THE GRECIAN HISTORY, FROM THE EARLIEST STATE TO THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
By DR. GOLDSMITH.
VOL. II.
LONDON: Printed for J. and F. RIVINGTON, T. LONGMAN, G. KEARSLY, W. GRIFFIN, G. ROBINSON, R. BALDWIN, W. GOLDSMITH, T. CADELL, and T. EVANS in the Strand. MDCCLXXIV.
THE HISTORY OF GREECE.
CHAP. I. From the Death of SOCRATES to the Death of EPAMINONDAS.
HITHER TO we have pursued the Athenians, both in their successes and their defeats, with peculiar attention: while they took the lead in the affairs of Greece, it was necessary to place them on the fore ground of the picture; but now we must change the scene; and, leaving the Athenians acting an obscure part, go to those states who successively took the lead after their downfal.
Sparta seems to be the first state now that gave laws to the rest of the Greeks; their old jealousies began to revive against the petty states that had formerly sided against them: and the Eleans were the first upon whom they fell, under a pretence that they were not admitted by that state to the Olympic games as well as the rest of the Grecians. Having formerly declared war, and being upon the point of plundering the city of Elis, they were taken into the alliance of Sparta, and the conquerors now assumed and enjoyed the title of the Protectors and Arbitrators of Greece. Soon after, Agesilaus, who was chosen king of Sparta, was sent into Asia with an army, under pretence of freeing the Grecian cities: he gained a signal victory over Tissaphernes, near the river Pactolus, where he forced the enemy's camp, and found considerable plunder. This success induced the Persian monarch, instead of meeting Agesilaus openly in the field, to subvert his interest among the Grecian states by the power of bribery; and indeed this confederacy was now so weakened, its concord and unanimity so totally destroyed, that they were open to every offer: the love of money was now rooted in their affections; and the Spartans were the only people that, for a while, seemed to disdain it: but the contagion still spreading, even they, at last, yielded to its allurements; and every man sought private emolument, without attending to the good of his country.
The Thebans, as they were the first gained over to the Persian interest, so they were the most active in promoting it. To strengthen their alliance, they sent ambassadors to the Athenians, with a long representation of the present posture of affairs, wherein they artfully insinuated their zeal and affection to their state; from thence they took occasion to inveigh against the tyranny of Sparta; and concluded with telling them, that now was the time to throw off the yoke, and to recover their former splendor and authority. The Athenians, though they had no share of the Persian money, needed not many arguments to engage them in a rupture of this kind, for which they had been long waiting a fit opportunity.
Agesilaus, who had carried on the war in Persia with success, received news of the war being again broke out in Greece, with orders, at the same time, for him to return home. He had set his heart upon the entire conquest of Persia, and was preparing to march farther into the country; but such was his deference to the laws, and such his submission to the Ephori, that he instantly obeyed their mandate; but left four thousand men in Asia to maintain his successes there. The Spartans, however, could not wait his arrival; they found confederacies thicken on their hands, and they were ready to be attacked on all sides. The Athenians, Argives, Thebans, Corinthians, and Eubaeans joined against them, and made up a body of twenty-four thousand men; both sides encamped near Sicyon, at a small distance from each other; and soon came to a regular engagement. The Spartan allies at first were entirely routed; but the Spartans themselves turned the scale of victory by their single valour, and came off conquerors with the loss of but eight men. This victory, however, was in some measure overbalanced by a loss at sea, which the Spartans sustained near Cnidus. Conon, the Athenian General, being appointed to command the Persian fleet against them, took fifty of their ships, and pursued the rest into port. Agesilaus, on the other hand, gained a considerable victory over the Athenians and their allies upon the plains of Coronea. Thus was the war continued by furious but undecisive engagements, in which neither side was a gainer; and in this manner did the Spartans maintain themselves and their allies, without any considerable increase or diminution of their power. In this general shock, the Athenians seemed for a while to recover their former spirit; being assisted by Persian money, and conducted by Conon, an excellent general, they took the field with ardour, and even rebuilt the walls of their city. From the mutual jealousies of these petty states among each other, all were weakened, and the Persian monarch became arbitrator of Greece. In this manner, after a fluctuation of successes and intrigues, all parties began to grow tired of a war, and a peace ensued: this peace was concluded in the second year of the 98th Olympiad; and from the many stipulations in favour of Persia, Plutarch terms it, The reproach and ruin of Greece.
The Spartans, thus freed from the terrors of a powerful foreign enemy, went on to spread terror among the petty states of Greece: they gave peremptory orders to the Mantineans to throw down their walls, and compelled them to obedience. They obliged the Corinthians to withdraw the garrison from Argosi; and some other little states they treated with an air of superiority that plainly marked, that they expected obedience. They marched against the Olynthians, who had lately grown into power, and effectually subdued them. They interposed also in a domestic quarrel which was carried on at Thebes. Phaebidas having seized upon the citadel, they turned him out, and placed a garrison of their own in that fortress. They then procured articles to be exhibited against Ismenias his antagonist, for having taken money of the Persians, and holding intelligence with them; and for having been a principal promoter of their intestine broils: upon which he underwent a formal trial before the commissioners deputed from Sparta; and one from each of the other great cities of Greece, and was condemned to death. Thus, having secured Thebes, and having by a tedious war humbled the Olynthians, they went on to chastise the Phliasians for having abused some exiles that had been restored by the orders of Sparta. In this manner they continued distributing their orders with pride and severity; no state of Greece was able to oppose their authority; and under the colour of executing justice, they were hourly paving the way to supreme command. In the midst of this security, they were alarmed from a quarter where they least expected. The Thebans had, for four years since the seizing of their citadel, submitted to the Spartan yoke; but they now took occasion, by a very desperate attempt, to throw it off; for which purpose, there was a secret correspondence carried on between the most considerable of the exiles of Athens, and those who were well affected to them in Thebes; and measures were conducted between them by Phyllidas, secretary to the Theban governors, by whose contrivance a competent number of the exiles were to get into the city; and Charon, a man of the first rank there, offered his house for their reception. The day being fixed, they set out from Athens; and twelve of the most active and resolute among them were detached to enter the city, the rest remaining at a proper distance to wait the event. The first who offered himself was Pelopidas, who was young and daring, and had been very zealous in encouraging the design; and, by the share he had in it, gave a sufficient earnest of what might be further expected from him in the service of his country. The next man of consequence was Mellon, who, by some, is said to have first projected the scheme with Phyllidas. These two, with their ten associates, dressed themselves like peasants, and beat about the fields with dogs and hunting-poles, as in search of game. Having thus passed unsuspected, and conveyed themselves into the city, they met at Charon's house, as the general rendezvous, when they were soon after joined by thirty-six more of their confederates. It was concerted, that Phyllidas should, on that day, give a great entertainment to Archias and Philip, the two governors who were appointed by the Spartans; and, to make it the more complete, he had engaged to provide some of the finest women in the town to give them a meeting. Matters being thus prepared, the associates divided themselves into two bands; one of which, led by Charon and Mellon, were to attack Archias and his company: and having put on women's cloaths over their armour, with pine and poplar over their heads, to shade their faces, they took their opportunity when the guests were well heated with wine, to enter the room, and immediately stabbed Archias and Philip, with such others of the company as were pointed out to them by Phyllidas. A little before this execution, Archias received an express from Athens, with all the particulars of the conspiracy; and the courier conjured him, in the name of the person who wrote the letters, that he should read them forthwith, for that they contained matter of great importance. But he laid them by unopened; and, with a smile, said,
"Business to-morrow:"
which words, upon that occasion, grew into a proverb. The other band, headed by Pelopidas and Damoclides, went to attack Leontiades, who was at home, and in bed. They rushed into his house by surprize; but he, soon taking the alarm, leaped up, and, with his sword in his hand, received them at his chamber-door, and stabbed Cephisodorus, who was the first man that attempted to enter. Pelopidas was the next who encountered him; and, after a long and difficult dispute, killed him. From thence they went in pursuit of Hypates, his friend and neighbour, and dispatched him likewise; after which they joined the other band, and sent to hasten the exiles they had left in Attica.
The whole city was by this time filled with terror and confusion; the houses full of lights, and the inhabitants running to and fro in the streets, in a wild, distracted manner, and waiting impatiently for day-light, that they might distinguish their friends from their foes, seemed undetermined what course to take. Early in the morning, the exiles came in armed; and Pelopidas appeared with his party, in a general assembly of the people, encompassed by the priests, carrying garlands in their hands, proclaiming liberty to the Thebans in general, and exhorting them to fight for their gods and their country; for though they had made such a prosperous beginning, the most difficult part still remained, whilst the citadel was in the possession of the Spartans, with a garrison of fifteen hundred men, besides a great number of citizens and others, who had fled to them for protection, and declared themselves on their side.
Early the next morning, the Athenians sent five thousand foot, and two thousand horse, to the assistance of Pelopidas: several other bodies of troops also came in from all the cities of Boeotia; so that the citadel being hemmed round, and despairing of succours from without, surrendered at discretion.
The Thebans having thus acquired their freedom, the Spartans were resolved, at any rate, to take the lead in the affairs of Greece; and having incensed these beyond measure, attempted to seize upon the Pyraeus, and thus made the Athenians their irreconcileable enemies. Agesilaus was pitched upon to command the army that was to humble the Grecian states. His name struck a terror into the Thebans; and his forces, which amounted to near twenty thousand men, increased their fears. The Thebans, therefore, instead of attempting to attack, were contented to stand upon their defence, and possessed themselves of a hill near the city. Agesilaus detached a party of light armed men, to provoke them to come down and give him battle; which they declining, he drew out his whole forces, in order to attack them. Chabrias, who commanded the mercenaries on the part of the Thebans, ordered his men to present themselves, and keep their ranks in close order, with their shields laid down at their feet, and their spears advanced, and with one leg put forward, and the knee upon the half-bent. Agesilaus, finding them prepared in this manner to receive him, and that they stood as it were in defiance of him, thought fit to withdraw his army; and contented himself with ravaging the country. This was looked upon as an extraordinary stratagem; and Chabrias valued himself so much upon it, that he procured his statue to be erected in that posture.
Thus, through a succession of engagements, both by sea and land, the Spartans, having provoked a powerful confederacy, grew every day weaker, and their enemies more daring. The Thebans continually grew bolder; and, instead of continuing to defend themselves with difficulty, attacked the enemy with courage and success. Though the battles fought between these states, were neither regular nor decisive, yet they were such as served to raise the courage of the Thebans, to gain them confidence, and to form them for those great undertakings which were shortly to follow. Pelopidas, who headed them at the battle of Tanagra, slew the Spartan commander with his own hand. At the battle of Tegyra, with very unequal forces, he put a large body of the enemy to rout. He himself commanded a battalion of the Theban army, distinguished by the name of the Sacred Van. They were as remarkable for their fidelity to each other, as for their strength and courage: they were linked by the bonds of common friendship; and were sworn to stand by each other in the most dangerous extremities. Thus united, they became invincible, and generally turned the victory in their favour, for a succession of years; until they were at last cut down, as one man, by the Macedonian phalanx under Philip.
A peace of short continuance followed these successes of the Thebans; but they soon fell into tumults and seditions again. The inhabitants of Xacinthus and Corcyra having expelled their magistrates, put themselves under the protection of Athens, and repulsed the Spartans, who attempted to restore their magistrates by force.
About the same time, the inhabitants of Platea, applying to their old friends the Athenians, for their protection and alliance, the Thebans took offence at it, and demolished the town; and soon after, did the same by Thespiae. The Athenians were so highly incensed at the treatment of those two cities, which had deserved so well of the common cause in the Persian war, that they would act no longer in conjunction with them; and, upon their breaking with them, the affairs of Greece took a new and unexpected turn.
It now began to appear, that the Thebans were growing into power; and while Sparta and Athens were weakening each other by mutual contests, this state, which had enjoyed all the emoluments, without any of the expences of the war, was every day growing more vigorous and independent. The Thebans, who now began to take the lead in the affairs of Greece, were naturally a hardy and robust people, of slow intellects, and strong constitutions. It was a constant maxim with them, to side either with Athens or Sparta, in their mutual contests; and which soever they inclined to, they were generally of weight enough to turn the balance. However, they had hitherto made no further use of that weight, than to secure themselves; but the spirit which now appeared among them; was first implanted by Pelopidas, their deliverer from the Spartan yoke; but still further carried to its utmost height, by Epaminondas, who now began to figure in the affairs of Greece.
Epaminondas was one of those few exalted characters, with scarce any vice, and almost every virtue to distinguish him from the rest of mankind. Though in the beginning possessed of every quality necessary for the service of the state, he chose to lead a private life, employed in the study of philosophy, and shewing an example of the most rigid observance of all its doctrines.
Truly a philosopher, and poor out of taste, he despised riches, without affecting any reputation from that contempt; and if Justin may be believed, he coveted glory as little as he did money. It was always against his will that commands were conferred upon him; and he behaved himself in them in such a manner, as did more honour to dignities, than dignities to him.
Though poor himself, and without any estate, his very poverty, by drawing upon him the esteem and confidence of the rich, gave him the opportunity of doing good to others. One of his friends being in great necessity, Epaminondas sent him to a very rich citizen, with orders to ask him for a thousand crowns in his name: that rich man coming to his house, to know his motives for directing his friend to him upon such an errand,
"Why," replied Epaminondas, "it is because this honest man is in want, and you are rich."
Fond of leisure, which he devoted to the study of philosophy, his darling passion, he shunned public employments, and made no interest but to exclude himself from them. His moderation concealed him so well, that he lived obscure, and almost unknown. His merit however discovered him. He was taken from his solitude by force, to be placed at the head of armies; and he demonstrated, that philosophy, though generally in contempt with those who aspire at the glory of arms, is wonderfully useful in forming heroes; for it was a great advance towards conquering the enemy, to know how to conquer one's self: in this school anciently were taught the great maxims of true policy, the rules of every kind of duty, the motives for a due discharge of them, what we owe our country, the right use of authority, wherein true courage consists; in a word, the qualities that form the good citizen, statesman, and great captain; and in all these Epaminondas excelled.
He possessed all the ornaments of the mind. He had the talent of speaking in perfection; and was well versed in the most sublime sciences. But a modest reserve threw a veil over all those excellent qualities, which still augmented their value, and of which he knew not what it was to be ostentatious. Spintharus, in giving his character, said, That he never had met with a man who knew more, and spoke less.
Such was the general appointed to command the Theban army, and act in conjunction with Pelopidas; with whom he had the most perfect and the most disinterested friendship. This state being left out in the general treaty of peace, and thus having the Spartans and Athenians confederated against it, they appeared under the utmost consternation, and all Greece looked upon them as lost and undone. The Spartans ordered levies to be made in all parts of Greece, that sided with them; and Cleombrotus, their general, marched towards the frontiers of Boeotia, secure of victory: willing, however, to give his hostilities an air of justice, he sent to demand of the Thebans, that they should restore the cities that they had usurped, to their liberties; that they should rebuild those they had demolished before, and make restitution for all their former wrongs. To this it was replied,
"That the Thebans were accountable to none but Heaven for their conduct."
Nothing now remained on both sides, but to prepare for action. Epaminondas immediately raised all the troops he could, and began his march: his army did not amount to six thousand men; and the enemy had above four times that number. As several bad omens were urged to prevent his setting out, he replied only by a verse from Homer, of which the sense is, There is but one good omen; to fight for one's country. However, to reassure the soldiers, by nature superstitious, and whom he observed to be discouraged, he instructed several persons to come from different places, and report auguries and omens in his favour, which revived the spirit and hopes of the troops.
Epaminondas had wisely taken care to secure a pass by Cleombrotus, which might have shortened his march considerably. The latter, after having taken a large compass, arrived at Leuctra, a small town of Boeotia, between Plataea and Thespiae. Both parties consulted whether they should give battle; which Cleombrotus resolved, by the advice of all his officers; who represented to him, that if he declined fighting with such a superiority of troops, it would confirm the current report, that he secretly favoured the Thebans. The latter had an essential reason for hastening a battle before the arrival of the troops, which the enemy daily expected: however, the six generals who formed the council of war, differed in their sentiments; the seventh, who was Epaminondas, came in very good time to join the three that were for fighting; and his opinion carrying the question, the battle was resolved upon.
The two armies were very unequal in number: that of the Lacedemonians, as has been said, consisted of twenty-sour thousand foot, and sixteen hundred horse; the Thebans had only six thousand foot, and four hundred horse; but all of them choice troops, animated by their experience in war, and determined to conquer or die. The Lacedemonian cavalry, composed of men picked up by chance, without valour, and ill disciplined, was as much inferior to their enemies in courage, as superior in number. The infantry could not be depended on, except the Lacedemonians; the allies, as has been said, having engaged in the war with reluctance, because they did not approve the motive of it, and being besides diffatisfied with the Lacedemonians.
The ability of the generals of either side, supplied the place of numerous armies, especially of the Theban, who was the most accomplished soldier of his times. He was supported by Pelopidas, at the head of the sacred battalion, composed of three hundred Thebans, united in a strict friendship and affection, and engaged, under a particular oath, never to fly, but to defend each other to the last.
Upon the day of battle, the two armies drew up on a plain. Cleombrotus was upon the right, at the head of a body consisting of Lacedemonians, on whom he confided most, and whose files were twelve deep: to take the advantage, which his superiority of horse gave him in an open country, he posted them in front of his Lacedemonians. Archidamus, the son of Agesilaus, was at the head of the allies, who formed the left wing.
Epaminondas, who resolved to charge with his left, which he commanded in person, strengthened it with the choice of his heavyarmed troops, whom he drew up fifty deep: the sacred battalion was upon his left, and closed the wing: the rest of his infantry were posted upon his right, in an oblique line; which, the farther it extended, was the more distant from the enemy. By this uncommon disposition, his design was to cover his flank on the right; to keep off his right wing, as a kind of reserved body, that he might not hazard the event of the battle upon the weakest part of his army; and to begin the action with his left wing, where his best troops were posted, to turn the whole weight of the battle upon Cleombrotus and the Spartans. He was assured that, if he could penetrate the Lacedemonian phalanx, the rest of the army would soon be put to the rout. As for his horse, he disposed them, after the enemy's example, in the front of his left.
The action began with the cavalry. As the Thebans were better mounted, and braver troops than the Lacedemonian horse, the latter were not long before they were broke, and driven upon the infantry, which they put into some confusion. Epaminondas, following his horse close, marched swiftly up to Cleombrotus, and fell upon his phalanx with all the weight of his heavy battalion. The latter, to make a diversion, detached a body of troops, with orders to take Epaminondas in flank, and to surround him. Pelopidas, upon the sight of that movement, advanced with incredible speed and boldness, at the head of the sacred battalion, to prevent the enemy's design, and flanked Cleombrotus himself; who, by that sudden and unexpected attack, was put into disorder. The battle was very fierce and obstinate; and, whilst Cleombrotus could act, the victory continued in suspense, and declared for neither party. But when he fell dead with his wounds, the Thebans, to complete the victory, and the Lacedemonians, to avoid the shame of abandoning the body of their king, redoubled their efforts, and a great slaughter ensued on both sides. The Spartans fought with so much fury about the body, that at length they gained their point, and carried it off. Animated by so glorious an advantage, they prepared to return to the charge, which would perhaps have proved successful, had the allies seconded their ardour: but the left wing, seeing the Lacedemonian phalanx broken, and believing all lost, especially when they heard that the king was dead, took to flight, and drew off the rest of the army. Epaminondas followed them vigorously, and killed a great number in the pursuit. The Thebans remained masters of the field of battle, erected a trophy, and permitted the enemy to bury their dead.
The Lacedemonians had never received such a blow. The most bloody defeat, till then, had scarce ever cost them more than four or five hundred of their citizens. Here they lost four thousand men, of whom, one thousand were Lacedemonians, and four hundred Spartans, out of seven hundred who were in the battle. The Thebans had only three hundred men killed, among whom were four of their citizens.
The city of Sparta was celebrating at that time the Gymnastic games, and was full of strangers, whom curiosity had brought thither. When the couriers arrived from Leuctra with the terrible news of their defeat, the Ephori, though perfectly sensible of all the consequences, and that the Spartan empire had received a mortal wound, would not permit the representations of the theatre to be suspended, nor any changes in the celebration of the festival. They sent to every family the names of their relations who were killed, and stayed in the theatre to see that the dances and games were continued, without interruption, to the end.
The next day, in the morning, the loss of each family being known, the fathers and relations of those who had died in the battle, met in the public place, and saluted and embraced each other with great joy and serenity in their looks, whilst the others kept themselves close in their houses; or, if necessity obliged them to go abroad, it was with a sadness and dejection of aspect, which sensibly expressed their profound anguish and affliction. That difference was still more remarkable in the women: grief, silence, tears distinguished those who expected the return of their sons; but such as had lost their sons, were seen hurrying to the temple, to thank the gods, and congratulating each other upon their glory and good fortune.
One great point under immediate consideration, was concerning those who had fled out of the battle. They were, by the law, in that case, to be degraded from all honour, and rendered infamous; insomuch, that it was a disgrace to intermarry with them: they were to appear publicly in mean and dirty habits, with patched and party-coloured garments, and to go half shaved; and whoever met them in the streets, might insult and beat them, and they were not to make any resistance. This was so severe a law, and such numbers had incurred the penalties of it, many of whom were of great families and interest, that they apprehended the execution of it might occasion some public commotions; besides, that these citizens, such as they were, could very ill be spared at this time, when they wanted to recruit the army. Under this difficulty, they gave Agesilaus a power even over the laws, to dispense with them, to abrogate them, or to enact such new ones as the present exigency required. He would not abolish or make any variation in the law itself; but made a public declaration, That it should lie dormant for that single day, but revive and be in full force again on the morrow; and, by that expedient, he saved the citizens from infamy.
So great a victory was followed by instantaneous effects; numbers of the Grecian states that had hitherto remained neuter, now declared in favour of the conquerors, and increased their army to the amount of seventy thousand men. Epaminondas entered Laconia with an army, the twelfth part of which were not Thebans; and finding a country hitherto untouched by an enemy, he ran through it with fire and sword, destroying and plundering as far as the river Eurotas.
This river was, at that time, very much swoln by the melting of the snow; and the Thebans sound more difficulty in passing it than they expected, as well from the rapidity as the extreme coldness of the water. As Epaminondas was passing at the head of his infantry, some of the Spartans shewed him to Agesilaus, who, after having attentively considered and followed him with his eyes a long time, could not help crying out, in admiration of his valour,
Oh! the wonder-working man!
The Theban general, however, contented himself with over-running the country, without attempting any thing upon Sparta, and, entering Arcadia, reinstated it in all its former privileges and liberties. The Lacedemonians had some time before stripped the harmless natives of all their possessions, and obliged them to take refuge among strangers. Their country was equal in extent to Laconia, and as fertile as the best in Greece. Its ancient inhabitants, who were dispersed in different regions of Greece, Italy and Sicily, on the first notice given them, returned with incredible joy, animated by the love of their country, natural to all men; and almost as much by the hatred of the Spartans, which the length of time had only increased. They built themselves a city, which, from the ancient name, was called Messene.
After performing such signal exploits, Pelopidas and Epaminondas, the Theban generals, once more returned home, not to share the triumph and acclamations of their fellow-citizens, but to answer the accusations that were laid against them; they were now both summoned as criminals against the state, of having retained their posts four months beyond the time limited by law. This offence was capital by the laws of Thebes; and those who stood up for the constitution, were very earnest in having it observed with punctuality. Pelopidas was the first cited before the tribunal: he defended himself with less force and greatness of mind, than was expected from a man of his character, by nature warm and fiery. That valour, haughty and intrepid in fight, forsook him before his judges. His air and discourse, which had something timid and creeping in it, denoted a man who was afraid of death, and did not in the least incline the judges in his favour, who acquitted him, not without difficulty. Epaminondas, on the contrary, appeared with all the confidence of conscious innocence: instead of justifying himself, he enumerated his actions; he repeated, in haughty terms, in what manner he had ravaged Laconia, re-established Messenia, and re-united Arcadia in one body. He concluded with saying, That he should die with pleasure, if the Thebans would renounce the sole glory of those actions to him, and declare that he had done them by his own authority, and without their participation. All the voices were in his favour; and he returned from his trial, as he used to return from battle, with glory and universal applause. Such dignity has true valour, that it in a manner seizes the admiration of mankind by force. This manner of reproaching them had so good an effect, that his enemies declined any further prosecution; and he, with his colleague were honourably acquitted. His enemies, however, jealous of his glory, with a design to affront him, caused him to be elected the city scavenger; he accepted the place with thanks, and asserted, That instead of deriving honour from the office, he would give it dignity in his turn.
In the mean time, the Spartans, struck with consternation at their late defeats, applied to the Athenians for succour; who, after some hesitation, determined to assist them with all their forces; and a slight advantage the Spartans had gained over the Arcadians, in which they did not lose a man, gave a promising dawn of success. The Persian king was also applied to for assistance in the confederacy against Thebes; but Pelopidas, undertaking an embassy to that court, frustrated their purpose, and induced that great monarch to stand neuter.
Thebes being thus rid of so powerful an enemy, had less fears of withstanding the confederacy of Sparta and Athens: but a new and an unexpected power was now growing up against them; a power which was one day about to swallow up the liberties of Greece, and give laws to all mankind.
Some years before this, Jason the king of Pherae, was chosen general of the Thessalians by the consent of the people; he was at the head of an army of above eight thousand horse, and twenty thousand heavy armed foot, without reckoning light infantry; and might have undertaken any thing with such a body of disciplined and intrepid troops, who had an entire confidence in the valour and conduct of their commander. Death prevented his designs; he was assassinated by persons who had conspired his destruction. His two brothers, Polydorus and Poliphron, were substituted in his place. Against him Pelopidas was sent. The latter of whom killed the other, for the sake of reigning alone, and was soon after killed himself by Alexander of Pherae, who seized the government, under the pretence of revenging the death of Polydorus his father. The Theban general soon compelled Alexander to make submission to him; and attempted by mild usage to change the natural brutality of his disposition. But Alexander, long addicted to a debauched life, and possessed of insatiable avarice, secretly withdrew from all constraint, resolved to seize an opportunity of revenge. It was not till some time after that this offered; for Pelopidas being appointed ambassador to Alexander, who was at that time at the head of a powerful army, he was seized upon, and made prisoner, contrary to all the laws of nations and humanity. It was in vain that the Thebans complained of this infraction; it was in vain that they sent a powerful army, but headed by indifferent generals, to revenge the insult: their army returned without effect, and Alexander treated his prisoners with the utmost severity. It was left for Epaminondas only to bring the tyrant to reason. Entering Thessalia at the head of a powerful army, his name spread such terror, that the tyrant offered terms of submission, and delivered up Pelopidas from prison.
Pelopidas was scarce freed from confinement, when he resolved to punish the tyrant for his perfidy and breach of faith. He led a body of troops against Alexander, to a place called Cynocephalus, where a bloody battle ensued, in which the Thebans were victorious; but Pelopidas was unfortunately slain: his countrymen considered their successes very dearly earned which they had obtained by his death. The lamentations for him were general; his funeral was magnificent, and his praises boundless. Alexander himself soon after was killed by Theba his wife, and his three brothers, who, long shocked at his cruelties, resolved to rid the world of such a monster. The account has it, that he slept every night, guarded by a dog, in a chamber which was ascended by a ladder. Theba allured away the dog, and covered the steps of the ladder with wool to prevent noise, and then, with the assistance of her brothers, stabbed him in several parts of his body.
In the mean time, the war between the Thebans and the Spartans proceeded with unabated vigour. The Theban troops were headed by their favourite general Epaminondas; those of Sparta by Agesilaus, the only man in Greece that was then able to oppose him.
The first attempt of Epaminondas in this campaign, marked his great abilities, and his skill in the art of war. Being informed that Agesilaus had begun his march with his army, and had left but few citizens to defend Sparta at home, he marched directly thither by night, with a design to take the city by surprize, as it had neither walls nor troops to defend it; but luckily Agesilaus was apprised of his design, and dispatched one of his horse to advise the city of its danger; soon after arriving with a powerful succour in person, he had scarce entered the town, when the Thebans were seen passing the Eurotas, and coming on against the city. Epaminondas, who perceived that his design was discovered, thought it incumbent on him not to retire without some attempt. He therefore made his troops advance, and making use of valour instead of stratagem, he attacked the city at several quarters, penetrated as far as the public place, and seized that part of Sparta which lay upon the hither side of the river. Agesilaus made head every where, and defended himself with much more valour than could be expected from his years. He saw well that it was not now a time, as before, to spare himself, and to act only upon the defensive; but that he had need of all his courage and daring, and to fight with all the vigour of despair. His son Archidamus, at the head of the Spartan youth, behaved with incredible valour whenever the danger was greatest; and, with his small troop, stopped the enemy, and made head against them on all sides.
A young Spartan, named Isadas, distinguished himself particularly in this action. He was very handsome in the face, perfectly well shaped, of an advantageous stature, and in the flower of his youth; he had neither armour nor cloaths upon his body, which shone with oil; he held a spear in one hand, and a sword in the other. In this condition he quitted his house with the utmost eagerness; and, breaking through the press of the Spartans that fought, he threw himself upon the enemy, gave mortal wounds at every blow, and laid all at his feet who opposed him, without receiving any hurt himself. Whether the enemy were dismayed at so astonishing a sight, or, says Plutarch, the gods took pleasure in preserving him upon account of his extraordinary valour; it is said, the Ephori decreed him a crown after the battle, in honour of his exploits; but afterwards fined him a thousand drachmas, for having exposed himself to so great a danger without arms.
Epaminondas, thus failing in his design, was resolved, before he laid down his command, which was near expiring, to give the Lacedemonians and Athenians battle, as they followed him close in the rear.
The Greeks had never fought among themselves with more numerous armies. The Lacedemonians consisted of more than twenty thousand foot, and two thousand horse; the Thebans of thirty thousand foot, and three thousand horse. Upon the right wing of the former, the Mantineans, Arcadians, and Lacedemonians were posted in one line; the Eleans and Achaeans, who were the weakest of their troops, had the centre; and the Athenians alone composed the left wing. In the other army, the Thebans and Arcadians were on the left, the Argives on the right, and the other allies in the centre: the cavalry on each side were disposed in the wings.
The Theban general marched in the same order of battle in which he intended to fight, that he might not be obliged, when he came up with the enemy, to lose, in the disposition of his army, a time which cannot be recovered when lost in great enterprizes.
He did not march directly, and with his front to the enemy, but in a column upon the hills, with his left wing foremost; as if he did not intend to fight that day. When he was over-against them, at a quarter of a league's distance, he made the troops halt, and lay down their arms, as if he designed to encamp there. The enemy, in effect, were deceived by his stand; and reckoning no longer upon a battle, they quitted their arms, dispersed themselves about the camp, and suffered that ardour to be extinguished, which a near approach of a battle is wont to kindle in the hearts of the soldiers.
Epaminondas, however, by suddenly wheeling his troops to the right, having changed his column into a line, and having drawn out the choice troops, whom he had expressly posted in front upon his march, he made them double their files upon the front of his left wing, to add to its strength, and to put it into a condition to attack in a point the Lacedemonian phalanx, which, by the movement he had made, faced it directly. He ordered the centre and right wing of his army to move very slow, and to halt before they came up with the enemy, that he might not hazard the event of the battle upon troops of which he had no great opinion.
He expected to decide the victory by that body of chosen troops which he commanded in person, and which he had formed into a column to attack the enemy in a wedge-like point. He assured himself, that if he could penetrate the Lacedemonian phalanx, in which the enemy's principal force consisted, he should not find it difficult to rout the rest of the army, by charging upon the right and left with his victorious troops.
But that he might prevent the Athenians in the left wing from coming to the support of their right against his intended attack, he made a detachment of his horse and foot advance out of the line, and posted them upon a rising ground, in readiness to flank the Athenians, as well to cover his right as to alarm them and give them reason to apprehend being taken in flank and rear themselves, if they advanced to sustain their right.
After having disposed his whole army in this manner, he moved on to charge the enemy with the whole weight of his column. They were strangely surprized when they saw Epaminondas advance towards them in this order; and resumed their arms, bridled their horses, and made all the haste they could to their ranks.
Whilst Epaminondas marched against the enemy, the cavalry that covered his flank on the left, the best at that time in Greece, entirely composed of Thebans and Thessalians, had orders to attack the enemy's horse. The Theban general, whom nothing escaped, had artfully bestowed bow-men, slingers, and dart-men in the intervals of his horse, in order to begin the disorders of the enemy's cavalry, by a previous discharge of a shower of arrows, stones, and javelins upon them. The other army had neglected to take the same precaution; and had made another fault, not less considerable, in giving as much depth to the squadrons as if they had been a phalanx. By this means their horse were incapable of supporting long the charge of the Thebans. After having made several ineffectual attacks with great loss, they were obliged to retire behind their infantry.
In the mean time, Epaminondas, with his body of foot, had charged the Lacedemonian phalanx. The troops fought on both sides with incredible ardour, both the Thebans and Lacedemonians being resolved to perish rather than yield the glory of arms to their rivals. They began with fighting with the spear; and those first arms being soon broken in the fury of the combat, they charged each other sword in hand. The resistance was equally obstinate; and the slaughter very great on both sides. The troops despising danger, and desiring only to distinguish themselves by the greatness of their actions, chose rather to die in their ranks, than to lose a step of their ground.
The furious slaughter on both sides, having continued a great while, without the victory inclining to either, Epaminondas, to force it to declare for him, thought it his duty to make an extraordinary effort in person, without regard to the danger of his own life. He formed therefore a troop of the bravest and most determinate about him; and, putting himself at the head of them, made a vigorous charge upon the enemy, where the battle was most warm, and wounded the general of the Lacedemonians with the first javelin he threw. This troop, by his example, having wounded or killed all that stood in their way, broke and penetrated the phalanx. The Lacedemonians, dismayed by the presence of Epaminondas, and overpowered by the weight of that intrepid party, were reduced to give ground. The gross of the Theban troops, animated by their general's example and success, drove back the enemy upon his right and left, and made great slaughter of them. But some troops of the Spartans, perceiving that Epaminondas abandoned himself too much to his ardour, suddenly rallied, and, returning to the fight, charged him with a shower of javelins. Whilst he kept off part of those darts, shunned some of them, fenced off others, and was fighting with the most heroic valour, to assure the victory to his army, a Spartan, named Callicrates, gave him a mortal wound with a javelin in the breast across his cuirass. The wood of the javelin being broke off, and the iron head continuing in the wound, the torment was insupportable, and he fell immediately. The battle began around him with new fury; the one side using their utmost endeavours to take him alive, and the other to save him. The Thebans gained their point at last, and carried him off, after having put the enemy to flight.
After several different movements, and alternative losses and advantages, the troops on both sides stood still, and rested upon their arms; and the trumpets of the two armies, as if by consent, sounded the retreat at the same time. Each party pretended to the victory, and erected a trophy; the Thebans, because they had defeated the right wing, and remained masters of the field of battle; the Athenians, because they had cut the detachment in pieces. And, from this point of honour, both sides refused at first to ask leave to bury their dead; which, with the ancients, was confessing their defeat. The Lacedemonians, however, sent first to demand that permission; after which, the rest had no thoughts but of paying the last duties to the slain.
In the mean time, Epaminondas had been carried into the camp. The surgeons, after having examined the wound, declared, that he would expire as soon as the head of the dart was drawn out of it. Those words gave all that were present the utmost sorrow and affliction, who were inconsolable on seeing so great a man upon the point of expiring. For him, the only concern he expressed was about his arms, and the success of the battle. When they shewed him his shield, and assured him that the Thebans had gained the victory, turning towards his friends with a calm and serene air,
"All then is well,"
said he; and soon after, upon drawing the head of the javelin out of his body, he expired in the arms of Victory.
As the glory of Thebes rose with Epaminondas, so it fell with him; and he is, perhaps, the only instance of one man's being able to inspire his country with military glory, and lead it on to conquest, without having had a predecessor, or leaving an imitator of his example.
The battle of Mantinea was the greatest that ever was fought by Grecians against Grecians; the whole strength of the country being drawn out, and ranged according to their different interests; and it was fought with an obstinacy equal to the importance of it, which was the fixing the empire of Greece. And this must of course have been transferred to the Thebans upon their victory, if they had not lost the fruits of it by the death of their general, who was the soul of all their counsels and designs. This blasted all their hopes, and put out their sudden blaze of power, almost as soon as it was kindled. However, they did not presently give up their pretensions; they were still ranked among the leading states, and made several further struggles; but they were faint and ineffectual; and such as were rather for life and being, than for superiority and dominion. A peace, therefore, was proposed; which was ratified by all the states of Greece, except Sparta; the conditions of which were, that every state should maintain what they possessed, and hold it independent of any other power.
A state of repose ensued this peace; in which the Grecian powers seemed to slacken from their former animosities; and if we except an expedition under Agesilaus into Egypt, whither he went to assist Tachos, who had usurped that kingdom, and in which he died, there was little done for several years following. The Athenians, more particularly, when they found themselves delivered from him who kept up their emulation, grew indolent a nd remiss, and abandoned themselves to their ease and pleasure, being wholly taken up with shews, sports and festivals. They were naturally too much addicted to these amusements; and they had formerly been encouraged in them by Pericles, who knew how to lead them by their inclinations, and took this method to ingratiate himself, and to divert them from inspecting too narrowly into his administration. But they now carried their diversions to a much higher pitch of extravagance. They had such a passion for the stage, that it stifled in them all other thoughts either of business or of glory. In short, the decorations, and other charges attending the theatre, were so excessive, that Plutarch says, It cost more to represent some of the famous pieces of Sophocles and Euripides, than it had done to carry on the war against the barbarians. And, in order to support this charge, they seized upon the fund which had been set apart for the war, with a prohibition, upon pain of death, ever to advise the applying of it to any other purpose. They not only reversed this decree, but went as far the other way, making it death to propose the restoring the fund to the uses to which it had before been appropriated, under the same penalties. By diverting the course of the supplies in so extraordinary a manner, and entertaining the idle citizen at the expence of the soldier and marinet, they seemed to have no remains of that spirit and vigour which they had exerted in the Persian wars, when they demolished their houses to furnish out a navy; and when the women stoned a man to death, who proposed to appease the Great King (as he was called) by paying tribute, and doing homage.
In this general remissness, it was not to be supposed, that their allies would treat them with the respect they demanded. Most of the states, that had hitherto been in alliance with them,
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58.
and had found security under their protection, took up arms against them. In reducing these, Chabrias, Iphicrates, and Timotheus gained great reputation; and are supposed to have been consummate generals; but their successes are too minute to rank them among the class of eminent commanders; and whatever their skill might have been, there wanted a great occasion for its display. This war opened with the siege of Chio, in which the Athenians were repulsed; and Chabrias, unwilling to abandon his vessel, preferred death to flight. The siege of Byzantium followed; before which, the fleet of the contending powers was dispersed by a storm; in consequence of which, the Athenian generals were recalled. Timotheus was fined a great sum; but, being too poor to pay, he went into voluntary banishment. Iphicrates was also obliged to answer for himself, but got off by his eloquence; and, in the mean time, the affairs of Athens succeeded but ill under the guidance of Charis, who was left sole commander. A peace was concluded, whereby every city and people were left to the full enjoyment of their liberty: and thus the war of the allies ended, after having continued three years.
During these transactions, a power was growing up in Greece, hitherto unobserved, but now too conspicuous and formidable to be overlooked in the general picture; this was that of the Macedonians; a people hitherto obscure, and in a manner barbarous; and who, though warlike and hardy, had never yet presumed to intermeddle in the affairs of Greece: but now several circumstances concurred to raise them from obscurity, and to involve them in measures, which, by degrees, wrought a thorough change in the state of Greece; it will be necessary, therefore, to begin with a short account of their power and origin, before we enter into a detail of that conspicuous part, which they afterwards performed on the theatre of the world.
CHAP. II. From the Birth to the Death of PHILIP King of MACEDON.
THE people of Macedon were hitherto considered as making no part of the Grecian confederacy; they were looked upon as borderers, as men, in a measure, semi-barbarous; who boasted indeed of taking their origin from the Greeks; but who hitherto neither possessed their politeness, nor enjoyed their freedom: they had little or no intercourse with their mother-country; they had contracted the habits and manners of the natives where they were settled, and from thence they were treated with similar disrespect.
The first king who is mentioned with any degree of certainty to have reigned in Macedonia, was Caranus, by birth an Argive, and said to be the sixteenth in descent from Hercules. It was upon this foundation, that Philip afterwards grounded his pretensions to be of the race of Hercules, and assumed to himself divine honours. Caranus, therefore, is commonly reputed to have led forth a body of his countrymen, by the advice of the oracle, into these parts where he settled, and made himself king. Caranus having, according to the general account, reigned twenty-eight years; the succession was continued after him to the times we are now treating of. But there is very little worth notice recorded of these kings; they being chiefly employed in defending themselves against the incursions of their neighbours. And as to their domestic affairs, they were remarkable only for the frequent murders and usurpations which happened in the royal family.
Amintas, father of Philip, began to reign the third year of the ninety-sixth Olympiad. Having the very year after been warmly attacked by the Illyrians, and dispossessed of a great part of his kingdom, which he thought it scarce possible for him ever to recover again, he addressed himself to the Olynthians; and, in order to engage them the more firmly in his interest, he had given up to them a considerable track of land in the neighbourhood of their city. He was restored to the throne by the Thessalians; upon which he was desirous of resuming the possession of the lands, which nothing but the ill situation of his affairs had obliged him to resign to the Olynthians. This occasioned a war; but Amintas not being strong enough to make head singly against so powerful a people, the Greeks and the Athenians, in particular, sent him succours, and enabled him to weaken the power of the Olynthians, who threatened him with a total and impending ruin.
Amintas died, after having reigned twenty-four years; he left three legitimate children, namely, Alexander, Perdicas, and Philip. Alexander, the eldest son, reigned but one year. Perdicas, the second brother, was opposed by Pausanias, who began, by seizing some fortresses; but, by the assistance of Iphicrates, the Athenian general, the usurper was expelled, and Perdicas the lawful sovereign confirmed on the throne. He did not, however, long continue in tranquillity. Ptolemy, a natural son of Amintas, laid claim to the crown, and disputed his title; which, by mutual consent, was referred to Pelopidas the Theban, a man more revered for his probity than his valour. Pelopidas determined in favour of Perdicas; and, having judged it necessary to take pledges on both sides, in order to oblige the two competitors to observe the articles of the treaty accepted by them, among other hostages, he carried Philip with him to Thebes, where he resided several years. He was then ten years of age. Eurydice, at her leaving this much-loved son, earnestly besought Pelopidas to procure him an education worthy of his birth, and of the city to which he was going, an hostage. Pelopidas placed him with Epaminondas, who had a celebrated Pythagorean philosopher in his house for the education of his son. Philip improved greatly by the instructions of his preceptor, and much more by those of Epaminondas, under whom he undoubtedly made some campaigns, though no mention is made of this. He could not possibly have had a more excellent master, whether for war, or the conduct of life; for this illustrious Theban was, at the same time, a great philosopher; that is to say, a wise and virtuous man, and a great commander, as well as a great statesman. Philip was very proud of being his pupil, and proposed him as a model to himself; most happy, could he have copied him perfectly! Perhaps he borrowed from Epaminondas his activity in war, and his promptitude in improving occasions; which, however, formed but a very inconsiderable part of the merit of that illustrious personage. But, with regard to his temperance, his justice, his disinterestedness, his sincerity, his magnanimity, his clemency, which rendered him truly great, these were virtues which Philip had not received from nature, and did not acquire by imitation.
The Thebans did not know that they were then forming and educating the most dangerous enemy of Greece. After Philip had spent nine or ten years in their city, the news of a revolution in Macedon made him resolve to leave Thebes clandestinely. Accordingly he stole away, made the utmost expedition, and found the Macedonians greatly surprized at having lost their king Perdicas, who had been killed in a great battle by the Illyrians; but much more so, to find they had as many enemies as neighbours. The Illyrians were on the point of returning into the kingdom with a much greater force; the Peonians infested it with perpetual incursions; the Thracians were determined to place Pausanias on the throne, who had not abandoned his pretensions; and the Athenians were bringing Argaeus, whom Mantias, their general, was ordered to support with a strong fleet, and a considerable body of troops. Macedonia at that time wanted a prince of years to govern; and had only a child, Amintas, the son of Perdicas, and lawful heir of the crown. Philip governed the kingdom for some time, by the title of Guardian to the Prince; but the subjects, justly alarmed, deposed the nephew in favour of the uncle; and instead of the heir, whom nature had given them, set him upon the throne whom the present conjuncture of affairs required, persuaded that the laws of necessity are superior to all others. Accordingly, Philip, at twenty-four years of age, ascended the throne, the first year of the 105th Olympiad.
Never did the present condition of the Macedonians require a man of more prudence and activity. They were surrounded with as many enemies as they had neighbours. The Illyrians, slushed with their late victory, were preparing to march against them with a great army. The Paeonians were making daily incursions upon them; and, at the same time, the title to the crown was contested by Pausanias and Argaeus; the former whereof was supported by the Thracians, and the latter by the Athenians; who, for that purpose, had sent out a good fleet, and three thousand land-men.
Under these circumstances, with so many enemies on his hands at once, and that before he was settled on the throne, his first care was to make sure of his own people, to gain their affections, and to raise their spirits; for they were very much disheartened, having lost above four thousand men in the late action with the Illyrians. He succeeded in these points, by the artfulness of his address, and the force of his eloquence, of which he was a great master. His next step was to train and exercise them, and reform their discipline; and it was at this time that he instituted the famous Macedonian phalanx, which did so much execution. It was an improvement upon the ancient manner of fighting among the Grecians, who generally drew up their foot so close, as to stand the shock of the enemy without being broken. The complete phalanx was thought to contain above sixteen thousand men; though it was also taken in general for any company or party of soldiers, and frequently for the whole body of foot. But this of Philip's invention is described by Polybius to be a long square, consisting of eight thousand pike-men, sixteen deep, and five hundred in front; the men standing so close together, that the pikes of the fifth rank were extended three foot beyond the line of the front. The rest, whose distance from the front made their pikes useless, rested them upon the shoulders of those who stood before them, and so locking them together in file, pressed forward to support and push on the former ranks, whereby the assault was rendered more violent and irresistible.
When Philip had made some proper regulation of his affairs at home, he began to look abroad, in order to divert the storms which threatened him from all quarters. By money and promises, he made up matters for the present with such of his enemies as lay nearest to him; and then turned his forces against the Athenians, who were marched up to Methone, to assist Argaeus. He gave them battle, and defeated them; and the death of Argaeus, who was killed in the action, put an end to that dispute: for he permitted the Athenians, when they were in his power, to return home. This instance of his moderation, gained so far upon them, that they soon after concluded a peace with him; which yet he observed no longer than it served his design of securing the other part of his dominions.
Accordingly, he marched northward, where he declared war against the Paeonians, and subdued them; then fell upon the Illyrians, and having killed above seven thousand of them in a pitched battle, obliged them to restore all their conquests in Macedonia. He had also obstructed the passage of the Thasians; but yet did not think it sufficiently secured, without making himself master of Amphipolis, which was very commodiously situated on the river Strymon, and was the key of that side of his dominions. He knew the importance of it, therefore he possessed himself of it in the beginning of his reign. This was the ground of his quarrel with the Athenians; who claimed it as one of their colonies, and made such a point of it, that their setting up Argaeus against him, was not so much for his own sake, as for the credit of imposing a king upon the Macedonians; as it was with a view to get the city restored to them by his means, in case he should have succeeded in his intentions. Philip was sensible of their drift, and finding it necessary at that time to keep some measures with them, would neither keep the place himself, nor let them have it; but took a middle course, and declared it a free city; thereby leaving the inhabitants to throw off their dependence on their old masters, and making it appear to be their own act. But the city continued no longer in this state, than until he sound himself at liberty to make a more thorough conquest of it; which at this time he easily effected, through the remissness of the Athenians, who refused to send any relief to it; alledging, in their excuse, that it would be a breach of the peace, which they had concluded with Philip the year before. But the truth is, he tricked them out of it by a promise of delivering it up to them. But instead of keeping his word with them, he made further encroachments, by seizing on Pydna and Potidea; the latter of which being garrisoned by Athenians, he drew them out, and sent them home; but dismissed them with such marks of civility, as shewed that he avoided coming to an open rupture with that state, at least until his designs were more ripe for it; though at the same time he did what he could to weaken them, and drive them out of his neighbourhood. Pydna, with the territory belonging to it, he gave up to the Olynthians, who were his father's inveterate enemies. His hands were too full at this time to revive the quarrel against so rich and powerful a city; which, for three years together, had withstood the united forces of Sparta and Macedonia; he therefore chose to buy their friendship for the present, and to amuse them by the delivery of this town, as he had done the Athenians by the peace, until he could attack them at more advantage. In this step also he over-reached the Athenians; who were at the same time courting the alliance of the Olynthians, in order to maintain their footing in those parts. Which side soever the Olynthians inclined to, they were strong enough to turn the balance; and therefore, the gaining them became a matter of great contention between Philip and the Athenians.
From thence he proceeded to seize the city of Crenides, which had been built two years before, and then called it Philippi, from his own name. It was here that he discovered a gold mine, which every year produced an hundred and forty-four thousand pounds sterling. This, which was an immense sum for that age, was much more serviceable than fleets or armies, in fighting his battles; and he seldom failed using it in every negociation. It is said, that consulting the oracle at Delphos, concerning the success of an intended expedition, he was answered by the priestess, That with silver spears he should conquer all things. He took the advice of the oracle, and his success was answerable to its wisdom: indeed, he was less proud of the success of a battle, than of a negociation; well knowing, that his soldiers and generals shared in the one, but that the honour of the latter was wholly his own.
But a larger field was now opening to his ambition. The mutual divisions of the states of Greece were at no time wholly cemented, and they broke out now upon a very particular occasion. The first cause of the rupture, (which was afterwards called the Sacred War) arose from the Phocians having ploughed up a piece of ground belonging to the temple of Apollo at Delphos. Against this all the neighbouring states exclaimed as a sacrilege: they were cited before the council of Amphyctions, who particularly took cognizance of sacred matters; they were cast, and an heavy fine was imposed upon them. This the Phocians were unable to pay; they refused to submit to the decree: they alledged, that the care and patronage of the temple anciently belonged to them; and, to vindicate this, they quoted a precedent from Homer.
Philomelas, one of their chief citizens, was principally instrumental in encouraging them to arms: he raised their ardour, and was appointed their general. He first applied himself to the Spartans, who had likewise been fined by the Amphyctions, at the instance of the Thebans, after the battle of Leuctra, for having seized the Cadmea: for this reason they were very well disposed to join with him, but did not yet think it proper to declare themselves: however, they encouraged his design, and supplied him under-hand with money; by which means he raised troops, and, without much difficulty, got possession of the temple. The chief resistance he met with in the neighbourhood, was from the Locrians; but having worsted them, he erased the decree of the Amphyctions, which was inscribed on the pillars of the temple. However, to strengthen his authority, and give a colour to his proceedings, he thought it convenient to consult the oracle, and to procure an answer in his favour. But when he applied to the priestess for that purpose, she refused to officiate, until being intimidated by his threats, she told him, the god left him at liberty to act as he pleased; which he looked upon as a good answer, and as such took care to divulge it.
The Amphyctions meeting a second time, a resolution was formed to declare war against the Phocians. Most of the Grecian nations engaged in this quarrel, and sided with the one or the other party. The Boeotians, the Locrians, Thessalians, and several other neighbouring people, declared in favour of the god; whilst Sparta, Athens, and some other cities of Peloponesus, joined with the Phocians. Philomelas had not yet touched the treasures of the temple; but being afterwards not so scrupulous, he believed that the riches of the god could not be better employed, than in the deity's defence; for he gave this specious name to this sacrilegious attempt: and being enabled, by this fresh supply, to double the pay of his soldiers, he raised a very considerable body of troops.
Several battles were fought; and the success for some time seemed doubtful on both sides. Every one knows how much religious wars are to be dreaded, and the prodigious lengths which a false zeal, when veiled with so venerable a name, is apt to go. The Thebans having in a rencounter taken several prisoners, condemned them all to die, as sacrilegious wretches who were excommunicated: the Phocians did the same, by way of reprisal. These had at first gained several advantages; but having been defeated in a great battle, Philomelas their leader being closely attacked on an eminence from which there was no retreating, defended himself for a long time with invincible bravery; which however not availing, he threw himself headlong from a rock, in order to avoid the torments he must undoubtedly have undergone, had he fallen alive into the hands of his enemies. Oenomarchus was his successor, and took upon him the command of the forces.
Philip thought it most consistent with his interest to remain neuter in this general movement of the Greeks, in favour either of the Phocians or the Thebans. It was consistent with the policy of this ambitious prince, who had little regard for religion, or the interests of Apollo, but was always intent upon his own, not to engage in a war by which he could not reap the least benefit; and to take advantage of a juncture in which all Greece, employed and divided by a great war, gave him an opportunity to extend his frontiers, and push his conquests, without any apprehension of opposition. He was also well pleased to see both parties weaken and consume each other; as he should thereby be enabled to fall upon them afterwards to greater advantage.
Being desirous of subjecting Thrace, and of securing the conquests he had already made there, he determined to possess himself of Methone, a small city, incapable of supporting itself by its own strength, but which gave him disquiet, and obstructed his designs, whenever it was in the hands of his enemies. Accordingly he besieged that city, made himself master of, and razed it. He lost one of his eyes before Methone, by a very singular accident. Aster of Amphipolis had offered his services to Philip, as so excellent a marksman, that he could bring down birds in their most rapid slight. The monarch made this answer,
"Well, I will take you into my service, when I make war upon starlings;"
which answer stung the archer to the quick. A repartee proves often of fatal consequence to him who makes it; so that, Aster having thrown himself into the city, he let fly an arrow, on which was written,
"To Philip's right eye."
This carried a most cruel proof that he was a good marksman; for he hit him in the right eye; and Philip sent him back the same arrow, with this inscription:
"If Philip takes the city, he will hang up Aster;"
and accordingly he was as good as his word. A skilful surgeon drew the arrow out of Philip's eye with so much art and dexterity, that not the least scar remained; and though he could not save his eye, he yet took away the blemish.
After taking the city, Philip, ever studious either to weaken his enemies by new conquests, or gain more friends by doing them some important service, marched into Thessaly, which had implored his assistance against its tyrants. The liberty of that country seemed now secure, since Alexander of Pherae was no more. Nevertheless, his brothers, who, in concert with his wife Thebe, had murdered him, grown weary of having some time acted the part of deliverers, revived his tyranny, and oppressed the Thessalians with a new yoke. Lycophron, the eldest of the three brothers who succeeded Alexander, had strengthened himself by the protection of the Phocians Oenomarchus, their leader, brought him a numerous body of forces, and at first gained a considerable advantage over Philip; but engaging him a second time, he was entirely defeated, and his army routed. The flying troops were pursued to the sea-shore; upwards of six thousand men were killed on the spot, among whom was Oenomarchus, whose body was hung upon a gallows; and three thousand, who were taken prisoners, were thrown into the sea by Philip's order, as so many sacrilegious wretches, the professed enemies of religion.
Philip, after having freed the Thessalians, resolved to carry his arms into Phocis. This was his first attempt to get footing in Greece, and to have a share in the general affairs of the Greeks, from which the kings of Macedon had always been excluded as foreigners. In this view, upon pretence of going over into Phocis, in order to punish the sacrilegious Phocians, he marched towards Thermopylae, to possess himself of a pass which gave him a free passage into Greece, and especially into Attica.
An admission of foreigners into Greece, was a measure that was always formidable to those who called themselves Grecians. The Athenians, upon hearing of a march which might prove of the utmost consequence, hasted to Thermopylae, and possessed themselves of this important pass, which Philip did not care attempting to force. The Athenians were roused from their lethargy of pleasure, to make use of this precaution, by the persuasions of Demosthenes, the celebrated orator, who, from the beginning, saw the ambition of Philip, and the power of which he was possessed to carry him through his designs.
This illustrious orator and statesman, whom we shall hereafter find acting so considerable a part in the course of this history, was born in the last year of the ninety-ninth Olympiad, according to Dionysius, who, in his epistle to Lammacus, hath accurately distinguished the different periods of his life, and the times in which his several orations were delivered. He was the son not of a mean and obscure mechanic, as the Roman satyrist hath represented him, but of an eminent Athenian citizen, who raised a considerable fortune by the manufacture of arms. At the age of seven years, he lost his father; and to add to this misfortune, the guardians to whom he was intrusted, wasted and embezzled a considerable part of his inheritance. Thus oppressed by fraud, and discouraged by a weak and effeminate habit of body, he yet discovered an early ambition to distinguish himself as a popular speaker. The applause bestowed on a public orator, who had defended his country's right to the city of Oropus, in an elaborate harangue, inflamed his youthful mind with an eager desire of meriting the like honour. Isocrates and Isaeus were then the two most eminent professors of eloquence at Athens. The soft and florid manner of the former did by no means suit the genius of Demosthenes: Isaeus was more vigorous and energetic, and his style better suited to public business. To him therefore he applied, and under his direction pursued those studies, which might accomplish him for the character to which he aspired. His first essay was made against his guardian, by whom he had been so injuriously treated: but the goodness of his cause was here of more service than the abilities of the young orator; for his early attempts were unpromising, and soon convinced him of the necessity of a graceful and manly pronunciation. His close and severe application, and the extraordinary diligence with which he laboured to conquer his defects and natural infirmities, are too well known, and have been too frequently the subjects of historians and critics, ancient and modern, to need a minute recital. His character as a statesman will be best collected from the history of his conduct in the present transactions. As an orator, the reader perhaps is not to be informed of his qualifications. Indeed, the study of oratory was at that time the readiest and almost the only means of rising in the state. His first essay at the bar was two years after this incident, when he called his guardians to account for embezzling his patrimony, and recovered some part of it. This encouraged him some time after, to harangue before the people in their public assembly; but he acquitted himself so ill, that they hissed him: however, he ventured a second time, but with no better success than before, so that he went away ashamed, confounded, and quite in despair. It was upon this occasion that Satyrus the player accosted him, and in a friendly way encouraged him to proceed. With this view he asked him to repeat to him some verses of Sophocles, or Euripedes, which he accordingly did: the other repeated them after him, but with such a different spirit and cadence, as made him sensible that he knew very little of elocution. But by his instructions, and his own perseverance, he at length made himself master of it; and by the methods before mentioned, corrected the imperfections which were born with him, as well as the ill habits which he had contracted. It is not very clear whether this passage be rightly ascribed to Satyrus, who seems to be confounded with Neoptolemus and Andronicus, who were likewise famous comedians; and Demosthenes is said to have been instructed by all the three.
With these advantages and improvements, he appeared again in public, and succeeded so well, that people flocked from all parts of Greece to hear him. From thence he was looked upon as the standard of true eloquence; insomuch that none of his countrymen have been put in comparison with him; nor even among the Romans, any but Cicero. And though it has been made a question by the ancient writers, to which of the two they should give the preserence, they have not ventured to decide it, but have contented themselves with describing their different beauties, and shewing, that they were both perfect in their kind. His eloquence was grave and austere, like his temper; masculine and sublime, bold, forcible and impetuous; abounding with metaphors, apostrophes and interrogations; which, with his solemn way of invoking and appealing to the gods, the planets, the elements, and the manes of those who fell at Salamis and Marathon, had such a wonderful effect upon his hearers, that they thought him inspired. If he had not so much softness and insinuation as is often requisite in an orator, it was not that he wanted art and delicacy, when the case required it: he knew how to sound the inclinations of the people, and to lead them to the point he aimed at; and sometimes, by seeming to propose that which was directly the contrary. But his chief characteristic was vehemence, both in action and expression; and indeed that was the qualification of all others most wanted at this time: for the people were grown so insolent and imperious, so factious and divided, so jealous of the power of the democracy, and withal so sunk into a state of pleasure and indolence, that no arts of persuasion would have been so effectual, as that spirit and resolution, that force and energy of Demosthenes, to humble them, to unite them, and to rouse them into a sense of their common danger.
But neither could Demosthenes himself have made such impressions on them, if his talent of speaking had not been supported by their opinion of his integrity. It was that which added weight and emphasis to every thing he said, and animated the whole. It was that which chiefly engaged their attention, and determined their counsels; when they were convinced that he spoke from his heart, and had no interest to manage, but that of the community: and this he gave the strongest proofs of, in his zeal against Philip, who said, He was of more weight against him than all the fleets and armies of the Athenians; and that he had no enemy but Demosthenes. He was not wanting in his endeavours to corrupt him, as he had most of the leading men in Greece: but this great orator withstood all his offers; and, as it was observed, all the gold in Macedon could not bribe him.
When Philip found himself shut out of Greece by the Athenians, he turned his arms against those remote places which depended on them, either as colonies, or as conquests; and particularly against the Olynthians, whom he had long looked upon with an evil eye; but had courted and cajoled them, whilst he was otherwise employed. But he came now resolved entirely to reduce them; and advancing towards the city, only sent them a short message, to let them know, that one of these two points was become necessary; either that they must quit Olynthus, or he Macedonia. Whereupon they sent immediately to Athens for relief. The subject was debated there with great solemnity, and Demosthenes was very earnest in sending them succours: he was opposed by Demades and Hyperides. The opinion, however, of Demosthenes prevailed; the people of Athens resolved to unite against Philip, but the great difficulty lay in furnishing the supplies: their principal fund, which had formerly served the purposes of war, had long been converted to the use of the stage. The money arising from this fund was computed at a thousand talents a-year; and a certain proportion of it was allotted to the citizens, to defray the charge of their admittance into the theatre. This distribution having been continued to them from the time of Pericles, they claimed it now as their right, especially since they had lately obtained a law, which made it capital to propose the restoring the fund to the uses for which it was originally granted. Hence it was that, upon any pressing emergency, extraordinary taxes were to be raised; and they were laid so unequally, and collected with so much difficulty, that they seldom answered the service for which they were intended.
Demosthenes treated this subject with the utmost art and circumspection. After shewing that the Athenians were indispensibly obliged to raise an army, in order to stop the enterprizes of their aspiring enemy, he asserted, that the theatrical fund was the only probable means of supply. These remonstrances had some weight, but were not attended with deserved success. The Athenians sent a reinforcement to Olynthus; but Philip, who had corrupted the principal men in the town, entered, plundered it, and sold the inhabitants among the rest of the spoil. Here he found much treasure, which served to assist him in his further encroachments.
In the mean time, the Thebans, being unable alone to terminate the war, which they had so long carried on against the Phocians, addressed Philip. Hitherto, as we before mentioned, he had observed a kind of neutrality with respect to the Sacred War; and he seemed to wait for an opportunity of declaring himself; that is, till both parties should have weakened themselves by a long war, which equally exhausted both. The Thebans had now very much abated of that haughtiness, and those ambitious views, with which the victories of Epaminondas had inspired them. The instant, therefore, they requested the alliance of Philip, he resolved to espouse the interest of that republic, in opposition to the Phocians. He had not lost sight of the project he had formed of obtaining an entrance into Greece, in order to make himself master of it. To give success to his design, it was proper for him to declare in favour of one of the two parties, which at that time divided all Greece; that is, either for the Thebans, or the Athenians and Spartans. He was not so void of sense as to imagine, that the latter party would assist his design of carrying his arms into Greece. He therefore had no more to do but to join the Thebans, who offered themselves voluntarily to him, and who stood in need of Philip's power, to support themselves in their declining condition: he therefore declared at once in their favour. But to give a specious colour to his arms, besides the gratitude he affected to have at heart for Thebes, in which he had been educated, he also pretended to make an honour of the zeal with which he was fired with regard to the violated god, and was very glad to pass for a religious prince, who warmly espoused the cause of the god and of the temple of Delphos, in order to conciliate, by that means, the esteem and friendship of the Greeks.
There was nothing Philip had more at heart than to possess himself of Thermopylae, as it opened him a passage into Greece; to appropriate all the honour of the Sacred War to himself, as if he had been principal in that affair; and to preside in the Pythian games. He was therefore desirous of aiding the Thebans, and by their means to possess himself of Phocis. But then, in order to put this double design in execution, it was necessary for him to keep it secret from the Athenians, who had actually declared war against Thebes; and who, for many years, had been in alliance with the Phocians. His business, therefore, was to make them change their measures, by placing other objects in their view; and, on this occasion, the politics of Philip succeeded to a wonder.
The Athenians, who began to grow tired of a war, which was very burthensome, and of little benefit to them, had commissioned Ctesiphon, and Phrynon, to sound the intentions of Philip, and in what manner he stood disposed in regard to peace. These related, that Philip did not appear averse to it; and that he even expressed a great affection for the commonwealth. Upon this, the Athenians resolved to send a solemn embassy, to enquire more strictly into the truth of things, and to procure the last explanations, previously necessary to so important a negociation. Aeschines and Demosthenes were among the ten ambassadors, who brought back three from Philip;
viz.
Antipater, Parmenio, and Eurylochus. All the ten executed their commission very faithfully, and gave a very good account of it. Upon this, they were immediately sent back, with full powers to conclude a peace, and to ratify it by oaths. It was then Demosthenes, who, in his first embassy, had met some Athenian captives in Macedonia, and had promised to return and ransom them at his own expence, endeavoured to enable himself to keep his word; and, in the mean time, advised his colleagues to embark with the utmost expedition, as the republic had commanded; and to wait, as soon as possible, upon Philip, in what place soever he might be. However, these, instead of making a speedy dispatch, as they were desired, went like ambassadors, proceeded to Macedonia by land, staid three months in that country, and gave Philip time to possess himself of several other strong places belonging to the Athenians in Thrace. At last, meeting with the king of Macedonia, they agreed with him upon articles of peace; but he, having lulled them asleep with the specious pretence of a treaty, deferred the ratification of it from day to day. In the mean time he found means to corrupt the ambassadors, one after another, by presents, Demosthenes excepted; who being but one, opposed his colleagues to no manner of purpose.
Philip being suffered quietly to pursue his march into Phocis, gained the streights of Thermopylae, but did not immediately discover what use he intended to make of his entrance into Greece; but went on, according to his agreement with the Thebans, to put an end to the Phocian war, which he easily effected. His name and appearance struck such a terror among the Phocians, that though they had lately received a reinforcement of a thousand heavy armed Spartans, under the command of their king Archidamus, they declined giving him battle, and sent to treat with him, or rather to submit themselves to any terms that he would give them. He allowed Phalicus to retire, with eight thousand men, being mercenaries, into Peloponesus; but the rest, who were the inhabitants of Phocis, were left at his mercy. As the disposing of them was a matter wherein Greece in general was concerned, he did not think fit to act in it by his own private authority, but referred it to the Amphyctions, whom he caused to be assembled for that purpose. But they were so much under his influence, that they served only to give a sanction to his determinations. They decreed, that all the cities of Phocis should be demolished; that they who had fled, as being principally concerned in the sacrilege, should be stigmatized as accursed, and proscribed as outlaws; that they who remained as inhabitants, should be dispersed in villages, and obliged to pay out of their lands a yearly tribute of sixty talents, until the whole of what had been taken out of the temple should be restored: they were likewise adjudged to lose their seat in the council of the Amphyctions, wherein they had a double voice. This Philip got transferred to himself, which was a very material point, and may be looked upon as the principal step towards his gaining that authority which he afterwards exercised in the affairs of Greece. At the same time he gained, in conjunction with the Thebans and Thessalians, the superintendency of the Pythian games, which the Corinthians had forfeited, for their having taken part with the Phocians.
Philip having, by these plausible methods, succeeded in this expedition, did not think it adviseable, by attempting any thing further at present, to sully the glory he had acquired by it, or to incense the body of the Grecians against him; wherefore he returned, in a triumphant manner, to his own dominions. After settling his conquests at home, he marched into Thessaly; and having extirpated the remains of tyranny in the several cities there, he not only confirmed the Thessalians in his interest, but gained over many of their neighbours.
It was upon this occasion that Philip is remarked for an act of private justice, which far outweighs his public celebrity. A certain soldier, in the Macedonian army, had, in many instances, distinguished himself by extraordinary acts of valour, and had received many marks of Philip's favour and approbation. On some occasion he embarked on board a vessel, which was wrecked by a violent storm, and he himself cast on the shore helpless and naked, and scarcely with the appearance of life. A Macedonian, whose lands were contiguous to the sea, came opportunely to be witness of his distress; and, with all humane and charitable tenderness, flew to the relief of the unhappy stranger. He bore him to his house, laid him in his own bed, revived, cherished, comforted, and for forty days supplied him freely with all the necessaries and conveniencies which his languishing condition could require. The soldier, thus happily rescued from death, was incessant in the warmest expressions of gratitude to his benefactor, assured him, of his interest with the king, and of his power and resolution of obtaining for him, from the royal bounty, the noble returns which such extraordinary benevolence had merited. He was now completely recovered, and his kind host supplied him with money to pursue his journey. In some time after, he presented himself before the king; he recounted his misfortunes, magnified his services; and this inhuman wretch, who had looked with an eye of envy on the possessions of the man who had preserved his life, was now so abandoned to all sense of gratitude, as to request the king would bestow upon him the house and lands where he had been so tenderly and kindly entertained. Unhappily Philip, without examination, inconsiderately and precipitately granted his infamous request; and this soldier now returned to his preserver, repaid his goodness by driving him from his settlement, and taking immediate possession of all the fruits of his honest industry. The poor man, stung with this instance of unparalleled ingratitude and insensibility, boldly determined, instead of submitting to his wrongs, to seek relief; and, in a letter addressed to Philip, represented his own, and the soldier's conduct, in a lively and affecting manner. The king was instantly fired with indignation; he ordered that justice should be done without delay; that the possessions should be immediately restored to the man whose charitable offices had been thus horridly repaid; and having seized his soldier, caused these words to be branded on his forehead—The Ungrateful Guest;—a character infamous in every age, and among all nations; but particularly among the Greeks, who, from the earliest times, were most scrupulously observant of the laws of hospitality.
Having strengthened himself in these parts, he went the next year into Thrace, where he had formed a design against the Chersonese. This peninsula had, with some little interruption, been for many years in the hands of the Athenians; but Cotys, as being king of the country, had lately wrested it from them, and left it in succession to his son Chersobleptes. He not being able to defend himself against Philip, gave it back to the Athenians, reserving to himself only Cardia, the capital city. But Philip having soon after spoiled him of the rest of his dominions, the Cardians, for fear of falling again under the power of the Athenians, threw themselves into his protection. Diopithes, who was the chief of the Athenian colony lately sent to the Chersonese, considered this proceeding of Philip, in supporting the Cardians, as an act of hostility against Athens; whereupon he invaded the maritime parts of Thrace, and carried away a great deal of booty. Philip being at this time in the upper part of the country, was not in a condition to do himself justice: but he wrote to complain of it at Athens, as an infraction of the peace; and his creatures there were not wanting on their part to aggravate the charge against Diopithes, as having acted without orders, and taking it upon himself to renew the war: they likewise accused him of committing acts of piracy, and of laying their allies under contribution. But whatever grounds there were for this part of the accusation, the government of Athens was principally to blame in it; for having no proper fund for the wars, they sent out their generals without money or provisions, and left them to shift for themselves, and yet made them answerable for any miscarriages that should happen, for want of their being better supplied. This was a great discouragement to the service, and put those who were employed in it upon pillaging and plundering, in such a manner, as they would otherwise have been ashamed of. Demosthenes, in an harangue that he made upon the stage of the Chersonese, undertook the defence of Diopithes.
Philip, however, was no way intimidated at the wordy resistance of his eloquent antagonist; he went on with artful industry, quelling those by his power who were unable to resist, and those by his presents, whom he was unable to oppose. The divisions that then subsisted in Peloponesus, gave him a pretext for intermeddling in the affairs of the Greek confederacy. These divisions were chiefly owing to the Spartans; who, having little to do in the late foreign transactions, were recovering their strength at home; and, according to their usual practice, as they increased in power, made use of it to insult and oppress their neighbours. The Argives and Messenians being at this time persecuted by them, put themselves under the protection of Philip; and the Thebans joining with them, they all together formed a powerful confederacy. The natural balance against it, was an union between Athens and Sparta, which the Spartans pressed with great earnestness, as the only means for their common security; and Philip and the Thebans did all in their power to prevent it. But Demosthenes exerting himself upon this occasion, roused up the Athenians, and put them so far upon their guard, that, without coming to an open rupture with Philip, they obliged him to desist.
Philip, however, did not continue idle upon this disappointment. Ever restless and enterprising, he turned his views another way: he had long considered the island of Eubaea as proper, from its situation, to favour the designs he meditated against Greece; and, in the very beginning of his reign, had attempted to possess himself of it. He indeed set every engine to work at that time, in order to seize upon that island, which he called the shackles of Greece. But it nearly concerned the Athenians, on the other side, not to suffer it to fall into the hands of an enemy, especially as it might be joined to the continent of Attica, by a bridge: however, that people, according to their usual custom, continued indolent, whilst Philip pursued his conquests. The latter, who was continually attentive and vigilant, endeavoured to carry on an intelligence in the island; and, by dint of presents, bribed those who had the greatest authority in it. At the request of certain of the inhabitants, he sent some troops privately thither, possessed himself of several strong places, dismantled Porthmos, a very important fortress in Eubaea, and established three tyrants, or kings, over the country.
The Athenians were conjured, in this distressing juncture, by one Plutarch, who was at that time upon the island, to come and deliver the inhabitants from the yoke which Philip was going to impose upon them. Upon this, they dispatched a few troops thither under the command of Phocion, a general of whom great expectations were formed, and whose conduct well deserved the favourable opinion the public had of him.
This man would have done honour to the early and least corrupted times of the Athenian state. His manners were formed in the academy, upon the models of the most exact and rigid virtue. It was said, that no Athenian ever saw him laugh, or weep, or deviate in any instance from the most fettled gravity and composure. He learned the art of war under Chabrias, and frequently moderated the excesses, and corrected the errors of that general: his humanity he admired and imitated, and taught him to exert it in a more extensive and liberal manner. When he had received his directions to sail, with twenty ships, to collect the contributions of the allies and dependent cities;
"Why that force?" said Phocion; "if I am to meet them as enemies, it is insufficient; if I am sent to friends and allies, a single vessel will serve."
He bore the severities of a military life with so much ease, that if Phocion ever appeared warmly cloathed, the soldiers at once pronounced it the sign of a remarkably bad season. His outward appearance was forbidding, but his conversation easy and obliging; and all his words and actions expressed the utmost affection and benevolence. In popular assemblies, his lively, close, and natural manner of speaking, seemed as it were the echo of the simplicity and integrity of his mind, and had frequently a greater effect than even the dignity and energy of Demosthenes, who called him the pruner of his periods. He studied only good sense and plain reasoning, and despised every adventitious ornament. In an assembly, when he was to address the people, he was surprised by a friend, wrapped up in thought:
"I am considering," said he, "whether I cannot retrench some part of my intended address."
He was sensible of the ill conduct of his countrymen, and ever treated them with the greatest severity. He defied their censures; and so far did he affect to despise their applause, that at a time when his sentiments extorted their approbation, he turned about in surprise, and asked a friend, If any thing weak or impertinent had escaped him? His sense of the degeneracy of Athens, made him fond of pacific measures. He saw the designs of Philip, but imagined that the state was too corrupted to give him any effectual opposition; so that he was of the number of those men who, according to Demosthenes in his third Phillipic oration, gave up the interests of the state, not corruptly or ignorantly, but from a desperate purpose of yielding to the fate of a constitution, thought to be irrecoverably lost. He was of consequence ever of the party opposite to Demosthenes; and having been taught, by experience, to suspect the popular leaders, considered his earnestness to rouse the Athenians to arms, as an artifice to embroil the state, and by that means to gain an influence in the assembly.
"Phocion," said Demosthenes, "the people, in some mad fit, will certainly sacrifice thee to their fury."
"Yes," replied he, "and you will be their victim, if ever they have an interval of reason."
Yet they often prevailed on him to act against his judgment, though never to speak against his conscience. He never refused or declined the command, whatever might be his opinion of the expedition. Forty five times was he chosen to lead their armies; generally in his absence, and ever without the least application. They knew his merit; and, in the hour of danger, forgot that severity with which he usually treated their inclinations and opinions.
It was to him the Athenians gave the command of the forces they sent to the aid of Plutarch of Eretria. But this traitor repaid his benefactors with ingratitude; he set up the standard against them, and endeavoured openly to repulse the very army he had requested. However, Phocion was not at a loss how to act upon this unforeseen perfidy; for he pursued his enterprise, won a battle, and drove Plutarch from Eretria.
These disappointments, however, no way intimidated Philip, or rendered him the least remiss in prosecuting his original design. He now, therefore, changed the method of his attack, and sought for an opportunity of distressing Athens another way. He knew that this city, from the barrenness of Attica, stood in greater want of foreign corn than any other. To dispose, at discretion, of their transports, and by that means starve the Athenians, he marched towards Thrace, from whence that city imported the greatest part of its provisions, with an intention to besiege Perinthus and Byzantium. To keep his kingdom in obedience during his absence, he left his son Alexander behind, with sovereign authority, though he was fifteen years old. This young prince gave, even at that time, some proofs of his courage; having defeated certain neighbouring states, subject to Macedonia, who had considered the king's absence as a very proper time for executing the design they had formed of revolting. This happy success of Alexander's first expeditions, was highly agreeable to his father, and at the same time an earnest of what might be expected from him. But fearing lest, allured by this dangerous bait, he should abandon himself inconsiderately to his vivacity and fire, he sent for him in order to become his master; and form him, in person, for the trade of war.
In the mean time, Philip opened the campaign with the siege of Perinthus, a considerable city of Thrace, and firmly attached to the Athenians. It was assisted from Byzantium, a neighbouring city, which threw in succours as occasion required. Philip, therefore, resolved to besiege both at the same time. Still, however, he was desirous to appear cautious and tender of displeasing the Athenians, whom he endeavoured to amuse with the most profound respect, mixed with well-timed abuses, and the most flattering submission. Upon this occasion, he wrote them a letter, reproaching them, in the strongest terms, for their infraction of treaties, and his own religious observance of them.
"In the times of great enmity," says he, "the most you did was to fit out ships of war against me, and to seize and sell the merchants that came to trade in my dominions; but now you carry your hatred and injustice to such prodigious lengths, as even to send ambassadors to the king of Persia, to make him declare against me."
This letter gave the orators who undertook Philip's defence, a fine opportunity of justifying him to the people. Demosthenes alone stood firm, and still continued to expose his artful designs, and to break down all those laboured schemes which were undertaken to deceive the people. Sensible, on this occasion, how necessary it was to remove the first impressions which the perusal of this letter might make, he immediately ascended the tribunal, and from thence harangued the people, with all the thunder of his eloquence. He told them, the letter was written in a style not suitable to the people of Athens; that it was a plain declaration of war against them; that Philip had long since made the same declaration by his actions; and that, by the peace he had concluded with them, he meant nothing further than a bare cessation of arms, in order to gain time, and to take them more unprepared. From thence he proceeded to his usual topic of reproving them for their sloth, for suffering themselves to be deluded by their orators who were in Philip's pay.
"Convinced by these truths," continued he, "O Athenians! and strongly persuaded that we can no longer be allowed to affirm that we enjoy peace, (for Philip has now declared war against us by his letter, and has long done the same by his conduct) you ought not to spare either the public treasure, or the possessions of private persons, but when occasion shall require, haste to your respective standards, and set abler generals at your head, than those you have hitherto employed; for no one among you ought to imagine, that the same men who have ruined your affairs, will have abilities to restore them to their former happy situation. Think how infamous it is, that a man from Macedon should contemn dangers to such a degree, that merely to aggrandise his empire, he should rush into the midst of combats, and return from battle covered with wounds; and that the Athenians, whose hereditary right it is to obey no man, but to impose law on others, sword in hand; that Athenians, I say, merely through dejection of spirit and indolence, should degenerate from the glory of their ancestors, and abandon the interest of their country!"
To this expostulation, Phocion readily offered his voice and opinion. He urged the incapacity of the generals already chosen; and, in consequence of his advice, he himself was appointed general of the army that was to go against Philip, who was still besieging Byzantium.
Phocion having led his troops to the succour of the Byzantians, the inhabitants, on his arrival, opened their gates to him with joy, and lodged his soldiers in their houses, as their own brothers and children. The Athenian officers and soldiers, struck with the confidence reposed in them, behaved with the utmost prudence and modesty, and were entirely irreproachable in their conduct; nor were they less admired for their courage; and in all the attacks they sustained, discovered the utmost intrepidity, which danger seemed only to improve. Phocion's prudence, seconded by the bravery of his troops, soon forced Philip to abandon his design upon Byzantium and Perinthus. He was beat out of the Hellespont, which diminished very much his fame and glory; for he hitherto had been thought invincible, and nothing had been able to oppose him. Phocion took some of his ships, recovered many fortresses which he had garrisoned, and having made several descents into different parts of his territories, he plundered all the open country, till a body of forces assembling to check his progress, he was obliged to retire.
Philip, after having been forced to raise the siege of Byzantium, marched against Atheas king of Scythia; from whom he had received some personal cause of discontent, and took his son with him in this expedition. Though the Scythians had a very numerous army, he defeated them without any difficulty: he got a very great booty, which consisted not in gold or silver, the use and value of which the Scythians were not as yet so unhappy as to know, but in cattle, in horses, and a great number of women and children.
At his return from Scythia, the Triballi, a people of Moesia, disputed the pass with him, laying claim to part of the plunder he was carrying off. Philip was forced to come to a battle; and a very bloody one was fought, in which great numbers on each side were killed on the spot: the king himself was wounded in the thigh, and, with the same thrust, had his horse killed under him. Alexander flew to his father's aid, and covering him with his shield, killed, or put to flight all who attacked him.
The Athenians had considered the siege of Byzantium as an absolute rupture, and an open declaration of war. The king of Macedon, who was apprehensive of the consequences of it, and dreaded very much the power of the Athenians, whose hatred he had drawn upon himself, made overtures of peace, in order to soften their resentment. Phocion, little suspicious, and apprehensive of the uncertainty of military wants, was of opinion, that the Athenians should accept his offers: but Demosthenes, who had studied more than Phocion the genius and character of Philip, and was persuaded that, according to his usual custom, his only view was to impose upon the Athenians, prevented their listening to his pacific proposals. When Philip found the Athenians would not treat with him, and that they were acting offensively against him, especially at sea, where they blocked up his ports, and put an entire stop to his commerce, he began to form new alliances against them, particularly with the Thebans and Thessalians, without whom he knew he could not keep open his passage into Greece. At the same time he was sensible, that his engaging these powers to act directly against Athens, and in his own personal quarrel, would have so bad an aspect, that they would not easily come into it. For which reason he endeavoured, underhand, to create new disturbances in Greece, that he might take such a part in them, as would best answer his views: and when the flame was kindled, his point was to appear rather to be called in as an assistant, than to act as a principal.
By the result of his machinations, he soon found an opportunity of raising divisions between the Locrians of Amphissa, and their capital city. They were accused of having profaned a spot of sacred ground, (which lay very near the temple of Delphos), by ploughing it, as the Phocians had done upon a former occasion. In order to produce and widen this breach, Philip employed Aeschines the orator, who by bribes was entirely devoted to him, to harangue at the assembly of the Amphyctions against this outrage upon the religion of their country. Aeschines was a man of great abilities, and only second in eloquence to Demosthenes. He had now a fair opportunity of raising commotions, by appearing only interested for his country, and zealous for the glory and defence of Athens. With a passionate warmth, which is frequently the effect of artifice as well as of real patriotism, and which is most likely to deceive, and more particularly in popular assemblies, by being considered as the indication of sincerity, and the overflowings of a heart honestly affected, he boldly delivered his opinions. His sentiments were echoed through the assembly by the friends of Philip; the tumult was kept up to drown all remonstrances of caution and policy, and a resolution was passed, that a deputation should be sent to Philip king of Macedon, inviting him to assist Apollo and the Amphyctions, and to repel the outrages of the impious Amphissoeans; and farther to declare, that he was constituted, by all the Greeks, member of the council of Amphyctions, and general and commander of their forces, with full and unlimited powers.
This welcome invitation and commission, the fruit of all his secret practices, Philip received in Thrace, while he was yet on his return to Macedon. He bowed with an affectionate reverence to the venerable council, and declared his readiness to execute their orders.
The inferior states of Greece, and all those whose simplicity and weakness rendered them insensible to the designs now forming by Philip, entirely approved of the act of the Amphyctions; and of the nomination of a prince to the command of their forces, so eminent and illustrious for his piety, and so capable of executing the vengeance of Heaven. At Sparta and at Athens, this event was considered in a different manner. The first of these people, though possessed but of a small part of their ancient greatness, yet still retained their pride, and seemed to have looked with a sullen indignation at the honours paid to Macedon: the Athenians had been long taught to dread the policy of Philip, and now their great popular leader repeatedly urged the necessity of suspicion, and represented all the late transactions in the Amphyctionic council as the effects of Philip's intrigues, and a design against Greece in general, but more particularly against the welfare and liberty of Athens.
To counteract the zeal of Demosthenes, and to prevent the effects of his incessant remonstrances, the minds of the people were alarmed with oracles and predictions, uttered with all solemnity from the sacred tripod, and reported to the Athenians with all the veneration due to the dictates of Apollo. Vengeance was pronounced against all those who should presume to oppose the king of Macedon, the destined instrument of Divine Justice; and the people were exhorted not to suffer artful and designing orators, and popular leaders, to seduce them to their ruin.
In the mean time, Philip immediately got his troops together, and, with all the show of religious veneration, began to march, in order to chastise the irreverent Locrians: but he had far different aims; and instead of proceeding upon so ridiculous a commission, made a sudden turn, and seized upon Elatea, a capital city of Phocis, which was very well situated for awing the Thebans, of whom he began to grow jealous, and for preparing his way to Athens. But by so extraordinary a step as this, he fairly threw off the mask, and bade defiance to the whole body of Grecians. Thus was this enterprising prince, all of a sudden, master of a port of the utmost consequence; at the head of an army, capable of striking terror into his opposers; at the distance of but two days march from Attica; absolute commander, as it were, of the citadel and fortress, both of Thebes and Athens; conveniently situated for receiving succours from Thessaly and Macedon; and entirely at liberty either to give battle to those who might presume to appear in arms against him, or to protract the war to any length that might be found convenient.
The news of Philip's recent transaction was quickly spread through the adjacent countries, and received with all the stupid and helpless astonishment of men roused from a long lethargy, and awakened to a dreadful sense of their danger, and of the real designs of their enemy. It was late in the evening when a courier arriving at Athens, appeared before the Prytanes, and pronounced the dreadful tidings, that the king of Macedon had taken possession of Elatea. These magistrates, and all the other citizens, were now at supper, indulging themselves in the pleasures and gaieties of the table, when the news, which in an instant rung through all the city, roused them from their state of ease, and put an end to all their sestivity. The streets and public places were instantly filled with a distracted concourse; every man with terror and confusion in his countenance, and every man solicitous for an immediate consultation, on an emergency so important and alarming. At the dawn of the succeeding day, the assembly met together, impressed with that consternation which urgent danger naturally inspires. The whole body of the people flocked to the senate-house, seized their places, and waited with the utmost anxiety for so important a deliberation. The herald, as was the custom at Athens, arose, and cried out with a loud voice,
"Who among you will ascend the tribunal?"
All however was silence, terror and dismay: he again repeated the invitation; but still no one rose up, though all the generals and orators were present. At length Demosthenes, animated with the greatness of the approaching danger, arose, undaunted and unmoved in this scene of horror. With a countenance of serenity, the firm composure of a patriot, and the sage discernment of a complete statesman, he addressed himself to the assembly, in the following manner:—
"Athenians! permit me to explain the circumstances of that state which Philip has now seized upon. Those of its citizens whom his gold could corrupt, or his artifice deceive, are all at his devotion. What then is his design? By drawing up his forces, and displaying his powers on the borders of Thebes, he hopes to inspire his adherents with confidence and elevation, and to terrify and controul his adversaries, that fear or force may drive them into those measures which they have hitherto opposed. If then we are resolved, in this conjuncture, to cherish the remembrance of every act of unkindness, which the Thebans have done to Athens; if we regard them with suspicion, as men who have ranged themselves on the side of our enemy; in the first place, we shall act agreeably to Philip's warmest wishes; and then I am apprehensive, that the party, who now oppose him, may be brought over to his interest; the whole city submit unanimously to his direction; and Thebes and Macedon fall, with their united force, on Attica. Grant the due attention to what I shall now propose; let it be calmly weighed, without dispute or cavil, and I doubt not but that my counsels may direct you to the best and most salutary measures, and dispel the dangers now impending over the state. What then do I recommend?—First, shake off that terror which hath possessed your minds; and, instead of fearing for yourselves, let the Thebans be the objects of your apprehensions: they are more immediately affected; they are the first to feel the dangers. In the next place, all those of the age for military service, both infantry and cavalry, should march instantly to Eleusis, that Greece may see, that you are also assembled in arms; and your friends in Thebes be emboldened to assert their rights, when they are assured, that as they who have sold their country to the Macedonians, have a force at Elatea to support them, so you are ready to assist the men who bravely contend for liberty. In the last place, I recommend to you to nominate ten ambassadors, who, with the generals, may have full authority to determine the time, and all other circumstances of this march. When these ambassadors arrive at Thebes, how are they to conduct this great affair? This is a point worthy of your most serious attention. Make no demands of the Thebans; at this conjuncture it would be dishonourable: assure them that your assistance is ready for their acceptance, as you are justly affected by their danger, and have been so happy as to foresee and to guard against it. If they approve of your sentiments, and embrace your overtures, we shall effect our great purpose, and act with a dignity worthy of our state. But should it happen that we are not so successful, whatever misfortunes they may suffer, to themselves shall they be imputed; while your conduct shall appear, in no one instance, inconsistent with the honour and renown of Athens."
This oration, delivered with ease and resolution, did not want its due effect; it was received with universal applause, and Demosthenes himself was instantly chosen to head the embassy which he had now proposed. A decree, in pursuance of his advice, was drawn up in form; with an additional clause, that a fleet of two hundred sail should be fitted out, to cruize near Thermopylae.
In consequence of this, Demosthenes set out for Thebes, making the more haste, as he was sensible that Philip might over-run Attica in two days. Philip, on the other hand, in order to oppose the eloquence of Demosthenes, sent ambassadors to Thebes, among whom was Python, who particularly distinguished himself by the liveliness of his orations. But his persuasive powers were far inferior to those of Demosthenes, who overcame all opposition. The masculine eloquence of Demosthenes was irresistible; and kindled in the souls of the Thebans so warm a zeal for their country, and so strong a passion for freedom, that they were no longer masters of themselves; laying aside all fear and gratitude, and all prudential considerations.
That which animated Demosthenes, next to his public safety, was his having to do with a man of Python's abilities; and he some time after took occasion to value himself upon the victory he had obtained over him,
"I did not give way," said he, "to the boasting Python, when he would have bore me down with a torrent of words."
He gloried more in the success of this negociation, than of any other he had been employed in, and spoke of it as his masterpiece in politics.
Philip, quite disconcerted by the union of these two nations, sent ambassadors to the Athenians, to request them not to levy an armed force, but to live in harmony with him. However, they were too justly alarmed and exasperated, to listen to any accommodation; and would no longer depend on the word of a prince, whose whole aim was to deceive. In consequence, preparations for war were made with the utmost diligence, and the soldiery discovered incredible ardour. However, many evil-disposed persons endeavoured to extinguish or damp it, by relating fatal omens, and terrible predictions, which the priestess of Delphos was said to have uttered. But Demosthenes, confiding firmly in the arms of Greece, and encouraged wonderfully by the number and bravery of the troops, who desired only to march against the enemy, would not suffer them to be amused with these oracles and frivolous predictions. It was on this occasion, he said, that the priestess Philipized; meaning, that it was Philip's money that inspired the priestess, opened her mouth, and made the god speak whatever she thought proper. He bade the Thebans remember their Epaminondas, and the Athenians their Pericles; who considered these oracles and predictions as idle scare-crows, and consulted only their reason. The Athenian army set out immediately, and marched to Eleusis; and the Thebans, surprised at the diligence of their confederates, joined them, and waited the approach of the enemy.
Philip, on his part, well knowing that the bravery and spirit of his enemies wanted that direction which might enable them to improve their advantages, and conscious also of his own abilities, and the weakness of those generals who commanded the Greeks, determined to bring on a general engagement, where his superior skill must appear of the greatest moment. For this purpose he took a favourable opportunity of decamping, and led his army to the plain of Chaeronea, a name rendered famous by the event of this important contest. Here he chose his station, in view of a temple dedicated to Hercules, the author of his race, as if resolved to fight in his presence; to make him witness of the actions of his descendant, and to commit his forces, and his cause, to the immediate protection of this hero. Some ancient oracles were preserved, which seemed to point out the spot on which he now encamped, as the scene of some dreadful calamity to Greece.
His army was formed of thirty-two thousand men, warlike, disciplined, and long enured to the toils and dangers of the field; but this body was composed of different nations and countries, who had each their distinct, and separate views and interests. The army of the confederates did not amount to thirty thousand complete; of which the Athenians and Thebans furnished the greatest part: the rest was formed of the Corinthians and Peloponesians. The same motives, and the same zeal, influenced and animated them. All were equally affected by the event; and all equally resolved to conquer or die in defence of liberty.
On the eve of the decisive day, Diogenes, the famous cynic, who had long looked with equal contempt on either party, was led by curiosity to visit the camps as an unconcerned spectator. In the Macedonian camp, where his character and person were not known, he was stopped by the guards, and conducted to Philip's tent. The king expressed surprise at a stranger's presuming to approach his camp; and asked, with severity, Whether he came as a spy?
"Yes," said Diogenes, "I am come to spy upon your vanity and ambition, who thus wantonly set your life and kingdom to the hazard of an hour."
And now the fatal morning appeared, which was for ever to decide the cause of liberty, and the empire of Greece. Before the rising of the sun, both armies were ranged in order of battle. The Thebans, commanded by Theogenes, a man of but moderate abilities in war, and suspected of corruption, obtained the post of honour on the right wing of the confederated Greeks; with that famous body in the front, called the Sacred Band, formed of generous and warlike youths, connected and endeared to each other by all the noble enthusiasm of love and friendship. The center was formed of the Corinthians and Peloponesians; and the Athenians composed the left wing, led by their generals, Lysicles and Chares. On the left of the Macedonian army stood Alexander, at the head of a chosen body of noble Macedonians, supported by the famous cavalry of Thessaly. As this prince was then but nineteen years old, his father was careful to curb his youthful impetuosity, and to direct his valour; and for this purpose surrounded him with a number of experienced officers. In the center were placed those Greeks who had united with Philip, and on whose courage he had the least dependence; while the king himself commanded on the right wing, where his renowned phalanx stood, to oppose the impetuosity with which the Athenians were well known to begin their onset.
The charge began on each side with all the courage and violence which ambition, revenge, the love of glory, and the love of liberty, could excite in the several combatants. Alexander, at the head of the Macedonian nobles, first fell, with all the fury of youthful courage, on the Sacred Band of Thebas; which sustained his attack with a bravery and vigour worthy of its former fame. The gallant youths who composed this body, not being timely, or not duly supported by their countrymen, bore up for a while against the torrent of the enemy; till at length, oppressed and overpowered by superior numbers, without yielding or turning their backs on their assailants; they sunk down on that ground where they had been originally stationed, each by the side of his darling friend, raising up a bulwark by their bodies against the progress of the army. But the young prince and his forces, in all the enthusiastic ardor of valour, animated by success, pushed on through all the carnage, and over all the heaps of slain, and fell furiously on the main body of the Thebans; where they were opposed with obstinate and deliberate courage, and the contest was for some time supported with mutual violence.
The Athenians at the same time on the right wing, fought with a spirit and intrepidity, worthy of the character which they boasted, and of the cause by which they were animated. Many brave efforts were exerted on each side, and success was for some time doubtful; till at length part of the center, and the left wing of the Macedonians, (except the phalanx) yielded to the impetuous attack of the Athenians, and fled with some precipitation. Happy had it been on that day for Greece, if the conduct and abilities of the Athenian generals had been equal to the valour of their soldiers! but these brave champions of liberty were led on by the despicable creatures of intrigue and cabal. Transported by the advantage now obtained, the presumptuous Lysicles cried out,
"Come on, my gallant countrymen; the victory is ours; let us pursue these cowards, and drive them to Macedon:"
and thus, instead of improving their happy opportunity, by charging the phalanx in flank, and so breaking this formidable body, the Athenians wildly and precipitately pressed forward, in pursuit of the flying enemy; themselves in all the tumult and disorder of a rout. Philip saw this fatal error with the contempt of a skilful general, and the secret exultation arising from the assurance of approaching victory. He coolly observed to those officers that stood round him, That the Athenians knew not how to conquer; and ordered his phalanx to change its position, and, by a sudden evolution, to gain possession of an adjacent eminence. From thence they marched deliberately down, firm and collected, and fell, with their united force, on the Athenians, now confident of success, and blind to their danger. The shock was irresistible; they were at once overwhelmed; many of them lay crushed by the weight of the enemy, and expiring by their wounds; while the rest escaped from the dreadful slaughter, by a shameful and precipitate flight; bearing down, and hurrying away with them, those troops which had been stationed for their support. And here the renowned orator and statesman, whose noble sentiments and spirited harangues had raised the courage on this day so eminently exerted, betrayed that weakness which has sullied his great character. He alone, of all his countrymen, advanced to the charge, cold and dismayed; and, at the very first appearance of a reverse of fortune, in an agony of terror, turned his back, cast away that shield which he had adorned with this inscription, in golden characters, To Good Fortune; and appeared the foremost in the general rout. The ridicule and malice of his enemies, related, or perhaps invented another shameful circumstance; that being impeded in his flight by some brambles, his imagination was so possessed with the presence of an enemy, that he loudly cried out for quarter.
While Philip was thus triumphant on his side, Alexander continued the conflict on the other wing, and at length broke the Thebans in spight of all their acts of valour, who now fled from the field, and were pursued with great carnage. The center of the confederates was thus totally abandoned to the fury of a victorious enemy. But enough of slaughter had already been made; more than one thousand of the Athenians lay dead on the field of battle, two thousand were made prisoners, and the loss of the Thebans was not inferior. Philip therefore determined to conclude his important victory, by an act of apparent clemency, which his ambition and policy really dictated. He gave orders that the Greeks should be spared, conscious of his own designs, and still expecting to appear in the field the head and leader of that body which he had now completely subdued.
Philip was transported with this victory beyond measure, and having drank to excess at an entertainment which he gave upon that occasion, went into the field of battle, where he insulted over the slain, and upbraided the prisoners with their misfortunes. He leaped and danced about in a frantic manner, and with an air of burlesque merriment sung the beginning of the decree, which Demosthenes had drawn up as a declaration of the war against him. Demades, who was of the number of the prisoners, had the courage to reproach him with this ungenerous behaviour, telling him, That fortune had given him the part of Agamemnon, but that he was acting that of Thersites. He was so struck with the justness of this reproof, that it wrought a thorough change in him; and he was so far from being offended at Demades, that he immediately gave him his liberty, and shewed him afterwards great marks of honour and friendship. He likewise relieved all the Athenian captives, and without ransom; and when they found him so generously disposed towards them, they made a demand of their baggage, with every thing else that had been taken from them; but to that Philip replied,
"Surely they think I have not beat them."
This discharge of the prisoners was ascribed in a great measure to Demades, who is said to have new-modelled Philip. and to have softened his temper with the Attic graces, as Diodorus expresses it: indeed Philip himself acknowledged upon another occasion, that his frequent converse with the Athenian orators, had been of great use to him in correcting his morals. Justin represents his carriage after the battle in a very different light; alleging that he took abundance of pains to dissemble his joy; that he affected great modesty and compassion, and was not seen to laugh; that he would have no sacrisice, no crowns nor perfumes; that he forbade all kinds of sports; and did nothing that might make him appear to the conquerors to be elated, nor to the conquered, to be insolent. But this account seems to have been confounded with others which were given of him, after his being reformed by Demades. It is certain that after his first transport was over, and that he began to recollect himself, he shewed great humanity to the Athenians; and that in order still to keep measures with them, he renewed the peace. But the Thebans, who had renounced their alliance with him, he treated in another manner. He who affected to be as much master of his allies as of his subjects, could not easily pardon those who had deserted him in so critical a conjuncture. Wherefore he not only took ransom for their prisoners, but made them pay for leave to bury their dead. After these severities, and after having placed a strong garrison over them, he granted them a peace.
We are told that Isocrates, the most celebrated rhetorician of that age, who loved his country with the utmost tenderness, could not survive the loss and ignominy with which it was covered, by the loss of the battle of Chaeronea. The instant he received the news of its being uncertain what use Philip would make of his victory, and determined to die a freeman, he hastened his end by abstaining from food; he was fourscore and eighteen years of age. This defeat was attributed chiefly to the ill conduct of the Generals Lysicles and Chares; the former whereof the Athenians put to death at the instance of Lycurgus, who had great credit and influence with the people, but was a severe judge, and a most bitter accuser.
"You Lysicles, said he, were general of the army; a thousand citizens were slain, two thousand taken prisoners; a trophy has been erected to the dishonour of this city, and all Greece is enslaved. You had the command when all these things happened; and yet you dare to live, and view the light of the sun, and blush not to appear publicly in the forum; you Lysicles, who are born the monument of your country's shame!"
This Lycurgus was one of the orators of the first rank, and free from the general corruption which then reigned among them. He managed the public treasure for twelve years with great uprightness, and had all his life long the reputation of a man of honour and virtue. He encreased the shipping, supplied the arsenal, drove the bad men out of the city, and framed several good laws. He kept an exact register of every thing he did during his administration; and when that was expired, he caused it to be fixed up to a pillar, that every body might be at liberty to inspect it, and to censure his conduct. He carried this point so far, that, in his last sickness he ordered himself to be carried to the Senate-house to give a public account of all his actions, and after he had refuted one who accused him there, he went home and died. Notwithstanding the austerity of his temper, he was a great encourager of the stage; which though it had been carried to an excess that was manifestly hurtful to the public, he still looked upon as the best school to instruct and polish the minds of the people. And to this end, he kept up a spirit of emulation among the writers of Tragedy, and erected the statues of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. He left three sons who were unworthy of him, and behaved so ill, that they were all put in prison; but Demosthenes, out of regard to the memory of their father, got them discharged.
It does not appear that Chares underwent any prosecution for his share of this action; though according to his general character, he deserved it as much or more than his colleague. For he had no talent for command, and was very little different from a common soldier. Timotheus said of him,
"That instead of being a general, he was fitter to carry the general's baggage."
His person indeed was of that robust kind of make; and it was that which served in some measure to recommend him to the people. But he was more a man of pleasure than fatigue. In his military expeditions, he was wont to carry with him a band of music; and he defrayed the expence of it out of the soldiers' pay. Notwithstanding his want of abilities, he had a thorough good opinion of himself. He was vain and positive, bold and boisterous; a great undertaker, and always ready to warrant success; but his performances seldom answered; and hence it was, that the promises of Chares became a proverb: And yet as little as he was to be depended on, he had his partizans among the people, and among the orators, by whose means he got himself to be frequently employed, and others to be excluded who were more capable.
But it was Demosthenes who seemed to have been the principal cause of the terrible shock which Athens received at this time, and which gave its power such a wound, as it never recovered. However, at the very instant the Athenians heard of this bloody overthrow, which affected so great a number of families, when it would have been no wonder, had the multitude, seized with terror and alarms, given way to an emotion of blind zeal, against the man whom they might have considered in some measure as the author of this dreadful calamity; even at this very instant, I say, the people submitted entirely to the councils of Demosthenes. The precautions that were taken to post guards to raise the walls, and to repair the ditches, were all in consequence of his advice. He himself was appointed to supply the city with provisions, and to repair the walls, which latter commission he executed with so much generosity, that it acquired him the greatest honour; and for which, at the request of Ctesiphon, a crown of gold was decreed him as a reward for his having presented the commonwealth with a sum of money out of his own estate, sufficient to defray what was wanting of the sums for repairing the walls.
On the present occasion, that is, after the battle of Chaeronea, such orators as opposed Demosthenes, having all risen up in concert against him, and having cited him to take his trial according to law, the people not only declared him innocent of the several accusations laid to his charge, but conferred more honours upon him than he had enjoyed before; so strongly did the veneration they had for his zeal and fidelity overbalance the efforts of calumny and malice.
But the people did not stop here. The bones of such as had been killed in the battle of Chaeronea having been brought to Athens to be interred, they appointed Demosthenes to compose the eulogium of those brave men; a manifest proof that they did not ascribe to him the ill success of the battle, but to Providence only, who disposes of human events at pleasure.
It was in this year that Aeschines drew up an accusation against Ctesiphon, or rather against Demosthenes, which was the most remarkable that ever appeared before any tribunal; not so much for the object of the contest, as for the greatness and ability of the speakers. Ctesiphon, a partizan and friend of Demosthenes, brought a cause before the assembly of the people, in which he urged that a decree should be passed, giving a golden crown to Demosthenes. This decree was strongly opposed by Aeschines, the rival of Demosthenes, as well in eloquence as in ambition.
No cause ever excited so much curiosity, nor was pleaded with so much pomp. People flocked to it from all parts, and they had great reason for so doing; for what sight could be nobler, than a conflict between two orators, each of them excellent in his way, both formed by nature, improved by art, and animated by perpetual dissentions, and an implacable animosity against each other.
The juncture seemed to favour Aeschines very much; for the Macedonian party, whom he always befriended, was very powerful in Athens, especially after the ruin of Thebes. Nevertheless Aeschines lost his cause, and was justly sentenced to banishment for his rash accusation. He thereupon went, and settled himself in Rhodes, where he opened a school of eloquence, the fame and glory of which continued for many ages. He began his lectures with the two orations that had occasioned his banishment. Great encomiums were given to that of Aeschines; but when they heard that of Demosthenes, the plaudits and acclamations were redoubled. And it was then he spoke these words, so greatly laudable in the mouth of an enemy and a rival:
"Alas! what applauses would you not have bestowed, had you heard Demosthenes speak it himself?"
Demosthenes thus become victor, made a good use of his conquest. For the instant Aeschines left Athens, in order to embark for Rhodes, Demosthenes ran after him, and forced him to accept of a purse of money. On this occasion, Aeschines cried out, How will it be possible for me not to regret a country, in which I leave an enemy more generous, than I can hope to find friends in any other part of the world?
In the mean time, Philip had his ambition pleased, but not satisfied with his last victory; he had one object long in view, and that he never lost sight of; this was to get himself appointed in the Assembly of the Greeks, their chief general against the Persians. It had long been the object, not only of the confederate states, but also of the neighbouring Greek nations, to revenge upon the kingdom of Persia, the injuries they had sustained from it; and to work the total destruction of that Empire. This was an object which had early inflamed the mind of Philip, and his late victory paved the way to it. He therefore got himself declared Generalissimo of the Greek forces, and accordingly made preparations to invade that mighty Empire.
But whilst Philip was thus successful in politics and war, the domestic divisions that reigned in his family, embittered his happiness, and at last caused his destruction. He had married Olympias, the daughter of the king of Epirus, and the early part of their union was crowned with happiness; but her ill temper soon clouded that dawn which promised so much felicity; she was naturally jealous, vindictive and passionate, and their dissentions were carried to such a degree, that Philip was often heard to wish for death. But his passion for Cleopatra, niece to Attalus, his general, completed their separation. As Cleopatra was no less amiable in her temper and accomplishments than in the extraordinary graces of her person, Philip conceived that he should consult his own happiness most effectually, by forming an inviolable and perpetual union with this lady; and, without the least hesitation, resolved to separate himself for ever from the princess who had long appeared so great an enemy to his tranquillity. In vain did Alexander his son remonstrate, that by divorcing Olympias, and engaging in a second marriage, he exposed him to the danger of contending with a number of competitors for the crown, and rendered his succession precarious.
"My son, said the king, if I create you a number of competitors, you will have the glorious opportunity of exerting yourself to surpass them in merit. Thus shall their rivalship by no means affect your title."
His marriage with Cleopatra was now declared in form, and celebrated with all the grandeur and solemnity which the great occasion demanded. The young prince however dissatisfied, was yet obliged to attend on these solemnities, and sat in silent indignation at that feast which proclaimed the disgrace of his mother. In such circumstances, his youthful and impetuous mind could not but be susceptible of the slightest irritation. Attalus the uncle of the new queen, forgetting that just caution, which should have taught him to be scrupulously observant to avoid offending the prince, intoxicated by the honours paid to his kinswoman, as well as by the present festivity, was rash enough to call publicly on the Macedonian nobles to pour out their libations to the gods, that they might grant the king the happy fruits of the present nuptials, and legitimate heirs to his throne. Wretch! cried Alexander, with his eyes sparkling with that fury and vexation which he had till now suppressed, dost thou then call me bastard? and instantly darted his goblet at Attalus, who returned the outrage with double violence. Clamour and confusion arose, and the king, in a sudden fit of rage, snatched his sword, and flew directly towards his son. His precipitation, his lameness, and the quantity of wine in which he had by this time indulged, happily disappointed his rash purpose; he stumbled and fell on the floor, while Alexander, with an unpardonable insolence, cried out,
"Behold, ye Macedonians! this is the king who is preparing to lead you into Asia; see where in passing from one table to another, he is fallen to the ground."
Philip however, did not lose sight of the conquests of Asia. Full of the mighty project he revolved, he consulted the gods to know what would be the event of it; and the priestess replied, The victim is already crowned, his end draws nigh, and he will soon be sacrificed. Philip hearing this, did not hesitate a moment, but interpreted the oracle in his own favour; the ambiguity of which ought at least to have kept him in some suspence. In order therefore, that he might be in a condition to apply entirely to his expedition against the Persians, and elevate himself solely to the conquest of Asia, he dispatched with all possible diligence his domestic affairs. After this, he offered up a solemn sacrifice to the gods; and prepared to celebrate with incredible magnificence in Egae, a city of Macedonia, the nuptials of Cleopatra his daughter, whom he gave in marriage to Alexander king of Epirus, and brother to Olympias his queen. He had invited to it the most considerable persons of Greece, and heaped upon them friendship and honours of every kind, by way of gratitude for electing him Generalissimo of the Greeks. The cities made their court to him in emulation of each other, by sending him gold crowns; and Athens distinguished its zeal above all the rest. Neoptolemus, the poet, had written purposely for that festival, a tragedy entitled Cinyras, in which under borrowed names, he represented this prince as already victor over Darius, and master of Asia. Philip listened to these happy presages with joy; and, comparing them with the answer of the oracle, assured himself of conquest. The day after the nuptials, games, and shows were solemnized. As these formed part of the religious worship, there were carried in it, with great pomp and ceremony, twelve statues of the gods, carved with inimitable art; a thirteenth that surpassed them all in magnificence, represented Philip as a god. The hour for his leaving the palace arrived, he went forth in a white robe; and advanced with an air of majesty, in the midst of acclamations, towards the theatre, where an infinite multitude of Macedonians, as well as foreigners, waited his coming with impatience.
But this magnificence only served to make the catastrophe more remarkable, and to add splendor to ruin. Some time before, Attalus, inflamed with wine at an entertainment, had insulted in the most shocking manner Pausanias a young Macedonian nobleman. The latter had long endeavoured to revenge the cruel affront, and was perpetually imploring the king's justice. But Philip, unwilling to disgust Attalus, uncle to Cleopatra, whom, as was before observed, he had married after his divorcing Olympias his first queen, would never listen to Pausanias's complaints. However, to console him in some measure, and to express the high esteem he had for, and the great confidence he reposed in him, he made him one of the chief officers of his life-guard. But this was not what the young Macedonian required, whose anger now swelling to fury against his judge, he formed the design of wiping out his shame, by imbruing his hands in the blood of his sovereign.
And now while this unhappy youth continued brooding over those malignant passions which distracted and corroded his mind, he happened to go into the school of one Hermocrates, who professed to teach philosophy; to whom he proposed the following question: What shall that man do, who wishes to transmit his name with lustre to posterity? Hermocrates, either artfully and from design, or the natural malignity of his temper, replied,
"He must kill him who hath atchieved the greatest actions; thus shall the memory of the hero be joined with his who slew him, and both descend together to posterity."
This was a maxim highly agreeable to Pausanias, in the present disposition of his mind; and thus various accidents and circumstances, concurred to inflame those dangerous passions which now possessed him, and to prompt him to the dreadful purpose of satiating his revenge.
The present solemnity was that which Pausanias chose to put his dreadful design into execution. Philip, cloathed in a white flowing robe, waving in soft and graceful folds, the habiliments in which the Grecian deities were usually represented, moved forward with an heart filled with triumph and exultation, while the admiring crowds shouted forth their flattering applause. His guards had orders to keep at a considerable distance from his person, to shew that the king confided in the affections of his people, and had not the least apprehensions of danger amidst all this mixed concourse of different states and nations. Unhappily the danger was but too near him. The injured Pausanias had not yet forgot his wrongs, but still retained those terrible impressions which the sense of the indignity he had received, and the artful and interested representations of others, fixed deeply in his mind. He chose this fatal morning for the execution of his revenge on the prince who had denied reparation to his injured honour. His design had been for some time premeditated, and now was the dreadful moment of effecting it. As Philip marched on in all his pride and pomp, this young Macedonian slipped through the crowd, and with a desperate and malignant resolution waited his approach in a narrow passage, just at the entrance into the theatre. The king advanced towards him, Pausanias drew his poniard, plunged it into his heart, and the conqueror of Greece, and terror of Asia, fell prostrate to the ground, and instantly expired.
The murderer flew towards the gates of the city, where there stood horses ready to favour his escape, which Olympias herself is said to have prepared. The tumult and confusion was such as might be expected from so fatal an event; some of the Macedonians crowded round the fallen king with officious and ineffectual care, while others pursued Pausanias. Among these were Perdicas, Attalus and Leonatus; the first who excelled in swiftness came up to the assassin, where he was just preparing to mount his horse, but being by his precipitation intangled in some vines, a violent effort to extricate his foot, brought him suddenly to the ground. As he prepared to rise, Perdicas was upon him, and with his companions, soon dispatched him by the repeated wounds which their fury inflicted. His body was immediately hung on a gibbet, but, in the morning appeared crowned with a golden diadem; the only means by which Olympias could now express her implacable resentment. In a few days indeed, she took a further occasion of publishing her triumph and exultation in her husband's fall, by paying the same funeral honours to Pausanias, which were prepared for Philip; both bodies were burnt on the same pile, and the ashes of both deposited in the same tomb. She is even said to have prevailed on the Macedonians to pay annual honours to Pausanias; as if she feared that the share she had taken in the death of Philip, should not be sufficiently known to the world. She consecrated to Apollo the dagger which had been the instrument of the fatal deed, inscribed with the name Myrtalis, the name which she had borne when their loves first began.
Thus died Philip, whose virtues and vices were directed and proportioned to his ambition. His most shining and exalted qualities were influenced in a great measure by his love of power; and even the most exceptionable parts of his conduct were principally determined by their conveniency and expediency. If he was unjust, he was, like Caesar, unjust for the sake of Empire. If he gloried by the success acquired by his virtues and his intellectual accomplishments, rather than in that which the force of arms could gain, the reason which he himself assigned, points out his true principle.
"In the former case, said he, the glory is intirely mine; in the other, my generals and soldiers have their share."
The news of Philip's death was a joyful surprize in Greece, and particularly in Athens, where the people crowned themselves with garlands, and decreed a crown to Pausanias. They sacrificed to the gods for their deliverance, and sung songs of triumph; as if Philip had been slain by them in battle. But this excess of joy did ill become them. It was looked upon as an ungenerous and unmanly insult upon the ashes of a murdered prince, and of one whom they just before had revered, and crouched to in the most abject manner. These immoderate transports were raised in them by Demosthenes, who having the first intelligence of Philip's death, went into the assembly unusually gay and chearful, with a chaplet on his head, and in a rich habit, though it was then but the seventh day after the death of his daughter. From this circumstance, Plutarch, at the same time that he condemns the behaviour of the Athenians in general upon this occasion, takes an opportunity to justify Demosthenes, and extols him as a patriot, for not suffering his domestic afflictions to interfere with the good fortune of the commonwealth. But he certainly might have acted the part of a good citizen with more decency, and not have given up to insult, what was due to good manners.
CHAP. III. From the Birth of ALEXANDER, to his setting out for ASIA.
A. M. 364
. Ante J. C. 356.
ALEXANDER the son of Philip ascended the throne upon the death of his father, and took possession of a kingdom rendered flourishing and powerful by the policy of the preceding reign.
He came into the world the very day the celebrated Temple of Diana at Ephesus was burnt, upon which occasion the report goes, that Hegesias the historian was heard to say, That it was no wonder the temple was burnt, as Diana was that day employed at the delivery of Olympias, to facilitate the birth of Alexander.
The passion which prevailed most in Alexander, even from his tender years, was ambition, and an ardent desire of glory; but not for every species of glory. Philip like a sophist, valued himself upon his eloquence, and the beauty of his style; and had the vanity to have engraved on his coins the several victories he had won at the Olympick games in the chariot race. But it was not after such empty honours that his son aspired. His friends asked him one day, Whether he would not be present at the games abovementioned, in order to dispute the prize bestowed on that occasion? for he was very swift of foot. He answered, That he would contend in them, provided kings were to be his antagonists.
Every time news was brought him that his father had taken some city, or gained some great battle, Alexander so far from sharing in the general joy, used to say in a plaintive tone of voice, to the young persons that were brought up with him, Friends, my father will possess himself of every thing, and leave nothing for me to do.
One day some ambassadors from the king of Persia being arrived at court during Philip's absence, Alexander gave them so kind and so polite a reception, and regaled them in so noble and generous a manner as charmed them all; but that which most surprized them was, the good sense and judgment he discovered in the several conversations they had with him. He did not propose to them any thing that was trifling, and like one of his age; such for instance, as enquiring about the so much boasted gardens suspended in the air, the riches and magnificence of the palace; and court of the king of Persia, which excited the admiration of the whole world; the famous golden plantane-tree; and that golden vine, the grapes of which were of emeralds, carbuncles, rubies, and all sorts of precious stones, under which the Persian monarch was said frequently to give audience. Alexander, I say, asked them questions of a quite different nature; enquiring which was the road to Upper Asia; the distance of the several places; in what the strength and power of the king of Persia consisted; in what part of the battle he fought; how he behaved towards his enemies, and in what manner he governed his subjects. These ambassadors admired him all the while; and perceiving, even at that time, how great he might one day become, they observed, in a few words, the difference they found between Alexander and Artaxerxes, by saying one to another,
"This young prince is great, and ours is rich: that man must be vastly insignificant, who has no other merit than his riches!"
So ripe a judgment in this young prince, was owing as much to the good education which had been given him, as to the happiness of his natural parts. Several preceptors were appointed to teach him all such arts and sciences as are worthy the heir to a great kingdom; and the chief of these was Leonidas, a person of the most severe morals, and a relation to the queen. This Leonidas, in their journies together, used frequently to look into the trunks where his beds and cloaths were laid, in order to see if Olympias, his mother, had not put something superfluous into them, which might administer to delicacy and luxury.
But the greatest service Philip did his son, was appointing Aristotle his preceptor, the most famous and the most learned philosopher of his age, whom he intrusted with the whole care of his education. One of the reasons which prompted Philip to chuse him a master of so conspicuous reputation and merit, was, as he himself tells us, that his son might avoid committing a great many faults, of which he himself had been guilty.
Philip was sensible how great a treasure he possessed in the person of Aristotle; for which reason he settled a very genteel stipend upon him, and afterwards rewarded his pains and care in an infinitely more glorious manner; for having destroyed and laid waste the city of Stagira, the native place of that philosopher, he rebuilt it, purely out of affection for him; reinstated the inhabitants, who had fled from it, or were made slaves, and gave them a fine park in the neighbourhood of Stagira, as a place for their studies and assemblies. Even in Plutarch's time, the stone seats which Aristotle had placed there were standing; as also spacious vistoes, under which those who walked were shaded from the sun-beams.
Alexander likewise discovered no less esteem for his master, whom he believed himself bound to love as much as if he had been his father; declaring, That he was indebted to the one for living, and to the other for living well. The progress of the pupil was equal to the care and abilities of the preceptor. He grew vastly fond of philosophy, and learned the several parts of it; but in a manner suitable to his birth. Aristotle endeavoured to improve his judgment, by laying down sure and certain rules, by which he might distinguish just and solid reasoning from what is but speciously so; and by accustoming him to separate in discourse all such parts as only dazzle, from those which are truly solid, and constitute its whole value. But Alexander applied himself chiefly to morality, which is properly the science of kings, because it is the knowledge of mankind, and of their duties. This he made his serious and profound study; and considered it even at that time as the foundation of prudence and wise policy.
The greatest master of rhetoric that antiquity could ever boast, and who has left so excellent a treatise on that subject, took care to make that science part of his pupil's education; and we find that Alexander, even in the midst of his conquest, was often very urgent with Aristotle to send him a treatise on that subject. To this we owe the work entitled Alexander's Rhetoric; in the beginning of which, Aristotle proves to him the vast advantages a prince may reap from eloquence; as it gives him the greatest ascendant over the minds of men, which he ought to acquire as well by his wisdom as authority. Some answers and letters of Alexander, which are still extant, shew that he possessed, in its greatest perfection, that strong, that manly eloquence, which abounds with sense and ideas, and which is so entirely free from superfluous expressions, that every single word has its meaning; which, properly speaking, is the eloquence of kings.
His esteem, or rather his passion for Homer, shews, not only with what vigour and success he applied to polite literature, but the judicious use he made of it, and the solid advantages he proposed to himself from it. He was not only prompted to peruse this poet merely out of curiosity, or to unbend his mind, or from a great fondness for poetry; but his view in studying this admirable writer, was to borrow such sentiments from him, as were worthy a great king and conqueror; courage, intrepidity, magnanimity, temperance, prudence; the art of commanding well in war and peace. The verse which pleased him most in Homer, was that where Agamemnon is represented as a good king and a brave warrior.
After this, it is no wonder that Alexander should have so high an esteem for this poet. Thus when, after the battle of Arbela, the Macedonians had found, among the spoils of Darius, a gold box (enriched with precious stones) in which the excellent perfumes used by that prince were put, Alexander, who was quite covered with dust, and regardless of essences and perfumes, ordered, that this box should be employed to no other use than to hold Homer's poems; which he believed the most perfect, the most precise production of the human mind. He admired particularly the Iliad, which he called, The best provision for a warrior. He always had with him that edition of Homer which Aristotle had revised and corrected, and to which the title of The Edition of the Box was given; and he laid it with his sword every night under his pillow.
Fond, even to excess, of every kind of glory, he was displeased with Aristotle his master, for having published, in his absence, certain metaphysical pieces, which he himself desired to possess only; and even at the time when he was employed in the conquest of Asia, and the pursuit of Darius, he wrote to him a letter, which is still extant, wherein he complains upon that very account. Alexander says in it, That he had much rather surpss the rest of men in the knowledge of sublime and excellent things, than in the greatness and extent of his powers. He in like manner requested Aristotle not to shew the treatise of rhetoric above mentioned to any person but himself.
He had also a taste for the whole circle of arts, but in such a manner as became a prince; that is, he knew the value and usefulness of them. Music, painting, sculpture, architecture, flourished in his reign; because they found him both a skilful judge and a generous protector; who was able to distinguish and to reward merit.
But he despised certain trifling feats of dexterity, that were of no use. Some Macedonians admired very much a man, who employed himself very attentively in throwing small peas through the eye of a needle; which he would do at a considerable distance, and without once missing. Alexander seeing him at this exercise, ordered him, as we are told, a present suitable to his employment;
viz,
a basket of peas.
Alexander was of a sprightly disposition, was resolute, and very tenacious of his opinion, which never gave way to force, but at the same time would submit immediately to reason and good sense. It is very difficult to treat with persons of this turn of mind: Philip accordingly, notwithstanding his double authority of king and father, believed it necessary to employ persuasion rather than force with respect to his son, and endeavoured to make himself beloved rather than feared by him.
An accident made him entertain a very advantageous opinion of Alexander. There had been sent from Thessaly to Philip a war-horse; a noble, strong, fiery, generous beast, called Bucephalus. The owner would not sell him under thirteen talents; an immense sum! The king went into the plains, attended by his courtiers, in order to view the perfections of this horse; but, upon trial, he appeared so very fierce, and pranced about in so furious a manner, that no one dared to mount him. Philip being angry that so furious and unmanageable a creature had been sent him, gave orders for their carrying him back again. Alexander, who was present at that time, cried out,
"What a noble horse we are going to lose, for want of address and boldness to back him!"
Philip at first considered these words as the effect of folly and rashness, so common to young men; but as Alexander insisted still more upon what he had said, and was very much vexed to see so noble a creature just going to be sent home again, his father gave him leave to try what he could do. The young prince overjoyed at this permission, goes up to Bucephalus, takes hold of the bridle, and turns his head to the sun, having observed, that the thing which frighted him, was his own shadow; Alexander therefore first stroked him gently with his hand, and soothed him with his voice; then seeing his fierceness abate, and artfully taking this opportunity, he let fall his cloak, and springing swiftly upon his back, first slackened the rein, without once striking or vexing him; and when he perceived that his fire was cooled, that he was no longer so furious and violent, and wanted only to move forward, he gave him the rein, and spurring him with great vigour, animated him with his voice to his full speed. While this was doing, Philip and his whole court trembled for fear, and did not once open their lips; but when the prince, after having run his first heat, returned with joy and pride, at his having broke a horse which was judged absolutely ungovernable, all the courtiers in general endeavoured to outvie one another in their applauses and congratulations; and we are told, Philip shed tears of joy on this occasion; and embracing Alexander, after he was alighted, and kissing him, he said to him,
"My son, seek a kingdom more worthy of thee, for Macedon is below thy merit."
Alexander upon his accession to the throne, saw himself surrounded with extreme dangers; the barbarous nations with whom Philip contended during his whole reign, thought this change for their advantage, and despising the youth and inexperience of the young monarch, resolved to seize this opportunity of regaining their freedom, for satiating themselves with plunder: nor had he less to fear from the Greeks themselves, who now thought this a convenient opportunity to restore their ancient form of government, revenge their former injuries, and reclaim those rights which they had enjoyed for ages.
Alexander however resolved to prevent their machinations, and to give them no time to complete their confederacies against him. After taking revenge upon the conspirators against his father, whom he slew upon his tomb, he first conciliated the affections of the Macedonians to him, by freeing them from a vexatious and bodily slavery, only commanding their service in his wars.
The Macedonians reflecting on his precarious situation, advised him to relinquish Greece, and not persist in his resolution of subduing it by force; to recover by gentle methods the barbarians who had taken arms; and to soothe, as it were, those glimmerings of revolt and innovation, by prudent reserve, complacency and insinuations, in order to conciliate their affections. However, Alexander would not listen to these timorous counsels, but resolved to secure and support his affairs, by boldness and magnanimity; firmly persuaded, that should he relax in any point at first, all his neighbours would fall upon him; and that were he to endeavour to compromise matters, he should be obliged to give up all Philip's conquests, and by that means confine his dominions to the narrow limits of Macedon. He therefore made all possible haste to check the arms of the barbarians, by marching his troops to the banks of the Danube, which he crossed in one night. He defeated the king of the Triballi in a great battle; made the Getae fly at his approach; subdued several barbarous nations, some by the terror of his name, and others by force of arms; and notwithstanding the arrogant answers of their ambassadors, he taught them to dread a danger, which they found but too well prepared to overwhelm them.
Whilst Alexander was thus employed at a distance against the barbarians, all the cities of Greece, who were animated more particularly by Demosthenes, formed a powerful alliance against him. A false report which prevailed of his death, inspired the Thebans with a boldness that proved their ruin. They cut to pieces part of the Macedonian garrison in their citadel. Demosthenes, on the other side, was every day haranguing the people; and fired with contempt for Alexander, whom he called a child and a hair-brained boy, he assured the Athenians, with a decisive tone of voice, that they had nothing to fear from the new king of Macedon, who did not dare to stir out of his kingdom, but would think himself vastly happy could he sit peaceably on his throne. At the same time he wrote letters upon letters to Attalus, one of Philip's lieutenants in Asia Minor, to excite him to rebel. This Attalus was uncle to Cleopatra, Philip's second wife, and was very much disposed to listen to Demosthenes's proposals. Nevertheless, as Alexander was grown very disfident of him, for which he knew there was but too much reason, he therefore, to eradicate from his mind all the suspicions he might entertain, and the better to screen his designs, sent all Demosthenes's letters to that prince: but Alexander saw through all his artisices, and thereupon ordered Hecataeus, one of his commanders, whom he had sent into Asia for that purpose, to have him assassinated, which was executed accordingly. Attalus's death restored tranquillity to the army, and entirely destroyed the seeds of discord and rebellion.
The object which seized Alexander's earliest ambition, was the conquest of Persia; and he now expected that he would have leisure and opportunity to prepare for so great an enterprize: but he was soon called to a new undertaking; the Athenians, Thebans and Lacedemonians united against him; hoping, by the assistance of Persia, to recover their former freedom. In order to persuade the Greeks to this, Demosthenes made use of a device, which had more cunning in it than wisdom. He caused it to be reported that Alexander was slain in a battle against the Triballi; and he produced a man to the assembly, who ventured to affirm, that he was present, and wounded, when his general was slain. These false reports, which serve for a day, are but bad policy; like a false alarm in battle, the people may sometimes be mocked by them; but in the end, the success will prove as ridiculous as the invention; for as those that find themselves at one time abused by such, at other times neglect the real call of truth, by being summoned without occasion, they fatally despise the hour of danger. This unfortunate obstacle obliged Alexander to turn his sword from the Persians against the Greeks, of whose assistance he had but just before assured himself.
Expedition and activity were the characteristics of this monarch's conduct; he led his army against the Greeks with so much celerity, that his appearance before them gave the first news of his preparation. He appeared so suddenly in Boeotia, that the Thebans could scarce believe their eyes; and being come before their walls, was willing to give them time to repent; and only demanded to have Phoenix and Prothules, the two chief ringleaders of the revolt, delivered up to him; and published, by sound of trumpet, a general pardon to all who should come over to him. But the Thebans, by way of insult, demanded to have Philotas and Antipater delivered to them; and invited, by a declaration, all who were solicitous for the liberty of Greece, to join with them in its defence.
Alexander finding it impossible for him to get the better of their obstinacy by offers of peace, saw with grief that he should be forced to employ his power, and decide the affair by force of arms. A great battle was thereupon fought, in which the Thebans exerted themselves with a bravery and ardour much beyond their strength, for the enemy exceeded them vastly in numbers. But after a long and vigorous resistance, such as survived of the Macedonian garrison in the citadel, coming down from it, and charging the Thebans in the rear; being surrounded on all sides, the greatest part of them were cut to pieces, and the city taken and plundered.
It would be impossible for words to express the dreadful calamities which the Thebans suffered on this occasion. Some Thracians having pulled down the house of a virtuous lady of quality, Timoclea by name, carried off all her goods and treasures; and their captain having seized the lady, and satiated his brutal lust with her, afterwards enquired whether she had not concealed gold and silver. Timoclea, animated by an ardent desire of revenge, replying, That she had hid some, took him with herself only into her garden, and shewing him a well, told him, That the instant she saw the enemy enter the city, she herself had thrown into it the most precious things in her possession. The officer, overjoyed at what he heard, drew near the well, and stooping down to see its depth, Timoclea, who was behind, pushing him with all her strength, threw him in, and afterwards killed him with great stones, which she heaped upon him. She was instantly seized by the Thracians, and being bound in chains, was carried before Alexander. The prince perceived immediately by her mien, that she was a woman of quality, and great spirit; for she followed those brutal wretches with a very haughty air, and without discovering the least fear. Alexander asking her who she was, Timoclea replied,
"I am sister to Theagenes, who fought against Philip for the liberty of Greece, and was killed in the battle of Chaeronea, where he commanded."
The prince, admiring her generous answer, and still more the action that she had done, gave orders that she should have leave to retire wherever she pleased with her children.
Alexander then debated in council how to act with regard to Thebes. The Phocians, and the people of Plataea, Thespiae, and Orchomenus, who were all in alliance with Alexander, and had shared in his victory, represented to him the cruel treatment they had met with from the Thebans, who also had destroyed their several cities, and reproached them with the zeal which they had always discovered in favour of the Persians against the Greeks, who held them in the utmost detestation; the proof of which was, the oath they had all taken to destroy Thebes, after they should have vanquished the Persians.
Cleades, one of the prisoners, being permitted to speak, endeavoured to excuse in some measure the revolt of the Thebans; a fault which in his opinion should be imputed to a rash and credulous imprudence, rather than to depravity of will and declared perfidy. He remonstrated, that his countrymen, upon a false report of Alexander's death, had indeed too rashly broke into rebellion, not against the king, but against his successors; that what crimes soever they might have committed, they had been punished for them with the utmost severity, by the dreadful calamity which had befallen their city; that there now remained in it none but women, children and old men, from whom they had nothing to fear; and who were so much the greater objects of compassion, as they had been no ways concerned in the revolt. He concluded with reminding Alexander, that Thebes, which had given birth to so many gods and heroes, several of whom were that king's ancestors, had also been the seat of his father Philip's rising glory, and like a second native country to him.
These motives which Cleades urged, were very strong and powerful; nevertheless, the anger of the conqueror prevailed, and the city was destroyed. However, he set at liberty the priests; all such as had right of hospitality with the Macedonians; the descendants of Pindar, the famous poet, who had done so much honour to Greece; and such as had opposed the revolt. But all the rest, in number about thirty thousand, he sold; and upwards of six thousand had been killed in battle. The Athenians were so sensibly afflicted at the sad disaster which had befallen Thebes, that being about to solemnize the festival of the great mysteries, they suspended them upon account of their extreme grief; and received, with the greatest humanity, all those who had fled from the battle, and the plunder of Thebes, and made Athens their asylum.
Alexander's so sudden arrival in Greece, had very much abated the haughtiness of the Athenians, and extinguished Demosthenes's vehemence and fire; but the ruin of Thebes, which was still more sudden, threw them into the utmost consternation. They therefore had recourse to intreaties, and sent a deputation to Alexander to implore his clemency; Demosthenes was among them; but he was no sooner arrived at Mount Cytheron, than dreading the anger of that prince, he quitted the embassy, and returned home.
Immediately Alexander sent to Athens, requiring the citizens to deliver up to him ten orators, whom he supposed to have been the chief instruments in forming the league which Philip his father had defeated at Chaeronea. It was on this occasion that Demosthenes related to the people the fable of the wolves and dogs; in which it is supposed, That the wolves one day told the sheep, that in case they desired to be at peace with them, they must deliver up to them the dogs who were their guard. The application was easy and natural; especially with respect to the orators, who were justly compared to dogs, whose duty it was to watch, to bark, and to fight, in order to save the lives of the flock.
In this afflicting dilemma of the Athenians, who could not prevvail with themselves to deliver up their orators to certain death, though they had no other way to save their city, Demades, whom Alexander had honoured with his friendship, offered to undertake the embassy alone, and intercede for them. The king, whether he had satiated his revenge, or endeavoured to blot out, if possible, by some act of clemency, the barbarous action he had just before committed; or rather to remove the several obstacles which might retard the execution of his grand design, and by that means not leave, during his absence, the least pretence for murmurs, waved his demand with regard to the delivery of the orators, and was pacified by their sending Caridemus into banishment; who being a native of Oraea, had been presented by the Athenians with his freedom, for the services he had done the republic. He was son-in-law to Chersobleptus, king of Thrace; had learned the art of war under Iphicrates; and had himself frequently commanded the Athenian armies. To avoid the pursuit of Alexander, he took refuge with the king of Persia.
As for the Athenians, he not only forgave them the several injuries he pretended to have received, but expressed a particular regard for them, exhorting them to apply themselves vigorously to public affairs, and to keep a watchful eye over the several transactions which might happen; because, in case of his death, their city was to give laws to the rest of Greece. Historians relate, that many years after this expedition, he was seized with deep remorse for the calamity he had brought upon the Thebans; and that this made him behave with much greater humanity towards many other nations.
So dreadful an example of severity towards so powerful a city as Thebes, spread the terror of his arms through all Greece, and made all things give way before him. He summoned at Corinth, the assembly of the several states and free cities of Greece, to obtain from them the same supreme command against the Persians, which had been granted his father a little before his death. No assembly ever debated upon a more important subject. It was the western world deliberating upon the ruin of the east; and the methods for executing a revenge which had been suspended more than an age. The assembly held at this time, gave rise to events, the relation of which appear astonishing, and almost incredible; and to revolutions which contributed to change the disposition of most things in the political world.
To form such a design, required a prince bold, enterprising, and experienced in war; one of great views, who, having acquired a great name by his exploits, was not to be intimidated by dangers, nor checked by obstacles; but, above all, a monarch, who had a supreme authority over all the states of Greece, none of which, singly, was powerful enough to make so arduous an attempt; and which required, in order for their acting in concert, to be subject to one chief, who might give motion to the several parts of that great body, by making them all concur to the same end. Such a prince was Alexander: it was not difficult for him to rekindle in the minds of the people their ancient hatred of the Persians. their perpetual and irreconcileable enemies; whose destruction they had more than once swore, and whom they had determined to extirpate, in case an opportunity should present itself for that purpose; a hatred which the intestine feuds of the Greeks might indeed have suspended, but could never extinguish. The immortal retreat of the ten thousand Greeks, notwithstanding the vigorous opposition of the prodigious army of the Persians, shewed plainly what might be expected from an army composed of the flower of the forces of all the cities of Greece, and those of Macedon, commanded by generals and officers formed under Philip; and to say all in a word, led by Alexander. The deliberations of the assembly were therefore very short; and that prince was unanimously appointed generalissimo against the Persians.
Immediately a great number of officers, and governors of cities, with many philosophers, waited upon Alexander, to congratulate him upon his election. He flattered himself, that Diogenes of Synope, who was then at Corinth, would also come like the rest, and pay his compliments. This philosopher, who entertained a very mean idea of grandeur, thought it improper to congratulate men just upon their exaltation; but that mankind ought to wait till those persons should perform actions worthy of their high stations. Diogenes therefore still continued at home; upon which Alexander, attended by all his courtiers, made him a visit. The philosopher was at that time lying down in the sun; but seeing so great a crowd of people advancing towards him, he sat up, and fixed his eyes on Alexander. This prince, surprized to behold so famous a philosopher reduced to such extreme poverty, after saluting him in the kindest manner, asked, Whether he wanted any thing? Diogenes replied,
"Yes, that you would stand a little out of my sun-shine."
This answer raised the contempt and indignation of all the courtiers; but the monarch, struck with the philosopher's greatness of soul,
"Were I not Alexander," says he, "I would be Diogenes."
In a word, all or nothing presents us with the true image of Alexander and Diogenes. How great and powerful soever that prince might think himself, he could not deny himself, on this occasion, inferior to a man to whom he could give, and from whom he could take nothing.
Alexander, before he set out for Asia, was determined to consult the oracle of Apollo. He therefore went to Delphos, where he happened to arrive in those days which are called unlucky; a season in which people were forbid consulting the oracle: and accordingly the priestess refused to go to the temple. But Alexander, who could not bear any contradiction to his will, took her forcibly by the arm, and as he was leading her to the temple, she cried out,
"My son, thou art irresistible."
This was all he desired; and catching hold of these words, which he considered as spoke by the oracle, he set out for Macedonia, in order to make preparations for his great expedition.
Alexander being arrived in his kingdom, held a council with the chief officers of his army, and the nobles of his court, on the expedition he meditated against Persia, and the measures he should take in order to succeed in it. The whole assembly were unanimous, except in one article. Antipater and Parmenio were of opinion, that the king, before he engaged in an enterprize which would necessarily be a long one, ought to make choice of a consort, in order to secure himself a successor to his throne. But Alexander, who was of a violent fiery temper, did not approve of this advice; and believed that after he had been nominated generalissimo of the Greeks, and that his father had left him an invincible army, it would be a shame for him to lose his time in solemnizing his nuptials, and waiting for the fruits of it; for which reason he determined to set out immediately.
Accordingly he offered up very splendid sacrifices to the gods, and caused to be celebrated at Dia, a city of Macedon, scenical games that had been instituted by one of his ancestors in honour of Jupiter and the Muses. This festival continued nine days, agreeable to the number of those goddesses. He had a tent raised large enough to hold an hundred tables, on which consequently nine hundred covers might be laid. To this feast, the several princes of his family, all the ambassadors, generals and officers were invited.
Before he set out upon his great expedition, he settled the affairs of Macedon, over which he appointed Antipater as viceroy, with twelve thousand foot, and near the same number of horse. He also enquired into the domestic affairs of his friends, giving to one an estate in land, to another a village, to a third the revenues of a town, to a fourth the toll of an harbour. As all the revenues of his demesnes were already employed, and exhausted by his donations, Perdicas said to him,
"My lord, what is it you reserve for yourself?"
Alexander replied, Hope: upon which Perdicas said,
"the same hope ought therefore to satisfy us;"
and so refused very generously to accept of what the king had appointed him.
After having completely settled his affairs in Macedonia, and used all the precautions imaginable to prevent any troubles from arising in it during his absence, he set out for Asia in the beginning of the Spring. His army consisted of little more than thirty thousand foot, and four or five thousand horse; but then they were all brave men, well disciplined, and enured to fatigues. They had made several campaigns under Philip, and were each of them in case of necessity capable of commanding: most of the officers were near threescore years of age, and the common men fifty; and when they were either assembled, or drawn up at the head of a camp, they had the air of a venerable senate. Parmenio commanded the infantry, Philotas his son, had eighteen hundred horse under him; and Callas, the son of Harpalus, the same number of Thessalian cavalry. The rest of the horse were composed of natives of the several states of Greece, and amounted to six hundred, had their particular commander. The Thracians and Poeonians, who were always in front, were headed by Cassander. Alexander began his march along the lake Cercinum, towards Amphipolis; crossed the river Strymon, near its mouth; afterwards the Hebrus, and arrived at Sestos after twenty days march. He then commanded Parmenio to cross over from Sestos to Abydos, with all the horse, and part of the foot; which he accordingly did with the assistance of an hundred and threescore gallies, and several flat-bottomed vessels; while he himself crossed over the Hellespont, steering his gally with his own hands: and when he arrived near the shore, as if to take possession of the continent, he leaped from his ship in complete armour, and testified many transports of joy.
This confidence soon began to diffuse itself over all the rest of his army; it inspired his soldiers with so much courage and security, that they fancied themselves marching not to a precarious war, but a certain victory.
Being arrived at the city of Lampsacus, which he was determined to destroy, in order to punish the rebellion of its inhabitants, Anaximenes, a native of that place, came to him. This man, who was a famous historian, had been very intimate with Philip his father; and Alexander himself had a great esteem for him, having been his pupil. The king suspecting the business he came upon, to be before-hand with him, swore, in express terms, that he would never grant his request. The favour I have to desire of you, says Anaximenes, is, that you would destroy Lampsacus. By this witty evasion, the historian saved his country.
From thence Alexander went to Troy, where he paid great honours to the shade of Achilles, and caused games to be celebrated round his tomb. He admired and envied the felicity of that Grecian hero, in having found during life a faithful friend in Patroclus; and after death a noble panegyrist in Homer.
When the news of Alexander's landing in Asia was brought to Darius, he testified the utmost contempt for the Macedonian army, and indignation at the presumption of their generals. In a letter which he wrote, he reprehended his audacious insolence, and gave orders to his various governors, in the different parts of his dominions, that if they took Alexander alive, to whip him with rods, make prisoners of his whole army, and send them as slaves to one of the most deserted parts of his dominions. Thus confiding in the glittering
but barbarous multitude which he commanded, he disposed of the enemy as already vanquished: but confidence goes but a short part of the road to success. The great numbers which he had gathered, only brought unwiedly splendor into the field, and instead of procuring him security, increased his embarrassments.
Alexander, being at length arrived on the banks of the Grannicus, a river of Phrygia, there first found the Persians disposed to dispute his passage. The Persian satrap taking possession of the higher banks, at the head of an army of one hundred thousand foot, and upwards of ten thousand horse, seemed to promise themselves victory. Memnon, who was a Rhodian, and commanded under Darius all the coast of Asia, had advised the generals not to venture a battle, but to lay waste the plains, and even the cities, thereby to starve Alexander's army, and oblige him to return back into Europe. Memnon was the best of all Darius's generals, and had been the principal agent in his victories. It is not easily to determine what we ought to admire most in him; whether his great wisdom in council, his courage and capacity in the field, or his zeal and attachment to his sovereign. The council he gave on this occasion was excellent, when we consider that his enemy was fiery and impetuous; had neither town, magazine, or place of retreat; that he was entering a country to which he was absolutely a stranger, and inhabited by enemies; that delays alone would weaken and ruin him; and that his only hopes lay in giving battle immediately. But Arfites a Phrygian satrap opposed the opinion of Memnon, and protested he would never suffer the Grecians to make such havock in the territories he governed. This ill council prevailed over that of the Rhodian, whom the Persians to their great prejudice suspected of a design to protract the war, and by that means of making himself necessary to Darius.
Alexander in the mean time marched on at the head of his heavy armed infantry, drawn up in two lines, with the cavalry in the wings, and the baggage following in the rear. Being arrived upon the banks of the Grannicus, Parmenio advised him to encamp there in battle array, in order that his forces might have time to rest themselves, and not to pass the river till very early next morning, because the enemy would then be less able to prevent him: He added, that it would be too dangerous to attempt crossing a river in sight of an enemy, especially as that before them was deep, and its banks very craggy; so that the Persian cavalry, who waited their coming in battle array, on the other side, might easily defeat them before they were drawn up: That besides the loss which would be sustained on this occasion, this enterprize, in case it should prove unsuccessful, would be of dangerous consequence to their future affairs; the fame and glory of arms depending on the first actions.
However these reasons were not able to make the least impression on Alexander, who declared that it would be a shame should he, after crossing the Hellespont, suffer his progress to be retarded by a rivulet; for so he called the Grannicus out of contempt; that they ought to take advantage of the terror which the suddenness of his arrival, and the boldness of his attempt, had spread amongst the Persians; and answer the high opinion the world conceived of his courage, and the valour of the Macedonians. The enemy's horse which was very numerous, lined the whole shore, and formed a large front, in order to oppose Alexander whereever he should endeavour to pass; and the foot, which consisted chiefly of Greeks in Darius's service, was posted behind upon an easy ascent.
The two armies continued a long time in sight of each other, on the banks of the river, as if dreading the event. The Persians waited till the Macedonians should enter the river, in order to charge them to advantage upon their landing, and the latter seemed to be making choice of a place proper for crossing, and to survey the countenance of their enemies. Upon this, Alexander ordered his horse to be brought, commanded the noblemen of the court to follow him, and behave gallantly. He himself commanded the right wing, and Parmenio the left. The king first caused a strong detachment to march into the river, himself following it with the rest of the forces. He made Parmenio advance afterwards with the left wing: he himself led on the right wing into the river, followed by the rest of the troops; the trumpets sounding, and the whole army raising cries of joy.
The Persians seeing this detachment advance forward, began to let fly their arrows, and march to a place where the declivity was not so great, in order to keep the Macedonians from landing. But now the horse engaged with great fury, one part endeavouring to land, and the other striving to prevent them. The Macedonians, whose cavalry was vastly inferior in number, besides the advantage of the ground, were wounded with the darts, that were shot from the eminence; not to mention that the flower of the Persian horse were drawn together in this place, and that Memnon in concert with his sons, commanded there. The Macedonians therefore at first gave ground, after having lost the first ranks which made a vigorous defence. Alexander, who had followed them close, and reinforced them with his best troops, headed them himself, animated them by his presence, pushed the Persians, and routed them; upon which the whole army followed after, cross'd the river, and attacked the enemy on all sides.
Alexander first charged the thickest part of the enemy's horse, in which the generals fought. He himself was particularly conspicuous by his shield, and the plume of feathers that over-shadowed his helmet, on the two sides of which, there rose two wings, as it were, of a great length, and so vastly white, that they dazzled the eyes of the beholder. The charge was very furious about his person, and though only the horse engaged, they fought like foot, man to man, without giving way on either side; every one striving to repulse his adversary, and gain ground of him. Spithrobates, lieutenant-governor of Ionia, and son-in-law to Darius, distinguished himself above the rest of the generals by his superior bravery. Being surrounded by forty Persian lords, all of them his relations of experienced valour, and who never moved from his side, he carried terror where-ever he went. Alexander observing in how gallant a manner he signalized himself, clapt spurs to his horse, and advanced towards him. Immediately they engaged, and each having thrown a javelin, wounded the other slightly. Spithrobates falls furiously sword in hand upon Alexander, who being prepared for him, thrusts his pike into his face, and laid him dead at his feet. At that very moment, Rasaces, brother to that nobleman, charging him on the side, gave him so furious a blow on the head with his battle-axe that he beat off his plume, but went no deeper than the hair. As he was going to repeat his blow on the head, which now appeared through his fractured helmet, Clitus cut off Rasaces's hand with one stroke of his scimetar, and by that means saved his sovereign's life. The danger to which Alexander had been exposed, greatly animated the courage of his soldiers, who now performed wonders. The Persians in the center of the horse, upon whom the light-armed troops, who had been posted in the intervals of the horse, poured a perpetual discharge of darts, being unable to sustain any longer the attack of the Macedonians, who struck them all in the face, the two wings were immediately broke, and put to flight. Alexander did not pursue them long, but turned about immediately to charge the foot.
These at first stood their ground, but when they saw themselves attacked at the same time by the cavalry, and the Macedonian phalanx which had crossed the river, and that the battalions were now engaged, those of the Persians did not make either a long or a vigorous resistance, and were soon put to flight; the Grecian infantry in Darius's service excepted. This body of foot retiring to a hill, demanded a promise from Alexander to let them march away unmolested; but following the dictates of his wrath, rather than those of reason, he rushed into the midst of this body of foot, and presently lost his horse, (not Bucephalus) who was killed with the thrust of a sword. The battle was so hot round him, that most of the Macedonians, who lost their lives on this occasion, fell here; for they fought against a body of men, who were well disciplined, had been inured to war, and fought in despair. They were all cut to pieces, two thousand excepted, who were taken prisoners.
A great number of the Persian commanders lay dead on the spot. Aristes fled into Phrygia, where it is said he laid violent hands on himself, for having been the cause that the battle was fought. Twenty thousand foot, and two thousand five hundred horse, were killed in this engagement, on the side of the barbarians; and of the Macedonians, twenty-five of the royal horse were killed at the first attack. Alexander ordered Lysippus to make their statues in brass, all of which were set up in a city of Macedon, called Dia, from whence they were many years after carried to Rome, by Metellus. About threescore of the other horse were killed, and near thirty foot, who, the next day, were all laid with their arms and equipage in one grave; and the king granted an exemption to their fathers and children, from every kind of tribute and service.
He also took the utmost care of the wounded, visited them, and saw their wounds dressed. He enquired very particularly into their adventures, and permitted every one of them to relate his actions in the battle, and boast his bravery. He also granted the rites of sepulture to the principal Persians, and did not even refuse it to such Greeks as died in the Persian service; but all those whom he took prisoners, he laid in chains, and sent to work as slaves in Macedonia, for having fought under the barbarian standard against their country, contrary to the express prohibition made by Greece upon that head.
Alexander made it his duty and pleasure to share the honour of his victory with the Greeks; and sent particularly to the Athenians, three hundred shields, being part of the plunder taken from the enemy, and caused the glorious inscription following to be inscribed on the rest of the spoils:
"
Alexander son of Philip, with the Greeks, (the Lacedemonians excepted), gained these spoils from the barbarians, who inhabit Asia.
"
The greatest part of the gold and silver plate, the purple carpets, and other furniture of the Persian luxury, he sent to his mother.
This victory not only impressed the Persians with consternation, but served to excite the ardour of the invading army. The Persians perceiving that the Greeks were not able to overcome them, though possessed of manifest advantages, supposed that they never could be able to face them upon equal terms; and thus, from the first mischance, they gave up all hopes of succeeding by valour. Indeed, in all invasions where the nations invaded have been once beaten, with great advantages of place on their side, such as defensive rivers, straits, and mountains; they soon begin to persuade themselves, that upon equal terms, such an enemy must be irresistible. It is the opinion of Machiavel, that he who resolves to defend a passage, should do it with his ablest forces; for few regions of any circuit are so well defended by nature, that armies of such force as may be thought sufficient to conquer them, cannot break through the natural difficulties of the entrance; one passage or other is commonly left unguarded; and some place weakly defended, will be the cause of a fatal triumph to the invaders. How often have the Alps given way to armies breaking into Italy? and tho' they produced dreadful difficulties and dangers among those that scaled them, yet they were never found to give security to those that lay behind. It was therefore wisely done of Alexander to pass the river in the face of the enemy, without marching higher to seek an easier passage, or labouring to convey his men over it by some saser method. Having beaten the enemy upon their own terms, he no less destroyed their reputation than their strength, leaving the wretched subjects of such a state, no hopes of succour from such unable protectors.
Soon after the battle of Grannicus, he recovered Sardis from the enemy, which was in a manner the bulwark of the Barbarian empire on the side next the sea; he took the inhabitants under his protection, received their nobles with the utmost condescension, and permitted them to be governed by their own laws and maxims, observing to his friends around him, That such as lay the foundations of a new dominion, should always endeavour to have the fame of being merciful. Four days after, he arrived at Ephesus, carrying with him those who had been banished from thence for being his adherents, and restored its popular form of government. He assigned to the Temple of Diana, the tributes which were paid to the kings of Persia. Before he left Ephesus, the deputies of the cities of Trallis and Magnesia waited upon him with the keys of those places.
He afterwards marched to Miletus; which city, flattered with the hopes of a sudden and powerful support, shut their gates against him; and indeed the Persian fleet, which was very considerable, made a shew as if it would succour that city; but after having made several fruitless attempts to engage that of the enemy, it was forced to sail way. Memnon had shut himself up in this fortress, with a great number of his soldiers who had escaped from the battle, and was determined to make a good defence. Alexander, who would not lose a moment's time, attacked it, and planted scaling-ladders on all sides. The scalade was carried on with great vigour, and opposed with no less intrepidity, though Alexander sent fresh troops to relieve each other without the least intermission; and this lasted several days. At last finding his soldiers were every where repulsed, and that the city was provided with every thing for a long siege, he planted all his machines against it, made a great number of breaches, and whenever these were attacked, a new scalade was attempted. The besieged, after sustaining all these efforts with prodigious bravery, capitulated to prevent being taken by storm. Alexander treated the Milesians with the utmost humanity, but sold all the foreigners who were found in it.
After possessing himself of Miletus, he marched into Caria, in order to lay siege to Halicarnassus. This city was of prodigious difficult access from its happy situation, and had been strongly fortified. Besides Memnon, the ablest as well as the most valiant of all Darius's commanders, had got into it with a body of choice soldiers, with a design to signalize his courage and fidelity for his sovereign. He accordingly made a very noble defence, in which he was seconded by Ephialtes, another general of great merit. Whatever could be expected from the most intrepid bravery and the most consummate knowledge in the science of war, was conspicuous on both sides on this occasion. Memnon finding it impossible for him to hold out any longer, was forced to abandon the city. As the sea was open to him, after having put a strong garrison into the citadel, which was well stored with provisions, he took with him the surviving inhabitants, with all their riches, and conveyed them into the island of Cos, which was not far from Halicarnassus. Alexander did not think proper to besiege the citadel, it being of little importance after the city was destroyed, which he demolished to the very foundations. He left it after having encompassed it with strong walls, and left some good troops in the country.
Soon after this, he restored Ada queen of Caria to her kingdom, of which she had been dispossessed some time before; and as a testimony of the deep sense she had of the favours received from Alexander, she sent him every day meats dressed in the most exquisite manner, and the most excellent cooks of every kind. Alexander answered the queen on this occasion, That all this train was of no service to him; for that he was possessed of much better cooks, whom Leonidas his governor had given him, one of whom prepared him a good dinner, and an excellent supper, and those were Temperance and Exercise.
Several kings of Asia Minor, submitted voluntarily to Alexander; Mithridates, king of Pontus, was one of these, who afterwards adhered to this prince, and followed him in his expeditions. He was son to Ariobarzanes governor of Phrygia and king of Pontus, of whom mention has been made elsewhere. He is computed to be the sixteenth king from Artabanus, who is considered as the founder of that kingdom, of which he was put in possession by Darius, son of Hystaspes his father. The famous Mithridates, who so long employed the Roman armies, was one of his successors.
The year ensuing, Alexander began the campaign very early. He had debated whether it would be proper for him to march directly against Darius, or first subdue the rest of the maritime provinces. The latter opinion appeared the safest, since he thereby would not be molested by such nations as he should leave behind him. This progress was a little interrupted at first. Near Phaselis, a city situated between Lysia and Pamphilia, is a defile along the sea shore, which is always dry at low water, so that travellers may pass it at that time; but when the sea rises, it is all under water. As it was now winter, Alexander, whom nothing could daunt, was desirous of passing it before the waters fell. His forces were therefore obliged to march a whole day in the water, which came up to their waste.
Alexander after having settled affairs in Cilicia and Pamphilia, marched his army to Coelenae, a city of Phrygia watered by the river Marsyas, which the fictions of Poets have made so famous. He summoned the garrison of the citadel, whither the inhabitants were retired, to surrender; but these believing it impregnable, answered haughtily, That they would first die. However finding the attack carried on with great vigour, they desired a truce of sixty days, at the expiration of which, they promised to open their gates, in case they were not succoured. And accordingly, no aid arriving, they surrendered themselves upon the day fixed.
From thence he marched into Phrygia, the ancient dominion of the celebrated king Midas; having taken the capital city, he was desirous of seeing the famous chariot to which the Gordian knot was tied. This knot which fastened the yoke to the beam, was tied with so much intricacy, that it was impossible to discover where the ends begun, or how they were concealed. According to an ancient tradition of the country, an oracle had foretold that the man who could untie it, should possess the empire of Asia. Alexander being firmly persuaded that the oracle was meant for him, after many fruitless trials, instead of attempting to untie it in the usual manner, drew his sword and cut it in pieces, crying out, That that was the only way to untie it. The priest hailed the omen, and declared that Alexander had fulfilled the oracle.
Darius, who now began to be more alarmed than before, used all the art in his power to raise an army, and encourage his forces: he sent Memnon into Greece to invade Macedon, in order to make a diversion of the Grecian forces; but this general dying upon that expedition, Darius's hopes vanished on that quarter, and instead of invading the enemy, he was obliged to consult for the protection of his empire at home.
In the mean time, Alexander having lest Gordion, marched into Paphlogonia and Cappadocia, which he subdued. It was there he heard of Memnon's death; the news whereof confirmed him in the resolution he had taken, of marching immediately into the provinces of Upper Asia. Accordingly he advanced, by hasty marches, into Cilicia, and arrived in the country called Cyrus's Camp. From thence there is no more than fifty stadia (two leagues and a half each) to the pass of Cilicia, which is a very narrow strait, through which travellers are obliged to go from Cappadocia to Tarsus. The officer who guarded it in Darius's name, had left but few soldiers in it; and those fled the instant they heard of the enemy's arrival. Upon this, Alexander entered the pass, and after viewing very attentively the situation of the place, admired his own good fortune, and confessed, He might have been very easily stopped and defeated there, merely by the throwing of stones; for not to mention that this pass was so narrow, that four men, completely armed, could scarcely walk a breast in it; the top of the mountain hung over the road, which was not only strait, but broke in several places, by the fall of torrents from the mountains.
Alexander marched his whole army to the city of Tarsus, where it arrived the instant the Persians were setting fire to that place, to prevent his plundering the great riches of so flourishing a city. But Parmenio, whom the king had sent thither with a detachment of horse, arrived very seasonably to stop the progress of the fire, and marched into the city, which he saved, the barbarians having fled the moment they heard of his arrival.
Through this city the Cydnus runs; a river not so remarkable for the breadth of its channel, as for the beauty of its waters, which are vastly limpid; but at the same time excessively cold, because of the tufted trees with which its banks are overshadowed. It was now about the end of the summer, which is excessively hot in Cilicia, and in the hottest part of the day; when the king, who was quite covered with sweat and dirt, arriving on its banks, had a mind to bathe, invited by the beauty and clearness of the stream. However the instant he plunged into it, he was seized with so violent a shivering, that all the by-standers fancied he was dying. Upon this, he was carried to his tent, after fainting away. The physicians, who were sensible they should be answerable for the event, did not dare to hazard violent and extraordinary remedies. However, Philip, one of his physicians, who had always attended upon him from his youth, and loved him with the utmost tenderness, not only as his sovereign, but his child, raising himself (merely out of affection to Alexander) above all prudential considerations, offered to give him a dose, which, though not very violent, would nevertheless be speedy in its effects; and desired three days to prepare it. At this proposal every one trembled, but he only whom it most concerned; Alexander being afflicted upon no other account, than because it would keep him three days from appearing at the head of his army.
Whilst these things were doing, Alexander received a letter from Parmenio, who was left behind in Cappadocia, in whom Alexander put greater confidence than in any other of his courtiers; the purport of which was, to bid him beware of Philip his physician, for that Darius had bribed him, by the promise of a thousand talents, and his sister in marriage. This letter gave him great uneasiness; for he was now at full leisure to weigh all the reasons he might have to hope or fear. But the considence in a physician whose sincere attachment and fidelity he had proved from his infancy, soon prevailed, and removed all suspicions. He folded up the letter, and put it under his bolster, without acquainting his attendants with the contents; in the mean time, his physician entered, with a medicine in his hand, and offered the cup to Alexander. The hero upon this, took the cup from him, and holding out the letter, desired the physician to read, while he drank off the draught with an intrepid countenance, without the least hesitation, or discovering the least suspicion or uneasiness. The physician, as he perused the letter, shewed greater signs of indignation than of fear; he bid him, with a resolute tone, harbour no uneasiness, and that the recovery of his health would in a short time wipe off all suspicion. In the mean time, the physic wrought so violently, that the symptoms seemed to strengthen Parmenio's accusation; but at last, the medicine having gained the ascendant, he began to assume his accustomed vigour; and in about three days, he was able to shew himself to his longing soldiers, by whom he was equally beloved and respected.
In the mean time Darius was on his march; filled with a vain security in the superiority of his numbers; and consident not in the valour, but in the splendor of his forces. The plains of Assyria, in which he was encamped, gave him an opportunity of extending his horse as he pleased, and of taking the advantage which the great difference between the number of soldiers in each army gave him. But instead of this, he resolved to march to narrow passes, where his cavalry, and the multitude of his troops, so far from doing him any service, would only incumber each other; and accordingly, advanced towards the enemy, for whom he should have waited; and thus ran visibly on his destruction.
His courtiers and attendants however, whose custom it was to flatter and applaud all his actions, congratulated him upon an approaching victory, as if it had been certain and inevitable. There was at that time, in the army of Darius, one Caridemus, an Athenian, a man of great experience in war, who personally hated Alexander, for having caused him to be barlished from Athens. Darius turning to this Athenian, asked whether he believed him powerful enough to defeat his army. Caridemus, who had been brought up in the bosom of liberty, and forgetting that he was in a country of slavery, where to oppose the inclinations of the prince is of the most dangerous consequence, replied as follows:
"Permit me, Sir, to speak truth now, when only my sincerity may be of service; your present splendor, your prodigious numbers which have drained the east, may be terrible indeed to your effeminate neighbours, but can be no way dreadful to a Macedonian army. Discipline, close combat, courage, is all their care; every single man among them is almost himself a general. These men are not to be repulsed by the stones of slingers, or stakes burnt at the end; none but troops armed like themselves can stop their career; let therefore the gold and silver which glitters in your camp, be exchanged for foldiers and steel, for weapons and for hearts that are able to defend you."
Darius, though naturally of a mild disposition, had all his passions roused at the freedom of this man's advice; he ordered him at once to be executed; Caridemus all the time crying out, that his avenger was at hand: Darius too soon repented his rashness, and experienced when it was too late, the truth of all that had been told him.
The emperor now advanced with his troops towards the river Euphrates; over his tent was exhibited to the view of his whole army, the image of the sun in jewels; while wealth and magnificence shone in every quarter of the army.
First they carried silver altars, on which lay fire, called by them Sacred and Eternal; and these were followed by the Magi, singing hymns, after the manner of their country: they were accompanied by three hundred and sixty-five youths (equalling the number of days in a year) cloathed in purple robes. Afterwards came a chariot consecrated to Jupiter, drawn by white horses, and followed by a courser of a prodigious size, to whom they gave the name of the Sun's Horse; and the equeries were dressed in white, each having a golden rod in his hand.
Ten chariots, adorned with sculptures in gold and silver followed after. Then marched a body of horse, composed of twelve nations, whose manners and customs were various, and all armed in a different manner. Next advanced those whom the Persians called The Immortals, amounting to ten thousand, who surpassed the rest of the barbarians in the sumptuousness of their apparel. They all wore golden collars, were cloathed in robes of gold tissue, with vestments having sleeves to them quite covered with precious stones.
Thirty paces from them followed those called the king's relations, to the number of fifteen thousand, in habits very much resembling those of women; and more remarkable for the vain pomp of their dress, than the glitter of their arms.
Those called the Doriphori came after; they carried the king's cloak, and walked before his chariot, in which he seemed to sit, as on a high throne. This chariot was enriched on both sides with images of the gods, in gold and silver; and from the middle of the yoke, which was covered with jewels, rose two statues, a cubit in height, the one representing War, the other Peace, having a golden eagle between them, with wings extended, as ready to take its flight.
But nothing could equal the magnificence of the king: he was cloathed in a vest of purple, striped with silver, and over it a long robe, glittering all over with gold and precious stones, that represented two falcons, rushing from the clouds, and pecking at one another. Around his waist he wore a golden girdle, after the manner of women, whence his scymitar hung, the scabbard of which flamed all over with gems; on his head he wore a tiara, or mitre, round which was a fillet of blue mixed with white.
On each side of him walked two hundred of his nearest relations, followed by two thousand pike-men, whose pikes were adorned with silver, and tipped with gold; and lastly, thirty thousand infantry, who composed the rearguard. These were followed by the king's horses four hundred in number, all which were led.
About one hundred, or an hundred and twenty paces from thence, came Sysigambis, Darius's mother, seated on a chariot, and his confort on another; with the several female attendants of both queens, riding on horseback. Afterwards came fifteen large chariots, in which were the king's children, and those who had the care of their education, with a band of eunuchs, who are to this day in great esteem among those nations. Then marched the concubines, to the number of three hundred and sixty, in the equipage of queens, followed by six hundred mules, and three hundred camels, which carried the king's treasure, and guarded by a great body of archers.
After these came the wives of the crown-officers, and of the greatest lords of the court; then the sutlers, and servants of the army, seated also in chariots.
In the rear were a body of light-armed troops, with their commanders, who closed the whole march.
Such was the splendor of this pageant monarch; he took the field encumbered with an unnecessary train of concubines, attended with troops of various nations, speaking different languages, for their numbers impossible to be marshalled, and so rich and effeminate in gold and in garments, as seemed rather to invite than deter an invader.
Alexander, after marching from Tarsis, arrived at Bactriana; from thence, still earnest in coming up with his enemy, he came to Solae, where he offered sacrifice to Esculapius; from thence he went forward to Pyramus, to Malles, and at last to Cartabala: it was here that he first received advice, that Darius, with his whole army, was encamped at Sochus in Assyria, two days journey from Cilicia. He therefore resolved, without delay, to meet him there, as the badness of the weather obliged him to halt.
In the mean time Darius led on his immense army into the plains of Assyria, which they covered to a great extent; there he was advised by the Grecian commanders who were in his service, and who composed the strength of his army to halt, as he would there have sufficient room to expand his forces, and surround the invader. Darius rejected their advice; and instead of waiting Alexander's approach, vainly puffed up with pride by his surrounding courtiers, he resolved to pursue the invader, who wished for nothing more ardently than to come to an engagement.
Accordingly, Darius having sent his treasures to Damascus, a city of Assyria, he marched with the main body of his army towards Cilicia, then turned short towards Issus; and quite ignorant of the situation of the enemy, supposed he was pursuing Alexander, when he had actually left him in the rear. There is a strange mixture of pride, cruelty, splendor and magnanimity, in all the actions of this Persian prince. At Issus he barbarously put to death all the Greeks who were sick in that city, a few soldiers only excepted, whom he dismissed, after having made them view every part of his camp, in order to report his numbers and his strength to the invader: these soldiers accordingly brought Alexander word of the approach of Darius; and he now began to think seriously of preparing for battle.
Alexander fearing, from the numbers of the enemy, that they would attack him in his camp, fortified it with a ditch and a rampart; but at the same time discovered great joy to see the enemy hastening to its own destruction, and preparing to attack him in a place which was but wide enough for a small army to act and move at liberty in. Thus the two armies were in some measure reduced to an equality: the Macedonians had space sufficient to employ their whole force, while the Persians had not room for the twentieth part of theirs.
Nevertheless, Alexander, as frequently happens to the greatest captains, felt some emotion when he saw that he was going to hazard all at one blow. The more Fortune had favoured him hitherto, the more he now dreaded her frowns; the moment approaching which was to determine his fate. But, on the other side, his courage revived, from the reflection, that the rewards of his toils exceeded the dangers of them; and though he was uncertain with regard to the victory, he at least hoped to die gloriously, and like Alexander. However, he did not divulge these thoughts to any one; well knowing, that, upon the approach of a battle, a general ought not to discover the least marks of sadness or perplexity; and that the troops should read nothing but resolution and intrepidity in the countenance of their commander.
Having made his soldiers refresh themselves, and ordered them to be ready for the third watch of the night, which began at twelve, he went to the top of a mountain, and there, by torch-light, sacrificed, after the manner of his country, to the gods of the place. As soon as the signal was given, his army, which was ready to march and fight, being commanded to make great speed, arrived by day-break at the several posts assigned them. But now the spies bringing word that Darius was not above thirty furlongs from them, the king caused his army to halt, and then drew it up in battle array. The peasants, in the greatest terror, came also, and acquainted Darius with the arrival of the enemy; which he would not at first believe, imagining, as we have observed, that Alexander fled before him, and was endeavouring to escape. This news threw his troops into the utmost confusion; who, in their surprise, ran to their arms with great precipitation and disorder.
The spot where the battle was fought, lay near the city of Issus, which the mountains bounded on one side, and the sea on the other. The plain that was situated between them both must have been considerably broad, as the two armies encamped in it; and I before observed, that Darius's army was vastly numerous. The river Pinarius, ran through the middle of this plain from the mountain to the sea, and divided it very near into two equal parts. The mountain formed a hollow kind of gulph, the extremity of which in a curved line, bounded part of the plain.
Alexander drew up his army in the following order. He posted at the extremity of the right wing, which stood near the mountains, the Argyraspides, commanded by Nicanor; then the phalanx of Coenus, and afterwards that of Perdicas, which terminated in the center of the main army. On the extremity of the left wing, he posted the phalanx of Amyntas, then that of Ptolemy, and lastly that of Meleager. Thus the famous Macedonian phalanx was formed, which we find was composed of six distinct bodies. Each of those was headed by able generals; but Alexander being always generalissimo, had consequently the command of the whole army. The horse were placed on the two wings; the Macedonians with the Thessalians on the right, and of Peloponnesians, with the other allies on the left. Craterus commanded all the foot, which composed the left wing, and Parmenio the whole wing. Alexander had reserved to himself the command of the right. He had desired Parmenio to keep as near the sea as possible, to prevent the barbarians from surrounding him; and Nicanor on the contrary, was ordered to keep at some distance from the mountains, to keep himself out of the reach of the arrows discharged by those who were posted on them. He covered the horse on his right wing with the light horse of Protomachus and the Poeonians, and his foot with the bowmen of Antiochus. He reserved the Agrians (commanded by Attalus,) who were greatly esteemed, and some forces that were newly arrived from Greece, to oppose those Darius had posted on the mountains.
As for Darius's army, it was drawn up in the following order. Having heard that Alexander was marching towards him in battle array, he commanded thirty thousand horse, and twenty thousand bowmen to cross the river Pinarius, that he might have an opportunity to draw up his army in a commodious manner on the hither side. In the center he posted the thirty thousand Greeks in his service, who doubtless were the flower and chief strength of his army, and were not at all inferior in bravery to the Macedonian phalanx, with thirty thousand Barbarians on their right, and as many on their left. The field of battle not being able to contain a greater number, these were all heavily armed. The rest of the infantry distinguished by their several nations, were ranged behind the first line. It is pity Arrian does not tell us the depth of each of those two lines; but it must have been prodigious, if we consider the extreme narrowness of the pass, and the amazing multitude of the Persian forces. On the mountain which lay to their left, against Alexander's right wing, Darius posted twenty thousand men, who were so ranged (in the several windings of the mountain) that some were behind Alexander's army, and others before it.
Darius, after having set his army in battle array, made his horse cross the river again, and dispatched the greatest part of them towards the sea against Parmenio, because they could fight on that spot with the greatest advantage. The rest of his cavalry he sent to the left, towards the mountain. However, finding that these would be of no service on that side, because of the too great narrowness of the spot, he caused a great part of them to wheel about to the right. As for himself he took his post in the center of his army, pursuant to the custom of the Persian monarchs.
The two armies being thus drawn up in order of battle, Alexander marched very slowly, that his soldiers might take a little breath; so that it was supposed they would not engage till very late. For Darius still continued with his army on the other side of the river, in order not to lose the advantageous situation of his post; and even caused such parts of the shore as were not craggy to be secured with palisadoes, where the Macedonians concluded that he was already afraid of being defeated. The two armies being come in sight, Alexander riding along the ranks, called by their several names, the principal officers both of the Macedonians and foreigners; and exhorted the soldiers to signalize themselves, speaking to each nation according to its peculiar genius and disposition. The whole army set up a shout and eagerly desired to be led on directly against the enemy.
Alexander had advanced at first very slowly to prevent the ranks on the front of his phalanx from breaking, and halted by intervals. But when he was got within bow-shot, he commanded all his right wing to plunge impetuously into the river, purposely that he might surprize the barbarians, come sooner to a close engagement, and be less exposed to the enemy's arrows; in all which he was very successful. Both sides fought with the utmost bravery and resolution; and being now forced to fight close, they charged both sides sword in hand, when a dreadful slaughter ensued, for they engaged man to man, each aiming the point of his sword at the face of his opponent. Alexander who performed the duty both of a private soldier and of a commander, wished nothing so ardently as the glory of killing with his own hand Darius, who being seated on a high chariot, was conspicuous to the whole army; and by that means was a powerful object both to encourage his own soldiers to defend, and the enemy to attack him. And now the battle grew more furious and bloody than before, so that a great number of Persian noblemen were killed. Each side fought with incredible bravery. Oxathres, brother to Darius, observing that Alexander was going to charge that monarch with the utmost vigour, rushed before his chariot with the horse under his command and distinguished himself above the rest. The horses that drew Darius's chariot lost all command, and shook the yoke so violently, that they were upon the point of overturning the king, who seeing himself going to fall alive into the hands of his enemies, leaped down and mounted another chariot. The rest observing this fled as fast as possible, and throwing down their arms, made the best of their way. Alexander had received a slight wound in his thigh, but happily it was not attended with ill consequences. Whilst part of the Macedonian infantry (posted to the right,) were driving the advantages they had gained against the Persians, the remainder of them who engaged the Greeks, met with greater resistance. These observing that the body of infantry in question, were no longer covered by the right wing of Alexander's army, which was pursuing the enemy, came and attacked it in flank. The engagement was very bloody, and victory a long time doubtful. The Greeks endeavoured to push the Macedonians into the river, and to recover the disorder into which the left wing had been thrown. The Macedonians also signalized themselves with the utmost bravery, in order to preserve the advantage which Alexander had just before gained and support the honour of their phalanx, which had always been considered as invincible. There was also a perpetual jealousy between the Greeks and Macedonians, which greatly increased their courage, and made the resistance on each side very vigorous. On Alexander's side Ptolemy the son of Seleucus, lost his life with an hundred and twenty more considerable officers, who all had behaved with the utmost gallantry.
In the mean time the right wing, which was victorious under its Monarch, after defeating all who opposed it, wheeled to the left against those Greeks who were fighting with the rest of the Macedonian phalanx, whom they charged very vigorously; and attacking them in flank entirely routed them.
At the very beginning of the engagement the Persian cavalry, which was in the right wing (without waiting for their being attacked by the Macedonians) had crossed the river and rushed upon the Thessalian horse, several of whose squadrons they broke. Upon this the remainder of the latter, in order to avoid the impetuosity of the first charge, and oblige the Persians to break their ranks, made a feint of retiring, as terrified by the prodigious numbers of the enemy. The Persians seeing this, were filled with boldness and confidence; and thereupon, the greatest part of them advancing, without order or precaution, as to a certain victory had no thoughts but of pursuing the enemy. Upon this the Thessalians seeing them in such confusion, faced about on a sudden and renewed the fight with fresh ardour. The Persians made a brave defence, till they saw Darius put to flight, and the Greeks cut to pieces by the phalanx, when they fled in the utmost disorder.
With regard to Darius, the instant he saw his left wing broke, he was one of the first who fled in his chariot; but getting afterwards into craggy rugged places, he mounted on horseback, throwing down his bow, shield and royal mantle. Alexander, however did not attempt to pursue him, till he saw his phalanx had conquered the Greeks, and the Persian horse put to flight; which was of great advantage to the prince that fled.
Sysigambis, Darius's mother, and that monarch's queen, who also was his sister, were found remaining in the camp, with two of the king's daughters, his son (yet a child) and some Persian ladies; for the rest had been carried to Damascus, with part of Darius's treasure, and all such things as contributed only to the luxury and magnificence of his court. No more than three thousand talents were found in his camp; but the rest of the treasure fell afterwards into the hands of Parmenio, at the taking the city of Damascus.
As for the barbarians, having exerted themselves with bravery enough in the first attack, they afterwards gave way in the most shameful manner; and being intent upon nothing but saving themselves, they took different ways. Some struck into the high road, which led directly to Persia; others ran into woods and lonely mountains; and a small number returned to their camp, which the victorious enemy had already taken and plundered. In this battle threescore thousand of the Persian infantry and ten thousand horsemen were slain; forty thousand were taken prisoners, while of Alexander's army there fell but two hundred and fourscore men in all.
The evening after the engagement, Alexander invited his chief officers to a feast, at which he himself presided, notwithstanding he had been wounded that day in battle. The festivity however had scarce begun, when they were interrupted by sad lamentations from a neighbouring tent, which at first they considered as a fresh alarm, but they were soon taught, that it came from the tent, in which the wife and mother of Darius were kept, who were expressing their sorrow for the supposed death of Darius. An eunuch, who had seen his cloak in the hands of a soldier, imagining he was killed, brought them these dreadful tidings. Alexander, however sent one of his officers to undeceive them, and to inform them that the emperor was still alive. The women little used to the appearance of strangers, upon the arrival of the Macedonian soldier, imagining he was sent to put them to death, threw themselves at his feet, and intreated him to spare them a little while. They were ready they said to die; and only desired to bury Darius, before they should suffer. The soldier assured them, that he came rather to comfort than afflict them, that the monarch whom they deplored, was still living, and he gave Sysigambis his hand to raise her from the ground.
The next day Alexander, after visiting the wounded, caused the last honours to be paid to the dead in presence of the whole army, drawn up in the most splendid order of battle. He treated the Persians of distinction in the same manner, and permitted Darius's mother, to bury whatever persons she pleased according to the customs, and ceremonies practised in her country. After this, he sent a message to the queens, to inform them, that he was coming to pay them a visit; and accordingly, commanding all his train to withdraw, he entered the tent accompanied only by Hephoestion, who made so cautious and discreet a use of the liberty granted him, that he seemed to take it not so much out of inclination, as from a desire to obey the king who would have it so. They were of the same age, but Hephoestion was taller, so that the queens took him first for the king, and paid him their respects as such. But some captive eunuchs shewing them Alexander, Sysigambis fell prostrate before him, and intreated pardon for her mistake, but the king raising her from the ground, assured her this his friend also was another Alexander; and after comforting her and her attendants, took the son of Darius that was yet but a child in his arms. The infant, without discovering the least terror, stretched out his arms to the conqueror, who being affected with its confidence, said to Hephoestion, Oh! that Darius had some share, some portion of this infant's generosity.—This interview has done more honour to Alexander's character, than all the rest of: his conquests: the gentleness of his manners to the suppliant captives, his chastity and continence, when he had the power to enforce obedience, were setting an example to heroes, which it has been the pride of many since to imitate.
After this overthrow, all Phoenicia, the capital city of Tyre only excepted, was yielded to the conqueror, and Parmenio was made governor. Good fortune followed him so fast, that it rewarded him beyond his expectations. Antigonus his general in Asia, overthrew the Capadocians, Paphlagonians, and others lately revolted. Aristodemus the Persian admiral, was overcome at sea, and a great part of his fleet taken. The city of Damascus also, in which the treasures of Darius were deposited, was given up to Alexander. The governor of this place forgetting the duty he owed his sovereign, informed Alexander by letter upon a certain day, that he would lead out his soldiers laden with spoil from the city, as if willing to secure a retreat; and these with all their wealth might be taken with a proper body of troops to intercept them. Alexander punctually followed the governor's instruction, and thus became possessed of an immense plunder. Besides money and plate which was afterwards coined, and amounted to immense sums, thirty thousand men and seven thousand beasts laden with baggage were taken. We find by Parmenio's letter to Alexander, that he found in Damascus, three hundred and twenty nine of Darius's concubines all admirably well skilled in music, and also a multitude of officers, whose business it was to regulate and prepare every thing relating to that monarch's entertainments.
In the mean time, Darius having travelled on horseback the whole night, struck with terror and consternation, arrived in the morning at Sochus, where he assembled the remains of his army: still however his pride would not forsake him with his fortune; he wrote a letter to Alexander, in which he rather treated him as an inferior; he commanded, rather than requested that Alexander would take a ransom for his mother, wife and children. With regard to the empire, he would fight with him for it upon equal terms; and bring an equal number of troops into the field. To this Alexander replied, That he disdained all correspondence with a man whom he had already overcome; that in case he appeared before him in a supplicating posture, he would give up his wife and mother without ransom; that he knew how to conquer, and to oblige the conquered.
Thus coming to no issue, the king marched from thence into Phoenicia, the citizens of Byblos opening their gates to him. Every one submitted as he advanced, but no people did this with greater pleasure than the Sidonians: We have seen in what manner Ochus had destroyed their city eighteen years before, and put all the inhabitants of it to the sword. After he was returned into Persia, such of the citizens, as, upon account of their traffic or for some other cause, had been absent, and by that means had escaped the massacre, returned thither and rebuilt their city. But they had retained so violent a hatred to the Persians, that they were overjoyed at this opportunity of throwing off their yoke; and indeed they were the first in that country who submitted to the king by their deputies, in opposition to Strato their king, who had declared in favour of Darius. Alexander dethroned him, and permitted Hephoestion to elect in his stead, whomsoever of the Sidonians he should judge worthy of so exalted a station.
This favourite was quartered at the house of two brothers who were young, and of the most considerable family in the city; to these he offered the crown. But they refused it, telling him that according to the laws of their country, no person could ascend the throne unless he were of the blood royal. Hephoestion admiring this greatness of soul, which could contemn what others strive to obtain by fire and sword;
"Continue, says he to them, in this way of thinking, you who before were sensible that it is much more glorious to refuse a diadem, than to accept it. However, name me some person of the royal family, who may remember when he is king, that it was you set the crown on his head."
The brothers observing, that several through excessive ambition; aspired to this high station, and to obtain it, paid a servile court to Alexander's favourites, declared, that they did not know any person more worthy of the diadem than one Abdolonymus, descended, though at a great distance, from the royal line; but who, at the same time was so poor that he was obliged to get his bread by day labour in a garden without the city. His honesty and integrity had reduced him, as well as many more, to such extreme poverty. Solely intent upon his labour, he did not hear the clashing of the arms which had shaken all Asia.
Immediately the two brothers went in search of Abdolonymus, with the royal garments, and found him weeding in his garden. When they saluted him king, Abdolonymus looked upon the whole as a dream; and, unable to guess the meaning of it, asked if they were not ashamed to ridicule him in that manner? But as he made a greater resistance than suited their inclinations, they themselves washed him, and threw over his shoulders a purple robe, richly embroidered with gold; then after repeated oaths of their being in earnest, they conducted him to the palace.
The news of this was immediately spread over the whole city. Most of the inhabitants were overjoyed at it, but some murmured, especially the rich, who despising Abdolonymus's former abject state, could not forbear shewing their resentment upon that account in the king's court. Alexander commanded the new-elected prince to be sent for, and after surveying him attentively a long time, he spoke thus:
"Thy air and mien do not contradict what is related of thy extraction; but I should be glad to know with what frame of mind thou didst bear thy poverty?"
"Would to the gods (replied he) that I may bear this crown with equal patience. These hands have procured me all I desired; and whilst I possessed nothing, I wanted nothing."
This answer gave Alexander an high idea of Abdolonymus's virtue; so that he presented him, not only with the rich furniture which had belonged to Strato, and part of the Persian plunder, but likewise annexed one of the neighbouring provinces to his dominions.
Syria and Phoenicia, were already subdued by the Macedonians, the city of Tyre excepted. This city was justly entitled the Queen of the Sea, that element bringing to it the tribute of all nations. She boasted her having first invented navigation, and taught mankind the art of braving the winds and waves by the assistance of a frail bark. The happy situation of Tyre, the conveniency and extent of its ports, the character of its inhabitants, who were industrious, laborious, patient, and extremely courteous to strangers; invited thither merchants from all parts of the globe, so that it might be considered, not so much as a city belonging to any particular nation, as the common city of all nations, and the center of their commerce.
Alexander thought it necessary both for his pride and his interest to take this city. The spring was now coming on. Tyre was at that time seated in an island of the sea, about a quarter of a league from the continent. It was surrounded with a strong wall, an hundred and fifty feet high, which the waves of the sea washed, and the Carthaginians (a colony from Tyre) a mighty people, and sovereigns of the ocean, whose ambassadors were at that time in the city offering to Hercules, according to ancient custom, an annual sacrifice, had engaged themselves to succour the Tyrians. It was this made them so haughty; firmly determined not to surrender, they fix machines on the ramparts and on the towers, arm their young men, and build workhouses for the artificers, of whom there were great numbers in the city, so that every part resounded with the noise of warlike preparations. They likewise cast iron grapples to throw on the enemy's works, and tear them away; as also cramp irons, and such like instruments formed for the defence of cities. So many difficulties opposing such a hazardous design, and so many reasons should have made Alexander decline the siege.
It was impossible to come near this city in order to storm it, without making a bank, which would reach from the continent to the island; and an attempt of this kind would be attended with difficulties, that were seemingly insurmountable. The little arm of the sea, which separated the island from the continent, was exposed to the west wind, which often raised such dreadful storms there, that the waves would in an instant, sweep away all works. Besides, as the city was surrounded on all sides by the sea, there was no fixing scaling ladders, nor throwing up batteries, but at a distance in the ships; and the wall which projected into the sea towards the lower part, prevented people from landing; not to mention that the military engines, which might have been put on board the gallies, could not do much execution, the waves were so very tumultuous.
These obstacles however by no means retarded the enterprizing resolutions of Alexander, but willing to gain a place, rather by treaty than by the sword, he sent heralds into the place, proposing a peace, between the Tyrians and him. The citizens however, a tumultuous ungovernable body, instead of listening to his proposals, instead of endeavouring to avert his resentment, contrary to the law of nations, killed his heralds, and threw them from the top of the walls into the sea. This outrage inflamed Alexander's passions to the highest degree, he resolved upon the city's destruction, and sat down before it with persevering resentment. His first endeavour was to form a pier jutting from the continent, and reaching to the city which was built upon an island. From the foundations of an ancient city upon the shore, he dug stones and rubbish; from mount Lebanus, that hung over the city, he cut down cedars that served for piles; and thus he began his work without interruption. But the farther they went from shore, the greater difficulties they met with, because the sea was deeper, and the workmen were much annoyed by the darts discharged from the top of the walls. The enemy also who were masters at sea, coming in great boats, prevented the Macedonians from carrying on their work with vigour. At last, however the pile appeared above water, a level of considerable breadth: then the besieged at last perceived their rashness; they saw with terror the vastness of the work which the sea had till then kept from their sight, and now began to attack the workmen with javelins and wound them at a distance. It was therefore resolved that skins and sails should be spread to cover the workmen, and that two wooden towers should be raised at the head of the bank to prevent the approaches of the enemy. Yet these were burned soon after by the besieged, together with all the wood-work composing the pile that could be touched by the fire.
Alexander though he saw most of his designs defeated, and his works demolished, was not at all dejected upon that account. His soldiers endeavoured with redoubled vigour, to repair the ruins of the bank; and made and planted new machines, with such prodigious speed as quite astonished the enemy. Alexander himself was present on all occasions, and superintended every part of the works. His presence and great abilities advanced these still more, than the multitude of hands employed in them. The whole was near finished, and brought almost to the wall of the city, when there arose on a sudden an impetuous wind, which drove the waves with so much fury against the mole, that the cement and other things that barr'd it, gave way, and the water rushing through the stones, broke it in the middle. As soon as the great heap of stones which supported the earth was thrown down, the whole sunk at once as into an abyss.
Any warrior but Alexander would that instant have quite laid aside his enterprize; and indeed he himself debated whether he should not raise the siege. But a superior Power, who had foretold and sworn the ruin of Tyre, and whose orders this prince only executed, prompted him to continue the siege; and, dispelling all his fear and anxiety, inspired him with courage and confidence, and fired the breasts of his whole army with the same sentiments. For now the soldiers, as if but that moment arrived before the city, forgetting all the toils they had undergone, began to raise a new mole, at which they worked incessantly.
In the mean time, Alexander being convinced that while the enemy remained masters at sea, the city could not be taken, with great diligence procured a fleet from various parts, and embarking himself, with some soldiers from among his guard, he set sail towards the Tyrian fleet, forming a line of battle. The Tyrians were at first determined to oppose him openly; but perceiving the superiority of his forces, they kept all the gallies in their harbour, to prevent the enemy from entering there. Alexander therefore was contented to draw up his ships near the bank along the shore, where they rode in safety, and kept the enemy from annoying his workmen, who were employed upon the bank.
The besiegers, thus protected, went on with great vigour. The workmen threw into the sea whole trees, with all their branches on them; and laid great stones over these, on which they put other trees, and the latter they covered with clay, which served instead of mortar. Afterwards, heaping more trees and stones on these, the whole, thus joined together, formed one entire body. This bank was made wider than the former ones; in order that the towers that were built in the middle, might be out of the reach of such arrows as should be shot from those ships which might attempt to break down the edges of the bank. Thus, after many delays, the patience of the workmen surmounting every obstacle, it was at last finished in its utmost perfection. The Macedonians placed military engines of all kinds on the bank, in order to shake the walls with battering-rams, and hurl on the besieged arrows, stones, and burning torches. Thus, by degrees, approaching to the foot of the wall, the Tyrians were attacked in close combat, and invested on all sides, both by sea and land.
A general attack was now therefore thought necessary; and the king manning his gallies, which he had joined to each other, ordered them to approach the walls about midnight, and attack the city with resolution. The Tyrians now gave themselves over for lost; when on a sudden the sky was overspread with such thick clouds, as quite took away the faint glimmerings of light which before darted through the gloom; the sea rose by insensible degrees, and the billows being swelled by the fury of the winds, encreased to a dreadful storm; the vessels dashed one against the other with so much violence, that the cables, which before fastened them together, were either loosened or broke to pieces; the planks split, and making a horrible crash, carried off the soldiers with them; for the tempest was so furious, that it was not possible to manage or steer the gallies thus fastened together. At last, however, they brought them near the shore, but the greatest part were in ashattered condition.
This good fortune of the Tyrians was counterbalanced by an unexpected calamity; they had long expected succours from Carthage, a flourishing colony of their own, but they now received advice from thence that the Carthaginians were absolutely unable to give them any assistance; being over-awed themselves by a powerful army of Syracusans, who were laying waste their country. The Tyrians therefore, frustrated in their hopes, still maintained their resolution of defending themselves to the last extremity; and accordingly sent off their women and children to Carthage, as being of no use in the defence of their city.
And now the engines playing, the city was warmly attacked on all sides, and as vigorously defended. The besieged, taught and animated by imminent danger, and the extreme necessity to which they were reduced, invented daily new arts, to defend themselves, and repulse the enemy. They warded off all the darts discharged from the balistas against them, by the assistance of turning-wheels, which either broke them to pieces, or carried them another way. They deadened the violence of the stones that were hurled at them, by setting up a kind of sails and curtains, made of a soft substance, which easily gave way. To annoy the ships which advanced against their walls, they fixed grappling irons and scythes to joists or beams; then straining their catapultas (an enormous kind of cross-bow), they laid those great pieces of timber upon them instead of arrows, and shot them off on a sudden at the enemy: these crushed some to pieces by their great weight; and the hooks, or pensile scythes, with which they were armed, tore others to pieces, and did considerable damage to their ships. They also had brazen shields, which they drew red-hot out of the fire; and, filling these with burning sand, hurled them in an instant from the top of the wall upon the enemy. There was nothing the Macedonians so much dreaded as this last invention; for, the moment this burning sand got to the flesh, through the crevices in the armour, it pierced to the very bone, and stuck so close that there was no pulling it off; so that the soldiers throwing down their arms, and tearing their cloaths to pieces, were in this manner exposed, naked and defenceless, to the shot of the enemy. It was now thought that Alexander, quite discouraged with his loss, was determined to relinquish the siege; but he resolved to make a last effort, with a great number of ships, which he manned with the flower of his army. Accordingly, a second naval engagement was fought; in which the Tyrians, after fighting with intrepidity, were obliged to draw off their whole fleet towards the city. The king pursued their rear very close, but was not able to enter the harbour, being repulsed by arrows shot from the walls: however, he either took or sunk a great number of their ships.
Both the attack and defence were now more vigorous than ever. The courage of the combatants increased with the danger; and each side, animated by the most powerful motives, fought like lions. Wherever the battering-rams had beat down any part of the wall, and the bridges were thrown out, instantly the Argyraspides mounted the breach with the utmost valour, being headed by Admetus, one of the bravest officers in the army, who was killed by the thrust of a spear, as he was encouraging his soldiers. The presence of the king, and especially the example he set, fired his troops with unusual bravery. He himself ascended one of the towers, which was of a prodigious height, and there was exposed to the greatest dangers his courage had ever made him hazard; for being immediately known, by his insignia, and the richness of his armour, he served as a mark for all the arrows of the enemy. On this occasion he performed wonders; killing with javelins several of those who defended the wall; then advancing nearer to them, he forced some with his sword, and others with his shield, either into the city or the sea; the tower where he fought almost touching the wall. He soon ascended the wall, by the assistance of floating bridges; and, followed by the principal officers, possessed himself of two towers, and the space between them. The battering-rams had already made several breaches; the fleet had forced into the harbour; and some of the Macedonians had possessed themselves of the towers which were abandoned. The Tyrians seeing the enemy master of their rampart, retired towards an open place, called Agenor, and there stood their ground; but Alexander marching up with his regiment of body-guards, killed part of them, and obliged the rest to fly. At the same time Tyre being taken on that side which lay towards the harbour, the Macedonians ran up and down every part of the city, sparing no person who came in their way, being highly exasperated at the long resistance of the besieged, and the barbarities they had exercised towards some of their comrades, who had been taken in their return to Sidon, and thrown from the battlements, after their throats had been cut, in the sight of the whole army. The Tyrians, thus reduced to the last extremity, shut themselves up in their houses, to avoid the sword of the conqueror; others rushed into the midst of the enemy, to sell their lives as dearly as they could; and some threw stones from the tops of the houses, to crush the sailors below: the old men waited at their doors, expecting every instant to be sacrificed, from the rage of the soldiers. In this general carnage, the Sidonian soldiers alone, that were in Alexander's army, seemed touched with pity for the fate of their wretched inhabitants: they gave protection to many of the Tyrians, whom they considered as countrymen, and carried great numbers of them privately on board their ships. The numbers that were thus slaughtered by the enraged soldiers, were incredible: even after conquest, the victor's resentment did not subside; he ordered no less than two thousand men, that were taken in the storm, to be nailed to crosses along the shore. The number of prisoners amounted to thirty thousand, and were all sold as slaves, in different parts of the world. Thus fell Tyre, that had been for many ages the most flourishing city in the world, and had spread the arts of commerce into the remotest regions.
Whilst Alexander was carrying on the siege of Tyre, he received a second letter from Darius, in which that monarch seemed more sensible of his power than before; he now gave him the title of king, and offered him ten thousand talents as a ransom for his captive mother and wife; he offered him his daughter Statira in marriage, with all the country he had conquered, as far as the river Euphrates; he hinted to him the inconstancy of fortune, and described at large the powers he was still possessed of to oppose. These terms were so considerable, that when the king debated upon them in council, Parmenio, one of his generals, could not help observing, That if he were Alexander, he would agree to such a proposal; to which Alexander nobly replied,
"And so would I, were I Parmenio:"
He therefore treated the proposals of Darius with haughty contempt, and refused to accept of treasures which he already considered as his own. From Tyre Alexander marched to Jerusalem, fully resolved to punish that city, for having refused to supply his army with provisions during the late siege; but the resentment of the conqueror was averted, by meeting a procession of the inhabitants of that city on his way, marching out to receive him, dressed in white, with a Jewish high-priest before them, with a mitre on his head, on the front of which the name of God was written. The moment the king perceived the high-priest, he advanced towards him with an air of the most profound respect, bowed his body, adored the august name upon his front, and saluted him who wore it with religious veneration. Then the Jews, surrounding Alexander, raised their voices to wish him every kind of prosperity. All the spectators were seized with inexpressible surprise; they could scarce believe their eyes; and did not know how to account for a sight so contrary to their expectation, and so vastly improbable.
Parmenio, who could not yet recover from his astonishment, asked the king how it came to pass that he who was adored by every one, adored the high-priest of the Jews:
"I do not," replied Alexander, "adore the high-priest, but the God whose minister he is; for whilst I was at Dia in Macedonia, my mind wholly fixed on the great design of the Persian
ar, as I was revolving the methods how to conquer Asia, this very man, dressed in the same robes, appeared to me in a dream, exhorted me to banish my fear, bade me cross the Hellespont boldly, and assured me that God would march at the head of my army, and give me the victory over that of the Persians."
This speech, delivered with an air of sincerity, no doubt had its effect in encouraging the army, and establishing an opinion that Alexander's mission was from Heaven. Alexander having embraced the high-priest, was conducted by him to the temple, where, after he had explained to him many prophecies in different parts of the Old Testament, concerning his invasion, he taught him to offer up a sacrifice in the Jewish manner.
Alexander was so much pleased with his reception upon this occasion, that, before he left Jerusalem, he assembled the Jews, and bade them ask any favour they should think proper. Their request was, To be allowed to live according to their ancient laws and maxims; to be exempted from tribute every seventh year, as they were by their laws exempted from labour, and could consequently have no harvests: they requested, that such of their brethren as were settled in Asia, should be indulged in the same privileges. Thus, being gratified in all their desires, great numbers of them offered to enlist themselves in his army. Soon after the Samaritans demanded the same favours; but he gave them an evasive answer, and promised to take the matter into consideration, upon his return.
From this city he went on to Gaza, where he found a more obstinate resistance than he had expected; but at length taking the town by storm, and having cut the garrison, consisting of ten thousand men, to pieces, with brutal ferocity, he ordered Boetis, the governor, to be brought before him; and having in vain endeavoured to intimidate him, commanded, at last, that holes should be bored through his heels, and thus to be tied by cords to the back of his chariot, and in this manner to be dragged round the walls of the city. This he did in imitation of Achilles, whom Homer describes as having dragged Hector round the walls of Troy in the same manner; but it was reading the poet to very little advantage, to imitate his hero in the most unworthy part of his character.
As soon as Alexander had ended the siege of Gaza, he left a garrison there, and turned the whole power of his arms towards Egypt. In seven days march he arrived before Pelusium, whither a great number of Egyptians had assembled, with all imaginable diligence, to own him for their sovereign; being heartily displeased with the Persian government, as likewise the Persian governors; as the one destroyed their liberty, the other ridiculed their religion. Masaeus, the Persian governor, who commanded in Memphis, finding it would be to no purpose for him to resist so triumphant an army, and that Darius, his sovereign, was not in a condition to succour him, set open the gates of the city to the conqueror, and gave up eight hundred talents, (about one hundred and forty thousand pounds) and all the king's furniture. Thus Alexander possessed himself of all Egypt, without meeting with the least opposition.
He now therefore formed a design of visiting the temple of Jupiter. This temple was situated at a distance of twelve days journey from Memphis, in the midst of the sandy desarts of Lybia. Alexander having read in Homer, and other fabulous authors of antiquity, that most of the heroes were represented as the sons of some deity, was willing himself to pass for a hero, and knew that he could bribe the priests to compliment him, as of celestial origin. Setting out therefore along the river Memphis, and after having passed Canopus, opposite the island of Pharos, he there laid the foundation of the city of Alexandria, which in a little time became one of the most flourishing towns for commerce in the world. From thence he had a journey of three hundred and forty miles to the temple of Jupiter; the way leading through inhospitable desarts, and plains of sand. The soldiers were patient enough for the two first days march, before they arrived amidst the dreadful solitudes; but as soon as they found themselves in vast plains, covered with sands of a prodigious depth, they were greatly terrified. Surrounded as with a sea, they gazed round as far as their sight could extend, to discover if possible, some place that was inhabited; but all in vain, for they could not perceive so much as a single tree, nor the least footsteps of any land that had been cultivated. To increase their calamity, the water that they had brought in goat-skins, upon camels, now failed, and there was not so much as a single drop in all that sandy desart. They were however greatly refreshed by the accidental falling of a shower, which served to encourage them in their progress, till they came to the temple of the Deity. Nothing can be more fanciful than the description the historians have given us of this gloomy retreat: it is represented as a small spot of fertile ground, in the midst of vast solitudes of sand; it is covered with the thickest trees, that exclude the rays of the sun; and watered with several springs, which preserved it in perpetual verdure; near the grove where the temple stood was the Fountain of the Sun, which at day-break was luke-warm, at noon cold, then towards evening insensibly grew warmer, and was boiling hot at midnight. The god worshipped in this place, had his statue made of emeralds, and other precious stones: and from the head to the navel resembled a ram. No sooner had Alexander appeared before the altar, than the high priest declared him to be the son of Jupiter; the conqueror quite intoxicated with adulation, asked, Whether he should have success in his expedition; the priest answered, That he should be monarch of the world: the conqueror enquired, If his father's murderers were punished; the priest replied, That his father Jupiter was immortal, but that the murderers of Philip had been all extirpated.
Alexander having ended his sacrifice, and rewarded the priests, who had been so liberal of their titles, from that time supposed himself or would have it supposed, that he was the son of Jupiter. Upon his return from the temple, and during his stay in Egypt, he settled the government of that country upon the most solid foundation; he divided it into districts, over each of which he appointed a lieutenant, who received orders from himself alone. And thus having settled affairs there, he set out, in the beginning of spring, to march against Darius
who was now preparing to oppose him. He made some stay at Tyre, to settle the various affairs of the countries he had left behind; and advanced towards new conquests. On his march
the wife of Darius died in child-bed, and wa
honoured with a funeral ceremony, due to he
exalted character. He continued his journey towards the Tygris, where he at last expected to come up with the enemy, and to strik
one blow, which should decide the fate o
nations.
Darius had already made overtures of peace to him twice; but finding at last that there were no hopes of their concluding one, unless he resigned the whole empire to him, prepared himself again for battle. For this purpose, he assembled in Babylon an army half as numerous again as that at Issus, and marched it towards Nineveh. His forces covered all the plains of Mesopotamia. Advice being brought that the enemy was not far off, he caused Satropates, colonel of the cavalry, to advance at the head of a thousand chosen horse; and likewise gave six thousand to Masaeus, governor of the province; all whom were to prevent Alexander from crossing the river, and to lay waste the country through which that monarch was to pass. But he arrived too late.
The Tygris is the most rapid river of all the east; and it was with some difficulty that Alexander's soldiers were able to stem the current, carrying their arms over their heads. The king walked on foot among the infantry, and pointed out with his hand the passage to his soldiers: he commanded them, with a loud voice, To save nothing but their arms; and let their baggage that retarded them in the water, float away with the stream. At length they were drawn up in battle-array on the opposite shore; and encamped two days near the river, still prepared for action. An eclipse of the moon, which happened about that time, gave Alexander's soldiers great uneasiness; but he brought forward some Egyptian soothsayers, who assured the army, That the moon portended calamities not to the Greeks, but the Persians. By this artifice the hopes and the courage of the soldiers being revived once more, the king led them on to meet the enemy, and began his march at midnight. On his right hand lay the Tygris, and on his left the Gordylean mountains. At break of day, news was brought, that Darius was but twenty miles from the place they then were. All things now therefore threatened an approaching battle; when Darius, who had already twice sued for peace, sent new conditions, still more advantageous than the former. But Alexander refused his offers; proudly replying, That the world would not permit two suns nor two sovereigns. Thus all negociation being at an end, both sides prepared for battle; equally irritated, and equally ambitious. Darius pitched his camp near a village called Gangamila, and the river Bumila, in a plain at a considerable distance from Arbela. He had before levelled the spot, which he pitched upon for the field of battle, in order that his chariots and cavalry might have full room to move in; that his fighting in the streights of Cilicia, had lost him the battle fought there.
Alexander upon hearing this news, continued four days in the place he then was to rest his army, and surrounded his camp with trenches and pallisadoes; for he was determined to leave all his baggage, and the useless soldiers in it, and march the remainder against the enemy, with no other equipage than the arms they carried. Accordingly he set out about nine in the evening, in order to fight Darius at day break; who, upon this advice had drawn up his army in order of battle. Alexander also marched in battle-array; for both armies were within two or three leagues of each other. When he was arrived at the mountains, where he could discover the enemy's army, he halted; and having assembled his general officers, as well Macedonians as foreigners, he debated whether they should engage immediately, or pitch their camp in that place. The latter opinion being followed, because it was judged proper for them to view the field of battle, and the manner in which the enemy was drawn up, the army encamped in the same order in which it had marched; during which Alexander at the head of his infantry lightly armed, and his royal regiments, marched round the plain in which the battle was to be fought.
Being returned, he assembled his general officers a second time, and told them, that there was no occasion for making a speech, because their courage and great actions were alone sufficient to excite them to glory; and he desired them only to represent to the soldiers, that they were not to fight on this occasion for Phoenicia or Aegypt, but for all Asia, which would be possessed by him who should conquer; and tha
after having gone through so many provinces
and left behind them so great a number of rivers and mountains; they could secure their retreat no otherwise, than by gaining a complea
victory. After this speech, he ordered them to take some repose.
It is said Parmenio advised him to attack the enemy in the night time, alledging, that they might easily be defeated, if fallen upon by surprize and in the dark; but the king answered so loud, that all present might hear him; tha
it did not become Alexander to steal a victory
and therefore he was resolved to fight and conquer in broad day light. This was a haughty
but at the same time, a prudent answer; fo
it was running great hazard, to fall upon so numerous an army in the night time and in an unknown country. Darius fearing he should be attacked at unawares, because he had not intrenched himself, obliged his soldiers to continue the whole night under arms, which proved of the highest prejudice to him in the engagement. In the mean time Alexander went to bed to repose himself the remaining part of the night. As he revolved in his mind, not without some emotion, the consequence of the battle, which was upon the point of being fought, he could not sleep immediately. But his body being oppressed in a manner by the anxiety of his mind, he slept soundly the whole night, contrary to his usual custom, so that when his generals were assembled at day-break before his tent, to receive his orders, they were greatly surprized to find he was not awake; upon which they themselves commanded the soldiers to take some refreshment. Parmenio having at last awaked him, and seeming surprized to sind him in so calm and sweet a sleep, just as he was going to fight a battle in which his whole fortune lay at stake, How could it be possible, said Alexander, for me not to be calm, since the enemy is coming to deliver himself into my hands? Upon this he immediately took up his arms, mounted his horse, and rode up and down the ranks, exhorting the troops to behave gallantly, and if possible, to surpass their-ancient fame, and the glory they had hitherto acquired.
There was a great difference between the two armies in respect to numbers, but much more with regard to courage. That of Darius consisted at least of six hundred thousand foot and forty thousand horse; and the other of no more than forty thousand foot, and seven or eight thousand horse, but the latter was all fire and strength; whereas on the side of the Persians it was a prodigious assemblage of men, not of soldiers; an empty phantom rather than a real army. Both sides were disposed in very near the same array. The forces were drawn up in two lines, the cavalry on the two wings, and the infantry in the middle; the one and the other being under the particular conduct of the chiefs of each of the different nations that composed them; and commanded in general, by the principal crown officers. The front of the battle (under Darius) was covered with two hundred chariots, armed with scythes, and with fifteen elephants, that king taking his post in the center of the first line. Besides the guards which were the flower of his forces, he also had fortified himself with the Grecian infantry, whom he had drawn up near his person, believing this body only capable of opposing the Macedonian phalanx. As his army spread over a much greater space of ground, than that of the enemy, he intended to surround and to charge them at one and the same time, both in front and flank, which from Alexander's disposition, he soon after found impossible.
Darius being afraid lest the Macedonians should draw him from the spot of ground he had levelled, and carry him into another that was rough and uneven, commanded the cavalry in his left wing, which spread much farther than that of the enemy's right, to march directly forward, and wheel about upon the Macedonians in flank, to prevent them from extending their troops farther. Upon which Alexander dispatched against them the body of horse in his service, commanded by Menidas; but as these were not able to make head against the enemy, because of their prodigious numbers, he reinforced them with the Paeonians, whom Aretas commanded, and with the foreign cavalry. Besides the advantage of numbers, the Persians had that also of coats of mail, which secured themselves and their horses much more, and by which Alexander's cavalry was prodigiously annoyed. However, the Macedonians marched to the charge with great bravery, and at last put the enemy to flight.
Upon this the Persians opposed the chariots armed with scythes against the Macedonian phalanx, in order to break it, but with little success. The noise which the soldiers, who were lightly armed, made by striking their swords against their bucklers, and the arrows which flew on all sides, frighted the horses, and made a great number of them turn back against their own troops. Others laying hold of the horses bridles, pulled the riders down and cut them to pieces. Part of the chariots drove between the battalions, which opened to make way for them as they had been ordered to do, by which means they did little or no execution.
Alexander seeing Darius set his whole army in motion, in order to charge him, employed a stratagem to encourage his soldiers. When the battle was at the hottest, and the Macedonians were in the greatest danger, Aristander the soothsayer, clothed in his white robes, holding a branch of lawrel in his hand, advances among the combatants as he had been instructed by the king; and crying, that he saw an eagle hovering over Alexander's head (a sure omen of victory) he shewed with his finger, the pretended bird to the soldiers; who relying upon the sincerity of the soothsayer, fancied they also saw it; and thereupon renewed the attack with greater chearfulness and ardour than ever. Alexander now pressed to the place in which Darius was stationed, and the presence of the two opposing kings inspired both sides with vigour. Darius was mounted on a chariot, and Alexander on horseback; both surrounded with their bravest officers and soldiers, whose only endeavours were to save the lives of their respective princes at the hazard of their own. The battle was obstinate and bloody. Alexander having wounded Darius's equerry, with a javelin, the Persians as well as Macedonians imagined that the king was killed; upon which the former, breaking aloud into the most dismal sounds, the whole army was seized with the greatest consternation. The relations of Darius, who were at his left hand, fled away with the guards, and so abandoned the chariot; but those who were at his right, took him into the center of their body. Historians relate, that this prince having drawn his scymetar, reflected whether he ought not to lay violent hands upon himself, rather than fly in an ignominious manner. But perceiving from his chariot, that his soldiers still fought, he was ashamed to forsake them; and as divided between hope and despair, the Persians retired insensibly and thinned their ranks, when it could no longer be called a battle, but a slaughter. Then Darius turning about his chariot, fled with the rest; and the conqueror was now wholly employed in pursuing him. But in the mean time, finding that the left wing of his army, which was commanded by Parmenio, was in great danger, Alexander was obliged to desist from pursuing Darius, whom he had almost overtaken, and wheeled round to attack the Persian horse, that, after plundering the camp, were retiring in good order; them he cut in pieces; and the scale of battle turning in favour of the Macedonians, a total rout of the Persians ensued. The pursuit was warm, and the slaughter amazing: Alexander rode as far as Arbela after Darius; every moment hoping to come up with that monarch: he had just passed through when Alexander arrived, but he left his treasure, with his bow and shield, as a prey to the enemy.
Such was the success of this famous battle, which gave empire to the conqueror. According to Arrian, the Persians lost three hundred thousand men, besides those who were taken prisoners; which at least is a proof that the loss was very great on their side. That of Alexander's was very inconsiderable; he not losing, according to the last mentioned author, above twelve hundred men, most of whom were horse. This engagement was fought in the month of October, about the same time, that two years before, the battle of Isus was fought. As Gangamela, in Assyria, the spot where the two armies engaged, was a small place of very little note, this was called the battle of Arbela, that city being nearest to the field of battle.
Darius, after this dreadful defeat, rode towards the river Lycus, with a very few attendants; he was advised to break down the bridges to secure his retreat; but he refused, saying, He would not save his life, at the expence of thousands of his subjects. After riding a great number of miles full speed, he arrived, at midnight, at Arbela; from thence he fled towards Media, over the Armenian mountains, followed by his satraps, and a few of his guards, expecting the worst, despairing of fortune, a wretched survivor of his country's ruin.
In the mean time, Alexander approached near Babylon; and Mazaeus the governor, who had retired thither after the battle of Arbela, surrendered it to him without striking a blow. Alexander therefore entered the city, at the head of his whole army, as if he had been marching to a battle. The walls of Babylon were lined with people, notwithstanding the greatest part of the citizens were gone out before, from the impatient desire they had to see their new sovereign, whose renown had far outstripped his march. Bagophanes, governor of the fortress, and guardian of the treasure, unwilling to discover less zeal than Mazaeus, strewed the streets with flowers, and raised on both sides of the way silver altars, which smoaked not only with frankincense, but the most fragrant perfumes of every kind. Last of all came the presents which were to be made to the king;
viz.
herds of cattle, and a great number of horses; as also lions and panthers, which were carried in cages. After these the Magi walked, singing hymns after the manner of their country; then the Chaldeans, accompanied by the Babylonish soothsayers and musicians. The rear was brought up by the Babylonish cavalry; of which, both men and horses were so sumptuous, that imagination can scarce reach their magnificence. The king caused the people to walk after the infantry, and himself, surrounded with his guards, and seated on a chariot, entered the city, and from thence rode to the palace, as in a kind of triumph. The next day he took a view of all Darius's money and moveables, which amounted to incredible sums, and which he distributed with generosity among his soldiers. He gave the government of the province to Mazaeus; and the command of the forces he left there, to Apollodorus of Amphipolis.
From Rabylon Alexander marched to the province of Syraceni, afterwards to Susa, where he arrived after a march of twenty days, and found treasures to an infinite amount. These also he applied to the purposes of rewarding merit and courage among his troops. In this city he left the mother and children of Darius; and from thence he went forward, till he came to a river called, Pasitigris. Having crossed it, with nine thousand foot, and three thousand horse, consisting of Agrians, as well as of Grecian mercenaries, and a reinforcement of three thousand Thracians, he entered the country of Uxii. This region lies near Susa, and extends to the frontiers of Persia; a narrow pass only lying between it and Susiana. Madathes commanded this province. He was not a time-server, nor a follower of fortune; but faithful to his sovereign; he resolved to hold out to the last extremity; and for this purpose, had withdrawn into his own city, which stood in the midst of craggy rocks, and was surrounded with precipices. Having been forced from thence, he retired into the citadel, whence the besieged sent thirty deputies to Alexander, to sue for quarter, which they obtained at last, by the interposition of Sysigambis. The king not only pardoned Madathes, who was a near relation of that princess, but likewise set all the captives, and those who had surrendered themselves, at liberty, permitted them to enjoy their several rights and privileges, would not suffer the city to be plundered, but let them plough their lands, without paying any tribute. From thence he passed on to the pass of Susa, defended by mountains almost inaccessible, and by Ariobarzanes, with a body of five thousand men; he there stopped for a while, but being led by a different rout among the mountains, he came over the pass and so cut the army that defended it in pieces.
Alexander, from an effect of the good fortune which constantly attended him in all his undertakings, having extricated himself happily out of the danger to which he was so lately exposed, marched immediately towards Persia. Being on the road, he received letters from Tiridates, governor of Persepolis, which informed him, that the inhabitants of that city, upon the report of his advancing towards him, were determined to plunder Darius's treasures, with which he was intrusted; and therefore, that it was necessary for him to make all the haste imaginable to seize them himself; that he had only the Araxes to cross, after which the road was smooth and easy. Alexander, upon this news, leaving his infantry behind, marched the whole night at the head of his cavalry, who were very much harrassed by the length and swiftness of his march, and passed the Araxes, on a bridge, which, by his order, had been but some days before.
But as he drew near the city, he perceived a large body of men, who exhibited a memorable example of the greatest misery. These were about four thousand Greeks, very far advanced in years, who having been made prisoners of war, had suffered all the torments which the Persian tyranny could inflict. The hands of some had been cut off, the feet of others; and others again had lost their noses and ears. They appeared like so many shadows, rather than like men; speech being almost the only thing by which they were known to be such. Alexander could not refrain from tears at this sight; and as they irresistably brought him to commiserate their condition, he bade them, with the utmost tenderness, not to despond; and assured them, that they should again see their wives and country. They chose, however, to remain in a place where misfortune now became habitual; wherefore he rewarded them liberally for their sufferings, and commanded the governor of the province to treat them with mildness and respect. The day following he entered the city of Persepolis, at the head of his victorious soldiers; who, though the inhabitants made no resistance, began to cut in pieces all those who still remained in the city. However, the king soon put an end to the massacre, and forbid his soldiers further violence. The riches he had found in other places, were but trifling, when compared to those he found here. This however, did not save the city; for being one day at a banquet among his friends, and happening to drink to excess, the conversation ran upon the various cruelties exercised by the Persians in Greece, particularly at Athens Thais, an Athenian courtezan, urged the pusillanimity of not taking revenge for such repeated slaughters. All the guests applauded the discourse; when immediately the king rose from table (his head being crowned with flowers), and taking a torch in his hand, he advanced forward, to execute his mad exploit. The whole company followed him, breaking into loud acclamations, and, after singing and dancing, surrounded the palace. All the rest of the Macedonians, at this noise, ran in crowds, with lighted tapers, and set fire to every part of it. However, Alexander was sorry not long after for what he had done; and thereupon gave orders for extinguishing the fire; but it was too late.
While Alexander was thus triumphing in all the exultation of success, the wretched Darius was by this time arrived at Ecbatana, the capital of Media. There remained still with this fugitive prince thirty thousand foot; among whom were four thousand Greeks, that were faithful to him to the last: besides these he had four thousand slingers, and upwards of three thousand Bactrian horse, whom Bessus, their governor, commanded. Darius, even with so small a force, still conceived hopes of opposing his rival; or at least of protracting the war: but he was surrounded with traitors; his want of success had turned all mankind against him; but Nabarzanes, one of the greatest lords of Persia, and general of the horse, had conspired with Bessus, general of the Bactrians, to commit the blackest of all crimes, and that was, to seize upon the person of the king, and lay him in chains, which they might easily do; as each of them had a great number of soldiers under his command. Their design was, if Alexander should pursue them, to secure themselves, by giving up Darius alive into his hands; and, in case they escaped, to murder that prince, and afterwards usurp his crown, and begin a new war. These traitors soon won over the troops, by representing to them, that they were going to their destruction; that they would soon be crushed under the ruins of an empire, which was just ready to fall, at the same time that Bactriana was open to them, and offered them immense riches. These promises soon prevailed upon the perfidious army; the traitors seized, and bound their monarch in chains of gold, under the appearance of honour, as he was a king; then enclosing him in a covered chariot, they set out towards Bactriana. In this manner they carried him, with the utmost dispatch; until being informed that the Grecian army was still hotly pursuing them, they found it impossible either to conciliate the friendship of Alexander, or to secure a throne for themselves: they therefore once more gave Darius his liberty, and desired him to make the best of his escape with them from the conqueror; but he replied, That the gods were ready to revenge the evils he had already suffered; and, appealing to Alexander for justice, refused to follow a band of traitors. At these words they fell into the utmost fury, thrusting him with their darts and their spears, and left him to linger in this manner, unattended, the remains of his wretched life. The traitors then made their escape different ways; while the victorious Macedonians at length coming up, found Darius in a solitude, lying in his chariot, and drawing near his end. However, he had strength enough before he died, to call for drink; which a Macedonian, Polystratus by name, brought him. He had a Persian prisoner, whom he employed as his interpreter. Darius, after drinking the liquor that had been given him, turned to the Macedonian, and said, That in the deplorable state to which he was reduced, he however should have the comfort to speak to one who could understand him; and that his last words would not be lost. He therefore charged him to tell Alexander, That he had died in his debt, that he gave him many thanks, for the great humanity he had exercised towards his mother, his wife, and his children, whose lives he had not only spared, but restored to their former splendor: that he besought the gods to give victory to his arms, and make him monarch of the universe; that he thought he need not intreat him to revenge the execrable murder commited on his person, as this was the common cause of kings.
After this, taking Polystratus by the hand,
"Give him," said he, "thy hand, as I give thee mine; and carry him, in my name, the only pledge I am able to give of my gratitude and affections:"
saying these words, he breathed his last.
Alexander coming up a moment after, and seeing Darius's body, he wept bitterly; and by the strongest testimonies of affection that could be given, proved how intimately he was affected with the unhappiness of a prince who deserved a better fate. He immediately pulled off his military cloak, and threw it on Darius's body; then causing it to be embalmed, and his coffin to be adorned with royal magnificence, he sent it to Sysigambis, to be interred with the honours usually paid to the deceased Persian monarchs, and entombed with his ancestors. Thus died Darius, in the fiftieth year of his age; six of which he reigned with felicity: in him the Persian empire ended, after having existed, from the time of Cyrus the Great, a period of two hundred and ninety-nine years.
The death of Darius only served to inflame the spirit of ambition in Alexander to pursue further conquests. After having in vain attempted to pursue Bessus, who now assumed the name of king, he desisted, in order to cross Parthia; and in three days arrived on the frontiers of Hyrcania, which submitted to his arms. He afterwards subdued the Mandii, the Arii, the Drangae, the Arachosii, and several other nations; into which his army marched with greater speed, than people generally travel. He frequently would pursue an enemy for whole days and nights together; almost without suffering his troops to take any rest. By this prodigious rapidity, he came unawares upon nations who thought him at a great distance; and subdued them, before they had time to put themselves in a posture of defence.
It was upon one of these excursions that Thalestris, queen of the Amazons, came to pay him a visit. A violent desire of seeing Alexander, had prompted that princess to leave her dominions, and travel through a great number of countries to gratify her curiosity. Being come pretty near his camp, she sent word, That a queen was come to visit him; and that she had a prodigious inclination to cultivate his acquaintance; and accordingly was arrived within a little distance from that place. Alexander having returned a favourable answer, she commanded her train to stop, and herself came forward, with three hundred women; and the moment she perceived the king, she leaped from her horse, having two lances in her right hand. She looked upon the king without discovering the least sign of admiration, and surveying him attentively, did not think his stature answerable to his fame; for the Barbarians are very much struck with a majestic air; and think those only capable of mighty atchievements, on whom nature has bestowed bodily advantages. She did not scruple to tell him that the chief motive of her journey was to have posterity by him; adding, that she was worthy of giving heirs to his empire. Alexander, upon this request, was obliged to make some stay in this place; after which, Thalestris returned to her kingdom, and the king into the province inhabited by the Parthians.
Alexander now enjoying a little repose, abandones himself to sensuality, and he whom the arms of the Persians could not conquer, fell a victim to their vices. Nothing was now to be seen but games, parties of pleasure, women and excessive feasting; in which he used to revel whole days and nights. Not satisfied with the buffoons, and the performers on instrumental music, whom he had brought with him out of Greece, he obliged the captive women, whom he carried along with him, to sing songs, after the manner of their country. He happened, among these women, to perceive one who appeared in deeper affliction than the rest; and who, by a modest, and at the same time a noble confusion, discovered a greater reluctance than the others to appear in public. She was a perfect beauty, which was very much heightened by her bashfulness; whilst she threw her eyes to the ground, and did all in her power to conceal her face. The king soon imagined, by her air and mien, that she was not of vulgar birth, and enquiring himself into it, the lady answered, That she was grand-daughter to Ochus, who not long before had swayed the Persian scepter, and daughter of his son; that she had married Hystaspes, who was related to Darius, and general of a great army. Alexander being touched with compassion, when he heard the unhappy fate of a princess of the blood royal, and the sad condition to which she was reduced, not only gave her liberty, but returned all her possessions; and caused her husband to be sought for, in order that she might be restored to him.
But now the veteran soldiers who had fought under Philip, not having the least idea of sensuality, inveighed publickly against the prodigious luxury, and the numerous vices which the army had learnt in Susa and Ecbatena. The king therefore thought that the safest remedy would be to employ them, and for that purpose led them against Bessus. But as the army was incumbered with booty and an useless train of baggage, so that it could scarce move, he first caused all his own baggage to be carried into a great square, and afterwards that of his army (such things excepted as were absolutely necessary;) then ordered the whole to be carried from thence in carts to a large plain. Every one was in great pain to know the meaning of all this; but after he had sent away the horses, he himself set fire to his own things, and commanded every one to follow his example.
Hitherto we have seen Alexander triumphing by a course of virtue, we are now to behold him swollen up by success, spoiled by flattery and enervated by vices, exhibiting a very doubtful character, and mixing the tyrant with the hero. A conspiracy was formed against him by one Dymnus; this was communicated by a Macedonian soldier to Philotas one of Alexander's favourites. Philotas neglected divulging it to his master; and thus became suspected himself as being concerned in the conspiracy. Parmenio also the father of this young favourite became equally obnoxious, and as the suspicion of tyrants is equally fatal with a conviction, Alexander doomed both to destruction.
In the beginning of the night various parties of guards having been posted in the several places necessary, some entered the tent of Philotas, who was then in a deep sleep; when starting from his slumbers, as they were putting manacles on his hands, he cried, Alas! my sovereign, the inveteracy of my enemies has got the better of your goodness. After this they covered his face and brought him to the palace without uttering a single word. His hands were tied behind him, and his head covered with a coarse worn-out piece of cloth. Lost to himself, he did not dare to look up, or open his lips; but the tears streaming from his eyes, he fainted away in the arms of the man who held him. As the standers-by wiped off the tears in which his face was bathed, recovering his speech and his voice by insensible degrees, he seemed desirous of speaking.
The result of this interview was, that Philotas should be put to the rack. The persons who presided on that occasion, were his most inveterate enemies, and they made him suffer every kind of torture. Philotas at first discovered the utmost resolution and strength of mind; the torments he suffered not being able to force from him a single word nor even so much as a sigh. But at last conquered by pain, he confessed himself to be guilty, named several accomplices, and even accused his own father. The next day the answers of Philotas were read in full assembly, he himself being present. Upon the whole he was unanimously sentenced to die; immediately after which he was stoned, according to the custom of Macedonia, with some other of the conspirators.
The condemnation of Philotas brought on that of Parmenio: whether it were that Alexander really believed him guilty, or was afraid of the father, now he had put the son to death. Polydamus one of the lords of the court, was appointed to see the execution performed. He had been one of Parmenio's most intimate friends, if we may give that name to courtiers, who affect only their own fortunes. This was the very reason of his being nominated, because no one could suspect, that he was sent with any such orders against Parmenio. He therefore set out for Media, where that general commanded the army, and was intrusted with the king's treasure, which amounted to an hundred and fourscore thousand talents, about twenty seven millions sterling. Alexander had given him several letters for Cleander the king's lieutenant in the province; and for the principal officers. Two were for Parmenio; one of them from Alexander, and the other sealed with Philotas's seal, as if he had been alive, to prevent the father from harbouring the least suspicion. Polydamus was but eleven days on his journey, and alighted in the night-time at Cleander's. After having taken all the precautions necessary, they went together with a great number of attendants to meet Parmenio, who at this time was walking in a park of his own. The moment Polydamus spied him, though at a great distance, he ran to embrace him with an air of the utmost joy; and after compliments, intermixed with the strongest indications of friendship, had passed on both sides, he gave him Alexander's letter, which opening, and afterwards that under the name of Philotas, he seemed pleased with the contents. At that very instant Cleander thrust a dagger into his side, then made another thrust in his throat; and the rest gave him several wounds, even after he was dead. He was at the time of his death threescore and ten years of age, and had served his master with a fidelity and zeal which in the end was but very ill rewarded.
In order to prevent the ill consequences that might arise from the contemplation of these cruelties, Alexander set out upon his march and continued to pursue Bessus, upon which occasion he exposed himself to great hardships and dangers. Bessus however was treated by his followers in the same manner he had treated the king his master: Spitamenes, his chief confidant, having formed a conspiracy against him, seized his person, put him in chains, forced the royal robes from his back; and with a chain round his neck, he was delivered up in the most ignominious manner to Alexander. The king caused this man to be treated with his usual cruelty; after reproaching him for his treachery, and causing his nose and ears to be cut off, he sent him to Ecbatana, there to suffer whatever punishment Darius's mother should think proper to inflict upon him. Four trees were bent by main force, one towards the other, and to each of these trees one of the limbs of this traitor's body was fastened. Afterwards these trees being let return to their natural position, they flew back with so much violence, that each tore away the limb that was fixed to it, and so quartered him.
Thus uniting in his person at once great cruelty and great enterprize, Alexander still marched forward in search of new nations whom he might subdue. A city inhabited by the Branchid he totally overturned, and massacred all the inhabitants in cool blood, only for being descended from some traiterous Greeks, that had delivered up the treasures of a temple with which they had been intrusted. He then advanced to the river Jaxerthes, where he received a wound in the leg; from thence he went forward and took the capital of Sogdiana; he there received an embassy from the Scythians, who lived free and independent, but now submitted to him. He then marched to Cyropolis and besieged it. This was the last city of the Persian empire, and had been built by Cyrus, after whom it was called, and taking the place he abandoned it to plunder. In this manner he went on capriciously destroying some towns and building others, settling colonies in some places, and laying whole provinces waste at his pleasure. Among his other projects an invasion of the kingdom of Scythia was one; but the crossing of the river Jaxerthes was by no means an easy task; however Alexander being always foremost in encountring dangers, led on his troops across the stream, which was very rapid, and gained a signal victory over the Scythians, who vainly attempted to oppose him on the other side.
A strong hold called Petra Oxiani, defended by a garrison of thirty thousand soldiers, with ammunition and provision for two years, was still considered as impregnable. However as difficulties only seemed to excite his ambition, his soldiers scaled the cliff, and the barbarians supposing that the whole Macedonian army was got over their heads, surrendered upon condition that their lives should be spared; but Alexander forgetting the faith of treaty and the humanity which became a soldier on this occasion, caused them all to be scourged with rods, and afterwards to be fixed to crosses at the foot of the same rock.
After this having subdued the Massagetae and Dahae, he entered the province of Barsaria, from thence he advanced to Maracander, and appointed Clytus governor of that province. This was an old officer who had fought under Philip, and signalized himself on many occasions. At the battle of the Granicus, as Alexander was fighting bare-headed and Bosaces had his arm raised, in order to strike him behind, Clytus covered the king with his shield, and cut off the barbarian's hand. Hellanice, his sister, had nursed Alexander; and he loved her with as much tenderness as if she had been his own mother.
This favour however, only advanced Clytus to a post of greater danger; one evening at an entertainment, the king after drinking immoderately, began to celebrate his own exploits; his boasting even shocked those very persons, who knew that he spoke truth, but particularly the old generals of his army, whose admirations were ingrossed by the actions of his father. Clytus was intoxicated, and turning about to those who sat below him at table, quoted to them a passage from Euripides, but in such a manner that the king could only hear his voice, and not the words distinctly. The sense of the passage was, That the Greeks had done very wrong in ordaining, that in the inscriptions engraved on trophies, the names of kings only should be mentioned; because by these means, brave men were robbed of the glory they had purchased with their blood. The king suspecting Clytus had let drop some disobliging expressions, asked those who sat nearest him, what he had said. As no one answered, Clitus, raising his voice by degrees, began to relate the actions of Philip, and his wars in Greece, prefering them to whatever was doing at that time; which created a great dispute between the young and old men. Though the king was prodigiously vexed in his mind, he nevertheless stifled his resentment, and seemed to listen very patiently to all Clitus spoke to his prejudice. It is probable he would have quite suppressed his passion, had Clitus stopped there; but the latter growing more and more insolent as if determined to exasperate and insult the king, he went such lengths as to defend Parmenio publickly, and to assert, that the destroying of Thebes was but trifling, in comparison of the victory which Philip had gained over the Athenians; and that the old Macedonians, though sometimes unsuccessful, were greatly superior to those who were so rash as to despise them.
Alexander telling him that in giving cowardice the name of ill success, he was pleading his own cause; Clitus rises up, with his eyes sparkling with wine and anger,
"It is nevertheless this hand (said he to him extending it at the same time) that saved your life at the battle of Granicus. It is the blood and wounds of these very Macedonians who are accused of cowardice, that raised you to this grandeur; but the tragical end of Parmenio shews, what reward they and myself may expect for all our services."
This last reproach stung Alexander, however he still restrained his passion, and only commanded him to leave the table.
"He is in the right (says Clitus as he rose up) not to bear free-born men at his table, who can only tell him truth. He will do well to pass his life among barbarians and slaves, who will be proud to pay their adoration to his Persian girdle and his white robe."
But now the king, no longer able to suppress his rage, snatched a javelin from one of his guards, and would have killed Clitus on the spot, had not the courtiers with-held his arm, and Clitus been forced but with great difficulty out of the hall. However he returned into it that moment by another door, singing with an air of insolence, verses reflecting highly on the prince, who seeing the general near him, struck him with his javelin, and laid him dead at his feet, crying out at the same time, go now to Philip, to Parmenio and to Attalus.
The king had no sooner murthered his faithful servant than he perceived the atrociousness of the act; he threw himself upon the dead body, forced out the javelin and would have destroyed himself had he not been prevented by his guards, who seized and carried him forcibly to his own apartment, where the flattery and the persuasions of his friends at length served to alleviate his remorse. In order to divert his melancholy, Alexander having drawn his army out of the garrisons where they had wintered three months, marched towards a country called Gabana. In his way he met with a dreadful storm, in which his army suffered greatly; from thence he went into the country of Sacae, which he soon over-run and laid waste. Soon after this Axertes one of its monarchs, received him in his palace, which was adorned with barbarous magnificence. He had a daughter called Roxana, a young lady whose exquisite beauty was heightened by all the charms of wit and good sense. Alexander sound her charms irresistible, and made her his wife; covering his passion with the specious pretence of uniting the two nations in such bonds as should improve their mutual harmony, by blending their interests, and throwing down all distinctions between the conquerors, and the conquered. This marriage displeased the Macedonians very much, and exasperated his chief courtiers, when it was seen that he made one of his slaves his father-in-law. But as, after his murdering Clitus, no one dared to speak to him with freedom, they applauded what he did with their eyes and countenances, for they had nothing else left that was free.
Alexander having thus conquered all the Persian provinces, now with boundless ambition resolved upon a perilous march into India. This country was considered as the richest in the world, not only in gold but in pearls and precious stones; with which the inhabitants adorned themselves; but being willing either to impress his soldiers with an idea of his authority, or to imitate the barbarians in the magnificence of their titles, he was resolved not only to be called, but to be believed the son of Jupiter; as if it had been possible for him to command as absolutely over the mind as over the tongue, and that the Macedonians would condescend to fall prostrate and adore him after the Persian manner.
To sooth and cherish these ridiculous pretensions, there were not wanting flatterers, those common pests of a court, who are more dangerous to princes than the arrows of their enemies. But the Macedonians indeed would not stoop to this base adulation; all of them to a man, refusing to vary in any manner, from the customs of their country. Among the number who disdained to offer these base adulations, was Callisthenes the philosopher; but his integrity cost him his life; he was accused of being privy to a conspiracy formed by Hermolaus a young officer, upon the life of the king, and for this reason he was thrown into a dungeon and loaded with irons, he soon found that he had no mercy to expect; the most grievous tortures were inflicted upon him, in order to extort a confession of guilt, but he persisted in his innocence to the last, and expired in the midst of his torments.
The kingdom of India for which Alexander now set out was an extensive territory, which has been usually divided into two parts.—India on this side and India on the other side of the Ganges. All the Indians at that time were free, nor even did they adopt the base custom of the Greeks, in purchasing slaves to do the common offices of life. The people of that country were then divided into seven classes; the first and most honourable, though the smallest, were the guardians of religion; the second and the greatest, was that of the husbandman, whose only employment was to cultivate the ground; the third was that of herdsmen and shepherds, who led the herds and flocks among the mountains; the fourth consisted of tradesmen and merchants, among whom pilots and seamen were included; the fifth was of soldiers, whose only employment was war; the sixth was of magistrates, who superintended the actions of others, either in cities or in the country, and reported the whole to the king; the seventh class consisted of persons employed in the publick councils, and who shared the cares of government with their sovereign; these orders of state never blended nor intermarried with each other, none of these were permitted to follow two professions at the same time, nor quit one class for another.
Alexander having entered India, all the petty kings of the country came to meet him and make their submissions. On his march he took the city of Nysa, he then marched towards Daedala and dispersed his army over the whole country, and took possession of it without resistance. He afterwards went forward towards the city of Hagosa, which after being besieged in form, surrendered at discretion. The rock of Aornos, which was deemed inaccessible and which it was said Hercules himself was not able to take, but the garrison in a panic delivered it up to his army. From thence he marched to Acleslimus, and after a march of sixteen days, arrived on the banks of the great river Indus, where he found that Hephestion had got all things ready for his passage, pursuant to the orders he had before received. Here he was met by Omphis a king of the country, who did homage to Alexander, and made him a present of fifty-six elephants, and other animals of prodigious size. The ambassadors from Abisaries a neighbouring monarch, came with the same offers, sent presents and promised fidelity; there was still a third monarch whose name was Porus, from whom Alexander expected similar submission; he even went to require it of him, but Porus answered with great coldness; that while he could fight, he should disdain to obey.
In pursuance of this message Alexander resolved to enforce obedience, and giving the superintendance of his elephants to Omphis, who had now changed his name to Taxilus; he advanced as far as the borders of the Hydaspes. Porus was encamped on the other side of it in order to dispute the passage with him, and had posted at the head of his army eighty-five elephants of a prodigious size, and behind them three hundred chariots guarded by thirty thousand foot; not having at most above seven thousand horse. This prince was mounted upon an elephant of a much larger size than any of the rest; and he himself exceeded the usual stature of men; so that, clothed in his armour, glittering with gold and silver, he appeared at the same time terrible and majestic. The greatness of his courage equalled that of his stature; and he was as wise and prudent as it was possible for the monarch of so barbarous a people to be.
The Macedonians dreaded not only the enemy, but the river they were obliged to pass. It was four furlongs wide (about four hundred fathoms) and so deep in every part, that it looked like a sea, and was no where fordable. It was vastly impetuous, notwithstanding its great breadth; for it rolled with as much violence as if it had been confined to a narrow channel; and its raging, foaming waves, which broke in many places, discovered that it was full of stones and rocks. However, nothing was so dreadful as the appearance of the shore, which was quite covered with men, horses and elephants. Those hideous animals stood like so many towers; and the Indians exasperated them, in order that the horrid cry they made might fill the enemy with great terror. However,
this could not intimidate an army of men whose courage was proof against all attacks, and who were animated by an uninterrupted series of prosperities; but then they did not think it would be possible for them, as the banks were so crazy, to surmount the rapidity of the stream, or land with safety.
Alexander was in great perplexity with the difficulties that attended the passage of this narrow river; however, he resolved to attempt it by night, and chose one whose lightening, thunder, and impetuous winds, conspired to drown the noise of his troops in their embarkation. Scarce any person appeared to oppose their descent; and the moment Alexander was landed, he drew up the forces that had passed with him, consisting of six thousand foot, and five thousand horse, in order of battle.
Porus, upon hearing that Alexander had passed the river, had sent against him a detachment, commanded by one of his sons, of two thousand horse, and one hundred and twenty chariots. Alexander imagined them at first to be the enemy's van-guard, and that the whole army was behind them; but being informed it was but a detachment, he charged them with such vigour, that Porus's son was killed upon the spot, with four hundred horses, and all the chariots were taken.
Porus, upon receiving advice of the death of his son, the defeat of the detachment, and of Alexander's approach, resolved to go and meet Alexander, whom he justly supposed to be at the head of the choicest troops of his army. Accordingly, leaving only a few elephants in his camp, to amuse those who were posted on the opposite shore, he set out, with thirty thousand foot, four thousand horse, three thousand chariots, and two hundred elephants. Being come into a firm, sandy soil, in which his horses and chariots might wheel about with ease, he drew up his army in battle-array, with an intent to wait the coming up of the enemy. He posted in front, and on the first line, all the elephants, at a hundred feet distance one from the other; in order that they might serve as a bulwark to his foot, who were behind. It was his opinion, that the enemy's cavalry would not dare to engage in these intervals, because of the fear those horses would have of the elephants; and much less the infantry, when they should see that of the enemy posted behind the elephants, and in danger of being trod to pieces. He had posted some of his foot on the same line with the elephants, in order to cover their right and left; and this infantry was covered by his two wings of horse; before which the chariots were posted. Such was the order and disposition of Porus's army.
Alexander being come in sight of the enemy, waited the coming up of his foot, which marched with the utmost diligence, and arrived a little after; and in order that they might have time to take breath, and not to be led, as they were very much fatigued, against the enemy, he caused his horse to make a great many evolutions, in order to gain time. But now every thing being ready, and the infantry having sufficiently recovered their vigour, Alexander gave the signal of battle. He did not think proper to begin by attacking the enemy's main body, where the infantry and the elephants were posted, for the very reason which had made Porus draw them up in that manner. But his cavalry being stronger, he drew out the greatest part of them, and marching against the left wing, sent Coenus, with his own regiment of horse, and that of Demetrius, to charge them at the same time; ordering him to attack that cavalry on the left behind, during which he himself would charge them both in front and flank. Seleucus, Antigonus, and Tauron, who commanded the foot, were ordered not to stir from their posts, till Alexander's cavalry had put that of the enemy, as well as their foot, into disorder.
Being come within arrow-shot, he detached a thousand bow-men on horseback, with orders for them to make their discharge on the horse of Porus's left wing, in order to throw it into disorder, whilst he himself would charge this body in flank, before it had time to rally. The Indians having joined again their squadrons, and drawn them up into a narrower compass, advanced against Alexander. At that instant Coenus charged them in the rear, according to the orders given him; insomuch, that the Indians were obliged to face about on all sides, to defend themselves from the thousand bow-men, and against Alexander and Coenus. Alexander, to make the best advantage of the confusion into which this sudden attack had thrown them, charged with great vigour those that had made head against him; who being no longer able to stand so violent an attack, were soon broke, and retired behind the elephants, as to an impregnable rampart. The leaders of the elephants made them advance against the enemy's horse; but, that very instant, the Macedonian phalanx moving on a sudden, surrounded those animals, and charged with their pikes the elephants themselves, and their leaders. This battle was very different from all those which Alexander had hitherto fought; for the elephants rushing upon the battalions, broke, with inexpressible fury, the thickest of them; when the Indian horse, seeing the Macedonian foot stopped by the elephants, returned to the charge: however, that of Alexander being stronger, and having greater experience in war, broke this body a second time, and obliged it to retire towards the elephants; upon which the Macedonian horse, being all united in one body, spread terror and confusion wherever they attacked. The elephants, being all covered with wounds, and the greatest part having lost their leaders, did not observe their usual order; but, distracted as it were with pain, no longer distinguished friends from foes; but, running about from place to place, they overthrew every thing that came in their way. The Macedonians, who had purposely left a greater interval between their battalions, either made way for them whenever they came forward, or charged with darts, those that fear and the tumult obliged to retire. Alexander, after having surrounded the enemy with his horse, made a signal to his foot to march up with all imaginable speed, in order to make a last effort, and to fall upon them with his whole force; all which they executed very successfully. In this manner the greatest part of the Indian cavalry were cut to pieces; and a body of their foot, which sustained no
ess loss, seeing themselves charged on all sides, at last fled. Catorus, who had continued in the camp with the rest of his army, seeing Alexander engaged with Porus, crossed the river, and charging the routed soldiers with his troops, who were cool and vigorous, by that means killed as many enemies in the retreat, as had fallen in the battle.
The Indians lost, on this occasion, twenty thousand foot, and three thousand horse; not to mention the chariots, which were all broke to pieces; and the elephants, that were either killed or taken. Porus's two sons fell in this battle; with Spitacus, governor of the province; all the colonels of horse and foot; and those who guided the elephants and chariots. As for Alexander, he lost but fourscore of the six thousand soldiers who were at the first charge; ten bow-men of the horse, twenty of his horse-guards, and two hundred common soldiers.
Porus, after having performed all the duty both of a soldier and a general in the battle, and fought with incredible bravery, seeing all his horse defeated, and the greatest part of his foot, did not behave like the great Darius, who, in a like disaster, was the first that fled: on the contrary, he continued in the field as long as one battalion or squadron stood their ground; but, at last, having received a wound in the shoulder, he retired upon his elephant; and was easily distinguished from the rest, by the greatness of his stature, and his unparelleled bravery. Alexander finding who he was, by those glorious marks, and being desirous of saving this king, sent Taxilus after him, because he was of the same nation. The latter, advancing as near to him as he might, without running any danger of being wounded, called out to him to stop, in order to hear the message he had brought him from Alexander. Porus turning back, and seeing it was Taxilus, his old enemy,
"How!" says he, "is it not Taxilus that calls; that traitor to his country and kingdom!"
Immediately after which, he would have transfixed him with his dart, had he not instantly retired. Notwithstanding this, Alexander was still desirous to save so brave a prince; and thereupon dispatched other officers, among whom was Meroe, one of his intimate friends, who besought him, in the strongest terms, to wait upon a conqueror altogether worthy of him: after much entreaty, Porus consented, and accordingly set forward. Alexander, who had been told of his coming, advanced forwards, in order to receive him, with some of his train. Being come pretty near, Alexander stopped, purposely to take a view of his stature and noble mien, he being about five cubits in height. Porus did not seem dejected at his misfortune; but came up with a resolute countenance, like a valiant warrior, whose courage in defending his dominions ought to acquire him the esteem of the brave prince who had taken him prisoner. Alexander spoke first; and, with an august and gracious air, asked him how he desired to be treated?
"Like a king," replied Porus.
"But," continued Alexander, "do you ask nothing more?"
"No," replied Porus; "all things are included in that single word."
Alexander, struck with this greatness of soul, the magnanimity of which seemed heightened by distress, did not only restore him his kingdom, but annexed other provinces to it, and treated him with the highest testimonies of honour, esteem, and friendship. Porus was faithful to him till his death.—It is hard to say, whether the victor or the vanquished best deserved praise on this occasion.
Alexander built a city on the spot where the battle had been fought; and another in that place where he had crossed the river. He called the one Nicaea, from his victory; and the other Bucephalus, in honour of his horse, who died there, not of his wounds, but of old age. After having paid the last duties to such of his soldiers as had lost their lives in battle, he solemnised games and offered up sacrifices of thanks in the place where he had passed the Hydespes.
Alexander having now conquered Porus, advanced into India, which having never been a warlike nation, he subdued with the rapidity rather of a traveller than a conqueror. Numberless petty states submitted to him, sensible that his stay would be short, and his conquests evanescent.
Alexander, passing near a city where several Brachmans or Indian priests dwelt, was very desirous to converse with them, and if possible to prevail with some of them to follow him. Being informed that these philosophers never made visits, but that those who had an inclination to see them must go to their houses, he concluded, that it would be beneath his dignity to go to them; and not just to force these sages to any thing contrary to their laws and usages. Onesicritus, the philosopher, who had been a disciple of Diogenes the Cynick, was deputed to them. He met not far from the city fifteen Boxamins, who from morning till evening stood always naked, in the same posture in which they at first had placed themselves, and afterwards returned to the city at night. He addressed himself first to Calanus an Indian, reputed the wisest man of his country, who, though he professed the practice of the most severe philosophy, had however been persuaded in his extreme old age to attend upon the court; and him he told the occasion of his coming. The later gazing upon Onesicritus's clothes and shoes, could not forbear laughing; after which he told him,
"That anciently the earth had been covered with barley and wheat, as it was at that time with dust, that besides water, the rivers used to flow with milk, honey, oil and wine."
That man's guilt had occasioned a change of this happy condition; and that Jupiter, to punish their ingratitude, had sentenced them to a long painful labour. That their repentance afterwards moving him to compassion, he had restored them their former abundance; however, that by the course of things, they seemed to be returning to their ancient confusion. This relation shews evidently, that these philosophers, had some notion of the felicity of the first man and of the evil to which he had been sentenced for his sins.
Onesicritus was very urgent with both of them to quit their austere way of life and follow the fortune of Alexander, saying,
"That they would find in him a generous master and benefactor, who would heap upon them honour and riches of all kinds."
Then Mandanis assuming a haughty philosophical tone, answered,
"That he did not want Alexander, and was the son of Jupiter as well as himself. That he was exempted from want, desire or fear. That so long as he should live, the earth would furnish him with all things necessary for his subsistence, and that death would rid him of a troublesome companion (meaning his body) and set him at full liberty."
Calodanus appeared more tractable, and notwithstanding the opposition, and even the prohibition of his superior, who reproached him for his abject spirit in stooping so low as to serve another master besides God, he followed Onesicritus, and went to Alexander's court, who received him with great demonstrations of joy. As it was Alexander's chief ambition to imitate Bacchus and Hercules in their expeditions into the East, he resolved like them to penetrate as long as he could meet new nations to conquer, however his soldiers satiated with spoil and fatigued with repeated encounters, at last began to open their eyes at the wildness of his ambition. Some bewailed their calamities in such terms as raised compassion, others insolently cried out,
"That they would march no further;"
the chief object of the King's wishes, was to invade the territories of Agramenes, a prince who lived beyond the great river Ganges; and who was able to bring into the field two hundred thousand foot, two thousand elephants, twenty thousand horse, and two thousand armed chariots. The soldiers however refused to wander over those great deserts that lay beyond the Ganges, and more terrible to them than the greatest army the East could muster; he addressed them in the most persuasive terms not to leave their general behind; he threatened them, that he would take his Scythian and his Persian soldiers, and with them alone he would make conquests worthy of his name and of his glory; but still the Macedonian soldiers, persisted sullen and inflexible, and only at last complied after many persuasive orations to follow him towards the South, to discover the nearest ocean, and to take the course of the river Indus as their infallible guide.
For this expedition he embarked in a fleet consisting of eight hundred vessels as well gallies as boats, to carry the troops and provisions, after five days sailing, the fleet arrived where the Hydespes and the Acesines mixed their streams, there the ships were very much shattered, because these rivers unite with prodigious rapidity. At last he came to the country of the Oxydrace and the Mallis, the most valiant people in the East, however Alexander defeated them in several engagements, dispossessed them of their strong holds, and at last marched against their capital city, where the greatest part of their forces were retired. It was upon this occasion that seizing a scaling ladder, himself the first, he mounted the wall, followed only by two of his officers; his attendants believing him to be in danger, mounted swiftly to succour him, but the ladder breaking, he was left alone. It was now that his rashness became his safety, for leaping from the wall into the city which was crouded with enemies, sword in hand, he repulsed such as were nearest, and even killed the general who advanced in the throng. Thus with his back to a tree that happened to be near, he received all the darts of the enemy in a shield, and kept even the boldest at a distance at last an Indian discharging an arrow of three feet long, it pierced his coat of mail and his right breast, and so great a quantity of blood issued from the wound, that he dropped his arms and lay as dead. The Indian came to strip him, supposing him really what he appeared; but Alexander that instant recalled his spirits and plunged the dagger in his side. By this time a part of the king's attendants came to his succour, and forming themselves round his body, till his soldiers without found means of bursting the gates, saved him, and put all the inhabitants without distinction to the sword.
The wound which at first seemed dangerous, having in the space of six or seven days a most favourable appearance, Alexander mounted his horse, and shewed himself to the army, who seemed to view him with insatiable pleasure. Thus continuing his voyage, and subduing the country on each side as he passed along, the pilots perceived from the softness of the breezes that the ocean was near. Nothing so much astonished the Macedonian soldiers as the ebbing and flowing of the tide. They were amazed when they saw it rise to a great height and overflow the country, which they considered as a mark of divine resentment; they were no less terrified some hours after, when they saw the river forsake its banks, and leave those lands uncovered it had so lately overflowed. Thus, after a voyage of nine months, he at last stood upon the shore; and after having offered sacrifices to Neptune, and having looked wishfully on the broad expanse of waters before him, he is said to have wept for having no more worlds left to conquer. Here he put an end to his excursions; and having appointed Nearchus admiral of his fleet, with orders to coast along the Indian shore as far as the Persian gulph, he set out with his army for Babylon.
Nothing could exceed the hardships which his army sustained in their return: passing through a country destitute of all sorts of provisions, they were obliged to feast on the beasts of burden, and were forced to burn those rich spoils for the sake of which they had encountered so many dangers; those diseases also, that generally accompany famine, compleated their calamity, and destroyed them in great numbers. After a march of threescore days, they arrived in the province of Gedrosia, the fertility of which soon banished from the minds of the soldiery all their former difficulties. Alexander passed through the country, not with the military pomp of a conqueror, but in the licentious disguise of an enthusiast: still willing to imitate Bacchus, he was drawn by eight horses, on a scaffold in the form of a square stage, where he passed the days and nights in feasting. Along the roads where he passed were placed casks of wine in great abundance, and these the soldiery drained in honour of his mock deity. The whole country echoed with the sound of instruments and the howling of bachanals, who with their hair dishevelled, with frantic mirth, ran up and down, abandoning themselves to every kind of lewdness. This vice produced one of a much more formidable nature in the king's mind; for it always enflamed his passions to cruelty, and the executioner generally followed the feast.
While he refreshed his army in these parts, Nearchus was returned from his expedition along the coast, and brought him strange accounts of the gold to be found in some islands, and of the wonders that were to be seen in others; he was therefore commanded to make some further discoveries; and then enter the mouth of the river Euphrates, to meet the king at Babylon. He here also executed an act of rigorous justice upon Cleander and others, who had formerly been the ministers of his vengeance in cutting off Parmenio. Against these murtherers great complaints had been made by the deputies of the provinces in which they had commanded; and such was the complexion of their crimes, that nothing but the certain expectation of Alexander's never returning from India, could encourage them to commit such. All men were glad to see them delivered over to justice. Cleander, with six hundred soldiers, whom he had employed, were publickly executed; every one rejoicing, that the anger of the king was at last turned against the ministers of his vengeance. As Alexander drew nearer to Babylon, he visited the tomb of Cyrus, in the city of Pasargada; and here he put a Persian prince, whose name was Orsines, to death, at the instigation of Bagoas, an eunuch, who falsely accused Orsines of robbing the tomb; here also, Calanus, the Indian, having lived four-score and three years, without ever having been afflicted with sickness, now feeling the approaches of disorder, resolved to put himself to death. Alexander imagined he might easily be dissuaded from his design; but finding, in opposition to all the arguments he could use, that Calanus was inflexible, he gave orders for erecting a funeral pile for him, upon which the Indian was resolved to die.
Calanus rode on horseback to the foot of the funeral pile; offered up his prayers to the gods; caused libations to be performed, and the rest of the ceremonies to be observed which are practised at funerals; cut off a tuft of his hair, in imitation of victims; embraced such of his friends as were present; intreated them to be merry that day, and to feast and carouse with Alexander; assuring them, at the same time, that he would soon see that prince in Babylon. After saying these words, he ascended, with the utmost chearfulness, the funeeral pile, laid himself down upon it, and covered his face; and, when the flame reached him, he did not make the least motion; but with a patience and constancy that surprised the whole army, continued in the same posture in which he at first had laid himself, and compleated his sacrifice, by dying agreeably to the strange superstitions of the enthusiasts of his country. Alexander punctually obeyed him in his admonitions to debauchery. A banquet followed the night after, in which Promacus received a talent as a prize, for having drank the largest quantity of wine; he survived his victory, however, but three days, and of the rest of the guests, forty-one died of their intemperance. From Pasargada, Alexander proceeded to Susa, where he married Statira, the eldest daughter of Darius, and gave her youngest sister in marriage to his favourite Hephestion. Fourscore Persian ladies of rank were given to the principal favourites among his captains. The nuptials were solemnized after the Persian manner. He likewise feasted all the Macedonians, who had married before in that country. It is related, that there were nine thousand guests at this feast, and that he gave each of them a golden cup for their libations. Upon this occasion, there appeared at Susa, three hundred young soldiers, dressed in the Macedonian manner, whom Alexander intended particularly to favour, in order to check the licentiousness of his veterans, who had but too just reasons to murmur.
While Alexander was thus employed in Persia, a new commotion was carrying on in Greece. Harpalus, whom Alexander had appointed governor of Babylon, being disgusted with his master's cruelty, and ambitious of power himself, went over into Greece, with immense sums, which he raised from the plundered prisoners of Persia. He had credit enough to assemble a body of six thousand soldiers, and with these he landed at Athens: money, at that time, being thought all-powerful in Greece, he lavished immense sums among the mercenary orators, whose business it was to inflame the minds of the people. Of all these, Phocion alone, to whom he offered seven hundred talents, preserved his well-known integrity, and remained inflexible; his disinterestedness had long been the object of admiration, even in the time of Philip. Being offered a great sum of money, if not for his own acceptance, at least for the benefit of his children: If my children, cried Phocion, resemble me, the little spot of ground, with the produce of which I have hitherto lived, and which has raised me to the glory you mention, will be sufficient to maintain them; if it will not, I do not intend to leave them wealth, merely to stimulate and heighten their luxury. Alexander having likewise sent him an hundred talents, Phocion asked those who brought them, why Alexander sent him so great a sum, and did not remit any to the rest of the Athenians? It is, replied they, because Alexander looks upon you as the only just and virtuous man. Phocion rejoined, let him suffer me still to enjoy that character, and be really what I am taken for. This, therefore, was not a character to be corrupted; on the contrary, he used all his influence to prevent the success of Harpalus, who being ordered by the assembly to depart the city, lost all hopes of success.
This commotion was scarcely quelled when another ensued, in consequence of a declaration, by which all the Macedonians, who from their age or infirmities were unable to bear the fatigues of war, should be sent back to Greece. They with seditious cries unanimously demanded to be entirely discharged from his service, murmuring against him as a despiser of his bravest troops, and as a cruel king, who wanted not their absence but their destruction. Alexander, however, acted with that resolution upon this occasion, which always marked his character. Being seated on his tribunal of justice, he rushed among the principal mutineers, seized thirteen, and ordered them to be immediately punished. The soldiers, amazed at his intrepidity, withheld their complaints, and with down-cast eyes seemed to beg for mercy. You desired a discharge, cried he: go then, and publish to the world that you have left your prince to the mercy of strangers; from henceforth, the Persians shall be my guards. This menace served only to increase the misery and the consternation of his troops; they attended him with tears and lamentations, till at last, softened by their penitence, he once more took them into favour and affection.
Now secure from insurrection, he gave himself up to mirth and feasting; his army was sollowed by all the ministers of pleasure; he spent whole nights and days in immoderate drinking, and in one of those excesses, Hephestion lost his life. This courtier was the most intimate friend of Alexander. Craterus alone, of all the Macedonians seemed to dispute this honour with him. Craterus, as the king used to say, loves the king, but Hephestion loves Alexander. The death of this favourite threw the monarch into excessive sorrow; he seemed to receive no consolation; he even put to death the physician who attended him, and the extraordinary funeral honours celebrated at his arrival in Babylon, marked the greatness of his affliction.
After various combats, conquests, cruelties, follies, and excesses, Alexander arrived at Babylon; the Chaldeans, who pretended to foresee future events, attempted to persuade him not to enter that city. The Greek philosophers on the other hand, displayed the futility of their predictions. Babylon was a theatre for him to display his glory in; and ambassadors from all the nations he had conquered were there in readiness to celebrate his triumphs. After making a most magnificent entry, he gave audience to the ambassadors, with a grandeur and dignity suitable to his power, yet with the affability and politeness of a private courtier.
At that time he wrote a letter, which was to have been read publickly in the assembly at the Olympic-games, whereby the several cities of Greece were commanded to permit all exiles to return into their native country, those excepted, who had committed sacrilege, or any other crime deserving death; ordering Antipater to employ an armed force against such cities as should refuse to obey. This letter was read in the assembly. But the Athenians and Etolians did not think themselves obliged to put orders in execution which seemed to interfere with their liberty.
Finding Babylon, in extent and conveniency, superior to all the other cities of the East, he resolved to make it the seat of his empire; and for that purpose was desirous of adding to it all the ornaments possible. But though he was much employed in projects of this kind, and in schemes even beyond human power to execute, he spent the greatest part of his time in such pleasures as this magnificent city afforded. He was often present at new banquets, where he drank with his usual intemperance. On a particular occasion, having spent the whole night in a debauch, a second was proposed: he accepted the invitation, and drank to such excess, that, he fell upon the floor, dead to appearance; and in this lifeless manner was carried, a sad spectacle of debauchery, to his palace. The fever continued, with some intervals, in which he gave the necessary orders for the sailing of the fleet, and the marching of his land forces, being persuaded he should soon recover. But at last finding himself past all hopes, and his voice beginning to fail, he gave his ring to Perdiccas, with orders to convey his corpse to the temple of Ammon. He struggled however with death for some time, and raising himself upon his elbow, he gave his hand to the soldiers, who pressed to kiss it; being then asked to whom he would leave his empire, he answered, To the most worthy. Perdiccas enquiring at what time he should pay him divine honours, he replied, When you are happy. With these words he expired, being thirty-two years and eight months old, of which he had reigned twelve, with more fortune than virtue.
In whatever light we view this monarch, we shall have little to admire, and less to imitate. That courage for which he was celebrated, is but a subordinate virtue; that fortune which still attended him, was but an accidental advantage; that discipline which prevailed in his army, was produced and cultivated by his father; but his intemperance, his cruelty, his vanity, his passion for useless conquests, were all his own. His victories however, served to crown the pyramid of Grecian glory; they served to shew, to what a degree the arts of peace can promote those of war. In this picture, we view a combination of petty states by the arts of refinement, growing more than a match for the rest of the world united; and leaving mankind an example of superiority of intellect over brutal force. After the death of this monarch, Greece was rather considered as a seminary for the education and promotion of the laws of other nations, than a confederacy for enforcing and promulgating her own. The successors of Alexander seized upon particular parts of his extensive empire; and what he gained with much fatigue and danger, became a prey to men who sheltered their ambition under the sanction and glory of his name. They had been taught by him a lesson of pride; and as he would never suffer an equal, his numerous successors could not think of admitting a superior. They continued their disputes for dominion until in some measure they destroyed each other; and as no governments were ever worse conducted than their's, so no period of history was ever left in such darkness, doubt, and confusion.
INDEX.
N. B. The numeral letters refer to the volumes, the figures to the pages.
A.
ABDOLONYMUS, a poor Sidonian, invested, to his extreme surprise, with royalty, ii. 200.
Abisares,
an Indian king, pays homage, and sends presents to Alexander, ii. 258.
Acrisius,
king of Argos, unfortunately slain by his grandson Perseus, i. 5.
Ada,
queen of Caria, restored to her kingdom by Alexander, ii. 169.
Admetus,
king of the Molossians, promises Themistocles to grant him his protection, i. 191.
Aegialeus,
first king of Sicyon, i. 5.
Aeginetans,
refuse to deliver up those who had stirred them up to revolt, i. 98. Punished by Leotychides in having ten of their citizens placed in the hands of the Athenians, 99. Complain of the severity of their treatment, ibid. Resolve to obtain justice by force, ibid. Intercept an Athenian ship, ibid. Worsted in several engagements, ibid.
Aeschines,
the orator, entirely devoted to Philip, harangues for him with an impetuous elocution, ii. 91. Gains his point by his passionate warmth, and exquifite address, ibid. Draws up an accusation against Ctesiphon, 114. Opposes the decree framed by him in favour of Demosthenes, ibid. Loses his cause, and is sentenced to banishment for his rash accusation, 115. Settles himself at Rhodes, and opens a school of eloquence there, ibid. A memorable saying of his, ibid. His exclamation at the generous behaviour of his rival, 116.
Agesilaus,
king of Sparta, sent into Asia with an army, ii. 2. Gains a signal victory over Tissaphernes, near the river Pactolus, ibid. Forces the enemy's camp, and finds considerable plunder, ibid. Receives orders to return from Persia, 3. Instantly obeys the mandate, 4. Gains a considerable victory over the Athenians and their allies upon the plains of Coronea, ibid. Pitched upon to command the army to humble the Grecian states, 10. Strikes a terror into the Athenians with his name, and increases their fears by the number of his forces, ibid. Detaches a party of light armed men to provoke them to give him battle, 11. Finding them prepared to receive him in a new manner, withdraws his army, and contents himself with ravaging the country, ibid. On the defeat of the Lacedaemonians, under the command of Cleombrotus, he is invested with considerable powers, 24. Saves the citizens from infamy by a generous expedient, ibid. His exclamation when Epaminondas was pointed out to him, 25. He leads the forces of Sparta against him, 30. Being informed of his design to seize the city of Sparta by surprise, he dispatches one of his horse to acquaint it with its danger, 31. Makes head every where against the Theban general, and defends himself with more valour than could be expected from his years, ibid. Makes an expedition into Egypt, 40. Dies there, ibid.
Agis,
king of Sparta, reverses what his predecessors had done in favour of the peasants, and imposes a tribute upon them, i. 14. Punished and reprimanded for eating with his queen in private, 25. Closes with an offer from the Argives, 255. Grants them a truce, ibid. Advances with an army to besiege Athens by land, 333.
Alcmaeonidae,
having been banished from Athens, endeavour to undermine the interests of Hippias, at Sparta, and meet with success, i. 70. Obtain liberty to rebuild the temple at Delphos, ibid.
Alcibiades,
saved in the battle of Potidoea by his tutor Socrates, i. 215. Discovers himself an enemy to peace, 249. His remarkable intimacy with Socrates, ibid. Is disgusted with the Lacedaemonians, 252. Has a conference with the Lacedaemonian ambassadors, 253. Is declared general, 254. Is appointed with Nicias and Lamachus to command the fleet, 257. Is attacked by his enemies while engaged in the Sicilian expedition, 263. Is recalled, ibid. Obeys the orders he receives with seeming submission, ibid. Gets on shore at Thurium, ibid. Disappears, and eludes the pursuit of those who seek after him, ibid. Is condemned to death for his contumacy, 264. His reply on hearing his condemnation, ibid. Sends to Samos to collect the sentiments of his countrymen concerning him, 309 Offers to return to Athens on particular conditions, ibid. His return opposed chiefly by Phrynicus, 310. Recalled by the army, and created general with full power, 313. Shews himself to Tissarpharnes, ibid. Saves the commonwealth, ibid. Recalled by unanimous consent, 314. Solicited to make haste to the assistance of the city, ibid. Deceives the Spartan admiral, 315. Gains a considerable victory, and erects a trophy, ibid. Pays a visit to Tissaphernes, ibid. Is unexpectedly seized by him, and sent prisoner to Sardis, ibid. Makes his escape to Clazomene, 316. Bears down upon the Peloponnesian fleet, ibid. Breaks through the enemy, and makes great slaughter, ibid. Takes several cities which had revolted from the Athenians, ibid. Sets sail for Athens, ibid. His triumphant entry described, 317. Appointed generalissimo, 318. Steers his course to the island of Andros, ibid. Goes from thence to Samos, ibid. Alarms the Lacedaemonians by his success, ibid. Leaves the command of his fleet to Antiochus, 320. Accused by his fickle countrymen of insufficiency, 321. His representations to the Athenian generals, 328. Offers to attack the enemy by land, ibid. Withdraws unsuccessful, ibid. Having taken refuge in the dominions of Persia, he does all in his power to obstruct the treaty in agitation between Cyrus and the Lacedaemonians, 338. His patriotic designs frustrated by the thirty tyrants, ibid. He is cruelly massacred in a small town in Phrygia, 339.
Alexander,
of Pherae, having killed Poliphron, seizes the government, ii. 28. Meditates revenge, 29. Makes Pelopidas, in the character of an ambassador, prisoner, contrary to all the laws of nations and humanity, ibid. Treats his Theban prisoners with the utmost severity, ibid. Comes to an engagement with Pelopidas, ibid. Is defeated by the Thebans, ibid. Is killed by his wife and his brothers, 30.
Alexander,
son of Philip of Macedon, vested with sovereign authority at the age of fifteen, ii. 84. Gives some proofs of his courage, ibid. Defeats some neighbouring states which had revolted, ibid. Accompanies his father in his Scythian expedition, 88. Covers him with a shield when he was wounded in a bloody battle with the Triballi, 89. Puts to flight all who attacked him, ibid. At the head of the Macedonian nobles, falls upon the sacred band of Thebes, with all the fury of youthful courage, 103. Remonstrates with his father Philip on his resolving to divorce himself from Olympias, and to marry Cleopatra, 117. Extremely dissatisfied with the solemnities which proclaim his mother's disgrace, 118. Irritated by the behaviour of Attalus, the uncle of the new queen, ibid. Behaves himself with an unpardonable insolence, 119. Succeeds to the throne of Macedon, 127. His ruling passion, ibid. A characteristic anecdote relating to him, 128. Discovers great esteem for his master Aristotle, 131. Grows fond of philosophy, ibid. Applies himself chiefly to morality, ibid. Makes it his serious study, 132. Applies with vigour and success to polite literature, 133. Finds himself, on his succession, surrounded with capital dangers, 137. Resolves to defeat the machinations of his enemies, 138. Conciliates the affections of the Macedonians, by forcing them from a bodily and vexatious slavery, ibid. Determines to support his affairs by boldness and magnanimity, ibid. Conquers the king of the Triballi in a great battle, 139. Makes the Getae fly at his approach, ibid. Subdues several barbarous nations, ibid. Makes the conquest of Persia the first object of his attention, 140. Is called to a new undertaking, 141. Is obliged to turn his sword from the Persians against the Greeks, ibid. Leads his army against them with surprising celerity, 142. Astonishes the Thebans by his appearance in Boeotia, ibid. Publishes a general pardon to all who should come over to him, ibid. Finds it impossible to get the better of the Thebans by offers of peace, ibid. Is concerned to see the necessity of deciding the affair by force, ibid. Takes the city of Thebes, and plunders it, ibid. Is struck with the answer of a Theban lady, brought before him for the murder of a Thracian officer, 144. Orders that she have leave to retire wherever she pleases with her children, ibid. Debates in council how to act with regard to Thebes, ibid. Destroys it, 145. Sets at liberty the priests, the descendants of Pindar, and some others, ibid. Effects of his sudden arrival in Greece upon the Athenians, 146. He throws the Athenians into the greatest consternation by the plunder of Thebes, ibid. Receives a deputation from them imploring his clemency, ibid. Sends to Athens to require the citizens to deliver up the ten orators who had formed the league against his father, ibid. Waves his demand with regard to the ten orators, 147. Expresses a particular respect for the Athenians, 148. Spreads terror through all Greece, ibid. Summons the assembly of the several states and tree cities of Greece at Corinth, in order to obtain from them the same supreme command against the Persians which they had granted to his father, ibid. Receives congratulations from a great number of cities and from many philosophers on his election, 150. Makes a visit to Diogenes, 151. His interview with him described, ibid. Determines to consult the oracle of Apollo before he sets out for Asia, ibid. His rash behaviour to the priestess, 152. Sets out for Macedonia to make preparations for his expedition, ibid. Holds a council, ibid. Offers a splendid sacrifice to the gods, and causes scenical games to be celebrated, 153. Settles the affairs of Macedon before his departure, ibid. Appoints Antipater viceroy, ibid. His memorable reply to Perdiccas, 154. Sets out for Asia with a well-disciplined army, ibid. Begins his march along the lake Cercinum, 155. Crosses the river Strymon, ibid. Afterwards the Hebrus, ibid. Arrives at Sestos, ibid. Commands Parmenio to cross over from Sestos to Abydos, ibid. Crosses the Hellespont himself, steering his galley with his own hands, ibid. Inspires his army with confidence by his animated behaviour, ibid. Determines to destroy the city of Lampsacus, ibid. Receives a visit from Anaximenes, a native of the place, ibid. Finds the Persians ready to dispute his passage over the Granicus, on his coming to the banks of it, 157. Marches on in military order, 158. Advised by Parmenio to encamp in battle array, ibid. Is unaffected by his advice, 159. Declares it will be a shame to let his progress be retarded by a rivulet, ibid. Makes his military arrangements with spirit, 160. Routs the Persians, passes the river with his whole army, and attacks the enemy on all fides, 161. Charges the thickest part of the enemy's horse, ibid. Is particularly distinguished by his appearance, ibid. Engages in single combat with the son-in-law of Darius, 162. Lays him dead at his seet, ibid. Puts the Persians to flight, ibid. Loses a horse by his impetuosity, 163. Orders Lysippus to make commemorating statues in brass, 164. Takes the utmost care of the wounded, ibid. Grants the rites of sepulture to the principal Persians, ibid. Makes it his duty and pleasure to share the honour of the victory with the Greeks, ibid. Sends three hundred shields to the Athenians, ibid. Recovers Sardis, 167. Takes the inhabitants under his protection, ibid. Assigns to the temble of Diana at Ephesus the tributes which were paid to the kings of Persia, ibid. Receives deputies before his departure from the cities of Trallis and Magnesia with the keys of those places, ibid. Marches to Miletus, ibid. Finds the gates of that city shut against him, ibid. Attacks it, ibid. Obliges the inhabitants, after a long and obstinate siege, to capitulate, 168. Treats the Milesians with the utmost humanity, but sells all the foreigners, ibid. Marches into Caria, in order to lay siege to Halicarnassus, ibid. Meets with a vigorous refistance, 169. Demolishes the city to the very foundations, ibid. Restores Ada, queen of Caria, to her kingdom, ibid. Receives from her every day meats dressed in the most exquisite manner, and the most excellent cooks of every kind, ibid. His answer to her, 170. Receives submission from several kings of Asia Minor, ibid. Opens the campaign next year very early, ibid. Determines to attempt the reduction of the maritime provinces, ibid. Meets with a check to his progress, 171. Proceeds in the most spirited manner, ibid. Marches to Coelenae, a city of Phrygia, ibid. Receives a haughty answer from the garrison, ibid. Compels them to surrender, ibid. Cuts the famous Gordian knot, 172. Marches into Paphlagonia and Cappadocia, and subdues them, 173. Proceeds immediately towards the provinces of Upper Asia, ibid. Advances, by hasty marches, into Cilicia, ibid. Arrives in the country called Cyrus's Camp, ibid. Enters the pass of Cilicia, ibid. His confession with regard to it, ibid. Marches his whole army to the city of Tarsus, ibid. Plunges into the river Cydnus, is seized with a shivering, and is carried to his tent, after faining away, 174. Is intreated by one of his physicians to have three days allowed him for the preparation of a particular dose, 175. Is only afflicted because he shall be three days hindered from appearing at the head of his army, ibid. Receives a letter from Parmenio, whom he had left in Cappadocia, ibid. Is requested by him to beware of Philip his physician, ibid. Is rendered very uneasy by Parmenio's letter, ibid. Will not believe his physician guilty of the charge against him, ibid. Discovers a noble considence in him in a very singular interview, 176. Recovers, ibid. Marches from Tarsus, and arrives at Bactriana, 182. Offers sacrifice to Esculapius at Solae, ibid. Proceeds to Pyramus, to Malles, and at last to Cartabala, ibid. Hears that Darius is encamped at Sochus, in Assyria, ibid. Resolves to meet him without delay, ibid. Fortifies his camp, 183. His behaviour on the eve of the expected engagement, 184. Draws up his army in battle array, 185. The drawing up of his army described, 186. Animates his soldiers by spirited exhortations, 189. Performs the duty of a private soldier, and of a commander, 190. Renders himself conspicuous to the whole army, ibid. Receives a slight wound in his thigh, ibid. Is victorious with his right wing, 191. Puts the Persians to flight, ibid. Invites his chief officers to a feast after the engagement, 194. Is interrupted by the lamentations of the wife and mother of Darius, ibid. Sends one of his officers to them, ibid. Visits the wounded, and causes the last honours to be paid to the dead in the presence of the whole army, drawn up in the most splendid order of battle, 195. Permits Darius's mother to bury whatever persons she pleases, according to the Persian ceremonies, ibid. Sends a message to the queens, ibid. Visits them in their tent, ibid. Raises Sysigambis, who had fallen prostrate before him, from the ground, 196. Comforts her and her attendants, ibid. Takes the son of Darius, a child, in his arms, ibid. Is affected by its behaviour to him, ibid. His own behaviour upon the melancholy occasion truly heroic, ibid. Makes Parmenio governor of Phoenicia, ibid. Becomes possessed of the treasures of Darius deposited in Damascus, by the treachery of the governor, 197. His reply to Darius's imperious demands, 198. Marches into Phoenicia, ibid. Finds the citizens of Byblos ready to open their gates to him, ibid. Receives submissions from the inhabitants of several places as he advances, ibid. Particularly from the Sidonians, ibid. Dethrones Strato, the Sidonian king, and permits Hephaestion to make an election agreeably to his own judgment, 199. Commands Abdolonymus, the new-elected king of Phoenicia, to be sent for, 200. His address to him, 201. Is so well pleased with his answer, that he makes him considerable presents, and annexes one of the neighbouring provinces to his dominions, ibid. Thinks it necessary to take the city of Tyre, 202. Is not driven from his resolution by the obstacles which he meets with from its fortified state, 203. Sends heralds with pacific proposals, ibid. Is inflamed by their throwing his heralds murdered from the top of the wall into the sea, 204. Determines to destroy the city, ibid. Sets down before it with persevering resentment, ibid. Invests the Tyrians on all sides, both by sea and land, 207. Orders his gallies to approach the walls of the city at midnight, and attack it with resolution, 208. Meets with a severe disappointment by the havock which a storm makes among his ships, ibid. Carries on the attack with more vigour than ever, 210. Performs wonders himself, ibid. Receives a second letter from Darius, in a different strain, with considerable offers for the ransom of his wife, and with the offer also of his daughter in marriage, 213. Debates upon the terms proposed in council, 214. His memorable reply to Parmenio upon the occasion, ibid. Treats the proposals of Darius with contempt, ibid. Refuses to accept of treasures which he considers as his own, ibid. Marches from Tyre to Jerusalem, ibid. Resolves to punish that city, ibid. Feels his resentment disarmed, by meeting a procession of the inhabitants of the city on his way, ibid. Advances to the high priest at the head of them, and salutes him with religious veneration, ibid. Receives wishes from the Jews surrounding him for his prosperity, ibid. His remarkable speech to Parmenio upon the uncommon occasion, 215. Is so pleased with his reception at Jerusalem, that he bids the Jews ask for any favour they think proper, 216. Gratifies
their
desires, but gives the Samaritans an evasive answer, ibid. Goes to Gaza, and meets with a more obstinate resistance than he expected, ibid. Takes the town by storm, ibid. Orders the garrison to be cut to pieces with a brutal ferocity, ibid. Orders Boetis, the governor, to be brought before him, ibid. Punishes him in a very cruel manner, ibid. Turns the whole power of his arms towards Egypt, 217. Arrives before Pelusium, ibid. Finds the gates of the city set open to receive him, ibid. Finds the gates of Memphis also open to him, ibid. Possesses himself of all Egypt without the least opposition, ibid. Forms a design of visiting the temple of Jupiter, ibid. Sets out along the river Memphis, 218. Lays the foundation of the city of Alexandria, ibid. Proceeds to the temple of Jupiter, ibid. Arrives at it, 219. Is declared to be the son of Jupiter by the high priest as soon as he appears before the altar, ibid. Is quite intoxicated with the adulation administered to him, ibid. Settles the government of Egypt during his stay there, upon the most solid foundation, 220. Sets out to march against Darius, ibid. Honours his wife, who dies in child-bed by the way, with a funeral ceremony due to her exalted character, ibid. Continues his journey towards the Tigris, ibid. Points out with his own hand to his soldiers the passage over the Tigris to them, 221. Commands them to save nothing but their arms, ibid. Encamps on the opposite side, 222. Revives the spirits of his soldiers depressed by an eclipse of the moon, by the assurances of some Egyptian soothsayers, ibid. Prepares for an engagement with Darius, ibid. Receives new overtures of peace from him more advantageous than the former ones, ibid. Refuses his offers, ibid. Marches towards him in battle array, 223. Halts, and calls a council of war, ibid. Addresses himself to his general officers, and then orders them to take some rest, ibid. His haughty but prudent reply to Parmenio, ibid. Reposes himself for the remaining part of the night, 225. Is prevented, by the emotions of his mind, from sleeping immediately, ibid. Sleeps afterwards soundly, ibid. Is awaked by Parmenio, ibid. Makes an heroic reply to him, ibid. Takes up his arms, and rides up and down the ranks, animating his troops by the most powerful exhortations, 226. Dispatches a body of horse to prevent the consequences of a Persian movement, 227. Reinforces them with a body of Paeonians, ibid. His cavalry is greatly annoyed, ibid. He puts the enemy to flight, 228. Employs a stratagem to encourage his soldiers, on seeing Darius put his whole army in motion, in order to charge him, ibid. Presses to the place in which Darius is stationed, 229. Wounds Darius's equerry with a javelin, ibid. Purfues Darius, 230. Is obliged to desist from the pursuit, ibid. Cuts a body of Persian horse to pieces, ibid. Rides as far as Arbela after Darius, ibid. Approaches near Babylon, 231. Enters the city, which surrenders to him on his appearance before it, 232. His triumphant entry into that city described, ibid. Takes a view of Darius's money and moveables, 233. Distributes them with generosity among his soldiers, ibid. Gives the government of the province to Mazaeus, and the command of the forces he leaves there to Apollodones, of Amphipolis, ibid. Marches from Babylon to Syraceni, ibid. Afterwards to Susa, ibid. Finds treasures there to an infinite amount, ibid. Rewards merit and courage in his troops with them, ibid. Leaves the mother and children of Dai
s there, ibid. Goes forward till he comes to the river Pasitigris, ibid. Crosses into the country of Uxii, 233. Pardons Madathes, commander of the province, sets all the captives, and those who surrendered themselves, at liberty, and behaves to them in a very generous manner, 234. Proceeds to the pass of Susa, defended by Ariobarzanes, with a body of five thousand men, ibid. Stops a while, ibid. Cuts the army that defended the pass in pieces, ibid. Marches immediately towards Persia, ibid. Receives letters from Tiridates, governor of Persepolis, with regard to the treasures of Darius, which accelerate his march to that city, 235. Leaves his infantry behind, marches the whole night at the head of his cavalry, and passes the river Araxes, ib
d. Perceives, as he draws near the city, a body of men memorable for their misery, 235. Rewards them liberally for their sufferings, 236. Commands the governor of the province to treat them with mildness and respect, ibid. Enters the city of Persepolis at the head of his victorious soldiers, ibid. Puts a speedy end to the massacre begun by them, and forbids them to commit any further violences, ibid. Finds immense riches there, ibid. Seizes a torch, inflamed with wine, and the stimulations of an Athenian courtezan, and sets fire to the palace, 237. Repents of what he has done, and gives orders for extinguishing the fire which he and his Macedonians had kindled, ibid. His orders are issued too late, ibid. Weeps bitterly over the dead body of Darius, 240. Pulls off his military cloak, and throws it upon it, ibid. Causes his body to be embalmed, and his coffin to be adorned with royal magnificence, ibid. Sends it to Sysigambis to be interred with the customary honours, ibid. Feels his spirit of ambition inflamed by the death of Darius, 241. Attempts to pursue Bessus, ibid. Desists, on finding his attempt vain, in order to cross into Parthia, ibid. Arrives on the frontiers of Hyrcania, ibid. Finds the Hyrcanians submissive, ibid. Subdues the Mandii, and several other nations, ibid. Conquers nations with a prodigious rapidity, when his appearance is totally unexpected, ibid. Receives a message from Thalestris, queen of the Amazons, at a little distance from him, explaining the cause of her approximation to him, 242. Sends back a favourable answer, ib. Isobliged, in consequence of her request after their interview, to make some stay where he is, ibid. Sets out for the province inhabited by the Parthians, ibid. Abandons himself to sensuality, ibid. Falls a victim to the Persian vices, 243. Gives one of his female captives her liberty, struck at the fight of her, and touched with the account she relates of herself, ibid. Returns all her possessions, and causes her husband to be sent for, that she may be restored to him, ibid. Leads his veteran soldiers, upon their inveighing publicly against the numerous vices which the army had learnt in Susa and Echatana, against Bessas, 244. Sets fire to his own baggage, and commands every man to follow his example, ibid. Exhibits a very doubtful character, 245. Mixes the tyrant with the hero, ibid. Dooms Philotas and his father to destruction, suspecting them of being concerned in a conspiracy against him, ibid. Sets out upon his march in pursuit of Bessus, 248. Exposes himself to great hardships and dangers, ibid. Receives Bessus from the hands of Spitamenes in the most degrading condition, ibid. Causes him to be treated with cruelty, to which he himself had been accustomed, ibid. Reproaches him for his treachery, ibid. Orders his nose and cars to be cut off, and sends him to Ecbatana, that the mother of Darius may inflict what punishment she pleases on him, ibid. Marches forward in search of new conquests, 249. Overturns a city inhabited by the Branchiae, and massacres all the inhabitants in cool blood, ibid. Advances to the river Jaxartes, ibid. Is wounded in his leg, ibid. Goes forward and takes the capital of Sogdiana, ibid. Receives an embassy from the Scythians, ibid. Submissions from them, ibid. Marches to Cyropolis, and besieges it, ibid. Goes on capriciously, destroying some towns, and building others, settling colonies, and laying waste provinces at his pleasure, ibid. Finds the crossing the river Jaxartes a difficult task, 250. Leads his troops across the rapid stream, and gains a signal victory over the Scythians, ibid. Makes himself master of a strong hold, called Petra Oxiani, by a surrender of those who defended it, ibid. Breaks his treaty with them, ibid. Causes them, with a very unbecoming inhumanity, to be whipped with rods, and to be fixed across the soot of the rock, ibid. Subdues the Massagetae, and Dahae, ibid. Enters the province of Barsaria, ibid. Advances to Maracander, ibid. Appoints Clytus governor of that province, ibid. Murders him in a fit of intoxication at an entertainment, 253. Throws himself upon the dead body, shocked at the atrociousress of the act, forces out the javelin with which he had killed him, and attempts to destroy himself, but is prevented by his guards, 254. Is carried by them forcibly to his own apartment, ibid. His remorse is at length alleviated by the persuasions of his friends, ibid. Marches towards a country called Gabana to divert his melancholy, ibid. Meets with a dreadful storm, ibid. Goes to the country of the Sacae, over-runs it, and lays it waste, ibid. Is received by Axertes, one of its monarchs, in his palace rudely magnificent, ibid. Finds the charms of Roxana his daughter irresistible, ibid. Makes her his wife, ibid. Displeases the Macedonians very much by his marriage with her, ibid. Resolves upon a perilous march into India, 255. Resolves to be called the son of Jupiter, ibid. Finds the Macedonians not in the least ready to pay him the adoration due to a diety, 256. Puts to death Callisthenes the philosopher for his integrity, ibid. Is met upon his entrance into India by all the petty kings, and receives submission from them, 257. Takes the city of Nysa, ibid. Marches towards Daedala, disperses his army over the whole country, and takes possession of it, ibid. Goes to the city of Hagosa, which surrenders to him at discretion, after having been besieged in form, ibid. Marches to Aclessimus, 258. Arrives on the banks of the great river Indus, after a march of sixteen days, ibid. Finds ever thing for his passage got ready by Hephoestion, in consequence of the orders he had given him, ibid. Is met by Omphio, a king of the country, and receives homage from him, with a present of elephants and other animals, ibid. Receives homage and presents from Abisares, a neighbouring monarch, ibid. Expects similar submissions from Porus, ibid. Goes to require them of him, ibid. Is answered with great coldness, and great spirit, ibid. Resolves to enforce obedience, ibid. Gives the superintendance of his elephants to Omphio, now called Taxilus, and advances as far as the borders of Hydaspes, ibid. Is greatly perplexed by the difficulties which attend his passage over that river, 260. Resolves to attempt it by night, ibid. Chuses a stormy one, that the noise of his troops in their embarkation might not be heard, ibid. Lands without finding many persons to oppose his descent, ibid. Draws up his forces in order of battle, ibid. Defeats a detachment sent against him by Porus, commanded by his son, who is killed on the spot, ibid. Finds Porus determined to meet him, 261. Waits, on his coming in sight of the enemy, for the advance of his foot, ibid. Gives the signal of battle, 262. Gains a complete victory, 265. Sends Taxilus to Porus, in his retreat, being desirous of saving so valiant a king, 266. Is disappointed, ibid. Still wishes to save so brave a prince, ibid. Sends Meroe, one of his most intimate friends, with other officers, ibid. Advances forward, on hearing of the approach of Porus, in order to receive him, with some of his train, ibid. Stops, when he comes pretty near, to take a view of his stature, and noble mien, 267. His interview with him described, ibid. He builds a city on the spot on which the battle had been fought, ibid. Builds another in the place where he had crossed the river, ibid. Pays the last duties to those soldiers who had lost their lives in battle, 268. Solemnizes games, and offers up sacrifices of thanks in the place where he had passed the Hydaspes, ibid. Advances into India, ibid. Subdues it with astonishing rapidity, ibid. Receives submissions from numberless petty nations, ibid. Is desirous of conversing with some Brachmans, ibid. Deputes Onesicritus the philosopher to them, ibid. Receives Calanus with great demonstrations of joy, 270. Resolves to proceed in his military career, as long as he can meet with any nations to conquer, ibid. Is particularly desirous of invading the territories of Agramenes, a prince reigning beyond the Ganges, 271. Finds his soldiers not at all disposed to accompany him, ibid. Addresses them in the most persuasive terms, ibid. Threatens them, ibid. His persuasions and his menaces are equally fruitless, ibid. He can only bring his soldiers to compliance by animating them to follow him towards the south, in order to discover the nearest ocean, ibid. Comes to the country of the Oxydrace and the Mallis, 272. Deseats them in several engagements, ibid. Dispossesses them of their strong holds, ibid. Marches against their capital, ibid. Seizes a scaling ladder the first, and mounts the wall, followed only by two officers, ibid. Is left alone by the breaking of the ladder, ibid. His rashness becomes his safety, ibid. He leaps from the wall into the city, ibid. Fights with the utmost fury, surrounded by his enemies, ibid. Is wounded by the arrow of an Indian, ibid. Drops his arms srom loss of blood, ibid. Lies as dead, ibid. Plunges his dagger in the Indian's side, on his advancing to strip him, ibid. Is succoured by his attendants bursting the gates, ibid. Puts all the inhabitants to the sword, ibid. Mounts his horse, and shews himself to his army, ibid. Approaches the ocean, ib. His soldiers are astonished at the ebbing and flowing of the tide, and afterwards terrified, ibid. He offers sacrifices to Neptune on his landing, 274. Weeps because he has no more worlds to conquer, ibid. Appoints Nearchus admiral of his fleet, ibid. Sets out by land with his army for Babylon, ibid. Arrives, after a very fatiguing march, in the province of Gedrosia, ibid. Passes thro' the country in the licentious disguise of an enthusiast, ibid. Is ambitious of imitating Bacchus, ibid. Receives strange accounts from Nearchus, returned from his expedition along the coast, 275. Commands him to make farther discoveries, ibid. Enters the mouth of the Euphrates to meet the king of Babylon, ibid. Executes an act of justice in the city of Pasegarda, ibid. Puts a Persian prince to death, 276. Attempts to dissuade Calanus from the resolution he had made to kill himself, but in vain, ibid. Orders a funeral pile to be erected for him, ibid. Obeys the last admonitions of Calanus, to shun debauchery, 277. Goes from Pasegarda to Susa, and marries the eldest daughter of Darius, 278. Gives her youngest sister to Hephoestion, ibid. Marries several Persian ladies to his favourite officers, ibid. Publishes a declaration which produces seditious proceedings among his soldiers, 280. Seizes some of the mutineers, and orders them immediately to be punished, ibid. Threatens to take Persians for his guards, ibid. Receives his Macedonians into favour, 281. Gives himself up to banqueting and merriment, ibid. Is plunged into excessive sorrow by the death of Hephoestion, 281. Puts to death the physician who attended him, ibid. Discovers the greatness of his affliction by the extraordinary funeral honours he pays to him, ibid. Builds a temple for him, and orders sacrifices to be offered to him, ibid. Is persuaded by the Chaldeans, on his arrival at Babylon, not to enter the city, ibid. Makes a magnificent entry into it, 282. Writes a letter with regard to the cities of Greece, ibid. Orders Antipater to employ an armed force against those cities which are disobedient, ibid. Turns his thoughts to the embellishment of Babylon, ibid. Resolves to make it the seat of empire, 283. Spends his time in feasting, and drinks with his usual intemperance, ibid. Falls on the floor at an entertainment, after having drank an enormous bumper, to all appearance dead, ibid. Is carried in that degrading condition to his palace, ibid. Gives orders, during the intervals of his fever, for the sailing of his fleet, and the marching of his land forces, ibid. Finding himself past all hopes, he draws a ring from his finger, and gives it to Perdiccas, with directions about his corpse, 284. His dying words, ibid. His death, ibid. His character, 284, 285.
Amintas,
father of Philip, addresses himself to the Olynthians on having been dispossessed of a great part of his kingdom by the Illyrians, ii. 45. Gives them a considerable track of land, ibid. Being restored to the throne by the Thessalians, he is desirous of recovering the lands he had surrendered, ibid. Wages war against the Olynthians, 46. Is enabled to weaken them with the assistance of the Greeks and the Athenians, ibid. Dies, ibid.
Amphipolis
declared a free city by Philip, ii. 52.
Amphyction,
third king of Athens i. 6. Procures a confederacy among the twelve states of Greece, ibid.
Amphyctions,
a council instituted by the above-mentioned king, i. 10. Appointed to be held twice a year at Thermopylae, ibid. Cite the Phocians to appear before them, for having ploughed up a piece of ground belonging to the temple of Apollo, at Delphos, ii. 55. Impose a heavy fine upon them, ibid. Fine the Spartans, ibid. Declare war against the Phocians, 56. Applied to by Philip about the d
sposal of the inhabitants of Phocis, 73. Decree that all the cities of Phocis shall be demolished, ibid. Adjudge the Phocians to lose their seat in their council, ibid. Over-powered by the eloquence of Aeschines, they send a deputation to Philip, by which he is invited to assist them against the Amphisseans, declared a member of their council, and constituted commander in chief of their forces with unlimited powers, 91.
Anaxilas,
a prince of Sicily, receives the defeated Messenians, i. 43.
Anaximenes,
a citizen of Lampsacus, makes a visit to Alexander on his appearance before it in a hostile manner, ii. 155. Saves his country by a witty evasi
n, 156.
Antiochus,
left by Alcibiades with the command of his fleet, but with orders not to engage or attack the enemy in his absence, i. 320. Disobeys his orders, and sails to Ephesus, ibid. Uses every art to provoke the enemy to an engagement, ibid. Is slain in it, 321.
Antipater,
appointed viceroy of Macedon by Alexander, before he sets out upon his great expedition, ii. 153. Ordered by Alexander to employ an armed force against those Grecian cities which proved disobedient, 282.
Aornos,
rock of, the garrison, in a panic, deliver it to the army of Alexander, ii. 257.
Araxes,
river of, ii. 235.
Arbela,
battle of. [See Gangamela.]
Archidamus,
dissuades his countrymen from entering into the war with the Athenians, i. 216. His advice over-ruled by one of the Ephori, ibid. Harangues his army in a spirited speech, 220. Lays siege to Platea, 229.
Archilocus,
the poet, obliged to quit Sparta for having asserted in one of his poems, that it was better for a man to lose his arms than his life, i. 35.
Areopagus,
established by Cecrops, i. 5.
Arginusae,
battle of, i. 322.
Argives,
enter into an alliance with the Athenians for an hundred years, i. 254. Send two officers to Agis, ibid. Obtain a truce of him for four months, ibid. Incensed against their mediators, 256.
Aretas,
commands a body of Paeonians at the battle of Gangamela, ii. 227.
Argaeus,
killed in an engagement with Philip, king of Macedon, ii. 51.
Ariaeus,
flies with the left wing, as soon as he hears of the death of Cyrus, i. 352. Continues his retreat, ibid. Discovers his intentions to return to Greece, 357. Decamps by break of day, ibid. Hears that the king of Persia is in pursuit of him, ibid.
Ariobarzanes,
planted with a body of five thousand men to defend the pass of Susa, ii. 234. His troops cut to pieces by Alexander, ibid.
Aristagoras,
(Hystiaeus's deputy at Miletus) receives instructions to stir up the Ionian cities to revolt, i. 87. Makes a journey to Ionia, 88. Throws off the mask, and bids defiance to the power of Persia, ibid. Goes to Lacedaemon, in order to engage that state in his interest, ibid. Applies to Cleomenes, king of Sparta, for his assistance, ibid. Unable to bribe him, he makes application to the other cities, 90. Finds a favourable reception at Athens, ibid. Supplied by the Athenians with ships, he collects his troops together, and sets sail for Ephesus, ibid. Enters the Persian frontiers, and marches to the capital of Lydia, ibid. Is successively defeated, 91. Flies into Thrace, and is cut off by the inhabitants, with all his forces, ibid.
Aristander,
the soothsayer, redoubles the martial ardour of the Macedonians, by playing off an artful manoeuvre, ii. 228.
Aristides,
his character, i. 103. Appointed one of the ten generals against the Persians, to command in succession, 106. Resigns his command to Miltiades, 108. His example is followed by his associates, ibid. He endeavours, in a memorable speech, to avert the force of the king of Macedonia's proposals, 162. Is chosen unanimously as the properest person to weigh the justice and utility of the scheme formed by Themistocles for the security of the city, 181. Is displeased with it, 182. His information to the assembly in consequence of his disapproving it, ibid. Is distinguished by the surname of JUST, ibid. Procures a decree favourable to his fellow-citizens, dreading the consequences of a democratic government, ibid. Conducts the fleets of Athens, with Cimon, the son of Miltiades, 183. Is entrusted with the care of the treasure for carrying on the expences of the war in the island of Delos, 195. Confirms, by his conduct, the high opinion formed of his integrity, ibid. A striking instance of his contempt of riches, 196. Some account of his way of living, and of his family, 197.
Aristodemus,
the Messinian, offers his daughter to be sacrificed, i. 40. Murders her with his own hand, ibid. Slays himself upon her grave, 41.
Aristodemus,
the Persian admiral, is overcome at sea, ii. 196.
Aristomenes,
the Messenian, heads his countrymen against the Lacedaemonians, i. 42. Defeats them, ibid. Loses his shield in the pursuit, ibid. Is taken prisoner in a skirmish, ibid. Carried to Sparta, and thrown into a dungeon, ibid. Escapes in a very extraordinary manner, 43. Repairs to his troops, and makes a successful sally by night against the Corinthian forces, ibid. Is taken by the Cretans, ibid. Stabs his keepers, and returns to his forces, ibid. Earns the hecatomphonia three times, ibid.
Aristotle,
appointed by Philip, king of Macedon, preceptor to his son Alexander, ii. 130. Is much esteemed by his pupil, 131. Endeavours to improve his judgment, ibid. Tries to make him sensible of the advantages to be derived from eloquence, 132.
Arsites,
a Phrygian satrap, opposes Memnon's prudent advice, ii. 158. Flies to Phrygia after the victory gained by Alexander, and is said to have laid violent hands upon himself, 164.
Artabazus
flies with a body of Persians towards the Hellespont, i. 172.
Artagerses
killed by Artaxerxes, i. 350.
Artaphernes,
governor of Sardis, enters into a correspondence with Hippias, i. 69. Secures himself in the citadel at Sardis, finding it untenable, 90. Having caused Histiaeus to be crucified, orders his head to be sent to Darius, 92. Leads his numerous forces towards Europe, 104. Makes himself master of the islands in the Aegean sea, without any opposition, ibid. Turns his course towards Eretria, ibid. Attempts to storm the city, ibid. Is repulsed with loss, ibid. Gains it by treachery, plunders and burns it, ibid. Loads the inhabitants with chains, and sends them to Darius, ibid.
Artaxerxes
pardons his brother Cyrus, in consequence of the tears and prayers of his mother Parysatis, i. 345. Removes him into Asia to his government, ibid. Orders an intrenchment to be thrown up in the plains of Babylon, to stop the progress of his enemies, 349. Suffers his brother to continue his march towards Babylon, by neglecting to dispute a pass with him, ibid. Advances in good order towards the enemy, ibid. Wheels his right to attack Cyrus in slank, 350. Is joined by him, 351. Having his horse wounded, is obliged to mount another, ibid. Finding his second horse wounded, pushes it with impetuosity against Cyrus, and wounds him with a javelin, ibid. Causes his head and right hand to be cut off, 352. Pursues the enemy into their camp, ibid. Plunders it, 353. Rallies his troops, on being informed that his left wing is defeated by the Greeks, and marches in quest of them, ibid. Makes several movements, 354. Sends to the Grecians to surrender their arms, 355. Agrees to let them remain in the place where they are, 356. Is terrified at the bold appearance of the Greeks, 357. Sends heralds to them to propose terms of peace and treaty, ibid.
Artemisia,
queen of Halicarnassus, attends Xenophon in his expedition to Greece, i. 129.
Asia Minor,
several kings reigning there make submissions to Alexander, ii. 170.
Athens,
its foundation, i. 5. The title of king abolished on the death of Codrus, 6. His son appointed chief magistrate, with the title of Archon, ibid. Particular account of its police, 74. Contrasted with Sparta, 80. Its distressful state, in consequence of the progress of Xerxes, described, 148. Beautisied by Cimon with the treasures he gained in the Persian war, 201. Freed from its feats of foreign enemies, it begins to cherish intestine animosities, 202. Some account of the plague, 224. 226. Account of the preparations for the Sicilian expediton, 260. 262. The whole city in a consternation, in consequence of Lysander's victory, 332. All the citizens of any consideration, who retain a love of freedom, seek an asylum out of the reach of the thirty tyrants, 341. The citizens finding hopes of being reinstated in their former authority, by the deposition of their tyrants, send deputies to Lacedaemon to demand aid, 343. Favoured by Pausanias, they put the tyrants to the sword, and regain their liberty, 344. The people harangued by Demosthenes, ii. 85. The consternation occasioned by the news of Philip's having seized Elataea, a city of Phocis, described, 94.
Athenians,
abridge the terms of the Archon's power, i. 7. Send Tyrtaeus, the poet, to be a general to the Lacemonians, 42. Pitch upon Draco for their legislator, 45. Distressed by the severity of his laws, they apply to Solon for advice, 46. Are divided into factions, 60. Are involved in new troubles by the death of Solon, 65. Erect a statue to the memory of Leona, 69. Boldly declare against the restoration of Hippias, 85. Give Aristagoras a favourable reception, 90. Intimidated by the ill success of Aristagoras, they are unwilling to continue the war, 91. Bravely disdain to acknowledge the Persian power, 97. Insult the heralds sent to them, ibid. Resolve to punish the Aeginetans for betraying the common cause of Greece, 98. Defeat the Aeginetans in several naval engagements, and possess themselves of the sovereignty of the seas, 99. Oppose the Persian army, consisting of an hundred and twenty thousand men, 106. Place their little army under the command of ten generals, ibid. Discover their gratitude to Miltiades in various shapes, for his noble behaviour at the battle of Marathon, 114. Are jealous of him, 115. Are implored by the Lacedaemonians to assist them against the rebellious Helotes, 205. Send Cimon to their relief, 206. Are again petitioned, and refuse to comply with their demands, ibid. Banish Cimon, 207. Dissolve their alliance with Sparta, ibid. Ent
r into a treaty with the Argives, ibid. Take the slaves of Ithome under their protection, ibid. Protect and garrison the city of Megara, ibid. Defeated by, and victorious over the Corinthians, ibid. Defeated by the Spartans, 208. Gain a victory over them, ibid. Intoxicated with the successes of Pericles, meditate new and extensive conquests, 213. Make an expedition against Samos, in favour of the Milesians, ibid. Animated by Pericles, they enter hastily into a war with the Lacedaemonians, 218. Send succours and provisions to Platea, 219. Imprest with the exhortation of Pericles, they carry all their possessions that could be conveyed away with them into Athens, 222. Are terrified at the approach of the Lacedaemonians, ibid. Throw out reproaches against their former leaders, ibid. Resolve to retaliate, 223. Invade the territories of their enemies, and take Nisae, ibid. Discover their sickleness by re-instating their favourite Pericles with more than his former authority, 227. Restore him to the command of the army in a short time after they had deposed him from it, ibid. Take the city of Pylus from the Lacedaemonians, 238. Make themselves masters of Cythera, 242. Defeated by the Lacedaemonians at Dellion, ibid. Make peace with them, 248. Strike up a league with the Argives for an hundred years, 254. Receive ambassadors from the people of Egesta, 256. Grant the Egestans, on the return of the deputies, their demands, ibid. Appoint Miltiades, Nicias, and Lamachus, to command the fleet, ibid. Spread a terror among the neighbouring states, 265. Lay siege to Syracuse, 266. Are surprised by the arrival of Gylippus, the Lacedaemonian general, 270. Defeated by him, 272. Gain an advantage over the Syracusans, 275. Are worsted in a naval engagement with them, 279. Defeated by the Lacedaemonians, 283. With to retire from Syracuse, 285. Overpowered by the Syracusans, 292. Are in a deplorable condition, 295. Defeated by the Syracusans, 299. Resume courage, 307. Raise money on all sides, ibid. Are greatly embarrassed, 309. Proceed eagerly to complete the change of government which had been proposed to them by Alcibiades, 310. Depose the
four hundred,
as the authors of all the troubles under which they groaned, 314. Gain a naval victory over the Spartans, 315. Make themselves masters of Cyzicus, 316. Are worsted in a sea-fight with Lysander, 321. Accuse Alcibiades of insufficiency, ibid. Gain a naval victory over Callicratidas, 323. Behave ungratefully to their victorious commanders, 324. Steer towards Olestus, on the news of Lysander's success, 326. Look upon the cautious proceedings of Lysander with contempt, 327. Offer him battle, 329. Retire with insulting airs, ibid. Are defeated, ibid. Prepare to meet the last extremity, in consequence of the siege of their capital, with patience, 333. Send deputies to Agis, ibid. Obliged by the victorious Lacedaemonians to demolish their democracy, and to submit to the government of thirty men, commonly called the
thirty Tyrants,
336. The tyrants begin to exert their power, ibid. Are enabled to act without controul, by Lysander's procuring them a guard, 337. They procure the death of Alcibiades, ibid. They pronounce sentence of death on Theramenes, 340. They observe no measures, ibid. Readily engage in a rupture with the Spartans, ii. 3. Send troops to the assistance of Pelopidas, 10. Applied to by the inhabitants of Platea, 13. Highly incensed at the demolition of that town, and of Thespiae, by the Thebans, ibid. Will not act any longer in conjunction with them, ibid. Weaken themselves by their contests with the Spartans, ibid. Enter into a confederacy with the Spartans against the Thebans, 16. Determine, after some hesitation, to assist the Spartans with all their forces, 27. Grow insolent upon the death of Agesilaus, 40. Abandon themselves to their ease and pleasure, ibid. Passionately devoted to theatrical exhibitions, 41. Are attacked by most of the states which had been in alliance with them, 42. Reduce them by the valour and activity of their generals, ibid. Conclude a peace with their militant allies, 43. Defeated by Philip, 51. Conclude a peace with him, ibid. Lose the city of Amphipolis by their remissness, 52. Over-reached by Philip, 53. Court the assistance of the Olynthians, ibid. Haste to Thermopylae, on hearing of Philip's march towards it, and possess themselves of that important pass, 61. Make use of this precaution. Rouzed by the orations of Demosthenes, ibid. Solicited by the Olynthians to send them relief against Philip, 67. Resolve to unite against Philip, ibid. Embarrassed about the raising supplies, ibid. Send a reinforcement to Olynthus, 68. Weary of the
sacred war,
they commission Ctesiphon and Phrynon to sound the intentions of Philip, 70. Resolve to send a solemn embassy to him, ibid. Order their ambassadors to return and conclude a peace, 71. Animated by Demosthenes to guard themselves against the artful attempt of Philip to prevent their union with the Spartans, 78. Solicited to deliver the Euboeans from the yoke intended for them by Philip, 80. Receive a reproaching letter from Philip, 85. Dispatch troops under the command of Phocion, ibid. Consider the siege of Byzantium as an open declaration of war, 89 Receive ambassadors from Philip, 99. Are too much alarmed and exasperated to listen to any accommodation, ibid. Make preparations for war, ibid. Are animated by the oratory of Demosihenes, 100. Order their troops to set out immediately; and they agreeably surprize the Thebans by their diligence, ibid. Totally defeated, with their allies, at the battle of Chaeronea, 105. Submit to the counsels of Demosthenes, 113. Appoint him purveyor of the city, and repairer of its walls, ibid. Receive the news of Philip's death with the greatest demonstrations of joy, 125. Decorate themselves with garlands, and decree a crown to Pausanias, ibid. Sacrifice to the gods for their deliverance, and sing songs of triumph, ibid. Suspend the festival of the
great Mysteries,
on receiving the account of the plunder of Thebes, 146. Receive those who fly to them for an asylum with the greatest humanity, ibid. Are thrown into the utmost consternation by the ruin of Thebes, ibid. Have recourse to intreaties, ibid. Send a deputation to Alexander to implore his clemency, ibid. Required by him to give up ten orators, ibid. Cannot prevail with themselves to comply with his demand, 147. Receive an offer from Demades to undertake an intercession for them with Alexander, ibid.
Attalus,
very much disposed to listen to the proposals of Demosthenes, ii. 140. Sends all the letters he receives from Demosthenes, to Alexander, ibid. His artifices are seen through by Alexander; and he is, by
his
orders, assassinated, ibid.
Attica,
division of that country, by Cecrops, i. 5.
Axertes,
king of the Sacae, receives Alexander in his palace, adorned with rude magnificence, ii. 254.
B.
Babylon,
the triumphant entry of Alexander into that city described, ii. 232.
Bachis,
assumes the reins of power at Corinth, i. 8.
Bagophanes,
governor of the fortress at Babylon, strews the streets with flowers, on the entry of Alexander, and raises silver altars on both sides of the way, ii. 232.
Bessus,
commands a body of Bactrian horse, ii. 237. Joins with Narbarzanes in the commission of the blackest of all crimes, 238. [See Narbarzanes.] Assumes the name of king, 241. Pursued by Alexander, ibid. Treated by his followers in the same manner as he had treated the king his master; is seized, chained, and delivered up in the most ignominious condition, to Alexander, 248. Is sent, with his nose and ears cut off, to Ecbatana, after having been reproached by Alexander for his treachery, ibid. Dismembered by four trees, and quartered, ibid.
Bias,
his opinion of the most perfect form of popular government, i. 49.
Boeotians,
shew signs of discontent, i. 248.
Boetis,
governor of Gaza, ordered by Alexander to be brought before him, ii. 216. Punishes him in a very cruel manner, ibid.
Boges,
governor of Eion for the king of Persia, his intrepid behaviour, i. 199.
Boxamins,
a remarkable sect among the Indians, ii. 268.
Branchid,
the, massacred by Alexander in cool blood, ii. 249.
Brasidas,
killed at Pylus, while he was conducting a sally, i. 243. His character, ibid.
Byblos,
the citizens of it open their gates to Alexander, ii. 198.
Byzantium,
besieged by Philip, ii. 84.
Bucephalus,
Alexander's horse, dies of old age, ii. 267.
C.
Cadmus,
the founder of Thebes, i. 7.
Cappadocia,
subdued by Alexander, ii. 173.
Calanus,
an Indian priest, addressed by Alexander, ii. 269. Addressed by Onesicrotus, 270. Follows him, and goes to Alexander's court, ibid. Is received with great demonstrations of joy, ibid. Resolves to put himself to death, 276. Is not at all influenced by Alexander's dissuasive arguments, ibid. His behaviour at the funeral pile, erected for him by Alexander's orders, and in his last moments, described, 277.
Callibius,
appointed by Lysander, commander of the guard for the protection of the thirty Tyrants, i. 337.
Callieratidas,
appointed to succeed Lysander, i. 321. His character, ibid. His first attempt against Methynina, 32
. Takes it by storm, ibid. Threatens Conon, ibid. Pursues him into the port of Mitylene, ibid. Takes thirty of his ships, and besieges him in the town, ibid. Worsted in a naval engagement with the Athenians, 323.
Callisthenes,
institutes the manner of giving votes by ostracism, i. 82. Banished from Athens, 83. Returns and restores the government as settled by Solon, ibid.
Callisthenes,
the philosopher, disdains to acknowledge Alexander as the son of Jupiter, ii. 256. Is put to death for his integrity, ibid.
Caranus,
first governor of the kingdom of Macedonia, i. 8.
Caridemus,
a native of Oraea, his banishment from Athens required by Alexander, ii. 147. Takes refuge with the king of Persia, 148.
Cartabala,
Alexander's progress to that place, ii. 182.
Cecrops,
the founder of Athens, i. 5. Settles in Attica, divides the whole country subject to him into twelve districts, and establishes the Areopagus, 6.
Chabrias,
commander of the mercenaries on the part of the Thebans, obliges Agesilaus to withdraw his army by a singular stratagem, ii. 11. Procures his statue to be erected, ibid.
Chaeronea,
battle of, ii. 102, 105.
Chares,
his character, ii. 112.
Chilo,
his opinion of the most perfect form of popular government, i. 49.
Chittim,
third son of Javan, rules in Macedonia, i. 4.
Cilicia,
pass of, entered by Alexander, ii. 173.
Cimon,
son of Miltiades, signalizes his piety on the death of his father, i. 116. Strains all his credit to pay the fine imposed upon his father, and procures his body honourable interment, ibid. Carries part of his horse furniture to the temple of Minerva, 147. Goes chearfully on board the fleet, ibid. Conducts the fleets of Athens, 183. A sketch of his character, ibid. Is advanced to the highest employments both at home and abroad, ibid. Is ill received by the people on his first offering to gain public favour, 198. Is animated by Aristides to renew the onset, ibid. Entirely changes his conduct, and becomes a considerable character, ibid. Is appointed to the command of a fleet destined to scour the Afiatic seas, ibid. Makes the whole country, from Ionia to Pamphylia, by his conduct, declare against the power of Persia, 199. Offers the governor of Eion very advantageous terms, ibid. Endeavours to prevent the junction of the Persian and Phoenician fleets, 200. Gains a considerable victory by sea and land, ibid. Is furnished with foreign employment by Pericles, jealous of him, that he may be kept at a distance, 205. Espouses the cause of Sparta, and is permitted to march against the rebellious Helotes, who are quelled at his approach, 206. Flies to the assistance of his countrymen, forgetting the injury he had sustained from them, 207. His conduct restores him to their favour, 208. He is recalled from banishment, ibid. Endeavours, at his return, to reconcile the rival states, ibid. Sails to the island of Cyprus, ibid. Over-runs it, and lays siege, to Citium, ibid. Wounded by the defendants, and wasting by sickness, he perceives his approaching dissolution, ibid. Dies in the arms of conquest, ibid.
Citium,
besieged by Cimon, i. 208.
Clazomenae,
Alcibiades makes his escape to that place, i. 316.
Cleander
begins the execution of Parmenio, ii. 248. Executed himself for having been concerned in ii. 275.
Clearchus,
a banished Spartan, is of great service to Cyrus in his Asian government, i. 346. Does all in his power with the Pelopo
esian troops under his command to secure their affections, 347. Finds all his address necessary to stifle a commotion among his troops in its birth, ibid. Appeases the tumult by an artful evasion, ibid. Is chosen one of their deputies, ibid. Commands the right Grecian wing in Cyrus's army, 349. Advances to support the camp on his return from pursuing the Persians, 353. Prepares for an engagement, 357. His behaviour to the heralds sent by Artaxerxes, ibid. He has a conference with Tissaphernes, 359.
Chombrotus,
brother of Leonidas, appointed to command the operations by land against Xerxes, i. 150. The Spartan general marches towards the frontiers of Boeotia, secure of victory, ii. 16. Sends demands to the Thebans, ibid. Receives an answer replete with opposition, ibid. Prepares for an engagement with the Thebans, 19. Is thrown into disorder, 20. Falls dead with h
s wounds, 21.
Cleomenes,
king of Sparta, applied to by Isagoras, i. 82. Undertakes to espouse his quarrel, ibid. Availing himself of the divided state of Athens, he procures the banishment of Callisthenes, with seven hundred families, 83. Endeavours to new-model the state, ibid. Is strongly opposed by the senate, ibid. Seizes upon the citadel, ibid. Is obliged to retire, ibid. His assistance solicited by Aristagoras, 88. Rejects his bribes with indignation, 89. Is sent to Aegina to apprehend those who had prevailed on the people to acknowledge Darius for their master, 98. Finds his demand rejected, ibid. Returns to Sparta, in order to be revenged on Demaratus, his colleague, ibid. Endeavours to get him deposed, ibid. Is detected in having suborned the Pythian priestess, 99. Slays himself in a fit of despair, ibid.
Cleon,
makes his overtures for peace, i. 239. Lands on the island of Pylus, to dispossess the Lacedaemonians who remain there, ibid.
Clytus,
appointed by Alexander governor of the province of Maracander, ii. 250. Some account of him, 251. He is murdered by Alexander at an entertainment, ibid.
Cnidus,
sea-fight near it, 4.
Codrus,
king of Athens, devotes himself to death for the safety of his people, i. 6.
Coelenae,
a city of Phrygia, the garrison belonging to it summoned to surrender by Alexander, ii. 171. Obliged to surrender, ibid.
Conon,
the Athenian general, commands the Persian fleet against the Spartans, ii. 4. Takes fifty of their ships, and pursues the rest into port, ibid.
Corinth,
revolutions in its government described, i. 8. An assembly of the several states of Greece summoned to meet there by Alexander, ii. 148.
Corinthians,
shew signs of discontent, i. 248. Obliged to withdraw the garrison from Argos, ii. 5.
Coronea,
battle of, ii. 4.
Critias,
one of the thirty tyrants, removes Theramenes from his employment, i. 340. Killed in an engagement with Thrasybulus, 343.
Cydnus,
river of, Alexander is seized with a shivering while he is bathing in it, ii. 174.
Cypselus
usurps the supreme authority at Corinth, and transmits it to his son, i. 8.
Cyropolis,
besieged by Alexander, ii. 249.
Cyrus's Camp,
a country so called. Alexander's arrival in it, ii. 173.
Cyrus
arrives at Sardis, i. 319. Comes into the views of Lysander, ibid. Agrees to give him all the assistance in his power, ibid. Rejects overtures from the Athenians, 320. Resolves to dethrone his brother Artaxerxes, and enters into a treaty with the Lacedaemonians, 338. Again attempts to remove Artaxerxes from the throne, 345. Being appointed by his brother to his Asian government, he uses all his art of popularity to supplant him, 346. Commences war with his brother, ibid. Augments the pay of the Grecian troops, 348. Conciliates the affections of the soldiery by his generous behaviour, ibid. Comes to an engagement with Artaxerxes at Cunara, 349. Kills Artagerses, who commands the king's guard, 350. His speech at the fight of his brother, 351. Kills his horse, ibid. Attacks him again, ibid. Throws himself into the midst of a flight of darts, ibid. Receives a wound from the king's javelin, ibid. Falls dead, 352.
Cyzicus,
taken by the Athenians, i. 316.
D.
Dahae,
subdued by Alexander, ii. 250.
Darius,
makes an expedition into Scythia, i. 86. Lays a bridge over the isthmus for that purpose, ibid. Returns with his army into Europe, and adds Thrace and Macedonia to the number of his conquests, ibid. Takes Histiaeus with him to Sufa, 87. Receives the head of Histiaeus with disgust, 92. Weeps over it, and orders it an honourable interment, ibid. Sends Mardonius to command in chief throughout all the maritime parts of Asia, and particularly to revenge the burning of Sardis, 94. A memorable saying of his, 95. He doubles his preparations in proportion to his failures, 96. Displaces Mardonius, and appoints Datis, with Artaphernes in his stead, ibid. Determines to attack Greece with all his forces, ibid. Sends heralds to the states of Greece to denounce his resentment, and to learn, at the same time, how they stand affected towards him, 97. Receives Demaratus with great friendship, and grants him a considerable settlement, 99. Treats the Eretrian prisoners with great lenity, 104. Gives them a village for their residence, ibid. Roused by the defeats of his generals, he resolves to try the war in person, 117. Makes new preparations, ibid. Dies in the midst of them, ibid.
Darius,
on hearing the news of Alexander's landing in Asia, testifies the utmost contempt for the Macedonian army, ii. 156. Reprehends him in a letter for his audacity, ibid. Gives very insolent orders concerning him, ibid. Is foolishly elated, 157. Embarrassed by his numbers, ibid. Disputes Alexander's passage over the Granicus, ibid. In vain, 161. Still more alarmed, uses all his art to raise an army, and encourage his forces, 172. Sends Memnon into Greece to invade Macedon, ibid. His hopes are vanished from that quarter by the death of his general, ibid. His military progress, 177. Orders Caridemus, an Athenian, to be executed for the freedom of his speech, 178. His pompous cavalcade described, 178, 179, 180, 181. He leads his immense army into the plains of Assyria, 182. Is advised by the Grecian commanders to halt, ibid. Rejects their advice, ibid. Vainly puffed up with pride, he resolves to pursue the invader, ibid. Sends his treasures to Damascus, 183. Marches with the main body of his army towards Cilicia, ibid. Turns short towards Issus, ibid. Is grossly mistaken, ibid. Discovers a strange mixture in all his actions, ibid. Barbarously puts to death at Issus most of the Greeks who were in that city, ibid. The order in which his army was drawn up described, 187. Takes his post in the centre of his army, 188. Is in danger of being thrown out of his chariot, ibid. Is the first who flies on seeing his left wing broke, 192. Writes a second letter to Alexander in a less haughty stile, 213. Offers him a considerable sum for the ransom of his mother, and his daughter in marriage, ibid. Finds his proposals treated with contempt, 214. Prepares himself again for battle, 221. Assembles a very large army in Babylon, and marches towards Nineveh, ibid. His forces cover all the plains of Mesopotamia, ibid. He gives orders to his generals to endeavour to prevent Alexander from crossing the river Tigris, ibid. Sends new overtures of peace to Alexander, more advantageous than those which he had already dispatched to him, 222. His overtures rejected, ibid. He prepares for battle, ibid. Pitches his camp near a village called Gangamela, ibid. Apprehensive of being attacked unawares, he commands his soldiers to continue the whole night under arms, 227. His prodigious army described, 226. He sets it in motion in order to charge Alexander, 228. Is supposed to be killed, 229. Is in great danger by the flight of his relations, ibid. Draws his scymitar, and is on the point of dispatching himself, ibid. Is ashamed to forsake his soldiers, ibid. Flies with the rest, and is pursued by Alexander, 230. Leaves his treasure, with his bow and shield, a prey to the enemy, ibid. Rides towards the river Lycus, with a few attendants, 231. Is advised to break down the bridges to secure his retreat, ibid. Refuses that advice with a generous reply, ibid. Arrives at midnight at Arbela, ibid. Flies from thence towards Media, over the Armenian mountains, ibid. Arrives at Ecbatana, 237. Conceives hopes, with his small forces, of opposing his rival, ibid. Is seized by Nabarzanes and Bessus, bound by them in golden chains, enclosed in a covered chariot, and carried towards Bactria, 238. Is restored by them to liberty, but on refusing to follow, is left to linger by them in a miserable manner, 239. Is found by the victorious Macedonians in a solitary place, lying in his chariot, and drawing near his end, ibid. Calls for drink, ibid. Receives it from Polystratus, a Macedonian, ibid. Turns to him, and charges him to carry his last words to Alexander, ibid. Dies, 240.
Datis,
a Mede, appointed by Darius, with Artaphernes, to succeed Mardonius, i. 96. Prepares to come to an engagement with the Greeks, 109. Is defeated, 112.
Dellion,
the Athenians defeated by the Lacedaemonians there, i. 242.
Demades,
ventures, though a prisoner, to reprove Philip for his insolent behaviour, ii. 106. Is restored to freedom, and distinguished with honours, 108.
Demaratus,
furnishes the people of Aegina with an excuse for not complying with the demands of his colleague Cleomenes, i. 98. Banishes himself from his country, 99. Retires to Darius, and receives from him a considerable settlement in Persia, ibid. Attends Xerxes in his Grecian expedition, 129, 130. His speech to Xerxes, ibid.
Demosthenes,
lands on the island of Pylus to dispossess the Lacedaemonians who remained there, i. 239. Arrives with a fleet to the support of Nicias in his Syracusan expedition, 279. The pompous appearance of his fleet, described, 280. He strikes a terror into the enemy by it, ibid. Alarms Nicias with his precipitate resolution, 281. Brings Nicias and all the generals over to his opinion, 282. Confines himself to the attack of Epipolae, ibid. His progress and military operations described, 283. Rouzes the Athenians from their lethargy of pleasure by his animated persuasions, ii. 61. His character, ibid. Is earnest in sending succours to the Olynthians, 67. Opposed by Demades and Hyperides, ibid. His opinion prevails, ibid. Is appointed one of the ten ambassadors to Philip, 70. The only one not corrupted by him, 72. Undertakes the defence of Diopithes, 77. Rouzes the Athenians to guard themselves against the artifices of Philip, 78. Harangues the people of Athens in consequence of a reproaching letter received from Philip, 85. Reproves them for their sloth in the most spirited expressions, 86. Dissuades the Athenians from accepting overtures of peace from Philip, 89. Finds his zeal in favour of his countrymen ineffectual by the powerful efforts of his opponents, 93. Harangues the Athenians with great energy upon the consternation which the seizure of Elatea by Philip had occasioned, 95. Is instantly chosen to head the embassy which he had proposed, 98. Sets out for Thebes, ibid. His masculine eloquence irresistible, ibid. It inspires the Thebans with the same spirit of patriotism, ibid. He looks upon his negotiation with
them
as his master-piece in politics, 99. Exerts himself to render the efforts of those who wanted to extinguish the flame which he had kindled in his countrymen, fruitless, ibid. And is successful, 100. Throws away his shield at the battle of Chaeronea, 106. Finds submission to his councils, though generally looked upon as the cause of the shock his countrymen had received by the victory of Philip, 113. Is appointed to supply the city with provisions, and to repair the walls, ibid. Has more honours conferred upon him than he enjoyed before, ibid. Is appointed to compose the eulogium of those brave men who fell in the battle of Chaeronea, 114. Is engaged in an oratorical contest with Aeschines, 114. Proves victorious, 115. Makes a good use of his victory, ibid. Follows Aeschines on his leaving Athens, in order to embark for Rhodes, and forces him to accept of a purse of money, 116. Goes into the assembly on the first intelligence of Philip's death, with a chaplet on his head, and in a rich dress, though it was but the seventh day after the death of his daughter, 126. Animates the Grecian states against Alexander, 139. Harangues the people, and fires them with contempt for a hair-brained boy, 140. Assures the Athenians they have nothing to fear from the new king of Macedon, ibid. Writes letters to Attalus, one of Philip's lieutenants in Asia Minor, exciting him to rebel, ibid. Makes use of a device to prevail on the Greeks to unite against Alexander, 141. Is appointed one of the deputation to him upon his taking of Thebes, to implore his clemency, 146. Dreads his anger, quits his employment, and returns home, ibid. Relates the fable of the wolves and the dogs, upon Alexander's demanding the
ten orators,
who had been instrumental in forming the league against his father, ibid.
Dieneces,
a remarkable answer of his, i. 140.
Diocles,
his proposal, i. 300.
Diogenes,
the Cynic, visits the Macedonian camp on the eve of the day memorable for the battle of Chaeronea, ii. 102. His behaviour to Philip, ibid.
Diomedon,
his address to his accusers, i. 325.
Diopithes,
his defence undertaken by Demosthenes, ii. 77.
Dodanim,
fourth son of Javan, settles in Thessaly and in Epirus, i. 4.
Dog,
the remarkable faithfulness of one described, i. 149.
Draco,
chosen by the Athenians their legislator, i. 45. His severe laws described, ibid.
Dymnus,
forms a conspiracy against Alexander, ii. 245.
E.
Ecbatana,
the excessive luxury of that city prejudicial to the Macedonian soldiers, ii. 244.
Egypt,
the conquest of it by Alexander, ii. 217.
Electryon,
king of Mycaena, i. 5.
Elisha,
eldest son of Javan, gives the name by which the Greeks were generally known, i. 4.
Epaminondas,
his character, ii. 14-16. Appointed to command the Theban army, and to act in conjunction with Pelopidas, 16. Begins his march against Cleombrotus, 17. His reply to the bad omens urged to prevent his setting out, ibid. Revives the spirits and hopes of his troops, by spreading auguries in his favour, ibid. Secures a pass by Cleombrotus, ibid. A battle resolved upon in consequence of his opinion, 18. He gains a victory over the Lacedaemonians, 21. Enters Laconia with an army, 24. Destroys and plunders as far as the river Eurotas, ibid. Enters Arcadia, and reinslates it in all its former privileges and liberties, 25. Returns home with Pelopidas to answer accusations laid against them, ibid. Summoned as criminals to the state, 26. His spirited behaviour when called upon to answer the charge against him, ibid. Is honourably acquitted, 27. Accepts of a very mean place conferred on him by his enemies to affront him, ibid. Enters Thessalia with a powerful army, 29. Receives terms of submission from Alexander, ibid. Delivers Pelopidas from prison, ibid. Marches to Sparta by night, with a design to take the city by surprize, 30. Perceiving his design discovered, he has recourse to violence instead of stratagem, 31. Attacks the city in several quarters, ibid. Penetrates as far as the public place, ibid. Seizes the port which lay upon the h
ther side of the river, ibid. On the failure of his designs, resolves to give the Lacedaemonians and Athenians battle, 32. Marches towards the enemy in the order of battle in which he intended to fight, 33. Moves on to the charge, 35. Makes a very extraordinary effort without regard to the danger of his own life, 36. Receives a mortal wound in his heart, 37. His dying words, 39. Receives Philip, son of Amyntas, into his house, as a pupil, 47.
Ephesus,
Alexander assigns to the temple of Diana there the tributes which are paid to the kings of Persia, ii. 167.
Ephialtes
declares against giving assistance to the Lacedaemonians at war with their rebellious slaves, i. 205.
Ephori,
court of, its erection and power, i. 21.
Epidaurus,
i. 261.
Episthenes,
a Grecian commander against the Persians, i. 352.
Eretria,
Phocion drives Plutarch, after having discovered his treacherous behaviour, out of that city, ii. 83.
Euboea
revolts to the Peleponnesians, i. 314.
Euphaenus,
a Lacedaemonian, his quarrel with Polychares, a Messenian, i. 39.
Eurybiades,
commander of the Spartan fleet against Xerxes, proposes its advancing to co-operate with the army, i. 150. Imagines himself glanced at in a reply made by Themistocles, and offers to strike him, 151. Receives a memorable answer, ibid.
Eurydice,
mother of Philip, requests Pelopidas, who carries him to Thebes, with other hostages, to procure him an education worthy of his birth, ii. 47.
Eurysthenes,
joint king of Sparta with Procles, i. 13.
F.
Father;
the remarkable speech of a Syracusan one, i. 301.
G.
Gabana,
Alexander marches to that country, to divert the melancholy with which he is oppressed on the death of Hephaestion, ii. 254.
Gangamela,
memorable battle of, between Darius and Alexander, ii. 227-229.
Gaza,
Alexander meets with more resistance there than he expects, ii. 216. The town is stormed by him, and the garrison ordered to be cut in pieces, ibid.
Gordian
knot, the celebrated one cut by Alexander, ii. 172.
Granicus,
the memorable passage of Alexander over that river described, ii. 161.
Greece,
earliest state of it, i. 1. Of the government of Sparta, and the laws of Lycurgus, 13. Of the government of Athens, the laws of Solon, and the history of the republic from the time of Solon to the commencement of the Persian war, 44. A short survey of the state of Greece previous to the Persian war, 72. From the expulsion of Hippias to the death of Darius, 81. From the death of Miltiades to the retreat of Xerxes out of Greece, 117. From the retreat of Xerxes to the peace concluded between the Greeks and Persians, 159. From the peace of Persia to the peace of Nicias, 202. From the peace of Nicias to the end of the Peloponnelian war, 248. From the demolition of the Athenian power to the death of Socrates, 336. From the death of Socrates to the death of Epaminondas, ii. 1. From the birth to the death of Philip king of Macedon, 44. From the birth of Alexander to his setting out for Asia, and to his death, 127.
Grecian
states, their confederacy weakened by Persian bribes, ii. 2.
Guest,
a remarkable story of an ungrateful one, ii. 74, 75.
Gylippus,
the Lacedaemonian general, approaches to the relief of the Syracusans, i. 269. Storms the fort of Labdalla, 270. Defeats the Athenians, 271. Prevails on the Syracusans to fit out the strongest fleet in their power, and to hazard a battle at sea, 273. Leads out all his forces in the night-time to attack the forts of Plemmyrium, 274. Carries the greatest of them by storm, 275. Throws troops into Catana, 281. Marches out of the intrenchments at Epipolae, 283. Deprives Nicias of all hopes of success, 285. Repulsed by the Tyrrhenians, 287. Completely successful over the Athenians, 299. Uses his utmost endeavours, but in vain, to have Nicias and Demosthenes given up to him, 304.,
H.
Hagosa,
city of, besieged by Alexander, ii. 257. Surrenders at discretion, ibid.
Halicarnassus
besieged by Alexander, ii. 168. The city makes a vigorous resistance, 169. Is taken and demolished to its foundations, ibid.
Harpagus,
a Persian general, defeats Histiaeus, takes him prisoner, and sends him to Artaphernes, i. 92.
Harpalus,
governor of Babylon, by Alexander's appointment, disgusted with his master's cruelty, and ambitious of power himself, goes into Greece, ii. 278. Assembles a body of six thousand soldiers, and lands at Athens, ibid. Lavishes immense sums among the mercenary orators there, 279. Attempts to corrupt Phocion, but finds it impossible to shake his integrity, ibid. Is ordered by the assembly to leave the city, 280. Loses all hopes of aspiring successfully to command, ibid.
Hegesandrides,
a Spartan commander, gains an advantage over the Athenians, i. 314.
Helena,
queen of Sparta, famous for her beauty and infidelity, i. 7.
Helotes
rise in rebellion to vindicate their rights, i. 14. Subdued by the citizens, and made prisoners of war, ibid. Condemned to perpetual slavery, ibid. Take arms against their masters, and threaten the destruction of the Spartan state, 205. Are quelled at the approach of Cimon, 206. Make a fresh insurrection, ibid. Possess themselves of a strong fortress, ibid. Hold out a siege of ten years, ibid. The besieged have then their lives spared by the Lacedaemonians on condition of leaving Peloponnesus for ever, ibid.
Hellespont,
Phocion drives Philip out of it, ii. 88.
Hephaestion,
Alexander's favourite, accompanies him to the tent of Sysigambis, ii. 195. His discreet behaviour upon the occasion, ibid. Is mistaken for the king, ibid. Receives a high compliment from him, 196. Is permitted to give a king to the Sidonians, 199. Offers the crown to the two brothers, at whose house he is quartered, ibid. His speech to them on their refusing the acceptance of it, ibid. Gets every thing ready for Alexander's passage over the river Indus, 258. He marries the youngest sister of Darius, 278. Loses his life by intemperate drinking, 281. His death throws Alexander into excessive sorrow, ibid.
Hipparchas,
son of Pisistratus, debauches the sister of Harmodius, 67. Is dispatched by the daggers of Harmodius and his friends, 68.
Hippias,
son of Pisistratus, meditates revenge for the murder of his brother, i. 68. Is inflamed by the intrepid behaviour of a courtezan, 69. Sets no bounds to his indignation, ibid. Gives his daughter in marriage to the son of the tyrant of Lampsacus, ibid. Cultivates a correspondence with Artaphanes, governor of Sardis, 70. Is supplanted in the alliances from which he expected the greatest assistance, ibid. His interests at Sparta undermined by the Alcmoeonidae, ibid. He comes to an accommodation with the Spartans, in order to redeem his children from slavery, 71. Gives up his pretensions to the sovereign power, ibid. Accompanies the Persian army, 105. Leads them by the safest marches into the heart of Greece, ibid.
Histiaeus,
the tyrant of Miletus, opposes the advice of Miltiades, i. 86. Is taken by Darius to Susa, 87. Looks upon his detention there as a species of imprisonment, ibid. Finding himself suspected at the Persian court, he leaves it, 92. Is accused by Artaphernes of treachery, ibid. Is rejected, as their master, by his own Miletians, ibid. Picks up a few scattered remains of the routed armies, ibid. Falls in with Harpagus, one of the Persian generals, ibid. Is routed by him, and made a prisoner, ibid. Is sent to Artaphernes, and by his orders crucified, ibid.
Hydaspes,
Alexander is greatly perplexed with the difficulties which attend his passage over that river, ii. 260.
I.
Javan,
the son of Japeth, the father of all the nations generally denominated Greeks, i. 4.
Jaxerthes,
Alexander finds the crossing that river a difficult task, ii. 250.
India,
some account of it, ii. 256.
Inachus,
the first king of Argos, i. 5.
Indus,
Alexander arrives at the banks of that river, and finds every thing got ready for his passage over it, ii. 258.
Ionians,
advised by Miltiades to break down the bridge thrown over the Isther, by Darius, and cut off the Persian retreat, i. 86. Reject his counsel, ibid. Are driven back under the command of Aristagoras, by the Persians, with great slaughter, 91. Their affair becomes desperate, 92. They fortify Miletus, 93. Exert all their efforts by sea, ibid. All the efforts rendered fruitless by the operation of Persian gold, ibid.
Isadas,
a young Spartan, his beautiful person and uncommon military appearance described, ii. 32. Rewarded and fined, ibid.
Isagoras,
supported by the rich, contends for that power at Athens, which he had before joined in distressing, i. 82.
Isocrates,
the celebrated rhetorician, unable to survive the ignominy with which his country was covered by the battle of Chaeronea, hastens his death by abstaining from food, ii. 110.
Isthmian
games, the rewards to the victors at them lessened by Solon, i. 57.
L.
Lacedaemonians
send to Athens to implore succours, on the insurrection of the Helotes, i. 205. Are powerfully assisted by Cimon, 206. Again request assistance, but are denied it, ibid. Finish the war with their insurgents by themselves, ibid. Are jealous of the Athenians, 212. Feel their uneasinesses increased by the successful operations of Pericles, in Thrace, 213. Send ambassadors to the Athenians, in consequence of the war resolved against them, 217. Their requisitions, ibid. Renew their hostilities, 224. Invade the territories of Athens, ibid. Send ambassadors to Athens, 253. Give assistance to the Syracusans, 268. Defeat the Athenians in a battle by land, 272. Gain a naval victory over them, 279. Avail themselves of the disturbances at Athens, 314. Are worsted by the Athenians in a naval engagement, 315. Are alarmed by the success of Alcibiades, 318. Fix upon Lysander for their general, ibid. Oblige the Athenians to demolish their democracy, 336. Enter into a treaty with Cyrus, 338. Write to Pharnabasus in a very abject style to deliver them from their formidable enemy, Alcibiades, ibid. Endeavour to deprive the Athenian sugitives of their last resource, 341. Prohibit the cities of Greece, by an edict, from giving them refuge, ibid.
Lamachus,
his reasons for making directly to Syracuse over-ruled, i. 263. Abandoned by his men, 267.
Leliae,
supposed to be the first institutor of Sparta and Lacedaemon, i. 7.
Leonidas,
appointed to the command of the important pass of Thermopylae, with six thousand men, i. 137. Finding his post untenable, he advises the troops of the allies to retire, 142. Dismisses all but his three hundred Spartans, ibid. His remarkable address to them, ibid. Is the first who falls, ibid.
Leonidas,
one of Alexander's preceptors, a particular instance of the severity of his morals, ii. 130.
Leotychides,
succeeds Domaratus as colleague to Clemenes, i. 99. Concurs with
his
views, ibid. Punishes the Aeginetans, ibid. Puts to sea, 173. Lands his forces at Mycale, ibid. Draws up his army in two bodies, ibid. Gains a complete victory, 174.
Lycurgus,
his character, i. 15. He sacrisices his ambition to his duty, 16. His travels described, 17. Finds it necessary, on his return to Sparta, to change the whole form of government, 18. Communicates his designs to his particular friends; and having gained over the leading men, carries his reforming design into execution, 19. His regulations described, and his laws enumerated, 19-38.
Lycurgus,
an Athenian orator, procures the death of Lysides, one of the generals, for his ill conduct at the battle of Chaeronea, ii. 110. Makes a reproachful speech to him, ibid. His character and employments described, 110, 111.
Lysander,
chosen by the Lacedaemonians for their general, in order to oppose Alcibiades, i. 318. His character, ibid. He brings his army to Ephesus, 319. Receives advice of the arrival of Cyrus at Sardis, ibid. Sets out from Ephesus to make him a visit, ibid. And complains of the duplicity of Tissaphernes, ibid. Mans a few ships to repel the insults of Antiochus, 320. Is victorious, 321. Is suspended by Callicratidas, ibid. Is solicited to return, 326. Is invested with the power of an Admiral, ibid. Sails towards the Heliespont, ibid. Lays siege to Lampsacus, carries it by storm, and abandons it to the mercy of his soldiers, ibid. His cautious behaviour, 327. He makes preparations for an engagement, 329. Gains a victory, 331. His behaviour to Philocles, one of the Athenian generals, ibid. Prepares for the siege of Athens by land, 333. Arrives in the port, ibid. Demolishes the walls of Athens with great solemnity and insolence, 335. Procures a guard for the thirty tyrants, his own creatures, 337. Is willing to grant the tyrants of Athens assistance, 344.
Lysias,
an orator of Syracuse, raises five hundred soldiers at his own expence, and sends them to the aid of the Athenian fugitives, i. 341.
Lysides,
one of the Athenian generals, his presumptuous exclamation at the battle of Chaeronea, ii. 105. Sentenced to death for his ill conduct in that battle, 110.
M.
Macedonia,
kingdom of, first governed by Carannus, descended from Hercules, i. 8.
Macedonians,
terrified at the appearance of the elephants of Porus, planted to dispute their passage over the river Hydaspes, ii. 258.
Madathes,
commander of the province of Uxii, ii. 233. Faithful to his sovereign, 234. Resolves to hold out to the last extremity, ibid. Withdraws into his own city, ibid. Forced from thence, he retires into the citadel, ibid. Sends thirty deputies to Alexander to sue for quarter, ibid. Obtains it at last by the interposition of Sysigambis, ibid.
Magacles,
the Athenian, leader of the inhabitants upon the sea coast, i. 60. Drives Pisistratus out of the city, 65. Recalls him, and gives him his daughter in marriage, ibid.
Mandanis,
a Boxamin, his interview with Onesicristus, ii. 269. Assumes a haughty philosophic tone, 270.
Mantinca,
battle of, ii. 36.
Mantincans,
peremptorily ordered by the Spartans to throw down their walls, ii. 5. Compelled to obey them, ibid.
Marathon,
the memorable battle of, described, i. 109.
Mardonius,
sent by Darius to command in chief throughout all the maritime part of Asia, i. 94. Particularly ordered to revenge the burning of Sardis, ibid. Passes into Thrace at the head of a large army, 95. Terrifies the inhabitants into an implicit obedience to his power, ibid. Sets sail for Macedonia, ibid. Is considerably distressed by sea and land, ibid. Is attacked by the Thracians in the night, ibid. Is wounded, ibid. Returns to the Persian court covered with grief and confusion in consequence of his miscarriages, ibid. Is displaced, 96. Gives advice to Xerxes which is very well received, 157. Passes the winter in Thessaly, 162. Leads his army into the province of Boeotia, ibid. Sends Alexander, king of Macedonia, with a splendid retinue to Athens, ibid. Leaves Attica, and returns to the country of Boeotia, 165. Resolves to wait the approach of the enemy, ibid. Encamps by the river Asopus, ibid. Is impatient to come to an engagement, 168. Calls a council of war, ibid. Is disswaded from the hazard of a battle, 169. Resolves to engage, ibid. Makes an alteration in his army, 170. Supposing the Greeks flying, he pursues them, ibid. Attempts to restore the order of battle, 171. Is killed, ibid.
Mazaeus,
governor of Babylon, surrenders it to Alexander, on his appearance before it after the battle of Arbela, ii. 231. Honoured by Alexander with the government of the province of Chaldaea, ii. 233.
Medon,
son of Cadmus, set at the head of the commonwealth of Athens, with the title of Archon, i. 6.
Megara,
city of, rejects with disdain the Lacedaemonion edict against the Athenian fugitives, i. 341.
Memnon,
a Rhodian, one of Darius's commanders, advises the generals not to venture a battle, ii. 157. His opinion over-ruled, 158. Sent into Greece by Darius to invade Macedon, ii. 172. Dies in the expedition, ibid.
Memphis,
the Persian governor of that city opens the gates of it to Alexander, ii. 217.
Menon,
commands the left wing of Cyrus's army, i. 349.
Meroe,
one of Porus's most intimate friends, sent by Alexander to him, ii. 266. Intreats him in the strongest terms to wait upon a conqueror altogether worthy of him, ibid.
Mesabates,
the eunuch, cuts off the head and right hand of Cyrus, at the command of Artaxerxes, i. 352.
Massagetae
subdued by Alexander, ii. 250.
Messenians
accused, in a temple dedicated to Diana, of attempting the chastity of some Spartan virgins, and of killing Teleclus, one of the Spartan kings, i. 39. They deny the charge, ibid. Send to consult the oracle of Delphos, 40. Are required to sacrifice a virgin of the family of Aepytus, ibid. Make a vigorous struggle for freedom, 42. Are obliged to take refuge with Anaxilas, prince of Sicily, 43.
Miletus
besieged by the Persians, and taken, i. 93.
Miletians,
assisted by the Athenians, in an expedition against Samos, i 213.
Miltiades
advises the Ionians to break down Darius's bridge over the Isther, and by so doing cut off the Persian retreat, i. 86. His advice rejected, ibid. Resolves to return once more to Athens, 102. Returns with five ships, ibid. Appointed chief commander over the ten thousand men destined to oppose the Persian army, 106. Prepares for the great encounter, 107. Is victorious, 112. Receives from his countrymen many striking marks of their gratitude, 115. Finds it of a short continuance, ibid. Is accused of having taken a Persian bribe, 116. Condemned to lose his life, ibid. His punishment changed to a penalty, which he is unable to pay, ibid. Is thrown into prison, and there dies, ibid.
Mingimis,
the Lacedaemonian general, killed in a naval engagement with the Athenians, i. 316.
Mitylene,
port of, i. 322.
Mother,
remarkable advice of a Spartan mother to her son, i. 31.
Mycale,
battle of, i. 173.
Mycenae,
kingdom of, seat of government transferred thither from Argos, i. 5.
N.
Narbarzanes,
conspires with Bessus, general of the Bactrians, to seize upon the person of Darius, and to lay him in chains, ii. 238. Their design, ibid. They win over the troops under their command, ibid. Seize their monarch, bind him in chains of gold, enclose him in a covered chariot, and set out with him towards Bactriana, ibid. Finding it impossible either to conciliate the friendship of Alexander, or to secure the throne for themselves, they give their royal prisoner his liberty, 239. Fall upon him with the utmost fury for refusing to follow them, and leaving him to linger in a miserable manner, make their escape several ways, ibid.
Nearchus,
appointed by Alexander admiral of his fleet, ii. 274.
Nicias,
chiefly instrumental in procuring a peace between the Athenians and Lacedaemonians, i. 247. Confounded and disgraced, 253. Is sent to Sparta, 254. Is unable to gain the terms demanded, ibid. Appointed to a naval command, 257. Appointed one of the generals to his great regret, 258. Endeavours to oppose Alcibiades indirectly, ibid. Starts numerous difficulties, 258, 259. Is disappointed 260. Rouzed by an insult from the Syracusans, he makes the best of his way to Syracuse, 264. Succeeds by a stratagem, ibid. Lands at Syracuse, ibid. Gains an advantage, but not being able to attack the city, takes up his quarters at Catana and Naxus, ibid. Sets sail for Syracuse to block it up by sea and land, ibid. Makes himself master of Epipolae, 267. Conceives great hopes from a successful stratagem, ibid. Disdains to answer a proposal made by Gylippus, the Lacedaemonian general, 270. Prepares for battle, ibid. Marches against the Syracusans, 271. Possesses himself of Plemmyrium, 272. Writes a melancholy account of his affairs to Athens, ibid. Proposes to be recalled, ibid. Having met with a considerable check, he does not care to venture a second battle, 277. Is forced to give the Syracusans bat
le by the impetuosity of his colleagues, 278. Sustains a severe loss, 279. Is thrown into the utmost consternation by it, ibid. Is terrified by the bold and precipitate resolution of Demosthenes, 281. His remonstrances considered as resulting from his timidity, 282. He is obliged to subscribe to the opinion of Demosthenes, ibid. Is deprived of all hopes of success, 285. Prepares to sail from Syracuse, ibid. Is alarmed by an eclipse of the moon, ibid. Scrupulously adheres to the declarations of the soothsayers, ibid. Is greatly distressed, 289. Makes preparations for a naval engagement, ibid. Is put to slight, 292. Is deceived by false intelligence, 294. An affecting description on his distressed situation, 296. He deems it prudent to retire, 297. Arrives at the river Erineus, 298. Is summoned by the enemy to surrender, 299. His proposal rejected, ibid. He marches towards the river Asinarus, ibid. Surrenders at discretion, ibid. Is put to death, 304. Eulogium on him, ibid.
Nysa,
city of, taken by Alexander, ii. 257.
O.
Oenomarchus,
gains a considerable advantage over Philip, ii. 60. Is entirely defeated, ibid. Killed in the pursuit, ibid. Hung upon a gallows, ibid.
Olympias,
wife of Philip, provokes him so far by her vindictive and passionate disposition, as to make him wish her dead, ii. 117. Is divorced from him, ibid. Connives at the escape of Pausanias after the assassination of the king, 123. Expresses her implacable resentment, by ordering a golden crown to be put on his head upon the gibbet, 124. Pays the same funeral honours to him as those prepared for Philip, ibid. Is said to have prevailed on the Macedonians to pay annual honours to Pausanias, ibid. Consecrates the dagger with which the king had been murdered to Apollo, ibid.
Olympic games,
the rewards of the victors at them lessened by Solon, i. 57.
Olynthians,
courted by the Athenians, ii. 53. Send to Athens for relief against Philip, 67.
Omphis,
a king of India, meets Alexander, ii. 258. Does homage to him, ibid. Makes him a present of elephants, and other animals, ibid. Is sent, with the name of Taxylus, by Alexander, to Porus after his defeat, 266. Calls out to him, while he is retiring from the field of battle, wounded, to stop, and hear the message he had brought from Alexander, ibid. Is reproached by him for his treachery to his country, ibid. Retreats immediately to escape the dart levelled at him, ibid.
Onesicritus,
the philosopher, deputed by Alexander to the Indian priests, ii. 268. Meets a body of Boxamins, ibid. Addresses himself to Calanus, 269. His interview with Mandanis, ibid. Persuades them both very urgently to quit their austere way of life, and follow the fortune of Alexander, ibid.
Ostracism,
its institution, i. 82.
P.
Pactolus,
a signal victory gained over Tissaphernes by Agesilaus, near that river, ii. 2.
Panites,
branded with infamy on his return to Sparta, after the battle of Thermopylae, i. 144.
Parmenio,
made governor of Phoenicia, ii. 196. Advises Alexander to attack the Persians in the night-time, 224. His reasons for such advice, ibid. Receives a haughty answer from the king, ibid. Is surprised to find him in a calm, sweet sleep, just as he is to fight a battle in which his whole fortune lies at stake, 225. Is barbarously murdered, 248.
Partheniae,
why so called, i. 41. Join in an insurrection with the Helotes, ibid. Settle at Tarentum in Italy, ibid.
Parysatis,
prevails on her eldest son Artaxerxes to pardon her youngest son, Cyrus, i. 345.
Pausanias,
king of Sparta, gains a complete victory over the Persian army under the command of Mardonius at Platea, i. 172. Commands the Spartan fleet, 183. Is infected with the wealth acquired in an expedition against the Persians, 184. Sets no bounds to his ambition, ibid. Is mortified by the desertion of the confederates to Aristides and Cimon, 185. Becomes contemptible to those who still acknowledge his command, ibid. Resolves to sacrifice his country to his ambition, ibid. Makes overtures for gaining the favour of Xerxes, ibid. Ordered home to take his trial for entering into a conspiracy against his country, 186. Is deprived of his command, and retires, meditating revenge, ibid. Receives a second summons to appear before the Ephori for fresh crimes, ibid. Comes off by the mildness of the Spartan laws, and the authority of his regal office, ibid. He does not, however, abandon his base projects, ibid. Acts with less reserve, ibid. Is seized by the Ephori in consequence of the detection of new misdemeanours, 188. Takes sanctuary in the temple of Minerva, ibid. Is starved to death, ibid.
Pausanias,
the Macedonian, usurps the throne, ii. 46. Is expelled, ibid. Is affronted by Attalus, the new queen's uncle; breathes revenge, ii. 121. Implores the king's justice, ibid. Is made one of the chief officers of his lifeguard, ibid. Not satisfied with that mark of the king's confidence, he meditates his death, ibid. Is instigated to the commission of the intended assassination by Harmocrates, the professor of philosophy, 122. Chuses the day of Cleopatra's marriage for the execution of his horrid design, ibid. Slips through the crowd while the king is marching on in all his pomp, and plunges a dagger into his heart, 123. Flies towards the gates of the city, in order to make his escape, ibid. Is pursued, 124. Dispatched, and hung upon a gibbet, ibid.
Pedarctus,
converts a disappointment into joy, i. 33.
Peasant,
Spartan, his reply to Aristides not knowing him, i. 135.
Pelopidas,
slays the Spartan commander at the battle of Tanagra with his own hand, ii. 12. At the battle of Tegyra he puts a large body of the enemy to the rout with very unequal forces, ibid. Commands a battalion of the Theban army, ibid. Behaves with timidity when summoned to defend himself against the accusation pointed at him, 26. Acquitted, ibid. By undertaking an embassy to the court of Persia, he induces the king, who had been solicited to join the confederates against Thebes, to stand neuter, 27. Is sent against Polydorus and Poliphron of Pherae in Thessaly, 28. Compels Alexander, who had seized the government, to make submission to him, ibid. Attempts to change the natural brutality of his disposition, ibid. Is appointed ambassador to him, 29. Is seized upon and made prisoner, ibid. Is delivered by Epaminondas, ibid. Freed from his confinement, he resolves to punish Alexander for his perfidy and breach of faith, 29. Leads a body of troops against him, ibid. Is victorious over him at Cynocephalus, ibid. But is unfortunately slain, ibid. Having made a decision in favour of Perdiccas, king of Macedon, he carries his brother Philip with him to Thebes as one of his hostages, ii. 46. Is requested by his mother Eurydice to procure him an education worthy of his birth, 47. Places him with Epaminondas, ibid.
Peloponnesian
war, i. 214-248.
Pelusium,
the Egyptians in that city own Alexander for their sovereign, ii. 217.
Perdiccas,
son of Amintas, king of Macedon, opposed by Pausanias, ii. 46. Confirmed on the throne by the assistance of Iphicrates the Athenian general, ibid. His title is again disputed, ibid. Refers the contest to the decision of Pelopidas, who gives it in his favour, ibid.
Periander,
king of Corinth, ranked among the seven wise men of Greece, from the love he bore to learning, and the encouragement he gave to its professors, i. 8.
Pericles,
his character, i. 203. His artful behaviour in order to secure his popularity, 205. Provides Cimon with a sufficiency of foreign employment to keep him at a distance, ibid. Refuses to comply with the demands of the Lacedaemonians, embarrassed by the insurrection of their slaves, 206. First proposes the decree to recall his rival from banishment, 208. Sets himself to complete the work of ambition which he had begun by various acts of popularity, 209. Opposed by Thucydides, brother-in-law of Cimon, 211. Rises superior to all opposition, 212. Becomes the principal ruler at Athens, ibid. Protects the allies of Greece, and grants their cities all they think fit to ask of him, 213. Encourages an expedition against Samos, to please a famous courtezan, ibid. Invests the capital of Samos, and, after a siege of nine months, obliges his opponents to surrender, 214. Returns to Athens flushed with success, ibid. Seeing a war with the Lacedaemonians inevitable, he advises that aid should be sent to the people of Corcyra, ibid. Thinks it incumbent on him to inspire his countrymen with courage to prosecute the war against the Lacedaemonians into which he had led them, 217. Brings the people over to his opinion, 218. His motives explained, ibid. He animates the Athenians to let the enemy consume themselves with delay, 221. Is generally supposed to have occasioned the plague of Athens, 226. Is restored to the command of the army in a short time after he had been deposed from it, 227. Is seized with the plague, ibid. His dying words, 228. His character, ibid.
Persians,
drive back the Ionians under the command of Aristagoras, with great slaughter, i. 91. Are defeated by the Macedonians, ii. 163.
Perseus,
after having unfortunately slain his grandfather Acrisius, the last king of Argos, translates the government from thence to Mycenae, i. 5.
Persia,
king of, endeavours to weaken the Grecian confederacy by bribes, and succeeds, ii. 2. Gains over the Spartans, ibid. Becomes arbitrator of Greece, 5. Gains many favourable stipulations on the conclusion of a peace between the rival states, ibid.
Pharnabasus,
complies with the wishes of the Lacedaemonians, by giving orders for the assassination of Alcibiades, i. 338.
Philantus,
conducts the Partheniae to Tarentum, i. 41.
Philip,
son of Amyntas, king of Macedon, carried by Pelopidas to Thebes, ii. 46. Placed with Epaminondas, 47. Improves greatly by the instructions of his preceptor, a celebrated Pythagorean philosopher, 47. Still more by those of Epaminondas, ibid. Leaves Thebes clandestinely, on the news of a revolution at Macedon, 48. Finds the Macedonians surprised at the loss of their king Perdiccas, ibid. More so, on their having as many enemies as neighbours, ibid. Governs the kingdom for some time as guardian to young Amyntas, 49. Mounts the throne, ibid. Makes it his first care to gain the affections of his own people, and to raise their spirits, ibid. Is successful, 50. Trains his subjects to arms, exercises them, and reforms their discipline, ibid. Institutes the famous Macedonian phalanx, ibid. Makes up matters with his enemies nearest to him, 51. Turns his forces against the Athenians, ibid. Gives them battle, and defeats them, ibid. Gains upon them by his moderation, and concludes a peace with them, ibid. Marches northward, ibid. Declares war against the Paeonians, and subdues them, ibid. Obliges the Illyrians to restore all their conquests in Macedonia, ibid. Declares Amphipolis a free city, 52. Makes a conquest of it by the remissness of the Athenians, ibid. Seizes Pidna and Potidea, 53. Over-reaches the Athenians, ibid. Seizes the city of Crenides, 54. Calls it Philippi, ibid. Discovers a very valuable gold mine there, ibid. Consults the Delphic oracle, and takes the advice of it, ibid. Is pleased to see the states of Greece weakening each other by their mutual hostilities, 58. Determines to possess himself of Methone, a small city in Thrace, but of consequence to
him,
ibid. Besieges it, makes himself master of it, and razes it, ibid. Loses one of his eyes by a very singular accident, ibid. Hangs up the archer of Amphipolis, by whose arrow he lost it, 59. Marches to Thessaly, ibid. After having freed the Thessalians from their tyrants, he resolves to carry his arms into Phocis, 60. Marches towards Thermopylae, ibid. Turns his arms against the Olynthians, 66. Resolves to reduce them entirely, ibid. Sends them a short message, ibid. Having corrupted the principal men in Olynthus, he enters it, plunders it, and sells the inhabitants, 68. Is addressed by the Thebans, ibid. Resolves to espouse their interest against the Phocians, ibid. Declares in their favour, 69. His artful behaviour upon the occasion, ibid. Pursues his march into Phocis without interruption, 72. Gains the Streights of Thermopylae, ibid. Strikes a terror among the Phocians, ibid. Allows Phelicus to retire, ibid. Refers the disposal of the inhabitants of Phocis to the Amphyctions, ibid. Procures a seat in the council of the Amphyctions, 73. Gains the superintendency of the Pythian games, ibid. Returns in a triumphant manner to his own dominions, ibid. Marches into Thessaly, ibid. Confirms the Thessalians in his interest, and gains over many of their neighbours, 74. A singular act of private justice by him, ibid. Forms a design against the Chersonese, 76. Writes to Athens a letter of complaint, 77. Proceeds with artful industry, 78. Avails himself of the divisions in Peloponnesus, to intermeddle in the affairs of the Greek confederacy, 78. Takes the Argives and Messenians under his protection, ibid. And Thebans, ibid. Does all in his power to prevent an union between Athens and Sparta, ibid. Is disappointed by the prevailing eloquence of Demosthenes, but does not continue idle, 79. Turns his views towards the island of Eubaea, ibid. Sends some troops privately thither at the request of certain of the inhabitants, ibid. Possesses himself of several strong places, ibid. Dismantles Porthmos, ibid. Establishes three kings over the country, ibid. Marches towards Thrace, in order to distress the Athenians, by starving them, 83. Intends to besiege Perinthus and Byzantium, ibid. Leaves his son Alexander in Macedon with sovereign authority, 84. Is pleased with his military successes; but fearful of his being too inconsiderate, sends for him, in order to be his master in the art of war, ibid. Opens the campaign with the siege of Perinthus, ibid. Resolves to besiege Byzantium, ibid. Amuses the Athenians, 85. Writes a reproaching letter to them, ibid. Is obliged, by Phocion, to abandon his design upon Perinthus and Byzantium, 88. Is beat out of the Hellespont, ibid. Marches against Atheas, king of Scythia, and takes his son with him in the expedition, ibid. Defeats the Scythians without any difficulty, ibid. Gets a considerable booty, ibid. Finds his passage disputed on his return by the Triballi, ibid. Is forced to come to a battle, 89. Is wounded in the thigh, ibid. Is protected by his son, ibid. Apprehensive of the consequences of an open war with the Athenians, he makes overtures of peace to soften their resentment, ibid. Finding they will not treat with him, he forms new alliances against them, 90. Endeavours, underhand, to create new disturbances in Greece, ibid. Raises divisions between the Locrians of Amphissa, and their capital city, ibid. Employs Aeschines, the orator, to harangue for him at the assembly of the Amphyctions, ibid. Receives the most welcome invitation and commission from the Amphyctions in Thrace, 91. Declares his readiness to execute their orders, 92. Begins his march apparently to chastise the irreverent Locrians, 93. Makes a sudden turn, and seizes upon the city of Elatea, ibid. Sends ambassadors to Thebes, to oppose the eloquence of Demosthenes, 98. Sends ambassadors to the Athenians, 99. Determines to bring on a general engagement, 100. Leads his army to the plain of Chaeronea, 101. His military force described, ibid. His interview with Diogenes, 102. Commands himself in the right wing, and gives proofs of skill as well as valour, 105. Gains a complete victory over the confederates, 107. Concludes his important victory by an act of seeming clemency, ibid. Is transported with his success, ibid. Drinks himself into a state of intoxication, ibid. Struck with a reproof from Demades, one of his prisoners, he gives him his liberty, and distinguishes him with marks of honour and friendship, 108. Releases all the Athenian captives, and without ransom, ibid. Not thoroughly satisfied with his last victory, he wants to get himself appointed, in the assembly of the Greeks, their chief general against the Persians, 116. Is created generalissimo of the Greek forces, ibid. Makes preparations for the Persian invasion, ibid. In the midst of his successes in politis and war, he finds his domestic happiness embittered by domestic divisions, ibid. Is provoked by the ill temper, jealousy, and passionate behaviour of his wife Olympias, to wish for her death, 117. Falls in love with Cleopatra, niece of Attalus, his general, ibid. Resolves to separate himself from the princess, ibid. His speech to Alexander on his making remonstrances against a second marriage, ibid. Declares his marriage with Cleopatra in form, and celebrates it with the grandeur and solemnity which the occasion demanded, 118. Enraged by the behaviour of his son at the celebration of his nuptials, he snatches a sword, and flies towards him with it, ibid. Is prevented from executing his rash design by stumbling, intoxicated, upon the floor, 119. Is unpardonably insulted by his son in that censurable situation, ibid. Consults the oracle about his project for the conquest of Asia, ibid. Interprets the oracle in his own favour, ibid. Dispatches, with all possible diligence, his domestic affairs, ibid. Prepares to celebrate the nuptials of Cleopatra, his daughter, ibid. Assures himself, from a number of happy presages, of conquest, 120. Makes Pausanias one of the chief officers of his life-guard, 121. Is murdered by him, 123.
Philocles,
his spirited speech before his execution, i. 332.
Philomelas,
the Phocian, chiefly instrumental in spiriting up his fellow citizens to arms, ii. 55. Is appointed their general, ibid. Applies himself to the Spartans, ibid. Is supplied by them clandestinely with money, ibid. Gets possession of the temple of Apollo at Delphos, 56. Defeats the Locrians, ibid. Erases the decree of the Amphictions, ibid. Consults the oracle, ibid. Is satisfied with the answer of the priestess, ibid. Avails himself of the riches of the temple for the payment of his soldiers, 57. Throws himself headlong from a rock to prevent his being taken prisoner, ibid.
Philotas,
one of Alexander's favourites, is informed of a conspiracy against him, ii. 245. Neglects the disclosure of it to his master, ibid. Is suspected himself, and doomed to destruction, ibid. Is put to the rack, 246. Confesses his guilt, accuses his father, and is stoned to death, ibid.
Phrygia,
Alexander marches into that country, and cuts the celebrated Gordian knot, ii. 172.
Phrynicus,
opposes the return of Alcibiades to Athens, i. 310. His treasonable practices detected, ibid. He is stabbed in the market-place, ibid.
Phocians,
cited to appear before the council of Amphyctions, ii 55. Cast and heavily fined, ibid. Quote a precedent from Homer to vindicate their refusal, ibid. Appoint Philomelas their general, ibid. Terrified at the approach of Philip, 72. Decline giving him battle, ibid. Make submissions to him, ibid.
Phocion,
appointed by the Athenians to command a body of forces sent to the assistance of Plutarch in the island of Eubaea, ii. 80. His character, ibid. Finds Plutarch traiterously ready to repulse the very army he had requested, 83. Drives him out of Eretria, ibid. Appointed general of the army against Philip, he leads his troops to the succour of the Byzantians, 87. Is received by them with joy, ibid. Forces Philip to abandon his design upon Byzantium and Perinthus, 88. Drives him out of the Hellespont, ibid. Takes some of his ships, ibid. Plunders all the open country, ibid. Is obliged to retire, ibid. Advises the Athenians to accept Philip's pacific proposals, 89. Nobly rejects all the offers made him by Harpalus for the corruption of his integrity, 279. Anecdotes concerning him greatly to his honour, ibid. He uses all his influence to prevent the success of Harpalus, 280.
Platea,
surprised by three hundred Thebans, i. 219.
Plateans,
apply to the Athenians for their protection and alliance, ii. 13.
Plutarch,
solicits the assistance of the Athenians in the island of Eubaea, ii. 79. Is traiterously ready to repulse the very army he had urgently requested, 83. Is driven out of Eretria by Phocion, ibid.
Poliphron,
of Pherae, in Thessaly, kills his brother Polydore, in order to reign alone, ii. 28. Is killed by Alexander, ibid.
Polychares,
a Messenian, his quarrel with Euphaenus, a Lacedaemonian, i. 39.
Polydamus,
a Macedonian lord, appointed to see the execution of Parmenio performed, ii. 246. Sets out for Media, and sees the king's cruel commission effectually executed by the murder of Parmenio, 248.
Polydorus,
of Pherae in Thessaly, murdered by his brother Polyphron, ii. 28.
Polystratus,
gives Darius drink, finding him near his end, ii. 239.
Porthmos,
a fortress in the island of Eubaea, dismantled by Philip, ii. 79.
Porus,
a king of India, is required by Alexander to make submissions to him, ii. 258. Returns a spirited answer, ibid. Provokes Alexander by that answer to resolve upon compulsive measures, ibid. Encamps on the borders of the Hydaspes, in order to dispute the paslage with him, ibid. Places at the head of his army eighty-five elephants of a prodigious size, and behind them three hundred chariots guarded by thirty thousand foot, ibid. Is mounted upon a much larger elephant than any of the rest, 259. Exceeds, himself, the usual stature of men, ibid. Appears at the same time terrible and majestic, ibid. On hearing that Alexander had passed the Hydaspes, he sends a detachment against him, commanded by one of his sons, who is defeated, and killed
the spot, 260. Resolves to go and face Alexander, 261. Se
out with a confiderable force, ibid. Draws up his army in battle array, ibid. Puts all his elephants in front, as a bulwark to his foot, ibid. Is totally defeated, after having fought with incredible bravery, 265. Remains in the field as long as one battalion or squadron stand their ground, 266. Retires upon his elephant, having received a wound in the shoulder, ibid. Is called upon by Taxilus [See
Omphis]
to hear a message from Alexander, ibid. Reproaches him for having proved a traitor to his country, ibid. Aims a dart at him, ibid. Strongly intreated by Meroa to wait upon the conqueror, he consents, and sets forward, ibid. Undejected at his misfortune, he comes up to. Alexander with a resolute countenance, 267. His interview with him described, ibid.
Potidaea,
battle of, i. 215. Besieged, ibid.
Proxences,
invites Xenophon into Asia, i. 360.
Prytanni,
the name of the chief magistrate at Corinth, i. 8.
Pylus,
the siege of it described, i. 239, 241.
Python,
the Macedonian ambassador, distinguishes himself by the liveliness of his orations, ii. 89. His powers inferior to those of Demosthenes, ibid.
R.
Roxana,
daughter to Axertes, king of the Sacae, appears so alluring in the eyes of Alexander, that he makes her his wise, ii. 254.
S.
Sacae,
the country of the, over-run and laid waste by Alexander, ii. 254.
Sacred Van,
a battalion of the Theban army distinguished by that name, ii. 12. As remarkable for their fidelity to each other as for their strength and courage, ibid. Remain invincible for a succession of years, 12. Cut down by the Macedonian phalanx under Philip, ibid.
Salamis,
taken by stratagem, and added to the dominion of Athens, i. 47.
Scythians,
submit to Alexander, ii. 249.
Sicyon,
supposed to be the most antient kingdom of Greece, i. 5.
Simonides,
the poet of Ceos, sings the exploits of his countrymen in a style becoming their valour, i. 202.
Sissiphus,
the son of Aeolus, makes himself master of Corinth, i. 8.
Sochus,
(in Assyria) Alexander, hearing that Darius is encamped there, resolves to meet him without delay, ii. 182.
Socrates,
the celebrated philosopher, refuses to act against the incendiaries who accuse the admirals victorious over Callicratidas at Arginnoae, i. 323. The only person who ventures to appear in defence of Theramenes his disciple, 340. His character, 376. A particular account of the proceedings against him, 379. A memorable speech of his in consequence of the charge against him, 381.
Soloe,
Alexander offers a sacrifice to Esculapius there, ii. 182.
Solon,
the celebrated Grecian legislator, applied to by the Athenians for his advice and assistance, i. 46. An account of his birth and character, ibid. He adds Salamis to the dominion of Athens by a stratagem, 47. Addressed by the sages of Greece as their associate, ibid. A remarkable saying of his, 48, 49. His interview with Craesus, king of Lydia, 50. His political operations at Athens described, 52. He withdraws from the city to avoid the importunity of some, and the captious petulance of others, 60. Travels to Egypt, Lydia, and several other countries, ibid. Returns to Athens after an absence of ten years, 61. Having been opposed by the bad designs of Pisistratus, he wishes to subvert them, ibid. Endeavours to oppose art to
his
cunning, 62. Employs all his authority and eloquence in opposition to a dangerous request made by him, 63. But in vain, ibid. Reproaches the Athenians for their cowardice and treachery, 64. Dies in the 80th year of his age, after having survived the liberty of his country not above two years, 64. His character, ibid.
Sparta,
supposed to have been instituted by Leliae, i. 7. The behaviour of the Ephori when the news arrived of the victory gained by Epaminondas, ii. 22. Striking courage of the citizens, both male and female, upon the melancholy occasion, 22, 23.
Spartans,
their old jealousies begin to revive, ii. 2. They fall upon the Eleans, ibid. Take them into an alliance, ibid. Attacked on all sides, 4. Their allies at first are routed, ibid. They turn the scale of victory by their own valour and come off conquerors, ibid. Sustain a naval loss at Cnidus, ibid. Freed from the terrors of a foreign enemy, by the conclusion of a peace, they proceed to spread terror among the petty states of Greece, 5. Give peremptory orders to the Mantineans to throw down their walls, ibid. Compel them to obedience, ibid. Oblige the Corinthians to withdraw the garrison from Argosi, ibid. March against the Olynthians, ibid. Subdue them, 6. Interpose in a domestic quarrel at Thebes, ibid. Turn Phaelidas out of the citadel, and place a garrison of their own there, ibid. Procure articles to be exhibited against Ismenius, ibid. Chastise the Phliasians, ibid. Alarmed from an unexpected quarter, ibid. Is incensed by the successful efforts of the Thebans for the recovery of their freedom, they attempt to seize the Pyraeus, 10. By so doing they make the Athenians irreconcilable enemies, ibid. Repulsed by the inhabitants of Xacinthus and Corcyra, on their attempting to restore their magistrates by force, 12. Weaken themselves by their contests with the Athenians, 13. Enter into a confederacy with the Athenians against the Thebans, 16. Order levies to be made in all parts of Greece that side with them, 16. Came to a battle with the Thebans, 20. Fight with fury about the body of their general, and carry it off, 21. Are defeated, and driven from the field of battle, ibid. Struck with consternation at their late defeat, they apply to the Athenians for succour, 27. Fined by the Amphyctions, 55.
Spitamenes,
chief confident of Bessus, seizes him, puts him in chains, forces his royal robe from his back, and delivers him up in the most ignominious manner to Alexander, ii. 248.
Sthenelus,
king of Mycenae, driven out by the Heraclidae, or descendants of Hercules, i. 5.
Susa,
Alexander finds treasures there to an infinite amount, ii. 233.
Syracuse,
siege of it described, i. 266, 267.
Syracusans,
insults Nicias, i. 264. Deceived by false reports, they present themselves in order of battle before him, 265. Are forced back to the city, ibid. Propose an accommodation, 268. Receive a piece of animating intelligence, 269. Are astonished and stupified at it, ibid. Are prevailed upon to fit out the strongest fleet in their power to hazard a battle at sea, 273. Sustain a considerable loss, ibid. Gain a victory over the Athenian fleet, 279. Attack the intrenchments of the enemy, and gain a considerable advantage over them, ibid. Drive Eurymedon vigorously into the gulph called Dacon, 287. Erect trophies for the death of Eurymedon, 288. Obtain a complete victory over the Athenians, 292. Are drawn from their festivities to pursue the enemy, by a stratagem, 294. Retire from the Athenians, and advance towards them alternately, 297. Drive Demosthenes into a narrow place enclosed with a wall, 298. Reject a proposal made by Nicias with disdain, 299. Throw a number of the Athenians into the river Asinarus, ibid. Enter triumphantly into Syracuse, 300. Consequences of their successes, ibid.
Sysigambis,
Darius's mother, found remaining in the camp (with his queen) by Alexander, ii. 193. Is permitted to bury whatever persons she pleases according to the Persian customs, 195. Receives a message from Alexander, ibid. Is visited by him in her tent, ibid. Falls prostrate before him, ibid.
T.
Tarsus,
Alexander marches his whole army to that city, ii. 173.
Taxilus.
See
Omphis.
Thales,
his answer to Solon, on having been asked why he never thought fit to marry, i. 49. His opinion of the most perfect popular government, ibid.
Tharsis,
second son of Javan, thought to have settled in Achaia, i. 4.
Thalestris,
queen of the Amazons, prompted by a violent desire to see Alexander, leaves her dominions, and travels through a great number of countries to gratify her curiosity, ii. 241. On coming near his camp, she sends a message to him, 242. Receives a favourable answer, ibid. Commands her train to stop, and advances with three hundred women, ibid. Leaps from her horse the moment she perceives the king, ibid. Looks upon him without any marks of admiration, ibid. Does not think his person answerable to his fame, ibid. Acquaints him with the chief motive of her journey, ibid. Her information occasions his making some stay with her, ibid. She returns to her kingdom, ibid.
Thebans,
active in promoting the Persian interest, ii. 3. Send ambassadors to the Athenians, ibid. Weary of the Spartan yoke, they make a desperate attempt to throw it off, 7. The attempt particularly described, 7, 8, 9, 10. Acquire freedom by its success, 10. Remain a short time at peace, 12. Taking offence at the application made by the Plateans to the Athenians, they demolish their town, 13. They demolish also Thespiae, ibid. Grow into power, ibid. Take the lead in the affairs of Greece, ibid. Make it their maxim to side either with Athens or Sparta, ibid. Are under the utmost consternation, on finding the Spartans and Athenians confederated against them, 16. Gain a complete victory over the Lacedaemonians and Athenians, 38. Lose the fruits of it by the death of their general, 39. Surprised at the appearance of Alexander in Boeotia, 142. Exert themselves with great bravery against him, but, after a vigorous resistance, are defeated, ibid. Their city is taken and plundered, ibid. Their distresses, in consequence of their defeat, 143.
Thebes,
rejects with disdain the unjust Lacedaemonian ordinance against the Athenian fugitives, i. 341. Makes a decree in their favour, ibid.
Themistocles,
uses all its eloquence to convince the Athenians that the saving of its citizens is the true preservation of a state, i. 147. Procures a decree favourable to his design to man the fleet, ibid. A memorable reply of his, 151. He has recourse to a stratagem, in order to bring his confederates to act in conjunction with him, 152. Is apprized by Aristides of his dangerous situation, ibid. Full of a generous gratitude, he lets him into all his designs and projects, 153. Is carried in triumph by the Lacedaemonians to Sparta, 160. Receives striking honours at the Olympic games, with which he is extremely flattered, 161. Sails to all the islands which espouse the interest of the Persians, in order to levy contributions, ibid. Requires a considerable sum from the inhabitants of Andros, ibid. Blocks them up for some time in consequence of their reply, ibid. Converts the money which he exacts from them chiefly to his own private advantage, 162. His answer to the Spartan ambassador, 178. He procures himself the negotiation of an affair of importance at Lacedaemon, ibid. His artful behaviour, ibid. Is received by his fellow-citizens in a triumphant manner at his return, 180. His regulations for the safety of the city, ibid. Forms a scheme for the supplanting of Sparta, and making Athens the unrivalled mistress of Greece, 181. Communicates his scheme to Aristides, who cannot accede to it, 182. Makes himself odious to the Athenians, 189. Is accused of having been privy to the designs of Pausanias, ibid. His answers to the calumnies levelled at him ineffectual, 190. Takes refuge in the island of Corcyra, ibid. Flies from thence to Epirus, ibid. Afterwards to Admetus, king of the Molossians, for protection, ibid. Is promised protection by him, 191. Is harrassed by his enemies, ibid. His escape is favoured by Admetus, ibid. He is put on board a merchant-ship, 192. Is compelled to discover himself to the pilot, ibid. Arrives at Cumae, ibid. Is sent under a strong guard to Sardis, ibid. Requests to have permission to speak to the king, ibid. Falls before the king in the Persian manner, and makes a remarkable address to him, 193. Is in high favour at the Persian court, ibid. A memorable speech of his to his wife and children, 194. Finds himself unable to sustain the conflict between his gratitude to Admetus, and his love for his country, ibid. Swallows poison, ibid. His character, ibid.
Theramenes,
accuses the Athenian admirals who were victorious over Callicratidas at Arginusae, i. 323.
Thermopylae,
an assembly of the Grecian states there twice a year, i. 6. Battle of, 142.
Theseus,
king of Athens, unites the twelve boroughs of Cecrops into one city, i. 6.
Thrasybulus,
consults with his fellow-citizens at Thebes on a vigorous effort for the benefit of public liberty, i. 342. Seizes upon Phyle, a strong castle on the srontiers of Attica, ibid. Repulses the tyrants, with their Spartan guard, on their attempting to recover it, ibid. Obliges them to retire, ibid. Marches out of Phyle by night, and seizes upon the Piraeus, ibid. His speech to the troops who fled from him after the death of Critias, ibid. Procures the expulsion of the thirty tyrants, and the substitution of ten persons in their room, ibid. After the demolition of the tyrants, he proposes an amnesty, 344.
Thucydides,
brother-in-law of Cimon, combats Pericles in all his ambitious measures, but in vain, i. 211.
Tigranes,
the Persian general, slain in the battle of Mycale, i. 174.
Timoclea,
a Theban lady, her uncommon behaviour, ii. 143. Her reply to Alexander, on being carried in chains before him, ibid.
Timotheus,
his saying about Chares, one of the Athenian generals at the battle of Chaeronea, ii. 112.
Tiridates,
governor of Persepolis, sends letters to Alexander, which occasion his hasty advance to that city, ii. 235.
Tissaphernes,
stands his ground, with a small part of his troops, against the Greeks, i. 350. Passes through the light-armed infantry of the Greeks, after the defeat of the greatest part of his left wing by them, who make discharges upon him, 352. Keeps on, without returning to the charge, 353. On his arrival at the camp, he clears up a mistake, ibid. Has a conference with Clearchus, 359. Comes up to the Greeks with his whole army, in order of battle, 383. After several skirmishes, he is forced to retire, ibid. Secures an eminence, ibid. Dislodged from it, 364.
Trezene,
city of, the inhabitants generously offer the Athenians an asylum, i. 148.
Tyre,
city of, its happy situation described, ii. 202. Taken, 213.
Tyrians,
receive proposals for a peace from Alexander by his heralds, ii. 203. Kill them, and throw them from the top of the wall into the sea, 204. Desend themselves with the greatest vigour, skill, bravery and perseverance, 204, 207. Are invested by the Macedonians on all sides, by sea and land, 207. Give themselves over for lost, 208 Are suddenly relieved from their terrors by a storm, which makes great havock among the ships of their enemies, ibid. Find their good fortune counterbalanced by an unexpected calamity, 208. Are informed that the Carthaginians, from whom they expected succours, are unable to give them any assistance, ibid. Resolve to defend themselves to the last extremity, ibid. Send off their women and children to Carthage, 209. Invent new arts to defend themselves, and repulse the enemy, ibid. Defend themselves wi
h more vigour than ever, 210. Overpowered by their assailants, they are reduced to despair, 212. Are conquered, 213.
Tyrtaeus,
the school-master, sent by the Athenians to command the Lacedaemonians, i. 42. Harangues, and repeats his own works, ibid. Is disliked by the Spartans, ibid. Inflames them by his orations and songs in praise of military glory, ibid. In consequence of those songs and orations, they become victorious, ibid. He is made free of Sparta, 44.
U.
Uxii,
province of, commanded by Madathes, ii. 233.
X.
Xacinthus,
the inhabitants of it having expelled their magistrates, put themselves under the protection of the Athenians, ii. 12. Repulse the Spartans, ibid.
Xantippus,
accuses Miltiades of having taken a bribe from Persia, i. 116.
Xenophon,
invited into Asia by Proxences, i. 360. Animates the Greek officers to behave with boldness and resolution, ibid. Presses the nomination of generals, 361. Commanders are appointed agreeable to his advice, ibid. His speech to inspire his soldiers, ibid. Begins his march with Cherisophus and Tymafion, 362. Is followed by a party of the enemy commanded by Mithridates, 363. Is galled by him, ibid. Furnishes two hundred Rhodians with slings, ibid. Repulses Mithridates with loss, ibid. Makes good his retreat, ibid. Arrives near the city of Lariffa, ibid. Marches to Mepeila, ibid. Diflodges Tissaphernes from an eminence he had gained, and opens a passage for the rest of his troops into the plain, 364. Meets with difficulties, ibid. Is greatly annoyed in his march by a fierce and warlike people, ibid. After many fatigues and hardships, is exposed to new dangers, 365. After innumerable difficulties, conducts the Greeks under his command from Persia to Greece, 365, 370.
Xerxes,
son of Darius, inherits his father's animosity against Greece, i. 117. Assembles a council, 118. Is strongly persuaded by Mardonius to avenge the dishonour done the Persian name, ibid. Receives very different advice from Artaphernes, and receives it with rage and resentment, 120. His reply to him, ibid. Repents, and offers to come over to his uncle's opinion, 121. Overpowered by the flatteries of his courtiers, he rejects his advice, listens to that of Mardonius, and orders the most extensive preparations to be made for carrying on the war, ibid. Enters into an alliance with the Carthaginians, 122. Sets out from Susa, ibid. A presumptuous speech of his, 123. His military progress and operations described, 123, 129. He purfues his course without interruption, 131. First finds his passage difputed at the streights of Thermopylae, ibid. Is treated with contempt by the Spartans, 140. Is repulsed with great loss, ibid. Endeavours to inspire his troops with the promises of reward, 141. Is shamefully defeated by a small body of Spartans, 144. Tries his fortune at sea, but without success, ibid. Proceeds in his destructive march, 146. Sets with indignation that his power is unable to terrify his enemies, 149. Marches into Attica, ibid. Finds Athens almost deserted, ibid. Puts all those to the sword who defend the citadel, and reduces it to ashes, 150. Dispatches a messenger to Susa with the news of his victories, ibid. Marches towards the sea to act in conjunction with h
s fleet, 151. Receives a severe blow by the battle of Salamis, 156. Alarmed at his past overthrow, he wants a decent opportunity to retreat, 157. Is extricated from his embarrassments by the arrival of Mardonius, ibid. Is greatly distressed in his retreat, 158.
FINIS.