDeserving of the punishment he received--banishment from Athens. He retired to Scaptes'y-le, a small town in Thrace; and in thissecluded spot, removed from the shifting scenes of Grecian life, he devoted himself to the composition of his great work. Traditionasserts that he was assassinated when about eighty years of age, either at Athens or in Thrace. 

The history of Thucydides, unfinished at his death, gives anaccount of nearly twenty-one years of the Peloponnesian war. The author's style is polished, vigorous, philosophical, andsometimes so concise as to be obscure. We are told that evenCicero found some of his sentences almost unintelligible. But, as MAHAFFY says: "Whatever faults of style, whatever transientfashion of involving his thoughts, may be due to a Sophisticeducation and to the desire of exhibiting depth and acuteness, there cannot be the smallest doubt that in the hands of Thucydidesthe art of writing history made an extraordinary stride, andattained a degree of perfection which no subsequent Hellenic(and few modern) writers have equaled. If the subject which heselected was really a narrow one, and many of the details trivial, it was nevertheless compassed with extreme difficulty, for itis at all times a hard task to write contemporary history, andmore especially so in an age when published documents were scarce, and the art of printing unknown. Moreover, however trivial maybe the details of petty military raids, of which an account wasyet necessary to the completeness of his record, we cannot butwonder at the lofty dignity with which he has handled every partof the subject. There is not a touch of comedy, not a pointof satire, not a word of familiarity throughout the whole book, and we stand face to face with a man who strikes us as strangelyun-Attic in his solemn and severe temper. " [Footnote: "Historyof Greek Literature, " vol. Ii. , p. 117. ]

The following comparison, evidently a just one, has been madebetween Thucydides and Herodotus:

Thucydides and Herodotus. 

"In comparing the two great historians, it is plain that themind and talents of each were admirably suited to the work whichhe took in hand. The extensive field in which Herodotus laboredafforded an opportunity for embellishing and illustrating hishistory with the marvels of foreign lands; while the gloriousexploits of a great and free people stemming a tide of barbarianinvaders and finally triumphing over them, and the customs andhistories of the barbarians with whom they had been at war, andof all other nations whose names were connected with Persia, either by lineage or conquest, were subjects which required thetalents of a simple narrator who had such love of truth as notwillfully to exaggerate, and such judgment as to select whatwas best worthy of attention. But Thucydides had a narrower field. The mind of Greece was the subject of his study, as displayedin a single war which was, in its rise, progress, and consequences, the most important which Greece had ever seen. It did not initself possess that heart-stirring interest which characterizesthe Persian war. In it united Greece was not struggling for herliberties against a foreign foe, animated by one common patriotism, inspired by an enthusiastic Jove of liberty; but it presentedthe sad spectacle of Greece divided against herself, torn bythe jealousies of race, and distracted by the animosities offaction. 

"The task of Thucydides, therefore, was that of studying thewarring passions and antagonistic workings of one mind; and itwas one which, in order to become interesting and profitable, demanded that there should be brought to bear upon it the powersof a keen, analytical intellect. To separate history from thetraditions and falsehoods with which it had been overlaid, andto give the early history of Greece in its most truthful form;to trace Athenian supremacy from its rise to its ruin, and thegrowing jealousy of other states, whether inferiors or rivals, to which that supremacy gave rise; to show its connection withthe enmities of race and the opposition of politics; to pointout what causes led to such wide results; how the insatiableambitions of Athens, gratifying itself in direct disobedienceto the advice of her wise statesman, Pericles, led step by stepto her ultimate ruin, --required not a mere narrator of events, however brilliant, but a moral philosopher and a statesman. Suchwas Thucydides. Although his work shows an advance, in the scienceof historical composition, over that of Herodotus, and his mindis of a higher, because of a more thoughtful order, yet his fameby no means obscures the glory which belongs to the Father ofHistory. Their walks are different; they can never be consideredas rivals, and therefore neither can claim superiority. " [Footnote:"Greek and Roman Classical Literature, " by Professor R. W. Browne, King's College, London. ]

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IV. PHILOSOPHY. 

ANAXAG'ORAS. 

The most illustrious of the Ionic philosophers, and the firstdistinguished philosopher of this period of Grecian history, was Anaxagoras, who was born at Clazom'enæ in the year 499 B. C. At the age of twenty he went to Athens, where he remained thirtyyears, teaching philosophy, and having for his hearers Pericles, Socrates, Euripides, and other celebrated characters. While thepantheistic systems of Tha'les, Heracli'tus, and other earlyphilosophers admitted, in accordance with the fictions of thereceived mythology, that the universe is full of gods, the doctrineof Anaxagoras led to the belief of but one supreme mind orintelligence, distinct from the chaos to which it imparts motion, form, and order. Hence he also taught that the sun is an inanimate, fiery mass, and therefore not a proper object of worship. Heasserted that the moon shines by reflected light, and he rightlyexplained solar and lunar eclipses. He gave allegorical explanationsof the names of the Grecian gods, and struck a blow at the popularreligion by attributing the miraculous appearances at sacrificesto natural causes. For these innovations he was stoned by thepopulace, and, as a penalty for what was considered his impiety, he was condemned to death; but through the influence of Pericleshis sentence was commuted to banishment. He retired to Lamp'sacus, on the Hellespont, where he died at the age of seventy-two. 

A short time before his death the senate of Lampsacus sent toAnaxagoras to ask what commemoration of his life and characterwould be most acceptable to him. He answered, "Let all the boysand girls have a play-day on the anniversary of my death. " Thesuggestion was observed, and his memory was honored by the peopleof Lampsacus for many centuries with a yearly festival. The amiabledisposition of Anaxagoras, and the general character of histeachings, are pleasantly and very correctly set forth in thefollowing poem, which is a supposed letter from the poet Cleon, of Lampsacus, to Pericles, giving an account of the philosopher'sdeath:

 The Death of Anaxagoras. 

 Cleon of Lampsacus, to Pericles: Of him she banished now let Athens boast; Let now th' Athenian raise to him they stoned A statue. Anaxagoras is dead! To you who mourn the master, called him friend, Beat back th' Athenian wolves who fanged his throat, And risked your own to save him--Pericles-- I now unfold the manner of his end:

 The aged man, who found in sixty years Scant cause for laughter, laughed before he died, And died still smiling: Athens vexed him not! Not he, but your Athenians, he would say, Were banished in his exile!

 When the dawn First glimmers white o'er Lesser Asia, And little birds are twittering in the grass, And all the sea lies hollow and gray with mist, And in the streets the ancient watchmen doze, The master woke with cold. His feet were chill, And reft of sense; and we who watched him knew The fever had not wholly left his brain, For he was wandering, seeking nests of birds, An urchin from the green Ionian town Where he was born. We chafed his clay-cold limbs; And so he dozed, nor dreamed, until the sun Laughed out--broad day--and flushed the garden gods Who bless our fruits and vines in Lampsacus. 

 Feeble, but sane and cheerful, he awoke, And took our hands and asked to feel the sun; And where the ilex spreads a gracious shade We placed him, wrapped and pillowed; and he heard The charm of birds, the whisper of the vines, The ripple of the blue Propontic sea. Placid and pleased he lay; but we were sad To see the snowy hair and silver beard Like withering mosses on a fallen oak, And feel that he, whose vast philosophy Had cast such sacred branches o'er the fields Where Athens pastures her dull sheep, lay fallen, And never more should know the spring! Confess You too had grieved to see it, Pericles!

 But Anaxagoras owned no sense of wrong; And when we called the plagues of all your gods On your ungrateful city, he but smiled: "Be patient, children! Where would be the gain Of wisdom and divine astronomy, Could we not school our fretful minds to bear The ills all life inherits? I can smile To think of Athens! Were they much to blame? Had I not slain Apollo? plucked the beard Of Jove himself? Poor rabble, who have yet Outgrown so little the green grasshoppers From whom they boast descent, are they to blame? [Footnote: The Athenians claimed to be of indigenous origin-- Autoch'tho-nes, that is, Aborigines, sprung from the earth itself. As emblematic of this origin they wore in their hair the golden forms of the cicada, or locust, often improperly called grasshopper, which was believed to spring from the earth. So it was said that the Athenians boasted descent from grasshoppers. ]

 "How could they dream--or how believe when taught-- The sun a red-hot iron ball, in bulk Not less than Peloponnesus? How believe The moon no silver goddess girt for chase, But earth and stones, with caverns, hills, and vales? Poor grasshoppers! who deem the gods absorbed In all their babble, shrilling in the grass! What wonder if they rage, should one but hint That thunder and lightning, born of clashing clouds, Might happen even with Jove in pleasant mood, Not thinking of Athenians at all!"

 He paused; and, blowing softly from the sea, The fresh wind stirred the ilex, shaking down Through chinks of sunny leaves blue gems of sky; And lying in the shadow, all his mind O'ershadowed by our grief, once more he spoke: "Let not your hearts be troubled! All my days Hath all my care been fixed on this vast blue, So still above us; now my days are done, Let it have care of me! Be patient, meek, Not puffed with doctrine! Nothing can be known; Naught grasped for certain: sense is circumscribed; The intellect is weak, and life is short!"

 He ceased, and mused a little while we wept. "And yet be nowise downcast; seek, pursue! The lover's rapture and the sage's gain Less in attainment lie than in approach. Look forward to the time which is to come! All things are mutable, and change alone Unchangeable. But knowledge grows! The gods Are drifting from the earth like morning mist; The days are surely at the doors when men Shall see but human actions in the world! Yea, even these hills of Lampsacus shall be The isles of some new sea, if time fail not!"

 And now the reverend fathers of our town Had heard the master's end was very near, And come to do him homage at the close, And ask what wish of his they might fulfil. But he, divining that they thought his heart Might yearn to Athens for a resting-place, Said gently, "Nay; from everywhere the way To that dark land you wot of is the same. I feel no care; I have no wish. The Greeks Will never quite forget my Pericles, And when they think of him will say of me, 'Twas Anaxagoras taught him!"

 Loath to go, No kindly office done, yet once again The reverend fathers pressed him for a wish. Then laughed the master: "Nay, if still you urge, And since 'twere churlish to reject good-will, I pray you, every year, when time brings back The day on which I left you, let the boys-- All boys and girls in this your happy town-- Be free of task and school for that one day. "

 He lay back smiling, and the reverend men Departed, heavy at heart. He spoke no more, But, haply musing on his truant days, Passed from us, and was smiling when he died. --WILLIAM CANTON, in The Contemporary Review. 

The teachings of Anaxagoras were destined to attain to wide-spreadpower over the Grecian mind. As auguries, omens, and prodigiesexercised a great influence on the public affairs of Greece, aphilosophical explanation of natural phenomena had a tendencyto diminish respect for the popular religion in the eyes of themultitude, and to leave the minds of rulers and statesmen opento the influences of reason, and to the rejection of the folliesof superstition. The doctrines taught by Anaxagoras were thecommencement of the contest between the old philosophy and thenew; and the varying phases of the struggle appear throughoutall subsequent Grecian history. 

THE SOPHISTS. 

In the fifth century there sprang up in Greece a set of teacherswho traveled about from city to city, giving instruction (formoney) in philosophy and rhetoric; under which heads were includedpolitical and moral education. These men were called "Sophists"(a term early applied to wise men, such as the seven sages), and though they did not form a sect or school, they resembledone another in many respects, exerting an important, and, barringtheir skeptical tendencies, a healthful influence in the formationof character. Among the most eminent of these teachers wereProtag'oras of Abde'ra, Gor'gias of Leontini, and Prod'icus ofCe'os. That great philosopher of a later age, Plato, whilecondemning the superficiality of their philosophy, characterizedthese men as important and respectable thinkers; but theirsuccessors, by their ignorance, brought reproach upon their calling, and, in the time of Socrates, the Sophists--so-called--had losttheir influence and had fallen into contempt. "Before Plato hadcomposed his later Dialogues, " says MAHAFFY, "they had becometoo insignificant to merit refutation; and in the followinggeneration they completely disappear as a class. " This authorthus proceeds to give the causes of their fall:

"It is, of course, to be attributed not only to the oppositionof Socrates at Athens, but to the subdivision of the professionof education. Its most popular and prominent branch--that ofRhetoric--was taken up by special men, like the orator An'tiphon, and developed into a strictly defined science. The Philosophywhich they had touched without sounding its depths was takenup by the Socratic schools, and made the rule and practice ofa life. The Politics which they had taught were found too general;nor were these wandering men, without fixed home, or familiaritywith the intricacies of special constitutions, likely to givepractical lessons to Greece citizens in the art of state-craft. Thus they disappear almost as rapidly as they rose--a suddenphase of spiritual awakening in Greece, like the Encyclopædistsof the French. " [Footnote: "History of Classical Greek literature, "vol. Ii. , p. 63. ]

SOCRATES. 

The greatest teacher of this age was Socrates, who was born nearAthens in 469 B. C. His father was a sculptor, and the son forsome time practiced the same profession at Athens, meanwhileaspiring toward higher things, and pursuing the study of philosophyunder Anaxagoras and others. He served his country in the fieldin the severe struggle between Sparta and Athens, where he wasdistinguished for his bravery and endurance; and when upwardof sixty years of age he was chosen to represent his districtin the Senate of Five Hundred. Here, and under the subsequenttyranny, his integrity remained unshaken; and his boldness indenouncing the cruelties of the Thirty Tyrants nearly cost himhis life. As a teacher, Socrates assumed the character of a moralphilosopher, and he seized every occasion to communicate moralwisdom to his fellow-citizens. Although often classed with theSophists, and unjustly selected by Aristophanes as theirrepresentative, the whole spirit of his teachings was directlyopposed to that class. Says MAHAFFY, "The Sophists were brilliantand superficial, he was homely and thorough; they rested inskepticism, he advanced through it to deeper and sounder faith;they were wandering and irresponsible, he was fixed at Athens, and showed forth by his life the doctrines he preached. " GROTE, however, while denying that the Sophists were intellectual andmoral corrupters, as generally charged, also denies that thereputation of Socrates properly rests upon his having rescuedthe Athenian mind from their influences. He admires Socrates for"combining with the qualities of a good man a force of characterand an originality of speculation as well as of method, and apower of intellectually working on others, generically differentfrom that of any professional teacher, without parallel eitheramong contemporaries or successors. " [Footnote: "History of Greece, "Chap. Lxviii. ]

Socrates taught without fee or reward, and communicated hisinstructions freely to high and low, rich and poor. His chiefmethod of instruction was derived from the style of Zeno, ofthe Eleatic school, and consisted of attacking the opinions ofhis opponents and pulling them to pieces by a series of questionsand answers. [Footnote: A fine example of the Socratic mode ofdisputation may be seen In "Alciphron; or, the Minute Philosopher, "by George Berkeley, D. D. , Bishop of Cloyne, Ireland. It is adefence of the Christian religion, and an exposé of the weaknessof infidelity and skepticism, and is considered one of the mostingenious and excellent performances of the kind in the Englishtongue. ] He made this system "the most powerful instrument ofphilosophic teaching ever known in the history of the humanintellect. " The philosopher was an enthusiastic lover of Athens, and he looked upon the whole city as his school. There alonehe found instruction and occupation, and through its streetshe would wander, standing motionless for hours in deep meditation, or charming all classes and ages by his conversation. Alcibiadesdeclared of him that, "as he talks, the hearts of all who hearleap up, and their tears are poured out. " The poet THOMSON, musingover the sages of ancient time, thus describes him:

 O'er all shone out the great Athenian sage, And father of Philosophy! Tutor of Athens! he, in every street, Dealt priceless treasure; goodness his delight, Wisdom his wealth, and glory his reward. Deep through the human heart, with playful art, His simple question stole, as into truth And serious deeds he led the laughing race; Taught moral life; and what he taught he was. 

Of the unjust attack made upon Socrates by the poet Aristophaneswe have already spoken. That occurred in 423 B. C. , and, as awriter has well said, "evaporated with the laugh"--having nothingto do with the sad fate of the guiltless philosopher twenty-fouryears after. Soon after the restoration of the democracy in Athens(403 B. C. ) Socrates was tried for his life on the absurd chargesof impiety and of corrupting the morals of the young. His accusersappear to have been instigated by personal resentment, whichhe had innocently provoked, and by envy of his many virtues;and the result shows not only the instability but the moralobliquity of the Athenian character. He approached his trialwith no special preparation for defence, as he had no expectationof an acquittal; but he maintained a calm, brave, and haughtybearing, and addressed the court in a bold and uncompromisingtone, demanding rewards instead of punishment. It was the strongreligious persuasion (or belief) of Socrates that he was actingunder a divine mission. This consciousness had been the controllingprinciple of his life; and in the following extracts which wehave taken from his Apology, or Defence, in which he explainshis conduct, we see plain evidences of this striking characteristicof the great philosopher:

The Defence of Socrates. [Footnote: From the translation by Professor Jowett, of OxfordUniversity. ]

"Strange, indeed, would be my conduct, O men of Athens, if now, when, as I conceive and imagine, God orders me to fulfil thephilosopher's mission of searching into myself and other men, I were to desert my post through fear of death, or any otherfear: that would indeed be strange, and I might justly be arraignedin court for denying the existence of the gods, if I disobeyedthe oracle because I was afraid of death: then I should be fancyingI was wise when I was not wise. For this fear of death is indeedthe pretence of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being the appearanceof knowing the unknown; since no one knows whether death, whichhe in his fear apprehends to be the greatest evil, may not bethe greatest good. Is there not here conceit of knowledge whichis a disgraceful sort of ignorance? And this is the point inwhich, as I think, I am superior to men in general, and in whichI might, perhaps, fancy myself wiser than other men--that whereasI know but little of the world below, I do not suppose that Iknow; but I do know that injustice and disobedience to a better, whether God or man, is evil and dishonorable, and I will neverfear or avoid a possible good rather than a certain evil. Andtherefore should you say to me, 'Socrates, this time we willnot mind An'ytus, and will let you off, but upon one condition, that you are not to inquire and speculate in this way any more, and that if you are caught doing this again you shall die'--ifthis were the condition on which you let me go, I should reply, 'Men of Athens, I honor and love you; but I shall obey God ratherthan you, and while I have life and strength I shall never ceasefrom the practice and teaching of philosophy, and exhorting, after my manner, any one whom I meet. ' I do nothing but go aboutpersuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thoughtfor your persons or your properties, but first and chiefly tocare about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you thatvirtue is not given by money, but that from virtue come moneyand every other good of man, public as well as private. Thisis my teaching; and if this is the doctrine which corrupts theyouth, my influence is ruinous indeed. But if anyone says thatthis is not my teaching, he is speaking an untruth. Wherefore, O men of Athens, I say to you, do as Anytus bids or not as Anytusbids, and either acquit me or not; but whatever you do, knowthat I shall never alter my ways, not even if I have to die manytimes. "

Socrates next refers to the indignation that he may have occasionedbecause he has not wept, begged, and entreated for his life, and has not brought forward his children and relatives to pleadfor him, as others would have done on so serious an occasion. He says that he has relatives, and three children; but he declaresthat not one of them shall appear in court for any such purpose--not from any insolent disposition on his part, but because hebelieves that such a course would be degrading to the reputationwhich he enjoys, as well as a disgrace to the state. He thencloses his defence as follows:

"But, setting aside the question of dishonor, there seems tobe something wrong in petitioning a judge, and thus procuringan acquittal, instead of informing and convincing him. For hisduty is not to make a present of justice, but to give judgment;and he has Sworn that he will adjudge according to the law, andnot according to his own good pleasure; and neither he nor weshould get into the habit of perjuring ourselves--there can beno piety in that. Do not, then, require me to do what I considerdishonorable, and impious, and wrong, especially now, when Iam being tried for impiety. For if, O men of Athens, by forceof persuasion and entreaty, I could overpower your oaths, thenI should be teaching you to believe that there are no gods, andconvict myself, in my own defence, of not believing in them. But that is not the case; for I do believe that there are gods, and in a far higher sense than that in which any of my accusersbelieve in them. And to you and to God I commit my cause, tobe determined by you as is best for you and me. "

As he had expected, and as the tenor of his speech had assuredhis friends would be the case, Socrates was found guilty--but bya majority of only five or six in a body of over five hundred. He would make no proposition, as was his right, for a mitigationof punishment; and after sentence of death had been passed uponhim he spent the remaining thirty days of his life in impressingon the minds of his friends the most sublime lessons in philosophyand virtue. Many of these lessons have been preserved to us inthe works of Plato, in whose Phoe'do, which pictures the lasthours of the prison life of Socrates, we find a sublime conversationon the immortality of the soul. The following is an extract fromthis work:

Socrates' Views of a Future State. 

"When the dead arrive at the place to which their demon leadsthem severally, first of all they are judged, as well those whohave lived well and piously as those who have not. And thosewho appear to have passed a middle kind of life, proceeding toAch'eron, and embarking in the vessels they have, on these arriveat the lake, and there dwell; and when they are purified, andhave suffered punishment for the iniquities they may have committed, they are set free, and each receives the reward of his good deedsaccording to his deserts; but those who appear to be incurable, through the magnitude of their offences, either from havingcommitted many and great sacrileges, or many unjust and lawlessmurders, or other similar crimes, these a suitable destiny hurlsinto Tartarus, whence they never come forth. But those who appearto have been guilty of curable yet great offences, such as thosewho through anger have committed any violence against fatheror mother, and have lived the remainder of their life in a stateof penitence, or they who have become homicides in a similarmanner--these must, of necessity, fall into Tartarus; but afterthey have fallen, and have been there a year, the wave caststhem forth, the homicide into Cocy'tus, [Footnote: Co-cy'tus]but the parricides and matricides into Pyriphleg'ethon; [Footnote:Pyr-i-phlege-thon, "fire-blazing;" one of the rivers of hell]but when, being borne along, they arrive at the Acheru'sianlake, [Footnote: Ach'e-ron. Cocytus signifies the river of wailing;Pyriphlegethon, the river that burns with fire; Acheron, theriver of woe; and the Styx, another river of the lower world, the river of hatred. Thus Homer, in describing "Pluto's murkyabode, " says:

 There, into Acheron runs not alone Dread Pyriphlegethon, but Cocytus loud, From Styx derived; there also stands a rock, At whose broad base the roaring rivers meet. Odyssey. B. X. ]there they cry out to and invoke, some, those whom they slew, others, those whom they injured; and, invoking them, they entreatand implore them to suffer them to go out into the lake and toreceive them; and if they persuade them, they go out, and arefreed from their sufferings; but if not, they are borne backto Tartarus, and thence again to the rivers, and they do notcease from suffering this until they have persuaded those whomthey have injured--for this sentence was imposed on them by thejudges. But those who are found to have lived an eminently holylife--these are they who, being freed and set at large from theseregions in the earth as from a prison--arrive at the pure abodeabove, and dwell on the upper parts of the earth. And among these, those who have sufficiently purified themselves by philosophyshall live without bodies throughout all future time, and shallarrive at habitations yet more beautiful than these, which itis neither easy to describe, nor at present is there sufficienttime for the purpose. 

"For the sake of these things which we have described we shoulduse every endeavor to acquire virtue and wisdom in this life, for the reward is noble and the hope great. To affirm positively, however, that these things are exactly as I have described them, does not become a man of sense; but that either this, or somethingof the kind, takes place with respect to our souls and theirhabitations--since our soul is certainly immortal--appears tome most fitting to be believed, and worthy the hazard for onewho trusts in its reality; for the hazard is noble, and it isright to allure ourselves with such things, as with enchantments;for which reason I have prolonged my story to such length. Onaccount of these things, then, a man ought to be confident abouthis soul, who during this life has disregarded all the pleasuresand ornaments of the body as foreign from his nature, and who, having thought that they do more harm than good, has zealouslyapplied himself to the acquirement of knowledge, and who, havingadorned his soul not with a foreign but with its own properornaments--temperance, justice, fortitude, freedom, and truth--thus waits for his passage to Hades as one who is ready to departwhenever destiny shall summon him. "

After some farther conversation with his friends respecting thedisposition to be made of his body, and having said farewellto his family, Socrates drank the fatal hemlock with as muchcomposure as if it had been the last draught at a cheerful banquet, and quietly laid himself down and died. "Thus perished, " saysDR. SMITH, "the greatest and most original of Grecian philosophers, whose uninspired wisdom made the nearest approach to the divinemorality of the Gospel. " As observed by PROFESSOR TYLER of AmherstCollege, "The consciousness of a divine mission was the leadingtrait in his character and the main secret of his power. Thisdirected his conversations, shaped his philosophy, imbued hisvery person, and controlled his life. This was the power thatsustained him in view of approaching death, inspired him withmore that human fortitude in his last days, and invested hisdying words with a moral grandeur that 'has less of earth init than heaven. '" [Footnote: Preface to "Plato's Apology and Crito. "]There was a more special and personal influence, however, towhich Socrates deemed himself subject through life, and whichprobably moved him to view death with such calmness. 

With all his practical wisdom, the great philosopher was notfree from the control of superstitious fancies. He not only alwaysgave careful heed to divinations, dreams, and oracular intimations, but he believed that he was warned and restrained, from childhood, by a familiar spirit, or demon, which he was accustomed to speakof familiarly and to obey implicitly. A writer, in alluding tothis subject, says: "There is no more curious chapter in Grecianbiography than the story of Socrates and his familiar demon, which, sometimes unseen, and at other times, as he asserted, assuming human shape, acted as his mentor; which preserved hislife after the disastrous battle of De'lium, by pointing outto him the only secure line of retreat, while the lives of hisfriends, who disregarded his entreaties to accompany him, weresacrificed; and which, again, when the crisis of his fateapproached, twice dissuaded him from defending himself beforehis accusers, and in the end encouraged him to quaff the poisonedcup presented to his lips by an ungrateful people. "

ART. 

Having briefly traced the history of Grecian literature in itsbest period, it remains to notice some of the monuments of art, "with which, " as ALISON says, "the Athenians have overspreadthe world, and which still form the standard of taste in everycivilized nation on earth. "

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I. SCULPTURE AND PAINTING. 

Grecian sculpture, as we have seen, had attained nearly the summitof its perfection at the commencement of the Persian wars. Amongthose who now gave to it a wider range may be mentioned Pythagoras, of Rhegium, and Myron, a native of Eleu'theræ. The former executedworks in bronze representing contests of heroes and athletes;but he was excelled in this field by Myron, who was alsodistinguished for his representations of animals. The energiesof sculpture, however, were to be still more directly concentratedand perfected in a new school. That school was at Athens, andits master was Phid'ias, an Athenian painter, sculptor, andarchitect, who flourished about 460 B. C. "At this point, " observesLÜBKE, [Footnote: "Outlines of the History of Art, " by WilhelmLübke; Clarence Cook's edition. ] "begins the period of thatwonderful elevation of Hellenic life which was ushered in bythe glorious victory over the Persians. Now, for the first time, the national Hellenic mind rose to the highest consciousnessof noble independence and dignity. Athens concentrated withinherself, as in a focus, the whole exuberance and many-sidednessof Greek life, and glorified it into beautiful unity. Now, forthe first time, the deepest thoughts of the Hellenic mind wereembodied in sculpture, and the figures of the gods rose to thatsolemn sublimity in which art embodied the idea of divinity inpurely human form. This victory of the new time over the oldwas effected by the power of Phidias, one of the most wonderfulartist-minds of all time. "

Phidias was intrusted by Pericles with the superintendence ofthe public works erected or adorned by that lavish ruler, andhis own hands added to them their most valuable ornaments. Butbefore he was called to this employment his statues had adornedthe most celebrated temples of Greece. "These inimitable works, "says GILLIES, [Footnote: Gillies's "History of Ancient Greece, "p. 178. ] "silenced the voice of envy; and the most distinguishedartists of Greece--sculptors, painters, and architects--wereambitious to receive the directions, and to second the laborsof Phidias, which were uninterruptedly employed, during fifteenyears, in the embellishment of his native city. " The chiefcharacteristic of Phidias was ideal beauty of the sublimest orderin the representation of divinities and their worship; and hesubstituted ivory for marble in those parts of statues that wereuncovered, such as the face, hands, and feet, while for the coveredportion he substituted solid gold in place of wood concealedwith real drapery. The style and character of his work are welldescribed by LÜBKE, as follows:

"That Phidias especially excelled in creating images of the gods, and that he preferred, as subjects for his art, those among thedivinities the essence of whose nature was spiritual majesty, marks the fundamental characteristic of his art, and explainsits superiority, not only to all that had been produced beforehis time, but to all that was contemporary with him, and to allthat came after him. Possessed of that unsurpassable masterlypower in the representation of the physical form to which Greekart, shortly before his time, had attained by unceasing endeavor, his lofty genius was called upon to apply these results to theembodiment of the highest ideas, and thus to invest art withthe character of sublimity, as well as with the attributes ofperfect beauty. Hence it is said of him, that he alone had seenimages of the gods, and he alone had made them visible to others. Even in the story that, in emulation with other masters, he madean Amazon, and was defeated in the contest by his greatcontemporary Polycle'tus, we see a confirmation of the idealtendency of his art. But that his works realized the highestconceptions of the people, and embodied the ideal of the Hellenicconception of the divinity, is proved by the universal admirationof the ancient world. This sublimity of conception was combinedin him with an inexhaustible exuberance of creative fancy, anincomparable care in the completion of his work, and a masterlypower in overcoming every difficulty, both in the technicalexecution and in the material. "

Probably the first important work executed by Phidias at Athenswas the colossal bronze image of Minerva, which stood on theAcropolis. It was nearly seventy feet in height, and was visibletwenty miles out at sea. It was erected by the Athenians, inmemory of their victory over the Persians, with the spoils ofMarathon. A smaller bronze statue, on the same model, was alsoerected on the Acropolis. But the greatest of the works of Phidiasat Athens was the ivory and gold statue of Minerva in the Parthenon, erected with the booty taken at Salamis. It was forty feet high, representing the goddess, "not with her shield raised as thevigorous champion of her people, but as a peaceful, protecting, and victory-giving divinity. " Phidias was now called to Elis, and there he executed his crowning work, the gold and ivory statueof Jupiter at Olympia. "The father of the gods and of men wasseated on a splendid throne in the cella of his Olympic temple, his head encircled with a golden olive-wreath; in his right handhe held Nikè, who bore a fillet of victory in her hands and agolden wreath on her head; in his left hand rested therichly-decorated sceptre. " The throne was adorned with gold andprecious stones, and on it were represented many celebrated scenes. "From this immeasurable exuberance of figures, " says LÜBKE, "rosethe form of the highest Hellenic divinity, grand and solemn andwonderful in majesty. Phidias had represented him as the kindlyfather of gods and men, and also as the mighty ruler in Olympus. As he conceived his subject he must have had in his mind thoselines of Homer, in which Jupiter graciously grants the requestof Thetis:

 'As thus he spake, the son of Saturn gave The nod with his dark brows. The ambrosial curls Upon the sovereign one's immortal head Were shaken, and with them the mighty Mount Olympus trembled. '" [Footnote: Iliad, I. , 528-580. Bryant's translation. ]

While the art of painting was early developed in Greece, certainlyas far back as 718 B. C. , the first painter of renown wasPolygno'tus, of Tha'sos, who went to Athens about 463 B. C. , andestablished there what was called "the Athenian school" of painting. Aristotle called him "the painter of character, " as he was thefirst to give variety to the expression of the countenance, andease and grace to the outlines of figures or the flow of drapery. He painted many battle scenes, and with his contemporaries, Diony'sius of Col'oplon, Mi'con, and others, he embellished manyof the public buildings in Athens, and notably the Temple ofTheseus, with representations of figures similar to those ofthe sculptor. About 404 B. C. Painting reached a farther degreeof excellence in the hands of Apollodo'rus, a native of Athens, who developed the principles of light and shade and gave to theart a more dramatic range. Of this school Zeux'is, Parrha'sius, and Timan'thes became the chief masters. 

PARRHASIUS. 

Of the artists of this period it has been asserted by someauthorities that Parrhasius was the most celebrated, as he issaid to have "raised the art of painting to perfection in allthat is exalted and essential;" uniting in his works "the classicinvention of Polygnotus, the magic tone of Apollodorus, and theexquisite design of Zeuxis. " He was a native of Ephesus, butbecame a citizen of Athens, where he won many victories overhis contemporaries. One of these is recorded by Pliny as havingbeen achieved in a public contest with Zeuxis. The latter displayeda painting of some grapes, which were so natural as to deceivethe birds, that came and pecked at them. Zeuxis then requestedthat the curtain which was supposed to screen the picture ofParrhasius be withdrawn, when it was found that the paintingof Parrhasius was merely the representation of a curtain thrownover a picture-frame. The award of merit was therefore givento Parrhasius, on the ground that while Zeuxis had deceived thebirds, Parrhasius had deceived Zeuxis himself. 

The Roman philosopher Seneca also tells a story of Parrhasiusas follows: While engaged in making a painting of "PrometheusBound, " he took an old Olynthian captive and put him to the torture, that he might catch, and transfer to canvas, the natural expressionof the most terrible of mortal sufferings. This story, we mayhope, is a fiction; but the incident is often alluded to by thepoets, and the American poet WILLIS has painted the alleged scenein lines scarcely less terrible in their coloring than thosepallid hues of death-like agony which we may suppose thepainter-artist to have employed. 

 Parrhasius and his Captive. 

 Parrhasius stood gazing forgetfully Upon his canvas. There Prometheus lay, Chained to the cold rocks of Mount Cau'casus-- The vulture at his vitals, and the links Of the lame Lemnian festering in his flesh; [Footnote: Vulcan; the Olympian artist, who, when hurled from heaven, fell upon the Island of Lemnos, in the Ægean. He forged the chain with which Prometheus was bound. ] And, as the painter's mind felt through the dim, Rapt mystery, and plucked the shadows forth With its far-reaching fancy, and with form And color clad them, his fine, earnest eye Flashed with a passionate fire; and the quick curl Of his thin nostril, and his quivering lip, Were like the wing'd god's, breathing from his flight. [Footnote: The winged god Mercury. ]

 "Bring me the captive now! My bands feel skilful, and the shadows lift From my waked spirit airily and swift, And I could paint the bow. Upon the bended heavens, around me play Colors of such divinity to-day. 

 "Ha! bind him on his back! Look! as Prometheus in my picture here! Quick, or he faints! stand with the cordial near! Now--bend him to the rack! Press down the poisoned links into his flesh, And tear agape that healing wound afresh!

 "So, let him writhe! How long Will he live thus? Quick, my good pencil, now! What a fine agony works upon his brow! Ha! gray-haired, and so strong! How fearfully he stifles that short moan! Gods! if I could but paint a dying groan!

 "'Pity' thee! So I do. I pity the dumb victim at the altar; But does the robed priest for his pity falter? I'd rack thee though I knew A thousand lives were perishing in thine! What were ten thousand to a fame like mine?

 "Yet there's a deathless name! A spirit that the smothering vault shall spurn, And like a steadfast planet mount and burn; And, though its crown of flame Consumed my brain to ashes as it shone, By all the fiery stars I'd bind it on!

 "Ay, though it bid me rifle My heart's last fount for its insatiate thirst; Though every life-strung nerve be maddened first; Though it should bid me stifle The yearning in my throat for my sweet child, And taunt its mother till my brain went wild--

 "All--I would do it all Sooner than die, like a dull worm, to rot-- Thrust foully into earth to be forgot! O heavens! but I appall Your heart, old man! Forgive--ha! on your lives Let him not faint!--rack him till he revives!

 "Vain--vain--give o'er. His eye Glazes apace. He does not feel you now; Stand back! I'll paint the death-dew on his brow. Gods I if he do not die But for one moment--one--till I eclipse Conception with the scorn of those calm lips!

 "Shivering! Hark! he mutters Brokenly now: that was a difficult breath-- Another? Wilt thou never come, O Death? Look how his temple flutters! Is his heart still? Aha! lift up his head! He shudders--gasps--Jove help him! So--he's dead!"

 * * * * *

 How like a mounting devil in the heart Rules the unreined ambition! Let it once But play the monarch, and its haughty brow Glows with a beauty that bewilders thought, And unthrones peace forever. Putting on The very pomp of Lucifer, it turns The heart to ashes, and with not a spring Left in the bosom for the spirit's lip, We look upon our splendor and forget The thirst of which we perish!

 * * * * *

II. ARCHITECTURE. 

 In Architecture, too, thy rank supreme! That art where most magnificent appears The little builder, man; by thee refined, And smiling high, to full perfection brought. --THOMSON. 

We have already referred, in general terms, to the monumentsof art for which the era of Athenian greatness was distinguished, and have stated that it was more particularly in the "Age ofPericles" that Athenian genius and enthusiasm found their fulldevelopment, in the erection or adornment of those miracles ofarchitecture that crowned the Athenian Acropolis or surroundedits base. The following eloquent description, from the pen ofBULWER, will convey a vivid idea of the magnitude and thebrilliancy of the labors performed for

The Adornment of Athens. 

"Then rapidly progressed those glorious fabrics which seemed, as Plutarch gracefully express it, endowed with the bloom of aperennial youth. Still the houses of private citizens remainedsimple and unadorned; still were the streets narrow and irregular;and, even centuries afterward, a stranger entering Athens wouldnot at first have recognized the claims of the mistress of Grecianart. But to the homeliness of her common thoroughfares and privatemansions the magnificence of her public edifices now made adazzling contrast. The Acropolis, that towered above the homesand thoroughfares of men--a spot too sacred for human habitation--became, to use a proverbial phrase, 'a city of the gods. ' Thecitizen was everywhere to be reminded of the majesty of the state--his patriotism was to be increased by the pride in her beauty--his taste to be elevated by the spectacle of her splendor. 

"Thus flocked to Athens all who throughout Greece were eminentin art. Sculptors and architects vied with one another in adorningthe young empress of the seas: then rose the masterpieces ofPhidias, of Callic'rates, of Mnesicles, which, either in theirbroken remains, or in the feeble copies of imitators less inspired, still command so intense a wonder, and furnish models so immortal. And if, so to speak, their bones and relics excite our awe andenvy, as testifying of a lovelier and grander race, which thedeluge of time has swept away, what, in that day, must have beentheir brilliant effect, unmutilated in their fair proportions--fresh in all their lineaments and hues? For their beauty wasnot limited to the symmetry of arch and column, nor their materialsconfined to the marbles of Pentel'icus and Pa'ros. Even the exteriorof the temples glowed with the richest harmony of colors, andwas decorated with the purest gold: an atmosphere peculiarlyfavorable to the display and the preservation of art, permittedto external pediments and friezes all the minuteness of ornament--the brilliancy of colors, such as in the interior of Italianchurches may yet be seen--vitiated, in the last, by a gaudy andbarbarous taste. Nor did the Athenians spare any cost upon theworks that were, like the tombs and tripods of their heroes, tobe the monuments of a nation to distant ages, and to transmitthe most irrefragable proof 'that the power of ancient Greecewas not an idle legend. '" [Footnote: "Athens: Its Rise and Fall, "pp. 256, 257. ]

1. THE ACROPOLIS AND ITS SPLENDORS. 

The Acropolis, the fortress of Athens, was the center of itsarchitectural splendor. It is a rocky height rising abruptlyout of the Attic plain, and was accessible only on the westernside, where stood the Propylæ'a, a magnificent structure of theDoric order, constructed under the direction of Pericles by thearchitect Mnesicles, and which served as the gate as well asthe defence of the Acropolis. But the latter's chief glory wasthe Parthenon, or Temple of Minerva, built in the time of Periclesby Icti'nus and Callic'rates, and which stood on the highestpoint, near the center. It was constructed entirely of the mostbeautiful white marble from Mount Pentelicus, and its dimensionswere two hundred and twenty-eight feet by one hundred and two--having eight Doric columns in each of the two fronts, andseventeen in each of the sides, and also an interior range ofsix columns in each end. The ceiling of the western part of themain building was supported by four interior columns, and ofthe eastern end by sixteen. The entire height of the buildingabove its platform was sixty-five feet. The whole was enrichedwithin and without with matchless works of art by various artistsunder the direction of Phidias--its chief wonder, however, beingthe gold and ivory statue of the Virgin Goddess, the work ofPhidias himself, elsewhere described. 

This magnificent structure remained entire until the year 1687, when, during a siege of Athens by the Venetians, a bomb fellon the devoted Parthenon, and, setting fire to the powder thatthe Turks had stored there, entirely destroyed the roof and reducedthe whole building almost to ruins. The eight columns of theeastern front, however, and several of the lateral colonnades, are still standing; and the whole, dilapidated as it is, retainsan air of inexpressible grandeur and sublimity. 

 The Parthenon. 

 Fair Parthenon! yet still must fancy weep For thee, thou work of nobler spirits flown. Bright as of old the sunbeams o'er thee sleep In all their beauty still--and thine is gone! Empires have sunk since thou wast first revered, And varying rites have sanctified thy shrine. The dust is round thee of the race that reared Thy walls, and thou--their fate must still be thine! But when shall earth again exult to see Visions divine like theirs renewed in aught like thee?

 Lone are thy pillars now--each passing gale Sighs o'er them as a spirit's voice, which moaned That loneliness, and told the plaintive tale Of the bright synod once above them throned. Mourn, graceful ruin! on thy sacred hill Thy gods, thy rites, a kindred fate have shared: Yet art thou honored in each fragment still That wasting years and barbarous hands have spared; Each hallowed stone, from rapine's fury borne, Shall wake bright dreams of thee in ages yet unborn. 

 Yes; in those fragments, though by time defaced, And rude, insensate conquerors, yet remains All that may charm th' enlightened eye of taste, On shores where still inspiring freedom reigns. As vital fragrance breathes from every part Of the crushed myrtle, or the bruised rose, E'en thus th' essential energy of art There in each wreck imperishably glows! The soul of Athens lives in every line, Pervading brightly still the ruins of her shrine. --MRS. HEMANS. 

North of the Parthenon stood the Erechthe'um, an irregular butbeautiful structure of the Ionic order, dedicated to the worshipof Neptune and Minerva. Considerable remains of it are stillstanding. In addition to the great edifices of the Acropolisreferred to, which were adorned with the most finished paintingsand sculptures, the entire platform of the hill appears to havebeen covered with a vast composition of architecture and sculpture, consisting of temples, monuments, and statues of gods and heroes. The whole Acropolis was at once the fortress, the sacred enclosure, and the treasury of the Athenian people--forming the noblest museumof sculpture, the richest gallery of painting, and the best schoolof architecture in the world. 

2. OTHER ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS OF ATHENS. 

Beneath the southern wall of the Acropolis was the Theatre ofBacchus, capable of seating thirty thousand persons, and theseats of which, rising one above another, were cut out of thesloping rock. Adjoining this on the east was the Ode'um, a smallercovered theatre, built by Pericles, and so constructed as toimitate the form of Xerxes's tent. On the north-east side wasthe Prytane'um, where were many statues, and where citizens whohad rendered service to the state were maintained at the publicexpense. A short distance to the north-west of the Acropolis, and separated from it only by some hollow ground, was the smalleminence called Areop'agus, or Hill of Mars, at the easternextremity of which was situated the celebrated court of Areopagus. About a quarter of a mile south-west stood the Pnyx, the placewhere the public assemblies of Athens were held in its palmydays, and a spot that will ever be associated with the renownof Demosthenes and other famed orators. The steps by which thespeaker mounted the rostrum, and a tier of three seats for theaudience, hewn in the solid rock, are still visible. 

The only other monument of art to which we shall refer in thisconnection is the celebrated Temple of Theseus, built of marbleby Cimon as a resting-place for the bones of the distinguishedhero. [Footnote: Cimon conquered the island of Scy'ros, the hauntof pirates, and brought thence to Athens what were supposed tobe the bones of Theseus. ] It is of the Doric order, one hundredand four feet by forty-five, and surrounded by columns, of whichthere are six at each front and thirteen at the sides. The roof, friezes, and cornices of this temple have been but little impairedby time, and the whole is one of the most noble remains of theancient magnificence of Athens, and the most nearly perfect, if not the most beautiful, existing specimen of Grecianarchitecture. 

 The Temple of Theseus. 

 Here let us pause, e'en at the vestibule Of Theseus' fame. With what stern majesty It rears its ponderous and eternal strength, Still perfect, still unchanged, as on the day When the assembled throng of multitudes With shouts proclaimed the accomplished work, and fell Prostrate upon their faces to adore Its marble splendor!

 How the golden gleam Of noonday floats upon its graceful form, Tinging each grooved shaft, and storied frieze, And Doric triglyph! How the rays amid The opening columns, glanced from point to point, Stream down the gloom of the long portico!

 * * * * *

 How the long pediment, Embrowned with shadows, frowns above, and spreads Solemnity and reverential awe!

 Proud monument of old magnificence! Still thou survivest; nor has envious Time Impaired thy beauty, save that it has spread A deeper tint, and dimmed the polished glare Of thy refulgent whiteness. --HAYGARTH. 

So much for some of the architectural wonders of Athens. As BULWERsays, "It was the great characteristic of these works that theywere entirely the creation of the people. Without the peoplePericles could not have built a temple nor engaged a sculptor. The miracles of that day resulted from the enthusiasm of apopulation yet young--full of the first ardor for the beautiful--dedicating to the state, as to a mistress, the trophies honorablywon, or the treasures injuriously extorted, and uniting theresources of a nation with the energy of an individual, becausethe toil, the cost, were borne by those who succeeded to theenjoyment and arrogated the glory. " TALFOURD, in his AthenianCaptive, calls all that went to make up Athens in the days ofher glory

 An opening world, Diviner than the soul of man hath yet Been gifted to imagine--truths serene Made visible in beauty, that shall glow In everlasting freshness, unapproached By mortal passion, pure amid the blood And dust of conquests, never waxing old, But on the stream of time, from age to age, Casting bright images of heavenly youth To make the world less mournful. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE SPARTAN AND THEBAN SUPREMACIES. 

I. THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS, AND THE RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND. 

The aid given by Cyrus the Persian to Sparta in her contest withAthens, as related in a preceding chapter, was bestowed withthe understanding that Sparta should give him her assistanceagainst his elder brother, Artaxerxes Mne'mon, should he everrequire it. Accordingly, when the latter succeeded to the Persianthrone, on the death of his father, Cyrus, still governor ofthe maritime region of Asia Minor, prepared to usurp his brother'sregal power. For this purpose he raised an army of one hundredthousand Persians, which he strengthened with an auxiliary forceof thirteen thousand Greeks, drawn principally from the citiesof Asia under the dominion of Sparta. On the Grecian force, commanded by Cle-ar'chus, a Spartan, Cyrus placed his main reliancefor success. 

With these forces Cyrus marched from Sardis, in the spring of401, to within seventy miles of Babylon without the leastopposition. Here, however, he was met by Artaxerxes, it the headof nine hundred thousand men. This immense force was at firstdriven back; but in the conflict that ensued Cyrus rashly chargedthe guards that surrounded his brother, and was slain. His Persiantroops immediately fled, leaving the Greeks almost alone, inthe presence of an immense hostile force, and more than a thousandmiles from any friendly territory. The victorious enemy proposedto the Grecians terms of accommodation, but, having invitedClearchus and other leaders to a conference, they treacherouslyput them to death. No alternative now remained to the Greeksbut to submit to the Persians or fight their way back to theirown land. They bravely chose the latter course--and, selectingXenophon, a young Athenian, for their leader, after a four months'march, attended with great suffering and almost constant battlingwith brave and warlike tribes, ten thousand of their numbersucceeded in reaching the Grecian settlements on the Black Sea. Proclaiming their joy by loud shouts of "The sea! the sea!" TheGreek heroes gave vent to their exultation in tears and mutualembraces. 

 Hence, through the continent, ten thousand Greeks Urged a retreat, whose glory not the prime Of victories can reach. Deserts in vain Opposed their course; and hostile lands, unknown; And deep, rapacious floods, dire banked with death; And mountains, in whose jaws destruction grinned; Hunger and toil; Armenian snows and storms; And circling myriads still of barbarous foes. Greece in their view, and glory yet untouched, Their steady column pierced the scattering herds Which a whole empire poured; and held its way Triumphant, by the sage, exalted chief Fired and sustained. 

 O light, and force of mind, Almost mighty in severe extremes! The sea at last from Colchian mountains seen, Kind-hearted transport round their captains threw The soldiers' fond embrace; o'erflowed their eyes With tender floods, and loosed the general voice To cries resounding loud--"The sea! the sea!" --THOMSON. 

Xenophon, who afterward became an historian of his country, hasleft an admirable narrative of this expedition, and "The Retreatof the Ten Thousand, " in his Anab'asis, written with greatclearness and singular modesty. Referring to the expedition, andto the historian's account of it, DR. CURTIUS makes the followinginteresting observations:

"Although this military expedition possesses no immediatesignificance for political history, yet it is of high importance, not only for our knowledge of the East, but also for that ofthe Greek character; and the accurate description which we oweto Xenophon is, therefore, one of the most valuable documentsof antiquity. We see a band of Greeks of the most various origin, torn out of all their ordinary spheres of life, in a strangequarter of the globe, in a long complication of incessantmovements, and of situations ever-varying and full of peril, inwhich the real nature of these men could not but display itselfwith the most perfect truthfulness. This army is a typical chart, in many colors, of the Greek population--a picture, on a smallscale, of the whole people, with all its virtues and faults, its qualities of strength and of weakness--a wandering politicalcommunity, which, according to home usage, holds its assembliesand passes its resolutions, and at the same time a wild and noteasily manageable band of free-lances. They are men in full measureagitated by the unquiet spirit of the times, which had destroyedin them their affection for their native land; and yet how closelythey cling to its most ancient traditions! Visions in dream andomens, sent by the gods, decide the most important resolutions, just as in the Homeric camp before Troy: most assiduously thesacrifices are lit, the pæans sung, altars erected, and gamescelebrated, in honor of the savior gods, when at last the aspectof the longed-for sea animates afresh their vigor and their courage. 

"This multitude has been brought together by love of lucre andquest of adventure; and yet in the critical moment there manifestthemselves a lively sense of honor and duty, a lofty heroic spirit, and a sure tact in perceiving what counsels are the best. Here, too, is visible the mutual jealousy existing among the severaltribes of the nation; but the feeling of their belonging together, the consciousness of national unity, prevail over all; and thegreat mass is capable of sufficient good-sense and self-denialto subordinate itself to those who, by experience, intelligence, and moral courage, attest themselves as fitted for command. Andhow very remarkable it is that in this mixed multitude of Greeksit is an Athenian who by his qualities towers above all the rest, and becomes the real preserver of the entire army! Xenophon hadonly accompanied the army as a volunteer; yet it was he who, obeying an inner call, re-awakened a higher, a Hellenicconsciousness, courage, and prudence among his comrades, andwho brought about the first salutary resolutions. Possessingthe Athenian superiority of culture which enabled him to servethese warriors as spokesman, negotiator, and general, to himit was essentially due that, in spite of unspeakable trials, they finally reached the coast. " [Footnote: "History of Greece, "vol. Iv. , pp. 191, 192. ]

 * * * * *

II. THE SUPREMACY OF SPARTA. 

On the fall of Athens, Sparta became the mistress of Greece. Her power and his own wealth induced Lysander to appear againin public life. He first attempted to overthrow the two regalfamilies of Sparta, and, by making the crown an elective office, secure his own accession to it. But he failed in this, although, on the death of A'gis, King of Sparta, he succeeded in settingaside Leo-tych'i-des, the son and rightful successor of Agis, and giving the office to Agesila'us, the late king's brother. The government of Sparta now became far more oppressive thanthat of Athens had been, and it was not long before some of theGrecian states under her sway united in a league against her. 

The part which the Greek cities of Asia took in the expeditionof Cyrus involved them in a war with Persia, in which they wereaided by the Spartans. Agesila'us entered Asia with a considerableforce (396 B. C. ), and in the following year he defeated the Persiansin a great battle on the plains of Sardis, in Lydia. But in 394the Spartan king was called home to avert the dangers whichthreatened his country in a war that had been fomented by thePersian king in order to save his dominions from the ravagesof the Spartans. The King of Persia had supplied Athens witha fleet which defeated the Spartan navy at Cni'dus, and Persiangold rebuilt the walls of Athens. A battle soon followed betweenthe Spartans on one side and the Thebans and Athenians on theother, in which the former were defeated and Lysander was slain. On the other hand, Athens and her allies were defeated, in thesame year, in the vicinity of Corinth, and on the plains ofCorone'a. Finally, after the war had continued eight years, andSparta had virtually lost her maritime power, the peace ofAntal'cidas, as it is called, was concluded with Persia, at theinstance of Sparta, and was ratified by all the states engagedin the contest (387 B. C. ). 

By the treaty with Persia, Athens regained three of the islandsshe had been obliged to relinquish to Sparta under Lysander;but the Greek cities in Asia were given up to Persia, and bothAthens and Sparta lost their former allies. It was the unworthyjealousy of the Grecians, which the Persian king knew how tostimulate, that prompted them to give up to a barbarian the freecities of Asia; and this is the darkest shade in the picture. Though Sparta was the most strongly in favor of the terms ofthe treaty, yet Athens was the greatest gainer, for she oncemore became an independent and powerful state. 

It was not long before ambition, and the resentment of pastinjuries, involved Sparta in new wars. When her thirty years'truce with Mantine'a had expired, she compelled that city, whichhad formerly been an unwilling ally, to throw down her walls, and dismember her territory into the four or five villages outof which it had been formed. Each of these divisions was nowleft unfortified, and placed under a separate oligarchicalgovernment. Sparta did this under the pretext that theMantine'ans had supplied one of her enemies with provisionsduring the preceding war, and had evaded their share of servicein the Spartan army. The jealousy of Sparta was next arousedagainst the rising power of Olynthus, a powerful confederacyin the south-eastern part of Macedonia, which had become engagedin hostilities with some rival cities; and the Spartans readilyaccepted an invitation of one of the latter to send an army toits aid. 

The expedition against Olynthus led to an affair of much importance. As one of the divisions of the Spartan army was marching throughthe Theban territories it turned aside, and the Spartan generaltreacherously seized upon the Cadme'a, or Theban citadel, althougha state of peace existed between Thebes and Sparta (382 B. C. ). The political morality of Sparta is clearly exhibited in thearguments by which the Spartan king justified this palpable andtreacherous breach of the treaty of Antal'cidas. He declaredthat the only question for the Spartan people to consider was, whether they were gainers or losers by the transaction. Theassertion made by the Athenians on a prior occasion was confirmed--that, "of all states, Sparta had most glaringly shown by herconduct that in her political transactions she measured honorby inclination, and justice by expediency. "

On the seizure of the Theban citadel the most patriotic of thecitizens fled to Athens, while a faction upheld by a Spartangarrison ruled the place. Thebes now became a member of theSpartan alliance, and furnished a force for the war againstOlynthus. After a struggle of four years Olynthus capitulated, the Olynthian Confederacy was thereby dissolved, and the citiesbelonging to it were compelled to join the Spartan alliance. As a modern historian observes, "Sparta thus inflicted a greatblow upon Hellas; for the Olynthian Confederacy might have servedas a counterpoise to the growing power of Macedon, destined soonto overwhelm the rest of Greece. " The power of Sparta had nowattained its greatest height, but, as she was leagued on allsides with the enemies of Grecian freedom, her unpopularity wasgreat, and her supremacy was doomed to a rapid decline. 

 * * * * *

III. THE RISE AND FALL OF THEBES. 

Thebes had been nearly four years in the hands of the Spartanswhen a few determined residents of the city rose against theirtyrants, and, aided by the exiles who had taken refuge at Athens, and by some Athenian volunteers, they compelled the Spartangarrison to capitulate (379 B. C. ). At the head of the revolutionwere two Theban citizens, Pelop'idas and Epaminon'das, youngmen of noble birth and fortune, already distinguished for theirpatriotism and private virtues. They are characterized by thepoet THOMSON, as

 Equal to the best; the Theban Pair Whose virtues, in heroic concord joined, Their country raised to freedom, empire, fame. 

By their abilities they raised Thebes, hitherto of but littlepolitical importance, to the first rank in power among the Grecianstates. They have been thus described by the historian CURTIUS:"Pelopidas was the heroic champion and pioneer who, like Miltiadesand Cimon, with full energy accomplished the tasks immediatelyat hand; while Epaminondas was a statesman whose glance took awider range, who organized the state at home, and establishedits foreign relations upon a thoroughly thought-out plan. Hecreated the bases of the power of Thebes, as Themistocles andAristides had those of the power of Athens; and he maintainedthem, so long as he lived, by the vigor of his mind, like anotherPericles. And, indeed, it would be difficult to find in the entirecourse of Greek history any other two great statesmen who, inspite of differences of character and of outward conditions oflife, resembled each other so greatly, and were, as men, so trulythe peers of each other, as Pericles and Epaminondas. "

The successes of Thebes revived the jealousy and distrust of Athens, which concluded a peace with Sparta, and subsequently formedan alliance with her. But the Thebans continued to be successful, and at Teg'yra Pelopidas defeated a greatly superior force andkilled the two Spartan generals; while at Leuc'tra Epaminondas, with a force of six thousand Thebans, defeated the Lacedæmonianarmy of more than double that number (371 B. C. ). Leuctra hasbeen called "the Marathon of the Thebans, " as their defensivewar was turned by it into a war of conquest. Aided now by theArca'dians, Ar'gives, and E'leans, Epaminondas invaded Laconia, appearing before the gates of Sparta, where a hostile force hadnot been seen in five hundred years; but he made no attempt uponthe city, and, after laying waste with fire and sword the valleyof the Euro'tas, he retraced his steps to the frontiers of Arcadia. Another expedition was undertaken against the Peloponnesus in367 B. C. , and the cities of Achaia immediately submitted, becomingthe allies of Thebes. In 362 the Peloponnesus was invaded forthe last time, and at Mantinea Epaminondas defeated the Spartansin the most sanguinary contest ever fought among Grecians; but hefell in the moment of victory, and the glory of Thebes departedwith him. Before his death, having been told that those whomhe intended to be his successors in command had been slain, hedirected the Thebans to make peace. His advice was followed, anda general peace was soon after established, on the conditionthat each state should retain its respective possessions. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

THE SICILIAN GREEKS. 

Before proceeding to the history of the downfall of Greece, andher subjugation by a foreign power--a result that soon followedthe events just narrated--we turn aside to notice the affairs ofthe Sicilian Greeks, as more especially presented in the historyof Syracuse, in all respects the strongest and most prominentof the Sicilian cities. 

HIERO. 

On the death of Ge'lon, despot of Syracuse, a year after thebattle of Him'era, the government fell into the hands of hisbrother Hi'ero, a man of great energy and determination. Hefounded the city of Ætna, of which PINDAR says:

 That city, founded strong In liberty divine, Measured by the Spartan line, Has Hiero 'stablish'd for his heritage; To whose firm-planted colony belong Their mother-country's laws, From many a distant age. 

He also added many cities to his government, and his power wasnot inferior to that of Gelon. The city of Cu'mæ, on the Italiancoast, being harassed by the Carthaginians, the aid of Hiero wassolicited by its citizens, and he sent a fleet which severelydefeated and almost destroyed the squadron of their enemies. Says PINDAR of this event:

 That leader of the Syracusan host, With gallies swiftly-rushing, them pursued; And they his onset rued, When on the Cuman coast He dashed their youth in gulfy waves below, And rescued Greece from heavy servitude. 

Hiero was likewise a liberal patron of literature and the arts, inviting to his court many of the eminent poets and philosophersof his time, including Pindar, Simon'ides, Epichar'mus, Æs'chylus, and others; but his many great and noble qualities were alloyedby insatiable cupidity and ambition, and he became noted for"his cruel and rapacious government, and as the organizer ofthat systematic espionage which broke up all freedom of speechamong his subjects. " Although the eminent men who visited hiscourt have much to say in praise of Hiero, Pindar, especially, wastoo honest and independent to ignore his faults. As GROTE says, "Pindar's indirect admonitions and hints sufficiently attest thereal character of Hiero. " Of these, the following lines from thePythian ode may be taken as a sample:

 The lightest word that falls from thee, O King! Becomes a mighty and momentous thing: O'er many placed as arbiter on high, Many thy goings watchful see. Thy ways on every side A host of faithful witnesses descry; Then let thy liberal temper be thy guide. If ever to thine ear Fame's softest whisper yet was dear, Stint not thy bounty's flowing tide: Stand at the helm of state; full to the gale Spread thy wind-gathering sail. Friend! let not plausive avarice spread Its lures, to tempt thee from the path of fame: For know, the glory of a name Follows the mighty dead. --Trans. By ELTON. 

Hiero was succeeded on his death, in 467 B. C. , by his brotherThrasybu'lus; but the latter's tyranny caused a popular revolt, and after being defeated in a battle with his subjects he wasexpelled from the country. His expulsion was followed by theextinction of the Gelonian dynasty at Syracuse, and the institutionof a popular government there and in other Sicilian cities. Thesefree governments, however, gave rise to internal revolts andwars that continued many months; and finally a general congressof the different cities was held, which succeeded in adjustingthe difficulties that had disturbed the peace of all Sicily. The various cities now became independent--though it is probablethat the governments of all of them continued to be more or lessdisturbed--and were soon distinguished for their material andintellectual prosperity. Syracuse maintained herself as the firstcity in power; and in this condition of prosperity the Siciliancities were found at the breaking out of the Peloponnesian war. 

DIONYESIUS THE ELDER. 

Of the Athenian league and expedition against Syracuse we havealready given some account. Soon after the termination of thiscontest the Constitution of Syracuse was rendered still moredemocratic by the adoption of a new code of laws, prepared byDi'ocles, an eminent citizen, who became the director of thegovernment. But the Carthaginians now again invaded Sicily, andestablished themselves over its entire western half. Takingadvantage of the popular alarm at these aggressions, and of theill success of Diocles and the Syracusan generals in opposingthem, Diony'sius the Elder, then a young man, of low birth, butbrave, determined, and talented, having been raised by popularfavor to the generalship of the Syracusan army, subsequentlymade himself despot of the city (405 B. C. ). Dionysius ruledvigorously, but with extreme tyranny, for thirty-eight years. By the year 384 he had extended his power over nearly all Sicilyand a part of Magna Grecia, and under his sway Syracuse becameone of the most powerful empires on earth. PLUTARCH relates thatDionysius boasted that he bequeathed to his son an empire "fastenedby chains of adamant. " Like Hiero, Dionysius was a lover ofliterature, and sought to gain distinction by his poeticalcompositions, some of which won prizes at Athens. He also invitedPlato to his court; but the philosopher's moral conversationswere distasteful to the tyrant, who finally sold him into slavery, from which he was redeemed by a friend. 

It was during the reign of Dionysius the Elder that occurredthat memorable incident in the lives of Damon and Pythias bywhich Dionysius himself is best remembered, and which has passedinto history as illustrative of the truest and noblest friendship. Damon and Pythias were distinguished Syracusans, and both werePythagore'ans. Pythias, a strong republican, having been seizedfor calling Dionysius a tyrant, and being condemned to deathfor attempting to stab him, requested a brief respite in orderto arrange his affairs, promising to procure a friend to takehis place and suffer death if he should not return. Damon gavehimself up as surety, and Pythias was allowed to depart. Justas Damon was about to be led to execution, Pythias, who had beendetained by unforeseen circumstances, returned to accept hisfate and save his friend. Dionysius was so struck by these proofsof virtue and magnanimity on the part of the two friends thathe set both of them free, and requested to be admitted into theirfriendship. The subject has been repeatedly dramatized, and hasformed the theme of numerous separate poems. Schiller has a balladon the subject; but he amplifies the incidents of the originalstory, and substitutes other names in place of Damon and Pythias. The following are the first three and the last three verses fromSCHILLER:

 The Hostage. 

 The tyrant Di'onys to seek, Stern Moe'rus with his poniard crept; The watchful guards upon him swept; The grim King marked his changeless cheek: "What wouldst thou with thy poniard? Speak!" "The city from the tyrant free!" "The death-cross shall thy guerdon be. "

 "I am prepared for death, nor pray, " Replied that haughty man, "to live; Enough if thou one grace wilt give: For three brief suns the death delay, To wed my sister--leagues away; I boast one friend whose life for mine, If I should fail the cross, is thine. "

 The tyrant mused, and smiled, and said, With gloomy craft, "So let it be; Three days I will vouchsafe to thee. But mark--if, when the time be sped, Thou fail'st, thy surety dies instead. 

 His life shall buy thine own release; Thy guilt atoned, my wrath shall cease. "

 * * * * *

 The sun sinks down--the gate's in view, The cross looms dismal on the ground-- The eager crowd gape murmuring round. His friend is bound the cross unto. Crowd--guards--all--bursts he through; "Me! Doomsman, me, " he shouts, "alone! His life is rescued--lo, mine own!"

 Amazement seized the circling ring! Linked in each other's arms the pair-- Weeping for joy, yet anguish there! Moist every eye that gazed: they bring The wondrous tidings to the King-- His breast man's heart at last hath known, And the Friends stand before his throne. 

 Long silent he, and wondering long, Gazed on the pair. "In peace depart, Victors, ye have subdued my heart! Truth is no dream! its power is strong. Give grace to him who owns his wrong! 'Tis mine your suppliant now to be: Ah, let the band of Love--be THREE!" --Trans. By BULWER. 

Dionysius the Younger succeeded to the government of Syracusein 367, but he was incompetent to the task; and his tyranny anddebauchery brought about his temporary overthrow, ten years later, by Dion, his father's brother-in-law. Dion had enjoyed unusualfavors under Dionysius the Elder, and was now a man of wealthand high position, as well as of great energy and marked mentalcapacities. For his talents he was largely indebted to Plato, under whose teachings he became imbued "with that sense ofregulated polity, and submission of individual will to fixedlaws, which floated in the atmosphere of Grecian talk andliterature, and stood so high in Grecian morality. " In one ofhis letters Plato says, "When I explained the principles ofphilosophy and humanity to Dion, I little thought that I wasinsensibly opening a way to the subversion of tyranny!"

Long before the death of Dionysius the Elder, Dion had conceivedthe idea of liberating Syracuse from despotism and establishingan improved constitutional policy, originated by himself; and, on becoming the chief adviser of the young Dionysius, he triedto convince the latter of the necessity of reforming himselfand his government. Although at first favorably impressed withthe plans of Dion, the young monarch subsequently became jealousof his adviser and expelled him from the country. Gathering afew troops from various quarters, Dion returned to Sicily tenyears after, and, aided by a revolt in Syracuse, he soon madehimself master of the city. Dionysius had meanwhile retired toOrtyg'ia, and soon left Sicily for Italy. But the success ofDion was short-lived. "Too good for a despot, and yet unfit fora popular leader, he could not remain long in the precariousposition he occupied. " Both his dictatorship and his life cameto an end in 354. He became the victim of a conspiracy originatingwith his most intimate friend, and was assassinated in his owndwelling. 

Dionysius soon after returned to Syracuse, from the governmentof which he was finally expelled by Timo'leon, a Corinthian, who had been sent from Corinth, at the request of some exiledSyracusans, to the relief of their native city (343 B. C. ). Timoleonmade himself master of the almost deserted Syracuse, restored itto some degree of its former glory, checked the aspiring powerof Carthage by defeating one of its largest armies, crushed thepetty despots of Sicily, and restored nearly the whole islandto a state of liberty and order. The restoration of liberty toSyracuse by Timoleon was followed by many years of unexampledprosperity. Having achieved the purpose with which he left Corinth, Timoleon at once resigned his command and became a private citizenof Syracuse. But he became the adviser of the Syracusans in theirgovernment, and the arbitrator of their differences, enjoyingto a good age "what Xenophon calls 'that good, not human, butdivine command over willing men, given manifestly to personsof genuine and highly-trained temperance of character. '"

HIERO II. 

In 317, Agath'ocles, a bold adventurer of Syracuse, usurped itsauthority by the murder of several thousand citizens, and fortwenty-eight years maintained his power, extending his dominionover a large portion of Sicily, and even gaining successes inAfrica. After his death, in 289, successive tyrants ruled, until, in 270, Hiero II. , a descendant of Gelon, and commander of theSyracusan army, obtained the supreme power. Meantime theCarthaginians had gained a decided ascendancy in Sicily, and in265 the Romans, alarmed by the movements of so powerful a neighbor, and being invited to Sicily to assist a portion of the peopleof Messa'na, commenced what is known in history as the firstPunic war. Hiero allied himself with the Carthaginians, and thecombined armies proceeded to lay siege to Messana; but they wereattacked and defeated by Ap'pius Clau'dius, the Roman consul, and Hiero, panic-stricken, fled to Syracuse. Seeing his territorylaid waste by the Romans, he prudently made a treaty with them, in 263. He remained their steadfast ally; and when the Romansbecame sole masters of Sicily they gave him the government ofa large part of the island. His administration was mild, yet firmand judicious, lasting in all fifty-four years. With him endedthe prosperity and independence of Syracuse. 

ARCHIME'DES. 

It was during the reign of Hiero II. That Archimedes, a nativeof Syracuse, and a supposed distant relation of the king, madethe scientific discoveries and inventions that have secured forhim the honor of being the most celebrated mathematician ofantiquity. He was equally skilled in astronomy, geometry, mechanics, hydrostatics, and optics. His discovery of the principle of specificgravity is related in the following well-known story: Hiero, suspecting that his golden crown had been fraudulently alloyedwith silver, put it into the hands of Archimedes for examination. The latter, entering a bath-tub one day, and noticing that hedisplaced a quantity of water equal in bulk to that of his body, saw that this discovery would give him a mode of determiningthe bulk and specific gravity of King Hiero's crown. Leapingout of the tub in his delight, he ran home, crying, "Eure'ka!eureka!" I have found it! I have found it!

To show Hiero the wonderful effects of mechanical power, Archimedesis said to have drawn some distance toward him, by the use ofropes and pulleys, a large galley that lay on the shore; andduring the siege of his native city by the Romans, his greatmechanical skill was displayed in the invention and manufactureof stupendous engines of defence. Later historians than Polybius, Livy, and Plutarch say that on this occasion, also, he burntmany Roman ships by concentrating upon them the sun's rays fromnumerous mirrors. SCHILLER gives the following poetic accountof a visit, to Archimedes, by a young scholar who asked to betaught the art that had won the great master's fame:

 To Archimedes once a scholar came: "Teach me;" he said, "the Art that won thy fame; The godlike Art which gives such boons to toil, And showers such fruit upon thy native soil; The godlike Art that girt the town when all Rome's vengeance burst in thunder on the wall!" "Thou call'st Art godlike--it is so, in truth, And was, " replied the master to the youth, "Ere yet its secrets were applied to use-- Ere yet it served beleaguered Syracuse. Ask'st thou from Art but what the Art is worth? The fruit? For fruit go cultivate the Earth. He who the goddess would aspire unto Must not the goddess as the woman woo!" --Trans. By BULWER. 

Among the discoveries of Archimedes was that of the ratio betweenthe cylinder and the inscribed sphere, and he requested his friendsto place the figures of a sphere and cylinder on his tomb. Thiswas done, and, one hundred and thirty-six years after, it enabledCicero, the Roman orator, to find the resting-place of theillustrious inventor. The story of his visit to Syracuse, and hissearch for the tomb of Archimedes, is told by the HON. R C. WINTHROPin a lecture entitled Archimedes and Franklin, from which we quoteas follows:

Visit of Cicero to the Grave of Archimedes. 

"While Cicero was quæstor in Sicily--the first public officewhich he ever held, and the only one to which he was then eligible, being but just thirty years old--he paid a visit to Syracuse, then among the greatest cities of the world. The magistratesof the city of course waited on him at once, to offer theirservices in showing him the lions of the place, and requestedhim to specify anything which he would like particularly to see. Doubtless they supposed that he would ask immediately to beconducted to some one of their magnificent temples, that he mightbehold and admire those splendid works of art with which--notwithstanding that Marcellus had made it his glory to carrynot a few of them away with him for the decoration of the ImperialCity--Syracuse still abounded, and which soon after tempted thecupidity, and fell a prey to the rapacity, of the infamous Verres. 

"Or, haply, they may have thought that he would be curious tosee and examine the Ear of Dionysius, as it was called--a hugecavern, cut out of the solid rock in the shape of a human ear, two hundred and fifty feet long and eighty feet high, in whichthat execrable tyrant confined all persons who came within therange of his suspicion, and which was so ingeniously contrivedand constructed that Dionysius, by applying his ear to a smallhole, where the sounds were collected as upon a tympanum, couldcatch every syllable that was uttered in the cavern below, andcould deal out his proscription and his vengeance accordinglyupon all who might dare to dispute his authority or to complainof his cruelty. Or they may have imagined, perhaps, that he wouldbe impatient to visit at once the sacred fountain of Arethusa;and the seat of those Sicilian Muses whom Virgil so soon afterinvoked in commencing that most inspired of all uninspiredcompositions, which Pope has so nobly paraphrased in his glowingand glorious Eclogue--the 'Messiah. '

"To their great astonishment, however, Cicero's first requestwas that they would take him to see the tomb of Archimedes. Tohis own still greater astonishment, as we may well believe, theytold him in reply that they knew nothing about the tomb ofArchimedes, and had no idea where it was to be found, and theyeven denied that any such tomb was still remaining among them. But Cicero understood perfectly well what he was talking about. He remembered the exact description of the tomb. He rememberedthe very verses which had been inscribed on it. He remembered thesphere and the cylinder which Archimedes had himself requestedto have wrought upon it, as the chosen emblems of his eventfullife. And the great orator forthwith resolved to make searchfor it himself. Accordingly, he rambled out into the place oftheir ancient sepulchres, and, after a careful investigation, hecame at last to a spot overgrown with shrubs and bushes, wherepresently he descried the top of a small column just rising abovethe branches. Upon this little column the sphere and the cylinderwere at length found carved, the inscription was painfullydeciphered, and the tomb of Archimedes stood revealed to thereverent homage of the illustrious Roman quæstor. 

"This was in the year 76 before the birth of our Savior. Archimedesdied about the year 212 before Christ. One hundred and thirty sixyears only had thus elapsed since the death of this celebratedperson, before his tombstone was buried beneath briers and brambles;and before the place and even the existence of it were forgottenby the magistrates of the very city of which he was so long theproudest ornament in peace, and the most effective defender inwar. What a lesson to human pride, what a commentary on humangratitude was here! It is an incident almost precisely like thatwhich the admirable and venerable DR. WATTS imagined or imitated, as the topic of one of his most striking and familiar Lyrics:

 "'Theron, among his travels, found A broken statue on the ground; And searching onward as he went, He traced a ruined monument. Mould, moss, and shades had overgrown The sculpture of the crumbling stone; Yet ere he passed, with much ado, He guessed and spelled out, Sci-pi-o. "Enough, " he cried; "I'll drudge no more In turning the dull Stoics o'er;

 * * * * *

 For when I feel my virtue fail, And my ambitious thoughts prevail, I'll take a turn among the tombs, And see whereto all glory comes. "

I do not learn, however, that Cicero was cured of his eager vanityand his insatiate love of fame by this "turn" among the Syracusantombs. He was then only just at the threshold of his proud career, and he went back to pursue it to its bloody end with unabatedzeal, and with an ambition only extinguishable with his life. '"

CHAPTER XV. 

THE MACEDONIAN SUPREMACY. 

I. THE SACRED WAR. 

Four years after the battle of Mantine'a the Grecian states againbecame involved in domestic hostilities, known as the SacredWar, the second in Grecian history to which that title was applied, the first having been carried on against the inhabitants of Crissa, on the northern shore of the Corinthian Gulf, in the time ofSolon. The causes of this second Sacred War were briefly these:The Pho'cians, allies of Sparta against Thebes, had taken intocultivation a portion of the plain of Delphos, sacred to Apollo;and the Thebans caused them to be accused of sacrilege beforethe Amphictyonic Council, which condemned them to pay a heavyfine. The Phocians refused obedience, and, encouraged by theSpartans, on whom a similar penalty had been imposed for theirwrongful occupation of the Theban capital, they took up armsto resist the decree, and plundered the sacred Temple of Delphosto obtain means for carrying on the war. 

The Thebans, Thessa'lians, and nearly all the states of northernGreece leagued against the Phocians, while Athens and Spartadeclared in their favor. After the war had continued five yearsa new power was brought forward on the theatre of Grecian history, in the person of Philip, who had recently established himselfon the throne of Maç'edon, and to whom some of the Thessaliansapplied for aid against the Phocians. The interference of Philipforms an important epoch in Grecian affairs. "The most desirableof all conditions for Greece would have been, " says THIRLWALL, "to be united in a confederacy strong enough to prevent intestinewarfare among its members, and so constituted as to guard againstall unnecessary encroachment on their independence. But the timehad passed by when the supremacy of any state could either havebeen willingly acknowledged by the rest, or imposed upon themby force; and the hope of any favorable change in the generalcondition of Greece was now become fainter than ever. " Wastedby her internal dissensions, Greece was now about to suffer theirnatural results, and we interrupt our narrative to briefly tracethe growth of that foreign power which, unexpectedly to Greece, became its master. 

 * * * * *

II. SKETCH OF MACEDONIA. 

Maçedon--or Macedo'nia--whose boundaries varied greatly at differenttimes, had its south-eastern borders on the Ægean Sea, whilefarther north it was bounded by the river Strymon, which separatedit from Thrace, and on the south by Thessaly and Epirus. On thewest Macedonia embraced, at times, many of the Illyrian tribeswhich bordered on the Adriatic. On the north the natural boundarywas the mountain chain of Hæ'mus. The principal river of Macedoniawas the Ax'ius (now the Vardar), which fell into the ThermaicGulf, now called the Gulf of Salonica. 

The history of Macedonia down to the time of Philip, the fatherof Alexander the Great, is involved in much obscurity. The earlyMacedonians appear to have been an Illyrian tribe, differentin race and language from the Hellenes or Greeks; but Herodotusstates that the Macedonian monarchy was founded by Greeks fromArgos; and, according to Greek writers, twelve or fifteen Grecianprinces reigned there before the accession of Philip, who tookcharge of the government about the year 360 B. C. , not as monarch, but as guardian of the infant son of his elder brother. 

Philip had previously passed several years at Thebes as a hostage, where he eagerly availed himself of the excellent opportunitieswhich that city afforded for the acquisition of various kindsof knowledge. He successfully cultivated the study of the Greeklanguage; and in the society of such generals and statesmen asEpaminondas, Pelopidas, and their friends, became acquaintedwith the details of the military tactics of the Greeks, and learnedthe nature and working of their democratical institutions. Thus, with the superior mental and physical endowments which naturehad given him, he became eminently fitted for the part whichhe afterward bore in the intricate game of Grecian politics. 

After Philip had successfully defended the throne of Maçedonduring several years, in behalf of his nephew, his militarysuccesses enabled him to assume the kingly title, probably withthe unanimous consent of both the army and the nation. He annexedseveral Thracian towns to his dominions, reduced the Illyriansand other nations on his northern and western borders, and wasat times an ally, and at others an enemy, of Athens. At length, during the Sacred War against the Phocians, the invitation whichhe received from the Thessalian allies of Thebes, as alreadynoticed, afforded him a pretext, which he had long coveted, fora more active interference in the affairs of his southern neighbors. 

 * * * * *

III. INTERFERENCE OF PHILIP OF MACEDON. 

Of all the Grecian states, Athens alone had succeeded in regainingsome of her former power, and she now became the leader in thestruggle with Macedonia. In response to the invitation extendedto him, Philip entered Thessaly on his southern march, but wasat first repulsed by the Phocians and their allies, and obligedto retire to his own territory. He soon returned, however, atthe head of a more numerous army, defeated the enemy in a decisiveengagement near the Gulf of Pag'asæ, and would have marched uponPhocis at once to terminate the war, but he found the Pass ofThermopylæ strongly guarded by the Athenians, and thought itprudent to withdraw his forces. 

The Sacred War still lingered, although the Phocians desiredpeace; but the revengeful spirit of the Thebans was not allayed, and Philip was again urged to crush the profaners of the nationalreligion. It was at this period that the great Athenian orator, Demosthenes, came forward with the first of those orations againstPhilip and his supposed policy, which, from their subject, receivedthe name of "the Philippics"--a title since commonly given toany discourse or declamation abounding in acrimonious invective. The penetration of Demosthenes enabled him easily to divine theambitious plans of Philip, and as he considered him the enemyof the liberties of Athens and of Greece, he sought to rousehis countrymen against him. His discourse was essentially practical. As a writer has said, "He alarms, but encourages his countrymen;Points out both their weakness and their strength; rouses themto a sense of danger, and shows the way to meet it; recommendsnot any extraordinary efforts, for which at this moment therewas no urgent necessity, but unfolds a scheme, simple and feasible, suiting the occasion, and calculated to lay the foundation ofbetter things. "

In the following language he censures the indolence and supinenessof the Athenians:

The First Philippic of Demosthenes. 

"When, O my countrymen I will you exert your vigor? When rousedby some event? When forced by some necessity? What, then, arewe to think of our present condition? To freemen, the disgraceattending our misconduct is, in my opinion, the most urgentnecessity. Or, say, is it your sole ambition to wander throughthe public places, each inquiring of the other, 'What new advices?'Can anything be more new than that a man of Maçedon should conquerthe Athenians and give law to Greece? 'Is Philip dead? No, buthe is sick. ' [Footnote: Philip had received a severe wound, whichwas followed by a fit of sickness; hence these rumors and inquiriesof the Athenians. "Longinus quotes this whole passage as a beautifulinstance of those pathetic figures which give life and force andenergy to an oration. "] How are you concerned in these rumors?Suppose he should meet some fatal stroke; you would soon raiseup another Philip, if your interests are thus regarded. For itis not to his own strength that he so much owes his elevationas to our supineness. And should some accident affect him--shouldFortune, who hath ever been more careful of the state than weourselves, now repeat her favors (and may she thus crown them!)--be assured of this, that by being on the spot, ready to takeadvantage of the confusion, you will everywhere be absolutemasters; but in your present disposition, even if a favorablejuncture should present you with Amphip'olis, [Footnote: Amphipolis, a city of Thrace founded by the Athenians, had fallen into thehands of Philip after a siege, and the Athenians had nothingmore at heart than its recovery. ] you could not take possessionof it while this suspense prevails in your councils. 

"Some of you wander about crying, 'Philip hath joined with theLacedæmonians, and they are concerting the destruction of Thebes, and the dissolution of some free states. ' Others assure us thathe has sent an embassy to the king; [Footnote: The King of Persia, generally called "the king" by the Greeks. ] others, that he isfortifying places in Illyria. Thus we all go about framing ourseveral stories. I do believe, indeed, Athenians, that he isintoxicated with his greatness, and does entertain his imaginationwith many such visionary prospects, as he sees no power risingto oppose him, and is elated with his success. But I cannot bepersuaded that he hath so taken his measures that the weakestamong us know what he is next to do--for the silliest are thosewho spread these rumors. Let us dismiss such talk, and rememberonly that Philip is our enemy--that he has spoiled us of ourdominions, that we have long been subject to his insolence, thatwhatever we expected to be done for us by others has proved againstus, that all the resource left us is in ourselves, and that, ifwe are not inclined to carry our arms abroad, we may be forcedto engage at home. Let us be persuaded of this, and then we shallcome to a proper determination; then we shall be freed from idleconjectures. We need not be solicitous to know what particularevents will happen; we need but be convinced that nothing goodcan happen unless you attend to your duty, and are willing toact as becomes you. 

"As for me, never have I courted favor by speaking what I amnot convinced is for your good; and now I have spoken my wholemind frankly and unreservedly. I could have wished, knowing theadvantage of good counsel to you, that I were equally certainof its advantage to the counselor; so should I have spoken withmore satisfaction. Now, with an uncertainty of the consequenceto myself, but with a conviction that you will benefit by followingmy advice, I freely proffer it. And, of all those opinions whichare offered for your acceptance, may that be chosen which willbest advance the general weal. " --LELAND'S trans. 

The most prominent of the particular acts specified by Demosthenesas indispensable to the Athenian welfare, were the fitting out ofa fleet of fifty vessels, to be kept ready to sail, at a moment'snotice, to any exposed portion of the Athenian sea-coast; andthe establishment of a permanent land force of twenty-two hundredmen, one-fourth to be citizens of Athens. The expense was tobe met by taxation, a system of which he also presented foradoption. MR. GROTE says of the first Philippic of Demosthenes:

"It is not merely a splendid piece of oratory, emphatic and forciblein its appeal to the emotions; bringing the audience, by manydifferent roads, to the main conviction which the orator seeksto impress; profoundly animated with genuine Pan-hellenicpatriotism, and with the dignity of that pre-Grecian world nowthreatened by a monarch from without. It has other merits besides, not less important in themselves, and lying more immediatelywithin the scope of the historian. We find Demosthenes, yet onlythirty years old--young in political life--and thirteen yearsbefore the battle of Chærone'a, taking accurate measure of thepolitical relations between Athens and Philip; examining thoserelations during the past, pointing out how they had become everyyear more unfavorable, and foretelling the dangerous contingenciesof the future, unless better precautions were taken; exposingwith courageous frankness not only the past mismanagement ofpublic men, but also those defective dispositions of the peoplethemselves wherein such mismanagement had its root; lastly, afterfault found, adventuring on his own responsibility to proposespecific measures of correction, and urging upon reluctant citizensa painful imposition of personal hardship as well as of taxation. "

Of course Demosthenes and his policy were opposed by a strongparty, and his warnings and exhortations produced but littleeffect. The latter result was largely due to the position ofthe Athenian general and statesman Pho'cion--the last Athenianin whom these two functions were united--who generally actedwith the peace-party. Unlike many prominent members of that party, however, Phocion was pure and patriotic in his motives, and aman of the strictest integrity. It was his unquestioned probityand his peculiar disinterestedness that gave him such influencewith the people. As an orator, too, he commanded attention byhis striking and pithy brevity. "He knew so well, " says GROTE, "on what points to strike, that his telling brevity, strengthenedby the weight of character and position, cut through the fineoratory of Demosthenes more effectively than any counter oratoryfrom men like Æsehines. " Demosthenes was once heard to remark, on seeing Phocion rise to speak, "Here comes the pruner of myperiods. "

As MR. GROTE elsewhere adds: "The influence of Phocion as a publicadviser was eminently mischievous to Athens. All depended uponher will; upon the question whether her citizens were preparedin their own minds to incur the expense and fatigue of a vigorousforeign policy--whether they would handle their pikes, open theirpurses, and forego the comforts of home, for the maintenanceof Grecian and Athenian liberty against a growing but not asyet irresistible destroyer. Now, it was precisely at such a moment, and when such a question was pending, that the influence of thepeace-loving Phocion was most ruinous. His anxiety that thecitizens should be buried at home in their own sepulchres--hisdespair, mingled with contempt, of his countrymen and their refinedhabits--his hatred of the orators who might profit by an increasedwar expenditure--all contributed to make him discourage publiceffort, and await passively the preponderance of the Macedonianarms; thus playing the game of Philip, and siding, though himselfincorruptible, with the orators in Philip's pay. " [Footnote:"History of Greece, " vol. Xi. , p. 278. ]

As no measures of importance were taken to check the growingpower of Philip, in the year 349 he attacked the Olynthians, who were in alliance with Athens. They sent embassies to Athens, seeking aid, and Demosthenes supported their cause in the three"Olynthiac Orations, " which roused the Athenians to more vigorousefforts. But the latter were divided in their counsels, and theaid they gave the Olynthians was inefficient. In 347 Olynthusfell into the hands of Philip, who, having somewhat lulled thesuspicions of the Athenians by proposals of an advantageous peace, marched into Phocis in 346, and compelled the enemy to surrenderat discretion. The Amphictyonic Council, with the power of Philipto enforce its decrees, doomed Phocis to lose her independenceforever, to have her cities leveled with the ground, her populationto be distributed in villages of not more than fifty dwellings, and to pay a yearly tribute of sixty talents to the temple untilthe full amount of the plundered treasure should be restored. Finally, the two votes that the Phocians had possessed in thecouncil were transferred to the King of Maçedon and his successors. 

 * * * * *

IV. WAR WITH MAÇEDON. 

From an early period of his career Philip had aspired to thesovereignty of all Greece, as a secondary object that shouldprepare the way for the conquest of Persia, the great aim andend of all his ambitious projects. The accession of power he hadjust acquired now induced him to exert himself, by negotiationand conquest, to extend his influence on every side of hisdominions. Demosthenes had been sent by the Athenians into thePeloponnesus to counteract the intrigues of Philip there, and hadopenly accused him of perfidy. To repel this charge, as well asto secure farther influence, if possible, Philip sent an embassyto Athens, headed by the orator Py'thon. It was on this occasionthat Demosthenes delivered his second "Philippic" (344 B. C. ), addressing himself principally to the Athenian sympathizers withPhilip, of whom the orator Æsehines was the leader. 

In his military operations Philip ravaged Illyria, reduced Thessalymore nearly to a Macedonian province, conquered a part of theThracian territory, extended his power into Epi'rus and Acarna'nia, and would have gained a footing in E'lis and Acha'ia, on thewestern coast of Peloponnesus, had it not been for the watchfuljealousy of Athens which Demosthenes finally succeeded in arousing. The first open rupture with the Athenians occurred while Philipwas subduing the Grecian cities on the Thracian coast of theHellespont, in what was called the Thracian Chersone'sus. Asyet Macedon and Athens were nominally at peace, and Philipcomplained that the Athenians were attempting to precipitatea conflict. He sent an embassy to Athens, which gave occasionto the speech of Demosthenes, "On the Chersonese" (341 B. C. ). The rupture in the Chersonesus was followed by Athenian successesin Euboe'a, whither Demosthenes had succeeded in having anexpedition sent, and, finally, by the expulsion of Philip's forcesfrom the Chersonesus. Soon after this (339 B. C. ) the AmphictyonicCouncil, through the influence of the orator Æsehines, appointedPhillip to conduct a war against Amphis'sa, a Lo'crian town, that had been convicted of a sacrilege similar to that of thePhocians. 

THE SUCCESSES AND DEATH OF PHILIP. 

It was now that Philip first threw off the mask, and revealedhis designs against the liberties of Greece. Hastily passingthrough Thrace at the head of a powerful army, he suddenly seizedand commenced fortifying Elate'a, the capital of Phocis, whichwas conveniently situated for commanding the entrance into Boeotia. Intelligence of this event reached Athens at night, and causedgreat alarm. At daybreak on the following morning the Senate ofFive Hundred met, and the people assembled in the Pnyx. Suddenlywaking, at last, from their dream of security, from which allthe eloquent appeals of Demosthenes had hitherto been unablefully to arouse them, the Athenians began to realize their danger. At the instance of the great orator they formed a treaty withthe Thebans, and the two states prepared to defend themselvesfrom invasion; but most of the Peloponnesian states kept aloofthrough indifference, rather than through fear. 

When the Athenian and Theban forces marched forth to give Philipbattle, dissensions pervaded their ranks; for the spirit of Grecianliberty had already been extinguished. They gained a minoradvantage, however, in two engagements that followed; but thedecisive battle was fought in August of the year 338, in theplain of Chærone'a, in Boeotia. The hostile armies were nearlyequal in numbers; but there was no Pericles, or Epaminondas, to match the warlike abilities of Philip and the young princeAlexander, the latter of whom commanded a wing of the Macedonianarmy. The Grecian army was completely routed, and the event brokeup the feeble combination against Philip, leaving each of theallied states at his mercy. He treated the Thebans with muchseverity, but he exercised a degree of leniency toward theAthenians which excited general surprise--offering them termsof peace which they would scarcely have ventured to propose tohim. Now virtually master of Greece, he assembled a Congressof the Grecian states at Corinth, at which all his proposalswere adopted; war was declared against Persia, and Philip wasappointed commander-in-chief of the Grecian and Macedonian forces. But while he was preparing for his great enterprise he wasassassinated, during the festivities attending the marriage ofhis daughter, by a young Macedonian of noble birth, in revengefor some private wrong. 

 * * * * *

V. ACCESSION OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 

Alexander, the son of Philip, then at the age of twenty years, succeeded his father on the throne of Macedon. At once theIllyrians, Thracians, and other northern tribes took up arms torecover their independence; but Alexander quelled the revolt ina single campaign. On the death of Philip, Demosthenes, who hadbeen informed of the event by a special messenger, immediatelytook steps to incite Athens to shake off the Macedonian yoke. Inthe words of a modern historian, "He resolved to avail himselfof the superstition of his fellow-citizens, by a pious fraud. He went to the senate-house and declared to the Five Hundredthat Jove and Athe'na had forewarned him in a dream of some greatblessing that was in store for the Commonwealth. Shortly afterwardpublic couriers arrived with the news of Philip's death. Demosthenes, although in mourning for the recent loss of an onlydaughter, now came abroad dressed in white, and crowned with achaplet, in which attire he was seen sacrificing at one of thepublic altars. " He made vigorous preparations for action, andsent envoys to the principal Grecian states to excite them againstMacedon. Several of the states, headed by the Athenians and theThebans, rose against the dominant oligarchy; but Alexander, whose marches were unparalleled for their rapidity, suddenlyappeared in their midst. Thebes was taken by assault; six thousandof her warriors were slain; the city was leveled with the ground, and thirty thousand prisoners were condemned to slavery. Theother Grecian states hastily renewed their submission; and Athens, with servile homage, sent an embassy to congratulate the youngking on his recent successes. Alexander accepted the excuses ofall, and having intrusted the government of Greece and Macedonto Antip'ater, one of his generals, he set out on his careerof Eastern conquest with only thirty-five thousand men, and atreasury of only seventy talents of silver. He had distributednearly all the remaining property of his crown among his friends;and when he was asked what he had reserved for himself, he answered, "My hopes. "

 * * * * *

VI. ALEXANDER INVADES ASIA. 

Early in the spring of 334 Alexander crossed the Hellespont, anda few days later defeated a large Persian army on the eastern bankof the Grani'cus, with the loss on his part of only eighty-fivehorsemen and thirty light infantry. The gates of Sardis and Ephesuswere next thrown open to him, and he was soon undisputed masterof all Asia Minor. Early in the following year he directed hismarch farther eastward, and on the coast of Cili'cia, near Issus, again met the Persian or barbarian army, numbering over sevenhundred thousand men, and commanded by Dari'us, the Persian king. Alexander, as usual, led his army in person, and achieved asplendid victory. The wife, daughters, and an infant son of Dariusfell into the hands of the conqueror, and were treated by himwith the greatest kindness and respect, Some time after, andjust before his death, when Darius heard of the generous treatmentof his wife, who was accounted the most beautiful woman in Asia--of her death from sudden illness, and of the magnificent burialshe had received from the conqueror--he lifted up his hands toheaven and prayed that if his kingdom were to pass from himself, it might be transferred to Alexander. 

The conqueror now directed his march southward through northernSyria and Palestine, conquering Tyre after a vigorous siege ofseven months. This was perhaps the greatest of Alexander's militaryachievements; but it was tarnished by his cruelty toward theconquered. Exasperated by the long and desperate resistance ofthe besieged, he gave them no quarter. Eight thousand of theinhabitants are said to have been massacred, and thirty thousandwere sold into slavery. After the fall of Tyre Alexander proceededinto Egypt, which he easily brought under subjection. After havingfounded the present city of Alexandria, at the mouth of the Nile, he returned to Palestine, crossed the Euphrates, and marchedinto the very heart of the Persian empire, declaring, "The worldcan no more admit two masters than two suns. "

 * * * * *

VII. BATTLE OF ARBE'LA. --FLIGHT AND DEATH OF DARIUS. 

On a beautiful plain, twenty miles distant from the town of Arbela, the Persian monarch, surrounded by all the pomp and luxury ofEastern magnificence, had collected the remaining strength ofhis empire, consisting of an army of more than a million ofinfantry and forty thousand cavalry, besides two hundred scythedchariots, and fifteen elephants brought from the west of India. To oppose this immense force Alexander had only forty thousandinfantry and seven thousand cavalry. But his forces were wellarmed and disciplined, and were led by an able general who hadnever known defeat. Darius sustained the conflict with betterjudgment and more courage than at Issus; but the cool intrepidityof the Macedonians was irresistible, and the field of battle soonbecame a scene of slaughter, in which some say forty thousand, and others three hundred thousand, of the barbarians were slain, while the loss of Alexander did not exceed five hundred men. Although Darius escaped with a portion of his body-guard, thewhole of the royal baggage and treasure was captured at Arbela. 

Now simply a fugitive, "with merely the title of king, " Dariuscrossed the mountains into Media, where he remained six or sevenmonths, and until the advance of Alexander in pursuit compelledhim to pass through the Caspian Gates into Parthia. Here, onthe near approach of the enemy, he was murdered by Bessus, satrapof Bactria, because he refused to fly farther. "Within four yearsand three months from the time Alexander crossed the Hellespont, "says GROTE, "by one stupendous defeat after another Darius hadlost all his Western empire, and had become a fugitive eastwardof the Caspian Gates, escaping captivity at the hand of Alexanderonly to perish by that of the satrap Bessus. All antecedenthistorical parallels--the ruin and captivity of the LydianCroe'sus, the expulsion and mean life of the Syracusan Dionysius, both of them impressive examples of the mutability of humancondition--sink into trifles compared with the overthrow of thistowering Persian colossus. The orator Æschines expressed thegenuine sentiment of a Grecian spectator when he exclaimed (ina speech delivered at Athens shortly before the death of Darius):

"'What is there among the list of strange and unexpected eventswhich has not occurred in our time? Our lives have transcendedthe limits of humanity; we are born to serve as a theme forincredible tales to posterity. Is not the Persian king--who dugthrough Athos and bridged the Hellespont, who demanded earthand water from the Greeks, who dared to proclaim himself, inpublic epistles, master of all mankind from the rising to thesetting sun--is not he now struggling to the last, not for dominionover others, but for the safety of his own person?' [Footnote:He speaks of both Xerxes and Darius as the Persian king. ] Suchwere the sentiments excited by Alexander's career even in themiddle of 330 B. C. , more than seven years before his death. "

Babylon and Susa, where the riches of the East lay accumulated, had meanwhile opened their gates to Alexander, and thence hedirected his march to Persepolis, the capital of Persia, whichhe entered in triumph. Here he celebrated his victories by amagnificent feast, at which the great musician Timo'theus, ofThebes, performed on the flute and the lyre, accompanied by achorus of singers. Such was the wonderful power of his musicthat the whole company are said to have been swayed by it tofeelings of love, or hate, or revenge, as if by the wand of amagician. The poet DRYDEN has given us a description of this feastin a poem that has been called by some "the lyric masterpieceof English poetry, " and by others "an inspired ode. " Thoughdesigned especially to illustrate the power of music, it is basedon historic facts. Only partial extracts from it can here begiven. 

 Alexander's Feast. 

 'Twas at the royal feast, for Persia won By Philip's warlike son: Aloft in awful state The godlike hero sate On his imperial throne: His valiant peers were placed around, Their brows with roses and with myrtles bound (So should desert in arms be crowned). The lovely Thais, by his side Sat, like a blooming Eastern bride, In flower of youth and beauty's pride. Happy, happy, happy pair! None but the brave, None but the brave, None but the brave deserve the fair. 

In the second division of the poem Timo'theus is representedas singing the praises of Jupiter, when the crowd, carried awayby the enthusiasm with which the music had inspired them, proclaimAlexander a deity! The monarch accepts the adoration of hissubjects, and "assumes the god. "

 The list'ning crowd admire the lofty sound: "A present deity!" they shout around: "A present deity!" the vaulted roofs rebound. With ravished ears The monarch hears, Assumes the god, Affects to nod, And seems to shake the spheres. 

The praises of Bacchus and the joys of wine being next sung, the effects upon the king are described; and when the strainshad fired his soul almost to madness, Timotheus adroitly changesthe spirit and measure of his song, and as successfully allaysthe tempest of passion that his skill had raised. The effectsof this change are thus described:

 Soothed with the sound, the king grew vain; Fought all his battles o'er again; And thrice he routed all his foes; and thrice he slew the slain. The master saw the madness rise; His glowing cheeks, his ardent eyes; And, while he Heaven and Earth defied, Changed his hand, and checked his pride. He chose a mournful Muse, Soft pity to infuse; He sung Darius, great and good, By too severe a fate, Fallen, fallen, fallen, fallen, Fallen from his high estate, And weltering in his blood; Deserted at his utmost need, By those his former bounty fed; On the bare earth exposed he lies, With not a friend to close his eyes. With downcast looks the joyless victor sat, Revolving in his altered soul The various turns of chance below; And, now and then a sigh he stole, And tear's began to flow. 

Under the soothing influence of the next theme, which is Love, Alexander sinks into a slumber, from which, however, a changein the music to discordant strains arouses him to feelings ofrevenge, as the singer draws a picture of the Furies, and of theGreeks "that in battle were slain. " Then it was that Alexander, instigated by Thais, a celebrated Athenian beauty who accompaniedhim on his expedition, set fire to the palace of Persepolis, intending to burn the whole city--"the wonder of the world. "The poet compares Thais to Helen, whose fatal beauty caused thedownfall of Troy, 852 years before. 

 Now strike the golden lyre again; A louder yet, and yet a louder strain. Break his bands of sleep asunder, And rouse him, like a rattling peal of thunder. Hark! hark! the horrid sound Has raised up his head, As awaked from the dead, And, amazed, he stares around. Revenge! revenge! Timotheus cries, See the Furies arise! See the snakes that they rear! How they hiss in their hair, And the sparkles that flash from their eyes! Behold a ghastly band, Each a torch in his hand! These are the Grecian ghosts, that in battle were slain, And unburied remain, Inglorious on the plain: Give the vengeance due To the valiant crew, Behold how they toss their torches on high! How they point to the Persian abodes, And glittering temples of their hostile gods! The princes applaud with a furious joy; And the king seized a flambeau with zeal to destroy; Thais led the way, To light him to his prey, And, like another Helen, fired another Troy!

During four years Alexander remained in the heart of Persia, reducing to subjection the chiefs who still struggled forindependence, and regulating the government of the conqueredprovinces. Ambitious of farther conquests, he passed the Indus, and invaded the country of the Indian king Po'rus, whom he defeatedin a sanguinary engagement, and took prisoner. Alexander continuedhis march eastward until he reached the Hyph'asis, the most easterntributary of the Indus, when his troops, seeing no end of theirtoils, refused to follow him farther, and he was reluctantlyforced to abandon the career of conquest, which he had markedout for himself, to the Eastern ocean. He descended the Industo the sea, whence, after sending a fleet with a portion of hisforces around through the Persian Gulf to the Euphrates, he marchedwith the remainder of his army through the barren wastes ofGedro'sia, and after much suffering and loss once more reachedthe fertile provinces of Persia. 

 * * * * *

VIII. THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER. 

For some time after his return Alexander's attention was engrossedwith plans for organizing, on a permanent basis, the governmentof the mighty empire that he had won. Aiming to unite theconquerors and the conquered, so as to form out of both a nationindependent alike of Macedonian and Persian prejudices, he marriedStati'ra, the oldest daughter of Darius, and united his principalofficers with Persian and Median women of the noblest families, while ten thousand of his soldiers were induced to follow theexample of their superiors. But while he was occupied with thesecares, and with dreams of future conquests, his career was suddenlyterminated by death. On setting out to visit Babylon, in thespring of 324, soon after the decease of an intimate friend--Hephæs'tion--whose loss caused a great depression of his spirits, he was warned by the magicians that Babylon would be fatal tohim; but he proceeded to the city to conclude his preparationsfor his next ambitious scheme--the subjugation of Arabia. Babylonwas now to witness the consummation of his triumphs and of hislife. "As in the last scene of some well-ordered drama, " saysa modern historian, "all the results and tokens of his greatachievements seemed to be collected there to do honor to hisfinal exit. " Although his mind was actively occupied in plansof conquest, he was haunted by gloomy forebodings and superstitiousfancies, and endeavored to dispel his melancholy by indulgingfreely in the pleasures of the table. Excessive drinking at lastbrought to a crisis a fever which he had probably contractedin the marshes of Assyria, and which suddenly terminated hislife in the thirty-third year of his age, and the thirteenthof his reign (323 B. C. ). He was buried in Babylon. From the Latinpoet LUCAN we take the following estimate of

 His Career and His Character. 

 Here the vain youth, who made the world his prize, That prosperous robber, Alexander, lies: When pitying Death at length had freed mankind, To sacred rest his bones were here consigned: His bones, that better had been tossed and hurled, With just contempt, around the injured world. But fortune spared the dead; and partial fate, For ages fixed his Pha'rian empire's date. [Footnote: Pharian. An allusion to the famous light-house, the Pharos of Alexandria, built by Ptolemy Philadelphus, son of Ptolemy Soter, who succeeded Alexander in Egypt. ]

 If e'er our long-lost liberty return, That carcass is reserved for public scorn; Now it remains a monument confessed, How one proud man could lord it o'er the rest. To Maçedon, a corner of the earth, The vast ambitious spoiler owed his birth: There, soon, he scorned his father's humbler reign, And viewed his vanquished Athens with disdain. 

 Driven headlong on, by fate's resistless force, Through Asia's realms he took his dreadful course; His ruthless sword laid human nature waste, And desolation followed where he passed. Red Ganges blushed, and famed Euphrates' flood, With Persian this, and that with Indian blood. 

 Such is the bolt which angry Jove employs, When, undistinguishing, his wrath destroys: Such to mankind, portentous meteors rise, Trouble the gazing earth, and blast the skies. Nor flame nor flood his restless rage withstand, Nor Syrts unfaithful, nor the Libyan sand: [Footnote: Syrts. Two gulfs--Syrtis Minor and Syrtis Major--on the northern coast of Africa, abounding in quicksands, and dangerous to navigation. ] O'er waves unknown he meditates his way, And seeks the boundless empire of the sea. 

 E'en to the utmost west he would have gone, Where Te'thys' lap receives the setting sun; [Footnote: Tethys, the fabled wife of Ocean, and daughter of Heaven and Earth. ] Around each pole his circuit would have made, And drunk from secret Nile's remotest head, When Nature's hand his wild ambition stayed; With him, that power his pride had loved so well, His monstrous universal empire, fell; No heir, no just successor left behind, Eternal wars he to his friends assigned, To tear the world, and scramble for mankind. --LUCAN. Trans. By ROWE. 

The poet JUVENAL, moralizing on the death of Alexander, tellsus that, notwithstanding his illimitable ambition, the narrowtomb that be found in Babylon was sufficiently ample for thesmall body that had contained his mighty soul. 

 One world sufficed not Alexander's mind; Cooped up, he seemed in earth and seas confined, And, struggling, stretched his restless limbs about The narrow globe, to find a passage out! Yet, entered in the brick-built town, he tried The tomb, and found the straight dimensions wide. Death only this mysterious truth unfolds: The mighty soul, how small a body holds! --Tenth Satire. Trans. By DRYDEN. 

The body of Alexander was removed from Babylon to Alexandriaby Ptolemy Soter, one of his generals, subsequently King of Egypt, and was interred in a golden coffin. The sarcophagus in whichthe coffin was enclosed has been in the British Museum since1802--a circumstance to which BYRON makes a happy allusion inthe closing lines of the following verse:

 How vain, how worse than vain, at length appear The madman's wish, the Macedonian's tear! He wept for worlds to conquer; half the earth Knows not his name, or but his death and birth, And desolation; while his native Greece Hath all of desolation, save its peace. He "wept for worlds to conquer!" he who ne'er Conceived the globe he panted not to spare! With even the busy Northern Isle unknown, Which holds his urn, and never knew his throne. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

FROM THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER TO THE CONQUEST OF GREECE BY THE ROMANS. 

I. A RETROSPECTIVE GLANCE AT GREECE. 

PROSECUTION OF DEMOSTHENES. 

Turning now to the affairs of Greece, we find that, three yearsafter Alexander entered Asia, the Spartans made a determinedeffort to throw off the Macedonian yoke. They were joined bymost of the Peloponnesian states, but Athens took no part in therevolt. Although meeting with some successes at first, the Spartanswere finally defeated with great slaughter by Antip'ater (331 B. C. ), who had been left by Alexander in command of Greece and Macedonia. This victory, and Alexander's successes in the East, gave riseto active measures by the Macedonian party in Athens againstDemosthenes, who was holding two public offices, and, by hisability and patriotism, was still doing great service to thestate. The occasion of this prosecution was as follows:

Soon after the disastrous battle of Chærone'a, Ctes'iphon, anAthenian citizen, proposed that a golden crown [Footnote: It wascustomary with the Athenians, and some other Greeks also, tohonor their most meritorious citizens with a chaplet of oliveinterwoven with gold, and this was called a "golden crown. "]should be bestowed upon Demosthenes, in the public theatre, onthe occasion of the Dionysiac festival, as a reward for hispatriotism and public services. The special service for whichthe reward was proposed was the rebuilding of the walls of Athensby Demosthenes, partially at his own expense. After the AthenianSenate had acquiesced in the measure, Æschines, the rival ofDemosthenes, brought an accusation against Ctesiphon for aviolation of the law, in that, among other things charged, itwas illegal to crown an official intrusted with the public moneysbefore he had rendered an account of his office--a proceedingwhich prevented the carrying of Ctesiphon's proposal to the peoplefor a final decision. Thus the matter slumbered during a periodof six years, when it was revived by Æschines, who thought hesaw, in the success of the Macedonian arms--on which all hispersonal and political hopes were staked--a grand opportunityto crush his great rival. He now, therefore, brought the chargesagainst Ctesiphon to trial. Although the latter was the nominaldefendant in the case, and Demosthenes was only his counsel, it was well understood that the real object of attack wasDemosthenes himself, his whole policy and administration; anda vast concourse of people flocked to Athens to hear the twomost celebrated orators in the world. A jury of not less thanfive hundred, chosen from the citizens at large, was impaneledby the archon; and before a dense and breathless audience thepleadings began. 

The Oration of Æschines against Ctesiphon. 

Æschines introduces his oration with the following brief exordium:"You see, Athenians, what forces are prepared, what numbersgathered and arrayed, what soliciting through the assembly, bya certain party--and all this to oppose the fair and ordinarycourse of justice in the state. As to me, I stand here in firmreliance, first on the immortal gods, next on the laws and you, convinced that faction never can have greater weight with youthan law and justice. "

After Æschines had dwelt at length, and with great ability, uponthe nature of the offence with which Ctesiphon is charged, thelaws applicable to it, and the supposed evasions of Demosthenesin his reply, he reads the decree of the senate in favor of thebestowment of the crown, in the following words:

"And the herald shall make proclamation in the theatre, in presenceof the Greeks, that the community of Athens hath crowned him, on account of his virtue and magnanimity, and for his constantand inviolable attachment to the interests of the state, throughthe course of all his counsels and administration. "

This gives the orator the opportunity to enter upon an extendedreview of the public life and character of Demosthenes, in whichhe boldly charges him with cowardice in the battle of Chæronea, with bribery and fraud in his public administration, and declareshim to have been the prime cause of innumerable calamities thathad befallen his country. He says:

"It is my part, as the prosecutor, to satisfy you on this point, that the praises bestowed on Demosthenes are false; that therenever was a time in which he even began as a faithful counselor, far from persevering in any course of conduct advantageous tothe state. 

"It remains that I produce some instances of his abandonedflattery. For one whole year did Demosthenes enjoy the honorof a senator; and yet in all that time it never appears thathe moved to grant precedency to any ministers; for the firsttime--the only time--he conferred this distinction on the ministersof Philip; he servilely attended, to accommodate them with hiscushions and his carpets; by the dawn of day he conducted themto the theatre, and, by his indecent and abandoned adulation, raised a universal uproar of derision. When they were on theirdeparture toward Thebes, he hired three teams of mules, andconducted them in state into that city. Thus did he expose hiscountry to ridicule. 

"And yet this abject, this enormous flatterer, when he had beenthe first that received advice of Philip's death from theemissaries of Charide'mus, pretended a divine vision, and, witha shameless lie, declared that this intelligence had been conveyedto him, not by Charidemus, but by Jupiter and Minerva. Thus hedared to boast that these divinities, by whom he had sworn falselyin the day, had descended to hold communication with him in thenight, and to inform him of futurity. Seven days had now scarcelyelapsed since the death of his daughter when this wretch, beforehe had performed the usual rites of mourning--before he had dulypaid her funeral honors--crowned his head with a chaplet, puton his white robe, made a solemn sacrifice in despite of lawand decency; and this when he had lost his child, the first, the only child that had ever called him by the tender name offather. I say not this to insult his misfortunes; I mean butto display his real character. For he who hates his children, he who is a bad parent, cannot possibly prove a good minister. He who is insensible to that natural affection which should engagehis heart to those who are most intimate and near to him, cannever feel a greater regard to your welfare than to that ofstrangers. He who acts wickedly in private life cannot proveexcellent in his public conduct; he who is base at home, cannever acquit himself with honor when sent to a strange countryin a public character. For it is not the man, but the scene thatchanges. 

"Is not this, our state, the common refuge of the Greeks, oncethe great resort of all the ambassadors from the several citiessent to implore our protection as their sure resource, now obligedto contend, not for sovereign authority, but for our native land?And to these circumstances have we been gradually reduced, fromthat time when Demosthenes first assumed the administration. Welldoth the poet Hesiod refer to such men, in one part of his works, where he points out the duty of citizens, and warns all societiesto guard effectually against evil ministers. I shall repeat hiswords; for I presume we treasured up the sayings of poets inour memory when young, that in our riper years we might applythem to advantage. 

 "'When one man's crimes the wrath of Heaven provoke, Oft hath a nation felt the fatal stroke. Contagion's blast destroys at Jove's command, And wasteful famine desolates the land. Or, in the field of war, her boasted powers Are lost, and earth receives her prostrate towers. In vain in gorgeous state her navies ride, Dashed, wrecked, and buried in the boist'rous tide. '

"Take away the measure of these verses, consider only the sentiment, and you will fancy that you hear, not some part of Hesiod, buta prophecy of the administration of Demosthenes; for true itis, that both fleets and armies, and whole cities, have beencompletely destroyed by his administration. 

"Which, think ye, was the more worthy citizen--Themistocles, who commanded your fleet when you defeated the Persian in thesea-fight at Salamis, or this Demosthenes, who deserted fromhis post? Miltiades, who conquered the barbarians at Marathon, or this man? The chiefs who led back the people from Phy'le;Aristides, surnamed the Just, or Demosthenes? No; by the powersof heaven, I deem the names of these heroes too noble to bementioned in the same day with that of this savage! And letDemosthenes show, when he comes to his reply, if ever decreewas made for granting a golden crown to them. Was then the stateungrateful? No; but she thought highly of her own dignity. Andthese citizens, who were not thus honored, appear to have beentruly worthy of such a state; for they imagined that they werenot to be honored by public records, but by the memories of thosethey had obliged; and their honors have there remained, fromthat time down to this day, in characters indelible and immortal. There were citizens in those days who, being stationed at theriver Strymon, there patiently endured a long series of toilsand dangers, and at length gained a victory over the Medes. Attheir return they petitioned the people for a reward; and a rewardwas conferred upon them (then deemed of great importance) byerecting three memorials of stone in the usual portico, on which, however, their names were not inscribed, lest this might seema monument erected to the honor of the commanders, not to thatof the people. For the truth of this I appeal to the inscriptions. That on the first statue was expressed thus:

 "'Great souls! who fought near Strymon's rapid tide, And braved the invader's arm, and quelled his pride, Ei'on's high towers confess'd the glorious deed, And saw dire famine waste the vanquished Mede. Such was our vengeance on the barb'rous host, And such the generous toils our heroes boast. '

"This was the inscription on the second:

 "'This the reward which grateful Athens gives! Here still the patriot and the hero lives! Here let the rising age with rapture gaze, And emulate the glorious deeds they praise. '

"On the third was the inscription:

 "'Mnes'the-us hence led forth his chosen train, And poured the war o'er hapless Ilion's plain. 'Twas his (so speaks the bard's immortal lay) To form the embodied host in firm array. Such were our sons! Nor yet shall Athens yield The first bright honors of the sanguine field. Still, nurse of heroes! still the praise is thine, Of every glorious toil, of every art divine. '

"In these do we find the name of the general? No; but that ofthe people. Fancy yourselves transported to the grand portico;for, in this your place of assembling, the monuments of all greatactions are erected in full view. There we find a picture ofthe battle of Marathon. Who was the general in this battle? Tothis question you will all answer--Miltiades. And yet his nameis not inscribed. How? Did he not petition for such an honor?He did petition; but the people refused to grant it. Insteadof inscribing his name, they consented that he should be drawnin the foreground, encouraging his soldiers. In like manner, in the temple of the great Mother adjoining the senate-house, you may see the honors paid to those who brought our exiles backfrom Phyle; nor were even these granted precipitately, but afteran exact previous examination by the senate into the numbersof those who maintained their post there, when the Lacedæmoniansand the Thirty marched to attack them--not of those who fledfrom their post at Chæronea on the first appearance of an enemy. "Æschines closes his very able and brilliant oration with thefollowing words:

"And now bear witness for me, thou Earth, thou Sun, O Virtueand Intelligence, and thou, O Erudition, which teachest us thejust distinction between vice and goodness, that I have stoodup, that I have spoken in the cause of justice. If I have supportedmy prosecution with a dignity befitting its importance, I havespoken as my wishes dictated; if too deficiently, as my abilitiesadmitted. Let what hath now been offered, and what your ownthoughts must supply, be duly weighed, and pronounce such asentence as justice and the interests of the state demand. " --Trans. By THOMAS LELAND, D. D. 

Æschines was immediately followed by Demosthenes in a reply whichhas been considered "the greatest speech of the greatest oratorin the world. " The historian GROTE speaks of "the encomiums whichhave been pronounced upon it with one voice, both in ancient andmodern times, as the unapproachable masterpiece of Grecianoratory. " It has been styled, from the occasion on which it wasdelivered, The Oration of Demosthenes on the Crown. 

The orator opens his defence against the charges brought forwardby his adversary with the following exordium, which Quintil'iancommends for its modesty:

"I begin, men of Athens, by praying to every god and goddessthat the same good-will which I have ever cherished toward theCommonwealth, and all of you, may be requited to me on the presenttrial. I pray likewise--and this specially concerns yourselves, your religion, and your honor--that the gods may put it in yourminds, not to take counsel of my opponent touching the mannerin which I am to be heard [Footnote: Æschines had requested thatDemosthenes should be "confined to the same method in his defence"which he, Æschines, had pursued in his charges against him. ]--thatwould indeed be cruel!--but of the laws and of your oath; wherein(besides the other obligations) it is prescribed that you shallhear both sides alike. This means, not only that you must passno pre-condemnation, not only that you must extend your good-willequally to both, but also that you must allow the parties toadopt such order and course of defence as they severally chooseand prefer. 

"Many advantages hath Æschines over me on this trial; and twoespecially, men of Athens. First, our risk in the contest isnot the same. It is assuredly not the same for me to forfeityour regard as for my adversary not to succeed in his indictment. To me--but I will say nothing untoward at the outset of my address. The prosecution, however, is play to him. My second disadvantageis the natural disposition of mankind to take pleasure in hearinginvective and accusation, and to be annoyed by them who praisethemselves. To Æschines is assigned the part which gives pleasure;that which is (I may fairly say) offensive to all, is left for me. And if, to escape from this, I make no mention of what I havedone, I shall appear to be without defence against his charges, without proof of my claims to honor; whereas, if I proceed togive an account of my conduct and measures, I shall be forcedto speak frequently of myself. I will endeavor, then, to do sowith becoming modesty. What I am driven to by the necessity ofthe case will be fairly chargeable to my opponent, who hasinstituted such a prosecution. 

"I think, men of the jury, you will all agree that I, as wellas Ctesiphon, am a party to this proceeding, and that it is amatter of no less concern to me than to him. It is painful andgrievous to be deprived of anything, especially by the act ofone's enemy; but your good-will and affection are the heaviestloss precisely as they are the greatest prize to gain. 

"Had Æschines confined his charge to the subject of the prosecution, I too would have proceeded at once to my justification of thedecree. [Footnote: The decree of the senate procured by Ctesiphonin favor of Demosthenes. ] But since he has wasted no fewer wordsin the discussion, in most of them calumniating me, I deem itboth necessary and just, men of Athens, to begin by shortlyadverting to these points, that none of you may be induced byextraneous arguments to shut your ears against my defence tothe indictment. 

"To all his scandalous abuse about my private life observe myplain and obvious answer. If you know me to be such as he alleged--for I have lived nowhere else but among you--let not my voicebe heard, however transcendent my statesmanship. Rise up thisinstant and condemn me. But if, in your opinion and judgment, I am far better and of better descent than my adversary; if (tospeak without offence) I am not inferior, I or mine, to anyrespectable citizens, then give no credit to him for his otherstatements; it is plain they were all equally fictions; but tome let the same good-will which you have uniformly exhibitedupon many former trials be manifested now. With all your malice, Æschines, it was very simple to suppose that I should turn fromthe discussion of measures and policy to notice your scandal. I will do no such thing. I am not so crazed. Your lies andcalumnies about my political life I will examine forthwith. Forthat loose ribaldry I shall have a word hereafter, if the jurydesire to hear it. 

"If the crimes which Æschines saw me committing against the statewere as heinous as he so tragically gave out, he ought to haveenforced the penalties of the law against them at the time; ifhe saw me guilty of an impeachable offence, by impeaching andso bringing me to trial before you; if moving illegal decrees, by indicting me for them. For surely, if he can indict Ctesiphonon my account, he would not have forborne to indict me myselfhad he thought he could convict me. In short, whatever else hesaw me doing to your prejudice, whether mentioned or not mentionedin his catalogue of slander, there are laws for such things, and trials, and judgments, with sharp and severe penalties, allof which he might have enforced against me; and, had he doneso--had he thus pursued the proper method with me--his chargeswould have been consistent with his conduct. But now he hasdeclined the straightforward and just course, avoided all proofsof guilt at the time, and after this long interval gets up toplay his part withal--a heap of accusation, ribaldry, and scandal. Then he arraigns me, but prosecutes the defendant. His hatredof me he makes the prominent part of the whole contest; yet, withouthaving ever met me upon that ground, he openly seeks to deprivea third party of his privileges. Now, men of Athens, besidesall the other arguments that may be urged in Ctesiphon's behalf, this, methinks, may very fairly be alleged--that we should tryour quarrel by ourselves; not leave our private dispute and lookwhat third party we can damage. That, surely, were the heightof injustice. "

Demosthenes now enters upon an elaborate review of the history ofAthens from the beginning of the Phocian war, his own relationsthereto, and the charges of Æschines in connection therewith, fortifying his defence with numerous citations from publicdocuments, and boldly arraigning the political principles andpolicy of his opponent, whom he accuses of being in frequentcommunication with the emissaries of Philip--"a spy by nature, and an enemy to his country. " In the following terms he speaksof his own public services, and reminds Æschines that the peopledo not forget them:

"Many great and glorious enterprises has the Commonwealth, Æschines, undertaken and succeeded in through me; and she didnot forget them. Here is the proof. On the election of a personto speak the funeral oration immediately after the event, youwere proposed; but the people would not have you, notwithstandingyour fine voice; nor Dema'des, though he had just made the peace;nor He-ge'mon, nor any other of your party--but me. And whenyou and Pyth'ocles came forward in a brutal and shameful manner(oh, merciful Heaven!) and urged the same accusations againstme which you now do, and abused me, they elected me all the more. The reason--you are not ignorant of it, yet I will tell you. The Athenians knew as well the loyalty and zeal with which Iconducted their affairs as the dishonesty of you and your party;for what you denied upon oath in our prosperity you confessedin the misfortunes of the republic. They considered, therefore, that men who got security for their politics by the publicdisasters had been their enemies long before, and were thenavowedly such. They thought it right, also, that the person whowas to speak in honor of the fallen, and celebrate their valor, should not have sat under the same roof or at the same tablewith their antagonists; that he should not revel there and singa pæan over the calamities of Greece in company with theirmurderers, and then come here and receive distinction; that heshould not with his voice act the mourner of their fate, but thathe should lament over them with his heart. And such sinceritythey found in themselves and me, but not in any of you: thereforethey elected me, and not you. Nor, while the people felt thus, did the fathers and brothers of the deceased, who were chosenby the people to perform their obsequies, feel differently. Forhaving to order the funeral (according to custom) at the houseof the nearest relative of the deceased, they ordered it at mine--and with reason: because, though each to his own was nearerof kin than I was, no one was so near to them all collectively. He that had the deepest interest in their safety and successmust surely feel the deepest sorrow at their unhappy and unmeritedmisfortune. Read the epitaph inscribed upon their monument bypublic authority. In this, Æschines, you will find a proof ofyour absurdity, your malice, your abandoned baseness. Read!

 The Epitaph. 

 "'These are the patriot brave who, side by side, Stood to their arms and dashed the foeman's pride: Firm in their valor, prodigal of life, Hades they chose the arbiter of strife; That Greeks might ne'er to haughty victors bow, Nor thraldom's yoke, nor dire oppression know, They, fought, they bled, and on their country's breast (Such was the doom of Heaven) these warriors rest: Gods never lack success, nor strive in vain, But man must suffer what the Fates ordain. '

"Do you hear, Æschines, in this very inscription, that 'the godsnever lack success, nor strive in vain?' Not to the statesmandoes it ascribe the power of giving victory in battle, but tothe gods. But one thing, O Athenians, surprised me more thanall--that, when Æschines mentioned the late misfortunes of thecountry, he felt not as became a well-disposed and upright citizen;he shed no tear, experienced no such emotion: with a loud voice, exulting and straining his throat, he imagined apparently thathe was accusing me, while he was giving proof against himselfthat our distresses touched him not. 

"Two things, men of Athens, are characteristic of a well-disposedcitizen; so may I speak of myself and give the least offence. In authority his constant aim should be the dignity andpre-eminence of the Commonwealth; in all times and circumstanceshis spirit should be loyal. This depends upon nature; power andmight upon other things. Such a spirit, you will find, I haveever sincerely cherished. Only see! When my person wasdemanded--when they brought Amphictyonic suits against me--whenthey menaced--when they promised--when they set these miscreantslike wild beasts upon me--never in any way have I abandoned myaffection for you. From the very beginning I chose an honestand straightforward course in politics, to support the honor, the power, the glory of my fatherland; these to exalt, in theseto have my being. I do not walk about the market-place gay andcheerful because the stranger has prospered, holding out my righthand and congratulating those who I think will report it yonder, and on any news of our own success shudder and groan and stoopto the earth like these impious men who rail at Athens, as ifin so doing they did not rail at themselves; who look abroad, and if the foreigner thrives by the distresses of Greece, arethankful for it, and say we should keep him so thriving to alltime. 

"Never, O ye gods, may those wishes be confirmed by you! Ifpossible, inspire even in these men a better sense and feeling!But if they are indeed incurable, destroy them by themselves;exterminate them on land and sea; and for the rest of us, grantthat we may speedily be released from our present fears, andenjoy a lasting deliverance. " [Footnote: Lord Brougham says that"the music of this closing passage (in the original) is almostas fine as the sense is impressive and grand, and the mannerdignified and calm, " and he admits the difficulty of preservingthis in a translation. His own translation of the passage is asfollows: "Let not, O gracious God, let not such conduct receiveany measure of sanction from thee! Rather plant even in thesemen a better spirit and better feelings! But if they are whollyincurable, then pursue them, yea, themselves by themselves, toutter and untimely perdition, by land and by sea; and to us whoare spared, vouchsafe to grant the speediest rescue from ourimpending alarms, and an unshaken security. "] --Trans. By CHARLES RANN KENNEDY. 

Æschines lost his case, and, not having obtained a fifth partof the votes, became himself liable to a penalty, and soon leftthe country in disgrace. 

 * * * * *

II. THE WARS THAT FOLLOWED ALEXANDER'S DEATH. 

When the intelligence of Alexander's death reached Greece thecountry was already on the eve of a revolution against Antip'ater. Athens found little difficulty in uniting several of the stateswith herself in a confederacy against him, and met with somesuccesses in what is known as the La'mian war. But the movementwas short-lived, as Antipater completely annihilated theconfederate army in the battle of Cran'non (322 B. C. ). Athenswas directed to abolish her democratic form of government, paythe expenses of the war, and surrender a number of her most famousmen, including Demosthenes. The latter, however, escaped fromAthens, and sought refuge in the Temple of Poseidon, in the islandof Calaure'a. Here he took poison, and expired as he was beingled from the temple by a satellite of Antipater. 

The sudden death of Alexander left the government in a veryunsettled condition. As he had appointed no successor, immediatelyfollowing his death a council of his generals was held, and thefollowing division of his conquests was agreed upon: PtolemySoter was to have Egypt and the adjacent countries; Macedoniaand Greece were divided between Antipater and Crat'erus; Antig'onuswas given Phrygia, Lycia, and Pamphyl'ia; Lysim'achus was grantedThrace; and Eume'nes was given Cappadocia and Paphlagonia. Soonafter this division Perdic'cas, then the most powerful of thegenerals who retained control in the East, and had the custodyof the infant Alexander, proclaimed himself regent, and at onceset out on a career of conquest. Antigonus, Antipater, Craterus, and Ptolemy leagued against him, however, and in 321, after anunsuccessful campaign in Egypt, Perdiccas was murdered by hisown officers. 

Antipater died in 318, and shortly after his death his sonCassander made himself master of Greece and Macedon, and causedthe surviving members of Alexander's family to be put to death. Antigonus had, before this time, conquered Eumenes, and overrunSyria and Asia Minor; but his increasing power led Ptolemy, Seleu'cus, Lysimachus, and Cassander to unite against him; andthey fought with him the famous battle of Ipsus, in Phrygia, that ended in the death of Antigonus and the dissolution of hisempire (301 B. C. ). A new partition of the country was now madeinto four independent kingdoms: Ptolemy was given Egypt and Libya;Seleucus received the countries embraced in the eastern conquestsof Alexander, and the whole region between the coast of Syriaand the river Euphrates; Lysimachus received the northern andwestern portions of Asia Minor, and Cassander retained thesovereignty of Greece and Macedon. 

Of these kingdoms the most powerful were Syria and Egypt; theformer of which continued under the dynasty of the Seleucidæ, and the latter under that of the Ptolemies, until both wereabsorbed by the Roman empire. Of all the Ptolemies, PtolemyPhiladelphus was the most eminent. He was not only a sovereignof ability, but was also distinguished for his amiable qualitiesof mind, for his encouragement of the arts and commerce, and hewas called the richest and most powerful monarch of his age. Hewas born in 309 B. C. And died in 247. The Greek poet THEOCRITUS, who lived much at his court, thus characterizes him:

 What is his character? A royal spirit To point out genius and encourage merit; The poet's friend, humane and good and kind; Of manners gentle, and of generous mind. He marks his friend, but more he marks his foe; His hand is ever ready to bestow: Request with reason, and he'll grant the thing, And what be gives, he gives it like a king. 

The poet then sings the praises of the king, and describes thestrength, the wealth, and the magnificence of his kingdom, inthe following striking lines:

 Here, too, O Ptolemy, beneath thy sway What cities glitter to the beams of day! Lo! with thy statelier pomp no kingdom vies, While round thee thrice ten thousand cities rise. Struck by the terror of thy flashing sword, Syria bowed down, Arabia called thee Lord; Phoenicia trembled, and the Libyan plain, With the black Ethiop, owned thy wide domain: E'en Lesser Asia and her isles grew pale As o'er the billows passed thy crowd of sail. 

 Earth feels thy nod, and all the subject sea; And each resounding river rolls for thee. And while, around, thy thick battalions flash, Thy proud steeds neighing for the warlike clash-- Through all thy marts the tide of commerce flows, And wealth beyond a monarch's grandeur glows. Such gold-haired Ptolemy! whose easy port Speaks the soft polish of the mannered court; And whose severer aspect, as he wields The spear, dire-blazing, frowns in tented fields. 

 And though he guards, while other kingdoms own His conquering arms, the hereditary throne, Yet in vast heaps no useless treasure stored Lies, like the riches of an emmet's hoard; To mighty kings his bounty he extends, To states confederate and illustrious friends. No bard at Bacchus' festival appears, Whose lyre has power to charm the ravished ears, But he bright honors and rewards imparts, Due to his merits, equal to his arts; And poets hence, for deathless song renowned, The generous fame of Ptolemy resound. At what more glorious can the wealthy aim Than thus to purchase fair and lasting fame? -Trans. By FAWKES. 

Cassander survived the establishment of his power in Greece onlyfour years, and as his sons quarreled over the succession;Demetrius, son of Antigonus, seized the opportunity to interferein their disputes, cut off the brother who had invited his aid, and made himself master of the throne of Macedon, which was heldby him and his posterity, except during a brief interruptionafter his death, down to the time of the Roman Conquest. Fora number of years succeeding the death of Demetrius, Macedon, Greece, and western Asia were harassed with the wars excited bythe various aspirants to power; and in this situation of affairsa storm, unseen in the distance, but that had long been gathering, suddenly burst upon Macedon, threatening to convert, by its ravages, the whole Grecian peninsula into a scene of desolation. 

 * * * * *

III. THE CELTIC INVASION, AND THE WAR WITH PYRRHUS. 

A vast horde of Celtic barbarians had for some time been collectingaround the head-waters of the Adriatic. Influenced by hopes ofplunder they now overran Macedon to the borders of Thessaly, defeating Ptolemy Ceraunus, then King of Macedonia, in a greatbattle. The walled towns alone held out until the storm had spentits fury, when the Celts gradually withdrew from a country inwhich there was but little left to tempt their cupidity. But inthe following year (279 B. C. ) another band of them, estimated atover two hundred thousand men, overran Macedonia, passed throughThessaly, defeated the allied Grecians at Thermopylæ, and thenmarched into Phocis, for the purpose of plundering the treasuresof Delphi. But their atrocities aroused against them the wholepopulation, and only a remnant of them gained their originalseats on the Adriatic. 

The throne of Macedon now found an enemy in Pyrrhus, King ofEpirus, a connection of the royal family of Macedon, and of whoseexploits Roman history furnishes a full account. A desultorycontest was maintained for several years between Pyrrhus andAntigonus II. , the son of Demetrius, and then King of Macedon. While Pyrrhus was engaged in this war, Cleon'ymus, of the bloodroyal of Sparta, who had been excluded from the throne by theSpartan people, to give place to A'reus, invited Pyrrhus to hisaid. Pyrrhus marched to Sparta, and, supposing that he shouldnot meet with any resistance, ordered his tents to be pitched, and sat quietly down before the city. Night coming on, the Spartansin consternation met in council, and resolved to send their womento Crete for safety. Thereupon the women assembled and remonstratedagainst it; and the queen, Archidami'a, being appointed to speakfor the rest, went into the council-hall with a sword in herhand, and boldly upbraiding the men, told them they did theirwives great wrong if they thought them so faint-hearted as tolive after Sparta was destroyed. The women then rushed to thedefences of the city, and spent the night aiding the men indigging trenches; and when Pyrrhus attacked on the morrow, hewas so severely repulsed that he soon abandoned the siege andretired from Laconia. The patriotic spirit and heroism of theSpartan women on this occasion are well characterized in thefollowing lines:

 Queen Archidami'a. 

 The chiefs were met in the council-hall; Their words were sad and few, They were ready to fight, and ready to fall, As the sons of heroes do. 

 And moored in the harbor of Gyth'e-um lay The last of the Spartan fleet, That should bear the Spartan women away To the sunny shores of Crete. 

 Their hearts went back to the days of old; They thought of the world-wide shock, When the Persian hosts like an ocean rolled To the foot of the Grecian rock;

 And they turned their faces, eager and pale, To the rising roar in the street, As if the clank of the Spartan mail Were the tramp of the conqueror's feet. 

 It was Archidamia, the Spartan queen, Brave as her father's steel; She stood like the silence that comes between The flash and the thunder-peal. 

 She looked in the eyes of the startled crowd; Calmly she gazed around; Her voice was neither low nor loud, But it rang like her sword on the ground. 

 "Spartans!" she said--and her woman's face Flushed out both pride and shame-- "I ask, by the memory of your race, Are ye worthy of the name?

 "Ye have bidden us seek new hearths and graves, Beyond the reach of the foe; And now, by the dash of the blue sea-waves, We swear that we will not go!

 "Is the name of Pyrrhus to blanch your cheeks? Shall he burn, and kill, and destroy? Are ye not sons of the deathless Greeks Who fired the gates of Troy?

 "What though his feet have scathless stood In the rush of the Punic foam? Though his sword be red to its hilt with the blood That has beat at the heart of Rome?

 "Brothers and sons! we have reared you men: Our walls are the ocean swell; Our winds blew keen down the rocky glen Where the staunch Three Hundred fell. 

 "Our hearts are drenched in the wild sea-flow, In the light of the hills and the sky; And the Spartan women, if need be so, Will teach the men to die. 

 "We are brave men's mothers, and brave men's wives: We are ready to do and dare; We are ready to man your walls with our lives, And string your bows with our hair. 

 "Let the young and brave lie down to-night, And dream of the brave old dead, Their broad shields bright for to-morrow's fight, Their swords beneath their head. 

 "Our breasts are better than bolts and bars; We neither wail nor weep; We will light our torches at the stars, And work while our warriors sleep. 

 "We hold not the iron in our blood Viler than strangers' gold; The memory of our motherhood Is not to be bought and sold. 

 "Shame to the traitor heart that springs To the faint soft arms of Peace, If the Roman eagle shook his wings At the very gates of Greece!

 "Ask not the mothers who gave you birth To bid you turn and flee; When Sparta is trampled from the earth Her women can die, and be free. "

Soon after the repulse at Sparta, Pyrrhus again marched againstAntig'onus; but having attacked Argos on the way, and after havingentered within the walls, he was killed by a tile thrown by apoor woman from a house-top. The death of Pyrrhus forms animportant epoch in Grecian history, as it put an end to thestruggle for power among Alexander's successors in the West, andleft the field clear for the final contest between the libertiesof Greece and the power of Macedon. Antigonus now made himselfmaster of the greater part of Peloponnesus, and then sought toreduce Athens, the defence of which was aided by an Egyptianfleet and a Spartan army. Athens was at length taken (262 B. C. ), and all Greece, with the exception of Sparta, seemed to liehelpless at the feet of Antigonus, who little dreamed that theleague of a few Achæan cities was to become a formidableadversary to him and his house. 

 * * * * *

IV. THE ACHÆ'AN LEAGUE. --PHILIP V, OF MACEDON. 

The Achæan League at first comprised twelve towns of Acha'ia, which were associated together for mutual safety, forming a littlefederal republic. But about twenty years after the death of Pyrrhusother cities gave in their adherence, until the confederacyembraced nearly the whole of the Peloponnesus. Athens had beenreduced to great misery by Antigonus, and was in no condition toaid the League, while Sparta vigorously opposed it, and finallysucceeded in inducing Corinth and Argos to withdraw from it. Sparta subsequently made war against the Achæans, and by hersuccesses compelled them to call in the aid of the Macedonians, their former enemies. Antigonus readily embraced this opportunityto restore the influence of his family in southern Greece, and, marching against the Lacedæmonians, he obtained a decisive victorywhich placed Sparta at his mercy; but he used his victorymoderately, and granted the Spartans peace on liberal terms(221 B. C. ). Antigonus died soon after this success, and wassucceeded by his nephew and adopted son, Philip V. , a youth ofonly seventeen. The Æto'lians, a confederacy of rude Greciantribes, aided by the Spartans, now began a series of unprovokedaggressions on some of the Peloponnesian states. The Messenians, whose territory they had invaded by way of the western coast ofPeloponnesus, called upon the Achæans for assistance; and theyouthful Philip having been placed at the head of the AchæanLeague, a general war began between the Macedonians and Achæanson the one side, and the Ætolians and their allies on the other, that continued with great severity and obstinacy for four years. Philip was on the whole successful, but new and more ambitiousdesigns led him to put an end to the unprofitable contest. Thegreat struggle going on between Rome and Carthage attracted hisattention, and he thought that an alliance with the latter wouldopen to himself prospects of future conquest and glory. So atreaty was concluded with the Ætolians, which left all theparties to the war in the enjoyment of their respectivepossessions (217 B. C. ), and Philip prepared to enter the fieldagainst Rome. 

After the battle between Carthage and Rome at Can'næ (216 B. C. ), which seemed to have extinguished the last hopes of Rome, Philipsent envoys to Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, and concludedwith him a treaty of strict alliance. He next sailed with a fleetup the Adriatic, to assist Deme'trius of Pharos, who had beendriven from his Illyrian dominions by the Romans; but whilebesieging Apollo'nia, a small town in Illyria, he was met anddefeated by the Roman prætor M. Vale'rius Lævi'nus, and was forcedto burn his ships and retreat overland to Macedon. Such was theissue of his first encounter with the Romans. The latter nowturned their attention to Greece (211 B. C. ), and contrived tokeep Philip busy at home by inciting a violation of the recenttreaty with the Ætolians, and by inducing Sparta and Elis tounite in a war against Macedon. Philip was for a time supportedby the Achæans, under their renowned leader Philopoe'men; butAthens, which Philip had besieged, called in the aid of a Romanfleet (199 B. C. ), and finally the Achæans themselves, being dividedinto factions, accepted terms of peace with the Romans. Philipcontinued to struggle against his increasing enemies until hisdefeat in the great battle of Cynoceph'alæ (197 B. C. ), by theRoman consul Titus Flamin'ius, when he purchased peace by thesacrifice of his navy, the payment of a tribute, and theresignation of his supremacy over the Grecian states. 

At this time there was a Grecian epigrammatic poet, ALCÆ'US, of Messe'ne, who was an ardent partisan of the Roman consulFlaminius, and who celebrated the defeat of Philip in some ofhis epigrams. He wrote the following on the expedition ofFlaminius:

 Xerxes from Persia led his mighty host, And Titus his from fair Italia's coast. Both warred with Greece; but here the difference see: That brought a yoke--this gives us liberty. 

He also wrote the following sarcastic epigram on the Macedoniansof Philip's army who were slain at Cynocephalæ:

 Unmourned, unburied, passenger, we lie, Three myriad sons of fruitful Thessaly, In this wide field of monumental clay. Ætolian Mars had marked us for his prey; Or he who, bursting from the Ausonian fold, In Titus' form the waves of battle rolled; And taught Æma'thia's boastful lord to run So swift that swiftest stags were by his speed outdone. 

Philip is said to have retorted this insult by the followinginscription on a tree, in which he pretty plainly states thechastisement Alcæus would receive were he to fall into the handsof his enemy:

 Unbarked, and leafless, passenger, you see, Fixed in this mound Alcæus' gallows-tree. --Trans. By J. H. MERIVALE. 

 * * * * *

V. GREECE CONQUERED BY ROME. 

At the Isthmian games, held at Corinth the year after the downfallof Philip, the Roman consul Flaminius, a true friend of Greece, under the authority of the Roman Senate caused proclamation tobe made, that Rome "took off all impositions and withdrew allgarrisons from Greece, and restored liberty, and their own lawsand privileges, to the several states" (196 B. C. ). The deludedGreeks received this announcement with exultation, and the highesthonors which a grateful people could bestow were showered uponFlaminius. [Footnote: See a more full account of the eventsconnected with this proclamation, in Mosaics of Roman History. ]

 A Roman master stands on Grecian ground, And to the concourse of the Isthmian games He, by his herald's voice, aloud proclaims "The liberty of Greece!" The words rebound Until all voices in one voice are drowned; Glad acclamation by which the air was rent! And birds, high flying in the element, Dropped to the earth, astonished at the sound! A melancholy echo of that noise Doth sometimes hang on musing Fancy's ear. Ah! that a conqueror's words should be so dear; Ah! that a boon should shed such rapturous joys! A gift of that which is not to be given By all the blended powers of earth and heaven. --WILLIAM WORDSWORTH. 

The Greeks soon realized that the freedom which Rome affectedto bestow was tendered by a power that could withdraw it atpleasure. First, the Ætolians were reduced to poverty and deprivedof their independence, for having espoused the cause of Anti'ochusof Syria, the enemy of Rome. At a later period Perseus, thesuccessor of Philip on the throne of Macedon, being driven intoa war by Roman ambition, finally lost his kingdom in the battleof Pydna (168 B. C. ); and then the Achæans were charged with havingaided Macedon in her war with Rome, and, without a shadow ofproof against them, one thousand of their worthiest citizenswere seized and sent to Rome for trial (167 B. C. ). Here theywere kept seventeen years without a hearing, when three hundredof their number, all who survived, were restored to their country. These and other acts of cruelty aroused a spirit of vengeanceagainst the Romans, that soon culminated in war. But the Achæansand their allies were defeated by the consul Mum'mius, nearCorinth (146 B. C. ), and that city, then the richest in Greece, was plundered of its treasures and consigned to the flames. Corinth was specially distinguished for its perfection in thearts of painting and sculpture, and the poet ANTIP'ATER, of Sidon, thus describes the desolation of the city after its destructionby the Romans:

 Where, Corinth, are thy glories now-- Thy ancient wealth, thy castled brow, Thy solemn fanes, thy halls of state, Thy high-born dames, thy crowded gate? There's not a ruin left to tell Where Corinth stood, how Corinth fell. The Nereids of thy double sea Alone remain to wail for thee. --Trans. By GOLDWIN SMITH. 

The last blow to the liberties of the Hellenic race had now beenstruck, and all Greece, as far as Epi'rus and Macedonia, becamea Roman province under the name of Achaia. Says THIRLWALL, "Theend of the Achæan war was the last stage of the lingering processby which Rome enclosed her victim in the coils of her insidiousdiplomacy, covered it with the slime of her sycophants andhirelings, crushed it when it began to struggle, and then calmlypreyed upon its vitals. " But although Greece had lost herindependence, and many of her cities were desolate, or had sunkinto insignificance, she still retained her renown for philosophyand the arts, and became the instructor of her conquerors. Inthe well-known words of HORACE, When conquered Greece brought in her captive arts, She triumphed o'er her savage conquerors' hearts. -Bk. II. Epistle 1. 

As another has said, "She still retained a sovereignty whichthe Romans could not take from her, and to which they were obligedto pay homage. " In whatever quarter Rome turned her victoriousarms she encountered Greek colonies speaking the Greek language, and enjoying the arts of civilization. All these were absorbedby her, but they were not lost. They diffused Greek customs, thought, speech, and art over the Latin world, and Hellas survivedin the intellectual life of a new empire. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

LITERATURE AND ART AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 

LITERATURE. 

I. THE DRAMA. 

As we have seen in a former chapter, Greek tragedy attained itszenith with the three great masters--Æschylus, Sophocles, andEuripides. As MAHAFFY well says, "Its later annals are but ahistory of decay; and of the vast herd of latter tragedians twoonly, and two of the earliest--Ion of Chi'os, and Ag'athon--canbe called living figures in a history of Greek literature. " Eventhese, it seems, wrote before Sophocles and Euripides had closedtheir careers. But few fragments of their genius have come downto us. Longi'nus said of Ion, that he was fluent and polished, rather than bold or sublime; while Agathon has been characterizedas "the creator of a new tragic style, combining the verbalelegancies and ethical niceties of the Sophists with artisticclaims of a luxurious kind. "

While tragedy declined, with comedy the case was different, forits changes were progressive. Most writers divide Greek comedyinto the Old, the Middle, and the New; and although the boundarylines between the three orders are very indistinct, each hascertain well-defined characteristics. It is asserted, as we haveelsewhere noted, that the chief subjects of the first were thepolitics of the day and the characters and deeds of leading persons;that the chief peculiarity of the second, in which the actionof the chorus was much curtailed, was the exclusion of personaland political criticism, and the adoption of parodies of thegods and ridicule of certain types of character; and that theNew Comedy, in which the chorus disappeared, aimed to paint scenesand characters of domestic life. The Middle Comedy, however, still continued to be in some degree personal and political, and even in the New Comedy these features of the Old are frequentlyapparent. 

Aristoph'anes, the leader of the Old Comedy, toward the closeof his life produced The Frogs--a work that signalized thetransition from the Old to the Middle Comedy. The latter school, however, took its rise in Sicily, and its most distinguishedauthors were Antiph'anes, probably of Athens, born in 404, andAlex'is of Thu'rii, born about 394. The New Comedy arose afterAthens had fallen under Macedonian supremacy, and as many assixty-four poets belong to this period, the later of whom composedtheir plays in Alexandria, in the time of Alexander's successors. The founder of this school was Phile'mon of Soli, in Cilicia, born about 360 B. C. Of his ninety plays fragments of fifty-sixremain. The majority of these have been described as "elegantbut not profound reflections on the 'changes and chances of thismortal life. '" A late critic chooses the following fragment asillustrative of Philemon, and at the same time favorable to hisreputation:

 Have faith in God, and fear; seek not to know him; For thou wilt gain naught else beyond thy search; Whether he is or is not, shun to ask: As one who is, and sees thee, always fear him. --Trans. By J. A. SYMONDS. 

MENANDER. 

The acknowledged master and representative of this period, however, and the last of the classical poets of Greece, was Menan'der, an Athenian, son of Diopi'thes, the general whom Demosthenesdefended in his speech "On the Chersonese, " and a nephew of thepoet Alexis. Menander was born in 342 B. C. ; and although onlyfragments of his writings exist, he was so closely copied orimitated by the Roman comic poets that his style and charactercan be very clearly traced. MR. SYMONDS thus describes him: "Hispersonal beauty, the love of refined pleasure that distinguishedhim in life, the serene and genial temper of his wisdom, thepolish of his verse, and the harmony of parts he observed incomposition, justify us in calling Menander the Sophocles ofcomedy. If we were to judge by the fragments transmitted to us, weshould have to say that Menander's comedy was ethical philosophyin verse; so mature is its wisdom, so weighty its language, sograve its tone. The brightness of the beautiful Greek spiritis sobered down in him almost to sadness. Yet the fact thatStobæ'us found him a fruitful source of sententious quotations, and that alphabetical anthologies were made of his proverbialsayings, ought not to obscure his fame for drollery and humor. If old men appreciated his genial or pungent worldly wisdom, boys and girls read him, we are told, for his love-stories. "

Menander was an intimate friend of Epicu'rus, the philosopher, and is supposed to have adopted his teachings. On this point, however, MR. SYMONDS thus remarks: "Speaking broadly, thephilosophy in vogue at Athens during the period of the New Comedywas what in modern days is known as Epicureanism. Yet it would beunjust to confound the grave and genial wisdom of Menander withso trivial a philosophy as that which may be summed up in thesentence 'eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. ' A fragment froman unknown play of his expresses the pathos of human existencewith a depth of feeling that is inconsistent with merepleasure-seeking:

 "'When thou would'st know thyself, what man thou art, Look at the tombstones as thou passest by: Within those monuments lie bones and dust Of monarchs, tyrants, sages, men whose pride Rose high because of wealth, or noble blood, Or haughty soul, or loveliness of limb; Yet none of these things strove for them 'gainst time; One common death hath ta'en all mortal men. See thou to this, and know thee who thou art. '"

As EUGENE LAWRENCE says: "Most modern comedies are founded onthose of Menander. They revive their characters, repeat theirjokes, transplant their humor; and the wit of Molière, Shakspeare, or Sheridan is often the same that once awoke shouts of laughteron the Attic stage. "

 * * * * *

II. ORATORY. 

 Thence to the famous orators repair, Those ancient, whose resistless eloquence Wielded at will that fierce democracy, Shook the arsenal, and fulmined over Greece To Macedon and Artaxerxes' throne. --MILTON. 

Eloquence, or oratory, which Cicero calls "the friend of peaceand the companion of tranquillity, requiring for her cradle acommonwealth already well-established and flourishing, " wasfostered and developed in Greece by the democratic characterof her institutions. It was scarcely known there until the timeof Themistocles, the first orator of note; and in the time ofPericles it suddenly rose, in Athens, to a great height ofperfection. Pericles himself, whose great aim was to sway theassemblies of the people to his will, cultivated oratory withsuch application and success, that the poets of his day saidof him that on some occasions the goddess of persuasion, withall her charms, seemed to dwell on his lips; and that, at othertimes, his discourse had all the vehemence of thunder to movethe souls of his hearers. The golden age of Grecian eloquenceis embraced in a period of one hundred and thirty years fromthe time of Pericles, and during this period Athens bore thepalm alone. 

Of the many Athenian orators the most distinguished were Lys'ias, Isoc'rates, Æschines, and Demosthenes. The first was born about435 B. C. , and was admired for the perspicuity, purity, sweetness, and delicacy of his style. Having become a resident of Thuriiin early life, on his return to Athens he was not allowed tospeak in the assemblies, or courts of justice, and thereforewrote orations for others to deliver. Many of these arecharacterized by great energy and power. Dionysius, the Romanhistorian and critic, praises Lysias for his grace; Cicero commendshim for his subtlety; and Quintilian esteems him for histruthfulness. Isocrates was born at Athens in 436. Having receivedthe instructions of some of the most celebrated Sophists of histime, he opened a school of rhetoric, and was equally esteemedfor the excellence of his compositions--mostly politicalorations--and for his success in teaching. His style was morephilosophic, smooth, and elegant than that of Lysias. "Cicero, "says a modern critic, "whose style is exceedingly like that ofIsocrates, appears to have especially used him as a model--asindeed did Demosthenes; and through these two orators he hasmoulded all the prose of modern Europe. " Isocrates lived to theadvanced age of ninety-eight, and then died, it is said, byvoluntary starvation, in grief for the fatal battle of Chæronea. 

 "That dishonest victory. At Chæronea, fatal to liberty, Killed with report that old man eloquent. "

ÆSCHINES AND DEMOSTHENES. 

The orator Æschines was born in 398 B. C. He is regarded as thefather of extemporaneous speaking among the Greeks, but is chieflydistinguished as the rival of Demosthenes, rather than for hisfew orations (but three in number) that have come down to us, although he was endowed by nature with extraordinary rhetoricalpowers, and his orations are characterized by ease, order, clearness, and precision. "The eloquence of Æschines, " says anAmerican scholar and statesman, [Footnote: Hugh S. Legaré, ofCharleston, South Carolina, in an article on "Demosthenes" inthe New York Review. ] "is of a brilliant and showy character, running occasionally, though very rarely, into a Ciceroneandeclamation. In general his taste is unexceptionable; he is clearin statement, close and cogent in argument, lucid in arrangement, remarkably graphic and animated in style, and full of spiritand pleasantry, without the least appearance of emphasis or effort. He is particularly successful in description and the portraitureof character. That his powers were appreciated by his great rivalis evident from the latter's frequent admonitions to the assemblyto remember that their debates are no theatrical exhibitionsof voice and oratory, but deliberations involving the safetyof their country. "

On leaving Athens, after his defeat in the celebrated contestwith Demosthenes, Æschines went to Rhodes, where he establisheda school of rhetoric. It is stated that on one occasion he beganhis instruction by reading the two orations that had been thecause of his banishment. His hearers loudly applauded his ownspeech, but when he read that of Demosthenes they were wild withdelight. "If you thus praise it from my reading it, " exclaimedÆschines, "what would you have said if you had heard Demostheneshimself deliver it?"

By the common consent of ancient and modern times, Demosthenesstands pre-eminent for his eloquence, his patriotism, and hisinfluence over the Athenian people. He was born about 383 B. C. On attaining his majority, his first speech was directed againsta cousin to whom his inheritance had been intrusted, and whorefused to surrender to him what was left of it. Demostheneswon his case, and his victory brought him into such prominentnotice that he was soon engaged to write pleadings for litigantsin the courts. He devoted himself to incessant study and practicein oratory, and, overcoming by various means a weakly body andan impediment in his speech, he became the chief of orators. Of his public life we have already seen something in the historyof Athens. With all his moral and intellectual force, the closingyears of his life were shaded with misery and disgrace. Fiftyyears after his death the Athenians erected a bronze statue tohis memory, and upon the pedestal placed this inscription:

 Divine in speech, in judgment, too, divine, Had valor's wreath, Demosthenes, been thine, Fair Greece had still her freedom's ensign borne, And held the scourge of Macedon in scorn!

With regard to the character of the orations of Demosthenes, it must be confessed that somewhat conflicting views have beenentertained by the moderns. LORD BROUGHAM, while admitting thatDemosthenes "never wanders from the subject, that each remarktells upon the matter in hand, that all his illustrations arebrought to bear upon the point, and that he is never found makinga step in any direction which does not advance his main object, and lead toward the conclusion to which he is striving to bringhis hearers, " still denies that he is distinguished for those"chains of reasoning, " and that "fine argumentation" which arethe chief merit of our greatest modern orators. While he admitsthat Demosthenes abounds in the most "appropriate topics, andsuch happy hits--to use a homely but expressive phrase--as havea magical effect upon a popular assembly, and that he clothesthem in the choicest language, arranges them in the most perfectorder, and captivates the ear with a music that is fitted, athis will, to provoke or to soothe, and even to charm the sense, "he regards all this as better suited to great popular assembliesthan to a more refined, and a more select audience--such as onecomposed of learned senators and judges. But this is admittingthat he adapted himself, with admirable tact and judgment, tothe subject and the occasion. But while the character thusattributed to the orations of the great Athenian orator may bethe true one, as regards the Philippics, the speech againstÆschines, and the one on the Crown, it is not thought to beapplicable to the many pleas which he made on occasions morestrictly judicial. 

"That which distinguishes the eloquence of Demosthenes aboveall others, ancient or modern, " says the American writer alreadyquoted, "is earnestness, conviction, and the power to persuadethat belongs to a strong and deep persuasion felt by the speaker. It is what Milton defines true eloquence to be, 'none but theserious and hearty love of truth'--or, more properly, what thespeaker believes to be truth. This advantage Demosthenes hadover Æschines. He had faith in his country, faith in her people(if they could be roused up), faith in her institutions. He ismad at the bare thought that a man of Macedon, a barbarian, shouldbe beating Athenians in the field, and giving laws to Greece. The Roman historian and critic, Dionysius, said of his oratory, that its highest attribute was the spirit of life that pervadesit. Other remarkable features were its amazing flexibility andvariety, its condensation and perfect logical unity, its elaborateand exquisite finish of details, to which must be added thatpolished harmony and rhythm which cannot be attained, to a likedegree, in any modern language. Moreover, however elaboratelycomposed these speeches were, they were still speeches, and hadthe appearance of being the spontaneous effusions of the moment. No extemporaneous harangues were ever more free and natural. "

The historian HUME says of the style of Demosthenes: "It wasrapid harmony adjusted to the sense; vehement reasoning withoutany appearance of art; disdain, anger, boldness, and freedom, involved in a continued strain of argument. " Another writer says:"It was his undeviating firmness, his disdain of all compromise, that made him the first of statesmen and orators; in this laythe substance of his power, the primary foundation of hissuperiority; the rest was merely secondary. The mystery of hismighty influence, then, lay in his honesty; and it is this thatgave warmth and tone to his feelings, an energy to his language, and an impression to his manner before which every imputationof insincerity must have immediately vanished. "

 * * * * *

III. PHILOSOPHY. 

PLATO. 

While oratory was thus attaining perfection in Greece, philosophywas making equal progress in the direction marked out by Socrates. Among the philosophers of the brighter period of Grecian historyare the names of Plato and Aristotle, names that will ever becherished and venerated while genius and worth continue to beheld in admiration. Of the pupils of Socrates, Plato, born inAthens in 429 B. C. , was by far the most distinguished, and theonly one who fully appreciated the intellectual greatness andseized the profound conceptions of his master. In fact, he cameto surpass Socrates in the profoundness of his views, and inthe correctness and eloquence with which he expressed them. Onthe death of his teacher, Plato left Athens and passed twelveyears in visiting different countries, engaged in philosophicinvestigation. Returning to Athens, he founded his school ofphilosophy in the Acade'mia, a beautiful spot in the suburbsof the city, adorned with groves, walks, and fountains, andwhich his name has immortalized. 

 Here Philosophy With Plato dwelt, and burst the chains of mind; Here, with his stole across his shoulders flung, His homely garments with a leathern zone Confined, his snowy beard low clust'ring down Upon his ample chest, his keen dark eye Glancing from underneath the arched brow, He fixed his sandaled foot, and on his staff Leaned, while to his disciples he declared How all creation's mighty fabric rose From the abyss of chaos: next he traced The bounds of virtue and of vice; the source Of good and evil; sketched the ideal form Of beauty, and unfolded all the powers Of mind by which it ranges uncontrolled, And soars from earth to immortality. --HAYGARTH. 

To Plato, as the poet intimates in his closing lines, we owethe first formal development of the Socratic doctrine of thespirituality of the soul, and the first attempt towarddemonstrating its immortality. As a late writer has well said, "It is the genius of Socrates that fills all Plato's philosophy, and their two minds have flowed out over the world together. "Of his doctrine on this subject, as expressed in the Phoe'do, LORD BROUGHAM thus wrote: "The whole tenor of it refers to arenewal or continuation of the soul as a separate and individualexistence after the dissolution of the body, and with a completeconsciousness of personal identity: in short, to a continuance ofthe same rational being's existence after death. The liberationfrom the body is treated as the beginning of a new and more perfectlife. " Plato's only work on physical science is the Timoe'us. His works are all called "Dialogues, " which the critics divideinto two classes--those of search, and those of exposition. Amongthe latter, the Republic and the Laws give us the author'spolitical views; and, on the former, More's Uto'pia and otherworks of like character in modern times are founded. 

"Plato, of all authors, " says DR. A. C. KENDRICK, [Footnote:Article "Plato, " in Appleton's American Cyclipoedia. ] "is theone to whom the least justice can be done by any formal analysis. In the spirit which pervades his writings, in their untiringfreshness, in their purity, love of truth and of virtue, theirperpetual aspiring to the loftiest height of knowledge and ofexcellence, much more than in their positive doctrines, liesthe secret of their charm and of their unfailing power. Plato isoften styled an idealist. But this is true of the spirit ratherthan of the form of his doctrine; for strictly he is an intenserealist, and differs from his great pupil, Aristotle, far lessin his mere philosophical method than in his lofty moral andreligious aspirations, which were perpetually winging his spirittoward the beautiful and the good. His formal errors are abundant;but even in his errors the truth is often deeper than the error;and when that has been discredited, the language adjusts itselfto the deeper truth of which it was rather an inadequate expressionthan a direct contradiction. " Concerning the style of Plato'swritings, a distinguished English scholar and translator observesas follows: "Nor is the language in which his thoughts are conveyedless remarkable than the thoughts themselves. In his more elevatedpassages he rises, like his own Prometheus, to heaven, and bringsdown from thence the noblest of all thefts, [Footnote: See thestory of Prometheus. ] Wisdom with Fire; but, in general, calm, pure, and unaffected, his style flows like a stream which gurglesits own music as it runs; and his works rise, like the greatfabric of Grecian literature, of which they are the best model, in calm and noiseless majesty. " [Footnote: Thomas Mitchell. ]

Plato died at the advanced age of eighty-one, his mental powersunimpaired, and he was buried in the Academe. On his tomb wasplaced the following inscription:

 Here, first of all men for pure justice famed, Aris'tocles, the moral teacher, lies: [Footnote: The proper name of Plato was Aristocles: but in his youth he was surnamed Plato by his companions in the gymnasium, on account of his broad shoulders. (From the Greek word platus, "broad. ")] And if there ere has lived one truly wise, This man was wiser still: too great for envy. 

ARISTOTLE. 

Aristotle was born in 384 B. C. , at Stagi'ra, in Macedonia. Hencehe is frequently called the "Stag'i-rite;" as POPE calls himin the following tribute found in his Temple of Fame:

 Here, in a shrine that cast a dazzing light, Sat, fixed in thought, the mighty Stagirite; His sacred head a radiant zodiac crowned, And various animals his sides surround; His piercing eyes, erect, appear to view Superior worlds, and look all nature through. 

He repaired to Athens at the age of seventeen, and soon afterbecame a pupil of Plato. His uncommon acuteness of apprehension, and his indefatigable industry, early won the notice and applauseof his master, who called him the "mind" of the school, and said, when he was absent, "Intellect is not here. " On the death ofPlato, Aristotle left Athens, and in 343 he repaired to Macedonia, on the invitation of Philip, and became the instructor of theyoung prince Alexander. In after years Alexander aided him in hisscientific pursuits by sending to him many objects of naturalhistory, and giving him large sums of money, estimated in allat two millions of dollars. 

In the year 335 Aristotle returned to Athens, and opened hisschool in the Lyce'um. He walked with his scholars up and downthe shady avenues, conversing on philosophy, and hence his schoolwas called the peripatetic. Aristotle nowhere exhibits the meritsof Plato in the service of metaphysics, yet he was the most learnedand most productive of the writers of Greece. He had neitherthe poetical imagination nor the genius of his teacher, but hemastered the whole philosophical and historical science of hisage, and, more than Plato, his intellect has influenced the courseof modern civilization. He was eminently a practical philosopher--acold inquirer, whose mind did not reach the high and lofty teachingof Plato, concerning Deity and the destiny of mankind. We findthe following just estimate of him in BROWNE'S Greek ClassicalLiterature: "One cannot set too high a value on the practicalnature of Aristotle's mind. He never forgot the bearing of allphilosophy upon the happiness of man, and he never lost sightof man's wants and requirements. He saw the inadequacy of allknowledge, unless he could trace in it a visible practicaltendency. But, beyond this one single point, he falls grievouslyshort of his great master, Plato. All his ideas of man's goodare limited to the consideration of this life alone. It isimpossible to trace in his writings any belief in a future stateor immortality. "

For many centuries succeeding the Middle Ages, especially fromthe eleventh to the fifteenth, the metaphysical teachings ofAristotle held a tyrannic sway over the public mind; but theyhave been gradually yielding to the more lofty and sublimeteachings of Plato. His investigations in natural science, however, and his work as a logician and political philosopher, constitutehis greatness, and create the enormous influence that he haswielded in the world. "Science owes to him its earliest impulse, "says MR. LAWRENCE. "He perfected and brought into form, " saysDR. WILLIAM SMITH, "those elements of the dialectic art whichhad been struck out by Socrates and Plato, and wrought them byhis additions into so complete a system that he may be regardedas at once the founder and perfecter of logic as an art. " SaysMAHAFFY, "He has built his politics upon so sound a philosophicbasis, and upon the evidence of so large and varied a politicalexperience, that his lessons on the rise and fall of governmentswill never grow old, and will be perpetually receiving freshcorroborations, so long as human nature remains the same. "Aristotle was a friend of the Macedonians, and, on the deathof Alexander, he fled, from Athens to Chal'cis, in Euboea, toescape a trial for impiety. There he died in 322 B. C. In thelives of the three great philosophers of Greece--Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle--is embraced what is commonly called "ThePhilosophical Era of Athens. " To this era MILTON has beautifullyalluded in his well-known description of the famous city; andfor the Academe, or Academia, the beautiful garden that was theresort of the philosophers, EDWIN ARNOLD expresses these sentimentsof veneration:

 Pleasanter than the hills of Thessaly, Nearer and dearer to the poet's heart Than the blue ripple belting Salamis, Or long grass waving over Marathon, Fair Academe, most holy Academe, Thou art, and hast been, and shalt ever be. I would be numbered now with things that were, Changing the wasting fever of to-day For the dear quietness of yesterday: I would be ashes, underneath the grass, So I had wandered in thy platane walks One happy summer twilight--even one. Was it not grand, and beautiful, and rare, The music and the wisdom and the shade, The music of the pebble-paven rills, And olive boughs, and bowered nightingales, Chorusing joyously the joyous things Told by the gray Silenus of the grove, Low-fronted and large-hearted Socrates! Oh, to have seen under the olive blossoms But once--only once in a mortal life, The marble majesties of ancient gods! And to have watched the ring of listeners-- The Grecian boys gone mad for love of truth, The Grecian girls gone pale for love of him Who taught the truth, who battled for the truth; And girls and boys, women and bearded men, Crowding to hear and treasure in their hearts Matter to make their lives a happiness, And death a happy ending. 

EPICU'RUS AND ZE'NO. 

What is known as the Epicure'an school of philosophy was foundedby Epicurus, a native of Samos, born in 342, who went to Athensin early youth, and, at the age of thirty, established himselfas a philosophical teacher. He met with great success. He didnot believe in the soul's immortality, and taught the pursuitof mental pleasure and happiness as the highest good. While hislearning was not great, he was a man of unsullied morality, respected and loved by his followers to a wonderful degree. Although he wrote books in advocacy of piety, and the reverencedue to the gods on account of the excellence of their nature, he maintained that they had no concern in human affairs. Hencethe Roman poet LUCRETIUS, who lived when the old belief in thegods and goddesses of the heathen world had nearly faded away, attributes to the teachings of Epicurus the triumph of philosophyover superstition. 

 On earth in bondage base existence lay, Bent down by Superstition's iron sway. She from the heavens disclosed her monstrous head, And dark with grisly aspect, scowling dread, Hung o'er the sons of men; but toward the skies A man of Greece dared lift his mortal eyes, And first resisting stood. Not him the fame Of deities, the lightning's forky flame, Or muttering murmurs of the threat'ning sky Repressed; but roused his soul's great energy To break the bars that interposing lay, And through the gates of nature burst his way. 

 That vivid force of soul a passage found; The flaming walls that close the world around He far o'erleaped; his spirit soared on high Through the vast whole, the one infinity. Victor, he brought the tidings from the skies What things in nature may, or may not, rise; What stated laws a power finite assign, And still with bounds impassable confine. Thus trod beneath our feet the phantom lies; We mount o'er Superstition to the skies. --Trans. By ELTON. 

The school of the Stoics was founded by Zeno, a native of Cyprus, who went to Athens about 299 B. C. , and opened a school in thePoi'ki-le Sto'a, or painted porch, whence the name of his sectarose. As is well known, the chief tenets of the Stoics weretemperance and self-denial, which Zeno himself practiced by livingon uncooked food, wearing very thin garments in winter, andrefusing the comforts of life generally. To the Stoics pleasurewas irrational, and pain a visitation to be borne with ease. Both Stoicism and Epicureanism flourished among the Romans. Theteachings of Epictetus, the Roman Stoic philosopher, are summedup in the formula, "Bear and forbear;" and he is said to haveobserved that "Man is but a pilot; observe the star, hold therudder, and be not distracted on thy way. " Both these schoolsof philosophy, however, passed into skepticism. Epicureanismbecame a material fatalism and a search for pleasure; whileStoicism ended in spiritual fatalism. But when the Gospel awakenedthe human heart to life, it was the Greek mind which gave mankinda Christian theology. 

 * * * * *

IV. HISTORY

XENOPHON. 

The most distinguished Greek historian of this period was Xenophon, of whom we have already seen something as the leader of the famous"Retreat of the Ten Thousand, " and as the author of a delightfuland instructive account of that achievement. He was born in Athensabout 443 B. C. , and at an early age became the pupil of Socrates, to whose principles he strictly adhered through life, in practiceas well as in theory. Seemingly on account of his philosophicalviews he was banished by the Athenians, before his return fromthe expedition into Asia; but the Spartans, with whom he foughtagainst Athens at Coronea, gave him an estate at Scil'lus, inElis, and here he lived, engaging in literary pursuits, thatwere diversified by domestic enjoyments and active field-sports. He died either at Scillus or at Corinth--to which latter placesome authorities think he removed in the later years of hislife--in the ninetieth year of his age. 

Among the works of Xenophon is the Anab'asis, considered hisbest, descriptive of the advance into Persia and the masterlyretreat; the Hellen'ica, a history of Greece, in seven books, from the time of Thucydides to the battle of Mantine'a, in 362B. C. ; the Cyropoedi'a, a political romance, based on the historyof Cyrus the Great; a treatise on the horse, and the duties ofa cavalry commander; a treatise on hunting; a picture of anAthenian banquet, and of the amusement and conversation withwhich it was diversified; and, the most pleasing of all, theMemorabil'ia, devoted to the defence of the life and principlesof Socrates. Concerning the remarkable miscellany of Xenophon, MR. MITCHELL says: "The writer who has thrown equal interestinto an account of a retreating army and the description of ascene of coursing; who has described with the same fidelity acommon groom and a perfect pattern of conjugal faithfulness--sucha man had seen life under aspects which taught him to know thatthere were things of infinitely more importance than the turnof a phrase, the music of a cadence, and the other niceties whichare wanted by a luxurious and opulent metropolis. The virtuousfeelings that were necessary in a mind constituted as his was, took into their comprehensive bosom the welfare of the world. "

Although the genius of Xenophon was not of the highest order, his writings have afforded, to all succeeding ages, one of thebest models of purity, simplicity, and harmony of language: Bysome of his contemporaries he has been styled "The Attic Muse;"by others, "The Athenian Bee;" while his manners and personalappearance have been described by Diog'enes Laer'tius, in hisLives of the Philosophers, in the following brief but comprehensivesentence: "Modest in deportment, and beautiful in person to aremarkable degree. "

POLYB'IUS. 

Of the prominent Greek historians, Polybius was the last. Bornabout 204 B. C. , he lived and wrote in the closing period of Grecianhistory. Having been carried a prisoner to Rome with the onethousand prominent citizens of Achaia, his accomplishments securedfor him the friendship of Scip'io Africa'nus Mi'nor, and of hisfather, Æmil'ius Pau'lus, at whose house he resided. He spenthis time in collecting materials for his works, and in givinginstruction to Scipio. In the year 150 B. C. He returned to hisnative country with the surviving exiles, and actively exertedhimself to induce the Greeks to keep peace with the Romans, but, as we know, without success. After the Roman conquest the Greeksseem to have awakened to the wisdom of his advice, for on a statueerected to his memory was the inscription, "Hellas would havebeen saved had the advice of Polybius been followed. " Polybiuswrote a history in forty books, embracing the time between thecommencement of the Second Punic War, in 218 B. C. , and thedestruction of Carthage and Corinth by the Romans, in 146 B. C. It is the most trustworthy history we possess of this period, and has been closely copied by subsequent writers. A correctestimate of its character and worth will be found in the followingsummary:

"The greater part of the valuable and laborious work of Polybiushas perished. We have only the first five books entire, andfragments and extracts of the rest. As it is, however, it isone of the most valuable historical works that has come downto us. His style, indeed, will not bear a comparison with thegreat masters of Greek literature: he is not eloquent, likeThucydides; nor practical, like Herodotus; nor perspicuous andelegant, like Xenophon. He lived at a time when the Greek languagehad lost much of its purity by an intermixture of foreign elements, and he did not attempt to imitate the language of the Atticwriters. He wrote as he spoke: he gives us the first rough draftof his thoughts, and seldom imposes on himself the trouble toarrange or methodize them; hence, they are often meager anddesultory, and not infrequently deviate entirely from the subject. 

"But in the highest quality of an historian--the love of truth--Polybius has no superior. This always predominates in his writings. He has judgment to trace effects to their causes, a full knowledgeof his subjects, and an impartiality that forbids him to concealit to favor any party or cause. In his geographical descriptionshe is not always clear, but his descriptions of battles havenever been surpassed. 'His writings have been admired by thewarrior, copied by the politician, and imitated by the historian. Brutus had him ever in his hands, Tully transcribed him, andmany of the finest passages of Livy are the property of the Greekhistorian. '"

ART. 

I. ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE. 

After the close of the Peloponnesian war the perfection andapplication of the several orders of Grecian architecture weredisplayed in the laying out of cities on a grander scale, andby an increase of splendor in private residences, rather thanby any marked change in the style of public buildings and temples. Alexandria in Egypt, and Antioch in Syria, were the finest examplesof Grecian genius in this direction, both in the regularity andsize of their public and private buildings, and in their externaland internal adornment. This period was also distinguished forits splendid sepulchral and other monuments. Of these, probablythe most exquisite gem of architectural taste is the circularbuilding at Athens, the Cho-rag'ic Monument, or "Lantern ofDemosthenes, " erected in honor of a victory gained by the chorusof Lysic'rates in 334 B. C. "It is the purest specimen of theCorinthian order, " says a writer on architecture, "that has reachedour time, whose minuteness and unobtrusive beauty have preservedit almost entire among the ruins of the mightiest piles of Athenianart. " Other celebrated monuments of this period were the oneerected at Halicarnas'sus by the Ca'rian queen Artemi'sia to thememory of her husband Mauso'lus, adorned with sculpturaldecorations by Sco'pas and others, and considered one of theseven wonders of the world; and the octagonal edifice, theHorolo'gium of Androni'cus Cyrrhes'tes, at Athens. 

In sculpture, Athens still asserted its pre-eminence, but thestyle and character of its later school were materially differentfrom those of the preceding one of Phid'ias. "Toward the closeof the Peloponnesian war, " says a recent writer, "a change tookplace in the habits and feelings of the Athenian people, underthe influence of which a new school of statuary was developed. The people, spoiled by luxury, and craving the pleasures andexcitements which the prosperity of the age of Pericles had openedto them, regarded the severe forms of the older masters witheven less patience than the austere virtues of the generationwhich had driven the Persians out of Greece. The sculptors, givinga reflex of the times in their productions, instead of the grandand sublime cultivated the soft, the graceful, and the flowing, and aimed at an expression of stronger passion and more dramaticaction. Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, the favorite subjects ofthe Phidian era, gave place to such deities as Venus, Bacchus, and Amor; and with the departure of the older gods departed alsothe serene and composed majesty which had marked therepresentations of them. " [Footnote: C. S. Weyman. ]

The first great artist of this school was Scopas, born at Paros, and who flourished in the first half of the fourth century B. C. Although famous in architectural sculpture, he excelled in singlefigures and groups, "combining strength of expression with grace. "The celebrated group of Ni'o-be and her children slain by Ar'temisand Apollo, a copy of which is preserved in the museum of Florence, and the statue of the victorious Venus in the Louvre at Paris, are attributed to Scopas. The most esteemed of his works, accordingto Pliny, was a group representing Achilles conducted to the Islandof Leu'ce by sea deities. The only other artist of this schoolthat we will refer to is Praxit'eles, a contemporary of Scopas. He excelled in representing the female figure, his masterpiecebeing the Cnid'ian Aphrodi'te, a naked statue, in Parian marble, modeled from life, representing Venus just leaving the bath. This statue was afterward taken to Constantinople, where it wasburned during the reign of Justinian. 

This Athenian school of sculpture was followed, in the time ofAlexander the Great, by what was called the Si-çy-o'ni-an school, of which Euphra'nor, of Corinth, and Lysip'pus, of Si'çy-on, werethe leading representatives. The former was a painter as wellas sculptor. His statues were executed in bronze and marble, andwere admired for their dignity. Lysippus worked only in bronze, and was the only sculptor that Alexander the Great permittedto represent him in statues. His works were very numerous, including the colossal statue of Jupiter at Tarentum, sixty feethigh, several of Hercules, and many others. The succeeding andlater Greek sculptors made no attempt to open a new path of design, but they steadily maintained the reputation of the art. Manyworks of great excellence were produced in Rhodes, Alexandria, Ephesus, and elsewhere in the East. Among these was the famousColossus, a statue of the sun, designed and executed by Cha'resof Rhodes, that reared its huge form one hundred and five feetin height at the entrance to Rhodes harbor; the Farnese Bull, at Naples, found in the Baths of Caracalla at Rome, also thework of a Rhodian artist; and the Apollo Belvedere, in the Vatican. 

Two works of this late age deserve special mention. One is thestatue of the Dying Gladiator, in the Capitoline Museum at Rome, supposed to have come from Pergamus. Says LÜBKE, "It undoubtedlyrepresents a Gaul who, in battle, seeing the foe approach inoverwhelming force, has fallen upon his own sword to escape ashameful slavery. Overcome by the faintness of approaching death, he has fallen upon his shield; his right arm with difficultyprevents his sinking to the ground; his life ebbs rapidly awaywith the blood streaming from the deep wound beneath his breast;his broad head droops heavily forward; the mists of death alreadycloud his eyes; his brows are knit with pain; and his lips areparted in a last sigh. There is, perhaps, no other statue inwhich the bitter necessity of death is expressed with such terribletruth--all the more terrible because the hardy body is so fullof strength. "

 Supported on his shortened arm he leans, Prone agonizing; with incumbent fate Heavy declines his head, yet dark beneath The suffering feature sullen vengeance lowers, Shame, indignation, unaccomplished rage; And still the cheated eye expects his fall. --THOMSON. 

The other statue is that masterpiece of art, the group of theLa-oc'o-on, now in the Vatican at Rome, the work of the threeRhodian sculptors, Agesan'dros, Polydo'rus, and Athenodo'rus. It represents a scene, in connection with the fall of Troy, thatVirgil describes in the Second Book of the Æneid. A Trojan priest, named Laocoon, endeavored to propitiate Neptune by sacrifice, and to dissuade the Trojans from admitting within the walls thefatal wooden horse, whereupon the goddess Minerva, ever favorableto the Greeks, punished him by sending two enormous serpentsfrom the sea to destroy him and his two sons. The poet THOMSONwell describes the agony and despair that the statue portrays:

 Such passion here! Such agonies! such bitterness of pain Seem so to tremble through the tortured stone That the touched heart engrosses all the view. Almost unmarked the best proportions pass That ever Greece beheld; and, seen alone, On the rapt eye the imperious passions seize: The father's double pangs, both for himself And sons, convulsed; to Heaven his rueful look, Imploring aid, and half-accusing, cast; His fell despair with indignation mixed As the strong-curling monsters from his side His full-extended fury cannot tear. More tender touched, with varied art, his sons All the soft rage of younger passions show: In a boy's helpless fate one sinks oppressed, While, yet unpierced, the frighted other tries His foot to steal out of the horrid twine. 

An American writer thus apostrophizes this grand representation:

 Laocoon! thou great embodiment Of human life and human history! Thou record of the past, thou prophecy Of the sad future! thou majestic voice, Pealing along the ages from old time! Thou wail of agonized humanity! There lives no thought in marble like to thee! Thou hast no kindred in the Vatican, But standest separate among the dreams Of old mythologies-alone-alone! --J. G. HOLLAND. 

 * * * * *

II. PAINTING. 

In painting, the Asiatic school of Zeuxis and Parrhasius wasalso followed by a "Si-çy-o'ni-an school"--the third and lastphase of Greek painting, founded by Eupom'pus, of Si'çy-on. Thecharacteristics of this school were great ease, accuracy, andrefinement. Among its chief masters were Pam'philus, Apel'les, Protog'enes, Ni'cias, and Aristides. Of these the most famous wasApelles, a native of Col'ophon, in Ionia, who flourished in thetime of Alexander the Great, with whom he was a great favorite. Of his many fine productions the finest was his painting ofVenus rising from the Sea, and concerning which ANTIPATER, thepoet of Sidon, wrote the following epigram:

 Graceful as from her native sea she springs, Venus, the labor of Apelles, view: With pressing hands her humid locks she wrings, While from her tresses drips the frothy dew: Ev'n Juno and Minerva now declare, No longer we contend whose form's most fair. 

APELLES AND PROTOGENES. 

A very pleasing story is told, by Pliny, of Apelles and hisbrother-artist, Protogenes, which DR. ANTHON relates as follows:

"Apelles, having come to Rhodes, where Protogenes was thenresiding, paid a visit to the artist, but, not finding him athome, obtained permission from a domestic in waiting to enterhis studio. Finding here a piece of canvas ready on the framefor the artist's pencil, Apelles drew upon it a line (accordingto some, a figure in outline) with wonderful precision, and thenretired without disclosing his name. Protogenes, on returninghome, and discovering what had been done, exclaimed that Apellesalone could have executed such a sketch. However, he drew anotherhimself--a line more nearly perfect than that of Apelles--andleft directions with his domestic that, when the stranger shouldcall again, he should be shown what had been done by him. Apellescame, accordingly, and, perceiving that his line had been excelledby Protogenes, drew a third one, much better than the other two, and cutting both. Protogenes now confessed himself vanquished;he ran to the harbor, sought for Apelles, and the two artistsbecame the warmest friends. The canvas containing this famoustrial of skill became highly prized, and at a later day was placedin the palace of the Cæsars at Rome. Here it was burned in aconflagration that destroyed the palace itself. "

Protogenes was noted for his minute and scrupulous care in thepreparation of his works. He carried this peculiarity to suchexcess that Apelles was moved to make the following comparison:"Protogenes equals or surpasses me in all things but one--theknowing when to remove his hand from a painting. " Protogenessurvived Apelles, and became a very eminent painter. It is statedthat when Demetrius besieged Rhodes, and could have reduced itby setting fire to a quarter of the city that contained one ofthe finest productions of Protogenes, he refused to do so lesthe should destroy the masterpiece of art. It is to this incidentthat the poet THOMSON undoubtedly refers when he says, E'en such enchantment then thy pencil poured, That cruel-thoughted War the impatient torch Dashed to the ground; and, rather than destroy The patriot picture, let the city 'scape. 

From the time of Alexander the art of painting rapidlydeteriorated, and at the period of the Roman conquest it hadscarcely an existence. Grecian art, like Grecian liberty, hadlost its spirit and vitality, and the spoliation of publicbuildings and galleries, to adorn the porticos and temples ofRome, hastened its extinction. We have now reached the closeof the history of ancient Greece. But Hellas still lives in herthousand hallowed associations of historic interest, and in thenumerous ruins of ancient art and splendor which cover her soil--recalling a glorious Past, upon which we love to dwell as uponthe memory of departed friends or the scenes of a happy childhood--"sweet, but mournful to the soul. " And although the ashes of hergenerals, her poets, her scholars, and her artists are scatteredfrom their urns, and her statuary and her temples are mutilatedand discolored ruins, ancient Greece lives also in the song, the art, and the research of modern times. In contemplating theinfluence of her genius, the mind is naturally fixed upon thechief repository of her taste and talent--Athens, "the eye ofGreece"--from which have sprung "all the strength, the wisdom, the freedom, and the glory of the western world. "

 Within the surface of Time's fleeting river Its wrinkled image lies, as then it lay, Immovably unquiet, and forever It trembles, but it cannot pass away! The voices of thy bards and sages thunder With an earth-awaking blast Through the caverns of the past; Religion veils her eyes; Oppression shrinks aghast; A wingèd sound of joy, and love, and wonder, Which soars where Expectation never flew, Rending the veil of space and time asunder! One ocean feeds the clouds, and streams, and dew; One sun illumines heaven; one spirit vast With life and love makes chaos ever new, As Athens doth the world with her delight renew. --SHELLEY. 

Of the splendid literature of Athens LORD MACAULAY says, "Itis a subject in which I love to forget the accuracy of a judgein the veneration of a worshipper and the gratitude of a child. "To Hellenic thought, as embodied and exemplified in the greatworks of Athenian genius, he rightly ascribes the establishmentof an intellectual empire that is imperishable; and from one ofhis valuable historical "Essays" we quote the following graphicdelineation of what may be termed

The Immortal Influence of Athens. 

"If we consider merely the subtlety of disquisition, the forceof imagination, the perfect energy and elegance of expression, which characterize the great works of Athenian genius, we mustpronounce them intrinsically most valuable; but what shall wesay when we reflect that from hence have sprung, directly orindirectly, all the noblest creations of the human intellect?That from hence were the vast accomplishments and the brilliantfancy of Cicero, the withering fire of Juvenal, the plasticimagination of Dante, the humor of Cervantes, the comprehensionof Bacon, the wit of Butler, the supreme and universal excellenceof Shakspeare? All the triumphs of truth and genius over prejudiceand power, in every country and in every age, have been thetriumphs of Athens. Whatever a few great minds have made a standagainst violence and fraud, in the cause of liberty and reason, there has been her spirit in the midst of them, inspiring, encouraging, consoling--the lonely lamp of Erasmus; by the restlessbed of Pascal; in the tribune of Mirabeau; in the cell of Galileo, and on the scaffold of Sidney. But who shall estimate her influenceon private happiness? Who shall say how many thousands have beenmade wiser, happier, and better, by those pursuits in which shehas taught mankind to engage? to how many the studies which tooktheir rise from her have been wealth in poverty, liberty in bondage, health in sickness, society in solitude? Her power is indeedmanifested at the bar, in the senate, on the field of battle, in the schools of philosophy. But these are not her glory. Whereverliterature consoles sorrow or assuages pain--wherever it bringsgladness to eyes which fail with wakefulness and tears, and achefor the dark house and the long sleep--there is exhibited, inits noblest form, the immortal influence of Athens. 

"The dervis, in the Arabian tale, did not hesitate to abandon tohis comrade the camels with their load of jewels and gold, whilehe retained the casket of that mysterious juice which enabled himto behold at one glance all the hidden riches of the universe. Surely it is no exaggeration to say that no external advantageis to be compared with that purification of the intellectualeye which gives us to contemplate the infinite wealth of themental world; all the hoarded treasures of the primeval dynasties, and all the shapeless ore of its yet unexplored mines. This isthe gift of Athens to man. Her freedom and her power have beenannihilated for more than twenty centuries; her people havedegenerated into timid slaves; [Footnote: But this is not thecharacter of the Athenians of the present day. ] her languageinto a barbarous jargon; her temples have been given up to thesuccessive depredations of Romans, Turks, and Scotchmen; buther intellectual empire is imperishable. And, when those whohave rivaled her greatness shall have shared her fate; whencivilization and knowledge shall have fixed their abode in distantcontinents; when the sceptre shall have passed away from England;when, perhaps, travelers from distant regions shall in vain laborto decipher on some mouldering pedestal the name of our proudestchief--shall hear savage hymns chanted to some misshapen idolover the ruined dome of our proudest temple, and shall see asingle naked fisherman wash his nets in the river of the tenthousand masts--the influence and glory of Athens will stillsurvive, fresh in eternal youth, exempt from mutability and decay, immortal as the intellectual principle from which they derivedtheir origin, and over which they exercise their control. "

 Genius of Greece! thou livest; though thy domes Are fallen; here, in this thy loved abode, Thine Athens, as I breathe the clear pure air Which thou hast breathed, climb the dark mountain's side Which thou hast trod, or in the temple's porch Pause on the sculptured beauties which thine eye Has often viewed delighted, I confess Thy nearer influence; I feel thy power Exalting every wish to virtuous hope; I hear thy solemn voice amid the crash Of fanes hurled prostrate by barbarian hands, Calling me forth to tread with thee the paths Of wisdom, or to listen to thy harp Hymning immortal strains. 

 Greece! though deserted are thy ports, and all Thy pomp and thy magnificence are shrunk Into a narrow circuit; though thy gates Pour forth no more thy crested sons to war; Though thy capacious theatres resound No longer with the replicated shouts Of multitudes; although Philosophy Is silent 'mid thy porticos and groves; Though Commerce heaves no more the pond'rous load, Or, thund'ring with her thousand cars, imprints Her footsteps on thy rocks; though near thy fanes And marble monuments the peasant's hut Rears its low roof in bitter mockery Of faded splendor--yet shalt thou survive, Nor yield till time yields to eternity. --HAYGARTH. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

GREECE SUBSEQUENT TO THE ROMAN CONQUEST. 

I. GREECE UNDER THE ROMANS. 

The Romans conducted their administration of Greece with muchwisdom and moderation, treating both its religion and municipalinstitutions with great respect. As MR. FINLAY says, "Under thesecircumstances prudence and local interests would everywhere favorsubmission to Rome; national vanity alone would whisper incitementsto venture on a struggle for independence. " [Footnote: "Historyof Greece from 146 B. C. To A. D. 1864;" by George Finlay, LL. D. ]But the latter induced the Greeks to attempt to regain theirliberties at the time of the first Mithridatic war, about 87B. C. Sylla, the Roman general, marched into Greece at the headof a powerful army, and laid siege to Athens, which made adesperate defence. At last, their resources exhausted, theAthenians sent a deputation of orators to negotiate with the oldRoman; and it is stated that "their spokesman began to remindhim of their past glory, and was proceeding to touch upon Marathon, when the surly soldier fiercely replied, 'I was sent here topunish rebels, not to study history. ' And he did punish them. Breaking down the wall, his soldiers poured into the city, andwith drawn swords they swept through the streets. " The severelosses sustained by Greece in this rebellion were never repaired. The same historian adds that both parties--Greeks and Romans--"inflicted severe injuries on Greece, plundered the country, and destroyed property most wantonly. The foundations of nationalprosperity were undermined; and it henceforward became impossibleto save from the annual consumption of the inhabitants, the sumsnecessary to replace the accumulated capital of ages which thisshort war had annihilated. In some cases the wealth of thecommunities became insufficient to keep the existing public worksin repair. "

Cilician pirates soon after commenced their depredations, andravaged both the main-land and the islands until expelled byPompey the Great. The civil wars that overthrew the Roman republicnext added to the desolation of Greece; but on the establishmentof the Roman empire the country entered upon a career of peaceand comparative prosperity. Says a late compiler, [Footnote: EdwardL. Burlingame, Ph. D. ] "Augustus and his successors generallytreated Greece with respect, and some of them distinguished herby splendid imperial favors. Trajan greatly improved her conditionby his wise and liberal administration. Hadrian and theAntonines venerated her for her past achievements, and showedtheir good-will by the care they extended to her works of art, and their patronage of the schools. " It was at this time, also, that the Christian religion was gaining great victories 'overthe indifference of the people to their ancient rites, ' and wasthus essentially changing the moral and intellectual conditionof Greece. Aside from its power to fill the void in the heartthat philosophy, though strengthening the intellect, could notreach, Christianity bore certain relations to the ancientprinciples of government, that commended it to the acceptanceof the Greeks. These relations, and their effects, are thusexplained by DR. FELTON and a writer that he quotes: [Footnote:"Lecture on "Greece under the Romans. "]

"Besides the peculiar consolations afforded by Christianity tothe afflicted of all ranks and classes, there were popular elementsin its early forms which could not fail to commend it to theregards of common men. It borrowed the designation ecclesia fromthe old popular assembly, and liturgy from the services requiredby law of the richer citizens in the popular festivities. Ittaught the equality of all men in the sight of God; and thisdoctrine could not fail to be affectionately welcomed by aconquered people. The Christian congregations were organized upondemocratic principles, at least in Greece, and presented asemblance of the free assemblies of former times; and the dailybusiness of communities was, equally with their spiritual affairs, transacted under these popular forms. 'From the moment a people, 'says a recent writer, 'in the state of intellectual civilizationin which the Greeks were, could listen to the preachers, it wascertain they would adopt the religion. They might alter, modify, or corrupt it, but it was impossible they should reject it. Theexistence of an assembly in which the dearest interests of allhuman beings were expounded and discussed in the language oftruth, and with the most earnest expressions of persuasion, musthave lent an irresistible charm to the investigation of the newdoctrine among a people possessing the institutions and thefeelings of the Greeks. Sincerity, truth, and a desire to persuadeothers, will soon create eloquence where numbers are gatheredtogether. Christianity revived oratory, and with oratory itawakened many of the characteristics which had slept for ages. The discussions of Christianity gave also new vigor to thecommercial and municipal institutions, as they improved theintellectual qualities of the people. '"

Among the imperial friends of Greece, whose reign has beencharacterized by some writers as "the last fortunate period inthe sad annals of that country, " was the Emperor Julian, knownas "The Apostate. " He ascended the throne in 361 A. D. ; and, although he sought to overthrow Christianity and re-establishthe pagan religion, "he founded charities, aimed at the suppressionof vice and profligacy, and was distinguished for his devotionto the happiness of the people. " Well educated in early life, he became an accomplished and cultured sovereign, "and in manyways manifested his passionate attachment to Greece, herliterature, her institutions, and her arts. "

 * * * * *

II. CHANGES DOWN TO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 

On the establishment of the Eastern empire of the Romans, withByzantium for its capital, the Greeks began to exert a greaterinfluence in the affairs of government, and, outside of themetropolis itself, the Roman spirit of the administration wasgradually destroyed. In the third and fourth centuries Greecesuffered from invasions by the Goths and Huns, and all apparentprogress was stopped; but during the long reign of Justinian, from 527 to 565, many of its cities were embellished and fortified, and the pagan schools of Athens were closed. No farther eventsof importance affecting the condition of Greece occurred untilthe immigrations of the Slavonians and other barbarous races, in the sixth and eighth centuries. The population of Greece haddwindled rapidly, and its revenues were so small that the Easternemperors cared little to defend it. Hence these northern migratoryhordes rapidly acquired possession of its soil. Finally this greatbody of settlers broke up into a number of tribes and disappearedas a people, leaving behind them, however, still existing evidencesof their influence upon the country and its inhabitants. 

THE COURTS OF CRUSADING CHIEFTAINS. 

The next important changes in the affairs of Greece were wroughtby warriors from the West. In 1081 the Norman, Robert Guiscard, and in 1146 Roger, King of Sicily, conquered portions of thecountry, including Corinth, Thebes, and Athens; and in the timeof the fourth Crusade to the Holy Land (1203), when Constantinoplewas captured by Latin princes (1204), Greece became a prize forsome of the most powerful crusading chieftains, under whose rulethe courts of Thessaloni'ca, Athens, and the Peloponnesus attainedto considerable celebrity even throughout Europe. "But theirmagnificence, " says a writer in the Edinburgh Review, "was entirelymodern. It centered wholly round their own persons and interests;and although the condition of the people was in no respects worse, in some respects palpably better, still they did but ministerto the glory of the houses of Neri or Acciajuoli, or De la Rocheor Brienne. The beautiful structures of Athens and the Acropoliswere prized, not as heirlooms of departed greatness, but as theornaments of a feudal court, and the rewards of successful valor. "

The Duchy of Athens was the most interesting and renowned ofthese Frankish kingdoms; and in one of his lectures PRESIDENTFELTON [Footnote: Lecture on "Turkish Conquest of Constantinople. "]points out the traces which this duchy has left here and therein modern literature. "The fame of the brilliant court of Athens, "he says, "resounded through the west of Europe, and many a chapterof old romance is filled with gorgeous pictures of its splendors. One of the heroines of Boccacio's Decameron, in the course ofher adventurous life, is found at Athens, inspiring the dukeby her charms. Dan'te was a contemporary of Guy II. And Walterde Brienne; and in his Divina Commedia he applies to Theseus, King of ancient Athens, the title so familiar to him, borne bythe princely rulers in his own day. Chaucer, too--the brightherald of English poetry--had often heard of the dukes of Athens;and he too, like Dante, gives the title to Theseus. Finally, inthe age of Elizabeth, when Italian poetry was much studied byscholars and courtiers, Shakspeare, in the delightful scenes ofthe Midsummer Night's Dream, introduces Theseus, Duke of Athens, as the conqueror and the lover of Hippol'yta, the warrior-queenof the Amazons. "

 Theseus. Hippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword, And won thy love, doing thee injuries; But I will wed thee in another key, With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling. --Act I. Scene I. 

THE TURKISH INVASION. 

Some of these Latin principalities and dukedoms existed untilthey were swept away by the Turks, who, after the fall ofConstantinople and the Byzantine Empire in 1453, by degreesobtained possession of Greece. 

 Then, Greece, the tempest rose that burst on thee, Land of the bard, the warrior, and the sage! Oh, where were then thy sons, the great, the free, Whose deeds are guiding stars from age to age? Though firm thy battlements of crags and snows, And bright the memory of thy days of pride, In mountain might though Corinth's fortress rose, On, unresisted, rolled th' invading tide! Oh! vain the rock, the rampart, and the tower, If Freedom guard them not with Mind's unconquered power. 

 Where were th' avengers then, whose viewless might Preserved inviolate their awful fane, When through the steep defiles to Delphi's height In martial splendor poured the Persian's train? Then did those mighty and mysterious Powers, Armed with the elements, to vengeance wake, Call the dread storms to darken round their towers, Hurl down the rocks, and bid the thunders break; Till far around, with deep and fearful clang, Sounds of unearthly war through wild Parnassus rang. 

 Where was the spirit of the victor-throng, Whose tombs are glorious by Scamander's tide, Whose names are bright in everlasting song, The lords of war, the praised, the deified? Where he, the hero of a thousand lays, Who from the dead at Marathon arose All armed, and, beaming on th' Athenian's gaze, A battle-meteor, guided to their foes? Or they whose forms, to Alaric's awe-struck eye, [Footnote: GIBBON says: "From Thermopylæ to Sparta the leader of the Goths (Alaric) pursued his victorious march without encountering any mortal antagonist; but one of the advocates of expiring paganism has confidently asserted that the walls of Athens were guarded by the goddess Minerva with her formidable ægis, and by the angry phantom of Achilles; and that the conqueror was dismayed by the presence of the hostile deities of Greece. " But Gibbon characteristically adds, "The Christian faith which Alaric had devotedly embraced taught him to despise the imaginary deities of Rome and Athens. "--Milman's "Gibbon's Rome, " vol. Ii. , p. 215. ] Hovering o'er Athens, blazed in airy panoply?

 Ye slept, oh heroes! chief ones of the earth-- High demi-gods of ancient day--ye slept. There lived no spark of your ascendant worth, When o'er your land the victor Moslem swept; No patriot then the sons of freedom led, In mountain-pass devotedly to die; The martyr-spirit of resolve was fled, And the high soul's unconquered buoyancy; And by your graves, and on your battle-plains, Warriors, your children knelt, to wear the stranger's chains. --MRS. HEMANS. 

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III. CONTESTS BETWEEN THE TURKS AND VENETIANS. 

Greece was long the scene of severe contests between the Turksand the Venetians. Athens was first captured by the Turks in1456, but they were driven from it in 1467 by the Venetians, whowere in turn expelled from the city by the Turks in 1470. ButVenice, as a French historian--COMTE DE LABOURDE--has observed, "Alone of the states of Europe could feel, from a merely materialpoint of view, the force of the blow struck at Europe and herown commerce by the submission of almost the whole of Greeceto Turkish rule;" and this feeling survived many centuries. In1670 the Turks conquered Crete from the Venetians, and in 1684the latter retaliated by offensive operations against thePeloponnesus, which was soon reconquered by the Venetian admiralMorosini. In 1687 Morosini crowned his successes by the captureof Athens. The Turkish garrison had retired to the Acropolis, and the victory is principally of interest on account of theirreparable injury done to the works of art on that "rock-shrineof Athens. " Although he subsequently sought to evade allresponsibility for the desolation that ensued, it was Morosiniwho directed his batteries to hurl their fatal burdens againstthe Acropolis, and it was he who afterward robbed it of manyof its treasures. Hitherto the alterations made for militarypurposes, and the slight injuries inflicted at various times, had not marred the general beauty and effect of its buildings;but when the troops of Venice entered Athens, the Parthenon andothers of that gorgeous assemblage of structures were in ruins, and the glory of the Athenian Acropolis survived only in thepast. Contrasting its past glory and its present decay, a writerin a recent Review makes these interesting observations:

"No other fortress has embraced so much beauty and splendor withinits walls, and none has witnessed a series of more startlingand momentous changes in the fortunes of its possessors. Waveafter wave of war and conquest has beaten against it. The citywhich lies at its feet has fallen beneath the assaults of thePersian, the Spartan, the Macedonian, the Roman, the Goth, theCrusader, and the Turk. Through all these and other vicissitudesthe Acropolis passed, changing only in the character of itsoccupants, unchanged in its loveliness and splendor. With a fewblemishes and losses, whether from the decaying taste of latertimes or the occasional robberies of a foreign conqueror, butunaffected in its general aspect, it presented to the eyes ofthe victorious Ottoman the same front of unparalleled beautywhich it had displayed in the days of Pericles. To him who looksupon it now, however, the scene is changed indeed--changed notonly in the loss of its treasures of decorative art (for of manyof these it had been robbed before), but with its loveliest fabricsshattered, many reduced to hopeless ruin, and not a few utterlyobliterated. Less than two centuries sufficed to bring aboutall this dilapidation: less than three months sufficed to completethe ruin. If the Venetian, by his abortive conquest, inflictednot more injury on the fair heritage of Athenian art than it hadundergone from all preceding spoliations, he left it, not merelyfrom the havoc of war, but by wanton subsequent mutilation, in that state which rendered the recovery of its ancient graceand majesty impossible. "

The Venetians evacuated Athens in 1688, and a few yearssubsequently the Peloponnesus was their only possession in Greece. In 1715 a Turkish army of one hundred thousand men under Al'iCoumour'gi, the Grand Vizier of Ach'met III. , invaded thePeloponnesus, and first attacked Corinth. Historians tell usthat the garrison, weakened by several unsuccessful attacks, opened negotiations for a surrender; but, while these were inprogress, the accidental firing of a magazine in the Turkishcamp so enraged the infidels that they at once broke off thenegotiations, stormed and captured the city, and put most ofthe garrison, with Signor Minotti, the commander, to the sword. Those taken prisoners were reserved for execution under the wallsof Nauplia, within sight of the Venetians. 

In BYRON'S Siege of Corinth, founded on the historical narrative; apoetical license is taken, and the death of Minotti and the remnantof his followers is attributed to the explosion of a powder-magazinefired by Minotti himself. From the fine descriptions which this poemcontains we extract the following verses:

 The Siege and Fall of Corinth. 

 On dim Cithæron's ridge appears The gleam of twice ten thousand spears; And downward to the Isthmian plain, From shore to shore of either main, The tent is pitched, the crescent shines Along the Moslem's leaguering lines; And the dusk Spä'hi's bands advance Beneath each bearded pä'sha's glance; And far and wide as eye can reach The turbaned cohorts throng the beach; And there the Arab's camel kneels, And there his steed the Tartar wheels; The Turcoman has left his herd, The sabre round his loins to gird; And there the volleying thunders pour, Till waves grow smoother to the roar. The trench is dug, the cannon's breath Wings the far hissing globe of death; Fast whirl the fragments from the wall, Which crumbles with the ponderous ball; And from that wall the foe replies, O'er dusty plain and smoky skies, With fires that answer fast and well. The summons of the Infidel. 

 The walls grew weak; and fast and hot Against them poured the ceaseless shot, With unabating fury sent From battery to battlement; And thunder-like the pealing din Rose from each heated culverin; And here and there some crackling dome Was fired before the exploding bomb; And as the fabric sank beneath The shattering shell's volcanic breath, In red and wreathing columns flashed The flame, as loud the ruin crashed, Or into countless meteors driven, Its earth-stars melted into heaven-- Whose clouds that day grew doubly dun, Impervious to the hidden sun, With volumed smoke that slowly grew To one wide sky of sulphurous hue. 

Having made a breach in the walls, as morning dawns the Turksform in line, and wait for the word to storm the intrenchments. Coumourgi addresses them--the command is given, and with theirresistible force of an avalanche the infidels pour into Corinth. 

 Tartar, and Spähi, and Turcoman, Strike your tents and throng to the van; Mount ye, spur ye, skirr the plain, That the fugitive may flee in vain When he breaks from the town; and none escape, Aged or young, in the Christian shape; While your fellows on foot, in a fiery mass, Bloodstain the breach through which they pass. The steeds are all bridled, and snort to the rein; Curved is each neck, and flowing each mane; White is the foam of their champ on the bit: The spears are uplifted, the matches are lit, The cannon are pointed, and ready to roar, And crush the wall they have crumbled before: The khan and the päshas are all at their post; The vizier himself at the head of the host. When the culverin's signal is fired, then on; Leave not in Corinth a living one-- A priest at her altars, a chief in her halls, A hearth in her mansions, a stone on her walls. God and the prophet-Ala Hu! Up to the skies with that wild halloo! "There the breach lies for passage, the ladder to scale; And your hands on your sabres, and how should ye fail? He who first downs with the red cross may crave His heart's dearest wish; let him ask it, and have!" Thus uttered Coumourgi, the dauntless vizier; The reply was the brandish of sabre and spear, And the shout of fierce thousands in joyous ire; Silence--hark to the signal--fire!

 * * * * *

 As the spring-tides, with heavy plash, From the cliffs invading, dash Huge fragments, sapped by the ceaseless flow, Till white and thundering down they go, Like the avalanche's snow, On the Alpine vales below; Thus at length, outbreathed and worn, Corinth's sons were downward borne By the long and oft renewed Charge of the Moslem multitude. In firmness they stood, and in masses they fell, Heaped, by the host of the infidel, Hand to hand, and foot to foot: Nothing there, save death, was mute; Stroke, and thrust, and flash, and cry For quarter, or for victory, Mingle there with the volleying thunder, Which makes the distant cities wonder How the sounding battle goes, If with them or for their foes. 

 From the point of encountering blades to the hilt Sabres and swords with blood were gilt; But the rampart is won, and the spoil begun, And all but the after-carnage done. Shriller shrieks now mingling come From within the plundered dome: Hark to the haste of flying feet, That splash in the blood of the slippery street; But here and there, where 'vantage ground Against the foe may still be found, Desperate groups of twelve or ten Make a pause, and turn again-- With banded backs against the wall Fiercely stand, or fighting fall. 

Minotti, though an old man, has an "arm full of might, " and hedisputes, foot by foot, the successful and deadly onslaughtsof the Turks. He finally retires, with the remnant of his gallantband, to the fortified church, where lie the last and richestspoils sought by the infidels, and in the vaults beneath which, lined with the dead of ages gone, was also "the Christians' chiefestmagazine. " To the latter a train had been laid, and, seizinga blazing torch, his "last and stern resource, "

 Darkly, sternly, and all alone, Minotti stands o'er the altar-stone, and awaits the last attack of his foes. It soon comes. 

 So near they came, the nearest stretched To grasp the spoil he almost reached, When old Minotti's hand Touched with the torch the train-- 'Tis fired! Spire, vaults, the shrine, the spoil, the slain, The turbaned victors, the Christian band, All that of living or dead remain, Hurled on high with the shivered fane, In one wild roar expired! The shattered town, the walls thrown down, The waves a moment backward bent-- The hills that shake, although unrent, As if an earthquake passed-- The thousand shapeless things all driven In cloud and flame athwart the heaven, By that tremendous blast-- Proclaimed the desperate conflict o'er On that too long afflicted shore: Up to the sky like rockets go All that mingled there below: Many a tall and goodly man, Scorched and shrivelled to a span, When he fell to earth again Like a cinder strewed the plain: Down the ashes shower like rain; Some fell in the gulf, which received the sprinkles With a thousand circling wrinkles; Some fell on the shore, but, far away, Scattered o'er the isthmus lay. 

 * * * * *

 All the living things that heard That deadly earth-shock disappeared; The wild birds flew; the wild dogs fled, And howling left the unburied dead; The camels from their keepers broke, The distant steer forsook the yoke-- The nearer steed plunged o'er the plain, And burst his girth, and tore his rein; The bull-frog's note, from out the marsh, Deep-mouthed arose, and doubly harsh The wolves yelled on the caverned hill, Where echo rolled in thunder still; The jackal's troop, in gathered cry, Bayed from afar complainingly, With a mixed and mournful sound, Like crying babe, and beaten hound: With sudden wing and ruffled breast The eagle left his rocky nest, And mounted nearer to the sun, The clouds beneath him seemed so dun; Their smoke assailed his startled beak, And made him higher soar and shriek. Thus was Corinth lost and won!

 * * * * *

IV. FINAL CONQUEST OF GREECE BY TURKEY. 

The fall of Corinth opened the way to a successful advance ofthe Turkish forces through the Peloponnesus, and the Venetianswere soon compelled to abandon it. By the peace of Passä'rowitz, in 1718, the whole of Greece was again surrendered to Turkey, and under her rule the country, divided into military districtscalled Pasha'lics, sunk into a deplorable condition which theprogress of time did nothing to ameliorate. The Greeks, beingvirtually reduced to bondage, suffered untold miseries from therapacity and barbarism of their masters. Says the historian, SIR EMERSON TENNENT, "So undefined was the system of extortion, and so uncontrolled the power of those to whose execution itwas intrusted, that the evil spread over the whole system ofadministration, and insinuated itself with a polypous fertilityinto every relation and ordinance of society, till there werefew actions or occupations of the Greeks that were not burdenedwith the scrutiny and interference of their masters, and none thatdid not suffer, in a greater or less degree, from their heartlessrapine. " For four centuries and over the Greeks suffered underthis despotism, which stamped out industry and education, andtended to the extinction of every manly trait in the people, whileit also developed the native vices of the Hellenic character. 

In a poem written in 1786 by the afterward celebrated Britishstatesman, GEORGE CANNING, the writer, after paying a handsometribute to the greatness and glory of the Greece of olden time, draws the following truthful picture of her degeneracy in hisown day:

 The Slavery of Greece. 

 Oh, how changed thy fame, And all thy glories fading into shame! What! that thy bold, thy freedom-breathing land Should crouch beneath a tyrant's stern command! That servitude should bind in galling chain Whom Asia's millions once opposed in vain, Who could have thought? Who sees without a groan Thy cities mouldering and thy walls o'erthrown; That where once towered the stately, solemn fane, Now moss-grown ruins strew the ravaged plain; And, unobserved but by the traveller's eye, Proud, vaulted domes in fretted fragments lie; And the fallen column, on the dusty ground, Pale ivy throws its sluggish arms around?

 Thy sons (sad change!) in abject bondage sigh; Unpitied toil, and unlamented die; Groan at the labors of the galling oar, Or the dark caverns of the mine explore. The glittering tyranny of Othman's sons, The pomp of horror which surrounds their thrones, Have awed their servile spirits into fear; Spurned by the foot, they tremble and revere. The day of labor, night's sad, sleepless hour, The inflictive scourge of arbitrary power, The bloody terror of the pointed steel, The murderous stake, the agonizing wheel, And (dreadful choice!) the bowstring or the bowl, Damps their faint vigor and unmans the soul. Disastrous fate! Still tears will fill the eye, Still recollection prompt the mournful sigh, When to the mind recurs thy former fame, And all the horrors of thy present shame. 

In 1810-'11 the poet BYRON spent considerable time in Greece, visiting its many scenes of historic interest, and noting thecondition of its people. Here he wrote the second canto ofChilde Harold, in which the following fine apostrophe and appealTo Greece, still under Moslem rule, are found:

 Fair Greece! sad relic of departed worth! Immortal, though no more; though fallen, great! Who now shall lead thy scattered children forth, And long accustomed bondage uncreate? Not such thy sons who whilom did await, The hopeless warriors of a willing doom, In bleak Thermopylæ's sepulchral strait-- Oh, who that gallant spirit shall resume, Leap from Euro'ta's banks, and call thee from the tomb?

 Spirit of Freedom! when on Phy'le's brow Thou sat'st with Thrasybu'lus and his train, Couldst thou forebode the dismal hour which now Dims the green beauties of thine Attic plain? Not thirty tyrants now enforce the chain, But every carle can lord it o'er thy land; Nor rise thy sons, but idly rail in vain, Trembling beneath the scourge of Turkish hand, From birth till death enslaved; in word, in deed, unmanned. 

 In all, save form alone, how changed! and who That marks the fire still sparkling in each eye, Who but would deem their bosoms burned anew With thy unquenched beam, lost Liberty! And many dream withal the hour is nigh That gives them back their father's heritage: For foreign arms and aid they fondly sigh, Nor solely dare encounter hostile rage, Or tear their name defiled from Slavery's mournful page. 

 Hereditary bondsmen! know ye not Who would be free themselves must strike the blow? By their right arms the conquest must be wrought? Will Gaul or Muscovite redress thee? No! True, they may lay your proud despoilers low, But not for you will Freedom's altars flame. Shades of the Helots! triumph o'er your foe! Greece! change thy lords, thy state is still the same; Thy glorious day is o'er, but not thy years of shame. 

 * * * * *

 When riseth Lacedæmon's hardihood, When Thebes Epaminondas rears again, When Athens' children are with hearts endued, When Grecian mothers shall give birth to men, Then may'st thou be restored; but not till then. A thousand years scarce serve to form a state; An hour may lay it in the dust: and when Can man, in shattered splendor renovate, Recall its virtues back, and vanquish Time and Fate?

FIRST STEPS TO SECURE LIBERTY. 

Although the oppressive domination of the Turks was tamelysubmitted to for so many centuries, the Greeks did not entirelylose their national spirit, nor their devotion to their religionand their domestic institutions; and long before Byron wrote, Greece began preparations to break the Turkish yoke. Thepreservation of the national spirit was largely due to the warlikeinhabitants of the mountainous regions of the north, who maintainedtheir independence against the bloody tyranny of the Turks, andcontinually harassed their camps and villages. These mountaineerswere known as Klephts; and though they were literally robbers, ofttimes plundering the Greeks as well as the Turks, yet, onthe decline of the Armato'li--the Christian local militia whichthe Turks attempted to crush out--the Klephts acquired politicaland social importance as a permanent class in the Greek nation;and, as DR. FELTON says, "When the Revolution broke out, thecourage, temperance, and hardihood of these bands were amongthe most effective agencies in rescuing Greece from the blightingtyranny of the Turks. " This writer characterizes the ballads ofthe Klephts as "full of fire, and redolent of the mountain life, which had an irresistible charm for young and adventurous spiritschafing under the domination of the Turks in the lowlands;" andto him we are indebted for a literal version of one of theseballads, representing the feelings of a young man who had resolvedto leave his mother's home and betake himself to the mountains, and "illustrating at once the impatient spirit of rebellion againstthe Turks, and the sweet flow of natural poetry which was everwelling up in the hearts of the people. " [Footnote: This balladis taken from "a collection published by Zampelios, a Greekgentleman, and a native of Leucadia. "]

"Mother, I can no longer be a slave to the Turks; I cannot--myheart fights against it. I will take my gun and go and becomea Klepht; to dwell on the mountains, among the lofty ridges;to have the woods for my companions, and my converse with thebeasts; to have the snow for my covering, the rocks for my bed;with sons of the Klephts to have my daily habitation. I will go, mother, and do not weep, but give me thy prayer. And we will pray, my dear mother, that I may slaughter many a Turk. Plant the rose, and plant the dark carnation, and give them sugar and musk todrink; and as long, O mother mine, as the flowers blossom andput forth, thy son is not dead, but is warring with the Turks. But if a day of sorrow come, a day of woe, and the plants fadeaway, and the flowers fall, then I too shall have been slain, and thou must clothe thyself in black. '

"Twelve years passed, and five months, while the roses blossomedand the buds bloomed; and one spring morning, the first of May, when the birds were singing and heaven was smiling, at once itthundered and lightened, and grew dark. The carnation sighed, therose wept, both withered away together, and the flowers fell; andwith them the hapless mother became a lifeless heap of earth. "

The last half of the eighteenth century witnessed, in Greece, thefirst general desire for liberty. Secret societies were formedto aid in the emancipation of the country, and "eminent writers, at home and abroad, appealed to the glorious recollections ofGreece in order to excite a universal enthusiasm for freedom. "Among the latter may be mentioned CONSTANTINOS RHIGAS, a nativeof Thessaly, born in 1753, a man of fine accomplishments andan ardent patriot, whose lyric ballads are said to have "rungthrough Greece like a trumpet, " and who has been styled "theTyrtæ'us of modern Greece. " One of his war-songs has been thustranslated:

 Sons of the Greeks, arise! The glorious hour's gone forth, And, worthy of such ties, Display who gave us birth. 

 * * * * *

 Then manfully despising The Turkish tyrant's yoke, Let your country see you rising, And all her chains are broke. Brave shades of chiefs and sages, Behold the coming strife! Hellenes of past ages, Oh start again to life! At the sound of my trumpet, breaking Your sleep, oh join with me! And the seven-hilled city [Footnote: Constantinople] seeking, Fight, conquer, till we're free. 

 Sparta, Sparta, why in slumbers Lethargic dost thou lie? Awake, and join thy numbers With Athens, old ally! Leonidas recalling, That chief of ancient song, Who saved ye once from falling-- The terrible! the strong! Who made that bold diversion In old Thermopylæ, And warring with the Persian To keep his country free; With his three hundred waging The battle, long he stood, And, like a lion raging, Expired in seas of blood. --Trans. By BYRON. 

Another poet, POLYZOIS, writes in a similar vein:

 Friends and countrymen, shall we Slaves of Moslems ever be, Of the old barbaric band, Tyrants o'er Hellenic land? Draws the hour of vengeance nigh-- Vengeance! be our battle-cry. 

It may be stated that Rhigas, having visited Vienna with thehope of rousing the wealthy Greek residents of that city toimmediate action, was barbarously surrendered to the Turks bythe Austrian government. On the way to execution he broke fromhis guards and killed two of them, but was overpowered andimmediately beheaded. 

 * * * * *

v. THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 

The various efforts made by the Greeks in behalf of freedom, or, as more comprehensively stated by a recent writer, "Theconstancy with which they clung to the Christian Church duringfour centuries of misery and political annihilation; theirimmovable faithfulness to their nationality under intolerableoppression; the intellectual superiority they never failed toexhibit over their tyrants; the love of humane letters whichthey never, in all their sorrows, lost; and the wise preparationthey made for the struggle by means of schools, and by thecirculation of editions of their own ancient authors, andtranslations of the most instructive works in modern literature"--these were the influences which finally impelled the Greeks toseek their restoration in armed insurrection, that first brokeout in the spring of 1821, and that ushered in the great GreekRevolution. On the 7th of March Alexander Ypsilanti, a Greek, who had been a major-general in the Russian army, proclaimedfrom Moldavia the independence of Greece, and assured hiscountrymen of the aid of Russia in the approaching contest. Butthe Russian emperor declined intervention; and the Porte tookthe most vigorous measures against the Greeks, calling upon allMussulmen to arm against the rebels for the protection of Islamism. The wildest fanaticism raged in Constantinople, where thousandsof resident Greeks were remorselessly murdered; and in Moldaviathe bloody struggle was terminated by the annihilation of thepatriot army, and the flight of Ypsilanti to Trieste, where theAustrian government seized and imprisoned him. 

In southern Greece, however, no cruelties could quench the fireof liberty; and sixteen days after the proclamation of Ypsilantithe revolution of the Morea began at Suda, a large village inthe northern part of Acha'ia, and spread over Achaia and theislands of the Æge'an. The ancient names were revived; and onthe 6th of April the Messenian senate, assembled at Kalamä'ta, proclaimed that Greece had shaken off the Turkish yoke to preservethe Christian faith and restore the ancient character of thecountry. A formal address was made by that body to the peopleof the United States, and was forwarded to this country. Itdeclared that, "having deliberately resolved to live or die forfreedom, the Greeks were drawn by an irresistible impulse tothe people of the United States. " In that early stage of thestruggle, however, the address failed to excite that sympathywhich, as we shall see farther on, the progress of events anda better understanding of the situation finally awakened. 

During the summer months the Turks committed great depredationsamong the Greek towns on the coast of Asia Minor; the inhabitantsof the Island of Candia, who had taken no part in the insurrection, were disarmed, and their archbishop and other prelates weremurdered. The most barbarous atrocities were also committed atRhodes and other islands of the Grecian Archipelago, where thevillages were burned and the country desolated. But in Augustthe Greeks captured the strong Turkish fortresses of Monembasi'aand Navarï'no, and in October that of Tripolit'za, and took aterrible revenge upon their enemies. In Tripolitza alone eightthousand Turks were put to death. The excesses of the Turks showedto the Greeks that their struggle was one of life and death; andit is not surprising, therefore, that they often retaliated whenthe power was in their hands. In September of the same year theGreek general Ulysses defeated a large Turkish army near thePass of Thermopylæ; but, on the other hand, the peninsula ofCassandra, the ancient Pelle'ne, was taken by the Turks, andover three thousand Greeks were put to the sword. The AthenianAcropolis was seized and garrisoned by the Turks, and the peopleof Athens, as in olden time, fled to Sal'amis for safety; butin general, throughout all southern Greece, the close of theyear saw the Turks driven from the country districts and shutup in the principal cities. 

A PROPHETIC VISION OF THE STRUGGLE. 

When the revolution of the Greeks broke out the English poetSHELLEY was residing in Italy. It was during the first year ofthe war that Shelley, filled with enthusiasm for the Greek cause, wrote, from the scanty materials that were then accessible, hisbeautiful dramatic poem of Hellas; and although he could at thattime narrate but few events of the struggle, yet his propheciesof the final result came true in their general import. Forminghis poem on the basis of the Persians of Æschylus, the sceneopens with a chorus of Greek captive women, who thus sing ofthe course of Freedom, from the earliest ages until the lightof her glory returns to rest upon and renovate their benightedland:

 In the great morning of the world The Spirit of God with might unfurled The flag of Freedom over Chaos, And all its banded anarchs fled, Like vultures frightened from Ima'us, [Footnote: A Scythian mountain-range. ] Before an earthquake's tread, So from Time's tempestuous dawn Freedom's splendor burst and shone: Thermopylæ and Marathon Caught, like mountains beacon-lighted, The springing fire, The winged glory On Philippi half alighted [Footnote: The republican Romans, under Brutus and Cassius, were defeated here by Octavius and Mark Antony, 42 B. C. ] Like an eagle on a promontory. 

 Its unwearied wings could fan The quenchless ashes of Milan. [Footnote: Milan was the center of the resistance of the Lombard league against the Austrian tyrant Frederic Barbarossa. The latter, in 1162, burned the city to the ground; but liberty lived in its ashes, and it rose, like an exhalation, from its ruins. ] From age to age, from man to man It lived; and lit, from land to land, Florence, Albion, Switzerland. [Footnote: Florence freed itself from the power of the Ghibelline nobles, and became a free republic in 1250. Albion--England: Magna Charta wrested from King John: the Commonwealth. Switzerland: the great victory of Mogarten, in 1315, led to the compact of the three cantons, thus forming the nucleus of the Swiss Confederation. ]

 Then night fell; and, as from night, Re-assuring fiery flight From the West swift Freedom came, [Footnote: The American Revolution. ] Against the course of heaven and doom, A second sun, arrayed in flame, To burn, to kindle, to illume. From far Atlantis its young beams [Footnote: The fabled Atlantis of Plato; here used for America. ] Chased the shadows and the dreams. 

 France, with all her sanguine streams, Hid, but quenched it not; again, [Footnote: Referring to the French Revolution. ] Through clouds, its shafts of glory rain From utmost Germany to Spain. [Footnote: Referring to the revolutions that broke out about the year 1820. ] As an eagle, fed with morning, Scorns the embattled tempest's warning, When she seeks her aerie hanging In the mountain cedar's hair, And her brood expect the clanging Of her wings through the wild air, Sick with famine; Freedom, so, To what of Greece remaineth, now Returns; her hoary ruins glow Like orient mountains lost in day; Beneath the safety of her wings Her renovated nurslings play, And in the naked lightnings Of truth they purge their dazzled eyes. Let Freedom leave, where'er she flies, A desert, or a paradise; Let the beautiful and the brave Share her glory or a grave. 

In the farther prosecution of his narrative, the poet representsthe Turkish Sultan, Mahmoud, as being strongly moved by dreamsof the threatened overthrow of his power; and he accordingly sendsfor Ahasuerus, an aged Jew, to interpret them. In the mean timethe chorus of women sings the final triumph of the Cross overthe crescent, and the fleeing away of the dark "powers of earthand air" before the advancing light of the "Star of Bethlehem:"

 A power from the unknown God, A Promethean conqueror came; Like a triumphal path he trod The thorns of death and shame. A mortal shape to him Was like the vapor dim Which the orient planet animates with light; Hell, sin, and slavery came, Like bloodhounds mild and tame, Nor preyed until their lord had taken flight. The moon of Ma'homet Arose, and it shall set; While, blazoned as on heaven's immortal noon, The Cross leads generations on. 

 Swift as the radiant shapes of sleep, From one whose dreams are paradise, Fly, when the fond wretch wakes to weep, And day peers forth with her black eyes; So fleet, so faint, so fair, The powers of earth and air Fled from the rising Star of Bethlehem. Apollo, Pan, and Love, And even Olympian Jove Grew weak, for killing Truth had glared on them. Our hills, and seas, and streams, Dispeopled of their dreams-- Their waters turned to blood, their dew to tears-- Wailed for the golden years. 

In the language of Hassan, an attendant of Mahmoud, the poetthen summarizes the events attending the opening of the struggle, giving a picture of the course of European politics--Egypt sendingher armies and fleets to aid the Sultan against the rebel world;England, Queen of Ocean, upon her island throne, holding herselfaloof from the contest; Russia, indifferent whether Greece orTurkey conquers, but watching to stoop upon the victor; and Austria, while hating freedom, yet fearing the success of freedom's enemies. The poet could not foresee that change in English politics whichsubsequently permitted England, aided by France and Russia, tointerfere in behalf of Greece. Hassan says:

 "The anarchies of Africa unleash Their tempest-winged cities of the sea, To speak in thunder to the rebel world. Like sulphurous clouds, half shattered by the storm, They sweep the pale Ægean, while the Queen Of Ocean, bound upon her island throne, Far in the West, sits mourning that her sons, Who frown on Freedom, spare a smile for thee: Russia still hovers, as an eagle might Within a cloud, near which a kite and crane Hang tangled in inextricable fight, To stoop upon the victor; for she fears The name of Freedom, even as she hates thine; But recreant Austria loves thee as the grave Loves pestilence; and her slow dogs of war, Fleshed with the chase, come up from Italy, And howl upon their limits; for they see The panther Freedom fled to her old cover Amid seas and mountains, and a mightier brood Crouch around. "

Although Hassan recounts the numbers of the Sultan's armies, and the strength of his forts and arsenals, yet the despondingMahmoud, watching the declining moon, thus symbolizes it as thewan emblem of his fading power:

 "Look, Hassan, on yon crescent moon, emblazoned Upon that shattered flag of fiery cloud Which leads the rear of the departing day, Wan emblem of an empire fading now! See how it trembles in the blood-red air, And, like a mighty lamp whose oil is spent, Shrinks on the horizon's edge--while, from above, One star, with insolent and victorious light Hovers above its fall, and with keen beams, Like arrows through a fainting antelope, Strikes its weak form to death. "

As messenger after messenger approaches, and informs the Sultanof the revolutionary risings in different parts of his empire, he refuses to hear more, and takes refuge in that fatalisticphilosophy which is an unfailing resource of the followers ofthe Prophet in all their reverses:

 "I'll hear no more! too long We gaze on danger through the mist of fear, And multiply upon our shattered hopes The images of ruin. Come what will! To-morrow and to-morrow are as lamps Set in our path to light us to the edge, Through rough and smooth; nor can we suffer aught Which He inflicts not, in whose hands we are. "

When the Jew, Ahasuerus, at length arrives, he speaks in oracularterms, and calls up visions which increase the Sultan's fears;and when the latter hears shouts of transient victory over theGreeks, he regards it but as the expiring gleam which serves tomake the coming darkness the more terrible. He thus soliloquizes:

 "Weak lightning before darkness! poor faint smile Of dying Islam! Voice which art the response Of hollow weakness! Do I wake, and live, Were there such things? or may the unquiet brain, Vexed by the wise mad talk of the old Jew, Have shaped itself these shadows of its fear? It matters not! for naught we see, or dream, Possess or lose, or grasp at, can be worth More than it gives or teaches. Come what may, The future must become the past, and I As they were, to whom once the present hour, This gloomy crag of time to which I cling, Seemed an Elysian isle of peace and joy Never to be attained. "

Although the poet predicts series of disasters and periods ofgloom for struggling Greece, yet, at the close of the poem, abrighter age than any she has known is represented as gleamingupon her "through the sunset of hope. "

The year 1822 opened with the assembling of the first Greekcongress at Epidau'rus, the proclaiming of a provisionalconstitution on the 13th of January, and the issuing, on the27th, of a declaration that announced the union of all Greece, with an independent federative government under the presidencyof Alexander Mavrocordä'to. But the Greeks, unaccustomed toexercise the rights of freemen, were unable at once to establisha wise and firm government: they often quarreled among themselves;and those who had exercised an independent authority under thegovernment of the Turks were with difficulty induced to submitto the control of the central government. The few men ofintelligence and liberal views among them had a difficult taskto perform; but the wretchedly undisciplined state of the Turkisharmies aided its successful accomplishment. The principal militaryevents of the year were the terrible massacre of the inhabitantsof the Island of Scio by the Turks in April; the defeat of thelatter in the Morea, where more than twenty thousand of themwere slain; the successes of the Greek fire-ships, by which manyTurkish vessels were destroyed; and the surrender to the Greeksof Nap'oli di Roma'nia, the ancient Nauplia, the port of Argos. By the destruction of the Island of Scio a paradise was changedinto a scene of desolation, and more than forty thousand personswere killed or sold into slavery. Soon after, one hundred andfifty villages in southern Macedonia experienced the fate ofScio; and the pasha of Saloni'ca boasted that he had destroyed, in one day, fifteen hundred women and children. 

Goaded to desperation, rather than disheartened by their reversesand the remorseless cruelties of the Turks, the Greeks struggledbravely on, and during the year 1823 the results of the contestwere generally in their favor. They often proved themselves worthysons of those who fell

 "In bleak Thermopylæ's strait, "

or on the plains of Marathon. Their patriotic determination to befree, or die in the attempt, is happily reflected in the followinglines by the poet CAMPBELL, whose heart beat in sympathy with theirefforts for liberty. 

 Song of the Greeks. 

 Again to the battle, Achaians! Our hearts bid the tyrants defiance! Our land--the first garden of Liberty's tree-- It hath been, and shall yet be, the land of the free; For the Cross of our faith is replanted, The pale, dying crescent is daunted, And we march that the footprints of Mahomet's slaves May be washed out in blood from our forefathers' graves. Their spirits are hovering o'er us, And the sword shall to glory restore us. 

 Ah! what though no succor advances, Nor Christendom's chivalrous lances Are stretched in our aid? Be the combat our own! And we'll perish or conquer more proudly alone! For we've sworn by our country's assaulters, By the virgins they've dragged from our altars, By our massacred patriots, our children in chains, By our heroes of old, and their blood in our veins, That, living, we shall be victorious, Or that, dying, our deaths shall be glorious!

 A breath of submission we breathe not: The sword that we've drawn we will sheathe not; Its scabbard is left where our martyrs are laid, And the vengeance of ages has whetted its blade. Earth may hide, waves ingulf, fire consume us; But they shall not to slavery doom us. If they rule, it shall be o'er our ashes and graves: But we've smote them already with fire on the waves, And new triumphs on land are before us-- To the charge!--Heaven's banner is o'er us. 

 This day shall ye blush for its story, Or brighten your lives with its glory. Our women--oh say, shall they shriek in despair, Or embrace us from conquest, with wreaths in their hair? Accursed may his memory blacken, If a coward there be who would slacken Till we've trampled the turban, and shown ourselves worth Being sprung from, and named for, the godlike of earth. Strike home! and the world shall revere us As heroes descended from heroes. 

 Old Greece lightens up with emotion! Her inlands, her isles of the ocean, Fanes rebuilt, and fair towns, shall with jubilee ring, And the Nine shall new hallow their Helicon's spring. Our hearths shall be kindled in gladness, That were cold and extinguished in sadness; While our maidens shall dance, with their white waving arms, Singing joy to the brave that delivered their charms, When the blood of yon Mussulman cravens Shall have crimsoned the beaks of our ravens!

AMERICAN SYMPATHY WITH GREECE. 

The progress of events in 1822 and 1823 made friends for theGreeks wherever free principles were cherished; and from Englandand America large contributions of money, clothing, and provisions, were forwarded to relieve the sufferings inflicted by the wantoncruelties of the Turks. It was the United States, however, asthe first American Minister to Greece, MR. TUCKERMAN, says, thatfirst responded, "in the words of President Monroe, Webster, Clay, Everett, Dwight, and hosts of other lights, " to the appealof the Greek senate at Kalamäta, made in 1821. When Congressassembled in December, 1823, President Monroe made the revolutionin Greece the subject of a paragraph in his annual message, inwhich he expressed the hope of success to the Greeks and disasterto the Turks; and Mr. Webster subsequently introduced a resolutionin the House of Representatives providing for the appointmentof an agent or commissioner to Greece. These were the firstofficial expressions favorable to the struggling country utteredby any government; and in speaking to his resolution in January, 1824, Mr. Webster began his remarks as follows:

"An occasion which calls the attention to a spot so distinguished, so connected with interesting recollections, as Greece, maynaturally create something of warmth and enthusiasm. In a gravepolitical discussion, however, it is necessary that those feelingsshould be chastened. I shall endeavor properly to repress them, although it is impossible that they should be altogetherextinguished. We must, indeed, fly beyond the civilized world;we must pass the dominion of law and the boundaries of knowledge;we must, more especially, withdraw ourselves from this place, and the scenes and objects which here surround us, if we wouldseparate ourselves entirely from the influence of all thosememorials of herself which ancient Greece has transmitted forthe admiration and the benefit of mankind. This free form ofgovernment, this popular assembly--the common council for thecommon good--where have we contemplated its earliest models?This practice of free debate and public discussion, the contestof mind with mind, and that popular eloquence which, if it werenow here, on a subject like this, would move the stones of theCapitol--whose was the language in which all these were firstexhibited? Even the edifice in which we assemble, theseproportioned columns, this ornamented architecture, all remindus that Greece has existed, and that we, like the rest of mankind, are greatly her debtors. 

"But I have not introduced this motion in the vain hope ofdischarging anything of this accumulated debt of centuries. Ihave not acted upon the expectation that we who have inheritedthis obligation from our ancestors should now attempt to pay itto those who may seem to have inherited from their ancestors aright to receive payment. My object is nearer and more immediate. I wish to take occasion of the struggle of an interesting andgallant people in the cause of liberty and Christianity, to drawthe attention of the House to the circumstances which haveaccompanied that struggle, and to the principles which appearto have governed the conduct of the great states of Europe inregard to it, and to the effects and consequences of theseprinciples upon the independence of nations, and especially uponthe institutions of free governments. What I have to say of Greece, therefore, concerns the modern, not the ancient--the living, and not the dead. It regards her, not as she exists in history, triumphant over time, and tyranny, and ignorance, but as shenow is, contending against fearful odds for being, and for thecommon privileges of human nature. "

In an argument of some length Mr. Webster forcibly condemns thethen existing policy of the European Powers, who, holding thatall changes in legislation and administration "ought to proceedfrom kings alone, " were therefore "wholly inexorable to thesufferings of the Greeks, and entirely hostile to their success. "He demands that the protest of this government shall be madeagainst this policy, both as it is laid down in principle andas it is applied in practice; and he closes his address withthe following references to the determination of the Greeks andthe sympathy their struggle should receive:

"Constantinople and the northern provinces have sent forththousands of troops; they have been defeated. Tripoli, and Algiers, and Egypt have contributed their marine contingents; they havenot kept the ocean. Hordes of Tartars have crossed the Bosphorus;they have died where the Persians died. The powerful monarchiesin the neighborhood have denounced the Greek cause, and admonishedthe Greeks to abandon it and submit to their fate. They haveanswered that, although two hundred thousand of their countrymenhave offered up their lives, there yet remain lives to offer;and that it is the determination of all--'yes, of ALL'--to persevereuntil they shall have established their liberty, or until thepower of their oppressors shall have relieved them from the burdenof existence. It may now be asked, perhaps, whether the expressionof our own sympathy, and that of the country, may do them good?I hope it may. It may give them courage and spirit; it may assurethem of public regard, teach them that they are not whollyforgotten by the civilized world, and inspire them with constancyin the pursuit of their great end. At any rate, it appears tome that the measure which I have proposed is due to our owncharacter, and called for by our own duty. When we have dischargedthat duty we may leave the rest to the disposition of Providence. I am not of those who would, in the hour of utmost peril, withholdsuch encouragement as might be properly and lawfully given, and, when the crisis should be past, overwhelm the rescued suffererwith kindness and caresses. The Greeks address the civilizedworld with a pathos not easy to be resisted. They invoke ourfavor by more moving considerations than can well belong to thecondition of any other people. They stretch out their arms tothe Christian communities of the earth, beseeching them, by agenerous recollection of their ancestors, by the considerationof their desolated and ruined cities and villages, by their wivesand children sold into an accursed slavery, by their blood, whichthey seem willing to pour out like water, by the common faithand in the name which unites all Christians, that they wouldextend to them at least some token of compassionate regard. "

THE SORTIE AT MISSOLONGHI. 

One of the noted exploits of the Greeks in 1823, and one that hasbeen commemorated in many ways, occurred at Missolon'ghi, thecapital of Acarnania and Ætolia, while that town was besieged bya Turkish army; and the name of Marco Boz-zar'is, the commanderof the garrison, has ever since been classed with that of Leonidasand other heroes of ancient Greece who fell in the moment ofvictory. In his Crescent and the Cross; or, Romance and Realitiesof Eastern Travel, the English author WARBURTON thus tells thestory of the well-known deed that saved Missolonghi to the Greeksand hastened the delivery of their country:

"When Missolonghi was beleaguered by the Turkish forces, MarcoBozzaris commanded a garrison of about twelve hundred men, whohad barely fortifications enough to form breastworks. Intelligencereached him that an Egyptian army was about to form a junctionwith the formidable besieging host. A parade was ordered of thegarrison, 'faint and few, but fearless still. ' Bozzaris toldthem of the destruction that impended over Missolonghi, proposeda sortie, and announced that it should consist only of volunteers. Volunteers! The whole garrison stepped forward as one man, anddemanded the post of honor and of death. 'I will only take theThermopylæ number, ' said their leader; and he selected the threehundred from his true and trusty Suliotes. In the dead of nightthis devoted band marched out in six divisions, which were placed, in profound silence, around the Turkish camp. Their orders weresimply, 'When you hear my bugle blow seek me in the pasha's tent. '

"Marco Bozzaris, disguised as an Albanian bearing dispatchesto the pasha from the Egyptian army, passed unquestioned throughthe Turkish camp, and was only arrested by the sentinels aroundthe pasha's tent, who informed him that he must wait till morning. Then wildly through the stillness of the night that bugle blew;faithfully it was echoed from without; and the war-cry of theavenging Greek broke upon the Moslem's ear. From every side thatterrible storm seemed to break at once; shrieks of agony andterror swelled the tumult. The Turks fled in all directions, and the Grecian leader was soon surrounded by his comrades. Struckto the ground by a musket-ball, he had himself raised on theshoulders of two Greeks; and, thus supported, he pressed on theflying enemy. Another bullet pierced his brain in the hour ofhis triumph, and he was borne dead from the field of his glory. "But Missolonghi was saved, and under Constantine and Noto Bozzaris, brothers of the dead hero, it withstood repeated assaults ofthe Turks, until, in 1826, after having been besieged for overa year by a very large naval and military force, it was finallytaken. Those left of the small garrison who were able to fight, placing the women in the center, sallied forth at midnight ofthe 22d of April, and cut their way through the Turkish camp;while those who were too feeble to attempt an escape assembledin a large mill that was used as a powder-magazine, and blewthemselves and many of the incoming Turks to atoms. 

Some fifteen years after the death of Marco Bozzaris, the Americantraveller and author, Mr. John L. Stephens, visited Greece, and, at Missolonghi, was presented to Constantine Bozzaris and thewidow and children of his deceased brother. In the account whichthe author gives of this interview, in his Incidents of Travelin Greece, he describes Constantine Bozzaris, then a colonelin the service of King Otho, as a man of about fifty years ofage, of middle height and spare build, who, immediately afterthe formal introduction, expressed his gratitude as a Greek forthe services rendered his country by America; and added, "withsparkling eye and flushed cheek, that when the Greek revolutionaryflag sailed into the port of Napoli di Romania, among hundredsof vessels of all nations, an American captain was the firstto recognize and salute it. " Mr. Stephens thus describes thewidow of the Greek hero: "She was under forty, tall and statelyin person, and habited in deep black. She looked the widow ofa hero; as one worthy of those Grecian mothers who gave theirhair for bow-strings and their girdles for sword-belts, and, while their heartstrings were cracking, sent their husbands tofight and perish for their country. Perhaps it was she who ledMarco Bozzaris from the wild guerilla warfare in which he hadpassed his early life, and fired him with the high and holyambition of freeing his country. I am certain that no man couldlook her in the face without finding his wavering purposes fixed, and without treading more firmly in the path of high and honorableambition. "

Mr. Stephens closes the account of his interview with the widowand family as follows: "At parting I told them that the name ofMarco Bozzaris was as familiar in America as that of a hero ofour own Revolution, and that it had been hallowed by theinspiration of an American poet. I added that, if it would notbe unacceptable, on my return to my native country I would sendthe tribute referred to, as an evidence of the feeling existingin America toward the memory of Marco Bozzaris. " The promisedtribute was the following Beautiful and stirring poem byFITZ-GREENE HALLECK:

 Marco Bozzaris. 

 At midnight, in his guarded tent, The Turk was dreaming of the hour When Greece, her knee in suppliance bent, Should tremble at his power: In dreams, through camp and court, he bore The trophies of a conqueror; In dreams his song of triumph heard; Then wore his monarch's signet-ring; Then pressed that monarch's throne--a king; As wild his thoughts, and gay of wing, As Eden's garden-bird. 

 At midnight, in the forest shades, Bozzaris ranged his Suliote band, True as the steel of their tried blades, Heroes in heart and hand. There had the Persian's thousands stood, There had the glad earth drunk their blood On old Platæa's day; And now there breathed that haunted air The sons of sires who conquered there, With arm to strike, and soul to dare, As quick, as far as they. 

 An hour passed on--the Turk awoke; That bright dream was his last; He woke to hear his sentries shriek "To arms! they come! the Greek! the Greek!" He woke, to die 'mid flame and smoke, And shout, and groan, and sabre-stroke, And death-shots falling thick and fast As lightnings from the mountain-cloud, And heard, with voice as trumpet loud, Bozzaris cheer his band: "Strike! till the last armed foe expires; Strike! for your altars and your fires; Strike! for the green graves of your sires, God, and your native land!"

 They fought like brave men, long and well; They piled that ground with Moslem slain; They conquered; but Bozzaris fell, Bleeding at every vein. His few surviving comrades saw His smile when rang their proud hurrah, And the red field was won, Then saw in death his eyelids close, Calmly as to a night's repose-- Like flowers at set of sun. 

 Come to the bridal chamber, Death! Come to the mother, when she feels, For the first time, her first-born's breath; Come when the blessed seals That close the pestilence are broke, And crowded cities wail its stroke; Come in consumption's ghastly form, The earthquake shock, the ocean storm; Come when the heart beats high and warm With banquet song, and dance, and wine; And thou art terrible: the tear, The groan, the knell, the pall, the bier, And all we know, or dream, or fear Of agony, are thine. 

 But to the hero, when his sword Has won the battle for the free, Thy voice sounds like a prophet's word, And in its hollow tones are heard Thanks of millions yet to be. Come, when his task of fame is wrought; Come, with her laurel-leaf, blood-bought; Come, in her crowning hour--and then Thy sunken eye's unearthly light To him is welcome as the sight Of sky and stars to prisoned men; Thy grasp is welcome as the hand Of brother in a foreign land; Thy summons welcome as the cry That told the Indian isles were nigh To the world-seeking Genoese, When the land-wind, from woods of palm, And orange-groves, and fields of balm, Blew o'er the Haytien seas. 

 Bozzaris! with the storied brave Greece nurtured in her glory's time, Rest thee--there is no prouder grave, Even in her own proud clime. She wore no funeral weeds for thee, Nor bade the dark hearse wave its plume, Like torn branch from death's leafless tree, In sorrow's pomp and pageantry, The heartless luxury of the tomb; But she remembers thee as one Long loved, and for a season gone: For thee her poet's lyre is wreathed, Her marble wrought, her music breathed; For thee she rings the birthday bells; Of thee her babes' first lisping tells; For thine her evening prayer is said At palace couch and cottage bed; Her soldier, closing with the foe, Gives for thy sake a deadlier blow; His plighted maiden, when she fears For him, the joy of her young years, Thinks of thy fate and checks her tears. And she, the mother of thy boys, Though in her eye and faded cheek Is read the grief she will not speak, The memory of her buried joys, And even she who gave thee birth, Will, by their pilgrim-circled hearth, Talk of thy doom without a sigh: For thou art Freedom's now, and Fame's-- One of the few, the immortal names That were not born to die!

About the time of the exploit of Bozzaris, Lord Byron arrivedin Greece, to take an active part in aid of Greek independence, and proceeded to Missolonghi in January, 1824. No warmer friendof the Greeks than Byron ever lived; but while he sympathizedwith, and was anxious to aid in every way possible, those who, in his own words, "suffered all the moral and physical ills thatcould afflict humanity, " it was evidently his honest belief thatthe only salvation for Greece lay in her becoming a Britishdependency. In his notes to Childe Harold, penned before therevolution broke out, but while all Greece was ablaze with thedesire for liberty, he wrote as follows: "The Greeks will neverbe independent; they will never be sovereigns, as heretofore, and God forbid they ever should! but they may be subjects withoutbeing slaves. Our colonies are not independent, but they arefree and industrious, and such may Greece be hereafter. " Thesewords show that he considered Greece incapable of self-government, should she ever regain her liberty; and he therefore deprecateda return to her ancient sovereignty. That this was his view, and that he subsequently designed to give it effect in his ownperson, we are assured from the well-founded belief, derivedfrom his own declarations, that when he joined the Greek causehe had a mind to place himself at its head, hoping and perhapsbelieving that he might become King of Hellas, under the protectionof Great Britain. But whatever his plans may have been, they werecut short by his death, at Missolonghi, on the 19th of Aprilfollowing his arrival there. 

INTERFERENCE OF THE GREAT POWERS. 

In the campaign of 1824, while the Greeks lost Candia and thestrongly fortified rocky isle of Ip'sara, a Turkish fleet wasrepulsed off Samos, and a large Egyptian fleet, sent to attackthe Morea, was frustrated in all its designs. The campaign of1825, however, was opened by the landing, in the Morea, of alarge Egyptian army, under Ibrahim Päsha, son of the Viceroyof Egypt. Navarï'no soon fell into his power; and at the timeof the fall of Missolonghi, in the following year, be was inpossession of most of southern Greece, and many of the islandsof the Archipelago. The foundation of an Egyptian military andslave-holding state now seemed to be laid in Europe; and thisdanger, combined with the noble defence and sufferings atMissolonghi and elsewhere, attracted the serious attention ofthe European governments and people; numerous philanthropicsocieties were formed to aid the Greeks, and finally three ofthe great European powers were moved to interfere in their behalf. On the 6th of July, 1827, a treaty was concluded at London betweenEngland, Russia, and France, stipulating that the Greeks shouldgovern themselves, but that they should pay tribute to the Porte. 

To enforce this treaty a combined English, French, and Russiansquadron sailed to the Grecian Archipelago; but the Turkish Sultanhaughtily rejected the intervention of the three powers, andthe troops of Ibrahim Pasha continued their devastations in theMorea. On the 20th of October the allied squadron, under thecommand of the English admiral, Edward Codrington, entered theharbor of Navarino, where the Turkish-Egyptian fleet lay at anchor;and a sanguinary naval battle followed, in which the allies nearlydestroyed the fleet of the enemy. Although this action was spokenof by the British government as an "untoward event, " AdmiralCodrington was rewarded both by England and Russia; and the poetCAMPBELL, in the following lines on the battle, naturally praiseshim for planning and striking this decisive blow for Grecian liberty:

 The Battle of Nava'rino. 

 Hearts of Oak, that have bravely delivered the brave, And uplifted old Greece from the brink of the grave! 'Twas the helpless to help, and the hopeless to save, That your thunderbolts swept o'er the brine; And as long as yon sun shall look down on the wave The light of your glory shall shine. 

 For the guerdon ye sought with your bloodshed and toil, Was it slaves, or dominion, or rapine, or spoil? No! your lofty emprise was to fetter and foil The uprooter of Greece's domain, When he tore the last remnant of food from her soil, Till her famished sank pale as the slain!

 Yet, Navarï'no's heroes! does Christendom breed The base hearts that will question the fame of your deed? Are they men?--let ineffable scorn be their meed, And oblivion shadow their graves! Are they women?--to Turkish sérails let them speed, And be mothers of Mussulmen slaves!

 Abettors of massacre! dare ye deplore That the death-shriek is silenced on Hellas' shore? That the mother aghast sees her offspring no more By the hand of Infanticide grasped? And that stretched on yon billows distained by their gore Missolonghi's assassins have gasped?

 Prouder scene never hallowed war's pomp to the mind Than when Christendom's pennons wooed social the wind, And the flower of her brave for the combat combined-- Their watchword, humanity's vow: Not a sea-boy that fought in that cause but mankind Owes a garland to bon or his brow! No grudge, by our side, that to conquer or fall Came the hardy, rude Russ, and the high-mettled Gaul: For whose was the genius that planned, at its call, When the whirlwind of battle should roll? All were brave! but the star of success over all Was the light of our Codrington's soul. 

 That star of thy day-spring, regenerate Greek! Dimmed the Saracen's moon, and struck pallid his cheek: In its fast flushing morning thy Muses shall speak, When their love and their lutes they reclaim; And the first of their songs from Parnassus's peak Shall be "Glory to Codrington's name!"

The result of the conflict at Navarino so enraged the Turks thatthey stopped all communication with the allied powers, and preparedfor war. In the following year (1828) France and England sentan army to the Morea: Russia declared war for violations oftreaties, and depredations upon her commerce; and on the 7th ofMay a Russian army of one hundred and fifteen thousand men, underCount Witt'genstein, crossed the Pruth, and by the 2d of Julyhad taken seven fortresses from the Turks. In August a conventionwas concluded with Ibrahim Päsha, who agreed to evacuate theMorea, and set his Greek prisoners at liberty. In the mean timethe Greeks continued the war, drove the Turks from the countrynorth of the Corinthian Gulf, and fitted out numerous privateersto prey upon the commerce of their enemy. In January, 1829, theSultan received a protocol from the three allied powers, declaringthat they took the Morea and the Cyc'lades under their protection, and that the entry of any military force into Greece would beregarded as an attack upon themselves. The danger of open warwith France and England, as well as the successes and alarmingadvances of the Russians, now commanded by Marshal Die'bitsch, who had meantime taken Adrianople, within one hundred and thirtymiles of the Turkish capital, induced the Sultan to listen toovertures of peace; and on the 14th of September "the peace ofAdrianople" was signed by Turkey and Russia, by which the formerrecognized the independence of Greece. 

 * * * * *

VI. GREECE UNDER A CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY. 

Though freed from her Turkish oppressors, Greece was severelyagitated by domestic discontents, jealousies, and even manifestturbulence. Count Cä'po d'Is'tria, a Greek in the service ofRussia, who had been chosen, in 1828, president of the provisionalgovernment, aroused suspicions that he designed to establish adespotism in his own person, and he was assassinated in 1831. A period of anarchy followed. The great powers had previouslydetermined to erect Greece into a monarchy, and had first offeredthe crown to Prince Leopold, afterward King of Belgium, who, havingaccepted the offer, soon after declined it on account of theunwillingness of the Greeks to receive him, and theirdissatisfaction with the territorial boundaries prescribed forthem. Finally, the boundaries of the kingdom having been moresatisfactorily determined by a treaty between Turkey and thepowers in 1832, the crown was conferred on Otho, a Bavarianprince, who arrived at Nauplia, the then capital of Greece, in1833. Athens became the seat of government in 1835. Says a writerin the British Quarterly, "The Greeks neither elected their ownsovereign nor chose their national polity. In a spirit of generousconfidence they allowed the three protecting powers to name aking for them, and the powers rewarded them by making the worstselection they could. They gave the Greeks a boy of seventeen, with neither a character to form nor an intellect to develop. "

The treaty by which Otho was placed on the throne made no provisionfor a constitution, but one was expected; and, after ten yearsof oppressive subjection by the king and his Bavarian minions, both the people and a revolted soldiery surrounded the palace, and demanded a constitution. The king acquiesced, a nationalassembly was held, and a constitution was framed which receivedthe king's approval in March, 1844. In this bloodless revolutionwe have an instance both of the determination, and peaceable, orderly, and well-disposed tendencies of the Greek people. Aneye-witness of the scene has thus described it:

"I well recollect the uprising of 1843. Exasperated by themiserable rule of Otho, a plot was hatched to wrench a constitutionfrom him, and when everything was ripe the Athenians arose. Atmidnight the hoofs of horses were heard clanging on the pavements, and the flash of torches gleamed in the streets, as the populaceand military hurried toward the palace; and when the amber-coloreddawn lighted the Acropolis and the plain of Athens, the kingfound himself surrounded by his happy subjects, and discoveredtwo field-pieces pointing into the entrance of the royal residence. A constitution was demanded in firm but respectful terms--itbeing suggested at the same time that, if the request were notgranted by four o'clock in the afternoon, fire would be openedon the palace. In the mean while all Athens was gathered in theopen space around the palace, chatting, cracking jokes, takingsnuff, and smoking, as if they had assembled to witness a showor hear the reading of a will. Not a shot was fired; no violencewas offered or received; and precisely as the limiting hourarrived, the obstinate king succumbed to his besiegers, and themultitude quietly dispersed to their homes. " [Footnote: B. G. W. Benjamin, in "The Turk and the Greek. "]

The Constitution which the Greeks secured contained no realguarantee for the legislative rights of the people, and the minorbenefits it gave them were ignored by the government. A continuanceof the severe contests between the national party and foreignintriguers materially interfered with the prosperity of thecountry. Other events, also, now occurred to disturb it. In 1847a diplomatic difficulty with Turkey, and, in 1848, a differencewith England, that arose from various claims of English subjects, and that continued for several years, assumed threateningproportions, and were only terminated by the submission of Greeceto the demands made upon her. When the Crimean war broke out, Greece took a decided stand in favor of Russia; but England andFrance soon compelled her to assume and maintain a strictly neutralposition. In 1859 the residents of the Ionian Islands, which wereunder the protectorate of England, sought annexation to Greece, and manifested their intentions in great popular demonstrations, and even insurrections; but Greece, though sympathizing with them, was too feeble to aid them, and no change was then made in theirrelations. 

THE DEPOSITION OF KING OTHO. 

While these events were transpiring, the feeling of hostilitytoward King Otho and the royal family was taking deeper rootwith the Greek people, and open demonstrations of violence werefrequently made. The king promised more liberal measures ofgovernment; but these fell short of the popular demand, and theGreeks resolved to dethrone the dynasty. In October, 1862, afterseveral violent demonstrations elsewhere, matters culminated ina successful revolution at Athens. A provisional government wasestablished by the leaders of the popular party, who decreedthe deposition of the king. Otho, who was absent from Athensat the time, on a visit to Napoli, finding himself without athrone did not return to Athens, but issued a proclamation takingleave of Greece, and sailed for Germany in an English frigate. He had occupied the throne just thirty years. MR. TUCKERMAN thusdescribes him: "An honest-hearted man, but without intellectualstrength, dressed in the Greek fustinella, he endeavored to beGreek in spirit; but under his braided jacket his heart beat toforeign measures, and his ear inclined to foreign counsels. Butfor the quicker-witted Amelia, the queen, his follies would haveworn out the patience of the people sooner than they did. " Thecondition of Greece under his government is thus described bythe writer in the British Quarterly, who wrote immediately afterthe coup d'état: "To outward appearance, the Greece which thePhilhel'lenists of the days of Canning declared to be re-animatedand restored, has presented, during thirty years of settledgovernment, the aspect of a country corrupt, intriguing, venal, and poor. The government has kept faith neither with its subjectsnor with its creditors; it has endeavored, by all means in itspower, to crush the constitutional liberties of its subjects;and by refusing, throughout this period, to pay a single drachmaof its public debt, it has stamped itself either hopelesslybankrupt or scandalously fraudulent. The people, meanwhile, crushed by the incubus of a dishonest and extravagant foreignrule, remain in nearly the situation they held on the firstestablishment of their kingdom. In a word, Greece was thirtyyears ago transferred from one despotism to another. The Bavarianrule was no appreciable mitigation of the Turkish rule. If theChristian monarch hated his Hellenic subjects less than theMussulman monarch, he was still more ignorant of the conditionsof prosperous government. "

THE ACCESSION OF KING GEORGE. 

If it has ever had an existence, Greek independence may be properlydated from the deposition of the Bavarian dynasty. In December, 1862, a committee appointed by the provisional government orderedthe election of a new king. The national assembly shortly aftermet at Athens, and, having first confirmed the deposition ofOtho, of those proposed as candidates for the vacant throne bythe European powers, Prince Alfred of England was elected byan immense majority on the first ballot. This choice of a scionof the freest and most stable of the constitutional monarchiesof Europe, was an expression of the desire and the resolve ofthe Greek people to secure as full political and civil libertiesas was possible for them under a monarchical government. ButPrince Alfred was held ineligible in consequence of a clausein the protocol of the protecting powers, which declared thatthe government of Greece should not be confided to a prince chosenfrom the reigning families of those states. Thereupon, in March, 1863, Prince George of Denmark, the present king, was unanimouslyelected by the assembly, and his election was confirmed by thegreat powers in the following July. There is every reason tosuppose that England assumed the honor of choosing Prince George. On the withdrawal of Prince Alfred she expressed her willingnessto abandon her protectorate of the Ionian Islands, and cede themto Greece, provided a king were chosen to whom the Englishgovernment could not object. The Ionian Islands were ceded toGreece within two months after the accession of King George;and Mr. Tuckerman relates that, "when Prince Christian, Kingof Denmark, was in London, attending the marriage of his daughterto the Prince of Wales, Lord John Russell discovered the secondson of Prince Christian in the uniform of a midshipman, andsuggested his name as the successor of Otho. "

King George took the constitutional oath in October, 1863. In1866 the revolution in Crete, or Candia, broke out, and, owingto Greek sympathy with the insurrectionists, thousands of whomfound an asylum in Greece, grave complications arose betweenGreece and Turkey, which were only settled by a conference ofthe great powers in 1869. By the treaty with the Porte in 1832the boundary line of Greece had been settled in an arbitrarymanner, by running it from the Gulf of Volo along the chain ofthe Othrys Mountains to the Gulf of Arta--by which Greece wasdeprived of the high fertile plains of Thessaly and Epirus, thelargest and richest of classical Greece. At the close of the lateRussian-Turkish war, however, the boundary line was changed bythe powers so as to include within the kingdom a large portionof those ancient possessions; but this change occasioned seriousconflicts between the government and the people of the annexeddistricts, and difficulties also arose with Turkey in consequence. But these were finally settled by an amendment to the treaty, passed in 1881. "

With the exceptions just noted, no important events have disturbedthe peace of Greece since the accession of King George. In himthe country has a ruler of capacity, who is in great measure hisown adviser, and who comprehends the chief wish of his subjects, "that Greece shall govern Greece. " As MR. TUCKERMAN has saidof him, "Unlike his predecessor, he is a Greek by sympathy oflanguage and ideas. He feels the popular pulse and tries tokeep time with it, not more as a matter of policy than fromnational sympathy; and his hands are comparatively free of theimpediment of those foreign ministerial counselors who, eachstruggling for supremacy, united only in checking the politicaladvancement of the kingdom. " It was no fault of the Greek peoplethat, under King Otho, Greece failed to make the internaladvancement that was expected of her on her escape from Moslemtyranny. It was the fault of the government; for, when a bettergovernment came, there was a corresponding change in the innerlife of the people; and at the present time, with the freest ofconstitutional monarchies, and under the guidance of a ruler sosympathetic, competent, and popular, redeemed Greece is makingrapid strides in intellectual and material progress. Of thisprogress we have the following account by a prominent Americandivine, a recent visitor to that country:

Progress in Modern Greece. [Footnote: Rev. Joseph Cook, in theNew York Independent, February, 1883. ]

"You lean over the parapet of the Acropolis, on the side towardthe modern city, and look in vain for the print of that Venetianleprous scandal and that Turkish hoof which for six hundred yearstrod Greece into the slime. In the long bondage to the barbarian, the Hellenic spirit was weakened, but not broken. The Greek, withhis fine texture, loathes the stolid, opaque temperament ofthe polygamistic Turk. Intermarriages between the races are veryfew. The Greek race is not extinct. In many rural populationsin Greece the modern Hellenic blood is as pure as the ancient. Only Hellenic blood explains Hellenic countenances, yet easilyfound; the Hellenic language, yet wonderfully incorrupt; andthe Hellenic spirit, omnipresent in liberated Greece. Fifty yearsago not a book could be bought at Athens. To-day one in eighteenof the whole population of Greece is in school. In 1881 thirteenvery tall factory chimney-stacks could be counted in the Piræ'us, not one of which was there in 1873. It is pathetic to find Greeceat last opening, on the Acropolis and in the heart of Athens, national museums for the sacred remnants of her own ancient art, which have been pillaged hitherto for the enrichment of the museumsof all Western Europe. During sixty years of independence theHellenic spirit has doubled the population of Greece, increasedher revenues five hundred per cent. , extended telegraphiccommunication over the kingdom, enlarged the fleet from fourhundred and forty to five thousand vessels, opened eight ports, founded eleven new cities, restored forty ruined towns, changedAthens from a hamlet of hovels to a city of seventy thousandinhabitants, and planted there a royal palace, a legislativechamber, ten type-foundries, forty printing establishments, twentynewspapers, an astronomical observatory, and a university witheighty professors and fifteen hundred students. After littlemore than half a century of independence, the Hellenic spiritdevotes a larger percentage of public revenue to purposes ofinstruction than France, Italy, England, Germany, or even theUnited States. Modern Greece, sixty years ago a slave and a beggar, to-day, by the confession of the most merciless statisticians, stands at the head of the list of self-educated nations. "

INDEX. 

[Names in CAPITALS denote authors to whom prominent referenceis made, or from whom selections are taken. ]

Aby'dos. Xerxes and his army at. Acade'mla, or Ac-a-deme'. A public garden or grove, the resort of the philosophers at Athens. Acarna'ni-a, description of; aids Athens. Achæ'ans, the; origin of. Achæ'an League, the. Achæ'us, son of Xuthus, and ancestor of the Achæans. Acha'ia, description of. Name given to Greece by the Romans. Achelo'us, the river, described. Ach'eron, the river; described. Acheru'sia (she-a), the lake, described. Achil'les, accompanies expedition to Troy; contends with Agamemnon, and withdrawn; refuses to enter the contest, puts his armor on Patroclus, and the armor is lost; description of his new armor; he enters the fight; encounters Æneas, who escapes; kills Hector; delivers the body to Priam; death of. Acri'si-us (she-us), King of Argos. Acrop'olis, the Athenian; seizure of, by Cylon; by Pisistratus; by the Persians; famous structures of; its splendors in the time of Pericles; injury to, inflicted by the Venetians. Actæ'on, the fable of. Adme'tus, King of Pheræ. Æge'an Sea. Ægi'na, island of; war of, with Athens. Æ'gos-pot'ami. Defeat of Athenians at. Æmo'nia, same as Hæmonia, an early name of Thessaly. Æne'as, a Trojan hero, and subject of Virgil's Æne'id; wounded, and put to flight by Diomed; fights for the body of Patroclus; encounters Achilles, and is preserved by Neptune; account of his escape from Troy. Æne'id, the. Æo'lians, the; colonies of. Æ'olus, progenitor of the Æolians. ÆS'CHI-NES, the orator; prosecutes Demosthenes; exile of; oratory of. Extracts from: The Death of Darius; Oration against Ctesiphon. ÆS'CHYLUS, poet and tragedian. Life and works of. Extracts from: Punishment of Prometheus; Retributive justice of the gods; The taking of an oath; The name "Helen"; Beacon fires from Troy to Argos; Battle of Salamis; Murder of Agamemnon. Æscula'pius, god of the healing art. Shrine of. Æ'son, King of Iolcus. Æt'na, a city in Sicily, founded by Hiero. Æto'lia. Agamem'non, King of Mycenæ; commands the expedition against Troy; contends with Achilles; demands restoration of Helen; return to Greece and is murdered. Agamemnon, the. Extracts from. Aganip'pe, fountain of. Ag'athon, a tragedian. Agesan'dros, a Rhodian sculptor. Agesila'us, King of Sparta. Defeats the Persians at Sardis. A'gis, King of Sparta. Agrigen'tum, in Sicily. A'jax. Goes with the Greeks to Troy; fights for the body of Patroclus; his death. AKENSIDE, MARK. --Character of Solon; of Pisistratus, and his usurpation; Alcræs; Anacreon; Melpomene. ALAMANNI, LUIGI. --Flight of Xerxes. ALCÆ'US, a lyric poet. --Life and writings of. Extracts from: The spoils of war; Sappho. ALCÆ'US, of Messene. --Epigrams of, on Philip V. Alcestis, the. Alcibi'ades. Artifices of; retires to Sparta; intrigues of, against Athens; is condemned to death, but escapes; is recalled to Athens; is banished; death of. Alcin'o-us, King. Gardens of. "Al'ciphron, or the Minute Philosopher". ALC'MAN, a lyric poet. --Life and writings of. Alexander the Great. Quells revolt of the Grecian states; invades Asia; defeats Darius; further conquests of; feast of, at Persepolis; invades India; dies at Babylon; career, character, and burial of; wars that followed his death. Alexandria, in Egypt. Founded by Alexander. Alex'is, a comic poet. ALISON, ARCHIBALD. -Earthquake at Sparta, and Spartan heroism. Alphe'us, river. Legends of. A'mor, son of Venus, and god of love. Amphic'tyon, Amphicty'ones, and Amphictyon'ic Council. Amphip'olis, in Thrace. Amphis'sa, town of. Amy'clæ, town of. Anab'asis, the. ANAC'REON, a lyric poet. --Life and writings of. An'akim, a giant of Palestine. Anaxag'oras, the philosopher; attacks upon, at Athens; life, works, and death of. Anaximan'der, the philosopher. Anaxim'enes, the philosopher. Anchi'ses, father of Æne'as. Androm'a-che, wife of Hector. Lamentation of, over Hector's body. An'gelo, Michael. ANONYMOUS. --Tomb of Leonidas; Queen Archidamia. Antæ'us, son of Neptune and Terra. Encounter with Hercules. Antal'cidas, the peace of. Anthe'la, village of. ANTHON, CHARLES, LL. D. --Apelles and Protogenes. Antig'o-ne, the. Antig'onus, one of Alexander's generals; conquests and death of. Antig'onus II. , a king of Macedon. --War of, with Phyrrus; becomes master of Greece, and death of. Antil'ochus (in the Iliad). Anti'ochus, King of Syria. ANTIP'ATER, of Sidon. --Extracts from: The birthplace of Homer; Sappho; Desolation of Corinth; The painting of Venus rising from the sea. Antip'ater, one of Alexander's generals. Is given command of Macedon and Greece; suppresses a Spartan revolt; the Athenian revolt; is given part of Macedonia and Greece; death of. Antiph'anes, a comic poet. An'tiphon, orator and rhetorician. An'tium (an'she-um); a city of Italy. An'tonines, the. Treatment of Greece by. An'ytus, the accuser of Socrates. Apel'les, an Ionian painter; anecdote of. Aphrodi'te. (See Venus. )Apollo, the god of archery, etc. ; aids the Trojans; character of; conflict of, with Python. Apollo Bel've-dere, statue of. Apollodo'rus, of Athens, a painter. Apollo'nia, town in Illyria. Ap'pius Claudius, the Roman consul. Arach'ne, tower of. Arbe'la. Battle of. Arca'dia and Arcadians. Arcadians assist Messenia; assist Thebes in war with Sparta. Archidami'a, Queen of Sparta. Archela'us, King of Macedon. Archida'mus, King of Sparta. Archil'ochus, lyric poet. Archime'des, the Syracusan; Cicero visits the tomb of. Architecture. --First period. Second period. Third period. Ar'chons. Institution of, in Athens. Areop'agus, or Hill of Mars. Court of; changes in power of. A'res (same as Mars). Arethu'sa, fountain of. A're-us, King of Sparta. Ar'gives, the. Ar'go, the ship. Argol'ic Gulf. Ar'golis. Argonau'tic expedition, the. Ar'gos, city of. Ari'on, the poet. Aristi'des, the Athenian general and statesman. At Marathon; rise of, in Athenian affairs; banishment of, and return to fight at Salamis; leadership and death of. Aristi'des, a painter. Aristoc'rates, King of Arcadia. Aristode'mus, one of the Heraclidæ. Aristogi'ton. Conspiracy of, against the Pisistratidæ, and death of; tribute to. Aristom'enes, a Messenian leader. ARISTOPH'ANES, the comic poet. Life and works of. Extracts from: The Wasps; Cleon the Demagogue; The Clouds; The Birds. Aristot'le, the philosopher. Life and works of. ARNOLD, EDWIN. --The Academia. Ar'ta, Gulf of. Artaba'nus, uncle of Xerxes. Artapher'nes, Persian governor of Lydia. Artaxerx'es Longim'anus. Artaxerxes Mne'mon. Ar'temis. (See Diana. )Artemis'ia (she-a), Queen of Carin. Artemis'ium. Naval conflict at. Arts. (See Literature. )As'cra. Birthplace of Hesiod. A'sius (a'she-us). A marshy place near the river Ca-ys'ter, in Asia Minor. Aso'pus, the river, in Boeotia. Aspa'sia (she-a). Attacks upon. Asty'anax, Hector's son. Fate of. A'te, goddess of revenge. Athe'na. (See Minerva. )Athenodo'rus, a Rhodian sculptor. Athens, and the Athenians; founding of the city; early history of; legislation of Draco and Solon; usurpation of Pisistratus; birth of democracy at; battle of Marathon; affairs of, under Aristides and Themistocles; war of, with Ægina, and settlement of; abandonment of city; successes of, at Artemisium and Salamis; at Platæa; empire of Athens; Athens rebuilt; affairs of, under Cimon; at battle of Eurymedon; jealousy of Sparta against; affairs of, under Pericles; changes in Constitution of; war of, with Sparta; reverses of, in Egypt, decline of, and thirty years' truce of, with Sparta; the "Age of Pericles"; war of, with Sparta; the plague at; violates the Peace of Nicias; Sicilian expedition of; war of, with Sparta, and revolt of allies; reverses and humiliation of; fall of Athens; the rule of the Tyrants; lead of, in intellectual progress; literature and art of; adornment of; glory of; alliance of, with Sparta; engages in the Sacred War; leads against Macedon; censured by Demosthenes; allies of, defeated by Philip; first open rupture with Macedon; alliance of, with Thebes, and defeat at Chæronea; revolt of, against Alexander; captured by Antigonus; late architecture, sculpture, and painting of; immortal influence of; the Duchy of Athens; captured by Turks and Venetians; revolution at, against Otho. A'thos, Mount, in Macedonia. Atos'sa, mother of Xerxes. Atri'dæ, the. A term meaning "sons of Atreus, " and applied by Homer to Agamemnon and Menelaus. Attica. "Attic Wasp, " the. Augustus, the Roman emperor. Au'lis, on the Euripus. Auso'nian, or Au'sones. An ancient race of Italy. Aver'nus, lake of. 

Babylon. Bacchus, god of vintage or wine; theatre of. Bel'i-des, a surname given to daughters of Belus. Beller'ophon, son of Glaucus. BENJAMIN, S. G. W. --Revolution against Otho. Bes'sus, satrap of Bactria. Bias, one of the Seven Sages. Birds, the. BLACKIE, J. STUART. --Value of Greek fables. Fancies of the Greek mind. Legend of Pandora. Prometheus. Story of Tantalus. The founding of Athens. Pythagoras. Legends of Marathon. Xerxes and the battle of Salamis. Boeo'tla. Boz-zar'ls, Marco. --Bravery and death of. Constantine Bozzaris, and Noto Bozzaris. Bras'idas, the Spartan. Brazen Age, the. British Quarterly Review. --The choice of Otho; and Greece under his rule. Bria're-us (or Bri'a-reus). BROUGHAM, LORD. --Demosthenes' Oration on the Crown. The style of Demosthenes. The doctrine of Plato. BROWNE, R. W. --Thucydides and Herodotus. Aristotle. BULWER, EDW. LYTTON. --Merits of a "Tyranny. " The battle of Platæa, and importance of. Xerxes at Sardis. Earthquake, and revolt of Helots at Sparta. Changes in Athenian Constitution, Oratory of Pericles. The Drama. Adornment of Athens. BURLINGAME, EDW. L. --Roman treatment of Greece. BYRON, LORD. --Dodona. Parnassus. Allusions to Attica. The Corinthian rock. The Isles of Greece. The dead at Thermopylæ. Xerxes at Salamis. Deathless renown of Greek heroes. The Athenian prisoners at Syracuse. The revenge of Orestes. Alexander's career. Siege and fall of Corinth. Greece under Moslem rule. Views of Greek independence. Byzan'tium (she-um). 

Cadmus, founder of Cadme'a. Cadmea, citadel of Thebes. Cal'amis, the sculptor. Calaure'a, island of. Callic'ra-tes, a Spartan soldier. Callicrates, an architect. Callicrat'i-das, a Spartan officer. Callim'achus, the Pol'emarch. CALLI'NUS, a lyric poet. --Writings of. Calli'o-pe, the goddess of epic poetry. CALLIS'TRATUS. --Tribute to Harmodius. Calyp'so, the nymph, island of. Cambunian mountains. CAMPBELL, THOMAS. --Music of the Spartans. Song of the Greeks. Battle of Navari'no. Can'dla, island of (Crete). Can'næ, in Apulia. Battle at. CANNING, GEORGE. --The Slavery of Greece. CANTON, WILLIAM. --Death of Anaxagoras. Capo d'Istria, Count. Capys, a Trojan. Carthaginians, the. Caspian Gates, the. Cassan'der, son of Antipater. --Master of Greece and Macedon; death of. Cassan'dra, daughter of Priam. Castalian Fount, the. Cat'ana, in Sicily. Cau'casus, Mount. Ca-ys'ter, the river, in Asia Minor. Ce'crops. Cecro'plan hill (Acropolis). Celts, the. Cephalo'nia, island of. Cephis'sus, the river. Ceraunian mountains. Ce'res, goddess of grain, etc. Chærone'a, in Boeotia; battle of. Chal'cis, in Euboea. Cha'os. Cha'res, a Rhodian sculptor. Cher'siphron, a Cretan architect. Story of. Chersone'sus. The Thracian. Chi'lo, one of the Seven Sages. Chion'i-des, a comic poet. Chi'os, island of. Choëph'oroe, the. Christianity in Greece. Chro'nos, or Saturn. Cicero, the Roman orator. Visits tomb of Archime'des. Cili'cia (she-a). Ci'mon (meaning Milti'a-des). Cimon, son of Miltiades, and an Athenian general and statesman; successes and rise of, at Athens; wins battle of Eurym'edon; aids Sparta; the fall and banishment of; recall of, expedition to Cyprus, and death of. Cithæ'ron, Mount. Ci'tium (she-um), in Cyprus. Clazom'enæ, on an island off the Dorian coast. CLE-AN'THES. --Hymn to Jupiter. Cle-ar'chus, a Spartan general. Cleo-bu'lus, one of the Seven Sages. Cle'on, the Athenian. --Causes the Mityleneans to be put to death; conduct and character of, and attacks upon, by Aristoph'anes. Cle'on of Lampsacus. Cleon'ymus of Sparta. Clouds, the. Clis'thenes (eze), last despot of Si'çyon. Clisthenes, founder of democracy at Athens; reforms of. Clytemnes'tra, wife of Agamemnon. Cocy'tus, the river. Codrington, Admiral. Co'drus, early King of Athens. Col'chis. COLERIDGE, HENRY N. --The poems of Homer. COLERIDGE, SAMUEL T. --Pythagore'an influences. COLLINS, MORTIMER. --Fable of Hercules and Antæ'us. Colonies, the Greek. In Asia Minor; history of, in Magna Groeca, etc. ; in Sicily, Italy, Africa, etc. Col'ophon, in Ionia. Comedy. The Old; the New. COOK, REV. JOSEPH. --Progress in Modern Greece. Corcy'ra, or Corfu, island of. Corinna, a Boeotian poetess. Corinth, and the Corinthians; conquest of; despotisms of; war of, with Corcyra; aids Syracuse; destruction of; capture of, by the Turks. Corinthian Architecture. Corinthian Gulf, the. Corone'a, plains of. Athenian defeat at. Coumour'gi, Äl'i, the Turkish Grand Vizier. Successes of. Councils, the National. CRANCH, CHRISTOPHER P. --Temples at Pæstum. Cran'non, battle of. Crat'erus, one of Alexander's generals. Crati'nus, a comic poet. Creation, the. Account of. Cre'on. Cresphon'tes, of the Heraclidæ. Crete, island of; conquered by the Turks; revolution in. Cris'sa, town of. Crissæ'an plain. Cri'ti-as (cri'she-as), chief of the Thirty Tyrants. Croe'sus, King of Lydia. CROLY, GEORGE. --Pericles. Death of Pericles. Croto'na, in Italy. Crusaders, the. Courts of, in Greece. Ctes'iphon, who proposed a crown for Demosthenes. Cu'mæ, in Italy. Cumæ'an Sibyl, the. Myth of. CURTIUS, ERNST. --The Oration of Pericles. Retreat of the Ten Thousand. Pelopidas and Epaminondas. Cyc'la-des, the (islands). Cyc'lic poets, the. Cy'clops, or Cyclo'pes, the. Cy'lon, the Athenian. Cynoceph'alæ, In Thessaly. Battle of. Cyprian queen (Venus). Cyprus, Island of. Cyrena'ica, colony of. Cy-re'ne, colony of. Cyropoedi'a, the. Cyrus the Elder. Conquers Lydia. Cyrus the Younger. Cys'icus, Island of. Victory of Alcibiades at. Cyth'era, island of. Cytheræ'a, name given to Venus. 

Damon and Pythias. Dan'a-ë, Lamentation of. Dan'a-i, the. Dan'a-us, founder of Argos. Dar'danus, son of Jupiter and Electra. Dari'us I. (Hystas'pes), King of Persia; dominion of; he suppresses the Ionic revolt; invades Greece; death of. Darius III. , King of Persia. Defeated at Issus, and at Arbe'la; Flight and death of. De-iph'obus, a Trojan hero. De'lium, in Boeotia. Battle of. Del'phi, or Delphos. City, temple, and oracle of. De'los, island of; Confederacy of States at. Deme'ter. (See Ceres. )Deme'trius, son of Antigonus. Seizes the throne of Macedon. Demos'the-nes, the Athenian general. Captures Pylus; defeat and death of, at Syracuse. DEMOS'THE'NES, the orator; pious fraud of; measures against, at Athens, and attack upon, by Æschines; death of; oratory of. --Extracts from: The First Philippic. Oration on the Crown. Deuca'lion, son of Prometheus. Deluge of. Diana, or Ar'temis, temple to, at Ephesus. Die'bitsch, Marshal. Di'o-cles, of Syracuse. Diodo'rus, the historian. Diog'enes, the Cretan. DIOG'ENES LAER'TIUS. --Xenophon. Di'omed, a Greek hero in the Trojan war; valor of; fate of. Di'on, of Syracuse. Dionysian Festivals, the. Dionysius of Col'ophon, a painter. Dionysius the Elder, of Syracuse. Dionysius the Younger, of Syracuse. Dionysius, the Roman historian. Diopl'thes, the general. Dipoe'nus, the sculptor. Dis, a name given to Pluto. Dodo'na, city and temple of. Do'rians, the, migrations and colonies of. Dor'ic architecture. Do'ris. Do'rus, progenitor of the Dorians. Dra'co, the Athenian legislator. Drama, the. Before Peloponnesian wars; characterization of; influence of; the drama after Peloponnesian war. Dry'ads, or Dry'a-des, the. Wood-nymph. DRYDEN, JOHN. --Alexander's feast at Persep'olis. 

Edinburgh Review. Courts of Crusaders. Eges'ta, in Sicily. E'lea, in Lucania. Eleatic philosophy. Elec'tra, the. Eleu'sis, and the Eleusinian Mysteries. Eleu'therre, in Attica. E'lis and E'leans. Elo'ra, temple of. Elora is a town in south-western Hindostan, noted for its splendid cave-temples, cut from a hill of red granite, black basalt, and quartz rock. Of these, that called "Paradise, " to which reference is here made, is 100 feet high, 401 feet deep, and 185 feet in greatest breadth. It is "a perfect pantheon of the gods of India. "Elysium, the. Ema'thia, or Macedon. En'nius. The Fate of Ajax. Eny'o, a war-goddess. E'os, The same as Aurora, a term applied to the eastern parts of the world. Epaminon'das, the Theban. Character of, and his successes against Sparta. Eph'esus. Ephi-al'tes. Epichar'mus. Epicu'rus, Life and works of. Epidau'rus, in Argolis. Epime'theus (thuse). Epi'rus. Er-ech'the-um, the. Erech'theus (thuse). Ere'tria. Erin'nys. (See Furies. )Euboe'a, island of. Euboe'an Sea. Eu'menes, Alexander's general. Eumen'i-des, the. Euphra'nor, a sculptor. Eu'polis, a comic poet. Eupom'pus, a Siçyonian painter. EURIP'IDES. Life and works of. Extracts from: The Greek Armament. Alcestis preparing for death. Euri'pus, or Euboean Sea. Euro'tas. Eurybi'ades, a Spartan general. Euryd'i-ce. Eurym'edon, in Pamphylia. 

Farnese Bull, the. Sculpture of. Fates, the. FELTON, C. C. , D. D. --Ionian language and culture, Unity of the Iliad. Works of Hesiod. Christianity in Greece. The Duchy of Athens. The Klephts. Festivals, the Grecian. FINLAY, GEORGE, LL. D. --The Revolt against Rome. Flamin'ius, Titus, Roman consul. Frogs, the. Furies, the. Future State, the. Greek views of. 

Gan-y-me'de, Jove's cup-bearer. Gedro'sia (she-a), in Persia. Ge'la, in Sicily. Ge'lon, despot of Gela. Becomes despot of Syracuse; dynasty of, extinguished. GEM'INUS, TULLIUS. --Themistocles. George, Prince of Denmark. Is chosen King of Greece; progress of Greece under. Giants, the; battle with Jupiter. GILLIES, JOHN, LL. D. --Memorial to Miltiades. Aristophanes and Cleon. The works of Phidias. Gladiator, the Dying. GLADSTONE, WM. EWART. --The humanity of the gods. Glau'cus, a Trojan hero. Glaucus, a sculptor. Gods, the. Personifications and deifications of; moral characteristics of; deceptions of. Golden Age, the. Gor'gias, the Sophist. Gorgo'pis, lake, near Corinth. Goths, the. Overrun Greece. Government, forms of, and changes in. Graces, the. Grani'cus, the river. Battle at. GRAY, THOMAS. --Pindar. GROTE, GEORGE. --The Trojan war. The Cumæan Sibyl. Increase of power among Sicilian Greeks. The Seven Sages. Lesson from the fate of Miltiades. Transitions of tragedy. Aristophanes. The Sophists and Socrates. Demosthenes' first Philippic. The Influence of Phocion. Conquests of Alexander. The Oration on the Crown. Guiscard (ges-kar'), Robert. Conquests of. Gy'ges, the. Gylip'pus, a Spartan general. Gyth'e-um (or Gy-the'-nm), port of Sparta. 

Ha'des. Ha'drian, the Roman emperor. Hæ'mus, mountain chain of. Halicarnas'sus, in Caria. HALLECK, FITZ-GREENE. --Marco Bozzaris. Hamil'car, a Carthaginian general. Hannibal, a Carthaginian general. Harmo'dius, an Athenian. Harpies, the. Winged monsters with female faces and the bodies, claws, and wings of birds. HAYGARTH, WILLIAM. --Acheron and Acherusia. Ancient Corinth. Sparta's invincibility. Battle of Thermopylæ. Athens in time of peace. Temple of Theseus. The Academia. Immortality of Grecian genius. He'be, goddess of youth. Hecatæ'us, the historian. Hec'tor, eldest son of Priam, King of Troy; parting of, with Androma-che; exploits of; encounters Achilles, is slain, and his body given up to Priam; lamentation over, by Andromache and Helen. HEE'REN (ha'ren). --Authority of Homer. Freedom in colonies. Character of a "tyranny". He-ge'sias (she-as), the sculptor. Helen of Troy. Abduction of; the name of; laments Hectors death; supposed career of, after the Trojan war. Hel'icon, Mount, in Boeotia. Hel'las, or Greece; survival. Hellas, the. Helle'nes, and Hellen'ic (Hellen). Spirit of, in modern Greece. Hellen'ica, the. Hellen'ics, the. Hel'lespont, the. He'lots, the. The revolt of. HEMANS, FELICIA. --Mount Olympus, 2. Vale of Tempe, 3. City and temple of Delphi, T. Mycenæ. Spartan march to battle. Legend of Marathon. The Parthenon. The Turkish invasion. Hephæs'tus, or Vulcan, M. He'ra. (See Juno. )Her-a-cli'dæ, the return of the. Heracli'tus, the philosopher. Hercules, frees Prometheus; twelve labors, &c. , of; fable of; encounter of, with Antæ'ns; sails with Argonautic expedition; legends of, at Marathon; statue of. Hermes. (See Mercury. )Hermi'o-ne. HEROD'OTUS, the historian. Life and writings of; compared with Thucydides. --Extracts from: Xerxes at Abydos. Introduction to history. Heroic Age, the. Some events of; arts and civilization in. Heros'tratus. Hertha, goddess of the earth. HE'SI-OD. Life and works of. --Extracts from: Battle of the Giants. Origin of Evil, etc. The justice of the gods. Winter. Hi'ero I. Despot of Gela; becomes despot of Syracuse. Hiero II. Despot of Syracuse. Him'era, in Sicily. Hippar'chus. Hip'pias, son and successor of Pisistratus. Is driven from Athens; leads the Persians against Greece. Hippocre'ne (or crene' in poetry), fountain of. Hippopla'çia (also Hypopla'kia). Same as The'be, in Mysia, and so called because supposed to lie at the foot of or under Mount Plakos. History. To close of Peloponnesian wars; subsequent period of. HOLLAND. J. G. -The La-oc'o-on. HOMER. Life and works of. --Extracts from: The gardens of Alcin'o-us, Prayer to the gods. The taking of an oath. The Future State. The descent of Orpheus. The Elysium. Punishment of Ate. Ulysses and Thersites. Parting of Hector and Andromache. Death of Patroclus. The shield of Achilles. Death of Hector. Priam begging for Hector's body. Lamentation of Andromache; of Helen. Artifice of Ulysses. The Raft of Ulysses. Similes of Homer. Jupiter grants the request of Thetis. HORACE. --Description of Pindar. Greece the conqueror of Rome. Horolo'gium, the, at Athens. HOUGHTON, LORD. --The Cyclopean walls. HUME, DAVID. --The style of Demosthenes. Huns, the. Overrun Greece. Hy'las, legend of. Hymet'tus, Mount. Hype'ria's Spring, in Thessaly. 

Ib'rahim Pä'sha (or pa-shä'). Ica'ria, island of. Ictinus, the architect. I'da, Mount. Idalian queen (same as Venus). Il'iad. Il'i-um, or Troy. Grecian expedition against; the fate of; fall of, announced to the Greeks; discoveries on site of. Illyr'ia. Im'bros, island of. In'achus, son of Oceanus. In'arus, a Libyan prince. Iol'cus, in Thessaly. I'on, son of Xuthus. ION, of Chios. The power or Sparta. Io'nla, and Ionians; language and culture of. Colonies of. Ionian Sea. Ion'ic Architecture. Ionic Revolt, the. I'os, island of. Ip'sara, isle of. I'ra, fortress of, in Messenia. I'ris, the rainbow goddess. Isag'oras, the Athenian. Isles of Greece, the. Isoc'ra-tes, an Athenian orator. Is'sus, in Cilicia. Battle of. Isthmian Games, the. Italy, Greek colonies in. Ithaca, island of. Itho'me, fortress of. Ixi'on. The punishment of. 

Jason. Jove. (See Jupiter. )Julian, the Roman emperor. Juno, or Hera, temple of, at Samos; temple of, near Platæa. Jupiter, Jove, or Zeus. Court of; temple of, and games sacred to; hymn to; divides dominion of the universe; statue of, at Tarentum. Justin, the Latin historian. JUVENAL. --Stories about Xerxes. Flight of Xerxes from Salamis. Alexander's tomb. 

Kalamä'ta. KENDRICK, A. C. , LL. D. --Plato and his writings. Klephts, the. Knights, the. Kot'tos. 

Laç-e-dæ'mon, or Sparta. Laco'nia. Lævi'nus, M. Valerius. Lam'achus, an Athenian general. Lamp'sacus, on the Hellespont. LANDOR, WALTER SAVAGE. --Reconciliation of Helen and Menelaus. LANG, A. --Venus visits Helen of Troy. Reconciliation of Helen and Menelaus. La-oc'o-on, a priest of Apollo. Statuary group of the Laocoon. Lap'ithæ, a people of Thessaly. LAWRENCE, EUGENE. --The murder of Agamemnon. Herodotus. Menander. Aristotle. Lebade'a, temple and oracle of. LEGARÉ (le-gre'), HUGH S. --Character of a Greek democracy. The eloquence of Æschines. The eloquence of Demosthenes. Lem'nian (relating to Vulcan). Lem'nos, island of. Leon'idas, a Spartan king. Bravery and death of, at Thermopylæ; the tomb of. Leotych'i-des. Lepan'to. Lernæ'an Lake. Les'bos, island of. Le'the. Leu'cas, or Leucadia. Leu'ce, in the Euxine Sea. Leuc'tra, in Boeotia. Battle of. LIDDELL, HENRY G. , D. D. --Legends of the Greeks. Literature and the Arts. In the Ionian colonies; the poems of Homer. 1. Progress of, before the Persian wars; poems of Hesiod; lyric poetry; philosophy; early architecture; early sculpture. 2. Progress of, from the Persian to close of Peloponnesian wars; lyric poetry; the Drama-tragedy; old comedy; early history; philosophy; sculpture and painting; architecture. 3. Progress of, after Peloponnesian wars; the drama; oratory; philosophy; history; architecture and sculpture; painting. Livy, the Roman historian. Lo'cris, and Locrians. LOWELL, JAMES RUSSELL. --A Pythagorean fantasy. LÜB'KE, WILHELM. --Art at Athene. Phidias and his work. The Dying Gladiator. LU'CAN. --The Delphic oracle. Alexander's career and character. LUCRE'TIUS (she-us). --The plague at Athens. Epicurus. Lyce'um, the, at Athens. Lycur'gus, the Spartan law-giver; legislation of. Lyric Poetry. Before the Persian wars; from Persian to close of Peloponnesian wars. Lysan'der, a Spartan general. Acts of. Ly'si-as (she-as), an Athenian orator. Lysic'rates, monument to. Lysim'achus, Alexander's general. Lysip'pus, of Sicyon. Works of. 

Maca'ria, plain of. MACAULAY, LORD. --Herodotus. Literature of Athens, and her immortal influence. Maç'edon, or Maçedo'nia. Invasion of, by the Persians; by Xerxes; Athenian colonies in; supremacy of; sketch of; interference of, in affairs of Greece; war of, with Greece; with Persia; revolt of Sparta against; invasion of, by Celts, and war with Pyrrhus; conquest of, by Rome. Macis'tus, Mount, in Euboea, near Eretria. Mæ-o'tis, same as Sea of Azof. MAHAFFY, J. P. --The society of Olympus. Political life of the Greeks. Domestic life in the Heroic Age. Hesiod's description of the Styx. Archilochus. Stesich'orus. Barbarities in the Peloponnesian wars. Simonides. Æschylus. The "Alcestis" of Euripides. Thucydides. The Sophists. Socrates. Late Greek tragedy. Aristotle. Magne'sia (she-a). Mah'moud, the Sultan. Mantine'a, in Arcadia. Mar'athon, the plains of; battle of, and legends connected with. Mardo'nius, Persian general. First invasion of Greece; his second Invasion and defeat at Marathon; defeated at Platæa, and is slain. Mars. Mavrocordä'to, Alexander. Mede'a. Medea, the. Meg'ara. Me'llan nymphs. They watched over gardens and flocks of sheep. Me'los, island of. Melpom'e-ne, inventress of tragedy. Memno'nian Palace. So called because said to have been founded by the father of Memnon. Memorabil'ia, the. MENAN'DER, the comic poet. Life and works of. Fragment from. Men-e-la'us. Men'tor, a friend of Ulysses. Mercury, or Her'mes. Messa'na, in Sicily. Messa'pion, Mount, in Boeotia. Messe'nia, and Messe'nians, wars of, with Sparta. Messenian Gulf. Messenian wars, the. Metamorphoses, the. Mi'con, a painter. Mile'tus, in Ionia. Milti'a-des, the Athenian general, etc. Commands at Marathon; disgrace and death of; lesson of. MILTON, JOHN. --Cocytus and Acheron. Heroic times foretold. Xerxes crosses the Hellespont. Reference to Alcestis. Socrates. Oratory. Mi'mas, a mountain-range of Ionia. Minerva, temple of; statue of, at Athens. Mi'nos, Cretan law-giver. Minot'ti. Story of. Missolon'ghi. The sortie at. MITCHELL, THOMAS. --The Old Comedy. Style of Plato. Xenophon. MITFORD, WILLIAM. --Æschylus's account of Salamis. Character of Pericles. Mityle'ne. Mnemos'y-ne, mother of the Nine Muses. Mnes'icles, a sculptor. Mnes'theus. --A great-grandson of Erechtheus, who deprived Theseus of the throne of Athens, and led the Athenians in the Trojan war. Molda'via. Monembasï'a. On the south-east coast of Laconia. More'a. Morosi'ni, a Venetian admiral. Mum'mius, a Roman consul. MURE, WILLIAM. --The "Works and Days" of Hesiod. Alcman. Muses, the Nine. Mye'a-le. Defeat of Persians at. Myce'næ. My'ron, a painter. Myr'tis, a poetess. Mys'la (she-a). Mythology, Grecian. 

Na-i'a-des, or Nai'ads, the. Nap'oli di Roma'nia. Naupac'tus. Nau'pli-a. Navarï'no; battle of. Nax'os, in Sicily. Ne-ap'olis, in Italy. Ne'mea, city of. Ne'mean games. Ne'mean lion. Nem'esis, a female avenging deity. Neptune or Posei'don; temple of. Ner-e'i-des, or Ner'e-ids. Nestor, a Greek hero and sage. Niçi-as (she-as), the Peace of. Niçi-as, the Athenian general. Niçi-as, a painter. Ni'o-be, and her children. 

Oaths, of the gods, etc. O-ce-an'i-des, the. --Ocean-nymphs and sisters of the rivers; supposed personifications of the various qualities and appearances of water. O-ce'anus, god of the ocean. O-de'um, the. Qdy'ssey, the. OEd'ipus Tyran'nus, the. OE'ta, Mount. Olym'pia, in E'lis; statue of Jupiter at. Olym'piad. Olym'pian Jove. Temple of; statue of. Olym'pus, Mount; society of. Olyn'thus, in Macedonia. Oratory. O're-ads, the. Ores'tes, son of Agamemnon. Or'pheus (pheus), the musician. Orthag'oras of Sicyon. Ortyg'ia, in Sicily. Os'sa, Mount. Otho, King of Greece; revolution against and deposition of. O'thrys Mountains. OV'ID. --Apollo. The Creation. Deluge of Deucalion. The Descent of Orpheus. Apollo's Conflict with Python. 

Pæs'tum. Ruins of temples at. Pagasæ, Gulf of. Painting. Palame'des, a Greek hero. Pal'las (same as Minerva). Pami'sus, the river. Pam'philus, a painter. Pan; legend of. --The god of shepherds, in form both man and beast, having a horned head and the thighs, legs, and feet of a goat. Pan'darus, a Trojan hero. Pando'ra, legend of. Paradise Lost, the. Par'çæ, or Fates. Paris, of Troy. Abducts Helen; combat of, with Menelaus; kills Achilles. Parmen'ides. Parnas'sus, Mount. Par'nes, mountains of. Par'non, mountains of. Pa'ros an island of the Cyclades group. Parrha'sius (she-us). Anecdotes of. Par'thenon, the; glories of; destruction of. Passä'rowitz, in Servia. The peace of. Concluded between Austria And Venice on the one side, and Turkey on the other. Pa'træ. Patro'cius, a Greek hero. Pausa'nias, a Spartan general. At Platæa; treason, punishment, and death of. Pax'os, island of. Pegasus, the winged horse. Pelas'gians, the. Pe'leus. Pe'li-as. Pe'li-on, Mount. Pelle'ne, or Cassandra, in Achaia. Pelop'idas, the Theban. Peloponne'sus, the. Peloponnesian wars, the; the first war; the second war. Pe'lops. Penel'o-pe, wife of Odysseus. Pene'us, the river. Pentel'icus, or Mende'li, Mount. Pen'theus, King of Thebes. Perdic'cas, Alexander's general. Perian'der, despot of Corinth; one of the Seven Sages. Per'icles, the Athenian general, etc. Accedes to power in place of Cimon; constitutional changes made by, at Athens; measures of, for war with Sparta; defeat of, at Tanagra; recalls Cimon; progress under his rule; attacks upon, at Athens; declares war against Sparta; oration of; death and character of. Persep'olis. Alexander's feast at. Per'seus (or se'us). Per'seus, King of Macedon. Persians, the. Persian wars, the. Account of. Phoe'do, the. Phale'rum, bay of. Phe'ræ, in Thessaly. Phid'ias, the sculptor; the work and masterpieces of. PHILE'MON, the comic poet. Life and works or. Philip of Macedon; interference of, in Grecian affairs; invades Thessaly; attacks of Demosthenes against; captures Olynthus; reveals his designs against Greece, and defeats Athens and Thebes at Chæronea; is invested with supreme command, and declares war against Persia; death of. Philip V. Of Macedon; defeat of, at Apollonia and Cynocephalæ. Philippics, the. Phil'ocles, bravery of. Philopoe'men. Philosophy. Before the Persian wars; to close of Peloponnesian wars; subsequent to Peloponnesian wars. Phleg'ethon, or Pyr-iphleg'ethon. Pho'cion (she-on), Athenian statesman. Opposes the policy of Demosthenes. Pho'cis and Phocians, sacrilege of, and war with. Phoe'bus, the sun-god (Apollo). Phoe'nix, warrior and sage. PHRYN'ICHUS. Tribute to Sophocles. Phy'le. A fortress in a pass of Mount Parnes, north-west from Athens. This was the point seized by Thrasybulus in the revolt against the Thirty Tyrants. Pi-e'ri-an fount. Pi-er'i-des, name given to the Muses. Pi'e-rus, or Pl-e'ri-a, Mount. Pi'e-rus, King of Emathia. PIN'DAR. Life and writings of. Extracts from: The Greek Elysium; Christening of the Argo; Spartan music and poetry; Tribute to Theron; Athenians at Artemisium; Threnos; Founding of Ætna; Hiero's victory at Cumæ; Admonitions to Hiero. Pin'dus, mountains of. Piræ'us, the. Pi'sa and Pisa'tans. Pisis'tratus and the Pisistrat'idæ; usurpation of Pisistratus; death and character of; family of, driven from Athens. Pit'tacus, one of the Seven Sages. Plague, the, at Athens. Platæ'a and the Platæ'ans; battle of Platæa; results of; attack on, by Thebans. PLATO, the philosopher. Life and works of. PLATO, the comic poet. --Tomb of Themistocles; Aristophanes. PLINY. --Story of Parrhasius and Zeuxis. PLUMPTRE, E. H. , D. D. --Personal temperament of Æschylus. PLUTARCH. --Songs of the Spartans; Solon's efforts to recover Salamis; Incident of Aristides's banishment; Artemisium; Lysander and Phil'ocles. Pluto. Pnyx, the. Polyb'ius. Life and works of. Pol'ybus, King of Corinth. Polycle'tus, a sculptor. Polyc'ra-tes, despot of Samoa. Polydec'tes, a Spartan king. Polydec'tes, King of Seri'phus. Polydo'rus, a Rhodian sculptor. Polygno'tus, of Thasos. POLYZO'IS. --war song. POPE, ALEXANDER. --The Pierian Spring; Tribute to Homer; Description of Pindar; Aristotle. Posei'don, (See Neptune. )Potidæ'a, revolt of. Praxit'eles, an Athenian sculptor. Priam, King of Troy. Prie'ne, in Carla. PRIOR, MATTHEW. --Description of Pindar. Prod'icus, the Sophist. Prome'theus. Legend of; Hesiod's tale of. Prome'theus Bound, the. Propon'tic Sea. Propylæ'a, at Athens. Pros'erpine, daughter of Ceres. Protag'oras, the Sophist. Pro'teus (or te-us), a sea-deity. Protog'enes, a Rhodian painter. Ptol'emy Cerau'nus, of Macedon. Ptol'emy Philadelphus, King of Egypt. Ptol'emy So'ter, Alexander's general. Pyd'na, in Macedonia. Battle of. Py'lus, in Messenia. Pyr'rha, wife of Deucalion. Pyr'rhus, a son of Achilles. Pyr'rhus, King of Epirus; war of, with Macedon; with Sparta; death of. Pythag'oras, the philosopher; doctrines of, etc.. Pythag'oras, a painter. Pyth'ia, priestess of Apollo. Pythian games. Py'thon; Apollo's conflict with. Py'thon, an orator of Macedon. 

Quintil'ian, the historian. 

Rhadaman'thus, son of Jupiter and Europa. Rhapsodists, the. Rhe'a, daughter of Coelus and Terra (Heaven and Earth). Rhe'gium, in Magna Groecia. RHI'GAS, CONSTANTINE. War song. Rhodes, island of; sculptures of. Rhoe'cus, a sculptor. Roger, King of Sicily. Rome and the Romans; called into Sicily, and become masters of the island; defeat of, at Cannæ, and victory of, at Cynocephalæ; become masters of Greece and Macedon; their administration of Greece. RUSKIN, JOHN. --The "Clouds" of Aristophanes. 

Sacred War, the. Sages, the Seven. Sal'amis, island of; naval battle at. Saler'no, bay of, in Italy. Saloni'ca, once Thessaloni'ca. Sa'mos, island of. SAP'PHO (saf'fo), a poetess. Lire, writing, and characterization of. Sar'dis, in Asia Minor. Saron'ic Gulf (Thermaic). Sarpe'don, a Trojan hero. Sat'urn. (See Chro'nos. )Sa'tyrs, the. Scæ'an Gates, the, of Troy. Scaman'der, river in Asia Minor. Scaptes'y-le, in Thrace. SCHILLER. --The building of Thebes; the poet's lament; wailing of the Trojan women; Damon and Pythias--The Hostage; a visit to Archimedes. SCHLEGEL, A. W. , von. --Character of the Agamemnon. Sçil'lus, In E'lis. Sçl'o, island of. --Massacre at. Sco'pas, the sculptor. Sculpture. --Before the Persian wars; from Persian to close of Peloponnesian wars; subsequent to Peloponnesian wars. Sçyl'lis, a sculptor. Sçy'ros, Island of. Seleu'cus, Alexander's general; the Seleucidæ. Seli'nus. --Ruins of temples at. Seneca, Roman philosopher. Seri'phus, island of. Seven Chiefs against Thebes, the. SEWELL, WILLIAM. --Anecdote of Chrys'ostom. SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSHE. --The sufferings of Prometheus; an image of Athens; a prophetic vision of the Greek Revolution. Shield of Hercules, the. Sicilian Expedition, the. Sicily, Island of. --Colonies in; invasion of, by Carthaginians; by the Athenians; affairs in the colonies under Hiero, Dionysius, etc. ; the Roman conquer. Si'çy-on and Siçy-o'nians (sish'i-on); sculpture of; painting of. Slle'nus, a demi-god. The nurse, preceptor, and attendant of Bacchus, to whom Socrates was wont to compare himself. SIM'MIAS. --Tribute to Sophocles. Sim'o-is, a river of Troas. Simon'ides of Amorgos. SIMON'IDES OF CEOS. --Life and writings of. Extracts from: Epitaphs on the fallen at Thermopylæ; battle of Eurym'edon; Lamentation of Dan'ae. Slavonians, the. --Influences of. SMITH, WILLIAM, LL. D. --Socrates. Aristotle. SOCRATES; attack upon, by Aristophanes. Life and works of. Extracts from: His Defence. Views of a Future State. Solon, the Athenian law-giver. --Life and legislation of; capture of Salamis by; his integrity; protests against acts of Pisistratus; voluntary exile and death of; classed as one of the Seven Sages. Extracts from: Ridicule to which his integrity exposed him. Estimate of his own character and services. Sophists, the. SOPH'OCLES. Life and works of. Extracts from: The taking of an oath. Chariot-race of Orestes. The OEdipus Tyrannus. SOUTHEY, ROBERT. --The battle of Platoon. Sparta and the Spartans; Sparta is assigned to sons of Aristodemus; early history of; education and patriotism of; their poetry and music; conquests by; colonize Tarentum; reject the demands of Darius, but refuse to help Athens at Marathon; efforts of, to unite states against Persia; in battle of Thermopylæ; monuments and epitaphs to; in battle of Salamis; or Platæa; on coasts of Asia Minor; loses command in war against Persia; earthquake at Sparta, and revolt of the Helots; accepts aid from Athens; alliance of, with Athens, renounced, and war begun; defeats Athens at Tanagra, and is defeated; truce of, with Athens; begins Peloponnesian war; concludes the peace of Nicias; war of, with Argives, and victory at Mantinea; aids Syracuse against Athens; successes of, against Athens; occupies Athens, and withdraws from Attica; supremacy of Sparta; her defeat and humiliation by Thebes; engages in the Sacred War; revolt of, against Macedon; war with Pyrrhus; with Antigonus. Spor'a-des, the (islands). Sta-gi'ra, in Macedonia. Stati'ra, daughter of Darius, STEPHENS, JOHN L--A visit to Missolonghi. Stesich'orus, the poet. STORY, WILLIAM W. --Chersiphron, and the Temple of Diana. Stroph'a-des, the (islands). Stry'mon, the river. Styx. A celebrated torrent in Arcadia--now called "Black water" from the dark color of the rocks over which it flows--from which the fabulous river of the same name probably originated. Su'da, in Achaia. Su'sa, capital of Persia. Susa'rion, a comic poet. Syb'aris, in Italy; destroyed by Crotona. Sylla, a Roman general. SYMONDS, JOHN ADDINGTON. --The "Theogony" of Hesiod; Archilochus; the ladies of Lesbos; Sappho and her poems; the era of Athenian greatness; Pindar; Euripides; Menander. Syracuse, in Sicily. --Founded by Corinthians; progress of, under Gilon, and war with Carthage; destroys the Athenian expedition; affairs of, under Hiero and succeeding rulers. Syrts, two gulfs in Africa. 

TALFOURD, THOMAS NOON. - Unity of the Iliad; Sophocles; the glory of Athens. Tan'agora, in Boeotia, battle of. Tan'talus, the story of. Taren'turn, in Italy. Tar'tarus, the place of punishment. Ta-yg'etus, mountain-range of. TAYLOR, BAYARD. --Legend of Hylas. Te'gea, in Arcadia. Teg'y-ra, battle at. Tem'enus, of the Heraclidæ. Tem'pe, Vale of. Ten'edos, island of. TENNENT, EMERSON. --Turkish oppression in Greece. Ten Thousand Greeks, retreat of. Te'os, in Ionia. TERPAN'DER, the poet; Spartan valor and music. Te'thys, wife of Ocean. Tha'is, an Athenian beauty. Tha'les, one of the Seven Sages; philosophy of. Theag'enes, despot of Megara. The'be, a city of Mysia. Thebes, city of; Thebans at Thermopylæ; attack of Thebans on Platæa; sympathy of, with Athens; seizure of, by the Spartans; rise and fall of Thebes; defeat of, at Charonea. The'mis, goddess of justice, or law. Themis'to-cles, Athenian general and statesman; at Marathon; rise of, in Athenian affairs; character and acts of; at Artemisium, and at Salamis; banishment, disgrace, and death of; monuments and tributes to. THEOC'RITUS. --Ptolemy Philadelphus. Theodo'rus, the sculptor. THEOG'NIS, poet of Megara. --The Revolutions in Megara. Theog'ony, the. The'ra, island of. Therma'ic Gulf (Saronic). Thermop'ylæ, pass of; battle at. The'ron, ruler of Agrigentum. Thersi'tes; a Greek warrior. The'seus (or se-us), first king of Athens; temple to, at Athens; legends of; temple of. Thes'piæ and the Thespians. Thes'pis. Thes'salus, son of Pisistratus. Thes'saly and the Thessa'lians. The'tis, a sea-deity; "Thetis' son" (Achilles). THIRLWALL, CONNOP, D. D. --The Trojan war. Want of political union among the Greeks. Character of an ochlocracy. Effects of the fall of oligarchy. Writings of Theognis. The rule of Pisistratus. Reforms of Clisthenes. The "Theogony" of Hesiod. Progress of Sculpture. Themistocles. Pericles. Pindar. The Greeks in the Sacred War. Last struggles of Greece. THOMSON, JAMES. --The Apollo-Belvedere. Sparta. Tribute to Solon. Teachings or Pythagoras. Architecture. Aristides. Cimon. Socrates. Architecture. Retreat of the Ten Thousand. Pelopidas and Epaminondas. The Dying Gladiator. The La-oc'o-on. The painting by Protog'enes at Rhodes. Thrace. Thrasybu'lus, an Athenian patriot. Thrasybulus, despot of Syracuse. THUCYD'IDES, the historian. Life and Works of. Extracts from: Speech of Pericles for war; Funeral Oration of Pericles; Athenian defeat at Syracuse. Thu'rii, in Italy. Tigra'nes. Timo'leon, a Corinthian. --Rebuilds Syracuse, and restores her prosperity. Timo'theus. Tire'sias (shi-as), priest and prophet. (See OEdipus Tyrannus. )Tir'yns, in Argolis. Tissapher'nes, Persian satrap. Ti'tans, the. Tit'y-us, punishment of. Tragedy. --At Athens; decline of. Tra'jan, the Roman emperor. Tripolit'za, modern capital of Arcadia. Tri'ton. A sea-deity, half fish in form, the son and trumpeter of Neptune. He blew through a shell to rouse or to allay the sea. Trojan War, the. --Account of; consequences of. Troy. (See Ilium. )TUCKERMAN. --American sympathy with Greece. Character of Otho. Of King George. Turks, the; invade Greece; contests of, with the Venetians; Siege and capture of Corinth by; final conquest of Greece; Greek revolution against; compelled to evacuate Greece. Tydl'des, a patronymic of Diomed. TYLER, PROF. W. S. --The divine mission of Socrates. TYMNÆ'US. --Spartan patriotic virtue. Tyn'darus, King of Sparta. Tyrant, or despot. --Definition of. Tyrants, the Thirty. The Ten Tyrants. Tyre, city of. TYRÆ'US. --Spartan war-song. 

Ulys'ses, subject of the Odyssey; goes to Troy; rebukes Thersites; advises construction of the wooden horse; wanderings of; character of; raft of, described. Ulys'ses, a Greek general. U'ranus, or Heaven. 

Venetians, the; contests of, with the Turks; capture the Peloponnesus and Athens; evacuate Athens; abandon Greece. Ve'nus, or Aphrodi'te, goddess of love; appears to Helen; statue of; painting of, rising from the sea. Vesta. VIRGIL. --Landing of Æneas. The taking of an oath. The fate of Troy. The Cumæan Cave. The Eleusinian Mysteries. Vo'lo, gulf of. Vulcan, god of fire. 

WARBURTON, ELIOT B. G. --The sortie at Missolonghi. Wasps, the. WEBSTER, DANIEL. --Appeal of, for sympathy with the Greeks. WEYMAN, C. S. --Changes in statuary. WILLIS, N. P. --Parrhasius and his captive. WINTHROP, ROBERT C. --Visit of Cicero to tomb of Archimedes. WOOLNER, THOMAS. --Venus risen from the sea. WORDSWORTH, WILLIAM. --Fancies of the Greek mind. The joy of the Greeks at the Isthmian games. Works and Days, the. 

Xan'thus, or the river Scamander. Xenoph'anes, the philosopher. Xen'ophon, the historian. --Leads the retreat of the Ten Thousand. Life and works of. Xerxes, King of Persia; prepares to invade Greece, and reviews his troops at Abydos; stories of; bridges and crosses the Hellespont; defeats the Spartans at Thermopylæ: is defeated at Salamis: his flight; death of. Xu'thus, son of Helen. 

YOUNG, EDWARD. --The persuasive Nestor. Ypsilan'ti, Alexander. --The first to proclaim the liberty of Greece. 

Zacyn'thus, Island of. Ze'no, a philosopher of Elea. Ze'no, the Stoic philosopher, of Citium. --Life and works of. Zeux'is, the painter. --Anecdote of. 

THE END. 

[Illustration: (Map of) Ancient Greece with the Coast of Asia Minor. ]